31 December 2011 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Settlers ‘Help’ Soldiers Man Roadblocks
IMEMC – Armed Israeli settlers, in civilian clothes, were seen helping Israeli soldiers in searching Palestinian vehicles and checking ID numbers of Palestinians at a number of military roadblocks leading to the Ramallah district, in the central West Bank. …
Palestinian Injured By Army Fire In Northern Gaza
IMEMC – Palestinian medical sources reported Saturday that a Palestinian man was shot and wounded by Israeli military fire, north of Beit Hanoun, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, the Arabs48 news website reported. …
Protester shot in neck by Israeli forces in one of six non-violent anti-Wall demonstrations
IMEMC – A number of Palestinian and international solidarity activists were wounded, including one shot in the neck, and several other protestors were detained in numerous anti-wall protests taking part in a number of West Bank villages on Friday afternoon. …
Palestinian Detainees Might Launch Irish-Style Hunger-Strike
IMEMC – Leaders of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement in Israeli prisons and detention facilities stated that the situation all political detainees are facing is at its worst, adding that, right now, detainees sentenced to life-terms are thinking about launching an Irish-Style Hunger-Strike, while the rest of the detainees likely to follow their lead. …
Settlers Break Into Archeological Areas In Bethlehem
IMEMC – Palestinian sources reported that a group of armed fundamentalist Israeli settlers broke on Friday into the Solomon Pools site and the Conference Palace Archeological areas in Al Kahder town, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem. …
Activists campaign against sale of Israeli drones to France
IMEMC – A group of activists involved in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign in France have launched a campaign calling on the French government to call off a deal to purchase five hundred million dollars worth of Heron TP Predator drones manufactured by the Israeli company IAI. …
2011 ‘toughest year yet’ for Gaza medics
12/31/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — As 2011 draws to an end, medical shortages in the Gaza Strip have reached their highest levels, a spokesman for Gaza’s Health Ministry said Saturday. Ashraf al-Qidra told Ma’an that medics in the besieged coastal enclave had to cope with shortages of medicine and medical equipment….
Minister: 200 attacks on prisoners in 2011
12/31/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — There were 200 attacks on Palestinian prisoners by Israeli special forces during 2011, Palestinian Authority Minister of Detainee Affairs Issa Qaraqe said Saturday. The attacks usually happened during the night and aimed to humiliate and provoke detainees, Qaraqe said in a statement. Hundreds of prisoners were wounded during the year and….
In photos: Israeli forces clash with protesters at Nabi Saleh
12/31/2011 – Reuters / Mohamad Torokman – Demonstrators clash with Israeli forces in Nabi Saleh near Ramallah on Friday at a weekly protest against Israel’s confiscation of village land. On Dec. 9, an Israeli soldier fired a tear gas canister at close range at a protester’s face during a rally in Nabi Saleh. Mustafa Tamimi….
PA, Jordan sign agreement to stop double taxation
12/31/2011 – AMMAN, Jordan (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority and Jordan on Thursday signed an agreement to prevent double taxation and to activate commercial exchange, Jordanian media reported. The official Petra news agency said Palestine’s ambassador to Jordan Ata Khairi and Jordan’s Minister of Finance Umayya Toukan signed the deal to ease….
Jordan ‘not offered benefits’ to host Hamas
12/31/2011 – AMMAN, Jordan (Ma’an) — Jordan on Saturday denied reports that Qatar offered Amman incentives to host Hamas, the Jordanian daily Al-Ghad reported. Israeli media reported Thursday that Qatar had offered Jordan financial incentives and natural gas in exchange for allowing Hamas to reopen its offices in Amman. Jordanian government spokesman Rakan al-Majali told Al-Ghad….
Report: Hamas mulls joining Muslim Brotherhood
12/31/2011 – LONDON (Ma’an) — Hamas leaders are holding meetings in Sudan to discuss joining the Muslim Brotherhood, the London-based Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported Saturday. Some 59 members of Hamas’ Shura Council met in Khartoum to discuss creating a separate branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine, the report said. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh….
Gunmen open fire at Fatah leader’s car
12/31/2011 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Unidentified gunmen on Friday opened fire at a car belonging to a Fatah leader in Nablus in the northern West Bank, party sources told Ma’an. Fatah officials said assailants fired five gunshots at Muhammad Sartawi’s car while it was parked outside his home in Rafedia south of….
Hamas cracks down on fortune-tellers, mannequins
12/31/2011 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Hamas-run government has launched a series of campaigns targeting fortune-tellers, mannequins and cigarette vendors in the Gaza Strip. Police sources told Ma’an that 142 fortune tellers were forced to sign an agreement at the Ministry of Interior pledging that they would not practice their craft. As well….
Report: Son of Islamic Jihad founder detained in Syria
12/31/2011 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Syrian security forces on Friday detained the son of the founder of the Islamic Jihad movement, the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news network reported Saturday. Ibrahim Shiqaqi was detained in Damascus, the report said. His father Fathi Shiqaqi was the founder and secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine. Fathi Shiqaqi was….
