5 August , 2011 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Palestinians hold non-violent anti-Wall protests in 4 villages
IMEMC – Saturday August 06, 2011 – 03:10, Non-violent protests took place on Friday in the central West Bank villages of al-Nabi Saleh, Bil’in, and Nil’in in addition to al-Ma’ssara in the southern West Bank.
PA Orders Palestinian Security Forces to Prevent Violence at September Bid Protests
IMEMC – Friday August 05, 2011 – 14:03, Senior PA officials have ordered Palestinian security forces to prevent protests expected during the September bid from turning violent. The PLO has planned mass rallies during the UN deliberation, but hopes to avoid direct confrontation with Israeli forces, according to Maan News Agency.
Reporter Of West Bank Palestinian Protests Files Complaint Against Israeli Military
IMEMC – Friday August 05, 2011 – 13:04, Mati Millstein filed a complaint against the Israeli Foreign Press Association on Thursday, August 5, 2011. The photojournalist was covering a Palestinian protest in Nabi Salih, when tear gas canisters were fired directly at the reporters covering the protest.
Army Carries Out Three Air Strikes In Gaza
IMEMC – Friday August 05, 2011 – 10:08, The Israeli Air Force carried out, on Friday at dawn, three air strikes targeting Dir Al Balah in Central Gaza and Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip; damage was reported, no injuries.
PCHR Weekly Report: 2 civilians killed, 5 wounded by Israeli forces this week
IMEMC – Friday August 05, 2011 – 09:47, In its Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for the week of 28 July— 03 Aug. 2011, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) found that two Palestinian civilians were killed and a third one was wounded by Israeli forces in Qalandya refugee camp, south of Ramallah.
Israeli air strikes injure 5 in Gaza
8/5/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli military air strikes injured five people across the Gaza Strip overnight on Thursday. Medics told Ma’an that three people were seriously injured in an air strike on the northern city of Beit Lahiya. An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military targeted the launch site of a rocket….
Soldiers fire tear gas at protests across the West Bank
8/6/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces targeted three separate rallies across the West Bank on Friday, firing tear gas at participants and lightly injuring dozens. Soldiers fired tear gas at weekly Friday demonstrations in the Palestinian village of Bilin, west of Ramallah, the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee said. Despite the heat and fasting of Ramadan….
Report: Jordan investigates Israel embassy accusations
8/5/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Jordanian general prosecutor has opened an investigation after a Jordanian woman filed a complaint against Israeli embassy staff in the country’s capital, Jordanian newspaper Al-Ghad said Thursday. The woman claims she was restrained in the embassy, and came under psychological pressure, including kidnap threats, in an attempt to….
Israeli police deploy in force for first Ramadan Friday
8/5/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli police deployed in force in Jerusalem’s Old City after limiting access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound ahead of the first Friday prayers during Ramadan.” More than 2,000 police and border guards were deployed in Jerusalem,” said a police spokesman, adding access was blocked to the esplanade for Muslim men under….
Palestinian financial crisis looms ahead of UN bid
8/5/2011 – RAMALLAH (AFP) — Hit by delays in payments from donor countries and by Israeli restrictions, the Palestinian Authority is suffering a financial crisis, even as it aspires to become a state. On Tuesday it paid its approximately 170,000 employees in full only after they threatened to go on strike after receiving half-pay the month before. But….
NGO: Gaza court overturns closure order
8/5/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Gaza’s High Court of Justice on Thursday overturned a government decision to shut down Sharek Youth Forum’s Gaza offices, the NGO said. The court ruled in favor of the forum’s appeal against the July 12 closure by the interior ministry and national security department….
UNRWA announces building plans in the Gaza Strip
8/5/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — An UNRWA spokesman in Gaza said Friday that the Palestinian refugee agency plans to build 10,000 homes and 100 schools in the coastal strip over the next three years. Adnan Abu Hasneh said 51 UNRWA schools in Gaza would be completed by the end of the school year 2012-2013….
Erekat condemns Har Homa expansion
8/5/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — PLO official Saeb Erekat said Friday that Israel’s approval of 900 new housing units in the illegal Har Homa settlement “makes clear its intention to turn this occupation into effective annexation.””This is a flagrant display of disrespect and disdain to the international community, which has repeatedly condemned Israeli….
Rafah open Saturday for late July applicants
8/5/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Palestinian head of the Rafah crossing Ayoub Abu Shaar said Friday that travel via the terminal on Saturday would only be for passengers who had registered for July 28 and 30. Recent delays at the crossing have prevented registered passengers from traveling on their scheduled journeys. The ministry instructed passengers….
Gaza smugglers thriving after Mubarak
8/5/2011 – RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AFP) — The swarm of tunnel activity on the Gaza border raises clouds of fine dust, a sure sign of the boom in underground trafficking since the fall of Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak. While the ousted president appeared in court this week on a stretcher, smugglers from the Palestinian territories — under an….
EU ‘profoundly disappointed’ by new Israeli settlement plan
8/5/2011 – BRUSSELS (AFP) — EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Friday roundly disapproved Israel’s go-ahead to the building of 900 new homes in east Jerusalem, saying new settlements damaged the prospects for peace.” I am profoundly disappointed” by Thursday’s approval of a project that has triggered fierce criticism from the Palestinians and….
Israel releases 2 female detainees
8/5/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Two Palestinian woman left Israeli jail after completing their sentences, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said Thursday. Kefah Qatesh from Ramallah, and Aysha Ighneimat from Hebron, spoke out about their conditions in prison after being freed. Qatesh, 38, was released from Israel’s Hasharon prison after a year under administrative….
Report: President Abbas to visit Lebanon in mid-August
8/6/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — President Abbas is set to visit Lebanon in mid-August after receiving an official invitation from Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, PA officials said Friday. The visit will focus on securing Lebanese support for the Palestinian UN bid for statehood in September. Lebanon is currently the only Arab country not to have officially….
