20 October 2011 — VTJP
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International Middle East Media Center
Erekat: Israel is responsible for collapsing of peace process
IMEMC – Thursday October 20, 2011 – 18:55, Dr. Saeb Erekat, member of the central committee of Fatah Movement and Palestinian negotiation chief, held a meeting with the Portuguese former president, Goerge Sambouo, top representative of UN-debate among civilizations, the Palestinian News Agency, Maan, reported earlier on Thursday.
Resident Kidnapped In Hebron
IMEMC – Thursday October 20, 2011 – 12:24, Israeli soldiers kidnapped a Palestinian resident from the southern West Bank city of Hebron while heading to the Israeli Liaison Office on Thursday morning, and moved him to an unknown destination, the Palestinian News & Info Agency reported.
Abu Marzouq: “Egypt Guarantees Implementation Of Phase 2”
IMEMC – Thursday October 20, 2011 – 09:10, Deputy head of the Hamas Political Bureua, Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouq, told the Hamas affiliated Palestinian Information Center that Egypt provided grantees for the movement regarding Israel’s commitments to implement phase 2 of the prisoner-swap deal. He added that Khaled Mashal, head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, delayed his visit to Amman due to logistics.
Campaigners: EU research projects support occupation
10/20/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Palestinian civil society groups called on European research bodies to halt cooperation with Israeli institutions implicated in violating human rights, in a statement issued Thursday. The release said Israel’s association agreement with the EU gives it equal access to research funding as members, “despite Israel’s consistent violation….
Hamas: Egypt pledged 9 women to be freed in days
10/20/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Thursday that Egypt has assured the movement that the nine female prisoners remaining in Israeli jail will be released “in the coming days.” On Tuesday, 27 women were released in the first stage of an Egypt-brokered prisoner swap freeing captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in….
PLO plans ‘other options’ if UN bid fails
10/20/2011 – RAMALLAH (Reuters) — The PLO wants the Security Council to decide on its bid for full UN membership soon so it can pursue “other options”, the UN envoy said, repeating charges that Washington is procrastinating to avoid a vote. Riyad Mansour, in comments to a Palestinian newspaper, did not say what he would do once their….
‘Israel stops wife of freed prisoner at Allenby’
10/20/2011 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli forces have denied the wife of a released prisoner who was exiled to Qatar permission to cross the Allenby Bridge ahead of her journey to meet her husband, a rights group said. Ahmad Al-Bitawi, a researcher at the international solidarity foundation for human rights, said Abdul Hakim Aziz Hanini….
Oxfam: Settlers cost farmers over $500,000 this harvest
10/20/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli settlers have cost Palestinian farmers over $500,000 this year by destroying olive trees in the West Bank, Oxfam and local organizations warned Thursday. Oxfam, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees and the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees estimated that olives collected this year would produce half the oil of the 2010….
Freed prisoner reflects on decades spent in jail
10/20/2011 – RAMALLAH (Reuters) — Nael Barghouti, released on Tuesday after more than 33 years in an Israeli jail, says he never gave up hope of being freed.”From the first day I was detained, I always expected I would released, that one day, someone would work to free me. Politics failed in setting us free, but another….
Abbas to visit Egypt, discuss reconciliation
10/20/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas will visit Egypt on Saturday, officials said, after a meeting of his Fatah party said movement on a stalled reconciliation agreement with Hamas was “necessary”. Egyptian ambassador to the Palestinian Authority Yasser Othman told official news agency WAFA that the president would travel to Egypt to discuss implementation….
Fayyad: Time not ripe for peace talks
10/20/2011 – WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The time is not right for meaningful peace talks with Israel, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Wednesday, saying they are only likely to produce a blame game rather than a settlement. The so-called Quartet of Middle East peace mediators has failed to meet its own goal of bringing the two….
Abbas: We ended chaos but independence eludes us
10/20/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas measured out his achievements but lamented the “failure” to grasp the ultimate prize of a Palestinian state, in a TV interview that aired on Wednesday.”I managed to end the security chaos but I still can’t achieve independence,” Mahmoud Abbas told Ma’an TV in….
Egypt arrests Israeli national at border crossing
10/20/2011 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Egyptian authorities arrested a Palestinian citizen of Israel at the Egypt border Thursday, saying they discovered a weapon and large quantity of ammunition in his possession. The Palestinian-Israeli, who was not otherwise identified, told Egyptian security forces he worked for an Israeli tourism company and was traveling with his wife….
Benefits for released prisoners in Gaza announced
10/20/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Palestinian prisoners who were released in the prisoner deal and sent to Gaza will stay in hotels for three weeks or until they each get a private apartment, car, and a job. Gaza’s Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh gave each of the 294 prisoners $2,000, and future income will be….
Shalit says heard Israeli forces near his Gaza prison
10/20/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit heard the sound of battle around him during a massive 2006 military operation seeking to free him from his Gaza captors, his father said Thursday.” He was aware of the operation and everything that was going on,” Noam Shalit told journalists outside the family home in the northern Israeli….
2 Israeli soldiers hit by car near Ramallah
10/20/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Two Israeli soldiers were injured Thursday after they were hit by a Palestinian-plated car south of Ramallah in the central West Bank, an army spokesman said. The soldiers were taken to hospital with light injuries, the Israeli official added. A military source told Ma’an the incident was believed to….
Iraqi Jews yearn for lost homeland
10/20/2011 – AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) — Amer Musa Nasim, once one of the last seven remaining Jews in Baghdad, says he finally had to leave violence-stricken Iraq to live a peaceful life even though he loves his country.” I have always tried to hide my identity to avoid trouble,” said Nasim, 38, who arrived in Jordan earlier this….
US cannot confirm reports of Gadhafi’s capture
10/20/2011 – WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The US State Department on Thursday said it could not confirm that deposed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has been captured.” We’ve seen the media reports but can’t confirm them,” State Department spokeswoman Beth Gosselin told Reuters. White House officials were not immediately available to comment. The Pentagon also said….
Turkish army says launched air, ground assault in Iraq
10/20/2011 – VAN, Turkey (Reuters) — Hundreds of Turkish commandos backed by helicopter gunships were attacking Kurdish militants in Iraq on Thursday, officials said, as Ankara weighed a wider cross-border offensive after PKK fighters killed 24 of its soldiers. Turkish security officials estimated their forces, numbering about 1,000 inside Iraq, had killed 21 fighters from the Kurdistan Workers….
NATO checking Gadhafi reports, needs time to confirm
10/20/2011 – BRUSSELS (Reuters) — NATO said on Thursday it was checking reports of the capture of Moammar Gadhafi in Libya and said they could take some time to confirm.” We are checking and assessing the situation,” a NATO official said.”Clearly these are very significant developments, which will take time to confirm. If it is true, then….
NATO says aircraft struck pro-Gadhafi vehicles near Sirte
10/20/2011 – BRUSSELS (Reuters) — NATO said its aircraft attacked two military vehicles near Moammar Gadhafi’s last holdout of Sirte on Thursday, but stopped short of confirming reports that these had been carrying Gadhafi.” At approximately 08:30 local time today, NATO aircraft struck two pro-Gadhafi forces military vehicles which were part of a larger group….
NTC official: Gadhafi body being taken to secret location
10/20/2011 – MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) — The body of deposed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi is being taken to a location which is being kept secret for security reasons, a National Transitional Council official said on Thursday. Gadhafi died of wounds suffered on Thursday as fighters battling to complete an eight-month-old uprising against his rule overran his hometown Sirte….