Analysis: Palestine’s economic hallucination
12/31/2011 – By Sam Bahour – It’s the end of the year and time to turn the page after a bit of reflecting. What better way to reflect than to contrast image and reality, and even more so when the topic is Palestine’s economy? For starters, I ask, do we have an economy, real….
EU open to talks with Iran, without preconditions
12/31/2011 – BRUSSELS (Reuters) — The European Union is open to meaningful talks with Tehran provided there are no preconditions on the Iranian side, an EU foreign policy spokesman said on Saturday. Earlier, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency quoted a senior official as saying that Iran’s nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili will write to the….
Afghan girl tortured after refusing prostitution
12/31/2011 – KABUL (Reuters) — A 15-year-old Afghan girl was brutally tortured, beaten and locked in a toilet by her husband’s family for months after she refused to become a prostitute, officials said on Saturday. Sahar Gul was in critical condition when she was rescued from a house in northern Baghlan province last week, after….
Opposition groups sign deal on post-Assad Syria
12/31/2011 – BEIRUT (Reuters) — Two leading Syrian opposition parties have agreed a road map to democracy if mass protests succeed in toppling President Bashar Assad, according to a copy of the document seen by Reuters. The leading opposition group in exile, the Syrian National Council, signed the deal with the National Coordination Committee, a group whose majority….
Armed men rob postal truck in Sinai
12/31/2011 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Armed men on Saturday stole over $165,000 from a postal truck in Egypt’s Sinai, Egyptian security sources said. Security officials told Ma’an that gunmen stopped the vehicle in al-Sakaska village near El-Arish and stole around 1 million Egyptian pounds. Egyptian police and soldiers are investigating the….
Op Ed: Does Reconciliation and Social Healing Qualify as Normalization?
PNN – by Gary Spedding Recently there has been a re-emergence of what is described as anti-normalization ideology occuring amongst Palestinians and the International community which pleases some but is of much concern to…
Op Ed: Unsustainable Israeli Politics of Exclusion in Jerusalem
PNN – by Nicola NasserWhile the history of the world is moving decisively toward a culture of inclusion, diversity and pluralism, Israeli politics seems to challenge history by moving in the opposite direction of…
Israeli Political Source: Israel Would Response “Strictly†to Any Upcoming Israeli …
PNN – PNN On Friday, Israeli official website said that an Israeli political source in Jerusalem, said that Israel would response “strictly” to any upcoming kidnap for any soldier in the Israeli army, unlike…
Settlers Attack Palestinian in Husan Village, Bethlehem
PNN – PNNOn Friday, a Palestinian worker was injured in settlers attack while he was working in Beitar Illit settlement that was built on the lands of Husan, Nahalin and Wadi Fukin. Red Crescent…
Armed Settlers Raid al-Khader Village, Take Pictures of Conference Centre
PNN – PNNOn Friday, a group of armed settlers raided Solomon Pools area in al-Khader village south of Bethlehem, started to explore the place from all its sides and took pictures for the conference…
International Solidarity Movement
31 December 2008: The Abu Areeda family
12/31/2011 – International Solidarity Movement – 31 December 2011, Palestinian Center for Human Rights – “Before my mother’s death we used to be very happy on 1 January, have celebrations and visit people. Now we are all silent in the last hour of each year and on 1 January we don’t celebrate the new year. We visit our…. Related: Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Battle for Israel Supreme Court enters final legislation stage
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
Green groups take agreement between Israel government and Dead Sea Works with pinch of salt
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
Bill would force Palestinians to prove ownership over land used for West Bank outposts
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
Communal Tel Aviv library draws on local artists to stave off closure
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
IDF bracing for all ‘post-Assad’ scenarios in Syria
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
World rings in 2012 and bids adieu to a tough year
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
Obama signs into law bill imposing Iran banking sanctions
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews protest in Jerusalem against ‘exclusion of Haredim’
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
Chile detains Israeli on suspicion of causing massive wildfire
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
Palestinian Authority to turn to UN Security Council over Israeli settlements
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
Syria’s two largest opposition groups sign draft deal for post-Assad democracy
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
EU open to nuclear talks with Iran, without preconditions
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
Iran Navy says long-range missile tests delayed, refuting state media
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
Arab League monitors demand that Syria remove snipers from rooftops
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
U.S. seals $3.48 billion weapons deal with United Arab Emirates
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
Iran test fires long range missiles, amid nuclear tensions
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
Palestinians told to dance to shake off Gaza stress
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
UN: Syria must allow Arab League monitors full access, cooperation
Ha’aretz – 31 Dec 2011
Hit-and-run driver injures 3 generations of a family
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Police have launched a search for the driver who failed to stop and fled the scene of the Petah Tikva accident.
Jordan denies Qatar proposed Amman host Hamas
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Ch. 2 had said Qataris offered Jordan benefits to shelter Hamas; Saudis reportedly against move because of group’s Iran ties.
