29 March 2014 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Israeli Officials Refuse to Carry Out Promised Release of Palestinian Prisoners
IMEMC – As negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian officials reach a standstill, Palestinian negotiators have voiced their objection to the Israeli decision not to release the last of four groups of Palestinian long-term prisoners whose release had been promised as part of the so-called ‘peace negotiations’. …
Ashrawi: Stagnant Talks with Israel ‘Too Costly for Palestinians’
IMEMC – A member of the PLO’s Executive committee said in a statement, Saturday, that “stagnant” negotiations with Israel have been “too costly for the Palestinian people,” pointing at a long list of Israeli “aggressions” since the talks began. …
Eight Palestinians Kidnapped from West Bank
IMEMC – Israeli occupation forces on Wednesday abducted eight Palestinians from the West Bank cities of Nablus, Hebron, Jenin and Bethlehem, according to reports by media and security sources. …
Israeli Forces ‘Target Journalist’ in Land Day Protest near Jerusalem
IMEMC – Planting borderland with olive trees marks Land Day in Gaza Israeli forces hit a journalist with a tear gas canister during clashes in the Jerusalem governorate as Palestinians marked Land Day, according to a local popular committee spokesman. …
Egypt Opens Rafah Crossing to Humanitarian Cases
IMEMC – Egyptian authorities opened, on Saturday morning, the Rafah crossing both ways after 50 days of closure. …
Settlers Vandalize Resources, Lands in Hebron and Nablus
IMEMC – Settlers from Israeli outposts damaged Palestinian solar panels and cultivated lands in southern Hebron hills, according to a press release issued Friday by Operation Dove. …
Israeli Troops Shoot, Kill 2 Suspects in Golan Heights
IMEMC – Israeli troops, late Friday, reportedly shot and killed what the military said were ‘infiltrators’ trying to breach a separation barrier from the Syrian-controlled side of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, according to military and media sources. …
Army Invades Hebron, Nearby Towns
IMEMC – Israeli soldiers invaded on Saturday [March 28, 2014] several neighborhoods in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, as well as the nearby towns of Bani Neim and ath-Thaheriyya, handing out interrogation orders to a number of citizens. …
Israeli Navy Attacks Palestinian Fishing Boats
IMEMC – [Saturday Morning, March 29, 2014] Israeli navy boats opened fire on a number of Palestinian fishing boats in territorial waters. northwest of Gaza City; the attack caused damage but no injuries. …
Gunmen Open Fire at Car of Fateh Official in Jenin
IMEMC – [Friday, March 28, 2014] Unknown gunmen opened fire on the car of an official of President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fateh movement, as it was parked in front of his home in Jenin city, in the northern part of the occupied West Bank. …
Israeli forces ‘target journalist’ in Land Day protest near Jerusalem
3/29/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces hit a journalist with a tear gas canister during clashes in the Jerusalem governorate as Palestinians marked Land Day, a local popular committee spokesman said. Hani Halabiyya told Ma’an that Palestinian journalist Rami Illariyya, who works for al-Quds newspaper, was targeted by Israeli troops and hit with a high-velocity tear gas canister in al-Eizariya. Dozens of youths….
Jerusalem police battle protesters, injure newsmen
3/29/2014 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli police used force on Saturday to break up a Palestinian protest march in occupied east Jerusalem, injuring several people including two journalists, news photographers said. Several demonstrators and four journalists — among them a photographer from Agence France-Presse and another from Reuters — were slightly injured by projectiles fired by police during the incident, near the walled Old City’s Damascus Gate. The….
Israeli troops shoot, kill 2 suspects near barrier in Golan Heights
3/29/2014 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli troops late Friday shot what the military said were ‘infiltrators’ trying to breach a separation barrier from the Syrian-controlled side of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.”Soldiers detected two armed suspects infiltrating into Israel and tampering with the infrastructure of the Israeli-Syrian border of the Golan Heights,” a military statement said.”The Israeli army opened fire. Hits were confirmed.”Israeli troops….
Abbas: Withdrawal of Arab Peace Initiative not on summit agenda
3/29/2014 – KUWAIT CITY (Ma’an) — Despite remarks by officials that the 25th Arab League summit would consider withdrawing the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that the issue was not on the summit’s agenda.”I haven’t asked for a withdrawal of the Arab Peace Initiative because I am convinced that it has positive elements for the Arabs….
Palestinians hope prisoner release delay will be brief
3/29/2014 – RAMALLAH (AFP) — A senior Palestinian official said a release by Israel of Palestinian prisoners would not go ahead on Saturday as envisaged but he hoped there would only be short delay.”Today the prisoners will not be released. . . maybe in the coming days,” Issa Qaraqe, the minister of prisoners’ affairs, told AFP.”We have told the families of the prisoners that they will not….
Ashrawi: Stagnant talks with Israel ‘too costly for Palestinians’
3/29/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A member of the PLO’s Executive committee said in a statement Saturday that “stagnant” negotiations with Israel have been “too costly for the Palestinian people,” pointing at a long list of Israeli “aggressions” since the talks began.”The ‘peace process’ has cost us the lives of many Palestinian civilians, an unprecedented theft of land and resources, and….
