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International Middle East Media Center
Viva
Palestina Starts Entry To Gaza
IMEMC 6 Jan 2010 -
Wednesday January 06, 2010 - 21:28, The Viva Palestina Convoy, and
after facing ongoing Egyptian rejection and violent attacks by the
Egyptian security forces, started on Wednesday evening to roll into the
besieged Gaza Strip.
Zuhri:
“Hamas Is Not Seeking Escalation With Egypt”
IMEMC 6 Jan 2010 -
Wednesday January 06, 2010 - 21:06, Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, official
spokesperson of the Hamas movement in Gaza, reported Wednesday that the
movement is not seeking any escalation with the Egyptian government,
and added that Hamas is seeking a peaceful solution to the Iron Wall
issue, and several important matters.
35
Palestinians Wounded In Clashes With Egyptian Border Police
IMEMC 6 Jan 2010 -
Wednesday January 06, 2010 - 19:51, Palestinian medical sources in the
Gaza Strip reported Wednesday that 35 Palestinian residents of the Gaza
Strip were wounded by Egyptian fire after the Egyptian border police
attacked them near the Salah Ed Deen Gate, in Rafah, in the southern
part of the Gaza Strip.
Israel
leveled More than 23.000 Homes Since 1967
IMEMC 6 Jan 2010 -
Wednesday January 06, 2010 - 11:49, The Palestinian Ministry of
Information issued a report stating that Israel leveled more than
23.000 homes in the occupied territories since its occupied the West
Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in the 1967 six-day war.
Egyptian
police beat & injure 'Viva Palestina' convoy during Al Arish protest
IMEMC 6 Jan 2010 -
Wednesday January 06, 2010 - 11:09, Several dozen people with the Viva
Palestina convoy have reportedly been injured Tuesday evening after
2000 Egyptian riot police attacked a sit-in at the Port of Al Arish,
where the convoy was re-routed on its way to the Gaza Strip.
Death
Threat Sent To Barak Over “Settlement Freeze”
IMEMC 6 Jan 2010 -
Wednesday January 06, 2010 - 00:19, Israeli TV, Channel 10, reported
Tuesday that a death threat letter was sent to Israel’s Defense
Minister, Ehud Barak, over the claimed 10-month freeze on settlement
activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Israeli
strike kills two in Gaza
1/6/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - An Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinian fighters near the
city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday night. Medics
told Ma'an that an Israeli warplane fired several missiles at a group
near the southern city, and said four people were treated for various
injuries at the An-Nasser Hospital in the city. The An-Nasser Salah
Ad-Din Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees
(PRC), announced the death of 33-year-old field commander Jihad
As-Samari in an airstrike on the town of Al-Qarara, northeast of Khan
Younis. The group's spokesman, Abu Mujahid, later announced that a
second member had died from wounds sustained in the airstrike. He was
identified as Mahmoud Abdul Ghafur, 25, from Khan Younis. The group
vowed in a statement to "respond to this crime. "
Israel
to raze 28 buildings in Nablus area
1/6/2010 - Nablus -
Ma'an - Twenty-eight homes and agricultural buildings were issued
demolition orders by Israeli military personnel on Wednesday, all
located on the outskirts of Aqraba village southeast of Nablus, a
Palestinian official said. Ghassan Doughlas, who holds the Palestinian
Authority's settlement portfolio for the northern West Bank, said
Israeli forces gave the farmers only 48 hours to evacuate their houses,
clear out their farms and sheds before the orders were implemented.
Dozens of Palestinian farmers and their families live in the area,
about five kilometers from the Gittit settlement and three kilometers
from the Mekhora settlement, raising sheep and cattle as well as
planting crops. The crops help sustain the local community, Doughlas
said. "Israeli forces issued this decision to protect the settlers only
without taking into consideration the families who will be rendered
homeless," Doughlas added.
Israel
approves Jerusalem settlement expansion
1/6/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - The Israeli government approved on Wednesday the construction
of a new settlement in the Palestinian town of Shufat, in occupied East
Jerusalem. Israel Radio reported that the plan includes three new
five-story buildings on a 5,000-meter plot of land, funded by Jewish
American gambling tycoon Irving Moskovitz. On Tuesday Israel's
Jerusalem Planning and Building committee approved the construction of
four new settler buildings on the Mount of Olives, in the heart of East
Jerusalem. Moskovitz was also behind the Mount of Olives project, which
is intended to house 24 settler families adjacent to a Jewish religious
school. Moskovitz caused a diplomatic storm last year when he obtained
a permit to bulldoze East Jerusalem's historic Shepherd Hotel in order
to build a settlement. Last week, the US, Europe, and other world
powers condemned a plan announced. . .
Following
clashes, convoy enters Gaza
1/7/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Medical aid and 518 activists entered Gaza Wednesday night
after protests against the Egyptian government refusal to admit 400 of
the group lead to clashes along the divided border town. An Egyptian
soldier was shot dead during the clashes, Egyptian state television
reported, and at least 12 Palestinians were injured during aa
demonstration against perceived Egyptian complicity in an Israeli-led
blockade called by the de facto government of the Strip as they
denounced what they said were attacks on the Viva Palestina convoy.
Following the demonstration, some 50 people broke away from the crowd
of hundreds, pelting Egyptian troops with stones. The soldiers opened
fire on the crowd, wounding two people, according to medics. Ten people
were also hurt in a stampede of protesters fleeing the gunfire.
Israel
orders Hamas legislator held for six more months
1/6/2010 - Salfit-
Ma'an - Israel has extended the detention of Abdul Jaber Fuqaha, a
Hamas-affiliated member of the Palestinian Legislative Council from
Ramallah first arrested in 2006. Hamas PLC members issued a statement
condemning the order to hold Fuqaha in administrative detention for
another six months. The order was the third such order, according to
Hamas. The lawmakers said Fuqaha was not charged with any crime.
Fourteen Hamas legislators are still in Israeli prisons, including
seven in administrative detention. Israel seized dozens of Hamas
officials in June 2006 following the capture of Isreali soldier Gilad
Shalit. In March Israel detained ten more top Hamas officials,
including lawmakers, from the West Bank. Also on Wednesday Hamas said
that the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority arrested three members
of the Islamist movement in the West Bank. . . . .
Israeli
tanks stage limited Gaza incursion
1/6/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Israeli tanks and a bulldozer invaded Palestinian territory in
the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning, local officials said. The
operations room of the Gaza government told Ma'an that three tanks and
a bulldozer razed land 200 meters from the Green Line east of the city
of Deir Al-Balah. Israeli vehicles are seen operating along the border
almost daily. The military uses live fire to enforce a 300-meter
"exclusion zone" along the border, from which Palestinians are banned.
On Tuesday night an Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian fighter
affiliated with the Popular Resistance Committees near the city of Khan
Younis. [end]
Report:
Israeli troops training for new Gaza war
1/6/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - Israeli forces completed a large-scale military drill in the
Negev, the country's Channel 10 news reported, preparing troops for a
military offensive against the Gaza Strip. The report, aired Tuesday
evening, speculated that the training could even be seen as preparation
for a re-occupation of the area. Drills during the training reportedly
focused on re-training around military mistakes that occurred during
the last war on Gaza in December and January last year. Nine Israeli
soldiers were killed in the war, which saw 1,400 Palestinians perish,
and reports at the time said six of the deaths were the result of
"friendly fire. "At least one of those incidents involved fire on a
kidnapped soldier. According to Channel 10, training saw soldiers
educated in the use of a new digital device on Merkava Tanks, the
largest of the armored vehicles, which allows soldiers. . .
Hizbullah
upset over Hamas training in Lebanon
1/6/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an/Agencies - Hizbullah communicated"deep disappointment" to Hamas
leadership over the discovery that the party was conducting military
drills in a residential building in Lebanon without the party's
knowledge, the country's An-Nahar newspaper reported Wednesday.
