8 December 2011 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
PCHR Press Release Regarding Medical Delegation Prevented From Leaving Gaza
IMEMC – PCHR Condemns Prevention of Medical Delegation from Traveling via Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing by Ministry of Health in Gaza. …
Army Demands More Leverage For P.A In West Bank
IMEMC – Senior Israeli military officials demanded the Israeli Government to increase the Palestinian Authority’s control in the West Bank in order to enable it to prevent the Hamas Movement from toppling the Fateh-backed Palestinian Government, the Maan News Agency reported Thursday. …
Settlers Open Fire At Palestinian Shepherds Near Nablus
IMEMC – A group of extremist Israeli settlers opened fired, on Thursday, at a group of Palestinian shepherds tending their sheep in the eastern hills of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. …
Jerusalem Municipality Orders Closure Of Al Magharba Gate Bridge
IMEMC – Head of the City Council in Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, ordered the closure of the historic Al Magharba Gate Bridge, in occupied East Jerusalem, under the pretext that the bridge is unsafe, and endangers the lives of those who use it. …
Zionist Rabbi Faces Sexual Charges In Israel
IMEMC – Israeli daily, Haaretz, reported that a prominent Zionist Rabbi was sent to the Magistrates Court in Jerusalem, on Wednesday, facing charges of sexual assaults against two students who sought his spiritual support. …
Two Killed Several Injured As Army Air Strikes Gaza
IMEMC – The Palestine News and Info Agency (WAFA) reported Thursday that one Palestinian was killed and several others, including school students, were wounded, when the Israeli Air Force fired a missile at a Palestinian car in Omar Al Mukhtar Street, in Gaza City. …
2 killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza
12/8/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — An Israeli airstrike killed two people in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, medics and security officials said. Medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said two people died and two others were wounded after the explosion, which witnesses said hit a car parked near Omar al-Mukhtar street. A Ma’…. Related: Hamas condemns Israel over deadly Gaza strike
Israel hands confiscation, demolition orders in Hebron
12/8/2011 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces handed confiscation orders to ten landowners in villages near Hebron on Thursday, locals told Ma’an. The troops also handed demolition orders for 14 houses in southern Hebron village Susiya, residents said. Israeli authorities told four landowners in Surif village, which neighbors Susiya, that their land would be….
Israel orders closure of ramp to Al-Aqsa compound
12/9/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Jerusalem’s city council has ordered the closure within a week of a wooden access ramp to the sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City, saying the structure is “a threat to public safety.” The closure order was outlined in a letter from city engineer Shlomo Eshkol which was handed on….
Israel OKs new settler homes in East Jerusalem
12/9/2011 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel has approved construction of a new Jewish enclave in the heart of a Palestinian neighborhood of annexed East Jerusalem, state-owned Channel One TV reported Wednesday. The channel said the 14-home project, to be named Maale David, was approved late Wednesday by the Jerusalem city council’s planning committee and was….
Witnesses: Israeli troops raid Ramallah villages
12/8/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — A large Israeli force raided two villages near Ramallah on Thursday morning leading to clashes with locals, witnesses said. Around 300 soldiers in army jeeps, accompanied by bulldozers, entered Deir Ghassana and Beit Rima, ransacking homes and entering mosques in both villages, witnesses told Ma’an. Residents of Deir Ghassana….
Group claims missile attack on Israel’s Negev
12/8/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The armed wing of Fatah said it fired a missile toward the Negev amid Israeli shelling in central Gaza, after an Israeli airstrike killed a member of the group and one other person in Gaza earlier on Thursday. The Al-Aqsa Brigades said it fired a missile toward the Mishmar HaNegev….
PA: Israel re-arrests prisoner after swap deal
12/9/2011 – TULKAREM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained Thursday one of the prisoners who was released in the latest prisoners swap deal, the ministry of prisoners’ affairs said. The ministry said soldiers detained Ayed Muhammad Khalil from Qaffin village in Tulkarem with his brother and sister in law after they were stopped at a flying…. Related: Israel re-arrests former prisoner, 2 relatives
Rights group wants investigation after children die in sewer
12/9/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Center for Human Rights called Thursday for an investigation into the deaths of two children in a sewage basin in Khan Yunis refugee camp. In a statement, the PCHR said the party responsible for providing protective measures around the basin should be identified, as it threatens the safety and….
Israeli forces ‘detain PFLP members in Hebron raid’
12/8/2011 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Thursday arrested three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine during a dawn raid on Sair in Hebron, locals said. Witnesses told Ma’an that soldiers, accompanied by dogs, ransacked several homes before detaining Mohammad Sharif Abdul Ghaffar Jaradat, 23, Khalil Rateb Jabarin and….
Report: Israel weighs ‘infiltrator’ detention facility
12/8/2011 – TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to ask his government Sunday to approve a plan to deal with “illegal refugees and migrant workers,” reports said Thursday. Israel’s Ynet news site reported that the initiative, which is estimated to cost $169 million, calls for the establishment of….
Israel re-arrests former prisoner, 2 relatives
12/8/2011 – TULKAREM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces arrested released detainee Ayed Khalil from the West Bank city of Tulkarem along with members of his family, officials said Thursday…. Related: PA: Israel re-arrests prisoner after swap deal
Israel shells east of Gaza City; no injuries
12/8/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli forces fired two artillery shells east of Zeitoun in Gaza City late Thursday causing no injuries or damage, locals said after an armed group claimed to have fired a missile into the Negev….
Muslim charity leaders lose appeal in Hamas case
12/8/2011 – NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) — A US federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld the convictions of five leaders of an Islamic charity on charges of funneling money and supplies to Hamas, which the US designates as a “terrorist” group. The organizers of the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation argued they were denied a fair trial in 2008 when….
Israeli army officers ‘urge government to strengthen PA’
12/8/2011 – TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Senior Israeli army officials say the Israeli government should strengthen the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority to avoid Hamas gains in elections next year, the Hebrew-language newspaper Maariv reported Thursday. Israeli officers advocate giving more permits for Palestinians in the West Bank to work in Israel, approving job creation programs and….
Report: US considered mission to retrieve Iran drone
12/8/2011 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — The US military considered destroying or retrieving a drone that crashed in Iran last week, according to an American official quoted in the Israeli media on Thursday. The official told Maariv that the military considered an operation inside Iranian territory or to bomb and destroy parts of the plane. Iran’….
Report: Israel to free petty criminals in Shalit deal
12/8/2011 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israel plans to release Palestinian petty criminals as the last step in a prisoner exchange with Hamas, according to an Israeli newspaper on Thursday.”We will release car thieves, not make any gestures to Abbas,” a government official told The Jerusalem Post, an English-language Israeli daily. The Justice Ministry will draw….
UNESCO to raise Palestinian flag
12/8/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — UNESCO will raise the Palestinian flag at its Paris headquarters on Tuesday to mark the admission of Palestine as a full member, a press statement said on Wednesday. President Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Malki will preside over the ceremony with UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, it said. UNESCO….
Hamas condemns Israel over deadly Gaza strike
12/8/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas on Thursday demanded that Israel cease attacks on Gaza, after an airstrike killed two members of armed groups in the center of the enclave. Israel’s leader should be tried for war crimes, the statement said. A Hamas spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, said “the enemy wants to export its…. Related: 2 killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza
Israel deputy FM: UNRWA ‘morally, politically unacceptable’
12/8/2011 – TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Israel’s deputy foreign minister accused the UN agency for Palestinian refugees of perpetuating Palestine’s conflict with Israel, in a speech at the UN refugee headquarters in Geneva on Thursday, Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post reported. Calling UNRWA “morally and politically unacceptable,” Danny Ayalon said the….
