16 September 2014 — VTJP
News
International Middle East Media Center
UN Brokers Privatized Gaza Reconstruction Deal
IMEMC – The United Nations has brokered a deal on imports of construction materials into the Gaza Strip “to ensure they will not be diverted by Hamas”, Mr. Robert Serry, UN envoy for the Middle East, said Tuesday. …
Israeli Settlers Attacked Internationals and a Palestinian Shepherd
IMEMC – On September 14th, two Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian shepherd and two international near the Israeli outpost of Mitzpe Yair, in the South Hebron Hills area. During the aggression, the settlers stole video cameras from the internationals and broke one of their phones. …
26 Post-ceasefire Violations Documented by Canadian-based Think Tank
IMEMC – On 26 August a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was agreed, bringing a fragile end to a war which killed some 2150 Palestinians (mostly civilians) and 73 Israelis (mostly soldiers), Al Ray reports via Global Research. …
PCHR Finds Torture Evidence Among Prisoners Taken During Gaza Assault
IMEMC – Lawyers from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights have visited prisoners detained during the Israeli assault on Gaza and confirmed evidence of torture, according to the PNN. …
13 Children Kidnapped In Jerusalem; 10 Palestinians In West Bank
IMEMC – Approximately 600 Palestinians kidnapped in Jerusalem in two months Israeli soldiers invaded dozens of communities in the occupied West Bank, and in occupied East Jerusalem, and kidnapped 22 Palestinians, including ten children. …
Thousands of Palestinians to be Forcibly Moved for Settlement Expansion
IMEMC – Israel is planning to forcibly transfer thousands of Palestinian Bedouins from their West Bank communities into a designated township to free up land for settlement expansion. Local and international groups are urging world leaders to pressure Israel to stop this violation of Palestinian rights. …
Survivors of Ship Disaster Arrive in Malta
IMEMC – Three Palestinian survivors of ship which sunk near Malta arrived have safely in the country after Panamanian trade ships came to their rescue. …
Samer al-Issawi in “Deteriorating Condition”
IMEMC – Palestinian detainee and iconic former hunger striker Samer al-Issawi is in deteriorating condition, his family said following a visit with him. …
Israel Installs New Surveillance Room On Main Entrance Of Ibrahimi Mosque
IMEMC – The Israeli army installed, on Monday, a new surveillance room at the main entrance of the Ibrahimi Mosque, in the center of the southern West Bank city of Hebron. …
Netanyahu Calls for Increase in Military Budget
IMEMC – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the “security threats” surrounding Israel will require authorities to raise the military’s budget by billions of New Israeli Shekels, while pressing the necessity of avoiding a financial deficit in the public budget. …
PCHR: Gaza detainees underwent ‘torture’ in Israeli custody
9/16/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Center for Human rights said Tuesday that its lawyers confirmed that at least four Palestinians who were arrested during Israel’s assault on Gaza were subjected to “torture” during their detention period. PCHR lawyers visited four detainees in Ashkelon prison, and said they had undergone beatings or had been shackled between two chairs for long hours in a….
Israeli police arrest 22 Palestinians in East Jerusalem
9/16/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained 22 Palestinians in East Jerusalem Tuesday, accusing them of throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails, a local committee and a police spokeswoman said. The head of a committee for prisoners’ families told Ma’an that Israeli police arrested Mahdi Muhammad Abu al-Hawa, Muhammad Rabayaa, Ahmad Shweiki, and Tareq Aziz Abu Khdeir. Amjad Abu Asab added that Israeli….
Envoy: Israel, Palestinians, UN reach deal on Gaza reconstruction
9/16/2014 – UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The United Nations has brokered an Israeli-Palestinian deal on imports of construction materials to Gaza to ensure they will not be diverted by Hamas militants, a UN envoy said Tuesday. The agreement on monitoring the supply of materials “must get up and running without delay,” said Robert Serry, the UN envoy for the Middle East…. Related: UN brokers Gaza reconstruction deal
8 Palestinians survive migrant shipwreck, dozens feared dead
9/16/2014 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The director of the Euro-Mid Observer For Human Rights said Tuesday that eight Palestinian migrants from Gaza survived a devastating ship-wreck near Malta on Sunday, with dozens feared dead.”We have search teams in Malta, Italy, and Greece trying to get information on those Palestinians,” Rami Abdo told Ma’an. According to survivors of the shipwreck, the Syrian, Palestinian….
Foreign Affairs Ministry condemns displacement of Bedouins
9/16/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned on Tuesday Israeli plans to “empty” areas in the occupied West Bank of Bedouin communities. The ministry said in a statement that these plans aim to expand settlements and displace Bedouin communities from the eastern area of Jerusalem with a “loud violation” of international law and the Geneva conventions. Israeli forces have destroyed more….
Israel orders family to evacuate home near Aqsa mosque
9/16/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — An Israeli magistrate court in Jerusalem has ordered a Palestinian family to evacuate a small rented house adjacent to the al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City which the family has been living in for 25 years. The al-Bakri family was ordered to evacuate the house before Sept. 4, 2014. Sadiyya al-Bakri told Ma’an Tuesday that her family of 18….
Palestinian MP says exile period has ended
9/16/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Palestinian MP Khalida Jarrar said Tuesday that an Israeli deportation order forcing her to leave Ramallah has come to an end. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine official told reporters that a high-ranking Israeli military official told her that the deportation order had been reduced from six months to one month. On Aug. 20, Israeli forces raided her house…. Related: Israeli courts extend detention of 89 prisoners
Israeli forces detain child from Jerusalem
9/16/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Tuesday evening detained a Palestinian child from near his home in the Ein al-Lawza neighborhood in Jerusalem’s Silwan. The local Wadi Hilwa Information Center’s Majdi Abbasi said police detained Mutaz Yusef Abu Diab, 12, and took him in a police car to the “Beit Jonathan” building. He was later moved to Wadi al-Rababa and….
Palestinian killed in Israel after trying to escape police
9/16/2014 – QALQILIYA (Ma’an) — A Palestinian man from Qalqiliya was killed overnight Monday after attempting to flee from police in the Israeli city of Herziliya, Israeli police said. Fadi Sweirki, 25, originally from Gaza but living in Qalqiliya, was killed after trying to avoid a police checkpoint and crashing into another driver. Israeli police said they received reports of a stolen Mercedes and set up….
Army: Mortar fired at Israel from Gaza for first time since truce
9/16/2014 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Palestinians fired a mortar round into southern Israel Tuesday in the first attack since an Aug. 26 ceasefire, without causing any casualties, the Israeli army said.”For the first time since operation Protective Edge, a mortar shell fired from Gaza hit southern Israel,” Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said on Twitter, referring to the military offensive in Gaza.”No damage or injuries reported,” he….
UN troops withdraw from Syrian Golan
9/16/2014 – GOLAN HEIGHTS (AFP) — Hundreds of UN troops withdrew from the Syrian to the Israeli-occupied sector of the Golan on Monday, an AFP correspondent said, two weeks after al-Qaeda-linked rebels kidnapped dozens of peacekeepers. They crossed in a UN convoy in the afternoon into the Israeli-occupied sector, the correspondent said. The peacekeepers in the Golan Heights withdrew to the Israeli side after Syrian fighters advanced near….
UN brokers Gaza reconstruction deal
9/16/2014 – UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The United Nations has brokered an Israeli-Palestinian deal on imports of construction materials to Gaza to ensure they will not be diverted by Hamas, an envoy said Tuesday. The agreement on monitoring the supply of materials “must get up and running without delay,” said Robert Serry, the UN envoy for the Middle East. The deal, announced by Serry at a UN Security…. Related: Envoy: Israel, Palestinians, UN reach deal on Gaza reconstruction
Poll: Only 10 percent of Gazans would vote for Abbas
9/16/2014 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Only 10 percent of Palestinians in Gaza would vote for current president Mahmoud Abbas if elections were held now, according the results of a recent poll released Tuesday. Some 29. 8 percent would vote for senior Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh, who headed the former government in the Strip, the poll, conducted by the Gaza-based House of Wisdom Institute, showed. Twenty-eight percent….
3 women detained in Jerusalem
9/16/2014 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli police on Tuesday afternoon detained three women as they left the al-Aqsa mosque, witnesses said. Witnessess said Israeli police were deployed at the Lion’s Gate of the old city, where they waited for the women and detained them as they exited. One of them was identified as Ikhlas Ruoud; the other two were not identified. [END]
Palestine joins European Energy Charter
9/16/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Ambassador of Palestine to the European Union, Belgium and Luxemburg Layla Shahid on Monday signed the European Energy Charter on behalf of the State of Palestine. She was also representing its energy and natural resource authority, according to a statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Signed at the Hague in December 1991, the European Energy Charter is a framework….
Ministry issues licenses for 9 West Bank factories
9/17/2014 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Ministry of National Economy said Tuesday that it issued nine new factory licenses in August. The ministry’s director, Manal Farhan, said the majority of the factories would produce food, beverages, and chemical products. Over $12 million will be invested in the projects, which are expected to create some 440 jobs. [END]
US bombs IS near Baghdad for first time
9/16/2014 – PARIS (AFP) — US warplanes carried out their first airstrike on the Islamic State near Baghdad, as world diplomats pledged to support Iraq in its fight against the militants. The United States early last month began air strikes against IS positions in northern Iraq, but Monday’s announcement that the campaign had targeted the militants near the Iraqi capital marks an escalation in the scope….
6 Egyptian policemen killed in roadside bomb attack
9/16/2014 – CAIRO (Ma’an) — Six Egyptian police officers were killed and two others were injured early Tuesday when a roadside bomb exploded as a police vehicle drove near Rafah in the northern Sinai Peninsula, Egyptian military sources told Ma’an. The vehicle was patrolling the highway in the Sedot neighborhood between Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid when it was hit, the sources said. They said….
