17 February 2013 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
‘Anonymous’ hacks 600,000 Israeli email accounts
IMEMC – In the latest action targeting Israel, the international computer hacking network known as ‘Anonymous’ has claimed credit for publishing the personal information, including encrypted passwords, of over 600,000 Israelis as part of its ‘Operation Israel (#OpIsrael) on Friday. …
40 Injured In Biddu Village Near Jerusalem
IMEMC – Saturday February 16; Palestinian sources reported that 40 Palestinians have been injured during clashes that took place when the army attacked Palestinians hold a protest in solidarity with hunger striking detainees, in the village of Biddu, northwest of occupied East Jerusalem. …
Prisoner in Israeli isolation for 2 years ‘forgets speech’
2/17/2013 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — A Palestinian man held in solitary confinement by Israel for two years is losing his ability to recall language and has speech impairments, a lawyer who visited him in jail said Sunday. The lawyer for the Palestinian prisoners society said Dirar Abu Sisi, an engineer from Gaza, is suffering from a….
Witnesses: Israeli forces seize Jenin property to use as military post
2/17/2013 – JENIN (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Sunday seized an under-construction property in Jenin to use as a temporary military post, the second such incident in a week, locals said. The home belongs to Sami Abu Baker, who told Ma’an that Israeli soldiers arrived at the property late Saturday. Last week, soldiers took….
Mother of prisoner launches solidarity hunger strike
2/17/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The mother of Ayman Sharawna has begun an open-ended hunger strike to show solidarity with her son, a prisoners group said Sunday. Addameer said that Sharawna’s brother has also announced strike action to demonstrate solidarity with Ayman, who was released under the 2011 prisoner swap deal but rearrested shortly….
In photos: Growing up in Firing Zone 918
2/17/2013 – MaanImages / Eva Pilipp – In Khirbet al-Tabban, a village in the south Hebron hills, four-year-old Rimas Obeid is growing up under the shadow of expulsion. Last year, the Israeli government said it intends to move the Palestinian residents of Tabban and seven other villages to make way for an army training ground it calls Firing Zone….
Israeli forces detain man at Hebron gas station
2/17/2013 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained a Palestinian man at a gas station in Hebron town Sair on Sunday evening, and the army said he was wanted for stone-throwing. Riyad Sami Jardat, 27, was working at the gas station when special forces raided the location, taking files and CCTV footage and arresting him, locals….
Egypt forces say 225 Gaza tunnels found under border
2/17/2013 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Egyptian forces have discovered over 225 smuggling tunnels under the border with the Gaza Strip, a military spokesperson said Sunday. Egyptian military spokesperson Colonel Ahmed Mohamed Ali told Ma’an that the army is continuing with efforts to close down the network of underground tunnels.” Each tunnel has several….
Netanyahu backs spies as Australian mystery simmers
2/17/2013 – JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed on Sunday for the public spotlight on Israel’s Mossad spy agency to be turned off after news of the jailhouse suicide of a reported Australian recruit. The affair was kept under wraps for two years until it emerged last week with an Australian television expose….
Hamas official confirms indirect talks with Israel
2/17/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya on Sunday confirmed that the movement is holding indirect talks with Israel over the implementation of a ceasefire deal, but insisted that they did not amount to political negotiations. Al-Hayya was commenting on a report on Israel’s Channel 2 TV on Friday, which….
Hamas, Fatah to meet Feb. 27, official says
2/17/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Delegations from Hamas and Fatah will meet in Cairo later this month to discuss the formation of a new government, a senior Hamas leader said Sunday. Hamas‘ deputy politburo chief Mousa Abu Marzouq said in a statement that the factions will meet on Feb. 27 to discuss mechanisms for….
CEC: Jerusalem residents automatically added to voter roll
2/17/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Central Elections Commission said Sunday that all Palestinian residents of Jerusalem will be automatically added to the voter roll due to their inability to open registration booths in the city. Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed the territory, in a move never recognized internationally. Palestinian residents….
PA workers in Yatta to strike over unpaid wages
2/17/2013 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority employees in the municipality of Yatta, Hebron suspended work on Sunday in protest against the late payment of salaries, a union said. Mousa al-Hadar, chairman of Yatta’s employees union, told Ma’an that workers in the municipality have not been paid for seven months. The union….
Israeli former FM Lieberman pleads not guilty as trial starts
2/17/2013 – JERUSALEM (Reuters) — Israel’s former foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, pleaded not guilty on Sunday to charges of fraud and breach of trust at the start of a trial that has put the ultra-nationalist’s political career into doubt. The allegations led Lieberman, a key ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to resign from….
Youth coalition: Unity process prolonging division
2/17/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A coalition of Palestinian youth groups in the Arab world, Europe and US on Sunday accused Palestinian leaders in Gaza and the West Bank of prolonging national division through “absurd” unity talks, and called for them to prioritize PLO elections. Fatah and Hamas signed a deal in May 2011 to reunite….
Palestinian killed by bulldozer in north Jerusalem
2/17/2013 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — A Palestinian man was killed on Sunday when a bulldozer blade fell on him in a concrete factory north of Jerusalem. Salah Hussain Abdullah Shabana, 20, from Sinjil town near Ramallah, was found dead at the site in Rafat, and evacuated by Palestinian medics. Police said they had referred the driver….
