27 December 2011 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
One Killed, 3 Injured in Israeli Air Strike North of Gaza
IMEMC – One Palestinian was killed and three others were injured as an Israeli air strike targeted on Tuesday evening a Palestinian vehicle near Abu-Sharkh Square in the city of Jabaliya, north of the Gaza Strip, the Maan News Agency reported Tuesday evening. …
Child Injured By Army Fire In Central Gaza
IMEMC – Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported that a 13-year-old child was moderately wounded on Tuesday at noon, after being shot by a live round fired by Israeli soldiers invading central Gaza. …
MK Demands Firing Of Colleagues Who Refuse To Recognize Israel As Jewish State
IMEMC – Likud Party Member of Knesset, Danny Danon, presented a draft of a new legislation that calls for the firing of any member of Knesset who refuses to recognize Israel as a “Democratic Jewish State”, or supports organizations that are considered “hostile and terrorist”. …
Airstrike kills 1, injures 2 in the Gaza Strip
12/27/2011 – GAZA CITY (Reuters) — An Israeli airstrike killed one person in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday as the coastal enclave marked the third anniversary of the Gaza war. Abdallah Telbani died and two other Palestinians were wounded by a blast that ripped through a tuk-tuk, or motorised rickshaw, in Gaza City, hospital officials said. They said….
13-year-old boy injured by Israeli gunfire in Gaza
12/27/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A 13-year-old boy in the Gaza Strip was injured by Israeli gunfire on Tuesday. Medical sources in the Gaza Strip said that Muhammad Talbani was shot in the foot and taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. Earlier on Tuesday, the military wing of the Popular….
Mashaal: Unity government needed to end division
12/27/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas chief in exile Khalid Mashaal said Monday that a unity government must be formed to end the division between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Speaking to Palestine TV, Mashaal said that Palestinian factions had agreed to a political program to which Hamas would adhere, albeit with amendments. The program….
Fatah: Hamas to ban 47th anniversary celebrations
12/27/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas have banned celebrations in the Gaza Strip to commemorate Fatah’s 47th anniversary. Fatah spokesman Fayiz Abu Aitah told Ma’an that security services in Gaza informed him that any celebrations to commemorate the movements founding will be canceled. The anniversary of the secular, nationalist movement is usually….
Haniyeh calls on Arab world to support Gaza
12/27/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Gaza prime minister Ismail Haniyeh called on Tuesday for more support from the Arab world to help break the blockade on Gaza and reconstruct the coastal enclave. Tuesday is the third anniversary of Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip which lasted from Dec. 27, 2008 until Jan. 18….
New commander of Palestinian security forces sworn in
12/27/2011 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Major General Nidal Abu Dukhan has been sworn in as commander of the Palestinian National Security Forces, replacing Thiab al-Ali. Palestinian national forces spokesman Bilal Abu Hamid said Abu Dukhan was sworn in on Monday during a ceremony at the forces headquarters in Ramallah. The incoming commander, who has served as….
Hamas commemorates third anniversary of Gaza war
12/27/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) —Hamas commemorated the third anniversary of the Gaza war on Tuesday by stating that the coastal enclave has become a symbol of dignity in the face of adversity.”The siege imposed on Gaza has failed to realize Israel’s goals when faced with the steadfastness and firmness of the….
Tanks withdraw, Arab League monitors arrive in Homs
12/27/2011 – BEIRUT (Reuters) — Arab League peace monitors arrived in the Syrian city of Homson Tuesday for a first look after tanks were seen leaving the hotbed of anti-government unrest where hundreds have been killed during nine months of military crackdowns on protesters. The team of monitors were expected to see for themselves whether President Bashar Assad….
Egypt court ends virginity tests on female detainees
12/27/2011 – CAIRO (Reuters) — An Egyptian court ordered on Tuesday that forced virginity tests be stopped on female detainees in military prisons. The case was filed by Samira Ibrahim, a woman who said the army forced her to undergo a virginity test in March after she was arrested during a protest in Cairo’s Tahrir Square….
Gunfire erupts as Syrians plead with Arab monitors in Homs
12/27/2011 – BEIRUT(Reuters) — Blasts of gunfire erupted in a video that activists said showed residents in Syria’s protest hotbed city of Homs arguing and pleading with Arab League monitors to come further inside their district of Baba Amr, where fighting has been fierce. At the beginning of the video, sent by activists to Reuters….
IRNA: Iran warns could stop oil flow if sanctions
12/27/2011 – TEHRAN (Reuters) — Iran’s first vice-president warned on Tuesday that the flow of crude oil will be stopped from the crucial Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf if foreign sanctions are imposed on its oil exports, the country’s official news agency reported.” If they (the West) impose sanctions on Iran’s….
Syrian forces kill 15 on first day of Arab League mission
12/27/2011 – BEIRUT (Reuters) — Syrian security forces killed at least 15 people across the country on Tuesday, a rights group said, on the day Arab peace monitors began a mission to assess whether Damascus has ended a nine-month crackdown on protests against President Bashar Assad. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the toll included at….
