25 March 2014 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Japan: “Settlements Violate International Law”
IMEMC – The Japanese government issued a statement strongly denouncing recent Israeli plans to build hundreds of units, for Jewish settlers, in occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. …
4 Days of Clashes in Aida Camp, After Activists Break through Wall
IMEMC – Monday, March 24, 2014, marked the fourth day in a row of clashes between residents of Aida refugee camp and Israeli forces, after Palestinian activists tore through the separation wall which surrounds the camp. …
PFLP Calls PA to Stop Arresting Its Cadre
IMEMC – The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) has demanded that the Palestinian Authority security apparatus and its intelligence services halt a campaign of arrests, and persecution of its supporters and members, in various parts of the West Bank. …
Israeli Labor Party Suggests Settlement Freeze
IMEMC – The Israeli Labor Party has presented a proposal to the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, providing the replacement of the fourth patch of Palestinian prisoners release with settlement freeze. …
Israel Excludes Prisoners of ‘48 Lands from Release List
IMEMC – Israeli media outlets report that Israel is planning to exclude Palestinian prisoners of lands occupied in 1948 from the list of the fourth and final group of pre-Oslo prisoners, scheduled for release at the end of March. …
Israelis Attempt to Torch Palestinian-owned Shop in Jerusalem
IMEMC – Three Israelis, late Monday, attempted to set fire to a gift shop owned by a Palestinian man in Jerusalem, on Jaffa Street, according to an Israeli police spokeswoman. …
Several Kidnappings and Interrogations Across West Bank and Jerusalem
IMEMC – [Tuesday, March 25, 2014] Nine people from the districts of Hebron, Jenin, and Nablus, in addition to another in Jerusalem, were kidnapped by occupation forces on Tuesday, according to reports by media and security sources. …
Israelis attempt to torch Palestinian-owned shop in Jerusalem
3/25/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Three Israelis attempted to set fire to a gift shop owned by a Palestinian man in Jerusalem late Monday, an Israeli police spokeswoman said. Luba al-Samri said in a statement that the suspects also vandalized the shop — located on Jaffa Street in West Jerusalem — posting slogans reading “Kahane was right,” before fleeing the scene. She said police were investigating the incident….
In photos: 4 days of Aida clashes after activists break through wall
3/25/2014 – MaanImages / Mohammad Al-Azza – Monday marked the fourth day in a row of clashes between residents of Aida camp and Israeli forces, after Palestinian activists tore through the separation wall that surrounds the camp. Local popular committee member Munthir Amira told Ma’an that Israeli special forces raided the Bethlehem-area refugee camp on Monday evening and detained 24-year-old Muatasim Basim Abu Khdeir. The raid….
Egypt prevents Gaza pilgrims from crossing Rafah
3/25/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Egyptian authorities prevented hundreds of pilgrims from returning home to Gaza on Monday after closing the Rafah crossing, witnesses said. The passengers, who were returning from the Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca, arrived at Rafah on Monday afternoon but were forced to go back to the city of el-Arish by Egypt’s army. The pilgrims spent the night at the….
Watch: Thousands celebrate Palestinian culture in Jerusalem
3/25/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Thousands of people surrounded Jerusalem’s Old City walls from Jaffa Gate (Bab al-Khalil) to Lions’ Gate (Bab al-Asbat) on March 16 for a celebration of Palestinian culture and education. In an event organized by the Shabbab al-Balad youth initiative, Palestinians from Jerusalem, the West Bank, and inside Israel gathered to read and to mark the anniversary of the….
Israeli forces detain man in Aida camp raid
3/25/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces raided Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem late Monday and detained 24-year-old Muatasim Basim Abu Khdeir. Local popular committee member Munthir Amira told Ma’an that soldiers deployed on rooftops before detaining Abu Khdeir. [END]
Family: Oldest Palestinian prisoner diagnosed with kidney cancer
3/25/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Fuad Shobaki, the oldest Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody, has been diagnosed with kidney cancer, his family said Tuesday. Recent medical tests revealed that the 76-year-old prisoner had a tumor on his kidney, his relatives said. Shobaki’s sister, Umm Ahmad, told Ma’an that her brother has served more than half of his 20 year sentence for….
Israeli forces detain student near campus in Hebron
3/25/2014 – HEBRON (Ma’an) – An undercover Israeli force on Tuesday afternoon detained a Palestinian university student near the campus of Palestine Polytechnic University in Hebron in the southern West Bank. Locals told Ma’an that Israeli undercover agents found Jabir Rajoub on the main street in Wadi al-Hariyya neighborhood near the campus and forced him into their car at gunpoint. They highlighted that Rajoub….
Israel authorizes transfer of Turkish medical equipment
3/25/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel has authorized a transfer of medical equipment from Turkey to a hospital in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian Authority official said Monday. PA Minister of Civil Affairs, Hussein al-Sheikh, told Ma’an that his office submitted an application to Israel over a year ago to request a transfer of Turkish medical equipment. Israel officially authorized the request on Monday. [END]
Poll: Palestinians favor extending talks if prisoners freed
3/25/2014 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — A majority of Palestinians would support extending peace talks with Israel beyond an April deadline, but only in exchange for the release of additional prisoners, according to a poll published Monday. Without this condition, most Palestinians would reject extending the faltering negotiations, which have achieved no apparent progress in the nearly nine months since US Secretary of State John Kerry brought the two…. Related: Abbas: Israel avoiding prisoner release
Abbas satisfied with Arab summit resolutions
3/25/2014 – KUWAIT CITY (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that the Palestinians were completely satisfied with resolutions related to Palestine that were adopted at a Kuwait summit.”What we want from Hamas is to determine a date for elections in order to complete the Palestinian reconciliation” Abbas told Ma’an at the Arab League summit. He was expected to address the summit Tuesday…. Related: Syrian conflict takes center stage at Arab summit
Abbas: Israel avoiding prisoner release
3/25/2014 – KUWAIT (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday said that the Israeli government is trying to get out of releasing a fourth group of veteran Palestinian prisoners.”The Israeli government is trying to dodge an agreement it had with the US administration to release pre-Oslo Palestinian prisoners,” Abbas said in remarks to an Arab League summit in Kuwait. He said Israel was responsible for…. Related: Poll: Palestinians favor extending talks if prisoners freed
700 Egypt Islamists in court after mass death sentences
3/25/2014 – CAIRO (AFP) — Around 700 supporters of Egypt’s ousted president Mohamed Morsi, including the supreme guide of his Muslim Brotherhood movement, were Tuesday due in court, a day after 529 co-defendants were sentenced to death. The trial of more than 1,200 Islamists in the southern province of Minya comes amid a sweeping crackdown on Morsi’s supporters since his overthrow by the army….