Information around the training was uncovered during the course of an
investigation into an explosion in Haret Treik that killed two Hamas
members last week, the paper said. Lebanese Defense Minister Elias
Al-Murr said the blast targeted Hamas Representative in Lebanon Osama
Hamdan. According to the London-based Arabic daily Ash-Sharq al-Awsat,
the attack was carried out as Hamas members received live ammunition
training in the basement of the building under Hamas control. The daily
said Hezbollah told Hamas it would not intervene, and that Hamas "would
have to resolve the problem on its own. "
Did
Israel’s army whitewash a massacre in Jabaliya?
1/6/2010 - Part 11
of a series recounting the findings of South African jurist Richard
Goldstone's UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. - Bethlehem -
Ma'an - On the afternoon of 6 January 2009, at least four mortar bombs
fired by Israeli forces exploded near the Al-Fakhura junction in the
Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing as many as 43 people.
Witnesses described the scene of chaos and carnage caused by the bombs.
UNRWA's director of operations in Gaza, John Ging, stated: "There is
nowhere safe in Gaza. Everyone here is terrorized and traumatized. "One
shell landed directly in the courtyard outside the Ad-Deeb family's
house, where most of its immediate relatives were gathered. Nine
members of the family were killed instantly, 11 in total, including
four women and four girls. Apart from the shell that landed in the
Ad-Deebs' courtyard, three others hit. . .
Two
Gaza crossings open, limited export allowed
1/6/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - The Israeli military will open the Kerem Shalom and Karni
crossing points with the otherwise blockaded Gaza Strip on Wednesday to
allow the entry of aid and the export of strawberries. Palestinian
liaison official Raed Fattouh said that 77 truckloads of humanitarian
aid and commercial merchandise will enter Gaza via Kerem Shalom while
two trucks transporting Gaza strawberries will be exported to Israel
and other countries. Fattouh added that 97 truckloads of wheat and
animal feed will be allowed through the Karni crossing as well as two
trucks of small stones intended for Palestinian Water Authority
projects. Earlier this week Israel permanently closed the Nahal Oz
terminal, Gaza's main transfer point for liquid fuels. . . . .
Rafah
crossing open for fourth day
1/6/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah crossing into Gaza for
the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday to allow the transit of
stranded passengers on both sides. Ministry of the Interior spokesman
for the de facto government Ehab Al-Ghussein said the Egyptian side
agreed to open the crossing Wednesday to allow the transit of holders
of international passports, students, patients and other travelers who
have arranged their passage with Egypt. Al-Ghussein said in a statement
that nine buses left Gaza on Tuesday, including three buses taking
patients. He called on Egyptian authorities to extend the opening of
the crossing in order to allow Palestinians to cross. The de facto
government's police said that the Egyptian authorities allowed on
Tuesday the passage of 598 people to Egypt via the Rafah crossing while
291 travelers were not allowed to cross.
’Patriarch
could become persona non grata in Bethlehem’
1/6/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - A group of prominent Greek Orthodox Palestinians threatened
on Wednesday to split from their church over the sale of West Bank land
to Israel. Marwan Toubasi, the deputy minister of tourism and the
organizer of a protest movement, made the pronouncement at a news
conference in Bethlehem's Manger Square on Wednesday, as Orthodox
Christians marked Christmas Eve. Leader of the Greek Orthodox Club of
Beit Sahour Dr Elias Isaid, however, said a split from the church was
"unrealistic. ""Today's demonstration is the start of our action
against the patriarch," Isaid commented, and if the concerns of the
Palestinian parishes are not met, "we are prepared to declare the
patriarch a persona non grata in Bethlehem. " Approximately 300
protesters rallied in Manger Square, holding signs condemning the
actions of the patriarch.
MADA
documents violations of press freedoms in Palestine
1/6/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - Most of December's six violations of press freedom coincidde
with the commemoration of Hamas' anniversary on the 14th of the month,
a report from the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms
(MADA) released Wednesday said. The report noted a decline in
violations over a recorded 21 in November, but expressed concern over
continued Israeli press freedom violations targeting Palestinian
journalists in Jerusalem. Violations recorded by the organization were:
Kuwaiti channel (Wisal) programs maker Ziad Ismael Awad was arrested,
Diamond photographers Amer and Samer Labbad was prevented from covering
Hamas anniversary in the Gaza Strip, Turk Times website reporter Musab
Alqataloni and the director of Aqsa TV in the West Bank Mohamed Eshtewi
were arrested, Settlers and Israeli security men attacked Palestine TV
cameraman Nader Baybars, and Reuter's. . . -- Link: Palestinian Center for
Development and Media Freedoms (MADA)
Israeli
forces seize two in night raids
1/6/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - The Israeli military said it detained two Palestinians during
raids on Tuesday night south of the West Bank city of Ramallah. A
military official said one man was arrested in Qalandiya and another in
Ar-Ram. The detainees were not immediately identified. [end]
Injuries
reported after explosion in Gaza
1/6/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Several Palestinians were reportedly hurt in an explosion at a
coffee shop in Gaza City on Wednesday evening. Residents reported
hearing a blast at the "Tal Al-Qamar" cafe on the ground floor of a
10-story apartment building in the An-Nasser neighborhood of Gaza City.
Muawiya Hassanein, the Health Ministry's director of emergency and
ambulance services, told Ma'an that several people were injured in the
explosion, the cause of which was not immediately clear. [end]
Hamas
investigate shooting of Egyptian soldier
1/7/2010 - Ramallah
- Ma'an - De facto government security called on their Egyptian
counterparts to open a parallel investigation file into the shooting of
an Egyptian soldier during Rafah border riots Wednesday. The Hamas
investigators said they had already opened a file and were looking into
the incident to insure it would not be repeated, and the Palestinian
Authority in the West Bank publicly expressed its regret over the death
of the soldier, calling the act "irresponsible" and aimed at foiling
Egyptian unity mediation efforts. The riots began when Hamas officials
in Rafah called a gathering in condemnation of what it called Egyptian
attacks on a group of 500 activists travelling to Gaza with 220 cars
and ambulances loaded with medical aid. Palestinian ambassador to Cairo
and to the Arab League Barakat Al-Farra fiercely condemned what he
called "irresponsible behavior of Hamas officers against our Egyptian
brothers. "
Netherlands
contributes NIS 49.5 million to PA
1/6/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - The Netherlands has contributed 49. 5 million Israeli shekels
(about 15 million US dollars) to the salaries of the Palestinian
Authority civil police and civil defense, European Commission Technical
Assistance Office said Wednesday. The contribution will go toward the
wage bill for the PA civil police, as well as members of the civil
defense, such as firefighters and rescue workers, a statement said. The
contribution will be channelled through PEGASE, the European Union's
mechanism for aid to Palestinians. The first disbursement from this
contribution, which was scheduled to reach the bank accounts of 14,785
employees of the PA civil police and civil defense on Wednesday,
amounts to NIS 39,138,728 (more than 7. 17 million euros), the
statement said. More than 9,100 of the recipients of this payment are
based in Gaza.
Hamas:
Israel preventing prisoner deal
1/6/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an -Israel's refusal to release key Palestinian prisoners is
preventing the conclusion of a long-awaited swap deal, Hamas officials
said in remarks published Wednesday. In interviews with the Saudi
newspaper Al-Watan, Hamas leaders said Israel is refusing to release
Fatah leader Marwan Barghouthi, Hamas military leader Abdullah
Barghouthi, and PFLP chief Ahmad Sa'adat. Other key prisoners Israel is
refusing to release include long term prisoners Abbas Sayed, Ibrahim
Hamed,and Jamal Aboul Heija, as well as women prisoners Amina Muna,
Qahera As-Sa'di, and Ahlam At-Tamimi, all accused of organizing or
taking part in attacks targeting Israeli civilians. A Hamas source said
the Israel refusal to release the prisoners was the "first obstruction"
to a prisoner swap deal. Hamas sources reported on Tuesday that the
German mediator had arrived in Gaza to hear Hamas'. . .
