10 September 2012 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
80 Injured In Clashes Between Residents, Security Forces In Hebron
IMEMC – Palestinian medical sources in Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, reported Monday that eighty residents and members of the Palestinian security forces were reported when a number of residents attacked the City Council building in Doura, near Hebron, a Palestinian Police Stations and an ambulance that belongs to the Red Crescent. …
Palestinian Protesters close roads, burn tires to protest living conditions
IMEMC – In protests throughout the West Bank and Gaza over the weekend, thousands of Palestinians took to the streets to protest the economic conditions and call for an annulment of the Paris Agreement, part of the 1993 Oslo Accords that allows Israel to control the Palestinian economy. The Palestinian Authority on Sunday formally requested a revision to the Paris Agreement. …
Israeli aircraft strike Gaza, 4 hurt
9/10/2012 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli warplanes bombed several targets across the Gaza Strip early Monday, injuring four Palestinians. Aircraft fired missiles at an area near the smuggling tunnels in Rafah in south Gaza, leaving a 10-year old child moderately injured, health officials said. Another child and his parents sustained moderate wounds as a….
Palestinian man injured by Israeli fire in Hebron
9/10/2012 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli troops shot and injured a Palestinian man on Monday morning in the southern West Bank of Hebron, residents and army officials said. Israeli forces evacuated the Kamal al-Batsh, 31, from Bab al-Zawiya neighborhood to a hospital in Israel, locals said, noting that Palestinian ambulance were prevented from arriving at the….
Public transport strike brings West Bank to a halt
9/10/2012 – WEST BANK (Ma’an) — A public transport strike paralyzed Palestinian cities, towns and refugee camps across the West Bank on Monday, as popular action against rising living costs continued. Many schools reported that students and teachers were unable to reach class, and main roads were quiet as buses, taxis and trucks held protest actions….
Israel ‘blackmailing’ Palestinian Water Authority
9/10/2012 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel is using water agreements signed in the Oslo Accords to blackmail the Palestinian Water Authority and destroy the two-state solution, the head of the PWA said Monday. Israel has reduced the Joint Water Committee, set up to implement the Oslo Agreement on water, to “a forum for blackmail,” Shaddad Attili….
Zakaria Zubeidi on hunger strike as PA detention renewed
9/10/2012 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Former Fatah fighter Zakaria Zubeidi announced on Sunday he will refuse all food and liquid until he is released from Palestinian Authority custody, after almost four months in jail without charge. The director of Jenin refugee camp’s Freedom Theater, which Zubeidi co-founded, said staff are very concerned as people….
Clashes, stone-throwing break out in West Bank price protests
9/10/2012 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Protests against rising living costs in the West Bank continued on Monday, with stone throwing and clashes breaking out in West Bank cities. Several thousand people hurled stones at a police station in Hebron after earlier clashes targeted municipal offices and fire trucks, witnesses said. Riot police fired tear gas to….
Israeli court rules in favor of Nablus farmers
9/10/2012 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Farmers in the Nablus village of Beit Furik tended their land last week for the first time in ten years, after Israel’s supreme court ruled in favor of an appeal made in 2011, Israeli rights group Yesh Din said.” Seeing farmers return to their lands after many years of….
Clashes break out between soldiers, villagers in Nabi Saleh
9/10/2012 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Clashes broke out on Monday between young men and Israeli soldiers in Nabi Saleh village, a local committee said. Israeli military vehicles blocked the main entrance to the village, a local popular committee head told Ma’an, causing clashes to break out. Soldiers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at….
Among the ruins of Bedouin al-Araqib
9/10/2012 – By Charlotte Alfred, AL-ARAQIB, Negev (Ma’an) — Saba Ismail Araqib, heavily pregnant, strides purposefully around the ruins of her destroyed village in the Negev desert of southern Israel.” This tent was demolished a few weeks ago, and this one was my father’s house,” she says, gesturing to broken wooden beams and tarpaulin….
Medics: Settler killed, 5 Palestinians injured in Bethlehem car crash
9/10/2012 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A settler was killed and five Palestinians injured in a car accident near Herodion, Bethlehem on Monday, medics said. Director of ambulance services in Bethlehem Abdul Haleem al-Jaafreh told Ma’an that five family members were injured in the collision with an Israeli car. A 60-year-old Israeli settler was….
Netanyahu: Israel discussing Iran ‘red line’ with US
9/10/2012 – JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Israel and the United States are in discussion on setting a “red line” for Iran’s nuclear program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.” We’re discussing it right now with the United States,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Canada’s CBC television aired late on Sunday. In the interview….
Israel Deputy FM: No room for review of Paris Protocol
9/10/2012 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister said Monday there is no room to meet the Palestinian request to review the economic accords between their governments. Danny Ayalon told Israel Radio that the economic annexes to the Oslo Accords could not be treated separately than the political agreements in the main body….
UN nuclear chief urges immediate access to Iran site
9/10/2012 – VIENNA (Reuters) — The UN nuclear watchdog chief pressed Iran on Monday to grant his inspectors access “without further delay” to a military site where they believe Tehran may have conducted explosives tests relevant to the development of nuclear weapons. Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said “activities” which had taken place….
UN hits out at Israel and Palestinian authorities
9/10/2012 – GENEVA (Reuters) — United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned Israel on Monday that keeping its long-standing blockade of Gaza would only condemn the area’s people to lasting poverty and play into the hands of extremists in the Middle East. In a speech to the world body’s Human Rights Council, Ban also….
PA: Civil servants to be paid half salaries by Wednesday
9/10/2012 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – The Palestinian Authority’s ministry of finance will pay civil servants half of their monthly salary by Wednesday, minister of finance Nabil Qassis announced on Sunday evening. The minister said in a press statement that governmental employees will receive a minimum of 2,000 shekels ($500) of their monthly salary for….
Union of teachers to launch partial strike
9/10/2012 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The union of teachers in the West Bank announced Sunday it will hold a partial strike on two days in the upcoming week to protest the Palestinian government’s policies. On Tuesday, classes will be suspended after the fourth period, and next Monday, they will finish after the third period….
Fatah leader rebukes Fayyad on handling of protests
9/10/2012 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Fatah leader Tawfiq Tirawi on Sunday voiced his support for popular protests against rising living costs in the West Bank and criticized Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. The former head of the general intelligence service said Fayyad’s response to the protests had been inadequate.” People’s worries….
DFLP leader: Popular protests could spread to Gaza
9/10/2012 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Popular protests across the West Bank could spread to the Gaza Strip if no measures are taken to contain the crisis, a leader from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine said Sunday. Nayif Hawatmeh told Ma’an that the demands of the people are fair and the….
Monetary authority orders bank measures amid salary delay
9/10/2012 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Monetary Authority on Monday instructed banks to take measures to help government employees after the Palestinian Authority announced half salaries will be paid on Wednesday. Banks should not deduct fees for salary processing twice, after the PA said the public sector would receive their wages in two payments, the….
