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News
International Middle East Media Center
US,
Jordan, Call On Israel And The P.A To Advance Peace Talks
IMEMC 8 Jan 2010 -
Saturday January 09, 2010 - 00:20, The United States and Jordan
presented a new track for the stalled Middle East Peace Process, and
called on both Israel and the Palestinian Authority to resume the peace
process and tackle sensitive issues such as Jerusalem and borders
before addressing other issues.
Three
Injuries in Bil’in, Including one Journalist
IMEMC 8 Jan 2010 -
Friday January 08, 2010 - 18:12, Three residents were injured on Friday
at the weekly protest in Bil’in village, central West Bank. Dozens
suffered from the effects of tear gas inhalation in the weekly protest
against the Wall and settlements.
Nil'in:
Israeli troops fail to stop the people from joining the weekly protest
IMEMC 8 Jan 2010 -
Friday January 08, 2010 - 16:39, The villagers of Nil'in, central West
Bank, organized their weekly protest on Friday against the wall Israel
is building on their lands. They were joined this week by international
supporters and Palestinian MP Mohammad Mesleh
Friday
Protest in al-Ma’sara village ends with Military Aggression
IMEMC 8 Jan 2010 -
Friday January 08, 2010 - 15:37, Today’s weekly non-violent protest in
the village of al-Ma’sara, West Bank, ended with a violent outburst by
the Israeli military as they marched in to the village.
PCHR
Weekly Report: 1 Palestinian fighter killed, 6 civilians wounded by
Israeli forces this week
IMEMC 8 Jan 2010 -
Friday January 08, 2010 - 10:34, According to the Palestinian Centre
for Human Rights' Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in
the Occupied Palestinian Territory, during the week of 30 Dec 2009- 05
Jan. 2010, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian resistance fighter in
the Gaza Strip. 6 Palestinians, including a child, were wounded by
Israeli gunfire in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israeli warplanes
bombarded areas in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian
Killed, Six Wounded In An Israeli Air Strike In Gaza
IMEMC 8 Jan 2010 -
Friday January 08, 2010 - 08:01, Palestinian medical sources in the
Gaza Strip reported on Friday at dawn that one Palestinian was killed
and six were wounded in an Israeli air strike targeting the “Tunnels
Area” in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip.
Army
fires on Nablus protesters
1/8/2010 - Nablus -
Ma'an - Israeli forces reportedly attacked demonstrators and residents
of Qaryut, south of Nablus, who marched in protest of land confiscation
near the illegal Israeli settlement of Shilo on Friday. Dozens of the
village's residents rallied to lands that were set to be confiscated
near Shilo and into the main road that was blocked previously with
cement blocks. Residents along with the activists tried to plant trees
at the entrance and to remove the barricades, but 10 armored vehicles
arrived at the scene and fired gas canisters on the protestors,
injuring several. Meanwhile, about 300 demonstrators occupied and
blocked the main road near the Halamish settlement for over two hours
on Friday. The demonstrators, 20 of which were injured by rubber-coated
bullets, protested recent land grabs. As part of a recent surge in
popular protest in the West Bank, hundreds took to. . .
Barak
eases freeze, okays 100 more units
1/8/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an/Agencies - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave settlement
leaders the power to issue building permits, further relaxing an
already loose and unenforced moratorium applying to some construction
in West Bank settlements. Israel's daily newspaper Haaretz reported
Friday that Barak issued a "revised" version of the settlement freeze
that "dictates that the planning powers be returned to local
authorities. " The paper explained that the practical outcome will be
that once the freeze is over, the paperwork to permit the construction
of what could be thousands of settlement homes will already be in
order, so building can start immediately. The revised order also
permits the expansion of existing structures, such as adding rooms,
turning garages and balconies into closed rooms. This expanded the
earlier relaxation, applied only three weeks after the initial ban was
put in place, allowing for more minor renovations and construction.
Elderly
man hospitalized after settler attack in north
1/8/2010 - Qalqiliya
- Ma'an - Settlers attacked 70-year-old Husein Ibrahim Hamad on
Wednesday, leaving him with deep head wounds, he said from the Darwish
Nazzal Hospital in Qalqiliya. Hamad said a group of proximately 20
settlers, some on horseback, left the Hafet Gilad settlement outpost of
the Qedumim/Immanu'el settlement area descended from the hilltop, many
carrying batons and several with dogs. "They came toward me and Arafat
Suwan while we were working on the land," Hamad said. "I don't know
what they wanted from us, but I was beaten harshly. " Head ofDarwish
Nazal hospital Muyeser Mansur said Hamad and Suwan arrived to the
hospital with clear bruises already appearing beneath deep bloody
gouges in their heads. After treatment, she described their conditions
as "moderate but stable. "Field researcher with the Israeli human
rights group B'Tselem Abed Al-Karim As-Sa'di noted an increased. . .
PA
detains Al-Aqsa operatives in Nablus
1/9/2010 - Nablus -
Ma'an - Palestinian Authority security forces placed nine Fatah
operatives into protective custody in the northern West Bank city of
Nablus on Friday, detaining them in the nearby Al-Juneid prison, Ma'an
has learned. The men were once "wanted" members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades, Fatah's paramilitary wing, until they entered into an amnesty
program and received pardons from Israel. An informed security source
said the arrests came amid indications from the Israeli military that
it would take its "own procedures," which were not specified, in the
event PA forces failed to detain all nine before midnight. PA officials
interpreted the warning as a threat to reinvade Nablus, the site of an
incursion last month that left three Al-Aqsa members dead, two of whom
had received pardons beforehand. Ma'an obtained the identities of the
men, who all turned themselves in before the alleged deadline.
Galloway
deported from Egypt after exiting Gaza
1/8/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - Leader of the Viva Palestinan convoy and British MP George
Galloway was deported from Egyptian soil moments after he set foot on
it, crossing the border at Rafah from Gaza, organizers of the convoy
said. A statement from the group said Galloway and a colleague "were
forcibly pushed into a van, refused exit and told that they were
leaving the country," as they entered Egypt. Egyptian security sources
confirmed the decision to deport Galloway, saying officials had decided
to bar the British MP from entering Egypt in the future and added the
country would "also put all the convoy members on the black list after
they leave. "Officials were upset over the protests launched by the
convoy, which spurred riots at the Rafah border, which lead to the
death of an Egyptian police officer. Tensions were high in Egypt even
before Viva Palestina landed in the country.
Two
Palestinians, Israeli demonstrators injured in Bil’in
1/8/2010 - Ramallah
- Ma'an - Two Palestinians and an Israeli were injured and dozens of
other suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation as confrontations
erupted during a peaceful protest in the village of Bil'in. The injured
were identified as Abbas Al-Maimuny, a journalist,Dr Rateb Abu Rahma, a
member in the Popular Committee Against the Wall, who were both struck
by teargas canisters. The third injured man was identified as Israeli
peace activistEydo Medix. The Palestinian Popular Struggle Front
(PPSF), who organized participation in the anti-wall protest, produced
banners saying "by struggle the wall will fall" and promised they would
work to organize similar demonstrations in all cities and villages
affected by Israel's separation wall. . . . .
