20 June, 2011 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Israeli Migdal Oz Plan Outlines Response To Palestinian Reactions To Declarations of Statehood
IMEMC – Monday June 20, 2011 – 17:02, Israel is drawing up plans for a series of eventualities come September and a Palestinian declaration of statehood. The Migdal Oz plan, seen by YNet, is the Israeli document on how the army plans on maintaining order in the aftermath of the September state bid.
Gisha Ordered To Pay 25,000 NIS As A Result Of Failed Legal Petition
IMEMC – Monday June 20, 2011 – 15:37, The Israeli human rights organization for the freedom of movement, Gisha, have been fined 25,000 NIS (7,250 USD) in legal fees as part of ruling against a case brought by the organization petitioning for freedom of movement for Muslim Palestinians to travel to Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.
Troops Demolish Homes, Tents, Near Hebron
IMEMC – Monday June 20, 2011 – 14:52, Israeli soldiers demolished on Monday seven Palestinian homes and tents that belong to residents of Khirbet Bir Al-Ad, east of Yatta town, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, the Pal Telegraph reported.
Fayyed To Refuse Position Of PM In Interim Government
IMEMC – Monday June 20, 2011 – 14:51, Salem Fayyed is to refuse the position of Palestinian interim government PM in the interests of national unity according to sources close to the current PM, reports PNN.
Malaysian, French ships join ‘Freedom Flotilla’ to Gaza
IMEMC – Monday June 20, 2011 – 13:01, The Prime Minister of Malaysia voiced his support for the upcoming ‘Freedom Flotilla’ of aid ships and 500 supporters from around the world who plan to enter Gaza by sea on June 27th. A ship from Malaysia joins two new French ships added to the roster of a dozen ships set to sail to Gaza next week.
14 Year Old Palestinian Boy Detained By Israeli Military In Husan
IMEMC – Monday June 20, 2011 – 12:53, Wafa news site reports that Israeli soldiers have abducted a Palestinian minor from the town of Hasan near Bethlehem.
Israeli troops shoot and abduct Palestinian man near Qalqilia
IMEMC – Monday June 20, 2011 – 12:26, A Palestinian man was severely injured when Israeli soldiers shot him in the legs for allegedly carrying a knife at a checkpoint near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia on Sunday.
Expansion of Settlement homes in East Jerusalem approved by Jerusalem Municipality Sunday
IMEMC – Monday June 20, 2011 – 12:19, The Jerusalem municipality agreed to the expansion of 2,000 Settlement homes in Ramat Shlomo in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday. The plan allows for each Settlement household to add an additional room, according to a council press statement.
Former Israeli Military Chief Urges Netanyahu To Return To Talks
IMEMC – Monday June 20, 2011 – 12:15, Former Israeli Army chief Gabi Ashkenazi has warned Israel that it should return to negotiations with the PA to ward off Palestinian attempts to declare statehood in September, according to JPost.
Unity Government Postponed
IMEMC – Monday June 20, 2011 – 11:22, According to Al Jazeera the announcement of a interim unity government between political rivals Fatah and Hamas has been delayed due to disagreement between the two sides as to who would hold the position of Prime Minister.
Bedouin community homes demolished
6/20/2011 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli bulldozers destroyed several tin homes and animal shelters Monday, in the Bedouin herding hamlet of Khirbet Bir Al-Idd. The demolitions, which left 60 men, women and children displaced, were said by Israel’s Civil Administration to be “routine implementation of the law concerning illegal building,” with a spokesman saying….
Israel navy chief demands flotilla cancellation
6/20/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel’s navy chief called Sunday for international powers to halt the progress of the Freedom Flotilla II, a sea convoy of at least 10 ships setting sail for the Gaza Port. Israel’s Vice Admiral Eliezer Marom, told naval cadets at a training graduation session,that it was….
Limited quantities of goods to be allowed into Gaza
6/20/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli officials approved the transportation of 270 truckloads of goods and humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip on Monday, Palestinian officials said. The shipment will be imported via the Kerem Shalom terminal in southern Gaza, the only crossing between Israel and the besieged coastal enclave that remains in operation. Palestinian….
Gaza in crisis as smugglers divert trade to Libya
6/20/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Egyptian fuel smugglers are expanding their network to Libya and reducing deliveries to Gaza causing a fuel crisis in the Strip, traders told Ma’an. Gaza trader Ayman Abu Shanab said Egypt was exploiting the unrest in Libya to smuggle fuel into the country for high prices. Libya has….
Salam Fayyad ‘will refuse PM post’
6/20/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Salam Fayyad will announce his intention to refuse to head the new unity government if he is offered the post, sources close to the appointed West Bank Prime Minister told Ma’an. Fayyad has publicly said he would accept whatever parties decide in Cairo. Fatah’s central committee nominated…. Related: Leadership row delays unity government
3 detained by Israel overnight
6/20/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces raided the southern West Bank village of Husan, west of Bethlehem overnight and detained two minors after storming their family homes, local source said. Speaking with Ma’an by phone, a family member said several Israeli military vehicles entered the village at around 2 a. m. and ransacked….
PA interior ministry to control Gaza crossings committee
6/20/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) – PA President Mahmoud Abbas gave instructions Sunday to transfer administrative and financial control of the department coordinating the entry of goods from Israel into Gaza from the Ministry of Economy to the Ministry of the Interior. The committee, headed by crossings coordinator Raed Fattouh, is the liaison between Israeli officials….
Medical Council corruption report handed down to PA
6/20/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian anti-corruption department received a report Sunday from a parliamentarian committee investigating alleged corruption charges against the Higher Palestinian Medical Council. The head of the anti-corruption department, Rafiq Natshe, who received the report in his office in Ramallah, said that any one found guilty will be referred to a corruption….
West Bank civil servants to strike Wednesday, Thursday
6/20/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Civil servants in the West Bank will strike on Wednesday for two days, public employees union leader Bassam Zakarna said Monday. The statement said all government institutions would be affected by the strike, with Zakarna protesting the PA government’s failure to meet the union’s demands for pay….
Leadership row delays unity government
6/20/2011 – RAMALLAH (AFP) — Disagreement over who should be the next Palestinian premier is holding up the creation of a unity government agreed last month between old rivals Fatah and Hamas, Palestinian officials said on Monday. A meeting in Cairo on Tuesday between President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads Fatah, and Hamas chief Khalid Mash’al has…. Related: Salam Fayyad ‘will refuse PM post’
Haniyeh opens new roads in Gaza City
6/20/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Gaza government Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh promised Monday to pay a 140 million shekel ($40. 6 million) debt owed by the municipality of Gaza City to the Palestinian Electricity Company for lighting the city streets. Speaking at the official opening of a network of re-paved streets in Gaza City, Haniyeh….
5 injured as wall collapses in Hebron
6/20/2011 – HEBRON (Ma’an) – Five were injured on Monday as a wall collapsed in Al-Aroub refugee camp home north of Hebron. Police said that a family was attempting to move a water tank on to the top of a building when its foundation gave way and a wall collapsed, crushing at least three, and injuring….
PA presses interests at economic forum in Russia
6/20/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Fa’ed Mustafa concluded his participation in the 15th Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, promoting Palestinian interests to state and business leaders from around the globe. Focusing on Emerging Leadership for a New Era, the conference is a networking opportunity and platform for some….
Ben Ali defense team request postponement of trial
6/20/2011 – TUNIS, Tunisia (AFP) —The defense team for ex-Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, whose trial in absentia starts Monday in Tunis, intends to request a postponement to prepare his defense, one of his lawyers told AFP. Court-appointed lawyer Hosni Beja said Sunday: “We will ask for a postponement of the hearing to get in….
Egypt military to try journalists over torture claim
6/20/2011 – CAIRO (AFP) — Military prosecutors in Egypt are to try a newspaper editor and a journalist over comments in an article on torture attributed to a military official, a military source said on Sunday. Journalist Adel Hammuda and editor Rasha Azab from the independent Egyptian weekly Al-Fagr were questioned by the prosecutor on Sunday and will….
Syria’s Assad offers dialogue, rejects ‘chaos’
6/20/2011 – DAMASCUS, Syria (AFP) — President Bashar Al-Assad said Monday that dialogue could lead to a new constitution and even the end of his Baath party’s monopoly on power, but he refused to reform Syria under “chaos.”His remarks were condemned by pro-democracy activists who vowed that the “revolution” — now in its fourth month — must….