Minister: PA making efforts to facilitate Jenin industrial zone
9/10/2012 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority is making efforts to facilitate the construction of an industrial area in Jenin, the PA Ministry of Economy said Monday. PA economy minister Jawad Naji made the comments during a meeting with the Turkish ambassador to the PA, Shaker Ozkan, and the executive director of Turkish development company….
Fatah official: Protest violence caused by ‘infiltrators’
9/10/2012 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Protesters resorting to violence are “infiltrators” seeking to cause chaos in the West Bank, a Fatah official said Monday. Azzam Ahmad told Ma’an that the main Palestinian factions reject tire burning and harming public property as a form of protest, adding that those committing such acts are outlaws and….
Nablus policemen injured during protests
9/10/2012 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Several members of the Palestinian police force were injured on Monday during protests in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, a Ma’an correspondent said. Dozens of protestors threw rocks and glass bottles at a police station in Nablus, lightly injuring a number of police and passersby. The PA….
In photos: Price protests continue across West Bank
9/10/2012 – MaanImages / Reuters – Protesters burn tires, block roads and throw stones at PA buildings on Monday as demonstrations against rising living costs continue across West Bank cities. Protests took place in Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus, Jenin, Jericho, Tulkarem and Bethlehem….
Lebanon army says prevented abduction of Syrian refugees
9/10/2012 – BEIRUT (Reuters) — Lebanese forces foiled an attempted kidnapping of Syrian refugees in north Lebanon linked to the fighting in neighboring Syria, the army said on Monday. Abductions of Syrians and other foreigners are a growing concern in Lebanon, where a local clan kidnapped 20 Syrians and a Turkish businessman in retaliation for one of their….
UN human rights chief faults both sides in Syria
9/10/2012 – GENEVA (Reuters) — The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Monday that both sides in the Syrian conflict were to blame for human rights abuses. Addressing the 47-member UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Navi Pillay reiterated that the Syrian government’s actions might amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity….
Activist: Oman jails six men for internet slander
9/10/2012 – MUSCAT (Reuters) — An Omani court sentenced six people to jail terms ranging from a year to 18 months for slander over internet posts against the government that it called “abusive and provocative”, an opposition activist present at the hearing said on Monday. The verdict, issued on Sunday, was a further move by Oman to deter….
Yemen says kills deputy regional head of al-Qaida
9/10/2012 – ADEN (Reuters) — Yemeni armed forces have killed Said al-Shehri, a man seen as the second-in-command of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, a government website said on Monday. The Ministry of Defense website said Shehri was a Saudi national who was killed, along with six other militants, in any army operation in the remote Hadramout province….
Egypt to host meeting of regional states over Syria crisis
9/10/2012 – CAIRO (Reuters) — Officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran will meet in Cairo on Monday to discuss the Syrian crisis, but analysts said the regional powers were unlikely to agree on any tangible steps. Iran is a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is fighting an uprising against his rule, while the….
Palestinians Throw Stones at Israeli Cars, Beit Ummar
Palestine News Network
Public Transport Strike Paralyzes Palestinian Cities
Palestine News Network
Occupation Ban Two Jerusalemites from Entering Al-Aqsa
Palestine News Network
PCBS, Statistical Report about the Hotel Activities Survey, Second Quarter
Palestine News Network
Japan Supports Red Crescent Society Hospital in East Jerusalem
Palestine News Network
PCHR Succeeds in Ensuring Reparation for the Family of Two Victims of the Israeli Offensive in Gaza
Palestine News Network
Rachel Corrie’s Parents Talk About Trial Against the Israeli Army
Palestine News Network
International Solidarity Movement
Hebron man walks down street for first time in years
9/10/2012 – International Solidarity Movement – By Gordon, 10 September 2012, International Solidarity Movement, West Bank – On Sunday 9th September, Hashem Azzeh walked down the street outside his house for the first time in years. Hashem lives with his artist wife Nasreen and their four children (14, 9, 4 and 2 years old) on a hillside in the Tel Rumeida district….
Resistance to Occupation continues in Ni’lin
9/10/2012 – International Solidarity Movement – By Anna, 10 of September, International Solidarity Movement, West Bank – On Friday 7th September five international activists attended the weekly demonstration against the apartheid wall in the village of Ni’lin. Since 2004, the villagers of Ni’lin have been non violently protesting against the annexation of their lands. So far the village….
Three injured from tear gas after settlers raid in Qusra
9/10/2012 – International Solidarity Movement – By Leila, 10 of September, International Solidaity Movement, West Bank – Three people were treated for injuries related to tear gas after an attack by illegal settlers in the village of Qusra near Nablus on Saturday night. The attack comes roughly a year after Qusra resident Issam Kamel Odeh, 33, died from Israeli gunfire after settlers….
Syrian Arab Republic (the): Opening remarks by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay at the Human Rights Council 21st Session
Relief Web 10 Sep 2012 – Source: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Country: Syrian Arab Republic (the) , Bahrain , Colombia , Côte d’Ivoire , Democratic Republic of the Congo (the) , Eritrea , Greece , Iraq , Kazakhstan , Kenya , Kiribati , Kyrgyzstan , Maldives , Mali , Mexico , Myanmar , Nepal , occupied Palestinian territory ,…
Regional leaders meet over Syria
The National 10 Sep 2012 – Officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran planned to meet yesterday to form a “contact group” aimed at resolving the conflict in Syria.
Syrian refugees forced away from Turkish border area
The National 10 Sep 2012 – Turkish government starts moving Syrian refugees out of the border region in response to growing sectarian tensions there.
Libya denies trial of Qaddafi son is imminent
The National 10 Sep 2012 – Libya has denied that the son of killed dictator Muammar Qaddafi, Saif Al Islam, faces imminent trial on charges of crimes against humanity, The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) said yesterday.
IAEA chief presses Iran for immediate access to nuclear test site
The National 10 Sep 2012 – The head of the UN nuclear watchdog pressed Iran to grant his inspectors immediate access to the Parchin military site, where they believe Tehran may have conducted explosives tests relevant to the development of nuclear weapons.
Cut in health benefits as insurance soars 20%
The National 10 Sep 2012 – Insurers end practice of selling cover at less than cost and complain of misuse and waste while employers resist increased premiums.
2,000 fined in a month for ‘reckless backwards driving’
The National 10 Sep 2012 – Statistics from Dubai police show that 67,000 fines were issued during a traditionally quiet time on the roads.
French tycoon Bernard Arnault applies for Belgian nationality
The National 10 Sep 2012 – World’s fourth wealthiest man shocks France by applying for Belgian nationality, focusing attention on President Francois Hollande’s “bash-the-rich” policies.
Rare Saudi protest over relatives held without trial
The National 10 Sep 2012 – UDozens of Saudis staged a rare protest yesterday against the detention of relatives being held without trial for security offences.
Angelina Jolie in Jordan to visit Syrian refugees
The National 10 Sep 2012 – The UN refugee agency says its special envoy, actress Angelina Jolie, is in Jordan to visit Syrians who fled the civil war in their country.
