25 January, 2011 – VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Two Civilians, One Officer, Killed in Egypt Protests
IMEMC – Wednesday January 26, 2011 – 03:41, As massive protests swept across Egypt demanding the removal of Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, and his government, two protestors and one police officer were killed, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera reported.
Ireland Upgrades Palestinian Mission To Embassy
IMEMC – Wednesday January 26, 2011 – 02:22, On Tuesday, the Irish government announced that it decided to upgrade the status of the Palestinian mission to the country, the official Palestinian representative office, to the level of an official embassy.
Peru Recognizes Palestinian State
IMEMC – Tuesday January 25, 2011 – 17:11, Peru announced on Monday night it recognizes a Palestinian state, becoming the eight South American country to do so amidst a growing momentum towards global recognition, media agencies reported.
Rioters Attack Al-Jazeera Office in Ramallah
IMEMC – Tuesday January 25, 2011 – 14:13, A crowd of angry Palestinians attacked the office of Al-Jazeera TV in the city of Ramallah, on Monday afternoon, in protest against recently leaked documents regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, local media agencies informed.
11 Palestinians, Including 10-year-old Child, Kidnaped By Soldiers in West Bank
IMEMC – Tuesday January 25, 2011 – 12:07, Israeli soldiers conducted an arrest campaign in the occupied West bank city on Tuesday and kidnapped ten Palestinians including a 10-year-old child.
Palestinian Authority Sabotages Tunisia Rally in Ramallah
IMEMC – Tuesday January 25, 2011 – 11:57, Last Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority refused to grant permission to a group of Palestinian activists for a solidarity rally with the people of Tunisia for their overthrow of the Tunisian president.
Abbas: “Al Jazeera Report Mixed Between Israeli Proposals, Palestinian Demands”
IMEMC – Tuesday January 25, 2011 – 11:21, Describing the report of the Qatar-based News Agency, Al Jazeera, as shameful, Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated that the report is misleading as it mixed between what Israel is proposing and what the Palestinian Negotiators are demanding.
Barhoum: “Fateh Is Dropping The Right Of Return”, Fateh Denies Al Jazeera Report
IMEMC – Tuesday January 25, 2011 – 10:25, Fawzi Barhoum, spokesperson of the Hamas movement, stated that the cables published by the Al Jazeera TV in Qatar prove that the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank is acting on voiding the Right of Return of the Palestinian Refugees instead of achieving it. Chief Negotiator, Dr. Saeb Erekat, denies the claims, states Palestinian demands never changed.
Israel Concludes Tunnel Linking Silwan With the “Western Wall”
IMEMC – Tuesday January 25, 2011 – 07:36, Uzi Dahari, in charge of the so-called Israeli Antiques Authorities, stated on Monday at night that the digging of a tunnel that links Silwan Arab town in East Jerusalem with the “western wall” of the Al Aqsa Mosque, was concluded.
Army Absolves Two Soldiers Who Committed Two Separate Roadblock Killings
IMEMC – Tuesday January 25, 2011 – 07:00, The Israeli Military Central Command absolved on Monday two Israeli soldiers who shot and killed two Palestinians at a roadblock in the occupied West Bank. The army said that the soldiers made what was described as “justified decisions”. The two shootings took place at a roadblock near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
Palestinian detainee in coma
1/25/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A 45-year-old Palestinian jailed in Israel is in a coma, a detainees’ center said Monday. Detainees in Be’er Sheva prison in the Israeli desert smuggled a letter to the center detailing Saed Fahmi Salah’s condition, the group said. Israeli forces beat Salah when he….
10-year-old detained in West Bank village
1/25/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – Israeli forces abducted a 10-year-old Palestinian boy from his home early Monday in the occupied West Bank. Karim Tamimi’s arrest comes two days after his brother, 14-year-old Islam Tamimi, was seized in a similar raid on Nabi Salih village. The popular resistance movement in the village called….
Peru recognizes ‘free and sovereign’ Palestine
1/25/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Peru recognized a “free and sovereign” Palestinian state Monday, joining a wave of Latin American countries.” Today the government communicated to the ambassador of Palestine in Lima recognition of the Palestinian state as free and sovereign,” said Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Belaunde. The Peruvian foreign minister contacted the Palestinian ambassador….
Palestine Papers: PLO ceded refugees’ right to return
1/25/2011 – DOHA, Qatar (Ma’an) — Confidential documents published Monday by Qatar-based TV network Al-Jazeera reveal that Palestinian negotiators offered Israel huge concessions on the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their ancestral homes. Al-Jazeera said it obtained over 1,600 PLO documents, dubbed the “Palestine Papers,” from a decade of negotiations with Israel. The papers….
Hamas withdraws authorization of Abbas
1/25/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas on Tuesday withdrew its authorization of President Mahmoud Abbas as the head of negotiations. Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya said Abbas’ mandate was not valid without the party’s recognition. He also dismissed the PA’s claim that it negotiated on behalf of Palestinians. Hamas does not…. Related: Gaza govt: PLO not authorized to negotiate for Palestinians
Israel denies PLC official permission to travel
1/25/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas on Tuesday said Israeli border police at the Allenby crossing between the West Bank and Jordan denied a PLC member passage. In a statement, Hamas said Nasser Abdul Jawad was detained at the border for a number of hours and told he could not pass from the West Bank….
Jerusalem dig completes tunnel under Old City wall
1/25/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli archaeologists have finished work on a tunnel which starts at a site near the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound inside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, officials said on Tuesday. The controversial 600-meter tunnel, believed to have been originally built in 500 BC as a drainage channel, starts at an archaeological….
Ireland upgrades Palestinian diplomatic status
1/25/2011 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Ireland on Tuesday upgraded Palestinian representation to a full diplomatic mission to be headed by a Palestinian ambassador, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad Al-Malki said. Al-Malki said he was informed of the decision by the Irish foreign ministry. Israel swiftly condemned the move.” This will only strengthen the Palestinians’ rejection….
Army: Gaza rockets hit Israel, no casualties
1/25/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Two rockets fired by militants in the Gaza Strip hit southern Israel on Tuesday evening but there were no reports of casualties, the Israeli army told AFP. Israeli media said that the two home-built Qassam rockets landed in open ground near a kibbutz in the Sdot Negev district, just east of the coastal….
Israel closes road in Tulkarem
1/25/2011 – TULKAREM (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities closed a road in Kufr Il-Lubad in southeastern Tulkarem on Tuesday. The agricultural ministry recently completed the road, and it condemned the closure. Minister Saleh Ayaseh said the road “helped hundreds of farmers reach their lands….
PLO: US credibility at stake in UN vote
1/25/2011 – DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Palestinian negotiator Nabil Sha’ath warned that Washington risks losing” any credibility as a peace broker” if it vetoes a UN Security Council resolution calling for a halt to Israeli settlement building. The Palestinians will address the 15-member Security Council “whether or not the United States wants it,” Sha’….
Palestinians react angrily to secret documents
1/25/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Qatar-based TV network Al-Jazeera on Sunday began publishing the first of over 1,600 confidential documents detailing Israeli-Palestinian negotiations over a decade. The documents, dubbed the Palestine Papers, include records of meetings, maps, reports and studies, and reveal huge concessions offered to Israel by the PLO. They have sparked outrage. The….
Erakat: Al-Jazeera leaks part of plot to topple PA
1/25/2011 – RAMALLAH (AFP) — Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat accused Al-Jazeera television on Tuesday of participating in a campaign aimed at overthrowing the Palestinian Authority. His accusations were made two days after the Doha-based satellite channel began releasing more than 1,600 documents known as “The Palestine Papers.” The files expose some of the concessions offered to Israel….
15 Hamas members arrested by PA
1/25/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – The Palestinian Authority arrested 15 Hamas members in the West Bank, the party said Tuesday. The Islamist movement said in a statement that Hamas affiliates were detained in Nablus and Jenin….