General: US could send advisers into combat in Iraq
9/16/2014 – WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US military’s top officer on Tuesday raised the possibility that American troops serving as advisers to Iraqi forces eventually could be sent on combat missions against Islamic State extremists if it became necessary.”To be clear, if we reach the point where I believe our advisers should accompany Iraqi troops on attacks against specific ISIL targets, I will recommend that….
Hagel: US airstrikes to target jihadist ‘safe havens’ in Syria
9/16/2014 – WASHINGTON (AFP) — Planned US air strikes against Islamic State jihadists in Syria will target extremist sanctuaries, command centers and logistic networks, Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel told lawmakers Tuesday.” This plan includes targeted actions against ISIL safe havens in Syria — including its command and control, logistics capabilities, and infrastructure,” Hagel told the Senate Armed Services Committee. [END]
Israel claims mortar fired from Gaza
AlJazeera 16 Sep 2014 – Hamas questions whether the attack has in fact taken place and re-iterates its commitment to the truce.
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
PCHR Follows up Detention Conditions of Palestinians Arrested by Israeli Forces in Latest Offensive on the Gaza Strip
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
International Solidarity Movement
Israeli settlers attacked internationals and a Palestinian shepherd
9/15/2014 – International Solidarity Movement – Operation Dove, At Tuwani – On September 14th, two Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian shepherd and two international near the Israeli outpost of Mitzpe Yair, in the South Hebron Hills area. During the aggression, the settlers stole video cameras from the internationals and broke one of their phones. Israeli police detained the Palestinian shepherd and one of the internationals for six hours. There were no consequences for….
Syrian Arab Republic: Human Rights Council holds interactive dialogue with Commission of Inquiry on Syria
Relief Web 16 Sep 2014 – Source: UN Human Rights Council Country: Syrian Arab Republic MORNING/MIDDAY 16 September 2014 Concludes General Debate on Thematic Reports and on the Promotion and Protection of All Human Rights The Human Rights Council today held an interactive dialogue with the…
occupied Palestinian territory: UNOSAT joins damage assessment on the ground in Gaza to support UNDP
Relief Web 16 Sep 2014 – Source: UNOSAT Country: Denmark, occupied Palestinian territory 6 September 2014, Jeusalem – After weeks of rapid humanitarian mapping all along the latest offensive in Gaza, UNOSAT deployed a field staff to Jerusalem and Gaza on 01 September to provide support…
World: UNHCR alarmed at death toll from boat sinkings in the Mediterranean
Relief Web 16 Sep 2014 – Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Country: Egypt, Greece, Italy, Libya, Malta, occupied Palestinian territory, World GENEVA, September 16 (UNHCR) – The UN refugee agency is alarmed at the death toll from boat sinkings in the Mediterranean in recent days,…
World: Agricultural drought challenges Arab world
Relief Web 16 Sep 2014 – Source: UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction Country: Djibouti, occupied Palestinian territory, World By Denis McClean SHARM EL SHEIKH, 16 September 2014 – Agricultural drought and climate change are changing the landscape of the Arab region with enormous implications for…
World: Global emergency overview Snapshot 10–16 September
Relief Web 16 Sep 2014 – Source: Assessment Capacities Project Country: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia,…
Greece: IOM Investigates Reports of Deliberate Drowning of 500 Migrants in Mediterranean
Relief Web 16 Sep 2014 – Source: International Organization for Migration Country: Egypt, Greece, Malta, occupied Palestinian territory, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic Switzerland – Investigators from the International Organization for Migration have obtained eyewitness testimony of a tragic incident in which as many as 500 migrants…
US to target ISIL havens in Syria and may send advisers into combat
The National 16 Sep 2014 – US president Barack Obama assures that the escalation of the campaign is not the start of another ground war in the Middle East, and that there will be no large-scale American invasion.
Rebels on Syria’s southern front ‘closer to the doorstep of Damascus’
The National 16 Sep 2014 – A quiet increase in support has allowed rebels in southern Syria to make gains against the Al Assad regime, writes Suha Maayeh and Phil Sands.
Scottish independence: 12 issues still to be addressed
The National 16 Sep 2014 – As Thursday’s historic referendum looms, Scotland continues to grapple with questions on what a split from the United Kingdom would mean. The National takes a look at the 12 key issued about Scotland’s future that need to be addressed.
UN brokers deal on Gaza reconstruction
The National 16 Sep 2014 – The agreement on monitoring the supply of materials “must get up and running without delay,” said Robert Serry, the UN envoy for the Middle East.
High hopes as China’s Xi meets India’s Modi
The National 16 Sep 2014 – During Mr Xi’s trip, the two countries are expected to sign deals that will allow China to invest in India’s outdated, struggling railway infrastructure.
Egypt bomb kills six policemen
The National 16 Sep 2014 – The interior ministry said the device was hidden deep under the asphalt of a motorway in an area called Wadi Halfa in the restive Sinai Peninsula, which the explosives detection team was travelling through early in the morning.
Palestinian bagpipers back Scottish independence
The National 16 Sep 2014 – Palestinian scouts in Beit Jala say the bagpipes’ Scottish heritage translates perfectly to the Palestinian struggle for their own independence.
Suicide bomb in Afghanistan kills three Nato troops
The National 16 Sep 2014 – At least 13 civilians were wounded and 17 cars damaged by the suicide car bomb that shook buildings and sent a plume of smoke high above the city, said Kabul police.
ISIL downs Syria warplane: monitor
The National 16 Sep 2014 – A photograph posted on a militant Twitter account purported to show the burnt-out wreckage of the plane.
Thai police question Myanmar men over grisly British tourist murders
The National 16 Sep 2014 – David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were found naked and beaten to death on Monday near a beachside bungalow on the island, a diving hot-spot near Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand.
Video: Kurdish Peshmerga forces advance on ISIL
The National 16 Sep 2014 – Foreign ministers from 30 countries meet in Paris to agree a plan to tackle IS, as Peshmerga forces push ahead in the Zumar region.
Video: Syrian army blows up bridge used by ISIL militants
The National 16 Sep 2014 – Syria’s army has destroyed a bridge used by IS militants as a supply route for moving weapons into eastern Syria.
Video: PM Cameron warns a Scotland divorce would be ‘forever’
The National 16 Sep 2014 – With a Scottish referendum set for September 18, British Prime Minister David Cameron is fighting to keep the 307 year-old union strong.
Video: Hurricane Odile batters Mexico’s Baja California peninsula
The National 16 Sep 2014 – Hurricane Odile whipped through the beach resorts of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, causing damage to the area with uprooted trees and downed power lines.
Video: Large blast kills at least one in Afghan capital as smoke rises above city
The National 16 Sep 2014 – A huge explosion in Afghanistan’s capital early on Tuesday kills at least four NATO troops.
Exiled Brotherhood leaders would be welcome in Turkey: Erdogan
The National 16 Sep 2014 – ‘If they make any request to come to Turkey, we will review their request,’ Mr Erdogan said after visiting Qatar.
Thai woman jumps into crocodile pond in apparent suicide
The National 16 Sep 2014 – Police say the woman jumped from a resting point on the walkway into the middle of pond which contains hundreds of adult crocodiles.
US airstrikes hit ISIL near Baghdad
The National 16 Sep 2014 – The strike southwest of Baghdad was against militants attacking Iraqi troops and represents the newly broadened mission authorised by President Barack Obama.
Video: Kerry says some nations offer ground troops to fight ISIL
The National 15 Sep 2014 – US secretary of state John Kerry says countries inside and outside the Middle East have pledged military support against ISIL militants with some nations offering ground troops.
Video: David Haines’ brother remembers the slain British hostage
The National 15 Sep 2014 – The brother and former humanitarian aid co-worker mourn the death of David Haines, the British hostage who was murdered by ISIL militants.
U.S. general says can’t rule out ‘boots on the ground’ in Iraq
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Adam Greenberg, former MLB player, inducted into National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Penn Jewish group ends controversial student stipend program
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
5,000-year-old moon-shaped stone structure identified in northern Israel
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
American Jewish soldier killed in WWII laid to rest, 70 years later
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Gaza mortar shell lands in Israel for first time since cease-fire
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Islamic State in Syria goes underground after Obama authorizes air strikes
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Neo-Nazi Greek party member convicted for threatening to throw migrants into oven
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Former IDF chief rabbi suspected of leaking secret Gaza war info to Bennett
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Israeli Youtube stars no longer mime the Pixies, they direct the band’s video
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
War left four million tons of rubble in Gaza, says environmental group
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Israel and Palestinians reach Gaza reconstruction deal under UN supervision
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
French society ‘indifferent’ to anti-Semitism, new chief rabbi claims
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Ukraine draws closer to EU, grants autonomy to rebel-held parts in east
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Defense Minister Ya’alon: Gaza fighting won’t resume at month’s end
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Switzerland may grant Snowden asylum if he cooperates with potential criminal inquiry
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
AG urged to investigate nature of Lieberman’s secret Vienna visit
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Revealing pics of female IDF soldiers cause uproar
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
IDF’s Hezbollah warning may not be spin maneuver
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Israel halts drone sale to Ukraine to avoid irking Russia, report says
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Scots juggle optimism, bitterness in campaign for independence
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Obama to announce ramped-up efforts to beat Ebola
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Former minister questioned by police on suspicion of bribery
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Don’t confuse America with the Promised Land
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Clock ticking on High Court ruling over Israel’s asylum law
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Don’t trash the home front: IDF yet to clean up after Gaza war
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
Israeli government plans to forcibly relocate 12,500 Bedouin
Ha’aretz – 16 Sep 2014
We have to talk about cruelty
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
The dissenters are Israel’s citizen heroes
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
Should doctors talk politics on Facebook? Ethics board won’t say
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
Six still under house arrest 10 months after Bedouin rally
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
More than 20,000 Bratslav Hasidim to fly to Uman for Rosh Hashanah
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
U.S. Jewish group accused of McCarthyism after publishing list of pro-boycott professors
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
Islamic State militants may target Israelis abroad, counterterrorism bureau warns
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
Lieberman’s secret Vienna visit: ‘Sensitive diplomatic meetings’ and one Martin Schlaff
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
Between democracy and anarchy
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
Budget slugfest dragging Israel’s economy down
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
Makor Rishon paper to go weekly, publish daily content online
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
Petition: Israel Police used to help Jewish employers break strikes in West Bank
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
One of the Mossad’s greatest leaders dies
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
Ted Cruz’s truth-telling: Haters of Christians and Jews also hate Israel
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
Police counterterrorism unit gets green light to operate outside of Israel
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
Murderer who ‘self-converted’ to Judaism sues U.S. prison over nonkosher food
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
Judge incarcerates French anti-Semite
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
WATCH: U.S., Iran may collaborate secretly on ISIS, analyst says
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
Britain nearing military action against Islamic State
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
Should Jews fear an independent Scotland?
