10 January 2012 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Abbas: “There Are 63 UN Organizations We Have The Right To Join”
IMEMC – “Israel Must Stop Its Illegal Settlement Activities, Violations” Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated that the Palestinian Authority will act on the international level to stop Israel’s illegal settlement construction and expansion activities, and stated that there are 63 UN organizations that the Palestinians can now join. …
Soldiers Break Into Ofer Prison, Attack Detainees
IMEMC – Despite the rain and extreme weather conditions, undercover soldiers of the Israeli Prison Administration broke into section 15 of the Ofer Israel Prison, and attacked several detainees. …
Egypt Allows Entry Of 25 wheelchair-Accessible Vehicles Into Gaza
IMEMC – The Maan News Agency reported that the Egyptian Authorities allowed, Thursday, the transfer of 25 wheelchair accessible vehicles into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah Border Terminal between Gaza and Egypt. …
Heavy Rain Causes Collapse Of Tunnels In Gaza
IMEMC – An Egyptian security source reported Thursday that the heavy rainfall, that started several days ago, caused the collapse of a number of siege-busting tunnels in Rafah, across the border with Egypt. …
Israeli Soldiers Attack, Arrest Palestinian Youths Playing With Snow In Jerusalem
IMEMC – Video Included The Wadi Hilweh Information Center, in Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, reported that Israeli soldiers violently attacked and arrested several Palestinians playing with snow, in Sheikh Jarrah, in occupied Jerusalem, amidst the current snowfall that is covering nearly every part of Palestine. Extremist settlers, who gathered in the area shouted slogans against the Arabs and the Palestinians. …
Abbas Meets Morsi In Cairo
IMEMC – Following his Wednesday meeting with Khaled Mashal of Hamas, and several Hamas officials in Cairo, Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, held a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, Mohammad Morsi. …
Two Palestinian Refugees Killed In Syria
IMEMC – Palestinian sources reported that two Palestinians refugees have been killed, on Wednesday, in the Al-Yarmouk and Al-Handrat refugee camps, in Syria. …
Army Attacks Arab MK While Protesting Home Demolition
IMEMC – Israeli soldiers and policemen attacked, Wednesday, Arab member of Knesset (MK) of the Arab Democratic Party, Talab El-Sana’, as he protested the demolition of an Arab home in Tal Es-Sabe’ village, near Be’er Es-Sabe’ (Beersheba). …
Activist: Ambulance stopped by soldiers in Beit Ummar
1/10/2013 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces blocked the entrance to southern West Bank town Beit Ummar on Thursday morning, preventing an ambulance from leaving, a local activist said. The ambulance officer informed the soldiers that the Red Crescent vehicle was taking a woman in labor and another patient to hospital in Hebron, popular committee spokesman….
Witnesses: Israeli military level land in north Gaza
1/10/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli military vehicles crossed into northern Gaza to level land on Thursday morning, witnesses told Ma’an. Six military vehicles, including two bulldozers, crossed two hundred meters inside Beit Lahiya agricultural land, leveling an area called Bouret Abu Samra. An Israeli military spokeswoman said the incident was “routine activity.” [END]
Egypt says Fatah, Hamas agree to enact unity deal
1/10/2013 – CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) — An Egyptian official said the leaders of Hamas and Fatah factions had agreed at talks in Cairo on Wednesday to implement a long-delayed reconciliation pact, although it was unclear if the deal would extend beyond holding more talks. President Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah movement based in the West Bank and Khaled…. Related:Independents headed to Cairo to join unity talks Friday
Egyptian official says Gaza tunnels flooded, collapsed
1/10/2013 – EL ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — After three days of intense rainfall, many of the tunnels under Gaza’s border with Egypt are flooded or collapsed, an Egyptian security official told Ma’an. The underground trade has halted during the stormy weather due to concerns that many tunnels remain unstable, the official in…. Related: Man found dead in Tulkarem after 3-day hunt
Car explodes in Tel Aviv, police suspect criminal motive
1/10/2013 – JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A car exploded near a bus in Tel Aviv on Thursday, injuring four people in what police suspect was an attempt to kill an alleged criminal kingpin. Israel Radio said the car belonged to the head of an alleged organised crime family.” The main direction of suspicion is it was criminal,” police spokesman….
Opinion: Abbas’ newfound courage
1/10/2013 – By Daoud Kuttab – The decision by President Mahmoud Abbas to go to the UN to seek statehood recognition has become a defining element in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. After nearly 20 years of time wasted in useless negotiations, the Palestinian leader has finally decided, in a measured way, to buck the system and carry out an….
UAE donates $50 million to ‘prisoner city’ in Gaza
1/10/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Gaza’s housing minister said Thursday that the United Arab Emirates has donated$50 million to build a housing project for Palestinians released from Israeli jails. The “prisoners city,” which will be located in central Gaza, will be named after the UAE leader Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan….
Mashaal meets Arab League chief in Cairo
1/10/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal met with the Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil Al-Arabi in Cairo on Thursday evening over Palestinian national reconciliation. In a joint press conference after the talks, Al-Arabi said he was optimistic that implementation of the 2011 Egyptian-sponsored reconciliation deal between Hamas and Fatah would be….
Nablus gunmen warn PA security services
1/10/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — A group of masked gunmen claiming affiliation to Fatah’s military wing warned on Thursday that they would fight back against the imprisonment of their members by Palestinian security forces. Parading through Nablus’ Balata refugee camp, firing into the air with semi-automatic weapons, the group insisted they were defending….
Independents headed to Cairo to join unity talks Friday
1/10/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Independent Palestinian political leaders and some faction representatives will travel to Cairo on Friday for a meeting on implementing the national reconciliation agreement, independent leaders said. Yasser Wadiya, head of a coalition of independents, said Thursday that the politicians will meet with the Egyptian and Arab League leadership to help…. Related: Egypt says Fatah, Hamas agree to enact unity deal
Israeli party pulls ‘What, you’re not Jewish?’ TV ad
1/10/2013 – JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Complaints by Russian-speaking immigrants prompted an ultra-Orthodox party in Israel to pull a TV commercial plugging their election campaign which shows a man recoiling in horror at discovering his bride is not Jewish. In the advert, a Russian-accented bride receives a faxed certificate during her wedding ceremony attesting to her conversion to Judaism….
After Israel vote, austerity budget looms
1/10/2013 – TEL AVIV (Reuters) – In the heated debates on war and peace that have marked campaigning for this month’s parliamentary election in Israel, it is easy to forget the vote was triggered by a more workaday problem – the budget. Ending the deadlock over an austerity package that forced him to dissolve his coalition prematurely….