Over 200 people take part in mass Gaza wedding
2/17/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Over 200 people took part in a mass wedding in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, a local organization said. The mass wedding was organized by an association in the coastal territory which facilitates marriage arrangements, with most of the participants war victims with disabilities, blind or elderly. Saed Abu Nada….
Egypt seizes ton of explosives en-route to Sinai
2/17/2013 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Egyptian authorities seized one ton of explosives en-route to the Sinai peninsula on Sunday, security officials said. Egyptian security officials searched a car driving from Cairo towards Sinai, and found one ton of explosives hidden inside. The contents were seized and the driver taken for questioning. On Friday, Egypt seized….
Pope, at one of last appearances, says pray for me and next pope
2/17/2013 – VATICAN CITY (Reuters) — Pope Benedict, speaking before a larger than usual crowd at his penultimate Sunday address, asked the faithful to pray for him and for the next pope. The crowd in St Peter’s Square chanted “long live the pope!,” waved banners and broke into sustained applause as he spoke from his window….
Hezbollah fighters, 5 Syrian rebels killed on border
2/17/2013 – AMMAN/BEIRUT(Reuters) — At least two Hezbollah guerrillas and five Syrian rebels have been killed in fighting in Syria on the border with Lebanon, Lebanese residents and Syrian opposition sources said on Sunday. The clash between Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah and Sunni Muslim rebels, in a religiously-mixed area southwest of the city of Homs, shows a….
Egypt protesters block access to port, demand justice
2/17/2013 – ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters) — Thousands of Egyptian protesters blocked access to the harbor and rallied outside state buildings in Port Said on Sunday to demand justice over the deaths of dozens of people killed in riots last month. That violence was triggered by anger over the death sentences handed down to 21 people from Port Said….
Alcohol sale to be banned in Egypt’s new residential suburbs
2/17/2013 – CAIRO (Reuters) — Two years after the Egyptian revolution that ousted an authoritarian regime, liberals are increasingly concerned that the ruling Islamists are out to curb personal freedoms and build a society in their own image. Alcohol, forbidden to Muslims but enjoyed by some Egyptian Christians and by foreign tourists, is one area where the Islamist….
Israel ex-FM Lieberman on trial for fraud
AlJazeera 17 Feb 2013 – Key ally of Binyamin Netanyahu accused of promoting diplomat in return for information on police probe into his affairs.
PCHR Appeals to the International Community to Save the Life of Palestinian Hunger Striker, Al-Issawi
Palestine News Network
Rally for Palestinian Prisoners in Occupied West Bank
Palestine News Network
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
PCHR Appeals to the International Community to Save the Life of Palestinian Administrative Detainee, Samer al-Eissawi, W…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
occupied Palestinian territory: Al Mezan Opens Two Training Courses on “Enhancing Lawyers’, Capacity in Legal Framework and Supporting Human Rights”
Relief Web 17 Feb 2013 – Source: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights Country: occupied Palestinian territory On Sunday 17 February 2013, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights with support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP/PAPP) began two training courses on “Enhancing Lawyers’ Capacity…
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Relief Web 17 Feb 2013 – Source: Defence for Children International/Palestine Section Country: occupied Palestinian territory January 2013 – Overview In January, two Palestinian children were killed by Israeli soldiers using live ammunition. On 15 January, Sameer Awad (16) was shot near the Wall in Budrus,…
occupied Palestinian territory: Child Killed and Three Injured by Unexploded Ordnance; Al Mezan Expresses its Sorrow and Calls for Adoption of Measures Ensuring Protection
Relief Web 17 Feb 2013 – Source: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights Country: occupied Palestinian territory Unexploded ordnance (UXO) continued to threaten life and safety of children in the Gaza Strip. In the last week, one child was killed and another three were injured, raising…
FNC resumes debate on new UAE companies law
The National 17 Feb 2013 – The Federal National Council will try to finish debating the new Companies Law this week with a second extrordinary two-day session.
Out at sea, a forest of steel and ingenuity
The National 17 Feb 2013 – The London Array windfarm off the south-east coast of England not only generates enough electricity to power 470,000 homes, but through its links with Masdar is also showing Emirati engineers how to fulfil Abu Dhabi’s green-energy vision. Jonathan Gornall reports
Morsi’s son withdraws job application amid criticism
The National 17 Feb 2013 – Omar Morsi, who graduated recently from Zagazig University¿s Faculty of Commerce, says he decided not complete the application for the post with the Egypt Airports and Air Navigation Holding Company.
Defence giant targets UAE talent
The National 17 Feb 2013 – Idex 2013: Talented young Emiratis are being targeted by one of the world’s leading defence companies to be the high-technology engineers of the future.
Fault lines grow deeper in Tunisia after Belaid assassination
The National 17 Feb 2013 – Despite calls for unity at a thousands-strong weekend march, Tunisia¿s ruling Islamist party is fighting deep splits and struggling to maintain its political hold on the country. Alice Fordham reports from Tunis
Centre-right candidate ahead in Cyprus vote but run-off looks likely
The National 17 Feb 2013 – Exit polls give Nicos Anastasiades 45 per cent of the vote, just short of the 50 per cent plus one vote of the ballots cast to avoid a run-off on Sunday. Michael Theodoulou reports from Nicosia
Fire breaks out on boat in Dubai shipyard
The National 17 Feb 2013 – A fire that broke out on a boat in Jadaf shipyard near Dubai Festival City last night burned for hours, but Dubai officials reported no one was hurt in the blaze.
