23 May, 2011 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Activists challenge annual meeting of Zionist lobbying group in Washington DC
IMEMC – Monday May 23, 2011 – 21:30, Protesters held a number of events over the weekend to challenge the annual meeting of the largest Zionist lobby in the US, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). A group called ‘Move Over AIPAC’, supported by over 100 civil society organizations, organized the largest protests to date against the Zionist lobby in Washington DC.
Israeli Officials Approve Settler Invasion into Nablus on Tuesday
IMEMC – Monday May 23, 2011 – 15:53, Israeli Knesset (Parliament) Members and and illegal settlers have received approval from Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barack to invade an area near Nablus known as ‘Joseph’s Tomb’ on Tuesday, accompanied by a garrison of Israeli troops.
Israel Under Criticism From British Leaders And Politicians
IMEMC – Monday May 23, 2011 – 12:15, Israel has come under increasing criticism from British leaders and Parliamentarians both for its illegal settlement activity and its treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli military courts.
Mixed Reaction To Obama’s Speeches
IMEMC – Monday May 23, 2011 – 11:30, Regional and International leaders have laid out their positions in the aftermath of US President Barack Obama’s speech to both Congress and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Thursday and Saturday respectively. The two speeches, which displayed opposing emphases on the issue of potential future borders, have received a mixed reaction from Palestinian and Israel politicians
Israeli forces install fence around Qalqiliya village
5/24/2011 – QALQILIYA (Ma’an) — Israeli forces began to install a barbed-wire fence on Monday around a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank, saying it was meant to prevent stone throwing. Residents of Izbat At-Tabib, located east of Qalqiliya, awoke to the sounds of construction, and were told that lands made inaccessible by the construction….
Center: Israeli forces detain 70-year-old woman
5/24/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained a 70-year-old woman from her home near Ramallah overnight Sunday, a detainees’ center reported. Soldiers detained Hajjeh Aicha Yousef after searching her home, the center said. An Israeli army spokeswoman said soldiers detained a Palestinian near Ramallah overnight but she could not identify the detainee. Soldiers….
Malaysia aid ship ends sea attempt to Gaza
5/24/2011 – KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) – A Malaysian aid ship attempting to land in Gaza after being warned off by Israeli naval forces last week has been forced to abort its mission after engine trouble, activists said. Matthias Chang, who is heading the mission for the Perdana Global Peace Foundation, told AFP on Monday that the MV….
Fayyad hospitalized in US
5/24/2011 – RAMALLAH (AFP) — Prime Minister in Ramallah Salam Fayyad was hospitalised after suffering heart trouble during a private visit to the United States, his office said Monday. Fayyad was taken to the Seton Medical Centre in Austin, Texas on Sunday after complaining of “severe pains in the chest,” the premier’s office in Ramallah said….
Man killed in Rafah tunnel collapse
5/23/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A Palestinian man was killed and another sustained injuries Monday morning when a smuggling tunnel collapsed over them in the southern Gaza Strip. Gaza’s emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya identified the victim as 32-year-old Muhammad Mustafa An-Najjar. Abu Salmiya said a second man was critically injured….
Abbas: No Hamas or Fatah figures in new govt
5/24/2011 – AMMAN, Jordan (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that Israel and the US had misinterpreted the unity deal as ushering in a government of Hamas and Fatah figures, as the new body would solely include non-partisan technocrats. At a press conference in Amman following the president’s meeting with King Abdullah II…. Related: PFLP: No candidate chosen to lead new government
Israeli court sentences teen to 6 months
5/23/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Israel’s military judges on Monday issued a six-month jail sentence to a teenager from Bil’in village near Ramallah. Amjad Ayed Abu Rahma, 15, was sentenced at Ofer military court near Ramallah, local activists said. He was detained in January for participating in Bil’in’s….
Gaza police say bomber caught outside supermarket
5/23/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Gaza police on Monday arrested a man they said was attempting to plant an explosive device outside a supermarket in Gaza City. An official from the investigations department said officers received a tip and were able to catch the man in action, but identified the alleged bomber only as H….
Egypt official: Obama misreading unity deal
5/23/2011 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) —Egypt will counter any external pressure that could endanger the progress of the Palestinian unity process, Egyptian ambassador to the Palestinian Authority Yasser Othman said Monday after the US president raised concerns. In his Thursday speech about the “Arab spring,” and again during a Sunday speech to an American-Israel lobby group…. Related: Report: Netanyahu phones Egypt’s Tantawi and Abbas: No Hamas or Fatah figures in new govt
PLO factions to convene in Gaza City
5/23/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Palestinian factions will meet in Gaza City on Tuesday to discuss ways to ensure that all parties participate in the reconciliation agreement signed in Cairo earlier this month. The factions, operating under the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organization, will meet at the office of the Arab Liberation Front, said….
Sports center to reclaim Hebron Old City
5/23/2011 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Deep in Hebron’s divided Old City, a sports club will open in June offering residents access to a swimming pool, gymnasium and sports courts, in an effort to bring residents back into the area. Home to 700 Israeli settlers, protected by 1,500 Israeli soldiers and police, the outdoor life….
Report: Nasrallah to address Obama position
5/23/2011 – BEIRUT (Ma’an) — Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is expected to speak about the US push for a return to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in an address to be televised Wednesday, Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar reported Monday. The newspaper said Nasrallah would “snap back” atUS President Barack Obama, who on Sunday accused Hezbollah of carrying out “political assassinations….
Factions to meet with Russia over unity progress
5/23/2011 – MOSCOW (AFP/Ma’an) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet Monday with members of the Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas in a bid to extend Moscow’s backing for their recent reconciliation accord. The West Bank’s Fatah and Gaza Strip’s Hamas factions were among 12 signatories to a….
Gaza crossing partially open
5/23/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities decided to open the Kerem Shalom crossing on Monday to allow limited aid into the coastal enclave. Palestinian liaison official, Raed Fattouh, said Israel would allow approximately 300 truckloads into Gaza, including 20 new cars. Of these, 82 truckloads would bring cement and iron into the coastal enclave….
Quartet, EU back Obama plan
5/23/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Members of the Middle East Quartet and the EU’s foreign policy chief came out in full support of statements made by US President Barack Obama this week, urging Israel and Palestine back into direct talks. The Quartet members, including the US, EU, UN and Russia, issued a statement saying….
Many in US-Israel lobby wary of Obama peace push
5/23/2011 – WASHINGTON (AFP) — Thousands of pro-Israel delegates packed the AIPAC conference in Washington DC on Sunday, and while they back strong US-Israel ties they were largely unmoved by President Barack Obama’s pledge to stand by the nation through thick and thin. Delegates at the annual policy conference for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee….
Report: Netanyahu phones Egypt’s Tantawi
5/23/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telephoned Egypt’s military ruler Muhammad Hussein Tantawi last week, for the first time since the army council took power after Hosni Mubarak was toppled, Israeli media reported Monday. Netanyahu’s office did not give any details of the discussion, Hebrew-language daily Maariv reported…. Related: Egypt official: Obama misreading unity deal and Abbas: No Hamas or Fatah figures in new govt
PFLP: No candidate chosen to lead new government
5/23/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine on Monday denied media reports that PLO factions had agreed on a candidate to lead the interim government. As part of the Palestinian unity deal signed in Cairo earlier this month, PLO parties agreed to form a transitional government of technocrats to….
Netanyahu to spell out views on peace
5/24/2011 – WASHINGTON (AFP) — After rejecting US President Barack Obama’s vision for Middle East peace, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a chance to lay out how he thinks the comatose process can be revived. In fact, Netanyahu will have two opportunities; first in a speech to the powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington on Monday….
Fatah: Israel rejected principles of peace process
5/23/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Fatah said Monday that Israel had rejected the main principles of the peace process. In a tense Oval Office appearance Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not accept a Palestinian state on 1967 borders. He also told US President Barack Obama that Palestinian refugees’ right to return to….