Man found dead in Tulkarem after 3-day hunt
1/10/2013 – TULKAREM (Ma’an) — Rescue crews on Thursday found the body of a 28-year-old man who had been missing in the northern West Bank floods for three days. Maher Buriya, 28, had not been heard from since Tuesday, when he disappeared in the flooding in Wadi al-Tin, south of Tulkarem. Civil defense forces from…. Related: Egyptian official says Gaza tunnels flooded, collapsed
Blanket of snow covers Jerusalem, West Bank
1/10/2013 – JERUSALEM (Reuters) — The worst snowstorm in 20 years shut public transport, roads and schools in Jerusalem and the West Bank on Thursday. The Palestinian Authority cabinet agreed to meet on Thursday morning to deal with emergency response to this week’s storms, which had left hundreds homeless and injured in the West Bank and…. Related:In photos: Snow in Jerusalem, Ramallah
In photos: Snow in Jerusalem, Ramallah
1/10/2013 – Reuters – The heaviest snowstorm in 20 years shut public transport, roads and schools in Jerusalem and across the West Bank on Thursday. The Palestinian meteorological institute said that snow levels in the Ramallah, East Jerusalem and Bethlehem areas had reached 10-20cm and as much as 30cm in Hebron. [END]
3 senior Kurdish activists shot dead in Paris
1/10/2013 – PARIS/ISTANBUL (Reuters) — Three female Kurdish activists including a founding member of the PKK rebel group were shot dead in Paris overnight in execution-style killings condemned by Turkish politicians trying to broker a peace deal. Dozens of riot police formed a cordon around the Information Centre of Kurdistan, an institute in central Paris with close….
Abbas’ newfound courage
1/10/2013 – The decision by President Mahmoud Abbas to go to the UN to seek statehood recognition has become a defining element in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. After nearly 20 years of time wasted in useless negotiations, the Palestinian leader has finally decided, in a measured way, to buck the system and carry out an important, unilateral, act….
UN envoy says Assad can’t be in Syrian transition
1/10/2013 – CAIRO/BEIRUT (Reuters) – The UN peace envoy for Syria said on Wednesday that Bashar Assad could have no place in a transitional government to end civil war, the closest he has come to calling directly for the embattled president to quit. A peace plan agreed by major powers in Geneva last year envisages an interim….
Syria’s rebels form their own secret police
1/10/2013 – BEIRUT (Reuters) — Just the mention of the word would send shivers down the spine of Syrians: “mukhabarat”, or secret police. Abuses by President Bashar Assad’s feared security units were among the reasons Syrians took to the streets in March 2011, leading to an uprising that has become a civil war. But now some….
Syria overshadows Iran charm offensive in Egypt
1/10/2013 – CAIRO (Reuters) — Shiite Iran, increasingly isolated over its nuclear program, tried to improve ties with Egypt on Thursday, playing down differences over Syria and seeking to reduce sectarian tensions by courting the country’s top Sunni scholar. Iran has been at odds with the Arab world’s most populous nation since Tehran’….
Saudi Arabia cuts oil output as demand eases
1/10/2013 – DUBAI (Reuters) — Saudi Arabia has cut oil production substantially, moving to fend off a growing overhang in world oil supply and defend prices well above $100 a barrel. In the last two months of 2012, OPEC’s lead producer responded to slower demand by lowering supply by around 700,000 barrels per day (bpd), with….
French court orders conditional freedom for Lebanese militant
1/10/2013 – PARIS (Reuters) — A French appeals court granted Lebanese leftist militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah conditional release on Thursday, rejecting arguments that he remained a threat three decades after attacks on US and Israeli diplomats. Parole for Abdallah, imprisoned in France since 1984 and still in custody for now, is contingent on his being deported to Lebanon….
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
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Palestinian Center for Human Rights
International Solidarity Movement
Settlers attack Urif and Qusra with guns, knives and stones
1/10/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – January 10th, 2013, International Solidarity Movement, Urif and Qusra, Occupied Palestine – As the villages around Nablus woke up to the rare scene of a snow-covered landscape, Israeli settlers violently attacked groups of youngsters playing with snow in the villages of Urif and Qusra. Two people were both hit in the leg by live bullets fired…. Related: Settlers clash with Nablus villages, 2 wounded by gunfire
occupied Palestinian territory: UNICEF welcomes Japan’s emergency grant in support of children in Gaza
Relief Web 10 Jan 2013 – Source: UN Children’s Fund Country: Japan, occupied Palestinian territory RAMALLAH, occupied Palestinian territory, 31 December 2012 – The Government of Japan is contributing USD $1,5 million as part of UNICEF’s emergency response to the needs of children and women in…
occupied Palestinian territory: Palestine, floods and heavy rains DREF operation n° MDRPS007
Relief Web 10 Jan 2013 – Source: IFRC Country: occupied Palestinian territory CHF 86,975 was allocated from the IFRC’s Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 10 January 2013 to support the Palestine Red Crescent Society in delivering assistance to some 5,000 beneficiaries, and partly to replenish…
occupied Palestinian territory: The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) provides its assistance to 429 families affected due to the weather conditions
Relief Web 10 Jan 2013 – Source: Palestine Red Crescent Society Country: occupied Palestinian territory (Al Bireh – 10/1/2013): The PRCS National Disaster Response Team together with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) teams have been responding to the humanitarian needs of various Palestinian communities affected by the…
Syrian Arab Republic (the): U.S. Government Assistance to Syria
Relief Web 10 Jan 2013 – Source: Government of the United States of America Country: occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic (the), United States of America (the) Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC January 9, 2013 The United States supports the Syrian people’s aspirations for a…
occupied Palestinian territory: Human Appeal International UAE provides urgent relief aid to tens of Palestinian families
Relief Web 10 Jan 2013 – Source: Emirates News Agency, Government of the United Arab Emirates Country: occupied Palestinian territory Jerusalem: UAE Appeal International UAE (HAI) has offered urgent relief assistance to the dozens of Palestinian families whose homes were washed away by the floods in…
Syria accuses UN peace envoy Brahimi of ‘flagrant bias’
The National 10 Jan 2013 – Syria yesterday accused the joint UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi of ‘flagrant bias’ against it, a day ahead of talks he was to hold with top US and Russian officials on the country’s civil war.
Anti-riot training for Dubai policewomen
The National 10 Jan 2013 – Dubai Police is providing the novice female officers with lessons on how to control riots and ensure security in states of emergency.
Palestinian factions move closer to pact
The National 10 Jan 2013 – Meeting between Hamas and Fatah factions agrees to form timetable for introducing accord. Hugh Naylor reports from Ramallah
Sheikh Khalifa orders 6 flights to Bahrain for Gulf Cup fans
The National 10 Jan 2013 – Interested fans can register tomorrow at the Al Jazira Club between 10am and 5pm.
UAE to tally greenhouse emissions in five emirates
The National 10 Jan 2013 – The greenhouse emissions of the UAE’s Northern Emirates will come under scrutiny this year in a study to be carried out by the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence.
Assassins kill three female PKK activists in Paris
The National 10 Jan 2013 – Turkish PM says killings, including that of a party founder, may have been a bid to derail peace talks with Kurds but he is still committed. Colin Randall reports from Paris, and Thomas Seibert from Istanbul
Family of UAE surgeon accused of manslaughter meets government officials
The National 10 Jan 2013 – Family members of Professor Cyril Karabus met the deputy international relations and cooperation minister in Cape Town to discuss the case.