Syrian conflict takes center stage at Arab summit
3/25/2014 – KUWAIT CITY (AFP) — The Syrian conflict takes center stage at an Arab summit starting Tuesday in Kuwait, where a regional rift over Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has been kept off the agenda. The dispute which broke out in the runup to the summit pits Qatar against Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. With the focus on Syria, its opposition National Coalition…. Related: Abbas satisfied with Arab summit resolutions
Ministry: Yemen troops free kidnapped Italian, driver
3/25/2014 – SANAA, Yemen (AFP) — Yemeni troops freed an Italian UN staffer and his driver on Tuesday just hours after their abduction from a diplomatic district of Sanaa, the interior ministry said. The kidnappers were stopped at a checkpoint on the outskirts and the hostages were freed, a ministry official told AFP. The UN staffer and his chauffeur were said to be “in good health.”[END]
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
PCHR Organizes Training Course for Female Farmers on Human Rights
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
occupied Palestinian territory: The Next Round in Gaza, Middle East Report N°149 | 25 March 2014
Relief Web 25 Mar 2014 – Source: International Crisis Group Country: occupied Palestinian territory EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The ceasefire between Israel and Gaza has eroded during the past several months and recently threatened to come to an abrupt end. The day after three members of Islamic Jihad…
World: Global Emergency Overview Snapshot 19 – 25 March
Relief Web 25 Mar 2014 – Source: Assessment Capacities Project Country: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Haiti, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho,…
Syrian Arab Republic: Syrian conflict takes centre stage at Arab summit
Relief Web 25 Mar 2014 – Source: Agence France-Presse Country: occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic 03/25/2014 05:28 GMT KUWAIT CITY, March 25, 2014 (AFP) – The Syrian conflict takes centre stage at an Arab summit starting Tuesday in Kuwait, where a regional rift over Egypt’s…
occupied Palestinian territory: Near 13,000 citizens urge the European Parliament to take action on water for Gaza
Relief Web 24 Mar 2014 – Source: EWASH Country: occupied Palestinian territory Brussels, 20 March 2014 On the occasion of World Water Day 2014, a petition calling for urgent action to address Gaza’s growing water crisis, signed by over 12.784 people worldwide including citizens of all…
Role models for Muslim women
The National 25 Mar 2014 – Traditional western feminism often sits uncomfortably with Islam, even among women who campaign for greater power and rights. A new online project aims to address the needs of these women and refine feminism to make it more acceptable to Muslims, writes Colin Randall
Kuwait’s emir calls on Arab leaders to ‘cast aside differences’
The National 25 Mar 2014 – Speaking at the Arab League summit in Kuwait City, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah said, the “dangers around us are enormous and we will not move towards joint Arab action without our unity and without casting aside our differences”.
US does not recognise Russian annexation of Crimea, says Obama
The National 25 Mar 2014 – The United States and some of its closest allies have also cut Russia out indefinitely from a major coalition of leading industrial nations and cancelled a summer summit Russia was to host in its Olympic Village of Sochi.
Egypt judge will rule on second mass trial of Islamists in April
The National 25 Mar 2014 – The announcement came a day after he sentenced hundreds to death in a similar trial that raised a storm of international criticism.
Ethiopia is ‘spying on its citizens with foreign tech’
The National 25 Mar 2014 – Ethiopia is using foreign technology to spy on citizens suspected of being critical of the government, Human Rights Watch said in a report released Tuesday.
Trial of Qaddafi’s sons and senior aides to open on April 14
The National 25 Mar 2014 – Charges against Qaddafi’s sons and aides include murder, kidnapping, complicity in incitement to rape, plunder, sabotage, embezzlement of public funds.
Oman graft campaign to smoke ‘out the termites’ in economy
The National 25 Mar 2014 – An absolute monarchy run by Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Oman has pushed cautious reforms, including widening the powers of the Shura Council.
Man in Canada hospital with symptoms resembling Ebola virus
The National 25 Mar 2014 – A man who recently traveled to West Africa is seriously ill and being kept in isolation in a Canadian hospital with symptoms of a hemorrhagic fever resembling the Ebola virus, Saskatchewan health officials said.
Missing MH370: Angry relatives demand answers at Malaysian embassy in Beijing
The National 25 Mar 2014 – Angry relatives of Chinese passengers aboard Flight MH370 scuffled with security personnel Tuesday as they descended on Malaysia’s embassy in protest, weeping as they demanded answers on the crashed plane.
In pictures: Malaysia PM announces fate of missing MH370
The National 24 Mar 2014 – Malaysia said on Monday the passenger jet which went missing more than two weeks ago crashed in the Indian Ocean, but shed no light on the mystery of why it veered from its intended course.
After years of humiliation, Israeli Arabs say getting better treatment at airport
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Court questions discriminatory practice in Arab and Druze schools
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Camp David minutes show how understanding overcame distrust
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Move over shekel, make way for the Isracoin
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Dozens of Israeli trekkers arrested after ‘night of debauchery’ in Peru
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
White House ‘disappointed’ at Saudis denying visa to JPost reporter
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Abbas accuses Israel of sabotaging peace talks
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
U.S., Russia agree on nuclear terror threat, sort of
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
After Marius the giraffe, Copenhagen Zoo kills family of lions
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Court refuses to compel plea bargain for Olmert aide
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Egyptian rights groups fume over Islamist death sentences
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Kerry, Abbas to meet in Amman to discuss framework deal
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Rumsfeld: ‘Trained ape’ could do better than Obama in Afghanistan
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Chinese group buying Israel’s largest healthcare firm
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Court asked to restore water to Arab parts of Jerusalem
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
British soccer’s self-described ‘Yid Army’ gets another shpritz of anti-Semitism
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
British soccer’s self-described ‘Yid Army’ gets another shpritz of anti-Semitism
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Outrage rising among Palestinians over steady increase in ‘honor killings’
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Obama warns Russia against further Ukraine advance
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
U.S.: Israel’s discrimination keeps it out of visa waiver deal
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Despite official end of effort, Ethiopian aliyah continues
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Israel urged to reconsider plan to close public broadcaster
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Chinese families clash with police, slam Malaysia over lost plane
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Turkey’s Twitter battlefield
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
U.S. justices take up religious challenge to Obamacare birth control provision
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Israel and Turkey may sign reconciliation pact in April
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Officers march on Great Escape anniversary
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Striking Foreign Ministry staff to hold marathon talks with Finance Min.