Palestinian unity arose from ruins of peace talks
5/24/2011 – RAMALLAH (AFP) — A Palestinian unity deal, slammed by Barack Obama as an “enormous obstacle to peace,” emerged after Hamas and Fatah agreed on the shared goal of a state on the 1967 lines and the failure of talks with Israel.” The recent agreement between Fatah and Hamas poses an enormous obstacle to peace,” the US….
President Obama at AIPAC; Unconditional Surrender
Palestine Note 23 May 2011 – As was expected President Barack Obama’s speech this weekend at AIPAC was an unconditional surrender to AIPAC, to Bibi Netanyahu and Israel. He gave up the US presidency in favor of his candidacy for re-election. Barak Obama did not come…
Egyptian novelist hails revolution as a ‘great human achievement’
Palestine Note 23 May 2011 – Guardian – On 28 January a young Egyptian man was urging the novelist Alaa al-Aswany to write a book about the revolution that was gathering momentum in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Just minutes after their brief conversation the protester was shot…
The Rasputin of the White House
Palestine Note 23 May 2011 – Teymoor Nabili- Is time running out for Israel’s best friend in the White House? Dennis Ross has been described as Israel’s advocate, more extreme than Binyamin Netanyahu, and “the ?©minence grise, a sort of Rasputin who casts a spell over…
Nabi Saleh is the embodiment of the Palestinian Arab Spring
Palestine Note 23 May 2011 – Joseph Dana, +972 Magazine- Why is it that Palestinians are the only people in the Middle East seemingly not allowed to throw stones at a military regime which oppresses and controls them? Why are Palestinians branded as violent when they…
Hamas and Fatah hammered for human rights abuses against their own people
Palestine Note 23 May 2011 – Hugh Naylor, The National- Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were subjected last year to an “almost systematic campaign” of human-rights abuses by their own rulers as well as by Israeli authorities, a Palestinian monitoring group has concluded….
Obama’s hypocrisy insults Palestinians’ — and Americans’ — intelligence
Palestine Note 23 May 2011 – Joe Catron – Barack Obama wants it both ways. Like every United States president since Bill Clinton, who partially brokered the now-defunct Oslo Accords in 1993, he aspires to act as a trusted intermediary in the 63-year old conflict between…
Indefensibly naive
Palestine Note 23 May 2011 – Richard Goldwasser – My wife and I watch tv differently. Which explains how I ended up watching the last 2 minutes of Bill O’Reilly’s show Friday evening. See my wife had the remote and she flips through channel by channel,…
Obama’s AIPAC Address
Palestine Note 23 May 2011 – US President receives standing ovation, sticks to 1967 borders stance The Guardian – Barack Obama won repeated rounds of applause and a standing ovation on Sunday at the annual conference of the biggest American-Israeli lobbying group after setting out his…
Attack helicopters to boost NATO in Libya
AlJazeera 23 May 2011 – France and Britain will send attack helicopters to better target Gaddafi forces, while NATO strikes rattle Tripoli.
Palestinian PM suffers heart attack in US
AlJazeera 23 May 2011 – Spokesman says Salam Fayyad underwent surgery after feeling chest pain during trip to attend son’s graduation.
Syria denounces EU sanctions move
AlJazeera 23 May 2011 – Foreign minister says travel bans and asset freezes on Syrian officials will ultimately harm European interests.
Obama reaffirms US-Irish ties during visit
AlJazeera 23 May 2011 – US president tells crowd in Dublin that his country’s relationship with Ireland is bound in history and friendship.
Gunbattle in Yemen as Saleh remains defiant
AlJazeera 23 May 2011 – At least six people killed as forces loyal to president battle his opponents a day after he backed out of deal to quit.
Egyptian bloggers rally against military
AlJazeera 23 May 2011 – Hundreds risk potential prosecution to voice criticisms of post-revolution military rule and slow pace of reforms.
Kirkuk car bomb strikes police convoy
AlJazeera 23 May 2011 – At least two people died and 10 others were wounded in blast targeting the motorcade of an Iraqi police chief.
Last British forces withdraw from Iraq
AlJazeera 23 May 2011 – Small naval unit left to train Iraqis in Umm al-Qasr pulls out, completing eight-year mission that left 179 troops dead.
One Worker Dies in Gaza; Troops Arrest Nine Civilians from the West Bank
PNN – Gaza/Ramallah — PNN – A Palestinian worker was reported dead on Monday when a tunnel he works in at the Gaza-Egypt border collapsed. Doctors said that Mohamed al-Najar, 32 years old, sustained…
What Will Happen Tomorrow in Joseph’s Tomb East of Nablus?
PNN – Nablus – Amin Abu Wardah – PNN/Exclusive – Few hours separate us from the visit of Jewish settlers and right-wing Israeli parliamentarians to Joseph’s Tomb, located east of Nablus city in northern…
EU Ministers Support Obama’s Call for 1967 Borders
PNN – Brussels – PNN – European ministers agreed on Monday with US President Barack Obama’s call that a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine needs to be based on 1967 borders with land…
Obama Supports Full Israeli Withdrawal? Words vs. Actions
PNN – By Michael Warschawski /AIC- President Obama’s announcement in favour of withdrawal to the lines of 1967 was surprising, particularly as it was said mere hours before his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister…
Obama, Netanyahu and the 1967 borders
PNN – By Adam Keller – President Obama has made his long awaited speech and uttered the magic number which some hoped and other dreaded that he would mention — Nineteen Hundred Sixty Seven….
Just Another day of Discrimination and Apartheid in Hebron
PNN – By Vicky Orwel – PNN – Some of the streets in Hebron on Sunday saw Palestinians put under a four hour curfew from 15.00 until 19.00 in order to facilitate a Jewish…
International Solidarity Movement
Army builds fence around Izbat Al Tabib
5/23/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – International Solidarity Movement – This morning at about 9am the Israeli army entered the village of Izbat Al Tabib with construction vehicles and began to build a large barbed wire fence along the side of the village separating it from highway 55 which runs parallel. The International Solidarity Movement joined with men, women and children from….
Alternative Information Center
Popular Demonstrations: Na’alin Commemorates Three Years of Weekly Protests
Alternative Information Center – A review of the weekly protests against the Separation Wall and the Israeli occupation in the West Bank villages of Bil’in, Na’alin, Nabi Saleh, Qalandiya, al Masara and al Walaje.
PA Refuses to Issue Passports for Gaza Residents
Alternative Information Center – Thousands of Gaza Strip residents demonstrated on Saturday (21 May) in Gaza City’s Unknown Soldier Square in protest of the Palestinian Authority’s refusal to issue passports to some 30,000 Gaza residents.
Council conclusions on Middle East Peace Process
Relief Web 23 May 2011 – Source: European Union Country: Israel , occupied Palestinian territory 3091st FOREIGN AFFAIRS Council meeting Brussels, 23 May 2011 The Council adopted the following conclusions: The fundamental changes across the Arab world have made the need for progress on the Middle East…
KfW Entwicklungsbank and UNRWA sign EUR 7.5 million agreement for Palestine refugees in camps
Relief Web 23 May 2011 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: occupied Palestinian territory Jerusalem – KfW Entwicklungsbank (the German Development Bank) today signed an agreement for the first phase of financial assistance to the UN Relief…
Middle East and North Africa Zone Appeal No. MAA80003 Annual report
Relief Web 23 May 2011 – Source: IFRC Country: Algeria , Bahrain , Egypt , Iran (Islamic Republic of) , Jordan , Lebanon , Morocco , occupied Palestinian territory , Qatar , Syrian Arab Republic (the) , Tunisia , United Arab Emirates (the) , Yemen In brief Programme outcome: The International Federation representations and zone coordinators worked on…
Statement by High Representative Catherine Ashton on the speech of President Obama
Relief Web 23 May 2011 – Source: European Union Country: Israel , occupied Palestinian territory EUROPEAN UNION Brussels, 20 May 2011 A 193/11 Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission, made today the following statement: “…
Israel ‘approves new West Bank settler homes’
Relief Web 22 May 2011 – Source: Agence France-Presse Country: occupied Palestinian territory By Steve Weizman (AFP) JERUSALEM — Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has approved the construction of 294 new homes in Beitar Ilit settlement on the occupied West Bank, anti-settlement NGO Peace Now reported…
Israel to allow Radical Jewish settlers to storm Palestinian town
23 May 2011 – West Bank, (Pal Telegraph) – Few hours separate us from the visit of Jewish settlers and right-wing Israeli parliamentarians to Joseph’s Tomb, located east of Nablus city in northern West Bank.
