14 June 2014 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
Qatar to Contribute $20m for Gaza Salaries
IMEMC – Consul General Reiterates UK’s Support for Gaza Government spokesperson Ihab Bseiso has stated that the Qatari government is to transfer a sum of $20 million, over a three month period, in helping to pay salaries to 40,000 former Gaza government employees. European officials recently recapitualted their committment to the new Palestinian government and concern over hunger-striking detainees. …
Israeli Warplanes Bomb Southern Gaza
IMEMC – Mass troops deployed in search for missing Israelis This morning, Israeli warplanes targeted several locations in southern Gaza Strip. …
At Least Twelve Palestinians Kidnapped In Hebron
IMEMC – [Saturday, June 14, 2014] Israeli soldiers kidnapped at least twelve Palestinians in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, after breaking into dozens of homes and searching them, and confiscating surveillance tapes from a number of properties. …
Three Palestinians Wounded Near Qalqilia
IMEMC – [Saturday, June 14 2014] Palestinian medical sources said three Palestinian were moderately wounded after a number of settlers hurled stones at their car while driving near the entrance of Jensafut village, near the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia. …
Army Intensifies Hebron Invasion, Kidnaps More Palestinians
IMEMC – [Saturday At Dawn, June 14, 2014] As part of the search for three missing Israeli teenage settlers, Israeli soldiers intensified their invasions and strict security measures in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, broke into and searched dozens of homes, and kidnapped several Palestinians. …
Soldiers Invade Rahat, Kidnap Several Palestinians
IMEMC – Israeli soldiers and police officers invaded, late on Friday at night [June, 13, 2014] Rahat city, the largest Bedouin community in the Negev, conducted military searches, and kidnapped several residents. …
Israeli Military Trains Near Jinba and Al Mirkez
IMEMC – From the 8th June until today, the Israeli military has been training in Palestinian-owned fields, close to the Palestinian villages of Jinba and Al Mirkez, in Masafer Yatta. …
Hunger Strike: Hamdallah Renews Calls for International Support
IMEMC – Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, on Thursday, called upon the international community to exert serious and considerable pressure on Israel to release the administrative prisoners who have been on hunger strike for fifty consecutive days, according to WAFA Palestinian News Agency. …
Israeli forces launch airstrikes across southern Gaza Strip
6/14/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli warplanes launched two airstrikes against targets in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday just hours after a rocket struck Israel from the Gaza Strip. The first Israeli strike was reported in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, targeting a military base for the military wing of Hamas, the Al-Qassam Brigades. No casualties were reported in that strike. Sources…. Related: Hamas: Airstrikes reflect Israeli ‘confusion’ and Gaza child succumbs to wounds 3 days after Israeli strike
Gaza child succumbs to wounds 3 days after Israeli strike
6/14/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A Palestinian child on Saturday succumbed to wounds received during an Israeli bombing three days before. Spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Health Ashraf al-Qidra said that seven-year-old Ali Abd al-Latif al-Awour was injured during an Israeli strike of the al-Sudaniya region in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. The strike targeted a Palestinian affiliated with a militant group who…. Related: Israeli forces launch airstrikes across southern Gaza Strip
Search for missing Israeli teenagers includes Bedouin town in Negev
6/14/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – Israeli forces ransacked several homes in the Bedouin town of Rahat in southern Israel overnight, reportedly as part of a search for three Israeli teenagers who disappeared from a settlement in the Gush Etzion area. Witnesses told Ma’an that soldiers were looking for Palestinian workers from the West Bank who could be staying illegally in Rahat. The sources highlighted…. Related: Israel continues search for missing teens and Netanyahu: Abbas responsible for safe return of kidnapped settlers
3 injured as settlers attack Palestinian cars in northern West Bank
6/14/2014 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli settlers hurled stones at Palestinian vehicles traveling on main roads across the northern and central West Bank overnight and on Saturday morning, injuring three people and damaging 15 cars. Palestinian security sources told Ma’an that three young Palestinian men sustained injuries after settlers attacked their car with rocks on the main road between the village of Jinsafut and….
80% of Gaza gas stations empty after Israel closes crossing
6/14/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Eighty percent of gas stations in Gaza are out of fuel and the other 20 percent are sufficient for only half a day, the director of the local Gas Station Owners Union told Ma’an on Saturday. Mahmoud Shawwa said all gas stations would shut down Saturday afternoon, and that all stations were out of diesel fuel. Israel closed….
Settlers ‘hurl rocks at residents, houses’ south of Hebron
6/14/2014 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Dozens of Israeli settlers hurled rocks at residents and houses in a Palestinian village in the southern West Bank on Saturday, a local official said. Jihad al-Nawajaa, head of the village’s council, told Ma’an that 30 settlers entered the village of Susiya south of Hebron and hurled stones at houses. The settlers also targeted a 13-year-old….
Israel continues search for missing teens
6/14/2014 – HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained several Palestinian men and women in Hebron in the southern West Bank as a search continued overnight and Saturday morning for three teenagers who disappeared from the Gush Etzion settlement Thursday night. Palestinian security sources and locals told Ma’an that large numbers of Israeli troops deployed Saturday in the Hebron neighborhoods of Beer al-Mahjar, Ein Sara…. Related: Search for missing Israeli teenagers includes Bedouin town in Negev and Netanyahu: Abbas responsible for safe return of kidnapped settlers
Israeli army: Gaza rockets land in open area near Ashkelon
6/14/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Three rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip on Saturday, two of which hit the Hof Ashkelon region in southern Israel, the Israeli military said. The rocket fire came just after a seven-year-old Palestinian child died of injuries sustained in an Israeil missile attack on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. Earlier Saturday, one rocket hit the Sdot Negev regional council in….
Rafah crossing to open for 4 days
6/14/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Rafah border crossing will open on Sunday for four days in order to allow travelers to cross, the Palestinian ambassador to Egypt said on Saturday. Barakat al-Farra said in a statement that the crossing will open Sunday and Monday for pilgrims, and on Tuesday and Wednesday it will be open for humanitarian cases. The crossing will be opened both….