Two
injured at weekly anti-wall rally near Bethlehem
1/8/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - Clashes erupted between protestors and soldiers during a
demonstration in the Bethlehem-area village of Al-Mas'ara on Friday,
activists said. Two protestors were reported injured by tear gas and
rubber-coated bullets. Israeli soldiers chased the demonstrators back
into the village and blocked its entrance, as well, according to
onlookers. Residents of the village were joined by a group of
international peace activists who took to the streets in a massive
demonstration against the wall and settlements. The rally began
following weekly Friday prayers, after which demonstrators took to the
streets chanting slogans calling for an end to the Israeli policies of
constructing settlements and the wall. The protestors headed to the
wall and tried to reach lands located behind it but were attacked by
Israeli soldiers, according to witnesses.
UN:
Israeli damages payment for Gaza destruction not finalized
1/8/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - UN spokesman Martin Nesirky declined to set right what a UN
News Service report called "certain inaccuracies" in reports saying
Israel would pay 10 million US dollars in damages to the world body for
damage caused by Israeli forces during their war on Gaza last year.
Nesirky said an accord had been reached "in principal," but that
details would be disclosed when it had been concluded and a payment
made. An assessment made by a team of UN officials in Gaza the summer
after Israel's war o the area assessed damage to a UN warehouse and
three schools at 11. 4 million US dollars. Destruction to the central
warehouse saw hundreds of tons of food and medicine incinerated. The UN
report said the issue was one of those on the agenda during a recent
discussion between Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in and Israeli Defence
Minister Ehud Barak over the phone.
’Hospitals
may in no circumstances be the object of attack’
1/8/2010 - Part 13
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 8 January 2009, one year ago today, Israeli artillery shells
struck the seventh-floor apartment of Dr Jaber Abu An-Naja, the former
PLO ambassador to Senegal and a well-known Fatah politician. The
doctor's wife and son-in-law were killed immediately as they sat on the
balcony eating pastries. His wife was cut in half by the explosion and
his son-in-law was thrown from the balcony on to the street below. His
daughter, Ihsan, was seriously injured and taken for treatment to
Al-Quds Hospital, a medical center located near Abu An-Naja's and a
number of other civilian apartment buildings on Al-Abraj Street in
Gaza's Tal El Hawa district, which had come under attack for four days.
Tons
of flowers, strawberries piled up at closed Gaza crossing
1/8/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - For the first time in years, Gazan farmers were told a
semi-regular system of exports for flower and then strawberries would
be put in place at Israeli crossings. During 2009 there were four days
when the export of goods was permitted from Gaza, there were zero days
in 2008. During these years the carnation industry in Gaza has
staggered, with most of the product going to feed livestock. Because of
scarce water, in mid-2009, farmers that wanted to grow strawberries had
to apply for permission from the de facto Gaza government to get the
okay to use more than their quota of fresh water for the crops. For the
past month, an irregular schedule for the export of the goods was
working at the Kerem Shalom crossing. There is, however, more product
awaiting export than has been permitted through the crossing, and the
perishable items are lined up in trucks near the border waiting for
their turn to leave.
All
Gaza crossings closed
1/8/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Despite being scheduled to open on Friday, Israeli crossings
authorities announced the closure of all crossings into the Gaza Strip,
Palestinian crossings authority official Raed Fattouh said. Kerem
Shalom crossing was suddenly closed Thursday after mortar shells fired
by the militant wing of the Popular Resistance Committees hit near the
crossing site. The crossings are closed for the Israeli sabbath on
Saturday, they were open for four out of six scheduled days last week.
[end]
Eritrean
migrant killed by Egyptian security
1/8/2010 - Al-Arish
- Ma'an - Egyptian police killed an Eritrean migrant near the
Gaza/Israel border area south of Kerem Shalom crossing early Friday
early morning, officials said. The shooing follows a week of unrest at
the border area, with international activists and Hamas supporters
rallying in the area, prompting clashes on Wednesday. Egyptian police
said the man was attempting to enter Israel, and was shot seven
kilometers south of the border. His body was transferred to the Rafah
Hospital morgue. On Thursday, the Egyptian security said they detained
catch four other Eritreans who were trying to sneak into Israel. [end]
Reports:
Israeli guard hurt by rock near Bethlehem
1/8/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - An Israeli paramilitary police officer was lightly injured in
the stomach from rocks thrown by Palestinians and other protesters near
Bethlehem on Friday afternoon, according to Israeli news reports. The
demonstrators were reportedly attending one of the weekly protests
against Israel's separation barrier, much of which was constructed on
privately owned Palestinian land. The officer received treatment
onsite, various reports said. [end]
DFLP
wing: 3 mortars fired at army base
1/9/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - The military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of
Palestine (DFLP) claimed to have launched three mortar shells at an
Israeli target on Friday afternoon, following calls to retaliate for
multiple airstrikes the night before. In a statement, the DFLP's
National Resistance Brigades said the shells targeted an Israeli
military site near Rafah. "The shelling comes in response to the
Israeli attacks on Gaza [overnight Thursday] and a as confirmation of
continued resistance against the Israeli occupation," the statement
said. Ma'an could not independently confirm the launch, which Israel's
military later denied. An army spokesman conceded only that on
Thursday, the Popular Resistance Committees' armed wing, the An-Nasser
Salah Ad-Din Brigades, launched multiple shells at Israeli targets.
Early Friday morning, the PRC wing released a statement urging other
armed factions to respond "instantly" to the multiple Israeli
airstrikes that struck targets across the Gaza Strip shortly after
midnight.
NRB
claims 3 mortars on Israeli army post
1/8/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - The National Resistance Brigades, the armed wing of the
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, claimed
responsibility for firing three mortar shells on an Israeli military
post east of Rafah. The brigades said in a statement that "the shelling
comes in response to the Israeli attacks on Gaza [overnight Thursday]
and a as confirmation of continued resistance against the Israeli
occupation. "[end]
Abbas
rallies Arab support for position on peace, unity
1/9/2010 - Amman -
Ma'an - A strong Arab position on the furtherance of the peace process
is essential, President Mahmud Abbas told leaders in Amman, the last
stop on his regional tour following visits to Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait and
Turkey on Thursday. The announcement came as Egyptian and Jordanian
officials met their counterparts in Washington, the cap of a week of
furious state visits by several regional leaders. In Washington,
Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit and intelligence chief Omar
Suleiman join Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh who is set to
attend meetings with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and
US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell. The visit followed Saudi Foreign
Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal's travels to meet with Egypt's and
Syria's presidents, after Jordan's King Abdullah II visited the Saudi
monarch in Riyadh.
Report:
US to push Mideast ’proximity talks’
1/9/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an/Agencies - Within the Obama administration's proposal for
renewing Mideast peace negotiations, US special envoy George Mitchell
will launch "proximity talks" between Palestinians and Israelis, the
Israeli daily Haaretz reported Friday. Under the plan, necessitated by
the PLO's refusal to enter into direct negotiations until Israel stops
expanding its borders, Mitchell and his staff will meet separately with
both parties rather than demand they meet each other right away, the
report said. The envoy would present each side's position to the other,
and try to fill the gaps, according to the report. This is the same
system, Haaretz noted, that was attempted unsuccessfully by former US
presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton for Israeli-Syrian talks.
The idea apparently arose as President Mahmoud Abbas holds his stance
on refusing to meet Israeli Prime Minister. . .
Clinton:
Negotiate borders first
1/9/2010 - Bethlehem
- Ma'an - The Obama administration's peace plan urges negotiations on
borders ahead of settlements and refugees, US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton told reporters on Friday in Washington. At a news
conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Clinton said
"resolving borders resolves settlements; resolving Jerusalem resolves
settlements. "She said both sides should return to negotiations
immediately. "Our goal is to persuade the two parties to get into this
very in-depth negotiations on all of these issues as soon as possible.
