23 August 2013 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
French FM To Meet Abbas, Netanyahu
IMEMC – The French Foreign Ministry has reported that Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, will be visiting the Israel and the Palestinian territories to encourage the recently resumes peace talks between Ramallah and Tel Aviv. …
42 Killed, 500 Injured In Mosque Explosion In Lebanon
IMEMC – The Lebanese Ministry of Health stated that 42 persons have been killed, and more than 500 have been injured, in two explosions that targeted two mosque in Tripoli, in northern Lebanon. …
Dozens Of Worshipers Injured As Army Fired Gas Into Mosque Near Ramallah
IMEMC – Palestinian medical sources have reported Friday [August 23, 2013] that dozens of worshipers have been treated for the effects of teargas inhalation after Israeli soldiers fired gas bombs into Omar Bin Al-Khattab Mosque, in Kufur Qaddoum village, near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia. …
UNIFIL Denounces Missile Attack On Israel
IMEMC – The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNFIL) issued a statement strongly denouncing a missile attack carried out from Lebanese territory into Israel. …
P.A. Lieutenant Stabbed In Nablus
IMEMC – Medical sources in the northern West bank city of Nablus have reported Friday [August 23, 2013] that unknown assailants violently attacked and stabbed a Palestinian security Lieutenant, a former detainee, inflicting serious injuries. …
PCHR Weekly Report: One killed; 2 adults and 4 children wounded by Israeli attacks this week
IMEMC – In its Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for the week of 15 – 21 August 2013, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) found that a civilian was killed and 3 others were wounded, including 2 children, in an excessive use of lethal force in Jenin refugee camp. 2 civilians sustained bullet wounds during clashes in the West Bank. 2 children were wounded when they were near the border fence in Jabalia village in the northern Gaza Strip. …
Israel To Approve 1500 New Units In Jerusalem
IMEMC – Israeli sources have reported that the Finance Committee of the Jerusalem City Council will be convening this coming Sunday to approve a new budget for infrastructure aiming at adding 1500 units for Israeli settlers in occupied Jerusalem. …
Israel strikes Lebanon after rocket attack
8/23/2013 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — The Israeli air force struck a Palestinian group in Lebanon on Friday, officials said, hours after a different organization said it fired four rockets at Israel from Lebanon. Israeli aircraft “targeted a terror site located between Beirut and Sidon in response to a barrage of four rockets launched at northern Israel yesterday (Thursday),” the military said.”The pilots reported direct hits to the….
Snatched Gazan starts hunger strike in Israel prison
8/23/2013 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — A Palestinian from Gaza who was snatched from Ukraine and is being held in an Israel prison has begun refusing food, a prison spokeswoman said on Thursday. Dirar Abu Sisi “was on the third day of a hunger strike, following which all his personal items and electric appliances were removed from his cell, except for a fan,” Israel Prison Service spokeswoman Sivan Weizman….
Israeli forces disperse West Bank demos
8/23/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Friday dispersed a demonstration in al-Maasara village south of Bethlehem in solidarity the victims of an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria. Demonstrators marched toward the wall and raised Palestinian flags and pictures of prisoners in Israeli jails. Israeli forces used stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators. Activists also condemned the “massacre” in Syria, and…. Related: Photo report: Israeli forces shoot teargas into mosque, suffocating hundreds before start of Kafr Qaddum demonstration
Hamas: Egypt trained ‘Tamarod’ members in Gaza
8/23/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Egyptian intelligence and security services trained members of a group calling itself “Tamarod Gaza,” a senior Hamas official charged Friday. In a video released Sunday, masked activists read a statement by “Tamarod Gaza” calling for protests across the enclave on Nov. 11 to overthrow Hamas. On Nov. 11, all “tyrannies and oppression practiced by the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza” will….
Family: PA arrests man for selling ‘Morsi perfume’
8/23/2013 – TULKAREM (AFP) — Palestinian Authority security services have arrested a Hamas member in the West Bank for selling perfume named in honor of Egypt’s ousted president Mohamed Morsi, family members said on Thursday. Islambuli Badir, 36, was arrested during a raid on his perfume shop in the town of Tulkarem, his brother Abdel Fattah Badir told AFP.”Men from the security services on Tuesday….
Jerusalem teenager released after 2 days
8/23/2013 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli police on Friday released a teenager from Jerusalem after detaining him for two days, his uncle said. Nour Saleem Shalabi, 15, was detained on Wednesday at the Allenby Bridge while returning from Jordan. Shalabi was released on bail of 500 shekels, and was put under house arrest for four days. He is also prohibited from entering the Old City of….
PA intelligence officer stabbed in Nablus
8/23/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Four masked men stabbed and seriously injured a Palestinian Authority intelligence officer in Nablus on Thursday evening, security sources said. The attackers stabbed Mohammad Hashash, 37, near the al-Maajin neighborhood of the northern West Bank city, security officials told Ma’an. Hashash was taken to the Rafadia Hospital in Nablus. [END]
Jordan crossing to operate 24 hours Thursday
8/23/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – Due to heavy traffic at the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the West Bank, Israeli authorities decided to operate the crossing 24 hours on Thursday, according to reports. The Hebrew-language daily Maariv reported that the crossing would operate full-time until 8 p. m. Friday. The decision, according to Maariv, was upon a Palestinian request and in coordination with the Jordanian….
Egypt forces demolish smugglers’ homes near Gaza border
8/23/2013 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Egyptian security forces on Thursday demolished three homes belonging to Egyptian smugglers in Rafah near the Gaza border, a security source said. Entrances to tunnels leading to the Gaza Strip were located in the homes, the official told Ma’an. They were also destroyed, he said. Forces arrested the home owners, he added. The security official said the tunnels….