Egypt struggles to restore Gaza calm
12/8/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Egyptian ambassador to the Palestinian Authority said Thursday Cairo was making efforts to restore calm as violence flares again in Gaza. Yasser Othman told Ma’an that Egypt was trying to stop Israeli attacks in order to renew a truce “which was reversed by Israel” when an airstrike killed…. Related: Envoy says Egypt mediating to restore Gaza calm
Report: Hamas insists national vote in East Jerusalem
12/8/2011 – TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Hamas is adamant that East Jerusalem take part in any upcoming national election, Israeli media said on Thursday. Citing a senior Palestinian source, Israeli daily Haaretz said Hamas is using the condition to avoid elections that might push them from power in the Gaza Strip, knowing Israel will not…. Related: Hamas denies seeking guarantee of Jerusalem vote
Hamas denies seeking guarantee of Jerusalem vote
12/8/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas dismissed a report in the Israeli press Thursday that it was demanding certain preconditions be met before agreeing to hold national elections for a new government. Israel’s Haaretz daily reported Thursday that Hamas was demanding Jerusalem be included in any future election, something Israel could block, as…. Related: Report: Hamas insists national vote in East Jerusalem
EU’s Ashton condemns West Bank mosque attack
12/8/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton on Thursday condemned the attack on a West Bank village mosque a day earlier, which local officials blamed on settlers.” The High Representative condemns the attack against the mosque of Burqin village in the West Bank on 7 December 2011, in which a flaming tyre….
Palestinian children to learn Brazilian Capoeira
12/8/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Ramallah based representative office of Brazil will sign an agreement with an NGO on Tuesday to implement a “capoeira” project in refugee camps across Palestine. The project is supported by UNRWA and will entail training sessions by teachers in the Brazilian martial art. The project will take place in Jalazoun….
Fatah armed wing claims Negev missile
12/8/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Brigades claimed Thursday to have fired a missile toward the southern Negev desert in Israel, in response to an airstrike that killed an Aqsa operative hours earlier…. Related: Group claims missile attack on Israel’s Negev
Israel warplanes strike Gaza City
12/8/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli warplanes fired on the Zeitoun area of Gaza City late Thursday, locals said, after tank shells struck a nearby area. The latest strikes come amid an escalation in clashes sparked by a deadly airstrike in central Gaza hours earlier…. Related: 2 killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza
Gaza doctors ‘barred from medical conference’ in Jerusalem
12/9/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Center for Human Rights says the health ministry in the Gaza Strip is preventing medical professionals from receiving training in Israel. A medical delegation was barred from crossing at the Erez terminal ahead of a medical conference in Jerusalem, a statement from the rights group said Thursday. Bassam al-Badri….
Gaza tunnels economy ‘booming’ after Egypt revolt
12/8/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The tunnels economy in the blockaded Gaza Strip is “booming” thanks to policy changes following the ouster of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in February, UN officials say. An economic report to be released Thursday by UNRWA, the Palestine refugees agency, describes an upsurge in private employment, new imports and construction following….
EU fulfills Gaza reconstruction pledge
12/8/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The European Union has made its seventh payment under the Palestinian Authority’s private sector reconstruction in Gaza program, the PA announced Thursday. The EU contributed over 3. 5 million euros ($4. 7 million) to the PSRG program, which supports the private sector in the Gaza Strip, the PA’….
Envoy says Egypt mediating to restore Gaza calm
12/8/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Egyptian ambassador in Ramallah says Cairo is in continuous communication with Israel and factions in Gaza in order to restore calm following a deadly airstrike and renewed rocket fire…. Related: Egypt struggles to restore Gaza calm
Palestinian mission censured over tourism map
12/8/2011 – LONDON (Ma’an) — Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority has censured the Palestinian Diplomatic Mission to the UK for carrying a map of Palestine that did not identify Israel, UK media reported Wednesday. Headlined “Discover Palestine” as part of a promotion for tourism, the map showed the West Bank and Gaza Strip along with….
Korean film celebrated in Bethlehem
12/9/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Korean and Palestinian film-lovers gathered in Bethlehem’s Dar al-Nadwa hall this week for the third annual showcase of Korean cinema in Palestine. At its Tuesday opening, around 200 film-goers feasted on a Korean buffet — including Palestinian Authority Minister of Social Affairs Majida al-Masri — before the screening of Korea’….
Syrians launch civil disobedience campaign
12/8/2011 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Syrian activists on Thursday launched a campaign of civil disobedience to pile pressure on President Bashar Assad, after he drew a stinging rebuke from the US for denying he ordered a deadly crackdown. Local human rights groups said more than 100 people have been killed in Syria since the weekend, and the UN….
MADA: Arab Network for Freedom of Expression Officially Established
PNN – MADA Based on its belief in the need for unified action to promote freedom of expression in the Arab world, the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), in cooperation with…
UN Releases Brief on Settlement Activity, East Jerusalem
PNN – The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on Tuesday published a brief including detailed information about settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories and difficulties faced by Palestinians…
Israeli Court Rules to Expel Palestinian MP Attoun to Ramallah
PNN – On Wednesday, the Israeli Conciliation Court decided to expel Palestinian Legislative Council member Ahmad Attoun to Ramallah. A previous Jerusalem council member, Khaled Abu Arfah, said that Attoun refused to sign on…
Op Ed: To Whom is the British Ambassador to Israel Loyal?
PNN – by Gary Spedding All across government, officials have been quick to jump to the defence of the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould (http://thejc.com/news/uk-news/59309/mp-who-questioned-jewish-envoys-loyalty-should-prepare-retire) when recently it was claimed a duality in…
Soldiers Distribute Confiscation Notices to Bethlehemites, Settlers Open Fire on Nablus Shepherds
PNN – On Thursday, Israeli forces gave the citizens of al-Khader village, south of Bethlehem, notices that soldiers would be coming confiscate agricultural lands belonging to two families. Bethlehem municipal agriculture officer Mahmoud Abdullah…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
PCHR Condemns Prevention of Medical Delegation from Traveling via Beit Hanoun (Erez) Crossing by Ministry of Health in Gaza
Palestinian Center for Human Rights Thursday, 08 December 2011
PCHR Condemns Forcible Transfer of PLC Member Ahmed Attoun to Ramallah
Palestinian Center for Human Rights Wednesday, 07 December 2011
Alternative Information Center
Palestinian children suffer from severe trauma after imprisonment
Alternative Information Center – Children who experienced arrest and detention suffer from multiple problems after being released, ranging from mental and emotional to social and economic difficulties. More than 90% of Palestinian children who have been held in Israeli prisons…
Cracks in the “unshakable alliance”?
Alternative Information Center – With the 2012 Presidential campaign already underway, conventional wisdom dictates that Barack Obama will steer clear of any controversy regarding Israel. Well, he certainly surprised us all this week. Obama himself has remained largely aloof from…
World: ICRC raising funds to address acute crises and long-term suffering
Relief Web 8 Dec 2011 – Source: ICRC Country: World , Afghanistan , Colombia , Democratic Republic of the Congo (the) , Iraq , Israel , occupied Palestinian territory , Pakistan , Somalia , South Sudan (Republic of) , Sudan (the) , Yemen Geneva (ICRC) – Sudden emergencies in the Middle East and North Africa that began…
Israel: The State of Human Rights in Israel and the OPT 2011
Relief Web 8 Dec 2011 – Source: Association for Civil Rights in Israel Country: Israel , occupied Palestinian territory Introduction Every year, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) publishes an annual report, The State of Human Rights in Israel and the Occupied Territories. Published just…
Jerusalem demands closure of access ramp at Al Aqsa mosque
The National 8 Dec 2011 – Jerusalem’s city council has ordered the closure within a week of a wooden access ramp to the Al Aqsa mosque compound, saying the structure was “a threat to public safety”.