Hamas: Airstrikes reflect Israeli ‘confusion’
6/14/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip demonstrate Israeli “confusion” amid an ongoing search to find three Israeli settlers missing in the West Bank, the Hamas movement said Saturday. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement that Israel’s targeting of the al-Qassam Brigades military base in the southern Gaza Strip reflects “deterioration of the morale of the Israeli…. Related: Israeli forces launch airstrikes across southern Gaza Strip
EU ‘deeply concerned’ over deteriorating health of hunger strikers
6/14/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The EU is “deeply concerned” by reports of the deteriorating health conditions of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners, a statement said late Friday. A spokesperson for EU Foreign Policy Chief Kathryn Ashton said in a statement that the EU “calls for the full respect of international human rights obligations towards all Palestinian detainees and prisoners.” Meanwhile, over a hundred Palestinian prisoners, most of….
Netanyahu: Abbas responsible for safe return of kidnapped settlers
6/14/2014 – TEL AVIV (AFP) — Israel holds President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority responsible for the safety of three settlers snatched from the West Bank, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.”I have ordered. . . to demand from the Palestinian Authority, headed by Abu Mazen (Abbas) — from whose territory the kidnappers came — to do whatever necessary to help the hostages get home safely,” Netanyahu said at…. Related: Israel continues search for missing teens and Search for missing Israeli teenagers includes Bedouin town in Negev
4 Palestinians killed in road accident near Ramallah
6/14/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Four Palestinians were killed and eight were injured in a road accident Saturday morning in the central West Bank town of Nilin west of Ramallah, medical and security sources told Ma’an. Three of the victims are from the Ramallah-area village of Shuqba including a woman, man and teenage boy. They were identified as 51-year-old Zeinab Qadah, a 24….
Gaza teen drowns in Deir al-Balah
6/14/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A young Palestinian man drowned in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday, an official said. Ashraf al-Qidra, Gaza’s health ministry spokesman, told Ma’an that 16-year-old Hussam Fathi al-Qadi drowned off the coast of Deir al-Balah. Al-Qadi was a resident of Rafah city, al-Qidra said. [END]
Iran offers help if US acts against Iraq militants
6/14/2014 – BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iran offered Saturday to consider working with longtime foe the US if it takes the lead in helping push back Sunni militants, who have seized a swathe of northern Iraq. The offer came as Iraqi commanders said the army had recaptured two towns north of Baghdad as they prepared a fightback, bolstered by thousands of volunteers who have signed up in response to….
Analysts: Misguided US invasion spawned crisis in Iraq
6/14/2014 – WASHINGTON (AFP) — The rise of al-Qaeda-linked militants in Iraq can be traced to America’s invasion of the country more than a decade ago, as it left a power vacuum and unleashed sectarian bloodletting, experts said Friday. With television footage of Sunni extremists sweeping across Iraq this week, critics of former president George W. Bush’s decision to invade in 2003 said the….
Pentagon: US orders aircraft carrier into Gulf over Iraq crisis
6/14/2014 – WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States has ordered an aircraft carrier, the USS George H. W. Bush, into the Gulf in response to the crisis in Iraq, the Pentagon said Saturday.”The order will provide the commander-in-chief additional flexibility should military options be required to protect American lives, citizens, and interests in Iraq,” Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman, said. Ordered by Defense Secretary Chuck….
Egypt refers 13 to trial over Tahrir sex attacks
6/14/2014 – CAIRO (AFP) — Egypt’s prosecution service on Saturday referred 13 men to trial for alleged sex attacks on women at Cairo’s Tahrir Square, including during inaugural celebrations for new President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. It was the first time charges have been made in the North African country in connection with mass sexual assaults. The attacks took place on January 25, 2013, as….
International Solidarity Movement
Violence in Ni’lin
6/14/2014 – International Solidarity Movement – Ramallah team, Ni’lin, Occupied Palestine – A Red Crescent paramedic, present at the Ni’lin demonstration last week, spoke to ISM about the protest last Friday, 6th June. He explained that the demonstration began as the protesters marched towards the apartheid wall, with Israeli soldiers firing tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets. After just 15 minutes, a 41-year-old Palestinian protester was shot in the leg….
Voices on Afghanistan: No return for Al Qaeda and the Taliban
The National 14 Jun 2014 – Afghanistan will not see the Taliban or Al Qaeda return to hold territory as Islamist militants have done in Iraq, says Muslim Shirzad
Can Obama make Iraq’s leaders more inclusive of Sunnis?
The National 14 Jun 2014 – The crisis in Iraq could push prime minister Nouri Al Maliki closer to Iran at a time when the US wants Baghdad to pursue more inclusive policies
Letter from Delhi: monsoons can’t come too soon
The National 14 Jun 2014 – News of the annual rains’ landfall in the south marks the start of a long and painful wait as residents of the capital dream of relief from the sweltering summer.
A historic opportunity for Kurds in Iraq chaos
The National 14 Jun 2014 – Kurdish forces have seized the city of Kirkuk, but will they be able to hold it?
Afghanistan see largely peaceful run-off vote
The National 14 Jun 2014 – The election will decide whether former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah or ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani leads the country into a new era of declining international military and civilian assistance.
US warships ordered to Arabian Gulf
The National 14 Jun 2014 – The ships carry Tomohawk missiles and fighter jets that can reach Iraq
Iranians still waiting for Rouhani to deliver on promises
The National 14 Jun 2014 – One year after Iranians elected Hassan Rouhani as president, many say they are still waiting for the improved living conditions and greater social freedoms he promised.
Audio interview: What’s next for Afghanistan?
The National 14 Jun 2014 – Listen to Faiysal AliKhan describe what’s next for Afghanistan after Saturday’s presidential vote
Four students among seven arrested for defaming Indian PM
The National 13 Jun 2014 – Narendra Modi included in collage of “negative faces” published in Kerala college’s annual magazine.
Qataris look forward to their World Cup despite scandal
The National 13 Jun 2014 – As they watch 2014 event kick off in Brazil, Qataris say hosting 2022 tournament will be a great success for country and region.
