InI Needs Your Support!
Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel
www.vtjp.org/
For those interested in keeping up with events in Palestine/Israel, there is no better digest than VTJP.
News
International Middle East Media Center
Strip
Search, Arrest and Car Detonation at Reikhan Barta'a Checkpoint, Jenin
IMEMC 12 Jan 2010 -
Tuesday January 12, 2010 - 16:28, A Palestinian man was subjected to a
strip search today at the military checkpoint of Reikhan Barta'a, near
Jenin in the North of the West Bank, before having his vehicle
detonated by border police.
Rawabi
– The First Planned Palestinian City
IMEMC 12 Jan 2010 -
Tuesday January 12, 2010 - 15:51, Ground has been broken at the site of
Rawabi, the first planned city to be constructed in Occupied
Palestinian Territories by Palestinians.
Qassam
Fighter Killed in Northern Gaza
IMEMC 12 Jan 2010 -
Tuesday January 12, 2010 - 07:50, The Al Qassam Brigades, the armed
wing of Hamas movement, reported on Monday at night that one of its
fighters was killed “in a mission” in the northern part of the Gaza
Strip.
Soldiers
Invade Ramallah, Kidnap a Czech Peace Activist
IMEMC 12 Jan 2010 -
Monday January 11, 2010 - 22:34, The Israeli Army invaded on Monday at
night the center of the West Bank city of Ramallah, and kidnapped a
Czech citizen, identified as Eva Nováková, who started her activities
as the media coordinator of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM)
three weeks ago.
Non-violent
protest at the northern Gaza borders with Israel
IMEMC 12 Jan 2010 -
Monday January 11, 2010 - 16:56, Palestinians organized a nonviolent
protest this Monday at the northern Gaza borders Israel.
One
injured three kidnapped during military invasions targeting West Bank
areas
IMEMC 12 Jan 2010 -
Monday January 11, 2010 - 15:28, One man was injured and three other
civilians were kidnapped, among them two children, on Monday during
separate military attacks targeting a number of West Bank communities.
Protesters
arrested in 2 West Bank villages
1/13/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli forces raided the central West Bank
villages of Nil'in and Bil'in early Tuesday morning and detained three
activists involved with the anti-wall movement. Two detainees from
Nil'in were identified as Ibrahim Ameera, coordinator of the local
branch of the Popular Committee Against the Wall, and another man named
Zaydoun Surour. Clashes were reported during the incursion, but there
were no reports of injury. In the nearby village of Bil'in, Israeli
soldiers detained a young man, identified as Muhammad Ali Yasin.
Israeli forces raided his home after midnight, forced relatives onto
the street, and took Yasin elsewhere, according to Dr Rateb Abu Rahmah,
a member of the local Popular Committee Against the Wall and
Settlements. Abu Rahmah added that Yasin had been wanted by Israeli
forces for about five months, accused of participation in the village's
weekly demonstrations.
Israeli
incursion reported near Gaza cemetery
1/12/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Residents reported an Israeli military incursion into the
eastern Gaza Strip on Tuesday afternoon. A convoy of eight army
vehicles and bulldozers reportedly entered the coastal enclave 200
meters northeast of Ash-Shaja'yeh. Onlookers said forces began a sweep
of the area and fired machine guns and artillery shells near the
eastern cemetery. No injuries were immediately reported. An Israeli
military spokesman told Ma'an there was no unusual activity in the
area, nor were shots fired. [end]
Israeli
forces prevent farmers from planting trees with riot gear
1/12/2010 - Hebron -
Ma'an - Two Palestinians and one child were injured on Tuesday as
Israeli forces prohibited farmers from tending to their land in Safa
village in the northern Hebron governorate, solidarity workers said.
"While the farmers were planting olive trees, Israeli forces attacked
them and clashes erupted between both sides," said media spokesman for
the Palestine Solidarity Project Mohammad Awad. Two men sustained
injuries from rubber bullets used by Israeli forces and Hisham
Al-Khlayel, 5, was taken to hospital to undergo treatment for shock as
a result of tear gas used by forces to disperse those present, Awwad
said. An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the incident, saying
troops responded to the group of farmers with "riot dispersal means,"
after youth threw rocks at the encroaching soldiers. He said there were
no reports of injuries or damages, however.
Foreign
activist deported after night raid
1/13/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israel deported a Czech national on Tuesday, 24
hours after she was seized by soldiers in a late-night raid in the West
Bank city of Ramallah's city center. Eva Nováková, 28, the
International Solidarity Movement's media coordinator, was forced onto
a plane early Tuesday to Prague from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion
International Airport, where she was taken late Monday night. Dusan
Kralik, the Embassy of the Czech Republic's envoy to Israel, said he
was not planning to protest the move, which Nováková's supporters say
was carried out without due process, bypassing Israel's judiciary. "She
was here illegally, without permission," Kralik told Ma'an. "She's
supposed to leave. " Forces raided Ramallah's central Manara area for
the sole purpose of detaining the activist, witnesses said and
Palestinian Authority and Israeli security sources confirmed.
Jenin:
Driver detained, car detonated
1/13/2010 - Jenin -
Ma'an - Faulty brakes and a lurching vehicle approaching the Reikhan
Barta'a military checkpoint west of Jenin saw a man pulled from his
car, detained and the vehicle detonated, witnesses said Tuesday.
Reports from witnesses working on the Barta'a bridge near the
checkpoint said they saw an old Volkswagen approach the military zone,
said soldiers fired on the vehicle. The driver, identified as
50-year-old Mohammed Abu Jazar, was reportedly forced to undress in
front of the crowd at the checkpoint and was then arrested. His car,
witnesses said, was taken by Israeli border police and exploded. He was
apparently unharmed. An Israeli Ministry of Defense spokeswoman said
the driver "moved to the opposite lane while driving savagely," drove
over the security road spikes and "ravaged the balustrade concrete. "
In
photos: Masked settlers attack Palestinians
1/12/2010 - 1)
Masked Israeli settlers hold tools and sticks during skirmishes between
settlers and local Palestinian farmers on January 11, 2010. 2) Israeli
armed forces are sent into the West Bank village of Immatin, near
Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. 3) Israel's army said on Monday that
soldiers were deployed shortly after they learned of the incident to
prevent further escalations. 4) Local Palestinians argue with the
arriving Israeli soldiers, demanding that they put an end to the
alleged settler violence. 5) An Israeli soldier stands guard near two
Israeli settlers as tension between the two parties finally begins to
de-escalate. . . . .
Israelis
open Gaza crossing
1/13/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Israeli authorities opened the Gaza Strip's Kerem Shalom
crossing to allow in humanitarian aid, commercial merchandise, domestic
fuel, and to export flowers and strawberries, a border official said.
Raed Fattouh, a Palestinian crossings liaison, said 72-82 truckloads of
humanitarian aid and commercial merchandise would enter the Gaza Strip
through Kerem Shalom in the southern Gaza Strip. He also confirmed that
one truck carrying flowers and three carrying strawberries produced in
Gaza would be allowed out. Furthermore, limited quantities of domestic
gas and industrial diesel for Gaza's sole power plant will be shipped
into the besieged Strip, he said. The Karni crossing will remain
closed. On Monday, Israeli authorities opened both the Kerem Shalom and
Karni crossings for aid, merchandise, fuel, and animal feed. . . . .
Documentary
highlights Palestinian press violations
1/12/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Palestinian Center for Development & Media
Freedoms (MADA), a Ramallah-based NGO that monitors press freedom in
the occupied territories, released its first film on Monday. "Freedoms
Invasion" takes a look back at 2009 detailing violations against
journalists on the part of forces allied with the Palestinian Authority
in Ramallah, Gaza's de facto government, and the Israeli military. MADA
produced the documentary to demonstrate that "Palestinian journalists
and media are under constant attacks and pressure, and to show the
situation of media freedoms in the occupied Palestinian territories,
which witnessed a serious deterioration in the last three years,"
director Mousa Rimawi told Ma'an. MADA monitored 257 violations during
2008, and more than 150 violations during 2009, committed by Israeli
forces and settlers, in addition to Palestinian security services, in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Mousa said.