Ha’aretz – 15 Sep 2014
Israel’s make-believe military investigations
Ha’aretz – 14 Sep 2014
Listen to the Unit 8200 objectors
Ha’aretz – 14 Sep 2014
Primary concerns in the Knesset
Ha’aretz – 14 Sep 2014
US expands attacks on Islamic State while mulling arms and training for Syrian rebels
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – Politicians will begin debating legislation on Tuesday to give President Barack Obama approval to arm and train rebels who oppose both Islamic State and the Syrian government.
Analysis: All quiet on the Northern front
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – Sunday’s briefing on Hezbollah activity along the northern border is nothing new; It’s business as usual for the group that was already digging tunnels into Israel 10 years before Hamas.
FM brushes off hecklers at JNF parley in LA
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – After the women were quickly escorted out, Liberman said to raucous applause: “I really was surprised that this provocation took so much time.”
Without Iran, world leaders tackle ISIS
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – Powers focus on Iraq over Syria, plan to retake Mosul; DC, Tehran spar over talks.
PM boycotts Likud convention
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – The PM and Likud MK Danon each held Likud events at the same time.
Israeli Arabs overwhelmingly deny support for Islamic State
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – Israeli Arabs that went to fight with Syrian opposition are for the most part fighting with other groups, says community leader.
The Shabbos Project in Latin America
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – With only five weeks to go until the big Shabbat of October 24/25, we bring you a round-up of Shabbos Project activities taking place across Latin America.
Tony Bennett leaves his heart (briefly) in Tel Aviv
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – At 88, singer still commands an audience, as he did Sunday night at Tel Aviv’s Mann Auditorium with his powerful vocals.
Hezbollah: We will defeat Islamic State on the battlefield
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – Senior official from Lebanese-based Shi’ite group calls for “change in national priorities” in battle against Sunni extremists in Syria.
IDF extends Yitzhar yeshiva seizure by additional two months
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon takes step on West Bank settlement yeshiva after initially commandeering building in April.
World Jewish Congress holds historic conference in Berlin for first time since WWII
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – Despite the general feelings of support and solidarity that were on display on Sunday, the Monday morning sessions were less than cheery.
Israel’s first English travel-planning app launched for holidays
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – App guides visitors through capital’s streets by foot, bus or light rail.
Two detained after dolls encased with bullets, drugs found at Ben-Gurion Airport
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – Officers seize bullets and narcotics hidden in toys found in carry-on luggage and suitcase belonging to Israeli man, Uzbek woman flying to Uzbekistan
Study: 40% of European Jews hide their religion
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – European Jewish Association cites 80% intermarriage rate among continent’s Jewish communities.
‘Who built the pyramids?’ – Round Two
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – Arab news outlet “Elaph” responds to “Jerusalem Post” report on allegations that Jews were fabricating Egypt’s past.
Cooking with JPost: The Israeli lafa
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – Check out Chef Yochanan’s easy-to-follow recipe on how to make this rustic bread.
UN pulling out peacekeepers from Syrian side of Golan Heights
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – A UN source told CNN that the troops, who were seen crossing into the Israeli-controlled portion of the plateau, were being pulled out for their safety.
Bar Refaeli channels inner pole dancer in sexy new commercial
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – This is not the first time Refaeli stars in a steamy ad.
Budget bickering delays aid for Gaza border residents
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – NIS 1.3b for the South not finalized, as ministerial meetings canceled while Netanyahu, Lapid cannot agree on the 2015 budget.
Netanyahu, Lapid nearing compromise on 2015 budget despite tough talk
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – Netanyahu: Any responsible leader would increase defense spending; coalition sources say PM, Lapid done politicking, ready to seriously outline budget.
The miracle of Rosh Hashana
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – New year, old jealousies – Beauty and fertility are the central criteria in the contest between women in a polygamous society, where the goal is to preserve male supremacy.
ISIS may target Israelis, Jews abroad, Counter-Terrorism Bureau warns
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – Bureau warns that the terrorism threat against Israelis has risen in Western Europe and Africa, particularly from veterans of Syria and Iraq who return to their countries.
Watch: Israelis dip apples in honey for Rosh Hashana in adventurous locations
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – From rock climbing, to bicycling to surfing to kayaking, there is not a pastime that cannot include a moment for some Jewish tradition!
Hamas denies Mashaal being expelled from Qatar, seeking shelter elsewhere
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – Arab media reported that the Doha-based Mashaal was considering relocating to Tunisia, Turkey or Malaysia after Muslim Brotherhood leaders expelled from emirate.
Abbas to seek statehood recognition from France during Paris visit
Jerusalem Post 15 Sep 2014 – Now, more than ever, world must back Palestinian initiative, says Riyad al-Malki.
Palestinian autopsy: Teen shot in head with police sponge bullet
Jerusalem Post 14 Sep 2014 – Report contradicts police claim of Sunuqrut’s death; four arrested for attempted firebombing of French Hill gas station.
Hamas confirms official wounded in Gaza operation
Jerusalem Post 14 Sep 2014 – Sources in Gaza Strip say Emad al-Alami was hit during Israel air strike at beginning of Operation Protective Edge.
Gaza war set to reverse Palestinian economic growth
The Guardian 16 Sep 2014 – World Bank says economy expected to shrink by nearly 4% this year but could rebound in 2015 if Gaza reconstruction begins The recent war in Gaza will result in a reversal of seven years of growth…
Palestinian bagpipers join battle cry for Scottish independence
The Guardian 16 Sep 2014 – Beit Jala Greek Orthodox scouts show solidarity for the call for an independent state Live blog: Tuesday’s developments on the Scottish referendum Campaigners for Scottish independence have found an unexpected source of support ahead of a…
Israeli refuseniks will be treated as criminals, says defence minister
The Guardian 15 Sep 2014 – Moshe Ya’alon joins political and military leadership in attack on reservists who refuse to serve in Palestinian territories Forty-three Israeli military intelligence reservists who signed a letter refusing to serve in the occupied Palestinian territories have…
End of a war, start of a school year in Gaza – video
The Guardian 14 Sep 2014 – More than 500,000 school children in Gaza begin a new school year on Sunday after 51 days of war. The opening had been delayed for two weeks because of damage to schools and the use of…
Gaza children return to school after end of war with Israel
The Guardian 14 Sep 2014 – Schools in the Palestinian territory had delayed opening because of damage and use of buildings to house displaced people Children in Gaza made a delayed return to school on Sunday after the 50-day war with Israel…
Israeli intelligence agents: ‘we routinely targeted innocent Palestinians’ – video
The Guardian 12 Sep 2014 – Three veterans from one of Israel’s most secretive intelligence units speak out about questionable surveillance tactics used against Palestinians . The men, along with 40 other reservists, past and present, have signed a public letter refusing to…
Any Palestinian is exposed to monitoring by the Israeli Big Brother
The Guardian 12 Sep 2014 – Testimonies from people who worked in the Israeli Intelligence Corps tell of a system where there were no boundaries I enlisted in the Intelligence Corps with a clear understanding that regarding anything that involves the Palestinian…
Israeli intelligence veterans refuse to serve in Palestinian territories
The Guardian 12 Sep 2014 – Innocent people under military rule exposed to surveillance by Israel, say 43 ex-members of Unit 8200, including reservists Forty-three veterans of one of Israels most secretive military intelligence units many of them still active reservists have…
Israels Unit 8200 refuseniks: you cant run from responsibility
The Guardian 12 Sep 2014 – Transcript of interview with three members of Unit 8200 in which they explain why they refuse to work in Palestinian territories Three signatories of the Israeli military intelligence refusenik letter agreed to be interviewed by the…
Israeli intelligence veterans’ letter to Netanyahu and military chiefs – in full
The Guardian 12 Sep 2014 – Read the letter from 34 reserve soldiers who have served in Unit 8200 explaining why they refuse to serve in Palestinian territories Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu Chief of General Staff, Benny Gantz Continue reading…
‘Palestinians exposed to non-stop monitoring without any legal protection’ – video
The Guardian 11 Sep 2014 – An Israeli soldier reads testimony from a member of the country’s top intelligence unit alleging that Palestinians are subjected to surveillance, extortion and physical abuse if perceived to be a threat to the state. The soldier,…
FILM: From Hamas Royalty to Israel’s Spy
IPS In the past few years, Mosab has become something of a minor celebrity on right-wing and fundamentalist Christian talk shows. His message varies, but his target is often Islam in general. By Mitchell Plitnick WASHINGTON, Sep 15 2014 (IPS) The son of one of the founders of the biggest Palestinian…
Syrian refugees in Gaza suffer second war
Uruknet 16 Sep 2014 – August 26, 2014 – Young engineer Abdullah al-Baltaji had only one choice: leave Syria and find shelter in the Gaza Strip after rockets hit his home and private office in the Mezze neighborhood in the Syrian capital, Damascus. He settled…
Israel s decades-long effort to turn the word terrorism into an ideological weapon
Uruknet 16 Sep 2014 – August 26, 2014 – The Israeli discourse on “terrorism” has a long history, one in which Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel s current Prime Minister, played a central role. Thirty years ago, at a major conference on “international terrorism” in Washington, D.C.,…
WATCH: Ultra-Zionists protest Muslim-Jewish wedding saying miscegenation is gravest threat to the Jewish people f
Uruknet 16 Sep 2014 – August 26, 2014 – ….While the Israeli army continues to pummel the Gaza Strip and its residents for a second month, the upsurge in anti-Palestinian sentiment in Israeli society shows no signs of abating. As even mainstream Israeli politicians threaten…
His last cry of pain “echoes in my ears”
Uruknet 16 Sep 2014 – August 26, 2014 – Khaled Hamad and Hala Shehada had been married just a few months and were expecting their first baby. Khaled had promised to buy Hala a maternity dress once her belly began to swell. Her pregnancy is…
Iraq: Sunni coalition says militia-backed security forces kidnapped 50 people
Uruknet 16 Sep 2014 – August 26, 2014 -Iraq s Uniters for Reform coalition, or Muttahidoon, a Sunni coalition led by Usama Al-Nujayfi, said on Monday that armed militias backed by security forces are active in the “Baghdad belt” where they have kidnapped 50 people…
Al-Moallem: Syria at the heart of the international coalition against the Islamic State
Uruknet 15 Sep 2014 – August 26, 2014 -Syria has announced its readiness to cooperate with the international effort to fight the Islamic State, after the US announced that it is considering expanding its operations against the militant group into Syrian territories. Al-Alam Online news…
Syria News – August 25, 2014
Uruknet 15 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 – Idlib: 1 Martyr from Kafrlata village was reported after being targeted by regime forces snipers…Deir Ezzor: Child Ahmad Orabi Mahmoud Jomaa was martyred due to a mortar shell that landed in Abo Abed neighborhood. Hama: Lattamna:…
OIC, GCC condemn Iraq sunni mosque massacre
Uruknet 15 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 – The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have condemned the heinous crime perpetrated by armed militiamen who stormed Mos ab ibn Omayr Mosque in Diyala Province, Iraq on Friday. The attack caused…
On the 50th Day of Israeli Offensive on Gaza:14 Palestinians, 10 of Whom Are Civilians, Including 2 Women and 6 Children, Killed and 120 Others, Including 38 Children and 31 Women, Wounded; 27 Houses, Charity, 2 Mosques, Workshop and Poultry Farm Destroyed
Uruknet 15 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 – Israeli occupation forces have continued their brutal and immoral offensive on the Gaza Strip for the 50th consecutive day in violation of the international law. They have employed their full-fledged arsenal to attack the Gaza Strip…
Three Questions for Hamas
Uruknet 15 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 – There is no doubt that Hamas has exhibited extraordinary resilience under the most difficult of conditions that have bedeviled its period of political leadership in the Gaza Strip that started in 2007. It also seems clear…
Iraq snapshot – August 25, 2014.