Top Shiite cleric urges Iraqis to fight advancing militants
The National 13 Jun 2014 – Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani’s call comes as President Barack Obama says US will help, but Iraqi leaders must act to heal sectarian divisions.
Thai military lifts nationwide curfew imposed after coup
The National 13 Jun 2014 – Junta cites lack of violence and need to boost tourism as reason for lifting restriction on late night movement.
West Bank kidnapping presents both Netanyahu and Abbas with dilemmas
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
LIVE BLOG: Netanyahu says three teens kidnapped by terror organization
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
Israeli official hints at move to revamp long-standing relationship with JNF
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
Israelis can try, but they can’t ignore the occupation
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
Enough of condoning the prime minister’s wife and her husband
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
Netanyahu’s test
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
UN: 50,000 children in South Sudan face death without assistance
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
High Court tells state: Justify the law on drafting ultra-Orthodox
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
Mossad chief’s self-fulfilling kidnap prophecy
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
Netanyahu: Missing teens kidnapped by terrorists, PA responsible for their fate
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
With West Bank kidnapping, powerless Netanyahu puts on a good show
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
Kiev protesters pelt Russian embassy with eggs
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
America’s Iraqi nightmare overshadows reaction to West Bank kidnappings
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
Amid kidnapping, Abbas must take steps to prevent his political downfall
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
U.S. sends aircraft carrier to Gulf in case of Iraq military option
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
‘Israel thwarted a dozen Palestinian kidnap attempts in 2014’
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
The Connecticut coach taking Iran to the World Cup
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
Forty-nine Ukrainian troops killed in plane shot down by rebels
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
Egypt sends 13 to trial for Tahrir Square sexual violence
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
The real reason Netanyahu is blaming Abbas
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
President urges Germany to drop post-WWII reluctance, increase global military role
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
U.S. Presbyterians face watershed moment on Israel divestment
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
Pope Francis defends Pius XII’s Holocaust record
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
Netanyahu and Bennett bear responsibility for teens’ fate
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
World Cup Diary / Expecting the Spanish inquisition
Ha’aretz – 14 Jun 2014
Has ISIS infiltrated the West Bank?
Ha’aretz – 13 Jun 2014
Queen Elizabeth II to honor former Haaretz editor David Landau
Ha’aretz – 13 Jun 2014
Israel shouldn’t ask the Palestinians to validate it as a Jewish state
Ha’aretz – 13 Jun 2014
For gay right-wingers, life is doubly difficult
Ha’aretz – 13 Jun 2014
IAF strikes Gaza following rocket attacks
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – Strikes are in response to rocket attacks from Gaza on Saturday afternoon; sirens sound across southwestern Israel.
Report: Israel Police failed to notify security forces of kidnapping
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – Police respond saying they are focusing solely on search efforts; cannot confirm or deny any accusations due to the large amount of information surrounding the case at the moment.
Community of Nof Ayalon rallies around Frankel family
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – The town of 430 families united with Frankel family praying all through Shabbat; Naftali Frankel described as “a normal youngster” who is athletic, loves soccer.
European elections 2014: A closer look at the far Right and what it means for Israel
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – With a deeply frayed ideological tapestry and their inexperience in political unity and coalition building, the promised far-right bloc may not actually be the unified element it was estimated to be.
Politicians on right, left pray for captives to return
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – Likudniks blame Palestinian unity government, which Labor’s Bar-Lev calls counterproductive.
Hungary’s dangerous precedent
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – Anyone who has followed the alarming rise of Jobbik, the Movement for a Better Hungary since its establishment in October 2003, would find the decision of the Supreme Court absolutely incomprehensible.
Negative interest
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – Monetary and housing bubbles aren’t synonymous with economic growth, and the cure they’re expected to herald can, if anything, be far worse than the disease for which they were prescribed.
Festival Review
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – The orchestra’s many instrumental soli, performed with remarkable polish, were thoroughly enjoyable.
Netanyahu confirms: Teens kidnapped by terrorist organization
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – Netanyahu says kidnapping was true result of recent unity government that was forged between Fatah and Hamas; PM to convene cabinet Saturday evening following announcement.
Israelis launch social media campaign to help find missing boys with #BringBackOurBoys
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – The hashtag is quickly gaining traction, but has also attracted a number of people using it to draw attention to plight of Palestinian prisoners.
Two rockets fired from Gaza land in southern Israel
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – Earlier in the day the IAF attacked two targets in the coastal territory following a morning rocket attack on Israel.
Palestinian activists call for destruction of CCTV footage in attempt to frustrate IDF search
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – Families of Palestinian prisoners celebrate the “abduction” of the three students by handing out sweets to passersby.
Hamas attacks PA for cooperating with investigation into missing teens
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – After PA says they aren’t responsible for the fate of 3 yeshiva students suspected of having been kidnapped, Hamas says they are cooperating with enemy.
Ya’alon: IDF in the middle of widespread recovery operations for missing teens
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – Defense minister tells media that IDF is doing everything it can to recover the missing yeshiva student and is working under the assumption that they are alive.
Security forces ‘making some progress’ in search for kidnapped teens, senior source says
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – IDF, Shin Bet arrest number of Palestinians in attempt to reach “inner circle” of terror cell; large numbers of infantry, special forces deployed in West Bank.
IAF attacks targets in Gaza after rocket lands in Israel
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – After rocket lands in southern Israel early Saturday, IAF retaliates with 2 strikes in southern part of strip, reportedly causing no damages or injuries.
Rouhani: Nuclear deal by July 20 deadline still possible
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – In speech, Iranian president says differences with world powers can be settled in order to reach deal; offers assistance to Iraq in help fighting insurgents.
Rebels shoot down Ukrainian plane killing 49 military personnel
Jerusalem Post 14 Jun 2014 – Increasing tensions between separatist rebels and Kiev signal conflict still not under control; incident occurred in eastern city of Luhansk.
Iran intelligence minister blames Israel, US for Iraq crisis
Jerusalem Post 13 Jun 2014 – The statement came as the Iranian gov’t officially denied sending troops over its border with Iraq to aid the defense of Baghdad from Sunni extremists.
