VTJP Occupied Palestine and Israel: News and Articles 27 April 2015

27 April 2015 — VTJP

News

International Middle East Media Center

Soldiers Break Into Homes, Shops, In Aida Refugee Camp
IMEMC – 27 Apr 2015 – Israeli soldiers invaded, on Monday evening, the Aida refugee camp, north of the West Bank city of Bethlehem, broke into homes, and destroyed doors of a number of stores, before searching them. …

50 Olive Saplings Uprooted In Bethlehem
IMEMC – 27 Apr 2015 – A number of extremist Israeli settlers, living in the Eliezer illegal colony, invaded, Monday, a Palestinian orchard in the al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem, and uprooted more than 50 olive saplings. … 

Israeli Extremists Uproot Palestinian Trees In Hebron
IMEMC – 27 Apr 2015 – A number of Israeli extremists cut and uprooted, Monday, dozens of olive and almond trees, and grapevines, in Wadi al-Amir area, in Halhoul town, north of the southern West Bank city of Hebron. Army demolished four residential structures in the Jordan Valley. …

Including A Child, Soldiers Kidnap Three Palestinians In Jerusalem
IMEMC – 27 Apr 2015 – Israeli soldiers kidnapped, on Monday at dawn, two young Palestinian men, and a child, in occupied East Jerusalem, and violently searched homes before attacking several family members, causing injuries. …

Israel To Build 77 New Homes In Illegal East Jerusalem Colonies
IMEMC – 27 Apr 2015 – The Israeli government invited, Monday, tenders for constructing 77 new residential units in illegal colonies in occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli Peace Now Movement has reported. … 

Despite Israeli Restrictions, Hundreds Attend Funeral Of Slain Jerusalem Child
IMEMC – 26 Apr 2015 – Despite Israeli demands and preconditions for the burial of the slain Palestinian child from occupied Jerusalem, hundreds of Palestinians managed to attend the funeral, late on Sunday at night. …

Spread of BDS Movement Unprecedented Worldwide
IMEMC – 26 Apr 2015 – In its periodic report on the boycott against Israeli products, the national office for land defense said that the movement is growing worldwide, and that people in different fields including cultural, academic, economic, sport and military fields, are demanding Israel be held accountable for its crimes against Palestine. …

Palestinian Arrested Over Alleged Hit-and-Run
IMEMC – 26 Apr 2015 – A Palestinian suspected of ramming his car into a group of Israeli policeman in occupied East Jerusalem on Saturday night has been arrested by Israeli police, a police spokesman said Sunday. …

Palestinians in Israel Call for General Strike
IMEMC – 26 Apr 2015 – A general strike has been called for Tuesday in protest of the recent wave of home demolitions in Palestinian communities throughout Israel. … 

Ma’an News

Palestinian dies in Gaza tunnel collapse
4/27/2015 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A Palestinian worker died on Monday when a tunnel collapsed in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a health official said. A Ministry of Health spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra told Ma’an that Muhammad Khalid al-Najjar, 27, was killed in the incident. His body has been taken to the Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital. Last week, Ahmad Majed Salim al-Saqqa, 19….

Israeli forces demolish 4 structures in Jericho village
4/27/2015 – JERICHO (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities demolished four agricultural structures used by farmers in the Jericho village of al-Jiftlik on Monday, locals said. Several steel structures and tents belonging to Yakoub Dies, Muhammad Dies, Mahmoud Dies and Fathi Abdullah were destroyed by the Israeli Civil Administration, witnesses told Ma’an. Israeli forces at the scene did not allow the owners to remove their belongings….

UN: Israel responsible for Gaza shelter attacks
4/27/2015 – UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — A United Nations inquiry on Monday blamed the Israeli military for seven attacks on UN schools in Gaza that were used as shelters during the 2014 war.”I deplore the fact that at least 44 Palestinians were killed as a result of Israeli actions and at least 227 injured at United Nations premises being used as emergency shelters,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said…. Related: UN report: Israel responsible for Gaza shelter attacks

Israel army kills 4 men on Syria border
4/27/2015 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli armed forces on Sunday killed four people when they tried to plant bombs near the Golan Heights on the country’s border with war-torn Syria, a security source said. The incident occurred at night near the town of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli occupied Golan, the source told AFP. The army said on its official Twitter account that the operation targeted….

Israel invites bids for 77 East Jerusalem settler homes
4/27/2015 – JERUSALEM (AFP) –Israeli authorities invited tenders on Monday for the construction of 77 homes in settlement neighborhoods of occupied East Jerusalem, settlement watchdog Peace Now said. Peace Now spokeswoman Hagit Ofran told AFP it was the first such announcement in East Jerusalem since a March 17 general election win by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rightwing Likud party. The watchdog said 36 of them….

Hundreds attend funeral of Jerusalem teen killed at checkpoint
4/27/2015 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Hundreds of Palestinians took part in the Jerusalem funeral of teenagerMuhammad Abu Ghannam, 17, on Monday, defying restrictions imposed by Israel authorities. Israel had previously said they would only allow 70 people to attend his burial at a cemetery close to his home in al-Tur, but hundreds turned out waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans in support of protecting Jerusalem. Israel….

Israel carries out arrest raids across East Jerusalem, West Bank
4/27/2015 – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained 13 Palestinians in arrest raids across the West Bank and East Jerusalem early Monday. Three Palestinians were detained from occupied East Jerusalem when Israeli forces raided their homes in the Old City and Jabal al-Mukabbir village. Sources told Ma’an that Mumen Hashimeh was detained from the Old City, while Ahmad Wissam Eweisat, 21, and Muhammad Ali….

Israeli forces detain 5 women from Aqsa compound
4/27/2015 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained five women from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Monday, witnesses said. The detainees were taken to the Chain Gate police station and afterwards transferred to al-Qishla police station in Jerusalem’s Old City for interrogation. The women were identified as Suha Eid, Salwa Ghazzawi, Ikram Ghazzawi, Suad Ubeidiyya and Iman Abu Isneineh. An Israeli police spokesman confirmed….

