4 May 2014 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
UN: Over 220 Palestinians Injured in April
IMEMC – United Nations’reports reveal that some 222 Palestinians were injured by Israeli military and police forces, during the month of April. …
Israel Seals Off West Bank and Gaza, Further Clashes and Abductions Reported
IMEMC – The Israeli authorities sealed their border crossings with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, on Sunday, under a pretext of celebrating the anniversary of the establishment of Israeli State, according to Israeli sources. …
Five Injured By Israeli Army Fire In Salfit
IMEMC – [Sunday at Dawn, May 3, 2014] Palestinian medical sources have reported that five residents have been wounded after Israeli soldiers invaded the central West Bank city of Salfit. …
Soldiers Invade Qabatia
IMEMC – Army invades various areas in Bethlehem Palestinian medical sources reported Sunday [April 4, 2014] that several Israeli military jeeps invaded Qabatia town, south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and clashed with local youth, causing several Palestinians to suffer the effects of tear gas inhalation. …
Ferwana: “5,100 Palestinians Currently Imprisoned By Israel”
IMEMC – [Saturday, May 3, 2014] Former political prisoner and head of the Census Department at the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees, Abdul-Nasser Ferwana, stated that, by the end of last month, April 2014, the number of detainees held by Israel had arrived to 5100. …
Israeli forces ‘smash car, injure 5 with tear gas’ in Salfit raid
5/4/2014 – SALFIT (Ma’an) — Israeli forces in Salfit early Sunday smashed a car and fired tear gas at Palestinians, security sources said. Palestinian security sources told Ma’an that Israeli forces raided the central West Bank city and fired tear gas and stun grenades. Five locals suffered from excessive tear gas inhalation and were taken to a nearby hospital. Additionally, Israeli soldiers smashed a….
Jewish extremists target car, olive trees in ‘price tag’ attacks
5/4/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Two “price tag” attacks occurred on Saturday, one in the West Bank and one in northern Israel, media reported. According to the Israeli news site Ynet, a car in the northern city of Akka was found with its tires slashed and vandalized with graffiti. The words “price tag” were written on the car, along with a star of David, Ynet reported….
PA: Israel bans Hebron call to prayer 60 times in April
5/4/2014 – HEBRON (Ma’an) – Israel has forbidden the Muslim call for prayer through loudspeakers at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron 60 times in April because it bothers Jewish settlers, the Palestinian ministry of endowment said. In a statement Sunday, the ministry’s Hebron office highlighted that it was not the first time the call to prayer, or adhan, was prohibited at the Ibrahimi Mosque….
6 injured in clashes in Jerusalem
5/4/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Six Palestinians were injured and one was arrested in clashes with Israeli forces in al-Issawiya village northeast of Jerusalem on Sunday, locals said. They told Ma’an that Israeli forces erected a flying checkpoint near al-Madares school and thoroughly searched people, which sparked the clashes. Israeli forces fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets injuring six people moderately in the head. [END]
Qatar contributes $5 million to Gaza govt to support reconciliation
5/4/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Qatar has donated $5 million to the Gaza government to support Palestinian reconciliation, an official said Sunday. Ismail Radwan, the Gaza government’s minister of endowment, told reporters Sunday that Qatar had contributed $5 million to provide financial support for “community reconciliation,” especially focused on bereaved families who lost relatives to the Fatah-Hamas conflict. Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh….
Hay truck drivers block main road in Tubas
5/4/2014 – TUBAS (Ma’an) – More than 70 hay trucks blocked a main road in Tubas in the northern West Bank protesting fines they receive from custom agents when they bring lauds of hay from Israel to the West Bank. One of the drivers, Marwan Ibrahim, told Ma’an that more than 70 drivers blocked the main road and started an open strike. The strike….
3,000 PA officers ‘to join Gaza security forces’ in unity step
5/4/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Arrangements are being made for some 3,000 Palestinian Authority policemen to join the Gaza government’s security forces, a statement said Sunday. Abd al-Salam Siyam, secretary-general of the Gaza government’s cabinet, said in a statement that the officers would be sent to Gaza in order to begin implementing the Hamas-PLO unity deal reached on April 23. The….
Israeli forces arrest DFLP official, 6 other Palestinians overnight
5/4/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained a senior leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and several other Palestinians in overnight raids, sources said Sunday. The DFLP told Ma’an that Israeli soldiers raided Abu Dis east of Jerusalem and broke into the house of Hasan Issa Shehadah, 37. Before arresting Shehadah and taking him to a nearby military base….
Man stabs ex-wife to death in court
5/4/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — A man stabbed his ex-wife to death in a religious court in Birzeit near Ramallah on Sunday, a Ma’an reporter said. The woman was taken to the hospital, but died before she arrived. Police arrested the 34-year-old man. [END]
PLO delegation heads to Syria over refugee crisis
5/4/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – A delegation representing the PLO left the West Bank for Jordan on Sunday en route to the Syrian capital where they are scheduled to check up on the conditions of Palestinian refugees in the war-torn country. The delegation is headed by member of the PLO Executive Committee Zakariyya al-Agha who also chairs the PLO’s refugees affairs department. In a….
Israel PM defends plans for law on Jewish state
5/4/2014 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday moved to defend his plans to enshrine Israel’s status as the national homeland for the Jewish people in law. Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the aim was to “anchor” in law Israel’s status and ensure it would remain a Jewish state following any peace deal with the Palestinians.”There are….
Hamas won’t recognize Israel, accept Quartet terms
5/4/2014 – GAZA CITY (AFP) — Hamas will never recognize Israel and will not accept the conditions laid out by the Middle East peacemaking Quartet, according to the Islamist movement’s deputy leader. Speaking late on Saturday, Mussa Abu Marzouq said Hamas, which recently signed a reconciliation deal with the Western-backed leadership in the occupied West Bank, would never agree to recognize Israel.”We will not recognize….
Girls, teachers hurt after botched science experiment
5/4/2014 – TULKAREM (Ma’an) – Several school girls and teachers were hospitalized Sunday after they inhaled fluorine gas at a school lab in Baqa al-Sharqiyya near Tulkarem in the northern West Bank. Director of Tulkarem civil defense services Sami Hamdan told Ma’an that a bottle containing the poisonous gas fell to the ground and broke. As a result, 20 girls and five teachers were….
