12 June 2014 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
United Methodist Church Divests from G4S
IMEMC – Amid concerns raised by church justice advocates, United Methodist Church Pensions sells all stocks in G4S, a supplier of security services and equipment for Israeli prisons, settlements, checkpoints and Separation Wall. …
Palestine to Join More International Organizations
IMEMC – As violence escalates in the region and shops close across the West Bank and Jerusalem in solidarity with an ever growing number of hunger striking Paletinian detainees, a ministerial committee has been scheduled to convene by the end of June, in Ramallah, to study submitting letters of accession by Palestine to more multilateral international treaties. …
Artists: Withdraw from Exhibition after Technion Showing
IMEMC – Over 100 leading artists and intellectuals have signed a public letter calling on participants to withdraw from Creative Time’s traveling Living as Form exhibition as it is currently showing in Israel’s Technion. The Technion has extensive R&D links with the Israeli army and defense industry. …
Assaults and Home Invasions in Qeitun
IMEMC – Yesterday evening, at approximately 7 pm, Israeli soldiers broke into several Palestinian family’s homes in the Qeitun region of al-Khalil, following clashes with local youth, which began an hour earlier. …
EU Ministers Demand Solution to Palestinian Cause
IMEMC – Al-Arabi: International community unable to lift iniquity against Palestinians Foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) have recently stressed the importance of finding a fair solution to the Palestinian cause. …
15 Homes Demolished in Al-Araqeeb
IMEMC – This morning, Israeli forces demolished a number of structures in the Naqab village of al-Araqeeb, to the north of Beersheba. …
Al-‘Eesawiyya Under Siege, Constant Attacks, For Fifth Day
IMEMC – [Thursday, June 12, 2014] The town of al-‘Eesawiyya, in occupied Jerusalem, remains under tight siege by Israeli military and police for the fifth day, under constant attacks and home invasions, while several Palestinians have been kidnapped, and many assaulted. …
Fighter Assassinated, Two Palestinians Injured, By Israeli Missile In Gaza
IMEMC – [Wednesday at Night, June 11, 2014] Palestinian medical sources have reported that one Palestinian was killed, and two were seriously injured, when an Israeli war jet fired a missile targeting a fighter northwest of Gaza city. …
Administrative detainee on 105th day of hunger strike
6/12/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Ayman Itbeish, 34, on Thursday entered his 105th day on hunger strike in protest against his detention without charge, a prisoner rights group said. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said that Itbeish is at Israel’s Assaf Harofeh hospital and is surrounded by prison guards. He is suffering from eye, kidney and stomach problems as well as asthma, PPS said….
East Jerusalem shops close in solidarity with hunger strikers
6/12/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Shopkeepers in East Jerusalem closed their stores on Thursday to show solidarity with hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners. The strike was called by national and Islamic groups in Jerusalem and sees shops closed in the busy areas of Saladin Street, Bab al-Zahara, Sultan al-Suleiman Street, and parts of the Old City.”The prisoners are facing the occupation with a strong will and determination….
20 more prisoners join open hunger strike
6/12/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Twenty Palestinian prisoners have announced their decision to join an open hunger strike in solidarity with around 125 administrative prisoners who have been refusing food for 50 days in protest against their indefinite detention without trial. The 20 prisoners, who are affiliated with the leftist party Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said in a letter sent from jail that….
Israeli forces detain disabled man near Hebron
6/12/2014 – HEBRON (Ma’an) – Israeli forces on Thursday afternoon detained two Palestinians, including a physically disabled man, in Beit Ummar north of Hebron. Spokesman for the Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements Muhammad Awad said that Israeli forces detained Muhammed Hani Younis Bahr, 38, and an unidentified individual, in the area of Wad al-Arn in northern Beit Ummar. Muhammad Awad said that “the residents….
Man hurls explosive device at Palestinian security building in Jenin
6/12/2014 – JENIN (Ma’an) — A man hurled an explosive device at the headquarters of the Palestinian security services in Jenin late Wednesday, security officials said. The young man sustained wounds during the incident after throwing an improvised explosive device at the building. It is unclear whether the man was injured by shrapnel from the explosion or gunfire from Palestinian security officers. He was evacuated to….
Hamas calls for end to political detentions in West Bank
6/12/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas has condemned the detention of one of the party’s leaders by Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank, stressing the political nature of the charges. Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement that the charges against Nazih Abu Awn by the Nablus Magistrates Court were “stressing,” adding that “they aim to ruin Hamas’ reputation….
Gaza ministers sworn in via video conference
6/12/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Four ministers of the Palestinian unity government from the Gaza Strip were sworn-in through video conference on Thursday after having been refused entry to the West Bank by Israeli authorities. The ministers had previously applied for permission to cross from Gaza to the West Bank for the swearing-in ceremony earlier this month, but Israel reportedly refused their request. As a….
Palestine prepares to join more international organizations
6/12/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – A Palestinian ministerial committee tasked to examine how to join international conventions is scheduled to convene by the end of June in Ramallah to study submitting letters of accession to more multilateral international treaties. Palestinian diplomats told Ma’an on Wednesday that the committee would meet June 25-27 to review more letters of accession. The committee is headed by….
Assad says West changing position on Syria war
6/12/2014 – BEIRUT (AFP) — Western countries that back the revolt in Syria have started to shift position on the conflict because of the danger posed to them by jihadists, according to President Bashar Assad.”The United States and the West have started to send signs of change. Terrorism is now on their soil,” said Assad, according to remarks published in a Lebanese newspaper that backs the Damascus….
US mulls air strikes as Iraq militants advance on Baghdad
6/12/2014 – KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP) — Militants have seized the Iraqi city of Tikrit as a jihadist offensive sweeps closer to Baghdad, prompting the UN Security Council to convene crisis talks Thursday while the US mulls air strikes on the rebels. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant seized the second city of Mosul on Tuesday and has since captured a large swathe of northern and north-central….
Militants kill Egyptian solider, injure 2 others in Sinai attack
6/12/2014 – CAIRO (Ma’an) — An Egyptian solider was killed and two other people injured in an armed attack on a military vehicle in el-Arish late Wednesday. Egyptian military officials told Ma’an that a vehicle was attacked by militants on a road to al-Wadi Bridge, killing soldier Lutfi Ibrahim. Military intelligence officer Rami Abdel Hadi and civilian Ahmad Mahmoud were injured in the attack….
Officials: Kurds in full control of Iraq’s disputed Kirkuk city
6/12/2014 – KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP) — Kurdish forces took control Thursday of the disputed Iraqi oil hub of Kirkuk, officials said, to protect it against jihadists that have seized large chunks of neighboring territory. Iraqi Kurds want to incorporate Kirkuk province into their autonomous region, a move that Baghdad strongly opposes in a bitter, long-running dispute between the two sides. [END]
Rouhani: Iran to combat terrorism in Iraq
6/12/2014 – TEHRAN (AFP) — Predominantly Shiite Muslim Iran will combat terrorism by Sunni extremists in neighboring Iraq, President Hassan Rouhani warned Thursday. Rouhani, speaking live on television, did not say exactly what Iran intended to do to help stop an offensive by fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant that is pushing toward Baghdad after seizing several cities and towns to the north. [END]
Strike in Jerusalem over jailed Palestinians
AlJazeera 12 Jun 2014 – Shops in Arab-dominated East Jerusalem shut in solidarity with hunger-striking prisoners in Israeli jails.
