21 October 2013 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Thirty Detainees To Be released October 29
IMEMC – Palestinian Minister of Detainees, Issa Qaraqe’, stated Monday [October 21, 2013] that Israel will be releasing the second phase of Palestinian detainees on the agreed upon time, October 29. The release is part of an agreement to release all detainees held before 1993. …
Seven Palestinians Injured After Army Jeeps Rammed Into Their Vehicle
IMEMC – Palestinian medical sources have reported Monday [October 21, 2013] that seven Palestinian workers have been injured after an Israeli military jeep chased their car, and rammed into it, near the Annexation Wall in Ramadeen village, south of the southern West Bank city of Hebron. …
Army Refuses To Hand Body Of Slain Palestinian
IMEMC – The Israeli Authorities were supposed to hand the body of slain Palestinian Younis Ahmad Radayda, to his family on Sunday October 20, 2013, but decided to keep the body allegedly to conclude all paperwork. …
Israeli forces raid Gaza border area, raze agricultural land
10/21/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli military vehicles crossed into a border area east of Gaza City on Monday, witnesses said. Five military bulldozers crossed into a border area and razed agricultural land, locals said. An Israeli army spokeswoman was not aware of any military activity in the northern Gaza Strip, but said Israeli forces found an “explosive device positioned against soldiers in the southern….
Palestinian youth jailed by Israel for Facebook statuses released
10/21/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Razi al-Nabulsi, 23, a Palestinian political activist who lives in Haifa, was released Wednesday after a week-long detention as a result of Facebook posts Israeli authorities argued constituted “incitement.”Following his detention, Israeli authorities kept al-Nabulsi, an Israeli citizen, under house arrest for five days and forbade him from using either his cell phone or computer during that time. Israeli authorities….
Israeli forces detain 5 in Hebron, including 2 teens
10/21/2013 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces raided the West Bank village of Bani Naim early Monday morning and detained two young teenagers, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said Monday. Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said that Israeli forces carried out raids overnight across the southern West Bank district of Hebron and detained five Palestinians in total. According to the family of the detainees, around 2. 30….
Hamas military wing says it dug tunnel into Israel
10/21/2013 – GAZA CITY (AFP) — The military wing of Hamas on Monday claimed responsibility for a tunnel built under the border between Gaza and Israel.”This tunnel was made by the hand of the fighters of (Izzadine) al-Qassam and they will not sleep in their efforts to hit the occupation and kidnap soldiers,” the group’s spokesman Abu Obeida told Hamas’s al-Aqsa radio.”We….
Israeli forces detain Bedouin shepherds in Jordan Valley
10/21/2013 – JENIN (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained two young Bedouin shepherds in the northern Jordan Valley after they were chased by Israeli settlers while pasturing their herds on Monday. According to the mayor of the Al-Malih village, Israeli forces detained Jasir Qadri and Jilal Adel under the pretext that they were pasturing their herds near an Israeli settlement. The mayor of the village and the….
Clashes in Silwan after Israeli guard stabbed
10/21/2013 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) – Clashes broke Monday evening in the East Jerusalem area of Silwan between young Palestinian men and Israeli forces after an Israeli security guard was stabbed in Batn al-Hawa neighborhood. Director of Silwan’s Wadi Hilweh Information Center Jawad Siyam told Ma’an that Israeli forces and intelligence officers stormed several neighborhoods in Silwan after a security guard stationed at….
Israeli court orders partial demolition of Jerusalem house
10/21/2013 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) – An Israeli court in Jerusalem has decided to demolish parts of the house of a Palestinian Jerusalem resident in al-Qarmi neighborhood of Jerusalem’s Old City under the guise that the third floor of the house was expanded without obtaining the needed license and without architectural plan. Ayid Castero told Ma’an that the court ordered the demolition of….
NGOs call on PA to withdraw from World Bank project
10/21/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A coalition of Palestinian NGOs on Monday called on the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization to withdraw from a World Bank-sponsored project with Jordan and Israel, a statement said. Palestinian civil society organizations demanded that the PA halt cooperation with the Red Sea – Dead Sea Conveyance Project, claiming that the initiative forces the “Palestinian population to consent to their own….
Rafah open for humanitarian cases, Hajj pilgrims
10/21/2013 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Rafah crossing will operate restricted hours on Monday to allow humanitarian cases and Hajj pilgrims to cross into Gaza, Palestinian officials said. Around 306 travelers used the crossing on Sunday and over 400 Hajj pilgrims are expected to cross into Gaza on Monday, officials said. The remaining Hajj pilgrims will return on Wednesday. After a July coup deposing president….
Report: Israel to free second group of prisoners Oct. 29
10/21/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel is expected to release a second group of Palestinian prisoners next week, according to Israeli media. Palestinian and Israeli officials told The Times of Israel that 30 Palestinians are to be released on Oct. 29 as part of a gesture to coincide with a return to peace talks with the PLO. The first group of 26 veteran prisoners, including 17….
Israeli forces detain Nablus teen in overnight raid
10/21/2013 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli forces arrested five people in overnight arrest raids, including a teenager in the city of Nablus, locals and Israel’s army said. Israeli military vehicles raided Nablus overnight and detained Abed al-Rahman Jalal Suboh, 16, witnesses said. Israeli forces closed Beta junction south of the city and initiated random checks of identity cards, locals said. Soldiers also set up….
Israel frees Jerusalem teen; raids Silwan house
10/21/2013 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — An Israeli court released Palestinian teenager Mahmud Issam Dana, 16, from custody on Monday, putting him under house arrest for 10 days on bail of 1,000 shekels ($282). Mahmud’s father told Ma’an that Israeli intelligence officers accompanied by Israeli forces detained his son on Saturday. At the time of the detention, Mahmud was at a fast food….
Medics: 8 workers injured after chase with Israeli military
10/21/2013 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Eight Palestinian workers were injured on Monday after a bus they were traveling in collided with an Israeli military vehicle south of Hebron, a medical official said. Red Crescent official Nasser Qabaja told Ma’an that Palestinian ambulances transferred eight workers to hospital following the incident. Witnesses said that the accident occurred after an Israeli military patrol chased the bus….
Palestinian youth unite across borders, one hike at time
10/21/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — They surveyed the scene below them: Palestine’s characteristic terraces, spotted with olive trees and sloping hills, with an Israeli settlement on the horizon. Last Friday morning over 100 Palestinian youths gathere
d at the top of a mountain north of Ramallah, preparing to descend into the nearby olive groves of Deir Jarir and the historic town of Taybeh just beyond….
EU head Lithuania: Israel must end settlements
10/21/2013 – VILNIUS, Lithuania (AFP) — European Union rotating president Lithuania called Monday for Israel to stop building settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying they were impeding the peace process. The statement followed talks between Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite and visiting President Mahmud Abbas. Grybauskaite called on Israel “to end the expansion of settlements in the occupied territories,” insisting that “the European Union does not recognize settlements….
Peres defends Israel ambiguity on nuclear program
10/21/2013 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — President Shimon Peres, considered the father of Israel’s nuclear program, on Monday sought to justify the policy of ambiguity his country has adopted concerning the issue. On Iran, Peres said newly elected President Hassan Rouhani represented a “chance”, in contrast with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence the moderate leader was a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.”Its….
Jenin man dies in car accident hours before wedding
10/21/2013 – JENIN (Ma’an) A 22-year-old from Sila al-Harethiya died on Sunday evening in a car accident on Haifa Street. Rami Mahmud Fahmawi was preparing for his wedding which was scheduled the same night, family said. The family told Ma’an that the vehicle of the young man overturned, and he died of his wounds. His father, 45, was lightly wounded. [END]
14 injured in Bethlehem road accident
10/21/2013 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Fourteen people sustained wounds in a road accident in the Wadi Shahin neighborhood of eastern Bethlehem on Monday afternoon, medics reported. Director of ambulance and emergency services in Bethlehem Abdul-Halim Jaafira said that a taxi and a private car had collided head on, and injuries ranged from moderate to minor. Jaafira added 12 passengers were evacuated to Bethlehem Arab Society Hospital….