Israel arrests 9 Palestinians in WB
23 May 2011 – West Bank, (Pal Telegraph)- Israeli occupation forces detained Monday at dawn nine Palestinians from different parts in the occupied West Bank.
Gazan killed due to tunnel collapse
23 May 2011 – Gaza Strip, (Pal Telegraph)- A Palestinian worker was killed and another injured Monday morning due to a tunnel collapse under the borders between Gaza and Egypt . Medical sources confirmed that the victim identified as Mohammed Al-Najjar,32,arrived at the hospital of Abu Yousef Al-Najjar in Rafah as a dead body when a smuggling tunnel collapsed over him; the second man was…
Kuwait trumps Iraq Gulf harbour plan with its own huge industrial port
The National 23 May 2011 – While Iraq slowly worked up plans for a Dh23bn new port near Basra, getting no further than laying a foundation stone, Kuwait has stepped in with a giant harbour development just a kilometre away, due to be finished in 2016.
Bahrain releases more than 500 detainees
The National 23 May 2011 – Authorities have released 515 detainees since a crackdown that began in mid-March on Shiite-led protests, either ‘due to their health conditions or after considering their detention period to be enough’.
Wary Netanyahu may offer concessions on West Bank
The National 23 May 2011 – Israeli prime minister likely to be careful not to widen a rift with President Obama by being too hard-line on borders of a future Palestinian state to avoid further alienating the leader of Israel¬øs staunchest ally.
EU imposes travel ban and assets freeze on Syria’s Assad
The National 23 May 2011 – German foreign minister declares: ‘If someone represses his own people like that, responds to peaceful demonstrations with force, this can¬øt be left unanswered by the European Union.’
Violence escalates in Sana’a as Saleh loyalists battle with Yemen’s largest tribe
The National 23 May 2011 – President Saleh apologised to the leader of the UAE yesterday after armed Saleh loyalists surrounded the Emirati embassy, trapping the UAE ambassador, the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council and other diplomats inside.
Helicopter rescue from UAE mission in Yemen
The National 22 May 2011 – Embassy besieged by Saleh gunmen and GCC secretary-general and six ambassadors flown to safety as president again snubs deal.
Palestinian PM Fayyad suffers heart attack, in stable condition
Ha’aretz – The Palestinian premier checked into a U.S. hospital with strong chest pains, where he then was struck with blockage in a coronary artery; spokesman says he is recovering and should be released in two days.
Livni: Palestinian statehood isn’t a favor to Obama, it’s vital for Israel
Ha’aretz – Opposition leader tells AIPAC that she had decided to come before to the conference ‘not to ask what the U.S. can do for Israel, but what we can do together to confront the challenges.’
AIPAC chief: Obama should not be even-handed toward Israel and Palestinians
Ha’aretz – Day after U.S. president clarifies vision of Palestinian state within 1967 borders, director of pro-Israel lobby urges Jerusalem and Washington to avoid any public display of diplomatic crisis, as it would likely be exploited by Israel’s enemies.
Aluf Benn / Netanyahu’s biggest test is about to begin
Ha’aretz – The speeches Netanyahu will make at the AIPAC conference and in the Congress are the speeches of his life, and will determine the rest of his term: a confrontation with the U.S. or reaching an understanding with Obama.
Israeli Arab man blinded in October 2000 riots to get NIS 810,000 compensation
Ha’aretz – Haifa Court rules in favor of Nazareth man, who claims Israel police shot two rubber bullets into his face while he was walking home from work in October 2000.
Settlers try to set up new West Bank outpost during Netanyahu’s U.S. visit
Ha’aretz – Palestinians and the international community, including the United States, have long objected to the E-1 plan on the grounds that it would cut the West Bank in two and sever East Jerusalem from the rest of the area.
Hamas: Russia pledges to back Palestinian bid for state recognition
Ha’aretz – Russian FM Lavrov hosts representatives of recently reconciled rival Palestinian factions, praises unity deal, does not comment directly on Hamas official’s claim to have secured support ahead of planned September move at UN.
Syria: EU sanctions aimed at destabilizing our security
Ha’aretz – European Union foreign ministers impose restrictions on Assad, other Syrian officials in bid to pressure government to end violence against protesters.
Judges named for hearing on Katsav’s rape verdict appeal
Ha’aretz – The former president will not serve any jail time for his rape conviction until the court debates his appeal in August.
IAF fighter jets scrambled after El Al flight’s technical fault discovered
Ha’aretz – Earlier on Monday a flight headed for Newark carrying 276 passengers made an emergency landing in Ben Gurion Airport after one of its wheels malfunctioned.
El Al flight makes emergency landing at Ben Gurion Airport
Ha’aretz – The Boeing 777 carrying 276 passengers returned safely to Ben Gurion International Airport after a technical fault was discovered in the left wheel of the plane.
Obama kicks off Europe tour in Ireland with a pint of Guinness
Ha’aretz – Obama, who has Irish roots, will leave Ireland for London earlier than planned, due to an ash cloud from a volcano in Iceland expected to obstruct flights in the area.
Strauss-Kahn denies sexual assault charges, sends letter of apology to IMF
Ha’aretz – Former IMF head explains his resignation in letter sent via email to IMF staff and says he is ‘confident that the truth will come out and I will be exonerated.’
New al-Qaida chief allegedly linked to murder of journalist Daniel Pearl
Ha’aretz – Investigators of Pearl Project reveal information of a discussion about Pearl’s abduction between Saif al-Adel and Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the accused mastermind behind 9/11 attacks.
How to turn doomsday into payday
Ha’aretz – If the world really had ended yesterday, here are some investments you could have considered
Red Cross deputy chief: More than half of Gaza youth rely on foreign aid
Ha’aretz – De Riedmatten says deadly raid on Gaza-bound flotilla highlights hardships endured by residents of the coastal territory.
Barak: Israel and U.S. must put differences aside and move forward
Ha’aretz – Defense Minister underscores importance Israel’s ‘special relationship’ with U.S., says Israel needs to find a way to say ‘yes, but’ to its allies as Palestinians push for statehood.
Netanyahu’s biggest test is about to begin
Ha’aretz – The speeches Netanyahu will make at the AIPAC conference and in the Congress are the speeches of his life, and will determine the rest of his term: a confrontation with the U.S. or reaching an understanding with Obama.
Lieberman: Netanyahu’s stance on 1967 borders reflects viewpoint of most Israelis
Ha’aretz – During a Yisrael Beiteinu party meet, the foreign minister says that negotiating for the Palestinian right of return means the de facto elimination of Israel.
Report: Russia expelled Israeli military attach?© after three warnings
Ha’aretz – Russian newspaper reports that Russian Foreign Ministry warned Israeli Air Force Colonel Vadim Leiderman as early as November 2009 to desist from activities that violate diplomatic agreements.
EU backs Obama’s call for Mideast peace treaty based on 1967 borders
Ha’aretz – Swedish foreign minister slams Netanyahu’s rejection of the ’67 borders as ‘indefensible’, saying ‘the only defense that is possible is peace.’
ZAKA Wristbands locate lost children after Lag Ba’Omer
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Hundreds of youngsters separated from their parents at pilgrimate to Mount Meron were found thanks to free ZAKA wristbands.
Ethiopian leaders call for affirmative action
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – 20 years after Operation Solomon, leaders of Israel’s Ethiopian community, which numbers 116,000, called for anti-discrimination laws.
