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International Middle East Media Center
Soldiers
Kidnap 15 Palestinian In Less Than Two Days
IMEMC
25 Jan 2010 - Tuesday January 26, 2010 - 01:25, Israeli soldiers
kidnapped on Sunday and Monday at least 15 Palestinians from the
occupied West Bank, and took them in for interrogation.
B’Tselem
Releases Short Animated Video On Gaza Siege
IMEMC
25 Jan 2010 - Tuesday January 26, 2010 - 00:59, As part of a campaign
by the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied
Territories (B’Tselem), the group launched a short animated clip
challenging the effectives of this siege especially since Israel
believes that ongoing blockade would bring Hamas on its knees.
Settlers
Uproot 15 Olive Trees Near Ramallah
IMEMC
25 Jan 2010 - Tuesday January 26, 2010 - 00:49, A group of
fundamentalist settlers uprooted on Sunday evening fifteen olive trees
that belong to a resident of Dir Nitham village, near the central West
Bank city of Ramallah.
Dutch
Photographer Wins Award For Ni’lin Photo
IMEMC
25 Jan 2010 - Tuesday January 26, 2010 - 00:29, A Photographer from
Holland won the Silver Camera Award for a picture he took of the
Israeli army showering the nonviolent protesters in Ni’lin village,
near Ramallah, with tear gas.
Soldiers
Get “Free Space In Settlements” For Military Service
IMEMC
25 Jan 2010 - Monday January 25, 2010 - 12:52, Israeli Paper, Yedioth
Aharonoth, reported Monday that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin
Netanyahu, approved a deal that grants former soldiers free pieces of
land in the occupied Negev and Galilee.
Hamas
Legislator: “P.A Security Forces Arrest Six PLC Employees”
IMEMC
25 Jan 2010 - Monday January 25, 2010 - 05:21, Mahmoud Ramahi, a
leading member of the Hamas party, accused the Palestinian Security
Forces of arresting six employees of the Palestinian Legislative
Council without cause, after they left their Ramallah offices on Sunday
afternoon.
Belgium
To Ask E.U For A Unified Stance Against Israel For Preventing Officials
From Entering Gaza
IMEMC
25 Jan 2010 - Monday January 25, 2010 - 04:21, Belgium has decided to
ask the European Union to make a decision as to whether it will
sanction Israel for preventing E.U. officials from entering the
besieged Gaza Strip to observe the destruction and suffering that is
being inflicted upon the residents.
No
Elections without Reconciliation
IMEMC
25 Jan 2010 - Monday January 25, 2010 - 03:50, On General Elections in
the Palestinian National Authority: No Elections without Reconciliation
Mubarak
Slams Hamas, Defends Iron Wall
IMEMC
25 Jan 2010 - Monday January 25, 2010 - 03:28, Egyptian President,
Hosni Mubarak, slammed Hamas for criticizing the Iron Wall that Egypt
is constructing along, and under, its border with Gaza. Mubarak claims
the construction of the wall is a sovereign decision despite support
and supervision from the United States.
Israel
creates first ’army-owned’ university
1/25/2010
- Nazareth - Ehud Barak, Israel's defense minister, approved last week
the upgrading to university status of a college in a settlement located
deep inside the West Bank, a move certain to further undermine
Palestinian confidence in the peace process. The decision, authorizing
the first Israeli university located in Palestinian territory, is
expected to entitle the college to significant extra funding, allowing
it to expand its student population. About 11,000 students, most from
inside Israel, already attend the college in Ariel, studying amid a
population of 18,000 settlers. The expansion of Ariel, 20 kilometers
inside the West Bank and close to Nablus, is likely to increase
tensions with the US administration of Barack Obama. The White House
has demanded a settlement freeze that is being only temporarily and
partially honored by Israel.
Nil’in
supporters plan fact-finding visit
1/25/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - An urgent fact-finding mission to Ni'lin has been
launched after the Israeli military began what activists termed an
escalation of repression against human rights defenders in the village.
Nil'in representatives will welcome delegations of political leaders
and journalists to the Ramallah-area village on Tuesday. The visit aims
to raise awareness about "the gravity of the attack on the village and
the people's fundamental rights of freedom of expression, assembly and
association" and, in turn, to extend protection to Ni'lin. Arrests of
human rights defenders in Ni'lin have lead to the detention of 11
people in less than one week, residents reported, and during night
raids by the Israeli military in the village inhabitants are subjected
to harassment, intimidation and destruction of property. In at least
one case, the army arrested the father of a targeted human rights
defender to press him to hand himself over.
Haniyeh
urges conference for jailed Palestinians
1/25/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Monday
that his government would make this year "the year of the detainees,"
calling for an international conference in Gaza to discuss the issue.
Israel imprisons around 10,000 Palestinians, most of whom are held
outside the occupied territories. Haniyeh called for increased efforts
to show solidarity with Palestinian prisoners, speaking at an event
honoring Gaza Detainees Minister Muhammad Faraj Al-Ghoul at the Prime
Minister's Office in Gaza City. The prisoners issue is very important
to all Palestinians, Haniyeh said. "They are always in our minds, even
if they are absent. They remain loyal because they sacrificed their
lives for the homeland," he said. Al-Ghoul followed by saying "the
detainees issue is an essential one, and we always work hard to ease
their suffering and their parents' suffering, as well. "
Dweik
condemns ’attack’ by PA security forces
1/25/2010
- Ramallah - Ma'an - Aziz Dweik, Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative
Council, and Hamas affiliate, condemned on Monday what he described as
an attack by security forces against his staff at the PLC headquarters,
including the searching his car and detaining its driver for two hours,
he said in a statement. "This attack represents a clear policy
undertaken by these parties, who seek to disable all efforts for the
success of reconciliation efforts," Dweik's statement read. "[searching
my car] is a dangerous precedent, and a flagrant violation of the
immunity granted me according to Palestinian Basic Law, which prevents
the searching of my luggage, home, or car. This represents a personal
attack on this constitutional institution [the PLC] and its president.
"The statement added that the incident indicated a rejection of
national reconciliation, having followed a news conference. . .
VIDEO
- B’Tselem film challenges wisdom of Gaza blockade
1/25/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - One year after Israel's assault on the coastal
enclave, the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem launched a public
campaign demanding that Israel lift its siege on the Gaza Strip. On
Monday, B'Tselem released a short film, by Alon Simone, challenging
conventual wisdom in Israel that the country's ongoing military
blockade of Gaza has brought Hamas to its knees. "A siege doesn't
collapse governments," the animated film concludes. "A siege just makes
people miserable. " Releasing such films and other material to counter
perceptions of what is happening "is necessary in order to rehabilitate
the Gaza Strip from the destruction wrought by the hostilities,"
B'Tselem said. On Sunday, Gaza's electricity generators were turned off
as a result of insufficient quantities of fuel being transferred into
the coastal enclave. Related: B'tselem
Animation: Lift siege on Gaza, December 2009 and Gaza:
An Inside Look - Young Gazans' videos
PPP
official: Settlements main danger
1/25/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli settlements and land confiscation are the
foremost dangers faced by Palestinians in the West Bank, said member of
the Palestine Peoples' Party's politburo Walid Al-Awad on Monday.
Al-Awad added that efforts to turn Jerusalem into an exclusively Jewish
city and sever it from the West Bank were serious concerns, he said
during an interview with Ma'an. The US administration is contributing
to this danger, he said, adding that negotiations will remain
stonewalled until a total settlement freeze is initiated across the
West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. National Palestinian forces and
others should take notice of these perils and oppose them to protect
Palestinian self-determination, he said. Al-Awad further called for
resistance, citing that it is the right of Palestinians to defend their
lands and their rights, and demanded an end to internal division.
Gaza’s
children speak of their desire for freedom
1/25/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - Dozens of children living in the besieged Gaza Strip
expressed their desire to live decent lives where their rights are
guaranteed in a world far from war and internal conflict, during the
final stages of a three week event dedicated to children's art and
drawing. The children spoke during the finale ceremony for Gaza Through
the Eyes of the Youth, an event organized by the Sharekna Youth Group,
in coordination with the Al-Ata Organization for Mother and Child,
where they painted across the wall in front of the Legislative Council
in Gaza. One of the event's organizers and coordinator for Sharekna,
Maysa Efteha, said that activities began during the first anniversary
of Operation Cast Lead and lasted 22 days "representing the number of
days of war experienced by children and young people. Children could
experience a form of catharsis from their psychological traumas through
drawing and color. "
Israeli
forces detain 9 across the West Bank overnight
1/25/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - Nine Palestinians were detained across the West
Bank overnight, an Israeli military spokesman confirmed on Monday. The
nine were deemed "wanted" for their involvement in different security
related matters, the spokesman said. One Palestinian was detained from
Qabatiya, south of Jenin, two in Arrabeh in Jenin, four in Hebron and
two from Beit Abura, west of Hebron. [end]
Family
of man in coma for 7 months appeals for help
1/25/2010
- Nablus - Ma'an special - "For God's sake, let my father go to Amman.