Islamists punish alleged thieves with public amputations
The National 10 Sep 2012 – Islamists in the West African country of Mali say they have cut off the right hand and left foot of five suspected thieves on a stage in a public square.
In bid to counter Palestinian efforts, Israeli diplomats told to raise issue of Jewish refugees
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
In secret visit to Israel, U.K. officials warn Netanyahu against unilateral attack on Iran
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
Blogger, ex-cop arrested for hacking Israeli court computers, stealing material
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
Kishon River clean-up to begin 12 years after navy divers contracted cancer
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
Israel’s state broadcaster opens new synagogue – without women’s section
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
Left-leaning Israeli university department again threatened with closure
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
Defense Ministry says will dismantle, not destroy, homes at settlement of Migron
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
U.K. urges Israel to ‘reconsider’ approval of West Bank college’s upgrade
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
Top official: ‘Price tag’ attacks are acts of terror meant to drag Israel into religious war
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
Top Israeli official: U.S. refusal to set ‘red lines’ helps Iran reach nuclear goals
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
Germany FM Westerwelle takes a timeout from Iran debate in Israeli gay bar
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
After one-month rift over Iran issue, Peres, Netanyahu meet in private
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
Palestinian protests against rising prices turn violent in West Bank
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
UN chief: Israel’s blockade on Gaza Strip serves only to bolster extremists in region
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
State’s witness in Holyland trial admits fabricated details in attempt to receive pay
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
Five years on, new details emerge about Israeli strike on Syrian reactor
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
IDF fires back in response to rockets attacks from Gaza
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
Clinton rejects Netanyahu’s call for ‘red lines’ over Iran nuclear program
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
Netanyahu drafts bill geared at giving ministers power to fire civil servants
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
German FM to Netanyahu: Israeli strike on Iran nuclear sites could fracture international coalition
Ha’aretz – 10 Sep 2012
Former Likud MK not qualified to run Tel Aviv port, says government authority
Ha’aretz – 9 Sep 2012
Civics champion and reluctant symbol
Ha’aretz – 9 Sep 2012
East Jerusalemite charged with causing death of Palestinian he tried to smuggle into Israel
Ha’aretz – 9 Sep 2012
Rockets close schools in Be’er Sheva, Ashdod
Ha’aretz – 9 Sep 2012
Rights groups threaten boycott of Israeli cultural center over planned all-male series
Ha’aretz – 9 Sep 2012
Opposition slams PM over tenure cancelation
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Netanyahyu acknowledges that he’ll need the support of Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini if he is to change existing agreements.
‘Brotherhood turning Middle East into Islamist bloc’
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Dichter warns revolutions in could threaten Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Gulf states; Gilad: Hezbollah aiming 60-70 rockets at Israel.
The war against the war on terror
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Sadly, we may have to learn, again, the hard way, that Islamic extremism and the terror it foments are still a factor in our lives.
Refugees and peace
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Only when the Palestinian people acknowledge their own and the Arab nations’ complicity in their own displacement, as well as the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees, will true, lasting peace be attainable.
Neologism and nationalism
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – The first step to remaking Zionism in the future is learning what Zionism meant in the past.
Will Lance Armstrong travel the path back?
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Lance Armstrong cannot be coerced to do teshuvah. One thing, though, is certain. Should Armstrong hearken to an inner calling to pursue that path, he will also hear a multitude of cheering cancer patients urging him to steer sharply towards a spiritual finish line that might actually be located behind him.
Borderline views: The majesty of the cantor
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – There is much to be gained – both spiritually and musically – from going to listen to the contemporary maestros as they perform in the world’s great synagogues during the coming weeks.
Restarting talks with the Palestinians
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Encountering peace: I have no walls between me and peace. I cross borders, break down barriers and refuse to allow fear of “the other” to turn into hatred. I have gone beyond the walls and I know that peace is possible!
Official: Clinton’s comments may put Iran at ease
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Clinton’s comment against setting deadlines comes within hours of Netanyahu calling for firm red lines on nuclear program.
Beit Shemesh: Why Jews cannot remain silent
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – As a resident of Beit Shemesh, I would be pleased if Mayor Moshe Abutbul would respond to the civil wars which are tearing at the seams of a city and at the heart of a Jewish community.
The empathy gap
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Given the state of the economy, by any historical standard, Barack Obama should be 15 points behind Mitt Romney. Why is he tied? The empathy gap.
‘Iran in talks with Egypt to unload oil stockpiles’
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Tehran approached Cairo to sell 2m. barrels of oil, worth over $200m. according to WSJ; rial continues free fall to record low.
At least 45 injured in Palestinian cost of living protests
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Palestinians take to the streets, blocking roads, burning tires and throwing stones at PA police, institutions in protest triggered by rise in price of fuel, basic goods; PA security responds with live ammo, tear gas.
PM: Israel must bring justice to Jewish Refugees
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Approximately 850,000 Jews fled Arab states following the establishment of Israel due to state-sponsored persecution.
Ban urges lift of Gaza blockade to ease ‘suffering’
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Ban devotes more of his speech at UNHRC to Israel-Palestine than to bloodbath in Syria, makes no mention of Iran.
Fake ad for ‘Mengele’ weight pills causes furor
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Jewish groups upset over Estonian paper’s use of photo showing emaciated Holocaust survivors; paper calls ad ironic.
Holyland state witness admits to lying to police
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – New stage of trial begins as defense cross-examines witness known as S.D., who admits “I lied” about various details.
School for Syria refugees undermined by basic needs
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Finding food and accommodations for non-stop flow of refugees trumps quest for education.
Psychiatric report: Daniel Moaz fit to stand trial
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – According to Jerusalem District Psychiatric Committee, man suspected of murdering parents is responsible for his actions.
Police to launch new anti-‘Price Tag’ unit
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Aharonovich says new force will reinforce units fighting phenomenon of “Price Tag” attacks to bring perpetrators to justice.
‘New Yorker’ reveals details of Syria reactor strike
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Report says Israel raided Syrian official’s house for evidence, dropped 17 tons of explosives on plutonium reactor in 2007.
Rivlin: Gush Etzion security barrier not needed now
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Knesset speaker calls on PM to reconsider fence, says Israelis, Palestinians must learn to live together not apart.
US groups helped fund Dutch anti-Islam politician
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Daniel Pipes’ Middle East Forum, David Horowitz’s FrontPage Magazine helped fund Geert Wilders.
Peres: Assad will fall sooner than we think
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – President says Syrian dictator reaching his end; UN human rights commissioner says both sides guilty of violations.
Yadlin: Israel needs world, US after strike on Iran
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – At counter-terrorism conference, former military intelligence chief calls Iranian threat “Israel’s number one strategic priority.”
Microsoft inaugurates Israeli innovation center
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Company invested millions of dollars in the Microsoft Technology Center in Ra’anana.
Alternatively Speaking: Holidaying with black eyed peas
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Natalie Marx answers your questions: What can be done to avoid becoming exhausted after eating a big holiday meal?