Hamas Summons 19 Fatah Members, Continues to Detain Nine
PNN – PNNOn Tuesday, Hamas security services summoned 19 members of Fatah from the east and central regions of the Gaza Strip. Secure sources in the Gaza Strip told Palestinian official news wire Wafa…
Solidarity Sit-in Staged for Prisoners in Ramallah
PNN – PNNOn Tuesday, dozens of Palestinians staged a sit-in in front of the International Red Cross building in Ramallah in the West Bank in order to express solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in the…
Islamic Jihad Chooses Armed Resistance, Refuses Participation in Elections
PNN – PNNOn Tuesday, the Islamic Jihad renewed its rejection of the incoming Palestinian unity government and refused to participate in elections scheduled for May. Meanwhile, the Islamic movement Hamas agreed to continue reconciliation…
Israeli Government Orders Closure of Mosque and Kindergarten in Silwan, Sentence Youth to 4 Years
PNN – PNNOn Tuesday, the Israeli Jerusalem municipality ordered the shuttering of the al-Ain Mosque and the Muslim Child kindergarten, as well as several stores in the Wadi Helwa neighborhood of Silwan in East…
Israeli Forces Arrest Man near Hebron, Shoot 13-year-old in Gaza, Settlers Enter Joseph’s Tomb
PNN – PNNOn Tuesday, Israeli forces raided several villages in the Hebron governorate and arrested 37-year-old Riyad Musa Abdulqader from Sai’r village, east of Hebron. Secure sources told Palestinian official news wire Wafa that…
International Solidarity Movement
27 December 2008: The Al Ashi family
12/27/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – 27 December 2011, Palestinian Center for Human Rights – “For the upcoming anniversary of the war, me and other women who lost husbands in the attack plan to give gifts to orphans who lost their fathers during the war. The gifts will be inscribed with the words ‘On this day you are the beloved ones of…. Related: Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Demonstration in Beit Hanoun three years after Cast Lead
12/27/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – By Rosa Schiano, 27 December 2011, International Solidarity Movement, Gaza – The Beit Hanoun Local Initiative remembered the 1,414 Palestinians killed by Israel during its 2008-2009 “Operation Cast Lead” attack on the people of Gaza during a weekly march in the Israel-imposed “no-go zone.”Updated on December 28, 2011….
Open letter from Gaza: Three years after the massacre, justice or nothing!
12/27/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – 27 December 2011, Besieged Gaza, Occupied Palestine – We, Palestinians of Gaza, 3 years on from the 22-day long massacre in Israel’s operation “˜Cast Lead’, are calling on international civil society to make 2012 the year when solidarity with us in Palestine captures the spark of the revolutions around the Arab world….
Raw memories of war
12/27/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – By Yousef M. Aljamal, Center for Political and Development Studies – Simply put, I hate war. I love peace, for I don’t live peacefully just like others. My youngest sister hates war too. She could never forget the sounds of American-made F16s raiding Gaza’s only Power Plant, burning it to ashes, which….
Afghanistan: Red Cross aid workers in the field for Christmas
Relief Web 26 Dec 2011 – Source: Australian Red Cross Country: Afghanistan , Haiti , occupied Palestinian territory , Pakistan , World Australian Red Cross aid workers will be helping out across the globe in disaster, conflict and development zones this festive season. TUESDAY DECEMBER 20, 2011 Peter Giugni will…
Jordan: UNRWA training brings together mothers and girls in Amman refugee camp
Relief Web 26 Dec 2011 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: Jordan , occupied Palestinian territory December 2011 Jordan Over 300 refugee mothers completed a one-month course offered by the UNRWA Girls’ Preparatory School in Amman New Camp…
Israel strikes Gaza Strip for second time in hours, IDF says
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
U.S. presidential hopeful Ron Paul isn’t anti-Israel, former aide says
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
Egypt arrests man suspected of attacks on gas pipeline to Israel
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
Haredi violence is damaging Israel’s image, U.S. rabbis say
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
Israel airstrike kills Islamic Jihad operative in Gaza, report says
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
Syrians to Arab League monitors: We want international protection
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
Thousands of Israelis protest gender segregation in Beit Shemesh
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
Iran: We will cut oil flow if West imposes economic sanctions
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
ElBaradei: U.S., Egypt in secret talks on fate of Israel peace treaty
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
Knesset: PM may forgive debt of Israel’s state television station
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
Peres urges Israelis to protest against religious extremism
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
20,000 Syrians protest as Arab League monitors tour Homs, say activists
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
Damian Karlik sentenced to six life sentences for murdering ex-boss’ family
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
IDF chief: Religious soldiers not excused from official events where women sing
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
Syria army begins withdrawing from Homs as Arab League mission arrives
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
At least four killed in Syria’s Homs as Arab League observers head to area
Ha’aretz – 27 Dec 2011
Green groups urge Israeli government: Stop killing off the Dead Sea
Ha’aretz – 26 Dec 2011
Ultra-Orthodox Jews ask Israeli media to help rid them of extremists
Ha’aretz – 26 Dec 2011
Court recognizes Palestinians hurt while laboring in Israel as work-accident victims
Ha’aretz – 26 Dec 2011
IDF opposes plan to try Jewish extremists in military courts
Ha’aretz – 26 Dec 2011
Israeli city braces for 10,000-strong protest against exclusion of women
Ha’aretz – 26 Dec 2011
Online database helps ‘hidden Jews’ find roots
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – NameYourRoots.com allows potential descendants of those who fled the Spanish Inquisition to search their ancestry.
EJC president slams European firms dealing with Iran
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – In new book, Moshe Kantor warns Iranian nuclear program would deal a death blow to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
ElBaradei blows cover on alleged US-Egypt talks
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Mohamed ElBaradei says maintaining Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty the central issue in secret talks.