BU
confers degree for Gaza student deported from West Bank
1/12/2010 -
Bethlehem/Gaza - Ma'an - "I never imagined that my graduation ceremony
would be held in a Church in Gaza with no one from my classmates
attending," said fresh BU graduate Berlanty Azzam on Sunday. Bethlehem
University officials traveled to Gaza to confer Berlanty's degree at
the Holy Family Church in Gaza. Berlanty completed her degree online
after she was pulled from a car at a Bethlehem checkpoint by Israeli
soldiers, was blindfolded, handcuffed and deported to Gaza on 28
October 2009. BU Vice Chancellor Brother Peter Bray, Papal Nuncio H E
Archbishop Antonio Franco, Chancellor Brother Joe, Vice Chancellor
Emeritus, and Trappist Abbott Thomas traveled to Gaza for the 10am Mass
at the Holy Family Church where they met Berlanty, her family and
friends as well as some other BU students awaiting permission from the
Israeli military authorities to come to Bethlehem to pursue their
education at the Vatican-sponsored Bethlehem University.
Hamas:
Gaza blast wasn’t Israeli fire
1/12/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - A Hamas fighter was killed and three others injured in an Izbat
Abed Rabbo area explosion in the northern Gaza city of Beit Hanoun,
Hamas said on Tuesday. The announcement, noting the incident was an
"internal explosion "confirmed what an Israeli security source told
Ma'an late Monday night, that "as far as we can tell, it was an
internal blast. "A Hamas statement identified the slain fighter as
Thaer Khadir, saying he was killed "during a Jihad mission," without
elaborating. One of three injured fighters suffered cardiac arrest and
was attached to a life-support machine, the statement added. Initial
reports indicated that Khadir was killed by Israeli shelling, but an
Israeli military spokeswoman said the country's forces were not
operating in the area of the blast, which came 24 hours after three
operatives from Islamic Jihad's military wing were killed in an
airstrike in Gaza City.
Report:
Israel’s Goldstone response coming soon
1/13/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israel plans to release its official response to
South African jurist Richard Goldstone's UN Fact Finding Mission on the
Gaza Conflict in two weeks, the Hebrew-language daily Ma'ariv reported
on Tuesday. The report accused Israel's military and armed Palestinian
factions of war crimes during the devastating winter assault on Gaza
that killed some 1,400 Palestinians, more than half civilians, as well
as 13 Israelis, among them four civilians. [end]
Netanyahu:
Israel will never divide Jerusalem
1/12/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared
on Tuesday that Israel would never cede control of occupied East
Jerusalem, according to a bureau statement quoted by Israeli news
reports. The statement came after Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul
Gheit said last week that Netanyahu would discuss making East Jerusalem
the capital of a future Palestinian state, a position accepted by most
of the international community. Netanyahu "has not changed his declared
stance, and insists in all his political talks that united Jerusalem
will remain under Israeli sovereignty in any peace agreement and that
Israel's defense borders will not be paved back to the 1967 lines," the
Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth quoted the statement as stating.
Israel captured Palestinian East Jerusalem in 1967, declaring it the
"eternal, undivided capital of Israel. "
Israel:
Turkey ’last country that should preach morality’
1/12/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday
denounced remarks by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan the day
before, saying "Turkey is the last country that should preach morality
to Israel. " Erdogan said Monday that Israel was endangering world
peace through exaggerated use of force against Palestinians in Gaza,
continuous violations of Lebanese airspace and water, and its
maintenance of a secret nuclear program while concurrently demanding
sanctions on Iran. In a statement, the Israeli ministry said "Erdogan's
words must be taken together with the anti-Israel program currently
being broadcast on Turkish television, as well as other serious
anti-Israel sentiments repeatedly expressed by the Turkish prime
minister for more than a year, since launching a verbal attack on
President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum in Davos [in January
2009]. "
DFLP:
No negotiations until settlement standstill
1/12/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Palestinian left wing factions in Gaza said they would not
support a renewal in peace talks without a complete settlement
standstill, following a meeting on Tuesday in Gaza. Member of the
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine's (DEFLP) central
committee Saleh Nasser urged the Palestinian leadership to commit to
its stance, and demanded the Palestinian leadership exert pressure on
Israel to commit to its international obligations and "stop its crimes
against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza. "Other
left-wing factions were in attendance at the meeting, and discussed
Israel's military threat and the need to establish a unified national
resistance to counter it, Nasser added. It was agreed that the
left-wing factions would meet regularly to counter the challenge of
Palestinian rivalry and ensure national unity. . . . .
Fayyad
unveils sculpture series dedicated to Palestinian women
1/13/2010 - Ramallah
- Ma'an - Prime Minister Salam Fayyad unveiled a mural dedicated to
Palestinian women on Tuesday in Ramallah, highlighting the role of
women in Palestinian life, history and culture. The mural, funded by
the European Union, was the outcome of the Celebration of Art and
Culture of Palestinian Women project and was created by the Women's
Affairs Association. The project was undertaken to highlight the role
of Palestinian women in maintaining traditional Palestinian art. Part
of the mural will be displayed at Al-Quds University in the Abu Diss
campus and near the Ashtar Theatre in Ramallah. During his speech,
Fayyad emphasized the value of the project, asserting not only that the
mural reflected Palestinian women's work but their vigilance preserving
Palestinian memory. The caretaker prime minister further underscored
the need to encourage Palestinian women to participate. . .
Saka
village hooked up to electrical grid under PA project
1/12/2010 - Hebron -
Ma'an - Electrical grid infrastructure was installed in Saka village
near Hebron by the Palestinian Authority on Monday, marking the last
area in the governorate to access electricity under the project. Fouad
Al-Amleh, engineer and head of project for the power authority, said
the Saka village project provided services to distant areas that lack
electricity and links 50 villages in Hebron with power. The project
cost approximately 250,000 US dollars and was sponsored by the
Palestinian Authority and caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, he
said, adding that there remains four villages in the governorate
without access to electricity as a result of obstacles put in place by
the Israeli occupation. The Saka village council thanked all those
involved in implementing the project and praised their efforts. . . . .
Beloved
Palestinian basketball coach succumbs to cancer
1/13/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Coaching legend Basel Ma'ay'ah basketball with the
Catholic Action sports club and a teacher with the Terra Sancta school
in Bethlehem passed away Tuesday at the age of 51. Basel Ma'ay'ah "Abu
Zaki" died surrounded by loved ones, athletes and students. He was
carried to the Virgin Mary's Church in Bet Jala followed by a
procession of thousands of students and former students, and was buried
in the early evening. Terra Sancta school will be open for three days
to receive mourners. Father Marwan Deides, pastor for Terra Sancta,
delivered the eulogy and spoke at length about Abu Zaki's ability to
build a team on faith and respect. . . . .
Ice
cream factory worker killed in Gaza blast
1/12/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - One Palestinian was killed following an ice cream factory
explosion in the Al-Amal neighborhood of Khan Younis, southern Gaza,
medical sources said on Tuesday. The corpse of Bilal Khamis Al-Khreiby,
23, was taken to the An-Nasser Hospital following a blast that civil
defense workers said was the result of an electricity malfunction. [end]
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Ismail Haniyeh says adhering to cease-fire with Israel protects Gazans from IDF attacks.
Barak tells Hezbollah: War with Israel not worth your while
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Defense minister makes remarks to soldiers during a tour of the northern border on Tuesday.
Hezbollah denies drug trafficking to fund Israel attacks
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Lebanon-based group deems Der Spiegel report 'false fabrication' and 'tool manipulated by Zionists.'
Report: 8 IDF troops fell asleep while patrolling Lebanon border
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Battalion troops, which included two commanding officers, had in the past complained of sleep deprivation.
