19 May 2013 — VTJP
News
Israeli troops storm Awarta near Nablus, detain Palestinian man
5/19/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) – Israeli forces stormed the northern West Bank village of Awarta south of Nablus on Sunday and detained a young Palestinian man, locals told Ma’an. They added that Israeli military vehicles stormed the village at midday before they detained 27-year-old Samir Faisal Qadah and took him to the nearby….
Israeli man ‘sexually assaults’ 2 boys in Jordan Valley
5/19/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A human rights group said Saturday that it was “deeply disturbed” by reports that an armed Israeli man dressed in a police uniform sexually assaulted two Palestinian boys in the Jordan Valley in April. Defense for Children International Palestine said that in late April an Israeli man driving a white car…. Related: DCIP: Israeli man in police uniform sexually abuses two Palestinian boys
Negev demolitions ‘war in the full sense’
5/19/2013 – NEGEV (Ma’an) – “What I have seen was like post-war footage rather than home demolition as the Hebrew media misleadingly describe it,” says the head of the Islamic movement in northern Israel Sheikh Raed Salah. Salah’s remarks Sunday came during a visit to the Bedouin Negev village of Attir where Israeli municipal….
Kibbutz residents attack Bedouin village in the Negev
5/20/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israelis from a Negev kibbutz attacked a Bedouin village on Sunday, setting fire to a tent, a Ma’an reporter said. Residents from the Kibbutz of Retamim attacked the adjacent Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj and set fire to a tent belonging to Eid Abu Habbak, head of the local….
Clashes as locals try to unblock road closed by Israel
5/19/2013 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Israeli forces and Palestinians clashed on Sunday as locals tried to unblock a road near Ramallah which Israel’s military closed a day earlier. Israeli forces on Saturday blocked a road between Ramallah and Deir Jarir with cement blocks. Locals tried to re-open the road with the help of a….
Palestinian vehicle burned by settler Molotov
5/19/2013 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Settlers from Beit El on Saturday evening threw a Molotov cocktail toward Palestinian vehicles on the Ramallah-Nablus road and near al-Jalazun refugee camp north of Ramallah. The settlers threw Molotovs toward more than one Palestinian car, and even toward passers-by. A Palestinian car completely burned due to a Molotov cocktail. No….
Israel youth movement shirts display anti-Arab racism
5/19/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – Picnickers in northern Israel were surprised Thursday when they saw anti-Arab racist slogans printed on T-shirts of a guide affiliated to a religious youth movement Ezra.” Torching Arabs for education,” was written on the guide’s shirt, families who were picnicking in the north told the Israeli daily Maariv. Maariv….
Egypt closes Gaza crossing for third day in row
5/19/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Egyptian police at Rafah are closing the crossing for a third day in a row Sunday after the kidnappings of Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai, officials said. They are preventing all Palestinians from traveling through the crossing or leaving the Gaza Strip, the Gaza interior ministry said Sunday. The Hamas-run…. Related: Auja crossing between Egypt and Israel closed
Ashrawi slams EU decision to delay labeling settlement products
5/19/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — PLO official Hanan Ashrawi on Sunday condemned the European Union’s decision to delay the labeling of settlement products following a request from US Secretary of State John Kerry.”This once again brings into question the American role in negotiations as a credible mediator,” Ashrawi said in a statement.”Rather….
Israel releases Jerusalem man from jail
5/19/2013 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Sunday released a Palestinian detainee from Silwan east of Jerusalem after he spent three and a half years in prison, his family said. Abed al-Rahim Khalil Abbasi’s family said Israeli intelligence forces raided the home days ago and handed out notifications directing relatives to meet with….
Nablus vendor tries to set self on fire after crackdown
5/19/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — A man tried to set himself on fire in Nablus on Sunday in protest against a police campaign to regulate street vendors in the West Bank, locals said. Muhammad Yaesh, 40, poured gasoline on himself near a roundabout in the city, witnesses told Ma’an, before police prevented him from….
PA police detain 11 over family dispute
5/19/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Palestinian police detained 11 people allegedly involved in a family dispute at Aqraba village south of Nablus on Sunday. Police said they rushed to the area after being informed of a clash and controlled the situation. Three people were injured, authorities said. The 11 suspects will be transferred to public prosecution….
Germany urges Israel-Palestinian peace talks
5/19/2013 – RAMALLAH (AFP) — Germany’s foreign minister said on Saturday his country was prepared to help create conditions for a resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Guido Westerwelle, on a two-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, was quoted by a foreign ministry statement as saying “Germany is ready to help….
