25 July , 2011 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Likud MK Calls For More Settlements In the West Bank, Jerusalem, The Negev
IMEMC – Tuesday July 26, 2011 – 02:50, Tzipi Hotovely, Israeli member of Knesset of the Likud party headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called on the Israeli government to escalate the construction and expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, in occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied Negev. Her statements came during a meeting for the Likud party on Monday evening.
Settlers Torch Palestinian Farmlands Near Nablus
IMEMC – Tuesday July 26, 2011 – 02:20, A group of extremist Israeli settlers torched, on Monday, Palestinian farmlands, that belong to the residents of Sorra village, west of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
European MP’s Show Solidarity With Gaza
IMEMC – Monday July 25, 2011 – 12:47, A delegation of European Parliamentarians arrived in Gaza on Sunday in a show of support for the Palestinian people.
Israeli Military Targeted ISM Activists On Board Gaza Fishing Boat
IMEMC – Monday July 25, 2011 – 12:35, Two American activists and one Swedish Activist boarded a fishing boat in Gaza, Olivia, on Saturday July 23, 2011. The ISM activists were on board to counteract the Israeli Military from preventing the Palestinian fishermen from fishing.
Israeli government officials: Palestinian statehood bid could void Oslo Accord
IMEMC – Sunday July 24, 2011 – 20:01, According to Israeli sources, some high-level officials in the Israeli cabinet have suggested that Israel should call off the 1993 Oslo Agreement with the Palestinians, if the Palestinian Authority moves ahead with a bid for statehood at the United Nations in September.
Army: Israel nabs boat smuggling arms on Dead Sea
7/25/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — The Israeli military and police on Monday captured a boat on the Dead Sea which was trying to smuggle weapons from Jordan, and detained two Palestinians on board, officials said. The boat was carrying a number of Kalashnikov assault rifles, magazines and other weapons, a statement from the army said, adding that two….
The nightmare of love across Israel’s wall
7/25/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — When Sana, who comes from the West Bank city of Hebron, married her Jerusalem-born husband Mohammed 13 years ago, she never imagined their union would lead to a life of fear and hiding. At first, their different residency permits — hers for the West Bank, his for Jerusalem — weren’t much of an….
Report: Israel considering revoking Oslo Accords in response to UN bid
7/25/2011 – TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Israel is considering revoking the Oslo Accords in response to Palestinians’ bid for membership of the United Nations in September, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Monday. Israeli officials told Haaretz that a team led by National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror was considering voiding the Oslo Accords as one…. Related: FM: Israel would not dare to cancel Oslo deal
UN flotilla report delayed again
7/25/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — A UN report into Israel’s deadly 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, which was to have been published later this week, has been delayed once again, an Israeli official said on Monday.” The secretary-general asked to delay the publication of the report,” foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said, referring to….
West Bank bakeries strike over bread prices
7/26/2011 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Bakeries across the West Bank went on strike Monday to protest the government’s decision to lower bread prices. The Palestinian Authority Ministry of National Economy on Saturday reduced the cost of bread from 4 shekels ($1. 17) to 3. 5 shekels per kilo. More than 50 bakeries closed in….
62 detainees banned from study
7/25/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Israel’s Ashkelon prison has released new rules prohibiting 62 detainees from continuing their studies, the Palestinian detainees center reported Monday. In a statement, the center condemned the new policythat Israel’s prison service has initiated in recent weeks to put pressure on Hamas over a possible prisoner exchange….
Crossings authority sets new Rafah schedule
7/26/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Rafah crossing director Ayyoub Abu Shaar says movement will be scheduled only for the Hajj Monday, following a two-day suspension marking state holidays. The crossing has hardly improved since Egypt’s interim government claimed to open the country’s sole land border with the Gaza Strip following the….
PA minister: No plans to ease settlement boycott
7/26/2011 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority’s economy minister Hassan Abu Libda said Monday that during 2010 settlement products were substantially reduced throughout the Palestinian marketplace.”It is shameful for us as Palestinians to support settlement activities and to contribute to their well-being while they’re occupying and confiscating our land,” Libda….
FM: Israel would not dare to cancel Oslo deal
7/25/2011 – ISTANBUL, Turkey (Ma’an) – Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki on Monday dismissed reports that Israel might revoke the Oslo Accords if Palestine sought UN membership in September.” Tel Aviv will not dare to take that step because the world will defy that before the Palestinians do. This is just an attempt to weaken…. Related: Report: Israel considering revoking Oslo Accords in response to UN bid
Elderly detainee transferred to hospital
7/25/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — An elderly Palestinian prisoner has been transferred to hospital, his daughter says. Foad Shobaki, 72, was taken to hospital from Ashkelon prison after surgery, his daughter Rania said. The prisoner, sentenced to 20 years, is awaiting word from the Red Cross on next steps, Rania explained….
Israel PM delays Poland trip over housing protests
7/25/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has postponed a trip to Poland scheduled for this week, his office said in a statement on Monday, as protests over high housing costs spread across Israel.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told his Polish counterpart he will be postponing his visit to Warsaw to another date because he….
Report: Discord within Fatah over Dahlan scandal
7/25/2011 – LONDON (Ma’an) — The court case against ousted Fatah figure Mohammed Dahlan spurred “regional sensitivity” inside Fatah because Dahlan was one of the main representatives of Fatah in Gaza. The majority of Fatah cadres in the Gaza Strip rejected the decision to expel Dahlan while others who are close to him have been arrested….
5 injured in Qalqiliya brawl
7/25/2011 – QALQILIA (Ma’an) – Palestinian police controlled a clash Monday in Qalqiliya and arrested 16 people. Five people were taken to hospital with various injuries after the incident, police said in a statement….
Holy Land clerics launch interfaith Earth forum
7/25/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders in the Holy Land joined forces Monday to launch a multi-faith environmental campaign, citing religious injunctions to protect the Earth across their three faiths. Among their plans are the convening of an international conference of religious leaders in New York ahead of the 2012 UN General Assembly, a….
Germany opens taboo-shattering Wagner festival
7/25/2011 – BAYREUTH, Germany (AFP) — Germany’s 100th Wagner opera festival kicked off here Monday in an edition that will include a taboo-busting performance by an Israeli orchestra. The annual tribute to the works of the 19th-century composer, a fervent anti-Semite who later inspired Nazi leaders, will include for the first time a concert by musicians….
The Orthodoxy’s kosher answer to Facebook
7/25/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — A new social networking site for ultra-Orthodox Jews takes customary segregation of the sexes online and also bars pictures or ads deemed immodest in ultra-Orthodox society. Go to www. faceglat. com and the home page has signs in Hebrew and English directing men to click on to the right of the page and….
Toppled Mubarak still a thorn in Egypt’s side
7/25/2011 – CAIRO (AFP) — Six months after the uprising that toppled Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak, the former strongman who is in custody in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh remains a thorn in the country’s side. The trial of Mubarak and his two sons, which is scheduled for August 3, remains a….
