21 March, 2011 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
17 Palestinians Injured In A Series Of Air Strikes In Gaza
IMEMC – Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported that the Israeli Air Force carried out a series of air strikes on Monday night after midnight and on Tuesday at dawn, wounding seventeen residents, including two women and seven children.
Detainee Abu Sisi Discloses Detail of His Kidnapping in Ukraine to PCHR Lawyer
IMEMC – PCHR Calls for Immediate Release of Abu Sisi On 19 February 2011, members of the national intelligence agency of Israel (Mossad) kidnapped Derar Mousa Yousef Abu Sisi, 42 while he was in the Ukraine. Mr. Abu Sisi is the Director of the Operations, Department in Gaza Power Generation Plant. Mossad then transferred Abu Sisi to Israel.
Israeli Soldier Stabbed In Haifa
IMEMC – Israeli sources reported that an Israeli soldier was stabbed in Jaffa city on Sunday, and that the masked assailant snatched his weapon and fled the scene.
Two Palestinians Shot By A Settler In Beit Ummar
IMEMC – Medical sources reported Monday that Ahmad Ali, 59, from the southern West Bank city of Hebron, is currently in a serious condition after being shot in his neck by a Jewish settler, while another resident was shot in the leg.
PFLP-GC Claims Projectile Fire at Israel
IMEMC – The armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command launched a projectile on Monday from the Gaza Strip into Israel, the Ma’an News Agency reported.
Palestinian Stabbed by Settler Near Hebron
IMEMC – A Palestinian farmer was stabbed by a settler whilst working his land in Tuba village near Hebron on Monday.
Israeli Officials Admit To Monitoring Left-wing Organizations
IMEMC – According to Israeli media reports, the Israeli intelligence service set up a special department several months ago to monitor groups involved in bringing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, claiming that such groups “delegitimize Israel”.
PLC Head Hopes To Join Abbas In His Gaza Visit
IMEMC – Dr. Aziz Dweik, head of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), stated Saturday that he hopes that he would be able to accompany President Mahmoud Abbas in his first visit to Gaza following several years of internal divisions between Fateh and Hamas.
Jets strike Gaza after Hamas offers truce
3/22/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli warplanes targeted sites across the Gaza Strip late Monday injuring at least 17 people including seven children, witnesses and medics said. Ten people arrived at Ash-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and seven others were taken to Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north, the BBC reported. An airstrike in the Zeitoun…. Related: Gaza: Hamas calls for truce
Settler opens fire on funeral procession
3/21/2011 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Two Palestinians were shot Monday afternoon when a settler disembarked from his car on the Jerusalem-Hebron road and opened fire on a funeral procession heading to the Beit Ummar cemetery. Medics said two were injured in the shooting, including 59-year-old Muhammad Ali Abu Safiyya who was in critical condition after….
Settlers stab Palestinian south of Hebron
3/21/2011 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — A 32-year-old from the south Hebron hills told Ma’an he was stabbed in the chest on Monday by settlers from the Ma’on settlement. Speaking by phone from hospital, Mahmoud Ibrahim Ali Awad said he was treated for moderate stab wounds. The father of two lives in….
Bethlehem sit-in enters sixth day
3/21/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The public square separating the Nativity Church and the Mosque of Omar has been slowly festooned with tents, flags and posters as an increasing number of young Palestinians gather in a call for political unity. At least 25 young men slept in the square on Sunday night, telling Ma’an….
Gaza: Hamas calls for truce
3/22/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas’ armed wing said Monday that it would commit to a truce if Israel stops bombarding the Gaza Strip. However, the Al-Qassam Brigades vowed to resist if Israel continued to attack the coastal enclave. Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida said the group had fired mortars into the Western Negev on…. Related: Jets strike Gaza after Hamas offers truce
Gaza’s cherry tomatoes selling in Europe
3/22/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Cherry tomatoes grown by farmers in Gaza can now compete with settlement produce on European supermarket shelves. The Gaza Strip has exported cherry tomatoes since the 1980s, said Jamal Abu An-Naja, who manages the export of vegetables and flowers from southern Gaza. But under Israel’s blockade, Gaza’….
4 Palestinians detained in Al-Aqsa
3/22/2011 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained four Palestinians from inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards on Monday. According to guards in the area, the detentions were precipitated by the men chanting “God is Great.”Tensions were high at the site, which was being visited by an ultra-orthodox Jewish group of proximately 40 people, guards said….
Single Gaza crossing opens for limited deliveries
3/21/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities decided on Monday to partially open the Kerem Shalom crossing to allow goods into Gaza, officials said. Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh said around 260 truckloads of goods would be transported to Gaza through the terminal, including 20 new cars and limited quantities of domestic-use gas. Eight truckloads….
Clashes erupt in Silwan
3/21/2011 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Fierce clashes erupted Monday night between settlers, Israeli police and Palestinian youth in Silwan in East Jerusalem. Ma’an’s correspondent said Israeli police protected settlers but opened fire on residents and their homes in the flashpoint neighborhood….
Gaza: Brigades claim latest projectile launch
3/21/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command said Monday that its fighters fired a home-made projectile toward Israel early in the day. The projectile headed toward an Israeli moshav near the Gaza border, a statement from the Jihad Jibril Brigades said.” Resistance will….
EU: Time for refugees to return home
3/21/2011 – WALAJA, Bethlehem (Ma’an) – The EU Representative to the Palestinian territories said Monday he hoped for “all the refugees to go home” as soon as possible, during a visit to West Bank village Al-Walaja. Speaking at a school run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Representative Christian Berger announced a ‚Ǩ40….
Police visit mothers of detainees on Mothers’ Day
3/22/2011 – SALFIT (Ma’an) – Police in Salfit visited the mothers of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails on Monday to mark Mothers’ Day. Police said they greeted mothers in their homes in the northern West Bank city to let them know they have sons outside prison, even if their own sons are detained. Police also….
Explosions reported in Gaza
3/21/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Residents of the Gaza Strip reported late Monday that Israeli aircraft fired on two sites in the coastal enclave, including a security facility in the south and a warehouse in Gaza City….
Hamas ‘will not be stumbling block’ to unity talks
3/22/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas is willing to make all efforts to ensure that President Mahmoud Abbas will be able to visit Gaza in the coming days, but said the leader’s “preconditions” could pose a challenge.”Abbas says he wants to visit Gaza not for dialogue, but for the formation of a….
Abbas: I’ll go straight to Gaza
3/22/2011 – BUDAPEST, Hungary (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday he would break engagements in Europe and head to Gaza immediately for unity talks with Hamas, if the Islamist movement agrees. Gaza premier Ismail Haniyeh invited Abbas for talks on Wednesday, amid huge youth protests across the West Bank and Gaza Strip demanding national unity….
Jihad, Fatah meet in Gaza
3/21/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Islamic Jihad and Fatah leaders met in Gaza city on Monday, following a Fatah invite, and discussed President Mahmoud Abbas’ planned visit to the coastal enclave. The meeting was hosted in the Fatah offices in Gaza City, where officials reviewed the current Palestinian political situation and bilateral relations, according….
Palestinians in Libya leave for Gaza
3/22/2011 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Thirty-four Palestinians waiting at the Libya border for permission to travel to Cairo and return to the Gaza Strip were granted travel visas Sunday, an official said. Though directives were given to issue the visas one week earlier, Palestinians in Libya remained stranded at the border for days. Muhammad Hammad, the….
Egyptians say ‘yes’ to military’s post-Mubarak plans
3/21/2011 – CAIRO (AFP) — Egyptians voted 77 percent in favor of the military’s plans for a swift return to civilian rule after mass protests ousted President Hosni Mubarak last month, official results showed on Sunday. More than 14 million Egyptians, or 77. 2 percent of those who voted, approved the constitutional amendments intended to guide….