Auja crossing between Egypt and Israel closed
5/19/2013 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) – Egyptian police officers closed the Al-Auja crossing in central Sinai on Sunday in an expression of solidarity with their fellow officers at Rafah crossing. The crossing, south of Rafah, is used to transfer goods between Egypt and Israel. Police officers manning the crossing on Sunday morning did not allow trucks…. Related: Egypt closes Gaza crossing for third day in row
Final exams start in West Bank schools despite ministry’s opposition
5/19/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) – School children across the West Bank started final exams Sunday despite the ministry of education’s decision to delay them until the end of the month, a union official said.”The teachers’ union insisted on its decision to start finals Sunday, May 19 bypassing the ministry of education’…. Related: Court freezes union’s early exam schedule
Court freezes union’s early exam schedule
5/19/2013 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Supreme Court of Justice decided Sunday to freeze a decision taken by the Palestinian teachers’ union related to final exam dates. Ministry of education official Jihad Zakarna told Ma’an that after the decision, the exam schedule which the teachers’ union designed is null, and the…. Related: Final exams start in West Bank schools despite ministry’s opposition
Group: Israel to return seized land to Palestinian owners
5/19/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Palestinian land appropriated over thirty years ago to build an illegal settlement is set to be returned to its owners, an Israeli rights group said Sunday. The Israeli state informed the High Court of Justice last week that the land near Jenin, formally the site of Homesh settlement, will be returned…. Related: Yesh Din: Historic Precedent: Petition Submitted by Palestinian Landowners Leads to the Nullification of Seizure Order
Assad insists he will not quit, car bomb hits Damascus
5/19/2013 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad insisted he will not resign before the end of his mandate in 2014 as a car bomb exploded in the capital Damascus on Saturday killing at least three people.” To resign would be to flee,” Assad said in an interview with the Argentine newspaper Clarin when asked if he….
Official: Gunmen abduct father of Syria deputy FM
5/19/2013 – BEIRUT (AFP) — Gunmen abducted the elderly father of Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad on Saturday, apparently in reprisal for the arrest of one of their relatives, according to a government source and a watchdog.” Today armed men abducted Mr Muqdad’s father from his home in the village of Ghossom,” in the southern….
Syria army launches assault on rebel-held Qusayr
5/19/2013 – BEIRUT (AFP) — Syrian troops backed by fighters from Lebanese militant group Hezbollah launched an assault on the rebel-held central town of Qusayr on Sunday, after months of fierce fighting in the area, a watchdog said. The Syrian opposition condemned “attempts to invade” the town, which it said could render US-Russian attempts to organize a peace….
Tunisia Salafists clash with police in Kairouan
5/19/2013 – KAIROUAN, Tunisia (AFP) — Clashes erupted between Salafists and police on Sunday in the central city of Kairouan, where security forces prevented Tunisia’s main Salafist group from holding their banned annual congress. The Salafists, who had taken cover behind a wall surrounding a mosque in the city center threw rocks at the police who….
Jordan eyes role in Israeli-Palestinian talks
AlJazeera 19 May 2013 – Prime minister says involvement in final settlement discussions will aim at guaranteeing rights of Palestinian refugees.
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (08 – 15 May 2013)
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
International Solidarity Movement
UPDATE: Woman arrested in Hebron is accused of stone throwing by a settler
5/19/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 19th May 2013, International Solidarity Movement, Team Khalil, Hebron, Occupied Palestine – UPDATE: Zleikha was released from custody at around midnight, on the condition that she reports back to the police station today. During Zleikha’s interrogation, an Israeli settler was brought by the Police and asked, ‘is this the woman who threw stones….
UPDATED WITH VIDEO: 13 year-old boy shot at by settlers, tortured by soldiers, denied medical attention
5/19/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 19th May 2013, International Solidarity Movement, Team Nablus, Qaryut, Occupied Palestine – UPDATED: The 13-year-old Qaryut boy attacked by settlers on 16 May completed an operation on his lower leg and foot on Friday and has since been released to recover at home. He also provided a full account of his attack and the time….
Battle rages for key Syrian town near Lebanese border
The National 19 May 2013 – Assad forces backed by Hizbollah claim to be close to victory in fight for strategic rebel-held town of Qusayr near the Lebanese border. Phil Sands reports
Netanyahu warns of more Israeli strikes on Syria
The National 19 May 2013 – Israeli prime minister says Israel is prepared to take action in the future and is ‘preparing for every scenario’ in the Syrian conflict.
Israel denies its forces killed Palestinian boy
The National 19 May 2013 – Israel has completed an investigation into a decade-old French TV report that claimed Israeli forces killed a Palestinian boy in a gunbattle with Palestinian militants, saying the video was misleading and unfairly blamed Israel.
Constantine, the most beautiful city you’ve never heard of
The National 19 May 2013 – Most people don’t know anything about the Algerian city selected by the Arab League’s cultural arm to be the capital of Arab culture in 2015. Alice Fordham reports from Constantine
10 new categories added to Abu Dhabi Awards
The National 19 May 2013 – Ten categories have been added to the third Abu Dhabi Awards for Excellence in Government Performance, which will bestow 24 titles, from best customer service to best new employee.
Australian visa rules eased for Emirati students
The National 19 May 2013 – The waiting time for a student visa to Australia has been slashed from three months to 14 days and moves are under way to ease the process for all Emiratis.
