28 April 2014 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Over 150 Olive Trees Destroyed Near Nablus
IMEMC – Israeli settlers destroyed over 150 Palestinian-owned olive trees south of Nablus, on Monday, according to a Palestinian official. …
Continued Attacks and Abductions Across West Bank
IMEMC – Israeli army demolishes house near Jerusalem Attacks and abductions continue across the West Bank, with numerous assaults on Palestinians by settlers, police and military alike, according to media and security sources. …
Kerry: Israel Risks Becoming Apartheid State
IMEMC – According to US media, US Secretary of State John Kerry said to a number of senior international officials that Israel risks becoming an apartheid state if it does not make peace soon. …
Jordan and Palestine Sign Cooperation Protocol
IMEMC – On Monday, Minister of Local Government Sa’ed al-Kuni signed a protocol, in Ramallah, for mutual cooperation in local government and municipal affairs with the Jordanian Minister of Municipal Affairs Waleed al-Masri. …
7 Kidnapped in West Bank and Jerusalem, 2 Injured
IMEMC – Israeli forces raided several areas in the West Bank and Jerusalem, on Sunday, kidnapping 7 and injuring two, according to reports by local, media and security sources. …
19 West Bank Consruction Projects to be Halted by Israeli Sanctions
IMEMC – The Israeli government made clear, Sunday, its decision to freeze construction on 19 Palestinian projects in the West Bank, according to Israeli and Palestinian news sources. …
Settlers cut down over 150 olive trees near Nablus
4/28/2014 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli settlers on Monday destroyed over 150 olive trees belonging to Palestinian farmers south of Nablus, a Palestinian official said. Ghassan Daghlas, a PA official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma’an that a group of settlers from Yitzhar raided the Huwwara village and cut down over 150 trees. The trees belonged to Nayif Khadir….
Palestinians, Israeli military forces clash in al-Eizariya
4/28/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli military forces clashed with local Palestinians in al-Eizariya late Sunday, witnesses told Ma’an. Locals said that Israeli forces attacked a peaceful rally organized by Fatah’s youth movement in support of the al-Aqsa mosque, firing tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets. Palestinian youths hurled stones and empty bottles in response. [END]
Rightist groups seek Jewish sovereignty over Aqsa mosque
4/28/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) – Right-wing Jewish organizations distributed a leaflet across Jerusalem Monday urging Jews to join an emergency conference to discuss means to secure a Jewish presence inside the al-Aqsa compound. The conference, according to the leaflet, will be held Tuesday at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem to address how to guarantee a Jewish presence inside the holy place and to force….
Leader: Hamas will not oppose PM in new govt
4/28/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – The Hamas movement will not oppose that prime minister of the Palestinian Authority Rami Hamdallah or any other personality heading the coming unity government, a top party official said Sunday. Deputy chief of Hamas’ politburo Mousa Abu Marzouq highlighted that the coming government “isn’t President Mahmoud Abbas’ government, but rather a government of national unity and agreement….
PLO to seek membership of international bodies
4/28/2014 – RAMALLAH (AFP) — The Palestine Liberation Organization’s central council on Sunday adopted a plan to pursue attempts to join 60 United Nations bodies and international agreements. The council, under the auspices of president Mahmoud Abbas, “affirms the need for the Palestinian leadership to continue membership of UN agencies and international conventions”, the Palestine People’s Party secretary general Bassam al-Salhi said in a….
Israel, PLO square up as peace deadline looms
4/28/2014 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel and the PLO appeared determined Monday to seal their divorce as Washington’s deadline for reaching a Mideast peace deal was to expire, leaving hopes for a breakthrough in tatters. After more than a year of intensive shuttle diplomacy by US Secretary of State John Kerry with the initial aim of brokering a deal by April 29, Washington’s patience….
PFLP withdraws from PLO meeting
4/28/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – Representatives of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine on Sunday evening withdrew from the closing session of the PLO Central Council in protest against the two-day meeting’s final statement. PFLP officials said a news conference would be held in front of the Palestinian presidential compound in Ramallah to explain its stance. PFLP representative to the Central Council….
2 minute silence as Israel remembers Holocaust
4/28/2014 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Traffic across Israel ground to a halt for two minutes on Monday to remember the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. As sirens wailed at 10 a. m. , the activity on the normally-bustling streets of Jerusalem abruptly stopped as people froze to observe a ritual which takes place every year on Holocaust memorial day, which began at sundown on Sunday. Radio and….
Israel prosecutors seek 5 to 7 years for ex-PM Olmert
4/28/2014 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel’s state prosecution is seeking a jail term of five to seven years for former premier Ehud Olmert who was convicted in March of bribery, a judicial source said Monday. Olmert was convicted on March 31 on two counts of receiving bribes in connection with a sprawling Jerusalem property development, in one of the biggest corruption scandals in Israeli history.”The….
Egypt ‘bans key anti-Mubarak April 6 group’
4/28/2014 – CAIRO (AFP) — An Egyptian court on Monday banned the April 6 youth movement that spearheaded the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak and has protested against the current military-installed regime, a judicial official said. The court issued the ruling based on a complaint that accused the group of defaming the country and colluding with foreign parties. [END]
Egypt’s Badie: from the shadows to center stage
4/28/2014 – CAIRO (AFP) — Mohammed Badie, supreme guide of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood who was sentenced to death Monday, once advocated a low profile for the group but eventually embraced its move to mainstream politics. A court in the central city of Minya sentenced Badie and 682 other alleged Islamists to death for the murder and attempted murder of policemen after police broke up a sit-in….
Syrian refugees arrive in new Jordan camp
4/28/2014 – AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) — The United Nations said on Monday that Jordan’s third refugee camp, Azraq, had received its first group of Syrians ahead of its official opening this week.”A few hundred Syrian refugees started to arrive in Azraq camp this morning,” Ali Bibi, spokesman for the UN refugee agency UNHCR in Jordan, told AFP. The camp’s official inauguration would be….
Syria bars refugees who fled via unofficial posts from voting
4/28/2014 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Syrians who fled their war-torn country via unofficial crossings will be barred from voting in next month’s presidential elections, the country’s electoral commission chief said on Monday.”Syrians who left Syria illegally do not have the right to vote in host countries,” Hisham Shaar was quoted as saying by pro-regime newspaper Al-Watan on Monday. Some 88 percent of registered….
Kerry: Israel risks becoming apartheid state
AlJazeera 27 Apr 2014 – Secretary of state says Israel risks becoming an “apartheid state” if two-state solution fails, US website reports.
occupied Palestinian territory: Al Mezan Welcomes Palestinian Reconciliation and Calls on International Community to Support its Implementation
Relief Web 28 Apr 2014 – Source: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights Country: occupied Palestinian territory The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights welcomes the Palestinian reconciliation agreement and asserts the importance of working towards its implementation. Al Mezan calls on the international community, particularly…
30 dead in suicide attack on Kurdish political rally
The National 28 Apr 2014 – Supporters of Jalal Talabani had gathered to see him cast his vote.