Nusra-ISIL battle sparks exodus, Syria rebels on way out of Homs
5/4/2014 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — Tens of thousands of Syrians fled fighting in the east as rebels Saturday neared a final deal with the government to withdraw from their last besieged strongholds in battered Homs. Some 60,000 Syrians have fled since Wednesday from three towns to escape fighting between the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, said the Syrian Observatory for Human….
Army: Retired Egyptian colonel shot dead in el-Arish
5/4/2014 – CAIRO (Ma’an) — A retired Egyptian colonel was shot dead on Sunday in the northern Sinai Peninsula, army sources said. Egyptian army sources told Ma’an that Rida Muhammad Ramzi Hamid was shot dead by “six gunmen” in el-Arish. The sources said the gunmen were likely affiliated to Wahhabi militant groups. The action comes in the wake of rising instability and almost daily….
Iraq violence kills over 30 people in 24 hours
5/4/2014 – BAGHDAD AFP) — Violence in Iraq, including shelling in a militant-held city and an attack targeting Shiite pilgrims, has killed more than 30 people in 24 hours, officials said Sunday. The bloodshed comes as officials count ballots from the April 30 general election, the first since US troops withdrew in late 2011, and amid a protracted surge in nationwide unrest that has sparked fears of a….
Assad to face 2 candidates in Syria presidential vote
5/4/2014 – DAMASCUS (AFP) — President Bashar Assad is to face two challengers in Syria’s June 3 presidential election, which he is assured of winning, the constitutional court said Sunday.”The supreme constitutional court announces. . . the acceptance of candidacy bids registered by. . . Maher Abdel Hafiz Hajjar, Hassan Abdallah al-Nuri and Bashar Hafez al-Assad,” a court official said. Twenty-three candidates had initially registered to run against Assad….
International Solidarity Movement
Video: Protest on World Press Freedom Day: ‘They don’t consider Palestinian journalists to be journalists.’
5/4/2014 – International Solidarity Movement – Ramallah, Video, 3rd May 2014, Ramallah Team, Occupied Palestine – Yesterday, Saturday 3rd of May was the United Nations World Press Freedom Day. Yesterday, journalists celebrated, remembered, and protested, on a date commemorated worldwide since 1992. In Palestine, the 3rd of May calls for a protest by members of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), and yesterday this was at the Beit El military checkpoint. We witnessed approximately….
Yemen says 37 militants killed in anti-Al Qaeda offensive
The National 4 May 2014 – Militants hit back with suicide bombing at army outpost in Shabwa province that leaves six soldiers dead.
Thousands flee fierce Syrian rebel infighting near border
The National 4 May 2014 – More than 60 rebels killed as rival groups clash over four days in Deir Ezzor province, activists say.
Qatar to launch Al Jazeera counterweight
The National 4 May 2014 – AlAraby Television Network, registered in the UK, is believed to be aimed at providing an alternative to Al Jazeera, which is perceived as being too close to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Towering symbol of Lebanon’s civil war up for auction
The National 4 May 2014 – Towering over the Beirut seafront, the Holiday Inn is instantly recognisable because of the bullet and rocket marks still covering its walls, more than two decades after the war that devastated Lebanon.
Egypt militants claim responsibility for two attacks
The National 4 May 2014 – The attack was claimed by the Al Qaeda inspired group Champions of Jerusalem which has been behind the deadliest attacks against military and police installations in Egypt since last summer.
Video: Confusion over Afghan landslide dead
The National 4 May 2014 – Estimates of the number of dead in the Afghan landslide vary wildly.
Video: Egypt adjourns journalist trial
The National 4 May 2014 – Anger as Egyptian court delays the trial of three Al Jazeera journalists on terrorism-related charges.
Video: Russia urges US to halt Kiev crackdown
The National 4 May 2014 – Russia says US should use its influence to persuade Ukraine’s government to halt military operations.
Israeli settlers mob police over racist attacks investigation
The National 4 May 2014 – Concerns grow over the spiralling number of hate crimes by Jewish extremists against Palestinians and Arab Israelis the Israeli authorities are coming under increasing pressure to tackle the phenomenon.
Afghan mudslide: aid teams rush to care for 700 families left homeless
The National 4 May 2014 – Survivors of a landslide that entombed a village in northern Afghanistan mourned hundreds of dead relatives on Sunday as aid teams rushed to care for 700 families left homeless in the mountains.
In pictures: Afghan mudslide
The National 4 May 2014 – Rescuers gave up hope yesterday of finding survivors from a landslide in north-east Afghanistan in which more than 300 villagers died, engulfed by up to 100 metres of mud. All photos by Nasir Wafiq / EPA
Stolen lion at centre of custody battle in Brazil
The National 4 May 2014 – A male lion named Rawell is at the centre of an ownership dispute in Brazil after the creature was abducted from his sanctuary and surfaced later hundreds of kilometres away.
Obama delivers a night of comedy at White House Correspondents’ dinner
The National 4 May 2014 – US president Barack Obama joked about Russian President Vladimir Putin and issues closer to home as he headlined the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday night.
Obama riffs and jibes at White House correspondents’ dinner
Ha’aretz – 5 May 2014
Special tech is changing the lives of people with special needs
Ha’aretz – 5 May 2014
Ex-N.Y. cop busted for spray-painting swastikas in Brooklyn
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Ruling brings bulldozers closer to green Jerusalem valley
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Revealed: The deceptions by Begin, Sharon and Eitan behind the first Lebanon war
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Independence and Nakba: Intertwined and inseparable
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Twice-convicted murderer of schoolgirl appeals to Supreme Court
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Who is allowed to offer condolences?
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
At Memorial Day opener, Peres speaks of blood, sweat and vision
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Anti-Semitic rally in Brussels broken up by police with water cannon
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Report: Nuclear inspectors to visit Iranian sites
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Baby dies after father forgets him in car in West Bank
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams released by police probing 1970s murder
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Pro-Russian activists freed from Ukraine police station
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Lone survivor of ‘Struma’ disaster dies in U.S.
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Thousands of Palestinian police transferring to Gaza
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Blasts hit buses in Kenyan capital, at least three killed, 60 wounded
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Air Bibi: Cabinet approves private jet for PM, president
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Times of India: Pakistani intel planned terror attacks on Israeli, U.S. consulates
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Who ‘owns’ Israel’s fallen soldiers?
