20 January 2014 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Ashrawi Denounces Statements of Australian FM
IMEMC – Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, strongly denounced statements made by Australian FM, Julie Bishop, who criticized what she called “European pressure on Israel’. …
Israel To Demolish Homes, Property In Jerusalem
IMEMC – [Sunday, January 19, 2014] Officials of the Jerusalem City Council, accompanied by dozens of soldiers and police officers, invaded Silwan town, in occupied East Jerusalem, and handed out orders targeting Palestinian homes and structures in the town. …
Kerry To Start New Tour
IMEMC – Israeli Deputy Defense Minister, Danni Dannon, stated Sunday that American Secretary of State John Kerry intends to travel to the region Monday for new rounds of talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials. …
Israelis ‘force bulldozer driver to damage road’ in Abu Dis
1/20/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — A Palestinian man whose bulldozer was seized by Israeli forces two weeks ago was forced to dig up a road in the village of Abu Dis in order to get it back, the man told Ma’an. A native of Eizariya village east of Jerusalem, Badr Dahdoul was removing roadblocks from a road near al-Quds University in Abu Dis two….
Villagers, settlers clash in Nablus village
1/20/2014 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Palestinian villagers and Israeli settlers clashed on Monday in Beit Furik village east of Nablus. A PA official who monitors settler activity in the northern West Bank, Ghassan Daghlas, told Ma’an that dozens of Israeli settlers raided the eastern neighborhood of the village. He said they attempted to break into houses and throw stones at them. Settler attacks against….
Security source: Rocket hits outskirts of Israel’s Eilat resort
1/20/2014 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — At least one rocket struck the outskirts of Israel’s southern Red Sea resort of Eilat on Monday, a security source said.” At least one rocket was fired at Eilat and they found the remains on the outskirts of the city,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding the searches were continuing. Neither the police nor the army could confirm….
Israel frees prominent Hamas leader after 2 years in jail
1/20/2014 – BEITUNIYA (AFP) — Israel released a prominent leader from Hamas on Sunday after he spent more than two years in prison, Palestinian officials said. Hassan Yousef, who is also a member of the Ramallah-based Palestinian Legislative Council, told reporters after his release he would work with Hamas rivals “Fatah and other Palestinian factions to achieve reconciliation.” Dozens of Hamas supporters received Yousef at Beituniya, near Ofer….
Israeli troops detain 2 teenage shepherds
1/20/2014 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces denied Palestinian shepherds in the southern West Bank access to their lands on Monday and detained two teenage shepherds. A spokesman for the local committee against the Israeli wall and settlements in the south Hebron district told Ma’an that Israeli troops stopped several shepherds from Um el-Kher village east of Yatta while they were steering their herds….
Protesters back UNRWA employees in Bethlehem demo
1/20/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A demonstration was held on Monday in Bethlehem to pressure the UN’s Palestine refugee agency into responding to the demands of employees who have been on strike for almost 50 days. Participants in the demonstration, which was called for by the union of local UNRWA employees, marched through the alleys of the refugee camps in Bethlehem and raised black….
Locals: Palestinian youth arrested in Hebron
1/20/2014 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Monday arrested a young Palestinian man in Hebron. Ahmad Adel al-Salayma, 20, was detained at a checkpoint near the Ibrahimi mosque before he was arrested, locals said. [END]
Thousands lay Jenin man to rest 12 years after death
1/20/2014 – JENIN (Ma’an) — Thousands of Palestinian on Monday participated in the funeral procession of Majdi Khanfar, whose remains were handed over by Israel 12 years after his death. Mourners raised Palestinian flags and some fired shots in the air as he was laid to rest in his village of Silat al-Dhahir in the West Bank’s Jenin district. Jenin governor Talal Dweikat said….
Nablus children collect $33,000 for Syria camp
1/21/2014 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — A group of Palestinian children in Nablus district managed to collect around $33,000 in donations for the besieged Yarmouk camp in Syria. The group of children opened the donation boxes they used in public after a week of fundraising in Nablus. Nablus governor Jibril al-Bakri praised the actions of the children on behalf of the Yarmouk camp. Al-Bakri thanked individuals and….
Investigation into PA ambassador’s death to finish by end of month
1/20/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Investigations into the death of the Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic Jamal al-Jamal, who died earlier this month, are expected to conclude within the next two weeks. The Undersecretary of the Palestinian Authority foreign ministry, Taysir Jaradat, told Ma’an that there are no clear suspects yet, but he expects the investigations to be finished by the end of….
Canadian prime minister visits Bethlehem, Ramallah
1/20/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Bethlehem and Ramallah on Monday as part of a four-day visit to the Holy Land. Harper met with President Abbas in Ramallah, where he was received in an official ceremony. Abbas and Harper inspected the honor guard as delegations from both sides met. A Canadian business delegation accompanied Harper and will meet with their Palestinian….
Abbas: No Israeli presence in future Palestinian state
1/20/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that there will be no official Israeli presence in the future Palestinian state, rejecting demands that Israeli forces retain military bases as part of a peace agreement.”We want an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital that includes all the lands that were occupied in 1967 and that lives side by side with Israel….
Senior Islamic Jihad leader dies of heart attack in Gaza
1/20/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A senior Islamic Jihad military leader died Monday in Gaza City, the group said. Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, the Al-Quds Brigades, announced the death of Yasser al-Jaabari in a statement, saying he died suddenly from a heart attack without providing further details. [END]
Report: 3 dead in gas leak explosion in Israeli settlement
1/20/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A gas leak caused a massive explosion that destroyed a residential building in the Israeli settlement of Gilo on Sunday night, killing three and injuring at least 15, according to Israeli media reports. Israeli news site Ynet reported that a couple and their young child were killed when the apartment building they live in was rocked by the large explosion, whose….
PA anti-drugs unit seizes cocaine, arrests 17 suspects
1/21/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian anti-narcotics unit on Monday seized quantities of drugs and arrested 17 people accused of distributing them in Nablus, the city’s governor said. Abdullah Kamil told Ma’an that 220 grams of cocaine and different quantities of other drugs were seized. Kamil said that it was part of a campaign to fight drugs, arrest distributors, battle addiction….
Second batch of aid enters Syria’s Yarmouk camp
1/21/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — A second batch of medical supplies and food entered the besieged Yarmouk refugee camp on Monday, a leader of a pro-regime Palestinian faction said. Hussam Arafat of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command said that 550 baskets of food, children’s formula, and medical supplies entered the camp while a number of sick and elderly people were….
Egypt charter opens road for Sisi but youths alienated
1/20/2014 – CAIRO (AFP) — 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. Egyptian voters have approved the Tuesday-Wednesday referendum by 98. 1 percent, officials announced Saturday, and the results are seen as nod to General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to run for president….
US envoy says Iran must back Syria interim government
1/20/2014 – UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — US ambassador to the United Nations Samanth Power said Monday that Iran must “explicitly” back an international call for a transitional government in Syria to take part in peace talks this week.”Iran still has yet to demonstrate its willingness to explicitly and publicly subscribe to the full implementation of the Geneva communique that is a minimum requirement for participation in this….