Yemenis protest in thousands against Saleh loyalists in new cabinet
The National 8 Dec 2011 – ‘No partnership with the murderers’, activists say, while Yemen forces say that nine Al Qaeda militants have been killed in south of the country.
Explosion on Syrian oil pipeline near restive Homs
The National 8 Dec 2011 – State-run news agency blames militants, while activists say at least seven people were killed in a separate raids in the city.
Muslim Brotherhood to boycott military panel on new constitution
The National 8 Dec 2011 – Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group dominating parliamentary elections, says it will boycott a council appointed by the country’s military rulers to oversee drafting of the new constitution.
US will assist Lebanon in securing its border with Syria, says envoy
The National 8 Dec 2011 – Washington’s top Middle East diplomat warns that the crisis in Syria must not be allowed to spill over into neighbouring Lebanon.
Bahrain athletes have protest charges dropped
The National 8 Dec 2011 – Bahrain News Agency said the king officially “forgave” the athletes.
Oil pipeline blown up by saboteurs, says Syria
The National 8 Dec 2011 – Opposition calls for a national strike on Sunday as another day of violence leaves 14 more people killed by security forces.
PLO wants UN Security Council to censure Israel over settlement construction
Ha’aretz – Palestinians will also ask General Assembly to implement Geneva Convention in the PA-controlled territories.
Gaza militants fire rockets at Israel’s south following IDF strike
Ha’aretz – Grad missile lands near southern city of Be’er Sheva, Qassam lands in open field in western Negev; Palestinians report first IDF airstrike of Gaza City since 2009.
Obama: Iran won’t be allowed to develop nuclear weapons
Ha’aretz – In White House statement, U.S. President says his administration imposed the toughest sanctions on the Islamic Republic, adding the world was unified against its nuclear aspirations.
Iran state television displays ‘downed U.S. surveillance drone’
Ha’aretz – WATCH: Revolutionary Guard top officer tells Fars news agency that military experts are ‘well aware how precious the technological information of this drone is.’
Natasha Mozgovaya / For Palestinians and settlers, the West Bank is two different places
Ha’aretz – Each time there’s a call to boycott our wines, we sell more, says Israeli settler, as Palestinians foresee the rise of Hamas.
Berkeley reconsiders J Street rejection following public uproar
Ha’aretz – Jewish Student Union, an umbrella organization encompassing several campus groups, voted November 16 to exclude the left-leaning group.
WATCH: Video of Strauss-Kahn leaving scene of alleged N.Y. rape
Ha’aretz – French news channel BFM-TV publishes security camera footage from May of this year, showing former IMF chief leaving the New York hotel room, followed by maid Nafissatou Diallo.
Jordan’s King and Abbas meet in Amman, discuss peace process
Ha’aretz – King Abdullah II is trying to get Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace talks that Abbas abandoned in September 2010.
NATO chief to Haaretz: We won’t intervene in Syria crisis
Ha’aretz – UN says more than 4,000 people were killed in the 9 month crackdown, but Assad says only a ‘crazy’ leader kills his own people and that most of those killed were government supporters.
IDF: Gaza strike killed terrorist planning attack on Egypt border
Ha’aretz – Palestinian medics report two killed, several hurt in Israeli strike on car in central Gaza City.
IAF strikes Hamas base in Gaza, Palestinians report civilian casualties
Ha’aretz – Medical officials say the target was a Hamas training base, but that shrapnel flew into nearby houses, killing a civilian and wounding 13 others., Grad missile lands near southern city of Be’er Sheva, Qassam lands in open field in western Negev; Palestinians report first IDF airstrike of Gaza City since 2009.
City demands closure of Mugrabi Bridge in one week
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – J’lem municipality insists decrepit state of bridge could lead to a “Carmel Fire II.”
‘EU leaders to call for more Iran sanctions’
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – European leaders to call for additional measures against Iran at Brussels meeting, but unlikely to make an explicit call for oil embargo, despite urging of France, backed by Germany and Britain, diplomats say.
Thousands suggest explanations for ancient J’lem carvings
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Archeologists at the City of David site post a mysterious stone carving on Facebook, and ask the world what it thinks.
Two dead in Virginia Tech University shooting
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Campus police officer killed in shooting at site of 2007 massacre that killed 32 people; 2nd body found reported to be shooter.
Health system’s labor pains end as doctors return
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – “The new agreement is good for everybody, and now we have to get back to work,” Health Ministry official tells ‘Post’.
Beit El residents battle to save their homes
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – 30 ‘Ulpana’ apartments due to be demolished in April
Women’s battle
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Religious sensibilities and female aspirations can live side-by-side, provided there is goodwill, mutual respect and the taming of religious fanaticism.
‘Egypt working to restore Gaza, Israel calm’
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Egyptian ambassador calls Israeli hit on terrorist planning attack from Sinai a “violation,” says Cairo working with parties.
Headliners: Feed the world
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Both Israel’s vibrant democracy and her life-saving technological know-how will continue to flourish. In an unstable neighborhood, Israel’s future depends on it.
Jews and Arabs living side by side
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Democracies are judged by efforts to assure minorities genuine equality – not only in their laws’ official texts, but also in day-to-day reality.
Hillary, Israel is not Iran
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Israel is not Iran or Saudi Arabia. Perhaps it would be better to begin where the real problems are.
Cottage cheese and the ethics of balancing power
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Collective sentiment and action, exemplified by protests and public organizations, play a crucial role in today’s real-world economy.
Are you happy to be Jewish?
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – With all the troubles of our time we need a compelling and inspiring vision of what it means to be a Jew.
Fear, speculation in Iran over military strike
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – “I cannot sleep at night, thinking about destruction and bloodshed if Israel and America attack Iran,” mother says.
Postscript: A threat and a promise
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – A sense of maturity and self-confidence may be emerging in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Savir’s Corner: Patriotism
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – The people of Israel must return to the basic values of true patriotism: the values of our Declaration of Independence.
FM: Russian elections were free, democratic
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Foreign Minister says Israeli observers found no problem with Russian elections criticized by world leaders as fraudulent.
Ashton condemns ‘troubling’ attack on W. Bank mosque
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – EU foreign affairs chief calls on Israel to investigate arson, says such attacks undermine peace process.
7 rockets hit Israel after IDF kills terrorists
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Defense establishment urges southern residents near Gaza to stay indoors, near a bomb shelter fearing retribution by Palestinian groups for assassination of Al Aksa commander.
Arab League chief says ‘ball is in Syria’s court’
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Arab League sec.-gen. says Syria should sign peace plan to avoid sanctions; Syria says pipeline blown up by rebel saboteurs.
Iran state TV shows pictures of downed US drone
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Revolutionary Guards cmdr. stands with RQ 170, an unmanned aircraft belonging to US Iran claimed to have shot down.
‘1.2 million residents in the Negev by 2025’
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Negev Minister Bachor projects that cities of Arad, Yeruham, Dimona will triple in population size by 2025.