God wants to cure him in Amman, why don't they let him go after seven
months of being in a coma," Mas'ab, nine, said. Seven months ago, Iyad
Abu Thaher, 39, walked to the national hospital in Nablus where he
previously underwent cardiac catheterization surgery. According to his
family, his health condition deteriorated "due to negligence" and he
has been in a coma for the last seven months as a result. Reyad Abu
Thaher, Iyad's brother, told Ma'an he believed that doctors at the
Nablus hospital are responsible for his brother's current condition,
having made him wait six hours before allowing him access to an
intensive care room. The family called for an official investigation
into Abu Thaher's case when they suspected negligence. The results
remain confidential, they said, despite having been broughtbefore a
Palestinian judiciary.
Nil’in
photo takes top prize at Dutch contest
1/26/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - A Dutch photographer has won the Silver Camera
Award in the foreign news category for his shot during a weekly
demonstration against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank
village of Nil'in. The award is widely considered the foremost prize
for press photography in the Netherlands. The photographer, Cris Toala
Olivares, took the shot in October 2009 when he was in the West Bank
for its annual olive harvest. He captured this moment when dozens of
tear-gas canisters were shot at Palestinians in an olive grove in
Nil'in. Olivares, a Dutch citizen originally from Ecuador, also visited
the Gaza Strip in January 2009 and produced a series of photos during
Israel's assault on the coastal enclave over the winter. . . . .
UNRWA
launches new Hebrew website
1/26/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on Monday announced the
launch of a Hebrew-language website. The new website marks a watershed
for the agency, which is seeking to extend its outreach and advocacy
efforts to Israeli audiences. The site, made possible through funding
from the Dutch government, contains a wide range of resources designed
to inform the Hebrew-speaking public about the reality of life for
Palestine refugees. Visitors to the Hebrew site will find a wealth of
information on the agency and its history, from exclusive archive and
recent photographs, to videoclips, personal stories, and details of
conditions in UNRWA camps. Related: UNRWA's new Hebrew site
Israeli
authorities open 2 Gaza crossings
1/25/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli authorities opened the Kerem Shalom and Karni
crossings into the Gaza Strip on Monday to allow the transfer of
humanitarian aid and the limited export of goods, a Palestinian border
official told Ma'an. The Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza will
see the transfer of between 58 and 68 truckloads of humanitarian aid,
commercial and agricultural goods, said Raed Fattouh, the crossings'
official. Additionally, one truck of cut carnations and one truck of
strawberries will be exported via the Karni crossing tin northern Gaza.
Approximately 96 truckloads of wheat and animal feed will be transfered
via Karni, as well as limited quantities of domestic gas and industrial
fuel. On Sunday, Gaza's electricity generators were turned off as a
result of insufficient quantities of fuel being transferred into the
coastal enclave. . . . .
Israeli
Apartheid Week 2010 to open in Toronto
1/25/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - The 6th annual Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) will
take place in Toronto from 1 March to 7 March 2010, organizers
announced on Monday. IAW will feature lectures, film screenings,
cultural activities, and demonstrations aimed at "raising awareness
about Israel's apartheid policies toward Palestinians," a statement
said. Organizers hope to gather support for the international boycott,
divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign. Speakers will be joining
Apartheid Week from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives,
including Palestinian academic and journalist Rabab Abdulhadi, South
African writer and community leader Na'eem Jeenah and representatives
from aboriginal communities in Canada and the United States. Concurrent
events will be held in dozens of cities throughout Canada and
internationally, including United States, United Kingdom, South Africa
and Palestine. Related: The Sixth Annual Israeli Apartheid
Week 2010
Israel
releases detainee after 7 years
1/25/2010
- Jenin - Ma'an - Israel released a Palestinian on Monday after holding
him for nine years, the Detainees Studies Center reported. Ahmad Husny
Mahmoud Ash-Shibany, from Arabah village in Jenin, was arrested seven
years ago. It was the second arrest, however, as Ash-Shibany had also
served nine years in jail before his latest detention. [end]
Hebronites
released after 4 years in jail
1/25/2010
- Hebron - Ma'an - Israeli authorities released on Monday two detainees
from the Bani No'em village south of Hebron after they were detained
for four years in the Negev. They were identified as Issa Al-Khdour,
32, and Khaled Zeidat, 35. Israel authorities accused them of
affiliation to the Al-Aqsa Brigades, Fatah's military wing. [end]
BU
officials meet US ambassador, Vatican official in Rome
1/25/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - The US Ambassador to the Vatican and the
Chancellor of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre met with
Bethlehem University officials, members of the International Board of
Regents, and the Leadership Forum of the Friends of Bethlehem
University this week during a series of university planning meetings
held in Rome. Dr. Miguel Humberto Diaz, the United States Ambassador to
the Vatican, and his wife, Dr. Marian Diaz, were honored guests of
Brother Peter Bray, Bethlehem University Vice Chancellor, Brother
George Absi, President, Dr. Rudolf Solzbacher, Chair of the Regents,
Brother Álvaro Rodríguez Echeverría, Superior General, and Brother
Thomas Johnson, Vicar General, at a celebrative dinner on Thursday, 21
January 2010 with the Board of Regents, other senior university
administrators, and friends of Bethlehem University.
Shalit’s
parents to meet with Israeli envoy
1/25/2010
- Bethelehem - Ma'an/Agencies - The parents of captured Israeli soldier
Gilad Shalit are to meet with Israeli envoy Hagai Hadas to discuss
recent developments in talks for their son's potential release, Israeli
media reported on Monday. The Shalits will meetHadas in Tel Aviv,
according to the Israeli daily Yedioth Aheronot, for a series of
meetings between the three, where it is expected that Shalit's parents
will ask for clarification on recent points of discussion in the
stalled prisoner swap deal. Deposed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said
on Wednesday that "Israel has backtracked on its understandings [of the
conditions] being offered by the German middleman and Egypt is up to
date on these developments. "Any new developments with the negotiations
will not carry anything but elusions for the Palestinians and will not
bring about any improvement concerning Palestinian rights.
Rights
group slams leadership over election crisis
1/26/2010
- Ramallah - Ma'an - The Al-Marsad Center for Human Rights' elections
and democracy branch said on Monday that the failure to hold elections
throughout the occupied Palestinian territories is a violation of
Palestinians' right to political participation through elections. On 25
January, the mandate for the PLC expired, the organization said,
pointing out that according to the Law of Elections(9) of 2005, Article
(111) and (2) set out by the PLC, the failure to hold elections within
a legal and constitutional timeframe is a violation of the Palestinian
people's right to vote. The organization demanded that Hamas sign the
reconciliation document sponsored by Egypt and called on President
Mahmoud Abbas to issue a presidential decree for legislative and
presidential elections to take place in June, in accordance with the
document's guidelines.
PA
employees to receive 4% salary increase
1/25/2010
- Nablus - Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority will increase employees'
salaries by four per cent this month, said Amjad Abu Raed head of the
Union of Government Officials on Monday. Abu Raed said that a 2. 75%
increase will be tacked on to salaries for the cost of living, and 1.
25% will be given as an annual bonus. All governmental employees will
receive the raise, he said, adding that the union received a formal
decision from the Ramallah government announcing the decision. [end]
Ethiopian
Airlines crash site found, 14 bodies recovered
1/25/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - The crash site of the Ethiopian Airlines
plane that disappeared after taking off from Beirut on Monday has been
found, the Reuters news agency reported. "[The crash] site has been
identified three-and-a-half km [two miles] west of the [coastal]
village of Na'ameh," Lebanese Transport Minister Ghazi Al-Arid said.
Search and rescue operations are underway, Al-Arid said, confirming
that 83 passengers and seven crew were on board. Fourteen bodies have
so far been recovered near the crash site three-and-a-half km (two
miles) west of the coastal village of Na'ameh, Reuters reported.
Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake said he had spoken with Lebanese
authorities who did not confirm there were survivors. Fifty-four of
those on board were Lebanese, 22 were Ethiopian, two were British, as
well asCanadian, Russian, French, Iraqi and Syrian nationals.
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Decision to be part of Israel's response to Goldstone report; inquiry committee to consist of senior Israeli jurists.
German firm cancels deal with Iran port due to Israeli pressure
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Israel envoy to Berlin tells German officials Israel would see contract as aiding terrorist arms deal.
Haaretz probe: Israel dismantling roadblocks, but Palestinians still can't move
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Haaretz learns that new 'unmanned' roadblocks in West Bank are no less restraining than those removed.
Hamas: Mubarak helping Israel starve Gaza Palestinians
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Militant group says Egypt's planned steel barrier will bolster blockade of 1.5 million Gazans.
Government plans land giveaway to combat troops
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Proposed legislation would grant real estate worth NIS 100,000 to every fighting soldier.
