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News
International Middle East Media Center
Hamas:
“Abbas No Longer Represents The Palestinians”
IMEMC
1 Feb 2010 - Tuesday February 02, 2010 - 02:01, Islamic Resistance
Movement, Hamas, issued a statement on Monday challenging the
legitimacy of president Mahmoud Abbas, and stating that Abbas’ term in
office is over, and that he does not represent the Palestinian people
and their aspirations anymore.
HRW
Report: “Jordan: Stop Withdrawing Nationality from Palestinian-Origin
Citizens”
IMEMC
1 Feb 2010 - Tuesday February 02, 2010 - 01:19, (Amman) - Jordan should
stop withdrawing nationality arbitrarily from Jordanians of Palestinian
origin, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Authorities
stripped more than 2,700 of these Jordanians of their nationality
between 2004 and 2008, and the practice continued in 2009, Human Rights
Watch said.
Two
Explosives Located Off Ashkelon Port
IMEMC
1 Feb 2010 - Tuesday February 02, 2010 - 00:54, The Israeli police
reported Monday evening that two explosives were located off Ashkelon
and Ashdod shorelines. Sappers rushed to the scene and safely unplugged
the explosives.
President
Abbas Meets With Chancellor of Germany
IMEMC
1 Feb 2010 - Monday February 01, 2010 - 15:39, On Monday, the
Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, met the Chancellor of Germany,
Angela Merkel, in the German capital city of Berlin.
Israeli
Military Breaks Into Palestinian Owned Homes & Shops in East
Jerusalem
IMEMC
1 Feb 2010 - Monday February 01, 2010 - 14:46, Israeli troops and
workers for the Jerusalem municipality raided, on Monday at midday,
Palestinian owned homes and shops located at the Wadi al-Jouz
neighborhood near Jerusalem’s old city.
Soldiers
prevent farmers from planting olive trees near Bethlehem
IMEMC
1 Feb 2010 - Monday February 01, 2010 - 13:36, The Israeli military
prevented, on Monday, Palestinian farmers and their international
supporters from planting olive trees near the southern West Bank city
of Bethlehem.
Abbas
Hints Indirect Talks With Israel After 3 Months Settlement Freeze
IMEMC
1 Feb 2010 - Monday February 01, 2010 - 12:26, Palestinian President,
Mahmoud Abbas, hinted on Monday that he might accept holding indirect
peace talks with Israel, mediated by US Envoy, George Mitchell. He
added that direct talks cannot resume before Israel freezes settlement
activities for three months.
Lebanese
Shepherd Arrested By Israel, Handed To UNIFIL
IMEMC
1 Feb 2010 - Monday February 01, 2010 - 11:43, A Lebanese Military
source reported Monday, that a Lebanese Shepherd who accidentally
crossed into Israel on Sunday night was handed to the United Nations
Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
Palestinian
Wounded By Army Fire in Southern Gaza
IMEMC
1 Feb 2010 - Monday February 01, 2010 - 10:30, The Israeli army
reported on Monday morning that Israeli soldiers shot and wounded a
Palestinian man east of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza
Strip, and moved him to an Israeli hospital.
Israeli
Army Admits To White Phosphorus Use In Gaza, Claims Two Officers Were
'Disciplined'
IMEMC
1 Feb 2010 - Monday February 01, 2010 - 09:55, In its official response
to the United Nations Report on potential war crimes committed during
Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip last year, the Israeli military
admitted that Israeli troops did fire white phosphorus artillery shells
into a United Nations compound in violation of international law.
Israel:
No indictments in injury of American activist
2/1/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - The Israeli Justice Ministry said on
Sunday that no indictments will be handed down in the case of an
American activist who was seriously injured in West Bank demonstration,
the Associated Press reported. Tristan Anderson, 38, from Oakland,
California, was struck in the head by a tear-gas canister during a
protest in Ni'lin in March 2009 and was left comatose as a result.
Israeli forces said they responded to rock-throwing by firing tear-gas
and rubber-coated bullets, but did not accuse Anderson of having
directly taken part, the AP reported. Israeli Justice Ministry
spokesman Ron Roman said that a police investigation showed there was
no criminal intent in harming Anderson. Related: Israel
police not charged over activist shooting
B’Tselem:
Gaza ’cover-up’ proof army can’t investigate itself
2/1/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem has sent
an urgent letter to Israel's judge advocate general, Maj. Gen. Avichai
Mandelblit, demanding that he immediately order a Military Police
investigation into the circumstances of the firing of phosphorus shells
at the UNWRA compound in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. "The cover-up
of this affair demonstrates, yet again, that the army cannot
investigate itself," B'Tselem said in a statement. On Monday, Israeli
media reported that the commander of the Gaza division, Brig. Gen. Eyal
Eizenberg, and the commander of the Givati brigade, Col. Ilan Malka,
were disciplined for authorized the shelling. The report Israel
submitted to the UN last weekend omitted details of the incident,
stating only that the two officers had been brought before disciplinary
hearings for exceeding their authority in a way that endangered lives.
. . Related: B'tselem:
Cover-up of phosphorus shelling proves army cannot investigate itself
Abbas
calls for 3-month settlement freeze
2/1/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - President Mahmoud Abbas said that
Israel's continued colonization of the West Bank is leading to a
one-state solution, and called for a three-month settlement freeze to
resume direct peace talks, British media reported on Sunday evening.
Abbas' comments followed a meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband, the British daily The
Guardian reported. Abbas said that he would be prepared to resume
direct talks if Israel halted all settlement construction for three
months and accepted the June 1967 borders. "These are not
preconditions, they are requirements in the road map. If they are not
prepared to do that, it means they don't want a political solution," he
said in an interview with the newspaper. Continued settlement expansion
and building, he said, is "leading to the one-state solution, which we
reject," he added.
Hebron
governor warns of angry reaction to new settlement
2/1/2010
- Hebron - Ma'an - Governor of Hebron Hussein Al-Araj warned on Sunday
evening that renewed settlement building in the area "is pushing
Palestinians to react strongly. "Israel is not offering Palestinians
motivation to return to negotiations by continuing settlement
construction in the West Bank, Al-Araj said, which justifies President
Mahmoud Abbas' refusal to return to negotiations while building of
settlements and the separation wall is ongoing. "Let everyone know that
Israeli settlement construction is still in place, contrary to Israel's
allegations," he said. Al-Araj's comments follow the laying of the
foundations of a new block to the Beit Hagai settlement, south of
Hebron City. [end]
PA
ministry to publish anthology of ex-prisoner’s poetry
2/1/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Prisoners
and Ex-Detainees Affairs announced on Monday that it would be releasing
an anthology of poetry by former Palestinian prisoner Muhammad Abu
Laban. The anthology entitled "The Liberty Chant" is a compilation of
work Abu Laban composed during his sentence, and includes "Forgotten
Days Behind Bars," "The Patient King of Death," "My Homeland Voice,"
and "Take me, a Stone in your Hand. "Other poets have contributed to
Abu Laban's anthology, which includes brief biographies written by the
ex-detainee's friends. The introduction, written by Minister of
Prisoners' Affairs Issa Qaraqe, describes the establishment of
education programs in prisons and the development of poetry, deeming it
part of Palestinian national history. Publishing "The Liberty Chant,"
Qaraqe writes, is a vital part of preserving Palestinian prisoner
literature.
Israel’s
Goldstone response admits use of white phosphorus
2/1/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli findings delivered to the UN in response
to the Goldstone report compound allegations that white phosphorus
munitions were deployed toward an UNRWA compound in Gaza during last
year's devastating offensive, Israeli media reported on Monday. The
incident occurred two days before the end of Operation Cast Lead on 15
January 2009, in southern Gaza's Tel Al-Hawa neighborhood, the Israeli
daily Haretz reported. White phosphorus smoke was used to create a
cover, according to the report, to shield Israeli forces from
combatants' view, who were in close proximity to the UNRWA compound.
The munitions dispersed hundreds of pieces of felt loaded with
phosphorus and the report said these pieces landed into the UNRWA
compound, causing injury to an UNRWA employee and to two Palestinian
civilians who took cover at the location, the daily wrote.
Pro-Israel
group J Street defends New Israel Fund
2/1/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - On Monday, J Street Executive Director Jeremy
Ben-Ami released the following statement in response to recent attacks
against the New Israel Fund and its president, Naomi Chazan:J Street is
gravely concerned about escalating threats to the character of Israel's
democracy - including vicious, new attacks on organizations defending
its democratic values and on individuals exercising their basic
democratic rights. This weekend, an organization called Im Tirtzu
launched an outrageous campaign viciously attacking New Israel Fund
President and former Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Naomi Chazan in a
style reminiscent of propaganda from the darkest days of recent Jewish
experience, depicting Chazan with a horn on her head and holding her
personally responsible for the contents of the Goldstone Report.
Related: Peace
Now condemns attacks on New Israel Fund
Peace
Now condemns attacks on New Israel Fund
2/2/2010
- Washington - Ma'an - Israel's Peace Now movement and Americans for
Peace Now on Monday condemned attacks on the New Israel Fund, which has
come under fire for funding human rights organizations whose reports
appeared in South African jurist Richard Goldstone's UN report on Gaza.
In recent days, a right-wing Israeli organization, Im Tirzu, launched a
campaign to discredit the fund, its chair, Naomi Chazan, and some of
its grantee organizations, including attacks against Chazan in
newspaper ads that show the former Knesset Member with a horn on her
forehead. The controversy apparently began after the Hebrew-language
daily Maariv ran an article over the weekend accusing the US-based
progressive fund of supporting human rights groups whose findings
appeared in the final report of Goldstone's fact-finding mission. Peace
Now and Americans for Peace Now said in a joint statement that. . .
Related: Pro-Israel
group J Street defends New Israel Fund
Two
Gaza crossings open, limited fuel supplies allowed
2/1/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an -Israeli authorities opened the Kerem Shalom and Karni
crossings into the Gaza Strip on Monday to allow the transfer of
commercial goods, humanitarian aid, and limited quantities of fuel, a
Palestinian border crossings official said. The official, Raed Fattouh,
said approximately 88 truckloads of merchandise and aid were expected
to pass through Gaza's southern border, Kerem Shalom. Two trucks of cut
carnations will be allowed to exit through the same crossing, Fattouh
added. Limited quantities of domestic gas and industrial fuel will also
be transfered through Kerem Shalom. Fattouh further said that 69 trucks
of wheat and animal feed will enter Gaza through its northern border
crossing, Karni. . . . .