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
3 Palestinian Civilians, Including Child, Wounded When Israeli Forces Targeted Member of Palestinian Armed Group in the …
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
International Solidarity Movement
Israeli forces killed member of Palestinian armed group and wounded 3 Palestinian civilians, including a child
6/12/2014 – International Solidarity Movement – Palestinian Center for Human Rights, Gaza, Occupied Palestine – On Wednesday evening, 11 June 2014, 3 Palestinian civilians, including a child whose condition was described as very serious, were wounded when Israeli forces targeted a member of an armed group who was killed by two missiles launched by a drone in the northern Gaza Strip. Following the crime, Israeli forces admitted to committing the crime as….
occupied Palestinian territory: One Killed and Two Injured in Israeli Extra-Judicial Killing; Al Mezan Condemns Continuation of Israeli Policy
Relief Web 12 Jun 2014 – Source: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights Country: occupied Palestinian territory The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continue attacks on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip; attacks fall under international law definition of extra-judicial killing. The Israeli government has officially claimed responsibility…
Syrian Arab Republic: Updated Briefing on Sieges Across Syria
Relief Web 12 Jun 2014 – Source: Amnesty Country: occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic Bombs and a lack of food, water and medicine: Life under siege in Syria Tens of thousands of men, women and children across Syria are struggling to survive in inhumane conditions…
World: Polio this week as of 11 June 2014
Relief Web 12 Jun 2014 – Source: Global Polio Eradication Initiative Country: Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, occupied Palestinian territory, Pakistan, Somalia, Syrian Arab Republic, World The Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) on Polio Eradication in Afghanistan and Pakistan…
occupied Palestinian territory: Farming in an unlikely place creates new livelihoods in Gaza
Relief Web 12 Jun 2014 – Source: Food and Agriculture Organization Country: occupied Palestinian territory The Bedouin community of Umm an-Naser – one of the poorest and most food insecure areas of the Gaza Strip – has been cut off from grazing lands. Unable to practice…
Obama talks of military options to assist Iraq
The National 12 Jun 2014 – US president refuses to rule airstrikes in bid to halt ISIL insurgents’ march on Baghdad as Iraqi troops fail to offer resistance.
Sunni militants’ march into Iraq undo what US sought
The National 12 Jun 2014 – For US president Barack Obama, who’s built his foreign policy legacy on ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the militants’ swift victories raise questions about his 2011 decision to withdraw all US troops from Iraq.
George HW Bush goes skydiving on 90th birthday
The National 12 Jun 2014 – ‘It’s a wonderful day in Maine – in fact, nice enough for a parachute jump,’ tweeted the 41st US president, who first jumped from an aircraft almost 70 years ago in World War Two.
Better legal access can lead to stability in the Middle East, says Jordan’s Prince El Hassan
The National 12 Jun 2014 – Communities that are marginalised and poor must understand and use the law to exercise their rights to help improve their lives, said Prince El Hassan on the sidelines of the West Asia-North Africa Forum.
Qatar dress code: expats urged to be respectful
The National 12 Jun 2014 – The campaign aims to encourage foreign women to dress more conservatively, and was spearheaded by moderate Qataris, not religious hardliners.
Pakistan court lifts travel ban of Musharraf
The National 12 Jun 2014 – However, Mr Musharraf will not be allowed to leave the country yet as the government has 15 days to appeal the court ruliing.
Challenges await Afghanistan’s next president
The National 12 Jun 2014 – Analysts believe the Taliban’s continued insurgency, the impending withdrawal of foreign troops and backroom deals made with powerful supporters during the campaign will immediately put serious pressure on the next president.
Abdullah is best chance for peace, says former Afghan spy chief
The National 12 Jun 2014 – Hamid Gul, who headed Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency between 1987 and 1989 during the late stages of the Soviet occupation, said it would take a fighter, not an academic to secure peace for Afghanistan.
Map: ISIL presence in Iraq
The National 11 Jun 2014 – The Al Qaeda-inspired militant group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is expanding its influence in Iraq. A closer look at the areas the insurgents’ control.
Brain regain in India as medical tourism booms
The National 12 Jun 2014 – Home-grown doctors are returning from the US and Europe as India’s health care capital, Chennai, develops into a top budget destination for medical tourists.
Spate of rapes and hangings in India prompt calls for resignation
The National 12 Jun 2014 – An Indian woman said Thursday she was gang-raped by four officers at a police station, the latest in a string of shocking sex attacks in the troubled state of Uttar Pradesh.
Autopsy shows live fire killed Palestinian teen: rights groups
The National 12 Jun 2014 – The group of pathologists – who come from Palestine, Israel, the US and Denmark – found entry and exit wounds as well as four lead fragments, all signs of live fire injuries.
Islamabad condemns US drone strikes, dismisses suspicions of cooperation
The National 12 Jun 2014 – The strikes – the first since December – comes the same week that Taliban claimed responsibility for the Karachi airport siege.
Egypt’s political cartoonists say they won’t let Sisi off the hook
The National 12 Jun 2014 – Despite threats of violence to artists and newspapers, political cartooning has a long history in Egypt – and the new president won’t be exempt, the say.
Ukraine’s new president Petro Poroshenko is taking on a poisoned inheritance
The National 12 Jun 2014 – The unrest that has roiled the country for the past few months is far from settled – and Poroshenko’s job isn’t an easy one.
Tension and fear grip Mosul residents who dread retribution
The National 11 Jun 2014 – Residents must not show allegiance to ISIL in case security forces reclaim Mosul and indict them for supporting terrorism. On the other hand, they are afraid of supporting the security forces in case there is retribution from ISIL.
Al Maliki’s sectarian policies proving disastrous for Iraqi stability
The National 11 Jun 2014 – As ISIL captures more and more territory, it is increasingly evident that the Shiite prime minister’s marginalisation of the Sunnis is fuelling the insurgency.
ISIL fighters take Tikrit in sweep towards Baghdad
The National 11 Jun 2014 – Islamist militants make lightning advance south two days after taking control of Mosul and capturing large amounts of arms and cash.
ISIL militants tormenting Iraq, threatening region
The National 11 Jun 2014 – Known for its ruthless tactics and suicide bombers, ISIL has already controlled the Iraqi city of Fallujah for five months.
Western Wall plaza facilities cut to size
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Jerusalem court indicts hate crime suspects using circumstantial evidence
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Be careful what you ask for
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
In Rivlin, Israel has a man worthy of the presidency
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Foreign tourists flock to Tel Aviv for Gay Pride parade
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Has Netanyahu’s political unraveling begun?
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Has Netanyahu’s political unraveling begun?
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Trade data point to slower economy
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
What Israeli apartments do foreigners want?
