11 July , 2011 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Last witness testifies in Rachel Corrie case; family says Israel suppressed evidence
IMEMC – Monday July 11, 2011 – 21:07, The last witness testified Sunday in an Israeli court case seeking justice for slain peace activist Rachel Corrie. Col. Pinhas (Pinky) Zuaretz claimed that Rachel’s death was her own fault for “running towards the fire”.
Knesset Set To Vote On Boycott Bill
IMEMC – Monday July 11, 2011 – 16:56, The Israeli Knesset is Monday set to vote on a bill that will make illegal the boycott of Israeli goods, including Israeli settlement goods, in the state of Israel. The “Boycott Bill” is due to undergo a second and third vote Monday which would see it passed into law.
Army Invades Al Esawiyya Town, Clashes Reported
IMEMC – Monday July 11, 2011 – 08:52, Israeli troops invaded, on Sunday evening, the Al Esawiyya town, in occupied Easy Jerusalem, and clashed with local youths who hurled stones and empty bottles at them.
Qaddafi Representatives Visit Israel
IMEMC – Monday July 11, 2011 – 07:46, Military correspondent of Israel’s TV Channel 2, Roni Daniel, reported Sunday that Libyan envoys, representing president Moammar Qaddafi, arrived in Israel several days ago in order to hold a meeting with Kadima opposition party head, Tzipi Livni.
Bulldozers demolish house near Bethlehem
7/11/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces last Tuesday demolished a Palestinian home south of Bethlehem, the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Agriculture said. Ministry spokesman Awad Abu Sway said Israeli officers bulldozed the home of Muhammad Khalil Saed from Artas, in Khirbet Zakariya near the illegal Kfar Etzion settlement. Abu Sway said the one-storey building was….
Study: Israel’s wall segregates 13 percent of West Bank
7/11/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel’s separation wall will annex 773 sq. km. of Palestinian land, a study by the Applied Research Institute in Jerusalem said on the anniversary of a judicial ruling which called on Israelis to stop building. Just 6. 5 percent of the wall is constructed along the pre-1967 armistice…. Related: Applied Research Institute Jerusalem
Farmers’ valley declared closed military zone
7/11/2011 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli forces declared a valley south of Nablus a closed military zone on Monday, while olive trees were uprooted from the area. Ma’an correspondent said Israeli forces blocked residents from entering and exiting the Wadi Qana area. A number of villagers from nearby Deir Istiya, including village mayor Nazmi….
Teen arrested as village faces continuous raids
7/11/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained two people, including a minor, from Husan village east of Bethlehem on Monday. Israeli troops entered the village, ransacking a number of homes, before detaining Montaser Mohammed Za’ul, 20, and Ahmed Ali Hamamra, 15, witnesses told Ma’an. An Israeli army spokesperson said the detentions….
Medics: Palestinian shot at Hebron checkpoint
7/11/2011 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli soldiers shot and injured a young Palestinian man Monday in the occupied West Bank, medics said. Bassam Abdel Hamid Nofal sustained a gunshot wound to the right leg while crossing a checkpoint in the Hebron area, Red Crescent officials said. Medics at Al-Ahli Hospital described his injuries as moderate. Medics….
Israel MPs approve settlement boycott ban
7/11/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel’s parliament Monday approved a law effectively banning Israelis from calling for boycotts of any part of the country or its settlements on occupied Palestinian land, a parliamentary source said. The vote was passed by 47-36 out of 120 members of parliament. Activists and intellectuals had criticized the controversial bill…. Related: Boycott bill joins ‘wave of anti-democratic legislation’
Lebanon warns Israel on sea border move
7/11/2011 – BEIRUT (AFP) — Israel’s proposed maritime border with Lebanon threatens regional security, Lebanon’s foreign minister said on Monday, as a feud over offshore gas fields between the two enemy states deepens.” Israel’s measures have created a new point of tension in the region and threaten peace and security across this…. Related: Lebanon, Israel at odds on sea border, gas rights
Lebanon, Israel at odds on sea border, gas rights
7/11/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel’s cabinet approved on Sunday a map of the Jewish state’s proposed maritime borders with Lebanon to be submitted for a UN opinion, in a brewing dispute between the neighbors over offshore gas fields. Lebanon’s Energy Minister Gebran Bassil countered that Beirut will not give up its…. Related: Lebanon warns Israel on sea border move
Activists launch summer camp to rebuild Palestinian home
7/12/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Activists on Sunday launched the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions’ ninth summer rebuilding camp, doing work on a demolished home in the West Bank town of Anata. This year, some 30 volunteers will rebuild a Palestinian home belonging to the Abu Omar family. The house was demolished in 2005 under….
Witness: US activist death in Israel was accident
7/11/2011 – HAIFA, Israel (AFP) — A key witness in a civil case brought by the family of US activist Rachel Corrie, killed by an Israeli bulldozer during a demonstration in Gaza, said on Sunday that she had caused her own death. Retired Colonel Pinhas Zuaretz, a former brigade commander in Gaza, said a military police investigation into…. Related: Rachel Corrie’s family claim Israeli military withheld vital video evidence
Report: US stepping up pressure for talks
7/11/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The US is putting huge pressure on Palestinians and Israelis to move ahead with talks, hoping to offset a planned Palestinian statehood bid at the UN in September, Israeli media reported Sunday. Contacts between PLO official and former chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, Israeli lawyer Isaac Molcho and US envoy Dennis Ross….
Female detainee released after 2 years
7/11/2011 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — A 35 year-old woman from Nablus was released by Israeli authorities on Sunday, after spending two years in Israeli jails. Nelly Zahi As-Safadi was incarcerated in the Israeli prison Hasharon, and was due for release a month ago, according to Ahmad Al-Betawi, a researcher with the International Solidarity Organization. Al-Betawi said….
Israeli forces detain teen in Jenin camp
7/11/2011 – JENIN (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained a teenager early Monday in Jenin refugee camp, after entering a number of homes and questioning residents. Palestinian security officials told Ma’an that Israeli military personnel raided several homes in the northern West Bank camp, and a number were questioned. Najeeb Mustafa Abu An-Nasr, 19, was….
Israel lawmakers weigh settlement boycott ‘ban’
7/11/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel’s parliament was poised on Monday to vote on a law that would effectively ban Israelis from calling for boycotts of any part of the country or its settlements on occupied Palestinian land. Activists and intellectuals have criticized the controversial bill, accusing the MPs behind it of stifling free speech and…. Related: Israel MPs approve settlement boycott ban
Communists say PA must resist US pressure
7/11/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Members of Palestine’s original communist party are urging the Palestinian Authority to withstand intimidation from the US over a plan to seek recognition of statehood at the UN in September. The head of the Palestine People’s Party, Bassam As-Salhi, says a threat by American lawmakers to suspend….
Greek president in Israel as ties warm
7/11/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Visiting Greek President Karolos Papoulias met with Israeli leaders on Monday, as long-frosty relations between the two Mediterranean nations reach new heights of cooperation. Papoulias’s three-day trip, which will also take him briefly to the Palestinian territories, comes a week after Athens effectively prevented a flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists from reaching….
PA urges patience as corruption inquiry drags on
7/11/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian government in Ramallah says it is committed to accountability and transparency. But a week after its anti-corruption unit announced that the legal immunity of several ministers had been removed to make way for charges, the PA has indicated that its investigation is far from over.”Removing immunity, according to…. Related: Investigator: PA corruption suspects to be named ‘soon’
Abbas aide in Gaza
7/11/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Rawhi Fattouh, the Palestinian president’s personal representative, has arrived in the Gaza Strip amid concerns that a reconciliation deal between Fatah and Hamas is going nowhere. Fattouh said Friday the trip was in a private capacity, “though if I manage to meet anyone [from Hamas] then never mind….
PCBS: Palestinian population ‘youth bulge’
7/11/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — As the world marks International Population Day, Palestinian statisticians released updated population estimates showing Palestinians are mostly young and live in urban areas. At mid-2011, there were 2. 58 million Palestinians in West Bank and 1. 59 million in Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Central Bureau for Statistics said Sunday. Overall….
Boycott bill joins ‘wave of anti-democratic legislation’
7/12/2011 – TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — A bill passed Monday by Israel’s Knesset banning boycotts against the state constitutes a direct violation of freedom of expression, the Association for Civil Rights in israel said.”The boycott bill represents the current unfortunate crest in a wave of anti-democratic legislation that is gradually drowning Israel…. Related: Israel MPs approve settlement boycott ban
France pledges $100 million to Palestinians
7/11/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Palestinian officials say France has pledged $100 million to support the government in Ramallah. The funds will go toward development programs, humanitarian relief initiatives and the general budget of the Palestinian Authority as well as to support several other cooperative projects, the Palestinian Authority minister of planning and development said. Ali….
