19 January 2014 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
PCHR condemns Israeli assassination attempt in Gaza
IMEMC – The Palestinian Center for Human Rights, PCHR, issued a statement Sunday condemning an extra-judicial execution attempt, on Sunday morning, 19 January 2014. …
Hundreds Of Settlers Raid Joseph’s Tomb
IMEMC – Hundreds of Israeli settlers, escorted and protected by soldiers, stormed the eastern area of Nablus and performed religious rituals in Joseph’s Tomb. …
Israeli Gunboats Fire On Palestinian Fishermen
IMEMC – [Sunday Morning, January 19, 2014] Israeli gunboats opened fire, Sunday morning, on Palestinian fishermen off the Gaza coast near al-Sodania area, to the north of Gaza. …
Demolition Orders Issued In East Jerusalem
IMEMC – Israeli municipality workers, on Sunday, distributed orders for the demolition of eight buildings in East Jerusalem, witnesses and residents told Ma’an News Agency. …
Two, Including A Child, Injured By Israeli Shells In Gaza
IMEMC – [Sunday at Dawn, January 19, 2014] Palestinian medical sources have reported that at least two Palestinians, including a child, have been injured after the Israeli army bombarded an area in northern Gaza. The army also bombarded resistance centers in central and southern Gaza. …
3 Israeli airstrikes on Gaza injure motorcyclist, child
1/19/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A young Palestinian man and a child were injured on Sunday morning after Israeli air forces launched three strikes across the Gaza Strip. An Israeli airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip hit a motorcyclist on Saftawi Street near Jabaliya, injuring the driver and a number of passersby. Two other airstrikes in the central and southern Gaza Strip left no reported…. Related: Islamic Jihad: Strikes on Gaza may lead to end of ceasefire and PCHR condemns Israel’s ‘extra-judicial execution’ attempt in Gaza
Radio: Israel wants to annex fourth settlement bloc
1/19/2014 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told US Secretary of State John Kerry that he wants to annex a fourth bloc of West Bank settlements, army radio reported on Sunday. Until now, Israel has always spoken of its intention to annex three blocs of settlements in any future agreement with the Palestinians: the Etzion bloc in the south; Maale Adumim to the east….
Municipality issues demolition orders in East Jerusalem
1/19/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli municipality workers on Sunday distributed orders for the demolition of eight buildings in East Jerusalem, witnesses and residents told Ma’an. Witnesses said municipality workers accompanied by Israeli police issued demolition notices for buildings in the Silwan area of East Jerusalem. The workers issued notices in the neighborhoods of Wadi al-Hilweh, Ein al-Lawza, Bier Ayub, and Wad Yasoul, witnesses….
Israel ‘threatens arrest’ of PA anti-corruption head
1/19/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The head of the Anti-Corruption Commission says he was threatened with arrest by Israeli forces unless a man detained for forging car customs stamps and documents was released. A statement from the commission, headed by Rafiq Natsheh, said it would commit to the law until its investigation with all suspects is complete regardless of whether they hold Palestinian or Jerusalem IDs….
Islamic Jihad: Strikes on Gaza may lead to end of ceasefire
1/19/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The military wing of a Palestinian faction said Sunday that Israeli violations of a ceasefire with Gaza might lead to the ceasefire’s end, the same day Israeli airstrikes injured two in the Strip. Israel’s “continuous violations against our people may lead to the collapse of this agreement unless they stop immediately,” the military wing of the….
Analysis: The Palestinian Capitalists that have gone too far
1/19/2014 – Al-Shabaka is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and foster public debate on Palestinian human rights and self-determination within the framework of international law. This policy brief is authored by Tariq Dana, an assistant professor of political science at Hebron University who focuses on the transformation of Palestinian civil society from mass-based movements to neoliberal-oriented NGOs. While most Palestinians living under Israeli….
Israeli police detain recently freed prisoner over ‘unpaid taxes’
1/19/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli police detained a recently released Palestinian prisoner who had been held for over 20 years over allegedly “unpaid taxes” on Sunday. Mahmoud Daajnah, a 66-year-old veteran prisoner who was released three weeks ago as part of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, was handed a summons at a checkpoint in Jerusalem on Saturday and taken into custody….
In photos: Kafr Qaddum protests continue in the face of repression
1/19/2014 – On Friday, residents of Kafr Qaddum took to the streets as part of a weekly protest against the closure of their main road by Israeli occupation forces. Locals also protest against the continued Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the confiscation of their lands by local settlers. Due to the closure of road to Palestinians, the trip to the regional center of Nablus is….
Falafel stop ‘saves’ Gaza man from Israeli missile
1/19/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A Palestinian man survived an Israeli airstrike on Sunday after he jumped off his donkey cart to eat falafel and fool in a popular restaurant in the northern Gaza Strip. The donkey, however, was not so lucky, and wound up a casualty of an Israeli missile strike that also injured a motorcyclist and a 12-year-old child passing by. Saad…. Related: 3 Israeli airstrikes on Gaza injure motorcyclist, child and PCHR condemns Israel’s ‘extra-judicial execution’ attempt in Gaza
Israeli forces summon newly-freed prisoner for interrogation
1/19/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces raided the home of a newly-freed Palestinian prisoner in the village of Shawawrah near Bethlehem early Sunday, residents told Ma’an. A number of Israeli troops “broke into” the home of Iyad Shawawrah, handing him a summons to appear for interrogation in the Gush Etzion settlement, his family said. Shawawrah was freed from Israeli prisons last Thursday after….
PCHR condemns Israel’s ‘extra-judicial execution’ attempt in Gaza
1/19/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A Palestinian human rights organization on Sunday condemned what it called an “extra-judicial execution attempt” by Israeli forces on the same day. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said in a statement that an Israeli airstrike that targeted a member of a Palestinian militant group serves “to escalate tension in the region and (threatens) the lives of Palestinian civilians.” The statement…. Related: 3 Israeli airstrikes on Gaza injure motorcyclist, child and Islamic Jihad: Strikes on Gaza may lead to end of ceasefire
Israel minister attends renewables event in UAE
1/19/2014 – ABU DHABI (AFP) — Israeli Energy Minister Silvan Shalom attended a meeting Saturday of the International Renewable Energy Agency in the United Arab Emirates, a country with which it has no diplomatic relations. During its two-day meeting, the assembly is to discuss a draft roadmap for achieving a 36 percent share for renewables in the world energy mix by 2030. A member of the Israeli delegation….
Jerusalem panel urges pressing Israel over settlements
1/19/2014 – MARRAKECH, Morocco (AFP) — Muslim nations urged the international community Saturday to put pressure on Israel to stop building Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, at the end of talks in Morocco. The Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Committee made the call amid heightened concerns settlements could undermine US-brokered peace talks that resumed in July after becoming bogged down three years earlier over the construction drive.”The international….