Ayalon: Israel will reject PA economic accord review
Jerusalem Post 10 Sep 2012 – Abbas asks to review 1994 Paris Protocol amid pressure from protesters to cancel Israel-PA economic agreement.
IMA calls for funding injection to health system
Jerusalem Post 9 Sep 2012 – Health system in financial crisis with an injection of NIS 700 million needed for government hospitals to pay debts.
J’lem sentences thieves for stealing Milan Torah
Jerusalem Post 9 Sep 2012 – Court sentences 4 for stealing Jewish objects worth $1 mil. from Great Synagogue of Milan, bringing them to Israel.
Israel’s defence plans reinforced against possible Iranian counterattack
The Guardian 10 Sep 2012 – Gas masks have been handed out and warning systems trialled as Binyamin Netanyahu steps up talk of war with Iran Israel has stepped up its home front defence measures against possible retaliatory attacks amid continued speculation…
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The Guardian 10 Sep 2012 – Follow how the day unfolded after Lakhdar Brahimi travelled to Cairo for talks on Syria Matthew Weaver
Syria crisis: Brahimi begins peace mission in Egypt – live updates
The Guardian 10 Sep 2012 – Follow live updates as the Lakhdar Brahimi is in Cairo for talks on Syria with President Mohamed Morsi after car bombs and air raids in Aleppo Matthew Weaver
Syrian Kurds Find the Language of Freedom
IPS “I want to learn how to read and write in my own language,” says Manal, a young Kurd from Syria. Neither she nor any of Manal’s 30 classmates have ever been so close to achieving their goal. And it’s not that Manal doesn’t have an education: the 21-year-old explains in…
Ramallah protestors call on Abbas to resign
Uruknet
Israeli soldier kicks twelve year old Palestinian boy, after peaceful demonstration in Beit Ummar
Uruknet
America’s refusal to extradite Bolivia’s ex-president to face genocide charges
Uruknet
Controversial plan to split up Afghanistan
Uruknet
Bradley Manning
Uruknet
US dispatching more drones to Yemen – Source
Uruknet
NYPD Opens Up New Bureau–in Israel
Uruknet
The “Angry” Arab
Uruknet
Tariq al-Hashemi, Sunni Vice President Of Iraq, Sentenced To Death In Absentia
Uruknet
Sectarian fury, Syrian turmoil pressure Iraq’s Maliki
Daily Star 10 Sep 2012 A fugitive vice president condemned to death and rallying opposition to Iraq’s “sectarian” prime minister.
Dozens stand trial in Turkey for links to Kurdish rebels
Daily Star 10 Sep 2012 Forty-four people, many of them journalists, went on trial in Turkey Monday for alleged links to outlawed Kurdish rebels amid protests from human rights activists and opposition lawmakers.
Palestinian protests turn violent in West Bank
Daily Star 10 Sep 2012 Palestinian demonstrators fed up with high prices and unpaid salaries shuttered shops, halted traffic with burning tires and clashed with riot police in demonstrations across the West Bank on Monday.
Saudi says high oil prices a worry, will take steps
Daily Star 10 Sep 2012 Saudi Arabia is concerned about high oil prices and will take steps to moderate them, in a statement that some in the oil market read as a signal to consumer nations that there is no need…
UN rights chief cites problems in Syria, Bahrain
Daily Star 10 Sep 2012 The U.N.’s top rights official laid out the world’s most significant human rights issues, criticizing Syria and Bahrain but also mentioning problems in Western countries such as France and Greece.
Egypt balance of payments gap narrows sharply in Q2
Daily Star 10 Sep 2012 Egypt’s balance of payments deficit narrowed dramatically in the second quarter as foreigners sold Egyptian securities at a slower rate and invested more in the country’s economy.
Chicago teachers strike in headache for Obama ally
Daily Star 10 Sep 2012 Thousands of teachers walked off the job Monday in Chicago, the third-largest U.S. school district.
Defected Syria general Tlass says French agents got him out
Daily Star 10 Sep 2012 Defected Syrian general Manaf Tlass said that French secret agents helped him escape from Syria, where he had long been a member of President Bashar al-Assad’s inner circle.
Iraqi VP rejects ‘unjust’ verdict in terror trial
Daily Star 10 Sep 2012 From self-exile in Turkey, Iraq’s fugitive vice president scoffed at a Baghdad court that sentenced him to the gallows for masterminding death squads against rivals, describing it as a puppet of the PM.
Iraq attacks kill seven
Daily Star 10 Sep 2012 Two bombings and a shooting killed seven people in Iraq on Monday, security and medical officials said.
Report: Syria rebels execute 20 army soldiers
YNet News, 10 Sep 2012 – ….
Somalia elects a new president
YNet News, 10 Sep 2012 – ….
Hardest job in the world
YNet News, 10 Sep 2012 – Op-ed: Being PM in Israel, the country of intrigue, is much more difficult than being US president ….
Kenya Red Cross: 38 people killed in Kenya clashes
YNet News, 10 Sep 2012 – ….
Misezhnikov caught in flagrante delicto?
YNet News, 10 Sep 2012 – Channel 2 expos? alleges tourism minister flouts security protocols, visits shady clubs and ‘gets drunk to the point of complete disorientation’ ….
Jordan: 8 activists charged for slandering king
YNet News, 10 Sep 2012 – ….
Israel to compensate Gaza family over war deaths
YNet News, 10 Sep 2012 – ….
J’lem officials slam Clinton’s ‘deadline’ remark
YNet News, 10 Sep 2012 – State sources say US‘ refusal to set deadline for Iran could spur its pursuit of atom bomb ….
Palestinian price protest turns violent in West Bank
YNet News, 10 Sep 2012 – Demonstrators pelt government building with stones, burn tires on West Bank streets in protest against financial woes ….
Hacker suspected of stealing scores of court documents
YNet News, 10 Sep 2012 – Police arrest Acre man for allegedly hacking into court system’s database; copying thousands of case files, some still deemed classified to the public ….
Barak: War – only as a last resort
YNet News, 10 Sep 2012 – Defense minister continues to pursue moderate tone on possible strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities; says government must exhaust all other options before launching a military campaign ….
Facing global terror together
YNet News, 10 Sep 2012 – Op-ed: Ahead of Israel visit, Bulgarian FM says countries will not allow terrrosits to dictate agenda ….
Netanyahu, Peres meet after month long froideur
YNet News, 10 Sep 2012 – President and prime minister have not met since Peres’ public comments against military strike in Iran; sources say meeting was set to occur before Netanyahu‘s UN trip ….
State: Yishai, Steinitz not liable for Carmel disaster
YNet News, 10 Sep 2012 – State files High Court rebuttal over victim’s family’s motion demanding finance, interior ministers be fired over devastating 2010 blaze; says PM believes no measures should be taken against them ….
Palestinian Information Center
A Palestinian prisoner transferred to the hospital in serious condition
PIC – Palestinian human rights sources reported that the occupation authorities transferred the prisoner Mohammad Rimawi to Hadassah hospital following deterioration in his health condition.