Uruknet 15 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014- Friday, United for Peace and Justice finally issued a statement on Iraq . . . and Gaza . . . and Ferguson… If you thought other organizations would suddenly find their voices, you were wrong.Let s survey the ruins of the peace movement…
VIDEO: 15 tear gas grenades and 5 stun grenades fired at schoolchildren
Uruknet 15 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 – Today in al-Khalil (Hebron), Israeli forces fired 15 tear gas grenades and canisters, as well as five stun grenades at children as they waited to go to school.Each morning and afternoon the children of al-Khalil, some…
Guantánamo Torture Victim Mohamedou Ould Slahi s Harrowing Memoir to be Published in January 2015
Uruknet 15 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 – In January 2015, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a prisoner at Guantánamo, will become the first prisoner still held to have his memoir published. Guantánamo Diary, which he wrote by hand as a 466-page manuscript, beginning in 2005,…
Barack Obama, Murderer
Uruknet 15 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 – In early August, US president Barack Obama authorized airstrikes targeted at artillery used by the Islamic State extremist group against Kurdish forces defending Irbil, Iraq s Kurdish regional capital. The Pentagon explained this decision by claiming…
Israel promises to continue the slaughter
Uruknet 15 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 – ISRAEL IS once again raining terror from the skies over Gaza. Its war machine is leveling entire apartment blocks, even as it persists in its claim that its “precision” strikes are “proportionate.”nThe resumption of Israel s…
Egypt deports Palestinian Syrians back to conflict zones
Uruknet 15 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 – Two Palestinian refugees from Syria, Youssef Farid Youssef and Hamza Issa, currently spend their days and nights at Cairo International Airport in a national security limbo furnished by fast-food chains and onlooking security guards.The Egyptian government…
Nouri s Iraq: Iraqi military just bombed and killed . . . Iraqi soldiers . . . in military headquarters
Uruknet 15 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 – When Iraq s well trained military officials call in strikes on terrorists, there s always a strong chance — a very strong chance — that they re killing civilians. It s not like 100% of the…
The difference between children
Uruknet 15 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 – After the first child, nobody batted an eye; after the 50th not even a slight tremor was felt in a plane s wing; after the 100th, they stopped counting; after the 200th, they blamed Hamas. After…
More bombing of Iraqi Civilians by American Occupation is not the Solution to Iraq s Problems
Uruknet 14 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 – Dear Friends, As you know, there have been a huge disinformation campaigns related to what s been going on in Iraq and what ISIS has been committing in Mosul. The continuous American Bombing of villages and…
All the Masks Have been Removed
Uruknet 14 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 -During each and every one of the Fridays on the Ramadan month, the authorities of the Israeli occupation implement rules for the sake of appearances:The appearance of alleviations.The appearance of humanitarianism. The appearance of consideration. The appearance…
Playwright Wallace Shawn translates ADL ad justifying Israeli child murder into plain English
Uruknet 14 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 – Playwright and actor Wallace Shawn has responded to this Anti-Defamation League (ADL) ad blaming Palestinians for Israel s mass slaughter of children in Gaza. Shawn s brilliant “translation” of the ad into plain English is below….
In last interview, Auschwitz survivor urged Palestinians “not to give up their fight”
Uruknet 14 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 – I mourn the loss of Hajo Meyer, a friend who fearlessly raised his voice to combat Zionism and to express his support for the struggle of the Palestinian people for freedom and equality. Hajo passed away…
Is criticizing Israel worse than murder at the University of Illinois?
Uruknet 14 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 – There is a very good case to be made that Cary Nelson s inability to place discussion of Israel – particularly discussion of any strong and committed criticism of Israel – within the bounds of rational…
Israeli occupation exterminate 90 Palestinian families in Gaza
Uruknet 14 Sep 2014 – August 25, 2014 -Palestinian medical sources in Gaza have confirmed that 90 Palestinian families were completely exterminated by Israeli forces in their ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, the number of fatalities…
Syria News – August 24, 2014
Uruknet 14 Sep 2014 – August 24, 2014 – By the end of Sunday, the coordination committees were able to document 53 martyrs including 3 women, 2 children and 2 martyrs under torture : 12 martyrs were reported in Damascus and its Suburbs; 11 in Daraa;…
Sunnis in Iraq under a different kind of siege
Uruknet 14 Sep 2014 – August 24, 2014 – For nearly a decade Abu Omar has been fleeing Iraq s many conflicts, but they always seem to catch up to him. In his Sunni family s ancestral home in Fallujah it was the heavy shelling…
Gaza and the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood
Uruknet 14 Sep 2014 – August 24, 2014 – The slaughter of Palestinian civilians and the Dresden-like reduction to rubble of large parts of Gaza by Israel s military forces in the name of its own citizens security has exposed the hypocrisy at the heart…
Why Aren t Pseudolefts Demonstrating for “Hands off Daesh” the Way They Did #Syria 1 Year Ago?
Uruknet 14 Sep 2014 – August 24, 2014 – One year ago, the streets of London and Washington, D.C. were filled with hysterical demonstrators screaming “HANDS OFF SYRIA!” in response to Bashar al-Assad s gassacre of 1,400 Syrian civilians in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta….
Obama: Ebola outbreak ‘spiraling out of control’
Daily Star 16 Sep 2014 President Barack Obama says the world is looking to the United States to address the deadly outbreak of Ebola in West Africa. Obama says the U.S. embraces that responsibility.
German Muslims invite all faiths to day of prayer against Islamic State
Daily Star 16 Sep 2014 More than 2,000 German mosques have invited Germans of all religions to join their Friday prayers to present a united front against the Islamic State to try to dissuade young Muslims from travelling to fight with…
Hamas says Palestinians remain committed to Gaza truce
Daily Star 16 Sep 2014 The Gaza Strip’s dominant Hamas Islamist movement denied any knowledge on Tuesday of a cross-border mortar attack on Israel and said Palestinian factions remained committed to an Aug 26 truce that halted a seven-week war in…
Saudi sentences 2 to death, jails 13 for ‘terrorism’
Daily Star 16 Sep 2014 A Saudi court Tuesday sentenced two men to death and 13 others to lengthy jail terms for killing a policeman and three civilians and forming an Al-Qaeda cell in prison.
Kurds retake Christian villages from Iraq jihadists
Daily Star 16 Sep 2014 Kurdish peshmerga forces on Tuesday recaptured seven Christian villages in northern Iraq in clashes with Islamic State (IS) jihadists, an officer and a cleric said.
Poverty rate drops for the first time since 2006
Daily Star 16 Sep 2014 The poverty rate in the United States has dropped for the first time since 2006, bringing a bit of encouraging news about the nation’s economy as President Barack Obama and Congress gear up for the November…
Gazans feared among shipwreck dead, missing
Daily Star 16 Sep 2014 Dozens of Gazans are suspected to be among 500 migrants feared dead in a shipwreck in the Mediterranean last week, a Palestinian official says.
Lebanon goes dark for second day in a row
Daily Star 16 Sep 2014 Lebanon is hit with its second complete blackout in less than 24 hours.
West Bank Jewish settler population soars
Daily Star 16 Sep 2014 Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank numbered 382,031 at the end of June, up from 374,469 six months earlier, the leading settler organization says.
