22 April 2012 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Israel To Build New 217 Units In Jerusalem
IMEMC – The Civil Coalition for Palestinian Rights In Jerusalem reported that the Israeli government decided to expand the illegal Nof Zion settlement outpost in Jabal Al-Mokabber, in occupied East Jerusalem, buy approving the construction of additional 217 units. …
Soldiers Attack Nonviolent Protest In Hebron, Kidnap Five
IMEMC – Israeli soldiers attacked, Saturday, a nonviolent protest against the Annexation Wall and settlements, in Yatta town, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and kidnapped five residents. …
UN: Israel displaced 67 Palestinians in a week
4/22/2012 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel forcibly displaced 67 Palestinian refugees in East Jerusalem over the last week, UN agencies said Sunday. On Wednesday, Israeli forces evicted two Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem’s Beit Hanina. Jewish settlers moved into the homes the same day. Also on Wednesday, Israeli authorities destroyed the….
Egypt ‘ends gas deal with Israel’
4/22/2012 – JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Egypt’s energy companies have terminated a long-term deal to supply Israel with gas after the cross-border pipeline sustained months of sabotage since a revolt last year, a stakeholder in the deal said on Sunday. Ampal-American Israel Corporation, a partner in the East Mediterreanean Gas Company, which operates the pipeline, said the….
Medics: 5 injured in crash with Israeli army jeep
4/22/2012 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Five Palestinians were injured Sunday morning after their van collided with an Israeli military jeep near Hebron, medics said. One man was critically wounded and taken by ambulance to a hospital in Israel, Palestinian Red Crescent officials told Ma’an. Medics said four others suffered light to moderate injuries and….
New Fatah leadership in Gaza to be announced Sunday
4/22/2012 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Fatah leadership committee in the Gaza Strip will be announced late Sunday, Fatah central committee member Nabil Shaath said. The 20-member committee, to be headed Secretary-General Yazid Al-Hwihi, will contain new members, including three women, he said. The local party leadership is appointed by Fatah leaders….
Israeli court ‘grants journalist bail after video evidence’
4/22/2012 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — An Israeli military court released a Palestinian journalist on bail after seeing a video showing him rushing to the aid of his wife at a West Bank demonstration, a popular committee said on Sunday. Bilal Tamimi, an independent journalist, was detained by Israeli forces at a popular protest in Ramallah-district village….
Factions protest against UNRWA in Gaza City
4/22/2012 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Palestinian factions on Sunday organized a protest at UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City to coincide with a strike by the agency’s employees. At a press conference, Palestinian Peoples’ Party official Walid al-Awad said national and Islamist factions had held an emergency meeting “after UNRWA’s presidency….
Report: Israeli court orders settlers to leave Hebron home
4/22/2012 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — An Israeli court has ordered six Jewish settler families to vacate a home belonging to Palestinians in Hebron in the southern West Bank, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Sunday. The Jerusalem district court found the settlers had forged purchase documents for the home in Hebron’s Old City, Haaretz reported….
Hamas leaders return from Cairo meetings
4/22/2012 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — A delegation of Hamas leaders returned from Cairo on Sunday, officials at the Rafah border said. The five-member group, headed by senior Hamas official Khalil Hayya, was in the Egyptian capital for meetings with security officials and the Egyptian intelligence chief Murad Muwafi. The delegation addressed the reconciliation process with….
Army: Rocket fired from Gaza lands in south Israel
4/22/2012 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A rocket fired from Gaza landed in southern Israel on Sunday afternoon, an Israeli army spokeswoman said. The projectile landed in the Shaar Hanegev region, with no reports of injuries or damage, she said….
Teen shot, injured, near school in Yatta
4/22/2012 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — A teenage boy was injured Sunday after a gunman opened fire near his school in Yatta in the southern West Bank, a Ma’an reporter said. The unidentified assailant shot at Ismail Bheis, 17, and then fled the scene, a Ma’an correspondent said. Bheis, a student at Al-Muthanna….
Report: Mashaal met Turkish FM in Doha
4/22/2012 – DOHA, Qatar (Ma’an) — Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal on Saturday met Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Doha, Turkish state media reported. The officials discussed the reconciliation process between Hamas and Fatah and the Israeli occupation, the Anadolu Agency said. Qatar hosted the last round of reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah….
Iran military says copying US drone
4/22/2012 – DUBAI (Reuters) — Iran’s military has started to build a copy of a US surveillance drone captured last year after breaking the software encryption, Iranian media reported on Sunday. General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace division, said engineers were in the final stages of decoding data from the Sentinel aircraft….
Germans at odds with Grass on Israel
4/22/2012 – BERLIN (Reuters) — Nearly one in two Germans believe Iran poses a bigger threat to world peace than Israel, according to a poll on Sunday, disagreeing with renowned German author Guenter Grass whose criticism of Israel triggered an international outcry. Israel declared the Nobel Prize literature laureate Grass “persona non grata” last month after he published….
Abbas briefs Egypt envoy on letter aftermath
4/22/2012 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday briefed the Egyptian ambassador to the PA on the political situation in the wake of his letter to the Israeli premier last week, official media said. Abbas met with Amb. Yasser Othman in the presidential headquarters in Ramallah, alongside the secretary-general of the Palestinian Authority Tayyeb….
