3 March 2012 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Israel Accepts Appeal Against New Settlement Plan In Hebron
IMEMC – The Israeli Higher Planning Council, running under the Military leadership in the occupied West Bank, accepted an appeal against a construction plan for a new Israeli settlement, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, the Arabs48 news website reported. …
Palestinian Killed, Two Wounded, After Falling into Tunnel In Rafah
IMEMC – Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported, Saturday, that one resident was killed and several others were injured after falling into a siege-busting tunnel along the Egypt border in Rafah, in the southern part of the coastal region. …
Man killed, 2 injured in Rafah tunnel accident
3/3/2012 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A Palestinian man was killed and two others sustained injuries as they fell inside a smuggling tunnel under the border between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip Saturday morning. Palestinian medical officials in the coastal enclave identified the victim as Thaer Madhi, in his 20s. The two others were not….
Fatah, Hamas inmates ‘on hunger strike in Palestinian jails’
3/3/2012 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Fatah spokesman Ahmad Assaf on Saturday told official PA media that party affiliates detained in the Gaza Strip were attempting to launch a hunger strike, but had been repressed. Earlier this week, Gaza-based media said four Hamas detainees in a West Bank jail had started a hunger strike protesting their continued….
Israeli forces ‘demolish caravan on ministry land’
3/3/2012 – TULKAREM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces demolished a caravan containing agricultural equipment on land belonging to the PA Ministry of Agriculture north of Tulkarem on Saturday, witnesses told Ma’an. Military vehicles tore down the caravan in Qafeen, destroying the agricultural equipment inside, in the Ahrash area cultivated by the Palestinian Authority ministry over….
Shepherds in Jordan Valley ‘harassed for picking plants’
3/3/2012 – TUBAS (Ma’an) — Shepherds in the northern Jordan Valley have been harassed by the Israeli authorities for picking an edible plant they say is protected, a village council head said Saturday. The villages of al-Maleh and al-Madareb lie in an area of Israeli control in the Tubas governorate, and Israel‘s Nature Authority….
Report: 2 homemade projectiles fired from Gaza
3/3/2012 – TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Two homemade rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel early Saturday, Israeli media reported. Both rockets exploded in open fields in Eshkol Regional Council, Israel‘s Ynet news site reported. No injuries or damage were reported….
Ministry: Israel detained 14 Gazans in February
3/3/2012 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained 14 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip during February, including five fishermen and a cancer patient, according to report by the ministry of prisoners affairs in the Hamas-run government. Researcher Riyad Al-Ashqar said the number of Gaza detainees rose to 21 during 2012. Five men were detained in….
Report: Jordan to notify Israel of Palestine’s conditions for talks
3/3/2012 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Jordan‘s foreign minister will outline Palestine’s conditions for returning to negotiations in a message to Israel, Arab media reported on Friday. The document demands Israel accept the two-state solution based on 1967 borders “with the possibility of a limited exchange of equal pieces of land,” and that….
Mass wedding for 13 prisoners deported to Qatar
3/3/2012 – DOHA (Ma’an) — Thirteen Palestinian prisoners who were freed and deported to Doha in the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap joined hands in a mass wedding in the Qatari capital Friday evening. Palestinian ambassador to Qatar Muneer Ghannam attended the wedding along with Hamas‘ chief in exile Khalid Mashaal, who delivered a speech to….
Medics: 1 killed in Gaza smuggling tunnel
3/3/2012 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — An accident inside a smuggling tunnel under the Egypt-Gaza border has killed one man and injured two others, Palestinian medical officials said Saturday…. Related: Man killed, 2 injured in Rafah tunnel accident
London’s SOAS launches Palestine studies center
3/3/2012 – LONDON (Ma’an) — More than 300 academics, students and supporters came out Thursday evening for the launch of the Center for Palestine Studies at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. It is the third research center dedicated to the study of Palestine to be opened at a university in the past….
PFLP chief: Syria offices remain open
3/3/2012 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in exile says the faction has no plans to shutter its offices in Damascus, despite unrest in Syria. Maher al-Taher said Saturday the leftist faction’s offices in the Syrian capital are operating as usual and that he….
EU’s Ashton says Israeli TV station raids break accords
3/3/2012 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton warned on Saturday that Israeli raids of two Palestinian television stations breaks international accords, and threatens Palestinians state-building. Israeli forces raided Watan TV and Al-Quds Educational TV, both in the Ramallah-district, and confiscated broadcasting equipment early Wednesday. An Israeli military spokeswoman said the TV….
