13 December 2011 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Troops Demolish 4 Homes Near Bethlehem
IMEMC – Israeli troops invaded, on Tuesday morning, the Al Makhrour area, in Beit Jala city, north of Bethlehem, and demolished four Palestinian homes. …
Two Palestinians Injured By Army Fire In Gaza
IMEMC – Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported, Tuesday, that two Palestinians, including one child, were injured after the Israeli army invaded an area east of the Al Boreij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip. …
Settlers Break Into Israeli Military Base, Sabotage Property
IMEMC – Israeli sources reported Tuesday that a group of extremist Israeli settlers of the so-called Hilltop Youth settler movement infiltrated, on Monday at night, an Israeli military base near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia, sabotaged property and vehicles, and hurled stones at the soldiers, wounding a senior officer. …
Preparations For Second Phase Of Swap Deal To Start Tuesday
IMEMC – Member of the Political Bureau of the Hamas movement, Saleh Al Aroury, stated that the Israeli army will start gathering all Palestinian detainees who will be released under second and final phase of the prisoner-swap deal that was reached on October 11, between Israel and the Hamas movement. …
Israeli Settlers Break Into Military Zone By Jordanian Border
IMEMC – Extremist right-wing Israeli settlers broke into a closed-off military zone in between the West Bank and the Jordanian border, at the site thought to be where Jesus was baptized. …
Settlers ‘attack family near Qalqiliya, injuring toddler’
12/13/2011 – QALQILIYA (Ma’an) — Settlers threw rocks at a Palestinian car on a main road east of Qalqiliya on Monday, injuring three people including a toddler, the driver of the vehicle said. Adnan Suwwan told Ma’an that he was traveling back from al-Nabi Elias village with his family when a group of settlers….
Settlers vandalize Israeli military base in West Bank
12/13/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Over 50 settlers infiltrated an Israeli military base near Tulkarem early Tuesday, the army said. Right wing settlers set fire to tires, vandalized vehicles and placed nails along the road at the Ephraim regional division headquarters. They also threw stones at the base commander’s vehicle, the army said in…. Related: Israel denounces settler attack on army base
Official: Israeli authorities order farmers to stop work on land
12/13/2011 – SALFIT (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities handed orders to five Palestinian farmers on Monday forbidding them from cultivating their land because it is considered “public property of the government of Israel,” a local official said. The mayor of Qarawat Bani Hassan village near Salfit called on the Palestinian Authority to end attacks on village lands….
Israeli forces demolish old buildings near Bethlehem
12/13/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli bulldozers demolished on Tuesday morning three old buildings on the outskirts of Beit Jala,near Bethlehem, known as Wadi al-Makhrour, after claiming they were built on Israeli land. The mayor of Beit Jala, Raji Zeidan, said the buildings were recently refurbished. The buildings, according to Zeidan, belong to Fuad Qasasfa….
Israeli army detains 14 in dawn raids across West Bank
12/13/2011 – JENIN (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained 14 people early Tuesday morning in home raids across the West Bank, the army said. An Israeli military spokesman told Ma’an that 14 “wanted Palestinians” were taken for security questioning, including four from Jenin. Locals said soldiers raided Jenin refugee camp and detained two brothers Abdul….
Activists: Soldiers open fire toward Gaza demo
12/14/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli forces fired toward Palestinian protesters on Tuesday during a demonstration against land confiscation near the Israeli border, activists said. Saber Zaanin, local coordinator, said activists and internationals were fired upon while heading toward the destroyed Dumra village north of Beit Hanoun, inside Israel’s buffer zone. Israeli forces….
Israeli intelligence ‘detains Gazan man in Sinai’
12/13/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A Gazan man was detained by Israeli forces in the Egyptian Sinai on Tuesday and taken to Israel for interrogation, a close friend of his family told Ma’an. The Palestinian Authority liaison department confirmed that a Gazan had been detained by Israeli forces, but could not provide further…. Related: Egypt investigates Sinai ‘abduction’, army denies
Record number of Palestinians displaced in 2011
12/13/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities have displaced a record number of Palestinian families in the West Bank including East Jerusalem this year, a coalition of rights groups said Tuesday. Some 20 leading aid agencies and human rights groups released a joint statement condemning the violations as the Mideast Quartet prepares to meet in Jerusalem….
Palestinian police fire on illegal Israeli pilgrims
12/13/2011 – NABLUS (AFP) — Palestinian police shot at a group of Israelis illegally visiting a West Bank religious site, injuring one, Palestinian security officials said Tuesday. The police opened fire after shouting warnings at the small group of Israeli worshipers who had entered Joseph’s Tomb near the northern West Bank city of Nablus overnight, said….
Israel denounces settler attack on army base
12/13/2011 – JERUSALEM (Reuters) — An Israeli minister denounced a group of hardline Jewish settlers as “terrorists” on Tuesday after they vandalised an Israeli army base in the occupied West Bank. Dozens of settlers threw stones at a commander and his deputy, who was lightly injured, an army spokesman said. They also smashed the windows of military vehicles…. Related: Settlers vandalize Israeli military base in West Bank
No Gaza link to Eilat attack, spokesman says
12/13/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The government in the Gaza Strip reiterated Tuesday that no Palestinian factions based in the enclave were involved in August’s attack on Eilat in southern Israel. Interior Ministry spokesman Ihab Ghussein was responding to speculation on Israeli websites that said Israel had determined it was 12 Bedouins who….
Abbas raises Palestinian flag at UNESCO
12/13/2011 – PARIS (Reuters) — President Mahmoud Abbas symbolically hoisted the Palestinian flag at the headquarters of the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO on Tuesday to celebrate Palestine’s admission in October as a full member of the organization. Some 50 diplomatic guests watched as Abbas lifted the flag to the Palestinian national anthem and said he….
Egypt investigates Sinai ‘abduction’, army denies
12/13/2011 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Egyptian authorities have opened an investigation into a family’s claims that their son was abducted by Israeli forces in the Sinai desert, security officials said Tuesday. Egyptian authorities are investigating the abduction of a member of Hamas’ security services in the Sinai and are making inquiries with…. Related: Israeli intelligence ‘detains Gazan man in Sinai’
PA condemns West Bank settler ‘aggression’
12/13/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday condemned Israel’s “aggression” against Palestinians and their property, after settlers attacked soldiers and residents of the occupied West Bank. At its weekly meeting, the PA cabinet condemned Israel’s decision to build 40 housing units near Efrat, an illegal settlement in the south….
Prisoners: Second phase of Shalit deal within days
12/13/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel is planning to implement the second phase of a prisoner swap deal on Dec. 18, according to prisoners who say the prison service has initiated steps to transfer some detainees. A number of Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails told Ma’an that authorities had begun making arrangements to complete….
Zahhar: No elections in May
12/13/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar said Tuesday it was unlikely that elections would be held in May as scheduled. In an interview with Egyptian media, Zahhar said a unity government and security committee needed to be formed to ensure a transparent vote, Cairo-based Al-Ahram reported. He questioned on what basis….
Report: President of South Sudan to visit Israel
12/13/2011 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — The president of South Sudan Salva Kir is scheduled to pay a visit to Israel in the coming weeks, the Hebrew-language newspaper Maariv said Tuesday. The relationship between Israel and the newly independent country has being progressing well, Maariv said….
PA secures deal with Germany to boost job creation
12/13/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Germany and the Palestinian Authority signed an agreement Tuesday for the development of local councils and job creation, the Ministry of Planning announced. The ministers of housing and local government attended the signing of the 9. 5-million euro agreement with KfW Development Cooperation in the German Representative Office, official PA….