NGO: Car bombs on Syria-Turkey border post kill 16
1/20/2014 – BEIRUT (AFP) — A double suicide car bombing at the Bab al-Hawa border post between Syria and Turkey on Monday killed at least 16 people, including six rebels, a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, updating an earlier toll, said 20 people were wounded as one car detonated at a checkpoint just outside the crossing and another inside the post. [END]
International Solidarity Movement
Peaceful protest ends in deportation and imprisonment
1/20/2014 – International Solidarity Movement – International Solidarity Movement, Occupied Palestine – On Saturday 18th January during a peaceful protest in the Jordan Valley, 19-year-old Ahmad Walid Atatreh, a Palestinian activist and 24-year-old Sven W, a German activist who lives in Switzerland, were arrested and beaten after a march held in Jiftlik Adam Junction. Ahmad is a law student, studying at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem. The march in Jiftlik was organized in protest against a legislation bill recently approved….
PHOTOS: Rally to save sick prisoner Ibrahim Bitar follows Gaza sit-in for detainees
1/20/2014 – International Solidarity Movement – International Solidarity Movement, Gaza Team, Gaza, Occupied Palestine – Dozens of Palestinians joined a rally organized by the Popular Campaign to Save the Life of the Captive Patient Ibrahim Bitar outside the International Committee of the Red Cross’ Gaza office this morning. The gathering followed a weekly sit-in by families and supporters of Palestinian detainees that has been held in the ICRC courtyard every Monday morning….
Six arrests in three days in South Hebron Hills
1/20/2014 – International Solidarity Movement – Operation Dove, Hebron, Occupied Palestine – Between January 18-20, four Palestinians and two Operation Dove (OD) volunteers were arrested by the Israeli police and army while Palestinian shepherds were grazing their flocks. On January 18 at 1:04 p. m. seven settlers came out from the illegal outpost of Havat Ma’on (Hill 833), entered the Humra valley while two of them crossed the….
Iraq: Dialogue in Iraq, progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks vital for Middle East, Ban says
Relief Web 20 Jan 2014 – Source: UN News Service Country: Iraq, occupied Palestinian territory 20 January 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on Iraq’s political leaders to enter inclusive talks in the face of rising conflict and warned that failure to make progress in…
occupied Palestinian territory: So near and yet so far: Implications of Israeli-Imposed Seclusion of Gaza Strip on Palestinians’ Right to Family Life
Relief Web 19 Jan 2014 – Source: Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories Country: Israel, occupied Palestinian territory Joint report by Hamoked and B’Tselem, January 2014 After the 1967 occupation, Israel enabled Palestinians to travel relatively freely between the West Bank, the…
Syrian Arab Republic: Polio this week – as of 15 January 2014
Relief Web 19 Jan 2014 – Source: Global Polio Eradication Initiative Country: Afghanistan, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, occupied Palestinian territory, Pakistan, Somalia, Syrian Arab Republic Polio this week The data table below is as of 15 January 2014 In Syria,…
US and UN scramble to salvage Syrian peace talks
The National 20 Jan 2014 – Syrian opposition threatens to stay away unless Ban Ki-moon’s invitation to Tehran to attend Geneva 2 talks is rescinded.
Bodies of Palestinian fighters to be exhumed by Israel
The National 20 Jan 2014 – In a move that might ease tensions, the Israeli army has said that the remains of Palestinian fighters killed while carrying out attacks on Israelis will be exhumed and returned to their families for burial.
Al Qaeda-linked militants in Fallujah have enough weapons to “occupy Baghdad”
The National 20 Jan 2014 – Amid a series of bombings in Iraq, the country’s deputy interior minister says that Al Qaeda-linked militants in the city of Fallujah have been reinforced and threaten the capital.
Taliban bomb attack in Rawalpindi kills 13
The National 20 Jan 2014 – A Taliban suicide bomber killed at least 13 people in a market next to Pakistan’s military headquarters on Monday, a day after one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in recent years.
Saudi Arabia doubles number of citizens in private sector jobs
The National 20 Jan 2014 – The labour ministry said the increase of 750,000 jobs over the past 30 months only included those who had remained in the workforce, but that around 500,000 others had taken jobs and then left.
Iran invite sparks threat of opposition pulling out of Syria peace talks
The National 20 Jan 2014 – The United Nations on Sunday invited Iran to attend this week’s Syria peace conference, provoking a pull-out threat from the opposition and a warning from the United States.
Indian minister Shashi Tharoor testifies in inquiry into wife’s ‘sudden and unnatural’ 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”.
Shift in political climate brings GCC tourists back to Iran
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.
Ancient train line to Damascus rediscovered in Israel
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
The greatest oxymoron in U.S. sports? Jews and professional ice hockey
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Dana International, pop diva: ‘I am the Israeli Cher’
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Israeli army shelling out NIS 100m a year to rent extra office space
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
UN retracts Iran invitation to Syria talks
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Israeli leaders heading to Davos – to talk peace
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Couple and 2-year-old killed in Jerusalem gas explosion, police suspect negligence
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Reverse Nazi salute costs English soccer team sponsorship
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Blast heard in southern city of Eilat, Israeli security forces suspect rocket fire
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
MKs accuse Netanyahu of power grab in raising electoral threshold
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
ABC exec: New talent show’s app has Mossad edge
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
U.S. lawmakers raise safety concerns about Olympics
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Harper tells Knesset: Anti-Zionism is the new face of anti-Semitism
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
The fiery theology – and inconclusive archaeology – behind Sodom and Gomorrah
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Israeli parents fighting to bring surrogate babies home from Thailand
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Ex-UN watchdog: Iran 2-3 weeks from nuclear bomb
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Letter to the Editor: B’nai B’rith wants to set the record straight on Latin American aid
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Settlements prompt European investors to rethink ties with Israeli banks
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Settlers sue Bedouin over outdoor oven fueled by livestock manure
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
‘X Factor’ winner to quit caregiving for crooning, report says
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Islamist group claims Volgograd attacks, threatens Olympics
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
U.S.-born professor wins Israel Prize for Talmud research
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
America’s rehash of Vietnam-style ‘peace with honor’ – now starring Iran
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
‘We love Elton John,’ Putin says amid anti-gay claims
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Canada’s Foreign Ministry on eve of Harper visit: Settlements are illegal, obstacle to peace
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Palestinian official condemns Australia’s FM for questioning illegality of Israeli settlements
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Killing off the Rabbinate won’t solve Israel’s Jewish conflicts
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Israeli autistic kids suspended from school too often, parents say
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
The Ariel Sharon we didn’t want to remember
Ha’aretz – 20 Jan 2014
Education for persecution
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Israel: More legitimate than you thought
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
High-school teacher faces dismissal for expressing leftist views in class
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
AG: Investigation of high-ranking police officer to continue
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Israeli expert seeks ethics code for cyber warfare
Ha’aretz – 19 Jan 2014
Obama: Odds of reaching final Israeli-Palestinian peace deal 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
Regev: NGOs using migrants to undermine Jewish state
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Right-wing MKs accuse left of trying to undermine Israel’s Jewishness by supporting African migrants’ protests.
Edelstein presents ‘P2P’ peace parameters
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Knesset Speaker says philosophy includes parliament to parliament relationship; says nonetheless says current PA not a partner for peace.
IDF ‘cyber commanders’ emerge as digital dangers grow
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Graduates of course go on to join all branches of the military – the air force, navy, ground forces, and general staff.
US successfully pressures UN to rescind Iran invite to Syria peace talks
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – A surprised US demands that Ban rescind invitation, as Syrian opposition threatens to nix talks; American official: Iran does not have ‘any place’ at Geneva II.
Cynicism as foreign policy: Obama’s defense secretary speaks
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – American foreign policy should project strength, resolve and predictability. Sadly, as Robert Gates confirms, President Obama reflects none of these.
Borderline Views: What secret does Kerry have in store for us?