Zahhar: Abbas-led cabinet could undermine reconciliation
3/3/2012 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahhar said Saturday that while the movement agreed to a deal with Fatah to form a transitional government, Hamas was concerned it may actually undermine the reconciliation accord between the parties.” We specifically agreed on a non-partisan cabinet of technocrats to prepare for elections. . . implementing the….
Man found dead, family rescued in Bethlehem
3/3/2012 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – A man was found dead Saturday in his apartment in Ayda refugee camp near Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, and three members of a family suffered from asphyxia. Palestinian Red Crescent medics in Bethlehem said they were notified about an emergency in Ayda camp, but as the rescue staff arrived….
Harper should pressure Netanyahu to end the occupation
3/3/2012 – By Said Hamad – Dear Prime Minister Stephen Harper,Today’s visit to Canada by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a welcome opportunity for you to speak frankly between friends. As one of Israel‘s strongest allies, you are in a position to speak to Mr. Netanyahu with a firmness often reserved for….
In photos: More snow for Jerusalem, West Bank
3/3/2012 – Reuters / Ammar Awad, Mohamad Torokman – Palestinian youths play with snow in cities across the occupied West Bank on Friday, March 2, 2012. It was the first time in four years that snow had fallen in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Ramallah, causing schools to close for the day….
UN report: Gadhafi wanted to stage last stand in desert
3/3/2012 – GENEVA (Reuters) — Long-time Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, stranded in the desert after rebels and a NATO missile strike wrecked his escape convoy last October, apparently wanted to stage a last stand as his enemies closed in, a UN report said Friday. His son Mutassim and aides persuaded him to try to get away but as….
UN chief speaks of ‘grisly reports’ from Syria
3/3/2012 – BEIRUT (Reuters) — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he had received “grisly reports” that Syrian government forces were arbitrarily executing, imprisoning and torturing people in the battle-scarred city of Homs after rebel fighters had fled. Ban’s comments came as a wounded British photographer, who escaped Homs earlier this week, said he had witnessed Syrian….
Syrian town struggles under siege, awaits attack
3/3/2012 – QUSAIR, Syria (Reuters) — When the fighting stops, Qusair feels empty. An odd motorbike rumbles to life and buzzes away. Men sit by shuttered storefronts, talking in hushed voices. A child laughs and ducks into an alley, gravel crackling under her feet. But when the artillery and rifle fire begins, the din of war consumes the….
Iran touts high turnout, Ahmadinejad faction losing
3/3/2012 – TEHRAN (Reuters) — Iran on Saturday declared an initial turnout of 64 percent in a parliamentary election shunned by most reformists as a sham. Iran’s Islamic clerical leadership is eager to restore the damage to its legitimacy caused by the violent crushing of eight months of street protests, after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected….
Turkey says Assad’s forces committing war crimes
3/3/2012 – ISTANBUL (Reuters) — Syrian President Bashar Assad’s crackdown on opponents bears the hallmarks of war crimes and his violent repression is damaging the chances of a negotiated peace, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Saturday. The comments by Syria‘s powerful neighbor indicated the latest violence had put Assad beyond….
French journalist tells of escape from Homs
3/3/2012 – PARIS (Reuters) — Wounded French journalist Edith Bouvier feared her attempt to escape from Homs had ended inside a dark, 3-km tunnel that rebels were using to supply the besieged Baba Amro district when the Syrian army bombarded its exit. Her leg broken by a shell which killed two foreign journalists days earlier, Bouvier was….
Egypt parliament starts debate on constitution body
3/3/2012 – CAIRO (Reuters) — Egyptian lawmakers held a heated session on Saturday as they debated how parliament would pick members of an assembly tasked with writing a new uprising in February constitution, a process crucial to democracy there after the ousting of Hosni Mubarak. The document will define the balance of power between the army-backed executive and….
China urges Syria government, rebels to start dialogue
3/3/2012 – LONDON (Reuters) — China urged the Syrian government and rebels trying to oust President Bashar Assad to end all acts of violence, especially against civilians. It also urged the government and rebels to “launch an inclusive political dialogue with no preconditions” under the mediation of the newly appointed UN-Arab League envoy on the Syria crisis, former….
