27 January, 2011 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
PA-Controlled Office Sacked in Gaza
IMEMC – Thursday January 27, 2011 – 19:30, Unidentified vandals broke into the Palestinian Authority-controlled Civil Administration building in northern Gaza ransacking the office, on Thursday morning, Ma’an News reported.
Settlers Murder 19 Year Old Near Nablus
IMEMC – Thursday January 27, 2011 – 16:07, A 19 year old man from the village of Iraq Burin, near Nablus, has been shot and killed, on Thursday, by settlers.
B’Tselem Report Indicates Rise in Home Demolitions in 2010
IMEMC – Thursday January 27, 2011 – 15:48, Demolitions by Israel of Palestinian homes in the West Bank tripled in 2010, figures from an Israeli human rights group showed on Wednesday, with a big increase in demolitions in the Jordan Valley.
Anti Al-Jazeera Protest in Nablus
IMEMC – Thursday January 27, 2011 – 14:42, A protest was held in the city of Nablus, on Thursday morning, against the recent release of documents by al-Jazeera, the PNN reported.
Palestine Papers: “PA Delayed UN Vote On Goldstone Report”
IMEMC – Thursday January 27, 2011 – 11:55, In the latest revelation to come out of the 1,600 Palestine-Israel peace process documents leaked this week by news outlets al-Jazeera and The Guardian, a transcript from 2009 shows that the Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas intentionally delayed a vote by the United Nations Human Rights Council on supporting the Goldstone Report on human rights violations by Israel and Hamas during the Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2008-9.
Settlers Torch Palestinian Vehicle In Nablus
IMEMC – Thursday January 27, 2011 – 11:46, A group of extremist settlers torched, on Thursday at dawn, a Palestinian vehicle in Einabus village, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
Erekat Names Former CIA, MI6 Agents as Source of Leaks
IMEMC – Thursday January 27, 2011 – 11:21, Speaking on the al-Jazeera program “Without Borders,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat named al-Jazeera reporter—and alleged former CIA agent—Clayton Swisher and former MI6 agent Alastair Crooke as the source of the Palestine Papers.
Protests Continue While Egypt’s Security Forces Resort To More Violence
IMEMC – Thursday January 27, 2011 – 10:23, As the massive protests against the Egyptian regime of America’s ally, Hosni Mubarak, continued in Cairo and several other Egyptian cities, the Egyptian Police and Security Forces have escalated their violence against the protesters in an attempt to end them.
Medics: Settler kills Palestinian protester
1/28/2011 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — An Israeli settler killed a young Palestinian protester in the northern West Bank on Thursday, officials said. Medics identified the victim as Ady Maher Qadous, 19. He suffered several gunshots to the chest and died of internal bleeding at Rafidiyeh Hospital in Nablus, they said. Approximately 70 villagers and other locals….
Medics: Gaza ordnance explodes, killing child
1/28/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Ordnance left behind in Israel’s war on Gaza exploded Wednesday and killed a Palestinian child, medics said. Basel Adwan, 13, died after the weaponry detonated near the Sofa crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, medical officials said. No other details were immediately available….
Detentions of protesters in Nabi Saleh
1/27/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Residents from the village of An-Nabi Saleh said an overnight Israeli raid on the village saw a young man and a teenager detained Thursday and taken to an unknown location. An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that two were detained overnight, adding that they were “wanted for involvement in violent and illegal….
Teenager ‘arrested’ en route to Israeli jail
1/27/2011 – HEBRON (Ma’an) – A Palestinian activist said Wednesday that Israeli forces detained a teenager on his way to visit his brother, who is serving time in Eshel prison in Beer Sheva. Human rights activist Muhammad Awad said soldiers west of Hebron stopped a bus carrying Palestinian families to visit their children in jail. The….
Israel to fund repairs in East Jerusalem
1/27/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel’s Jerusalem municipality will budget NIS 21 million shekels to repair and pave roads in the eastern part of the city. Israel Radio reported Wednesday that the municipality’s finance committee approved the project this week. Its city council was expected to approve the measure. Deputy Mayor and….
Report: Goldstone sidelined at US request
1/27/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel urged the Palestinian Authority to outlaw Hamas as a political and social movement, while the US pressured the government into postponing a vote on the Goldstone report, according to the latest batch of leaked documents published on Wednesday. Al-Jazeera television revealed documents it said showed that the PA agreed to defer a….
Report: Palestinian protesters enter UK embassy
1/27/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A group of Palestinian academics and students have entered the Palestinian embassy in London calling for a right of representation, the General Union of Palestinian Students said Thursday. A group within the union, which is campaigning for direct elections to the Palestine National Council, made a number of demands.” We are….
Fatah fighters point fingers at PA for assassination
1/27/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Fatah-aligned Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades named names on Thursday, identifying four PA officials who they said were behind the 2005 assassination of a leader within the militant wing. Former Fatah strongman in Gaza Muhammad Dahlan topped the list, along with PA security forces leaders Naser Yousef, Samir Al-Mashharawi, and Rashid…. Related: AlJazeera: The al-Madhoun assassination
Single Gaza crossing operates
1/27/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) – Israeli authorities informed the Palestinian liaison office that the Kerem Shalom crossing would be opened on Thursday for the transport of commercial and humanitarian goods into the Strip. Liaison officer Raed Fattouh said he was informed that 170 to 180 trucks loaded with goods would enter, including trucks carrying 20….
Al-Jazeera correspondent in Ramallah resigns
1/28/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Ramallah correspondent for Al-Jazeera International resigned Wednesday, Ma’an has learned. Nour Odeh was the English-language network’s first reporter in the occupied Palestinian territories. She joined in 2006. Odeh declined to comment on her departure. Al-Jazeera International did not return calls. Al-Jazeera has faced loud criticism….
Justice Ministry says it will sue Al-Jazeera
1/27/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Justice said Thursday that it was preparing to file a suit against Al-Jazeera for its publication of documents that “aimed at tarnishing the image” of the government. The news station, along with the The Guardian newspaper, began publishing a set of 1,600 leaked documents said to….
PLO seeks foreign help to prove leaks
1/27/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Palestinian officials said Thursday they have asked Britain, France and the United States for help in investigating people from those countries it believes may have leaked hundreds of documents to Al-Jazeera.” We have asked those countries to examine legal avenues that would allow those individuals to be brought over,” chief PLO….
In photos: Jericho excavations uncover ancient domain
1/27/2011 – MaanImages / Haytham Othman – A team of Palestinian and US archaeologists began excavation work at the ruins of Hisham’s Palace in the West Bank city of Jericho at the start of the New Year. On January 24, 2010, a new site north of the palace was discovered. The palace was built on the northern….
PA-controlled office in Gaza ransacked
1/28/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Unknown assailants entered the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority-controlled Civil Administration building in the northern Gaza Strip early Thursday morning, sacking the office, officials said. The Civil Administration, which in Gaza remains under the control of the West Bank Palestinian Authority government, is charged with coordinating with Israel on matters….
