15 October 2011 , 2011 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Poll: “Two-Thirds Of Israeli Support Swap Deal
IMEMC – Sunday October 16, 2011 – 04:07, A poll conducted by Israel’s TV, Channel 10, revealed that two-thirds of the Israelis approve of the prisoner-swap deal that was mediated between the Hamas movement and Israel.
Al-Zahar: We Will Release Shalit When The Ex-detainees Reach The West Bank And Egypt
IMEMC – Saturday October 15, 2011 – 14:45, The leading figure of Hamas, Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahar, stated that the moment the ex-detainees enter the West Bank and the Egyptian territories, Hamas will immediately release Gilad Shalit, the Ma’an News agency reported
Ending Of The Isolated Detainees File Is In The Air
IMEMC – Saturday October 15, 2011 – 14:25, Head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Fares Qadoura, reported that the Administration of the Israeli Prisons (AIP) informed the Palestinian detainees that the file on the isolated detainees will be closed, except in the case of Abdullah al-Barghothi, Ibrahim Hammed and Mahmoud Issa, the Palestinian news agency, Ma’an reported on Saturday.
UN Chief Expresses Concern Over New Plans To Expand Settlements In Jerusalem
IMEMC – Saturday October 15, 2011 – 12:53, UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, stated that he is deeply concerned regarding a new Israeli plan to construct and expand its illegal settlements in Jerusalem, the Maan News Agency reported.
Rabin’s Memorial Vandalized
IMEMC – Saturday October 15, 2011 – 12:33, A monument dedicated to former Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, has been vandalized by an Israeli Jew in protest of the prisoner-swap deal to secure the release of over a thousand Palestinian prisoners in exchange for captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit.
Troops Invade Jenin
IMEMC – Saturday October 15, 2011 – 12:19, On Saturday morning, a large Israeli force invaded the northern West Bank city of Jenin, the Jenin refugee camp, and the nearby town of Qabatia, The Maan News Agency reported.
Shalit’s Captors Informed Him Of His Impending Release- A Deal Opposed By Israeli Organization
IMEMC – Saturday October 15, 2011 – 12:16, An official source in Hamas confirmed that the captors of Gilad Shalit have informed him of his impending release in the upcoming days, the Ma’an News Agency reported.
Bil’in Weekly Protest Expresses Support To Striking Detainees
IMEMC – Saturday October 15, 2011 – 02:50, Dozens of Palestinians, accompanied by international and Israeli piece activists alike, held their weekly nonviolent protest against the Annexation Wall and Settlements, in Bil’in village, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah. They marched in solidarity with the Palestinian detainees who are holding their ongoing hunger strike in Israeli prisons.
Settlers ‘burn olive trees’ near Ramallah
10/15/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Israelis from a settlement outpost in the central West Bank set fire to dozens of dunams of olives tree forest belonging to farmers in Ras Karkar village on Friday evening, locals told Ma’an. Residents of Nira outpost burned down over 120 olive trees in the Ramallah-district village, on land….
Israeli forces ‘raid Jenin’
10/15/2011 – JENIN (Ma’an) — Israeli forces raided the city of Jenin and Qabatiya village to its south at dawn on Saturday, eyewitnesses said. No detentions were reported. Security officials told Ma’an that 12 Israeli military jeeps patrolled the streets of Jenin and adjoining Jenin refugee camp. Youth in Jenin refugee camp pelted the….
Prisoners group: Israel agreed to scrap isolation policy
10/15/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities told Palestinian prisoners they will end solitary confinement in jails with the exception of three Hamas-affiliated detainees, the head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society said Saturday. Qadura Fares told Ma’an Israeli prison officers said they will completely end the policy of isolation cells, a key demand of….
Local committee: Military close entrances to Hebron village
10/15/2011 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Friday night closed all entrances to the village of Beit Ummar, near Hebron, a local committee said. Popular committee spokesman Muhammad Awad said the army prevented an ambulance from passing through the entrance to the village. Concrete blocs were used to block the entrances, he said. The ambulance….
UN: Israel’s plan for new settler district ‘unacceptable’
10/15/2011 – UNITED NATIONS (Ma’an) — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticized Israelon Friday over reports that it plans to build 2,600 more housing units in East Jerusalem, saying further settlement activity was “unacceptable.” “The Secretary-General is deeply concerned at continued efforts to advance planning for new Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem,” Ban’s press….
Mashaal leaves Cairo after completing swap deal
10/15/2011 – CAIRO (Ma’an) — Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal left Egypt late Friday after meetings with Murad Muwafi, the new head of general intelligence, to discuss implementing the prisoner swap deal. Mashaal, who arrived in the capital Wednesday, thanked Egypt for its role in the arrangement which will free more than 1,000 Palestinians in exchange for….
Fatah official: Prisoner deal ‘a national achievement’
10/15/2011 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Fatah central committee member Tawfiq al-Tirawi on Friday called a prisoner exchange deal agreed by Hamas and Israel this week a “national achievement,” in an address to a village near Hebron. The former Palestinian intelligence chief told Beit Ula villagers after Friday prayers: “There will be no peace without emptying Israeli….
UNRWA welcomes prisoner exchange deal
10/15/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — In reaction to the Israel-Hamas prisoner exchange announced this week, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees on Saturday welcomed the breakthrough and urged Israel to reconsider its blockade of Gaza. UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said the deal offered “an ideal opportunity for Israel to conduct a thorough review of the….
Majority of Israelis ‘back Shalit deal’
10/15/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — More than two thirds of Israelis approve of the prisoner swap deal made with Hamas for the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, a private television network said on Saturday. A poll commissioned by Channel 10 found that 69 percent of Israelis back the exchange of Shalit for some 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, 32….