Israeli military drill sparks fire on Palestinian farmland
4/27/2015 – TUBAS (Ma’an) — A fire sparked by an Israeli military drill swept across thousands of dunams of Palestinian farmland in the northern Jordan valley on Monday, the Palestinian civil defense said. Some 3,000 to 4,000 dunams of farmland in the Humsa area of eastern Tubas district were affected by the fire after Israeli forces opened fire during a military exercise. The district of Tubas….

Israeli forces close 2 checkpoints after settler car set on fire
4/27/2015 – NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Monday afternoon closed Huwarra and Zaatara checkpoints south of Nablus after a settler car caught fire after Molotov cocktails were thrown at it. A Ma’an reporter said the checkpoints were closed on both sides, and a large number of Israeli forces scoured the area in search of suspects. [END]

Israeli forces close entrance of Jerusalem-area village
4/27/2015 – JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces on Monday afternoon closed down parts of the eastern entrance of al-Issawiya village with cement blocks. Monitoring committee member Muhammad Abu al-Homos told Ma’an that Israeli forces closed parts of the main roads leading to the village in response to alleged rock-throwing and tire-burning. Abu al-Homos said one of the officers informed him that the blocks were….

UN report: Israel responsible for Gaza shelter attacks
4/27/2015 – UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — A UN inquiry on Monday blamed the Israeli military for seven attacks on UN schools in Gaza that were used as shelters during the recent war.”I deplore the fact that at least 44 Palestinians were killed as a result of Israeli actions and at least 227 injured at United Nations premises being used as emergency shelters,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in…. Related: UN: Israel responsible for Gaza shelter attacks

Israel charges soldiers over looting during Gaza war
4/27/2015 – JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli military prosecutors have filed charges against three soldiers for alleged theft from Palestinians, and related offences, during last summer’s Gaza war, the military said on Monday. They were the first indictments relating to the 50-day “Operation Protective Edge”, the subject of a United Nations inquiry which is to report its findings shortly. An Israeli army statement said that charges….

Gazans visit jailed relatives in Israeli prison
4/27/2015 – GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities are to allow dozens of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to visit jailed relatives in the Israeli prison of Ramon on Monday. Spokesperson of the International Committee of the Red Cross Suhair Zaquut told Ma’an that 87 Gazans, including 27 children, would be allowed to pass through Erez crossing to visit 43 Palestinians in Ramon prison….

Hamdallah meets with German delegation in Ramallah
4/27/2015 – RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah called on the international community to find a comprehensive solution to the Palestinian question Monday, as he received a parliamentary delegation from Germany in his office in Ramallah. Hamdallah called on the international community to push towards a Palestinian State empty of settlements and with the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem geographically connected. The prime….

From Hebron, Palestinian scarf resists Chinese competition
4/27/2015 – Updated: April 26, 2015 – HEBRON (AFP) — In the face of strong competition from China, the traditional, locally produced Palestinian headscarf has put up a show of resistance, successfully pulling itself back from the brink of extinction. Thanks to the business sense of two brothers from the southern West Bank city of Hebron, the traditional black-and-white keffiyeh headscarf has discovered a new lease of life. In….

Media: Over 50 workers trapped in Saudi building collapse
4/27/2015 – RIYADH (AFP) — The collapse of a convention center being built northwest of the Saudi capital left more than 50 workers trapped under rubble on Monday, official media said. The collapse “happened at noon and resulted in more than 50 workers being trapped,” the Saudi Press Agency said, adding that four wounded were recovered from the building site for Qassim University. Bandar al-Roshodi, the university spokesman….

AlJazeera

UN blames Israel for school attacks during Gaza war
AlJazeera 27 Apr 2015 – Inquiry says military responsible for the deaths of at least 44 Palestinians who sought refuge at UN sites last year.

Israel invites tenders for more settlement buildings
AlJazeera 27 Apr 2015 – Authorities invite tenders for construction of 77 settlement buildings in occupied East Jerusalem, watchdog group says.

International Solidarity Movement

South Hebron Hills – farming under occupation
International Solidarity Movement – 27th April 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Team Al Khalil | South Hebron Hills, Occupied Palestine Located in the tip of the West Bank, the South Hebron Hills are dotted with farming and shepherd communities. We are currently in the wheat harvest season and the children are spending their last few weeks…

Journal: House demolition in East Jerusalem
International Solidarity Movement – 27th April 2015 | International Solidarity Movement, Team Al Khalil | East Jerusalem, Occupied Palestine The family and internationals sitting around a fire during the night This has been hard to write down. The three of us put off again and again the thoughts and fears of that day, to remember them and…

Relief Web

occupied Palestinian territory: UN report: Israel responsible for Gaza shelter attacks
Relief Web 27 Apr 2015 – Source: Agence France-Presse Country: occupied Palestinian territory United Nations, United States | AFP | Monday 4/27/2015 – 16:38 GMT | 311 words A United Nations inquiry on Monday blamed the Israeli military for seven attacks on UN schools in Gaza that were used…

occupied Palestinian territory: The Government of Italy announces a €1.0 million contribution to support East Jerusalem Hospitals
Relief Web 27 Apr 2015 – Source: European Union Country: Italy, occupied Palestinian territory PR/07/2015 The Italian Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Honourable Lapo Pistelli announced today, in a meeting with the representatives of the six East Jerusalem Hospitals (Makassed Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital,…

Syrian Arab Republic: The Syrian Arab Red Crescent along with the International Committee of the Red Cross Visit Yalda, Babbila and Beit Sahem Areas
Relief Web 27 Apr 2015 – Source: Syrian Arab Red Crescent Country: occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic With attendance of Ms. Marianne Gasser, Head of ICRC delegation in Syria, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent team paid field visit to Yalda, Babbila and Beit Sahem areas…

Syrian Arab Republic: Minister Flanagan announces further humanitarian funding for Syria crisis
Relief Web 26 Apr 2015 – Source: Government of Ireland Country: Iraq, Ireland, Jordan, Lebanon, occupied Palestinian territory, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan TD, today (Sunday) announced additional humanitarian funding of €2 million in response the ongoing crisis…

The National

Exodus from Kathmandu as quake toll crosses 4,000
The National 27 Apr 2015 – Many more deaths likely once rescuers manage to reach rural areas, officials warn.

