23 January 2014 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Extremist Israeli Minister Calls For Building Of Third Temple
IMEMC – Israeli Minister of Housing and Construction, Uri Ariel, of the “Jewish Home” fundamentalist party, a senior member of Israel’s settler-led government, has called for the “rebuilding” of what he calls the “Third Temple”, to replace al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Al Ray Palestinian News Agency has reported. …
Police Order Man To Remove Tent After Home Demolished
IMEMC – Israeli police have ordered Khalid al-Zir, a resident of Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem, to remove a tent which he and other Jerusalem residents had set up the night before in front of the Red Cross headquarters, in Sheikh Jarrah, to protest Israeli demolition of homes in the city. …
Ministry Of Higher Education Condemns Israeli Attack On University
IMEMC – [Thursday, January 23, 2014] In a Wednesday press release, the Ministry of Higher Education denounced the Israeli army attack against Al-Quds University, for desecrating the sanctity of the institution, obstructing the educational process, and for intentionally horrifying thousands of students and staff members by utilizing all terrorist means, including random heavy firing. …
Israel Approves New Settlement Constructions
IMEMC – The Israeli Defence Ministry, this week, approved plans to build 381 new homes in the Givat Ze’ev settlement, north of Jerusalem. This is the third such announcement in three weeks. …
Israeli Settlers Uproot, Steal 800 Olive Trees Near Ramallah
IMEMC – A group of Israeli settlers, on Wednesday, uprooted 800 olive saplings planted by Palestinian farmers, in the village of Sinjel. …
Seven Detainees Currently On Hunger Strike
IMEMC – The Palestinian Ministry of Detainees has reported that seven Palestinian detainees are currently holding open-ended hunger strikes in Israeli detention facilities, and that some of them are facing very serious health issues and complications. …
Israeli police forbid peaceful protest in East Jerusalem
1/23/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli police early Thursday prevented Palestinians from protesting peacefully in an East Jerusalem neighborhood, protesters said. Israeli police officers told Palestinians they would not be allowed to remain in their protest tent in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, protesters told Ma’an. A tent was erected in protest against home demolitions regularly carried out by the Jerusalem municipality….
Israeli forces uproot trees in Salfit village
1/23/2014 – SALFIT (Ma’an) — Israeli bulldozers accompanied by soldiers early Thursday uprooted dozens of trees in the West Bank’s Salfit district, locals said. Abd al-Halim Mansour, a resident of the village of Deir Istiya, told Ma’an that Israeli bulldozers began uprooting trees near his village. Palestinians from the village tried to prevent the bulldozers from uprooting the trees, but Israeli forces….
PA ministry condemns Israeli attack on Al-Quds campus
1/23/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education on Wednesday strongly condemned an Israeli raid on Al-Quds University campus in Abu Dis in which dozens of students suffered tear gas inhalation and university property was damaged. The PA ministry denounced the attack as “desecrating the sanctity of the institution, obstructing the educational process,” and “intentionally horrifying thousands of students and staff members by….
Abbas seeks $1-billion Gaza deal with Russia
1/23/2014 – MOSCOW (AFP) – Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas sought on Thursday to secure a billion-dollar Gaza energy deal during talks with Russian leaders aimed at restoring warmer ties between the two Soviet-era allies. Abbas and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev were due to sign an intergovernmental agreement that reports said included a $1. 0-billion (730-million-euro) natural gas project in the Gaza section of the Mediterranean…. Related: Abbas: Russia should have essential role in Israeli-Palestinian peace
Residents: Israeli forces arrest 2 in Hebron area
1/23/2014 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Thursday arrested two men and seized a truck in Hebron, locals said. They said Amir Mohammad Abd al-Kadir Abu Eisha was arrested from his home in the city, while Wijdan Marzouq Abdul Aziz Masalma, 18, was arrested from the village of Beit Awwa. A Mercedes truck belonging to Fadi Ali Abu Atwan was seized from the al-Tabaqa area….
Imprisoned Palestinian lawmaker suspends hunger strike
1/23/2014 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — An imprisoned Palestinian lawmaker on Thursday suspended his hunger strike and was removed from solitary confinement, the prisoner’s wife said. Yasser Mansour, a lawmaker from Nablus who is currently held in an Israeli prison in the Negev, decided to end his hunger strike in order to allow the prison administration to respond to his demands, his wife Samar Adnan….
UNRWA, unions meet in effort to end strike
1/23/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Department of Refugee Affairs on Thursday hosted a meeting between the UN Palestine refugee agency’s administration and representatives of its Palestinian unions. UNRWA’s administration and unions met in an effort to end an ongoing strike that has kept schools closed for nearly two months and severely limited provisions of basic services to Palestinian refugee camps….
Police arrest 2 for anti-Arab graffiti in Tel Aviv
1/23/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli police have arrested two youths for writing “Death to Arabs” on two streets in Tel Aviv. Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samari said in a statement that the slogan was written on the Bar Kochva and Dizengoff streets in Tel Aviv and signed with “M. F.”Two young men are being held on suspicion of writing 15 anti-Arab slogans, she said. [END]
Israel busts East Jerusalem ‘Qaeda’ cell
1/23/2014 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel has arrested an al-Qaeda-run militant cell in annexed East Jerusalem which was planning to bomb the US embassy, a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister’s office said on Wednesday. The US State Department said it had been in touch with the Israeli authorities about the alleged plot but was not able to corroborate it independently.” (The) Shabak arrested a terror….
Erekat: Israel destroying chances for 2-state solution
1/23/2014 – JERICHO (Ma’an) — A senior Palestinian official said Thursday that Israel was responsible for destroying the peace process and the two-state solution. After holding a series of meetings with foreign ministers and ambassadors, Chief PLO Negotiator Saeb Erekat said that unless the international community started holding Israel responsible for its actions, any chance for a two-state solution would be lost. Erekat condemned ongoing Israeli….
Twitter suspends account of Hamas armed wing
1/23/2014 – GAZA CITY (AFP) — A Twitter account of Hamas’ armed wing has been suspended by administrators, the Islamist movement said Thursday, accusing the social media site of censorship. The account of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, @AlqassamBrigade, appeared to have been suspended several times over the past week, and was still inaccessible with a “suspended” notice on Thursday. A spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas….
Iran extends energy olive branch to West
1/23/2014 – DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) — Iran on Thursday stepped up its efforts to woo investors and normalize its relations with the West with an offer to help create a new multilateral body tasked with stabilizing global energy supplies. President Hassan Rouhani told the World Economic Forum in Davos that Tehran was ready to put some of its extensive oil and gas reserves at the disposal of the….
Abbas: Russia should have essential role in Israeli-Palestinian peace
1/23/2014 – MOSCOW (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday called for Russia to have an essential role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, a Ma’an reporter said. Abbas met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Thursday in Novo-Ogaryovo in Russia, where he praised the country’s recent roles in Syria and Iran. Abbas briefed Putin on the updates in the region and…. Related: Abbas seeks $1-billion Gaza deal with Russia
US declares Islamic Jihad leader ‘Global Terrorist’
1/23/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The US Department of State on Thursday designated a Palestinian leader of the Islamic Jihad movement a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” according to the State Department’s website. Ziyad al-Nakhalah was designated as a wanted “terrorist” under an executive order “which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism,” the State Department said in a….
Sundance film spotlights Palestinian collaborator for Israel
1/23/2014 – PARK CITY, United States (AFP) — The son of a founder of Hamas who spent 10 years as an Israeli collaborator at the heart of the Islamist movement is thrown into the spotlight in a film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. From 1997 to 2007, Mossab Hassan Youssef, the oldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, worked for Israel’s Shin Bet internal security….