Settlers break into Qasra village in Nablus and destroy olive trees
PIC – A group of Israeli settlers stormed on Saturday evening, Qasra village in the south of Nablus city, and destroyed a number of olive trees.
Over 90 students poisoned in Jenin
PIC – Scores of students in the secondary school of Sanur town, near Jenin in the northern West Bank, were transferred to hospital for treatment after being poisoned, Palestinian medical sources reported.
Settlers attack several vehicles belonging to Palestinians in Silwan
PIC – A group of Israeli settlers punctured, on Sunday morning, tires of a number of Palestinians’ cars parked in front of their owners’ houses in Wadi Hilweh in Silwan, in occupied city of Jerusalem.
EU called for recanting its decision to widen relations with Israel
PIC – The Palestinian Independent Agency for the prosecution of Zionist occupation crimes demanded EU to recant its recent decision, widening the circle of relations with Israeli occupation
IOF raze two water tanks, agricultural land south of Nablus
PIC – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) demolished Monday morning two water containers and a tract of agricultural land in Jurish town south of Nablus city.
Imminent danger to Sharawna’s life
PIC – After three months of his release in Wafa Al-Ahrar deal, the liberated prisoner Aymen Sharawna was rearrested by the Israeli forces in total violation of the exchange deal.
Media Forum condemns Israeli attack on journalist Diala Jwayhan
PIC – The Palestinian Media Forum strongly condemned the IOF attack on the Jerusalemite journalist Diala Jwayhan during covering a sit-in in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners.
Jenin unions plan to escalate protest activities
PIC – The General Federation of Trade Unions of Palestine in Jenin announced on Sunday its intention to organize many protest activities against taxation and the sharp rise in prices..
Jews and tourists party all night behind Aqsa Mosque’s mihrab
PIC – Al-Aqsa foundation said hundreds of Jewish settlers and foreigners attended on Sunday evening a noisy dancing and singing party held in the Umayyad Palaces area behind the Aqsa Mosque’s mihrab.
Permit Restrictions Cause Palestinians’ Human Hardship, says Official
WAFA – 10 Sep 2012
Ban Calls on Israel to Lift Strict Procedures on Palestinians
WAFA – 10 Sep 2012
Settlers Severely Batter 2 Palestinians south of Nablus
WAFA – 10 Sep 2012
Israel Orders 6 Palestinians to Demolish their Own Houses
WAFA – 10 Sep 2012
Tourism Ministry, Italian Delegation Lay Cornerstone for Beit Sahour Building
WAFA – 10 Sep 2012
Israeli Forces Destroy 2 Water Tanks south of Hebron
WAFA – 10 Sep 2012
Israeli Forces Shoot Palestinian in Hebron
WAFA – 10 Sep 2012
5 Palestinian, including 2 Children Injured in Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza
WAFA – 10 Sep 2012
Weather Forecast: Weather Remains around Seasonal Average
WAFA – 10 Sep 2012
PEX Report: Al-Quds Index Up
WAFA – 6 Sep 2012
Syria car bombing kills more than 25 in Aleppo
LA Times 10 Sep 2012 – A Syrian official says the attack in Aleppo may have involved two car bombs. The bombing appeared to have taken place in a government-held district. ANTAKYA, Turkey — More than two dozen people were killed and scores injured late Sunday when at least one car…
Iran finds ways around sanctions targeting oil sales
LA Times 9 Sep 2012 – Iran barters and insures its own tankers in pricey, sometimes risky deals to work around U.S. sanctions meant to curb its nuclear program. But for how long? WASHINGTON — To continue selling crude oil to India, Iran is accepting payment in rice, medicine, engineering supplies…
U.N. Warns Syrian Rebels Over Atrocities
New York Times 10 Sep 2012 – The top United Nations human rights official warned Syrian opposition fighters that they would not be immune from prosecution for atrocities, such as those that videos from Aleppo appeared to show.
The Lede Blog: Palestinians Borrow Chant From Syria to Vent Rage at Their Leaders
New York Times 10 Sep 2012 – During protests in the West Bank on Monday, Palestinians adapted a protest anthem made popular by their neighbors in Syria last year to call for their president and prime minister to step down.
The Lede Blog: Vivid Portrait of Syrian Rebel Fighters Outside Homs
New York Times 10 Sep 2012 – The French photojournalist who reports from behind rebel lines in Syria using the name Mani has produced an intimate portrait of the Free Syrian Army’s Farouq Brigade fighting outside Homs.
The Lede Blog: Syrian Filmmaker Leaves Haunting Record of the War That Killed Him
New York Times 10 Sep 2012 – Tamer al-Awam, a Syrian filmmaker and activist killed over the weekend in Aleppo, left behind the haunting film “Memories at a Checkpoint.”
At War Blog: Soldiers’ Friendship, Shared Across Generations, Ends With More Gained Than Lost
New York Times 10 Sep 2012 – One veteran, in the waning years of his life, gives another, fresh from war, comfort and perspective that couldn’t be found anywhere else.
Iraq’s Vice President Calls Death Sentence ‘Unjust’
New York Times 10 Sep 2012 – The verdict against Tariq al-Hashimi, a prominent Sunni Muslim, and a wave of attacks on Sunday threatened to deepen an already intractable political crisis.
IEC chair sees power crisis next summer too
Globes Energy & Water – Yiftach Ron-Tal: In April 2013, gas will begin coming from Tamar, and we should begin to switch back to gas.
Top officials: Gov’t has no economic policy
Globes Main News – The government looks set to violate the Basic Law: The State Economy, by failing to submit the 2013 budget to the Knesset by November 1.
“Ma’ariv” sale negotiations hit snag
Globes Main News – Shlomo Ben-Zvi is expected to ask for a lower price tag on the basis of revised revenue projections.
BoI: Home price rise may not be trend
Globes Main News – The Monetary Committee noted a rise in new mortgages, but decided it was too early to tell if the housing market trend is changing.
Mon: Mellanox’s continued slide fails to drag market down
Globes Main News – Mellanox has now fallen nearly 13% this week, but Elbit Systems rose on the back of a major Israel Air Force contract.
Delek Real Estate debt settlement approved
Globes Main News – Bondholders will receive up to NIS 848 million – 35% of the NIS 2.1 billion owed.
FIMI buys 11% of Gilat Satellite Networks
Globes Main News – FIMI bought 4.4 million Gilat shares at NIS 14.27 per share, a 7.3% premium on yesterday’s closing price on the TASE.
Elbit Systems wins huge IAF training aircraft contract
Globes Aerospace & Defense – Elbit Systems and IAI’s partnership have reached a deal with the Defense Ministry on the Israel Air Force’s trainer program.
