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News
International Middle East Media Center
Israel
To Deport 15 Detainees
IMEMC 14 Jan 2010 -
Friday January 15, 2010 - 03:13, The Palestinian Ministry of Detainees
filed an appeal to the Israeli High Court demanding it to void a
decision aimed at deporting 15 Palestinian detainees who have already
served their terms and are supposed to be sent back home.
Israeli
authorities prevent 17 Palestinians from getting necessary eye surgery
IMEMC 14 Jan 2010 -
Friday January 15, 2010 - 02:06, After the Israeli human rights group
Physicians for Human Rights arranged a donation of 17 corneas to allow
sight-impaired Palestinians from Gaza to receive necessary eye surgery,
Israeli border agents stationed at Erez crossing prevented the
sight-impaired patients from entering the West Bank. The cornea
donations had to be discarded.
Hearing
Set for Detained Journalist Jared Malsin
IMEMC 14 Jan 2010 -
Thursday January 14, 2010 - 23:06, Ma'an News Agency has released a
press release regarding the current status of their chief editor of the
English desk, Jared Malsin. Mr. Malsin is currently waiting a hearing
in the Tel Aviv District Court regarding his potential deportation.
Southern
West Bank farmers accuse settlers of uprooting trees
IMEMC 14 Jan 2010 -
Thursday January 14, 2010 - 18:18, Palestinian farmers from Yatta
village southern West Bank accused Israeli settlers of destroying 70 of
their trees on Thursday.
Bomb
explodes near Israeli diplomat's car at the West Bank's border with
Jordan
IMEMC 14 Jan 2010 -
Thursday January 14, 2010 - 18:05, A bomb exploded Thursday afternoon
near an Israeli diplomat's car near the Allenby Bridge crossing between
Jordan and the West Bank.
Israeli
Government Grants Permission to Settlement Municipalities to Issue
Construction Permits
IMEMC 14 Jan 2010 -
Thursday January 14, 2010 - 17:58, Israeli sources are reporting that
Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, has granted the local
municipalities of the settlements to continue granting permits for
construction, so that construction can be renewed immediately after the
end of the 10 month period, due to end at the end of September.
PJS
denounces Israel over journalist detention
1/15/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The largest media union in the occupied Palestinian
territories on Thursday condemned a decision taken by Israeli
authorities earlier this week to deport one of Ma'an News Agency's top
journalists. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, to which chief
English editor Jared Malsin and every other journalist employed by
Ma'an belongs, likened the expected deportation to "an act of piracy
carried out against press freedom. " Naim Tubasi, who heads the
syndicate, told Ma'an that the move to obstruct Malsin's freedom of
movement and ability to report would violate international law in
regard to the protection of journalists. "This act comes within a
series of assaults carried out by Israel toward Palestinian and
international journalists who work in the Palestinian territories," he
added. Tubasi urged the International Federation of Journalists, the
Arab Union. . .
Tel
Aviv court delays Ma’an editor’s expulsion
1/14/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The editor in chief of Ma'an English, Jared Malsin,
was temporarily spared deportation after an Israeli judge in Tel Aviv
reversed an overruled injunction filed by lawyers representing the
Bethlehem-based news agency late Wednesday night. Malsin was detained
at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport on Tuesday afternoon while
returning from the Czech Republic on holiday. After eight hours of
interrogation, the Israeli Interior Ministry ordered him held and
scheduled deportation for 6am on Thursday. Ma'an attorney Castro Daoud
intervened amid pressure from US diplomats seeking an injunction
against the deportation. The request was rejected by the Israeli
attorney general, whose own ruling was then overturned by a Tel Aviv
judge, granting Malsin a hearing. Judge Miriam Sokolov will hear
Malsin's case at 10am at the Tel Aviv District Court.
Israeli
forces detain two anti-wall organizers in Ni’lin
1/14/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Coordinator of the Popular Committee Against the
Wall in Ni'lin, Ibrahim Amirah, was detained by Israeli forces Tuesday
evening along withZaydan Srour, reportedly for their involvement in
organizing anti-wall activities. A statement issued by supporters said
the men were detained at 3am when 15 armored Israeli jeeps and a
hundred soldiers stormed the village of Ni'lin and surrounded Amirah's
home. "After forcefully entering his home, soldiers extracted Amirah
from his bed, searched the house and arrested him," the statement
quoted witnesses as saying. Additionally, the Army raided the homes of
Hassan Mousa and Zaidoun Srour. Hassan Mousa, a high school teacher in
the village and a member of the Popular Committee, was released after
being initially detained. Srour, a well known activist in the village,
was detained alongside Amirah.
Al-Quds
University lecturer detained near Jerusalem
1/14/2010 -
Jerusalem - Ma'an - Israeli forces detained Al-Quds University lecturer
and Fatah affiliate Sa'eed Yaqin, according to the detainee's wife and
witnesses. The detention took place in the Jerusalem village of Beit
Duqu, north-west Jerusalem. "A large number of Israeli solders broke
into our home at dawn, forces us out, and thoroughly searched it," said
Yaqin's wife. Residents confirmed reports of the detention. Sources at
Al-Quds University expressed dismay over the arrest, citing that
reasons for Yaqin's detention remain unknown. Yaqin is a lecturer in
Political Science. [end]
Israeli
forces close roads in north, install checkpoints
1/14/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli forces installed three military temporary
checkpoints around the city of Tulkarem Thursday night, sealing the
area and refusing some drivers from accessing their homes. Checkpoints
were installed near Dir Sharafin the East,and on the Nablus-Ramallah
road in the south. They were installed in the early hours of the
evening and remained in place at press time. The military stops, known
as a flying checkpoints, were installed just south of the area where
Palestinian gunmen killed a settler on Christmas eve. On Boxing Day,
Israeli troops raided Nablus and executed three men they said were
responsible for the death. Witnesses said the men were shot on site in
their homes. Onlookers said Israeli forces were stopping dozens of
vehicles on both sides of the checkpoint and searching all vehicles
thoroughly, young men were being forced to strip in front of soldiers,
one witness said.
Israeli
settlers set fire to cars near Nablus
1/15/2010 - Nablus -
Ma'an - Israeli settlers torched three cars and a tractor outside
Immatin village west of Nablus overnight, leaving residents to find the
skeleton's of the vehicles Thursday morning. Ghassan Doghlas, an
official with the settlements file in the northern West Bank, toldMa'an
that a number of settlers from Shafit Gilad, an illegal outpost in the
Qedumim settlement bloc, exited the fenced-off area and entered the
lands around the village, not ten meters from its main gate. Doughlas
said the incident occurred at 1:30am. The cars belonged to Ayyad
Sawwan, Muhammad Ghanem and Ibrahim Ghanem, who also owned the
vandalized tractor, Doughlas said, noting several residents witnessed
the setters lighting the fires under the cars, and saw them escape into
the hills toward the settlement. . . . .
PFLP
man said moved to isolation
1/14/2010 -
Ramallah- Ma'an - Wife of A'hed Abu Ghulmah, a member of the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said she was informed her
husband would be moved to solitary confinement Thursday without
justification. Wafa Yousef Abu Ghulmah told Ma'an that prison officials
refused to give her information on her husband's condition, and denied
her an explanation as to why he would be isolated. His change in status
means Abu Ghulmah will be denied family visits. He has been in the
Israeli Haradim prison for four months. Wafa said she was only told
which facility her husband was in a month ago, so she could start
visiting, and called on officials to intervene and ensure her husband
was not moved to confinement so she could continue to see him. . . . .