" The secretary of state also said the US and Jordan were "concerned
about recent activities in Jerusalem. "Clinton said special US envoy
George Mitchell would depart on Sunday for Europe, where he plans to
meet with members of the International Quartet, made up of the United
States, European Union, United Nations, and Russia, in Brussels.
Islamic
Jihad: Israel trying to drag us into war
1/9/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades affirmed resistance factions'
readiness to confront any attack on Gaza, spokesman Abu Ahmad announced
Friday. He told Ma'an by phone that "the latest Israeli military
escalation on Gaza comes within ongoing attempts by the occupation to
provoke the resistance by dragging it into a military confrontation. "
The comments came after a sequence of 14 mortar shells were reported
fired at Israeli targets by the Popular Resistance Committees' militant
wing, which were followed Friday morning by a series of four airstrikes
all across the Gaza Strip. On Friday afternoon the PRC issued a call
for "retaliation" for the airstrikes. Later Friday the Democratic Front
for the Liberation of Palestine's military wing said it launched four
mortars at Israeli targets. The recent airstrikes and a series of
limited incursions were what Abu Ahmad called Israeli aims to taunt the
resistance in Gaza.
Palestinian-Syrian
actors visit Gaza
1/8/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an -Eight Palestinian entertainment stars from Syria arrived in Gaza
carrying Damascus Jasmine flowers Wednesday for a tour of support for
the people of the besieged coastal region. The delegation included
actors Shukran Mortaga, Nizar Abu Hajar, Nadin Salameh, Mas'oud Edris,
Ahmad Rafe' and his son Muhammad, as well as producers Basel Khatib and
Hani As-Sa'dy. The eight men and women planted the Damascus Jasmine in
Gaza city, as a reminder of the support of Syria, and the thousands of
Palestinians living there as refugees. Shukran told Palestinians in
Khan Younis that her father would tell her his dreams about building a
home in Gaza on the sea, and how later in his life he dreamed about
returning to Gaza to be buried. Famous actress who is most of the time
involved in funny characters said that she wishes she can build a house
in Gaza, stressing that her Palestinian father always dreamt to be
buried in his homeland Gaza.
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Study reports Hamas militants snubbed by al-Qaida due to their focus on Israel, not Western world.
Israel to UN: Investigate bomb cache in Lebanon
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - UNIFIL discovered explosives near Israel border last week; thought to belong to Hezbollah.
Will IDF insignia be 'Made in China'?
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Israeli factory: Conflict-area families will lose their livelihoods, national pride is injured.
Israel hits Gaza for second time in 24 hours after mortar barrage
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Explosions rock Gaza City, Khan Younis and Rafah; medics: Three Palestinians killed in the attacks.
Ahmadinejad: Iran and Syria will create a new world order
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Report: Syria President Assad urges Washington to play a stronger role in Mideast peacemaking.
Galloway-led aid convoy enters Gaza following border strife
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Border crossing remains open another day to allow Palestinians stranded on either side to cross.
Are IDF dogs trained to pounce all who say 'God is great' in Arabic?
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Following expose, MK Ahmed Tibi tells Knesset plenum: 'I say here Allah Hu Akbar. Any dogs here to attack me?'
Report: Al-Qaida CIA bomber was furious over Gaza war
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Al-Quds Al-Arabi: Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi made numerous attempts to join Gaza aid group.
UNIFIL peacekeepers find bombs buried near Israel border
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Bombs believed to have been buried in southern Lebanon by Hezbollah to strike at IDF troops.
Iron Dome may be ready, but Gaza front is still in danger
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Defense establishment aces trial of barrage interception; IDF to deploy Gaza rocket interceptor by June.
Israel to deploy Gaza rocket interceptor by June
Ha'aretz 8 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 8 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 8 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 8 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 8 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 8 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 8 Jan 2010 - Home Front Command to distribute protection kits to all civilians, rather than planned 60%, starting February.
Be'er Sheva police call off terror alert
Ha'aretz 8 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 8 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 8 Jan 2010 - Second incident in 2009 at Ovda airport nearly ended in frontal collision between the 2 planes.
Amnesty
International: Israeli detention of Palestinian activists must end
Uruknet January 8,
2010 - The Israeli authorities must immediately release, or bring
before a fair trial, three Palestinian human rights activists detained
in Israel following their protests against the construction of the West
Bank fence/wall, Amnesty International said on Friday. In a letter sent
to Ehud Barak, Israeli Defence and Deputy Prime Minister on Thursday,
Amnesty International expressed concern that...
It's
a long march to freedom
Uruknet January 8,
2010 - ... If one does not have a strategy, a goal that they are aware
of the variables and players, things start to get complicated. We did
ask ourselves a few questions: why the shift, so suddenly and the
protagonists are Internationals, as if it was not necessary in the past
to protest against the actions of any...
Your
Palestinian Gandhis Exist ... in Graves and Prisons Calling Bono
Uruknet January 8,
2010 - Dear Bono, In your recent column in the New York Times, "Ten for
the Next Ten," you wrote: "I’ll place my hopes on the possibility —
however remote at the moment — that...people in places filled with rage
and despair, places like the Palestinian territories, will in the days
ahead find among them their Gandhi, their...
All
Gaza crossings closed
Uruknet January 8,
2010 – Despite being scheduled to open on Friday, Israeli crossings
authorities announced the closure of all crossings into the Gaza Strip,
Palestinian crossings authority official Raed Fattouh said. Kerem
Shalom crossing was suddenly closed Thursday...
Iranian
opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi survives car shooting
Uruknet January 8,
2010 - Pro-government demonstrators opened fire on the car of an
Iranian opposition leader, shattering its windows, his website reported
today. Sahamnews said the shooting happened yesterday as former
presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi was leaving a building in Qazvin,
90 miles west of Tehran. The report added that some 500 people had been
demonstrating outside the building, where...
Cast
Lead Aggression 1st Anniversary, Day 13: Child Human Shields
Uruknet January 8,
2010 - On 8 January 2009, 'Ala, 15, his brother, Ali, 16, and their
cousin Hussein, 13, were released from the cold wet pit in the ground
where they’d been detained by Israeli forces for two days and two
nights, bound, blindfolded and semi-naked. These children had been used
as human shields, a practice which constitutes a war...
Israeli
Soldiers Attack and Injure Palestinian Shepherds; Arrest Musab Raba'i
Uruknet January 8,
2010- On the morning of Thursday 7 January, 2010, Israeli soldiers
attacked and injured Palestinian shepherds from the Musa Raba'i family,
as they grazed their sheep in Humra valley, near the village of
At-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills. The soldiers also attacked the
internationals accompanying the shepherds and broke a video camera.
Before leaving the area the...
Barak
eases freeze, okays 100 more units
Uruknet January 8,
2010 - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave settlement leaders the
power to issue building permits, further relaxing an already loose and
unenforced moratorium applying to some construction in West Bank
settlements. Israel's daily newspaper Haaretz reported Friday that
Barak issued a "revised" version of the settlement freeze that
"dictates that the planning powers be returned to local...
Settlers
desecrate olive groves in Burin
Uruknet January 8,
2010 - 20 olive trees belonging to the Sufan family of Burin village
were destroyed by settlers this morning. Burin, located in the northern
West Bank, comes under frequent attack from the settlements of Yitzhar
and Bracha enveloping the village. Under the cover of dark, settlers
entered the olive groves of the Sufan family home at around 3am...