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Diaspora Jewish diplomats: Rescue Israel’s Foreign Ministry
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
U.S. welcomes departure of ‘noxious’ UN Palestine envoy Falk
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Canadian returns from Africa with Ebola-like symptoms
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Ecologists struggle to find new homes for Israel’s rare wild plants
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Nine youths arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting 13-year-old girl
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Israeli unions to end boycott of Turkish vacations
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Palestinians may turn to UN if Israel doesn’t free last prisoners
Ha’aretz – 25 Mar 2014
Israeli government doc: Population exchange legal under international law
Ha’aretz – 24 Mar 2014
Lacking majority, Knesset panel balks at funding WZO’s settlement arm
Ha’aretz – 24 Mar 2014
Tragedy, farce – Israel’s handling of the Palestinians contains it all
Ha’aretz – 24 Mar 2014
Israel air safety concerns: 8 passenger jets deviated from flight level in last 2 months
Ha’aretz – 24 Mar 2014
Most land Israel sold for new homes in 2014 in West Bank or East Jerusalem
Ha’aretz – 24 Mar 2014
End the injustice of Israel’s lenient sex-crime laws
Ha’aretz – 24 Mar 2014
Picking on Sara Netanyahu is the new Israeli rage
Ha’aretz – 24 Mar 2014
The occupation reinforcement division
Ha’aretz – 24 Mar 2014
BoI: Improvements in infrastructure have reduced traffic accidents
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – While improved infrastructure has had a significant impact on the rate of traffic accidents, changes in police enforcement have not had similar effects.
Kerry to meet Abbas in Amman in last ditch effort to salvage talks
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – Abbas tells Arab League Israel would “bury” Kerry framework document; Israeli officials regret Abbas not seeking Arab world support for compromise.
Israeli architects appeal to Foreign Ministry, Britain against boycott threat
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – It’s hypocritical for the Royal Institute of British Architects to suspend Israel’s participation when it works in countries without women’s rights.
For Zion’s sake: Give us Sundays in the summer
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – OECD figures show Israelis working 251 hours per year more than the OECD average, with a 43-hour average work week.
In My Own Write: Unlovable label
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – Are ‘bossy’ women controlling, or simply strong?
Terra incognita: Pakistan and terror: We know what we know
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – “We don’t know what we don’t know.”
BDS, the prisoner release, and what Americans should do
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – The horror of releasing terrorists and signing a bad deal may be the price to pay to delay the US from tacitly supporting the BDS movement.
The radicalization of the haredi world
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – The haredi issue could morph into violent societal confrontation and cause immense damage, just at a time as Israelis are seeking out their Jewish roots and becoming increasingly more traditional.
Saudi shame
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – The Saudis should have the decency and the courage to fess up to their limited cooperation with Israel instead of generating public relations spectacles at the expense of ‘The Jerusalem Post’.
US: Israel’s discrimination against Arab travelers keeps it out of visa waiver deal
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – There have been a number of efforts in Congress over the years to exempt Israel from visa waiver rules; the most recent is stalled in Senate.
High Court won’t force state to put Zaken on stand against Olmert; Verdict to go forward
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – High Court rejects a petition to compel the state to agree to a plea bargain with Shula Zaken.
Peruvian police arrest 60 Israeli tourists for partying with drugs on ancient Incan site
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – The backpackers reportedly held a raucous party involving drugs, alcohol and orgies.
Obama, world leaders play interactive nuclear war game at summit
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – ‘Telegraph’ reports Germany’s Merkel “grumbles” about having to play game at high level summit but complaints fall on deaf ears.
Alalouf: Poverty rates among the elderly are morally unbearable
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – 80.1% of Bedouin children and 72.6% of families living in poverty, according to statistics.
Survey: Majority of Israeli youth consider themselves Zionist
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – 70 percent, say they consider themselves Zionists, according to a survey released at the 33rd National Youth Zionist Congress.
Peretz slams Yogev C’tee for reconsidering power plant filtration systems
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – As part of recommendations, C’tee may reconsider a project to install scrubbers – air pollution control devices.
‘Erdogan likely to toughen position toward Israel if his party wins municipal elections’
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – In contrast to Turkish reports that compensation deal days away, assessments in Jerusalem suggest Erdogan election win makes this unlikely.
Katz calls for Ashdod port union chief resignation following gay slur
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – Hassan has since deleted the comment, and posted a “clarification” on his Facebook page.
Hungary tells ‘Post’ its ambassador to Lebanon did not praise Hezbollah
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – Budapest says ambassador only attended the exhibition as part of his work as a diplomat.
Bennett: Abbas is a more extreme version of the 1999 model of Assad
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – Speaking during tour of Golan, Bayit Yehudi leader slams Arab League’s refusal to recognize Israel as Jewish state.
UNRWA chief appeals to Israel, Egypt over Gaza restrictions
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – UNRWA chief urges Egypt to open Rafah crossing, especially for those seeking medical treatment and students.
Study: Up to 1/5 of Hungarians ‘extreme anti-Semites’
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – Survey by expert at Budapest’s Central European University finds that 19% of Hungarians “relativize” the Holocaust.
Peres speaks out against Price Tag crimes
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – Acting against moral values and the law not a commercial matter, and law enforcement agencies must take the sternest measures.
Bringing Ukrainian culture to Israel in a time of struggle
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – A project aimed at promoting contemporary Ukrainian culture in Israel will be launched in Tel Aviv in May.
Reduce bureaucracy to fight poverty
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – Getting aid takes so much time and energy that the poor have little left over to help themselves.
Israel police question Shalom on sex crimes allegations
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – Police said Tuesday that “for two hours the minister gave his version of events about the incident in the complaint.”