Egyptian security detains 11 migrants near border with Israel
1/19/2014 – EL-ARISH (Ma’an) — Egyptian security forces responsible with monitoring the border with Israel on Sunday detained 11 African migrants trying to enter Israel without documents through its border with the Sinai Peninsula. An Egyptian security source told a Ma’an reporter in El-Arish that six young men and women from Eritrea and five from Ethiopia were detained near the Israeli border fence. The….
Israel to return remains of 2 Palestinians on Tuesday
1/19/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The remains of two Palestinians currently held in Israel will be delivered to the West Bank on Tuesday, a statement said Sunday. A campaign to retrieve the remains of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces said in a statement that the remains of Fathi Jihad Ameera and Ata Ibrahim Samhan Samahna would be delivered to Taybeh checkpoint near Tulkarem at 8 p….
Abbas: Palestine has gotten nothing out of peace talks
1/19/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that despite US Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts, Palestine has so far gotten nothing out of the ongoing peace negotiations with Israel.”The problem is with the Israeli side and not with us,” Abbas said in an interview on Moroccan television following the Al-Quds Committee meeting in Marrakesh. He spoke the same day….
Syria opposition to join peace talks to oust Assad
1/19/2014 – ISTANBUL (AFP) — Syria’s deeply divided opposition finally agreed Saturday to join an international peace conference, saying it wanted to remove President Bashar al-Assad from power, a day after Damascus offered concessions. The deeply divided National Coalition had been under intense international pressure to attend the conference, which aims to find a way out of the brutal conflict that has killed 130,000 people and….
Egypt approves constitution by 98% with less than 40% turnout
1/19/2014 – CAIRO (AFP) — Egyptian voters have approved a new constitution by 98. 1 percent, the elections chief said Saturday, in what the government declared a popular endorsement of the army’s overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. The result of the Tuesday-Wednesday vote had never been in doubt, as Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists boycotted it, but the authorities wanted a large….
21 killed in wave of Baghdad attacks
1/19/2014 – BAGHDAD (AFP) — Attacks across Baghdad, including car bombs at an up-scale shopping mall and near a juvenile detention center, killed 21 people Saturday as rising violence fuels fears of all-out sectarian war. The bombings and a deadly, weeks-long standoff in the western province of Anbar, part of a nationwide surge in violence that has already killed more than 600 this month, come just months ahead….
Israel air strike wounds two in Gaza
AlJazeera 19 Jan 2014 – IDF say a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad was injured in the attack, which also hurt a 12-year-old boy.
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
In Extra-Judicial Execution Attempt, Israeli Drone Targets Motorbike Wounding Member of Palestinian Armed Group and Chil…
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
Syrian Arab Republic: Dozens evacuated from besieged Damascus camp: Palestinian official
Relief Web 19 Jan 2014 – Source: Agence France-Presse Country: occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic 01/19/2014 14:24 GMT DAMASCUS, January 19, 2014 (AFP) – Dozens of critically ill residents of a besieged Palestinian refugee camp south of the Syrian capital Damascus were evacuated on Sunday,…
Indian minister testifies in inquiry into wife’s death
The National 19 Jan 2014 – Shashi Tharoor calls for a speedy investigation to “end the indignity to which my wife and I are being subjected”.
Indian envoy urges expatriate compatriots to foster closer ties with Emiratis
The National 19 Jan 2014 – The Indian ambassador has called on the expatriate community in the UAE to play a greater role in building relations with Emiratis.
Spacecraft should wake to date with a 4.6 billion-year-old rock
The National 19 Jan 2014 – After 10 years and 7 billion kilometres, the first spacecraft to try to land on a comet is close to its target – provided the scientists can wake up up the probe.
Syrian rebel force rejects upcoming peace talks
The National 19 Jan 2014 – Rebels of the Islamic Front have rejected the upcoming Syrian peace talks in Switzerland, which are due to start later this week, saying the country’s future will not be formed “in hollow conferences”.
Iraq can’t finance budget deficit without Kurdish oil revenues, says legislator
The National 19 Jan 2014 – Iraq’s central government increased tensions with the autonomous Kurdish region on Sunday, laying down a redline over the country’s 2014 budget: the Kurds must contribute oil revenues or go without their share of funding.
Iran aims to attract more GCC tourists
The National 19 Jan 2014 – Iran wants to increase its numbers of tourists to 10 million from just four million in 2012. Already 1.2 million visitors from the GCC and Iraq have traveled to the Islamic Republic in the past 10 months but Iran wants more.
Iraqi government launches offensive to take back Ramadi
The National 19 Jan 2014 – The operation, which involved police, pro-government militiamen and special forces, seeks to wrest back neighbourhoods of the capital of Anbar province.
Jordan prepared to host US training of Iraqi troops
The National 19 Jan 2014 – The Jordanian government is willing to host training for Iraqi troops carried out by the United States, according to statements from the information minister.
In pictures: India’s sick find shelter in abandoned buses
The National 19 Jan 2014 – With temperatures dropping at night to around 4°C, the newly elected Delhi government this month donated seven old, public buses for use as shelters outside hospitals.
Abandoned buses provide Delhi sick with shelter from the cold
The National 19 Jan 2014 – A lack of beds in government hospitals for its large numbers of patients has long been a problem in India. Public spending on health in the world’s second most populous country is just four per cent of GDP, less than Afghanistan’s, according to the World Health Organisation.
Two Palestinians injured in Israeli air raid
The National 19 Jan 2014 – An Israeli air raid on Gaza City left two Palestinians injured on Sunday, including a 12-year-old boy.
Somali pirates seize merchant ship in region’s first successful hijacking since 2012
The National 19 Jan 2014 – Pirates have seized a merchant ship in the Red Sea and have taken it south towards Somali waters in the first successful hijacking in the region since 2012, maritime officials said on Sunday.
Egypt votes, and now the real work of the revolution will begin
The National 19 Jan 2014 – Egypt has approved a new constitution despite a boycott by groups aligned with Mohammed Morsi, giving legitimacy to the nation’s direction towards stability and security.
Video: Dozens injured in Bangkok protest blasts
The National 19 Jan 2014 – More blasts during anti-government protests in Bangkok leave dozens wounded, some seriously.
Video: Politician’s wife’s death ‘unnatural’
The National 19 Jan 2014 – The death of an Indian politician ruled unnatural and sudden.
Video: Starving for aid in Syria
The National 19 Jan 2014 – Aid is delivered to the Yarmouk Palestinian district in Damascus, where thousands of civilians have been trapped for months without enough food or medicine.
Video: UN Chief calls deadly Kabul restaurant attack as ‘totally unacceptable’
The National 19 Jan 2014 – United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemns the deadly attack on a Kabul restaurant that killed 21 people, including four UN staff.