Israel govt advisor doubts Hamas control over Gaza
12/13/2011 – JERUSALEM (Reuters) — The Gaza Strip’s governing Hamas are incapable of curbing smaller Palestinian militant groups in the territory, a senior Israeli official said Tuesday. The remarks by Strategic Affairs Ministry director Yosef Kuperwasser followed exchanges of fire across the Gaza border for which Israel, in line with long-standing policy, held Hamas responsible, though….
Israel’s Peres ‘ashamed’ at anti-democratic moves
12/13/2011 – JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Israeli President Shimon Peres said in remarks published on Tuesday he was “ashamed” at a rash of legislative proposals from right-wing members of parliament targeting pro-Palestinian groups. Peres told Israel’s most widely circulated newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth he has fielded complaints from world leaders against a proposal to bar Muslims from publicly….
Palestine tourism up slightly despite Mideast unrest
12/13/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Visits to the occupied Palestinian territories have increased negligibly in this year, well under projections a year before unrest struck half a dozen authoritarian states in the Arab world. The Palestinian Authority had predicted some 2. 5 million tourists would visit the territories in 2011, up from 1. 9 million in….
Syria death toll hits 5,000 as insurgency spreads
12/13/2011 – AMMAN (Reuters) — More than 5,000 people have been killed in nine months of unrest in Syria, the UN human rights chief said, as an insurgency began to overshadow what had initially been street protests against President Bashar Assad’s 11-year rule. Navi Pillay reported the death toll to the UN Security Council as….
King: Syria training Bahrain opposition figures
12/13/2011 – LONDON (Reuters) — Syriais training opposition figures in Bahrain, the Gulf island state’s king said in an interview published on Tuesday, in which he also denied systematic rights abuses during state crackdowns on pro-democracy protests earlier this year. King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa’s interview with Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper comes….
Palestine flag raised at UNESCO headquarters
AlJazeera 13 Dec 2011 – UN cultural agency holds flag raising ceremony in Paris to welcome Palestine as member despite controversy.
Israeli Forces Demolish Four Houses in Beit Jala, Order Farmers to Evacuate Lands in Salfit
PNN – PNNOn Tuesday, Israeli forces accompanied by military vehicles and bulldozers raided the Bethlehem suburb of Beit Jala, razed agricultural lands and demolished four houses belonging to Palestinian citizens. Palestinian government news wire…
Israeli Forces Arrest Youth from Bethlehem, Three from Jenin
PNN – PNNOn Tuesday, Israeli forces arrested a youth from the town of Beit Fajjar town, south of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, and three Palestinians from Jenin in the north. Secure sources…
NGOs Raise Alarms on Accelerating Settlement Expansion, Settler Violence
PNN – Oxfam Israeli authorities have stepped up unlawful demolitions in the West Bank including East Jerusalem over the past year, displacing a record number of Palestinian families from their homes, an international coalition…
Japanese NGO Continues to Support Olive Farmers and Women’s Group in Tubas through Japanese Fund
PNN – Press Release On December 8th, 2011, the Representative of Japan to the Palestinian Authority, Mr. Naofumi Hashimoto and Ms. Mayumi Yoshida, the representative of NICCOD, a Japanese NGO, signed the grant contract…
Ashrawi Offers to Host Newt Gingrich
PNN – PLOIn response to Republican presidential nominee Newt Gingrich’s recent comments regarding the Palestinian people, PLO Executive Committee member and Palestinian lawmaker Dr. Hanan Ashrawi said in a press release, “It is unbelievable…
International Solidarity Movement
List of demonstrators killed during protests against the Wall
12/13/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – 22. 10 December 2011: Mustafa Tamimi, age 28 – Evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva after being shot in the face by a tear gas canister at close range during the weekly protest in Nabi Saleh on 9 December 2011. He died from his wounds. 21. 1 January 2011: Jawaher Abu Rahmah, age 36 – Evacuated….
Khan Al-Ahmar: Forced expulsion of Bedouins from Area C
12/13/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – By Alistair George, 13 December 2011, International Solidarity Movement, West Bank – “From the 1970?s until today, the Israelis used to demolish our tents and houses but not to deport us” says Abu Hamis, a member of the Jahalin Bedouin tribe.”We used to rebuild our places but the new policy which they are….
‘Like the Wild West:’ Ex-prisoner lives with bounty on his head
12/13/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – By Alistair George, 13 December 2011, International Solidarity Movement West Bank – “I see my situation as a cowboy film, like the wild west” says Hani Jaber, showing ISM a poster, written in Arabic saying: ‘Wanted: if anyone has any information about the whereabouts of the killer Hani Jaber, please call us on this number….
Live updates from Sheikh Jarrah – Visit ISM’s Night Watch blog
12/13/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – 14 December 2011, International Solidarity Movement, West Bank – ISM has been following the situation of the Al Kurd family from Sheikh Jarrah since 2009 and has kept a presence in the garden of their home. On December 4th Nabil Al Kurd and his mother, accompanied by international and Israeli activists went to the Court of Magistrate….
Nedal, 14 years old, collected metal to support his family – they shot him from behind
12/13/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – By Rosa Schiano, 13 December 2011, il blog di Oliva – This morning at the Eretz border in Beit Hanoun, Israeli soldiers shot a 14-year-old boy, Nedal Khaleel Hamdan. We went to the hospital to meet him. We found him sitting on the bed with his left shoulder bandaged, surrounded by his family. Nedal was…. Related: il blog di Oliva
New report documents children under fire in Gaza
12/13/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – 13 December 2011, AlertNet – Twenty-eight cases of children being shot at by the border fence between Israel and the Gaza strip whilst gathering building materials like gravel, or working by the fence, have been documented by Defence for Children International in their latest report ‘Children of Gravel’. The shootings reportedly took place between…. Related: AlertNet and Defence for Children International
The death of a stone-thrower
12/13/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – By Jonathan Pollak, 13 December 2011, Haaretz – Mustafa Tamimi threw stones. Unapologetically and sometimes fearlessly. Not on that day alone, but nearly every Friday. He also concealed his face. Not for fear of the prison cell, which he had already come to know intimately, but in order to preserve his freedom, so he could continue…. Related: Haaretz
Alternative Information Center
Settlers attack Israeli army base, seize structure on Jordanian border
Alternative Information Center – In the aftermath of a settler attack on a key military base in the West Bank, the Israeli government, military and police declared that “a red line has been crossed.” Late Monday night, some 50 settlers…
AIC video: Portrait of a Palestinian farmer in Israeli-controlled Area C
Alternative Information Center – Ali Soleiman Daoud lives in Beit Einun, which is two kilometers from Hebron in Israeli-controlled Area C. He struggles to make a living as a grape farmer. But he faces many obstacles: checkpoints where his crops…
Israel’s threat to cut Gaza water supply would be “complete catastrophe”
13 Dec 2011 – Gaza, (Pal Telegraph) – “Taking our water is not like taking a toy. Water is life, they cannot play with our lives like this,” said Maher Najjar, deputy general director of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility of the recent Israeli threat to cut electricity, water and infrastructure services to the occupied Gaza Strip.
Kuwait questions former MPs over corruption
The National 13 Dec 2011 – Kuwait prosecutors have questioned two former MPs over money-laundering accusations after millions of dollars were allegedly deposited in their bank accounts.
Up to 1,400 detained Yemeni protesters to be released
The National 13 Dec 2011 – Freedom comes as Saudi Arabia offers country urgent aid.