Palestinian physicians marvel at CT scanners in Haifa
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Delegation of Palestinian doctors and medical technicians will study at Carmel Medical Center; ‘Peace must begin among us,’ says Dr. Ahmed Said.
Perry to serve 10 years for defrauding Holocaust survivors
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Attorney Yisrael Perry convicted of theft; stole 320 million German marks from Israelis seeking compensation after surviving Shoah.
City: Destroy Mughrabi Gate within two weeks
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Engineer says it was never meant for permanent use; lawyer insists no reason to hurry before court date.
Hepatitis C sufferer charged with sodomizing youths
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Yair Shir Menajem, 47, exploited several minors over the course of 15 years; was charged with several graphic attacks Monday in Jerusalem court.
Civil Administration helping to create ‘independent’ PA
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – IDF working to establish infrastructure and institutions it knows will help the Palestinian Authority’s September bid for statehood.
Syrian FM: EU sanctions will backfire, we won’t stay quiet
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Walid Moallem says he expects more political, economic but not military measures; Clinton: 1,000 Syrians killed, halt violence.
Abbas: New Palestinian gov’t will not be a Hamas gov’t
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – PA president says US, Israel misunderstood Palestinian unity deal: “This government is not Fatah or Hamas, this is my government.”
Syria adopts two-faced strategy with social media
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Instead of blocking the Internet, embattled regime fights cold war-style battles with activists.
The impact of Nakba, hudna and tahdiah on Israel
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Israel must first learn the meanings of these Islamic terms and then alert the West to the dangers inherent in their unilateral imposition. The West must denounce any Arab efforts that are not part of universally accepted rules of engagement.
Barak: Obama’s speech lets us leave our differences behind
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Lieberman also comments on PM’s “complex” US meetings, notes Jerusalem will not negotiate Palestinian right of return, says “there’s no need to turn every dispute into a drama.”
‘Mubarak to be charged in deaths of protesters in 3 days’
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Former Egyptian president may also face other charges relating to protesters, cutting communications and corruption, Israel Radio reports.
Zahar: Palestinians should not settle for 1967 borders
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Hamas leader says 1967 borders not enough, asks Obama why he wouldn’t be willing to discuss 1948 borders.
Futile fears on Obama, the UN, and a Palestinian state
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – The UN resolution of a Palestinian state based on Armistice Line of 1949 is not a new one. It hasn’t bound Israel in the past and won’t in the future. The int’l community should therefore be focused on bringing the parties together to negotiate borders on their own.
Date, justices selected for Katsav conviction appeal
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Former president will get final chance to clear his name in August, Courts Administration says; court allows him to remain under house arrest.
Peace is not a prerequisite to Israel’s survival
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – The claim made by Israeli officials that the survival of the Jewish state depends on peace is untrue as it is dangerous. It belies the past 63 years of Israel’s existence and effectively eliminates Israel’s leverage in negotiations with the Palestinians.
Delhi’s last ten Jewish families guard an ancient heritage
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – “Israel is in my heart, India is in my blood,” says Malekar recounting legend of 4th century shipwreck that landed 7 families on Mumbai shores.
Tourism, environmental ministers unveil Dead Sea plan
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – NIS 750 million plan calls for increasing tourism, harvesting salt; MK Henin praises move, says Dead Sea Works should shoulder costs.
‘Russia warned military attache 3 times before expulsion’
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Israeli embassy in Moscow received 3 official notes claiming Liederman violated the Vienna Convention, ‘Komsomolskaya Pravda’ reports.
EU tightens sanctions against Syrian president, Iran
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – European foreign ministers to meet in Brussels to discuss sanctions on Assad after US passes similar sanctions on Syrian leader.
Israel-Russia to sign emergency cooperation agreement
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Despite expulsion of military attach?©, Vilna’i is set to host counterpart from Moscow, sign deal to increase cooperation in emergency planning.
Erekat: If ’67 lines are an illusion, peace is an illusion
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Palestinian Authority negotiator says Netanyahu needs to call publicly for return to ’67 lines with mutually agreed swaps to return to negotiations.
Maryland law requires railroads to disclose Holocaust ties
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – State Gov. Martin O’Malley’s signature marks first such legislation in US history.
‘Public’ broadcasts to be more than just a phrase at IBA
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Wish you were part of the decision-making process so that you could get a better choice of programs? Now you can.
Whistle bought at Merom nearly kills soon-to-be soldier
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Doctors manage, under general anesthesia, to pull dangerous part out of 19-year-old’s respiratory system and save his life.
El Al jet makes emergency landing after landing gear glitch
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Boeing 777 carrying 279 passengers en route to Newark is forced to make emergency landing after technical fault found in wheel.
French nationals to elect National Assembly representatives
Jeruslalem Post 23 May 2011 – Valerie Hoffenberg, France’s special envoy to the Middle East, is one of four Jewish candidates vying for new position.
Obama at Aipac: ‘Bonds between the US and Israel are unbreakable’ – video
The Guardian 23 May 2011 – Barack Obama addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
Letters
The Guardian 23 May 2011 – We condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the BBC’s censorship of the word “Palestine” from a song played on The Hip Hop M1X with Charlie Sloth on BBC Radio 1Xtra. The edit was made three minutes…
BBC is ‘confusing cause and effect’ in its Israeli coverage
The Guardian 23 May 2011 – A controversial book concludes Corporation still fails to present a fair and balanced picture of conflict British broadcasters’ coverage of the Arab awakening over recent months has been brave and honest. These are difficult and dangerous…
MIDEAST: Obama Peace Vision Sparks New Disputes
IPS “The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognised borders are established for both states.” The seemingly neutral and quasi-consensual principle laid out by U.S. President Barack Obama in his May 19 policy address on the current…
[uruknet.info] Blogging the Third Intifada (2) Feeling the Gazan love
Uruknet May 23, 2011 – No one can make you feel more at home than a Palestinian. I spent my first night in Gaza watching the ‘Vik2Gaza’ convoy being utterly overwhelmed, by the uninhibited and warm welcome that is typical of Gazans. Between the hugs, gifts, performances, and eulogies to Vittorio, there was no way any of us was…
[uruknet.info] MoD sued over missing Iraqi boy
Uruknet May 23, 2011 – The father of a 13-year-old Iraqi boy who has been missing since 2003 after being treated in a British military hospital has begun legal action against the Ministry of Defence demanding compensation and a public inquiry. Memmon Salam al-Maliki was found by British troops with his left hand blown off, several fingers of his…
[uruknet.info] France and Britain to use attack helicopters in Libya
Uruknet May 23, 2011 – France and Britain will deploy attack helicopters in Libya, French officials said on Monday, a step aimed at better targeting Muammar Gaddafi’s forces which could help rebels break the stalemate. Continued shelling of the rebel-held western port of Misrata illustrated the problem facing rebel forces and NATO. Rebels said Gaddafi forces were trying to…
[uruknet.info] Throw a shoe at Obama’s betrayal
Uruknet May 23, 2011 – At 4:17pm GMT on Sunday, I threw a shoe at my television screen, aimed at US President Barack Obama, precisely at the moment he began to explain that the reference in his Thursday speech at the State Department to the 1967 borders was in accordance with the Israeli interpretation of these borders. Not that…
[uruknet.info] During State Visit by Barack Obama, Amnesty International Asks David Cameron to Call for Return from Guant?°namo of Shaker Aamer
Uruknet May 23, 2011 – In a news release on Friday, Amnesty International announced that its UK Director Kate Allen had written to Prime Minister David Cameron “calling on him to raise the case of the Guant?°namo detainee Shaker Aamer when he meets US President Barack Obama” during the US leader’s visit to the UK on Tuesday and Wednesday…
[uruknet.info] Israeli court sentences teen to 6 months