NTC: Saif Al-Islam Gadhafi believed still in desert
10/20/2011 – CAIRO (Reuters) – Moammar Gadhafi’s son Saif al-Islam is believed to be still at large in Libya’s desert, a member of the National Transitional Council said on Thursday after NTC officials said the former Libyan leader had been found and killed. Abdelmajid Saif al-Nasr told the Qatar-based Al Jazeera satellite channel that….
Libyan NTC vice chairman confirms Gadhafi killed
10/20/2011 – BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) — The vice chairman of Libya’s National Transitional Council confirmed that ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi had been killed on Friday and said the interim government would announce the liberation of Libya “within hours”. That would be a landmark announcement, after which the interim government has said it would begin the transition….
West celebrates Gadhafi’s end, hails own role
10/20/2011 – LONDON (Reuters) — Western leaders on Thursday hailed the death of Moammar Gadhafi as a moment of liberation for Libya and held up their own role in the downfall of the flamboyant North African strongman. Some countries warned Libya’s new leaders they still faced tough days ahead, but the overriding sentiment was relief over….
Gadhafi killed as hometown falls
10/20/2011 – SIRTE, Libya (AFP) — Ousted despot Moammar Gadhafi was killed Thursday in a final assault by new regime forces on his hometown Sirte, ending the last vestiges of his 42-year autocratic rule and sparking joy across Libya.” We announce to the world that Gadhafi has died in the custody of the revolution,” National Transitional Council….
In photos: Embracing Gadhafi, the dictator and his friends
10/20/2011 – Reuters and MaanImages – Former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi died of wounds suffered in fighting as Libya’s interim government forces captured his hometown stronghold of Sirte on Thursday. As world leaders rallied to herald his death as a new era for Libya, a collection of images of his former friends document the dictators and….
Gadhafi’s death — who pulled the trigger?
10/20/2011 – SIRTE, Libya (Reuters) — Disturbing images of a blood-stained and shaken Moammar Gadhafi being jostled by angry fighters quickly circulated around the world after the Libyan dictator’s dramatic death near his home town of Sirte. The exact circumstances of his demise are still unclear with conflicting accounts of his death circulating. But the footage….
Iraq oil exports in September lowest in seven months
10/20/2011 – BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraq’s oil exports and income in September were the lowest since February as pumping along the Ceyhan pipeline to Turkey dropped off due to multiple stoppages, figures published on Thursday showed. The country exported a total of 63. 1 million barrels of oil last month at an average price of $104….
Tunisians abroad vote in first Arab Spring election
10/20/2011 – PARIS (AFP) — Tunisians abroad thronged to vote Thursday in the first post-Arab Spring free election, three days before their compatriots at home go to the polls to turn the page on 23 years of autocratic rule. Like many who voted on Thursday, historic opposition figure Kamel Jendoubi, who heads the overall election organizing body ISIE….
Iran spy chief mocks ‘stupidity’ of US plot claims
10/20/2011 – TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran’s spy chief Thursday mocked US claims of a Tehran-sponsored assassination plot, saying the accusation reeked of “stupidity” and detailed incredibly unprofessional tradecraft, the website of state-run television reported. Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi, who heads up Iran’s espionage organizations, said the US allegations — involving an Iranian-American used car salesman….
US suspends Bahrain arms deal ahead of probe
AlJazeera 20 Oct 2011 – Activists say deaths include eight people in Homs, as tens of thousands rally in Aleppo in support of President Assad.
‘Seventeen dead’ in latest Syrian violence
AlJazeera 20 Oct 2011 – Palestinian prisoners were aware of deportation option, Hamas official explains how deal almost fell through.
In Pictures: Palestinian and Swedish Choirs Join Hands in Ramallah
PNN – by Lo Yuk FaiThe Swedish Falun Peace Choir and the Ramallah-based Zaridash choir performed a joint show on Wednesday evening at the Bethlehem Peace Center, across the main square from the Church…
Settlers Attack Students Exiting Cordoba School, Soldiers Arrest Assistant Director
PNN – PNNA group of Israeli settlers attacked students and teachers from the Cordoba girls’ school in the Old City of Hebron and Israeli soldiers arrested the assistant director of the school. An eyewitness…
Israel Blocks Hebron Governor from Entering Old City
PNN – PNNOn Thursday, Israeli forces stopped Hebron governor Kamel Hamid, as well as several teachers and students from the Cordoba girls’ school, from entering the Old City where the school is located. Governor…
Palestinian Envoy to Canada Resigns After Linking to Anti-Semitic Video
PNN – PNNLinda Sobeh resigned from her position as the charge d’affairs of the Palestinian delegation to Canada–Palestine’s top diplomat in the country–after tweeting a link to a video she had not watched which…
Hamas and Fatah Wrangle over Phase Two of Prisoner Swap
PNN – PNNIn a spitting match that has become typical of the main Palestinian factions, spokesmen from Hamas and Fatah wrangled on Thursday over the execution of the second phase of the Gilad Shalit…
Hamas Negotiator al-Ja?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢bari: Deporting Prisoners Was the Only Way
PNN – PNNAhmed al-Ja’bari, the head of the Palestinian negotiating team credited with freeing 477 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for captured Israeli gunner Gilad Shalit, said that while he was unhappy that some Palestinians…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
The Director of PCHR, Raji Sourani, Visits Germany as Part of Advocacy Campaign for Accountability and Justice for Palestinian Victims
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
The Military Court in Gaza Holds another Hearing to Consider the Case Relating to the Death of the Italian Solidarity Activist Vittorio Arrigini
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Human Rights Organizations Call on the European Union to Uphold Standards for Protection of Prisoners Rights
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
International Solidarity Movement
The ongoing trial in the murder of solidarity activist Vittorio Arrigoni
10/20/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – International Solidarity Movement, Gaza – The military trial of the four men charged with the death of Italian International Solidarity Movement Activist Vittorio Arrigoni continued in Gaza City today. The small courtroom was packed with friends and colleagues of Arrigoni, in addition to four or five members of the defendants’ families. All four defendants appeared….
Alternative Information Center
Palestinians Welcomed Freed Prisoners with Joy, Pride and Togetherness
Alternative Information Center – A man in his thirties was standing on his tiptoes, trying to catch a glimpse of the released prisoners who were appearing in small groups on a tiny stage, erected only meters away from Yasser Arafat’s…
Settlers, soldiers attack Palestinian schools
20 Oct 2011 – Palestine, (Pal Telegraph) – Groups of extremist Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers Thursday continued their attacks against students and teachers in Qurtuba and Susiya schools in Hebron, in the southern West Bank, according to local sources.
Free at Last – Some of the many Palestinian Prisoners
20 Oct 2011 – Palestine, (Pal Telegraph) – The buzz of the week has been, without a doubt, the prisoner swap reached between Hamas and Israel. On October 18, over 400 Palestinian prisoners, some of them serving several life sentences, will walk out of Israel’s prison gates free men and women, hopefully for the last time. In two months, the second phase of the…
Turkish troops attack Kurdish rebels in Turkey, Iraq
The National 20 Oct 2011 – About 10,000 Turkish troops attack Kurdish rebels in south-east Turkey and Iraq in retaliation for Kurdish rebel raids near the Iraq border in which 24 Turkish soldiers died and 18 were wounded.