Iran’s trade partners act to avoid US sanctions
4/22/2012 – WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Iran’s trading partners are looking for ways to avoid being hit by US sanctions on Iranian oil transactions that take effect mid-year, with Turkey looking for other suppliers, India exploring options and smaller Asian countries arguing their imports from Tehran are tiny. Turkey, the fifth-largest buyer of Iranian oil, has committed….
Egypt parliament demands Mufti quit over Jerusalem trip
4/22/2012 – CAIRO (Reuters) — Egypt’s Islamist-dominated parliament on Sunday called on the Mufti to quit after a visit to Jerusalem, stepping up pressure on the state-appointed official over a trip that critics say bestowed recognition of Israeli control of the city. Mufti Ali Gomaa’s trip to East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the…. Related: Stakeholder: Egypt ends gas deal with Israel and Egypt ‘ends gas deal with Israel’
Official: Israel intercepts ship for security check
4/22/2012 – JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Israeli naval forces intercepted a Liberian-flagged cargo ship in the Mediterranean on Sunday and troops have boarded the vessel for a “security check”, military sources said. The foreign cargo ship was stopped off the coast of Lebanon, on suspicion of carrying arms to either Lebanon or the Gaza Strip, Israeli daily Haaretz reported….
Stakeholder: Egypt ends gas deal with Israel
4/22/2012 – JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Egypt has terminated a long-term deal to supply Israel with gas after the cross-border pipeline sustained months of sabotage since a revolt last year, a stakeholder in the deal said on Sunday. Ampal-American Israel Corporation, a partner in the East Mediterreanean Gas Company, which operates the pipeline, said it had notified Egypt it…. Related: Egypt parliament demands Mufti quit over Jerusalem trip and Egypt ‘ends gas deal with Israel’
Ministry: Groom dies from generator fumes in Gaza City
4/22/2012 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A man died hours before his wedding on Saturday in the northern Gaza Strip from smoke inhalation, the Health Ministry said. Ayman Sammur, from the Shekih Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, was poisoned by carbon monoxide emitted by an electricity generator which was operating in a small room, ministry spokesman….
Rage boils in Bahrain’s streets but Grand Prix still on
4/22/2012 – MANAMA (Reuters) — Formula One drivers race in Bahrain on Sunday while rage boils on the streets outside, among protesters who denounce the Grand Prix as a gaudy spectacle by a ruling family that crushed Arab Spring demonstrations last year. In the Shiite villages dotted around the capital, demonstrators hurling petrol bombs have clashed nightly with….
Annan: Deploying monitors ‘pivotal moment’ for Syria
4/22/2012 – GENEVA (Reuters) — International mediator Kofi Annan said on Sunday that the UN Security Council’s decision to deploy a further 300 ceasefire monitors in Syria marked a “pivotal moment for the stabilization of the country.” In a statement issued in Geneva, he called on both Syrian government forces and opposition fighters to put down….
In photos: Protests rock Bahrain amid Grand Prix glitz
4/22/2012 – Reuters / Hamad I Mohammed – Formula One drivers will race in Bahrain on Sunday while rage boils on the streets outside, among protesters who denounce the Grand Prix as a gaudy spectacle by a ruling family that crushed Arab Spring demonstrations last year….
Egypt terminates gas deal with Israel
AlJazeera 22 Apr 2012 – Top official insists decision was not political as Israel says it overshadows the peace agreement between the two.
Children pay the price of Syria’s conflict
The National 22 Apr 2012 – Thousands of children are among the refugees who have escaped to Lebanon from the violence in Syria. They feel more safe across the border but the scars of their ordeal remain, reports Zoi Constantine, Foreign Correspondent.
Ethiopia’s giant dam muddies the waters downstream in Egypt
The National 22 Apr 2012 – Analysts say a massive dam being built in Ethiopia could destabilise Egypt in a way that would make the last year of political upheaval look minuscule.
Netanyahu tasks panel to solve unauthorised West Bank settler outposts
The National 22 Apr 2012 – Israeli prime minister seeks to sidestep strife in his right-wing coalition by forming a committee to seek legal solutions to contested settlement projects.
Iraq PM Maliki meets Ahmadinejad at start of two-day Iran visit
The National 22 Apr 2012 – Iran president says there was “no limit to the strengthening of political, economic and cultural ties” between Iraq and Iran.