Gaza crossing open for transfer of wheat and fodder
1/25/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities decided Tuesday to open the Kerem Shalom and Karni crossings for the access of goods and fuel to the Gaza Strip and the export of flowers. Authorities decided to open Kerem Shalom for the access of 160 to 170 trucks loaded with aid for the humanitarian and commercial….
1 detained in Beit Ummar clashes
1/25/2011 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — An Israeli military patrol through the town of Beit Ummar sparked clashes on Tuesday, with one 18-year-old detained as groups of teenagers threw stones at the patrol as it drove through residential streets. Ammar Muhammad Abdul Hamid Abu Maria was detained from the roof of his home. An Israeli military….
Al-Jazeera becomes focus of leaked documents debate
1/25/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Conspiracy, a case of bad timing and a disservice to the Palestinian people were some of the immediate reactions by Palestinian critics and media professionals, as Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera continued to release documents from over a decade of mediation efforts with Israel. Palestinian writer and political analyst Hani Al-Masri dismissed….
Islamic Relief Worldwide delegation visits Gaza
1/25/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) – A delegation representing Islamic Relief Worldwide arrived in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday to watch firsthand the situation in the blockaded coastal enclave. The delegation included the head of the funding department, head of Islamic Relief Germany, representative of the US office in addition to renowned Egyptian actors Hanan Turk….
Abbas: I will face Al-Jazeera
1/25/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday he would personally face the Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera to address its release of secret documents from a decade of Israel-Palestinian negotiations. Speaking a crowd of hundreds gathered at his headquarters in Ramallah, the president dismissed the leaked papers as forgeries, less than a day after….
Egypt warns Eritrea over flood of migrants
1/25/2011 – El-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Egyptian authorities said seven Eritrean nationals were detained south of the Israeli border on Tuesday, allegedly attempting to infiltrate Israel near north Gaza’s Kerem Shalom crossing. Following the detentions, police said Egyptian authorities issued a warning to the Eritrean Embassy in Cairo, demanding that officials better screen possible….
Gaza govt: PLO not authorized to negotiate for Palestinians
1/25/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The government in Gaza on Tuesday said the Palestine Liberation Organization was not authorized and did not have the power to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people. The statement was issued in response to a series of leaked PLO documents related to talks with Israel, which reveal the PLO…. Related: Hamas withdraws authorization of Abbas
‘Day of rage’ as Hezbollah candidate set to become PM
1/25/2011 – BEIRUT (AFP) — Hundreds of people converged on Lebanon’s Sunni bastion of Tripoli on Tuesday to take part in a ‘day of rage’ over the likely appointment as prime minister of Hezbollah-backed tycoon Najib Mikati. Convoys of vehicles and buses could be seen heading toward the northern seaport city from early morning….
Egypt arrests ‘Al-Qaeda cell’
1/25/2011 – CAIRO (AFP) — Egypt’s interior minister said on Tuesday that 19 people thought to have links to Al-Qaeda had been arrested in Egypt last month. The group, which included Tunisians and Libyans, “had used Egypt as a transit point from which they would travel to other countries, including Iraq, to join a group called….
Egyptians hit the streets to demand Mubarak ouster
1/25/2011 – CAIRO (AFP) — Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across Egypt on Tuesday, facing down a massive police presence to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in protests inspired by Tunisia’s popular uprising. The protests were the largest and most significant since riots over bread subsidies shook the Arab world….
Anger in Lebanon as Mikati named PM
1/25/2011 – BEIRUT (AFP) — Hezbollah-backed Najib Mikati was named Lebanon’s prime minister-designate on Tuesday, giving the Shiite militant group increased leverage in the deeply divided country to the anger of many Sunnis. President Michel Sleiman asked the billionaire Sunni tycoon to form a government amid a “day of rage” by fellow Sunnis who blocked roads….
The al-Madhoun assassination
Palestine Note 25 Jan 2011 – Al Jazeera – The Palestinian Authority (PA) has shown operational willingness to co-operate with Israel to kill its own people, the Palestine Papers indicate. Among the documents are notes, handwritten in Arabic, revealing an exchange in…
The need to read the Palestine papers with a critical eye
Palestine Note 25 Jan 2011 – The Palestine Papers are certainly explosive, and very important. But this article in The Guardian (UK) also points up the need for some critical examination of the coverage of the Papers. There is a pretty important…
Change that matters
Palestine Note 25 Jan 2011 – It’s time for more Middle East leadership. The Palestine Papers – we can’t have a war or a secret cables media dump without a media friendly name – bolster that point of view. Captain Renault’s famous…
The Al Jazeera blockbuster exposes the lies
Palestine Note 25 Jan 2011 – Al Jazeera’s stunning revelation s about Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have different meanings for Israelis, Americans and for Palestinians. The bottom line is that, despite the assurances it gave to the Palestinian people that it was driving a…
The Palestine papers
Palestine Note 25 Jan 2011 – Israel’s peacemakers unmasked For more than a decade, since the collapse of the Camp David talks in 2000, the mantra of Israeli politics has been the same: “There is no Palestinian partner for peace.” This week,…
There is no new rage in response to the Palestine Papers disclosures
Palestine Note 25 Jan 2011 – A lot of people are blaming al-Jazeera for releasing the Palestine Papers, 1,700 pages of notes from what were the direct negotiations and talks between Israeli, Palestinian and American negotiators. Even more are upset with Palestine…
Avigdor Lieberman Confirms Controversial ‘Interim’ Palestinian State Plan
Palestine Note 25 Jan 2011 – The Huffington Post – Israel’s foreign minister confirmed Monday that he has drawn up a plan for the creation of an interim Palestinian state with temporary borders in the absence of a full peace agreement. Avigdor…
Peru recognizes ‘free and sovereign’ Palestine
Palestine Note 25 Jan 2011 – Ma’an – Peru recognized a “free and sovereign” Palestinian state Monday, joining a wave of Latin American countries. “Today the government communicated to the ambassador of Palestine in Lima recognition of the Palestinian state as free…
Palestinians give Abbas hero’s welcome after he denounces ‘Palestine papers’
Palestine Note 25 Jan 2011 – Haaretz – President Mahmoud Abbas got a hero’s welcome on Tuesday from thousands of Palestinians who denounced the Qatari regime and its Al Jazeera television channel for accusing their leader of selling out to Israel. Read…
Ireland upgrades Palestinian diplomatic mission to embassy
Palestine Note 25 Jan 2011 – Jerusalem Post – The Irish government on Tuesday announced that it has decided to recognize the Palestinian Authority’s delegation and upgrade the delegation to embassy status. Following the decision, the head of the Palestinian delegation will…
Watch Egyptian protesters clash with police
Palestine Note 25 Jan 2011 – The Guardian – Thousands of Egyptians take to Cairo’s streets, calling for President Hosni Mubarak’s removal.
Day of Anger threatens to shut down Cairo
Palestine Note 25 Jan 2011 – Thousands of Egyptians are taking to the streets demand Mubarak’s removal Al Jazeera – Inspired by Tunisian demonstrators , thousands of Egyptian protesters on Tuesday gathered in Cairo and other major cities, calling for reforms and demanding…
Palestinians seek source of leaked Mid-East papers
Palestine Note 25 Jan 2011 – BBC News – Palestinian officials are searching for the source who leaked confidential papers from the Mid-East peace process. Intelligence agents have reportedly searched computer files at a support office for the Palestinian negotiators. The documents…
Egypt activists begin Tunisia-inspired ‘day of revolt’
Palestine Note 25 Jan 2011 – BBC News – Anti-government protests have broken out in Egypt after an internet campaign inspired by the uprising in Tunisia. Thousands of protesters are marching through Cairo chanting anti-government slogans, after activists called for a “day…
Fury After Hezbollah Picks Lebanon Leader
Palestine Note 25 Jan 2011 – New York Times – A Hezbollah-backed candidate for prime minister officially won a vote on Tuesday to form Lebanon’s government as angry protests by backers of the former prime minister continued. The triumph of Najib Miqati,…
The al-Madhoun assassination
AlJazeera 25 Jan 2011 – Documents include handwritten notes of 2005 exchange between PA and Israel on plan to kill Palestinian fighter in Gaza.
