28 August 2013 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Sisi Stops His Hunger Strike In Eshil Prison
IMEMC – Wednesday [August 28, 2013] Palestinian detainee Dirar Abu Sisi stopped his hunger strike after reaching an agreement with the Administration of Israeli Bir Shiva (Be’er As-Sabe’) Prion, south of the country, to remove him from his solitary confinement. …
Medics: Israeli troops shoot, injure Palestinian worker
8/28/2013 – HEBRON (Ma’an) – Israeli troops shot and injured a young Palestinian man near al-Ramadin village south of Hebron while he was headed to work in Israel, a Red Crescent official. According to Nasser Qabaja of the Palestinian Red Crescent Association, the victim was evacuated in an ambulance to a public hospital in Hebron after he was shot in the foot near al-Ramadin. Medics in….
Settlers destroy dozens of olive trees near Nablus
8/28/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — A group of settlers raided private Palestinian olive groves south of Nablus on Wednesday and destroyed dozens of trees, a Palestinian Authority official said. Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma’an that the attack took place in an area between Huwwara and Burin. Settlers destroyed over 25 trees. The fields belong to Hasan….
Settlers escorted into Aqsa mosque compound
8/28/2013 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) – Dozens of Israeli rightists broke into al-Aqsa Mosque compound through the Old City’s Moroccan Gate Wednesday morning heavily escorted with Israeli police officers, Palestinian officials said. Officials in the Palestinian ministry of endowments told Ma’an that more than 60 settlers entered the compound in groups and toured its squares. Members of the Jewish Ames family along with….
Governor: Nablus man shot dead was killed in crossfire
8/28/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — A man shot dead on Tuesday was killed in the crossfire between Palestinian Authority security forces and gunmen in Askar refugee camp, the governor of Nablus said Wednesday.”A unit of security forces was assigned to arrest a wanted man in the camp according to the law and entered his house to arrest him,” Jibrin al-Bakri told Ma’an.”Then….
Fatah official: Military action in Syria only serves Israel
8/28/2013 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Senior Fatah official Abbas Zaki said Wednesday that military action against Syria targets all Arabs and only serves the interests of Israel.”Despite our opposition to using chemical weapons by groups that want to create excuses to destroy Syria, we are sure that the West will use this as an excuse to intervene in Syrian affairs,” Zaki told Ma’an…. Related: PM: Syria will become ‘graveyard of invaders’
Palestinian schools switch to Israeli curriculum in Jerusalem
8/28/2013 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — The director of education in Jerusalem has urged families with schoolchildren in Jerusalem to be aware that at least five Palestinian schools are switching to Israeli education materials. Sameer Jibril said the Ebin Rushd and Abdulla bin Hussain schools were using Israeli education materials in the seventh and eighth grades. The Sour Baher school is using them for fourth, fifth and….
Protesters, PA forces clash in Ramallah
8/28/2013 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Several protesters and police were injured Wednesday as police broke up a protest against negotiations in Ramallah. Brief clashes broke out as around 50 Palestinians protested the PA’s return to talks with Israel, a Ma’an reporter said. They were also protesting the fatal shooting of a Palestinian during an arrest raid by PA forces in Askar refugee….
Gaza teen injured after playing with explosives
8/28/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A teenager from Gaza was injured on Tuesday while playing with explosives. Mohammad al-Tarshawi, 18, from Nuseirat camp was moderately injured and had several fingers amputated following the incident. He was taken to Shifa hospital in Gaza for treatment. [END]
Egypt allows construction material to enter Gaza
8/28/2013 – EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) — Egyptian authorities on Monday allowed the entry of construction materials into Gaza. Twenty-six trucks, including one truck of gravel and two trucks of iron, were allowed in to be used in Qatari-funded reconstruction projects. Last year, Qatar pledged $400 million in reconstruction funds to the Gaza Strip, and construction material for the projects entered Gaza in late December, breaking a….
Israel in partial army reserve call-up over Syria
8/28/2013 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — The Israeli cabinet authorized on Wednesday a partial call-up of army reservists amid growing expectations of a foreign military strike on neighboring Syria, army radio reported. The unspecified number of troops are attached to units stationed in the north of the country, which borders both Lebanon and the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, the report said. 1 ) southparkbear….
Abbas meets Jordan’s king
8/28/2013 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas met with Jordan’s King Abduallah II on Wednesday to update him on negotiations with Israel. Abbas praised Jordan’s support for Palestinian efforts to establish an independent state, the official PA news agency Wafa reported. Meanwhile, King Abdullah II said Jordan would continue to be in close contact with Palestinian officials throughout negotiations. [END]
PM: Syria will become ‘graveyard of invaders’
8/28/2013 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi said Wednesday that Syria will turn into a “graveyard of the invaders” in case of foreign military intervention and accused the West of inventing pretexts to attack. Syria will “surprise the aggressors as it surprised them in” the 1973 Yom Kippur war, when Arab forces caught Israel off guard, and become “the graveyard of the invaders,” he said. The…. Related: Fatah official: Military action in Syria only serves Israel
PA ministry sends medical supplies to Gaza
8/28/2013 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority ministry of health on Wednesday sent a medical aid convoy worth 3 million shekels ($818,577) to Gaza.”It’s expected that the convoy will arrive Thursday morning and the ministry will not hesitate to provide Gaza with all the medicines they need,” caretaker Palestinian Authority prime minister Rami Hamdallah said while touring a health center in Ramallah….
PFLP: Hamas security force detain fighters in Gaza
8/28/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas security forces detained several members of the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine overnight Tuesday, the leftist group said. Hamas forces raided several homes in Gaza and detained members of the
Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the PFLP said. The raid took place as fighters and supporters of the PFLP commemorated the 12th anniversary of….
Fatah official: Hamas must stop detaining Fatah members
8/28/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Fatah official Taysir al-Bardini on Wednesday called for an end to Hamas’ detentions of Fatah leaders in Gaza. Al-Bardini called on officials to work to end the detention and summons of Fatah leaders in Gaza, which he said violated human rights laws and public freedoms. He urged all factions to work toward reconciliation and the release of political prisoners. [END]
Man dies of electric shock in Jenin village
8/28/2013 – JENIN (Ma’an) – A young man died of electric shock Wednesday morning at a construction site in the northern West Bank village of Beit Qad east of Jenin. Director of Civil Defense services in Jenin Sami Hamdan told Ma’an that 22-year-old Ahmad Nassar from Beit Qad died immediately following an electric shock at work. Hamdan highlighted that Civil Defense teams and….