Witnesses:
Israel performs Gaza incursion
1/14/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Residents near the Sufa border, southern Gaza, reported that an
Israeli military incursion was undertaken late Wednesday night.
Witnesses said Israeli forces entered close to the border, opened
artillery fire while F16 warplanes were sighted above the skies. The
forces were then seen moving towards the eastern Gaza border, and fired
at agricultural land in Jabalia in the north, they added. An Israeli
spokesman said there was no military activity in the area at the time
of the reports. [end]
In
letter to UN, Gaza children demand justice
1/15/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Marking the aniversary of Israel's war on Gaza, hundreds of
children gathered in Gaza City to sign a letter asking that the UN
denounce as criminal the Israeli actions that lead to the death of
their friends and loved ones. The Thursday rally saw the children march
from the center of Gaza City to the UN headquarters. Children headed up
the march, followed by groups of women and police officers who were
targeted by Israeli forces during the war. Members of the de facto
government in Gaza took up the rear of the march in solidarity.
Marchers demanded justice for the death and destruction caused by the
war, and children called on the UN to prosecute the pilots who dropped
bombs on homes and public buildings. Eleven-year-old Nour Radwan hand
delivered a letter to a representative of the UN, appealing to its
Secretary General to pressure the Israeli government to. . .
One
Gaza crossing open; strawberries and carnations exported
1/14/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Israeli authorities opened the Kerem Shalom crossing for the
import of limited goods, and export of cut carnations and strawberries,
by request of the Dutch government. Palestinian liaison official, Raed
Fattouh, said 97-107 truckloads of aid, commercial and agricultural
goods would enter Gaza along with limited quantities of cooking gas.
The level of goods is well below the minimum allowed through by Israeli
officials before they imposed the siege on Gaza. Fattouh added that one
truck carrying cut carnations and three carrying strawberries would be
allowed to exit Gaza for export abroad via the Kerem Shalom point. The
Dutch government has been able to secure the semi-regular export of the
two types of goods since 10 December, and have said they hope to
maintain the export process until the end of the strawberry and
carnation growing season. . . . .
Detainee
loses eye; Hamas demands investigation
1/14/2010 -
Gaza/Jenin - Ma'an - A Palestinian detainee was severely injured after
being attacked at an Israeli detention centre, Salem, near Jenin in the
northern West Bank, Hamas said in a statement on Thursday. The
statement, issued by Hamas' detainees' committee said Huthayfa Zyara,
from Nablus, lost an eye after he was beaten by an Israeli intelligence
officer. The committee appealed to international human rights groups to
intervene promptly to guarantee Zyara's safety, as well as other
detainees, from beatings during investigations. On Wednesday, the de
facto government's Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs called on
international rights groups to demand the release of unwell detainee
Nasim Khatab, who is in deteriorating health, a statement said. Khatab
was detained in 2003 and sentenced to 12 years. Before his detention,
he was injured during an Israeli raid where he lost a leg and. . .
Turkish
rights group calls for Barak arrest warrant
1/14/2010 -
Jerusalem - Ma'an - Turkish human rights group Mazlumder has demanded
that a warrant be issued for the arrest of Israeli Defense Minister
Ehud Barak, Israeli media reported Thursday. According to a statement
issued by Mazlumder on Wednesday night, the request is based on
international criminal law that calls for all accused of perpetrating
war crimes to be tried in accordance with universal jurisdiction and
Turkish law. The call for his arrest is anchored in accusations put
forward in the Goldstone report relating to Barak's involvement in
Operation Cast Lead, Israel's assault on Gaza last winter, the
statement added, quoted by the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth. Barak is
due to visit Turkey in the coming days, the Hebrew-language daily
added. "Israel perpetrated genocide and crimes against humanity. IDF
forces bombed the UN building, hospitals, and schools. "
Israeli
troops snatch three from Tulkarem area
1/14/2010 - Tulkarem
- Ma'an - Israeli forces detained three citizens from Tulkarem in broad
daylight and took them to an unknown destination on Thursday, witnesses
said. Two ofthe men were taken from the Ar-Ras and Kfar Saour villages
south of Tulkarem as they worked surveying land adjacent to the
separation wall. Locals identified them as Sinan Amir and Muhammad
Taher. Troops raided the home of university student Muhammad Radad
north of Tulkarem and also took him to an unknown location. [end]
Reports:
Explosion at Allenby Bridge
1/14/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - A bomb exploded in Jordan early Thursday
evening, Israel's Army Radio reported, according to Reuters. No one was
reported hurt in the blast near a car carrying three Israeli diplomats,
said to have occurred near the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan
and the West Bank. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs was
reportedly investigating. "We are checking and not commenting for now,"
a spokesman told Reuters. [end]
Hamas
official: No Shalit deal until demands met
1/15/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an -Senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Haya announced on Wednesday that
Hamas and other factions' stance on the release of caputured Israeli
soldier Gilad Shalit cannot be rescinded, he said during a political
symposium in Khan Younis, Gaza. "The deal will not be concluded until
the Israeli occupation agrees on Hamas demands. Hamas and the
resistance are inseparable twins," Al-Haya said. "The resistance is
able to restore the homeland and its residents. The relationship with
the occupier is an issue of existence and not borders. "Concerning the
impasse reached on Palestinian reconciliation and the Egyptian-backed
document tipped to end Hamas-Fatah rivalry, Al-Haya said "there is no
alternative to reconciliation or the agreement that could save the
Palestinian cause" adding that Fatah "has not reached the stage where
it is able to have Hamas as a partner in the homeland. "
Hamas:
Blame blockade for tunnel industry
1/15/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Deputy Prime Minister in Gaza aide Ziad Ath-Thatha called on
Arab and Islamic nations to deal directly with the Palestiniansrather
than with Israeli authorities over the opening of the Rafah crossing.
Ath-Thatha made the comments Thursday at the Gaza City Ministry of
Information offices, and stressed the role of Egypt and the necessity
of direct communication to ensure full cooperation and the realization
of rights for Palestinians in Gaza. "The amounts of industrial fuel
allowed into Gaza for the power generator, [amounts of] and cooking gas
do not cover half of what Gazans need," he said, and urged Egypt to
look for a way to ensure Rafah was able to transport goods and fuel
into the Strip. Israel has created a prison in Gaza, Ath-Thatha said,
adding that the population of that prison was made up of more than 50%
children.
Barak
to improve certain West Bank checkpoints
1/14/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barack announced on
Wednesday that from January, transit to and from West Bank checkpoints
will be improved, Israeli sources said. The Terkumia checkpoint in
Hebron is reportedly to be open for an additional four hours to
facilitate improvements on the military construction and to allow the
transfer of goods into Hebron, sources said. The Gelbu border in
northern West Bank will be opened for tourists, the sources added. [end]
Egypt:
TNT cache found in Sinai en route to Gaza
1/14/2010 - Al-Arish
- Egyptian security forces said they seized a cache of explosives in
the northern Sinai after receiving information on stores of the goods
waiting to be transported into the Gaza via the tunnels. The security
source said the explosives were found in a one-meter-deep hole in the
desert, with approximately 50 kilograms of dynemite adn some other
materials likey used in previous wars fought in the Sinai. The
announcement comes as Egypt continues to build a steel wall beneath the
Gaza-Egypt border in what it says is an effort to stop arms smuggling
between the areas. The tunnels have been a lifeline for Gazans, faced
with a crippling siege imposed by Israel, which controls the major
crossings into the area. . . . .