Report: Syrian govt adopts multipartism law
7/25/2011 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Syria’s government has adopted a draft law authorizing multipartism in a move that could allow for a change in power in the Arab country ruled for decades by the Baath party, a report said Monday. The law was adopted by the government during the night, the official SANA news agency reported….
Syrian protesters arrested in Damascus
7/25/2011 – NICOSIA (AFP) — Syrian armed forces have arrested several people after demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime were held across Damascus, rights activists said on Monday.” The army on Sunday arrested nine people in the district of Hajar al-Aswad and many others in Sahnaya,” a suburb south of Damascus, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head….
Mubarak, former interior minister to be tried together
7/25/2011 – CAIRO (AFP) — A Cairo court on Monday decided to merge the trials of former president Hosni Mubarak and ex-interior minister Habib al-Adly, both accused of killing protesters during an uprising that toppled the regime. The decision came as former prime minister Ahmed Nazif was charged in a corruption case by military prosecutors, in the first….
Amnesty says website blocked in Saudi Arabia
7/25/2011 – LONDON (AFP) — Rights group Amnesty International said on Monday that its website has been blocked in Saudi Arabia after the group criticized a draft Saudi anti-terrorism law.” Access to Amnesty International’s website has been blocked in Saudi Arabia. . . following the organization’s criticism of a draft anti-terror law that would stifle peaceful….
Dubai ruler appoints new financial center chief
7/25/2011 – DUBAI (AFP) — Dubai’s ruler has appointed a new governor for the Dubai International Financial Centre free zone, the official WAM news agency reported on Monday.” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, in his capacity as ruler of Dubai, has issued a decision appointing Abdullah Mohammed Saleh as the new governor of the Dubai International….
Despite thriving “tunnel economy”, Gaza still a “prison”
Palestine Note 25 Jul 2011 – In a Palestine Note exclusive, journalist details her descent into Gaza’s notorious smuggling tunnels Alexandra Robinson – “Complimentary tour of the Rafah tunnels.” I received this offer a few weeks after arriving in Gaza. In a conversation I was having…
UN envoy meets rebels amid Libya ‘stalemate’
AlJazeera 25 Jul 2011 – NATO continues to hammer Gaddafi’s forces around Libya and Britain has said there would be no let up during Ramadan.
UN urges massive action for Africa drought
AlJazeera 25 Jul 2011 – Aid agencies discuss “catastrophic” situation in Horn of Africa amid calls for urgent aid at emergency meeting in Rome.
Syria passes law to allow political parties
AlJazeera 25 Jul 2011 – The concession by Assad to quell anti-government protests is blasted by opposition as symbolic and far too late.
‘Murder’ trials merged for Mubarak and allies
AlJazeera 25 Jul 2011 – Cases against former president, ex-security chief and others set for August 3 as protesters continue calls for justice.
Attacks on Press Freedom in oPt Increase in the First Half of 2011
PNN – Ramallah – PNN – The Palestinian Center for Development Media Freedom (MADA) has just disclosed its 6-months report on the situation of the press in the occupied Palestinian territories, which applies for…
Al-Arakib – Sixty Years, and the Struggle is Just Beginning
PNN – By Adam Keller/Gush Shalom – Al-Arakib is a village in Israel, northeast of Beersheba. A village which does not appear on any map published in this country, a village whose existence the…
Demolished Home Rebuilt in Al-Walajeh
PNN – Al-Walajeh – PNN – People gathered in Al-Walajeh village near Bethlehem Saturday night to celebrate the rebuilding of a family’s home that was destroyed by the Israeli army seven years ago. The…
PNN Exposes Military Delegation Meeting with Community Leaders in Bethlehem
PNN – Bethlehem/PNN exclusive – Sources told PNN that an Israeli military delegation from the Army’s Civil Administration visited the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Thursday morning, and met with religious leaders and…
Thailand Scrape Win, But Second Leg Hope for Palestine Still Remains
PNN – Buri Ram – PNN – Thailand recorded a narrow 1:0 win over Palestine at the weekend in the first leg of the Asian World Cup second qualifying round at the l-Mobile stadium,…
Israel Looking into Revoking Oslo Accords
PNN – Tel Aviv – PNN – Israel’s National Security Council is looking into the possibility of revoking the Oslo Accords following a vote at the United Nations for a Palestinian state in the…
International Solidarity Movement
Escalation of attacks by the Israeli navy on the CPS Gaza boat
7/25/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – 23 July 2011, Civil Peace Service Gaza – Footage of the second water-cannon attack by the Israeli navy against the Civil Peace Service Gaza boat “Oliva” on Thursday, July 14, 2011. The camera used was lost in the sea when the crew evacuated the “Oliva,” recovered in a fishing net, and returned on Wednesday, July 20…. Related: Civil Peace Service Gaza
Gaza fishermen swamped by Israeli gunboats and water cannon
7/25/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – 24 July 2011, The Guardian, Harriet Sherwood – Hani al-Asi, a fisherman since the age of 11 and a father with 12 mouths to feed, had just begun throwing his lines into the Mediterranean when an Israeli gunboat sped towards his traditional hasaka. With a machine gun mounted at the rear and half a dozen armed…. Related: Source
Israel to demolish mosque in Salfit
25 Jul 2011 – West Bank, (Pal Telegraph)-Israeli occupation authorities issued Monday a demolition order to Ali ibn Abi Talib mosque in the town of Baruqin in Salfit area under the pretext of illegal construction.
Israeli troops invade central Gaza Strip
25 Jul 2011 – Gaza Strip, (Pal Telegraph)-Israeli occupation forces invaded Monday at morning the east of al-Maghazi, central Gaza Strip.
Iran accuses US and Israel of killing scientist in Tehran
The National 24 Jul 2011 – The shooting of Dariush Rezaei-Nejad, who was reportedly associated with the Iranian defence ministry, was an ‘ American-Zionist terrorist act against one of the country’s scientists’, according to Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani.
US keeps to middle in Israel-Lebanon gas dispute
The National 24 Jul 2011 – US ‘would like to see Israel and Lebanon arrive at a common understanding’ of the division of their exclusive economic zones in the Eastern Mediterranean, where Israel has already found large gas reserves.
Aden suicide truck bomb kills nine Yemeni soldiers
The National 24 Jul 2011 – Al Qaeda said to be behind bombing that targeted Yemeni army camp, amid raging battles between troops and Islamist militants.
Egypt’s own ‘Indiana Jones’, Zahi Hawas, is pushed from power
The National 24 Jul 2011 – Zahi Hawas, at the helm of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities for a decade, has lost his post in the country’s cabinet, brought down by a perception that he was too close to the Mubarak regime and too fond of international attention.
Erekat: Palestinian Authority cannot exist without independent state
Ha’aretz – According to Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat if the United States continues to stymie the Palestinian efforts to get a state recognized by the United Nations, the Palestinian Authority should be dismantled.
Over half of Israelis unsatisfied with Netanyahu’s response to housing protest
Ha’aretz – Haaretz poll shows 87% of Israelis support housing price protests. Most believe protest will lead to lowering of prices.
Bradley Burston / The middle-class anarchists of the tent city revolution
Ha’aretz – No one knows what to make of the tent protest – which is exactly where its strength lies; its power is in its oddly sharpened innocence, its excess of intuition and inspiration and its lack of polish.