Hamas: Gaza bombmaker killed in work-related blast
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Two others injured; Palestinian sources initially claimed casualties were caused by IAF missile strike.
IDF denies reports it attacked northern Gaza
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Palestinians say three militants killed in IAF strike on Strip; Gaza rocket hits Israel for fifth consecutive day.
'Iron Dome rocket defense system will take years to deploy'
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - 'Watch your step,' Barak warns Hamas over rockets; Hamas: Palestinian attacks are response to Israeli aggression.
Egypt says Israel's plan for border fence 'not our concern'
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Cairo denies link between Israel's barrier and its own wall now being constructed between Egypt and Gaza.
Druze MK seeks immunity in indictment over Syria meeting
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Balad's Said Naffaa says meetings in Syria arguing fall under his duties as a member of Knesset.
Mubarak to Netanyahu: Accept Hamas' demands for Shalit deal
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Egypt can guarantee deal and possible Gaza calm if Israel shows flexibility, according to Saudi paper.
Bank of Israel forecasts 3.5% growth rate for 2010
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Bank says global recovery upped demand for Israeli goods; cautions that could scale back the forecast.
Palestinian terror cell head gets 2 life sentences
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Mohammed Abu-Sneina convicted of heading group that murdered two Jerusalem cops in 2008.
Israel to build NIS 1.5b fence along Egypt border
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Netanyahu approves plan to prevent migrant workers from infiltrating and 'ensure Jewish character' of Israel.
Palestinian attempts to run over Israeli cops at West Bank checkpoint
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - In October, an Israeli security guard was wounded after Palestinian woman stabbed him at Qalandiya checkpoint.
IDF solider killed in training accident due to oxygen poisoning
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - IDF investigation finds lead into death of Gal Azoulay, 19, who died at Ashdod Port last month.
Islamic Jihad: Israel wants to drag us into war
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Spokesman: Iron Dome rocket defense system won't stop resistance; 3 Qassams hit southern Israel.
Study: Gaza militants fall short trying for al-Qaida link
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Al-Qaida may be waiting for Gaza terror group to establish itself by attacking a Western target.
Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas must wait until Israel is ready
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Iron Dome defense systems will go a long way to protecting Israel's citizens, but it will take time to get them in place.
Israel to UN: Investigate bomb cache in Lebanon
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - UNIFIL discovered explosives near Israel border last week; thought to belong to Hezbollah.
Will IDF insignia be 'Made in China'?
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Israeli factory: Conflict-area families will lose their livelihoods, national pride is injured.
Amnesty
International: Iran must release mothers who were beaten and arrested
for mourning their children, says Amnesty
Uruknet January 12,
2010 - Amnesty International has urged the Iranian authorities to
release a group of women who were beaten and arrested during a peaceful
vigil in Tehran at the weekend. The 33 women, members of a group known
as the 'Mourning Mothers', were seized during their weekly Saturday
meeting in Laleh Park, Tehran, according to media reports. All 33...
IOF
troops bulldoze land in Gaza, detain Jerusalemites for planting olives
Uruknet January 12,
2010 - Israeli occupation forces (IOF) advanced east of Shujaia suburb
in Gaza city afternoon Tuesday and bulldozed Palestinian plantations,
local sources said. They told the PIC reporter that the IOF troops
escorted three military bulldozers, noting that the IOF soldiers fired
three projectiles at cultivated lands east of Shujaia inflicting
material damage. Meanwhile, IOF soldiers detained three...
Assassinated
Iranian scientist worked on regional project with Israelis
Uruknet January 12,
2010 - The Iranian nuclear physicist killed by a remote controlled bomb
device in North Tehran today had been the Iranian representative to
regional scientific project in which Israelis also participate, the
Washington Post reports: Iranian news media and officials described
Ali-Mohammadi as a nuclear physicist, but academics in Iran and abroad
said he specialized in particle and...
US
backs plan for Egypt's wall with Gaza
Uruknet January 12,
2010 — The United States Tuesday voiced its support for a wall being
built by Egypt to block a network of tunnels stretching out from the
Gaza Strip, arguing it would stop arms smuggling. "We believe that
weapon-smuggling should stop and that measures taken to stop that
weapon-smuggling should be, could be carried out, yes," said State
Department...
Video:
Riz Khan - GAZAS OPEN WOUNDS
Uruknet January 12,
2010 - A year has gone by since Israel launched a crushing military
offensive against the 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. For
22 days in December 2008 and January 2009, Israel bombed the territory
from the air, land and sea, killing 1,400 Palestinians. Thirteen
Israelis were killed during the war. Israeli officials gave many
reasons for...
Making
a business out of Palestine's struggle
Uruknet January 12,
2010 - Soliciting the support of people in the US-based Palestine
solidarity movement, Palestine Note recently launched a new website
that aspires to become the online hub for all things Palestine. While
the website announces its dedication to "news, stories and views about
Palestine and Palestinians," and its aspiration to become a "cultivator
of community," my brief interaction...
Israel
Dragging Gaza to New War: Analysts
Uruknet January 12,
2010 - With its recent aggressions, Israel is trying to provoke the
Palestinian resistance factions into retaliatory attacks that could be
used as a pretext for launching a new deadly offensive on the
war-ravaged Gaza Strip, analysts believe. "The message in the recent
attacks is very clear, and the resistance should read it carefully,"
Talal Okal, a political...
Israeli
incursion reported near Gaza cemetery
Uruknet January 12,
2010 - Residents reported an Israeli military incursion into the
eastern Gaza Strip on Tuesday afternoon. A convoy of eight army
vehicles and bulldozers reportedly entered the coastal enclave 200
meters northeast of Ash-Shaja'yeh. Onlookers said forces began a sweep
of the area and fired machine guns and artillery shells near the
eastern cemetery. No injuries were immediately...
Gaza
offensive adds to scale of displacement
Uruknet January 12,
2010 - According to the UN, 2009 marked one of the most violent periods
experienced by the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza since the
occupation began in 1967. The three-week Israeli offensive in Gaza
launched in December 2008 cost the lives of over 1,000 Palestinians and
led to the displacement of over 100,000 people, according to...
TURKISH
TV IS THE REAL THREAT TO PEACE ….. NOT ISRAEL’S BOMBS
Uruknet January 12,
2010 - Israel seems to think that Turkish TV is a greater threat to
world peace than missile attacks on Gaza. A diplomatic row is in the
making over a new Turkish series which depicts Mossad agents as baby
snatchers. , Now, we all know that Israel or its agents are not capable
of involvement in anything remotely illegal....
Congolese
Women and Girls Suffering the Insufferable
Uruknet January 12,
2010 - While in the eastern Congo last summer, U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton stated, "With respect to companies that are responsible
for what are now being called conflict minerals, I think the
international community must start looking at steps we can take to try
to prevent the mineral wealth from the DRC ending up in the...
Iraqis
say they were forced to take Blackwater settlement
Uruknet January 11,
2010 - Several victims of a 2007 shooting involving American private
security guards employed by the firm formerly known as Blackwater
alleged Sunday that they were coerced into reaching settlements, and
they demanded that the Iraqi government intervene to have the
agreements nullified. The Iraqis said they were pressured by their own
attorneys into accepting what they now...
West Bank, January 12, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces launched inspections missions in the West Bank early Tuesday morning kidnapping 12 Palestinians from different governorates. Israeli military sources said that Israeli occupation forces kidnapped 15 "wanted" Palestinians, adding, "The detainees were transferred to the relevant security investigation body. Israeli occupation forces carry out daily arrest operations in the...
Gaza: accidental blast kills Hamas fighter
Gaza, January 12, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - A Palestinian fighter, Thaer Khader,21, from the armed wing of Hamas, Ez Ed Din Al Qassam, has been killed in an accidental bomb explosion in the northern Gaza Strip. Three other members were also injured in the blast, Ez Ed Din Al Qassam said in a statement. Hamas had initially said the explosion...