Syrians celebrate arrival of Arab League monitors
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – “Allowing slaughter of innocent civilians is inexcusable,” expat Syrian physician tells the ‘Post.’
Economic challenges
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Cutting the defense budget to fund the Trajtenberg recommendations can reduce inequality without compromising military capabilities.
What if Assad survives?
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Palaces with 24 karat gold plumbing cannot coexist indefinitely with the continued wasted hopes of the masses.
Why Gingrich is right – and wrong
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Even Palestinians know there is no historic Palestinian people, but that doesn’t matter. The Arabs of this country have been ‘Palestinianized.’
Terra Incognita: Un-original shooting
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Photographer Fredric Brenner promised to portray Israel beyond the stereotypes in his latest project, but the artists have predictably created an orgy of clichés.
Yalla Peace: The abnormality of ‘normalization’
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Normalization may not be “normal” in the Middle East or in regard to Palestinians and Israelis relations.
Spain – our new ‘amigo’
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Historically, no country in Europe rivals Spain in terms of the ferocity of its Judeophobia. Today, however, Madrid is emerging as one of Israel’s strongest supporters.
Hundreds protest ultra-Orthodox extremism
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – “This is not only a fight for Beit Shemesh, it’s a fight for everyone in Israel,” says demonstrator.
‘We won’t let Beit Shemesh become like Iran’
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Hundreds protest against ultra-Orthodox extremism; huge police presence prevent violence from breaking out.
‘Egypt detains man over gas pipeline blasts’
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Egypt state news reports 20-year-old Egyptian man arrested for involvement in 10 attacks on gas pipe to Israel, Jordan.
IDF strikes two Gaza targets, at least one dead
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Joint Israel Air Force and Shin Bet operations kill at least one ‘World Jihad’ terrorist, injure ten in Gaza Strip; Kassam rocket fired, lands inside Gaza.
Barak unfazed by criticism from Tanzania
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Refuses to apologize to African country after it protests being called “irrelevant.”
PM, Peres speak out against women’s exclusion
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Netanyahu welcomes rabbis condemning haredi violence ahead of Beit Shemesh rally.
Final Farwell: A look at those who died this year.
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – In 2011 we’ve said goodbye to actors, musicians, dictators and legends – not all will be missed.
‘Arab world must stop Israel’s Judaization of J’lem’
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Hamas PM Haniyeh, on tour of Mideast, tells reporters in Cairo Israel on a campaign against Muslim symbols in Jerusalem.
‘US urging Egypt to maintain peace with Israel’
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Mohamed ElBaradei says secret US-Egypt meetings focus on maintaining Camp David Accords if Islamists come to power.
Lacoste revokes Palestinian’s contest entry
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Fashion company removes art contest finalist’s entry because her display was “too pro-Palestinian.”
70,000 protest Assad as Arab monitors arrive
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Tear-gas fired to deter bigger demonstration; residents urge Arab monitors to see signs of “slaughter.”
The genius of Steve Jobs: It’s all in the names
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – The Top Technology story of 2011, according to JPost reader votes.
Video pre-rolls given interactive makeover
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Tel Aviv-based Innovid plans to turbo-charge video adverts that appear before online programs, movies.
Hamas marks 3 yrs since IDF Operation Cast Lead
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Gaza leaders dismiss Israeli “threats” of new operation to root out terror in territory as “psychological warfare, propaganda.”
Karlik gets 6 life sentences for Oshrenko murders
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Prosecutors had asked court to give murderer one life sentence for each of the six family members he killed.
Local churches tell the Christmas story
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – From Nazareth to Bethlehem, Travelujah lists the churches significant to the Christmas story in the Holy Land.
Syrian tanks leave Homs as Arab monitors arrive
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – After 34 killed in restive city, 11 tanks seen leaving and other tanks being hidden from Arab League monitors, activists say.
Gantz: IDF does not restrict women from singing
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – All soldiers required to attend formal ceremonies, says IDF chief, but in all other events “we must show respect and not force them to participate.”
Karlik to be sentenced for Oshrenko family murder
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Prosecutors have asked for six life sentences in what they dubbed the “worst murder case in Israel’s history.”
‘Beit Shemesh anti-segregation rally political’
Jerusalem Post 27 Dec 2011 – Protest against ultra-orthodox extremism planned; Shas-affiliated mayor voices support, but doubts organizers’ motives.
Haredi-style health bulletins sent to secular homes
Jerusalem Post 26 Dec 2011 – Insurers now required to state which sector they’re aimed at, as suggested by ‘Post.’
Hamas not ruling out PA presidential election
Jerusalem Post 26 Dec 2011 – Zahar predicts that Hamas will score landslide victory in upcoming parliamentary election which is expected at same time.
In Islamic stronghold, Christmas carries on
Jerusalem Post 26 Dec 2011 – Gaza’s tiny community says Hamas puts no crimp on holiday spirit.
Shimon Peres condemns ultra-orthodox extremists as tensions escalate
The Guardian 27 Dec 2011 – Israel’s president says minority threaten national values as TV news shows sobbing 8-year-old recounting ordeal Israel’s president urged “the entire nation” to support the battle “to save the majority from the hands of a small minority”…
Israeli police arrest ultra-Orthodox protesters – video
The Guardian 27 Dec 2011 – Israeli police arrested several ultra-Orthodox protesters after an officer was injured in demonstrations in Beit Shemesh
SYRIA: Mass Protests in Homs as Arab Monitors Visit
IPS Tens of thousands of Syrians have reportedly taken to the streets of Homs, as Arab League monitors finished their first day of observation in the city that has been the centre of the anti-government protest movement.