Mash’al,
Bahraini king discuss reconciliation
1/6/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Hamas Political Bureau chief Khalid Mash'al discussed
Palestinian reconciliation with the Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the king
of Bahrain, during a visit to the gulf country on Tuesday. "The meeting
was an important and positive one where the two sides held discussions
and consultations on the entire Arab situation and the developments in
the Palestinian situation in particular," said Hamas official Ezzat
Ar-Resheq following the meeting. Ar-Resheq, who also attended the
meeting, said the officials expressed Hamas' strong will to achieve
reconciliation with their rival Fatah movement. Also attending the
meeting were Hamas officials Mousa Abu Marzuq, Muhammad Nasser and
Muhammad Nazzal. Ar-Resheq said Hamas laid out its demands around unity
documents from Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The Hamas leaders and the
monarch also discussed "the continued and escalated. . . "
Hamas:
Egypt has no will to end Gaza blockade
1/6/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an -Egypt has no desire to aid Palestinians living under siege,
Hamas said on Tuesday, after Egyptian forces wounded dozens of
international activists bringing aid to Gaza. "The Egyptian security's
attack on the Lifeline convoy in the Al-Arish port, injuring dozens of
them, is plainly an attack on the forty Arab, Islamic and European
countries represented by the convoy," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum
said in a statement. "This attack shows that there is no Egyptian will
to end blockade or even deliver aid to the besieged people in the Gaza
Strip," he added. More than 50 people were reported injured when
Egyptian riot police threw stones and trained water cannons on more
than 500 members of the Viva Palestina convoy, including British MP
George Galloway. The protest reportedly began when Egypt demanded some
of the vehicles in the convoy enter Gaza through an Israeli-controlled
crossing point.
NCCHL:
Orthodox boycott will not affect support for patriarch
1/6/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - Receiving the patriarch is an integral part of Palestinian
culture and should not be dropped from the Orthodox Christian program
on Christmas Eve day, President of the National Christian Coalition in
the Holy Land (NCCHL) Dimitri Diliani said Wednesday. As Palestinian
orthodox groups announced a scout group boycott, replacing the marching
children with men holding banners denouncing teh lease of orthodox
church land to Israeli developers, the NCCHL called for public support
for the patriarch "in order to preserve Palestinian Christian customs
and traditions that have become an integral part of Palestinian
heritage and an important component of the National Identity," a
statement said. Diliani told Christians in Palestine that "whoever
wants to abide by the call of one 'Orthodox group' to boycott a certain
Orthodox ceremony should probably stay home, but he or she. . . "
PLO’s
Washington office boosts online presence
1/6/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - The Palestine Liberation Organization's Mission to the United
States announced on Wednesday that its new website and Facebook page
were up and running. "Both are part of our larger effort to improve our
communications and relations with the American Palestinian community
and the American public at large," said Christopher Hazou, the PLO's
communications officer in Washington. In a statement, Hazou said that
in addition to providing information about the mission and the services
that it provides, the website will feature news articles, press
releases, fact sheets, maps and other resources. Likewise, the Facebook
page will offer access to resources such as maps, press releases, and
newspaper articles of particular interest, he added. According to its
new page, the PLO office in Washington's primary objective is to
protect and promote the interests of the Palestinian. . . -- Link: PLO Mission to the United States
Petition
urges Abbas, Mash’al to end division directly
1/6/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - The Egyptian-mandated National Reconciliation Committee
initiated a public petition Wednesday, collecting signatures of
Palestinians in support for an end to division between Fatah and Hamas.
The petition calls on Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, and Hamas leader in
exile Khalid Mash'al, to directly end the split between the parties.
"We the signatories appeal to your history and sacrifices, the blood of
those killed and the pains of the prisoners, to put an end to
division"¦ we hereby place on you all responsibility for the continuing
state of division, because of your prominent and leading roles in
Palestine," the document reads. The petition further accuses political
leaders of squabbling as Palestinians, particularly those in Gaza,
suffer. " Brothers in the Fatah and Hamas leadership, unity is power
while division is weakness "¦ remember we are still under occupation. "
Hamas:
Three arrested by PA
1/6/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - Hamas said on Wednesday that Palestinian Authority forces
arrested three of its members in the Jenin and Hebron areas. In a
statement the movement said the arrests one was arrested in the town of
Qabatiya, south of Jenin, and two were taken from their homes in the
city of Hebron. [end]
Egypt’s
Motor TV to broadcast Palestinian car racing
1/6/2010 - Cairo -
Ma'an - The Egyptian satellite channel Motor TV began broadcasting the
2009 Palestinian Motorsport series Tuesday, capping off a six-month
negotiations process, chairman of the motorsport federation Khaled
Kaddura told Ma'an. The entire 2009 series, with races in Jenin,
Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem and Jericho will be broadcast twice a day
at 6:30 and 11:30 on the satellite network. The original series was
sponsored by the new Qatari telecom company in Palestine, Wataniyah.
Airing the shows on satellite, Kaddura said, "will introduce
Palestinian racing to all of the Arab world. "He thanked Motor TV for
giving the racing circuit such exposure, and said he looked forward to
sharing the races with motorsport lovers around the world. . . . .
PSE
rises: Al-Quds Index up 1.09%
1/6/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Stocks rose on the Palestine Securities Exchange in the West
Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday. At the close of trading the Al-Quds
Index stood at 504. 05, increasing by 5. 43 points (1. 09%). Trading
volume was 831,097 shares valued at 2,011,394. 06 US dollars, in 349
trades. The shares of 20 companies were traded. The share prices of
three companies rose, while those of seven declined. The gainers were
PALTEL by (2. 27%), JCC by (1. 05%), BPC by (0. 52%). The top five
losers were QUDS by (4. 10%), GCOM by (4. 00%), NSC by (3. 45%), NCI by
(3. 23%), PEC by (1. 92%). [end]
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - Defense establishment aces trial of barrage interception, marking end to Iron Dome development period.
IDF urges Negev residents: Get ready, Gaza quiet may not last
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - GOC Southern Command says IDF prepared to face any tensions, saying calm along border could be temporary.
How did an Al-Qaida double agent dupe the CIA?
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - Seven Americans and one Jordanian were killed in a suicide bombing last week on a CIA base.
IDF to seek legal advice during future conflicts
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - Policy change comes after international criticism of IDF conduct during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.
Palestinians: Israeli strike kills Gaza militant
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - Medics and a Palestinian militant group said four others were wounded in the strike on central Gaza.
Israel airport now testing 'self-check' security system
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - El Al frequent flyers are first group to use biometric system, meant to replace question-answer security method.
IDF to blanket Israel with gas masks
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - Home Front Command to distribute protection kits to all civilians, rather than planned 60%, starting February.
Are IDF dogs trained to pounce all who say 'God is great' in Arabic?
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - Following expose, MK Ahmed Tibi tells Knesset plenum: 'I say here Allah Hu Akbar. Any dogs here to attack me?'
Be'er Sheva police call off terror alert
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - Two suspects carrying suspicious bag detained for questioning; shots apparently fired during arrest.
IDF dependence on technology spawns whole new battlefield
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - In the new battlefield of cyberspace, the war is against terrorist hackers.
Airport tragedy averted as civilian, military aircrafts nearly collide
Ha'aretz 6 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 6 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 6 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 6 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 6 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 6 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 6 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 6 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 6 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 6 Jan 2010 - Parents and grandfather of main suspect in attack on Yasuf mosque were killed in Palestinian terror attack.
Israel
leveled More than 23.000 Homes Since 1967
Uruknet January 6,
2010 - The Palestinian Ministry of Information issued a report stating
that Israel leveled more than 23.000 homes in the occupied territories
since its occupied the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in
the 1967 six-day war. The Israeli Authorities leveled more than 700
homes and buildings owned by the Palestinians in Jerusalem. Demolishing
Palestinian homes...
