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News
International Middle East Media Center
Army
Dismantles An Illegal Settlement Outpost
IMEMC 19 Jan 2010 -
Wednesday January 20, 2010 - 00:55, Israeli soldiers dismantled on
Tuesday an illegal settlement outpost in the northern part of the West
Bank. The army said that the outpost was installed by fundamentalist
settlers in contradiction to settlement freeze.
E.U,
P.A, Sign €158.5 Million Financing Agreement
IMEMC 19 Jan 2010 -
Wednesday January 20, 2010 - 00:46, Palestinian Authority (P.A) and the
European Union signed on Tuesday a €158.5 million Financing Agreement,
including €0.5 Million in contribution from Austria, to the P.A’s
recurrent expenditures for 2010.
Israeli
Minister claims Israel provides Palestinians “more than enough water”
IMEMC 19 Jan 2010 -
Tuesday January 19, 2010 - 19:12, On Monday Israel's National
Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau told a meeting of German Ministers
that Israel gives the Palestinians more than they are required to by
treaties.
Israeli
military bulldozers levels a Palestinian owned house near Ramallah
IMEMC 19 Jan 2010 -
Tuesday January 19, 2010 - 17:23, A Palestinian owned house was leveled
on Tuesday midday by Israeli's military. The homes was located at the
village of Jaba' near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
The
Israeli military kidnaps ten Palestinian civilians from deferent parts
of the West Bank
IMEMC 19 Jan 2010 -
Tuesday January 19, 2010 - 16:42, Ten Palestinian civilians were
kidnapped on Tuesday by Israeli troops during separate pre dawn
invasions targeting a number of West Bank communities.
Israeli
tanks open fire at residential areas in southern Gaza Strip
IMEMC 19 Jan 2010 -
Tuesday January 19, 2010 - 16:33, Israeli tanks opened fire on Tuesday
midday at residents' homes located in the southern Gaza Strip city of
Rafah.
MADA
condemns raiding of Al-Aqsa TV cameraman’s home
1/19/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an -The Palestinian Center for Development and Media
Freedoms (MADA) condemned on Tuesday the raiding of Al-Aqsa TV
cameraman and news producer Ammar Yasir Altilawy's home on Thursday.
Altilawy's home was stormed in the evening by an armed person, working
for the National security forces for the de facto Ministry of Interior,
a statement issued by MADA said. "My house was raided in Thursday
evening by an armed and military uniformed person who is working in the
National Security Forces affiliated to the Ministry of Interior in Gaza
under the pretext that he wanted to take pictures of military operation
carried out by someone before his martyrdom, so he stole my laptop and
he left a message that if he did not find the pictures on the laptop,
he will kidnap me by force," Altilawy told MADA. MADA also condemns the
attack on Altilawy in police headquarter, and calls. . .
Detainee
marks 28 years in Israeli jail
1/19/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - The de facto Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs said that Maher
Younis, 52, for the Ara village in Israel marked his 28th year of
detention in an Israeli prison on Tuesday. Younis, detained in 1983,
was sentenced to life for killing an Israeli soldier. He was initially
sentenced to execution by hanging, but a judge overruled the decision.
The Ministry said that Younis is one of the longest serving Palestinian
prisoners in Israeli jails. [end]
Eight
detained following night raid in Ni’ilin
1/19/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Eight people were arrested in Ni'ilin on Monday
evening, according to a statement issued by Israeli peace activist
Jonathan Pollack. The statement said that four residents were arrested
during a military incursion while four others, who were not at home at
the time of the raid, turned themselves in in the morning. "These
recent arrests are a part of a concerted assault on the popular
movement and the arrest of three prominent organizers from the village
last Wednesday," the statement read. Since 16 December 2009 16 of the
village's residents have been detained on various charges relating to
anti-wall protests. Since May 2008, when demonstrations by the
campaigners began, 106 Palestinians from Ni'ilin have been detained.
Mohammed Khatib, coordinator of the Popular Struggle Coordination
Committee said in the statement that "The arrests and persecution will
not break our spirit. "
Bedouin
home demolished near Ramallah
1/19/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli bulldozers, accompanied by the Israeli
army, demolished the home of Hassan Salem Al-Ka'abna in the village of
Jab'a, southeast of Ramallah on Tuesday. According to Salem Al-Ka'abna,
Hassan's son, the family had not received formal notification of the
demolition. The home was demolished because the roof is constructed out
of aluminum, which requires an Israeli planning permit. Israeli forces
initially prohibited the family from collecting their belongings, but
were eventually swayed and allowed the women to retrieve certain items,
the son said, adding that soldiers handcuffed him and his cousin Nidal
Moussa until the demolition was complete. Ten members of the Al-Ka'bna
family were made homeless as a result, including five infants. The
family home was built in 1978, before the nearby Adam settlement was
constructed, which is 200 meters from the home.
Gaza
floods: ’We heard the mosque speaker warning and fled’
1/19/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Nabil Al-Qeshawi's home was destroyed Monday night in torrents
of floodwater that inundated the valleys south of Gaza city, rendering
the 19 members of his extended family homeless. Al-Qeshawi, 61,
described the incident as terrifying, "everything was normal, there
were winds and rains in the area, but we dealt with them as usual.
Suddenly we heard a warning message being broadcast from the mosque,
but we could hardly hear it through the rain. " When the father of five
went outside to check the house, he "found floodwaters rising in the
valley were only 200 meters away from my house. We started to evacuate
the children and lead them to a safe place. When we went back to save
some of our clothes and belongings, we found out that the house was
under two meters of water, everything was ruined. "Farmer survives
drowning in valley flood- Adnan Al-Khamaysa spoke to. . .
Detainee
released after 8 years
1/19/2010 - Nablus -
Ma'an - Israeli forces released detainee Muhammad Abdullah, 29, from
Surrah village, southwest Nablus on Tuesday following eight years of
detention. Abdullah's relatives told Ma'an that he was released when
his sentenced ended, adding that he had been transferred to numerous
prisons including Nafha, Megiddo , Negev, and Beersheba. Abdullah was
detained during the Second Intifada in 2000, was severely interrogated
and kept in solitary confinement on many occasions, his family added.
The village of Surrah has been stormed by Israeli forces with many of
its residents having experienced detention. It is also the site of
settler violence. . . . .
Israeli
forces detain 10 Palestinians overnight
1/19/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Israeli military detained 10 Palestinians
overnight in the West Bank, according to Israel media reports on
Tuesday. The 10 detained were listed as "wanted", according to the
Hebrew daily Ynet, adding that they were taken in for questioning. [end]
Families
of victims of Israeli attacks call on Abbas to pass law
1/19/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The National Assembly of Relatives of victims of
Israeli attacks appealed on Tuesday to President Mahmoud Abbas to pass
a law concerning their rights to compensation, which was passed by the
previous Palestinian Legislative Council in 2005. "We have appealed to
President Abbas to pass this law which guarantees and secures
[families'] rights, as well as providing them with a good life," said
Secretary General of the Assembly Muhamamd Sbeihat. "We have been
increasing our efforts concerning this issue recently and we sent a
letter to President Abbas calling on him to approve the law issued in
May 2005 by the PLC. "Sbeihat added that it appears that the
president's office is responding positively to their request. . . . .
Israel
releases elderly prisoner early as health deteriorates
1/19/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Sizty-one-year old Ali Hassan Shalalda was released
from Israeli prison Tuesday morning after serving 19. 5 years in
Israseli custody, including 13 in the Ar-Ramle prison hospital. Shalada
suffered from chronic infections in his lungs, his brother-in-law
Tal'at Shalalda said, and released four and a half years early as his
health condition deteriorated. He was detained on 9 August 1990
alongside his cousins Jamil and Ibrahim, who were all charged with
participation in a bomb plot that lead to the death of two. Jamil and
Ibrahim were sentenced to 20 years each, but were released in 1995
under the conditions of the Oslo agreement. Tal'at said Ali arrived
home to his family in Jerusalem's Wadi Al-Joz neighborhood in the
afternoon, and would travel to his family home near Hebron on
Wednesday. Ali returns to his two wives and 14 children. . . . .