Senior IDF officer: Iron Dome averted Israeli offensive on Gaza
Ha’aretz – IAF colonel says deployment of the missile defense system this year allowed Israeli leaders to have more options when dealing with the cross-border escalation with Gaza in April.
Norway massacre suspect warns of two more terrorist cells
Ha’aretz – Anders Behring Breivik, who confessed to mass killing spree, pleads not guilty in court and is ordered held for at least eight weeks.
Former Israeli diplomats in Washington: 1967 borders are defensible
Ha’aretz – The former ambassadors and decorated soldiers met with U.S. National Security Council in Washington with an appraisal of Israel’s security needs significantly different from the prime minister’s.
Turkey threatens diplomatic action pending Israel apology for Gaza flotilla raid
Ha’aretz – Prime Minister Erdogan says ‘plan B’ includes reducing diplomatic representation in Tel Aviv and visiting the Gaza Strip, Turkish daily Hurriyet reports.
The battlefield over Palestinian statehood moves to YouTube
Ha’aretz – Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon’s video ‘The Truth About the West Bank’ challenges Palestinian narrative over territories.
Donniel Hartman: Israel’s New Normalcy
Ha’aretz – Whether we will be an aspirational and values nation is now our challenge and opportunity
Rabbinical court wants woman jailed for refusing to accept divorce
Ha’aretz –
Some 200 housing protesters block road opposite Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem
Ha’aretz – About 100 Tel Aviv activists join Jerusalem demonstration; hundreds march in Tel Aviv, Be’er Sheva to protest housing crisis.
Carmel fire report includes evidence of negligence, says State Comptroller
Ha’aretz – Micha Lindenstrauss tells Knesset that the stinging report will be submitted within two weeks.
Are investors the real cause of high housing prices?
Ha’aretz – One possible avenue for holding down house prices is for the state to further rein in the profitability of investments in second or multiple homes.
A one city kind of state
Ha’aretz – What gives Tel Aviv an urban vibe that Jerusalem and Petah Tikva can only dream of?
Cabinet approves new ‘Ramon’ airport at Timna
Ha’aretz – The airport will cost an estimated NIS 1.7 billion to build, and it will handle domestic flights as well as those from Europe. Construction is expected to take three years.
Netanyahu cancels Poland visit as housing protests take Israel by storm
Ha’aretz – Activists block roads in Jerusalem, Haifa and Be’er Sheva; new initiative calls for a general strike on August 1 to protest high housing prices.
Doctors’ protest leader announces indefinite hunger strike
Ha’aretz – Dr. Leonid Eidelman implores Netanyahu to take steps to end 16-week doctors strike; protesters to march to PM Office in Jerusalem to hand over petition in support of doctors’ struggle.
Israeli doctors launch last-minute hospital strike
Ha’aretz – Move comes as National Union Court rejects state’s appeal for injunction; further disruptions are expected in hospitals throughout the week.
‘Socioeconomic issues more important than int’l standing’
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Study finds that socioeconomic issues worry Israelis more than country’s international standing; 62% say govt’s performance on socioeconomic issues is poor.
Palestinian security forces nab Mohammed Dahlan supporter
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Forces in W. Bank arrest man loyal to ousted member of Fatah Central Committee who is facing charges of financial corruption and murder.
Knesset works to allocate land for housing
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Protesters yell “We’re sick of it!” in hearing to find solution to ongoing rent crisis; Opposition MKs say gov’t is avoiding defining accessible housing.
Syria lifts 5-decade ban on forming political parties
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Analyst warns move could be merely symbolic; protesters vow to step up rallies over Ramadan.
PM to announce dramatic reforms to resolve housing crisis
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Sources say “revolutionary” reforms will significantly improve housing situation of young couples, students, demobilized soldiers; Netanyahu cancels Poland visit; “I haven’t forgotten about the people,” Steinitz says.
Saying sorry to Turkey?
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – obama administration is convinced that resolution of ‘Mavi Marmara’ fiasco is key to maintaining Israel-Turkey-US strategic triangle.
No stone left unturned
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Can efforts by international conservation experts raise public awareness of the importance of historical sites for the next generation?
The real root of the housing shortage
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Approving additional construction in Judea and Samaria would help reduce demand in the center.
What do ‚ÄòFlotilla Folk’ do?
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Who are these people whose hatred of Israel makes them blind to reality?
No Holds Barred: Surrounded by Christians who love Israel
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – American Jews can learn a lesson on how to support the Jewish state from loving gentiles.
Our World: Squandering Israel’s limited influence
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – It’s difficult to understand how it serves the Israel’s interest to use any leverage in the US Congress to lobby for the Palestinians or UNRWA.
Encountering Peace: In search of a rational discourse
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Israel and the Palestinians should draft a UN resolution to get them back to the negotiating table.
Egypt media see changes in post-revolution atmosphere
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Journalists face less fear from above, but objectivity now threatened by the Egyptian street.
J’lem: At least 200 rent protesters gather at PM’s home
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – TA protest march joins with doctors; 5 demonstrators arrested for blocking traffic in separate J’lem protest; Rivlin asks for respect of democracy.
11 arrested in mass-housing protests in Jerusalem
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Haredim join demonstrations; protesters arrested outside Knesset and PM’s home; police use force to disperse demonstration.
Ayalon, Erekat trade barbs over ‘West Bank’ video
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Palestinian negotiator slams Ayalon’s YouTube video asserting W. Bank isn’t occupied; deputy foreign minister challenges PA to debate.
5 arrested in housing protest outside Knesset
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Rivlin tells protesters to respect democracy; haredim join demonstrations; protesters interrupt Knesset c’tee meeting.
Kirk Douglas wins tribute for breaking Hollywood blacklist
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Legendary Jewish actor honored for giving writing credit to accused communist sympathizer Dalton Trumbo in ‘Spartacus’ in McCarthy era.
Turkey sends first fuel aid to east Libya rebel gov’t
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Libya civil war has hampered rebel government’s ability to produce, sell oil; Turkish Petroleum International Company ships $10m. fuel cargo.
Abbas appeals to Arab League for financial aid
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Palestinian Authority president requests help from allies after officials say PA can’t pay salaries due to int’l aid drying up.
MK Tibi petitions High Court against anti-boycott law
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Tibi to High Court: “Don’t permit such a fatal blow to the lifeblood of democracy”; law protects Israeli companies, institutions, from boycott.
Norway judge: Terror suspect mentioned ‘two more cells’
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Terror suspect Breivik’s remand extended by 8 weeks, judge announces after closed hearing; police lower death toll to 76.
Bill would force Arab schools to push IDF, civilian service
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Proposed legislation to change the goals of state-funded education is authorized by Education C’tee with only one MK present.
Families demand independent investigation into Carmel fire
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Carmel widow: “Without the truth, I can’t function.”
Lindenstrauss: Carmel fire report to reveal negligence
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Probe uncovers negligence on part of police, prison service; Environment Ministry blames Treasury for failure to budget Carmel rehabilitation.
Sex trafficking to Israel takes a detour?