PPP: Hamas plans to impose new penal code on Gaza
3/29/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Palestinian People’s Party said in a statement Saturday that it opposes Hamas’ attempts to change the penal code in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas movement that governs Gaza is attempting to impose a new penal code on the Strip, one that is inconsistent with basic the Palestinian law that has been applicable in the West Bank….
Obama in Saudi for talks overshadowed by mistrust
3/29/2014 – RIYADH (AFP) — US President Barack Obama sought to allay Riyadh’s criticism of his policies on Syria and Iran, telling the Saudi king their two countries remain in lockstep on their strategic interests. He also assured King Abdullah that the US “won’t accept a bad deal” with Iran, as global powers negotiate a treaty reining in Tehran’s controversial nuclear program….
Obama faces criticism by rights bodies after Saudi visit
3/29/2014 – RIYADH (AFP) — US President Barack Obama flew home from Saudi Arabia on Saturday under fire for not doing more to raise human rights concerns on a visit dominated by smoothing policy differences with a longtime ally. Obama met a campaigner for the rights of women in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom before leaving on Saturday morning. But despite appeals from US lawmakers, he did not raise….
Syria army ‘gains ground’ along Lebanon border
3/29/2014 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Syrian troops made fresh gains in the strategic Qalamun region near the Lebanese border on Saturday, seizing two villages from rebels, a military source told AFP.” The army took control this morning of the villages of Ras al-Maarra and Flita, after bombing the last groups of armed terrorists there,” the source said. President Bashar Assad’s troops, backed by fighters of Lebanese….
Egypt sentences 2 Morsi supporters to death
3/29/2014 – CAIRO (AFP) — An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced to death two supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi convicted of throwing youths off an apartment block roof, judicial sources said. One youth thrown from the building in Alexandria was killed. The court submitted its verdict for approval to the mufti, the government’s official interpreter of Islamic law, the sources said. The latest death sentences….
Egypt reopens Gaza crossing for three days
AlJazeera 29 Mar 2014 – Following a 50-day closure, the land crossing is limited to those seeking medical treatment, students and foreigners.
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
PCHR Organizes Special Event to Launch Its 2013 Annual Report
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
International Solidarity Movement
Palestinian basic resources damaged by Israeli settlers
3/29/2014 – International Solidarity Movement – Operation Dove, At Tuwani, Occupied Palestine – In the evening of March 26, Israeli settlers damaged some solar panels, only electricity power sources for the Palestinian village Bir Al Idd. The same day, during the early afternoon, Israeli settlers grazed their flock on Palestinian-owned wheat fields, damaging the harvest. At 2. 18 pm International volunteers noticed a flock grazing on Palestinian-owned fields in Kharrouba valley, close….
Syrian Arab Republic: Fighting Now Brings Disease
Relief Web 29 Mar 2014 – Source: Inter Press Service Country: occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic By Mutawalli Abou Nasser DAMASCUS, Mar 29 2014 (IPS) – For just that moment, the refugees in Yarmouk camp in Damascus made news. After months of facing starvation and…
occupied Palestinian territory: Gaza-Egypt crossing reopens for 3 days for special cases
Relief Web 29 Mar 2014 – Source: Agence France-Presse Country: occupied Palestinian territory 03/29/2014 08:13 GMT GAZA CITY, March 29, 2014 (AFP) – The Gaza Strip’s land border with Egypt reopened Saturday after a 50-day closure, but only for three days and then just for special…
occupied Palestinian territory: EWASH calls on Israel to ensure adequate access to clean water in East Jerusalem
Relief Web 29 Mar 2014 – Source: EWASH Country: occupied Palestinian territory Over the past three weeks, tens of thousands of Palestinians have lived without an adequate supply of running water in East Jerusalem. Approximately 50.000-60.000 people have been affected by water shortage in the East…
Lebanon: Lebanon Field: PRS response emergency – Education sector (February 2014)
Relief Web 29 Mar 2014 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: Lebanon, occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic
Lebanon: Lebanon Field: PRS response emergency – Health sector (February 2014)
Relief Web 29 Mar 2014 – Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East Country: Lebanon, occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic
Lebanon: Lebanon: RRP6 Monthly Update – February 2014: Social Cohesion and Livelihood
Relief Web 29 Mar 2014 – Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Country: Lebanon, occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic Activities in the sector have accelerated, particularly regarding the CSPs. 36 such projects were completed in one month, benefitting 92,030 Lebanese and 67,686 Syrian refugees. The…
Judge to rule if Zaken will testify against Olmert
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Stones concert cheaper in Israel than Europe
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Who takes care of the foreign workers?