Hamas, Islamic Jihad hold protest against peace talks
8/23/2013 – GAZA CITY (AFP) — Hundreds of people in the Gaza Strip protested on Friday against Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, in marches organized by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Marchers set off from mosques across the coastal strip before converging on a square in the middle of Gaza City, with protesters brandishing signs saying “No to negotiations” and slamming West Bank-based President Mahmoud Abbas’s “political failure.” Hamas….
Japan’s Abe to visit Middle East in nuclear push
8/23/2013 – TOKYO (AFP) — The prime minister of energy-poor Japan heads to the oil-rich Middle East this weekend in his latest push to promote nuclear technology exports, a spokesman said Friday, despite growing problems at the crippled Fukushima plant. Shinzo Abe was due to leave Tokyo on Saturday for a six-day trip that will take in Bahrain, Kuwait, Djibouti and Qatar, with discussion of Japan’s….
Syria urged to allow UN access to ‘chemical attack’ site
8/23/2013 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Syria on Thursday came under intense pressure to allow UN weapons inspectors to visit the site of an alleged chemical weapons attack near Damascus which the opposition says left hundreds dead and provoked revulsion around the world. Damascus has flatly denied the allegations but a US official cited by the Wall Street Journal said there were “strong indications” that regime forces had indeed….
Syria chemical use would be ‘crime against humanity’
8/23/2013 – UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The use of chemical weapons in Syria would constitute a “crime against humanity”, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Friday, adding there was “no time to lose” in probing alleged attacks which the opposition says killed hundreds. Ban described reports of the incidents near Damascus on Wednesday as “very alarming and shocking” and urged the regime to allow a United Nations inspection team….
Alleged gas attack exposes West’s limits on Syria action
8/23/2013 – PARIS (AFP) — A
year after Washington said using chemical weapons would cross a “red line,” the alleged gas attack outside Damascus has exposed how few options the West has to try to end Syria’s violence. Diplomatic sources say the shocking images of the alleged victims of the attack, which the Syrian opposition claims killed more than 1,300 people in rebel-held towns east of….
President: Yemen ‘asked US for drones’
8/23/2013 – SANAA (AFP) — Yemen has asked Washington to provide it with drones, and strikes conducted by unmanned US planes in the impoverished nation are part of anti-terrorism cooperation, President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi said.”I have talked with the US administration about helping us with this technology. . . Yemenis are clever and can understand it very quickly,” Hadi said in a speech reported by Saba state news agency….
Egypt Islamists call new protests in test of strength
8/23/2013 – CAIRO (AFP) — Islamist supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi called new protests against the army on Friday, in a test of their ability to mobilize support seven weeks after his overthrow. In recent days, dozens of senior and mid-level members of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood have been arrested, disrupting the organization’s structure, and raising questions about its remaining strength. The call….
Russia urges Syria to cooperate on UN chemical weapons probe
8/23/2013 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Russia on Friday urged Syria’s government to cooperate with UN experts over claims it waged deadly chemical weapons attacks, as calls grew for international action over the alleged atrocity. US President Barack Obama said the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria was “clearly a big event of grave concern”, after UN chief Ban Ki-moon said they would constitute a crime….
UN: One millionth child refugee flees Syria
8/23/2013 – GENEVA (AFP) — The number of children who have fled war-torn Syria hit one million Friday, while two million kids have been displaced within their homeland’s borders by the conflict, the UN said.”This one millionth child refugee is not just another number. This is a real child ripped from home, maybe even from a family, facing horrors we can only begin to comprehend….
Obama says Syria chemical attack claim ‘a big event’
8/23/2013 – WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President Barack Obama said in an interview broadcast Friday that new allegations of chemical weapons use by Syrian forces were of “grave concern”. But he cautioned against the United States intervening hastily and getting “mired in very difficult situations” with actions that could “breed more resentment” in the region. In an interview with CNN he said opposition allegations that hundreds of people….
Car bombs at Lebanon mosques kill 42, wound hundreds
8/23/2013 – TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AFP) — Powerful car bombs exploded Friday outside two Sunni mosques in a Lebanese city riven by strife over the war in neighboring Syria, killing 42 people and wounding hundreds, an official said. That was the highest toll in an attack since Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war. Coming a week after a bombing in the Beirut bastion of Shiite party Hezbollah, a….
Fort Hood shooter Hasan found guilty on all counts
8/23/2013 – FORT HOOD, Texas (AFP) — An American officer who killed 13 fellow soldiers in a rampage on a military base was found guilty on Friday on all charges against him, including premeditated murder. The verdict, handed down by a US military jury after a court martial at Fort Hood, Texas, leaves 42-year-old Major Nidal Hasan facing a possible death sentence. [END]
Obama warns of cost of US action in Syria
8/23/2013 – WASHINGTON (AFP) — President Barack Obama warned the United States must be wary of costly and difficult foreign interventions as calls mount for military action against Syria over alleged chemical warfare. In an interview with CNN broadcast Friday, Obama said allegations of a new chemical weapons attack by government forces on Syrian civilians were of “grave concern.” But he also pointed out obstacles to US military….
Israel bombs Lebanon in retaliatory attack
AlJazeera 23 Aug 2013 – Air strike targets base of armed group south of Beirut in response to four rockets fired from Lebanon towards Israel.