Alternative Information Center
Christian Jerusalemites’ Challenges following Settler Attacks
Alternative Information Center – Recent Israeli settler attacks on Christian holy sites and churches have highlighted the specific struggle faced by Christian Palestinians in Jerusalem.
IN PHOTOS: Economic Exploitation in Jordan Valley Settlement
Alternative Information Center – The Alternative Information Center (AIC) entered the Israeli settlement of Tomer in the Jordan Valley and collected stories about the working conditions of the Palestinian labour force exploited inside.
Iran crisis eases pressure on Israel
The National 3 Mar 2012 – Discussions at the White House are likely to focus on Barack Obama’s bid to persuade Benjamin Netanyahu to put off an attack on Tehran’s nuclear facilities.
Iran election results show Ahmadinejad rivals making gains
The National 3 Mar 2012 – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had hoped a robust performance by his candidates would give him a political lifeline and a say in who succeeds him in Iran’s presidential election next year.
Selling Syria peace deal a long shot for Annan
The National 3 Mar 2012 – As the UN envoy, Kofi Annan is representing a UN that has not supported the Arab League plan in the Security Council.
Amid fresh violence in Syria, Turkey calls on Iran to cut support for Assad regime
Ha’aretz – 3 Mar 2012
Report: Palestinians to present conditions for return to peace talks with Israel
Ha’aretz – 3 Mar 2012
Tanks deploy in main city in eastern Syria
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – Army tanks deploy in Deir al-Zor, another possible flashpoint; opposition sources say Free Syrian Army rebels in the city have been arming and organizing over last two months as Assad forces focused on Homs.
Group slams Jewish funding of ‘anti-Jewish’ NGOs
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – Pr-Israel organizations decry US Jewish support of Media Matters, Center for American Progress who are accused of anti-Semitism.
‘Sbarro terrorist: Israel hired mafia to kill me’
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – Suicide bombing terrorist Ahlam Tamimi tells ‘Al-Jazeera’ that Mossad was planning to assassinate her and 40 other prisoners deported to Arab, Islamic countries.
Western Wall Side Story?
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – Chabad Museum unveils Kotel replica in Brooklyn.
Catch kids’ problems when they’re young
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – Israeli pediatricians will have to relearn their profession, as a leading Australian expert spearheads a holistic, more scientific approach.
Health Scan: Facing your fears in virtual reality
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – VR continues to go beyond the world of games, as it melds well with CBT for treating aviophobia and many other psychological conditions.
My Word: Changing of the guard
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – The departure of Supreme Court president Dorit Beinisch last week couldn’t have been more symbolic. But for all the wrong reasons.
China calls for Syria calm; ICRC still denied access
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – Red Cross says it’s still unsuccessful at bringing humanitarian aid into Homs; Beijing supports mediation by former UN sec.-gen. Kofi Annan, expresses concerns over intervention under “pretext of humanitarian issues.”
Diplomat: Israel can rely on the US, full stop
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – Deputy head of mission in Washington says sanctions on Iran, paired with a credible threat, could work.
Study: 1 in 5 elderly citizens suffers from abuse
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – Abuse by caretakers is more common among those suffering from senile dementia, Israel Gerontological Society study finds.
Abed Rabbo: Israel is building a settler state
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – PLO secretary-general says West Bank building’s goal is a “state for settlers,” denies possibility of renewed talks.
French journalist tells of escape from Homs
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – “He placed his AK-47 on me, put his hand on my head and said a prayer. It wasn’t very reassuring,” Bouvier tells ‘Le Figaro.’
Jordan’s lukewarm welcome for Gazan job seekers
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – Reconciliation with Hamas prompts easier rules, but native Jordanian East Bankers are still nervous.
Syrian forces pound Homs, block aid convoy
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – ICRC aid blocked from Baba Amro, fears grow for civilians; rebels flee former stronghold, say planning next steps.
‘Explosion kills 7, wounds several in Syria’s Deraa’
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – Residents in southern town say a car exploded near a military checkpoint; rights group says anti-Assad fighters killed six soldiers, wounded nine in the attack south of Deraa.
Egypt parliament angered over activists’ release
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – Parliament speaker decries “interference” behind decision to release NGO activists accused of receiving illegal funds.
‘Suicide bomber kills 2 in Syrian town of Deraa’
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – Several wounded in southern town after “terrorist explosion,” Syrian state news agency reports; opposition activists deny explosion caused by bomber; ICRC: Still no Syria aid convoy access to Baba Amro.