Abdallah
Abu Rahmah: No army, no prison and no wall can stop us
Uruknet January 6,
2010 - To all our friends, I mark the beginning of the new decade
imprisoned in a military detention camp. Nevertheless, from within the
occupation′s holding cell I meet the New Year with determination and
hope. I know that Israel’s military campaign to imprison the leadership
of the Palestinian popular struggle shows that our non-violent struggle
is effective....
Israel’s
treatment of Ethiopian Jews ‘racist’
Uruknet January 6,
2010 - Health officials in Israel are subjecting many female Ethiopian
immigrants to a controversial long-term birth control drug in what
Israeli women’s groups allege is a racist policy to reduce the number
of black babies. The contraceptive, known as Depo Provera, which is
given by injection every three months, is considered by many doctors as
a birth...
Video:
Palestinian children are stoned while walking to school
Uruknet January 6,
2010 - At-Tuwani On Wednesday morning, 30 December 2009, an Israeli
settler from the Israeli outpost of Havat Ma'on (Hill 833) chased and
attacked Palestinian schoolchildren from the villages of Tuba and
Maghayir Al-Abeed. The Israeli army exposed the children to this attack
by arriving more than 90 minutes late to escort the schoolchildren to
their school in...
Weekly
Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory No. 01/2010 (30 Dec 2009- 05 Jan. 2010)
Uruknet January 6,
2010 - Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law
continued in the OPT during the reporting period (30 December 2009 – 05
January 2010): Shooting: During the reporting period, Israeli
occupation forces killed one Palestinian resistance activist and
wounded 3 others in the Gaza Strip and wounded 3 civilians, including
one child in the West Bank. In...
Report:
Israeli troops training for new Gaza war
Uruknet January 6,
2010 – Israeli forces completed a large-scale military drill in the
Negev, the country's Channel 10 news reported, preparing troops for a
military offensive against the Gaza Strip. The report, aired Tuesday
evening, speculated that the training could even be seen as preparation
for a re-occupation of the area. Drills during the training reportedly
focused on re-training around...
Hamas
security to investigate shooting of Egyptian soldier
Uruknet January 6,
2010 – De facto government security called on their Egyptian
counterparts to open a parallel investigation file into the shooting of
an Egyptian soldier during Rafah border riots Wednesday. The Hamas
investigators said they had already opened a file and were looking into
the incident to insure it would not be repeated, and the Palestinian
Authority in the...
Egypt
allows through Gaza aid convoy after protests
Uruknet January 6,
2010 - Egypt has reached a deal with members of an aid convoy to take
supplies to Palestinians in Gaza after protests overnight, but Cairo
barred their private cars from crossing, an Egyptian security source
said. Cairo had insisted the food and other supplies should enter Gaza
via an Israeli-controlled checkpoint but convoy leaders wanted to use
the...
Israeli
strike kills two in Gaza
Uruknet January 6,
2010 – Ma’an – An Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinian fighters
near the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday
night. Medics told Ma’an that an Israeli warplane fired several
missiles at a group near the southern city, and said four people were
treated for various injuries at the An-Nasser Hospital in the city......
IOF
troops deliver demolition orders for 28 Palestinian homes
Uruknet January 6,
2010 -- The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) delivered demolition
notifications to owners of 28 houses in Akraba village, Nablus
district, ono Wednesday and asked them to evacuate them within 48
hours. Owners of those houses have been working in farming their lands
for tens of years, local sources said. The IOF soldiers demolished
seven homes last year in...
Ahmad
Tibi: Israeli army trains dogs to attack anyone chanting Allahu Akbar
Uruknet January 6,
2010 - Head of the Arab Movement for Renewal Party and member of the
Israeli parliament (Knesset) Ahmed Tibi, revealed that the Israeli
Occupation’s army, IDF, has trained a canine unit to attack anyone who
shouts Allahu Akbar (God Is the Greatest). In a Knesset session, Tibi
questioned Israeli Security Minister, "Is it true that your army
trains...
Screening
of “Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo” at start of 12-day action
in Washington D.C.
Uruknet January 6,
2010 - On Monday January 11 — the eighth anniversary of the opening of
Guantánamo — the campaigning group Witness Against Torture, with the
support of numerous other organizations, including the Center for
Constitutional Rights, After Downing Street, No More Guantánamos and
The World Can’t Wait, will hold a 12-day fast and vigil outside the
White House to...
Lebanon, January 6, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The Director of Affairs of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Lebanon said on Tuesday his agency was in the process of "re-structuring" its top priorities in a bid to improve services it provides to Palestinian refugees. Salvatore Lombardo discussed services provided by his agency with representatives of Palestinian factions...
Fishing Under Fire REPORT 2009
Gaza, January 6, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Since the declaration of the "ceasefire"(18/1/2009), till the end of the year: * 1 fisherman have been assassinated by the Israeli Navy * at least 7 fishermen have been injured by gunfire (and at least another one sustained burns after shelling) in the sea, while another fisherman was reported by several media to be lightly...
Israel Drops Unknown Chemicals on Buildings in Hebron
Hebron, January 6, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Israeli occupation soldiers dropped down on Monday evening chemicals with an unpleasant smell on the roofs of houses in the area of Tel Rumeida in downtown Hebron in the occupied West Bank. "Israeli soldiers daily ascend rooftops in the neighborhood, and sometimes this happens more than once during the day", said one resident. He...
Gaza: Israeli airstrike kills 1, wounds 4
Gaza, January 6, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - An Israeli airstrike hit a group of Palestinian freedom fighters in Khan Yoins, in south Gaza Strip, killing one and wounding four others. The Israeli military confirmed the attack, which hit near the southern town of Khan Yunis late Tuesday, claiming the strike "targeted a group of terrorists preparing to fire rockets at...
Israel Approves Settlement Construction in E Jerusalem
Jerusalem, January 5, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Israel has approved construction of four new apartment buildings in disputed east Jerusalem, officials said Tuesday, fueling tensions with the Palestinians at a time when the U.S. is laboring to get peace talks moving again. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem for a future capital and want all construction there stopped before negotiations resume. The...
The National 6 Jan 2010 - Palestinian Authority is beginning to step up a campaign to raise awareness that goods from Israeli settlements have been banned.
Israel's treatment of Ethiopians racist'
The National 5 Jan 2010 - Health officials in Israel subject female Ethiopian immigrants to a controversial birth control drug in alleged attempt to reduce number of black babies.
Hamas holds out olive branch to Fatah
The National 5 Jan 2010 - On Gaza's streets – and even among its own ranks – the sentiment is rising that it is time for Hamas to reconcile with its secular rivals in the West Bank.
AlJazeera 5 Jan 2010 - Palestinian leader calls for halt as building works in East Jerusalem gain momentum.
Alternative Information Center
Netanyahu’s Call for Action: Renewing Peace Negotiations or Merely “Phony Gestures”?Alternative Information Center 5 Jan 2010 - Last week Netanyahu headed to Cairo to meet Mubarak, and, according to the Israelis, kick-start the otherwise stagnant negotiations process. With Israel negotiating and even agreeing on conditions for peace with both the U.S. and Egypt,...
Gaza Freedom Marchers issue the "Cairo Declaration" to end Israeli Apartheid
Alternative Information Center 5 Jan 2010 - (Cairo) Gaza Freedom Marchers approved on 1 January 2010 a declaration aimed at accelerating the global campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli Apartheid. Roughly 1,400 activists from 43 countries converged in Cairo on...
PNN 6 Jan 2010 - Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon on Tuesday met with British Attorney General Baroness Patricia Janet Scotland, to protest the slew of arrest warrants issued against senior Israeli officials in the United Kingdom. A delegation of senior Israel Defense Forces officers recently canceled a planned visit to the U.K. for fear they would be arrested upon landing. The four unidentified officers, holding ranks...