In photos: Bilin march in solidarity with prisoners
10/15/2011 – MaanImages / Bilin Popular Committee – Palestinians and international activists marched in solidarity with prisoners on hunger strike, and in celebration of the annual olive harvest, in the West Bank village of Bilin, near Ramallah, on Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. Demonstrators faced tear gas as they approached the barrier separating the tiny village from an Israeli settlement….
Gaza man ‘stabbed to death by his brother’
10/15/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A man was stabbed to death allegedly by his brother on Saturday morning in Tal al-Sultan in the southern Gaza Strip, and police say they are investigating. The man, a 23-year-old whose full name was not released, was transferred to Yousef Najjar hospital in Rafah. A Ma’an….
Gaza pilgrims depart for Mecca
10/15/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Over 300 pilgrims left Gaza for Mecca on Friday night, to take part in Eid al-Adha celebrations in the holy city, the director of Palestinian Airlines said. The first group, which left Gaza via the Rafah crossing to take two Palestinian Airlines jets from the northern Sinai town El-Arish, will be….
Syria forces ‘kill 12, toll tops 3,000’
10/15/2011 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Syrian forces killed at least 12 people on Friday, as supporters and opponents of UN action against the regime crossed swords at the Security Council over a crackdown that has cost more than 3,000 lives.” Twelve people were killed today” and dozens wounded, Rami Abdel Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human….
Protesters killed in Yemeni capital, pipeline bombed in south
10/15/2011 – SANAA (AFP) — Yemeni police shot dead 12 people and injured dozens of others on Saturday as they opened fire on demonstrators in Sanaa demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s resignation, medics said. Security forces used live rounds as well as tear gas and water cannon to try to disperse hundreds of thousands of Saleh….
Syrian forces kill 2 mourners in central Damascus
10/15/2011 – AMMAN (Reuters) — Syrian forces shot dead two mourners on Saturday when they fired on a funeral procession in central Damascus for a 10-year-old child killed during a protest a day earlier, a witness said. With the deployment of thousands of police and militiamen loyal to President Bashar Assad, central neighborhoods of Damascus have remained….
Syria moves toward new constitution
10/15/2011 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad on Saturday formed a committee to draft a new constitution within four months, as activists reported more killings, arrests and gunfire in several cities. The official SANA news agency said Assad issued a decree establishing a national committee to draft a new constitution in a period “not exceeding four….
Egypt army bans discrimination after unrest
10/15/2011 – CAIRO (Reuters) — Egypt’s ruling military council has banned discrimination on the basis of race, gender or religion in a decree announced on Saturday. The measure follows last Sunday’s clashes between protesters, many of whom were Coptic Christians and troops in which 25 people were killed, the worst street violence since the….
Saudi Arabia warns it will not tolerate riots during hajj
10/15/2011 – JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — A top Saudi official warned on Saturday that the kingdom will not tolerate any riots at the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca next month, at a time of rising tension with Iran.” We will not allow anything that would disrupt the peace of the hajj pilgrimage and disturb the pilgrims. That….
Yemen unrest kills at least 22, raid hits Al-Qaeda chiefs
10/15/2011 – SANAA (AFP) — At least 22 people were killed on Saturday as Yemeni police opened fire on protesters and rival tribes clashed in Sanaa, while a suspected US air raid took out nine, including top Al-Qaeda leaders. Police shot dead 12 people and injured dozens as they opened fire on demonstrators in Sanaa demanding President Ali….
UN chief: Israeli settlement plans must cease
AlJazeera 15 Oct 2011 – Ban Ki-moon expresses “deep concern” over reports of Israeli plans to extend illegal settlements in East Jerusalem.
‘Iran-backed plot’ accused seen as shambolic
AlJazeera 15 Oct 2011 –
Omanis vote in Shura Council elections
AlJazeera 15 Oct 2011 – Among the 1300 candidates for the 84-seat advisory council are 77 women contenders, an increase from last time.
Syrian forces ‘kill mourners in Damascus’
AlJazeera 15 Oct 2011 – Two mourners shot dead at funeral procession, as wave of arrests marks seventh month of protests, activists say.
Bethlehem Marches in Solidarity with Prisoners Nearing Fourth Week of Hunger Strikes
PNN – by Brendan WorkCarrying foam placards with portraits of imprisoned relatives, hundreds of Palestinians marched on Thursday toward the Bethlehem office of the International Red Cross, where four men and one woman have…
International Solidarity Movement
Beit Ummar collectively punished for peaceful demonstration
10/15/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – International Solidarity Movement, West Bank – October 14th was the seventeenth day of the hunger strike of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. People took to the streets for a solidarity demonstration in the village of Beit Ummar, Hebron. This is the second such demonstration in this village, a similar march last week led to several arrests….
From the clothesline to her son, Hebron mother copes
10/15/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – 13 October 2011, International Solidarity Movement, West Bank – On Thursday 13th October Mohammed Maher Abu Rumaila was arrested by the Israeli Army as he was returning to his home in Hebron’s Old City. The Israeli army allege that Mohammed had been throwing stones in the Old City earlier that day, and he is….
The anthem of Nabi Saleh: ‘Release our prisoners or arrest us all’¬ù
10/15/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – International Solidarity Movement, West Bank – The Friday demonstration in Nabi Saleh celebrated the release of three long term prisoners but protested the continued imprisonment of the remaining 5,000. A demonstrator stands his ground as the Israeli military fires tear gas canisters. The demonstration started out by visiting the house of prisoner Said Tamimi. Tamimi has….