Kidnapped Palestinian Engineer, Abusisi, Appeals for Freedom
Tikun Olam – Dirar Abusisi’s letter from Ashkelon prison Like Martin Luther King Letter from Birmingham Jail and Oscar Wilde’s Ballad of Reading Gaol , Dirar Abusisi has written an appeal to the world concerning his continued detention without trial in Israeli prisons. The Gaza engineer kidnapped by Israel’s Mossad…
IDF Chief Censor Disses Tikun Olam
Tikun Olam – At last month’s Digit2012 conference on Israeli digital journalism, the IDF chief censor participated in a panel about conflict between censorship on the one hand and the freewheeling social media networks and freedom of the press on the other. I’m of two minds about the entire…
Sarah Schulman takes on pinkwashing at OUT Magazine
Mondoweiss – (Image: prettyqueer ) Below are excerpts from a correspondence over a proposed article between novelist, academic and playwright Sarah Schulman and an editorial team from OUT Magazine: Aaron Hicklin, the magazine’s editor, and Jerry Portwood, its executive editor. A ccording to Wikipedia, OUT has the highest circulation…
California academics: State assembly resolution on Palestine activism ‘poses clear threat’ to academic freedom
Mondoweiss – A security officer removes a student who disrupted the Israeli ambassador’s speech at the Irvine campus of the University of California (Photo:UprisingRadio.org) A group of California academics have slammed the recent move by the state legislature to pass a bill on alleged anti-Semitism on campus….
Blacklist: 4 Israel critics have now been purged from Democratic Party-linked orgs
Mondoweiss – Last week’s announcement that Ali Gharib was going to work at the Daily Beast means that four writers have now left Democratic-Party-linked thinktanks in the months since neoconservatives launched a smear campaign against these writers for being critical of Israel. Gharib had made the terrible mistake…
Exile and the Prophetic: Sounding the prophetic gong
Mondoweiss – This post is part of Marc H. Ellis’s “Exile and the Prophetic” feature for Mondoweiss. To read the entire series visit the archive page. For the approaching High Holidays, I return to the prophetic via our Zen provocateur. Here’s John Cage, June 1955. Eisenhower time. Going…
Alternative Focus Video: The No State Solution
Mondoweiss – The No State Solution is the latest contribution from Alternate Focus to examine the Israeli-Palestine conflict. This 28 minute video first explores political barriers to any solution, and then possible resolutions. The video features interviews with Dr. Stephen Zunes (Professor of Politics and International Studies at…
Freedom Theatre’s Zubeidi to start ‘death fast’ to protest indefinite detention in PA prison
Mondoweiss – link to www.hrw.org From the Freedom Theatre : CALL FOR ACTION From The Freedom Theatre Jenin, West Bank, Occupied Palestine September 10, 2012 On the 9th of September Zakaria Zubeidi announced that he will embark on a death fast, a complete food and fluid strike, in response…
Secret British Envoy Warns Israel Against Iran Strike
The Foward Breaking News 10 Sep 2012 – A special envoy from the British government came to Israel about two weeks ago on a secret visit for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Click here for the rest of the article…
British Slam Settlement University Decision
The Foward Breaking News 10 Sep 2012 – Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned a symbolic decision by the Israeli Cabinet to change the status of the Ariel University Center in the West Bank into a full-fledged university. Click here for the rest of the article…
Howard Berman Wins Nod From GOP Senators
The Foward Breaking News 10 Sep 2012 – Los Angeles Democratic Rep. Howard Berman has reportedly won the support of two high-profile Republican senators and independent Joe Lieberman in his intramural showdown with Rep. Brad Sherman. Click here for the rest of the article…
Men-Only Show Sparks Boycott Call
The Foward Breaking News 10 Sep 2012 – Jewish pluralism and women’s rights groups are up in arms over a series of presentations featuring only men to be held at Petah Tikva’s municipal cultural center. Click here for the rest of the article…
Strikes and Protests in Beit Ommar
Palestine Solidarity Project 10 Sep 2012 – A number of strikes and protests took place in Beit Ommar on Monday, 10th September. Starting at 6:00AM, cars were parked in a number of squares in the town, blocking the roads to traffic. A demonstration took place at the entrance to the village, where the…
Palestinian Minor Injured by Israeli Soldier in Demonstration
Palestine Solidarity Project 10 Sep 2012 – The weekly demonstration against the Israeli occupation in Beit Ommar was held on Saturday, 8th of September. Palestinian, Israeli and international activists joined together and marched in the direction of Karmei Tsur, the colony which is the biggest threat to the local Palestinian village. The activists…
Palestinian civil society denounces Bashar Masri’s normalization with Israel as undermining the struggle for Palestinian rights
Global BDS 10 Sep 2012 – Occupied Palestine, 10 September 2012 — The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC), the largest coalition in Palestinian civil society that includes Palestinian political parties, unions, NGOs and grassroots organisations and leads the global BDS movement, strongly condemns the participation of Palestinian businessman Bashar Masri…
The Coalition of Women for Peace in Israel – Open Letter to Members of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade
Global BDS 10 Sep 2012 – Dear Committee Members, We at the Coalition of Women for Peace in Israel call upon you to vote against signing the ACAA Protocol (Protocol on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products) attached to the EU-Israel Association Agreement. This agreement facilitates the entrance of Israeli products,…
EU considering ban on settlement trade, Israeli media reports
Global BDS 10 Sep 2012 – In the latest sign that some European governments are starting to realize that they must do more that merely condemn Israel’s colonization of Palestinian land, comments by a Greek diplomat and the Norwegian foreign minister suggest that European governments are discussing taking action against settlement produce. Israeli…
France ‘helped Syria defector’
BBC 10 Sep 2012 – Manaf Tlas, a Syrian general who defected in July, hints that French intelligence agencies helped him escape.
UN ‘frustrated’ over Iran delays
BBC 10 Sep 2012 – The UN‘s nuclear watchdog urges Iran to grant inspectors access to the Parchin site, suspected of being used for tests related to nuclear weapons.
Children hurt in Gaza air strikes
BBC 10 Sep 2012 – Two Palestinian children are injured by Israeli air strikes on smuggling tunnels in Gaza, medics say, as cross-border violence escalates.
First Syria mission for Brahimi
BBC 10 Sep 2012 – New UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, begins his first mission with a visit to Cairo where he acknowledges the challenges he will face.
The Judas Kiss: Politics of Betrayal
Sabbah report 10 Sep 2012 – Each of our brave candidates crawled down the blood red carpet to AIPAC’s golden podium to declare their allegiance and fidelity to the Zionist State, outdoing each other in obsequies and obedience. No related posts.