Boy, 3, dies in Gaza City car accident
8/28/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A 3-year-old boy died on Wednesday in a car accident in al-Shujaiyeh in Gaza City, medics said. Subhi Osama Sukkar was pronounced dead at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, medics told Ma’an. [END]
UN showdown set over action against Syria
8/28/2013 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Bashar Assad’s friends and foes headed for a showdown at the United Nations Wednesday, as Britain pushes for a resolution to pave the way for military strikes over suspected chemical attacks. The meeting comes as the United States and its allies pressed their case for likely military action against the Syrian president’s regime, despite stern warnings against intervention from….
UN team back from site of alleged Syria chemical hit
8/28/2013 – DAMASCUS (AFP) – – UN experts returned from a visit Wednesday to the site of a second alleged chemical attack near Syria’s capital, a day after suspending work over safety fears, an AFP photographer said. Rebels who control the area said the inspectors had traveled in a six-vehicle convoy to the outlying Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta, one of the areas hit in last week….
Iran’s Khamenei: US attack on Syria to spell ‘disaster’
8/28/2013 – TEHRAN (AFP) — Any military intervention by the United States against Tehran’s ally Syria will spell “disaster” for the region, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday.”The US intervention will be a disaster for the region,” Khamenei, the Islamic republic’s most powerful authority, told a meeting with the cabinet of President Hassan Rowhani, state television reported.”The region is….
Assad keeps calm image in face of biggest threat to rule
8/28/2013 – BEIRUT (AFP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad is trying to portray the image of a calm and determined leader ready to confront any challenge, as the West mulls military action against his regime.”At the presidential palace, everything is calm today and work goes on as usual. There’s no sign of nervousness. The same goes for the army headquarters. They will fight to the….
Muslim bloc urges ‘decisive action’ against Damascus
8/28/2013 – JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — The Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Wednesday condemned alleged poison gas attacks in Syria, blaming the government and calling for “decisive action” in response. The world’s largest grouping of Muslim nations “stressed the need to hold the Syrian government legally and morally accountable for this heinous crime and to bring its perpetrators to justice”. The OIC called on the….
Cameron to face skeptical parliament in Syria debate
8/28/2013 – LONDON (AFP) – British Prime Minister David Cameron will Thursday make the case to parliament for targeted military action to halt the use of chemical weapons in Syria but faces opposition from lawmakers haunted by the Iraq war. Cameron and his ministers met with defense chiefs Wednesday and agreed that President Bashar Assad’s regime was behind the chemical attack near Damascus last week, Downing….
Syria envoy says soldiers gassed in new incidents
8/28/2013 – UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — Syria’s UN envoy said Wednesday that dozens of Syrian soldiers inhaled poison gas in new incidents in his country and called on the United Nations to investigate. Ambassador Bashar Jaafari told reporters he had asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to extend the mandate of a UN chemical weapons team now in Syria to include the “heinous” new incidents. He….
US: ‘No avenue forward’ on UN Syria resolution
8/28/2013 – WASHINGTON (AFP) — A resolution condemning Syria’s alleged poison gas use has stalled in the UN Security Council due to Russian “intransigence,” the United States said Wednesday.”We see no avenue forward, given continued Russian opposition to any meaningful Council action on Syria,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters as Washington and Western allies mull a possible strike on Syria after last….
Britain says no Syria action before UN inspection results
8/28/2013 – LONDON (AFP) — Britain will not take military action against the Syrian regime before United Nations inspectors report back on evidence of chemical weapons attacks, according to a motion published by the government Wednesday that is set to be put to a parliamentary vote. Lawmakers are due to vote on Britain’s response to the attacks on Thursday but any military action will require a….
BDS and Beyond
Palestine News Network
Israel Deploys Missile System Near Border with Syria
Palestine News Network
Palestinian Worker Shot by Israeli Fire near Hebron
Palestine News Network
Doughlas: Settlers Uproot 25 Olive Trees in Nablus
Palestine News Network
Soldiers Kidnap Eight Palestinians, Including Five Children, in Jerusalem
Palestine News Network
Ahrar: 12 Jerusalemites Prisoners Arrested Before the Oslo Accords Still in Israeli Jails
Palestine News Network
Dirar Abu Sisi on Hunger Strike to Attain Basic Human Rights
Palestine News Network
International Solidarity Movement
Illegal extremist settlement of Yitzhar expands during ‘peace talks’
8/28/2013 – International Solidarity Movement – 28th August 2013, International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team, Asira, Occupied Palestine – Around 80 settlers and soldiers brought diggers and steam rollers near the Asira water project and started to flatten ground on private Palestinian land. Residents fear this is the first stage in an expansion of the illegal extremist settlement of Yitzhar that daily attacks Asira and the unfinished water project that will provide the….
Jordan: In Jordan, Palestine refugee children from Syria find hope
Relief Web 28 Aug 2013 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: Jordan, occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic “I used to learn French when I was in Syria,” 14-year-old Rawan says after she finishes reading a book…
Lebanon: Ahmad, Palestinian refugee from Syria: “I feel we are double refugees”
Relief Web 28 Aug 2013 – Source: IRIN Country: Lebanon, occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic MASNA’A (LEBANON-SYRIA BORDER CROSSING), 28 August 2013 (IRIN) – Palestinian refugees fleeing the violence in Syria have been refused entry into Lebanon for three weeks now. Since 6 August, according…
Lebanon: New Pressure on Old Refugee Camps
Relief Web 28 Aug 2013 – Source: DanChurchAid Country: Lebanon, occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic Almost 90,000 Syrians of Palestinian origin have fled over the border to Lebanon where they have looked for help and shelter in the old Palestinian refugee camps from 1948. by…
World: Infographie : l’aide alimentaire française en 2012
Relief Web 28 Aug 2013 – Source: Government of France Country: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Haiti, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (the), Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Myanmar, Niger, occupied Palestinian territory, Senegal, Sudan,…
occupied Palestinian territory: Accountability needed for killings in Israeli raid on West Bank refugee camp
Relief Web 28 Aug 2013 – Source: Amnesty Country: occupied Palestinian territory Evidence strongly suggests that three men who were shot dead with live ammunition during an arrest raid on a Palestinian refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Monday were unlawfully killed by Israeli…
occupied Palestinian territory: UN rights office voices concern over forced evictions of Palestinians in West Bank
Relief Web 27 Aug 2013 – Source: UN News Service Country: occupied Palestinian territory 27 August 2013 – The United Nations human rights office today expressed concern over the forced eviction of Palestinians in the West Bank as a result of recent demolitions carried out by…
Obama tackles the dream deferred
The National 28 Aug 2013 – Barack Obama sought to define a renewed fight for equality in the United States and warned of new threats to progress as he commemorated the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s historic speech on the struggle for racial justice in America. Taimur Khan reports
Egypt police arrest relatives of Brotherhood members
The National 28 Aug 2013 – Egyptian authorities arrested more than 60 people associated with the Muslim Brotherhood in less than 24 hours, including relatives of the group’s leaders.