MI6 offered to detain Hamas figures
AlJazeera 25 Jan 2011 – British government also provided financial support for two Fatah security forces linked to torture.
Erekat: “I can’t stand Hamas”
AlJazeera 25 Jan 2011 – For Fatah, the Annapolis process seems to have been as much about crushing Hamas as about ending Israel’s occupation.
Qurei: “Occupy the crossing”
AlJazeera 25 Jan 2011 – Top PA negotiator offers to allow Israel to re-occupy the Philadelphi corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border.
Demanding a demilitarized state
AlJazeera 25 Jan 2011 – Israeli negotiators demanded to keep Israeli troops in the West Bank and to maintain control of Palestinian airspace.
PA questions Tony Blair’s role
AlJazeera 25 Jan 2011 – Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad wondered whether Quartet envoy’s initiatives were too small to be helpful.
Dayton’s mission: A reader’s guide
AlJazeera 25 Jan 2011 – Mark Perry explains what The Palestine Papers reveal about Gen. Keith Dayton’s training mission in the West Bank.
A letter to the Israeli people
AlJazeera 25 Jan 2011 – The US president should write that the US “must withdraw from direct and active involvement in this process.”
Blair’s counter-insurgency “surge”
AlJazeera 25 Jan 2011 – Former British prime minister’s support for Palestinian security forces contributed to decline of EU’s influence.
Cutting off a vital connection
AlJazeera 25 Jan 2011 – Palestinian officials were often more concerned with applying pressure to Hamas than easing the crisis in Gaza.
Audio Feature: Palestinian Refugee Protest Negotiations Concessions
PNN – The Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV and the British Guardian continued to release documents obtained regarding 20 years of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, amidst international criticism. According to the documents, Palestinian refugees raised concerns about…
Israel Finishes Digging under East Jerusalem Old City Walls
PNN – Jerusalem — PNN – Israeli Deputy Director of the Antiquities Authority Uzi Dahari announced on Wednesday that digging operations underneath the Old City walls in East Jerusalem were complete, having created a…
Leaked Documents: Obama, Clinton Reject Palestinian Elections Out of Hand
PNN – Jerusalem — PNN – Just days after President Obama was elected in the United States, the new administration rejected Palestinian democracy in favor of propping up Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, according to…
Palestinian Protesters attack Al Jazeera office in Ramallah
PNN – Ramallah — PNN — On Monday afternoon, dozens of Palestinian protesters attacked the office of Al Jazeera TV in the central West Bank city of Ramallah in protest of recently leaked documents…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (13-19 January 2011)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Backlash forces Jewish group to cancel meeting with PA
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2011 – UK’s Jewish Leadership Council had planned to visit the West Bank to meet Palestinian leaders and NGOs.
Ashkenazi haredi rabbis protest conversion ‘breach’
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2011 – Peres receives Yosef in shiva call and praises Shas party mentor for ruling on IDF conversions that ‘strengthens and unifies the people of Israel’.
Concern, but also opportunity in Lebanon upheaval
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2011 – A future war with Hizbullah would be met by a different Israeli military response, one that could really set Lebanon back by several decades.
US may make UN funds conditional on Israel’s treatment
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2011 – House Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen: Support for world body must serve US interests and reflect American values.
PA mulls legal action on Al-Jazeera for leaks
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2011 – Abbas tells rally: We’re committed to Palestinian ‘constants’ in the peace process, will expose Qatari TV network’s ‘forgery.’
Analysis: Sectarian rage there, heightened clarity here
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2011 – Prospect of Hizbullah-controlled government angers Lebanese Sunnis, but brings Islamists out in the open for Israel.
Al-Jazeera skewers PA: Collaborated in killing ‘own people’
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2011 – Third day of PaliLeaks saga shows British MI6 drew up plan for Palestinian Authority to fight Hamas in Gaza.
White House warns Hizbullah gov’t endangers US aid
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2011 – Sec. of State says US wants independent sovereign Lebanon, concerned about “outside forces”; Crowley calls larger Hizbullah role “problematic.”
3 killed in Egyptian protests against Mubarak
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2011 – Wary Jerusalem watches as worst riots in years break out in Egypt; Israel fears northern neighbor en route to becoming ‘Iranian satellite.’
1,000s denounce Mubarak in Cairo, clash with riot police
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2011 – Protesters carry signs and shout chants taken from Tunisia protests, call for Egypt’s president to step down in what was called a “Day of Rage.”
Ireland upgrades PA envoys without ‘recognition’
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2011 – Move comes one day after Peru joins growing list of South American countries recognizing a Palestinian state; other EU countries may follow suit.
Hizbullah candidate Mikati to form new Lebanese gov’t
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2011 – Nasrallah: New gov’t not controlled by Hizbullah; Billionaire encourages unity, urges flying the flag of Lebanon; Sunnis take to the streets in protest.
Hizbullah’s candidate to form Lebanese government
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2011 – Billionaire businessman Najib Mikati wins majority of parliament support in two days of voting; Sunnis take to streets to protest gains by Shi’ite group.
Hamas urges Palestinian refugees to protest
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2011 – Mahmoud Zahar calls for protest following revelations that Palestinian negotiators were open to accepting resettlement of only small number of refugees in Israel.
Lebanese rally against Hizbullah in ‘day of rage’
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2011 – Thousands of Sunnis waved flags and burned tires to protest gains by the Shiite militant group Hizbullah; largest gathering in northern city of Tripoli.
Haredi Rabbi Elyashiv slams Ovadia Yosef’s approval of conversion bill
Ha’aretz – ‘Everyone know that the gentiles do not intend to embrace Judaism,’ Rabbi Elyashiv writes in letter signed by 17 more ultra-Orthodox rabbis.
Likud’s Knesset faction backs probe into Leftist Israeli NGOs
Ha’aretz – The decision, passed by a majority of seven to six, gives the Knesset House Committee the support needed to draft an outline for the move next week.
Peru denies extradition of former Israeli judge
Ha’aretz – Dan Cohen is wanted in Israel on charges of bribery, fraud, breach of trust and obstruction of justice.
Erekat: Al Jazeera’s ‘vicious smear campaign’ puts my life in danger
Ha’aretz – Chief Palestinian negotiator says in interview that Palestine papers contain misrepresented and made-up quotes, says Al Jazeera is ‘asking Palestinians to shoot me.’
Palestinians give Abbas hero’s welcome after he denounces ‘Palestine papers’
Ha’aretz – Palestinians burn Israeli flags and posters of the Emir of Qatar, who approved Al-Jazeera’s broadcast of leaked Mideast documents that accuse Abbas of selling out to Israel.
Ireland upgrades status of Palestinian mission to embassy
Ha’aretz – Palestinian delegation in Ireland will be upgraded to an official embassy, following France and Spain; U.K., Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Germany and Denmark expected to follow., Brigadier-General Aviv Kochavi tells MKs…
Egypt: Al-Qaida attempting to establish terror cells in Gaza
Ha’aretz – Egypt interior minister says 19 Al-Qaida suspects were arrested for planning suicide bombings at holy places in Egypt, including one who is suspected to have received instruction in Gaza for…
U.S.: Palestine papers make peace negotiations more difficult
Ha’aretz – U.S. State Department spokesman says veracity of papers can’t be verified; U.S. evaluating political reaction to details revealed in papers.
U.S.: Israel’s Gaza flotilla report is credible and impartial
Ha’aretz – State Department comment on Turkel Commission’s preliminary report comes after Turkish PM Erdogan says the panel, which exonerated Israel’s raid on aTurkish aid flotilla, had ‘no value or credibility.’