Syria deploys troops after protests
Palestine Note 21 Mar 2011 – Al Jazeera – Syrian troops have been deployed in the southern city of Daraa a day after an anti-government protester was killed when forces reportedly fired on a demonstration . News agencies, citing residents, said that thousands of Syrians marched on…
Yemeni president fires government
Palestine Note 21 Mar 2011 – BBC News – Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has fired his cabinet amid continuing protests against his rule. The announcement came after tens of thousands of people turned out at funerals for dozens of protesters shot dead on Friday. Earlier,…
Gaza: Stop Suppressing Peaceful Protests
Palestine Note 21 Mar 2011 – Human Rights Watch – Hamas authorities in Gaza should punish those responsible for attacks on peaceful demonstrators calling for Palestinian political reconciliation, Human Rights Watch said today. Hamas police violently dispersed several peaceful demonstrations in Gaza beginning March 15, 2011,…
Egypt proved to Palestinians that revolution has a point
Palestine Note 21 Mar 2011 – Amira Hass, Haaretz – At around 10:30 P.M. last Thursday, several brooms and trash bags suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and a few young men began sweeping the square and filling the trash bags. This wasn’t Tahrir Square in Cairo,…
Palestinian protests offer a new chance to break deadlock
Palestine Note 21 Mar 2011 – The National – With the March 15 movement taking to the streets of Gaza and the West Bank last Tuesday, Palestinian youths have made their mark on the wave of protests that have rejected the status quo in the Middle…
Israel, Hamas ‘fail to make progress’ on probe
Palestine Note 21 Mar 2011 – AFP – Both Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas have failed to make credible progress in investigating claims of war crimes committed during the 2008 conflict in Gaza, a UN committee said Monday. In a report presented to the UN…
Gaza journalists demand end to Hamas assaults
Palestine Note 21 Mar 2011 – Arabiya – Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip protested to the territory’s Hamas rulers on Saturday after security forces assaulted a local TV cameraman. A delegation met interior minister Fathi Hammad and government press officials after police stormed the local…
Armed men attack Reuters Gaza bureau
Palestine Note 21 Mar 2011 – Reuters – Several armed men entered Reuters’ office in Gaza on Saturday, threatened employees with guns and took away a video camera, apparently after they spotted a reporter filming a demonstration from the building. The men struck one Reuters journalist…
Mortar Fire From Hamas, and Israeli Tanks Respond
Palestine Note 21 Mar 2011 – New York Times – Hamas militants fired dozens of mortar shells from Gaza into southern Israel during a 15-minute period on Saturday morning, slightly injuring two Israeli civilians and sharply escalating tensions along the Israel-Gaza border. The Israeli military responded…
Erekat: We will seek UN recognition soon
Palestine Note 21 Mar 2011 – Ma’an – The United Nations will be asked to recognize a Palestinian state with full membership of the world body, a Palestinian official said on Sunday. The decision to go forward with the plan had been made by the Palestinian…
UN: Massive increase in home demolitions
Palestine Note 21 Mar 2011 – Ma’an – The latest numbers from the United Nations show a two-fold increase in the number of Palestinian homes and agricultural buildings destroyed by Israel order this year, causing concern among officials. The UN Relief and Works Agency recorded 70…
Settlers stab Palestinian south of Hebron
Palestine Note 21 Mar 2011 – Ma’an – A 32-year-old from the south Hebron hills told Ma’an he was stabbed in the chest on Monday by settlers from the Ma’on settlement. Speaking by phone from hospital, Mahmoud Ibrahim Ali Awad said he was treated for moderate…
Hamas ‘will not be stumbling block’ to unity talks
Palestine Note 21 Mar 2011 – Ma’an – Hamas is willing to make all efforts to ensure that President Mahmoud Abbas will be able to visit Gaza in the coming days, but said the leader’s “preconditions” could pose a challenge. “Abbas says he wants to visit…
Settler opens fire on funeral procession
Palestine Note 21 Mar 2011 – Ma’an – Two Palestinians were shot Monday afternoon when a settler disembarked from his car on the Jerusalem-Hebron road and opened fire on a funeral procession heading to the Beit Ummar cemetery. Medics said two were injured in the shooting,…
Egyptians Back Constitutional Amendments
Palestine Note 21 Mar 2011 – Sharp divisions remain New York Times – Egyptian voters overwhelmingly approved changes in the constitution, opening the way for parliamentary and presidential elections within months, according to final results from a landmark referendum announced Sunday. Opponents fear the swift timetable…
Defections plague Yemeni leader
AlJazeera 21 Mar 2011 – President Saleh faces increasing isolation after wave of military and political figures support pro-democracy uprising.
Palestinians wounded in Israeli air strikes
AlJazeera 21 Mar 2011 – At least 17 people, including children, injured in military attacks on Gaza Strip, witnesses say.
Explosions rock Libyan capital
AlJazeera 21 Mar 2011 – Anti-aircraft fire erupts in Tripoli after day of heavy fighting between protesters and Gaddafi forces elsewhere.
Syria deploys troops after protests
AlJazeera 21 Mar 2011 – Forces gather at entrances to the southern city of Daraa, a day after a protester was killed during a demonstration.
Families of Al Jazeera captives hold sit-ins
AlJazeera 21 Mar 2011 – Protests at Libyan missions in Tunisia and Mauritania demanding release of Al Jazeera team detained by Gaddafi forces.
Top army commanders defect in Yemen
AlJazeera 21 Mar 2011 – Troops and tanks deployed in Sanaa to protect anti-government protesters as senior military officials back uprising.
Bahrain king speaks of ‘foiled foreign plot’
AlJazeera 21 Mar 2011 – King Hamad thanks troops from GCC countries for help in ending unrest after weeks of protests.
CEC Starts Receiving Journalists?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ Credentials to Cover Elections
PNN – Ramallah-PNN Exclusive- As part of the preparation for the 2011 Palestinian elections the Central Election Committee (CES) announced today that it would begin receiving journalists’ credentials who wish to cover the electoral…
Israeli Army Creates New Intelligence Branch Targeting Leftists
PNN – Tel Aviv — PNN – Israel’s Intelligence Directorate has created a new wing dedicated to investigating groups in the West Bank and Gaza that seek to delegitimize the Israeli State. The new…
Settlers Attack Residents in Northern West Bank
PNN – Salfit-PNN- A group of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians residents and their vehicles near the northern West Bank village of Burkeim on Monday. The settlers, from Bakan industrial settlement near Burkeim village, threw…
Israeli Tanks Invade Southern Areas of the Gaza Strip
PNN – Gaza -PNN- A number of Israeli tanks invaded farmlands east of Rafah City in the southern part of the Gaza Strip on Monday. According to local sources five tanks and a bulldozer…
A Mothers’ Day Confession
PNN – By Maria C. Khoury, Ed. D. – The biblical land of Canaan has been my home since the failed Oslo Peace Agreement when my husband, Daoud, returned to his home village of…
Two Injured as Settler Opens Fire at Funeral near Hebron
PNN – Hebron — PNN Exclusive — Two Palestinian men were injured midday on Monday, one critically, when an Israeli settler opened fire at a funeral in Beit Omer village near Hebron. Abu Sufiyan…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Unknown Persons Blow Women’s Beauty Salon in Rafah and Car of The Assistant Comptroller General of the Security Services in Gaza
Palestinian Center for Human Rights Field Update During the last couple of days, the Gaza Strip witnessed two incidents but no casualties were reported. The first incident took place before yesterday when the car of the Assistant Comptroller General of the security services in the Gaza Strip was targeted while the second incident took place today in the dawn when a women’s beauty salon in
PCHR Receives Diplomatic Envoy from the Russian Federation
Palestinian Center for Human Rights Ref: 13/2011 On Sunday, 20 March 2011, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) received Maxim Romanov, third Secretary / Political Section Representative Office of the Russian Federation to the Palestinian National Authority. Mr. Hamdi Shaqoura, PCHR Deputy Director for Program Affairs, and Khalil Shahin, Director of PCHR’s Unit of Economic and Social Rights, received the Russian delegation. During the meeting,
International Solidarity Movement
Provocations and attacks by Israeli settlers obstruct Palestinian nonviolent action in the South Hebron Hills: two Palestinians are arrested
3/21/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – 19 March, Operation Dove – At-Tuwani -Saturday morning, around 9:00 am, during a nonviolent action, the inhabitants of At-Tuwani, accompanied by several international, planted some olive trees in Palestinian-owned Humra valley. In addition, during the action some shepherds of the village decided to graze their flocks in the area. Immediately, several Israeli army jeep reached…. Related: Operation Dove
Israeli settler stabs Palestinian in At-Tuwani
3/21/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – Operation Dove – At-Tuwani -On the morning of March 21st, 2011 soon after 7 o’clock a Palestinian man from the village of Tuba was attacked while he was going with his donkey to the village of At-Tuwani. Not far from the first house of the village a masked settler, coming from the Havat Ma…. Related: Operation Dove
In a New Crime, IOF Kills Two Children in Central Gaza
3/21/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – Palestinian Centre for Human Rights – On Saturday evening, 19 March 2011, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) used excessive and lethal force which resulted in the death of two Palestinian children who were nearly 300 meters from the border east of Juhr Addik village in the central Gaza Strip. It should be noted that on Thursday…. Related: PCHR
Two Palestinians injured as settler opens fire on funeral procession in Beit Ommar
3/21/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – Center for Freedom and Justice in Beit Ommar – Around 12pm on Monday, March 21st, 2011, two Palestinian residents from the village of Beit Ommar in the southern West Bank were shot with live ammunition by an Israeli settler. The settler stopped his car on Route 60 as a funeral procession was moving towards the village…. Related: Center for Freedom and Justice in Beit Ommar
IDF strikes Gaza 5 times following recent mortar, rocket barrage
Ha’aretz – Gaza sources cite 5 wounded in extensive strikes, which the IDF says targeted smuggling tunnels, arms production sites, as well as terror bases. .
