4 April, 2011 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
UN Council: Will Not Retract Goldstone Report Due To Op-ed By Chief Investigator
IMEMC – Tuesday April 05, 2011 – 03:32, Richard Goldstone, the Chief Investigator of the UN Human Rights Council’s investigation into war crimes and violations by Israel and Hamas during Israel’s 2008-9 invasion of Gaza, created a diplomatic stir when he published an op-ed on Friday entitled “Reconsidering the Goldstone Report on Israeli War Crimes”.
Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaker Killed By Masked Man In Jenin
IMEMC – Tuesday April 05, 2011 – 00:26, Juliano Meir-Khamis, a well-known Israeli actor and co-director of the Jenin Freedom Theatre, was shot to death in his car Monday, just outside his Theatre in Jenin refugee camp, in the northern part of the West Bank. Meir-Khamis, the son of a Palestinian father and a Jewish-Israeli mother, lived in Jenin with his family for the last seven years.
Suffering From Cancer, Child Detainee Released From Israeli Prison
IMEMC – Tuesday April 05, 2011 – 00:09, Palestinian sources reported Monday that detainee Mustafa Shihab Abdul-Wahab, 16, from a village near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, was released from an Israeli detention facility due to a sharp deterioration of his health conditions as he suffers from Cancer.
Pchr Highlights Key Issues Relating to Report of UN Fact-finding Mission on Gaza Conflict
IMEMC – Monday April 04, 2011 – 23:02, In light of the media debate and confusion triggered by Justice Richard Goldstone’s 1 April opinion piece in the Washington Post, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) wishes to highlight a few key issues regarding the current status of the UN Fact-Finding Mission’s Report, and the search for accountability in the aftermath of Israel’s 27 December 2008 —18 January 2009 offensive on the Gaza Strip.
UNRWA Reports Record House Demolitions By Israel
IMEMC – Monday April 04, 2011 – 17:48, The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reports that Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes and other buildings reached a record high in March.
Army Invades Bil’in
IMEMC – Monday April 04, 2011 – 11:47, Under the pretext of searching for international peace activists, Israeli soldiers and policemen invaded on Monday at dawn Bil’in village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, broke into and searched several homes.
Israel plans expansion of several West Bank settlements
IMEMC – Monday April 04, 2011 – 11:29, A committee of the Israeli Jerusalem municipal government began on Monday to implement a plan to expand the illegal settlement of Gilo, located on the land of the Palestinian town of Beit Jala, by 942 houses. Another illegal settlement, Nofim, received recognition by the Israeli government and will be allowed to proceed with expansion plans.
Hearing resumes in case of non-violent activist killed by Israeli bulldozer
IMEMC – Sunday April 03, 2011 – 16:06, After a five month recess, the Haifa District Court resumed a hearing on Sunday, April 3, in the civil lawsuit filed by Rachel Corrie’s family against the State of Israel for her unlawful murder in Rafah, Gaza on March 16, 2003. Rachel was an American student activist and human rights defender who was crushed by an Israeli military Caterpillar D9R bulldozer while nonviolently protesting the demolition of Palestinian homes.
Israel okays 942 new settler homes in East Jerusalem
4/4/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Jerusalem city council on Monday approved the construction of 942 new Jewish-only homes in Gilo settlement in occupied East Jersualem, a councillor told AFP. Elisha Peleg, from the right-wing Likud party, confirmed that the new construction in Gilo, close to the West Bank city of Bethlehem, had been approved during an afternoon session…. Related: Report: More settlement homes in works
Founder shot dead outside Jenin theater
4/4/2011 – JENIN (Ma’an) — Unknown assailants shot dead a founder of the Freedom Theater in Jenin outside the venue on Monday. Juliano Mer-Khamis, 52, was shot five times while leaving the theater, and died at Jenin Hospital, local security sources told a Ma’an correspondent. They said his body was handed to Israeli authorities….
Gaza engineer indicted over Hamas rockets
4/4/2011 – Lawyer: Confessions were made “under very heavy duress which I would characterize as torture.”- BEERSHEVA, Israel (AFP) – A Gazan engineer who was snatched from Ukraine was indicted on Monday by an Israeli court for belonging to Hamas and designing rockets for the Islamist group’s armed wing, court papers showed. According to an official….
Report: More settlement homes in works
4/4/2011 – TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — The construction of another 124 apartment units in the occupied West Bank were approved by the Jerusalem District Planning and Construction Committee, which was set to convene Monday for a discussion on the approval of an additional 942 units. The daily news site Ynet said the the latest housing…. Related: Israel okays 942 new settler homes in East Jerusalem
Israeli zoning stifles Area C village
4/4/2011 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — The 1,200 residents of Furush Beit Dajan, 60 kilometers north of Nablus, have no water, sewage or electricity networks, and say that despite appeals to the Palestinian Authority, little has, or can be done to improve conditions. Surrounded by settlements and the Hamra military checkpoint, officials say the past 30 years….
Protesters call for return of ex-Guantanamo detainee
4/4/2011 – KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza (Ma’an) — Dozens of Palestinians demonstrated at the Red Cross headquarters in Khan Younis Monday, calling for the return of a former Guantanamo detainee from Spain. Walid Ibrahim Hijazi, from Gaza, was detained in America’s Guantanamo prison in 2001, and transferred to Spain in 2010 as part of a….
Single crossing brings goods into Gaza
4/4/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities informed Palestinian officials that between 180-190 truckloads of goods would enter Gaza on Monday, as the blockade of the coastal enclave continues. Palestinian crossings liaison officer Raed Fattouh said the loads of commercial and humanitarian goods would include 20 new vehicles in addition to domestic-use gas. Israel….
Israel summons Jenin residents for questioning
4/4/2011 – JENIN (Ma’an) — Israeli intelligence officers accompanied by soldiers entered the northern West Bank village of Jalqamus on Monday morning, demanding entry into several homes before sunrise and delivering summons to four residents. The homes of Rabie Al-Hajj, Khalil Al-Hajj, Sami Al-Hajj and Hashem Al-Qazam were entered by armed soldiers and briefly searched. Relatives….
Striking UNRWA worker hospitalized
4/4/2011 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — UNRWA warehouse workers in Jerusalem remain on strike demanding better wages, and said Monday that one of the hunger strikers was hospitalized early in the day. Spokesman for the workers Jamal Jabir told Ma’an the man was taken to the Al-Maqasid Hospital in Jerusalem, noting that six others had….
Israel releases Palestinian teen ill with cancer
4/4/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities on Monday released a teenage Palestinian detainee diagnosed with cancer, Palestinian Authority officials said. Mustafa Shehab Abdul Wahhad, 16, was detained by Israeli forces in February. Medics said malignant tumors in his chest grew during his detention in Ofer prison, in a military base near Ramallah. Abdul Wahhad, from….
Israel to deploy 4 more ‘Iron Dome’ anti-rocket devices
4/4/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel is planning to deploy four more batteries of its “Iron Dome” short-range missile defense system, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Sunday. Speaking on military radio, Barak said: “With the financial help of the Americans, we hope to equip ourselves with four new ‘Iron Dome’ batteries so we will have….
Families: Prisoners not yet released from Egypt
4/4/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Families of 14 Palestinians from Gaza in Egyptian prison said Monday they have not yet received word on the release of the men, despite promises from Egyptian officials. Imad As-Sayyed, spokesman of the families, said efforts had been made to contact the Egyptian authorities through the Arab Organization for Human….
Fayyad condemns murder of Freedom Theater founder
4/4/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) —Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Monday condemned the murder of Freedom Theater founder Juliano Mer-Khamis. Mer-Khamis was shot dead by unknown gunmen outside the theater in Jenin refugee camp on Monday afternoon.”This despicable crime will not be tolerated under any circumstances, it constitutes a severe violation of our…. Related: Founder shot dead outside Jenin theater
Islamic bank sacks dozens of employees
4/4/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Palestine Islamic Bank staff said dozens of employees were dismissed from branches in the West Bank and Gaza on Thursday. Shadi Abu Nahel, one of the dismissed employees, told Ma’an that the bank’s administration handed 38 employees a letter terminating their employment contracts with immediate….
Amman seeks return of antiquities from Israel
4/4/2011 – AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) — The director of Jordan’s antiquities department said Sunday that “treasure of vital historic importance” has turned up in Israel after being smuggled out of his country.” It’s about 70 pounds (32 kilograms) of metal containing between five and 15 pages bound by lead rings, as well as copper….