Taliban attacks kill 10 police in Afghanistan
The National 19 May 2013 – Taliban attacks kill at least 10 Afghan police in the latest violence against the force, which is due to take more security responsibility from Nato troops before next year’s withdrawal.
Factory owner banned from leaving Bangladesh
The National 19 May 2013 – The High Court in Bangladesh’s capital asked authorities yesterday to prevent the owner of a garment factory where 112 people died in a fire last year from leaving the country.
Israel’s Home Front minister urges cabinet to reconsider power plant planned near missile-exposed town
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
Bennett pushing vast reforms to pry Israel’s rabbinate from ultra-Orthodox grip
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
Holyland builder denies corruption charges, accuses Israel Police of leaking info
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
Before confronting Syria, Israel should consider saving its energy for Iran
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
Israeli panel: Palestinian boy ‘killed’ by IDF at start of intifada did not actually die
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
Israel effectively barring tourists from West Bank by neglecting to explain mandatory permit
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
Peres sends condolences to Turkey following May 11 terror attack
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
Israel is world’s largest exporter of drones, study finds
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
Netanyahus’ friends take to TV: ‘They live modestly’
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
Lapid cancels funding cuts to all yeshiva high schools
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
Netanyahu: Not true that Israel prefers Assad to rebels
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
AG tells state to remove empty structures at West Bank outpost of Migron
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
France in talks with U.S. and Israel to buy drones
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
Russian military aid to Syria: Burning questions and answers
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
Interior minister’s intimate wedding held at powerful Israeli lobbyist’s home
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
After U.S. request, EU delays decision to label products from Israeli settlements
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
Assad accuses Israel of giving intel to Syrian rebel groups
Ha’aretz – 19 May 2013
Beduin pelt Retamim residents with stones
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Residents of Kibbutz Retamim in the Negev demonstrate, saying a red line has been crossed.
PM: Israel has no ‘favorite’ in Syrian civil war
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Netanyahu responds to report Syrian missiles aimed at Tel Aviv; promises to act in Israel’s best interest.
Report: Palestinian lost speech ability after PA torture
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Human rights group cites over 20 torture cases.
Damascus Gate clashes inflame tensions in east J’lem
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Police: Saturday’s confrontation due to “illegal march”; Palestinians say rioting in response to reverse age discrimination.
Peres: Teach the very young respect for the elderly
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – “When the public calls for social justice, it protests to the government,” Peres says.
Meuhedet’s 4,000 staffers to go on warning strike
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – The dispute involves what the workers claim is foot-dragging in negotiations over the last 18 months on reaching a new collective agreement.
Misguided labeling
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – What they meant was that “Made in Israel” should be reserved for goods produced inside the Green Line so European consumers can tell the difference.
Poverty in Israel – and the PM’s expenses
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Think About It: OECD figures published last week indicate that among the 34 members of the organization, the rate of poverty in Israel is the highest.
The Region: Where does Israel’s greatest threat lie?
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Iran is still the greatest strategic threat in the region.
Gay rights are human rights
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – I knew from many friends that many families struggle and suffer terribly when a child/sibling finally comes out of the closet.
Reality Check: Israel’s modern-day royal family
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – It’s a shame Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spent the flight to London for Margaret Thatcher’s funeral asleep on the double bed that cost the taxpayer an extra half-a-million shekels.
Comptroller set to probe PM’s financial issues
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Inquiry slowed by need for legal guidance by attorney-general; NGO says state should only pay for 1 of Netanyahu’s 2 houses.
Israel must protect its Beduin citizens
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Cultural attractions are exotic and fun, but generally fail to provide visitors with a complex representation of Beduin life.
Health minister attacks dental health protection
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Fluoridation of community water supplies is under attack by the new health minister, despite its success in Israel in reducing dental caries in children
C’tee finds IDF didn’t kill Palestinian boy al-Dura in 2000
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Gov’t report finds that France 2 footage shows 12-year-old icon of 2nd intifada wasn’t hit with IDF bullets; claims footage edited to mislead; French reporter rejects c’tee, “willing to take polygraph.”
NATO MPs to visit Israel to examine weapons R&D
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Bayit Yehudi’s Shetboun challenges NATO MPs to deal with Muslim extremists in Europe before peace talks in Israel.
Israel is largest drone exporter in the world
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Paris seeks to purchase drones from J’lem “straight away.”
Bomb lab found at home of mentally-disturbed man
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Police say they found “manifestos” and letters the Kiryat Tivon man had written at bomb lab at man’s apartment.
Ashkelon man stabs younger brother to death
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – During initial questioning, older brother tells police he stabbed his brother because he insulted him.
‘Most Israelis feel social protests can spur change’
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – NGO Shatil survey finds that 89 percent of population believes government has not properly dealt with social problems.
Cabinet pushes economic ties with China forward
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Following Netanyahu’s China trip, Knesset approves new committees to strengthen Israeli-Chinese business relations.
Bagrut exam-writer indicted for leaking questions
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Three people are being indicted for illegally passing along questions from the Math section of the Psychometric Exam.