US expands Russia sanctions over role in Ukraine crisis
The National 28 Apr 2014 – Seven Russian officials and 17 companies targeted in latest US measure as pro-Russian separatists sieze another city hall in eastern Ukraine.
Death sentence for hundreds puts Egypt s judiciary under scrutiny
The National 28 Apr 2014 – Harsh sentences after short trial raises questions of whether judges are acting on evidence, under government pressure, or out of anti-Islamist bias.
US couple appeals Qatar jail over daughter s death
The National 28 Apr 2014 – Both adoption and multiracial families are rare in Qatar, a conservative Gulf Arab emirate, and the family s supporters maintain Qatari authorities misunderstood the Huangs situation.
Palestinians change strategy for peace deal
The National 28 Apr 2014 – The Palestinians are applying for membership in organisations that will give them a greater international status and heightened ability to counter Israel.
Al Assad announces he will run for presidency in June 3 vote
The National 28 Apr 2014 – Balloting will be firmly under the control of feared security services and voting will only taking place in regime-held parts of the country.
Sectarian strife threatens Iraq ahead of election
The National 28 Apr 2014 – The killings turned this town 50 kilometres north-east of Baghdad into a front line in Iraq s gathering sectarian war.
Iran: blood money saved 358 from death penalty
The National 28 Apr 2014 – The most high-profile case involved a blindfolded murderer known only as Balal being pictured with a hangman s noose around his neck.
In pictures: Rohingya children flee ethnic violence by boat
The National 28 Apr 2014 – After their tiny Muslim village in Myanmar’s northwest Rakhine had been destroyed in a fire set by an angry Buddhist mob, Senwara, 9, and brother, Mohamed, 15, became separated from the family. What followed was a horrific boat journey and ordeal faced by thousands of Rohingya’s, described as the world’s most persecuted people.
Emirati students feel safe in London but urge caution
The National 28 Apr 2014 – ‘London is tough but it makes you stronger and more independent. But I couldn t imagine living here forever. Dubai is a much better place to live.’
Video: Deadly tornadoes hit USA
The National 28 Apr 2014 – A series of powerful tornadoes have caused death and destruction to southern and central parts of the United States.
Video: Briton dead after Colombia tribal rite
The National 28 Apr 2014 – Police in Colombia investigate the death of a British teenager found dead after reportedly taking part in a local ritual.
Desperate Rohingya children flee Mynamar alone by boat
The National 28 Apr 2014 – Two Rohingya children from one of the ‘most persecuted groups on earth’ flee ethnic violence in Myanmar only to be caught up in a horrific boat journey.
Brotherhood leader Badie among 683 members sentenced to death by Egypt court
The National 28 Apr 2014 – Court in southern Egypt recommends the death sentence for the Muslim Brotherhood’s general guide Mohamed Badie and hundreds of others.
Several killed as 800m-wide tornado rips through southern US
The National 28 Apr 2014 – A broad tornado sliced through Little Rock’s suburbs Sunday, killing 11 people and leaving behind a miles-long path of destruction as a powerful system rumbling off the Plains provided a violent kick-start to the nation’s tornado season.
Pakistan serial killer wanted to teach gays a lesson
The National 28 Apr 2014 – Short in stature and softly spoken, Muhammed Ejaz was probably destined for a life of relative anonymity until he began killing homosexual men he met online.
Police intelligence officer arrested on suspicion of corruption
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
U.S. has pledged to support Israeli position on talks with Palestinian unity government
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
An end to peace talks, and early start to summer vacation
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
U.S., Jewish groups slam Kerry over ‘apartheid’ comment
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Former Israeli, PA security officers: Resume talks or risk return to violence
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Former security heads: Resume talks or risk violence
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Israel authorizes record amount of West Bank land for settlement construction
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Kerry s A-bomb makes clear: the apartheid label just won t go away
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
50 mummies discovered in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Ya’alon: Israel wants peace, even with our worst enemies
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Ya’alon: Israel wants peace, even with our worst enemies
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
The Holocaust memorial that became a refuge for drunks and sunbathers
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
White House: Hamas-Fatah reconciliation ‘isn t necessarily a bad thing’
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Hamas No. 2: Unity government will be ‘technocratic,’ not political
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Three Russians on the lam from major theft charges arrested in Israel
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Paul Simon, wife Edie Brickell arrested for disorderly conduct
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
U.S. levels new sanctions against Russian officials, companies
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
ADL ‘startled and disappointed’ over Kerry’s ‘apartheid’ comment
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
The ugly truth behind Donald Sterling’s racist comments
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
J Street is part of the American Jewish family
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Senator Rand Paul proposes bill that would halt aid to Palestinians
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Holyland prosecutor calls for at least 6-year sentence for Olmert
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Holocaust Remembrance Day marked in Israel
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Mayor of major eastern Ukraine city shot and critically wounded
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Israel presents: How to politicize the Holocaust
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
The Holocaust for 5-year-olds – not as bad as it sounds
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
At least 17 killed as tornadoes rip through Arkansas, Oklahoma
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
PLO votes to sign Palestine up for 63 UN accords – Abbas to decide when
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Army treads lightly as era of Haredi draft beckons
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
WATCH: Israelis pause in silence as siren sounds for Holocaust Remembrance Day
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Missing Malaysian jet’s search area to be expanded
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
Hillary cracks the authenticity code
Ha’aretz – 28 Apr 2014
U.S. envoy Indyk leaves Israel as talks falter, no clear plans for return
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2014
Police recommend indicting Rabbi Avraham Yosef on extortion charges
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2014
Kerry: Israel risks turning into an ‘apartheid state’
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2014
The world has learned the lessons of the Holocaust better than Israel
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2014
Peace talks are over, back to reality
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2014
And where is the silence?
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2014
Baptism in ruins of Arab village disrupted by Jewish neighbors
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2014
Relatives blast Foreign Ministry over Israeli-Palestinian found dead in Kiev
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2014
Chinese spies read Australian MPs’ emails for a year
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2014
Apartheid in planning rights
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2014
Observers held by pro-Russians in Ukraine speak under armed guard
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2014
No holds barred: Holocaust denial and the Rwandan genocide
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – The US lecturing Kagame would no doubt carry more weight if Rwanda did not feel itself being subject to double standards.
Black box technology is outdated
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – With modern technology, it is perfectly feasible to add video recordings, ejectable black boxes and cloud storage.
Candidly speaking: Proposed PA-Hamas union based on common objectives
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – This is the time for the government to launch a passionate global campaign to disseminate the truth. The PA-Hamas union is still far from implementation.