Israeli startup develops tsunami alert system
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – Web-based platform sends automatic messages in cases of disasters that require international humanitarian intervention.
Iran touts high turnout, Ahmadinejad faction losing
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – Officials put preliminary turnout at 65% in Iranian parliamentary election; Ahmadinejad‘s sister fails to win seat, report says.
Morocco: Man gets 6 months for raising Israeli flag
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – 42-year-old charged with “undermining national flag” after attempting to draw attention of local authorities, report says.
Peres arrives in US ahead of AIPAC speech
Jerusalem Post 3 Mar 2012 – President scheduled to deliver the opening address at conference, after which he will receive a life achievement award.
Etgar Keret: ‘I feel more Jewish than Israeli’
The Guardian 3 Mar 2012 – The acclaimed Israeli writer explains why his latest collection of short stories took him 10 years to write You wouldn’t mistake an Etgar Keret short story for the work of anyone else. A typical piece will…
Pictures Worth a Thousand Memories
IPS There’s a story behind each of the 1,100 photos. Each photo is worth a thousand words and memories. Seventy-four-year-old Bracha Aris is a Holocaust survivor. She’s always kept her lips sealed about the past – until recently…
Seeking a new horizon for Palestinian prisoners
Uruknet March 3, 2012 – The thorny issue of the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails has numerous angles. First, it is a humanitarian cause. Many of the prisoners have spent decades, some more than 30 years in jail, with all the resulting social and economic ramifications for Palestinian society as a whole. Additionally, Palestinian leaders bear the…
British war graves in Libya desecrated by Islamist militants (video)
Uruknet March 3, 2012 – Video footage has been released showing graves in a British military cemetery in Libya being destroyed by what appears to be an Islamist militia. The video, shot by the militia themselves, shows more than 30 armed men kicking down the gravestones of British servicemen while comrades use sledgehammers to break the cenotaph. “…
Homs children ‘waiting to die’, says wounded UK photographer (Video )
Uruknet March 3, 2012 – The Sunday Times photographer evacuated from Syria after being wounded in a rocket attack that killed his colleague Marie Colvin has said children are “waiting to die” at the hands of soldiers. Paul Conroy said children are huddled in rooms waiting for Assad’s troops to surge into the Baba Amr district of…
Fatah, Hamas inmates ‘on hunger strike in Palestinian jails’
Uruknet March 3, 2012 — Fatah spokesman Ahmad Assaf on Saturday told official PA media that party affiliates detained in the Gaza Strip were attempting to launch a hunger strike, but had been repressed. Earlier this week, Gaza-based media said four Hamas detainees in a West Bank jail had started a hunger strike protesting their continued imprisonment…
Libya Instability Only Deepens
Uruknet MARCH 3, 2012 – BENGHAZI, Libya – A large map of Libya hangs on the wall in the home of Idris al-Rahel, with a line down the middle dividing the country in half. Al-Rahel, a former army officer, leads a movement to declare semiautonomy in eastern Libya, where most of the country’s oil fields are located….