Remittance fee for Pakistanis in UAE scrapped
The National 10 Jan 2013 – The fee was initially suggested as a way for exchanges to recoup funds lost from not receiving rebates from the Pakistan government.
Ayalon tells Jewish leaders: ‘Hagel is a decent and fair interlocutor who believes in U.S.-Israeli partnership.’
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
IDF shot stun grenades, tear gas into schoolyard, Palestinians say
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
Teachers, students ask Tel Aviv not to fire principal for leftist views
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
Israel land appraisals chief ran regulatory body for 4 years with no legal authority
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
Netanyahu government is Israel’s most anti-Zionist ever, says Amoz Oz
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
Mysterious ‘adviser on settlement affairs’ no.13 on Habayit Hayehudi slate
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
Family complains: Shas ad features elderly relative without her consent
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
Israel’s snow, wind and rain ease, as Kinneret rises
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
Amsellem: I support Jewish conversion in accordance with rabbinical law
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
Storm causes containers to fall into sea at Ashdod Port
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
Israel’s winter storm leaving you stranded? Haaretz brings you the latest traffic updates
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
Car explodes in apparent mob-linked attack in Tel Aviv, at least seven hurt
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
Moderate Orthodox rabbi throws kippa into ring for Chief Rabbinate
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
LIVE BLOG: Jerusalem blanketed in snow as stormy weather sweeps Israel
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
IDF conscientious objector says he won’t give in to pressure
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
U.S. officials: Hagel says military action should be option with Iran
Ha’aretz – 10 Jan 2013
Israel’s arms exports increased by 20 percent in 2012
Ha’aretz – 9 Jan 2013
Israeli professors slam court decision keeping security prisoners from studying
Ha’aretz – 9 Jan 2013
NGO requests subsidized vans for disabled to vote
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Yad Sarah asks chairman of the Central Elections Committee to subsidize vans taking disabled people in wheelchairs to and from voting stations.
Hagel calls US senators to clarify views on Iran, Hamas
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Officials say incoming US defense secretary believes critics distorting his views on Mideast policy, opposes containment on Iran, supports sanctions, maintains Hamas much renounce violence before Israel engages with group.
ACRI protests banning of some parties’ campaign ads
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – NGO comes to defense of both Balad and Strong Israel.
Arab MKs blame problems on racism, occupation
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Parties say media ignore their work toward making their constituents’ lives better.
Calcala Party founder was deadbeat dad
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Benny Goldstein was fugitive from the law, spent 10 days in jail for not paying child support.
Analysis: A tale of two bombings
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Separated by 7 weeks and 1 city block, 2 bombings in TA met with radically different media coverage.
Iran sends jailed US pastor to ‘hanging judge’
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Iranian officials refer case of imprisoned American-Iranian Pastor Saeed Abedini to judge sanctioned by EU for human rights violations.
Egypt’s Jews and the Brotherhood’s surprise offer
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Analysis: Unfortunately, Essam el-Erian outburst is yet another example of the deep-seated hostility of the Brotherhood toward Israel. Egypt, the largest and most important Arab state, is now under their sway.
Country crippled by snowfall, flooding for 6th day
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Worst storm in twenty years begins to subside after rain, snow and hail sweep the region; Kinneret rises unparalleled 73 cm.
European diplomacy in the service of our enemy
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Original Thinking: It is prudent to quote Winston Churchill, who castigated the British political leadership with the words, “You had the choice of choosing war or dishonor. You chose dishonor, and you got war.”
One in four senior citizens cannot afford heating
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Survey shows around 160,000 individuals are unable to pay for house heating this winter, must choose between food or heating.
A Palestinian-Jordanian confederation
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Savir’s Corner: There are many advantages to a confederative solution between a State of Palestine and the Kingdom of Jordan from the perspective of Palestinians and Jordanians, of Israel, and of the international community led by the United States.
iENGAGE: How bad is Israeli politics?
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – The encounter between our ideals and our politics need not inevitability result in the desecration of our ideals – it can be an opportunity to make them real.
Obama nominates Jack Lew as new Treasury chief
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Orthodox Jewish chief of staff appointed to replace Timothy Geithner; Obama says Lew expresses US values.
A strong PM, a strong Israel?
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – The Center-Left game this week to block Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was played with a foregone conclusion. It was all make-believe.
Editorial: Mazel tov, Jack Lew!
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Appointment to the Treasury secretary is above else a testament to Obama’s appreciation of Lew’s skills and values. But it is also an opportunity for Jews in Israel and abroad to kvel.
Shas removes second controversial election ad
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Ad features old woman who does not remember being filmed; ACRI to appeal to High Court about censorship of campaign ads.
PM: Hamas talks show Abbas not seeking peace
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Netanyahu denounces PA president’s attempt to forge unity with Hamas, says it is “not how someone who wants peace behaves.”
Lost at sea: Turtle dies at Israel power plant
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – A giant sea turtle swept through stormy waves into the Hadera Orot Rabin power station, according to the Israel Electric Company.
Syria denounces peace envoy who hinted Assad must go
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Syrian foreign ministry denounces Brahimi as “flagrantly bias” for remarks ruling out role for president in transitional government.
Fatah, Hamas take fresh stab at unity deal
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Deal between Abbas and Mashaal is to be based on Qatari accord calling for a Palestinian unity government headed by Abbas.
Iranian FM Salehi on charm offensive in Egypt
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Shi’ite Iran, increasingly isolated over its nuclear program, pursues a rapprochement with Muslim Brotherhood-led Sunni Egypt.
Top 5: Upcoming concerts in Jerusalem
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – With winter at it’s peak, these are just some indoor music events that are tempting enough to get you off the couch.
Probe over Hungarian MP’s ‘Jewish list’ dropped
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Prosecutors in Budapest reject complaint about Marton Gyongyosi of the Jobbik party who called Jews a “security risk.”
Fatah militants demand probe into arrests by PA
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Gunmen hold public press conference in Balata refugee camp, demanding an inquiry into arrest of Fatah activists by PA forces.
Jews fail to dispel ‘control of Hollywood’ myth
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Steven Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’ leads pack of Oscar nominees; 2 Israeli films nominated in the best documentary category.
VIDEO: Car bomb explodes in attempted TA mob hit
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Mobster Nissim Alperon survives ninth assassination attempt after a man on motorcycle plants bomb on door of his car; nine hurt.
NATO detects more missile launches in Syria
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Unguided, short-range ballistic missile launched inside Syria hits north of country; NATO condemns “reckless” missile launches.
IN PICTURES: Snow blankets the Holy City
Jerusalem Post 10 Jan 2013 – Weather shuts down schools, paralyzes transportation in Jerusalem but residents revel in snow-covered city.
Brahimi: Assad has no place in new Syrian gov’t
Jerusalem Post 9 Jan 2013 – UN peace envoy says president will not be part of interim gov’t; comment is closest envoy has come to calling for Assad to quit.