Settler raids on army base anger Israel PM
The National 13 Dec 2011 – Jewish settlers attacked an army base and staged protests in a closed military zone on the Jordan border overnight, sparking a sharp condemnation from Benjamin Netanyahu.
Power cuts and fuel shortages from sanctions take toll on Syrian economy
The National 13 Dec 2011 – Blackouts and shortages have become entrenched in the country’s daily routine, as the UN estimate the nine-month uprising has killed more than 5,000.
Iran refuses ‘brazen’ US request for drone return
The National 13 Dec 2011 – Iran spurns Washington, saying it should instead apologise for invading its airspace.
Hizbollah accuses four people of being among 10 CIA spies
The National 13 Dec 2011 – Hizbollah’s public naming of four people it alleges are American spies in Lebanon is the latest move in its campaign against US covert operations in the region.
Netanyahu backs ban on loudspeaker muezzin
The National 13 Dec 2011 – The Israeli president Shimon Peres said he was ashamed of the proposal, being viewed as an attempt to antagonise Israel’s Arab minority, and others like it.
Netanyahu: All lines were crossed when Israeli citizens attacked IDF soldiers
Ha’aretz – PM says will use ‘all of his power’ to stem violence by right-wing extremists; Livni: Government shares responsibility for attack on IDF base.
After Gingrich declares Palestinians ‘invented’, picture emerges of U.S. Presidential hopeful with Yasser Arafat
Ha’aretz – The Huffington Post receives a photograph of the two from an unnamed political operative, where the Republican presidential hopeful and former Palestinian President are seen shaking hands.
Amos Harel / Today they are outraged, tomorrow they will forget
Ha’aretz – When the wave of condemnation passes, everything will be just as it was before: authorities will continue to act forgivingly toward the extreme right, and IDF officers will continue to tread carefully when it comes to settler violence.
Right-wing activist calls on IDF soldiers to sabotage equipment
Ha’aretz – Yitzhar resident ‘warns’ soldiers not to take certain actions that may prevent evacuations, such as spreading nails on roads or damaging engines.
Israeli ministers delay destruction of Mughrabi Bridge
Ha’aretz – Decision made in light of the sensitivity of the matter and the unwillingness to exacerbate tensions in region, on day after bridge was closed for fear of collapse.
Israel Education Minister: Palestinian state in West Bank ‘dangerous move’
Ha’aretz – Gideon Sa’ar says strengthening of radical Islam in region and PA’s conduct should cause Israel to question establishment of Palestinian state.
David Remnick to Haaretz: Gingrich statement on ‘invented’ Palestinians is ‘alarming’
Ha’aretz – Editor of New Yorker magazine says President Obama is salivating at the thought of running against Gingrich.
Bradley Burston / Newt Gingrich may be able to occupy Palestine, but Israel can’t
Ha’aretz – Mr. Speaker, if for the sake of Jesus and the Resurrection, you want the territories to stay occupied forever, you and your Christian Zionist allies will have to do some homework before Inauguration Day.
U.S.: Lebanese man linked to Hezbollah indicted on cocaine, money laundering charges
Ha’aretz – Man allegedly led conspiracy that, among other activities, sold nearly 100 tons of Colombian cocaine, and reaped more than $850 million in profits from illegal activities.
‘Syria’s Assad waging open warfare against defectors’
Ha’aretz – Mass attacks on army defectors, pro-democracy activists reported in Homs, Idlib; State-run news agency reports Syria border guards killed two armed ‘terrorists’ infiltrating across Turkey border.
UN rights chief: Syria death toll exceeds 5,000
Ha’aretz – The latest figure reported to the UN Security Council by Navi Pillay is 1,000 higher than the one she announced just 10 days ago
Iran indicts 15 ‘American and Zionist’ spies
Ha’aretz – Iran’s official news agency IRNA quoted Tehran’s chief prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi as saying suspects carried out espionage activities against Iran.
Israeli law is powerless in the settlements
Ha’aretz – It is absurd when some 50 Jewish rioters attack a military base and IDF soldiers, but there is no one there to arrest them.
Abbas raises Palestinian flag at UNESCO
Ha’aretz – UNESCO members voting by an overwhelming majority to admit Palestine as the agency’s 195th member state on October 31.
Israel’s new Cairo envoy: Egypt peace treaty will be preserved
Ha’aretz – Ambassador Yaakov Amitai arrived in Cairo on Monday, three months after Egyptian rioters ransacked Israel’s embassy.
Just one minister attends meeting to discuss exclusion of Israeli women
Ha’aretz – Ministerial Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women in Israeli Society, was put in charge of organizing a task force to consider imposing sanctions against businesses that discriminate against women.
Israeli students to visit West Bank city of Shiloh on school trips, Education Minister says
Ha’aretz – Gideon Sa’ar announced program for pupils to visit Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron to get to know ‘historic roots’ of state of Israel in February; site of ancient city of Shiloh is latest addition to program.
Former IDF Chief Rabbi: If violence continues, I will leave Itamar settlement
Ha’aretz – Rabbi Avichai Ronsky, current head of Itamar settlement in West Bank, also called on settlement heads to meet urgently in wake of rightist attack on IDF base Tuesday.
Netanyahu calls urgent meeting after rightists attack IDF base
Ha’aretz – PM calls attack by right-wing activists on IDF officer, soldiers ‘intolerable’ and calls on Israeli security forces to act decisively against the perpetrators.
Netanyahu, right-wing leaders condemn attack on IDF base in West Bank
Ha’aretz – Yesha council chair, Im Tirtzu leader strongly condemn attack by right-wing activists on IDF soldiers; Defense Minister Barak says actions carry an ‘air of self-made terrorism.’
Dozens of rightists break into IDF base in West Bank, wound officer
Ha’aretz – Some 50 right-wing activists throw rocks, burn tires, and vandalize military vehicles; no one arrested in incident; earlier, right-wing activists arrested on Jordan border.
U.S. House and Senate panel agree on new sanctions against Iran
Ha’aretz – Lawmakers say they agree to sanctions, despite Obama’s misgivings; measures include targeting Iran’s central bank.
Israel’s new ambassador arrives in Cairo
Ha’aretz – Yaakov Amitai arrived in the Egyptian capital three months after the embassy was ransacked by angry rioters.
Hamas calls for calm with Israel after spike in cross-border attacks
Ha’aretz – Minister in Gaza-based Hamas government calls on its people to unite and restore calm in order to block a large-scale aggression.
Rocket fired toward Israel lands in south Lebanon, wounds woman
Ha’aretz – Overnight comes two weeks after several rockets were fired across Israeli-Lebanese border.
Syrian Alawite figure speaks out against violence
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Anti-Assad activist warns Alawites being targeted in Homs because they belong to the same sect as Syrian president.
Right-wing extremists attack IDF base in West Bank
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Jewish rioters protest planned demolition of Ramat Gilad.
Fighting extremism
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – It is one thing to hold these views, and quite another to avail oneself of destructive means and violence in order to realize them.
Look who’s talking about ‘invented’ peoples!
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Yalla Peace: If Newt Gingrich wants to talk about national identities with no historical record, he need look no further than his own country – the United States.
Gevalt! The Jerusalem Post!
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – “It tears the heart,” exclaimed Rabbi Sherer, that I could write such things “for the whole world to see in The Jerusalem Post!”
Reggae star Matisyahu sheds signature beard
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – “No more Hasidic reggae superstar,” musician writes, posting a photo of his beardless face on Twitter, website.
