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News
International Middle East Media Center
Pa
May Reconsider Security Relations With Israel
IMEMC 3 Jan 2010 -
Saturday January 02, 2010 - 10:55, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
stated that the Palestinian Authority may reconsider its security
cooperation with Israel, after Israeli military forces assassinated
three Fatah activists in Nablus on December 26 of last year,
Palestinian media sources reported.
Dexia
Bank Refuses Grant For Jewish Settlements
IMEMC 3 Jan 2010 -
Friday January 01, 2010 - 22:42, The Belgian-French Group, Dexia,
refused to finance grants meant for the construction of property in
Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. The decision came after a
Palestinian and a Belgium groups filed a petition against financing
settlement constructions.
PFLP
member sentenced to Five Life-Terms
IMEMC 3 Jan 2010 -
Friday January 01, 2010 - 20:27, An Israeli Court in Jerusalem
sentenced on Friday Ahed Abu Ghalama, head of the military wing of the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), to five
life-terms and five additional years after indicting him of leading the
cell the assassinated the Israeli Tourism Minister on October 17, 2001.
Simultaneous
Solidarity Marches Held On Northern And Southern Borders Of Gaza Strip
IMEMC 3 Jan 2010 -
Friday January 01, 2010 - 17:07, As a group of Israeli peace activists
gathered near the Erez crossing on the northern border of the Gaza
Strip, 1200 international activists with the 'Gaza Freedom March' held
a rally in Cairo to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Israeli
invasion of Gaza. The Cairo march was attacked by Egyptian police,
injuring several demonstrators.
Army
Bombards Northern Gaza
IMEMC 3 Jan 2010 -
Friday January 01, 2010 - 00:01, Israeli soldiers fired, on Friday
evening, a number of shells at the Izbit Abed-Rabbo area, east of
Jabalia, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip., Local sources also
reported that at least one surface-to-surface missile was fired into
the area.
The
Israeli military levels two animal huts near Hebron
IMEMC 3 Jan 2010 -
Thursday December 31, 2009 - 16:59, The Israeli military leveled on
Thursday two animal huts that belong to a Palestinian farmer from Al
Baqabra village near Hebron, southern West Bank.
Israeli
excavations blamed for latest Silwan collapse
1/2/2010 - Jerusalem
- Ma'an - The Al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage reported
another street collapse on the main road in the area of Silwan in
occupied East Jerusalem on Saturday. "The collapse created a hole, two
meters long and one and a half meters deep," according to a statement
from the foundation, which oversees the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
According to the foundation, the collapse was related to ongoing
excavations by Israeli authorities in the vicinity, apparently on
tunnels extending underneath the neighborhood about 700 meters from the
mosque compound. Authorities recently removed quantities of dirt and
rocks from under Silwan to undisclosed locations, the statement said.
’A
gradually worsening situation for freedom of the press’
1/2/2010 - Part
seven of a series recounting the findings of South African jurist
Richard Goldstone's UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict.
Bethlehem - Ma'an - As Israel's assault on Gaza entered its second week
one year ago today, an Associated Press photographer covering a march
in Ramallah in support of the people of the Strip was attacked by
members of the Palestinian Authority Military Intelligence. The
photographer said a security official in civilian clothing first
shouted at him to stop taking pictures and then he was assaulted by two
security agents and taken by force to a nearby building, where he was
beaten until he lost consciousness. He was taken initially to the
intelligence headquarters but then transferred to a hospital, where he
was treated for a broken nose and subsequently released. The
Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), a
journalists'. . .
Report:
PA forces arrest 5 settlers near Nablus
1/2/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an/Agencies - Five Israeli settlers entering Nablus were detained
Thursday night by Palestinian Authority security forces, the Israeli
news site Ynet reported. The group was reportedly on its way to
Joseph's Tomb, a site in the middle of a residential neighborhood in
Balatta and frequented by settler groups. Settlers are not permitted to
enter the area without prior agreement from the Israeli military, which
regulates and guards the groups. According to the report,the five were
escorted to Israeli Civil Administration officials, who turned them
over for questioning. [end]
Qalqiliya
residents report settler attack, army harassment, theft
1/2/2010 - Qalqiliya
- Ma'an - Brothers were attacked in their car by rock-throwing settlers
near the Yakir settlement in the northern West Bank on Friday. Brothers
from Immatin, east of Qalqiliya, were injured when settlers threw
stones at their car as they passed a junction serving the nearby
settlement. Their family reported that one of the boys was in serious
condition. Israeli forces confirmed reports of what they said was
"mutual stone throwing," between settlers and Palestinians in the area,
but could not confirm any injuries. The brothers were later identified
as Osama and Ziad Suan, who were driving home from Ramallah at the time
of the attack, head of the Immatin local council Haytham Suwwan said.
Suwwan said Ziad, the elder brother, sustained injuries to his hand,
while his younger brother Osama was hit in the head and face.
Jordan
asks Canada to seize stolen artifacts
1/3/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an/Agencies - Canada was asked to take custody of a series of
scrolls and parchment fragments uncovered in the West Bank and
currently on loan to Toronto from the Israel Antiquities Authority. The
ancient artifacts were seized from an East Jerusalem museum in 1967,
when Israel occupied the West Bank and illegally annexed Jerusalem.
Since the artifacts were uncovered while the area was under Jordanian
control between 1948 and 1967, it is the Jordanian government that
requested Canada step in and protect the artifacts. Jordanian officials
summoned the Canadian chargé d'affaires in Amman in late December, the
Toronto daily newspaper the Globe and Mail reported. According to the
Canadian paper, Jordan cited the 1954 Hague Convention for the
Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, to
which both Jordan and Canada are signatories.
Army
orders ’did not include instructions to kill’
1/3/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - An army unit that assassinated three Fatah members during a
night operation in Nablus was under orders to "carry out a raid and
capture the wanted men," the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on
Saturday. "The orders did not include instructions to kill any of the
three wanted men. The senior officers who spoke with Haaretz stressed
that the soldiers were not given any verbal instructions that were
different from those in writing," according to the report. Family
members and witnesses told Ma'an that the men, Raed Sarakji, 38,
Ghassan Abu Sharkh, 39, Anan Subih, 33, were extra-judicially
assassinated, echoing the results of an investigation conducted by the
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), which concluded they "were
executed in cold blood. "
Egypt
uncovers more smuggling tunnels
1/2/2010 - Al-Arish
- Ma'an - Egyptian authorities discovered two smuggling tunnels along
the border with Gaza near Rafah and seized quantities of goods ready to
be smuggled into the besieged enclave on Friday evening. Egyptian
security sources told Ma'an that large quantities of water bottles and
food products were seized. No one was arrested. Authorities have
discovered and closed some 500 smuggling tunnels in 2009. Separately,
Egyptian border police seized an African immigrant attempting to cross
the border to Israel two kilometers to the south of the Kerem Shalom
crossing, police said. The man, an Ethiopian citizen aged 25, said he
paid 1,000 US dollars to a gang in return for smuggling him to Israel,
where he planned to seek a work, according to police. . . . .