Syria missile attack kills 10 as peace talks open
1/23/2014 – BEIRUT (AFP) — A missile attack Wednesday on an opposition area in northern Syria killed 10 people, including five children and three women, as peace talks opened in Switzerland, a monitoring group said. Fighting raged across much of Syria as regime and opposition delegates attended the international peace conference aimed at ending a nearly three-year civil war that has claimed more than 130,000 lives.”Two men….
No hint of compromise as Syria peace talks enter day 2
1/23/2014 – MONTREUX, Switzerland (AFP) — Syria’s peace conference moved into a second day Thursday with the warring sides showing no willingness to compromise as global powers seek to engineer head-to-head talks on ending the bloodshed. The biggest push yet to end the conflict was marked by fiery exchanges on day one Wednesday as the regime and the opposition clashed over President Bashar Assad’s….
Gunmen on motorbikes kill 5 Egypt police
1/23/2014 – CAIRO (AFP) — Masked gunmen on motorbikes killed five Egyptian policemen when they opened fire on a checkpoint south of Cairo on Thursday, the interior ministry said. The ministry said two policemen were also wounded in the attack in the province of Beni Suef, which came two days ahead of the commemoration of the third anniversary of the 2011 uprising. The assailants fled the scene. The….
Egyptian student killed in campus clashes
1/23/2014 – CAIRO (AFP) — Clashes between rival Egyptian students at a university in Alexandria killed at least one student on Thursday, a supporter of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, police said. The student was killed when pro-Morsi protesters clashed with their opponents at Alexandria University, the police in the Mediterranean city said in a statement. Police said they did not intervene in the clashes but set up….
International Solidarity Movement
Israeli warplanes kill member of Palestinian armed group and his cousin in Beit Hanoun, Gaza
1/23/2014 – International Solidarity Movement – Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Gaza, Occupied Palestine – In an extra-judicial execution attempt, on Wednesday 22 January 2014, an Israeli drone fired a missile at a civilian car in Beith Hanoun, Northern Gaza. As a result, both passengers, a member of a Palestinian armed group and his cousin, were killed immediately. According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately12….
Syrian Arab Republic: The UNRWA Syria Regional Crisis Response Plan 2014: A briefing on recent developments
Relief Web 23 Jan 2014 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic On Thursday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) organized a briefing to update a number…
Syrian Arab Republic: Strategic Plan for Polio Outbreak Response in the Middle East
Relief Web 23 Jan 2014 – Source: World Health Organization, UN Children’s Fund, Global Polio Eradication Initiative Country: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey The “WHO/UNICEF Strategic Plan for Polio Outbreak Response in the Middle East” outlines the specific actions that…
Pakistan: Polio this week – as of 22 January 2014
Relief Web 23 Jan 2014 – Source: Global Polio Eradication Initiative Country: Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Israel, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, occupied Palestinian territory, Pakistan, Somalia, Syrian Arab Republic The data table below is as of 22 January 2014 The…
Syrian Arab Republic: Middle East Polio Technical Bulletin, as of 20 January 2014
Relief Web 23 Jan 2014 – Source: Global Polio Eradication Initiative Country: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey The total number of confirmed wild poliovirus type 1 cases in the Syrian Arab Republic is 16. Please note that the case from…
Brahimi tries to bring Assad regime and opponents to the table
The National 23 Jan 2014 – In a defiant speech, Ahmed Jarba added that the international community had now realised there was no future for Mr Al Assad.
Iran’s new image under Rouhani brings hope for South Pars gasfield workers
The National 23 Jan 2014 – Under the bright sun that burns workers’ skin even in the cool breeze of January, those working on the South Pars oil and gas fields near Asaluyeh say that a lifting of sanctions and return of foreign investment will reinvigorate the project.
Pakistani officials spend anti-terror funds on watches, jewellery and … goats
The National 23 Jan 2014 – The revelations cast a spotlight on high-level corruption in Pakistan as the country battles a surge in Taliban violence.
Man-eating tiger shot dead in Tamil Nadu
The National 23 Jan 2014 – The tiger had killed a woman working on the tea plantation, the third victim since January 4, prompting 45 schools and resorts in the area to shut down.
Indian police arrest 13 for the gang rape of woman accused of ‘having an affair’
The National 23 Jan 2014 – The attack on Tuesday took place in a remote village in West Bengal state where the unmarried woman from the Santhal tribal group was suspected of a relationship with a Muslim man from a neighbouring village.
Continuing conflict is costing Israel its western allies, author says
The National 23 Jan 2014 – As the Jewish diaspora become increasingly disenchanted with Israel’s behaviour, Ari Shavit recounts his country’s history from a deeply personal perspective, striving to rationalise its frequently vicious actions, writes Joseph Dana
Village elders ordered gang rape punishment: India police
The National 23 Jan 2014 – Police in India’s West Bengal state said Thursday that a young woman has been gang raped on the orders of a village council because she fell in love with a man from a different religion.
Masked men on motorcycles kill five Egyptian policemen
The National 23 Jan 2014 – asked gunmen on motorcycles killed five Egyptian policemen when they opened fire on a checkpoint south of Cairo on Thursday, the interior ministry said
Indian father sues son for 10 million rupees for marrying woman from lower caste
The National 23 Jan 2014 – Sidhnath Sharma is seeking 10,000,000 rupees in damages from his son Sushant Jasu and wants to prevent him from using the family surname, with a court hearing set to resume this weekend in Bihar state.
Singapore FM slams ‘deeply offensive poor people’ remarks by Porsche-driving British expat
The National 23 Jan 2014 – Furious social media users lashed out at Porsche-driving Anton Casey, who is married to a former Singapore beauty queen, after he referred to public transport users as “poor people” in a post on the social network.
German message: Only peace will guarantee security and the economy
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Tapes of teacher’s hearing contradict high school administration’s version of events
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Shin Bet’s methods exposed in Sundance Film Festival premiere
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Treasury scores another victory over dwindling population of Holocaust survivors
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
At Oxford, Facebook post sets Jew against Palestinian – and Jew against Jew
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Israel is ‘epicenter of world innovation,’ Netanyahu says
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Palestinians discount Shin Bet claim Al-Qaida cell nabbed over Israel bomb plot
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Bibi in the Isle of Jersey: Settling accounts
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
On eve of direct talks, Syria opposition calls Assad regime ‘dead’
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Gal Gadot signs deal to star in three Wonder Woman movies
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Israel cuts unenforced high school Arabic studies requirement
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Israeli hit-and-run killer charged with manslaughter by negligence – not drunk driving
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Oxfam slams Scarlett Johansson over SodaStream ad campaign
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
The Israeli psychologist driving his profession crazy
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Israel bars Gaza student from travel to U.S. for coexistence program
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Too left for school: Israeli teacher faces ax for slaughtering sacred cows
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Kiev in flames: 15 photos of the deadly clashes
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
God save Israel’s next president
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Pamela Anderson to Netanyahu: Ban fur sales in Israel
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Rohani wants engagement with West, yet Iran executions mount, says Netanyahu
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
U.S. checking ‘validity’ of foiled Al-Qaida plot in Israel
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Egypt’s epic three-year hangover
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Liberal homophobia at the heart of gay surrogacy fears
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Court extends detention of exterminator after death of two Jerusalem girls
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Kiev engulfed in smoke as ultimatum nears end
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
Canadian PM wows the Netanyahus with ‘Hey Jude’
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
U.S. military giving troops more leeway for religious clothing, beards
Ha’aretz – 23 Jan 2014
‘We’re afraid to voice leftist views,’ ORT students tell Knesset
Ha’aretz – 22 Jan 2014
City in white, country going nowhere
Ha’aretz – 22 Jan 2014
Deal taking shape in Thai-Israeli surrogacy crisis
Ha’aretz – 22 Jan 2014
The boycott’s boogeymen exploit Netanyahu’s weakness
Ha’aretz – 22 Jan 2014
Inspectors find toxic gases in soil of Jerusalem neighborhood
Ha’aretz – 22 Jan 2014
Streets in Arab towns to get names, under new bill
Ha’aretz – 22 Jan 2014
In praise of sewage
Ha’aretz – 22 Jan 2014
African asylum seekers’ protest goes international
Ha’aretz – 22 Jan 2014
Strong democracies don’t need to brag. Israelis, take note
Ha’aretz – 22 Jan 2014
Israel, save the Palestinians in Syria’s Yarmouk refugee camp
Ha’aretz – 22 Jan 2014
Nearly 160% increase in child poisonings over past 20 years, report finds
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – National Council for the Child releases statement containing poisoning-related statistics from its December report.