Kerry and Zarif resume nuclear talks in New York
The National 27 Apr 2015 – Top US and Iranian diplomats begin final push for a permanent deal by June 30 deadline.

Nepalis in India frantically try to reach friends and family
The National 27 Apr 2015 – Having moved abroad in hope of making more money, they are now desperate to know what happened to their loved ones.

Yemenis wait for aid as airstrikes continue
The National 27 Apr 2015 – Houthi rebels block convoys to Sanaa, while coalition searches hold up food shipments.

Nepal quake death toll climbs to more than 3,200 – video
The National 27 Apr 2015 – Poor conditions hamper aid efforts as residents do without food, water and medical supplies in Nepali capital.

Skaters in the streets of Ethiopia flip perceptions
The National 27 Apr 2015 – The once relatively unknown sport in Addis Ababa is taking Ethipia by storm and attracting the support of skateboarders worldwide.

In a blow to Assad, Syrian insurgents capture military base in northwest
The National 27 Apr 2015 – The capture brought the rebel coalition closer to seizing most of Idlib and moving toward Latakia, Bashar Al Assad’s ancestral home.

Heartrending final farewells for Indonesia death row convicts
The National 27 Apr 2015 – During the visit to Nusakambangan Island, Filipina maid Mary Jane Veloso gently explained to six-year-old Mark Darren and her other son, 12-year-old Mark Danielle, that she would not be coming home.

Race against time in Nepal as death toll tops 3,800 – in pictures
The National 27 Apr 2015 – Nepalis started fleeing their devastated capital on Monday after an earthquake killed more than 3,800 people and toppled entire streets, as the United Nations prepared a ‘massive’ aid operation.

Pakistan ‘mini-cyclone’ death toll rises to 45
The National 27 Apr 2015 – On Sunday evening, flood waters from the torrential rain reached a depth of a metre in some parts of Peshawar, which is home to more than three million people.

Thailand seizes 3 tons of elephant tusks smuggled from Kenya
The National 27 Apr 2015 – More than 500 elephant tusks worth US$6 million (Dh22m) went through ports in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore before reaching Thailand.

Pacquiao pleads for Indonesia to spare death row Filipina
The National 27 Apr 2015 – The eight-division world champion, who will face unbeaten American Mayweather in the richest fight in boxing history in Las Vegas on Saturday, appealed to Indonesian president Joko Widodo to spare Mary Jane Veloso.

Israel invites bids for 77 East Jerusalem settler homes: NGO
The National 27 Apr 2015 – Settlement watchdog Peace Now said the tenders could be a sign of the future inclinations of the rightwing religious coalition government that Benjamin Netanyahu is currently putting together.

UNICEF brings aid relief to bombing victims in Sanaa, including children – video
The National 27 Apr 2015 – Relief aid comes as a Saudi-led campaign to unseat Yemen’s Houthi forces enters its fifth week and hospitals say they are running out of essentials.

Peru celebrates native percussion instrument, the cajon – video
The National 27 Apr 2015 – A lively celebration as Peruvians hold festival in honor of the cajon drum, and attempt to break the Guinness record for Largest Cajon Ensemble.

Rescuers struggle to reach many in Nepal quake, fear worst
The National 27 Apr 2015 – Reports received so far by aid groups suggest that many communities perched on mountainsides are devastated or struggling to cope.

Khamenei slams rich kids after deadly car crashes
The National 26 Apr 2015 – Iran’s supreme leader speaks out after an accident involving a national racing champion.

Ha’aretz

Israeli-American chef brings hummus and shakshuka to the city of gumbo and crawfish
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Nepal earthquake was a disaster waiting to happen
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

TechNation / Israeli firm designing battery stations for Chinese buses
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Maryland governor declares state of emergency amid riots
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Hurtling toward the brick wall of reality
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Iran aims to use NPT conference to renew international pressure on Israel 
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Boehner: Republicans would lack the votes to overcome an Obama veto on Iran
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Can former Israeli mayor’s prison sentence deter corruption?
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Russia pulls Holocaust comic book Maus off shelves due to swastika on cover
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Moscow’s Limmud conference is world’s second-largest 
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Is David Cameron the most pro-Israel British PM ever?
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Jerusalem hosts gynecology conference – but no women allowed
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Israel issues tenders for construction of 77 new homes in East Jerusalem
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Mylan says Teva offer too low and stock ‘unacceptable’
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

U.S.: It will be hard to support Israel in UN if it steps back from two-state solution
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Italy’s unique form of Judaism bows to Israeli Orthodoxy
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

The war racket in the Middle East serves the U.S.
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

UN report: Israel responsible for hits on 7 Gaza facilities during war
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Heavily pregnant Nepali surrogate mothers to arrive in Israel following quake
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Popularity is not everything, Mr. Kahlon
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Israel’s north is heating up: Nasrallah will have the final word
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

George W. Bush implicitly knocks Obama over Iran deal
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

This right-winger’s about-face on settlements might inspire Netanyahu to stop building
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

The basic facts: Five things to know about the earthquake in Nepal
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Israel sending planes with aid, rescue workers to Nepal
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Weight-loss surgery becoming increasingly popular in Israel, the land of milk and honey
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Israel denies report it struck near Syria-Lebanon border
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Former Bat Yam mayor gets 8 months in prison upon state appeal
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Nepalese caregivers in Israel frantic to hear from families back home
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Nepal-scale earthquake could hit Israel – and country is far from prepared
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Netanyahu’s offer to make Bennett education minister irks Likud
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Upper Nazareth ex-mayor receives only community service, is free to run again
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Israel’s interior minister: We should let in pregnant surrogate Nepalese mothers
Ha’aretz – 27 Apr 2015

Rivlin’s failure to recognize Armenian genocide disappoints Armenian leader
Ha’aretz – 26 Apr 2015

