11 May 2013 — VTJP
News
Israeli soldiers detain injured man from ambulance
5/11/2013 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli soldiers on Friday detained an injured young man from an ambulance in Ithna near Hebron, locals said. Jihad Theeb, 22, was shot by an Israeli soldier in both his thighs while working in his farm. Theeb, accompanied by two others, was on his way the hospital when Israeli soldiers stopped….
7 injured in clashes between gunmen and police in Sair
5/11/2013 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Seven people were injured overnight Friday in clashes between Palestinian police and gunmen in a town near Hebron in the southern West Bank. At around midnight Friday, gunmen opened fire at a police station in Sair. Police officers fired back, injuring two gunmen, and the Hebron command deployed patrols of several….
Witnesses: 7 injured in East Jerusalem clashes
5/11/2013 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Seven children were lightly wounded in East Jerusalem on Saturday during clashes between locals and Israeli forces, witnesses said. Locals told Ma’an that Israeli forces fired tear gas and stun grenades in the neighborhood of al-Tur while arresting 20-year-old Mustafa Abu al-Hawa. A local school official said seven….
Dozens of settlers clash with locals in Nablus
5/11/2013 – BURIN (AFP) — Dozens of settlers marched into a Nablus village on Saturday, leading to clashes with locals, witnesses said. One villager in Burin was slightly hurt in the hand by a stone and another passed out from tear gas fired by Israeli troops trying to separate the two groups, an AFP journalist said. The military….
Report: PFLP-GC preparing Golan units to fight Israel
5/11/2013 – LONDON (Ma’an) — The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command says it is preparing units to conduct operations against Israel in the occupied Golan Heights, Reuters reported Saturday. The Syria-based Palestinian faction said in a statement Friday that “it will form brigades to work on liberating all violated (Israeli-occupied) territories, first….
Nativity deportees urge ICC action to end exile
5/11/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Palestinian resistance fighters deported from the West Bank in 2002 on Saturday urged President Mahmoud Abbas to work for their return from exile. In April 2002, during a major Israeli incursion into the West Bank, Israeli forces besieged the Nativity Church in Bethlehem after dozens of fighters took refuge in….
Palestine establishes diplomatic ties with Honduras, Salvador
5/11/2013 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Palestine on Friday established diplomatic relations with Honduras, during the Palestinian Authority foreign minister’s tour of central American countries. Riyad al-Maliki met his Honduran counterpart Mireya Aguero in Honduras’ capital Tegucigalpa and discussed strengthening bilateral ties.”As foreign ministers, we are going to take on the responsibility of….
Ashton ‘concerned’ over Israel settlements
5/11/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Friday expressed concern about Israel’s approval this week of settler homes in the occupied West Bank, a statement from her office said.”The EU has repeatedly declared settlements to be illegal under international law and to constitute an obstacle to peace….
Report: Netanyahu spends $127,000 on airplane ‘rest chamber’
5/11/2013 – TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Benjamin Netanyahu’s office spent $127,000 of tax payers’ money on an airplane “rest chamber” for the Israeli premier, Israeli media reported Friday. The walled-off chamber included a double bed for the prime minister and his wife and was installed on the airplane that took the couple….
Gaza government to pay employees Sunday
5/11/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The government in Gaza will pay public sector staff on Sunday, the Hamas-run Finance Ministry said Saturday. The ministry said in a statement that April salaries for government employees would be distributed to banks and post offices on Sunday. [END]
Gaza police ban street parties ahead of high school exams
5/11/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Police on Saturday started imposing a ban on street parties in the Gaza Strip until high school exams are over. Police will allow parties in private buildings but not in public areas, Gaza police spokesman Ayoub Abu Shar told Ma’an, adding that residents were temporarily prohibited from using….
Israelis march against austerity budget
5/11/2013 – TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) — Israelis marched late Saturday in an echo of mass cost of living protests in 2011, but this time their ire focused on finance minister Yair Lapid who came to power in January on the coattails of that protest movement. Around 2,000 people gathered in central Tel Aviv, an AFP journalist said….
Hamas, Fatah to meet in Cairo for unity talks
5/11/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Delegations from Hamas and Fatah will meet in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss political reconciliation, a senior Hamas official said Saturday. Moussa Abu Marzouq said that the meeting would discuss ending the split between the rival Palestinian factions, adding that Hamas will do whatever it takes to achieve reconciliation. Fatah and….
Gaza laborer dies after falling from building
5/11/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A laborer died on Saturday after falling from a construction site in Gaza three days earlier, relatives said. Abdulrahman Ghanem, 21, died in an Israeli hospital after falling from the fifth story of a building in Gaza City, his family told Ma’an. Ghanem was studying at university and….
President Abbas phones Palestinian Arab Idol finalist
5/11/2013 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday telephoned Mohammad Assaf to congratulate him on reaching the finals of Arab Idol. Abbas applauded Assaf’s talent and said Palestine and the Arab nation were proud of him, the Palestinian Authority’s Wafa news reported. Assaf, from Gaza, is the first Palestinian to….