Comment: A study in contrasts
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Beit Shemesh Mayor Moshe Abutbul and challenger Eli Cohen’s styles in the Supreme Court may be as different as their worldviews.
Germany clarifying long-standing policy against settlements
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Move to clarify language in legal agreements regarding science, trade with Israel comes amidst growing calls in Europe to take harsher measures against West Bank settlements.
French comedian Dieudonne arrested for assaulting bailiffs
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Comedian allegedly assaults court officers who came to his home with notices for payment due on fines for inciting hatred against Jews.
Supreme Court: Online sexual offenses are just as harmful to minors
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Court rejects appeal of IDF soldier who posed as an 18-year-old woman over the internet to blackmail girls he contacted.
‘In face of population growth, Israel could benefit from increasing agricultural imports’
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Israeli, EU partners: Diversification of industries crucial to rural development.
Rouhani in Davos
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – There is a tendency among moderates, particularly of the Western variety, to believe fundamentalist political leaders such as Rouhani when they say they want peace.
Supreme Court hears arguments over fate of Beit Shemesh election
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Abutbol: new elections are collective punishment; Cohen: fraud was attack on our democracy; AG: uphold lower court order for new elections.
Universal lessons of the Holocaust
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – As parliamentarians from around the world gather in Poland on this anniversary of anniversaries, there are a number of lessons of the Holocaust to bear in mind.
Harper’s vital validation
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Harper articulated a moral worldview and an approach of principle that calls out the hypocrisies of what passes today as “politically correct” policy regarding Israel.
Savir’s Corner: Warning – peace!
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Both Abbas and Netanyahu play on the most powerful of human sentiments – fear of an unknown future.
Another Tack: Patent-medicine Messiah
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – The Messiah’s unsolicited magnanimity would render us helpless. We’d rather not be in his debt and retain the ability to help ourselves.
The world’s finest fibber: Hassan Rouhani in Davos
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – The only thing that has changed about Iran is how good it has become at PR.
Female Palestinian cartoonist threatened after critique of Islamic Jihad, Hamas
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Majedah Shaheen has been called a “traitor” and “prostitute” in response to cartoon referring to Hamas efforts to rein in Islamic Jihad’s military wing.
Australian money-laundering investigation reveals Hezbollah gaining profits from drug money
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Probe uncovers that Australians were unknowingly aiding laundering of hundreds of millions of dollars abroad.
Herzog ahead of PM-Kerry meeting in Davos: Peace talks at turning point
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – “I’m not sure [Netanyahu] has courage [to take bold steps], but I’m trying to encourage him to do so,” says opposition leader.
Rouhani: If Israel attacks Iran, it will rue the day
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – US Secretary of State Kerry tells Al Arabiya US is willing to use military option if Iran reneges on deal with West.
American Jews provide social services in former Soviet Union
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Between the harsh weather and the equally harsh economic climate, many elderly Jews are struggling to heat their homes.
Another extermination fume poisoning reported in Jerusalem
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Sisters buried in J’lem as two older brothers remain in critical condition; 4 more children from building hospitalized for similar symptoms.
Heckling Harper helps Arab MK Tibi becomes media sensation in Canada
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Since the incident, Tibi has given 15 interviews to Canadian media outlets and has been invited to speak at universities in multiple provinces.
Abbas seeks $1 billion energy deal with Russia
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – An agreement on Palestinian natural gas and oil projects would restore warmer ties between the two Soviet-era allies.
Pam Anderson asks PM to support bill banning fur sales
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – “The way in which animals suffer and die for fur violates Jewish principles,” the actress and PETA activist writes to Netanyahu after second visit to Israel.
Former PLO negotiator calls on PA to endorse ‘resistance’ against Israel
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Mohamed Shtayyeh says PA should “change its function to a resistance authority and not one that provides services.”
Kiev clashes spur cancellation of annual Holocaust memorial
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – As death toll in riots reached at least four on Wednesday, organizers decided to cancel Holocaust remembrance event out of safety concerns.
Palestinian man arrested for naming baby after Morsi
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Abdel Halim Ghannam, 37, of the Jalazoun refugee camp north of Ramallah, was summoned for interrogation; man’s wife says baby name behind arrest.
District Attorney signs plea bargain with hit-and-run driver Shoshan Baraby
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Deal will replace charges of manslaughter with negligent manslaughter, remove drunken driving charge from indictment.
Peace Now director calls on education minister to abolish Gush Katif education day
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Director says day planned by Gush Katif evacuees is “a day for right wing propaganda that attempts to provide a one-sided and biased narrative.”
Netanyahu: Israel isn’t what’s wrong with the Mideast, it’s what’s right
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – PM says investing in “epicenter of world innovation” will help Israel’s Arab neighbors, particularly the Palestinians.
Four generations saved
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – Righteous Gentiles visit Yad Vashem with Jews who exist because of their family
Secret plans for a diplomatic intifada
Jerusalem Post 23 Jan 2014 – A diplomatic intifada, no less than an active terrorist one, needs to be countered forcefully.
Top Israel Lobby Group Loses Battle on Iran, But War Not Over
IPS P5+1 foreign ministers after negotiations about Iran’s nuclear capabilities concluded on Nov. 24, 2013 in Geneva. Credit: U.S. Dept of State/CC by 2.0 By Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, Jan 23 2014 (IPS) Eight years ago, Stephen Rosen, then a top official at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and well-known…
The ISIS – An American-Zionist-Iranian Device
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 – The phrase “sectarian war” is not mine. Before it was uttered by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, I hadn t heard it. Maliki used it before launching his military assault on the Islamic State of Iraq and…
Iran FM: Deal Doesn t Require Dismantling Anything White House Misleading In Claims About Pact
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 – In an interview today with CNN, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif accused the White House of misleading the public with comments about the nuclear deal, particularly the repeated use of the term “dismantling” in public comments….