Gunmen kill 3 people outside Cairo church
10/21/2013 – CAIRO (AFP) — Gunmen on a motorbike shot dead three people late Sunday, including an eight-year-old girl, as they fired on a group outside a Coptic Christian church in Cairo, Egypt’s interior ministry said. The attack was the first such assault targeting Christians in the Egyptian capital since the military coup that ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on July 3. It targeted a group…. Related: Egypt hunts for killers in church wedding attack
Egypt hunts for killers in church wedding attack
10/21/2013 – CAIRO (AFP) — Police were hunting Monday for those behind a shooting spree at a church wedding that killed four people, in the first attack targeting Christians in Cairo since the ouster of Egypt’s Islamist president. An eight-year-old girl was among those shot dead at the Church of the Virgin in Cairo’s working class neighborhood of Al-Warrak, while 17 others were wounded…. Related: Gunmen kill 3 people outside Cairo church
Kerry: Assad re-election would extend Syria war
10/21/2013 – PARIS (AFP) — US Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that any attempt by Syrian leader Bashar Assad to be re-elected would extend the country’s civil war.”If he thinks he’s going to solve problems by running for re-election, I can say to him, I think that certainly this war will not end as long as that’s the case….
Israel to Release Second Group of Palestinian Prisoners
Palestine News Network
Hunger Striking Prisoner Transferred to Ramleh Medical Clinic
Palestine News Network
Palestinian Explorers Restore Life to Ancient Monastery – “Oasis of the Moon”
Palestine News Network
AIC: Discussion about Activist Photojournalism
Palestine News Network
Beit Sahour Municipality Participates in the International Youth Conference in Croatia
Palestine News Network
European Institutions Express Deep Concern Over Catastophic Situation in Yarmouk Refugee Camp
Palestine News Network
Daoud Kuttab Elected to Head IPI’s Press Freedom Committee
Palestine News Network
12 Years Following Their Deaths, PCHR Ensures Remedy for 3 Children Killed by IOF
Palestine News Network
MADA: A Significant Increase in Violations Aimed at Silencing Journalists during September
Palestine News Network
Livni Objects to a Bill Prohibiting Negotiation on Jerusalem
Palestine News Network
Israeli Forces Notify Wadi Fukin Council to Stop Park Construction
Palestine News Network
Israel to Build Synagogue at al-Aqsa Mosque
Palestine News Network
Statistics Bureau Announces Results of the Environmental Economic Survey 2013
Palestine News Network
Hamas Claims Responsibility for Digging Tunnel Under Gaza-Israel Border
Palestine News Network
Increase in the WPI during the Third Quarter of 2013, says Statistics Bureau
Palestine News Network
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
12 Years Following Their Deaths, PCHR Succeeds in Ensuring Remedy for 3 Children of Lubbad, Banat and al-Madhoun Familie…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
occupied Palestinian territory: UK support for Palestinians made refugees twice over by Syria
Relief Web 21 Oct 2013 – Source: Department for International Development Country: Jordan, Lebanon, occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Support from the UK will help Palestinian refugees both inside Syria and who have fled to neighbouring countries….
occupied Palestinian territory: IOF Arrests Patient’s Escort at Erez Crossing
Relief Web 21 Oct 2013 – Source: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights Country: occupied Palestinian territory Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested 14 Palestinians at Erez crossing since the beginning of 2013. IOF exploits need of Palestinians to travel and use crossings as traps. Al Mezan…
Geneva peace talks on Syria in doubt
The National 21 Oct 2013 – Involvement of Iran and Syrian rebels in Syrian peace talks still not agreed upon, as president Bashar Al Assad continues to defy calls to stand down.
Qatar upholds 15-year sentence for top poet Muhammad Al Ajami
The National 21 Oct 2013 – Sentence for Muhammad bin Al Deeb al Ajami upheld for verses considered offensive to the nation’s former emir.
Libyan nightmare for migrants
The National 21 Oct 2013 – Libya’s chaos in the two years following the overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi has turned the country into a springboard for tens of thousands of migrants, mainly from Africa, trying to reach Europe in rickety, crowded boats.
Singh heads to Russia, China in likely last visits as India’s premier
The National 21 Oct 2013 – Indian premier’s visits to Russia and China include talks about Moscow assisting with nuclear reactors and discussions over a border dispute with the Chinese. Samanth Subramanian reports
Muezzin ‘booted out of two mosques’ for helping protesters a hero in Turkish election debate
The National 21 Oct 2013 – Fuat Yildirim, who angered the Erdogan government after he allowed protesters to rest in his Istanbul mosque during demonstrations in June, is becoming a focus of a swelling campaign debate. Thomas Seibert reports
Kosovar teenager Leonarda Dibrani’s treatment in France compared to roundup of Jews under Nazi occupation
The National 21 Oct 2013 – Case of teenager taken by border police from a school trip and then expelled from France with her mother and siblings causes furore. Colin Randall reports
Student protests at Egypt’s Al Azhar University challenge army
The National 21 Oct 2013 – Thousands of students stage third day of protests against the removal of Mohammed Morsi as president.
Citizen journalists’ coverage of Syria’s war via YouTube, Twitter ‘unexplored territory’
The National 21 Oct 2013 – Tens of thousands of videos posted by amateur videographers have sparked concern over alleged atrocities attributed to both sides.
Norway launches Interpol hunt for teenaged sisters bound for Syria to ‘help’ rebels
The National 21 Oct 2013 – Two teenaged girls of Somali origin have allegedly travelled to Syria to support the rebels.
Australian wildfires put heat on climate change sceptic Abbott
The National 21 Oct 2013 – Record-breaking hot, dry conditions across the continent and an early start to the Southern Hemisphere summer have rekindled arguments on mankind’s effect on climate and what can be done to mitigate it.
France summons US envoy over NSA spying report
The National 21 Oct 2013 – French government outraged over report that US National Security Agency eavesdropped on millions of phone calls inside France, and demanded that the US halt the spying.
India principal charged with murder over 23 school meal deaths
The National 21 Oct 2013 – School principal and her husband charged over the deaths of 23 children who were poisoned by a meal which was contaminated with pesticide.
Video: JPMorgan in tentative $13 billion settlement with US Justice Dept
The National 21 Oct 2013 – In the largest deal ever between a single company and the U.S. government, banking giant JPMorgan Chase tentatively agrees to a $13 Billion deal to settle federal investigations into bad mortgage loans.
Video: Bushfires mean state of emergency
The National 21 Oct 2013 – A state of emergency is in force as Australia’s bushfires threaten more communities.
Video: Clashes in Bahrain following burial of young fugitive
The National 21 Oct 2013 – Protesters clash with riot police in Bahrain, following the burial of a twenty-year-old escaped prisoner.
Video: Egypt church wedding attack
The National 21 Oct 2013 – At least three killed as gunmen open fire on wedding guests at a Coptic Christian church in the Egyptian capital.
Video: Greek mystery girl ‘adopted’
The National 21 Oct 2013 – Lawyer for couple found with a young girl at a Roma camp in Greece says they were caring for her after adopting her illegally.
Qatar to fund Arab cultural centre in Washington
The National 20 Oct 2013 – Centre will be dedicated to teaching the Arab culture and Arabic language to American pupils, as part of massive development project in Washington. Taimur Khan reports
Scrap the so-called Jewish state law
Ha’aretz – 22 Oct 2013
New study finds increase in employment rate and income for Israelis aged 65-74
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
In Jerusalem elections, Lieberman bets the farm on the wrong horse
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Kerry: Israeli-Palestinian peace talks moving at ‘increased intensity’
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Poll: Israeli Arabs dissatisfied with local services, but would still choose kin over competence
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Bennett calls on Netanyahu to bring Jerusalem bill for urgent cabinet vote
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Three ways the Jerusalem elections will impact Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Academics trash plans for expanded national service
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Australian government’s support of Israel alienates local Palestinians
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
High Court judge slams colleagues over ousting of mayors facing legal charges
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Who’s who in Israel’s municipal elections
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Ex-Shin Bet head: Conditions ripe for Palestinian Arab Spring
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Where do we vote? What are voting hours? FAQ for Israel’s local elections
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
The irreparable split in Israel’s Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox community
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
The half-life of truth about Arafat’s death
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Should we worry about bill requiring Knesset supermajority to negotiate on Jerusalem?