Telecoms minister: Draft law will not harm online privacy
8/5/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The PA telecommunications minister said Wednesday that a draft law on electronic applications would pave the way to open e-government, denying that the Palestinian Authority wished to restrict citizen’s internet privacy. Appearing on Ma’an TV show, Huquq An-Nas [People’s Rights] Mashhour Abu Daqqa said his…. Related: Jordan’s ‘voluntary’ registration of news websites will not work
Israel drops reference to God in army text
8/5/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel’s army has dropped references to God in a text read at a ceremony honoring fallen soldiers, a military official said on Friday, following pressure from secular families. The relatives of some dead soldiers had protested that in many army units the text had been changed to the word “Yitzkor,” which….
Jordan’s ‘voluntary’ registration of news websites will not work
8/5/2011 – Daoud Kuttab – Jordan’s registered media outlets will be soon welcoming a new group: news websites. According to the amendments approved by parliament, websites can, if they voluntarily choose, be registered as media outlets and will be officially accredited as such by all relevant governmental branches. But why would an owner of a news…. Related: Telecoms minister: Draft law will not harm online privacy
Warnings of ‘Somalization’ in Yemen
8/5/2011 – SANA, Yemen (IRIN) — As violence in Yemen continues and the death toll mounts, observers see not only threats to the country’s emerging democracy, but also the possibility of all-out civil war.”What is happening in Yemen is no longer a peaceful revolution. It is rather a conflict for power between [President] Saleh and….
Syrians set for Ramadan protests
8/5/2011 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Syrians are being urged to rally against President Bashar Al-Assad on the first Friday of Ramadan after the US turned up the heat on his regime over a crackdown it says has killed more than 2,000.” God is with us, are you? ” Internet-based activists said in a call for people to take to….
Libyan warring forces dispute Gadhafi son’s death
8/5/2011 – BENGHAZI, Libya (AFP) — Libya’s rebel forces on Friday said a NATO strike killed Moammar Gadhafi’s youngest son Khamis and 31 others, a claim that was sharply denied by the authorities in Tripoli. A rebel military spokesman said NATO had hit a military operations centre overnight in the western town of Zliten….
At least 14 dead in Ramadan protests in Syria
8/5/2011 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Security forces shot dead at least 14 people as thousands of Syrians rallied in the streets against President Bashar Al-Assad on the first Friday of Ramadan to support the protest hub of Hama, activists said. Seven people were killed in Irbin, two in Damir, and one in Maadamiya, all near Damascus, and three….
Blind date to blindfold: The kidnap business in Iraq
8/5/2011 – BAGHDAD (AFP) — Nineteen-year-old Mehdi was looking forward to meeting the girl who had been calling for days on his cell phone. But he was about to learn that the blind date was a lure by kidnappers, who have turned abductions into a multi-million dollar business in Iraq. When he arrived for his rendezvous, Mehdi was….
Israel’s Housing Protests Shift Focus to Politics
Palestine Note 5 Aug 2011 – Many demonstrators cite concerns over high costs of settlements, while right-wing activists join in on the cause too Washington Post – For three weeks, the leaders of a mass movement protesting Israel’s soaring cost of living have sought to stay…
Deaths reported during Syria protests
AlJazeera 5 Aug 2011 – Activists say at least 12 people killed as thousands take to the streets on Muslim fasting month’s first Friday., Friday protests across the nation, a day after Assad announces political concessions and US says he has lost legitimacy.
Nationwide protests across Syria
AlJazeera 5 Aug 2011 – At least 15 deaths reported as large pro-democracy crowds hold solidarity marches on the first Friday of Ramadan.
Iraq agrees to discuss US security role
AlJazeera 5 Aug 2011 – Official says “almost unanimous” decision reached to authorise negotiations with US to “boost” capacity of Iraqi forces.
Many Treated for the Effects of Tear Gas Inhalation As troops Attack West Bank Protests
PNN – Ramallah – PNN – Friday protests took place in the central West Bank villages of al-Nabi Salleh, Bil’in, and Nil’in in addition to al-Ma’ssara in the southern West Bank. Local and international…
Soldiers Throw Tear Gas Into House in Nabi Saleh
PNN – Nabi Saleh – PNN – Local and international protesters were tear gassed today as they marched in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh. Unlike other recent protests in the village, Israeli…
PA Pledges to Prevent September Violence
PNN – Bethlehem – PNN – The Palestinian Authority has ordered the organisation’s security forces to prevent planned demonstrations in September from turning vioent, according to the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz. The protests, sponsored by…
Promoting the Husband’s Village
PNN – By Maria C. Khoury, Ed. D. – I have become a fanatic with inviting people to visit one of the most ancient places in Palestine where we enjoy a deep rich history…
September!
PNN – By Mazin Qumsiyeh – Some of my friends in Fatah and others will not like some of what I have to say here. Others will respect and even appreciate it including some…
Some Kadima MKs Withdraw Support for Bill Eliminating Arabic and English as Official Languages
PNN – Tel Aviv – PNN – After initially supporting a bill in the Israeli parliament that would change Israel’s definition as a Jewish and democratic state to the national home of the Jewish…
Gaza smugglers thriving after Mubarak
Relief Web 5 Aug 2011 – Source: Agence France-Presse Country: occupied Palestinian territory , Egypt RAFAH, Palestinian Territories ‚Äî The swarm of tunnel activity on the Gaza border raises clouds of fine dust, a sure sign of the boom in underground trafficking since the fall of Egypt’s…
Al Nahyan Foundation donates food supplies to the poor for Ramadan
Relief Web 5 Aug 2011 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: occupied Palestinian territory 5 August 2011 West Bank UNRWA’s relief and social services programme has launched the first phase of distributing fresh meat to all 19…
Health care in danger: making the case
Relief Web 4 Aug 2011 – Source: ICRC Country: World , Afghanistan , Colombia , Democratic Republic of the Congo (the) , Lebanon , Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (the) , Nepal , occupied Palestinian territory , Somalia , Sri Lanka 05-08-2011 Publication Ref. 4072 This publication, which will be available on this page on 10 August…
Israel attacks Gaza with 7 raids in 24 hours
5 Aug 2011 – Gaza, (Pal Telegraph) – PNN – The Israeli air force hit five places in the Gaza strip Friday following several Israeli raids in the last 24 hours east and west of the city. Israeli attacks draw a limited Palestinian reponse of firing 1 homemade rocket which caused no reported damage. Israel attacks are counted ofh 7 raids in 24 hours….