Palestinians Discover Ancient Coin in Gaza
Gaza, January 11, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The ministry of tourism and antiquities in Gaza on Monday declared the discovery of ancient artifacts in Rafah near the Egyptian border. Mohammed Al-Agha, tourism and antiquities minister in Hamas-led government said, "The most important of the findings are 1,300 antique silver coins, both large and small," He said archaeologists had also uncovered...
Siege Death Toll Rises to 368
Gaza, January 11, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The child Maisara Ibrahim Moussa, 3 years, passed away on Monday which rises the number of people who died as a result of the Israeli siege on Gaza to 368. The child was prohibited from traveling for treatment outside the besieged Gaza Strip. The child who suffered deformation in his heart, passed away...
Amnesty: Israeli Detention of Palestinian Activists Must End
Palestine, January 11, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - 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...
The National 12 Jan 2010 - Iranian authorities say there were signs of involvement of Israel and the United States in the bomb blast that killed Masoud Ali-Mohammadi, an Iranian nuclear physicist.
Iron Dome anti-missile scheme increases pressure on Gaza
The National 12 Jan 2010 - Israel is putting a multimillion-dollar defence system to intercept short-range rockets around Gaza, but analysts have questioned the economic justification.
Iranian nuclear scientist killed by bomb
The National 12 Jan 2010 - Massoud Ali Mohammadi is killed in a bomb attack in Tehran that state media blame on foreign powers.
AlJazeera 12 Jan 2010 - Tehran blames US and Israeli "mercenaries" for nuclear professor's death in blast on Tuesday.
Accidental blast kills Gaza fighter
AlJazeera 11 Jan 2010 - Hamas admits fighters mishandled explosives after initially blaming Israel for blast.
Israel plans wall for Egypt border
AlJazeera 11 Jan 2010 - Israel's premier authorises new barrier on part of the Egyptian-Israeli border.
Alternative Information Center
Dexia Stops Financing Settlement Construction in the West Bank: Another Success for the BDS CampaignAlternative Information Center 12 Jan 2010 - On 30 December, the French-Belgian financial group Dexia announced it will stop financing Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank. On 7 January, the news was confirmed with a statement by 69 associations, which have...
PNN 12 Jan 2010 - ATARA, West Bank -- Work crews have broken ground on what they hope will be the first modern, planned Palestinian city -- a step that officials say will help build an independent state in spite of the current deadlock in the peace process with Israel.Since last week, machine operators have been hard at work, taking chunks out of a rocky hillside near...
Israel arrests foreign activist in West Bank raid: lawyer
PNN 12 Jan 2010 - Israeli security forces arrested a foreign activist in a raid in the West Bank town of Ramallah overnight, her lawyer said on Monday. Immigration police accompanied by Israeli soldiers carried out the late-night operation to seize Eva Novakova, a Czech citizen, from her home in central Ramallah, lawyer Omer Shatz told AFP. Her visa had expired, but that's not a reason for...
Gaza student holds graduation party at church
PNN 11 Jan 2010 - Palestinian student Berlanty Azzam has never thought that her graduation ceremony would take place in a small church far away from her university and friends. After spending four years studying in Bethlehem University in the West Bank, and two months before her course finishes, Israeli soldiers kicked her to the Gaza Strip since her ID tells that she is a Gazan. I...
Israel to construct barrier along Egyptian border
PNN 11 Jan 2010 - Israel's government has approved plans for the construction of a barrier along its border with Egypt in a bid to keep out illegal migrants and militants. It will be built along two parts of the border - near the Red Sea city of Eilat and on the edge of the Gaza Strip. PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the decision was taken to secure...
Uphill battle for academic freedom in US universities
PNN 12 Jan 2010 - In 2009, Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, became the first American higher educational institution to successfully pressure its Board of Trustees to divest from Israel-tied mutual funds. The victory came three decades after the college similarly disinvested from funds linked to apartheid South Africa. Across North America, student-led Palestine activism groups have used the methods formulated by the Palestinian-led call for boycott,...
Jeruslalem Post 12 Jan 2010 - Israel Beiteinu officials say deputy FM will not rise in party ranks after treatment of Turkish envoy.
Fatwa bans work in Gaza Strip tunnels
Jeruslalem Post 12 Jan 2010 - Islamic scholar issues ruling at PA's behest, apparently in response to deaths of smugglers.
Making Contact
Jeruslalem Post 12 Jan 2010 - Israel is the latest chapter in the travel log of dancer Sadira Smith.
'Hizbullah, Lebanese army the same'
Jeruslalem Post 12 Jan 2010 - Diplomatic campaign offers message to military suppliers that equipment may end up with Hizbullah.
Ghajar residents to IDF: Don't withdraw
Jeruslalem Post 12 Jan 2010 - Locals warn of violence from Hizbullah if Israel pulls back from the northern part of the town.
Abbas repeats demands as Jones arrives
Jeruslalem Post 12 Jan 2010 - Talks with top US security adviser expected to deal more with Iran than with stymied diplomatic process.
Iran: Slain physicist supported Mousavi
Jeruslalem Post 12 Jan 2010 - Iran blames US, Israel • Israeli nuclear expert: Killing may be Iranian ploy to rouse public opinion.
Syria, Lebanon criticize US air security
Jeruslalem Post 12 Jan 2010 - Lebanese information minister: New measures singling out citizens in a "discriminatory manner."
Israeli team visits Cairo to boost peace talks
Jeruslalem Post 12 Jan 2010 - Israeli officials go to Egypt to prod PA back to negotiations two days before Quartet meeting.
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: Gaza Extremists Drifting Towards al-Qaeda?
IPS RAMALLAH, Jan 11 (IPS) - Two separate bomb attacks on Internet cafes in Gaza last week have served as an uncomfortable reminder that extremist groups within the coastal territory may be stronger than the comparatively moderate Hamas organisation which rules the strip.
MIDEAST: Israel Cool to New U.S. Pressure
IPS JERUSALEM, Jan 11 (IPS) - In the past, whenever there was even a semblance of pressure from Washington on Israel, nerves in Jerusalem went all a-jangle.
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.
PCHR
International Solidarity Movement
West Bank Popular Leaders Arrested in Ni’ilin1/12/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Popular Struggle Coordination Committee - Ibrahim Amirah and Hassan Mousa, members of the Popular Committee Against the Wall in Ni'ilin, were arrested tonight from his home during a night-time raid tonight. Amirah and Mousa, together with another man, Zaydoun Srour, were arrested under suspicion of organizing anti-Wall demonstrations in the village. At around 3:00am tonight, a military force of 15 armored jeeps and about a hundred Israeli soldiers invaded the village of Ni'ilin and surrounded the home of Ibrahim Amirah, the coordinator of Ni'lin's Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements. After forcefully entering his home, soldiers extracted Amirah from his bed, searched the house and arrested him. Amirah has previously been arrested twice under the same suspicion of organizing demonstrations against the Wall in Ni'lin, but was never charged.
DAM to perform live in Sheikh Jarrah
1/12/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Palestinian hip-hop artists DAM and System Ali will play live in Sheikh Jarrah Thursday, January 14, starting at 7pm. The event is being held in support of the families of Sheikh Jarrah facing eviction from their homes. The show marks another event held in Sheikh Jarrah to gain support for and raise awareness of the tragedies wrought on the Palestinian families in the neighbourhood. The weekly Friday march from Zion Square in West Jerusalem to Sheikh Jarrah have been gathering momentum, with the demonstrators numbering in their hundreds. Dozens of Israeli and international activists have been arrested for their participation in the demonstrations and ongoing activist presence in Sheikh Jarrah, including American citizen Ryan Olander who has been held in Ramle prison since his arrest on the 18th of December and threatened with deportation.