Israeli
army releases Tulkarem detainee
1/2/2010 - Tulkarem
- Ma'ann - After his seventh year in Israeli prison, 35-year-old Hamas
affiliateAshraf Abed- Ar-Ra'uf Suleiman was released from Eshel, a
prison facility near Beersheba. Suleiman was transferred to several
different prisons during his seven years in custody. He was detained on
23 October 2002 and is a resident of the West Bank city of Tulkarem.
[end]
PA:
Israel sent no word of Netanyahu-Abbas summit
1/2/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority said on Thursday it has received no
official request for a meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "We didn't receive anything
about such a thing. So far what we heard was from the media," Abbas'
spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdeina, told Ma'an on Friday evening. "All that we
know is that the president will be going on Wednesday to meet [Egyptian
President Hosni] Mubarak," he added, in a phone conversation. On
Thursday, news reports said Netanyahu had called for a meeting with
Abbas later in January in the Egyptian Red Sea resort town of Sharm
Ash-Sheikh. "Israel's idea of an Egypt-hosted peace summit with Abbas
was proposed during Netanyahu's talks with Mubarak," an unnamed Israeli
official told Reuters in a report published on Thursday.
Abbas
mulls cutting security ties over Nablus deaths
1/2/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority may consider re-thinking its
security ties with Israel in light of the assassination of three
Palestinians by Israeli forces on 26 December, President Mahmoud Abbas
told Palestine TV during a Friday interview. The comment followed calls
by several Palestinian parties to stop security cooperation with Israel
in the wake of an invasion of Nablus by the Israeli army, and testimony
from family members that three Fatah supporters were executed in their
homes, in one case a man was in bed beside is seven-month-pregnant
wife. Because Nablus is an area under complete Palestinian security
control, Israeli military operations involve a degree of communication
with the PA security services. Local officers generally have to clear
the streets and retreat when Israeli forces enter the area.
Abbas
to visit Egypt to discuss peace talks
1/2/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to visit the Egyptian
resort town of Sharm Ash-Shiekh Sunday, for a meeting with his
counterpart Hosni Mubarak. The two will discuss Egyptian communications
with Israel. On Thursday, Israeli officials announced Egypt as the host
of a new round of peace talks following a meeting between Mubarak and
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The first meeting between
Abbas, Netanyahu and Mubarak was set to take place at the end of
January. Following the announcement, however, presidential spokesman
Nabil Abu Rudeina said the Palestinian Authority had not received
"anything about such a thing. So far what we heard was from the media.
"An Egyptian source said Abbas and Mubarak would discuss the latest
suggestions around solving the Arab-Israeli conflict, as well as
progress on the prisoner-swap deal Hamas is currently negotiating with
Israel via Egyptian and German mediators.
Reports:
Jordan arrests 5 Israelis on boat near Aqaba
1/2/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - Jordanian naval forces reportedly arrested three Israelis on
a fishing boat who violated Jordanian territorial water on Saturday.
The Israeli defense establishment expected that Jordan would release
the country's citizens, apparently fishermen, after interrogating them
in the Jordanian port of Aqaba, news reports said. Last week Egyptian
authorities arrested two Israeli bikers riding along the border. [end]
Abbas
departs for ’important’ meeting
1/2/2010 - Ramallah
- Ma'an - PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo said on Saturday that
President Mahmoud Abbas had departed to attend an important political
meeting abroad. Abbas was scheduled to visit the Egyptian resort town
of Sharm Ash-Shiekh on Sunday for a meeting with his counterpart, Hosni
Mubarak. The two were expected to discuss Egyptian communications with
Israel. Abed Rabbo's remarks came during a speech in Ramallah marking
the Fatah movement's 45th anniversary. On Thursday, Israeli officials
announced Egypt as the host of a new round of peace talks following a
meeting between Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The first meeting between Abbas, Netanyahu and Mubarak was set to take
place at the end of January. Following the announcement, however,
presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said the Palestinian Authority
had not received "anything about such a thing. "
Hamas
blasts Abbas’ speech as ’comic’
1/2/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an/Agencies - Hamas officials called President Mahmoud Abbas'
speech and its focus on Gaza "comic," and proof that the Palestinian
leader was "bankrupt," in statements published Thursday afternoon.
Speaking on the 45th anniversary of the founding of Fatah, of which
Abbas is the leader, included extensive comments on issues of unity and
Gaza. "Your suffering is ours - we will continue supporting you. We
will offer every possible means of support," he said at a ceremony in
Ramallah. From Gaza, Hamas' Salah Al-Bardawil told the Chinese news
site Xinhua that his movement found the speech accusatory and
unsubstantiated, particularity on issues relating to the Egyptian unity
proposal, which Hamas has refused to sigh unless amendments to the
document are made. Abbas hinted that Hamas was spoiling relations with
Egypt over the issue and said the movement had suggested. . .
Jerusalem
governorate police detain three for drug trafficking
1/2/2010 - Jerusalem
- Ma'an - Palestinian security forces arrested three from the Jerusalem
governorate on charges of drug trafficking and the possession of
narcotics, officials said Saturday. The one man, a Bidu resident, was
reportedly carrying 48. 4 grams of hashish. He was detained after
residents of a nearby town reported drug activity in the area, the
media office of the police headquarters said in a statement. In the
nearby Al-Eizariya, security forces arrested two other men for drug
trafficking following tips phoned in to police in the wake of a street
brawl outside a home in the town. Those involved in the fight were
detained along with the alleged dealers. [end]
Haniyeh
salutes Fatah amid charges of detentions
1/3/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh congratulated the Fatah
movement on the occasion of its 45th anniversary, asking those he
called "rational" within the movement to complete the process of
national reconciliation. Fatah celebrated its anniversary on 1 January,
and accused Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip of detaining dozens of its
supporters in an attempt to quash anniversary celebrations in the
coastal region. Fatah sources said celebrations of the anniversary have
been banned since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. The
official Palestinian Authority news service WAFA said a Gazan woman,
Nathira Sweirki from the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza city died of heart
attack after de facto government security officers stormed her home and
detained three of her sons. Haniyeh, however, speaking in front of the
destroyed buildings of the Palestinian Legislative. . .
Record
numbers crowd Bethlehem for New Year’s
1/2/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - Bethlehem's halls and restaurants were filled New Year's Eve
with an estimated 10,000 out of town visitors from all parts of the
West Bank, and the city's Manger Square was full of celebrators though
no official event had been arranged. Tickets for private parties in
dozens of Bethlehem hotels were sold out, celebrations in Beit Sahour
and Beit Jala were also full. Parties had guests from Hebron in the
south, Ramallah in the center, Nablus, Qalqiliya, and Jenin in the
north as well as Nazareth, Haifa and Jerusalem. For the first time,
Bethlehem residents saw street parties, concentrated in Manger Square,
where locals and international tourists and pilgrims celebrated and
danced to music spontaneously pumped out of car speakers and phones.
Police were caught off guard by the large numbers in the street, and
huge ammounts of traffic turning Bethlehem streets into parking lots in
the hours around midnight.
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - Computers have spurned a new battlefield - cyberspace, where war is against terrorist hackers.
Near collision between civilian, military aircrafts under investigation
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - Second incident in 2009 at Ovda airport nearly ended in frontal collision between the 2 planes.
Anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox Jews celebrate Sabbath in Gaza
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - Neturei Karta: Gazans must understand that Israel's offensive was not done in the name of Judaism.
Abbas considers scaling back security ties with Israel
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - PA president contemplates move following an IDF raid on Nablus that killed three militants.
Israel strikes Gaza targets after Grad rocket attack
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - Witnesses report several injured; PFLP claims responsibility for firing two Grad rockets at Netivot Thursday.
Orders were to capture militants alive - so why were they killed?
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - Three wanted Palestinians who were killed by IDF were not armed and did not try to escape.
Mubarak to Netanyahu: Accept Hamas' demands for Shalit deal
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - Egypt can guarantee deal and possible Gaza calm if Israel shows flexibility, according to Saudi paper.