Mideast Quartet meets to avoid looming crisis
7/11/2011 – WASHINGTON (AFP) — Envoys from the Middle East diplomatic Quartet meet on Monday in Washington in one of the final attempts to avoid a major confrontation at the United Nations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Monday’s meeting sees the senior diplomats — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, US Secretary….
Investigator: PA corruption suspects to be named ‘soon’
7/12/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – Head of the Palestinian Authority’s anti-corruption commission Rafiq An-Natsheh said Sunday that several suspects would be identified soon.” The commission will surprise the citizens and will reveal its accomplishments in the near future as well as publish the names of those involved in corruption,” he said.” The investigation is…. Related: PA urges patience as corruption inquiry drags on
Hamas organizes summer outings for poor
7/11/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Hamas movement has initiated a campaign to boost the spirits of poor people in Gaza this summer. The Islamist movement says it is spending some $30,000 to arrange boat trips for about 1,000 families from the Jabaliya refugee camp area. The free trips would include transportation costs, a fancy….
Israeli website claims shark sightings off Eilat
7/11/2011 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli fishermen have spotted “dangerous” sharks off the coast of Eilat in southern Israel, the Hebrew-language website Inyan Merkazi [“Central Issues”] claimed Monday. The website said authorities asked fishermen to keep quiet fearing a decline in tourism similar to neighboring Red Sea resort Sharm Ash-Sheikh in Egypt, where sharks killed swimmers….
Study: Lebanon ‘gypsies’ more marginalized than Palestinians
7/11/2011 – BEIRUT (IRIN) — Of all Lebanon’s communities the Dom, described by some researchers as “the Gypsies of Lebanon”, are the most marginalized: Up to 68 percent of Dom children do not attend school, according to a new report.”Their access to legal protection, health, education, adequate shelter and food is very difficult, verging on….
Desertification threat to Egypt food production
7/11/2011 – CAIRO (IRIN) — Only about 3 percent of Egypt’s land area is cultivated but desertification, and construction work fuelled by economic activity and a rapidly growing population are eating into this resource, posing a significant threat to domestic food production, according to experts.”Desertification is the real danger everybody should pay attention to,” said….
In photos: From Libya to Lampedusa
7/11/2011 – IRIN – Kate ThomasNAIROBI, Kenya (IRIN) — Protests in Libya against the rule of Muammar Gadhafi, and subsequent fighting, have led thousands of third-country nationals to flee the country by road, air or sea. Aid organizations play a critical role in helping the migrants. According to the International Organization for Migration, of the nearly 1. 2 million….
Angry mobs storm US, French embassies in Syria
7/11/2011 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Angry mobs stormed the American and French embassies in Syria on Monday, after the two Western envoys visited the city of Hama, a flashpoint for protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The foreign ministry in Paris said three French staff were wounded in the embassy attack which forced guards to fire….
Egypt PM announces cabinet reshuffle within one week
7/11/2011 – CAIRO (AFP) — Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf on Monday announced a government reshuffle within one week, as he faces mounting pressure from protesters over the slow pace of reform.” I have ordered a cabinet reshuffle within a week to meet the demands of the revolution and reflect the real will of the people,” Sharaf said….
Survey: Theater helps Israeli youth humanize Palestinians
Palestine Note 11 Jul 2011 – Haaretz- A new study found a link between culture and tolerance: Israeli teens who watched plays about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict became more optimistic about the chances of achieving peace and viewed Palestinians more positively. The study, conducted at the University…
Israel Blocks Air Travelers to Palestinian Conference
Palestine Note 11 Jul 2011 – The New York Times- Israel prevented a gathering of foreigners here on Friday by blocking, deterring or deporting hundreds of air travelers who had been invited by Palestinian activists to fly into Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport and then travel to…
Virtual Bridge Allows Strangers in Mideast to Seem Less Strange
Palestine Note 11 Jul 2011 – The New York Times- West Bank ‚Äî Moad Arqoub, a Palestinian graduate student, was bouncing around the Internet the other day and came across a site that surprised and attracted him. It was a Facebook page where Israelis and Palestinians…
Israel challenged by publicity stunts
Palestine Note 11 Jul 2011 – The National- Israel is being confronted by what observers call an increasingly formidable form of pro-Palestinian activism – foreign nationals staging non-violent publicity stunts. Israel’s reaction to these international incidents, critics said, have played into the hands of activists, who…
Rock-bottom expectations as Middle East Quartet meets to discuss peace efforts
Palestine Note 11 Jul 2011 – The National- With expectations about as low as they could possibly be, members of the international Quartet on Middle East peace meet in Washington today to discuss Palestinian-Israeli peace efforts. Representatives of the United States, the United Nations, Russia and…
PCBS: Palestinian population ‘youth bulge’
Palestine Note 11 Jul 2011 – Ma’an- As the world marks International Population Day, Palestinian statisticians released updated population estimates showing Palestinians are mostly young and live in urban areas. At mid-2011, there were 2.58 million Palestinians in West Bank and 1.59 million in Gaza Strip,…
Israeli parliament set for fierce debate over bill to penalize backers of settlement boycott
Palestine Note 11 Jul 2011 – The Washington Post- Israeli backers of a bill that would punish people for boycotting West Bank settlements said Sunday they will push forward with the proposal, despite accusations that it’s an undemocractic slap at freedom of speech. In recent years,…
South Sudan Celebrates Independence
Palestine Note 11 Jul 2011 – Israel recognizes world’s newest nation state Haaretz – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday Israel’s official recognition of South Sudan as an independent state. “I announce here that Israel recognizes South Sudan,” Netanyahu told his cabinet in broadcast remarks. “We…
US envoy meets Yemen interim leader
AlJazeera 11 Jul 2011 – Obama’s counterterrorism chief holds talks with Yemeni vice president, a day after meeting Saleh in Saudi Arabia.
Assad loyalists storm US and French embassies
AlJazeera 11 Jul 2011 – Hillary Clinton says Syrian president “is not indispensable” in a strongly worded condemnation of Damascus mob attacks.
Panetta blames Iran for rise in Iraq violence
AlJazeera 11 Jul 2011 – US defence secretary on Iraq visit says US to act “unilaterally” against what he said was Iran’s arming of Shia groups.
Freedom Flotilla Update: Tahrir Pulls Out; Two Ships Defiantly Remain
PNN – Athens – PNN – The Canadian ship the Tahrir pulled out of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Two over the weekend, as only French ship the Dignity El Karameh and the Swedish-Norwegian-Greek ship…
Quartet to Meet, Issue Statement Today
PNN – PNN – Washington DC – Foreign ministers from Russia, the EU, the US and UN representatives are set to meet in Washington DC today to discuss and issue a statement about a…
Israeli Parliament to Vote on Bill to Punish Boycotters
PNN – Tel Aviv – PNN – The Israeli parliament is set to vote on a bill that will impose sanctions on people or organizations that call for a boycott of Israel or its…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
PCHR is Concerned Over the Ramifications of the President’s Decision Which Has the Power of Law to Amend the Provisions of the Law of Lawyers Regarding the Elections of the Bar Association’s Council
Palestinian Center for Human Rights Monday, 11 July 2011
International Solidarity Movement
Internationals demand access to Nabi Saleh
7/11/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – 10 July 2011, International Solidarity Movement, West Bank – On Saturday 9th July, seventy people ‚Äì including thirty internationals from Sweden, France, Britain, Australia, Mexico, the United States and Denmark ‚Äì demonstrated at a military checkpoint outside Nabi Saleh, after the army denied them entry into the village. The demonstration was planned six months in advance…. Related: ISM page: An Nabi Saleh and ISM page: Welcome to Palestine
Hole in the wall at Qalandia checkpoint
7/11/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – 10 July 2011, International Solidarity Movement, West Bank – On 9th July, a group of twenty Palestinians accompanied by twenty internationals, managed to cut through some fence near the checkpoint at Qalandia. The direct action was organised by Welcome to Palestine as part of the Week of Action in the West Bank. The action was in…. Related: ISM page: Qalandia
Fasayel VS Al Awja: a goal for the Palestinian Jordan Valley
7/11/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – Jordan Valley Solidarity – Yesterday, July 10th, was launched the third edition of the Jordan Valley football tournament in Al Awja. Yousef Lafi, from the Palestinian Football Federation, along with Al Awja club manager, Fathy Khderat and Ibrahim Sawafta, from the JVS campaign, opened the football tournament. Every speaker emphasized the importance of this tournament as…. Related: Jordan Valley Solidarity and ISM page: Jordan Valley
VIDEO – Humanity Has No Nationality
7/11/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – 16 April 2011, Huwaida Arraf at TEDxRamallah – Huwaida Arraf is a Palestinian lawyer with American and Israeli citizenship. In 2001 Huwaida co-founded the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), which has twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Huwaida is co-author of “Peace Under Fire: Israel, Palestine, and the International Solidarity Movement.”She taught in a…. Related: TEDxRamallah
Rachel Corrie’s family claim Israeli military withheld vital video evidence
7/11/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – 11 July 2011, The Guardian – The family of Rachel Corrie, the US activist killed in Gaza while protesting against house demolitions in 2003, on Monday claimed the Israeli military authorities withheld video evidence during the Corries’ civil lawsuit and misled US officials on crucial details. Craig Corrie, Rachel’s father, told a press…. Related: Witness: US activist death in Israel was accident
Alternative Information Center
Quartet to Meet as Israel Digs into Intransigent Positions
Alternative Information Center – Palestinian and Israeli authorities wait anxiously for the conclusion of today’s Quartet meeting in Washington DC. The foreign ministers of the United States, the European Union, Russia and the Secretary General of the United Nations gathered…
Palestinian Theatre as Resistance: AIC Culture is Resistance! Week
Alternative Information Center – Five Palestinian actors discuss the role of theatre in resisting Israel’s oppression, and how they chose this path of national and personal liberation.