New round of coalition strikes in Tripoli, Libya state TV says
Ha’aretz – Libya rebels scramble to exploit international strikes on Gadhafi forces, which continue for the third night; air strikes aim at stopping Gadhafi forces from attacking rebel cities.
Akiva Eldar / After Libya, Obama will have hard time thwarting Palestinian state
Ha’aretz – Obama will have a hard time explaining why he is a big hero for bombing an Arab leader who oppresses his people, while helping an obstreperous Jewish leader.
Turkey group plans new Gaza flotilla with at least 15 ships
Ha’aretz – IHH, left-wing European groups plan send flotilla this May, one year after another IHH flotilla resulted in bloodshed that prompted widespread international condemnation of Israel.
Judges said to be mulling short sentence for Katsav
Ha’aretz – The fact that the verdict was unanimous in the case against the former president could have indications for the judges’ decision regarding his sentencing.
Israel UN envoy slams Falk over accusation of ‘ethnic cleansing’
Ha’aretz – Richard Falk is an ’embarrassment to the UN,’ Israeli envoy Aharon Leshno Yaar said in response to Falk’s claim that Israeli settlement building and eviction of Palestinians from homes amounted to ‘ethnic cleansing.’
U.S. praises Egypt referendum results that pave way for elections
Ha’aretz – State Department spokesman says Egyptians have taken an important step toward realizing the aspirations of the revolution that toppled Mubarak from power.
Israel returns disputed Jerusalem site to Russia in goodwill gesture
Ha’aretz – Sergei’s Courtyard, the czarist-era landmark in heart of Jerusalem which houses Israel’s Agricultural Ministry, handed back to Russia while Netanyahu on visit to the country.
Vandals damage memorial for IDF soldiers killed in 1997 helicopter crash
Ha’aretz – Northern Galilee monument was erected three years ago to commemorate 73 soldiers killed when two helicopters collided en route to Lebanon.
Social workers reject Finance Ministry offer to end ongoing strike
Ha’aretz – After two-week strike, negotiations between the Finance Ministry and the Histadrut reach conclusion, but social workers say they are worth more.
IAF strikes Hamas militants and smuggling tunnel in Gaza Strip
Ha’aretz – Strike comes shortly after upsurge in the number of rockets being fired from Gaza; southern country hit Saturday by over 50 rockets.
Palestinian rights group: Gaza engineer suffering in Israeli custody
Ha’aretz – Palestinian Center for Human Rights says one of its lawyers was permitted to visit Dirar Abu Sisi, who is in Israeli custody; he told group he was forcibly removed from train compartment in Ukraine and flown to Israel handcuffed and hooded.
UN investigator: Israel engaged in ethnic cleansing with settlement expansion
Ha’aretz – U.S. academic Richard Falk spoke to UN Human Rights Council as it prepared resolution condemning settlement building in East Jerusalem and West Bank.
Israel sends preliminary medical team to aid Japan
Ha’aretz – Two doctors and IDF officer expected to begin appraisal of requirements that will enable dispatch of a full-scale medical delegation; delegation will help handle casualties and refugees.
Palestinian stabbed in Hebron Hills in suspected ‘price tag’ attack
Ha’aretz – Mahmoud Awad, in his twenties, was taken to the hospital with knife wounds to the chest from attack suspected of being motivated by Jewish ultra-nationalism.
Boim, one of country’s ‘best sons,’ laid to rest
Jeruslalem Post 22 Mar 2011 – Thousands attend Binyamina funeral to say farewell to Kadima MK; Livni: His behavior broadcast nobility without superiority toward another.
Alleged southern mobster charged with extortion
Jeruslalem Post 21 Mar 2011 – Jerusalem crime figure is state’s witness against Shalom Domrani.
J’lem to launch Pessah campaign against ‘ghost apartments’
Jeruslalem Post 21 Mar 2011 – Municipality is encouraging foreigners who own vacation apartments to “turn the lights on” by renting their empty apartments to students, soldiers.
2 Palestinians shot in W. Bank after rock-throwing incident
Jeruslalem Post 21 Mar 2011 – Another Palestinian stabbed in the chest by masked man; police say Israeli motorist targeted by rocks had fired the shots.
Analysis: Will Israel pick up tab for assault on Libya?
Jeruslalem Post 21 Mar 2011 – When Western bombs stop falling, the needle for mending ties with the Muslim world might go through Jerusalem.
Hamas repeats commitment to keep unofficial truce
Jeruslalem Post 21 Mar 2011 – Following recent rocket, mortar attacks, armed wing of Hamas says, “If enemy agrees to avoid escalation, aggression, we will also abide.”
Saudi deployment in Bahrain risks sectarian conflict
Jeruslalem Post 21 Mar 2011 – Analysts say the unique Saudi move has crossed a red line for Iran which may prompt it to intervene as a counterweight.
Iran’s Khamenei: West should arm rebels, not bomb Libya
Jeruslalem Post 21 Mar 2011 – Iranian leader says US wants “foothold” in oil-rich country; rejects Obama’s claim that Iran opposition same as ME pro-democracy masses.
Palestinian stabbed in suspected ‘price tag’ attack
Jeruslalem Post 21 Mar 2011 – Police investigate residents of Hebron-area settlement after 25-year-old is hospitalized with moderate stab wounds.
‘No doubt Egyptian army will honor peace with Israel’
Jeruslalem Post 20 Mar 2011 – Egyptian political player Tarek Heggy states that “Israel is not the cause of our problems”; says leader like Yitzhak Rabin needed in ME conflict.
Analysis: Gaza escalation shows IDF deterrence eroding
Jeruslalem Post 20 Mar 2011 – Hamas doesn’t want another fight with Israel quite yet, but it’s learned many of the lessons of Operation Cast Lead.
Kerry, key US interlocutor with Syria, to meet with PM
Jeruslalem Post 20 Mar 2011 – Netanyahu and US Senator expected to discuss regional unrest that has now spread to Syria and Israeli-Syrian mediation efforts.
Palestinian rocket slams into Ashkelon
Jeruslalem Post 20 Mar 2011 – Rocket alert system rings out across Ashkelon as rocket from Gaza slams into southern part of the city; no physical injuries or damages reported.