NGO petitions for Sephardi schoolgirls’ rights
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Noar Kahalacha puts request to High Court that injunction be issued against Ministry of Education for discrimination in haredi schools.
Clinton tells Putin ‘our concerns are ‘well-founded”
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Russian PM points finger at US secretary of state, says US encouraged protests over recent elections.
Stand up for Koby
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Top comedians arrive in Israel to raise funds for Israeli charity, the Koby Mandell Foundation.
The Weekly Schmooze: Boker tov, Amare
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – JPost column wrapping up hottest Jewish culture news worldwide: Claire Danes parties in TLV.
Openly gay orthodox Jews get their say, support
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – For the 1st time, support group for orthodox LGBT Jews is allowed to distribute materials, info at Orthodox mental health forum.
Chosen Bites: A hearty dish!
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Chef Laura Frankel shares her secrets for a delicious meal which is also family friendly.
J’lem engineer to order Mughrabi Bridge closed
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Temporary wooden structure poses risk to public, surrounding buildings due to possibility of collapse, fire, Eshkol says in letter.
Yishai: Every African ‘infiltrator’ will return home
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Interior minister dismisses notion that some Africans are asylum seekers or refugees: “These are economic migrants.”
PM praises deal between Treasury, medical residents
Jerusalem Post 8 Dec 2011 – Steinitz says agreement is excellent, will advance historic reform; Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center residents vote against agreement, but promise to respect majority decision; residents back out of press conference.
Washington Watch: Turkey: Friend or foe?
Jerusalem Post 7 Dec 2011 – Ankara’s hostility to Israel could spill over to the rest of the West.
Colombian crime gang charged for robberies
Jerusalem Post 7 Dec 2011 – Five members of a Colombian gang operating in Israel charged with string of sophisticated robberies.
Four years for man who helped enemy during Cast Lead
Jerusalem Post 7 Dec 2011 – Jerusalem District Court sentenced east Jerusalem man to four years imprisonment for aiding Hamas.
Green NGO hosts 1st env’mt justice conference
Jerusalem Post 7 Dec 2011 – ‘We want this to become a yearly tradition,’ says Beersheba Mayor Rubik Danilovich of Adam Teva V’Din event.
Police arrest 70 in major raid on organized crime
Jerusalem Post 7 Dec 2011 – Agents managed to purchase machine guns, rifles, explosives, dozens of kilos of various drugs in months-long undercover operation.
Row over Jerusalem plan to close Mughrabi bridge
The Guardian 8 Dec 2011 – City’s move angers Palestinian body which says it should make any decisions about bridge connecting Jewish and Muslim sites Officials in Jerusalem are set to close a footbridge connecting the region’s most sensitive Jewish and Muslim…
Palestinian mission considers legal action over ASA censure
The Guardian 8 Dec 2011 – Further to my posting yesterday, Palestinian mission breached ASA code by wiping Israel off the map , a spokesman for Palestinian Diplomatic Mission to the UK has been in touch. It followed the censure on the mission…
OP-ED: How About an Israeli Destruction Freeze?
IPS Much was made of what many in the media described as a “confrontation” between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama over the building of illegal Israeli settlements (or colonies) in Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Civil War Looms as Syrian Protests Grow Increasingly Complex
IPS As the Syrian uprising enters its ninth month, it faces some of its most daunting challenges to date, despite the consolidation of near-unanimous international condemnation of the Syrian government.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen reiterates NATO non-intervention in Syria
Uruknet December 8, 2011 – NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen Thursday stressed that the Alliance has no intention of intervening in Syria. “We have no intention whatsoever to intervene in Syria. I have stated that on several occasions and I would like to repeat that. NATO has no intention whatsoever to intervene in Syria,” he told…
WATCH: Bulldozers demolish Palestinian homes outside J’lem
Uruknet December 8, 2011 – Al-Khalayleh, Palestinian village near the settlement of Giva’at Ze’ev, outside of Jerusalem – A group of young men are swinging shovels and hammers at the walls of a house – their own house. They had watched as the bulldozers tore down their neighbors’ homes and buildings early the same morning, and decided…
2 killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza
Uruknet December 8, 2011 – An Israeli airstrike killed two people in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, medics and security officials said. Medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said two people died and two others were wounded after the explosion, which witnesses said hit a car parked near Omar al-Mukhtar street. A Ma’an reporter named those…
Kashmir – paradise turned into hell
Uruknet December 7, 2011 – Indian army’s atrocities on the people of Kashmir, and their murder, rape and fake encounters have turned Kashmir into a hell that would stretch Dante’s imagination. Last month, Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) released its report titled “Juveniles of Jammu and Kashmir: Unequal Before the Law & Denied Justice in Custody”….
Military Resistance 9L6: Call Out the Guard
Uruknet December 7, 2011 – When Steve Miller, the vulture capitalist who drove Delphi into the ditch of America’s dreams, declared, “Bankruptcy is a growth industry,” he was smiling, but he wasn’t joking. Bankruptcy in the US isn’t a sign of economic distress or mismanagement, it’s a business plan: calculated, cunning, and void of redeeming social value….
Syria News – December 7, 2011 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet December 7, 2011 – Today death toll reached 21 martyrs including 5 killed under torture. 14 of them were in Homs, 3 in Idlib, and 1 in each of Zamalka in Damascus Suburbs, Marea in Aleppo Suburbs, and Tarmisah in Hama Suburbs…Idlib: Khan Shiekhon: Many casualties; there bodies are spread in the streets and the local…
Dreaming of Jerusalem
Uruknet December 7, 2011 – …There are Palestinians who travel between Ramallah and Jerusalem every day, but it requires a permit. Obtaining such a permit is not a given and requires fighting with bureaucracy and days, if not weeks of waiting, and not everyone is granted one in the end. When, or rather if, a permit is…
New Pappe book highlights plight of forgotten Palestinians
Uruknet December 7, 2011 – After the Nakba, Israel’s 1948 ethnic cleansing operations, only approximately 160,000 Palestinians were left within the borders of what became Israel. Their numbers grew to 600,000 by the mid-1980s (152), and to about 1.2 million today. They struggled for Israeli citizenship, and won the right to vote in the Knesset (Israel’s parliament),…
PLO: 2,900 New Settlement Units and 8,900 Stolen Dunums in November
Uruknet December 8, 2011 – The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Department of International Relations said in its monthly report on Thursday that in November, Israeli forces confiscated 8,912 dunums of land (a dunum is about a quarter of an acre), demolished 39 buildings, uprooted 715 trees and arrested 181 Palestinians. In the same period, the Israeli government…
Israel lawmaker wants to force Palestinians to swear “Zionist” oath
Uruknet December 7, 2011 – Danny Danon, a member of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is proposing that all Israeli citizens – especially the 1.4 million Palestinian citizens of Israel – should be forced to declare an oath of loyalty to the political ideology of Zionism as a condition for obtaining an ID card. Danon, a member…
Lost Verities and Dirty Hippies By Imbeciles Who Really Mean It
Uruknet December 7 , 2011 – Regardless of the dissembling of corporate state propagandists, free market capitalism has always been a government subsidized, bubble-inflating, swindlers’ game, in which, psychopathic personalities (not “job creators” but con job perpetrators) thrive. By the exploitation of the many, a ruthless few have amassed large amounts of capital by which they dominate mainstream…
U.S. in Talks to Rebuild Libyan Army
Uruknet December 8, 2011 – The United States is involved in negotiations with Libya’s interim government over establishing a deal to help rebuild, train, arm, and equip a new national army for Libya. “We’re looking for ways in which we can be helpful,” said General Carter Ham, commander of U.S. Africa Command. “We’d like, for example, to…
Denying Palestinians Fair Access to Water
Uruknet December 7, 2011 – Water is essential to life. Denying it is criminal. Water and sanitation are recognized as indispensable human rights. In July 2010, the General Assembly’s Resolution 64/292 affirmed it. It called on member states and international organizations to: “provide financial resources, build capacity and transfer technology, particularly to development countries, in scaling up…