Israel Navy intercepts ship on suspicion of carrying arms
Ha’aretz – 22 Apr 2012
Egypt cancels natural gas deal with Israel
Ha’aretz – 22 Apr 2012
Israel Supreme Court to review bill allowing MKs to resurrect laws struck down by court
Ha’aretz – 22 Apr 2012
Israeli cabinet approves Jerusalem memorial for fallen IDF soldiers
Ha’aretz – 22 Apr 2012
Netanyahu forms panel to okay West Bank outposts, despite pledge to bring to cabinet vote
Ha’aretz – 22 Apr 2012
My wicked, wicked ways
Ha’aretz – 22 Apr 2012
Yisrael Beiteinu seeks to abolish local religious councils
Ha’aretz – 22 Apr 2012
IDF chief: Israel must find a way to enlist more Haredi soldiers
Ha’aretz – 22 Apr 2012
Netanyahu to ministers: Lower media profile on future of West Bank outpost
Ha’aretz – 22 Apr 2012
Former IDF chief Ashkenazi at reservists’ protest: Every Israeli citizen must serve his country
Ha’aretz – 22 Apr 2012
Israeli court orders eviction of settlers from another Hebron house
Ha’aretz – 21 Apr 2012
Violence in Israel’s soccer stadiums is just a sample of the real thing
Ha’aretz – 21 Apr 2012
IAF to get new Arrow interceptor
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Interceptor designed to defend against ballistic missiles such as Iran’s Shahab and Sajil and Syria’s Scud D missiles.
Ministry looks to expand textbook-lending program
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Education Ministry announces nationwide plan to save students hundreds of shekels a year.
Google holds official ‘Street View’ launch in TA
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Company takes steps to ensure security and privacy in its Israel version of the street-level imagery technology.
Half of Germans see Iran as greatest world threat
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – ‘Die Welt’ shows rejection of Grass’s anti-Israel positions.
Ivory Coast refugees in TA protest deportation
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – More than 100 refugees demonstrate, majority of whom live in south Tel Aviv near the central bus station.
My journey through the French election
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – “Don’t forget to vote, sir!” the young girl sitting near me said, apparently a little tipsy.
BGU identifies gene causing mutation in Beduin infants
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Prof. Ohad Birk: Discovery could help couples with defective gene to have healthy children.
Sun exposure can cause skin damage to kids
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Children with red or blonde hair, blue eyes and many freckles were found to be at highest risk for skin damage.
Religious streams join in appeal to release Pollard
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – In their appeals to Obama, the Jewish leaders threw their weight behind an official request from President Shimon Peres.
Cabinet okays memorial hall for nation’s fallen
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – The hall, which will cost NIS 40 million, will commemorate all of the nation’s fallen.
Program connects students to Mt. of Olives graves
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Hundreds of graves belonging to soldiers who have no descendants or family in Israel will be bare of flowers and memorial candles this year.
Iran tops agenda as Liberman travels to Azerbaijan
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Trip comes just a month after report alleging Israel gained access to Azerbaijani airfields for a possible attack on Iran.
Soccer lessons
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – If the chairman acts in a cavalier fashion, why should players behave any differently?
Will Barzani declare independence?
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Since the 2003 war the Kurds have become the US ally and the most credible partner in post-Saddam Iraq
The speech Obama should give at the Holocaust Museum
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – “One major mistake was our government’s hesitancy to acknowledge, loudly and clearly, that the Jews were being singled out for mass annihilation.”
Egypt terminates gas flow to Israel, stakeholder says
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Steinitz, Mofaz say move endangers peace treaty, however, senior Egyptian military official is quoted as saying gas deal was not nullified, but rather halted because of a business dispute regarding transfer of payment.
The stuttering servant
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Because Moses himself likely stuttered, the story of Moses may hold a key to the origins of stuttering.
The Region: One day in my family’s Polish town
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Every Holocaust Remembrance Day I try to write something from my family’s history as an illustration of wider themes.
Inter-Jewish racial prejudice and discrimination
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – There can be no denying that on the Ashkenazi-Oriental axis the situation has much improved compared to the early days of the state.
Journalism’s true challenge
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Journalism is facing perhaps its biggest crisis yet but we need good news people more than ever.
IDF boards ship allegedly smuggling arms to Gaza
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Israel Navy vessels intercept ‘HS Beethoven’, detected about 160 miles from Israel flying a Liberian flag.
Celebrating simply with style
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Save time with these quick and easy Independence Day recipes so you can enjoy the festivities.
All Out Adventure: No chance of getting bored
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Top 5: Independence Day is a great time to get out of the city and explore the country.
Le Pen gets nearly 20% in French presidency vote
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Some 150 diplomats, expats and Francophiles assemble on rooftop of French Institute in anticipation of election results.
Egypt MPs demand Mufti quit over Jerusalem trip
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Islamist-dominated parliament says religious official’s visit to al-Aksa Mosque bestowed recognition of Israeli control of the city.
Man held for hit and run of Holocaust survivor, daughter
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Doctors are battling to stabilize the condition of the 82-year-old, while her daughter is said to be in moderate condition.
Hamas slams PA for Ramallah dance festival
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Festival coincides with beginning of hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, sparking anger among some.
PM sets up panel to legalize state land outposts
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Netanyahu forms panel to legalize Rechelim, Bruchin, Sansana; Peace Now: PM developing settlements at expense of peace.
Erdan, Landau lead Earth Day activities in schools
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – “Every drop of electricity or energy, which increasingly being wasted in vain, also counts,” Netanyahu says.
This Week in History: The story of Earth Day
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Forty-two years ago, one American politician had an idea he thought could put environment on political agenda.
Has the dream lost its luster?
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Israelis are still unified in the desire for a just, negotiated settlement with Palestinians.