There is no east: Olive harvest in Gaza
10/15/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – International Solidarity Movement, Gaza – Gaza doesn’t have very much farmland left. The expanding no go zone imposed by Israeli bullets and bulldozers constantly erode the amount of land left for Palestinians to farm in Gaza. Mohamed Ashure Shimbari lives on the edge of the no-go zone. If you look east from his land….
Alternative Information Center
New AIC Video: Prisoners’ Hunger Strike
Alternative Information Center – Palestinian political prisoners began an open-ended hunger strike on September 27, in protest of inhumane conditions in Israeli prisons.
Israel’s Brutal Repression of Palestinian Prisoner Hunger Strike Spurs, Not Deters Resistance
Alternative Information Center – On the thirteenth day (11 October) of hunger strikes held by some 3,000 Palestinian political prisoners imprisoned behind Israeli bars, Israeli authorities have agreed to meet some demands for better treatment, an attempt at partial concession…
Israeli Authorities Attack Agricultural Project of Palestinian Children
Alternative Information Center – Project Olive Trees , conducted by the Italian-Palestinian association Amal since Christmas 2010 in the Palestinian village of Al Walaje, is currently under threat by Israel. On Monday morning, 10 October, Israeli military bulldozers entered the agricultural…
OPGAI Conducts Solidarity Conference with Palestinian Political Prisoners
Alternative Information Center – More than one hundred Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails commenced an open-end hunger strike on Tuesday 27 September 2011 in protest against their deteriorating living conditions and the escalation of Israeli authorities’ aggression and violence in…
Qalqilya Farmers Struggle to Cultivate Land, Navigate Separation Wall
Alternative Information Center – Laila Taher Qadumi hides her 57 years and her fatigue with a shy and kind smile. For the last two years she has worked all alone in her family’s two greenhouses and four dunams of cultivated…
Join Campaign against Sale of South Korean Jets to Israel
Alternative Information Center – We are Palestine Peace Solidarity @S.Korea, which is a grassroots group of solidarity movement for Palestine. We formed our group in 2003 and since then, have been focusing on violations of human rights in Palestine and…
Seed Bank on the West Bank
Relief Web 15 Oct 2011 – Source: Grassroots Country: occupied Palestinian territory By Salena Tramel October 14th, 2011 Hebron (Al-Khalil in Arabic) is home to more than 165,000 Palestinians‚Äîmaking it the largest city in the Palestinian West Bank. The city is famous for leather shoes, avant-garde…
Israel publishes names of Palestinian prisoners to be released in Shalit deal
Ha’aretz – Names published on Israel Prisons Service website on Sunday; President Shimon Peres expected to approve pardons of all prisoners in swap deal.
Israel to ease Gaza blockade after Shalit freed, depending on Hamas conduct
Ha’aretz – Israel will not seek to arrest or harm the prisoners it is releasing in Shalit exchange deal unless they revert to terrorism, senior Egyptians officials told the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper yesterday.
Chemi Shalev / Occupation at the corner of Wall Street and Rothschild
Ha’aretz – As in the Israeli demand for “social justice”, the Occupy Wall Street movement appears to be hitting a very raw nerve in American society, one that some politicians appear to be keenly unaware of.
Former IDF official: Shalit rescue efforts were ‘a resounding failure’
Ha’aretz – Colonel Ronen Cohen believes that Israel had partial intelligence on Shalit’s situation which may have enabled a rescue operation, however the intelligence ceased being relevant at the time of Operation Cast Lead in December 2008.
Israeli POWs to automatically be recognized as PTSD sufferers
Ha’aretz – There has been strong criticism voiced by former prisoners of war who claim they had not been able to get approval for post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms which emerged, sometimes decades after being freed.
Right-wing Israelis break into home of justice minister to protest Shalit deal
Ha’aretz – The protesters bypassed Yaakov Neeman’s guards, knocked on the front door and chanted slogans against the justice minister’s decision to release Palestinian prisoners.
Noam Shalit: It’s not over until Gilad is home
Ha’aretz – Noam Shalit says family has not yet received final details of Gilad’s handover; Israeli, Hamas officials expected to meet in Cairo on Saturday.
Israelis join in as Wall Street protests go global
Ha’aretz – Protests take place across world on global ‘day of rage’; rioters in Rome set fire to cars, smash windows of stores and banks and trash offices of the defense ministry.
Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood accuses government of attacking pro-reform rally
Ha’aretz – Attack on a tribal pro-reform rally north of Amman leaves several injured; activists say injuries occurred when unknown assailants dispersed rally with firearms, stones and sticks.
Assad forms committee to draft new Syria constitution
Ha’aretz – Move follows a series of new laws that have given Syrians more freedom on paper, after months of popular unrest.
Egypt’s military rulers approve anti-discrimination law
Ha’aretz – Law reportedly prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, language or ideology; offenders to face fines of up to 100,000 Egyptian pounds.
Peres receives list of Palestinian prisoners to be pardoned in Shalit deal
Ha’aretz – Justice Ministry delivers names of the Palestinians to be released in Shalit deal to President Shimon Peres’ legal team; Peres must issue pardons in order for the prisoners to be freed.
Report: Israel, Hamas meet on final Shalit swap details
Ha’aretz – Al-Hayat newspaper quotes Egyptian official: Israel vetoed Hamas and Egypt’s demands to release Marwan Barghouti, Gaza blockade might be eased; Hamas seeks release of additional female prisoners.
UN chief: East Jerusalem settlement plans are unacceptable
Ha’aretz – Ban Ki-moon says move to build 2,600 housing units runs contrary to Quartet’s call on Israel, Palestinians to refrain from provocations as efforts are being made to resume peace talks.