Israeli
forces detain two Palestinians near Nablus
2/1/2010
- Nablus - Ma'an - Israeli forces detained two Palestinians early
Monday morning from the northern West Bank village of Awarta, south of
Nablus, after raiding the family's homes, locals said. The village was
stormed shortly after midnight and homes were entered near the mosque
of the village center, before Abd As-Salam Awad, 39, and Muhammad Awad,
22, were detained, locals said. The two were taken to an undisclosed
location. [end]
Israel
closes key checkpoint for second time in 24 hours
2/1/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli armed forces closed the Bethlehem-area
container road checkpoint for the second time in 24 hours on Monday.
Ibrahim, an worker from Bethlehem, told Ma'an that he and others may
not arrive to their workplaces in Ramallah as a result. Hundreds of
cars were stuck at the checkpoint simply because soldiers were in a bad
mood, Ibrahim alleged, urging human rights groups to deter Israeli
forces from arbitrarily shutting down the post, which is used by
students, employees, and patients to travel across the West Bank. The
checkpoint is erected on the only route through which Palestinians can
move from the southern West Bank to the north and center, as holders of
Palestinian ID cards have been banned by Israeli authorities from
entering Jerusalem since the early 1990s. The road, known as Wadi Nar,
is under complete Israeli control.
Israeli
forces detain group east of Bethlehem
2/1/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli forces reportedly detained a group of
Palestinians on Monday who were in the Jeb Al-Theeb village east of
Bethlehem to plant almond trees on lands near the Tekoa and Noqedim
settlements. Local sources said an Israeli military force of about 20
soldiers, along with 25 settlers and police dogs, arrived to the land
and made the volunteers sit in small groups away from one another. Awad
Abu Swayy, the spokesman for the Popular Committee in Bethlehem, said
that the volunteers were still being detained more than two hours after
Israeli forces arrived. He added that soldiers allowed journalists to
leave, however. The Israeli military did not immediately return calls
seeking comment. . . . .
Israel:
Explosives found on 2 beaches
2/2/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli forces discovered two explosive devices
on separate beaches in southern Israel on Monday, sources said 48 hours
after a group of factions told Ma'an they launched a barrage in the
same area. Early Monday, Israeli civilians reported seeing a suspicious
object lying on the Barnea beach, a public beach in the coastal city of
Ashkelon, which police later determined to be an explosive device,
Israeli military sources told Ma'an. The device, along with a similar
object located on a beach in the southern Israeli port town of Ashdod,
was reportedly detonated in a controlled manner by the Israeli police
sometime on Monday. Israeli security sources linked the discoveries to
an announcement 48 hours earlier by a number of armed groups in Gaza
who claimed to have fired eight shells at the port of Ashkelon between
29-30 January.
Underground
Jordanian arsenal found in Nablus
2/1/2010
- Nablus - Ma'an exclusive - An underground arsenal of Jordanian
weaponry from 1967 was discovered under Nablus' main road, in Sebastia,
as Palestinian contractors dug up the street in preparation for its
renovation. Acting mayor of Sebastia Camilla Sukkar told Ma'an that
more than 50 artillery shells and spare parts for tanks were found,
confirming that they belonged to Jordanian troops who withdrawal from
the West Bank after the 1967 war. Local sources said that Sebastia's
residents were surprised at the underground discovery, adding that
Israeli military experts arrived on the scene to check for explosives
in the area, which is located some 100 meters from the Shevi Shimron
settlement. . . . .
’Save
Youth’ society starts remedial classes project
2/1/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - The Save Youth Future Society and the British
Consulate in Jerusalem signed an agreement to on Monday to begin a
remedial training project to be implemented by the society and funded
by the UK. The agreement was signed in the presence of both Emad
Darweesh, chairman of the society's board, and Kamal Gherabawi, the
head of the British Information & Services Office in the Gaza
Strip. In a statement, Darweesh expressed his gratitude to the British
Consulate for funding of the program, "as Palestinian society in need
of such projects, which will help a large segment of Palestinian
students. "Moreover, Darweesh noted that the primary goal of this
project is to promote and raise the level of educational attainment for
students who face academic problems in school. He said Palestinian
students are "in need for any help with the hard circumstances they
live with. "
In
photos: Prisoner protest in Gaza
2/1/2010
- MaanImages/Wissam Nassar - Palestinians take part in a protest in
Gaza City on 1 February 2010, calling for the release of their loved
ones imprisoned in Israeli jails. [Background:] Talks remain at an
impasse as Israel and Hamas have failed to negotiate the release of
hundreds of Israel's estimated 10,000 Palestinian detainees in exchange
for an Israeli soldier captured in a 2006 cross-border raid. Hamas
recently rejected an offer put forward by Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu that would grant the release of certain "high-value"
Palestinian prisoners only on condition they be exiled to Gaza or
abroad. [end]
PRC:
Dubai assassination sign of Arab-Israel normalization
2/1/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an -The Palestinian Resistance Committees described
the recent death of Hamas-Iran liaison Mohammad Al-Mabhouh in Dubai as
a sign of a normalization in relations between Arab states and Israel.
"The assassination comes at a time when Israel is increasing their
opposition to resistance and the result of Arab states normalizing with
Israel," said Sheikh Zuheir Al-Keisy, member of PRC's political
leadership, in a statement. "Resistance is our priority, and the
response for this assassination will come in one way or another," he
added. Hamas claims an Israeli assassination squad killed Al-Mabhouh,
although the Islamic movement's armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades,
originally told Ma'an last Wednesday that the official died of terminal
cancer. . . . .
Masha’al:
We’re ready for reconciliation
2/2/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - Senior-most Hamas leader Khaled Mash'al said on
Sunday afternoon his movement is ready for reconciliation, following
the funeral of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, allegedly by Israeli operatives in
Dubai. "The martyrs' message is to reunite; we will go to
reconciliation in God's will and we will give everything for the sake
of reconciliation - this is a promise," he said at the Damascus
funeral. Hamas claims an Israeli assassination squad killed Al-Mabhouh,
although the Islamic movement's armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades,
originallytold Ma'an last Wednesday that the official died of terminal
cancer. Masha'al called on "the Arabs to genuinely embrace us. . .
Gather us in Cairo with whomever you choose and you will find true
reconciliation. This is simply the way. This is my message to my
brothers in Egypt. Respect what we've agreed upon; we'll reconcile and
sign on what we've agreed upon," he added.
Excerpts
from the PA cabinet meeting
2/2/2010
- Ramallah - Ma'an - The cabinet of the Ramallah-based Palestinian
government called on the international community to exert effective
pressure on Israel in order to end the crippling siege imposed on the
Gaza Strip, enabling the PA to start reconstruction. During its weekly
meeting, caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told ministers that
civil servants' salaries would be paid on Thursday. The cabinet decided
that an industrial zone would be built on an area of about 1,000 dunums
(1 million square meters) in Jenin in the northern West Bank as part of
the PA's efforts to strengthen the national economy. Another
announcement was to task the Ministry of Planning with preparing a
study on the possibility of adopting international standards of
excellence for PA institutions as part of the government's preparations
for building independent institutions.
Sha’ath:
I don’t need a visa to visit Gaza
2/1/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - Fatah Central Committee Member Nabil Sha'ath, along
with the movement's commissioner for international relations, said on
Monday he intended to visit the Gaza Strip without prior approval from
the de facto government. "My visit to Gaza comes upon a decision by the
Fatah Revolutionary Council, and by President Abu Mazen [Mahmoud
Abbas]. It is part of the Palestinian homeland, and I won't seek visa
or approval or special permission from anybody," Sha'ath said. "It is
my homeland, and the part of my country which has suffered from Israeli
occupation more than any other. It is the cradle of Palestinian
resistance, where the first intifada began. It is the homeland of
Yasser Arafat and Ahmad Yassin," he added, in a statement. Sha'ath said
that Fatah seeks national reconciliation and that a Palestinian state
would not be achieved without national unity.
Haniyeh:
Hamas isn’t afraid of elections
2/1/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Monday
that Hamas seeks national reconciliation and is not afraid of elections
"because we came to move forward and take responsibility and we will
not back down under any circumstances. " His remarks came during a
ceremony honoring Gaza Transportation Minister Usama Al-Isawy. Haniyeh
pointed out that the transportation sector has developed in a variety
of ways, including new parking standards and the removal of
unregistered cars, which he said once threatened residents' safety. On
Sunday, senior-most Hamas leader Khaled Mash'al said his movement is
ready for reconciliation, following the funeral of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh,
allegedly by Israeli operatives in Dubai. "The martyrs' message is to
reunite; we will go to reconciliation in God's will and we will give
everything for the sake of reconciliation - this is a promise," he said
at the Damascus funeral.
Gazans
celebrate Egypt’s African Cup win
2/1/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - Palestinian football fans in Gaza celebrated Egypt's
victory at the seventh African Cup of Nations on Sunday evening.
Shortly after the referee blew his whistle, confirming Egypt's 1-0 win
over Ghana, hundreds of Gazan men and women took to the streets to
celebrate Egypt's championship hat trick, and their seventh overall
win. Gaza City's main streets overflowed with Palestinians rejoicing in
the football victory. In a rare display, Palestinians waved Egyptian
and Palestinian flags, and photographs of Egypt's top scorer, Muhammad
Giddo, goalie Issam Al-Hadari, coach Hasan Shahata, known as "the
boss," and Muhammad Abu Treika who, after scoring against Sudan in
2008, lifted his uniform to reveal the now-famous "Sympathize with
Gaza" shirt. Despite Gaza's blackout, the result of limited fuel being
allowed to enter the besieged coastal enclave, cars' headlights and. . .