Hamas digging ‘terror tunnels’ along border with Israel
Jeruslalem Post 20 Mar 2011 – Gaza groups now have missiles that can reach Tel Aviv, and are working on improved communications systems modeled on Hezbollah network.
Israel: We have Palestinian engineer missing since Feb.
Jeruslalem Post 20 Mar 2011 – Court removes partial gag order on case allegedly involving Mossad abduction in Ukraine.
From Hamas, with gratitude
Jeruslalem Post 20 Mar 2011 – No doubt Hamas are rejoicing at the sight of thousands of Israelis protesting the Schalit affair. Hamas leaders are mocking the citizens of Israel, who, instead of protesting against the world’s inaction or against Hamas itself, choose to blame their government for not releasing hundreds of murderers in exchange for the soldier.
Israeli forces attack prayers near Bethlehem
20 Mar 2011 – West Bank, (Pal Telegraph)-Israeli forces raided yesterday evening Abu Baker El-Sediq mosque in Hwasan town in West Bank city of Bethlehem .
One injured as Israel invades central Gaza
20 Mar 2011 – Gaza Strip, (Pal telegraph)-Several Israeli troops and bulldozers invaded Sunday morning the eastern border of Gaza Strip, while a number of artillery shells targeted Al-Buriage refugee camp and Joher El-Deik area central the Strip.
Israeli army kills two Palestinians in Gaza
20 Mar 2011 – Gaza strip, (Pal Telegraph)-Two Palestinians were shot dead yesterday by Israeli forces stationed at the northern borders of Gaza strip following intensive Israeli shelling to areas east of the Strip.
LIBYA: GADDAFI IS A LEGITIMATE TARGET AND WE’D KILL HIM, REVEALS LIAM FOX
Uruknet March 21, 2011 – COLONEL Gaddafi himself could be targeted by air strikes if there is no risk to civilians, the Defence Secretary said yesterday. Dr Liam Fox said allied forces would not take a “gung-ho attitude” but refused to rule out targeting Gaddafi if the chance presented itself. He told the BBC’s Politics Show yesterday: “There’s a difference…
Witnesses: Airstrikes across Gaza
Uruknet March 21, 2011 – Israeli warplanes targeted sites across the Gaza Strip late Monday injuring five people, witnesses said. Three Palestinians including two children were evacuated to Ash-Shifa Hospital from the site of an airstrike in Gaza City. Two others were injured in an airstrike targeting a site in the southern Gaza Strip. They were taken to Kamal Adwan…
Gaza revolts
Uruknet March 21, 2011 – I am sorry that I have not mentioned yet that my brave friends in Palestine are erupting. The virus of revolt has spread to Gaza City. And thank god. Appar¬?ently on Tuesday the 15 there was a Day of Rage — thousands of young Pales¬?tini¬?ans spilled out into the street, mobi¬?liz¬?ing in Omar al-Mokhtar Street…
Africa Must Unite Against Neocolonialism And Imperialism
Uruknet March 21, 2011 – Over half a century ago, one of Africa’s most illustrious sons, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah fearlessly fought for and led the present day Ghana to achieve independence from British colonial rule. At the time, Nkrumah did not only believe that the Blackman was capable of managing or worse still, mismanaging his own affairs, but he…
UN rejects emergency meeting sought by Libya
Uruknet March 21, 2011 ‚Äî The U.N. Security Council on Monday rejected a Libyan request for an emergency meeting to halt what it called “military aggression” by France and the United States, but the council will get a briefing on Libya Thursday from the secretary-general. Council members held closed-door discussions in response to a letter dated Saturday from Libyan Foreign…
The Libyan war: Unconstitutional and illegitimate
Uruknet March 21, 2011 – There is no doubt that U.S. participation in the Anglo-French-American attack on Libya is completely unconstitutional. As Glenn Greenwald has pointed out, before becoming president Barack Obama, a graduate of Harvard Law School and a former law professor, accurately described the limits of a president’s authority to initiate a war in cases where the U.S….
No blood for oil! End US-NATO war of aggression in Libya!
Uruknet March 21, 2011 – It is one thing to support the struggle for freedom and democracy of an oppressed people, and another to make another Iraq. In the case of Libya, the United States and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had again reared their bloodied imperialist heads in their shameless campaign to divest the Libyan…
Guant?°namo in America (Part Two): The Nation Reveals More About the Secretive Prison Units for Muslims and Other Perceived Threats
Uruknet March 21, 2011 – Following a major feature on NPR, covering the little-known Communications Management Units (CMUs), located in Terre Haute, Indiana, and Marion, Illinois, where the inmates are mostly Muslims, who are subjected to surveillance 24 hours a day, have their mail monitored, and are prevented from having any physical contact whatsoever with their families during prison visits,…
PCHR Is Concerned Over Attacks on Journalists and on Civilians Participating in Peaceful Assemblies in the Gaza Strip
Uruknet March 20, 2011 Ref: 20/2011 The Palestinian Center for PCHR is deeply concerned over the escalation of attacks by Palestinian security services in Gaza against journalists and press offices yesterday, including beating journalists and confiscation of equipment. PCHR also condemns continued attacks by security services on peaceful assemblies in various areas in the Gaza Strip in the past three…
I am Every Child.
Uruknet March 21, 2011
New Images Surface of U.S. Soldiers Posing with Innocent Victims
Uruknet March 21, 2011 – What is one to say about news of new incendiary images of American soldiers posing with the innocent civilians that they killed? How can one fortify oneself to stand for the idea that these images, published today by Der Spiegel- images, inhumane all; images, well outside the bounds of propositional expression to describe them-are only…
Hypocrisy Rules the Day…and the World Apparently
Uruknet March 21 2011 – If you are feeling a sense of eerie d?©j?† vu watching the U.S’ (and its “allies”‘) bombing of Libya, you are probably not alone. We have been here before: watching a hypocritical U.S (possibly the most brutal and murderous regime in history) bomb another murderous regime (that the U.S, U.K and Canada etc. of course…
Imperial War on Libya
Uruknet March 21, 2011 – On March 19, ironically on the eighth anniversary of “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” a White House Office of the Press Secretary quoted Obama saying: “Today I authorized the Armed Forces of the United States to (attack) Libya in support of an international effort to protect Libyan civilians,” he, in fact, doesn’t give a damn about. “That…
Missile hits Gaddafi compound in Tripoli
Uruknet March 21, 2011 – A three-storey building in a military command centre used by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has been destroyed in an air strike by coalition forces. The Sunday-night strike was the first reported attack on the Bab al-Azizia, a sprawling compound in Tripoli, the capital, that Gaddafi has used recently as a backdrop for televised addresses and…
Military Resistance 9C Issue: 14: Got That Right
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – As President Obama prepares to speak this afternoon on the situation in Libya, a quick look at recent polls show Americans overwhelmingly do not support military intervention.A CNN/Opinion Research poll finds 74% believe the United States should “leave it to others” to resolve the situation in Libya. , A Pew Research survey finds 65% think the…
UN: Massive increase in home demolitions
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – The latest numbers from the United Nations show a two-fold increase in the number of Palestinian homes and agricultural buildings destroyed by Israel order this year, causing concern among officials. The UN Relief and Works Agency recorded 70 demolitions since the start of 2011, displacing 105 Palestinians, of whom 43 were under the age of…
Report: Palestinian anti-wall activist tortured, threatened with rape and execution by Shin Bet because of BDS activities
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – The Israeli government’s repression of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement is growing ever more harsh. Domestically, earlier this month, “the Knesset plenum…approved in its first reading a ‘boycott law,’ which would levy harsh punitive fines on Israelis who call for academic or economic boycotts against Israeli institutions,” according to Ha’aretz. While the anti-boycott…
Sunday: 12 Iraqis Killed, 21 Wounded
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – At least 12 Iraqis were killed and 21 more were wounded in the latest violence. Kurdish Iraqis, meanwhile, are celebrating the new year, some of them in protests in the Suleimaniya. A suicide bomber attacked the home of an Awakening Council (Sahwa) member in Duluiya, killing him, two wives, and three children. In Baghdad, gunmen…
In a New Crime, IOF Kills Two Children in Central Gaza