Report: Israel opens Gaza crossings, lets in aid
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Israel's Foreign Ministry blocks entrance of Belgian minister into Gaza, says visit could bolster Hamas.
Court orders IDF to compensate evicted settlers
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - IDF razed West Bank outpost Yad Yair despite Supreme Court order to delay destruction.
Israel refuses Belgium minister's request to enter Gaza
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Deputy FM says visa would be seen as gesture to Hamas, warns aid would fall into hands of militants.
Deputy Defense Minister: Israel making every effort to avoid war
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - GOC Northern Command Eizenkot: Reports of imminent Lebanon conflict are just 'virtual escalation.'
Bin Laden: Attacks on U.S. to go on as long as it supports Israel
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Al Jazeera airs purported tape of Al-Qaida leader claiming responsibility for botched Detroit plane attack.
Jerusalem is starting to resemble Tehran
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - After participating in Sheikh Jarrah protest, I realized police use force even when things are orderly.
Race is on for position of next IDF chief of staff
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Many senior posts won't be filled until the new military head is named in more than a year.
Netanyahu: Israel has no plans to attack Lebanon
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - PM responds to Israeli minister's remark that Israel and Hezbollah are headed toward inevitable military conflict.
Hezbollah: Israel afraid of retribution for Mughniyeh death
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Hezbollah reportedly moves its long range rockets deep into northern Lebanon, widening possible conflict with Israel.
Israel arrests son of Palestinian peace activist in West Bank raid
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Khaled Abu-Awwad is the General Manager of the Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Families Forum.
Gaza militants: We nearly abducted an IDF soldier
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Islamic Jihad military wing: IDF soldier whose glider accidentally drifted into Gaza almost captured.
Hezbollah and Syria on alert fearing IDF attack on Lebanon
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - IDF denies any plans of renewing conflict against Lebanon; Syria reportedly calling up reserves troops.
Not all settlers and Palestinians want each other to disappear
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - New West Bank group is embracing the concept of binational state, hoping for an agreement to bring sustainable peace.
1/24/2010 - Antiwar.com - Peace Talks Further Damaged as PM Claims Settlement Blocs 'Part of Jerusalem' - Seemingly already damaged beyond repair, the prospect for peace talks talk another hit today when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared portions of the occupied West Bank “eternally” part of Israel. Attending a tree-planting ceremony in one of the settlements, Netanyahu proclaimed that “we are planting here, we will stay here, we will build here, this place will be an inseparable part of the state of Israel for eternity. ” He added that the settlements were part of “sovereign Jerusalem. ”The settlements are built on land occupied by the Israeli military in 1967 and are not recognized as part of the nation. They lie near East Jerusalem, which was also occupied and is not generally recognized as part of Israel either, though Netanyahu insists that this too will remain part of the Israeli state.
Netanyahu Singles Out Iran, Venezuela for Anti-Semitism
1/25/2010 - Arutz Sheva - (IsraelNN. com) In Sunday’s cabinet meeting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu singled out Iran and Venezuela for high levels of anti-Semitism. " [There are] countries which allow anti-Semitism and even lead measured anti-Semitism. Of course, an outstanding example of this is Iran, which is headed by someone who denies the Holocaust and spreads antisemitism in every direction. I believe that it is no coincidence that a synagogue was recently desecrated in Caracas, Venezuela. There is a group of countries that allow and lead anti-Semitism on the level of government policy. " "[There also] are many other countries that do not do enough, and no less worse, in the name of freedom of speech, allow intolerable expressions of antisemitism, without condemnation. On one hand they are defending freedom of speech – and deny themselves the freedom of expression that every government, and society, has to condemn unacceptable phenomena. " The Prime Minister subsequently set up a special task force to fight anti-Semitism.
Minister Peled: Conflict on northern border a matter of time
1/23/2010 - YNetNews - Likud MK and former GCO Northern Command chief says another armed altercation with Hezbollah is coming, although no one knows when it will erupt - Minister Yossi Peled (Likud), speaking at an event in Beersheba, said Saturday that he believes Israel is likely to face another conflict on the northern border, although it is unclear exactly when. "Lebanon is the only country in the world that has a military organization - Hezbollah – that doesn’t answer to the government and is supported by two external states, Iran and Syria. " Although Hezbollah is part of the (Lebanese) government, it is unaffected by it. If there is another confrontation in the north, we will hold Syria and Lebanon alike responsible," said the former GCO Northern Command chief. The international community, he added, has failed to "manage Hezbollah," which is how it became more powerful now that it was prior to the Second Lebanon War. Related: PM's Office: Israel seeks no war with Lebanon and Robert Fisk: War Looms Between Israel and Hezbollah"
With peace talks frozen, Palestinians back protests
1/24/2010 - Yahoo! News - NABI SALEH, West Bank (Reuters) – In the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, Palestinians frustrated by the failure of peace talks to protect their land from Jewish settlement growth are on the march, and ready to face the teargas. It is the latest example of Palestinians, their faith in the 17-year-old peace process sinking ever lower, turning to what they call popular resistance; code for protests that activists say are drawing an increasingly tough Israeli response. Some observers are concerned that such unrest risks flaring up into new conflict, even if few see a "Third Intifada" mimicking the street-fighting uprising of the 1980s or the suicide bombings of the second Intifada a decade ago. "The Israelis are worried because if it is played well it has all the ingredients to shape international opinion," one Western diplomat said. "It's an option to let off steam but it has a great risk of escalation and becoming violent. "
U.S. to store $800m in military gear in Israel
1/11/2010 - Ha'aretz - The U. S. Army will double the value of emergency military equipment it stockpiles on Israeli soil, and Israel will be allowed to use the U. S. ordnance in the event of a military emergency, according to a report in Monday's issue of the U. S. weekly Defense News. The report, written by Barbara Opall-Rome, the magazine's Israel correspondent, said that an agreement reached between Washington and Jerusalem last month will bring the value of the military gear to $800 million. This is the final phase of a process that began over a year ago to determine the type and amount of U. S. weapons and ammunition to be stored in Israel, part of an overarching American effort to stockpile weapons in areas in which its army may need to operate while allowing American allies to make use of the ordnance in emergencies. Related: US to store more weapons, ammunition in Israel: official
Court Orders Defense Ministry to Produce Documents on Gaza Access Policy
1/21/2010 - Gisha - * The Tel Aviv District Court today held a hearing in a petition filed by Gisha under the Freedom of Information Act on Israel's policy for Gaza access. * The Court gave the State 30 days to produce the requested documents or to explain why it refuses to do so. * The petition was filed following six months of attempts to obtain information relating to restrictions on the transfer of food and other goods to the Gaza Strip. * It is unclear why Israel allows flour to be transferred to Gaza but not vinegar or coriander, and what any of these restrictions have to do with security. -- January 21: At a court hearing held today in the Tel Aviv District Court, the Court ordered the State of Israel to produce documents related to its Gaza access policy within 30 days or to explain why it refuses to do so. Gisha - Legal Center for Freedom of Movement filed the petition under the Freedom of Information. . . .
Israeli drones take over skies of Afghanistan
1/22/2010 - Jerusalem Post - While Israeli soldiers can't fight in the war in Afghanistan, Israeli drones can. Starting next week, five NATO member countries will be operating unmanned aerial vehicles produced in the Jewish state in anti-Taliban operations in the Central Asian country. Next week, officials from the German military will arrive to take delivery of an undisclosed number of Heron UAVs, made by Israel Aerospace Industries. The Heron is a medium altitude long endurance UAV that can remain airborne for more than 30 hours with a cruising altitude of 30,000 feet, and can carry a payload of 250 kg. It has a wingspan of 16. 6 meters, a takeoff weight of 1,200 kg. and an operational range of several hundred kilometers. It can carry a variety of sensors used for surveillance and target identification. Germany is the fifth country to operate Israel Aerospace Industries UAVs in Afghanistan.
US envoy meeting with Israeli, Palestinian leaders
1/24/2010 - Antiwar.com - US peace envoy meeting with Israeli, Palestinian leaders after effort to relaunch talks fails - AP - The Obama administration's Mideast envoy pressed on Sunday with a sputtering year-old peace mission, shuttling between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in hopes of breaking a stubborn deadlock over Israeli settlement construction. Last year, President Barack Obama took office with the ambitious aim of putting Mideast peacemaking on a fast track. Instead, the peace mission led by U. S. envoy George Mitchell has stalled over Israel's settlements on occupied lands and the Palestinians' refusal to return to peace talks. In turn, that has forced Obama to acknowledge he underestimated the domestic political forces at play in the region and overreached in expecting a quick breakthrough. Mitchell met for a second time with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, and was scheduled to. . . .