Hamas calls for restructuring of the PLO
1/27/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Protests erupted in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday night, with Hamas leaders calling on figures in the Palestine Liberation Organization to resign, saying leaked information on talks with Israel had revealed them as traitors to the Palestinians. Effigies of President Mahmoud Abbas, whose legitimacy as leader of the Palestinians….
Hariri seeks guarantees as Lebanon PM forms govt
1/27/2011 – BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanon’s prime minister designate Najib Mikati on Thursday began talks on forming a new government as his rivals sought a commitment on a UN court at the centre of a dispute that brought down the previous cabinet. Outgoing premier Saad Hariri’s Future Movement said Mikati, who is backed by….
Correcting a twin tragedy in the Galilee
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Jerusalem – The conflicting narratives of Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs are often seen as a zero-sum game in which one people’s gain is the other’s loss. But the story of the de-populated Jewish village of…
From Tunis to Cairo?
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Do the large and angry demonstrations in Egypt mean that I was wrong to predict that the revolution in Tunisia wouldn’t spread? Not yet, but I will be watching events closely and developments there could eventually…
A new Arab street in post-Islamist times
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – The popular uprising in Tunisia has surprised many — Western observers, theArab elites, and even those who have generated this remarkable episode. Thesurprise seems justified. How could one imagine that a campaign of ordinaryTunisians in just…
Getting real about democratic reform in the Arab world
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – One year ago this week, a United States Institute of Peace report warned that the widening moral, ideological and social gap between regimes and societies had left Arab regimes vulnerable to “systemic domestic crises and exogenous…
ElBaradei arrives in Egypt
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Al Jazeera – Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the UN nuclear watchdog turned democracy advocate, has arrived in Egypt amid escalating political unrest in the country. ElBaradei, 68, returned to the country on Thursday from…
Obama’s Risky Path in Egypt
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Leslie H. Gelb , The Daily Beast – Obama administration officials say they are not taking sides between President Hosni Mubarak, America’s key ally in the Arab world, and the street protesters who purportedly represent a path…
JORDAN: King calls for political, economic reforms after weeks of demonstrations
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Los Angeles Times – Following two weeks of demonstrations in various cities across Jordan against high commodity prices and government policies, the country’s ruler King Abdullah II said on Wednesday that it’s time to bring about…
More document leaks show U.S. pressure, Palestinian frustrations
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Los Angeles Times – Al Jazeera’s latest leak of hundreds of secret Palestinian negotiating papers is providing the kind of fly-on-the-wall insights to Mideast peace talks that usually only emerge many years later in the autobiographies…
Israelis act out Palestinian independence push
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Alert Net – An Israeli simulation of reactions to the Palestinian push to declare independence concluded on Thursday that it would isolate and divide Israel but that big powers would not rush to recognise a state…
Blazing cedars
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Editor, The Economist – ANYWHERE else one might expect bank runs or a stockmarket crash. But in Lebanon the toppling of a Western-backed coalition that recorded five years of solid economic growth and its replacement with…
Hezbollah’s Rise to Power Is ‘a Disaster for Lebanon’
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Der Spiegel – The Lebanese parliament backed Najib Mikati, the billionaire businessman nominated by Hezbollah, as prime minister on Tuesday, spurring violent protests by Sunni youths who accused the movement of staging a de facto coup…
Papering over the problem in Palestine
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – As the Palestinian leadership struggles to contain the damage caused by Al Jazeera’s release of leaked documents detailing years of their negotiations with Israel, there is one lesson that risks being buried in all of the…
The Power Of Social Media In Egypt (And Its Downside)
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Luke Allnutt, RFE/R L – The mass protests in Egypt are another interesting case study in how social media are used by protesters. A number of familiar but interesting examples have been reported, although it’s hard…
Letter From Beirut: Crime and Punishment in the Levant
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Michael Young, Foreign Affairs – In bringing down its government last week, did Lebanon just witness a coup d’etat or did it narrowly dodge civil war? Either way, Damascus, Tehran, and Washington are all watching. Over…
ElBaradei’s last stand
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Alaa Bayoumi, Al Jazeera – The return of Mohamed ElBaradei to Egypt a year ago and him joining the ranks of its political opposition created lots of expectations and frustration. He has been seen as an…
Thousands of Palestinians march in Gaza against PA President Abbas
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Haaretz – Several thousand Palestinians in Hamas-ruled Gaza marched against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday, calling him a traitor. Several thousand Palestinians marched in two Gaza towns in the Wednesday protests. Demonstrators hoisted effigies of…
Erakat: U.S., British citizens are responsible for leaking Palestine papers
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Haaretz – Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Wednesday in an interview with the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television that a U.S. citizen, who worked in the U.S. State Department, and a British citizen, a former MI6 and…
Palestine papers: U.S. pressured Palestinians to defer UN resolution on Goldstone report
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Haaretz – The Palestinian Authority agreed to defer a UN resolution supporting a Gaza war report criticizing Israel in return for Mideast peace talks assurances, leaked negotiation minutes, known as the Palestine papers, indicated on Wednesday….
Evgeny Morozov: Authoritarian Governments Have Immensely Benefited From The Web
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – RFE/RL – Evgeny Morozov, a noted specialist on the use of new communications technologies to promote democratic values, has a new book titled “The Net Delusion: The Dark Side Of Internet Freedom.” In it, he argues…
Next Premier of Lebanon Tries to Set His Own Course
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – New York Times – Najib Mikati, a billionaire backed by Hezbollah to become prime minister of Lebanon , promised on Wednesday to forge good relations with the United States and declared that he would not interfere with…
As Arabs protest, Obama administration offers assertive support
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Washington Pos t – The Obama administration is openly supporting the anti-government demonstrations shaking the Arab Middle East, a stance that is far less tempered than the one the president has taken during past unrest in…
Turkey’s growing ties with Arab world
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – BBC – Drawing on his training as a Muslim cleric, Mr Erdogan elicited cries of “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great) as he launched into a passionate tirade against Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians in…
Egypt braces for further day of protests
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – BBC News – Authorities in Egypt are bracing for the possibility of further protests, following two days of unrest that have left at least four people dead. On Wednesday night, activists remained on the streets of…
Palestinian Authority versus Al Jazeera: Damage control seems to be working
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Los Angeles Times – The Palestinian Authority has mobilized its forces, hidden and otherwise, to head off serious fallout from the publication of secret negotiation documents leaked to Qatar’s Al Jazeera. The satellite TV station has…
Egyptian stock market stumbles amid nationwide turbulence
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Los Angeles Times – Days of unrest and protests forced a temporary suspension of trading in Egypt’s stock market on Thursday, as the nation’s index EGX30 hit its lowest level in more than six months. “The…
Could Suez be Egypt’s Sidi Bouzid?
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Alert Net – Mosaics lining the road to Suez glorify Egypt’s achievements in a 1973 war with Israel but, further on, toppled billboards, charred signposts and shattered glass stand as monuments to a more recent conflict….