Strong yet hesitant coalition facing determined enemy
YNet News, 16 Sep 2014 – Analysis: Why are the Middle Eastern forces, whose integrity is being threatened by ISIS, afraid to attack the murderous organization? What will the offensive look like in the end and what role will Israel play in it? ….
Neglect leading to Jerusalem’s division
YNet News, 16 Sep 2014 – Op-ed: There is nothing our politicians are more afraid of than Jerusalem. And when they are afraid, no decisions are made and the situation is ignored. This is how an intifada develops. ….
Israeli officials: Hamas arrested militants who fired on Eshkol
YNet News, 16 Sep 2014 – Security sources say Gaza group sent message through mediators that it would respect ceasefire, punish cell responsible for attack…..
Israeli artist depicts pain of rootless Jews in Berlin exhibition
YNet News, 16 Sep 2014 – Gershuni, one of Israel’s most renowned artists, opens ‘No Father No Mother’ retrospective at New National Gallery. ….
UN: Israel, PA reach deal on Gaza reconstruction
YNet News, 16 Sep 2014 – Mideast envoy Robert Serry says agreement on mechanism for Strip rehabilitation gives ‘lead role to PA.’….
Report: Syrian rebels seize UN weapons on Golan
YNet News, 16 Sep 2014 – Syrian ambassador says Jabhat al-Nusra has driven out all UN peacekeeping forces from Golan Heights, captured their uniforms, vehicles…..
Syrian rebels seize UN weapons on the Golan
YNet News, 16 Sep 2014 – ….
Obama: Ebola outbreak ‘spiraling out of control’
YNet News, 16 Sep 2014 – ….
Canada sends 69 soldiers to Iraq
YNet News, 16 Sep 2014 – ….
Egypt’s military focus is at home, not on Islamic State
YNet News, 16 Sep 2014 – ….
Leonardo DiCaprio named UN Messenger of Peace
YNet News, 16 Sep 2014 – ….
Report: 40% of Europe’s Jews hide their Jewishness
YNet News, 16 Sep 2014 – Data gathered from more than 800 European Jewish communities reveal that while some half a million Jews will attend Rosh Hashanah prayers, 70% choose not to go to synagogue during High Holidays. ….
For Israel’s leaders, it all about victory
YNet News, 16 Sep 2014 – Op-ed: With a leadership loyal to the perception of ‘conflict management,’ it won’t come as a complete surprise if Israel is required to launch another military campaign – in order to win it in advance. ….
Belgian synagogue hit by arson attack
YNet News, 16 Sep 2014 – Three family members hurt by smoke inhalation after suspects set fire to Brussels temple. Local police: All leads are open. ….
A farewell to Hofi
YNet News, 16 Sep 2014 – Humble to the core, the former Mossad chief who helped lay the foundations for the IDF said: ‘If I contributed anything to the state, I don’t deserve thanks for it.’ ….
Cracks forming in Israel’s defensive shield
YNet News, 15 Sep 2014 – Analysis: As the security situation in Jerusalem worsens, we must deeply analyze the meaning of the growing support for Hamas in the West Bank. ….
93-year-old former Auschwitz guard charged
YNet News, 15 Sep 2014 – Oskar Groening, former SS sergeant, is accused of helping operate the death camp in Poland, ‘helping the Nazi regime benefit economically, and supporting the systematic killings,’ prosecuters say. ….
Anti-Semitic attacks nearly double in France
YNet News, 15 Sep 2014 – Total of 529 anti-Semitic actions or threats registered up to end of July, against 276 for same period last year, Jewish group says. Paris police arrest anti-Semite black power leader. ….
Palestinian Information Center
Report: 535 educational facilities sustained damage in the last war on Gaza
PIC – The Palestinian ministry of education said that 538 educational institutions sustained total damage of more than 33 million dollars during the last Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.
Four Palestinian children killed during the first half of September
PIC – Four Palestinian children were killed during the first half of September while dozens were injured and arrested in Gaza Strip and occupied Jerusalem, Palestinian official sources said Tuesday.
90 Palestinians detained since start of current year in Beit Ummar town
PIC – The Palestinian prisoner society said that 90 Palestinian citizens from Beit Ummar town in Al-Khalil have been detained by Israel since the start of the current year.
Jerusalemite woman banned from entering al-Aqsa for 15 days
PIC – Israeli police banned on Tuesday morning the Jerusalemite woman Khadija Khuys’s access to al-Aqsa Mosque for 15 days shortly after her release from Israeli detention center.
Family of prisoner Samer Issawi says he is in very poor health condition
PIC – The family of Palestinian prisoner Samer Issawi said his health condition deteriorated very badly and appealed to human rights groups to visit him in jail.
Palestinians mark the 32nd anniversary of Sabra and Shatila massacre
PIC – The Sabra and Shatila massacre took place in the Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut in 1982 and was carried out by Lebanese Phalangists militias under the protection and support of Israeli forces.
Palestinian embassy in Athens: Migrant ship drowned by traffickers
PIC – A ship carrying more than 400 migrants onboard, mostly Palestinians, has been deliberately drowned last Wednesday by a gang of smugglers, the Palestinian embassy in Athens revealed on Tuesday.
Israeli government plans to forcibly relocate 12,500 Bedouins
PIC – The IOA drafted plans to expel Bedouin communities from east of Jerusalem and move them to a new town in the Jordan Valley without consulting tribes in an attempt to hold sway over their native lands.
22 Jerusalemites arrested including 13 minors
PIC – Israeli policemen have arrested overnight 22 Palestinians from occupied Jerusalem including 13 minors under the pretext of throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.
Euromid publishes names of five survivors of a boat sinking off Italy shores
PIC – The Euromid Observer for Human Rights published on Monday the names of five survivors of a boat carrying migrants which sank off Italy shores.
Human Rights Organization: Israel Targeted Intellectual Property during Aggression
WAFA – 16 Sep 2014
Ashrawi Meets with ‘Bishops’ Prayer Pilgrimage for Peace’ Delegation
WAFA – 16 Sep 2014
Premier Calls on Pro-Palestinian Christians to Visit Palestine as Gesture of Solidarity
WAFA – 16 Sep 2014
Presidential Spokesperson: ‘International Coalition’ Needed to End Occupation
WAFA – 16 Sep 2014
Foreign Ministry Calls for Urgent Intervention to Stop Forcible Transfer of Palestinian Bedouin Communities
WAFA – 16 Sep 2014
EUPOL COPPS Concludes Workshops on Handling Drugs for Palestinian Counterparts
WAFA – 16 Sep 2014
Unemployment Rises to Alarming Levels in Palestine, says World Bank
WAFA – 16 Sep 2014
Israeli Forces Arrest 26 Palestinians from Jerusalem, West Bank
WAFA – 16 Sep 2014
Israeli Settlers Attack Internationals, Palestinian Shepherd in At Tuwani near Hebron
WAFA – 16 Sep 2014
Newspaper Review: Shipwrecks at Mediterranean Focus of Dailies
WAFA – 16 Sep 2014
In Shujaya…Loss of a Lifetime of Hard Work in a Matter of Seconds
WAFA – 16 Sep 2014
Abbas Stresses China’s role in Supporting Leadership’s Upcoming Political Step
WAFA – 15 Sep 2014
Abbas: We will Head to International Organizations to Protect Our People
WAFA – 15 Sep 2014
Palestine Monetary Authority Launches New Automated Clearing System
WAFA – 15 Sep 2014
Palestinian Survivors of Latest Mediterranean Shipwreck Airlifted to Malta
WAFA – 15 Sep 2014
PEX Report: Index Down by more than Two Points
WAFA – 15 Sep 2014
Foreign Ministry Calls for Bringing Israeli War Criminals to Justice
WAFA – 15 Sep 2014
PMA Signs MoU with Central Bank of Jordan on Cooperation in Banking Supervision
WAFA – 15 Sep 2014
Prime Minister Calls for More Humanitarian Assistance (Aid) to Gaza Strip
WAFA – 15 Sep 2014
Israeli Army Arrests 9 in West Bank and Jerusalem, including Minors
WAFA – 15 Sep 2014
Newspaper Review: Kuwaiti Foreign Minister’s Historic Visit to the OPT Focus of Dailies
WAFA – 15 Sep 2014
Palestine, Kuwait Sign Cooperation Agreements
WAFA – 15 Sep 2014
300 Thousand UNRWA Children Start School in Conflict-Ravaged Gaza and Syria
WAFA – 15 Sep 2014
Israel’s Aggression Scales Consumer Price Index Up, says Statistics Bureau
WAFA – 15 Sep 2014
Temporary Deal Reached on Gaza Reconstruction Material
New York Times 16 Sep 2014 – Israeli and Palestinian officials reached a temporary accord to move reconstruction material into Gaza, a senior United Nations official said.
House Expected to Vote on Training Syrian Rebels to Fight ISIS
New York Times 16 Sep 2014 – Republicans will insist on a careful accounting of how the plan fits into a larger strategy to defeat the militant group.
U.S. General to Seek Combat Troops if Airstrikes Can’t Stop ISIS
New York Times 16 Sep 2014 – Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress he would recommend deploying limited Special Operations forces if airstrikes were not successful.
Turkey Open to Bids for Refuge by Muslim Brotherhood Exiles
New York Times 16 Sep 2014 – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said that Muslim Brotherhood leaders could be granted entry to Turkey as long as laws permitted.
ISIS Draws a Steady Stream of Recruits From Turkey
New York Times 16 Sep 2014 – A neighborhood in the tourist district of the capital, Ankara, has become a hub for wooing new members of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, even as the group holds Turkish hostages.
U.N. Investigators Cite Atrocities in Syria
New York Times 16 Sep 2014 – The “madness” in the civil war includes acts by Islamic extremists as well as by the government of President Bashar al-Assad, the panel said.
U.S. Airstrikes Hit Targets Near Baghdad Held by ISIS
New York Times 15 Sep 2014 – The offensive is the first expansion of the United States’ campaign against the Islamist militant group that President Obama outlined last week in a speech to the nation.