Mugrabi Bridge will likely open in coming days
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – One option for bridge’s opening is to have fire truck permanently fixed inside the Western Wall plaza to negate fire hazard.
Mugrabi Bridge may reopen in coming days
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – One option for bridge’s opening is to have fire truck permanently fixed inside the Western Wall plaza to negate fire hazard.
Terra Incognita: Russian Israelis and the sacred cows
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – From the NGO funding law to the bill that would limit decibel levels for Muezzins, Russian Israelis view things differently than their native-born and Western-born countrymen.
On My Mind: Syrians await global action
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Ironically, Assad’s claim to Barbara Walters that he is not crazy would appear to be correct.
Handicapped man confuses cops with Facebook post
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Picture of police cruiser parked in handicapped spot, subsequent police explanation, becomes a mini-viral sensation.
Shechtman, Tamimi and Israel’s group identity
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Inside Out: Nobel Prize award and the death of Palestinian activist seem unrelated, but shed light on filters through which Israelis view events.
Religous-Zionist rabbis mixed over IDF base raid
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – “Harming army is sin and so is hatred,” yeshiva head says; MK Katz: Shin Bet planted activists to disgrace settler movement.
US drone crashes in Seychelles
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority says plane was on “routine patrol”; crashed due to mechanical failure.
Netanyahu, Gantz blast settler attack on IDF base
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Prime minister vows to deal with perpetrators of “unprecedented disturbance” with a heavy hand; Gantz calls the attack of Efraim Brigades HQ an “unfathomable absurdity.”
IDF mulls evicting price-tag attackers from W. Bank
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Defense officials critical of Israel legal system that has only prosecuted small number of “price-tag” vandals.
‘Rev. Guards detained in Khamenei murder plot’
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Detained officials had invited Iran’s supreme leader to visit weapons depot same day as explosion, Al Arabiya reports.
Scientists find signs of missing ‘god particle’
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Rehovot scientists have had leading role in experiments that show long-sought Higgs boson may exist.
Settlers demonstrate near Efraim Brigade HQ
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Protesters shout “Jews do not expel Jews”; Netanyahu condemns violence at Knesset plenum after 50 settlers attack IDF base in W. Bank.
Education minister wants field trips to W. Bank site
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Likud MK Sa’ar says current political situation brings into question readiness for a Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria.
PM: Small group thinks it can cancel loyalty to state
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Netanyahu condemns violence at Knesset plenum after 50 settlers attack IDF base in W. Bank; orders “emergency plan.”
Ministers to adopt women’s rights measures
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Steps include new guidelines, a hotline for women hassled on gender segregated buses and penalties for religious exclusion.
MK Tibi writes ‘Dvar Torah’ on Joseph
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Becomes first Arab MK to write for Knesset Torah newsletter; implyies Jewish Israelis are like “jealous” brothers in Joseph story.
Gov’t to establish working group on women’s rights
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Working group consisting of government representatives, women’s groups to convene in 60-75 days.
Pastors, Hollywood celebrities tour Israel
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Despite the varying perspectives of the country, both groups seemed to conclude that a visit to Israel can be fun, fulfilling and surprising on many levels.
Palestinian flag raised for first time at UNESCO
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Abbas attends ceremony following PA’s acceptance to UN cultural agency; is the first time the flag is raised over a UN body.
Jerusalem to name street after Umm Kulthum
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Egyptian singer’s name chosen as one of 86 new street names to be given in east Jerusalem in first phase of plan to improve quality of life.
Iran: Obama should apologize for downed drone
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Tehran rejects Washington’s request that it return the plane, wants an apology for violation of its air space.
CITYsights: More than a model menorah
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – The streets of Jerusalem are aglow with the radiant lights of menorahs during the festival of Hanukka.
PM calls urgent meeting on settler attack on IDF base
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Netanyahu meets with senior security officials after 50 settlers attack IDF base in W. Bank; Vilna’i: Attackers are “Jewish terrorists”; Barak orders IDF to devote full resources to preventing attacks.
Amnesty: Saudi beheading for sorcery “shocking”
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Saudi sorcery charge used to punish people for exercising their right to freedom of speech or religion, human rights group says.
PM demands ‘aggressive’ action against IDF attackers
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Livni: Netanyahu government fuels flames of extremists, leading to violence against IDF; Vilna’i calls attackers “Jewish terrorists”; Barak orders IDF to use full resources to catch perpetrators.
Settlers break into IDF base in ‘price tag’ attack
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Security forces chase 50 right-wing activists out of base; IDF: “This crosses a red line”; one arrested.
NGO report demands end to segregation of Ethiopian students
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Israel Association of Ethiopian Jews calls for creation of parent-teacher committees, penalties for authorities not encouraging integration.
‘Latet’: Kahlon turned his back on poverty issues
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Humanitarian aid organization claims minister of welfare and social affairs failed to address country’s deepening poverty.
Comptroller finds fault with police, State Attorney Office
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – State Comptroller says police and state prosecutors decide to close “a significant” portion of cases without good basis.
Analysis: Word of caution on Assad’s fall
Jerusalem Post 13 Dec 2011 – Observers should be careful before confidently predicting the imminent fall of the house of Assad.
Eichmann’s glass booth installed in Knesset exhibit
Jerusalem Post 12 Dec 2011 – Parliament opens new exhibit commemorating 50 years since Adolf Eichmann’s trial.
Haredim no longer hide their disabled children
Jerusalem Post 12 Dec 2011 – United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni: Ultra-Orthodox will no longer sweep those with special needs under the carpet.
Knesset Delegation warns NATO of Arab Spring
Jerusalem Post 12 Dec 2011 – “The Arab world and democracy are two things that have trouble connecting,” MK Dichter tells defense organization.
Erdan vows to foil Timna valley hotel complex
Jerusalem Post 12 Dec 2011 – Committee-approved buildings there will cause ‘enormous, irreversible damage,’ says green group.
Concert Review: Voca People
Jerusalem Post 12 Dec 2011 – The group shows tremendous talent in their ability to sing, dance, create sounds that simply don’t sound human.
Abbas raises Palestinian flag at Unesco headquarters – video
The Guardian 13 Dec 2011 – The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, symbolically hoists the Palestinian flag at the Unesco headquarters
Israeli military base attacked by Jewish extremists in West Bank
The Guardian 13 Dec 2011 – Attack came hours after settlers stormed monument as some say ‘homegrown terrorism’ is now greatest threat to security A gang of 50 Jewish settlers and rightwing activists have broken into an army base near the Israeli…
Jewish protesters gain access to Qasar al-Yahud baptism site – video
The Guardian 13 Dec 2011 – Israeli settlers staged a protest near the border with Jordan over the al-Aqsa mosque bridge row
Israeli settlers clash with troops in West Bank
The Guardian 13 Dec 2011 – Jewish settlers vandalise Israeli army base in protest over planned evacuations of unauthorised settlement outposts Israeli settlers have clashed with troops at an army base in the West Bank and along the border with Jordan in…
U.S.: New Republican Front-runner Roils Mideast Waters
IPS Newt Gingrich has a well-documented reputation for bomb throwing, but his latest assertions about Palestinians threaten to blow at least two decades of U.S. Middle East diplomacy to pieces.