PA
to send humanitarian aid to Haiti
1/19/2010 - Ramallah
- Ma'an - During its weekly cabinet meeting the Palestinian Authority
announced it would provide humanitarian aid for the victims of the
Haiti earthquake last week, and form a committee to follow up on its
distribution. In its Monday evening meeting the cabinet expressed its
condolences for those who lost relatives in Haiti and declared the
solidarity of the Palestinian people with the people of Haiti. It was
further declared that the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was
mandated to monitor the situation of the Palestinian community in Haiti
and to provide humanitarian relief to the devastated country.
Settlements and Jerusalem - Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad
called on the Quartet to not recognize Israeli preconditions imposed on
illegal settlement expansion, exemplified in continued construction
throughout the occupied Palestinian territories as a means to resume
negotiations swiftly, he said.
EU
pledges 160 million Euro to PA
1/19/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and EU
Representative Christian Berger ratified a new financial agreement to
support the Palestinian Authority on Tuesday. The Financing Agreement,
including a 0. 5 million Euro contribution from Austria, was pledged to
support to the Palestinain Authority's (PA) recurrent expenditures for
2010. The funds will be channeled to the PA's payments of salaries and
pensions and its social protection program via the EU's PEGASE program.
In addition to assisting the PA in sustaining public services and
paying civil servants, the agreement will provide support for
vulnerable Palestinians through regular contributions to social
allowances via the Ministry of Social Affair's social protection
program. "This agreement comes at a time where the Palestinian people
are in need of all kind of continuous support in order to be able to
build the state institutions and develop its sectors. "
Erekat:
Netanyahu must recant his terms for talks to resume
1/19/2010 - Jericho
- Ma'an - Responding to a call to return to negotiations from Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb
Erekat on Tuesday said that Netanyahu must recant his terms and
implement the Road Map Agreement before talks can resume. The chief
negotiator made his pronouncement during a meeting with EU convoy to
the Middle East Mark Otti, Representative of the Secretary-General for
the UN Robert Seri, and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee Piero
Fassino, where they discussed the latest political developments
pertaining to the occupied Palestinian territories. During the meeting
Erekat spoke of the international quartet's inability to compel Israel
to abide by its obligations, particularly with regard to a settlement
standstill in East Jerusalem and reopening Palestinian institutes in
the city, as well as lifting Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip and
releasing Palestinian detainees.
Ministry
of Education strike called off
1/19/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - A strike in the offices of the Ministry of
Education has been postponed for two weeks, following a meeting with
the ministry, general secretary of the Palestinian Teachers Union Jamil
Shehada said on Monday evening. "We decided to postpone the strike for
two weeks after we reached an initial agreement and we await for the
Ministry to implement our demands," Shehada said during an interview
with Ma'an. Certain concerns raised were considered by the Ministry of
Education, including an administrative allowance, risk and programming.
The management of the Ministry of Education announced a partial strike
beginning last month and ending on Monday. . . . .
Hamas:
PA forces detained 5 across West Bank
1/19/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Hamas accused the Palestinian Authority security
forces of detaining five of the movement's affiliates across the West
Bank, in a statement issued on Tuesday. Security forces detained
students Abdullah Nofal and Muhammad Daoud in Qalqiliya, the statement
said. In Hebron forces detained Issa Al-Awawdeh in Dura and Ja'far,
Mansour and Asad Al-Qawasmi, Hamas said. The statement concluded that
all five had been detained previously by the PA security services and
have been called for questioning on a number of occasions. [end]
Hamas
and Islamic Jihad meet in Gaza
1/19/2010 - Gaza -
Ma'an - Hamas and Islamic Jihad held a meeting late Monday evening in
Gaza City to discuss recent developments in Palestinian politics and
the Egyptian-sponsored reconciliation document. In attendance were
Nafez Azzam, Muhammad Al-Hindi and Khaled Al-Hindi from Islamic Jihad
and Khalil Al-Hayya, Jamal Abu Hashim and Aiman Taha representing
Hamas. "This is a regular meeting between Palestinian factions to study
the recent dilemmas posed in Palestinian politics," Azzam told Ma'an
during an interview. Other topics on the agenda included Israeli
violations and international involvement aimed at ending
inter-Palestinian rivalries, notably between Hamas and Fatah. Azzam
added that "we've seen Hamas' great desire to accomplish reconciliation
and end division. ""We've agreed on holding other meetings soon also
with other factions to discuss all of this. "
Fatah
to form committee for restoring legitimacy in Gaza
1/19/2010 - Ramallah
- Ma'an - Fatah's revolutionary council will form a committee to plan
the party's return to legitimacy in the Gaza Strip, according to Jamal
Nazzal, Fatah spokesman and member of the revolutionary council in a
speech on Tuesday. According to Nazzal, the committee will comprise
members of Fatah central and revolutionary committees and will present
a report based on their studies and research of the situation in Gaza.
This new committee will work on supporting Gazans and implementing a
policy to "end the coup government" and return legitimacy to the Gaza
Strip. In a separate statement Nazzal said "We want our Fatah members
and our nation to be relaxed because there are those who care about
people's needs and work for their sake. Fatah has plans for a bright
future and will oppose Israeli challenges. "
Wataniya
Mobile expands services with ’strategic alliance’
1/19/2010 -
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Wataniya Mobile, Palestine's newest cellphone
carrier, will offer new rates for roaming and overseas calling
following an agreement with the Amman-based Orange Jordan, a statement
said Monday. According to the company,Wataniya subscribers will have
local charges when they make roaming calls from Jordan. [end]
Palestinian
Motor Sport Federation releases 2010 agenda
1/19/2010 - Ramallah
- Ma'an - Palestinian Motor Sports Federation announced its schedule
for 2010 following a meeting of its governing body Tuesday. The
schedule will go in five rounds from March to August as follows: Jenin
26 March, Nablus 14 May, Ramallah 18 June, Bethlehem 23 July, Jericho
29 August. Palestinian racers will also travel to meets outside the
area, including the Middle East Championship Rally in Qatar on 21
March, the Kuwait Rally on 4 March, a meet in Jordan on 1 April and a
race in Saudi Arabia on 20 April. Racers will travel to Lebanon on 17
September, to Syria for the Highlands race on 7 August. The schedule
was determined and signed off on by motorsport chairman Khalid Qadura
and federation members Ghassan Safi, Ashraf Marar and Yusuf Natsheh and
Akram Shaheen, Wasfi Shahin and Mu'awiyah Rimawi. . . . .
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - 'Watch your step,' Barak warns Hamas over rockets; Hamas: Palestinian attacks are response to Israeli aggression.
MI Chief: Israel's success battling terror has turned world against us
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Yadlin tells Knesset panel the PA has encouraged international community to question Israel's legitimacy.
Israel razes West Bank caravan built after settlement freeze
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Elon Moreh caravan set up as 'Zionist response' to freeze; forces dismantle foundations for 2 other buildings.
Court extends remand of settlers suspected of mosque arson
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Two months ago assailants torched furniture at Yasuf mosque, sprayed derogatory slogans.
Police arrest 10 in raid on West Bank settlement
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Five people, including two minors, detained for alleged involvement in mosque arson last month.
IDF soldier seriously hurt when comrade's hammer falls on his head
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Five IDF soldiers have died in the last four months during routine training while on duty.
Shin Bet: 2009 was first year in decade without suicide attacks
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Israel registered 15 casualties in 2009 - 9 of them during the Gaza operation - as opposed to 36 in 2008.
Hamas lets Fatah strongman into Gaza, after two years in exile
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Death of Mohammed Dahlan's mother sparks new row between rival Palestinian movements.