The hidden history of the CIA s prison in Poland
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 – On a cold day in early 2003, two senior CIA officers arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw to pick up a pair of large cardboard boxes. Inside were bundles of cash totaling $15 million that…
Jewish settlers uproot 800 olive saplings near Ramallah
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 – Illegal Jewish settlers have uprooted more than 800 olive saplings on land belonging to the village of Sinjel near Ramallah. Mayor Ayoub Swedan told Palestine s official Wafa news agency that villagers woke on Wednesday morning…
Guantanamo detainees describe despair 5 years after Obama promised closure
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 -Five years after President Obama promised to close Guantanamo Bay within one year, detainees have described their despair at conditions and their indefinite detention. Recent legislative amendments by Congress removed obstacles to transferring cleared detainees out of…
Syrian army slows Yarmouk food aid to a trickle
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 – …The UNRWA statement is typically diplomatic, but hints at the fact that greater humanitarian access to the civilians trapped in Yarmouk camp remains in the hands of the Syrian army.An eyewitness told The Electronic Intifada that…
Yarmouk, Jonathan Cook and the Baathist left
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 – …As I pointed out in the months immediately following the Ghouta massacre, American imperialism had zero interest in “regime change” and would likely do nothing more than fire off some missiles and then resort to the…
Same criminal spying but with a White House blessing Obama s NSA Speech: Nothing Will Change
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 -This past week, the Federal government threw a one-two punch that will effectively destroy the Internet as we know it. Demonstrating, once again, his talent for obfuscation and misdirection, President Obama made a speech about reforming the…
Photos and video: Israeli forces gunfire blocks Palestinian farmland in Gaza
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014- Since the Zionist occupation forces bulldozers had destroyed part of Khaled Qudaih s field in Khuza a, east of Khan Younis, he and his family went out to sow it again. The military responded with about half…
When Assad s horrific prisons were the CIA s dumping ground
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 — As Secretary of State John Kerry delivered his opening remarks at the Syria peace talks in Switzerland on Wednesday, Jan. 22, he expressed outrage at new revelations of the brutal tactics perpetrated by President Bashar al-Assad…
Iraq snapshot – January 22, 2014
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – June 22, 2014. Chaos and violence continue, Nouri s assault on Anbar continues, more families are displaced in Anbar, the use of collective punishment, we look at the silence on Anbar, we note how Alice Walker managed to leave the…
The Contradictions of Israeli Exceptionalism The Blind Alley of J Street and Liberal American Zionism
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 -Since its founding six years ago, J Street has emerged as a major Jewish organization under the banner “Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace.” By now J Street is able to be a partial counterweight to AIPAC, the American Israel Public…
Before a bullet leaves the gun barrel
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 -After about a year of peaceful protests in Al Anbar province, the Prime Minister of Iraq, Nouri Al Maliki, has sent army troops to end the sit-in by force. The troops, as always, were holding sectarian flags…
Ownership of WaPo by CIA Contractor Puts U.S. Journalism in Dangerous Terrain
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 — It s very dangerous to normalize the situation that we have today, where a man who has 25 billion (with a B) dollars in personal wealth, Jeff Bezos, and has been able to accumulate that wealth…
An Open Letter to University of Maryland President, Dr Wallace Loh: Stand up for Academic Freedom in Palestine
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 – Dear President Loh; I have read your response to the ASA boycott of Israeli academic institutions… A high sounding tone. Defense of academic freedom. However your statement is silent on the rights denied of Palestinian people…
Cracks in the alliance: Finally daylight between Israel and US?
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 — Things have come to a strange state of affairs when Washington regards Avigdor Lieberman, Israel s far-right foreign minister, as the voice of moderation in the Israeli cabinet. While Lieberman has called the soon-to-be-unveiled US peace…
No excuse for Israel s denial of asylum seekers plight
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 – Refugees fear of arrest, torture, and death should be sufficient justification for their inability to return their countries of origin. So why is the Israeli government refusing to grant African refugees asylum status? A personal story….
Al-Qaeda slaughters on Syria s killing fields
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 – Al-Qaeda fighters have struck a bloody blow in scenes of medieval violence in Syria s northern border-town of Jarabulus. Fighting came to a head on January 17, between rebel groups Liwa al-Tawhid Brigade and the al-Qaeda-linked…
Guantanamo: 260 weeks and counting
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 – A week, it has been said, is a long time in politics. It is even longer for someone imprisoned thousands of miles from home with no indication of when, if ever, he will be released or…
Israeli airstrike kills 2 Palestinians in Gaza
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014 — An Israeli airstrike on Wednesday killed two Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip including one accused by Israel of ordering rocket attacks, officials said. Eyewitnesses said Israeli aircraft fired a missile at a car in Beit…
Foundation: Israeli excavations in Silwan demolish Islamic antiquities
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 22, 2014- Israeli excavations at the entrance to Wadi Hilweh in the Silwan neighborhood are destroying deep-rooted Islamic antiquities from the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphate eras, says a Palestinian Jerusalem-based group.The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage highlighted in…
Iraq: Al-Anbar under siege Crimes against humanity under the pretext of Fight against Terrorism !
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 21, 2014 -While the world was celebrating the coming New Year with champage and firework, Iraqi families living in the province of al-Anbar were hiding from explosions of a very different kind. The alleged “anti-terrorist attacks” conducted by Iraqi…
Settlers Prevent Farm Access, Vandalize Cars
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 21, 2014- Israeli forces and settlers, on Tuesday, prevented two Palestinian farmers from Husan, west of Bethlehem, from accessing their farmland located in the middle of the illegal settlement of Bitar Illit, said a local official. Member of Husan…
Military Resistance 12A17 Watchdog
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 21, 2014 -A one-star general and former commander of the Michigan Air National Guard improperly received nearly $200,000 and broke the law by collecting a federal paycheck while performing a state-level job for 16 months, according to a newly…
Syria News – January 21, 2014 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 21, 2014 – By the end of Tuesday the Coordination Committees were able to document 87 martyrs including 9 women, 12 children and 3 martyrs under torture: 55 martyrs were reported in Aleppo; 16 in Damascus and its Suburbs;…
Thousands of Afghans face cold, hungry winter as aid goes missing
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 21,2014 – Thousands of homeless Afghans are huddling on the sides of freezing roads this winter with little shelter and nothing to eat, not far from warehouses stuffed with food.The government s inability to help – through mismanagement, corruption,…
Bashar al-Assad s Terrorism in Syria
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 21, 2014 – Bashar al-Assad says that he wants the Geneva II conference that kicks off tomorrow to focus on the problem of terrorism in Syria but when he speaks of terrorism he is referring to the imperialist definition…
Why I ll be rewarding the latest attempt to make a citizen s arrest on Tony Blair
Uruknet 23 Jan 2014 – January 21, 2013 – Nothing changes without talk; nothing changes through talk alone. Petitions and debates and social media campaigns and even, sometimes, articles in newspapers are essential campaigning tools but, without action, they seldom amount to anything but catharsis….
Pakistan Shiites agree to bury their dead, end protest
Daily Star 23 Jan 2014 Members of a largely Shiite ethnic community in Pakistan have agreed to bury the bodies of their relatives, pilgrims who were killed in a bomb attack earlier this week.
Tunisia’s assembly finishes new constitution
Daily Star 23 Jan 2014 Tunisia’s national assembly on Thursday finished approving all articles of the country’s new constitution just over three years after their uprising ousted autocratic leader Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.
Syrian opposition chief Jarba says Russia not sticking to Assad
Daily Star 23 Jan 2014 Syrian opposition chief Ahmed Jarba said on Thursday he had been assured by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Moscow was not holding on to President Bashar al-Assad, but that Syrians should negotiate his exit through…
Kerry: Assad a ‘one-man super magnet’ for terror
Daily Star 23 Jan 2014 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is ramping up criticism of Syrian President Bashar Assad, calling him a “one-man super-magnet for terrorism” who could be responsible for the disintegration of Syria.