Car bombing in Givatayim wounds four gang members
Ha’aretz – 26 Apr 2015

Israel’s next military attorney general to be chosen early
Ha’aretz – 26 Apr 2015

Israel must abolish discrimination in access to surrogacy
Ha’aretz – 26 Apr 2015

Where is the concern for the surrogate mothers in Nepal?
Ha’aretz – 26 Apr 2015

Israel must remove the discrimination inherent in its surrogacy law
Ha’aretz – 26 Apr 2015

Am I trying to destroy the Jewish people?
Ha’aretz – 26 Apr 2015

Israel’s Arabs can still identify with the Jews’ tragic fate
Ha’aretz – 26 Apr 2015

Nepal earthquake updates / Some 200 Israelis preparing to return home on special flight
Ha’aretz – 26 Apr 2015

Jerusalem Post

Three injured in crash on Highway 232
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – 

BDS movement looking to ‘hold Israel accountable’ over South African visa denial
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman slams “hypocrisy” over xenophobic rioting in Johannesburg. 

State of emergency called in Maryland following violent riots
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – 

US blames Houthis for renewal of Saudi bombings on Yemen
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – 

Israel working to rescue 68 trapped hikers in Nepal
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – Five planes head to Nepal to join international relief effort; 50 Israelis still unaccounted for, as death toll approaches 4,000. 

Emotional homecoming as rescued Israelis return from Nepal with newborns
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – “Every aftershock threatened to bring the building down on top of us … It was a nightmare that we are just now beginning to understand,” one parent says. 

Gunman in Bosnia shoots police officer while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – 

Exclusive: Navy’s cyber warriors in technological arms race with Israel’s foes
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – “From our perspective, the threat is always lurking on our perimeters – these are ‘borders’ made up of cables,” says a senior navy source. 

ISIS kills five journalists working for Libyan TV station
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – The Barqa TV reporters, four Libyans and one Egyptian, were kidnapped in August. 

Border Police officer lightly injured during clashes in east Jerusalem
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – 

A high stakes covert battle in the North could erupt into an overt clash
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – Israel’s defense establishment, it is safe to assume, strenuously weighs the risks and benefits of each covert strike before launching it. 

Israeli jumbo jet lands in Kathmandu
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – 

Over 200 attend funeral of Arab teen who attacked checkpoint officers with butcher knife
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says that despite the charged atmosphere and Arab reports of rioting, no disturbances took place during the procession and ceremony. 

An eclectic array of musicians expected to grace the stage at the Israel Festival
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – 

US-led forces conduct 31 air strikes in Syria, Iraq
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – 

Israel Festival 2015: Out with the old, in with the new
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – An exciting European line-up is set to expand the festival’s horizons. 

‘How much longer until they rescue us?’
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – A number of the families of stranded trekkers met Monday afternoon at the Foreign Ministry to press Israeli officials to do more to bring their children home. 

Palestinian rock-thrower moderately injured by IDF fire in West Bank
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – 

Agritech firms must work together to overcome innovative challenges of the future, experts say
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – 

State Department says four US citizens dead after Nepal quake
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – 

Israeli Arabs call general strike Tuesday over house demolitions
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – NGO complains that State Comptroller report did not adequately address concerns about the Arab housing shortage. 

Nepalese doctor in Israel heads home to provide medical aid
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – Foreign workers concerned about their relatives and their country after earthquake. 

IDF vehicle overturns near Gaza, four soldiers hurt
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – 

Iran slams Israel, nuclear powers at UN atomic treaty meeting
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – FM Zarif calls upon nuclear-weapon states to cease their plans to further invest in modernizing and extending the life span of their nuclear weapons. 

Islamic State kills five journalists working for Libyan TV station
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – 

Police: Attorneys in northern Israel at center of scam to steal wide swaths of farm land
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – The suspects could potentially face charges of forgery, fraud, money laundering, and extortion. 

US to discuss Yemen conflict with Iran on Monday, says Kerry
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – 

If you believe, they’ll put a Torah on the moon
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – French-Israeli entrepreneur Haim Aouizerate is seeking to send a fully functional, albeit tiny, Torah scroll to the moon. 

Hadassah resumes liver transplants
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – Five organs donated by family of 71-year-old stroke victim. 

Fifty Israelis remain unaccounted for in Nepal
Jerusalem Post 27 Apr 2015 – 

The Guardian

Israel responsible for Gaza strikes on UN schools and shelters, inquiry finds
The Guardian 27 Apr 2015 – Ban-Ki-moon condemns attacks, including strike on UN school that killed 20 people and wounded dozens, ‘as a matter of the utmost gravity’ Israel was directly responsible for the targeting of seven UN premises used as civilian…

Daily Star

Coalition vows two-pronged Yemen strategy
Daily Star 27 Apr 2015 A coalition of Arab states vowed to coordinate political and military efforts to restore order in Yemen as Saudi-led warplanes Monday launched new airstrikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Iran slams nuclear powers, Israel at U.N. meeting
Daily Star 27 Apr 2015 Iran demanded Monday that countries possessing nuclear weapons scrap any plans to modernize or extend the life of their atomic arsenals, while branding Israel a threat to the region due to its presumed nuclear stockpile.

Syria regime suffers another defeat
Daily Star 27 Apr 2015 A coalition of Islamist rebels seized an army base in northwestern Syria at dawn Monday after a suicide bomber from the Nusra Front drove a truck packed with explosives into the compound and blew it up.

Hariri: Elect president, fight extremism to avert civil war
Daily Star 27 Apr 2015 Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri warned Monday that Lebanon was threatened with a renewal of civil war unless rival Lebanese factions acted to elect a president and fight religious extremism.

Salma Hayek classy and classical in Lebanon
Daily Star 27 Apr 2015 Salma Hayek opted for a classy and classical look during her stay in Lebanon to promote The Prophet, a film she co-produced based on a book written more than 100 years ago by renowned Lebanese-American poet…

Marooned truckers arrive home
Daily Star 27 Apr 2015 Thirty-nine Lebanese truck drivers arrived in Beirut Monday evening, after being trapped in Saudi Arabia for nearly a month following Jordan’s closure of its border with Syria.