Galloway
exits Gaza, deported from Egypt
Uruknet January 8,
2010 - Leader of the Viva Palestinan convoy and British MP George
Galloway was deported from Egyptian soil moments after he set foot on
it, crossing the border at Rafah from Gaza, organizers of the convoy
said. A statement from the group said Galloway and a colleague "were
forcibly pushed into a van, refused exit and told that...
Israeli
jets attack targets across Gaza, killing 3
Uruknet January 8,
2010 - Ma'an - Israeli warplanes carried out a series of raids on sites
throughout the Gaza Strip late Thursday night, witnesses said and
Israel's military confirmed. Three citizens were killed and two others
injured in the Israeli raids that targeted a tunnel near Rafah crossing
south of Gaza. Medical sources in Abu Yousif An-Najjar hospital
identified the...
Spiteful
Mubarak succeeds only in creating a PR disaster for Egypt and himself
Uruknet January 7,
2010 - Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt, has plumbed new depths and
caused deep offence with his shameful bullying of the Viva Palestina
convoy bound for Gaza, which had driven for weeks and thousands of
miles from many countries to bring medical aid and other relief to
women and children cruelly shut off from the world and under...
Gaza, January 8, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)This is the story of Mahi abu Zer, 14 years old, living in a very marginalized area called the Qarah district, Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip. His father was killed leaving the family in dire need of support. The re-marriage of his mother has made Mahi's life even worse rather than...
Israeli troops training for new Gaza war
Palestine, January 8, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - 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...
Breaking News: 3 civilians killed in Gaza as Israel strikes food-tunnels
South Gaza, January 8, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Following the extensive Israeli attacks across Gaza Strip, Israeli air force launched a number of air raids against the food tunnels with Egypt. Medical sources reported that 2 civilians killed and a number injured in the heavy bombardment.
Viva Palestina Arrives in Gaza
Gaza, January 7, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Viva Palestina aid convoy entered Gaza Wednesday night, after it received the approval of Egyptian authorities to bring into the besieged, impoverished coastal sliver several tons of humanitarian supplies. More than 500 international activists accompanying the convoy organized by the British-based group Viva Palestina entered Gaza through Rafah border crossing. The Egyptian approval...
Egyptian Soldier Dead and More Than 35 Gazans Hurt
Gaza, January 7, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Egyptian troops and Hamas loyalists opened fire along Gaza's border Wednesday, leaving an Egyptian soldier dead and more than 35 Gazans hurt. The shooting, accompanied by a barrage of rocks, underlined the mounting tensions over Egypt's construction of underground steel. Egypt says that securing its border with Gaza is a matter of national...
The National 8 Jan 2010 - With two thirds of the goods on sale being imports, and the perception that Israeli products are better, encouraging Palestinians to buy local is no easy task.
Gunmen kill seven outside church in Egypt
The National 7 Jan 2010 - Churchgoers in southern Egypt are shot at as they leave a midnight Mass for Coptic Christmas.
Egypt fears rise in sectarian violence after church killings
The National 7 Jan 2010 - Drive-by shooting at Coptic Christmas Eve mass leaves seven dead in apparent revenge attack for assault on Muslim girl.
AlJazeera 8 Jan 2010 - Three people arrested over shooting outside a church in south of the country.
Egypt deports UK MP George Galloway
AlJazeera 8 Jan 2010 - Leader of Viva Palestina aid convoy to Gaza declared 'persona non grata' by Cairo.
Israeli air raids kill Gazans
AlJazeera 8 Jan 2010 - Jets hit several targets after rockets from Palestinian territory hit Israel.
Israel to deploy missile shield
AlJazeera 7 Jan 2010 - Short-range missile shield aims to prevent rockets from Gaza hitting southern Israel.
Alternative Information Center
Amnesty International: Israeli Detention of Palestinian Activists Must EndAlternative Information Center 8 Jan 2010 - The Israeli authorities must immediately release, or bring before a fair trial, three Palestinian human rights activists detained in Israel following their protests against the construction of the West Bank fence/wall, Amnesty International said on Friday....
Israeli Soldiers Attack and Injure Palestinian Shepherds; Arrest Musab Raba'i
Alternative Information Center 8 Jan 2010 - At-Tuwani: On the morning of Thursday 7 January, 2010, Israeli soldiers attacked and injured Palestinian shepherds from the Musa Raba'i family, as they grazed their sheep in Humra valley, near the village of At-Tuwani in the...
PNN 7 Jan 2010 - RAMALLAH // Haytham Karasha was not overly concerned. The manager of a Ramallah branch of the supermarket chain Bravo, he said his store had not stocked any goods that originated in settlements for more than a year, and even then it was only one item, a chocolate syrup.Efforts to ban products that originate in settlements, said Mr Karasha, would thus have no effect...
Palestinian anger grows over Egypt wall
PNN 7 Jan 2010 - Smugglers defiant as few believe Egypt will succeed in its latest bid to shut down Gaza's economic lifeline. Gaza's tunnellers have been watching the cranes burying the iron fence along the border, but few believe Egypt will succeed in its latest bid to shut down the territory's economic lifeline. Tensions along the fenced border boiled over on Wednesday when Palestinian youths hurled...
Putting Lens on Lives in Suspended Animation in Gaza
PNN 7 Jan 2010 - GAZA — In the year since Israeli fighter jets and troops invaded this coastal Palestinian strip to stop rocket fire, time seems to have stood still. A blockade imposed by both Israel and Egypt to isolate the Hamas government bars the vast majority of goods and people from moving in or out. That means there is no reconstruction of destroyed buildings. Thousands...
Jeruslalem Post 8 Jan 2010 - After El-Arish clashes, Cairo says UK lawmaker who led Gaza aid convoy won't be allowed into country.
2 Kassams from Gaza hit western Negev
Jeruslalem Post 8 Jan 2010 - No casualties or damage reported in attack; Hamas boasts new types of weapons smuggled into Strip.
Israel tops Lebanon's hummus record
Jeruslalem Post 8 Jan 2010 - Jubilant mix of Arabs, Jews gathers around the giant chickpea paste dish in the village of Abu Ghosh.
'Israel may not extend mandate for Hebron force'
Jeruslalem Post 8 Jan 2010 - Army Radio: Foreign Ministry is not sure it wants TIPH to continue its work.
Germany to boost Lebanon's security
Jeruslalem Post 8 Jan 2010 - Merkel's top security adviser warns Hariri, Suleiman of terrorists inside Palestinian refugee camps.
'Israel will lose nerve-racking game'
Jeruslalem Post 8 Jan 2010 - Hamas source reportedly says group's position in Schalit talks is strong enough to justify its demands.
IAF strikes four targets in Gaza Strip
Jeruslalem Post 8 Jan 2010 - Tunnels used to smuggle weapons, terrorists struck in response to Katyusha; 3 men reportedly killed. [video inside!]
US, Jordan call on Israel and PA to tackle tough issues
Jeruslalem Post 8 Jan 2010 - Jordanian FM: Resolving question of borders will resolve issues of settlements and Jerusalem while also laying tangible basis for two-state solution.
Suspects in Egypt's Christmas slayings surrender to police
Jeruslalem Post 8 Jan 2010 - "With our soul, our blood, we will defend the Cross," shout 200 Copts gathered outside the local church, before clashing with Muslim residents.