Enhancing Israel-Asia relations
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – It’s up to both Israeli and Diaspora Jewish leaders to continue devoting the time and resources to enhance Israel-Asia ties.
My word: Questions in time
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Rather than sharing my guess of what will happen, I’m willing to share some of what’s keeping me guessing.
The ‘tikkun olam’ president
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Barack Obama doesn’t talk about Jewish values because they make for good speeches. He does it because he believes in them.
PA bans Druse singer from Ramallah New Years bash
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Following anti-“normalization” objections, PA police raid party hall, demand organizers cancel appearance.
PA to take issue of settlement building to Security Council
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – PLO secretary-general says decision to file complaint comes in wake of an increased settlement “campaign”; Palestinians appeal to Quartet, Arab League to address continued settlement building, e. J’lem construction.
Haredis protest ‘incitement’ and ‘hatred’
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Some 1,500 ultra-Orthodox demonstrate in Jerusalem’s Kikar Shabbat; men, children wear yellow stars reading “Jude.”
Ministers under pressure to back outpost bill
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Law would require Palestinians to prove land ownership before IDF is permitted to raze buildings, evacuate residents.
2011-2012 international New Year’s celebrations
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Cities around the world began celebrating with fireworks and parties.
‘Israeli arrested on suspicion of starting Chile fire’
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Chilean prosecutor tells CNN Chile the 23-year-old Israeli, named as Rotem Zinger, will be charged soon.
US signs $3.5 billion arms sale to UAE
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Deal includes advanced anti-missile interception system; agreement part of an accelerating military buildup of US near Iran.
The march of folly
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Israel can’t rely on the United States to protect it from Iran.
Analysis: Short spring, long winter
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – The rise of Islamists following the year’s top Mideast story has complicated Israel’s approach to its regional neighbors.
Syrian opposition outlines post-Assad democracy
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Joint document signed by rival exile, Syria-based groups rejects foreign military intervention unless it’s Arab.
Syrian opposition fears failure of Arab mission
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Activists say Arab mission “can’t help us”; exiled opposition council says UN must step in; Friday death toll at 27.
EU open to talks with Iran, without preconditions
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency says Iran will offer fresh nuclear negotiations in letter to EU.
China says man dies of bird flu
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Man in Guangdong province died of H5N1 bird flu a week after being admitted to hospital with a fever.
Police: Gunmen kill five Iraq Sunni militia
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Security official: “Al-Qaida sleeper cell groups are now re-activating their movements.”
Iran backtracks on missile firing report
Jerusalem Post 31 Dec 2011 – Senior navy commander denies Fars news agency reports that navy fired long-range missiles in war games; Mehr news agency says Iran will offer fresh nuclear negotiations in letter to EU.
Wildfires rage in Chilean national park
Jerusalem Post 30 Dec 2011 – Officials close down Chile’s Torres del Paine national park as fires rage; blazes consume over 5700 hectares.
24 hours in pictures
The Guardian 31 Dec 2011 – A selection of the best images from around the world
ISRAEL: Triggering Tourism
IPS Commandos embedded in a pristine touristic resort bordering Egypt and Jordan sounds unreal? Though theirs are borders of peace, it appears Israel’s best defence against would-be Islamist militants isn’t just a good fence. Crack fighters might help make better neighbours. And, better tourism.
Impasse…
Uruknet December 31, 2011 – Not a very nice title to start the new year. But an Impasse it is. And it shall remain so. The deadlock of the Iraqi political process is not a coincidence, nor a mishap, nor wrong strategy, nor miscalculations, the Iraqi impasse is a natural outcome, a planned outcome, a wished outcome….