EU slams Israel’s decision to build new East Jerusalem housing project
Ha’aretz – Catherine Ashton said the timing of the decision was particularly regrettable, since it undermines the international community’s recent attempts to reestablish trust between the sides.
As Israel’s social protests continue, Netanyahu sees a big political opportunity
Ha’aretz – The prime minister sounds truly committed to tackling the issues brought up by the protesters, writes Yossi Verter, but that doesn’t mean he likes the protest leaders themselves, whom he thinks wish him ill.
IDF redeploys Iron Dome as rocket fire from Gaza increases
Ha’aretz – IDF deploys missile defense system near Ashkelon; Sdot Negev Regional Council chairman: We are stepping toward the month of September, but we have security problems.
Wikipedia founder: Israel-Palestine is heavily debated, but we’re vigilant on neutrality
Ha’aretz – Jimmy Wales talks to Haaretz as annual Wikimania conference gets underway in Haifa.
Yossi Melman / Netanyahu will not risk initiating war to distract Israelis from the social protest
Ha’aretz – The IDF top brass will not embark on a dangerous process whose beginning is known, but whose conclusion is hard to assess, just so Netanyahu can keep his seat.
Syria security forces kill 10 at Friday protests
Ha’aretz – At least 10 wounded in Damascus suburb, 3 hurt in Homs; protesters have intensified their opposition to Assad’s government since Muslim holy month of Ramadan began August 1.
Cuba upholds 15-year sentence for Jewish-American contractor Alan Gross
Ha’aretz – Gross, an employee of a firm working for the U.S. State Department, was sentenced for handing out satellite telecommunications equipment in defiance of laws on the Caribbean island.
Livni: Netanyahu trying to quash Israel protests, not solve problems
Ha’aretz – Kadima chairman and MK Mofaz strongly criticize government’s response to cost-of-living protesters, who are expected to hold large demonstrations in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv Saturday night.
Erekat: Israel expansion in East Jerusalem ‘entrenches occupation’
Ha’aretz – Top PA negotiator condemns Israel’s decision to build 900 new homes in Har Homa, says illegal, goes against International Law and International Humanitarian Law.
IDF jets attack Gaza overnight after rockets fired at Israel’s southern towns
Ha’aretz – Air Force attacks five military targets in Gaza after third rocket attack from Strip in 24 hours.
Ashton: Har Homa housing approval damages peace prospects
Jerusalem Post 5 Aug 2011 – EU foreign policy chief “disappointed” by decision to approve 930 new east J’lem apartments; Erekat says decision makes clear Israel’s intention to “turn occupation into effective annexation.”
Ofer Eini to workers: Join protest so we can bring change
Jerusalem Post 5 Aug 2011 – Histadrut chairman tells Channel 2 that workers should take part in central social justice rally in Tel Aviv to make sure it has a powerful impact.
European stocks see biggest weekly fall since 2008
Jerusalem Post 5 Aug 2011 – Bigger-than-expected rise in US payrolls helps to limit losses; European shares lose about $820 billion of their valuation.
Cuban court rejects Jewish-American contractor’s appeal
Jerusalem Post 5 Aug 2011 – Court upholds 15-year prison sentence of Alan Gross; Gross’s lawyer criticizes decision, says family remains hopeful of speedy release.
‘Anti-Semitic graffiti scrawled on shul wall in Canada’
Jerusalem Post 5 Aug 2011 – Staff discover swastika, words “Islam Will Rule,” on Beth Tikvah Synagogue in Toronto, local media says.
Obama confidant asks him to free Jonathan Pollard
Jerusalem Post 5 Aug 2011 – Former Florida Congressman Robert Wexler writes to US president asking him to commute the life sentence of Israeli agent.
Yacimovich asks court to expel ex-Likud members
Jerusalem Post 5 Aug 2011 – Labor leadership candidate demands disqualification of some 5000 ex-Likudniks who joined party in controversial recent membership drive.
Iron Dome battery moved south after Gaza-rocket attacks
Jerusalem Post 5 Aug 2011 – Barak deploys anti-rocket battery outside Ashkelon following continued attacks from Gaza; IAF strikes five targets throughout Strip.
In their 40s and 50s, embarking on 2nd careers as rabbis
Jerusalem Post 5 Aug 2011 – “Switching to become a rabbi in midlife is not like becoming an engineer, it permeates your entire life and changes who you are.”
‘Dozens killed in Hama as Syrian tanks, snipers deployed’
Jerusalem Post 5 Aug 2011 – Assad gov’t continues bloody crackdown on resistant city, report says; 200 already reported dead; 4 others killed across Syria.
NASA finds new evidence of liquid water on Mars
Jerusalem Post 5 Aug 2011 – Scientists discover finger-like trails extending down slopes that come in Martian summer, fade in winter; experts speculate briny water.
This Week in History: Prisoners revolt at Treblinka
Jerusalem Post 5 Aug 2011 – Jews who noticed the slowing flow of prisoners marked for death, heard of Nazi losses on the Eastern Front, began planning their uprising.
US Holocaust survivors to receive federal funds
Jerusalem Post 5 Aug 2011 – “We must do all we can to honor their struggles, lives,” says congresswoman; would make survivors eligible for special programs.
Helmet law leaves opponents predicting more bike deaths
Jerusalem Post 4 Aug 2011 – Children and teens will continue to be required to wear protective gear everywhere, but adults only on inter-city roads.