Turkey publishes its own Gaza flotilla report after slamming Israel’s version
Ha’aretz – Ankara says the Turkel Committee report on deadly raid portrays Israeli soldiers ‘as heroes’; Turkey’s initial findings had been incorporated into the initial UN report.
Palestinian protesters vandalize Al-Jazeera offices in Ramallah
Ha’aretz – Hundreds of demonstrators loyal to Abbas shatter security cameras and glass door panels, after Palestine papers leaked; Abbas supporters accuse media agency of of launching campaign against West Bank leadership.
Health services in the Gaza Strip by Sameh A. Habeeb
25 Jan 2011 – Gaza, (Pal Telegraph) – “Our water is unclean, our food and air are contaminated. We have no real immunity against diseases here in Gaza. The health system is creaking and its services don’t meet the basic standards. We are not exaggerating. What’s going on here is different. Even the way the health sector delivers its service to the public is…
Israel: The ugly truth
25 Jan 2011 – London, (Pal Telegraph) – Violence towards immigrants and Palestinian citizens of Israel may seem like distinct issues, but there is evidence to suggest that moves targeting one group soon spread to another [GALLO/GETTY]
Israel raids northern Gaza; no causalities
25 Jan 2011 – Gaza Strip, (Pal Telegraph) -Israeli military forces raided Tuesday Palestinian territories in the east of Jabalya , northern Gaza Strip .
10 Palestinians detained in WB by Israeli forces
25 Jan 2011 – West Bank, (Pal Telegraph) -Israeli occupation forces detained Tuesday ten citizens from different parts in the West Bank.
Palestine papers: MI6 plan proposed internment — and hotline to Israelis
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – The Palestinian Authority’s security strategy to crush Hamas and other armed groups on the West Bank was originally drawn up by Britain’s intelligence service, MI6, leaked papers reveal. The strategy included internment of leaders and activists, closure of radio stations and replacement of imams in mosques — the bulk of which has since been carried…
Obama may get power to shut down Internet without court oversight
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – A bill giving the president an Internet “kill switch” during times of emergency that failed to pass Congress last year will return this year, but with a revision that has many civil liberties advocates concerned: It will give the president the ability to shut down parts of the Internet without any court oversight. The Protecting…
Sa’adat Salutes Tunisian People from his Isolation Cell; Campaign condemns French Foreign Minister
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – Ahmad Sa’adat, Palestinian national leader and political prisoner, remains in isolation, for nearly 700 days, prohibited from family visits, reading material confiscated, and barred from his friends and fellow prisoners, and accompanied by his fellow prisoner in isolation, Jamal Abu el-Hija. Isolation and prevention of human contact is widely understood by human rights advocates to…
Comrade Taher: Al-Jazeera’s Palestine Papers reveal Oslo process is nothing more than a road to liquidation
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said on January 24, 2011 that it must be clear to all that the so-called “peace process” is utterly dead, saying that the Palestine Papers documents released by Al-Jazeera must demonstrate to all that this so-called “peace process” has always been only a means to liquidate the…
If true, it is treason
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – If al-Jazeera’s Sunday night’s revelations about the secrets of several years of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) are true (and I don’t have the slightest doubt that they are) then we can’t escape the conclusion that whoever made these startling concessions to the Zionist regime is a traitor. He is a traitor…
The al-Madhoun assassinationDocuments include handwritten notes of 2005 exchange between PA and Israel on plan to kill Palestinian fighter in Gaza.
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – The Palestinian Authority (PA) has shown operational willingness to co-operate with Israel to kill its own people, the Palestine Papers indicate. Among the documents are notes, handwfritten in Arabic, revealing an exchange in 2005 between the PA and Israel on a plan to kill a Palestinian fighter named Hassan al-Madhoun, who lived in the Gaza…
Three dead in Egypt protests Police disperse crowd of thousands in Cairo at night, while two protesters and a police officer have died.
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – Two civilians and a police officer have died after a wave of unusually large anti-government demonstrations swept across Egypt, calling for the ouster of longtime president Hosni Mubarak. In central Cairo, crowds numbering in the thousands protested and clashed with police throughout the day. Shortly after midnight on Wednesday morning, security forces violently dispersed those…
Israeli army Absolves Two Soldiers Who Committed Two Separate Roadblock Killings
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – The Israeli Military Central Command absolved on Monday two Israeli soldiers who shot and killed two Palestinians at a roadblock in the occupied West Bank. The army said that the soldiers made what was described as “justified decisions”. The two shootings took place at a roadblock near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Israeli…
Iran not working on bomb: Israel intelligence head
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – Iran is not currently working on producing a nuclear weapon but could make one within “a year or two” of taking such a decision, Israel’s military intelligence chief said on Tuesday. “The question is not when Iran will acquire the bomb, but how long until the leader decides to begin enriching (uranium) at 90 percent,”…
Palestine Papers: Herzl Suggested Jews Resettle in Uganda, Condi Suggested Palestinians to Argentina
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – I swear, the longer I watch this Israeli-Palestinian conflict the more the nutty ideas of the past impose themselves on the present. Many Zionists don’t know or admit that Herzl had no particular romantic affinity for Palestine as the homeland of the Jews. He thought it could just as easily be Uganda and wrote as…
Peru recognizes ‘free and sovereign’ Palestine
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – Peru recognized a “free and sovereign” Palestinian state Monday, joining a wave of Latin American countries. “Today the government communicated to the ambassador of Palestine in Lima recognition of the Palestinian state as free and sovereign,” said Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Belaunde. The Peruvian foreign minister contacted the Palestinian ambassador to Peru, Walid Abdul-Rahim,…
Secret Palestine documents expose sham “peace process”
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – The release of some 1,700 secret documents has exposed the so-called peace process as a criminal farce, part of a permanent US-Israeli conspiracy against the basic rights of the Palestinian people. The papers, which consist of minutes of negotiating sessions, diplomatic correspondence, memos, maps and other materials dating from 1999 to 2010, were obtained by…
Breaking: 11 year old child arrested in Nabi Saleh
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – The 11 year old brother of Isalm Tamimi- a 14 year old child who was arrested in Nabi Saleh during a night raid on the village- has been arrested this morning by the army in Nabi Saleh. Isalm Tamimi was interrogated for eight hours after his arrest early Sunday morning. Yesterday, the state asked for…
Al-Jazeera documents are authentic, claims former Olmert adviser
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – The media adviser to Israel’s former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that the documents leaked by Al-Jazeera are authentic. Winky Glenti pointed out that the leaked papers prove that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is a “genuine partner” of the bilateral political process, despite repeated claims to the contrary by Israel. In an interview with…
Video – The Palestine Papers: Secret talks over a Jewish state
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – One and a half million of Israel’s citizens are Palestinian Arabs, that is roughly 20 per cent of the population. However, Israel still insists on calling the country a “Jewish state”. And the Palestine Papers reveal the human price that they were willing to make that a reality….
Egypt protesters clash with police
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – Inspired by Tunisian demonstrators, thousands of Egyptian protesters on Tuesday gathered in Cairo and other major cities, calling for reforms and demanding the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, Al Jazeera’s correspondents have reported. The anti-government protesters, some hurling rocks and climbing atop an armoured police truck, were chanting slogans against Mubarak, who ruled the country…
Rage follows Lebanon PM nomination
Uruknet January 25, 2011 – Lebanon’s president has formally appointed a Hezbollah-backed candidate as prime minister-designate and asked him to form a new government. Lawmakers in Beirut voted on Tuesday to back billionaire businessman Najib Mikati, the candidate Hezbollah had proposed as a prime minister. He gained 68 votes to Hariri’s 60, putting the Hezbollah-led opposition in a position to…
Israel using expired tear gas on Palestinians of East Jerusalem
Uruknet January 24, 2011 – Israeli troops are using expired tear gas against Palestinians in East Jerusalem in current and recent clashes, Silwanic can reveal. Silwanic recently obtained a tear gas grenade that had been fired at Palestinian residents, finding that the gas compound had expired almost 5 years ago. The use of expired tear gas has been warned against…
Livni: A lawyer ‘against law’?In 2007, Israel’s then-foreign minister proclaimed herself “against law, international law in particular”.