Birth defects, rubble still scar Iraq’s Fallujah
Uruknet December 7, 2011 – As U.S. forces pull out of Iraq, residents and officials in Falluja say they leave behind bullet-riddled homes, destroyed infrastructure and a worrying increase in birth defects and maladies in a city polluted by weapons and war chemicals. Amir Hussain and Awfa Abdullah got married in Falluja in 2004 but their lives…
Coerced False Confessions: The Case of Palestinian Children Psychiatric Expert Opinion
Uruknet December 7, 2011 – The new position paper of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Adalah and Al-Mezan addresses the extreme vulnerability of Palestinian children to specific conditions and practices of detention, and the illegitimate and cruel interrogation methods to which they are subjected, and which result in extortion and false confessions. The position paper is based on…
False Confessions by Palestinian Children and adolescents under Coercion
Uruknet December 7, 2011 – Israel’s detention policy of Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in particular Palestinian children and adolescents, is part of Israel’s policy of occupation. It is a powerful instrument in the hands of the Israeli occupation for politically repressing the Palestinian population and breaking the Palestinian resistance. Therefore, the practice…
A Solemn Day
Uruknet December 7, 2011 – Ah, yes, the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Verily, a day of punishing, religious genuflection on the stony ground of national myth-making. Innocent, noble America, sneakily attacked without notice or warning by vicious “little yellow bastards.” The phrase is from Time magazine….To return to the blasted heath of our…
TRANSCRIPT: ABC’s Barbara Walters’ Interview With Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (Video)
Uruknet Walters: but who gave the order to react against the protests? Assad: You don’t need order, because this is their job. Walters: Well somebody had to say— Assad: No, no, no… Assad: Every single— every brute reaction, was by individual. Not by institution. That’s what you have to know. We don’t have institution that kill people,…
Former prisoner, PFLP leader: hunger strike “made revolution in the prisons”
Uruknet December 7, 2011 – Abdel-Alim Da’na is a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and a professor of democracy, human rights and Palestinian history at Palestine Polytechnic University in Hebron. A man who has spent decades organizing left-wing Palestinian resistance, he has been a political prisoner of the State of Israel…
Syria welcomes Turkish pledge not to allow attacks
Uruknet December 7, 2011 – Syria’s government on Wednesday welcomed a pledge by Turkey not to let its territory be used as a springboard for any attacks against its neighbors. “We welcome any Turkish statement aiming to preserve good neighborly relations with Syria,” foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdisi told a news conference broadcast live on state television….
Egypt’s Brotherhood at odds with military over constitution
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood set to dominate the new parliament and accused the country’s military rulers Thursday of trying to undercut the authority of elected legislators even before the house is seated.
Pipeline blast adds to Syria chaos
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 A Syrian pipeline carrying crude from oilfields in the east of the country was blown up near the restive city of Homs Thursday…
Tourist bus crashes near Masnaa border crossing
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 A tourist bus struck five vehicles Thursday causing damage but no injuries, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Region-wide police and security conference ends
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 The 35th Conference of Arab Police and Security concluded its work Thursday and issued several recommendations to strengthen Arab action in the field of security.
EU signs agreements with municipalities
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 The European Union Thursday signed agreements with four Lebanese municipalities worth over 300,000 euros and set to benefit 12,000 people in Andaket in Akkar, Deir Qannoun and Doueir in south Lebanon, and Assia in Jbeil.
Press Federation elects new council
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 The Press Federation held general elections for its council Thursday, whereby representatives of daily, weekly and nonpolitical publications were elected, said the state-run National News Agency.
Enforcement of new smoking ban takes center stage
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Four months after Parliament approved a law to ban smoking in public places, Parliament members said Thursday that the first phase of implementation has began and urged officials to be vigilant in enforcing the measure.
Project looks to develop sex education curricula in schools
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 The education minister’s representative, Leila Fayyad, said Thursday that the development of sex education and reproductive health courses is urgent in light of the high incidence of sexually transmitted infections among young people Fayyad…
Fadlallah: Voice your desire for Sunni, Shiite unity
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 A Shiite cleric called Thursday upon Sunnis and Shiites who are interested in the unity of both sects to raise their voices, in order to silence those inciting divisions.
Health Ministry introduces drug form
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Health Minister Ali Hasan Khalil introduced a standardized prescription drug form Thursday for all doctors and pharmacists in Lebanon, a first step to rein in a largely unregulated drug industry.
No word yet from kidnappers of Liban Lait CEO
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 A day after the CEO of the country’s largest dairy farm was abducted in the Bekaa, politicians and religious leaders in the southern city of Sidon called on the Internal Security Forces to step up their…
Explosive experts safely defuse bomb in Sidon area
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Lebanese Army explosives experts managed to safely defuse a bomb found near the southern coastal city of Sidon Thursday, a security source said.
Tueni expresses continued support for March 14
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Beirut MP Nayla Tueni said Thursday she was one of the founders of the March 14 movement and remains with the group, the National News Agency reported.
Gemayel: Hand over 4 suspects indicted by STL
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Kataeb (Phalange) MP Sami Gemayel called Thursday for the handover of four Hezbollah members indicted in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Assad: Syria will maintain policies despite pressure
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Syrian President Bashar Assad told a Lebanese Druze delegation Thursday that Syria will not abandon its policies and sovereignty no matter how strong the Arab and international pressures are, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Safadi tells U.S. strengthening Army shrinks Hezbollah’s role
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi told U.S. Congress that Hezbollah’s role as an armed resistance in defending Lebanon would become moot if the country’s army was fully equipped and capable.
PSP and LF emphasize need for dialogue after meeting
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Officials from the Progressive Socialist Party and the Lebanese Forces met Thursday as part of Walid Jumblatt’s ongoing efforts to reach out to the various political groups.
Asir likely to postpone Friday sit-in
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 A Sunni preacher will likely postpone a sit-in that was originally set to take place after Friday prayers in a Sidon suburb and had fueled fears of sectarian tension in the southern coastal city…
In Armenia, Sleiman reiterates call for dialogue
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 President Michel Sleiman said that he would maintain his call for dialogue and for implementing agreements reached by Lebanese leaders during previous dialogue sessions…
Feltman: Only way to end Syria unrest is for Assad to step down
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said Thursday that Syrian President Bashar Assad…
Iran summons Swiss envoy over U.S. drone
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Swiss ambassador, who represents U.S. interests in the country, to condemn what it said was a U.S. violation of its airspace, state television reported Thursday.
Israeli airstrike kills 2 Gaza Hamas militants, wounds 2
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 An Israeli airstrike on a car killed two militants and wounded two other men on a crowded Gaza street Thursday, the Israeli army and local medical officials said.
Israel decision to close ramp leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque sparks anger
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 The city council of Jerusalem has ordered the closure within a week of a wooden access ramp to the sensitive Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City, saying the structure is a threat to public safety.