Egyptian security forces find weapons cache in Sinai
6/20/2011 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Egyptian police have uncovered a weapons cache in the Sinai peninsula set for transport to the Gaza Strip, Egyptian security sources told Ma’an on Sunday. The cache was discovered in a desert area near the police station of Al-Hasana in the central Sinai, officials said. According to police….
Egypt’s ex-president Mubarak ‘has cancer’
6/20/2011 – CAIRO (AFP) — Egypt’s ousted President Hosni Mubarak, whose trial on charges of ordering the killing of anti-regime protesters is due to start in August, has stomach cancer, his lawyer Farid al-Dib said on Monday.” He has a stomach cancer and the tumors are growing,” the lawyer told AFP. The former president is currently….
Israel; It is all “unilateral” !
Palestine Note 20 Jun 2011 – Do not know why every one from President Obama, to Dennis Ross, to Bibi Netanyahu to Nancy Pelosi, to Senator Lieberman to Ron Prosor to Glen Beck, to AIPAC, to Anti-Defamation League to Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American…
Arabs demand new freedoms but the west offers old economic blueprint
Palestine Note 20 Jun 2011 – The Guardian- Watching the joyfully chaotic events of the Arab spring unfold in Egypt and Tunisia was heart-warming for anyone who likes to see kleptocratic dictators getting their comeuppance. What was far less clear was what the many thousands of…
Nablus village months without water
Palestine Note 20 Jun 2011 – Ma’an- With both the Palestinian Authority and Israel’s Civil Administration abdicating responsibility, local officials say parts of a Nablus-area village have been without water for months. While drought is common in the mid-summer, many of the residents of Salem village…
Passports for all in Gaza?
Palestine Note 20 Jun 2011 – Al Jazeera- In Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority recently decided to remove 141 Palestinians from the passport blacklist of 30,000 names. The move sparked a protest held by scores of Gazans who had been denied a Palestinian passport – and consequently…
Aiding Friends and Foes in Palestine
Palestine Note 20 Jun 2011 – Douglas N. Greenburg and Derek D. Smith, Foreign Affairs- The reconciliation agreement signed in April between Fatah and Hamas, which called for the creation of an interim Palestinian unity government followed by elections later this year, raises a number of…
Op-Ed Columnist: What to Do With Lemons
Palestine Note 20 Jun 2011 – Thomas Friedman, New York Times- While President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have gotten a lot of things right on foreign policy, they’ve made quite a mess in Israeli-Palestinian relations, where they’ve alienated all sides and generated zero…
MIDDLE EAST: An online ‘Arab Spring’ for region’s gays and lesbians
Palestine Note 20 Jun 2011 – Los Angeles Times – “Joon” is unhappily in love and needs advice. “For the past few years I have been in love with a straight girl, my best friend,” she writes. “Apart from her being straight, I suspect she is…
Palestinian desire for food security drives farming innovation
Palestine Note 20 Jun 2011 – The Guardian- In a rural area of the central Gaza Strip, Eyad Najjar plucks organic carrots from the sandy soil of his tiny farm. Najjar no longer uses fertilisers or pesticides for his plot, which also grows tomatoes, parsley, rocket,…
Palestinians Record West Bank Protests With Cameras Supplied by Israelis
Palestine Note 20 Jun 2011 – New York Times- While journalists have found themselves scouring the Internet in search of video from protests across the Middle East recently, one protest movement, by small groups of villagers opposed to Israel’s security barrier in the West Bank, has…
Palestinian Unity Meeting Postponed
Palestine Note 20 Jun 2011 – Delay may be attributed to row over appointing Prime Minister Al Jazeera – A planned announcement of a new Palestinian unity government has been delayed after the Fatah and Hamas movements failed to agree on a prime minister. The announcement…
Top Five Israeli and Palestinian Myths
Palestine Note 20 Jun 2011 – We began this myth exercise several days ago by identifying myths 1 through 4.25 —- peace isn’t possible, “their” violent culture is so different from “our” peaceful culture that we can never have peace, the Israeli government doesn’t
really want…
Furore over Indonesian’s beheading in Saudi
AlJazeera 20 Jun 2011 – Jakarta recalls ambassador to Saudi Arabia in response to execution of Indonesian maid convicted of killing employer.
Protests follow Syrian president’s speech
AlJazeera 20 Jun 2011 – Rallies held across the country as activists and world leaders say reforms pledged by Bashar al-Assad are not enough.
Ben Ali and wife ‘guilty of theft’
AlJazeera 20 Jun 2011 – Ex-Tunisian president and his wife were sentenced to 35 years in prison in absentina for misappropriating public funds.
Egypt’s Mubarak ‘has cancer’
AlJazeera 20 Jun 2011 – Lawyer says former president had the disease since March 2010, but it had been kept a secret.
Iraq blast hits French embassy convoy
AlJazeera 20 Jun 2011 – Seven people wounded as roadside bomb strikes vehicle near ambassador’s residence in Baghdad.
Iraq to chase missing billions
AlJazeera 20 Jun 2011 – Parliament seeks UN help to track down what it calls Iraqi oil money stolen from reconstruction fund.
Olympic Team Captain to PNN: We Dedicate our Victory on Bahrain to our People
PNN – Amman – Fadi Yakoub/PNN Exclusive – The captain of the Palestinian Olympic team Mustafa Abu Kwik told PNN on Monday that he dedicates the victory on Bahrain Olympic team, which is part…
Israeli Military Destroys Homes Near Hebron
PNN – Hebron – PNN – On Monday, the Israeli military leveled houses and farm lands that belonged to Bier Al-Ad village near the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Local sources said that…
Israeli Arms Exports Hit High of $7.2 Billion
PNN – Tel Aviv – PNN – The Israeli defense industry reached a high in 2010 of $7.2 billion in exports, up from the $6.9 billion it had achieved in 2009, thus placing the…
The Treatment and Rehabilitation Center: a Case Study
PNN – By Alessandra Bajec – The idea of having an organization designed to offer appropriate and comprehensive assistance to victims of torture in the Palestinian territories is crucially necessary in the context of…
Why is this Year Different from all Years and this Vote From all other Votes?
PNN – By Adam Keller – Gush Shalom – For decades, the UN General Assembly is meeting every year in the month of September. And every year it adopts by a large majority a…
Gisha Appeals Court Decision That Violates Muslim Freedom of Worship
PNN – Gaza – PNN – Gisha, the Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, has today appealed a court judgement which prevents Muslims from Gaza from worshipping freely at Jerusalem’s holy sites. The State…
International Solidarity Movement
Beit Ommar harvests despite Israeli threats
6/19/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – 15 June 2011, International Solidarity Movement – On June 14th 2011 a Beit Ommar farmer reported that he was “ordered” to leave his farm land by an armed security guard from the adjacent Karmei Tzur settlement. The guard apparently used a dog to drive the farmer and his family from the land. Settlers had also recently….
Remarks by High Representative Catherine Ashton at the press conference after the Foreign Affairs Council
Relief Web 20 Jun 2011 – Source: European Union Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina , Israel , Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (the) , occupied Palestinian territory , Sudan (the) , Syrian Arab Republic (the) , Yemen Luxembourg, 20 June 2011 A 241/11 We began this morning with a discussion about Sudan and our concern…
Palestinian Rights Committee approves agenda for 29-29 June Brussels meeting aimed at advancing Palestinian statehood, Middle East peace process
Relief Web 20 Jun 2011 – Source: UN General Assembly Country: occupied Palestinian territory GA/PAL/1202 Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People 333rd Meeting (AM) The Palestinian Rights Committee this morning approved the agenda of its upcoming Brussels meeting on advancing the Middle East…
OPT: Interview on BBC Radio World Today to mark World Refugee Day
Relief Web 20 Jun 2011 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: Lebanon , occupied Palestinian territory , Syrian Arab Republic (the) 20 June 2011 Well joining me now from Jerusalem is UNRWA Spokesman, Chris Gunness. Chris, UNRWA has put…
AusAID donates AUD 500,000 to UNRWA’s tertiary care services
Relief Web 20 Jun 2011 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: Australia , Lebanon , occupied Palestinian territory 17 June 2011 Beirut The Australian Agency for International Development, AusAID, has made a contribution of AUD 500,000 (representing around US$…
UNRWA organises first sports festival for disabled children
Relief Web 20 Jun 2011 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: occupied Palestinian territory 17 June 2011 West Bank UNRWA’s education department organised its first-ever sports festival for disabled children in Camp No. 1 near Nablus yesterday….