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Ex-Israeli ambassador to U.S. Michael Oren joins IDC as lecturer
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Concern among Greek Gypsies over ‘blonde angel’ abduction case
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Victimhood – Israelis’ ultimate comfort zone
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Netanyahu and the Pope: The meeting that wasn’t
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Hamas claims responsibility for tunnel under Gaza-Israel border
Ha’aretz – 21 Oct 2013
Odessa rabbi emerges as key player in bid for Israel’s IDB
Ha’aretz – 20 Oct 2013
Markets relieved as Karnit Flug seen preserving Fischer’s policies at Bank of Israel
Ha’aretz – 20 Oct 2013
The real reason why Jews win so many Nobel prizes
Ha’aretz – 20 Oct 2013
Israel’s central bank chief saga: Every farce has a silver lining
Ha’aretz – 20 Oct 2013
Back Netanyahu on animal rights – and help Israel to boot
Ha’aretz – 20 Oct 2013
Jewish girls, beware of the ‘evil’ Arab doctor
Ha’aretz – 20 Oct 2013
High Court orders indicted Bat Yam mayor to step down on eve of local elections
Ha’aretz – 20 Oct 2013
Likud ministers rally for Upper Nazareth mayor deposed over corruption charges
Ha’aretz – 20 Oct 2013
Tel Aviv candidates vie to ‘out-pink’ each other in gay mecca’s local election
Ha’aretz – 20 Oct 2013
Tel Aviv candidates vie to outpink each other in gay mecca’s local election
Ha’aretz – 20 Oct 2013
Stormy waters stop Israeli swimmers heading to Cyprus in quest of Guinness record
Ha’aretz – 20 Oct 2013
Ethiopian immigrants create an Israeli tradition out o
f Africa
Ha’aretz – 20 Oct 2013
Israeli group anonymously feeding Syrian refugees in Jordan
Jerusalem Post 21 Oct 2013 – Mysterious purple sacks paid for by Israeli nonprofit IsraAid.
Bayit Yehudi: Abutbul campaign lying about Tekuma rabbis’ endorsements
Jerusalem Post 21 Oct 2013 – The city of Beit Shemesh has become increasingly polarized between haredim on the one hand and national religious and secular/ traditional Jews on the other.
Syria’s Assad says no obstacle to running in 2014 election
Jerusalem Post 21 Oct 2013 – President says will of the people will influence decision to run.
In blow to challenger, hassidic groups decline to endorse J’lem mayoral candidate
Jerusalem Post 21 Oct 2013 – Moshe Lion hoped for hassidic support in race against Barkat.
‘Israel’s favorite mayor’ looks to reclaim mantle in Ra’anana
Jerusalem Post 21 Oct 2013 – After heading the Jewish Agency in 2005 and a short time with Kadima in the Knesset, Ze’ev Bielski said his heart told him to go back to Ra’anana.
Weinstein hints African migrants to be moved to ‘open’ detention centers
Jerusalem Post 21 Oct 2013 – Attorney general responds to landmark High Court decision against state’s policy of detaining migrants for up to three years pending review.
Student Morsi supporters hold third day of protests
Jerusalem Post 21 Oct 2013 – Unrest suggests Morsi supporters may have shifted tactics, focusing on sensitive sites rather than huge street protests.
‘Major Israeli earthquake could cause thousands of deaths’
Jerusalem Post 21 Oct 2013 – Tiberias’ leading engineer says National Outline Plan for fortifying buildings is not financially realistic.
Well-known Haifa criminal found gunned down in suspected underworld hit
Jerusalem Post 21 Oct 2013 – Victim, Itzik Kisus, was involved in number of high-profile organized crime investigations in recent years.
Did Saudi Arabia reject UN Security Council seat to uphold honor?
Jerusalem Post 21 Oct 2013 – The Saudis, in the midst of a regional conflict with Shi’ite Iran, have been supporting the predominantly Sunni rebels in Syria against Iran’s ally, President Assad.
Zaken in damage control as she resumes Holyland testimony
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2013 – Zaken reportedly sought to mitigate damaging statements she had made to police about her former boss and his brother, Yossi Olmert.
Petitioners ask High Court: Help prisoners vote in municipal elections
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2013 – The petition calls for the court to issue an interim injunction to call on the Prisons Service to carry out steps to facilitate the voting.
In surprise turnaround, Karnit Flug nominated as Bank of Israel governor
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2013 – Markets reacted favorably, with the TA-100 increasing .62 percent, while the yield on benchmark bonds fell to their lowest levels since late May.
High Court hears petition on future of country’s natural gas policy
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2013 – The High Court of Justice decision could determine the future of the state’s natural gas policy for decades.
New MDA command truck is most hi-tech in world
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2013 – MDA special projects manager said it is the most technologically advanced command vehicle in the world.
Suicide bomb kills 31, wounds dozens in Syria’s Hama
Jerusalem Post 20 Oct 2013 – Syrian state news agency blames rebels; Syrian Observatory says attack targeted Syrian army checkpoint.
Iran gives Russia copy of US ScanEagle drone as proof of mass production
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 21, 2013- Iran has given Russia a copy of a US spy drone as proof that its elite forces have reverse-engineered and mass produced the American unmanned aerial vehicle they claim to have captured a year ago. Iranian media…
Israel s Elections Bring “Racism” to the Fore
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 21, 2013- In some parts of Israel, voters in Tuesday s elections will be casting a ballot not on how well their municipality is run but on how to stop “Arabs” moving in next door, how to prevent mosques…
High court rules: It is impossible to be Israeli
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 21, 2013 -For years when I travelled abroad, people would often inquire about my name and nationality. I, of course, would answer without hesitation: “I am Israeli”. Recently, however, I learned that there are no Israelis in Israel. Sounds…
Text of speech by Vice President of Iraq Tariq Al-Hashimi in Brussels
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 21, 2013 – … I am here today to tell you about what is really going on in Iraq now. I want to share with you some of the horrible facts that you cannot find in your daily newspapers or…
How the Egyptian Media Has Reported the Story of Tariq Al-Sawah, a Severely Ill Prisoner in Guantánamo
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 21, 2013 – Last week I reported the story of Tariq al-Sawah, the last Egyptian prisoner in Guantánamo, whose lawyers are seeking his release because “his health is too poor for him to pose any kind of threat.” Al-Sawah (…
American Apocalypse
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 21, 2013 – …A new study shows our noble crusade to “liberate” Iraq killed half a million people. It is impossible to even imagine such a crime: the mind shuts down in the face of those numbers. I can..
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Solidarity activists turn to social media to raise awareness of hunger strikers
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 21, 2013 – “After I stop eating, how many days does it take before the hunger pains go away? How long will I continue to suffer from thirst? And how many days can I go before I risk dying?”…
Let s Get This Class War Started
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 21, 2013 – …Class struggle defines most of human history. Marx got this right. The sooner we realize that we are locked in deadly warfare with our ruling, corporate elite, the sooner we will realize that these elites must…
A Modern-Day Salem? The Gitmo Witch Trials
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 21, 2013 – A little more than three-hundred years ago, the most notorious case of mass hysteria erupted in Salem, Mass. Thankfully, the witchcraft trials, which took place in the pre-revolutionary era, would serve as a cautionary tale for…
Waste water and pollution threaten Salfit
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 21, 2013- Untreated wastewater runs like a small creek along the side of the road by Salfit village near the Israeli settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank. Plants wither around the water and a stench hangs in…
Snowden leaks: France summons US envoy over NSA surveillance claims
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 21, 2013 – The French government has summoned the US ambassador in Paris, demanding an explanation about claims that the National Security Agency has been engaged in widespread phone surveillance of French citizens. On Monday, Le Monde published details…
The Business of America Is War Disaster Capitalism on the Battlefield and in the Boardroom
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 21, 2013 – There is a new normal in America: our government may shut down, but our wars continue. Congress may not be able to pass a budget, but the U.S. military can still launch commando raids in Libya…
PHOTOS: Settlers attack Palestinian olive pickers, damage trees
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 21, 2013 – Palestinian olive growers and their trees were attacked across the northern West Bank on Sunday, resulting in at least four injuries and the destruction of dozens of trees at the height of the yearly olive harvest….