Egyptian-Palestinian leaders meet
PNN 5 Jan 2010 - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss efforts to restart Israeli and Palestinian peace talks. The talks come days after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu met Mr Mubarak. The US is reported to be drafting letters of guarantee for talks to be delivered to Israel and the Palestinians in the coming weeks. According to Israel's Maariv newspaper, the...
Smuggling fuels Gaza's stalled economy
PNN 6 Jan 2010 - The day Israel launched its 22-day offensive on Gaza , a year ago, Osama and his family lost most of their $70,000 life savings. The Gaza accountant, who gives only his first name, had put his money into a local investment scheme - even selling an apartment and his wife's jewelry to do so. The scheme initially produced excellent returns, which Osama understood...
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2010 - IDF allows operation without prior permission; forces crack down on Hamas, car theft and drug dealing.
Galant warns 'quiet in South temporary'
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2010 - Cast Lead achieved its goals, says OC Southern Command, but IDF ready for next round of fighting.
'Syria will back Hizbullah if Israel attacks'
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2010 - Damascus sources tell Al Watan Syria assesses Israel planning military operation in Lebanon in May.
Secular Jerusalem Syndrome
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2010 - "Jerusalem has great opportunities but also faces great dangers," says Israel's former US ambassador.
Iron Dome system successfully intercepts Kassams, Katyushas
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2010 - Israel inches closer to deploying missile defense system on Gaza border; radar also succeeds in detecting rockets headed for open fields.
Barak 'not scared' of death threats
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2010 - At Tel Aviv conference, defense minister downplays threatening letters sent over settlement freeze.
'Iran envoy in Oslo quits over Teheran violence'
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2010 - 'The Norway Post': Iranian consul says "conscience" won't let him continue after gov't-sponsored violence.
Lebanon ranked world's second most improved democracy
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2010 - "Lebanon increased with regards to political rights, civil liberties and the number of women sitting in parliament."
Jewish construction in e. J'lem okayed
Jeruslalem Post 6 Jan 2010 - 3 new structures in Shuafat to host 50 families; Hadash chairman: Gov't acting like gang of robbers.
IPS JERUSALEM, Dec 28 (IPS) - Resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict along the two-state parameters seems less likely with Israel torn between accepting a Palestinian state and the settler ideology which calls for Israel’s exclusive rule over the whole of Jerusalem and the West Bank.
MIDEAST: Israel Declares War on Peace NGOs
IPS JERUSALEM, Dec 24 (IPS) - One year after the devastating attack on Hamas in Gaza a new wave of reports castigating Israel for war crimes has emerged.
LEBANON: Hip-hop Kindles Hopes in Destroyed Refugee Camp
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: New Year Reopens Wounds of the Old
IPS GAZA CITY, Dec 30 (IPS) - For many survivors of the last Israeli war on Gaza, time has not healed their wounds, physical or emotional.
PCHR
International Solidarity Movement
Civil Administration backtracks on granting Palestinians access to Bir el-Eid1/6/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Amira Hass, Haaretz - The Civil Administration ordered Palestinian residents of the West Bank this week to stop erecting tents and building animal enclosures in the Bir el-Eid area – even though the state allowed them access to the site only two months ago, after a 10-year enforced absence and a protracted legal effort. Tomorrow, the Civil Administration's supervisory committee is to discuss the next step, which could involve demolition of the tents and restoration of the site to its prior condition. The site, which is in the southern Hebron Hills, is in Area C, meaning that since the Oslo Accords, it remains under full Israel control. Beginning in the 1990s, settler harassment and police inaction led the residents of the small village to flee the caves where they were living. The huts, fencing and stone structures that they used primarily to graze sheep,. . .
Abdallah Abu Rahmah: No army, no prison and no wall can stop us
1/6/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Free Abdallah Abu Rahmah - To all our friends, I mark the beginning of the new decade imprisoned in a military detention camp. Nevertheless, from within the occupation"²s holding cell I meet the New Year with determination and hope. I know that Israel's military campaign to imprison the leadership of the Palestinian popular struggle shows that our non-violent struggle is effective. The occupation is threatened by our growing movement and is therefore trying to shut us down. What Israel"²s leaders do not understand is that popular struggle cannot be stopped by our imprisonment. Whether we are confined in the open-air prison that Gaza has been transformed into, in military prisons in the West Bank, or in our own villages surrounded by the Apartheid Wall, arrests and persecution do not weaken us. They only strengthen our commitment to turning 2010 into a year of liberation through unarmed grassroots resistance to the occupation.
White House: Emanuel didn't threaten to walk away from peace talks
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel denied reports that said he is fed up with Israel and the Palestinians, a White House aide told Haaretz on Wednesday. ...
Envoy Oren: Iran-Israel relations could change if regime falls
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren said Wednesday that Israel believed sanctions against Iran over its contentious nuclear program would be effective, adding that the goal should be to weaken the Islamic regime and not its citizens. ...
European rabbis call new airports scanners 'immodest'
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - The use of body scanners in airports would violate the rights of Religious Jewish women whose modesty would be compromised by the scan, the Rabbinical Center of Europe warned on Wednesday. ...
U.S. charges Nigerian who tried to blow up Detroit-bound plane
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - A U.S. grand jury on Wednesday indicted Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on six counts for trying to blow up an American airliner in a plot that exposed large breakdowns in U.S. security and intelligence. ...
Alleged Holocaust museum shooter dies in prison while awaiting trial
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - A elderly white supremacist who allegedly killed a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum died in a prison hospital while awaiting trial, Fox broadcaster reported Wednesday. ...
The Guardian 6 Jan 2010 - Protests erupted after the Viva Palestina convoy led by George Galloway was held up near the Rafah border crossing into Gaza
Welcome to Palestine, Avigdor | Nicholas Blincoe
The Guardian 6 Jan 2010 - Settlers such as Avigdor Lieberman have been offered the chance to remain in a future Palestinian state. Will he accept? Dear Avigdor, Can you believe, we are neighbours yet we have never met? I wish that,...
Egyptian guard dies in clashes over Gaza aid convoy
The Guardian 6 Jan 2010 - Fifteen Palestinians injured after trucks led by British MP George Galloway stopped from entering Gaza Strip An Egyptian border guard was killed and 15 Palestinians injured today in clashes on the Gaza border after an international...
Israeli military cancels UK visit over arrest fears
The Guardian 5 Jan 2010 - British government under pressure to remove threat of legal action against Israeli leaders for war crimes in Gaza The Israeli military has cancelled a visit by a team of its officers to Britain over fears that...
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - The coach of Israel's national soccer team was detained for questioning on this week by customs inspectors at Ben Gurion Airport, for traveling with alcohol and tobacco products exceeding the duty free limit. ...
Barak gets death threat over West Bank settlement freeze
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - Defense Minister Ehud Barak has received a death threat, apparently from far-rightists who oppose his involvement in implementing the 10-month freeze in West Bank settlement construction, Channel 10 news reported on Tuesday. ...
Knesset rejects bill for equal Arab-Jewish land distribution
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - The Knesset on Wednesday rejected by a majority vote a bill proposed by Israeli Arab MK Ahmed Tibi (Ra'am Ta'al) which would enforce equal distribution of land between Jewish and Arab citizens. ...
Barak: Death threats won't stop enforcement of settlement freeze
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Wednesday that he would continue to enforce the government's decision to halt construction in the West Bank, despite receiving multiple death threats apparently from settlers angry over the temporary freeze. ...
Assailants set fire to home of alleged child slayers
Ha'aretz 6 Jan 2010 - Unknown assailants attempted on Wednesday to set fire to the Sudmi family household, whose twin sons are suspected of murdering a 7-year-old boy last week. ...