Tel Aviv blast may have targeted crime gang leader, say police
The Guardian 10 Jan 2013 – Nissim Alperon, who has survived seven attempts on his life, reportedly seen leaving scene of explosion in which four people were hurt An explosion in a car in Tel Aviv on Thursday may have been the…
Snow blankets Jerusalem – in pictures
The Guardian 10 Jan 2013 – The worst snowstorm in 20 years has shut roads and schools in Jerusalem as the harsh weather affects regions across the Middle East
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The Guardian 10 Jan 2013 – Follow how the day unfolded after international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi came close to calling for Assad to quit ahead of talks with Russia and the US Matthew Weaver
133 children die a day in Afghanistan
Uruknet
The Master as “Guest”: The U.S. Military Swarms Over Africa
Uruknet
Egypt Reportedly Receives Iranian Intelligence Support
Uruknet
Taking It Personally
Uruknet
Ex-Guantanamo Bay inmates say ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ is aimed at excusing torture
Uruknet
How the Government Hopes to Argue Bradley Manning’s Alleged Leaks Aided Terrorism
Uruknet
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Uruknet
More Than 600 Medications Missing In Gaza
Uruknet
Israeli Official Strip-Search, Humiliate Prisoner’s Sister
Uruknet
What does a name bring? The battle for recognition in Occupied Palestine
Uruknet
Saudi Arabia cuts oil output as demand eases
Daily Star 10 Jan 2013 Saudi Arabia has cut oil production substantially, moving to fend off a growing overhang in world oil supply and defend prices well above $100 a barrel.
Egypt’s president invited to Iran, discusses Syria
Daily Star 10 Jan 2013 Iran’s foreign minister on Thursday invited Egypt‘s president to visit Tehran again, a sign of improved relations between the two nations since an Islamist government took over in Cairo.
Soldier killed amid worsening Kashmir violence: Pakistan
Daily Star 10 Jan 2013 Indian troops killed a Pakistani soldier on Thursday in the disputed region of Kashmir, the Pakistani army said, extending the worst outbreak of violence in the area since the nuclear-armed neighbours agreed a ceasefire nearly a…
Palestinian leader rejects deal on Syria refugees
Daily Star 10 Jan 2013 The Palestinian president said he has rejected a conditional Israeli offer to let Palestinian refugees in war-torn Syria resettle in the West Bank and Gaza, charging it would compromise their claims to return to lost homes…
Bombings kill 115 people in Pakistan
Daily Star 10 Jan 2013 A series of bombings in different parts of Pakistan killed 115 people on Thursday, including 81 who died in a sectarian attack on a bustling billiard hall in the southwest city of Quetta, officials said.
Sri Lanka recalls envoy from Saudi after maid beheaded
Daily Star 10 Jan 2013 Sri Lanka recalled its envoy to Saudi Arabia after the execution of a Sri Lankan housemaid over the death of an infant in her care in 2005, the government said on Thursday.
Syria denounces Brahimi who hinted Assad must go
Daily Star 10 Jan 2013 Syria denounced international envoy Lakhdar Brahimi as “flagrantly biased” on Thursday, casting doubt on how long the U.N.-Arab League mediator can pursue his peace mission.
Syria overshadows Iran charm offensive in Egypt
Daily Star 10 Jan 2013 Shi’ite Iran, increasingly isolated over its nuclear programme, tried to improve ties with Egypt on Thursday, playing down differences over Syria and seeking to reduce sectarian tensions by courting the country’s top Sunni scholar.
Catholic bishops slam Israel’s W.Bank barrier
Daily Star 10 Jan 2013 A delegation of Roman Catholic bishops from Europe and North America pledged on Thursday to press their governments to act against the “injustice” of Israel’s West Bank separation barrier.
Panetta: US focused on Syria’s chemical arms after Assad
YNet News, 10 Jan 2013 – ….
Mideast conflict’s wallet
YNet News, 10 Jan 2013 – Op-ed: European governments funding Palestinian annihilation campaign against State of Israel ….
Big asteroid no longer threat to Earth
YNet News, 10 Jan 2013 – ….
Mexico hopes for new US gun laws
YNet News, 10 Jan 2013 – ….
Morsi, King Abdullah discuss Mideast peace
YNet News, 10 Jan 2013 – ….
Barak meets Biden, Donilon in Washington
YNet News, 10 Jan 2013 – ….
Israeli extremists’ victory
YNet News, 10 Jan 2013 – Op-ed: Arab journalist says rightist victory in elections will exact heavy price from Israelis, Palestinians ….
White House changed the rules
YNet News, 10 Jan 2013 – Op-ed: By picking Hagel, President Obama telling Israel he will not allow it to launch solo attack on Iran ….
Peres blasts Netanyahu: Terror attacks will resume
YNet News, 9 Jan 2013 – In interview with New York Times, president says ‘silence that Israel has been enjoying over the last few years will not continue’ if diplomatic stalemate persists. Adds: Most of the world will support the Palestinians ….
Saudis behead Sri Lankan housemaid for killing of infant
YNet News, 9 Jan 2013 – Rizana Nafeek was sentenced to death in 2007 after her Saudi employer accused her of killing his infant daughter while she was bottle-feeding. Human Rights Watch: Saudi authorities demonstrated callous disregard for basic humanity ….
Watch: Haredi soldiers rescue Palestinians from river
YNet News, 9 Jan 2013 – Ultra-Orthodox troops use civilian tractor to pull Palestinians trapped in car; 669 unit helicopter boards family trapped on roof surrounded by water, power lines ….
Briton gets 33 months for weapons-to-Iran plot
YNet News, 9 Jan 2013 – As part of plea deal, businessman who tried to buy surface-to-air missile parts from undercover US agents to serve part of his sentence in Britain near ailing wife. ‘I regret my actions,’ Christopher Tappin says ….
Lew expected to be next US Treasury Secretary
YNet News, 9 Jan 2013 – Appointment of observant Jew who does not work on Saturday seen as signal of president’s determination to control record-breaking budget deficits ….
Rare photo found of Hiroshima bomb mushroom cloud
YNet News, 9 Jan 2013 – Black-and-white picture of mushroom cloud over Japanese city probably taken some half-hour after the bombing ….
Teachers back leftist high-school principal
YNet News, 9 Jan 2013 – Over 1,000 people sign petition urging education minister to let high school principal who published leftist article keep his job; dismissal will be ‘threat to freedom of speech,’ petition says ….
Officials: Egyptian minister fired over opposition to Iran meddling
YNet News, 9 Jan 2013 – Security officials in Cairo say former Interior Minister Gamal El Din was dismissed because he was against meeting between Morsi’s aide and Iran’s spy chief. Muslim Brotherhood: Meeting sends message to US ….
Snow covers Jerusalem, northern Israel
YNet News, 9 Jan 2013 – Some 100 snowplows, 40 tons of salt are on standby in capital; snow continues to stack up in Golan, blocking roads ….