Into The Fray: Come to the carnival, comrade!
Jerusalem Post 4 Aug 2011 – The protests smack more of political frustration on the part of the opposition and its media cronies, than of genuine economic deprivation of the middle class
Column One: Obama’s only policy
Jerusalem Post 4 Aug 2011 – It says a lot about Obama, that eight months after the first rebellion broke in Tunisia, his sole Middle East policy involves attacking Israel.
Editor’s Notes: The hopeful homeless
Jerusalem Post 4 Aug 2011 – The government must address their grievances in earnest if it wants to prevent their hitherto nonviolent protest from expanding and spinning out of control.
Apology to Norway
Jerusalem Post 4 Aug 2011 – We hope that the Norwegian government and people will accept the ‘Post’s apology and forgive us for any offense or hurt caused at this sensitive time.
Could Arab staying power ultimately defeat Zionism? | David Hearst
The Guardian 5 Aug 2011 – Abbas’s UN appeal, combined with the civil rights fight inside Israel, is changing the nature of the Palestinian struggle There is an Arabic word you come across a lot when Palestinians talk about their future. Sumud…
TURKEY: Resignations Herald the Demilitarisation of Politics
IPS The simultaneous resignations of Turkey’s top military brass last week indicates that the civilian government may finally have more sway over politics than the top generals, according to analysts and activists.
Tunisian Women Fear the Algerian Way
IPS A women’s group begins campaigning near La Marsa beach in Tunis to convince more women to come up and register in the electoral lists, in time for the deadline now pushed back to Aug. 14. Most of the women watching the proceedings are veiled.
IRAQ; Alarming statement and constant harassment offer no respite for journalists
Uruknet August 4, 2011 – Reporters Without Borders is concerned about repeated harassment of media personnel, especial TV crews, by the Iraqi security forces. Physical attacks on journalists, confiscation of their material and orders preventing them working are all common despite Reporters Without Borders’ appeals to the Iraqi government. The press freedom organization is also very alarmed to learn…
Joint Statement: The Month of Patience and Will
Uruknet August 5, 2011 – Ramadan has begun, it is the month of patience, conquests and victories, yet our country is still suffering from the yoke of occupation and the injustice of oppression. Ramadan always reminds us of our glorious history and of the greatness of our ancestors who wrote epics in facing the invaders and defeating oppressors. Today,…
Report: Israeli courts discriminate against Arab Israelis in conviction and sentences
Uruknet August 5, 2011 – An Israeli academic study has revealed that Israeli judges are harsher with 1948-Palestinians (Arab Israelis) – during the conviction stages and when sentenced after conviction – in comparison to Jewish Israelis. The statistical study that was commissioned by Israel’s Courts Administration and the Israel Bar Association and conducted by three Jewish Israeli researchers, found…
Iraq: joint-raid by US-and Iraqi forces kills a kid and a cop
Uruknet August 5, 2011 – Aswat al-Iraq: A young boy and a cop were killed in a joint Iraqi-US aerial landing south of Tikrit village, sources said here today. The father of the boy was injured in the raid. Abdulla al-Mujama’i , relative, told Aswat al-Iraq that a joint Iraqi-US aerial landing operation was made on Khidhr village, 60 km…
Despite New Denials by Rumsfeld, Evidence Shows US Military Used Waterboarding-Style Torture
Uruknet August 5, 2011 – In the controversy over whether torture, especially waterboarding, was used to gather information leading to the capture of Osama bin Laden, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told Fox News’ Sean Hannity recently that “no one was waterboarded at Guantanamo by the US military. In fact, no one was waterboarded at Guantanamo, period.”… Yet,…
New book exposes brutal treatment of Palestinian prisoners
Uruknet August 5, 2011 – Shlomo Gazit, an Israeli general and the first “coordinator of government activities” in the West Bank and Gaza Strip apparently wrote a book in 1985 about Israel’s occupation policies there called The Carrot and the Stick. It is quite telling that such Israeli terminology relates to Palestinians as if they are animals. A new…
Living in fear, Hama residents forced to bury bodies in parks
Uruknet August 5, 2011 – …One witness, who escaped to a village outside Hama yesterday afternoon, said by telephone that residents were being forced to bury their loved ones in parks because they were too scared to go to the graveyards. The man, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s true, they are burying people in the…
05-Aug-2011 – Eye witness account from Hama: we have no bread, no medicine, no blood.