World Briefing: Libya: Airstrikes Are Aimed at Militias
New York Times 15 Sep 2014 – Unidentified warplanes conducted four airstrikes near Tripoli leaving one dead and five wounded, a spokesman for Libya’s Islamist-allied militias said.
For James Foley’s Family, U.S. Policy Offered No Hope
New York Times 15 Sep 2014 – After Mr. Foley was kidnapped by ISIS, the government offered sympathy but little active support, his family said, leaving them overwhelmed and unsure of what to do.
U.S. Pushes Back Against Warnings That ISIS Plans to Enter From Mexico
New York Times 15 Sep 2014 – Counterterrorism officials said they are far more concerned that a militant will enter the country in a quite typical way: legally, on a commercial airline flight.
Kerry Says U.S. Is Open to Talking to Iran, Even as Ayatollah Is Dismissive
New York Times 15 Sep 2014 – Secretary of State John Kerry spoke at a Paris conference on the Iraqi security crisis, as Iran’s supreme leader said the American plan for bombing ISIS was absurd.
Op-Ed Contributor: Obama Must Get Congress’s Backing for the Fight Against ISIS
New York Times 15 Sep 2014 – We should not stretch the open-ended 9/11 authorization to cover new airstrikes.
U.N. Moves Peacekeepers in Golan Over Safety Fears
New York Times 15 Sep 2014 – The United Nations said it moved members of its Golan peacekeeping force to the Israeli-controlled side because the area had “deteriorated severely.”
Op-Ed Contributor: To Crush ISIS, Make a Deal With Assad
New York Times 15 Sep 2014 – Syria has no “moderate opposition” to help us. But maybe Assad could.
Rabbi in Ohio U. controversy leads group that denies there’s an occupation
Mondoweiss – One of the leading figures in the controversy over Ohio University Senate president Megan Marzec’s blood-bucket challenge for Gaza is Rabbi Danielle Leshaw, the executive director of the Hillel on campus. Leshaw wrote that Marzec’s dramatic statement for Gaza and in support of BDS made Jewish students on…
The elephant in the room, in Marin County
Mondoweiss – What does this picture say to you? Zoe Goorman made it for an action held outside Marin County’s Dining for Democrats Gala in Corte Madera, California, last Saturday night. And it represents the kind of actions going on at a local level all across the country by…
ASA statement on Salaita: An ‘assault against the Program in American Indian Studies at UIUC ‘
Mondoweiss – As evidence the Salaita firing is a catastrophe for the University of Illinois keeps stacking up , the American Studies Association ( ASA ), the oldest scholarly organization devoted to interdisciplinary study of American culture and history, issued a statement from their Executive Committee characterizing the UIUC administration’s decision…
Yale president’s office was involved from the gitgo in blowup over Yale chaplain’s letter
Mondoweiss – Good news: Journalists are writing up the Rev. Bruce Shipman case at Yale in a sympathetic manner. Was it really necessary for the Episcopal chaplain to lose his job at the school because of a three-sentence letter to the New York Times saying Israel’s “carnage” in Gaza is a factor…
US and Canada strengthen economic relationship with Israel following attack on Gaza
Mondoweiss – Since Operation Protective Edge began in Gaza in early July, Israel has strengthened economic relationships with its closest allies. Within days of the air campaign starting, the U.S. and Israel penned a mutual recognition customs agreement which will lift screening barriers and tariffs. Then on Monday Israel…
Achieving a hudna and ten years of calm in Israel/Palestine
Mondoweiss – Eretz Israel is not an empty country … On no account must we injure the rights of the inhabitants. Only “Ghetto Dreamers” … can imagine that Eretz Israel will be given to the Jews with the added right of dispossessing the current inhabitants of the country….
Canadian gov’t offered to pay leading fotog’s way to Asian festival so long as he didn’t talk about Gaza
Mondoweiss – “Big Brother is watching us all,” Larry Towell, a leading Canadian photographer, writes after Canada’s government offered to pay his way to a Bangladesh photo festival so long as he doesn’t talk about Gaza. No dice, Towell said. Towell is one of the great creative spirits…
ISIS and the West’s Coalition of the Barely-Willing
Tikun Olam – Kerry entering the Paris meeting of anti-ISIS nations (Alain Jocard/AFP-Getty In 1991, George Bush created what was then called the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ to defeat Saddam Hussein. Yesterday, the U.S. met with members of what it hoped would be a new coalition of similarly willing…
After war, children in Gaza return to school
Mondoweiss – Gaza children return to school after war GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) 14 Sept — Some half million Gaza children made a delayed return to school on Sunday after a devastating 50-day war with Israel that killed more than 2,100 Palestinians and damaged hundreds of school…
Encounter at a post office
Mondoweiss – I was at the post office to mail some books to my brother in Thailand. I stood at the chest-high table where customers prepare their mailings, stuffing a postal service fixed-rate box. I was working next to a woman, with a four-point cane, who was filling…
US Congressman Danny Davis calls for lifting the blockade of Gaza
Mondoweiss – US Congressman Danny Davis (D-IL) has called for a lifting of the blockade against Gaza. In a September 8th letter to the Chicago Sun Times , one of the City’s two major daily newspapers, Davis urged an end to the blockade on humanitarian and strategic grounds. Congressman…
The Pennywhistlers Started It All
Tikun Olam – There were two songs that played a formative role in my musical life. They are Shto Mi e Milo , recorded by the Pennywhistlers (1966) and Si Bheag, Si Mor , by Planxty (1973). The Pennywhistlers came first. They were the mother lode. Ethel Raim and her sisters…
First Mortar Fired at Israel From Gaza Since Truce
The Foward Breaking News 16 Sep 2014 – A mortar bomb was fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in the first such attack since an Aug. 26 truce halted a seven-week war in the Palestinian enclave, the Israeli military said. Click here for the rest of the article…
Turkey mulls anti-IS ‘buffer zone’
BBC 16 Sep 2014 – Turkey is developing plans for a buffer zone on its border with Iraq and Syria against Islamic State militants, leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan says.
Bar Refaeli Pole Dancing Ad Raises Hackles
The Foward Breaking News 16 Sep 2014 – A new Israeli TV ad featuring supermodel Bar Refaeli pole dancing has reportedly aroused the ire of many viewers. Click here for the rest of the article…
Six police killed in Egypt bombing
BBC 16 Sep 2014 – Six Egyptian policemen have been killed by a roadside bomb in the Sinai peninsula, the interior ministry says.
Dani Danon Is Such a Threat to Israel Even Bibi Fired Him
The Forward Leonard Fein 15 Sep 2014 –
From Gaza to Sderot, Trauma Marks The Past — And The Present
The Forward Leonard Fein 15 Sep 2014 –
Egypt: One hundred days in office
BBC 15 Sep 2014 – Egyptians’ verdicts on President Sisi’s benchmark period in office
Egypt activist to be freed on bail
BBC 15 Sep 2014 – An Egyptian court orders the release on bail of one of the country’s most prominent pro-democracy activists, Alaa Abdul Fattah.
Somalia: Arab Countries Pledge Assistance for Somalia
allAfrica.com 15 Sep 2014 – [Dalsan Radio]The Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Hon. Mahad Mohamed Salaad discussed about the Summit of Foreign Affairs Ministers of the Arab League countries he recently attended in Cairo Egypt.
Libya: Libya Warns It May Cut Ties With Sudan and Qatar Over ‘Interference’
allAfrica.com 15 Sep 2014 – [Sudan Tribune]Khartoum -The Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni reiterated accusations made previously by Tripoli against Qatar and Sudan of backing Islamist militias by sending arms shipments into the restive north African nation.
Liberia: Liberian Girls in Lebanon Labor Concerns Being Addressed
allAfrica.com 15 Sep 2014 – [FrontPageAfrica]Monrovia -A breakthrough is said to be in the works for some or all of the Liberian girls claiming to be sex slaves in Lebanon, to be returned home after an apparent breakdown over differences in labor concerns with their respective hosts.
Israeli Kibbutzniks On Gaza Border Push For Diplomacy
The Forward New 15 Sep 2014 – In the Negev, a small group of Israelis calling for diplomacy rather than war is not the usual band of leftists. Instead, their members come from the area hardest hit by Hamas. Click here for the rest of the article…
Egypt: 504 Cross Rafah Terminal
allAfrica.com 15 Sep 2014 – [Egypt Online]As many as 504 people crossed Rafah terminal between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on Friday, an official said.
On Offensive Speech and Ethnic Sensitivities — Part Two
The Magnes Zionist 14 Sep 2014 – When I was growing up in the late fifties and early sixties, my best friend’s mother was an outspoken Jewish liberal who embraced every progressive cause. She would drag my friend and me to civil rights protests and talk about the issues of the day with…
Living in Exile, Sayed Kashua Hits Telluride
The Forward New 14 Sep 2014 – Sayed Kashua took his new movie, ‘Dancing Arabs,’ to the Telluride Film Festival. It’s an artist’s heaven — so why didn’t the Palestinian script writer look happy to be there? Click here for the rest of the article…
US ‘would consider Iraq ground troops’
BBC 16 Sep 2014 – US ground forces could be deployed against Islamic State militants if the current strategy fails, a top US general says.