Security tight as Libya marks second anniversary of Qaddafi overthrow
The National 17 Feb 2013 – In what appeared to be an attempt to assuage the militants, Libya’s leader promises that the nation’s next constitution would explicitly declare Islam as the country’s religion.
HIV among Israeli gay men up 55% since 2005
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
Netanyahu seeks broad coalition to push forward Israeli-Palestinian deal
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
Boiling down the Lieberman affair: The line between criminal offense and a simple favor
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
Injured Syrians still receiving medical treatment in Safed
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
First Hebrew kindergarten, built in 1880s, saved from wrecking ball
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
Thousands attend memorial for slain Fogel family on second anniversary of their death
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
Israel to return West Bank farmland to Palestinian owners after wrongly allocating land to kibbutz
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
Bulgaria to reveal how it traced Hezbollah to deadly attack on Israeli tourists in Burgas
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
Netanyahu wants your Facebook vote: Which logo should Israel use for Obama’s visit?
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
Israeli panel to investigate death of alleged Mossad agent Ben Zygier
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
Watchdog urges Netanyahu: Don’t save Foreign Ministry portfolio for Lieberman
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
Palestinians reject Israel’s compromise for West Bank fence: Stop rail traffic instead of building on our land
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
Anonymous activists hack into 600,000 Israeli email accounts
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
How Netanyahu’s adviser got out of Israel’s coalition talks
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
New eczema research could blot Israel’s plan for biometric database
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
OECD study: Poor Israeli students lagging two years behind wealthy in math, science
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
Lieberman pleads not guilty as trial gets underway; first hearings set for late April
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
Netanyahu on Prisoner X affair: Let Israel’s security forces do their work
Ha’aretz – 17 Feb 2013
Hacohen, Nachman Israel Prize winners
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Nachman, who served as the mayor of Ariel from 1985 until his death last January, was posthumously recognized for his dedication to strengthening the Jewish identity of the town.
Jerusalem publishes schools’ social data online
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – City Council member Rachel Azaria: Allowing everyone to view information website previously available only to education professionals may harm public schools.
Kandel plan: 65% haredi enlistment in 5 years
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Prof. Eugene Kandel’s plan calls for no quotas for yeshiva students; NGO Hiddush: Targets nothing but “self-deception.”
Former Aqsa Martyrs members demand PA pay raises
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – The gunmen, who had been pardoned by Israel, say that the NIS 1,500 that each one of them receives from the PA is not enough.
Reporter’s Notebook: Uncharacteristically quiet
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Will Liberman project the image of passive bystander or the aggressive powerhouse the nation is used to.
Singer Shmulik Kraus dies from swine flu at 77
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Famous Israeli musician passes away at Tel Aviv’s Souraksy Medical Center, leaves behind a life partner and 3 children.
Analysis: Not such a Garden of Eden
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Avigdor Liberman must have envisioned several scenarios for his historic court case.
Candidly Speaking: Reviewing the case of Prisoner X
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Anti-Israeli elements in Australia, supported by sections of the media, tried to exploit the situation in order to besmirch Israel’s image.
Intel: Israel may not remain ‘Start-up Nation’
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Company comprising 20% of Israel’s high-tech exports should be “flashing red light,” says Intel Israel President
The Region: What Obama faces in Israel
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – So what does Israel want to tell Obama and what is he likely to offer or do on his upcoming visit?
Netanyahu and the haredim
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – The PM lacks the political courage to make the necessary reforms Israeli society both wants and needs.
Police close child rape probe in Modi’in Illit
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Judea and Samaria district police announce case closed after reaching conclusion that original complainant gave false testimony.
Exposing false ‘martyrs’ as suicidal
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – In the US, students are taught that suicide bombers are equivalent to a soldier who jumps on a grenade to protect his comrades.
Is Finance Ministry dominance ending?
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – The current situation with regards to Finance Ministry control over policy and its budgetary implications is not a healthy one.
UTJ weighs backing aggressive peace agenda
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – The move is likely a ploy by the ultra-Orthodox party to pressure Bayit Yehudi into scaling back rhetoric on haredi enlistment.
Review: Israeli Opera, The Turn of the Screw
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – The cast is mostly outstanding, the orchestra creates the mood, though too often overshadowing the singers’ voices.
Knesset panel to investigate ‘Prisoner X’ incident
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – While Knesset announces that intensive examination to be launched, MKs call for State Comptroller, government inquiry.
‘Hagel likely to get confirmed for defense’
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Republican Senator John McCain “confident” Hagel will be confirmed; Hagel has been questioned on his support of Israel.
Israel, PA lobbying US before Obama’s visit
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Palestinian negotiators head to Washington to brief US Administration on its stance regarding peace talks with Israel.
Pink tablet for women gets mixed reception in Gulf
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Apps for the kitchen and the bedroom are preloaded; women in Gulf are highly educated but only make up 20% of the workforce.
Scandal forces PM to revise his ice cream budget
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – NIS 10,000 budget request causes public outrage; PM’s favorite flavor is pistachio at high-end Jerusalem gelateria.