Uruknet January 24, 2011 – …In one of the most candid statements that Livni made during the meeting about the framework of the negotiations at the upcoming Annapolis summit, she told the Palestinian negotiators what she really thought of the subject:
The Palestine Papers: The Ultimate Confirmation of Israeli Intentions.
Uruknet January 24, 2011 – The cables released last night by Al Jazeera, which form the Palestine Papers, have provided ultimate confirmation of what many on the ground have known for some time — Israel is not interested in an equitable two state solution. Instead Israel is interested in maintaining the status quo, which necessarily means that both Palestinian and…
Al Jazeera under fire in Palestine over leaked papers
The National 26 Jan 2011 – The Qatari-based channel’s decision to air details of the leaked ‘Palestine Papers’ has sparked yet another round of protests against its coverage.
Thousands of Egyptians in anti-government march in Cairo
The National 25 Jan 2011 – In the biggest demonstration Egypt had seen in years, police showed unusual restraint in what appeared to be a concerted government effort not to provoke a Tunisia-like mass revolt.
Hizbollah-backed candidate is new PM of Lebanon
The National 25 Jan 2011 – Victory for Shiite group’s candidate Najib Miqati sets off ‘day of rage’ among Saad Hariri’s Sunni supporters, who set fire to Al Jazeera TV van as part of protests.
Alternative Information Center
Israeli Military Surrounds West Bank Village of Nabi Saleh, Detains Minors
Alternative Information Center – The Ramallah-area village of Nabi Saleh is currently surrounded by the Israeli military and Special Forces, and villagers fear the army is planning a home demolition. The area is currently closed, and people arriving from the…
What is Opinion of EU Diplomats on Boycott of Israeli Products from OPT?
Alternative Information Center – The following question was submitted to the European Commission by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) of the Green Party, Belgium. According to Rule 117 of the EC, a written response to this question must be provided.
Israeli Court Allows Destruction of Additional Graves in Jerusalem’s Mamilla Cemetery
Alternative Information Center – An Israeli court has given the green light for destruction of an additional 200 graves in Jerusalem’s Mamilla Cemetery .
New Tunisia Cabinet to be unveiled Wednesday, ministers say
Daily Star 25 Jan 2011 DUBLIN: Ireland said Tuesday it was upgrading the status of the Palestinian diplomatic delegation in Dublin to a mission, becoming the fifth European country to accord it a rank just below embassy. “The Palestinian delegation will…
Ireland upgrades Palestinian delegation to mission
Daily Star 25 Jan 2011 DUBLIN: Ireland said Tuesday it was upgrading the status of the Palestinian diplomatic delegation in Dublin to a mission, becoming the fifth European country to accord it a rank just below embassy. “The Palestinian delegation will…
Egypt’s Day of Wrath: Protesters demand change
Daily Star 25 Jan 2011 CAIRO: Thousands of Egyptians demanded an end to President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule and three people were killed in unprecedented countrywide protests Tuesday inspired by the Tunisian revolt while the United States expressed confidence in Egypt’s…
Putin vows retribution for airport blast, Medvedev slams security failures
Daily Star 25 Jan 2011 MOSCOW: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed “retribution is inevitable” for the suicide bombing that killed 35 people at Russia’s busiest airport, while President Dmitry Medvedev demanded robust checks at all transport hubs and lashed out at…
U.S. suggests EU apply fresh sanctions on Iran
Daily Star 25 Jan 2011 BRUSSELS/VIENNA: The U.S. government suggested Tuesday that Europe match Washington sanctions for Iranian human rights violators, including asset freezes on key figures, against a backdrop of failed nuclear talks.
Letters: Israel critics should respect my decision
The Guardian 25 Jan 2011 – I write in response to the letter you published from the British Writers in Support of Palestine (BWISP), which I have read with care ( Letters , 24 January). I have my own concerns about Israel and the…
The Palestine papers have broken a taboo. Now the arguments for peace can be open | Jonathan Freedland
The Guardian 25 Jan 2011 – The papers show how much ground Palestinian negotiators were willing to concede. This isn’t craven. It’s admirable Critics of the publication of the Palestine papers by the Guardian and al-Jazeera are aiming their fire in several…
Palestinian refugees rule out compromise on return to homeland
The Guardian 25 Jan 2011 – Disclosure in Palestine papers that negotiators gave up fight over refugees is greeted with disgust in Bethlehem camp In a crowded room in Aida refugee camp, Abu Khalil sipped sweet tea before listing reasons why he…
Palestine papers: MI6 plan proposed internment — and hotline to Israelis
The Guardian 25 Jan 2011 – Evidence in leaked documents highlights role British officials played in creating and bolstering PA administration The Palestinian Authority’s security strategy to crush Hamas and other armed groups on the West Bank was originally drawn up by…
Palestine papers reveal MI6 drew up plan for crackdown on Hamas
The Guardian 25 Jan 2011 – ‚Ä¢ Internment and replacement of imams among measures ‚Ä¢ Document proposed ‘direct lines’ to Israeli intelligence ‚Ä¢ New files reveal Israel requested assassination of militant British intelligence helped draw up a secret plan for a wide-ranging…
PLO urged Israel and Egypt to do more to prevent Gaza smuggling
The Guardian 25 Jan 2011 – Leaked documents underline hostility of PLO towards Hamas — but show Palestinian leadership willing to negotiate in long run Ian Black and Seumas Milne The Ramallah-based Palestinian leadership complained to the US envoy George Mitchell in…
US embassy cables: Israel discusses growing number of terrorist attacks
The Guardian 25 Jan 2011 – Cable dated:2005-07-15T15:24:00 S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 TEL AVIV 004403 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2015 TAGS: PREL, KWBG, KPAL, PTER, IS, GAZA DISENGAGEMENT, ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS SUBJECT: ISRAELI MOD DISCUSSES DISENGAGEMENT AND…
US embassy cables: Israel weighs up Palestinian aid
The Guardian 25 Jan 2011 – Cable dated:2006-02-15T15:18:00 S E C R E T TEL AVIV 000687 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2016 TAGS: ECON, KWBG, PGOV, PREL, KPAL, IS, ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS, GOI EXTERNAL SUBJECT: MOD PRIORITIZING FOREIGN ASSISTANCE PROJECTS; WANTS TO CONTINUE…
Israel asked Palestinian Authority to kill al-Aqsa commander
The Guardian 25 Jan 2011 – Leaked papers reveal close intelligence and security co-operation between two sides in Middle East conflict Hassan al-Madhoun got a martyr’s funeral — his body borne aloft on a stretcher, blood seeping through the bandages swathing his…
Palestine papers: Shaul Mofaz
The Guardian 25 Jan 2011 – Former IDF chief of staff and defence minister who was a key figure in co-ordinating security with the Palestinian Authority Shaul Mofaz served as defence minister under Ariel Sharon in the runup to Israel’s unilateral withdrawal…
UN chief urges increased, predictable funding to tackle humanitarian crises
Relief Web 25 Jan 2011 – Source: UN News Service
Security Council Presidential Statement Stresses Critical Importance of Institution-Building in Post-Conflict Countries
Relief Web 25 Jan 2011 – Source: UN Security Council
Human Rights Council Advisory Committee discusses impact of Human Rights Council review on Committee
Relief Web 25 Jan 2011 – Source: UN Human Rights Council
Gaza conflict: reconfigured committee following up on Goldstone Report to meet in Geneva
Relief Web 24 Jan 2011 – Source: UN Human Rights Council
Protests Mark Appointment of New PM in Lebanon
IPS The appointment of Hezbollah-backed March 8 movement candidate Najib Mikati as Lebanon’s new prime minister set off violence in Tripoli and Beirut Tuesday, with mobs attacking journalists and setting fires.