Religious harassment and police complicity in Beit Shemesh
Uruknet December 30, 2011 – If you meet the police in Beit Shemesh, you can understand why the town’s mainstream Jewish majority is afraid of the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) extremists, and why the Haredi extremists are afraid of no one. At the start of October, over the High Holidays, the stories of these Haredim harassing the not-sufficiently-Orthodox girls…
Gaza Strip – Operation Cast Lead Aftermath : The Abu Areeda family
Uruknet December 31, 2011 – Around 23:30 on 31 December 2008, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at Najma Parc, a small green strip in the main street of the residential al-Shaboura neighbourhood in Rafah, killing two civilians and injuring dozens of others. Iman Abu Areeda (34) was one of the two casualties, killed by a piece…
Reconciliation committee cancels Gaza meeting
Uruknet December 30, 2011 — A committee overseeing national reconciliation has canceled a meeting scheduled to be held Saturday in Gaza City, committee member Hani Abu Arma said Friday…On Dec. 12 Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Fatah’s continued detention of Hamas affiliates threatened the accord, adding that committees formed to implement the unity deal had made little…
Syria News – December 30, 2011 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet December 30, 2011 – 35 were killed today till now by security forces and regime’s army fire, 9 in Hama, 6 in Daraa Al-Balad, 4 in Talkalakh, 5 in Homs 6 in Idlib and 1 in each of Daraya and Moaddamieh in Damascus suburbs and 1 each in Bokamal and Hajar Aswad in Damascus…Local Coordination Committees…
Iraq snapshot – December 30 , 2011
Uruknet Friday, December 30, 2011. Chaos and violence continue, protests take place in Turkey and Iraq over the Turkish military killing 35 Kurds, Nouri’s forces attack protesters in Baghdad and seize journalists’ equipment, Ayad Allawi reminds everyone of the Erbil Agreement, McClatchy closes its Baghdad Bureau, the political crisis continues, the issue of the families of service…
Toy Soldiers
Uruknet December 30, 2011 – In these passing years, since 9/11, wars have been fought that have devastated countries, economies, and world peace. Untold thousands have died, many for nothing more, nor less, than American paranoia. Thousands of U.S. soldiers have died defending American lies. And tens of thousands have returned, bodies, minds, souls shattered by political…
Press Release from the Jenin Freedom Theater
Uruknet December 30, 2011 – On 29 December 2011, co-founder of and mentor to the Freedom Theater, Zakaria Zubeidi, was told by the Palestinian Authority that his amnesty will be revoked by the Israeli authorities. His amnesty agreement, granted in 2007 by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office was in return for Zubeidi’s ending of armed resistance. The…
Video testimony of a Palmach fighter who expelled Palestinians during the Nakba
Uruknet December 30, 2011 – The Israeli group Zochrot has posted a video testimony from Amnon Neumann, a man who fought with the Palmach during the Nakba of 1948. According to their web site, “Zochrot ( Remembering’) seeks to raise public awareness of the Palestinian Nakba, especially among Jews in Israel, who bear a special responsibility to remember…
Iraqis celebrate US withdrawal at mass rally
Uruknet December 30, 2011 – Thousands of Iraqis gathered in the capital Baghdad on Friday to celebrate the withdrawal of US troops from the country after nearly nine years of military involvement. Led by clergy, they chanted slogans against the ‘occupation’ that started in 2003 and called the pullout earlier this month a ‘day of liberation and…
Ecce Homo Saddam Hussein and Capital’s Moral Defeat
Uruknet December 30, 2011 – … Ordinarily, at an execution, the condemned man is hooded or blindfolded, to hide his shame, to spare him sight of his own death rushing towards him. But Saddam forewent this. He stood bare-faced, facing death, not hiding from it. His constrained body emphasized the expressions of his face. It showed no sign…
Israeli spy chief downplays Iranian nuke threat
Uruknet December 30, 2011 – The head of Israel’s intelligence agency says that a nuclear-armed Iran does not necessarily pose an existential threat to the Jewish state, according to Israeli ambassadors. Mossad chief Tamir Pardo addressed a conclave of Israeli ambassadors in Jerusalem on Thursday, saying that Israel’s existence is not inevitably endangered by Iran acquiring an…
Israel v. Palestine in 2012
Uruknet December 30, 2011 – Palestinians have endured decades of ruthless occupation. World leaders decline support. They’re left largely on their own despite growing millions globally supporting them.Life in occupied Palestine is harsh and repressive. On December 26, Jerusalem’s mayor, Nir Barakat, delivered another blow. The Municipality will classify 70,000 Israeli Arab citizens non-residents and involuntarily transfer…
Exposed: UK university student claiming bias works for project of Israel pressure group
Uruknet December 30, 2011 – A worker at an Israeli media pressure group used her low dissertation mark as a post-graduate student at University of Warwick to smear a professor involved in Palestine solidarity activism this month. Smadar Bakovic claimed that Professor Nicola Pratt had unfairly graded her dissertation. She told a pro-Israel journalist that the same…
Gaza Strip – Operation Cast Lead Aftermath : The Hamdan Family
Uruknet December 30, 2011 – Talal Hamdan, 47, and Iman Hamdan, 46, are quietly contemplative about life since the loss of their three children Haya, Lama, and Ismail. The children were aged 12, 10, and 5 respectively, when on the morning of 30 December 2008 an Israeli F-16 dropped a bomb in the area they were walking…
Hands Apart the Length an Infant
Uruknet December 30, 2011 – “During the war (2008-2009 Israeli war on Gaza), our house was bombed. My son,” he says, hands apart the length of an infant, “he was killed in their bombing.” So now, three years and little relief later, he is headed out, to search for work outside of Gaza, if he can. He…
Ten Years of Guantánamo: Andy Worthington Visits the US to Campaign for the Closure of the Prison, January 5-15, 2012
Uruknet December 30, 2011 – January 11, 2012 is a profoundly depressing anniversary – marking ten years since the Bush administration established its “war on terror” prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and decided that those who ended up in US custody would not be screened to ascertain whether or not they were combatants, and would be sent…
U.S. steps up sanctions as Iran floats nuclear talks
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 U.S. President Barack Obama signed new sanctions against Iran into law Saturday, shortly after Iran signalled it was ready for fresh talks with the West on its nuclear programme and said it had delayed long-range missile…
Syrian opposition signs plan for post-Assad future
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 Two leading Syrian opposition parties have agreed a road map to democracy should a popular uprising succeed in toppling President Bashar Assad, according to a copy of the document seen by Reuters.