Help for hearing-impaired Palestinians
Relief Web 20 Jun 2011 – Source: Government of Israel Country: Israel , occupied Palestinian territory An Israeli hospital teams up with two humanitarian organizations to fit 1,000 Palestinian Arabs with free hearing aids. By Rivka Borochov A new Israeli-American project is restoring sound to deaf Palestinians…
On World Refugee Day 2011: Put Palestinian Refugees back on the agenda
Relief Web 20 Jun 2011 – Source: BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights Country: occupied Palestinian territory Palestinian refugees, constituting the largest and longest-standing refugee community in the world, continue to be sidelined and neglected by nearly all parties mandated to search for…
Israel arrests 2 Palestinian teens in Bethlehem
20 Jun 2011 – West Bank, (Pal telegraph)-Israeli occupation forces arrested Monday two Palestinian teens from the village of Hawasan in the West of Bethlehem.
Israeli forces attack central Gaza Strip
20 Jun 2011 – Gaza Strip, (Pal Telegraph)-Israeli occupation forces invaded Monday morning limited areas in the east of al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza Strip. No causalities were reported.
US drone attacks in Yemen ignore Al Qaeda for local militants
The National 20 Jun 2011 – Critics say move against militants in Abyan province is a dangerous escalation in Yemen’s fight against terror, with residents saying the government will not succeed in clashes with the Islamic militants because they are a core part of a number of southern provinces.
Protesters expected to call for boycott of Moroccan reform referendum
The National 20 Jun 2011 – Activists say reforms do not go far enough, and leave king in charge of military, security and religious establishments, and head of the Supreme Council of Justice.
Mubarak may have stomach cancer, says his lawyer
The National 20 Jun 2011 – Defence lawyer asks Egypt’s prosecutor general to allow a German surgeon to visit Mubarak, who is scheduled to face trial on August 3 over allegations that he ordered the killing of protesters during the mass demonstrations against his regime, for a medical check-up.
Egypt’s military checks political popularity with Facebook poll
The National 20 Jun 2011 – List of potential presidential candidates in Facebook voting includes at least four ex-military officers, alongside Islamists, judges, diplomats and others.
Secret Iranian state TV report admits its election coverage worsened unrest
The National 20 Jun 2011 – ‘Ham-fisted reporting’ caused ‘unbearable pain and lethal hatred’, which was ‘undesirable for the country, the revolution and the regime’, says confidential internal report acquired by Iranian human rights group.
Iraq’s Kurds content to wait for their state
The National 20 Jun 2011 – Masrour Barzani, grandson of the man seen as the founder of the Kurdish national movement, says he wants to change ‘the mentality of people whom we live with to accept the Kurds as equals. We don’t want to be above, but we don’t want to be below any other nation.’
Activists dismiss Assad’s reform speech as ’empty promises’
The National 20 Jun 2011 – Syrian president promises a new constitution to address legitimate grievances, but says his forces will still hunt down ‘saboteurs’, as analysts say speech contained too many ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’.
Netanyahu: Israel must relinquish parts of the West Bank
Ha’aretz – The prime minister says at a cabinet meeting that Israel needs to separate from the Palestinians.
Poll: Majority of Israelis support release of 1000 Palestinian prisoners for Shalit
Ha’aretz – 63% of Israeli Jews support swap for Shalit’s return which would include prisoners that have committed murder.
Israel’s UN ambassador tells U.S. Jews: Prepare for September vote on Palestinian state
Ha’aretz – Ron Prosor urges leaders at closed session of the Conference of Presidents of major Jewish American Organizations to use connections to stop upcoming UN vote.
Interior Minister plans to return ‘nationality’ clause to ID cards
Ha’aretz – Eli Yishai said however that he still opposes classifying Reform and Conservative communities as Jews; Leader of the Reform movement: Yishai is a strategic threat to Israel.
Tunisia’s Ben Ali sentenced in absentia to 35 years
Ha’aretz – Court finds former president of Tunisia and his wife guilty of theft, also fines them the equivalent of $66 million.
Obama tells Jewish donors their disagreements over Israel are only ‘tactical’
Ha’aretz – U.S. President reaffirms his country’s bond with Israel is ‘unbreakable.’
U.S.: Israeli missile defense system can protect our Mideast bases
Ha’aretz – Head of the Pentagon’s missile defense system says Israel’s Iron Dome and Arrow systems will be integrated into a regional defense array.
Picasso masterpiece goes on display in West Bank
Ha’aretz – After two years of planning, the most valuable artwork ever displayed in the West Bank makes it through Israeli checkpoints to a small Ramallah art school.
U.S. denies Jonathan Pollard’s request to attend his father’s funeral
Ha’aretz –
Egypt activists launch online campaign to end sexual violence
Ha’aretz – Sexual harassment is a pervasive problem in Egypt, although there are many women in the work force and women were active in February’s revolution.
Russia’s Medvedev rules out UN resolution condemning Syria
Ha’aretz – Russian president says in an interview Monday that he ‘would not like a Syrian resolution to be pulled off in a similar manner’ to Libya, describes NATO’s military operation in Libya as ‘pointless.’
UN: Poor countries bear the brunt of world’s refugees
Ha’aretz – More than a quarter of the world’s fifteen million refugees live in Pakistan, Iran and Syria.
Suburban socialism
Ha’aretz – Kibbutzim are expanding and building new neighborhoods on their outskirts; but do buyers get a rural community and great schools, or just a garden and a longer commute?
Housing construction is going south – literally
Ha’aretz – Not long ago Ashkelon was a target for rocket attacks; now it and other nearby cities have become a target for investors and people seeking reasonably priced homes.
For Ofer Nimrodi, tin is in
Ha’aretz – Former Maariv owner to pay $6 million for Nigeria mining rights.
Age of cheap Passover vacations is over
Ha’aretz – Out-of-favor Turkey is still easier on the pocketbook than Eilat or Mediterranean alternatives.
Survey: Majority of Palestinians want Fayyad as prime minister
Ha’aretz – A Palestinian research center found the Hamas candidate is supported by only 22 percent, as opposed to 45 percent backing current prime minister.
Israel reveals it has returned dozens of kilograms of nuclear waste to U.S.
Ha’aretz – Israel’s Nuclear Energy Commission head tells IAEA commission that Sorek reactor’s nuclear waste was returned to U.S. as part of agreement, while Dimona still stores nuclear waste.
Obama tells Jewish donors he strongly backs Israel
Jerusalem Post 21 Jun 2011 – “US and Israel will always be stalwart allies and friends,” Obama tells group Americans in Support of a Strong US-Israel Relationship.
First annual ‚ÄòHilleluyah’ celebrates Jewish renewal
Jerusalem Post 21 Jun 2011 – “We are making a difference … Many community colleges are clamoring for a Hillel chapter. The interest is coming from the ground up.”
Abbas says US has the power to stop UN statehood bid
Jerusalem Post 21 Jun 2011 – Palestinian Authority president expresses desire to return to negotiations but remains firm on Jerusalem; calls United Nations move a final resort; says “armed struggle is destroying us.”
Military vet perplexed by decision to revoke gun license
Jerusalem Post 21 Jun 2011 – Bobby Sargel, who made aliya from the UK in 1987, says he was arrested after coming under an unprovoked rock attack.
TA Bialik-Rogozin students get a grip on Oscar glory
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Children, who attend school that was focus of Oscar-winning documentary ‘Strangers No More,’ shared last day of class with Academy Award statues.
Cost of living in Israel higher than in US, Europe
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – While the cottage cheese boycott continues to rage, a Globes investigative poll finds Israelis pay almost double for essentials.
Thousands tell IDF to return to original memorial prayer
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Online petition calls on Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz to revert to original version, which gives no mention to God.
War simulation drill shows room for improvement
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Air raid sirens to sound tomorrow morning and night as defense ministry preps for several possible calamities.
All roads lead to J’lem at President’s Conference
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – “Facing Tomorrow,” the third Presidential Conference, brings together some of the world’s best minds.
Dylan shines in Ramat Gan
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – All the trepidation about Bob Dylan was put to rest about halfway through his first song at Monday night’s Ramat Gan Stadium show
Experts say Syrian president is ‘delusional, helpless’
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Little has changed in Assad’s methods, int’l pressure and a growing body count aren’t persuading a man fighting for his life.
Can we preserve the history and integrity of the Holocaust?
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – The Holocaust is “exploited for political or commercial gain,” engineered to “suit popular tastes and made into award-winning entertainments.”
No Holds Barred: Sex and circumcision
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Radical secularists, for whom Judaism is a target of choice, wish to portray religion as so barbarous that it excises any pleasure in sex, reducing copulation to a cold and sterile act.
The morning after the UN vote
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – What are the plans on the ground to implement an international license for statehood?