Israel Demolishes Six Structures in Area C, Destroying Livelihood of Palestinian Refugee Families
Alternative Information Center – Today, 11 July 2011, six structures were demolished in Al Khalayla, a dislocated community of Area C on the Jerusalem side of the Barrier. The demolished structures were used for livelihood purposes by six families, of…
CHF Newsletter, Summer Issue July, 2011
Relief Web 11 Jul 2011 – Source: CHF International Country: occupied Palestinian territory In response to the challenges facing the education sector in Palestine, CHF International ‚Äì with funding from USAID ‚Äì has implemented numerous projects related to education within the Emergency Jobs Program (EJP), the…
Seven years after the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Barrier: The Impact of the Barrier in the Jerusalem area
Relief Web 11 Jul 2011 – Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: occupied Palestinian territory UN OCHA launches Report marking seven years since Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Barrier Jerusalem, 11 July 2011, the UN Office for…
Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP): Humanitarian Appeal Mid-Year Review 2011
Relief Web 11 Jul 2011 – Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: Sudan (the) , Afghanistan , Central African Republic (the) , Chad , C?¥te d’Ivoire , Democratic Republic of the Congo (the) , Djibouti , Ghana , Guinea , Haiti , Kenya , Liberia , Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (the) , Mali , Namibia , Niger (the) ,…
Quartet must take ‘decisive action’: Palestinians
Relief Web 10 Jul 2011 – Source: Agence France-Presse Country: occupied Palestinian territory RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories ‚Äî The Middle East peacemaking Quartet, which meets on Monday in Washington, must take “decisive action” to restart peace talks, a senior Palestinian official said. In a statement issued ahead…
OIC Sends Medical Equipment to Gaza Strip
Relief Web 10 Jul 2011 – Source: Organization of the Islamic Conference Country: occupied Palestinian territory The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has, through the Rafah Border Crossing, sent state-of-the-art medical devices and equipment worth up to half a million dollars to supplement the project of improving…
Israeli forces invade Wadi Qana
11 Jul 2011 – West Bank, (Pal Telegraph)-Israeli occupation forces invaded Monday Wadi Qana in the south of Nablus after being declared as a “military closed zone‚Äù and held a number of citizens from the nearby town of Deir Esta.
Lebanon warns Israel against sea border move in offshore gas reserves feud
The National 11 Jul 2011 – Israel’s cabinet approved a map of the country’s proposed maritime borders that conflict with those suggested by Lebanon in its own submission to the United Nations, signalling a clash over the rights to the considerable gas reserves being found deep under the Mediterranean.
Israel passes law banning calls for boycott
Ha’aretz – Opposition blasts law, which penalizes persons or organizations who call for a boycott of Israel or the settlements, calling it unconstitutional and irresponsible.
Suspect charged with harrassing Katsav witnesses has criminal background
Ha’aretz – The suspect is a 49-year-old retired commander who was dishonorably discharged, has been tried and served prison time for fraud, embezzlement, extortion.
U.S., France officials slam Syria for failing to protect embassies from attacks
Ha’aretz – U.S., France issue statements saying Syria failed to take necessary security measures to prevent attacks on U.S., France embassies in which three French nationals were wounded.
Glenn Beck calls on Israeli politicians to ‘speak the truth’
Ha’aretz – In a visit, conservative television commentator expresses support for Israel ahead of a pro-Israeli rally he plans in August.
Israel expels 39 pro-Palestinian activists over weekend, holds 81 more in jail
Ha’aretz – Hundreds of activists had tried to fly to Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on Friday, to participate in a week of non-violent resistance activities against the Israeli occupation.
Family of Rachel Corrie claim Israel withheld information on her death
Ha’aretz – Father of the ISM activist, Craig Corrie accuses IDF officials of providing incomplete video footage, placing Rachel in a different place than one where she was actually killed by bulldozer in 2003.
Netanyahu fears ‘surprise’ for Israel in Quartet’s latest peace push
Ha’aretz – Foursome of Mideast peacemakers expected to include Obama’s 1967 formula in statement set for release Monday afternoon.
American Jew refused entry to Israel on suspicion of converting to Islam
Ha’aretz – Two years after participating in a Taglit-Birthright tour, Harald Fuller-Bennett was denied entry into Israel. The Shin Bet claimed he had links to terrorists and suspected him of no longer being Jewish.
France: No direct talks with Gadhafi government
Ha’aretz – Denial in response to claim by son of Libyan leader in interview published Monday in an Algerian newspaper.
12 dead as seized Iran munitions detonate in Cyprus naval base
Ha’aretz – Base was storing munitions from confiscated Iran vessel; blast knocks out largest power station on island.
MK: Libyan diplomats visited Israel to ‘change their country’s image’
Ha’aretz – MK Sheetrit says that the two came to Israel to promote business plans; Interior Ministry denies having authorized visas for the two, who are allied with Gadhafi.
Heated debate in Knesset over boycott law: ‘Legislation will stain Israeli democracy’
Ha’aretz – Meretz MKs attack law that would penalize anyone calling for a boycott of Israel or the settlements; MK Gilon: Law would further delegitimize Israel.
‘Israel could be hit with 50 tons of explosives in next war’
Ha’aretz – Defense Minister Ehud Barak tells Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, however, that the IDF could retalitate by firing 1,500 tons of its own ammunition with extreme precision.
Peres thanks Greece for thwarting Gaza-bound flotilla
Ha’aretz – Israeli and Greek presidents discuss their countries’ strengthening ties during meeting in Jerusalem.
Katsav’s private investigators suspected of harassing witnesses in his rape trial
Ha’aretz – Disgraced former president was found guilty of rape and sexual harassment in December 2010.
Ministries threaten to go after supermarkets, animal feed plants
Ha’aretz – Finance and Industry, Trade and Labor ministries have set their sights on what they view as two major market failures in the Israeli economy that the ministries believe are pushing up food costs.
Stem cell company shares jump following revolutionary cancer operation breakthrough.
Ha’aretz – Pluristem, whose shares trade at a company valuation of $139 million, develop drugs based on placental stem cells.
Newport buying Ophir Optronics for $230m
Ha’aretz – Giant all-cash electro-optic merger prices Israeli firm at 92% premium.
J’lem residents protest against future luxury apartments
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Ganim residents ask J’lem and ILA to build affordable housing in their neighborhoods rather than new luxury apartments for foreigners.
Ministry okays paving road, cutting J’lem-TA travel time
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Interior Ministry c’tee: Pair of tunnels to be quarried under Har Nof, Yefe Nof neighborhoods; Green groups slam potential damage to J’lem Forest.
Jews who fled Nazis return to swim at Vienna games
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – 2 Jewish doctors from US return to compete in European Maccabi Games; “I need to show the Nazis that we’re still around,” says John Benfield.
81% of Israelis support EU membership, BGU poll finds
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Survey also finds 64% of Israelis would support NATO deployment of peacekeeping troops to West Bank, Gaza; Merkel most popular EU leader.
Israelis ask Greek president for restoration of citizenship
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Papoulias tells Greek Holocaust survivors he would look into returning passports to descendants of Jews who lost citizenship in 1930s.
PM embraces Papoulias after Athens’ flotilla stoppage
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – During meeting, Greek president credited with improvement in bilateral ties; Netanyahu: Those wanting to “free Gaza” should free it from Hamas.
UNRWA restores Web name following Palestinian outcry
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – UN agency reinstates original name and logo after protesters slammed decision to drop “relief” and “works” from UNRWA website.