Israeli gymnast Alex Shatilov wins bronze at world championships
Ha’aretz – Leading Israeli gymnast secures place at London Olympics in 2012 after coming third for his floor exercise in Tokyo to Japan’s Kohei Uchimura, who won gold, and China’s Zou Kai, who won silver.
Pilgrims gather for Feast of Tabernacles
Jerusalem Post 16 Oct 2011 – Thousands of Evangelical Christians have arrived in Israel from all over the world for the 32 annual Succot celebrations.
1,000 protest future vacation village at Betzet Beach
Jerusalem Post 16 Oct 2011 – Commercial venues would would cause noise, light and air pollution, says Society for the Protection of Nature.
Survivors can regain Greek citizenship
Jerusalem Post 16 Oct 2011 – Greek Holocaust survivors who lost citizenship after leaving their native country in 1930s will be eligible to retrieve this citizenship.
IDF fears terrorists will try to derail Schalit release
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – Army on high alert, fearing terrorists or right-wing Israeli groups might try to torpedo swap; Meidan in Cairo to finalize deal; President’s office preparing pardons for Peres to sign.
Esther Wachsman: I want Gilad to be home with his mother
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – Wachsman, whose son, Nachshon was held hostage for nearly a week and ultimately killed in 1994, feels joy for Schalit family.
Arab press hails prisoner-swap deal
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – Almost unanimous celebration among Arabic media; Al Jazeera, and main competitor Saudi-funded Al-Arabiya, each cover deal extensively.
List published of prisoners to be freed in Schalit deal
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – In order to allow public 48 hours to appeal prisoners’ release to High Court; among those set to be freed is Park Hotel attack planner.
Hamas negotiator: We won’t continue talking to Israel
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – Razi Hamed brushes off warnings that Iran could scuttle Schalit deal; deal became possible when Israel realized there was no military option.
New Worlds: The pros and cons of youth’s internet usage
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – While teenagers are often accused of “wasting” time on social networks, they can contribute to psychological development, TAU professor says.
When Down children grow up
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – Despite medical advancements lengthening lifespans, religious establishment makes it difficult for Israelis with Down syndrome to marry under Jewish law.
TA joins global ‘October 15th’ protests with low-key affair
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – Several hundred gather at Tel Aviv Museum plaza where opinions are voiced in “Hyde Park” speakers corner; protest held on Rothschild.
Libyan city takes siege mentality to national stage
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – “Misrata belongs to those who stood up for us, not those who left when things got tough,” reads a slogan spray-painted across the city.
Defense Ministry to recognize Schalit as disabled vet
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – Until now, soldiers released from captivity needed to request recognition; decision will apply to any future cases of captive soldiers.
At Turkish resort, Arabs fill Israeli rooms
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – While upheavals in the Middle East have increased Turkey’s popularity as a holiday destination for Arabs, Israeli tourists have vanished.
Assad forms committee to change Syria’s constitution
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – New constitution to be drafted with four months, state news agency reports; reform moves to date have been clouded by violent crackdown.
Hamas planning huge Gaza celebrations for prisoners
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – Izzadin Kassam members to escort released prisoners from border crossing; Hamas “regrets” alleged restrictions on W. Bank celebrations.
‘Syrian forces kill two mourners in central Damascus’
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – Funeral for 10-year-old turns deadly; mourners shout: “the people want the president executed,” “we will be free despite you Bashar!”
Shaul Mofaz: Now is the time to repair ties with Turkey
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – Turkey is speculated to be one of several countries receiving security prisoners deported from Israel as part of Schalit prisoner exchange.
High ranking al-Qaida official killed in Yemen
Jerusalem Post 15 Oct 2011 – Ibrahim al-Banna killed in air raid by foreign aircraft; Egyptian-born terrorist was media chief of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
Innovating Jewishly
Jerusalem Post 14 Oct 2011 – From technology to the environment and from social justice to Jewish education, these new innovations are part of a growing spectrum of the seemingly infinite ways to live and identify Jewishly in the 21st century.
Israel divided over price of freedom for captive soldier Gilad Shalit
The Guardian 15 Oct 2011 – More than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners are to be released in exchange for one serviceman Fresh lilies are regularly laid at a monument by the Tel Aviv Dolphinarium bearing witness to an evening in 2001 when 21…
Liam Fox inquiry should continue, says Labour
The Guardian 15 Oct 2011 – Opposition calls on government to widen investigation into links with Adam Werritty The inquiry into Liam Fox’s relationship with Adam Werritty should continue despite the defence secretary’s decision to step down, Labour says. The shadow defence…
TUNISIA: Islamists Rise Uncertainly After Repression
IPS Aggressively repressed and forced underground by the recently deposed dictator Zine Abadine Ben Ali, the Tunisian Islamist party Ennahda is poised to become the dominant force in Tunisian politics.