Yeshiva students to Court: Give IDF status back to Har Bracha
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - Students appeal ousting of school from hesder over rabbi's encouragement to refuse settlement evacuation orders.
Gaza militants fire Grad rocket into Netivot
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - No injuries or damage reported; rocket strike is first such attack on Netivot in nine months.
Envoy to U.S.: Washington and Israel not discussing Iran strike
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - Michael Oren: Our main focus is on formulating, applying sanctions against Iran in 2010.
Settler teen arrested over West Bank mosque arson, then freed
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - Parents and grandfather of main suspect in attack on Yasuf mosque were killed in Palestinian terror attack.
Al-Hayat: Hamas ready with final response on Israel's offer for Shalit
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - Delegates conclude Damascus debate and head to Cairo to meet with German mediator, paper reports.
Israel's 10 worst errors of the decade
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - In no decade of the modern Middle East has the roll of failure been so democratic.
Hamas: Shalit mediator to start new round of talks next week
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - Hamas awaiting German mediator's return to Mideast to give its official response to proposed deal.
Shin Bet: 2009 had lowest terror levels in Israel this decade
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - 15 Israelis were killed in terror attacks in past year, down from 36 fatalities in 2008.
Two Jerusalem Palestinians jailed for plotting to kidnap IDF soldiers
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - Ayad Avid and Abdullah Avid planned to use tractor to ram IDF jeep, then kidnap soldiers inside at gunpoint.
Amid protests, Egypt defends right to build Gaza wall
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - Regional critics accuse Egypt of aiding in blockade of Gaza by building wall to curb smuggling.
Israel can't launch strike against Iran on its own
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - It's doubtful whether Israel can allow itself to ignore U.S. wishes and stand alone against Iran's response.
Lebanon's Druze leader urges Israeli Druze not to serve in IDF
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - Walid Jumblatt: Service as Israel's 'border guards' clashes with Druze membership in the Arab nation.
High Court allows Palestinians to use Israeli highway
Ha'aretz 3 Jan 2010 - Second time in months Supreme Court orders the military to open roads deemed off-limits to Palestinians.
Unreported in US
Media: Minnesota Resident held in Israeli Jail
Uruknet January 3,
2010 - Minnesota resident Ryan Olander is facing deportation after
being held in Israeli prisons for over two weeks. He spent his
Christmas and New Year at a deportation facility in Ramle, where his
request for release has been rejected by the prison judge. His lawyer
submitted an appeal to the District Court in Tel Aviv on 27...
Comrade Itiani:
2009 was a year of repression and steadfastness for Palestinian
prisoners
Uruknet January 2,
2010 - Comrade Maysar Itiani, prisoners' affairs activist, said on
January 1, 2010 that the year 2009 saw a continuation of the repressive
measures and practices against our brave prisoners in the jails of the
occupation, including a marked increase in the use of solitary
confinement, isolation, and imposition of restrictions and sanctions
upon them. She particularly noted...
A slice of life
in Sheikh Jarrah
Uruknet January 2,
2010 - Around 12:30... I went walking down, with an old friend and a
new acquaintance, to the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem
so that we could take a closer look at the Palestinian homes Israeli
settlers had taken over (denoted by the giant Israeli flags hung from
each of the buildings). As we approached the road...
Dexia Bank
Refuses Grant For Jewish Settlements
Uruknet January 1,
2010 - The Belgian-French Group, Dexia, refused to finance grants meant
for the construction of property in Jewish settlements in the occupied
West Bank. The decision came after a Palestinian and a Belgium groups
filed a petition against financing settlement constructions. Moayyad
Affana, coordinator of the twin-project of the Intellectuals Forum in
the northern West Bank city of...
Mubarak is no
Abdul Nasser and Galloway is no Salah Eddin, but Israel' is the problem.
Uruknet January 2,
2009 - ... Without understanding that 'Israel' is the core problem in
the Arab World, and trying to fashion methods to cripple this
colonizing body, all will fail. It's crucial for all the Internationals
who are working in support of Palestine to work against the Zionist
colonizers of Palestine. This work should start by forcing their
respective governments to...
Targeting human
rights defenders
Uruknet January 2,
2010 - I remember the day I first met Jamal Juma'. He was speaking at a
United Nations conference in 2003 about the damage being done by
Israel's wall. The audience was shocked: Many had heard that Israel had
started carving a wall in the West Bank in 2002, but they had no idea
it could already be...
Gaza Freedom
Marchers issue the Cairo Declaration' to end Israeli Apartheid
Uruknet January 2,
2010 - Gaza Freedom Marchers approved today a declaration aimed at
accelerating the global campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
(BDS) against Israeli Apartheid. Roughly 1400 activists from 43
countries converged in Cairo on their way to Gaza to join with
Palestinians marching to break Israel's illegal siege. They were
prevented from entering Gaza by the Egyptian authorities...
Gaza: Family's
lives torn apart in night of war
Uruknet January 2,
2010 - Thirty-three-year-old Wafa Awaja swats away the merciless flies
as she talks in matter-of-fact sentences about the single night of war
that took her eight-year-old son, crushed her home, and wounded both
herself and her husband just one year ago. It was night-time on January
4 when a full-blown Israeli invasion of Gaza put her home, less...
Israeli jets
attack Gaza
Uruknet January 2,
2010 - Israeli fighter jets have struck at two places in the Gaza
Strip. The Israeli military said on Saturday that the raids, launched
around midnight, targeted two tunnels, one east of Gaza City and
another near Khan Younis. Witnesses also reported several other
explosions around Gaza. The Israelis said these blasts had nothing to
do with them....
IRAN: Video shows
gunman opening fire on demonstrators, who fight back
Uruknet January 2,
2010 - Iranian police have stated strenuously that security forces
weren't armed with guns during Dec. 27 clashes in Tehran between
security forces and protesters. But newly discovered amateur video,
apparently taken with a cellphone, tells a different story. In the
video, a man can be seen and heard opening fire on a crowd of unarmed
demonstrators as...
The Occupation
indicts the director of "Jenin, Jenin" film
Uruknet January 2,
2010 - The Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz is expected to file
charges against the director of the film "Jenin, Jenin", Mohammed
Barki, for allegedly defaming Israeli soldiers. Mazuz met with State
Prosecutor Moshe Lador and the chief of the Israel Defense Forces
Armored Corps, Brigadier General Agai Yehezkel, as a representative of
the soldiers who invaded the...
Hamdouna:
Prisoners Subjected to Unprecedented Abuses in Israeli Prisons
Uruknet January 2,
2010 - The Prisoners Studies Centre has expressed concerns that the
administration of Israeli prisoners commits "unprecedented" abuses
against Palestinian prisoners and their possessions, and that such
abuses are often conducted under the pretext of security. The centre's
director, Mr Raafat Hamouda, disclosed in a press release that a
special squad from the administration of the Nafha desert...
Ramallah, January 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Barakat Al-Farra, the Palestinian ambassador to Egypt, announced that Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas plans to meet Monday in Cairo with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the latest development on Palestinian arena He pointed out that Mr. Abbas would arrive in Cairo, as well as the accompanying delegation Sunday afternoon, explaining that the meeting...
Abbas Threatens to Stop Security Liaison with Israel
Ramallah, January 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to stop the progress of security liaison with Israel following the December 26 Israeli raid in Nablus. The Israeli troops killed three Palestinians who were members of Fatah in the West Bank. "The coordination and cooperation with Israel aims at protecting the Palestinian interest," Abbas said in...