Hezbollah fighter, 5 Syrian rebels dead in clashes
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Lebanese Hezbollah support Syrian President Bashar Assad, wish to expand sphere of influence in rebel held territory in Syria.
‘Iran will never shut down Fordow nuclear plant’
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Head of Iran parliament’s national security, foreign policy c’tee says enrichment plant essential to defend Tehran against enemy threat.
Sweetly does it
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Liven up this year’s Purim Mishloach Manot with treats such as Nutty Caramel Popcorn Dairy and Chocolate Marshmallow Fudge.
Liberman denies all charges as graft trial begins
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Witnesses to begin testifying by end of April; trial end date will preclude Liberman from being appointed minister.
Man sentenced for throwing firebombs at migrants
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – 21-year-old receives 6 months community service for throwing Molotov cocktails at buildings housing African migrants in TA.
Amid Prisoner X storm, PM backs security services
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Netanyahu vows peace process, Iran and Syria will be high on agenda of new government.
Australia asks Israel for answers on Prisoner X death
Jerusalem Post 17 Feb 2013 – Australian FM Bob Carr says his country will compile a report of its own on the arrest and death of Ben Zygier; Hanegbi: Foreign Affairs and Defense C’tee was not briefed on affair; Ariel calls for gov’t inquiry c’tee into case.
Meet the MK: Avi Wortzman
Jerusalem Post 16 Feb 2013 – This Bayit Yehudi MK and former deputy mayor of Beersheba hopes to help thousands of young families settle in the Negev and Galilee.
Abandoned quarries being transformed into parks
Jerusalem Post 16 Feb 2013 – Several quarries throughout the country being rehabilitated by the Quarry Rehabilitation Fund.
Political Violence Grips Egypt From All Sides
IPS Since the second anniversary of the uprising that ended the Mubarak regime, Egypt has witnessed a spate of political violence. Egypt’s opposition led by the high-profile National Salvation Front (NSF) blames President Mohamed Morsi for the bloodshed, but many blame the NSF and its leaders. “The NSF’s slowness in condemning…
Palestinian child labour in Israel ‘uncontrollable’
Uruknet
These Children are Just as Precious as Our Children
Uruknet
War and Institutionalizing Abuse – An Analysis
Uruknet
Mali, Algeria, Libya and the New Front Line In ‘Energy Diplomacy’
Uruknet
Two shot at Ofer prison as hunger strike demonstrations grow
Uruknet
Egyptian activist kidnapped and tortured in Sharqiya
Uruknet
Robbery of Books and Ownership of Narrative
Uruknet
Inhuman living conditions in refugee camps in Lebanon
Uruknet
Cornel West: Obama a ‘war criminal’
Uruknet
Woman killed same day sister sat behind Obama
Daily Star 17 Feb 2013 An 18-year-old Chicago woman was killed just hours after her sister sat on the stage at President Barack Obama‘s speech about gun violence at an area school.
US Congress team warns Iraq after attack on Iranian refugees
Daily Star 17 Feb 2013 PARIS, Feb 17, 2013 (AFP) – A team of US Congressmen met with the Iranian dissident group MEK in Paris on Sunday and threatened to declare Iraq’s prime minister a sponsor of terrorism after a deadly…
U.S. lawmakers chide Obama for not protecting Iranian dissidents
Daily Star 17 Feb 2013 U.S. lawmakers complained on Sunday that President Barack Obama had failed to protect Iranian dissidents from persecution by Tehran following a deadly attack on their camp near Baghdad, and urged they be allowed back to their…
Sudan-Saudi navies in first exercises: media
Daily Star 17 Feb 2013 The navies of Sudan and Saudi Arabia have launched their first joint military exercises in the Red Sea, the official SUNA news agency reported on Sunday.
Kerry, Lavrov talk, finally, on Syria, NKorea: US
Daily Star 17 Feb 2013 US Secretary of State John Kerry finally talked Sunday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who had been unavailable for days after the North Korean nuclear test, the State Department said.
Obama tees it up with Tiger
Daily Star 17 Feb 2013 US President Barack Obama played a round with Tiger Woods on Sunday, crowning a buddies golf trip with his long-awaited first match-up with the 14-times major champion.
Egypt currency has further to fall – business leader
Daily Star 17 Feb 2013 Egypt has begun devaluing its currency to help revive the economy and meet the conditions of an expected IMF loan and the depreciation has further to go, a business leader in the ruling Muslim Brotherhood said…
Bomb disables Iraq fuel oil pipeline
Daily Star 17 Feb 2013 Attackers bomb and disable a pipeline carrying fuel oil from Iraq’s largest refinery to a province north of Baghdad, the oil ministry says.
Egypt protesters block access to port, demand justice
Daily Star 17 Feb 2013 Thousands of Egyptian protesters block access to the harbour and rally outside state buildings in Port Said to demand justice over the deaths of dozens of people killed in riots last month.
Iran will never shut down Fordow enrichment plant: MP
Daily Star 17 Feb 2013 Iran will never shut down its Fordow uranium enrichment plant, a senior legislator is quoted as saying, brushing off a demand from world powers who fear Tehran is working to develop an atomic weapons capability.
Exit poll: Ecuador leader wins easy re-election
YNet News, 17 Feb 2013 – ….