ISRAEL: Exercising the Right to Torture
IPS In a case that has highlighted Israel’s abuse of Palestinian detainees, an Israeli military court recently acquitted a Palestinian man after it became clear that Israeli interrogators used excessive physical and psychological abuse as a way to coerce a confession from him.
Netanyahu Rejects Peace
Uruknet December 27, 2011 – Sham Israeli peace negotiations were stillborn from inception. Writer Henry Siegman once called them “the most spectacular deception in modern diplomatic history.” Netanyahu once said they’re “a waste of time.” Previous Israeli officials called occupation and status quo conditions “permanent.” Republican presidential aspirant Newt Gingrich calls Palestinians an “invented” people. Decades ago,…
Confronting intimidation, working for justice in Palestine
Uruknet December 27, 2011 – If we had a wish list for 2012 as Palestinians and friends of Palestine, one of the top items ought to be our hope that we can translate the dramatic shift in recent years in world public opinion into political action against Israeli policies on the ground. We know why this has…
PLO Official: Without Peace Agreement, We May Cancel Recognition of Israel
Uruknet December 26, 2011 – On Monday, PLO official Mohammed Eshtayeh said the Palestinian Authority (PA) might cancel its 1993 recognition of the state of Israel if a peace agreement could not be reached. Eshtayeh made the comment in an interview the London-based Sharq al-Awsat newspaper, calling the recognition of Israel “an unbalanced one.” Eshtaiyeh also said…
Iraq’s tragic encounter with US imperialism
Uruknet December 27 ,2011 – …The US occupation of the country has amounted to a conscious policy of sociocide-the destruction of the very fabric of a society. Formerly mixed suburbs have been transformed into sectarian enclaves, and the people have been traumatised by bitter memories of communal violence. The Iraqi population as a whole has been left…
13-year-old boy injured by Israeli gunfire in Gaza
Uruknet December 27, 2011 — A 13-year-old boy in the Gaza Strip was injured by Israeli gunfire on Tuesday. Medical sources in the Gaza Strip said that Muhammad Talbani was shot in the foot and taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. Earlier on Tuesday, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, the…
Video: Samouni Street
Uruknet December 26, 2011 – The story of 4 kids of the extended Samouni family in Gaza. By animated drawings they express what happened to them and their family during operation ‘Cast Lead’…
Military Resistance; 9L20 the Paul Effect
Uruknet December 26, 2011 – …. The military regime that has ruled Egypt since the fall of Hosni Mubarak has taken a harsh turn toward repression, symbolized by this month’s barbaric attack against protesters outside the Cabinet’s headquarters. Now the generals and their allies are singling out the Revolutionary Socialists among other leading voices of Egypt’s left…..
Syria News – December 26, 2011 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet 42 martyrs in Syria up till now, 1 in each Daraa and Douma in Damascus suburbs, 4 in Hama, 2 in Idlib, and the rest are in Homs… Damascus subrubs: Douma: Martyrdom of Omar Hussaini, 26 years old, palestinian. His body was abducted by security forces…Hama: Khattab: Majed Al-Nabhan has been martyred when the security foreces…
Moqtada tries to solve the political crisis?
Uruknet December 26, 2011 – …The Leader of the Shiite Trend, Muqtada al-Sadr, has called Sunday for the trial of Iraq’s Vice-President, Tareq al-Hashimy, under the auspices of the Parliament, warning at the same time from the single-party power on the political process in the country…. What’s going on? Moqtada only supported Nouri for prime minister when…
Boycott Campaigners Claim Credit For Denial Of London Contract To Company Invested In Settlements
Uruknet December 26, 2011 – A French transportation company, Veolia, that has been the target of a campaign by human rights groups around the world for its investment in Israeli settlements, has been denied a contract in West London – leading supporters of the boycott campaign to claim credit. Over the last six months campaigners lobbied Councillors…
IRAQ’S LIBERATION LEGACY.