Saudi man dies of Mers virus
The National 28 Aug 2013 – A Saudi man has died of the coronavirus Mers, bringing the kingdom’s death toll from the Sars-like virus to 42, health authorities say.
Martin Luther King’s ‘Dream’ speech was off the cuff
The National 28 Aug 2013 – It’s the most memorable line from one of the greatest speeches delivered, yet the civil-rights leader, Martin Luther King, never planned to say “I have a dream” when he addressed the March on Washington 50 years ago.
British curriculum school for Dubailand
The National 28 Aug 2013 – Safa British Academy near Al Barsha South 3 is expected to be fully operational by September 2014.
Law to unify medical licensing throughout UAE
The National 28 Aug 2013 – Dr Amin Al Amiri, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Health and assistant undersecretary for medical practice and licensing, said the law would standardise all aspects of medical services in both the private and public sectors.
Steer clear of anger for a cool run in Dubai
The National 28 Aug 2013 – Psychologists say Dubai drivers need to slow down and think more about their driving patterns.
Syrians in the UAE fear for their homeland
The National 28 Aug 2013 – As the US and its allies prepares to attack the Assad regime, expatriates in the UAE have mixed views on the benefits of foreign intervention.
Turkey hopes US strikes against Syria will bring down Assad regime
The National 28 Aug 2013 – Turkey’s leaders say they are ready to back US-led strikes to punish Damascus for the alleged use of chemical weapons against civilians – even without a mandate by the United Nations. Thomas Seibert reports from Istanbul
31 injections to head and neck will cure a migraine, UAE finds
The National 28 Aug 2013 – The UAE is among the first countries in the region to adopt a new medical technology that treats chronic migraine with Botox injections, according to state news agency Wam.
Abu Dhabi teachers get updated on curriculum
The National 28 Aug 2013 – More than 6,000 Abu Dhabi teachers are to receive training next week.
Sharjah residents welcome crematorium opening after months of delays
The National 28 Aug 2013 – Work on Sharjah crematorium is back on track, with the facility scheduled to open within a month after final work is completed.
Arab League states’ views on Syria response far from uniform
The National 28 Aug 2013 – To illustrate the dilemma the use of chemical weapons in Syria poses for many governments in the Middle East, there is no better illustration than this week’s declaration by the Arab League. Elizabeth Dickinson reports
Iraq bombings, shooting claim at least 66 lives
The National 28 Aug 2013 – Baghdad residents awoke yesterday to a coordinated wave of bombings mainly targeting Shiite areas killing dozens, while seven in single family were shot dead as they slept south of the capital.
Paints on sale in Abu Dhabi contain ‘very high’ levels of lead
The National 28 Aug 2013 – Products would be banned in US, Europe and Australia but are still on sale in the UAE as the authorities have no powers to remove them.
Coffee king perks up to brew winner in Dubai contest
The National 28 Aug 2013 – A dozen baristas from the Middle East and Asia battle it out to become the cream of Costa.
900 Emirati families reach final stage of housing-grant process
The National 28 Aug 2013 – They must now report to a Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme (SZHP) office to be interviewed.
Warning over plan to save Dead Sea by linking it with the Red Sea
The National 28 Aug 2013 – Environmentalists warn that the ‘Red-Dead’ project could have dire consequences, altering the unique chemistry of the landmark lake at the lowest point on earth.
Free tyre tests in Dubai in bid to boost road safety
The National 28 Aug 2013 – Tyre manufacturer Goodyear has launched a safety programme and set up free pit stops at Discovery Gardens and Garden View Villas today.
U.S. Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan sentenced to death
Ha’aretz – 28 Aug 2013
NYPD labels mosques as terror groups, spies on worshippers
Ha’aretz – 28 Aug 2013
Israel still failing Martin Luther King’s dream
Ha’aretz – 28 Aug 2013
Gov’t celebrates ‘end’ of Ethiopian aliya with arrival of 450 immigrants
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – Yesh Atid MKs say immigration is not over, condemn “pomp and circumstance” of Jewish Agency celebration.
German magazine publishers award Peres their highest honor
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – President Shimon Peres adds the Golden Victoria award to his trophy chest.
Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center held liable for misdiagnosis
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – Court requires higher standard of medical care than currently exists – judges decide what is reasonable care from a doctor, not medical experts.
Public disorder results in premature closure of Jerusalem gas mask dispensary
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – Talpiot mall’s government-sponsored pick-up site shuts down after three hours due to impatient, unruly patrons.
Defiant Syrian PM: We will attack foreign aggressors like in Yom Kippur War
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – Wael al-Halqi warns of “graveyard of invaders” if West strikes.
Jerusalem allocates NIS 80m. for classroom renovations as school year begins
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – Initiative aims to work toward reducing “education gaps in the Arab and Haredi sectors”.
Turkey on alert, hints at ‘engagement’ with allies on Syria response
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – Foreign minister in Ankara says “all options on the table”.
Eritrean, Sudanese migrants to be deported following agreement
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – Interior Min: Israel approves, finalizes plan to deport Africans by way of 3rd country, process to begin after High Holidays.
Palestinians mourn death of man shot to death in gunfight by PA security forces
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – Amjad Odeh was killed during a Palestinian Authority security raid on the Askar refugee camp near Nablus.