MIDEAST: Hamas Guards Women’s Health – for the Wrong Reasons
IPS When the Hamas government of Gaza imposed restrictions on shisha (water pipe) smoking several months ago, it wasn’t for health reasons — even though the habit is pervasive in the densely populated strip of land. Rather, the ban targeted only women — and it is being widely ignored despite the…
Video contest winners announced!
Stop The Wall – The winners of the Israeli Apartheid Video contest have been announced! Check out the videos, and use them to spread awareness about Israeli Apartheid across historic Palestine. [
US warns on ties with Hezbollah-backed Lebanon gov’t
YNet News – After Hezbollah-backed politician named new Lebanese PM, White House accuses….
Lebanon: Security forces arrest top Hariri aides
YNet News – As Hezbollah prepares to take control of Lebanese government, changes already….
Begin: Don’t probe MK Zoabi over Gaza flotilla
YNet News – Likud minister says Arab-Israeli lawmaker hurt Israeli-Arab relations by joining….
Defiant Abbas says he’s on ‘right path’
YNet News – Upon his return from Egypt, PA leader promises to weather storm over leaked….
MI chief: Iran 1 year away from bomb
YNet News – Major General Aviv Kochavi addresses Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense….
PA official: Leaked memos authentic
YNet News – Nabil Shaath, former member of Palestinian negotiations team, admits documents….
Hezbollah’s candidate to form Lebanon gov’t
YNet News – Najib Mikati wins majority of parliament support in two days of voting…..
Egypt says arrested 19 suicide bombers
YNet News – Interior Minister Habib Adli says al-Qaeda-linked network planned suicide….
‘Israel, PA plotted murder of Fatah terrorist’
YNet News – In November 2005 Israel and Palestinian security services plotted to assassinate a senior Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades commander who was held responsible by Israel for a …….
Excavation of Old City tunnel complete
YNet News – Jerusalem police forces secured the Old City throughout Tuesday fearing the Israeli Antiquities Authority’s announcement over the completion of a new tunnel seven years …….
Ireland upgrades PA mission
YNet News – The Irish government decided Tuesday to upgrade the Palestinian diplomatic mission in the country. Ireland is the first European Union member to announce such a move, …….
Navy doctor: We saved flotilla rioters’ lives
YNet News – Following the publication of the Turkel Committee report into the events surrounding the Turkish flotilla to Gaza, senior officers from the Israeli navy addressed the …….
Arab villagers ‘don’t want to live in Palestine’
YNet News – Many Arab-Israelis were enraged following the publication of leaked documents which revealed that Ehud Olmert’s government offered to transfer some of Israel’s Arab …….
Rally against infiltrators held outside Barak’s flat
YNet News – Hundreds of people arrived at Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s home in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night to protest against the infiltration of African refugees, who they claim are …….
Palestinian Information Center
Hamas visit to Bethlehem Red Cross shows promise
PIC 25 Jan 2011 – A visit Tuesday by Hamas MPs to the Red Cross’s new representative in Bethlehem appeared to be promising for the Palestinian cause.
Haneyya gov’t: Jazeera papers proved PLO not trusted with national rights
PIC 25 Jan 2011 – The Palestinian government of Ismail Haneyya expressed absolute rejection of the series of concessions offered by the PLO negotiating team with Israel as revealed by Al-Jazeera TV network.
Israel admits to Aqsa Mosque excavations for first time
PIC 25 Jan 2011 – Israel confessed for the first time ever on Tuesday to conducting excavation works near the Aqsa Mosque after years of denial. Security officials are concerned clashes could erupt.
IOA blocks travel of lawmaker
PIC 25 Jan 2011 – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) blocked the travel of Hamas MP Dr. Nasser Abdeljawad via Karame crossing from the West Bank to Jordan after detaining him for a few hours.
MP Abdelrazek to stand trial
PIC 25 Jan 2011 – The Israeli Jalama military court is to open a hearing on Wednesday in the case of Hamas MP Dr. Omar Abdelrazek after two weeks of cruel interrogation rounds.
Shaath: Al-Jazeera revelations are true
PIC 25 Jan 2011 – Senior PA official Nabil Shaath admitted the documents unveiled by Al-Jazeera satellite channel were authentic, but he said the ideas discussed with the Israeli side were not binding.
Hamas initiates urgent consultations with Palestinian factions
PIC 25 Jan 2011 – Hamas started consultations with various Palestinian factions to agree on a unified stance regarding Al-Jazeera documents on serious concessions offered by PA officials in secret talks with Israel.
Turkish Freedom Flotilla probe releases report condemning Israel
PIC 25 Jan 2011 – Turkey revealed Monday a report condemning Israel for its lethal attack last May on the Gaza-bound aid flotilla dubbed Freedom.
Abbas calls on Egypt to intervene in internal crisis
PIC 25 Jan 2011 – Secret documents leaked by Al-Jazeera Monday have embarrased de facto Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
Israeli official: The PA waived whole neighborhoods in J’lem for the Jews
PIC 25 Jan 2011 – A source close to the Israeli premier mocked the Palestinian authority for insisting on its settlement freeze demands while it concedes whole Palestinian neighborhoods in occupied Jerusalem.
Thousands of Egyptian protesters clash with police
LA Times 25 Jan 2011 – Protesters take to the streets of Cairo to demonstrate against political repression and unemployment under President Hosni Mubarak. It is unclear if the protests in Egypt will mimic those in Tunisia, leading to revolt against the government. Thousands of Egyptian protesters inspired by the revolt in Tunisia clashed with police in the largest anti-government demonstrations in years, flying banners and decrying political repression, corruption and unemployment under the three-decade rule of President Hosni Mubarak.
Leaked documents show Palestinians ready to deal at 2008 peace talks
LA Times 25 Jan 2011 – The e-mails, meeting minutes and other confidential papers being revealed by Al Jazeera television show that Palestinians, often portrayed as rejectionists by Israelis, were prepared – and looking – for peace. The closed-door negotiating session in the summer of 2008 was congenial, even chatty, until the chief Palestinian representative pressed his Israeli counterpart on the touchy topic of Jerusalem’s borders.
In Lebanon, violence breaks out as new prime minister is named
LA Times 25 Jan 2011 – The appointment of Hezbollah-backed candidate Najib Mikati as Lebanon’s prime minister sparks unrest in Tripoli and Beirut, with mobs attacking journalists and setting fires. The ascent of a Hezbollah-backed billionaire to the prime minister’s post in deeply divided Lebanon on Tuesday sparked rioting and protests by Sunni Muslims and pushed the country into uncertainty.
Russian president criticizes airport officials after bombing
LA Times 25 Jan 2011 – President Dmitry Medvedev orders Russian security services to step up efforts against extremists and says the Moscow airport must learn from the U.S. and Israel how to better handle security. Stung by another terrorist attack in Russia’s capital, President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday ordered security services to step up efforts to dismantle extremist networks and sharply criticized the management of Moscow’s biggest airport.
Some Iraqis See Symptoms of Region’s Tumult at Home
New York Times 25 Jan 2011 – As Iraqis watched televised street demonstrations from Lebanon, some wondered how far they were from destabilizing conditions of their own.
Citing Options, Iran Rejects Uranium Deal, Diplomat Says
New York Times 25 Jan 2011 – At the talks between Iran and six major powers in Istanbul over the weekend, Iran said it was “no longer interested” in a fuel-swap deal.