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – If the pro-peace camp take on the struggle with the same messianic zeal that the settlers and the peace spoilers have displayed until now, perhaps there is still a small ray of light at the end of this long, dark tunnel.
Beyond exodus: Christian faith and the American Revolution
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Let us face this reality with honesty, grace and a sense of history not distorted by an out-of-date and insecure apologetic stance.
Judged, shunned and excluded
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – The BDS movement is a powerful network, but I believe the global collaboration of the State of Israel and Jewish world can face this challenge successfully.
Gaza escalation
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – A Hamas-enforced cease-fire, after all, is preferable to a situation of quasi-anarchy in which terrorist organizations like Islamic Jihad attack Israel with impunity.
Gaga about dancing
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Two years ago, Naharin taught a similar mass class to raise money for tsunami victims in the Far East.
The Holocaust shall never repeat itself
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Both Jerusalem and Nanjing have their own museums, such as Yad Vashem and the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre. The aim of these memorials was not to call for revenge, but for peace – and to prevent our peoples from repeating history.
A taste of what’s to come
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – The newest season of ‘Master Chef’ is chock-full of competitors with incredible life stories and the willpower to battle it out in the kitchen to the end.
Blasts heard in Eilat, security forces looking for fallen rockets
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Police, IDF investigating the source of blasts; Israeli media reports 2 rockets fired, but none found so far.
The complexities of Jewish identity
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Jews from different parts of the world have different attitudes, outlooks and cultures, yet share a common Jewish humanity and heritage.
Italian researchers monitoring Tower of David seismic activity
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Team has begun running a structural health monitoring system on the Jerusalem building.
China and KKL-JNF partner-up to combat environmental issues
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – World chairman of KKL-JNF Efi Stenzler will visit China later this year to meet with government officials.
Knesset producing film to fight anti-circumcision laws
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – PACE secretary-general calls motion limiting minority rights dangerous; MK Shai plans to screen pro-circumcision short in PACE committee meeting.
Netanyahu pours cold water on interim nuclear agreement on its first day
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Netanyahu: deal does not stop Iran from creating nuclear weapons; int’l community should demand Iran stop arming terror groups in region.
Israel Navy vessel overturns at sea off the coast of Gaza
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Navy temporarily freezes activity of patrol boats until investigation into incident is complete; no sailors hurt.
Harper announces $66 million aid program for Palestinian Authority
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Canadian premier makes announcement in Ramallah; funds to help advance peace, promote security, deliver humanitarian aid.
Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel appeals mega-housing project in Sharon area
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – 23,000 housing units on former IMI land would disrupt over 373 species of, SPNI says.
US begins Iran sanctions relief, sees tough talks ahead
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Washington stresses it will continue aggressive enforcement of sanctions that remain in place as interim deal implemented.
Harper: Through fire and water, Canada will stand with you
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Canadian PM met with many standing ovations, but in the end, was treated like family and interrupted by Arab MKs who relegated him to the Likud’s benches.
Doubt cast on Syria summit after UN invites Iran
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Surprised US demands Ban rescind invitation as Syrian opposition threatens to nix talks; US: Iran doesn’t have “any place” at Geneva II.
UN’s last-minute Iran invitation throws Syria talks into doubt
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Syrian opposition sets deadline for invite withdrawal; Assad announces intention to run for re-election.
Moving the goalposts
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – A dozen visits to the Middle East by Kerry, 24 rounds of talks between the principal negotiators – and yet a final status agreement remains way beyond reach.
Islamic law takes hold in northern Syria: Singing, smoking and pictures banned
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Al-qaida linked group has imposed sweeping restrictions in northern province of Raqqa.
Bennett: A Palestinian state will destroy Israel’s economy
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – Livni says Bennett “must decide if he represents all Israeli citizens or just residents of isolated settlements.”
Israel can’t afford the EU’s economic incentives
Jerusalem Post 20 Jan 2014 – The required quid pro quo would be ruinous to security, and without security, no economy can function.
Thorny Path Toward Syrian Peace Process
IPS The Syrian independence flag flies over a large gathering of protesters in Idlib. Credit: Freedom House/cc by 2.0 By Gustavo Capdevila GENEVA, Jan 18 2014 (IPS) The future of the complex armed conflict in Syria, which involves religious and ethnic factors as well as pressures from neighbouring countries and the…
Israeli police re-arrest a recently freed Palestinian prisoner
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 19, 2014 – Israeli police detained a recently released Palestinian prisoner over allegedly “unpaid taxes” on Sunday, he served in Israeli prison for over 20 years. Mahmoud Daajnah, a 66-year-old veteran prisoner who was released three weeks ago as…
Israeli Settlers torch mosque in price-tag attack
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 19, 2014 – Before dawn on Wednesday 15 January, Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in the West Bank village of Deir Istiya, in the Salfit district. The attack came in retaliation for the public humiliation of several…
How Not to Be in Solidarity with Palestinians Refugees in Yarmouk
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 19, 2014- I ve been reporting on the plight of Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk since July and August of 2012 and its good to see these concerns being written about in the main stream media and voiced by more…
Tripoli declares state of emergency in Libya s south
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 19, 2014- Libya s oil-rich south has sunk deeper into chaos after tribal and ethnic fighting prompted the government in Tripoli to declare a state of emergency at the weekend and dispatch fighter jets to the region. Ali Zeidan,…
Israel s Military Prosecution Denies Parents Right to Accompany Children
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 19, 2014 – Israeli soldiers severely beat Hendi S, 17, after arresting him on Sept. 19 on suspicion of stone throwing, according to his affidavit, and one of them burned his arm with a cigarette. Israel s military prosecution…
Maliki blames diabolical Arab countries for Iraq protracted crisis
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 19, 2014 -BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki blamed “diabolical” and “treacherous” Arab countries for a protracted surge in nationwide violence in a speech on Sunday, but stopped short of naming individual countries.The premier said suicide bombers were coming…
Who elected them?
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 19, 2014- Who elected Daniel Ellsberg and The New York Times to take it upon themselves to reveal thousands of pages of the top secret Pentagon Papers to the American public? Who elected Dana Priest and her still-unknown source(s)…
Fallujah witnesses the largest displacement of families due to army random bombardment
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 19, 2014 –The city of Falluja, is currently witnessing the largest mass exodus of families due to the random shelling conducted by the army .NINA reporter said :”The city of Fallujah has seen this morning major displacement, not seen…
Chris Hedges | What Obama Really Meant Was…
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 19, 2014 – Remarks by the President on Review of Signals Intelligence(if he had told the truth) . Department of Injustice, Washington, D.C., 11:15 a.m. EST. THE PRESIDENT: A small, secret surveillance committee of goons and thugs hiding behind the…
Video: Andy Worthington and Jason Leopold Discuss Guantánamo in Anaheim, California on January 16, 2014
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 19, 2014 – …I don t want to give too much away from Jason s talk, as it s a great account of how sad and surreal it is to visit Guantánamo. This was apparent from the very beginning,…
In Extra-Judicial Execution Attempt, Israeli Drone Targets Motorbike Wounding Member of Palestinian Armed Group and Child in North Gaza
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 19, 2014 – In an extra-judicial execution attempt, on Sunday morning, 19 January 2014, an Israeli drone fired a missile at a motorbike that was being ridden by an activist of the al-Quds Brigades (the armed wing of Islamic…
Operation Cast Lead five years on: We are still demanding justice
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 19, 2013 – 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…
Why is criticism of Zionism censored?