Tripoli erupts into a carnival celebration over Qaddafi death
The National 20 Oct 2011 – Muammar Qaddafi’s death ignites emotions in Tripoli, with men in cafes dropping their coffees and sprinting towards television screens to see for themselves
Libya’s Qaddafi is killed as his last bastion falls
The National 20 Oct 2011 – Muammar Qaddafi was killed yesterday as rebel forces overran his hometown of Sirte, wiping out the last pocket of resistance by forces loyal to the man once crowned Africa’s ‘king of kings’.
Clinton thanks Oman for hiker help
The National 19 Oct 2011 – US secretary of state thanks Sultan Qaboos bin Said for helping secure the release of two American hikers.
UK Embassy in Kuwait closes because of ‘terror threat’
The National 19 Oct 2011 –
Report: Egypt will release accused Israeli spy within a week
Ha’aretz – Egyptian newspaper reports that Israeli and U.S. representatives met with Ilan Grapel and told him that negotiations to free him had been concluded, but Egyptian prosecutors have not closed the case.
Palestinian PM Fayyad: Time is not right for serious peace talks
Ha’aretz – Salam Fayyad tells lobby group American Task Force on Palestine it aims for a two-state solution, but that if that doesn’t occur, Palestinians will likely demand the right to vote in Israeli elections.
Noam Shalit doubts Hamas claims that Gilad wasn’t tortured in captivity
Ha’aretz – Gilad Shalit’s father says IDF soldier slowly getting back to normal life, meeting up with friends, playing table-tennis and riding bicycle in village.
Obama: Gadhafi’s death is chance for Libya to determine its destiny
Ha’aretz – U.S. President Barack Obama says death of Gadhafi and end of his rule proves brutality and ruling with an iron fist inevitably must come to an end.
Libya PM: Gadhafi died in crossfire between loyalists, NTC
Ha’aretz – Mahmoud Jibril, citing a forensic report, says Gadhafi was alive when taken from Sirte, but died before reaching hospital; NTC says no order was given to kill the ousted Libyan leader.
Libyans pour into streets to celebrate end of Gadhafi era
Ha’aretz – The fugitive leader was captured and killed while driving in a convoy of cars fleeing from his hometown of Sirte.
Gadhafi’s legacy: An oil-rich country with a traumatized people
Ha’aretz – During nearly 42 years in power in Libya, Gadhafi was one of the world’s most eccentric dictators, so mercurial that he was both condemned and courted by the West.
UN rights expert: Palestinian children subject to arrests, violence by Israel
Ha’aretz – UN human rights rapporteur for the Palestinian territories Richard Falk calls on Israel to adopt international guidelines for protection of Palestinian children living under Israeli occupation.
A tale of a(nother) captured soldier
Ha’aretz – Dr. Abraham ‘Avi’ Ohry was one of only eight men out of 21 who survived an Egyptian onslaught on his Suez Canal bunker during the Yom Kippur War. Recollections of his period of captivity and later dealings with his captors.
Lockerbie relatives feel sense of victory over news of Gadhafi’s death
Ha’aretz – ‘I’m just going to go out and buy an expensive bottle of champagne to celebrate,’ says Susan Cohen, whose daughter was blown out of the sky in the 1988 terrorist bomb allegedly directed by Libya’s Muammar Gadhafi.
UN chief: Gadhafi’s death marks historic transition for Libya
Ha’aretz – British PM, French President and German Chancellor urge democracy in advent of Gadhafi’s death.
Turkey commences massive operation against Kurdish rebels in Iraq
Ha’aretz – About 10,000 elite soldiers take part in offensive that began after Kurdish rebels killed 24 Turkish soldiers, wounded 18 in deadliest one-day attack since mid-1990s.
‘My son needs time to recover,’ says Noam Schalit
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – Gilad Schalit needs his time to transition back to normal life, his father says; President Peres is expected to visit this week.
From the magical to the mundane
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – I can’t help but sometimes be touched by the stories that emerge from our unique life here in Israel.
Grapevine: ZAKA celebrates 10 years
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – ‘You do a sacred job here and around the world’
PostScript: Leave religion out of it
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – And do we really need Palestinian recognition of a Jewish state that does not formally recognize the Jewishness of many of its own citizens?
Egypt says it’s preparing to release Ilan Grapel in swap
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – In announcement of upcoming prisoner exchange, cabinet spokesman in Cairo specifically names Israeli-American detained on spying charges.
Libyan Jews recall a tyrant who forced them into exile
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – “He wanted to eliminate the memory of 2,000 years of Jewish history in Libya,” David Gerbi says of Muammar Gaddafi.
‘Gadaffi was caught alive, later beaten, killed by rebels’
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – Libyan interim PM confirms deposed leader is dead; images, videos of bloodied Gaddafi are released; last minute escape attempt is stopped by French air strike; formal liberation expected to be declared.
Obama to Libyans: You have won your revolution
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – US president looks forward to “inclusive, democratic Libya that stands as ultimate rebuke to Gaddafi’s Libya”; warns of difficult days ahead.
Noam Schalit: Gilad underwent difficult things in captivity
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – Gilad Schalit needs his time to transition back to normal life, his father says; President Peres is expected to visit this week.
Preterm babies: Do bigger brains make smarter children?
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – Study finds the faster the rate of cerebral cortex growth in infancy, the higher scores were on developmental, intelligence tests as children.
12 Arab-Israelis arrested at rally calling more kidnappings
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – Some 40 people arrive at Hadarim Prison in Sharon to call for more kidnappings of IDF soldiers, freeing all Palestinian prisoners.
US accusations turn up heat in simmering Gulf
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – Saudi Arabia appeals to UN after Iran charged with plotting to kill Saudi ambassador in Washington; long-standing rivalry grows.
Justice served by Gaddafi death, Lockerbie families say
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – Victims’ relatives say they’re sure the former Libyan leader ordered 1998 bombing; “I hope he’s in hell with Hitler,” PanAm 103 widow says.
Analysis: Big expectations, power plays in Libya’s future
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – Libya’s rulers may see rise in factionalism; militias expected to compete for the prestige; Libyans’ hopes of better a life are set to soar.
World leaders: Gaddafi death turns a new page for Libya
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – Sarkozy says now is the time for “reconciliation in unity, freedom”; Merkel: Path is now clear for fresh political start, in peace.
Libya timeline: From protests to the death of a dictator
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – Eight months have passed since the arrest of a human rights activist in Libya sparked a civil war that ousted 42-year dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Palestinian vehicle runs over 2 soldiers in West Bank
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – Driver speeds toward checkpoint, strikes soldiers in apparent hit-and-run; soldiers lightly injured; nationalist attack not suspected.
‘Gilad Schalit was not tortured, did not receive beatings’
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – PRC commander says Israeli soldier was treated much better than Palestinian prisoners in Israel; promises more kidnappings.
Libyan govt forces say complete capture of Sirte
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – Last remaining bastion of pro-Gaddafi fighters reportedly captured more than 3 months after Libyan dictatorship was overthrown.
‘Hezbollah delegation visits Moscow, meets lawmakers’
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – First official visit to Russia by terror group headed by MP Muhammad Raad, ‘Daily Star’ reports.
Fayyad: Conditions not ripe for renewing talks with Israel
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – Palestinian Authority PM says Palestinians not ready to resume dialogue; Blair hints Middle East mediators want border proposals.
Chosen Bites: Italy does it
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – Wind up the High Holidays with a relaxed and laid-back Italian classic pasta dish.