Israeli Warplanes Attack Gaza
Gaza, January 2, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - On Saturday midnight, Israeli warplanes carried out attacks across the Gaza Strip, damaging residential areas and leaving number of Palestinians wounded. The Israeli airstrikes which targeted residential areas in northern and central Gaza Strip caused panic among children. The civilian citizens were scared as these attacks reminded them of the war they lived...
For Publication: A week of Actions to Remember Gaza victims
London, December 31, (Pal Telegraph) - Several Organizations are preparing for a memorial week for the Palestinian victims over the past 60 years. The organizations are picking the last week of the barbaric attacks on Gaza “Gaza genocide-war” to be the yearly annual week to mark the suffering thousands of Palestinians who passed the mayhem and exile. The actions are...
The Occupied West Bank Latroun Villages - by Stephen Lendman
US, December 31, 2009 (Pal Telegraph)- On June 6, 1967, when Israeli forces invaded Gaza and the West Bank, on the second day of the so-called Six-Day War (June 5 - 10, 1967), they entered three Palestinian villages in the Latroun salient - Imwas, Yalo and Beit Nouba, forcibly expelling the residents, numbering over 10,000 at the time. By the next...
The National 1 Jan 2010 - An art historian has gone from house to house in Nazareth, documenting paintings in homes owned by the local elite in Ottoman times.
No one can take me away from Gaza'
The National 1 Jan 2010 - When Israeli shelling killed three of his daughters and his niece, Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish's immediate anguish was broadcast live to the world.
Gaza remains under pressure and waiting to explode'
The National 1 Jan 2010 - A year on from Operation Cast Lead, Israel's offensive in Gaza, the threads of a possible Middle East peace are so knotted that they look impossible to disentangle.
AlJazeera 2 Jan 2010 - Tehran threatens to produce own fuel if its conditions for a uranium deal are not met.
Israelis protest Gaza blockade
AlJazeera 2 Jan 2010 - Arab and Jewish protesters rally in Tel Aviv to protest against Israel's blockade on Gaza.
Gaza aid convoy leaves Syria
AlJazeera 2 Jan 2010 - Lorries carrying long-delayed humanitarian supplies expected to reach Gaza on Monday.
Mousavi urges end to Iran crackdown
AlJazeera 1 Jan 2010 - Opposition politician and religious leaders trade fresh accusations over ongoing protests.
Alternative Information Center
Beyond Commemoration: Operation Cast Lead One Year AfterAlternative Information Center 29 Dec 2009 - Three hundred and sixty five days after the beginning of the Operation “Cast Lead,” what characterizes these days is silence. The silence of those who didn't survive—those 1,400 people killed by bombings in Gaza. Three hundred...
PNN 2 Jan 2010 - Israel's Supreme Court has ordered the military to let Palestinians use a road that runs through the West Bank. Palestinians were barred from the Jerusalem to Tel Aviv Highway 443 in 2002 when militants shot dead a number of Israelis in their cars. The case was brought by Palestinians who live in the villages along the 12.5-mile (20-km) West Bank section of...
Anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox Jews celebrate Sabbath in Gaza
PNN 2 Jan 2010 - A small group of ultra-Orthodox Jews were preparing Friday to celebrate the Jewish Sabbath in Gaza, in an unlikely show of support for Palestinians in the Hamas-run coastal territory. Bearded and wearing black hats and coats, the four members of a tiny Jewish group vehemently opposed to Israel's existence were a rare sight in the poverty-stricken Palestinian territory. Members of the Neturei...
Jeruslalem Post 3 Jan 2010 - US paper: Based on assessment, Obama convinced Israel to give sanctions against IRGC time to work.
Lieberman: The era of groveling is over
Jeruslalem Post 3 Jan 2010 - In ambassador conference, FM says envoys should respect host countries but not ingratiate their gov'ts.
Settlers warn of imminent demolitions
Jeruslalem Post 2 Jan 2010 - Defense official: We are ready at any time to implement the second stage of moratorium order.
Mofaz slammed over primary bid
Jeruslalem Post 2 Jan 2010 - MK Hasson: Mofaz "stained an entire party" with allegations of primary wrongdoings on Livni's part.
Zahalka: Israeli media is enlisted
Jeruslalem Post 2 Jan 2010 - 2 days after being removed from TV show and calling Tel Aviv occupied land, Arab MK lashes out again.
Jerusalem man suspected of beating baby daughter to death
Jeruslalem Post 2 Jan 2010 -
Violence up against Gaza women up under Hamas
Jeruslalem Post 2 Jan 2010 - 25% of those surveyed feel unsafe in their own homes.
'Encouraging signs' could lead to talks next month - PA official
Jeruslalem Post 2 Jan 2010 - Saudi FM calls Israel a "spoiled child," wants more pressure on settlement issue; Jerusalem: Riyadh disappoints those waiting for positive signals.
IAF strikes Gaza smuggling tunnels
Jeruslalem Post 2 Jan 2010 - Bombs target sites in southern, central and northern Gaza Strip in retaliation for Grad rocket attacks.
IPS NAHR AL-BARED (North Lebanon), Dec 29 (IPS) - The hip-hop beats ringing through the muddy, unlit streets of this burnt-out Palestinian refugee camp seem incongruous. But the rhymes are camp-grown - and courageous.
MIDEAST: Gaza March Puts Spotlight on Civilian Suffering
IPS UNITED NATIONS, Dec 22 (IPS) - More than 50,000 people are expected to take to the streets of Gaza on Dec. 31 for a mass march designed to send a message to the United States, a key supporter of Israel's army, that the situation in Gaza violates international human rights...
MIDEAST: 'Prince of Peace' - Obama or Netanyahu?
IPS JERUSALEM, Jan 1 (IPS) - United States President Barack Obama’s intended broad Mideast policies are running into the complexities of peacemaking - especially after the ‘Prince of Peace’ began insisting on the necessity of, sometimes, fighting for peace.
Q&A: ''Israeli Settlements Killing Two-Nation Solution''
IPS JERUSALEM, Dec 30 (IPS) - In the absence of any progress towards peace between Israelis and Palestinians, leaders of the Palestinian Authority (PA) are adopting a reasonable approach as a way of building up international pressure on Israel to get it back to the negotiating table.
PCHR
International Solidarity Movement
Freedom for Ryan Olander, justice for Sheikh Jarrah: US citizen held in Israeli prisons for over two weeks1/2/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Israeli authorities continue to detain Ryan Olander, US citizen and solidarity activist, who was illegally arrested on 18 December 2009 for his support of Palestinian families evicted from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. Minnesota resident Ryan Olander is facing deportation after being held in Israeli prisons for over two weeks. He spent his Christmas and New Year at a deportation facility in Ramle, where his request for release has been rejected by the prison judge. His lawyer submitted an appeal to the District Court in Tel Aviv on 27 December 2009 challenging the request of the Israeli Ministry of Interior for Mr. Olander's deportation. The lawyer is anticipating the decision of the judge within the next 48 hours. Ryan Olander was arrested from a tent the Palestinian al-Kurd family built in their own backyard following a recent setter take-over of a section of their house.
Settlers illegal attempt to occupy land owned by Qarawat Bani Hasan and Dier Istiya
1/3/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - International Women's Peace Service, 1 January - On 31 December 2009 IWPS received a call from the Mayor of Qarawat Bani Hasan to participate in a demonstration in solidarity with the residents of their village. The non-violent, peaceful demonstration organized by the Municipality took place on January 1 2009, and was in response to increase settler activity in the area. The Mayor of Qarawat Bani Hasan reported that over the period of the last month armed Israeli Settlers and Israeli military from the illegal outpost of Havot Yair had been harassing and attacking farmers and shepherds who work regularly on land approximately a kilometer from the village centre. The land in the region in question is jointly owned by the villages of Qarawat Bani Hasan and Deir Istyia and hosts an ancient fresh water spring which is regularly utilised by farmers and shepherds from both villages.