US lawmakers meet with Iranian exiles in Paris
YNet News, 17 Feb 2013 – ….
Sign of weakness
YNet News, 17 Feb 2013 – Op-ed: Iran‘s leaders plan to take advantage of Obama‘s new appointments to continue race toward nuclear bomb ….
Libyan leader calls for unity on 2nd anniversary
YNet News, 17 Feb 2013 – ….
Syrian opposition: Hezbollah invaded Syria, fights against rebels
YNet News, 17 Feb 2013 – ….
Palestinian Information Center
IOF soldiers arrest wife of prisoner during visit
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested the wife of prisoner Ayman al-Za’qiq during a visit to her husband in Ofer prison, west of Ramallah, on Sunday.
Abu Sisi’s health condition worsening
PIC – A lawyer for the Palestinian prisoner’s association said after visiting prisoner Dirar Abu Sisi in his isolation jail in Askalan that his health condition was very bad.
Bardawil: No negotiation whatsoever with Israel
PIC – Dr. Salah Al-Bardawil, a Hamas leader, has categorically denied the presence of any kind of negotiations with Israel.
IOF soldiers quell solidarity march, storm towns in Al-Khalil
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed a number of villages south of Al-Khalil on Sunday morning and quelled a peaceful solidarity march to the north of the city.
Hamas calls for confronting Israeli attempts to judaize historical monuments
PIC – Hamas movement warned of the consequences of the implementation of the occupation scheme of Judaizing 298 historic Arab and Islamic sites in the Palestinian territories.
Occupation seizes a hotel in Abu Dis
PIC – Lawyer Bassam Bahr said that the Israeli Minister of Finance issued a decision to seize a hotel built over an area of 2900 square meters, under the pretext of “public interest and security purposes.”
Sharawna determined to continue hunger strike despite health deterioration
PIC – The hunger striking prisoner Ayman Sharawna, 37 from the city of al-Khalil, said that the Israeli prison administration has been deliberately holding him in solitary confinement..
Sheikh Salah: “Jerusalemite cry” will be followed by other events
PIC – Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the Palestinian Islamist movement in the 1948-occupied territories, said that the “Jerusalemite cry” tent is only a station in this way to liberate Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa.
Report: expanding settlements in WB aims at changing reality
PIC – The Islamic-Christian commission for the support of Jerusalem warned against the increase in settlers’ number in West Bank, where the number grew by 4.7% in 2012, according to Yesha Council.
PA Committed to Peace, Two-State Solution, says Abbas
WAFA – 17 Feb 2013
Total Health Expenditure Down in 2011, says PCBS
WAFA – 17 Feb 2013
Newspapers Review: Dailies Continue to Report on Striking Prisoners’ Issue
WAFA – 17 Feb 2013
Abbas Unveils Corner Stone for Palestinian Embassy in Pakistan
WAFA – 17 Feb 2013
Israel Arrests 3 Palestinians across West Bank, Takes Over House
WAFA – 17 Feb 2013
In Syria, Old Damascus now a quiet, shrunken core
LA Times 16 Feb 2013 – Old Damascus remains largely separated from the violence in the suburbs, but its once-bustling art and tourism scenes have contracted, its streets now filled with armed security men. DAMASCUS, Syria — Somewhere between the Christian and historical Jewish quarters of Old Damascus, labyrinthine alleys lead…
Netanyahu Defends Israel’s Handling of Prisoner X Case
New York Times 17 Feb 2013 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested the threats Israel faces justified the handling of an Australian-Israeli who was held under a pseudonym in a maximum-security prison until he committed suicide in 2010.
Protests at Egypt Port Close Offices, but Not Suez Canal
New York Times 17 Feb 2013 – The protests, partly over death sentences in a deadly soccer riot, marked the closest that chaos in Egypt over the last two years has come to threatening the operations of the canal, a critical shipping artery.
Blasts Across Baghdad Kill at Least 21 People
New York Times 17 Feb 2013 – The wave of car bombings struck in mainly Shiite neighborhoods amid rising sectarian discord in Iraq.
Lieberman Pleads Not Guilty in Israeli Fraud Case
New York Times 17 Feb 2013 – The tough-talking former foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud and breach of trust in a criminal case that leaves his political future hanging in the balance.
Supreme Leader Says Iran Not Seeking Nuclear Arms
New York Times 16 Feb 2013 – But Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, said nothing could stop his country from building nuclear weapons, should it choose to do so.
Leviathan gas sales to Turkey worth $3-4b a year
Globes Energy & Water – Leviathan is not big enough for exports by pipeline and LNG, and this could harm Woodside’s plans to build an LNG facility.
“Hurriyet”: No Israel-Turkey gas deal without Erdogan OK
Globes Energy & Water – Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told the newspaper: We won’t operate a project with Israel without seeing that the conditions put by the prime minister are met.
Electricity rates set to rise 10% by April
Globes Energy & Water – “Yediot Ahronot”: The Public Utilities Authority wanted to bring the rate hike forward to February to help financially troubled IEC.
Credit Suisse sells Check Point stake
Globes Main News – The Swiss bank is no longer a party of interest after selling most of its 5.4% stake in the Internet security company.
Intel Israel’s effective 2009 tax rate – 1.6%
Globes Main News – In 2009, Intel Israel paid $24 million in taxes on an operating profit of $1.5 billion.