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Guatemalans stopped at border thought they would be au pairs in Amman; Israel fails to reach min. standards to stop human trafficking.
Abbas asks Arab League to meet on PA financial crisis
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Palestinian Authority president requests help from regional allies after Fayyad had said PA can’t pay salaries due to int’l aid drying up.
IMA marches to PM’s office; Eidelman vows hunger strike
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – IMA chairman’s one-man protest intended to force Netanyahu to intervene in doctors’ strike; Interior minister calls on PM to involve himself.
IMA chief announces hunger strike to protest labor dispute
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Intervene now, says Yishai, “this is a life-and-death matter”; IMA members demonstrate at prime minister’s residence.
Housing protests go on: Students interrupt Knesset c’tee
Jerusalem Post 25 Jul 2011 – Protesters yell “We’re sick of it!” in hearing to find solution to ongoing rent crisis; 5 arrested, police officer hurt in protests.
Egypt’s Military Vows to Abide by New Constitution
IPS Egypt’s transitional military rulers reiterated Monday their pledge to hand over power to a civilian elected government and denied they are seeking to carve out a patriarchal role in the country’s future political life.
MIDEAST: Families Cry Out for Palestinian Prisoners
IPS “We could enter the Guinness book of records for the longest running weekly sit- ins in the world,” Nasser Farrah, from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Association, jokes dryly. Since 1995, Palestinian women from Beit Hanoun to Rafah have met every Monday outside the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office…
Egypt: Political groups claim security force involvement in Abbasseya attack
Uruknet July 25, 2011 – A coalition of 17 political parties and movements on Monday accused Egypt’s civil and military police forces of being involved in Saturday night’s attack on peaceful demonstrators in the Abbasseya district of Cairo. The protesters were marching on the Ministry of Defence building in Abbasseya when they were attacked by thugs carrying machetes and…
The slaughter in Oslo
Uruknet July 25, 2011 – … Breivik’s political itinerary shows that his views and actions emerged from broad and powerful trends in European bourgeois politics. He left a trail of postings in right-wing blogs. Shortly before the attack he emailed a 1,500-page document that provides some insights into his thinking. It is based on views that find support not only…
Iraqi wedding massacre possibly fabricated
Uruknet July 25, 2011 – Fifteen men were recently sentenced to death in Iraq for mass rape and murder at a wedding. But did the Dujail wedding massacre ever take place? At the end of May, a group of men made a confession on Iraqi TV to a horrific crime. In 2006, as members of a Sunni terrorist organisation,…
As the American Empire Spreads Abroad, it Becomes a Police State at Home
Uruknet July 25, 2011 – As America’s empire spreads abroad, it becomes ever more the police state at home. The methods used for the suppression of foreigners by military force and violence are eventually mirrored in the “homeland.”….The FBI raids at home are reminiscent of U.S. military raids overseas. In Iraq, for instance, labor union offices were raided and…
Testimony – Syria, Lattakia: One was accused of aiding his brother, another Christian guy arrested for being a Salafist (a Muslim fundamentalist)
Uruknet July 25, 2011 – …During interrogation, I experienced all kinds of torture, from the “Flying Carpet” to the wheel, in addition to whipping with cables and electrical batons. In detention there were many elderly people, 3 kids under the age of 15 y.o. Equality existed in that detention center! All will get the same beating regardless of his…
Brutally Isolating Detainees in Israeli Prisons
Uruknet July 25, 2011 – The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Adalah and Physicians for Human Rights/Israel (called Mezan et al below) June 2011 report headlined, “Solitary Confinement of Prisoners and Detainees in Israeli Prisons” explains harsh and abusive conditions they endure. For so-called “security prisoners,” treatment is especially brutal because of extreme restrictions, including when out of…
PLEASE, CLOSE RAFAH CROSSING
Uruknet July 25, 2011 -…Traveling became a fiction and talking about it might make you look crazy in front of other people. Even though it’s a legitimate right, traveling is never for fun and entertainment for Palestinians from Gaza; the only reasons that make them seek to leave Gaza is a treatment, work or study – most of the…
NATO Bombing A School, Hospital, Mosque & Food Storage In Zletin, 7 Dead – 25.07.11, War On Libya
Uruknet
Israeli left’s awakening too little, too late
Uruknet The strong reaction by left-wing Israelis to the recently passed “boycott law” must have astounded many in the country’s right-wing government and made them wonder why such a strong reaction now. The controversial law penalizes anyone who calls for an economic, academic or cultural boycott of Israel or its West Bank settlements. For more than four decades successive,…
Libya: The Fall of Az-Zawiyah
Uruknet July 25, 2011 – Az Zawiyah is one of Libya’s larger cities at around 200,000, and home to one of its two most important oil refineries [wikipedia]. Just 30 miles from Tripoli’s gate, it was the closest of the cities that briefly fell to rebel forces in late February, and in that regard the greatest threat….
Residents in western Libya say NATO hit hospital, killing 7 people
Uruknet July 25, 2011 — A hospital worker in western Libya said that NATO forces struck a local hospital on Monday and killed seven people, including three doctors. Libyan government minders brought journalists Monday to the destroyed hospital in the town of Zlitan, about a two hours drive east of the capital Tripoli. The reporters were also taken to…
Iraq: A New Crime , A New Violation
Uruknet The Great Iraqi Revolution facebook pages has received a video from (the 25th February Revolution Coalition) of a crime committed by the occupation forces nearly 2 weeks ago in the in the city of Jelawla’a – Diyala governorate. The crime happened at noontime on a very hot July day, when fate played its role and a coalition patrol…
Palestinian children routinely jailed for throwing stones
Uruknet July 25, 2011 – In an Israeli military detention centre in January 2011, an interrogator addressed a boy. Blindfolded and bound, 16-year-old Malek would later remember the words: ‘My name’s Abu Ahmad and I’ll give you five minutes to think and then confess to throwing stones.’ In the West Bank, stones are everywhere. They litter the pale, rocky…
Iranian shelling of Iraq’s Kurdistan region kills 2 Iraqis as hundreds forced to flee homes
Uruknet July 25, 2011 – Iranian forces shelled suspected rebel outposts in Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region, killing two Iraqi civilians, officials said Monday, in the latest in a string of cross-border attacks that have forced hundreds of residents to flee. The artillery fire hit the small Iraqi town of Sidkan, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the Iraq-Iran frontier,…
Now, This is not Damascus Anymore
Uruknet July 25, 2011 – …We passed the second checkpoint. Who were all these soldiers and security agents? Where were the townspeople? Was it a ghost town? I tried to call my friend to tell her that I was in Duma. No network. So the town was besieged from the outside and from inside. There were two more military…
Libya: The Qawalish Basin Massacre, via … New York Times?