Djokovic beats Ferrer to win Abu Dhabi exhibition
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 Novak Djokovic showed he remains the player to beat in 2012, routing David Ferrer 6-2, 6-1 Saturday to win the World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament.
World rings in 2012 and bids adieu to a tough year
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 Glittering fireworks in the shapes of butterflies, hearts and a cascading waterfall exploded over Sydney’s Harbour Bridge on Sunday as cheering revelers welcomed 2012 and bid a weary adieu to a year marred by natural disasters…
Nigeria’s Jonathan vows to ‘crush terrorists’
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 President Goodluck Jonathan vowed Saturday to “crush the terrorists” who set off a series of bombs across Nigeria on Christmas Day, while he visited a church in which one bomb killed at least 37 people.
Jordan selects 12-strong team to join Syria monitors: report
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 Jordan has chosen 12 judges and military experts to join an Arab League observer mission in Syria, a newspaper reported on Saturday.
Ethiopia troops attack rebels in Somali town: residents
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011
Putin sends New Year’s greetings, with a wink
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has sent New Year’s greetings to all Russians, though with some sarcasm toward those protesting his 12 years in power and his plans to return to the presidency for at least six…
U.K. to investigate French-made breast implants
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 The British government says it will investigate whether potentially faulty breast implants fitted by a French company pose a risk to women.
Syria opposition charts transition as blood flows
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 Syria’s opposition, hoping to topple President Bashar al-Assad, has charted a transitional period, as more civilians died in a regime crackdown despite the presence of peace monitors.
Alloush: Ghosn’s Al-Qaeda claims serve Damascus
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 Future Movement official Mustafa Alloush launched a scathing attack over the weekend on Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn, saying his statements on Al-Qaeda in Lebanon these served Damascus.
Stephen Hawking seeks help to make voice heard
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 The famed British physicist is seeking an assistant to help develop and maintain the electronic speech system that allows him to communicate his vision of the universe.
Singer Etta James breathing on her own again
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 Soul singer Etta James, who is terminally ill with leukemia, has been taken off a respirator and is breathing on her own again, her friend and manager said on Friday.
U.N. chief to focus on sustaining Arab Spring
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in his second term as chief of the United Nations, wants to help people who rose up in the Arab Spring attain and sustain freedom and democracy.
Russell Brand-Katy Perry 14-month marriage over
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 British comedian and actor Russell Brand called it quits on his 14-month marriage to Teenage Dream singer Katy Perry on Friday, filing for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences.
42 killed as Cyclone hits southeast India
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 Heavy rains and winds unleashed by a Cyclone over India’s southeastern coast killed at least 42 people and damaged hundreds of homes, officials and news reports said Saturday.
China says man dies of bird flu
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 A man in southern China’s Guangdong province died of bird flu on Saturday a week after being admitted to hospital with a fever, state media reported.
Quake rattles New Zealand’s Christchurch: USGS
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 struck close to the New Zealand city of Christchurch on Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
Moon countdown: Hours until 1st NASA probe arrives
Daily Star 31 Dec 2011 NASA is counting down the seconds until its twin spacecraft bound for the moon make back-to-back arrivals over the New Year’s weekend.
NKorea vows to defend Kim Jong Un ‘unto death’
YNet News, 31 Dec 2011 – ….
Haredi use of Holocaust symbols denounced
YNet News, 31 Dec 2011 – Tzipi Livni says ‘no protest in the world’ can justify making children wear yellow patches. Meanwhile, Rabbi Yosef condemns haredi violence ….
Israeli suspected of causing Chile wildfire
YNet News, 31 Dec 2011 – Rotem Singer, 23-year-old Israeli tourist, arrested on suspicion he inadvertently started fire in Torres del Paine National Park. Massive wildfire consumed tens of thousands of acres ….
Revelers gather in New York’s Times Square to usher in 2012
YNet News, 31 Dec 2011 – ….
Livni condemns use of yellow patches in haredi protests
YNet News, 31 Dec 2011 – ….
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef condemns violence towards women
YNet News, 31 Dec 2011 – ….
Obama signs bill imposing Iran banking sanctions
YNet News, 31 Dec 2011 – ….
Palestinians to seek UN talks on settlements
YNet News, 31 Dec 2011 – Executive committee of PLO says will request sessions with Security Council, Arab League to discuss halting construction in West Bank, east Jerusalem ….
Hundreds protest ‘exclusion of haredim’ in Jerusalem
YNet News, 31 Dec 2011 – Haredim rally in Shabbat Square to protest ‘media incitement’ against them in wake of women’s exclusion discourse. Some are wearing yellow patches ….