Uruknet December 26, 2011 – There is a legacy for the Iraqi people, a legacy left to them by the “Coalition of the Willing”, a legacy that will be handed down from generation to generation. It is a legacy that has stolen their future and shattered the dreams of generations yet to come. Depleted Uranium (DU) type…
Dr. Ali Tarhouni and “the True Voice of the Masses”
Uruknet December 26, 2011 – Dr.Ali Tarhouni was an exile during all but a few months of Gaddafi’s “Arab Socialist” Jamahiriya system, studying free market economics in the United States, and teaching it at the University of Washington, Seattle. In February, he returned to Libya to join the new NTC (NATO Terrorist Collaborator) government as its oil…
WATCH: Ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews spit on “immodest” 8-year-old girl in Beit Shemesh
Uruknet December 26, 2011 – Naama Margolis, an 8-year-old from Bet Shemesh, is the most famous girl in Israel today. In fact, nobody can stop talking about her. And why is that? Well, on Friday evening, Naama told her story on the most watched news show in the country. Interviewed by Channel 2’s Shai Gal, Naama told…
Come on World, it can’t Get Clearer Than This
Uruknet December 26, 2011 – If it were not so tragic, our situation would actually be funny. Someone like Jon Stewart could have a ball with the Israelis (and he does at times). Just imagine a show dedicated to Israel’s statements about peace. If it were not so unfortunate, it would be a laughing riot. Take Israeli…
Palestinians to go ahead with UN statehood request
Uruknet December 26, 2011 – The Palestinian leadership and factions have agreed to ask and press for a vote on its demand for full statehood at the UN Security Council, said a top Palestinian official. Speaking to Gulf News, Bassam Al Salhi, the Secretary General of the People’s Party and member of the Executive Committee of the…
The intellectual cowardice of Bradley Manning’s critics
Uruknet December 26, 2011 – After imprisoning Private First Class Bradley Manning for eighteen months, the U.S. Army last week finally began the preliminary stage of his court-martial proceeding, and that initial process ended on Thursday. Manning faces over 30 charges; the most serious – “aiding the enemy” – carries a death sentence (though prosecutors are requesting “…
32 Palestinians left homeless by Israel in December
Uruknet December 26, 2011 – The first three weeks of December saw Israel demolish over 20 structures, leaving 32 Palestinians homeless and affecting another 150 people. In addition, several places have received new stop-work or demolition orders and verbal warnings from Israeli forces….Demolitions: 22 December – Az-Za’ayyem, Jerusalem Area C: A demolition team arrived in az-Za’ayyem, a…
The Car Downstairs – Gaza’s Untold Story
Uruknet December 26, 2011 – Mohammed coughed uncontrollably in a concerted effort for every breath he took, as an army truck hauled him across the Sinai desert. The numbers of surviving soldiers accompanying Mohammed on his journey to the other side of the Suez Canal was dwindling. Israeli warplanes circulated overhead and scrupulously picked off one moving…
Carnage in Homs district as tanks open fire (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet December 26, 2011 – Terrified residents cowered in their homes on Monday in Syria’s Homs, as army tanks fired shells, machineguns and mortars into their neighborhoods, and amateur video filmed by anti-government activists showed carnage in a city street. .. “What is happening is a slaughter,” said Fadi, a resident near Baba Amr who spoke to Reuters…
Iran seeks death for American accused of spying
YNet News, 27 Dec 2011 – ….
Iran: 4 Kurdish rebels killed
YNet News, 27 Dec 2011 – ….
Wallenberg as role model
YNet News, 27 Dec 2011 – Op-ed: In era of dubious human rights activists, Raoul Wallenberg should be celebrated ….
Abstract painter Helen Frankenthaler dies at 83
YNet News, 27 Dec 2011 – ….
‘I wouldn’t send US troops to fight Nazis’
YNet News, 27 Dec 2011 – Blogger says that in 2009 Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul declared that if he was in office during WW2 he ‘wouldn’t have risked American lives just to save Jews’ ….
Haifa University cancels Hadash’s rally
YNet News, 27 Dec 2011 – ….
Qassam fired at Israel; lands on Palestinian side of border
YNet News, 27 Dec 2011 – ….
IDF strikes Gaza; Islamic Jihad operative killed
YNet News, 27 Dec 2011 – Palestinians say two IAF strikes in Gaza Strip leave Islamic Jihad operative dead; at least eight injured. Qassam fired at western Negev but lands on Palestinian side of border ….
Report: FM irked by secret EU report on Israeli Arabs
YNet News, 27 Dec 2011 – Confidential memo by European diplomats outlining growing gaps between Israel’s Jewish, Arab communities reportedly enrages Foreign Ministry ….
Beit Shemesh: Thousands protest women’s segregation
YNet News, 27 Dec 2011 – Scores gather to protest radical religious elements’ demand to exclude women from public life in Israel ….
‘Unwritten rule’ bars women’s signing in Knesset
YNet News, 27 Dec 2011 – Senior House sources admit female singers no longer perform in official Knesset ceremonies so not to ‘upset’ religious MKs ….
In praise of settler youth
YNet News, 27 Dec 2011 – Op-ed: Young settlers are wonderful, idealistic group of people – don’t call them terrorists ….
Beit Shemesh mayor: Firm hand against rioters
YNet News, 27 Dec 2011 – Hours before rally against women’s exclusion in his city, Abutbul ask press ‘not to put all haredim in one basket’ ….
Syria pulls tanks from Homs as Arab monitors visit
YNet News, 27 Dec 2011 – Army suspends days of attacks on restive city as Arab League monitors meet with local leaders ….
Heroism or fanaticism?
YNet News, 27 Dec 2011 – Op-ed: Timidity of most Israelis enabling settler, haredi heroism to morph into fanaticism ….
CIA Asset Susan Lindauer.. Can Now Speaks 10 years after 9/11
Intifada-Palestine: 27 Dec 2011 – Susan Lindauer CIA whistle blower reveals everything she knows on the dirt. Why would she be be on Russia today if she was hoaxing it??? RT always confirms the facts before they release a story you CIA trolls. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfv1uPBmR5g&feature=related Category: more
Syria opposition says at least 20 killed in Homs
LA Times 26 Dec 2011 – The bloodshed, which could not be confirmed, comes as Arab League observers arrive to monitor implementation of a regional peace initiative. The video was horrific. What appeared to be the bloodied and broken bodies of four men lay in a rubble-strewn street, near downed power…
Iraqi interpreters for U.S. military in dangerous limbo
LA Times 26 Dec 2011 – Thousands were promised spots first in line for special visas to the U.S., but the process has slowed to a crawl. Now the Iraqis, targeted for death because of their service to America, can only wait. He rarely leaves his house. He’s been shot at…
Embattled City in Syria Simmers as Monitors Enter
New York Times 27 Dec 2011 – The Syrian government pulled tanks from the streets of Homs on Tuesday as Arab League observers arrived to monitor government pledges to withdraw forces.