Unity delegation leaves for Cairo
4/4/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Representatives of several Palestinian factions and independent figures left for Cairo on Monday, for a series of talks under Egyptian mediation, and meetings with delegates from the Middle East and Europe, a source close to the meetings said. The focus of the trip will be on Palestinian unity, the official….
Evacuated from Gaza in 2005 but still ‘homeless’
4/4/2011 – RAMALLAH (IRIN) — More than five years after 9,000 Israeli settlers were removed from the 22 settlements of Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip and from four smaller settlements in the West Bank, most evacuees are still living rough and are yet to rebuild their homes.” We are still living in the same cramped caravan, about….
Drug dealer arrested in Qalqilia
4/4/2011 – QALQILIYA (Ma’an) – Police arrested a drug dealer in Qalqiliya on Monday. Large quantities of Hashish were seized from his home in Qalqiliya city, a police report said….
Israel Scours Palestinian Village in Hunt for Killers
Palestine Note 4 Apr 2011 – New York Times- In the rolling hills of the northern West Bank , Palestinian villages and Israeli settlements exist in a geographical intimacy that belies decades of mutual hostility, suspicion and fear. Here neighbors are also enemies, and the brutal killing…
Israeli panel expected to approve 942 new apartments in contested East Jerusalem
Palestine Note 4 Apr 2011 – Associated Press- Jerusalem officials on Monday gave preliminary approval for the building of 942 new apartments in a Jewish development in the city’s contested eastern sector, threatening to create new friction ahead of the Israeli president’s White House visit. Although…
Evacuated from Gaza in 2005 but still “homeless”
Palestine Note 4 Apr 2011 – IRIN- More than five years after 9,000 Israeli settlers were removed from the 22 settlements of the Gush Katif community in the Gaza Strip and from four smaller settlements in the West Bank, most evacuees are still living rough and…
Landmark vote on mines leads to rethink in Israel
Palestine Note 4 Apr 2011 – Deutsche Welle- To the Israelis who live around the Golan Heights, fences and placards with landmine warnings are as commonplace as road signs and traffic lights. Until now, the residents have taken for granted that the large tract of land,…
Hamas has started reconciliation talks with Fatah, says leader
Palestine Note 4 Apr 2011 – Al Masry Al Youm- Hamas has initiated talks with Fatah regarding a potential Palestinian reconciliation, Hamas leadership member Mahmoud al-Zahar said on Monday. State-run news agency MENA reported al-Zahar said the talks began in Gaza on Sunday. “We’re determined to…
First female leader of Palestinian party elected
Palestine Note 4 Apr 2011 – Ma’an- The Central Committee of the Palestinian Democratic Union convened Saturday in Ramallah and Gaza City and elected the first ever female secretary-general of a Palestinian faction, Zahira Kamal. Kamal was born in Jerusalem in 1945 and has held several…
Goldstone ‘Reconsiders’ Report
Palestine Note 4 Apr 2011 – The South African judge no longer believes Israel intended to kill civilians in Operation Cast Lead Richard Goldstone, Washington Post – We know a lot more today about what happened in the Gaza war of 2008-09 than we did when…
The Bull Never Wins?
Palestine Note 4 Apr 2011 – For the last week, my wife and I have been visiting our daughter in not so sunny Seville, Spain. We’ve been learning how to insult the locals with gauche American customs like tipping. And by rejecting restaurant bills with special…
What’s the first step toward peace?
Palestine Note 4 Apr 2011 – There is a growing movement toward BDS—boycott, divestment, and sanctions—to help Palestinian families. I applaud the effort, a peaceful effort to end mistreatment of Palestinians, but wonder whether it is the best first step toward peaceful resolution of the Israeli/Palestine…
Libya ‘ready’ to discuss reforms
AlJazeera 4 Apr 2011 – Information minister says the people will decide their own future, calling Gaddafi a “safety valve” for unity in Libya.
Martelly ‘won’ Haiti’s presidential runoff
AlJazeera 4 Apr 2011 – Singer Michel Martelly beat former first lady Mirlande Manigat, according to preliminary results.
‘No civilian trial’ for Guantanamo detainee
AlJazeera 4 Apr 2011 – Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, to be tried in a military court, US reports say.
Protesters shot dead in southern Yemen
AlJazeera 4 Apr 2011 – At least 16 anti-government protesters killed as troops – some stationed on rooftops – open fire on crowd.
Israeli-Arab actor shot dead in West Bank
AlJazeera 4 Apr 2011 – Juliano Mer-Khamis, prominent director and political activist, gunned down in Jenin where he ran a community theatre.
Assad appoints new governor for Daraa
AlJazeera 4 Apr 2011 – In a bid to appease protesters, the Syrian president continues to make new government appointments.
Juliano Mer-Khamis Shot Dead in Jenin
PNN – Jenin – PNN – According to Palestinian police, well known Arab-Israeli actor, director and political activist Juliano Mer-Khamis has been shot dead in Jenin, where he ran a drama school and community…
Settlement Expansion Planned In Gilo
PNN – Jerusalem – PNN – The Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee meets Monday to debate southwest expansion of Gilo neighborhood The committee is currently reviewing a plan approved at district level two years…
Where U.S. Chooses to Back ‘Armed Struggle’
PNN – By Nicola Nasser – Within a few days, the “Silmiya” (peaceful) popular uprising against the 42-year old rule of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya had turned into an “armed struggle” and in no…
Israel Prepares for Another Gaza Flotilla
PNN – Tel Aviv – PNN – As leftist and pro-Palestinian activists prepare for another flotilla to Gaza, Israeli diplomats plead with the UN to stop the vessels. This month Israel has begun a…
Dr. Ashrawi : We Expect Goldstone to Show Commitment to International Law, not Bow to Israel
PNN – Ramallah —PNN —Commenting on Richard Goldstone’s recent opinion piece published in the Washington Post last week, PLO Executive Committee member and MP Dr. Hanan Ashrawi said on Sunday that instead…
Report: 32 Palestinians Killed in Gaza by Israeli Attacks Since January
PNN – Gaza —PNN —The Emergency and Ambulance High Commission based in the Gaza Strip has issued a report saying that since the beginning of this year Israeli attacks targeting the costal…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
PCHR Highlight Key Issues Relating to Report of UN Fact-Finding Mission on Gaza Conflict (the ‘Goldstone Report)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
PCHR Has Concerns Over Security Services’ Attacks on Media Crews and Peaceful Assemblies in Gaza
Palestinian Center for Human Rights Thursday, 31 March 2011
Military Court in Gaza Sentences Palestinian to Death
Palestinian Center for Human Rights Wednesday, 30 March 2011
PCHR Calls Upon the Government in Gaza to Investigate Use of Homemade Projectiles which struck House and Two Factories in Gaza
Palestinian Center for Human Rights Tuesday, 29 March 2011
International Solidarity Movement
Israeli occupation forces storm the village of Bil’in night
4/4/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements – The Israeli army and police occupation forces stormed the village of Bil’in at 1:30 am on Monday 4th April, raiding the houses of Ali Ibrahim Bornat, and Khames Abo Rahma. They searched their houses and tampered with the contents under the pretext of search for….
PCHR highlights key issues relating to report of UN fact-finding mission on Gaza conflict (the ‘ÀúGoldstone Report’)
4/4/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – Palestinian Centre for Human Rights – In light of the media debate and confusion triggered by Justice Richard Goldstone’s 1 April opinion piece in the Washington Post, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) wishes to highlight a few key issues regarding the current status of the UN Fact-Finding Mission’s Report, and….
Alternative Information Center
Israel Demolishes Twice the Number of Palestinian Homes, Buildings in 2011
Alternative Information Center – The United Nations reports a two-fold increase in the number of Palestinian homes and agricultural buildings destroyed by Israel this year, reported the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (…
Israel Asking UN to Stop Freedom Flotilla II
Alternative Information Center – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking United Nations intervention in stopping the upcoming Freedom Flotilla II, which will be sailing to the blockaded Gaza Strip between mid and late May.