Masha’al
comments a ruse, says Dahlan
1/14/2010 - Nablus -
Ma'an - Member of Fatah's Central Committee Muhammad Dahlan on
Wednesday berated senior-most Hamas leader Khaled Masha'al's comments
in the Arabic daily Al-Arabiya, citing that it was a ruse, aimed at
evading the issue of Palestinian reconciliation. "If Masha'al were
serious in his intentions towards reconciliation, let him sign the
Egyptian and paper and we can celebrate and put an end to the coup
carried out in Gaza in 2007, ending division and restoring national
unity," Dahlan said. Dahlan further called on Masha'al to end his
affiliation with Iran, and align himself withArab nations instead,
saying that all statements concerning Iran must end and return to
guaranteeing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
Incitement against Abbas - Moreover, Dahlan addressed the "campaign of
incitement" against President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian
Authority. . .
PPSF:
National duty to stop inciting government
1/14/2010 - Ramallah
- Ma'an - The Palestinian Popular Struggle Front said it was concerned
about the direction of internal Palestinian politics Thursday, and
called on sides to re-evaluate their positions on national unity, an to
stop all forms of incitement against the Palestinian Authority.
Spokesman for the PPSF Awny Abu Gosh said Hamas should "consider
implementing what Khalid Mash'al told Al-Arabia TV" regarding a
willingness to resolve the Palestinian unity crisis "in hours" with a
sit down discussion in Cairo. Mash'al gave the interview on Wednesday.
[end]
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - Convoy carrying three Israeli diplomats targeted by remotely detonated roadside bomb; no one hurt.
Three hurt in blast in Hezbollah south Lebanon stronghold
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - Lebanon officials: Bomb exploded at entrance of building, wounded three students waiting for school bus.
Hamas to Gaza militias: Stop firing rockets at Israel
Ha'aretz 14 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 14 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 14 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 14 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 14 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 14 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 14 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 14 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 14 Jan 2010 - Balad's Said Naffaa says meetings in Syria arguing fall under his duties as a member of Knesset.
Bank of Israel forecasts 3.5% growth rate for 2010
Ha'aretz 14 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 14 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 14 Jan 2010 - Netanyahu approves plan to prevent migrant workers from infiltrating and 'ensure Jewish character' of Israel.
Israeli
authorities prevent 17 Palestinians from getting necessary eye surgery
Uruknet January 14,
2010 - After the Israeli human rights group Physicians for Human Rights
arranged a donation of 17 corneas to allow sight-impaired Palestinians
from Gaza to receive necessary eye surgery, Israeli border agents
stationed at Erez crossing prevented the sight-impaired patients from
entering the West Bank. The cornea donations had to be discarded.
According to the Physicians for Human...
Israeli
Threats Against Gaza Grow
Uruknet January 14,
2010 - Israel's hawks are starting to make frightening noises. If
Israel attacks Gaza again, Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant will run the
operation. Galant recently said that right now "the sun is shining -
but one can see dark clouds in the distance." His soldiers are training
to face trouble ahead, and "civilians are rightly preparing themselves
for...
In
letter to UN, Gaza children demand justice
Uruknet January 14,
2010 – Marking the aniversary of Israel's war on Gaza, hundreds of
children gathered in Gaza City to sign a letter asking that the UN
denounce as criminal the Israeli actions that lead to the death of
their friends and loved ones. The Thursday rally saw the children march
from the center of Gaza City to the UN...
Israeli
Democracy or Hypocrisy
Uruknet January 14,
2010 - ...In November, the Mitzpeh Aviv community, under the
jurisdiction of the Galilee Misgav Regional Council, passed an
amendment to its internal bylaws, stipulating that land allocation be
conditional on residents’ placing the "highest priorities (on) Zionist
values and the values of the state as a Jewish and democratic state."
Then on December 10, a new Knesset...
Haitian
Earthquake: Made in the USA Why the Blood Is on Our Hands
Uruknet January 14,
2010 - As grim accounts of the earthquake in Haiti came in, the
accounts in U.S.-controlled state media all carried the same
descriptive sentence: "Haiti is the poorest country in the Western
hemisphere..." Gee, I wonder how that happened? You'd think Haiti would
be loaded. After all, it made a lot of people rich. How did Haiti get...
"This
is life:" remembering earlier massacres in Gaza
Uruknet January 14,
2010 - It's a sunny day in the border region east of Beit Hanoun. Aside
from a glaring absence of the citrus and olive trees which for decades
abounded on this fertile land, finally razed by Israeli military
bulldozers, all seems idyllic. "This is the first time I've returned
here since my friends were killed," Ahmad Hammad says....
Weekly
Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory No. 02/2010 (06-13 Jan. 2010)
Uruknet January 14,
2010 - Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law
continued in the OPT during the reporting period (06 – 13 January
2010): Shooting: During the reporting period, Israeli occupation forces
killed 6 Palestinians, including a child, in the Gaza Strip. A seventh
Palestinian died of previous wounds. Additionally, two Palestinian
civilians were wounded. On 08 January 2009,...
The
Occupation Municipality in Jerusalem sets a new plan to Judaize three
neighborhoods in Jerusalem
Uruknet January 14,
2010 - The Wadi Helwa Center revealed a plan set by the Occupation
municipality to execute a project called 11555 that aimed at the
confiscation of 70% of the land of Wadi Helwa in favor of this project
and make it available to the use of the Municipality and District
Committee. The Information Center of Wadi Helwa explained...
Gaza:
75 Deformed Babies Caused by the War
Uruknet January 14,
2010 - Recent scientific analyses have shown that the war was a direct
cause of the increasing numbers of birth defects, miscarriages and
cancer in the Gaza Strip. A report by Conscience Organisation for Human
Rights concerning the environmental and health dangers resulting from
the bombardment and invasion revealed that incidents of children born
with deformities have risen...
Rebuffing
the optimists
Uruknet January 14,
2010 - Discounting recent suggestions that he might have moderated his
extremist views vis-à-vis major contentious issues with the
Palestinians, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has reasserted
the rejectionist orientation of his government, saying that Israel
would neither withdraw from East Jerusalem, return to the 1967 borders,
nor allow Palestinian refugees to be repatriated to their homes in...
The
United States, Israel and the retreat of freedom
Uruknet January 14,
2010 - The world is suffering from a "freedom recession" according to a
new report from the American think tank Freedom House ("Freedom in the
World 2010," 12 January 2010). Established in 1941, Freedom House
markets itself as "an independent watchdog organization that supports
democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and
advocates for democracy...
Witnesses:
Israel performs Gaza incursion
Uruknet January 14,
2010 - Residents near the Sufa border, southern Gaza, reported that an
Israeli military incursion was undertaken late Wednesday night.
Witnesses said Israeli forces entered close to the border, opened
artillery fire while F16 warplanes were sighted above the skies. The
forces were then seen moving towards the eastern Gaza border, and fired
at agricultural land in Jabalia...
Lebanon, January 14, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) -An agreement signed on Wednesday between the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) will strengthen healthcare for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and add to the number of facilities where they can receive treatment, the organizations said. Salvatore Lombardo, the director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon, said "...
Gaza: 75 Deformed Babies Caused by the War
Gaza, January 14, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Recent scientific analyses have shown that the war was a direct cause of the increasing numbers of birth defects, miscarriages and cancer in the Gaza Strip. A report by Conscience Organisation for Human Rights concerning the environmental and health dangers resulting from the bombardment and invasion revealed that incidents of children born with...