Sun: EZchip recovery lifts TASE
Globes Main News – EZchip corrected some of last week’s losses, while Bezeq rose 2.2% on the day’s biggest turnover.
Teva: We generate NIS 3b in taxes annually
Globes Main News – Teva says this figure includes NIS 2 billion in taxes that the employees of its suppliers and contractors pay annually.
Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot implicated in US tax evasion – report
Globes Main News – “Bloomberg”: A California resident has plead guilty to conspiring with people at Bank Leumi and Mizrahi Tefahot Bank to hide offshore accounts from the IRS.
Bar Ilan University president resigns
Globes Macro Economics – Prof. Moshe Kaveh today tendered his resignation, ten weeks after a scathing report by the State Comptroller.
Stop that train
Globes Macro Economics – The Eilat railway is a megalomaniacal project of the kind that politicians love, but passengers have more urgent needs.
Growth slowed to annualized 2.5% in Q4
Globes Macro Economics – The Central Bureau of Statistics revised its growth figure for 2012 from 3.3% to 3.2%.
Fischer ideal US Fed Chair candidate – “Washington Post” blog
Globes Macro Economics – “Stan Fischer saved Israel’s economy. Can he save America’s?” asks “Washington Post” blogger Dylan Matthews.
Rise in Kinneret water level slows
Globes Macro Economics – The lack of rainfall in the past couple of weeks means there is now little chance that the Kinneret will reach a record level.
Israeli Air Attack in Syria Killed IRG General
Tikun Olam – Funeral of IRG Gen. Hassan Shateri Free Syrian Army sources revealed several days ago that an Iranian general, Hassan Shateri (also known as Hussam Hush Nawis) was killed in Syria recently. First reports made it appear he might’ve been killed by the FSA. Iran, however, said that…
’60 Minutes’ report on ‘Iron Dome’ tonight likely to carry giant payload of hasbara
Mondoweiss – Tonight on “60 Minutes,” Bob Simon will air a piece on Iron Dome , the missile-interception technology Israel used so effectively last fall in its latest assault on Gaza. It certainly appears that the piece, “Israeli defense system changes game in Mideast,” will be Israel-centric, for instance…
In Jerusalem, even the dentist lets you know who’s in charge
Mondoweiss – A lot of people hate going to the dentist because it hurts. I hate going to the dentist in Jerusalem because it hurts, but not in my mouth. It hurts my sense of belonging. We go to an Israeli dental clinic. Many Palestinians in Jerusalem go…
First they stole our books, then they took our story
Mondoweiss – (This article was originally published at The Palestine Chronicle ) Susan Abulhawa I finally watched The Great Book Robbery at the University of Pennsylvania this weekend with some friends. It’s a film documenting Israel’s systematic looting of over 70,000 books from Palestinian public and private libraries after…
Which will prevail– latest neocon charge on Hagel over Israel, or D.C.’s fatigue over delay?
Mondoweiss – Chuck Hagel, from Fox News The delaying of Chuck Hagel’s confirmation in the Senate last Thursday gave neoconservatives an opportunity to dig up further evidence against him, we were told; and in the hours after that filibuster a new claim has emerged against him: that during…
Israel Parliament Plans Prisoner X Probe, Shrugging Off Netanyahu Plea for Quiet
The Foward Breaking News 17 Feb 2013 – Israeli lawmakers announced plans on Sunday to investigate the 2010 jailhouse death of a reported Australian immigrant recruit to the Mossad spy agency. Click here for the rest of the article…
Focus on Eritrean Refugees in Sinai and Israel at Advocacy Event in Los Angeles
The Foward Breaking News 17 Feb 2013 – Eritrean Youth Solidarity for Change (EYSC) and RightNow: Advocacy for Asylum Seekers in Israel hosted a joint event in Los Angeles, advocating for the Jewish and Eritrean-American communities to work together to help Eritrean refugees stuck in the Sinai desert. Click here for the rest of…
Benjamin Netanyahu Pleads for Mossad ‘Quiet’ Amid Israeli Prisoner X Scandal
The Foward Breaking News 17 Feb 2013 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed on Sunday for the public spotlight on Israel’s Mossad spy agency to be turned off after news of the jailhouse suicide of a reported Australian recruit. Click here for the rest of the article…
Chuck Hagel Faces New Jewish Snag Over Israel ‘Adjunct’ Comment
The Foward Breaking News 17 Feb 2013 – Two centrist Jewish groups called for further review of Chuck Hagel’s record in light of an account of a 2007 speech in which he allegedly said the State Department acted as an “adjunct” of Israel’s foreign ministry. Click here for the rest of the article…
Israel politician Lieberman on trial
BBC 17 Feb 2013 – Israel’s former foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, pleads not guilty at the opening of his trial on charges of fraud and breach of trust.
Israel to launch Prisoner X inquiry
BBC 17 Feb 2013 – An Israeli parliamentary inquiry will investigate the death in custody of Prisoner X, said to be an Australian-Israeli with links to Mossad.
Israel lets in wounded Syrians
BBC 17 Feb 2013 – Israel says Syrians can cross into the occupied Golan Heights “in exceptional cases” after seven are taken to hospital in northern Israel.