Uruknet July 25, 2011 – …New York Times columnist C.J. Chivers wrote on July 10 about abuses during the taking of Qawalish, whose entire population had fled in advance, as if the Mongols were coming. It then became evident why – Chivers witnessed open and massive looting (especially of grains, animal feed, and straw, possibly “punitive,” he thought) and…
Gaza: Families Cry Out for Palestinian Prisoners
Uruknet July 25, 2011 (IPS) – “We could enter the Guinness book of records for the longest running weekly sit- ins in the world,” Nasser Farrah, from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Association, jokes dryly. Since 1995, Palestinian women from Beit Hanoun to Rafah have met every Monday outside the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office in Gaza City,…
Saudi scholar calls for fatwa for Libyan peace
Uruknet July 25, 2011 – — A Muslim scholar called for a fatwa Monday to force Libyan rebels to cease fire and NATO aircraft to end their mission of bombing Libyan military targets. Hamoud bin Nafei Al Anzi, a Saudi Arabian, also criticized prominent Muslim leaders and the Arab League for joining the fight against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi…
9/11: Who Really Benefited? Fact and Not Fiction…
Uruknet July 25, 2011 – Forget so-called conspiracy theories. Instead look at reality. Dare ask yourself who actually seems to have benefited from the 9-11 calamity. In light of the debt ceiling debates and the continuous corrupt politics as usual of Washington D.C., it is time for the American people, and individual states of this federation, to look at…
The nightmare of love across Israel’s wall
Uruknet July 25, 2011 – – When Sana, who comes from the West Bank city of Hebron, married her Jerusalem-born husband Mohammed 13 years ago, she never imagined their union would lead to a life of fear and hiding. At first, their different residency permits — hers for the West Bank, his for Jerusalem — weren’t much of an…
Egypt ex-interior minister to be tried alongside Mubarak
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 A court postponed Monday the trial of Egypt’s former interior minister over the killing of protesters until next week so that he will be tried alongside ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
Syria: Political parties law endorsed
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Syria’s government has endorsed a draft law that it says will allow the formation of political parties alongside President Bashar Assad’s ruling Baath Party…
Future MPs: Hariri to return to Beirut soon
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is planning to return to Beirut soon, ending a three-month absence, in a move likely to intensify the March 14 coalition’s opposition against the Hezbollah-dominated government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati…
Tribunal financially sound
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 The U.N.-backed court probing the 2005 assassination of statesman Rafik Hariri is financially sound and has been operating without Lebanon’s share of running cost funding since the start of the year…
Mukheiber: Resistance’s arms must be debated at dialogue
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Hezbollah’s weapons should be up for discussion as part of the national defense strategy during all-party talks, a member of Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform parliamentary bloc said Monday…
Safadi praises 2006 against Zionist enemy
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi said Monday the Lebanese people should be proud of the victories achieved by the resistance against the Zionist enemy during the 2006 war on Lebanon.
Hezbollah: Norway attack shows Zionism’s perils
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Hezbollah condemned Monday the recent attack in Norway that left at least 76 dead as proof of the racism of Zionist culture.
MP Aoun: STL issues should be brought to U.N.
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 The Lebanese government should discuss with the U.N. and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon any challenges Lebanese groups have to the constitutionality of the court, said Baabda MP Alain Aoun…
Is Lebanon greedy over sea borders?
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 For most countries, the prospect of enormous fossil fuel deposits located within their territory would be a reason for national rejoicing.
Beaches, ice cream and air conditioners help Lebanese cope with the heat
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Beaches, ice cream and cold beverages are among the most popular choices of Lebanese working to beat the heat, while electricity blackouts are making the hot summer even hotter.
South Lebanon’s liquor controversy
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 In his sparsely furnished living room, surrounded by his children and grandchildren, Abu Hasan Wehbe explains what happened to his shop.We had a shop that provided a living for three families. They came without any warning,…
Sleiman voices support for civil personal status laws
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 President Michel Sleiman voiced his support Monday for civil personal status laws which would legalize civil marriage and provide laws for adoption and inheritance separate from the religious courts.
Yemen opposition rejects government road map
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Yemen’s opposition dismissed Monday a government plan for talks aimed at easing unrest after months of mass protests demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s overthrow, saying it had not even heard of any such road map for…
Border violence continues as Iranian shelling kills 2 in Iraq’s Kurdistan
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Iranian forces shelled suspected rebel outposts in Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region, killing two Iraqi civilians, officials said Monday, in the latest in a string of cross-border attacks that have forced hundreds of residents to flee.
Amnesty’s website cut off in Saudi Arabia
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Amnesty International’s website became inaccessible in Saudi Arabia Monday, just three days after the rights group published a leaked copy of the kingdom’s controversial new anti-terrorism draft law.
Bahrain releases Sunni ex-army captain who joined protests
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Bahrain has released a detained ex-army captain who joined pro-democracy protests that hit the Gulf island kingdom earlier this year, activists said Monday.
The nightmare of love across West Bank barrier
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 When Sana, who comes from the West Bank city of Al-Khalil (Hebron), married her Jerusalem-born husband Mohammad 13 years ago, she never imagined their union would lead to a life of fear and hiding.
Israel considers annulling Oslo Accords
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Israel is weighing the possibility of cancelling the landmark Oslo Accords with the Palestinians in response to their plan to seek United Nations membership, the daily Haaretz said Monday.
Turkish court gives Dink assassin 23 years
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 An Istanbul court sentenced the assassin of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink to nearly 23 years in prison Monday.
Rebels say no Libya peace plan yet
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 The U.N. envoy to Libya and the Benghazi-based rebel council discussed ideas Monday for ending the civil war, but said a firm initiative had yet to take shape.
Civil defense personnel trapped by fire in olive grove
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Lebanese Army helicopter attempting to extinguish flames in Zahrani district which earlier trapped several civil defense members, prompting a rescue attempt by local villagers.
Norway events should highlight danger of extremism: Jumblatt
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Progressive Socialist Party leader says tragic events should be a lesson to leaders of regimes who don’t understand the importance of political reform,.
Lebanon’s top comedian, Fahmen, dies
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Lebanon’s oldest and most popular comedian, Mahmoud Mabsoot, better known as Fahmen died of a heart attack Monday at a hospital in Nabatieh.
Muslims, Arabs should work together to liberate Palestine: Qabbani
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Grand Mufti urges Arab and Muslim communities Monday to work together to confront Israel and liberate occupied Palestine.
South Lebanon municipality worker assaulted
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 A group from the Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp in south Lebanon assaulted a member of the municipality of Bedias Monday, reported the National News Agency.
Sleiman endorses civil personal status laws
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 President says civil personal status laws represent one of the main pillars of building a civil state, which would make Lebanon a model country.
Arrests after anti-Assad demos in Damascus: activists
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Syrian armed forces have arrested several people after demonstrations against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime were held across Damascus, rights activists said Monday.
Hezbollah arms should be discussed: Moukheiber
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 MP Ghassan Moukheiber, a member of Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform parliamentary bloc says the controversial issue of Hezbollah’s weapons should be discussed during all-party talks.
2 killed in Iranian shelling near Iraqi border
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Officials from Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region say Iranian shelling of a border area has killed two Iraqi civilians and wounded three others.
Bahrain releases ex-army captain who joined protests‚Äè
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Bahrain has released a detained ex-army captain who joined pro-democracy protests that hit the Gulf island kingdom earlier this year, activists said on Monday.