Security forces begin first raids into southern suburbs
Daily Star 27 Apr 2015 A long-awaited security plan for Beirut’s southern suburbs, set to kick off Tuesday, has left the longtime Hezbollah stronghold rumbling, after security forces carried out a series of weekend raids on its most notorious neighborhoods.

Municipal council of Haret Saida dissolved
Daily Star 27 Apr 2015 The municipal council of the southern town of Haret Saida was dissolved Monday, with south Lebanon Governor Mansour Daou accepting the resignation of the mayor and members of the body.

Saudi-Lebanon ties good despite diatribe: diplomat
Daily Star 27 Apr 2015 Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Asiri said Monday Saudi-Lebanese relations would not be affected by Hezbollah’s scathing diatribe against the kingdom over the Gulf nation’s military intervention in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia-based expats tell Salam of concern
Daily Star 27 Apr 2015 A delegation of Lebanese businessmen living in Saudi Arabia met Monday with Prime Minister Tammam Salam to convey the concerns of the Lebanese living in the kingdom and other Gulf states following Hezbollah’s sustained blistering campaign…

Palestinian kids instilled with national identity
Daily Star 27 Apr 2015 Dozens of Palestinian children from refugee camps in Lebanon participated in a Citizenship and Personal Identity ceremony, to show what they have learned during a two-week program about identity.

Lebanon trade not affected by Syrian crisis: World Bank
Daily Star 27 Apr 2015 Lebanese trade has been less affected by the Syrian conflict than other regional countries, a World Bank study released Monday said.

YNet News

World’s smallest Bible goes on display in Jerusalem
YNet News, 27 Apr 2015 – Nano Bible shown in Israel Museum exhibit is a tiny microchip on which all 1.2 million words of the Hebrew Bible are carved; text must be magnified 10,000 times to be read. ….

It’s a different story when it’s on Europe’s doorstep
YNet News, 27 Apr 2015 – The same Europe that wasn’t shocked by the murder of 200,000 Syrian citizens is now in shock because the bodies are washing up on its beautiful coastline. ….

IDF rescue mission lands in Nepal
YNet News, 27 Apr 2015 – ….

Gunman shouting Allahu akbar in Bosnia storms police station
YNet News, 27 Apr 2015 – ….

Visits to Auschwitz museum up 40% in first quarter of 2015
YNet News, 27 Apr 2015 – Due to growing attendance, authorities call on public to pre-book visits to former Nazi concentration and extermination camp on special website. ….

Car bombings in Iraq’s capital kill at least 20 civilians
YNet News, 27 Apr 2015 – ….

The young Arabs who have chosen to be part of Israel
YNet News, 27 Apr 2015 – Op-ed: If more people like Lucy Aharish become the face of Israel’s Arab public, the Jewish public will be more supportive of equal rights for Arabs and the level of hostility and racism will drop. ….

IDF fires at stone-throwing Palestinians near Jenin, 16-year-old wounded
YNet News, 27 Apr 2015 – ….

4 IDF soldiers lightly hurt in car accident on Gaza border
YNet News, 27 Apr 2015 – ….

With a score to settle, Hezbollah will not give up 
YNet News, 27 Apr 2015 – An attempt to plant explosives on Israeli side of Syria border fence shows an attempt to carry out an attack that leaves no Syrian fingerprints. ….

IDF rescuers bound for Nepal stuck at home
YNet News, 26 Apr 2015 – Military sends 260-member mission to assist in aftermath of earthquake, but damage in Kathmandu has delayed it for at least 12 hours. ….

IDF kills four terrorists trying to infiltrate Israel from north 
YNet News, 26 Apr 2015 – ‘Any attempt to harm our soldiers will be met with firm response,’ Prime Minister Netanyahu says after IDF kill terrorists trying to place blast along Israel’s border with Syria in Golan Heights. ….

Palestinian official skeptical about peace with next Israeli government
YNet News, 26 Apr 2015 – Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat says Netanyahu’s rhetoric will foster despair and leaves no room for discussion. ….

Palestine Information Center

Palestinian dies in tunnel collapse in Rafah
PIC – 27 Apr 2015 – The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced on Monday that a 27-year-old Palestinian died due to the collapse of a commercial tunnel in Rafah city in southern Gaza. 

Jerusalemites bid last farewell to 17-year-old Ali at crack of dawn
PIC – 27 Apr 2015 – Despite Israeli demands and preconditions for the burial of the 17-year-old Palestinian boy Abu Ghannam, slain by the IOF, hundreds of Palestinians managed to attend the funeral. 

A woman among four reported Jerusalemite detainees 
PIC – 27 Apr 2015 – The Israeli Police Forces nabbed at dawn Monday four Jerusalemites including a woman in Jabal Mukaber town in occupied Jerusalem. 

Hamas, committee: Morocco should think twice before receiving ill-famed Peres
PIC – 27 Apr 2015 – Hamas on Sunday branded an upcoming visit by former Israeli president Shimon Peres to Morocco an attempt to polish Israel’s reputation. 

Palestinians bid farewell to 2O-year-old Mahmoud shot dead by IOF
PIC – 27 Apr 2015 – Thousands of Palestinians on Sunday marched in the funeral procession of a West Bank youth shot dead by the Israeli occupation forces. 

MP: PA making every effort to mess up further elections in W.Bank
PIC – 27 Apr 2015 – Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council Fathi Qar’awi on Sunday said the Birzeit elections, sweepingly won by Hamas, would be probably the last called in the West Bank. 

Report: Only 10% of needed rebuilding material allowed into Gaza
PIC – 27 Apr 2015 – The amount of reconstruction material that entered Gaza since August 2014 amounts to only 10 percent of the market’s needs, a report said. 

Rights group holds IOF responsible for Fares Sada’s life 
PIC – 27 Apr 2015 – Muhjet Quds Institution identified Sunday the prisoner who carried out the stab operation in Negev prison as the Islamic Jihad Movement-affiliated prisoner Fares Sada. 