The Arab Spring and Lèse-Majesté
Al-Akhbar News 17 Feb 2013 – Kuwaiti opposition leader and former MP Mussallam al-Barrak (C), gestures as he leaves the Palace of Justice in Kuwait City on 11 February 2013. (Photo: AFP – Yasser Al-Zayyat) Kuwaiti opposition leader and former MP Mussallam al-Barrak (C), gestures as he leaves the Palace of Justice…
Israel jails brother of Palestinian hunger striker, two others
Al-Akhbar News 17 Feb 2013 – Layla Issawi holds a picture of her son Samer, who has been on hunger strike for 209 days inside an Israeli prison, at her home in the West Bank neighborhood of Issawiya on 17 February 2013. (Photo: Reuters – Ammar Awad) Israeli forces arrested at least…
Two Lebanese workers abducted in Nigeria
Al-Akhbar News 17 Feb 2013 – Gunmen attacked a Lebanese-owned camp for a construction company in rural northern Nigeria, killing a guard and kidnapping at least six foreign workers, including two Lebanese nationals, authorities said Sunday, in the biggest kidnapping yet in a region under attack by Islamic extremists. The attack Saturday…
Activists accuse Saudi government in Qatif shootings
Al-Akhbar News 17 Feb 2013 – Anti-riot police face off with protesters in Saudi Arabia’s eastern Gulf coast town of Qatif on 11 March 2011. (Photo: Reuters) Unknown gunmen opened fire on a prison and police targets in Saudi Arabia’s Shia-populated Eastern Province, wounding a woman and her child, police and rights…
Baghdad blasts kill at least 37
Al-Akhbar News 17 Feb 2013 – Residents gather at the site of a car bomb attack in the Ameen district in Baghdad on 17 February 2013. (Photo: Reuters – Mohammed Ameen) Updated 3:07pm: A series of car bombs exploded across Iraq’s capital Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 37 people and wounding…
Palestinian Hunger Strikers Battle on a New Front
Al-Akhbar Politics 16 Feb 2013 – The Mother of Samer Issawi, a Palestinian prisoner who has been on hunger strike for more than 200 days, attends a solidarity sit-in outside the Red Cross offices in Jerusalem, on 14 February 2013. (Photo: Ahmad Gharabli – AFP) The Mother of Samer Issawi, a Palestinian…
EU Fishing Fleets Booted from Mauritanian Seas
Al-Akhbar Politics 16 Feb 2013 – A young Malian, who fled the violence in the historic city of Timbuktu, carries a cup in a refugee camp in the Mauritanian town of Fassala on 28 January 2013. (Photo: AFP) A young Malian, who fled the violence in the historic city of Timbuktu, carries…
Things Get Awkward with Mohamed Morsi
Al-Akhbar Politics 16 Feb 2013 – A protester, who opposes Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, shouts slogans while holding a cross and a Koran as he stands on top of a burnt riot police vehicle at Tahrir Square in Cairo 15 February 2013. (Photo: Reuters – Amr Abdallah Dalsh) A protester, who opposes…
Israel politician Lieberman on trial
BBC 17 Feb 2013 – Israel’s former foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, pleads not guilty at the opening of his trial on charges of fraud and breach of trust.
Baghdad hit by deadly bomb blasts
BBC 17 Feb 2013 – Several car bombs explode in mainly Shia areas in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killing at least 21 people and injuring scores more, officials say.
Israel to launch Prisoner X inquiry
BBC 17 Feb 2013 – An Israeli parliamentary inquiry will investigate the death in custody of Prisoner X, said to be an Australian-Israeli with links to Mossad.
Israel lets in wounded Syrians
BBC 17 Feb 2013 – Israel says Syrians can cross into the occupied Golan Heights “in exceptional cases” after seven are taken to hospital in northern Israel.
Articles
Samer Issawi: No going back, I am owner of Right
Alternative Information Center 2/17/2013
Letter from Palestinian Prisoner Samer al-Issawi: There is no going back because I’m the owner of Right.
Letter from prisoner Samer al-Issawi as it came from the Ministry of Prisoners:
I turn with admiration to the masses of our heroic Palestinian people, to our Palestinian leadership, to all forces, parties and national institutions. I salute them for standing by our fight to defend our right to freedom and dignity.
I draw my strength from my people, from all the free people in the world, from friends and the families of the prisoners who continue day and night chanting for freedom and an end to the occupation.
My health has deteriorated dramatically and I’m hanging between life and death. My weak body is collapsing but still able to be patient and continue the confrontation. My message is that I will continue until the end, until the last drop of water in my body, until martyrdom. Martyrdom is an honor for me in this battle. My martyrdom is my remaining bomb in the confrontation with the tyrants and the jailers, in the face of the racist policy of the occupation that humiliates our people and exercises against us all means of oppression and repression.
I say to my people: I’m stronger than the occupation army and its racist laws. I, Samer al-Issawi, son of Jerusalem, send you my last will that, in case I fell as a martyr, you will carry my soul as a cry for all the prisoners, man and women, cry for freedom, emancipation and salvation from the nightmare of prisons and their harsh darkness.