The Crimean coup
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – Far bigger battles, quite unrelated to Israel-Palestine, are under way on the world’s political stage.
Liberman lashes out at striking Foreign Ministry workers
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – Foreign minister accuses disgruntled employees of waging labor struggle on the backs of Israelis in distress.
Live, Love and Learn: A Date with Diplomacy
Jerusalem Post 25 Mar 2014 – Diplomatic spouses, (in most cases, wives) must give up their careers and identities for the sake of their husbands.
Plan to transfer Arab-Israelis to new Palestinian state seeks legal approval
The Guardian 25 Mar 2014 – Israel’s hardline foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman who suggested the controversial idea is seeking secret legal advice – Israel’s foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has commissioned a confidential legal opinion that argues it would be legal under international law…
Seven killed in gun attack on Iraq army: officials
Daily Star 25 Mar 2014 A gun attack on an Iraqi army patrol just north of Baghdad on Tuesday killed seven people and wounded 13 others, security and medical officials said.
‘Israel to compensate Turkey’ over flotilla raid: Ankara
Daily Star 25 Mar 2014 A long-awaited compensation deal for Turkish victims of a deadly Israeli raid on a Gaza aid flotilla four years ago will soon be signed, Ankara said on Tuesday.
Egypt court sets April 28 as judgment day for 700 Islamists
Daily Star 25 Mar 2014 An Egypt court which triggered a global outcry after it sentenced 529 Islamists to death has set April 28 as judgment day in the trial of about 700 co-defendants, a lawyer said Tuesday.
Sleiman holds sideline meetings with Arab leaders
Daily Star 25 Mar 2014 Sleiman meets with the emir of Qatar as well as the presidents of Egypt, Palestine, Djibouti and Algeria on the sidelines of the Arab summit in Kuwait.
More Syrian rockets fall on Lebanon
Daily Star 25 Mar 2014 Two rockets fired from Syria hit the outskirts of Hor Taala, near the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek.
Obama to propose ending NSA’s phone call sweep
Daily Star 25 Mar 2014 The White House wants the National Security Agency to get out of the business of sweeping up and storing vast amounts of data on Americans’ phone calls.
Mass Egypt death penalties violate international law: U.N.
Daily Star 25 Mar 2014 The United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday an Egyptian court’s decision to sentence 529 members of the Muslim Brotherhood to death contravened international law, as Egypt prepares to try more than 600 more.
Islamist rebels seize first coastal village in north Syria
Daily Star 25 Mar 2014 Islamist rebels captured a village on Syria’s Mediterranean coast for the first time and battled to hold territory abutting the nearby Turkish border taken from President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, activists said on.
Two detained over drugs, robbery
Daily Star 25 Mar 2014 Two brothers are detained in east Lebanon after police find drugs hidden in one mini-bus and masks and an iron bar in another.
Syrian opposition calls for ‘sophisticated’ arms
Daily Star 25 Mar 2014 Syria’s opposition chief urged Arab leaders Tuesday to pressure the international community to supply rebels with “sophisticated” weapons, as Saudi Arabia’s crown prince scolds the international community for “betraying” rebels.
Obama to propose ending NSA’s phone call sweep
YNet News, 25 Mar 2014 – ….
Documents signed by Hitler in 1909 on auction
YNet News, 25 Mar 2014 – ….
Responsibility, sense of worth – it’s all personal
YNet News, 25 Mar 2014 – Don’t ask what you can do for your firm – ask what you can do for your society, Calcalist publisher Yoel Easteron tells MBA graduates. ….
Keep your fingers crossed for General Sisi
YNet News, 25 Mar 2014 – Op-ed: Next Egyptian president’s methods may be far from democratic, but if he fails it will be Israel’s problem too. ….
Jewish oligarch Vadim Rabinovic to run for Ukrainian presidency
YNet News, 25 Mar 2014 – ….
16 years in prison for man in NYC terror bomb plot
YNet News, 25 Mar 2014 – ….
Poll: One-quarter of haredi youth see themselves as Zionist
YNet News, 25 Mar 2014 – Majority of Israeli teens aged 15-18 support right-wing parties like Likud, Bayit Yehudi; 85% are opposed to making any concessions on Jerusalem in peace talks. ….
Russians close in on Ukrainian ship in Crimea
YNet News, 25 Mar 2014 – ….
Silvan Shalom affair: Who’s harassing who?
YNet News, 25 Mar 2014 – Op-ed: When an alleged sex offense from 15 years ago pops up just as a veteran minister is about to run for president, it stinks. ….
Russian state TV host: Jews brought on Holocaust
YNet News, 25 Mar 2014 – Evelina Zakamskaya of Rossiya 24 channel makes anti-Semitic remark during interview with hawkish writer Aleksandr Prokhanov. ….
Can Yuval Diskin save Israel?
YNet News, 25 Mar 2014 – Former Shin Bet chief is likely seeking to head new centrist party, writes Shimon Shiffer, but does he have what it takes not to quickly sink into oblivion? ….
Palestinian Information Center
Hamas: Ten years after Ahmed Yasin
PIC – This week, Hamas commemorated the murderous assassination by Israel of its founder and spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yasin with a massive rally in central Gaza.
Grandi: The situation in Gaza is very serious
PIC – Filippo Grandi, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, has urged the international community to act and save the besieged Gaza Strip.
Emir of Qatar calls for an Arab mini-summit to forge Palestinian reconciliation
PIC – Emir of Qatar called for convening an Arab mini-summit with the aim of forging reconciliation between the Palestinian factions, ending the state of internal division. and ending the Gaza blockade.
IOF soldiers round up 6 Palestinians, field interrogate 5 others
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested five Palestinians in Yamon village, west of Jenin, and a young man in Nablus on Tuesday.
Murra: An initiative neutralizing the refugee camps will be declared soon
PIC – Director of Hamas’s information office in Lebanon Ra’fat Murra said that the Palestinian political forces agreed on launching an initiative neutralizing the Palestinian presence in Lebanon.
Four Palestinian university students kidnapped from Aleppo university in Syria
PIC – The action group for the Palestinians in Syria said on Tuesday that the Syrian regime forces kidnapped four Palestinian students from Aleppo university, north of Syria.
Captive Shobaki suffers from cancer
PIC – The sister of captive Major-General Fouad Shobaki told the Prisoners’ Center that the results of the medical tests conducted on her detained brother confirmed that he suffers from kidney cancer.