IDF nabs Palestinian cell allegedly planning terror attack
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - IDF, Shin Bet arrest 2 separate groups of Palestinians in possession of explosive devices.
Jordan: Israel not part of probe into attack on its convoy
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Jordanian minister: Attack on Israeli diplomatic convoy was primarily an attack on Jordan.
ANALYSIS / Jordan bombing: Good intelligence, poor execution
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Attackers had knowledge of embassy's routine activities; Al-Qaida and Hezbollah are prime suspects.
Report: Jordan arrests suspect in attack on Israeli convoy
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Convoy transporting 3 Israeli diplomats targeted by remotely detonated roadside bomb; no casualties.
Three hurt in blast in Hezbollah south Lebanon stronghold
Ha'aretz 19 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 19 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 19 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 19 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 19 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 19 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 19 Jan 2010 - Palestinians say three militants killed in IAF strike on Strip; Gaza rocket hits Israel for fifth consecutive day.
Egypt says Israel's plan for border fence 'not our concern'
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Cairo denies link between Israel's barrier and its own wall now being constructed between Egypt and Gaza.
Beyond
chutzpah
Uruknet January 19,
2010 - The brutal ugliness of the collective Israeli mentality seems to
know no limits. Indeed, one wouldn’t go too far by arguing that the
patterns of Israeli behaviors, nearly at all levels, reflect a real
mental sickness. In recent days, three observations of Israeli
behaviors attracted my attention. First, the Ayalon affair. Last week,
Israeli Deputy-Foreign Minister...
Flooding
Gaza
Uruknet January 19,
2010 - The long-awaited rains came full force. Dehydrated Gaza was
suddenly awash. And while farmers are overjoyed –they can finally plant
their crops; their water wells and cisterns were destroyed during the
Israeli massacre of Gaza; they must plant before the end of the month
or there will be no point [we got a call right away...
New
videotape on Israeli soldiers torturing and stealing human organs
disclosed
Uruknet January 19,
2010 -- The popular movement for the support of prisoners and
Palestinian rights unveiled a videotape explaining how Israeli soldiers
in 1988 tortured and killed a Palestinian Christian young man called
Khader Tarzi before harvesting his body parts. The pictures in the
videotape illustrate in detail how the young man was hunted, beaten and
tied to the front...
Humanitarian
aid or military occupation?
Uruknet January 19,
2010 - ...IF THE Obama administration were pursuing a humanitarian
policy in Haiti, it wouldn't have appointed George Bush to join former
President Bill Clinton in overseeing fundraising for disaster relief.
Not only did Bush spectacularly fail the victims of Hurricane Katrina,
but his administration orchestrated a political destabilization
campaign against Haiti's democratically elected government of
Jean-Bertrand Aristide....
Israeli
tanks open fire at residential areas in southern Gaza Strip
Uruknet January 19,
2010 - Israeli tanks opened fire on Tuesday midday at residents' homes
located in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. Local sources
reported that tanks stationed at the southern Israeli-Gaza boarders
shelled homes located in the eastern part of Rafah city. A number of
homes sustained damage, but no injuries were reported. Witnesses said
that the shelling...
Gaza
in Plain Language
Uruknet January 19,
2010 - ...The sociopathic Zionist administration of Israel, as part of
its continuing brutal colonization of Palestine, set out to
deliberately devastate the already nearly-incapacitated infrastructure
which supports the existence of one and a half million human refugees.
The people of Gaza, second-, third-, and fourth-generation dispossessed
Palestinians, are living in forced exile from land their families
inhabited...
Children
of Gaza donate towards Haiti disaster
Uruknet January 19,
2010 - Following the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti last
week, 13th January, in which hundreds of thousands of people have lost
their lives, the expected donations of humanitarian aid and emergency
relief supplies have poured in from all corners of the globe. However,
one of the most touching outpourings of sympathy and aid has come from
the...
Rights
Movement: “Israel Harvested Organs From Palestinian Christian In 1988”
Uruknet January 19,
2010 - The Popular Movement for the Support of Prisoners and
Palestinian Rights showed a video in Gaza City on Monday showing
Israeli soldiers executing a Christian Palestinian from Gaza city after
kidnapping him in 1988. The video also provides certain details
regarding illegal harvesting of the organs of the slain youth. The
Palestinian youth, Fadi Tarazi, is...
Israeli
opening of dam's floodgates floods Gaza villages
Uruknet January 19,
2010-- Israel opened Monday the floodgates of one of its dams in Gaza
valley in the eastern part of the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of
torrential rains in the region which seriously flooded Palestinian
houses and caused severe material damage. Eyewitnesses told the
Palestinian information center (PIC) that the Israel occupation forces
stationed there intentionally opened the...
General
Gambit
Uruknet January 18,
2010 - The war for the future of the human race is more about truth
–vs- lies, than it is about a physical contest between hostile
adversaries. The strangest part of it all is that no one is seeking
absolute vindication in this war of perceptions as either a liar or a
"truth" teller. No one wants to...
Mustafa
Barghouti: Israel using negotiations as cover for expansionism
Uruknet January 18,
2010 - – Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative
Mustafa Barghouti said on Sunday that returning to negotiations with
Israel is not possible until a complete settlement standstill,
including in occupied East Jerusalem, is enforced, as well as
population growth, during a reception for the European Council....
A
lootin’ an’ a burnin’?
Uruknet January 18,
2010 - It was obvious from the getgo that media 'coverage’ of the
earthquake in Haiti was heading in the same, predictable direction,
namely down the same racist path that Western media coverage of things
'darker than blue’ always travels. [...] Meanwhile, the US has de facto
occupied Haiti, no doubt to preserve its sweatshop investments, amongst
which are...
Washington , January 19, 2009, ( Pal Telegraph) - Tzipi Livni, Israeli opposition leader and former foreign minister, expressed on Monday during an interview on CNN that she is ready to face UK arrest warrant for investigation in the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip last winter. It is worth noting that the British court issued arrest warrant against Tzipi Livni last...
Israel detains 10 Palestinians
West Bank, January 19, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces detained 10 Palestinians in the West Bank in operations carried out Monday night and lasted till Tuesday morning. The detainees captured in different parts of the West Bank were trasferred to Israeli investigation centers for questioning. Israeli occupation forces invaded Berqeen village, in Jenien, and broke into some houses...
Israel opens Dam so Gaza submerges
Gaza, January 19, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Many Palestinian houses were under water in Central Gaza after Israel opened a closed dam on Tuesday. Israeli authorities opened the "Al-Wadi" dam without prior notice after heavy rainfall on the area. Seventy citizens were rescued by Civil defense staffs. Medical sources said that 9 citizens were injured and transferred to Gaza hospitals....
Gazan Children Donate Haiti
Gaza, January 19, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Gaza might be besieged by Israel and others, but Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip have been donating what little they have to help those struck by the earthquake in Haiti. The donations collected by a Red Cross representative are toys, toiletries and sweets. They were small luxuries that Gazans know only too...
Death Cry- Part One !!
Part One -“Water, Please!!” screamed Sheick Buddha feebly. -“Shut up, dirty pig! Not before breakfast.” roared the zionist jailor who was tapping the corridor behind the massive iron door. It was chilling hot and I was all sweating in that oven of a cell. The cell was rectangular, too narrow to enfold the three of us; Kifah, me and a...
The National 18 Jan 2010 - Israel has arrested dozens of Palestinian activists since December, in an apparent attempt to crack down on protests against the barrier.
Egyptian MP insists Christians' murders were sectarian
The National 19 Jan 2010 - Rights activists accuse Egypt's ruling party of downplaying the significance of the deaths of six Christians on Christmas Eve.
Storms in Red Sea area kill seven including British tourist
The National 18 Jan 2010 - Worst flooding in a decade hits Egypt, Jordan and Israel, destroying homes and blocking roads and knocking out power.