Our World: An Obama foreign policy
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Robert Gates’s recent remarks signal that the president’s handling of US foreign affairs is about to undergo a dramatic transformation.
Ex-Tunisian president Ben Ali sentenced to 35 years
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Tunisian court convicts and sentences exiled leader, wife in absentia on charges of theft, drug and weapons possession.
Yishai working to have ID cards state one’s religion
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Interior Minister decided in 2002 to remove nationality clause, aftter court ruling that Reform, Conservative converts must be noted as Jews.
Eiland: Hezbollah conflict unlikely in ‘foreseeable future’
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Former Nat’l Security Council head says projected quiet is a positive effect of Syrian turmoil; Israeli deterrence in Lebanon is working.
The anti-Israel agenda prevails
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – US efforts to reform the UN Human Rights Council have failed miserably
The greening of Palestine
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Encountering Peace: The Palestinian path to independence should include as much energy independence as possible.
Remembering the ‚ÄòAltalena’
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Few people remember that the Jewish state was born amid its own domestic legitimacy crisis.
C’tee discusses 500 new apartments for Arabs in e. J’lem
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – School, country club, highway also included in village of Suhawra housing project; vote delayed for 2 weeks due to coalition problems.
Yemenis look to tribes as force for change
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – “We want a new system. We don’t care if tribal rules no longer play a role in that system, the rule of law that prevails,” protester says.
Barak predicts Assad will stay in power for six months
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – In AP interview, defense minister says Syrian president “crossed point of no return towards his demise” by “using too much brutal force.”
Mubarak suffering from cancer, attorney says
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Former Egyptian president may not be fit to stand trial on August 3 for killing protests, abusing power after tumors found in body.
Sights and Insights: Casting a long line to the lake
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Dr. Wayne Stiles ponders whether the site of et-Tell truly is the place of biblical Beit Saida and why it is so fascinating.
Olmert: I never sent Messer to get funds from Talansky
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Though he was aware of debt, former prime minister says Messer was campaign chief, and therefore all financial responsibilities were his.
Protesters take to streets in Syria after Assad speech
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Demonstrators in Damascus chant “No to dialogue with murderers,” after Syrian president says country being exploited by “saboteurs, microbes.”
PM: Steinitz to check if imports will lower dairy prices
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Lindenstrauss says he’ll look into deregulation of basic foods; Hasson tells c’tee that public has right to explanation on pricing.
Cottage cheese too expensive? Make your own!
Jerusalem Post 20 Jun 2011 – Reporter’s Notebook: The Knesset is abuzz with demands to de-regulate dairy, but who hung a mysterious recipe in the journalists’ wing?
Strangers No More celebrates Oscar win at Israel’s melting pot school
The Guardian 20 Jun 2011 – Academy award-winning documentary hands round its statuettes at Tel Aviv school, despite many pupils facing deportation There’s not much that is usual about the Bialik Rogozin School in Tel Aviv – so the pupils took it…
Gilad Shalit: Tentative signs of fresh moves ahead of 5th anniversary
The Guardian 20 Jun 2011 – We must never give up hope says Noam Shalit as Germany and France issue joint call for prisoner swap deal This Saturday, June 25, marks the fifth anniversary of the kidnap of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit,…
Protests Follow Syrian President’s Speech
IPS Protesters have taken to the streets across Syria to denounce a speech by President Bashar al-Assad, saying his address did not meet popular demands for sweeping political reform.
MIDEAST: When a Spy Speaks
IPS The man who, for the last eight years, embodied Israel’s secret operations and had a penchant for the use of forged documents by his spies has been ordered by his former boss to relinquish his own diplomatic passport.
The Treatment and Rehabilitation Center: a Case Study
Uruknet June 20, 2011 – The idea of having an organization designed to offer appropriate and comprehensive assistance to victims of torture in the Palestinian territories is crucially necessary in the context of the ongoing violations committed by Israel under the Occupation. This is particularly true where torture, organized violence, and other human rights abuses are perpetrated amid a…
Lies, damn lies, and reports of battlefield atrocities
Uruknet June 20, 2011 – … Battlefronts are always awash with rumours of impending massacre or rape which spread rapidly among terrified people who may be the intended victims. Understandably enough, they do not want to wait around to find out how true these stories are. I was in Ajdabiyah, a front-line town an hour and a half’s drive south…
To My Fellow Sufferers of Stockholm Syndrome: When Your Captor Is the State
Uruknet June 20, 2011 – If you live in the United States (and more broadly, if you live in any modern State), you are a victim of Stockholm Syndrome. This is necessarily true, even if you passionately protest against the overwhelming majority of the policies and actions pursued by the State in which you live. If you continue to…
Official report confirms 4.8 million Palestinian refugees living in poverty and unemployment
Uruknet June 20, 2011 – On Sunday, June 19th, The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) issued a report stating that, scattered across dozens of camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian territories (the West Bank and Gaza Strip), the minimum number of Palestinian refugees registered with the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) until mid-2010 had now…
No-Life Zone: Deeper and Deeper Into the Mire
Uruknet June 20, 2011 – Obviously, there was a typo in the UN resolution approving NATO’s operations in Libya. It was widely reported that the resolution authorized the establishment of a “no-fly” zone in Libya to protect civilians from being killed by military attack. However, it’s clear now that what the international body really greenlighted was a “no-life” zone,…
Rights Groups Tell Obama: Reward Those Who Opposed America’s Use of Torture in the “War on Terror”
Uruknet June 20, 2011 – In a significant gesture in the run-up to the UN International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture, which takes place on June 26, and was inaugurated in 1998, on the 11th anniversary of the ratification of the UN Convention Against Torture, ten human rights groups in the US, including the ACLU, Amnesty…
The Audacity of Hope: U.S. Peace Activists to Sail to Gaza in Humanitarian Flotilla
Uruknet June 20, 2011 – Dozens of Americans hope to set sail this week on a U.S.-flagged ship, “The Audacity of Hope,” as part of an international flotilla which aims to challenge Israel’s embargo of the Gaza Strip. Palestinian solidarity activists are setting sail from a number of ports just over a year after Israeli forces killed nine activists…
Libya says 15 people, including three children, killed in new NATO strike ‚Äé
Uruknet June 20, 2011 — NATO confirmed Monday that it carried out an airstrike against a high-level command and control site associated with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s regime — an airstrike the Libyan government alleges killed 15 people, among them three children. NATO said the airstrike near Zawiya followed information-gathering through reconnaissance. The target was “directly involved in coordinated…
Medical Care in Gaza (Part II)
Uruknet June 20, 2011 – On March 25, 2008, Time magazine writer Tim McGirk headlined “Israelis Blocking Medical Care in Gaza,” saying: “Since Gaza is denied (most everything under siege), many complicated surgeries are no longer done there.” Those permitted abroad for them, like Bassam al-Wahedi, endure a gauntlet through Israel’s “security maze.” Entering Egypt through Erez Crossing, “(h)e…
Children among 3 detained by Israel overnight
Uruknet June 20, 2011 – Israeli forces raided the southern West Bank village of Husan, west of Bethlehem overnight and detained two minors after storming their family homes, local source said. Speaking with Ma’an by phone, a family member said several Israeli military vehicles entered the village at around 2 a.m and ransacked two homes. He said 15-year-old Muhammad…
Obama flouts legal deadline on Libya war
Uruknet June 20, 2011 – On Sunday, June 19, the US-backed NATO war against Libya became illegal under US law. The War Powers Act, adopted by Congress in 1973 after overriding a veto by President Richard Nixon, mandates that any presidential dispatch of US military forces into “hostilities” in any other country must receive congressional approval within 60 days….