Noori’s Camp Bucca: Hell on Earth
Uruknet December 13, 2011 – The US military’s Camp Bucca has been described as “Iraq’s Guantanamo,” but for the protagonist in Shakir Noori’s novel Madmen of Boca, it is hell on earth. The “Boca” prison, as Camp Bucca is known in Arabic, was set up near the southern port city of Umm Qasr after the US invasion…
Iran official hails Qatar relations “Iran and Qatar held similar views on the situation in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain ”
Uruknet December 13, 2011 – A visiting government official from Iran has praised Qatar for its forward-thinking outlook on regional issues and its close relationship with his country, claiming that both nations share common ground on a range of issues. Abdollahian also spoke about international intervention in the region, reaffirming Iran’s stance against any external pressure being…
Iran ready to hold Quran exhibition in Qatar
Uruknet December 13, 2011 – Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini, in a meeting with Qatari Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, Gheith bin Mubarak al-Kuwari on Tuesday said Iran is ready to hold Quran exhibition in Qatar….He also invited Qatari minister to pay a visit to Iran. Hosseini, by referring to Iran’s readiness to…
Iran official hails Qatar relations
Uruknet December 13, 2011 – A visiting government official from Iran has praised Qatar for its forward-thinking outlook on regional issues and its close relationship with his country, claiming that both nations share common ground on a range of issues. Abdollahian also spoke about international intervention in the region, reaffirming Iran’s stance against any external pressure being…
Señor Moreno-Ocampo, are you serious?
Uruknet December 13, 2011 – Let us now investigate what ties Mr. Moreno-Ocampo has, and to whom. So what authority has Moreno-Ocampo to speak about justice, when he witnessed the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya being assailed by NATO and the terrorists its unleashed and sat back saying nothing? Where are his arrest warrants for those who murdered? Where…
Ismael Mohamad / United Press International Video and testimony: Israeli soldiers’ savagery at Mustafa Tamimi’s funeral
Uruknet December 13, 2011 – … The soldiers were in their place, watching us advance. They didn’t fire tear gas; their presence itself was enough provocation. We stood in front of them, and began shouting at each of the soldiers, going from face to face with Mustafa Tamimi’s poster held up by our hands. Our grief spilled into…
Syria News – December 12, 2011 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet The number of martyrs killed by the security and regime army forces until now is 21, including 4 women and 13 children. Of whom, 13 martyrs fell in Homs, 3 in each of Hama and Damascus suburbs (Kanaker and Duma) and 2 in Idlib….Homs: Hasan Hatem Al-Dahab, 13 years old, died of wounds sustained after security…
Wrecking Europe to Fix It
Uruknet December 12, 2011 – From inception, Eurozone monetary union was an idea doomed to fail. Nonetheless, it was engineered fraudulently to look workable. In 1979, Europe’s Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) was introduced as part of the European Monetary System (EMS) to propel the continent to one European currency unit (ECU). ERM never worked. ECU is failing….
I was Mustafa Tamimi
Uruknet December 12, 2011 – Fifteen years ago I was Mustafa Tamimi. Two months before that it was a relative who had his skull smashed by an explosive bullet from an Israeli sniper. Later that same week another neighbor lost his eye. Before and since then, the same situation has been repeating itself again and again: an…
‘Cleansed’ Libyan town spills its terrible secrets
Uruknet December 12, 2011 – …In the middle of August, between the end of the siege and the killing of Gaddafi, Misratan forces drove out everyone living in Tawergha, a town of 30,000 people. Human rights groups have described this as an act of revenge and collective punishment possibly amounting to a crime against humanity. Tawerghans are…
Israeli Settlers Continue Their Systematic Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Their Property in the West Bank
Uruknet December 12, 2011 – The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns attacks launched by groups of Israeli settlers in the early morning in two Palestinian villages to the southeast of Nablus. PCHR calls upon the Israeli Occupation Forces to open investigations into these attacks and bring perpetrators to justice. According to investigations conducted by PCHR,…
Gingrich, the Fight is on
Uruknet December 12, 2011 – Two things happened this week that shook the Palestinians to their core. The first was the killing of Mustapha Tamimi, the 27-year old popular resistance activist who was shot directly in the face with a teargas canister while protesting Israel’s measures in his village. His death has struck a painful cord in…
Treating Palestinians Lawlessly
Uruknet December 12, 2011 – …December 11 marks the 63rd anniversary of UN Resolution 194, mandating that: “the (Palestinian) refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not…
Iran in ‘final stages’ of cracking software secrets of captured US drone
Uruknet December 12, 2011 – Iran will reverse-engineer the US drone it has in its possession, and is in the “final stages” of unlocking the aircraft’s software secrets, according to the head of Iran’s parliamentary national security committee. “Our next action will be to reverse-engineer the aircraft,” Parviz Sorouri said. “In the near future, we will be…
Soldier who shot unarmed protester to death: I didn’t see him
Uruknet December 12, 2011 – The IDF has launched an investigation into the circumstances which led to the death of Mustafa Tamimi,28, of Nabi Saleh during a demonstration against the takeover of his village’s lands by the nearby settlement of Halamish, in the West Bank. Haaretz reports: Figures in the army’s Central Command said the soldier claimed…
CIA prison exposed in Romania
Uruknet December 12, 2011 – Journalists from the Süddeutsche Zeitung and the German television magazine “Panorama” have uncovered the location of one of the chain of notorious secret torture prisons run by US Central Intelligence Agency in Europe. The prison is situated in a residential area of the Romanian capital, Bucharest. The prison in Bucharest began operations…
New film documents resilience of Bedouin village destroyed 30 times
Uruknet December 12, 2011 – For nearly a year and a half, the Bedouin villagers of al-Araqib in the Naqab (Negev) have been incessantly brutalized by the Israeli government and the Jewish National Fund (JNF) in an ongoing, broad-daylight ethnic cleansing operation. The village has been razed to the ground approximately thirty times since July 2010, and…
Bedouin protest relocation plans; village receives eviction notice
Uruknet December 12, 2011 – Between 3000 and 4000 protesters gathered outside of the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem yesterday to demonstrate against the Prawer Report-Israel’s plan to relocate tens of thousands of Bedouin from their homes in the Negev to impoverished townships. Bedouin and Palestinian citizens of Israel also held a general strike yesterday, Sunday December…
Lawyer Laments the Death of Habeas Corpus for the Guantánamo Prisoners
Uruknet December 12, 2011 – Two weeks ago, I wrote an article entitled, “As Judges Kill Off Habeas Corpus for the Guantánamo Prisoners, Will the Supreme Court Act?” in which I covered the latest grim news from the US courts regarding the Guantánamo prisoners’ habeas corpus petitions (see “Guantánamo Habeas Results: The Definitive List” for more). As…
Diary: Mohammed el Gorani and Je’rôme Tubiana Mohammed el Gorani was 14 when he was arrested and taken to Guantánamo. ‘For months I didn’t know where I was.’
Uruknet December 12, 2011 – …I took a plane to Karachi… But two months after my arrival, there was 9/11. I didn’t pay attention – I was very busy with my lessons. Every day, I woke up, went to school, ate lunch, played football with the neighbourhood kids, studied, prayed. Every Friday, I went to pray in…
Hundreds of settlers attack Nablus village
Uruknet December 12, 2011 — Hundreds of settlers stormed the Nablus village of Asira al-Qibliya overnight Sunday, causing damage to Palestinian property. Witnesses told Ma’an that around midnight more than 200 settlers from the notorious Yitzhar settlement entered the village and threw rocks at Palestinian homes. Local resident Ibrahim Makhlouf said that the settlers smashed the windows…
4 dead as anti-Gadhafi forces, tribesmen clash
Uruknet December 12, 2011 -Clashes erupted between former rebel fighters that toppled Moammar Gadhafi and a tribe seen as loyal to the fallen regime, killing four people, sources said on Monday. The fighting, which broke out on Saturday near Zintan, a town 120 kilometers (75 miles) southwest of Tripoli, involved the former rebel Zintan brigade and members…
Benghazi protesters turn on Libya’s new rulers
Uruknet December 12, 2011 – Libya’s new rulers came under fire from disgruntled protesters for the first time Monday as hundreds rallied in Benghazi, cradle of the uprising that toppled Moamer Kadhafi and brought them to power. Faced with angry calls from crowds demanding that National Transitional Council chief Musfata Abdel Jalil quit, the ruling body decided…
Rioting settler: We were pushed into a corner
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – “We were certain that the evacuation had begun. People were frustrated, helpless. They hurled stones at Palestinian vehicles, and suddenly the brigade commander’s vehicle … ….