PA forces arrest Palestinian cartoonist
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Arrest of Hassan Abadi from Nablus comes amid wave of arrests critics say is a PA crackdown on freedom speech in the West Bank.
Whither Russia? Limmud confab in Moscow debates
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Annual gathering draws 1,000 Russian-speaking Jews for lectures on subjects ranging from anti-Semitism to minority rights.
When Gaza’s doctors err, remedies are rare
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Medical malpractice is swept under the carpet by confusing laws, unresponsive officials.
6 killed in Syria as Annan touts peace plan
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Mediator calls on Syrian forces, opposition fighters to put down their weapons; observer mission subject to assessment.
‘Egypt military won’t back presidential candidate’
Jerusalem Post 22 Apr 2012 – Field Marshall Tantawi says armed forces working towards handing over power to civilian gov’t, ‘Al-Ahram’ reports.
Letters: Oiling the wheels of the Shakespeare festival
The Guardian 22 Apr 2012 – Today, 23 April, is Shakespeare’s birthday and marks the launch of the World Shakespeare festival ( Review , 21 April). Yet what should be an unabashed celebration of Shakespeare’s continued relevance to our world has been sullied by…
Susan Sontag and the Yom Kippur war
The Guardian 22 Apr 2012 – In 1973, Susan Sontag travelled to post-war Israel to film a documentary. As Promised Lands returns to the big screen, Steve Rose finds out how the movie holds up today Did Susan Sontag enjoy making Promised…
Morocco Clamours for Justice
IPS A government plan to reform Morocco’s dilapidated justice system, the details of which are still a mystery to the general public, has become the subject of much scepticism, especially from justice professionals around the country.
Ex-detainee Fuad Al-Khuffash reveals prisoners’ demands
Uruknet April 21, 2012 – Ex-detainee Fuad Al-Khuffash has said that he expects the widespread hunger strike which started on 17th April to coincide with Palestinian Detainees’ Day to be “the strongest and the most successful in the history of the detainee movement”. The expert in detainees’ affairs added that the detainees are using the slogan “we…
Israeli forces assault 5 non-violent anti-Wall demonstrations, 1 demonstrator critically inju
Uruknet April 21, 2012 – In five separate demonstrations on Friday, Palestinians in the northern, central and southern West Bank marched and rallied in opposition to the Israeli Annexation Wall being built on their land. Each of the demonstrations was assaulted by Israeli forces, who fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at the demonstrators. In the…
The lies of Afghanistan
Uruknet April 21, 2012 -…The Taliban are obviously winning the war in Afghanistan now, just as North Vietnam’s troops were winning in South Vietnam then. The American strategy at that time was satirised as “declare a victory and leave”, and it hasn’t changed in 40 years. Neither have the lies that cover it up. The US puppet…
How many walls will secure the Zionist regime in Palestine? They Can’t Stop Building Walls…….
Uruknet April 21, 2012 – It may be that researchers would want to examine as long ago as the period from the 3rd century BC until the beginning of the 17th century in order to find a regime so frenetically building walls and barriers in a hopeless quest to hold onto stolen lands as we in Lebanon…
The siege in the sea: Accompanying Gaza’s fishermen under attack by the Israeli Navy
Uruknet April 21, 2012 – To accompany the fishermen of Gaza on their boats, as human shields to protect them, it provides not only an account of human rights violations by Israel, but also the feeling of what it means to live under siege in the Gaza Strip. Since January 2009 Israel has unilaterally imposed a travel…
CIA seeks to widen assassination campaign in Yemen
Uruknet April 21, 2012 – The US Central Intelligence Agency is seeking to expand its authority to carry out remote-control assassinations in Yemen, according to a report Thursday in the Washington Post. CIA Director David Petraeus has made the request to the White House and the National Security Council is now discussing it, the newspaper said. Petraeus…
Guantánamo: Who Are The Two Uighurs Freed in El Salvador, and Why Are 87 Men Cleared for Release Still Held?