Bulgaria expels Libyan diplomat: ministry‚Äè
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 A Libyan diplomat in Bulgaria has been declared “persona non Grata” and will have to leave the country within 24 hours, the foreign ministry announced Monday.
Clashes as Egypt ex-minister’s murder trial delayed
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Hundreds of protesters hurl stones at a convoy of vans taking Egypt’s once-feared interior minister Habib al-Adly from court on Monday after judge delays his murder trial.
Lebanese reporter survives car crash
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 A journalist working for Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency narrowly escaped death while returning from the south, the NNA said Monday.
Israel mulls ‘end of Oslo’ over U.N. bid
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Israel is weighing the possibility of canceling the landmark Oslo accords with the Palestinians in response to their plan to seek United Nations membership, daily Haaretz says.
Egypt’s revolution not just about tweeting: bloggers
Daily Star 25 Jul 2011 Six months after they launched a revolution that ousted the regime, Egyptian bloggers have acknowledged that it takes more than a Facebook page on the Internet to overthrow a dictator.
Bishop Tawk laid to rest in Bsharri following mass
Daily Star 24 Jul 2011 Secretary of the Maronite Patriarchate Monsignor Youssef Tawk was laid to rest in Bsharri over the weekend in an official mass attended by high-ranking Lebanese officials.
Hezbollah stages rescue drills to remember 2006
Daily Star 24 Jul 2011 Commemorating the anniversary of the July 2006 war took a new form this year, as a group of search and rescue teams performed emergency drills over the weekend in the southern port city of Tyre.
Kahwagi awarded Legion of Honor while in France
Daily Star 24 Jul 2011 Commander of the Lebanese Army Gen. Jean Kahwagi and an accompanying military delegation returned to Lebanon Sunday following a four day official visit to France…
Troops arrested for shutting off surveillance gear
YNet News, 25 Jul 2011 – Four female IDF field intelligence observers were arrested earlier this month after allegedly shutting off surveillance equipment, thus failing to collect information on … ….
Jewish author cited by gunman voices regret
YNet News, 25 Jul 2011 – A Jewish author cited in the Norway massacre suspect’s rambling, 1,500-word manifesto expressed regret Monday that her writing might have served to inspire his rampage. … ….
Terror orphans get lifelong stipend
YNet News, 25 Jul 2011 – The Knesset plenum has passed in its second and third readings a bill that will grant individuals who lost both parents to terrorism a lifelong monthly stipend, … ….
PM vows to lower housing costs
YNet News, 25 Jul 2011 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to massive protests throughout Israel Monday by vowing to lower housing prices. “We will lower prices for social solidarity,” … ….
100 doctors protest in Tel Aviv
YNet News, 25 Jul 2011 – A day of general strikes in the medical community culminated Monday evening with a protest at Tel Aviv’s Cinematheque, with more than 100 residents protesting long hours … ….
Likud minister: Bibi not a true leader
YNet News, 25 Jul 2011 – Prime minister under fire: A senior Likud minister slammed his party’s chairman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling Ynet that he was “not behaving like a leader” … ….
Housing protestors block roads across Israel
YNet News, 25 Jul 2011 – Knesset committee decides to promote housing bill without providing details on….
School trips to Poland to be subsidized
YNet News, 25 Jul 2011 – Some 40,000 students to receive state support in funding travels to Poland….
Erdogan’s ‘Plan B’: Downgrading Israel ties
YNet News, 25 Jul 2011 – Turkish newspaper reports prime minister considering options if Israel refuses….
Israel foils weapons smuggling from Jordan
YNet News, 25 Jul 2011 – Two Palestinians riding motor boat in Dead Sea caught in possession of….
BND destroys file on Nazi criminal
YNet News, 25 Jul 2011 – German intelligence agency admits to destroying evidence on wanted Nazi criminal….
Housing crisis: Protestors block entrance to Knesset
YNet News, 25 Jul 2011 – Dozens of activists block access route to Knesset building by mounting brick….
Palestinian Information Center
Baraka: Hamas committed to freeing all Palestinian prisoners
PIC – 25/07/2011 – 07:10 AM
Israeli official proposes exchange deal with Egypt
PIC – 25/07/2011 – 07:46 AM
Haneyya calls on world parliaments to work for lifting the siege on Gaza
PIC – 25/07/2011 – 08:08 AM
Ufree: Europeans reacting ‘positively’ with Palestinian prisoner affairs
PIC – 25/07/2011 – 08:48 AM
Israeli supreme court to convene Tuesday over Jerusalem MP’s banishment case
PIC – The exile-threatened Jerusalem MPs said the Israeli Supreme Court will convene Tuesday to hear their banishment case, amid escalated Israeli action to rid Jerusalem of its Palestinian population.
IOF troops comb area in central Gaza
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) advanced 400 meters in central Gaza Strip at dawn Monday and leveled and combed the area, local sources said.
IOA decides to raze mosque in Bruqin town
PIC – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) ordered for the second time the demolition of Ali Bin Abu Talib Mosque in Bruqin town, west of Salfit city at the pretext of unlicensed construction.
Israel mulls ending Oslo accords in response to PA “unilateral” move
PIC – Haaretz newspaper said that there are serious Israeli moves to revoke the Oslo peace accords with the Palestinian Authority in response to its plan to gain UN recognition for an independent state.
Jewish settlers torch tens of dunums of Palestinian land
PIC – Jewish settlers set on fire tens of dunums of Palestinian agricultural land in Surra village, west of Nablus city, on Monday.
Complaints filed over abuse by Israeli prison service
PIC – The Palestinian Prisoner Society has begun to file complaints on behalf of individual Palestinian prisoners who have been deprived of the right to education by the Israeli prison service.
Hamas asks Arab League, OIC to protect holy shrines
PIC – Hamas has condemned the Israeli oppressive decision to demolish a mosque in Brukin village, recalling that it was preceded by a similar decision last month to raze an educational institute.
Turkish PM to downgrade relations with Israel if it refuses to apologize
PIC – Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper reported Monday that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he would resort to ”Plan B” if recent moves to elicit an apology from Israel failed.
European parliamentarians meet with MP Khoudary during Gaza visit
PIC – A high-profile delegation of 17 parliamentarians from various European countries have met with independent Palestinian legislator Jamal al-Khoudary during a several-day visit to the Gaza Strip.
Dweik invited to attend Palestinian National Council sessions later this month
PIC – Speaker of the PLC Aziz Dweik has been invited by Palestinian National Council chairman Salim Zanoun to attend sessions of the PNC to be held later this month.
Ben Helli Calls for Generous Arab Support to End PA’s Financial Crisis
WAFA
China Reiterates Recognition of Palestinian State
WAFA
Erekat: Palestinian Cause Experiencing International Support and Momentum
WAFA
Abbas Requests Arab League Meeting to Discuss PA Financial Crisis
WAFA
Israel Issues Demolition Order of Mosque in Salfit for Second Time
WAFA
Newspapers Review: Dailies Report on End of Ambassadors’ Conference
WAFA
Israel Considering Cancelling Oslo Accords in Response to Palestinian Bid in September
WAFA
Israel used an Imposter and a Belly Dancer to Counteract Flotilla II
Intifada-Palestine: 25 Jul 2011 – One of the ships of the “To Gaza with Love” flotilla II by Dr. Ashraf Ezzat “Though the gay activistand the bellydancer stunts proved to be a total failure but they brought to light the duplicity of the Jewish state and… more
Draft Reform Law in Syria Fails to Mollify Protesters
New York Times 25 Jul 2011 – Syria’s Cabinet has passed a draft law allowing the formation of political parties, a step in a series of promised changes that anti-government protesters have dismissed as superficial.