Al-Qaida-linked terror group ready to wage holy war against Jews
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – Declaration comes from group which claimed responsibility for last week’s rocket attacks on the north that originated in Lebanon.
Sources: Syria evacuates army post in Damascus
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – Military, security personnel vacate headquarters in capital in preparation for possible Western strike.
Michaeli: Search for BoI governor is a farce
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – Labor MK questions Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s decision to repeatedly ignore Karnit Flug as a viable option.
A-G: Israel to stop using 1950 law to confiscate east Jerusalem Arab properties for Jews
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – High Court may still demand personal appearance of Weinstein.
VIDEO: Father and son reunited after Syria massacre
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – A heartwarming video of reunion sheds a glimmer of good news from devastated area of Zamalka in Damascus.
Egypt backs away from plan to dissolve Muslim Brotherhood
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – “Muslim Brotherhood should be included in political process.”
Iran’s Khamenei: US intervention in Syria would be ‘disaster’ for Mideast
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – ISNA: Supreme Leader says action would be a “disaster for region.”
UN Chief: Inspectors need 4 days to conclude probe in Syria
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – Ban Ki-moon says findings to be reported to Security Council for any actions; activists report renewed chemical attack in Damascus.
End of Ethiopian aliya as final flight set to land in Israel
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – 400 Falash Mura to arrive; protest planned outside PM’s office.
US Congress set to give green light on Syria strike
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – US lawmakers urge Obama to seek approval ahead of attack; UK parliament to reconvene as Australia, Canada confirm support for strike.
Australia endorses possible US strike on Syria
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – The Foreign Minister for the incoming chair of the UN Security Council declares: The sheer horror of a government using chemical weapons against its people, in any circumstances, mandates a response.
Could Israeli experts be wrong about a Syrian attack on Israel?
Jerusalem Post 28 Aug 2013 – Analysis: Many analysts speak about Assad’s “rationality,” but it is clear that he does not always think according to the logic of analysts.
Creating a case defending Western intervention in the fight against Assad
Jerusalem Post 27 Aug 2013 – Analysis: A ‘kitchen sink’ list of arguments would provide Washington with legal footing for any actions in Syria.
U.S. Neocon Hawks Take Flight Over Syria
IPS In an echo of the tactics they used to promote U.S. intervention in the Balkans, Iraq and Libya, a familiar clutch of neo-conservatives published a letter Tuesday urging President Barack Obama to go far beyond limited military strikes against Syria in retaliation for its government’s alleged use last week of…
In Rush to Strike Syria, U.S. Tried to Derail U.N. Probe
IPS Secretary of State John Kerry (shown as a senator in 2009) has called the use of chemical weapons in Syria a “moral obscenity”. Credit: Ralph Alswang, Center for American Progress Action Fund/CC by 2.0 After initially insisting that Syria give United Nations investigators unimpeded access to the site of an…
Peace No Longer Rests on the Palestinian Issue
IPS The end of the world’s most enduring conflict was always regarded as the essential linchpin of Mideast security. As direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians resume following a three-year hiatus, it seems too late for peace between them – if the declared goal of a peace deal within nine months…
Israel Plans to Demolish a Palestinian Elementary School
Uruknet
Monsanto s Harvest of Shame
Uruknet
Is Israel Deliberately Derailing Negotiations?
Uruknet
Busy autumn on drones front
Uruknet
Obama Gives Bush “Absolute Immunity” For Everything
Uruknet
When the press gives in to the spooks
Uruknet
Scary psychological torture: The real message behind force-feeding hunger strikers
Uruknet
Military force that killed three Palestinians stayed in Qalandiya Camp until almost 7am
Uruknet
Violent chaos : Libya in deep crisis 2 years since rebels took over
Uruknet
Abbas forfeits Palestinian right to land and memory
Uruknet
Israel arrests Palestinian youth leader invited to State Dep t training session
Uruknet
NSA used decryption technology to spy on the United Nations
Uruknet
Why is a BBC journalist on an expenses-paid propaganda junket to Israel?
Uruknet
Permanent Status Negotiations continue in spite of increased Israeli violations against Palestinians
Uruknet
Obama says no decision yet on Syria strike
Daily Star 28 Aug 2013 President Barack Obama says that he has not made a decision on making a military strike against Syria, but adds the goal of a limited action would be to deter future use of chemical weapons.
Iraq bombings, house raid kill at least 74 people
Daily Star 28 Aug 2013 Car bomb blasts and other explosions tore through mainly Shiite districts around Baghdad during morning rush hour Wednesday in a day of violence that killed at least 74.
Two deaths, six new MERS virus cases in Saudi: WHO
Daily Star 28 Aug 2013 Eight new cases of the deadly coronavirus MERS, a SARS-like infection, have been registered in Saudi Arabia, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday.
Obama at 50th anniversary embodies King’s dream
Daily Star 28 Aug 2013 President Barack Obama arrives to lead civil rights pioneers in a ceremony for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech roused the 250,000 people who…
Minister: Tunisia salafis get orders from al-Qaida
Daily Star 28 Aug 2013 Tunisia’s interior minister says the al-Qaida terror network has been giving orders to the country’s ultraconservative Muslims to destabilize the country.
Putin, Rouhani oppose chemical arms, military intervention in Syria
Daily Star 28 Aug 2013 Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani agreed that the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable and signalled their shared opposition to military intervention in Syria war, the Kremlin says after the leaders spoke…
Arab League ministers to blame Syria’s Assad for chemical attack
Daily Star 28 Aug 2013 Arab League ministers will pass a resolution blaming Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for last week’s chemical weapons attack in Damascus when they meet in Cairo next week, League officials say.
Nigerians charged with aiding Iran militant cell
Daily Star 28 Aug 2013 Nigeria charges two of its citizens with assisting an Iranian militant cell in planning possible attacks on Israeli targets, alleging that one had travelled to Tehran and Dubai to receive cash and had known about spying…
Britain says no Syria action before UN inspection results
Daily Star 28 Aug 2013 Britain will not take military action against the Syrian regime before United Nations inspectors report back on evidence of chemical weapons attacks, according to a motion by the government that is set to be put to…
‘No avenue forward’ on UN Syria resolution: US
Daily Star 28 Aug 2013 A resolution condemning Syria’s alleged poison gas use has stalled in the U.N. Security Council due to Russian “intransigence,” the United States say.