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 19, 2014 -On a rainy and miserably cold evening last month I attended the opening ceremony for the Bethlehem Unwrapped programme, a major interactive art installation in the middle of St. James Church courtyard in central London. The installation…
Hebron schoolgirl says Israeli soldier threatened to kill her
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 18,2014 — An Israeli soldier threatened to kill a Palestinian girl in Hebron on Wednesday.Asil Jabir, a pupil at Taysir Maraqa preparatory school, said that she was heading to school with some of her friends when a female Israeli…
Syria News – January 18, 2014 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 18, 2014-By the end of Saturday the Coordination Committees were able to document 131 martyrs including 20 children, 9 women and 3 martyrs under torture: 69 martyrs were reported in Aleppo; 28 in Damascus and its Suburbs; 13 in…
U.S. court rejects former Guantanamo detainee s damages claim
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 18, 2014 – A former detainee at the U.S. naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has failed to persuade a federal appeals court to let him sue the U.S. government for damages stemming from his treatment during seven years…
Military Resistance 12A14 Vampires
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 18, 2014 – Several children have tested positive for elevated levels of lead in their blood at Fort Polk, La., post officials confirmed to North Fort residents during a Dec. 19 town hall meeting. Houses at North Fort have…
Turkey shifts toward Iran on Syria
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 18, 2014- What s going on between Iran and Turkey? Questions are being raised by allies before enemies. The two neighboring, former Islamic empires were thought to be parting with many of their differences over the Syrian crisis, which…
Aid enters besieged Damascus camp of Yarmouk
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 18, 2014 – Aid has reached the besieged Palestinian camp of Yarmouk in the Syrian capital Damascus for the first time in months, Palestinian officials say. Some 18,000 Palestinian refugees in the camp have not seen an aid delivery…
Yarmouk and the fallacy of neutrality
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 18, 2014- ….Connected to the fallacy of neutrality is the focus on Palestinians as if they could be detached from the reality they have been part of, for several generations in many cases. Despite their strong sense of identity…
Syria opposition votes to attend Geneva II peace talks
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – Syria s main political opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), has agreed to attend next week s so-called Geneva II peace talks, to be held in Montreux, Switzerland. US Secretary of State John Kerry welcomed the decision, taken at…
Afghanistan: US airstrike killed at least 14 civilians, including women and children
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 18, 2014- A delegation of the Afghan officials including parliament members, who were assigned by president Karzai to investigate the US airstrike in northern Parwan province of Afghanistan, has revealed at least 14 civilians were killed in the air…
MoD s drones PR offensive continues as UK commits to a drone filled future
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 18, 2014- As we reported, in December the MoD began a PR offensive on the UK s use of drones by inviting selected members of the press to RAF Waddington in order that the MoD could correct the “wild…
Israeli Military Law: A Tool to Legitimize Oppression and Injustice
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 18, 2014- …Separation of powers, a fundamental democratic principle, does not exist in the Israeli military law system. Instead, an Israeli military commander has legislative, judicial and executive authority over the occupied Palestinian territory. An Israeli military commander unilaterally…
An ethnic cleansing project in Palestinian Triangle
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 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…
Obama defends police state spying
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 18, 2014-In a speech at the Justice Department Friday, President Barack Obama issued an unqualified defense of the National Security Agency (NSA) and the US government s police state surveillance of the American people and countless millions around the…
The Reality of Legal Assistance in the Occupation s Military Courts
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 18, 2014- Exacerbated by the Oslo negotiations beginning in 1993, Palestinian civil society organizations are constantly navigating the contradictions of providing services to the community while retaining basic political principles. The agreements signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and…
“Secret Information”: Giving Up Your Life for a Vicious Lie
Uruknet 20 Jan 2014 – January 18, 2014 – …Obama s speech on the NSA and surveillance is a lengthy paean to the crucial importance of “secret information.” The entire “intelligence” industry is founded on the belief that “secret information” is an absolute necessity for…
Syrian opposition to attend peace talks
Daily Star 20 Jan 2014 The main Western-backed Syrian opposition group says it will attend peace talks in Switzerland after the United Nations withdrew an invitation to Iran.
UN withdraws Iran invitation to Syria talks
Daily Star 20 Jan 2014 The U.N. secretary-general withdrew his invitation to Iran to join this week’s Syria peace talks, saying he is “deeply disappointed” by Iran’s statements Monday.
Iran says won’t join Syria talks if required to accept 2012 deal
Daily Star 20 Jan 2014 Iran’s U.N. ambassador on Monday issued Tehran’s most unambiguous statement so far on Iranian participation in this week’s peace talks on Syria, saying that Iran will definitely not take part if it is required to accept…
Syria opposition awaits UN stance before decision on peace talks
Daily Star 20 Jan 2014 The exiled Syrian opposition said Monday it would await an expected statement from UN chief Ban Ki-moon about Iran’s attendance at peace talks this week before making a final decision to join.
Car bombs on Syria-Turkey border post kill 16: monitor
Daily Star 20 Jan 2014 A double suicide car bombing at the Bab al-Hawa border post between Syria and Turkey on Monday killed at least 16 people, including six rebels, a monitoring group said.
Kerry to see Israeli envoys in push for peace deal
Daily Star 20 Jan 2014 Secretary of State John Kerry is to meet with Israel’s top negotiators as he steps up his push get Israel and the Palestinians to agree to a framework for an elusive peace deal that would end…
Rocket hits outskirts of Israel’s Eilat resort: security
Daily Star 20 Jan 2014 At least one rocket struck the outskirts of Israel’s southern Red Sea resort of Eilat on Monday, a security source told AFP.
Al Qaeda offshoot imposes strict Islamic rules in north Syria
Daily Star 20 Jan 2014 A group linked to al Qaeda, emboldened by its recent victory over rival rebels in Syria, has imposed sweeping restrictions on personal freedoms in the northern province of Raqqa as it seeks to consolidate control over…
Iran says will attend Syria talks, rejects conditions
Daily Star 20 Jan 2014 Iran will attend Syrian peace talks this week in Switzerland but without preconditions, foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham told the official IRNA news agency.
Ban considering ‘options’ for Syria peace conference: UN
Daily Star 20 Jan 2014 UN leader Ban Ki-moon is “dismayed” by actions by Iran and other parties invited to this week’s Syria peace conference and is considering “options” on the future of the talks, his spokesman said Monday.
Iran nuclear deal does not halt its bomb bid: Israel PM
Daily Star 20 Jan 2014 An international agreement to halt Iran’s nuclear programme, which went into force Monday, will not halt Tehran from pursuing its bid to build military atomic capability, Israel’s prime minister said.
Canada sanctions on Iran to stay ‘fully in place’: Harper
Daily Star 20 Jan 2014 Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday said Ottowa’s sanctions on Iran would remain “fully in place” as an interim nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran took effect.
US envoy says Iran must back Syria interim government
Daily Star 20 Jan 2014 US ambassador to the United Nations Samanth Power said Monday that Iran must “explicitly” back an international call for a transitional government in Syria to take part in peace talks this week.
Sinai: Islamic Jihad’s alternative launching pad
YNet News, 20 Jan 2014 – In light of increasing rocket fire at Israel’s south, a more extensive Israeli response is expected. Ynet commentator Ron Ben-Yishai maps out State’s strategies vis-?-vis understandings with Hamas, agreements with Egypt ….
Economy can’t grow without peace
YNet News, 20 Jan 2014 – Op-ed: Israel’s business leaders have finally realized they cannot let the last chance for a peace agreement go down the drain ….
Report: Lawyers see war crimes charges for Syrian officials
YNet News, 20 Jan 2014 – ….