Obama’s envoy urges Syria, Lebanon to join Mideast talks
1/24/2010 - Ha'aretz - U. S. President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, held his second meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 48 hours in Amman on Sunday and pledged continued efforts to ensure the creation of a "viable" Palestinian state. In remarks to reporters after the meeting, Mitchell said the United States would press ahead with efforts for the accomplishment of the "two-state solution. "However, Mitchell said that Syria and Lebanon should be involved in the peace negotiations so that all countries of the region can enjoy "normal ties. "Abbas told Mitchell during their talks that the Palestinians were committed to reaching a peace agreement based on clear negotiations and a complete cessation of Israeli activity in West Bnk settlements, according to the PA leader's aides. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat added, following the president's talks with Mitchell,. . . .
Kadima discord renews Likud’s hopes to split rival
1/24/2010 - Jerusalem Post - Tension in Kadima over when the party's next leadership race should be held will lead to a split in the party, senior Likud officials predicted on Saturday night. - Kadima nearly came apart last month after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his close ally, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, succeeded in drafting six of the seven MKs needed to legally split the party. Katz has maintained contact with multiple Kadima MKs about joining the six and enabling the split. He said over the weekend that the dispute over the date for the Kadima leadership race could be an excuse for another MK to cross the Rubicon. " We opened the crack in Kadima and little by little, they are coming apart," Katz told a confidant. " Their fight over the primary makes it increasingly likely to happen and justifies my approach from the get-go. "
Israeli tourism minister invited to Iran -- or not
1/22/2010 - Freedom Syndicate - Israel is participating in Madrid's FITUR, the largest tourism fair for the Spanish-speaking and the Latin American market, and is showcasing airlines, hotels and travel agencies in the Israeli exhibit in order to encourage tourism to the nation. The delegation, headed by Israel's tourism minister Stas Misezhnikov, is also interested in increasing cooperation in this field with other nations, including those in its own region. The Israelis visited the exhibits of Morocco, Egypt and Jordan, and Misezhnikov also exchanged warm greetings with the director-general of the Palestinian tourism minister, expressing hope for successful cooperation. The Syrians ignored the Israeli delegation. But a pleasant surprise awaited the Israelis upon arrival at the Iranian exhibit, according to the Israeli tourism ministry. Hesitating at first, the Iranian representative presented the exhibit of Iran's. . . .
Iran accuses US, Israel of killing nuclear scientist
1/12/2010 - The Raw Story - AFP - Iranian nuclear scientist Massoud Ali Mohammadi was killed on Tuesday in a rare bomb attack in Tehran which the government blamed on "mercenaries" in the pay of archfoes Israel and the United States. The killing comes amid an increasingly bitter standoff between Iran and world powers over Tehran's controversial nuclear drive, which the West suspects is masking an atomic weapons programme. Mohammadi, a particle physics professor at prestigious Tehran University, died when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle was triggered by remote control outside his home in northern Tehran, state media said. " One can see in preliminary investigations signs of evilness by the triangle of the Zionist regime, America and their mercenaries in Iran in this terrorist incident," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said. Tehran's chief prosecutor echoed his words, implicating US and Israeli intelligence services. Related: April 2007 - U. S. website: Mossad killed Iranian nuclear physicist
Nearly Half of Americans Admit to Anti-Muslim Bias
1/21/2010 - Beliefnet.com - Religion News Service - Close to half of Americans admit to harboring prejudice against Muslims and negative feelings about Islam, a new study from the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies shows. The level of anti-Muslim prejudice -- 43 percent of Americans admitted feeling at least "a little" -- is more than twice as high as Americans' reported feelings toward Buddhists, Christians and Jews. Fifty-three percent of respondents said their view of Islam was "not too favorable" or "not favorable at all," according to a 32-page "Religious Perceptions in America" report that was released Thursday (Jan. 21). " It was interesting to note that Americans admit no more prejudice against Buddhists and Jews than they do against Christians," said Dalia Mogahed, director of the Washington-based center. "So this isn't just simply a problem against minority religions. There is a somewhat unique issue with Muslims in particular. "
Focus
on Haiti: Washington's Militarized Takeover
Uruknet
January 25, 2010 - Haiti is no stranger to adversity and anguish - over
500 years of severe oppression, slavery, despotism, colonization,
reparations, embargoes, sanctions, deep poverty, starvation,
unrepayable debt, and natural calamities from destructive hurricanes to
a dozen magnitude 7.0 or greater Caribbean region earthquakes in the
past 500 years. The last major one was in 1946 at 8.1...
Karroubi
recognises Ahmadinejad as Iran 'president': son
Uruknet
January 25, 2010 – Iranian opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi who had
refused to accept the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, now
recognises the hardliner as the country's "president", Karroubi's son
told AFP on Monday. Hossein Karroubi quoted his father as saying: "I am
still of the same belief that the election was unhealthy and massively
rigged. But since the (supreme)...
But
The Wall Stopped The Suicide Bombings And Wouldn't You Want A Wall If
Your Neighbors Were Trying To Kill You etc etc etc
Uruknet
January 25, 2010 - I see that Adam at Mondoweiss has written a post
today about the Separation Wall in the West Bank, and the cost it
imposes on the people who live there. Whenever you see a blog post on
the subject, it is virtually guaranteed that someone will show up with
the boilerplate response about how its's not...
Iran
banks have $48 bln in bad loans -cbank
Uruknet
January 25, 2010 - Iran's state-dominated banking system has $48
billion in non-performing loans and it is on the verge of a crisis, the
Islamic Republic's central bank governor said in comments published on
Monday. "How would it be possible for the banking system to show any
profit with $48 billion worth of loans in arrears," the Ettelaat
newspaper quoted...
‘This
is our village!’ – a report from Nabi Saleh
Uruknet
January 25, 2010 - The following is a shocking video from Nabi Saleh, a
Palestinian village of 500 residents located north of Ramallah. The
village has been engaged in growing demonstrations during the past few
weeks to protest the illegal seizure of valuable agricultural land by
the Hallamish (Neve Tzuf) settlement. Settlers have also recently
uprooted of hundreds of the...
Goldstone
documented nightmarish case of a Palestinian ‘human shield’
Uruknet
January 25, 2010 - The Israeli government is starting to go all out in
its war against the Goldstone Report. Israel is planning on issuing its
response to the report this Thursday, and it seems Israel is aided by
the fact that so few people have actually read the contents of the
report itself. We will be posting segments from...
Israel's
PR exploitation of Haiti aid
Uruknet
January 25, 2010 -Despite logistical problems, the 12 January
earthquake in Haiti has seen much of the "international community" pull
together to provide food, doctors and other emergency aid for the
already poverty-stricken country. But the disaster has also provided
apologists for the State of Israel's human rights abuses an opportunity
to try and grab high moral ground. It was...
New
York Times fails to disclose Jerusalem bureau chief's conflict of
interest
Uruknet
January 25, 2010 - The New York Times has all but confirmed to The
Electronic Intifada (EI) that the son of its Jerusalem bureau chief
Ethan Bronner was recently inducted into the Israeli army. Over the
weekend, EI received a tip suggesting this had been the case and wrote
to Bronner to ask him to confirm or deny the information...
War
on Goldstone now deploys human-rights orgs and, you guessed it, the
Holocaust
Uruknet
January 25, 2010 - The war that was launched this past weekend against
the Goldstone report in the New York Times is aimed at the mildmannered
Sec’y General of the United Nations. So Norman Finkelstein tells me,
and this Haaretz piece confirms. On February 5, Ban Ki-moon will report
to the General Assembly on the progress of the report (which...
IOA
assaults WB workers, endorses tough punishment against those helping
them
Uruknet
January 25, 2010 - Israeli occupation authority's (IOA) border
policemen captured nine Palestinian workers east of occupied Jerusalem
on Sunday and beat them up for trying to enter the holy city for work
without having permits. Relatives of the workmen said that the border
guards used riffle butts and batons to attack the workers who suffered
fractures all over their...
Delaying
aid for a photo-op
Uruknet
Janaury 25, 2010 - EVERYTHING YOU need to know about the U.S. aid
effort to assist Haiti in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake can
be summed up by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's touchdown in
Port-au-Prince on Saturday, January 16: they shut down the airport for
three hours surrounding her arrival for "security" reasons, which meant
that no aid...
Obeid:
Gaza electricity station to come to a complete halt by Thursday
Uruknet
January 25, 2010 -- The sole electricity generation station in Gaza
Strip is to stop functioning by Thursday because the European Union
(EU) stopped financing fuel shipments to the Strip, Kenan Obeid, the
deputy chairman of the Palestinian energy authority, said. He appealed
to the Arab countries, in a statement to the PIC, and all free people
of the world...
Jerusalem, January 24, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - At least 15 protesters were arrested yesterday as several hundred left-wing Israelis held their biggest demonstration yet against demolitions and evictions of East Jerusalem Palestinians designed to make way for Jewish colonists. Police moved in to force back the noisy but largely peaceful protest in Sheikh Jarrah, the inner-city district that has rapidly...