Barkat slams PM over renovation of Mughrabi Bridge
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – The Jerusalem Municipality on Tuesday published a statement criticizing the government, this after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided that the Mughrabi Bridge will … ….
Ross: Obama won’t hesitate to use force against Iran
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – WASHINGTON – It is not too late to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear capabilities, American diplomat Dennis Ross said Tuesday. Ross, who recently resigned as … ….
US to Russia: Join UN action on Syria
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – The United States on Tuesday urged Russia to back UN Security Council action on Syria, after UN officials said the death toll in the months-long Syrian protests had … ….
Egypt Islamists offer ‘sin-free’ tourism
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – Islamists are dominating Egypt’s elections and some of them have a new message for tourists: welcome, but no booze, bikinis or mixed bathing at beaches, please. That … ….
IDF chief: Settler violence absurd
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz called the recent settler riots in the West Bank “inconceivable absurd.” Speaking at a reunion of National Security College … ….
US indicts alleged drug smuggler tied to Hezbollah
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – US prosecutors have indicted a Lebanese national who they say leads a massive international drug smuggling ring with links to the terror group Hezbollah and has allegedly … ….
Guests asked to ‘dress modestly’ for IDF ceremony
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – Parents of soldiers completing military medics’ course surprised to receive….
Violence in Syrian border province leaves 28 dead
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – Clashes in Idlib province highlight how civil uprising has become virtual….
General Mizrahi: I’ve never seen such hatred against soldiers
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – Central Command chief condemns settler riots at army base in West Bank, says….
Yishai downplays issue of women’s exclusion
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – Interior Minister believes that phenomenon of excluding women from public sphere….
Palestinian flag flies at UNESCO
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – Mahmoud Abbas attends Paris ceremony celebrating PA’s admission to UN’s cultural….
Settlers: Barak to blame for rightist riots
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – Samaria Regional Council head points finger at ‘pyromaniac’ defense minister for….
Iran scoffs at Obama request for US drone’s return
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – Islamic Republic says US downed drone is now its property, dismissive of Obama’s….
Peres: Recent legislation is ‘march of folly’
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – Ever since he left Knesset, President Shimon Peres has been trying to stay out….
PM orders emergency meeting on settler violence
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – Netanyahu to convene IDF chief, police commissioner and defense minister to….
Congress panel agrees on new Iran sanctions
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – Democrats, Republicans say they agree to legislation compromise imposing new….
Livni blames PM for radicalization wave
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – Settler violence draws extensive criticism by political figures. PM instructs….
Settlers raid IDF base, injure commander
YNet News, 13 Dec 2011 – Two violent incidents recorded overnight as settlers protest expected outpost….
Palestinian Information Center
Jewish settlers throw stones at Palestinian cars, injure baby girl
PIC – Jewish settlers threw stones at a Palestinian car east of Qalqilia on Tuesday injuring three civilians including a year and a half old baby girl, local sources said.
IOF troops demolish four Palestinian homes without prior notice
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) razed four Palestinian homes in Makhrur area in Beit Jala town to the north of Bethlehem on Tuesday without prior notice, local sources said.
Two Palestinians including child wounded in IOF incursion
PIC – A Palestinian child and a man were wounded when Israeli occupation forces (IOF) entered central Gaza Strip on Tuesday morning amidst random firing, local sources said.
Mizan: IOF soldiers killed 30 Palestinians in one year including 16 children
PIC – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) killed 30 Palestinians including 16 children and two women in the period from 10-12-2010 to 10-12-2011, the Mizan center for human rights said.
IOA closes Maghariba Gate ramp to Aqsa Mosque
PIC – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) closed on Monday Al-Maghariba Gate ramp that leads to the Aqsa Mosque at the pretext of its concern for the public safety, according to the Israeli police.
IOF soldiers arrest sons of detained Hamas leader
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed the family home of detained Hamas leader Sheikh Jamal Abul Haija in Jenin refugee camp in a pre-dawn raid on Tuesday and took away his teenage son Hamza.
OCHA: Israel razed 22 Palestinian buildings in less than a week
PIC – The UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said the IOA in less than one week demolished 22 Palestinian buildings and homes in the in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Higher Islamic council warns of Israeli intent to close Aqsa Mosque
PIC – The higher Islamic council in occupied Jerusalem slammed Israeli calls for closing the Aqsa Mosque before Muslim worshipers, describing such idea as reckless and irresponsible.
Germany Grants 13 Million Euros to Municipal Development
WAFA
ISESCO condemns Israeli Racist Curriculum
WAFA
Cabinet Condemns Escalation in Israeli Aggression
WAFA
Ashton Urges Israel to Investigate Protester’s Death
WAFA
Abbas to UNESCO: It’s an Emotional, Historical Moment
WAFA
Beit Jala Municipality Condemns House Demolitions
WAFA
Rights Group: Land Swap is Illegal
WAFA
Fatah: Israel Tends Toward Extremism, Avoids Peace
WAFA
Palestinian Flag Raised at UNESCO
WAFA
Israel Responsible for Settlers’ Attack on Church, says Official
WAFA
War on Iran has Already Begun. Act before it Threatens all of us
Intifada-Palestine: 13 Dec 2011 – Escalation of the covert US-Israeli campaign against Tehran risks a global storm. Opposition has to get more serious Iranians carry honorary coffins and pictures of a Revolutionary Guards commander killed in an explosion at the Alghadir missile base. Photograph: Reuters by … more
Newt Unleashes His Tetrodotoxin at the Palestinians
Intifada-Palestine: 13 Dec 2011 – William A. Cook “Even more ludicrous and perhaps more frightening, is this man’s willingness to undermine US policy.” Courtesy mwcews.net (LA VERNE, Calif.) – “Remember there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire. And I… more
Syria holds local elections as deadly clashes reportedly continue
LA Times 12 Dec 2011 – The government says the voting is part of a series of reforms in response to protests, but the opposition calls it a charade. More than 5,000 have been killed since the unrest began, the U.N. says. Local elections were held across Syria on Monday even…
Obama welcomes era of ‘equal partnership’ with Iraq
LA Times 12 Dec 2011 – The president marks ‘the end of this war’ with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki at the White House. Numerous challenges and uncertainties remain. With the last U.S. troops set to depart Iraq, President Obama on Monday welcomed a new phase of “equal partnership” with the…
U.S. asks Iran to return spy drone
LA Times 13 Dec 2011 – The Defense secretary says he doesn’t expect Tehran to comply. Iran says it is planning to clone and mass produce the bat-winged craft for use against its enemies. The Obama administration has sent a formal diplomatic request asking Iran to return the radar-evading drone aircraft…
Arrests in Iraq Raise Concerns About Maliki
New York Times 13 Dec 2011 – Night raids and mass arrests come as the United States prepares to leave Iraq, leading Western officials to question the country’s course under Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki.