Palestinian activist Jamal Juma’ released
West Bank, January 14, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The Palestinian human rights activist Jamal Juma', who was detained by the Israeli occupation forces late last year, released from the Israeli jails on Tuesday evening. Jamal Juma' was arrested in December 2009, joining fellow activists Abdallah Abu Rahma and Mohammed Othman in detention, following a series of protests against the construction...
Limited Israeli Invasion in Gaza
Gaza, January 14, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces, backed by tanks and bulldozers, invaded east of Rafah city, southern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday. Four tanks and three bulldozers penetrated for hundreds of meters to the outskirts of Sofa Crossing east of Rafah. The Israeli forces also carried out the invasion under heavy fire towards the housings of Palestinians....
Building first residential complex in West Bank
Ramallah, January 13, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - On the hilly road between Nablus and Ramallah, tens of workers have spent their day on a mound to build the first Palestinian residential complex which will provide shelter for some 40,000 people. The Rawabi (hills) City is said to be the first ambitious project the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has started to...
The National 14 Jan 2010 - Construction begins on the first ever planned Palestinian suburb in the West Bank which will provide much-needed housing for some 40,000 people.
West Bank land sales by Church spur uproar
The National 13 Jan 2010 - Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III broke promise to end the selloff, some speculate to win the recognition of his status by Israel.
Saudi-Syrian relations thaw as Assad calls on the king
The National 13 Jan 2010 - Impasse in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and Hamas-Fatah reconciliation expected to feature prominently in talks between two countries' heads.
AlJazeera 14 Jan 2010 - Explosion goes off near diplomats' car on bridge linking Jordan and occupied West Bank.
EU delegation to assess Gaza damage
AlJazeera 14 Jan 2010 - Fifty MPs travelling to Palestinian enclave to assess ramifications of Israel's offensive.
Sister of Iran Nobel laureate freed
AlJazeera 14 Jan 2010 - Shirin Ebadi's sister Noushin was arrested during anti-government protests last month.
Alternative Information Center
Joint letter sent to the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza; Calling for immediate commencement of internal investigations in compliance with UN GA Resolution A/RES/64/10Alternative Information Center 14 Jan 2010 - On 14 January 2010, a joint letter was sent in the name of Palestinian non-governmental organisations to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the de facto government of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, urging...
Israel Detains Ma'an's Chief English Editor
Alternative Information Center 13 Jan 2010 - Ma’an News Agency , the largest independent news network in the Palestinian territories, is deeply concerned that its chief English editor, Jared Malsin, an American citizen, was detained upon arrival at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport near...
Jamal Juma' Has Been Released
Alternative Information Center 13 Jan 2010 - Jamal Juma’, the coordinator of the Stop the Wall Campaign has been released yesterday evening after a month long detention in Israeli jails. He had been called for interrogation and then arrested on December 16. Yesterday,...
PNN 14 Jan 2010 - Two bombs exploded near a convoy of cars carrying three Israeli diplomats in Jordan on Thursday but none were hurt. Israel's ambassador to Jordan was apparently not in the vehicles. The blast occurred at around 6 p.m. close to the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the West Bank. The explosive device was detonated remotely. The blast flipped the cars over, but...
I Am Yusuf and This Is My Brother:
PNN 14 Jan 2010 - Palestinian story about Palestinians.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 war continues. A few months ago, one fast-rising, rightwing Israeli party tried to introduce a bill that would ban Palestinians from commemorating...
US editor fights Israel for denying him entry
PNN 14 Jan 2010 - A US citizen working as an editor for a Palestinian news agency is appealing against Israel's refusal to allow him into the West Bank. Jared Malsin has been detained since he returned from a holiday in Prague on Tuesday evening, his colleagues said. Israeli security officials said security concerns had arisen when he was questioned and the Interior Ministry had refused him...
Leading Stop the Wall activists released from jail
PNN 14 Jan 2010 - After almost four months in Israeli custody without charge, nearly half that time spent in the legally dubious administrative detention, . Mohammad Othman left the prison walls behind, taking his first free steps in months, before crossing Israel’s wall, heading home. “I’m still in shock about being free, but am so happy and relieved,” the youth coordinator from the Stop the Wall campaign...
Turkey demands apology from Israel over envoy 'slight'
PNN 13 Jan 2010 - Turkey has demanded that Israel apologise over what it called the discourteous way its ambassador was treated during a diplomatic meeting. Israel summoned Turkey's ambassador to rebuke him over a TV series but ensured he was photographed on a lower chair. In response, Turkey has summoned the Israeli ambassador to Ankara to express its annoyance . The foreign ministry has also insisted it...
Jeruslalem Post 14 Jan 2010 - Hamas and Hizbullah proclaim they will fight until Israel is destroyed, without causing an int'l furor.
Welfare officials call this the biggest cult-busting operation ever in Israel
Jeruslalem Post 14 Jan 2010 - "We prepared for all the possible outcomes. There was a concern that the mothers could hurt their children the moment we entered their homes," Social Services head tells Post .
J'lem open to 'proximity talks'
Jeruslalem Post 14 Jan 2010 - Israel may accept US envoy mediating with the Palestinians, as a way to relaunch direct talks.
Is Israel prepared for the worst?
Jeruslalem Post 14 Jan 2010 - Gov't warns of Haiti-like magnitude earthquake within next 50 years.
Deri trying to persuade Mofaz not to challenge Livni
Jeruslalem Post 14 Jan 2010 - Former Shas leader apparently wants a clear path to his own political comeback.
Jordan reportedly nabs suspect in Israeli embassy convoy bomb
Jeruslalem Post 14 Jan 2010 - No group claims responsibility for failed attack; ambassador to Jordan was apparently not traveling in any of the cars in the convoy.
Time to pass on the baton to a younger leadership, says Wallerstein, as he takes leave of Yesha Council
Jeruslalem Post 14 Jan 2010 - Palestinian statehood must be prevented, but not through violence against the IDF or innocent Palestinians, says settler leader. [video inside!]
Israel readies aid following Haiti quake
Jeruslalem Post 14 Jan 2010 - Jewish groups rush to get workers to island; Abie Nathan's daughter missing, 7 Israelis contacted.
IDF team will spend two weeks in Haiti
Jeruslalem Post 14 Jan 2010 - Delegation has 40 doctors, 5 search-and rescue teams; medical teams will see 500 patients a day.
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.
/CORRECTED REPEAT*/MIDEAST: Israel Declares War on Peace NGOs
IPS JERUSALEM, Jan 13 (IPS) - One year after the devastating attack on Hamas in Gaza a new wave of reports castigating Israel for war crimes has emerged.
MIDEAST: Will You Marry Poor Me
IPS GAZA CITY, Jan 14 (IPS) - "If we had money we'd get married right away," says Samir*, 23. He has found his bride, but not the money to hold the wedding.
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.
PCHR
International Solidarity Movement
Israel restricts Palestinian lawyers’ access to West Bank detainees1/14/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Amira Hass, Haaretz - Israel is prohibiting Palestinian lawyers and the relatives of Palestinian detainees from reaching a military tribunal via the Beitunia checkpoint west of Ramallah. The prohibition, which has been in effect for the past three days, means that Israeli police are requiring Palestinians to use the Qalandiyah crossing 20 kilometers away, where they must produce an entry permit to Israel – which can take weeks to obtain – if they want to enter an Israeli military tribunal that is on West Bank land. The court lies 300 meters south of the Beitunia roadblock, and was built on land that is part of Beitunia. The restriction contravenes a recent High Court of Justice decision opening Route 443 to Palestinian traffic. The lawyers have declared a strike to protest the prohibition, and are not appearing in military court.