Report: Iran behind US bank hacks
YNet News, 9 Jan 2013 – US government officials convinced cyber attack that recently disrupted bank activity was Tehran’s work, New York Times reports ….
Egypt’s president to meet Palestinian rivals on unity
YNet News, 9 Jan 2013 – Morsi to meet with Fatah, Hamas leaders in hopes of furthering implementation of reconciliation deal ….
Palestinian Information Center
More talks to be held between Fatah and Hamas in Cairo
PIC – Leaders of Hamas and Fatah agreed during the Cairo meeting that the two sides would begin immediately to implement the previously agreed mechanism of the agreement signed in Cairo in 2011.
Calls for international parliamentary movement against administrative detention
PIC – The Arab Organization for Human Rights in Britain called for an international parliamentary broad movement to confront the policy of administrative detention.
Israeli Units assault the detainees in Ofer prison
PIC – Israeli special units stormed at dawn today section 15 in Ofer prison and assaulted the prisoners, causing a state of tension inside the prison.
Risheq mourns Palestinian activists killed in Syria
PIC – Izzat al-Risheq, member of Hamas‘s political bureau, mourned two Palestinian activists, working in the field of relief work, who were killed in the Yarmouk and Husseiniya refugee camps in Damascus.
Arrests and incursions in Jenin
PIC – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) held, on Thursday morning, a number of citizens in Rummana village west of Jenin outside their home in the cold and rainy weather..
Argentine artist is in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners
PIC – Argentine artist and human rights activist Elizabeth Drabkina announced her solidarity with the Palestinian hunger strikers in occupation jails..
“Shin Bet” claims the arrest of two Palestinian cells
PIC – The Shin Bet claimed the arrest of ten Palestinian youths about a month and a half ago, claiming that they formed two cells to target Israeli targets in the occupied West Bank.
Shafei declares hunger strike to protest his torture
PIC – Prisoner Mehdi Shafei announced two days ago an open hunger strike in protest at being tortured during interrogation at Al-Jalama Interrogation and Detention Center, human rights sources revealed.
Israeli undercover agents kidnap two Jerusalemite kids in Sheikh Jarrah area
PIC – Israeli plain-clothes agents kidnapped two Jerusalemite kids during the clashes that broke out on Wednesday evening between Jewish settlers and young men in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Mishaal and Abbas hold successful meeting in Cairo
PIC – Head of Hamas‘s political bureau Khaled Mishaal met on Thursday with de facto president Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo in the presence of Mohamed Shehata, director of the Egyptian intelligence.
PEX Report: Al-Quds Index Up
WAFA – 9 Jan 2013
Syria rebels free 48 Iranians in prisoner exchange
LA Times 9 Jan 2013 – In return, the government of Bashar Assad agrees to release more than 2,000 detainees, officials say. BEIRUT — Syrian opposition fighters Wednesday released 48 Iranians captured in August in exchange for the freeing of at least 2,130 detainees held by President Bashar Assad’s government, in…
Extreme Weather Grows in Frequency and Intensity Around World
New York Times 10 Jan 2013 – The growing incidence and intensity of extreme weather events is a sign that climate change is not just about rising temperatures.
Iran Finding Ways to Circumvent Sanctions, Treasury Department Says
New York Times 10 Jan 2013 – The department said Iranians were using private exchange houses and trading companies in other countries, masking transactions with fake identities and transferring money informally and often illegally through couriers.
The Lede Blog: Winter Brings Misery to Syria Refugees
New York Times 10 Jan 2013 – For Syrian refugees in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, severe winter weather has brought bitter new hardship and at least one death.
The Lede Blog: In Saudi Town, Women Protest Detentions, Leading to Their Own
New York Times 10 Jan 2013 – Last weekend, Saudi security forces encircled and arrested a small group of women who were protesting the long-term detention of relatives without charges on suspicion of terrorism, and the event has touched off nearly a week of unrest in the Saudi town of Buraida.
Syria Denounces Lakhdar Brahimi, U.N. Envoy, as ‘Flagrantly Biased’
New York Times 10 Jan 2013 – The criticism appeared to be a response to remarks made by the envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, on Wednesday suggesting that the Syrian president must relinquish power.
As Academy Snubs Affleck for ‘Argo,’ Iran Plans Own Movie
New York Times 10 Jan 2013 – The Iranian government is reportedly planning to finance a movie that will correct what it says are the numerous distortions of the historical record in “Argo.”
The Lede Blog: Israeli Election Ads Ruled Too Offensive for Broadcast Rack Up Views on YouTube
New York Times 9 Jan 2013 – Ads for political parties deemed too offensive to show on television by Israel’s Central Election Committee have reached large numbers of people on YouTube.
UBS raises Tamar, Leviathan valuations
Globes Energy & Water – UBS raised its target prices for Tamar and Leviathan’s Israeli partners Delek Group, Avner Oil, Delek Drilling, Isramco, and Ratio Oil.
Netanyahu rebounds
Globes Main News – Likud supporters are returning home; Naftali Bennett seems to have exhausted his potential; and Tzipi Livni is paying for her political ineptitude.
Elbit Systems closing Kiryat Shmona plant
Globes Main News – The company is merging its communications systems in Kiryat Shmona with its facility in Tel Hai nearby.
Prime minister pledges aid for storm damage
Globes Main News – Contrary to the position of Finance Ministry officials, both local authorities and individuals will receive compensation.
Thu: Tel Aviv 25 up 1.1% on week
Globes Main News – Mellanox rebounded strongly and energy exploration companies and the banks also gained ground, but mobile carriers Cellcom and Partner fell.
BoI may block banks’ sale and lease-back plans
Globes Main News – Leumi and Mizrahi Tefahot are both considering selling properties and leasing them back in long-term leases.
Israel Aerospace Industries raises NIS 1.2b
Globes Main News – The NIS 1 billion bond offering was over-subscribed three-fold.
Agriculture Ministry: Declare storm natural disaster
Globes Macro Economics – Such a declaration by the government would ensure compensation to farmers for damage from the storm.
BDO’s Shahar Ziv: Raise VAT
Globes Macro Economics – Ziv said that Israel’s current VAT rate of 17% is among the ten lowest rates among the 34 members of the OECD.
Industrialists: Snowstorms cost businesses NIS 170 million
Globes Macro Economics – The Manufacturers Association estimate does not take into account structural damage from floods, soiled goods etc.
Treasury, local authorities clash over storm damage
Globes Macro Economics – Mayors are seeking NIS 1 billion in compensation for the storm damage.
Explosion rocks Tel Aviv
Globes Macro Economics – The explosion in a car injured Nissim Alperon whose brother Yaakov was assassinated in 2008.
Consumer Confidence Index falls in 2012
Globes Macro Economics – The Consumer Confidence Index fell in by 5.3 points December 2012 to below its level of a year earlier, reflecting public depsondency on the eve of elections.
Aeronautics debt deal nears completion
Globes Aerospace & Defense – The main shareholders in teh UAV maker after the deal will be the Viola Private Equity, KCPS & Co. and Bereshit funds.