Register for the Russell Tribunal on Palestine
US Campaign to End the Occupation 10 Sep 2012 – Join the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation at the Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RToP) on October 6—7 . The Tribunal will take place in Manhattan , venue TBA. The US Campaign has endorsed this historic initiative, which is organized to advance international law, raise public consciousness,…
Yemen’s Revolution Far From Accomplished
Al-Akhbar Opinion 10 Sep 2012 – A protester recites prayers during a rally to demand that Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh be put on trial in Sanaa 7 September 2012. (Photo: Reuters – Khaled Abullah) A protester recites prayers during a rally to demand that Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh…
Russia calls for Syrian “Taif” accord
Al-Akhbar News 10 Sep 2012 – Russia is proposing the organization of a conference bringing together “all the players” of the deadly Syria conflict, including opposition groups, citizens and the ruling regime, a top official told a French newspaper. “We are proposing to our Western partners the organization of a ‘Taif conference’…
ex-Gaddafi officials begin Lockerbie trial
Al-Akhbar News 10 Sep 2012 – Two senior officials under slain Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi went on trial Monday accused of wasting public money by facilitating a compensation payment of more than $2 billion to families of those killed in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. The trial of the two men – former…
Lax accountability plagues US-Afghan funding: watchdog
Al-Akhbar News 10 Sep 2012 – The watchdog for US spending in Afghanistan says lax accountability in a $1.1 billion program supplying fuel to the Afghan National Army needs “immediate attention” before control of the program is turned over to the Kabul government in less than four months. There is no proof…
Edinburgh Center Stage
Al-Akhbar News 10 Sep 2012 – Photo Blog by Alia Haju Every August, thousands of tourists throng to Edinburgh Festival Fringe to experience the largest street performance festival in the world. ? Edinburgh In Character by Alia Haju (Photo: Alia Haju) (Photo: Alia Haju) (Photo: Alia Haju) (Photo: Alia Haju) (Photo: Alia…
Edinburgh In Character
Al-Akhbar News 10 Sep 2012 – Photo Blog by Alia Haju ? Edinburgh Center Stage by Alia Haju (Photo: Alia Haju) (Photo: Alia Haju) (Photo: Alia Haju) (Photo: Alia Haju) (Photo: Alia Haju) (Photo: Alia Haju) (Photo: Alia Haju)
Chawki al-Mejri’s Kingdom of Ants: A Palestinian Fantasy
Al-Akhbar News 10 Sep 2012 – Saba Mubarak during a scene from ‘Mamlakat al-Naml’ (The Kingdom of Ants). Saba Mubarak during a scene from ‘Mamlakat al-Naml’ (The Kingdom of Ants). Palestinians have deep-rooted traditions. Although they have not yet been able to beat their oppressors, they have not yet learned the philosophy…
Naameh, Lebanon: Fragile Coexistence
Al-Akhbar Series and Features 10 Sep 2012 – In the square that is a would-be citadel, among the ubiquitous black flags there are also portraits of the young man who was killed in Dohat Aramoun last month. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) In the square that is a would-be citadel, among the ubiquitous black flags there…
Jordan: Syrian Refugees Sentenced to Desert Camp
Al-Akhbar Politics 10 Sep 2012 – Jordanian soldiers help newly-arrived Syrian refugees after hundreds fleeing the violence crossed the border from Syria into Jordan, near the town of Ramtha, on 5 September 2012. (Photo: AFP – Khalil Mazraawi) Jordanian soldiers help newly-arrived Syrian refugees after hundreds fleeing the violence crossed the border…
Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Jails: The Case of Ahmad Saadat
Al-Akhbar Politics 9 Sep 2012 – Ahmed Saadat (C), leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), is escorted by Israeli police as he arrives to attend a hearing in his trial at the Magistrate’s Court in Jerusalem on 9 September 2012. (Photo: AFP – Ahmad Gharabli) Ahmed Saadat (…
Articles
Among the ruins of Bedouin al-Araqib
Charlotte Alfred, Ma’an News Agency 9/10/2012
AL-ARAQIB, Negev (Ma’an) — Saba Ismail Araqib, heavily pregnant, strides purposefully around the ruins of her destroyed village in the Negev desert of southern Israel.
“This tent was demolished a few weeks ago, and this one was my father’s house,” she says, gesturing to broken wooden beams and tarpaulin strewn around the dusty hill, until reaching her flattened marital home on the edge of the plateau.
The traces of the formerly thriving Bedouin village of al-Araqib are now all but abandoned. With Israeli forces demolishing its buildings 41 times since 2010, Saba, 35, says just three families remain.
They are now huddled near the village cemetery, where Bedouins from across the Negev region are buried. The family says it has court assurances that the cemetery will be safe from the Israeli forces that circuit the village every day.
“Even if we have to live amongst our dead, we will never leave this village,” Saba says.
The government classifies approximately 40 villages in the Negev as unrecognized, arguing that the 53,000 Palestinian Bedouins living there cannot prove land ownership. The Bedouin communities say the land is their ancestral home.
Most of al-Araqib’s families have now joined neighbors and relatives in nearby communities, exhausted by the constant destruction and resurrection of their livelihoods. Israel has created seven purpose-built towns in the Negev to house the desert’s demolished communities. more.. e-mail
‘West Bank protest natural outcome of Oslo agreements’
Nassar Ibrahim, Alternative Information Center 9/10/2012
Nassar Ibrahim, Palestinian author and political analyst, responds to several of the most common questions asked of the Alternative Information Center (AIC) in recent days about the Palestinian protests for social justice which are spreading throughout the West Bank.
What are the Palestinians protesting and why?
The popular Palestinian protests are a reaction to four issues:
1. Oslo accords in general and the Protocol on Economic Relations (Paris agreement), the latter signed by the PLO and Israeli in 1994, in particular. The current protests in the West Bank are a natural outcome and product of the Oslo agreements.
2. Neo-liberal socio-economic policies of the Fayyad government, the rampant privatization, increases in taxes and marginalization of the public sector; the Palestinian agricultural sector has almost been decimated and natural resources of the West Bank are under Israeli control. 3. Donor conditionality, which pushes for the aforementioned neo-liberal policies, under which international aid is given to the PA; 4. Non-existent political process: All of the aforementioned elements are occurring within the context of a non-existent political process and thus absence of a political horizon for the Palestinian people, on a national and individual level. People recall the promises of the West and Palestinian leaders about the strong economy from which they would benefit under the Oslo process and its attendant agreements. more.. e-mail
If Israel wants to end the race, let it get rid of its nukes
Larry Derfner, +972 Magazine 9/10/2012
Iran didn’t start the Mideast nuclear arms race – Israel did.
Nearly all the frightening forecasts of what life would be like with a nuclear Iran strike me as being hollow. I’m not worried about Iran nuking Israel – because the Iranians don’t want to commit suicide. I’m not worried about Iran giving nukes to terror organizations that would nuke Israel – because Israel’s second-strike capacity, with its estimated 200 nuclear bombs, would devastate the Islamic world and the Islamic world knows it. I’m not worried that Iran’s “proxies,” such as Hezbollah and Hamas, would feel free under an Iranian “nuclear umbrella” to attack Israel at will – because, again, the Iranians don’t want to commit suicide. And I’m not worried that terrified Israelis or the money of terrified foreign investors would leave the country en masse – because this never happened in any of the many, many other countries of the world that have nuclear-armed enemies.
But I said “nearly” all the forecasts are hollow; one strikes me as being very realistic: that a nuclear Iran would set off a Middle East nuclear arms race, which would be highly destabilizing, escalate tensions and create the possibility that somebody would start a nuclear war simply out of fear of being attacked first.