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – On Saturday evening, 19 March 2011, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) used excessive and lethal force which resulted in the death of two Palestinian children who were nearly 300 meters from the border east of Juhr Addik village in the central Gaza Strip. It should be noted that on Thursday morning, 17 March 2011, IOF…
Phoenix Protests Attack on Libya
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – While the US, UK, France and Italy dropped missiles on Libya this after-noon I and a small group of folks were on the relatively empty streets of downtown Phoenix protesting this new war and all US wars. The usual lies were spun over the past weeks about a bad dictator, human rights violations and supporting “…
Iran: Hundreds dead or injured in Ghezel Hesar prison
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – According to the HRANA group, at least 150 prisoners are dead or injured after bloody clashes erupted in Karaj’s Ghezel Hesar prison on the night of March 15th. Thousands of prisoners from units 2 and 3 launched a protest after hearing the news of plans to execute ten inmates. During the protest approximately 3,000 prisoners…
Syria protesters torch buildings
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – Crowds have set fire to the courthouse and other buildings on a third straight day of demonstrations in the southern Syrian city of Daraa. Residents said one person was killed and scores injured when security forces used live rounds against protesters. Witnesses said dozens were also taken to be treated for tear gas inhalation at…
Int. Conference for Palestinian Prisoners
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – The routine incarceration of Palestinian prisoners by Israel was the focus of a major international conference in Geneva. The conference, organised by UFree and Friends of Humanity, attracted many high profile personalities from the European political class and numerous other NGOs, and activists. The Palestinian Return Centre who took part in the two day event,…
A Nation Led by Blood-Guzzling, Flesh-Eating Pigfuckers
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – Yes, this will be a very rude post in part. No, my title doesn’t refer to Libya, whose leader is the current candidate for StalinHitlerPolPot Monster of the Week, but rather to the leading terrorist nation of the world, the piece of shit United States of Pigfucking America. There isn’t any “news” in these latest…
Israelis retaliate for killing of settlers
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – A week after Israel’s military put this impoverished Palestinian hamlet on lockdown, residents spent the weekend cleaning their ransacked homes and accounting for missing loved ones. Hundreds of Israeli commandos stormed Awarta on March 12, imposing a five-day curfew a day after the murder of five members of a Jewish family living in the adjacent…
Gazing into the crystal ball: seeing Libya’s future in Darfur’s past — PR Commentary
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – Libya has now become the most recent victim of western “humanitarian” intervention, where a vast majority of the western public was chomping at the bit for American bombs to be dropped on another country that they had not even known existed a month ago. While direct military involvement in Darfur materialized as “UN peacekeepers” as…
Guant?°namo in America (Part One): NPR Explains How Muslims Are Deprived of Fundamental Rights in Secretive Prison Units
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – It has long been a regret of mine that I don’t have enough time to write about the domestic prison system in the US, because of the distressing scale of incarceration in the US (the highest per capita rate in the world, by far) and also because of the violence and brutality, and the use…
African Union demands ‘immediate’ halt to Libya attacks
Uruknet March 20, 2011 ‚Äî The African Union’s panel on Libya Sunday called for an “immediate stop” to all attacks after the United States, France and Britain launched military action against Moamer Kadhafi’s forces. After a more than four-hour meeting in the Mauritanian capital, the body also asked Libyan authorities to ensure “humanitarian aid to those in need,” as well…
Report: Israel admits to abduction of Gaza engineer
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – Israeli media released details on the abduction of Gaza engineer Dirar Abu Sisi on Sunday, after the country partially lifted its gag order on the plight of the Power Plant official who went missing in the Ukraine in February. In a report released in the Israeli daily news site Haaretz, said only that “Sisi was…
‘Barack-A-lujah! I Have Seen The Light!’
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – Thanks to the helpful feedback I have received over these past two, or so, years, I have seen the enormous error of my ways. I used to be against ALL wars and the use of violence, but (and I must admit a little confusion on this one, at first) now it seems that I am…
Muammar Gaddafi calls on Libyans to resist ‘colonialists’
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – Health officials said 64 people had died, though state TV earlier reported 48 dead and 150 injured… The war came to Tripoli at 2.30am in the morning — heralded by the unmistakable crump-crump noise of anti-aircraft batteries firing at an unseen plane somewhere near Gaddafi’s headquarters in his heavily-guarded Bab al-Azizya barracks. Residents had gone…
Arab League chief condemns killing of Libya civilians by Western powers
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – The Arab League chief said on Sunday that Arabs did not want military strikes by Western powers that hit civilians when the League called for a no-fly zone over Libya. In comments carried by Egypt’s official state news agency, Secretary-General Amr Moussa also said he was calling for an emergency Arab League meeting to discuss…
Fears of a ‘counter-revolution’ in Egypt
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – …: My feelings are full of worries and fear that we might just lose all what we have achieved. People started to feel cosy at home once again, laying back and forgetting that they still have got a message to go on with, forgetting that the revolution is still not over, and that there are many…
Egyptian Voters Approve Constitutional Changes
Uruknet March 20, 2011 ‚Äî Egyptian voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum on constitutional changes on Sunday that will usher in rapid elections, with the results underscoring the strength of established political organizations, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, and the weakness of emerging liberal groups. More than 14.1 million voters, or 77.2 percent, approved the constitutional amendments; 4 million, or 22.8 percent,…
Israeli army kills 2 teenagers in Gaza
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – The bodies of two Gaza teenagers were retrieved by Palestinian medics late Sunday morning, after being killed by Israeli fire some 12 hours earlier in the boarder area east of Gaza City. Medical crews said they were only permitted to access the site, east of Juhor Addik and north of the Al-Bureij refugee camp, when…
Eight Years On….
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – Eight years ago…like a today, like a yesterday, like a yesteryear, like years ago… must have been the same date, more or less, maybe another full moon, maybe another first day of Spring… Were we to be reborn on that Equinox of our lives ? We just died in a long winter… a cold long winter…and…
At least 14 dead on bombed east Libya road-Reuters
Uruknet March 20, 2011 – A Reuters correspondent saw a total of at least 14 dead on Sunday around the bombed out military vehicles of forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi on an east Libya road after Western strikes. The road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah, a strategic town that stands at the entrance to east Libya, was a scene of devastation…
Military Resistance 9C 13 : Excellent News All The Way
Uruknet March 19, 2011 – Despite a security agreement requiring a full U.S. military withdrawal by the year’s end, hundreds if not thousands of American soldiers will continue to be in Iraq beyond 2012. There are about 47,000 American troops in Iraq now, down from an October 2007 peak of 166,000. As of this week, 4,439 U.S. forces have been…
Hamas calls for end to pro-unity rallies
Uruknet March 19, 2011 – Hamas on Saturday called on protesters to end pro-unity rallies in the Gaza Strip. Over the last week, hundreds of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Gaza City demanding an end to the division between Hamas and Fatah, and their governments in Gaza and the West Bank. The March 15 movement, a…
Alternative Information Center
Israel Launches PR Campaign to Increase Tourism, Disguise Policies of Oppression, Occupation
Alternative Information Center – Israel recently launched an international campaign to increase its number of tourists. While 2010 was a record year for visitors, Israeli ministries promote “public relations” campaigns to disguise the country’s policies of oppression and occupation.