AlJazeera 18 Jan 2010 - Tehran reconsidering relations with Britain following recent tensions.
Alternative Information Center
Changing Israeli Visa Regime for Humanitarian WorkersAlternative Information Center 19 Jan 2010 - Background International staff of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) working in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) have, until now, been provided B1 visas by the Government of Israel in its role as the occupying power. A B1...
Repression continues: Eight Arrested Following a Night Raid in Ni'ilin
Alternative Information Center 18 Jan 2010 - Four residents of Ni'ilin have been arrested last night during a military incursion into the West Bank village. Four others, who were not home at the time of the raid surrendered themselves in the morning. These...
PNN 19 Jan 2010 - American journalist Jared Malsin will wrap up his first week of detention at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport tomorrow. At the request of Justice Kobi Vardi, Ma'an lawyer Castro Daoud filed additional information in response to allegations by the Israeli Attorney General's Office, and insisted that Jared be brought out of the airport to attend a hearing on the matter. The attorney...
Earthquake Impact on Palestinian Haitian Community Unknown
PNN 19 Jan 2010 - With the total impact of the earthquake not yet determined, Palestinians with relatives in Haiti are making every effort to contact family members who reside in the island nation. Estimates of total deaths on the island of Haiti from the range from 100,000 to 200,000, approximately 1-2% of the island’s total population, with an additional 1.3 million being left homeless. While no...
Israeli settlers arrested in mosque arson investigation
PNN 19 Jan 2010 - Israeli police have arrested 10 people as part of investigations into an arson attack on a West Bank mosque. Police carried out a pre-dawn raid on the Yitzhar settlement, near the Palestinian town Yasuf, where the mosque was attacked last month. They are investigating whether there is a link between those arrested and the arson attack, police sources said. The floor of...
Gazans raise money for Haiti
PNN 19 Jan 2010 - Palestinians in Gaza set off for the Red Cross headquarters on Monday to offer donations and financial support for the victims of Haiti’s devastating earthquake on Tuesday. Relatives of Palestinian prisoners also participated in the drive, with many offering financial donations and goods including blankets and covers, as well as food and milk for children. The report comes after the Palestinian Authority,...
Israel's military continues to target anti wall protest organizers
PNN 18 Jan 2010 - Four Palestinian civilians were kidnapped by Israeli troops during a pre dawn invasion targeting the village of Nil'in, central West Bank. Israeli troops told their families that they have been kidnapped for their involvement in the weekly nonviolent protests against the Israeli built wall on villager's lands.Around 100 Israeli soldiers stormed the small village near Ramallah. Troops searched a number of homes...
Israel's treatment of Ethiopians 'racist'
PNN 18 Jan 2010 - Health officials in Israel are subjecting many female Ethiopian immigrants to a controversial long-term birth control drug in what Israeli women’s groups allege is a racist policy to reduce the number of black babies. The contraceptive, known as Depo Provera, which is given by injection every three months, is considered by many doctors as a birth control method of last resort because...
Floods in the Gaza Strip force hundreds to flee
PNN 19 Jan 2010 - Flooding has forced more than 100 people from their homes and farms in Gaza after heavy rains hit the area. Security services worked through the night to evacuate families from the area of Wadi Gaza, south of Gaza city. At least 12 people were injured in the flooding which destroyed scores of homes and inundated animal pens. Hamas, in control of the...
Jeruslalem Post 19 Jan 2010 - Foreign Ministry's deputy director-general phones Greek ambassador, passes on request that Greece take all steps necessary to find attackers.
Fayyad is attempting to make Fatah weak, movement's officials say
Jeruslalem Post 19 Jan 2010 - Latest allegation comes as members of Fatah Revolutionary Council continue deliberations for the sixth consecutive day in Ramallah.
Haiti: 2 local Jews helping Israeli aid
Jeruslalem Post 19 Jan 2010 - Expatriate IDF veteran, son of Syrian emigrants play invaluable roles behind the scenes in relief efforts.
Palestinian reporters come to Knesset
Jeruslalem Post 19 Jan 2010 - Journalists' meeting at Israel's "shrine of democracy" tainted by low attendance and political banter.
Shas accepted into the World Zionist Organization
Jeruslalem Post 19 Jan 2010 - Haredi Sephardi party agrees to change political platform to include the principles of the 2004 Jerusalem Program.
'Israel to join OECD in 2010'
Jeruslalem Post 19 Jan 2010 - Secretary-general says organization expects Israeli economy to expand by 3% in 2010, and possibly 4% in 2011.
Protection upped for officials abroad
Jeruslalem Post 19 Jan 2010 - Shin Bet beefs up security out of concern that Hizbullah will plan revenge attack for Mughniyeh.
PA pushing Israel for short building freeze in east Jerusalem
Jeruslalem Post 19 Jan 2010 - Idea seen as way for Abbas to return to negotiations without "losing face"; Mitchell to raise proposal with Netanyahu in scheduled meeting.
Activists regroup, brainstorm tactics for broadening Sheikh Jarrah demonstrations
Jeruslalem Post 19 Jan 2010 - Meeting follows of 17 activists at a protest in east Jerusalem neighborhood.
IPS JERUSALEM, Jan 14 (IPS) - A bizarre diplomatic incident - even by the Byzantine-like standards of the old near East - has threatened already strained relations between Israel and Turkey.
LEBANON: Spy On Thy Neighbour
IPS NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon, Jan 18 (IPS) - Recent inter-factional clashes in Lebanon's Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp once more illustrated the fragile security situation in some of its Palestinian camps. Lebanese plans to take over security within the camps are rejected by the Palestinians.
MIDEAST: Israel Jails Palestinian Peace Activists
IPS RAMALLAH, Jan 18 (IPS) - Israel has long argued that Palestinians should pursue their political objectives in a non-violent way. However, several prominent Palestinian peace activists have recently been arrested and jailed for doing just that.
MIDEAST: Turkey Going Its Own Way
IPS WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (IPS) - The recent diplomatic crisis between Turkey and Israel has raised questions about the future of relations between the two closest allies of the United States in the region and the direction of the markedly independent foreign policy agenda that Turkey has pursued in recent years.
PCHR
International Solidarity Movement
Amnesty: Israel’s Gaza blockade continues to suffocate daily life1/18/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Amnesty International - Israel must end its suffocating blockade of the Gaza Strip, which leaves more than 1. 4 million Palestinians cut off from the outside world and struggling with desperate poverty, Amnesty International said one year on from the end of Israel's military offensive in Gaza. Amnesty International's briefing paper, Suffocating: The Gaza Strip under Israeli blockade, gathers testimony from people still struggling to rebuild their lives following Operation "Cast Lead", which killed around 1,400 Palestinians and injured thousands more. "Israel claims that the ongoing blockade of Gaza, in force since June 2007, is a response to the indiscriminate rocket attacks launched from Gaza into southern Israel by Palestinian armed groups. The reality is that the blockade does not target armed groups but rather punishes Gaza's entire population by restricting the entry. . . Related: AI: Israel's Gaza blockade continues to suffocate daily life"
Sheikh Jarrah court case delayed until April: Settler Harassment Continues
1/19/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - On Monday January 18th, a Jerusalem court case over the legal ownership of a Palestinian owned house in the Sheik Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem was postponed until April. The hearing against the Husseini family was delayed because the prosecution, who claims the Palestinian family does not have legal ownership over their house, needed more time to build a case. This case comes in the wake of two other neighborhood houses being occupied by Jewish settlers since late 2009 and constant settler harassment. On Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 4:45PM a settler girl attacked a Palestinian girl in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheik Jarrah. The incident took place on the street between two houses occupied by Jewish settlers, which belong to the Palestinian Gawi and Al-Kurds families. A large group of settlers, largely young men, boys and one girl began to gather and walked back forth and back between the two occupied houses.