Snow
expected in Jerusalem
2/1/2010
- Jerusalem - Ma'an - Temperatures in Jerusalem are expected to drop
significantly on Wednesday, and snowfall is anticipated on Thursday
morning across northern Jerusalem, the Israeli Meteorological
Department said. Jabal Ash-Sheikh and the Golan Heights, in the
occupied Syrian territories to the north of Israel, will experience the
bulk of the snowfall. Precipitation throughout the West Bank is also
anticipated, with likely snowfall in Jerusalem's mountainous areas,
particularly in the Jabal Mukkaber district of occupied East Jerusalem.
Snow was last seen in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel
in 2008. [end]
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - East Jerusalem residents allegedly recruited while living in Jordan and Dubai to attack civilian locations.
VIDEO: Israel's immigration police cracks down on pro-Palestinian foreigners
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Newly formed Oz Unit has joined the IDF in at least three arrest raids on foreign activists in recent weeks.
IDF denies disciplining top officers over white phosphorous use in Gaza war
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Army denial counters state report into Gaza shelling that found two officers jeopardized civilian lives.
Israel frees detained Lebanese shepherd into UNIFIL hands
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Lebanese sources accuse IDF of kidnapping 17-year-old and abusing him; Lebanon MP appeals to army.
IDF arrests Lebanese shepherd carrying army knife near border
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Lebanese MP tied to Hezbollah calls on country to deal with incident he says clearly violates UN resolution.
U.S. official: Hezbollah arms flow may signal plans for war with Israel
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - State Dept. official tells Al-Hayat that flow of arms into south Lebanon clearly breaches UN Resolution 1701.
Netanyahu leaning toward probe into alleged Gaza war crimes
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - PM wants inquiry but defense ministry and IDF blocking investigation into deliberate targeting of civilians.
Report: U.S. accelerates missile defenses in Persian Gulf
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Obama places defense systems in four Arab countries; Peres tells IAEA chief a nuclear Iran threatens the world.
Report: Dubai has lead in assassination of top Hamas man
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Report comes as security official says wouldn't rule out chance that Mossad was behind January 20 killing.
PA to probe alleged Hamas Gaza war crimes
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Intent to investigate Hamas acts was stated by PA envoy while delivering report on Gaza fighting to UN.
Hamas warns Israel of 'resistance' after official killed in Dubai
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Dubai government: Police have identified suspects in the killing as members of a criminal gang.
Israel arrests leading Palestinian protest organizer
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Activists: Israel is concerned with 'popular resistance' demonstrations against settlement policies.
Settler teens suspected in West Bank mosque arson freed from custody
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Some state attorneys believe evidence against torching suspects insufficient to justify indictment.
Netanyahu to returning Haiti team: You raised Israel's image
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Hero's welcome greets 200-member Israeli rescue crew; IDF Chief: Other armies were astounded by us.
The IDF's new head rabbi / Same background, but less divisive
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Rabbi Peretz is a religious Zionist and an outspoken opponent of disobeying orders for ideological reasons.
Settler rabbi arrested over West Bank mosque arson
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Rabbi Itzik Shapira, one of the heads of a Yitzhar yeshiva, was arrested by authorities on Tuesday.
Haaretz probe: Israel dismantling roadblocks, but Palestinians still can't move
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Haaretz learns that new 'unmanned' roadblocks in West Bank are no less restraining than those removed.
Israel mulls internal probe of Gaza war
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 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 1 Feb 2010 - Israel envoy to Berlin tells German officials Israel would see contract as aiding terrorist arms deal.
Hamas: Mubarak helping Israel starve Gaza Palestinians
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Militant group says Egypt's planned steel barrier will bolster blockade of 1.5 million Gazans.
2/1/2010 - BBC Online - Tristan Anderson was shot in the face and critically injured - Charges will not be brought against the police officers who shot an American pro-Palestinian activist in the face, Israel's justice ministry has said. Tristan Anderson suffered severe brain damage when he was shot at a rally in the West Bank town of Naalin last year. The officers did not have any "criminal intent" when they shot Mr Anderson, a ministry spokesman said. Mr Anderson, 38, was in a coma for months and can only communicate with basic sounds, friends say. The case was closed without indicting anyone after an internal police investigation because "there was no proof of criminal behaviour by the police", Justice Ministry spokesman Moshe Cohen told the AFP news agency. Mr Anderson, from Oakland California, was among 400 people demonstrating against the building of the West Bank barrier.
Eight Children Hospitalised in Nabi Saleh Siege
1/30/2010 - Palestine Monitor - Around twenty residents of Nabi Salah village were injured during Friday’s demonstration, directed mainly at the Hallamish settlement which occupies the village’s farmland and primary water source. Most of those injured were children not participating in the protest, tear gassed and fired upon with rubber bullets as they sheltered in a nearby house. Although yesterday was only the fourth protest of its kind, Nabi Salah has fast become a hub of the popular struggle, adopting the non-violent principles of its sister movements in Bilin and Ni’lin. Following on from the fractious scenes of the previous week, which saw six arrests and several serious injuries, around 200 villagers and activists approached the IDF positions waving flags and chanting demands for the return of their land, annexed by settlers. They were met with volleys of tear gas, sound bombs and rubber bullets, or as an IDF spokesman put it, “the crowd were dispersed with non-lethal means”.
Barak: Without Syria peace, we could be headed for all-out war
2/1/2010 - Ha'aretz - Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned Monday that the stalled peace process with Syria could augur ill for the future of the Middle East. " In the absence of an arrangement with Syria, we are liable to enter a belligerent clash with it that could reach the point of an all-out, regional war," Barak told senior Israel Defense Forces officers on Monday. " Just like the familiar reality in the Middle East, we will immediately sit down [with Syria] after such a war and negotiate on the exact same issues which we are have been discussing with them for the last 15 years," the defense minister said. " A political arrangement is not the dream come true of the other side," Barak added. "This will be a choice of no choice. If the other side believes that it is possible to bring down Israel, to wage a battle of attrition against it, or lure it into a honey trap, then it will prefer to do so. "
Injured US activist case closed
1/31/2010 - Jerusalem Post - Tristan Anderson was critically hurt during West Bank protest last March. - The Justice Ministry declared Sunday that no indictments will be filed against police in the case of a US activist who was hit by a tear gas canister and left comatose during a violent demonstration in the West Bank last year. Tristan Anderson, 38, of Oakland, California, was critically injured during a Palestinian protest in the West Bank village of Nil'in last March. Amir Moran, spokesman for Tel Hashomer hospital, where Anderson is being treated, said his condition "has not changed. " Justice Ministry spokesman Ron Roman said the investigation determined there was no criminal intent in harming Anderson. The investigation was opened in May and closed several weeks ago, but results were made public only Sunday. Human rights groups charge Anderson's case highlights a culture of impunity toward Israeli forces, because. . . .
Israel admits solders were wrong to shell UN site
2/1/2010 - The Independent - Associated Press - Israel has reprimanded two high-ranking officers over the firing of artillery shells at a UN compound during the Gaza war last year - the first admission of any high-level wrongdoing. It announced the punishment in a document submitted to the United Nations in response to a UN report that accused Israel's military of committing war crimes, including using white phosphorus in the attack. Israel is trying to stave off the report's central threat of launching war crimes proceedings if it does not carry out an independent investigation into the military's conduct during the fighting. It remained unclear whether the relatively minor punishments given to the offices would answer international concerns that the military was not capable of investigating itself. The artillery attack, which took place while more than 700 Palestinian civilians were taking refuge in the compound,. . . .
Turkey PM: Israel should mull future without us as ally
1/31/2010 - Ha'aretz - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday warned Israel should to "take another look at its relations with its neighbors" if it wants to maintain ties with Turkey in the future. "Israel should give some thought to what it would be like to lose a friend like Turkey in the future," Erodegan told Euronews, regarding his thoughts on the recent tensions between the two Mediterranean countries. "The way they recently treated our ambassador has no place in international politics," said Erdogan, referring to a recent diplomatic incident in which Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon summoned the envoy and treated him with deliberate disrespect. "We have done our best for Israel-Syria relations," added Erdogan. "But now we see Benjamin Netanyahu saying: 'I do not trust Erdogan, but I trust Sarkozy'. Do you have to give a name? This is diplomatic inexperience, too. "
Abbas: Israel setting tone for one-state solution
1/31/2010 - Ha'aretz - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday that Israel's continued activity in the West Bank was leading to a "one-state solution," telling The Guardian in an exclusive interview that he was prepared to relaunch peace negotiations in exchange for a full three-month settlement freeze. The Palestinian leader also told The Guardian that he could be inclined toward accepting the Obama administration's proposal for direct, but low-level, talks prior to beginning full-scale peace negotiations. "If there is any substance in the response from the Israeli side - for example, if they accept the framework of a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders and an end to occupation, with timelines and mechanisms - then there will be progress," Abbas told The Guardian. He told The Guardian that he and former prime minister Ehud Olmert had come closer to a peace agreement than any previous. . . .
Israel warns officers after Hamas assassination
2/1/2010 - Yahoo! News - AP, JERUSALEM – The Israeli army said Monday it has warned its top officers to be on guard when traveling abroad following the mysterious death of a Hamas commander in Dubai. Hamas accused agents of Israel's Mossad secret service of assassinating Mahmoud al-Mabhouh on Jan. 20, saying the killers waited in ambush for him in his Dubai hotel room, immobilized him with an electric shock and then strangled him. Hamas has vowed revenge, hinting it could attack Israeli targets abroad. The Islamic militant group which rules the Gaza Strip has historically limited its attacks to Israel and the Palestinian territories. Although Israel has not acknowledged any role in the killing, military officials said Monday they were taking the threats seriously and had instructed senior officers, military attaches and soldiers on study leaves to exercise caution when traveling abroad.