Video: Militants release 23 children held in Central African Republic
The National 19 Jan 2014 – The United Nations says many children have become recruited and exploited by militants in Central African Republic’s ongoing conflict.
Video: French ‘first lady’ leaves the hospital for Versailles
The National 19 Jan 2014 – French premiere dame Trierweiler checks out of the hospital and leaves for Versailles, amidst speculation that French President Hollande has a mistress.
UN chief Ban says invites Iran to Syria peace talks
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Fight over vote threshold goes to Knesset as opposition cries ‘racism’
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Obama: Odds of reaching Israeli-Palestinian treaty are ‘less than fifty-fifty’
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Hamas leader – and father of Shin Bet informer – released from Israeli prison
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
U.S. Orthodox rabbi pushes back against Israel’s Chief Rabbinate
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Calling your political rival a Nazi is a time-hallowed tradition in Israel
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Despite ban, illegal settlement outposts getting millions in state funds
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Italy’s Jewish community grapples with attitudes on Israel
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Joan Rivers to guest on Israeli comedy show
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Israel’s Language War II: This time, it’s over English
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Israel’s Rafael to unveil laser-based defense system
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Israeli cabinet approves ‘one chief rabbi’ bill
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
From spectacled owls to silverback gorillas, the London Zoo is counting them all
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Israeli negotiators to meet Kerry in Washington, discuss ‘framework agreement’
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Kerry can survive failure, but can Israel?
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Israel to stop distributing gas masks after February, inner cabinet decides
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
U.S. draft agreement omits Palestinian right of return, officials tell Haaretz
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Israeli army strikes Islamic Jihad militant in Gaza
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Ya’alon again knocks U.S. policy, without getting personal
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Ya’alon again slams U.S. policy, though without getting personal this time
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Caregiver’s ‘X Factor’ victory electrifies Filipino community in Israel
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Senior cop at center of Rabbi Pinto graft scandal could face criminal probe
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Israeli MDs strike over violence against medical staff
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Netanyahu had an offshore account, but let’s keep an eye on Barak
Ha’aretz – 18 Jan 2014
The life-threatening obsession with the Jewish state
Ha’aretz – 18 Jan 2014
Netanyahu shouldn’t plant land mines to assuage the extreme right
Ha’aretz – 18 Jan 2014
The Israeli media’s double standard against non-Jews
Ha’aretz – 18 Jan 2014
Rabbi Pinto probe sparks tensions between FBI and Israel Police
Ha’aretz – 18 Jan 2014
Israeli ministers to decide whether ‘price tag’ attacks are terrorism
Ha’aretz – 18 Jan 2014
Cabinet expected to approve ‘one chief rabbi’ bill
Ha’aretz – 18 Jan 2014
Etgar Keret imagines a ‘brave new Israel’ where the word ‘Nazi’ isn’t banned
Ha’aretz – 18 Jan 2014
Two dead after cooking gas container blows up in Jerusalem apartment
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – Police say five were injured in blast including an unconscious baby who is in critical condition; police continue to search for casualties.
US Rep. Cantor to join largest-ever Knesset delegation in Auschwitz
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – House Majority Leader to be joined by 2 other Congressmen for event marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Two chief rabbis is one too many
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – This duplication of rabbis is not only wasteful and destructive, it has become an immense burden on the local religious councils.
Welcoming Harper
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – Canadian prime minister arrives to Israel after nearly eight years of planning for visit.
No Holds Barred: The courage of Cory Booker
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – US President Barack Obama has dropped the hammer on 16 Democratic senators who have joined a bold Robert Menendez.
Think About It: The issue of parliamentary representation
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – In representation theory there are two basic concepts of representation – though the reality is invariably more complicated.
Netanyahu: UNESCO Land of Israel exhibit not harmful to peace
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – PM: Talks are based on facts, truth, which is never harmful; Wiesenthal Center to hold Paris, LA press conferences.
Reality Check: Feiglin may be controversial, but he doesn’t jump on any bandwagon
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – Far-right Likud MK Moshe Feiglin is one of the most dangerous men in Israeli politics.
Eckstein downplays possible presidential run
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – Rabbi’s organization raises millions of dollars annually for Israel; associates say others approached him to run.
The Region: The hopelessness of victory
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – The Obama administration is engaging in over a dozen failed operations in the Mideast, and reason shows just why they’re failing: The Islamist philosophy.
After 28 years, Pollard deserves facts, not fiction
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – As pro bono attorneys for convicted Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard since 2000, we never cease to be amazed at how those who are hostile to Pollard feel compelled to make up facts.
Shalom: Israel should have permanent delegate based at Int’l Renewable Energy Agency, in Abu Dhabi
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – Energy, Water and National Infrastructures minister says despite Kuwait ban, other Arab delegations stayed to hear him speak.
Private peace talks prepare for public debut
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – US State Department braces for public criticism from all sides upon announcement of Israel-Palestinian framework agreement later this month; Kerry now asking Netanyahu, Abbas to make risky political propositions.
Report charting persecution of Christians worldwide reveals most abuse in Muslim countries
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – Nine of top 10 countries where Christians suffer are Islamic, according to Open Doors USA.
PA apologizes to Czech Republic over weapons in embassy
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – PA Foreign Ministry official says weapons were “being held inside old bags and the alternation of Palestinian ambassadors.”
WATCH: Orthodox Jewish woman denied entry to Temple Mount for wearing ‘immodest dress’
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – Muslim Waqf personnel have Jewish Orthodox woman, who was dressed in skirt that covered her knees, removed from holy site.
ADL’s Foxman critiques hate crimes reporting systems in EU, US
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – American and European governments are failing to adequately monitor and track anti-Semitism, ADL head says.
Israel to preside over world disarmament organization for month
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – This is the second time Israel will assume rotating role to head UN-linked Conference on Disarmament.
Employee training sessions in Green Knesset project begin
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – Project to transform Knesset to energy-saving building including roof covered in solar panels as well as revamped water.
ALUT to launch donation campaign to help children, adults with autism
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – Israeli Society for Autistic Children will hold annual donation day in conjunction with launch of informational campaign.
Grand Challenges, Pears competition to promote Israeli development technology
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – The Chief Scientist, Economy Ministry will award 12 applicants up to NIS 0.5m. each to develop concepts in the fields of global health, food security.
Netanyahu lauds Harper’s ‘moral leadership’ upon arrival to Israel
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – PM welcomes his visiting Canadian counterpart, praising “great friend of Israel, Jewish people”.
Azaria Alon, father of Israeli environmentalism, dies at 95
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan
2014 – Alon was an Israel Prize winner and founder of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.