Turkey rises to the task of mentoring emerging Arab Islamist groups
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 As Islamist groups emerge triumphant in Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems decided to act as their mentor…
Under US. pressure, Bahrain to stop prosecuting pro-democracy athletes
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Bahrain, under pressure to improve its rights record to secure a purchase of U.S. arms, has pledged to stop prosecuting athletes over their participation in pro-democracy protests crushed by the state earlier this year.
Algeria’s sidelined and split Islamists hope for Arab Spring revival
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Algeria’s Islamists, in the political wilderness since their last attempt to win power dissolved into civil war, are now trying again, galvanized by the success of their brethren elsewhere in North Africa in the wake of…
United Nations envoy urges stability in Yemen
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 The U.N. envoy who helped broker a deal to ease Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh from power urged the new government Thursday to bring stability after months of unrest that pushed the country to the brink…
Libya premier says militias to be demilitarized
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 The issue of disarming former rebels who fought Moammar Gadhafi’s forces is more complex than it appears, but these militias will be demilitarized soon, Prime Minister Abdul-Rahim al-Qeeb said Thursday.
Sudan’s opposition not satisfied with new Cabinet
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Sudan’s main opposition parties reacted negatively Thursday to a new Cabinet formed by veteran President Omar al-Bashir that includes more opposition figures, saying it would not help overcome an economic crisis.
European nations seek Security Council Syria meeting
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 France, Britain and Germany have called for UN human rights chief Navi Pillay to brief the UN Security Council on the Syria crisis in a bid to put the deadly crackdown back in the diplomatic spotlight.
Bahrain refers deaths implicating police to prosecutor
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Bahrain has ordered the public prosecutor to investigate all deaths and torture cases implicating the police as part of efforts at political reconciliation following a crackdown on pro-democracy protests earlier this year.
Arab League seeks Iraqi mediation in Syria
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 The Arab League sought Iraq’s help on Thursday in persuading Syria to allow observers on its soil as part of efforts to end unrest, as activists called for a civil disobedience campaign against the regime.
Syria says pipeline blown up by rebel saboteurs
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 A Syrian pipeline carrying crude from oilfields in the east of the country was blown up near the restive city of Homs on Thursday, according to anti-government activists and the official news agency SANA.
Activists encourage donating to needy Syrians this winter
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Activists have asked people to donate to charities in a bid to help Syrian families with basic commodities this winter including rice, oil, lentils and blankets.
Arab League chief says ‘ball is in Syria’s court’
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Syria should sign an Arab League-proposed peace plan as soon as possible if it wants to avert economic penalties from Arab states over its eight-month crackdown on protesters, head of Arab League says.
Ukraine’s prime minister urges further economic relations with Lebanon
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Mykola Azarov meets with Lebanon’s top officials in a bid to strengthen economic and trade relations between the two countries.
PSP, Lebanese Forces emphasize need for dialogue after meeting
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Officials from Progressive Socialist Party and Lebanese Forces meet as part of Walid Jumblatt’s ongoing efforts to reach out to the various political groups.
Assad out of touch with reality: analysts
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Syrian President Bashar Assad’s denial that his regime is waging a bloody protest crackdown shows he is out of touch with reality and bent on pushing forth with the violence at any price, analysts say.
Safadi to U.S.: arming military decreases Hezbollah’s role
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Finance minister tells U.S. congress Hezbollah’s role as an armed resistance to defend Lebanon would become moot if the country’s army was fully equipped and capable.
Bomb safely defused in south Lebanon
Daily Star 8 Dec 2011 Lebanese Army explosives experts managed to safely defuse a bomb found near the southern coastal city of Sidon Thursday, a security sources said.
5 rockets hit western Negev; none injured
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – Retaliation: Five rockets were fired from northern Gaza at Israel Thursday evening. The fire came several hours after two Al-Aqsa Brigades’ operatives were killed in an … ….
Gingrich ‘likely’ to support Pollard pardon
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – WASHINGTON – Former Speaker-of-the-House and Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich said Thursday that he was ‘leaning towards clemency’ for convicted Israeli spy … ….
Obama shrugs off appeasement accusations
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – WASHINGTON – US President Barack Obama responded Thursday to the criticism aimed at him by the Republican presidential hopefuls over his administration’s foreign policy. … ….
‘Iran responsible for 1998 US embassy bombings’
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – In a little noticed ruling last week, a Washington district court found that both Iran and Sudan were culpable for al-Qaeda’s 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, … ….
Iran presents ‘US spy drone’
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – Iran presented on Thursday footage of the RQ-170 drone it claims to have shot down last week. The footage carried a caption reading “Advanced American spy drone.” … ….
‘Israel can’t demand terror victims’ restitution from Iran’
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the State of Israel is under no legal obligation to appeal to Iran to uphold restitution verdicts for terror victims ordered by … ….
Bill aims to silence mosques
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – A bill proposing to restrict the noise made by mosques will be up for discussion at the Ministerial Committee on Legislative Affairs on Sunday. The proposal aims to … ….
Top terror operative killed in Gaza strike
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – Senior al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades operative Assam Subahi Ismail Batash killed….
‘Russia, China asked to inspect downed US drone’
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – Iranian website says countries asked to send experts in order to closely examine….
Jerusalem: Violence feared over Mughrabi Bridge closing
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – Authorities in capital decide to close hazardous walkway connecting Western….
Putin blames US for post-election protests
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – Russian PM accuses US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of ‘setting tone for….
Government looking to expand deportation scheme
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – Foreign Ministry proposes to give illegal African migrants vocational training,….
Katsav to receive first visit in prison
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – Just two days after starting his prison term, jailed former president to meet….
IDF holds search, rescue drill in south
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – Home Front Command simulates attack on southern town; troops practice dealing….
Netanyahu woos Arab world on Facebook
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – PM to chat with Arab web surfers on social networks, answer questions about….
‘US mulled commando operation in Iran to retrieve drone’
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – American military considered sending covert mission to destroy or recover downed….
Medical residents sign deal with Treasury
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – After nearly year of protest and resignation threats, young doctors reach….
Jerusalem: Hundreds rally against women’s shunning
YNet News, 8 Dec 2011 – Protesters, female singers rally against religious elements’ demands to limit….
Palestinian Information Center
Israeli court imprisons Jerusalemite youths for supporting Hamas
PIC – An Israeli court sentenced two Palestinian Jerusalemite youths to imprisonment for allegedly planning commando attacks and for raising money for Hamas.
Haneyya gov’t asks Egypt, UN to bridle Israeli aggression
PIC – The Palestinian government has asked Egypt and the UN to intervene and curb the Israeli aggressions on Gaza the latest was on Thursday when two citizens were killed in an air strike on a civilian car.
Muzaini slams Israeli demolition orders against two schools in Al-Khalil
PIC – Palestinian minister of education Dr. Osama Al-Muzaini strongly denounced the IOA for issuing demolition orders against two Palestinian schools, Manezel and Susya, south of Al-Khalil city.
Ihsanoglu slams Israel for exiling MP Attoun from his native city
PIC – Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu strongly denounced the Israeli occupation authority for arbitrarily expelling Palestinian lawmaker Ahmed Attoun from Jerusalem.
MP Tuteh: The Israeli intelligence told us to evacuate our tent in Red Cross
PIC – Palestinian lawmaker Mohamed Tuteh said the Israeli intelligence threatened them over the phone to evacuate their protest tent at the Red Cross headquarters within 48 hours.
IOF soldiers round up citizens, fire gas canisters at mosque
PIC – Israeli occupation forces rounded up five Palestinians in Al-Khalil and two others in Jenin on Thursday and fired tear gas canisters at a mosque in Doura town in Al-Khalil causing material damage.