Syrian opposition groups unite against Assad
YNet News, 31 Dec 2011 – Agreement between two opposition groups says democracy will be established in Syria after regime’s fall; rejects foreign military intervention ….
Iran proposes new nuclear talks with world powers
YNet News, 31 Dec 2011 – Tehran’s nuclear negotiator formally calls on the six powers to return to the negotiation table, signaling that Iran is feeling toll of global sanctions ….
Time for Israeli civil war?
YNet News, 31 Dec 2011 – Op-ed: Silent majority may have to resort to violent, non-democratic means to save Israel ….
Report: Son of Islamic Jihad founder jailed in Syria
YNet News, 31 Dec 2011 – Ibrahim Fathi Shaqaqi, 20, was arrested by security forces, Egyptian newspaper reports; family says regime intentionally keeping his whereabouts secret ….
Israel has bigger problems
YNet News, 30 Dec 2011 – Op-ed: Women’s exclusion gets inflated attention; we have bigger issues to deal with ….
Palestinian Information Center
Negev prisoners anticipating Israeli assault
PIC – More than one thousand Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli Negev prison have been on edge on Saturday following threats by its administration to move all prisoners to other central prisons.
Haneyya: Jerusalem issue should be included in Arab, Islamic curriculums
PIC – Gaza premier Ismail Haneyya has called for including the issue of Jerusalem in the Arab and Islamic curriculums to spread awareness of the issue among the generations.
IOF soldiers arrested 73 Palestinians including 15 children over the past week
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested 73 Palestinian citizens including two women and 15 children in various West Bank provinces over the past week.
Subaih: Arab League conference on Jerusalem postponed
PIC – The Arab League general secretariat decided to postpone the international conference on Jerusalem that was slated for mid January in Doha.
IOA confiscates 106 dunum of land in Bethlehem
PIC – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) confiscated 106 dunums of Palestinian land in Khader village in Bethlehem province and ordered the demolition of three homes.
Arab League demands UN, quartet to end Gaza siege
PIC – The Arab League called on the UN and the international quartet on the middle east to work on ending Israel’s inhuman blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Davutoglu: Haneyya is welcome in Turkey
PIC – Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu welcomed Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya’s intention to visit Turkey as part of his regional trip.
Injuries in attacks on peaceful marches against wall and settlement
PIC – Dozens of Palestinian citizens and foreign peace activists sustained injuries and suffocation during their marches against the segregation wall and settlement expansion.
PA preventive security re-arrests two citizens 24 hours after their release
PIC – PA preventive security forces rounded up two citizens in villages east of Nablus city on Friday night only 24 hours after their release, local sources said.
Sudanese press: Netanyahu to visit South Sudan
PIC – Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu is to visit the South Sudan republic soon to forge a number of economic and military agreements of strategic importance, Sudanese press reported.
Israel to Take Over Land Near Salfit for Wall
WAFA – 16:38-SALFIT, December 31, 2011 (WAFA) – Israeli authorities Saturday issued several notices to take over land in Az-Zawiya and Masha, towns west of Salfit, for the expansion of the Apartheid Wall, accordin…
Israel to Take Over Vast Areas of Land near Bethlehem
WAFA – 16:29-BETHLEHEM, December 31, 2011 (WAFA) – The Israeli military authority Saturday informed Palestinians from al-Khader, a town south of Bethlehem, of its intention to take over vast areas of land, accordi…
Israel to Close Naqab Prison, Says Official
WAFA – 16:24-JENIN, December 31, 2011 (WAFA) – Minister of Prisoners Issa Qaraqe Saturday said the Israeli authorities have decided to close Naqab prison in southern Israel. He told WAFA that the Israeli authorit…
Palestinian Leadership to Complain Settlements to Security Council
WAFA – 16:16-RAMALLAH, December 31, 2011 (WAFA) – The Palestinian leadership decided to complain about Israeli settlement plans to the United Nations Security Council, said a statement published by PLO Executive C…
Letter from Russian Minister to Abbas Discusses Region
WAFA – 11:54-RAMALLAH, December 31, 2011 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas Saturday received a letter from Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov regarding the situation in the region, especially in Syria. The Ru…
Israel to Take over Land near Bethlehem
WAFA – 11:07- BETHLEHEM, December 31, 2011 (WAFA) – The Israeli military authority informed a Palestinian family from al-Khader, a town south of Bethlehem, of its intention to take over its land located near the …
2011 Ends on a Sour Note… Is Hamas Really a Mean-Minded Christmas Scrooge*?
Intifada-Palestine: 31 Dec 2011 – The original construction of the Orthodox Church was built in the 6thCentury, in what is now Gaza’s Old City. by Stuart Littlewood Phoebe Greenwood, writing from Gaza City in The Guardian on 23 December http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/23/gaza-christians-hamas-cancelled-christmas , reported: “There hasn’t been a Christmas… more
Syria: Pepe Escobar Breaks Down Arab League Investigation [VIDEO]
Intifada-Palestine: 31 Dec 2011 – Free Syria Army includes foreign mercenaries armed & backed by very Arab League supposedly investigating Syrian violence. Thousands of people have rallied in the Syrian city of Homs, emboldened by the Arab League observers’ visit to the country. But journalist Pepe… more
Palestinians Must Get Their Act Together in 2012
Intifada-Palestine: 31 Dec 2011 – Khalid Amayreh By Khalid Amayreh West Bank – 2011 was not a particularly bad year for Palestine. In this year, hundreds of Palestinian political and resistance prisoners were able to see the light, having been released from Israeli dungeons and detention… more
Syrian Opposition Groups Aim for Unity
New York Times 31 Dec 2011 – The two largest groups that oppose President Bashar al-Assad agreed on a common approach to organizing a transitional government.