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Hate crime in northern Israel: Two more Arab cars vandalized
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Snowden: Modern surveillance targeting whole populations – not just individuals
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Netanyahu: Israel is home to one people – Jewish
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Unlike Obama, Rand Paul and Congress have Israel’s back
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Malaysia denies terrorists arrested in connection with missing plane
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Jailed Druze draft resister hospitalized with liver infection
Ha’aretz – 4 May 2014
Court orders planners to reconsider building near Achziv Beach
Ha’aretz – 3 May 2014
At a Tel Aviv corner, young merchants struggle to sell flags
Ha’aretz – 3 May 2014
Haaretz’s Amira Hass among ‘information heroes’ of Reporters Without Borders
Ha’aretz – 3 May 2014
Post office strike settled – for now
Ha’aretz – 3 May 2014
Should IDF soldiers be allowed to visit kindergartens for army talk?
Ha’aretz – 3 May 2014
Report: Egypt uncovers Mossad spy operation
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – The 12-person network was made up of three Egyptians and the rest were foreigners who entered the country as tourists, sources say.
Reality check: Breaking the glass ceiling
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Dorner would make an excellent president, not because she’s a woman, but because of the qualities she embodies.
No holds barred: Judging Obama, Christie and Kerry
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – I hate it when we give people labels based on a single statement or action, reducing the sum total of their lives to one event. Both Democrats and Republicans are guilty.
Police disperse crowd after Belgium bans anti-Semitic French comedian event
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – The event, organized by a small far-right group, “Stand up Belgians!”, was to have been addressed by anti-Semitic French comedian Dieudonne M’Bala M’Bala.
Israel gets in touch with its feminine side
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – A brief review of research from around the world about how we’re perceived discloses an entirely different understanding of our complex and vibrant society.
Dependence days: In the shadow of Kishinev
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – In Bialik’s condemnation of the Jews of Kishinev, the poet invokes the story of Hanukkah to contrast the meekness of the Jews of the shtetl to the heroism of the Maccabees of old.
Borderline Views: A day in the life of a country
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – “At the end of the day, it is our country and we will continue to strive to make it a better place in which to live. Greener pastures elsewhere are not for us.”
A day to be proud
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Independence Day over the years has assumed enormous importance. There is such a feeling of pride when I see the flags flying from cars and buildings all over the country.
Indomitable spirit
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Pent up and repressed for thousands of years, the Jews’ yearning to live in freedom and liberty in their historic homeland is far from spent.
Peres on Remembrance Day: We still live by our swords, but yearn for peace
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Siren rings out across Israel, marking start of tribute to 23,169 casualties of war and terrorism; IDF chief Gantz: Current security quiet is deceptive, any spark can cause a fire.
Reform Movement adds religious content to Israel Independence Day celebrations
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Movement is adding a havdala service and a cantorial recitation of the Israeli Declaration of Independence.
State indicts PM’s former driver for hundreds of sexual assaults against 6 minors
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – From 1988-2006, Ilan Shmuel, 51, allegedly raped or sexually assaulted several female family members.
Major haredi newspaper calls on haredim to stand still for Israel Remembrance Day siren
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Attention has been drawn in recent years to some members of the community who continue with their activities during the sirens.
PA leader Abbas, Hamas’s Mashaal to meet in Qatar for Palestinian unity talks
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Palestinian sources predict “national consensus government” to be announced within two weeks.
Jordan Press Association, Jordanian editor reject Israeli protest over anti-Semitic article
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Israel summons Jordan’s envoy to protest the op-ed by a former Jordanian FM who used quotes from Mein Kampf to support his vehemently anti-Israel argument.
Israel approves plans to reduce import taxes on dairy, meat despite objections of rights groups
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Finance minister must meet with animal rights groups before finalizing program; groups argue that move encourages animal abuse.
Israeli landscaping firm installs solar phone charging streetlamps
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Project will provide a safe, well-lit place for residents on the move to charge their waning batteries, company says.
The faces behind the flames: Miriam Zohar
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Eighty-two-year-old Holocaust survivor and award-winning actress will light a torch at Israel’s official Independence Day ceremony.
Assi Dayan laid to rest in Nahalal
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Dayan was buried next to his legendary father, defense minister and general Moshe Dayan who like his son was born and raised on the Jezreel Valley moshav.
Israel approves NIS 63m. plan to close hazardous landfill near Ashdod
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Fires occurring at the Retamim landfill are continuing to release toxic gases into the air, endangering lives of local residents.
State indicts American for murder of Safed man at city’s Makarev Synagogue
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Avraham Levi Yosef Blau allegedly stabbed Tony Rose in chest 17 times with 18 centimeter commando knife.
Gantz delivers Remembrance Day directive to IDF soldiers
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – “With the dedication and determination they showed, the IDF’s fallen have left us with a path to march down, a decree to live by,” says chief of staff.
Netanyahu: Israel would not be here without the sacrifice of our fallen soldiers
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – At Remembrance Day ceremony in Jerusalem, prime minister says “unmatched pain” of bereaved families is a necessary sacrifice.
Toddler near Hebron dies after being left in car during heat wave
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Magen David Adom paramedics attempt resuscitation of the toddler who was found in critical condition in West Bank settlement of Beit Haggai.
Yad Sarah to make military cemeteries accessible to disabled mourners
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Nechonit vans will take mourners to the graves at these military cemeteries: Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, Kiryat Shaul in Tel Aviv; Haifa and Beersheba.
Police attacked in Yitzhar searching home of price tag suspects
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – Residents of West Bank settlement throw stones at police investigating torching of mosque.
Report: India foils Pakistani terror plot targeting Israeli, US consulates
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – ‘Times of India’ reports security agencies learned of plot after interrogating Sri Lankan allegedly hired by a Pakistani official.
In memory of the fallen
Jerusalem Post 4 May 2014 – We must heed Isaiah’s prophecy, yearning for the day when peace will come with our neighbors. But until that day, we mark and commemorate those who have given their last full measure of devotion.