Islamic cooperation releases report on humanitarian situation in Gaza
PIC – The organization of Islamic cooperation (OIC) released its monthly report on the humanitarian situation in the besieged Gaza Strip during last February.
IOF expels inhabitants of Khirbet Abzik from their homes to conduct drills
PIC – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) began on Tuesday morning large-scale military trainings in Khirbet Abzik, in the Northern Jordan Valley, after expelling its residents from their homes.
PLC demands Arab summit to revoke Arab peace initiative
PIC – The Palestinian legislative council (PLC) called on the Arab summit convening in Kuwait to revoke the Arab peace initiative and reject Kerry’s framework plan in response to Israel’s crimes.
Palestinian Observer Mission Warns of Recent Israeli Escalation
WAFA – 25 Mar 2014
Japan Condemns Israeli Settlement Plan in East Jerusalem, West Bank
WAFA – 25 Mar 2014
British Consul General Condemns Settlers’ attacks in East Jerusalem
WAFA – 25 Mar 2014
Israeli Forces Demolish Palestinian House, Shed near Jericho
WAFA – 25 Mar 2014
Israeli Undercover Force Nab Hebron Youth
WAFA – 25 Mar 2014
Kairos Palestine to Raise Awareness on Jerusalem, Marking the Easter
WAFA – 25 Mar 2014
Abbas Meets with Egyptian, Lebanese Counterparts Separately
WAFA – 25 Mar 2014
Israeli Settlers Attempt to Torch Palestinian-owned Store in Jerusalem
WAFA – 25 Mar 2014
Israeli Forces Arrest Ten People from West Bank and Jerusalem
WAFA – 25 Mar 2014
Egypt convenes trial of more than 680 on heels of mass death sentence
LA Times 25 Mar 2014 – CAIRO — An Egyptian court convened another mass trial Tuesday with more than 680 defendants, a day after being vehemently denounced by human rights groups and legal organizations for simultaneously condemning 529 others to death.
Egypt sentences group of 529 to death
LA Times 24 Mar 2014 – The simultaneous sentencing is condemned by legal and rights groups. The defendants were accused of violence including attacking a police station and killing an officer. CAIRO — Even by the baroque standard being set by the Egyptian judiciary under the nearly 9-month-old military-backed government, the…
With Mideast Peace Talks Faltering, Kerry to Meet Abbas
New York Times 25 Mar 2014 – Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to Jordan to meet with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority comes at a critical juncture in the American-led peace efforts.
U.N. Expresses Alarm Over Egyptian Death Sentences
New York Times 25 Mar 2014 – A court sentenced to death 529 people, described as supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, for the killing of a police officer.
World Briefing: Israel: Reporter Denied Saudi Visa
New York Times 24 Mar 2014 – The Washington bureau chief of The Jerusalem Post has been denied a visa to Saudi Arabia to report on President Obama’s visit to that country, the newspaper reported on Monday.
World Briefing: Yemen: 22 Soldiers Killed by Militants
New York Times 24 Mar 2014 – Militants killed 22 soldiers at a security checkpoint in southeastern Yemen on Monday, officials said.
Lawyers Sum Up Cases at Bin Laden Relative’s Trial
New York Times 24 Mar 2014 – Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden, is charged with conspiring to kill Americans and providing material support to terrorists.
After the Death of Their Daughter, a Verdict Looms
New York Times 24 Mar 2014 – An American couple in Qatar are awaiting the outcome of a murder trial in which they are accused of killing their adopted African daughter.
U of Michigan student gov’t meets tonight, amid anticipation of divestment vote
Mondoweiss – A sign at a student sit-in calling for the University of Michigan to divest from corporations that work with the Israeli military. (Photo: Students Allied for Freedom and Equality/Facebook) In the nationwide battle over Israel-Palestine, there is likely to be a major encounter tonight at the…
Ohio State Hillel member calls Desmond Tutu a ‘neo Nazi’ for criticizing Israel
Mondoweiss – Monday morning, a student member of the Ohio State University Hillel Center made racist references to Desmond Tutu, a leader and veteran of the South African struggle against apartheid, as a “neo Nazi.” The individual made the post in an argument about Israeli apartheid on the…
A movement grows in a Georgia church basement
Mondoweiss – Josh Ruebner speaking at Drake in Des Moines earlier this month. Image, AFSC Last night in Decatur, GA about 30 people gathered in a church basement to hear Josh Ruebner discuss his new book Shattered Hopes: Obama’s Failure to Broker Israeli-Palestinian Peace . The evening was a…
Columbia debate on Israeli policies features 3 Zionists, no Palestinians
Mondoweiss – Peter Beinart Next Monday, there’s a debate about Israel’s policies at Columbia University that features three Zionists, and no Palestinian. Hussein Ibish, the Lebanese-American author who works for a two-state Palestinian group, will join liberal Zionist Peter Beinart, in opposing two neoconservatives, in a debate at…
D.C. scribes party with red wine, vinyl, and image of a terrorist
Mondoweiss – Eli Lake wearing Menachem Begin t-shirt Last week Rosie Gray of Buzzfeed tweeted the photograph above of four American journalists partying with red wine and vinyl: (from left) Jamie Kirchick , Eli Lake , Rosie Gray, and Liz Wahl, the RT anchor who resigned on-air. In the discussion…
Israel pays journalist $61,800 for good press during Pope’s visit
Mondoweiss – Pope Francis. (Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images) When Pope Francis makes his historic visit to Israel this May as an invited guest of the Knesset the press coverage will surely be pearly, because the government is paying a journalist $61,800 to do just that. Portuguese-Israeli correspondent Henrique…
Brainsway predicts strong growth
Globes Main News – Brainsway CEO Uzi Sofer told “Reuters” the company is aiming for thousands of installations for different diseases.
Doctors perceived as most respected profession
Globes Main News – The least prestigious professions in the Science Ministry survey were religious officials, MKs, and entertainers.
SodaStream costs more in Israel
Globes Main News – The company also offers Israeli consumers fewer flavor concentrates than it offers foreign customers.
Diners wins El Al credit card tender
Globes Main News – Diners Club Israel made a generous bid in an effort to boost its market share.