Nine Shalit exchange’ political prisoners re-arrested in February
Uruknet March 3, 2012 – Yesterday, the International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC) reported in February over 380 Palestinians were arrested by Israeli authorities. Riyadh Al-Ashqar compiles detention figures from the West Bank, Israel and the Gaza Strip, and conducted the detainee research. The article on Al-Ashqar’s report also indicates nine of those arrested were prisoners released…
Testimonies from the Heart of Darkness (Part II)
Uruknet March 1, 2012 – What does a military judge know about childhood in Qalandiya refugee camp, about growing up in the shadow of the wall, by the checkpoint that in its very essence is an entity of violence, in a habitat of poverty and wretchedness that for a while now has been serving as a hunting…
Palestinian Political Prisoners
Uruknet March 3, 2012 – It snowed in Palestine and the heavy rain washed away many things but not human sins. I thought of the huge amount of water running by friends of mine in Al-Auja near Jericho whow ere prevented from capturibng that water while colonial illegla settlers get all eth water with all eth infrastructure…
012 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet March 2, 2012 – The Local Coordination Committees in Syria documented 619 demonstrations took place all over Syria. The highest number of demonstration was also recorded in Idlib with 143 points… The number of Syrian martyrs today has reached thus far 75, including children and 2 women; 34 martyrs in Homs among them 14 martyrs were…
UAE: Stop Expelling Syrian Protesters Authorities Cancel Residency Permits After Peaceful Protest at Consulate
Uruknet March 2, 2012 – … “The UAE calls on Syrian President Assad to respect the right of peaceful protesters, yet it is expelling Syrians from its country for exercising this basic right,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “These expulsions show that Emirati authorities are intolerant of any protest or expression of…
Justice on Trial: Lynne Stewart’s Appeal
Uruknet March 2, 2012 – Lynne’s case highlights American judicial unfairness. Her wrongful indictment, prosecution, conviction, sentencing, and harsher re-sentencing sacrificed her on the alter of upholding wrong over right. On February 29, US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit arguments were heard on her behalf. She wasn’t there, but supporters packed the courtroom as she…
Benghazi protesters demand justice be restored
Uruknet March 2, 2012 – Hundreds of Libyans protested outside the main courthouse in Benghazi on Friday, demanding that a militia which had occupied the building during the revolution leave and allow judges to return to work. The militia, one of dozens set up during the 2011 uprising that ousted Muammar Gaddafi, has been using the courthouse…
Secretary General and Qatari Prime Minister discuss Partnership
Uruknet March 2, 2012 – The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen welcomed the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani at NATO Headquarters on 1 March 2012 and thanked him for the key role played by Qatar in NATO’s mission to protect the Libyan people in 2011. The Secretary General also…
012 : A Video Roundup
Uruknet
Detaining Africans latest step in making Israel an ethnocracy
Uruknet March 2, 2012 – Levinsky Park sits just across from Tel Aviv’s central bus station, a rundown, bustling neighborhood in the city’s south known for its large migrant worker community and municipal neglect. For years Levinsky Park itself has been a hub for homeless asylum seekers. On any given day there can be up to 250…
How to Leave Guantánamo: By Means of a Plea Deal or In A Coffin
Uruknet March 2, 2012 – Guantánamo briefly emerged from the shadows on Wednesday, February 29, when Majid Khan, a Pakistani national described as one of 14 “high-value detainees” when he arrived at Guantánamo in September 2006, after three and a half years in secret CIA prisons, appeared in public for the first time since his capture almost…
Report: “Israel Kidnapped 380 Palestinians In February”
Uruknet March 02, 2012 – Palestinian researcher, specialized in Detainees’ Affairs, Riyadh Al-Ashqar, stated that Israel heightened the rate of its illegal arrests of the Palestinians in the occupied territories in February, and kidnapped more than 380 Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, in occupied East Jerusalem, and the 1948 territories. In a press release,…
U.S. Petition Launched to Investigate Betrayal of Nobel Peace Prize
Uruknet March 2, 2012 – Since awarding U.S. President Barack Obama the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, an award that showed just how greatly the Norwegian parliamentarians’ selection process had degenerated and departed from Alfred Nobel’s will, Nobel Secretary Geir Lundestad has tried to minimize the serious nature of the charges against his selection committee by labeling…
Report: “120 Palestinians To Be displaced Due To Military Orders”
Uruknet March 2, 2012 – The “Land Research Center” issued a press release, on Friday, stating that 120 Palestinians will be displaced and prevented access to their farmlands due to an Israeli military plan, and a military training drill being conducted in the Jordan Valley. The center stated that eighteen Palestinian families received military orders, issued by…
Syria hands over bodies of 2 foreign journalists
Daily Star 3 Mar 2012 Syrian Red Crescent officials have handed over the bodies of two foreign journalists who were killed in Syria to embassy officials.
Egypt lawmakers clash over writing constitution
Daily Star 3 Mar 2012 Egyptian lawmakers clashed Saturday over who should have the right to draft the country’s constitution, in a heated debate focusing on the influence of Islamists on the crucial document and how religiously conservative Egypt will be…
Iran touts high turnout, Ahmadinejad faction losing
Daily Star 3 Mar 2012 Under intense Western pressure over its disputed nuclear program, declared an initial turnout of 65 percent in a parliamentary election shunned by most reformists as a sham.
Gaza militants fire two rockets into Israel: police
Daily Star 3 Mar 2012 Palestinian militants in Gaza fired two rockets into southern Israel overnight without causing casualties or damage, a police spokeswoman said on Saturday.