Don t tinker with freedom of the press
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – Israel has no First Amendment, but it has a well-developed constitutional law that is justly protective of freedom of the press.
On My Mind: Luzie’s secret
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – Cleaning out the dwelling of a deceased person often may uncover surprising items: in Luzie s apartment the estate executor found over 300 letters.
Borderline Views: Demarcating Israel s boundaries
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – The importance of the border in determining the area within which the government can exercise its sovereignty and control remains central to our world.
US State Department does not deny Kerry’s Israel ‘apartheid’ warning
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – John Kerry reportedly said, in the absence of a two-state solution, Israel risks becoming an apartheid state; Spokeswoman Jen Psaki says many have used similar terms to describe potential futures for Israel.
Hungarian Jews in the eye of the storm
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – How was it possible, in 1944, where millions of Jews had already been murdered, that such a large Jewish community could continue to live in tranquility?
The cost of kashrut
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – Taking away the Chief Rabbinate s monopoly would open up both the local and international markets to free competition among numerous kashrut supervision firms and result in a drop in food prices.
Report: Barak tells police Ashkenazi threatened him over ‘Harpaz Affair’
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – The Harpaz Affair refers to an alleged 2010 plot to illegally undermine Barak s choice to succeed Ashkenazi as IDF chief.
Closing ceremonies of Holocaust Remembrance Day
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – In the ceremony titled “They Light the Way for Humankind,” several high-ranking Israeli officials were in attendance, including Yair Lapid and Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz.
Postal dispute escalates to full strike
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – The dispute centers around a financial restructuring plan that includes dismissing 2,000 workers.
Police officer who worked Eichmann case joins Israel Police Holocaust delegation to Poland
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – Micky Goldman was born in 1925 and deported to Aushwitz-Birkenau in 1943; his family was murdered by the Nazis.
FDA approves US phase-II clinical trials on for ALS treatment initiated at Jerusalem’s Hadassah
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – The use of adult stem cells for the progressive, fatal disorder was first introduced by Prof. Dimitrios Karousis, at Hadassah.
21 Israeli beaches, 2 marinas receive Blue Flag label for environmental quality
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – The number of beaches to receive Blue Flags this year is more than double those to receive the recognition in 2013.
Be’er Tuviya residents question financial state of gas plant project
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – Residents have long protested the establishment of a natural gas power facility in their industrial zone.
Argentina’s FM arrives amid improvement in ties strained since Argentina-Iran agreement
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – Israeli-Argentinean ties have been strained since Buenos Aires and Tehran signed a Memorandum of Understanding in January 2013.
About 50 mummies discovered in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – Wooden coffins and death masks from around 1500-1000 BC were found beside the bodies in tomb, which had been raided in previous eras.
Obama says we must give enduring meaning to the words Never Again.
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – At 10 am Monday, Israel came to a standstill as a siren blared throughout the country to mark the six million Jewish victims of the Nazi regime.
State asks court to give Olmert minimum 6 year prison sentence
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – Prosecutors seek maximum of seven-to-eleven years for former PM; State asks court to give former Jerusalem mayor Lupolianski 5-8 years.
10,000 set out from Auschwitz to commemorate Holocaust victims in March of the Living
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – Three kilometer march from Auschwitz to Birkenau, the largest and most notorious of death camps, honors the six million Jews murdered by Nazis in the Holocaust.
Jewish Mayor of eastern Ukrainian city Kharkiv shot, fighting for life
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – Kharkiv has been site of clashes between supporters of new gov’t in Kiev and those in favor of federalization.
Never too young to remember
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – A new exhibit at the Yad LaYeled Museum is presenting for the first time the stories of what happened to Jewish child Holocaust survivors at the end of World War II.
Canadian PM Harper on Holocaust: Educate and remember
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – Stephen Harper urges Canadians to commemorate the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, “combat anti-Semitism of all forms.”
Syria’s Assad to run for third term as president
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – Western and Arab states call election “parody of democracy”; elections to take place June 3; handful of other candidates not expected to win.
Peres: Our body was cut in two, but our soul remains one
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – PM, president, MKs recite names of family members who died in Holocaust at Knesset’s Every Man Has a Name ceremony.
Turkey accuses Netanyahu of delaying ‘Mavi Marmara’ compensation agreement
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – Turkish diplomatic sources claim deal has been finalized but still awaits Prime Minister Netanyahu’s final approval.
Clippers owner says blacks in Israel ‘treated like dogs’
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling recorded making racist remarks; says white Jews in Israel treated differently than black Jews.
Egyptian court recommends death sentence for top Muslim Brotherhood leader and 682 supporters
Jerusalem Post 28 Apr 2014 – Seeking the death penalty for the Brotherhood’s general guide, Mohamed Badie, and his followers is certain to raise tensions in Egypt.
Israel risks becoming apartheid state if peace talks fail, says John Kerry
The Guardian 28 Apr 2014 – It is believed to be the first time a US official of Kerry’s standing has used the term ‘apartheid’ in the context of Israel The US secretary of state, John Kerry, has warned in a closed-door…
Knesset Deputy Speaker Fundraises for Israeli Terror Group
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 25, 2014 – Maariv report that Knesset deputy speaker Moshe Feiglin plans to travel to Toronto in ten days, where he will fundraise for the Canadian offshoot of the Israeli terror group, Kahane Chai. He will address a gala…
NATO 32 Sentenced to More Jail Time After Prosecutors Rabidly Invoke Boston Bombing
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 25, 2014- The “NATO 33 were sentenced by a judge today for mob action and possession of an incendiary device with intent to commit arson offenses. They each were given prison sentences, but they were much shorter than what…
Iraqi running for office after fighting in Syria
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 25, 2014 – An Iraqi Shiite who proudly fought Sunni rebels in Syria s civil war is now running for parliament in his home country, where the conflict has raised already-high sectarian tensions. Faleh al-Khazali is one of an…
Israel: Stop Shooting at Gaza Civilians Soldiers Kill, Wound Farmers, Demonstrators, Journalists
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 25, 2014 – – The Israeli military should immediately stop shooting at Palestinian civilians inside Gaza. Israeli military forces have killed 4 and wounded more than 60 civilians near the perimeter fence with Gaza since the beginning of 2014,…
Israeli forces raid Kifl Haris overnight for religious visit
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 25, 2014 – – Israeli forces stormed the village of Kifl Haris on Friday in order to escort a large group of Jewish Israelis to the village as they visited three religious sites in the northern West Bank village….