Expired food destroyed in Bethlehem
5/11/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Police and health inspectors on Saturday destroyed expired food products in Bethlehem in the southern West Bank. Officers inspected a shop in the city and seized frozen chicken, canned food, hummus and dairy produce past the expiry date, a police statement said. The produce was destroyed by a special committee representing….
Strong Iran quake causes damage, injuries
5/11/2013 – TEHRAN (AFP) — A strong earthquake of 6. 2 magnitude hit southern Iran early on Saturday, the US Geological Survey said, with local media reporting of damaged villages and several injuries. The epicenter of the quake was measured at 85 kilometerssoutheast of the southern town of Minab at 02:08 GMT , the USGS said in a….
Mubarak appears in fresh trial over protester deaths
5/11/2013 – CAIRO (AFP) — Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak appeared in court on Saturday to face a new trial for complicity in the murder of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 uprising, as well as for corruption. The 85-year-old Mubarak, who was taken into court in a wheelchair dressed in white and wearing sunglasses, is on….
Syria army ‘fights to retake key road to north’
5/11/2013 – BEIRUT (AFP) — Syrian troops fought rebels on Saturday in a bid to take back a key supply route linking the center of the country to Aleppo in the north, a monitoring group said.” Fierce battles raged pitting troops against rebels. Regime troops fought to reopen the road linking Hama to Aleppo,” Syrian Observatory for Human….
Egypt ‘foils Qaeda-linked plot against Western embassy’
5/11/2013 – CAIRO (AFP) — Egypt’s interior minister said on Saturday police arrested members of an Al-Qaeda-linked cell that plotted to carry out a suicide bombing against a Western embassy and other targets in the country. Police “have delivered a successful blow against a terror cell plotting suicide bomb attacks,” including a plot to attack a….
40 dead in Turkey car bombings near Syria border
5/11/2013 – ISTANBUL (AFP) – Two explosive-laden cars blew up in a small Turkish town near the border with Syria on Saturday, killing at least 40 people in one of the deadliest recent attacks in the volatile area. The bombings in the town of Reyhanli, just a few kilometers from the main border crossing into Syria, come amid….
Minister: Third blast in Turkey unrelated to attacks
5/11/2013 – ISTANBUL (AFP) — A third explosion rocked the Turkish town of Reyhanli on Saturday, television channel NTV reported, but the incident was unrelated to twin blasts there that killed at least 40 people and injured 100 earlier in the day.” The third explosion was a car’s fuel tank. It had nothing to do with….
International Solidarity Movement
‘Price tag’ attack in South Hebron Hills
5/11/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 10th May 2013, Operation Dove, South Hebron Hills, Occupied Palestine – On May the 10th at about 6 a. m. some Palestinians from At-Tuwani and two Operation Dove volunteers found out that 62 olive trees had been cut during the night in a field next to the Bypass road 317. On a small wall nearby the….
Protest against new road block in the village of Al Walaja
5/11/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 11th May 2013, International Solidarity Movement, Al Walaja, Occupied Palestine, By Team Khalil – On Friday 10th May, Palestinians from the village of Al Walaja protested against a new road block, placed by the Israeli army in one of the two roads giving them access to Bethlehem. The iron barrier that was placed earlier this week….
Village of Azmut organises first demonstration against the Israeli occupation and land theft – settler road blocked successfully
5/11/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 10th May 2013, International Solidarity Movement, Azmut, Occupied Palestine, By Team Nablus – On Friday 10th of May, around 60 people from the village of Azmut, near Nablus, supported by 6 international activists, demonstrated against the Israeli occupation and systematic land theft by illegal settlements. The action was successful, but the residents continue to suffer heavily….
Nawaz Sharif declares victory after early results
The National 11 May 2013 – The former Pakistani prime minister says his party will win the most seats in Pakistan’s national assembly, but an outright majority appears unlikely.
Bombs kill at least 40 in Turkish town near border with Syria
The National 11 May 2013 – The blasts, which were 15 minutes apart, raise fears that Syria’s civil war was crossing into its neighbour.
Rigging allegations mar Karachi polls
The National 11 May 2013 – Voting is cancelled in at least 40 polling stations as parties trade charges of fraud and voter intimidation.
Rafsanjani enters Iran’s presidential election at the last minute
The National 11 May 2013 – The hundreds of hopefuls who put their names forward in recent days will be vetted by the Guardian Council, controlled by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Michael Theodoulou reports
Need to visit a hospital? Take holiday on Saadiyat
The National 11 May 2013 – The first dedicated facility for attracting medical tourists to the capital will open on Saadiyat Island next month.
Maid ‘stole employer’s birth control pills’
The National 11 May 2013 – A maid was reported to police for having an affair after her sponsor noticed her birth control pills were missing.