Thousands of Israelis back soldier who threatened Hebron teens
Uruknet 4 May 2014 – April 30, 2014 — An Israeli soldier, who was suspended after being shown in a video clip cocking his gun and aiming at Palestinian teenagers, has received massive support online, media reported Wednesday.Only hours after a Facebook page was created…
15-year-old Palestinian violently arrested by Israeli forces
Uruknet 4 May 2014 – April 30, 2014 – On the 27th of April, four Palestinian boys were detained in al-Khalil (Hebron) at checkpoint 55. Three YAS (Youth Against Settlements) members arrived at the scene, and tried to document the incident. While filming they were…
Guantánamo Review Boards (2/3): Ghaleb Al-Bihani, a Cook, Asks to Be Sent Home to Yemen or to Another Country
Uruknet 4 May 2014 – April 30, 2014 – The fourth PRB, on April 8, was for Ghaleb al-Bihani, a 34-year old whose case first came to prominence over five years ago, in January 2009, when his habeas corpus petition was turned down by Judge…
Palestinian Christian struggle mapped in new book
Uruknet 4 May 2014 – April 30, 2014 – In Mapping Exile and Return: Palestinian Dispossession and a Political Theology for a Shared Future, American Mennonite theologian and aid worker Alain Epp Weaver explores a legacy of Palestinian Christian exile, and struggle for return. The…
Iraq votes: Polling stations bombed, shot up and closed by force, voters brawl
Uruknet 4 May 2014 – April 30, 2014 -Parliamentary elections have concluded in Iraq. They were last held in March 2010.All Iraq News reports Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq s leader Ammar al-Hakim offered congratulatory phone calls (on the elections taking place) to cleric and…
Women s cooperatives provide support and income for Palestinian women
Uruknet 4 May 2014 – April 30, 2014 – Staggeringly high rates of unemployment, imprisonment, critical injury, and death at the hands of Israeli armed forces have rendered many men unable to provide for their families. As of January this year, according to Palestinian prisoner…
It is full-fledged apartheid now but Americans can use a familiar term, segregation – Mustafa Barghouthi
Uruknet 4 May 2014 – April 30, 2014 – John Kerry s use of the word “apartheid” before the Trilateral Commission last Friday and the brouhaha it has caused is spurring a debate we ve never had in this country about Palestinian conditions. It s…
Defending Apartheid – From 1968 to the present
Uruknet 4 May 2014 – April 30, 2014 – The Daily newspaper at the University of Washington recently ran an editorial titled “Why Israel?: The problems with ASUW Resolution 20-39.” In this article, Nathan Taft makes two arguments against a resolution brought before the Associated…
Update: World allows Assad s murder spree to continue
Uruknet 4 May 2014 – April 30, 2014 – …Certainly, Bashar al-Assad has gotten away with murder. Whatever else has happened, whatever other forces are at work, there can be no doubt that Bashar al-Assad is a mass murderer many times over. There may be…
Palestinian Unity: Hope and Gloom in the Beach Refugee Camp
Uruknet 4 May 2014 – April 30, 2014 -For years, Palestinian factions have strived for unity, and for years unity has evaded them. But is it possible that following several failed attempts, Fatah and Hamas have finally found that elusive middle ground? And if they…
Business as Usual Israeli Hypocrisy
Uruknet 4 May 2014 – April 30, 2014 -On Sunday, April 27, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on U.S. television, denouncing progress made in reconciliation talks between Fatah, which ostensibly controls the West Bank, and Hamas, the democratically-elected government in the Gaza Strip. According…
PsySR Calls on President to Revoke the Army Field Manual s Appendix M Time to End Military/CIA Torture Once and For All
Uruknet 4 May 2014 – April 30, 2014 -In the face of continued revelations of United States torture policies during the Bush administration, Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PsySR), today sent letters to President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel demanding an end to all…
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (24 – 29 April 2014)
Uruknet 4 May 2014 – April 30, 2014 – Summary Israeli violations of international law and international humanitarian law in the oPt continued during the reporting period (24 – 29 April 2014). Shooting: During the reporting period, Israeli forces wounded 5 Palestinian civilians in the…
Libyan deputy speaker declares election of prime minister invalid
Daily Star 4 May 2014 Libya’s deputy parliamentary speaker declared the election of Ahmed Maiteeq as new prime minister invalid, according to a letter published on a government website on Sunday.
I know my limits: Rai
Daily Star 4 May 2014 Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai on Sunday once again confirmed his trip to occupied Jerusalem as part of the papal delegation later this month, saying he was aware of the limitations.
Syria neighbours alarmed by refugee flow, want more aid access
Daily Star 4 May 2014 The four main host countries for Syrian refugees said at a meeting on Sunday that only the wider distribution of aid inside Syria could curb an exodus that is putting huge strains on neighbouring states.
Army kills 40 Qaeda suspects in south yemen: ministry
Daily Star 4 May 2014 The army on Sunday killed 40 Al-Qaeda suspects, mainly foreigners, and wounded dozens of others on day six of a major offensive in southern yemen, military officials said.
Two more Kuwait MPs quit over refusal to question PM
Daily Star 4 May 2014 Two Kuwaiti lawmakers resigned on Sunday, bringing to five the number of MPs who have quit in protest at the parliament’s refusal to question the prime minister on corruption allegations.
Iranian official says Lebanon “Iran’s first line of defense”
Daily Star 4 May 2014 A senior Iranian military official described south Lebanon as Iran’s first line of defense, an Iranian News Agency reported over the weekend.
Kurds say Iraq presidency their ‘right’
Daily Star 4 May 2014 ARBIL, Iraq, May 04, 2014 (AFP) – Iraqi Kurds have a “right” to the federal presidency, the country’s autonomous Kurdish region said on Sunday, signalling the start of public jockeying for positions following parliamentary polls.
17 die in Haiti crash after bus drives off cliff
YNet News, 4 May 2014 – ….
Defining national identity through hatred
YNet News, 4 May 2014 – Op-ed: Both Jews and Arabs are addicted to conflict, because without their fellowman’s hostility their identity would weaken. ….
Israel’s forgotten fallen soldiers
YNet News, 4 May 2014 – Op-ed: Thousands of fighters and commanders who risked their lives for State of Israel for decades are missing from its commemoration lists. ….
Gary Becker, economics Nobel Laureate, dies at 83
YNet News, 4 May 2014 – ….
Egypt militants claim responsibility for 2 attacks
YNet News, 4 May 2014 – ….
Police disperse crowd after Belgium bans French comedian event
YNet News, 4 May 2014 – ….