IOF beats Palestinian workers
Jerusalem, January 25, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces at "Al-Zaim" checkpoint, in the entrance of Jerusalem city, severely beat a group of Palestinian workers from Al-Khader town, south of Bethlehem, while they were heading to their work site in Jerusalem city. Rani Salah, 26, who was one of the workers, said that they were cruelly and brutally beaten...
European fleet to head to Gaza
Gaza, January 25, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The Hamas-Gaza Government Committee to Break the Siege in Gaza has announced that the biggest fleet to defy Israel's blockade will reach the besieged Gaza Strip from Geece at the end of March. The fleet includes 20 ships from several European countries; it is expected that the number may increase. The committee added...
Legislataive Council's term ends, continues in limbo
Ramallah, January 25, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The Palestinian Legislative Council's tenure officially ended Sunday night, four years after the elections which yielded a Hamas majority. Fatah sources were quick to declare that from now on they will regard the current parliament make-up as illegal, while Hamas officials stressed that as long as no new general elections have been conducted...
Egypt's "death wall" sparks continued protest
Rafah, Egypt, January 25, 2010 - Three construction drills that look like giant corkscrews pierce the ground close to Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip, part of an effort to disrupt smuggling tunnels that has led to shootouts. Smugglers and sympathizers of Hamas, the Islamic movement that rules Gaza, say pipes inserted into the holes will house motion sensors to...
The National 25 Jan 2010 - A national day of mourning is declared in Lebanon after an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashes into the sea with 90 passengers and crew onboard.
Yemen urged to address rights abuses
The National 24 Jan 2010 - Activists claim that the government is using the war on terror as an excuse to harry its political opponents and critics.
Call for reform draws criticism in Lebanon
The National 24 Jan 2010 - Controversy after the Lebanese parliamentary speaker announced his drive to abolish a system whereby political power is shared by major religious groups.
The Media Line 24 Jan 2010 - An electric vehicle service provider is set to receive one of the largest cleantech investments in history. An Israeli funded and U.S.-based cleantech company secured $350 million in funding on Monday from several major financial companies....
Hackers Take Iran's Civil War Online
The Media Line 24 Jan 2010 - Reformists set up computer hacking team to counter Iran's Cyber Army. Iran's civil war began in June at the ballot box. Then it spread to the streets as reformists accused the Islamic republic's administration of rigging...
Newspapers Win Over Websites in Arabic Ad War
The Media Line 24 Jan 2010 - Contrary to global trends, Arabic websites are struggling to win over advertisers from traditional newspapers. Arabic newspapers still hold the upper hand in advertising revenue over online news sources, a new study has found. The report,...
Palestinians Lack Capacity for Suicide Bombings
The Media Line 24 Jan 2010 - Israeli security services say the absence of Palestinian suicide attacks last year indicates poor capabilities. For the first time in a decade there were no Palestinian suicide attacks against Israelis in 2009. After 36 Israelis were...
“Super Police” to Monitor Arab Satellite TV?
The Media Line 24 Jan 2010 - Arab information ministers representing 22 member states of the Arab League discussed the formation of a new transnational body to monitor Arab satellite TV stations on Sunday, amidst calls from media freedom groups that the move...
Ethiopian Airlines Flight from Beirut Crashes
The Media Line 24 Jan 2010 - An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed after taking off from Beirut International Airport early Monday morning. About 18 bodies have been found amid wreckage from the Adis Ababa-bound flight that took off with 90 people on...
Term of Palestinian Legislative Council Expires; Fatah Says Now Illegal, Hamas Says Term Extended
The Media Line 24 Jan 2010 - Four years after Hamas won elections and became the majority in the Palestinian legislature, the term of the Palestinian Legislative Council has expired leaving derision in its wake. Fatah contends that with the term expired the...
Netanyahu Re-Asserts Plan to Hold On to ‘Settlement Blocs'
The Media Line 24 Jan 2010 - [News and Analysis] It was a reminder of Israeli policy consistent among all governments since the beginning of the Oslo peace process in 1994 rather than a new act of defiance as some media outlets are...
AlJazeera 24 Jan 2010 - Netanyahu says conflict with Lebanese group is not imminent after minister's comments.
Israel 'to keep' parts of West Bank
AlJazeera 24 Jan 2010 - Some areas of the Palestinian territory will remain in Israel, prime minister says.
Alternative Information Center
Israel Likely to Join OECD in 2010: “If You Have Enough Money, We’ll Call You a Democracy”Alternative Information Center 25 Jan 2010 - General Secretary of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Angel Gurria, visited Israel last week (18-20 January 2010) to launch two new OECD reports: an Economic Survey of Israel and a Review of Israel’s...
Michel Sabbah, “Israeli Occupation Main Cause of Instability in the Middle East”
Alternative Information Center 25 Jan 2010 - Seventy-seven years old and with the strength of one who continues calling for freedom and reconciliation, the Patriarch emeritus Michel Sabbah is a key figure in understanding two important documents in the life of Palestine and...
PNN 25 Jan 2010 - Fatenah is a 27-year-old young woman who lives in the Gaza Strip. Her life was like that of many other women in Gaza, until she became ill. This short, 27-minute animation - the first Palestinian-produced animation - reproduces with incredible accuracy the scenarios of Gaza City. The story, untold till now, is a breathtaking adventure that takes the viewer on a journey...
Rula Halawani
PNN 25 Jan 2010 - any of us see the relationship between the photographer and his/her subjects as if the camera were an extension of the photographer’s eye. In the case of Rula Halawani (1964), an internationally renowned Palestinian photographer who was born, raised, and continues to live in the Mount of Olives neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, the camera is not only an extension of her eye,...
Israeli Court: IDF Must Compensate Yad Yair Settlers
PNN 25 Jan 2010 - Haaretz news reports that the IDF must pay a group of settlers approximately 430,000 NIS for destroying their illegal west-of-Ramallah outpost in September of 2008. The ruling cites the [[IDF]] continuing with the demolition of Yad Yair after a injunction was granted by the Israeli Supreme Court. Several buildings were razed and a shipping container that served as the outpost’s synagogue was...
Israelis protest over 'fascist' Jerusalem settlements
PNN 25 Jan 2010 - At least 15 protesters were arrested friday, as several hundred left-wing Israelis held their biggest demonstration yet against demolitions and evictions of east Jerusalem Palestinians designed to make way for Jewish settlers. Police moved in to force back the noisy but largely peaceful protest in Sheikh Jarrah, the inner-city district that has rapidly become the main flashpoint of the struggle to prevent...
Human rights organization: Position paper on elections
PNN 25 Jan 2010 - 24 January 2010, is the due date for legislative and presidential elections in the [[Palestinian National Authority]] (PNA). If the Palestinian democracy was to be practiced normally and without obstacles, the Palestinian electorate in the [[Occupied Palestinian Territory]] (OPT) would be today standing in front of ballot boxes to elect a new president for the PNA and new members of the Palestinian...
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2010 - Congressman Berman says the Palestinian Authority must come forward to restart peace negotiations.
Is the Goldstone Report 'anti-Semitic'?
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2010 - J'lem officials slam Edelstein for linking document with International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Merkel: Sanctions will be a tragedy for the Iranian people
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2010 - German chancellor speaks to diplomats after 'Der Spiegel' issues report of new intelligence proving that Iran's nuclear program has a military aspect.
PA mulling US plan for low-level talks
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2010 - Abbas looking at Mitchell's proposal for ministers to meet; Barak predicts negotiations within months.
Barkat announces plans to overhaul waste disposal in capital
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2010 - Mayor announced that Jerusalem is aiming to shift waste away from landfill at Abu Dis in east Jerusalem and eventually close it.
Immigrants not overrepresented in crime, police say
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2010 - Netanyahu hails the million FSU olim, saying they "saved Israel demographically."
Analysis: The IDF has conducted multiple probes - Hamas has done nothing
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2010 - There is no question regarding the quantity of the investment the Israeli military has made in investigating last winter's Operation Cast Lead.
43 grilled for links to Xmas bombing
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2010 - Several people arrested in Yemen in connection with failed terror attack are foreigners, official says.
Israel: Belgian minister can't visit Gaza
Jeruslalem Post 25 Jan 2010 - Deputy FM tells Charles Michel visits to Strip give legitimacy to Hamas, warns aid will reach terrorists.
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: Civil Society Takes On Israeli Settlements
IPS JERUSALEM, Jan 21 (IPS) - Salam Fayyad turned civil society activist this week. In Salfit, on the West Bank, the Palestinian prime minister threw onto a giant bonfire goods made in Israeli settlements.
MIDEAST: Israel Crushes Local Dissent, Attacks Global Criticism
IPS RAMALLAH, Jan 20 (IPS) - Israel is lashing out at international criticism and attempting to crush local dissent in what appears to be growing sensitivity to reproach of its policies.
Q&A: 'Religious State, Recipe for Disaster'
IPS RAMALLAH, Jan 19 (IPS) - When Omar Abdel-Razeq was appointed finance minister following the election of Hamas in January 2006, the BBC characterised the post as the "least enviable job in the new Palestinian government."