Woman fined Dh1,000 for calling man stupid
The National 11 May 2013 – A woman who called her friend’s ex-husband stupid has been fined Dh1,000.
Beachgoers make waves about new jet-ski rules
The National 11 May 2013 – Dubai Maritime City Authority has introduced a raft of new rules surrounding the use of jet skis – but are users taking note? Preeti Kannan finds out.
Palestinian gets four-year sentence for ‘low-level’ terror plots
Ha’aretz – 11 May 2013
Netanyahu, Lapid, and Ya’alon to decide on Israel’s defense budget
Ha’aretz – 11 May 2013
Netanyahu trying to thwart transfer of surface-to-air missiles from Russia to Syria
Ha’aretz – 11 May 2013
IDF intentionally downs UAV due to malfunction
Ha’aretz – 11 May 2013
Thousands of Israelis take to the streets to protest austerity measures
Ha’aretz – 11 May 2013
Palestinian-Syrian group says forming units to fight for the Golan
Ha’aretz – 11 May 2013
Netanyahu spends $127,000 of Israeli taxpayers’ money on airplane ‘resting chamber’
Ha’aretz – 11 May 2013
Golan schoolchildren find rare toad
Ha’aretz – 11 May 2013
US Jews to Lapid: Reconsider VAT on tourists
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish organizations protest imposition of VAT on foreign tourists.
PM to meet Putin amid concerns over Syria
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Visit reportedly set to take place next week.
The liberation of the Wall?
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – The haredim understand that the struggle of Women of the Wall is not just about what a few women wear when they pray at the Kotel.
Haredim violently protest women’s service at Kotel
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – 48% of Israelis support Women of the Wall prayer rights, Israel Democracy Institute poll finds.
‘Need for further US-Israel hydrocarbon cooperation’
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – US Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President says “energy dynamic that has shaped the Middle East now opens opportunities for Israel.”
A wayward brother who can bring down a PM
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – The impact of Yossi Olmert’s testimony on Holyland trial.
Knesset speaker calls for calm
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Edelstein calls for calm despite the intense emotions involved in the draft state budget and Women of the Wall prayer.
Road safety taught at well-baby clinics
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – The nurses will teach parents in individual and group sessions, Beterem said.
Juvenile hormone study to protect bee pollinators
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Somewhere along the evolutionary history of these bees, juvenile hormone stopped doing one job, and started doing a different job.
Gung-ho on serving his country and patients
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Dovid White is the first chiropractor – and first haredi-born medical professional – to be recruited by the Israel Defense Forces.
The Sa’ado case
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Anyone with even cursory familiarity with the system realizes that justice and fairness are by no means identical with legal strictures.
Going to China for peace?
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Chinese officials have suggested that since Israeli and Palestinian leaders were in China last week, it’s a great time for walking that extra mile.
The Sharansky plan
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Natan Sharansky is to be applauded for his effort to make the Western Wall area known as Robinson’s Arch available for mixed minyanim, on a 24-hour basis.
Time for Arab League to take the plunge
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Washington Watch: Both sides have agreed on swaps in principle, and while they remain far apart on the details, the gap is bridgeable.
Blintzes and first fruits
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Shavuot through the ages in the US
Thousands in Tel Aviv protest Lapid budget
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Finance Minister has come under heavy criticism for the budget, which includes a rise in VAT, cuts to welfare benefits and civil servants’ salaries, and an increase in income tax.
Lapid contrite to Yesh Atid voters, defends budget
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Finance minister seeks changes to tax breaks law in meeting with Teva CEO, stays firm on tourist VAT.
Eritreans desire to migrate to Israel stifled
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Visiting Eritrean dissident activist says Egypt border fence, threat of detention has deterred migrants from coming to Israel.
PA: Muslim cleric in Gaza holds forged passport
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Hamas gives Egyptian cleric diplomatic passport; PA leadership in Ramallah critical of cleric for deepening Palestinian divisions.
Iran nuke negotiator Jalili enters presidential race
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Jalili considered close to Ayatollah; former President Rafsanjani also registers for June election, first since 2009.
Cairo says thwarts suicide attack on embassy
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Egyptian security forces stop an al-Qaida plot; interior minister does not reveal target.
Car bombs kill at least 40 near Turkey-Syria border
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Twin blasts rock Turkish town.
Palestinians, Syrians form units to fight for Golan
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Move comes amid Assad, Hezbollah anti-Israel rhetoric; Hezbollah says would support such operations.
Greenhouse gases hit threshold unseen in 3m. years
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere exceeds 400 parts per million for first time since researchers began tracking the data in 1958.
Retrial of Hosni Mubarak resumes in Egypt
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – 85-year-old wheeled into courtroom in hospital gurney; faces charges of complicity in murder of protesters.
Iran to see if big hitters will run for president
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – Several high-profile figures yet to declare on last day to register for June presidential election, the first since 2009.
‘Chomsky pushed Hawking to boycott Israel event’
Jerusalem Post 11 May 2013 – ‘Guardian’: American-Jewish intellectual among academics who lobbied Hawking to pull out of Israeli event over Palestinian issue.