Rocket hits Eshkol Regional Council; none injured
YNet News, 20 Jan 2014 – ….
Syrian opposition says it will attend peace talks in Geneva
YNet News, 20 Jan 2014 – ….
UN’s Ban withdraws Iran’s invite to Syria peace talks
YNet News, 20 Jan 2014 – ….
Iran’s UN envoy: Iran will not participate in syria peace talks
YNet News, 20 Jan 2014 – ….
Women demand to take Rabbinate exams
YNet News, 20 Jan 2014 – Chief Rabbi Lau receives appeals from women seeking recognition of their halachic knowledge by taking ordination tests just like men ….
Jewish Democrats’ surrender on Iran
YNet News, 20 Jan 2014 – Op-ed: It seems Jewish Democratic senators will choose President Obama’s agenda every time over Israel’s survival, and are even willing in the process to throw the Jewish state under the bus ….
Poland plans tourist route through Jewish towns
YNet News, 20 Jan 2014 – Historians’ effort to include both on-the-ground sightseeing guides available in late 2015, online tours with 3-D recreations of synagogues and other places that were destroyed in World War II ….
Obama pragmatic, pessimistic on future of Mideast
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – American president expresses doubts about his three most significant Middle East interventions, but believes any progress is positive, even as Israeli forces try to torpedo talks ….
Bloodied Syria, resurgent Iran to dominate at Davos
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – Iranian President Hassan Rohani tops the bill of more than 40 leaders and 2,000 of the world’s most powerful economic players expected at the mountainside gathering in the annual shindig that starts Tuesday. ….
Minister: French teens go to Syria for Jihad
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – Group of teens left to join jihadi groups in Syria, France interior minister says, suggesting that many expected to join ….
Gaza media air video purportedly documenting IAF strike
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – Video shows blast, which Gaza sources say was result of IDF’s Sunday airstrike on Gaza, in retaliation for rocket fire on Israel’s south ….
Israel transferring 36 bodies to Palestinian families
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – In deal that was repeatedly denied by government officials, Israel is transferring bodies, remains of terrorists to their families, as gesture unrelated to talks ….
Canadian PM arrives in Israel for four-day visit
YNet News, 19 Jan 2014 – Stephen Harper lands in Israel, meets with PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who hails Canadian premier as ‘great friend’ to Jewish state ….
Palestinian Information Center
Israeli soldier shoots, seriously wounds Palestinian youth
PIC – An Israeli soldier fired at a Palestinian young man near a settlement in Tarqumiya village, Al-Khalil province, and seriously wounded him at noon Monday.
Israeli intelligence officers break into Aqsa Mosque
PIC – A group of 20 Israeli intelligence officers broke into the Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Monday morning via the Maghareba gate.
Resheq holds Israel responsible for safety of hunger striking MP Yasser Mansour
PIC – Member of Hamas’s political bureau Ezzat Al-Resheq held Israel fully responsible for the safety of MP Yasser Manousr, who recently started hunger strike in protest at detaining him administratively.
30 Palestinians died in Syria last week
PIC – Working group for the Palestinians in Syria stated that 30 Palestinian refugees died in Syria during the past week, including 12 who died of hunger in the Yarmouk refugee camp.
Family of paralyzed captive appeals for his release
PIC – The family of paralyzed captive Mansour Mokadi, from the town of Zawia in the west of Salfit, called for saving the life of its son and releasing him from the Israeli jails.
Kerry to revisit occupied Palestine today
PIC – Danny Danon said that US secretary of state John Kerry intends to visit the region on Monday to table a documents of understandings during his meeting with the Palestinians and Israelis.
Settlers attack religious shrine in al-Khalil
PIC – Groups of settlers, protected by Israeli occupation forces, stormed a religious shrine in the town of Bani Naim, south al-Khalil city, and smashed its doors and windows.
MP Yousuf: The prisoners suffer from Israel’s racist practices in its jails
PIC – Palestinian lawmaker Hasan Yousuf said that the Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons suffer from the arbitrary and racist policies pursued by Israeli jailers against them.
Ya’alon threatens to damage Hamas’s interests in Gaza
PIC – Israel’s war minister Moshe Ya’alon said that the army will attack all those who threaten the security of the Israelis, holding Hamas responsible for the recent military escalation.
Egypt Opens Rafah Crossing for Three Days
WAFA – 20 Jan 2014
Settlers Attack Town near Nablus
WAFA – 20 Jan 2014
Activists Remove Israeli Flags near Bethlehem
WAFA – 20 Jan 2014
Japan Funds New Laparoscopy System at Shepherd’s Field Hospital
WAFA – 20 Jan 2014
PEX Report: Index Up by Almost 8 Points
WAFA – 20 Jan 2014
Ashrawi condemns Statements by Australia’s Foreign Minister
WAFA – 20 Jan 2014
Jordan Valley Part and Parcel of Palestine, says Abbas
WAFA – 20 Jan 2014
Palestinian shot and Injured near Hebron
WAFA – 20 Jan 2014
Funeral Held for Remains Returned by Israel
WAFA – 20 Jan 2014
Abbas to Start Official Visit to Russia on Wednesday
WAFA – 20 Jan 2014
Eleven People, including Woman, Arrested in West Bank
WAFA – 20 Jan 2014
Newspapers Review: Escalation in Gaza Focus of Dailies
WAFA – 20 Jan 2014
Abbas Receives Canadian Prime Minister in Official Ceremony
WAFA – 20 Jan 2014
Israel Demolishes Shops near Hebron
WAFA – 20 Jan 2014
Israel’s ‘Palestinian Incitement’ claim Baseless, says Negotiations Affairs
WAFA – 20 Jan 2014
From his Pa. compound, Fethullah Gulen shakes up Turkey
LA Times 20 Jan 2014 – Prime Minister Erdogan blames the reclusive Islamic preacher in exile, leader of Hizmet, for the bitter political power struggle playing out in his homeland. SAYLORSBURG, Pa. — Fethullah Gulen, a frail 75-year-old Islamic preacher with a gift for oratory, leads an ascetic life in a…
Iran begins implementing nuclear deal, officials say
LA Times 20 Jan 2014 – TEHRAN — Iran began rolling back its nuclear program Monday as part of a landmark deal worked out last year with world powers, according to Iranian officials and the United Nations.
Jalazoun Refugee Camp Journal: U.N. Dispute Brings West Bank Differences to the Fore
New York Times 20 Jan 2014 – Amid a United Nations strike that has brought food aid and education to a standstill, West Bank refugees are calling on the Palestinian Authority to take responsibility for their welfare.
Lawyers See War Crimes Charges for Syrian Officials: Newspaper
New York Times 20 Jan 2014 – Syrian officials could face war crimes charges after a military police photographer defected and provided evidence showing the systematic killing of 11,000 detainees, the Guardian newspaper reported, citing three lawyers who had examined the files.
Under U.S. Pressure, U.N. Withdraws Iran’s Invitation to Syria Talks
New York Times 20 Jan 2014 – The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, rescinded the invitation a day after he offered it, a move that had threatened to unravel the talks.
Canadian PM Draws Applause and Anger at Israeli Parliament
New York Times 20 Jan 2014 – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Israel’s parliament on Monday any comparison between the Jewish state and apartheid South Africa was “sickening”, drawing a standing ovation – and an angry walkout by two Arab legislators.
Ban Ki-Moon Withdraws Iran’s Invite to Syria Talks
New York Times 20 Jan 2014 – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday withdrew an offer for Iran to attend Syria peace negotiations after Tehran declared it does not support the June 2012 political transition deal that is the basis for the talks.