New Yorkers demand that Egypt and Israel open Gaza border
1/2/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Adalah-NY: The Coalition for Justice in the Middle East, 31 December - Sixty human rights advocates protested outside Egypt's Mission to the United Nations today to demand that Egypt open its border with the Gaza Strip. The New York protest came as Egyptian riot police in Cairo surrounded and assaulted hundreds of international activists who had been prevented by Egyptian authorities from entering the Gaza Strip. The international activists had planned to protest in Gaza against Israel's siege as part of the Gaza Freedom March. Following the demonstration at the Egyptian Mission, the New York City protesters marched to the Israeli consulate chanting, "Free Gaza Now". Holding Palestinian flags and signs calling for an end to the siege of Gaza, New Yorkers sang US civil rights song to the staff inside Egypt's Mission to the UN, asking:Which side are you, which side are. . .
New Year in al-Ma’asara marked with another weekly demonstration against the Apartheid Wall
1/2/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Al-Ma'asara Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, 1 January - Over 150 local activists protested today in al-Ma'asara and the neighboring villages against the construction of the illegal Apartheid Wall and settlements on the lands of the nine intertwined villages to the South of Bethlehem. Protestors walked through the villages towards the construction site of the wall, but as every Friday for the past few years, they were intercepted by dozens of soldiers who had again cut off the main road with a barb wire fence. Protestors waved flags and chanted slogans through a mobile sound system, while some accompanied the demonstration on horses in an expression of pride of the ongoing popular resistance in the face of increasing crack downs. Women from the villages held posters of their imprisoned sons and detained activist from the Bethlehem district and lead in chants demanding the release of all political prisoners.
Eight year old boy shot in his head by rubber-coated steel bullet, two arrested during Ni’lin’s weekly protest
1/2/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - 1 January 2010 - During today's demonstration in Ni'lin - marking the anniversary of the Fatah movement - one eight year old boy was injured in the head with a rubber-coated steel bullet and two teenage boys (15 and 17 years old) arrested. Around 500 people, including international and Israeli activists attended today's weekly Friday protest against the Apartheid Wall in Ni'lin. Ni'lin celebrated the anniversary of the Fatah movement, hereby attracting a large number of people for this week's demonstration, including high profile Fatah members such as dr. Sabri Saydam, Tawfiq Terawi, Ra'ed Radwan and Mahmoud Aloul. The Israeli army had closed the entrance of the village, but many people managed to get into the village to attend the event. After the Friday prayer and a speech by Mahmoud Aloul, participants marched towards the Apartheid Wall, chanting slogans and calling for national unity in order to overcome the occupation.
Gaza Freedom Marchers issue the ’Cairo Declaration’ to end Israeli Apartheid
1/2/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - 1 January 2010 - Gaza Freedom Marchers approved today a declaration aimed at accelerating the global campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli Apartheid. Roughly 1400 activists from 43 countries converged in Cairo on their way to Gaza to join with Palestinians marching to break Israel's illegal siege. They were prevented from entering Gaza by the Egyptian authorities. As a result, the Freedom Marchers remained in Cairo. They staged a series of nonviolent actions aimed at pressuring the international community to end the siege as one step in the larger struggle to secure justice for Palestinians throughout historic Palestine. This declaration arose from those actions: End Israeli Apartheid - Cairo Declaration, January 1, 2010 -- We, international delegates meeting in Cairo during the Gaza Freedom March 2009 in collective response to an initiative. . .
Palestinian woman hospitalised following settler attack in Sheikh Jarrah
1/2/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Nadia al-Kurd, from Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in Jerusalem was taken to hospital today after being attacked by an Israeli settler in her own garden. At around 2pm, Nadia al-Kurd, 65, was violently pushed by a settler in an unprovoked attack. The settler, one of those currently occupying her neighbours' house, forced open the gate of her garden, pushing Nadia to the ground. She suffered from breathing difficulties immediately afterwards. Some of those present administered first aid, however, as her state required professional medical treatment, she had to be transported by an ambulance to the hospital. She was discharged later in the afternoon. When the Israeli police arrived following the attack, they arrested the assailant, identified by several witnesses. The same settler has been arrested before after previous attacks in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, where. . .
Sources: Fatah turns down Hamas reconciliation proposal
Ha'aretz 2 Jan 2010 - Fatah has turned down a reconciliation proposal by Hamas, Arab diplomatic sources say. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Friday that senior Hamas officials had informed him that the group was willing to sign a reconciliation deal based on the Egyptian proposal presented to the two sides in October. ...
Lieberman scolds diplomats: Stop placating the world
Ha'aretz 2 Jan 2010 - Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman opted to conclude last week's conference of Israeli ambassadors at the Foreign Ministry by chastising the 150 or so diplomats on Thursday for what he described as their tendency to overly placate their host nations. ...
Gideon Levy / Settlers, tell us, what do you think will happen?
Ha'aretz 2 Jan 2010 - What constitutes the life of a settler? A house on the cheap; a standard of living above the national average; a job usually subsidized by the government; a fierce religious, nationalist, uncompromising conviction on the justness of his cause; a supportive, heavy-handed social environment; a highway system; transportation arrangements; socially enriching activities; and, at times, a life that comes with the risk of danger. ...
Comment / Overly democratic ways can prove deadly
Ha'aretz 2 Jan 2010 - There is apartheid in the Middle East on the roads, too. Steps are taken to separate people according to their religion. It's a phenomenon that has escaped the notice of Jimmy Carter, Condoleezza Rice, Richard Goldstone and Scandinavian politicians, but it's there, white letters on a green background on traffic signs in Saudia Arabia. You can see it on highways leading to Mecca on which only Muslims can travel. Other drivers and passengers, impure heretics as they may be, are barred from using them. Out of revulsion they are relegated to another road. ...
Kindertransport refugee knighted by Queen Elizabeth
Ha'aretz 2 Jan 2010 - Erich Reich, one of thousands of Kindertransport children sent from Nazi-occupied Europe to safety in Britain during World War II, was among the people knighted by Queen Elizabeth as part of the annual New Year's Honours list, the Telegraph reported Thursday. ...
Suspected peeping tom on the prowl at Tel Aviv University
Ha'aretz 2 Jan 2010 - Four incidents of sexual harassment on campus have been reported to the Tel Aviv University student union in recent months. The incidents were all committed in a similar manner, in which a stalker attempted to photograph women in toilet stalls in women's restrooms at the university. The most recent incident occurred two weeks ago. ...
Cash for clunkers, the Israeli version
Ha'aretz 2 Jan 2010 - The Environmental Protection Ministry this weekend began the first phase of its plan to get old gas-guzzlers off the country's roads by paying the owners for their wrecks. The first car-composting lot opened in Ashdod on Friday; new sites are planned to open across the country over the next few months. ...
Police shut down 10 nightclubs on New Year's Eve
Ha'aretz 2 Jan 2010 - Police from the Tel Aviv district shut down 10 nightclubs on New Year's Eve, most for violating limitations on the permitted maximum occupancy. Other alleged violations were committed as well. ...
Rabbi seeks sex-segregated bus line in Tiberias
Ha'aretz 2 Jan 2010 - A prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbi has asked a Tiberias bus company to launch a line similar to the ones in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak that segregate women from men. ...