Fallujah hospital: 1418 people, including women and children killed and injured by the military operations since the beginning in the city
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 25, 2014- Fallujah Education Hospital announced on Friday that 1418 people killed and injured in the city of Fallujah since the beginning of military operations. Head of the resident doctors at the hospital Ahmed al-Shami told the National Iraqi…
Hamas: Israel s anger proves Palestinians are on the right track
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 25, 2014 – Israeli anger over the Palestinian reconciliation agreement proves that the Palestinians are on the right track, the media adviser to the Hamas led government Taher Al-Nunu said. Al-Nunu said in a brief statement via his Facebook…
Divestment passes at University of California at Riverside
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 25, 2014 -Last night, the student senate at the University of California at Riverside voted to support a resolution sponsored by Students for Justice in Palestine calling on the university to pull its investments from US companies profiting from…
Boycotting the architects of Israel s occupation
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 25, 2014 – A nine-year-long campaign to hold Israeli architects responsible for their role in dispossessing Palestinians reached a significant stage on 19 March. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) approved a call for its Israeli equivalent to…
Christian leaders tell youth to tear up Israel army forms
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 25, 2014 — Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna and former Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah on Friday urged Christian youth not to enlist in the Israeli military and to ignore Israeli “propaganda” encouraging them to do so. The statement came after…
Israel Wants Temple Mount Control
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 -The Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque rank third in Islamic importance. They do so after Mecca s Sacred Mosque and Madina s Mosque of the Prophet. Israel wants control. Naftali Bennett…
Syria News – April 24, 2014 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 – By the end Thersday the Coordination Committees were able to document 128 martyrs in Syria including 10 women, 15 children and 5 martyrs under torture: 62 martyrs were reported in Aleppo; 29 in Daraa; 17 in…
Is the PA reaching the moment of truth?
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 – The Palestinian Authority (PA) has warned that it may pass responsibility for the occupied Palestinian territories back to occupying power Israel if peace talks remain stalled.An unnamed PA official said the Palestinians told American envoy Martin…
Suspect in USS Cole bombing was tortured, expert says
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 – The Saudi prisoner awaiting a death-penalty trial for the USS Cole bombing was tortured physically, mentally and sexually, an expert in treating torture victims testified Thursday at the war court. Dr. Sondra Crosby offered the diagnosis…
Maliki: One of the Wrongest Horses the US Ever Backed
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 – In yet another definitive piece for the New Yorker titled What We Left Behind, Dexter Filkins writes about Iraq today, especially Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who the United States helped install. Many Americans blame Iraqis for…
Nouri Al-Maliki works to churn out the votes from Iran
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 – April 30th, Iraq is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections. Osama al-Khafaji and Ghassan Hamid (Alsumaria) have noted that there are 9032 candidates competing for 328 seats. Though Iraqis in some parts of Anbar Province won t…
At war from a distance
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 – THE OBAMA administration killed dozens of people last week-but you probably didn t hear much about it in the mainstream media. Days of punishing drone attacks left at least 15 dead or wounded on April 19,…
Democracy is Dead
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 – Even elite academia is taking notice and has given official imprimatur to a conversation that had been ignored. Professors Martin Gilens of Princeton University and Benjamin Page of Northwestern University are the authors of the study “…
How Syria s revolution exposed the fake friends of Palestine
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 – One of the many things that the Syrian revolution has very clearly underlined is that many, if not most, of the supposed supporters of Palestinian freedom worldwide are not motivated by any real belief in or…
Five Palestinians died in Syria
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 – Five Palestinian refugees died Wednesday as a result of torture and the incessant shelling against Palestinian refugee camps in Syria. Action group for Palestinian of Syria reported in a statement that Radwan Jbasina, and Bassam Sahin…
Mass Hunger-Strike Launched by Palestinian Administrative Detainees
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 2014 – Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association can confirm the launch of a mass open-ended hunger strike involving over 100 Palestinian political detainees. All those involved are being held under administrative detention, which is a procedure whereby…
Thousands at risk of starvation in Yarmouk, UN warns
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – The United Nations agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, was permitted to make a delivery of 300 food packages to Yarmouk camp near Damascus today, after 15 days of being denied access by the Syrian government. However, the delivery is a…
Palestinian Authority to start formation of technocratic unity government
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 – Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas is to immediately start discussions on the formation of a national unity government and will be convening the first meeting in the Gaza Strip, an independent Palestinian official revealed on…
Christian Arabs protest against Israeli occupation army recruitment drive
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 -Hundreds of Palestinians took to the streets in Nazareth yesterday in protest against recruiting Christian Arabs in the Israeli occupation forces.Reports said that about 300 Palestinians attended a gathering in the centre of occupied Nazareth. They carried…
Palestinians celebrate Easter in reclaimed Galilee village
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 – Amir Ashkar s grandparents were driven from their home in Iqrit, a Palestinian village in the northern Galilee region of present-day Israel, in 1948. Just three years later, on Christmas day of 1951, the Israeli military…
The Iraqi growth myth
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 – If one is to believe some mainstream Western media reports, Iraq is thriving. The conflict-ravaged country is even expecting more economic progress and tipped to be one of the best performers in the Middle East in…
Defining political unity
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 – The announcement that Fatah and Hamas will be embarking upon reconciliation has raised the ire of Israel and the US. As the formation of an interim unity government within five weeks moves towards a possible implementation,…
Palestinian girl badly injured by Israeli settler attack
Uruknet 28 Apr 2014 – April 24, 2014 – On Thursday April 24 at around 12 pm, two Israeli settlers coming with a quad-bike from the illegal outpost of Havat Ma on attacked with stones four Palestinian children and the mother of three of them,…
German diplomat wounded evading Yemen kidnap: security
Daily Star 28 Apr 2014 A German diplomat was wounded in the Yemeni capital on Monday as he evaded an attempt by gunmen to kidnap him, a security official said.
White House ‘deeply troubled’ by death sentences in Egypt
Daily Star 28 Apr 2014 The United States is “deeply troubled” by an Egypt court’s death sentence for the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and hundreds of supporters, the White House said on Monday, condemning the country’s use of mass trials.
U.N. chief “alarmed” by new mass death verdicts in Egypt
Daily Star 28 Apr 2014 U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm on Monday at reports that an Egyptian court has issued a new mass death sentence to the leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and 682 supporters, the U.N. press office…
Eastern Iraq suicide bomb toll rises to 20 dead: officials
Daily Star 28 Apr 2014 A suicide bomber blew himself up on Monday amid a group of supporters of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, killing 20 people and wounding 30 others, security and medical officials said.
U.N. nuclear watchdog holds talks in Tehran ahead of May deadline
Daily Star 28 Apr 2014 The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Monday its chief inspector had held “informal” talks in Tehran, ahead of a mid-May deadline for Iran to answer questions about detonators that could be used to help set off…
Qatar’s Al Jazeera files $150 million damages claim with Egypt
Daily Star 28 Apr 2014 The Qatar-based satellite network Al Jazeera served Egypt with a $150 million compensation claim on Monday for what it said was damage to its media business inflicted by Cairo’s military rulers, a step likely to worsen…
Top British diplomat in Iran for talks
Daily Star 28 Apr 2014 The most senior British diplomat to visit Iran since the sacking of Britain’s embassy in 2011 arrives in Tehran for talks with Iranian officials, the Foreign Office says.