Iran wants full nuclear deal and investment, Rouhani tells Davos
Daily Star 23 Jan 2014 Iran is determined to negotiate a comprehensive deal on its nuclear programme with major powers so it can develop its battered economy, President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday, inviting Western companies to seize opportunities now.
Death toll from south Libya tribal clashes hits 86
Daily Star 23 Jan 2014 An official at a hospital in southern Libya says two weeks of fighting between tribes, government soldiers and former loyalists of Moammar Gadhafi has killed at least 86 people.
Egypt’s president: Police state has ended
Daily Star 23 Jan 2014 Egypt’s military-backed interim president said Thursday that the country’s uprisings have put an end to the police state and to abuses, part of a campaign to rebrand the security forces amid a heavy handed crackdown on…
WHO: 1.5 million refugees expected in Lebanon
Daily Star 23 Jan 2014 World Health Organizations said Thursday an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees are expected to enter Lebanon in 2014, adding that $16.7 million needed to help the health sector in the country.
Snowden: Won’t return to US for an unfair trial
YNet News, 23 Jan 2014 – ….
About 20 pilot whales found dead off Florida coast
YNet News, 23 Jan 2014 – ….
A new approach to Jordan Valley
YNet News, 23 Jan 2014 – Analysis: Technology and security cooperation between Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians makes it possible to reduce the Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley to a minimum as part of a peace agreement ….
UK gay rabbi makes wedding plans
YNet News, 23 Jan 2014 – Rabbi David Mitchell of West London Synagogue wants to be among very first to marry his partner once same-sex marriage becomes legal in England and Wales in late March ….
US and Russia talk about bomb tech in Olympic prep
YNet News, 23 Jan 2014 – ….
Tunisia’s assembly finishes new constitution
YNet News, 23 Jan 2014 – ….
US halts drug imports from Ranbaxy plant in India
YNet News, 23 Jan 2014 – ….
Israel failing to heed warning signs
YNet News, 23 Jan 2014 – Op-ed: The real threat boycotts hold is a wave of de-legitimization of Israel sweeping over the world ….
Nuremberg papers on display in Berlin
YNet News, 23 Jan 2014 – Documents used to help convict top Nazis provide window into how prosecution team approached ground-breaking war crimes trial ….
Indefinite detention needs to stop
YNet News, 23 Jan 2014 – Op-ed: If African refugees are fleeing genocide, then why is detention in Israel so bad? ….
Netanyahu to talk strictly economics at Davos conference
YNet News, 22 Jan 2014 – Livni will hype peace talks warning that lack of agreement with Palestinians will be detrimental for country’s wealth ….
2 sisters died, siblings fighting for their lives after exposure to pesticides
YNet News, 22 Jan 2014 – Exterminator leaves container of poison possible banned from use in Israel in Jerusalem apartment, result is tragic: Parents lose two young daughters, two siblings in critical condition ….
Who will be main beneficiary of Iran sanctions lift?
YNet News, 22 Jan 2014 – Iranian sanction relief, as part of nuclear agreement made with world powers, will bring about significant increase in its petrochemical materials exports. Who will stand to gain the most? ….
Iran’s Rohani says possible to overcome enmity with US
YNet News, 22 Jan 2014 – Speaking to Swiss TV from World Economic Forum in Davos, Iranian president says ‘no animosty lasts eternally, we have to transform animosities into friendships’ ….
MKs fight for ‘leftist’ teacher: ‘IDF is sometimes immoral’
YNet News, 22 Jan 2014 – In heated Knesset debate about teacher who expressed negative opinion of Israeli army, Education Committee chairman says current discussion is highly significant, teacher should be immediately brought back to class ….
EU warns Israel, Palestinians of the cost of peace failure
YNet News, 22 Jan 2014 – Israel’s biggest economic partner and Palestinians’ largest donor says both parties to pay high price if peace-talks flounder. EU envoy: Israel will find itself increasingly isolated ….
Musical instruments shown on Iran TV for first time in decades
YNet News, 22 Jan 2014 – Iranian television is banned from showing musicians, musical instruments for decades, and one broadcast this past week turned into a sensation. Was it an error or act of defiance? ….
Syria warring sides gather as world powers push peace talks
YNet News, 22 Jan 2014 – Without Iran, world powers and warring sides of Syrian conflict come together in Geneva to try to find solution to blood ridden conflict. Syrian FM: Opposition are traitors and agents of Israel ….
Palestinian Information Center
Bardawil: Arab silence provides cover for Israeli attack on Gaza
PIC – Hamas leader Dr. Salah Al-Bardawil has charged that Arab silence and US support were providing Israel with a cover to attack the Gaza Strip.
Settlers, intelligence elements storm Aqsa Mosque
PIC – Jewish settlers and intelligence elements broke into the Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem on Thursday in three groups.
Two Palestinians die after days of torture in Syrian jail
PIC – The action group for the Palestinians in Syria said that two Palestinian refugees died on Wednesday in a Syrian detention center after they were exposed to excruciating torture.
Israeli raids and arrest campaigns in occupied WB
PIC – Israeli Occupation Forces arrested at dawn Thursday seven Palestinians throughout occupied West Bank, most of them were from Beit Fajar town in Bethlehem after raiding and searching their houses.
Father Hanna: The Church rejects Israel’s attempts to recruit Christian youth
PIC – Father Attallah Hanna said he rejects all attempts by the Zionist entity to Israelize the Palestinian people from all spectra, stressing the Christian and Muslim Palestinians are one people.
Jewish settler runs over pregnant woman
PIC – A Jewish settler ran over a pregnant woman on the main street in Hawara village, south of Nablus, on Wednesday.
IOA approves construction of 260 housing units in West Bank
PIC – Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) have approved the construction of 261 settlement units in occupied West Bank, Peace Now organization revealed.
MP Mansour suspends hunger strike
PIC – Detained MP Yasser Mansour suspended his hunger strike on Thursday after receiving serious promises from Israeli prison services (IPS), his wife Samar Adnan said.
IOA court sentences school student to 9 months imprisonment
PIC – The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) sentenced a Palestinian teenage school student, Ali Al-Houtari, to nine months imprisonment.
EU Supports Livestock Project with Over 4M Euros
WAFA – 23 Jan 2014
PEX Report: Index Close to 600-Point Mark
WAFA – 23 Jan 2014
After Losing Home, Shelter, Jerusalemite Ordered to Remove Tent
WAFA – 23 Jan 2014
Israel Uproots Hundreds of Olive Trees near Salfit
WAFA – 23 Jan 2014
Exports Up, Imports Down in November, says Statistics Bureau
WAFA – 23 Jan 2014
Israel Responsible for Sabotaging Two States Principle, Says Erekat
WAFA – 23 Jan 2014
Army Arrests Seven in the Southern West Bank
WAFA – 23 Jan 2014
Egypt president defends government amid criticism
LA Times 23 Jan 2014 – Interim President Adly Mansour says his government helped end the police state. Amnesty International reports 1,400 deaths under his watch. CAIRO — Even as Egypt came under withering new criticism from international and domestic human rights groups, interim President Adly Mansour on Thursday credited his…
Rouhani shopping a new Iran at Davos in Charm Offensive Part II
LA Times 23 Jan 2014 – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani took the annual Davos forum by storm on Thursday, touting investment opportunities on the horizon as his country works to get sanctions lifted and hailing a new day in Tehran’s relations with the West.