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Brazil wins first game of World Cup
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
The banality of injustice
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Education minister has a lot to learn
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Gay Pride Parade likely to draw 100,000
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Iran’s Deputy FM: If nuke talks fail, we’ll resume enrichment
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Long live the Israeli democracy (and why you read Haaretz)
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
No charges against IDF soldier who killed 21-year-old Palestinian bystander
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Senate confirms Stanley Fischer as No. 2 at U.S. central bank
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Ruby Dee, pioneering American actress, civil rights activist, dies at 91
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Ayelet Waldman evokes ‘shame’ of Hebron in major U.S. magazine
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Report: Netanyahus took furniture from PM’s residence for private home
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Ukraine: Russia arming separatist rebels as three tanks and other military vehicles cross the border
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Senators to Obama: ‘Gravely concerned’ over Palestinian unity
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Maccabi TA’s David Blatt announces he’s leaving for the NBA
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Jihadist advances in Iraq send shock waves through Mideast
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Hillary Clinton: Turkish FM considered war on Israel after ‘9/11’-scale attack
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
East Jerusalem shuts down in solidarity with Palestinian hunger-strikers
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Ex-President Bush to make parachute jump for 90th birthday
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Does Cantor’s defeat signal the end of the American Jewish Golden Age in Congress?
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
The Israeli security conference where old white men plan for war
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Five big EU countries press Israel to delay settlement plans
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Israel begins razing Bedouin village of Al-Arakib – for 50th time
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Rio airport workers strike on eve of World Cup
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Perry on homosexuality: Like alcoholism, an inclination you choose to indulge
Ha’aretz – 12 Jun 2014
Large police force evacuates Biram, again
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2014
Lapid repented – but does he mean it?
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2014
Israelis have become exactly what they fear
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2014
One way ticket out of Holot detention center
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2014
It will never happen here
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2014
Netanyahu meets with president-elect Rivlin to patch up ties
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2014
Likud may lose Rivlin’s Knesset seat to Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2014
Medical tourists get priority at Israelis’ expense, says report
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2014
Defense Ministry: Army to keep expelling Palestinians from firing zones
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2014
U.S. ups aid to Syrian rebels, sending them missiles and guns
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2014
One Palestinian killed after Israel Air Force strikes Gaza
Ha’aretz – 11 Jun 2014
US Senate approves ex-BoI head Fischer as Fed’s vice chair
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Stanley Fischer to serve in role that gives him a powerful perch to help shape US monetary policy.
IPS uncovers tunnel dug by Palestinian security prisoner to escape from Israel jail
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Israel Prison Service says found four-meter-long tunnel dug as believed escape route in failed bid to flee from Shateh prison.
Parshat Shlach: Who will be privileged to found the state?
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Whoever is not capable of including a religious quality in every earthly and material action will not be privileged to do so.
Structure of proposed aliya program confirmed to ‘Post’ in leaked document
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Draft plan, if approved, would grant the government permission to accept funds from JNF for the new corporation.
Ya’alon extends seizure of the Yitzhar yeshiva by 3 months
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Defense minister extended the IDF’s seizure of the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva in West Bank settlement.
Savir’s Corner: Elections now
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – At such a dramatic crossroads about the very identity of Israel, the country is in need of national elections – now. It is a matter of national emergency.
Netanyahu: Abbas must dismantle terror groups
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Day after projectile from Gaza hits Eshkol, prime minister says rocket attack shows “true face of Hamas,” despite Palestinian unity government commitments.
Israel and Palestine: Is there a way forward – A South African perspective
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – After 20 years of democracy in South Africa, I still see the psychological scars of the struggle. I recognize similar patterns in Israel and Palestine.
The POSTman Knocks Twice: Of tears and laughter, cabbages and kings
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Warning: If you believe in the divine right of kings, are a British Empire Loyalist, or an American in love with royalty – read further at your own peril.
Working for the Jewish people in Begin’s spirit
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Begin’s message was first, stand up strong for yourself; then, in doing so, you will also be standing up for others.
Abbas’s burden
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – The only way to find out what Palestinians really want is by holding elections.
Report: Negligence led to February shooting incident at Rimonim prison
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Systematic and personnel failures led to incident where convicted murderer Samuel Sheinbein, serving a life sentence, opened fire on jail guards.
Maccabi TA coach David Blatt announces departure for the NBA
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – American-Israeli coach says he does not know yet which US team he will be joining, rejects rumors about move to Cleveland Cavaliers.
Piron: Vision of State of Israel ‘not complete’ without Hebron, Nablus
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Education minister says, “we cannot reduce Greater Israel, we cannot continue to agree to the shrinking and narrowing of the great vision.”
Urging caution, Hillary Clinton calls PA unity ‘unfortunate’
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – The former secretary of state says she constantly worked to prevent such a reconciliation deal during her time in office.
Adam Teva V’Din: 63% rise in separation-at-source in 2014
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Small, medium local authorities out-perform large cities in waste separation.
Firm chosen to install 4,650-sq.m. solar roof on Knesset
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Airport-city based firm Solargreen has won a tender to install system, as part of the parliament’s overall plan to become a “Green Knesset.”
Erekat says leaked tapes of him bashing Abbas ‘taken out of context’
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – In tapes, the chief PLO negotiator allegedly criticizes PA president’s policies, accuses him of weakness during negotiations.
Cooking with JPost: Roast chicken like a pro
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Chef Yochanan Lambiase shows you how to make what he calls “the most perfect roasted chicken you’ll ever see.”
Unified Senate sends Obama message on Palestinian unity
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – 88 US lawmakers send letter of “grave concern” to White House, warning that the new PA unity effort might “jeopardize direct negotiations with Israel to achieve a two-state solution.”
‘Beach of abomination’ in Jerusalem denounced by haredi leadership
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Haredi rabbinic and political leadership, along with community’s media, has roundly denounced creation of simulated beach in the capital.
Israel’s Ofek 10 satellite ‘100 percent successful’ after two months in space
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Israel Space Agency says satellite has already made 1,000 revolutions around the Earth.
Abbas accuses Israel of ‘pulling region into violence’ following Gaza airstrike
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – PA president’s office releases statement charging that Israel’s targeted killing of Mahmed Awwar is escalation, attempt to exacerbate conflict.
WATCH: Syrian fighting from IDF cameras
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – IDF cameras, as well as amateur footage from across the Israel-Syria border, film attacks from inside besieged city.
Ahead of World Cup soccer action, Israeli drone bags drug kingpin in Brazil
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Police capture gang leader “Little P” with the help of a Heron drone made by Israeli defense firm IAI.
Iran to cut plutonium creation capability in attempt to reach deal with West
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Tehran’s nuclear chief sends conciliatory message to West, says it will “redesign” Arak heavy water reactor to cut plutonium output.
Brussels Jewish Museum gunman says he’s willing to be tried in Belgium
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Mehdi Nemmouche says he won’t refuse extradition if he has a guarantee he won’t then be extradited to a third country; court to decide on June 26.
Labor: Hatnua betrayed us in push to support Sheetrit
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Former presidential candidate denies allegations he paid 270,000 shekels to his housekeeper for her silence on sexual harassment complaints.
Pride 2014: Marching toward equality
Jerusalem Post 12 Jun 2014 – Tel Aviv’s LGBT community is changing the way it does business.