Something is really wrong with PressTV
Uruknet October 15, 2011 – I came across an article which was meant to expose major NATO lies in Libya, the article was published by PressTV, but it was removed within half an hour, I did not have a chance to read it. It was in my read list, but when I came half an hour later to check,…
Yemeni forces kill 12 anti-Saleh protesters, injure 78
Uruknet October 15, 2011 – Forces and gunmen loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh have killed at least 12 protesters and wounded 78 others by firing on a mass march in the capital Sana’a on Saturday morning. The head of the filed hospital in Change Square Mohammad al-Qubati confirmed at at a press conference in the square that 12…
Gaddafi fighters mount fierce counter-attack in Sirte
Uruknet October 15, 2011 – MUAMMAR Gaddafi loyalists have mounted a fierce counter attack in the city of Sirte overnight, forcing back new regime fighters under a barrage of rockets and shelling. Fighters of the Transitional National Council (TNC) fled helter-skelter just over two kilometres to the captured police headquarters in the Mediterranean city, one of Gaddafi’s last holdouts. “…
Abbas, UN Membership and Peace Talks
Uruknet October 14, 2011 – …On September 23, Abbas formally petitioned the Security Council. Normally it reviews applications for a maximum 35 days. Whether or not America vetos Palestine’s bid is irrelevant. It solely recommends. Only the General Assembly admits new members. Abbas can petition it through the 1950 Uniting for Peace Resolution 377 for an up or down…
Syria News – October 14, 2011 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet October 14, 2011 – The number of martyrs in the Friday of “The Free Army” has reached 12 martyrs so far, five martyrs in Daeel including a child, three martyrs in Inkhel including a woman and a child, a child martyr in Damascus also, in addition to a martyr in each of Saqba, Aleppo, and Homs.Homs: Martyrdom of…
Saudi Arabia refrains from fingering Iran in alleged assassination plot
Uruknet October 14, 2011 – Saudi Arabia on Wednesday denounced an alleged assassination plot against its ambassador to Washington as “outrageous and heinous” but said it was still trying to determine who was behind it. The statement, issued after it was reviewed by King Abdullah, did not name Iran nor did it focus on the involvement of an officer…
Lessons learned
Uruknet October 14, 2011 – It has been over three years since I returned to Palestine from living in the US for nearly three decades. Those three plus years in Palestine have been truly phenomenal and inspirational. I took time to change and update the lessons I learned from life especially from those three years…
Video: Humanitarian War in Libya : There is no evidence !
Uruknet October 14, 2011 – This document makes it possible to understand how international law and justice works, but mostly how its basic principles can be bypassed. The resolutions passed against Lybia are based on various allegations : notably on the statement claiming that Gaddafi had lead jet attacks on his own people and engaged in a violent repression against…
Egyptian junta defends massacre, launches fresh attacks on strikers
Uruknet October 14, 2011 – At a press conference Wednesday, generals of Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) junta defended their latest crackdown on peaceful protesters. Last Sunday the military brutally attacked 10,000 mostly Coptic demonstrators in front of the state television building in Maspiro, in downtown Cairo. At least 26 peaceful protesters were killed and over…
The lonely olive tree of Bil’in
Uruknet October 14, 2011 – Near the concrete wall which separates Bil’in from Modiin Illit colony, occupied by ultra-Orthodox Jews, there is an olive tree. It is impossible to know how it survived the construction of the wall and how it continues to resist to the lack of a few cares that the specie demands – a lack caused…
Video – Tripoli: Demonstration against NATO & the “rebels” – 10.14. 2011
Uruknet
Back to Basics in Palestine: Time for Unity, Synergy and Mobilization
Uruknet October 14, 2011 – …People often ask me which proposal do I support, the one state or the two state. It seems those are the only two proposals in people’s mind. That it has to be one or the other and we end up struggling for one or the other. We waste precious time and energy debating the…
Obama Sends US Troops to Uganda to Fight Rebel Group
Uruknet October 14, 2011 – President Barack Obama is sending about 100 US combat troops to Africa to hunt down and fight the leaders of the Christian rebel militant group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in and around Uganda. “I have authorized a small number of combat-equipped U.S. forces to deploy to central Africa to provide assistance to regional…
Gaza families wait for release of prisoners in Hamas-Israel deal
Uruknet October 14, 2011 – Mothers and wives of Palestinian prisoners rapidly gathered outside the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) this week, after they heard news about a swap deal between Israel and Hamas. These women have not seen their loved ones for five years. For the past five years, the families of 950…
Iraq snapshot – October 14, 2011
Uruknet Friday, October 14, 2011. Chaos and violence continue, a member of the US press decides he’s in Iraq to mock Iraqis, Political Stalemate II continues, a new political movement issues a statement, withdrawal and ‘withdrawal’ of US forces continues to be explored, Camp Ashraf residents remain under assault, and more…the Great Iraqi Revolution reported, “A number of brave…
Israeli government blamed for surge in racist attacks
Uruknet October 14, 2011 – Palestinian community leaders have blamed a refusal by the Israeli government to condemn increased incitement to racial hatred for a recent surge in extremist violence by settlers and other Zionists. “The problem here is the way the Israeli government is dealing with all the brutal acts of the settlers in the West Bank and…
Video: Libya: Badr – Green Uprising – Resistance 14-10-2011, Zero Hour has begun
Uruknet
* News & Politics * Culture & Society * Economy * Opinion * Series & Features * Interviews & Portraits * Blogs Follow Al-Akhbar on Twitter Like Al-Akhbar on Facebook Subscribe to our RSS Feed Protecting Syria’s Revolt from Military Intervention
Uruknet October 14, 2011 – …The Syrian Revolution General Commission, which now boasts nearly 120 local committees, also called for a peaceful revolution void of sectarianism and without the aid of foreign military intervention, in order to build a democratic, social, and equal Syria…In sum, the Syrian opposition in its majority have until now understood the need to protect…
Fifth column sought to sabotage workers’ strike: Safadi
Daily Star 15 Oct 2011 Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi said the Cabinet averted the planned strike by the General Labor Confederation earlier this week upon information of the presence of a fifth column bent on starting riots.
Preparations for absentia trials under way: STL source
Daily Star 15 Oct 2011 Preparations for absentia trials of the four men indicted in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri are under way, and court proceedings could commence in the first half of 2012.