Uruknet May 23, 2011 — Israel’s military judges on Monday issued a six-month jail sentence to a teenager from Bil’in village near Ramallah. Amjad Ayed Abu Rahma, 15, was sentenced at Ofer military court near Ramallah, local activists said. He was detained in January for participating in Bil’in’s weekly non-violent protests against the separation wall. Villagers have demonstrated every…
[uruknet.info] Extending Key Patriot Act Provisions
Uruknet May 23, 2011 – On October 13, 2001 New York Times writers Robin Toner and Neil Lewis headlined, “A NATION CHALLENGED: CONGRESS; House Passes Terrorism Bill Much Like Senate’s, but With 5-Year Limit,” saying: The House gave “the government broad new powers for the wiretapping, surveillance and investigation of terrorism suspects. But in recognition of many lawmakers’ fears…
[uruknet.info] Death squad attacks in Libyan “rebel” capital
Uruknet May 23, 2011 – There is a mounting climate of fear and political intimidation in Benghazi, the headquarters of the Transitional National Council, the anti-Gaddafi coalition that is being backed by the United States, Britain and France in their war against Libya. Two press accounts in American newspapers that are enthusiastic supporters of the war in Libya give…
[uruknet.info] Challenging AIPAC and confronting “US interests”
Uruknet May 23, 2011 – This week, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the largest pro-Israel lobby organization in the United States, is holding its annual policy conference in Washington DC. The roster of speakers – from Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu to Christian Right paragon Ralph Reed, President Barack Obama and several members of Congress – is…
[uruknet.info] An Absent Future…
Uruknet May 23, 2011 – …Your heart breaks when you hear of another kid in your neighborhood diagnosed with leukemia, another tumor growing in one of the women in your entourage, another child abducted and sold for sex…but you sit on that rocking chair, with your wounds and mouth badly bandaged and you rock yourself some more, hoping to…
[uruknet.info] Sunday May 22, 2011 : 29 Iraqis, 2 US Soldiers Killed; 108 Iraqis Wounded
Uruknet May 22, 2011 – A series of bomb attacks in and around Baghdad unnerved Iraqis just as the British mission in Iraq came to a close Sunday. Many of the bombs targeted police and other security forces. Some of them exploded simultaneously even though they were miles apart. At least 29 Iraqis were killed and 108 more were…
[uruknet.info] Military Resistance 9E 17:”No One Cares”
Uruknet May 22, 2011 – It was the moment for which we had all been holding our breath for decades – for 63 years to be precise. Palestinians everywhere watched the unfolding scene transfixed and awed. The camera followed the movements of a small group of people advancing from themass of protesters. They were carefully making their way down…
[uruknet.info] Comrade Mizher: Obama’s AIPAC speech a declaration of war on Palestinian rights
Uruknet May 22, 2011 – Comrade Jamil Mizher, member of the Central Committee of the Popular Front for the Liberation, said that the speech of US President Barack Obama at the annual conference of AIPAC, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, the largest Zionist lobby organization in the US, was a “declaration of war in Washington upon the legitimate national…
[uruknet.info] Israeli settlers dump sewage in Palestinian town
Uruknet May 22, 2011 – Sewage and wastewater from the Israeli settlement of Ariel, the largest settlement in the West Bank, has polluted the Palestinian village of Bruqin, which sits adjacent to the settlement. Ariel is constructed on hilltops and its wastewater is frequently directed away from the settlement onto the land of nearby Palestinian villages. This is a…
[uruknet.info] SYRIA: Activists raise death toll to 76 in three days of violence
Uruknet May 22, 2011 – Politically charged funeral marches were held in Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, as activists upped the death toll for the latest round of political unrest in the country to 76, most of them gunned down by ruler Bashar Assad’s security forces. In Homs residents of the districts of Khaldiyah and Bayada joined together Sunday in…
[uruknet.info] Bahrain: Special court upholds 2 death sentences ‚Äé
Uruknet May 22, 20 – A special Bahrain court upheld on Sunday death sentences for two Shiites convicted of killing two policemen during unrest that hit the Sunni-ruled kingdom, the official BNA news agency said. “The National Safety Appeals Court upheld the death sentence Sunday against Ali Abdullah Hasan al-Singace and Abdul Aziz Abdullah Ibrahim Hussein,” BNA reported. The…
[uruknet.info] Libyan clerics in rebel-held east see big role for Islam after Gaddafi
Uruknet By Mohammed Abbas – ….Members of the rebel National Transitional Council have said they want a democratic, secular system with free elections, comments that played well with the Western powers that pushed for foreign military intervention against Gaddafi’s forces. But Salaaby and Jaber insist that Islamic sharia will play a key role in Libyan society after Gaddafi. “There…
NATO-led coalition to use helicopters in Libya
Daily Star 23 May 2011 France and other members of a NATO-led coalition will use attack helicopters in Libya, French officials said Monday, a step meant to hit Moammar Gadhafi’s forces more accurately from the air.
Syria undeterred by EU sanctions
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Monday he was confident the country would emerge stronger from its crisis as the European Union announced sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Assad and other senior officials.
U.S.-Lebanese couple pleads guilty in Hezbollah funding case
Daily Star 23 May 2011 A married couple pleaded guilty Monday to charges of planning to ship money to Hezbollah.The plea deal will save Hor and Amera Akl from life sentences.
Mikati still waiting for Cabinet lists
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati is still waiting for the Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition to provide him with lists of names they propose for the government so that he can present a final draft Cabinet lineup to…
Iranian ambassador urges Lebanese to unite
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon urged the Lebanese Monday to unite and engage in dialogue in order to swiftly form a government that meets their own national interests.
Citizens want Cabinet with new attitude
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Headlines may be focused on infighting over the Interior Ministry portfolio and the distribution of shares.
Cluster bomb claims life of Syrian worker in Tyre
Daily Star 23 May 2011 A Syrian worker was killed in a cluster bomb explosion in the village of Deir Qanoun in Tyre.
Shami urges Lebanese not to interfere in Ivory Coast
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Shami urged Monday the Lebanese community in Ivory Coast not to interfere in the internal affairs of their host country, during his four-day visit to the African country.
Charlton asks army to step up efforts on border
Daily Star 23 May 2011 U.S. Army Brig. Gen. John Charlton called on the Lebanese Army to bolster its efforts to prevent incidents similar to the border conflict on May 15 between the Israeli army and Palestinian protestors.
Lebanon urged to work with UNIFIL on border
Daily Star 23 May 2011 The United Nations called on Lebanese officials to work together with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and prevent repetition of the border conflict between Palestinians and Israeli forces.
Kahwagi urges troops to close ranks in confronting Israel
Daily Star 23 May 2011 The Lebanese Army commander urged soldiers Monday to close ranks and stand steadfast in confronting Israel.
Italy to partner with ministries to protect children
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Italy is keen to share its experience in instituting child protection programs with the Lebanese government, Italian Ambassador to Lebanon Giuseppe Morabito said Monday.
Rai schedules second Christian summit on June 2
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Under the patronage of the Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, another meeting for Christian leaders will be held on June 2 in Bkirki, the Maronite Patriarchate announced Monday.
French envoy: Lebanese must resolve own issues
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Lebanese politicians should resolve their issues domestically, French presidential envoy on Francophone affairs Jean-Pierre Raffarin said Monday, expressing hope for a swift Cabinet formation.
Hezbollah not in favor of civil status law, says Qassem
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general said Monday that his party was against adopting a civil personal status law in Lebanon, saying it contradicts completely the sacred Sharia.
Hezbollah links Obama remarks to presidential race
Daily Star 23 May 2011 U.S. President Barack Obama was seeking to curry favor with the pro-Israel lobby ahead of next year’s U.S. presidential elections when he accused Hezbollah of carrying out political assassination, a senior Hezbollah official said Monday.
External forces impacting situation in Lebanon
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati will resume his efforts to form the Cabinet this week, but these attempts, like all his previous attempts to form a new government, would be unserious, Free Patriotic Movement sources told The…
Cables: Bush was to recognize Hezbollah if it gave up violence
Daily Star 23 May 2011 The George W. Bush administration was prepared to recognize Hezbollah as a legitimate party if the group were to give up violence, according to previously classified cables released by the State Department.