Barak reinstates Har Bracha as high yeshiva, not ‚Äòhesder’
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Defense minister’s decision comes after yeshiva head refuses to retract statements supporting insubordination in army in some circumstances.
Rachel Corrie’s parents: IDF withholding lawsuit evidence
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Parents say surveillance tapes from time Corrie died were withheld as part of cover-up; Defense Ministry: All evidence submitted years ago.
Assessing quiet on Lebanon front, 5 years after 2006 war
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Analysis: For Israel, the 2006 war was a wakeup call and helped it realize that the war of the future is usually nothing like the war of the past.
Knee-deep in blood-soaked battlefields
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Wars can only be justified when they serve life-affirming values, not the glory of kings or generals.
Clinton demands Syria protect foreign embassies
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Washington: Syria refused to protect embassy, attack encouraged by pro-gov’t TV; French embassy, US ambassador’s home also attacked.
Anti-boycott bill becomes law after 6-hour Knesset plenum
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Bill approved in final Knesset reading, will provide civil penalties for anyone calling for a boycott on Israel, settlements; Knesset legal adviser says legislation may fail High Court test.
Time is on whose side?
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Immediate return to the negotiating table is in the Palestinians’ interest.
US slams Syria for ‘outrageous’ embassy attack
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Washington: Syria refused to protect its embassy, attack encouraged by pro-gov’t TV station; French embassy, US ambassdor’s home also attacked.
The path to the next Lebanon War
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – The three lessons of the Second Lebanon War taught us to be wary of appeasers both here and in the US.
Reform! The end is at hand!
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Israel needs to stop digging its heels in and instead take steps on the road to peace.
Solid diplomatic foundations
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Israel’s reoriented foreign policy is bearing fruit globally.
Israel’s maritime boundaries
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – In this border dispute, it is in Israel’s clear interest to approach international authorities.
Hockey as ‚Äòhasbara’?
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Canadian media mogul Sidney Greenberg was just awarded for his contributions to the local film industry but he has set his sights on using sports as public diplomacy for Israel.
The bad boycott bill
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Attempts to legitimize Jewish presence in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem through the stifling of criticism may just achieve the opposite.
Glenn Beck criticized from Right after Knesset speech
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Conservative pundit received warmly by some after speech on love for Israel, others slam idea of Palestinian state, which Beck “doesn’t oppose.”
Schalit’s parents appeal to Quartet for release
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Noam, Aviva say Quartet should demand end to “war crime” of Gilad’s captivity, Yishai: Not enough has been done by this gov’t or previous one.
Lebanon warns Israel against sea-border demarcation
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – FM Mansur says Beirut will complain to UN: “This is a de facto policy that will not bring peace for Israel”; Lebanese Army chief urges restraint.
In Dutch shechita ban, Jews see sign they’re unwanted
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Kosher butcher shop at front lines of battle between 2 competing ideals in Holland: Freedom of religion and animal welfare.
Olmert denies trying to obstruct Rishon Tours investigation
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Prosecutor hints former prime minister tried to disrupt probe by discussing it with his family.
Syrian crowds attack US embassy, ambassador’s residence
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Syrian crowds attack French embassy in Damascus, are driven off by live fire from guards; briefly break into US embassy; State Dept. says Syrian TV encouraged attacks, demands compensation.
Assad loyalists storm US, French embassies in Syria
Jerusalem Post 11 Jul 2011 – Syrian crowds attack French embassy in Damascus, are driven off by live fire from guards; Assad loyalists briefly break into US embassy; move follows US, French ambassadorial visits to Hama.
Israel passes law banning citizens from calling for boycotts
The Guardian 11 Jul 2011 – Law for Prevention of Damage to State of Israel through Boycott means anyone proposing boycott could be sued The Israeli parliament has passed a law in effect banning citizens from calling for academic, consumer or cultural…
Iran, Israel and Arabs trade barbs at EU nuclear meeting
The Guardian 11 Jul 2011 – Senior officials stuck to their talking points at a Brussels seminar but at least they stayed in the same room As advertised , senior Iranian, Israeli and Arab representatives gathered in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday last…
Israel prepares to pass law banning citizens from calling for boycotts
The Guardian 11 Jul 2011 – The bill would allow anyone who called for an academic, consumer or cultural boycott to be sued for compensation The Israeli parliament is preparing to pass a law that would in effect ban citizens from calling…
Rachel Corrie’s family claim Israeli military withheld vital video evidence
The Guardian 11 Jul 2011 – American activist’s father says incomplete footage was given to court hearing into his daughter’s death in Gaza The family of Rachel Corrie, the US activist killed in Gaza while protesting against house demolitions in 2003, on…
EGYPT: Fishing Dangerously for Quick Net Worth
IPS Ali Mohsen knows how to tell a good fish story. The wiry, white-haired Egyptian mariner weaves a yarn about his childhood days when the sea was so full of fish that one could simply dangle a hand net over the side of the boat and pull up a seafood dinner….
MIDEAST: Never a Good Day for This Population
IPS In dire need of money to assist her family back home, 27-year-old Makeda from Ethiopia was forced to return to the Middle East as a domestic worker.
Embracing the Land
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – ….The trees spread their roots towards every village in occupied Palestine, forming a link between the lands and their owners, the homes and their owners, an unbreakable link, unchangeable through time and space, a link that cannot be bought or sold, that cannot be negotiated or relinquished, a link as old as our history…
UK Torture Inquiry Boycotted by Lawyers, As David Cameron Fails Again to Demonstrate an Interest in Justice
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – Last Wednesday, just before David Cameron was engulfed in the News of the World phone hacking crisis, he had the opportunity to practice demonstrating the disregard for justice that he called on in response to the Murdoch scandal, when he attempted to distance himself from his friendship with two former News of the World…
Breaking: Knesset outlaws political boycott
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – The Knesset has just passed into law the anti-boycott initiative bill of MK Ze’ev Elkin (Likud), by a majority of 47 to 38. A lot of members, including Shas, top Likud members and all of Atzmaut (Ehud Barak’s faction) were absent. Netanyahu was absent from the vote. We hope to have the names of…
France urges Libyan rebels to negotiate with Qaddafi
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – New cracks have appeared in the international coalition’s resolve to force the defeat of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi with a call by France’s defence minister for Libyan rebel leaders to negotiate with the Tripoli government. Alain Juppe’, the French foreign minister, added weight to his colleague’s view by suggesting that Colonel Qaddafi could even stay…
Video: BATTLE FOR LIBYA: Eye Witness Account From Libya
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – One of the motives for the war against Libya is to stop the development of the black continent, to enable the setting up of an AfriCom military base in Cyrenaica and to begin the colonial exploitation of Africa for the benefit of the United States…
Iraq War veteran on Manning, the media and the military
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – Now there is another response that I hope as many people as possible read; with permission, I’m publishing it in its entirety below. It’s by former Army Specialist Ethan McCord, who served in Bravo Company 2-16, the ground troops involved in the “Collateral Murder” video released by Wikileaks in April of last year and…
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – The Palestinian Authority is in a bind, again. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has only been able to pay his public servants half of their salaries this month and is not sure if there will even be that much come next month. President Mahmoud Abbas is already warning his people that strikes and protests will…
American Illusions
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – It is difficult to accept the idea that the US Ambassador in Damascus Robert Ford headed to the city of Hama against the will of Syrian authorities. Indeed, if the Syrians had wanted to, they would have stopped his motorcade at the army checkpoint at the entrance of the city and sent him back…
Israel Demolishes Six Structures in Area C, Destroying Livelihood of Palestinian Refugee Families
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – Today, 11 July 2011, six structures were demolished in Al Khalayla, a dislocated community of Area C on the Jerusalem side of the Barrier. The demolished structures were used for livelihood purposes by six families, of whom at least two families are refugees. Al Khalayla is inhabited by some 700 Palestinians, including 250 West…
Open Letter to Jose Manuel Barroso
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – …Squeezed between Scylla and Charybdis, the zionist state of Israel and the “democratic” Greece, our nutshell JULIANO with citizens from the European Union (Sweden, Greece and Austria) on board still tries to gain international waters in order to fulfill its mission of peace and solidarity with the Palestinian people. In our struggle for the…
Murdoch’s dirty tricks against Palestinians
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – Safe in the knowledge that Murdoch’s News International phone hacking scandal will now be subject to forensic examination and extensive analysis, I will delve instead into the News of the World toolbox of dirty tricks to see what dark arts of the modern hacks’ trade have been deployed against supporters of the Palestinian cause…
Rachel Corrie’s family say Israeli military withheld vital video evidence
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – The family of Rachel Corrie, the US activist killed in Gaza while protesting against house demolitions in 2003, on Monday claimed the Israeli military authorities withheld video evidence during the Corries’ civil lawsuit and misled US officials on crucial details. Craig Corrie, Rachel’s father, told a press conference in Jerusalem that the footage from…