Deaths, arrests as Syrian revolt enters 8th month
Daily Star 15 Oct 2011 Syrian security forces on Saturday killed two people, one in the capital and the other in the flashpoint central city of Homs, activists said, as the protest movement against President Bashar al-Assad entered its eighth month.
Tunisia’s Islamist party condemns attack on TV director
Daily Star 15 Oct 2011 Tunisia’s Islamist party Ennadha, tipped to dominate elections next week, on Saturday condemned an attack on the home of a TV station director over alleged blasphemy, denying any role in it.
Omanis vote for consultative council, women hope for gains
Daily Star 15 Oct 2011 Omanis voted on Saturday to choose representatives in the 84-member consultative Shura Council, an election overshadowed by discontent over unemployment and alleged government corruption.
Libya leaders mop up after deadly clashes in capital
Daily Star 15 Oct 2011 Libya’s new leadership on Saturday pressed a campaign to clear the capital of armed loyalists of Moamer Gadhafi after fierce gunbattles killed three people in the first fighting to rock Tripoli since its capture in August.
Hamas, Egyptians meet on Israeli soldier handover
Daily Star 15 Oct 2011 A Hamas official says that the Palestinian group is meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials to discuss how to transfer a captive soldier to Israel.
Franjieh lauds Assad, says Syria thwarted conspiracy
Daily Star 15 Oct 2011 Head of the Marada Movement Suleiman Franjieh praised efforts by President Bashar Assad to combat what he described as a foreign conspiracy aimed at Syria.
Iran’s supreme leader calls US accusations ‘meaningless’
YNet News, 15 Oct 2011 – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday US accusations that two Iranians planned to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Washington were … ….
Accomplice in Rabin murder up for early release
YNet News, 15 Oct 2011 – An accomplice in the murder of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin might be released early due to overcrowding in the state’s prisons, pending a decision from the Israel … ….
UN: New e. Jerusalem construction plans ‘unacceptable’
YNet News, 15 Oct 2011 – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticized Israel on Friday over reports that it plans to build 2,600 more housing units in east Jerusalem, saying further construction … ….
Palestinian Information Center
Thank you, Hamas
PIC – The prisoner swap deal with Israel, which Hamas has concluded through Egyptian and German intermediaries, is undoubtedly a perfect gift to the entire Palestinian people..
Zionist plan to efface Jerusalem’s historic walls
PIC – Source in Jerusalem said that the occupation Jerusalem municipality is planning to change the features of historic neighbourhoods in the old city to build a so called biblical park.
Resheq regrets Maliki’s statement on the exchange deal
PIC – Political bureau member of Hamas Ezzet Al-Resheq has regretted the statements by Ramallah foreign minister Riyadh Al-Maliki that criticized the banishment of some released prisoners.
Ayalon: Settlement in Jerusalem not for discussion
PIC – Israel’s deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon has said that his government would not halt building in occupied Jerusalem.
IOF troops close all entrances to Al-Khalil village for second day
PIC – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have closed all entrances to the Beit Ummar village to the north of Al-Khalil on Saturday for the second day running.
Hamas briefs factions on the exchange deal
PIC – Hamas briefed Palestinian factions, human rights organisations and university lecturers on the negotiations to reach the prisoner exchange deal since the capture of Gilad Shalit..
EU Condemns Israeli Decision to Build New 2600 Housing Units
WAFA
Newspapers Review: Israeli Settlement Plan in Jerusalem Dominates Dailies
WAFA
Haifa Youth Support Striking Palestinian Prisoners
WAFA
Israeli Settlement Activities in East Jerusalem Must Cease, says Ban
WAFA
EU Missions Regret Demolition of Mosque
WAFA
The Real Enemy of the Palestinians
Intifada-Palestine: 15 Oct 2011 – By Dr. Elias Akleh When I was young I perceived the Zionist Israelis to be the Palestinians, and my, only enemy. The Zionist terrorist gangs had forcefully occupied my country, razed about 400 Palestinian towns, perpetrated many massacres against their Palestinian… more
Libya’s fighting continues in Surt, renews in Tripoli
LA Times 14 Oct 2011 – Revolutionary forces pursue the last pro-Kadafi fighters in Surt, and reports say the former leader’s loyalists mount a small uprising in the capital. Forces of Libya’s transitional government pounded holdout positions of Moammar Kadafi loyalists in the ousted leader’s hometown of Surt on Friday, and…
White House Says Data Shows Iran Push on Nuclear Arms
New York Times 15 Oct 2011 – President Obama wants United Nations inspectors to release intelligence showing that Iran’s nuclear program is designing and experimenting with weapons technology.
U.S. Cuts Back Proposed Size of Force in Iraq
New York Times 15 Oct 2011 – A proposal to keep some American troops in Iraq to train its military after the end of the year is being scaled back over a lack of legal immunity for the troops, officials said.
Memo From Israel: Gilad Shalit’s Case Accents Israel’s Desire for Solidarity
New York Times 15 Oct 2011 – Israelis often conflate what is good for the state with what is good for the individual, a view seen by many as a great strength but by others as a great weakness.
Fatal Airstrikes Hit Yemen as Protest Violence Escalates
New York Times 15 Oct 2011 – Strikes believed to be carried out by American drones killed at least nine people, and 12 protesters died in Sana.
U.S. Sending Contractors to Secure Libya’s Weapons
New York Times 15 Oct 2011 – In the rush to take the capital, rebel forces who captured military garrisons along the way often looted weapons depots and guarded them only occasionally at best.
Israel Prisoner Swap Touches Old Wounds
New York Times 15 Oct 2011 – News of a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas has been painful for families whose loved ones were murdered by some of the 1,000 Palestinians to be released.