Uruknet April 21, 2012 – With no fanfare – just an announcement on its website – the Pentagon informed the world on Thursday that two Uighur prisoners at Guantánamo, held for over ten years but recognized as innocent almost from the moment of their capture, had been freed in El Salvador. As the Pentagon helpfully explained, the…
U.S. Patriot Act Kept Somalia Starving
Uruknet April 21, 2012 – When war-torn Somalia was also ravaged by a drought-induced famine last year, which killed tens of thousands and displaced over a million people, international media was quick to blame the Islamist Al-Shabaab for blocking humanitarian assistance from reaching its zone of control in southern Somalia. But according to Ken Menkhaus, professor of…
Bahraini Protester Found Dead On Roof of Building (Videos)
Uruknet April 21, 2012 – The body of a protester found dead on the day before the Bahraini Grand Prix has been confirmed to be that of Sala Abbas Habib, a 37-year-old activist. A statement from Bahraini authorities cited in the Guardian says that Habib had been wounded in his left side and that his death is…
Congress to Boost US Aid to Israel Missile Defense
Uruknet April 21, 2012 – A new bill moving quickly through the House Armed Services Committee is set to add another $680 million to the billions in annual military aid the US government provides to Israel, with the funding earmarked for paying for more of the “Iron Dome” defensive missiles. The “Iron Dome” system, a very short…
Surveillance State evils
Uruknet April 21, 2012 – “Th[e National Security Agency’s] capability at any time could be turned around on the American people, and no American would have any privacy left, such is the capability to monitor everything: telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn’t matter. There would be no place to hide. [If a dictator ever took over, the N.S.A.]…
Israel agency raises tax-exempt US, UK funds to put settlers in occupied Golan Heights, northern Palestine
Uruknet April 21, 2012 – The Jewish Agency, a quasi-official arm of the Israel government that encourages settlement in Palestine, and the Israeli government itself, are taking advantage of US and UK charity laws to raise tax-exempt donations specifically to place settlers in Syria‘s occupied Golan Heights, all in violation of international law. This is being done…
Prisoner society challenges Barghouthi confession report
Uruknet April 21, 2012 – Head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society Qadura Fares said Saturday that Israeli media reports on the interrogation of Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi failed to prove he confessed to any charge. Israeli daily Haaretz on Friday reported that records of the leader’s questioning by Israeli internal security service Shin Bet show Barghouti giving…
012 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet April 20, 2012 – The number of Friday’s martyrs has risen to 57, including children and women. 21 martyrs in Homs, 10 martyrs in Idlib; most of them are in Rami village,7 martyrs in Damascus “Daf Shouk,Tadamoun,Medan”, 7 martyrs in Aleppo; most of them are in Bab town,6 martyrs in Damascus Suburbs ” Douma and Aqraba”,4 martyrs…
012
Uruknet April 20, 2012 – In this issue: 12-year-old boy killed and around 10 children injured in air strikes on Gaza; 14-year-old boy killed by UXO; Two boys shot during Land Day protests; children affected by settler attack on their home; 16-year-old boy attacked by policeman and detained after his cart is stolen by settlers; 14-year-old boy…
Taliban statement Terrorism in guise of night raids
Uruknet April 20, 2012 – The invading forces top commander, John Allen and stooge administration’s Defense Minister, Abdu-ur-Rahim Wardag in Afghanistan signed a deal Sunday, Apr. 08, 2012 supposedly giving the Afghan puppet forces authority over night raids on homes of Afghan civilians. The head of the puppet administration, Karzai regarded this move as a great step…
Israeli undercover unit’s murder of Palestinian civilian was part of “training exercise”
Uruknet April 20, 2012 – At the beginning of this month, I blogged about the shooting of three brothers in the West Bank village of Rammoun on 27 March that resulted in the death of one and was conducted by undercover Israeli agents, an act tantamount to perfidy and thus a violation of international humanitarian law. Yesterday,…
012 : A Video Roundup
Uruknet
Tens of thousands protest military’s rule in Egypt
Uruknet April 20, 2012 – Tens of thousands of protesters packed Cairo’s downtown Tahrir Square on Friday in the biggest demonstration in months against the ruling military, aimed at stepping up pressure on the generals to hand over power to civilians and bar ex-regime members from running in upcoming presidential elections. Islamists and liberals turned out together…
Kuwait’s cabinet backs new law to privatise airline
Daily Star 22 Apr 2012 Kuwait’s cabinet approved an amended draft law on Sunday paving the way for the privatisation of Kuwait Airways within three years.
British journalist arrested in Bahrain
Daily Star 22 Apr 2012 A journalist working for Britain’s Channel 4 News was on Sunday arrested after covering Bahrain’s Grand Prix race.
No winner in the real contest of Bahrain’s Grand Prix
Daily Star 22 Apr 2012 Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel may have won the Bahrain Grand Prix, but there was no winner in the main event: a public relations battle between the ruling Al Khalifa family and protesters in the streets.
Egypt’s Moussa promises army voice in key policy body
Daily Star 22 Apr 2012 Ex-foreign minister Amr Moussa, a leading contender for Egypt’s presidency, said he would give the military a voice in key policies via a national security council.
Egypt MPs demand Mufti quit over Jerusalem trip
Daily Star 22 Apr 2012 Egypt’s Islamist-dominated parliament on Sunday called on the Mufti to quit after a visit to Jerusalem.
US, Afghanistan reach deal on strategic pact
Daily Star 22 Apr 2012 The U.S. and Afghanistan reached a deal Sunday on a long-delayed strategic partnership agreement.
Iran’s trade partners act to avoid U.S. sanctions
Daily Star 22 Apr 2012 Iran’s trading partners are looking for ways to avoid being hit by U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil transactions that take effect mid-year, with Turkey looking for other suppliers.
Iraq PM meets Ahmadinejad at start of visit
Daily Star 22 Apr 2012 Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the start of a two-day visit to boost relations between their Muslim states.
Iran says is building copy of captured US drone
Daily Star 22 Apr 2012 Iran claimed Sunday that it had recovered data from an American spy drone that went down in Iran last year including that it was used to spy on Osama bin Laden’s house.
Egypt terminates gas deal with Israel
Daily Star 22 Apr 2012 The head of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company said Sunday it has terminated its contract to ship gas to Israel because of violations of contractual obligations.