Jumblatt appeals to Assad on dialogue with opposition
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt appealed Monday for President Bashar Assad to initiate dialogue with those protesting his regime and implement reforms.
Opposing demonstrations come off peacefully in Hamra
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Dozens of Lebanese and Syrian activists rallied in the Beirut district of Hamra Monday in honor of protesters killed in demonstrations in Syria, while less than two blocks away, demonstrators chanted slogans supporting Syrian President Bashar…
Judicial source: Lebanese deny knowledge of arms sent to Syria
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Following the broadcast of confessions made by two Syrians allegedly involved in arms smuggling, Lebanese officials denied having any knowledge of weapons being sent from Lebanon to Syria, a senior judicial source told The Daily Star…
Through din of war, Libyan women demand louder voice
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Just two women sat among 17 men on a podium in Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi this month when rebels paraded new members of their National Transitional Council to the media.
Gunbattle in Yemen as transition deal collapses
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Yemeni loyalist forces fought a gunbattle Monday with opponents of entrenched President Ali Abdullah Saleh one day after he backed out of an accord for him to step down.
Looters torched Sudan’s disputed Abyei: U.N.
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Armed looters set fire to parts of Sudan’s disputed Abyei border town Monday, the United Nations said, days after North Sudanese troops seized it, pushing the North and South closer to conflict.
Youth groups walk out of Egypt constitution talks
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Two of Egypt’s most prominent youth groups walked out of a conference of national dialogue, saying members of ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s party were using the meeting to try to return to political life.
Attacks kill 5 people in Iraq’s disputed Kirkuk Province
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Violence in Iraq’s disputed northern oil province of Kirkuk killed five people Monday, the latest in a string of attacks in the region, as part of nationwide unrest that left nine dead.
EU wants peace talks resumed quickly
Daily Star 23 May 2011 The EU will urge other world powers this week to swiftly resume Mideast talks now that President Barack Obama has called for a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians based on the 1967 borders.
Saudi woman accused of inciting driving-ban defiance
Daily Star 23 May 2011 A Saudi woman has been charged with inciting females to defy a driving ban, a violation for which the penalty remains unclear and that is not covered by a clear law, her lawyer said Monday.
Bahrain says 515 detainees released since protest crackdown
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Bahraini authorities have released 515 detainees since a mid-March crackdown on Shiite-led protests, an official said, adding that six women still remain in custody.
Tehran invites Chinese experts to visit disputed nuclear sites
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Iran invited China Monday to send experts to see its nuclear facilities, the Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said in Beijing.
U.S. says Syrian leadership must halt killings
Daily Star 23 May 2011 U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that nearly 1,000 people had been killed in a crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Syria and called on President Bashar al-Assad to halt the violence.
West to use helicopters in Libya: French officials
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Continued shelling of the rebel-held western outpost of Misrata illustrated the scale of the problem facing rebel forces and NATO. Rebels said Gaddafi forces were trying to advance into the long-besieged city under cover of rocket…
U.S. general urges stronger border security
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Army Brig. Gen. John Charlton calls on Lebanese Army to bolster efforts in order to prevent repetition of last week’s violence on the Israeli border.
Saudi authorities re-arrest woman for driving
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Saudi authorities have re-arrested an activist who defied a ban on female drivers in the conservative kingdom, a security official said Monday.
Syria’s 1st government-authorized sit-in canceled
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Activists canceled the first government-approved demonstration in the capital since the government lifted a 48-year-old state of emergency last month, a Syrian official said Monday.
Jumblatt repeats calls for Assad to implement reforms
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Progressive Socialist Party leader calls on Syrian president to launch a dialogue with factions within the country and to cease violence.
U.N. urges steps to prevent repetition of border violence
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Michael Williams meets with Speaker Nabih Berri to discuss ways to avoid repeat of violence at Maroun al-Ras as Palestinians prepare for second march on border.
Lebanon should solve issues internally: French official
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Presidential envoy says France confident Lebanon can determine its own future.
Rai gathers Christian leaders for second meeting
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Maronite Patriarch follows up April 19 meeting with second gathering aimed at broaching contentious issues between rival Christian leaders.
Lebanese business makes up 35 percent of Ivory Coast economy
Daily Star 23 May 2011 Lebanese expatriates vital to West African country’s economy, head of Lebanese Chamber of Commerce in Abidjan says during conference aimed at strengthening role.
Abbas: I will navigate Palestinian gov’t
YNet News, 23 May 2011 – Palestinian president says Fatah, Hamas aim to create technocracy, adds future….
Terror orphans’ foster parents to get benefits
YNet News, 23 May 2011 – ‘Unclear why it took Welfare Ministry so long to provide response to orphans’….
Lieberman: Israel ready for talks anytime
YNet News, 23 May 2011 – FM backs Netanyahu’s response to Obama Mideast policy speech, demands ‘no….
Hamas: Let’s discuss 1948 lines
YNet News, 23 May 2011 – Mahmoud al-Zahar says US president’s plan for Mideast peace similar to that of….
EU imposes sanctions on Assad
YNet News, 23 May 2011 – One week after US imposes sanctions on Syrian president, EU follows suit…..
Katsav appeal panel judges known for strictness
YNet News, 23 May 2011 – Former president to have three judges hear appeal over rape conviction,….
The reader’s guide to peace talks
YNet News, 23 May 2011 – US President Barack Obama’s Mideast vision uses basic terms which are part of….
Bibi and Sara take DC
YNet News, 23 May 2011 – PM leads wife on romantic sunset stroll through US capital ahead of Congress,….
What’s in a (monarch’s) name?
YNet News, 23 May 2011 – Inspired by recent wedding, Israeli man asks state to change his name to those….
EU backs Obama’s call for ’67 borders
YNet News, 23 May 2011 – Swedish minister slams Israeli claim borders are ‘indefensible’, says peace only….
Report: Russia warned Israel before expelling attach?©
YNet News, 23 May 2011 – Moscow paper reports Israel received three warnings that Colonel Leiderman was….
Abbas backs unity with Hamas
YNet News, 23 May 2011 – Palestinian president responds to Obama’s AIPAC speech, in which he said….
Palestinian Information Center
IOF close Palestinian heritage committee in O. Jerusalem
PIC – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Sunday stormed the headquarters of the Palestinian heritage committee in occupied Jerusalem and closed it at the behest of the Israeli police.
IOA extends solitary confinement of captive Hamid for six more months
PIC – The administration of the Israeli Ramle prison has decided Sunday to extend the solitary confinement of Palestinian captive Ibrahim Hamid for six more months without giving reasons for the extension.
IOF seal-off sheikh Jarrah suburb as settlers attack Palestinian children
PIC – The Israeli occupation troops sealed-off Sunday the Sheikh Jarrah suburb in occupied Jerusalem after extremist Israeli settlers went on the rampage in the area and attacked children and women.
Zionist entity plans to expand W. Bank settlements
PIC – The Israeli “Peace Now” movement has exposed Sunday a number of plans by the Zionist entity to expand Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Hayya: Unity deal enhanced resistance program
PIC – Talks ahead of agreement to form a government of technocrats are still underway, Khalil al-Hayya has confirmed, denying that Fatah and Hamas have reached a final agreement on the next prime minister.
UNRWA strikers enraged after being “blackmailed”
PIC – UNRWA’s “blackmail” and threats to dock strikers for the two days of work they missed for protests “will only increase the staff’s determination to defend their cause and rights,”
Israel detains mother of senior Hamas official
PIC – Israeli forces arrested Monday morning the mother of senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri after raiding her home in Aroura village near Ramallah.
Palestinian minor sentenced to six months in prison
PIC – Ofer military court has sentenced Palestinian boy Amjad Ayid Abu Rahma, 15, from Bil’in village near Ramallah to six months prison.
PA security nabs man over failure to respond to summons
PIC – PA security agencies arrested Sunday night former captive in Israeli occupation jails, Muhannad Abdo al-Heimoni, 24, after he declared refusal to respond to a summons earlier.