Kerry: Strong evidence of Syrian chemical arms use
Jerusalem Post 10 May 2013 – Turkish FM Davutoglu says Syrian casualties treated in Turkey show signs of being victims of chemical weapons.
William Sutcliffe: the power of the West Bank wall
The Guardian 10 May 2013 – A visit to the West Bank with the Palestine festival of literature made William Sutcliffe rebuild his novel The Wall No matter how many photographs you have seen, coming face to face with the wall in…
Syria News – May 9, 2013 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet
Military Resistance 11E5 : Wracked
Uruknet
SHAME OF A NATION: GUANTANAMO BAY
Uruknet
Stephen Hawking’s support for the boycott of Israel is a turning point
Uruknet
Lessons from a massacre that Assad looks to exploit
Uruknet
Attacks on Stephen Hawking, transparency for Manning, Obama’s new lobbyist chief
Uruknet
Imran Khan’s ‘Tsunami’ Sweeps Nation as Pakistan Prepares to Vote
Uruknet
Missing from the Arab peace plan: an Israeli partner
Uruknet
Death is Preferable to Life at Obama’s Guantanamo
Uruknet
Assad government “usual suspects” in blasts: Turkish deputy PM
Daily Star 11 May 2013 Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government are the “usual suspects” behind car bombs in Turkey that killed 40 people and wounded 100 more, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc says.
IAEA chief backs sending experts to check Iran’s Bushehr plant
Daily Star 11 May 2013 The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it will be a good idea to send experts to check the safety of Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor, a day after Iran said its facilities were…
Blasts may be related to Syria or Kurdish peace process: Turkish PM
Daily Star 11 May 2013 Car bomb attacks which killed 20 people in a southern Turkish border town may have been related to the conflict in Syria or to Turkey’s own peace process with Kurdish militants, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan says.
Aid for Syrian refugees failing to materialize: Mikati
Daily Star 11 May 2013 The international community should give Lebanon the needed assistance to provide aid for Syrian refugees, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati says, adding that only limited aid has materialized thus far.
Egypt ‘foils Al-Qaeda-linked plot against Western embassy’
Daily Star 11 May 2013 Egypt’s interior minister says police have arrested three members of an Al-Qaeda-linked cell in an alleged transnational plot to bomb a Western embassy and other targets in the country.
Hezbollah’s actions could drag Lebanon to war: Geagea
Daily Star 11 May 2013 Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea slams Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s speech earlier this week, saying his pledge to assist resistance groups in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights could drag Lebanon into war.
43 dead in Turkey car bombings near Syria
Daily Star 11 May 2013 In one of the deadliest attacks in Turkey in recent years, two car bombs explode near the border with Syria, killing 43 and wounding 140 others. Turkish officials blame the attack on a group linked to…
Rafsanjani’s last-minute entry transforms Iranian race
Daily Star 11 May 2013 Former President Rafsanjani throws himself into Iran’s election race as a flurry of heavyweight candidates rush to beat the registration deadline in the most unpredictable contest for decades.
Suicide bomber targets senior Iraq intel officer
Daily Star 11 May 2013 A suicide bomber targets the home of a senior Iraqi intelligence officer north of Baghdad, killing three people, while three more die in other attacks, officials say.
Saudi king replaces air force commander
Daily Star 11 May 2013 Saudi Arabia’s monarch has replaced the commander of the kingdom’s air force.
IAF grounds Shoval drones after shooting down UAV
YNet News, 11 May 2013 – ….
Protesters block road in Tel Aviv
YNet News, 11 May 2013 – ….
Protests erupt in Turkish town after bombings
YNet News, 11 May 2013 – ….
Pakistan’s Sharif declares victory in landmark election
YNet News, 11 May 2013 – ….
IAF shoots down own drone over sea
YNet News, 11 May 2013 – ….
Prof. Hawking, a boycott is a black hole too
YNet News, 11 May 2013 – Op-ed: An intellectual of Hawking’s stature should realize there is a grey area of reality between Israelis and Palestinians ….
Turkey: Tests confirm chemical weapons used in Syria
YNet News, 10 May 2013 – Turkish FM says tests found chemical weapons traces on Syrian refugees; ‘We’ll share results with UN,’ he says; PM Erdogan: ‘Red line’ crossed long ago ….
Netanyahu commissioned airplane ‘rest chamber’ costing $127,000
YNet News, 10 May 2013 – Channel 10 reports PM’s office demanded plane to Thatcher’s funeral include chamber with double bed for PM and wife, increasing cost by more than third ….
J’lem couple allegedly dismembers man’s ex-wife
YNet News, 10 May 2013 – Man suspected of killing, dismembering former spouse, current wife searched online for chemicals to dissolve body; attorney: It was in self-defense ….