PCHR During the reporting period, IOF wounded 9 Palestinian civilians, including two children and 3 journalists, in the West Bank.
International Solidarity Movement
Open Rafah for Ayman – a request for solidarity and a signature1/25/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Together we can make a difference for Ayman, together we can make a difference for Palestine - Please sign the petition [link follows] - Israel AND Egypt are both in direct breach of international laws and conventions that guarantee fair access to education for Ayman as declared in the spirit of the United Nations Declaration of Universal Human Rights, Article 28, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR, 1966). - Ayman Talal E. Quader is a Palestinian that was born on July 19, 1986 in Gaza and has lived in Gaza City for his entire life. As a young Palestinian student who truly loves his homeland and has always dreamed of freedom for his people, Ayman has worked very hard to achieve one of his most important goals in life; earning a scholarship for a Masters program in Europe. Ayman was recently accepted to an academic scholarship program at the Universitat. . . .
Holocaust scholars slam EU for backing Nazi-Communist comparison
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Researches call comparison 'gravest threat to preserving the memory of the Holocaust.',
After two weeks, Israel team winds down Haiti mission
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Team returns home and leaves behind large part of equipment; IDF reflects on complex Haiti operation.,
U.S. consultant offers to help fight settlement freeze for $300k
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Yesha Council wants to hire consultant due to his relations with Netanyahu, but the price is too high.,
Only an idiot would say Israel has frozen settlement activity
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - 'The PM's favorite move of throwing the ball into the Palestinians' court stopped working with the Americans.',
Israel accuses Turkey of encouraging anti-Semitism
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Foreign Ministry report: Turkish PM is anti-Israel, humiliation of envoy sent Ankara a clear message.,
'It's a good time to be Jewish in Poland'
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Community's cultural leader urges visitors to see the way modern Polish Jews live, not just the cemeteries.,
Polish bishop accuses Jews of using Holocaust as propaganda
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek prompts concerns among Jews, denies calling Shoah 'Jewish invention'.
German firm cancels deal with Iran port due to Israeli pressure
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Israel envoy to Berlin tells German officials Israel would see contract as aiding terrorist arms deal.,
Abbas to hold independent Palestinian probe of Gaza war
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Although PA had no role in Operations Cast Lead, it will look into the Goldstone report's allegations.,
Der Spiegel: Iran able to produce nuclear bomb this year
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - German magazine claims secret dossier proves Iran is serious and capable of building atomic bomb.,
Barak accuses Left of working against Israel's peace moves
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Labor chair tells party he expects Leftists to stand by all 'dangerous and correct' government decisions.,
Iraq executes Saddam henchman 'Chemical Ali'
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Saddam Hussein's cousin, executed by hanging,earned his nickname because of his use of poison gas.,
German woman awarded over project to restore Jewish cemetery
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - The woman launched a Web site to document her town's run-down Jewish cemetery, help finance its restoration.,
Olmert's negotiator: Full Mideast peace impossible
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Udi Dekel: Palestinians preferred to have peace talks stalemated rather than lower their aspirations.,
U.S. proposes direct, but low-level, Mideast talks
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Idea is to raise confidence-building measures between senior ministers from each side, but not top leaders.,
The Guardian 25 Jan 2010 - The Israeli government's restrictions on the movement of NGO workers will impose more hardship on beleaguered Palestinians Last week saw the latest move in the Israeli government's clampdown on those working in solidarity with the Palestinians...
Defamation defamed | Yoav Shamir
The Guardian 25 Jan 2010 - I dispute David Hirsh's criticism of my film about antisemitism. Far from 'easy targets', it is a difficult debate Israel must have In David Hirsh's critique of my film Defamation , he accused me of finding "easy...
'Bin Laden' claims responsibility for Detroit bomb attempt
The Guardian 24 Jan 2010 - Recording attributed to al-Qaida leader says US 'will never dream of security' while it supports Israelis An audio message purportedly from al-Qaida's leader, Osama bin Laden, has claimed responsibility for the Christmas Day bombing attempt on...
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - The last two days were the coldest so far this winter, and only on Wednesday will it start warming up again. ...
Haredi plaintiffs take rabbinical judges to Israel's secular court
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - The session in the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court last Tuesday lasted for nearly five hours, behind close doors, but some of the story had been told even before the judge entered the courtroom. ...
Israeli couples choosing IVF baby's sex prefer boys
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - Israeli couples who are entitled to request their future baby's sex were more than three times as likely to ask for a boy in 2009 as they were to request a girl, according to data recently released by the national committee on newborn sex selection. ...
Israel to expunge criminal records of 400 Gaza pullout opponents
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - The Knesset approved on Monday a controversial bill that would expunge the criminal records of hundreds of people detained during demonstrations against Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005. ...
Israeli film comparing Holocaust to occupation loses state funds
Ha'aretz 25 Jan 2010 - The Israel Film Fund has ended its financial support for director Yonatan Segal's new piece Odem, after learning that it compares Israel's occupation of the West Bank to the Holocaust. ...
Relief Web 25 Jan 2010 - Source: UN News Service
OPT: From the Wadi to Nowhere
Relief Web 25 Jan 2010 - Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
Mechanism for transfer of National Insurance benefits to beneficiaries in the Gaza Strip
Relief Web 25 Jan 2010 - Source: Government of Israel
OPT: West Bank and Gaza Strip Population Census of 2007 - Briefing Paper Jan 2010
Relief Web 25 Jan 2010 - Source: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
OPT: UNRWA says Israeli blockade continues to cause suffering to Palestinians
Relief Web 25 Jan 2010 - Source: UN Radio
BADIL Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons 2008 – 2009
Relief Web 25 Jan 2010 - Source: BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights
YNet News 25 Jan 2010 - Israeli team preparing to go home: After performing 316 surgeries and delivering 16 babies, IDF field hospital in Haiti closes its doors Monday as doctors bid patients farewell; Haitian government says quake death toll reaches 150,000
Merkel to Iran: Time is running out
YNet News 25 Jan 2010 - German chancellor says tougher sanctions would constitute 'tragedy' for Iranians
Secret report: Iran bomb closer than ever
YNet News 25 Jan 2010 - Der Spiegel: Intelligence information shows Iran could produce truck-sized nuke bomb this year
Polish bishop accuses Jews of exploiting Holocaust
YNet News 25 Jan 2010 - Tadeusz Pieronek says, 'Holocaust as such is a Jewish invention used to obtain advantages that are often unjustified,' claims Israel treating Palestinians 'like animals'
Palestinians study US idea for Mideast talks
YNet News 25 Jan 2010 - Latest proposal calls for talks that fall short of full-scale negotiations between Israel, Palestinians
Barak: Leftists causing doubts about peace
YNet News 25 Jan 2010 - Labor chairman says 'responsible leftist officials' must support peace process, not bolster skepticism
Palestinian Information Center
IOA blocks travel of Belgian minister to GazaPIC 25 Jan 2010 - The IOA on Sunday blocked the travel of Belgian cooperation and development minister Charles Michel into the Gaza Strip at the pretext that the visit would give legitimacy to Hamas's rule.
Abu Zuhri: We are not afraid of elections
PIC 25 Jan 2010 - Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, has said that his movement was not afraid of new legislative elections, recalling that it was the one to win the last elections.
Hamas extends condolences to Lebanon over Ethiopian plane crash
PIC 25 Jan 2010 - Hamas on Monday expressed deep sorrow and grief over the crash of an Ethiopian airplane off the Lebanese beaches only minutes after taking off from Beirut international airport.
Haneyya calls for international conference on prisoners
PIC 25 Jan 2010 - Palestinian premier Ismail Haneyya called for organizing an international conference in Gaza on the issue of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation jails.
Obeid: Gaza electricity station to come to a complete halt by Thursday
PIC 25 Jan 2010 - The sole electricity generation station in Gaza Strip is to stop functioning by Thursday because the EU stopped financing fuel shipments to the Strip, Kenan Obeid said.
IOF soldiers round up 11 Palestinians
PIC 25 Jan 2010 - The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up eleven Palestinians at the early hours of Monday including nine in Ramallah, local sources reported.
Palestinian factions declare support for resistance, refusal of negotiations
PIC 25 Jan 2010 - Four Palestinian factions on Sunday declared their insistence on resistance against Israeli occupation and refusal to return to frivolous negotiations with it.
Masri: Mubarak's insistence on building the wall contradicts earlier statements
PIC 25 Jan 2010 - Hamas MP Mushir Al-Masri has regretted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's assertion that his government would continue to build the steel wall along its borders with the Gaza Strip.
IOA assaults WB workers, endorses tough punishment against those helping them
PIC 25 Jan 2010 - IOA border policemen captured nine Palestinian workers east of occupied Jerusalem on Sunday and beat them up for trying to enter the holy city for work without having permits.