National Lottery revenue up 14%
Globes Macro Economics – Revenue totaled NIS 5.8 billion in 2013
US retreating in its own backyard
Globes Main News – Iran, Russia and China are penetrating Latin America deeply, with no US response.
Huge IEC losses continue
Globes Main News – Israel Electric Corporation CEO Eli Glickman: We’re going through an especially challenging period.
BoI leaves rate unchanged; cuts growth forecast
Globes Main News – The GDP growth forecast for 2014 has been revised downwards to 3.1%.
Shekel strengthens after interest rate decision
Globes Main News – FXCM: The Bank of Israel could not be seen to be further fuelling home price rises.
JVP letter in support of divestment at University of Michigan
Jewish Voice for Peace – To the Assembly of the University of Michigan Central Student Government: We write to endorse the divestment resolution proposed by S.A.F.E. and supported at last weeks meeting by 300 students and 36 student organizations, including groups representing a broad spectrum of students of color, human rights,…
Diplomats deserve generosity
Globes Macro Economics – No country needs top-flight diplomats more than Israel – but it costs.
Abbas, Promises Kept, Promises Broken
Sabbah report 25 Mar 2014 – With no hopes in sight for ending the Israeli Occupation, let alone ending the ever-expanding settlements, certainly for a “two states solution” time for Mahmoud Abbas to keep his often-stated promise to disband the PA/PLO and hand over the Keys to Bibi Netanyahu, Barack Obama and…
When the peace process grinds to a halt, what then?
Sabbah report 25 Mar 2014 – Mr Obama and Mr Kerry have set out a convincing scenario that in the longer term Israel will find itself shunned by the world. The Palestinian leadership will advance its cause at the UN, while conversely grassroots movements inside and outside Palestine will begin clamouring for…
Pappe: Israel have to change, otherwise will pay a price
Sabbah report 25 Mar 2014 – From the legal point of view, from the constitutional point of view, Israel is an apartheid state. Israelis live under sort of glass ceilings because Israel wanted to portray itself as both Jewish and democratic, both an ethnic racist state but one which is also democratic….
UN condemns Egypt death sentences
BBC 25 Mar 2014 – The UN condemns an Egyptian court’s decision to sentence to death 528 supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, as another 683 go on trial.
VIDEO: Egypt courts ‘not affected by politics’
BBC 25 Mar 2014 – The head of the Appeals Court in Egypt defends the judiciary system’s independence after an Egyptian court sentences 528 supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi to death.
Benjamin Netanyahu Hangs On as King of Coalition of Rivals
The Foward Breaking News 25 Mar 2014 – In the lead-up to last year’s Knesset elections, the pro-settlement Jewish Home party released a controversial ad showing party chairman Naftali Bennett smiling alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Click here for the rest of the article…
Richard Falk, ‘Noxious’ Critic of Israel, Leaving U.N. Post
The Foward Breaking News 25 Mar 2014 – The United States on Monday welcomed the imminent departure of Richard Falk, a UN human rights investigator for the Palestinian territories whom Washington accused of being biased against Israel and spreading conspiracy theories about the September 11, 2001 attacks. Click here for the rest of the…
Iraq’s election commissioners resign
BBC 25 Mar 2014 – The board of Iraq’s election commission resigns in protest at what it says is political and judicial interference ahead of next month’s elections.
Saudis Block Jerusalem Post Reporter Michael Wilner From Covering Obama Trip
The Foward Breaking News 25 Mar 2014 – The White House on Tuesday said it was “deeply disappointed” that Saudi Arabia had denied a visa to a U.S. citizen working for Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post to cover President Barack Obama’s trip to the kingdom later this week. Click here for the rest of…
VIDEO: Smashed Libyan city bouncing back
BBC 25 Mar 2014 – Libya’s third largest city, Misrata has begun rebuilding itself as a secure place with a booming economy
Jimmy Carter Says No to Israel Boycott
The Foward Breaking News 25 Mar 2014 – Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said he would not endorse a boycott of Israel but encouraged nations to make clear which Israeli products originated in West Bank settlements. Click here for the rest of the article…
How Stanley Cohen Went From Orthodox to Defending bin Laden’s Son-In-Law
The Forward New 25 Mar 2014 – Stanley Cohen grew up Orthodox in the New York suburbs. How did the firebrand lawyer end up befriending Hamas leaders and defending Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law? Click here for the rest of the article…
A New Relationship Between Israel and the Diaspora
The Forward Editorial 25 Mar 2014 – EDITORIAL: Israel’s relationship with the Diaspora is shifting fast. But judging by how American Jews target donations, we haven’t caught up to the new reality. Click here for the rest of the article…
South Africa: SA Women Crush Pakistan At World Twenty20
allAfrica.com 25 Mar 2014 – [SA Info]The South African women’s cricket team opened their challenge at the Women’s World T20 in Bangladesh with a convincing 44-run victory over Pakistan in Sylhet on Sunday.
Yemen kidnap victims freed in Sanaa
BBC 25 Mar 2014 – Security forces have freed two UN employees kidnapped earlier by gunmen in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.
Attacks across Iraq kill 35
Al-Akhbar News 25 Mar 2014 – A series of attacks in Iraq killed 35 people Tuesday, the majority of them in the Baghdad area, as the worst protracted unrest since 2008 showed no let-up. In Tarmiyah, a town 45 kilometers (30 miles) north of Baghdad that is frequently hit by deadly violence,…
Europeans say human rights on agenda with Iran
Al-Monitor 25 Mar 2014 – European officials say that it should be possible to negotiate a nuclear agreement with Iran without neglecting its human rights abuses.
‘Vulnerable’ Syrians arrive in UK
BBC 25 Mar 2014 – The first group of Syrian refugees arrives in the UK as part of a government scheme to take in some of the most vulnerable victims of the conflict.
Members press Obama to raise human rights in Saudi Arabia
Al-Monitor 25 Mar 2014 – Fifty-two members of Congress are asking US President Barack Obama to raise concerns about human rights during his meetings in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
Three rockets slam into eastern Lebanon
Al-Akhbar News 25 Mar 2014 – Suspected Syrian rebels fired three rockets into eastern Lebanon on Tuesday, causing no casualties, state news reported, the latest in an uptick of attacks targeting border villages. Lebanon’s National News Agency said two rockets struck the eastern Bekaa town of Hortaala, with a third landing near…
ISIS emerges as threat to Turkey
Al-Monitor 25 Mar 2014 – Most Turks would prefer that Ankara step back from its current Syria policies and distance itself from any support for jihadist groups.