Stroke survey shows someone hit every two seconds and one dies of it every six seconds in Israel
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – One out of five women and one out of six men will have a stroke sometime in their lives, according to survey.
Israel releases West Bank-based Hamas leader to Ramallah
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – Hasan Youssef freed after serving 28 months for participating in the re-establishment of Hamas’s infrastructure in W. Bank.
Islamic Jihad: Israeli strikes on Gaza threaten the ceasefire
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – Organization’s military wing vows Israel will pay a “heavy price” for strikes at the appropriate time.
Jewish groups praise Pope Francis on opening of Holocaust archives
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – Catholic leader to review actions of predecessor, wartime pontiff prior to canonization of Pius XII.
Joan Rivers to make Israeli TV debut on ‘Matzav Ha’Uma’
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – Comedic evening talk show will broadcast its seventh season on Tuesday from New York City featuring the Jewish funny-woman.
European cervical cancer week marked in Israel
Jerusalem Post 19 Jan 2014 – A weakened immune system resulting from smoking, poor nutrition, and numerous sex partners can raise risk.
Syria News – January 17, 2014 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet 19 Jan 2014 – January 17, 2014 -By the end of Friday the Coordination Committees were able to document 108 martyrs including 8 children, 7 under torture and 5 women: 43 martyrs were reported in Aleppo; 39 in Damascus and its Suburbs; 18 in…
Ohio prisoner takes nearly half an hour to die in apparently botched, experimental execution
Uruknet 19 Jan 2014 – January 17, 2014 -An execution carried out today by Ohio, using a new, untested combination of drugs, shows strong signs of having been botched, causing prolonged suffering to the prisoner. …It took over 25 minutes for Dennis McGuire to die…
Israel Denies Palestinians All Rights
Uruknet 19 Jan 2014 – January 17, 2014 – According to UN Special Rapporteur on Occupied Palestine Richard Falk, “Palestinians don t even have the right to have rights.”Militarized occupation denies them. Harshness exceeding the worst of South African apartheid describes their status. The UN…
Drones Speak for America in Yemen
Uruknet 19 Jan 2014 – January 17, 2014 – On January 7, 2014, Amnesty International issued its latest warning as part of a seemingly endless demand for US accountability in Yemen. Nearly a month prior, on December 12, a US Reaper drone bombarded a wedding…
First civilian death in a drone strike this year reported in Yemen
Uruknet 19 Jan 2014 – January 17, 2014 – A civilian was reported killed in a suspected US drone strike in Yemen yesterday – the first civilian casualty in the secret drone war reported in 2014. Drones reportedly killed a farmer yesterday, witnesses said, though…
Gitmo 12 Years Later
Uruknet 19 Jan 2014 – January 17, 2014- ….The US military instituted a media blackout on the hunger strike last month, stating that it would stop disclosing the number of prisoners on strike. In September, the military announced it would cease providing daily counts to…
Guantanamo secret protocol encourages abusive, humiliating techniques
Uruknet 19 Jan 2014 – January 17, 2014 – Nothing has changed in Guantanamo as detainees are still being subjected to humiliating invasive searches and painful force-feeding with the number of hunger strikers having doubled since December, attorney Clive Stafford Smith told RT… “There are…
Tehran to World “Please Help Us With Our Oilfields”
Uruknet 19 Jan 2014 – Janaury 17, 2014 – Speaking on Thursday during his three-day tour of southern Iran, President Rouhani was blunt: There are problems in sections of the country s oil industry that must be resolved and we cannot be patient for their…
On the first anniversary of the Yarmouk catastrophe: solutions failing and defiance succeeding
Uruknet 19 Jan 2014 – January 17, 2014 -The memory of Palestinians of the Yarmouk refugee camp – south of Damascus – carries two harsh memories of two catastrophes: the first was the catastrophe of being kicked out of their land in 1948, while the…
Syria Protests January 17, 2014 : A Video Roundup
Uruknet 19 Jan 2014 –
Iran invited to Syria peace conference: Ban
Daily Star 19 Jan 2014 Iran will attend this week’s Syria peace conference after it pledged to play a “positive and constructive role” in efforts to end the three-year-old war, UN leader Ban Ki-moon says.
Israel giving back remains of Palestinian militants: army
Daily Star 19 Jan 2014 Israel has begun to exhume the remains of a number of Palestinian militants to return them to their families for burial, the army said on Sunday, a move that could help ease some tension between the…
Yemen: Police chief assassinated
Daily Star 19 Jan 2014 Yemeni security officials say that an unidentified gunman shot and killed a police director in the southwest city of Taiz, the latest in a series of assassinations of the country’s security officers.
Egypt charter opens road for Sisi but youths alienated
Daily Star 19 Jan 2014 The approval of Egypt’s constitution bolsters the powerful army chief but a large number of youths who helped topple two presidents within three years shunned the vote on the new charter.
Saudi, UAE back Syria opposition vote to join peace talks
Daily Star 19 Jan 2014 Saudi Arabia and the UAE gave their backing Sunday to a decision by Syria’s main opposition to join peace talks in Switzerland, which both Gulf states said must lead to regime overthrow.
Israel frees prominent Hamas leader
Daily Star 19 Jan 2014 Israel released a prominent leader from Islamist movement Hamas on Sunday after he spent more than two years in prison, Palestinian officials said.
Italy lifts travel warning for Egypt resorts
Daily Star 19 Jan 2014 Italy on Sunday lifted a travel warning for Egyptian beach resorts imposed last year but continued to advise tourists to stay away from other parts of the country, saying there was still “instability and turbulence”.
ISIS ‘reaching out’ to Syria rebels: audio message
Daily Star 19 Jan 2014 The Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has reached out to other rebel groups in Syria to head off infighting, in an audio message posted online Sunday.
Officials: Iranian diplomat killed in Yemen
Daily Star 19 Jan 2014 Gunmen killed an Iranian diplomat in a drive-by shooting in Yemen’s capital Saturday, security and medical officials said, the latest attack on Iran’s diplomatic corps in the Middle East in recent months.
Death toll rises from violence in Lebanon’s Tripoli
Daily Star 19 Jan 2014 A woman is killed and at least 15 people, including three soldiers, are wounded in sniping fire in Tripoli amid growing fears of a renewal of hostilities between supporters and opponents of Assad in the northern…
Egypt charges secularists alongside Morsi in new case
Daily Star 19 Jan 2014 Deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi is to stand trial for insulting the judiciary alongside 24 liberal politicians who opposed his Islamist rule but have similarly fallen foul of the army-backed rulers, judicial sources said on Sunday.
UN: Iran accepts invitation to take part in Syrian peace conference
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – ….
Oh no, the world is angry with us
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – Op-ed: Israel has already learned that rushing into irresponsible agreements turns into an ongoing nightmare ….