Czech pro-Palestinian activist returns home after expelled by Israel
1/12/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Ha'aretz - A Czech pro-Palestinian activist returned to Prague on Tuesday after she was expelled from Israel, officials said. Israel Defense Forces soldiers and immigration police detained Eva Novakova, 28, in a raid on her home in Ramallah in the West Bank on early Monday, said the International Solidarity Movement, a pro-Palestinian group where she worked before her expulsion. The group said in a statement posted on its website that Novakova became its media coordinator three weeks earlier. The activist was expelled for "breaching the rules of her stay," the spokesman for the Czech Republic's Foreign Ministry, Milan Repka, said. He said that Novakova overstayed her visa. Novakova's lawyer, Omer Shatz, called the Israeli action against his client politically-motivated. "This arrest is part of the continued and illegal use of the immigration police. . . "
Activist from Bil’in village arrested in night raid
1/12/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Friends of Freedom and Justice - At 3:20am three Israeli army jeeps and many soldiers invaded Bil'in to arrest 21-year-old Yaseen Mohammad Yaseen. In the last six months the military has come to his home numerous times attempting to take him into custody. He is one of many activists arrested for attending weekly non-violent demonstrations. Yassen had been avoiding his home in Bil'in for the last six months; only making short visits to see his friends and family. He had only been in the village for two days before tonight's arrest. Friends of Yassen say that he visited his home on the night of his arrest, telling them he just wanted to see his family – even though he knew that they would probably attempt to arrest him. After he had been taken away, his mother sat shaking outside the family's house. She was heard yelling at the soldiers during the invasion, questioning how they would feel if their sons were taken away like this and they were unable to do anything about it.
Haitian witnesses: Mass destruction after magnitude 7 earthquake
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - The quake prompted a tsunami watch for parts of the Caribbean, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.,
Members of the Bauhaus movement cooperated with the Nazis, too
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - It was Ehrlich who planned the gated entrance to the camp where around 50,000 prisoners died.,
PA sets up fund for boycotting products made in settlements
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - According to figures, $500 million worth of settlement goods reach Palestinian territories every year.,
ANALYSIS / The Turkish FM 'has never been more humiliated'
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Turkish FM arrived with positive intentions; 3 months later, it's doubtful any optimism remains.,
Netanyahu: Turkey drift toward Iran is worrying
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Premier says Lieberman has 'full backing' over incident between deputy foreign minister, Turkish envoy.
Iran: Israel, U.S. killed pro-Mousavi nuclear scientist
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Massoud Ali-Mohammadi killed near his Tehran home by bomb-rigged motorbike; U.S. denies role.
Netanyahu: Israel will never share Jerusalem with Palestinians
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Egypt FM says PM promised Mubarak that he would be prepared to cede control of East Jerusalem.,
Israel pays tribute to Anne Frank's savior Miep Gies
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Gies, who died Monday night, was the last living person from the group that helped hide the Frank family.,
WATCH: Israeli model Bar Refaeli strips for French underwear company
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Less than 24 hours after the ad went online, it had already been viewed by more than 40,000 surfers.,
Palestinians break ground on first planned city
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Site manager hopes Rawabi will have a similar feel to U.S. cities, but access road still in question.,
Time for Netanyahu to show Obama he wants peace
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - We can deny it all we like, but the U.S. can use Israel loan guarantees to influence Jerusalem's policy.,
U.K. outlaws Islamist group already banned under alternate names
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Islam4UK sparked anger with plan to hold anti-war march in town where coffins of British soldiers brought.,
Blair aide: Britain did not rush into Iraq war
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Alastair Campbell talks at public inquiry seeking to learn lessons from the war; Blair to appear next week.,
Czech pro-Palestinian activist returns home after expelled by Israel
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Eva Novakova, 28, detained at Ramallah home, in what her lawyer calls politically-motivated raid.,
Deutsche Bank buys 5% of Israel Discount Bank
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Finance Ministry: The German bank will have an option to buy 3.33 percent more by Tuesday evening.,
The Guardian 12 Jan 2010 - In recent months Palestinians campaigning against the wall in the occupied West Bank have been targeted as part of a vicious crackdown on their freedom of expression and association. Residential areas affected by the wall –...
Galloway right to relish Egypt expulsion | Ajmal Masroor
The Guardian 12 Jan 2010 - In making an enemy of Hosni Mubarak's regime, George Galloway has taken a lead western governments should follow George Galloway was deported from Egypt on Friday as "persona non grata" by the Egyptian authorities, accusing him...
Israel to build surveillance fence along Egyptian border
The Guardian 11 Jan 2010 - Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu says £170m project will close border to 'infiltrators and terrorists' Israel is to build a fence equipped with advanced surveillance tools along part of its border with Egypt to keep out African...
I Am Yusuf and This Is My Brother: A Palestinian story about Palestinians
The Guardian 11 Jan 2010 - In the war of 1948, thousands of Palestinians were uprooted from their homes never to return, and playwright Amir Nizar Zuabi is determined to tell their stories It was six decades ago, but the fallout from...
The best way to help Palestine | Seth Freedman
The Guardian 11 Jan 2010 - Combatants for Peace's joint Israeli-Palestinian protests value constructive bond-forging over antagonistic posturing The stage was set, the cast assembled. On one side, heavily armed Israeli soldiers, police and private security guards. On the other, scores of...
George Galloway deported from Egypt
The Guardian 12 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...
Welcome to Palestine, Avigdor | Nicholas Blincoe
The Guardian 12 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 12 Jan 2010 - Bar Refaeli has asked the Israel Tax Authority to grant her nonresident status for tax purposes. ...
Comment / Iron Dome success does nothing to ease rocket threat
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - There is no doubt that the people at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems deserve much praise for the success of the Iron Dome trial. It is certainly an impressive technological achievement. The problem is that the success of Iron Dome does nothing to ease the threat of Qassams on Sderot, or the threat of the short range Katyushas in the hands of Hezbollah. ...
Israel to simulate biological warfare attack
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - A two-day exercise simulating a response to a biological warfare attack will begin Wednesday in the Dan region. The exercise, which will be the largest of its kind in Israel's history, will be carried out in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Holon, seeks to evaluate the ability of the Home Front, medical services, rescue teams and municipal authorities to respond to conditions created by a biological catastrophe caused either by terrorists or by some kind of accident. ...
Comment / Sharon's real legacy - keeping the Arabs out of sight
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Let's assume the optimistic forecast by special U.S. envoy George Mitchell comes true and in two years the establishment of an independent Palestine is declared at a ceremony. The event will be broadcast on prime time, but most Israelis will opt to view "Big Brother 6," "Survivor 7" or whatever the next television hit is. Viewers will behave this way not because they oppose a Palestinian state but because they are indifferent. Palestine-shmalestine simply does not interest them. ...
Deputy FM Ayalon apologizes to Turkish ambassador
Ha'aretz 12 Jan 2010 - Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon issued a special statement of apology Tuesday night for his treatment of Turkish ambassador to Israel Ahmet Oguz Celikkol on Monday. Ayalon had delivered a rebuke to Celikkol regarding an anti-Israeli television show in Turkey. ...