Russia tells Britain its Syria resolution in premature
Daily Star 28 Aug 2013 Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov tells Britain that the U.N. Security Council should not consider a draft resolution in response to an alleged chemical arms attack in Syria before U.N. inspectors report on their findings there.
The Wild West is back in Palestine
Stop The Wall – Palestinian Grassroots Anti-apartheid Wall Campaign Jello Settlement and The Apartheid wall To Be Build By: Jamal Juma’ (oordinator of the Stop the Wall Campaign) and Maren Mantovani (international relations coordinator of the Stop the Wall Campaign) Any joint activity in which all involved are aware that the stated goals won’t…
Egypt police arrest Brotherhood members’ relatives
YNet News, 28 Aug 2013 – ….
US House Speaker asks Obama to make the case for Syria action
YNet News, 28 Aug 2013 – ….
Israeli troops disciplined after partying with Palestinians
YNet News, 28 Aug 2013 – ….
OAS chief against Syria strike
YNet News, 28 Aug 2013 – ….
Obama at 50th anniversary embodies King’s dream
YNet News, 28 Aug 2013 – ….
Waiting for the American cop
YNet News, 28 Aug 2013 – Op-ed: Despite urge to intervene in Syria, State of Israel is committed, first and foremost, to its own security interests ….
Palestinian Information Center
Sheikh Salah urges Palestinians to march to Aqsa Mosque next Wednesday
PIC – Sheikh Ra’ed Salah called on the Palestinians in Jerusalem and the green line areas to march to the Aqsa Mosque next Wednesday to defend it against declared Jewish intentions to violate its sanctity.
IOA serves notices for demolition of 8 water wells in Al-Khalil hamlet
PIC – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) served notices in Al-Fakhit hamlet to the east of Yatta town, south of Al-Khalil city, for the destruction of eight water wells.
Ahrar: Abu Sisi continues his hunger strike for the 13th day in a row
PIC – Ahrar center for prisoners’ studies said that the isolated prisoner Dirar Abu Sisi continued his hunger strike for the 13th day in a row despite his deteriorating health condition.
Abu Zuhri denies Hamas members were captured in Egypt
PIC – Hamas spokesman Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri has denied media claims that five members of Hamas movement were arrested in Egypt in connection with the killing of Egyptian soldiers in Rafah border town.
Arab organization: Israel coordinates its human rights violations with the PA
PIC – The London-based Arab organization for human rights said that Israel commits its violations in the occupied Palestinian territories in coordination with the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Khudari: Waterway would relieve the siege on the Strip
PIC – MP Jamal Al-Khudari said that the IOA had tightened its siege on the Gaza Strip as it continued to close its commercial crossings except for one that does not meet the people’s needs.
Israel about to finish building of synagogue for women in Al-Buraq square
PIC – The Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage said that the IOA nearly finished the building of a synagogue for Jewish women next to the western wall of the Aqsa Mosque in Al-Buraq wall square.
Settlers storm Sarafand mosque in 48-occupied territories
PIC – Israeli extremist settlers stormed a mosque in the evacuated village of Sarafand near Haifa, northern occupied Palestinian territories in 1948, and stole its contents, Palestinian sources said.
Action group: The humanitarian situation in Yarmouk refugee camp got worse
PIC – The action group for the Palestinians in Syria said that the tight blockade imposed by the Syrian regime army on Al-Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus has aggravated the humanitarian situation there.
PEX Report: Index Losing on Stock Exchange
WAFA – 28 Aug 2013
Israeli Soldiers Shoot and Injure Worker
WAFA – 28 Aug 2013
Russian resistance torpedoes United Nations resolution on Syria
LA Times 28 Aug 2013 – WASHINGTON – A final Western effort to win a United Nations blessing for military action against Syria appeared to collapse Wednesday, but the United States and its allies were still expected to launch a retaliatory attack in response to President Bashar Assad’s alleged use of…
In Syria, U.N. inspectors return to site of alleged attack
LA Times 28 Aug 2013 – BEIRUT — United Nations chemical weapons inspectors on Wednesday visited an area east of Damascus allegedly attacked with chemical weapons last week, and the world body’s leader said the team needed four days on the ground to complete its work.
Organized immigration of Ethiopian Jews to Israel ends
LA Times 28 Aug 2013 – JERUSALEM — A plane carrying 450 immigrants from Ethiopia on Wednesday marked the end of Israel’s decades-long effort to bring Jews and their descendants from the African nation to the Jewish state.
Fights over gas masks as Israel prepares for expected strike on Syria
LA Times 28 Aug 2013 – JERUSALEM — As panicked Israelis broke into fistfights at one gas mask distribution center, Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday deployed extra missile-interception systems to the north and approved a limited mobilization of reservists.
Syria chemical weapons response poses major test for Obama
LA Times 28 Aug 2013 – Obama, who before taking office vowed to end the foreign policies of Bush, is now wrestling with some of the same moral and legal realities. WASHINGTON — The apparent poison gas attack that killed hundreds of Syrian civilians last week is testing President Obama’s views…
Yitzhak Tshuva set to delist Delek Energy
Globes Energy & Water – Investment institutions have reportedly accepted the offer to purchase by Delek Group.
Bids invited for Discount Bank NY
Globes Main News – Discount Bank is reportedly asking around $1 billion for Discount New York, which had shareholders’ equity of $831 million at the end of June.
Netanyahu: Do not change daily routines
Globes Main News – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that, “the IDF is ready to defend against any threat.”
Wed: Results boost Delek
Globes Main News – Stocks rose today, with Delek Group and Discount Bank in the lead. Israel Corp. was the biggest decliner.
Teva shareholders approve compensation plan
Globes Main News – CEO Jeremy Levin will receive an annual salary of $1.5 million and a bonus of up to $3 million for 2013.
Deputy AG: Leumi’s exec compensation partly illegal
Globes Main News – Avi Licht: The bank’s methodology does not allow the shareholders to review the policy pursuant to Amendment 20.
Gov’t to shorten summer school vacation
Globes Macro Economics – Under the proposed reform, the school year will continue into July, partly in a summer camp format.