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Boycotted by Jews in Belgium, welcomed by Likud deputy minister in Israel
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Waiting in line with the invisible asylum seekers
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
The blood it s acceptable to shed
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Woodside balks at Leviathan natural gas partnership as tax issues scupper launch
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Why I don t care about Jonathan Pollard
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Selling our bodies and our souls
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Decisions, decisions: The Israeli neuroscientist with a lot on his mind
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Israel offers to free more Palestinian prisoners to extend peace talks
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Turkey’s Erdogan urges voters to ‘Ottoman slap’ rivals
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Number of flights at Ben-Gurion airport soars following Open Skies EU pact
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Israel has failed to learn lessons of first Land Day
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Nasrallah: Hezbollah stronger than it was before Second Lebanon War
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
At midnight hour, U.K. holds first same-sex weddings
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Obama honors Saudi woman with ‘courage award’
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Report: NSA collected data on 122 world leaders in one month
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Daylight saving time linked to heart attacks
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
31-year-old climber dies during Galilee hike
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Top U.S. general to visit Israel for talks with IDF chief Ya’alon
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
U.S. court: Persian relics can’t be restitution for terror attack survivors
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
New objects seen, but still no evidence of Malaysian jet
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Russia says has ‘no intention’ of further Ukraine incursion
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Past is back to haunt porn star turned neo-Nazi
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Ukraine’s Klitschko pulls out of election, backs billionaire
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Population dump: Is Lieberman’s plan to redraw Israeli demographics legal?
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Putin calls Obama to discuss Ukraine resolution
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
How Olmert lost his most loyal ally
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
The Knesset’s laziest voters, from Lieberman to Yishai
Ha’aretz – 29 Mar 2014
Three officers expelled for trash-talking texts
Ha’aretz – 28 Mar 2014
Five-year-old killed in construction site in northern Israel
Ha’aretz – 28 Mar 2014
Walking the tightrope with my father
Jerusalem Post 29 Mar 2014 – A good Jewish boy would never violate the holy Shabbat by singing in a nightclub on Friday night, rather than attending synagogue.
Extending a hand to friends old and new
Jerusalem Post 29 Mar 2014 – We need to build up our support network among key opinion leaders in order to maintain and strengthen support for Israel in the years to come.
Say VAT?
Jerusalem Post 29 Mar 2014 – The odds indisputably are that while Lapid s quick-fix will markedly jack up housing demand, it won t increase supply.
UNHRC delays appointing new special rapporteur to replace Falk
Jerusalem Post 29 Mar 2014 – Council also delays appointment of Israeli, Israel Doron to post of Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons.
6 Arabs arrested in pre-Land Day violence in Jerusalem
Jerusalem Post 29 Mar 2014 – Over 100 Palestinians riot outside Damascus Gate in capital, police use stun grenades to disperse crowd.
Nasrallah: We don’t want war with Israel but resistance the only option
Jerusalem Post 29 Mar 2014 – Shi’ite leader says Israel is wrong to conclude that it cannot fight because of its involvement in Syrian war; says Hezbollah’s Syria activity protects Lebanon; fatal car-bomb in Lebanon reported hours after speech.
‘Israel to blame for obstructing Kerry peace efforts if Palestinian prisoners not freed’
Jerusalem Post 29 Mar 2014 – Nimer Hammad, a political advisor to Abbas says US should fulfill its commitment to see that the prisoners are released; Poll finds 87% of Palestinians seek recourse in international institutions.
Security and Defense: A murky forecast up ahead for West Bank security
Jerusalem Post 29 Mar 2014 – The IDF and Shin Bet have successfully thwarted potential W. Bank violence, but with Palestinian frustration growing, the status quo is fragile; will unforeseen future events trigger mass rioting?
Hiker dies in Galilee after being hit in the head by a falling rock
Jerusalem Post 29 Mar 2014 – Magen David Adom and a military helicopter rush hiker to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Amnesty International warns Israel against use of force in ‘Land Day’ demonstrations
Jerusalem Post 29 Mar 2014 – Israeli Arabs will mark the annual Land Day on Sunday, with protests planned across the country.
Chinese ships search new area for Malaysian plane after sighting debris
Jerusalem Post 29 Mar 2014 – New search area 1,100 km northeast of where previous debris was seen.
Top US general to visit Israel, Ya’alon amid strategy spats
Jerusalem Post 29 Mar 2014 – US Gen. Dempsey to meet Ya’alon after the Defense Minister’s controversial remarks regarding US foreign policy offended the US for the second time.
Politics: Sex, lies and audio-tape
Jerusalem Post 29 Mar 2014 – Forgery, vendettas, spy sagas, prisoner releases, sex scandals and court cases, Israeli political scene likens Hollywood drama.
Pro-Palestinian groups can’t get no satisfaction from Rolling Stones concert in Israel
Jerusalem Post 28 Mar 2014 – AFP reports BDS advocates are urging the legendary rock group to cancel its planned June 4 show in Tel Aviv.
Putin calls Obama to discuss US proposal on Ukraine
Jerusalem Post 28 Mar 2014 – Obama told him that Russia must pull back its troops and not move deeper into Ukraine.
Angry Iranians urge their government: Be more like Israel
Jerusalem Post 28 Mar 2014 – Times of London : Iranians take to social media to denounce government’s handling of hostage crisis in which Pakistani militants killed a border guard.
Police probe death of boy, 3, found under rubble at construction site in north
Jerusalem Post 28 Mar 2014 – The lifeless body of a three-year-old boy was pulled from the rubble of a construction site in the Galilee village of Arab a-Naim on Friday.