Sidebar: Question of Birth Becomes One of President’s Power
New York Times 25 Jul 2011 – The Supreme Court may decide whether “Israel” must be listed for babies born in Jerusalem.
Yemeni Military and Tribesmen Push Back Militants in South
New York Times 25 Jul 2011 – Fighting in southern Yemen has intensified in recent days as tribesmen in the province of Abyan sided with government troops against Islamic militants.
Suicide Bomber Hits Troops at Port City in Yemen
New York Times 25 Jul 2011 – A suicide bomber killed at least six soldiers and wounded more than a dozen others in the port city of Aden, a government spokesman said.
New Loyalties and Old Feuds Collide in Syria
New York Times 25 Jul 2011 – Syria is awash in stories of solidarity, but older forces — geography, class and, in particular, religious sect — can also tear it apart.
Boycotters ramp it up: “put an end to Agrexco’s presence in Europe”
Mondoweiss – The BDS movement in Europe appears to be going for a knockout. A coalition of 23 organizations from across Europe issued a ” Political declaration after the Forum against Agrexco ” outlining their campaign against the Israeli agricultural giant which ishalf owned by the Israeli Government and responsible…
The struggle against the boycott law is fundamental: Should Israel be a Jewish or democratic state?
Mondoweiss – This text being posted on the door to Avigdor Lieberman’s Office. What’s the “Boycott Law” about? If you ask Israelis that question, particularly those opposed to the law, they’ll probably say that it prohibits calling for boycotts of products produced by Israeli settlements located in territories…
Regarding the Islamophobic tragedy we are now living through
Mondoweiss – Tord Steiro is a Mondo reader in Norway, and writes: Regarding the tragedy we are now living through. Let me clarify a few facts: 1. The organization targeted in Ut??ya is AUF – the Labour Party’s youth organization. In recent years, this organization has been increasingly…
Palestinian strategy focused on UN General Assembly and international courts to avoid US veto
Mondoweiss – Barak Ravid writes today in Haaretz about Israeli fears over the Palestinian UN bid. Israeli officials believe the Palestinians will skirt the Security Council and will appeal directly to the General Assembly, in order to avoid a potential American veto…….Israel is concerned that the Palestinians may…
Pamela Geller says she didn’t influence killer, ‚ÄòIslamic supremacists’ did
Mondoweiss – Scott Shane in the New York Times, ” Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in the U.S .”: Mr. Breivik frequently cited another blog, Atlas Shrugs, and recommended the Gates of Vienna among Web sites. Pamela Geller, an outspoken critic of Islam who runs Atlas Shrugs, wrote on…
Breivik’s Neo-Nazi Manifesto, Latter-Day Mein Kampf
Tikun Olam – Title page of Breivik’s manifesto Hitler had his Jewish problem. Anders Breivik, his Muslim problem. The more I read of Breivik’s manifesto, A European Declaration of Independence , the more it appears to me a latter-day version of Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Remember that when the dictator-to-be wrote…
For Israeli army, Palestinians having guests is a crime. Pt 1
The Only Democracy? JVP 25 Jul 2011 – Here is the video of the Nabi Saleh protest from Friday. We received this account from the same protest our anonymous source A., an international activist living in Palestine. She explains: This account is edited from a chat conversation describing events that took place on July…
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood denounces Israeli ‘piracy’ and calls for full opening of Rafah border
Middle East Monitor 25 Jul 2011 – The Organisation of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has called for Gaza’s land crossing with Egypt to be fully opened to both individuals and goods. Currently only the movement of individuals is being allowed across the border as well as goods that have not been arbitrarily…
Palestinian General Certificate of Secondary Education results published
Middle East Monitor 25 Jul 2011 – EXCLUSIVE PICTURES On Sunday 24 July, Palestine’s Ministry of Education announced the release of this year’s results for the General Certificate of Secondary Education in Palestine. Students from across the West Bank, who had been keenly anticipating their results, flocked to their respective institutions to pick…
Protests in Tel Aviv call for Finance Minister to step down
Middle East Monitor 25 Jul 2011 – The biggest demonstration seen by Tel Aviv for many years has called for Israel’s Finance Minister to step down. More than 20,000 people took to the streets to demand the resignation of Yuval Steinitz, who is held to be responsible for the rise in the price…
Syria ‘allows political parties’
BBC 25 Jul 2011 – The Syrian government has adopted a draft law that allows the formation of political parties other than the ruling Baath party, state media report.
Minister will join Mubarak trial
BBC 25 Jul 2011 – A court in Cairo orders Egypt’s former interior minister Habib al-Adly to stand trial next week alongside deposed President Hosni Mubarak.
Israeli orchestra to play Wagner
BBC 25 Jul 2011 – The Israeli Chamber Orchestra will break with tradition to play a work by Hitler’s favourite composer, Richard Wagner, at a festival in Germany.
Rupert Murdoch: Intellectual terrorism
Sabbah report 25 Jul 2011 – The news itself controlled the governments and may well have written the scripts to the wars, the rigged elections, the acts of terror and the misdirection that sent America after terror groups that never existed.
Video: Officer points loaded weapon at Palestinian’s head
B’tselem 24 Jul 2011 – On 18 June ’11, soldiers arrested a Palestinian youth at a petrol station in the village of Beit ‘Ummar for allegedly throwing stones. When his cousin, Rami Abu Mariah, tried to approach him, a First Lieutenant loaded his rifle and directed it at Abu Mariah’s face…
Articles
Analysis: A way forward for Palestinians and Palestine
Jamal Saad, Ma’an News Agency7/26/2011
How far can we, the Palestinian people, take our struggle for freedom? The obvious answer is as far as it takes to achieve our self-determination and our liberation. But this is dependent on us all the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza, in Israel and the diaspora to unite in our objective and follow a collective strategy to challenge and overcome and defeat Israel’s military occupation.
The Palestinians’ history is one of a people striving for justice, peace and freedom. Since the creation of the state of Israel in the aftermath of the 1948 war, most Palestinians’ dream and objective has been the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. For us, 1948 is the catastrophe when over 750,000 Palestinians became refugees. Since then, the refugees and all their descendants are considered stateless by the international community.
Since the early 1990s, the Palestinian Authority has represented the Palestinians people in the regional and international arena. While Hamas has gained political and administrative control over Gaza, it has not been recognised by any of world’s major states or international organisations as a legitimate authority to represent the Palestinian people.