Syria’s National Coalition Says to Decide on Geneva 2 After U.N. Statement
New York Times 20 Jan 2014 – Syria’s main political opposition in exile said on Monday it would decide whether to attend the Geneva 2 conference in Switzerland after an announcement by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Iran’s attendance at the talks.
U.N. Spokesman to Address Reporters on Syria Shortly
New York Times 20 Jan 2014 – A United Nations spokesman will speak to reporters “shortly” about developments related to Syria, the U.N. press office said on Monday.
U.N.’s Ban Withdraws Iran’s Invite to Syria Peace Talks
New York Times 20 Jan 2014 – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday withdrew an offer for Iran to attend Syria peace negotiations after Tehran declared it does not support the June 2012 political transition deal that is the basis for the talks.
Temporary Nuclear Deal With Iran Takes Effect
New York Times 20 Jan 2014 – In return for suspending nuclear enrichment to 20 percent, Iran is hoping that the economic benefits flow in after international sanctions are eased.
Red Cross Ready to Step Up Syria Aid, Help Prisoner Swaps
New York Times 20 Jan 2014 – The Red Cross is ready to deliver aid to besieged towns in Syria and facilitate prisoner exchanges if the warring sides agree to confidence-building measures at peace talks in Switzerland, a senior official told Reuters on Monday.
Israeli Leader Skeptical About Iran Nuke Deal
New York Times 20 Jan 2014 – Israel’s prime minister expressed deep skepticism about the international community’s preliminary nuclear deal with Iran on Monday, urging the world to step up pressure as it begins negotiations on a final agreement.
Kerry to Meet Israeli, Palestinian Negotiators
New York Times 20 Jan 2014 – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Israeli negotiators in Washington on Monday and Palestinian officials later next week in U.S.-brokered peace talks to end their decades-long conflict, the State Department said.
Canadian Leader Heckled in Israeli Parliament
New York Times 20 Jan 2014 – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper got a taste of Israel’s rough-and-tumble parliament when he was heckled by Arab lawmakers during a speech.
Ban Ki-Moon Urgently Considering Options on Syria Peace Talks
New York Times 20 Jan 2014 – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is “urgently considering his options” after Tehran suggested on Monday it does not support the June 2012 deal which is the basis for Syria peace talks and the Syrian opposition threatened to withdraw if Iran attended.
Rejecting collective punishment from Gaza to Syria
Mondoweiss – Palestinian children at a rally in solidarity with the Yarmouk refugee camp. (Photo: Hatem Moussa/AP) Let us suppose for the sake of argument that Syria’s Assad regime does enjoy a considerable amount of legitimacy, and that their concerns of an armed insurgency designed specifically to advance…
Trade deficit narrows
Globes Macro Economics – Israel’s trade deficit fell by 21.7% in dollar terms in 2013 and by 73% in shekel terms, compared with 2012.
How long must we wait for ‘the fierce urgency of now’?
Mondoweiss – King Joining 132 others, two self-described progressive congressmembers, James McGovern (D-MA) and Alan Grayson (D-FL) lambasted the American Studies Association for having the audacity to join Palestinians in the boycott of institutions that are complicit in the military occupation of Palestinian land. While these congressmembers are…
Perion CEO: We can achieve $1b in sales
Globes Main News – Josef Mandelbaum: One acquisition a year over 3-5 years will be enough.
As boycott pressure grows, Israeli business leaders plan to confront Netanyahu
Mondoweiss – Former ambassador Gillerman The circle is closing on Netanyahu. And the pressure is coming from the business establishment, which fears boycott. Haaretz: “ Settlements prompt European investors to review ties with Israeli banks”: Three major European pension funds are reviewing their holdings in Israeli banks due…
X-Factor winner Rose Fostanes granted work permit to sing
Globes Main News – The decision came after the intervention of Minister of Interior Gideon Sa’ar who instructed the Population Registry to allow Fostanes, a Philippines citizen, to work as a singer.
Analyst on NPR lets the cat out of the bag – briefly – about Washington’s Iran obsession
Mondoweiss – Karim Sadjadpour On Sunday’s “All Things Considered,” new host Arun Rath interviewed Karim Sadjadour , senior associate in the Middle East program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, about the six-month agreement over Iran’s nuclear program. The Carnegie Endowment is a thoroughly-mainstream, at best moderately-liberal…
Mon: Israel Chemicals falls again
Globes Main News – Bezeq posted the biggest loss on the Tel Aviv 25, while Israel Chemicals was down on a rival’s contract.
More European funds mull Israel divestment
Globes Main News – The “Financial Times” reports that Dutch and Scandinavian pension funds are considering divesting from Israeli banks.
Tower to fire 40 in Israel
Globes Main News – Tower Semiconductor will fire 40 of its 1,200 employees in Israel as layoffs will be made in all departments.
Pluristem share crashes day before study results
Globes Main News – The volatility comes a day before publication of the results of the Phase I/II trial of its placental stem cell treatment for injured gluteal muscle after total hip arthroplasty.
Former ‘NYT’ reporter says Times should assign non-Jews to cover Israel/Palestine
Mondoweiss – Haberman Several folks have sent along a sharp interview in Haaretz of Clyde Haberman, a veteran correspondent for The New York Times who left the paper in December, in which Haberman tells Chemi Shalev that Jewish reporters are increasingly being replaced by Asians in the trenches…
Meet Gaza’s nonviolent resistance
Mondoweiss – [We picked this up straight from the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), Jehad Saftawi shot the video. –Editor] They are young, and they are fearless. In Gaza, a growing nonviolent movement, led predominantly by youth, is challenging Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestinian lands in the so-called…
Kerry’s Saudi recipe for Palestinian homelessness
Mondoweiss – Kerry This is part of Marc H. Ellis’s “Exile and the Prophetic” feature for Mondoweiss. To read the entire series visit the archive page . Will Iran be coming to the Geneva talks on Syria? The United Nations thinks Iran is coming. American officials say, Not so…
100 top Israeli businesspeople to promote peace at Davos
Globes Macro Economics – The delegation organized by Breaking The Impasse includes Ofra Strauss, Rami Levy, Moshe Lichtman, Yossi Vardi, Shlomi Fogel, and Yehudit Bronicki.
Wasserman Schultz won’t stand up for Obama on Iran sanctions
Mondoweiss – Debbie Wasserman Schultz We’ve tracked a revealing story lately : the refusal by Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida congressperson and chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, to come out fiercely for Obama’s position against further Iran sanctions. Wasserman Schultz is on the president’s side, yes. But she is…
Finance C’ttee approves NIS 140m IMI loan
Globes Aerospace & Defense – Government Companies Authority: More loans will be needed to keep IMI functioning until its privatization and recovery are completed.
‘Palestinian liberation incomplete without the liberation of all’–a statement on the siege of Yarmouk
Mondoweiss – A Palestinian woman protests in Ramallah in solidarity with the Palestinian Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria. (Photo: Nasser Nasser/AP) Note: This statement, originally published on Sixteen Minutes to Palestine , is a response to the posting from Cornell SJP on the situation in Yarmouk camp in Syria ….
Extra-judicial execution on Gaza street
Mondoweiss – Extra-judicial execution VIDEO: Islamic Jihad militant eliminated by IAF while riding a bike 19 Jan — Video shows blast which Gaza sources say was result of IDF’s Sunday airstrike on Gaza, in retaliation for rocket fire on Israel’s south [note that this is in a public…
Yaakov Gitarts sells Hamashbir stake for $43m
Globes Main News – The buyer is Eli Toledano, a former supplier to the department store.