A Wound That Will Never Heal…
Uruknet June 20, 2011 – … God was crucified in 2003, when you forfeited your conscience. Since, it’s been a downhill ride… God’s name is called upon 5 times a day and once on a Sunday..God laughs at you. He’s saying – I don’t need your rituals today, I need your Truth. The Truth that no one would utter no…
Assad infuriates Syria demonstrators with saboteur claims
Uruknet June 20, 2011 – Syria’s embattled leader, Bashar al-Assad, has blamed “saboteurs” backed by foreign powers for fomenting widespread civil unrest and said reform will not be possible while nationwide chaos continues. Assad’s speech had been widely anticipated inside Syria and hailed in advance as potentially “groundbreaking”. But the hour-long address offered no substantive concessions to demonstrators who…
Al Assad blames Syria’s crisis on ‘saboteurs’
Uruknet June 20, 2011 – Syria’s embattled president said on Monday that “saboteurs” are trying to exploit legitimate demands for reform, as the regime faces its most powerful challenge in more than four decades. President Bashar Al Assad’s televised address was only his third public speech since the country’s uprising began in March, inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia…
Apologist for war crimes
Uruknet June 19, 2011 – Amazing ass-covering posting by Juan Cole: “Top Ten Mistakes in the Libya War”. Read number 2, and weep: “NATO has focused on a ‘shock and awe’ strategy of pounding the capital, Libya, especially targetting the compound of dictator Muammar Qaddafi. Shock and awe does not work, and to the extent that it looks like…
US Boat to Gaza: plan now for emergency response actions in defence of Freedom Flotilla 2
Uruknet June 19, 2011 – In late June, a U.S. flagged ship called The Audacity of Hope will join the 2nd Freedom Flotilla – Stay Human as people from 22 nations set sail to Gaza challenging the Israeli naval blockade. Though the flotilla has the right under international law to do exactly what it is doing and has made…
Syrian MB Statement on Israeli Broadcast
Uruknet June 19, 2011 – In the context of an Israeli media campaign to support the Syrian regime, Israeli Channel Two has fabricated an interview with some prominent figures of the Syrian opposition, including Mr. Ali Sadr-Eddin al-Bayanouni, the former director general of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria. Furthermore, some of the media outlets associated with the Syrian regime…
Still Seeking Justice for Those Who Died at Guantanamo: Two Letters on Father’s Day
Uruknet June 19, 2011 – This month marks five years since three men who were never charged with any crime died in US custody at Guant?°namo under circumstances that remain unexplained and that were never independently investigated. The men’s names were Yasser Al-Zahrani, Salah Al-Salami, and Mani Al-Utaybi, and they reportedly died on June 9 or 10, 2006. The…
NATO Admits Killing Civilians in Tripoli Attack
Uruknet June 19, 2011 – NATO has admitted a missile strike hit a civilian home in the Libyan capital of Tripoli today, killing a number of civilians including at least two toddlers. Though far from the first strike to kill civilians in the Libyan War, it is the first that NATO officials have admitted to… The East Libyan rebels…
Israel approves expansion of 2,000 settler homes
Uruknet June 19, 2011 — Israel’s Jerusalem municipality approved the expansion of 2,000 homes in the settlement district of Ramat Shlomo in occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, allowing each Israeli home to add an additional room, a council press statement said. The announcement of new settlement activity came as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told France 24 television that, “…
Video: Nato air strike on civilians in Tripoli, Jun 19 , 2011
Uruknet June 19, 2011 -A NATO airstrike has killed civilians in the Libyan capital Tripoli. They acknowledged that there was a weapons system failure, 9 people including 2 babies were killed. NATO admitted it carried out an air strike that killed civilians in Tripoli on Sunday…Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said: “Nato is planting the seed of hatred in…
Syrian forces prevent refugees fleeing to Turkey
Uruknet June 19, 2011 – Syrian forces swept through a northwestern border region Sunday to stem an exodus of refugees to Turkey that is raising international pressure on President Bashar al-Assad, witnesses and a rights activist said. Syrian human rights campaigner Ammar al-Qurabi also accused pro-government forces of attacking people who were helping the refugees as they tried to…
Fatah, Hamas delay unity talks
Uruknet June 19, 2011 – A meeting between the top leaders of the Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas to discuss forming a national unity government has been postponed until further notice, a Fatah official said Sunday. “The meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal scheduled Tuesday in Cairo has been delayed due to disagreements between both…
Entrapping Innocent Muslims
Uruknet June 19, 2011 – A recent New York University School of Law Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) report is titled, “Targeted and Entrapped: Manufacturing the ‘Homegrown Threat’ in the United States.” Post-9/11, Muslims have been ruthlessly targeted. Paid informants have infested mosques and their communities to entrap them. As a result, over 200 were persecuted…
Opposition rejects Assad’s offer of dialogue
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Opposition groups inside Syria and abroad labeled Syrian President Bashar Assad’s promises of reform Monday as empty and rejected calls for a National Dialogue.
Ben Ali gets 35 years but insists ‚ÄòI did not flee’
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Tunisia’s former ruler and his wife were convicted in absentia on embezzlement and other charges on Monday after $27 million ($18.97 million) in jewels and public funds were found in one of his palaces.
Assad speech met with skepticism
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 The United States, Turkey and the European Union increased the pressure on Bashar Assad Monday to speed up promised reforms.
Hezbollah keeps silent on reports of infiltrators
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Hezbollah refused to comment Monday on media reports that the party had discovered that a network of spies collaborating with Israel had infiltrated its ranks.
Iran envoy meets Williams over abducted diplomats
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Iranian Ambassador Ghazanfar Roknabadi met Monday with U.N. Special Coordinator to Lebanon Michael Williams on the eve of the 29th anniversary of the kidnapping of the four Iranian diplomats in Lebanon.
Lebanese spy for Israel sentenced to death
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Lebanon’s military tribunal sentenced a Lebanese merchant to death Monday on espionage charges, including assisting the Israeli army.
Cyprus-Israel border deal a threat, Mansour tells U.N.
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Newly appointed Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour described in a letter to the U.N. Monday that last year’s agreement between Israel and Cyprus to demarcate the controversial Israeli maritime borders as a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and…
Canadian farmer held in Lebanon fights extradition
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 The lawyers of a Canadian farmer who was detained nearly three months ago in Lebanon are working to secure his release and ensure he is not deported to Algeria, where he is wanted on charges of…
Electronics, bicycles, live animals: Parents incentivizethe academic treadmill
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 As the school year draws to a close, parents are starting to make good on the promises they made to their children in exchange for academic achievement.
Region’s poor mental health system diagnosed
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 The poor state of the mental health system in Lebanon and the wider Middle East was exposed Monday as regional experts gathered in Beirut to begin talks about bringing classifications in line with international guidelines.
Driver of slain Hawi recalls years of common struggle
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Thabet Bazzi and his employer had a routine. On most mornings, they would buy the papers and head to the Gondole cafe in Beirut’s Wata al-Mseitbeh neighborhood.
Let’s talk about sex, say Lebanese clinical therapists
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Although experts agree that Lebanese now speak more freely about sexuality, they say people from all social and religious backgrounds still lack accurate information.
Bomb hits French Embassy car, wounding 7 Iraqis
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Seven Iraqis were wounded as an improvised bomb struck a French Embassy car in southern Baghdad Monday, Interior Ministry and hospital sources said.
Mubarak diagnosed with cancer, his lawyer says ahead of trial
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak is suffering from cancer, his defense lawyer said Monday, citing a medical report to assess whether the former leader is fit enough to stand trial.
France deeply concerned over Israeli settlements
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 France is deeply concerned about Israel’s authorization for the expansion of 2,000 settlement homes built on occupied Palestinian land in east Jerusalem, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.
PKK fighters dismiss Ocalan’s calls for extended cease-fire
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 The jailed Kurdish rebel leader urged fighters Monday to extend a cease-fire by several months to allow a new Turkish Constitution to address their demands, but his followers refused to immediately rule out further attacks.
Outspoken Mossad chief stripped of diplomatic passport
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 The man who, for the last eight years, embodied Israel’s secret operations and had a penchant for the use of forged documents by his spies has been ordered by his former boss to relinquish his diplomatic…
Highlights of Assad speech amid popular unrest
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Syrian President Bashar Assad gave a speech Monday, three months into popular unrest against his 11-year rule.
NATO defends latest round of Tripoli airstrikes as legitimate targets
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 NATO denied fresh claims by the Libyan government that renewed airstrikes in Tripoli had targeted civilians, including children Monday.
North, South Sudan agree to demilitarize Abyei
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Leaders from North and South Sudan signed an agreement Monday to demilitarize the disputed central region of Abyei and allow an Ethiopian peacekeeping force to move in, said a former South African president who is helping…
Saudi women seek West’s help on driving rights
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 A coalition of Saudi activists is urging the West’s top women diplomats to publicly support a campaign by women in Saudi Arabia to win the right to drive.
Thousands in Yemen call for president’s sons to leave country
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Tens of thousands took to the streets of Yemen’s capital Monday, demanding that the president’s sons leave the country as pressure rose for the wounded leader being treated outside the country to step down.
EU prepares to step up sanctions against Syria
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 The EU said it was preparing to expand its sanctions on Syria in response to worsening violence against opponents of the government, and French FM Alain Juppe expressed doubts that Syria’s president will change.