I propose an initiative to my fellow Palestinians throughout the world: one that is not to create division between us as a people and our political representatives, but rather looks at the reality we are faced with and to take a pragmatic approach to achieving our goals. By mobilising together and presenting the Palestinian cause as a united front, something our political leadership has consistently failed to do, we can reignite our common will as a people determined to achieve recognition and justice. more.. e-mail
Baksheesh for the Doorkeeper
Uri Avnery, Antiwar.com7/25/2011
A riddle: Which fleet did not reach its destination but fulfilled its mission?
Well, it’s this year’s Gaza solidarity flotilla.
It could be said, of course, that last year’s “little fleet” — that’s what the word means in Spanish, much as “guerrilla” means “little war” — is also a reasonable candidate. It never reached Gaza, but the commander of the Israeli navy could well repeat the words of Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, whose victory over the Romans was so costly that he is said to have exclaimed: “Another such victory, and I am lost!”
Flotilla 1 did not reach Gaza. But the naval commando attack on it, which cost the lives of nine Turkish activists, aroused such an outcry that our government saw itself compelled to loosen its land blockade of the Gaza Strip significantly.
The repercussions of this action have not yet died down. The very important relations between the Israeli and Turkish militaries are still ruptured, with Turkey demanding an apology and indemnities. The victims’ families are pursuing criminal and civil proceedings in several countries. An ongoing headache.
Flotilla 2 reached its end this week, when a huge naval action led to the capture of one (one!) little French yacht and the detention of its sailors, journalists, and activists — all 16 of them. Even our tame broadcasters could not help themselves from sneering: “Why didn’t they send an aircraft carrier?”
The 14 boats that were prevented from sailing, and the one that did sail not only kept our entire navy on alert for weeks, but also helped to keep the Gaza blockade in the news. And that, after all, was the whole point of the exercise. more.. e-mail
VIDEO – Gaza fishermen swamped by Israeli gunboats and water cannon
Harriet Sherwood in Gaza City, The Guardian7/24/2011
Harriet Sherwood watches the Israeli navy force back Palestinians who dispute ‘security’ fishing limit
Hani al-Asi, a fisherman since the age of 11 and a father with 12 mouths to feed, had just begun throwing his lines into the Mediterranean when an Israeli gunboat sped towards his traditional hasaka.
With a machine gun mounted at the rear and half a dozen armed soldiers on the bridge, the navy vessel repeatedly circled the small fishing boat. The rolling waves caused by the backwash threatened to swamp it.
Asi had stopped his boat over an artificial reef created by dumped cars to attract the dwindling fish population. He was just beyond the limit of three nautical miles from the Gaza shoreline set by the Israeli military for Palestinian fishermen, beyond which they are forbidden to fish for “security reasons”.
“We see them every day,” he said, shrugging at the gunboat’s presence. “I got used to this. Every day they are around us – shooting, damaging the boat, sometimes people are injured. If we were scared, we wouldn’t fish. But we have nothing else to do.”
With the boat rocking forcefully, the gunboat’s crew addressed Asi in Arabic through its loudspeaker. “You are in a forbidden area. Go back.” Asi pulled in the lines and headed back to port.
“The best place to fish is more than 10 miles out,” he said. “But every time we exceed three miles, they shoot at us, use the water [cannon], take the nets. Even today when foreigners are with us, they were trying to tip the boat over.” — See also: Video: ‘They will fire bullets and shoot water at me’ more.. e-mail
Israeli left’s awakening too little, too late
Electronic Intifada: 25 Jul 2011 – Raja Shehadeh The Electronic Intifada The strong reaction by left-wing Israelis to the recently passed “boycott law” must have astounded many in the country’s right-wing government and made them wonder why such a strong reaction now.more
Gaza families demand right to visit prisoners
Electronic Intifada: 25 Jul 2011 – Eva Bartlett The Electronic Intifada Gaza City On 11 July, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Palestine Red Crescent Society helped facilitate a demonstration to protest the ban on Palestinians from Gaza visiting their imprisoned loved ones.more
Families Cry Out for Palestinian Prisoners
In Gaza: 25 Jul 2011 – For eight years, Umm Bilal has not been able to see her son in Israeli prison. GAZA CITY, Jul 25, 2011 (IPS) – By Eva Bartlett “We could enter the Guinness book of records for the longest running weekly sit- ins in the world,” Nasser Farrah, from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Association, jokes dryly. Since 1995, Palestinian women from Beit Hanoun to Rafah have met every Monday outside the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office in Gaza City, holding photos and posters of their imprisoned loved ones, calling on the ICRC to ensure the human rights of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel’s 24 prisons and detention centres. Since 2007, the sit-ins have taken on greater significance: Gaza families want Israel to re-grant them the right – under international humanitarian law – to visit their imprisoned family members. This right was taken from Gaza’s families in 2007, after the Israeli tank…more
Puppets in Revolt
Palestine Chronicle: 25 Jul 2011 – By James Petras Empires are built through the promotion and backing of local collaborators who act at the behest of imperial rulers. They are rewarded with the outward symbols of authority and financial handouts, even as it is understood that they hold their position only at the tolerance of their imperial superiors. Imperial collaborators are referred to by the occupied people and the colonial resistance as “puppets” or “traitors”; by western journalists and critics as “clients”; by the imperial scribes and officials as “loyal allies” as long as they remain obedient to their sponsors and paymaster. Puppet rulers have a long and ignoble history during the 20th century. Subsequent to US invasions in Central America and the Caribbean a whole string of bloody puppet dictators were put in power to implement policies favorable to US corporations and banks and to back US regional dominance. Duvalier (father and son) in Haiti,…more
Palestine, Palestinians and Our Way Forward
Palestine Chronicle: 25 Jul 2011 – By Jamal Saad ‘The only way forward is as people, with all of us challenging the Israeli occupation and those have given away in a fit of distraction.’ — Edward Said. How far can we, the Palestinian people, take our struggle for freedom? The obvious answer is as far as it takes to achieve our self-determination and our liberation. But this is dependent on us all—the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza, in Israel and the diaspora—to unite in our objective and follow a collective strategy to challenge and overcome and defeat Israel’s military occupation. The Palestinians’ history is one of a people striving for justice, peace and freedom. Since the creation of the state of Israel in the aftermath of the 1948 war, most Palestinians’ dream and objective has been the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. For us, 1948 is al Nakba—the catastrophe—when over 750,000 Palestinians…more
Fast Times in Palestine – Book Review
Palestine Chronicle: 25 Jul 2011 – By Jim Miles (Fast Times in Palestine. Pamela J. Olson. Mason Hill Press, New York, 2011.) What can I say about such a well written book that has not already been said: well crafted, thought provoking, illuminating, enlightening, informative….most importantly Fast Times in Palestine highlights the essential humanity of Palestinians and their struggle with the constant oppression of Israeli society that surrounds all facets of their lives. In the face of overwhelming power, the message that underlies this story is the very idea of Palestinian existence. Not just base existence, but existence of a culture, a distinct society, that dares to live and breathe within the confines of walls, and razor wire, bombs and bullets, and any and all daily harassments that few in the western world face. That culture is alive and well in spite of it all, and perhaps healthier than many would expect. Olson’s writing brings out…more
More material available from Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel – www.vtjp.org
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