Belgium ‘hatefest’ dispersed by police
YNet News, 4 May 2014 – Far-right conference set to feature banned-comedian behind quenelle broken up by police amid decrials from Jewish organizations. ….
The ‘chosen people’? This is how racism begins
YNet News, 4 May 2014 – God did not create Auschwitz, nor did he save us from it. Auschwitz was created by people. As long as we claim that ‘they’ were capable of committing these atrocities while ‘we’ aren’t, we are tripping ourselves into the filthy gutters of racism. ….
Defense Minister Ya’alon to bereaved families: You are heroes
YNet News, 4 May 2014 – ….
Rabbi, bereaved parents clash over women’s singing
YNet News, 4 May 2014 – Safed Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu angers families of fallen IDF soldiers when he insists that female singers should not perform in city’s memorial ceremony. ….
Shin Bet can stop ‘price tag’ activities
YNet News, 4 May 2014 – Op-ed: Former Shin Bet director urges security service to use every possible resource to destroy Jewish terrorism. ….
We haredim should stand for Israel’s fallen soldiers
YNet News, 3 May 2014 – Op-ed: Bnei Brak activist calls on ultra-Orthodox community to respect IDF fallen, share pain of those murdered in Holocaust by standing in solidarity with other Israelis. ….
Palestinian Information Center
IOF soldiers arrest DFLP leader in OJ
PIC – Israeli occupation forces arrested central committee member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine Hasan Shehade from his home in Abu Dis town, south east of occupied Jerusalem.
AFEH raises alarm bells over IOA excavations under al-Aqsa
PIC – The Aqsa Foundation warned of the ongoing excavations carried out by the IOA under and around the Aqsa Mosque, amid calls by Europeans for Jerusalem group to save al-Aqsa.
Palestinian hunger-strikers stand firm amid calls for filing lawsuits
PIC – The Ahrar Center called on the Palestinian Authority to file lawsuits against Israeli mass-administrative-detention campaigns against Palestinian civilians with no legitimate charges.
IOF arrest campaigns, security cordon set in WB
PIC – Four Palestinian citizens from Nablus were arrested at dawn Sunday by Israeli Occupation Forces while Jenin camp was stormed and former chairman of a Students Union was summoned for interrogation.
Jewish fanatics break into al-Aqsa Mosque
PIC – A group of Jewish fanatic settlers broke into al-Aqsa Mosque on Sunday morning through Maghareba gate under protection of Israeli special police forces.
10 Palestinians treated for breathing problems in IOF attack on citizens
PIC – Ten Palestinian citizens were treated for breathing problems after Israeli occupation forces (IOF) attacked citizens in Qabatiya village to the east of Jenin at dawn Sunday.
Report: IOF involved in Price-Tag gang terrorist attacks
PIC – The Palestinian Land Defense Office said Israeli army is taking part in Price-Tag terrorist attacks against Palestinian natives and properties.
Abu Marzouk: Consultations on formation of gov’t within two days
PIC – Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouk, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, has said that consultations for the formation of the new Palestinian consensus government would start within the upcoming two days.
IOF soldiers quell protest rally for journalists
PIC – Israeli occupation forces (IOF) quelled a protest rally organized by Palestinian journalists in front of Beit El roadblock to the north of Ramallah on Saturday evening.
Arab Union Condemns Israeli Actions against Palestinian Journalists
WAFA – 4 May 2014
Ki-moon Calls for Upholding Freedom of Press
WAFA – 4 May 2014
Newspaper Review: Deliberations on Forming New Government Focus of Dailies
WAFA – 4 May 2014
Israel Seals off West Bank and Gaza
WAFA – 4 May 2014
Weather Forecast: Warm, Dry Weather
WAFA – 4 May 2014
International Education: In Jordan, Educated Women Face Shortage of Jobs
New York Times 4 May 2014 – Unemployment among highly educated women is above 35 percent in Jordan, where more women than men attend college.
Assi Dayan, a Celebrated Actor and Filmmaker in Israel, Dies at 68
New York Times 2 May 2014 – Mr. Dayan, recognized for his contributions to Israeli culture, was also the son of Moshe Dayan, a charismatic figure in the Israeli military and government.
When a wedding party is a form of resistance
Mondoweiss – Haj Sami In its effort to save Al Aqaba, a small village in the Jordan Valley, from Israeli demolition orders, t he California-based Rebuilding Alliance has been raising money to build eight houses in the village in defiance of Israeli plans. The first house was pledged…
Now Rand Paul wants to ‘Stand with Israel’
Mondoweiss – Rand Paul I missed this story last week but it is important to note, it reads like something out of the Onion. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul introduced a bill called the “Stand With Israel Act” that would bar funds to a Palestinian government that includes Hamas and…
Who will be the last neoconservative?