CQ/Roll Call: Pro-Israel Groups Split on Hagel Nomination
Jewish Voice for Peace – Pro-Israel Groups Split on Hagel Nomination , Kate Ackley, CQ/Roll Call , January 7, 2013. Even before President Barack Obama officially nominated former Sen. Chuck Hagel to head the Pentagon, Jewish and pro-Israel lobbying organizations were staking out positions for and against the Nebraska Republican. The Emergency Committee…
Inauguration rally will tell Obama: Condition aid to Israel on compliance with int’l law
Mondoweiss – There’s a big rally coming up on Inauguration Weekend in Washington DC and we’re all invited. The “No Blank Check Rally,” sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace, Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee and Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace is a chance, as the promoters say, to …
Goldberg smears JVP after ‘NYT’ columnist mentions them for defending Hagel
Mondoweiss – A Jewish Voice for Peace protest in Washington, D.C. (Pete Marovich/European Pressphoto Agency) New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof defends the nomination of Chuck Hagel today , and also mentions the efforts of Jewish Voice for Peace, who defended Hagel. Atlantic writer and Israel-discourse police officer Jeffrey…
’5 Broken Cameras’ and ‘The Gatekeepers’ nominated for Best Documentary Oscar
Mondoweiss – In a moment that has been building for nearly a year , today the film 5 Broken Cameras was nominated for the 2013 Best Documentary Feature Oscar award . The film tells the story of Bil’in’s resistance to the Separation Wall and introduces viewers to the incredibly inspiring…
Matthews revisits neocon ‘bomber boy’ saying Iraq war would be over in 2 months
Mondoweiss – Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy Chris Matthews minced no words introducing the neocon opposition to Hagel the other night: Let me start with this, the folks who quack for Iraq have a knack for bad ideas. They pushed us…
‘My family is living through hell’: Samer Issawi speaks from jail
Mondoweiss – Samer Issawi (Image: Shahd Abusalama) I can’t kick the bad habit of biting my fingers when I’m stressed despite my constant attempts. My forefinger is swollen due to this habit and it really hurts; the cold weather makes it worse. The pain was intolerable this morning…
‘Birthright’ ecstasy in Jerusalem — Ziojuana, no occupation, lotta Jewish babies
Mondoweiss – More at The Real News Amazing/tragic Real News segment produced by Lia Tarachansky and featuring Netanyahu’s call for a majority of “the Jewish people” to live in the Jewish state, dancing of American recruits with Israeli soldiers and the Israeli army band, and Max Blumenthal’s interviews…
Chuck Hagel Talks About Israel and Iran
The Foward Breaking News 10 Jan 2013 – Chuck Hagel, President Barack Obama’s pick to become the next U.S. defense secretary, has begun calling critics in the Senate in an attempt to clarify his views about how to deal with Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas before his upcoming nomination hearing. Click here for the rest…
Shas Pulls ‘What You’re Not Jewish?’ Ad Geared at Russian Immigrants
The Foward Breaking News 10 Jan 2013 – Complaints by Russian-speaking immigrants prompted an ultra-Orthodox party in Israel to pull a TV commercial plugging their election campaign which shows a man recoiling in horror at discovering his bride is not Jewish. Click here for the rest of the article…
2 Israeli Films Put Up for Documentary Oscar
The Foward Breaking News 10 Jan 2013 – Two Israeli films are among the five nominated for best documentary for the Academy Awards. Click here for the rest of the article…
Jewish Leader Defends Writer on ‘Anti-Semitic’ Top 10
The Foward Breaking News 10 Jan 2013 – Prominent German journalist Jakob Augstein may write “horrible, hideous” articles on Israel, but his comments don’t belong on the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s ten worst anti-Semitic statements of 2012 list, a German Jewish leader said. Click here for the rest of the article…
Libya: Tripoli’s Checkered History in Africa
allAfrica.com 10 Jan 2013 – [African Arguments]In the flurry of assessments and debates about the 2011 war in Libya that overthrew the country’s longtime ruler, Muammar Gaddafi, there has been little scholarly or policy attention to Libya’s relationship with sub-Saharan Africa during and after the conflict.
Egypt: PM Opens MECACC Conference
allAfrica.com 10 Jan 2013 – [Egypt Online]Prime Minister Hisham Qandil inaugurates on next Sunday 13/1/2013 the annual conference of the Middle East Council of American Chambers of Commerce (MECACC), which will run for two days in Cairo.
Kenya: Israeli Diplomats Vote in Snap Poll
allAfrica.com 10 Jan 2013 – [Capital FM]Nairobi -About 4,200 Israeli voters, who work in about 100 embassies abroad cast their votes for their preferred candidates on Thursday.
Egypt: Qatar Investments in Egypt, Algeria an ‘Embarrassment’ to Sudan
allAfrica.com 10 Jan 2013 – [Sudan Tribune]Washington -This week’s economic agreements worth billions of dollars between the energy-rich Gulf state of Qatar and the North African nations of Egypt and Algeria represents an “embarrassment” to the government in Khartoum, an economic analyst told Sudan Tribune today.
Deadly storms sweep Middle East
BBC 10 Jan 2013 – The worst storms to hit the Middle East in a decade claim several lives and leave parts of Israel and Jordan blanketed in snow.
Men held in UK in Syria terror probe
BBC 10 Jan 2013 – Detectives investigating the support of alleged terrorist activity in Syria have arrested four men – three of them in east London – police say.
Ancient tombs unearthed in Egypt
BBC 10 Jan 2013 – Egypt‘s antiquities ministry says Italian archaeologists have unearthed tombs in Luxor that are more than 3,000 years old.
Syria ‘fires ballistic missile’
BBC 10 Jan 2013 – The Syrian military has fired a ballistic missile towards cities in the north, Nato says, the third in recent days.
Stephen Lendman: Washington Post Supports Israeli Settlements
Sabbah report 10 Jan 2013 – Washington Post editors ignore the worst of imperial crimes. They endorse Israeli occupation harshness. Jewish rights alone matter, they believe. Settlement construction is legitimate, they suggest. It’s no obstacle to peace, they claim. Further construction won’t prevent a two-state solution. They endorse Jewish supremacy and specialness….