Israeli aid mission leaves for Haiti; death toll estimated at 50,000
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - 220-strong IDF delegation, including large medial staff, will set up field hospital in Port-au-Prince.,
Spielberg to film rebuilding of World Trade Center in New York
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - Six-part documentary series named 'Rebuilding Ground Zero' to air on The Science Channel in 2011.,
Israeli official arrives in Haiti to 'devastation on every corner'
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - Israeli envoy to Dominican Republic describes total absence of search and rescue efforts following earthquake.,
Ahmadinejad: Nuclear scientist assassinated in 'Zionist style'
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 -
Hamas calls prayers for rain to ease Gaza water crisis
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - Gaza Strip is served by a single aquifer that does not meet the needs of its population.,
Could the Taliban be genetically linked to the Jews?
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - Scientists research the genetic link between the Indian, Afghani Pathans tribe and the lost tribes of Israel.,
Peres: Humiliation of Turkey envoy does not reflect Israel's diplomacy
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - Deputy FM writes he 'had no intention to humiliate' envoy; Turkey: Second apology satisfactory, 'desired'.,
Palestinians tell U.S.: No peace talks until settlements stop
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - Abbas was due to meet Jim Jones, U.S. President Barack Obama's national security adviser in Ramallah.,
Turkey's Jews urge calm after row with Israel
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - A community leader says they have no immediate fear, but further tensions could spark anti-Semitism.,
Turkey: Diplomatic spat with Israel won't scupper $190 million drone deal
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - Israel will deliver four Heron unmanned aerial vehicles in March, with six more to be delivered by year's end.,
A prayer for the people of Haiti
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - And for the Reverend Pat Robertson. Lord who speaks in earthquakes, speak now in miracles.,
Report: Turkey warns Lebanon that Israel may be planning attack
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - Amid rising diplomatic tensions, A-Sharq al-Awsat quotes Lebanese sources privy to talks between Erdogan and Hariri.,
Help stop Auschwitz from crumbling, Poland urges West
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - Sixty-five years on, remains of extermination camp are disintegrating for as conservationists struggle for funds.,
Top 10 reasons why Jews aren't late-night TV hosts
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, David Letterman and Jimmy Fallon dominate the late night airwaves.,
Do Orthodox couples have happier, sturdier marriages?
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - Poll conducted by Orthodox Union reveals less divorce, more satisfaction among Orthodox than other sectors.,
The Guardian 14 Jan 2010 - The Israeli authorities are threatening to expel Jared Malsin , the American editor of the English-language section of the Bethlehem-based Ma'an News Agency . Malsin was detained on Tuesday at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport, as he and...
What hope for Hebron? | Seth Freedman
The Guardian 14 Jan 2010 - With attacks on Palestinians by settlers commonplace, the last thing Hebron needs is the removal of international observers "The situation is getting worse here," says Zleikha Muhtaseb, the principal of a Palestinian kindergarten in Hebron's old...
West Bank ends torture of Hamas captives
The Guardian 13 Jan 2010 - Human rights groups report better treatment after Palestinian prime minister orders new policy but arbitrary arrests increasing Palestinian security forces in the West Bank have improved their treatment of Hamas prisoners and ended torture but there...
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - A Jewish American collector has donated Andy Warhol's series "Ten Portraits of 20th Century Jews" to Tel Aviv's Diaspora Museum (Beit Hatefuzot), museum curator Hagai Segev said. ...
Israeli living with 17 women arrested for enslavement, rape
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - A Tel Aviv man who has been living with 17 women with whom he fathered 38 children was arrested on Monday on suspicion of enslavement, rape, extortion by threat and sexual assault of minors, among other charges, police said after a gag order was lifted on the case. ...
'Though shall not talk nonsense': Police impound rulebook for Tel Aviv man's 17 'wives'
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - Code sets out cash fines for offenses including 'fighting', 'interfering' and 'interrupting'.
Israeli soccer club sponsor sectioned after claiming to free Shalit
Ha'aretz 14 Jan 2010 - Guma Aguiar, sponsor of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer club, was hospitalized overnight Wednesday by court order after he claimed to have rescued captured Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit from captivity in Gaza. ...
Comptroller: Israel losing PR battle in Arabic to Al-Jazeera
Ha'aretz 13 Jan 2010 - Report by Micha Lindenstrauss also finds fault with transport planning for emergency, military prisons.
Relief Web 14 Jan 2010 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Update: What if the Gaza tunnels close?
Relief Web 14 Jan 2010 - Source: American Near East Refugee Aid
In Gaza, Hamas calls prayers for rain
Relief Web 14 Jan 2010 - Source: Reuters - AlertNet
Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory 06 - 13 Jan 2010
Relief Web 14 Jan 2010 - Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
OPT: A Surgeon's Story - John Beavis
Relief Web 14 Jan 2010 - Source: Medical Aid for Palestinians
Canada Supports Palestinian Justice Reform
Relief Web 14 Jan 2010 - Source: Canadian International Development Agency, Government of Canada
YNet News 14 Jan 2010 - Jordanian security forces detain taxi driver suspected of planting explosive device detonated near Israeli diplomatic convoy earlier Thursday, al-Arabiya reports; blast left large crater at attack site, Jordanian media say
Mofaz: Kadima elections coming soon
YNet News 14 Jan 2010 - Kadima's leadership hopeful tells supporters to prepare for primaries, slams Livni's leadership
Livni slams PM over Turkey fiasco
YNet News 14 Jan 2010 - Opposition leader blames Netanyahu for 'strategic mistakes', says leadership weakened Israel internationally
Bomb targets Israeli diplomats in Jordan
YNet News 14 Jan 2010 - Terror attack in Jordan: Roadside bomb detonated near Israeli diplomatic convoy en route to Israel Thursday afternoon, Foreign Ministry confirms; no casualties reported in attack, Jordanian authorities launch investigation
Hamas calls prayers for Gaza rain
YNet News 14 Jan 2010 - Islamist group leads worshippers in prayer in hopes of alleviating water crisis in Strip
Ahmadinejad: Scientist killed in 'Zionist style'
YNet News 14 Jan 2010 - Iranian president blames Israel for killing nuclear physicist, says deed shows 'depth of enemy grudge'
Catholic bishops criticize Israel on Palestinians
YNet News 14 Jan 2010 - High-level bishops from North America, Europe say home demolitions in east Jerusalem threaten peace prospects
Nachman Inshin indicted on charges of murdering his daughter
YNet News 14 Jan 2010 - According to indictment, Jerusalem haredi man went 'mad' after his wife refused to have sex with him, told neighbors who tried to break into apartment 'I am holding my daughter – she's slaughtered like a chicken'
Daily Star 14 Jan 2010 This week's assassination of an Iranian scientist was carried out in a "Zionist style," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday, in his first direct comment on the bombing attack in Tehran. Iranian officials and media have blamed both Israel, which Tehran calls "the Zionist regime," and the US for Tuesday's killing of professor Massoud Ali-Mohammadi. Washington has dismissed the charge of US involvement as absurd.
Israeli diplomats escape Jordan convoy bombing
Daily Star 14 Jan 2010 A bomb exploded near two cars carrying Israeli diplomats in Jordan on Thursday but none were hurt, their embassy said. The blast occurred at around 5 pm local time on the approach to the Allenby Bridge crossing over the Jordan River to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israel's Channel Two television said the location was 20 kilometers from Allenby.