Knesset to vote on Anti-boycott law tonight
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, is set to pass (after some convoluted last minute wrangling) today one of the most anti-democratic measures in the country’s history, the so-called “Anti-Boycott Law.” A link to the full text’s translation can be found here. Simply put, the law seeks to penalize those who call for boycotting Israel, the…
Syrian security forces raid Homs, 1 killed, 20 injured (video)
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – Syrian forces have raided the city of Homs, and has killed at least 1 civilian and injured 20 from machine gunfire and armor activity in heavily populated areas. This raid is reportedly the heaviest since troops were deployed to the city two months ago in an effort to crush dissent against the country’s President…
Freedom Flotilla Update: Tahrir Pulls Out; Two Ships Defiantly Remain
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – The Canadian ship the Tahrir pulled out of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Two over the weekend, as only French ship the Dignity El Karameh and the Swedish-Norwegian-Greek ship Juliano remain to break the blockade of Gaza. According to Israeli daily Haaretz, the activists on board the Tahrir finally gave up after Greek Port officials…
The ICC and another African prosecution
Uruknet July 11, 2011 – The United States, for example, while encouraging the prosecution of African leaders has ensured that its leaders -for whom there is significant evidence of responsibility for killing millions of Iraqi and Afghani nationals -enjoy impunity for their international crimes. In what can only be termed a neo-colonialist mindset, the US has pursued both the…
The Great Unravelling
Uruknet July 10, 2011 – Friday’s jobs report threw more cold water on so-called recovery. Since 2008, Main Street America’s been in Depression. Conditions have worsened, not improved, because of force-fed austerity, not badly needed stimulus to create jobs, reemploy people, and revive real economic growth, not the illusory kind since the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) officially…
Video: Israel blocks lawyers access to detained Gaza Flytilla activists
Uruknet July 10, 2011 – Forty pro-Palestinian activists, detained in Israel for trying to reach Gaza, are being denied access to see lawyers. They’re currently detained in Tel Aviv for taking part in airplane aid mission, after their boats were blocked in Greece. RT talks to pro-Palestinian activist Ronnie Barkan, who’s in Tel Aviv…
A Statement from the Syrians displaced in Lebanon
Uruknet July 10, 2011 – We, The Displaced Syrians in Lebanon, from the cities of Qusair and TalKalakh, release this extend to you our statement regarding our conditions are the reasons that led to it. As a result of the killing, destruction, humiliation, and violation of human rights in our country, we had to escape into the Lebanese territory…
Israel lawmakers consider bill to outlaw boycotts
Uruknet July 10, 2011 – – Israel’s parliament is to vote Monday on a bill aimed at outlawing boycotts of the country and its activities in the occupied territories, Israeli media reported. The “boycott bill” is aimed against anyone who declares an academic, economic, or artistic boycott on Israeli organizations including settlements, the Ynet news site reported. The bill…
Peace Activists Enjoy zionist Hospitality Together With Rats
Uruknet July 10, 2011 – Cowardice, deafness, dumbness and blindness hit the EU governments and made them silent about the brutal arrest by zionist forces of Europeans peace activists, who were placed in cells in several prisons on charges of supporting justice and peace for the Palestinians. No condemnation statement or official comment has been issued by any EU…
USA urges Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh to go
Uruknet July 10, 2011 – A top aide to US President Barack Obama met Yemen’s convalescing leader in Riyadh on Sunday and urged him to sign a power transfer deal, reviving a Gulf peace plan for the impoverished state. The parliamentary opposition in Sanaa, meanwhile, called for an escalation in the protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh that have…
Jumblatt tells Gadhafi to leave
Daily Star 12 Jul 2011 Progressive Socialist Party leader to say it is the Libyan people’s right to dream of change, in comments published in Al-Rai newspaper Tuesday.
Jumblatt says he opposes severing ties with STL
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 Walid Jumblatt says it is a mistake to confront the international community by severing Lebanon’s ties with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, adding that justice, which he links to stability, can be postponed.
Cyprus: 12 killed as Iranian arms depot explodes
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 Dozens of containers holding gunpowder seized years ago from an Iranian cargo ship exploded on Cyprus’ main naval base Monday in a massive blast that killed 12 people, wounded 62 and wrecked a major power station,…
Clinton: Assad dispensable
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 Syrian President Bashar Assad has lost legitimacy from the U.S. perspective, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said after hundreds of Syrian government supporters attacked the American and French embassies in Damascus Monday.
Accept STL until it is proven politicized: Rai
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 The Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s decisions must be accepted unless there is proof that the court is politicized, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai said Monday.
Bellemare hopes Interpol help will facilitate arrests
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 The involvement of Interpol in the hunt for the alleged assassins of statesman Rafik Hariri will maximize the chances of apprehending suspects, the office of the prosecutor at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon said Monday.
71 items on Cabinet session agenda Thursday
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 The Cabinet will hold its first session Thursday and on its agenda are 71 articles, the most important of which are extending Riad Salameh’s term as governor of the Central Bank…
Only timing and trigger unknown in next Hezbollah-Israel war
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 Five years ago Tuesday, a squad of Hezbollah fighters penetrated the border with Israel and blasted two Israeli army Humvees with rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire, snatching two of the soldiers and killing another three.
Sleiman warns Israel against plundering reserves
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 President Michel Sleiman warned Israel Monday against taking any unilateral measures to exploit Lebanon’s resources in the demarcation of disputed maritime borders…
Two Lebanese women repatriated from Israel
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 The repatriation of two young Lebanese women from Israel was carried out successfully Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told The Daily Star.
Palestinian Open University project back on track
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 By 1980, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees were living in Lebanon. And despite the difficult conditions in the country’s camps, some 15,000 Palestinians were studying at Lebanese universities.
Arab security officials seek cooperation
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 Security institutions in the Arab world must share expertise and work together to confront the challenges of the 21st century, security officials from across the Middle East said Monday.
Lebanese activists protest Greece’s blocking of Gaza aid flotilla
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 A dozen pro-Palestinian activists held a demonstration Monday in front of the European Union building, after a flotilla heading to Gaza was prevented from leaving Greece and other activists were banned from entering Israel over the…
Perilous journey leads to paradise in Dinnieh
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 Visitors to Oyoun al-Samak must brave a treacherous road on the side of a deep valley to reach the town, which offers natural attractions of rare and exceptional beauty.
New suspicions against former Israeli president
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav is being investigated for allegedly harassing a witness as he appeals a rape conviction, police said Monday, in a new twist to a lurid case that has captivated the country for…
Turkish FM discusses Syria with Iran officials
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with senior Iranian officials Monday on the second day of his visit to Iran for discussions on Syria and turmoil across the region.
U.S. counterterrorism envoy in Yemen to push for power transfer
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 The White House counterterrorism chief briefed Yemen’s vice president Monday Washington’s push for a swift transfer of power in the increasingly unstable nation, rattled by five months of anti-government protests and a growing threat from al-Qaida,…
UAE expands voter eligibility list to head off protests
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 The United Arab Emirates will increase the number of citizens eligible to vote for a national advisory council to 129,000 from a previously planned 80,000, the state news agency announced Monday, the latest move to give…
Israel MPs back settlement boycott ban
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 Israel’s parliament Monday approved a law effectively banning Israelis from calling for boycotts of any part of the country or its settlements on occupied Palestinian land, a parliamentary source said.
Egyptians extend Tahrir Square protest to fourth day
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 More than 2,000 Egyptians braved sweltering heat Monday for a fourth day of protests aimed at pressing Egypt’s military rulers to enact swifter reforms and speed up the prosecution of Hosni Mubarak and his allies.
Iran arrests officials for ‚Äòdeviation’: report
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 Iran has made several arrests in connection with the current of deviation, a term used to refer to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff and entourage, ISNA news agency said Monday.
Tehran warns of attack on Kurd rebels in Iraq
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 An Iranian military official threatened Monday to attack bases of an Iranian Kurdish opposition group in Iraq, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Street by street, Egypt’s young activists face Old Guard
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 After the fall of President Hosni Mubarak, a group of young activists quickly moved to bring the can-do spirit of Egypt’s revolution to the level of their neighborhoods.
U.S. may act unilaterally against Iraqi militias
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 The United States is concerned about Iran providing weapons to Iraq militants and will take unilateral action when needed to deal with the threat, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Monday.
Turkish opposition lawmakers take parliamentary oath
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 Lawmakers from Turkey’s main opposition party took the parliamentary oath Monday, ending a row with the ruling party over the detention of several deputies elected in June’s polls from behind bars.