Hamas confiscates rockets from Fatah’s armed wing
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Aqsa Martyrs Brigade activists arrested while attempting to move rockets, other weaponry between locations in Gaza.
Report: Egyptian army pushes to attack kidnappers
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Army waits for green light; Morsi seeks negotiations. Lead commentator says Israel and Egypt need to amend current treaty.
Chosen Bites: Impossibly crispy chicken
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – This fried chicken couldn’t be easier to make and is tasty served cold as well as straight out of the pan.
Syrian army, Hezbollah kill more than 30 in border fighting
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Opposition says fighting is heaviest yet involving Shi’ite group.
Syrian army, Hezbollah kill over 30 in border town
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Assad forces fight for strategic position on Lebanese border; opposition says fighting is heaviest yet involving Shi’ite group.
Weed grow room found in haredi girls school
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Principal of Kiryat Gat school finds plants and marijuana growing equipment in basement bomb shelter.
Bennett reveals reform of religious services
Jerusalem Post 19 May 2013 – Meretz MK: Bayit Yehudi in charge of religious services is just a change from a black kipa to a knitted one.
The KFC smugglers of Gaza
The Guardian 19 May 2013 – People are paying a fortune to have fast-food chicken brought in from Egypt in underground tunnels. But local food-stall owners aren’t happy about it Gaza is not always what people think. You want a lion? An…
Q&A: Crisis Escalates as International Community Fails Syria
IPS With no end in sight for the ongoing two-year war in Syria, the ensuing humanitarian crisis continues to escalate, with over 1 million refugees having fled to neighbouring countries and at least another 3 million displaced within Syria. Despite the staggering human cost of the war, however, the international community…
Libya : Tawerghans say mass grave bodies mis-identified, demand neutral investigation
Uruknet
Syria Protests May 17 , 2013 : A Video Roundup
Uruknet
Corruption has no bounds in Iraq
Uruknet
DNA Tests Needed to Identify Bodies Found in Mass Graves in Iraq
Uruknet
A Saudi, a pressure cooker and the FBI
Uruknet
Barack Obama’s Shameful Crusade ‘Against’ Terrorism
Uruknet
Free Gaza Standing Against Oppression in Palestine
Uruknet
How Qatar seized control of the Syrian revolution
Uruknet
Report: Forced displacement on both sides of the Green Line
Uruknet
Senior BBC official insists that all of Jerusalem is an “Israeli” city
Uruknet
Tunisia PM links Ansar al-Sharia Islamists to ‘terror’
Daily Star 19 May 2013 Tunisia’s Prime Minister Ali Larayedh accused the hardline Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia that fought street battles in the capital with security forces on Sunday of being “involved in terrorism”.
Obama tries to bounce back after tough week
Daily Star 19 May 2013 President Barack Obama complained on Sunday that partisan battles in Washington are holding back stronger U.S. economic growth as he tried to recover from one of the most difficult weeks of his presidency.
Car bombs, explosives discovered and defused: Libya PM
Daily Star 19 May 2013 Libyan security services defused several car bombs and other explosives that were found in the past two days, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said on Sunday.
Egypt’s Morsi rules out talks as hostage video appears
Daily Star 19 May 2013 Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi on Sunday ruled out negotiating with the kidnappers of three policemen and four soldiers who appeared to plead for their release in an online video.
Israel rejects France 2 findings on Dura affair
Daily Star 19 May 2013 Israel said on Sunday a France 2 television report seen worldwide on the death of a Palestinian child in 2000 was “baseless”, following an analysis of the raw footage.
Salafist protester killed in clashes with Tunisia security forces
Daily Star 19 May 2013 Security forces and hard-line Islamists clashed in Tunis Sunday, with one protester killed and 11 policemen wounded, after the authorities banned the Salafists from staging their annual congress.Prime Minister Ali Larayedh said Ansar al-Shariah Islamists are…
Bahrain prisoners freed in attack on prison van
Daily Star 19 May 2013 Several prisoners in Bahrain escaped Sunday from a prison van that was smashed into by two cars whose occupants helped them flee in an assault south of the capital Manama, an official said.
One killed and at least ten wounded in Tripoli clashes
Daily Star 19 May 2013 One man was killed and at least 10 people were wounded in armed clashes between supporters and opponents of Syrian president Bashar Assad in the northern city of Tripoli Sunday, security sources told The Daily Star.
Regime in biggest push yet for strategic city
Daily Star 19 May 2013 The Syrian army aided by fighters from Lebanon’s Hezbollah made a huge push to retake the strategic city of Qusair from rebel forces Sunday, killing at least 32 people, opposition activists say.
2 FBI agents killed in training accident in US
YNet News, 19 May 2013 – ….
Father of Muhammad al-Dura blasts Israeli report
YNet News, 19 May 2013 – ….
Witness: Couple enters McCann’s room before abduction
YNet News, 19 May 2013 – ….
Police: Dozenof haredim riot in Jerusalem
YNet News, 19 May 2013 – ….