Bergman: Shin Bet’s Project Ulysses Planted Jewish Agents Who Infiltrated Newly-Formed PLO
Tikun Olam – Sixty years ago, the Shin Bet devised one of the strangest operations in its history (and the archives are filled with some very strange ones!). It planted Jewish agents deep undercover inside Palestinian communities. For 15 years these men became Palestinian: they married Palestinian wives, raised…
Federal complaints targeting Palestine solidarity activism on campus are dismissed
Mondoweiss – Students for Justice in Palestine activists at a conference at Columbia University in 2011. (Photo: Columbia SJP) Three separate probes into allegations that campus activism for Palestine created an anti-Semitic environment have been closed by the federal government. The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights…
‘Disappearing Palestine’ ads come to Vancouver public transit
Mondoweiss – (Photo: Noor Kesbeh, Palestine Awareness Coalition) From a Palestine Awareness Coalition press release: The realities of Palestinian land loss are on display in Vancouver, as a new series of transit ads has been posted at the Vancouver City Centre SkyTrain station and on 15 TransLink buses,…
The NYPD’s bigoted logic: Mosques are fronts for terrorism
Mondoweiss – From left to right, David Cohen, NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and former CIA agent; Mayor Michael Bloomberg; and NYPD chief Ray Kelly (Photo: EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT) The New York Police Department’s dragnet surveillance program labeled mosques as terrorist organizations to justify infiltrating religious institutions. The latest…
For criticizing Israel not Russia, Roger Waters reveals anti-Semitic ‘undercurrents’ — Foxman
Mondoweiss – Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League has responded to Roger Waters’s appeal to the rock and roll community to boycott Israel with an open letter smearing him as an anti-Semite because he’s focused on Israel rather than Myanmar, China, Russia and Turkey. (By this standard Martin…
Israel lobby wields influence on US use of force because it is connected across aisles — Politico
Mondoweiss – The Israel lobby is entering the realm of American mainstream media fact. Note the crucial political influence ascribed to the lobby in Anna Palmer’s report at Politico saying the lobby has been silent on a Syrian intervention, and that’s a problem for Obama as he jawbones…
Israeli Soldiers Disciplined After Partying With Palestinians While In Uniform
The Foward Breaking News 28 Aug 2013 – Israel has disciplined a group of soldiers for partying with Palestinians while armed and in uniform at a nightclub in the West Bank city of Hebron, a military spokesman said on Wednesday. Click here for the rest of the article…
‘Disappearing Palestine’ Transit Ads Anger Jewish Federation in Vancouver
The Foward Breaking News 28 Aug 2013 – The head of the Jewish federation in Vancouver and the Canadian city’s transit agency are at odds over the legality of an anti-Israel ad campaign on buses there. Click here for the rest of the article…
Israel Readies New Push To Deport African Immigrants
The Foward Breaking News 28 Aug 2013 – Israel is preparing to start a large-scale campaign to pressure immigrants from Sudan and Eritrea to voluntarily leave the country after the September holidays, Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced on Wednesday. Click here for the rest of the article…
Majdanek Prisoner’s Cap Will Be Returned to Concentration Camp Museum
The Foward Breaking News 28 Aug 2013 – A prisoner’s cap from the Majdanek concentration camp — likely stolen decades ago from the museum there — was found in the United States. Click here for the rest of the article…
Jewish Community Cautious as U.S. Attack on Syria Looms Large
The Forward New 27 Aug 2013 – The Jewish community is reluctant to endorse a U.S. strike on Syria — even after an alleged chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds of civilians. Click here for the rest of the article…
Africa: African Paper Warns of ‘Ball of Fire’ in Syria
allAfrica.com 28 Aug 2013 – [RFI]The possible Western intervention in Syria makes the headlines of several important African dailies today.
Obama ‘sure Syria behind attack’
BBC 28 Aug 2013 – President Barack Obama says the US has concluded that the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attacks near Damascus last week.
Iran ‘boosts nuclear capabilities’
BBC 28 Aug 2013 – A report from the UN’s nuclear agency says Iran has further boosted its capacity for uranium enrichment, including installing more centrifuges.
Ethiopian Jews migrate to Israel
BBC 28 Aug 2013 – About 450 Ethiopians of Jewish descent have been repatriated to Israel, concluding an Israeli government-backed scheme to relocate the community.
“Bandar ibn Israel”
Al-Akhbar Blogs 28 Aug 2013 – The recent acts of political violence in the Middle East’s Levant are not unrelated. Car bombings in the predominantly Shia southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh; twin bombings targeting Sunni mosques in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli; an alleged chemical weapons attack in the suburbs of…
Should We Give Up Syria to the Lovers of Napalm and (Freedom)?
Al-Akhbar Opinion 28 Aug 2013 – A picture downloaded from the US air force website shows F-16 Fighting Falcons Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, on 2 March 2012. (Photo: AFP) A picture downloaded from the US air force website shows F-16 Fighting Falcons Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, on 2 March 2012. (…
It’s War Then!