IPS RAMALLAH, Jan 8 (IPS) - Israel’s bid to keep occupied East Jerusalem under its sovereignty and prevent its incorporation into a future Palestinian state has been boosted over the years with the acquiescence of the Greek Orthodox Church.
MIDEAST: Route May Open, But Not to Peace
IPS ROUTE 443, Occupied West Bank, Jan 8 (IPS) - Just beyond the main Israeli checkpoint, ten kilometres short of Jerusalem, a white Nissan station wagon is abruptly edging to the side of the road. It comes to a halt on the shoulder.
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.
ECONOMY-JORDAN: Dubai Crisis Casts Shadow On 2010
IPS AMMAN, Jan 8 (IPS) - Surrounded by oil-rich nations Jordan has been able to make do with its modest resources over the years. In 2010, however, the country will have to face challenges associated with global economic slowdown and the crisis in Dubai.
PCHR
International Solidarity Movement
Settlers desecrate olive groves in Burin1/8/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - 20 olive trees belonging to the Sufan family of Burin village were destroyed by settlers this morning. Burin, located in the northern West Bank, comes under frequent attack from the settlements of Yitzhar and Bracha enveloping the village. Under the cover of dark, settlers entered the olive groves of the Sufan family home at around 3am and began chopping the trees. The attack is the third of its kind in the last two months, with the family losing 96 trees in November. The family's home sits on the southern tip of the village towards the hill ascending to Yitzhar settlement, and bears the brunt of their violent neighbours' attacks. It is the third attack of its kind in the last two months alone, with the family losing 96 of their olive trees in November directly after the harvest. The Sufan family has experienced harassment from the settlement almost from the. . .
Twenty demonstrators injured in Nabbi Saleh
1/8/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Popular Struggle Coordination Committee - As part of a recent surge in popular protest in the West Bank, about 300 demonstrators occupied and blocked the main road in near the Halamish settlement for over two hours. The demonstrators, twenty of which were injured by rubber-coated bullets, protested recent land grabs. About 300 people took to the street today in the West Bank village of Nabbi Saleh, north-west of Ramallah, in protest of recent land grab by the adjacent Jewish-only settlement of Halamish. The protesters occupied and blocked the main street leading to the settlement, and amidst clouds of tear gas and whizzing rubber-coated bullets, managed to hold it for over two hours. A group of demonstrators also managed to reach the area that was recently taken over by settlers. Settlers who came down from Halamish threw stones and shot live rounds of demonstrators. Soldiers who were present took no actions to stop them. Following the demonstration the army invaded Nabbi Salleh, where clashes ensued.
Army harassment at peaceful tree-planting in Qaryut
1/8/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - An overwhelming force of Israeli military soldiers converged on farmlands outside Qaryut today as villagers attempted to replenish their endangered lands with water and new olive trees. Despite the overbearing army presence, residents' convictions were strong enough for them to stand their ground and finish work for the day. Villagers entered the Qaryut's eastern farmlands following the midday prayer, carrying 200 baby olive trees donated by Palestinian Agricultural Relief and the Ministry of Agriculture. Facing the busy Nablus - Ramallah Road 60 route, and the Israeli settlements of Shilo and Eli behind them they set to work planting the new trees in the land oft neglected by farmers from fear of settler or army reprisal. As residents worked the land, others began clearing the large earth mound that had been constructed across the small dirt road serving as Qaryut's sole link to Road 60.
U.S., Jordan: Israel, Palestinians must tackle tough issues
Ha'aretz 9 Jan 2010 - The Obama administration and Jordan laid out a new tack in Mideast peace efforts on Friday, pressing Israel and the Palestinians to take on the tough issues of borders for a Palestinian state and the status of Jerusalem before addressing other obstacles. ...
Report: Turkey, Iran plan joint industrial area
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - While the West is discussing sanctions against Iran, Turkey is discussing the establishment of a joint industrial area with Iran on their shared border the Iranian state news agency, Fars, reported on Friday. ...
Blair to Haaretz: Terror is one struggle with many arenas
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Without a doubt, it was Iraq that ended his career at 10 Downing Street. The campaign against Saddam Hussein continues to dog him. It was Iraq that largely prevented him from becoming "the first president of the European Union." Nevertheless, Tony Blair does not apologize, does not express regrets and does not attempt to justify himself. ...
Shalit family: Netanyahu has no choice but to bring Gilad home
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - The family of captive Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit said Friday that "[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has no choice but to bring Gilad home." ...
Report: Shots fired at Iran opposition leader
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Armed pro-government demonstrators opened fire on the car of an Iranian opposition leader shattering its windows, his Web site reported on Friday. ...
The Guardian 8 Jan 2010 - Respect MP has spent past month travelling from London to deliver aid and supplies to Gaza Strip George Galloway was today deported from Egypt after plainclothes police officers refused him re-entry into the Gaza Strip and...
Israel to pay compensation to UN
The Guardian 7 Jan 2010 - Israel has agreed to pay the UN around $10m in compensation for damage caused to UN buildings in Gaza during last year's war, according to diplomatic sources. The payout is the first since Israel's heavily criticised...
Terror is the price of support for despots and dictators | Seumas Milne
The Guardian 8 Jan 2010 - Egypt's complicity in Gaza's siege underlines the role of western support for such regimes in the spread of war If an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor had gone on hunger strike in support of a besieged people in...
Welcome to Palestine, Avigdor | Nicholas Blincoe
The Guardian 7 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,...
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Two Qassam rockets were fired from the Gaza strip into southern Israel on Friday evening. ...
Latest shot in hummus war: Israel doubles record
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Israel has taken the upper hand in a new kind of Mideast conflict, one in which bullets are replaced by chickpeas. ...
3 dead in separate shootings across Israel
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Three people were killed in three separate shooting incidents across Israel on Friday. ...
Jerusalem official: Areas east of fence not part of city
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Yakir Segev, who holds the East Jerusalem portfolio in the Jerusalem municipality, made an uncharacteristic remark on Friday, declaring that the Palestinian neighborhood east of the separation fence were "no longer part of the city." ...
Can a vegetarian chef help solve the Mideast conflict?
Ha'aretz 8 Jan 2010 - Could vegetarianism help solve the Middle East conflict? U.S. celebrity chef Christina Pirello, who is currently in Israel teaching about macrobiotic cooking, doesn't suggest peace would break out the moment Israelis and Palestinians stopped eating schnitzel and shawarma. She believes, however, that meat causes people to lose their ability to accept somebody else's point of view and that most conflicts in the world could be solved if people ate less meat. ...