Blast reported in south Syria as troops shell Homs
Daily Star 3 Mar 2012 Syria‘s state-run news agency says a suicide bomber has detonated his car in a southern city, causing several casualties.
Gemayel says Lebanon should not naturalize Syrian refugees
Daily Star 3 Mar 2012 Former President and current Kataeb leader Amin Gemayel said Lebanon’s government should not naturalize some 7,000 Syrian refugees in the country and be sure to keep count of those escaping violence in Syria.
2 trains collide in Poland, injuring 60 people
YNet News, 3 Mar 2012 – ….
Free Syrian Army: We killed over 135 of Assad’s soldiers
YNet News, 3 Mar 2012 – ….
Tornadoes kill at least 36 in US Midwest, South
YNet News, 3 Mar 2012 – ….
Report: 10 dead in ethnic clashes in Burkina Faso
YNet News, 3 Mar 2012 – ….
Muslim Brotherhood forms political party in Libya
YNet News, 3 Mar 2012 – ….
Rally: Free Arab Israelis who murdered IDF soldier
YNet News, 3 Mar 2012 – Hundreds in Arara call on Israeli government to release killers of Avi Bromberg. MK Zahalka: Thirty years in jail is enough ….
A different view on Iran
YNet News, 3 Mar 2012 – Op-ed: Yair Lapid presents surprising scenario of what Israelis can expect after Iran strike ….
FM: Israel willing to help Syrian refugees
YNet News, 3 Mar 2012 – Avigdor Lieberman says Israel willing to provide Syrian refugees with humanitarian aid immediately; stresses Jerusalem has no interest in intervening in Damascus’ affairs ….
‘Agreements with Israel must be revised’
YNet News, 3 Mar 2012 – PA readies to present new conditions for resumption of peace talks, but Palestinian officials say Ramallah is convinced Netanyahu’s government is ‘indifferent to peace’ ….
Israeli court issues unprecedented enslavement conviction
YNet News, 3 Mar 2012 – Couple from north Jerusalem convicted of wrongful imprisonment of foreign worker for over two years ….
Respect a 2-way street
YNet News, 2 Mar 2012 – Op-ed: Israel‘s religious community demands respect, but what about respecting the seculars? ….
Palestinian Information Center
Hamas condemns Israeli arrest of liberated prisoners
PIC – Hamas has strongly condemned the Israeli practice of re-arresting prisoners who have been freed in the exchange deal between the movement and Israel under Egyptian patronage.
Palestinian worker dies in tunnel collapse
PIC – A Palestinian worker died and two others wounded when a tunnel they were working in collapsed south of the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
Land caves in near mosque in Silwan
PIC – Land caved in at an area adjacent to Ein Silwan mosque in Siwlan town, south of the Aqsa mosque, on Saturday.
Three new aid convoys to Gaza including one for women
PIC – The Miles of Smiles aid convoys to Gaza would send three new convoys to the Gaza Strip including one for women in March.
Palestinians stage sit-in before Egyptian consulate in Gaza
PIC – Dozens of Gazans staged a sit-in before the Egyptian consulate protesting the continued power crisis in the coastal enclave and urging Cairo to expedite supplying Gaza with fuel.
Taher lashes out at PA security coordination with Israel
PIC – Politburo member of the popular front for the liberation of Palestine Maher Al-Taher has told reporters on Saturday that the PA should immediately halt security coordination with Israel.
Shalabi adamant on hunger strike until her release
PIC – Detained young woman Hana’a Shalabi has declared insistence on continuing in her hunger strike until her release from Israeli administrative custody.
IOF troops arrested 380 Palestinians in February including 54 children
PIC – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have arrested 380 Palestinians in February including 54 children and six women, a statistics report said on Friday.
Birzeit students on hunger strike
PIC – A spokesman for the Islamic bloc in Birzeit University has declared that the students would go on hunger strike on Saturday.
Israel’s Backers in Aipac Press Obama to Harden Iran Policy
New York Times 3 Mar 2012 – From Congress to a major conference of American Jews and other supporters of Israel, President Obama is being buffeted by calls for a more aggressive posture toward Tehran.
Bearing Witness in Syria: A War Reporter’s Last Days
New York Times 3 Mar 2012 – Tyler Hicks, a photographer for The New York Times, recounted his trip into Syria last month with Anthony Shadid, a Times correspondent who died during the assignment.