Jerusalem Municipality to Approve New Project for Gilo Settlement
Alternative Information Center – On Monday, 4 April, The Jerusalem District Planning and Construction Committee is expected to approve 942 housing units on the Southern Slopes of Gilo, Ynet News reports. This decision is anticipated to occur shortly before President…
Press Conference by Security Council President
Relief Web 4 Apr 2011 – Source: UN Department of Public Information, UN Security Council
Report of the Committee of independent experts in international humanitarian and human rights law established pursuant to Council resolution 13/9 (A/HRC/16/24) – Advance Unedited Version
Relief Web 4 Apr 2011 – Source: UN General Assembly, UN Human Rights Council
OPT: Ensuring access to education for girls in the West Bank
Relief Web 4 Apr 2011 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
Analysis: Evacuated from Gaza in 2005 but still “homeless”
Relief Web 4 Apr 2011 – Source: Integrated Regional Information Networks
Israel plans more illegal settlement West Bank
4 Apr 2011 – Palestine, (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Ehud Barak approved on Monday a plan for the expansion of the settlement of Nofim, located on the western edge of the northern West Bank.
Preparations in Israel to attack Freedom Flotilla 2
4 Apr 2011 – Gaza Strip, (Pal Telegraph)- Israeli occupation army and the ministry of foreign affairs started preparations to confront the Freedom Flotilla 2 which is expected to reach Gaza Strip by the end of this May.
11 Palestinians arrested during Israeli raid in WB
4 Apr 2011 – West Bank, (Pal Telegraph)-Israeli occupation forces carried out Monday morning search operation to several homes in the city of Hebron.
Israel to construct 1900 housing units in Gilo
4 Apr 2011 – West Bank, (Pal Telegraph)- The building committee in Israeli municipality is going to discuss a plan for establishing 1900 housing units in the settlement of Gilo, Israeli radio reported.
Jewish settlers attack Palestinian in Nablus
4 Apr 2011 – West Bank, (Pal Telegraph)- A Palestinian citizen was severely beaten yesterday evening by Jewish settlers of the illegal settlement of Ma’ale Ephraim in the east of Nablus city.
GCC makes its united voice heard
The National 4 Apr 2011 – Recent actions by the Gulf Cooperation Council signal a more decisive role with implications for the region at a time of widespread change.
Syrians take pro and anti-Assad demonstrations to streets of Chicago
The National 4 Apr 2011 – US city has become the favoured venue for those who say President Bashar al Assad should stay and others who support the protesters back home in Syria.
Amman bomb threat forces evacuation of Islamic opposition HQ
The National 4 Apr 2011 – Explosives belt was fake, say police, after suspect who threatened to blow himself up at the headquarters of Islamic Action Front in Jordan is arrested .
US to call on Yemen’s President Saleh to step down
The National 4 Apr 2011 – Embassy in Sana’a says US will call on Ali Abdullah Saleh either to step down or reach a transition-of-power agreement with the opposition within the week.
‘Hamas weapons capability increased four-fold over last five years’
Ha’aretz – A court indictment alleges that engineer Dirar Abu Sisi has contributed significantly to Hamas’s weapons capabilities, was instrumental in developing the organization’s rocket cache and helped increase the range of Qassam rockets.
Top defense official: Israel faces isolation ‘no less severe than war’
Ha’aretz – In remarks made behind closed doors, Amos Gilad warns that ongoing freeze in the peace process could yield third Intifada as Palestinians prepare to ask UN for recognition of statehood in September.
UN council: Goldstone regret not enough to rescind Gaza war report
Ha’aretz – ‘UN reports are not canceled on the basis of an op-ed in a newspaper,’ UN Human Rights Council spokesman says, adding Goldstone has not submitted official request to withdraw the report.
Peres to Clinton: Middle East ‘storm’ must bring peace, security and democracy
Ha’aretz – President Shimon Peres and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meet in Washington; both officials are optimistic about talks, stressing Israel and the United States’ close ties and prospects for peace.
Holocaust survivors to receive 564 million dollars in reparations over next three years
Ha’aretz – The Claims Conference negotiates a significant increase in funds from the German government for survivors’ homecare to ensure that victims of Nazism can live at home and receive the assistance they need.
‘Israeli actor’s murder in Jenin most likely pre-meditated assassination’
Ha’aretz – Zakariya Zubeidi, the Palestinian former militant who went on to co-manage the Freedom Theater with slain actor Juliano Mer-Khamis, tells Haaretz that the shooting was ‘not a simple operation’.
Egypt ready to ‘open new page’ in relations with Iran
Ha’aretz – Egyptian Foreign Minister Elaraby meets Iranian official Amani, says people in both countries ‘deserve mutual relations reflecting their history and civilization’.
Haaretz Q & A / Avraham Burg on anti-Semitism in the modern world
Ha’aretz – Former Jewish Agency chair and Knesset speaker will answer readers’ questions live on April 5, 2011 at 12 P.M.
Israeli actor Juliano Mer-Khamis shot dead in Jenin
Ha’aretz – Mer-Khamis, 52, was shot five times by masked militants; he had established his name as actor, director and political activist both in Israel and abroad.
Families of Carmel fire victims say too early to grant medals
Ha’aretz – Relatives of dozens who perished in the massive forest fire say that a decision to award Medals of Distinction at this time would prejudice the State Comptroller’s investigation of the blaze.
Palestinian PM condemns murder of Israeli actor Juliano Mer-Khamis in Jenin
Ha’aretz – Mer-Khamis was shot five times by masked gunmen meters from the community theater he had opened in Jenin; Fayyad: We cannot stand silent in the face of this ugly crime.
Argentina denies offering to ‘forget’ Iran’s role in attacks against Jewish community
Ha’aretz – Last month, the Argentinian newspaper Perfil cited an Iranian diplomatic memo detailing secret negotiations in which Argentina offered to drop the probe in exchange for improved trade ties.
Wife of Palestinian engineer urges UN to secure his release from Israeli custody
Ha’aretz – Abu Sisi, a director of the Gaza Strip’s sole power station, was indicted Monday for allegedly helping Hamas develop weapons for use against Israel.
Ahmadinejad: Arab world conflicts will lead to collapse of Zionist regime
Ha’aretz – He added that the Arab states should be careful not to rely on the United States and its allies, ‘as their ultimate aim is to save’ Israel.
Israel files indictment against alleged Palestinian ‘father of rockets’
Ha’aretz – After nearly 40 days in custody, Dirar Abu Sisi has been charged over allegations that he is a close confidant of Hamas military leaders and instrumental in developing their rocket cache.
‘MI5 believed Jewish underground wanted to assassinate Churchill’
Ha’aretz – British military intelligence records reveal that officials feared that pre-state Zionist militia Lehi was plotting to murder the prime minister of the U.K.
Israel doesn’t believe UN will rescind Goldstone Report
Ha’aretz – Despite Netanyahu’s fervent demands that the entire damning report be annulled, Foreign Ministry sources say that at best, Israel could try to convince Goldstone to turn his Washington Post op-ed into an official letter to the UN.
US urges its citizens to leave Syria
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Israel’s ex-FM: West has shown willingness to ‘coexist with tyranny.’
Families ask court to delay Carmel fire medals
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – The 37 families submitted the petition after learning that the police planned to honor three in a formal ceremony next week.
Safed’s new medical school ‘will change North’
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Project will create thousands of jobs, says Negev and Galilee Development Minister Silvan Shalom.
Requests for Pessah food packages double over last year
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – NII statistics show a sharp increase in the number of Israeli families joining the poverty cycle.
Mumbai attack orphan to be among beacon-lighters
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Others will include 16-year-old volunteer firefighter, Auschwitz survivor Michael Goldman Gilad, who joined police and interrogated Eichmann.
‘Israel should adopt int’l land mine removal standards’
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Land mine expert Christopher Clark tells ‘Post’ that standards will guarantee removal, reduce costs, improve efficiency.
Jerusalem committee advances plan for Gilo housing
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Plans to expand neighborhood located beyond Green Line come as Peres to meet Clinton, Obama; c’tee denies any political message in timing.
Barak approves master plans for 4 settlements
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Defense minister paves way for new construction in Nofim, Eshkolot, Rotem and Hemdat; Peace Now says gov’t capitulating to settler pressure.
Lehi founder’s son denies plot to assassinate Churchill
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Yair Stern responds to MI5 documents claiming that a Lehi member threatened to kill former British PM.
Cairo ready to re-establish Iran diplomatic ties
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Egyptian FM Elaraby tells Iranian official: “The Egyptian, Iranian people deserve to have mutual relations reflecting their history, civilization.”
Looking back with regrets
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Jon Kyl has been overshadowed at times by Arizona’s other John, fellow pro-Israel senator McCain. But he will be remembered as one of the country’s best friends.
Iran: US fomenting Mideast unrest to save Israel
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – “America, Zionist regime want to weaken Syria’s resistance by creating discord between gov’t, nation,” says Ahmadinejad.