Israel intercepts ship for security check-official
Daily Star 22 Apr 2012 Israeli naval forces intercepted a cargo ship in the Mediterranean on Sunday and troops have boarded the vessel for a “security check”, military sources said.
Egyptian presidential candidates laud termination of gas deal
YNet News, 22 Apr 2012 – ….
Soldier who killed terrorist after stabbing receives citation
YNet News, 22 Apr 2012 – ….
Egypt terminates gas deal with Israel citing commercial reasons
YNet News, 22 Apr 2012 – ….
Sarkozy vows immigration focus after Le Pen surge
YNet News, 22 Apr 2012 – ….
State to pardon prisoners for information on missing body
YNet News, 22 Apr 2012 – Prosecutor’s Office to grant amnesty to two prisoners in exchange for crucial information regarding whereabouts of missing Israeli citizen’s body ….
Israel officials: Gas deal termination not indicative of Egypt row
YNet News, 22 Apr 2012 – ….
Israel intercepts Gaza-bound ship for security check
YNet News, 22 Apr 2012 – Naval commandoes board cargo ship some 160 miles off Israeli coast, but ‘nothing outstanding found’ ….
The new anti-Semitism
YNet News, 22 Apr 2012 – Op-ed: Anti-Israel campaign identifies Jews as immoral, Jewish state as historical fraud ….
IPS guards receive posthumous honor
YNet News, 22 Apr 2012 – Prison Service guards who died in Carmel fire disaster receive Distinguished Service Medal posthumously. As for first time, IPS fallen to be included in Yizkor prayer ….
Israelis vote Sarkozy in French elections
YNet News, 22 Apr 2012 – Thousands of French-Israelis eligible to vote in presidential elections, line up outside polling stations. ‘I’m voting for Sarzkoy because he’s good for the Jews,’ says one voter ….
Ivory Coast citizens protest May deportation deadline
YNet News, 22 Apr 2012 – Some 150 Africans urge government to give them ‘more time’ before they leave Israel, citing security concerns ….
Druze professor appointed ambassador to New Zealand
YNet News, 22 Apr 2012 – FM Lieberman chooses Hebrew Literature Professor Naim Araidi to represent Israel in New Zealand ….
Barak: Beit El has alternative land for Ulpana neighborhood
YNet News, 22 Apr 2012 – Defense minister says Beit El has 22 dunam on which alternative structures can be built in case eviction goes through ….
Confront the bashers of Israel
YNet News, 22 Apr 2012 – Op-ed: Israel is not the cause of anti-Western sentiments; at best, it is a convenient excuse ….
Palestinian Information Center
Israel replenishing its jails with peaceful Arab students
PIC – In an effort to scuttle Palestinian resistance, including peaceful opposition, to the harsh Israeli occupation, Israel has been arresting dozens of Palestinian college students.
EMOHR urges European organizations to support Palestinian hunger striking prison
PIC – The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory for Human Rights (EMOHR) started contacting some European and international officials, within the framework of the European Campaign to support prisoners.
Fatah is seeking to dominate the conference in support of prisoners
PIC – Tunisian source revealed that Fatah’s delegation, that visited Tunisia recently, discussed during its meetings with Tunisian officials the idea of the conference in support of prisoners.
“Welcome to Palestine” organizers decide to organize another broad campaign
PIC – “Welcome to Palestine” organizers announced to organize a wider campaign, late August, in solidarity with the Palestinian people and as a response to the Zionist arrogance.
Meshaal: We will definitely get our prisoners released
PIC – Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas political Bureau, warned, in a meeting held to mark the Prisoners’ Day in Doha, the occupation authorities to free all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
Sheikh Abu Hija and his two sons launched a hunger strike in occupation prisons
PIC – The family of Sheikh Jamal Abu al-Hija from the Jenin Camp expressed their support for Sheikh Jamal and his two sons Abdul Salam and Hamza after announcing they were joining the mass hunger strike.
Occupation launches an arrest campaign in West Bank
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) launched a large-scale arrest campaign in lines of Palestinian citizens in various West Bank areas including Two students and two children.
OCHA, UNRWA condemn the forced eviction of Jerusalemites
PIC – Two international organizations on Sunday condemned the Israeli-forced eviction of Jerusalemite families from their homes after destroying them.
Hamas congratulates Sudan over restoring Hegleig
PIC – Hamas movement congratulated the government of the Sudan over the restoration of the oil-rich Hegleig area from the grip of the South Sudan army.
MP Natshe joins hunger strike
PIC – Wife of detained Hamas MP Mohammed Jamal Al-Natshe has said that her husband joined the Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike on Saturday.
In Egypt, change comes slowly to pop culture
LA Times 22 Apr 2012 – Many artists hoped that the collapse of Hosni Mubarak’s regime would signal a radical shift from fluff to substantive fare. They are still waiting. CAIRO — When filmmaker and Egyptian democracy activist Amr Salama watched Hosni Mubarak’s regime collapse in 2011, he couldn’t have been…
Kurds’ Displacement Tests Iraq’s Fragile Unity
New York Times 22 Apr 2012 – Facing attacks, Kurds are fleeing for Kurdish-majority areas amid a deteriorating relationship between Kurdish leaders and the Arab-dominated government in Baghdad.