Iran slams UN human rights report; attacks US, Britain
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2011 – UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran says gov’t in Tehran had not allowed him to visit Iran while making assessment for report.
‘We’ll demand security prisoners be freed in Schalit deal’
Jerusalem Post 19 Oct 2011 – Hamas spokesman says Egypt will mediate second phase of deal to free 550 prisoners; Abu Ubaida: Priority given to elderly, sick prisoners.
Link between menopause, obesity, cognitive impairment
Jerusalem Post 19 Oct 2011 – Findings show that obese post-menopausal women outperform their counterparts of normal weight in cognitive tasks.
When a white face becomes the face of Congo | Lara Pawson
The Guardian 20 Oct 2011 – White narratives still dominate, from a M?©dicins Sans Fronti?®res campaign to the release of Gilad Shalit We have learned a lot about the 25-year-old Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit since his arrival in Egypt on Tuesday. We…
Letters: Prisoner swap and prospects for peace
The Guardian 19 Oct 2011 – This week’s prisoner exchange will have brought joy for Gilad Shalit’s family and the newly reunited relatives of some 500 Palestinian prisoners ( Report , 19 October). But this release could be seen as a cynical ploy by…
Is an Israeli life really more important than a Palestinian’s?
The Guardian 19 Oct 2011 – The transfer of prisoners tacitly acknowledges acceptance of that obscene idea It’s quite something, the prisoner swap between Hamas and the Israeli government that returns Gilad Shalit to his family, and more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners…
How lessons learned in Palestinian elections are informing Tunisia’s vote
The Guardian 19 Oct 2011 – Lizzy Davies talks to Maxim Sansour, a consultant bringing his experience of Palestinian elections to bear on Tunisia’s first free polls Ahead of Sunday’s vote, the Tunisians are welcoming journalists from all over the world, observers…
Gilad Shalit will be allowed time with his family before debriefing
The Guardian 19 Oct 2011 – Israeli officials say they will establish the freed soldier’s physical and psychological health before asking about his captors Israeli intelligence officials are planning to wait for at least several days before beginning the delicate process of…
Eyewitness: Freedom ride
The Guardian 19 Oct 2011 – Photographs from the Guardian Eyewitness series
‘New Stuxnet’ worm targets companies in Europe
The Guardian 19 Oct 2011 – Experts suspect Duqu worm is from same source that targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities – widely said to have been US and Israel A highly sophisticated computer worm which has many of the same characteristics of the…
As 2012 Polls Loom, Caution’s the Word for Obama Foreign Policy
IPS U.S. presidents seeking a second term are not known for taking risks in foreign policy in election years.
OP-ED: A Long and Winding Road to the End for Gaddafi
IPS I came across an anti-Gaddafi demonstration for the first time in February 2011 in Baghdad’s Tahrir square.
Doubts Shadow Egyptian Election
IPS Egypt’s interim government has begun accepting candidacy applications for parliamentary polls slated to begin Nov. 21. But as the country prepares for its first post-Mubarak elections, a number of political parties say they are considering boycotting the contest.
Videos: Al Muatassim Al Gaddafi captured alive before being tortured and murdered
Uruknet
The Sirte Massacres: 42 Bodies by Muttassim’s House
Uruknet October 20, 2011 – l. CNN had Dan Rivers there to report (a Youtube posting). His crew filmed a number of bound and executed men piled next to a wall (see image below). A rebel-affiliated “hospital official” named Abdullah al-Manghoosh told CNN: We’re here to check. We don’t know what happened. We don’t know the story. But clearly…
Libya : NATO war crimes charges
Uruknet October 20, 2011 – Is NATO using forbidden weaponry in Libya? Below is video footage of what is purported to be attacks using white phosphorous (as it did in Kosovo, as it did in Iraq). The graphic images of the effects upon human beings this horrific substance has are too horrendous for us to place here, but a…
GADDAFI’S EXECUTION
Uruknet October 20, 2011 – The latest reports of Gaddafi’s death show that he was captured alive and likely executed. This of course should come as no surprise. As soon as the uprising in Libya began it was a zero sum game, and with NATO’s participation Gaddafi’s fate was well nigh assured. This is a huge victory for NATO…
Video: Gaddafi Alive when captured
Uruknet October 20, 2011 – A video has emerged which purports to show Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi captured alive by NATO-led “rebels. The video shows a wounded Gaddafi with a blood-soaked shirt and bloodied face leaning up against the bonnet of a truck and restrained by “rebels”. They then push him toward another car, as he shouts and struggles…
Unguarded Guardians: The Rampant Abuses of our Prison Profiteers
Uruknet October 20, 2011 – The ACLU has just released documentation of the rampant sexual abuse of female immigration detainees at the hands of our enlightened guardians. The latter include the Corrections Corporation of America, the private prison company that has parlayed its insider poitical connections to become one of the nation’s largest profiteers of human suffering. This news…
The Son of Africa claims a continent’s crown jewels
Uruknet October 20, 2011 – On 14 October, President Barack Obama announced he was sending United States special forces troops to Uganda to join the civil war there. In the next few months, US combat troops will be sent to South Sudan, Congo and Central African Republic. They will only “engage” for “self-defence”, says Obama, satirically. With Libya secured,…
Syria News – October 19, 2011 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet October 19, 2011 – Number of martyrs today in Syria reached 19, 16 from Hom and one each in Douma, Sarghaya and Madaya in Damascus Suburbs… Homs: Qosair: Joseyeh: martyrdom of the three sisters: Nareman (17 years old), Rupa (11 years old), and Noor (15 years old) from Zoghby family in Qosiar when security forces and army shelled…
Yes, Rejoice for Precious Shalit, But ..
Uruknet October 19, 2011 – On the other hand why is there such a torrent of sympathy for Shalit when the much-hyped thousand-for-one prisoner swop leaves 8,000 Palestinians still rotting in Israeli jails, some of them having languished in captivity far longer than our Israeli hero? And for those 8,000 it’s no picnic. A United Nations Human Rights Council…
Mustafa Barghouthi: “This reminds us and the prisoners that the prison door will not close”
Uruknet October 19, 2011- Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, commented that yesterday’s release of prisoners is a great achievement and a day of joy for families throughout the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Dr. Barghouthi noted that the joy all Palestinians feel is bittersweet in light of the nearly six thousand remaining prisoners…
Djamel Beghal: the beginning of the War on Terror
Uruknet October 19, 2011 – Regardless, the torture of Djamel Beghal was definitely a triggering factor of the “war on terror” in Europe as his false and forced confessions engendered a wave of arrests in France, the UK, Netherlands and Spain. Ten years later, we now know that the first “Al Qaeda network” dismantled in Europe after the 9/11…
US trainers ok after ‘full withdrawal’: Moqatada al-Sadr
Uruknet October 19, 2011 – ….”It has been said that the weapons (Iraq is purchasing) are American, so the trainers should be American also,” Sadr said in an address broadcast on Al-Masar television….Sadr’s remarks were his first public comments since returning to his movement’s home base in the holy Shiite city of Najaf in southern Iraq on Monday. The…
Nizar and Ahlam; Fatah and Hamas: from an Israeli cell to a wedding ceremony
Uruknet October 19, 2011 – He was sentenced to life in prison and she was sentenced to 16 consecutive life terms. He is affiliated to Fatah; she is a member of Hamas. Today, however, Nizar Al-Tamimi, 38, and his cousin Ahlam Al-Tamimi, 31, are both free and are going to be married in Amman, Jordan. The Al-Tamimi family from…
Endangered Palestinian village gets int’l media attention- except from the U.S.