Bad neighbourhood risks getting worse for Israel
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Crispian Balmer, Alert Net – Israel is sitting uneasily in the eye of a storm as unrest and uncertainty spread around its Arab neighbours. Political turmoil in Lebanon has strengthened Israel’s Iranian-backed enemy Hezbollah, while a…
Ehud Olmert gives account of key meeting with Palestinian president
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – The Guardian – The memoirs of Ehud Olmert , the former prime minister of Israel , are to be published shortly, to add to the deluge of recent material on negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Yedioth Ahronoth,…
Little recourse for victims of gender-based violence in Occupied Territories
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Alert Net – Gender-based violence in the occupied Palestinian territory remains at epidemic levels, according to UN agencies, local NGOs and women, while victims lack legal recourse and often face a family backlash for reporting crimes….
Thousands in Yemen Protest Against the Government
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – New York Times – Yemen , one of the Middle East’s most impoverished countries and a haven for Al Qaeda militants, became the latest Arab state to see mass protests, as thousands of Yemenis took to the…
Revealed: story of Israeli troops told to ‘cleanse’ Gaza
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – Channel 4 News – Nurit Kedar’s film, Concrete, hears from Israeli soldiers who blame their military leaders for encouraging a “disproportionate” response to Hamas’s rockets. They claim their commanders used to “psych up” soldiers before an…
Mass street protests in Egypt
Palestine Note 27 Jan 2011 – An August 2009 Council on Foreign Relations Steven Cook report headlined, “Political Instability in Egypt,” saying: Facing possible instability, (m)ost analysts believe that the current Egyptian regime will muddle through its myriad challenges and endure indefinitely (…
Egypt prepares for fresh protests
AlJazeera 27 Jan 2011 – Internet and SMS services reportedly disrupted and Muslim Brotherhood members arrested ahead of planned demonstrations.
ElBaradei arrives in Egypt
AlJazeera 27 Jan 2011 – Democracy advocate returns to country to join anti-Mubarak protests, the latest of which has claimed one life.
Lebanon calm after ‘day of rage’
AlJazeera 26 Jan 2011 – Roads opened and barriers removed in Beirut while the PM-designate attempts to form a new government.
AlJazeera – The Palestine Papers
PA’s foreknowledge of the Gaza war?
AlJazeera – The Palestine Papers27 Jan 2011 – Did the PA know about the Gaza war in advance? That’s a question raised by several exchanges in The Palestine Papers.
PA stonewalled the Goldstone vote
AlJazeera – The Palestine Papers26 Jan 2011 – PA, with US encouragement, delayed a UN vote on the Goldstone Report into war crimes committed during Israel’s Gaza war.
The threat of a one-state solution
AlJazeera – The Palestine Papers26 Jan 2011 – PA negotiators are increasingly proposing an idea that’s met with derision from Israelis, sharp criticism from the US.
A glimpse into the negotiation room
AlJazeera – The Palestine Papers26 Jan 2011 – Playful banter, inappropriate jokes and bizarre rants: We take you through the “lighter side” of The Palestine Papers.
The PA vs. Al Jazeera
AlJazeera – The Palestine Papers26 Jan 2011 – Al Jazeera receives numerous mentions, none of them flattering, in this trove of Palestinian documents.
Erekat “told Amr Moussa to behave”
AlJazeera – The Palestine Papers26 Jan 2011 – PA is bluntly critical of many Arab states, particularly Egyptian efforts to broker a deal between Hamas and Fatah.
PA lobbying blocked Shalit swap
AlJazeera – The Palestine Papers26 Jan 2011 – The PA blocked potential prisoner swaps that would have freed thousands of Palestinians and Shalit.
“The region is slipping away”
AlJazeera – The Palestine Papers26 Jan 2011 – Documents reveal a Palestinian Authority that’s critical, mistrustful and fearful of Arab neighbours.
Settlers Execute 18-year-old Boy in Araq Burin, Near Nablus
PNN – Nablus — PNN – Israeli settlers near the village of Araq Burin, near Nablus in the northern West Bank, executed an 18-year-old boy with a single gunshot to the chest on Thursday…
Settler Attacks Increase across West Bank
PNN – Bethlehem — PNN – Settlers attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank governorates of Bethlehem, Nablus, and Hebron increased sharply on Thursday. The Palestinian state-run news agency Wafa reported that Israeli settlers…
Convicted in Shooting of Bound Palestinian, Israeli Soldier Temporarily Ineligible for Promotion
PNN – Tel Aviv — PNN – Lieutenant Colonel Omri Burberg, the Israeli soldier convicted of shooting Ashraf Abu Rahma at close range while he was bound and blindfolded in the village of Ni’lin,…
Erekat Fingers Former CIA, MI6 Agents as Source of Leaks
PNN – Jerusalem — PNN – Speaking on the Al Jazeera program “Without Borders,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat named Al Jazeera reporter—and alleged former CIA agent—Clayton Swisher and former MI6 agent Alistair Crooke…
Settlers Burn Palestinian Car in Nablus
PNN – Nablus — PNN – Israeli settlers burned a car belonging to a Palestinian from the village of Aynabus, near Nablus, on Thursday morning. Ghassan Douglas, the Palestinian Authority (PA) official in charge…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (20-26 January 2011)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
‘Arab Uprisings an Incredible Moment of Liberty’
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – Noted Middle East Expert Fouad Ajami says recent uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen represent “avalanche on the autocracies of the Arab world.”
Thousands rally against PA in Gaza after PaliLeaks
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – Demonstrations also take place in West Bank organized by Abbas’s Fatah factions; PA requests int’l assistance in investigating who leaked secret documents.
Legally and ethically, Galant cannot hold the top IDF post
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – Analysis: Should Weinstein decide to defend Galant against the petition, it is the High Court which will have the final say.
‘We’re living on a volcano,’ experts warn
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – As with Iran in ’79, Islamists could hijack pro-democracy movements; “We are on thick ice, but even that melts eventually,” former IDF research chief says.
ElBaradei arrives in Egypt vowing to oust Mubarak
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – Massive protests expected; Muslim Brotherhood set to join demonstrations;’My priority right now is to see a new regime,’ says former IAEA head.
Ben-Eliezer: Mubarak regime, peace will endure
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – “I have no doubt that the situation in Egypt is under control, our relations with Egypt are strategic and intimate,” Labor MK tells ‘Post.’
Bill Clinton: Israel has never had better peace partner
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – Speaking at Davos World Economic Forum, former US president says public on both sides would support peace agreement.
Human rights in retreat again in Middle East in 2010
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – Jordan continues to arbitrarily withdraw citizenship from people of Palestinian origin, NGO reports.
Likely US presidential candidate Huckabee to arrive
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – Fast on heels of Mitt Romney’s Holy Land visit, rival for Republican nomination coming to Israel; scheduled to meet with Netanyahu.
Ya’alon: Hizbullah has agents in Gaza training terrorists
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – Vice Premier says Shi’ite group has infiltrated Strip through Egypt and also is active in West Bank, paying operatives; Hamas spokesman denies claims: “All the factions in Gaza are Palestinians.”