Israel 'responsible' on Iran, Obama adviser says
2/1/2010 - Yahoo! News - JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel and the United States are closely conferring about the Iranian nuclear program, U. S. National Security Adviser Jim Jones said in an interview published Sunday, calling Israel's conduct "responsible. "Western governments fear that Iran wants to produce nuclear weapons but Tehran says the program is for peaceful purposes. Iran has vowed to respond to any unilateral Israeli strike over the nuclear program. The five permanent Security Council members -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- along with Germany have been negotiating with Iran, but U. S. officials say drafts of possible sanctions should circulate among the group soon. Jones said the United States and Israel are in close coordination over how to handle Iran. "We have very good dialogue with Israel, continual dialogue," he told The Jerusalem Post. "We're working very closely with them. "
Dubai police chief: Mossad may have killed Hamas commander
2/1/2010 - Jerusalem Post - Dhahi Khalfan tells AFP: "I don't exclude any possibility" in Mabhouh's assassination; Israeli officials say commander played key role in smuggling weapons from Iran to Gaza. - At least seven people were involved in the assassination of a Hamas commander in Dubai last week, according to Dubai police chief Dhahi Khalfan. "It could be Mossad, or another party. . . I don't exclude any possibility. I don't exclude any party that has an interest in the assassination," Khalfan told AFP. He also said that the main suspects in the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh held various European passports, AFP reported. In Israel, meanwhile, officials said Sunday that Mabhouh played a central role in smuggling weapons from Iran to Gaza, but they refused to say whether Israel was responsible for killing the man it had sought for two decades.
Israel should be in European Union, Berlusconi says - Summary
2/1/2010 - Earth Times - Jerusalem - Israel should be a member of the European Union, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Monday, as he kicked off a landmark three-day visit to the Jewish state and the Palestinian areas. "My greatest desire, as long as I am a protagonist in politics, is to bring Israel into membership of the European Union," he said at a formal welcoming ceremony in Jerusalem. The Italian leader, accompanied by seven of his ministers, arrived in Israel Monday afternoon. In the course of stay, he will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Opposition Leader Tzipi Livni, and President Shimon Peres, and will also hold talks with Palestinian officials in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the first-ever joint Israeli-Italian cabinet session is slated to take place in Jerusalem and on Wednesday, in a rare gesture by Israel to a foreign leader. . . Related: Berlusconi warning over Israeli settlements
Berlusconi warning over Israeli settlements
1/31/2010 - Yahoo! News - JERUSALEM (AFP) – Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories could be an "obstacle to peace" in an interview with an Israeli daily published Sunday. Berlusconi made the remarks ahead of a three-day visit to the Jewish state in which he was to deliver a speech in Israel's parliament, the Knesset. " Israel's settlement policy could be an obstacle to peace," Berlusconi told the Haaretz newspaper. " I would like to say to the people and government of Israel, as a friend, with my hand on my heart, that persisting with this policy is a mistake," he said. " It will never be possible to convince the Palestinians of Israel's good intentions while Israel continues to build in territories that are to be returned as part of a peace agreement. " At the same time, Berlusconi praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "courage". . . . Related: Israel should be in European Union, Berlusconi says - Summary
Group demands rights for Palestinian-origin citizens in Jordan
2/1/2010 - Earth Times - DPA, Amman - A world human rights watchdog on Monday urged the Jordanian government to stop the "arbitrary withdrawal" of nationality from Jordanians descending from Palestinian origin. "Jordan is playing politics with the basic rights of thousands of its citizens," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, as she released a 60-page report entitled "Stateless Again: Palestinian-origin Jordanians Deprived of their Nationality. " "Officials are denying entire families the ability to lead normal lives with the sense of security that most citizens of a country take for granted," she added. The West Bank became part of the Hashemite Kingdom in 1950 and its inhabitants automatically obtained Jordanian citizenship. The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
US defense fails missile test mimicking Iran strike
2/1/2010 - Reuters - WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - A maiden U. S. attempt to shoot down a ballistic missile mimicking an attack from Iran failed after a malfunction in a radar built by Raytheon Co (RTN. N), the Defense Department said. The Missile Defense Agency said both the target missile, fired from Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, and the interceptor, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, had performed normally after launch on Sunday. " However, the Sea-Based X-band radar did not perform as expected," the agency said on its web site. Officials will investigate the cause of the failure to intercept, it said. The SBX radar is a major component of the ground-based midcourse defense, the sole U. S. bulwark against long-range missiles that could be tipped with chemical, biological or nuclear warheads. Raytheon and Boeing, which manages the overall system, had no immediate comment.
Another U.S. War? Obama Threatens China and Iran
2/1/2010 - Global Research - Shamus Cooke - The possibility of yet another U. S. war became more real last week, when the Obama administration sharply confronted both China and Iran. The first aggressive act was performed by Obama’s Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, who “warned” China that it must support serious economic sanctions against Iran (an act of war). Clinton said: “China will be under a lot of pressure to recognize the destabilizing effect that a nuclear-armed Iran would have, from which they receive a significant percentage of their oil supply. ”The implication here is that China will be cut off from a major energy source if they do not support U. S. foreign policy — this, too, would equal an act of war. A more direct military provocation occurred later when Obama agreed to honor a Bush-era military pact with Taiwan, a small island that lies off the mainland coast of China, and is claimed by China as its own territory.
Netanyahu’s wife accused of bullying staff
1/27/2010 - The Independent - Outcry over claims she sacked elderly gardener and humiliated housekeeper - It's been a taxing time for Benjamin Netanyahu. He has had to soothe fears of a possible war with Lebanon. He has made an uncompromising statement about the future of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. And then, of course, there's the knotty matter of his wife's domestic arrangements and the employees she is accused of bullying. First, an Israeli newspaper revealed in a front-page story that Sara Netanyahu's former housekeeper, Lillian Peretz, was filing suit for £50,000 damages from her ex-employer for "humiliating" her and paying her less than the minimum wage. Try as she did to brush the allegations off, the first lady could not make them go away. Then, as if her reputation weren't in enough trouble, another publication claimed that Mrs Netanyahu had fired "an elderly Jew, about 70, a bereaved father who. . . .
UN
find challenges Israeli version of attack on civilian building in Gaza
war
Uruknet
February 1, 2010 - A new Israeli report defending the military's
conduct in the Gaza war was challenged tonight after evidence emerged
apparently contradicting one of its key findings. Israel submitted a
46-page report to the UN on Friday saying its forces abided by
international law throughout the three-week war last year. It was meant
to avert the threat of...
Holes
are shot in army's denial of Gaza attack Israel claimed it did not bomb
flour mill, but 500lb explosives find proves otherwise
Uruknet
February 1, 2010 - Doubts have been cast on the Israeli rebuttal of the
Goldstone Report, after it emerged last night that a bomb was defused
last year at a Gaza flour mill that Israel had officially said did not
come under air attack in the war. The presence of a large part of the
fractured Mark 82 bomb was...
Fighting
for an education in Gaza
Uruknet
February 1, 2010 - Ayman Talal Quader is a blogger from the Nuseirat
refugee camp located in the middle of the Gaza Strip. He launched his
blog "Voice From Gaza" (
Jordan:
Stop Withdrawing Nationality from Palestinian-Origin Citizens
Uruknet
February 1, 2010 - Jordan should stop withdrawing nationality
arbitrarily from Jordanians of Palestinian origin, Human Rights Watch
said in a report released today. Authorities stripped more than 2,700
of these Jordanians of their nationality between 2004 and 2008, and the
practice continued in 2009, Human Rights Watch said. The 60-page
report, "Stateless Again: Palestinian-Origin Jordanians Deprived of
their Nationality",...
"A
different kind of occupation": an interview with Elia Suleiman
Uruknet
February 1, 2010 - Nazareth-born filmmaker Elia Suleiman is one of the
darlings of Cannes and stands out from the pack of contemporary
Palestinian filmmakers for his unique style of filmmaking based on
sewing together a series vignettes, silence -- an emphasis on visual
storytelling versus dialogue, and deadpan comedy found in often grim
humor in the lives of everyday...
Israel
uses holocaust memory to effect own holocaust against Palestinians
Uruknet
February 1, 2010 - Writing in the Ha’aretz newspaper on Thursday, 28
January, under the title "holocaust remembrance is a boon for Israeli
propaganda," the noted Israeli journalist Gideon Levy accused Israel of
employing the holocaust memory as a Public Relations gimmick to divert
attention from the savagery and brutality meted out to the
Palestinians. "When the world is talking...
B'Tselem:
Gaza 'cover-up' proof army can't investigate itself
Uruknet
February 1, 2010 - The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem has sent an
urgent letter to Israel's judge advocate general, Maj. Gen. Avichai
Mandelblit, demanding that he immediately order a Military Police
investigation into the circumstances of the firing of phosphorus shells
at the UNWRA compound in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. "The cover-up
of this affair demonstrates, yet again,...
The
grand Zionist façade
Uruknet
February 1, 2010 - On 12 January, The New York Times carried an article
by David Brooks on Jews and Israel. It so caught my eye that I decided
to bring it to my class on the economic history of the Middle East. I
sent my students the link to the article and asked them to read it
carefully and...
Obama
on Why the US Has Not Condemned Israel’s Human Rights Violations
against the Occupied Palestinian People
Uruknet
February 1, 2010 - A question was posed to US president Barack Obama at
a town hall meeting in Tampa, Florida on 28 January. Obama took this as
an opportunity to "talk about the Middle East generally." Obama: Israel
is one of our strongest allies. ...It is a vibrant democracy... It is
critical for us and I will never waver...
MONDAY'S
ISRAELI CRIMINAL ACTIVITY ROUNDUP
Uruknet
February 1, 2010 - Much Israeli criminal activity to write about this
morning. First, Those of you who voted for "Hope and Change" should
immediately ask the DNC to refund your money which was obtained
fraudulently: Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon declared Monday that
Israel's relations with the United States have "never been better."...
Israel
is stealing Palestinian water
Uruknet
February 1, 2010 - Recent reports have highlighted the acute water
shortage facing Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank and
Bethlehem in particular - and noted that the average Israeli settler
consumes six times more water than the average Palestinian. This is
despite the latter's rights to the sources as the original owner of the
land, albeit an...
Palestinian
People’s Party (PPP): Hamas placing Gazans under house arrest
Uruknet
January 31, 2010 – The Palestinian People’s Party (PPP) on Saturday
criticized the de facto government for the restrictions it has placed
on the freedom of movement of Palestinians in and out of Gaza. Member
of the PPP’s politburo, Nafith Ghneim, described the recent decision to
prevent the entry of Fatah leaders into the besieged strip without
permission from the...