Syria’s secret war against the cyber dissidents
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 Syrian security forces use tanks, bullets and tear gas against anti-regime protesters by day, but by night they are more stealthy, targeting dissent using the opposition’s own weapon, the Internet.
STL for justice, only politicized if proven to be so: Rai
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 The aim of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is to achieve justice and should only be deemed as politicized if proven so, the head of the Maronite Catholic Church said Monday.
U.N. calls on Lebanon to fully implement 1701
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 Michael Williams holds meetings with senior Lebanese officials to discuss implementation of resolution.
Maritime borders must not turn to regional conflict: Geagea
Daily Star 11 Jul 2011 Lebanese Forces leader warns the government not to drag the country into a regional conflict over the Israel-Lebanon maritime borders.
Hariri court seeks Interpol’s help to apprehend suspects
Daily Star 10 Jul 2011 The U.N.-backed probe into the 2005 assassination of statesman Rafik Hariri has asked Interpol to assist in apprehending suspects, a court spokesperson said Sunday.
Lebanon to fight Israel at U.N.
Daily Star 10 Jul 2011 Lebanon said Sunday it would file a complaint with the United Nations against Israel, after the Jewish state approved a map of its proposed maritime borders.
Guy reiterates London’s call for Lebanon to cooperate with STL
Daily Star 10 Jul 2011 British Ambassador Frances Guy affirmed over the weekend her country’s call for the Lebanese Cabinet to adhere to all international resolutions, including the one that established the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Indictment is not worth the ink it was written with: Hezbollah
Daily Star 10 Jul 2011 The head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc dismissed Sunday a U.N.-backed court’s indictment into former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination as worthless.
UNIFIL soldiers share tips on extinguishing blazes
Daily Star 10 Jul 2011 The Italian contingent serving as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) organized Monday a fire fighting training at their base in the southern village of Mansouri.
Arab lawyers congratulate Mikati on confidence vote
Daily Star 10 Jul 2011 The Association of Arab Lawyers congratulated the government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati for winning Parliament’s vote of confidence and urged it to abide by the Taif Accord.
Minister warns of fires during coming heat wave
Daily Star 10 Jul 2011 An incoming heat wave expected to hit Lebanon over the weekend could set off a string of forest fires, Environment Minister Nazem Khoury said Monday.
Iran seeks haste in U.N bid to find missing diplomats
Daily Star 10 Jul 2011 Iranian authorities have urged the U.N. to step up efforts to locate four missing Iranian diplomats kidnapped in Lebanon in 1982.
Clinton: Assad not indispensible
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – The United States on Monday formally protested an attack on the US embassy and the American ambassador’s residence in Syria and said it will seek compensation for damage … ….
Lebanon ‘ready to defend maritime borders’
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – The controversy over Israel’s decision to ratify its maritime borders is growing: Lebanese President Michel Suleiman said Monday that his country is ready and has the … ….
Knesset votes in favor of ‘boycott bill’
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – The Knesset voted Monday in favor of the controversial “boycott bill,” which proposes imposing sanctions against anyone declaring a commercial embargo on Israel. The vote … ….
Iranian FM: Islamic Republic fulfilling nuclear ‘duties’
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – Iran is fulfilling all its “duties” towards the United Nations atomic watchdog and is open to more nuclear talks with major powers, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said … ….
Syrian protesters attack US, French embassies
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – France said on Monday that assaults on its embassy in Damascus had been recurring throughout the day and were continuing. “They are recurring,” a Foreign Ministry … ….
Taiwan’s MND website sports youths in Nazi uniforms
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – Israel-Taiwan relations suffered somewhat of a diplomatic blunder recently, after Taipei’s Ministry of National Defense posted a photograph showing students wearing Nazi … ….
Barak: Weak Assad could benefit Hezbollah
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – Defense Minister Ehud Barak took part Monday in a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting where he addressed defense and security issues first and foremost … ….
2 Border Guards indicted for assaulting Palestinians
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – Officers prosecuted for slapping, kicking, intimidating Palestinians attempting….
Israel protested in Turkey science fair
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – Pro-Islamic demonstrators stage small rally in protest of Israel’s participation….
Katsav suspected of witness harassment
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – Two private investigators arrested on suspicion of harassing complainant, other….
Katsav PI: I’m merely a cog in machine
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – Private investigator linked to Katsav witness harassment case unlicensed, has….
Opposition determined to fight ‘boycott bill’
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – Representatives of opposition factions vow to unite against bill penalizing….
Palestinians denounce ‘boycott bill’
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – PLO official Yasser Abd Rabbo says if bill placing sanctions on those who….
Ya’alon: September is all about scare tactics
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – Minister for strategic affairs downplays ‘diplomatic tsunami’ expected in….
Peres thanks Greece for stopping flotilla
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – President tells Greek counterpart Carolos Papoulias Greece has joined….
Court orders mother to save child
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – Doctors say 13-year-old girl with cancerous tumor must undergo hand amputation….
Knesset to vote on ‘boycott bill’
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – Knesset set to pass bill punishing initiators of boycott of settlements as….
Israeli woman killed in Thailand rafting accident
YNet News, 11 Jul 2011 – Eye witnesses report boat carrying seven travelers capsized in Thailand river…..
Palestinian Information Center
Dweik asks Islamic parliaments to activate issue of detained MPs
PIC – PLC speaker Dr. Aziz Dweik sent a message to the chairman of the international forum for Islamic parliamentarians asking him to activate the case of the 15 detained Palestinian MPs in Israeli jails.
Settler runs down boy, others vandalize farmlands in tense West Bank
PIC – A Jewish settler ran down and seriously injured a 6-year-old Palestinian boy on Sunday south of Bethlehem, while other settlers vandalized farmland in Safa village in northern Al-Khalil.
PA security arrests 3 liberated prisoners
PIC – Preventive security agents, loyal to the Ramallah authority, arrested three Palestinians, who were previously held in Israeli jails, over the past few days in the West Bank.
Prison-prescribed medication worsens prisoner’s condition
PIC – The family of Naeem Shahda Halaika, a Palestinian currently detained at the Israeli Negev prison, has called on the Red Cross and other rights groups to help see the prisoner gets medical attention.
IOF troops demolish homes and businesses, uproot trees
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) escorted bulldozers in a demolition streak in Jib village to the northwest of occupied Jerusalem on Monday, local sources said.
Haneyya meets with high-profile Fatah delegation
PIC – Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya met Monday with a delegation from the Fatah party headed by the personal representative of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
OIC demands release of Sheikh Salah in contacts with British officials
PIC – Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has made contacts with a number of British government officials asking for the release of Sheikh Raed Salah, the leader of the Islamic movement in 1948 occupied Palestine.
2,500 US Jews aim to fill gaps in northern occupied territories
PIC – An Israeli organization has announced plans to bring more than 2,500 Jews from North America to the occupied Palestinian territories this summer.
IOF soldiers uproot 450 olive trees
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Monday uprooted 450 olive trees west of Salfit province, local sources reported.
Senior Israeli official says not too late to save Shalit militarily
PIC – Former Israeli police special forces head David Ben Shimol said it is not too late to use the military option to save Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was captured by Gaza resistance forces.
IOA endorses new road in Silwan, serves demolition notice in same village
PIC – 11/07/2011 – 08:47 AM
IOF troops detain two brothers in Jenin refugee camp
PIC – 11/07/2011 – 08:48 AM
Conference to discuss strengthening Israel’s control of West Bank
PIC – 11/07/2011 – 03:08 PM
IOF soldiers storm Jerusalem village sparking confrontations
PIC – 11/07/2011 – 08:41 AM
Israeli Bulldozers Demolish Palestinian Houses, Economic Facilities in Jerusalem
WAFA
Israeli Authorities Uproot, Confiscate 450 Olive Trees in Salfit
WAFA
European Lawmakers Support UN Recognition of Palestinian State
WAFA
PCBS: 4.17 Million Population of Palestinian Territory
WAFA
Newspapers Review: Abbas Meeting with European Cabinet, Fayyad Meeting with Natsheh
WAFA
Malaysian Aid Enters Gaza
WAFA
Weather Forecast: High Temperatures Until Wednesday
WAFA
Multi-Billion-Dollar Terrorists and the Disappearing Middle Class
Intifada-Palestine: 11 Jul 2011 – Courtesy: axisoflogic.com So what is the war in Afghanistan about? The answer one most frequently reads and hears is that the war is really against the Taliban, a mass-based Islamic nationalist guerrilla movement with tens of thousands of activists. The Taliban,… more
Israel law targets boycott campaigns
LA Times 11 Jul 2011 – The new law will penalize those who organize or back political boycotts against Israel, including campaigns aimed at its universities and businesses in the West Bank. Critics say the law may not withstand a court challenge. Israel’s right-leaning parliament approved a hotly disputed law Monday…
Opposition voices absent from Syrian dialogue
LA Times 10 Jul 2011 – President Bashar Assad’s regime takes the unusual step of inviting criticism from politicians, intellectuals and clergy. But key antigovernment forces boycott the talks, calling them a sham. Syrian politicians, intellectuals and clergy were given an unusual opportunity to criticize the country’s security apparatus on national…
Panetta: Iranian weapons used to attack Americans in Iraq
LA Times 10 Jul 2011 – Supplies from Iran have ‘really hurt us’ in Iraq, says Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, making an unannounced visit to Baghdad. The U.S. may be pushing Iraqi leader Nouri Maliki to request that some troops remain after the withdrawal deadline. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta…
Crowds in Syria Attack U.S. and French Embassies
New York Times 11 Jul 2011 – Syrian government supporters stormed into the American Embassy compound in Damascus on Monday and vandalized the building, according to news reports.