Motorcycle crash: 2 sustain light, serious injures
YNet News, 19 May 2013 – ….
Don’t tell me I’m not Jewish
YNet News, 19 May 2013 – Op-ed: Although I am not Orthodox, Judaism is most essential part of my identity and I consider myself very religious ….
Strategic value of shock and shush raids
YNet News, 19 May 2013 – Analysis: Israeli airstrikes expose inherent weakness of its enemies, emptiness of their threats ….
The IOF arrests six Palestinians in al-Khalil and Bethlehem
PIC – The Israeli occupation forces arrested six Palestinians from the governorates of al-Khalil and Bethlehem in the southern West Bank, while they detained a woman in her fifties in al-Khalil.
Occupation cuts off eastern from central West Bank
PIC – The IOF on Saturday closed the main entrance to the village of Deir Jarir, east of Ramallah city, effectively cutting off villages in the eastern West Bank from the Central West Bank.
Abu Zuhri: Closure of Rafah crossing is an unjustifiable action
PIC – Hamas movement called on the Egyptian authorities to immediately re-open the Rafah crossing with the Gaza Strip, closed for the second day.
Palestinian prisoners’ issue discussed at the European Parliament
PIC – UFree Network to defend the rights of Palestinian prisoners raised the issue of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails on the sidelines of a meeting held at the European Parliament..
Facebook activists commemorate the Nakba
PIC – Facebook activists stressed that they adhere to their right of return and will continue to write about their country; despite the website administration’s ban on the commemoration of the Nakba.
Israeli court decides to release MP Qarawi
PIC – An Israeli court issued a decision not to renew the administrative detention of the Hamas MP Fathi Qarawi, from the city of Tulkarem in the northern West Bank.
Prisoner Barghouti refuses to drink water after being isolated
PIC – Wa’ed Society for Detainees and Ex-detainees said that the Israeli authorities transferred on Friday evening captive leader Abdullah Barghouti, sentenced to 67 life terms, to solitary confinement.
Jordanian prisoners condemn neglect of their suffering by Jordanian government
PIC – The hunger striking Jordanian prisoners in Israeli jails asserted they will continue their open hunger strike until achieving their demands.
An organization demands that condition of sick captive be revealed
PIC – The Palestinian Center for Prisoners’ Studies demanded that the Israeli Prison Authority reveals the nature of illness of captive Muhammad al-Sharha who is suspected of having throat cancer.
Monetary Authority Cycle Indicator Increases in West bank, Gaza
WAFA – 19 May 2013
Rights Group: Israeli Man in Police Uniform Sexually Abuses 2 Boys
WAFA – 19 May 2013
Settlers Set Fire to Car while Driver Inside
WAFA – 19 May 2013
Syrian Army Moves to Rebel-Held Qusayr
New York Times 19 May 2013 – Pro-government fighters pushed into parts of Qusayr, in an advance that would be a serious setback for opponents of President Bashar al-Assad and further inflame regional tensions.
Syrian Troops Said to Strike Town Near Lebanon
New York Times 19 May 2013 – The Syrian military on Sunday launched an offensive to retake a strategic rebel-held town near the Lebanese border, a government official said.
Tshuva: Gas exports worth $100b to Treasury
Globes Energy & Water – Delek controlling shareholder Yitzhak Tshuva: Gas exports alone will generate NIS 100 billion for the treasury over the next 20 years.
Yam 3 drilling resumes
Globes Energy & Water – The drilling to the oil-bearing target strata will continue via an alternative engineering route.
New tax targets largest homebuying segment
Globes Main News – Housing Ministry data contradict Finance Ministry figures that there are more first-time homebuyers than people moving upmarket.
Haredi smartphone in the works
Globes Main News – Rabbi David Zilbershlag: The smartphone is needed for haredim to earn a living.
Sun: Dual-listed tech shares lift market
Globes Main News – Mellanox continued its recovery for the biggest gain among Tel Aviv 25 shares, as EZchip and NICE also rose.
Alvarion’s troubles mount as Wi-Fi sales fall
Globes Main News – Alvarion, a provider of wireless broadband solutions, is traded on the Nasdaq market with an all-time low market cap of just $17 million.
Half of wage-earners don’t meet tax threshold
Globes Main News – 49.7% of Israeli employees did not reach the income tax threshold in 2011, the State Revenues Administration reports.
“No surprise Israel tops OECD poverty table”
Globes Macro Economics – Prof. Momi Dahan says Israel is the only country in the world that believes cutting welfare payments will cure poverty.
Comptroller to review Netanyahu’s expenses
Globes Macro Economics – State Comptroller Joseph Shapira will consult top officials from his office to examine whether public cash has been misused.