PCHR: Circumventing 2006 election results led to internal division
PIC 25 Jan 2010 - The Palestinian center for human rights (PCHR) has said that circumventing the election results of 2006 had led to the internal Palestinian division and to delaying the new elections slated for 2010.
LA Times 26 Jan 2010 - Twenty-five bodies have been recovered from the Ethiopian Airlines flight carrying 90 that crashed into the Mediterranean after takeoff from Beirut during a storm. Sabotage is unlikely, officials say. Rescue workers found no one to save. They could only retrieve the corpses of those aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea early Monday during a fierce winter storm.
Israel's Livni says reports of her political demise are premature
LA Times 25 Jan 2010 - Tzipi Livni was expected to be the next prime minister, but lately her Kadima party has seemed rudderless. She defends her above-the-fray-style, pointing out her party is the largest in parliament. Many people expected Tzipi Livni to become Israel's first female prime minister since Golda Meir.
Bin Laden takes credit for airline bombing plot; officials express skepticism
LA Times 25 Jan 2010 - The Al Qaeda leader vows to continue targeting the U.S. as long as Washington backs Israel. But U.S. intelligence officials doubt he played a meaningful role in the failed Christmas Day attack. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the Christmas Day attempt to blow up an American commercial jet in an audiotape broadcast Sunday on Arab television.
Dozens aboard plane injured during emergency landing in Iran
LA Times 24 Jan 2010 - Reporting from Beirut — A Russian-made passenger airplane caught fire during an emergency landing in northeastern Iran this morning, injuring dozens of people aboard in the latest in a string of Iranian civil aviation and transport mishaps.
New York Times 25 Jan 2010 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s comment riled Palestinians as the U.S. envoy was trying to coax them back into peace talks.
Israel Poised to Challenge a U.N. Report on Gaza
New York Times 24 Jan 2010 - The Israeli military is completing a rebuttal to a report accusing it of grave violations of international law in its Gaza invasion.
World Briefing | Middle East: West Bank: Envoy Urges Palestinians to Resume Negotiations With Israelis
New York Times 23 Jan 2010 - George J. Mitchell told Palestinian leaders that they had to resume talks with Israel if they wanted American help to achieve a peace treaty.
World Briefing | Europe: Israel: U.N. Is Paid for Damage in Gaza
New York Times 23 Jan 2010 - Israel said it paid the United Nations $10.5 million in compensation for damage to its facilities in the Gaza Strip during the three-week Israeli assault on the territory last winter.
On Religion: Bahai on Trial in Iran Worries Brother From Afar
New York Times 23 Jan 2010 - The brother of a Bahai leader facing a potential death sentence in Iran reflects on the biases his faith has endured.
Diplomatic Hand Extended: Furor May Erupt if Shaken
New York Times 22 Jan 2010 - Iran angrily denied reports that its tourism minister shook hands with his Israeli counterpart, which would have violated Iran’s strict anti-Israeli policies.
Palestine Monitor - 25 Jan 2010 - Israeli Border Police assaulted ten Palestinian labourers in the early hours of Sunday morning. The men were seized on the Palestinian side of the Al-Zaiem crossing, attempting to reach the construction site they work at in East Jerusalem. The men, from Al-Khadr village south of Bethlehem,...
RUINED MAMILLA
Palestine Monitor - 25 Jan 2010 - Ma'man Allah Cemetery, also know as Mamilla Cemetery, is a thousand-year-old Muslim graveyard located in what is now central Jerusalem. Originally covering an area of 180 dunums (one dunum being equivalent to a quarter acre), 70% of its graves were obliterated to make way for a...
Goldstone documented nightmarish case of a Palestinian ‘human shield’
Mondoweiss - 25 Jan 2010 - The Israeli government is starting to go all out in its war against the Goldstone Report . Israel is planning on issuing its response to the report this Thursday, and it seems Israel is aided by the fact that so few people have actually read the contents...
Israeli minister seems to liken Goldstone to Hitler
Mondoweiss - 25 Jan 2010 - I’m gobsmacked by this. I believe that Realism describes the leaders of modern states as rational actors. This is from Agence France Presse , the article in which Israel’s Diaspora and Information minister Yuli Edelstein says the Goldstone report is anti-Semitic. It’s hard to follow the analogy,...
War on Goldstone now deploys human-rights orgs and, you guessed it, the Holocaust
Mondoweiss - 25 Jan 2010 - The war that was launched this past weekend against the Goldstone report in the New York Times is aimed at the mildmannered Sec’y General of the United Nations. So Norman Finkelstein tells me, and this Haaretz piece confirms . On February 5, Ban Ki-moon will report to...
Obama czar wrote that Muslims are ‘prone’ to ‘virulent’ conspiracy theorizing– maybe due to bad parenting
Mondoweiss - 25 Jan 2010 - Cass Sunstein is a member of Obama’s Harvard klatsch, a Harvard professor who has gone on leave to serve as a czar, heading this regulatory office. Well, two years back Sunstein wrote a paper called "Conspiracy Theories," online here (co-authored by another Harvard prof), that is...
Will SCOTUS decision re campaign funding weaken lobby?
Mondoweiss - 25 Jan 2010 - My off the cuff reaction is that this Supreme Court ruling on corporate campaign giving is bad for the lobby. It might bring much money into the system from sources that have nothing to do with Israel. And it may even encourage the oil companies to...
Israel Likely to Join OECD in 2010: “If You Have Enough Money, We’ll Call You a Democracy”
Alternative Information Center - 25 Jan 2010 - General Secretary of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Angel Gurria, visited Israel last week (18-20 January 2010) to launch two new OECD reports: an Economic Survey of Israel and a Review of Israel’s Labour Market and Social Policies . At this time Gurria announced...
Articles
Ignoring Gaza’s humanitarian crisis
Juan Cole, Salon.com 1/21/2010
Haiti isn’t the only place that needs help, but in Gaza, Israel is keeping aid away
When a relief plane for Doctors Without Borders isn’t allowed to land by U.S. military authorities at the airport in Port-au-Prince, there is an outcry.
But Israeli military authorities will not allow any relief planes at all to land in the Gaza Strip (the Israelis destroyed Gaza’s airport in 2001).
We cheer when a Haitian child is rescued from the rubble, but ignore the thousands of Gazan children who are suffering malnutrition and being buried by Israeli policy, a policy that is a war crime. I am of course not the only to be struck by this contrast: see also Phil Weiss and others quoted at his essential site.
On Wednesday, 80 international aid groups called upon Israel to change its policy of blockading civilians in Gaza, because it is having severe negative effects on the health of Gazans.
Admittedly, the situation in Gaza is not as dire as that in Haiti. But it is very, very bad, and it is man-made. The Israeli government imposed a blockade on the Gaza strip in 2007 and has maintained it ever since. It limits the import of fuel and staples, and punishes the whole population. Since half of the 1.5 million Gazans are children, the Israeli siege of the little territory is among the more massive ongoing cases of child abuse in the world. There is a virtual news blackout on this atrocity in the US mass media, and attempts of two sets of activists to get humanitarian aid to Gaza in recent weeks were largely ignored by them.
Nor is the Gaza blockade a mere preoccupation of utopian human rights activists. It has become an element of regional geo-politics.... more.. e-mail
War Looms Between Israel and Hezbollah
Robert Fisk, The Independent 1/25/2010
The border looks peaceful, but Hizbollah and Israel are preparing for war
It looks like a hop, skip and a jump. There’s the first electrified fence, then the dirt strip to identify footprints, then the tarmac road, then one more electrified fence, and then acres and acres of trees. Orchards rather than tanks. Galilee spreads beyond, soft and moist and dark green in the winter afternoon—a peaceful Israel, you might think. And a peaceful Lebanon to the north, tobacco plantations amid the stony hills, just an occasional UN armoured vehicle to keep you on your toes. “Major Pardin says you cannot take pictures,” a Malaysian UN soldier tells me. Then a second one says the same. Then along comes a Lebanese army intelligence officer and stares at our papers. “OK, you have permission,” he declares, and I snap away with my old 36-frame real-film Nikon; the fields, the frontier fence, the high-tech surveillance tower on the horizon. This must be the most photographed border in the world.
Of course, the gentle countryside is an illusion. Benjamin Netanyahu and his colleagues in the Israeli government have been announcing that the only “army” of Lebanon is the Hizbollah, the Iranian-armed and Syrian-assisted guerrilla force whose bunkers and missiles north of the Litani river might just tip the balance in the next Hizbollah-Israeli war. And Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, the chairman of the Hizbollah, has been making some even more interesting threats: that his forces will “change the face of the Middle East region” if there is another war with Israel. No one is in much doubt about what this means. The newly resurfaced Lebanese roads near the border—courtesy of Hizbollah money—suggest that someone might want to move men at high speed towards the frontier. Perhaps even to cross the border.