The Lede Blog: Bahrain Race Is Not First Controversy for Formula One
New York Times 22 Apr 2012 – The furor over the decision to run this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix has put Formula One racing in the headlines. But money and politics have entangled the sport before.
Israeli ISP Bans Access to Tikun Olam
Tikun Olam – Tweet Israeli ultra-Orthodox ISP blocks access to Tikun Olam Thanks to an Israeli reader who was visiting a Haredi community, Beitar, and tried unsuccessfully to access my blog. Using the ISP Etrog, he received the following message : Dear User, This site is blocked by Etrog Internet….
The five assaults of Lt Col Shalom Eisner
Mondoweiss – I read about this video on MJ Rosenberg’s site, then at Mairav Zonszein’s . It is apparently from Palestinian television, but picked up by B’Tselem : the group of bicyclists demonstrating for freedom of movement on a Jewish road in the Jordan Valley last Saturday. You can see…
Why did Washington Post and NYT lend themselves to ‘unglued’ ‘angerfest’ directed at Beinart?
Mondoweiss – JJ Goldberg has a very good piece up at the Forward describing Peter Beinart as the liberal Zionist who kicked the MSM hornet’s nest. Goldberg marvels at the attacks on Beinart, and links them to the hounding of MJ Rosenberg, and concludes that it has to…
Nationalist public radio
Mondoweiss – The story is old news; the only thing new about it is NPR humping it, for god knows whatever reason. Listen to the rightwing Israeli warmongers on NPR yesterday morning, emphases mine: Host SCOTT SIMON: Last weekend ‘s meeting on Iran’s controversial nuclear program didn’t…
Egypt and Israel, all is not well
Mondoweiss – link to electronicintifada.net link to www.alternativenews.org link to abirkopty.wordpress.com link toelectronicintifada.net link to www.richardsilverstein.com link to www.wideasleepinamerica.com link to www.presstv.ir link to news.yahoo.com Egypt to boycott ‘pro-Israel’ Adidas kit manufacturer Egypt Football Association (EFA) president Anwar Saleh has confirmed that Egypt will boycott the Adidas sportswear…
When discrimination hits home (IHOP fired my dad for being Arab and Muslim)
Mondoweiss – I have long written of discrimination, abuse and xenophobia as suffered by others; from Blacks in Libya to Muslims in the United States of America. But nothing could prepare me for this piece, one which will attempt to humbly relay what little information I am permitted…
012-04-21 [Digg]
Tikun Olam – Negotiations Between Iran and the West: An Opportunity for Compromise or Prelude to War? It feels like war against Iran grows incrementally closer each day. Yet websites like Israel Loves Iran, Facebook pages like Israelis Against the War, and Twitter accounts are filled with a message…
NATO’s school of death
Voltaire Network 22 Apr 2012 – At Monsanto, Portugal, NATO has established a study center for self-evaluation and formulation of proposals to improve military effectiveness. Under the authority of the Allied Command Transformation established in 2003, its role is to ensure that the Organization, previously responsible for warding off a “Soviet threat,”…
012-04-21, Syrian Crisis Updated
Voltaire Network 21 Apr 2012 – Homs [The international observers’ delegation visits Homs and meets with the governor with the absent of the media. >http://www.documents.sy/videos.php?…] The international observers’ delegation visits Al-Barazil, Al-Enshaat, Baba Amr, Al-Hadara, A’krama, Wadi Al-Thahab, Fairozeh, Zaidal, Al-Zahraa and Jourat Al-Shayah neighborhoods and meets with Khalid Abo Salaha and…
012-04-20, Syrian Crisis Updated
Voltaire Network 20 Apr 2012 – Ceasefire violations The security forces man, Ibrahim Abed Al-Samad Mustafa, gets killed by armed rebels nearby Al-Bahra roundabout checkpoint on Aleppo Road. Two electronic explosive devices get dismantled; placed in front of a pre-constructed building, located nearby Al-Shouhda Mosque in Al-Sabounia neighborhood of Hama. Insurgents shoot…
Boy, 15, To Appear In Court For The 8th Time
Palestine Solidarity Project 22 Apr 2012 – Basel Abu Maria was arrested 6th of March, when a total of sixty soldiers in ten military jeeps raided houses in Beit Ommar at 2 a.m. He was taken by the soldiers without getting time to put on more clothes in the cold night. This was…
Bahrain stages F1 despite protest
BBC 22 Apr 2012 – The controversial Bahrain Formula 1 Grand Prix has taken place despite continuing anti-government protests and calls for it to be cancelled.
UN Syria vote is ‘pivotal moment’
BBC 22 Apr 2012 – Peace envoy Kofi Annan welcomes the UN vote to deploy up to 300 observers in Syria as a “pivotal moment for the stabilisation” of the country.
Egypt scraps gas deal with Israel
BBC 22 Apr 2012 – Egyptian officials say they have scrapped a deal under which they supply Israel with around 40% of the natural gas it needs.