Dismay at more Israeli illegal settlements | @guardianletters
The Guardian 12 Jun 2014 – Having personally witnessed the injustice visited upon the Palestinian people in the territories occupied by Israel, it is with the utmost sadness and dismay that we, the undersigned international authors and artists, note Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval…
Palestinian boy’s autopsy: wounds consistent with live ammunition
The Guardian 12 Jun 2014 – Israeli military denies using live rounds on the day Nadeem Nawara and Mohammad Salameh were killed at demonstration A postmortem examination of the exhumed body of one of two Palestinian teenagers killed by Israeli forces at…
New testimonies from Palestinian children tortured by Israeli authorities
Uruknet 12 Jun 2014 – June 5, 2014 – Yesterday, The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel (Adalah), released a press release titled “Adalah to Attorney General: Shocking testimonies from Palestinian children who were tortured during arrest and interrogation.” The byline of the…
A Zionist response to the new Palestinian unity government
Uruknet 12 Jun 2014 – June 5, 2014 – Israel s Housing Ministry has invited bids for 1,500 new homes in Jewish settlements across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, reports said on Thursday. The release of the tenders come as a direct response…
Should the left be buoyed by the Syrian election?
Uruknet 12 Jun 2014 – June 5, 2014 – Ever since the war in Syria began, there has been a constant effort by the pro-Baathist left to prove that the dictator has the overwhelming support of the people. Typical was the embrace of the 2012…
Palestinian Unity Causing Political Ripples in Washington
Uruknet 12 Jun 2014 – June 5, 2014 – The announcement this week of a new Palestinian unity government was greeted with cautious optimism by most of the world, outside of Israel. In the United States, however, it set off political rumblings that threaten to…
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (29 May- 04 June 2014)
Uruknet 12 Jun 2014 – June 5 , 2014 – Summary: Israeli violations of international law and international humanitarian law in the oPt continued during the reporting period (29 May – 04 June 2014). Shooting: During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian civilian and…
The most cancerous street in Iraq? locals in Basra leaving homes because of disease
Uruknet 12 Jun 2014 – June 5, 2014 – In the southern city of Zubair, in Basra province, there is one street where the neighbours report more cases of cancer than most. The street is close to former government offices that were bombed by US-led…
The Iraq Inquiry fiasco
Uruknet 12 Jun 2014 – June 5, 2014 -A deal announced last week to block essential documents in a British inquiry into the invasion of Iraq in 2003 has come as a great disappointment to Iraqis who had hoped that the inquiry would unveil some…
Iraq snapshot – June 5 , 2014
Uruknet 12 Jun 2014 – June 5, 2014 – …Nouri al-Maliki has used similar events as an excuse to attack the civilians in Falluja, an attack that began at the start of the year and has now entered its six month. Is this his model…
Herzog: Netanyahu is leading us towards political collapse
Uruknet 12 Jun 2014 – June 5, 2014 – Opposition leader Member of the Knesset Yitzhak Herzog criticised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s handling of the new Palestinian unity government on Wednesday, saying that his policy has led to “a complete collapse of Israeli foreign…
Settlement expansion threatens to distract from Palestinian unity
Uruknet 11 Jun 2014 – June 5, 2014 – The strident tone with which the Israeli government, particularly its prime minister, responded to the new Palestinian national unity government is an indication that any time the Palestinians seek to take serious steps toward establishing their…
Reconciliation confronts both Hamas and Abbas with opportunities and dangers
Uruknet 11 Jun 2014 – June 5, 2014 -Two weeks before the announcement on 2 June that a Palestinian reconciliation government had been formed, Hamas Ismail Haniyeh, then still prime minister in Gaza, made his first farewell speech at the Gaza police academy graduation ceremony….
Pakistani High Court orders police to investigate CIA drone strikes
Uruknet 11 Jun 2014 – June 5, 2014- A judge at the High Court in Islamabad, Pakistan, has ordered the Pakistani police to open a criminal investigation into the CIA s involvement in a drone strike that killed three people, including a teenager, on December…
After 43 days of hunger strike Addameer calls for immediate intervention to save the lives of the hunger strikers and achieve their demands
Uruknet 11 Jun 2014 – June 5, 2014 – Palestinian administrative detainees today enter their 43rd day of open hunger strike which was launched in protest of the policy of administrative detention, while international bodies and institution, as well as the Palestinian Authority continue to…
Missing the Point on the Guantánamo Taliban Prisoner Swap and the Release of Bowe Bergdahl
Uruknet 11 Jun 2014 – June 5, 2014 -On Saturday, at the White House, President Obama announced that, in exchange for the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the sole US prisoner of war in Afghanistan, held for five years by the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani Network, he…
Cousin against cousin: Iraqi militias in Anbar bloody family ties
Uruknet 11 Jun 2014 – June 5, 2014 -Members of an extremist Shiite Muslim militia have been recruited to fight Sunni Muslim rebels and militias in Iraq s Anbar province. But for some Baghdad-based fighters the battle is taking place too close to home: They…
VIDEO: One month for schoolchildren in Hebron: stun grenades, tear gas, and detentions
Uruknet 11 Jun 2014 – June 5, 2014 – For children in al-Khalil (Hebron), the journey to school can be filled with fear, fear of Israeli soldiers, of military weapons, detentions, and arrests. The violence is all too real in this city, and it is…
Russia submits another draft U.N. resolution on Ukraine
Daily Star 12 Jun 2014 Russia submitted a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that calls for an end to violence and implementation of a road map to peace drawn up by the Organization for Security and Cooperation,…
Militants seize two areas of Iraq’s Diyala: officers
Daily Star 12 Jun 2014 Militants seized two strategic areas of Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, late on Thursday after security forces withdrew, officers said, bringing a militant offensive closer to the provincial capital Baquba.
Kerry says ‘deeply concerned’ about Iraq violence
Daily Star 12 Jun 2014 Washington is deeply concerned about the violence in Iraq and U.S. President Barack Obama is prepared to take “key decisions in short order” to help Iraq’s government tackle a growing insurgency, Secretary of State John Kerry…
Lebanon watching closely events in Iraq: Rifi
Daily Star 12 Jun 2014 Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi said the Cabinet would summon military and security chiefs at its next session to discuss the possible repercussions of the fast-moving developments in Iraq on the security situation in Lebanon.
Photographer killed covering north Iraq clashes
Daily Star 12 Jun 2014 A news photographer was killed while covering fighting between Kurdish security forces and jihadists in northern Iraq on Thursday, medical and security sources said.
U.N. chief urges Libya to hold June 25 elections as planned
Daily Star 12 Jun 2014 U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday urged Libya to stick to its plan to hold parliamentary elections on June 25 and defended the United Nations’ goal of organizing a meeting to promote reconciliation among the North…
White House says not contemplating sending ground troops to Iraq
Daily Star 12 Jun 2014 The United States is not contemplating sending ground troops to Iraq to help quell an insurgency there, White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Thursday.
Germany urges citizens to leave Iraqi capital
Daily Star 12 Jun 2014 Germany has called on its citizens to immediately leave parts of Iraq, including Baghdad.