Nazi hunters laud Germany, US in annual report
YNet News, 28 Apr 2014 – Israel branch of Simon Wiesenthal Center praises Germany for implementing a legal strategy that ‘paves the way for the conviction of practically any person who served either in a Nazi death camp or in mobile killing units.’ ….
Israel s moment of truth
YNet News, 28 Apr 2014 – Op-ed: Sole response to Hamas-Fatah unity should be convincing Arab population in Judea and Samaria that Israeli institutions are preferable to Palestinian Authority’s corrupt mechanisms. ….
Israel begins implementing economic sanctions against Palestinians
YNet News, 28 Apr 2014 – ….
Top repbulcian slams Kerry’s apartheid remark
YNet News, 28 Apr 2014 – ….
AIPAC slams Kerry s apartheid comments as offensive, inappropriate
YNet News, 28 Apr 2014 – ….
Former PM Barak claims former IDF chief Ashkenazi threatened him
YNet News, 28 Apr 2014 – ….
British and Iranian officials hold talks in Tehran
YNet News, 28 Apr 2014 – ….
From Holocaust horrors to shameful poverty
YNet News, 28 Apr 2014 – Op-ed: Once a year, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, we like to embrace our Shoah survivors, 50,000 of whom still live below poverty line. ….
Youth to learn about Jews who helped fight Nazis
YNet News, 28 Apr 2014 – New program launched by Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum in coordination with Genesis Philanthropy Group aims to expose Israeli teenagers to heroic stories of Soviet Jews during World War II. ….
Can Nazi obsession with Jews be explained?
YNet News, 28 Apr 2014 – Op-ed: How did tens of millions of allegedly advanced people become worse than predators, asks Holocaust survivor Noah Klieger. ….
German guardians of Jews’ treasure searching for heir
YNet News, 27 Apr 2014 – Hamburg family looking to return valuable items left behind by Jewish friends when they were sent to their death in Nazi concentration camp in 1941. ….
‘I pray for forgiveness for what family did to Jews’
YNet News, 27 Apr 2014 – Nazis’ descendents join Hungary’s ‘March of the Living’, joining thousands in taking a stand against anti-Semitism. ….
Anti-Semitism on the rise in Europe, report finds
YNet News, 27 Apr 2014 – Gains by far-right parties show anti-Semitism becoming widespread in Europe, though the number of violent attacks against Jews have dropped. ….
Palestinian Information Center
Netanyahu: The irredeemable liar
PIC – The obscene lies, hyperbolic exaggerations, and corrupt analogies Binyamin Netanyahu has been indulging in lately caricature a manifestly morbid and pathologically dishonest character.
Escalation of Israeli break-ins, desecration of Islamic sanctities
PIC – All Palestinian citizens of Kifl Hares, including women and children, jolted out of their beds in remarkable terror as a horde of Israeli settlers invaded the village last Friday at a late night hour.
European conference calls for internationalizing Palestinian prisoners’ issue
PIC – The first European conference in support of Palestinian prisoners held in Berlin called in its final statement on Monday for internationalizing Palestinian prisoners’ issue.
Warnings of freezing Palestinian construction in West Bank
PIC – Dr. Khalil Tufkaji, Chairman of Maps Department at the Arab Studies Society, warned of Israeli schemes to demolish and stop construction of Palestinian buildings in area (C).
PLO’s central council urges Abbas to swiftly execute reconciliation agreement
PIC – The central council of the Palestine liberation organization (PLO) called on Mahmoud Abbas to accelerate the execution of the reconciliation agreement.
IOF soldiers demolish house in OJ, raid school in Yatta
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) razed a Palestinian house in Rafat village, to the north west of occupied Jerusalem, on Monday.
PFLP criticizes PLO central council’s decision to resume negotiations
PIC – The PFLP has declared on Sunday evening its withdrawal from the closing session of the PLO Central Council protesting its final statement that calls for talks resumption.
Kerry draws fire for reported comment about ‘apartheid’ and Israel
LA Times 28 Apr 2014 – Secretary of State John F. Kerry was denounced by supporters of both Israel and the Palestinians on Monday for reportedly saying that Israel could become an apartheid nation if it does not reach a peace deal to create a separate Palestinian state.
Syrian officials, rebels reach deal to restore electricity to Aleppo
LA Times 28 Apr 2014 – The Syrian government and rebels struck a rare agreement Monday to restore electricity in Aleppo province, cut off by the opposition for more than a week, in exchange for a cessation of airstrikes by the military.
Egyptian court sentences 683, including Brotherhood leader, to death
LA Times 28 Apr 2014 – A court in southern Egypt on Monday decreed a mass death sentence for nearly 700 people, including the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, the movement of Egypt’s ousted Islamist president.
Iran’s president faces pressure from all sides
LA Times 27 Apr 2014 – Hassan Rouhani took office after promising political change and economic progress. Conservatives and reformists alike are disappointed. Nine months after taking office, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani finds himself under pressure from both his reformist supporters and hard-line conservatives as efforts to spur political change and…
Palestinian leader denounces Holocaust as ‘heinous crime’
LA Times 27 Apr 2014 – Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu calls the Holocaust comments a play for public opinion and exhorts the Palestinian Authority’s Mahmoud Abbas to cancel pact with Hamas. At a time when the Middle East peace process appears stymied, Israel received an unexpected olive branch when Palestinian Authority President…
Iraq Prepares for National Elections in the Shadow of Militant Threats
New York Times 28 Apr 2014 – The government appears powerless to control a jihadist group that insists on the power to indiscriminately kill Shiites.
Russia and Iran in Talks Over Energy Deal
New York Times 28 Apr 2014 – The deal, reportedly worth $8 billion to $10 billion, could undercut the efficacy of American-led sanctions against Iran.
The Lede: Iraq s Ailing President Talabani Is Shown Casting a Vote
New York Times 28 Apr 2014 – Video of the ailing president of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, surfaced just as some voting got underway for the first parliamentary elections since the United States withdrawal in 2011.
Israel Appears to Raise New Peace Talks Issue With U.S.
New York Times 28 Apr 2014 – The Israelis suggested that the Obama administration had agreed years ago that there could be absolutely no negotiations with any Palestinian government backed by Hamas.
Egypt Sentences Top Islamist and Over 680 Others to Death
New York Times 28 Apr 2014 – An Egyptian judge sentenced the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and hundreds of others on charges of inciting or committing acts of violence.