Uruknet August 5, 2011 – In a phone call with the press office of the local coordinating committees in Syria Mohamed reported the following: I managed to escape the city with my family, but I left many that are living the tragic situation in Hama. The number of martyrs have surpassed 300, most probably reached 400 already, most of…
Libya denies report Gaddafi’s son Khamis killed by NATO
Uruknet August 5, 2011 – The government of Muammar Gaddafi denied a rebel report on Friday that a NATO air strike had killed the Libyan leader’s powerful son Khamis, commander of one of the government’s most loyal and best-equipped units. Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said the report of Khamis Gaddafi’s death was a ploy to cover up the killing…
Eyewitness to Judaization (I saw a soldier strike a young boy for walking on a road for Jews)
Uruknet August 4, 2011 – Jerusalem effectively consists of two cities, one Jewish, one Arab. Whereas these cities were at one point geographically distinct-Jews living in West Jerusalem, Palestinians in East Jerusalem-the Palestinian half of the city has lately seen its ethnic homogeneity rent by the construction of Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem, a process ongoing since the city…
Desperate for Democracy in Iraq Protesters fight for what U.S. media say they already have
Uruknet August 4, 2011 – The U.S.-based women’s rights group MADRE (6/10/11) reported that members of the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq-its partner organization in Baghdad-and other protesters were brutally beaten and sexually assaulted in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square on June 10 by government-sponsored mobs. What were they demonstrating for that so threatened Iraq’s government? Democracy. “For months, young…
Knesset bill would formalize second-class status for Arab citizens
Uruknet August 4, 2011 – New Knesset bill aims to have “Jewish nature” of state preferred over democracy, cancel official status of Arabic, and have Jewish law “guide” courts’ rulings . There is one talking point repeated in every hasbara (the Hebrew term for state sponsored propaganda) talk given by an Israeli representative, or in every booklet your campus’ Jewish…
Netanyahu’s Ramadan Greetings
Uruknet August 4, 2011 August 4, 2011 – This past Sunday July 31, on the eve of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent “greetings” to the Muslim world. In light of the Arab Spring, he stated that “Israeli-Arabs” can serve as examples to their brothers in the region because they “know the taste…
Israeli air raids injure two children in Gaza
Uruknet August 4, 2011 – Israeli warplanes blasted three targets in the Gaza Strip at dawn Thursday wounding two children and causing big damage, local and security sources told the PIC reporter. They said that Israeli F16s bombed two training camps for the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in Gaza city, inflicting big damage to both camps…
NATO facing military stalemate in Libya
Uruknet August 4, 2011 – The unexplained killing last week of the Libyan rebel military commander, General Abdel Fatah Younis, has highlighted the divided and unstable character of the NATO-backed Transitional National Council (TNC) and the military stalemate in its efforts to oust the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. The assassination has provoked a series of comments by British and…
Iraq snapshot – August 4, 2011
Uruknet August 4, 2011 – Nouri al-Maliki well knows it is very likely that he cannot maintain his position without the US military presence. He wants the US military to remain in Iraq. Tuesday’s meet-up outlined how that could happen (participants stress that immunity for US troops wasn’t discussed, only how to keep them in Iraq) and Nouri offered…
Ten NGOs Withdraw from UK Torture Inquiry, Citing Lack of Credibility and Transparency
Uruknet August 4, 2011 – As I reported last month, ten NGOs, including Amnesty International, Liberty and Reprieve, announced their intention to boycott the government’s proposed inquiry into UK complicity in torture following the 9/11 attacks, on the first anniversary of Prime Minister David Cameron’s announcement that an inquiry would take place. Although the inquiry was initially greeted with…
Hosni Mubarak’s Trial Electrifies the Middle East, But Will Justice Be Served?
Uruknet August 4, 2011 – …The Supreme Council had reason to be nervous. Having promised to oversee a transition from dictatorship to democracy, the military officers, who were, of course, all allies and/or colleagues of Mubarak before he was ousted by the Egyptian people (with Tantawi serving as Mubarak’s defense minister for two decades), have put back the date…
Syria News – August 4, 2011 (Videos)
Uruknet August 4, 2011 – Hama, which is still under a tight siege and communications cutoff even satellite communications, we could only rely on testimonies of witnesses who managed to escape somehow, they talked of scary atrocities and massacres that happened during the storming and the shelling and random killing which made the life and medical conditions in t…
Libyan government denies Gadhafi son killed in NATO strike
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 The Libyan government denied Friday rebel reports that Moammar Gadhafi’s youngest son had been killed in a NATO airstrike on a front-line town in western Libya.
Syrian demonstrators defy siege
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 Syria’s government proclaimed Friday that it was succeeding in crushing the uprising in the city of Hama…
Military cracks down on Tahrir Square protesters
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 The Egyptian military violently broke up crowds in Cairo’s Tahrir Square Friday, making arrests and beating people gathered for evening iftar meals.
Bahrain cooperating but schism will persist: inquiry chief
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 Bahrain is cooperating with an investigation into anti-government protests it crushed but that will do little do resolve the sectarian political tensions behind the unrest, according to the head of the inquiry.
Bahrain opposition editor back behind his desk
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 The top editor of a Bahraini opposition newspaper who was forced to resign and was prosecuted after anti-government protests in the Gulf island kingdom said Friday the paper’s board had voted to give him back his…
Mubarak moral to other Arab rulers: Fight hard
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 Facing tenacious uprisings, the leaders of Syria, Libya and Yemen must have thought of their own possible fates when they saw their one-time peer Hosni Mubarak in a defendant’s cage…
Yemenis hold rival demonstrations in Sanaa
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 Tens of thousands of opponents and supporters of embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh held rival rallies following prayers on the first Friday of the Muslim fasting Ramadan month.
Palestine’s U.N. bid: new legacy or hot air?
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 President Mahmoud Abbas’ attempt to upgrade the Palestinians’ status at the United Nations, despite U.S. and Israeli opposition, signals a bolder approach by a leader keen to forge a legacy after years of failed peace talks.
Israel launches missile system, Gaza still targeted
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 Israel has deployed a new interceptor missile battery to the coastal town of Ashkelon following a barrage of rockets that militants fired from the Gaza Strip over the past two days, the military said Friday.
Arab leaders, intellectuals slam Syrian strategy
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 Arab condemnation of Syrian authorities’ crackdown on the five month uprising intensified Friday with leaders in Kuwait, Turkey and Syria’s leading literary figure speaking out Friday.
Israeli troops deploy in force for Ramadan’s first Friday prayers
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 Nearly 100,000 worshippers attended the first Friday prayers of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem’s Old City, where Israeli army and police were deployed in force, a police spokesman said.
Sudan denies delaying Medivac for U.N. troops
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 Sudan’s U.N. envoy Friday vehemently rejected allegations from a top U.N. official who accused Khartoum of delaying a Medivac helicopter trying to evacuate three dying Ethiopian peacekeepers.
Morocco gets new batch of U.S. fighter jets
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 Morocco has taken delivery of a first batch of 24 F-16 fighter jets from the United States as part of its air force modernization program, a senior U.S. officer said.
Cyprus’ embattled president reshuffles Cabinet
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 Cyprus’ embattled president reshuffled his 11-member Cabinet Friday in an attempt to combat a political and economic crisis spawned by last month’s deadly blast…
Turkey calls for meeting of Muslim nations on Somalia
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 Turkey’s foreign minister says he has called for an urgent meeting of Muslim nations to discuss the famine in Africa.