Iran Threatens to Block Oil if West Sets New Sanctions
New York Times 27 Dec 2011 – Iran said it would close off the world’s most important oil transit point, the Strait of Hormuz, if Western powers try to restrict the sale of Iran’s oil because of its nuclear program.
Iran Begins Trial of Man Said to Be U.S. Spy
New York Times 27 Dec 2011 – Amir Mirzaei Hekmati confessed to being an American spy sent to infiltrate the intelligence services of Iran.
3 Years Later: Palestinians Still Exist
Mondoweiss – Gaza war ?The sounds of bombs took over the temporary silence that prevailed all over the place, followed by the sirens of ambulances that wracked one’s nerves, the smell of both burning flesh and gunpowder welding with one another, the black and dark sight due to…
Gingrich’s backer Adelson outdoes ‘invented people’ smear in address to ‘Birthright’ youth
Mondoweiss – Sheldon Adelson speaks in Hong Kong (Photo via Wikipedia) Kiera Feldman’s July 2011 investigative piece in the Nation on Birthright Israel exposed the program for what it is: a racist, settlement-promoting propaganda organization that is trying to raise the next generation of American Zionists. Sheldon…
Learning from Egypt: the case of the criminal billionaire Ahmed Ezz
Mondoweiss – Ahmed Ezz Deposed president Hosni Mubarak and his son, Gamal, the onetime heir apparent, are still the most hated men in Egypt, but just behind them is the billionaire industrialist, Ahmed Ezz. Most Americans cannot name the heads of U.S. Steel, ExxonMobil, or IBM, but Egyptians…
Settlers disrupt Palestinian wedding, leaving five injured, including bridegroom
Mondoweiss – link to silwanic.net link to silwanic.net link to 972mag.com link to www.ynetnews.com link to 972mag.com link to mondoweiss.net link to silwanic.net link to english.wafa.ps link to english.wafa.ps link to english.wafa.ps link to silwanic.net link to english.wafa.ps link to english.wafa.ps link to english.wafa.ps link to www.maannews.net link…
We’ve almost reached our fundraising goal– please kick in!
Mondoweiss – Every donation of $100 or more will get matched by an anonymous donor and get you a copy of Joe Sacco’s book Footnotes in Gaza . (Image: Joe Sacco) Dear readers, Our fundraiser is coming to a close in four days and we need a little bit…
American Jewish Leaders Rake in Big Bucks Despite Failing Brands
Tikun Olam – Abe Foxman’s ‘clawed out’ a $620,000 salary putting him in the Jewish 1% Just as many CEOs of major corporations manage to increase their compensation despite miserable profits and stock performance, so it is with the leaders of the largest and most influential American Jewish organizations….
Thierry Meyssan’s Syria update: chaos is the name of the game
Voltaire Network 27 Dec 2011 – In his third interview with Morris Herman, Thierry Meyssan explains that, unable to take on the Al-Assad regime in the near future, the United States has shifted towards a strategy of low intensity warfare to undermine both Syria’s and the region’s resistance to imperialism. Further chaos…
SNC urges Arab League to save allegedly besieged Homs
Voltaire Network 26 Dec 2011 – Few newspapers came out on Christmas Monday in the West and no particular message emerged from the articles on Syria, except for the Syrian National Council’s appeal to the Arab League for its observers to break the siege locking the city of Homs. However, our correspondents…
Nigeria: Country Pilgrims Detained in Jerusalem
allAfrica.com 27 Dec 2011 – Seven Nigerian pilgrims to Jerusalem, including two priests and a woman, have alleged poor treatment in the hands of Israeli security operatives, saying they were unjustly detained in prison for about 11 hours without committing any offence.
North Africa: Ambassador – Egypt, Algeria Keen to Settle Syrian Crisis
allAfrica.com 27 Dec 2011 – Egypt and Algeria are very aware of the dangers besetting Syria and the entire world and that is why they are trying to find a way-out that would cause the least possible damage to Syria, Egypt’s Ambassador to Algeria Ezzel Din Fahmi said.
Egypt: PM Discusses With Arab Oil Ministers Boosting Investment
allAfrica.com 27 Dec 2011 – Prime Minister Dr. Kamal Al- El Ganzoury meets on 24/12/2011 with Arab Ministers of Energy and Petroleum participants in the activities of the 85th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries “OPEC”, headed by the Minister of the UAE’s…
Egypt: Mufti Calls On Arab, Islamic Gov’ts to Take Firm Stance Against Jerusalem’s Judaization
allAfrica.com 27 Dec 2011 – Egypt’s Mufti Ali Gomaa stressed during his meeting on 24/12/2011with Palestinian Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs Mahmoud Habash that protecting Jerusalem is an essential Islamic duty.
Monitors confronted in Syria city
BBC 27 Dec 2011 – Angry protesters in Syria’s restive city of Homs demand protection from visiting Arab League monitors as tanks are reportedly withdrawn.
Israel rally against segregation
BBC 27 Dec 2011 – Thousands rally in the Israeli town of Beit Shemesh against ultra-Orthodox Jewish extremism, prompted by attacks on “immodestly” dressed women.