Prominent Egyptian academic dismayed by spying charges against him
LA Times 23 Jan 2014 – CAIRO — An internationally known Egyptian academic expressed dismay and disbelief Thursday over being charged with espionage, one of a string of recent court cases targeting public intellectuals, liberal activists and journalists.
Iran state TV breaks decades-long taboo against showing instruments
LA Times 23 Jan 2014 – TEHRAN — A technical blunder? Or the latest episode in the culture wars between Iran’s hard-liners and moderates?
Five police officers killed in drive-by shooting at Egypt checkpoint
LA Times 23 Jan 2014 – CAIRO — Drive-by assailants gunned down five police officers at a checkpoint in the south of Egypt early Thursday, state media reported, in the most serious attack against security forces in nearly a month.
Fate of Bashar Assad is key in Syria talks
LA Times 22 Jan 2014 – As the long-awaited U.N. peace conference opens in Montreux, Switzerland, the White House stands firm in insisting on the Syrian president’s ouster. MONTREUX, Switzerland — At the core of the extraordinary diplomatic push launched Wednesday to end Syria’s civil war is the fate of one…
U.S. Sues KBR for Defrauding Its Army in Iraq
New York Times 23 Jan 2014 – The U.S. government on Thursday accused defense contractor KBR Inc of defrauding its military in Iraq by giving inflated deals to two Kuwait-based subcontractors who in turn paid kickbacks of as much as $1 million to KBR employees.
Kerry Says Syria’s Assad Not Ready to Go Yet
New York Times 23 Jan 2014 – Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad is not ready to step down yet to make way for a transition government, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday.
The Lede: Yemen Takes a Step Toward Law Ending Child Marriage
New York Times 23 Jan 2014 – The minimum age to marry in Yemen may be set at 18.
Syrian Opposition Chief Jarba Says Russia Not Sticking to Assad
New York Times 23 Jan 2014 – Syrian opposition chief Ahmed Jarba said on Thursday he had been assured by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that Moscow was not holding on to President Bashar al-Assad, but that Syrians should negotiate his exit through a political process.
Death Toll From South Libya Tribal Clashes Hits 86
New York Times 23 Jan 2014 – At least 86 people have been killed in fierce clashes in southern Libya over the past two weeks between tribes, government forces and former loyalists of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, a top hospital official said on Thursday.
Oxfam Pans Scarlett Johansson for Israeli Deal
New York Times 23 Jan 2014 – Oxfam International is criticizing Scarlett Johansson over her new ad campaign for an Israeli company that operates in the West Bank.
In Syria Talks, Even the Smallest Details Are Negotiated
New York Times 23 Jan 2014 – A mediator was laying the ground for face-to-face talks, reflecting the daunting challenges of seeking a political resolution to the conflict.
IAEA Expected to Win Member State Backing for Expanded Iran Role
New York Times 23 Jan 2014 – Several countries are expected to voice readiness on Friday to help pay for the U.N. atomic watchdog’s expanded role in Iran to monitor a nuclear deal with six world powers, diplomats said, suggesting funding will not be a problem.
Palestinians Dismiss Israeli Al-Qaida Plot Claim
New York Times 23 Jan 2014 – Palestinian security officials are dismissing Israel’s claim that it broke up an al-Qaida plot to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Yemen Says It Foiled Al-Qaida Branch’s Attacks
New York Times 23 Jan 2014 – Officials in Yemen say they have foiled al-Qaida plots to take over banks and government buildings in a central province.
IMF to Visit Iran Later This Week for Economic Review
New York Times 23 Jan 2014 – The International Monetary Fund plans to visit Tehran later this week for its first regular assessment of Iran’s economy in more than two years, IMF spokesman William Murray said on Thursday.
Iraq Executes 11 Convicted on Terrorism Charges
New York Times 23 Jan 2014 – Iraq’s Justice Ministry says 11 prisoners convicted of terrorism-related charges have been executed, just days after authorities hanged 26 prisoners on similar charges.
Report: Saudi Gives $100M for UN Counterterrorism
New York Times 23 Jan 2014 – A state-linked news website in Saudi Arabia says the kingdom has donated $100 million to the United Nations International Center for Counterterrorism.
Egyptian Salafist Hesitates to Back Sisi Presidency Bid
New York Times 23 Jan 2014 – Egypt’s second biggest Islamist faction may have rallied behind a new army-backed constitution passed in a referendum last week, but its support for a presidential bid by military chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi appears less certain.
Netanyahu: We innovate to survive
Globes Main News – Addressing the World Economic Forum, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chose to characterize Israel as “the Innovation Nation”.
Blejer: Moti Ben-Moshe is a worthy partner
Globes Main News – Mario Blejer, who works with Eduardo Elsztain, is confident about the IDB deal, but happier talking about how he would solve Israel’s macro problems.
“A peace agreement can solve our economic woes”
Globes Main News – Members of the Breaking the Impasse initiative at the World Economic Forum talk about fear of boycotts and hope of peace.
Israel’s UN ambassador catches flak in Upper West Side synagogue
Mondoweiss – Israel’s UN ambassador received a rude awakening in NY last night, as a love-fest turned into a forum for questions about Israeli policies. Ron Prosor came to talk about bias against Israel at the U.N. but the spiel was overshadowed by critical attendees, who questioned Prosor…
Oxfam expresses ‘concerns’ over Scarlett Johansson’s support for settlement product
Mondoweiss – Actress Scarlett Johansson is a global ambassador for Oxfam and now the face of SodaStream, which builds seltzer makers in the occupied West Bank. Oxfam opposes trade with such companies because they help deny Palestinians their rights. Oxfam is now “in dialogue” with Johansson– as it…
Thu: Teva sets seal on negative week
Globes Main News – The Tel Aviv 25 Index fell again today, making it a 2% drop this week, with Teva leading the slide, following reports that chairman Phillip Frost wants fewer directors.
Dry January: Global warming is now
Globes Macro Economics – The most important story about the extreme weather in Israel this winter is that almost all of the climatologists’ alarming forecasts are materializing.
Cracks in the lobby: Wexler warns Netanyahu not to be ‘cavalier’ about US support
Mondoweiss – Robert Wexler warns Netanyahu not to overplay his hand with the U.S. and Daniel Abraham warns the Israel lobby is losing power to support Israel as the old die off
Elbit Systems workers unite to avoid layoffs
Globes Main News – Employees at Elisra, Tadiran Systems, and Tadiran Spectralink suspect management plans firing hundreds. Management denies the claims.
EU envoy warns that Israel is isolating itself with yet another settlement announcement
Mondoweiss – They can’t stop building– 2791 new settlements since the beginning of the year announced by Israel in the occupied territories
Judge stunned by Dankner’s IDB motion
Globes Main News – Judge Eitan Orenstin cannot rule on Nochi Dankner’s allegations against Moti Ben-Moshe as they were filed by his former law partners.
Hail hail hasbara!
Mondoweiss – Dave Lippman riffs off Chuck Berry’s School Days to explain the necessity of academic boycott of Israel
Teva to reduce size of board
Globes Main News – Teva chairman Phillip Frost wrote to shareholders about the reduction and said new directors with “global healthcare experience” will be sought.
Barclays ups Mazor Robotics price target 26%
Globes Main News – “We expect expansion of Mazor’s commercial efforts, increasing awareness of robotics in spine, and a focus on equality of care to act as tailwinds.”
Campaigners slam Gertler’s $150m Congo oil rights sale
Globes Energy & Water – “Reuters” reports that Dan Gertler denies any wrongdoing in the sale which earned him 300 times the amount he paid for the oil rights.