A portrait of steadfastness in the Gaza Strip s deadly “buffer zone”
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 21, 2013 – An older man meets us when we step out of the taxi, a patriarch, his back straight, with a firm handshake and a welcoming smile. The other activists I shared a taxi with have all been…
Syria News – October 20 , 2013 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 20 , 2013 – By the end of Sunday the Coordination Committees were able to document 71 martyrs including 4 women, 5 children and 2 martyrs under torture: 21 were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs; 16 in Aleppo; 14…
Palestinian youth jailed by Israel for Facebook statuses released
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 21, 2013 — Razi al-Nabulsi, 23, a Palestinian political activist who lives in Haifa, was released Wednesday after a week-long detention as a result of Facebook posts Israeli authorities argued constituted “incitement.” Following his detention, Israeli authorities kept al-Nabulsi,…
Syria News – October 20 , 2013 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 20 , 2013 – By the end of Sunday the Coordination Committees were able to document 71 martyrs including 4 women, 5 children and 2 martyrs under torture: 21 were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs; 16 in Aleppo; 14…
New Israeli Bill Would Ban Negotiating With Palestinians on Jerusalem
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 20, 2013 – Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, nominally in charge of peace negotiations with the Palestinians, is desperately trying to kill a new bill moving through the Knesset today which would indefinitely delay the talks. The bill, pushed…
Guantanamo Hunger Striking Continues
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 20, 2013 – In early February, detainees began hunger striking for justice. Dozens joined others. Numbers rose to about 130. Some were force-fed. Doing so constitutes torture. Most detainees continued courageously for months. About two dozen refuse food now….
Feuding Arabs Help America Remap the Middle East
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 20, 2013- …The exhaustion of Arab societies, the destruction of their infrastructures, right down to the disintegration of state structures, are certainly due in part to what we know are American objectives. The foremost of these objectives fall within…
Fresh Leak on US Spying: NSA Accessed Mexican President s Email
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 20, 2013 – The NSA has been systematically eavesdropping on the Mexican government for years. It hacked into the president s public email account and gained deep insight into policymaking and the political system. The news is likely to…
Military Resistance 11J8 Faking It
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 20, 2013 – Scuffles broke out in Rome on Saturday as tens of thousands of people marched through Italy s capital to protest against unemployment, government cuts and big construction projects they say take money away from social services….
Israel Cranks Up the PR Machine
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 20, 2013 – n the post-Oslo era, as the strategy that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s inner circle refers to as “peace without peace” captured the Israeli consensus, human rights activists ratcheted up grassroots efforts to challenge the…
The US government s secrecy problem just got worse
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 20, 2013 – It is no secret that the United States government has too many secrets. Long before Edward Snowden s revelations about mass surveillance by the National Security Agency, experts and government insiders were raising alarms about “overclassification.”…
Baghdad Blast Drives Casualty Toll to 92 Killed, 120 Wounded
Uruknet 21 Oct 2013 – October 20, 2013 – At least 92 people were killed and 120 more were wounded in today s attacks. Although there were not that many attacks, the severity of those in Baghdad and Rawa left behind the substantial body count….
Case Study: U.S. Military Killed 130,000 People In Nuclear Tests During a 12-Year Span
Uruknet
21 Oct 2013 – October 20, 2013 – 67 nuclear tests took place starting in 1946 and many living things, including humans, have been affected by the aftermath of radiation plumes released both undersea and in the earth s atmosphere by the U.S. Government….
Afghanistan commander defects, joins group linked to Taleban
Uruknet 20 Oct 2013 – October 20, 2013 – An Afghan army special forces commander has defected to an insurgent group allied with the Taleban in a Humvee truck packed with his team s guns and high-tech equipment, officials in the eastern Kunar province said…
Hollande tells Obama of ‘deep disapproval’ of US spying
Daily Star 21 Oct 2013 French President Francois Hollande condemned US spying on French citizens in a call with President Barack Obama on Monday, as a row escalated over US eavesdropping on millions of French phone calls.
Qatar to ease Palestinian debt, peace talks intensify: Kerry
Daily Star 21 Oct 2013 Qatar has agreed to provide $150 million in debt relief to the Palestinian Authority, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday as he announced that Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are intensifying.
Assad re-election would extend Syria war: Kerry
Daily Star 21 Oct 2013 US Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that any attempt by Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to be re-elected would extend the country’s civil war.
Sahrawis clash with police as U.N. envoy visits
Daily Star 21 Oct 2013 Bloody clashes erupted between police and pro-independence protesters in Western Sahara, a human rights group said Monday, as the U.N. envoy wrapped up his latest visit to the disputed territory.
Assad says ‘factors not in place’ for Syria peace talks
Daily Star 21 Oct 2013 President Bashar al-Assad of war-torn Syria said the “factors are not yet in place” to launch peace talks with his opponents, in a television interview broadcast on Monday.
Syria’s Assad says no obstacle to running in 2014 election
Daily Star 21 Oct 2013 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad might consider running for re-election in 2014, he told a television interviewer on Monday, saying he saw nothing that would get in the way of doing so.
UN chemical mission boss arrives in Syria: OPCW
Daily Star 21 Oct 2013 The top UN official leading the mission to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons has arrived in Damascus, the world’s chemical watchdog said on Monday.
Jihadists claim Egypt canal city car bombing
Daily Star 21 Oct 2013 An Al-Qaeda-inspired group operating in the Sinai Peninsula claimed Monday a car bombing outside a military building in Egypt’s Suez Canal city of Ismailiya which wounded six soldiers.
Student protests at Egypt’s al-Azhar challenge army
Daily Star 21 Oct 2013 Thousands of students from Egypt’s al-Azhar University staged a third day of protests on Monday, in one of the boldest challenges to the army since it toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July.
Iran, Russia hold talks to boost military cooperation
Daily Star 21 Oct 2013 The head of Russia’s air force, General Viktor Bondarev, meets his Iranian counterparts in Tehran to discuss boosting military cooperation between the countries, local media report.
Israel must end settlements: EU head Lithuania
Daily Star 21 Oct 2013 European Union rotating president Lithuania calls for Israel to stop building settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying they are impeding the peace process.
U.S. tries to calm Saudi anger over Syria, Iran
Daily Star 21 Oct 2013 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry seeks to calm rising tensions with Saudi Arabia, which has spurned a U.N. Security Council seat in fury at inaction over the crisis in Syria.
Bahrain cuts jail term for policeman who killed protester
Daily Star 21 Oct 2013 A Bahraini court cuts a jail term handed to a policeman for killing a protester during a Shiite Muslim-led uprising in 2011 from seven to three years, a judicial source says.
North Carolina man charged after toddler daughter shoots herself
YNet News, 21 Oct 2013 – ….
R&B singer CeeLo Green charged with slipping ecstasy to woman
YNet News, 21 Oct 2013 – ….
Lod shooting: Council candidate shot
YNet News, 21 Oct 2013 – ….
Shooting in Lod: Man wounded
YNet News, 21 Oct 2013 – ….
Syria’s Assad says no date set for Geneva 2 peace conference
YNet News, 21 Oct 2013 – ….
Democracy in real danger
YNet News, 21 Oct 2013 – Op-ed: Laws aiming to weaken Supreme Court’s power might change State of Israel’s character ….
Israel awards NY Mayor Bloomberg $1 million ‘Jewish Nobel’
YNet News, 21 Oct 2013 – Genesis Prize Foundation announced first laureate ever – Jewish media mogul, NY’s mayor Bloomberg for record of public service, philanthropy. ‘My parents instilled in me Jewish values, ethics that I have carried with me throughout life,’ Bloomberg says ….
Iran has no one to fear
YNet News, 21 Oct 2013 – Op-ed: President Obama’s advisors believe, as he does, in appeasing enemies and brutal dictators ….