Galant: I didn’t lie and I don’t intend on resigning
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – State comptroller’s findings on IDF chief-designate reveal multiple improprieties in land dealings that could derail appointment.
El Baradei: I am ready to lead protests in Egypt
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – Pro-democracy advocate returns amidst unrest; Muslim Brotherhood throws support behind demonstrations; Mubarak’s party dismissive of protesters: “The minority does not force its will on the majority.”
Gallery: Fatah rally in the West Bank
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – PA Negotiator Saeb Erekat calls on US, Britain, and France to bring three of their nationals for questioning about “Palestine Papers.”
US envoy to Syria: We want to improve relations
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – Robert Ford is the first US ambassador to Syria in over five years, “proof that US is committed to solve problems between our governments.”
New Lebanon PM Mikati says he’s committed to US ties
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – Billionaire chosen by Hizbullah meets US envoy; Syria FM urges all sides to join unity gov’t; Hague discusses threat of Iranian nuclear program.
IDF investigates claim that settlers killed Palestinian boy
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – Palestinian sources say Uday Quddus, 19, died in the hospital after being shot in the chest by settlers from Yizhar, in a village near Nablus.
Egypt’s protests enter 2nd day, ominous for regime
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – Clinton calls on Mubarak “to implement political, economic and social reforms”; pro-democracy opposition leader returns from exile; 860 in prison, social networks and cell phones disrupted.
ElBaradei returns to Egypt calling for democracy
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – Self-exiled opposition leader publishes manifesto for toppling Mubarak regime: “It is time for a change; the only option is a new beginning.”
Erekat: ‘Iran is playing games, using Hamas as a card’
Jeruslalem Post 27 Jan 2011 – According to leaked “Palestine Papers” Abbas asked Palestinian businessman to donate millions to Iranian opposition radio station; says two-state solution necessary for promoting moderation and fighting extremists in the region.
British author Ian McEwan says no to boycott call
Jeruslalem Post 26 Jan 2011 – “I’m for dialogue, engagement, and looking for ways in which literature can reach across political divides,” says recipient of Jerusalem Prize.
International Solidarity Movement
Settlers Kill Palestinian in Iraq Burin
1/27/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – Popular Struggle Coordination Committee – Oday Maher Hamza Qadous, 19 years old, has been killed by settlers while farming his land in Iraq Burin. Army forces have taken over the village of Iraq Burin. 19 year old Oday Maher Hamza Qadous was shot to death this afternoon while farming his land in Iraq Burin near Nablus…. Related: PSCC
IDF commander involved in shooting bound Palestinian evades jail term
1/27/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – YNet News – Lieutenant-Colonol Omri Borberg breathed a sigh of relief Thursday after evading demotion, but residents of Naalin have no plans to let the sentence slide. Ashraf Abu Rahma, the Palestinian who was shot while bound and blindfolded, was extremely upset upon hearing the judges’ ruling.”The officer committed a crime, the court’…. Related: YNet: Palestinians slam Borberg sentence
Former vice mayor of Hadera suspected of serial rape
Ha’aretz – Originally arrested on suspicion of real estate corruption, during Sami Levy’s interrogation, police have come to suspect him of raping women who came to him for aid.
State comptroller: Incoming IDF chief illegally took over public land
Ha’aretz – Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant has been embroiled in scandal over claims that he had seized land near his home on Moshav Amikam.
True life tale of Tel Aviv melting pot school gets Oscar nod
Ha’aretz – Strangers No More, nominated for ‘Best Documentary Short Subject’ gong, features school for children from 48 different countries.
Three Jerusalem teens suspected of raping classmate
Ha’aretz – Alleged victims says her attackers threatened to post incriminating pictures of her around school if she told anyone.
Public Security Minister demands additional 2,000 firefighters for Israel’s fire services
Ha’aretz – Yitzhak Aharonovitch says number of firefighters in Israel relative to the population is among lowest in world.
Police: Israeli responsible for shooting death of Palestinian teen
Ha’aretz – Video footage captured near scene of shooting shows group of Palestinians attacking man, who responds by firing at them; police continue to investigate, search after shooter.
Vice PM: Hezbollah agents infiltrated Gaza to train militants
Ha’aretz – Former IDF chief Moshe Yaalon says Hezbollah has been in Gaza since Israel’s 2005 withdrawal; Hamas spokesman denies claim.
Israeli Minister: Mubarak regime will prevail in Egypt, despite protests
Ha’aretz – Egyptian security apparatus will use required force to retain control, says a minister in the Netanyahu government who insists on maintaining anonymity.
Palestinians: Rock-throwing teen shot dead by West Bank settlers
Ha’aretz – Suspects deny opening fire on an 18-year-old at their settlement near the West Bank city of Nablus; IDF investigating reports., Despite prosecution’s request for active prison service, IDF court rules…
Palestine papers: U.S. pressured Palestinians to defer UN resolution on Goldstone report
Ha’aretz – Al Jazeera releases new documents showing chief PA negotiator was convinced to delay a damning report on Israel’s conduct during the Gaza war in order to restart Mideast peace talks.
PA negotiator: U.S., British citizens are responsible for leaking Palestine papers
Ha’aretz – Erekat claims that a U.S. citizen, who currently works for Al-Jazeera, and a British citizen, a former MI6 and EU official, leaked the secret Mideast documents.
New Jerusalem tunnel will damage Temple Mount, Palestinians say
Ha’aretz – Despite Israeli claims to the contrary, parts of tunnel pass just meters from the Western Wall.
Israeli maniac settlers kill Palestinian teen
27 Jan 2011 – Palestine, (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli settlers have shot dead a Palestinian teenager during an anti-settlement protest near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
Mass Street Protests in Egypt
Uruknet January 27, 2011 – August 2009 Council on Foreign Relations Steven Cook report headlined, “Political Instability in Egypt,” saying: Facing possible instability, (m)ost analysts believe that the current Egyptian regime will muddle through its myriad challenges and endure indefinitely (with) enough coercive power to ensure” it. It’s also “entering a period of political transition. President Hosni Mubarak is (81)…
Al-Awda Condemns Betrayal by Unelected Palestinian leadership
Uruknet January 27, 2011 – Palestinians around the world and all their supporters watched in shock, but not total surprise as secret documents, “The Palestine Papers”, detailing carefully the years of so called peace negotiations were released by the news network Al-Jazeera during the last few days. While Palestinians are struggling to win back their rights to their homes and…
Video: Israeli soldiers told to ‘cleanse’ Gaza – C4 News exclusive
Uruknet January 27, 2011 – Exclusive: Israeli soldiers tell Channel 4 News they were ordered to “cleanse” Palestinian neighbourhoods, as filmmaker Nurit Kedar says “the atmosphere was that nobody should talk about this war”…
Fatah fighters point fingers at PA for assassination
Uruknet January 27, 2011 — The Fatah-aligned Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades named names on Thursday, identifying four PA officials who they said were behind the 2005 assassination of a leader within the militant wing. Former Fatah strongman in Gaza Muhammad Dahlan topped the list, along with PA security forces leaders Naser Yousef, Samir Al-Mashharawi, and Rashid Abu Shabak. The four, Al-Aqsa…
The US role as Israel’s enablerGeorge Mitchell’s message means the United States is out of touch with Palestinian realities.