Al-Akhbar Opinion 28 Aug 2013 – A picture released by the US Navy shows the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) and the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) transiting the Strait of Gibraltar on 3 August 2013 on their way to the Mediterranean Sea. (Photo: AFP – US NAVY)…
Palestinian schools in Jerusalem offered money to switch to Israeli curriculum
Al-Akhbar News 28 Aug 2013 – Palestinian school children sit in their classroom of their UNRWA school on the first day of the new school year in Gaza City, on 25 August 2013. (Photo: AFP – Mahmud Hams) Several Palestinian schools in Jerusalem will incorporate Israeli educational material in their curriculum after…
Egypt’s interim PM backs down on calls to dissolve Muslim Brotherhood
Al-Akhbar News 28 Aug 2013 – Egypt should not ban the Muslim Brotherhood or exclude it from politics after the army’s overthrow of President Mohammed Mursi, the interim prime minister said on Tuesday, reversing his previous stated view. The apparent about-turn fuelled speculation that the military-installed government may now seek a political…
Attack on Syria: Lebanon Is Officially in a Coma
Al-Akhbar News 28 Aug 2013 – An Israeli soldier walks next to Merkava tanks stationed in a deployment training area in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights near the border with Syria on 28 August 2013. (Photo: AFP – Menahem Kahana) An Israeli soldier walks next to Merkava tanks stationed in a deployment training…
View From Syria: Soldiers React to Looming US Strike
Al-Akhbar News 28 Aug 2013 – An image grab taken from a video shows an opposition fighter firing an rocket propelled grenade (RPG) on 26 August 2013 during clashes with Syrian army over the strategic area of Khanasser, situated on the only road linking Aleppo to central Syria. (Photo: AFP – Salah…
Egypt’s New Ruler Tightens Noose on Gaza
Al-Akhbar News 28 Aug 2013 – Palestinian tunnel workers rest inside a smugg
ling tunnel dug beneath the Gaza-Egypt border in the southern Gaza Strip on 27 August 2013. (Photo: AFP – Said Khatib) Palestinian tunnel workers rest inside a smuggling tunnel dug beneath the Gaza-Egypt border in the southern Gaza Strip on…
Israeli forces amp up presence near Syrian border
Al-Akhbar News 28 Aug 2013 – An Israeli soldier walks next to Merkava tanks stationed in a deployment training area in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights near the border with Syria on 28 August 2013. (Photo: AFP – Menahem Kahana) Updated at 4:55pm: Israel was bolstering its military presence near the Syrian border…
Israel: US Decision to Strike Syria Made Within Hours
Al-Akhbar Politics 27 Aug 2013 – A Palestinian youth clashes with Israeli border guards in the West Bank’s Qalandiya refugee camp on 26 August 2013, after Israeli security forces shot dead three Palestinians and wounded 19 others in the camp. (Photo: AFP – Abbas Momani) A Palestinian youth clashes with Israeli border…
Obama ‘sure Syria behind attack’
BBC 28 Aug 2013 – President Barack Obama says the US has concluded that the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attacks near Damascus last week.
Iran ‘boosts nuclear capabilities’
BBC 28 Aug 2013 – A report from the UN’s nuclear agency says Iran has further boosted its capacity for uranium enrichment, including installing more centrifuges.
Baghdad hit by deadly bombings
BBC 28 Aug 2013 – A series of bombings in the Iraqi capital Baghdad has killed at least 68 people and wounded dozens more, police and medical sources say.
Saudi Arabia bans domestic abuse
BBC 28 Aug 2013 – Saudi Arabia approves a law setting penalties for all forms of physical and sexual abuse, both at home and in the workplace.
Ethiopian Jews migrate to Israel
BBC 28 Aug 2013 – About 450 Ethiopians of Jewish descent have been repatriated to Israel, concluding an Israeli government-backed scheme to relocate the community.
Articles
A day of ’law enforcement’: Upheaval, banishment and persecution
Haggai Matar, +972 Magazine 8/28/2013
In the past 48 hours Israeli police have raided the renewed Palestinian villages of Iqrit and al-Araqib, banished Al-Araqib residents from their homes and tried to shut down a Tel Aviv café that serves as a hub for activists and the municipal opposition.
Just two weeks ago the displaced Palestinian community of Iqrit celebrated the first anniversary since its return to old village lands in northern Israel. During their annual summer camp the village youth posted signs directing visitors to Iqrit from the nearby highway, and alongside Jewish youth from New Profile’s Alternative Summer Camp, planted a small herb garden. Earlier this morning (Wednesday) inspectors from the Israel Land Administration, accompanied by two border policemen, showed up and took down the signs, confiscated several tents and beds that were serving the people living there and uprooted the small garden. Three of Iqrit’s youth who were present practiced non-violent resistance by sitting on the confiscated beds (as can be seen in this Facebook clip).
“All the inspectors said was that we don’t have any rights on their land, the state’s land, and we were telling them the opposite – that they have no right on our land and that we’re hurting no-one by sleeping out in the open and planting herbs,” says Sammer Tu’ama from Iqrit. “This isn’t the first time that we’ve had to deal with such treatment but we’re staying here.” (More pictures from Iqrit can be found on their Facebook page).
Meanwhile, in the Negev on Monday, inspectors and police forces demolished the village of al-Araqib for the 55th time (residents have rebuilt it time and time again) and arrested four of its residents, including leading activist Sheikh Siakh A-Turi. The four are suspected of invading state-owned lands despite the fact that the High Court of Justice has prevented the state from declaring village lands its own – as the question of ownership is still pending in legal procedures. On Tuesday the four were released under the condition that they not return to village lands…. more.. e-mail
The Jordan Valley in a State of Palestine
Jessica Purkiss, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 8/27/2013
‘Even if the territory of the Jordan Valley was to go to a state of Palestine, Israel would use the gross power imbalance to continue to extort its resources’
Palestinian families used to come to Al-Oja spring, in the Jordan Valley, to spend summer days bathing. The spring overflowed with water, turning the land into the “bread basket” of the West Bank. Today the spring has gone. Left behind is dry, arid land and a stone’s throw away from where the spring once was is a large pump, cordoned off behind a fence. This pump takes the water that once was Al-Oja spring to the many illegal Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley.
Ariel Sharon once said, “You don’t simply bundle people onto trucks and drive them away… I prefer to advocate a more positive policy, to create, in effect, a condition that in a positive way will induce people to leave.”
The Jordan Valley, which runs the length of the West Bank and makes up one-fifth of its total area, has an abundance of fertile terrain and water resources. Once home to around 320,000 Palestinians the reality behind Sharon’s statement has meant that less than a quarter of these people are still there.
Through a myriad of common practices, including dispossession, land confiscation, resource control and movement restrictions, Israel has ensured that the remaining Palestinians are being forced from their land. Jeff Halper, from the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions, has said, “The EU calls it forced expulsion of Palestinians from the Jordan Valley; for sure, you could even define it as ethnic cleansing.”
“What you have in the Jordan Valley is massive colonial expropriation of resources, 46 years worth of colonial practices,” said a spokesman from Ma’an Development Centre. more.. e-mail
As Syria strike looms, Israeli embassy plays up ’threats facing Israel’
+972 Magazine 8/28/2013
New and old media has gone abuzz with news that a U.S. strike on Syria could come as early as Thursday. And just as Israel’s cabinet ordered a ”limited” call up of reservist soldiers, a map outlining all the threats Israel faces suddenly popped up in my social media feed, courtesy of the Israeli embassy in the U.S., and published on BuzzFeed.
The timing of this alarmist map couldn’t be more strategic. As the U.S. mulls some kind of strike in Syria (with absolutely no convincing arguments about how it will improve the situation for Syrian civilians) Israel is playing up the victim card, emphasizing that it is in a rough neighborhood surrounded by entities that want it destroyed.