Envoy Meets With Leader of Yemen on Accord
New York Times 11 Jul 2011 – John Brennan told President Ali Abdullah Saleh that the only way to restart American aid would be to sign an accord to effectively remove himself from power.
Israel Bans Boycotts Against the State
New York Times 11 Jul 2011 – The Israeli Parliament on Monday passed contentious legislation that effectively bans any public call for a boycott against the state of Israel or its West Bank settlements.
Panetta Presses Iraq for Decision on Troops
New York Times 11 Jul 2011 – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is trying to push Prime Minister Nuri Kamal-al Maliki to make a decision on American troops.
Rival Claims to Sea Territory Made by Israel and Lebanon
New York Times 11 Jul 2011 – The discovery of a large undersea natural gas field in the region has given new urgency to a long-unsettled issue.
Syrian Opposition Leaders Boycott a Government Dialogue Opening
New York Times 11 Jul 2011 – Opposition figures said they would not take part in talks, which officials said are aimed at a transition to multiparty democracy, until the government ended its crackdown on protesters.
Panetta Says Iranian Arms in Iraq Are a ‚ÄòConcern’
New York Times 11 Jul 2011 – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is the third top American official to warn about Iranian influence in Iraq in recent days.
Police Officers Held in Killing of Egyptian
New York Times 10 Jul 2011 – Prime Minister Essam Sharaf made the concession in an effort to stem the rising tide of dissatisfaction with the results of the revolution.
Israel prepares brutal response to Gaza flotilla ship
WSWS – Israeli government officials have said plans are in place to prevent by force a French ship carrying humanitarian aid from reaching the Gaza Strip.
The railroading of Richard Falk
Muzzlewatch – Professor Richard Falk is a distinguished academic expert on international law with some 40 books under his belt and a lifetime of learning and teaching that has taken him on a journey through some of the best universities in the United States. Naturally, he was not…
PALESTINE: CPTer in “Flytilla‚Äù challenges Israeli denial of entry policy; wishes for Israeli children “a life free from fear and hatred.‚Äù
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine – On 8 July 2011, hundreds of internationals attempted to fly to Israeli’s Ben Gurion airport, carrying invitations to visit a refugee camp in the West Bank City of Bethlehem in protest of Israeli denial of entry policy, which prevents Palestinians living abroad and internationals from entering…
Col. Travers: Israel’s treatment of Palestinian children shows that it does not seek peace
Mondoweiss – Today I talked to Col. Desmond Travers, a member of the U.N. Human Rights Council’s mission on the Gaza conflict , who lives in the Republic of Ireland, about the Israeli treatment of children in the occupied territories. Col. Travers: If the British had behaved toward children…
‚ÄòPlease continue to be with us’ ‚Äìa Palestinian’s letter to int’l supporters
Mondoweiss – A letter from a Palestinian woman to the supporters of Palestine. I would like to talk to you as the voice of the thousands of Palestinians who appreciate what you are doing. You who have a great commitment to human rights and who actually act upon…
Is it too much to hope that Murdoch scandal brings an Arab spring to western journalism?
Mondoweiss – The Murdoch scandal is great news for those of us seeking a more open discourse on the Middle East. For Murdoch has maintained a fiercely pro-Israel line in his papers, and at least two commentators, the Arab News and Robert Fisk in the Independent, suggest that…
Halfway there! Help your donation go further with a 2-for-1 match
Mondoweiss – Thank you! We’re already about half way to our goal of raising $40,000 . That money will help us hire a part time editorial assistant and put the site on far more solid footing. Towards this end, we are excited to announce that a very generous donor…
Killing off a dead Oslo
Mondoweiss – Akiva Eldar recently wrote a piece in the Israeli daily Haaretz , in which Eldar pushes for the end of the Oslo Accords and all of the false hope that comes with them. The Oslo Accords were signed in 1993 (Oslo 2 was signed in 1995) and…
Abir Aramin Died in Vain
Tikun Olam – Abir Aramin, killed by Israeli Border Police (Alex Kolomoisky) I know it will pain her father, Bassam if he reads these words, but how else to describe the shameful decision by the Israeli Supreme Court to refuse to hold accountable two Border Police officers who murdered…
Rafael to begin work on Patriot missile upgrades
Neged Neshek – The Air Force has tasked Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with upgrading its Patriot missile systems . Yaakov Katz notes this will allow Israel to receive the more advanced PAC-3 systems from the US. Israel is currently conducting development of the David’s Sling anti-missile system. The work is…
Arms industry adds more to the unemployment rolls
Neged Neshek – “War is the health of the state,‚Äù famously wrote Randolph Bourne , commenting on the how war conditions helped reaffirm nationalism, patriotism and all kinds of other unhealthyisms. Israel’s perpetual war economy though, has not escaped the neoliberal gutting of the Israeli economy. Instead, Israel too has…
Corrie Family and Legal Team to Hold Press Conference Monday, July 11 at American Colony Hotel, Jerusalem
Rachel Corrie Foundation 10 Jul 2011 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 10, 2011 Craig and Cindy Corrie, the parents of peace activist Rachel Corrie, will hold a press conference tomorrow, Monday, July 11, at 11:00 at the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem to discuss the conclusion of testimonies in their civil case against…
“Don’t Buy Golan Wines‚Ķand Sue Me‚Äù
The Magnes Zionist 11 Jul 2011 – When I was growing up in the 1960s, opponents of the Vietnam War would always ask each other, “What year did you come out against the war?” Higher status was always accorded to the early-birds. After all, by the 1970s, who wasn’t against the war? As…
Muslim Brotherhood sweeps Pharmacists Syndicate elections in Egypt
Middle East Monitor 11 Jul 2011 – The semi-final results of elections for Egypt’s Pharmacists’ Syndicate revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood has won the post of Secretary General; the leadership of eight sub-syndicates, and 13 out of the 15 governorate councils they ran for. Dr Mohamed Abdel Gawad won the position of…
Egyptian journalist: Erdogan to visit Egypt to “support the revolution”
Middle East Monitor 11 Jul 2011 – A leading Egyptian journalist, Ibrahim Al Darrawy, has told Quds Press that Turkey’s Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, is due to pay a visit to Egypt on 21st July. According to Mr Al Darrawy, Erdogan promised a delegation from Egypt’s revolutionary youth which visited Istanbul prior to…
Lieberman: Erdogan wants to humiliate Israel and is uninterested in rapprochement
Middle East Monitor 11 Jul 2011 – Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has said that the Turkish government headed by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is completely uninterested in a diplomatic rapprochement between Ankara and Tel Aviv. In a statement to Radio Israel following the Turkish government’s insistence on its demand that Israel…
Week 16: Talal Abu Kabash Palestinian political prisoner
Middle East Monitor 11 Jul 2011 – Many long-term Palestinian prisoners have been in Israeli jails since their children were very young. A generation has grown up not really knowing their fathers beyond second-hand information. In such cases, fellow prisoners become a new family but they can never replace the children. Prisoner Talal…
What is the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement?
Joseph Dana 11 Jul 2011 – The Palestinian Boycott,DivestmentandSanction (BDS) movement is in the news today. Israel is posed to pass a bill that will criminalize support for the nonviolent movement among Israeli citizens. Risking a criminalsentence, I am publishing some basicinformationabout the BDS movement below as a means of dispelling rumors…
What exactly does the anti-Boycott bill say?
Joseph Dana 11 Jul 2011 – This afternoon, the Israeli Knesset is expected to pass acontroversial’anti-boycott’ law. This law will criminaize Israeli support for the Palestinian led Boycott,DivestmentandSanction(BDS) movement. Some in Israel are saying that the law is anti-free speech and will limit freedom of expression by Israeli citizens that want to…
No Assad legitimacy, says Clinton
BBC 11 Jul 2011 – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has lost legitimacy, after his supporters attack the US embassy in Damascus.