Shipwreck survivors say traffickers “laughed” as hundreds drowned
Al-Akhbar News 16 Sep 2014 – Survivors of the most deadly migrant shipwreck in years have described the horrifying moment traffickers capsized their boat and left them to drown, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Tuesday. “After they hit our boat they waited to make sure that it had sunk completely…
Saudi Arabia carries out 54th execution of 2014 despite UN condemnations
Al-Akhbar News 16 Sep 2014 – A Syrian convicted of drug trafficking was beheaded in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the interior ministry said. Mohammed Ismail al-Jammus had been charged with smuggling a large quantity of amphetamines into the country, a ministry statement reported by state news agency SPA said. His decapitation takes…
UN: Deal reached to import Gaza reconstruction material
Al-Akhbar News 16 Sep 2014 – The United Nations has brokered an Israeli-Palestinian deal on imports of construction materials to Gaza, an envoy said Tuesday. The agreement on monitoring the supply of materials “must get up and running without delay,” said Robert Serry, the UN envoy for the Middle East. The deal,…
Austrian teenage girl who joined ISIS might have been killed in Syria
Al-Akhbar News 16 Sep 2014 – Samra Kesinovic, 16, and Sabina Selimovic, 15, fled Austria to join the ISIS, according to local reports. Samra Kesinovic, 16, and Sabina Selimovic, 15, fled Austria to join the ISIS, according to local reports. Austrian authorities said Tuesday they were investigating reports that one of two…
Attacks on Syrians in Lebanon: Scapegoating, par excellence
Al-Akhbar News 16 Sep 2014 – Syrian refugees in Lebanon in a makeshift shelter. (Photo: Marwan Bou Haidar) Syrian refugees in Lebanon in a makeshift shelter. (Photo: Marwan Bou Haidar) Attacks on Syrians in Lebanon have been increasing and have become much more public and flagrant, especially after the events in Ersal….
US to “persistently” strike Syria despite warnings by Damascus
Al-Akhbar News 16 Sep 2014 – Planned US airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) jihadists in Syria, which are not authorized by Damascus, will target extremist sanctuaries, command centers and logistic networks, Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel told lawmakers Tuesday. “This plan includes targeted actions against ISIS safe havens…
Lebanon: What caused the nationwide power blackout?
Al-Akhbar News 16 Sep 2014 – A young girl does her schoolwork by candlelight during one of the numerous power-cuts plaguing Lebanon. (Photo: Al-Akhbar) A young girl does her schoolwork by candlelight during one of the numerous power-cuts plaguing Lebanon. (Photo: Al-Akhbar) On the morning of September 15, most of Lebanon, including…
Iraq Kurds recapture villages from ISIS
Al-Akhbar News 16 Sep 2014 – Kurdish peshmerga forces on Tuesday recaptured several Christian villages in northern Iraq in clashes with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) jihadists, an officer and a cleric said. Tens of thousands of Iraqis fled their homes when ISIS militants launched a renewed drive in…
Nusra threatens to kill captive Lebanese soldier
Al-Akhbar News 16 Sep 2014 – Saleh al-Baradei, a Lebanese police officer kidnapped along with four soldiers by the al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, celebrates with relatives after his…Saleh al-Baradei, a Lebanese police officer kidnapped along with four soldiers by the al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, celebrates with…
Jordan arrests Muslim Brotherhood leader for “incitement” against the authorities
Al-Akhbar News 16 Sep 2014 – Jordan arrested a senior member of the country’s Muslim Brotherhood Tuesday on charges of “incitement” against the authorities, a judicial source said, as the group’s political wing demanded his release. Mohamed Said Bakr, a member of the Brotherhood’s consultative council, was detained for 15 days by…
Conditioning ourselves for our forthcoming civil war
Al-Akhbar Blogs 16 Sep 2014 – With an interesting track record of Lebanese people and entities occupying public venues and establishments for their various agendas, it’s not entirely true that anyone in Lebanon is surprised with recent events such as the occupation of our national electricity company, EDL, or the Tripoli-Beirut highway…
Leader of uprising in Saudi’s Eastern Province: ‘I will be the next martyr’
Al-Akhbar Politics 16 Sep 2014 – Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. (Photo: Al-Akhbar) Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. (Photo: Al-Akhbar) The Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia was one of the regions that had joined the so-called Arab Spring in 2011, to demand its political rights, and end the injustice and discrimination its people suffer at the…
The Islamic State gearing up for the “War of the Cross”
Al-Akhbar Politics 16 Sep 2014 – Smoke rises in the horizon following US airstrikes targeting Islamic State (IS) militants at Mosul Dam on the outskirts of the northern city of Mosul where insurgents are fighting Kurdish forces on August 18, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Ahmed al-Rubaye) Smoke rises in the horizon following US airstrikes…
Viewpoint: Why Islamic State will not endure
BBC 16 Sep 2014 – Why Islamic State is not the enduring force it appears to be
VIDEO: On patrol with Kurds fighting IS in Iraq
BBC 15 Sep 2014 – A report from Kurdish-held territory in northern Iraq, as US Secretary of State John Kerry agrees a plan to tackle the jihadists.
Migrant boat sinking ‘kills 500’
BBC 15 Sep 2014 – About 500 migrants drowned after their ship was rammed by another boat near Malta last week, the International Organization for Migration says.
Father ‘won’t forgive’ siege killers
BBC 15 Sep 2014 – The father of one of the British men killed in the Algerian gas plant siege last year tells an inquest that his son’s killers are not “forgiven or understood”.
Sherman urges Iran to seize opportunity for nuclear deal
Al-Monitor 15 Sep 2014 – US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman urged diplomats to tell Iran to seize opportunity for a nuclear deal ahead of resumed negotiations in New York.
ISIS: The monster that grew in plain sight of Washington and Riyadh
Al-Akhbar Politics 15 Sep 2014 – Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal (C) arrives for an international conference on Islamic State at the French Foreign ministry in Paris on September 15, 2014. The international conference in Paris on September 15 that gathers some 20 countries from the anti-Islamic State coalition will seek…
How Middle East media coverage has changed
BBC 15 Sep 2014 – How coverage of Arab-Israeli conflict has shifted
Will Israel be held accountable for targeting journalists in Gaza?
Al-Akhbar Politics 15 Sep 2014 – Palestinian residents stand next to their destroyed houses as a bulldozer cleans up the rubble in the Shujaya neighborhood of Gaza City on September 4, 2014. (Photo: AFP-Mohammed Abed) Palestinian residents stand next to their destroyed houses as a bulldozer cleans up the rubble in the…
Scores of migrants ‘drown off Libya’
BBC 15 Sep 2014 – Scores of migrants, mostly from Africa, are feared to have drowned after a boat sank off the coast of Libya, officials say.
Why can’t Turkey explain its foreign policy?
Al-Monitor 15 Sep 2014 – Turkey’s hesitation to act against the groups such as the Islamic State makes others wonder whether it has an ideological foreign policy.
Obama needs peace in Syria to defeat IS
Al-Monitor 15 Sep 2014 – Syria’s internal opposition says defeating the Islamic State is impossible without finding a solution to Syria’s civil war.
Are military contractors heading back to Iraq?
Al-Monitor 15 Sep 2014 – Private military contractors may be enlisted in large numbers to Iraq to fight the Islamic State.
Residents brace for US airstrikes against Raqqa
Al-Monitor 15 Sep 2014 – Raqqa’s residents are divided in their views on the announced US military operations against the Islamic State.
Hamas deputy: Qatar’s expulsion of MB won’t impact Hamas
Al-Monitor 15 Sep 2014 – In an interview with Al-Monitor, Hamas deputy leader Mousa Abu Marzouk said the provisions of the cease-fire deal with Israel were the most Hamas could achieve from the war, but he also indicated that it expects to obtain more of its demands in upcoming negotiations.
Against tyranny, obscurantism, and invasion
Al-Akhbar Opinion 15 Sep 2014 – Iraqi President Faud Masum (L) listens while French President Francois Hollande speaks during the International Conference on Peace and Security in Iraq at the Quai d’Orsay on September 15, 2014 in Paris, France. World leaders are meeting about strategies to address the threat in the Mideast…
Which Islam?
Al-Akhbar Blogs 15 Sep 2014 – Western media are aghast: why can’t “Islam” condemn the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and expel it from “Islam.” For Western media, Islam is an office with fancy headquarters where bureaucrats produce fatwas around the clock. In the wake of September 11, Senator Dianne…
Opening of Egypt-Sudan border crossing sign of reconciliation
Al-Monitor 15 Sep 2014 – The opening of the land port between Egypt and Sudan comes as part of a series of conciliatory steps between the two countries.
Khamenei: Iran rejected US offer to cooperate against IS
Al-Monitor 15 Sep 2014 – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that despite statements by US officials, it was Iran who had rejected cooperation with the United States against the Islamic State group.
Egyptian citizens reluctant to leave Libya
Al-Monitor 15 Sep 2014 – While thousands of Egyptians laborers have been forced to leave Libya because of the security situation, many Egyptians chose to remain in Tripoli for economic reasons
Jordanians divided over anti-IS coalition
Al-Monitor 15 Sep 2014 – Jordan’s decision to join the US-led coalition to fight the Islamic State has sparked a heated internal debate over the role the kingdom should play in the alliance.
Jewish extremists try to change status quo at Al-Aqsa
Al-Monitor 15 Sep 2014 – The visit by extreme-right Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin to Al-Aqsa Mosque is yet another example of empowered Jewish extremists seeking to change current agreements over Islam’s third-holiest shrine.
A new era for Israeli beer
Al-Monitor 15 Sep 2014 – Israel’s recent beer festival proved that despite the high alcohol tax nd steep price, Israel’s boutique beer market is developing, offering dozens of selections from microbreweries all over the country.
VIDEO: Mers: Camel traders unalarmed by virus
BBC 15 Sep 2014 – Tulip Mazumdar visits a camel market in Saudi Arabia to see how people feel about Middle East Respiratory Virus being linked to the animals.
Articles
Palestinian reconciliation at crossroads
Nicola Nasser, Arabic Media Internet Network (AMIN) 9/15/2014
President Mahmoud Abbas and the Fatah movement, which he commands, have unleashed a media campaign against Hamas and the resistance. If pressure from the Palestinian public fails to stop the campaign, Abbas may achieve politically what Israel failed to achieve militarily: forcing the Palestinian presidency to choose “peace with Israel” over national reconciliation.
It appears that President Abbas has, indeed, prioritised “peace with Israel.” He has devised plans for resuming negotiations, and is still banking on American support for such talks. This is the only explanation for the current anti-Hamas media campaign.