Relief Web 6 Jan 2010 - Source: Xinhua
Egypt allows through Gaza aid convoy after protests
Relief Web 6 Jan 2010 - Source: Reuters - AlertNet
Humanitarian Update: Regional Office for the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, December 2009
Relief Web 6 Jan 2010 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
OPT: Epidemiological bulletin for Gaza Strip vol 1, issue 15
Relief Web 6 Jan 2010 - Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory 30 Dec 2009 - 05 Jan 2010
Relief Web 6 Jan 2010 - Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
'Cell No. 36' - DCI-Palestine submits 13 cases to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture
Relief Web 6 Jan 2010 - Source: Defence for Children International/Palestine Section
YNet News 6 Jan 2010 - France comes first, Somalia last in International Living magazine's ranking of 194 states using range of criteria, editors' opinions
Rightist MKs: Threats against Barak bogus
YNet News 6 Jan 2010 - Shin Bet, defense minister's advisors behind threatening letter, National Union MKs charge
Barak: I'm not scared of anyone
YNet News 6 Jan 2010 - Defense minister addresses recent death threats, says they do not represent West Bank residents
New anti-rocket system ready
YNet News 6 Jan 2010 - Iron Dome system, designed to intercept Qassam rockets, to be deployed later this year; Defense Minister Barak says system's completion a significant milestone, tests' success attests to capabilities of Israel's defense industries
International aid convoy enters Gaza Strip
YNet News 6 Jan 2010 - Convoy enters Gaza following violent clashes in El-Arish; earlier, Turkish foreign minister telephones Egyptian counterpart, asks him to release members of aid convoy
Visiting exile: Don't strike Iran
YNet News 6 Jan 2010 - Israeli attack on Iran will unite Iranian people, delay regime's collapse, exiled director says
IDF troops suspected of abusing comrade
YNet News 6 Jan 2010 - Two soldiers from base in south accused of depriving comrade of sleep, demanding money
Hamas: Border clashes linked to Egyptian barrier
YNet News 6 Jan 2010 - Escalation of violence on Egypt-Rafah border related to construction of Egyptian underground barrier, Hamas official admits; dozens hurt in Wednesday's riots. Hamas parliamentarian: Israel still our main enemy
Daily Star 6 Jan 2010 Iran's interior minister warned opposition activists on Tuesday they risk execution as enemies of God if they continue anti-government demonstrations, and the foreign ministry said arrested foreigners face punishment. Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar made the latest threat after the Intelligence Ministry said on Monday several foreigners.
Yemen launches fresh offensive against Al-Qaeda
Daily Star 6 Jan 2010 Yemen has launched an offensive against Al-Qaeda and the US Embassy in Sanaa reopened on Tuesday after security forces staged a raid just outside the capital that dealt with an imminent security threat. Yemen has sent thousands of troops to take part in a campaign against Al-Qaeda in three provinces over the past three days.
Prince Faisal seeks to break peace-process impasse
Daily Star 6 Jan 2010 The Saudi foreign minister made a lightning tour of the region on Tuesday, meeting leaders of Egypt and Syria as the Saudi king hosted his Jordanian counterpart for a meeting in Riyadh. Prince Saud al-Faisal's meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad was a further sign of thawing relations between the two countries, which had been at odds after the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri.
Egypt's steel border wall could choke Hamas in Gaza
Daily Star 6 Jan 2010 A jackhammer pounded large steel beams side by side into the sandy soil on the Egyptian side of Gaza's border, putting in place an underground wall that could shift the balance of power in this volatile area. Once completed, the steel barrier would theoretically cut off blockaded Gaza's last lifeline and - by slicing through hundreds of smuggling tunnels.
Iranian opposition asks Brown to ban terrorist group in UK
Daily Star 6 Jan 2010 An open letter to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown released late on Monday asked his government to stop incitement to violence being broadcast into Iran by a terrorist group from London. Massoud Khodabandeh, of Leeds-based Middle East Strategy Consultants, said, "The Iranian people's courageous, peaceful demonstrations to achieve their natural freedoms.
Israel approves East Jerusalem building project
Daily Star 6 Jan 2010 Israel has approved construction of four new apartment buildings in occupied East Jerusalem, officials said Tuesday, fueling tensions with the Palestinians at a time when the US is laboring to get peace talks moving again. The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem for a future capital and demand all construction there stop before negotiations resume.
Israelis cancel UK trip for fear of arrest
Daily Star 6 Jan 2010 A group of Israeli military officers called off an official visit to Britain last week, fearing they could face arrest on war crimes charges, officials said Tuesday. The four unidentified officers, holding ranks from major to colonel, are the latest in a string of Israeli politicians and military officials forced to call off travel to Britain over fears of legal prosecution relating to last year's offensive on the Gaza Strip.
US senators voice regret over Blackwater court ruling
Daily Star 6 Jan 2010 Four US senators voiced "regret" on Tuesday over a US court's decision to drop charges against American private security guards accused of killing 14 Iraqi civilians in an unprovoked attack in 2007. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate in 2008, added on a one-day visit to Iraq that he hoped the ruling over the five Blackwater guards, which has sparked fury here, would be appealed by the US government.
Iran accepts Clinton non-deadline for talks
Daily Star 6 Jan 2010 Iran said Tuesday it welcomes Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's comments that there is no hard-and-fast deadline for starting nuclear dialogue. On Monday, Clinton said the Obama administration remained open to negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program, though it will move toward tougher sanctions if Iran does not respond positively. She stressed there was no hard-and-fast deadline for Iran.
US announces overhaul of terrorism watch lists
Daily Star 6 Jan 2010 President Barack Obama unveiled new security reforms Tuesday, after a Christmas Day bomb plot prompted a US review of intelligence gaps and an overhaul of terrorism watch lists. Obama, who has denounced "systemic" intelligence failures in the bombing attempt, met Tuesday with US intelligence chiefs on findings of two reviews into a Nigerian man's bid to bring down a US-bound jet.
Palestinian Information Center
Ashaal: Egypt’s steel wall is a crime against humanityPIC 6 Jan 2010 - Dr. Abdullah Al-Ashaal, a former assistant to the Egyptian foreign minister, stated that the steel wall built by Egypt is a crime against humanity and violates international law.
IOF troops deliver demolition orders for 28 Palestinian homes
PIC 6 Jan 2010 - The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) delivered demolition notifications to owners of 28 houses in Akraba village, Nablus district, on Wednesday and asked them to evacuate them within 48 hours.
Bahar: All conspiracies aimed to blackmail Gaza people will fail
PIC 6 Jan 2010 - Dr. Ahmed Bahar stressed that all conspiracies that are aimed to undermine the steadfastness of Gaza people and blackmail them into making concessions would fail.
Palestinian resistance fighter succumbs to wounds
PIC 6 Jan 2010 - A member of the Salahuddin Brigades, the armed wing of the popular resistance committees, on Wednesday succumbed to serious wounds sustained in an Israeli air raid late on Tuesday night in Gaza.
IOA blocks entry of AFEH observer into Aqsa Mosque
PIC 6 Jan 2010 - The IOA has issued a military order blocking Fawaz Eghbariye, an observer working with the Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage (AFEH), from entering the Aqsa Mosque for six months.
35 Palestinians wounded by Egyptian security forces near Salahuddin terminal
PIC 6 Jan 2010 - Palestinian medical sources have reported that 35 Palestinian citizens were wounded by Egyptian gunfire Wednesday evening when dozens of them rallied near Salahuddin terminal in Rafah area.
European organizations, Turkish masses protest Egyptian assault
PIC 6 Jan 2010 - An alliance of solidarity with the Palestinian people in Europe has called for demonstrations in front of the Egyptian embassies to protest the Egyptian security authorities' assault on Lifeline-3.
IOF troops advance in central Gaza Strip, bulldoze land
PIC 6 Jan 2010 - Israeli occupation forces (IOF) mounting four tanks and escorting three bulldozers advanced into central Gaza Strip east of Deir Al-Balah city on Wednesday and damaged citizens' lands.
PFLP: Building a new Jewish zone in J’lem will undermine its spiritual status
PIC 6 Jan 2010 - The popular front for the liberation of Palestine said that Israel's intention to build a new Jewish neighborhood overlooking the Aqsa Mosque is aimed to undermine the spiritual status of Jerusalem.