Uruknet October 19, 2011 – Haj Sami Sadeq is a mayor in Palestine. Behind him is the Jordan Valley. Around him are the lands of his little village, Al Aqaba. The entire village is under Israeli demolition orders. In fact, the Israeli army bulldozed the road to his village on Sept. 15, 2 weeks before I shot this picture….
OCHA: Israel Cuts Access to 85% of Gaza Fishing Waters
Uruknet October 19, 2011 – A recent report published Tuesday by the Untied Nation Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) showed that 35% of Gaza’s farmland and 85% of its fishing waters are totally or partially inaccessible due to Israeli military measures. The report said that the population of Gaza is 1.6 million, with over 50% under…
Iraq snapshot – October 19, 2011
Uruknet October 19, 2011. Chaos and violence continue, Turkish forces enter Iraq, the press plays the blame game, the US Defense Dept identifies the fallen, Nouri thinks Iraq needs to educate other countries about how to run elections, and more….Turkey continues attacking northern Iraq and, for years now, Turkish war planes have been bombing northern Iraq. The latest wave…
Unjust Libyan war far from over
Uruknet October 19, 2011 – Seven months ago the Libyan people enjoyed free universal medical care, free education through university level, were well housed and well nourished. The U.S. and NATO decided to wage another unprovoked war for more direct control by western corporations and banks of the oil wealth and financial institutions of Libya. Though Gaddafi called for…
Margaret Hassan: Victim of “Operation Iraqi Liberation” – 17th October 2004
Uruknet October 19, 2011 – With the passage of time and the onset of hindsight, usually, eventually, tragedy can be pieced together, the dead finally wept over, laid to rest, their graves marked, visited, flowers layed. Margaret Hassan, who was kidnapped seven years ago today and shot by her kidnappers little over three weeks later, probably on 14th November…
Major Media Liars Never Quit
Uruknet October 19, 2011 – Whenever major media Libya reports appear, truth is distorted, manipulated and falsified. For seven months, despite daily terror bombing and ground attacks, courageous loyalists bested the ferocity of NATO and its rebel army. As a result, they control most of Tripoli, Benghazi and other cities across the country. Fighting, however, still rages. Loyalists are…
The Dale Farm Eviction: Using Planning Laws to Justify Racism Towards Gypsies and Travellers
Uruknet October 19, 2011 – What a disgraceful day to be British. In Basildon today, riot police have been leading the eviction of 86 Gypsy and traveller families from land they own at Dale Farm, but for which they do not have planning permission, hospitalising several residents, tasering others, and generally creating a situation that is reminiscent of the…
Aridi: Government isn’t in good shape
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 The Cabinet is delaying the approval of the 2012 budget to avert confrontation between its members over Lebanon’s funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, a minister said Thursday, warning that the government isn’t in good…
Gemayel urges guiding charter for the Arab Spring
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 The Arab League should produce a guiding charter to correct the vague and dangerous course of Arab uprisings and protect minorities, Kataeb (Phalange) Party leader Amin Gemayel said Thursday.
Rival Lebanese leaders hail Gadhafi’s death
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Rival Lebanese leaders reacted Thursday with joy to the news of the death of Libya’s ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi…
Draft drug law stresses treatment, not punishment
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 The Lebanese Addictions Center Skoun Thursday presented a draft law aiming to replace the current Narcotics Law, which they say criminalizes drug users instead of providing them with adequate treatment.
Police shut down fake drug operation in Bekaa village
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 The Internal Security Forces shut down a counterfeit medicine operation in the Bekaa Thursday, arresting two men and confiscating materials used for the production of fake medication.
STL sets deadline for in absentia trials of 4 indicted suspects
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 The legal teams of the United Nations-backed court investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will have until next month to submit cases on in absentia trials against four Hezbollah members accused of the…
Maritime natural resources could spark conflict, experts say
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Lebanon is gearing up for a long-term oil and gas production program although the looming diplomatic crisis with Israel over each country’s share of undersea fossil fuels threatens full-scale conflict…
Turkey strikes back at Kurdish militants in northern Iraq
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Hundreds of Turkish commandos backed by helicopter gunships attacked Kurdish militants in northern Iraq Thursday, officials said, in an offensive to avenge the deaths of 24 soldiers a day earlier.
West casts killing of Libyan leader as opportunity
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 World leaders hailed the death of former Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi Thursday as the end of despotism, tyranny, dictatorship and war in the North African country.
Gadhafi’s bloody end
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 The exact circumstances of his demise are still unclear, but it appears Moammar Gadhafi was eventually summarily executed by his captors…
Iran’s Beirut envoy slams U.S. murder plot charges
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon Ghadanfar Ruknabadi slammed Thursday American accusations that the Islamic Republic had plotted to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, saying the allegations were based on hypotheses.
Hezbollah delegation cites success of Moscow visit
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 The head of a Hezbollah delegation said Thursday the party’s first official visit to Moscow has paved the way for cooperation between the two sides.
Unknown assailants beat Syriac Union party official
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 A Syriac Union Party official was severely beaten by unknown assailants overnight in the Ashrafieh neighborhood of Beirut.
Campaign train Officials visit Jeita Grotto to urge votes in 7 Wonders contest
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Prime Minister Najib Mikati and President Michel Sleiman, joined by Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud (back seat), visit the Jeita Grotto Thursday
Women’s rights activists set to wage new campaign
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Sit-ins, lobbying the government and further public awareness will be part of a new drive to eliminate gender-based discrimination, activists said Thursday.
‘Brother Leader’ through the years
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 During nearly 42 years in power in Libya, Moammar Gadhafi was one of the world’s most eccentric dictators, so mercurial that he was both condemned and courted by the West…
Gadhafi death avoids an awkward show trial
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Moammar Gadhafi’s apparent death from wounds received during the fall of Sirte means a long and complex trial that could have divided Libya and embarrassed Western governments and oil firms will be avoided.
Tunisian expats cast first free Arab Spring votes
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Tunisians abroad thronged to vote Thursday in the first post-Arab Spring free election, three days before their compatriots at home go to the polls to turn the page on 23 years of autocratic rule.
British Embassy in Kuwait closed after terror threat
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 The British embassy in the Gulf state of Kuwait has temporarily suspended services because of an increased threat toward the mission, a statement on the embassy website said Thursday.
Syria to receive Arab League next week, violence rages on
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Clashes raged Thursday in Syria between troops and suspected army deserters as more civilians were reportedly killed in the crisis-hit country, a rights group said.
Jubilant Libyans look to an unknown but free future
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Libyans erupted in celebration Thursday as the news of Moammar Gadhafi’s death rippled across the country, marking an end to dictatorship and hopefully, the start of democracy and freedom that many have only dreamed of for…
Pundits shift their gaze toward remaining Arab despots
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 The bloodied corpse of deposed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi will send a clear message to other Arab leaders who are battling to stay in power against the will of their people, some Arabs said Thursday.
Palestinians to push for UN membership Nov. 11
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Palestinian diplomats are trying to muster support for a U.N. Security Council vote in New York on Nov. 11 on their bid for membership in the global body, a senior Palestinian diplomat said Thursday.