IDF soldiers fire on, hit two gunmen attempting to sabotage border fence on Golan Heights
Jerusalem Post 28 Mar 2014 – Earlier this month, an IDF patrol in the northern Golan Heights came under attack when an explosive device was detonated near the soldiers jeep.
Obama to Saudi king: US will not agree to bad nuclear deal with Iran
Jerusalem Post 28 Mar 2014 – Senior US official says Obama and King Abdullah agreed in meeting that despite tactical differences, nations remain strategically aligned.
Turkey security breach lays bare once-mighty Erdogan’s vulnerability
Jerusalem Post 28 Mar 2014 – Despite purging thousands of officials to root out a covert network of enemies he accuses of sabotaging the state, Erdogan is unable to keep top state secrets.
IDF injures two Palestinians near Gaza security fence
Jerusalem Post 28 Mar 2014 – Army says it warned the two men to halt but opened fire at their legs when they failed to do so.
US issues scathing attack against UNHRC for singling out Israel
Jerusalem Post 28 Mar 2014 – US takes particular issue with the council s Agenda Item 7, which mandates that Israel be debated at every session of the forum.
Top US general to meet Israeli defence minister in Jerusalem
The Guardian 29 Mar 2014 – Martin Dempsey, joint chiefs of staff chairman, flies to Israel Defence minister Moshe Yaalon ridiculed US foreign policy The United States’ top military officer will visit Israel next week, and will meet the defence minister who…
Three Lebanese soldiers killed in car bomb attack
Daily Star 29 Mar 2014 Three Lebanese soldiers are killed in car bomb attack near an Army post in northeast Lebanon, a security source says.
Suicide bombing kills three soldiers in northeast Lebanon
Daily Star 29 Mar 2014 Three soldiers are killed and four others wounded in a suicide car bomb attack on a military post in northeast Lebanon, security sources say.
Jerusalem police battle protesters, injure newsmen
Daily Star 29 Mar 2014 Israeli police use force to break up a Palestinian protest march in occupied east Jerusalem, injuring several people including two journalists, news photographers say.
Nasrallah hints Hezbollah may boycott National Dialogue
Daily Star 29 Mar 2014 Nasrallah hints his party may boycott National Dialogue called for by President Michel Sleiman after slamming the head of state for repeatedly criticizing Hezbollah s role in Syria.
Lebanese Army raids home of late terror suspect Atrash
Daily Star 29 Mar 2014 The Lebanese Army Saturday raids the house of Sami Atrash in northeast Lebanon just days after the terror suspect was fatally wounded, a security source says.
Kerry cancels U.S. return en route from Mideast
Daily Star 29 Mar 2014 Halfway home from Saudi Arabia, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has abruptly changed course and will stay in Europe for talks on the Ukraine crisis.
Ukraine aid bill delayed a few more days in U.S. Congress
Daily Star 29 Mar 2014 U.S. lawmakers overwhelmingly approve aid to Ukraine and sanctions on Russia, but the measure will not become law until at least next week, congressional aides say.
Maronite leaders reject compromise over presidential election
Daily Star 29 Mar 2014 Maronite political leaders and the head of the Maronite Church in Lebanon reject any compromise over the presidential election and call on Speaker Nabih Berri to press ahead with a legislative session to elect Lebanon s next…
Obama ends four-nation trip in diplomatic limbo over Ukraine
Daily Star 29 Mar 2014 U.S. President Barack Obama ends a four-nation foreign trip in the same situation as he began it – facing great uncertainty about a diplomatic way out of the Ukraine crisis.
Dozens protest against prisoner release outside PM’s residence
YNet News, 29 Mar 2014 – ….
Foreign journalists wounded in ‘Land Day’ protest
YNet News, 29 Mar 2014 – ….
Car bomb hits Lebanese army checkpoint in border town
YNet News, 29 Mar 2014 – ….
Stones thrown at vehicle of IDF officer near Yitzhar
YNet News, 29 Mar 2014 – ….
Crimean Tatars’ want autonomy after Russia’s seizure of peninsula
YNet News, 29 Mar 2014 – ….
Generals, open the door to women
YNet News, 29 Mar 2014 – Op-ed: Military games are becoming increasingly dangerous. Women are needed to change the security discourse, offer a different perspective. ….
New app to locate graves in Israeli cemeteries
YNet News, 29 Mar 2014 – Ministry of Religious Services comes up with modern solution to help cemetery visitors find their loved ones’ burial places. ….
Palestinian Information Center
Researchers stress: Negotiations threaten Palestinian lands
PIC – Palestinian researchers and politicians emphasized that the continuation of the futile negotiations had caused an unprecedented increase in the pace of Israeli land grab.
IOA plans to build 100 synagogues and schools in J’lem
PIC – The Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage said that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) plans to build about 100 synagogues and religious schools in the Old City of Jerusalem.
IOF quells a march on the Gaza border on the occasion of Land Day
PIC – The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Saturday morning quelled demonstrations staged by dozens of Palestinians near the border fence in the north of Gaza, in commemoration of the Land Day.
Davutoglu: Progress on compensations has been made with Israel
PIC – Foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkey and Israel have made substantial progress regarding the compensations to be paid to the families of Turkish citizens who had been killed in 2010.