Fight for food in Mogadishu leaves 7 dead, witnesses say
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 Somali government troops opened fire Friday on hungry civilians, killing at least seven people, as both groups made a grab for food at a U.N. distribution site in the capital of this famine-stricken country, witnesses said.
Gemayel calls on Hezbollah to recognize Lebanese state authority
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 Kataeb chief asks Hezbollah to recognize the authority of the Lebanese state, incorporate its arsenal within the army and hand over the four STL suspects.
Lebanon shares responsibility for bloodshed in Syria: Future MP
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 Lebanon must now claim some responsibility for violence in Syria, after it distanced itself from a U.N. Security Council condemnation of the violent crackdown in the country, MP Mohammed Kabarra said.
Mubarak moral to Arab rulers: Fight hard
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 Facing tenacious uprisings, the leaders of Syria, Libya and Yemen must have thought of their own possible fates when they saw their one-time peer Hosni Mubarak in a defendants cage, on trial for charges that could…
Palestinian commander survives assassination attempt
Daily Star 5 Aug 2011 The commander of the Palestinian Armed Struggle survived an assassination attempt Friday at the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, a security source told The Daily Star.
Erekat: Har Homa project illegal
YNet News, 5 Aug 2011 – Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned on Friday Israel’s decision to build 930 new housing units in Jerusalem’s southeast neighborhood of Har Homa. The … ….
Protesters: We’re not losing hope
YNet News, 5 Aug 2011 – Hundreds of affordable housing protest activists marked their fourth weekend in the movement’s various “tent cities” across Israel on Friday. Despite the protest’s … ….
Masses protest across Syria in wake of Hama crackdown
YNet News, 5 Aug 2011 – Tens of thousands of Syrian demonstrators took to the streets outside Damascus Friday, in wake of the repeated, lethal military assaults on the besieged city of Hama. … ….
Shas: Gov’t must comes to its senses
YNet News, 5 Aug 2011 – Shas, the Coalition’s largest religious partner, voiced its support for the affordable housing protest movement Friday, blasting the government for allowing the housing … ….
‘Gilad Shalit wants an apartment too’
YNet News, 5 Aug 2011 – Some 50 activists calling for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit marched on Friday from Beit Hachayal (Soldiers’ Hostels) in Tel Aviv toward the residence of … ….
Libya denies Gaddafi’s son killed by NATO
YNet News, 5 Aug 2011 – The government of Muammar Gaddafi denied a rebel report on Friday that a NATO air strike had killed the Libyan leader’s powerful son Khamis, commander of one of the … ….
Iron Dome returns to Ashkelon
YNet News, 5 Aug 2011 – The Defense Ministry informed the Ashkelon Municipality on Friday that the Iron Dome rocket interception system would be re-stationed in the southern city soon, following … ….
Protest leaders: Likud finally woke up
YNet News, 5 Aug 2011 – Following calls within ruling party to discuss housing protest, campaign leaders….
At least 250 killed in Hama since Sunday
YNet News, 5 Aug 2011 – Flashpoint Syrian city endures fifth day under military siege, with resident….
School bans Arabic, Russian in hallways
YNet News, 5 Aug 2011 – Sign prohibiting conversations in foreign languages stirs storm among nursing….
Following rocket, IDF bombs Gaza targets
YNet News, 5 Aug 2011 – Three tunnels, two additional targets in central and southern Strip attacked….
Palestinian Information Center
3 Palestinians, including a child wounded in Israeli occupation airstrikes
PIC – Three Palestinians, including a child, were wounded in one of five airstrikes carried out by the Israeli occupation airforce at dawn Friday against various targets in the Gaza Strip.
Yousuf calls for supporting Palestinian captives
PIC – Hamas leader and member of the Palestinian Legislative council Sheikh Hasan Yousuf, who was released on Thursday from occupation jails, called on Palestinians to support Palestinian captives.
Family of Palestinian captive appeal for saving his life
PIC – Family of captive Imad al-Masri, who spent more than 22 years in occupation jails, met with the Red Cross representative in Jenin to express concern over the deterioration of his health.
Occupation bans Athan 52-times at the Ibrahimi mosque
PIC – The Israeli occupation authority banned the Athan (call for prayer) from the Ibrahimi mosque 52-times during the month of July.
Occupation government approves building 930 settlement units
PIC – The Israeli occupation government approved the building of 930 new settlement units at the Harhoma settlement in Jabal Abu Ghunaim to the south of occupied Jerusalem.
Dozens injured in the weekly Bilin protest
PIC – Dozens of Palestinians and international solidarity activists suffered breathing difficulties as a result inhaling teargas fired at them by the IOF to disperse them..
More than 100 thousand attend Friday prayers at the Aqsa Mosque
PIC – Despite measures taken by the occupation to limit the number of worshipers reaching the Aqsa Mosque on the first Friday of Ramadan about 100 thousand worshipers managed to reach the Mosque.
Mubarak’s ineluctable fate
PIC – No tears ought to be shed for ex-President Husni Mubarak, his two sons, and several of his aides and ministers, who were arraigned before a Cairo court on Wednesday..
Fires Erupt in Jabal Al-Mokaber
WAFA
The Debate on US Debt Ceiling Limit and US Subsidies to Israeli Colonies
Intifada-Palestine: 5 Aug 2011 – The US State Department has reportedly recommended an end to Washington’s loan guarantee program to Israel, amid Tel Aviv’s growing distrust of President Barack Obama’s administration. By: Jamal Kanj * I just came back after spending my summer break in San Diego,… more
A community has taken shape at Israeli protesters’ tent city
LA Times 5 Aug 2011 – Part Woodstock, part boot camp, Tel Aviv’s burgeoning protest encampment has become a small-scale experiment in a utopian society and a challenge to the established social order. The camp has grown so big that it needs addresses. Debates are held at No. 199 Tent Blvd….