Will Arab MKs be required to swear loyalty to a Jewish state?
Ha'aretz 2 Jan 2010 - The Knesset ministerial legislative committee was set to vote Sunday on a bill requiring MKs to take a "loyalty oath" to the Jewish state before taking office. ...
Relief Web 2 Jan 2010 - Source: Oxfam
One injured after clash in Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon
Relief Web 2 Jan 2010 - Source: Deutsche Presse Agentur
Red Crescent continues sending aid to Gaza Strip
Relief Web 1 Jan 2010 - Source: Government of Egypt
Israeli warplanes hit Gaza after rocket attack
Relief Web 1 Jan 2010 - Source: Agence France-Presse
OPT: Abbas may review security ties after Israeli raid
Relief Web 1 Jan 2010 - Source: Reuters - AlertNet
YNet News 3 Jan 2010 - White House strategists say exposure of Qom plant deprived Tehran of its best chance of covertly producing highly enriched uranium needed to make fuel for nuclear weapons; add US wants to focus new sanctions on Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps
Ministers to discuss loyalty bill
YNet News 2 Jan 2010 - Ministerial Committee for Legislative affairs to discuss Yisrael Beiteinu MKs' motion calling for MKs' pledge of loyalty to 'State of Israel as Jewish, Zionist, democratic state'. Committee also to discuss bill securing Golan Heights' status without referendum
FM to ambassadors: Enough groveling
YNet News 2 Jan 2010 - Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman orders Israeli ambassadors serving around the world to toughen up in Jerusalem conference; says: 'We will not look for conflict or friction, but we will not turn the other cheek'
Neturei Karta spend Shabbat in Gaza
YNet News 2 Jan 2010 - Several members of anti-Zionist Jewish sect spend Sabbath in Gaza with Israel's most bitter enemies, Hamas, in show of support for Palestinian people
Mofaz causes stir in Kadima
YNet News 2 Jan 2010 - Party seniors have hard time coming to grips with statements made by MK accusing chairwoman Livni of arrogance, lack of leadership, claiming acts during 2008 primaries 'bordered on criminal'
PA: 11 million Palestinians around the world
YNet News 2 Jan 2010 - According to Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics report, over half of world's Palestinians live in Diaspora. Report shows 2.9% growth rate in Palestinian territories
Saudi FM calls Israel 'spoiled child'
YNet News 2 Jan 2010 - Saudi FM, Turkish counterpart say peace talks with Palestinians can't be resumed based on Israel's preconditions; settlement construction, including east J'lem must end
Egyptian minister slams Al-Jazeera for 'instigating civil war'
YNet News 2 Jan 2010 - Minister of legal affairs says Qatari station's reports on Gaza barrier 'inflaming Arab streets'
Daily Star 2 Jan 2010 Israeli and Palestinian officials suggested on Wednesday progress had been made toward resuming negotiations following Egyptian-Israeli talks on a year-long deadlock in the Middle East peace process. The cautiously upbeat comments followed talks in Cairo on Tuesday between Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Senior cleric tells Iran's opposition leaders to either repent or face death
Daily Star 2 Jan 2010 Hundreds of thousands of government supporters took to Iran's streets on Wednesday in a show of force against the opposition, with a senior cleric telling their leaders to repent or be declared enemies of God and face death. Just hours later, state news agency IRNA reported that top opposition leaders Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi had fled the capital fearing for their lives.
Jordan jails man for 10 years over 'honour killing'
Daily Star 2 Jan 2010 A Jordanian court sentenced a 61-year-old man to 10 years in prison on Wednesday after convicting him of killing his teenage daughter last year to "defend his honor," a judicial official said. "In 2008, the 17-year-old girl was kidnapped and raped by a group of men, who are currently on trial," the official said. "But the father suspected that his daughter was involved in a sexual relationship.
Yemeni security forces storm Al-Qaeda hide-out
Daily Star 2 Jan 2010 Yemeni security forces stormed an Al-Qaeda hide-out Wednesday in a principle militant stronghold in the country's west, setting off clashes, officials said, as a security chief vowed to fight the group's powerful local branch until it was eliminated. A government statement said at least one suspected Al-Qaeda member was arrested during the fighting in Hudaydah province.
Kazakhstan, Iran deny planning uranium deal
Daily Star 2 Jan 2010 Kazakhstan angrily denied on Wednesday that it planned to sell purified uranium ore to Iran, calling media reports to this effect "groundless insinuations." The story was also denied by Tehran, which called it "utterly fabricated and baseless." Kazakhstan "categorically repudiates certain news media reports alleging Kazakhstan's connection.
Dozens dead in clashes in northern Nigeria
Daily Star 2 Jan 2010 Dozens more bodies were recovered Wednesday after violent clashes between security forces and Islamists in northern Nigeria, bringing the death toll to around 70, a count at a hospital morgue showed. An AFP reporter listed 42 bodies on the floor of the morgue in Bauchi, all with bullet or machete wounds. Another 25 bodies, mostly young people including minors.
Palestinian Information Center
Ministry of detainees calls on Red Cross to protect families of prisonersPIC 3 Jan 2010 - The Palestinian ministry of prisoners appealed to international organizations especially the Red Cross to take measures to protect the families of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli settlers' attacks.
Dweik: Cast lead and cast steel wall two faces of one coin
PIC 3 Jan 2010 - Dr. Aziz Al-Dweik, the speaker of the PLC, has said that the operation cast lead launched by the IOF against Gaza and the cast steel wall being built on the Gaza borders were two faces of one coin.
Haneyya urges Fatah to sign reconciliation paper according to new arrangements
PIC 3 Jan 2010 - Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya on Saturday urged Fatah faction to sign the Palestinian reconciliation paper in Egypt according to new arrangements agreed upon with Hamas Movement.
Hamas dismayed at Azhar edict
PIC 3 Jan 2010 - Hamas has expressed dismay at the fatwa passed by the Egyptian Al-Azhar's Islamic research complex in which it endorsed Egypt's construction of a steel wall along its borders with Gaza Strip.
Awkaf minister denounces Arab, international silence
PIC 3 Jan 2010 - Dr. Taleb Abu Shaar denounced the Arab and international silence towards the crimes committed by the Israeli government and fanatic settlers against occupied Jerusalem and its indigenous inhabitants.
Palestinian and foreign protesters repel settlers’ attack on Sheikh Jarrah area
PIC 3 Jan 2010 - Hundreds of Palestinians and foreign activists managed to repel an attempt by Israeli settlers to storm the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in occupied Jerusalem.
Barhoum: Zionist escalation, steel wall meant to pressure Hamas
PIC 3 Jan 2010 - The recent spate of Israeli escalation of military attacks on the Gaza Strip affirms continuation of Israel's aggression and its intent on strangling the Strip encouraged by the world's silence.
Jewish settlers, IOF troops assault farmers, activists in Al-Khalil
PIC 3 Jan 2010 - A number of Palestinian citizens were hurt when Jewish settlers assisted by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) assaulted them in Buwaira suburb near the settlement of Kiryat Arba in Al-Khalil on Friday.
Baroud: The steel wall will cause environmental disasters for Gaza and Egypt
PIC 3 Jan 2010 - Dr. Naim Baroud, a Palestinian professor of geography, warned that the building of the steel wall would cause environmental and health disasters for both Gazans and the Egyptian people in Sinai.
Three Palestinians wounded in IOF raids
PIC 3 Jan 2010 - The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have escalated attacks on the Gaza Strip over the past few days as the latest aerial raids late Friday night injured three Palestinian citizens.