Yad Vashem posthumously honors Polish woman
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – Maria Zurawska recognized as Righteous Among the Nations for agreeing to hide three Jews in her home during World War II just year after her husband was killed along with four Jews who he had sheltered ….
Palestinian’s body transferred to PA
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – ….
Russian Islamic video threatens Sochi Olympics
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – ….
Yemen: Police chief assassinated
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – ….
Jihadi group urges end to Syrian rebel infighting
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – ….
Jordan preparing for all options
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – Analysis: Abdullah-Netanyahu meeting had a lot to do with General al-Sisi’s war on Islamists in Egypt ….
From late response to preventative act
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – Keeping Hamas in charge of Gaza is, paradoxically, in Israel’s interest, as alternative rulers are more radical elements ….
Kiev Jews alarmed at rising anti-Semitism
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – Following series of anti-Semitic attacks in recent weeks, Ukrainian capital’s Jewish community demanding security protection from country’s authorities. ‘The situation is only getting worse,’ says community member ….
Hamas losing control of Gaza Strip
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – Analysis: The Gaza front is threatening to explode because of what intelligence officials refer to as ‘gang brawls over control of the neighborhood’ ….
Lebanon says spying device found near Israel border
YNet News, 18 Jan 2014 – Hezbollah affiliated media report device, suspected to be used for espionage, found near Israel-Lebanon border. Lebanon has blamed Israel in the past for esponiage ….
Rocket hits open area in Sha’ar Hanegev; none injured
YNet News, 18 Jan 2014 – Color red alert siren sounds in region. One hit detected in open area, no injuries reported. Rocket most likely launched from Gaza Strip ….
Jerusalem panel urges pressing Israel over settlements
YNet News, 18 Jan 2014 – Al-Quds Committee implores international community to bring Israel’s settlement construction in West Bank to stop. Halting construction ‘will create favorable context for pursuit of peace negotiations’ between Israel, PA, statement says ….
Hundreds rally in Tel Aviv, urging social justice
YNet News, 18 Jan 2014 – Protesters gather in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, to protest ‘rising housing prices, increasing poverty rates and widening social gaps’ ….
Hikers pay respects at Sharon’s grave
YNet News, 18 Jan 2014 – Israeli families visit former prime minister Ariel Sharon’s burial site in Negev to bid farewell to ‘adored, beloved leader’ ….
Report: Russia steps up military lifeline to Assad
YNet News, 18 Jan 2014 – In recent weeks Syria has received increased supply of military gear from Kremlin, as Putin tries to stamp Russian authority on post-Arab Spring Middle East; State Department official says if true, Kerry has great concerns about Russia’s new role ….
Iran gains access to 5% of global assets under Geneva accord
YNet News, 18 Jan 2014 – US official says nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran will free up $4.2 billion out of $100 billion in foreign exchange assets around the world, but warns businesses not to rush to deal with still-sanctioned country ….
Palestinian Information Center
Nunu warns the occupation of launching aggression on Gaza
PIC – Taher al-Nunu, the media adviser to the Palestinian Prime Minister, warned the Israeli occupation of continuing the military escalation on the Gaza Strip.
Khudari asks for int’l intervention to curb the Israeli military escalation
PIC – MP Jamal Al-Khudari, the head of the popular anti siege committee, has called on the international community to intervene and curb the escalating Israeli military attacks against the Gaza Strip.
J’lem committee demands int’l pressure curbing Israel’s Judaization of holy city
PIC – The Jerusalem committee called on the international community to save Jerusalem and its holy sites through pressuring Israel to stop its settlement and Judaization activities in the holy city.
UN: Impeding aid to refugee camp in Syria is war crime
PIC – The United Nations considered that impeding convoys bringing aid to the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria may amount to a war crime.
Hebrew Press: IOF arrests two Gazans
PIC – Israeli army forces arrested two Palestinians while trying to infiltrate from the Gaza Strip to 1948 occupied Palestine on Sunday, a Hebrew press report said.
10 Palestinians suffer breathing difficulty in confrontations with IOF in Jenin
PIC – Ten Palestinian citizens were treated for breathing difficulty in Anza village, south of Jenin, during confrontations with Israeli occupation forces (IOF) afternoon Sunday.
IOF kidnap 19 Palestinians in Nablus and Bethlehem
PIC – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have kidnapped 19 Palestinian citizens, mostly from their homes, in Nablus and Bethlehem cities.
Action group: Six Palestinians from Al-Yarmouk camp died, three of hunger
PIC – The action group for the Palestinians in Syria said Saturday that six Palestinian refugees were either killed or died of hunger in Al-Yarmouk refugee camp during the past 24 hours.
Hamas slams pro-settlement position of the Australian FM
PIC – Hamas movement denounced the position of the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that supports settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Captive Bahar refuses to go to Ramla prison hospital
PIC – Palestinian Prisoners’ Center for Studies said that the patient captive Amer Bahar, aged 31, still refuses to go to Ramla prison hospital, because of the bad conditions there.
Israel Arrests 15, Beat up 2 Teens in West Bank and Jerusalem
WAFA – 19 Jan 2014
Suffocation Cases in Israeli Raids on Jenin area
WAFA – 19 Jan 2014
Three Injured in Series of Israeli Attacks on Gaza
WAFA – 19 Jan 2014
Newspaper Review: Final Statement of Al-Quds Committee Meeting Focus of Dailies
WAFA – 19 Jan 2014
Israel to stop distributing gas masks to civilians
LA Times 19 Jan 2014 – JERUSALEM — With the dismantling of Syria’s chemical weapons underway, Israel will halt distribution of gas masks to civilians next month, the government announced Sunday.
Syria’s Assad uses the truce as latest weapon against rebels
LA Times 19 Jan 2014 – The Syrian government has been negotiating cease-fires in and around Damascus to bolster its position before the peace conference. BEIRUT — In the lead-up to the so-called Geneva II peace conference this week, the Syrian government has quietly pursued a campaign of truce-making with opposition-held…
Egyptian government opens new court cases against Morsi, others
LA Times 19 Jan 2014 – CAIRO — In a blunt new assertion of prosecutorial powers, Egyptian officials said Sunday that two dozen figures from across the political spectrum — deposed president Mohamed Morsi among them — would stand trial for insulting the judiciary.
Israeli forces attack Gaza in new round of cross-border violence
LA Times 19 Jan 2014 – JERUSALEM — Israeli airstrikes hit two Hamas training facilities in the Gaza Strip early Sunday after a rocket landed in Israeli territory, witnesses and security officials said. No injuries were reported.
Syria opposition group votes to attend peace conference
LA Times 18 Jan 2014 – BEIRUT — Despite deep divisions, the major U.S.-backed Syrian opposition bloc voted Saturday to participate in peace talks scheduled to begin next week in Switzerland, ending months of uncertainty about whether the group would attend the long-anticipated negotiations.