Mondoweiss – David Brooks Robert Kagan is a neoconservative. He signed all the Project for a New Century letters telling George W. Bush that Israel’s war was America’s war and we should invade Iraq and replace Saddam and bring democracy to the Middle East. I can’t find those…
Obama outmaneuvers Netanyahu, at last
Mondoweiss – Netanyahu and Obama at the United Nations, 2011. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) For most of Obama’s time in office, Netanyahu and the Israel lobby tied him down like Gulliver . After initially confronting Netanyahu on settlements , Obama retreated in humiliating defeat . This time round, however, Obama outmaneuvered Bibi,…
Former Shin Bet Chief: Price Tag Terror Impunity Will Lead to Murder of Another Prime Minister
Tikun Olam – Some years ago, Yuval Diskin was stepping down as Shin Bet chief. My Israeli source confirmed at the time that the candidate to succeed Diskin would be Yitzhak Ilan. Ilan was then head of the Jewish terror unit of the agency, responsible for hunting down settler…
In historic interviews, US officials blame end of talks on Israeli land theft
Mondoweiss – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu listens as US Secretary of State John Kerry makes a statement to the press before a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office on January 2, 2014 in Jerusalem. (Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images) U.S. officials blamed Israel’s “expropriating land on a large…
The latest page in Israel’s divide and conquer playbook: enlisting Palestinian Christians
Mondoweiss – Palestinian Christians pictured at an Israeli Christians Recruitment Forum event. (Photo: IDFBlog.com) Haitham Haddad is used to Israeli Jews asking whether he is “an Arab or a Christian.” The Haifa-born artist and t-shirt designer, who grew up in the Palestinian Christian community, has been hearing the…
US labels settler attacks as ‘terror’ — and Israel pushes back
Mondoweiss – Settler violence (Photo: Activestills) ‘Price tag’ hate crimes / Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / ‘Jewish State’ legislation Israel police challenge US ‘terror’ findings JERUSALEM (AFP) 1 May — Israeli police on Thursday challenged Washington’s inclusion of Jewish extremist attacks on Palestinians in a global terror…
The Algeria model — a conversation with James D. Le Sueur
Mondoweiss – James D. Le Sueur in his library, photo by Sofia and Sef Sarroub-Le Sueur Leftwing critics have taken to describing Israel as a settler-colonial society, like Algeria under the French and South Africa under the Afrikaners, and they are having an impact. In the last year,…
Kerry’s Last Ditch Effort
Mondoweiss –
Family of Soldier Killed in Yom Kippur War Discovers Empty Grave
The Foward Breaking News 4 May 2014 – The family of an Israeli soldier killed in the Yom Kippur War discovered an empty grave after illegally exhuming the burial site. Click here for the rest of the article…
Palestinian Authority Joins 5 U.N. Global Treaties
The Foward Breaking News 4 May 2014 – The Palestinian Authority formally joined five global treaties at the United Nations. Click here for the rest of the article…
iNAKBA: Israeli NGO launches mobile app to mark Nakba
Sabbah report 4 May 2014 – The NGO Zochrot use iNakba mobile app to promote understanding and accountability among Israel’s Jewish society about the Palestinian Nakba (“disaster” in Arabic) . The Israel’s independence day commemorates the massacre of thousands of Palestinians and erasing hundreds of Palestinian communities from the map during the creation…
Remembering the Nakba: Israeli group puts 1948 Palestine back on the map
Sabbah report 4 May 2014 – More knowledge might help. Even if only one Israeli becomes a bit more aware of the Nakba and the Palestinian refugees, it is important. The more Israelis who understand, the more likely we are to be able to prevent another catastrophe in this land. Continue reading…
What kind of country throws a teen out of an Israeli army jeep?
Sabbah report 4 May 2014 – Mohammed Tamimi, 14 years old, was thrown out of an Israeli army jeep late one night about three weeks ago, some 15 kilometers from his home. He did not have a cell-phone or money or identifying papers. A few hours earlier he had been detained by…
Tunisia: About 155 Tunisians Died in Fights in Syria
allAfrica.com 4 May 2014 – [Tunis Afrique Presse]Sousse -Chairman of the Tunisian Association for Saving Tunisians Blocked Abroad, Mohamed Ikbel Ben Rejeb said to TAP news agency correspondent that his association had established a list with the photos, names and pseudonyms of 155 Tunisians who died during fights in Syria.
3 Price Tag Attacks Discovered This Weekend Alone
The Foward Breaking News 4 May 2014 – Suspected price tag attacks were discovered outside of Jerusalem and in the West Bank. Click here for the rest of the article…
Settler Rabbi Blames Israel ‘Establishment’ for Clashes With Soldiers
The Foward Breaking News 4 May 2014 – The “establishment,” or the army and the government of Israel, are responsible for the current clashes between soldiers and settlers, the head of the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva in Yitzhar said in a statement. Click here for the rest of the article…
‘Al-Qaeda deaths’ in Yemen battle
BBC 4 May 2014 – Yemeni security forces kill 37 suspected al-Qaeda militants in an offensive in the country’s south, the defence ministry says.
Former Ahmadinejad minister: Ahmadinejad used to lie
Al-Monitor 4 May 2014 – Parviz Kazemi, minister for former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has revealed some aspects of the presidents actions.
Israeli police attacked by settlers for investigating “price tag” attack
Al-Akhbar News 4 May 2014 – Israeli demonstrators hold national flags during a rally to support an Israeli soldier, who was suspended after being shown in a video clip cocking his gun and aiming at Palestinian teenagers, on May 2, 2014 in front of the Israeli Defense ministry in the Mediterranean coastal…
Netanyahu, unscathed by peace talks collapse, finds new agenda
Al-Monitor 4 May 2014 – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launches a bill defining Israel as the Jewish homeland, composing a new public agenda after the collapse of diplomatic talks and the fading away of the Iranian issue.
Assad calls for increase aid access without “compromising sovereignty”
Al-Akhbar News 4 May 2014 – A handout picture released by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on April 24, 2014 and taken the same day shows residents of Syria’s besieged Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp, south of Damascus, gathering to receive food aid from UNRWA. (Photo: AFP / UNRWA) Syria’s President…
Militants kill pilgrims near Iraq’s Baghdad
Al-Akhbar News 4 May 2014 – Updated at 2:50 pm: Militants have attacked a bus carrying pilgrims north of Baghdad, killing 11 people, while a family of eight was shot dead south of the capital, Iraqi officials said Sunday. Another 11 people were killed in less than 24 hours by shelling in…
Saudi Arabia announces two new MERS virus deaths
Al-Akhbar News 4 May 2014 – Saudi health authorities announced Saturday two new deaths from the MERS coronavirus, raising to 111 the number of fatalities since the disease appeared in the kingdom in September 2012. A 25-year-old man has died in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah and a woman of…
Colonel shot dead by gunmen in southern Yemen as army kills 37
Al-Akhbar News 4 May 2014 – Updated at 2:50 pm: Unidentified gunmen shot dead an army colonel in his car in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden late on Friday and two soldiers were injured when a car bomb exploded in another major southern port on Saturday, security sources said. The attacks…
Mortar fire kills 13 in Syria’s Damascus and Aleppo
Al-Akhbar News 4 May 2014 – A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on May 3, 2014 shows Syrians inspecting the site of a car bomb explosion near an intersection at the entrance of the town of Moadamiyet al-Sham in the suburbs of the capital Damascus. (Photo:…
Egypt sentences 102 Brotherhood supporters to 10 years in prison
Al-Akhbar News 4 May 2014 – More than 100 supporters of Egypt’s deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi were sentenced to ten years in jail on Saturday on charges of killing and inciting violence, judicial sources said. The verdicts for the 102 defendants, handed down ahead of a May 26-27 presidential election, relate…
The disappearance of political life in Arab world
Al-Monitor 3 May 2014 – Modern political parties have nearly disappeared in the Arab world, with the void being filled by the military or Islamist organizations.