Mansour: Israel, Cyprus maritime agreement violates Lebanon’s rights
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Newly appointed Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour described the agreement between Israel and Cyprus to demarcate the controversial Israeli maritime borders as a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty
Assad speech fails to placate critics
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 The Syrian president gave his third speech Monday since the uprising began, promising reform and national dialogue. But analysts and activists were quick to criticize the speech for its repetition of previously unfulfilled promises.
Spy for Israel sentenced to death
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Lebanon’s military tribunal sentenced a Lebanese merchant to death Monday on espionage charges including assisting the Israeli Army.
Street protests erupt across Syria after Assad speech
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Protesters took to the streets across Syria Monday to denounce a speech by President Bashar Assad they said did not meet popular demands for sweeping political change, activists and witnesses said.
Beehives stolen in south Lebanon
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 A beekeeper in south Lebanon says someone stole five beehives from his property, the state-run National News Agency reported Monday.
Mikati: Security forces to protect citizens without discrimination
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Monday that security forces are responsible for maintaining security fairly across Lebanon.
HIGHLIGHTS-Syrian President Bashar Assad’s speech on unrest
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Syrian President Bashar Assad gave a speech on Monday, three months into popular unrest against his 11-year rule.
Assad urges refugees to return home from Turkey
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Syrian President Bashar Assad urges refugees to return home from Turkey
Ben Ali: I was tricked into leaving Tunisia
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 Tunisia’s ousted president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali said Monday he was deceived into leaving the country, and denied giving orders for security forces to shoot at protesters who were demanding he step down.
Canadian farmer held in Lebanon fights extradition to Algeria
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 The lawyers of a Canadian farmer who was detained nearly three months ago in Lebanon are working to secure his release and ensure he is not deported to Algeria, where he is wanted on charges of…
Arslan’s resignation from Cabinet ‚Äòfinal’: party official
Daily Star 20 Jun 2011 State Minister Talal Arslan’s resignation from Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s newly formed government is final, a senior official in Arslan’s Lebanese Democratic Party said Monday.
Yishai reinstates nationality in ID cards
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – Interior Ministry Eli Yishai has signed a regulation that reinstates the nationality label in the identification cards of all citizens who were eligible for the document … ….
Abbas: Given options, we won’t go to UN
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday he would forgo a September declaration of state at the UN if the United States could provide a better suggestion. “I … ….
Schools to bridge racial divide
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – The Education Ministry has decided to bridge the divide between Jews and Arabs with a new plan, entitled ‘Education for coexistence’. According to the new … ….
PM mulls Palestinian prisoners’ conditions
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering worsening the incarceration conditions of Palestinian prisoners, Jerusalem officials told Ynet Monday. The officials … ….
Settlements to get hotlines, call buttons
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – The Knesset’s Joint Committee for the Defense Budget on Monday decided to earmark NIS 10.3 million ($3 million) for the establishment and renovation of emergency hotlines … ….
Syrians call Assad ‘liar’ following speech
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – Protesters took to the streets across Syria on Monday to denounce a speech by President Bashar Assad they said did not meet popular demands for sweeping political change, … ….
Probe: El Al plane defect caused by refurbishment
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – An investigation into the emergency landing of an El Al Boeing 777 a month ago revealed that the damage to the plane may have been caused while it was being refurbished … ….
Pollard stays locked up for father’s funeral
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – Source says US gave no response to numerous requests by Israel to allow Jonathan….
France ‘concerned’ by expansion of Jerusalem homes
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – Foreign Ministry says state-approved plan to allow 2,000 homes in Ramat Shlomo….
Court: State must explain why admissions committees legal
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – High Court backs petition saying law allowing towns to reject new residents….
IDF prepares for September declaration
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – Will officers need visa to arrest terror suspects in West Bank? Additional….
Wanted Nazi war criminal dies in Austria
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – Milivoj Asner accused of being involved in the deportation of hundreds of Jews,….
‘We’ll turn Israel back into welfare state’
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – Labor chairmanship candidate MK Amir Peretz says plans to recruit Likud voters,….
Assad blames crisis on ‘saboteurs’
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – In third public address since uprising began in March, Syrian president tells….
Hamas: Awaiting Egyptian move on Shalit
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – Organization’s deputy politburo chief Moussa Abu Marzouk says Cairo back to….
Medvedev opposed to UN vote on Syria
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – Russian president says resolution against Damascus ‘a scrap of paper to cover up….
Doctors launch general strike
YNet News, 20 Jun 2011 – Israeli Medical Association declares series of harsher protest moves following….
Palestinian Information Center
IOF troops arrest child, target Silwan kids
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested a 14-year-old Palestinian child in Husan village to the west of Bethlehem city at dawn Monday, local sources said.
Israel moves Muslim skeletons making way for hotel in Jaffa
PIC – The Israel Antiquities Authority has been working with a local company to build a tourist hotel on the ruins of a Muslim cemetery near the Grand Mosque in the Palestinian port city of Jaffa.
PA security apparatuses escalate arrests in lines of Hamas supporters
PIC – PA security apparatuses escalated arrest campaigns in lines of supporters of the Hamas movement in the West Bank over the past two days despite the signing of the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement.
Salah to sue over anti-Semite claims
PIC – The leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel Raed Salah will file a lawsuit against news outlets that accused him of anti-Semitism last week, the Palestinian Forum in Britain has said.
IOF troops raze homes in Al-Khalil village
PIC – An army patrol for the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) escorted bulldozers in razing tents and houses in Bir Al-Ad village east of Yatta town and south of Al-Khalil city on Monday.
Israel Land Fund incites for Ras al-Amud mosque demolition
PIC – A Jewish settler organization has been inciting for the demolition of a mosque in Jerusalem’s Ras al-Amud district, with hopes of rallying support of high-profile Jews.
Hamas: UN responsible for oppression, displacement of Palestinians
PIC – The refugees department in Hamas movement held the UN responsible for the oppression and displacement that befell the Palestinian people.
Tadhamon condemns Israel’s continued violations on Muslim holy sites
PIC – Tadhamon foundation has strongly condemned the removal of skeletons from the Muslim Al-Qishla cemetery near the Grand Mosque in Jaffa ahead of the construction of a tourist hotel in its place.
Miles of Smiles convoy delivers vital medicines, ambulances to Gaza
PIC – Solidarity activists accompanying the humanitarian convoy Miles of Smiles III to Gaza delivered badly needed baby milk and medicines to the health ministry in Gaza in addition to 15 ambulance cars.
U.S. activists visit exile-threatened Jerusalem officials
PIC – U.S. academics from various universities and rights activists paid a visit Monday to Palestinian public officials at their sit-in tent inside the Red Cross compound in Jerusalem.
IOA endorses expanding 2000 housing units in OJ
PIC – 20/06/2011 – 10:06 AM
Miles of Smiles 3 aid convoy lands in Gaza
PIC – 20/06/2011 – 10:28 AM
IOF soldiers infiltrate central Gaza borders
PIC – 20/06/2011 – 10:29 AM
Israel to build wall on occupied Golan
PIC – 20/06/2011 – 10:31 AM
Ahrar: Release of WB political prisoners must not be subject to Cairo meet
PIC – 20/06/2011 – 11:37 AM
Asqalan Prison’s Administration Isolates Sick Palestinian Prisoner in Need of Heart Surgery
WAFA
Salhi Calls for Public, Democratic Collations to Help State Recognition
WAFA
French Consul Inaugurates Sewage Network Project in Rafah‚Äè
WAFA
Ashrawi in Europe: Support Palestine’s UN Membership
WAFA
As Part of a Home Front Drill, Israeli Inner Cabinet to Meet Underground
WAFA
Palestine Participates in the Sixth Tourism Festival in Brazil
WAFA
Israeli Forces Demolish Dwellings near Hebron
WAFA
Israeli Army Raids Maghazi Refugee Camp in Gaza
WAFA
Weather Forecast: Hot Weather This Week
WAFA
Jewish Settlers Expand Aish Kodesh Settlement near Nablus
WAFA
PALESTINE, ISRAEL AND AMERICA: THE STRATEGIC VOID
Intifada-Palestine: 20 Jun 2011 – “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the… more
Press Conference on US, NATO attack on Libya (June 15, 2011)
Intifada-Palestine: 20 Jun 2011 – A powerful and important Press Conference with some extremely impressive speakers. They are all Truth Sayers in the Land of Deceit! By Debbie Menon / Intifada Palestine (FinalCall.com) – Minister Farrakhan exposed the U.S. and NATO’s criminal War Libya and Africa during… more
The Saudi Arabian Moment – An Analyses by Dr. Lawrence Davidson
Intifada-Palestine: 20 Jun 2011 – by Dr. Lawrence Davidson / Intifada Palestine Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal i Part I – Saudi Power The Saudis do not like President Barak Obama and his administration. The reason is straightforward. They do not like the what the administration says to… more
Top Kadafi aide survives NATO airstrike
LA Times 20 Jun 2011 – Libyan government officials say 15 people, including three children, were killed in the strike on Khweldi Hamedi’s home west of Tripoli. NATO defends the attack as a ‘a precision strike on a legitimate military target.’ He is a man of peace, the Libyan government says,…
NATO admits it probably hit civilians in Libya
LA Times 19 Jun 2011 – The Western alliance says a ‘weapons system failure’ may have led to the airstrike on an apartment building in Tripoli that killed nine and injured 18 civilians. NATO officials admitted Sunday that the alliance was probably responsible for an airstrike in a densely populated Tripoli…
Syrian protesters fill streets after president’s speech
LA Times 20 Jun 2011 – Bashar Assad promises political reforms but offers no concrete steps toward democracy. Thousands of antigovernment demonstrators took to the streets Monday immediately after Syrian President Bashar Assad delivered his first public address in two months, a speech promising political reforms but offering no concrete steps…
Fatah, Hamas delay unity talks
LA Times 19 Jun 2011 – The summit was to have tackled serious issues in forming a Palestinian unity government, including naming leaders. Some observers say the delay casts doubt on the reconciliation effort. A meeting between the top leaders of the Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas to discuss forming a…
Assad Offers Path to Change in Syria, but Few Specifics
New York Times 20 Jun 2011 – President Bashar al-Assad has offered a dialogue, but the question remains: If the government is sincere, whom would it talk to?