Jamal Kanj: Unchecked Israel Firsters
Sabbah report 10 Jan 2013 – Can you imagine two American politician race to do a “one-upsmanship on who is more pro-China?” Of course you can’t because this will never happen. But why is it OK if politicians are pro-Israel? Have the Americans lost their minds? How do they allow Israel Firster’s…
1,000 UC Students Sign Petition Against HR-35
US Campaign to End the Occupation 10 Jan 2013 – Press Release from University of California Students for Justice in Palestine January 9, 2013 Students voice their united opposition to California Resolution HR-35 and thank the UC Students Association for vocally opposing it while taking a morally consistent stand against racism. HR-35 proposes broad bans on…
UAE-Egypt Crisis: Mubarak and Iran Lurk in the Background
Al-Akhbar News 10 Jan 2013 – An Egyptian truck loaded with gravel enters through the Rafah border crossing, between Egypt and Gaza on 29 December 2012 as building material for the Qatari grant projects begin arriving. (Photo: AFP – Said Khatib) An Egyptian truck loaded with gravel enters through the Rafah border…
Ghadir River Swallows Beirut Shantytown
Al-Akhbar News 10 Jan 2013 – We need to keep the water from reaching our homes every time it rises. (Photo: Haytham Al-Moussawi) We need to keep the water from reaching our homes every time it rises. (Photo: Haytham Al-Moussawi) In the southern suburbs of Beirut sits Hay al-Sellom, an agglomeration of…
The Ballooning Cost of Living in Damascus
Al-Akhbar News 10 Jan 2013 – People build a snowman on 10 January 2013 in the Syrian capital of Damascus after heavy snow falls. (Photo: AFP – Louai Beshara) People build a snowman on 10 January 2013 in the Syrian capital of Damascus after heavy snow falls. (Photo: AFP – Louai Beshara)…
Four arrested in Britain over Syria terrorism: police
Al-Akhbar News 10 Jan 2013 – British police have arrested four men as part of an investigation into travel to Syria supporting terrorist activity, Scotland Yard said on Thursday. One of the men was detained while trying to take a flight from London’s Gatwick airport on Wednesday, while the others were arrested…
Lebanese leftist Georges Abdallah, jailed for 28 years, to be freed
Al-Akhbar News 10 Jan 2013 – Protesters gather in solidarity with Georges Abdallah in Beirut in January 2012. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) Updated 5:15pm: Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a pro-Palestinian Lebanese leftist who has spent 28 years in French prison, will be released and expelled from France, French media reported. Thursday’s court decision upheld…
Kurdish activists killed after Turkey announces peace plan with PKK
Al-Akhbar News 10 Jan 2013 – Members of the Kurdish community in France demonstrate while two men (L) carry the body of one of the three Kurdish women shot dead at the Kurdish Institute on January 10, 2013 in Paris. The bodies of the women were found in the early hours with…
Justice for the Disappeared in Yemen?
Al-Akhbar Politics 9 Jan 2013 – Boys and men working in ferrying goods wait to be hired at a marketplace in Old Sanaa city 8 January 2013. (Photo: Reuters – Khaled Abdullah) Boys and men working in ferrying goods wait to be hired at a marketplace in Old Sanaa city 8 January…
Deadly storms sweep Middle East
BBC 10 Jan 2013 – The worst storms to hit the Middle East in a decade claim several lives and leave parts of Israel and Jordan blanketed in snow.
Men held in UK in Syria terror probe
BBC 10 Jan 2013 – Detectives investigating the support of alleged terrorist activity in Syria have arrested four men – three of them in east London – police say.
Ancient tombs unearthed in Egypt
BBC 10 Jan 2013 – Egypt‘s antiquities ministry says Italian archaeologists have unearthed tombs in Luxor that are more than 3,000 years old.
Syria ‘fires ballistic missile’
BBC 10 Jan 2013 – The Syrian military has fired a ballistic missile towards cities in the north, Nato says, the third in recent days.
Tel Aviv rocked by car explosion
BBC 10 Jan 2013 – At least four people are injured as a car is blown up in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, but police say it was probably a criminal not political incident.
Hamas and Fatah agree on unity
BBC 10 Jan 2013 – The leaders of the rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah agree to renew efforts to implement a two-year-old unity deal, after talks in Cairo.
Articles
Palestinians must find ’true’ voice
Ramzy Baroud, Asia Times 1/8/2013
What does a Palestinian farmer living in a village tucked between the secluded West Bank hills, a prisoner on hunger strike in an Israeli jail and a Palestinian refugee roaming the Middle East for shelter all have in common?
They are all characters in one single, authentic, solid and cohesive narrative. The problem however, is that Western media and academia barely reflect that reality or intentionally distort it, disarticulate it and when necessary, defame its characters.
An authentic Palestinian narrative – one that is positioned within an original Palestinian history and articulated through Palestinian thought – is mostly absent from Western media and to a lesser degree, academia. If such consideration is ever provided, everything Palestinian suddenly falls into being a side note of a larger Israeli discourse, or at best is juxtaposed to a pro-Israeli plot that is often concealed with hostility.
Palestinian news stories are often disconnected, disjoined news items with seemingly no relation to other news. They are all marred with negative connotation. In this narrative, a farmer, a prisoner and a refugee barely overlap. Due to this deliberate disconnect, Palestine becomes pieces, ideas, notions, perceptions, but nothing complete or never whole.
On the other hand, an Israeli narrative is almost always positioned within a cohesive plot, depending on the nature of the intellectual, political, academic or religious contexts. Even those who dare to criticize Israel within a mainstream Western platform do so ever prudently, gently and cautiously. The outcome of this typical exercise is that Israel’s sanctified image remains largely intact. In the meantime, Palestinians constantly jockey for validation, representation and space in a well-shielded pro-Israeli narrative. more.. e-mail
Israel’s wall will destroy my birthplace, Battir
Hasan Abu Nimah, Amman, Electronic Intifada 1/9/2013
Battir’s residents face irreversible destruction of their village and ancient heritage if Israel’s wall plan moves forward.
Battir has been in the news recently because the separation wall Israel has been building the last few years now threatens to destroy the unique character of this Palestinian village in the West Bank.
Remarkably, both the Guardian and The Washington Post recently published articles outlining the damage the wall would cause to Battir’s distinctive social and ecological system, its Roman-era terraces, water system and agriculture, and the people who have cared for them for innumerable generations. These articles follow determined efforts by the village’s inhabitants, and local organizations to raise the alarm over this latest plan for vandalism by the Israeli occupation (“West Bank barrier plan threatens ancient farming landscape,” The Washington Post, 23 December 2012; “Israeli separation barrier threatens Battir’s ancient terraces,” the Guardian, 11 December 2012).
Battir happens to be my birthplace as well as the site of my childhood memories. At my old age I forgot much of my past experience, having had the chance to travel and live for extended periods abroad, but I’ve forgotten nothing of my early years in Battir, where I attended primary school, experienced unparalleled community life, suffered severe hardships, was forced to temporarily escape with the rest of the village folks in the 1948 war and to finally be separated from my home in the 1967 War.
Most history books describe the village situated in a few miles southwest of Jerusalem, as the site of the final defeat of the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt against the Romans (132-136 CE) and that it was inhabited during the Byzantine and the Islamic periods. more.. e-mail
What Israeli Arabs really want from their leaders
Larry Derfner, +972 Magazine 1/8/2013
It’s not what the Jewish majority likes to believe.