Bangladesh collapse survivor rescued after 17 days
YNet News, 10 May 2013 – Seamstress was trapped under rubble, rescued in good condition; ‘I never dreamed I’d see daylight again,’ she says; disaster’s toll passes 1000 dead ….
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood rallies against Israel
YNet News, 10 May 2013 – Protest against alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria, detention of Muslim cleric; protesters chant for Israel’s destruction: Free Palestine from sons of monkeys ….
Russia: No ‘new’ plan to give Syria advanced S-300 system
YNet News, 10 May 2013 – Russian foreign minister avoids questions on Russian intentions to sell Assad’s regime advanced missile defense system; reports claimed deal includes 6 launchers, 144 game-changing missiles ….
IDF releases deserter forced to work as stripper, call girl
YNet News, 10 May 2013 – Judge shows sympathy to ‘difficult life circumstances’; in similar case, a 28-year-old draft dodger from France released ….
China’s Xi urges Netanyahu to restart peace talks
YNet News, 10 May 2013 – Chinese president tells PM he hopes Israel, Palestinians can make ‘joint efforts to take practical measures to gradually build up mutual trust.’ Netanyahu: Israel is well aware of the pain caused by war ….
PM’s driver gets ‘bonus’ trip to China
YNet News, 10 May 2013 – Eli Iluz accompanies Netanyahu and his wife on official visit despite the fact that he was not needed as a driver. PM’s Office: Fringe benefit ….
Analysis: Arab states at crossroads
YNet News, 10 May 2013 – Al-Quds University professor says when the Americans feel there should be peace in the Middle East, ‘they will impose it in any way, shape or color that they want’ ….
Occupation isolates hunger striking prisoners
PIC – The Israeli occupation continued to isolate three hunger striking prisoners in an attempt to break their will and pressure them to stop their strike.
Prisoner’s family from Gaza appeals for the release of its patient son
PIC – Family of Palestinian prisoner Mustafa Haniyeh appealed to international and human rights organizations to immediately intervene to save the life of its patient son and release him from Israeli jails.
Sheikh Salah: We must defend all mosques throughout occupied Palestine
PIC – Sheikh Ra’ed Salah urged the Palestinians to defend all of their mosques in the occupied territories against the Israeli violations and not to neglect them.
CFP accuses Israel of suppressing religious freedom in Jerusalem
PIC – CFP accused the Israeli occupation authorities of suppressing religious freedoms in Jerusalem in light of the successive Israeli aggressions against Muslims and Christians in the city.
Haneyya: The wounded in Gaza will continue to hold the resistance banner
PIC – Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya said that the wounded in Gaza insist on carrying the banner of resistance and steadfastness despite the limbs or eyesight they have lost.
Clashes continue in Sair between PA security services and Palestinian citizens
PIC – Clashes broke out anew between the PA security forces and Palestinian protesters in the vicinity of the police station in Sair town east of al-Khalil on Friday night leading to six casualties.
IOF abuses liberated captive at checkpoint in al-Khalil
PIC – Liberated captive Issa Halaiqa was taken to al-Khalil government hospital after he fainted at a checkpoint near Ras al-Jura district, north of al-Khalil, where he was stopped and attacked.
IOF quell marches protesting Jewish violations against Aqsa Mosque
PIC – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) violently suppressed different marches held on Friday in the West Bank to protest Israel’s violations against the Aqsa Mosque.
Two Fallen Palestinian Journalists to be Honored at US-Based Memorial
WAFA – 11 May 2013
Abbas Phones Palestinian Arab Idol Star
WAFA – 11 May 2013
Israeli Soldiers Block Farm Road in Bethlehem
WAFA – 11 May 2013
Honduras, El Salvador Establish Diplomatic Ties with Palestine
WAFA – 11 May 2013
Israelis Cut 62 Olive Trees in South Hebron Hills, says Group
WAFA – 11 May 2013
Three Hunger Striking Prisoners in Isolation, says Ministry
WAFA – 11 May 2013
EU Concerned by Recent Events in Jerusalem, West Bank
WAFA – 11 May 2013
Weather Forecast: Fair with Temperature around Average
WAFA – 11 May 2013
Administration emails raise new questions on Libya attack
LA Times 11 May 2013 – Emails exchanged after the attack on a U.S. diplomatic site in Benghazi, Libya, show the White House and State Department were deeply involved in drafting a talking points document. WASHINGTON — Email traffic exchanged during the drafting of talking points about the deadly attack on…
Egypt Arrests 3 in Plot to Attack Cities and an Embassy
New York Times 11 May 2013 – An American diplomat said that his Egyptian counterparts told him that the United States Embassy was targeted.
Israel and Russia to Discuss Arms Sale to Syria
New York Times 11 May 2013 – Concerns that Russia has a longstanding contract to deliver a sophisticated air defense system to Syria has prompted talks between Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Car Bombings Kill Dozens in Turkish Town Near Syrian Border
New York Times 11 May 2013 – Turkish officials suggested that two car bombs that killed at least 40 people near the Syrian border might be an attempt to derail peace talks with the country’s own Kurdish rebels.