Syria Blocks Aid, Tightening Hold on Devastated Area
New York Times 3 Mar 2012 – As the government continued to block an aid convoy from entering a neighborhood in Homs, refugees and activists reported that government forces were turning their guns on other restive cities.
World Briefing | Europe: Spain: Court Orders Mubarak Associate to Face Corruption Charges in Egypt
New York Times 3 Mar 2012 – The National Court announced Friday that it had ordered Hussein Salem, a former Egyptian army and intelligence officer, to be extradited to Egypt along with his son.
AIPAC Bars Me From Media Access to Their Conference
Muzzlewatch – This is a guest post by Souciant Magazine and Inter Press Service writer Mitchell Plitnick, formerly with Jewish Voice for Peace and B’Tselem : It’s a little hard to imagine. The self-proclaimed “most influential foreign policy lobbying organization on Capitol Hill,” an admittedly deserved sobriquet, is apparently afraid…
Watch live video from OccupyAIPAC
Mondoweiss – Video streaming by Ustream
Ahmed Moor in WaPo: Harvard One State conference ‘informed by the uncontroversial view that all people are created equal’
Mondoweiss – Ahmed Moor writing in the Washington Post : The degree to which the country is a single, indivisible unit is sometimes underscored by the most mundane experiences. A Palestinian friend recently told me about being pulled over for speeding in the West Bank. The person who ticketed…
Amnesty International: Anti-wall protest organizer Bassem Tamimi is a prisoner of conscience and should be released immediately and unconditionally
Mondoweiss – link to www.maannews.net link to www.maannews.net link to www.haaretz.com link to www.haaretz.comlink to www.haaretz.com link to www.imemc.org link to english.wafa.ps link to www.haaretz.com link towww.maannews.net link to www.maannews.net link to www.imemc.org link to www.haaretz.com link towww.smh.com.au link to english.al-akhbar.com link to www.maannews.net link…
Nine ‘Shalit exchange’ political prisoners re-arrested in February
Mondoweiss – Palestinians in Gaza celebrating the release of a political prisoner from the “Shalit exchange.” (Photo: United Nations News Centre) Yesterday, the International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC) reported in February over 380 Palestinians were arrested by Israeli authorities. Riyadh Al-Ashqar compiles detention figures from the West…
Obama Protects Pro-Israel Right Flank, Beating Iran War Drums
Tikun Olam – Obama: this one’s got Aipac’s name written all over it Pres. Obama is attempting to steal a march on Bibi Netanyahu, who will be arriving in Washington in four days, by giving pro-Israel journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg, an interview heavy with martial overtones : President Obama…stiffened his pledge…
Iran: Poll turnout ‘slap’ to West
BBC 3 Mar 2012 – Iran’s interior minister says turnout in Friday’s parliamentary elections was 64%, describing it as a “slap in the face” to Iran’s enemies.
Articles
Boycott movement about Palestinian rights, not destroying Israel
Omar Rahman, +972 Magazine 3/3/2012
Noam Wiener’s post against the BDS movement once again fails to understand the movement and the general plight of Palestinians.
I am really not sure how I missed this guest post by Noam Wiener on the boycott movement, and the flurry of comments it generated, but I wanted to add a few of my own. There were way too many comments to read and I am sure that I am reiterating what many of our in-tuned readers certainly stated, but here it goes.
I have two central issues with this piece, starting with the following excerpt:
“When I choose to boycott somebody, I am telling that somebody that they are, for me, a non-entity. They become transparent, not to be addressed, not to be dealt with, and not to be considered. Boycotting means denying not just an entity’s business, but its voice.”
1. I don’t believe boycott means what he says it means. I may boycott Nike because it practices child labor in Malaysia, but that does not mean I view Nike as a “non-entity” with no right to exist. Boycott is about Israeli practices, not about Israel. Unfortunately, inherent Israeli exclusionary practices that privilege one people and disenfranchise another fit this bill, and may consequently force Israel to be a state for all its citizens: not such a terrible thing in my estimation.