Rabbi Avraham Zuckerman laid to rest
YNet News, 21 Oct 2013 – One of Religious Zionism’s most prominent figures, who established high school yeshivot combining Torah with core studies, dies at age 98. He is mourned by hundreds of thousands of students, members of national-religious movement ….
NJ yeshiva teacher’s victim: Speak up
YNet News, 20 Oct 2013 – Yosef Kolko, 39, sentenced to nearly 13 years for aggravated sexual assault of 12-year-old New Jersey boy. Victim, whose family was shunned by their Orthodox Jewish community after he reported abuse, urges others to come forward ….
Palestinian Information Center
New settlement units built near Bethlehem
PIC – The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) continued on Monday building new housing units in the northern areas of Tikwa settlement to the east of Bethlehem city.
The Palestinian patient prisoners’ plight in Israeli jails
PIC – Hashim Mohammed Yasser Taha, 24, from al-Khalil, was a student when he attacked two Israeli occupation soldiers stationed at the Ibrahimi mosque doors in 2007.
Jerusalemite scholar stresses role of scholars in defending Aqsa
PIC – Jerusalemite scholar Dr. Mustafa Abu Sway stated that the Israeli entity suffers an international isolation due to its escalated crimes and violations.
Islamic Bloc launches a campaign in support of prisoners
PIC – The Islamic Bloc at the Arab American University in Jenin has launched a campaign in solidarity with the prisoners’ issue under the title “the prisoners in our eyes”, starting Monday.
109 persons of prisoners’ families visit their relatives in Nafha prison
PIC – Nearly 109 persons of prisoners’ families, including 32 children under the age of ten visited their relatives in Nafha prison on Monday.
Palestinian tries to stab a settler near Bethlehem
PIC – A Palestinian resistance element tried Sunday evening to stab an Israeli settler northwest of Bethlehem, in the southern occupied West Bank, Israeli media sources claimed.
IOF kidnap nine Palestinians in W. Bank raids
PIC – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped at dawn Monday nine Palestinian citizens during raids on homes in different areas of the West Bank.
Al-Qassam Brigades: We built the tunnel discovered lately by the IOF
PIC – Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said it had built the tunnel which the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) discovered lately to southeast of the Gaza Strip.
J’lem national action coalition calls for boycotting Israeli municipal elections
PIC – The national action coalition in occupied Jerusalem called on the Palestinian natives of Jerusalem to boycott the Israeli municipal elections to be held next Tuesday.
President of Lithuania: EU Does Not Recognize Settlements as Part of Israel
WAFA – 21 Oct 2013
Suffocation Cases during an Israeli Raid near Jenin
WAFA – 21 Oct 2013
Israeli Authorities Order to Stop Construction Work on Park near Bethlehem
WAFA – 21 Oct 2013
UPDATE: Abbas Meets with President, Prime Minister of Lithuania in Vilnius
WAFA – 21 Oct 2013
Attack on wedding is latest horror for Egypt’s Coptic Christians
LA Times 21 Oct 2013 – Gunmen kill four in the Cairo-area assault on Christians, who have borne the brunt of Egypt’s escalating violence after a tumultuous summer. CAIRO — It was nearly 9 p.m., but the Church of the Virgin Mary, the heart of the Christian community in a ramshackle…
Frustration, not progress, behind date for Syria peace talks
LA Times 21 Oct 2013 – Syrian President Bashar Assad and backers of the rebel forces fighting to oust him on Monday disputed weekend reports of an agreement to convene peace talks in Geneva next month to negotiate an end to the protracted civil war.
Al Qaeda group is operating on ransom money from the West
LA Times 21 Oct 2013 – Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has extorted $20 million in two years, an official says. Western nations face the dilemma of paying up or seeing hostages die. WASHINGTON — Dominik Neubauer stared into the camera, the steel barrel of an assault rifle pointed at…
Syria bombing kills dozens as diplomats struggle to set up talks
LA Times 20 Oct 2013 – A car bomb outside Hama, Syria, kills dozens. The Al Qaeda-linked Al Nusra Front is suspected. Meanwhile, confusion continues over when peace talks may begin. BEIRUT — As diplomats haggled over the prospect of Syrian peace talks, dozens of people were killed and many injured…
Car bomber hits Baghdad cafe, kills dozens
LA Times 20 Oct 2013 – BAGHDAD — A suicide bomber slammed his explosive-laden car into a busy cafe in Iraq’s capital late Sunday, a day in which violence across the country killed 45 people, authorities said.
Tradition of Not Voting Keeps Palestinians Politically Powerless in Jerusalem
New York Times 21 Oct 2013 – Mayoral candidates in Jerusalem have written off the votes of Palestinians, who mostly shun the polls as part of a longstanding boycott, despite their large numbers.
Texas A&M Pursues a Campus in Israel
New York Times 21 Oct 2013 – Gov. Rick Perry will join university leaders and Israeli officials in Jerusalem on Wednesday to announce the creation of a branch campus in Nazareth, partly intended to extend Arabs’ access to higher education in Israel.
At War Blog: Visiting China, Pentagon Officers Step Up Dialogue
New York Times 21 Oct 2013 – Meetings between high-level American and Chinese officers are a sign of the distance the two militaries have traveled, but also a sign of concern about how the United States should respond to China.
Qaeda-Linked Group Is Seen Complicating the Drive for Peace in Syria
New York Times 21 Oct 2013 – The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria could make extracting concessions from the government more difficult at a peace conference in Geneva, a U.S. official said.
Gunmen Fire at Church in Egypt; At Least 3 Die
New York Times 20 Oct 2013 – The attack appeared to be one of the deadliest in months against Egypt’s Christian minority, security officials said.
Dozens Killed by Bombers at Baghdad Cafe
New York Times 20 Oct 2013 – A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a crowded cafe, and moments later, as bystanders rushed to help the wounded, another attacker detonated a car bomb.
Bomber Tied to Al Qaeda Kills Dozens in Syrian City
New York Times 20 Oct 2013 – A suicide bomber driving a truck packed with explosives killed more than 30 people and wounded dozens on a busy road on the outskirts of Hama.
Jewish Voice for Peace Responds to ADL Top Ten List
Jewish Voice for Peace – Today the ADL put out its revised list of top ten U.S. anti-Israel groups, and JVP is included among them. Much of the material is taken from the longer report the ADL put out about JVP in August, so we are re-posting here our statement in…
Jerusalem-Tel Aviv railway Old City link planned
Globes Main News – The Transport Ministry and Israel Railways are planning a 2.5 kilometer underground extension to Mamilla near the Jaffa Gate.
Israel Chemicals planning $150m US bond issue
Globes Main News – Israel Chemicals is seeking to diversify its credit sources and reduce its dependence on the Israeli bond market.
And now for something completely different
Mondoweiss – Over the weekend I learned about a new website called Zeega , where you can made short videos using music, gifs, photos, etc. Without even knowing today is Benja
min Netanyahu’s birthday , I threw together the video below. I call it “Benny Netanyahu.” Without any further ado:
High Court gives green light to gas exports
Globes Main News – The High Court of Justice has rejected the petition against the cabinet’s gas export decision.
Private equity firm buys telco NTS
Globes Main News – NTS’s share price rose 26.3% on the TASE and 23.4% at the opening on the AMEX to $1.95 after the acquisition by Tower Three Partners LLC.
Israel21c hosts foreign readers
Globes Macro Economics – 23 readers from Italy, the US, Australia and the UK will explore Israeli technological innovation and culture.
Navy wants $600m for ships to protect gas rigs
Globes Energy & Water – The Navy wants four missile corvettes to defend Israel’s exclusive economic zone.
Discount Bank NY bids by year-end
Globes Main News – Discount Bank reportedly expects the bids to be around Discount New York’s shareholders’ equity of $830 million.
Check Point beats estimates with $344m revenue
Globes Main News – The network security company reported EPS of $0.85 for the third quarter, $0.01 ahead of the consensus estimate.
Mon: Teva fails to lift market
Globes Main News – Teva rose strongly on the day’s largest turnover, while Opko Health was the biggest loser on the Tel Aviv 25.