‘Israeli public diplomacy leaves much to be desired’
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Jewish State harms itself by not being more cooperative or forthcoming, experts in town for conference on Israel’s Global Image Crisis say.
Saudi women suffer setbacks as conservatives rise
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Reform impetus of liberal-minded clerics has stalled in kingdom; official loses his job after expressing liberal views on mixing of sexes.
IDF to move Iron Dome to Gush Dan region in weeks
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Second battery of rocket defense system deployed south of Ashkelon as rocket hits south of city; IDF braces for increase in fire after Gaza strike.
Meeting of presidential minds
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Peres and Obama share a distinctly cerebral attitude, and so long as Obama steers clear of steering clear from the conflict, the advice exchanged between the two presidents tomorrow could prove effective towards reinstating a peace process.
‘US firmly opposed to PA seeking UN statehood declaration’
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Top White House ME adviser Dennis Ross tells ADL conference that negotiations the only way to produce a Palestinian state; former US envoy to Israel Indyk: Hold quiet talks while Arab world isn’t watching.
Doctor’s ‘warning strike’ to go ahead as planned
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Meeting between doctor’s union, Treasury ends with no agreement; public health sector, hospitals to operate on Shabbat schedule.
J’lem local committee approves 942 housing units in Gilo
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Plans to expand neighborhood located beyond Green Line come as Peres in US to meet Clinton, Obama; may include additional 300 units.
European Jews seek help in anti-shechita law
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – The Dutch parliament is set to debate a bill prohibiting the slaughter of animals in the Netherlands that have not been stunned.
Jenin: Producer, actor Juliano Mer-Khamis, 52, shot dead
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Well-known activist murdered by masked gunmen; born in Nazareth to Jewish mom, Israeli-Arab dad; Fayyad condemns “ugly crime.”
Actor Juliano Mer-Khamis gunned down in Jenin
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Prominent Israeli filmmaker and peace activist was the son of a Jewish mother and a Christian Arab father from Nazareth.
Abu Sisi charged with arms development
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Beersheeba court indicts Palestinian engineer for working closely with terrorist group, conspiracy to commit a crime, producing illegal missiles.
Beersheba court indicts abducted engineer Abu Sisi
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Palestinian suspect has denied any claims of terrorist involvment, has been in custody in Israel for more than 40 days, after disappearing from a train in the Ukraine.
UAE expat population at 90% even as economy slows
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Expat increase at 3 year low; economists say reliance on foreigners risks social dislocations, drains resources.
Rebels, Gaddafi forces clash on oil town outskirts
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Fighters loyal to Gaddafi are pushed out of Brega; rebels still face bombardments; black smoke seen rising from town, loud thuds heard.
Amadinejad: UN should stop Western ‘interference’
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Iranian president tells Ban that US, European “ill will” hinders UNSC, offers to “play an active role in ending regional problems.”
Barak set to re-zone 4 settlements as ‘urban’
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Defense minister set to approve master plans in Rotem, Hemdat, Eshkolot and Nofim, possibly signalling further construction in West Bank.
‘Lehi considered assassinating Winston Churchill’
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – Report: Declassified MI5 files reveal Jewish underground member wanted to kill British PM, foreign secretary in attempt to end the mandate.
Thunder, lightning bring in heavy rains across country
Jeruslalem Post 4 Apr 2011 – After a weekend of heat and dusty winds, rain returns to Israel; up to 10 mm precipitation in Upper Galilee; flooding possible in Negev.
Springtime for NATO in Libya
Uruknet April 4, 2011 – …The liberal argument, which is to the fore, is strikingly apolitical – and narcissistic. Only rarely do its advocates relate it to the shapeshifting revolutionary process currently underway in the Middle East. Rarer still is anything that could pass for analysis of Libya’s internal dynamics. On the contrary, its preferred starting point is the solitary,…
The U.S. Government Must Go!
Uruknet April 4, 2011 – A chorus of U.S. and international officials keeps chanting that “Gaddafi must go” because, they keep repeating, he has lost legitimacy. Let’s turn the tables. How legitimate is the U.S. government? I’m not talking about the popularity of particular persons like Obama, Bush I, Bush II, or Clinton. Changing faces, political parties, and administrations in…
A humanitarian disaster is being staged in the Libyan desert
Uruknet April 4, 2011 – Having heard that DU weapons are being used by NATO to take out Mouammar Gaddafi’s tanks, I cannot and will not remain silent. I am reminded of why Afghanis have come to hate their American “rescuers” with a loathing not reserved for Russian invaders. When their babies were born deformed, the Afghani population woke up…
Another war on Gaza?
Uruknet April 4, 2011 – In recent weeks an escalation in violence between Israel and Palestinian resistance factions in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip has claimed the lives of more than a dozen Palestinians, the youngest of them 10-year-old Mahmoud Jalal al-Hilu. Does this escalation increase the likelihood of another large-scale assault on Gaza similar to “Operation Cast Lead” in winter…
With Obama and Congress Poised to Gut Social Spending, Pentagon Demands Billions in ‘Cybersecurity’ Handouts
Uruknet April 4, 2011 – Call it another sterling example of corporate-flavored “bipartisanship.” With a government shut-down looming over a manufactured “deficit crisis,” the World Socialist Web Site reports that the “Obama administration and congressional Democrats have offered to triple the amount of cuts in social spending for the remainder of the current fiscal year, from $10 billion to $30…
An open letter from Alain Badiou to Jean-Luc Nancy
Uruknet April 4, 2011 – Didn’t you notice right from the start the palpable difference between what is happening in Libya and what is happening elsewhere? How in both Tunisia and Egypt we really did see massive popular gatherings, whereas in Libya there is nothing of the kind? An Arabist friend of mind has concentrated in the last few weeks…
Is Israel preparing a new war on Gaza?
Uruknet April 4, 2011 – HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE marched in Gaza in a funeral procession for three Hamas members killed by Israeli air strikes while driving in a car near Khan Younis on April 1. Ten days earlier on March 22, Israeli air strikes and shelling killed four members of Islamic Jihad east of Gaza City and four civilians—including three…
EXCLUSIVE-Al Qaeda acquiring weapons in Libya:Algerian official
Uruknet April 4, 2011 – Al Qaeda is exploiting the conflict in Libya to acquire weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, and smuggle them to a stronghold in northern Mali, a security official from neighbouring Algeria told Reuters. The official said a convoy of eight Toyota pick-up trucks left eastern Libya, crossed into Chad and then Niger, and from there into northern…
Goldstone’s shameful U-turn
Uruknet April 4, 2011 – “If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone report would have been a different document.” Thus opens Judge Richard Goldstone’s much-discussed op-ed in The Washington Post. I have a strong feeling that the editor might have tampered with the text and that the original sentence ought to have read something like: “If…
Italy recognizes rebels as Libya’s government
Uruknet April 4, 2011 – Italy on Monday formally recognized the rebel government of eastern Libya, dealing yet another blow to the embattled regime of Col. Moammar Kadafi. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Rome would open an office in rebel-held territory and formally recognize the Benghazi-based Libyan National Council as the only representative of the country, which Italy once…
Protesters shot dead in southern Yemen
Uruknet April 4, 2011 – Yemeni security forces have shot dead at least 15 anti-government demonstrators and wounded 30 in the city of Taiz, south of the capital Sanaa, medics said. The violence began when thousands of protesters marched through Taiz toward Freedom Square, where demonstrators have been camped out. As the march passed the governor’s headquarters, troops stationed there…
Mounting evidence of CIA ties to Libyan rebels
Uruknet April 4, 2011 – Numerous press reports over the weekend add to the evidence that the Libyan rebels fighting the regime of Muammar Gaddafi are under the direction of American intelligence agencies. Despite the repeated claims by Obama administration officials that the rebels are a largely unknown quantity, it is becoming increasingly clear that key military leaders of the…
UN: Israel’s demolitions of Palestinian homes hit record high
Uruknet April 4, 2011 – Israel’s demolitions of Palestinian homes and buildings reached a record high in March for the third consecutive month, according to figures from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. The UN Relief and Works Agency recorded 76 demolitions of Palestinian buildings in March, forcibly displacing 158 Palestinians including 64 children. So far this year, Israel has…
One Hundred Years of Bombing Libya
Uruknet April 3, 2011 – European and American military planes are maintaining a “No-Fly Zone” over Libya as I write. (Has anyone noticed the oxymoron —a “no-fly zone” is in fact a zone where plenty of flying takes place.) Yet most people seem to be unaware that this year marks an important centenary in aeronautics, for it is exactly…
US Seeking ‘Negotiated Exit’ for Yemen’s Saleh
Uruknet April 3, 2011 – Despite months of public protests and violent crackdowns that have been among the worst in the region, the Obama Administration has been loath to offer any criticism for long-time Yemeni dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh. With defections and growing demonstrations making that ouster virtually unstoppable, the administration is now said to be in talks on a “…