Germany doubles intake of Syrian refugees to 20,000
Daily Star 12 Jun 2014 Germany will accept 10,000 more refugees from war-ravaged Syria, officials said Thursday, even as Berlin faced calls from rights groups to do more.
Hundreds attend funeral of Geagea’s father
Daily Star 12 Jun 2014 Hundreds of Lebanese Forces supporters, politicians and officials Thursday attended the funeral of Farid Geagea, the father of Samir, the head of the LF in his hometown in Bsharre, north Lebanon.
Obama warns of U.S. action as jihadists push on Baghdad
Daily Star 12 Jun 2014 President Barack Obama refused to rule out U.S. action in Iraq against Sunni Islamist militants who have surged out of the north to threaten Baghdad, threatening to divide the country and establish their own jihadist state.
Kurds take Iraq’s Kirkuk, bomb targets minister
Daily Star 12 Jun 2014 Kurdish forces took control of the disputed Iraqi oil hub of Kirkuk on Thursday to protect it from jihadists, after which a bomb targeted a Kurdish security minister, officials said.
France’s Fabius says world must act on Iraq
Daily Star 12 Jun 2014 France said on Thursday world powers needed to act urgently to deal with the situation in Iraq as the advance by Islamist militants put the country’s unity in doubt and posed a wider risk for the…
Iraq violence threatens OPEC’s precarious balance
YNet News, 12 Jun 2014 – ….
The annexation at the end of the tunnel
YNet News, 12 Jun 2014 – Op-ed: Number of Israelis who believe in annexing settlement blocs is gradually surpassing number of Israelis who believe in peace with Abbas. ….
Blast rocks center of breakaway town in E. Ukraine
YNet News, 12 Jun 2014 – ….
Chief rabbi: Doctor must not help patient die
YNet News, 12 Jun 2014 – Senior rabbis slam ministerial approval of ‘physician-assisted suicide’ bill, say proposal could encourage people to take their own lives. ….
Ukraine says 3 tanks cross from Russia
YNet News, 12 Jun 2014 – ….
Germany to take in 10,000 more Syrian refugees
YNet News, 12 Jun 2014 – ….
Germany ordered to pay $68m to Jewish heirs of retail chain
YNet News, 12 Jun 2014 – Berlin court rules for additional compensation to Schocken family, whose department store chain was seized by the Nazis…..
Obama says he’s looking at all options in confronting Iraq insurgency
YNet News, 12 Jun 2014 – ….
To some in Israel, the Pope is nothing but a ‘goy’
YNet News, 12 Jun 2014 – Op-ed: Pope Francis came to Jerusalem, prayed at Western Well and even paid his respects to Israel’s chief rabbis, but they greeted him with hypocritical, scornful sophistication. ….
Israel must act to separate from Palestinians
YNet News, 12 Jun 2014 – Op-ed: We should not depend on Palestinian unity government, but rather create the reality of two states for two people ourselves. ….
Everything has its place and time
YNet News, 12 Jun 2014 – From a Divine perspective, everything in the universe and every person who lives in it have a specific mission and purpose in their existence. ….
Palestinian Information Center
In a secret recording, Erikat lambastes Abbas for “sucking up” to Netanyahu
PIC – In a secret recording appearing this week, Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erikat lashed out at Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, accusing him of being too obsequious toward Israel.
IOF raids, arrest campaigns in W. Bank, O. Jerusalem
PIC – The Israeli Occupation Forces launched a series of large-scale raid campaigns in different areas of the Occupied West Bank and Occupied Jerusalem at dawn Thursday and late night Wednesday.
Hunger striker Abu Tebana transferred to hospital
PIC – Israeli Prison Service transferred the leader in Hamas movement Sheikh Adnan Abu Tebana, from al-Khalil, to Soroka Hospital after serious deterioration in his health condition.
HR report: IOF uses Palestinian-American elderly couple as human shields
PIC – Euromid Observer has published a video tape showing the IOF while storming a home of two Palestinian elderly couple in the village of Silwad and turning their home into a military outpost.
Saqqa: Israel hamstrings the work of the Palestinian unity government
PIC – Minister of justice Salim Al-Saqqa said that the Israeli occupation state still obstructs the work of the Palestinian unity government and called on the Europeans to intervene in this regard.
Int’l institutions to declare boycott campaign against Australia
PIC – International institutions concerned with Jerusalem issue are expected to declare a boycott campaign against Australia protesting its decision not to refer to east Jerusalem as occupied territory.
Autopsy finds out: Palestinian teen shot dead by Israeli live fire
PIC – An autopsy performed on Wednesday evening by a crew of Palestinian and Israeli forensic pathologists on the body of the Palestinian teenager Nadim Nawara proved falseness of the Israeli claims.
EU-Arab ministerial forum condemns Israeli violations in OJ
PIC – The European-Arab ministerial forum in Athens condemned on Wednesday the Israeli violations in occupied Jerusalem and supported the Arab peace initiative.
Hamdallah Calls on UN to Implement Desalination and Water Treatment Projects
WAFA – 12 Jun 2014
Hamdallah Renews Calls for International Community to Compel Israel to Release Hunger-striking Prisoners
WAFA – 12 Jun 2014
Russia Pledges to Work with International Actors to Reach Just Solution for Palestinian Question
WAFA – 12 Jun 2014
Abbas Maintains Close Liaison with International Actors to Save Hunger-Striking Prisoners
WAFA – 12 Jun 2014
Presidency Praises FIFA Formation of Independent Committee to Monitor Israeli Violations against Palestinian Sports
WAFA – 12 Jun 2014
Francois Hollande Stresses Support to Consensus Government
WAFA – 12 Jun 2014
Presidency Holds Israel Accountable for Escalation in Gaza
WAFA – 12 Jun 2014
Israeli Police Assault Arab Journalist
WAFA – 12 Jun 2014
Al-‘Issawiya under Tight Israeli Siege for Fifth Consecutive Day
WAFA – 12 Jun 2014
Foreign Ministry Calls to Stop Israeli’s Judaization of area C
WAFA – 12 Jun 2014
European Arab Ministerial Meeting Stress Just Solution for Palestinian Question
WAFA – 12 Jun 2014
Israel Demolishes 15 Homes in Naqab
WAFA – 12 Jun 2014
Israeli Association: Doctors Force-Feeding Hunger Strikers Prisoners will be Prosecuted
WAFA – 12 Jun 2014
Newspaper Review: Israeli Bombardment and Killing of Palestinian in Gaza Focus of Dailies
WAFA – 12 Jun 2014
Health Ministry Warns of Israeli Bill Allowing Force-feeding of Hunger-striking Prisoners
WAFA – 12 Jun 2014
Obama Says U.S. Is Ready to Help Iraq Blunt Militant Advance
New York Times 12 Jun 2014 – President Obama, though not specifying the type of aid he was considering, said he was watching the militant gains with “a lot of concern.”
Palestinian Authority Premier Says New Government Lacks Power in Gaza
New York Times 12 Jun 2014 – Rami Hamdallah said that not much had changed since the new government took over and that reconciliation between the West Bank and Gaza Strip would take time.