Israel Social TV Video on Israel’s Hijacked Drone and Secret Military Mission in UAE
Tikun Olam – This is my latest video for Israel Social TV which combines reporting on two of my most recent scoops embargoed by Israeli media. In the first, I discuss the Israeli advanced Shoval drone hacked and hijacked by either Iran or Hezbollah, then destroyed by Israel when…
Syria: Proxy Wars
Tikun Olam – A tweet I just read which noted the multiple proxy conflicts playing out in the midst of the Syrian civil war, made me realize just how many different parties and powers are facing off against each other there. Some are using proxies. Some represent their interests…
2012 Democracy Index Ranks Israel 37th
Tikun Olam – The Economist’s 2012 Democracy Index (access may require site registration, which is free) ranks Israel 37th among 167 countries. It gets reasonably high marks in most political categories. But Israel falls down severely in the civil liberties category, where it receives a 5.9 ranking out of…
Two friends meet for 5 minutes in Jerusalem
Mondoweiss – Three days ago Maha and Walaa May 16, 2013 Jerusalem On May 16, Maha, the Palestinian woman on the left in the above photograph, tweeted this photograph of meeting her friend Walaa from Gaza in Jerusalem. A friend in Gaza sent it along to me with…
Video: Soldiers aim guns at fallen boy’s head outside West Bank settlement
Mondoweiss – This video is said to show Israeli soldiers and a “security” man aiming guns at the head of an injured boy, Maysara, who fell down, apparently after he was shot in the right leg while running away from an Israeli settlement in an occupied village near…
Abulhawa declines to ‘balance out’ several Israelis in ‘Al Jazeera’ forum on Nakba
Mondoweiss – A lot of people have sent me a piece by novelist Susan Abulhawa at The Palestine Chronicle about refusing to participate in a forum on the Nakba on Al Jazeera’s social media show, the Stream, because it would feature three or four Israelis. Titled “Are Israelis…
Trauma begins at home
Mondoweiss – On the face of it, Israel has made a good and generous offer: a country well-versed in advanced trauma care offers a team of experts to Boston and its neighbors at a time of great hardship, supporting the needs of innocent victims of the tragic Boston…
Palestinian Father Hits Back Over Israel Claim Son Wasn’t Really Killed in Video
The Foward Breaking News 19 May 2013 – A Palestinian father whose son was captured on tape being shot in an iconic 2000 video that helped launch the intifada hit back at Israeli claims that the video is a fraud. Click here for the rest of the article…
Israel Claims Palestinian Boy in Iconic Video Wasn’t Actually Shot and Killed
The Foward Breaking News 19 May 2013 – Claims that Israeli troops in 2000 killed the Palestinian boy Mohammed al-Dura are “baseless,” an Israeli government committee concluded. Click here for the rest of the article…
Benjamin Netanyahu Vows To Keep High-Tech Arms Away From Hezbollah
The Foward Breaking News 19 May 2013 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held out the prospect on Sunday of further Israeli strikes inside Syria, pledging to act to prevent advanced weapons from reaching Hezbollah and other militant groups. Click here for the rest of the article…
Palestinians Mourn Neighborhood Razed by Israel in Shadow of Western Wall
The Forward New 19 May 2013 – Jews celebrate the 1967 war that unified Jerusalem under Israeli rule. Some Palestinians still mourn the Mughrabi neighborhood that was demolished in the shadow of the Western Wall. Click here for the rest of the article…
Egypt: Police Mistreats Stranded Palestinians – Gaza
allAfrica.com 19 May 2013 – [Aswat Masriya]A Gazan official has said that hundreds of stranded Palestinians, including members of parliament and patients, were mistreated by Egyptian police during their return from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after performing hajj (Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca).
Friday Clashes in Beit Ommar
Palestine Solidarity Project 19 May 2013 – On the 17th of May 2013, there was clashes near the cemetery at the entrance of the town of Beit Ommar. Friday is the holiday in Palestine and clashes between Israeli soldiers and the youth are a weekly occurrence. During the clashes the soldiers arrested Qutayba…
Syria army storms rebel-held town
BBC 19 May 2013 – Heavy fighting is reported in the besieged Syrian town of Qusair as state forces launch a major offensive to re-capture the rebel stronghold.
Iran executes two men for spying
BBC 19 May 2013 – Iranian officials say two men have been executed after they were convicted of spying for Israel and the US.
One Slip and Down the Hole We Fall!