Histadrut to air NIS 6.5m unionization campaign
Globes Main News – The media campaign, which will star TV celebrity Tzofit Grant, has been condemned by employers as “wretched timing.”
Jews can’t be ‘a force for good’ without Israel, says Jewish Federations report
Mondoweiss – Theodor Herzl The Jewish Federations are the leading communal body in Jewish life in the US. Last month it released this report, “ Israel: Jewish and democratic,” which aims to counter “the concerted assault on Israel’s legitimacy” and on the “moral and legal right of the…
Former Senator Weicker says he was ‘lobbied’ to be silent about Palestinian suffering
Mondoweiss – Speaking at the Tree of Life Conference in Old Lyme, CT, yesterday, former Connecticut Senator and Governor Lowell Weicker Jr. compared the Israeli wall to the notorious wall that was built by East Germany. He said: “When I think of Israelis, Palestinians and today’s wall I’m…
The Arab Spring is actually the Arab century — Lustick
Mondoweiss – Last week at Penn, the realist scholar Ian Lustick said some interesting things about the Arab Spring. He speaks at about 1:10 in this video. Here’s my transcript: I’d like to put [the Arab Spring] in more historical context. What you’ve got in the Middle East…
What Comes Next: A manifesto for the Jewish-Palestinian Arabic-Hebrew state
Mondoweiss – This post is part of “What Comes Next?: A forum on the end of the two-state paradigm.” This series was initiated by Jewish Voice for Peace as an investigation into the current state of thinking about one state and two state solutions, and the collection has…
What Comes Next: A secular democratic state in historic Palestine – a promising land
Mondoweiss – “Because it is a distortion of being more fully human, sooner or later being less human leads the oppressed to struggle against those who made them so. In order for this struggle to have meaning, the oppressed must not in seeking to regain their humanity (which…
Settler attacks on the rise as Palestinian olive harvest begins in the West Bank
Mondoweiss – The Olive Harvest PHOTOS: Settlers attack Palestinian olive pickers, damage trees 972mag 20 Oct by Michael Omer-Man — Palestinian olive growers and their trees were attacked across the northern West Bank on Sunday, resulting in at least four injuries and the destruction of dozens of trees…
Hearing ‘blatant racism’ in Israel caused young J Street attendee to question Zionism
Mondoweiss – I often say that J Street does not represent the rank and file of those it claims to lead, liberal Jews. Last month at J Street’s conference, a UCLA senior stood at a panel to ask about the space for non-Zionism inside Jewish life. He said…
Flug supports raising retirement age, taxes
Globes Macro Economics – In an interview with “Globes” in May, the incoming Governor of the Bank of Israel said women will have smaller pensions unless their retirement age rises.
Jackie Ben-Zaken raises stake in Shemen Oil
Globes Energy & Water – The purchases of shares were made despite the failure of the Yam 3 well and the plunge in Shemen Oil’s share price.
Unemployment unchanged in September
Globes Macro Economics – The number of newly unemployed registering with the Employment Service remained stable.
Key Syria talks to open in London
BBC 21 Oct 2013 – Arab and Western foreign ministers are to meet Syrian opposition officials in London in an effort to persuade them to attend peace talks next month.
Qatar Offers Palestinian Authority $150M in Debt Relief
The Foward Breaking News 21 Oct 2013 – Qatar has agreed to provide $150 million in debt relief to the Palestinian Authority, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in Paris after talks with Qatari Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiyah. Click here for the rest of the article…
Republican Presidential Hopefuls Rick Perry and Brian Sandoval To Visit Israel
The Foward Breaking News 21 Oct 2013 – Govs. Rick Perry of Texas and Brian Sandoval of Nevada, Republicans tapped for 2016 presidential ru
ns, are visiting Israel. Click here for the rest of the article…
Rabbi Avraham Zuckerman, Founder of the Bnei Akiva Yeshivas Died
The Foward Breaking News 21 Oct 2013 – Rabbi Avraham Zuckerman, founder of the Bnei Akiva yeshiva network and a leader in the national-religious movement in Israel, has died. Click here for the rest of the article…
Recently Featured on CNN’s Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain-The Gaza Kitchen Tour is Coming to Olympia!
Rachel Corrie Foundation 21 Oct 2013 – Come watch the demonstration, have lunch and learn how to make traditional Gazan cuisine while being taken on a cultural journey through life in Gaza. Laila El-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt are co-authors of the award winning documentary cookbook The Gaza Kitchen: a Palestinian Culinary Journey , which…
The International Experimental Shorts Film Festival! Q&A with filmmaker to follow.
Rachel Corrie Foundation 21 Oct 2013 – Home Movies Gaza – a 2013 short film by Palestinian filmmaker Basma Alsharif will screen as part of the 30 th annual Olympia Film Festival at Capitol Theater, Sunday, November 10, at 4 p.m . The film is part of The International Experimental Shorts segment of…
Syrians in Egypt: Escaping a once safe haven
BBC 21 Oct 2013 – The dangers facing Syrians who try to flee Egypt by sea
Sanctions Relief Could Come for Iran Before Nuclear Program Is Suspended
The Foward Breaking News 21 Oct 2013 – “We need to see what they’re going to actually do,” Lew said just days after talks renewed between major powers and Iran over its nuclear program, which Iran insists is peaceful. Click here for the rest of the article…
Rebel commander killed in Syria
BBC 21 Oct 2013 – A senior rebel commander in southern Syria has been killed in fighting with government troops near the city of Deraa, activists and state media say.
Egypt: FM – Saudi Arabia Rejection to Be Member of UNSC Reflects Arabs’ Disappointment
allAfrica.com 21 Oct 2013 – [Egypt Online]Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi said that Saudi Arabia’s success in winning a temporary Security Council membership reflects an international appreciation for Saudi Arabia, which would best represent the whole Arab world in the UNSC.
Egypt PM denounces church attack
BBC 21 Oct 2013 – Egypt’s prime minister condemns an attack outside a Coptic church in Cairo that killed four people, including an eight-year-old girl.
Egypt: Egypt Launches Initiative to Get ME Zone Free From Mass Destruction Weapons
allAfrica.com 21 Oct 2013 – [Egypt Online]The official spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Badr Abdel A’ti said that the ministry has delivered a message to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-mon including an explanation of Egypt’s initiative to have a Middle East free from weapons of mass destruction.
Egypt: For the First Time in 34 Years Egyptian Air Force Fighter Jets Flew Over Gaza-Israel Border
allAfrica.com 21 Oct 2013 – [Egypt Online]”The Aviationist” website, concerned with the military Air Force, quoted Israeli Channel 2, as saying that Egyptian Air Force F-16s were authorized to fly over the Gaza-Israel border area, as part of the military operations Cairo’s military is conducting against terrorist groups in Sinai.
Egypt: Cairo Backs Riyadh Stance On Avoiding Double Standards – – Ambassador
allAfrica.com 21 Oct 2013 – [Egypt Online]In statements to Al-Arabiya news channel, Egyptian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Afifi Abdul Wahab said that Egypt supports the point of view of the Saudi kingdom rejecting the UN Security Council seat for avoiding “double standards” and protesting the Council’s failure to respond to the…
Key Syria talks to open in London
BBC 21 Oct 2013 – Arab and Western foreign ministers are to meet Syrian opposition officials in London in an effort to persuade them to attend peace talks next month.
Assad casts doubt over Geneva peace talks
Al-Akhbar News 21 Oct 2013 – A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on October 21, 2013 shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad giving an interview to Lebanese channel Al-Mayadeen, in Damascus. (Photo: AFP / SANA) Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in remarks broadcast Monday no date had been…
Leading activist: Bahraini lives “cheaper than car tires”
Al-Akhbar News 21 Oct 2013 – Bahraini women mourn during the funeral of 20-year-old political prisoner Hussein Mahdi Habib, found shot to death after his escape from prison, in the village of Sitra, south of Manama, on October 20, 2013. (Photo: AFP – Mohammed al-Shaikh) An appellate court on Monday reduced to…
Syrians in Egypt: Escaping a once safe haven
BBC 21 Oct 2013 – The dangers facing Syrians who try to flee Egypt by sea
Rebel commander killed in Syria
BBC 21 Oct 2013 – A senior rebel commander in southern Syria has been killed in fighting with government troops near the city of Deraa, activists and state media say.