Palestinians in Europe wrap up their 13th conference in Berlin
PIC – 27 Apr 2015 – The 13the Palestinians in Europe Conference wrapped up Saturday evening in Berlin by calling for developing a Palestinian strategy to internationally prosecute the IOA. 

The child Hadil sheds tears at the entrances to al-Aqsa (report)
PIC – 27 Apr 2015 – The 10-year-old Hadil al-Rajabi was prevented by the Israeli soldiers from visiting the place she loves the most; al-Aqsa Mosque. 

Gazan students protest against political arrests in West Bank
PIC – 26 Apr 2015 – Dozens of Gazan students organized Sunday morning a protest vigil against PA systematic political arrests against their colleagues in Birzeit University in West Bank. 

PLO calls for increasing financial support to UNRWA
PIC – 26 Apr 2015 – Member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Zakaria al-Agha called Sunday on donor countries to increase their financial support to UNRWA. 

Clashes broke out in O. J’lem
PIC – 26 Apr 2015 – Violent clashes broke out Sunday afternoon between Israeli police forces and local youths in al-Tur neighborhood in occupied Jerusalem, the PIC reporter said. 

Palestinian man injured in IOF shooting
PIC – 26 Apr 2015 – A Palestinian man was injured in northern Gaza Strip at noon Sunday at the hands of Israeli occupation forces (IOF). 

Hamas hails the resistance operations in al-Khalil, O. Jerusalem
PIC – 26 Apr 2015 – The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, hailed the stabbing and running over operations against Israelis in al-Khalil and Occupied Jerusalem. 

Carter to arrive in Gaza on Thursday
PIC – 26 Apr 2015 – Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter will arrive in the Gaza Strip on Thursday to meet officials of the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, a security source said on Sunday. 

Settlers attack houses in al-Khalil, IOF raids Aroub camp
PIC – 26 Apr 2015 – Extremist Jewish groups of settlers attacked at dawn Sunday the houses of Palestinians in al-Khalil city in the southern West Bank. 

Israeli navy opens machinegun fire at fishermen in Gaza sea
PIC – 26 Apr 2015 – Israeli navy gunboats opened machinegun fire at Palestinians’ fishing boats in Gaza sea on Sunday morning. 

WAFA

Israel Issues Tenders to Build 77 New Settlement Units in East Jerusalem
WAFA – 27 Apr 2015

EU 2014 European Policy Report Recommends Fair Elections in Palestine
WAFA – 27 Apr 2015

Israeli Forces Detain 12 Palestinians in West Bank
WAFA – 27 Apr 2015

Israeli Forces Storm, Wreak Havoc in Palestinian-Owned Shops in Bethlehem
WAFA – 27 Apr 2015

Israeli Forces Wreck Residential Structures in Jericho Village
WAFA – 27 Apr 2015

Misc

JVP Statement in solidarity with the people of Baltimore
Jewish Voice for Peace – Jewish Voice for Peace stands with the people of Baltimore as they demand justice for Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old Black man who died of a spinal cord injury while in police custody. Thousands of protesters throughout the city have mobilized against a national epidemic of police…

Is there room for liberal Zionists in an anti-Zionist movement?
Mondoweiss – The Likud party’s unsurprising success in last month’s poll reinforced the essential argument (reality) that the two-state outcome is not viable. The question of whether that’s been the case for a week or twenty years is basically irrelevant at this point – one state exists, and it’s an ugly…

One rocket from Gaza outweighs 6 Israeli incursions and 67 attacks
Mondoweiss – Over the weekend, Yousef Munayyer of the US Campaign to End the Occupation seized on the news that a rocket had been fired on Israel from Gaza. He tweeted: There are reports of the first projectile fired from Gaza into Israel in months. No one reports…

Forgiving the anti-Semites
Mondoweiss – A Passover diary. April 3 . At my Passover seder, I talked with an old friend about when our grandfathers came over to this country, at the turn of the last century. He said that pogroms were happening all over eastern Europe then, random acts of violence…

UN: ‘Not a single destroyed home has been rebuilt’ in Gaza since Israeli war last summer
Mondoweiss – No home rebuilt in Gaza after 2014 Israel war: UNRWA Press TV 25 Apr – The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) says no house has been reconstructed in the besieged Gaza Strip eight months after the end…

Political cartoonist Mohammad Saba’aneh: Art can change how people view Palestine
Mondoweiss – When Mohammad Saba’aneh was growing up in Kuwait, his parents used to show him newspapers featuring the work of Naji al-Ali, the famous Palestinian cartoonist who published in Kuwaiti papers. Al-Ali’s cartoons were used to tell the young Saba’aneh about Palestine. Today, the 36-year-old follows in…

Countdown to Iran nuclear deal – but resistance remains 
BBC 27 Apr 2015 – Lyse Doucet: Will sides be able to clinch final Iran nuclear deal?

John Kerry Says Nuclear Deal With Iran Is Closer Than Ever 
The Foward Breaking News 27 Apr 2015 – The United States and five other major powers are closer than ever to a deal with Iran that would end a 12-year-old nuclear standoff, though more tough negotiations lie ahead, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday.

North Africa: Arab Youth Have No Trust in Democracy 
allAfrica.com 27 Apr 2015 – [IPS] Rome -The results of a survey of what 3,500 young people between the ages of 18 and 24 – in all Arab countries except Syria – feel about the current situation in the Middle East and North Africa have just been released.

Where Do Israeli Babies Come From? Nepal. But After Quake, for How Long? 
The Forward New 27 Apr 2015 – Nepal’s devastating earthquake has sent shock waves of fear and worry through a most unlikely group: gay Israelis who hoped to become parents via surrogacy with South Asian women.

Israel struck Gaza shelters – UN 
BBC 27 Apr 2015 – At least 44 Palestinians were killed by “Israeli actions” while sheltering at seven UN schools during last summer’s war in Gaza, a UN inquiry finds.