Second Child Arrested in Three Days in Nabi Saleh
Popular Struggle Coordination Committee – The 11 year old brother of Isalm Tamimi- a 14 year old child who was arrested in Nabi Saleh during a night raid on the village- has been arrested this morning by the army in Nabi Saleh. Isalm Tamimi was interrogated for eight hours after his…
Secret Palestine documents expose sham “peace process”
WSWS – The release of some 1,700 secret documents has exposed the so-called peace process as a criminal farce, part of a permanent US-Israeli conspiracy against the basic rights of the Palestinian people.
Turkel Committee Exonerates Flotilla Raid
Palestine Monitor – On January 23, The Public Commission to Examine the Maritime Incident of 31 May 2010, also known as the Turkel Committee, issued part one of its conclusions on the naval closure of the Gaza Strip and the assault on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Their findings raise…
The meaning of today’s events in Egypt
Mondoweiss – The most significant thing about today’s protests across Egypt is that their scale was totally unexpected. Yes, there has been a wave of protests since late 2004. But none have been nationwide to this extent, and none have been has big. We still do not have…
‘Tahrir means Liberation’: A report from Cairo
Mondoweiss – The day started with high expectations for me. But after getting shoved around Tahrir square by one riot policeman after another for hours I was beginning to lose hope. They knew we were coming, and there were hundreds of them. Later there’d be thousands — riot…
‘Palestine Papers’ reveal PA collaboration with Israel, under US tutelage
Mondoweiss – Mark Perry writes about Keith Dayton’s role on the Al Jazeera English website : Despite Dayton’s presumed accomplishments, the forces he has overseen have been accused of being an arm of both the Israeli occupation and an extension of Abbas’ efforts to crush political dissent in the…
A tale of two reports
Mondoweiss – In September, 2009, the Goldstone Report on the Israeli attack on Gaza was issued. While the Report was praised in most of the world as impartial and thorough, it was not greeted the same way in the U.S. , where U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice declared: “We have…
The truth that the ‘Palestine Papers’ has broken into the mainstream: Israel is the obstacle to peace
Mondoweiss – The release of the ” Palestine Papers ,” Al Jazeera’s leak of thousands of documents relating to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, is creating space in the American mainstream for this central truth: it is Israel’s fault that there has not been a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Jonathan Cook, a…
Abbas Selling Short Palestinian Refugees, Palestine Papers Show
Al-Manar 25 Jan 2011 – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed that it would be “illogical” to ask Israel to absorb 5 million refugees as part of a final peace settlements, according to the latest details of secret negotiations obtained by Al-Jazeera and shared with The Guardian. The Palestine Papers show…
Breaking: another child arrested in Nabi Saleh
Joseph Dana 25 Jan 2011 – The 11 year old brother of Isalm Tamimi- a 14 year old child who was arrested in Nabi Saleh during a night raid on the village- has been arrested this morning by the army in Nabi Saleh. Isalm Tamimi was interrogated for eight hours after his…
The Palestine Papers: The Ultimate Confirmation of Israeli Intentions
Joseph Dana 24 Jan 2011 – The cables released last night by Al Jazeera, which form the Palestine Papers, have provided ultimate confirmation of what many on the ground have known for some time — Israel is not interested in an equitable two state solution . Instead Israel is interested in maintaining the…
Three killed in Egyptian protests
BBC 25 Jan 2011 – At least three people have been killed in a day of rare anti-government protests across Egypt inspired by the uprising in Tunisia.
Hezbollah nominee made Lebanon PM
BBC 25 Jan 2011 – Lebanon’s president appoints Hezbollah-backed Najib Mikati as prime minister-designate, amid violent protests by thousands of people across the country.
Leaks ‘reveal UK anti-Hamas plan’
BBC 25 Jan 2011 – Leaked documents on the Mid-East peace process suggest Britain’s intelligence service has been closely involved with attempts to weaken Hamas.
Palestine Papers Cause More Heartburn in Washington
Antiwar.com 25 Jan 2011 – The exposure by al-Jazeera and London’s Guardian newspaper of a huge cache of documents detailing Palestinian accounts of a decade of peace negotiations with Israel could deal a lethal blow to U.S. efforts to get a credible process back on track, according to experts. By demonstrating…
Articles
The Palestine Papers and what they reveal about the US/Israeli agenda
Kathleen Christison, Middle East Monitor (MEMO)1/25/2011
We Told You So!
Many people told them so — told them, meaning told the United States and Israel and even the overeager Palestinian leadership, that the Oslo agreement in 1993 wasn’t fair, that it made too many demands of the Palestinians and virtually no enforceable demands of Israel; that the United States, no honest broker or neutral mediator, was looking out only for Israel’s interests and cared nothing for Palestinian concerns; that the peace process breakdown at Camp David in 2000 was not the fault of the Palestinians but was the responsibility of President Clinton and his “Israeli lawyer” advisers for representing only Israel’s needs; that while Clinton demanded Palestinian concessions, he was winking at Israel’s steady expansion of settlements and land grabs in Palestinian territory; that Clinton’s two successors did the same.
Many analysts told them that hopes for a genuine two-state solution died in the 1990s — indeed, were never realistic — because Israel, with U.S. knowledge and support, was swallowing Palestine, eating the pizza they were supposed to be negotiating over, as many Palestinians have said. But no one in power in the United States or the international community or in the media listened.
Someone may have to start listening. This U.S. complicity in Israeli expansionism, and the desperate acquiescence of the Palestinian leadership in Israeli demands for its surrender, have now been exposed in the massive document leak by al-Jazeera. Dubbed the Palestine Papers, the collection of almost 1,700 documents was obtained from unknown, possibly Palestinian, sources and covers a decade of “peace process” maneuvering. So far, there is only silence from the Obama administration, which is implicated in the documents along with the Bush and Clinton administrations. But reaction around the world is voluble and hard to ignore. more.. e-mail
Why I will not testify
Maureen Murphy, Ma’an News Agency1/25/2011
I have been summoned to appear before a federal grand jury in Chicago on Jan. 25. But I will not testify, even at the risk of being put in jail for contempt of court, because I believe that our most fundamental rights as citizens are at stake.
I am one of 23 anti-war, labor and solidarity activists in Chicago and throughout the Midwest who are facing a grand jury as part of an investigation into “material support for foreign terrorist organizations.”
No crime has been identified. No arrests have been made. And when it raided several prominent organizers’ homes and offices on Sept. 24, the FBI acknowledged that there is no immediate threat to the American public. So what is this investigation really about?
The activists who have been ensnared in this fishing net work with different groups to end the US wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, to end US military aid for Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land and US military aid to Colombia, which has a shocking record of repression and human rights abuses. All of us have publicly and peacefully dedicated our lives to social justice and advocating for more just and less deadly US foreign policy.
I spent a year and a half working for a human rights organization in the occupied West Bank, where I witnessed how Israel established “facts on the ground” at the expense of international law and Palestinian rights. I saw the wall, settlements and checkpoints and the ugly reality of life under Israeli occupation which is bankrolled by the US government on the taxpayer’s dime. Many of us who are facing the grand jury have traveled to the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Colombia to learn about the human rights situation and the impact of US foreign policy in those places so we may educate fellow Americans upon our return and work to build movements to end our government’s harmful intervention abroad. more.. e-mail
‘Risks for peace’
Robert Grenier, AlJazeera1/23/2011
The overwhelming conclusion one draws from this record is that the process for a two-state solution is essentially over.
It has been an American mantra throughout the many years of the peace process that both sides must take “risks for peace.” Those risks have taken different forms over time, but the most compelling risk for both Israelis and Palestinians has been a domestic political one: So long as the prospect of peace has remained a hazy dream, no one could object to it compellingly; but just begin to seriously consider the hard compromises necessarily involved, and it becomes clear to important constituencies on both sides that they will lose. To accept and politically manage those realities: That is the essence of “risks for peace.”