Iraqi Kurds Take Oil City as Militants Push Forward
New York Times 12 Jun 2014 – As the Kurds seized Kirkuk, Sunni militants threatened to advance into the heavily Shiite south and destroy shrines there.
Russia Sees American ‘Adventurism’ in Iraq Behind Current Conflict
New York Times 12 Jun 2014 – Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, said the United States’ withdrawal of forces from Iraq was premature and contributed to the recent terrorism there.
Israeli Airstrike in Gaza Strip Kills Palestinian
New York Times 12 Jun 2014 – The airstrike that killed a Palestinian, who was believed to be a militant, and injured two others came hours after a rocket fired from Gaza hit southern Israel.
Tehran Journal: Iran’s World Cup Zeal Wanes as Match Draws Near
New York Times 11 Jun 2014 – Iran has shown little of the excitement in the days prior to the tournament that it displayed during last year’s qualifying games.
Op-Ed Contributor: Mosul Falls to ISIS, Endangering Iraq’s Democracy
New York Times 11 Jun 2014 – Shiite rulers must reach out to Sunnis or lose the country.
U.S. Said to Rebuff Iraqi Request to Strike Militants
New York Times 11 Jun 2014 – The Obama administration declined last month’s request by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki because it was reluctant to open a new chapter in a conflict that the White House has insisted was closed.
Iraq Militants, Pushing South, Aim at Capital
New York Times 11 Jun 2014 – After seizing control of Mosul, Sunni militants occupied the key oil refining town of Baiji and seized the city of Tikrit, security officials and residents said.
Open Source: Egyptian Dissident Sentenced for Challenging Ban on Protest
New York Times 11 Jun 2014 – One of Egypt’s most prominent dissidents, the blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah, was arrested on Wednesday outside the Cairo court where he was convicted in absentia.
Militants Storm Turkish Consulate in Iraqi City, Taking 49 People as Hostages
New York Times 11 Jun 2014 – Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey held an emergency meeting with top security officials amid a diplomatic effort to free the hostages in Mosul.
Sunni Fighters Gain as They Battle 2 Governments, and Other Rebels
New York Times 11 Jun 2014 – Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a magnet for militants from around the world, have a religious conviction and canny business sense.
OPEC to Hold Oil Output Steady as Turmoil Rocks Some Member States
New York Times 11 Jun 2014 – Ministers agreed to maintain an output of 30 million barrels a day, and Saudi Arabia said it was satisfied with the current market price.
Death comes to downtown Ramallah
Mondoweiss – Funeral of Nadime Nuwara and Mohammed Salame, outside of Ramallah. (Photo: Allison Deger) A few days ago while in a friend’s car for an hour of gridlock at Qalandia checkpoint in the middle of a clash, she made a joke about a reprieve. “Break!” she yelled out…
BDS activists slam art groups for taking tour to IDF-linked Technion
Mondoweiss – An Israeli-made drone. Technion, the site of a traveling art show that has come under criticism, creates drone technology for the Israeli army. (Photo: US Air Force) Two art groups have come under fire for taking a traveling exhibition to the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, an…
Enter Ken Pollack and Tom Friedman– the Iraq experts!
Mondoweiss – Kenneth Pollack As the sectarian US-backed central government in Iraq loses up to half its territory to jihadist forces, the country is entering its biggest crisis in years. So far the Obama administration is resisting pressure to intervene with air strikes or drones. This would be…
Cantor’s defeat had nothing to do with religion
Mondoweiss – Cantor at 2011 AIPAC conference, photo from the lobby group Eric Cantor is the only Jewish Republican in Congress, so his downfall in Tuesday night’s primary continues to resonate in terms of the Jewish place in America. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post is Jewish; he…
Tourism under occupation
Mondoweiss – Old City surrounded by the Walls of Jerusalem, May 2014 (Photo: Rebecca Burkert) Have you ever visited the Holy Land? No? But most likely you traveled to other places in the world as a tourist. In Jerusalem you can find more than three million tourists every…
Mapping what’s been lost
Mondoweiss – Imwas village in 1958. (Photo: Pierre Medebielle via PalestineRemembered.com) Imwas village in 1968. (Photo: Pierre Medebielle viaPalestineRemembered.com). ‘Imwas village in 1988, four years after the construction of Canada Park was completed on its land by the Jewish National Fund. (Photo: Pierre Medebielle via PalestineRemembered.com) The…
‘Kill those who rise up to kill us’ — a prime minister’s chilling tweet
Mondoweiss – Netanyahu congratulating new Israeli president Reuven Rivlin yesterday Yesterday Gazan militants fired a rocket into Israel, striking a road and causing no casualties, and Israel responded with an attack on the Gaza Strip that killed one man blamed for attacks on Israel. Then the Israeli prime…
ISIS Looming Iraq Victory is Fruit of 12 Years of Failed U.S. Policy
Tikun Olam – ISIS fighters on the march (Yaser al Khodor/Reuters) The shocking blitzkrieg of ISIS forces through Iraq, which finds them only 70 miles from the capital, Bagdhad, is the end-result of twelve years of failure of U.S. Middle East policy. It all began with George Bush’s burst…
Maccabi Tel Aviv Coach David Blatt Heads To the NBA
The Foward Breaking News 12 Jun 2014 – David Blatt, who guided Maccabi Tel Aviv to the Euroleague basketball championship, stepped down as the Israeli team’s coach to pursue opportunities in the NBA. Click here for the rest of the article…
Stanley Fischer Confirmed as Vice-Chairman of Federal Reserve
The Foward Breaking News 12 Jun 2014 – Stanley Fischer, a former Bank of Israel governor, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve. Click here for the rest of the article…
Mubarak minister cleared by court
BBC 12 Jun 2014 – A court in Egypt clears former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly, who served under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, of corruption.
Why is sexual harassment so bad in Egypt?
BBC 12 Jun 2014 – Why is sexual harassment so bad in Egypt?
Israeli Admits Killing His American-Israeli Children
The Foward Breaking News 12 Jun 2014 – An Israeli man has admitted to killing his two American-Israeli children to take revenge on his wife for divorcing him. Click here for the rest of the article…
G4S announces prison pull out but campaign continues
Global BDS 12 Jun 2014 – British-Danish multinational security and prison profiteering firm G4S is to pull out of Israeli prisons completely, the Financial Times reports this morning . Campaigners have given a cautious welcome to the news, but emphasize that pressure on the company must continue until the abuses it is…
Autopsy Shows Live Bullet Killed Unarmed Palestinian Teen in Videotaped Slaying
The Foward Breaking News 12 Jun 2014 – The Palestinian attorney-general said on Thursday an autopsy has found that a live bullet killed a Palestinian teenager in an incident that a human rights group has termed a possible Israeli war crime. Click here for the rest of the article…
VIDEO: ‘Common approach for Iraq and Syria’
BBC 11 Jun 2014 – Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for a core group of countries to work together to help Iraq and Syria resolve the conflicts in their countries.
VIDEO: ‘Iraq could face break-up’ – Allawi
BBC 12 Jun 2014 – Iraq could be facing a break-up as a result of an insurgency by Islamist militants, the country’s former prime minister warns.