Two Palestinians killed in Israeli raid
PIC – Two Palestinian operatives were killed in downtown Gaza city on Thursday in an Israeli aerial raid while two citizens were wounded, medical sources said.
British Consul-General Condemns Mosque Attacked by Settlers in Burqin
WAFA
UNRWA: Capoeira Expands Activities in West Bank with Brazil’s Assistance
WAFA
UNRWA Calls to Join Children of Gaza and Run the Gaza Marathon
WAFA
Palestinian Flag to Be Raised At UNESCO
WAFA
Launch of Christmas Celebrations for First Time From Palestine
WAFA
Israeli Artillery Shells Target Palestinians in Gaza
WAFA
1000 Gazans Join Forces to Combat Violence against Women
WAFA
EU Supports 7th Payment under PA’s ‘Private Sector Reconstruction in Gaza”
WAFA
EU’s Ashton Condemns Mosque Arson by Settlers
WAFA
Israeli Air Forces Kill Two Palestinians, Injure Others
WAFA
The Saudi Arab Spring Nobody Noticed
Intifada-Palestine: 8 Dec 2011 – by Russ Baker Hear the one about the Arab Spring in Saudi Arabia that nobody noticed? No, this is not a joke. It is a real situation—and a cautionary example of what happens when Western governments and their media are more… more
Israeli Forces Raid West Bank Cities, Arrest Nine, Demolish Well and Greenhouse
Intifada-Palestine: 8 Dec 2011 – Israeli forces concluded a nightlong arrest campaign on Thursday morning with the arrests of nine Palestinians, including a 17-year-old girl, and demolished a well and greenhouse in the southern West Bank. Israeli soldiers patrol the Old City of Hebron (Lo Yuk… more
Intifada Palestine Thanks our Readers for Support
Intifada-Palestine: 8 Dec 2011 – “ Shaking off ” is the literal translation of “ intifada .” Dear Readers Intifada Palestine would like to thank our readers for their support since Intifada Palestine was launched on January 9, 2009, Intifada Palestine was started as a pro-Palestine… more
George W. Bush Cancels visit to Swiss Charity Gala over Fears he Could be Arrested on Torture Charges
Intifada-Palestine: 7 Dec 2011 – by Daily Mail Former U.S. President George W. Bush has cancelled a visit to Switzerland over fears he could have been arrested on torture charges. Mr Bush was due to be the keynote speaker at a Jewish charity gala in Geneva… more
Factional Splits Hinder Drive to Topple Syria’s Assad
New York Times 8 Dec 2011 – Tensions are rising between a rebel army and Syria’s main opposition group over the group’s insistence that the rebels limit themselves to defensive action.
Muslim Brotherhood Quits Egypt’s Constitutional Panel
New York Times 8 Dec 2011 – The Muslim Brotherhood protested what it said were efforts to undermine parliamentary authority in writing Egypt’s new Constitution.
Egypt’s Generals Assert Control
New York Times 8 Dec 2011 – Gen. Mukhtar al-Mulla of Egypt’s ruling military council said it would manage the writing of the country’s new constitution in order to insure against an Islamist takeover.
Libya Will Allow British Police to Visit for Lockerbie Inquiry, Briton Says
New York Times 8 Dec 2011 – Libya’s leaders signaled new flexibility in prosecuting the Libyan perpetrators of the Lockerbie bombing and the killing of a London policewoman during the 1980s, British officials said.
White House Memo: President Obama Ends a War He Never Wanted
New York Times 8 Dec 2011 – President Obama will mark the end of the Iraq war this month, and then move on to a campaign in which foreign policy may play only a minor role.
Iran Shows Video It Says Is of U.S. Drone
New York Times 8 Dec 2011 – Iran state television displayed what it described as the RQ-170 spy sentinel drone that was found in Iranian territory last week.
Blast Hits Pipeline in Syrian City
New York Times 8 Dec 2011 – A pipeline carrying oil to a refinery in the tense Syrian city of Homs was blown up Thursday, activists and the Syrian news agency said.
Israeli Strikes Kill Two Palestinians in Gaza
New York Times 8 Dec 2011 – The Israeli military said that the main target of the missile was a senior operative of Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, a group in Gaza.
Iran airs footage of US drone intact
Mondoweiss – Amazing news, Moon of Alabama has the story: To bring down the most sophisticated U.S. stealth drone known nearly completely intact is something very few other countries would be able to achieve. A real technical feat. ………… Press TV Iran has announced that it intends to carry…
Lobbyist privately calls on journalists to hector Schumer & Pelosi about ‘anti-Semites’ at Democratic thinktank
Mondoweiss – Justin Elliott has an important story up at Salon on an email list of rightwing journalists called “The Freedom Community” to which former AIPAC staffer Josh Block sent a call-to-arms yesterday. Block was telling the list to flog Ben Smith’s important piece in Politico on a…
A Lebanese shepherd looks at the land of Palestine
Mondoweiss –
AIPAC posterizes Obama in Senate, 100-0
Mondoweiss – The Israeli consulate in San Francisco celebrates the Senate vote on Twitter. If you want to understand the pressure that Obama is under from the Israel lobby, consider this greasy story: Last week three high Obama officials urged Senators not to pass an amendment to the…
Karen Greenberg’s evasion
Mondoweiss – Karen J. Greenberg Karen Greenberg, a leading human rights thinker and source for Max Blumenthal’s important piece on the Israelification of American security procedures, has now said that Blumenthal made up the quotes, or misquoted her, it’s not entirely clear. She did so at the auspices…
Shin Bet Restricts Gag Orders, Detainee ‘Disappearances’
Tikun Olam – When I first began writing this blog, a question that always nagged at me was: why? Why write a blog? Who does it impact? What does it change? Now, these questions don’t bother me as much. But if I ever needed an answer to them I’d…
Im Tirzu Participation in Bank Leumi ‘Non-Political’ $500,000 Charity Giveaway Provokes Outrage
Tikun Olam – Bank Leumi’s ad as displayed in browser of Israeli reader earlier today, promoting charity giveaway Bank Leumi has trumpeted a 2-million shekel charity giveaway (Hebrew) called “2-Million Good Reasons,” which allows their customers to direct gifts to a variety of Israeli NGOs and philanthropic organizations. They…
East Jerusalem Palestinians Must Vote, If Not in PA Elections Then in Israeli Ones
Tikun Olam – Avi Issacharoff has penned another one of his stenographic reports that could’ve been dictated (and very well might’ve been) by the right wing political or military leadership. In it, he claims that Hamas and the PA will demand that in the coming Palestinian elections Hamas be…
South Africa: Donen Report Clears Motlanthe, Sexwale
allAfrica.com 8 Dec 2011 – Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale as well as the former Director-General for the Department of Minerals and Energy, Sandile Nogxina, had not contravened any South African law concerning the United Nations’ Iraqi Oil-for-Food Programme.
Nigeria: FG Accepts Offer of Scientific Cooperation From Israel
allAfrica.com 8 Dec 2011 – The Federal Government has accepted the offer of scientific and technical cooperation and assistance offered by the Israeli government in the area of agricultural production and the development of science and technology.