Former ‘Jerusalem Post’ reporter David Landau to be honored by Queen Elizabeth II
Jerusalem Post 13 Jun 2014 – Landau is to be appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in recognition of his services to advancing UK/Israel understanding.
Tel Aviv sets Guinness record for largest Shabbat dinner
Jerusalem Post 13 Jun 2014 – Exactly 2,226 people gathered at Hangar 11 at the Tel Aviv Port to set the world record for largest Shabbat meal ever.
US not considering strike against ISIS in Syria
Jerusalem Post 13 Jun 2014 – US official tells Post: “At the moment, the options being considered are focused on Iraq. Of course, that could always change.”
Netanyahu to families of missing Israeli teens: I know these are moments of anguish
Jerusalem Post 13 Jun 2014 – Premier assured families that Israel’s security forces were doing everything possible to find their children.
Netanyahu to Kerry: PA’s Hamas-backed unity government to blame for missing teens
Jerusalem Post 13 Jun 2014 – Premier told the secretary of state by phone that Israel views the PA responsible for the well-being of the missing teens.
Islamic Jihad calls for kidnapping of Israeli soldiers to free prisoners
Jerusalem Post 13 Jun 2014 – The official, Khaled al-Batash, told worshippers at a mosque in Gaza that “kidnapping soldiers is the only way to free prisoners.”
Tel Aviv glows gay as thousands of revelers line streets for annual parade
Jerusalem Post 13 Jun 2014 – I wake to the banging of drums and Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time ricocheting through King George Street. Next door, Gan Meir is alive.
Fears grow for missing Israeli teenagers
The Guardian 14 Jun 2014 – Three boys believed to have been kidnapped by Palestinian militants from hitch-hiking spot near West Bank settlement Fears are growing for the safety of three Israeli teenagers believed to have been kidnapped in the southern West…
China s complex relations with the Gulf States
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 8, 2014 – Untangling the complex relations between China, Russia, the Gulf states and “the West”is no easy task. Although Beijing and Moscow have long kept a small hand in Gulf affairs, there is growing activity between the four…
Syria News – June 7 , 2014 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7 , 2014- Damascus Suburbs: Rahaf Al-Masre 14 years was martyred due to lack of medicines in East Gouta …Idlib: Saraqeb: tow girls were martyred and a number of wounded were reported due to warplanes shelling at Ebla University…Damascus Suburbs:…
Nouri s Iraq: Civilians killed by the military, university stormed, and more
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 – Nouri al-Maliki is a War Criminal. They don t shame easily. Since the start of the year, he s committed War Crimes by bombing the residential neighborhoods of Falluja. He s killed and wounded tons of…
The History of the Palestinian Political Prisoners Hunger Strike
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 4,2014 -Usually Palestinian political prisoners resort to hunger strike only after depleting all other struggle steps, and after the Israeli occupation authorities fail to respond to their demands through open dialogue between the struggle committee that represent detainees and…
Child labor is a ghost chasing Gaza children
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 – Omar sits at the roadside on a cardboard box, resting against his bag. His knees are pressed against his chest. He rolls himself up into a ball like a fetus, perhaps hoping and believing that he…
Pierre s Payday: Cashing In on a Sinister Agenda
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 – … Yet revelations of these machinations, of government/corporate crime or “excesses,” have made no difference — from the exposure of the deliberate falsification of the case for war against Iraq to the revelations of systematic torture in…
Death in Aleppo: A group of Afghan fighters located in Syria
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 – Are Afghans fighting in the war in Syria? There have been a few reports to that effect in the international news media over the past months, detailing recruitment efforts mainly by the Iranian government among Hazaras…
Netanyahu fails to derail Palestinian unity government
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 – In the end, it was quite easy. The new Palestinian unity government won international recognition and validation despite Israel s attempts to put a spoke in the wheel. Its failure to derail the unity government exposed…
Khalil Shaheen on Palestinian Reconciliation and the New Palestinian Authority Government
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 – The new PA government represents a limited cabinet reshuffle more than the formation of a new coalition government. It remains the government of President Mahmoud Abbas, administered on his behalf by an appointee with the degree…
Felicitation message by Mullah Omar regarding the release of Jihadi heads from Guantanamo
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 – I would like to congratulate from the core of my heart the whole Afghan nation, the devoted Mujahidin and the kith and kin of the prisoners on the auspicious occasion of this great achievement of the…
Who Are We? A Meditation A Question of Torture
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 – U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler s ruling in May to suspend the force-feeding of Abu Wa el Dhiab, a Guantanamo prisoner from Syria, was called “unprecedented” in the media. The ruling halted the prisoner s…
How the United States is Spreading Mass Incarceration around the World Empire of Prisons
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 -This article explains how the United States is exporting its model of mass incarceration and social and political control to at least 25 countries. This “prison imperialism” is rooted in the Program for the Improvement of the…
Facts and Fabrications: Responding to a Greenwald Smear
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 – …I think Tarzie s reply to The Intercept covers the matter well. As he points out, Greenwald has attacked anyone who questions Snowden s affirmation of the need for a powerful spy system, and has not,…
“For young refugees, Palestine has become a myth,” says director
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 – “Dear Hassan, it is my turn to write.”Axel Salvatori-Sinz, a French moviemaker, is back in Paris. He s writing to a friend from Yarmouk, a camp for Palestinian refugees in Damascus, after having spent several months…
Radio: Andy Worthington Talks to Scott Horton and Peter B. Collins About the Latest Manufactured Guantánamo Scandal