Qabaha calls for forming committees to find out cause of death of freed captives
PIC – Former minister of prisoners’ affairs Wasfi Qabaha said the death of liberated captive Majdi Hammad requires from the international community to open the file of medical neglect in the Israeli jails.
Youth groups call for marches in Al-Khalil on Land Day
PIC – Youth groups in Al-Khalil province have called for organizing marches and angry protests on Sunday on the occasion of Land Day.
European report warns of Israel’s attempt to change status quo at Aqsa Mosque
PIC – European officials in occupied Palestine warned against Israel’s attempt to change the status quo at the Aqsa Mosque, saying that such a step would trigger widespread regional violence.
Morocco hosts seminars and vigils in solidarity with Palestinian people
PIC – A group of civil organizations operating in Morocco on Friday launched events to commemorate the Palestinian Land Day, which falls on March 30.
Bardawil slams Abbas for asking Hamas to give written approval to elections
PIC – Senior Hamas official Salah Al-Bardawil said that asking his Movement to give its written approval to the holding of Palestinian elections is a misleading proposal.
PLO Executive Committee Marks Land Day
WAFA – 29 Mar 2014
President Meets UNRWA Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi in Ramallah
WAFA – 29 Mar 2014
Army Summons Several Palestinians for Interrogation, Set Up Checkpoints in Hebron
WAFA – 29 Mar 2014
Conference of Solidarity with Palestinian People Concluded in Quito
WAFA – 29 Mar 2014
Conference to be Held in Budapest in Support of Palestinian Prisoners
WAFA – 29 Mar 2014
Palestinian Basic Resources Damaged by Israeli Settlers in South Hebron Hills
WAFA – 29 Mar 2014
Newspaper Review: Israel s Refusal to Release Fourth Batch of Prisoners Focus of Dailies
WAFA – 29 Mar 2014
Remaking a Life, After Years in an Israeli Prison
New York Times 29 Mar 2014 – Demonized as terrorists by Israelis and lionized as freedom fighters by Palestinians, prisoners like Muqdad Salah have become a flash point in the troubled peace talks.
Amid Egypt s Sweeping Crackdown, North Sinai Residents in Crossfire
New York Times 29 Mar 2014 – Wreckage from assaults speaks to a crackdown so sweeping that even ardent supporters of the military say it risks spreading sympathy for the militants who are targeted.
Obama Ends Overseas Trip With Award For Saudi
New York Times 29 Mar 2014 – The brief event came a day after the president chose not to raise the issue of human rights during a two-hour discussion with King Abdullah.
U.N. Extends Term of Human Rights Monitor, Angering Iran
New York Times 28 Mar 2014 – The Human Rights Council, meeting in Geneva, acted after a fifth report by the monitor, Ahmed Shaheed, who has been critical of Iran.
Journalistic malpractice: Washington Post suggests Abbas doesn t recognize Israel s right to exist
Mondoweiss – Clinton, Rabin, and Arafat on the White House lawn, 1993 The other day the Washington Post ran this readers poll (for which we can t find the link): Today s Opinions poll Is President Obama overestimating Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas s willingness to recognize Israel s right to exist? Yes…
The clash of civilizations theory is absolutely and completely dead
Mondoweiss – The late Samuel P. Huntington, at the World Economic Forum in 2004, from Wikipedia It is far too early for a conclusive historical verdict on the wave of uprisings that have swept across the Middle East since a street vendor in Tunisia named Mohamed Bouazizi protested…
Saudis don t care about Palestinians, say American commentators
Mondoweiss – Richard Haass of Council on Foreign Relations Today s New York Times coverage of Obama s meeting with the Saudi king yesterday makes no reference to Israel-Palestine.King Abdullah cares about arming the Syrian opposition, and Iranian nukes: Saudi leaders have also expressed alarm at Mr. Obama s diplomatic initiative…
Iymen Chehade gets ringing endorsements from 5 Broken Cameras director and AAUP committee chair
Mondoweiss – Emad Burnat in Bil in in 5 Broken Cameras Below are two ringing endorsements of Iymen Chehade, the scholar of the Israel/Palestine conflict who said that his academic freedom was denied when Columbia College in Chicago took away a course offering of his this spring following a…
Israeli bulldozers destroy mosque and medical center in East Jerusalem
Mondoweiss – Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Judaization Israeli bulldozers destroy mosque, medical center in East Jerusalem JERUSALEM (Ma an) 26 Mar Israeli bulldozers demolished a Palestinian-owned building that housed a mosque, a medical center, and apartments in East Jerusalem early Wednesday, witnesses told Ma an. Locals…
UN Human Rights Council resolution warning companies to terminate business interests in the settlements or face possible criminal liability gets watered down
Mondoweiss – Mishor Adumim Industrial Zone, home to Israel s SodaStream factory in the West Bank settlement of Ma ale Adumim. (Photo: Emil Salman/Haaretz) The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva passed a resolution todayat the closure of the Human Rights Council s 25th session titled Israeli Settlements in…
Netanyahu s Silicon Valley Visit A Lost Opportunity
Sabbah report 29 Mar 2014 – Silicon Valley, to my mind, is about equality, empowerment and equal access. Consequently, it s been very disturbing to see technology companies such as Apple and WhatsApp meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while disregarding that his country treats its non-Jewish population like second-class citizens and…
Israeli Crimes Go Unpunished
Sabbah report 29 Mar 2014 – It bears repeating. Israeli crimes nearly always go unpunished. Rare exceptions prove the rule. Occasional low-level soldier hand-slap penalties follow. Higher-ups are virtually always absolved. Continue reading í! Read More: Israeli Crimes Go Unpunished . Sign up for our FREE newsletter!