Obama: All options open on Iraq
BBC 12 Jun 2014 – US President Barack Obama says his government is looking at “all options” to help fight Islamist militants in Iraq, including military action.
Iraqi air force bombs Tikrit palace
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2014 – Iraqi forces launched at least four air strikes on jihadists occupying ousted dictator Saddam Hussein’s palace compound in the city of Tikrit on Thursday, witnesses said. It was not immediately clear whether the strikes against the militants, who took the city a day before, were launched…
Congress divided over US military action in Iraq
Al-Monitor 12 Jun 2014 – Both Republicans and Democrats are split over whether the United States should use air power to assist Iraqi armed forces.
Lebanese police arrest two serial rapists
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2014 – Lebanese authorities arrested two men suspected of raping more than 60 women, the Internal Security Forces said. In a statement posted online, the ISF said that the two men, aged about 34 and 22, lured their victims into their cars by offering them rides. Instead, they…
Striking Lebanese faculty: “We are sick of your games”
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2014 – Striking Lebanese University (LU) lecturers gathered outside the Grand Serail Thursday to call on the cabinet to approve their full-time contracts. The part-time faculty, threatening to continue with their boycott of classes and exams, gathered in defiance of their university’s president who had urged them to…
Beyond “conversations:” confronting anti-Blackness among Arab-Americans
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2014 – The Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC) initiated the ‘drop the A-word’ campaign, calling on Arabs to stop using the anti-Black slur, in February, 2014. (Photo: ‘Muslim ARC’ Facebook page) The Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC) initiated the ‘drop the A-word’ campaign, calling on Arabs to stop using the…
Russia: Takeover of Iraq proves the “total failure” of US, British invasion
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2014 – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that the spectacular seizure of Iraqi cities by advancing jihadist fighters was a clear sign of the “total failure” of the US-led invasion. “The events in Iraq illustrate the total failure of the adventure involving the United States and…
Prosecutors charge Iraqi TV journalists of “exposing Jordan to acts of aggression”
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2014 – Jordanian military prosecutors accused a group of journalists of terrorism after closing an Amman-based television channel critical of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a judicial official said. “State security court prosecutors charged the owner and 13 journalists of the Al-Abasiya satellite station with using the Internet…
VIDEO: Iraqi militants order attack on Baghdad
BBC 12 Jun 2014 – The militant Islamist group which has taken control of two key cities in northern Iraq says it has now ordered its troops to attack Baghdad.
Turkey ignored direct warnings of ISIS attack on Mosul
Al-Monitor 12 Jun 2014 – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces another political crisis over the hostage crisis and his Syria and Iraq policies.
Turkey hostage to crisis in Iraq
Al-Monitor 12 Jun 2014 – The blowback from the ISIS attack in Iraq will force even more Turks to question their country’s Syria and Iraq policies.
Bashar al-Assad: Dialogue is the cornerstone of my third term
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2014 – A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on June 10, 2014, shows President Bashar al-Assad (R) welcoming former presidential candidate Hassan al-Nouri in Damascus. (Photo: AFP-SANA) A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on June 10,…
Saudi behind ISIS onslaught in Iraq: Syrian state media
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2014 – Syrian state media on Thursday accused Saudi Arabia of funding and arming the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria that has captured swathes of Iraqi territory. “Terrorism is spreading in front of the eyes of the western world… and alongside it are the fingers of…
Jihadists kill Syrian refugee in Lebanon, kidnap two others
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2014 – Suspected jihadists from al-Nusra Front killed a Syrian refugee and kidnapped two others in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley Wednesday night, state media reported. Al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda’s official proxy in Syria which is also active in Lebanon, has been behind a spate of recent killings and kidnappings…
Homs car bomb kills seven: Syrian state TV
Al-Akhbar News 12 Jun 2014 – At least seven people were killed when a car bomb exploded in the central Syrian city of Homs Thursday, Syrian state media reported. “Seven killed and others injured according to a first toll in a terrorist car bomb explosion in Wadi Dahab in Homs,” state television…
Hamas silent on Sisi’s election
Al-Monitor 12 Jun 2014 – Hamas leaders and spokespeople have been instructed not to make any public statements concerning the election of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Egypt, to avoid aggravating the new president.
Israeli ‘ECO’ company wins startup competition
Al-Monitor 12 Jun 2014 – The Israeli company ECOncrete has just won a startup competition organized by the alumni of the Israel Defense Forces’ cyber elite Unit 8200.
Iranian agency labels Disney cartoons ‘demoralizing images’
Al-Monitor 12 Jun 2014 – Iranian stores have been issued a warning about selling stationery to children picturing popular Western cartoon figures such as Spider-Man and those in “Toy Story.”
In Iran, headlines blame foreigners for ISIS advances
Al-Monitor 12 Jun 2014 – As the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham continues to make gains in Iraq, Iran’s right-wing media outlets are running constant updates on the situation and officials are blaming Western and Arab countries for supporting extremist groups.
ISIS “success” facilitated by betrayal, Iraqi government inadequacies
Al-Akhbar Politics 12 Jun 2014 – Iraqi policemen are seen on patrol inside a military base in Baghdad, on June 11, 2014, after the declaration of a state of emergency by the government. (Photo: AFP-Ahmad al-Rubaye) Iraqi policemen are seen on patrol inside a military base in Baghdad, on June 11, 2014,…
Fears of civil war in Iraq as ISIS expands
Al-Monitor 12 Jun 2014 – The advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) to various Iraqi cities has shocked the government and international community, which prompted calls for meetings, while Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared a state of emergency.
Palestinian activists reject Israel force-feeding prisoners
Al-Monitor 12 Jun 2014 – In an interview with Al-Monitor, former Palestinian hunger striker Samer Issawi condemns the Israeli bill allowing force-feeding of prisoners on hunger strikes, stressing that such strikes, as the one taking place now, are the prisoners’ only option to protest illegal detention.
Deficit overpowers Lebanon’s draft budget
Al-Monitor 12 Jun 2014 – Amid political and security crises in Lebanon, the issuance of the 2014 draft budget by the Ministry of Finance was a positive sign, but many questions remain about how major economic problems will be addressed.
A regional solution to Syria?
Al-Monitor 12 Jun 2014 – In light of a possible rapprochement between Gulf countries and Iran, it seems that a political solution might be underway for the crisis in Syria, although some countries are betting on its failure to preserve their role in the region and in Syria.
Foreign investors spark Turkish stock rally
Al-Monitor 12 Jun 2014 – Defying expectations, foreign investors buy $705.59 million in Turkish shares in May.
UN condemns Iraqi militant attacks
BBC 12 Jun 2014 – The UN condemns attacks in Iraq by Islamist militants who have overrun two major cities, and says a “dire” humanitarian situation looms.
Blast targets Benghazi checkpoint
BBC 11 Jun 2014 – A large explosion at an army checkpoint outside the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi wounds six people and kills the attacker, army officials say.
VIDEO: ISIS: ‘A brutally efficient campaign’
BBC 11 Jun 2014 – The BBC’s Paul Wood reports that ISIS Islamist insurgents are “steadily tightening their grip on the north and west of Iraq”.