Goldstone: ‘retractions’ vs facts
Uruknet April 3, 2011 – The publication of Richard Goldstone’s op-ed in The Washington Post on Friday heralded a weekend of frenzied hasbara. Goldstone’s “retraction” (though ‘qualification’ is more accurate) of the report into Operation Cast Lead was welcomed by Israeli leaders, Israel advocates in the USA, and others. Ha’aretz columnist Aluf Benn described Goldstone’s op-ed has “a major public…
Military Resistance 9D 4: The Politics Of The War In Libya
Uruknet April 3, 2011 – Unlike in Egypt, Libya’s revolutionaries have not appealed to the rank-and-file of the military to switch sides, nor have they sought to mobilize the country’s workers to strike against the regime. This took social revolution off the table and confined the struggle between Gaddafi and the rebels to a purely military dimension, guaranteeing him the…
They came, they saw and now it’s time to act
Uruknet April 3, 2011 – The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC), in partnership with the Council for European Palestinian Relations (CEPR) sponsored a delegation of British and EU MEPs to the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon several weeks ago and the 10 member delegation has just released their findings. It was a quick 48-hour trip filled with tightly scheduled briefing, mainly…
America’s Growing IntoleranceHow “Enemy Creep” Is Guantanamo-izing America
Uruknet April 3, 2011 – …In a recent press conference, President Obama professed to find nothing legally or morally objectionable about such punishment without trial. The Pentagon, he said, had assured him that “the procedures that have been taken in terms of his confinement are appropriate and are meeting our basic standards,” adding that “[s]ome of this has to do…
An Interview with Ilan Papp?©Why Israel is Not a Democracy
Uruknet April 2, 2011 – I think we have to change the dictionary We should stop talking about the peace process, we should give up the idea of 2 state solution, in my mind, we should talk about colonialism again, anti-colonialism, change of regime, ethnic cleansing, reparations in the larger term. All kinds of known phrases which are very applicable…
Uprisings in the Arab world could have positive impact on drug policy: experts
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 BEIRUT: The wave of popular revolutions sweeping the Arab world could have a positive impact on drug policy in the region by increasing focus on social issues, a drug-treatment specialist said Monday. “We need to improve…
Hezbollah slams Goldstone for backtracking on report
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 BEIRUT: Hezbollah condemned Monday Judge Richard Goldstone’s decision to reconsider his report’s conclusions over Israel’s three-week Gaza offensive against Hamas in 2008-09, in which he said Israel had deliberately targeted civilians. In an article published by…
Bahia Hariri praises Mikati, discusses security in Sidon
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 BEIRUT: Future Bloc MP Bahia Hariri praised Monday Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati’s participation in the meeting of the Higher Islamic Religious Council over the weekend, saying this meant he adhered to “national constants.” Hariri also touched…
Jumblatt: Prisons should top next Cabinet’s agenda
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblatt urged Monday the next Cabinet to put the issue of prisons on top of its priorities to improve detainees’ living conditions. “We have to look into incidents taking place…
CNRS says radiation levels in Lebanon normal
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 BEIRUT: The National Council for Scientific Research said Monday that radiation levels in Lebanon were in the normal range. The announcement comes after the CNRS’s nuclear branch, the Lebanese Atomic Energy Commission, conducted fresh monitoring of…
Media bodies condemn attack on journalists at pro-secular rally
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 BEIRUT: A series of condemnations were issued Monday against attacks on journalists during Sunday’s anti-sectarian rally in Sidon, with caretaker Information Minister Tarek Mitri calling on politicians to tell their supporters not to attack politicians. The…
De-mining betters lives: UNIFIL commander
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 BEIRUT: The Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said Monday de-mining works significantly contribute to enhancing quality of life in areas affected. “De-mining activities critically contribute to reduce poverty, raise standards of living…
Libyan rebels dismiss potential deal with Gadhafi son
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 BENGHAZI, Libya: Libyan rebels Monday dismissed any possible peace deal which might see Moammar Gadhafi’s son left in charge of the country. Rebel fighters also made a new attempt to recapture Brega, advancing to outskirts of…
Israel approves 942 new settler homes in East Jerusalem
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Jerusalem city council Monday gave preliminary approval for the construction of 942 new homes in Gilo, a settlement neighborhood in the city’s occupied Arab eastern sector, a councilor said. Elisha Peleg, a councilor from…
U.S. behind Gulf claims on Iran: Ahmadinejad
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 TEHRAN: The U.S. and its allies pressured Gulf Arab states to accuse Iran of interfering in the region, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Monday and also demanded Saudi forces leave Bahrain. Gulf Arab states Sunday expressed…
Yemen toll rises as U.S. is seen to be pressing for Saleh to depart
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 SANAA: Police and armed men in civilian clothes opened fire on anti-government demonstrators in the Yemeni cities of Taiz and Hudaida Monday, witnesses said, as a drive to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh gathered pace. The…
Italy announces commission on migrant influx
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 TUNIS: Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced Monday the creation of a binational commission with Tunisia in a bid to halt the immigration wave from the North African state. “We have agreed to put in place…
Ouattara forces begin Abidjan assault as France increases troop numbers
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 ABIDJAN: Forces backing Ivory Coast presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara began a fresh assault to remove Laurent Gbagbo from his last stronghold in Abidjan Monday. As the conflict escalated, France ordered more troops into the West African…
Grandniece of Egypt’s Sadat briefly kidnapped
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 CAIRO: Gunmen abducted the 12-year-old grandniece of the late Egyptian leader Anwar Sadat but released her nearly 24 hours later for about $840,000 in ransom, security officials said Monday. The girl, sixth-grader Zeina Effat Sadat, was…
Evacuees from Libyan town describe massacre
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 SFAX, Tunisia: Bodies lay in the streets of the besieged Libyan city of Misrata and its hospital is overflowing with injured, an evacuee said Monday after arriving in Tunisia. An aid ship operated by charity Medecins…
Algeria doctors, militias, students push on with demos
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 ALGIERS: Auxiliary police, specialist doctors and university students pushed on with strikes and demonstrations in Algeria Monday to press demands including improved pay and conditions. Several members of the security militia spent the night at Martyrs…
Fake suicide bomber arrested in Jordan
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 AMMAN: A man who walked into the headquarters of Jordan’s largest opposition group Monday claiming to have an explosive belt and threatening to blow himself up turned out to be a prankster, a senior police official…
Syria takes the initiative ahead of demonstrations
Daily Star 4 Apr 2011 DAMASCUS: A new governor was appointed to the Syrian protest hub of Daraa Monday, while a Facebook group urged rallies in honor of those killed in previous demonstrations. In the port city of Latakia, eight prisoners…
Letters: Shimon Peres, the Arab spring and the Goldstone report
The Guardian 4 Apr 2011 – A pleasure to hear from Shimon Peres that “Israel welcomes the Arab spring” ( Clash of generations , 1 April), particularly given its initial response, as reported in both Haaretz and the Jewish Chronicle, of fear and anxiety…
Britain has allowed its weapons to be used for internal repression, MPs say
The Guardian 4 Apr 2011 – Committee calls for review of successive governments’ dealings with authoritarian regimes worldwide Successive governments have allowed British arms supplied to north Africa and the Middle East to be used for internal repression in apparent breach of…
Israeli peace activist Juliano Mer Khamis shot dead in Jenin
The Guardian 4 Apr 2011 – Witnesses say actor —who ran a drama project in a Palestinian refugee camp —was shot five times by masked men An Israeli actor and peace activist who ran a drama project in a Palestinian…
Palestinian engineer accused of missile murder plot
The Guardian 4 Apr 2011 – Power station chief denies trying to develop weapons to kill hundreds of Israelis A Palestinian engineer has been charged with hundreds of counts of attempted murder and accused of developing missiles that the Islamist group Hamas…
Richard Goldstone’s changed mind on Israel should lead to official retraction | Carlo Strenger
The Guardian 4 Apr 2011 – If the UN were to scrap the Goldstone report, it might help to rebuild some Israeli trust in the international community Richard Goldstone’s Washington Post op-ed retracting some of the central conclusions of his earlier report…
OP-ED: Misunderstanding Bahrain’s Shia Protesters
IPS Listening to the rhetoric coming out of Tehran, one might assume that Bahrain’s Shia opposition is relying on help from its co-religionists next door. But, in fact, the opposite is true: the Shia opposition wants nothing more than for Tehran to stay out of the sectarian dispute unfolding in the…
New Stop the Wall report: Brazil’s Military Relations with Israel (Portuguese version)
Stop The Wall – Mar 30, 2011— On the occasion of the 3rd global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Action Day on March 30 (Palestinian Land Day), we release Stop the Wall’s disconcerting and potentially explosive report on growing and strategic military relations between Brazil and Israel. (Portuguese version) [
Obama announces re-election bid in web video
YNet News, 4 Apr 2011 – (Video) US president formally launches his re-election campaign with e-mail to….