Wholesale market raises concern for Hot parent’s IPO
Globes Main News – The problematic revenue projection for Bezeq is worrying the banks underwriting the IPO of Altice, the parent company of Bezeq rival, Hot.
“You can’t teach entrepreneurship”
Globes Macro Economics – Angel investor Zohar Gilon relies on his own judgement rather than due diligence when selecting investments.
Manufacturers chief: Flug wrong on exchange rate
Globes Macro Economics – Amir Hayek: I wish to tell Governor Karnit Flug that she is badly wrong – the low exchange rate hurts and harms exporters.
The Shabak Case of the Terribly Convenient Al Qaeda Terror Conspiracy
Tikun Olam – Behold, the Islamist bogeyman, Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri The Shabak announced today (the Independent’s story here and Christian Science Monitor’s here ) with great fanfare, and wide international press coverage, that it had broken a major Al Qaeda terror conspiracy that was in “advanced stages.” The…
Bio-Light lists on Wall Street
Globes Main News – CEO Suzana Nahum Zilberberg: Bio-Light is very strongly positioned to execute additional commercialization agreements soon.
Update: ‘Blood bubbles’ — mainstream media turn on SodaStream and Scarlett Johansson
Mondoweiss – ‘Blood bubbles’ and ‘blood cocktails.’ Is that the brand Scarlett Johansson wanted to endorse? Her teaming up with SodaStream, a seltzer maker in the occupied West Bank, has kicked off a paradigm shift for the occupation and the company. Suddenly everyone knows that the product is…
Amnesty raps Egypt over ‘abuses’
BBC 23 Jan 2014 – Amnesty International says Egypt has witnessed rights abuses and state violence “on an unprecedented scale” since President Morsi was ousted.
UN seeks to bridge Syria divide
BBC 23 Jan 2014 – The UN mediator for Syrian peace talks, Lakhdar Brahimi, will hold separate talks with rival delegations to assess their willingness to meet together.
Egypt police killed at checkpoint
BBC 23 Jan 2014 – Five policemen are killed in Egypt in an armed attack on a checkpoint south of Cairo, the interior ministry says.
Why Twitter is so big in Saudi Arabia
BBC 23 Jan 2014 – Why Twitter is so big in Saudi Arabia
Former PSP official found dead in car
Al-Akhbar News 23 Jan 2014 – Sami Marroush, a former member of Lebanon’s so-called Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), was found dead Thursday with gun shot wounds to his chest and neck, state news reported. Lebanon’s National News Agency said the wounds were caused by a hunting rifle fired at close range. His…
Egypt’s Salafis: Inheriting the Brotherhood and Courting the Regime
Al-Akhbar News 23 Jan 2014 – Egyptians celebrate in Tahrir square after a new constitution was approved on January 18, 2014 in the capital Cairo. (Photo: AFP – Mahmoud Khaled). Egyptians celebrate in Tahrir square after a new constitution was approved on January 18, 2014 in the capital Cairo. (Photo: AFP -…
Lebanon: Tripoli Gunmen Threaten Hariri
Al-Akhbar News 23 Jan 2014 – Lebanese security forces patrol a street of the northern port city of Tripoli on January 23, 2014. (Photo: AFP – STR). Lebanese security forces patrol a street of the northern port city of Tripoli on January 23, 2014. (Photo: AFP – STR). On January 22, a…
After 10 years, Israel returns bodies of two Palestinians to West Bank
Al-Akhbar News 23 Jan 2014 – Palestinian security forces carry the coffins of Ata al-Samahna and Fathi Ameera, two Palestinians who were killed by Israeli forces ten years ago, after Israeli authorities handed over their bodies, on January 22, 2014 during their reburial in the West Bank city of Nablus. (Photo: AFP…
One dead as rival students clash at Egypt university
Al-Akhbar News 23 Jan 2014 – Clashes between rival Egyptian students at a university in Alexandria killed at least one student on Thursday, a supporter of ousted Islamist president Mohammed Mursi, police said. The student was killed when pro-Mursi protesters clashed with their opponents at Alexandria University, the police in the Mediterranean…
Libya violence killed 643 over 2013: report
Al-Akhbar News 23 Jan 2014 – Violence in Libya killed 643 people last year, amid a sharp rise in crime, according to a parliamentary report that laments a lack of effective policing in the increasingly lawless North African country. Excerpts of a report by the internal affairs committee of the General National…
Watching Geneva II From Damascus
Al-Akhbar News 23 Jan 2014 – Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon opens the so-called Geneva II peace talks next to UN-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi on January 22, 2014. (Photo: AFP – Fabrice Coffrini). Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon opens the so-called Geneva II peace talks next to UN-Arab League envoy for…
ISIS Brings Life Back to Raqqa, in Its Own Way
Al-Akhbar News 23 Jan 2014 – A Syrian man inspects the damage following shelling by pro-regime forces in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on January 22, 2014. (Photo: AFP – Fouad Hallak). A Syrian man inspects the damage following shelling by pro-regime forces in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on…
Controversial Morocco rape law axed
BBC 23 Jan 2014 – The Moroccan parliament unanimously amends laws that allowed rapists of underage girls to avoid punishment by marrying their victims.
Abdullah Azzam member killed in East Lebanon car chase: Army
Al-Akhbar News 23 Jan 2014 – A man killed during a car chase with Lebanese army troops in the Eastern Bekaa Valley Wednesday was a member of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades who attempted to evade capture, the army said Thursday. On Wednesday the army said that a wanted man was killed following…
Second Lebanese soldier dies from Tripoli attacks
Al-Akhbar News 23 Jan 2014 – A second soldier succumbed to his wounds suffered from a series of early morning attacks Wednesday on military targets in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli, the army said Thursday. Corporal Fadi Jamous, 38, from the town of Baabda, died of his injuries Thursday morning in a…
Iran says free elections best solution for Syria, as Geneva II enters second day
Al-Akhbar Politics 23 Jan 2014 – Iranian president Hassan Rohani listens after his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 23, 2014. (Photo: AFP – Eric Piermont) Updated at 2:15pm: Iranian President Hassan Rohani said Thursday that fair elections would be the best way of ending Syria’s civil war. “…
Bahrain museum expands horizons
BBC 23 Jan 2014 – Bahrain’s iconic archaeological museum widens reach
VIDEO: Bahrain museum expands horizons
BBC 22 Jan 2014 – As Bahrain’s National Museum celebrates its 25th anniversary, its director Rashad Faraj explains why opening site museums will increase appreciation of the country’s rich cultural heritage.
Ahmad Taha Group Behind Hermel and Haret Hreik Blasts
Al-Akhbar Politics 22 Jan 2014 – The explosive device consisted of an estimated 20 kilograms of TNT attached to two mortar shells, wrapped in a metal frame, and fitted with metal balls to cause more civilian deaths. (Photo: Haitham Moussawi) The explosive device consisted of an estimated 20 kilograms of TNT attached…
Articles
US-Israel alliance strange but stable
Ramzy Baroud, Asia Times 1/22/2014
Israel is often viewed by Washington politicians as the most “stable” ally in the Middle East. But stability from the American perspective can mean many things. Lead among them is that the “ally” must be unconditionally loyal to the diktats of the US administration. This rule has proven to be true since the United States claimed a position of ascendency, if not complete hegemony, over many regions of the world after World War II. Israel, however, remained an exception.