Gaza: Obama speech will cause regional tension
PIC – The government in Gaza has reiterated calls to the Palestinian Authority to reconsider political stances and not to count on US political stands as these stands are blindly biased to Israel.
Israeli Forces Arrest 74 year-Old Palestinian Woman in Ramallah
WAFA
EU Council Backs Reconciliation, Calls for Resumption of Negotiations
WAFA
Israel Has to Recognize 1967 Lines as Borders of Two-State Solution, Says Erekat
WAFA
Abbas and Abdullah II Review Peace Initiative Committee
WAFA
Palestinian Community Protests in Germany to Condemn Israeli Crimes
WAFA
Exhibition of Copies of Ancient Palestinian Mosaic Masterpieces to Open
WAFA
PELP Ends Boycott of PLO Meetings
WAFA
PLO is Persistent to Establish a Sovereign State of Palestine‚Äè
WAFA
Israeli Soldiers Arrest 5 Palestinians in Hebron
WAFA
Palestinian Killed in Rafah Tunnel Collapse
WAFA
Israeli Court Sentences Palestinian Teen to 6 Months
WAFA
Is this the silliest man on the planet?
Intifada-Palestine: 23 May 2011 – by Stuart Littlewood In the space of 45 minutes the US President showed, on 19 May at the White House, how he is rapidly earning a reputation for being the silliest man on the planet and the most untrustworthy. He was… more
The President Goes AIPACing
Intifada-Palestine: 23 May 2011 – by Dr. Lawrence Davidson Part I — Doing the Domestic Political Dance President Obama addressed the Zionist lobby AIPAC on 22 May 2011, just four days after his major televised 19 May address on the Middle East. In that earlier speech… more
Syrians take to night protests to outwit security forces
LA Times 23 May 2011 – In a cat-and-mouse game with Syrian security forces, young protesters, helped by residents, are staging demonstrations at night that move from neighborhood to neighborhood as troops move in. Protesters challenging the rule of Syrian President Bashar Assad are increasingly turning nocturnal, taking their uprising to…
17 Iraqis, 2 U.S. soldiers killed in wave of bombings
LA Times 22 May 2011 – Attacks in central Iraq, most of them in the Baghdad area, highlight the tenuous security situation as militant groups continue to strike ahead of the planned U.S. withdrawal by year’s end. At least 17 Iraqis and two U.S. soldiers were killed Sunday in a wave…
Syrian Leader Hit With European Sanctions
New York Times 23 May 2011 – Five days after the United States imposed sanctions on Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, the European Union overcame internal divisions and followed suit on Monday.
Obama Presses Israel to Make ‘Hard Choices’
New York Times 23 May 2011 – The president, speaking to the nation’s foremost pro-Israel lobbying group, repeated his call for Palestinian statehood based on Israel’s pre-1967 borders adjusted for land swaps.
After Talks Collapse, Violence Flares in Yemen
New York Times 23 May 2011 – Forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh fought opposition tribesmen for six hours in the capital.
Obama affirms “ironclad” support for Israel
WSWS – Wrapping up a week largely devoted to US policy towards the Middle East, Obama spoke before the right-wing Zionist lobby, AIPAC, recommitting Washington to the unconditional defense of Israel.
Death squad attacks in Libyan “rebel” capital
WSWS – While the protection of civilian lives is the nominal justification for the NATO attack on Libya, the NATO-backed opposition forces are engaged in their own campaign of murder.
Bucking Obama and Netanyahu, Palestinian refugees assert their centrality
Mondoweiss – When President Barack Obama delivered his much awaited speech on the “Arab Spring” last Thursday , outlining his administration’s policy on the Arab revolts and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he proposed a negotiations process that would delay discussions on Palestinian refugees. “These principles provide a foundation for negotiations….
Israel puts barbed-wire fence around village of 247 Palestinians in W. Bank to prevent stonethrowing
Mondoweiss – and other news from Today in Palestine: Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlers New buildings in Mehola settlement JVS 23 May — For few days now, Mehola settlement, in the Northern Jordan Valley, builds new houses. Mehola is located at the junction between…
Chris Matthews is in, and up to the hub! Taking on AIPAC
Mondoweiss – Watch this space. Chris Matthews just started, I’m making dinner; and in the tease, he’s asking why Republican lawmakers are lining up with a foreign prime minister against their president — Netanyahu and AIPAC. If Democrats did this, the Republicans would be all over them, he…
Taking on AIPAC
Mondoweiss – 3 images re AIPAC. Top two are from Andrew Courtney in Washington, from Moveoveraipac , featuring encounters between members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and anti-AIPAC demonstrators. Bottom one is of Israeli citizens gathered at Bil’in in the occupied territories.
Obama’s overflowing ‘love’ for Ireland shows up his rage toward Israel/the lobby
Mondoweiss – If you want to understand how angry Obama is at the Israel lobby and Israel, watch the speech he just gave in Dublin . He is a generous man (I say as a fellow Leo) and generosity brims in every word of that speech. The speech is…
Israeli attacks Izbat Tabib, resumes annexation
Palestine Monitor – Only twenty people stand in the way of Israeli bulldozers moving right now on Izbat Tabib in order to build a so-called security fence through the small, ancestral village farms. – News / 4th-col-1st-article , Apartheid Wall , Non-violent resistance , International solidarity , Theft , Occupation , Impunity
Israel approves expansion of settlement blocs
Palestine Monitor – Israel continues building settlements, despite international condemnation. – News / 2nd-col-1st-article , Apartheid , Settlements , Impunity
Right to education under attack in Beit Ommar
Palestine Monitor – Israeli soldier threaten university student with arrest during the week of final exams. – News / 2nd-col-1st-article , Non-violent resistance , Youth , Settlements , Occupation
Gaza’s children mark first anniversary of Freedom Flotilla raid
Middle East Monitor 23 May 2011 – EXCLUSIVE PICTURES Palestinian children have launched paper aeroplanes into the skies above Gaza’s small port to commemorate the first anniversary of the Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla on 31st May last year. A fleet of six humanitarian aid ships which made up the flotilla were…
Obama’s call for Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders was “stillborn”
Middle East Monitor 23 May 2011 – A former Lebanese Prime Minister has called US President Barack Obama’s call for a Palestinian state along pre-1967 borders “stillborn due to Israel’s swift rejection”. Selim El-Hoss said that Obama “relinquished previous American stances on settlements, refrained from offering an American role in mediation, and postponed…
Week 9: Karim Younis – Palestinian political prisoner
Middle East Monitor 23 May 2011 – The fateful night of 6th January 1983, when Israeli soldiers raided their house in a brutal way, was the first that his relatives knew that Karim Younis was in any way involved with the resistance to Israel’s military occupation. As a child he was known to…
Reconciliation means release of political detainees and an end to travel bans
Middle East Monitor 23 May 2011 – The head of Fatah’s dialogue delegation and member of the movement’s Central Committee has expressed his optimism about the successful implementation of the recent reconciliation agreement. Azzam Al-Ahmad said that a lot has been achieved with regard to calming the atmosphere in preparation for terms of…
Israeli court sentences teen to 6 months
Sabr 23 May 2011 – RAMALLAH ( Ma’an ) — Israel’s military judges on Monday issued a six-month jail sentence to a teenager from Bil’in village near Ramallah. Amjad Ayed Abu Rahma, 15, was sentenced at Ofer military court near Ramallah, local activists said. He was detained in January for participating in Bil’in’s…
Free Bassem and Naji Tamimi
Sabr 23 May 2011 – 18 May 2011 | Popular Struggle Coordination Committee Recent events have once more proven the potency of civil resistance, and its ability to bring about change and end injustice. From the Arab Spring to the recent demonstrations commemorating the Nakba, ordinary people are affecting change. While Abdallah…
Syria hits back at EU sanctions
BBC 23 May 2011 – Syria denounces sanctions imposed on President Bashar al-Assad by the European Union, saying they would “harm the Syrian people”.