Given the current disproportion of grievances — and aggrieved constituencies — on their side, and the relative weakness of their bargaining position vis-a-vis Israel, it has always been true, though often willfully ignored by both the Israelis and the Americans, that the greatest burden of risk falls upon the Palestinian leadership. To reach their goals and to satisfy their people, they must have an agreement, and the right agreement, and soon; for as time goes on, their dispossession only increases. On the other hand, the status quo, particularly as illegally and unilaterally changed by them, has suited the Israelis very nicely, so long as bombs were not going off in their cafes and buses. From the Israeli point of view, at least in the short term, the major risk is in agreeing to any settlement at all.
Beginning with the signing of the Oslo accords, the political risks to the Palestinian leadership qualitatively changed, and not for the better. No longer would it be enough just to accept hard compromises and permanent concessions. Now, the Israelis, with full American support, demand that the Palestinians provide assurances of their ability to carry out an agreement by developing the institutions of a stable and competent state, despite having neither the legitimacy nor the independent resources necessary to do so.more.. e-mail
Palestine Papers confirm Israeli rejectionism
Electronic Intifada: 25 Jan 2011 – For more than a decade, since the collapse of the Camp David talks in 2000, the mantra of Israeli politics has been the same: “There is no Palestinian partner for peace.” This week, the first of hundreds of leaked confidential Palestinian documents confirmed the suspicions of a growing number of observers that the rejectionists in the peace process are to be found on the Israeli, not Palestinian, side.more
Refugee rights of little concern to PA, documents reveal
Electronic Intifada: 25 Jan 2011 – Al Jazeera has released more leaked documents related to several “core issues,” including the Palestinian refugees’ right of return, as part of the Palestine Papers expos?©.more
Democracy under threat over EI funding, Dutch groups say
Electronic Intifada: 24 Jan 2011 – Foreign Minister of the Netherlands Uri Rosenthal has threatened to punish the Dutch foundation ICCO for its continued funding of The Electronic Intifada. However, ICCO is standing its ground and Dutch civil society organizations are condemning the minister’s tactics.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
BDS: Focus on Israel’s Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Fast Train
Palestine Monitor: 24 Jan 2011 – While Israel’s planned fast train that connects Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in a quick 28 minutes will be welcomed by weary commuters, it spells further land confiscation from villages bordering the ever-irrelevant Green Line. The website WhoProfits.org, has been focusing its pressure and attention on the Italian based construction company, Pizzarotti & Co. since they joined Israel’s development project to build a fast train connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, cutting through Palestinian land. According a report published by whoprofits.org last year, the railway will lie on 6 kilometers of Palestinian land and have destructive consequences for three Palestinian communities that border the official–if disregarded–boundary between the Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. While on the one hand the train further blurs the line between the two countries, on the other it reinforces the segregation between Israelis and Palestinians: the train will be exclusive for Israeli citizens. As such, the train…more
The Palestine Papers: Offering Palestine
Palestine Chronicle: 25 Jan 2011 – By Ramzy Baroud The Palestine Papers had damaged whatever little credibility the Ramallah-based authority still enjoyed among Palestinians The Palestine Papers, the 1,300 leaked documents that Aljazeera began publishing starting January 23, are the Palestinian response to the Israeli ‘generous offer’, an Israeli diplomatic ruse that was aimed at discrediting Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat following the collapse of the Camp David talks of July 25, 2000. But unlike the fictitious Israeli ‘generous offer’, the Palestinian offer, as revealed by Aljazeera, was barely a testament to the spirit of the famed Arab generosity, but a series of decided and embarrassing concessions that, at times, took even the Israelis by surprise. Over a decade has passed since Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak reportedly made his ‘generous offer”, only to be met by “Arafat’s recalcitrance” (L.A. Times editorial, April 08, 2002) and “Palestinian rejectionism” (Mortimer Zuckerman, U.S. News & World Report, March, 22,…more
Palestine Papers: Israel’s Peacemakers Unmasked
Palestine Chronicle: 25 Jan 2011 – By Jonathan Cook – Nazareth For more than a decade, since the collapse of the Camp David talks in 2000, the mantra of Israeli politics has been the same: ‘There is no Palestinian partner for peace.’ This week, the first of hundreds of leaked confidential Palestinian documents confirmed the suspicions of a growing number of observers that the rejectionists in the peace process are to be found on the Israeli, not Palestinian, side. Some of the most revealing papers, jointly released by Al-Jazeera television and Britain’s Guardian newspaper, date from 2008, a relatively hopeful period in recent negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. At the time, Ehud Olmert was Israel’s prime minister and had publicly committed himself to pursuing an agreement on Palestinian statehood. He was backed by the United States administration of George W Bush, which had revived the peace process in late 2007 by hosting the Annapolis conference….more
Deliberate Damage — A Poem
Palestine Chronicle: 25 Jan 2011 – By Eugene Sigaloff ‘Light ’em up,’ says the lifelike puppet. ‘That’s good,’ says the satisfied puppet master, ‘It looks as if it walks and talks on its own, Using words like these, Catchy words like these– Disengaged to prevent regret, Disengaged to prevent despair– As if it actually thinks on its own; From its platform in the sky it can aim and fire, It can fill soft heathen bodies with burning metal, “Lighting them up” like Christmas trees, Flesh incandescent, Flesh sizzling like a Sunday roast, Blood spreading like the leaves of poinsettias, Blood and flesh decorating the heathen streets, It can do this so un-traumatically, Without pain or strain, With a virtual inner buzz, A virtual inner glow of exhilaration; This puppet has learned well, This puppet is proud, This puppet is almost human.’ And the puppet master, Thinking he was more than a puppet, Went to a self-congratulatory…more
Turkel Commission Endorses Law of the Jungle
Palestine Chronicle: 24 Jan 2011 – By Deepak Tripathi Now this is the Law of the Jungle–as old and as true as the sky; And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth forward and back– For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack. —— Rudyard Kipling, The Law of the Jungle, 1894 Tales of oppressors and oppressed abound in human folklore. According to one, there in the Valley of Outlaws was an unfortunate village traumatized by a marauder and a handful in his band. That democracy ruled the flock was their favorite boast and that no outsider was allowed to join them was their absolute insistence. The chief had long proclaimed that everything outside the flock was theirs —— so God had willed, he claimed. Hence…more
The “Palestine Papers” Revealed
Dissident Voice: 25 Jan 2011 – On January 23, Al Jazeera released breaking news on its extensive “Palestine Papers” coverage, introducing them, saying: It “obtained more than 1,600 internal documents from a decade of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations,” writer, Gregg Carlstrom, explaining that: Over the last several months, Al Jazeera has been given unhindered access to the largest-ever leak of confidential documents related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They include “nearly 1,700 files, (and) thousands of pages of diplomatic correspondence detailing the inner workings of” peace process negotiations. Included (from 1999 — 2010) were “emails, maps, minutes of private meetings, accounts of high level exchanges, strategy papers and even power point presentations….” Releasing them from January 23 — 26, they reveal information about: — the PA’s willingness to concede all East Jerusalem settlements except one; — PA “creativ(ity)” about Islam’s third holiest site, Haram al-Sharif (Nobel Sanctuary), what Jews call the Temple Mount; — compromise on the right of…more
Will Egypt Be the Next Domino to Fall?
Dissident Voice: 25 Jan 2011 – Ever since the Tunisian uprising managed to topple the dictatorship of former president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and the people in the Arab world are wondering if the Tunisian scenario could be repeated in their countries. Egyptians responded to the news of the overthrow of the regime in Tunisia with great joy and astonishment at the same time. To most Arabs, Tunisia is another Arab country ruled by similar authoritarian regime such as theirs. Tunisians are seen as Arab brothers who share with the Egyptians or Jordanians or Algerians for that matter the same political grievances and aspirations. And if Tunisians have succeeded in revolting against the oppressive regime that has been ruling them for 23 years, why can’t Algerians or Egyptians do the same and revolt against many years of authoritarianism? Egyptians were surprised by the news of the Tunisian revolution for the fact that they were not used…more
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The New Dark Age 
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