Iran Asks to Resume Talks on Its Nuclear Program
New York Times 31 Dec 2011 – The last round of negotiations with the United States and five other world powers ended in January without progress.
Obama Signs Military Spending Bill
New York Times 31 Dec 2011 – President Obama fought provisions of a $662 billion spending measure that would have forced him to try terrorism suspects in military courts and impose strict oil sanctions on Iran.
Happy New Year
Mondoweiss – h/t The Awl’s 15 Most Delightful Internet Films of 2011 post for the videos. Here are some more:
Ron Paul challenges liberals on love of ‘big finance’ and ‘big-ass wars’
Mondoweiss – Matt Stoller Matt Stoller, now at the Roosevelt Institute, a former aide to former Rep. Alan Grayson of Florida, poses the question, “Why Ron Paul Challenges Liberals,” at naked capitalism. The piece is getting a ton of attention. Thinking about this piece this morning, I reflected:…
Memories of Gaza: when the victim is called the terrorist
Mondoweiss – A girl in Gaza I am a terrorist. At least that is what they call me. I grew up hearing the same word being repeated all the time that I thought terrorists were the good guys for a second. They are apparently not. Of the…
Poolside, New Year’s Eve
Mondoweiss – link to flagspot.net A friend who is in Central America for New Year’s sent me the following charming note: So I finally read the article in Harper’s [by Ben Ehrenreich] about Israel’s water war with Palestine today by the pool and was a bit distressed by…
Another mainstream voice challenges idea of war on Iran
Mondoweiss – Andrew Exum This is significant if you care about mainstream discourse, and I do. You may have noticed that Leon Panetta got whipsawed by the neocons for the mistake of suggesting on December 2 that we should not go to war over Iran. Now he is…
Aussie Dave, Anonymous No Longer
Tikun Olam – David Lange’s 2004 Whois registration for Israellycool.com David Lange’s profile photo linked to Israellycool.com Aussie Dave is David H. Lange . Now, there I’ve said it. It’s been a long time coming, Dave. I hope you’re ready for your closeup. Dave was proud that he snared me…
Iranian missile spin forces Hormuz closure for five hours
Voltaire Network 31 Dec 2011 – By a media trick, Tehran proved its claim that closing the Strait of Hormuz is as “easy as drinking water,” DEBKAfile reports. First thing Saturday morning, Saturday, Dec. 31, Iran’s state agencies “reported” long-range and other missiles had been test-fired as part of its ongoing naval…
Western media judge AL monitors without listening
Voltaire Network 30 Dec 2011 – International and Gulf press reports on the visit by the Arab League monitors are solely based on the allegations made by the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (London office of the Muslim Brotherhood). In short, the army is supposedly killing peaceful demonstrators, and continues to do…
Campaign launched against French purchase of Israeli drones
Global BDS 30 Dec 2011 – French boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaigners have called on their government to abandon a €318 million deal to buy Heron TP drones from Israel Aircraft Industries. Meanwhile, senior members of France’s Senate have called publicly for the country to abandon the purchase on grounds that…
League dispute over Syria snipers
BBC 31 Dec 2011 – Arab League monitors in Syria give apparently conflicting accounts of an incident said to have involved government snipers in the restive city of Deraa.
Obama signs Iran sanctions bill
BBC 31 Dec 2011 – President Obama signs into law a defence bill including tough new US sanctions against Iran, while expressing concerns about other provisions.
Chile detains tourist over fire
BBC 31 Dec 2011 – Chilean authorities arrest an Israeli tourist on suspicion of negligently causing a massive forest fire in the country’s south.
Egypt reassures US on NGO raids
BBC 30 Dec 2011 – Officials in Egypt reassure the United States that police raids on the offices of pro-democracy groups will stop, after coming under strong criticism.
Articles
Analysis: Palestine’s economic hallucination
Sam Bahour, Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2011
It’s the end of the year and time to turn the page after a bit of reflecting. What better way to reflect than to contrast image and reality, and even more so when the topic is Palestine’s economy?
For starters, I ask, do we have an economy, real or imagined? For a long time, many would just sweep this question under the rug of the Israeli military occupation and say: No. How could we when every aspect of our livelihood is ultimately micromanaged by the Israeli government?