Israel passes settlement boycott ban
BBC 11 Jul 2011 – Israel’s parliament passes a controversial law to punish Israeli individuals or organisations boycotting West Bank settlements.
Israel-Lebanon gas border dispute
BBC 11 Jul 2011 – A maritime border dispute is looming between Israel and Lebanon that could set off a new conflict over energy reserves.
VIDEO: All eyes on Egypt’s elections
BBC 11 Jul 2011 – Will the Muslim Brotherhood’s years of charitable work in Egypt give its party a head start in the upcoming elections?
Articles
What can we expect of the international community?
Ali Halimeh, Ma’an News Agency7/11/2011
It is no longer possible, in a time of the major changes in the 21st century, to leave the Middle East a hostage to the crisis management approach or of U.S. election agendas.
It is, rather, in urgent need of radical solutions, especially for the Palestinian issue, on the basis of international legitimacy which has already coalesced around the two-state solution to end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The two-state solution on the land of Palestine was the first international initiative to end the Arab-Zionist conflict, by voting in the General Assembly of the United Nations on the partition resolution No. 181, on 29 November 1947, without consulting or even notifying the Palestinians or the Arab world.
This led the international community to announce, a few months later, the establishment of Israel in May 1948. This gave Israel the right of statehood through full membership of international organizations, especially the United Nations, leaving the Palestinian people looking for their own state ever since.
Since 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organization has been struggling, on the basis of the international institutions and their resolutions, to reach a just solution to the Palestinian issue through establishing the independent Palestinian state on the borders of June 1967, to live side by side with Israel, which was based on an area of 78 percent of historical Palestine. This percentage is even more than what was apportioned in the 1947 resolution, but Israel relied on its global alliances to legalize or protect what it had occupied by military force. more.. e-mail
Did our leaders take a bite too big to chew?
Nidal Alayasa, Ma’an News Agency7/11/2011
There are two items on the to-do list of all the Palestinian political entities (for lack of a better and more conclusive term). Firstly, establishing the unity of the Hamas state in Gaza with the Fatah state in the West Bank; and secondly, declaration of the Palestinian state and proposing it to the UN Security Council.
The first item has been the subject of every significant discussion since Hamas overthrew Fatah in Gaza five years ago. The second has been the goal of Palestinians for 63 years (a few millennia actually, but that is a discussion for another time).
Thus, it is safe to say that this is one short list that is anything but short, timid or easy.
Although I believe “it is time for Palestinian heroes and we reach for the stars‚” I also believe that cautious forward motion toward the two goals would perhaps be more fruitful than a full-blown leap into the unknown. This unknown that has not been kind to Palestinians in the past and if Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has his way, will not be this time.
The declaration of statehood and unity must happen together but are impossible to happen together.
The first part of the agenda is unity.
The meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal notwithstanding, it is impossible to view the past two months either as a success or as a surprise of any sort. The only success is that the heads of two parties, or dare I say two states, exchanged pleasantries and agreed to isolate two dominating and threatening forces out of the political mix, namely Salam Fayyad and Muhammad Dahlan. more.. e-mail
Murdoch’s dirty tricks against Palestinians
Robert Lambert, Middle East Monitor (MEMO)7/11/2011
Hacking the mobile phones of British families who had lost loved ones to sexually depraved violent criminals, al-Qaeda inspired “terrorists” and Taliban insurgents proved the tipping point that led to the closure of Britain’s most popular Sunday newspaper The News of the World, first published in London in 1843 and printed for the very last time on Sunday July 9, 2011.
To adopt a current media idiom, hacking these telephones at times of deep family grief became toxic for Rupert Murdoch’s News International media empire because public support for precisely these victims sits at the heart of all Murdoch’s political strategies. As a result, Murdoch has been forced to mount a damage limitation exercise on an unprecedented scale in an effort to protect his global media empire from the fallout.
Hugh Grant, a famous British actor turned investigative journalist, himself a victim of News International phone hacking was the first to acknowledge the extent to which the invasion of celebrities and politicians’ privacy paled into insignificance compared to the unpardonable intrusion into the lives of the newly bereaved. Grant is absolutely right, but it is the fact that Sunday’s News of the World – like its daily sister The Sun – sets itself up as the champion of these victims that hoisted it by its own petard.
In fact, the “Sarah’s Law” campaign that named and shamed convicted paedophiles following the murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne was spearheaded personally by Murdoch’s now beleaguered lieutenant Rebekah Brooks. When confronted with criticism that the campaign encouraged vigilantism and threatened the rule of law she responded that she did not “regret the campaign for one minute”. The same well attuned ear for the popular mood led The News of the World and The Sun to launch and promote the popular charity Help the Heroes that supports British troops. more.. e-mail
Remi Kanazi’s poetry of struggle
Electronic Intifada: 11 Jul 2011 – Alexander Billet The Electronic Intifada Alexander Billet profiles Palestinian-American spoken word poet Remi Kanazi and his new book of poems, Poetic Injustice.more
“Hysterical” Israeli reaction to Palestine solidarity fly-in
Electronic Intifada: 11 Jul 2011 – Mel Frykberg The Electronic Intifada Tel Aviv Hundreds of armed soldiers and police spread throughout Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on 8 July, arresting six Israeli activists for unfurling flags and chanting slogans in solidarity with the Palestinians.more
Born at a Checkpoint
Palestine Chronicle: 11 Jul 2011 – By IRIN For three years now a UK medical journal, the Lancet, has been working with Palestinian health professionals and researchers to document the effects of stressful living – coping with economic difficulties and shortages, restrictions on movement, political tensions and fear of outside attack – and has just published its latest findings. Restrictions on movement are an everyday irritant in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt): Apart from tedious and humiliating searches at checkpoints, residents never know for sure how long their journeys will take, or whether, indeed, they can be made at all. But in a medical emergency these restrictions can be a matter of life or death. Last year the Lancet’s collaborators described vividly the terror of women waiting to give birth during Israeli bombing raids on Gaza in early 2009: They knew they might need urgent medical care at a time when they were trapped in their…more
Syria: On the Cross Roads of Revolution
Palestine Chronicle: 11 Jul 2011 – By Mohammed Bsiso Amongst the multiple uprisings throughout the Arab world, Syria might prove to be the most complex and potentially the most dangerous. Syria’s position in the Middle East is unique as it borders multiple countries experiencing dynamic and sometimes dire political situations that could translate into widespread chaos in the region. Historically, Syria has been a stabilizing factor in the Middle East and remains so till this day. So needless to say, instability in this crucial Arab country may have profound consequences that could have devastating effects on its neighbors. The current popular revolution in Syria has proven to be resilient and unwilling to compromise with the generation old ruling system in the country. Most recently, prominent opposition figures refused the government’s offers of dialogue indicating the confidence and momentum enjoyed by the protesters thus far. This could also partly be due to painful lessons learned in uprisings…more
Between Two Worlds – Film Review
Palestine Chronicle: 11 Jul 2011 – By Jim Miles (Between Two Worlds: A documentary by Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman) This documentary presents a powerful and evocative discussion at the personal level of the changing and challenging nature of Jewish values in the United States. Outside of the Jewish community, for anyone interested in Palestinian-Israeli issues, and Middle East issues in the broader context, it is a must see film. There is no resolution to the documentary, it is an expression of exploration and discovery of Jewish beliefs and the unresolved divisions of the shifting boundaries of identity for the Jewish people in America. The personal explorations of the directors begins with the Jewish Film Festival in San Francisco and the showing of a film about Rachel Corrie, which became the centre of controversy over what was to be shown as representing Judaism – in a pro or anti Israeli dialogue – at the festival. From…more
Flotilla, Flytilla and the Prospect of Civil Society Action
Dissident Voice: 11 Jul 2011 – It might be argued that the passing week was not very easy on the Palestinian solidarity movement: firstly, an international peaceful flotilla aiming to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza did not manage to leave Greek ports. The Greek government had surrendered submissively to Israeli pressure and American Jewish organisations, and blocked the naval enterprise. Secondly, an international attempt to fly hundreds of activists from all over the world to the West Bank also partially failed, as the Israeli Government had managed to mount just enough pressure to make sure that the project fell apart before it became airborne. 1 Though it may seem as if the Palestinian solidarity movement suffered a blow, it is actually Israel that was harshly beaten here, for Israel has managed to expose its level of hysteria: it seems that eight old yachts and a few hundred Easyjet passengers have managed to shake the entire Israeli…more
More material available from Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel – www.vtjp.org
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The New Dark Age 