Relief Web 12 Jan 2010 - Source: Missionary International Service News Agency
OPT: Hamas seeks to lower tension with Egypt, Israel
Relief Web 12 Jan 2010 - Source: Reuters - AlertNet
Palestinians building first residential complex in West Bank
Relief Web 12 Jan 2010 - Source: Xinhua
Donors ready to fill Palestinian budget in coming weeks
Relief Web 12 Jan 2010 - Source: Agence France-Presse
OPT: Refugee Stories - Disability No Obstacle to Work With JCP
Relief Web 12 Jan 2010 - Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
How women in the West Bank are overcoming poverty
Relief Web 12 Jan 2010 - Source: Oxfam
YNet News 12 Jan 2010 - Ankara demands apology for Israel's 'undiplomatic attitude' in its response to Erdogan's criticism, and Arab MK calls Ayalon's behavior 'disgraceful'. However Netanyahu says he backs Foreign Ministry's policies
Israeli woman escapes abusive Gaza husband
YNet News 12 Jan 2010 - Woman who married Arab and moved to Rafah re-enters Israel through Erez border crossing along with her four children
Hamas wants rocket fire halt to avoid Israeli retaliation
YNet News 12 Jan 2010 - PM Haniyeh says upholding unofficial truce vital to protect Gazans from 'any possible Israeli aggression'; says Islamist group investigating fatal shooting of Egyptian soldier during border riots to 'ensure Palestinian-Egyptian relations are protected'
PA leader Abbas spurns US effort to revive Mideast talks
YNet News 12 Jan 2010 - Palestinian president tells reporters in Ramallah, 'We won't agree to resume negotiations without full settlement freeze, especially in Jerusalem, for a certain period'
Obama may define terms of peace talks
YNet News 12 Jan 2010 - US administration debates sending letters stating terms of negotiations renewal to Israel, Palestinians
Barak: Lebanon responsible if situation deteriorates
YNet News 12 Jan 2010 - During tour of northern border, defense minister says relative calm could be disrupted 'at any moment'
US rejects Iran accusations in scientist's death
YNet News 12 Jan 2010 - State Department official says Tehran's accusations US had role in Mohammadi's death 'absurd'; opposition sources say regime feared he was seeking political asylum in Sweden
Turkish producers call Israel 'war criminal'
YNet News 12 Jan 2010 - (Video) Company which produced anti-Israeli shows says UN agrees with its presentation of Israel
Daily Star 12 Jan 2010 A remote-controlled bomb killed a Tehran University scientist on Tuesday, official media reported, in an attack Iran blamed on the United States. Iranian officials and state media described slain professor Massoud Ali-Mohammadi as a nuclear scientist, but a spokesman said he did not work for the Atomic Energy Organization at the center of Iran's disputed nuclear program.
Syria's Assad to visit Saudi Arabia
Daily Star 12 Jan 2010 RIYADH: Syrian President Bashar Assad is to travel to Riyadh on Wednesday for talks with King Abdullah, who paid a landmark visit to Damascus last October, Saudi Arabia's official news agency SPA said. The visit on Wednesday comes amid stepped-up efforts by Riyadh to build Arab unity around the Palestinians ahead of a possible resumption of peace talks with Israel.
Politicizing justice to save embarrassment
Daily Star 12 Jan 2010 The arrest warrant issued by a British court against former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni last month was, according to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, an "embarrassment." Livni cancelled her planned trip to the UK when the news of the arrest warrant was leaked to her. Then, last week, an Israeli military delegation to Britain cancelled its trip after fears that the Israeli military officers would be arrested upon arrival.
Abbas: No talks while settlements expanding
Daily Star 12 Jan 2010 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday spurned a new US effort to revive Middle East peace talks, sticking to his position that he will not resume negotiations unless Israel freezes settlement construction. With both Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu digging in their heels on the issue, an upcoming diplomatic mission by US Mideast envoy George Mitchell could be doomed from the outset.
No easy riding for Palestinian bikers in besieged Gaza Strip
Daily Star 12 Jan 2010 When Munzer Diyya wants to get away from it all, he sits astride his motorcycle and takes to the open road - all 45 kilometers of it. Diyya has the misfortune of being an open road enthusiast living in the Gaza Strip, a tiny territory sandwiched between Israel and Egypt and blockaded by both.
Baghdad on lockdown after bomb threat
Daily Star 12 Jan 2010 Iraqi security forces sealed off Baghdad on Tuesday after a tip-off that insurgents planned multiple car bombings in the city, highlighting concerns about violence in the run-up to general elections. Major General Qassim Atta, spokesman for the city's military command, said "preventative security measures" were taken as part of a search operation across the Iraqi capital.
Palestinian Information Center
Haneyya calls on international community to bridle Israeli aggression on GazaPIC 12 Jan 2010 - Ismael Haneyya, the Palestinian prime minister said on Tuesday that his government was carefully following up the recent Israeli military escalation against the besieged Gaza Strip..
Hamas: The Egyptian soldier was not killed by Palestinian gunfire
PIC 12 Jan 2010 - Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Tuesday that the Egyptian soldier who was shot dead during the recent events in Rafah area was not killed by Palestinian gunfire.
Israel phones families of prisoners to incite them to press Hamas
PIC 12 Jan 2010 - The ministry of prisoners said that Israel contacted lately families of long-serving detainees from Gaza to incite them to pressure Hamas to soften its demands regarding the prisoner swap deal.
IOF troops bulldoze land in Gaza, detain Jerusalemites for planting olives
PIC 12 Jan 2010 - Israeli occupation forces (IOF) advanced east of Shujaia suburb in Gaza city afternoon Tuesday and bulldozed Palestinian plantations, local sources said.
Resheq: Mishaal confers with Kuwaiti Emir on Palestinian developments
PIC 12 Jan 2010 - Khaled Mishaal on Tuesday conferred with the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed on Palestinian developments and the ceaseless Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people.
Bardawil denies Haneyya had asked to visit Egypt
PIC 12 Jan 2010 - Dr. Salah Al-Bardawil has said that PA premier Ismail Haneyya did not ask to visit Cairo, explaining that he rather called for a direct meeting between Hamas and Egyptian officials.
Israel’s ambassador to Turkey scolded for humiliating Celikkol
PIC 12 Jan 2010 - The Turkish ministry of foreign affairs summoned Tuesday the Israeli ambassador to protest the reprimand meeting held yesterday with the intention to humiliate its ambassador to Israel.
IOF troops block planting olive trees, shoot at Palestinian driver
PIC 12 Jan 2010 - Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Tuesday blocked Palestinian farmers and foreign solidarity activists from planting olive trees in Safa area to the north of Beit Ummar village, Al-Khalil district.
Erdogan slams Israel for violating Lebanese airspace, bombing Gaza
PIC 12 Jan 2010 - Turkish premier Recep Erdogan strongly denounced Israel for not respecting the UN resolutions and its persistence in violating the Lebanese airspace and territorial waters, and bombing the Gaza Strip.
IOA deports foreign activist
PIC 12 Jan 2010 - Israeli occupation forces (IOF) raided the home of the Czech activist Eva Novakova and detained her at the pretext of illegal residence, the international solidarity movement reported on Monday.
LA Times 13 Jan 2010 - Tehran blames the West and Israel, saying the attack was a bid to slow Iran's nuclear program. Colleagues say he was a government critic and that hard-liners killed him to silence the opposition. A powerful bomb blast killed an Iranian scientist outside his north Tehran home Tuesday, a mystery-shrouded assassination that quickly triggered a round of highly charged accusations with potentially serious political repercussions.
L.A. radio host John Farahi is accused of swindling investors
LA Times 12 Jan 2010 - In a lawsuit, the SEC alleges Farahi and his firm targeted the Iranian American community in a $20-million fraud scheme. The host of a popular Persian-language radio talk show was accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of defrauding investors out of more than $20 million in a long-running investment scheme that targeted the Iranian American community.
Iraqis say they were forced to take Blackwater settlement
LA Times 11 Jan 2010 - Several of the plaintiffs say they were told the firm, now called Xe, was in danger of bankruptcy and that they might not get any damages at all. They want the agreements nullified. Several victims of a 2007 shooting involving American private security guards employed by the firm formerly known as Blackwater alleged Sunday that they were coerced into reaching settlements, and they demanded that the Iraqi government intervene to have the agreements nullified.
New York Times 12 Jan 2010 - Iran’s state media blamed the U.S. and Israel for the death of a professor. It seems doubtful that he worked on Iran’s nuclear program.
Students Say Professor Was Government Critic
New York Times 12 Jan 2010 - Two students at Tehran University said that a professor who was apparently assassinated on Tuesday Iran had been outspoken in recent months in support of antigovernment student demonstrators.
World Briefing | Middle East: Gaza: Bomb Blast Kills Militant
New York Times 12 Jan 2010 - A Palestinian militant was killed Monday in an accidental bomb explosion in the northern Gaza Strip, Hamas said.
Panel Ties Ally of Iran Leader to Protester Deaths
New York Times 11 Jan 2010 - A parliamentary panel said Tehran’s prosecutor was responsible for the beating deaths of three imprisoned protesters last summer.