West Bank, February 01, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) -Sharek Youth Forum opened in cooperation with the French-German Cultural Center yesterday, the exhibition "Palestine pretty" pictures, films, writings, and music of the Middle Eastern media Bags Curzon Hall last Ramallah, which will continue until 15 February, the exhibits presented during the festival Binali Clermont Veareran "codes for a trip travel" in France....
IOF shoot Palestinian near Gaza border
Gaza, February 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation force shot and wounded a Palestinian man who was approaching the Gaza border fence on Monday before arresting him, the Israeli army and Palestinian medics said. The man was transferred to Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba for medical treatment. He will later be investigated. Israeli military spokesman declined to say...
Fatah official to visit Gaza
West Bank, February 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - A Fatah official on Monday announced he would visit the Gaza Strip despite a recent condition Hamas has put on any Fatah member wants to visit Gaza. "Gaza is part of the home, so I don't need to ask for a visa, a permission or a special license from anyone," said Nabil...
Gaza infant’s deformity increases due to war effects
Gaza, February 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Although Israel's "Operation Cast Lead" technically ended in January of 2009, its effects are still emerging, and will be felt for decades to come. Doctors in Gaza City are reporting an alarming increase in birth defects among women exposed to white phosphorous and other chemicals used in Israeli weapons. Dalal Al-Agh, a Gazan...
West Bank: Israeli forces break-in Bi'lin
West Bank, February 1, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli forces invaded on Monday Bil'in village, in the west of Ramallah city, and broke into the houses searching for what Israel calls "wanted" for activities against the settlements and the apartheid wall. The Israeli occupation forces intercepted the employees, students and patients, expropriate their ID cards and stopped their cars. The...
The National 1 Feb 2010 - Leaders of the Arab minority in Israel say they are facing an unprecedented campaign of persecution, backed by the right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli army denies claims it censured pair over Gaza shelling
The National 1 Feb 2010 - The IDF publicly denies that two senior officers have been reprimanded for firing white phosphorous shells in the direction of a Gaza compound.
Abbas: I fear a one-state solution
The National 1 Feb 2010 - The Palestinian president says he is still prepared to begin negotiations if Israel agrees to institute a full settlement freeze for three months.
The Media Line 30 Jan 2010 - Iran plans to build seven new refineries to reduce its dependence on foreign refinement capabilities. Iran plans to build seven new oil and gas refineries in a bid to diminish its vulnerability to sanctions from foreign...
Islamists ‘Indoctrinating' Somali Schoolchildren
The Media Line 30 Jan 2010 - Islamists in Somalia make schoolchildren targets of their ideology The Al-Shabab movement in Somalia has issued directives in schools located in areas under its control, in an effort to instill Islamist ideology in the younger generation....
NY Times: U.S. Speeding Up Deployment of Defensive Missiles Throughout Gulf
The Media Line 30 Jan 2010 - The New York Times reported on Saturday that the Obama administration is speeding up deployment of anti-missile missile systems throughout the Gulf region, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain . According to The Times,...
Disunity Over Goldstone Response Continues to Plague Israeli Government
The Media Line 30 Jan 2010 - Israel's various arms of officialdom continue to wrangle over the issue of meeting the United Nations' demand to conduct an independent review of the Human Rights Council's investigation into the conduct of last January's war in...
Hamas Threatens Israeli Targets Abroad; Charges Jerusalem Responsible for Assassination
The Media Line 30 Jan 2010 - Hamas officials are charging that Israel sent assassins to Dubai as part of Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau's delegation to an environmental conference last week, when Landau became the first Israeli minister to visit the Gulf state....
Yemen's Displaced Reach 250,000
The Media Line 30 Jan 2010 - Rebels call for a ceasefire in six-year old war as the U.N. deals with over a quarter million refugees. Yemeni forces killed 20 Houthi rebels on Sunday, effectively rejecting a ceasefire offer two days after it...
AlJazeera 1 Feb 2010 - Authorities detain dozens in relation to failed bomb attack on Israeli diplomats.
Israel 'disciplines' army officers
AlJazeera 1 Feb 2010 - Two reprimanded for "breaching guidelines" in shelling populated area during Gaza war.
Iran remembers Khomeini's return
AlJazeera 1 Feb 2010 - Political divisions evident on anniversary of homecoming leading to Islamic revolution.
Alternative Information Center
Attorney Sfard: Israeli Police Investigation of Shooting of Tristan Anderson “Gravely Negligent”Alternative Information Center 1 Feb 2010 - Yesterday’s announcement by the Israeli Ministry of Justice not to indict anyone in the March 2009 shooting and critically injuring of American activist Tristan Anderson at a non-violent demonstration in the West Bank village of Ni’ilin...
PNN 1 Feb 2010 - The Interior Ministry is demanding that a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem be deported for having spent too many years in the United States. Elias Khayyo - who holds no foreign citizenship - has been detained for three weeks at Givon incarceration facility in Ramle with other people deemed illegal residents and slated for deportation. Khayyo, 41, was born in East Jerusalem...
ISRAEL: 'Avatar' and the Palestinian blues
PNN 1 Feb 2010 - This week, a screening of Avatar erupted into a small ruckus in a suburb when one moviegoer loudly announced that the Palestinians should learn from this movie what to do to the Jews, causing a commotion and angering others in the audience. The opinionated moviegoer was Juliano Mer-Khamis. Born in Nazereth to a Jewish mother and Arab father, he is an accomplished...
Israel 'disciplines' army officers
PNN 1 Feb 2010 - The Israeli army has disciplined two high-ranking officers for approving the use of white phosphorous shells during the Gaza offensive last year, according to local media. The Haaretz newspaper's website said on Monday that a military inquiry concluded that the Gaza division commander and a brigade commander endangered human life by firing the highly incendiary weapon towards a compound run by a...
Jeruslalem Post 1 Feb 2010 - Abbas publicly supports Gaza-Egypt wall, claims "no return to armed struggle," but statements gain little attention in gov’t, which won't accept PA position on J'lem as condition for talks.
Israel won’t heed Abbas’s call for 3-month total freeze
Jeruslalem Post 1 Feb 2010 - PA president publicly supports Gaza-Egypt wall, claims "no return to armed struggle," but statements gain little attention in gov’t, which says it won't accept Palestinian position on J'lem as condition for talks.
Analysis: Helping Abbas climb down the high tree
Jeruslalem Post 1 Feb 2010 - PA president wants to resume talks, but "doesn’t want it to look as if he has succumbed to the pressure,” says Ramallah official.
Bennet wants to use settlers to boost Israel’s PR
Jeruslalem Post 1 Feb 2010 - New Judea and Samaria council head seeks to change current image of settlements as a liability to the Jewish state.
'Goldstone report is deceitful'
Jeruslalem Post 1 Feb 2010 - IDF chief says army began investigating itself before "we heard of Goldstone."
'No peace with Syria could mean war'
Jeruslalem Post 1 Feb 2010 - Barak calls for talks with Damascus as soon as possible, says new Iran sanctions won't work.
J'lem Arabs arrested for Hamas recon
Jeruslalem Post 1 Feb 2010 - Men were allegedly to receive weapons, explosives for attacks.
Berlusconi 'dreams of Israel joining EU'
Jeruslalem Post 1 Feb 2010 - PM: Glorious past obligates cooperation today between J'lem, Rome.
7 US, European scientists win Wolf Prize
Jeruslalem Post 1 Feb 2010 - Winners of Israel's prestigious award to receive $100,000 each in May ceremony.
IPS WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (IPS) - One year ago Thursday, the last Israeli tanks were lumbering out of the Gaza Strip, ending the 22-day Gaza War and leaving in their wake a decimated landscape and population.
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: Netanyahu Plants Trees and More on Occupied Land
IPS MAALEH ADUMIM, Occupied West Bank, Jan 28 (IPS) - When Benjamin Netanyahu dug a spade here and in another West Bank settlement this week, some thought the Israeli Prime Minister was actually digging a hole into current United States-sponsored peace efforts.
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.
PCHR
International Solidarity Movement
Israel police not charged over activist shooting2/1/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - BBC - Charges will not be brought against the police officers who shot an American pro-Palestinian activist in the face, Israel's justice ministry has said. Tristan Anderson suffered severe brain damage when he was shot at a rally in the West Bank town of Naalin last year. The officers did not have any "criminal intent" when they shot Mr Anderson, a ministry spokesman said. Mr Anderson, 38, was in a coma for months and can only communicate with basic sounds, friends say. The case was closed without indicting anyone after an internal police investigation because "there was no proof of criminal behaviour by the police", Justice Ministry spokesman Moshe Cohen told the AFP news agency. Mr Anderson, from Oakland California, was among 400 people demonstrating against the building of the West Bank barrier. The village is one of several places where stone-throwing Palestinian youths clash regularly with police. Mr Anderson was shot by a riot policeman from between 60-70 m (213ft), it was reported.
One injured during a Bil’in night invasion
2/1/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Popular Struggle Coordination Committee - Starting the month off with a bang! Four Shabak (Israeli Intelligence) jeeps and one military hummer rolled through Bil'in around 3am this morning. Computer screens with GPS maps were visible in the jeeps. They started throwing sound bombs amongst houses when camera people arrived on the scene. Soldiers in the last hummer taunted the camera people by making chicken noises. It seemed like they were looking for someone or were lost in Bil'in as they turned down side streets and returned to the main road between the school and the mosque. Earlier in the evening residents of Bil'in reported seeing the military throwing tear gas at young kids who were near the Israeli Apartheid Wall. Invasions like this are not uncommon in Bil'in. One person from Bil'in was injured while running to document the invasion last night.
Tourism minister's partying is Israel's diplomatic headache
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Ministry source: Before Spain fiasco, Misezhnikov disgraced Israel in Belarus, Brazil and Argentina.,
Israel and the Holocaust
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Obama exposed his ignorance regarding Zionist movement's history in his Cairo speech last year.,
Netanyahu risks Muslim wrath over Jerusalem holy site
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Restoration work near Al-Aqsa Mosque could destroy the remnants of Israel's relations with the Muslim world.,
Netanyahu to Berlusconi: You show courage in backing Iran sanctions
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Italian premier, who is joined by seven ministers, arrives in Israel for historic joint cabinet session.