Trafalgar Square: Gaza 1417 remembrance die-in
1/19/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - ISM London, January 16 - 1417 is not just a number: it's the men, women and children who died during Israel's 23-day assault in 2008-2009. This event marked the anniversary of the atrocities committed in Gaza and called for the state of Israel to be brought to justice for its illegal actions and for those responsible to face trial for war crimes. Heavy rain meant that instead of staging a "Die-in", with people lying on the ground to represent those killed in the attack, those present decided to observe a minute's silence for the victims. Approximatly 200 people participated with each being given the name of one of the dead to hold aloft. After a perfectly observed silence, three speakers with direct connections to the attack on Gaza addressed the crowd - Sameh Habeeb, a Gazan journalist; Natalie Abou Shakrah, a Gaza survivor;. . .
Israel tries to silence political protest
1/19/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Ben Hubbard, Washington Post - Israel is arresting a growing number of prominent opponents to its policies toward the Palestinians, say critics who are accusing the government of trying to crush legitimate dissent. In the most high-profile case yet, Jerusalem police detained the head of a leading Israeli human rights group during a vigil against the eviction of Palestinian families whose homes were taken by Jewish settlers. Since the summer, dozens of Palestinian and Israeli activists have been picked up, including those organizing weekly protests against Israel's West Bank separation barrier as well as others advocating international boycotts of Israeli goods. Some of the Palestinians were released without charge only after weeks and months of questioning. The arrests come at a time of shifting tactics in the protests against Israel's occupation of the West Bank and. . .
Israeli forces invade Al-Ein camp, arrest three
1/19/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Early in the morning of January 17 the Israeli army arrested 3 young Palestinian in a dawn raid on Al-Ein Refugee camp, located to the North of Nablus. The soldiers came at around 5am, departing at around 8 the same morning. The three friends – Samer As-Salhi (17 years old), Muntaser Hamdi (19) and Raed Al-Khatib (21) - none of whom had any previous convictions, were taken from their homes in simultaneous raids by several large groups of soldiers. The mother of the eldest, Raed Al-Khatib, described how the soldiers identified him by his ID documents from a page-long list of names, other Palestinians presumambly wanted by the military. According to family members present during the raid the As-Salhi's house was entered by 7 soldiers at 5am. The soldiers pushed and shoved family members, manhandling women and children.
CPT: At-Tuwani Incident Report for December 2009
1/19/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Christian Peacemaker Teams - Summary: December 2009 was marked by invasions of Palestinian villages in the area by Israeli occupation forces, continued denial of the right of Palestinian children to access education, and consistent rejection of Palestinian owners' rights to cultivate or graze sheep on their land. Despite the invasions, challenges faced in accessing education, and obstacles to cultivating the land, Palestinians in the At-Tuwani area continued to organize local marches, plowing actions, and joined in nonviolent actions with other Palestinian communities committed to nonviolent resistance to the Israeli occupation. On team during this period: Jan Benvie, Laura Ciaghi, Steve Heinrichs, Joshua Hough, Sarah MacDonald, Sam Nichols, Melanie Southworth, and members of Operation Dove (OD). Israeli Military Incursions Tuesday 1 December 2009 In the early morning hours, the Israeli military invaded the village of Maghayir Al-Abeed.
Israel set to become OECD's poorest member
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Israel has lower salaries, wider social gaps than any country in organization; membership vote set for May.,
U.S. indicts 3 Israelis in international bribery case
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Defendants offered FBI agent posing as envoy of African minister kickback in exchange for defense contracts.,
UN to send 3,500 additional troops to Haiti
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Israeli crew searching for missing Canadian Jew; Israeli team to stay in Haiti for another month.
U.S.: Iran reply to nuclear deal is inadequate
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Diplomats: Iran has formally responded to UN-drafted deal, rejected call to ship uranium abroad.,
'We'll do everything to catch Crete synagogue arsonist'
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Greek envoy to Israel condemns synagogue torching; Foreign Ministry tells to finance the renovations.,
'Turkey no longer needs a close relationship with Israel'
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Military intelligence chief: Ankara turning away from secularism and toward more radical Islam.,
Vatican memo: Mideast conflict driving Christians out of region
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Document for upcoming bishops' meet says Israeli-Palestinian conflict, occupation foments strife.,
EU official to PA: Financial support won't continue forever
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - EU representative to the PA says precondition for aid is clear progress in the peace process with Israel.,
Reel life inside the Warsaw Ghetto
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - The story of the Nazi propaganda footage used to illustrate ghetto life is the subject of a new documentary.,
Iran vows to hit back if attacked by Western ship in Gulf
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Iran's defense minister says West knows Persian Gulf is 'best operational target' for striking Iran.,
Hamas: Shalit talks not over, we just need more time
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Political official tells Lebanon paper that Hamas will not give up its demand to see Bargouthi freed.,
Syria's Mufti: Islam commands us to protect Judaism
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Sheikh Hassoun tells U.S. group: If Mohammed told me Jews or Christians were heretic, I would say he was a heretic.,
Palestinians host first East Jerusalem meet since 2001
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Quartet representatives seek to pressure Israel to reopen PA headquarters, the Orient House.,
Libya dives into Palestinian diplomacy
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Libya will host Arab League summit in March, and it is important to Abbas that Gadhafi be on his side.,
Disputed Kafka estate may belong to Israel National Library
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Max Brod is believed to have left a later will in which he left Kafka's literary estate to the National Library.,
The Guardian 18 Jan 2010 - Last week you published several articles criticising my decision to ban al-Muhajiroun, Islam4UK, and the other offshoots of what is essentially one organisation ( Media-savvy designer Islamists must not distract us from the real danger , 14 January;...
Ha'aretz 20 Jan 2010 - Police on Tuesday said that Lillian Peretz, the former housekeeper who is suing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, said she has been getting threats against her life since filing suit. ...
Police zero in on 1 of 17 'wives' in cult leader rape probe
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - The investigation of a suspected cult leader accused of raping and enslaving scores of women took a dramatic turn on Friday after one of his alleged victims gave indications that she may agree to cooperate with authorities. ...
Israeli delegation to Haiti rescues top local official
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Ban Ki-moon confirms UN mission chief in Haiti died in the quake; Death toll could top 100,000.
Top Israel basketball coach questioned in tax evasion case
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - The head coach of Israel's most celebrated basketball team was summoned by authorities on Tuesday for questioning on possible tax evasion charges. ...
Elton John to perform in Israel this summer
Ha'aretz 19 Jan 2010 - Sir Elton John announced on Tuesday that he will be arriving in Israel for a single performance on June 17. This marks the British singer's second concert in Israel, the first of which took place 27 years ago in Hayarkon Park in Tel Aviv. ...