Al-Akhbar Opinion 19 May 2013 – A Turkish policeman fires tear gas at demonstrating students in Ankara on 15 May 2013 who had gathered to protest against government policies they say resulted in last weekend’s deadly twin bombings. (Photo: AFP – Adem Altan) A Turkish policeman fires tear gas at demonstrating students…
Saudi vegetable seller dies after self-immolation
Al-Akhbar News 19 May 2013 – A Saudi newspaper says a vegetable seller who set himself on fire in Riyadh after police confiscated his goods for standing in an unauthorized area has died. The website for newspaper Sada reported that the man, identified only by the family name of Sureihi, died in…
Land claimed by former settlement to be returned to Palestinians, NGO says
Al-Akhbar News 19 May 2013 – The land where a Jewish settlement once stood in the West Bank is finally to be returned to its Palestinian owners, an Israeli NGO said on Sunday. Legal rights group Yesh Din said state attorneys told the Supreme Court last week the government would revoke a…
Syrian troops enter Qusayr: military source
Al-Akhbar News 19 May 2013 – Syrian troops man a checkpoint at the entrance of the village of Haydariyah, some seven kilometers outside the rebel-held city of Qusayr, after taking control of it, on 13 May 2013. (Photo: AFP – Joseph Eid) Syrian troops entered the center of the rebel stronghold of…
Algeria censors newspapers over president health reports
Al-Akhbar News 19 May 2013 – A screenshot taken on 19 May 2013 showing the website of Algerian publications Mon Journal and Djaridati, whose editions reporting on the health of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika were seized by the government. Algeria censored two dailies over reports that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, hospitalized in Paris since…
Kuwait deports more than 1,000 foreigners over traffic violations
Al-Akhbar News 19 May 2013 – Kuwait has deported hundreds of foreign residents for traffic offenses in the past month, a report said on Sunday, drawing condemnation from a human rights group. The al-Anbaa newspaper cited a senior interior ministry official as saying that as many as 1,258 foreigners have been deported…
Tunisia Salafis gather despite ban, clash with police
Al-Akhbar News 19 May 2013 – Tunisian Police Special Unit agents with dogs patrol in a street that leads to Okba Ibn Nafaa mosque in the southern Tunisian city of Kairouan on 19 May 2013. (Photo: AFP – Fethi Belaid) Updated at 2:35pm: Despite a government ban, Tunisian Salafi movement Ansar al-Sharia…
Hamdeen Sabahi Interview: The Brotherhood Has Divided Egypt
Al-Akhbar Politics 17 May 2013 – Egyptian potential presidential candidate, Hamdeen Sabahi (R), meets with people during his presidential campaign tour in the “Martyrs” underground metro station in Cairo on 7 March 2012. (Photo: REUTERS – Amr Abdallah Dalsh) Egyptian potential presidential candidate, Hamdeen Sabahi, meets with people during his presidential campaign…
Syria army storms rebel-held town
BBC 19 May 2013 – Heavy fighting is reported in the besieged Syrian town of Qusair as state forces launch a major offensive to re-capture the rebel stronghold.
Iran executes two men for spying
BBC 19 May 2013 – Iranian officials say two men have been executed after they were convicted of spying for Israel and the US.
Articles
Silence is no longer an option: A call to action from Israel
Daniel Bar-tal, +972 Magazine 5/18/2013
It is imperative that Jews around the world who cherish humanistic values publicly express their concern about the current situation in Israel, and call for the government to return to peaceful, moral, democratic, and humanistic values.
Israel is a prosperous and well developed state with remarkable achievements in technological, educational, cultural, scientific and agricultural spheres by every account. These achievements are a source of pride to Israelis as well as to Jews around the world. But beside these undeniable successes, a considerable segment of the Jews in Israel, who love their country and care about its future, also see a glass half empty.
They see the growing dominance of nationalistic, expansionist, and anti-democratic ideologies – goals and policies which have already crossed democratic and moral red lines. The ongoing occupation of the West Bank and the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories violate Palestinians’ basic human and collective rights and tear apart Israeli society’s democratic and moral fabric, as did past governments’ refusal to engage in meaningful negotiations with the Palestinians while ignoring the Arab Peace Initiative. In carrying out these policies, the government has not only violated international law, but at times also broken Israeli laws, thus seriously undermining the very foundation of Israeli democracy. We’ve witnessed systematic and often successful attempts to pass laws that contradict the fundamental democratic principle of equal treatment of minorities, along with institutionalized discrimination against minorities. In addition, we’ve seen organized attempts to silence criticism of Israeli policies and delegitimize dissenting voices in academia, the media and NGOs.
This deterioration, which has very serious practical implications, is taking place in the spheres of values, moral codes, norms and laws, so often people do not pay attention to them…. more.. e-mail
Last call before eviction of Jerusalem family?
Johanna Wagman, Alternative Information Center 5/19/2013
Some 200 Israelis, Palestinians and internationals attended a solidarity demonstration Friday against the planned eviction of the Shamasneh family from their East Jerusalem home. This was the final public display of support for the family prior to Israel’s High Court ruling Monday concerning the legality of the eviction order.
The three judges of Israel’s highest judicial authority will decide if the Shamasneh family, living in their home in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood since 1964, must evacuate it for Israeli settlers claiming ownership via descendents of Jewish owners from before 1948.
The demonstrators concluded the protest by erecting a solidarity and protest tent in front of the Shamasneh home. Just after midnight, however, Israeli police and border police officers arrived and destroyed the protest tent, the last means of resistance of a family whom the Israeli authorities are determined to put on the streets.
The popular committee of Umm Harun, the compound in which the Shamashneh family, and other families threatened with eviction from their homes live, call upon those able to attend Monday’s court hearing in solidarity and support of the Shamasneh family.