Gadhafi death a lost chance for Lockerbie answers: relative
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 The father of a woman who died in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing said Thursday the death of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi was a lost opportunity to find out the truth about the attack.
Hariri lauds Libyans, hopes Syrians can conquer tyranny
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Former PM Saad Hariri said Libya had turned a black page of its history with the death of Moammar Gadhafi and expressed hope the Syrian people would also achieve a similar victory over tyranny.
One Gadhafi son dead, another being surrounded: NTC
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 One of Moammar Gadhafi’s sons, Mo’tassim, has been killed by fighters from Libya’s NTC while another, Saif al-Islam, is trying to flee the fallen city of Sirte but is being surrounded, a senior NTC military official…
IMF, World Bank to visit Libya again-IMF spokesman
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have visited Libya and will return there in “coming weeks” to assess economic and financial needs, an IMF spokesman said on Thursday.
59 percent of Lebanese favor system of proportional representation
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 A recent survey shows that 59 percent of Lebanese favor proportional representation over the current winner-takes-all system for the upcoming 2013 parliamentary elections, ARA Marketing Research & Consultancy revealed Thursday.
Beirut celebrates reports of Gadhafi’s death
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut celebrated Thursday reports claiming Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi had been captured and killed in his hometown of Sirte.
Hariri tribunal to decide Nov. 11 on absentia trial
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 The tribunal investigating the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri will hold a hearing on November 11 to decide whether to try in absentia four Hezbollah members.
Profile: Flamboyant Gadhafi no stranger to bloodshed
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Muammar Gadhafi’s love of comic-opera uniforms, exotic female bodyguards and Bedouin tents provided a theatrical backdrop for 42 years of bloody repression that in the end could not withstand a determined uprising.
Gadhafi killed in his hometown
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Moammar Gadhafi was killed as Libya’s new leaders declared they had overrun the last bastion of his long rule, sparking wild celebrations that eight months of war may finally be over. See video inside.
Two brothers shot and wounded in Beirut
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Two brothers from Hallak family were shot and wounded in Beirut Thursday in a dispute over money, a security source said.
Ruknabadi: U.S. allegations based on hypotheses
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Iranian envoy slammed Thursday American accusations that the Islamic Republic had plotted to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the U.S., saying the allegations were based on hypotheses.
Nasrallah says Hezbollah spies did not harm resistance: report
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has reportedly said that Hezbollah members – recently found to be spying for Israel – did not harm the group.
Turkish commandos hunt down PKK in northern Iraq
Daily Star 20 Oct 2011 Turkish commandos have launched air-backed ground operations against Kurdish militants in five different areas in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq, military headquarters said on Thursday, after guerrillas attacked Turkish forces on Wednesday.
Fayyad: Time not ripe for peace talks
YNet News, 20 Oct 2011 – Palestinian PM says negotiations with Israel at this time only to produce a….
TA: 3 arrested in social protest march
YNet News, 20 Oct 2011 – Hundreds of activists marched on Thursday from Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard to the city’s municipal headquarters, marking 100 days since the beginning of the social … ….
Egypt says preparing for prisoner swap with Israel
YNet News, 20 Oct 2011 – Egypt said on Thursday it was preparing to swap US-Israeli dual national Ilan Grapel, who was detained in June on spying charges, for Egyptian prisoners held in Israel. … ….
Report: Gaddafi to be buried in secret location
YNet News, 20 Oct 2011 – Former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will most likely be buried in a secret location, the Saudi Arabia-based Al-Arabiya TV reported on Thursday. Gaddafi was killed by … ….
Video shows Gaddafi was captured alive
YNet News, 20 Oct 2011 – Arab satellite TV stations have broadcast a video clearly showing that former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was captured alive by revolutionary forces. The video … ….
Libya confirms: Muammar Gaddafi is dead
YNet News, 20 Oct 2011 – A tyrant’s end: Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya with a dictatorial grip for 42 years until he was ousted by rebels in a bloody civil war, was killed Thursday when … ….
World welcomes ‘new era’ in Libya
YNet News, 20 Oct 2011 – “The war in Libya is over,” Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Thursday, using a famous Latin quote to mark the reported death of long-time Libyan dictator … ….
Report: Israeli official informs Grapel of pending release
YNet News, 20 Oct 2011 – Israeli and United States officials visited Ilan Grapel, a dual US-Israeli national who is held in Cairo on espionage charges, and informed him he will be released soon, … ….
Palestinian Information Center
Jewish settler throws chemical material on Palestinian youth
PIC – A Jewish settlers threw an unknown chemical material on the face of a Palestinian youth in Hawara village, south of Nablus, on Wednesday, his family said.
Mashaal congratulates new Jordanian premier Khasawneh
PIC – Head of Hamas’s political bureau Khaled Mashaal congratulated over the phone the Jordanian premier designate Awn Al-Khasawneh on the occasion of being selected to form the new government of Jordan.
Qasem: Exchange deal, a great achievement
PIC – Dr. Abdel-Sattar Qasem said that the prisoner exchange deal was a great achievement for Hamas and Palestinian resistance, which managed to achieve what “peace negotiations” could not.
Aruri: Nine women will be freed soon from Israeli jails
PIC – Senior Hamas official in charge of prisoners’ file Salah Al-Aruri said the remaining nine female prisoners would be freed from Israeli jails within days.
IOF troops enter the Daheya neighbourhood of Nablus
PIC – Local sources in Nablus said that IOF troops entered the Daheya neighbourhood in the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday and went around the streets of the neighbourhood.
IOF arrest a Palestinian girl for allegedly trying to stab a settler
PIC – IOF troops arrested on Wednesday evening a Palestinian girl from the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem for allegedly trying to stab a Jewish settler.
Mashaal’s visit to Jordan delayed for logistical reasons
PIC – Moussa Abu Marzouk said the official visit which Khaled Mashaal intended to make accompanied by the Qatari crown prince to Amman was rescheduled due to logistical circumstances.
Settlers earmark $100,000 ?¢‚Ǩ?ìbounty?¢‚Ǩ¬ù for anyone who kills two liberated prisoners
PIC – A Jewish family in Yitzhar settlement near Nablus earmarked the sum of 100000 dollars for anyone killing the two liberated Palestinian prisoners Khuweiled and Nizar Ramadan..
Israeli Soldiers Closes Vital Road West of Ramallah
WAFA
Human Rights Organizations Call on EU to Uphold Standards to Protect Prisoners’ Rights
WAFA
Abbas Heads Fatah Central Committee Meeting
WAFA
Palestinian Investments Abroad Exceed Foreign Investments Here: PCBS, PMA
WAFA
Settlers, Soldiers Continue Attacks on Hebron Schools
WAFA
Israeli Soldiers Raid Houses in Bethlehem
WAFA
Weather Forecast: A Slight Rise in Temperature
WAFA
Unfolding a Plot: Mossad at Work
Intifada-Palestine: 20 Oct 2011 – Courtesy Press TV By Dr. Ismail Salami Despite its evidently make-believe facade, the cooked-up story of the Saudi envoy assassination plot does not seem to be something which can be easily banished from the minds of the American powers that be…. more
Provoking a Path to Persia
Intifada-Palestine: 20 Oct 2011 – The Saban Center’s prescient paper on war with Iran Saban (left) with Condoleezza Rice, Tony Blair, and Ehud Olmert. Saban is Mossad’s bagman for the biggest war criminals of our time. A little Mossad money goes a long way when placed… more
6 Years After Stroke, Sharon Still Responsive, Son Says
New York Times 20 Oct 2011 – Details of Ariel Sharon’s health and status have been closely guarded by the family, but his son, Gilad, agreed to discuss the matter as he prepares to publicize a biography of his father.