Abbas sent his negotiators — Saeb Erekat, Majed Faraj and Maen Erekat — to Washington, where they met with US Secretary of State John Kerry a week ago last Wednesday. US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki described the more than two-hour meeting as “constructive”. Abbas then prepared to obtain an Arab mandate, which seems guaranteed in advance, for his plans from the 142nd session of the Arab foreign ministers conference, held in Cairo this week.
However, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power poured cold water over the Palestinian Authority (PA) president’s bid to obtain US backing for his plan, which he intends to put before the UN Security Council and UN General Assembly. The proposal would end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza within three years, during which period negotiations would resume within three months with the occupying power over its borders with the Palestinian state.
“We don’t think there are shortcuts or unilateral measures that can be taken at the United Nations or anyplace else that will bring about the outcome that the Palestinian people most seek,” Power said in a press conference last week. “To think that you can come to New York and secure what needs to be worked out on the ground is not realistic.” more.. e-mail
Abbas and Fatah’s choices
Yassir Al Zaatara, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 9/16/2014
Translated from Addustour newspaper
‘Everyone knows that there is nothing that scares Netanyahu and the Zionist security institution more than an Intifada, even a peaceful one.’
Those who have seen the leaked minutes of the meeting between Mahmoud Abbas, the Qatari Emir, and Khaled Meshaal, accompanied by a delegation from Hamas and Fatah, which seem to be credible, would see a president in a dire situation, as he continuously says “he is fed up”.
This occurred during the frequent and boring references to Hamas’ attempt to stage a coup in the West Bank, on one hand, and to the old story of the tunnel dug by Hamas under his house, which he believes is an attempt to assassinate him, on the other.
Haaretz newspaper revealed the falseness of the first story and that the investigation and questioning of the detained Hamas official have not proven that there were any plans for a coup attempt against the PA. The second story was merely words said jokingly amongst the Hamas members, describing a tunnel that is simply a part of the tunnels dug by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The fact is that any rational person does not need any proof from the Shin Bet or anyone else to realise that the story of the coup in the West Bank is pure fantasy and delusion, as the movement is not that politically senseless that it would ignore the reality of the West Bank and its violation by the occupation, which would make any coup attempt security suicide that will quickly end. This is especially true because the Hamas members in the West Bank do not possess weapons, as the occupation and PA authorities have been zealously persecuting the movement since 2004, and even before then, after “Operation Defensive Shield” in spring 2002. more.. e-mail
Convenient genocide: Another failed war to re-arrange the Middle East
Ramzy Baroud, 9/14/2014
If the US war on Iraq and Afghanistan failed to achieve any long term political objectives, Obama’s chances of success now are close to nil
A few months ago, not many Americans, in fact Europeans as well, knew that a Yazidi sect in fact existed in northwest Iraq. Even in the Middle East itself, the Yazidis and their way of life have been an enigma, shrouded by mystery and mostly grasped through stereotypes and fictitious evidence. Yet in no time, the fate of the Yazidis became a rally cry for another US-led Iraq military campaign.
It was not a surprise that the small Iraqi minority found itself a target for fanatical Islamic Stat
e (IS) militants, who had reportedly carried out unspeakable crimes against Yazidis, driving them to Dohuk, Irbil and other northern Iraqi regions. According to UN and other groups, 40,000 Yazidi had been stranded on Mount Sinjar, awaiting imminent “genocide” if the US and other powers didn’t take action to save them.
The rest of the story was spun from that point on, as the Yazidis – whose very existence was rarely acknowledged in most international media – became a rally cry for US-western intervention in Iraq. The logic for intervention that preceded the latest US bombing campaign of IS targets, which started in mid-June, is similar to what took place in Libya over three years ago. Early 2011, imminent “genocide” awaiting Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi at the hands of Muammar Gaddafi was the rally cry that mobilised western powers to a war that wrought wanton killings and destruction in Libya. Since NATO’s intervention in Libya, which killed and wounded tens of thousands, the country has fallen prey to an endless and ruthless fight involving numerous militias, armed, and financially and politically-backed by various regional and international powers. Libya is now ruled by two governments, two parliaments, and a thousand militia. more.. e-mail
Iranians’ fractured hope for US deal
Reza Ekhtiari Amiri, Asia Times 9/14/2014
‘….a core question remains as to whether, in the event of a comprehensive deal, US leaders would adhere to their obligations.’
The US Treasury Department along with the State Department imposed new sanctions on Friday, August 24, against a number of Iranian and other foreign companies, banks and airlines. According to senior US administration officials, “sanctions should send a message that Tehran should go to the negotiating table to obtain relief from sanctions, rather than trying to evade them”. They said that “more than 60 people and firms had already been targeted since the parties agreed to hold comprehensive nuclear discussions”.
With regard to the continuous sanctions, are Iranians still optimistic about the final product of the upcoming negotiations? In other words, do Iranians expect a final deal between Iran and the US and the latter’s partners, despite the Congress’s measures?
The fact is that, the sanctions have convinced Iranians that the Obama Administration has a hard job to sell at home any likely comprehensive agreement. The hawkish members of the Congress have initiated more aggressive policies against Iran and appeared as “deal-breakers” since the Obama Administration adopted an accommodative approach towards the former and endeavored to close Iran’s nuclear dossier.
That is the reality of the political structure of the US that some powerful lobbies such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee are working hard to impede any final agreement or, at least, prevent a “bad agreement” between the two countries.
Regarding the possible final product of the nuclear talks, Iranians, in general, are divided in three main categories:First, the hard-liners who follow Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, who said, on February 17: “I am not optimistic about the negotiations. It will not lead anywhere, but I am not opposed either.” According to them, thanks to the US negative historical background in Iran more.. e-mail
Gaza goes back to school
Electronic Intifada: 16 Sep 2014 – How do you teach justice in an open-air prison? more..
Campaign gives new choices to Druze youth facing Israeli conscription
Electronic Intifada: 16 Sep 2014 – Maisan Hamdan, an organizer with a military refusal group, on the rise in conscientious objection. more..
How historian Shlomo Sand “stopped being a Jew”
Electronic Intifada: 15 Sep 2014 – The Israeli author and academic lives in what he describes as “one of the most racist societies in the Western world.” more..
political cartoonists and graphics on the (US-backed) ISIS-virus and the other “moderat
e” terrorists
In Gaza: 15 Sep 2014 – Sometimes images say it all. by Tim Anderson by Tim Anderson by Tim Anderson by Tim Anderson by Tim Anderson Filed under: Syriamore
Jewish State and Islamic State, Like Breeds Like
Palestine Chronicle: 16 Sep 2014 – By Ali Kazak Sixty-six years after the establishment of the “Jewish State” in the Middle East, the world is witnessing the establishment of an “Islamic State” with many similarities. Both states were established by extreme ideologies exploiting religion, both were accomplished by mainly foreign elements to the region and by terrorism, brutal atrocities, horrifying massacres and ethnic-cleansing on ethno/religious grounds. Sir Gerald Kaufman, British MP, said in the House of Commons on 15 Jan 2009 “Israel was born out of Jewish terrorism.” Short of conversion and selling women, very few differences exist between the crimes used by the Jewish and Islamic terrorists. ISIS beheads Muslims (both Sunnis and Shi’ites), Christian Arabs and Westerners, the Zionist Jews also killed Muslims and Christians as well as British; while they did not behead them in front of the cameras, they mutilated and executed their victims by lining them up against walls and shooting…more
Beit Ummar: Heart of Darkness
Palestine Chronicle: 16 Sep 2014 – By Stephen Williams The title of Joseph Conrad’s novel “Heart of Darkness” refers both to a geographical entity- colonial Congo in the 19th Century- and to a spiritual and moral wilderness in which the human soul is debased by hatred and greed. And last week I was there; in Beit Ummar. But it wasn’t Beit Ummar itself that was the Heart of Darkness- on the contrary, there I found kindness, compassion and resilience -“samud”- amongst the community. The darkness was outside, in the settlements that surround it, and among the settlers themselves whose behaviour impinges on every aspect of the lives of Beit Ummar’s citizens. Economic growth, education, family relationships, all suffer at the hands of a group of invaders who think themselves above the law; as indeed they usually are. I’ve travelled to Hebron on a number of occasions over the past decade but this time, Abdullla wanted me…more
In the Desert – A Poem
Palestine Chronicle: 16 Sep 2014 – By Nasser Barghouty By the sea under frightened skies of shone past and stolen tomorrows stands your heart alone by the damned shore to love and last it trembles just once more for that which it knows its only sight in an endless flight all too well and gore moments which are told and sold of another day another breath failed by our prayers in a silent roar to a crowded death nameless and faceless and all too eager to bore into our shameless souls and our timeless frozen core forgive and forget me and what not and spare none just like your sea and your huts as has Canaan Caesar and the Three and all the others before. – Nasser Barghouty contributed this poem toPalestineChronicle.com.more
Palestinian Reconciliation at Crossroads
Palestine Chronicle: 16 Sep 2014 – By Nicola Nasser President Mahmoud Abbas and the Fatah movement, which he commands, have unleashed a media campaign against Hamas and the resistance. If pressure from the Palestinian public fails to stop the campaign, Abbas may achieve politically what Israel failed to achieve militarily: forcing the Palestinian presidency to choose “peace with Israel” over national reconciliation. It appears that President Abbas has, indeed, prioritized “peace with Israel.” He has devised plans for resuming negotiations, and is still banking on American support for such talks. This is the only explanation for the current anti-Hamas media campaign. Abbas sent his negotiators — Saeb Erekat, Majed Faraj and Maen Erekat — to Washington, where they met with US Secretary of State John Kerry a week ago last Wednesday. US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki described the more than two-hour meeting as “constructive”. Abbas then prepared to obtain an Arab mandate, which seems guaranteed…more
More material available from Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel – www.vtjp.org
To subscribe, please write to OccupationNews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visithttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/OccupationNews/join
The New Dark Age 