LA Times 2 Jan 2010 - In his first public comments since the recent protests, Mir-Hossein Mousavi calls for a restoration of civil liberties and says threats against his life will not deter him. Defiant amid demands for his execution, Iran's leading opposition figure on Friday issued a scathing denunciation of the government's violent crackdown against his supporters, calling for a restoration of civil liberties to end what he called a "serious crisis" that has destabilized the nation.
Mousavi's nephew had received threats, friends say
LA Times 1 Jan 2010 - Ali Habibi-Mousavi, killed near last weekend's protests in Iran, was not known as an outspoken opposition supporter. Some activists say his shooting was an attempt to silence reform leaders. During the dark years of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, the teenage Ali Habibi-Mousavi returned home from the front for weeklong visits. Amid the gloom, the young Iranian militiaman was full of good cheer for his mother, who couldn't stop showering him with tears of relief and worry.
Iranian immigrant's training by militia stalls residency bid
LA Times 1 Jan 2010 - The Carlsbad resident said he got just five hours of self-defense training during the Iran-Iraq war. Immigration officials say the group was designated a terrorist organization at the time. It was in the first few weeks of the Iran-Iraq war in 1980, and Sadegh Behrouz Vazeri was a 20-year-old engineering student at the University of Tehran.
New York Times 2 Jan 2010 - Long-discussed sanctions would initiate the latest phase in a strategy to force Iran to comply with United Nations demands to halt production of nuclear fuel.
Iran Gives West One-Month ‘Ultimatum’ to Accept Nuclear Counterproposal
New York Times 2 Jan 2010 - Iran’s foreign minister said the country could begin further enriching its nuclear stockpile on its own.
Standoff in Iran Deepens With New Show of Force
New York Times 2 Jan 2010 - Security forces filled Tehran streets to deter protests, as the opposition leader said he did not fear to give his life to his cause.
World Briefing | Middle East: West Bank: Teenager Suspected in Fire at Mosque
New York Times 1 Jan 2010 - The Israeli police said Thursday that they had arrested a teenager at a Jewish settlement as a suspect in the arson attack on the central mosque in the West Bank.
Hundreds Demonstrate on Border With Gaza
New York Times 1 Jan 2010 - Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on both sides of the Israeli-Gazan border to mark a year since Israel’s three-week war in Gaza.
A Mideast Bond, Stitched of Pain and Healing
New York Times 31 Dec 2009 - The friendship between two children in a hospital — a Palestinian and an Israeli — has drawn their parents into a kinship that defies national struggle.
Palestine Monitor - 2 Jan 2010 - Addameer * Al-Haq – Law in the Service of Man * Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights* Al Dameer Association for Human Rights * BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights* DCI – Palestine Section * ENSAN Center * Jerusalem Legal Aid Center * Women's Centre for Legal Aid and...
Gaza Freedom Marchers refuse to be silent
Palestine Monitor - 2 Jan 2010 - Several international demonstrators were injured by Egyptian riot police during demonstrations with the Gaza Freedom March in Cairo on Thursday and Friday. The organisers declared from Cairo that “ It was quite the brutal scene ”. Hundreds of people protested on Friday in front of the...
Erez Crossing: a peaceful protest against the blockade on Gaza
Palestine Monitor - 2 Jan 2010 - Palestine Monitor takes a look at the demonstration organised at Erez crossing point (Israeli side) on December 31, as part of the Freedom March event. Some 1000 protesters called on Israel to lift the ongoing blockade of Palestinians in Gaza. Protesters, predominantly Palestinians now living in...
The Gaza Strip
Palestine Monitor - 1 Jan 2010 - “Gaza is a prison and Israel seems to have thrown away the key.” United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, John Dugard Gaza: The Facts Total Population - 1,500,202 Population Density - 4117 per sq km Fertility Rate - 5.19 children/woman Total Refugees - 1,059,584 Refugees...
Israeli journo longs for the segregation of days past
Mondoweiss - 2 Jan 2010 - After publishing an op-ed from a settler comparing herself to Rosa Parks , Haaretz is back at it with one of its writers trying to explain why democracy and civil rights are too dangerous to implement in modern society (and this is the liberal Israeli newspaper). From...
A slice of life in Sheikh Jarrah
Mondoweiss - 2 Jan 2010 - Around 12:30… I went walking down, with an old friend and a new acquaintance, to the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem so that we could take a closer look at the Palestinian homes Israeli settlers had taken over (denoted by the giant Israeli flags hung...
For a future without prisoners
Mondoweiss - 2 Jan 2010 - Every week, as I return from lessons in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Rehavia I pass by the tent erected by activists in support of Gilead Shalit, the captive Israeli soldier. Each time I pass by and wish them good luck I am struck by the steadfast...
Meet the Post-zionist Zionists: Dvir Tzur
Mondoweiss - 2 Jan 2010 - This post is part of a week-long series of interviews with Jewish Israelis discussing their connection to the idea of Zionism. We hope this series will spark a conversation over the what Zionism means today. For more on these interviews see this post . Dvir Tzur Judith,...
End the siege of Palestine
Mondoweiss - 2 Jan 2010 - I want to talk about the regressive way in which we discuss Gaza; it is an entity unto itself, divorced from Palestine. Our discourse does not arise solely from geographic reality – Gaza is cut off from the rest of Palestine – but also from deliberate...
Articles
Winding Our Way to Gaza
Emily Ratner, CounterPunch 12/29/2009
Freedom Marching in Circles
Yesterday we joined the people of Gaza, the people of all of Palestine, and allies around the world in remembering the anniversary of the inhuman and illegal Israeli attacks that stole the lives of more than 1,400 mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons last December and January. And, in a manner far too appropriately suited to remembering an unfathomably vicious massacre and the preposterous silence of the American and Egyptian governments, we freedom marched in circles throughout the streets of Cairo.
The Egyptian government has revoked the contracts for the buses that would take us one step closer on our journey to Gaza and has forbidden us from leaving Cairo. Military police have torn down our small hand-written cards tied to the Kasr al Nil Bridge, following the Israelis’ lead in trying to disappear the names and numbers of Gaza’s martyrs. Candles meant to float along the Nile in remembrance are still in their boxes, their hundreds of distributors never permitted to board the feluccas (river boats) waiting just beyond overwhelming security forces. We regroup, circle again, and find another path to remembering and reminding, another way through the many checkpoints and the impossible border ahead.
The Egyptian government taunts us, encouraging us to enjoy the tourist attractions Cairo offers during our mandatory stay in the city. And some of us do. We even take Gaza with us: Yesterday, Abdullah Anar, a Turkish Muslim, and Max Geller, an American Jew, raced up the face of one of the pyramids to unveil a 12 meter by 6 meter Palestinian flag. For about three minutes one of the most resilient structures on earth proudly called the name of one of the world’s most unbreakable people. We smuggle stories like this one through the tunnels connecting our hearts, exposing them in whispered reminders of the beauty and truth in this struggle, and the unending patience and flexibility we are slowly learning from our friends in Gaza. more.. e-mail
Gaza’s border must be opened NOW
Pam Rasmussen, Electronic Intifada 12/29/2009
This time is clearly different.
I have traveled to Gaza twice this year, in groups ranging from 40 to 60 persons, and although there was a lot of behind-the-scenes work involved in "greasing the wheels" with the Egyptian authorities, we pretty much sailed in. CODEPINK (the group that organized both of my previous trips) developed a well-earned reputation for being able to pull just the right levers to open the doors to the isolated enclave of Gaza -- even more so than George Galloway’s Viva Palestina convoy, which is typically allowed in for only 24 to 48 hours (versus our four days).