If Iran gets nuclear weapons, it makes perfect sense to me that Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria and other countries around here would want to follow suit ASAP. In fact, even if Iran doesn’t get nuclear weapons, I see no reason why other ambitious countries, in the Middle East and elsewhere, wouldn’t want to build or otherwise acquire their own. All the best countries have them, don’t they? (Except Germany and Japan, but that could change one day.)
This is not good; nuclear proliferation is very dangerous, especially in a place like the Middle East, and it should be prevented if possible. So Israel and the U.S. do have one solid argument for why Iran must be prevented from going nuclear at all costs. more.. e-mail
Siege leaves 80 percent of Gaza’s factories shut
Electronic Intifada: 10 Sep 2012 – Eva Bartlett Jabaliya 10 September 2012 Most of Gaza’s industrial factories have closed and remained shut since Israel sealed the borders and devastated the export economy beginning in 2006.more
Rooftop gardens project aims to reduce refugees’ dependence on aid
Electronic Intifada: 10 Sep 2012 – Jillian Kestler-D’Amours Dheisheh refugee camp 10 September 2012 Growing vegetables in rooftop gardens empowers Palestinian families who live in an overcrowded refugee camp.more
tweets from Gaza Under Attack
In Gaza: 10 Sep 2012 – * over-crowded living, Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Palestine The above photo isn’t even in one of Gaza’s numerous refugee camps, invariably aptly described as “squalid, over-crowded, under-serviced (or not at all) hell-holes”–not reflecting their inhabitants but rather the impossible standard of living in the camps. It is a district of Gaza City, families piled upon on another in cement buildings. The house I live in isn’t much different: blistering in summer and numbing in winter, no-frills all around, lucky to have water (albeit water stored in the massive water tanks ubiquitous throughout occupied Palestine), surrounded by other like-constructed concrete ovens. When drones hover over homes, TVs go fuzzy and even cell communication is affected, not to mention the more obvious disruption of one’s psyche. They’re flying overhead quite a bit these days, along with the standard IOF warplane fly-overs. The Zionists have been bombing Gaza the last few days, Israeli…more
Forget Iran: Israel’s Nuclear Gun Pointed at Obama’s Head
Palestine Chronicle: 10 Sep 2012 – By Jonathan Cook – Nazareth It is possibly the greatest of American political myths, repeated ad nauseam by presidential candidates in their election campaigns. President Barack Obama has claimed that the United States enjoys a special bond with Israel unlike its relations with any other country. He has called the friendship “unshakeable”, “enduring” and “unique”, “anchored by our common interests and deeply held values”. His Republican rival, Mitt Romney, has gone further, arguing that there is not “an inch of difference between ourselves and our ally Israel”. A recent Romney election ad, highlighting his summer visit to Israel, extolled the “deep and cherished relationship”. But, while such pronouncements form the basis of an apparent Washington consensus, the reality is that the cherished friendship is no more than a fairy tale. It has been propagated by politicians to mask the suspicion — and plentiful examples of duplicity and betrayal — that…more
Canada’s Diplomatic Disaster
Palestine Chronicle: 10 Sep 2012 – By Eric Walberg On 7 September, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced that Canada is suspending all diplomatic relations with Iran, expelling all Iranian diplomats, closing its embassy in Tehran, and authorizing Turkey to act on Canada’s behalf for consular services there. Baird cited Iran’s enmity with Israel, its support of Syria and terrorism. “Canada views the government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today,” Baird said at the Asia Pacific Economic Conference in Vladivostok, Russia. Canada has not had a full ambassador in Iran since 2007. Relations between the two countries cooled after Iranian-Canadian free-lance photographer Zahra Kazemi died in Iran in 2003 under disputed circumstances, and went from bad to worse under the Conservative government in power in Ottawa since then. While indeed Iran has been the nation most outspokenly critic of Israel, and is actively working to thwart…more
We Are Still at War
Palestine Chronicle: 10 Sep 2012 – By Johnny Barber – Kabul ‘We are at War. Somebody is Going to Pay,’ said George W. Bush on Sept 11th, 2001. Eleven years later, we are still at war. Bullets, mortars and drones are still extracting payment. Thousands, tens of thousands, millions have paid in full. Children and even those yet to be born will continue to pay for decades to come. On a single day in Iraq last week there were 29 bombing attacks in 19 cities, killing 111 civilians and wounding another 235. On Sept 9th, reports indicate 88 people were killed and another 270 injured in 30 attacks all across the country. Iraq continues in a seemingly endless death spiral into chaos. In his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for President, Obama claimed he ended the war in Iraq, well… not quite. The city of Fallujah remains under siege. Not from U.S. troops, but from…more
Revoking Citizenships: Future of Palestinians in Jordan
Palestine Chronicle: 10 Sep 2012 – By Ali Younes For former Jordanian citizen Akram abu al-Reish the reality of finding himself overnight a stateless person without any documentation to prove his legal existence was a very harsh reality that he and his family had to contend with since 2008. Although he was born and raised in Jordan and of Palestinian origins, his ordeal started when he was summoned to the Jordanian Interior ministry and was ordered to surrender his Jordanian passport, his driver license and his national number. He was offered no explanation, and practically was kicked out to the street. He however had in the early nineties acquired a Palestinian ID card and had married a Palestinian citizen from the West Bank during his visits to family members there. His Palestinian ID card however is not considered a Palestinian citizenship or passport as to there is no such thing as a Palestinian state at this…more
The Judas Kiss: Politics of Betrayal
Palestine Chronicle: 10 Sep 2012 – By William A. Cook ‘The hypocrite’s outward appearance shines brightly and passes for holiness, but under that show lies the terrible weight of his deceit which the soul must bear through all eternity.’ — From John Ciardi’s notes, Canto XXIII, ‘The Inferno’ by Dante. ‘Nervana is desire of greed forever ended, anger forever ended, ignorance forever ended, and afflictions forever ended.’ — The Connected Discourses of the Budda. The Gospels’ narrative of the betrayal of Jesus encompasses a moral lesson dutifully taught and dutifully ignored. It is eloquent in its simplicity. Jesus as Son of the Father brings truth to all who inhabit this earth, lessons learned through parables and sermons, most especially the Sermon on the Mount and that of the Last Judgment; disciples forgo all to follow Him, to learn the truths he bears; most importantly they learn that Love binds all even to the lowest of humankind….more
The Myth of the US-Israel Special Bond
Dissident Voice: 10 Sep 2012 – It is possibly the greatest of American political myths, repeated ad nauseam by presidential candidates in their election campaigns. President Barack Obama has claimed that the United States enjoys a special bond with Israel unlike its relations with any other country. He has called the friendship “unshakeable”, “enduring” and “unique”, “anchored by our common interests and deeply held values”. His Republican rival, Mitt Romney, has gone further, arguing that there is not “an inch of difference between ourselves and our ally Israel”. A recent Romney election ad, highlighting his summer visit to Israel, extolled the “deep and cherished relationship”. But, while such pronouncements form the basis of an apparent Washington consensus, the reality is that the cherished friendship is no more than a fairy tale. It has been propagated by politicians to mask the suspicion — and plentiful examples of duplicity and betrayal — that have marked the relationship since…more
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