Israeli Jets Bomb a Target in Southern Lebanon
Palestine News Network
Pillay Says Syrian Chemical Weapons Allegations “Exceptionally Grave,” Investigation Essential
Palestine News Network
Ahrar: 125 Palestinians in Administrative Detention
Palestine News Network
Abbas says No Progress in Peace Talks with Israel
Palestine News Network
PLO Official Threatens to take Israel to UN or ICC
Palestine News Network
Israeli Authorities to Release, Deport Palestinian Prisoner Tomorrow
Palestine News Network
Palestinian Prisoners Give IPS 48 Hours to End Isolation of Abu Sisi
Palestine News Network
International Solidarity Movement
Israeli occupation forces demolish an entire Bedouin community in Beit Hanina
8/23/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 22nd August 2013, International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team, Beit Hanina, Occupied Palestine – On the morning of the 19th August, two hundred soldiers in thirty-eight jeeps and with two military dogs dismantled several tents housing the Tal “˜Adasa Bedouin community in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina. At around 6am, Israeli soldiers surrounded the Bedouins tents, pointing guns at the fifty-three residents, which includes twenty-eight children….
Photo report: Israeli forces shoot teargas into mosque, suffocating hundreds before start of Kafr Qaddum demonstration
8/23/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 23rd August 2013, International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team, Kafr Qaddum, Occupied Palestine – Today, Friday 23rd August, Israeli occupation forces invaded the village of Kafr Qaddum before their regular demonstration began. Shooting gas and sound grenades at residents, the army stormed the village from several different directions, attempting to make arrests – two protesters were injured with teargas canisters, which were shot directly at protesters. Soldiers shot….
occupied Palestinian territory: Zaragoza City Council and Asturias Regional Government Contribute to UNRWA Programmes
Relief Web 23 Aug 2013 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: occupied Palestinian territory The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is grateful to the Spanish local governments of…
How Hamas helped Morsi escape
The National 23 Aug 2013 – In January 2011, as the anti-Mubarak uprising gathered pace, many Muslim Brotherhood figures broke out of prisons in Egypt. The key role Hamas and Hizbollah members seemed to have played in organising the escapes is now being revealed.
Boots, check. Visa, Czech. UAE football team’s Eastern Europe trip
The National 23 Aug 2013 – Fujairah team Al Urooba have found a cool alternative to the UAE’s hot summer in a quiet corner of the Czech Republic for pre-season training.
First, set a high score. Next, throw your phone in water
The National 23 Aug 2013 – Video game helps people to learn about new smartphone.
Acclaimed doctor wants to help shape UAE’s healthcare system
The National 23 Aug 2013 – Prenatal screen expert gave world safer way to search for genetic disorders such as Down syndrome.
Indian fishermen released by Pakistan
The National 23 Aug 2013 – The fishermen, most of whom spent more than a year in prison, were expected to cross the border into India on buses at the town of Wagah on Saturday.
Volunteer work helps Dubai Filipina dressmaker give back to her community
The National 23 Aug 2013 – A Filipina who learned computer skills from the Filipino Digerati Association, a non-profit group of computer enthusiasts, is now paying it forward by teaching others what she knows best – dressmaking.
Abu Dhabi’s ‘paper bag boy’ represents UAE at global kids summit
The National 23 Aug 2013 – Eleven-year-old Abdul Muqeet, a local environmental activist, will travel to the US next month as part of a children’s summit to talk about his work with recycling and conservation in the UAE.
VIdeo: Mubarak release sparks fear of old regime return
The National 22 Aug 2013 – Some Egyptians worry that the release of former President Hosni Mubarak could be yet another signal the old order is returning to power.
Ultranationalist politician to rescue kosher slaughter in Poland
Ha’aretz – 23 Aug 2013
Amid the tumult, Israel is acting logically for a change
Ha’aretz – 23 Aug 2013
Rosh Hashanah: A chance for redemption
Ha’aretz – 23 Aug 2013
Scrap the Jewish state law
Ha’aretz – 23 Aug 2013
American patronage of Israel is a thing of the past
Ha’aretz – 23 Aug 2013
The new epidemic: Lack of trust
Ha’aretz – 22 Aug 2013
Israel’s social-network herd of elephants knows all
Ha’aretz – 22 Aug 2013
US military updates list of potential targets in Syria as pressure mounts on Obama
Jerusalem Post 23 Aug 2013 – Updated list includes mobile targets that would disrupt Assad’s ability to conduct further chemical weapons attacks; cruise missile attacks from sea being considered; senior US Democrat Engel calls for air strikes in Syria.
Initial Western intel assessment: Syrian forces used chemical weapons
Jerusalem Post 23 Aug 2013 – Sources say parties seeking conclusive proof that Assad forces used chemical weapons in attack on Damascus suburb; Western experts believe rockets, missiles used to disperse nerve agent.
Report: Gaza protestors march against peace talks
Jerusalem Post 23 Aug 2013 – Hamas leader: Returning to talks is a blow to jihad.
Syrian opposition vows to ensure safety of UN inspectors
Jerusalem Post 23 Aug 2013 – UN official due in Syria to push for access to alleged chemical attack site.
‘Friday of Martyrs’ protests proceed in Egypt
Jerusalem Post 23 Aug 2013 – Brotherhood’s website says 1 killed in Nile Delta clashes.
Yemen: Al-Qaida plot to ‘change face of history’ led to US scare
Jerusalem Post 23 Aug 2013 – President of Yemen first gov’t leader to publicly disclose details on intercepted call that promoted closure of Western missions.
Egypt’s bruised Brotherhood fails to show street power
Jerusalem Post 23 Aug 2013 – Egyptian security forces keep a watchful eye as Brotherhood organizes “Friday of Martyrs” protests after Friday prayers.
UK: Assad regime is responsible for recent chemical attack in Damascus
Jerusalem Post 23 Aug 2013 – To assist the UN in their inspection, activists are smuggling body tissue samples to UN inspectors staying in a hotel.
Hamas official: Palestinian Tamarod group was trained by Egyptian intelligence
Jerusalem Post 23 Aug 2013 – Yahya Moussa: Movement will not succeed in overthrowing Hamas, plan is part of plot led by Arab nations.
Twin blasts kill more than 40 in Lebanon’s Tripoli
Jerusalem Post 23 Aug 2013 – Red Cross: At least 500 wounded in explosions outside mosques; locals accuse Assad, Hezbollah of being behind attacks.