Uruknet January 27, 2011 – The Palestine Papers give the world an unprecedented look inside the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, but they also provide a fly-on-the-wall view of how key senior American officials view their role as negotiators which, as the paprs show, apparently means never taking any position to which an Israeli government might object. The series of six documents…
Mohamed ElBaradei lands in Cairo: ‘There’s no going back’Supporters insist Egypt’s people will make change from below
Uruknet January 27, 2011 – Many in Egypt are accusing Mohamed ElBaradei of being a latecomer but in the end flight MS 798 from Vienna landed in Cairo 15 minutes ahead of schedule, carrying with it a man ready to assume the presidency. Egypt’s beleaguered regime was waiting. Dozens of metal traffic barriers manned by plainclothes state security officers had…
The Palestine Papers and what they reveal about the US/Israeli agenda
Uruknet January 27, 2011 – 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,…
The Palestine Papers: our red lines have been crossed
Uruknet January 27, 2011 – Around 1,600 documents about the Palestinian- Israeli secret negotiations have leaked so far. Unfortunately, we do not have any photos of the meetings. Some Palestinians were anxious to see photos because they thought that the Palestinian Authority team could not have been seated at a round table during the negotiations, but rather they were bending…
Israeli Forces Arrest Two Palestinian Boys, Ages 11 and 12, in Beit Ommar
Uruknet January 27, 2011 – On Thursday, January 27th at 2pm, two army jeeps full of Israeli soldiers entered the Palestinian village of Beit Ommar in the southern West Bank, and arrested two Palestinian boys, Bilal Mahmood Awad, age 12, and Hamza Ahmed Abu Hashem age 11. The boys were arrested while they were playing football not far from their…
The Ricin Plot, and Why the Government’s Terrorism Review Ignores the Dangers of Secret Evidence
Uruknet January 27, 2011 – With fortunate timing, an event is taking place tonight at Amnesty International’s Human Rights Action Centre in London, which sheds light on an unjust, but largely unexplored corner of the government’s counter-terrorism policies that was not mentioned in the policy changes announced yesterday by Home Secretary Theresa May. As I explain in a separate article…
Ministry of Interior in Gaza Confiscates Copies of Novels Claiming Their Violation Islamic Shari’a
Uruknet January 27, 2011 – On Sunday, 23 January 2011, the police General Investigation Bureau (GIB) in Gaza City confiscated copies of two novels: “Chicago” and “Banquet for Seaweed.” The confiscation was based on a decision issued by the Ministry of Interior. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) denounces and calls for stopping these measures, which violate the right…
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (20-26 January 2011)
Uruknet January 27, 2011 – Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (20 — 26 January 2011): During the reporting period, IOF killed a Palestinian man and wounded 3 others, including a child, in the West Bank. A Palestinian civilian was also killed and another two ones were wounded by the…
Medics: Settler kills Palestinian protester
Uruknet January 27, 2011 – An Israeli settler killed a young Palestinian protester in the northern West Bank on Thursday, officials said. Medics identified the victim as Ady Maher Qadous, 19. He suffered several gunshots to the chest and died of internal bleeding at Rafidiyeh Hospital in Nablus, they said. Approximately 70 villagers and other locals had marched out toward…
Protesters torch Egypt police post
Uruknet January 27, 2011 – Angry demonstrators in Egypt have torched a police post in the eastern city of Suez, where violence between police and protesters has racheted up amid a security crackdown. Police fled the post before protesters used petrol bombs to set it on fire Thursday morning, witnesses told the Reuters news agency. Police in Suez responded to…
Palestine Papers: Don’t get mad, Palestinians. Get even
Uruknet January 26, 2011 – See this embarrassment as your big chance — a God-sent opportunity to sweep away the shameful Palestinian Authority (PA). Take the garbage out and bin it. Then make a fresh start. Bypass Israel and its twisted backers and deal direct with those responsible, the United Nations. Don’t think that you are the only ones with…
BDS: Focus on Israel’s Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Fast Train
Uruknet January 26, 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…
In the Chaos, Let’s Not Forget about Israel
Uruknet January 26, 2011 – As Palestinians bicker over who has sold out and who should step down following the release of the Palestine Papers, another separate but still relevant thought occurred to me the other day as I was crossing the infamous Qalandiya checkpoint on my way home. If there is one constant thread in this insane situation where…
Egypt blocks social media websites in attempted clampdown on unrest
Uruknet January 26, 2011 – Internet sites such as Twitter and Facebook were cut off within Egypt today as the government of President Hosni Mubarak tried to prevent social media from being used to foment unrest. Many sites registered in Egypt could not be reached from outside, according to Herdict.org, a website where users report access problems. Twitter, YouTube, Hotmail,…
Documents reveal PA-Israel collaboration to target resistance
Uruknet January 26, 2011 – Details on the growing security cooperation between the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, the United States and the United Kingdom were revealed yesterday, the third day of Al Jazeera network’s release of more than 1,600 internal documents and secret correspondence from the last decade of negotiations between the Israeli government, the Palestinian Authority and the United States….
B’Tselem: Israeli home demolitions up in ’10
Uruknet January 26, 2011— Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank tripled in 2010, figures from an Israeli human rights group showed on Wednesday, with a leap in the number in the Jordan Valley. Annual figures published by B’Tselem showed that Israel demolished 86 homes across the West Bank in 2010, compared with 28 a year earlier….
ElBaradei returns to Egypt to join anti-Mubarak protest
The National 28 Jan 2011 – As a senior official close to the Egyptian president said the government was ‘ready for a dialogue’ with protesters, the man seen as a possible next leader of the country flew in to Cairo.
Latest ‘Palestine Papers’ leaks show US/PA collusion in Gaza vote
The National 28 Jan 2011 – Hamas reacts with anger at suggestion that In return for diplomatic support from the US, Palestine Authority leaders agreed to delay vote in UN condemning Israel for its invasion of Gaza Strip in 2008.
Egypt’s rulers offer no concessions as protesters receive double boost
The National 28 Jan 2011 – As Mohammed ElBaradei, Egypt’s top pro-democracy advocate, was returning to the country tonight, the country¬øs largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, also threw its support behind the demonstrators.