Iron Dome to reach Tel Aviv area
YNet News, 4 Apr 2011 – Anti-missile system to be deployed in central Israel in several weeks as part of….
‘NYT refused to publish Goldstone retraction’
YNet News, 4 Apr 2011 – Source close to South African judge claims he initially approached liberal….
MI5 files: Lehi planned to assassinate Churchill
YNet News, 4 Apr 2011 – Britain’s Security Service uncovers files suggesting Eliyahu Bet-Zuri, who was….
Report: Al-Qaeda members hide in Brazil, raise money
YNet News, 4 Apr 2011 – Brazilian magazine reports at least 20 al-Qaeda, Hezbollah and Hamas operatives….
Lehi experts: MI5 paranoid
YNet News, 4 Apr 2011 – MI5 documents claiming the Lehi planned to assassinate former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill are a product of “British paranoia”, the son of the group’s founder … ….
Abu Sisi’s brother denies charges
YNet News, 4 Apr 2011 – The family of Palestinian engineer Dirar Abu Sisi refused to believe the charges filed against him Monday, which include hundreds of counts of attempted murder for … ….
Settlers angry expansion plans don’t include Itamar
YNet News, 4 Apr 2011 – The Jerusalem Municipality approved Monday the construction of 942 homes in the neighborhood of Gilo, ahead of a meeting between President Shimon Peres and US leaders. … ….
Actor Juliano Mer-Khamis shot dead in Jenin
YNet News, 4 Apr 2011 – The Israeli-Arab actor Juliano Mer-Khamis was shot to death in Jenin, Palestinian police in the West Bank announced. The actor was shot by a number of masked men who … ….
US suspends arms aid to Lebanon
YNet News, 4 Apr 2011 – WASHINGTON – The US suspended its weapon deliveries to Lebanon in January, fearing that the munitions will fall into Hezbollah hands following the collapse of Saad … ….
‘Abu Sisi developed improved Qassams’
YNet News, 4 Apr 2011 – Palestinian engineer Dirar Abu Sisi was indicted Monday on charges of belonging to a terrorist organization, hundreds of counts of attempted murder, and weapons … ….
ElBaradei: We’ll fight back if Israel attacks Gaza
YNet News, 4 Apr 2011 – Former International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei, who had previously announced his intetions to run for the presidency of Egypt, said Monday that “if … ….
Palestinian Information Center
Abu Zuhri: Abbas wants no more than formal visit to Gaza
PIC 4 Apr 2011 – Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri has said that Palestinian de facto president Mahmoud Abbas only wants a formal visit to Gaza, and has no intent on reconciling with Hamas.
IOA releases cancer-stricken child
PIC 4 Apr 2011 – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) released a 16-year-old Palestinian child after 55 days in custody after his lawyer appealed for his release due to his cancer condition.
Gaza flotilla asks world protection after Israel threatens to attack
PIC 4 Apr 2011 – The European campaign to end the siege on Gaza has called for world intervention after Israeli officials threatened publically that the military would attack the convoy.
Israel accuses Abu Sisi or upgrading Hamas combat means
PIC 4 Apr 2011 – The Israeli central court in Beer Sheba on Monday charged the kidnapped Palestinian engineer Dirar Abu Sisi with upgrading Hamas’s combat means.
Israel escalates arrest campaign in Al-Khalil in March
PIC 4 Apr 2011 – The PPS has issued a report documenting that 110 Palestinians were taken into custody, including 20 minors, as the Israeli army escalated arrest operations and house raids across Al-Khalil.
Hamas MP blasts Israel’s cruel treatment of prisoner
PIC 4 Apr 2011 – Hamas MP in Qalqilia Emad Nofal lashed out at the Israeli prisons service for its inhuman treatment of Palestinian prisoner Othman Younis from Qalqilia district.
Abu Halbiya warns of new Israeli plans to Judaize O. Jerusalem
PIC 4 Apr 2011 – Head of the parliamentary committee on Jerusalem Ahmed Abu Halbiya warned of new Israeli plans to Judaize occupied Jerusalem and establish what is called greater Jerusalem.
Testimonies conflict during Corrie civil suit
PIC 4 Apr 2011 – Testimonies conflicted as defendants took the stand during Sunday’s hearing of a civil suit that followed the death of US activist Rachel Corrie.
Israeli preparations to attack 2nd Freedom Flotilla
PIC 4 Apr 2011 – Haaretz newspaper said the Israeli foreign ministry started to make preparations at all levels to confront the second aid convoy of Freedom Flotilla heading to the besieged Gaza Strip in mid-May.
Israel to build 942 settlement units in O. Jerusalem
PIC 3 Apr 2011 – Ir Amim society said the Israeli planning and building committee in occupied Jerusalem would discuss on Monday a plan to build 942 housing units beyond the green line to expand Gilo settlement.
Several Palestinians Hurt in Weekly Friday Protests
WAFA
Air Strike Kills Three Palestinians in Gaza
WAFA
Save Gaza Calls on UN not to help Israel in Stopping ‘Freedom Flotilla’
WAFA
Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades says it will Avenge Killing of Members
WAFA
Israeli Soldiers Seize Sheep
WAFA
Farmer Banned from his Grove
WAFA
Abbas: No Real Peace Without National Unity
WAFA
Government Condemns Israeli Killing of Palestinians in Gaza
WAFA
German Interior Minister Praises Palestinian State-Building Efforts
WAFA
Kasaba Launches Al-Manara Theater Days
WAFA
Beit Ummar Protest Ends in Arrests
WAFA
Gaza Families Demand to be Allowed to see Sons Imprisoned in Israel
WAFA
GOLDSTONE ALTERS HIS VERDICT — AN ANALYSIS BY DR. LAWRENCE DAVIDSON
Intifada-Palestine: 4 Apr 2011 – Judge Richard Goldstone Dr. Lawrence Davidson It will be recalled that after the September, 2009 issuance of the Goldstone Report suggesting that Israel might be guilty of war crimes, Judge Richard Goldstone was barred from attending grandson’s bar mitzvah . That is… more
Libya rebels just learning how to use their guns
LA Times 3 Apr 2011 – Young, inexperienced fighters have left jobs and families to battle Moammar Kadafi’s forces. The rebels don’t want to end up like their parents, trapped in a police state. But some shoot more photos than bullets. He had the tough, focused bearing of a combat veteran….
Ship ferries Libyan wounded from besieged Misurata
LA Times 3 Apr 2011 – Moammar Kadafi’s soldiers have pummeled the country’s third-largest city with daily rocket and tank fire. The aid vessel’s passengers know they are lucky to have survived. The survivors lay on green cots Sunday in the musty halls of the Turkish ship that rescued them from…
Clashes Escalate in Yemen; at Least 12 Are Killed
New York Times 4 Apr 2011 – Security forces and government supporters opened fire on tens of thousands of protesters, witnesses said.
Rebel Leader Criticizes NATO Effort in Libya
New York Times 4 Apr 2011 – As rebel fighters made modest gains Monday in the oil town of Brega, a senior rebel leader criticized NATO for bureaucratic delays.
Man Arrested After Threat to Islamic Group in Jordan
New York Times 4 Apr 2011 – A man wearing a fake explosive belt was arrested in Amman on Monday after he entered the offices of an Islamic opposition party and threatened to blow himself up.
Prominent Israelis Will Propose a Peace Plan
New York Times 4 Apr 2011 – Among other things, the initiative, to be unveiled on Wednesday, calls for a Palestinian state on nearly all the West Bank and Gaza, with a capital in East Jerusalem.
On Eve of Meeting in Washington, Israel Announces More Housing Construction
New York Times 4 Apr 2011 – Adding to a series of awkwardly timed housing announcements, Israeli officials from two agencies announced significant advances in Jewish construction in contested areas on Monday.