Berlin Police Order Soccer Fans Not To Display Israel Flag 
The Foward Breaking News 27 Apr 2015 – Police in Berlin have apologized to German fans of the Ingolstadt Soccer Club for making them roll up the Israeli flag they were displaying during a match in the city.

Libya: Ethiopian Embassy in UAE Opens Condolence Book for Isil Killings in Libya 
allAfrica.com 27 Apr 2015 – [Walta Info] Addis Ababa -“Isis [ISIL] cruelly slaughtered our citizens in Libya,” Abdulkadir Risku, Ethiopia’s ambassador to the UAE, said on Thursday.

Israel ‘kills militants’ in Golan 
BBC 27 Apr 2015 – An Israeli air strike has killed four militants armed with a bomb along the Israeli-Syrian frontier in the Golan Heights, the Israeli military says.

Africa: Africa-Asia Summit Wraps Up With Adoption of Declaration On Palestine 
allAfrica.com 27 Apr 2015 – [Algerie Presse Service] Jakarta (indonesia) -A declaration on Palestine was adopted Thursday at the end of the 2015 Asia-Africa Summit and the participants reaffirmed their full support to Palestinians’ fight for the independence from Israeli occupation.

Ethiopia: Religious Fathers Call for Joint Effort to Fight Against Terrorism 
allAfrica.com 27 Apr 2015 – [Walta Info] Addis Ababa -The call was made at a demonstration staged here at Meskel Square as a mark of protest against the self-declared Islamic State (IS) for killing 28 Ethiopians.

U. Penn Hillel Hosts Event With ‘Palestine’ Group †But Was It Against The Rules? 
The Forward New 26 Apr 2015 – The University of Pennsylvania’s Hillel deny they did an end run around strict national pro-Israel guidelines when they hosted a co-sponsored event with a pro-Palestinian student group.

Kidnapped Libyan TV crew found dead 
BBC 27 Apr 2015 – Five Libyan TV journalists are found dead eight months after they were kidnapped in territory controlled by extremist militants.

Kerry, Zarif meet at Iranian envoy’s residence 
Al-Monitor 27 Apr 2015 – The US secretary of state visits an Iranian diplomatic property in New York in a historic move related to the Iranian nuclear negotiations.

Defense bill recognizes Iraq’s Kurdish, Sunni militias as a ‘country’ 
Al-Monitor 27 Apr 2015 – The draft House bill carves out 25% of anti-Islamic State funding for the peshmerga and Sunni tribes.

Hariri: Late Syrian security chief tried to speak out 
Al-Monitor 27 Apr 2015 – A statement by Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Saad Hariri that Rustom Ghazaleh asked to go on television before his death suggests the former Syrian intelligence chief was about to break with the Syrian government.

Syrian dissident flees to Spain 
BBC 27 Apr 2015 – Prominent Syrian dissident Louay Hussein evades a travel ban and flees to Spain before the end of his trial for “weakening national sentiment”.

Rouhani: Police should not enforce Islam 
Al-Monitor 27 Apr 2015 – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has been criticized by conservative clerics for saying the police should enforce the law rather than Islam.

In Turkey’s battle of the G-words, Gallipoli wins 
Al-Monitor 27 Apr 2015 – The damage of the 1915 centennial is already done to Turkey’s international standing. Only time may heal it.

Bennett’s plan B: Education Ministry 
Al-Monitor 27 Apr 2015 – Having garnered fewer votes than expected in the recent election, HaBayit HaYehudi leader Naftali Bennett has put out the word that he’ll settle for the Education Ministry, instead of the Foreign Ministry — raising concerns about whether he can serve as “everyone’s” education minister.

Vigilante justice lands Turkish rape victim in jail 
Al-Monitor 27 Apr 2015 – A Turkish woman who murdered and beheaded her rapist has been sentenced to life in prison, prompting activists to decry the Turkish justice system, which so often offers leniency to men and harshly punishes women for the same crimes.

Kurds pay respects to Armenians 
Al-Monitor 27 Apr 2015 – Most of the massacres during the Armenian genocide were carried out in today’s southeastern Turkey, often by Kurdish militias. Kurds commemorated the genocide in Diyarbakir, the political capital of the Kurds.

Fewer flags fly on Israel’s independence day 
Al-Monitor 27 Apr 2015 – The Israeli left is divided over whether to display flags on Independence Day, with some feeling that this national symbol has been commandeered by the right and no longer stands for what they believe in.

Israeli High Court upholds anti-boycott law 
Al-Monitor 27 Apr 2015 – By defending a law sanctioning calls for economic, cultural or academic boycotts involving Israel, the Israeli High Court endorsed extending Israeli law over the West Bank while also damaging freedom of speech.

Abductions in Syria cause widespread fear 
Al-Monitor 27 Apr 2015 – The Islamic State and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units have been carrying out kidnappings in Syria, both seemingly working toward the same goal: terrorizing those who do not support them.

Iraq’s Gypsy communities face discrimination 
Al-Monitor 27 Apr 2015 – Iraq’s Gypsy communities must lead clandestine lives to avoid persecution by the wider society in Iraq, particularly at the hands of religious extremists and conservatives.

Articles


Israel: A state of denial 
Sharif Nashashibi, Al Jazeera 4/27/2015
As extremism in Israeli society and polity continues to rise, mass-denial is becoming more entrenched and widespread.
Never underestimate the power of denial. It is always easier and quicker to deny wrongdoing than to admit culpability or explain oneself. It stifles legitimate scrutiny in favour of a simplistic “yes / no” argument that is designed to confuse and deceive. This is what makes denial so appealing, and hence so prevalent in cases of injustice.
When it comes to the plight of the Palestinians, denial is the default setting of the pro-Israel propaganda machine. The infamous quote from former Prime Minister Golda Meir – “there is no such thing as Palestinians” – epitomises Israeli denial at arguably its most fundamental.
Justification – no matter how preposterous or morally bankrupt – is the back-up plan when denial can no longer be maintained.
For instance, it has become entirely predictable for Israel to deny bombing UN shelters – whether in Palestine or Lebanon – then justify its actions when video evidence emerges that it cannot refute.
Denial on display
Denial was very much on display during the filming of the latest episode of the Al Jazeera English programme Head to Head, on which I was a panellist.
The main guest, Israeli scholar Robert S. Wistrich, attempted all manner of denials, even when faced with quotes from his own writings to highlight his self-contradictions. more.. e-mail