The rules by which US-Israeli relations are governed are perhaps the most bewildering of all foreign policies of any two countries.
An illustration of this would be to consider comments by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, as quoted by the Israeli news portal Ynetnews: “The American security plan presented to us is not worth the paper it’s written on,” he said, referring to efforts underway since July by American Secretary of State John Kerry, “who turned up here determined and acting out of misplaced obsession and messianic fervor,” Ya’alon added. Kerry “cannot teach me anything about the conflict with the Palestinians”, he said.
So far, Kerry has made 10 trips to the Middle East with the intention of hammering out an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Based on media reports, it seems that the potential agreement is composed in such a way that it mostly accommodates Israel’s “security” whims and obsessions, including a proposal to keep eastern West Bank regions and the Jordan Valley under Israeli military control. In fact, there is growing interest in “land swaps” an idea floated 10 years ago by Israel’s notorious Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. more.. e-mail
New US poll shows that Israelis, Palestinians do not believe in two-state solution
Ramy Srour, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 1/23/2014
As Israeli and Palestinian officials await the announcement by US Secretary of State John Kerry of an interim deal at the end of this month in Aqaba, Jordan, that is set to lay the foundations for a detailed peace process, the latest report by the Washington-based Zogby Research Services LLC reveals that the majority of both Israelis and Palestinians believe that a two-state solution, although a desirable outcome, is not a feasible one.
Based on a series of in-person interviews carried out in August 2013, and consisting of a sample of 1,000 Palestinians and as many Israelis aged 18 and older, the new report released on 22 January shows that the US-led peace process may lack that level of popular support that could otherwise bolster a more swift resolution. What is particularly revealing about the new findings is one side’s low levels of trust in the other’s intentions.
According to the survey, 59 per cent of Israelis believe that Palestinians are not interested in a “just and lasting two-state solution” to the conflict. At the same time, 68 per cent of the Palestinians interviewed think the same of Israelis. And while majorities within both communities believe that their own side is in fact interested in a peaceful resolution, the magnitudes of the majorities are far from reassuring. Only 57 per cent of Israelis think that their side wants to see a peaceful settlement, and a mere 50 per cent of Palestinians believe that their community is interested in a two-state solution.
What is also particularly telling is the widespread scepticism with regard to the recently re-launched peace efforts led by Kerry and the Obama administration. The survey shows that 65 per cent of Palestinians, nearly two-thirds of the population, think that the Obama administration is not truly interested in a lasting two-state solution. On the other hand, almost one out of two Israelis, 49 per cent of those surveyed, thinks the same of the US government. And with regard to Kerry’s efforts in particular, only 11 per cent of Palestinians and 39 per cent of Israelis believe that the secretary’s renewed efforts are likely to lead to a peaceful agreement. more.. e-mail
Sharon and the art of self-deception
Jason Hirthler, Asia Times 1/23/2014
In the 1970s, evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers pioneered the biological roots of self-deception and theorized that self-deceit may confer a survival advantage on humans – mostly because lying is more effective when you believe your own lies. With nothing to hide, the telltale physical signs of deceit – flared nostrils, higher vocal register and a distracted gaze – are diminished. When peddling a false product, sincerity sells. Nowhere is this daunting proposition better exemplified than in politics.
In her tome on the origins of totalitarian politics, Hannah Arendt notes that the structural design of totalitarian systems are intended to shield the masses – but notably its leadership – from reality. In fact, totalitarian politics are marked by the insularity of the ruling regime. The effect is to reinforce the fictional narrative the inner circle has embraced, ingested, and declared allegiance to. In Nazi Germany, it was the bizarre vision of a purified Aryan species. In Stalinist Russia, it was a perverted vision of class struggle. And although America hasn’t yet achieved full-blown totalitarian status, there are enough heralds of its coming to draw parallels between its practical blueprint and ours.
Media as a front organizationOne popular totalitarian method by which to insulate leadership from the potentially painful realism of the outside world is through the use of front organizations. These are associations and support groups that are not technically part of the organizing regime but share its narrative and ethical assumptions. These groups serve as buffers designed to shield power from the censure of its minions. Sheltered Nazi leaders never caught a whiff of dissent or counter argument in their fascist hermitage, since counterpoint could never penetrate the wall of zealotry and reaffirmation that enveloped them.
An exemplary storyline of this kind appeared with the death of Ariel Sharon…. more.. e-mail
Ariel Sharon’s Long Goodbye
Heathcote Williams, CounterPunch 1/23/2014
Stiff-Necked Protagonist
There is a convention that you’re not supposed to speak ill of the recently dead, which unfortunately imposes a kind of vow of silence, because there is nothing good to say. He [Ariel Sharon] was a brutal killer; he had one fixed idea in mind which drove him all his life: a greater Israel, as powerful as possible, as few Palestinians as possible.” – Noam Chomsky, Democracy Now, January 13, 2014
“It is not just Sabra and Shatila. He committed so many crimes against Arabs everywhere. … He is truly a butcher.”Adnan al-Mikdad, a Lebanese man who lost both his parents in the Beirut massacre, New York Daily News, January 11, 2014
“Sharon was the most typical Israeli one could imagine, embodying the saying, ‘If force does not work, try more force.’”Uri Avnery, The Israeli Imperator, www.avnery-news.co.il January 17, 2014
“Sharon personified the most brutal, colonial, reactionary & racist trends in Zionism. A Jewish Rambo.”Avi Shlaim, Israel and Palestine, London: Verso, 2009, p. xiii
Like the wall he’d built
To divide two Semitic
Peoples, he was cut off.
Like the olive trees
On others’ land which he’d uprooted,
He’d become barren…. more.. e-mail
Settler-driven archaeology plan threatens to push Hebron family off farmland
Electronic Intifada: 23 Jan 2014 – The Israeli government is funding a project designed to further displace Palestinians in Hebron. more..
Cracks in the Alliance: Is There Finally Daylight between Israel and the US?
Palestine Chronicle: 22 Jan 2014 – By Jonathan Cook – Nazareth Things have come to a strange state of affairs when Washington regards Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s far-right foreign minister, as the voice of moderation in the Israeli cabinet. While Lieberman has called the soon-to-be-unveiled US peace plan the best deal Israel is ever likely to get, and has repeatedly flattered its chief author, US secretary of state John Kerry, other ministers have preferred to pull off the diplomatic gloves. The most egregious instance came last week when Moshe Yaalon, the Israeli defense minister, launched an unprecedented and personal attack on the man entrusted by President Barack Obama to oversee the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. In a private briefing, disclosed last week by the Yedioth Aharonoth newspaper, Yaalon called Kerry “obsessive and messianic”, denounced his peace plan as “not worth the paper it was written on”, and wished he would win “the Nobel prize and…more
The Strange but ‘Stable’ Alliance: US Senate Await Israeli Instructions
Palestine Chronicle: 22 Jan 2014 – By Ramzy Baroud Israel is often viewed by Washington politicians as the most ‘stable’ ally in the Middle East. But stability from the American perspective can mean many things. Lead amongst them is that the ‘ally’ must be unconditionally loyal to the diktats of the US administration. This rule has proven to be true since the United States claimed a position of ascendency, if not complete hegemony over many regions of the world since World War II. Israel, however, remained an exception. The rules by which US-Israeli relations are governed are perhaps the most bewildering of all foreign policies of any two countries. An illustration of this would be to consider these comments by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon quoted in the Israeli news portal Ynetnews. “The American security plan presented to us is not worth the paper it’s written on,” he said, referring to efforts underway since July by…more
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