Hamas slams Egyptian authorities for attacking Viva Palestina activists in Arish
PIC 6 Jan 2010 - Fawzi Barhoum denounced the Egyptian authorities for assaulting Viva Palestina activists in Al-Arish seaport, saying that this attack confirmed that there is participation in the siege on Gaza.
LA Times 5 Jan 2010 - The U.S. secretary of State says American aid to the beleaguered Arab government depends on it moving decisively to curb terrorists and stabilize the nation. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton declared Monday that Yemen is a threat to global security but warned that the Obama administration would continue accelerating U.S. aid only if the Yemeni government met U.S. demands to take steps toward stability.
Iranian opposition movement overshadows plight of detained hikers
LA Times 5 Jan 2010 - In Los Angeles, Iranian Americans have been demonstrating for months on behalf of their reformist countrymen while paying little attention to the three American hikers detained on espionage charges. With street protests raging in Iran, political activism is on the rise among Los Angeles' already vocal Iranian American community. Flag-waving demonstrators clad in the opposition movement's signature green have been a common sight outside the Federal Building in Westwood, and Iranian-language media is abuzz with debate.
New York Times 6 Jan 2010 - Demonstrators rushed the border fence and threw stones at Egyptian troops, leading to an exchange of gunfire and the death of an Egyptian soldier.
Iran Official Accused in Prison Deaths
New York Times 6 Jan 2010 - An Iranian diplomat quit his job at the Iranian Embassy in Norway to protest Iran’s violent response to protests in late December, according to news reports.
Iran Shielding Its Nuclear Efforts in Maze of Tunnels
New York Times 6 Jan 2010 - The underground network complicates the West’s military calculus and obscures the scale of Iran’s nuclear program.
World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: Officials Cancel British Visit
New York Times 6 Jan 2010 - The cancellation by an Israeli military delegation is the latest in a string of officials to put off travel there because of fears of war crimes prosecution over the Gaza war of last winter.
World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: Disputed Housing Approved
New York Times 6 Jan 2010 - Four new apartment buildings are being developed in a predominantly Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim for a future capital.
Chinese Envoy Objects to More Penalties for Iran
New York Times 6 Jan 2010 - Zhang Yesui, the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, objected Tuesday to tougher sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.
Palestine Monitor - 6 Jan 2010 - Dozens of people, including diplomats, Palestinian and Israeli activists gathered on Monday at Ofer detention camp an Israeli military prison in the West Bank to show their support and solidarity with Jamal Juma, Coordinator of the Stop the Wall Campaign. The demonstration coincided with an extension...
1000 Protestors Demand Freedom for Gaza
Palestine Monitor - 5 Jan 2010 - Around 1000 people gathered on New Year's Eve by Erez crossing on the Israeli side of border with Gaza to protest against the ongoing siege imposed by Israel on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. As part of the Gaza Freedom March initiative, the demonstration began at...
Letter from an Israeli Military Detention Camp
Mondoweiss - 6 Jan 2010 - This letter from Bil’in’s Abdallah Abu Rahmah was shared from his prison cell with his lawyers: January 1, 2010 To all our friends, I mark the beginning of the new decade imprisoned in a military detention camp. Nevertheless, from within the occupation′s holding cell I meet...
Israeli television confrontation is ‘a metaphor of the moral crisis in which Zionism is found today’
Mondoweiss - 6 Jan 2010 - The above interview has been making the rounds online, and has been garnering much attention in Israel. The confrontation features Dan Margalit, a well known mainstream Israeli journalist, and MK Jamal Zahalka, a Palestinian member of the Knesset. There have been several responses to the episode...
Some recent headlines from Israel/Palestine
Mondoweiss - 6 Jan 2010 - From The National: " Israel’s treatment of Ethiopians ‘racist’ ": Health officials in Israel are subjecting many female Ethiopian immigrants to a controversial long-term birth control drug in what Israeli women’s groups allege is a racist policy to reduce the number of black babies. The contraceptive,...
Palestine Vivra! The French Heroes of the Gaza Freedom March
Mondoweiss - 6 Jan 2010 - Demonstration in front of the French Embassy in Cairo. (Photo: Anne Paxton ) A great many heroes have emerged from the Gaza Freedom March’s efforts in Cairo, where more than 1,400 internationals from 43 countries have come to demand an end to the Israeli siege on Gaza....
Look familiar?
Mondoweiss - 6 Jan 2010 - This is a trailer for the film Have You Heard From Johannesburg? . I know the movement for equal rights and justice in Israel/Palestine doesn’t look like this quite yet, but maybe someday soon. If you’re in New York City, the film will be playing at the...
Netanyahu’s Call for Action: Renewing Peace Negotiations or Merely “Phony Gestures”?
Alternative Information Center - 5 Jan 2010 - Last week Netanyahu headed to Cairo to meet Mubarak, and, according to the Israelis, kick-start the otherwise stagnant negotiations process. With Israel negotiating and even agreeing on conditions for peace with both the U.S. and Egypt, it is now apparently only up to Abbas to respond...
Gaza Freedom Marchers issue the "Cairo Declaration" to end Israeli Apartheid
Alternative Information Center - 5 Jan 2010 - (Cairo) Gaza Freedom Marchers approved on 1 January 2010 a declaration aimed at accelerating the global campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli Apartheid. Roughly 1,400 activists from 43 countries converged in Cairo on their way to Gaza to join with Palestinians marching to...
Articles
Crossing the borders of solidarity
Haitham Sabbah, Ma’an News Agency 1/6/2010
Activists for Palestine must have the same goal as Palestinians "“ the liberation of Palestine. They must not be diverted from this objective or interfere with a greater geopolitical situation that may have consequences none of us can predict and which can cancel for a long time our hopes for liberation and return.
Our fear is legitimate. We fear the emergence of the Zionist ultimate project, "Greater Israel" in the ashes of the destruction of Arab unity, which is not a lofty ideal, but present in the Arab masses and is a source that must be tapped into, and the Zionist project can be accomplished if we are not vigilant in all we do and if we shift our rage away from Israel and weaken the Arab masses. I shall explain.
Taking on Egypt
Let’s assume that the Egyptian government was replaced with new democratically elected one, what do you think would happen? The answer seems vague, but believe me, it is very simple. Remember what happened in Occupied Palestine four years ago? Hamas was elected and the entire world witnessed real democracy in action. What happened next? The entire world, including most Arab countries, refused to accept Hamas as the new official government and nearly all of them decided to cut relations and aid to the new Palestinian government. The tag was ready for all of them to push off to the ears of the world, "Hamas is a terrorist organization. Full Stop!"
Now, we are not arguing here whether Hamas was a good choice or not for and from the Palestinians. It was their choice in fair elections and it must be respected by anyone who believes in democracy. more.. e-mail
Gaza remains under pressure and ‘waiting to explode’
Jonathan Cook, The National, Jonathan Cook website 1/2/2010
NAZARETH // 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.
A right-wing government in Tel Aviv has dared to snub the US administration by barely enforcing what has become a partial and very temporary freeze on the expansion of its settlement programme in the West Bank. Israeli generals, meanwhile, proclaim that they are gearing up for an even fiercer repeat of the attack on Gaza last winter that killed around 1,400 Palestinians, most of them civilians.
Hamas and Fatah, the two rival Palestinian factions ruling respectively Gaza and the West Bank, have failed to reconcile despite intensive Egyptian mediation. The power of Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority and Israel’s only putative partner for a peace deal, is in terminal decline over failing to win any substantial concessions from Israel.
Hamas, on the other hand, not only survived relatively unscathed the Israeli attack of a year ago but is reported now to be testing rockets that can reach Tel Aviv. It also appears to be boxing Israel into an uncomfortably tight corner in negotiations to extract its soldier, Gilad Shalit, from a captivity of more than three years. A deal releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in return for Sgt Shalit would be a tactical triumph for Hamas and could possibly sound the death knell for Mr Abbas and the PA.