Obama: US is now facing a ‘more abbreviated’ time frame on decision for Syria, Egypt response
Jerusalem Post 23 Aug 2013 – US president says America can’t intervene in Syria without UN mandate; warns against American involvement in “difficult situations”.
Jewish-American photographer narrowly escapes Syrian Islamist torturers
Jerusalem Post 23 Aug 2013 – Escaped from Syrian Islamists who seized him in December; Mathew Schrier says “no one ever asked if I was Jewish.”
Report: Syrian rebel forces trained by West are moving towards Damascus
Jerusalem Post 23 Aug 2013 – Le Figaro reports rebel soldiers trained by US, Jordan, Israel crossed border to Syria on Aug 17.
Clock ticks while experts kept away from Syria gassing site
Jerusalem Post 23 Aug 2013 – The poisoning deaths of many hundreds of people took place only three days after a team of UN chemical weapons experts arrived in Syria.
Israeli defense experts doubt US will intervene in Syria
Jerusalem Post 23 Aug 2013 – Despite pressure on Obama to intervene in Syria following the large-scale chemical attack, an American military response remains unlikely.
Analysis: Dragging Israel into conflict
Jerusalem Post 22 Aug 2013 – The Sunni jihadist group in Lebanon that fired rockets at the North on Thursday is the latest indication of al-Qaida-affiliated elements setting up shop near Israel’s borders seeking to drag Israel into conflict to serve their interests.
B’Tselem: Police investigating alleged abuse of Palestinian minors during interrogations
Jerusalem Post 22 Aug 2013 – Rights group says children were tied to trees; police respond that the investigations will be fully transparent.
IAF carries out airstrike on target near Beirut
Jerusalem Post 22 Aug 2013 – IDF releases a statement that the air force has struck an exact target near Beirut; all of the pilots involved have returned safely; Israel is holding Lebanese government responsible for Thursday rocket attacks.
The Wikileaks Files What Bradley Manning Revealed
Uruknet
So The Innocent Have Nothing to Fear? After David Miranda We Now Know Where This Leads
Uruknet
Speech groups slam BBC over Nigel Kennedy “censorship”
Uruknet
Arab Liberals are much more obsessed with the West than Arab Leftists ever were
Uruknet
‘Sending a message’: what the US and UK are attempting to do
Uruknet
Another Day, Another Lie
Uruknet
Guantánamo Bay guards withholding food, 9/11 defendant alleges
Uruknet
Afghanistan: Residents protest torture and arrest of innocent people by ISAF, Afghan forces
Uruknet
British government forced Guardian to smash hard drives with Snowden files
Uruknet
Protecting Lebanon’s other tree: the juniper
Daily Star 23 Aug 2013 In the cliffs high above the north Lebanon region of Dinnieh is a breathtaking view of the Mediterranean coast, from the bustling port of Tripoli all the way north to Tartous in Syria.
Exploring the Palestinian side of the separation wall
Daily Star 23 Aug 2013 In 2005, British graffiti artist Banksy set out to adorn what to him might be the ultimate canvas.
Arab cinema in Beirut, via Amman and Paris
Daily Star 23 Aug 2013 Some images from the Arab world cannot be found on television news or YouTube. It is possible, too, to find stories from this region that are not concerned with the turmoil roiling in Tunisia, Egypt and…
Bomber kills 25 in Baghdad cafe
YNet News, 23 Aug 2013 – ….
UN condemns ‘heinous’ attacks in Lebanon
YNet News, 23 Aug 2013 – ….
Egypt: 1 killed, 54 wounded in clashes across country
YNet News, 23 Aug 2013 – ….
23-year-old drowns in Nigerian ambassador’s house’s pool
YNet News, 23 Aug 2013 – ….
US soldier sentenced to life in prison over Afghan rampage
YNet News, 23 Aug 2013 – ….
They hate Israel, but they hate Hezbollah more
YNet News, 23 Aug 2013 – Abdullah Azzam Brigades took responsibility for rocket fire at Israel on Thursday, but also defies Hezbollah for backing Syrian regime. Al-Qaeda affiliated group also linked to rocket launches at Eilat ….
Turkey’s Erdogan weeps on live TV after hearing poem
YNet News, 23 Aug 2013 – Turkish PM listens to poem written by Muslim Brotherhood politician on daughter’s death in protests, dissolves in tears ….
2 explosions kill 27 in north Lebanese city
YNet News, 23 Aug 2013 – Twin explosions outside two Sunni mosques rock city of Tripoli; 27 killed, 358 wounded, Lebanese health minister says ….
Beards, niqab become liability in Egypt after crackdown
YNet News, 23 Aug 2013 – Realizing how they look influences how security forces, civilian enforcers treat them, country’s men go clean shaven ….
Obama says concerned about Syria, but cautious about costs
YNet News, 23 Aug 2013 – In interview with CNN, US president calls on Assad government to allow full investigation into claims of chemical attack but admits ‘We don’t expect cooperation given their past history’ ….
Israeli among top 35 innovators under 35
YNet News, 23 Aug 2013 – At 26, Kira Radinsky, Ph.D., is on list of world’s 35 brightest young innovators. Others on list? Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Google founders Larry Page, Sergey Brin ….
Girl, 16, stabbed during cell phone robbery
YNet News, 23 Aug 2013 – Man tries to steal teenager’s phone as she was walking on Tel Aviv promenade, stabs her when she refused to hand it over; suspect at large ….
UN says Syrian child refugees tops 1 million mark
YNet News, 23 Aug 2013 – Roughly half of 2 million registered refugees from Syria are children, according to UN agencies ….