Female entrepreneurs a rarity in Lebanon
Al-Monitor 3 May 2014 – Many Lebanese women opt for low-risk jobs and forgo any entrepreneurial plans as a result of societal and family pressures.
Egyptian trade unions and the state
Al-Monitor 3 May 2014 – Although Egyptian trade unions have played an influential role in the country’s history, they currently risk being further dominated by the state and losing their effectiveness.
State absent as clashes escalate in Upper Egypt
Al-Monitor 3 May 2014 – Disputes between Nubian and Arab tribesmen in Aswan have escalated in recent weeks into armed clashes that left some dead, as the state stands idly by.
Sellal returns as Algerian prime minister
Al-Monitor 3 May 2014 – Following the re-election of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, former Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal has returned to the premiership after temporarily serving as Bouteflika’s campaign manager.
Mubarak celebrates his 86 birthday with roses and supporters
Al-Akhbar Politics 3 May 2014 – Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on a stretcher after leaving a court preceding trying him for killing protestors in the January 25 Revolution in 2011. (Photo: AFP) Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on a stretcher after leaving a court preceding trying him for killing protestors in…
Al-Zawahiri calls on ISIS leader to return to Iraq
Al-Akhbar Politics 3 May 2014 – Rebel fighters from the Ansar al-Sham brigade hold a position on a ridge overlooking the Mediterranean sea reportedly in the village of Kasab, in the northwestern Syrian province of Latakia, on April 4, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Hass News/Ali Nasser) Rebel fighters from the Ansar al-Sham brigade hold…
Articles
Boycott Israel train moving full steam ahead
Editorial, Redress 5/4/2014
Graduate students at the University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque, USA, have passed a resolution calling for divestment from companies profiting from human rights violations in occupied Palestine and at the US-Mexico border.
According to Electronic Intifada, the resolution singles out the US corporations Caterpillar and Hewlett-Packard, as well as the Anglo-Danish security firm G4S, French multinational Veolia and Israeli companies Elbit Systems (an arms manufacturer that recently won a USD 145 million contract with the US govermment to further militarize the US-Mexico border wall) and SodaStream (which operates inside the occupied West Bank).
The resolution accuses the six companies of aiding and abetting Israel’s policies of demolishing Palestinian homes, land theft, restrictions of freedom of movement, mass incarceration, control of populations, checkpoints, surveillance systems and services to illegal settlements.
It also says that these companies have been “directly engaged by various public campaigns and concerned investors about their complicit involvement in the previously mentioned human rights violations to no avail”.
Consequently, it calls on the University of New Mexico “to refrain from making further investments, and to advocate that the UNM system not make further investments, in any companies engaged in the violation of human rights or other behaviour deemed unethical by the UNM community”.
The call by UNM graduate students to divest from apartheid Israel follows a similar move last week by the student senate at the University of California at Riverside calling on the university to pull its investments from US companies profiting from Israel’s occupation. more.. e-mail
Memorial Day: An open letter to Israel’s defense minister from a bereaved brother
Lior Ben Eliahu, +972 Magazine 5/4/2014
Every year, the defense minister sends a letter to bereaved families, reminding them that the death of their loved ones did not happen in vain. Today, as Israel marks Memorial Day, the brother of Tamar Ben Eliahu, who was killed in a Jerusalem bus bombing during the Second Intifada, has decided to speak out against a government that isn’t willing to ’take brave steps toward bringing peace and quiet.’
Dear Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon,
As a bereaved brother and son to a bereaved family, I would like to respond to the letter you sent to bereaved families, which was published in honor of Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of Israel and Victims of Terrorism. Just as you made sure to spread the message of your letter far and wide, I would like my message to you to be public.
You wrote that despite Israel’s successes in various areas, “we have not yet attained peace and quiet,” and that “we will continue to strive for peace.” I ask you, Defense Minister Ya’alon, on this Memorial Day, for a bit of personal soul searching. Have you yourself helped push Israel and its citizens toward “peace and quiet?” Do you really “strive for peace?” Even before you were appointed defense minister, you announced that there is no place for the establishment of a Palestinian state. And specifically this past month, when the peace process ran into difficulties you decided it was the right time to approve the expansion of Jewish settlements in Hebron and violate the status quo there. Furthermore, you decided to approve the expropriation of 984 dunams of private Palestinian land in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, and to declare them state lands for the purpose of expanding the settlements of Neve Daniel, Elazar, Alon Shvut and the illegal outpost Nativ Ha’Avot. These actions, along with your opinion on the establishment of a Palestinian state, force me to wonder what the word “peace” means to you, and whether you are truly interested in peace. Are you truly interested in leading Israeli citizens toward peace and quiet, or perhaps towards new settlements to be built between as many Palestinian villages as possible. more.. e-mail
The Israeli recipe to prolong the conflict
Dr Saleh Al-Naami, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 5/1/2014
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes that he has discovered the recipe to ensure that legitimacy is given to his refusal to withdraw from the West Bank while, at the same time, holding the Pales
tinians responsible for the failure to reach a political settlement of the conflict. This recipe is in the form of Israel’s demand that the Palestinians recognise Israel as “the nation-state of the Jewish people”. At first glance, it seems that Netanyahu’s attempt to impose this demand aims to ensure that the Jewish demographic character of Israel is maintained, on the grounds that Palestinian recognition of Israel’s Jewishness would imply a waiver of the right of Palestinian refugees to return to lands from which they or their parents and grandparents were displaced in 1948. Sadly, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has made it clear on more than one occasion that the solution to the refugee problem is not necessarily through their return to areas from which they were expelled; this has upset the Palestinian people. In addition, Abbas appealed to the Israelis in an interview with Channel 2 on November 2, 2012, in which he said that he dreams of returning to the city of Safed, from which his family was driven in 1948, but only as a tourist.