US tells Abbas it's pushing hard for Mideast talks
Daily Star 14 Jan 2010 US President Barack Obama's national security adviser James Jones held talks with Palestinian and Israeli leaders on Thursday aimed at furthering US-led peace efforts. "Jones confirmed Obama's determination to arrive at a comprehensive peace in the Middle East despite the difficulties, and said the key to peace in the region is to resolve the Palestinian issue," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP.
Iraq sentences 11 men to death over Baghdad bombings
Daily Star 14 Jan 2010 An Iraqi court Thursday sentenced to death 11 men, including Al-Qaeda militants, over devastating truck bombs in Baghdad that killed more than 100 people in August and dealt a harsh blow to the government. The trial was the first to convict suspects arrested in the wake of three major attacks in the second half of 2009 that saw insurgents defy the war-torn country's fledgling security forces and penetrate the heart of the capital.
Palestinians join contest to create new 'facts on the ground'
Daily Star 14 Jan 2010 Bulldozers are carving out a new suburb on a hilltop in the occupied West Bank. For once it isn't a Jewish settlement but the first ever planned Palestinian suburb. The developers of Rawabi, as the community is known, hope it will one day provide much-needed housing for some 40,000 people and help cement Palestinian claims to the territory amid similar communities built by settlers.
Attack on Egypt Copts shows 'intolerance': US official
Daily Star 14 Jan 2010 A Christmas Eve attack in southern Egypt in which six Coptic Christians were killed reveals an "atmosphere of intolerance," US Assistant Secretary for Human Rights Michael Posner said on Thursday. The United States is "very concerned about the tragic events in Nagaa Hammadi," Posner told reporters in Cairo. "It's part of what we see as an atmosphere of intolerance."
Israelis furious over government handling of row with Turkey
Daily Star 14 Jan 2010 The Israeli media on Thursday slammed the government's handling of a diplomatic row with Turkey in which it humiliated Ankara's ambassador and then retreated with public apologies. "The policy of 'no more groveling' led by Foreign Minister [Avigdor] Lieberman, was transformed within a matter of days into a situation in which Israel.
Hassan rules out privatization this year
Daily Star 14 Jan 2010 Finance Minister Raya Haffar Hassan on Thursday ruled out the possibility of any privatization in Lebanon this year but stressed that this process will take place sooner or later. "I don't think we will have any privatization in 2010. This might happen next year. But my sense when we were discussing the ministerial statement with Cabinet members.
Can ElBaradei revivify Egypt?
Daily Star 14 Jan 2010 Sometime next month Mohamed ElBaradei, the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who stepped down last year as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is expected to return home to his native Egypt, and many there and elsewhere have been following the situation closely to see whether ElBaradei will take the reins of the opposition to President Hosni Mubarak.
Activist warns climate change will take heavy toll on Lebanon
Daily Star 14 Jan 2010 For any Lebanese in doubt of how bad life could get if nothing is done about climate change, Uygar Ozesmi, Executive Director of Greenpeace Mediterranean, has as unambiguous message: "Climate change for Lebanon means nothing but hell." Ozesmi, an environmental activist since 1985, is in Lebanon as part of his roving visits to monitor environmental situations in eastern Mediterranean countries.
Seeking to synthesise the German and the Lebanese
Daily Star 14 Jan 2010 "Cultural cooperation is impossible to gauge," says Farid Majari, the director of Beirut's Goethe Institute. Upon first hearing this statement, it sounds oddly defeatist. But for Majari, these words are not a reluctant admission. On the contrary, it is exactly this factor that brings such dynamism to his job. For him, the priority of the Goethe Institute is to establish.
Ideas for a Christian Lebanese revival
Daily Star 14 Jan 2010 Among the most pressing political issues in Lebanon today is the uncertain position of the Christians, in a region in which the fortunes of the community are subject to all manner of vicissitudes. Increasingly, it is advisable to think of long-term, comprehensive solutions to the problem of Christian insecurity in both Lebanon and the Middle East.
Palestinian Information Center
Largest European parliamentary delegation to visit Gaza FridayPIC 14 Jan 2010 - The largest ever European parliamentary delegation is due to arrive in the post-war Gaza Strip on Friday through the Rafah border crossing to report about the tragic humanitarian situation there.
Jewish settlers burn Palestinian property, IOF damage land and detain citizens
PIC 14 Jan 2010 - Jewish armed settlers wreaked havoc in the village of Ematin, Qalqilia district, in a pre dawn raid on Thursday that complemented their sabotage acts in the same village over the past two weeks.
Hayya: Fatah does not want Hamas to be a political partner
PIC 14 Jan 2010 - Dr. Khalil Hayya stated that his Movement wants to achieve the national reconciliation, but the other party (Fatah) refuses any real political partnership in the Palestinian arena.
Mishaal: All arabs understood our position on Egypt’s reconciliation paper
PIC 14 Jan 2010 - Khaled Mishaal stated that all Arab leaders and officials he met during his regional tour completely understood the position of his Movement towards Egypt’s reconciliation paper.
Prisoners ministry calls for releasing Gazan sick detainee
PIC 14 Jan 2010 - The ministry of prisoners in the Gaza Strip has asked international organizations to pressure the IOA to free Gazan prisoner Nassim Khattab who badly needs urgent medical attention.
Hamas: The court ruling against Sheikh Salah a prelude to a new attack on Aqsa
PIC 14 Jan 2010 - Hamas strongly denounced the Israeli court ruling issued against Sheikh Ra’ed Salah and stressed that this verdict is a prelude to a new planned aggression against the Aqsa Mosque.
Israel extends official apology to Turkey
PIC 14 Jan 2010 - Israel has extended an official apology to Turkey over the rudeness of its deputy foreign minister Daniel Ayalon when receiving the Turkish ambassador to Israel.
Abu Marzook calls on Fatah to rethink its political program
PIC 14 Jan 2010 - Mousa Abu Marzook has called on Fatah faction Wednesday to review its political program and to return back to its original principles that gained it the confidence of the Palestinian people.
Mishaal: Current circumstances opportune to forge reconciliation
PIC 14 Jan 2010 - Khaled Mishaal, the political bureau chairman of Hamas, said that current circumstances provide favorable atmosphere for concluding national reconciliation in the Palestinian arena.
Why not Somalia? Why not Darfur? Why not Mars?
PIC 14 Jan 2010 - Zionist spin doctors are visibly upset by growing world awareness about the manifestly cruel Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip.
LA Times 14 Jan 2010 - A Glendale resident and two others are charged with shipping sophisticated components to Iran and lying on customs forms about their contents and value, U.S. officials say. Three men, including an Iranian-born chemical engineer living in Glendale, have been charged in an alleged scheme to smuggle sophisticated industrial components into Iran that could be used in the development of a nuclear weapon, authorities said Wednesday.
Iran scientist slain in bombing outside his home
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.
New York Times 14 Jan 2010 - An Israeli man who lived openly with at least 17 women and fathered dozens of children appeared in court on Thursday on suspicion of enslavement, sexual abuse and possible rape.
Blast Kills Physics Professor in Tehran
New York Times 14 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.
World Briefing | Middle East: Iran: New Law Allows President to Cut Subsidies
New York Times 14 Jan 2010 - The Guardian Council, the constitutional watchdog body in Iran, approved a controversial law that gives the green light to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to cut government subsidies on energy and food, the IRNA news agency reported Wednesday. Analysts and opponents in Parliament had warned that the measure would lead to a sharp increase in prices.