UN: Iran Invited to Attend Syrian Peace Conference
New York Times 19 Jan 2014 – The United Nations says Iran has been invited to attend a meeting of foreign ministers In Switzerland on Wednesday ahead of internationally brokered peace talks between Syria’s warring factions.
Factbox: EU to Ease Iran Sanctions Under Interim Deal
New York Times 19 Jan 2014 – Six world powers and Iran are expected to start implementing an interim nuclear deal on Monday, under which Tehran is due to curb its atom activity and the United States and the European Union are to ease some economic sanctions for six months.
UN Chief Ban Says Invites Iran to Syria Peace Talks
New York Times 19 Jan 2014 – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Sunday he had invited Iran to participate in Syria peace talks on January 22 in Montreux, Switzerland and that Tehran had pledged to play a “positive and constructive role” if it was asked to participate.
U.N. Chief Ban Says Invites Iran to Syria Peace Talks
New York Times 19 Jan 2014 – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Sunday he had invited Iran to participate in Syria peace talks on January 22 in Montreux, Switzerland and that Tehran had pledged to play a “positive and constructive role” if it was asked to participate.
Head of Syria Qaeda Branch Urges Rebels to Stop Infighting
New York Times 19 Jan 2014 – The head of an al Qaeda affiliate in Syria called in an audio message on Sunday for other rebel groups to stop attacking his fighters and instead join forces to defeat President Bashar al-Assad.
Israel Giving Back Remains of Palestinian Militants – Army
New York Times 19 Jan 2014 – Israel has begun to exhume the remains of a number of Palestinian militants to return them to their families for burial, the army said on Sunday, a move that could help ease some tension between the adversaries.
Iran Welcomes Start of Nuclear Deal
New York Times 19 Jan 2014 – Iranian leaders said they were encouraged not only by the prospect of economic relief with the lifting of some sanctions, but also by a possible end to the country’s political isolation.
Yemen: Police Chief Assassinated
New York Times 19 Jan 2014 – Yemeni security officials say that an unidentified gunman shot and killed a police director in the southwest city of Taiz, the latest in a series of assassinations of the country’s security officers.
Egypt: Former Official Under Fire for US Comments
New York Times 19 Jan 2014 – A former Egyptian lawmaker who threatened on a popular TV show that Americans would be “slaughtered in their homes” if an attempt is made on the life of the country’s military chief recanted on Sunday, saying his comments were misconstrued.
Analysis: Egypt Vote Muddles Political Outlook
New York Times 19 Jan 2014 – F
or all the self-congratulatory headlines in Egypt’s pro-military media, the results of last week’s constitutional referendum may have fallen short of the emphatic popular mandate the nation’s military chief was looking for before announcing his presidential run.
Former Algerian PM Announces Election Run
New York Times 19 Jan 2014 – A former Algerian prime minister has announced his candidacy for April’s presidential election.
Rights Group: Law Failing to Protect Child Brides
New York Times 19 Jan 2014 – Cultural traditions and a lack of legal protections are driving tens of millions of girls around the world into early marriage, subjecting them to violence, poverty and mistreatment, an international human rights group says.
Israeli Company to Unveil Laser Defense
New York Times 19 Jan 2014 – A state-owned Israeli arms company says it will unveil a new laser-defense system next month that will be capable of shooting down short-range rockets and mortar fire.
Intel Israel to fire only dozens
Globes Main News – Intel is reducing its workforce by 5% worldwide in 2014 but 4% of employees leave the company anyway in an average year.
Lapid refuses to condemn tax havens
Globes Main News – Finance Minister Yair Lapid refuses to condemn Israelis’ depositing money in tax havens.
Strauss, TPG in talks to float Strauss Coffee
Globes Main News – Leumi Capital Partners estimates the value of Strauss Coffee at NIS 5.6-7.2 billion, or $1.6-2.05 billion.
Gov’t seeks to declare major unions monopolies
Globes Main News – The government wants to give the Restraint of Trade Tribunal the authority to intervene in labor relations in cases that harm competition.
‘Scarlett letter’ — Social media pillory Johansson for representing settlement business SodaStream
Mondoweiss – Scarlett Letter (graphic: Rachele Richards @docr0cket )(click on image to enlarge) Actress Scarlett Johansson’s decision to represent SodaStream has already brought a shockwave of opposition– because SodaStream produces its seltzer-makers in a Jewish colony in the occupied West Bank. We’re expecting to see many creative responses…
Azrieli offers Sonol to Schmeltzer
Globes Energy & Water – Shlomo Schmeltzer reportedly visited Sonol, run by CEO Nir Galili, a former CEO of Shlomo Holdings.
Sharon’s journey was Israel’s journey– and what does that tell you
Mondoweiss – Sharon There is a social taboo on cursing the dead. But in the case of Ariel Sharon, there is a general consensus that he was a brutal thug and people are saying that openly. I struggle to say something about the man without betraying my utter…
Sun: Delek leads market losses
Globes Main News – Delek was deep in negative territory, Israel Chemicals fell on the day’s biggest turnover, and parent company Israel Corp also lost ground.
Zim to reduce workforce by 150
Globes Main News – The debt settlement at Zim includes early retirement for 150 employees, 50 of whom have already agreed terms.
Israel’s ’60 Minutes’ attributes success of boycott movement to unending settlement of West Bank
Mondoweiss – In “Boycott goes prime-time in Israel,” Larry Derner at +972 reports that the country’s leading news broadcast, Channel 2, covered the boycott movement in a fair manner, and attributed its growing success (it is damaging many Israeli businesses) not to anti-Semitism but to Israel’s policy of…
Israel’s castle
Mondoweiss – This is part of Marc H. Ellis’s “Exile and the Prophetic” feature for Mondoweiss. To read the entire series visit the archive page . Well the obvious is reported in today’s New York Times a– Israel has taken up a “castle” strategy. Why? Because the Middle East…
Fact-checking Jeffrey Goldberg: the American Jewish unanimity on Israel
Mondoweiss – Jeffrey Goldberg wrote yesterday about American Jewish unanimity on Israel: We live in an era during which the U.S. president (whom the majority of American Jews support) is in almost constant low-grade conflict with Israeli prime minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu. Such periods are never comfortable for…
IAI begins Arrow 3 production
Globes Aerospace & Defense – The system designed to intercept missiles in outer-space will become operational in 2015.
Rafael to unveil Iron Beam very-short-range defense system
Globes Aerospace & Defense – Rafael Advanced Defense Systems will unveil its Iron Beam laser air-defense system against rockets at next month’s Singapore Air Show.