Broadcasting Hama Ruins, Syria Says It Has Ended Revolt
New York Times 5 Aug 2011 – State media acknowledged for the first time Friday the seriousness of the destruction in the besieged city, as Syrians elsewhere took to the streets.
Relief Group Stops Work in Bahrain After Raid
New York Times 5 Aug 2011 – The Persian Gulf monarchy is engaged in a heated dispute with Doctors Without Borders, which has accused Bahraini security forces of raiding its premises last week.
Casting Aside World Criticism, Syria Invades Town
New York Times 4 Aug 2011 – Syria ordered its military to storm through the city of Hama after three days of shelling.
NATO facing military stalemate in Libya
WSWS – The unexplained killing last week of the Libyan “rebel” military commander, General Abdel Fatah Younis, has highlighted the divided and unstable character of the NATO-backed Transitional National Council.
The Egyptian revolution at a crossroads
WSWS – The forces of counterrevolution are mobilizing for an attempt to smash the movement unleashed by the working class’s overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak last February.
TruthToTell August 1: BOYCOTTS AND ISRAEL: Laws and Influence
Jewish Voice for Peace –
New York Times: Seeking Balance on the Mideast
Jewish Voice for Peace –
Bahour says Palestinians will call for secular democracy after statehood initiative fails
Mondoweiss – Sam Bahour argues persuasively in The Guardian that one secular state is both the best — and the only — option. Once this foredoomed move toward Palestinian membership in the UN runs its course, a new paradigm will take root, one that Israel dreads because it…
‘NYT’ columnist cites Congressional unanimity on Gaza slaughter—and embraces ‘J Street’ to ‘balance’ lobby
Mondoweiss – Nicholas Kristof has a column in the Times praising J Street as an antidote to the Israel lobby and warning that the two-state solution is slipping away. He sees J Street as bringing “balance” to our discourse, and calls Jewish Voice for Peace a “leftist group.”…
Meet Debbie Schlussel, who says Norway’s ‘HAMAS Youth’ got what was coming to them
Mondoweiss – One of Pamela Geller’s cohorts, Debbie Schlussel , has explicitly stated that those killed at Utoya got what was coming to them because they were ” HAMAS Youth ” and (at the same time) ” Fatah PLO ” terrorists. Schlussel may not be as well-known as Geller (perhaps because Schlussel has…
Code Pink confronts Howard Berman on boycott (and makes Hava Nagila anti-Zionist)
Mondoweiss –
Iran, Hamas, and the Holocaust = justification for apartheid
Mondoweiss – Many of you may have seen the hilarious “XtraNormal” videos on YouTube such as One Professor’s Fantasy , So You Want to go to Law School , and my personal favorite So you Want to Get a PHD in Political Science . Well, I was watching a few…
Africa: Syria – South Africa Should Support UN Resolution
allAfrica.com 5 Aug 2011 – The Democratic Alliance (DA) calls on the South African government to meet its international human rights obligations by joining members of the United Nations Security Council in passing a resolution condemning state-sponsored violence against civilians in Syria.
Nigeria: Israeli Envoy Urges Muslims to Pray for Peace
allAfrica.com 5 Aug 2011 – The Ambassador of the State of Israel to Nigeria, Mr. Moshe Ram has called on Muslim faithful to pray for peace among comity of nations.
Ni’lin Protest Marks 3rd Anniversary of Yousef Amira’s death
Palestine Solidarity Project 5 Aug 2011 – Protesters turned out in Ni’lin for the weekly protest against the Apartheid Wall. Around ten Palestinians, accompanied by 2 Israelis and 7 international activists, marked the 3rd anniversary of the death of 17 year old Ni’lin resident Yousef Amira. Yousef was fatally injured after he was…
Terror Attacks and Double-Standards
Arab American Institute 5 Aug 2011 – By Ed Gaier In the wake of the tragic terrorist attacks committed by Anders Behring Breivik in Norway, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stotleberg has responded by advocating more dialogue and political participation in Norway. Stotleberg’s refusal to abandon values and encouragement of Ôø?more democracy, more opennessÔø?…
Western leaders in new Assad call
BBC 5 Aug 2011 – The US, French and German leaders condemn Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for “indiscriminate violence” as anti-government protests continue across the country.
New Israeli air strikes on Gaza
BBC 5 Aug 2011 – Israeli air raids have struck targets in Gaza after Palestinian militants fired rockets into the south of the country.
Israel rock rabbits become pests
BBC 5 Aug 2011 – Hyraxes, also known as rock rabbits, have become pests in Galilee because they like to make their homes in the debris from building sites, say scientists.
Articles
Analysis: Syria’s tired slogans compete with a new dawn
Ramzy Baroud, Ma’an News Agency8/5/2011
There is no linear narrative capable of explaining the multifarious happenings that have gripped Syrian society in recent months. On March 23, as many as 20 peaceful protesters were killed at the hands of the Syrian regime’s security forces, and many more were wounded.
Since then, the violence has escalated to a level of brutality and savagery that can only be comparable to the regime’s infamous massacres in the city of Hama in 1982.
Listening to Syrian presidential adviser Dr Bouthaina Shaaban — one of the most eloquent politicians in the Arab world — one would get the impression that a self-assured reform campaign is indeed underway in Syria.
Her words also suggest that while some of the protesters’ demands are legitimate, the crisis has been largely manufactured abroad and is being implemented at home by armed gangs bent on wrecking havoc.
The aim of the protests, as often suggested by officials, is only to undermine Syria’s leadership in the region and the Arab world at large.
Indeed, Syria has championed, at least verbally, the cause of Arab resistance. It has hosted Palestinian resistance factions that refused to toe the US-Israeli line. Although these factions don’t use Damascus as a starting point for any form of violent resistance against Israel, they do enjoy a fairly free platform to communicate their ideas.