Palestinian PM has heart attack
BBC 23 May 2011 – Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad suffers a heart attack during a visit to the US, his spokesman says.
(en) A Democratic Revolution in Spain – Barcelona, Wednesday night: “Aqu?? comen?ßa la revoluci??!”
A-infos 23 May 2011 – The revolution begins here, shouts the crowd on Pla?ßa Catalunya. There’s maybe five thousand people, ten thousand people, mostly unknowns, mostly young, many older folks as well, no single aesthetic or political line. The pla?ßa is full. They’re calling it “our Tahrir square,” and so far,…
(en) Spain, Call out to camp! From Barcelona Square
A-infos 23 May 2011 – Dear friends from the world, —— See below the declaration of principles of Barcelona Camp translated into several languages (English, Spanish, French, Neerland?És, Portugu?És, Greek, German, ?•?•?•, Italian, and Catalan). —— Here a message from the International Commission to help to spread protest worldwide and coordinate…
Articles
Editorial: Obama to the dustbin of history
Nasser Lahham, Ma’an News Agency5/23/2011
The American president has not yet realized that he is not up to the question of Palestine or the status of Jerusalem, but his speech to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee showed it was true.
Showing himself as a supporter of the occupation and a patron for its military, Barack Obama was also the face of the oppression of the Palestinian people.
Leaving aside the American Arabs, NGO directors and technocrats who were thrilled with the speech, Israeli commentators boasted about how the remarks would be bound to disappoint the “Arabs and the Palestinians.”
One analyst noted that “Had the speech been in Hebrew, it would have reflected a pure Israeli attitude.”
Obama comes out in support for the Facebook revolutions and the Arab spring. But a shoe on the foot of toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, despite all his notoriety, is more deserving of respect than a leader who professes support for people’s movements and supports the oppression of the Palestinians.
Perhaps still elated from the news of the death of Osama Bin Laden, an obsession with security lead the US president to pledge commitment to Israel’s security 23 times in his AIPAC speech. Does he realize Israel will only gain security when Palestinian factions decide to cease operations?
It was not Israel’s security that stopped attacks against Israel from the West Bank, it was the decision of Mahmoud Abbas after his 2005 election, and his call to Fatah forces to give the peace process a chance. more.. e-mail
With love and respect from the bottom of my heart to my Italian Family
Rawa’ Ahmed, International Solidarity Movement5/22/2011
Since the day I heard about the Italian convoy that is coming to Gaza I was longing to meet Vitorrio’s friends, and dreaming of the day they would arrive in Gaza. The 12th of May was the arrival day. It was a long day because some friends and I had to wait for the convoy in their apartment in Gaza as we did not have permission to welcome them at the Rafah crossing or even to invite them to our homes.
Words can not express how happy I was when I met those great people. They are one of my great sources of inspiration. Their love to Gaza is just wonderful — they taught me how to love my land, to stick by my principles, to fight longer seeking freedom and to stay stronger: “stay human”.
Vittorio’s folk, as I like to call them, are brave enough to visit Gaza and show the whole world that they are not afraid to come to the place where their friend was kidnapped and murdered. Their love for Palestine and Gaza is just unbelievable — they would sacrifice their souls for the sake of any of us!
This was illustrated when we were at Erez crossing and all of them wanted to go further and further in order to witness and experience the atmosphere that most of the Palestinians have to suffer. Besides, they wanted to experience what Vittorio used to do with many of the ISM members in Gaza: such as the farming actions; going to the buffer zone areas; supporting many of the farmers and fishermen; and participating in many of the demos that were held to raise awareness of the human rights of the Palestinians.more.. e-mail
Israel has lost touch with reality
Ibrahim Hewitt, Middle East Monitor (MEMO)5/19/2011
We will probably never really know if, as Israel’s Prime Minister claimed, Iran and Syria orchestrated the Nakba demonstrations which led to the deaths of at least 12 Palestinians over the weekend. Accusations and counter-accusations will fill the media for a few days and then life will carry on as abnormal as it does in Israel and the territories it has occupied since 1967. There is clearly going to be no outcry from Israel’s friends in the West about abuses of human rights and democratic freedoms of the kind we have seen in response to the killing of demonstrators in other parts of the Middle East. Nor are we likely to see an ICC warrant for the arrest of Israeli leaders on war crimes charges, even though the independent evidence is at least as strong as that against Gaddafi who now faces such charges. Israel, as usual, is allowed to get away with murder.
Benjamin Netanyahu, of course, knows this full well, which is why he can continue to make statements which illustrate that Zionists have a completely different worldview: Israelis, he said after Sunday’s shootings, “are determined to defend our borders and sovereignty.” Media reports follow suit, each describing the clashes taking place “on Israel’s borders”. This is all fantasy, because Israel has never declared what its borders are and has taken every opportunity since 1948 to push the extent of the territory under its control ever further outwards. The Golan Heights, where Palestinians exiled in Syria crossed rather ineffective (thank goodness) minefields at the weekend, are in fact the occupied Syrian Golan Heights; the border that was breached was not and if justice prevails never should be “Israel’s border”. The Zionist state may have control of the area but the demonstration last weekend was not a breach of its “sovereignty” as Netanyahu claimed.
Such realities do not deter Zionists and the well-oiled pro-Israel lobby from purveying distortions of the truth as “facts” in their hasbara (propaganda)…. more.. e-mail
Throw a shoe at Obama’s betrayal
Electronic Intifada: 23 May 2011 – Ilan Pappe The Electronic Intifada A relentless struggle against the ethnic cleansing of Palestine will continue outside the realm of the western corridors of power. That is only confirmed by Obama’s recent speeches at the State Department and the annual AIPAC policy conference.more
Challenging AIPAC and confronting “US interests”
Electronic Intifada: 23 May 2011 – Monadel Herzallah , Sara Kershnar , Max Ajl and Kristin Szremski The Electronic Intifada The roster of speakers at AIPAC ‘s annual policy conference — from Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu to Christian Right paragon Ralph Reed, President Barack Obama and several members of Congress — is clear evidence that the relationship between and interests shared by AIPAC , the religious right and the US government continue unabashed and unchallenged.more
Israeli attacks Izbat Tabib, resumes annexation
Palestine Monitor: 23 May 2011 – Only twenty people stand in the way of Israeli bulldozers moving right now on Izbat Tabib in order to build a so-called security fence through the small, ancestral village farms. – News / 4th-col-1st-article , Apartheid Wall , Non-violent resistance , International solidarity , Theft , Occupation , Impunitymore
Israel approves expansion of settlement blocs
Palestine Monitor: 23 May 2011 – Israel continues building settlements, despite international condemnation. – News / 2nd-col-1st-article , Apartheid , Settlements , Impunitymore
Right to education under attack in Beit Ommar
Palestine Monitor: 23 May 2011 – Israeli soldier threaten university student with arrest during the week of final exams. – News / 2nd-col-1st-article , Non-violent resistance , Youth , Settlements , Occupationmore
Ongoing: Killings, Detentions, and Torture in Egypt
Dissident Voice: 23 May 2011 – On February 9, London Guardian writer Chris McGreal headlined, “Egypt’s army ‘involved in detentions and torture,’ ” saying: Military forces “secretly detained hundreds and possibly thousands of suspected government opponents since mass (anti-Mubarak) protests began, (and) at least some of these detainees have been tortured, according to testimony gathered by the Guardian.” Moreover, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other human rights organizations cited years of army involvement in disappearances and torture. Former detainees confirmed “extensive beatings and other abuses at the hands of the military in what appears to be an organized campaign of intimidation.” Electric shocks, Taser guns, threatened rapes, beatings, disappearances, and killings left families grieving for loved ones. Under Mubarak, Egypt’s military wasn’t neutral. It’s no different now, cracking down hard to keep power and deny change, policies Washington endorses, funds and practices at home and abroad. On February 17, even New York Times writer Liam Stack…more
More material available from Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel – www.vtjp.org
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The New Dark Age 
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