Relief Web 8 Jan 2010 - Source: UN General Assembly, UN Security Council
OPT - Cast Lead Aggression 1st Anniversary, Day 13: Child Human Shields
Relief Web 8 Jan 2010 - Source: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
Israeli detention of Palestinian activists must end
Relief Web 8 Jan 2010 - Source: Amnesty
Israeli strikes on kill two Palestinians: medics
Relief Web 7 Jan 2010 - Source: Agence France-Presse
OPT: Protection of civilians weekly report, 23 Dec 2009 - 05 Jan 2010
Relief Web 7 Jan 2010 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Hamas says in contact with Egypt to contain border crisis
Relief Web 7 Jan 2010 - Source: Xinhua
YNet News 8 Jan 2010 - Young Nigerian man pleads not guilty to charges of trying to ignite chemical-laden explosive on a US airliner. Muslim protestors march outside courthouse carrying US flags, signs with messages such as 'Not in the name of Islam'
Israelis satisfied with security situation
YNet News 8 Jan 2010 - War and Peace Index shows majority of Jews living in Israel pleased with government's performance in terms of security, but disappointed with its handling of social matters. Fifty-three of Jews back decision to reject Hamas' demands in prisoner exchange deal. Arabs more optimistic than Jews on chances for progress in peace process
Gaza gunmen fall short trying for al-Qaeda link
YNet News 8 Jan 2010 - American study finds Palestinian groups moving closer to Osama bin Laden's organization, but terror network has so far snubbed Hamas and its offshoots for infighting and failure to prove their global jihadist intentions
2 rockets hit western Negev; none injured
YNet News 8 Jan 2010 - Color Red alert system sounded in Sderot, Gaza vicinity communities, followed by two explosions. Qassams land in open areas within Shaar Hanegev Regional Council
Mitchell: Mideast stagnation endangers US aid
YNet News 8 Jan 2010 - On eve of visit to region, American special envoy threatens Israel with sanctions if it fails to advance peace talks, two-state solution. Secretary of State Clinton says working to restart negotiations 'without preconditions'
'Israel foregoing J'lem villages on other side of fence'
YNet News 8 Jan 2010 - Surprising statements are made by Yakir Segev who holds east Jerusalem portfolio and member of Mayor Nir Barkat's faction. In conference on Thursday, he says, Fence built on this route for demographic reason – to remove 50,000 Arabs from Jerusalem.' Result: Municipal chaos in villages left outside fence. In bid to solve issue, budget cut off to community boards in Jerusalem vicinity villages
Daily Star 8 Jan 2010 Israel launched a series of air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing three Palestinians and wounding another, medical workers said. The Israeli army said it had launched four raids after a dozen mortar bombs and a rocket fired from the territory struck Israel, where no injuries were reported. Explosions rocked Gaza City, Khan Younis and Rafah.
Borders top agenda in new US approach to Mideast peace
Daily Star 8 Jan 2010 The US and Jordan laid out a new tack in Mideast peace efforts on Friday, pressing Israel and the Palestinians to tackle the tough issues of borders for a Palestinian state and the status of Jerusalem before addressing other obstacles. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said that dealing with those matters.
Gunmen open fire at Iranian opposition leader Karroubi
Daily Star 8 Jan 2010 Armed pro-government demonstrators opened fire on the car of an Iranian opposition leader shattering its windows, his website reported Friday. Sahamnews said the shooting happened late Thursday while former presidential candidate Mahdi Karroubi was leaving a building in Qazvin, some 140 kilometers west of Tehran.
Yemen arrests three suspected Al-Qaeda men
Daily Star 8 Jan 2010 Yemeni security forces have arrested three suspected Al-Qaeda militants, including two leading members, in the province of Marib, the Interior Ministry said on Friday. A statement on the ministry website said security forces chasing Al-Qaeda militants in the province on Thursday arrested a 25-year-old man, identified only as WJ, who is suspected of being a member of the group.
China helps Iran to purchase Taiwanese nuclear equipment
Daily Star 8 Jan 2010 A Taiwanese company agreed to a request from a Chinese company to procure sensitive components with nuclear uses, then shipped them to Iran, the firm's head said Friday. Such transactions violate UN sanctions imposed on the Middle Eastern nation.
Amnesty urges Israel to release or try three Palestinians
Daily Star 8 Jan 2010 Human rights group Amnesty International urged Israel on Friday to release or fairly try three Palestinian jailed for protesting against the West Bank separation barrier. The three, two of whom are held without charges, may be "prisoners of conscience, held for legitimately voicing their opposition to the fence/wall," Amnesty said in a letter to Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
Egypt arrests Christmas murder suspects
Daily Star 8 Jan 2010 The three suspects in a drive-by shooting on Christmas Eve that killed six Christians in southern Egypt gave themselves up to police Friday after being surrounded by security forces, the state media reported. Egyptian security forces blanketed the areas between the village of Farshout and the town of Naga Hamadi, where the shooting occurred.
Iraqis are finally on the right path
Daily Star 8 Jan 2010 It is clear that Iraq is heading in the right direction. I saw that for myself when I visited Basra, Baghdad and Arbil at the end of December. I saw and heard from Iraqi people how normality is slowly but surely returning to their lives and how day by day the security situation is improving.
'Buck stops with me,' Obama says of airline attack attempt
Daily Star 8 Jan 2010 Hundreds of law enforcement officers are being trained as federal air marshals to ramp up security as the Obama administration tries to prevent a repeat of the near-catastrophic attempt to blow up an airliner bound for Detroit on Christmas Day.
Palestinian Information Center
Israeli occupation airstrikes leave 3 Palestinians killed, 6 wounded & 3 missingPIC 8 Jan 2010 - Israeli occupation airstrikes on Thursday night and Friday morning killed 3 Palestinians and wounded 6 others in the Gaza Strip. Three others are missing.
Haneyya: Gaza defends the entire Arab and Muslim Ummah
PIC 8 Jan 2010 - Ismael Haneyya, the Palestinian Prime Minister, has underlined Thursday that the Gaza Strip stands as the first line of defense of the Arab and Muslim Ummah..
MP George Galloway deported from Egypt
PIC 8 Jan 2010 - British MP George Galloway was officially deported from Cairo today (Friday), when Egyptian plain-clothes police officers bundled him onto a London plane.
Leadership council of Hamas captives calls for saving a captive's family
PIC 8 Jan 2010 - The information committee of the Leadership council of Hamas captives in Israeli occupation jails called on Humanitarian organisations to save the family of a Palestinian captive..
Europe to establish yearly week for Palestinian war victims
PIC 8 Jan 2010 - Pro-Palestinian organizations throughout Europe have decided to designate a week for the commemoration of Palestinian victims fallen during the struggle against the Israeli occupation of their land.
Israeli excavations in Jerusalem threaten wall of the old city
PIC 8 Jan 2010 - Zionist antiquities authority began on Thursday morning excavations between Bab Al-Amoud and Sulaiman's cave near the wall of the old city of Jerusalem, according to PIC correspondent.
JI chief condemns Egypt’s building of the wall of shame
PIC 8 Jan 2010 - The Jamaat-e –Islami Pakistan’s chief Syed Munawar Hasan has strongly condemned the Egyptian government hampering of the international relief caravan for Gaza and termed it inhuman.
Settlers build new outpost, assault old man and teen
PIC 8 Jan 2010 - A number of Jewish settlers built a new settlement outpost in Jericho district in protest over the Israeli government's decision to freeze settlement activity in the West Bank for ten months.
Khudari: Lifeline solidarity message
PIC 8 Jan 2010 - MP Jamal Al-Khudari, the head of the popular anti siege committee, has described the lifeline-3 aid convoy as a message of solidarity from the world sympathizers to Gaza.
Zahhar: Contacts with Egypt to contain the Rafah incidents
PIC 8 Jan 2010 - Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar has said that his Movement was absolutely interested in ending the crisis with Egypt following the regretful incidents in Rafah on Wednesday.
LA Times 8 Jan 2010 - A South Pasadena couple whose son, Aydin Salek, died unexpectedly thought of returning to Iran in the aftermath. But they decided to stay to honor his passion for America. They awoke from the nightmare to find things were the same in the light of day.