Egypt, having so far failed to make headway on either Palestinian unity or the release of Sgt Shalit, is showing its displeasure. It is implementing one of Israel’s stated goals in Operation Cast Lead – sealing off Egypt’s border with Gaza – by building a steel wall underground to prevent smuggling through tunnels. more.. e-mail
Stealing Gaza
Brian Eno, CounterPunch 1/2/2010
An Experiment in Provocation
It’s a tragedy that the Israelis - a people who must understand better than almost anybody the horrors of oppression - are now acting as oppressors. As the great Jewish writer Primo Levi once remarked "Everybody has their Jews, and for the Israelis it’s the Palestinians". By creating a middle Eastern version of the Warsaw ghetto they are recapitulating their own history as though they’ve forgotten it. And by trying to paint an equivalence between the Palestinians - with their homemade rockets and stone-throwing teenagers - and themselves - with one of the most sophisticated military machines in the world - they sacrifice all credibility.
The Israelis are a gifted and resourceful people who fully deserve the right to live in peace, but who seem intent on squandering every chance to allow that to happen. It’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that this conflict serves the political and economic purposes of Israel so well that they have every interest in maintaining it. While there is fighting they can continue to build illegal settlements. While there is fighting they continue to receive huge quantities of military aid from the United States. And while there is fighting they can avoid looking candidly at themselves and the ruthlessness into which they are descending.
Gaza is now an experiment in provocation. Stuff one and a half million people into a tiny space, stifle their access to water, electricity, food and medical treatment, destroy their livelihoods, and humiliate them regularly...and, surprise, surprise - they turn hostile. Now why would you want to make that experiment? more.. e-mail
Gaza Freedom March marches in Cairo against blockade
Electronic Intifada: 6 Jan 2010 - The international delegation of the Gaza Freedom March originally planned to arrive in Gaza on 29 December 2009 to join a march against the Israeli blockade together with residents of Gaza two days later. Instead, most of its delegates remained in Cairo, having been blocked from going to the Rafah border by the Egyptian government, and instead marched against the Egyptian blockade on Gaza. Sharat G. Lin gives an account of the Gaza Freedom March from Cairo for The Electronic Intifada.
A year after losing a father and sons, a Gaza family copes
Electronic Intifada: 6 Jan 2010 - Fathiya Abu Jbara lost her husband and two sons in an Israeli air strike on the family home during Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip last winter. The Electronic Intifada correspondent Rami Almeghari reported on the strike a few days after the attack and one year later, visits the family again to see how they are coping.
Photostory: Commemorating the assault on Gaza
Electronic Intifada: 5 Jan 2010 - Approximately one year ago, Israel unleashed its assault on the Gaza Strip -- amidst its ongoing siege and occupation -- killing more than 1,400 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians. Thirteen Israelis were killed during the attacks, most of them soldiers. The attacks sparked mass demonstrations around the world in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The following images are from around the one year anniversary, when many groups around the world again led demonstrations to show their continued solidarity with Palestine.
Gaza and the path to accountability
Electronic Intifada: 5 Jan 2010 - The US, UK and Canadian governments are all embroiled in attempts to immunize themselves from accountability under international law for their own actions in the so-called War on Terror. Protecting Israel from international law has therefore acquired an added urgency, not only in the interests of the Zionist regime, but also in the interests of the US and its two staunchest allies in the War on Terror, Britain and Canada, to remain beyond the reach of international law. Sunera Thobani comments for The Electronic Intifada.
In Gaza: 6 Jan 2010 - Nidal crouches by the front door, looks up and smiles with bright eyes as we walk past. Bright eyes, a large grin, and that is all. Nothing strikes me as unusual in the ten year old when he doesn’t leap up to greet us as most kids do. Maybe he is pre-occupied with his thoughts, an unseen toy. Maybe he is tired. Only when we come back out of the bombed-out house 30 minutes later do I notice he is still crouched in the same hunched position, still quiet. He sees us and again flashes a bright grin. Irresistible. “He doesn’t speak,” says his grandfather, Saleh Abu Leila. “And he...
Palestine Chronicle: 5 Jan 2010 - By Kim Bullimore Its New Year's Eve and my team mate and I are on our way to Israel's Erez Crossing, one of the 6 border crossings into Gaza which has been repeatedly closed by the Zionist state as part of its illegal collective punishment of the Palestinian people in Gaza. We have joined three bus loads of Israeli and Palestinian activists in Jaffa to make the hour long journey to the Gaza border crossing to protest Israel's ongoing siege. As we wait for the buses in Jaffa, I look around the slowly gathering crowd and recognize some of the faces from demonstrations in the Occupied West Bank: several of the courageous and dedicated activists from Anarchists Against the Wall, as well as some activists from Gush Shalom and others from Ta'ayush. But there are many I don't recognize - young people, as well as older folk - all of whom are outraged at Israel's repeated war crimes and collective punishment of the Palestinian people of Gaza. It’s now been a year since Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli war which killed more than 1400 Gazan Palestinians and more than two and half years since Israel declared the region an "enemy entity", imposing an almost total siege on 1.5 million people. In September last year, the Goldstone report provided the most accurate and damning account of Israel's actions in Gaza both during Operation Cast Lead, as well as Israel's actions before and after its brutal all out war on Gaza . According...
Israeli Use of Painful Shackling As a Form of Torture
Palestine Chronicle: 5 Jan 2010 - By Stephen Lendman Founded in 1990 to highlight a growing problem, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PACTI - stoptorture.org) "believes that torture and ill treatment of any kind and under all circumstances is incompatible with the moral values of democracy and the rule of law. (It) advocates for all persons - Israelis, Palestinians, labor immigrants and other foreigners in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) - in order to protect them from torture and ill treatment by the Israeli interrogation and law enforcement authorities." They include the Israeli Police, the General Security Service (GSS), the Israeli Prison Service (IPS), and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). In June 2009, PACTI published a report titled, "Shackling As A Form of Torture and Abuse." Its findings are discussed below. PACTI reviews the "serious phenomenon" of shackling Palestinian detainees "in a systematic manssaner and throughout all stages of detention and interrogation." Its purpose is to dehumanize and inflict pain, suffering, punishment, intimidation, and discrimination as a way of lawlessly extracting information even though experts acknowledge that torture is ineffective, counterproductive, and, of course, illegal under all circumstances at all times with no exceptions allowed ever. Israel's use of shackling "has snowballed almost out of control....even when it serves no real" purpose, and it begins at the time of arrest. Plastic handcuffs are used "that can be tightened but cannot be released or halted." They inflict pain, especially when hands are cuffed from behind, the most common way. Shackling continues during interrogation,...
A Jewish American's Evolving View of Israel
Palestine Chronicle: 5 Jan 2010 - By Steven R. Feldman In an argument about the origins of the Israel-Palestine conflict with a Jewish friend, I mentioned 'Plan D, the secret plans of the Jewish army to expel Palestinians.' My friend thought I was a raving lunatic, spouting a conspiracy theory promoted by anti-Semites. I didn’t used to sound that way. Growing up in Washington, D.C., I attended the Hebrew Academy, a school that my grandfather helped to found and that my father had helped lead. Like other people who attend religious schools, we were taught that we had a special relationship with God and that our group had a higher moral character. As Jews, we learned how we had been an oppressed people. As American Jews, we believed in American and Jewish values of honesty, justice, truth and peace. We took pride in Israel, a democratic country that shared our values and that represented an end to our oppression. Our role in reclaiming Israel was very special. We Jews had come to an unredeemed holy land of deserts and swamps, and we made that land bloom. I was proud to be a part of it. Like my classmates, I collected nickels and dimes, saving to plant trees in Israel. Being a Jew made me part owner of the country. The Story We Were Taught We Jews had returned to Israel to live in peace with the small local population already there. We bought land from them. And when the evil Arab states — jealous of our...