Vigodman’s Teva CEO salary: $1.35m a year
Globes Main News – Bonuses could boost Erez Vigodman’s compensation to $4.1 million annually, not including options.
Netanyahu aide briefs US agencies on Israeli economy
Globes Main News – Harel Locker: We need to update the economic dialogue between our countries.
Leader sees higher chance of interest rate cut
Globes Main News – Leader Capital Markets: The latest economic data increase the chances of an interest rate cut in the coming months .
Leviathan seeks Turkish customers
Globes Energy & Water – The partners in Leviathan have distributed a request for offers for the purchase of 7-10 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually.
More on Mark Kleiman’s appeal to Jews to come out against Iran sanctions
Mondoweiss – Kleiman Yesterday I picked up UCLA professor Mark Kleiman’s appeal to Jews and people with Jewish-sounding names to write to their Senators as Jews in opposition to the Iran sanctions being pushed by the warmongering Israel lobby. I wrote that Kleiman and I agree that Jews…
Why Americans must see ‘When I Saw You’
Mondoweiss – For a long time it has been clear that the American love affair with Israel will not be altered by journalism or government or activism or scholarship, it will come down to art. Only great works of storytelling are going to break the spell, and last…
UN invites Iran to Syria peace talks
BBC 19 Jan 2014 – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon invites Iran to take part in preliminary Syrian peace talks this week in Switzerland, and Tehran says it will attend.
Call to end Syria rebel infighting
BBC 19 Jan 2014 – A call for reconciliation with rival Syrian rebels is reportedly made by an al-Qaeda linked group after fierce clashes left many dead.
Israel Prepares To Return Palestinian Remains To Families
The Foward Breaking News 19 Jan 2014 – Israel has begun to exhume the remains of a number of Palestinian militants to return them to their families for burial, the army said on Sunday, a move that could help ease some tension between the adversaries. Click here for the rest of the article…
Only One Chief Rabbi in Israel Under New Knesset Bill
The Foward Breaking News 19 Jan 2014 – A Knesset committee voted to approve a bill that would create one chief rabbi position instead of the current two. Click here for the rest of the article…
Assad: Quitting not up for debate
BBC 19 Jan 2014 – Syria’s President Assad is quoted as saying he has no intention of quitting, and the issue is not up for discussion at peace talks in Switzerland.
134 Congress Members Blast ASA for Boycotting Israeli Universities
The Foward Breaking News 19 Jan 2014 – A bipartisan slate of 134 U.S. Congress members wrote a letter to the American Studies Association protesting its decision last month to boycott Israeli universities. Click here for the rest of the article…
Egypt’s Morsi to face fourth trial
BBC 19 Jan 2014 – The ousted president of Egypt, Mohammed Morsi, is to face a fourth trial, this time on charges of insulting the judiciary.
Canadian Media Decries 200-Member Delegation Trip To Israel Paid for by Taxes
The Foward Breaking News 19 Jan 2014 – Israel geared up for a visit by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper as Canadian media decried the up to 200-member delegation traveling at taxpayer expense. Click here for the rest of the article…
Turkish Cleric in The Poconos Challenges Premier — Split Over Israel
The Forward New 19 Jan 2014 – A powerful leader who threatens to unseat Turkey’s premier is a onetime ally based in the Poconos. The cleric’s support for better ties with Israel may have sparked the split. Click here for the rest of the article…
Yarmouk Camp – Resistance Camp Needs to Reflect
Al-Akhbar Opinion 19 Jan 2014 – Palestinian women, who had been living at Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, wait outside the Lebanese immigration authority to have their papers stamped at the Lebanese-Syrian border, in al-Masnaa December 18, 2012. (Photo: REUTERS – Jamal Saidi). Palestinian women, who had been living at Yarmouk…
Outcome of Iranian nuclear deal to be decided in Washington
Al-Akhbar Opinion 19 Jan 2014 – Iranian boys play in park in the city of Bam following an earthquake 10 years ago that destroyed the historical citadel, a pre-Islamic desert structure that was the largest adobe monument in the world made of non-baked clay bricks, a thousand kilometres (600 miles) southeast of…
Lebanon: Trash Piles Up as Eco-Activists Fight Toxic Landfill
Al-Akhbar News 19 Jan 2014 – A woman walks past a large pile of garbage bags in Beirut’s southern suburbs on January 19, 2014. (Photo: Marwan Bou Haidar) Protesters gathered to demand the closure of a poorly-managed waste treatment facility for the third day in a row on Sunday, as trash continued…
Iraqi forces launch major assault on revel-held Anbar city
Al-Akhbar News 19 Jan 2014 – Iraqi soldiers sit in a street of the city of Ramadi, west of the capital Baghdad, on January 19, 2014 as they take part in a military operation against anti-government fighters. (Photo: AFP – Azher Shallal) Iraqi forces launched a major assault Sunday on a city…
Israel seeks to annex 13 percent of West Bank: report
Al-Akhbar News 19 Jan 2014 – Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told US Secretary of State John Kerry that he wants to annex a fourth bloc of the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, army radio reported on Sunday. Until now, Israel has always spoken of its intention to…
SNC to attend Geneva II talks, as Assad denies attributed comments
Al-Akhbar News 19 Jan 2014 – A handout picture released by the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) shows SNC president Ahmad Jarba speaking during a press conference on January 18, 2014 at a hotel in a suburb of Istanbul.(Photo: AFP /Syrian National Coalition Media) The deeply divided Syrian National Coalition finally agreed Saturday…
Israel air strikes on Gaza Strip injure two Palestinians, including one child
Al-Akhbar News 19 Jan 2014 – Israel said it carried out an air strike on Sunday against a Palestinian who it blamed for rocket attacks last week, and Palestinian medic
s said two people, including a 12-year-old, were wounded. The so-called “targeted attack” was intended against a man the Israeli military identified as…
Egypt constitution approved by 98 percent of voters, despite low turnout
Al-Akhbar News 19 Jan 2014 – Pro-Sisi Egyptians celebrate in Tahrir square after a new constitution was approved on January 18, 2014 in the capital Cairo. (Photo: AFP – Mahmoud Khaled) Egyptian voters have approved a new constitution by 98.1 percent, the elections chief said Saturday, in what the government declared a…
VIDEO: Iranians travel to Iraq for nightlife
BBC 19 Jan 2014 – Some young Iranians are travelling across the border to Iraq where nightclubs have been opening to meet the demand.