New Tunisian Cabinet keeps PM, purges old guard ministers
Daily Star 27 Jan 2011 TUNIS: Tunisian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghannouchi kept his job Thursday in a reshuffle that replaced 12 ministers, purging the interim government of members of the ruling party including the interior, foreign and defense ministers.”This government is…
U.S. welcomes ECOWAS team on Ivory Coast
Daily Star 27 Jan 2011 WASHINGTON: US National Security Adviser Tom Donilon welcomed an ECOWAS team to the White House Wednesday, after which the parties reaffirmed their hope for a peaceful transition in Ivory Coast. Meanwhile, presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara has…
New U.S. envoy seeks better ties with Syria
Daily Star 27 Jan 2011 DAMASCUS: The first U.S. ambassador to Syria in more than five years said Thursday Washington is committed to improving the two countries’ relationship after years of tension. Robert Ford said after presenting his credentials to President…
Erekat wants to question foreigners over leaks
Daily Star 27 Jan 2011 RAMALLAH: A senior Palestinian official said Thursday that he has asked the U.S., Britain and France to help bring three of their nationals for questioning about the massive leak of confidential Palestinian documents. Chief Palestinian negotiator…
Rights watchdog fears Egypt army violence against protesters
Daily Star 27 Jan 2011 Human Rights Watch fears Egypt’s army may fire on protesters during rallies planned for Friday, the head of the New-York based group said Thursday. “We are enormously fearful that the army would increase violence against protesters…
Could Suez be Egypt’s Sidi Bouzid?
Daily Star 27 Jan 2011 SUEZ, Egypt: Mosaics lining the road to Suez glorify Egypt’s achievements in a 1973 war with Israel but, further on, toppled billboards, charred signposts and shattered glass stand as monuments to a more recent conflict.
Bahrain calls for Arab summit to address region-wide protests
Daily Star 27 Jan 2011 Bahrain called Thursday for an Arab summit to discuss efforts to calm the region amid widening protests in the Arab world while Syria expressed hope that “reason will prevail” in Egypt. The state-run Bahrain News Agency…
Letters: Opposition, intransigence and terrorism in the Middle East
The Guardian 27 Jan 2011 – You publish a letter that I find shocking ( 26 January ), arguing that terrorism is a justified moral response to Israeli intransigence. I have spent long periods in Israel and the Palestinian territories, meeting leaders on both…
Palestinians preventing Middle East peace deal, says Israeli deputy PM
The Guardian 27 Jan 2011 – Moshe Ya’alon says Israel is ‘fed up of giving and giving’ while Palestinians refuse to recognise Jewish nation state An agreement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will not happen in the next “one or two years”,…
Palestinian ambassador to UK’s office taken over by protesters
The Guardian 27 Jan 2011 – Palestinian students hold peaceful sit-in at Hammersmith office of general delegation to Britain over negotiations with Israel The offices of the Palestinian ambassador to the UK have been occupied by a group of students who are…
Palestine papers: Erekat asks US, UK and France for help to find leaker
The Guardian 27 Jan 2011 – Senior Palestinian negotiator says he wants ex-British spy, US journalist and French national to appear before inquiry A senior Palestinian official today said he has asked the US, Britain and France to help bring three of…
Ehud Olmert gives account of key meeting with Palestinian president
The Guardian 27 Jan 2011 – Former Israeli prime minister describes ‘weight of Jewish history on my shoulders’ in talks with Mahmoud Abbas The memoirs of Ehud Olmert, the former prime minister of Israel, are to be published shortly, to add to…
Palestine papers: Gaza report stalled by Palestinian Authority at request of US – video
The Guardian 27 Jan 2011 – Footage from al-Jazeera on the leaked Palestine Papers describes how the US influenced Palestinian negotiators, as anger over the leaks grows in Hamas-contolled Gaza
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (20-26 January 2011)
Relief Web 27 Jan 2011 – Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
OPT: Little recourse for victims of gender-based violence
Relief Web 27 Jan 2011 – Source: Integrated Regional Information Networks
OCHA ROMENACA QUARTERLY REGIONAL HUMANITARIAN FUNDING UPDATE – 4th Quarter October – December 2010
Relief Web 27 Jan 2011 – Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
18 Jan. ’11: Better late than never: even two years since Operation Cast Lead, an independent Israeli investigation is crucial to achieve accountability and prevent future violations
Relief Web 26 Jan 2011 – Source: Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories
MIDEAST: In the Ring, It’s Peaceful Attack
IPS The opening bell resounds through the bomb shelter turned boxing club located in the western part of the city. A Palestinian boxer swiftly jumps from his corner, moves across the ring, trades punches with his Israeli opponent.
Palestinians say settlers killed teenager; IDF: We’re checking
YNet News – Palestinian security officials claim West Bank Jews shot 19 year old in village….
US envoy to Syria: We want to improve relations
YNet News – After presenting credentials to President Assad, Robert Ford says his posting….
El-Baradei to return to Egypt as riots continue
YNet News – Prominent reformist expected to arrive Thursday to support demonstrations….
Palestinians accuse settlers of torching vehicle
YNet News – ‘Eye for an eye — we won’t forget’ spray-painted in Hebrew near burned vehicle;….
Secret memos: Livni chides Fatah over suicide attack
YNet News – Minutes of meeting held in early 2008 between former FM and Palestinian….
Colombia asks Israel to extradite Yair Klein
YNet News – Colombia asked Israel on Thursday to extradite former Israeli army Lt. Col. Yair Klein, who was convicted by a Colombian court and sentenced in absentia to nearly 11 …….
Police: Palestinian shot in self-defense
YNet News – Police said Thursday that a man, apparently a settler, who shot and killed a 19-year old Palestinian Thursday in the West Bank, had been attacked by a group of Arabs and …….
ElBaradei backs protesters in Egypt
YNet News – Activists outraged over unemployment and repression are keeping up the momentum of Egypt’s largest anti-government protests in years, taking to the streets for the third …….
Syria wants unity government in Lebanon
YNet News – The Syrian government called on Lebanon’s divided political leaders on Thursday to join what it described as a unity government led by Prime Minister designate Najib …….
Ni’lin sentencing: army must internalize gravity of incident
B’tselem 26 Jan 2011 – In response to today’s (27 Jan. ’11) sentencing in the Ni’lin affair, B’Tselem reiterates that military justice system’s choice to ignore much more severe cases is what enabled this incident to take place, and expressed hope that the army will internalize
Palestinian Information Center
Gaza minister: Children prove Gaza’s steadfastness
PIC 27 Jan 2011 – Gaza Minister of Culture Osama al-Issawi said that Gaza’s steadfast children proved to the world that it remains strong despite challenges.
IOF troops advance in southern Gaza
PIC 27 Jan 2011 – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) advanced into southern Gaza Strip district of Khan Younis on Thursday morning, local sources reported.
Study shows 38 per cent demolition increase in 2010
PIC 27 Jan 2011 – A study prepared by the Arab Center for Alternative Planning says Israel destroyed 227 Palestinian-owned structures in 2010 in 1948-occupied Palestinian territories.
Dweik, MPs visit Christians for the holidays
PIC 27 Jan 2011 – Delegation of MPs headed by PLC Speaker Aziz Dweik visits Christians during holidays, discuss common issues.
Jewish settlers attack village, burn citizen’s car
PIC 27 Jan 2011 – Jewish settlers attacked the village of Einbaus, southeast of Nablus city, and burnt a car for one of its citizens before fleeing the village, local sources reported.