US weighing military response to Syria chemical assault
YNet News, 23 Aug 2013 – Pentagon updating target lists for possible airstrikes on Syrian installations should allegations that Assad’s regime used chemical weapons prove to be true, US papers report ….
IDF bombs Lebanon target in retaliation for rocket attack
YNet News, 23 Aug 2013 – IDF spokesman says Air Force jets bombed terror site south of Beirut overnight in response to rocket fire from Lebanon, carrying direct hits; adds Israel holds Lebanese government accountable ….
Palestinian arrested for selling ‘Morsi perfume’
YNet News, 22 Aug 2013 – 36-year-old Hamas member arrested after Tulkarem perfume shop he owns raided. Brother claims arrests stems from sales of Morsi dedicated perfume ….
Despite Iron Dome, residential areas sustain hits
YNet News, 22 Aug 2013 – Iron Dome battery deployed in north intercepted rocket launched at Israel, but failed to intercept two other rockets that hit two Galilee communities. IAF launches investigation into misses ….
Circumcisions in US hospitals decline over 3 decades
YNet News, 22 Aug 2013 – National rate declined to 58.3% in 2010 from 64.5% in 1979, National Center for Health Statistics says ….
Obama under pressure to retaliate against Syria
YNet News, 22 Aug 2013 – Washington Post editorial says US should hold independent inquiry to confirm veracity of chemical attack reports, deliver vow not to tolerate such crimes; France says world should respond with force if allegations prove true ….
Thai court convicts 2 Iranians for bomb plot
YNet News, 22 Aug 2013 – Saeid Moradi sentenced to life, Mohammad Kharzei gets 15 years for botched bombing in Bangkok, February 2012, which injured five, including Moradi ….
Obama treads lightly amid chemical attack allegations in Syria
LA Times 23 Aug 2013 – President Obama speaks reluctantly of possible U.S. military action, warning of ‘costly interventions that actually breed more resentment in the region.’ WASHINGTON — Facing mounting pressure to respond to new reports of brutality by the Syrian government, President Obama on Friday downplayed the likelihood of…
Lebanon car bombs explode near mosques, kill at least 42
LA Times 23 Aug 2013 – Hundreds are wounded in the twin blasts, the latest in a series of apparently sectarian attacks as violence spills across the border from Syria. BEIRUT — A pair of car bombs exploded near two mosques Friday in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, killing at…
Egypt protesters try a scattered approach
LA Times 23 Aug 2013 – Opponents of Egypt’s military-backed government spread through Cairo as they seek to win over neighbors to their side. CAIRO — As Friday’s march took a left down a trash-filled street, Enas Mohammad broke off from fellow protesters to argue with a wom
an standing in front…
Morsi backers hold smaller protests in Egypt after crackdown
LA Times 23 Aug 2013 – CAIRO — A week after Egypt witnessed its bloodiest days of unrest, protesters against the military-backed government came out across Cairo and other provinces Friday amid tension but relative calm.
Egypt frees Mubarak as crackdown on Islamists continues
LA Times 22 Aug 2013 – The former president will be under house arrest. His release and Egypt’s efforts to curb Islamic influence suggest remnants of his police state are reemerging. CAIRO — As supporters cheered former President Hosni Mubarak’s release from prison, Egypt’s military-backed government pressed ahead with its crackdown…
Bombings Strike Lebanon, As Mosques Are Targeted in Growing Violence
New York Times 23 Aug 2013 – The blasts outside two Sunni mosques in Tripoli killed dozens of people and reinforced fears that the Middle East could be plunging into unbridled Sunni vs. Shiite warfare.
Pressure Rises on Hamas As Patrons’ Support Fades
New York Times 23 Aug 2013 – The Palestinian militant group loses crucial economic and diplomatic backing, adding another volatile element to the rapidly changing landscape across the region.
Syrian Kurds Flee to Northern Iraq
New York Times 23 Aug 2013 – Authorities and aid groups in northern Iraq scramble to accommodate the thousands of Syrian Kurds seeking shelter from the conflict in Syria.
At War Blog: Remembering Iraq on an Indian Reservation
New York Times 23 Aug 2013 – Nathan S. Webster asks why Lance Marottek, 25, returned to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana after five years in the Army.
Syrian Kurds Find More Than a Refuge in Northern Iraq
New York Times 23 Aug 2013 – Tens of thousands of ethnic Kurds have streamed into northern Iraq in recent days, where they have got a warm welcome and a measure of hope.
Suicide Bombing and Attacks Kill 36 in Iraq
New York Times 23 Aug 2013 – A suicide bomber attacked a park in northern Baghdad on Friday night, the bloodiest attack in a day of violence that killed at least 36 people across the country, the authorities said.
2 Blasts Rock Northern Lebanese City
New York Times 23 Aug 2013 – Twin car bombs exploded outside mosques in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, killing at least 27 people and wounding over 350, officials said.
Lockdown by Government Smothers Day of Planned Protest in Egypt
New York Times 23 Aug 2013 – A relatively small number of demonstrators were so cowed by the violence of the recent crackdown that they took steps to avoid even the smallest confrontation.