In addition to demolishing the protest tent, Israeli police conducted ‘intimidation conversations’ with Shamasneh family members about their protest activities. Israel’s political and police authorities have demonstrated their clear loyalty to the Israeli settler agenda and Judaisation of Jerusalem. The question remains, at least in the case of the Shamasneh family, of where Israel’s judicial authorities will fall. [END] e-mail
Hizbullah’s game changer
Omayma Abdel-Latif from Beirut, Al-Ahram Weekly 5/14/2013
Hassan Nasrallah’s latest speech was loaded with messages pointing to significant strategic rebalances in the northern front of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
In 2010, a summit was held in Damascus that brought together Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. The slogan under which the three leaders met was “All for one.” Three years since the summit and two years into a popular uprising turned into Western-backed armed rebellion, Syria’s allies appear to be putting their words into action.
Nasrallah’s latest speech on Thursday, 9 May, was a manifestation of that when he declared that Syria’s allies “would not allow it to fall into the hands of the Americans and Israelis and takfiri [atheist] groups,” in the first clear reference to the role played by Syria’s allies — Iran and Hizbullah — in the Syrian crisis.
However, while for some analysts, Hizbullah’s support for the Syrian regime (regardless of the type of support, military or otherwise) was a done deal, it was Nasrallah’s subtext messages that alerted Lebanese analysts and military strategists to the distant drums of an all out regional war.
“The resistance camp has made an irreversible decision about supporting Syria,” says Anis Al-Naqqash, veteran analyst and staunch Arab nationalist. Each party in the resistance axis, he explained, knows what the other parties are capable of in terms of military potential, and therefore the next war would mean that all fronts — including the Golan Heights — will turn into battlefields against Israel. more.. e-mail
BBC airs Israeli ’Independence Day’ propaganda presented as documentary
Amena Saleem, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 5/13/2013
For anyone who still believed in the impartiality of the BBC’s coverage of Israel’s occupation, the last few weeks, since the appointment of pro-Israeli apologists to its top jobs, must have proved an eye-opening shock.
On 17 April, the day after the BBC announced the appointment of the openly pro-Israel former editor of The Times, James Harding, as the organization’s director of news and current affairs, it screened a program called Israel: Facing the Future.
This was shown on BBC Two on Israel’s so-called Independence Day, and was presented by John Ware, a journalist with a history of attacking Palestinian-supporting charities and Muslim organizations on the BBC’s Panorama program.
Ware’s most recent hour-long offering was strongly rooted in the Zionist narrative of the geo-political perils of Israel – that of the plucky little country, unthreatening and wishing to live in peace, but being forced to brave a constant battle against aggressive Arab neighbors and terrorist groups out to destroy it.
Ware’s constant references to “Jihadists,” “Islamists” and the Arabs at Israel’s “hostile borders” threatening to “destroy” “the world’s only Jewish state” were the framework on which Israel: Facing the Future was built. To add effect, every such reference was made against a backdrop of menacing, vaguely Arab music.
Propaganda and myth
This view of Israel is, of course, a propagandized one, which promotes myths over facts and attempts to ally a Western audience with Israel in the “war on Muslim terror.” more.. e-mail
Church of Scotland Report Challenging Jews’ ‘Divine Right’ to Palestine Unchanged
Palestine Chronicle: 19 May 2013 – By Stuart Littlewood The Church of Scotland’s revised report ‘The Inheritance of Abraham?’ has now been released ahead of their Assembly. The Church felt obliged to change some of it after Jewish leaders sought to interfere, one complaining that it was “an outrage to everything that interfaith dialogue stands for… and closes the door on meaningful dialogue”. Another said “it reads like an Inquisition-era polemic against Jews and Judaism.” The Israeli ambassador moaned that it belittled the deeply held Jewish attachment to the land of Israel in a way which was “truly hurtful”. So do the changes amount to a caving-in to Zionist meddlers? I soon gave up comparing the two versions word for word to spot the difference. The press release gives no clues either. In it, Convener Sally Foster-Fulton simply says: “We believe that this new version has paid attention to the concern some of the language of…more
Malaysia: KLPFF Kicks off with Remarkable Palestinian Participation
Palestine Chronicle: 19 May 2013 – By Yousef M. Aljamal, CPDS – Gaza The Kuala Lumpur Palestine Film Festival (KLPFF), organized by Viva Palestina-Malaysia, in collaboration with the Malaysian Information, Communication and Culture Ministry and the Malaysian National Film Development Corporation kicked off on Friday 18 May, 2013 with remarkable Palestinian participation. 5 Broken Cameras, By Imad Burnat, nominated for a Best Documentary at this year’s Academy Awards, leads the films for this year. It tells the story of building the Israeli separation wall on Palestinian lands, which was faced by villagers’ opposition. The festival runs from 18-19 May. All films will be screened at Golden Screen Cinemas in Pavilion, KL In a press release published in the wake of launching the festival, VMP explained that “the films screened at Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur highlighted many of the humanitarian issues besetting Palestine and the persecution of the Palestinian people under Zionist occupation of…more
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