Journal: House demolition in East Jerusalem 
Maja, Siggy and Jenny, International Solidarity Movement 4/27/2015
Team Al Khalil, East Jerusalem, Occupied Palestine
This has been hard to write down. The three of us put off again and again the thoughts and fears of that day, to remember them and to finally write them down. We have been avoiding it, because it is easier to simply try and forget. But then at the same time, for us it was just this one night, whereas for the families living in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi al-Joz this is everyday life.
An illegal demolition of the majority of the Amro-family home on the 31st of March, 2015 left all the families in Wadi al-Joz scared for the future. If Israeli forces can just turn up one early morning and tear down half a family home without prior notice or any legal grounds, might this also happen to the other few families still living in this neighborhood?
On a Sunday night, the 18th of April, 10 international activists and journalists as well as a few members of the Tutalji family sat outside the family’s home. It was a cold night but we had set up a fire to warm us up. The stars were shining and we were drinking tea and chatting. The children were asleep inside.
Sounds lovely, doesn’t it?
The truth is, the atmosphere was filled with fear and despair. Only a few days earlier, the Tutalji family had received a demolition order for their house, home to Aref Tutalji, his wife and adult daughter, as well as twelve children, aged between 4 and 18 years. They were told the Israeli army would come to demolish their home at four o’clock that night. At very short notice the family now stood to be homeless…. more.. e-mail

Normalising links with Israel in defiance of public opinion 
Abderrahim Chalfaouat, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) 4/27/2015
Since the rise of Islamists to power in Morocco, activities have come to light that hint at the country’s normalisation process in its relations with Israel. For instance, in its 2013 annual report, the Moroccan Observatory against Normalisation, a multi-current grassroots group for advocacy and activism against Israel, listed numerous normalising public figures, institutions and engagements. Feeling the mounting threat that the normalisation of relationships with Israel presents to the social and ethical fabric of Morocco, the monitoring group prepared a proposed law to criminalise official or civil society activities that would result in such links. Even so, despite public activism, street demonstrations and meetings with parliamentary groups to pass the criminalisation law, the level of normalisation appears to be increasing.
The means by which normalisation efforts penetrate Moroccan society are many. They include academic activities such as frequent visits to and participation in conferences organised by the Moshe Dayan Centre for Middle Eastern and African Studies, which actually try to deepen ethnic, cultural and racial rifts in Morocco. Israel, in its attempt to legitimise its crimes, draws an analogy between its occupation of historical Palestine, its current atrocities against the Palestinians, and Arab occupation of North Africa in early Islam.
The plan depends on a number of contradictory elements. The first is likening Islam’s early years to the Holocaust, even though the Palestinians, who are facing genocide at the hands of the Zionists today, did not themselves commit any crimes against Europe’s Jews. The aim is to convince the world, the Moroccan Amazigh (Berbers) and especially the Arabs and Muslims, that since they occupied North Africa, then occupation must be accepted in Palestine. Moroccan pro-Palestine freedom activists responded by pointing out that all nations which have faced genocide have had the right to resist and seek liberation; as such, Palestinian resistance is entirely legitimate. Some Moroccan activists noted that some citizens are pushed to obtain redress price for alleged abuses against their ancestors while Israel blockades Palestinians in Gaza openly…. more.. e-mail

Israeli Right renews its fight on funding for human rights orgs 
Noam Sheizaf, +972 Magazine 4/27/2015
Legislative attacks on EU funding of human rights activities could backfire by forcing the Europeans to revisit the basis for its entire economic relationship with Israel — something that not even BDS has succeeded at accomplishing.
The Israeli Right is once again seeking to introduce legislation that would limit the ability of human rights and anti-occupation organizations to seek funding abroad. As part of coalition negotiations with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett’s Jewish Home party is demanding that foreign-government funding of local institutions require approval by the Defense Ministry and the Knesset’s powerful Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. The next government is unlikely to adopt Bennett’s demand as policy, but some softer version may very well reach the Knesset floor, and even gain the necessary majority to become law.
The right-wing media is already preparing the ground. Right-leaning newspaper Makor Rishon (now owned by Jewish American billionaire Sheldon Adelson) published a major article last weekend based entirely on press releases by NGO Monitor, and focused on the European Union’s support for human rights organizations and other similar groups in Israel.
Like most of the public debate around this issue, the portrait the article painted was biased and one-sided — the organizations themselves weren’t even given a chance to comment. The Jewish Home party and NGO Monitor are not interested in the wider, general effect of foreign entities on the public debate in Israel, nor do they seek to look into the entire array of political organizations that are funded from abroad. They will not, for instance, tell you very much — if anything at all — about right-wing non-profits’ sources of funding. (NGO Monitor itself is funded abroad, and doesn’t have the most transparent record.) The goal of the Jewish Home and NGO Monitor is to attack what they see as the last political platform for anti-occupation activity inside Israeli society…. more.. e-mail

Commemorating the Nakba at a Grim Time
Palestine Chronicle: 27 Apr 2015 – By Samah Jabr Sixty-seven years after the massive expulsion of Palestinians from their homes and lands, the scene in Palestine is grimmer than ever. We observe for example that following almost a year of meetings, the US-backed talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel fell apart last April. What followed that summer was an escalation of violence and a destructive war on Gaza. Although a reconciliation agreement was signed by conflicting Palestinian political parties in 2014, we are still living with the devastating effects of the war on Gaza and the political polarization – which rather than resolving, is now at its peak. The reconstruction of Gaza is on hold; Gaza government employees who were hired between 2007 and 2014 have not been receiving their salaries by the PA government despite the “reconciliation;” continuous electricity and clean water are unavailable in Gaza; and its Rafah entrance has been blocked for…more


More material available from Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel – www.vtjp.org
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