Jordan King Abdullah to Obama: Speed up Mideast peace drive
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Abdullah told Obama to intensify efforts for achieving progress towards a two-state solution.,
Human Rights Watch urges Jordan to stop revoking citizenships
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Human Rights Watch report finds that thousands of Jordanians of Palestinian origin have had their civil rights infringed upon.,
Barak: Without Syria peace, we could be headed for all-out war
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - In comments to senior IDF officers, defense minister calls for resumption of talks with Damascus.,
Merkel welcomes prospect of renewed Israel-PA peace talks
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - During visit by Abbas to Berlin, Merkel expresses support for renewed Israel-PA peace talks.,
Dubai refuses to let Hamas help probe murder of group leader
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - UAE police says it will consult only with PA; Hamas threatens to strike Israeli targets abroad.,
IN PICTURES / Artist displays Auschwitz model made from gold teeth of Holocaust victims
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - To coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day last week, an art gallery in Copenhagen exhibited Marco Evaristti's 'Rolexgate.',
Deputy FM: Israel-U.S. relations have never been better
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Ayalon tells Herzliya Conference ties go beyond Mideast; Livni: Israel can't take U.S. alliance for granted.,
Berlusconi to Haaretz: Israel's settlement policy is unwise
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Italian PM, 8 Italian cabinet ministers to arrive in Israel Monday for 3-day visit, special Knesset session.,
Hamas threatens to strike Israeli targets abroad to avenge slain official
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Hamas leader Mabouh killed in Dubai, local police have narrowed down 7 suspects but won't rule out Mossad.,
BOI chief: Peace could boost Israel's economy by 7%
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Netanyahu aide blames stalled talks on Abbas 'refusal', says policy will eventually hurt Palestinians.,
Leonard Cohen receives lifetime achievement Grammy
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - The 75-year-old poet was not the only one honored, with Michael Jackson receiving a posthumous nod.,
The Guardian 1 Feb 2010 - UN team find remains of aircraft-dropped bombs, contradicting Israeli report on military conduct during three-week conflict A new Israeli report defending the military's conduct in the Gaza war was challenged tonight after evidence emerged apparently contradicting...
Video: Israel reprimands top army officers over Gaza war
The Guardian 1 Feb 2010 - Disciplinary action taken over UN compound attack in populated area of Gaza City last year
False hopes for Palestine | Ben White
The Guardian 1 Feb 2010 - Reports of optimistic developments in the Palestinian Territories are premature – they are still crushed by Israel's control regime Over the last six months, there have been numerous reports on the apparent signs of hope in...
Israeli soldiers 'disciplined' over UN compound attack in Gaza
The Guardian 1 Feb 2010 - Israeli military report says troops 'fired artillery shells in violation of rules of engagement in populated areas' last year Two senior Israeli army officers have been "disciplined" over the firing of artillery shells towards a United...
Mahmoud Abbas: Israel's West Bank occupation leading to one-state solution
The Guardian 31 Jan 2010 - Exclusive interview: Palestinian president hints at mediated talks to restart moribund peace process Israel's continuing colonisation of the West Bank is leading to a "one-state solution", the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has told the Guardian, while...
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - If Intel Israel wants to get the $400 million grant it has requested from the State of Israel, it must undertake to stay in the country for a long time. ...
Settlement growth slows as building freeze starts to bite
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - The settlement freeze is having an impact, figures obtained by Haaretz reveal: In the second half of 2009, one third of all West Bank settlements experienced slower population growth than the average inside Israel - a larger proportion than during the first half. ...
He made it through the year
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - The annual State of the Union address, delivered by the president to both houses of Congress, is a ceremonial occasion and the speech is prepared at least one month in advance. And as we saw and heard last week, President Barack Obama recorded no remarkable achievements during his first year in office. Not all his promises were kept fully, not everything that he wanted came to be. But the most important thing is that he gave hope for the future. ...
'Islamic Jihad claims it sent bomb-laden barrels to Israeli beaches'
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - Two large explosive charges contained in a barrel was discovered on beaches of Ashkelon, Ashdod.
Police: Israeli pedophile solicited 1,000 underage girls via Internet
Ha'aretz 1 Feb 2010 - The Magistrate's Court in Rishon Letzion extended the remand of Tel Aviv resident Avinoam Braverman on suspicions of soliciting children via the internet. ...
Relief Web 1 Feb 2010 - Source: Government of Israel
End of long ordeal for Palestinian refugees as desert camp closes
Relief Web 1 Feb 2010 - Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Capacity-Building for Palestinian Economic and Regulatory Institutions - Project information document (PID), concept stage
Relief Web 1 Feb 2010 - Source: World Bank
OPT: Lasting Agriculture Versus Lasting Occupation
Relief Web 1 Feb 2010 - Source: Palestine Monitor
OPT: Reclaiming Water in Qarawat Bani Hassan
Relief Web 1 Feb 2010 - Source: Palestine Monitor
Stateless Again: Palestinian-Origin Jordanians Deprived of their Nationality
Relief Web 1 Feb 2010 - Source: Human Rights Watch
YNet News 1 Feb 2010 - Referring to Iran, Israeli premier tells Italian counterpart, 'Humanity facing one of its most difficult tests since World War II.' Berlusconi: It is impossible to take my eyes away from the proven dangers that you see
Rights group: Jordan pulls citizenship from Palestinians
YNet News 1 Feb 2010 - Human Rights Watch report says 2,732 Palestinians stripped of their Jordanian nationality in past few years to counter any Israeli plans to transfer West Bank Palestinians to the kingdom. 'Jordan is playing politics with the basic rights of thousands of its citizens,' group says
Security sources: Threat to ocean facilities growing
YNet News 1 Feb 2010 - Defense establishment sources doubt Palestinian groups' claims of ability to target strategic facilities at sea, but say potential threat being taken seriously
Berlusconi says Yad Vashem visit 'like being punched in the stomach'
YNet News 1 Feb 2010 - Italian premier deeply moved by tour of Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, writes 'This cannot be' in guest book
2 explosive devices found in southern beaches
YNet News 1 Feb 2010 - Fishermen in Ashkelon detect suspicious object, call police who show up with reinforcements, closing off city's northern shoreline. Several hours later additional device discovered in Ashdod beach. Police sources claim two devices similar, estimate originated from Gaza Strip
Iran remembers Khomeini amid political tensions
YNet News 1 Feb 2010 - Islamic Republic kicks off celebrations marking 31st anniversary to 1979 return of exiled ayatollah which triggered Islamic revolution
MK Mofaz: Implement 2-state solution as soon as possible
YNet News 1 Feb 2010 - Former defense minister tells Herzliya Conference, 'If we wait another year without any productive steps towards peace, Hezbollah will not allow this calmness to continue.' Elliot Abrams: Arab leaders think West Bank looks like Yemen or Geneva
Barak to IDF brass: Goldstone Report biased
YNet News 1 Feb 2010 - Hours after report that two senior officers were disciplined for exceeding their authority during Gaza war, defense minister says team of legal experts can probe scathing UN report's findings. On Syria: Full-blown war possible if peace agreement not reached
31 Jan 2010 - B'Tselem has written urgently to the judge advocate general demanding that he immediately order a Military Police investigation into the circumstances of the firing of phosphorus shells at the UNWRA compound in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. This is a p
Daily Star 1 Feb 2010 A suicide bomber blew herself up on Monday among Shiite pilgrims on the outskirts of Iraq's capital, killing at least 41 people in the latest attack in a violent run-up to next month's election. Iraq is trying to leave behind years of warfare set off by the 2003 US invasion as it moves to cement security gains made in the last two years, prepare for a US withdrawal
Israel lightly disciplines high-ranking officers for attack on UN compound
Daily Star 1 Feb 2010 The Israeli military said Monday it has reprimanded two high-ranking officers for approving the firing of artillery shells toward a UN compound during the Gaza war last year - the first admission of any high-level wrongdoing during the offensive. Israel announced the punishment in a document submitted to the United Nations last Friday in response.
Abbas softens demands on talks with Israel
Daily Star 1 Feb 2010 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday peace talks with Israel could be restarted if the Israeli government was prepared to put a stop to settlement building for "a certain period." Abbas has insisted that settlement expansion be halted in the West Bank before talks stalled since 2008 resume
Queen Noor fights to eradicate nuclear weapons
Daily Star 1 Feb 2010 In a region where cut-throat politics are the norm, the role of Jordan's Queen Noor in defusing tensions in the Middle East is a refreshing change. In her latest bid to promote peace, the Jordanian monarch has been moving heaven and earth to eradicate the ultimate weapon of mass destruction: nuclear arms. Overly optimistic? You may want to give credence to the queen
Berlusconi: Bring Israel into the European Union
Daily Star 1 Feb 2010 Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Monday he hopes to bring Israel into the European Union, at the start of a three-day visit there. The Italian premier brought eight top ministers for a joint Cabinet meeting with their Israeli counterparts. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Cabinet ministers and a military honor guard welcomed the Italian delegation
Tense Iran remembers Khomeini
Daily Star 1 Feb 2010 School bells rang out as trains and ships throughout Iran sounded their horns on Monday, marking the 1979 return from exile of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who triggered a revolution that spawned an Islamic state now mired in a political crisis. Ex-President Mohammad Khatami, now a strong backer of anti-government protesters, urged his supporters to join the February 11 march
Sri Lanka in biggest military purge after coup fears
Daily Star 1 Feb 2010 Sri Lanka's president on Monday sacked a dozen senior military officers whom the Defense Ministry said were a "direct threat to national security" after last week's presidential elections. A military official said it was the army's biggest-ever purge and went beyond a 1962 shake up following a coup attempt by volunteer officers against late Premier Sirima Bandaranaike
Palestinian Information Center
Israel uses holocaust memory to effect own holocaust against PalestiniansPIC 1 Feb 2010 - “When the world is talking Goldstone, we talk Holocaust.."
Israel to file another indictment against sheikh Salah
PIC 1 Feb 2010 - After he was sentenced nine months in jail by the magistrate’s court in Jerusalem, the Israeli prosecution intends to file on Tuesday another indictment against sheikh Ra’ed Salah.