Iron Dome Fails to Intercept Rockets Fired from Lebanon into Northern Israel
Tikun Olam – Israeli police officer guards home damaged by Lebanese rocket attack. (AP/Jinipix) Yesterday, Lebanese militants fired four rockets from south of Tyre into northern Israel. One landed in Lebanon. Of the remaining three that hit the western Galilee, Iron Dome only intercepted one (Hebrew). That’s a success…
Canadian filmmaker and doctor remain imprisoned in Egypt
Mondoweiss – Canadian-Palestinian doctor Tarek Loubani (left) and filmmaker John Greyson (right). Photo viaChange.org. Two Canadian citizens remain locked up in Egyptian jail, and it remains unclear when they will be released. Filmmaker John Greyson and Canadian-Palestinian doctor Tarek Loubani were taken into custody by Egyptian police…
Egyptians rally in DC for General Sisi, rattling off conspiracy theories recycled from Islamophobes
Mondoweiss – On August 22, several hundred Egyptians and Egyptian-Americans hit the streets of Washington DC to show their support for General Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi and the regime that overthrew the elected President Mohamed Morsi in a military coup on July 3. After surrounding the offices of the…
Chas Freeman: Kerry’s talks leave out 4 of 5 Palestinians
Mondoweiss – At the American Conservative, Scott McConnell has published a piece offering William Pfaff’s argument that the greatest effect the US could have on the Arab spring would be to take action now to bring about partition, and a viable Palestinian state. But this is certainly not…
Terry Gross doesn’t care about Edward Snowden
Mondoweiss – The other day I listened to NPR’s ” All Things Considered” for an hour and a half and was bowled over by the amount of trivia I was forcefed on a day when serious issues should have commanded attention– from Egypt to the detention of Glenn Greenwald’s…
Egypt’s revolution was an exercise in magical realism
Mondoweiss – Marc H. Ellis – Thinking about Cairo’s morgue and the final indignity suffered by the bereaved whose only comfort left is in burying their dead, I came across a review of The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vasquez in the New York Times. Vasquez is a Columbian novelist who benefited from and seeks to distance himself from his fellow countryman, Gabriel Garcia Marquez….
Mayor Bob Filner Quits To Settle Harass Suit
The Foward Breaking News 23 Aug 2013 – San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, facing a sexual harassment lawsuit and numerous allegations of inappropriate behavior toward women, has signed a letter of resignation, the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune reported on Friday. Click here for the rest of the
article…
Kosher Certifiers Offer Restuarants Middle Ground
The Foward Breaking News 23 Aug 2013 – Kosher observant Jews who have yet to parse out the difference between regular and mehadrin kosher certificates, please pay close attention: A new class of kashrut certification has been conjured up in Jerusalem. Click here for the rest of the article…
Israel’s Alliance With Turkey on the Rocks Again
The Forward New 23 Aug 2013 – Israel’s troubled relations with Turkey seemed to be on the right track after President Obama brokered a deal between the two U.S. allies. Things have quickly fallen apart again. Click here for the rest of the article…
Egypt: Egypt Decries Death of Syrians By Regime Fire
allAfrica.com 23 Aug 2013 – [Egypt Online]The Egyptian Foreign Ministry condemned the death of over 1,300 Syrians on Wednesday.
Egypt: Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs Hails Saudi, Gulf Stances
allAfrica.com 23 Aug 2013 – [Egypt Online]The Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs (ECFA) hailed the stances of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that support the Egyptian government in its war against terrorism and plots against Egypt.
Egypt: PM Thanks Jordan for Supporting Egypt’s Efforts Against Terrorism
allAfrica.com 23 Aug 2013 – [Egypt Online]Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawy received Jordanian Ambassador to Egypt Bishr Khasawneh who stressed his country’s support to Egypt in its war against terrorism and conveyed the greetings of Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Nsour to the Egyptian people.
South Africa: International Relations Committee Adopts Middle East Report
allAfrica.com 23 Aug 2013 – [SA Govt]The Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation has adopted a report on its study tour of and fact-finding mission to the West Bank and Israel.
Lebanon blasts ‘kill at least 42’
BBC 23 Aug 2013 – At least 42 people have been killed and hundreds injured in the Lebanese city of Tripoli in what is believed to be the deadliest attack since the country’s civil war.
Obama: Syria chemicals grave concern
BBC 23 Aug 2013 – US President Barack Obama says allegations of a chemical weapons attack in Syria represents a “big event of grave concern”.
Egypt urged to reopen Gaza crossing
BBC 23 Aug 2013 – Hamas urges Egypt to reopen its border with Gaza, closed since an attack on Egyptian police, leaving thousands unable to cross.
Israeli jets bomb Lebanon target
BBC 23 Aug 2013 – Israeli jets bomb a target south of Beirut, a day after four rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into Israel.
Bahrainis rally against ruling monarchy
Al-Akhbar News 23 Aug 2013 – Bahraini police look on during an anti-regime protest in the village of Al-Muqsha, west of Manama, on 17 August 2013. (Photo: AFP – Mohammed al-Shaikh) Anti-government protesters took to the streets in Bahrain Friday to demand the resignation of the ruling monarchs following more than two-year…
Mubarak Is Released
Al-Akhbar News 23 Aug 2013 – An Egyptian man throws the logo of the Freedom and Justice party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, into the fire on 23 August 2013 in Mansura. (Photo: AFP – Sayed Baz) An Egyptian man throws the logo of the Freedom and Justice party, the…
Tunisia: New Life for Old Regime as Crisis Unfolds
Al-Akhbar News 23 Aug 2013 – Tunisian supporters of the Islamist Ennahda ruling party and others, shout slogans during a protest against Egypt’s bloody crackdown on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi on 16 August 2013. (Photo: AFP – Fethi Belaid) Tunisian supporters of the Islamist Ennahda ruling party and others, shout…
Syria: Youssef Abdelke Free, Resolved to Stay in Damascus
Al-Akhbar News 23 Aug 2013 – Syrian artist Youssef Abdelke stands in front of one of his works at his atelier in Damascus 23 September 2010. (Photo: Archive) Syrian artist Youssef Abdelke stands in front of one of his works at his atelier in Damascus 23 September 2010. (Photo: Archive) Damascus –…
Lebanon: Saudi Arabia Takes Off the Gloves
Al-Akhbar News 23 Aug 2013 – Women from Saudi Arabia play with snow at a ski resort in Faraya, Mount Lebanon 4 April 2012. (Photo: Reuters – Jamal Saidi) Women from Saudi Arabia play with snow at a ski resort in Faraya, Mount Lebanon 4 April 2012. (Photo: Reuters – Jamal Saidi)…
Twin bombings in Lebanon’s Tripoli kill 27: ministry
Al-Akhbar News 23 Aug 2013 – Lebanese gather outside the Salam mosque at the site of a powerful explosion in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on 23 August 2013. (Photo: AFP) Updated 5:05 pm: At least 27 people were killed and over 350 injured when two massive bombs exploded within minutes…
Syrian Kurdish Fronts Exhaust Islamist Battalions
Al-Akhbar Politics 22 Aug 2013 – An Iraqi-Kurdish man delivers mattresses as the Iraqi Red Crescent Society gathers aid supplies for Syrian refugees in the city of Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on 19 August 2013. (Photo: AFP – Safin Hamed) An Iraqi-Kurdish man delivers mattresses…
Damascus Massacre: Civilians Pay Heaviest Price of War
Al-Akhbar Politics 22 Aug 2013 – A handout image released by the Syrian opposition’s Shaam News Network shows a Syrian couple mourning in front of bodies wrapped in shrouds ahead of funerals following what Syrian rebels claim to be a toxic gas attack by pro-gov
ernment forces in eastern Ghouta, on the outskirts…
Lebanon blasts ‘kill at least 42’
BBC 23 Aug 2013 – At least 42 people have been killed and hundreds injured in the Lebanese city of Tripoli in what is believed to be the deadliest attack since the country’s civil war.