My battle is not only for individual freedom. The battle waged by me and by my heroic colleagues, Tariq, Ayman and Ja’affar, is everyone’s battle, the battle of the Palestinian people against the occupation and its prisons. Our goal is to be free and sovereign in our liberated state and in our blessed Jerusalem. more.. e-mail
Plans for the future
George S. Hishmeh, Arabic Media Internet Network (AMIN) 2/15/2013
Under American tutelage, history almost repeats itself for both Palestinians and Israelis. President Barack Obama will be travelling next month to Israel, soon after his re-election. Four years ago, he also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his first weeks at the White House. But their Washington get-together was memorable for their sharp exchanges, and noted for Obama’s half-baked demand that Israel “freeze” its settlement expansion — a position that upset many an Arab for the American leader’s failure to insist that Israel withdraw its illegal settlers, numbering nowadays about 500,000, from all the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. Ever since that inelegant meeting, there was hardly any movement on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, while the Israeli expansion into Palestinian territories continued without serious challenge from any party, as has been the case since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. This time around, however, the American president will also be meeting after his visit to Israel with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah, each in his own country. Obama’s agenda has yet to be officially announced. Disappointing about the American president’s stance this week is his failure to mention Palestine or the Palestinians in his State of the Union address, on Tuesday, before a joint session of the US House of Representatives and the Senate, understandably since his remarks were focused on serious domestic issues. more.. e-mail
The Zuabis
Uri Avnery, Arabic Media Internet Network (AMIN) 2/16/2013
THE SOLE contribution of Ya’ir Lapid to Israeli folklore so far is his saying that he would not join a move to block Binyamin Netanyahu, since this would mean joining forces with “the Zuabis”.
This needs explanation to a foreign audience. The Zuabi family is a large Hamula (extended Arab family) located in Nazareth and the vicinity. Several members of this family served in the Knesset in the early days of Israel, all as members of Zionist parties or Arab factions attached to Zionist parties.
The present member of the Knesset bearing that distinguished name is Ms. Hanin Zuabi, the 44 year-old representative of the Arab nationalist Balad party. The founder of the party, Azmi Bishara, left Israel after being accused of security offenses. He said that because of his severe diabetes, he could not afford to go to prison.
Hanin. however, is widely hated on her own account. She has a knack of getting under the skin of Jewish Israelis. She is intentionally provocative, abrasive and infuriating. Once she was physically attacked by one of Avigdor Lieberman’s female storm troopers while making a speech from the Knesset rostrum. She did not flinch.
But her main claim to glory (or hatred) was the audacious decision to go aboard the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara that tried to run the blockade and take supplies to Gaza. The incident, in which 9 Turkish activists were killed by Israeli commandos, raised a tsunami of emotions in Israel. Hanin Zuabi was branded as a traitor. Many Arab citizens admire her courage, but that did not prevent her party from losing a seat in the recent elections. However, Zuabi kept her seat in the Knesset. more.. e-mail
What’s left on the Palestinian side of the Separation Barrier?
Yacov Ben Efrat, Challenge 2/17/2013
In March, after Bibi Netanyahu forms Israel’s new government, U.S. President Barack Obama intends to arrive for a first historic visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Obama wants to talk with the Israeli people, but has nothing of note to tell them. First on the American president’s crowded agenda will be Iran, and then Syria. Last will be the Palestinian issue, concerning which he has no new initiative.
That Obama is distancing himself from the Palestinian question is unsurprising. He has already crashed and burned on that one, when he named George Mitchell his special envoy, in vain. In response to Obama’s demand, Netanyahu did freeze settlement construction for ten months, but then he renewed it with greater vigor. Meantime another term in office has passed, both in Israel and in the United States, without even the semblance of an Israeli-Palestinian political process, and four more arid years lie ahead. Netanyahu committed himself to the principle of two states, but his actions belied it – the settlements expanded and the would-be Palestinian state continued to shrink. Economically bankrupt
On the Palestinian side of the Separation Barrier, senior members of the Palestinian Authority (PA) are running around as if trapped in a maze, looking for any way out. Whether in the West Bank areas under PA control, or in Gaza under Hamas, a catastrophe is unfolding, in the fullest sense of the word. Yet this subject is absent from Israeli public discourse. Periodically we hear about what goes on in the West Bank, the account buried on an inside page of the newspaper, when some young Palestinian man or woman is killed by IDF fire under murky circumstances and an investigation is opened into the matter. The issue at the top of today’s agenda is “equal sharing of the burden” by the Ultraorthodox in Israel’s military and economy; no one is interested in “the conflict.” The Israeli middle class has wearied of funding the Ultraorthodox, and people are pleased to see Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid joining forces to make life easier. more.. e-mail
Message from Samer el Issawi, day 209 hunger strike
In Gaza: 17 Feb 2013 – ** Via Rona Merrill, Neta Golan 16.02.13 – “ I turn with admiration to the masses of our heroic Palestinian people, to our Palestinian leadership, to all forces, parties and national institutions. I salute them for standing by our fight to defend our right to freedom and dignity. I draw my strength from my people, from all the free people in the world, from friends and the families of the prisoners who continue day and night chanting for freedom and an end to the occupation. My health has deteriorated dramatically and I’m hung between life and death. My weak body is collapsing but still able to be patient and continue the confrontation. My message is that I will continue until the end, until the last drop of water in my body, until martyrdom. Martyrdom is an honor for me in this battle. My martyrdom is my remaining bomb in the…more
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The New Dark Age 