Egypt court ends virginity tests
BBC 27 Dec 2011 – A court in Cairo blocks forced virginity tests on female detainees in military prisons after a case brought by a Tahrir Square protester.
Jail for man who stabbed family
BBC 27 Dec 2011 – A man who killed his former employer and five members of his family in the Israeli town of Rishon Lezion is jailed for life.
Articles
Open letter from Gaza: Three years after the massacre, justice or nothing!
Besieged Gaza, Occupied Palestine, International Solidarity Movement 12/27/2011
We, Palestinians of Gaza, 3 years on from the 22-day long massacre in Israel’s operation ‘Cast Lead’, are calling on international civil society to make 2012 the year when solidarity with us in Palestine captures the spark of the revolutions around the Arab world and never looks back. On this anniversary we demand an international liberation movement that eventually leads to just that, liberation for us Palestinians from 63 years of brutal military occupation and ethnic cleansing that pours shame on any organisation or government claiming to endorse universal human rights.
We will never forget the hurt of 3 years ago, the criminal onslaught that we lived through, the blood of over 1400 murdered men, women and hundreds of children running through the streets of Gaza, between the rubble, soaking our beds and etched on our minds. We will never forget. For they are still dead, and thousands more are still maimed.[1]
We will never forget the last 63 years during which our land, homes, olive groves, lemon trees and cherished way of life was taken away from us, while Israeli soldiers held our fathers’ faces in the sands, imprisoned them, or shot them in front of us. We will not forget the sickening cowardice of the international community that has allowed and enabled this ethnic cleansing of our people, subjecting us to Israel’s racist Zionist vision that defines us, the indigenous people of Palestine, as the undesired ‘ethnic group’ for the region.
The US continues to ‘reward’ Israel with 6 billion dollars of tax-payers money while the EU increases its trade and diplomatic relations. For the Israeli apartheid regime this translates as the green light to unleash the 4th most powerful military on us to ‘do its worst’ against our civilian population, of which over half in Gaza are children and over 2 thirds are UN registered refugees. more.. e-mail
High Court allows Israel to mine, take resources from Palestinian Territories
Noam Sheizaf, +972 Magazine 12/27/2011
In rejecting a petition regarding Israeli-owned quarries in the West Bank, the court rules that they benefit the Palestinians as well.
Who owns and is allowed to use the sand and rocks of the West Bank? This question was at the center of a petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice, submitted by Israeli human rights NGO Yesh Din in 2009. Yesh Din asked the court to stop the operations of eight quarries under Israeli ownership, claming that they take away valuable resources from the Palestinian people and from a future Palestinian state.
Some 94 percent of the materials produced in the Israeli quarries in the West Bank is transported to Israel, accounting for the needs of more than a quarter of the market.
The petition relied on an article in the Fourth Hague Convention of 1907, allowing an occupier to use the resources in the occupied land only for the needs and benefits of the occupied people.
“Art. 55. The occupying State shall be regarded only as administrator and usufructuary of public buildings, real estate, forests, and agricultural estates belonging to the hostile State, and situated in the occupied country. It must safeguard the capital of these properties, and administer them in accordance with the rules of usufruct.”
Yesterday (Monday) the Israeli High Court rejected the petition, allowing the quarries to continue their work.
…Some of the arguments the court gives are very strange, if not entirely corrupt: The court accepts, for example, the claim that since Palestinians are employed in mining work for the Israeli companies who own the quarries, one could say that Israel is actually helping the local economy…. more.. e-mail
Raw memories of war
Yousef M. Aljamal, Center for Political and Development Studies, International Solidarity Movement 12/27/2011
Simply put, I hate war. I love peace, for I don’t live peacefully just like others. My youngest sister hates war too. She could never forget the sounds of American-made F16s raiding Gaza’s only Power Plant, burning it to ashes, which happened to be close to our house. I could not forget her screaming that was lower than the F16s’.
Palestinians believe in peace. We hear about the so called the “peace process” in the news outlets and it’s never proper to discuss PR campaigns when we are talking about PEACE, that endless process. Bibi always preaches us on how to make peace, wherever he goes and whenever he talks. The idea of peace is turning to be ideal, nothing more. We believe in peace and justice. They can’t be separated as our bodies were during The Cast Lead. We don’t believe in their “peace” and abhor their apartheid-like style “shalom.” You see guys, evidentially we reject peace; we are rejectionist.
Therefore, Palestinians deserve to be bombed. The other day, they refused to listen to the wise warnings of Tzipi Livi from Cairo as she repeated it several times: enough is enough! Pardon me; it was Gazans who had the right to repeat the ENOUGH stuff. We have a new Egypt. History does not go back again.