RJC Overview: Rick Perry
Arab American Institute 7 Dec 2011 – By Jamila Benkato At times nervously wringing his hands, Rick Perry gave the RJC audience a stilted and rote speech, to lukewarm response. ‘I want to be clear I support the goal of a Palestinian state,’ Perry said before suggesting that ‘it should be the Palestinians…
RJC Overview: Michele Bachmann
Arab American Institute 7 Dec 2011 – By Jamila Benkato Michele Bachmann wasted no time addressing the issue of the day during her prepared remarks at RJC 2012. Her prepared statement was the most extreme of the day, combining standard Republican talking points about Israel with almost unfiltered Israeli propaganda ? including referring…
Iran displays captured US drone
BBC 8 Dec 2011 – Iranian TV shows the first video footage of an advanced unmanned US drone aircraft that Tehran says it downed near the Afghan border.
Attack damages Syria oil pipeline
BBC 8 Dec 2011 – A major pipeline carrying oil to a refinery in Syria’s restive Homs province is attacked, activists and the state-run news agency say.
Two killed in Israeli air strike
BBC 8 Dec 2011 – Two Palestinians are killed and several others wounded in an Israeli air strike in Gaza, the second so far this week.
Articles
Toward a true paradigm shift in Palestine
Ramzy Baroud, Ma’an News Agency 12/9/2011
The Palestinian uprising or intifada of 1987 remains the single most significant triumph of popular mobilization in Palestinian history.
The first intifada, as it is commonly known, had, once and for all, placed the Palestinian people as a collective on the political map of a region that previously had room only for Israeli Merkava tanks and US “peace envoys.”
The Arab body politic had been led by mostly powerless leaders, and Palestinian factions with multiple allegiances were led by men with numerous nom de guerres.
Not discounting the fact that some of the Palestinian factions had, in fact, contributed to the long and arduous struggle for Palestinian freedom, a chasm had long existed between the larger mass of the Palestinian people and those who claimed to represent them.
The intifada tried to change that unsettling paradigm. It transported the struggle away from Arab capitals back to Palestine, and more importantly, involved ordinary Palestinians in the campaign to end Israeli occupation.
The parties that represented the traditional “players” in the conflict faced an unprecedented situation in a conflict that had previously been determined almost solely by Israel’s military might, enabled by US unconditional support and Arab acquiescence.
But this time around, no bullets were deadly enough, no US support was generous enough, and no political submission was demoralizing enough to stifle the spontaneous calls of freedom made by ordinary Palestinians. more.. e-mail
How about an Israeli destruction freeze?
Yousef Munayyer, Al Jazeera.com 12/8/2011
Obama should demand an immediate halt to all Israeli destruction of Palestinian property in the West Bank.
Washington, DC – Much was made of what many in the media described as a “confrontation” between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama over the building of illegal Israeli settlements (or colonies) in Occupied Palestinian Territory. From the very beginning of the Obama administration, the pursuit of a freeze on Israeli settlement activity was a stated goal – one that was never really accomplished and never adequately pursued.
The idea of a settlement freeze, which was wrongly attributed to the now-resigned special envoy George Mitchell, was actually stipulated in the Bush administration’s Road Map and accepted by the parties in 2003. A freeze on all settlement activity was a first-phase Israeli obligation – not to mention an obligation under international law. It should go without saying that the Israelis failed to fulfill this obligation, and instead the Israeli government, then led by Ariel Sharon, presided over the single largest and most aggressive period of settlement activity in the West Bank since the Menachem Begin government in 1977-83.
Still, Israeli settlement construction is not the only belligerent behaviour conducted by the occupation regime in Palestinian Territory. To paraphrase the now-former US Congressman Brian Baird, if the law is “thou shall not build on territory which does not belong to you”, an equally important corollary of this law is “thou shall not destroy what belongs to others in territory which does not belong to you”. Of course, apart from the regular construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, there is also the regular destruction of Palestinian buildings and infrastructure in the same territory.
Both the construction of illegal settlements and the destruction of the homes and property of the native Palestinians stem from the same origin: Israel’s unbridled assertion of power over the native Palestinians in the context of total impunity. more.. e-mail
Arab Spring has yet to focus on media freedoms
Daoud Kuttab, Ma’an News Agency 12/8/2011
Did the independent media help produce the Arab Spring or did the revolutions succeed in liberating local media in the Arab world?
This and many other questions were debated and discussed by Arab and international freedom of expression advocates, media practitioners and experts in Amman this week.
The Arab Spring was the buzzword in two consecutive international media conferences.
Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism held its fourth annual conference where Arab investigative journalists met with fellow professionals from around the world. The ARIJ conference opened with a powerful keynote speech by Yosri Fouda, a former Al Jazeera investigator who has been running a TV talk show that was active in the Egyptian revolution.
Also this week, the Centre for Defending Freedom of Journalists organized the Media Freedom Defenders in the Arab World Forum, with a two-day open session in Amman and a third day closed working session at a Dead Sea hotel.
The role of the media and the Arab Spring was addressed in a study conducted by the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan in coordination with the CDFJ. One of the study’s main findings was that 53 per cent of those surveyed believe that Arab satellite channels helped “incite” the Arab Spring.
Arab media practitioners, including satellite TV stations, insist that their actions are best described as informative and reflecting the reality, rather than playing an active and direct role in regime change. more.. e-mail
Obama Raises the Military Stakes
Palestine Chronicle: 8 Dec 2011 – By James Petras After suffering major military and political defeats in bloody ground wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and failing to buttress long-standing clients in Yemen, Egypt and Tunisia and witnessing the disintegration of puppet regimes in Somalia and South Sudan, the Obama regime has learned nothing: instead he has turned toward greater military confrontation with global powers, namely Russia and China. Obama has adopted a provocative offensive military strategy on the very frontiers of both China and Russia. After going from defeat to defeat on the periphery of world power and not satisfied with running treasury-busting deficits in pursuit of empire building against economically weak countries, Obama has embraced a policy of encirclement and provocations against China, the world’s second largest economy and the US’s most important creditor, and Russia the European Union’s principle oil and gas provider and the world’s second most powerful nuclear weapons power. This paper…more
Yemen’s Imperialist Transition
Palestine Chronicle: 8 Dec 2011 – By James Gundun – Washington, D.C. An ongoing international crime spree is being committed in Yemen, where casualties mount into the thousands, and millions of pro-democracy protesters have no one to turn to other than themselves. Rather than isolate Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year regime, international actors have pursued cooperation in order to maintain regional influence across the Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa. Beyond its patronage of various tribal figures, Saudi Arabia operates an intelligence apparatus in conjunction with the CIA’s expanding grid. Washington seeks to duplicate Pakistan’s quasi-unilateral network inside Yemen. Whom does one report to when national and international law has been corrupted? On Yemen’s political front, the Arab League never checked in as the Saudi-bankrolled Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) dipped into a non-member. Saleh’s foreign allies – all five veto-wielding members in the United Nations – then ordered the Security Council to legitimize a “unity government” through…more
Towards a True Paradigm Shift in Palestine
Dissident Voice: 8 Dec 2011 – The Palestinian Uprising or Intifada of 1987 remains the single most significant triumph of popular mobilization in Palestinian history. The First Intifada, as it is commonly known, had, once and for all, placed the Palestinian people as a collective on the political map of a region that previously had room only for Israeli Merkava tanks and US ‘peace envoys’. The Arab body politic had been led by mostly powerless leaders, and Palestinian factions with multiple allegiances were led by men with numerous nom de guerres. Not discounting the fact that some of the Palestinian factions had, in fact, contributed to the long and arduous struggle for Palestinian freedom, a chasm had long existed between the larger mass of the Palestinian people and those who claimed to represent them. The Intifada tried to change that unsettling paradigm. It transported the struggle away from Arab capitals back to Palestine, and, more importantly,…more
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The New Dark Age 
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