New Israeli Military Unit to Monitor BDS,”Delegitimization” Groups in OPT & Abroad
Alternative Information Center – Israel’s Military Intelligence has established a new unit responsible for tracking groups abroad, and in the West Bank and Gaza which are aimed at “delegitimizing the State of Israel”. This unit comes on the heels of…
Friday 18 March Popular Protests: Commemorating Palestinian Unity, Injured International Activist Tristan Anderson
Alternative Information Center – Summary of Palestinian popular demonstrations held on Friday 18 March, including reports on injuries, detentions and special commemorations. Demonstrations reported include those in Bil’in, Na’alin, Al Masara and Nabi Salah in the West Bank and Sheikh…
Rachel Corrie Trial to Resume in April
Alternative Information Center – The trial for Rachel Corrie, the International Solidarity Mission (ISM) activist killed in Gaza by an Israeli bulldozer in 2003, continues in the Israeli city of Haifa, on 3 and 6 April. Six state witnesses remain…
Pro-Israel Student Ambassadors to Speak at British Universities during Apartheid Week
Alternative Information Center – Twenty-four young Israelis are on a 10-day trip touring six British universities to promote Israel during the annual Israel Apartheid Week, an annual series of university lectures and rallies held in February and March around the…
Israeli Settler Violence Report: January and February 2011
Alternative Information Center – A detailed account of settler violence throughout the West Bank in the months of January and February 2011. The report is based on primary sources, including interviews with Palestinian victims of violence, together with information from…
Israeli Army Cooperates with Settlers in Attacks on Palestinians
Alternative Information Center – Following the killing of five settlers in Itamar on 11 March, there has been a substantial increase in violence toward Palestinian residents of the West Bank by the Israeli army and settlers, who act in tandem….
Perpetual Collective Punishment in West Bank Town of Awarta
Alternative Information Center – The Israeli military finally left the village of Awarta after days of lockdown and curfew. The West Bank town has long been home to settler attacks and violence. Where is their justice?
Jerusalem Conference Focuses on Uniting the City—For Jewish Residents Only
Alternative Information Center – Right wing Israeli activists accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “dividing Jerusalem” at the 8th annual Jerusalem Conference, held last week from 15-16 March.
Musician-activist Bob Geldof to Receive Award from Rights Violator Ben Gurion University
Alternative Information Center – Musician and human rights activist Bob Geldof will accept an honorary degree from Israel’s Ben Gurion University later this year, thus ignoring the Palestinian call to boycott Israeli institutions. Ben Gurion University itself is particularly active…
Israeli air strikes wound 19 in Gaza
The Guardian 21 Mar 2011 – Seven Palestinian children among those hurt in raids retaliating against Hamas rocket attacks At least 19 Palestinians were said to have been wounded in the Gaza strip as a result of air strikes launched by Israel…
Ban on Israel-Palestine debate ignites free speech row at French university
The Guardian 21 Mar 2011 – International petition calls on Ecole Normale Sup?©rieure to restore ‘long history of political expression’ More than 150 of the world’s foremost academics have intervened in a simmering row over the banning of debates on the Israel-Palestine…
Sarah Palin pulls out of Bethlehem visit
The Guardian 21 Mar 2011 – Former governor of Alaska goes to Greek Orthodox monastery and Jerusalem during tour of Israel Sarah Palin apparently had second thoughts about crossing an Israeli checkpoint on Mondayto visit Bethlehem during a three-day visit to Jerusalem….
UN: Gaza’s youth ‘denied higher education’ by Israeli blockade
The Guardian 21 Mar 2011 – Medicine and engineering among sectors in desperate need of funds and equipment The next generation in the Gaza Strip may be less educated, less professional and perhaps more radical because an Israeli blockade has restricted educational…
‘As our South African comrades did in their fight against apartheid, we must go to international civil society’
The Guardian 21 Mar 2011 – Comment is free interviews: Omar Barghouti of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign on why he thinks this type of pressure is needed to make Israel respect international law Christian Bennett Mustafa Khalili
In a New Crime, IOF Kills Two Children in Central Gaza
Relief Web 21 Mar 2011 – Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Hamas militants say truce if Israel halts Gaza attacks
Relief Web 21 Mar 2011 – Source: Agence France-Presse
OPT: The European Union and UNRWA highlight partnership at village of Al-Walaja
Relief Web 21 Mar 2011 – Source: European Union, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
Human Rights Council holds interactive dialogue with Special Rapporteur on situation of human rights in Occupied Palestinian Territories
Relief Web 21 Mar 2011 – Source: UN Human Rights Council
EGYPT: Revolutionary Youth Give Clinton The Cold Shoulder
IPS U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week paid a highly-publicised visit to Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the epicentre of Egypt’s recent popular uprising. But young leaders of the revolution declined an invitation to meet with her, citing Washington’s tepid support for anti-government protesters over the course of the 18-day rebellion….
Syria Protesters Torch Buildings
IPS Crowds have set fire to the courthouse and other buildings on a third straight day of demonstrations in the southern Syrian city of Daraa.
Commemorate Land Day 2011 by Joining the Global BDS Day of Action 30 March
Stop The Wall – The BDS National Committee (BNC) is calling on you to unite in your different capacities and struggles to join the Global BDS Day of Action on Land Day, 30 March 2011, in solidarity with the Palestinian people’s right to self determination on their ancestral land. [
March 15 protests: Palestinian youth mount growing mobilization
Stop The Wall – The March 15 protests drew some 5000 people to Al Manara Square, Ramallah. Inspired by the ongoing revolts in the Arab world, four days later groups of protestors are still out in the squares in several cities. Beyond Ramallah protests are being organized in Bethlehem, Tulkarem as well as Nablus. [
Putin joins fierce opposition to Libya ‘crusade’
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – Russian PM slams ‘US foreign policy trend of interfering in other countries’….
Report: Two Palestinians shot after stone throwing incident
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – Beit Omar residents lightly wounded after driver responds to stone throwers with….
Israel returns czarist site in Jerusalem to Russia
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – Decision to return Sergei’s Courtyard could generate goodwill ahead of….
Syrian protestors tear down Hafez al-Assad statue
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – (Video) Unrest in city of Deraa continues as demonstrators burn district….
Israeli students leave their mark on UN
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – Nine Ramat Gan high school students succeed where best of Israel’s diplomats….
Japan: WHO warns of ‘serious’ food radiation
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – World Health organization says detection of radiation in food more serious….
IDF to track foreign anti-Israel groups
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – New section in Military Intelligence Directorate to collect data, passively….
Complainant to sue Katsav for millions
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – Ex-employee at President’s Residence, whose case was not included in former….
Report: Palestinian stabbed near settlement
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – Several days after attack on construction worker in Shilo, ‘price tag’….
Bombs hit Gaddafi residential compound
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – (Video) Missile destroys office near Gaddafi’s residence in Tripoli. Britain….
Report: Pro-Israel activist bitten in London
YNet News, 20 Mar 2011 – Jewish Chronicle reports activists attacked at school celebrating ‘Israel….
Yoav Mordechai named IDF spokesman
YNet News, 20 Mar 2011 – New IDF chief of staff Gantz appoints former West Bank Civil Administration head….
Air Force strikes in Gaza; ‘children hurt’
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – Palestinian sources in Gaza said Israeli aircraft bombed a number of targets in the Hamas-ruled territory late Monday night. At least 17 people, among them seven children … ….
Legal experts: Katsav to get 4-7 years
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – Legal experts said Monday, a day before Moshe Katsav was scheduled to be sentenced, that the former president will probably be spending 4-7 years in prison for rape and … ….
Captured Gazan ‘suffering in custody’
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – A Palestinian human rights group released new details Monday about a Gazan man who vanished on a Ukrainian train and resurfaced in an Israeli prison, saying that he was … ….
Woman suspected of trying to sell her baby
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – A woman in her 40s from central Israel was arrested on suspicion of trying to sell her baby boy for a few hundred shekels, Ynet learned on Monday. The infant, who … ….
Golan Druze believe Assad will hang on
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – Members of Israel’s Druze community are following the anti-government protests in the southern Syrian city of Deraa with concern, but most of them do not believe … ….
UN official: Israel engaging in ethnic cleansing
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – Israel’s expansion of Jewish “settlements” in east Jerusalem and eviction of Palestinians from their homes there is a form of ethnic cleansing, a United Nations … ….