Soldiers killed by Lebanon car bomb
BBC 29 Mar 2014 – A sui
cide car bomber attacks a Lebanese army checkpoint near the Syrian border, killing three soldiers and wounding four others, reports say.
Israel Kills 2 Near Syrian Border
The Foward Breaking News 29 Mar 2014 – Israeli troops killed two people near the Syrian border, Israeli news sites reported. Click here for the rest of the article…
VIDEO: Making it as a ‘mumpreneur’ in Dubai
BBC 29 Mar 2014 – As many women across the Gulf struggle to balance their career with family commitment, some are bucking the trend and setting up their own business.
Zimbabwe: Nikuv Opens New Office At Army Headquarters
allAfrica.com29 Mar 2014 – [SW Radio]Nikuv International Projects, an Israeli company largely suspected to have assisted ZANU PF to rig the disputed 2013 elections, has resurfaced, this time around operating from the army headquarters in Harare, a leading newspaper has claimed.
Gaddafi’s son in Libya ‘apology’
BBC 28 Mar 2014 – Libyan state TV airs footage showing one of the sons of former leader Col Muammar Gaddafi apologising to the nation from prison in Tripoli.
VIDEO: ‘Beatings and abuse’ in Egypt custody
BBC 28 Mar 2014 – Electrocutions, brutal beatings, and sexual abuse are taking place in detention in Egypt, according to testimonies gathered by the BBC.
Suicide bomber kills Lebanese soldiers in Ersal
Al-Akhbar News 29 Mar 2014 – Updated at 8:45 pm: A suicide bomber killed himself and at least three soldiers when he detonated a car bomb at a Lebanese army checkpoint in the border town of Ersal on Saturday, Lebanese media said. The Lebanese National News Agency reported that at least four…
Nasrallah: If takfiris succeed in Syria, all in Lebanon will be eliminated
Al-Akhbar News 29 Mar 2014 – An image grab from al-Manar TV shows Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, giving a televised address from an undisclosed location on March 29, 2014 in Lebanon. (Photo: AFP / al-Manar) Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned of the threat posed to Lebanon by Islamist fighters in the…
Two to die for Alexandria roof death
BBC 29 Mar 2014 – Two men are sentenced to death for murders committed during political violence in Alexandria last year, one of them a notorious rooftop killing.
Turkish ‘prohibition’ culture explained
Al-Monitor 29 Mar 2014 – A political culture that utilizes “bans” more frequently deepens as the government fails to provide political solutions in Turkey.
Fear of war grips Turkish border province
Al-Monitor 29 Mar 2014 – In the border province of Hatay, fears mount that Turkey will declare war against Syria after the downing of a Syrian jet.
The Future Movement starts race to the Grand Serail
Al-Akhbar News 29 Mar 2014 – Interior Minister Nouhad al-Machnouk. (Photo: Al-Akhbar) Interior Minister Nouhad al-Machnouk. (Photo: Al-Akhbar) While most political factions in Lebanon seem occupied with the upcoming presidential race, others in the country are waging a different battle. In fact, four candidates from the Future Movement have their eyes on…
Turkey begins investigation over Syria Youtube leaks
Al-Akhbar News 29 Mar 2014 – Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the crowd during an election rally in Ankara March 22, 2014. (Photo: AFP – Adem Altan) Turkey has started an espionage investigation after a discussion between top officials on potential military action in Syria was leaked on YouTube, heralding…
Egypt temporarily reopens Gaza crossing
Al-Akhbar News 29 Mar 2014 – Palestinians wait to cross into Egypt at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip on March 29, 2014. (Photo: AFP – Said Khatib) The Gaza Strip’s land border with Egypt reopened Saturday after a 50-day closure, but only for three days and…
Obama addresses Syria, Iran and women’s right in Saudi visit
Al-Akhbar News 29 Mar 2014 – US President Barack Obama presents Dr. Maha al-Muneef, founder and executive director of the National Family Safety Program, with the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 29, 2014. (Photo: AFP – Saul Loeb) US President Barack Obama met…
The moderate rebels: A needle in a haystack
Al-Akhbar News 29 Mar 2014 – Rebel fighters members of the al-Sham Brigade (Liwa al-Sham) take part in a training session in the northeastern city of Deir Ezzor, on March 25, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Ahmed Aboud) Rebel fighters members of the al-Sham Brigade (Liwa al-Sham) take part in a training session in the…
Palestinian official hopes for quick resolution to prisoner release delays
Al-Akhbar News 29 Mar 2014 – A Palestinian man is arrested by Israeli security forces during clashes following a protest of Palestinians against the expansion of the nearby Israeli settlement of Ofra on March 28, 2014 in the West Bank village of Silwad, north of Ramallah. (Photo: AFP – Abbas Momani) A…
Turkey a ‘political war zone’ on eve of elections
Al-Monitor 29 Mar 2014 – Turkey’s leaders look to Syria as a distraction from the latest domestic political crisis; the US Congress considers new sanctions on Hezbollah; Al-Monitor expands coverage of Russia and the Middle East.