Erdogan: Turkey cannot watch Israel killing innocents, turning Gaza into prison
PIC 1 Feb 2010 - Turkish premier Recep Erdogan reiterated that Turkey cannot stand idly watching Israel killing innocent people, destroying infrastructure and turning the Gaza Strip into a big prison.
Mashaal calls for sincerely hosting meeting for Palestinian rivals in Cairo
PIC 1 Feb 2010 - Khaled Mashaal called on Arab countries to sincerely host a meeting for the Palestinian rivals in Cairo and respect what will be agreed upon in order for the reconciliation to become a reality.
Newspaper: Palestine’s embassy in Cairo behind the arrest of Ma’rouf
PIC 1 Feb 2010 - An Egyptian newspaper revealed that Fatah-affiliated officials in the Embassy of Palestine in Cairo were behind the arrest of chief of police patrols in Khan Younis Ibrahim Ma’rouf.
10 Fatah leaders officially resign in Nablus
PIC 1 Feb 2010 - 10 Fatah leaders submitted their official resignations to the leadership of their movement’s central committee in Nablus in protest at monopolizing the regulatory decision-making.
British Times: Hit men injected Mabhouh with poisonous drug
PIC 1 Feb 2010 - The Times newspaper said that Hamas official Mahmoud Mabhouh was injected by professional hit squad with a drug causing a heart attack in order to show that his death was natural.
Agriculture ministry: Power outages and fuel shortages portend a food crisis
PIC 1 Feb 2010 - The ministry of agriculture warned that the power outages and the shortages of fuel and gas adversely affected the agricultural sector in Gaza and portends an imminent food crisis.
Kharsina settlers seize Palestinian lands in Al-Khalil
PIC 1 Feb 2010 - A large number of Israeli settlers from Kharsina settlement, east of Al-Khalil took over Palestinian citizens’ lands and planted some saplings under military protection
Rally outside Egyptian embassy in Paris in protest at Egypt’s iron wall
PIC 1 Feb 2010 - The coalition of Sheikh Yassin on Saturday evening staged a massive rally outside the Egyptian embassy in Paris to demand Egypt to ease the siege on Gaza and stop building its iron wall.
LA Times 1 Feb 2010 - Mahmoud Mabhouh was a middleman who moved Iranian antiaircraft missiles and other weapons into the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, an Israeli military official says. His death remains a mystery. A Hamas military commander slain in a Dubai hotel room played a key role in smuggling antiaircraft missiles and other weapons into the Gaza Strip, Israeli and Hamas officials said Sunday.
Iran's opposition leaders call for big turnout on anniversary of '79 revolution
LA Times 31 Jan 2010 - Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi condemn recent executions, seen as an attempt to intimidate the green movement. But a hard-liner warns that protesters would be 'firmly confronted.' Leaders of Iran's opposition movement and the country's hard-line establishment sharpened their months-long confrontation Saturday, with opponents calling on demonstrators to take to the streets on a highly charged anniversary next week and the judiciary putting 16 alleged protesters on trial.
U.S. beefs up defenses near Iran
LA Times 31 Jan 2010 - New antimissile systems are being set up in Persian Gulf countries, including early-warning radar and missile batteries. Washington emphasizes that the measures are intended to be defensive. The Obama administration has increased the U.S. military presence near Iran and is accelerating installation of antimissile systems in nearby countries, officials said Saturday, as the White House builds pressure for stern new sanctions against Tehran.
New York Times 1 Feb 2010 - The punishment of a brigadier general and a colonel was a rare admission of high-ranking wrongdoing during the war a year ago.
In Egypt, Religious Clashes Are Off the Record
New York Times 1 Feb 2010 - During one of the most serious outbreaks of sectarian violence in years, Egypt declared that any talk of sectarian conflict amounted to sedition.
Main Opposition Leaders in Iran Call for Rally
New York Times 30 Jan 2010 - A protest on Feb. 11 would be the first rally since 10 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in cities across Iran on Dec. 27.
Clinton Warns China on Iran Sanctions
New York Times 30 Jan 2010 - The secretary of state told China on Friday that it would face diplomatic isolation if it did not fall in line.
Hamas Official Murdered in Dubai Hotel
New York Times 30 Jan 2010 - Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, 50, was a founder of the military wing of Hamas, and the Palestinian group accused Israel of the killing.
Israel Defends Its Inquiry Into Gaza War
New York Times 30 Jan 2010 - The letter was the first official response to a harshly critical U.N. study called the Goldstone report.
Palestine Monitor - 1 Feb 2010 - The village of Battir, North West of Bethlehem, was once a haven for farmers. Its rich soil, water resources and favourable climate produced abundant harvests of olives and vegetables. But since the start of the occupation, Battir's 4,000 inhabitants have faced tremendous difficulties. The farmland of...
European Parliamentary Delegation visited Gaza
Palestine Monitor - 1 Feb 2010 - The biggest European Parliamentary Delegation comprised of 55 MEPs and MPs from across Europe visited Gaza between 14 and 18 January 2010. The visit was prepared by the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza and The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC). As Gaza strip has...
Reclaiming Water in Qarawat Bani Hassan
Palestine Monitor - 1 Feb 2010 - End of December, accompanied by soldiers, Israeli settlers driving bulldozers started carrying out significant construction works in the area where is located the Neweitef Al – Majur spring, central source of water for farming the land of the nearby West Bank town of Qarawat Bani Hassan,...
A question for Bronner
Mondoweiss - 1 Feb 2010 - I see that Ethan Bronner, the controversial Times bureau chief in Jerusalem, spoke at Brandeis today . I wonder if anyone asked about his son in the Israeli army. And he is speaking at Vassar College in NY on Wednesday afternoon. The Jewish Studies program. My question:...
Mitchell overcame serious doubts before
Mondoweiss - 1 Feb 2010 - Regarding George Mitchell’s predicted failure … They’re all probably right. However, I just received the latest Alumni mag from Colby College, and felt a degree of pride for my old alma mater. Mitchell (actually a native of Waterville, Maine, where Colby is located) spoke at the...
No one is accountable in maiming of Tristan Anderson
Mondoweiss - 1 Feb 2010 - I can hear the US consulate protest from here. Imagine if the same happened in Tehran. JPost : The Justice Ministry declared Sunday that no indictments will be filed against police in the case of [Tristan Anderson] a US activist who was hit by a tear gas...
This casts us in the role of the enabler, forever
Mondoweiss - 1 Feb 2010 - Haaretz says that Turkey is warning Israel that it must mull a future without Turkey as an ally, following the disrespectful treatment of the Turkish ambassador and the horrors of the Gaza war. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday warned Israel should to "take...
White phosphorus reprimands are highly selective
Mondoweiss - 1 Feb 2010 - BBC on Israel’s reprimands re white phosphorus attack: Israel has revealed it has reprimanded two top army officers for authorising an artillery attack which hit a UN compound in Gaza last year. In the attack on 15 January 2009 the compound was set ablaze by white...
Attorney Sfard: Israeli Police Investigation of Shooting of Tristan Anderson “Gravely Negligent”
Alternative Information Center - 1 Feb 2010 - Yesterday’s announcement by the Israeli Ministry of Justice not to indict anyone in the March 2009 shooting and critically injuring of American activist Tristan Anderson at a non-violent demonstration in the West Bank village of Ni’ilin was based on a “gravely negligent” investigation by the Israeli...
Articles
In the West Bank’s stony hills, Palestine is slowly dying
Robert Fisk, The Independent 1/30/2010
In the richest of the Occupied lands, Israeli bureaucracy is driving Palestinians out of their homes. Robert Fisk reports from Jiftlik
Area C doesn’t sound very ominous. A land of stone-sprinkled grey hills and soft green valleys, it’s part of the wreckage of the equally wrecked Oslo Agreement, accounting for 60 per cent of the Israeli-occupied West Bank that was eventually supposed to be handed over to its Palestinian inhabitants.
But look at the statistics and leaf through the pile of demolition orders lying on the table in front of Abed Kasab, head of the village council in Jiftlik, and it all looks like ethnic cleansing via bureaucracy. Perverse might be the word for the paperwork involved. Obscene appear to be the results.
Palestinian houses that cannot be permitted to stand, roofs that must be taken down, wells closed, sewage systems demolished; in one village, I even saw a primitive electricity system in which Palestinians must sink their electrical poles cemented into concrete blocks standing on the surface of the dirt road. To place the poles in the earth would ensure their destruction – no Palestinian can dig a hole more than 40cm below the ground.
But let’s return to the bureaucracy. "Ro’i" – if that is indeed the Israeli official’s name, for it is difficult to decipher – signed a batch of demolition papers for Jiftlik last December, all duly delivered, in Arabic and Hebrew, to Mr Kasab. There are 21 of them, running – non-sequentially – from numbers 143912 through 145059, all from "The High Planning Council Monitoring [sic] Sub-Committee of the Civil Administration for the Area of Judea and Samaria". Judea and Samaria – for ordinary folk – is the occupied West Bank. The first communication is dated 8 December, 2009, the last 17 December. more.. e-mail
Obama Must Choose Between Peace and The 'Special Relationship'
Rachelle Marshall, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs 2/1/2010
Our posture with Israel has weakened, our hope to strengthen the Palestinians has fallen back, and our credibility in the Arab world has been damaged. We are the victims of events rather than masters of events.—Robert Malley, Clinton administration peace negotiator, The New York Times, Nov. 6, 2009.
What we are doing here is evil.—Rachel Corrie in a letter from Gaza to her mother shortly before she was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer in March 2003.
WHAT RACHEL CORRIE referred to as “evil” was America’s support for Israel despite its crimes against the Palestinians, crimes she was witnessing at first hand in Gaza. The “special relationship” with Israel that guarantees such support has been a constant of U.S. foreign policy since 1967 and is a relationship in which Israel is the sole beneficiary and often the stronger partner. Watching to make sure this policy remains in place is a powerful pro-Israel lobby that most elected officials dare not oppose. President Barack Obama’s pre-election vow to abide by the “special relationship” virtually assured Israeli leaders they could rely on Washington’s full diplomatic, military, and financial support even if they openly defy its wishes.