Egypt’s Copts mourn victims of church attack
Al-Akhbar News 21 Oct 2013 – Egyptian women mourn four victims of a shooting at the Virgin Mary Coptic Christian church in Cairo on October 21, 2013. (Photo: AFP – Khaled Desouki) Thousands turned out Monday for the funeral of four Copts gunned down outside a church, in the first attack on…
Iranian man in coma after botched hanging
Al-Akhbar News 21 Oct 2013 – A convicted Iranian drug trafficker who survived a botched hanging has fallen into a coma, the IRNA news agency reported on Monday. “His level of consciousness is around six percent and the possibility of brain death will increase if the situation does not improve,” IRNA quoted…
Syrian rebels launch four rockets into East Lebanon
Al-Akhbar News 21 Oct 2013 – Suspected Syrian rebels launched four rockets across the border into East Lebanon’s Bekaa valley on Monday, state news said. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported no casualties when the barrage landed on the town of Hermel. A handful of citizens have been killed in past attacks on…
Riyadh ‘ratcheting up repression’
BBC 21 Oct 2013 – Amnesty International says Saudi Arabia has failed to act on recommendations by a UN body to improve its human rights and “ratcheted up” repression.
Beirut: Rumors of New Construction as Illegal Homes Demolished
Al-Akhbar News 21 Oct 2013 – The residents are ready for anything and will not remain peaceful, like two days ago, when they only used homemade Molotov cocktails to chase away the security forces. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) The residents are ready for anything and will not remain peaceful, like two days ago,…
Lebanese Hostage Deal: 10 months of Negotiations and $9 Million
Al-Akhbar News 21 Oct 2013 – Indeed, it was all too clear to those following the hostage crisis that Turkey and Qatar were still wagering on extracting a political price from Hezbollah. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) Indeed, it was all too clear to those following the hostage crisis that Turkey and Qatar were…
Syria: Grand Compromise or Total War?
Al-Akhbar Opinion 21 Oct 2013 – People use buckets to try and extinguish a fire that ignited at a local fuel station in the Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood of Syria northern city of Aleppo on October 20, 2013. (Photo: AFP – Karam al-Masri) People use buckets to try and extinguish a fire that…
Lebanon releases three suspects in Turkish pilots’ abduction
Al-Akhbar News 21 Oct 2013 – A Lebanese court on Monday granted bail to three Lebanese men jailed since August in connection with the kidnapping of two Turkish pilots earlier that month, state news reported. Relatives of Hassan Saleh, Mohammed Saleh and Nadim Zogheib greeted them with flowers and balloons outside the…
Qatar court upholds poet’s sentence
BBC 21 Oct 2013 – A court in Qatar upholds a 15-year prison sentence given to a poet found guilty of inciting people to overthrow the government and insulting the emir.
Qatar upholds 15-year jail term for dissident poet
Al-Akhbar News 21 Oct 2013 – A top Qatari court on Monday upheld a 15-year jail term handed to a poet convicted of incitement against the regime, his lawyer said. “The Court of Cassation sentenced Mohammed al-Ajami to 15 years in prison,” confirming the sentence given to the poet by an appeals…
Egypt PM denounces church attack
BBC 21 Oct 2013 – Egypt’s prime minister condemns an attack outside a Coptic church in Cairo that killed four people, including an eight-year-old girl.
Syria: Polio outbreak fears
BBC 21 Oct 2013 – Experts are concerned that polio may have made a return in war-torn Syria.
VIDEO: The Syrian folk singer hot in the US
BBC 20 Oct 2013 – Omar Souleyman’s traditional folk makes waves in New York
Jerusalem: Communities up-close
BBC 20 Oct 2013 – Living in the Holy City, as seen through the eyes of Jewish and Palestinian Jerusalemites
Ahly reach final after penalties win
BBC 20 Oct 2013 – Holders Al Ahly go through to the African Champions League final after penalty shoot-out victory over Coton Sport.
Articles
As negotiations get nowhere, the seeds of change must be sown in the West
Ibrahim Hewitt, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 10/20/2013
Negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians are, we are told, getting nowhere. It’s taken some people 20+ years to understand that simple fact, but there you go. Ever since Oslo gave Israel the green light to go ahead and build even more illegal settlements on Palestinian land, that which is leftover for an independent Palestinian state has got smaller and smaller every day. Despite the reality of this on the ground, obvious to all who have eyes to see and no Palestinian Authority salary or pension to hinder clarity of thought, the world has more or less gone along with the charade that the Israelis are sincere about a peace deal as long as they have a “partner for peace” on the other side.
The truth is hard to take for people who have invested their lives in the negotiation formula, so let’s try one more time to drive it home. Israel as it stands, driven by a Zionist ideology which demands Palestinian land free of Palestinians, is never going to give up any of the land it already controls or feels that it must have for its “security”. So the Palestinians can basically kiss goodbye to Area C, which includes the fertile Jordan Valley in which so many settlement-colonies have already displaced thousands of Palestinians. There is already talk of “land swaps” so that the giant colonies which surround Jerusalem, cutting it off from its West Bank hinterland, are part of Israel after a final agreement is reached; they can be discounted by the Palestinians as well.
The state of Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967 in a move which has never been recognised by the international community, although its allies and the UN do little to dissuade it that Israel will have to give it back to the Palestinians should an independent Palestine ever materialise. Given that Israel breaks international law with deadly regularity and impunity, who is there to insist that it abandons the oft-stated concept of Jerusalem being the “undivided” capital of the state of Israel? The United States? Europe? The United Nations? The Arab League? All four play the game but have no real intention of doing anything that will upset the Zionist state. more.. e-mail
Meet the Israeli who vows to keep going to jail until Africans are released
David Sheen, +972 Magazine 10/20/2013
Ido Naveh says he will continue to stage non-violent protests outside Israel’s desert detention camp until all the asylum seekers held within it are freed.
Many Israelis may support their government’s efforts to keep non-Jewish asylum seekers from Africa at bay and beyond the borders of the country. In recent weeks, however, one man has repeatedly provoked prison officials into detaining him, in order to protest the imprisonment of the Africans.
Ido Naveh of Jerusalem has been detained at least three times in the last month for maintaining a non-violent vigil outside of Saharonim, Israel’s desert detention center where it has jailed thousands of Africans since June 2012 without legal recourse. The Supreme Court last month struck down the January 2012 amendment authorizing their incarceration and instructed the state to release all asylum seekers within 90 days. The government, however, announced that it plans to introduce new legislation to bypass the court ruling and keep the Africans locked up. Naveh is vowing to keep returning to Saharonim, insisting that he too be arrested, until such time as all the asylum seekers have been freed.
The standoff between Naveh and the Israel Prison Service has followed the same script three times already. As he approaches the prison entrance, officials instruct Naveh to leave the area. He refuses to do so, and so the officers detain him and bring him for questioning to a police station in Dimona, an hour’s drive. Once police ascertain that he is unwilling to sign away his right to protest at the detention center in exchange for his immediate release, he is sent to Be’er Sheva to spend the night in a jail cell. The following morning, he is brought to court. Refusing the aid of a lawyer, Naveh then tells the presiding judge of his plans to return to Saharonim at the first opportunity and continue protesting. Each time, the judge has released him without any restrictions or conditions.
Naveh told +972 Magazine that he was inspired to sacrifice his own freedom in order to fight for the freedom of others after he read the writings of Henry David Thoreau and Mahatma Gandhi…. more.. e-mail
Israel: poorest country in the OECD
Sergio Yahni, Alternative Information Center 10/20/2013
In 2009 Dan Senor and Saul Singer published the book Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle, reinforcing the image of Israel as a developed country with some 63 companies listed on NASDAQ, more than those of any other foreign country.
However, the life of most Israelis is not so glossy. A report
released last Wednesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reveals that Israel, with a poverty rate of 20.9%, is the most impoverished of the 34 countries in the organisation. Moreover, the report indicates that Israel’s poor population has grown more than in any other OECD nation; Israel’s poverty level has exceeded that of Mexico, whose poverty rate stands at 20.4%.