Israeli defense minister closes debate on US security plan
Al-Monitor 25 Mar 2014 – Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon has rejected the American security plan for the West Bank.
Turkey’s military plan to rescue its soldiers in Syria revealed
Al-Monitor 25 Mar 2014 – Turkey has developed a three-phase plan to protect the Tomb of Suleiman Shah, its sovereign enclave in Syria, in case of an ISIS attack.
Jenin and Nablus refugee camps: enclaves of fear
Al-Monitor 25 Mar 2014 – The dire economic situation, coupled with disappointment in the Palestinian Authority, have turned West Bank refugee camps into enclaves of violence, led by armed youths from various organizations.
Lebanese, Syrian set selves on fire in Lebanon
Al-Akhbar News 25 Mar 2014 – A Syrian woman and Lebanese gas station owner set themselves on fire in separate incidents in Lebanon on Tuesday, state media reported. In the northern city of Tripoli, Maryam Khawleh attempted to commit suicide outside a United Nations office by setting herself alight before bystanders rushed…
Algerian leader in N Korea parody
BBC 25 Mar 2014 – Algeria’s leader is compared to the leader of North Korea for intending to run for a fourth term of office.
The Syrian revolution in the words of its supporters
Al-Monitor 25 Mar 2014 – As the Syrian revolution enters its fourth year, many of those who support the uprising admit that mistakes have been made, but stress their insistence to carry on.
Lapid pushes plan to fix housing crisis
Al-Monitor 25 Mar 2014 – For the first time since he was elected, Finance Minister Yair Lapid has justified the trust placed in him by his voters and advanced his program to lower housing costs.
VIDEO: Afghanistan’s long distance doctors
BBC 25 Mar 2014 – Doctors are using the internet and basic software to help improve the treatment and diagnosis of patients in remote areas of Afghanistan.
Syrian war dominates Arab summit
Al-Akhbar News 25 Mar 2014 – Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani attends the 25th Arab League summit at Bayan palace in Kuwait City on March 25, 2014. (Photo: Yasser al-Zayyat) Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani attends the 25th Arab League summit at Bayan palace in Kuwait City on…
Crimea crisis may end $23 billion pipeline project
Al-Monitor 25 Mar 2014 – Tensions between Russian and the EU over the Ukraine crisis and the annexation of Crimea could put an end to plans to build the $23 billion South Stream oil pipeline.
Blogs provide room for independent Tunisian journalism
Al-Monitor 25 Mar 2014 – In the wake of the Arab Spring, young journalists in Tunisia are relying on blogs to incubate their nascent industry.
Ganji: Human rights improved, still short of expectations in Iran
Al-Monitor 25 Mar 2014 – Akbar Ganji, one of Iran’s most recognized political dissidents, discusses the political atmosphere under the new administration, human rights and the nuclear talks, and how the United States can help Iranian students.
Egypt tries 683 more Brotherhood members
Al-Akhbar News 25 Mar 2014 – A relative of a supporter of Egyptian ousted Islamist president Mohammed Mursi cries outside the courthouse on March 24, 2014 in the central Egyptian city of Minya, after the court ordered the execution of 529 Mursi supporters after only two hearings. (Photo: AFP / STR) A relative…
Turkey’s Twitter problem
Al-Monitor 25 Mar 2014 – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s advisers try to explain the indefensible, which has setback Turkey’s image abroad.
VIDEO: Inside the Arab League summit
BBC 25 Mar 2014 – The final preparations are being made for the 25th Arab League summit, which opens in Kuwait on Tuesday.
In pictures: Mixing graffiti and calligraphy in Tunisia
BBC 24 Mar 2014 – The Tunisian who painted the prison which once held his father
The deep discord bedevilling the Arab world
BBC 24 Mar 2014 – How multitude of disputes has left Arab world at its most fractured
Lebanon: Tripoli’s alleyway commanders to be sacrificed
Al-Akhbar Politics 24 Mar 2014 – Gunmen attend the funeral of Sheikh Ahmed Abdel Wahed and his religious aide in their hometown al-Bireh, north of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on May 21, 2012.(Photo: AFP-Joseph Eid) Gunmen attend the funeral of Sheikh Ahmed Abdel Wahed and his religious aide in their hometown al-Bireh,…
Articles
Israel-Palestine talks: the balance sheet so far
Jonathan Cook In Nazareth, Redress 3/24/2014
US desperate to keep futile peace process show on the road a little longer
For the first time since the US launched the Middle East peace talks last summer, the Palestinian leadership may be sensing it has a tiny bit of leverage.
Barack Obama met the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in Washington last week in what Palestinian officials called a “candid and difficult” meeting. The US president hoped to dissuade Abbas from walking away when the original negotiations’ timetable ends in a month.
The US president and his secretary of state, John Kerry, want their much-delayed “framework agreement” to provide the pretext for spinning out the stalled talks for another year. The US outline for peace is now likely to amount to little more than a set of vague, possibly unwritten principles that both sides can assent to.
The last thing the US president needs is for the negotiations to collapse, after Kerry has repeatedly stressed that finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is imperative.
The US political cycle means Obama’s Democratic Party is heading this autumn into the Congressional mid-term elections. A humiliating failure in the peace process would add to perceptions of him as a weak leader in the Middle East, following what has been widely presented as his folding in confrontations with Syria and Iran.
Renewed clashes between Israel and the Palestinians in the international arena would also deepen US diplomatic troubles at a time when Washington needs to conserve its energies…. more.. e-mail
Tourism as a tool to erase Palestinian identity
Jessica Purkiss, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 3/22/2014
In 2009, the Ministry of Tourism completely wiped the West Bank and any Palestinian areas from its materials. Mandatory Palestine was portrayed without any borders or demarcations, while all maps omitted Palestinian areas and towns.
At the entrance of a Dead Sea resort located in the West Bank, Palestinian man Hazem paid his 70 shekels admission fee to the women sitting behind the desk. “Can we camp here?” he asked. Surveying the group of internationals, she said, “Are there any Arabs in your group?” Hazem, born and bred in the West Bank city of Beit Sehour, confessed his origin to the women who replied, “We don’t let Arabs stay the night.”