Egypt-Gaza border riot leaves Egyptian guard dead
LA Times 7 Jan 2010 - Hundreds of Palestinians protest Egypt's rebuff of a Gaza aid convoy as well as a new barrier to smuggling tunnels. A dozen Palestinians are hurt as the protest turns violent. Gunfire broke out Wednesday during a Palestinian protest over Egypt's blockade of the Gaza Strip, leaving an Egyptian border guard dead and a dozen Palestinians injured.
New York Times 8 Jan 2010 - The reported attack on Mehdi Karroubi, Iran’s most outspoken opposition leader, took place in Qazvin, where he had traveled to attend a funeral for protesters.
Iran Accuses Five of Warring Against God
New York Times 8 Jan 2010 - At least five protesters arrested during anti-government demonstrations will be tried on charges that carry the death sentence.
World Briefing | Middle East: Israel: New Attacks Traded With Gaza
New York Times 8 Jan 2010 - Israel launched several airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding another, medical workers and the Islamist group Hamas said.
Iranian TV Sees Conspiracy in Neda Video
New York Times 7 Jan 2010 - A new documentary made for Iranian television seeks to prove that the graphic, widely-seen amateur video of a female protester named Neda Agha-Soltan bleeding to death on a Tehran street last June was fake.
Memo on Iran: Steady Drip of Leaks Corrodes the Core of the Iranian Regime
New York Times 7 Jan 2010 - Leaks from within Iran’s secretive core of insiders may be helping to chip away at the legitimacy of the government.
Attack at a Church in Egypt Kills 7
New York Times 7 Jan 2010 - Three men in a car sprayed automatic gunfire into a crowd of churchgoers on Wednesday in the southern Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi as they left a midnight Mass for Coptic Christmas.
Mondoweiss - 8 Jan 2010 - This is from Henry Siegman in The Nation . Just a reminder, Siegman was Executive Director of the American Jewish Congress from 1978 to 1994, and is now connected to the Council on Foreign Relations. If there’s ever been a sign the times are changing. Siegman: Israel’s...
Guerrilla ad campaign protests Pacific Gas & Electric’s link to Israeli company
Mondoweiss - 8 Jan 2010 - Pacific Gas & Electric advertisement before (left) and after (right) An ad campaign of sorts ran in Berkeley and San Francisco at the end of 2009 drawing attention to Pacific Gas & Electric’s relationship with the Israeli company Solel and the growing BDS movement. Several of...
A year later, life has yet to return to normal in Gaza
Mondoweiss - 8 Jan 2010 - Fares Akram writing in The Independent : It has been a year since we huddled in our homes in the dark, waiting sleeplessly for the sound of the bombs to stop. It is a year this week since my father, a 48-year-old lawyer with no link to...
Arbitrary occupier’s law used to clamp down on Palestinian life
Mondoweiss - 7 Jan 2010 - On January 4th, the health and human rights delegation that I’m on was scheduled to meet with Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, Legislative Council member, former Palestinian Authority Minister of Information, and founder of Palestinian Medical Relief Society. We arrive at the modern PMRS offices in Ramallah, only...
George Galloway interviewed on Viva Palestina, the blockade of Gaza and the US role
Mondoweiss - 7 Jan 2010 - Viva Palestina leader George Galloway was interviewed this morning on Democracy Now from Gaza. The interview covered many issues, but the most important was the situation that Galloway has found on the ground now that the aid convoy has arrived: Related posts: Viva Palestina convoy of...
Amnesty International: Israeli Detention of Palestinian Activists Must End
Alternative Information Center - 8 Jan 2010 - The Israeli authorities must immediately release, or bring before a fair trial, three Palestinian human rights activists detained in Israel following their protests against the construction of the West Bank fence/wall, Amnesty International said on Friday. In a letter sent to Ehud Barak, Israeli Defence and...
Israeli Soldiers Attack and Injure Palestinian Shepherds; Arrest Musab Raba'i
Alternative Information Center - 8 Jan 2010 - At-Tuwani: On the morning of Thursday 7 January, 2010, Israeli soldiers attacked and injured Palestinian shepherds from the Musa Raba'i family, as they grazed their sheep in Humra valley, near the village of At-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills. The soldiers also attacked the internationals accompanying...
Articles
Calling Bono
Alison Weir, CounterPunch 1/8/2010
Your Palestinian Gandhis Exist ... in Graves and Prisons
Dear Bono,
In your recent column in the New York Times, "Ten for the Next Ten," you wrote: "I’ll place my hopes on the possibility — however remote at the moment — that...people in places filled with rage and despair, places like the Palestinian territories, will in the days ahead find among them their Gandhi, their King, their Aung San Suu Kyi."
Your hope has already been fulfilled in the Palestinian territories.
Unfortunately, these Palestinian Gandhis and Kings are being killed and imprisoned.
On the day that your op-ed appeared hoping for such leaders, three were languishing in Israeli prisons. No one knows how long they will be held, nor under what conditions; torture is common in Israeli prisons.
At least 19 Palestinians have been killed in the last six years alone during nonviolent demonstrations against Israel’s apartheid wall that is confiscating Palestinian cropland and imprisoning Palestinian people. Many others have been killed in other parts of the Palestinian territories while taking part in nonviolent activities. Hundreds more have been detained and imprisoned.
Recently Israel has begun a campaign to incarcerate the leaders of this diverse movement of weekly marches and demonstrations taking place in small Palestinian villages far from media attention. more.. e-mail
How I Almost Became a Terrorist
Alan J. Singer, CounterPunch 1/7/2010
Not Everyone Who Opposes U.S. Policy is a Fanatic
In May 1967 I was a seventeen-year old high school senior and a not particularly religious Jew. I was born in New York City, as were my parents, although my grandparents were immigrants from Eastern Europe. My family strongly identified with the state of Israel and at the time my stepmother was visiting her brother who had emigrated there to fight for independence after serving in the U.S. army during World War II.
The survival of Israel as a Jewish state was important to my identity and the identity of my friends and family members. My friends, siblings, cousins, and I grew up in the shadow of the Holocaust and we had family members who were murdered. Jews had been victims for two thousand years but the survival of Israel meant we would be victims no more.
As the crisis in the Middle East intensified Americans were evacuated. My father and I spent a night at Kennedy Airport waiting for my stepmother to return home. The next morning two friends and I went to the Jewish Agency to sign up to go to Israel as volunteers in the event of war. We hoped to fight but said we would do anything that was needed.
On June 5, 1967 Israel launched a preemptive strike. The Third Arab-Israeli War lasted six days and ended with a resounding Israeli victory. American volunteers were not needed so we never went. But we would have gone and we would have fought for the survival of Israel and of Jews, whether the United States government gave permission, looked the other way, or even if it tried to stop us. more.. e-mail
The Iran Nuclear Trigger Forgeries
Gareth Porter, CounterPunch 1/6/2010
New Revelations Blow Holes in Story
New revelations about two documents leaked to The Times of London to show that Iran is working on a "nuclear trigger" mechanism have further undermined the credibility of the document the newspaper had presented as evidence of a continuing Iranian nuclear weapons program.
A columnist for the Times has acknowledged that the two-page Persian language document published by The Times last month was not a photocopy of the original document but an expurgated and retyped version of the original.
A translation of a second Persian language document also published by The Times, moreover, contradicts the claim by The Times that it shows the "nuclear trigger" document was written within an organization run by an Iranian military scientist.