Communications Ministry: Bezeq to lose 600,000 customers
Globes Main News – Ministry study: After four years of competition in the wholesale sector, Bezeq’s annual landline revenue will be NIS 1.3 billion.
Africa-Israel to spend NIS 400m on bond buyback
Globes Main News – Africa-Israel sold assets for NIS 1.24 billion in 2011-13, accumulating cash reserves.
Shekel slightly weaker against dollar
Globes Main News – FXCM: The Bank of Israel’s interventions are having no psychological effect on the market.
Iran invite to Syria talks withdrawn
BBC 20 Jan 2014 – The UN withdraws its invitation to Iran to join Syria peace talks, after Tehran refuses to back the process to form a Syrian transitional government.
Canada’s Stephen Harper Backs Israel in Knesset Speech on First Visit
The Foward Breaking News 20 Jan 2014 – Canada supports Israel “because it is the right thing to do,” Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a speech to the Knesset. Click here for the rest of the article…
Israel returns militants’ bodies
BBC 20 Jan 2014 – The Israeli military says it has begun to exhume the bodies of a number of Palestinian militants to return them to their families for burial.
Iran curbs uranium enrichment
BBC 20 Jan 2014 – Iran begins restricting uranium enrichment under a nuclear deal with world powers which respond by suspending some economic sanctions.
Israel’s Filipina X-Factor Winner Gets Permission To Work as Singer
The Foward Breaking News 20 Jan 2014 – A Filipina caregiver who won Israel’s version of the X-Factor last week will be allowed to stay in the country and pursue a music career, the Immigration Authority said on Monday. Click here for the rest of the article…
Italian Jews Grapple With J Street-Style Rift on Israel
The Foward Breaking News 20 Jan 2014 – Special meetings are being held this week to discuss increasingly sharp political tensions within the Italian Jewish community centered on differing attitudes toward Israel and the Middle East. Click here for the rest of the article…
Egypt: FM – Egypt Saves No Effort to Help Palestinians Regain Their Rights
allAfrica.com 20 Jan 2014 – [Egypt Online]Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy met Friday with Chairman of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Mahmoud Abbas in Morocco.
Egypt: Egypt FM Reiterates Constant Support for Palestinian Cause
allAfrica.com 20 Jan 2014 – [Egypt Online]Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy has reiterated Egypt’s non-stop support for the Palestinian cause.
MLK 32nd Anniversary Celebration: Rise Up! Restore the Dream!
Rachel Corrie Foundation 19 Jan 2014 – Join us in Seattle on Monday, January 20, to join the MLK 32nd Anniversary Celebration: Rise Up! Restore the Dream! Join us!! Workshops at Garfield High School (400 23rd Ave. Seattle) : 9:30-11 AM ( The Rachel Corrie Foundation hosts Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions: Connecting Struggles Through Nonviolence )…
UN withdraws Iran’s invite to Syria peace talks
Al-Akhbar News 20 Jan 2014 – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday withdrew an offer for Iran to attend Syria peace negotiations after Tehran declared it does not support the June 2012 political transition deal that is the basis for the talks. “He (Ban) continues to urge Iran to join the global…
At least 26 die in Baghdad blasts
BBC 20 Jan 2014 – Police and medics say at least 26 people have been killed in a series of bomb blasts in Baghdad, in the latest in an extended surge of violence.
Geneva II: Stifling Syrian Voices
Al-Akhbar News 20 Jan 2014 – Syrian opposition fighters fire at government forces planes flying overhead in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on January 19, 2014. (Photo: AFP – Mahmud al-Halabi) Syrian opposition fighters fire at government forces planes flying overhead in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on January 19,…
Carlos (The Jackal) Vs. Michel Mukarbil
Al-Akhbar Blogs 20 Jan 2014 – The events of late June 1975 are still shrouded in mystery: How did Carlos, the jackal, manage at 9 Rue Toullier in the Quartier Latin to shoot dead two agents of the DST (Directorate of Territorial Surveillance – the highly secretive anti-terrorist force) and also manage…
One dead in Algeria tribal clashes
Al-Akhbar News 20 Jan 2014 – Weeks of heightened tensions between rival communities in the town of Ghardaia in southern Algeria have erupted into violence, leaving one person dead and others hurt, officials said Monday. Schools and shops were shut after a group of youths went on the rampage on Sunday, attacking…
Jihad on Drugs
Al-Akhbar Opinion 20 Jan 2014 – A Mexican federal policeman stands guard in a street in Nueva Italia, state of Michoacan, Mexico, on January 17, 2014. Mexican federal forces have taken over police duties in some 20 towns in the restive state of Michoacan, where vigilante groups are fighting a drug cartel. (…
9,000 tons of garbage take over Lebanon’s streets
Al-Akhbar News 20 Jan 2014 – The streets of Beirut and Mount Lebanon became flooded as garbage continued to pile up over the course of three days, after protestors closed the road leading to the Naameh landfill. (Photo: Marwan Bu Haidar). (Photo: Marwan Bu Haidar). (Photo: Haytham El-Mousawe). (Photo: Haytham El-Mousawe). (Photo:…
ISIS bans music, smoking in Syrian town
Al-Akhbar News 20 Jan 2014 – The jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has banned music and smoking in Syria’s Raqqa, days after taking control of the northern city following battles with rebel groups. ISIS said it had decided to “ban the sale of music CDs, music players, and playing songs…
Lebanon: March 14 Christians on Shaky Ground With Hariri
Al-Akhbar News 20 Jan 2014 – Hariri is not very pleased with his alliance with Geagea and Gemayel. Even though they all shared a common political position in 2005.(Photo: Marwan Tahtah). Hariri is not very pleased with his alliance with Geagea and Gemayel. Even though they all shared a common political position…
Lebanon: Garbage Drowns 364 Towns Amid Landfill Dispute
Al-Akhbar News 20 Jan 2014 – Sukleen is in charge of collection and cleanup in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, except Jbeil, for a total of 364 towns and municipalities. The total waste collected by the company rose from 1,140 tons daily in 1994, to 3,100 tons today. (Photo: Marwan Bu Haidar). Sukleen…
Bomb blasts kill 26 people in Baghdad: Iraqi police
Al-Akhbar News 20 Jan 2014 – Seven bomb explosions killed 26 people and wounded 67 in the Iraqi capital on Monday, police and medics said, as security forces battled militants around the western cities of Falluja and Ramadi. The bloodiest attack occurred in the Abu Dsheer district in southern Baghdad, where a…
VIDEO: Why Swedish town is magnet for Syrians
BBC 20 Jan 2014 – Some Swedish towns are struggling to find the resources to cope with a steady influx of Syrian refugees after the government in Stockholm guaranteed asylum to fugitives from the civil war.
Articles
For Palestinian citizens, nothing but contempt and rejection for Liberman plan
Riad Kabaha, +972 Magazine 1/17/2014
Liberman’s proposals spoil the delicate fabric of relations between Arabs and Jews in Israel. They come from a man who paved his political path using right-wing statements, erecting barriers in the process of peace and leading us to fear and despair.’
I was born in the early 1950s as an Israeli citizen. I was raised and educated in Israel, where I acquired positive, beneficial things from Jewish society, such as: curriculum, language, clothing, sites around the country, academic studies, employment, Jewish friends, participation in Knessest elections, the ability to struggle for equality and rights, working together with the Jewish people and cooperation with Jews who believe in my way.