Will Turkey s municipal elections determine Erdogan s future?
Al-Akhba
r News 29 Mar 2014 – Supporters of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) wave Turkish and party flags during an election rally in Ankara March 28, 2014. (Photo-AFP-Adem Altan) Supporters of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) wave Turkish and party flags during an election rally in Ankara March…
VIDEO: Emirates eye drone delivery market
BBC 29 Mar 2014 – The United Arab Emirates says it wants to use small government drones to provide services, like ID-card delivery, by next year.
VIDEO: Digging deeper for diamonds
BBC 29 Mar 2014 – Sierra Leone is named for its hills but known worldwide for its diamonds – but to find more of the precious stone miners are having to dig deeper and use more sophisticated techniques.
UN: No aid improvement for Syrians
BBC 28 Mar 2014 – The UN says that there has been no humanitarian improvement for millions of Syrians since a resolution last month to increase aid deliveries.
Egypt detainees allege torture
BBC 28 Mar 2014 – Egyptian security forces torture and abuse detainees as young as 15, according to victim testimony gathered by the BBC.
VIDEO: Saudi’s ‘first kiss’
BBC 28 Mar 2014 – The story behind the parody video
Terrorist suspect Sami al-Atrash s death passes without major backlash
Al-Akhbar Politics 28 Mar 2014 – Two boys walk down an unpaved road in the village of Ersal. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) Two boys walk down an unpaved road in the village of Ersal. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) Sami al-Atrash, one of the most dangerous wanted fugitives, has died during a Lebanese army raid…
Algeria: Private TV stations alter the electoral scene
Al-Akhbar Politics 28 Mar 2014 – Algerian supporters of a movement called Barakat (meaning in Arabic “That’s enough”), campaigning for new leadership in Algeria, demonstrate holding banners and shout slogans against Algeria’s current President Bouteflika Abdelaziz running for a fourth term in the April 17 elections, outside the central school in downtown…
Articles
Israel loses eight billion dollars and Arab parties join the boycott
Middle East Monitor (MEMO)3/29/2014
†† (MEMO) Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative movement, has estimated that Israel has incurred losses of around eight billion dollars due to the boycott campaign against illegal settlements, equivalent to 20 per cent of their GDP.
†† Regarding the latest Palestinian efforts to escalate the settlement boycott, Barghouti revealed that an agreement has been made with 13 democratic Arab parties to form boycott committees in the Arab world.
†† In a statement to Quds Net News Agency on Thursday he said: the European Union did not issue a decision to boycott Israel, but what is taking place is the boycott of any relationship or agreements with settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
†† Furthermore: This experience is being circulated worldwide and not only in European countries; many areas worldwide are also ready to boycott the settlements.
†† The agreement with the Arab parties to participate in the boycott campaign came after the participation of a delegation from the Palestinian National Initiative movement headed by Barghouti, along with a delegation from Fatah, headed by Nabil Shaath in the Arab Social Democratic Forum. It was held in Amman, Jordan, over two days and ended Wednesday.
†† The draft resolution put forward by the Palestinian National Initiative regarding Jerusalem was agreed upon unanimously, along with a mass movement of boycott and sanctions against Israel and the decision to support the Palestinian popular resistance and the struggle for justice for Palestinians against the occupation and the settlements.more..e-mail
The growing US-Israel rift
Ahmed Eleiba, Al-Ahram Weekly3/27/2014
†††While US officialdom is tight-lipped, criticism of Israel in US scholarly circles is growing and is sure to have an impact sooner or later on policy formation.
†† There is more than a whiff of frustration with Israel emerging from behind closed doors in various official and academic circles in the US these days. In fact, the level of criticism of Israel has reached such proportions that it can no longer be contained and has begun to be made public as never before. Some grumble aloud that Israel has become a burden on US foreign policy in the Middle East. Others note that the influence of AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) on US foreign policy has begun to dwindle, at least as compared to the extent of influence it had on previous administrations in Washington. Three key issues intersect in this dynamic: the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Syrian question and US-Iranian relations.
†† In the Congressional Foreign Affairs Office, an expert observed that US diplomacy was searching for a new way forward on the Palestinian-Israeli question. He said that the majority of Congress agrees that Secretary of State John Kerry is doing everything he can to achieve a breakthrough, but that he is constantly running up against an Israeli wall. The scholar added that Kerry merited the highest praise for his efforts.