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7 , 2014 – That manufactured scandal, as I hope everyone reading this realizes, is the feigned outrage of lawmakers and media pundits regarding President Obama s decision to rescue a captured US soldier from Afghanistan by exchanging him for…
Being the daughter of the Resistance
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 -The people of the Resistance, the most honored [achraf el nas], or “the Shia of Ali” as Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah likes to call them, unleashed on Wednesday evening a barrage of celebratory gunfire following the announcement of…
The plight of Palestinian woman blinded by occupation forces
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 -Ayat Mahfouz, 22, is a Palestinian woman from the West Bank city of Hebron. She has lived with the fear of blindness since she was aged two. In the early 1990s, Israeli soldiers fired a gas canister…
Syria Protests June 6, 2014 : A Video Roundup
Uruknet 13 Jun 2014 –
Israeli forces crack down on Palestinian press
Uruknet 14 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 – Disturbing reports from Palestine: Israeli forces raid a Palestinian television studio in East Jerusalem and break up the airing of the “Good Morning Jerusalem” program because it is “inciting against” the Israeli occupation. They detain a…
No proper medical care for Gaza patients not at death s door
Uruknet 13 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 – Gaza s health care system is riddled with deficiencies and is unable to fully meet the needs of the population. Israel allows most patients with life-threatening conditions to receive treatment in the West Bank or inside…
Force-feeding within the wider spectrum of torture and complicity in Israeli jails
Uruknet 13 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 -In a typically aggressive response to Palestinian prisoners expressing resistance through hunger strikes against administrative detention, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to implement a bill that would allow the force-feeding of prisoners whose lives are…
Video: Palestinian villagers expel Israeli soldiers from West Bank home
Uruknet 13 Jun 2014 – June 7, 2014 – This video shows villagers in Silwad, east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, expelling a group of Israeli soldiers from a home they occupied. In the video, a group of community members – women and…
Syria Protests June 6, 2014 : A Video Roundup
Uruknet 13 Jun 2014 –
Syria News – June 6 , 2014 (Warning: Graphic Videos)
Uruknet 13 Jun 2014 – June 6 , 2014 – By the end of Friday, LCC has documented 45 martyrs inducing a woman, 4 children & 5 martyrs under torture. 19 martyrs have been reported in Aleppo, 14 in Damascus & its suburbs, 4 in Idlib,…
Iraq snapshot – June 6 , 2014
Uruknet 13 Jun 2014 – June 6, 2014 – …What a proud moment for War Criminal Nouri al-Maliki, chief thug and prime minister of Iraq. He continued his War Crimes today. National Iraqi News Agency reports Nouri continued bombing residential neighborhoods in Falluja and 3…
A Ravaged Screenplay The Story Behind “Zaytoun”
Uruknet 13 Jun 2014 – June 6, 2014 – If you ve been monitoring Israeli film over the past ten years or so, you will be aware that there is an ongoing effort to promote the reputation of the government through subterfuge. Since the days…
Iraq insurgent advance slows, U.S. sends carrier to Gulf
Daily Star 14 Jun 2014 U.S. Defense Secretary Hagel orders aircraft carrier moved into Gulf in case military options are required in Iraq, the Pentagon said in a statement.
More fighting in Iraq, int’l community mulls response
Daily Star 14 Jun 2014 PM says Iraq will overcome militants, bolstered by 1000s of volunteers, as the Army takes back two towns north of Baghdad and the US and Iran mull possible intervention scenarios.
Moderate Syria rebel officers quit over ‘lack of military aid’
Daily Star 14 Jun 2014 Nine top officers from the moderate Free Syrian Army resign over shortages and mismanagement of military aid from donor countries to their uprising against President Bashar Assad.
Syrian embassy celebrates Assad’s victory
Daily Star 14 Jun 2014 The Syrian Embassy in Lebanon organizes a ceremony celebrating the election of Bashar Assad as president for a third term.
Lebanese internet users to surpass 3 million in 2017
Daily Star 14 Jun 2014 The number of internet users in Lebanon is expected to reach 3.2 million in 2017, according to a study by a Dubai-based market research firm, a Byblos Bank’s report says.
Syrian army shells Bekaa border village
Daily Star 14 Jun 2014 Syrian army and Hezbollah bombard the Lebanese village Tfeil , due to battles raging in close proximity to the village, damaging an old mosque and residents’ houses.
Iraq forces find burned bodies of 12 police in recaptured town
Daily Star 14 Jun 2014 Iraqi security forces found the burned bodies of 12 policemen when they recaptured a town north of Baghdad from militants, a doctor says.
Israeli Cabinet mulls localized curfew in West Bank
YNet News, 14 Jun 2014 – ….
Israel must act with its head, not with its heart, in dealing with teens’ abduction
YNet News, 14 Jun 2014 – With solid intelligence-gathering and by following clear-cut guidelines, Israel could perhaps avoid a tragic outcome and minimize the threat of further kidnappings. ….
Iraqi airstrike kills seven Kurdish security forces in Diyala
YNet News, 14 Jun 2014 – ….
IAF strikes six Gaza targets in response to rocket fire; direct hits confirmed
YNet News, 14 Jun 2014 – ….
Israel closes Kerem Shalom, Erez Crossings into Gaza in wake of rocket fire
YNet News, 14 Jun 2014 – ….
Between Mosul and Jerusalem
YNet News, 14 Jun 2014 – Op-ed: Same hallucinating Americans who built failed Iraqi army drafted a security plan for Judea and Samaria as well. ….
Dozens protests south of Hebron: ‘Why don’t Palestinians pay a price’
YNet News, 14 Jun 2014 – ….
Palestinian Information Center
New Israeli plan to build 182 housing units in Pisgat Ze’ev settlement
PIC – The Israel land authority has announced recently tenders for the building of 182 housing units in Pisgat Ze’ev settlement, east Jerusalem, the Hebrew newspaper Kol Ha’ir said.
Itbeish on 107th day of hunger strike, PLC warns of deaths among strikers
PIC – Administrative detainee Ayman Itbeish continued his hunger strike for the 107th day and his health condition continued to deteriorate on Saturday.
Palestinian father goes on hunger strike in Hungary for reunion with his kids
PIC – Rakan Hussein, a Palestinian refugee from Syria, started an open-ended hunger strike in Budapest in protest at the refusal of the Hungarian authorities to let him be reunited with his five children.
Administrative detainees fighting their hunger battle for 52nd day running
PIC – Palestinian administrative detainees have entered the 52nd day of their open-ended hunger strike to pressure their jailers to end their illegal detention without indictment or trial.