A common Jewish Israeli criticism of Arab Knesset members is that they do a disservice to their constituents by focusing on high politics, mainly the Palestinian issue, instead of dealing with bread-and-butter economic issues that would really help them. (There may be something self-serving about this line of criticism, but who knows?) Last week I went to Jedeida-Makker, an Israeli Arab village a couple of miles inland from Acre, to hear Balad MK Haneen Zoabi give a campaign speech. The residents, including the local council head, indeed told her that she and her Arab colleagues in Knesset should concentrate more on the day-to-day problems of Arab citizens and less on the occupation. However, their complaints offered no vindication whatsoever to Israeli Jews who believe they know what’s best for the Arabs of this country, better than the Arabs do themselves.
The day-to-day, bread-and-butter economic problems the residents talked about all exemplified Israeli contempt for Arab rights. In other words, for Israeli Arabs, the issues they care most about are as highly political and uncomplimentary to Israel as can be.
Before Zoabi’s speech to about 50 people in a Balad campaign office, a local party activist and former Jedeida-Makker deputy council head, Mohasen Kais, showed me a court order he’d gotten a few weeks before. It said he owed the Israel Lands Authority – the state – about $80,000 for nearly a half-century of unpaid land use fees, and that if he didn’t pay it within 30 days, it was up to him to demolish the house and vacate the land, otherwise the “rightful” owner, the ILA, would do the job at his expense. more.. e-mail
Human Rights Watch: Time to stand with human rights defenders
Phyllis Bennis, Al Jazeera.com 1/9/2013
It is disappointing to see HRW’s unwillingness to stand with those who are working to promote and defend human rights.
When the UN Human Rights Council sends its independent investigators, known as Special Rapporteurs, around the globe to investigate the denial of various human rights, it’s not unusual for governments accused of violating those rights to go pretty far to keep them out.
So when Israeli security personnel detained Professor Richard Falk at Tel Aviv airport in December 2008, imprisoning him in a crowded, filthy jail cell overnight and expelling him the next day, it wasn’t particularly surprising. Falk had recently taken on the role of United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and Israel had made clear it had no intention of co-operating with his mandate or of implementing its obligations as a UN member to facilitate Falk’s official missions. As the Occupying Power, Israel has for years responded with outrage to human rights criticism and, with US backing, has increasingly directly repudiated UN authority and legitimacy.
Perhaps it isn’t even so unexpected that Falk – whose work has been scrupulously fair – has been criticised as well by Palestinian factions, including both Fatah and Hamas.
But it’s pretty rare for Special Rapporteurs to face condemnation, insult, attack from high-ranking UN officials, including the Secretary-General, or powerful diplomatic actors from their home country – such as US representative to the UN, Ambassador Susan Rice. Since taking on the mandate nearly five years ago, Falk has faced those attacks and more. more.. e-mail
BBC’s cruel excuses for ignoring Palestinian hunger strikes
Electronic Intifada: 10 Jan 2013 – Amena Saleem London 10 January 2013 The BBC cites bizarre criteria in defense of its refusal to cover protests in Israeli jails.more
‘My Family Is Living through Hell:’ Samer Issawi Speaks from Jail
Palestine Chronicle: 10 Jan 2013 – By Shahd Abusalama – Gaza I can’t kick the bad habit of biting my fingers when I’m stressed despite my constant attempts. My forefinger is swollen due to this habit and it really hurts; the cold weather makes it worse. The pain was intolerable this morning and it made me cry, but I quickly wiped my tears. I felt ashamed to think that our hero Samer Issawi suffers pains incomprehensible to the human mind. However, he makes us all proud as he continues to fight injustice. His body has broken the limits of hunger. His hunger has broken the silence and will help defeat Israel’s injustice and oppression. As the rain pounds continuously and the winds howl uncontrollably, Samer Issawi dominates my mind. I think back to my 24 hours of hunger strike on Monday, which caused me a terrible headache, leaving me unable to focus on my studies for…more
Welcome, Chuck
Palestine Chronicle: 10 Jan 2013 – By Uri Avnery I find Chuck Hagel eminently likeable. I am not quite certain why. Perhaps it’s his war record. He was decorated for valor in the Vietnam War (which I detested). He was a mere sergeant. I find it elating to see a non-commissioned officer become Minister of Defense. Like so many veterans who have seen war from close up (myself included), he has become an enemy of war. Wonderful. Now Hagel is violently attacked by all the neocon warmongers, almost none of whom has ever heard a bullet whistle in the wars to which they sent others, and the combined political regiments of the American Jewish establishment. His main sin seems to be that he objects to war against Iran. To be against an attack on Iran means to be anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic, indeed to wish for the destruction of Israel if not all Jews. Never mind that almost…more
Unchecked Israel Firsters
Palestine Chronicle: 10 Jan 2013 – By Jamal Kanj In current debate over Chuck Hagel’s pick to head the Pentagon, it is becoming self-evident that any political appointment in a US administration must first pass the Israeli litmus test. Pressure from Israel firsters in early 2009 forced Barack Obama to rescind the nomination of Charles Freeman to head the National Intelligence Council (NIC). The Zionist lobby’s “thought police” was concerned with Freeman’s score card on Israel. On his reasons to withdraw from consideration to head the NIC, Freeman blamed “… unscrupulous people with a passionate attachment to the views of a political faction in a foreign country (Israel).” Freeman was a career diplomat with a stellar resume serving in the Foreign Service and the Defense Department for more than three decades. When patriot Americans are harangued on their less than slavish submission to the Israeli lobby, “unscrupulous” citizens with “passionate attachment” to a foreign country have…more
The State of Palestine Exists
Palestine Chronicle: 10 Jan 2013 – By John V. Whitbeck On January 3, Mahmoud Abbas, acting in his capacities as President of the State of Palestine and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, signed “Decree No. 1 for the year 2013”. While he did so with minimal ceremony or fanfare, and while the change formalized by this decree should surprise no one after the UN General Assembly’s overwhelming vote on November 29 to upgrade Palestine’s status at the United Nations to “observer state”, this change is potentially historic. By this decree, the “Palestinian Authority”, created for a five-year “interim” period pursuant to the “Oslo” Declaration of Principles signed on the White House lawn in September 1993, has been absorbed and replaced by the State of Palestine, proclaimed in November 1988, recognized diplomatically by 131 of the 193 UN member states and supported in the recent General Assembly vote by an additional 28…more
Articulating Palestine Despite Israeli Hasbara
Dissident Voice: 10 Jan 2013 – What does a Palestinian farmer who is living in a village tucked in between the secluded West Bank hills, a prisoner on hunger strike in an Israeli jail, and a Palestinian refugee roaming the Middle East for shelter all have in common? They are all characters in one single, authentic, solid and cohesive narrative. The problem however, is that western media and academia barely reflect that reality or intentionally distort it, disarticulate it, and when necessary, defame its characters. An authentic Palestinian narrative – one that is positioned within an original Palestinian history and articulated through Palestinian thought – is mostly absent from western media and to a lesser degree, academia. If such consideration is ever provided, everything Palestinian suddenly falls into either a side note of a larger Israeli discourse, or at best, juxtaposed to a pro-Israeli plot that is often concealed with hostility. Palestinian news stories are often…more
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The New Dark Age 