President Richard Nixon once predicted that if America abandoned its war in Indochina we would look to the rest of the world like a “pitiful, helpless giant.” He was wrong at the time, but his words come close to describing the image of America projected by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this fall at her meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. The Israeli leader flatly rejected the administration’s demand that he freeze settlement construction. He offered instead only to consider a temporary and partial slowdown. Clinton’s response was to praise Netanyahu for his “reasonable compromise” and “unprecedented” concessions. more.. e-mail
Turkey scores against Israel
Mustafa El-Labbad, Al-Ahram Weekly 1/28/2010
The lesson of a recent diplomatic spat is that Tel Aviv needs Ankara much more than Ankara needs Tel Aviv.
Israel lost its most important diplomatic face- off since the end of the Cold War recently when it was forced to offer an apology to Turkey. However, the importance of this incident extends beyond the world of diplomatic tit-for- tats, since it also shakes axioms that Israel has attempted to place at the foundations of American regional strategy.
The diplomatic encounter exposed the lack of propriety in conducting the affairs of the Israeli Foreign Ministry under the leadership of Avigdor Lieberman and his deputy Danny Ayalon. It also revealed that the ministry had lost touch with the subtleties of the strategic balance of the region and Israel’s position within it.
The battle began when Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon summoned Turkey’s ambassador to Tel Aviv, Ahmet Oguz Celikkol, to complain about a Turkish television show that was perceived as being anti-Semitic.
Israel has been feeling increasingly uncomfortable over Turkey’s new Middle East policy and its growing influence in the region, and the complaint over the TV show was a pretext to put Ankara in its place. At the meeting, Ayalon refused to shake Celikkol’s hand and had him sit on a low sofa as he explained to the waiting cameras that the alleged insult to Israel had been intentional. more.. e-mail
"A different kind of occupation": an interview with Elia Suleiman
Electronic Intifada: 1 Feb 2010 - Nazareth-born filmmaker Elia Suleiman is one of the darlings of Cannes and stands out from the pack of contemporary Palestinian filmmakers for his unique style of filmmaking based on sewing together a series vignettes, silence -- an emphasis on visual storytelling versus dialogue, and deadpan comedy found in often grim humor in the lives of everyday people living under the tyranny of what he calls a "pathetic occupation." Sabah Haider recently interviewed Suleiman for The Electronic Intifada.
Carleton University students launch campus divestment campaign
Electronic Intifada: 1 Feb 2010 - For the past several months, Students Against Israeli Apartheid - Carleton (SAIA), a student group at Carleton University in Ottawa that is committed to supporting the Palestinian struggle for freedom, has been conducting research on Carleton's investments in Israeli apartheid. In light of its findings, SAIA has launched a campaign calling on Carleton to immediately divest from the offending corporations, as well as to adopt a socially responsible investment policy for all of its investments.
Hamas parliamentarian: "We accept existence of Israel within 1967 borders"
Electronic Intifada: 1 Feb 2010 - RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - Palestinian politics are at an impasse. The four-year term of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) ended on 25 January with no new elections planned. Presidential elections, meant to be held last year, were also postponed indefinitely. IPS spoke with Dr. Mahmoud Ramahi, a neurosurgeon and secretary-general of the PLC, on the political deadlock.
Fighting for an education in Gaza
Electronic Intifada: 1 Feb 2010 - Ayman Talal Quader is a blogger from the Nuseirat refugee camp located in the middle of the Gaza Strip. On his blog titled "Voice From Gaza," Aywan chronicled eyewitness accounts of the war and the continuing siege of the territory as well as his own attempts to leave Gaza in order to further his education in Spain. Although classes start on 8 February, he has yet to receive approval from the Egyptian government to travel to Cairo for his flight to Spain. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jody McIntyre recently spoke with Ayman in Gaza.
Palestine Monitor: 1 Feb 2010 - The village of Battir, North West of Bethlehem, was once a haven for farmers. Its rich soil, water resources and favourable climate produced abundant harvests of olives and vegetables. But since the start of the occupation, Battir's 4,000 inhabitants have faced tremendous difficulties. The farmland of Battir. The village straddles B and C areas, falling under administrative and military Israeli control. It is surrounded on one side by the separation wall and on the other by two settlements, Bitay Illet and Walja. If the settlements continue to expand at their current rate, they will soon merge, further isolating Battir. The village is one of fourteen such ‘blockations' in the West Bank. Available land has been steadily decreasing since 1949, when the Israeli Government began building a railroad through the village. Despite these restrictions, Battir's farmers retain faith that with determination and effective use of their natural resources, the good years...
European Parliamentary Delegation visited Gaza
Palestine Monitor: 1 Feb 2010 - The biggest European Parliamentary Delegation comprised of 55 MEPs and MPs from across Europe visited Gaza between 14 and 18 January 2010. The visit was prepared by the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza and The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC). As Gaza strip has been suffering for years through a deadly siege and devastating War; the living conditions remain disastrous. Both of the organizers believe it is crucial to continue highlighting the devastation and not allow humanitarian disaster to be shrouded to serve a political end. The visit aimed at exposing to the parliamentarians to the real conditions in the Gaza Strip so they can raise the issue in their countries and national parliaments. They have carried out a very comprehensive tour across the Gaza Strip and met Egyptian officials during their visit. General Director of the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC), Majed al Zeer represented the centre in...
Reclaiming Water in Qarawat Bani Hassan
Palestine Monitor: 1 Feb 2010 - End of December, accompanied by soldiers, Israeli settlers driving bulldozers started carrying out significant construction works in the area where is located the Neweitef Al – Majur spring, central source of water for farming the land of the nearby West Bank town of Qarawat Bani Hassan, in the Salfeet governorate, 30 km southwest of Nablus. Moeen Rayyan, Media Coordinator of the PGFTU (Palestine General Federation of Trade Union) works in Nablus, but he was born in Qarawat Bani Hassan and frequently returns to his native town to visit his family. He immediately reached the area when the bulldozers arrived where the springs are located and he was there on another occasion when several dozen of teens from the nearby outpost rushed to the area. He had the chance to take photos of this second incident. Settlers carrying out construction works in the area where is located the Neweitef Al –...
Palestine Chronicle: 1 Feb 2010 - By Ed Kinane Drones are remote-controlled airborne robots. They come in all shapes and sizes. These unmanned high-tech weapons are remarkably versatile. From thousands of feet in the air some reportedly have heat-detecting and surveillance instrumentation that can distinguish between an automatic weapon that has been recently fired and one that hasn’t. Unlike the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Palestine, most US Americans are oblivious to drones. But we’d better wake up. Drones are poised to become tools of domestic surveillance. The Houston police are now secretly experimenting with drones. Col. Kevin Bradley, local Hancock Airbase drone commander, looks forward to having drones used for domestic police work (18 Dec.’09 Syracuse Post-Standard). ACLU please take note. In Upstate New York we’re beginning to learn about the Reaper drone in our midst – “piloted” via satellite out of Hancock on the outskirts of Syracuse. Syracuse’s Reaper now flies surveillance and assassination missions over Afghanistan. The Pentagon proudly describes the Reaper as a “hunter/ killer.” But the US isn’t alone in developing and deploying drone technology. I became aware of Israel’s use of drones during its December 2008/January 2009 invasion of Gaza. Israel deploys two types of hunter/killer: the “Hermes,” produced by Elbit Systems Ltd, and the “Heron,” produced by the government-owned Israeli Aerospace Industries. Recently – by Googling “Israeli drones” -- I learned that Israel pioneered the drone and that Israel purveys that cutting edge weaponry throughout the world. As far back as 1982 Israel used drones against Syria. In...
Mitchel is Kangaroo; Obama is Hamlet
Palestine Chronicle: 1 Feb 2010 - By Uri Avnery - Israel George Mitchel looks like a kangaroo hopping around with an empty pouch. He hops here and he hops there. Hops to Jerusalem and hops to Ramallah, Damascus, Beirut, Amman (but, God forbid, not to Gaza, because somebody may not like it). Hops, hops, but doesn’t take anything out of his pouch, because the pouch is empty. So why does he do it? After all, he could stay at home, raise roses or play with his grandchildren. This compulsive traveling reveals a grain of chutzpah. If he has nothing to offer, why waste the time of politicians and media people? Why burn airplane fuel and damage the environment? The declared aim of Mitchell is to “get the peace process going again”. How? “Get the two sides to return to the negotiating table”. There is a naïve American belief that all the problems of the world could be solved if only the parties would sit down at the table and talk. When reasonable people talk to each other, they will eventually arrive at a solution. The trouble with this is that the people responsible for the fate of nations are not, in general, reasonable people. They are politicians with passions and prejudices and constituencies, who are driven by the mood of the masses. When one is dealing with a 130-year old conflict, the naïve belief in the value of talk borders on folly. Decades of experience indicate that negotiations are useless if one of the parties is...
Gaza, One Year Later
Palestine Chronicle: 1 Feb 2010 - By Alex Kane – Beit Hanoun One year after Israel's ferocious assault, Dr. Mustafa El-Hawi, a professor at Al-Aqsa University, traveled by bus to attend a protest against the continuing Israeli siege of Gaza. As the bus passed by still-devastated areas of Beit Hanoun, in the northeast of the 25-mile-long coastal strip, the U.S.- and British-educated El-Hawi reflected on those terrifying days. “I spent 20 or 21 days living in the basement with my children and with three families of my neighbors. They were staying with us with no access to water or electricity, so we set fire in order to cook and just to feed my children,” El-Hawi says. El-Hawi, 51, lives in the densely packed Gaza City neighborhood of Tel Hawwa, which Israeli troops and tanks invaded in January 2009. “During that time, we don’t sleep, we don’t have access to proper medicine, to anything. We are expecting to die any time.” Arriving in Beit Hanoun in the morning of Dec. 31, El-Hawi joined about 600 Palestinians and 85 internationals to mark the one year anniversary of the “Gaza massacres” that killed almost 1,400 Palestinians. The group attempted to march to the Erez border crossing with Israel, where about 1,000 demonstrators had gathered on the Israeli side, also protesting the siege. The Gaza group could come no closer than half a kilometer, however, for fear they would be shot by Israeli forces. El-Hawi says his children were traumatized from being in a war zone. As for the rest...