Israel and Turkey Patch Up Latest Rift, Over Diplomatic Slight
New York Times 14 Jan 2010 - Acting at the behest of officials, Israel’s deputy foreign minister issued on Wednesday a second apology to Turkey for embarrassing its ambassador.
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.
Palestine Monitor - 14 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...
Ongoing Israeli air strikes on Gaza: a prelude for a new military offensive?
Palestine Monitor - 13 Jan 2010 - Alarming news was reported last week in both Palestinian and Israeli newspapers, accounting a new Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip. (See the article by Bradley Burston, appeared on Haaretz “Israel's looming war in Gaza: Can Obama stop it before it starts?) http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages... MP Dr...
Two chances in NYC to hear reports from the Gaza Freedom March
Mondoweiss - 14 Jan 2010 - There are two great chances to get report backs from the Gaza Freedom March this upcoming week: And also this Sunday, January 17, 5:00 pm at the Brecht Forum : Join Democracy Now’s Anjali Kamat, The Indypendent and poet Remi Kanazi for a special fundraiser and discussion...
From Hebron to Yad Vashem: Jewish Sorrow Justifying the Sorrow of Others
Mondoweiss - 14 Jan 2010 - Deir Yassin as seen from Yad Vashem. The village was located in the forest to the right of the water tower at the top of the photo. (Photo: Alice, the pilot woman ) We were at Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to the Holocaust in Jerusalem. The “we”...
Rawabi, and the American mission to civilize the West Bank
Mondoweiss - 14 Jan 2010 - An artist’s rendering of Rawabi The Palestinian Authority, in coordination with the American government, is building a new settlement in the West Bank. This one is intended to provide 40,000 “Palestinians with homes in an American-style development.” The Huffington Post carries the whole story . When I...
Journalist/Birthright veteran who is critical of Israel is detained at Ben Gurion
Mondoweiss - 14 Jan 2010 - Free speech is a problem in the Middle East. The chief English editor for the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency, Jared Malsin, late of Vermont, has been detained at Ben Gurion airport , with a hearing set for Saturday. Apparently he was on El Al. Apparently he is...
Homage to the Haitian diaspora
Mondoweiss - 14 Jan 2010 - Ordinary Americans are already responding with their characteristic generosity to the earthquake in Haiti. Aside from reliable relief agencies like the American Red Cross and UNICEF, one of my favorites is Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders , whose work I have admired around the world. In the...
Joint letter sent to the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza; Calling for immediate commencement of internal investigations in compliance with UN GA Resolution A/RES/64/10
Alternative Information Center - 14 Jan 2010 - On 14 January 2010, a joint letter was sent in the name of Palestinian non-governmental organisations to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the de facto government of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, urging both authorities to immediately commence internal investigations in compliance with...
Israel Detains Ma'an's Chief English Editor
Alternative Information Center - 13 Jan 2010 - Ma’an News Agency , the largest independent news network in the Palestinian territories, is deeply concerned that its chief English editor, Jared Malsin, an American citizen, was detained upon arrival at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on the afternoon of Tuesday, 12 January 2009....
Jamal Juma' Has Been Released
Alternative Information Center - 13 Jan 2010 - Jamal Juma’, the coordinator of the Stop the Wall Campaign has been released yesterday evening after a month long detention in Israeli jails. He had been called for interrogation and then arrested on December 16. Yesterday, the military court decided for Jamal’s release.
Articles
Only psychiatrists can explain Israel’s behavior
Gideon Levy, Ha’aretz 1/10/2010
Our wild world of crime has recently been sent for observation. From the bodyguard of the IDF Chief of Staff to the killers of their own children - all have been sent for observation. The time has come, as is the custom around here, to send the country for observation, too. Maybe with ongoing treatment from specialists, the diagnosis that will save us can be made.
There are numerous reasons for the observation. A long series of acts that have no rational explanation, or really any explanation whatsoever, raise the following suspicions: a loss of touch with reality; temporary or permanent insanity, paranoia, schizophrenia and megalomania; memory loss and loss of judgment. All of this must be examined, under careful observation.
The psychiatric specialists might be so kind as to try to explain how a country with leaders committed to a two-state solution continues to direct huge budgets toward building more settlements in territories it intends to vacate in the future. What explanation could there be, if not from the psychiatric realm, for a 10-month halt to residential construction in the settlements, to be immediately followed by more construction? How can a country be so tightfisted when it comes to healthcare spending on its citizens, whose poor are getting poorer - and yet when a portion of the roads in the West Bank are already deemed as dangerous, they build more and more roads there leading from nowhere to nowhere?
They should explain how the state prosecutor can announce his intention to expropriate more privately-owned Palestinian land at the settlement of Ofra - the "largest illegal settlement in the territories" (in the words of the defense minister’s adviser on settlement issues) - when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his address at Bar-Ilan University last year, explicitly committed not to do so, and President Shimon Peres did more of the same in a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. more.. e-mail
The Iron Dome
Jonathan Cook, CounterPunch 1/13/2010
Israel’s New Rocket Defense System Further Tightens Screws on Gaza
Israel unveiled “Iron Dome” last week, a missile-defence system that is designed to strike a knock-out blow against short-range rockets of the variety fired into Israel by Hamas and Hizbullah. In the short term, Iron Dome is supposed to herald the demise of the rocket threat to Israeli communities near Gaza four years after Hamas won the Palestinian elections.
The period in-between has been marked by a series of inconclusive moves by both sides: Israel’s crippling siege of Gaza has yet to break the will of Gazans; negotiations for the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas more than three years ago, have gone nowhere; reconciliation talks between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have borne no fruit; and even the savage offensive against Gaza last year, Operation Cast Lead, achieved little in strategic gains for Israel.
Now Israel says it has a winning card in its hand. From May, the first batteries of Iron Dome -- developed at a cost of $200 million -- will be installed around Gaza, foiling the efforts of militant factions to continue their struggle against a policy that denies the enclave’s inhabitants all but the most essential humanitarian items.
Militant groups in Gaza have done their best to remain defiant. A spokesman for Islamic Jihad declared last week to Maan, a Palestinian news agency, that the rocket defence system “cannot stop the projectiles of the resistance”, as it launched sustained volleys of rockets and shells into Israel for the first time since Cast Lead. Ehud Barak, Israel’s defence minister, has accused Hamas of turning a blind eye to this activity. more.. e-mail
A Black Panther in Beirut
Daniel Drennan, CounterPunch 1/13/2010
In Oakland, California in the late 1960s, Emory Douglas, minister of culture for the Black Panther Party, was responsible for the manifestation of Voice in his community, and represented the hope for revolution among the marginalized and Voiceless.
In Lebanon, some 40 years later, he is to pay a visit.
In America, a Black minister agitates in a New Orleans City Council meeting and demands entrance for residents who have come to protest the demolition of their homes to make way for luxury apartments. The protesters are met with Tazer guns and mace.
In Beirut, this response might include snipers and bullets. A non-violent tent occupation of Martyr’s Square is criticized for the economic damage inflicted on the downtown business district, itself occupied by foreign Capital.
In Detroit, residents destroy their valueless homes with gasoline and fire in order to recoup insurance money that will allow them to move out to the suburbs.
In Beirut, real estate barons offer a pittance to anyone willing to raze the city’s heritage to make way for hermetically sealed buildings closed off from the doomed street life below.
In Louisiana, six Black teenagers face emprisonment for assault in reaction to the hanging of nooses from a tree deemed "reserved" for white students.