Egypt’s Military Expands Power, Raising Alarms
New York Times 15 Oct 2011 – A growing number of lawyers and activists are questioning the willingness of the Egyptian military to ultimately submit to civilian authority.
Sirte’s fall to usher in mass repression by Libya’s National Transitional Council
WSWS – The National Transitional Council has stated that the fight for control of Sirte is reaching “endgame,” with its forces having seized 80 percent of the city.
AL-KHALIL (HEBRON): Water shortage—a daily Palestinian experience
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine – Living east of the green line border, Abu Jamal and his sons, like many other people, may no longer legally work in Israel. They invested in greenhouses, cultivated eggplants and tomatoes, and were generally successful at first. When I asked him how his farming is going,…
Senior Likud MK: Key Government Goal, Elimination of Iranian Nuclear threat
Tikun Olam – Thanks to Nitay Peretz for pointing me to this provocative Facebook posting by senior Likud MK Carmel Schama HaCohen: at the beginning of the current government’s term three chief objectives were set: ending the economic crisis, returning Gilad Shalit, and eliminating the Iranian nuclear [program]. A…
Catch the spirit— how Wall Street occupiers averted eviction
Mondoweiss – I’m posting this because it is the best NYC Occupy Wall Street video I’ve seen thus far.
Don’t just stand there, let’s get to it, strike a pose, there’s nothing to it
Mondoweiss – Tilda swinton in November 2011 Vogue Magazine.
The latest on the prisoner release
Mondoweiss – Report: Turkey will host all exiled Palestinian prisoners BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) 14 Oct — Turkey will take in the 40 Palestinian prisoners set for exile abroad as part of an exchange deal between Hamas and Israel, Turkish media reported on Friday. Israel refused to deport the prisoners…
A Palestinian mayor explains how Israeli army starves his village of water
Mondoweiss – Whenever I go to Palestine, I come away shocked at what Israel is doing there, without any American recognition. I realize that I am almost as blind as all the other Americans— because our media has done nothing to inform us about conditions. Our society has…
Israel and the March to War
Tikun Olam – Decal affixed to F-16 that attacked Osirak reactor (nuclear reactor image on left) Two new pieces from the Israeli media, whose more perceptive journalists are monitoring what I’m beginning to think is a march to war on the part of Bibi Netanyahu and Ehud Barak. Amir…
Sirte martyred by NATO
Voltaire Network 15 Oct 2011 – The religious leaders of Sirte (Libya) have issued a fatwa authorizing the surviving residents to eat dogs and cats. About one month ago some 3 000 soldiers and 80 000 civilians were trapped in the city, besieged by the forces of the National Transitional Council, overseen…
The world as seen by the US State Department
Voltaire Network 15 Oct 2011 – Hillary Clinton published an 8-page article in the last issue Foreign Policy Magazine. Therein, the U.S. Secretary of State explains that Washington will shift its commitments to focus on the Asia-Pacific zone, destined to become the leading economic region in the world. The article was reviewed…
One million people on streets of Damascus
Voltaire Network 15 Oct 2011 – Responding to a call on the Facebook page ‘My homeland, Syria’, over a million people rallied on 12 October 2011 in the 7 Fountains Square in downtown Damascus and in surrounding streets. Participants gathered to express their support to President Bashar al-Assad in the face of…
Demonstration in Beit Ommar in Solidarity with the Striking Prisoners
Palestine Solidarity Project 15 Oct 2011 – 15th October 2011: Residents of Beit Ommar accompanied with sympatizers from other villages and internationals arranged a peaceful demonstration against the illegal settlement of Karmei Tsur. The demonstrators went all the way up to the fence on the nothwestern side of the settlement, where they were…
Opened in S?£o Paulo the Brazilian movement for BDS against Israel
Global BDS 13 Oct 2011 – Answering a call of the Palestinian civil society, the Front in Defense of the Palestinian People of S?£o Paulo and the Palestinian Front in the University of S?£o Paulo celebrated in September 20, at the Students Hall in the Law School of University of S?£o Paulo,…
RED CARD UEFA CAMPAIGN ENTERS NEW PHASE
Global BDS 13 Oct 2011 – The Red Card Israeli Apartheid campaign is launching a new phase of its activities aimed at persuading UEFA, football’s European governing body, not to grant Israel the privilege of hosting the Under-21 competition in 2013. Following publication in the Guardian newspaper of the letter below, signed…
Transfer of freed Palestinian prisoners ‘begins Tuesday’
Sabr 14 Oct 2011 – Women hug each other as they take part in a protest calling for the release of their sons held in Israeli jails, inside the headquarters of the International Red Cross in Gaza City October 13, 2011. (Reuters/Mohammed Salem) BETHLEHEM ( Ma’an ) — One of the groups involved…
Solidarity with Palestinians prisoners in the Israeli jails who went on a hunger strike
Sabr 14 Oct 2011 – WOFPP On 27 October 2011, political prisoners in Israeli jails have declared an open hunger strike. This means that the strike is unlimited and will go on until their just demands are fulfilled. They are protesting against the inhuman conditions of detention and against the deterioration…
UFree celebrates prisoner release, but calls for release of thousands left behind
Sabr 14 Oct 2011 – UFREE Oslo, Norway — Oct. 13, 2011 — The exchange in which the Israeli government will free 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in return for soldier Gilad Shalit is welcome news, but work must continue unabated to end the suffering of the 5,000-plus individuals who remain in jail,…
Military Order 1676 — Raising the age of majority
Sabr 14 Oct 2011 – DCI-Palestine [11 October 2011] — On 27 September 2011, General Avi Mizrahi, the Israeli military commander in the occupied West Bank, issued Military Order 1676 raising the age of majority in the military courts from 16 to 18 years. The new military order also makes provision…
Articles
Israel’s asymmetrical prisoner swap
Rachel Shabi, Al Jazeera10/15/2011
The Israeli-Hamas prisoner swap is not a measure of life value, but rather an illustration of the asymmetrical conflict.