PA compels West Bankers to go on protests against Al-Jazeera, Qatari Emir
PIC 27 Jan 2011 – Security militia men and civil servants from the Palestinian authority called through loudspeakers of West Bank mosques for going on marches on Thursday to condemn Al-Jazeera satellite channel.
NIS 21m restoration plan to effect Jewish sovereignty in E. J’lem
PIC 27 Jan 2011 – With intent to effect Israeli sovereignty of the city, the Jerusalem municipality has set NIS 21m to build and restore roads there.
Hamas: Al-Jazeera papers proved the PA aborted Goldstone report
PIC 27 Jan 2011 – Hamas said the new papers revealed by Al-Jazeera channel on Wednesday were very serious and proved the PA’s responsibility for withdrawing Goldstone report and its involvement in Gaza war.
Hindi: Concessions on Jerusalem are not surprising
PIC 27 Jan 2011 – Senior Islamic Jihad official says concessions Al-Jazeera leaked are not surprising; pushes for legal action against negotiators.
Palestinian families barred from visiting detainees before being strip searched
PIC 27 Jan 2011 – Some families of Palestinian prisoners said they are deprived of visiting their sons in Israeli jails before they accept to be strip searched by soldiers.
Tens of thousands demonstrate for ouster of Yemen’s president
LA Times 27 Jan 2011 – The protests led by opposition members and youth activists are a significant expansion of the regional unrest sparked by the Tunisian uprising. The unrest in the Middle East spread to impoverished Yemen on Thursday as tens of thousands of protesters angry over unemployment and political oppression marched through the capital against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei returns to Egypt
LA Times 27 Jan 2011 – ElBaradei, the former head of the U.N. nuclear agency, now leads a group seeking constitutional reforms. His return could further energize protests against President Hosni Mubarak. Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who formerly headed the U.N. nuclear regulatory agency, has returned to Egypt in a move expected to increase political pressure on President Hosni Mubarak as a new wave of nationwide protests are called for Friday.
Opposition in Egypt Gears Up for Major Friday Protest
New York Times 27 Jan 2011 – Mohamed ElBaradei, who has become a pro-democracy leader in Egypt, returned to Cairo on Thursday ahead of major demonstrations set to follow Friday prayers.
Egypt Relies on Familiar Strategy Against Protests
New York Times 27 Jan 2011 – Egypt’s government has responded to the unrest primarily as a security issue, largely ignoring, or dismissing, the core demands of the protesters.
Olmert Memoir Cites Near Deal for Mideast Peace
New York Times 27 Jan 2011 – Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel says Mahmoud Abbas’s hesitation, his own legal troubles and the war in Gaza scotched a potential deal in late 2008.
Settlers Kill Palestinian in Iraq Burin
Popular Struggle Coordination Committee – Oday Maher Hamza Qadous, 19 years old, has been killed by settlers while farming his land in Iraq Burin. Army forces have taken over the village of Iraq Burin.
Lebanese conflict threatens civil war, Israeli-US intervention
WSWS – On Tuesday, President Michel Suleiman called on Najib Mikati, who is backed by the Shia Islamist group Hezbollah and its allies, to form a new government.
Harassment in Nabi Salih: Intimidation tactics in Israel’s wider strategy of expropriation.
Palestine Monitor – As a quick Google search for ‘Nabi Salih’ will demonstrate, it is clear that intimidation tactics are standard fare from an Israeli military whose presence in the village has increased significantly since 2009. But a more in depth look reveals the wider goal at hand. Palestine…
Egypt shuts down the internet on eve of protest as the world community gathers
Mondoweiss – Raw video from the Associated Press Issandr El-Amrani reports that the internet has been shut down in Egypt as of 1 in the morning before the big demo. And not long after a horrifying AP video went up of a man being shot ( above ),…
State Dep’t says democracy is OK for Tunisia but not Egypt because of Israel
Mondoweiss – Thanks to Pulse , here is a wonderful interview of State Dep’t spokesman P.J. Crowley by Shihab Rattansi of Al Jazeera that shows why Obama talked about Tunisian democracy in the State of the Union but said nothing about democracy in Egypt. At about 5:40 Rattansi asks…
The Egyptian intifada and what it may mean for Israel/Palestine
Mondoweiss – The Egyptian uprising against the Mubarak regime is historic and important in its own right. But it may also lead to significant changes in the region that could be positive for the Palestinian cause. Israel is worried about a reliable ally being toppled next door. The…
Abunimah on the Palestine Papers: ‘If the US is unable to change its utterly failed policies, it might as well get out of the way’
Mondoweiss – Ali Abunimah reviews the Palestine Papers in the Christian Science Monitor and says they are evidence of a failed US foreign policy across the Middle East: Some might say that the revelations about the peace process are hardly surprising. After all, its credibility was already threadbare….
At last, boycott gains legitimacy at Harvard
Mondoweiss – Notice: who is co-sponsoring the following event at Harvard Law School in two weeks: the Human Rights Program at HLS, International Legal Studies at HLS, and The National Lawyers Guild (HLS Chapter). The lesson of the event: BDS is now a respectable subject/option in elite Ivy…
Palestinian Boy Martyred In Explosion of Device Left by Israel
Al-Manar 27 Jan 2011 – A 13-year-old Palestinian was martyred in an explosion in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday. According to Hamas emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya, the boy, identified as Basel Odwan, was apparently playing with an unexploded shell left behind by the Israeli military assault on…
Palestine Leaks: PA Bargained with Goldstone Report for Talks Assurances
Al-Manar 27 Jan 2011 – New Al-Jazeera leaked “Palestine Papers” document revealed on Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority haggled with a UN resolution supporting a Gaza war report criticizing Israel in return for Mideast peace talks’ assurances. In October 2009, PA President Mahmoud Abbas withdrew Palestinian support for sending the…
Settlers Attack North West Bank Village of Ein Abbus
Joseph Dana 27 Jan 2011 – This morning, in the northern West Bank village of Ein Abbus, settlers attacked villagers, set fire to a car and spray painted multiple walls with graffiti “we will never forget”. At approximately 630 this morning, dozens of settlers entered the village and set fire to one…
Ian McEwan should turn down the Jerusalem prize
Joseph Dana 27 Jan 2011 – Published in the Guardian As Israeli citizens who support the boycott, divestment and sanctions call on Israel , we believe that if Ian McEwan accepts the Jerusalem prize next month in Jerusalem ( Letters , 26 January), it will make him a collaborator with Israel ‘s worst human rights…
Sami Jamil Jadallah — The Palestine Papers; time to bury the PLO and PA
Palestine Think Tank 27 Jan 2011 – The Palestine Papers show and prove the Palestinian leadership and its negotiating team having sold the store from underneath the Palestinian people and all this talk of “Palestinian Thawabet” of return of refugees, return of East Jerusalem, illegality of and evacuations of Jewish settlements and working…
Egypt on alert for mass protests
BBC 27 Jan 2011 – Egyptian forces are on high alert as thousands prepare to join anti-government rallies after Friday prayers, amid reports of mass internet disruption.