Protests, repression continue in Bahrain and Yemen
WSWS – By Niall Green, April 4, 2011, Even as Washington and the European powers bomb Libya on supposed “humanitarian” grounds, the US-backed regimes in Yemen and Bahrain are continuing their brutal crackdown on protesters.
Desmond Travers: ‘tenor of the Goldstone Report in its entirety stands’
Mondoweiss – Earlier today we picked up a report that Hina Jilani , a Pakistani lawyer and one of four members of the UN Factfinding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, said that Judge Richard Goldstone’s reconsideration of the report does not change her support for its conclusions. Well now…
The murder of Arna’s child
Mondoweiss – Juliano Mer-Khamis made the movie Arna’s Children about his mother’s Jenin theatre company, the children he taught there when young, and what became of them. When I told my 21-year-old daughter Ana about Juliano’s death she could just not figure out why. She said more eloquently…
Miral: A Palestinian disappointment
Mondoweiss – I didn’t get a sneak preview nor was I among the VIPs who attended the premier of Miral at the UN General Assembly. I had to wait for its release in a nearby theatre, which luckily turned out to be only an hour away in Philadelphia….
Judge Goldstone’s Washington Post Op-Ed —Why Now and Why?
The Magnes Zionist 4 Apr 2011 – (What follows is speculation and has not been shown to, or approved by, Judge Goldstone.) In my post yesterday I wondered out loud why Judge Richard Goldstone published an op-ed expressing his views now. Had I read the op-ed more carefully, I think I would have…
Israeli High Court to hear petition challenging refusal to update addresses in the Palestinian population registry and the forced removal of West Bank residents to Gaza on the basis of old addresses
Gisha 4 Apr 2011 – The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 6, Supreme Court, [2011-04-04]
Israeli HR Groups: The recent statements by Richard Goldstone support the consistent position we have been upholding since the operation in Gaza
Gisha 4 Apr 2011 – When concerns arise regarding harm to civilians due to violations of international law, an independent investigation must be launched., [2011-04-04]
Gaza truck drivers strike to protest Karni Closure
Gisha 4 Apr 2011 – Bread prices expected to rise, [2011-03-06]
Gisha response to closing of Karni Crossing: Gaza’s Crossings Squeezed Shut
Gisha 4 Apr 2011 – , [2011-03-03]
Yemeni forces fire on protesters
BBC 4 Apr 2011 – At least 15 people are shot dead and dozens injured when troops open fire on a protest in the Yemeni city of Taiz, medical sources say.
‘Abducted’ Gazan on Hamas charges
BBC 4 Apr 2011 – An Israeli court charges a Gaza engineer, allegedly abducted by Israeli agents in Ukraine, with running a training academy for Hamas.
Israeli Arab actor is shot dead
BBC 4 Apr 2011 – A well-known Israeli Arab actor, Juliano Mer Khamis, dies after being shot in an attack in Jenin’s refugee camp.
Press slam Goldstone about-face
BBC 4 Apr 2011 – Opinion in Israeli newspapers is sharply divided by an article written by UN investigator Richard Goldstone in which he said he has now reached a different conclusion about Israeli culpability in the deaths of Palestinian civilians during Operation Cast Lead.
If Obama’s Libyan Intervention “Succeeds”, Will Palestine Be Next?
Sabbah report 4 Apr 2011 – Following the change in Libya, it is not too early to look northward toward Israel. If Libya does stabilize, President Obama will be on a roll, all the more reason he could decide he will not need congressional backup to end Israel’s irresponsible domination of the…
Revisiting Israel’s Terror War on Gaza
Sabbah report 4 Apr 2011 – Brazen crimes of war and against humanity were committed. No culpable officials were held responsible. Security Council no-fly zone protection wasn’t ordered. International community leaders approved or were silent. Washington was complicit by supplying Israel with weapons, munitions, and encouragement. Obama acts the same as Bush,…
Articles
PCHR highlights key issues relating to report of UN fact-finding mission on Gaza conflict (the ‘Goldstone Report’)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights4/4/2011
In light of the media debate and confusion triggered by Justice Richard Goldstone’s 1 April opinion piece in the Washington Post, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) wishes to highlight a few key issues regarding the current status of the UN Fact-Finding Mission’s Report, and the search for accountability in the aftermath of Israel’s 27 December 2008 ‚Äì 18 January 2009 offensive on the Gaza Strip. PCHR represent 1,046 victims of the offensive, and have submitted 490 criminal complaints to the Israeli authorities on behalf of these individuals. As noted by Justice Goldstone, the UN Fact-Finding Mission was not a judicial body. Rather, it was a fact-finding mission mandated to conduct initial investigations on the ground, and to make recommendations on this basis. The Mission found sufficient evidence to indicate the widespread commission of war crimes, and possible crimes against humanity. This finding was consistent with the result of investigations conducted by other organisations, including PCHR, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the UN Board of Inquiry, and the Fact-Finding Mission of the Arab League.
Appropriately, and consistent with the requirements of international law, the Fact-Finding Mission recommended that these allegations be investigated. The Mission noted that if domestic authorities failed to conduct effective investigations, the International Criminal Court became the most appropriate forum to investigate these serious charges. Responsibility would thus fall on the Security Council to activate the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, in accordance with Article 13(b) of the Court’s statute. According to the timeline established by the Mission, this referral should have taken place approximately one year ago. The Security Council took such action most recently with respect to the current situation in Libya. more.. e-mail
April fools: Goldstone or Post
Curtis F.J. Doebbler, Ma’an News Agency4/4/2011
It is unfortunate that Goldstone, after producing a very fair report with two colleagues, has digressed into issuing statements based on false and unfounded opinions rather than the clear facts as in his report. He has done this in a statement attributed to him and published in The Washington Post on April Fools’ Day.
First, he claims Hamas has not investigated the crimes committed during operation Cast Lead, but the fact is that Hamas has instituted multiple investigations into the allegations outlined in the Goldstone Report, and attempted to submit them to UN officials.
If Goldstone made an effort to ask Hamas, he would undoubtedly be shown these reports. If he was dissatisfied, the UN Human Rights Council should invite Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to Geneva to address them on this issue. I am sure he would accept. Unfortunately, it seems it is easier for Goldstone to make unfounded allegations that are simply false.
Second, Goldstone said in his article in The Washington Post that he believed non-state actors were bound in the same way as national armies to answer to the allegations outlined in his report. This is simply a wrong interpretation of the law. Yes, there are some provisions of international humanitarian law that may apply to non-state actors, but the vague and over-broad statement that Goldstone makes is just plain wrong and not befitting of an international lawyer of Goldstone’s status who should know better.
Third, Goldstone at once insinuates and second guesses the idea that Hamas exaggerated the number of casualties. Why make the dangerous assertion if he neither fully believes it, nor can substantiate it in any way. more.. e-mail
The long road to the Arab revolution
Moshé Machover, Weekly Worker, Israeli Occupation Archive4/1/2011
Then there is the so-called ‘international community’, which is the nom de guerre of the US and its followers.
It is very difficult to talk in a coherent way about a process which is unfolding and where things are changing all the time. What I would like to do is to initiate a discussion and explore some ideas about where the revolution is going, and what we should expect in both the short term and longer term.
But, given the contention on the left, I think we should start with Libya. There is a lot of confusion, and I think that this is partly for understandable reasons. I am not referring here to the ‘confusion’ of those who effectively cheer the imperialist intervention. Groups like the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty are in my opinion simply social-imperialists.
I am actually talking about socialists —people I regard as comrades, such as Gilbert Achcar, who is not a social-imperialist and is very critical of western intervention and of this ‘coalition of the willing’ (and partly unwilling!) that is being sent to ‘protect’ the Libyan revolution.
There is a genuine problem, and it would be unfortunate to appear callous and uncaring about the fate of those in Benghazi who were penned in and faced the terrible prospect of being massacred. Given the despair they are in, I would not actually be too critical of them for calling on the so-called ‘international community’ for help.
We have to be clear that the ‘international community’ is itself an ideological construct, a term used in order to conflate the US-led global hierarchy of states on the one hand and global public opinion on the other. There is world public opinion —civil society —which has real humanitarian concerns….. — See also: Source more.. e-mail
Another war on Gaza?