It doesn’t take long to meet a prisoner family in Palestine. With more than 6,000 Palestinians incarcerated by Israel right now and more than 700,000 in jails since Israel’s 1967 occupation of the Palestinian territories, those stories soon come into the frame – mention of a father, a brother taken away; a swallowing of pain; a distant gaze determined to bring a beloved, absent face into focus.
Now Israel has cut a deal with Hamas to release the soldier Gilad Shalit, five years after his capture, in exchange for more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners, these figures allude to the reality of mass Palestinian imprisonment.
With 20 per cent of the population jailed at some point, prison is a feature of Palestinian life under occupation. From the routine night raids that drag family members away, to the opaque military trials, the detention of children (7,000 since the year 2000) and the torture reported by Amnesty to take place in Israeli prisons, it all adds up to a system of control and debilitation.
Israel adheres to the script of countries that try to crush national struggle: criminalise protest; use widespread arrests to show who’s in charge and categorically refuse to count any prisoners as political. Those Palestinian detention figures are shockingly high – but then, the Israeli occupation has been shockingly long, and its permeation into Palestinian life just as deep.
Despite the duration, Hadas Ziv, of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, says the fact Israel blanket-labels all Palestinian prisoners as cold-blooded murderers shows that the country is in a phase which characterises the earliest stages of conflict. more.. e-mail
Do Israeli policies constitute apartheid?
Frank Barat, Al Jazeera10/15/2011
A citizens’ tribunal will examine whether or not Israel is violating international law’s prohibition on apartheid.
The Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RToP) is a citizens’ initiative that is sustained by contributions from individuals, associations, organisations and solidarity movements. Its independence relies on the great variety of volunteers and on the material and financial help it receives from multiple sources.
Thanks to a network of National Support Committees (Spain, United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Italy and Portugal), two successful evidence sessions have taken place in Barcelona (March 2010) and London (November 2010), creating a significant impact on the audiences and receiving considerable media attention. At the time of writing, preparations are in hand for two further sessions, first in Cape Town (November 2011), where the focus will be on the crime of apartheid, and a final session in 2012 in the US, which will focus on possible UN and US complicity in Israel’s violations of international law.
From the experience of past Russell Tribunals – on US military intervention in Vietnam (1966-1967) and internal repression (with outside interference) in Latin America (1973-1975), and judging from the conclusions of the first two sessions of the RToP, it is clear that findings of the tribunal provide a legally grounded body of arguments, constituting an important tool to be used by those who seek to ensure respect for the rule of international law, and the rights of the Palestinian people.
The RToP is an international people’s tribunal, created in 2009 as a response to the failure of the international community to act appropriately to bring to an end Israel’s recognised violations of international law. In particular, the organisers of the RToP were very concerned by the inadequate international response to the Advisory Opinion of July 9, 2004, of the highest judicial body in the world, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), on the legal consequences of the establishment of a wall in the occupied Palestinian territories – which called for the wall to be dismantled and which reiterated the need to respect past resolutions of the United Nations. more.. e-mail
Israel lobby empowers Palestinian solidarity
Kristen Szremski, Al Jazeera10/15/2011
The ADL report targets pro-Palestinian student groups and warns college presidents they could lose funding for protests.
The Anti-Defamation League is at it again.
On Wednesday, October 13, the ADL issued its latest report on student activism, trying this time to reframe all work in support of Palestinian human rights as being “anti-Israel”.
The report, “Emerging Anti-Israel Trends and Tactics on Campus”, targets Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), a national, grassroots nonprofit based near Chicago. Released a few days before the first national SJP conference at Columbia University in New York was set to take place, it accuses SJP chapters of fomenting “anti-Israel” programming on their respective campuses, while charging AMP facilitates the growth and development of these students’ groups. All of this combines to create an atmosphere in which Jewish students feel “insecure and unsafe”, the ADL claims.
It is important to note that SJPs are autonomous units and completely independent of AMP. Though our chairman, Berkeley professor Dr Hatem Bazian co-founded the first chapter in 1992, the student groups are not part of AMP. We offer SJPs the same help we offer others planning events about Palestine: Free materials, speakers and training.
The ADL’s 12-page report and subsequent 57-page book “Fighting Back: A Handbook for Responding to Anti-Israel Campaigns on College and University Campuses” equates working for Palestinian rights with “delegitimising Israel”. more.. e-mail
No Concrete on the Occupation
Dissident Voice: 15 Oct 2011 – In order to gain an air of legitimacy, say commentators across the political spectrum, the “Occupy” movement must make “concrete” demands. Their platitudes about the evils of Wall Street, we’re told, will not suffice. They must ask the powerful for concessions of sorts, even though this only promulgates the dependency status of the many vis-á-vis the elite. It is in this framework that the mainstream thinks, because they never imagined a world where the 99% didn’t have to kneel down and beg before the reprehensible power elite of this country They want something concrete. However, this movement will not embrace the “concrete,” for beneath the cement lies the beach, to paraphrase a famous Situationist saying: sous les pavés, la plage . The “demand” baloney is primarily cover for the union and non-profit leadership, as they attempt to lurch forward and co-opt the movement, throwing it to the hounds of…more
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The New Dark Age 