Former Central Intelligence Agency official Philip Giraldi has said U.S. intelligence judges the "nuclear trigger" document to be a forgery, as IPS reported last week. The IPS story also pointed out that the document lacked both security markings and identification of either the issuing organization or the recipient.
The new revelations point to additional reasons why intelligence analysts would have been suspicious of the "nuclear trigger" document.
On Dec. 14, The Times published what it explicitly represented as a photocopy of a complete Persian language document showing Iranian plans for testing a neutron initiator, a triggering device for a nuclear weapon, along with an English language translation. more.. e-mail
Imprisonment as political pressure: Addameer's Sahar Francis interviewed
Electronic Intifada: 8 Jan 2010 - The Palestinian nongovernmental organization Addameer was founded in 1992 to promote and protect the rights of political prisoners. The Electronic Intifada interviewed Sahar Francis, a human rights lawyer and the director of Addameer, about the recent repression wave targeting Palestinian human rights activists protesting Israel's wall in the occupied West Bank.
Will Egypt's underground wall end the Gaza tunnel trade?
Electronic Intifada: 8 Jan 2010 - A subterranean wall being built by Egypt along its border with Gaza is meant to hack the tunnel structures, which extend from the Egyptian side of the border to the Gaza's side for distances that range between 400 meters and 1,700 meters. With many prohibitions on the ground, the tunnels have become a lucrative underground alternative. The wall construction portrays the depth of this underground urbanism, bringing the conflict between smugglers and the security to the forefront. Lina Attalah reports.
Miss Palestine's mistaken rebellion
Electronic Intifada: 8 Jan 2010 - One of the travesties of living in a colonized environment is that the inferior, or oppressed, aspire to win admittance to the Western world. There seems to be an emerging trend of this type of appeasement, where submission has replaced the revolution. The introduction to spectacles, like the breaking of a Guinness record for the largest plate of kanafeh and the search for a national beauty queen, are just two examples of absurd practices are coming to be seen as normal in Palestinian cities. Sousan Hammad comments for The Electronic Intifada.
"No army, no prison and no wall can stop us"
Electronic Intifada: 7 Jan 2010 - 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 nonviolent struggle is effective. Abdallah Abu Rahmah writes from the Ofer Military Detention Camp.
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: 8 Jan 2010 - By Stephen Lendman Adalah, meaning justice in Arabic, is the legal center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel advocating through Israeli Supreme Court petitions; lawsuits and appeals to the District, Magistrate and Labor Courts; pre-petitions to the Attorney General; and various other ways to serve its constituency in a nation where only Jews have rights. It also prepares publications and reports on vital issues of concern to Palestinians, including two recent ones on the theft of their property, an ongoing international law violation since Israel's "War of Independence" - a six-month atrocity that expelled about 800,000 people, massacred many others, destroyed 531 villages, 11 urban neighborhoods in cities like Tel-Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem, and stole 78% of historic Palestine as the first step toward seizing it all for exclusive Jewish use. For over 60 years, Israel has done it ruthlessly, incrementally, systematically, and illegally, intending at most to leave Palestinians cantonized and surrounded in the least valued portions, the rest being exclusively for Jews. This writer addressed Israel's discriminatory land policies in a previous article, part of which is repeated below as an introduction to what follows. Shortly after its "War of Independence," laws were passed to legitimize Palestinian land seizures for exclusive Jewish use. The June 1948 Abandoned Areas Ordinance referred to "any area or place conquered by or surrendered to armed forces or deserted by all or part of its inhabitants." It gave the Israeli government exclusive jurisdiction rights, including "expropriation and confiscation (authority over) movable and immovable...
Mubarak Creates PR Disaster for Egypt and Himself
Palestine Chronicle: 8 Jan 2010 - By Stuart Littlewood – London Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt, has plumbed new depths and caused deep offence with his shameful bullying of the Viva Palestina convoy bound for Gaza, which had driven for weeks and thousands of miles from many countries to bring medical aid and other relief to women and children cruelly shut off from the world and under endless lethal bombardment by Israel. The dirty tricks resorted to by Mubarak and his lieutenants, which repeatedly delayed the convoy when only a few hours away from its destination, forced it to retrace its steps and take a dangerous and unnecessary sea voyage menaced by Israeli gunboats, heaped massive extra costs on the mercy mission then confronted it with 2,000 riot police, put him and his rotten regime beyond the pale. In other words, far outside acceptable standards of decency. Mubarak’s misdeeds have shamed the Egyptian people and indeed all Arabs, and will be written indelibly into the history of the Middle East. Who would have thought that a man of his experience would visibly stoop so low as to invite wholesale ridicule and disgust? Faced with all those obstacles the splendid men and women with Viva Palestina rose to the challenge in fine style and gave real meaning to the anthem "We Shall Overcome". They overcame all right. They overcame all the mean-minded chicanery the loathsome vultures of the Middle East could throw at them. And with their generous hearts, human decency and sense of honour, the Viva...
Israel's Iron Kipa
Palestine Chronicle: 8 Jan 2010 - By Gilad Atzmon - London In English they call it the 'Iron Dome' in Hebrew they call it the 'Iron Kipa' which could also be translated as 'Iron Skullcap' or even 'Iron Yarmulka'*. Seemingly the Israelis love to mix iron with God. The Iron Dome, Kipa or Yarmulka is the new Israeli guided missile system. It is there to stop rain of rockets from falling over Sderot, Ashkelon or Tel Aviv. According to Haaretz, “the defense establishment this week successfully intercepted a barrage of rockets for the first time using the newly developed Iron Dome system”. The new Israeli invention uses small guided missiles to blow up Katyusha-style rockets. Israel plans to station the first working unit outside the Gaza Strip next year. I can only praise the Israelis and their scientists for their creative imagination and their survival instincts. The tactic is very simple indeed: while mortar shells cost just a few dollars, guided missiles cost many thousands more. While Palestinian mortar barrages can be launched from every corner in occupied Palestine, Israel will have to deploy its newly invented Iron Kipa over its borders and around its towns. Every home-made Palestinian mortar shell or Qassam Rocket could easily exhaust the Israeli economy and the military's human resources. Moreover, from now on, thanks to the Iron Kipa, the war with the Palestinian resistance can take place in the sky rather than in Palestinian cities and villages. But there is one more hidden implication entangled with the new kosher defense...
Media Vultures Are Coming: Freedom of Expression at Risk
Palestine Chronicle: 7 Jan 2010 - By Ramzy Baroud As you flip through a range of channels on your TV or browse through a stack of newspapers and magazines at a newsstand, you may feel lucky about living in a world where such a plethora of viewpoints is available. It might also seem that the apparent increase in media choices also increases the chances for the public interest to be understood and served fairly. Unfortunately, this is far from the case. The media world is shrinking by the day. Welcome to 2010. The coming year might go down in history as that of major media consolidation, as in concentration of media ownership in the hands of a few large conglomerates and powerful media moguls. Predictions regarding mergers of media companies are very bleak, and to a degree frightening. In his Los Angeles Times article “2010 predictions: Another turbulent year ahead for media”, Joe Flint determines that the debate in the media world “over which is king –content or distribution” was settled in 2009. As a result, a new wave of mergers is likely to follow. Giant media will guzzle other giant media, which had already swallowed less enormous media companies, who in turn had .. well, you get the point. When US President Thomas Jefferson made his famous assertion that “the only security of all is in a free press,” he hardly had media consolidation in mind. Giant media companies reflect the giant, albeit specific business interests of their owners and their advertisers. Neither News Corp nor...