Electronic Intifada: 4 Apr 2011 – Until now, there have been good reasons to believe Israel would hesitate to launch a new major military assault on Gaza. But EI’s Ali Abunimah sees warning signs Israel could be laying the ground for another big attack.more
Goldstone’s shameful U-turn
Electronic Intifada: 4 Apr 2011 – Richard Goldstone’s shameful U-turn did not happen this week. It comes after more than a year and a half of a sustained campaign of intimidation and character assassination against the judge. Ilan Pappe comments for The Electronic Intifada.more
Juliano Mer-Khamis’ Last Freedom Theater
Palestine Monitor: 4 Apr 2011 – Photographs by Lazar Simeonov. Juliano Mer-Khamis founded the Freedom Theater in Jenin and led it until his tragic murder today . His influence as an artist and an activist resounds throughout Palestine and the world. His last show with The Freedom Theater was a dark and kaleidoscopic romp through the looking glass of Lewis Carrol’s Alice In Wonderland . Lazar Simeonov was there to photograph the Madhatter, the Red Queen and Mer-Khamis.more
Juliano Mer-Khamis murdered in Jenin’s Freedom Theater
Palestine Monitor: 4 Apr 2011 – Juliano Mer-Khamis, the 54-year old founder of The Freedom Theater in Jenin, was murdered today by unknown assailants. He was shot five times in his car outside the theater he founded with former Al Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade military leader Zakariya Zubeidi. Mer-Khamis was in Ramallah last night at the Al Kasaba Theater for the opening The Chairs , a play he directed and acted in by French-Romanian playwright of Eugene Ionesco. From Israeli and Palestinian heritage, the Nazareth-born Mer-Khamis was famous for his art and activism, clashing with traditional society and the Israeli occupation. In honor of his life and work, The Palestine Monitor posts the film Arna’s Children , a documentary about Mer-Khamis’ mother and her struggle to fight Israeli and Palestinian injustice from the stage.more
Rachel Corrie Trials resume in Haifa
Palestine Monitor: 4 Apr 2011 – Yesterday, 3 April, hearings for the Rachel Corrie trial resumed in Haifa’s District Court after a five-month recess since the last hearing in early November. The Corrie family brought a civil lawsuit, charging Israel with criminal negligence and the intentional killing of their daughter. In addition, the suit charges Israel with the failure of due regard to the presence of nonviolent civilians by the operators and commanders of the military vehicle. Hearings for the trial began in March 2010. Rachel Corrie, who travelled to the Gaza Strip in 2003 with the International Solidarity Movement, was crushed to death by a D9 bulldozer on 16 March 2003 while she was nonviolently prevent the bulldozer from demolishing a Palestinian home in Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Prosecuting counsel, Hussein Abu Hussein first examined an expert engineer responsible for training operators and commanders of bulldozers. Two soldiers usually run bulldozers: the operator who…more
Where U.S. Chooses to Back ‘Armed Struggle’
Palestine Chronicle: 4 Apr 2011 – By Nicola Nasser Within a few days, the ‘Silmiya’ (peaceful) popular uprising against the 42-year old rule of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya had turned into an ‘armed struggle’ and in no time the U.S. administration was in full gear backing the Libyan armed violent revolt, which has turned into a full scale civil war, despite being the same world power who officially label the legitimate (according to the charter of the United Nations) armed defense of the Palestinian people against the 34- year old foreign military occupation of Israel as “terrorism.” Backing the armed struggle of the Libyan people came less than a month since President Barak Obama on February 11 hailed the Egyptians’ “shouting ‘Silmiya, Silmiya'” — thus adding the Arabic word to the international language lexicon —because the “Egyptians have inspired us, and they’ve done so by putting the lie to the idea that justice is best…more
Miral: A Palestinian Disappointment
Palestine Chronicle: 4 Apr 2011 – By Susan Abulhawa I didn’t get a sneak preview nor was I among the VIPs who attended the premier of Miral at the UN General Assembly. I had to wait for its release in a nearby theatre, which luckily turned out to be only an hour away in Philadelphia. That means I had read and heard plenty of reviews of the film before I actually watched it. They were mixed and varied reactions, but I think I was able to leave them outside the theatre before I entered so I could decide for myself. There was one thing, however, that I couldn’t leave at the door: my Palestinian-ness. So, I went in wanting to like the film. I was holding my breath hoping to see a compelling Palestinian narrative, told by a Palestinian woman who lived at Dar el Tifl, the orphanage where I too had spent years of my…more
The Trials of Judge Goldstone
Palestine Chronicle: 4 Apr 2011 – By Richard Irvine A year and a half ago Judge Richard Goldstone presented the findings of his Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza conflict. Conveniently forgetting his condemnation of Hamas rocket fire opponents and supporters alike focused instead upon the Report’s accusations towards Israel: disproportionate use of violence; intentional targeting of civilians; terrorising the people of Gaza as a whole; war crimes and possible crimes against humanity. Amongst pro-Israeli supporters Goldstone immediately became a pariah, Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz going as far as to call the Report “a defamation written by an evil, evil man;” other detractors went on to dredge up his record as a judge under Apartheid in an attempt to discredit him whilst Spectator columnist Melanie Phillips went so far as to call the Report “a blood libel against Israel.” Yet Judge Goldstone, partly because of his Jewish background, his support for Zionism and his record…more
Gaza’s Untold Story —Book Review
Palestine Chronicle: 4 Apr 2011 – By Roger Sheety ‘Not to know what happened before you were born is to remain forever a child.’ — Cicero ‘The Nakba is not a narrative. It is not a political attitude. It’s a historical fact.’ — Haneen Zoabi (A Review of Ramzy Baroud’s My Father Was A Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story . London: Pluto Press. 2010) Chronicling and documenting one’s own history is never a passive act or an exercise in mere nostalgia. This is especially true when writing on Palestinian history which even today remains one of the least known and most misunderstood in mainstream Western consciousness. In his third book, My Father Was A Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story, author and journalist Ramzy Baroud works on at least three different levels simultaneously: his is writing his own early history as a refugee in Gaza, that of his parents and grandparents, who originally hailed from the village of…more
Where Are the Palestinian Poets? —A Poem
Palestine Chronicle: 4 Apr 2011 – By Francis Oeser (An answer to W. J. Martin ) Where are the Palestinian poets who’ll tell us all dreams, dreams of quiet olive groves, villagers’ meetings, the rich quiet of rain on straw grass and dust? Where are the Palestinian poets, brother Arabs, progeny of Homer, Shakespeare, Lorca whose dreams enrich us all, dreams opposing hate and war, the vicious greed of Israelis and the blind-eyes of the world? Poems about hooves thumping hearts too, of golden olive oil and the laughter of children, those who dig in our minds in sweat-tinged soil, of the joy of making of the family of man in places both ordinary and sacred where a close hug negates languages of confusion? Where are the poets of hope, bringing us this precious land and its active people in odes, sonnets, magic speech and children’s songs of hope, prosperity and peace? Shouts will go up when…more
Lies, Damned Lies, and Libya
Dissident Voice: 4 Apr 2011 – The rationale for our latest foreign murder campaign is the ridiculous notion that because Gaddafi is an undemocratic semi-tyrant we have the right to interfere in the affairs of a nation which may very well soon be run by a full tyrant if, and when, Gaddafi is replaced. And then only by having the rebels assisted from outside Libya if they hadn’t already been organized from outside Libya. Clearly, some Libyans hate his guts, but some love him, and as for those who hate him, how odd is it that a leader is hated by some of his people? Face it, if someone had put a bullet through Bush’s empty head —or now, through Obama’s supposedly full one —there would be great joy experienced by many Americans, whether they’d show it in public or not. And neither of those two servants of corporate capital and Israel are demonic…more
Partisan Politics, Neo-Liberalism, and Struggle for Democracy and Public Education in Puerto Rico
Dissident Voice: 4 Apr 2011 – The epicenter of the struggle for the public university in Latin America is Puerto Rico. —José Carlos Luque Braz?°n, professor and researcher of political science and urban planning at the Autonomous University, Mexico City 1 Puerto Rico has historically been a laboratory for social, economic, political and scientific experiments. After the 1898 Spanish American War, the U.S. extended to Puerto Rico a newly crafted colonial system which had never been implemented in the mainland, eugenic programs were tested in the island, sterilization of women and the use of the contraceptive pill also used the island as a laboratory. Later, an export-based developmental model was crafted, euphemistically called “Manos A la Obra” translated as “Operation Bootstrap” (in Mexico called Maquiladora Program), which was later touted as a developmental model for the “Third World.” The use of emigration as an escape valve led 500,000 to migrate to the United States and…more
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The New Dark Age 