Large-scale Israeli arrest campaign in al-Khalil
PIC – Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) carried out on Friday night and Saturday morning a large-scale arrest campaign in al-Khalil that ended with the arrest of 20 Palestinians.
Israeli soldiers raid homes of human rights activist & lecturer
PIC – The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) stormed the home of head of Palestine Center for Prisoners Studies Osama Shahin, 30, in al-Khalil on Friday.
Two Palestinian brothers killed under torture in Syrian jail
PIC – Two Palestinian refugee brothers on Friday were proclaimed dead as a result of their exposure to months of excruciating torture in a Syrian jail.
Large Israeli raid and search operation in al-Khalil
PIC – Israeli Occupation Forces raided at dawn Saturday different parts of al-Khalil city under air reconnaissance and helicopters cover, as part of the search operation for the three missing settlers.
Contact between Abbas and Netanyahu over missing settlers
PIC – A telephone conversation has been made on Friday between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas, AFP revealed. No further details were mentioned.
Hassassian Categorically Denies Calling Palestinian Leadership to Recognize Israel as Jewish State
WAFA – 14 Jun 2014
Israeli Authorities Prohibit Hebronites under 50 Years from Crossing al-Karamah Border Crossing
WAFA – 14 Jun 2014
Newspaper Review: Israeli Forces’ Search Campaign for 3 Missing Settlers Focus of Dailies
WAFA – 14 Jun 2014
UK Consul General Reiterates UK’s Support to Gaza
WAFA – 13 Jun 2014
EU Calls for Respect of Detainees Rights
WAFA – 13 Jun 2014
Rift Bared as Palestinians Aid Israel in Search for Teenagers Missing in West Bank
New York Times 14 Jun 2014 – The crisis underscored the complexity of Israel’s relations with the Palestinian Authority and the authority’s deep differences with Hamas despite a recent reconciliation pact.
Officials Fear Moner Mohammad Abusalha’s Jihad Video Will Inspire Others
New York Times 14 Jun 2014 – After a young Florida man killed dozens in a suicide attack in Syria, American officials are concerned that others will join extremists there and in Iraq.
Beleaguered Iraqis Court Iranian Mastermind of the Shiites Who Fought the U.S.
New York Times 14 Jun 2014 – Iraq may see the possibility of significant aid from Iran as a means of pressuring the United States to come to Iraq’s defense with aid of its own.
Iraq Rebels Stall North of Baghdad as Residents Brace for a Siege
New York Times 14 Jun 2014 – An insurgent juggernaut that captured Iraq’s second-largest city and raced nearly 200 miles south in three days stalled on Saturday, leaving residents in Baghdad bracing for a siege that so far has not happened.
Reprisal Killings Reported in Iraq’s Militant-Held Areas
New York Times 13 Jun 2014 – Sunni militants in Iraq are rounding up former government workers, allowing some to repent and live while executing others, residents and a United Nations official said.
Seeing Their Gains at Risk, Shiites Flock to Join Militias
New York Times 13 Jun 2014 – Skills honed on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad will be used for militia groups battling the Sunnis who are driving toward Baghdad.
Veterans Watch as Gains Their Friends Died for Are Erased by Insurgents
New York Times 13 Jun 2014 – Hundreds of Americans lost their lives battling for control of parts of Iraq that are falling to militants with breathtaking speed.
Israeli Teenagers Said to Be Kidnapped in West Bank
New York Times 13 Jun 2014 – Initial reports said the three teenagers, one with American citizenship, were last heard from on Thursday on their way to a hitchhiking area south of Jerusalem.
In Baghdad, Where ‘Hello’ Means Goodbye, Hellos Abound at Travel Agencies
New York Times 13 Jun 2014 – Travel agencies, normally closed on Fridays, were open and busy, and even with extra flights there was often not a seat to be had.
Wisconsin Jewish leaders open the door to– shhh — anti-Zionists
Mondoweiss – Brant Rosen, right, with Daoud Nasser at the Tent of Nations, at Rosen’s blog In March, Max Blumenthal and Rabbi Brant Rosen spoke at Marquette University during Israel Apartheid Week on the subject “Living Under Apartheid.” To its credit, the Wisconsin Jewish establishment noticed that the…
‘Netanyahu won’t act without a cane to his ass’ — Erekat says, urging ICC on Abbas
Mondoweiss – Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. (Photo: AFP) In a leaked recording released this week, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat slammed Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas over his handling of negotiations with Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his failure to go to the International Criminal Court….
The world was right about Iraq– though Israel got its ‘Clean Break’
Mondoweiss – Iraq War protest in London, from the Guardian In most circumstances, “We told you so” is a classless statement. But in this case , it’s justified. In 2003, in the largest global protest in human history, millions of us marched in the world’s streets, loudly proclaiming that…
Under int’l pressure, Israel delays settlement plans
Mondoweiss – Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Restriction of movement Five big EU countries press Israel to delay settlement plans Haaretz 12 June by Barak Ravid — Following pressure by Western European diplomats, the Civil Administration decided on Wednesday to delay the recently announced plans to…
Think back to 2003. . . the year the U.S. didn’t invade Iraq
Mondoweiss – David Petraeus in 2007, from Wikipedia [Here is an alternative history of Iraq that we posted 4 years ago , revised in light of recent events.] Historians would later record how Secretary of State Colin Powell prevailed in a key Cabinet meeting in early 2003, when he…
Palestinians Militants Kidnap Three Israeli Teenagers
Tikun Olam – Three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped by presumed Palestinian militants near Hebron yesterday, while on a hike through the West Bank. The three, one of whom is a dual U.S. citizen, were students at a West Bank yeshiva. They planned to hike through the West Bank together,…
Israeli teens ‘held by terror group’
BBC 14 Jun 2014 – Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu says a “terror group” has abducted three Israeli teenagers missing since Thursday.