Israeli Planes Kill 3 Militants in Gaza Strike
New York Times 11 Jan 2010 - The airstrike struck a group of gunmen in the central Gaza Strip who Israel said was preparing rocket fire.
Christians and Muslims in Egypt Trade Attacks After Fatal Shootings
New York Times 10 Jan 2010 - Sectarian violence in Egypt between Muslims and Christians is rare, but disputes over issues including land or women occasionally erupt.
Palestine Monitor - 12 Jan 2010 - Israel continues to implement a long-term plan to transform the demographic structure of occupied East Jerusalem. Demonstrations against Israeli policies continue. Every Friday, human rights activists and individuals- Palestinians, Israelis and internationals - have been peacefully demonstrating in the streets of East Jerusalem. They demand the...
GLIMPSES FROM THE OLD CITY OF HEBRON
Palestine Monitor - 12 Jan 2010 - Hebron is of extreme importance to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as the Cave of Patriarchs is located there. Above the subterranean caves is Ibrahimi Mosque, which is accessed by entering the old city. In recent years, Jewish settlers in the old city have been increasing in...
Imposing Middle East Peace
Palestine Monitor - 11 Jan 2010 - Israel's relentless drive to establish "facts on the ground" in the occupied West Bank, a drive that continues in violation of even the limited settlement freeze to which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu committed himself, seems finally to have succeeded in locking in the irreversibility of its...
Seven Days From a Gaza Diary
Palestine Monitor - 11 Jan 2010 - In December 2008 and January 2009, Khulood Ghanem, a 27 years old girl, kept a diary and described the ordeal in Gaza during the Israeli military assault. The diary was adapted by Edward Mast into a performance for three voices entitled Seven days from a Gaza...
Low Expectations for Hard Bigotry in Israel
Mondoweiss - 12 Jan 2010 - I just got an e-mail from an Israeli PR firm that proclaimed, in bold, caps-lock, underlined type: "Israelis More Tolerant of Islam Than Swiss." The release, datelined Jerusalem, came on behalf of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding , a coalition created by New York Rabbi Marc Schneier...
Solidarity from Saks to Sheikh Jarrah
Mondoweiss - 12 Jan 2010 - Two weeks before Christmas, New York’s Saks Fifth Avenue played Scrooge by firing 115 workers in its cosmetics department in retaliation for their having joined a union. Saks then announced it would convert the department to a “vendor-staffed model,” i.e. an outside contractor would hire new...
Frightening night raid targets… nonviolent Palestinian protest
Mondoweiss - 12 Jan 2010 - Incredible footage by Haitham Al Khatib of Israeli soldiers coming into the Palestinian village of Bilin at 3 in the morning last night to arrest Yaseen Mohammad Yaseen, described as a 21-year-old participant in the Bilin protests. An account of Yaseen’s efforts to evade Israeli arrest...
‘May I interject?’ A demonstration in the landgrab that is ‘East Jerusalem’
Mondoweiss - 12 Jan 2010 - Friday is the big day for demonstrations against the unending Israeli settlement process in Palestine and East Jerusalem. Last Friday I went to three demonstrations with Israeli friends. I’m going to tell about my day in three chapters. Here’s Chapter 1, in Palestinian lands south of...
I divine the powerful lobby in an anonymous letter. I’m wrong
Mondoweiss - 12 Jan 2010 - A week or so back, I wrote that Andrew Sullivan was getting pushback from the Israel lobby, witness a letter he had run anonymously on his site. Said I: take it from me, kid, this is from a powerful friend of his, otherwise he would not...
Dexia Stops Financing Settlement Construction in the West Bank: Another Success for the BDS Campaign
Alternative Information Center - 12 Jan 2010 - On 30 December, the French-Belgian financial group Dexia announced it will stop financing Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank. On 7 January, the news was confirmed with a statement by 69 associations, which have formed the Belgian committee “Palestine occupée—Dexia impliquée” (“Palestine occupied—Dexia implied”)....
Articles
The looming war in Gaza: Can Obama stop it before it starts?
Bradley Burston, Ha’aretz 1/11/2010
Next week, or the week after, Barack Obama may well see intelligence reports of tank battalions moving south and west along Israeli highways, and whole infantry brigades setting up camp in the western Negev.
The countdown to the Second Gaza War has begun in earnest. Date it, if you like, to Sunday, and a coolly terrifying analysis by Yom Tov Samia, former overall Israeli military commander of the Gaza Strip and the adjacent Negev.
Or date it, if you prefer, according to the axiom of contemporary Israeli history which reads: A future war becomes all but inevitable the moment a key IDF reserve major general declares it so.
Alternatively, date it from the moment that selective amnesia allows Israeli political figures to court the illusion that Hamas can be invaded to death.
All this and more was to be had from an interview Samia gave Army Radio this week, which should give pause not only to the Palestinians and Israelis who may fall victim to a Second Gaza War, but to Washington as well.
If last year’s brutal fighting is any indication - and there is every reason to believe that it is - a full-on drive to prevent the looming Israel-Hamas confrontation in the Strip belongs at the top tier of Obama’s already staggering pile of priorities.
Another Gaza war, this one likely to be an even more bitter onslaught, could not only prove lethal to what is left of Israeli moral credibility, it could undermine and cripple Obama’s military-political offensives in Iraq, Afghanistan and, slipping further down the slope, Yemen. more.. e-mail
Hopes for peace unwarranted
Khaled Amayreh in the West Bank, Al-Ahram Weekly 1/7/2010
Most Palestinians view the vague "ideas" being floated in Washington on resuming peace talks with Israel as pipe dreams.
Palestinian Authority (PA) officials have described renewed hopes for the resumption of peace talks with Israel as "highly exaggerated and unwarranted".
"I don’t see any real change in the Israeli stand. [Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu says every morning that settlement expansion will continue and that Israel will never end the occupation. In fact, every day new plans for expanding settlements are announced. So I wonder how the peace process can be resumed under such circumstances," said Ghassan Al-Khatib, head of the Palestinian Government Press Office in Ramallah.
Khatib told Al-Ahram Weekly that there was no basis to reports that Netanyahu would come to terms with the creation of a Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 borders and that he intended to accept certain American proposals to that effect. "It is true that Netanyahu wants to see the peace talks resumed. But he refuses to freeze the settlement expansion, and he is clinging to his rejectionist attitudes regarding Jerusalem, the refugees and all other issues defining the conflict."
Other Palestinian officials have opined that the Egyptian leadership might have either misunderstood or misinterpreted Netanyahu’s remarks during his latest encounter with President Hosni Mubarak earlier this week. Netanyahu reportedly told Mubarak that Israel was willing and ready to discuss all contentious issues, including Jerusalem and the refugees. Some Egyptian officials reacted "positively but cautiously" to Netanyahu’s remarks, hoping that the Israeli premier was finally retreating from his long-standing intransigent rejectionist views. more.. e-mail
The Transformation of Hamas (1)
Fawaz A. Gerges, Voltaire Network, Axis of Logic 1/12/2010
"We are a national liberation movement and the land of Palestine is not an endowment. Why does every Arab country have the right to want every inch of its land: Lebanon, Syria and also Egypt, who suffered from Israeli occupation? Why are the Palestinians always expected to be the most generous?" - Khaled Meshal, head of Hamas’ political bureau.
Hamas is a viable social movement with an extensive social network and a large popular base. It derives its legitimacy from the Palestinian people. It is also a rational actor that has moved closer to a vision of peace consistent with international law and consensus. Hamas’ political evolution and deepening moderation stand in stark contrast to the rejectionism of the Netanyahu government and call into question which parties are ’hardline’ and which are ’extremist’, notes Fawaz A. Gerges. Something is stirring within the Hamas body politic, a moderating trend that, if nourished and engaged, could transform Palestinian politics and the Arab-Israeli peace process. There are unmistakable signs that the religiously-based radical movement has subtly changed its uncompromising posture on Israel. Although low-key and restrained, those shifts indicate that the movement is searching for a formula that addresses the concerns of Western powers yet avoids alienating its social base.