March 8 Reassures the Free Patriotic Movement: No Progress in Cabinet Negotiations Without Aoun’s Blessing
Al-Akhbar Politics 18 Jan 2014 – Meanwhile, March 8 sources did not deny the ambiguity surrounding the Free Patriotic Movement, saying, “General Aoun thinks that we have agreed with Hariri on more than the outline. (Photo: Al-Akhbar) Meanwhile, March 8 sources did not deny the ambiguity surrounding the Free Patriotic Movement, saying,…
March 8: No Cabinet Without Aoun’s Blessing
Al-Akhbar News 18 Jan 2014 – Meanwhile, March 8 sources did not deny the ambiguity surrounding the Free Patriotic Movement, saying, “General Aoun thinks that we have agreed with Hariri on more than the outline. (Photo: Al-Akhbar) Meanwhile, March 8 sources did not deny the ambiguity surrounding the Free Patriotic Movement, saying,…
Articles
Analysis: The Palestinian Capitalists that have gone too far
Al-Shabaka, Ma’an News Agency 1/19/2014
Al-Shabaka is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to educate and foster public debate on Palestinian human rights and self-determination within the framework of international law.
This policy brief is authored by Tariq Dana, an assistant professor of political science at Hebron University who focuses on the transformation of Palestinian civil society from mass-based movements to neoliberal-oriented NGOs.
While most Palestinians living under Israeli occupation are struggling to survive, a powerful group of Palestinian capitalists is thriving and growing in political, economic, and social influence.
The cost, all too often, is their engagement in economic normalization projects. In other words, they deal with the Israelis as though they were a “normal” business partner rather than an occupying power that has ruthlessly violated Palestinian rights for over 65 years.
In this policy brief, Al-Shabaka Policy Member Tariq Dana sheds light on the ways in which these Palestinian capitalists exercise political influence and social control and gives examples of the economic normalization projects in which they have engaged.
A Snapshot of Palestinian Capital
The presence of Palestinian businessmen in the political sphere predates the establishment of the Palestine Liberation Organization. After the PLO’s foundation, Palestinian capitalists played a variety of roles in the national liberation movement. Some PLO factions, particularly Fatah, saw the Palestinian capitalist class as a “national bourgeoisie” and as such an indispensable part of the anti-colonial struggle, and dealt with it accordingly. more.. e-mail
Operation Cast Lead five years on: ’We are still demanding justice’
Raji Sourani, Al Jazeera 1/19/2014
ICC should take concrete steps to ensure justice is served for the victims of Israel’s aggression in Gaza in 2008-2009.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s 22-day offensive (December 27-January 18) on the Gaza Strip. Sitting in Gaza today it is hard to believe that five years have passed.
The horrors of that offensive remain indelibly etched in the minds of all Gazans. For 22 days we were closed in and relentlessly attacked, while the world watched as war crimes were broadcast live on television. At the end of the offensive over 1,400 Palestinians were dead; 82 percent of them – the overwhelming majority – were innocent civilians. In January 2009, Gaza looked like the scene of a natural disaster. Its people stood numb and in shock. But in the middle of the destruction and the loss, there was hope.
We believed that the world had to react: Who can forget the sight of white phosphorous raining down over Gaza City, and the suffering and death it caused to our families? Who can forget the indiscriminate artillery bombardment, the drone attacks that killed only civilians and children, or the bulldozers and explosive charges that left the homes in the Gaza Strip in ruins? We believed that justice would be done for the innocent civilians, and those responsible would be held to account.
The report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Strip, confirmed our lawyers’ and fieldworkers’ findings: There was significant evidence indicating the widespread and systematic commission of war crimes in the Gaza Strip. The UN Mission concluded that Israel’s policies were premised on a “deliberate policy of disproportionate force”, aimed not at the enemy but at the “supporting infrastructure”, concluding that “[i]n practise, this appears to have meant the civilian population”. more.. e-mail
An ethnic cleansing project in Palestinian Triangle
Nicola Nasser, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 1/18/2014
When Israeli occupation’s government of Benjamin Netanyahu began to officially call Palestinians and Arabs to recognize it as a “Jewish state”, parties participating in the governing coalition started marketing the idea of “resident exchange”, in the same context of the PLO’s and the Arab League’s agreement on “land swap”, as an important first step that paves the way towards imposing “the Jewish identity” of the state as a reality on the groun
d and as something to use as bargain to annex the colonial settlements in the West Bank to the occupation state under the pretext of swapping it with part of the Palestinian Triangle to the proposed Palestinian state.
The occupation state succeeded in getting the United States to recognize it as a “Jewish State”.
U.S. President Harry Truman refused in 1948 to recognize the occupation state as a “Jewish state”. Instead, he recognized the “State of Israel” a few minutes after it was unilaterally announced by the Zionist movement. However, the current president, Barak Obama, just like his predecessor, George Bush, has turned against Truman’s rejection and against the American original recognition of the occupation state and has officially committed to its “Jewish identity”. Looking back at speeches and statements of Obama and his ministers as well as official comments for his administration in this regard, almost all of them designate it as a “Jewish State”.
Today, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who comes from Jewish origins, is the God father of interpreting the “Jewish identity” of the occupation state into reality on the ground, through the negotiations he is mediating in the name of his country.
On the seventh of December, in his speech at the Saban Centre at the Brookings Institution, Kerry said that demography drives in the State of the occupation represent “an existential threat” that “makes it impossible to maintain its future as a Jewish democracy.” more.. e-mail
Boycott goes prime-time in Israel
Larry Derfner, +972 Magazine 1/19/2014
The country’s number-one news show runs lengthy piece on the growing movement – and blames it not on anti-Semitism or Israel-bashing, but on settlements.
On Saturday night the boycott of Israel gained an impressive new level of mainstream recognition in this country. Channel 2 News, easily the most watched, most influential news show here, ran a heavily-promoted, 16-minute piece on the boycott in its 8 p.m. prime-time program. The piece was remarkable not only for its length and prominence, but even more so because it did not demonize the boycott movement, it didn’t blame the boycott on anti-Semitism or Israel-bashing. Instead, top-drawer reporter Dana Weiss treated the boycott as an established, rapidly growing presence that sprang up because of Israel’s settlement policy and whose only remedy is that policy’s reversal.
In her narration, Weiss ridicules the settlers and the government’s head-in-the-sand reaction to the rising tide. The segment from the West Bank’s Barkan Industrial Park opens against a background of twangy guitar music like from a Western. “To the world it’s a black mark, a symbol of the occupation,” she reads. “But here they insist it’s actually a point of light in the area, an island of coexistence that continues to flourish despite efforts to erase it from the map.” A factory owner who moved his business to Barkan from the other side of the Green Line makes a fool of himself by saying, “If the state would only assist us by boycotting the Europeans and other countries causing us trouble …” The Barkan segment ends with the manager of Shamir Salads saying that between the European and Palestinian boycott, he’s losing about $115,000 to $143,000 a month in sales. “In my view,” he says, “it will spread from [the West Bank] to other places in Israel that have no connection to the territories.” more.. e-mail
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The New Dark Age 