Settlers ‘shoot Palestinian teen’
BBC 27 Jan 2011 – An 18-year-old shepherd has died after being shot by Israeli settlers near the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian officials say.
It Could Be Too Late for Two States
Antiwar.com 27 Jan 2011 – RAMALLAH — The credibility of the Palestinian Authority (PA) on the Arab street has been further weakened by the release of the “Palestine Papers,” but ironically the release of the explosive documents by Al Jazeera could bolster support for the Palestinian cause internationally. The Palestine Papers…
Articles
A fresh take on the Palestine Papers
Mya Guarnieri, Ma’an News Agency1/27/2011
Earlier this week, Al Jazeera revealed the Palestine Papers — 1,600 internal documents that give a behind-the-scenes look at Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
Since then, Middle East analysts, observers, and op-ed writers have been talking about the usual doomsday scenarios: the collapse of the peace process, a Hamas takeover of the West Bank, war, or a bi-national, one-state solution.
Of course, no one can predict the future. What we can discuss is possible outcomes:
First, the so-called collapse of the so-called peace process — this happened a long time ago. The Palestine Papers just confirm what any man on the street in Tel Aviv or Ramallah could have told you.
Second, there is not a chance of a Hamas takeover in the West Bank. Any rumblings will be squashed by the PA and Israel. The close collaboration between the two was no secret before the Palestine Papers. Some have speculated that the Palestine Papers would spell the death of the PA — the Palestinian people would be so enraged that the PA is willing to give away so much, including the right to return which is considered sacred by many Palestinian refugees, that we might see a Tunisia-like scenario erupt in the West Bank.
Or so the thinking went.
But, so far, that hasn’t happened. And it won’t. Because the Palestinians know that protests and riots would give Israel an excuse to reoccupy the whole of the West Bank. The status quo will remain. At least for now. more.. e-mail
A new truth dawns on the Arab world
Robert Fisk, The Independent1/26/2011
Leaked Palestinian files have put a region in revolutionary mood
The Palestine Papers are as damning as the Balfour Declaration. The Palestinian “Authority” — one has to put this word in quotation marks — was prepared, and is prepared to give up the “right of return” of perhaps seven million refugees to what is now Israel for a “state” that may be only 10 per cent (at most) of British mandate Palestine.
And as these dreadful papers are revealed, the Egyptian people are calling for the downfall of President Mubarak, and the Lebanese are appointing a prime minister who will supply the Hezbollah. Rarely has the Arab world seen anything like this.
To start with the Palestine Papers, it is clear that the representatives of the Palestinian people were ready to destroy any hope of the refugees going home.
It will be — and is — an outrage for the Palestinians to learn how their representatives have turned their backs on them. There is no way in which, in the light of the Palestine Papers, these people can believe in their own rights.
They have seen on film and on paper that they will not go back. But across the Arab world — and this does not mean the Muslim world — there is now an understanding of truth that there has not been before.
It is not possible any more, for the people of the Arab world to lie to each other. The lies are finished. The words of their leaders — which are, unfortunately, our own words — have finished. It is we who have led them into this demise. It is we who have told them these lies. And we cannot recreate them any more. more.. e-mail
The ‘Corrupt Betrayers’ of the Palestinian People
Michael Neumann, CounterPunch1/26/2011
American Puritanism and Infantile Faith
The Al-Jazeera leaks concerning Palestine have provided lots of new material for the tough guys of the Israel/Palestine conflict. These hard cases have been around at least since the Oslo Accords of 1993. Most of them are university types – graduate students and also faculty, some too sainted to name. Almost all of them live thousands of miles from the conflict. They tell us how the Corrupt Palestinian Authority has betrayed the Palestinians. The original Corrupt Betrayer was Yasser Arafat who is still, oddly enough, much beloved by Palestinians who actually live in Palestine. The new Corrupt Betrayers are of course the current Palestinian leadership in the West Bank. They are weak, we hear. Like Arafat, they’ve sold out the Palestinians. They are no Nelson Mandelas.
These criticisms overlook something: the Palestinians are screwed. They cannot passively resist; they just get shot. They cannot actively resist; they just get blown to bits. Because they cannot resist, they have no bargaining chips, none at all. Israel sees an incentive to make concessions only when it senses a prospect of fewer goodies from America or of annoyance from Europe. The microscopic scope of its concessions shows just how little incentive that represents.
It is true that, for a while, Palestinian violence caused Israel to take notice, and it still has some effect in the occupied territories. It still slows the pace of settlement, just a little bit. It still gets Israel irritated with how much it spends to keep the settlers in watered lawns and fanaticism. But this hardly constitutes the wherewithal for the Palestinian authorities to stand up to the occupier. more.. e-mail
PA undermined accountability for Gaza victims, papers reveal
Electronic Intifada: 27 Jan 2011 – Among some of the latest Palestine Papers revelations are agreements to push the United Nations Human Rights Council to delay a vote on the Goldstone report, the fact-finding probe of alleged war crimes committed during Israel’s winter 2008-09 attacks on the Gaza Strip.more
The Palestine Papers and the “Gaza coup”
Electronic Intifada: 27 Jan 2011 – An initial reading of the Palestine Papers provides details of hitherto unknown secret, high-level “Quadripartite” meetings among Israeli, American, Egyptian and Palestinian officials whose explicit goal appears to have been to undermine the Palestinian national unity government. The essential point here is that part of the PA — loyal to Mahmoud Abbas and backed by the US — was actively plotting with Israel and its allies against the legitimately-constituted unity government. Ali Abunimah analyzes.more
Palestinian students claim right “to participate in shaping of our destiny”
Electronic Intifada: 27 Jan 2011 – We are at the office of the Palestine Liberation Organization delegation to the United Kingdom in order to reassert our inalienable rights, and today we claim our right to democratically participate in the shaping of our destiny.more
Demonstrators call for Mubarak’s ouster
Electronic Intifada: 27 Jan 2011 – CAIRO (IPS) – Demonstrations calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt continued for the second day in several Egyptian cities with police cracking down violently, a development that many analysts here say reflects the nervousness of the regime.more
Harassment in Nabi Salih: Intimidation tactics in Israel’s wider strategy of expropriation.
Palestine Monitor: 27 Jan 2011 – As a quick Google search for ‘Nabi Salih’ will demonstrate, it is clear that intimidation tactics are standard fare from an Israeli military whose presence in the village has increased significantly since 2009. But a more in depth look reveals the wider goal at hand. Palestine Monitor reports. In December 2009, settlers from Halamish seized control of Nabi Salih’s main water supply, a natural spring called Ein Al Kus. That same month, the villagers retaliated by staging unarmed demonstrations, protesting the theft of the well and Israel’s policy of supporting the settlers’ encroachment. Despite the fact that Halamish settlement itself is illegal under international law, as is the seizure of the village spring, the IDF has made it its business to protect the settlers at every turn, and punish the villagers for protesting. The punishments themselves make for troubling statistics. Since the protests began, 58 villagers have been arrested. Detainment…more
The New Dark Age 
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