Far from impulsive and unexpected, Hamas’ shift reflects a gradual evolution occurring over the past five years. The big strategic turn occurred in 2005, when Hamas decided to participate in the January 2006 legislative elections and thus tacitly accepted the governing rules of the Palestinian Authority (PA), one of which includes recognition of Israel. Ever since, top Hamas leaders have repeatedly declared they will accept a resolution of the conflict along the 1967 borders. The Damascus-based Khaled Meshal, head of Hamas’ political bureau and considered a hardliner, acknowledged as much in 2008.... more.. e-mail
Don't forget Free Gaza Movement women
Electronic Intifada: 12 Jan 2010 - Although I appreciate Asa Winstanley's warm review of To Gaza with Love (4 January 2010), he left out every woman involved in the organization and founding of the Free Gaza Movement. I'm dismayed that the review shows yet another attempt to turn the story into a "good-old boy tale" instead of what was a primarily a female initiative.
Making a business out of Palestine's struggle
Electronic Intifada: 12 Jan 2010 - Soliciting the support of people in the US-based Palestine solidarity movement, Palestine Note recently launched a new website that aspires to become the online hub for all things Palestine. While the website announces its dedication to "news, stories and views about Palestine and Palestinians," and its aspiration to become a "cultivator of community," The Electronic Intifada contributor Yaman Salahi finds there is more behind the enterprise than meets the eye.
Nablus executions: Shoot first, ask questions later
Electronic Intifada: 11 Jan 2010 - The brutal killing of three Palestinian men by Israeli military forces in Nablus last week on 26 December 2009 sparked grief and outrage across Palestine and brought the northern West Bank city to a standstill as thousands mourned the lethal attack. However, their voices are drowned out yet again by a well-played hand of Israel's propaganda machine and repeated by the mainstream media. Bridget Chappell writes from Nablus.
Uphill battle for academic freedom in US universities
Electronic Intifada: 11 Jan 2010 - Despite the expanding and momentous student-led boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, open dialogue around the reality of the situation in occupied Palestine continues to be an uphill battle for many professors inside the classrooms. Nora Barrows-Friedman reports on recent cases of academic freedom infringement for The Electronic Intifada.
In Gaza: 9 Jan 2010 - With over 90% of Palestinian children in Gaza suffering PTSD, and over 80% severe poverty in the Strip, Nidal Abu Leila is but one of many children dramatically affected by the 23 days of Israeli warfare on Gaza. Prior to the December 27 to January 18 Israeli massacre of Gaza–during which Israel used its power as the 4th largest military, unleashing an arsenal of F-16 bombing, Apache and tank shelling and machine gun fire, shelling from Israeli warships in Gaza’s sea, bulldozing and explosive– Nidal was a normal boy of 10 years. He ran, he played, he studied, he was as mischievous and energetic as life in Gaza under siege...
Palestine Chronicle: 11 Jan 2010 - By Ershad Abubacker 'Today, we bear witness to an extraordinary act in one of history's defining dramas,' said the then US president Bill Clinton as a prelude to Oslo Peace Process, 'a drama that began in the time of our ancestors when the word went forth from a sliver of land between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea. That hallowed piece of earth, that land of light and revelation is the home to the memories and dreams of Jews, Muslims and Christians throughout the world.' The world looked forward to Oslo with great hope that it would bring peace and stability to the consecrate piece of land that has been drenched in warfare, hatred and conflicting claims of history etched so deeply in the souls of the people in the Middle East. Though Clinton had apprehensions about the Oslo process evident when he mentioned Oslo accords as a ‘brave gamble,’ he did express the confidence that the future can be better than the past must endure. But the post-Oslo Palestine has been a deep scar running deep in to the map of humanity. The tenacity and vision of world leaders behind Oslo and Camp David did promise a new beginning, but for ordinary Palestinians, it was the beginning of a new form of Israeli domination over the Palestinians. The Oslo Process begins officially with the handshake between Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat at the White House loan. After the first Intifada that saw more than 1100 Palestinian civilians and...
The Quiet American
Palestine Chronicle: 11 Jan 2010 - By Uri Avnery The quiet American was the hero of Graham Greene's novel about the first Vietnam War, the one fought by the French. He was a young and naïve American, a professor’s son who had enjoyed a good education at Harvard, an idealist with all the best intentions. When he was sent to Vietnam, he wanted to help the natives to overcome the two evils as he saw them: French colonialism and Communism. Knowing absolutely nothing about the country in which he was acting, he caused a disaster. The book ends with a massacre, the outcome of his misguided efforts. He illustrated the old saying: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Since this book was written, 54 years have passed, but it seems that the quiet American has not changed a bit. He is still an idealist (at least, in his own view of himself), still wants to bring redemption to foreign and faraway peoples about whom he knows nothing, and still causes terrible disasters: in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now, it seems, in Yemen. The Iraqi example is the simplest one. The American soldiers were sent there to overthrow the tyrannical regime of Saddam Hussein. There were, of course, also some less altruistic objectives, such as taking control of the Iraqi oil resources and stationing an American garrison in the heart of the Middle Eastern oil region. But for the American public, the adventure was presented as an idealistic enterprise to topple a bloody dictator who...
What Next, Viva Palestina?
Palestine Chronicle: 11 Jan 2010 - By Stuart Littlewood - London Mere words cannot express my admiration for Viva Palestina and those who devote their efforts to it. I love the way they shamed – and not for the first time – the great powers and their gutless leaders. And for his pains the British MP George Galloway has been declared 'persona non grata' in Egypt. How heartbreaking for him. Given past disagreements, and the stubborn refusal of this latest convoy to be derailed, it was never going to end in hugs and kisses from President Mubarak's henchmen, or fond messages of "Come ye back soon, George." What really matters is that they delivered the life-saving goods when the armies and navies of the so-called Free World wouldn’t even think about it. And they did it with style in the face of Egypt’s tantrums. The nervous Egyptian authorities allowed exhausted convoy members only 30 hours inside Gaza to say hello, distribute their aid and take a rest. Sad and wobbly regimes simply cannot handle a few hundred humanitarians so they accuse them of "incitement" and “hostile acts”, and throw them out. Now we hear grumbles from some activists that criticising Egypt diverts attention from the real culprit. But Israel's evil machinations would find little success without the Egyptian government's co-operation. There should of course be free movement of goods and people through the Gaza/Egypt border. Instead, Mubarak signed up to the US-Israel-EU conspiracy to keep the 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip bottled up and...
Shadow Boxing at Sharm al-Sheikh
Palestine Chronicle: 11 Jan 2010 - By Iqbal Jassat As the media focus fades away from Egypt and the unprecedented brawl that occurred in the streets of Cairo, it is likely that the world will yet again be treated to Mubarak's routine antics at Sharm al-Sheikh. The Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh often serves as the setting for Mubarak to distract global attention from his political failures. It is here that he usually appears in a fake mask to don the appearance of a “peace-maker”, ostensibly to pursue “peace” on behalf of the Occupied Palestinians. To add further mockery he usually has Mahmoud Abbas in tow to keep nodding his head in approval. Of course the seat on his right is usually reserved for whichever butcher in Israel may have been elected leader of the colonial-settler state. And peeping over his shoulder will be the incumbent US Secretary of State, ensuring that the American puppet does not stray from the carefully worded pro-Israeli script. After all, the script would be prepared by a bunch of neo-conners or their hangers-on who share the view most recently expressed by New York’s Ed Koch, that Muslims are terrorists. Thus room only for pliant betrayers such as the PA’s American-backed Fatah elite – not for movements such as Hamas listed by the US as terrorists! They and the rest of Palestine’s freedom fighters who are not exiled or are in the dungeons of Israel and the West Bank, courtesy of Abu Mazen, are in fact the target of...