These numbers, however, do not reveal the full social crisis in Israel. According to a report by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2011 31 percent of Israel’s population was at risk of poverty; this includes 40 of children in Israel and 44 percent of single-parent families.
The OECD defines the relative income poverty rate as the share of people earning less than half the national median income. In Israel the poverty rate is higher than in countries such as Turkey, Mexico, Chile, Spain and Poland. As of 2010 it was over 20 percent. According to the OECD report, it has rocketed from 14 percent in 1995 to nearly 21 percent in 2013.
The director of Israel’s National Insurance Institute, Professor Shlomo Mor-Yosef, recently said that planned cuts in child benefits are expected to cause an increase in the number poor of families. According to Mor-Yosef, an additional 30 to 40,000 children are about to be under the poverty line.
Israel also continues to be one of the countries with the largest income inequalities, ranking fifth in the world, with only the U.S., Mexico, Chile and Turkey having larger income gaps…. more.. e-mail
The Serpent and the Red Line
William A. Cook, Veterans News Now 10/17/2013
A proclaimed Red line entices the deceitful to act, lest their hubris be besmirched and ridiculed as weakness by non-action.
“Our only path to liberation is resistance, and saving Jerusalem…We need to take a clear stance, Jerusalem is a Red Line. Jerusalem is the soul of the cause” (Khaled Meshaal, Hamas political bureau chief).
The first warning we had concerning the nature of a Red Line came from the Serpent (read Satan) that leered enticingly from Yahweh’s Tree of Good and Evil as Eve sauntered near. He knew the nature of G-d’s creatures; he knew that if he were to conquer G-d he must open Eve’s and Adam’s eyes to their true nature, the depraved nature that rules by arrogance, treachery, hubris and power. He knew that Yahweh had opened the door to that depravity by decree:
“From every tree of the garden you may eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you must not eat; for the day you eat of it, you must die” (Genesis 2:16-17).
He knew a demand placed in the path of a righteous man raises caution in thought, perception and action; he knew as well a demand placed before a deceitful nature offers promise of conquest and reward, and Satan after all, is the master of Deceit and guides destiny to his end.
A proclaimed Red line, an apple dripping with luscious juice, entices the deceitful to act that his ends will be engaged by those who rule lest their hubris be besmirched and ridiculed as weakness by non-action, and once engaged the juice flows with the blood of the vanquished. more.. e-mail
Beautiful and disturbing ad campaign for Nablus displayed at London design show
Electronic Intifada: 21 Oct 2013 – Palestinian city inspires several contributions to In The City . more..
Finian Cunningham: An Angel Song for Peace and an End to Violence
In Gaza: 21 Oct 2013 – shared from Finian Cunningham [Image by frecklebaum via Flickr] by Finian Cunningham Writer, Dandelion Salad East Africa MyCatbirdSeat on Oct 21, 2013 ANGEL (by Finian Cunningham, originally from Belfast, Ireland, political analyst, singer-songwriter and guitarist). An Angel Song for peace and an end to violence against children. “War violates every right of a child — the right to life, the right to be with family and community, the right to health, the right to the development of the personality and the right to be nurtured and protected.” “….modern wars are exploiting, maiming and killing children more callously and more systematically than ever” — Graca Machel 1996 and 2000. Finian Cunningham , is a columnist at Press TV and a Writer on Dandelion Salad and a musician,www.myspace.com/finiancunninghammusic . He can be reached at cunninghamfinian@gmail.com. see Bankrupt at Home and Abroad, Syria Shows Washington is a Spent Geopolitical Player by Finian Cunningham Israel-Palestinian…more
Israel and the Erosion of Democracy: An Australian Story
Palestine Chronicle: 21 Oct 2013 – By Samah Sabawi A few months ago I signed my name as co-defendant to a possible legal action threatened by an Israeli law firm, Shurat HaDin, targeting two Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPACS) academics – Professors Jake Lynch and Stuart Rees for publically refusing to co-operate with Israel’s Hebrew university. Almost two thousand Australian and international academics, writers, human rights activists and other members of civil society have since joined this unprecedented historic act of solidarity signing as co-defendants along with the two targeted professors. Jake Lynch was practicing a basic democratic right when he made a moral and ethical decision to refuse to collaborate with an academic representing Hebrew university. Part of Hebrew university campus and dormitories were built on illegally annexed Palestinian land in contravention of the four Geneva Conventions. The university also sponsors the archeological digs in the Occupied Territories, appropriating Palestinian historical artifacts, preventing…more
High Court Rules: It is Impossible to Be Israeli
Palestine Chronicle: 21 Oct 2013 – By Neve Gordon For years when I travelled abroad, people would often inquire about my name and nationality. I, of course, would answer without hesitation: “I am Israeli”. Recently, however, I learned that there are no Israelis in Israel. Sounds odd? It does to me, particularly considering that there are Egyptians in Egypt, Germans in Germany, Mexicans in Mexico, and Canadians in Canada. So why are there are no Israelis in Israel? Because the Israeli Supreme Court ruled on the matter in early October, stating that there is no proof of the existence of a uniquely “Israeli” people. Three High Court justices rejected a petition filed by several Israelis who had requested a change in the registration in their identity cards. The plaintiffs in the registration case were asking that the Interior Ministry write “Israeli” instead of making the distinction between Jewish, Arab, or Druze in their nationality category. Headed…more
The Descenders: Why Are So Many Jews Leaving Israel?
Palestine Chronicle: 21 Oct 2013 – By Uri Avnery Those who are interested in the history of the Crusades ask themselves: what brought about the Crusaders’ downfall? Looking at the remnants of their proud fortresses all over the country, we wonder. The traditional answer is: their defeat in the battle of the Horns of Hattin, twin hills near the Lake of Galilee, in 1187, by the great Muslim Sultan Salah ad-Din (Saladin). However, the Crusader state lived on in Palestine and the surroundings for another hundred years. The most authoritative historian of the Crusades, the late Steven Runciman, gave a completely different answer: the Crusader kingdom collapsed because too many Crusaders returned to their ancestral homelands, while too few came to join the Crusaders. In the end, the last remnants were thrown into the sea (literally). There are vast differences between the Crusader state that existed in this country for two hundred years and the present…more
Canadian Natives Resist: ‘What the Frack?’
Palestine Chronicle: 21 Oct 2013 – By Eric Walberg This week’s anti-fracking protest has put Canada’s First Nations at the forefront of Canada’s political life, injecting spirit back into our moribund political scene. Canadians watching the evening news were shocked by scenes of burning police cars, a riot squad of 100 police wielding tear gas and tasers on horseback. Demonstrations to protest shale gas exploration on native lands near Rexton, New Brunswick, had been mounting for months, and when the RCMP moved in to take down the Mikmaq Elsipogtog tribe’s barriers, it was hardly surprising that the standoff became violent, starting with demonstrators throwing rocks, bottles and paint, and, when Chief Arren Sock was arrested, setting fire to six police cars. At least 40 people were arrested Thursday for violating a court-order injunction and disturbing the peace. Fracking is a method of gas extraction where water is mixed with sand and chemicals and injected at high…more
Israel’s Elections Bring “Racism” to the Fore
Dissident Voice: 21 Oct 2013 – In some parts of Israel, voters in Tuesday’s elections will be casting a ballot not on how well their municipality is run but on how to stop “Arabs” moving in next door, how to prevent mosques being built in their community, or how to “save” Jewish women from the clutches of Arab men. While the far-right’s rise in Israeli national politics has made headlines, less attention has been paid to how this has played out in day-to-day relations between Israeli Jews and the country’s Palestinian-Arab minority, comprising a fifth of the population. According to analysts and residents, Israel’s local elections have brought a tide of ugly racism to the fore, especially in a handful of communities known as “mixed cities”, where Jewish and Palestinian citizens live in close proximity. Jewish parties, including local branches of the ruling Likud party, have adopted openly racist language and fear-mongering suggesting an imminent Muslim…more
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The New Dark Age 