Libya denies report of Gaddafi son’s death
YNet News, 21 Mar 2011 – Media outlets affiliated with the Libyan opposition reported Monday that the son of Muammar Gaddafi, Khamis Gaddafi, was killed in a suicide attack on the Bab al-Azizia … ….
Palestinian Information Center
Palestinians call on world to intervene as Israel escalates Gaza attacks
PIC 20 Mar 2011 – The Palestinian government in Gaza has called upon international organizations to intervene as Israel increases aggression on the Gaza Strip.
Interior ministry to prosecute officers who attacked reporters
PIC 20 Mar 2011 – The Palestinian police have taken necessary measures to prosecute officers who violated the rights of news reporters during some riots caused by Fatah in the Gaza Strip, said Ayman Batniji.
PFLP: Fatah eliminated all PLO factions from union elections
PIC 20 Mar 2011 – Senior official of the PFLP Zaher Al-Shishtri accused Fatah of eliminating all member factions of the Palestinian liberation organization (PLO) from the elections for the union of civil servants.
Aqsa Mosque?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s servants foil attempt by armed settler to kill worshipers
PIC 20 Mar 2011 – An armed Jewish settler on Sunday evening tried to storm the Aqsa Mosque, but the Mosque?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s servants and guards captured him and frustrated his intention to kill Muslim worshipers.
Red Cross: Family visits in prison were suspended for Jewish holidays
PIC 21 Mar 2011 – The Red Cross said the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) cancelled prison visits scheduled for Monday due to Jewish holidays and the cordon imposed on the West Bank.
Rights center: The killing of two children in Gaza is another Israeli war crime
PIC 21 Mar 2011 – The Palestinian center for human rights said Israel committed a new war crime when its army killed days ago two children from Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip.
Nazzal: Abbas not yet learned the lesson from the ousted Arab leaders
PIC 20 Mar 2011 – Mohamed Nazzal said that de facto president Mahmoud Abbas and his entourage seems to have not grasped the lesson after the downfall of their allies from the tyrannical Arab regimes.
Interior ministry condemns recent military attacks on east of Gaza
PIC 19 Mar 2011 – The Palestinian ministry of interior strongly denounced the latest Israeli military attacks on Saturday morning on the eastern border areas of Gaza which led to considerable damage to homes.
Al-Qassam warns Israel of escalating its military attacks against Gaza
PIC 20 Mar 2011 – Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, warned the Israeli occupation state of going too far in escalating its military attacks against the Palestinian people in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Jewish settlers raze vast tracts of Palestinian agricultural land east of Yatta
PIC 20 Mar 2011 – Dozens of Jewish settlers destroyed Saturday morning 50 dunums of agricultural lands belonging to Nawaj?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢a family near Susya settlement, east of Yatta town.
WHAT PRICE PALESTINE…?
Intifada-Palestine: 21 Mar 2011 – By: Mikail Jubran Popular revolt has transformed Tunisia. A budding revolution takes hold in Egypt. Civil war is raging in Libya. Social unrest intensifies in Yemen, and sectarian strife heightens in Bahrain. What this this all mean for the Palestinians? During… more
THE QUEST TO DOMINATE THE ARAB WORLD
Intifada-Palestine: 21 Mar 2011 – In December 2010, after so many thousands of deaths in Iraq that they blur into a tragedy we can barely stomach to look upon, nearly eight years after his so-called revolutionary shock and awe techniques were put into practice, Harlan Ullman… more
WORLDWIDE SANCTIONS CAN ERODE ISRAEL’S FANATICISM: DR. LAWRENCE DAVIDSON
Intifada-Palestine: 20 Mar 2011 – Interview by Kourosh Ziabari Dr. Lawrence Davidson Born in 1945 in Philadelphia PA, Dr. Lawrence Davidson is professor of history at West Chester University in West Chester PA. His academic work is focused on the history of American foreign relations with… more
WASHINGTON AND THE CIVILIANS OF LIBYA — AN ANALYSIS BY DR. LAWRENCE DAVIDSON
Intifada-Palestine: 20 Mar 2011 – Dr. Lawrence Davidson Illustration: Carlos Latuff Whether you believe that the United Nations resolution authorizing extensive intervention in the Libyan civil war is justified or not, and whether you believe that the admittedly eccentric forty two year rule of Muammar Gadhafi… more
King of Bahrain says subversive ‘external plot’ has been foiled
The National 21 Mar 2011 – Analysts see finger pointed at Iran after King Hamad bin Isa tells officers from Saudi-led Peninsula Shield Force in Bahrain that ploy ‘has been fomented for 20 to 30 years for the ground to be ripe for subversive designs’.
Al Jazeera too soft on stories close to home say watchers
The National 21 Mar 2011 – While the Qatar-based satellite TV station has received widespread praise for its coverage of unrest around the Arab world, it paid less attention to unrest in Bahrain than other protests in the region because of ‘political interests, according to its critics.
Hospital at centre of clashes between government and protesters
The National 21 Mar 2011 – Salmaniya Medical Centre, one of the largest and busiest hospitals in Bahrain, has become a focal point in efforts by the government to regain control in a country racked by clashes.
Across the US, Al Jazeera is still seen as too controversial to screen
The National 21 Mar 2011 – Praised by Hillary Clinton for providing ‘real news around the clock’, attacked by Glenn Beck of Fox News as ‘a propaganda machine for the Muslim Brotherhood’, Al Jazeera English can still only be seen by a tiny minority of the American viewing public.
Thousands stage protest and call for end to Lebanon’s sectarian system
The National 20 Mar 2011 – Lebanese held a protest in Beirut yesterday, the third in less than a month, to demand an end to the country’s confessional system.
World Briefing | MIDDLE EAST: Egypt: Militant Is Rearrested Days After Release From Prison
New York Times 21 Mar 2011 – Egypt rearrested the brother of Al Qaeda’s second in command days after he was released from prison.
World Briefing | MIDDLE EAST: Gaza: Israel Replies With Airstrikes
New York Times 21 Mar 2011 – Israel launched five airstrikes at the Gaza Strip two days after Hamas militants fired dozens of mortar shells and rockets at Israel, witnesses and militant groups said.
Sarkozy Puts France at Vanguard of West’s War Effort
New York Times 21 Mar 2011 – Motivated by French failures to respond quickly to the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, President Nicolas Sarkozy brought Western allies together on Libya.
‘Jewish and democratic’ state intent on proving it is a democracy for Jews only
Mondoweiss – Is there a Hebrew word for “irony?” From the Haaretz article ” Knesset set to vote on law to determine if a group is ‘pro-Israel’ “: The Knesset is scheduled to vote Tuesday, in second and third readings, on two highly controversial bills: the first would deprive organizations…
There’s no such thing as a situational war (two leftwingers argue over Libya)
Mondoweiss – Michael Ratner : I was really surprised to see you endorse the war in Libya . Especially after you say you endorsed the Afghan war, you would understand that your judgment on this issue may not be perfect. Phil Weiss : Well I hated the Iraq war and was…
Israel admits to abducting Gazan engineer who disappeared while vacationing in Ukraine
Mondoweiss – And more news from Today in Palestine: Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlers Settler opens fire on funeral procession HEBRON (Ma’an) 21 Mar — Two Palestinians were shot Monday afternoon when a settler disembarked from his car on the Jerusalem-Hebron road and opened…
Barghouti: The West must condemn Israeli plans to spy on Palestine-solidarity activists
Mondoweiss – Haaretz reports : Military Intelligence is collecting information about left-wing organizations abroad that the army sees as aiming to delegitimize Israel, according to senior Israeli officials and Israel Defense Forces officers. The sources said MI’s research division created a department several months ago that is dedicated to…
Palestine looks out, for once
Mondoweiss – Zahra Raja is reporting from Jerusalem for a Columbia University J School trip for a religion class and she attended prayers at Al-Aqsa in East Jerusalem last week and got a surprise. (Note that this is a J School trip that we blasted here a year…
Israeli NGO Wins Partial Lifting of Abusisi Gag
Tikun Olam – A few days ago the Association for Civil Rights in Israel appealed the gag order on the DirarAbusisicase and the PetahTikvah judge ruled in their favor partially. But it’s a very small victory since the main part of the gag stays in place. Israeli media cannot…
How the Proposed Anti-Boycott Law is Virtually Unenforceable
The Magnes Zionist 21 Mar 2011 – I got around to reading the latest version of the proposed law purporting to make Israelis who call for a boycott on Israel liable to civil suits. When the bill first was proposed, I wrote a post called, ” Don’t Buy Golan Wines — And Sue Me .”…
Israel launches Gaza air strikes
BBC 21 Mar 2011 – At least 17 people have been injured by a series of Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics say.