For Israel and Palestinians, Moving Ahead and Looking Back
New York Times 19 Oct 2011 – Yehya Sinwar is the most senior of the Hamas members freed into Gaza in exchange for Gilad Shalit, and he came home to a world he could not possibly have imagined.
Shalit’s Release Came After Family’s 5-Year Campaign
New York Times 19 Oct 2011 – The family of Gilad Shalit spearheaded a five-year campaign to lobby for their son’s release, helping to build overwhelming support in Israel for a deal with Hamas.
U.S. Weighs Cyberwarfare Strategy
New York Times 18 Oct 2011 – Officials are working to clarify a military doctrine on waging cyberattacks after a plan for such an attack on Libya was rejected.
AT-TUWANI: Israeli military fails to escort children twice in one day
Christian Peacemaker Teams – Palestine – On 16 October, the Israeli military failed, twice, to escort the school children of Tuba and Maghayir al Abeed past Ma’on settlement and Havat Ma’on outpost. Because Israeli settlers have attacked and harassed the Palestinian schoolchildren multiple times in the past, the Israeli military made a…
Gary Ackerman blasts NYU divestment campaign, NYU students and faculty blast back
Mondoweiss – Gary Ackerman, the top Democrat on the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, has issued a statement attacking an effort by New York University students and faculty to divest from TIAA-CREF over its investments in companies benefiting from the Israeli occupation. An open…
Muammar Gaddafi captured and killed in Sirte
Mondoweiss – link to www.wideasleepinamerica.com link to www.palestine-info.co.uk link to www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk link to www.imemc.org link to us.rd.yahoo.com link to www.palestine-info.co.uk link to electronicintifada.net link to www.maannews.net link to mondoweiss.net link to mondoweiss.net link to www.globes.co.il link to us.rd.yahoo.com link to us.rd.yahoo.com link to www.youtube.com link to www.richardsilverstein.com Muammar…
‘Atlantic’ expose on Rick Perry’s affinity for Israel ignores the H2Occupation of Palestine
Mondoweiss – “[It is] of vital importance not only to secure all water resources already feeding the country, but also to control them at their source.” – Chaim Weizmann, President of the World Zionist Organization and the first President of Israel, at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference “And…
Connect the dots: In ’02, NYPD began training in Israel; 9 years later, spying against NYC Muslims exposed
Mondoweiss – In 2002, the Los Angeles Times reported: Five New York City police investigators are in Israel for a symposium on suicide bombers. The officers are apparently the first members of a U.S. police department to receive training from Israeli counter-terrorism experts. “Obviously after 9/11 everyone’s world…
Pro-Israel donors are at the heart of Defence Ministry scandal in Britain
Mondoweiss – I keep saying that the Israel lobby is a central factor in the making of our foreign policy, and some day journalists are going to have to cover the story— and the Liam Fox scandal in Britain ups the ante. Liam Fox was once a rising…
UN Security Council to Vote November 11th on Palestinian Statehood
Tikun Olam – Reuters is reporting that western diplomats say the UN Security Council will vote on November 11th on the Palestinian bid for statehood. Tantalizingly, it says the vote is very close: Diplomats currently expect eight council members to back the Palestinians and six to vote against or…
Former Mujahadeen Khalq Leader Confirms Alleged Iran Terror Plot Conspirator May Be Affiliated with MEK
Tikun Olam – You’ll recall that the the U.S. claimed that the Iranian alleged conspirator in the terror plot against the Saudi ambassador, Gholam Shakuri, was a Revolutionary Guard (IRG) official. Though many Iranians have scoured every resource they could think of, none have found evidence of such a…
Muammar Gaddafi killed in Libya
BBC 20 Oct 2011 – Col Muammar Gaddafi is killed after an assault on Sirte, the acting PM says, as images of his body are aired.
‘Wrong time’ for Mid-East talks
BBC 20 Oct 2011 – Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad says the time is not ripe for “meaningful” talks with Israel, despite an appeal by international mediators.
Kuwait ‘threat’ hits UK embassy
BBC 20 Oct 2011 – The British embassy in Kuwait temporarily suspends its services because of a terror threat, the Foreign Office says.
Academy calls for Iran releases
BBC 20 Oct 2011 – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences leads Hollywood industry organisations in calling for the release of jailed Iranian film-makers.
Cambridge students to begin vote on company with Israeli settlement ties
Global BDS 19 Oct 2011 – Students at Cambridge will start voting Friday in a referendum calling on the University to cut ties with a company implicated in Israeli human rights abuses. The referendum, scheduled for 21-24 October, calls on CUSU (Cambridge University Students Union) to campaign to have the University cut…
Rewards are offered by Israelis for murdering ex-prisoners
Middle East Monitor 20 Oct 2011 – Reports from Israel allege that large financial rewards are being offered for anyone who murders some of the ex-prisoners freed as part of the exchange deal struck between the Israeli government and Hamas. The Israeli media claims that a number of radical Jews who lost family…
34 years in prison, decades of selflessness
Middle East Monitor 20 Oct 2011 – The members of the Al-Barghouthi family are famous for their steadfastness and resistance to Israel’s military occupation of their land. They have given martyrs, leaders and prisoners for the sake of Palestine. Nael Al-Barghouthi ended up as the doyen of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Together…
Meshaal tells negotiators to learn from the prisoner swap deal
Middle East Monitor 20 Oct 2011 – The head of the Hamas Political Bureau has told Palestinian negotiators to learn from the prisoner swap deal. Khaled Meshaal described the exchange of prisoners as “a white page in Palestine’s history. Speaking at a press conference attended by 40 of the former prisoners as they…
Israeli MP calls on Netanyahu to rethink relations with Hamas and the Gaza blockade
Middle East Monitor 20 Oct 2011 – A member of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rethink the country’s relationship with Hamas. Speaking to Israel Radio on Wednesday, MK Nachman Shai called on Netanyahu to take advantage of a “small window of opportunity” created by the release…
Egypt: Govt’ Efforts Garnered 133 Countries Supporting Palestine
allAfrica.com 20 Oct 2011 – Egypt’s permanent representative to the UN Maged Abdel-Fattah announced that Egypt’s efforts have succeeded in increasing the number of countries which recognize the Palestinian state to 133 countries.
Articles
Americans Pay Dearly to Maintain Israel’s Nuclear Secrets
Grant Smith, Antiwar.com10/20/2011
CIA endangers NUMEC toxic waste cleanup
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has just stopped its $170 million nuclear waste dump cleanup at a former Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC) site in Pennsylvania. In the early 1960s, NUMEC established a plutonium facility in Parks Township — disposing of waste in a large field adjacent to the plant. NUMEC’s waste site was staggeringly inappropriate. According to Atomic Energy Commission surveys and more recent USACE studies, groundwater flows freely throughout the dump at levels where waste resides. Further below the surface, a warren of coal mine shafts from the early 20th century creates the possibility of toxic seepage and sinkholes.
According to what the USACE knows, a contractor failed to inspect the contents of a 55-gallon drum holding radioactive waste before moving it. What nearby residents, contractors, and USACE engineers don’t know could pose an even greater hazard — and the CIA may be in a position to provide a remedy.