Obviously there are real threats of violence: from Hezbollah, extremists in Sinai,
and it ain’t easy sharing a border with a country at war – just ask Jordan, which is receiving the most refugees from Syria. I’m sure it can tell you how hard it is. But to say that the West Bank poses a threat to Israel?
According to the Israeli embassy text:
“In the West Bank, radical forces opposing the Palestinian Authority and a culture of conflict generate strong anti-Israel incitement and hatred.”
First of all, it is ludicrous for Israel to call the West Bank a threat since it controls and occupies it, and it is especially infuriating considering it just shot at unarmed protesters, killing three Palestinian men and wounding over a dozen others in Qalandiya on Monday. Secondly, saying the West Bank is a breeding ground for “a culture of conflict” is incendiary and essentially racist, implying all Palestinians are violent by nature. more.. e-mail
In Rush to Strike Syria, U.S. Tried to Derail U.N. Probe
Gareth Porter, CounterPunch 8/28/2013
Truth Beneath the Surface
After initially insisting that Syria give United Nations investigators unimpeded access to the site of an alleged nerve gas attack, the administration of President Barack Obama reversed its position on Sunday and tried unsuccessfully to get the U.N. to call off its investigation.
The administration’s reversal, which came within hours of the deal reached between Syria and the U.N., was reported by the Wall Street Journal Monday and effectively confirmed by a State Department spokesperson later that day.
In his press appearance Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry, who intervened with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to call off the investigation, dismissed the U.N. investigation as coming too late to obtain valid evidence on the attack that Syrian opposition sources claimed killed as many 1,300 people.
The sudden reversal and overt hostility toward the U.N. investigation, which coincides with indications that the administration is planning a major military strike against Syria in the coming days, suggests that the administration sees the U.N. as hindering its plans for an attack.
Kerry asserted Monday that he had warned Syrian Foreign Minister Moallem last Thursday that Syria had to give the U.N. team immediate access to the site and stop the shelling there, which he said was “systematically destroying evidence”. He called the Syria-U.N. deal to allow investigators unrestricted access “too late to be credible”.
After the deal was announced on Sunday, however, Kerry pushed Ban in a phone call to call off the investigation completely. more..e-mail
Canada Once again Flies the U.S. Flag
Palestine Chronicle: 28 Aug 2013 – By Jim Miles The recent aggressive talk and actions by the U.S. are being fully supported by the current Canadian government led by Stephen Harper. In a recent telephone call reported by CBC radio, Harper announced that there should be “a firm response from the international community,” and that he “he shares the view that the recent chemical weapons attack was carried out by the Syrian regime.” There is no support provided for this, but it fits in perfectly well with Canada’s current view of the Middle East. That view includes full support for Israel, denial of Palestinian rights – indeed, denial of a Palestinian people except as terrorists and “Islamicists” – support for the Arab tribal monarchies of Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia et al, and full support for the U.S. attitude towards the region. They have spoken moderately about dialogue in their response to the rebels and Assad, but…more
The Guardian of What?: The Media and War Propaganda
Palestine Chronicle: 28 Aug 2013 – By Jeremy Salt – Ankara If there is any comfort in how the Guardian has been reporting the Middle East, especially Libya and Syria, it is that many of its readers, judging from their remarks in ‘Comment is Free’, do not appear to believe or trust it. The Guardian sells itself as the global beacon of liberal opinion. It is liberal on social issues and alongside the chatterers, it has some excellent political correspondents and commentators, notably Gary Younge and Seamas Milne. As liberals themselves, its readers around the world must think they are on safe ground when quoting from the Guardian but if so, where the Middle East is concerned, they are deluding themselves. Throughout the crisis in Syria the Guardian has been not so much reporting the conflict as running a propaganda campaign against the government in Damascus, to the benefit of the armed Islamist groups and the…more
The Role of the U.N. in Creating the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Palestine Chronicle: 28 Aug 2013 – By Jeremy R. Hammond The United Nations was founded with the stated aim of maintaining peace among nations, but the reality is that not only has it consistently failed to prevent international conflicts, it has had no small part in causing them. One instructive case study was its role in its early years of helping to create the still-unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to the preamble to the U.N. Charter, signed by its founding member states in June 1945, the organization’s goal is “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” and to “establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained.” Article 1 of the Charter further describes the U.N.’s purposes as being to “maintain international peace and security…in conformity with the principles of justice and international law.” The Charter also explicitly recognizes “the principle of…more
Obama Constituency Overwhelmingly Supports War with Syria
Dissident Voice: 28 Aug 2013 – Despite a Reuters/Ipsos poll showing that only 9% of Americans support military intervention in Syria, the White House today assured the public that a more recent and reliable poll leaves no doubt that the President’s constituency favors war. The poll was conducted by Defense Industries Systems Information, Inc. (DIS Information). It shows that 99.9% prefer increased U.S. military intervention. The poll has a .1% margin of error. DIS Information spokesperson Lyon Daly spoke to this reporter about the polling methodology and findings. Lyon Daly: We use the same scientific polling methods as Reuters/Ipsos, but our job is to come up with results that support what our clients and the President want to hear without compromising quality. It’s very similar to the way the press provides facts without informing the public, and we even provide many such facts.” Barb Weir: How do you do this and still maintain methodological integrity?” LD:…more
Washington Poison Gas Attack
Dissident Voice: 28 Aug 2013 – The administration seems to be surpassing previous regimes in bloody hypocrisy as it feigns shock and awe at alleged crimes committed in Syria. After we have been told that more than 100 thousand Syrians have been killed in a civil (?) war mostly the responsibility of outside forces capitalizing on legitimate internal concerns, we are supposed to believe that shooting, stabbing, decapitating, bombing and burning are all tolerable forms of slaughter, but chemical weapons are shockingly inappropriate forms of murder. What’s a civilized nation do? President Boobama works to make the previous pinhead look smart by comparison as he first steps into diplomatic excrement by proclaiming that use of chemical weapons would cross a “red line” established by more polite mass murderous practices of the west. After first receiving word of this red line crossing from unimpeachable sources called “rebels”, all of these information sources operating from the safety of countries…more
More material available from Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel – www.vtjp.org
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The New Dark Age 