Ex-Tunisian President Found Guilty, in Absentia
New York Times 20 Jun 2011 – Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and his wife received prison sentences and fines for embezzlement and misuse of funds.
Protests Aside, Yemen’s Leader Has His Followers
New York Times 20 Jun 2011 – Backers of President Ali Abdullah Saleh have varied motivations, but many cite a sense of security in Sana.
Egypt Elections Expose Divisions in Muslim Brotherhood
New York Times 20 Jun 2011 – Abdel Moneim Abou el-Fotouh, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and a liberal Islamist candidate for president of Egypt, is running despite the group’s opposition.
Scores of U.S. Strikes in Libya Followed Handoff to NATO
New York Times 20 Jun 2011 – Since early April, American warplanes have struck at Libyan air defenses about 60 times, and drones have fired missiles at Libyan forces about 30 times, according to military officials.
Officer indicted for ordering soldier to run over Palestinian
B’tselem 20 Jun 2011 – According to media reports, the MAG’s Office has indicted an officer for ordering a soldier to run over a Palestinian who posed no danger to the force or to other civilians. The indictment was filed two and a half years after the investigation was opened at B’Telem’s demand, ostensibly preventing indictment of the soldier who obeyed the manifestly illegal command.
20 June 2011: Officer indicted for ordering soldier to run over Palestinian who posed no danger
B’tselem 20 Jun 2011 – According to Israeli media reports, the military prosecutor has filed an indictment against an army major for exceeding his authority in a manner that endangers human life and health and for unbecoming conduct. The indictment alleges that, during a routine military operation in the West Bank village of Kufr a-Dik in 2008, the officer ordered a soldier to run over a young Palestinian man who did not pose any danger to the force or to other civilians.
Violent dispersal of a demonstration in a-Nabi Saleh 13.5.2011
B’tselem 20 Jun 2011 – Residents of the village a-Nabi Saleh, north-west of Ramallah, hold weekly popular protests against the takeover of the village’s land by settlers. On Friday, 13.5.2011, Border Police officers dispersed the protesters with severe violence even though the protesters did not throw stones or endanger the security forces in any way. During the breaking up of the protest, documented by B’Tselem volunteers Bilal Tamimi and Nariman Tamimi, Border Police officers beat protesters….
Obama flouts legal deadline on Libya war
WSWS – June 19 marked the 90-day limit on the use of US military forces in Libya under the War Powers Act
US and Egyptian bourgeoisie close ranks as workers’ struggles continue
WSWS – In recent weeks and days, the revolutionary struggle of the Egyptian working class has witnessed a new upsurge.
NATO bombs kill Libyan civilians in Tripoli
WSWS – Contrary to NATO claims, it is inconceivable that this was the only strike out of more than 11,000 to have killed civilians.
WIN Magazine: JVP Executive Director
Jewish Voice for Peace –
ARTAS: Roof destroyed on Palestinian farmer’s summer home
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine – On 17 May 2011, vandals, whom local Palestinians assumed to be settlers from the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, destroyed the roof on an agricultural home belonging to the family of Mohammed Saleh Abu Swai. In the summer, Palestinian farmers often sleep in stone houses out in…
Same day as Bahraini blogger’s brave appearance at Netroots, State Department shifts its line
Mondoweiss – Mother Jones reported on Friday: Since the onset of anti-government protests in Bahrain, the US has refrained from taking substantial steps to pressure the Bahraini government to stop its crackdown on protesters. That changed yesterday during a speech to the UN Human Rights Council, when Eileen…
On World Refugee Day 2011: Put Palestinian refugees back on the agenda
Mondoweiss – The following statement was issued by the Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights : Palestinian refugees, constituting the largest and longest-standing refugee community in the world, continue to be sidelined and neglected by nearly all parties mandated to search for just and durable solutions…
Israeli Cabinet strips Barak of ability to stop settlements- opening floodgates?
Mondoweiss – “Opening the floodgates?” is Lara Friedman of Peace Now’s line re the decision by the Israeli cabinet yesterday. Here is an account of the cabinet meeting : Sunday, June 19, 2011 Cabinet Communique: Consent of DM [Defense Minister] not required for activities of Rural Settlement Division [Dr….
Britain’s denial of democracy and the ethnic cleansing of Palestine
Mondoweiss – “The British government have promised that what is called the Zionist movement shall have a fair chance in this country, and the British Government will do what is necessary to secure that fair chance…We cannot tolerate the expropriation of one set of people by another or…
Identity booster & the ideology machine – Behind the scenes of Birthright Israel
Mondoweiss – Editor’s note: Kiera Feldman has an important article in the current issue of The Nation pulling back the curtain on Birthright Israel – the all expenses-paid trips to Israel for 18-26 year old North American Jews. It discusses the history, ideology and goals of the program…
Israel Rewards Ukraine for Collaborating on Abusisi Extraordinary Rendition
Tikun Olam – Under new aviation agreement, an added 20,000 Israeli Hasidic pilgrims will fly to Ukraine for Rosh Hashanah at Rabbi Nachman’s grave In prior coverage here , I noted that at almost precisely the same time the Mossad, Ukrainian and Jordanian intelligence services were collaborating to kidnap Palestinian…
Revenge of the Nerds: Bibi Demands Dagan Return Diplomatic Passport, Exposing Former Mossad Chief to Arrest
Tikun Olam – Maariv and Channel 2 News in Israel are reporting that Bibi and Barak are wreaking their revenge on Meir Dagan in ways large and small, for breaking with them and almost single-handedly preventing an Israeli attack on Iran. It is customary for retiring senior government figures…
Israeli Soldiers Interrupt Funeral with Tear Gas, Close Entrance to Beit Ommar
Palestine Solidarity Project 20 Jun 2011 – On June 17, Israeli soldiers interrupted a funeral by throwing tear gas canisters all over the surrounding region. Eventually the tear gas started a fire near three homes and grape and olive fields. Several Beit Ommar residents and a fire truck with high-pressure hoses spent over…
Activists Gather in Beit Ommar to Discuss One State Solution
Palestine Solidarity Project 20 Jun 2011 – On the evening of Thursday, June 16, about 35 Palestinian, Israeli and international activists met in Beit Ommar in order to discuss the formation of one, democratic, secular state in Israel and Palestine. They began by mentioning how the secular, democratic state is different from the…
Assad holds hard line on unrest
BBC 20 Jun 2011 – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad maintains a tough line in the face of anti-government protests, but says a national dialogue on reform will begin.
Stoning for Israeli dog denied
BBC 20 Jun 2011 – A Jewish rabbinical court has categorically denied that a dog was condemned to death by stoning, as was widely reported.
Too little, too late?