Israel Steps Up Desperate Hunt for 3 Kidnapped West Bank Teens
The Forward New 14 Jun 2014 – The names of three teens kidnapped on the West Bank are revealed. As Israel pours troops into an increasingly desperate search, officials insist they think the youths are still alive. Click here for the rest of the article…
Half a Million Palestinians Holding Their Collective Breath
Palestine Solidarity Project 14 Jun 2014 – Early yesterday, June 13, Israeli and Palestinian news media began reporting that 3 young settler youth were ‘kidnapped’ from the Gush Etzion settlement bloc while hitchhiking overnight. Further reports suggested that the youth were taken from Allon Shavut, a religious settlement inside the Etzion bloc, which…
Al Arakib Demolished By Israeli Military for 70th Time
Palestine Solidarity Project 14 Jun 2014 – From Maan News Photos from ActiveStills BEERSHEBA (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Thursday demolished the Bedouin village of al-Araqib for the 70th time, witnesses told Ma’an. Hundreds of Israeli police officers and special forces deployed in the area at dawn and closed all roads leading to…
Nigeria: Okoku Backs Super Eagles Against Iran
allAfrica.com 14 Jun 2014 – [This Day]Ahead of Nigeria’s kick off of the World Cup against Iran, former Nigerian international, Paul Okuku is optimistic the coach Stephen Keshi led team will dismiss the confrontation of the Iranians and go on to do well in the tournament. He however warned that the…
Is Torched Car Clue in Suspected Kidnap of 3 Jewish Teens on West Bank?
The Foward Breaking News 13 Jun 2014 – Israeli forces are searching for three Jewish teenagers who went missing in the occupied West Bank late Thursday, the military said on Friday, amid reports the trio might have been kidnapped by Palestinian militants. Click here for the rest of the article…
US deploys warship amid Iraq crisis
BBC 14 Jun 2014 – A US aircraft carrier is to take up position in the Gulf to provide President Obama with military options if the situation in Iraq deteriorates.
VIDEO: Iraq mounts insurgent fight back
BBC 14 Jun 2014 – The Iraqi army, along Kurdish and Shia militias, are resisting the Sunni insurgents who have seized several cities and are closing in on Baghdad.
Nine Syrian rebel officers resign over “lack of aid”
Al-Akhbar News 14 Jun 2014 – Rebel fighters watch on television the opening World Cup 2014 football match between Brazil and Croatia on June 12, 2014 in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. (Photo: AFP / AMC – Zein al-Rifai) Rebel fighters watch on television the opening World Cup 2014 football match between…
Lebanese army cracks down on al-Nusra Front in Ersal
Al-Akhbar News 14 Jun 2014 – Lebanese army soldiers stationed outside a neighborhood in Beirut after capturing a wanted jihadist earlier this year. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) Lebanese army soldiers stationed outside a neighborhood in Beirut after capturing a wanted jihadist earlier this year. (Photo: Marwan Tahtah) The Lebanese army intensified its security…
Iraq: Understanding the coup in Mosul and its consequences
Al-Akhbar Opinion 14 Jun 2014 – Iraqi men take part in a demonstration to show their support for the call to arms by Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in the city of Najaf on June 13, 2014. (Photo: AFP – Haider Hamdani) Iraqi men take part in a demonstration to show…
Syria blast at weapons market near Iraq border kills 30: state TV
Al-Akhbar News 14 Jun 2014 – A bomb attack targeting a weapons bazaar in eastern Syria close to the Iraqi border killed 30 “terrorists” on Saturday, state television reported. “A big explosion hits a terrorist arms market in Mayadeen, killing 30 terrorists and wounding dozens of others,” the television reported. A rebel…
Baghdad bolsters defenses in fight against jihadists
Al-Akhbar News 14 Jun 2014 – Iraqi men who volunteered to join the fight against a major attack by the jihadists in northern Iraq stand on army trucks heading towards the Iraqi town of Taji, on the outskirts of Baghdad, on June 13, 2014, as security forces are bolstering defenses in the…
Rouhani: Iran may work with US to fight ISIS
Al-Akhbar News 14 Jun 2014 – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses a Turkish-Iranian business forum in Ankara on June 10, 2014. (Photo: ADP – Adem Altan) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses a Turkish-Iranian business forum in Ankara on June 10, 2014. (Photo: ADP – Adem Altan) Iran could entertain the possibility of…
Factors behind the precipitate collapse of Iraq’s army
BBC 13 Jun 2014 – Factors behind implosion of Iraq’s army
Syria: Will “accidental” detainees be covered by the general amnesty?
Al-Akhbar Politics 13 Jun 2014 – Men are freed from the central jail in the Syrian city of Homs on June 13, 2014 after Syria begun releasing prisoners under the new Syrian amnesty. (Photo: AFP) Men are freed from the central jail in the Syrian city of Homs on June 13, 2014…
Michel Suleiman “secretly” naturalized 644 individuals as Lebanese citizens
Al-Akhbar Politics 13 Jun 2014 – Michel Suleiman at a cabinet meeting on May 23, 2014. (Photo: Haitham Moussawi) Michel Suleiman at a cabinet meeting on May 23, 2014. (Photo: Haitham Moussawi) Before the end of his presidential term, former Lebanese President Michel Suleiman’s team prepared a decree granting Lebanese citizenship to…
Articles
European boycott of Israel and its impact on the Palestinian cause
Dr Hana Eesa, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 6/12/2014
The signs of the boycott are widespread, with Denmark’s largest bank, Denska, announcing that it is boycotting Israel’s Bank Hapoalim because of its activities in the Palestinian territories.
Israel is now living with the fear that the European boycott of products from settlements built on Palestinian land occupied in 1967 will expand to include products from settlements within Israel’s borders.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is continuing his efforts to stop such isolation and possible sanctions in an effort to favour the European Union and try to harmonise his position with the EU’s. He also hopes to exploit promises from the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, not to impose a boycott on Tel Aviv, which joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in order to allow the Israeli economy to enter new international markets.