Relief Web 19 Jan 2010 - Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
European Union provides €158.5 million to the Palestinian Authority to support its recurrent expenditures in 2010
Relief Web 19 Jan 2010 - Source: European Commission, European Union, Palestinian National Authority
Dozens of homes flooded after heavy rains in Gaza
Relief Web 19 Jan 2010 - Source: Agence France-Presse
OPT: IOF Arrests Seven Palestinian Fishermen, Seizes their Boats on Rafah Coast, Al Mezan Condemns IOF Violations and Calls for International Protection
Relief Web 19 Jan 2010 - Source: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
Israel arrests more suspects for WBank mosque arson
Relief Web 18 Jan 2010 - Source: Reuters - AlertNet
Letter dated 12 January 2010 from the Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General (A/ES-10/475–S/2010/22)
Relief Web 18 Jan 2010 - Source: UN General Assembly, UN Security Council
YNet News 19 Jan 2010 - Even as IDF travels across world to extend hand to country in need, there are those who take opportunity to spread slander, blood libel against Jewish state. Seattle resident, who presents himself as black activist, explains incendiary video he uploaded to YouTube
State to help pay for rehab of addicted students
YNet News 19 Jan 2010 - Welfare Ministry and Israel Anti-Drug Authority will launch four-month rehab program for drug and alcohol abusers targeted at backpackers, students. Program will also take action to prevent deterioration of 'light' users
Officials: Iran spurns nuclear fuel deal in writing
YNet News 19 Jan 2010 - Diplomats say Islamic Republic has formally rejected key parts of deal to send abroad for processing most of its material that could be used to make nuclear arms. US rejects response as inadequate
Israel asks Greece for aid in repairing torched synagogue
YNet News 19 Jan 2010 - After two cases of arson, Etz Chaim Synagogue in Crete city of Hania, senior Foreign Ministry official meets with Greek ambassador
Dozens of homes flooded after heavy rains in Gaza
YNet News 19 Jan 2010 - Rising waters destroy or damage more than 100 homes in low-lying farming area south of Gaza City mostly inhabited by Bedouins. Hamas-run government working to evacuate residents
Peres thanks Israel's rescue team in Haiti
YNet News 19 Jan 2010 - President places phone call to members of Israeli aid delegation at field hospital they set up in Port-au-Prince to express his appreciation. 'You are people's defense force,' he says
16 Jan 2010 - The human rights community in Israel condemns the extreme silencing of protest in Israel, silencing that has become particularly blatant and violent recently in East Jerusalem.
Daily Star 19 Jan 2010 Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support for the Palestinians and called on Saudi businessmen to invest in his country during a trip to the Middle Eastern oil giant. "There is nothing more natural than for Turkey to show concern for the Palestinians and Gaza, not because we are Muslim but because we are humans," he told a meeting of businessmen in the Saudi capital.
American journalist enters second week of Israeli detention
Daily Star 19 Jan 2010 American journalist Jared Malsin, the English-language editor of the Palestinian Bethlehem-based Ma'an News Agency, entered Tuesday his second week in Israeli detention. Malsin was detained at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion International Airport by Israeli authorities on January 12 and refused entry to the country after returning from a one-week vacation to the Czech Republic with his girlfriend.
Syria: Baghdad failing to help displaced Iraqis
Daily Star 19 Jan 2010 Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad accused Iraq Monday of failing to provide financial aid to Iraqi refugees living in Syria since the US-led invasion of their country. "Ever since the Iraqi refugees began arriving in Syria in 2003, the Iraqi government - only gave $15 million to help its citizens in Syria," he said.
Syria hosts conference on Iraqi refugee assistance
Daily Star 19 Jan 2010 A meeting in Damascus on Monday of over 50 NGOs and host country government representatives has mapped out the next steps in providing vital assistance and protection for Iraqi refugees across the Middle East. The main product of the meeting is the 2010 Regional Response Plan for Iraqi Refugees (RRP).
Minister insists Britain wanted diplomatic solution on Iraq
Daily Star 19 Jan 2010 The first former Cabinet minister to give evidence to the Iraq war inquiry insisted on Tuesday that Britain had always wanted a diplomatic solution to the crisis before the 2003 invasion. Former Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon's testimony kicked off appearances from a series of ex-Cabinet ministers before the eagerly awaited questioning of former Prime Minister Tony Blair on January 29.
The more important indicator
Daily Star 19 Jan 2010 In President Barack Obama's remarks on strengthening aviation intelligence and security in the wake of the incomplete bomb attack on board an American aircraft on Christmas, he pointed out more than once that US intelligence had sufficient information that Al-Qaeda-related elements in Yemen intended to strike at the US and they recruited elements to do that.
Palestinian Information Center
Beyond chutzpahPIC 19 Jan 2010 - The brutal ugliness of the collective Israeli mentality seems to know no limits. Indeed, one wouldn’t go too far by arguing that the patterns of Israeli behaviors reflect a real mental sickness.
Gov’t committee appeals for pressing Israel to respond to Amnesty’s report
PIC 19 Jan 2010 - The government committee to break the siege appealed to the international community and the UN to pressure Israel to respond to Amnesty’s report which called for lifting the blockade on Gaza.
Habib: Elections before reconciliation rejected
PIC 19 Jan 2010 - Khader Habib, one of the Islamic Jihad's leaders, said on Tuesday that any municipal or legislative elections before reconciliation are rejected.
New videotape on Israeli soldiers torturing and stealing human organs disclosed
PIC 19 Jan 2010 - The popular movement for the support of prisoners unveiled a videotape explaining how Israeli soldiers in 1988 tortured a Palestinian Christian young man before harvesting his body parts.
European parliament supports campaign for release of Palestinian MPs
PIC 19 Jan 2010 - President of the European parliament Jerzy Buzek has declared absolute backing for the international campaign for the release of Palestinian lawmakers held in Israeli occupation jails.
Hamas-Jihad officials discuss Palestinian developments
PIC 19 Jan 2010 - Officials of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements on Monday night conferred on latest Palestinian developments topped by the reconciliation efforts patronized by Egypt.
Dweik: The attempts to get around the Palestinian legitimacy will fail
PIC 19 Jan 2010 - Dr. Aziz Dweik, the speaker of the Palestinian legislative council (PLC), said that the attempts of Mahmoud Abbas’s authority to circumvent the Palestinian legitimacy would be doomed to failure.
Haneyya gov't asks for urgent assistance to deal with floods
PIC 19 Jan 2010 - The government of Ismail Haneyya on Tuesday appealed to the world community to save the flood-stricken areas in Gaza Strip and to send urgently needed construction material.
British demo denounces supplying Israel with British arms
PIC 19 Jan 2010 - Hundreds gathered in Brighton, south of London, on Monday to protest the presence of EDO, an arms firm that develops weapons parts used in the Israeli war on Gaza last year.
Alliance of trade unions appeals to Egypt gov’t to stop building its steel wall
PIC 19 Jan 2010 - The alliance of Palestinian trade unions appealed to the Egyptian government to stop building the steel wall, affirming that the real enemy which threatens the Egyptian security is Israel.
LA Times 19 Jan 2010 - The Foreign Ministry's move to shame Turkey's ambassador over an objectionable TV program backfired, says Israel's former envoy to Ankara. We 'took a beating for it,' says Alon Liel. Angry over a Turkish TV show that portrayed Israelis as ruthless killers, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon summoned Turkey's ambassador to his office this month for a dressing-down.
New York Times 19 Jan 2010 - The country's secretive weapons trade, patent-bending drug industry and occupation of Arab lands are raising questions about its accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
World Briefing | Middle East: Gaza: Palestinians Push Hamas for Inquiry Over War Crimes Against Israel
New York Times 19 Jan 2010 - Rights groups said an investigation into Hamas’s actions last winter was needed to maintain the credibility of Palestinians who want to see Israel punished for its actions during the war.
World Briefing | Middle East: Iran: Vow of Revenge for a Killing
New York Times 19 Jan 2010 - Iranian officials have blamed an exiled opposition group for the killing of a physics professor in a bomb attack last week, accusing it of acting on behalf of Israel and the United States.
Observatory: Desert Spider Discovery on Jordan-Israel Border
New York Times 19 Jan 2010 - In a cross-border study, biologists from Israel and Jordan found a new spider species, Cerbalus aravensis, living in Arava Valley sand dunes.
Israeli Defense Minister Visits Turkey to Mend Frayed Ties
New York Times 18 Jan 2010 - Ehud Barak traveled to Turkey on Sunday to try to smooth over recent tensions that have further frayed the traditionally strong ties between the two countries.
6 Major Powers Move Closer to Considering More Iran Sanctions
New York Times 17 Jan 2010 - China, however, kept to its position that it opposed new sanctions from the United Nations Security Council over Iran’s nuclear program.
Palestine Monitor - 19 Jan 2010 - In Hebron, 31 km south of Jerusalem, Palestinians are victims of harassment and acts of violence, both from the settlers and the Israeli soldiers. The city, under Israeli control- administrative and military, is surrounded by three large settlements added to those built inside the old city...