Iran ‘building copy of US drone’
BBC 22 Apr 2012 – Iran begins building a copy of the US surveillance drone it captured last year, after breaking its encryption codes, Iranian officials say.
Articles
Palestinian women take back spring as settlers, soldiers look on
Haggai Matar, +972 Magazine 4/22/2012
For the first time in years, a group of Palestinian women was able to reach the Nabi Saleh spring, which was taken over long ago by settlers. The women vowed to return, hoping to hold on to the spring.
Every Friday for the past three years or so, Nabi Saleh residents, along with Israeli and international supporters, have been demonstrating against the theft of their lands by settlers from the nearby settlement of Halamish. At the focus of the struggle is the attempt to reach the Al-Kous spring, which was taken over by settlers in recent years. Week after week, demonstrators march toward the spring, but are stopped by soldiers who disperse them with tear gas (sometimes aimed directly at protestors and once resulting on the death of a Nabi Saleh resident) with “skunk” water, severe beatings, arrests and more.
On Sunday, for the first time in years, a group of roughly 30 Palestinian women was able to make it to the spring. The group was made up of local women, who were joined by activists from other villages, and supporters from Ramallah and Jerusalem. Soldiers and settlers who arrived at the scene did not stop the women from picnicking around the spring. After a few hours, the group left, vowing to return.
“The point of this direct action was to reclaim what the settlers have stolen from us,” says Irene Nasser, one of the activists. “Many of us were very excited about being able to reach this beautiful place, after dozens of demonstrations during which we were barred from going there. The uniqueness of the action was also in that it was about women taking the popular struggle into their own hands and leading it together. more.. e-mail
Pointing to Syria to divert attention from Israel’s crimes
Jamil Sbitan, Electronic Intifada 4/20/2012
The Israeli government and its supporters have long utilized a wide range of propaganda tools to sugarcoat Israel’s atrocities against the Palestinians. In addition to pinkwashing (using Israel’s relative support of gay rights to sugarcoat the country’s apartheid nature) and greenwashing (perpetuating the perception that Israel has environmentally-friendly policies to do the same), Zionist advocates are now using a different method: Assadwashing.
As the Syrian uprising moves into its second year and Bashar al-Assad’s regime continues its brutal crackdown, the pro-Israel camp has breathed a sigh of relief and put on an indignant grin. Zionists now feel justified in pointing to Israel’s northeastern neighbor and exploiting the Syrian people’s suffering and resistance in order to further their own political agenda, depicting Israel as a “vibrant democracy” in comparison to Syria. Perversely, to Zionist propagandists, Assad’s pernicious brutality comes not as a tragedy but as a savior. Assadwashing in action
At one of our Israeli Apartheid Week events at Boston University, in which we hosted Samer Arafa, an exiled Palestinian, and Jewish-American journalist Max Blumenthal, we witnessed this tactic in action. A man sitting in the back of the room during the Q&A session completely ignored the content of the lecture and asked what the speakers were doing regarding Syria.
Blumenthal replied that this question is a typical Zionist talking point, and is used to deflect attention from Israel’s crimes. Interestingly, a few weeks later, we saw this very man appear in a propaganda video titled “Hijacking Holocaust Remembrance at Northeastern University,” which identified him as Richard Landes, a Boston University History professor and, evidently, a right-wing ultra-Zionist. more.. e-mail
Of Herrings and Elephants: Benny Morris and ‘Palestinian Rejectionism’
Daniel Levy, The Daily Beast 4/16/2012
In his recent column for Open Zion, Benny Morris predicts that nothing will come of next week’s planned meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Palestinian who goes by the same title, Salam Fayyad. It is a safe prediction and one with which I fully agree. Morris however, uses his column to suggest that it is a prediction that can hold for any negotiation with any Palestinian, at any time, due to what he describes as a “deep, basic Palestinian rejectionism.” At the same time, settlements are belittled (they can be “finessed” according to Morris).
Morris seems to be attempting to give a veneer of intellectual respectability to the well-rehearsed propagandist whining of apologists for Israeli policies and Israeli settlements. Israel’s Ambassador in Washington, Michael Oren, treads a similar path in his recent and thoroughly flawed plea for the resilience of Israeli democracy. The line goes: “As impediments to peace, settlements pale beside those posed by Palestinian…rejection of Israel’s right to exist.”
This is basic crutch on which much Israeli advocacy, or hasbara, rests, and which promotes status-quo thinking and policy on Israel/Palestine. So, let’s have at it.
To begin: A refresher on settlements. The built-up area of settlements in the West Bank, may take up only 1.2% of the territory, but the area under the municipal and regional planning and zoning jurisdiction covers over 42%. There are 124 of settlements and 100 so-called outposts in the West Bank. The 60% of the West Bank known as Area C, out of bounds for Palestinians, is in many ways defined by those settlements, as is the pattern of restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement and the IDF’s deployment in the territories. The 13 settlements constructed beyond the international armistice line in East Jerusalem are home to some 187,000 Israeli Jews, roughly a quarter of the entire population of municipal Jerusalem. more.. e-mail
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The New Dark Age 