BBC 20 Jun 2011 – Assad’s speech fails to win over angry activists
No Savior
Sabbah report 20 Jun 2011 – Fayyad cannot be held primarily responsible for this collective self-delusion; at most, he facilitated it. And in the process he provided all actors with a breathing space that is now disappearing. Ultimately, the ones who convinced themselves he was capable of completely transforming Palestine are most…
The Palestinian Authority’s historic mistake – and opportunity
Sabbah report 20 Jun 2011 – Jeff Halper calls on Palestinian Authority leaders, foremost Mahmoud Abbas, to honour their historic national responsibility, mobilize the immense resources of Palestinian and world civil society and push for UN recognition of Palestinian independence in September “as the head of a national unity government with the…
US, Chicago: 17th Annual 2011 Anti-Racist Action Network Conference*
A-infos 20 Jun 2011 – Chicago is hosting the 17th annual Anti-Racist Action Network conference on September 17, 2001. This event is open to the public and includes workshops, caucuses and discussions. Come meet other activists and organizations involved in community struggles against racist terror and other forms of oppression. 17th…
Articles
Will Israel Kill Americans Again?
Ray McGovern, Antiwar.com6/20/2011
Stuffing my backpack before setting out to board The Audacity of Hope, the U.S. boat to Gaza, I got a familiar-sounding call from yet another puzzled friend, who said as gently as the words allow, “You know you can get killed, don’t you?”
I recognize this caution as an expression of genuine concern from friends. From some others—who don’t much care about Gaza’s plight and/or who do not wish us well—the words are phrased somewhat differently: “Aren’t you just asking for it?”
That was the obligatory question/accusation at the end of a recent interview of me that was taped for a BBC-TV special scheduled to air this coming week as we try to break—or at least draw attention to—Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza and the suffering it inflicts on the people there.
I also have been cautioned by a source with access to very senior staffers at the National Security Council that not only does the White House plan to do absolutely nothing to protect our boat from Israeli attack or illegal boarding, but that White House officials “would be happy if something happened to us.” They are, I am reliably told, “perfectly willing to have the cold corpses of activists shown on American TV.”
I mention this informal warning for the benefit of anyone who may have harbored hope that the U.S. government would do something to protect us American citizens from the kind of violence used by the Israelis against last year’s flotilla. It seems best to be up-front and realistic about what to expect.
Two millennia ago, “Civus Romanus Sum” automatically won lawful treatment and free passage for Roman citizens in trouble. It was a matter of pride and a benefit of being part of a powerful empire. Today, the contrast could hardly be starker…. more.. e-mail
Qalandia: An Autopsy
Helga Tawil-Souri, Jerusalem Quarterly File6/20/2011
Like the lover that is not to be found, Qalandia is dead.
Spring 2011,45
Prologue
Like a person reappearing without forewarning in a place she lived long ago – not quite a tourist, not quite a native; streets seem familiar, many buildings don’t – I simply utter the words “to the checkpoint” when the taxi dispatcher asks me where I am heading. He jokes to his colleague “take her to the cemetery.” In the din of downtown, that’s what I heard: ma’bara. Perhaps I was anticipating mourning; love had already opened the wound. But he had said mah’fara. Indeed, I remembered the quarry, that dust-producing, noise-polluting hole in the ground that some had no choice but to trek through, attempting to avoid the soldiers, swerving between trucks and bulldozers, emerging on the other side with dusty shoes and clothes marking them as ‚Äòpaperless.’
I was quiet, nervous, and still the entire ride. I had loved Qalandia – if one can love something as oppressive, sad and bleak as a checkpoint. Years earlier, I had found in Qalandia a dynamic engagement and renegotiation against out-right brutality, I had found creative responses to the pain of displacement, I had found the ecstasy of furtive cross-overs, I had found a contested history unfolding in every passing minute. It was harsh, but vigorous. As we swayed and bobbed over pot-holes, my mind drifted to the past: the way the dust settled and cemented my hair after spending a long day there, how the strong sun dried and tanned my skin, the way the smell of the fumes from the idling cars clung to my pores and clothes, how the aftertaste of too many cups of bitter Arabic coffee and cheap cigarettes shared with merchants and cab drivers made me light-headed. As if foraging secretly, and also fearfully, for an old lover – wondering whether he will remember me, whether he’s even thought of me through the distance, whether he ever forgave me for leaving, wondering whether he’s perhaps turned grey – I’m not sure what awaits me. Maybe a burial site of sorts; what’s the difference between a cemetery and a quarry anyway, they both contain underground riches. more.. e-mail
Our struggle is for rights not political solutions
Maath Musleh, Ma’an News Agency6/20/2011
The Palestinians have suffered violations of their basic human rights since 1948.
The core of the Palestinian – Zionist conflict was the expulsion of about 70 percent of Palestinians from their homeland. Besides that, violations to human rights and children rights occur on a daily basis in Palestine.
In 1994, after 46 years of the Nakba, or catastrophe, Palestinian leaders came close to compromising many of the Palestinians’ rights by signing the Oslo Accords.
For 46 years before Oslo, Palestinian factions marginalized the participation of the Palestinians living in their homeland in the struggle. After Oslo, Palestinian leaders switched sides. Palestinians-in-exile were marginalized and Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza became the spinal cord in the new era of political negotiations.
For 17 years, the newly-formed Palestinian political body — the Palestinian Authority — has struggled in fruitless cycles of negotiations with the state of Israel. Oslo-affiliated business interests reined in any form of struggle for Palestinian rights.
Nonetheless, in the sunrise of the Arab spring, the sun has paved the way for the uprising of popular resistance for rights in Palestine that has been taking place for a long time. The non-military resistance in several Palestinian towns is building on the momentum of this Arab spring.
Palestinian youth, away from factions, started their movement in a series of demonstrations and a 40-day sit-in in Ramallah’s Al-Manara square. A parallel movement took place in the besieged Gaza Strip. more.. e-mail
Gaza’s forgotten freelance photojournalists
Electronic Intifada: 20 Jun 2011 – Mohammed Omer The Electronic Intifada Gaza City Sitting by the hospital bed of freelance photographer Mohammed Othman, Ashraf Abu Amrah knows that nobody owns a freelance journalist from Gaza who gets injured, or dies.more
Medical supplies at crisis level, Gaza health ministry warns
Electronic Intifada: 20 Jun 2011 – Eva Bartlett The Electronic Intifada Gaza City Year by year, the warnings of Gaza’s health crisis grow more dire, with the latest warning from Gaza’s Ministry of Health stating the Strip is at emergency levels of medical supplies.more
An American Jew Sails to Gaza: How Could I Not Go?
Palestine Chronicle: 20 Jun 2011 – By Jane Hirschmann People often ask me why I am part of a team to organize a U.S. Boat to Gaza that will be sailing this month with the next International Flotilla to break the siege of Gaza. They often make clear they are asking because I am an American Jew, whose family survived the Holocaust with some surviving family members ending up in Israel. And my only answer is: How could I not? My parents raised me with stories about what happened in Germany and their family’s escape. I came to see that Israel represented for them a safe haven should there be another attempt at annihilating Jews. And yet, at the same time, they worried it was not so safe a haven given the animosity and physical threats and violence in the area. But no one ever mentioned the displacement of 750,000 Arabs that was the result of…more
Decadence of Mainstream Media in North America
Palestine Chronicle: 20 Jun 2011 – ‘Political language … is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” — George Orwell, ‘Politics and the English Language.’ By Roger Sheety “On June 5, 2011 more than 20 Palestinians were murdered by the Israeli Defense Forces as they marched alongside Syrian protesters towards the border of the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights. The protesters were unarmed, carrying only signs and flags.” That is how a news story on the murder and maiming of scores of Palestinian and Syrian refugees near the Golan on June 5 could have begun—in plain, simple language and without obfuscation. Instead the mainstream North American news media took great pains to convince their readers and viewers that Israeli soldiers armed with the latest and most sophisticated American-made weapons did not open fire on unarmed Palestinian and Syrian demonstrators, that it was really the protesters’ own…more
All This Nonsense: ‘Jewish State’ Politics
Palestine Chronicle: 18 Jun 2011 – By Uri Avnery I am fed up with all this nonsense about recognizing Israel as the ‘Jewish State’. It is based on a collection of hollow phrases and vague definitions, devoid of any real content. It serves many different purposes, almost all of them malign. Binyamin Netanyahu uses it as a trick to obstruct the establishment of the Palestinian state. This week he declared that the conflict just has no solution. Why? Because the Palestinians do not agree to recognize etc. etc. Four rightist Members of the Knesset have just submitted a bill empowering the government to refuse to register new NGOs and to dissolve existing ones if they “deny the Jewish character of the state”. This new bill is only one of a series designed to curtail the civil rights of Arab citizens, as well as those of leftists. If the late Dr. Samuel Johnson were living in present-day…more
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The New Dark Age 