Obama and Iraq Leader, Maliki, Mark Shift to Postwar Ties
New York Times 13 Dec 2011 – President Obama and Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq met at the White House on Monday to discuss the transition of a partnership born in war.
Syrian Officials and Activists Conflict on Vote Turnout
New York Times 13 Dec 2011 – Activists said that most citizens, observing a second day of a general strike, rejected the polls as irrelevant.
Radical West Bank Settlers Clash With Israeli Troops
New York Times 13 Dec 2011 – Dozens of radical Jewish settlers, reacting to a rumor that several of their outposts would be dismantled, attacked an Israeli army base in the West Bank on Tuesday.
Iran Rejects U.S. Request for Return of Drone
New York Times 13 Dec 2011 – Iran on Tuesday rejected a request by President Obama to return an American surveillance drone that the Iranians say they captured on Dec. 4., state media in Tehran reported.
Gaziantep Journal: Turkey’s Sanctions on Syria Hurt Business for Border City
New York Times 13 Dec 2011 – In a large industrial center, everyone from olive vendors to owners of large textile conglomerates says the shifting geopolitics are proving bad for business.
U.S. Leaving Iraqi Comrades-in-Arms in Limbo
New York Times 13 Dec 2011 – As the Sunni Awakening, former insurgents helped swing the war. Now they face the rule of a Shiite-run government.
‘If we lived in any other country we’d be honored for this work’ -prisoner Ghassan Elashi of Holy Land Foundation
Mondoweiss – (Photo: Bud Korotzer/NLN) Ghassan Elashi is one of approximately 80 prisoners in federal Communication Management Units. This article by his daughter Noor Elashi, “The Holy Land Five Appeal: My Father Will Not be Forgotten,” was originally published in CounterPunch yesterday: Exactly three days following the tenth…
JNF board member resigns over eviction of Palestinian family in Silwan
Mondoweiss – Protesters opposing the eviction of the Sumarin family. (Photo: Activestills) Seth Morrison writes in the Forward about his decision to resign from the Jewish National Fund board, and sever all ties with the organization, over the eviction of the Sumarin family in Silwan : This fall, a…
Gilat a finalist in Columbian communication systems bid
Neged Neshek – Gilat Satellite is a finalist in a Colombian governmental bid . The Globes article announcing it does not make clear which platform Gilat is offering, merely that the tender is pending means time is available to oppose it. Gilat has military satellite contracts in Russia, Kazakhstan, the…
‘One of the most disturbing days I have ever experienced’: An eyewitness account of the Israeli attack on Mustafa Tamimi’s funeral
Mondoweiss – Israeli soliders attacking mourners (Photo: Holly Rigby) The following is an eyewitness account of Mustafa Tamimi’s funeral procession on Sunday. It is from a longer post on Holly Rigby’s blog Carbonating Change: This has been one of the darkest and most disturbing days I have ever…
I was Mustafa Tamimi
Mondoweiss – Fifteen years ago I was Mustafa Tamimi. Two months before that it was a relative who had his skull smashed by an explosive bullet from an Israeli sniper. Later that same week another neighbor lost his eye. Before and since then, the same situation has been…
Arotech subsidiary wins US Navy contract
Neged Neshek – A U.S.-based subsidiary of Arotech recently won a U.S. Navy contract for a training simulation system. FAAC Inc, an Ann Arbor, Michigan company, will provide the system for a new, as-yet undeveloped quick reaction vehicle.
French Senators decry Heron UAV contract
Neged Neshek – Four French Senators on the Defense Commission publicly rebuked the military for opting for the IAI Heron TP unmanned aerial vehicle over the General Atomics Reaper. The op-ed in Le Monde (subscription required) listed several reasons to oppose the purchase, none of them based on ethics…
David Remnick erases Norman Finkelstein
Mondoweiss – Norman Finkelstein (Photo: OR Books) Yesterday I praised David Remnick for his story about Joan Peters’s 1984 book of propaganda that said that there were no Palestinians in Palestine till Jews got there. And I barely touched on a curious aspect of his piece that many…
DSIT in $12.3 million Asian underwater security contract
Neged Neshek – Givat Shmuel-based surveillance firm DSIT Solutions won a $12.3 million contract with an unnamed Asian nation for underwater surveillance in the energy industry. The AquaShield and PortShield systems will be deployed to protect “offshore oil platforms, coastal energy terminals and high value vessels against underwater intrusion…
Can Free Municipal Elections be organized by a “dictatorship”?
Voltaire Network 13 Dec 2011 – • In the face of the municipal elections of Monday, December 12, Washington’s cue to the press was to support the Syrian National Council’s call for a general strike and for an election boycott. This line has been completely adhered to by both the Western and…
Downed US Spy Drone Gives Iran Winning Card in Intelligence Trade
Voltaire Network 13 Dec 2011 – The hi-tech US stealth drone that was downed by Iran last week is of paramount importance in intelligence trade with the US foes as it can blunt the US technological edge over its adversaries. The unmanned surveillance RQ-170 plane lost by the United States in Iran…
Egypt: FM Hopes Syria Would Sign Protocol On Arab Initiative
allAfrica.com 13 Dec 2011 – Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr on Thursday 08/12/2011 expressed hope that Syria would sign a protocol for implementing the Arab initiative on ending its political crisis.
Africa: Israel Hopes to Block Inflow of Illegal Africans
allAfrica.com 13 Dec 2011 – THE Israeli cabinet has voted unanimously to finance a $160 million programme to stanch the flow of illegal African migrants by stepping up construction of a border fence and expanding a detention center to hold thousands of new arrivals.
Nigeria: FG to Partner Israel in Water Management
allAfrica.com 12 Dec 2011 – Minister of Water Resources Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe has expressed willingness to cooperate with Israel in the fields of water management and irrigation.
Statement of AAI Chairman George Salem on Newt Gingrich
Arab American Institute 12 Dec 2011 – The statement by Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich that Palestinians are an “invented people” is perhaps a new low in the campaign rhetoric of presidential hopefuls. A review of maps going back to the 16th century ? and any serious review of history going back centuries…
Ahistorical and Dangerous: Gingrich On Palestine
Arab American Institute 12 Dec 2011 – By Jamila Benkato Denying the existence of a people, and denying the existence of a people?s right to identify themselves as such, is a dangerous and familiar rhetorical tool.
Deadly clashes hit northern Syria
BBC 13 Dec 2011 – Clashes have left at least 28 people dead in Syria, activists say, including 20 in the restive north-western province of Idlib.
Palestinian flag raised at Unesco
BBC 13 Dec 2011 – The Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, raises the Palestinian flag above a UN agency for the first time.
Iran refuses to return US drone
BBC 13 Dec 2011 – Iran rejects a US call for the return of a US surveillance drone recently captured by Iran, saying Washington should apologise for invading its airspace.
West ‘immoral on Syria’ – Russia
BBC 13 Dec 2011 – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accuses the West of taking an “immoral” stance on Syria by refusing to condemn violence by the opposition.
Secret trade report obtained by AIPAC and Israel compromised sensitive US industry secrets
Sabbah report 13 Dec 2011 – A declassified FBI investigation uncovered AIPAC’s receipt of the report from Israel’s Economics Minister, who refused to divulge how he obtained it. IRmep’s Center for Policy and Law Enforcement filed a petition demanding $6.64 billion in compensation for exporters that suffered confidential business information loss to…
Newt Gingrich’s obscene canard
Sabbah report 13 Dec 2011 – In a cheap effort to procure Jewish votes and money, Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has claimed that the Palestinian people is an invented people.