Thus, we became part of a new culture: Israeli culture on the one hand, while continuing to be an integral part of the Palestinian people on the other. Although separated from other Palestinians until 1967, we were able to keep our tradition, language, and culture.
The occupation of 1967 did not change the fact that we maintain our characteristics both as Israelis and as part of the Palestinian nation at the same time. This makes us unique and different from both the Jews and the residents of the occupied territories.
That is why Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman’s recent statements about exchanging territories and forcing nearly 300,000 Palestinian Arabs Israeli in what is known as the Triangle area (which stretches from Kfar Qassem in central Israel to Megiddo in the North, and includes more than 20 Arab towns and cities) to a future Palestinian state were received with contempt and rejection by all of the Arab Palestinian citizens of Israel. more.. e-mail
Israel’s ‘Jewishness’ claim rejected
Ahmed Al-Sayed, Gaza, Al-Ahram Weekly 1/15/2014
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks may collapse on a new stipulation added by Tel Aviv: that Palestinians recognise that Israel is Jewish.
When peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) resumed 29 July, following a three-year hiatus, some people saw this as reason for optimism. But the talks seem to have foundered over a new condition set by Israel.
To make peace with the Palestinians, the rightwing government of Binyamin Netanyahu insists on the Palestinians recognising “the Jewishness of the State of Israel”.
This request may seem innocuous on the face of it, but for those in the know, the implications can be immense for millions of non-Jewish Palestinians living in Israel, the West Bank, and other parts of the world.
The Israeli request, on which the talks may ultimately collapse, has the backing of US Secretary of State John Kerry who is brokering the ongoing bid for a final settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. But the Palestinians, both government and opposition, have dug in their heels, and they are not making a secret of their shock that this condition — which was never part of any Arab-Israeli talks in the past — has been brought to the negotiating table.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas voiced the Palestinian position in no uncertain terms. He said that the Palestinians have no intention of recognising the Jewishness of the State of Israel.
Speaking to a group of Jerusalem dignitaries in his Ramallah offices last Saturday, Abbas said: “We will not recognise nor accept the Jewishness of Israel. The Israelis say that if we don’t recognise the Jewishness of Israel, there will be no solution. And we say that we will not recognise nor accept it.” more.. e-mail
Not to budge on Jerusalem
Daoud Kuttab, Arabic Media Internet Network (AMIN) 1/16/2014
How similar is today to yesteryear?
When US president Bill Clinton failed to move Palestine Liberation Organisation chairman Yasser Arafat on the issue of Jerusalem at the 2000 Camp David talks, he decided to turn to America’s Arab allies.
He tried and failed.
US Secretary of State John Kerry, unable to change Mahmoud Abbas’ position, is trying to do the same. He will also fail.
The contentious issues appear to concern Jerusalem and convincing Palestinians to recognise Israel as a Jewish state.
Kerry began his recent Arab trip with quick visits to Amman and Riyadh, on January 5, before the meeting in Paris, on January 12, with the Arab Peace Initiative follow-up committee.
Shortly after Kerry’s visit, on January 8, Amman was host to a quick visit by the Palestinian president.
He made a statement to the effect that Palestinians will not accept any deal short of having East Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Palestine. Abbas also reiterated the Palestinian refusal of any recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.
This consistent position was interpreted by Israelis as a rejection of the Kerry initiative.
Israeli officials claimed that Abbas’ statements show that Palestinians are not ready to make the tough decisions needed for peace.
Perhaps the clearest sign of Abbas’ thinking regarding Kerry’s ability to change Arab opinion were his subsequent statements in Ramallah.more.. e-mail
Israel Lobby Thwarted in Iran Sanctions Bid For Now
Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service 1/16/2014
WASHINGTON, Jan 16 2014 (IPS) – In what looks to be a clear victory – at least for now – for President Barack Obama, a major effort by the Israel lobby and its most powerful constituent, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), to pass a new sanctions bill against Iran has stalled in the U.S. Senate.
While the legislation, the “Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2013,” had gathered 59 co-sponsors in the 100-member upper chambre by last week, opposition to it among Democrats appears to have mounted in recent days.
That opposition apparently prompted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who controls the floor calendar, to back away from a previous commitment to permit a vote on the measure some time over the next few weeks. As a result, AIPAC is now reportedly hoping to get the bill through the Republican-dominated House of Representatives.
Democratic resistance to the bill, which its critics say is designed to scuttle the Nov. 24 Joint Plan of Action (JPA) between Iran and the so-called P5+1 (U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China plus Germany) and any chances for a U.S.-Iranian rapprochement, has grown stronger since Sunday’s successful conclusion of an implementation agreement between the two sides and by Obama’s explicit pledge to veto the bill if it comes to his desk.
Even one of the bill’s 16 Democratic co-sponsors, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, said this week that he saw no need for a vote “as long as there is progress” in implementing the Nov. 24 accord.
The accord, which formally takes effect Jan. 20, will ease some economic sanctions that have been imposed against Iran and ban any new ones in exchange for Tehran’s freezing and, in some cases, a rolling back key elements of its nuclear programme pending the negotiation within a year of a comprehensive agreement designed to prevent Tehran from achieving a nuclear “breakout capacity”, or the ability to build a bomb within a short period of time. more.. e-mail
“Just a Child” shows how prison leaves mental scars on Palestinian boy
Electronic Intifada: 20 Jan 2014 – Raghad was rearrested after he turned 15. more..
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Palestine Chronicle: 20 Jan 2014 – By Kathy Kelly “Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism. … A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies.” — A Time to Break Silence (Beyond Vietnam), Dr. Martin Luther King, April 4, 1967 This month, from Atlanta, GA, the King Center announced its “Choose Nonviolence” campaign, a call on people to incorporate the symbolism of bell-ringing into their Martin Luther King Holiday observance, as a means of showing their commitment to Dr. King’s value of nonviolence in resolving terrible
issues of inequality, discrimination and poverty here at home. The call was heard in…more
Only in Egypt, Progressive Liberals Support Military Dictatorship!
Palestine Chronicle: 19 Jan 2014 – By Hasan Afif El-Hasan The post-colonial societies everywhere have been fascinated with the military, maybe because the first and last encounter of the post-colonial societies with the colonizing power had been a struggle against its military. With the disappearance of the colonizing power, the elites retain the inherited state apparatus and try to create a modern military. Egypt is no exception. The best organized institution in post-colonial Egypt has been the military. It is the only group that has the legal monopoly of violence and it gives the people a sense of pride and security. The military is well placed to take control over the bureaucratic apparatus and it is trusted by the business bourgeoisie to control the national market and cooperate in the industrialization of the economy. Equally important, fear of chronic instability and anarchy among moderate communal elites and state officials leads them to support military regime. Power-holders…more
Yarmouk Camp: In the Throes of Starvation
Palestine Chronicle: 19 Jan 2014 – By Ahmad Barqawi Their ambivalent stance was not enough, for no middle ground is safe in the Syrian war. No middle ground to be found there anyway. And the worst thing that could happen to the Palestinian refugees in the Yarmouk Camp is being impartial at a time when the Arab World is so thoroughly drenched in Bush’s woebegone doctrine of “you’re either with us or against us”, a time when divisions reign supreme and self-imposed partitions are the order of the day. They were demanded to choose a side and choose it quickly, either the hammer or the anvil… only to be crushed in between. The strategic geographic location of the camp on the southern outskirts of Damascus meant that its residents were no longer spoilt with the luxury of safe choices, a deadly case of damned if you do and even more damned if you don’t. It also…more
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The New Dark Age 