The war in Syria: ISIS’s most successful investment yet
Al-Akhbar Politics 11 Jun 2014 – An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube on August 23, 2013 allegedly shows members of Ussud Al-Anbar (Anbar Lions), a Jihadist group affiliated to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Al-Qaeda’s front group in Iraq, holding up their weapons as…
Articles
Stand in Solidarity with Abdul Razeq & Other Palestinian Hunger Strikers & End Administrative Detentions by Israel
Alex Cook, VTJP News & Articles Links 6/12/2014
An Urgent Appeal from Vermont
My name is Alex Cook, a Vermonter, and with support from Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel, I am making a special appeal on behalf of Palestinian prisoners who are being held in “administrative detention” and are participating in a hunger strike to demand an end to their unjust incarceration.
According to the Ma’an News Agency, the current hunger strike, which began on April 24, involves at least 125 administrative detainees, as well as many other prisoners, and is the longest mass hunger strike in Palestinian history.
Administrative detention is the Israeli practice of detaining Palestinian men and women without indictment or trial for a period of up to 6 months. To make matters worse, their initial detention is frequently renewed multiple times on the basis of “evidence” held in a “secret file.”
Israel imposes administrative detention as a punishment routinely. Palestinian prisoners can be held for years without due process or evidence of wrongdoing. This is a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which stipulates that administrative detentions can only be used in exceptional circumstances. In Occupied Palestine, the only thing “exceptional” about administrative detention is how unexceptional it is in scope, frequency, intensity and duration.
This matter is particularly urgent and personal for me because Abdul Razeq Farraj, the father of one of my closest friends, is taking part in this hunger strike. Known as Abed by his friends and family, he has not eaten since April 30. He has been refused family visitations, has been permitted to see his lawyer just twice, has been held in solitary confinement, and was denied salts for the first 15 days of his strike. more.. e-mail
What Palestinian Unity Is All About
Ramzy Baroud, CounterPunch 6/11/2014
The Real Task Ahead
Palestinians are yet to achieve national unity despite the elation over the ‘national unity government’ now in operation in Ramallah.
One has to be clear in the distinction between a Hamas-Fatah political arrangement necessitated by regional and international circumstances, and Palestinian unity. What has been agreed upon in the Shati’ (Beach) refugee camp in April, which lead to the formation of a transitional government in the West Bank in June, has little to do with Palestinian unity. The latter is a much more comprehensive and indispensable notion. Without it, the Palestinian people risk losing more than a unified political platform, but their ability to identify with a common set of national aspirations wherever they are in the world.
Thus, a hurried agreement in Gaza that left many points of contention to be discussed and settled by various sub-committees with uncertain chances of succeeding is hardly the prerequisite to true and lasting national unity.
Most media pundits are mixing up between Palestinian national unity and the ‘unity’ government of 14 ministers which were sworn-in in Ramallah. Most of the supposed technocrats are recognized for their overt or subtle loyalty to Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas. The transitional government is tasked with administering areas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza.
The PA is allowed to operate in the West Bank under the watchful eye of the Israeli army. In return for allowing the PA a space of operation, PA forces are involved in ‘security coordination’ aimed at securing illegal Jewish settlements, reigning in Palestinian resistance and offering a line of defense for the Israeli army, which in reality is the one and only ruler of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. more.. e-mail
In Gaza, Palestinians know why the caged bird sings
Ghada Ageel, +972 Magazine 6/12/2014
Though she never made it there, Maya Angelou’s spirit resounds in my native Gaza. For she and I have known different shades of the same tyranny: that quiet brutality wrought by generations upon the next.
It’s predictable by now. Within hours of their passing, our most famous artists—whose works outlast them prec
isely because they eschewed the formulaic—are memorialized in too-easy platitudes that are “shared” and “liked” but seldom felt.
As a Palestinian woman, I felt Maya Angelou’s passing. I felt it deeply.
For she and I have known different shades of the same tyranny—that quiet brutality wrought by generations upon the next, by fathers upon their sons, and by cultures upon their daughters. We were weaned from innocence by the taste of escape.
We might have learned no more than that. In the Arab world, especially, we women run to live, to breathe, to dodge the barrel bombs of our audacious existence.
But through her majestic poetry, both lived and lent, Maya taught us the virtues of standing still—and tall.
In Arabic, her name means “princess.”
Though she never made it there, Maya’s spirit—as it does everywhere—resounds in my native Gaza. For along its shores, we too have learned just how the caged bird sings.
In photos: Life between the Gazan waves…. more.. e-mail
Israeli propagandists taking over Wikipedia?
Editorial, Redress 6/11/2014
The Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects, has signed an agreement that will allow Israeli propagandists to promote apartheid Israel and its racist, Zionist policies through the pages of Wikipedia, the world’s largest and most popular free encyclopedia.
The agreement was signed by Rabbi Shai Piron, the Israeli education minister, Jan-Bart de Vreede, the chairman of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, Itzik Edri, the chairman of the Wikimedia Israel Board, and Michal Lester, the executive director of Wikimedia Israel.
In an article published on the Wikimedia blog, Edri said:
Through the planned cooperation, history, geography and science teachers will receive special professional training to instruct students on how to contribute to new or incomplete Wikipedia articles for which information is lacking or inadequate.
The Education Ministry will also examine the possibility of integrating Wikipedia writing assignments in the teaching of research and community involvement. They will also consider having students who speak additional languages (primarily English and Russian) write Wikipedia articles about Israel in those particular languages.
The article reminded us that Israelis are already making extensive use of Wikipedia to promote their views.
In the framework of cooperation that is already in place between Wikimedia Israel and the Ministry of Education, several pilot projects are being conducted….more.. e-mail
After reconciliation agreement, Hamas and Fatah united in press crackdown
Electronic Intifada: 12 Jun 2014 – “This is the police state of Mahmoud Abbas,” says journalist hospitalized after beating by Palestinian Authority forces. more..
Ten years after world court ruling, widening the crack in Israel’s wall
Electronic Intifada: 12 Jun 2014 – From Palestine to Mexico, occupation’s profiteers are raking in millions. more..
Ramallah art show subverts ideas of Palestinian masculinity, statehood
Electronic Intifada: 12 Jun 2014 – Omarivs Ioseph Filivs’ The Ceremonial Vniform is impressive in its depth of exploration and beautifully crafted works. more..
For the Hares Boys
Palestine Chronicle: 12 Jun 2014 – By Chandra Paul The Hares boys are five schoolchildren from Occupied Palestine, who have been incarcerated in an adult criminal prison in what is now the State of Israel for over a year, on fabricated charges of throwing stones at a car. They will be tried for murder, as adults, in an Israeli military court, and each faces a life sentence. The families of these children have asked the international community to request the presence of ambassadors to Israel at the trials. They say the presence of international observers has a direct impact on the fairness of the trials, and that it can even determine whether or not proceedings are translated for the children. The Australian government says it is committed to global human rights standards, and calls on all countries to adhere to their international human rights obligations. I wrote to the Australian Ambassador to Israel to request his…more
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The New Dark Age 