Nevertheless, the Palestinian Authority under Abbas refuses to recognise the Jewishness of Israel because Netanyahu assumes that by taking this step the Palestinians would be handing over ownership of the land, including the West Bank, to the Jews alone, and therefore entitling them to enhance their settlement and colonisation project. In his speech at the most recent AIPAC conference in America, Netanyahu claimed that the Zionist narrative regarding the ownership of the land of Palestine, specifically the West Bank, is the only “historical fact”. According to Netanyahu, Hebron is “the land of our patriarchs where Abraham purchased a cave”; Jerusalem was where “David ruled his kingdom”; and Bethel (a settlement north of Ramallah) represents “the place where Jacob dreamed his dreams”. Netanyahu does not highlight the Jewish history in Palestine to highlight “the price” he is willing to pay to reach a political settlement to the conflict, but to justify his refusal to make any true concessions. Hence, he did not hesitate to commit before his party, Likud, not to evacuate any settlements in the West Bank in the context of any political settlement with the Palestinians (Ha’aretz, January 6, 2014). more.. e-mail
Why the US Blew a Chance to Reconcile with Iran
Sheldon Richman, CounterPunch 5/4/2014
Manufactured Threats
In the late 1980s the U.S. government had an opportunity to change its relationship with Iran from hostile to nonadversarial. It had been hostile since 1979, when the Islamic revolution overthrew the brutal U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Iranians held 52 Americans hostage for more than a year.
The relationship deteriorated further when the Reagan administration helped Iraq after it attacked Iran and as the Iraqi forces used chemical weapons on the Iranians. During the war, the U.S. Navy shot down an Iranian civilian airliner, killing the more than 200 people aboard. (On the other side, the Reagan administration sold arms to Iranians in an attempt to free American hostages in Lebanon and to finance aid to the Contras in Central America.)
Despite all this, reports Gareth Porter in his important new book Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare, change was in the air in 1989.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, died and was succeeded by the president, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Then Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, speaker of the parliament, was elected president. His “victory brought to power a pragmatic conservative who was openly committed to integrating Iran into the global economic system,” Porter writes.
Meanwhile in the United States, George H.W. Bush had become president. Bush, Porter writes, “recognized the opportunity [for a new relationship] and pledged in his inaugural address … that Iran’s ‘assistance’ in the liberation of US hostages being held by a militant group in Lebanon would be ‘long remembered,’ adding, ‘Goodwill begets goodwill.’” more.. e-mail
testimonies from Kasab, attacked by Turkish and foreign mercenaries March 21, still occupied
In Gaza: 4 May 2014 – Kasab residents take shelter in an Armenian church in Latakia, after fleeing the attacks of foreign terrorists on the village near the Turkish border. In the city of Latakia, nearly 2000 Kasab residents shelter at the Armenian Orthodox Church of the Virgin Lady, after having fled the assault from Turkey which began Mar 21, 2014. At least 80 people massacred by the foreign insurgents, who from the beginning were sniping at and shelling mortars at the civilians of Kasab, Asbarez reports . ****** “On March 21, NATO-backed mercenary forces and Turkish Armed Forces launched a massive offensive on the Syrian border town of Kasab in the Latakia province. The unprecedented overt military aggression by Turkey and its NATO allies is the clearest indication of their desperation in the face of Syria’s steady progress towards a decisive victory on all fronts. …on March 21, backed up by the heavy artillery fire of the…more
Palestine Draws Inspiration from South Africa’s Elections
Palestine Chronicle: 4 May 2014 – By Iqbal Jassat – Johannesburg Election fever has gripped a variety of countries across many regions of the world. Notable amongst these are India and South Africa, where many challenges facing incumbent governments are not too dissimilar: unemployment, poverty, absence of services and inadequate healthcare, feature as dominant issues. While millions of people are engaged in intensive debates, rallies and door to door campaigns across South Africa and India, the Occupied people of Palestine look on in awe and amazement at democracy in action but sadly denied to them. Israel may argue that Palestinians within its 1948 borders have a vote and are represented in the Knesset. This they claim is a reflection of its democracy. The reality of course is far removed from Israeli propaganda. In a scenario reminiscent of the period that existed under Afrikaner nationalism prior to 1994, Israeli claims that Palestinians are free to participate at…more
Palestinian Reconciliation Agreement Good News for Peace
Palestine Chronicle: 4 May 2014 – By Uri Avnery How would the US react to a declaration that the Palestinians would not conduct negotiations with an Israeli government that includes semi-fascist parties? With outrage, of course. How does the US react to an Israeli statement that Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas? With full approval, of course. For anyone interested in Israeli-Palestinian peace, the prospect of domestic Palestinian reconciliation is good news. For years now we have heard Israeli spokespersons announcing that it’s no use making peace with half the Palestinian people and continuing the war with the other half. Mahmoud Abbas is a plucked chicken, as Ariel Sharon tactfully put it. It’s Hamas which counts. And Hamas is planning a Second Holocaust. Under the recent Palestinian reconciliation agreement, Hamas is now committed to supporting an all-Palestinian government of experts agreed on by both parties. The Israeli extreme right-wing government is…more
No Red Line Requiem for Dead Syrian Soldiers
Palestine Chronicle: 4 May 2014 – By Jeremy Salt The latest evidence of a chemical weapons attack in Syria has emerged in the form of a video proudly filmed by the perpetrators themselves, the so-called ‘lions’ of Jabhat al Nusra, Al Qaida’s Syrian franchise, listed by the US as a terrorist organization yet used by the US and its allies in their continuing campaign to destroy Syria in the process of destroying the Syrian government. Wandering across open fields in the southern Dara’a province, they move from body to body of Syrian soldiers, occasionally prodding them with the toes of their shoes or flipping over name tags to see who they are. The soldiers are young, most in their late teens or early 20s. Perhaps they are conscripts. Some are huddled in groups. Others are scattered where they fell. There must be 40 or 50 of them, maybe more, hard to tell because the camera is…more
Why the Peace Talks Collapsed and Should Not Be Resumed
Palestine Chronicle: 4 May 2014 – By Richard Falk A week ago Israel suspended participation in the peace talks in response to news that the Palestinian Authority’s Fatah had for a third time concluded a unity agreement with the Hamas leadership of Gaza. Such a move toward intra-Palestinian reconciliation should have been welcomed by Israel as a tentative step in the right direction. Instead, it was immediately denounced by Netanyahu as the end of the diplomatic road, contending that Israel will never be part of any political process that includes a terrorist organization pledged to its destruction. Without Hamas’ participation any diplomatic results of negotiations would likely have been of questionable value, and besides, Hamas deserves inclusion. It has behaved as a political actor since it took part in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, and has repeatedly indicated its willingness to reach a long-term normalising agreement with Israel, if and when Israel is ready to withdraw…more
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The New Dark Age 