Syria Misses New Deadline as It Works to Purge Arms
New York Times 27 Apr 2014 – Although Syria has made significant progress, it missed a second deadline, April 27, for the destruction of its arsenal of chemical weapons, international monitors said.
Two-state solution is psychological solution allowing people to take themselves off the moral hook Telhami
Mondoweiss – Shibley Telhami, photo by Dina Telhami Shibley Telhami said today that the two-state solution is a psychological solution that has allowed world leaders and liberal supporters of Israel to escape moral responsibility for the wrongs of the Israeli occupation. But the time has come that this…
Welcome to the post-peace process era: A review of Ali Abunimah s The Battle for Justice in Palestine
Mondoweiss – Benjamin Netanyahu, Barack Obama and Mahmoud Abbas in 2009. (Photo: AP) As Secretary of State John Kerry sApril 29deadline looms for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, the State Department has dropped any pretense that talks will result in a framework agreement, instead confirming that negotiations at this point revolve around…
Jewish Voice for Real Peace
Mondoweiss – (Image: Jewish Voice for Peace) This is part of Marc H. Ellis s Exile and the Prophetic feature for Mondoweiss. To read the entire series visit the archive page . A few days ago, Jewish Voice for Peace released a statement on the Hamas-Fatah unity agreement and Israel s…
Kerry says that Israel could wind up being an apartheid state
Mondoweiss – Matt Bors cartoon, at the Medium The Daily Beast has published an exclusive based on a taperecording it got of John Kerry speaking to world leaders. Josh Rogin: If there s no two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict soon, Israel risks becoming an apartheid state, Secretary of…
Over 100 Palestinian prisoners begin hunger strike to protest Israeli administrative detention
Mondoweiss – 4 more Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jail on hunger strike RAMALLAH (Ma an) 27 Apr Four Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jail began a hunger strike on Wednesday in protest against their detention without trial, a Palestinian prisoner advocacy group said on Sunday. News of the four…
Kerry Says the A-word and Abbas says the H-Word
Tikun Olam – In the past 24 hours, John Kerry and Mahmoud Abbas made two extraordinary sets of remarks about Israel and the Holocaust. Yesterday, the PA press agency, Wafa released this statement that Abbas had conveyed to U.S. Orthodox Rabbi Marc Schneier a week ago. It was released…
Peace process: PLO ignores interview request
Sabbah report 28 Apr 2014 – All these years Israel has run rings round the Palestinians media-wise. Communication is practically non-existent. For example, writers such as myself are never kept informed or briefed on important developments. What professional media training do key people at the PA [Palestinian Authority] and PLO receive? Continue…
Palestinian s Unity Agreement Evokes Israeli-U.S. Threats
Sabbah report 28 Apr 2014 – You want your school lunch money? You want your backpack? Then play by our rules, kid, or go home. In the past few years I have found it impossible to look at the current Israeli government as anything other than that bully on the Middle East…
Palestinians: Like sheep to the slaughter, like sheep to the occupation
Sabbah report 28 Apr 2014 – Today, on the eve of Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Day, we should have marshaled the mental strength to empathize with those who live under the tyranny of another nation. Just as we admire the powers of resistance of Europe s conquered nations, the Partisans and the Resistance,…
Kerry: Apartheid if no Mid-East deal
BBC 28 Apr 2014 – The US secretary of state warns that Israel risks becoming “an apartheid state” without a two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians.
Rand Paul: ‘Cut Aid To Palestinians Unless They Recognize Israel as Jewish State’
The Foward Breaking News 28 Apr 2014 – U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said he will introduce legislation that would cut U.S. funding to the Palestinian Authority unless its government recognized Israel as a Jewish state. Click here for the rest of the article…
John Kerry’s Israel ‘Apartheid’ Remark Irks Jewish Groups
The Foward Breaking News 28 Apr 2014 – Secretary of State John Kerry s statement to a roomful of world leaders that Israel could become an apartheid state if peace talks fail is deeply troubling, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee said. Click here for the rest of the article…
North Africa: Media Regulatory Reform in the Middle East and North Africa – Criminal Restrictions On Media Content
allAfrica.com28 Apr 2014 – [HRInfo]We, expert participants from Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen, invited by Maharat Foundation, the Centre for Law and Democracy and International Media Support to the Workshop on Toward Media Regulatory Reform in the Middle East and North Africa: Criminal Restrictions on Media Content, having…
Death sentence for Brotherhood chief
BBC 28 Apr 2014 – A judge at a mass trial in Egypt recommends the death penalty for 683 people – including the Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Badie.
John Kerry Warns Israel Will Become ‘Apartheid State’ Without Peace
The Foward Breaking News 28 Apr 2014 – Secretary of State John Kerry warned a roomful of world leaders that Israel could become an apartheid state if peace talks fail, the Daily Beast reported. Click here for the rest of the article…
Senior UK diplomat visits Iran
BBC 28 Apr 2014 – The director of the Foreign Office’s political unit, Sir Simon Gass, is visiting Iran, the government says.
German diplomat ‘injured’ in Yemen
BBC 28 Apr 2014 – A German diplomat has been injured in a suspected kidnapping attempt in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, security officials say.
Iraq suicide bomb at rally kills 30
BBC 28 Apr 2014 – A suicide bomber kills 30 people at a campaign rally in north-eastern Iraq, as militants target polling centres in advance of Wednesday’s polls.
Fahmy: Egypt will ‘diversify’ foreign policy with closer ties to Russia
Al-Monitor 28 Apr 2014 – Speaking in Washington, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy cited Egypt s deepening ties to Russia while calling for patience during Egypt s “transformation.”
Palestinian reconciliation: A history of documents
Al-Akhbar News 28 Apr 2014 – Palestinian Fatah delegation chief Azzam al-Ahmed (L) speaks with Hamas prime minister in the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniya in Gaza City on April 23, 2014 after West Bank and Gaza Strip leaders agreed to form a unity government within five weeks. (Photo: AFP-Said Khatib) Palestinian Fatah…
Algeria’s ailing president sworn in for fourth term
Al-Akhbar News 28 Apr 2014 – Abdelaziz Bouteflika was sworn in as Algeria’s president for a fourth term Monday, a year after suffering a mini-stroke that was expected to end his 15-year grip on power. Sitting in a wheelchair and dressed in a navy three-piece suit and crimson tie, Bouteflika placed his…
Iraqi expats vote at polling stations in Iran
Al-Monitor 28 Apr 2014 – Tens of thousands of Iraqis are voting in Iraq s parliamentary elections at polling stations throughout Iran.