On the very day of war, like many others, I was doing some reading for my final exams as some 60 strikes struck Hamas-run police stations all around Gaza. I was unable to recognize the locations of targets. Electricity went off as bombs were dropping over police stations and governmental buildings. I looked for news in people’s eyes, but could not come out with anything. They were extremely surprised at the big number of dead. Everyone was ready to accept the very notion of losing a friend, a neighbour or a relative. I learned that over 40 people, I know, were amongst the dead. Death was an acceptable thought for its smell was all around. — See also: Center for Political and Development Studies more.. e-mail
Confronting intimidation, working for justice in Palestine
Electronic Intifada: 27 Dec 2011 – Ilan Pappe The Electronic Intifada If once you do not cave in, you discover that as time goes by, the ability of Zionist lobbies of intimidation around the world to affect you gradually diminishes.more
J Street Jeremy: Being Pro-Israel Never Talking about Palestinian Rights
Palestine Chronicle: 27 Dec 2011 – By Ira Glunts On a dreary, rainy evening in late November my friend Pat Carmeli and I were driving to Syracuse to hear Jeremy Ben-Ami speak. I smiled when Pat turned to me and said, ‘I’m going to ask him a question about human rights and the Palestinians.’ I responded enthusiastically: ‘All right! That should liven things up.’ I am not a big fan of Ben-Ami and went along mainly to see Pat and some Syracuse Israel/Palestine activists I knew would be there. Yet from the moment Jeremy started to address us, I had the feeling this would be an interesting evening. Jeremy Ben-Ami, the founder and president of J Street, the self-described “political home for pro-peace, pro-Israel Americans” came to town in order to convince about 100 mostly elderly Jewish suburbanites that Israel should pursue a negotiated two-state resolution with the Palestinians. And also to help promote a new…more
Open Letter from Gaza: Three Years after the Massacre
Palestine Chronicle: 27 Dec 2011 – Besieged Gaza, Occupied Palestine We, Palestinians of Gaza, 3 years on from the 22-day long massacre in Israel’s operation ‘Cast Lead’, are calling on international civil society to make 2012 the year when solidarity with us in Palestine captures the spark of the revolutions around the Arab world and never looks back. On this anniversary we demand an international liberation movement that eventually leads to just that, liberation for us Palestinians from 63 years of brutal military occupation and ethnic cleansing that pours shame on any organisation or government claiming to endorse universal human rights. We will never forget the hurt of 3 years ago, the criminal onslaught that we lived through, the blood of over 1400 murdered men, women and hundreds of children running through the streets of Gaza, between the rubble, soaking our beds and etched on our minds. We will never forget. For they are still dead,…more
Assembly Time: Winter in Kabul
Palestine Chronicle: 27 Dec 2011 – By Kathy Kelly – Kabul Arab Spring, European Summer, American Autumn, and now the challenge of winter. Here in Kabul, Afghanistan, the travelers of our small Voices for Creative Nonviolence delegation share an apartment with several of the creative and determined “Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers” who’ve risked so much for peace here and befriended us so warmly over the past two years. Our apartment doesn’t have indoor heating or hot tap water. We bundle up, overnight, in blankets, quilts and sleeping bags, and the Westerners, unaccustomed to the indoor cold, wear at least five layers of clothing during the daytime. Tap water is contaminated, electricity shortages are frequent, and internet access is spotty, but compared to those who live in Kabul’s refugee camps, we’re ensconced in plenty of creature comforts. What’s more, we are warmed by a sense of shared purpose, our spirits high, building and exploring relationships which are…more
Rudd, Bonhoeffer and the War on Gaza
Palestine Chronicle: 27 Dec 2011 – By Vacy Vlazna For Christians, Christmas and New Year revivify reflection on core values – good will to all and peace for humankind. Between these two dates, on the 27th December, falls the third anniversary of Israel’s infamous war crime – Operation Cast Lead which has left a legacy of enduring grief, trauma and disabilities for Gazan families. When reflecting on values that fortify and secure peace and goodwill, the religious values purported by political leaders, who hold life and death in their power, can comfort us and inspire a greatness of soul embracing love, compassion and justice. The year before he was elected Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, Australia’s present Foreign Minister, wrote a powerful tome Faith in Politics exploring the relevancy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s religious principles on modern politics: “I argue that a core, continuing principle shaping this engagement [between a Christian and the state] should be…more
Remember These Children Mr. President
Palestine Chronicle: 27 Dec 2011 – By Clive Hambidge Happy Christmas Mr President or may I call you Barack this Yule Tide? As you know ‘Christmas is the day that holds all time together’ (Alexander Smith) certainly as you rustle through your Christmas stocking and wrestle with your conscience perhaps to find as you dig deep in both and past ‘hegemonic imperatives’ an olive twig or a so-called ‘peace process’? Perhaps not. But as you dig, can you hear the whispers? No. They are not the whispers from the Presidents of Christmas past, we will come to them; no? You are not listening attentively Mr President; that’s because you’ve been genuflecting on the Christmas message of that other great statesman Prime Minister Netanyahu, “we are living in a time of great uncertainty and instability in the Middle East and Israel, throughout this instability, remains a beacon of religious freedom and pluralism.” Wow. On what rock is…more
Terrorist Bombing in Damascus
Dissident Voice: 27 Dec 2011 – On Friday 23rd December, two terrorist attacks hit the Syrian capital of Damascus. The attacks struck the State Security Directorate and another security branch in the Syrian capital. Russia, China, and other countries were quick to condemn the attacks which murdered 44 people and injured 166. In spite of its claims to be concerned about the “protection” of civilians and the state of “human rights” in Syria, the Western press was more concerned with demonising the Syrian governmnent than the barbarians who carried out the savage terrorist attacks in Damascus. Attacks of this kind have terrorized countries in the Middle East for decades and have generally been attributed to terrorist groups. Attacks targeting civilians tend to bear all the hallmarks of Al-Qaida, yet, in an act of obscene cynicism, the Western press attempted to lay the blame on the Syrian government for the attacks. Le Monde carried the headline: “…more
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