In Beirut’s airport there is a waiting room clearly marked for arriving laborers. In Lebanon, the marginalized are stabbed in their sleep; thrown from their balconies; killed on construction sites. No one is prosecuted for these crimes. more.. e-mail
"This is life:" remembering earlier massacres in Gaza
Electronic Intifada: 14 Jan 2010 - "This is the first time I've returned here since my friends were killed," Ahmad Hammad says. He stands at the edge of a vacant plot and gestures to its far end which lies over 1 km from the border separating Israel and the Gaza Strip. Hammad, 24, recalls the day two years ago when three of his friends were torn apart by an Israeli-fired surface-to-surface missile. Eva Bartlett writes from the Gaza Strip.
Human rights defenders Mohammad Othman and Jamal Juma released
Electronic Intifada: 14 Jan 2010 - On 13 January 2010, Mohammad Othman and Jamal Juma, Palestinian human rights defenders active in the campaign against the annexation wall unlawfully constructed by Israel in occupied Palestinian territory, were finally released from Israeli detention. Addameer and Stop the Wall contend that both were arrested in an effort to curb the success of their peaceful activities in defense of Palestinian human rights.
The United States, Israel and the retreat of freedom
Electronic Intifada: 14 Jan 2010 - A new report by Freedom House, a US-government funded think tank, suggests US interference around the world makes countries less free. Despite this, it calls for even more US intervention. The report's approach also provides a stark example of the abyss liberal thinking has fallen into when it comes to ignoring Israel's systematic abuses and presenting the country as an idealized democracy. EI's Ali Abunimah comments.
Israel ratcheting up the pressure on Gaza
Electronic Intifada: 13 Jan 2010 - Even if the Iron Dome missile-defense system unveiled by Israel last week is little more than a new development in Israel's program of psychological warfare against Gaza, the pressure is most definitely building on Hamas on several fronts. Israel has significantly tightened its chokehold on the enclave over the past year. Jonathan Cook reports.
In Gaza: 14 Jan 2010 - Ahmad Hammad Electronic Intifada, Live from Palestine It’s a sunny day in the border region east of Beit Hanoun. Aside from a glaring absence of the citrus and olive trees which for decades abounded on this fertile land, finally razed by Israeli military bulldozers, all seems idyllic. “This is the first time I’ve returned here since my friends were killed,” Ahmad Hammad says. He stands at the edge of a vacant plot and gestures to its far end which lies over 1 km from the border separating Israel and the Gaza Strip. “They were over there, I was standing here,” he explains. Hammad, 24, recalls the day two years...
Palestine Chronicle: 14 Jan 2010 - By Ramzy Baroud The recent actions of people from around the world in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza have arguably represented the closest manifestation of international solidarity since the International Brigades against fascism during the Spanish Civil War. A bold assertion? Admittedly, I may not be as in tune with reality as I should be. Born and raised in a Gaza refugee camp where most refugees felt that no one cared about their plight, it was easy to believe that nothing could possibly break away from the ever tenuous and redundant stances by Arab and other countries — whose acts of solidarity went no further than hollow words of condemnation. The recent noble stances by activists from all over the world therefore seem like an unprecedented act of solidarity which, dare I believe, indicates the direct mass involvement of civil society as a real party in the ongoing Palestinian struggle for political and human rights. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), when various European powers were turning blind eye to the atrocities committed in Spain, almost 40,000 men and women, representing 52 countries, made the decision to fight fascism. The global consciousness culminating in such a direct, unprecedented action was absolutely baffling considering the lack of powerful communication technology available at the time. "How pertinent these words are, as one reads with anxiousness, pride and exhilaration the notes and messages that have come in from Cairo, El Arish and Gaza "The 2,800 American volunteers included a black man...
Israel's New Rocket Defence System
Palestine Chronicle: 14 Jan 2010 - By Jonathan Cook - Nazareth Israel unveiled 'Iron Dome' last week, a missile-defence system that is designed to strike a knock-out blow against short-range rockets of the variety fired into Israel by Hamas and Hizbullah. In the short term, Iron Dome is supposed to herald the demise of the rocket threat to Israeli communities near Gaza four years after Hamas won the Palestinian elections. The period in-between has been marked by a series of inconclusive moves by both sides: Israel’s crippling siege of Gaza has yet to break the will of Gazans; negotiations for the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas more than three years ago, have gone nowhere; reconciliation talks between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have borne no fruit; and even the savage offensive against Gaza last year, Operation Cast Lead, achieved little in strategic gains for Israel. Now Israel says it has a winning card in its hand. From May, the first batteries of Iron Dome -- developed at a cost of $200 million -- will be installed around Gaza, foiling the efforts of militant factions to continue their struggle against a policy that denies the enclave’s inhabitants all but the most essential humanitarian items. Militant groups in Gaza have done their best to remain defiant. A spokesman for Islamic Jihad declared last week to Maan, a Palestinian news agency, that the rocket defence system “cannot stop the projectiles of the resistance”, as it launched sustained volleys of rockets and shells into...
Education under Attack in Gaza
Palestine Chronicle: 14 Jan 2010 - Bianca Zammit - Gaza On December 28th 2008 mid-term examinations had been scheduled to take place at the University College of Applied Sciences (UCAS) in Gaza. When the day arrived, however, the University College's rooms, which usually cater for 8000 students, were void of any life. This was the second day of operation Cast Lead. The University remained closed and examinations were postponed. Concentration, patience and motivation; the three pillars to learning were the main targets of operation Cast Lead as it sought to instill a sense of danger in every spot in Gaza. Operation Cast Lead wholly demolished or rendered unusable several educational facilities across the Strip. Amongst these facilities were 280 kindergarten, primary and secondary schools, the American International School, the library of the Al Aqsa University and the laboratory of the Islamic University. Many other educational facilities were shot at causing facades to become tarnished with indelible war stains and windows to shatter in a deliberate attempt to undermine education. When Operation Cast Lead ended, The University College of Applied Sciences announced the new dates for the mid-term examinations. The time after Cast Lead has been the most testing for all students in Gaza as they struggle to put memories aside and focus on mastering their academic abilities. For Sawsan Tamboura, a student in Secretarial English at UCAS, memories of Cast Lead are still vivid and too powerful to override. She has had a very difficult time concentrating on her studies ever since. When Cast Lead started...
'Our Israel': My Exchange with House Minority Leader John Boehner
Palestine Chronicle: 14 Jan 2010 - By Tammy Obeidallah Sometimes it is not sufficient to know that our elected leaders simply 'support' Israel. We must read their own words in order to understand how deeply ingrained are the lies, the false history and the blatant disregard for Palestinian suffering, subsequently manifested in American foreign policy. I received the following letter from Congressman John Boehner (Ohio-8th District): Dear Tammy, Thank you for contacting me regarding our Israel. (Yes, he did use the word “our.”) It is good to hear from you. H.Res 867 was introduced by Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen on October 23, 2009 and referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. H. Res.867 would urge the President and the Secretary of State to oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration of the “Report on the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict” in multilateral fora. The resolution would further consider the “Report on the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict” or the Goldstone Report, to be biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy. The resolution further supports the Administration’s efforts to combat anti-Israel bias at the United Nations and reaffirms support for Israel and for Israel’s right to defend its citizens from violent militant groups and their state sponsors. This resolution passed through the House on November 3, 2009 by a vote of 344 to 36, with 22 Representatives voting present. I voted for this resolution. I am a strong supporter of Israel and always have been. This besieged nation...