Israeli Jewish hate rally against Africans in Tel Aviv caught on video as Haaretz deletes article about it
Sabbah report 13 Dec 2011 – Rally against Sudanese refugees in Tel Aviv, calling to “restrict their movement” and set up concentration camps. Israeli Jewish hate rally against Africans in Tel Aviv was caught on video as Haaretz deletes article about it.
Palestine-Israel, Mustafa Tamimi of Nabi Saleh was added to the list of martyrs of the joint struggle
A-infos 13 Dec 2011 – About 20 Palestinian people involved in the joint struggle were already murdered by the Israeli state forces. Due to differential orders about shooting Israeli participants, till now no Israeli activist was murdered, though few were operated in hospitals after being shot, two lost part of their…
Articles
Khan Al-Ahmar: Forced expulsion of Bedouins from Area C
Alistair George, International Solidarity Movement 12/13/2011
“From the 1970’s until today, the Israelis used to demolish our tents and houses but not to deport us” says Abu Hamis, a member of the Jahalin Bedouin tribe . “We used to rebuild our places but the new policy which they are adopting is that they want to not only demolish the houses, but to deport us from the area.”
Abu Hamis lives in the tinyvillageof Khan Al-Ahmar, located in the arid, rocky East Jerusalem periphery where steep mountain slopes plummet to the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea. The Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim, considered illegal under international law, is visible on the hill above the village. The settlement is currently home to around 35,000 people; however,Israel has plans to expand it to create a city of 100,000.
This massive expansion will require the transfer of Arab Bedouin communities living in the area and is part of a wider plan – outlined to the UN by the Israeli authorities – to forcibly transfer all Bedouin communities from Area C, the 62% of land in the West Bank under full Israeli civil and military control. The plan would involve transferring around 27,000 people and it could begin as soon as January 2012.
“This is a huge story” says Eyal Hareuveni, a researcher at Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. ”Evacuating Area C for all the Bedouin communities actually means taking 20% or more of all the Palestinians that live in Area C and transferring them without their consent to another area. Legally, forced eviction is considered a grave violation of human rights, and there are some NGOs that are already calling it a war crime.”
A mass forcible eviction, which seems the most likely outcome of the plans of the Israeli authorities, would be a breach of the Geneva Conventions – which is a war crime, for which there is personal criminal liability. more.. e-mail
New report documents children under fire in Gaza
AlertNet 12/13/2011
Twenty-eight cases of children being shot at by the border fence between Israel and the Gaza strip whilst gathering building materials like gravel, or working by the fence, have been documented by Defence for Children International in their latest report ‘Children of Gravel’.
The shootings reportedly took place between March 26 2010 and October 3, 2011, according to Defence for Children International (DCI)-Palestine Section . According to DCI, the Israeli soldiers often fire warning shots to scare off workers by the border. Their report also states that ‘these soldiers sometimes shoot and kill the donkeys used by the workers, and also target the workers, usually, but not always, shooting at their legs.’
‘That children are in a situation where they need to work to help their parents meet basic family needs is an infringement of their rights. That children are in the line of fire to meet these needs is appalling,’ says World Vision Programme Director for Gaza, Siobhan Kimmerle.
Forty percent of Gaza’s population is unemployed and 80% of the population is completely reliant on foreign assistance. In addition, Israeli restrictions limit the amount of construction material entering the Gaza borders for reconstruction and development. As a result, many workers collect gravel and sell it to builders to use for concrete. The children among the gravel collectors earn about US$8-$14 per day to help support their families.
The North Gaza governorate is one of the most impoverished governorates in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) and the neediest in the Gaza Strip. In comparison to the other governorates in the Gaza Strip, North Gaza’s food insecurity rate is the highest at 60% and the unemployment rate the second highest at 39%. World Vision works with communities in North Gaza to help improve family livelihoods and help ensure their children are cared for and protected. — See also: AlertNet and Defence for Children International more.. e-mail
The Republicans and the Palestinians
Robert Fantina, CounterPunch 12/13/2011
Racism, Genocide and Business as Usual
As each election approaches, few candidates miss making a trek to worship at the altar of the American Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC). There they pay homage, hoping to be anointed with the generous largess that that organization dispenses, mainly through its many fallen angels.
The most recent pilgrim to this unholy site is Republican presidential candidate wannabe Newt Gingrich, serial adulterer, egomaniac and blowhard extraordinaire. There, bowing before one of the gods of the almighty dollar, he verbalized what his fellow worshippers have vaguely hinted at, but always practiced. Said the adoring Mr. Gingrich: “Remember there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman empire.” He further expounded: “I think that we’ve had an invented Palestinian people.”
Mr. Gingrich chooses to ignore that this ‘non-state’ is referenced in the Old Testament.
One might well imagine a Native American leader saying: “Remember, there was no United States country. It was part of the British Empire. I think we have an invented United States citizenry.”
The following day, Mr. Gingrich defended his words. “Somebody ought to have the courage to tell the truth. These people are terrorists.”
Mr. Gingrich is not known for his thoughtful considerations of the issues facing society today. Nor is he noted for his honesty and integrity…. more.. e-mail
West Bank village steps up protests against Israel’s theft of land
Electronic Intifada: 12 Dec 2011 – Ben Lorber The Electronic Intifada Palestinians in the northern West Bank village of Kufr Qaddoum have been holding regular protests against the Israeli occupation and settlement encroachment.more
New film documents resilience of Bedouin village destroyed 30 times
Electronic Intifada: 12 Dec 2011 – Nora Barrows-Friedman The Electronic Intifada Jillian Kestler-D’Amours talks to The Electronic Intifada about her new film focusing on the Bedouin village of al-Araqib and the women, men and children who resist displacement by the Israeli government and the Jewish National Fund.more
Masked in Gaza: The Untold History of Palestinian ‘Militancy’
Palestine Chronicle: 13 Dec 2011 – By Ramzy Baroud Essam Al-Batsh and his nephew, Sobhi Al-Batsh, are the latest in a long line of reported Palestinian ‘militants’ killed by Israel. The civilians were both targeted while driving in a car in downtown Gaza on December 8. According to an Israeli army statement, “(They) were affiliated with a terrorist squad that intended to attack Israeli civilians and soldiers via the western border” (Reuters, December 8). Another ‘militant’ had been killed two days earlier. Israeli military aircraft “had targeted two militant squads that were preparing to fire rockets into southern Israel,” according to the Associated Press. AP quoted Israeli official saying the army would “continue to take action against those (who) use terror against the state of Israel.” It really doesn’t take much to kill a ‘militant’ in Gaza. Israeli military intelligence officers simply select a weapon and zoom in on their chosen person on any given day….more
Newt Unleashes His Tetrodotoxin at the Palestinians
Palestine Chronicle: 13 Dec 2011 – By William A. Cook ‘Remember there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire. And I think that we’ve had an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs, and were historically part of the Arab community…’ — (Newt Gingrich, Fox News. December 10, 2011) Many “Newts” produce toxins, the rough skinned Taricha, for example, produces enough to kill an adult human, and while all “Newts” go through a metamorphosis from tadpole to lizard, few expected that metamorphosis to reach human form in the person of the front running Republican candidate for President, Newt Gingrich. This Newt avoided the Vietnam War draft while studying for his degrees, then accepted a position as an historian and geographer at West Georgia College, a position he lost when his colleagues denied him tenure. A resourceful man, Newt ran for a congressional seat numerous times before capturing the 6th…more
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The New Dark Age 