Swimming Through Sewers In Search Of Freedom
Palestine Monitor - 19 Jan 2010 - Keeping culture alive in a conflict zone is a daunting challenge. The Israeli Occupation involves not only the destruction of Palestine as a political entity, but the dissolution of its social and cultural life. Resisting that process and fighting the occupation through creativity is what drives...
TWENTY-TWO HOURS IN SHEIKH JARRAH
Palestine Monitor - 18 Jan 2010 - January 14, 2010: a concert in Sheikh Jarrah featuring the politically-charged musical groups DAM and System Ali. January 15, 2010: the weekly demonstration against house evictions at the same location. The problem: only one permit for public gatherings was issued for the week. The result: mass...
The Lost Lesson of the Civil Rights Movement
Mondoweiss - 19 Jan 2010 - The commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. day has led Palestine solidarity activists and journalists alike to compare the current non-violent struggle in the Palestinian Territories with the American Civil Rights Movement. With the recent arrests of several prominent Palestinian leaders of the Anti-Apartheid Wall campaign,...
AP covers the Israeli campaign against protest and dissent
Mondoweiss - 19 Jan 2010 - The AP has picked up the story on the ongoing Israeli campaign against nonviolent protest against the occupation. Ben Hubbard connects the dots between the arrests of Abdullah Abu Rahmeh, Jamal Juma’, Mohammed Othman and the recent tougher response to the protests in Bil’in, Naalin and...
Anticipating Israeli response, Dershowitz blames atrocities in Goldstone Report on ‘rogue soldiers’
Mondoweiss - 19 Jan 2010 - French members of the Gaza Freedom March, in Cairo last month, expressing their analysis of Gaza war The Israeli response to the Goldstone report is due soon, and Adam predicted lately that it will blame some atrocities on "bad apples." I think he’s got it. For...
‘NYT’ moralist-columnist leaves himself no room to oppose BDS
Mondoweiss - 19 Jan 2010 - "[NYT columnist] Nicholas D. Kristof On Martin Luther King Day [at facebook], I wish more Palestinians would absorb the lessons of King and Gandhi and use non-violent but confrontational approaches in challenging settlements, etc. Non-violence is not only morally superior to terrorism, it’s also more effective...
Letter from an Israeli jail
Mondoweiss - 19 Jan 2010 - Remembering Martin Luther King Jr., below we run excerpts from his majestic "Letter from a Birmingham jail" of 1963 in which he said that "freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor." He wrote the letter to 8 Alabama clergymen who will go down in history...
Changing Israeli Visa Regime for Humanitarian Workers
Alternative Information Center - 19 Jan 2010 - Background International staff of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) working in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) have, until now, been provided B1 visas by the Government of Israel in its role as the occupying power. A B1 visa is a work permit—usually multiple entry and issued for...
Repression continues: Eight Arrested Following a Night Raid in Ni'ilin
Alternative Information Center - 18 Jan 2010 - Four residents of Ni'ilin have been arrested last night during a military incursion into the West Bank village. Four others, who were not home at the time of the raid surrendered themselves in the morning. These recent arrests are a part of a concerted assault on...
Articles
Israel’s Gaza blockade continues to suffocate daily life
Amnesty International 1/18/2010
Video: How the Israeli blockade affects daily life for Palestinians
Israel must end its suffocating blockade of the Gaza Strip, which leaves more than 1.4 million Palestinians cut off from the outside world and struggling with desperate poverty, Amnesty International said one year on from the end of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
Amnesty International’s briefing paper Suffocating: The Gaza Strip under Israeli blockade gathers testimony from people still struggling to rebuild their lives following Operation “Cast Lead”, which killed around 1,400 Palestinians and injured thousands more.
“Israel claims that the ongoing blockade of Gaza, in force since June 2007, is a response to the indiscriminate rocket attacks launched from Gaza into southern Israel by Palestinian armed groups. The reality is that the blockade does not target armed groups but rather punishes Gaza’s entire population by restricting the entry of food, medical supplies, educational equipment and building materials,” said Malcolm Smart, Middle East and North Africa Director, Amnesty International.
“The blockade constitutes collective punishment under international law and must be lifted immediately.”
As the occupying power, Israel has a duty under international law to ensure the welfare of Gaza’s inhabitants, including their rights to health, education, food and adequate housing
During Operation “Cast Lead”, from 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009, 13 Israelis were killed, including three civilians in southern Israel, where dozens more were injured in indiscriminate rocket attacks by Palestinian armed groups. more.. e-mail
Odyssey for justice
Ramzy Baroud, Al-Ahram Weekly 1/14/2010
Ramzy Baroud is heartened by manifestations of solidarity with the beleaguered population of Gaza.
The recent actions of people from around the world in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza represent the closest we have come to international solidarity since the International Brigades against fascism during the Spanish Civil War.
Is this too 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 no one cared about their plight, it was easy to believe that we would be forever caught in the tenuous and redundant stances of Arab and other countries whose acts of solidarity went no further than hollow words of condemnation. The recent, noble stand by activists from all over the world therefore seems to me like an unprecedented act of solidarity which, I dare believe, heralds the direct 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 a blind eye to the atrocities committed in Spain, almost 40,000 men and women from 52 countries decided to fight fascism for themselves. The global consciousness manifested by such direct, unprecedented action remains baffling considering the lack of powerful communication technology available at the time.
The 2,800 American volunteers included a black man, Canute Frankson, who joined the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. He wrote to a friend from Madrid in 1937: "Why I, a Negro who have fought through these years for the rights of my people, am here in Spain today? Because we are no longer an isolated minority group fighting hopelessly against an immense giant.... more.. e-mail
Will there be any Peace soon in the Middle East?
Ziad Khalil Abu Zayyad, Middle East Post 1/18/2010
The situation in the Middle East keeps on developing towards the worst. Iraq is still in war although many try to convince the world that Will there be any Peace soon in the Middle East? 129 300x200 dove democracy has been achieved. Afghanistan is under attack and nothing until this moment has been achieved in order to say that the situation is becoming better. The Israeli Palestinian conflict is similar to the situation which we call silence before the storm. Iran’s crisis with the west is becoming more complicated every day and the later threatens to start serious economical sanctions if Iran does not forget about its nuclear projects.
I am not writing to be pessimistic but I would like to examine the current situation and try to see where the Middle East is going to. One year ago the world was optimistic that the change in the American administration will improve the situation and direct it towards peace in the area. Although President Obama made several promises about achieving peace and stability in the world unfortunately he found himself tracked in the change which he needs to do inside his country. I am not putting all the blame on the United States since it is well known that without a true cooperation from all the sides of the conflict nothing can be achieved. However, if we look at the situation in the field we cannot see any serious actions made to assure that the situation is developing into a better stage.
Iraq continues to suffer because of the chaotic situation which came as a result of the American attempt to bring “Democracy” into its system. The American forces and intelligence continue to face more complicated challenges while confronting Al-Qaeda cells in Afghanistan, Yemen, and the world. The Arab world formal system continues to lose control regarding security matters because of the Al-Qaeda spread out in the area. The reason that nothing succeeded in narrowing the activities and expansion of Al-Qaeda is that the only strategy which has been used is to implement military campaigns while ignoring the importance of improving the relations between the west and the east by supporting the latter to be more developed economically, Politically, and of course by supporting a fair solution to end the last occupation in the world which takes place on the Arab Palestinian lands that are considered extremely important in the eyes of the Arabs and Muslims. more.. e-mail
Lebanon tightens control over Palestinian refugee camps
Electronic Intifada: 19 Jan 2010 - NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (IPS) - Recent inter-factional clashes in Lebanon's Ein al-Hilwe refugee camp once more illustrated the fragile security situation in some of its Palestinian camps. Lebanese plans to take over security within the camps are rejected by the Palestinians. Ein al-Hilwe and other refugee camps are home to various Palestinian nationalist groups, but also host different Islamist forces that the Lebanese government considers a threat to the state's security and stability.