†† There are other signs of growing impatience with Israel in Washington. During his visit there, Binyamin Netanyahu was forced to sit and listen as Obama lectured him on the importance of taking tough decisions in order to reach a peace settlement. Soon followed an Israeli-US spat over the question of the Jewishness of the Israeli state, the recognition of which the current Likud government has added as a condition that the Palestinians must meet in order to move forward with negotiations. Israeli anger vented itself on Kerry, personally, in an unusual departure from the norm in US-Israeli bilateral relations.more..e-mail
Settlers take over in Hebron: The Rajabi building becomes a hornets nest
Badia Dwaik, Middle East Monitor (MEMO)3/29/2014
†† The recent decision of the Israeli Supreme Court on 11 March 2014, authorising the purchase of the Rajabi building in the H2 area of the city of Hebron to a group of settlers, has been described by some Palestinians as a clear political move, one which explicitly promotes dangerous settlement expansion in the heart of Hebron.
†† According to an agreement reached in 1997 between the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Israel, Hebron was divided into two parts: H1 and H2. The H1 area, home to around 140,000 Palestinians, was placed under the control of the Palestinian authorities. T
he H2 area, which is inhabited by around 30,000 Palestinians and contains significant parts of the commercial centre, as well as Israeli settlements, remained under Israeli military control.
†† The Rajabi building is located just east of the Ibrahimi Mosque, also known as the Cave of the Patriarchs, in the H2 area of Hebron and serves as a strategic connection point between the Jewish settlement blocks. Hebron is a city that is a powder keg, a city at the core of an on-going ideological and emotional conflict, characterised by recurrent bouts of violence.
†† The city is home to Majdi Al-Ja’bari, who constructed the home of Fayez Al-Rajabi, which settlers occupied in 2007 before it was evacuated at the end of 2008.
†† According to Al-Ja’abari, who lives only metres away from the Rajabi building, if settlers return to this area of Hebron the neighbourhood will become a living hell to all of its inhabitants, due to the endless attacks by settlers, who have notoriously terrorised Hebron’s Palestinian residents in the past. Bassam Al-Ja’abari, who earns his living as a shoemaker and also lives a few meters’ distance from the Rajabi building, describes how settlers have attacked neighbouring Palestinian homes with stones and staged demonstrations full of incitement against Arabs, demanding their expulsion from the area.more..e-mail
Despising Judith Butler and the future of Zionism
Mark LeVine, Al Jazeera3/29/2014
†††The only hope for a lasting peace in Israel and/or Palestine lies in a reimagination of the two nationalisms.
†† The New Republic literary editor Leon Wieseltier clearly believes himself to be a good man. One of those who put principles before emotions and politics. One who will fight for the right of even the most bigoted people and views to have a public hearing. Say, Nazis marching in Slokie, Illinois in the 1970s. Or rabidly anti-gay Christians protesting outside soldiers’ funerals during the Iraq war. Or an anti-Zionist Jewish scholar lecturing about Franz Kafka’s literary work at a Jewish museum.
†† Okay, perhaps the last example isn’t quite on the order of the first two, is it? Apparently, for Wieseltier, and for much of the American Jewish establishment, it is. So much so that even the thought of allowing a Jewish academic who believes in a democratic Israeli state in which Palestinians and Jews have the same political, economic and civil rights is cause for existential angst and anger.
†† The scholar in question is Judith Butler, the literary critic and philosopher whose criticism of Israel and support for the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement have recently defined her in the public eye far more than her seminal research on feminist, queer, literary theory and political philosophy. The pressure on Butler and the Jewish Museum of New York, where she was scheduled to deliver a talk on March 6, was so great that Butler cancelled it.
†† Too critical of Israel?
†† The cancellation of Butler’s talk coincided with other attempts within the organised Jewish community to prevent writers believed to be critical of Israel from speaking to Jewish audiences. And so John Judis, senior editor at The New Republic, was disinvited from speaking about his new book, “Genesis: Truman, American Jews, and the Origins of the Arab/Israeli Conflict”, at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York.more..e-mail
Gaza talks, Ireland leg, Gaza still in crisis
In Gaza: 29 Mar 2014 – Ireland is treating me well! The talks I ve given in Kinsale, Cork and Galway, Dublin have been well-attended and well-received, and managing to have lots of random encounters with folks who are willing to engage in discussion on Palestine, even if they aren t familiar with the facts. It s these meetings and the positive feedback that inspire me, aside from the Palestinians steadfastness: Thanks very much for your informative and professional talk today at UCC in Cork. I do not know how you kept so calm while presenting those true images without getting angry or breaking down with emotion, especially the ones of the injured and dead children. If I were presenting it, then it would just be too much for me to handle. I was amazed by the way you would stand up to the soldiers with nothing more than a loud speaker. I would not be brave enough…more
Guy Davidi: In Support of Professor Iymen Chehade
Palestine Chronicle: 29 Mar 2014 – (Guy Davidi is t
he Co-director of 5 Broken Cameras . He shared this letter of support with the Palestine Chronicle.) Dear Professor Iymen Chehade, I would like extend my support to you following the cancellation of your class after screening Five Broken Cameras. I was surprised and disappointed to hear the wrongful decision to cancel the class and on the bases of an ignorant argument demanding balance or claiming bias. I expected more open discourse from a respected academic institute like Columbia College. There is no such thing as balance in a political debate only different points of view. It is surprising how many times this basic idea needs to be repeated again and again to the people who insist of holding the illusion of an objective truth. In Israel, 5 broken cameras was recently officially accepted to the cultural program of the Ministry of Education. It has been…more
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