That’s what the Israelis suspect, too—and it makes sense of Nasrallah’s warning last week. The Hizbollah claimed that the 2006 war with Israel was a “divine victory”—it didn’t feel that way to us in southern Lebanon at the time—yet even Israel admits it was a near-defeat for its own ill-trained soldiers.... more.. e-mail
The Judaization of East Jerusalem
Phil Pasquini, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs 12/1/2009
December 2009
Silwan’s Palestinians Displaced By Construction of Israeli Archaeological “Park”
Archaeological excavation of the area across from the City of David “National Park” entrance; Mural at the solidarity tent in Silwan; Israeli tourist murals promoting the “City of David National Park.” One scene shows an open-air truck full of tourists, with the words “Ancient Jerusalem Safari.”
Residents of the Palestinian village of Silwan just outside Jerusalem’s Old City continue to be bombarded by the increased activity related to the City of David National Park excavations. The so-called “National Park” is, in fact, a series of archaeological digs owned and operated by the extremist settler movement Elad. While a private entity, the Israeli group receives support from the Jerusalem municipality, along with funding from undisclosed sources.
The group’s ultimate goal is to turn the Silwan area into a Jewish enclave, and it is using archaeology as an instrument to further its political agenda. Indeed, Elad spokesman Yigal Kaufman told The New York Times in a June 8, 1998 interview: “Our aim is to Judaize East Jerusalem. The City of David is the most ancient core of Jerusalem and we want it to become a Jewish neighborhood.”
According to a Sky News report, engineers are digging tunnels to uncover what Israeli archaeologists believe is an ancient road connecting the City of David to the Western Wall inside Jerusalem’s Old City. This reporter viewed current construction of four tunnels in the area. In order to realize the plan to create a tourist destination evolving around the excavations, an estimated 1,500 Palestinian residents will have to be removed, along with their homes..... more.. e-mail
New York Times fails to disclose Jerusalem bureau chief's conflict of interest
Electronic Intifada: 25 Jan 2010 - The New York Times has all but confirmed to The Electronic Intifada (EI) that the son of its Jerusalem bureau chief Ethan Bronner was recently inducted into the Israeli army. Over the weekend, EI received a tip suggesting this had been the case and wrote to Bronner to ask him to confirm or deny the information and to seek his opinion on whether, if true, he thought it would be a conflict of interest.
Israel's PR exploitation of Haiti aid
Electronic Intifada: 25 Jan 2010 - Despite logistical problems, the 12 January earthquake in Haiti has seen much of the "international community" pull together to provide food, doctors and other emergency aid for the already poverty-stricken country. But the disaster has also provided apologists for the State of Israel's human rights abuses an opportunity to try and grab high moral ground. Sarah Irving comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Gaza families fight to visit relatives in Israeli prisons
Electronic Intifada: 25 Jan 2010 - Umm Faris Baroud of Shati refugee camp in western Gaza City wakes up early every Monday in the hope that she will be allowed to visit her son Faris, serving a life sentence in one of Israel's prisons. "For the past two and a half years I have been able to visit Faris," she explained. "Every Monday, I participate in a weekly protest along with many other families including mothers, wives and children of detainees, at the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross." Rami Almeghari reports for The Electronic Intifada.
Israel upgrades settlement college to university
Electronic Intifada: 25 Jan 2010 - Ehud Barak, Israel's defense minister, approved last week the upgrading to university status of a college in a settlement located deep inside the West Bank, a move certain to further undermine Palestinian confidence in the peace process. The decision, authorizing the first Israeli university in Palestinian territory, is expected to entitle the college to significant extra funding, allowing it to expand its student population. Jonathan Cook reports.
Palestine Monitor: 25 Jan 2010 - Israeli Border Police assaulted ten Palestinian labourers in the early hours of Sunday morning. The men were seized on the Palestinian side of the Al-Zaiem crossing, attempting to reach the construction site they work at in East Jerusalem. The men, from Al-Khadr village south of Bethlehem, did not possess working permits for Jerusalem. They were captured on the Palestinian side of the fence and severely beaten with sticks and rifles. Rani Saleh, 26, speaking through his father Hussein, said “about ten Israeli border police attacked us suddenly, without warning. We were cuffed and held against the wall, one at a time we were taken and beaten.” Hussein explains that his son was passed from one captor to the next “like a football. One would kick him and then give him to another soldier. They were laughing and saying many bad words about his family and his mother.” Rani has been...
RUINED MAMILLA
Palestine Monitor: 25 Jan 2010 - Ma'man Allah Cemetery, also know as Mamilla Cemetery, is a thousand-year-old Muslim graveyard located in what is now central Jerusalem. Originally covering an area of 180 dunums (one dunum being equivalent to a quarter acre), 70% of its graves were obliterated to make way for a park, named Independence. The Palestine Monitor takes a look at what's left of Ma'man Allah Cemetery. All photographs were taken by Brady Ng. Arab grave in Ma'man Allah Cemetery. Photo: Brady Ng Detail of Arabic script on a gravestone. Photo: Brady Ng Unkempt graves. Many of the remaining graves in Ma'man Allah Cemetery have fallen into ruin. Photo: Brady Ng Headstone with Arabic script. Photo: Brady Ng Another Arab grave. Photo: Brady Ng The tomb of al-Amir al-Kabki, a Mamluk leader who was buried in the cemetery 800 years ago. Photo Brady Ng In 2005, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a non-governmental organization named after...
Palestine Chronicle: 25 Jan 2010 - By Jennifer Loewenstein - Madison, WI At the Nuremburg Tribunal in 1945 'Aggression' was defined as 'the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.' Chief Counsel for the United States at Nuremburg, Justice Robert Jackson, defined the aggressor as the state that is the first to commit such actions as ‘invasion of its armed forces, with or without a declaration of war, of the territory of another state.’ Jackson also called attention to the principle of universality, or the simple but too often overlooked fact that what applies to our enemies must apply equally to ourselves. For one state or court of justice to apply international law according to the perceived national security interests of the few, or a one-sided interpretation of ‘evil,’ poisons both the letter and the spirit of the law. Some 65 years after the end of the Nuremburg Tribunal, the definitions and caveats of global justice remain the same; but they are no more universally applied today than they are remembered or summoned to spare various regions of the world the devastation and suffering they are now experiencing. Indeed, at times such as during Israel's Operation Cast Lead exactly one year ago, one could argue that they were consciously suppressed. Operation Cast Lead, code name for the US-backed Israeli military offensive against the people of Gaza from December 27th, 2008 to January 18th, 2009, killed over 1,400 people, 85% of them civilians...
Israel Creates First 'Army-owned' University
Palestine Chronicle: 25 Jan 2010 - By Jonathan Cook - Nazareth Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister, approved last week the upgrading to university status of a college in a settlement located deep inside the West Bank, a move certain to further undermine Palestinian confidence in the peace process. The decision, authorising the first Israeli university in Palestinian territory, is expected to entitle the college to significant extra funding, allowing it to expand its student population. About 11,000 students, most from inside Israel, already attend the college in Ariel, studying amid a population of 18,000 settlers. The expansion of Ariel, 20km inside the West Bank and close to Nablus, is likely to increase tensions with the US administration of Barack Obama. The White House has demanded a settlement freeze that is being only temporarily and partially honoured by Israel. The United States and Israel have repeatedly clashed over Israeli plans to extend its separation wall east of Ariel, effectively annexing the settlement and separating the central and northern parts of the West Bank. Peace groups have been particularly shocked that authorisation for Ariel college’s upgrade came from Mr Barak, leader of the Labor Party. Members of his centre-left faction had previously blocked attempts by right-wing parties to change the college’s status. Several Israeli academics also warned that it would add fuel to existing campaigns in Europe to boycott Israeli universities, which have been accused of complicity with the occupation. “This is all about trying to make the settlement of Ariel ‘kosher’,” said Yariv Oppenheimer, head of the...
The Liebarak: A Two-headed Monster
Palestine Chronicle: 24 Jan 2010 - By Uri Avnery The business is registered in the name of Binyamin Netanyahu. But the reality is different. Netanyahu has never been more than a slick patent medicine salesman. That is a type that appears frequently in American Westerns and sells an elixir that is good for everything: against the flu and against tuberculosis, against heart attacks and against lunacy. The main weapon of the vendor is his tongue: his stream of words builds castles in the air, blows up glistening bubbles and silences all doubt. Since the election almost a year ago, his biggest (literally) achievement has been the setting up of a cabinet: 30 ministers and a bunch of deputies, most of them without any perceptible duties, some of them in charge of ministries for which they are the most unsuited of all possible candidates. From then on his main occupation has been the one in which he is most adept: political survival. In this governmental zoo, the one really important creature is the Liebarak – a two-headed monster that terrifies all the other animals. This animal is 50% Lieberman, 50% Barak, 0% human. When Liberman first appeared on the stage, many looked on him with disdain. Such a person, they decided, has no chance in Israeli politics. For ten years, he has been under investigation by the police on suspicion of corruption, receiving money from mysterious foreign sources and more. Moreover, in the eyes of many Israelis, he is the most un-Israeli figure imaginable. They have tagged...