Israel jails Palestinian peace activists
Electronic Intifada: 19 Jan 2010 - RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Israel has long argued that Palestinians should pursue their political objectives in a nonviolent way. However, several prominent Palestinian peace activists have recently been arrested and jailed for doing just that. Abdallah Abu Rahmah, 39, the coordinator of the Bilin Popular Committee, which has challenged Israel's illegal expropriation of Palestinian land both in an Israeli court and a Canadian one, has been charged with "illegal arms possession, stone throwing and incitement."
"We are all complicit": an interview with Ewa Jasiewicz
Electronic Intifada: 19 Jan 2010 - A year ago, Israel launched its invasion of Gaza. Dubbed "Operation Cast Lead" by the Israeli military, the invasion started on 27 December 2008 and finished on 18 January 2009. During those 23 days, more than 1,400 Palestinians were killed including more than 320 children. Originally from England, Ewa Jasiewicz was one of a handful of "internationals" on the ground during the entirety of the attacks. Frank Barat spoke to Jasiewicz for The Electronic Intifada.
Boycott the 2010 Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival
Electronic Intifada: 19 Jan 2010 - The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and the Palestinian Students' Campaign for the Academic Boycott of Israel (PSCABI) call on students, lecturers and filmmakers to boycott the 13th International Student Film Festival, scheduled for June 2010 in the city of Tel Aviv. PACBI and PSCABI believe that this festival, as with similar cultural initiatives supported by the Israeli government, is openly designed to whitewash the crimes of Israeli apartheid.
In Gaza: 19 Jan 2010 - The long-awaited rains came full force. Dehydrated Gaza was suddenly awash. And while farmers are overjoyed –they can finally plant their crops; their water wells and cisterns were destroyed during the Israeli massacre of Gaza; they must plant before the end of the month or there will be no point [we got a call right away to accompany farmers close to the border fence]–the rains brought disaster to families in flooded areas of Gaza. In the low-lying Wadi Gaza region, between Gaza City and Khan Younis, the combination of sudden and great rains with Israel’s opening of dam floodgates caused a surge of water which swept through the villages in...
Palestine Chronicle: 19 Jan 2010 - By Frank Barat A year ago, Israel launched 'Operation Cast lead' in Gaza. It started on 27th of December 2008 and finished on 18th of January 2009. Those 22 days were the most brutal and violent the Palestinians had seen since 1967. More than 1400 Palestinians died including more than 400 children. More than 5000 Palestinians suffered serious injuries. 13 Israelis died. Ewa Jasiewicz was one of a handful “internationals” on the ground. A year later, she remembers and shares her reflections with me. Frank Barat: You were in Gaza a year ago during “Operation Cast Lead”. Why and how did you and other activists get to the Gaza Strip? Ewa Jasiewicz: Myself and several solidarity activists from Lebanon, Spain, Canada, Australia, Italy, UK, Ireland and Greece managed to get into Gaza aboard the Free Gaza Movement’s Dignity boat. FGM (1) has sailed five successful missions to Gaza between August-December 2008 bringing in human rights workers to build political solidarity activism, to break the isolation of ghettoized communities and directly confront Israel’s illegal and brutally collectively punishing siege. FGM’s missions are political – we know Palestine is not a charity case, and that the solutions to 60-year policy of ethnic cleansing, apartheid and militarised ghettoization are not extra bags of flour, medicine, new tents and millions in aid, but, political will and direct action – currently un-forthcoming from governments around the world, so our actions are about directly applying international law from the grassroots up because it isn’t being respected...
Criminal Complicity of a Senile Leadership
Palestine Chronicle: 19 Jan 2010 - By Mohamed El Mokhtar Sidi Haiba The autocratic regime of Egyptian leader Mubarak is more and more overtly complicit in aiding and abetting the inhumane strangulation and criminal blockade of the Gaza strip. It has used all kinds of phony pretexts to prevent international aid from reaching Gaza. Under the preposterous disguise of “national security” and “state sovereignty”, it has invented new measures aimed at further tightening Israel’s illegal embargo of the territory, thus contributing to the suffering of an already gravely battered population. Moreover, the Egyptian regime has continuously stoked up the chauvinistic sentiments of its populace in order to further its criminal policies and, more insidiously, disguise its failures of leadership and lack of political legitimacy. A task at which the Mubarak regime seems expertly adept at as revealed by the recent trivial incidents involving soccer games with Algeria or its utter opposition to any role played by the state of Qatar to further rapprochement among Palestinian factions. Even Turkey did not escape it wrath for just trying to help the Palestinians or bridge gaps with the Syrians, to say nothing of Iran whose bashing appears an officially-sanctioned hobby. Since June 2007, Israel has, with some rare exceptions, stopped almost everything from entering Gaza. Hamas, the Islamist party which won the parliamentary elections against Fatah in January 2006, took control of the territory in order to pre-empt an upcoming Fatah coup engineered by Israel, the US, Jordan and Egypt. In addition to the interdiction of imports, all exports...
Behind the Der Spiegel Tirades
Palestine Chronicle: 18 Jan 2010 - By Ali Jawad 'It seems obvious that [the] effort to communicate fully, will continue to be blocked [...] so long as the possessors of power continue to carry on with impunity their policy of collective imbecilization through ... the mass media.'-- Eduardo Galeano, Open Veins of Latin America. At the beginning of the New Year, German weekly magazine Der Spiegel ran a controversial report claiming that the Lebanese movement Hezbollah was involved in drug trafficking to finance its “terrorist operations against Israel”. The article proceeded to allege that individuals involved in the cartel had contacts with the central nexus of the resistance movement including its Secretary-General. Needless to state, no factual evidence was cited in support of the claims as in the case of a growing list of previous smear-campaigns. In his widely acclaimed book, ‘Resistance is the Essence of the Islamist Revolution’, director of Conflicts Forum, Alastair Crooke, argues that the West not only suffers from a “blind spot” when it comes to comprehending 'political Islam', but that it regularly employs an historically potent association of Islam with violence to drive in a perception of “reason capsized into madness” when depicting present-day resistance groups. As such, these groups come to symbolize everything that an idealized West isn’t; a big-toothed bogeyman of sorts. The recent allegations made by Der Spiegel touch on these historical stereotypes, and in tune with age-old precedent, they aim to influence policy patterns in one form or another. Before examining potential policy implications, a brief survey of Der...
Palestinian Film Forum Breaking the Cultural Siege on Gaza
Palestine Chronicle: 18 Jan 2010 - By Bianca Zammit and Rada Daniell - Gaza The Palestinian Film Forum (the Forum) was established in 2004 as a branch of the Palestinian Artists Union covering both Gaza and the West Bank. In the last couple of months it has intensified its activities aiming to achieve an ambitious list of tasks and ensure development of Palestinian cinematography and its networking with the other world cinematographies. The Forum recently organized the first film festival in Gaza in many years. The International Al Quds Film Festival took place between 21 and 23 December ‘09 and film makers from 11 Arab countries showed 52 documentary and feature films, two of which were made in cooperation with Spanish and Dutch filming associations. All films focused on Al Quds (Occupied East Jerusalem) or Palestine and explored issues of life under siege and occupation and five of them were awarded Gold Olive prices. Eager to find out more about their work and plans for the future, on 14 January 2010, we met up with the Forum’s founding members, Enas Altawil, Spokeswoman and PR Manager, Zahir Al Kashef, Film and Video Manager and Suad Mhanna, Forum’s President. They told us that Gaza did not have a cinema and that Palestinians in Gaza were deprived of the art of film and opportunities to escape the grim reality of the life under the siege. When we asked if that was because Gazans were not interested in films, PFF founders told us that nothing could be further from the...