Past the entrance desk, the small stretch of beach is dotted with groups of Palestinian men smoking arguila- flavoured tobacco- and heating coals for BBQ’s. All of them have paid the same entrance fee. The women behind the desk collecting their fees is Israeli and only speaks Hebrew and English, and the shop on site sells Israeli flags and Jewish relics. While this resort stands on the chunk of the Dead Sea that lies in the West Bank, the Palestinian side and its resources have been appropriated by Israel. This means all the Palestinians that visit the resort, in fact any of the three resorts in the occupied Dead Sea area, have to pay Israel to do so.
The Dead Sea, which is famous for its skin benefits, is a goldmine for those able to tap into its resources, with the extraction of mud proving to be an extremely lucrative business. Friends of the Earth Middle East claim that there are 50 cosmetic factories on the Western shore, both in the occupied Dead Sea area and in Israel proper, The Israeli cosmetic company Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories ltd. is located on the settlement of “Mitzpe Shalem,” in the occupied West Bank, and is the only cosmetic company to be licensed by Israel to mine mud in the area. more.. e-mail
Two steps forward, one step back: Israel’s new discriminatory health rights for Palestinians
Michael Omer-Man, +972 Magazine 3/25/2014
“Palestinian family members of permanent residents (particularly East Jerusalem residents, who are the poorest people in Israel) must pay NIS 7,695 ($2,207) in addition to the monthly payment.”
A new law that extends health insurance rights to non-citizen family members of Israeli citizens discriminates against Palestinians, according to an attorney working on the subject.
Israeli ministers signed the
new regulations, which according to a Haaretz report on Monday, will primarily benefit Palestinians who are permitted to live in Israel under “family unification” procedures.
(The Knesset last week extended the formal ban on family unification, which was first enacted 11 years ago at the height of the Second Intifada. The ban, to which humanitarian exceptions are occasionally granted, applies only to Palestinians and therefore primarily discriminates against the rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel, who are most likely to marry Palestinians from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Those Palestinian family members of Israeli citizens who are granted humanitarian exceptions are given military permits to stay in Israel, but not formal residency permits that would allow them to work or make them eligible for any other social rights granted to residents or citizens.)
What the Haaretz report missed, however, is that the new regulation gives far more, and far cheaper social and health rights to non-Palestinian family members in Israel for reasons of family unification.
Furthermore, while Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party is attempting to take credit for the new regulation, which despite its discriminatory shortcomings is an important step forward, it turns out that the change is the result of a High Court petition and not, as Attorney Oded Feller of ACRI notes, the good will of any legislator. more.. e-mail
Western hypocrisy: Crimea and Israeli war crimes
Vacy Vlazna, Al Jazeera 3/24/2014
The West hits Russia with sanctions for annexing Crimea, but it has yet to punish Israel for war crimes in Palestine.
The velocity with which the US and EU imposed economic sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea is equal to the mass of hypocrisy on Israel’s creeping annexation of Palestinian land through colonial-settlement expansion. The ongoing expansion is seen as a war crime “falling into the provision of Article 8 of the International Criminal Court statutes”.
Following the overwhelming vote by Crimeans to secede from the Ukraine and join Russia in the rushed referendum on March 16, US President Barack Obama, on March 20, ordered a second round of soft sanctions targeting a list of key Russian officials, businessmen and bankers, sending ripples of instability through Russia’s stock market.
Unfazed, the following day, President Vladimir Putin, formalised the annexation into law which was then passed unanimously by the Russian parliament. In parallel, the EU and the Ukraine signed a security and defence co-operation pact with the added sweetener of reduced tariffs to boost Ukraine’s debt-ridden economy.
Countering the large Russian troop presence on Ukraine’s eastern border, the US raised the stakes in the sabre-rattling game. The Pentagon cancelled a military exercise, Atlas Vision, that was to be held in Russia and instead announced the inclusion of US forces in the multinational military exercise, Rapid Trident, that will be held soon in the Ukraine.
Israel’s illegal annexations
When in 1947, the UN grappled with the idea of partitioning Palestine, it was rejected, outright and rightfully, by the Palestinians. Nor were the entire inhabitants under the British mandate granted a referendum, as were the Crimeans, on the matter because the indigenous population far exceeded the Zionist immigrants whom the international community favoured….more.. e-mail
Jerusalem students face constant harassment by Israeli forces
Electronic Intifada: 25 Mar 2014 – Attaining the goals of higher education is impossible when universities are under attack. more..
PA pressure censors criticism of Gaza water management
Electronic Intifada: 24 Mar 2014 – A paper arguing that desalination would “legitimize” Israel’s theft of Palestine’s natural resources has been mysteriously deleted. more..
The Man, the Lad and the Boy: Ea
ch Person is in Himself a Sea
Palestine Chronicle: 24 Mar 2014 – By Tamar Fleishman I decided to talk about the detainment of Palestinians by the army through the story of three people; I attempted to portray the larger picture by using personal stories. These people aren’t heroes nor are they warriors, provocateurs, protestors or people who had made names for themselves. A man, a lad and a boy, they are just three among the thousands that are crushed under the violent and vicious boot of the executors of the policy that aims to break the spirit and daily life of the Palestinian people, of thousands of people who don’t know what the future holds. Each one of their hopes and dreams is accompanied by doubt, since this everlasting and advancing terror that is used against the civil population is like a sword that dangles over all of them, men as well as women, children as well as adults, and they never…more
Ideology and Book Reviews
Dissident Voice: 25 Mar 2014 – “ Zionist Power ” by Jay Knott (the pen name of an anonymous writer), published March 21, 2014 by Dissident Voice , tells more about the views of its writer than about my book, Against Our Better Judgment: The hidden history of how the U.S. was used to create Israel , which it is allegedly reviewing. Unfortunately, I don’t always have the time to respond to inaccurate articles about me on the Internet. However, since this piece was published by a serious website, I think it’s important to address some of its errors: 1. In the article Knott states: “Weir gives the impression America is inhabited by well-meaning, simple, Christian folk, who are manipulated into supporting the oppression of the Palestinians by dishonest, clever Jews.” No I don’t. Knott has missed an important point in the book: “Zionist” is not synonymous with “Jew.” While Zionists claim this, it is untrue, as my…more
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