Syria crackdown condemned by US
BBC 21 Mar 2011 – The US has condemned Syria’s use of “disproportionate force” to suppress demonstrations calling for greater freedom and an end to corruption.
Egypt backs constitution changes
BBC 20 Mar 2011 – Egyptians have strongly backed constitutional changes that will allow the country to move quickly on to elections.
(en) Britain, Anarchist Federation (AF) Resistance bulletin #129 – TUNISIANS TOPPLE TYRANT, and more.
A-infos 21 Mar 2011 – Tunisians Tumble Tyrant —— THE UNREST in Tunisia which toppled the government of Ben Ali has acted as a spark throughout the Arabic-speaking world, and is echoed in Algeria, Morocco, Jordan, Libya and Egypt. It was ironic to see both the British government and Col. Gadaffi…
Articles
Massacring truth: the story of Jenin Jenin
Seraj Assi, Al-Ahram Weekly3/17/2011
Israel’s campaign against Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Bakri’s film Jenin Jenin is part of a twisted logic that demands that Palestinians apologise for Israeli crimes.
The story began in April 2002, when the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) invaded the Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank town of Jenin, levelled it to the ground, killed more than 70 people and buried civilians alive in their demolished homes and the smoldering buildings.
During Operation Defensive Shield, the Israeli name for the Jenin massacre, the IDF refused to allow journalists, human- rights and humanitarian organisations into the camp. Jenin remained sealed off for days after the invasion.
Bakri was among the first to enter the camp after the massacre and collect oral testimonies from local residents. His film Jenin Jenin tells the story of the ruined camp and the massacre’s survivors.
On 23 June 2002, the film’s executive producer, Iyad Samoudi, was killed in Alyamoun by Israeli soldiers at the end of filming. Bakri himself continues to receive death threats. The war on Jenin Jenin continues to this very day.
Israel’s campaign against Jenin Jenin is not about the film’s politics. Anyone who has seen the film will have been struck by Bakri’s capacity to maintain a high degree of professionalism in the midst of the ruins of the camp. Neither ideology nor politics is allowed into the narrative. Bakri himself does not talk in the film, but instead allows the residents of the camp to tell their own stories. His commitment to truth is the only form of narrative operating in the film. more.. e-mail
Editorial: Woe to those attacking Libya
Nasser Lahham, Ma’an News Agency3/21/2011
We have been watching in live transmission western warplanes bombarding the capital of Libya.
The Iraqi experience taught us that colonial countries cared only about Iraqi oil. They destroyed Iraq, killing both Christians and Muslims, which should be a lesson for all those who try to be more American than the Americans. I needn’t remind them how Iraqi detainees were tortured physically and psychologically by US soldiers. After they finished with Iraqi oil and aroused disputes in every street and alley, the allies’ armies just disengaged, leaving the country devastated.
We must recall that a detention order was issued against the Sudanese president and southern Sudan is being fragmented to avoid implementation of that order. Let’s not forget that the US disengaged from Afghanistan after they secured their alleged democracy! Equally important, the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was oppressed, while all the leaders of the Arab world were afraid even to telephone him fearing that they might irritate former US President George W Bush and ex-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Despite all of that, and despite the outcome of capitalist democracies in African countries, the hypocritical leaders of the Arab League — who face the White House in their prayers — hurry to summon the bear to the Arab field.
They seek help from the UN — the same UN that is ruled by the US and only a month ago vetoed a resolution condemning illegal Israeli settlement activities.
Another disappointment came when the respectable Muslim cleric Sheikh Yousif Al-Qaradawi legitimized and justified the US strikes against Libya taking us back to the indulgences of Middle Ages…. more.. e-mail
Palestinians urged to “Buy Gaza”
Electronic Intifada: 21 Mar 2011 – GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) – Palestinians are calling for boycotts against Israeli products and companies. But in the Gaza Strip — at the heart of the Israeli occupation — it is often impossible for residents to follow their own call to action.more
Fall of God-King and Rise of the World Citizen
Palestine Chronicle: 21 Mar 2011 – By Khalil Elayan ‘Thou marveledst at that which befell thee… yet there betided the Kings of the Chosroes before thee greater mishaps and more grievous than that which hath befallen thee; and indeed I have set forth unto thee that which happened to caliphs and kings and others… but the relation is longsome and harkening growth tedious, and in this is all-sufficient warning for the man of wits and admonishment for the wise.’ — from The Thousand and One Nights If we understand Shahrazad correctly, then we know that even the greatest of kings were beset with troubles so great that you could always find one whose troubles were greater than another. This is one of the many lessons that Sultan Shahrayar learns from the first great feminist. Shahrazad is a woman who actually changes a man or, more philosophically, helps him to change himself. Within the spectrum of today’s…more
Dershowitz’s Radioactive Plume
Palestine Chronicle: 21 Mar 2011 – By Belén Fernández While some friends of the Jewish state are preoccupied with the possibility of a sushi shortage in Israel thanks to the disaster in Japan, Harvard’s law professor Alan M. Dershowitz has more important things on his mind. His most recent dispatch, entitled “Israel Now Has The Right To Attack Iran’s Nuclear Reactors,” begins with the assertion that “Iran’s recent attempt to ship arms to Hamas in Gaza is an act of war committed by the Iranian government against the Israeli government.” As we well know, it is not necessary for Harvard law professors to specify that Israel has merely alleged that Iran attempted to ship arms to Hamas, or that the credibility of Israeli arms allegations has been called into question by the fact that the photographs published by the Israeli Foreign Ministry of the “weapons cache” found on board the Mavi Marmara last year ended up…more
Playing Politics at the Rafah Crossing
Palestine Chronicle: 21 Mar 2011 – By Richard Lightbown Hopes that the popular uprising in Egypt will lead to the permanent opening of the Rafah Crossing into the Gaza Strip suffered a setback on 13 March when an Anglo-French medical team of three surgeons was denied entry into the Strip by Egyptian officials. No reason was given for refusing a visit that had been arranged in conjunction with the French Embassy two months previously. According to the Gisha report Rafah Crossing Who Holds the Keys? Israel, not the Egyptian government largely controls the Rafah Crossing. The other key players are the Hamas government, the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah, the European Union and the United States. It is no surprise then that the situation remains much as it did before the Egyptian revolt. The operation of the Rafah Crossing is run according to the Agreement on Movement and Access (AMA) between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and…more
Sanction Policies and the Zionist Power Structure
Palestine Chronicle: 21 Mar 2011 – By James Petras One of the key distinctions between a capitalist and a non-capitalist (socialist, feudal, absolutist state) economy is the separation of state and private enterprise. In a capitalist state, economic enterprises are supposed to operate according to market principles, seeking to maximize profits and expand market shares. The state is supposed to act on behalf of capitalist enterprises, ensuring their protection and furthering their pursuit of profits and markets. Recent history of foreign relations provides ample evidence that the reverse is true: private corporations, especially banks have been converted into adjuncts of the US state , serving as transmission belts of US military policy, by sacrificing markets, profits and opportunities for future economic growth. Another important reason for keeping US multinational corporations out of a country. Moreover, the state both in the US and Europe have seized billions in private investment funds and dispossessed their owners, in the process…more
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The New Dark Age 