Two Candidates Shake Up Iran’s Presidential Race as Last-Minute Entries
New York Times 11 May 2013 – Iran’s presidential campaign took an unexpected turn on Saturday, when two game-changing politicians entered the race in the final minutes of a five-day registration period.
Ahmed Maher of Egypt Released After Questioning
New York Times 11 May 2013 – Ahmed Maher, a leader of the April 6 Youth Group, was questioned and held overnight in a high-security prison, then released Saturday.
Tear Down This Wall, Mr. Netanyahu
Tikun Olam – Bibi Netanyahu is visiting China where he’s negotiated trade deals, lobbied unsuccessfully for a tougher Chinese diplomatic stance against Iran, and likely cooked up some secret arms deals with the Chinese military. But one of the oddest of his public appearances was at the Great Wall,…
San Francisco bus ads condemn Israeli apartheid: backlash begins
Muzzlewatch – American Muslims for Palestine launched an ad campaign this week on San Francisco buses condemning Israeli apartheid. (See below.) Predictably, local branches of the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee, as well as the Jewish Community Relations Council, immediately issued a statement in effect calling…
Glenn Greenwald brings facts and reason to ‘Real Time’, ruins Bill Maher’s night
Mondoweiss – Last night Bill Maher had Glenn Greenwald on his show. Maher, a self-professed atheist who thinks religion is poison but thinks Israel is wonderful got a big surprise. Much has been written about Maher and his special loathing of Islam and much of it is fair….
The power of Stephen Hawking
Mondoweiss – Has an establishment figure ever used his personal capital to such glorious effect? No wonder Israel advocates are so unhinged by Stephen Hawking’s brave act. A cartoon by Carlos Latuff (thanks to Terry Weber): Latuff Hawking cartoon
Latest Geller ad seeks to mute criticism of Israeli apartheid
Mondoweiss – The demonizer of Islam, Pamela Geller has struck again. Priscilla Read of Jewish Voice for Peace sent me this photograph of an ad at a Metro-North station in Ossining, N.Y. Chuck Bell took the photo late last month. Geller ad at Ossining train station April 27…
Occupiers demolish houses, iron shop, and dozens of olive trees
Mondoweiss – Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Restriction of movement Israel demolishes Bedouin village for 50th time BEERSHEBA, Israel (Ma‘an) 9 May — Israel on Thursday demolished a Bedouin village in southern Israel for the 50th time in two years, locals said. A large force of…
Benjamin Netanyahu Spends $127K on El Al Airplane ‘Resting Chamber’
The Foward Breaking News 11 May 2013 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent $127,000 of Israeli taxpayers’ money on a “resting chamber” that was especially constructed for him and his wife on their five-hour flight to London last month, Channel 10 reported. Click here for the rest of the article…
Thousands of Israelis Protest Austerity Measures
The Foward Breaking News 11 May 2013 – Thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Saturday to protest against austerity measures presented this week as part of the state’s new budget. Click here for the rest of the article…
Militant Palestinian Group Vows To Take Back Golan
The Foward Breaking News 11 May 2013 – A militant Palestinian group in Damascus said it is forming combat units to try to recapture Israeli-occupied territory, in particular the Golan Heights, after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Hezbollah that they would support such operations. Click here for the rest of the article…
Church of Scotland Backs Away Denial of Jewish Claim to Land of Israel
The Foward Breaking News 11 May 2013 – The Church of Scotland will reword a controversial report which said “scripture” provides no basis for Jewish claims to Israel, the church said in statement. Click here for the rest of the article…
Egypt: Premier Discusses Trade Exchange With Turkish Counterpart
allAfrica.com 11 May 2013 – [Aswat Masriya]Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed on Friday ways to increase the size of trade exchange between the two countries.
Egypt ‘militant embassy plot’ foiled
BBC 11 May 2013 – Egyptian police have arrested three al-Qaeda-linked militants plotting a suicide attack on a Western embassy, the country’s interior minister says.
Rafsanjani to stand in Iran election
BBC 11 May 2013 – Iran ex-President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani registers for the June elections, in what could be a challenge to the country’s conservative leadership.
Gunmen ‘lift Libyan ministry siege’
BBC 11 May 2013 – Gunmen demanding the expulsion of Gaddafi-era officials from Libya’s new government lift their siege of two ministries in Tripoli, says a minister.
Youth activist freed in Egypt
BBC 11 May 2013 – Ahmed Maher, a prominent political activist who leads Egypt’s April 6 movement, is freed a day after being arrested in Cairo over an anti-government protest.