Ersal still at the mercy of Syrian fighters
Al-Akhbar News 28 Apr 2014 – Raad Hamadi (R), one of the men responsible for Shaboun’s kidnapping in Ersal. (Photo: Al-Akhbar) Raad Hamadi (R), one of the men responsible for Shaboun’s kidnapping in Ersal. (Photo: Al-Akhbar) For all the talk about the security plan that supposedly brought the town of Ersal in…
Al Jazeera demands Egypt pay $150 million in damages
Al-Akhbar News 28 Apr 2014 – The pan-Arab satellite network Al Jazeera served Egypt with a $150 million compensation claim on Monday for what it called damage to its business inflicted by Cairo’s military rulers, a lawyer acting for the Qatar-based channel said. He told Reuters that Egypt had waged a “sustained…
Syria s Assyrians threatened by extremists
Al-Monitor 28 Apr 2014 – On the 99th anniversary of the Sayfo massacres, which targeted Assyrians, Bishop Dionysius Jean Kawak recalls the painful ordeal the Assyrian population went through, in addition to the suffering facing all Syrians, including Christians and Muslims.
Conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia may soon ease
Al-Monitor 28 Apr 2014 – The conflict has sapped the strength of both sides, which have an interest to ease the conflict.
Syrians begin arriving at new Jordan refugee camp
Al-Akhbar News 28 Apr 2014 – The United Nations said on Monday Jordan’s third refugee camp, Azraq, had received its first group of Syrians ahead of its official opening later this week. “A few hundred Syrian refugees started to arrive in Azraq camp this morning,” Ali Bibi, spokesman for the UN refugee…
VIDEO: Child pulled from barrel bomb debris
BBC 28 Apr 2014 – A BBC team has witnessed the devastating effects of air bombardment on Syrian civilians after gaining rare access to rebel-held areas of Aleppo.
PKK risks peace process with kidnappings
Al-Monitor 28 Apr 2014 – PKK sympathizers kidnapped two Turkish military servicemen on Sunday.
Egypt bans secular April 6 protest movement
Al-Akhbar News 28 Apr 2014 – An Egyptian court on Monday banned the left-wing April 6 Youth Movement that spearheaded the 2011 uprising against Hosni Mubarak and has protested against the current military-installed regime, a judicial official said. The court was ruling on a private lawsuit brought by a lawyer accusing the…
Through our solidarity, we will confront the STL
Al-Akhbar News 28 Apr 2014 – (Photo: Al-Akhbar) (Photo: Al-Akhbar) None of us need an explanation about the nature of the political and media divide on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL). The split is certainly not professional and highly politicized. The split began with the decision to establish the tribunal and…
Holocaust survivors feel abandoned by Netanyahu
Al-Monitor 28 Apr 2014 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu allocates huge resources to the Iranian nuclear threat, which he qualifies as “a second Holocaust,” but is facing criticism for not doing enough to assist elderly Holocaust survivors.
Iraq bombings kill 27 soldiers, police at voting station
Al-Akhbar News 28 Apr 2014 – Iraqi soldiers inspect the site of a suicide bombing outside a polling station in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on April 28, 2014 as members of the Iraqi security forces cast their votes in the country’s first election the departure of US troops in late…
Turkish draft law seeks to expand MIT powers
Al-Monitor 28 Apr 2014 – The draft law aimed at expanding the powers of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization has raised many questions about potential covert operations.
Assad declares candidacy for Syria’s presidential election
Al-Akhbar News 28 Apr 2014 – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad declared on Monday he will run for re-election in a vote on June 3 which is widely expected to secure him a third term in office despite a three-year civil war stemming from protests against his rule. Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Lahham made…
Aleppo gripped by barrel bomb fears
BBC 28 Apr 2014 – A BBC team witnesses the effects of barrel bombs on Syrian civilians after gaining rare access to rebel-held areas of the city of Aleppo.
Mahmoud Abbas and the most heinous crime
Al-Akhbar Blogs 28 Apr 2014 – There is something unpleasant about the sudden declaration by Mahmoud Abbas that the Holocaust was the most heinous crime against humanity in modern times. The announcement was suspicious not only in timing but also in its wording. Anyone who has watched Abbas speak English knows full…
Journalists denounce STL charges against Al-Akhbar, Al-Jadeed
Al-Akhbar Politics 28 Apr 2014 – Ibrahim al-Amin (left) and Karma Khayat (right) listen to speakers at the Lebanese Press Syndicate in Beirut on May 28, 2014. (Photo: Al-Akhbar) Ibrahim al-Amin (left) and Karma Khayat (right) listen to speakers at the Lebanese Press Syndicate in Beirut on May 28, 2014. (Photo: Al-Akhbar)…
VIDEO: In 60 secs: Iraq elections
BBC 28 Apr 2014 – What you need to know about Iraq’s parliamentary polls – in one minute
Palestinian street doubtful of Fatah-Hamas reconciliation
Al-Monitor 28 Apr 2014 – The latest Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement has yet to convince the Palestinian public that this is the deal that will end the internal division.
VIDEO: Iraqis to vote in Kurdish capital
BBC 28 Apr 2014 – The Kurdish autonomous region of Erbil in northern Iraq has recently enjoyed safety and economic prosperity unlike the rest of the country which suffers from sectarian divisions and frequent bombings.
Ahmadinejad denies return to politics
Al-Monitor 28 Apr 2014 – Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has rejected the idea of re-entering politics and said that he would remain silent on current issues.
Clash of the Anatolian tigers
Al-Monitor 28 Apr 2014 – Charged tensions between the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Gulen movement lead to deep divisions within the Turkish conservative business community.
Palestinian reconciliation deal a Hamas surrender
Al-Monitor 28 Apr 2014 – Israel continues to vocally reject a Palestinian reconciliation deal that might bring Hamas into the moderate fold.
Israelis unmoved by Abbas Holocaust statement
Al-Monitor 28 Apr 2014 – It’s best to leave the Holocaust out of politics.
Saudi Mers death toll passes 100
BBC 27 Apr 2014 – Saudi Arabia says more than 100 patients infected with the Mers coronavirus have now died since the outbreak began in 2012.
Iraq elections: Your voices
BBC 27 Apr 2014 – What’s concerning Iraqis as the country heads towards polls?
Articles
The real delegitimisation: Apartheid Israel targets Palestinian citizens political activism
Ben White, Middle East Monitor (MEMO)4/13/2014
Last week, Palestinian activist Muhammad Kanaaneh was due to address Tel Aviv University students at an event marking Land Day, a commemoration of the bloody state repression of anti-land expropriation protests in 1976. However, following pressure by right-wing Zionist activists, university authorities stepped in to ban Kanaaneh from delivering his speech on campus.
The opposition to Kanaaneh’s lecture, including from Members of the Knesset, was on the basis that he was a so-called “convicted terrorist”, apparently jailed for “involvement with” or “passing on information to” Hezbolllah. But few bothered to examine the claims being made about Kanaaneh, or look beyond the shouts of ‘terrorist’. To do so would be to reveal another side to this affair, beyond the repression of Palestinian political activism at Israeli academic institutions.