2. No matter how many times people say it, there are those like Noam Wiener who fail time and again to understand or empathize with the refugee issue. They can say the occupation is the source of all evil till they run out of breath, but they must acknowledge that the refugees are also not a “non-entity” and that their existence and plight must be addressed. — See also: Wiener: Boycotting Israel means denying its right to exist more.. e-mail
Prisoner Dilemma of the Israeli Occupation
Uri Yaakobi-Keller, Alternative Information Center 3/3/2012
The successful hunger strike of Khader Adnan illustrates how Palestinian resistance upturns the balance of power and will ultimately lead to the end of Israel’s occupation policies. So Khader Adnan ended his hunger strike and Israel will not renew his administrative detention. He will not die in Israeli prison and instead will be released in April at the end of this current administrative order. In Palestinian society Adnan has cemented his status as a symbol of resistance while in Israeli he will soon be forgotten. Meanwhile, hundreds of other Palestinians will continue to rot in Israeli detention centers without the state even pressing charges against them (and thousands of others will continue to be detained in Israel because of the farce called “military court”). So that’s it. Case closed. Why is this important anyway?
Adnan’s case is important, first and foremost, because of its symbolism for the Palestinian population in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, who are struggling against the Israeli occupation. But more than that, his case exemplifies the general situation of Israel’s occupation and its relationship with the Palestinians. It should have been a symbol not only for Palestinians, but for activists and governments worldwide.
At its core, Adnan’s case revolves around the amorphic concept of power.
The Israeli General Security Services (GSS) was the organization that ordered Adnan’s detention. The exact considerations leading to this decision are not available to us and are in fact quite uninteresting as the context of this action is crystal clear: the GSS, one of the primary instruments of the Israeli occupation and responsible for its maintenance, uses terror and intimidation toward the Palestinian population as a whole, and against any Palestinian who dares show open resistance in particular…. more.. e-mail
The Israeli case for war in ‘The New York Times’
David Bromwich, Mondoweiss 3/1/2012
An extraordinary op-ed in the New York Times today is entitled “Israel‘s Last Chance to Strike Iran.” Written by Amos Yadlin, a former chief of Israeli military intelligence, the article deepens the impression that members of Israel‘s security establishment have a faucet at the Times which they can turn on at pleasure. Thus on the eve of Netanyahu’s AIPAC visit, Yadlin observes with alarm that Israel cannot bomb Iran as effectively as the U.S. can; yet if President Obama waits much longer, Israel will be forced to act alone. Israel, however, is willing follow Obama’s schedule provided it gets “ironclad American assurance” that he will bomb when a moment arrives on which the two countries have agreed in advance.
This is discussed in public, in a famous American newspaper. For what purpose if not to soften American opinion? The New York Times is helping one more war after Iraq and Afghanistan–a war against Iran–to become for us an everyday fact, an understood arrangement.
A similar proposal of war was floated in the Times a little over three weeks ago, in an op-ed entitled “To Weaken Iran, Start with Syria.” The author, Efraim Halevy, was director of the Mossad from 1998-2002. He asked his American readers to recognize the good sense of his idea that the U.S. combine with Russia to overthrow Assad and install a mutually agreeable puppet regime in Syria. Like the follow-up suggestion by Yadlin, that earlier argument for an American attack on Israel‘s behalf was presented in the language of emergency. It was an opportunity that the U.S. must seize or else–an “option” (as Halevy called it) which “we do not have the luxury of ignoring.
The high strategy op-eds by luminaries of a foreign power, appearing so close together in the Times, deal with superficially different subjects but they are by no means incompatible. The first asks us to see an attack on Syria as a logical way station to the bombing of Iran. The second concedes that, given “ironclad American assurance,” Israel may be willing to wait a little longer before joining the U.S. against Iran. (Long enough maybe for the fall of Assad.) more.. e-mail
Who was Behind the Delhi Bombing?
Dissident Voice: 3 Mar 2012 – The magnet bomb that exploded on an Israeli Embassy diplomat’s car in Delhi on February 13 seemed on the surface to be consistent with an Iranian-sponsored action. It was carried out with same method by which Israel’s Iranian proxy, the Mujahedin-e Khalq, had assassinated an Iranian scientist in mid-January. It occurred on the anniversary of the 2008 assassination of Hezbollah operations chief Imad Mugniyeh, which Hezbollah had vowed to avenge. And it happened at the same time as what appeared to be attempted bombings in Bangkok and Tbilisi. But a review of the evidence uncovered thus far makes the link to Iran begin to look very dubious. Instead, it points to the distinct possibility that the Israelis planned a carefully limited bomb attack that was not intended to cause serious injury to Israeli diplomatic personnel, but that would advance the larger Israeli narrative on the need to punish Iran. The…more
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The New Dark Age 