Analysts and researchers have confirmed that all political groups in Israel are challenging any boycott of the state and are calling for distinction between settlement exports and Israeli products. They are also sceptical of the statements made by Schulz and believe them unlikely to have an impact on European public opinion. However, opinions vary with regards to the official EU position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Director of the Peace Now movement, Yariv Oppenheimer, has stressed that there is a consensus amongst the various factions within Israeli society regarding their opposition to any European or international boycott of the State of Israel. However, he pointed out the need to distinguish between international isolation of Israel and the boycott of the settlement economy and refusing to grant it tax exemption or invest in Israeli projects on Palestinian land occupied in 1967. more.. e-mail
The Palestinian National Reconciliation: Regional and International Implications
Fadi Elhusseini, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 6/13/2014
Palestinian success in burying a seven-year division has surpassed its domestic effects and has, without a doubt, regional and international implications. With the Palestinian unity government, the relationships between the Palestinians and Israelis on one side and the Palestinians, their Arab neighbors and the international community on the other side will experience a dramatic change that may chart a new course of events and developments.
In general, the Palestinian streets have welcomed the reconciliation, but voices have varied between optimistic and pessimistic; confident and skeptical; and between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. The Palestinians realized that the division was a painful chapter in the history of their cause and was considered a very harmful element that distorted the credibility of their historical struggle in the eyes of many supporters.
Israel wanted, facilitated and supported the division, and has pushed throughout the past seven years to bolster the separation between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, either politically or geographically. The acceptance of Hamas rule in Gaza is just a case in point.
Israel’s response was not surprising, and the announcement of the construction of 3,000 settlement units did not exceed expectations. More so, talk of an annexation of some parts of the West Bank (“Area C”) to Israel is really outdated and outlandish, as everyone on this planet is well aware that the time of annexation policies has passed and will never happen again.
Some politicians in Israel bet on the continuation of the Palestinian division, and found in it a convincing way out when approaching an “unacceptable” settlement of the conflict with the moderate Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, claiming that Gaza Strip was under the control of Hamas at times and saying that Abbas would be unable to implement any potential agreement on all the Palestinian territories at other times. more.. e-mail
In Lebanon wars, the rules have changed for Israel
Asa Winstanley, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 6/14/2014
During the last Israeli war against Lebanon in 2006, the Lebanese resistance forces
, led by Hezbollah, mostly stayed north of the border. Aside from a brief border skirmish that resulted in the capture of several Israeli occupation soldiers, the resistance largely fought a defensive campaign.
To defend against the massive Israeli bombardment campaign, which deliberately targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure, Hezbollah’s well organized, trained and armed forces took to a hidden network of bunkers and tunnels that kept their fighters and artillery safe from the enemy.
Although Hezbollah’s retaliatory rockets fire rained down on Israeli economic and military targets in the north of occupied Palestine (also known as Israel), resistance ground forces did not enter the country, preferring to play to their strengths and fight a defensive campaign on home turf.
The strategy worked, and Israeli ground forces did not get very far into the country, meeting stiff resistance at every turn. Israel’s massive and indiscriminate aerial bombardment left over 1,000 Lebanese civilians dead.
But the next time Israel decides to inflict war on Lebanon, it will not be able to count on resistance ground forces staying north of the border, as they did during the 2006 ground war. The calculus has fundamentally changed.
In the spring of 2013, Hezbollah entered the civil war in Syria, in support of Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian government. This has given their fighters vital ground-war combat experience.
Syria has been an important supporter of the Lebanese resistance forces. As well as supplying arms to the resistance, Syrian territory is used to transit important supplies of Iranian weapons into Lebanon…. more.. e-mail
Degrees of separation: Jordan’s contiguous border with Israel
Nikita Malik, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 6/13/2014
Palestinians who utilise the border crossings between Israel and Jordan are subject regularly to systematic discrimination. It is surprising, therefore, that Jordan continues to consent to Israel manning shared borders, particularly those of the Jordan Valley and the West Bank. After all, Jordan is a country where roughly 50 per cent of the population is Palestinian, a number that is far greater when it includes Jordanians of Palestinian descent.
Two issues dominate Jordan’s relationship with Israel. The first, of course, is daily security. Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel in 1994 created a strong foundation for shared military exercises, intelligence and border regulation, knowledge Jordan desperately requires as the spillover effect from Syria’s civil war continues. The second, a far more complex issue, is the fate of the West Bank. For Israel, Jordan’s independence under King Abdullah II is seen as a strategic advantage that can be used to weaken the threat of Palestinian infiltration or sabotage. Similarly, an Israeli presence quells fears in Jordan over what the demographic implications of a Palestinian security presence on its own borders would be.
The Black September Complex
In 1988, King Hussein famously declared, “Jordan is not Palestine”, adding that an independent Palestinian state would one day be established on occupied Palestinian land. Memories of the 1970 Black September civil war between the Jordanian government and Palestinian refugee militias still weigh heavily on many Jordanians’ minds. Without a shared border with Israel, the risk of penetration from Fatah or Hamas is likely to upset Jordan’s delicate political balance.
Following the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who arrived in Jordan in previous decades, the prospect of another wave from a future Palestinian state is a daunting one for many Jordanians, especially the indigenous East Bank tribes…. more.. e-mail
The Presidency of Egypt’s Sisi: A Second Coming or a New Order?
Dissident Voice: 14 Jun 2014 – Amidst considerable local and international skepticism, the politically volatile Egypt has finally concluded it’s period of social, political, and economic instability in pursuit of the Egyptian symbol of the status quo: the military’s Abdel Fatah El-Sisi. El-Sisi’s victory in the recent May elections by an overwhelming 97% margin marked the rise of concerns across the spectrum warning of the return of the Mubarak garrison-state regime and the eradication of the “bread, social justice, and humanitarian dignity” method of government dominating the chants of the 2011-2014 revolutionaries. Indeed, many of those skeptical views allege that influential actors within the Mubarak regime backed General El-Sisi as a replacement card for the President should the powerful incumbent dare to pass on authority to a regime-outsider: Mubarak’s youngest son Gamal. In this sense, Mubarak’s regime persists despite its figurehead’s absence. Through publicly
accentuating the Brotherhood’s political failure, the perpetuators of the Mubarak regime return…more
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The New Dark Age 