Finding a Job in Lebanon: The Hidden Cost of “Connections”
Al-Akhbar Opinion 11 May 2013 – At least 20 percent of students say that they resort to political connections and 73 percent think that political connections are important to find jobs. (photo: Haitham Moussawi) At least 20 percent of students say that they resort to political connections and 73 percent think that…
Syria: Secularism Takes a Backseat in Latakia
Al-Akhbar News 11 May 2013 – Free Syrian Army fighters rest in Haresta neighbourhood of Damascus 31 January 2013. (Photo: REUTERS – Goran Tomasevic) Free Syrian Army fighters rest in Haresta neighbourhood of Damascus 31 January 2013. (Photo: REUTERS – Goran Tomasevic) Latakia – News of nearby clashes continues to unsettle the…
Palestinian group says preparing to fight for Golan Heights
Al-Akhbar News 11 May 2013 – A picture taken from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights shows Syrian residents gathering near the boundary fence near the southern Syrian village of al-Rafide on 7 May 2013. (Photo: AFP – Menahem Kahana) A Palestinian nationalist organization in Damascus said it is forming combat units to try…
Explosions kills 18 in Turkey near the Syrian border
Al-Akhbar News 11 May 2013 – A person is evacuated from the site where car bombs exploded on 11 May 2013 near the town hall in Reyhanli, just a few kilometers from the main border crossing into Syria, killing 13 people and wounded another 18, according to an initial toll. (Photo: AFP /…
Suicide bombing kills three in Iraq
Al-Akhbar News 11 May 2013 – A suicide bomber targeted the home of a senior Iraqi intelligence officer north of Baghdad on Saturday, killing three people, while three more died in other attacks, officials said. The bomber detonated a small tanker truck at the home of police Brigadier General Ismail al-Juburi, a…
Retrial opens for Mubarak over protester deaths
Al-Akhbar News 11 May 2013 – An anti-Mubarak protester holds an effigy of Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and his co-accused outside the Egyptian police academy in Cairo, where Mubarak’s trial is taking place on 11 May 2013. (Photo: AFP – Gianluigi Guercia) Updated at 2:30pm: Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was…
Strong earthquake hits southern Iran, kills one
Al-Akhbar News 11 May 2013 – Updated at 2:35pm: A strong 6.2 magnitude earthquake has jolted the south of Iran, killing one child and injuring at least 20 people, local media reported The report said the quake struck the Arabian Sea port town of Jask at 6:38am Saturday, damaging hundreds of homes….
Lebanon: Orthodox Law Halves the Future Movement Bloc
Al-Akhbar Politics 10 May 2013 – If parliament passes the Orthodox electoral bill, Sunni domination of the vote will be a thing of the past. Future supporters would inevitably see their number of MPs shrink, even within the Sunni community. (Photo: Al-Akhbar) If parliament passes the Orthodox electoral bill, Sunni domination of…
Lebanon’s Armed Forces on the Edge of Paralysis
Al-Akhbar Politics 10 May 2013 – Lebanese army soldiers arrest a suspect as they patrol a street in the northern coastal city of Tripoli during clashes between pro- and anti-Syrian regime local gunmen on 22 March 2013. (Photo: AFP – Joseph Eid) Lebanese army soldiers arrest a suspect as they patrol a…
Deadly blasts hit Turkey border town
BBC 11 May 2013 – Twin car bombs kill at least 43 people and injure at least 100 in the Turkish town of Reyhanli, near the Syrian border.
Egypt ‘militant embassy plot’ foiled
BBC 11 May 2013 – Egyptian police have arrested three al-Qaeda-linked militants plotting a suicide attack on a Western embassy, the country’s interior minister says.
Rafsanjani to stand in Iran election
BBC 11 May 2013 – Iran ex-President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani registers for the June elections, in what could be a challenge to the country’s conservative leadership.
Gunmen ‘lift Libyan ministry siege’
BBC 11 May 2013 – Gunmen demanding the expulsion of Gaddafi-era officials from Libya’s new government lift their siege of two ministries in Tripoli, says a minister.
Hosni Mubarak retrial opens in Cairo
BBC 11 May 2013 – The retrial of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on charges of complicity in the killings of protesters and corruption begins in Cairo.
Articles
B’Tselem’s findings: Harm to civilians significantly higher in second half of Operation Pillar of Defense
B’tselem 5/8/2013
Four times as many uninvolved Palestinian civilians were killed in the final four days of the operation as during the first four days
After several months of field research and crosschecking data, human rights organization B’Tselem published a report today (Thursday, 9 May 2013) reviewing harm to civilians in Operation Pillar of Defense. The report provides statistics on the numbers of Palestinians and Israelis killed over the course of the operation, which lasted from 14 to 21 November 2012. The report challenges the common perception in the Israeli public and media that the operation was “surgical” and caused practically no fatalities among uninvolved Palestinian civilians. Furthermore, the report finds that there was a significant difference between the first and the final days of the operation: of the uninvolved Palestinian fatalities, 80% were killed in the last four days of the operation.