According to newly declassified FBI files [.pdf], NUMEC’s venture capitalist David Lowenthal and founder Zalman Shapiro knowingly failed to comply with even the lax AEC standards in force in the 1960s for handling radioactive waste at NUMEC. An FBI wiretap placed on Lowenthal’s phone picked up shocking news of a major illicit radioactive spill on May 5, 1969. Lowenthal and Shapiro were both under investigation for diverting enough HEU to Israel to build more than a dozen atomic weapons. Shapiro and Lowenthal were in the midst of their “exit strategy” — selling NUMEC to Atlantic Richfield, which would (along with successor Babcock & Wilcox and then American taxpayers) be left holding the bag for massive future cleanup and health indemnity costs. more.. e-mail
‘I was 1-day-old when my father was jailed’
Shahd Abusalama, Uruknet10/18/2011
A very confusing feeling passes through me after hearing about the exchange of 1,027 Palestinian detainees for the only Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who was held captive by the Palestinian resistance fighters. I don’t know whether to feel happy or sad.
Gazing at the faces of the prisoners’ families in the solidarity tent in Gaza City, I see a look that I have never seen before: eyes glittering with hope. These people have attended every event in solidarity with our detainees, have never given up hope that their freedom is inevitable someday, and have stayed strong during their loved ones’ absence inside Israeli cells. Thinking about those women whose relatives are most likely to be released and seeing their big smiles makes me happy. But at the same time, thinking about the other 5,000 detainees who will steadfastly go on with their resistance in the prisons makes my heart break for them.
Hearts aching for those still in jail
When I arrived at the tent on 12 October, the wife of the prisoner Nafez Herz, who was sentenced to life-long imprisonment and has been jailed for 26 years, shook hands with me and said very excitedly that she had heard that her husband would be freed. Then she said, “But you can’t imagine how much my heart aches for those families whose prisoner will not be released in this exchange deal. All prisoners’ families have become like one big family. We meet weekly, if not daily in the Red Cross, we share our torments, and we understand each other’s suffering.” I grabbed her hands and pressed them while saying, “We will never forget them, and God willing, they will gain their freedom soon.” more.. e-mail
Nizar and Ahlam; Fatah and Hamas: from an Israeli cell to a wedding ceremony
al-Sharq al-Awsat, Middle East Monitor (MEMO)10/19/2011
When Ahlam was in her third year at Bir Zeit, both she and Mahmoud were arrested by the Israelis. He was sentenced to life in prison and she was sentenced to 16 consecutive life terms. He is affiliated to Fatah; she is a member of Hamas. Today, however, Nizar Al-Tamimi, 38, and his cousin Ahlam Al-Tamimi, 31, are both free and are going to be married in Amman, Jordan.
The Al-Tamimi family from Nabi Saleh in the occupied West Bank were looking forward to receiving their son Nizar after his release from prison as part of the exchange deal between Israel and Hamas. He was sentenced to life in prison for participating in an operation to kill an Israeli settler during the nineties. Ahlam was jailed for providing assistance to a suicide bomber who blew up an Israeli restaurant in 2001. She was the first female member of Hamas’s military wing. Her motivation to get involved developed through her growing disaffection with the peace process and the Israeli atrocities she monitored while working as a journalist.
Mahmoud Al-Tamimi has lived with the knowledge of the relationship between his brother Nizar and cousin Ahlam after spending four years in an Israeli prison himself. In an interview with the French Press Agency (AFP), Mahmoud said, “The story of Nizar, who is a son of Fatah, and Ahlam, who is a daughter of Hamas, is an expression of the unified reality of the Palestinian people.” The current split is an anomalous state of affairs, he added.
Mahmoud spoke about having met his cousin Ahlam in Jordan when Nizar was already in prison. According to AFP he said of her, “I found a young girl with feelings completely bound up in Palestine. She had a picture of Nizar hanging in her bedroom because, for her, he represented the cause that she loved.” He said that in 1998 she asked for his help to enrol at Bir Zeit University; permission was given and she moved to the West Bank to study. more.. e-mail
Gaddafi Dead: What Next?
Palestine Chronicle: 20 Oct 2011 – By Ismail Salami The report that the evasive Libyan ruler Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has died as a result of the wounds he sustained during a NATO attack has flung the Libyans into a jubilant frenzy while it has provoked mixed reactions from the political observers who may eye the event with reasonable degree of suspicion. “He (Gaddafi) was also hit in his head,” National Transitional Council official Abdel Majid Mlegta told Reuters. “There was a lot of firing against his group and he died.” Mlegta also revealed that Gaddafi had been wounded in both legs at dawn on Thursday while he was trying to escape in a convoy bombarded by NATO warplanes. Does this mean that the NATO forces who were sure that Gaddafi was in the convoy did not want him alive? If so, why would they want him dead? To the NATO forces, a dead Gaddafi would be…more
Britain, France , US: ‘And the Winner Is ..’
Palestine Chronicle: 20 Oct 2011 – By Eric Walberg — Cairo In the lifestyle sweepstakes, the answer is ‘none of the above’. The economic and social experiments in the past three decades by British governments from left to right have left the plucky Brits reeling, as this summer’s unprecedented bread and ipod riots showed all too conclusively. For a year now, fiscal austerity and financial chaos have sent Britain’s economy into a nasty cycle of low growth and rising unemployment. But unlike Greece, which was forced into recession by misguided EU taskmasters, Britain has inflicted this on itself. Austerity was a deliberate choice by Prime Minister David Cameron’s ruling coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Britain’s jobless numbers are the highest in more than 15 years, with unemployment 8.1 per cent, as the government continues to slash public-sector jobs — more than 100,000 have been lost in recent months. This call to “balance the books” is…more
The Wrong Occupation
Palestine Chronicle: 20 Oct 2011 – By Kathy Kelly In Kabul, Afghanistan’s beleaguered capitol city, a young woman befriended me during December of 2010. She was eager to talk about her views, help us better understand the history of her country, and form lasting relationships. Now, she is too frightened to return a phone call from visiting westerners. The last time I saw her, during the spring of 2011, she was extremely anxious because, weeks earlier, U.S. Joint Special Operations Commandos (JSOC) had arrested her brother-in-law. The family has no idea how to find him. Once, someone working for the International Commission of the Red Cross called the family to say that he was still alive and in the custody of the International Security Assistance Forces, (ISAF). Numerous families in Afghanistan experience similar misery and fear after night raids that effectively “disappear” family members who are held incommunicado and sometimes turned over to Afghan National Police…more
The Plot behind Iran Plot
Palestine Chronicle: 20 Oct 2011 – By Aijaz Zaka Syed — Dubai A great deal of time in my adolescent years was spent with my father’s books. I was introduced to some of the finest names in Urdu and Western literature in my dad’s library. Many of them have stayed with me, enlivening many a dull moment and showing the way when one was lost in the face of life’s complexities. One of them was Inayatulla Altamash, the author of Dastan Iman Faroshon Ki (The merchants of faith). Woven around Europe’s Crusades to wrestle the Holy Land from the hands of the “infidels,” the five-part series is a riveting saga of endless bloodshed, bravery, perfidy and spy games. Altamash’s protagonist is Salahuddin Ayubi or Saladin for the West, the Liberator of Palestine. Salahuddin repeatedly faced the combined might of Christendom, eventually succeeding in driving it out by the sheer dint of his courage, self belief and…more
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The New Dark Age 