Israel, which seeks to destroy all forms of Palestinian resistance, is infuriated by this freedom. more.. e-mail
The two-state solution will die in September
Ami Kaufman, +972 Magazine8/1/2011
If all goes as planned, the U.S. will effectively send the two-state solution into oblivion this September, after caving into Israeli demands to torpedo the Palestinian unilateral declaration of independence at the United Nations
Sometime in September, in just over a month, U.S. President Barack Obama will effectively close the door on the two-state solution. Some say this solution has already been dead for years, due to the immense growth of settlements that would obstruct any option of a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank. Others have held a certain amount of optimism, particularly believing that after his election, President Obama would usher in a solution. But one thing is for sure: come September, the two-state solution can be taken off the drawing board.
Palestinians and Israelis have done almost everything they could to squander the past two years and bring the negotiations to a halt, yet it is the Obama administration’s failure to fulfill its role as a fair and neutral mediator that has damaged the process the most. The latest example of this doomed policy came in February with its veto of the UN Security Council Resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank — despite the fact that the resolution echoed Washington’s long-standing criticism of the settlements.
The administration will have a chance once again to betray its own faith when Palestinians bring their unilateral declaration of independence to the UN in September. Whether they do it through the Security Council or the General Assembly is no longer of any importance, seeing as how the Administration has caved in to Israeli and American-Jewish pressure to block such an initiative. It is hard to understand the American stance that Palestinian statehood should not be discussed at the UN, when it is precisely the most relevant venue for such issues (as Israel found out in 1947), and even more difficult to defend their claim that UN recognition would be the end of diplomacy, when in fact it should be seen as an impetus for negotiations. more.. e-mail
Palestinian UN membership in international law
Martin Waehlisch, Al-Ahram Weekly7/28/2011
Precedents in international law give every reason to be optimistic about Palestinian admission to the UN.
“Membership in the United Nations is open to all other peace-loving states,” notes the UN Charter. Admission depends on “a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council,” the Charter continues. The process for gaining membership to the UN certainly sounds simple, but for Palestine the reality of international politics has been blocking its way into the world institution for decades.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced in the New York Times in May this year that “this September, at the United Nations General Assembly, we will request international recognition of the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders and that our state be admitted as a full member of the United Nations.”
However, fearing the delegitimisation of Israel, the US Obama administration has already indicated its intention to veto any decision taken by the Security Council in this regard. The US still hopes for a prior comprehensive peace agreement, and in December 2010 the US House of Representatives unanimously approved a resolution opposing any unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state.
An open debate on the Middle East is scheduled in the Security Council for 26 July, and the German ambassador to the UN, Peter Wittig, has signaled that this could be an occasion to explore the various options that might exist for the Palestinians. Germany, being a non-permanent member of the Security Council until 2012, is currently acting as president of the Council. While Germany supports the right of the Palestinian people to build their own state, German chancellor Angela Merkel has raised concerns that one-sided steps could be counter-productive. more.. e-mail
New book exposes brutal treatment of Palestinian prisoners
Electronic Intifada: 5 Aug 2011 – Asa Winstanley The Electronic Intifada The new, high-quality anthology Threat: Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israel focuses on different aspects of Israel’s system of political prisons. Threat: Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israel Manufacturer: Pluto Press Part Number: Price: $34.00more
Israeli Hasbara Revises Timor-Leste’s History
Palestine Chronicle: 5 Aug 2011 – By Dr. Vacy Vlazna On President Ramos-Horta’s online magazine (1) is posted a piece by Amira Arnon, ambassador of Israel to Timor-Leste, in which she makes the outrageous statement that Timor-Leste and Israel have ‘a lot in common’. There is a Hebrew expression ‘hasbara’ meaning ‘propaganda’ i.e. lies. Apart from Arnon’s extolling of Timor-Leste’s beauty, her insulting comparison of Timor-Leste’s and Israel’s struggles for independence is pure hasbara – “The first thing that comes to my mind is that both countries, Israel and Timor-Leste, have a lot in common. Both are small countries which fought for their independence and sacrificed best of their people for a national redemption.” As a career diplomat, Arnon, has probably been put on notice to salvage Israel’s decaying reputation as a humane democracy. Quite the challenge for Israel’s diplomatic Hasbarats given Israel’s indisputable documented apartheid policies, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Hence her silver…more
September
Palestine Chronicle: 5 Aug 2011 – By Mazin Qumsiyeh Some of my friends in Fatah and others will not like some of what I have to say here. Others will respect and even appreciate it including some members of Fatah central committee. The situation is becoming intolerable and some of us feel we cannot remain silent. I personally owe it to the 50,000 of you who occasionally read my emails and the many who specifically email to ask me about this issue of September. The proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back leading to this essay was an email from Dr. Saeb Erekat today that included a document claiming to be strategies of the Palestinian leadership in going to the UN in September for recognition. The same day, Israeli authorities initiated laws in the Knesset to make Israel more Jewish (see below) AND approved 930 new houses for a new Jewish only settlement of Har Homa…more
‘How Goodly Are Thy Tents’
Palestine Chronicle: 5 Aug 2011 – By Uri Avnery First of all, a warning. Tent cities are springing up all over Israel. A social protest movement is gathering momentum. At some point in the near future, it may endanger the right-wing government. At that point, there will be a temptation — perhaps an irresistible temptation — to “warm up the borders”. To start a nice little war. Call on the youth of Israel, the same young people now manning (and womanning) the tents, to go and defend the fatherland. Nothing easier than that. A small provocation, a platoon crossing the border “to prevent the launching of a rocket”, a fire fight, a salvo of rockets — and lo and behold, a war. End of protest. In September, just a few weeks from now, the Palestinians intend to apply to the UN for the recognition of the State of Palestine. Our politicians and generals are chanting in…more
More material available from Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel – www.vtjp.org
To subscribe, please write to OccupationNews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OccupationNews/join
The New Dark Age 