When Kanaaneh was arrested in February 2004, he was the then-General Secretary of Abnaa al-Balad (‘Sons of the Land’), a political movement mainly operating within the pre-1967 borders amongst Palestinians with Israeli citizenship. It rejects participation in the Knesset and supports a single, democratic state in all of historic Palestine.
Abnaa al-Balad’s activists have frequently been targeted by the state, something which should come as no surprise to those familiar with the State of Israel’s decades-long history of cracking down on those challenging its settler-colonial system of privilege and exclusion.
Kanaaneh and three others were prevented from meeting with family or lawyers for three weeks, a Shin Bet-imposed gag order maintained for a month after the arrests. Interrogation methods included “tying them to their chairs; depriving them of sleep…[and] providing them with inaccurate, misleading information about their basic legal rights.” Denied, as leading legal rights group Adalah put it….more..e-mail
Why does the BBC hide the truth about Jerusalem?
Amena Saleem, Middle East Monitor (MEMO)4/8/2014
The BBC’s reporting around the status of Jerusalem is “of such a low standard it fails to qualify as journalism,” say campaigners.
This argument is the basis of the challenge made last week by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and Friends of Al Aqsa (FoA) against the BBC’s insistence on referring to the whole of Jerusalem as an Israeli city, in contradiction to international law.
The argument was put forward in an appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office, asking the BBC to make public documents relating to its decision to accept in its reporting that Jerusalem is Israeli.
At the end of 2013, PSC and FoA made a direct request to the BBC asking that it release these documents under a Freedom of Information request. The aim was to find out how and why the BBC Trust had made a decision that referencing Jerusalem as Israeli was not in breach of its editorial guidelines on accuracy and impartiality, and what had influenced the Trust’s decision.
This request was rejected by the BBC, leading to last week’s appeal to the commissioner, which is the next stage in the Freedom of Information process.
In the appeal, both organizations set out the background to the request. PSC had challenged the BBC in 2012 and 2013 over reporting on its online pages and radio broadcasting, where Jerusalem was called an “Israeli city,” and no distinction was made between East Jerusalem – which is considered by the United Nations to be occupied Palestinian territory – and West Jerusalem.more..e-mail
Is the Palestinian Authority Controlled by Israel?
Jamal Kanj, RINF Alternative News4/28/2014
The Palestinian Authority (PA) must stop demeaning its people. One can understand being fooled once or even twice, but being fooled over and again every three to four years for the last 20 years is just going overboard.
It becomes a bit annoying to continue hearing cries from the same deceived Palestinian leaders repeating empty threats in response to Israeli intransigence and lies. I heard it directly from several high level PLO officials that should the current negotiations fail to reach an agreement by April 29, the PA was prepared to join UN organisations. They spoke specifically of the Internationa
l Criminal Court of Justice (ICCJ).
Early in April, Israel broke a nine-month-old agreement by refusing to release the final batch of Palestinian hostages as it agreed to with the US Secretary of State last July. Half-heartedly, the PA submitted applications to join 15 UN organisations. Half-heartedly, because the token measure ratified accords obligating the PA to fulfil UN conventions, none of which could have empowered the PA to put an end to Israel s wanton disregard of international law.
The decision to endorse UN treaties such as the 4th Geneva Convention, protocol one, Conventions against Corruption, Rights of the Child, Civil and Political Rights, Consular Affairs & etc., was most likely to mollify rising internal frustrations with the sham negotiations. It was not directed at Israel and this might explains the US muted displeasure with the toothless measures.
Now the PA is disingenuously leaking out information about dismantling the Authority and turning over its role of managing the occupation to Israel. Israel and its America Israel Public Affair Committee (AIPAC) ex-staffer who is mediating the talks on America s behalf, understand very well that the PA threats are for local political consumption just like the inconsequential move to join irrelevant UN organisations.more..e-mail
Latin American support for Palestine thwarts Zionist ambitions to dominate the region
Ramona Wadi, Middle East Monitor (MEMO)4/22/2014
A recent op-ed in the Jerusalem Post glorifying the international influence of Israel with particular reference to Guatemala has once again sparked the conviction that the settler-colonial state should turn to Latin America for political support. The op-ed, a mixture of misplaced patriotism and an exaltation of Israel’s humanitarian and military aid to the country, attempts to depict Latin America as a possible ally for Israel.
Drawing upon the historical support of Guatemala for Israel, being one of the first countries in the region to recognise the settler-colonial state, the op-ed urges Israel to “constantly revive our political and economic relationship with Guatemala, before Islamic extremists fill the peaceful vacuum with their hateful and violent messages.”
Israel may indeed derive support from nations aligned to imperial interests and others which, despite the ramifications of neoliberal violence, have traded revolutionary zeal for the rhetoric of convenience. Beneath the glorification of similarities between Israel and Guatemala, including a ludicrous comparison to the destruction wrought by natural disasters to the Zionist propaganda alleging fear of imminent annihilation, it is the submission to imperial interests and the endorsement of violence that entices commentators to muse about the benefits of Israel investing in the region.
The ties maintained between Israel and countries in the region such as Guatemala, Colombia and also Chile, exhibit reliance upon Israeli drone technology in the name of security. In April 2013, Israel was awarded a $3 million contract to provide the Chilean army with surveillance drones. Drones are reported to have been deployed in the Araucania region to perfect the oppression of the indigenous people of Chile, the Mapuche, who are resisting colonial usurpation of land exacerbated by the laws set in place during Pinochet’s dictatorship that negated the existence of the indigenous population.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Latin American countries such as Cuba, Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia have consistently imparted support for Palestine….more..e-mail
Sheldon Adelson’s BuzzFeed strategy won’t fix Israeli apartheid
Electronic Intifada: 28 Apr 2014 – Soft news website published paid Israel propaganda packaged as journalism.more..
not only mortars, but gunfire, too, on Damascus
In Gaza: 28 Apr 2014 – Jobar, roughly one km east of the old city of Damascus, is one of several sites known to have been infiltrated by rebels and from where they fire mortars& and gunfire& on various parts of Damascus. Photo from Apr 28, 2014. This afternoon, having been walking through crowded streets on an notably warmer day, I took a breather in the shade, against the wall of the old city, between Bab Touma (Thomas Gate) and Bab Sharqi (East Gate). The grassy patch is small there, but better than nothing. Ten meters away, the sidewalk, then the busy road encircling the old city. To the east lies Jobar, somewhere just under a kilometer away, from where rebels have been firing mortars in all directions, including into the old city of Damascus and other areas. But I wasn t expecting gunfire from there to here. Shortly after 3 pm, as I sat along that…more
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The New Dark Age 