Obama: Syria chemicals grave concern
BBC 23 Aug 2013 – US President Barack Obama says allegations of a chemical weapons attack in Syria represents a “big event of grave concern”.
Suicide bomb hits busy Baghdad park
BBC 23 Aug 2013 – A suicide bomber kills at least 25 people and wounds dozens in Baghdad, amid a fresh surge of violence across Iraq.
Egypt urged to reopen Gaza crossing
BBC 23 Aug 2013 – Hamas urges Egypt to reopen its border with Gaza, closed since an attack on Egyptian police, leaving thousands unable to cross.
Israeli jets bomb Lebanon target
BBC 23 Aug 2013 – Israeli jets bomb a target south of Beirut, a day after four rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into Israel.
Articles
Authorities threaten displaced community’s return to village
Haggai Matar, +972 Magazine 8/22/2013
The displaced Maronite community of Bir’em has decided to implement its right of return by resettling its land. Authorities have threatened to evict the villagers should they refuse to leave.
Exactly one year ago, the displaced people of Iqrit decided that after 64 years of empty promises, they would wait no longer to return to their lands. Just last week, the villagers of Iqrit celebrated the first anniversary of their outpost built on confiscated lands, and announced plans to go on expanding their presence on the ground. Now it appears that Iqrit is not alone, as another displaced community on the border with Lebanon is also trying to revive its destroyed village.
On Saturday, following their weekly communal prayer in the old church (the last standing structure in the village), the Committee for the Uprooted of Kufr Bir’em erected several dozen tents on lands that once were their own and now serve as a national park, and stated they would not leave again. Since then, they have been holding shifts, with approximately 25 members of the village at the site at any given time, where they organize social, religious and other activities outside the church. The action is taking place about half a year after anti-Christian graffiti was sprayed on the village church.
“We are sick and tired of governments that choose to ignore us, that think that if enough time passes we’ll simply forget and forgo our rights to the land,” says Deeb Maroun, a member of the committee. “We think it’s simply absurd that so many court rulings and official committees have supported our cause, that the majority of Israelis support us, yet we are still not allowed to return. We want to put the story of Bir’em back in the news and in public awareness, and this is the best way we believe we can get it – with a non-violent return.”
On Wednesday, officials from the Israel Land Administration showed up at the scene and posted a notification warning the people of Bir’em that they are trespassing and demanding that they “stop all work being done on the site…” more.. e-mail
A Peek inside Kerry’s ‘Peace’ Efforts or Propaganda?
Sam Bahour, Arabic Media Internet Network (AMIN) 8/23/2013
The first proclaimed leak from Secretary John Kerry’s efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as it is so often called, were published last week in the reputable London-based daily Arabic newspaper, Al-Hayat. The source is said to be a posting on the website of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, who claim the information was leaked to them by someone attending the tightly closed negotiating sessions. The validity of this claim and the contents of the leak are unverifiable, and the infighting between Hamas and Fatah give both a vested interest to publicly damage the other; however, a read through the supposed leaked information makes anyone familiar with this issue take worrying note.
The Al-Hayat article on the leak states that Secretary Kerry obtained Palestinian President Abbas’ approval on general parameters for the restart of negotiations, at meetings between the two in Amman on 17-18 July 2013, prior to Secretary Kerry’s announcement that negotiations would restart. According to the leaked document, “Kerry set a maximum period of time ranging from 6 to 9 months to be dedicated to bilateral Palestinian-Israeli negotiations … without any preconditions,” beyond the principles listed below and whereby Jordan participates in meetings on refugees, Jerusalem and borders where necessary:
1. “The Separation Wall will serve as the security borders of the ‘Jewish’ state, and the temporary border of the ‘Palestinian’ state… Both parties will acknowledge and announce this.”
2. There will be “an exchange in disputed territories within the plan of the Separation Wall noted above, as agreed to by both parties and with the blessing of the Arab League Follow-up Committee, as specified by this Committee to Mr. Kerry during their last visit to Washington, ranging in size from eight to ten percent of West Bank lands.
3. There will be also be a “freeze in the settlement projects at a number of outposts, as approved by the Israeli government, which does not apply to existing projects in large settlement communities located in the vicinity of Jerusalem and in the Jordan Valley…. more.. e-mail
Grownup children playing war: On Kufr Qaddum and violence
Amitai Ben Abba, +972 Magazine 8/21/2013
There’s no symmetry and no comparison between a pack of kids with slingshots and the fifth largest nuclear superpower in the world. And if the side at which violence is directed perceives no threat, is that supposed violence real?
The Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Guerrilla of Qaddum’s children is running to and fro with stones and sometimes slingshots, making funny sounds at the soldiers that are lying bored overloaded with weapons and riot gear in the sun on the hill.
Kids have secret worlds of wandering imagination and play. In my own childhood, I would roam around empty building sites and fields, parks and barren streets, and the space would become only partial to the world of imagination flying in my mind. Street signs, stray cats, rubbish, thorns, empty beer cans and bongs and needles on the ground were sometimes present as props in the play, but they were mostly just regular constituents of the Jerusalem scenery, fading in and out of my child’s-play consciousness. Likewise, in Kufr Qaddum, kids play around fields filled with used teargas canisters, rubber coated steel bullets, shells of live ammo and burned patches of ground. My Kosovar and Bosnian friends would tell me of their uncanny childhoods. They were playing at war, like spies or commando units or pirates, wandering between ruins, while bombings and shootings and sometimes massacres were happening around them during the grown-ups’ actual war. In the Palestinian village of Kufr Qaddum the kids take the make-believe of children’s play to a whole other level.
“3ah ‘Aah, ghri ghrri,” the kids cry at the soldiers, like the calls shepherds make to summon their herds. “Awawa 3a wah 3aaaaahhh!”
Some older Palestinian folks are there as well. “You’re not a commander,” one of them taunts the officer from a distance. “You’re just a municipality contractor in Kufr Qaddum. Look at you, the dog is your leader; our leader is this child over here….” more.. e-mail
Cry, Beloved Country
Uri Avnery, Arabic Media Internet Network (AMIN) 8/23/2013
I DIDN’T want to write this article, but I had to.
I love Egypt. I love the Egyptian people. I have spent some of the happiest days of my life there.
My heart bleeds when I think of Egypt. And these days I think about Egypt all the time.
I cannot remain silent when I see what is happening there, an hour’s flight from my home.
LET’S PUT on the table right from the beginning what’s happening there now.
Egypt has fallen into the hands of a brutal, merciless military dictatorship, pure and simple.
Not on the way to democracy. Not a temporary transition regime. Not anything like it.
Like the locusts of old, the military officers have fallen upon the land. They are not likely ever to give it up voluntarily.
Even before, the Egyptian military had enormous assets and privileges. They control vast corporations, are free of any oversight and live off the fat of a skinny land.
Now they control everything. Why should they give it up?
Those who believe that they will do so, of their own free will, should have their head examined.
IT IS enough to look at the pictures. What do they remind us of?
This row of over-decorated, beribboned, well-fed generals who have never fought a war, with their gold-braided, ostentatious peaked hats – where have we seen them before? more.. e-mail
“This return is permanent” — refugees’ grandchildren defy Israel with Galilee camp
Electronic Intifada: 22 Aug 2013 – Palestinian activists camping in Iqrit vow to resist warnings from Israeli authorities.more
Egypt’s Foreign Relations on Tightrope
Palestine Chronicle: 23 Aug 2013 – By Nicola Nasser The internal crisis in Egypt has indulged the country in its most critical foreign relations test since these relations were shaped by the U.S. sponsored Camp David accords and the peace treaty with Israel in 1979. An indicator is the warnings against travel to Egypt from east and west, which are exacerbating the rapidly shrinking tourism industry. Stopping production in Egypt by industrial giants like General Motors, Toyota Motor Corp. and Suzuki Motor Corp. is a second indicator. Summons of foreign envoys to Egypt by their governments, which invoked similar Egyptian reciprocal summons, is a third indicator. A fourth was cancelling the U.S. military’s participation in next month’s Operation Bright Star in Egypt and delaying the delivery of four fighter jets to the country. Suspension of the sale of military equipment used for “internal repression” by the EU was a fifth. Threats to cut or suspend aid…more
Egyptian Military and Liberals, the Unholy Alliance
Palestine Chronicle: 23 Aug 2013 – By Hasan Afif El-Hasan If I were given the chance to vote in Egypt’s last elections, I would not have voted for the Islamists, but once they won the elections I would give them the chance to rule because establish
ing a viable democracy over sixty years of dictatorship political rubble takes time. National crises happen in democracies especially in the transition phases, but there are always civil legitimate ways out that do not include military involvement. Military coups offer shortcut to authoritarian rule and they have dangerous security, political and economic consequences. Arab republics in the Middle East and Africa have become too weak economically, politically and militarily under the rule of the generals after a total of fifteen military coups since 1949 when Husni al-Za’im seized power in Syria in a military coup and jailed the elected civilian President Shukri al-Kuwatli. The Arab republics of the generals have become…more
Israelis and Palestinians: Conflict and Resolution – Book Review
Palestine Chronicle: 23 Aug 2013 – Reviewed by Ludwig Watzal (Moshe Machover, Israelis and Palestinians: conflict and resolution, Haymarket Books , Chicago 2012, pp327) This anthology of essays, written by a former Israel activist between 1962 to today, shows the work of Moshe Machover, co-founder of the Socialist Organization in Israel (Matzpen=Compass) and lifelong anti-Zionist. Covering diverse aspects of Israeli society and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the author places the conflict in its regional context and links the fight for Palestinian liberation with the struggle for socialism throughout the region. His central hypotheses are: Both peoples can only liberate themselves from the imperialist yoke, when the masses smash the ruling class in Israel and Palestine; and the fight between both peoples is not primarily about territory but rather a social struggle, and only secondarily a national, because the solution of the central question is to answer the national one, i.e. the social revolution requires the solution of the…more
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The New Dark Age 
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