But too many months have gone by with no change in the crippling isolation of Gaza imposed by Israel and Egypt, and it was time to risk our privileged access to take our efforts to break the siege up a notch. Our numbers had to be massive enough to threaten the jailers’ growing complacence and broad enough to send the message that this is a global movement that won’t stop until the Palestinian people are given the freedom and justice they deserve. Thus, this time CODEPINK allied with a number of other organizations around the world, and the number of participants quickly ballooned to more than 1,300 from 43 countries. Likewise, while we have collected or purchased thousands of dollars’ worth of school supplies, winter clothing and electronic devices (such as computers -- currently only available via the tunnels and thus too expensive for the average Palestinian in Gaza), our message is also unapologetically political: the borders must be opened, to everyone, all the time. NOW. more.. e-mail
A Single State, With Justice and Liberty for All
Susan Albulhawa and Ramzy Baroud, CounterPunch 12/29/2009
Share the Land
Prior to the establishment of Israel, Palestine had been multi-religious and multi-cultural. Christians, Muslims and Jews, Armenians, Greek Orthodox, to name a few, all had a place there; and all lived in relative harmony. Other nations fought wars and waged epic struggles to attain the kind of coexistence that was already a reality in Palestine.But while the world strives toward the noble truths that we are all created equal, Israel legislates the notion of a Chosen People with exclusive rights and privilege for Jews. Where countries have worked to integrate their citizens to create the richness of diversity, Israel is working in reverse, employing racist policies to "Judaize" the land whereby property and resources are confiscated from Christians and Muslims for the exclusive use of Jews. Where there is consensus that certain human rights are inalienable, Palestinians have lived subject to the whims of soldiers at checkpoints; of airplanes and helicopters raining death onto them with impunity; of curfews and restrictions and denials; and of violent armed settlers who fancy themselves disciples of God.
Living under Israeli occupation, in refugee camps or in exile, we Palestinians have endured having everything callously taken from us – our homes, our heritage, our history, our families, livelihoods, freedom, farms, olive groves, water, security, and freedom. In the 1990s, we supported the Oslo Accords two-state solution even though it would have returned to us only 22% of our historic homeland. But Israel repeatedly squandered our generosity, confiscating more Palestinian land to increase illegal Jewish-only colonies and Jewish-only roads. What remains to us now is less than 14% of Historic Palestine, all of it as isolated Bantustans, shrinking ghettos, walls, fences, checkpoints with surly soldiers,and the perpetual encroachment of expanding illegal Israeli colonies. more.. e-mail
Targeting human rights defenders
Electronic Intifada: 1 Jan 2010 - Israel still believes it can act with impunity. It will only stop if there is a cost to its human rights violations. Appeals to the Israeli authorities to respect due process are not enough, as Omar Barghouti put it in a call to redouble efforts for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). Israel will only change if it "gets the message that its arrest of civil resistance leaders will only intensify the already massive BDS campaigns against it." Nadia Hijab comments.
In Gaza: 31 Dec 2009 - It’s pouring rain. Farmers are collectively breathing relief, finally able to begin working on their parched land, land deprived water because Israeli bombing, tanks and bulldozers destroyed virtually all of the wells, cisterns, and rain-water collectors of farms in the border regions. I’m breathing many sighs of relief, because the rain is fresh, brings life, brings a needed feeling of growth… But the family of Saleh Abu Leila , with their 14 family members crammed into 1.5 tents (half the tent is occupied by a refrigerator) of poor-quality, torn fabric will be sighing with much less relief, as water seeps in through rips and breaks in the tent, floods the door,...
Palestine Chronicle: 3 Jan 2010 - By Uri Avnery – Israel Something odd, almost bizarre, is going on in Egypt these days. About 1400 activists from all over the world gathered there on their way to the Gaza Strip. On the anniversary of the “Cast Lead” War, they intended to participate in a non-violent demonstration against the ongoing blockade, which makes the life of 1.5 million inhabitants of the Strip intolerable. At the same time, protest demonstrations were to take place in many countries. In Tel-Aviv, too, a big protest was planned. The “monitoring committee” of the Arab citizens of Israel was to organize an event on the Gaza border. When the international activists arrived in Egypt, a surprise awaited them. The Egyptian government forbade their trip to Gaza. Their buses were held up at the outskirts of Cairo and turned back. Individual protesters who succeeded in reaching the Sinai in regular buses were taken off them. The Egyptian security forces conducted a regular hunt for the activists. The angry activists besieged their embassies in Cairo. On the street in front of the French embassy, a tent camp sprang up which was soon surrounded by the Egyptian police. American protesters gathered in front of their embassy and demanded to see the ambassador. Several protesters who are over 70 years old started a hunger strike. Everywhere, the protesters were held up by Egyptian elite units in full riot gear, while red water cannon trucks were lurking in the background. Protesters who tried to assemble in Cairo’s central...
The Israel Lobby's War on Al Manar TV
Palestine Chronicle: 3 Jan 2010 - By Franklin Lamb - Beirut Having inherited the Bush administration's rising stack of terrorism lists, President Obama's team had expressed interest in culling them 'so they are more accurate and manageable and Americans experience less stress', according to Homeland Security director Janet Napolitano. These lists, plus the reported existence of others that have not been made public, are supposed to reduce the fear and stress on Americans just knowing there are such lists and that someone is ‘watching out’. In many cases travelers experience more stress because they never know when Transportation Security Authority (TSA) agents at airports might eye a ‘hit’ on a computer screen, lunge into action and ruin a trip. Duplicate names on various lists plus the difficulty of getting oneself off the lists have led to increasing pressure on the Obama administration to refine the concept of who really is a terrorist. The various “T” and watch lists are swelling annually by thousands of names-some quite similar leading to confusion and uncertainly who really is and isn’t on and who is on but shouldn’t be and vice versa. As of Christmas Eve, the ‘Terrorism Watch List’ reportedly included some 900,000 names with a "selectee" list with somewhere close to 30,000 people within the higher-risk category, and a "no-fly" list with an estimated 10,000 names of people who are not allowed to board planes. Today it’s anyone’s guess who is on but shouldn’t be and who is off but should be on. All passengers departing the US...
Israel's East Jerusalem Linked Settlement Expansion
Palestine Chronicle: 3 Jan 2010 - By Stephen Lendman On February 1, 2009, the International Solidarity Movement reported that Israel continues its E 1 area homes and infrastructure work that includes linking its Ma'ale Adummim settlement with East Jerusalem and other settlements around it. It said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, while in office, promised to expand E 1 development - the land northeast of Jerusalem, west of Ma'ale Adummim comprising about 12 square kilometers, all of it illegally annexed. On November 15, 2009, the International Middle East Media Center reported that construction began in Ras al-Amud, Pisgat Ze'ev and elsewhere in East Jerusalem as part of Israel's scheduled 3,000 unit project. On November 18, Al Jazeera headlined, "Israel moves to expand settlement," saying approval was given to construct 900 housing units in East Jerusalem's Gilo settlement. Overall, Israel's E 1 Plan involves building about 15,000 new homes, a large industrial zone, hotels, other recreational facilities, a police station, garbage dump and more to be shared by Occupied Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adummim settlers. Israel's 121 West Bank/East Jerusalem official settlements, another 100 so-called "unauthorized outposts," and 12 Israeli (de facto settlement) neighborhoods annexed to Jerusalem's municipal area are illegal under international law, including Fourth Geneva's Article 49 stating: "Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupied Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of the motive." In addition, UN Resolutions 446, 452, 465 and others condemned Israel's...