Palestinians killed in the operation (website will be updated shortly with full list of Palestinian and Israeli fatalities. Excel list of all casualties available here):
According to B’Tselem’s investigation, 167 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military during the operation. This number includes 62 Palestinians who took part in the hostilities and seven other who were targets of assassination. Of the remaining fatalities, 87 did not take part in the hostilities. With regard to 11 fatalities B’Tselem was unable to determine whether or not they had taken part in the hostilities.
One Palestinian woman was killed by a Palestinian rocket. A further five Palestinians were killed in two incidents under circumstances that suggest they were hit by Palestinian rockets, but B’Tselem has been unable to confirm this information. — See also: Report: Human Rights Violations During Operation Pillar Of Defense 14-21 November 2012 and Resource: Over half of Palestinians killed in ‘Pillar of Defense’ were civilians more.. e-mail
Letter sent to Prof. Stephen Hawking
Israeli Occupation Archive 5/11/2013
[IOA Editor: The following letter was sent to Stephen Hawking by 20 scientists urging him to reconsider his participation, as a keynote speaker, at Israel’s Presidential Conference, a major public event attracting world figures such as Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. Professor Hawking has since declined the invitation to attend. This letter was distributed by Jonathan Rosenhead of BRICUP]
27 April 2013
Dear Professor Hawking,
As fellow scholars and academics, we are surprised and deeply disappointed to learn that you have accepted an invitation to participate in Israel’s Presidential Conference in June.
It is entirely natural to wish to accept an invitation to a high profile event of this kind. But can we ask you to reflect further before exercising that reflex.
Israel has many special features which should give pause, and which indeed are already persuading many academics and cultural figures not to participate with official Israeli institutions. Here are a few of them:
Discrimination against Palestinians: Israel systematically discriminates against the Palestinians who make up 20 per cent of its population in ways that would be illegal in Britain.
Systematic violations of international human rights and humanitarian law: The UN Fact-Finding Mission on the 2008-09 Gaza Conflict concluded that the preceding blockade of Gaza amounted to “collective punishment” of the people of Gaza. Furthermore it found that Israel’s Cast Lead offensive involved numerous breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the likelihood that ”war crimes and crimes against humanity” had been committed. — See also: Stephen Hawking letter: Some facts on Israel and Palestinemore.. e-mail
Muck & Meir: Prolific Analyst Botches Facts to Vindicate Failed Iran Sanctions Policy
Nima Shirazi, Wide Asleep in America 5/8/2013
“Comment is free, but facts are sacred.” – C.P. Scott, editor of the Guardian, 1921
Israeli commentator Meir Javedanfar has made a very successful career of trafficking conventional wisdom and mainstream narratives about Iran’s nuclear program.
In a recent op-ed for the Guardian newspaper he has insisted – as he has done for years now – that the economic warfare and collective punishment exacted upon Iran at the behest of the United States and Israel is a beneficial policy that has made the Iranian government more malleable and amenable to Western diktat over its uranium enrichment program.
A recent spate of informed analysis and reports from establishment institutions has acknowledged the failure of sanctions to bully Iran into capitulating to illegal and hypocritical Western demands. New studies have also found that the Iranian economy has nimbly adapted to the restrictions imposed by sanctions, offering more production, growth and diversification than may have been possible without them.
Refusing to bow to such credible research, Mr. Javedanfar has held fast to the perspective that “sanctions have proved themselves to be effective” in forcing Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to reenter negotiations and consider curbing Iran’s nuclear program.
In his op-ed, Javedanfar highlights a sequence of events over the past few years to show that Iran’s decisions to engage in talks have been directly influenced by embargoes on Iranian oil and gas, which have hurt the Islamic Republic’s economy.
But the facts simply don’t work in Mr. Javedanfar’s favor. more.. e-mail
Israel’s ethnocentric experiment
Jamal Kanj, Redress 5/2/2013
Israeli leaders are masters at muddling the international community with trivial issues while turning peace negotiations into a process to end all peace.
Assured by subservient US backing, and for more than 15 years prior to the current pointless and interminable process, Israel rejected peace overtures from the Palestinians by insisting on impossible and ever-changing terms to be fulfilled even before agreeing to talk with Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Israeli preconditions, Palestinian concessions
The first precondition – which later became a US law – was to renounce “terrorism” and recognize Israel without reciprocity. The PLO gave in to the American demand in order to start the current peace marathon in 1988.
After the signing of the Oslo accord between the PLO and the Labour party government of Yitzhak Rabin, right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu rejected the Palestinian recognition as incomplete, insisting that the PLO annul its charter, specifically sections calling for establishing a bi-national non-sectarian democratic state on all of historical Palestine.
Again the PLO acquiesced and invited then President Bill Clinton in December 1998 to christen a meeting of the Palestine National Council annulling the provisions demanded by the new Israeli government.
There have been at least five internationally-supervised peace milestones and countless schemes negotiated directly between the two parties in the last 20 years. Sequentially, they were: the Oslo accord, the Wye River agreement, the Road Map, the Annapolis conference and the Quartet Peace Plan. more.. e-mail
More material available from Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel – www.vtjp.org
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