But such a knee-jerk answer does not make sense after the Oslo Agreement and the advent of the Palestinian Authority. From that point on, the economic reality under occupation was spiced up with heavy doses of self-made artificial images.
The starting image, if my memory serves me well, was that we would “build a Singapore.” May God rest that dreamer’s soul. I hope the real Singapore never asks Palestinians to compensate them for the damage done to its good name.
These now infamous Palestinian negotiators who signed the agreement in Paris back on April 29, 1994, termed the Protocol on Economic Relations between Israel and the PLO (better known as the Paris Protocol), agreed what our economy could and couldn’t do. The Paris Protocol was, with only minor modifications, incorporated as Annex V in the Interim Agreement – the equally infamous Oslo Agreement – signed in Washington on September 28, 1995.
So with the Oslo Agreement, which descended like a parachute from above, emerged the agreement’s spectacular brainchild: the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority, which is its accurate name in the Oslo Agreement, wasted no time in producing all the trappings of a real economy…. more.. e-mail
Just another Palestinian year
Khaled Amayreh in Ramallah, Al-Ahram Weekly 12/29/2011
Israeli settlement expansion continued to annul any chances of peace, while the 2011 Arab Spring buoyed Palestinian hopes, at least for a while.
Like in previous years, 2011 was more or less another “normal” year for the Palestinians as Israel, which is ruled by a racist coalition of right wing and religious parties, continued to narrow Palestinian horizons, effectively putting an end to any realistic hopes for establishing a viable and territorially contiguous Palestinian state on the West Bank.
Psychologically, most Palestinians were in a slightly better mood in 2011 due to the outbreak of the Arab Spring, which many Palestinians view as a promising development of strategic proportions and a potentially important asset for the Palestinian cause.
However, this feeling came with a certain realisation that years would pass before Arab revolutions could reach fruition and the new Arab regimes could pay real attention to the Palestinian issue.
In addition to its general banality, 2011 witnessed the continued expansion of Jewish settlements all over the occupied territories. Indeed, not a week passed without the Israeli government unfolding a new plan for seizing additional swathes of Palestinian land for settlement expansion.
According to Israeli sources, more than 2500 settler units were built in various parts of the West Bank in 2011. Additional settlements were either built or expanded in East Jerusalem where the current Israeli government accelerated the “Judaisation process”, besieging Arab communities. more.. e-mail
31 December 2008: The Abu Areeda family
Palestinian Center for Human Rights 12/31/2011
“Before my mother’s death we used to be very happy on 1 January, have celebrations and visit people. Now we are all silent in the last hour of each year and on 1 January we don’t celebrate the new year. We visit our mohter’s grave. We remember.”
Around 23:30 on 31 December 2008, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at Najma Parc, a small green strip in the main street of the residential al-Shaboura neighbourhood in Rafah, killing two civilians and injuring dozens of others. Iman Abu Areeda (34) was one of the two casualties, killed by a piece of shrapnel that penetrated her brain. Seven members of the extended Abu Areeda family who were also in the house at the time of the attack were mildly injured by shrapnel. The Abu Areeda family was displaced for several weeks after the attack as the external walls in the front side of the house were destroyed. The internal walls and furniture were also damaged.
It was about half an hour before midnight on 31 December when electricity in the area was cut. Iman went to cover her youngest son, Mohammed, who was sleeping in his room. As she was leaning over him, the missile hit a few dozen meters away from their family home. The shrapnel that came through the outer wall killed her. Iman left behind her husband Mahmoud Abu Areeda (now 39) and their 7 children: Majd (20), Randa (19), Basel (18), Hibba (14), Islam (12), Watan (9), and Mohammed (6).
“My mother died when I was 15 years old. It was the age that I needed her the most. I was in shock and I couldn’t believe that she died. I still do not believe it. I felt like not going to school any longer but I pushed myself and kept going because I know she would have wanted me to do so,” says Iman’s second oldest son, Basel. more.. e-mail
2008-2009 Israeli massacre of Gaza, not forgotten
In Gaza: 31 Dec 2011 – Click to view slideshow. from the war on Gaza more
Israeli Politics of Exclusion in Jerusalem
Dissident Voice: 31 Dec 2011 – While the history of the world is moving decisively toward a culture of inclusion, diversity, and pluralism, Israeli politics seems to challenge history by moving in the opposite direction of exclusion and unilateral self-righteous monopoly of geography, demography, history, archeology and culture, especially in Jerusalem, where Israelis are desperately trying to establish a “Jewish” capital for Israel and “the Jewish people” worldwide, excluding centuries old presence of Palestinian, Arab, Muslim and Christian deep-rooted existence and heritage, thus sowing the seeds of imminent conflict and foreseeable war by strangling a city that has historically been of diversified and pluralistic character and a flashpoint for human misery whenever exclusion becomes the rule of the day. Israeli politics is not moving against history only but is challenging world politics as well. Although the first Knesset of the newly born “state of Israel” voted on December 13, 1949 to move the seat of government…more
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The New Dark Age 
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