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Store discontinues Ahava dead sea products after boycott call
IMEMC
11 Feb 2010 - Friday February 12, 2010 - 04:42, The ‘Stolen Beauty’
campaign has declared a small victory, after Costco stores agreed to
stop carrying Dead Sea Salt from the Ahava corporation.
Abbas
Instructs Erekat To Ensure The Release of An Ailing Detainee Imprisoned
By Israel
IMEMC
11 Feb 2010 - Friday February 12, 2010 - 03:25, The Palestinian
Prisoners Society (PPS) reported that President Mahmoud Abbas
instructed head of the Negotiations Department at the Palestinian
Liberation Organization to act on the release of a sick detainee
imprisoned by Israel since more than 30 years.
P.A
Plans To Investigate Sex Tape Scandal
IMEMC
11 Feb 2010 - Friday February 12, 2010 - 02:37, Israeli Ynet news
reported Thursday that Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, is
planning to investigate a video tape showing the Palestinian
Authority’s head of bureau trying to solicit sexual relations, the
report includes corruption and financial scandals.
Medical
Aid Convoy Makes It Into Gaza
IMEMC
11 Feb 2010 - Friday February 12, 2010 - 02:16, A medical aid convoy
sent by the Arabs Physicians Union managed to enter the Gaza Strip on
Thursday afternoon via the Rafah Border Terminal between Gaza and Egypt.
Israeli
Military Destroys Five Water Cisterns And Three Farming Huts In
Southern West Bank
IMEMC
11 Feb 2010 - Thursday February 11, 2010 - 16:55, Israeli military
bulldozers demolished five water cisterns and three farming huts owned
by farmers from Ithna village, southern West Bank, on Thursday.
Israel
To Demolish Home of Palestinian Man Who Killed Soldier On Wednesday
IMEMC
11 Feb 2010 - Thursday February 11, 2010 - 16:31, On Thursday, Israeli
troops ordered the family of Muhammad al Khatib, to leave their home in
al Khiljan village, north in the West Bank.
The
Israeli Military Detain Four Civilians From Bethlehem City
IMEMC
11 Feb 2010 - Thursday February 11, 2010 - 16:11, Four Palestinian
civilians were detained on Thursday by the Israeli military during
invasions targeting the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Protest
Continues at Osh Grab
IMEMC
11 Feb 2010 - Thursday February 11, 2010 - 14:17, This morning,
Thursday, February 11th, a group of residents from the town of Beit
Sahour, near Bethlehem, arrived at the former military base, Osh Grab,
to discover that excavation of the site had continued.
Qassam
Fighter Killed In Gaza
IMEMC
11 Feb 2010 - Thursday February 11, 2010 - 11:53, The al-Qassam
Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, reported on Thursday
morning, that one of its fighters was killed in Gaza City during what
the group described as “Jihadist Task”.
Two
Children Wounded By Israeli Shells In Gaza
IMEMC
11 Feb 2010 - Thursday February 11, 2010 - 09:59, Palestinian medical
sources reported that two sisters, aged 13 and 5, were wounded when the
Israeli army bombarded Juhr Ed Deek area, east of al-Boreij refugee
camp, in the central Gaza Strip.
Night
raid sees 5 Jenin families served with demolition papers
2/12/2010
- Jenin - Ma'an - Israeli forces entered Barta'a Ash-Sharqiya village
Thursday before sunrise and handed five families demolition orders for
their homes and agricultural buildings in area west of Jenin. Member at
the Barta'a village council Tawfiq Qabha said that the forces overran
the village and woke five families in the middle of the night, pounding
on doors and handing over warnings that homes would soon be demolished.
Those targeted were identified as: Mustafa Qabha, Omar Ali, Jihad
Qabha, Jum'a Qabha and Abdul Aziz Abu Saleh. According to the UN Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Israeli Civil
Administration delivered stop work orders against 20 Palestinian-owned
structures in Area C last week. Of the structures to be demolished 16
were homes. They were ordered demolished because they were built
without permits.
Israeli
fire kills 1 in central Gaza, injures 3 kids
2/11/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - An Israeli airstrike at midday killed one and injured
a second, hours after Israeli artillery fire injured three children on
Thursday in Johur Ad-Dik, central Gaza. An Israeli military spokesman
confirmed the strike, saying it was in retaliation against militants
who had fired on Israeli patrol jeeps earlier that morning. He said the
Israeli patrol had been operating on the east side of the Gaza border,
and that soldiers returned fire in the direction of the attack. The
same spokesman later identified the slain man as 26-year-old Faris
Ahmad Jaber of Gaza City, allegedly affiliated with the "Global Jihad,"
a previously unknown group in Gaza. The spokesman said Jaber and one
other man were preparing to launch an attack on Israel when they were
targeted. The second man was not identified, but the spokesman said he
was known to have been involved in planning a separate attack on Israel.
Detainees
association: Israeli police break leg of Abu Dis teen
2/11/2010
- Salfit - Ma'an - Undercover Israeli agents attacked a 17-year-old
Palestinian youth, breaking his leg and taking him first to hospital,
officials from the Detainees Association said Thursday. A statement
identified the youth as Muhammad Halabiyah, a resident of Abu Dis, and
said the report came from a visit to the youth in the detention
facility. Halabiyah reportedly told the association that he was
followed, beaten taken to the the Hadassa Hospital in Jerusalem then to
the Nitzan Detention Center at Ramle. A fellow detainee, Ammar Qazaz,
told association officials that when Halabiyah arrived in the facility
he was in poor condition and in a great deal of pain from his recently
set leg. Qazaz said prison officials ignored Halabiyah's request to be
taken to a medical center for treatment, and was left in a cell with
the injury, according to the association.
Israel
forces detain family of alleged knifeman, 24 others
2/11/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - The brothers of alleged knife attacker Muhammad
Al-Khatib were detained during a raid on their home in Ya'bad village
in the Jenin governorate Wednesday afternoon, as Israeli soldiers
nabbed 19 teens and three adults from other locations across the West
Bank overnight. The detention of Ated Aqab Khalaf Khatib, 29, and
Muhammad Aqab Khalaf Khatib, 30, followed the detention of their
brother, accused of stabbing an Israeli soldier near the Za'tara
checkpoint on Wednesday afternoon. The soldier died in hospital of
injuries sustained after the attack when he rolled the vehicle while
escaping. Israeli forces raided Muhammad's home Wednesday afternoon,
part of an investigation into the killing, an Israeli military
spokesman said. The spokesman confirmed that the family members were
detained as suspects, but could not confirm whether they were suspects
in the alleged knife attack.
Israeli
forces demolish wells, sheds near Hebron
2/11/2010
- Hebron - Ma'an - Israeli bulldozers demolished five water wells and
three small storerooms, confiscated electric generators and water pumps
in Idhna, a town west of Hebron. Abdullah Al-Asoud, whose irrigation
systems were destroyed in the demolition raid, said the area affected
was in agricultural lands near the separation wall. The farmer noted
that the other residents whose wells were affected, had filed petitions
with the Israeli court challenging the demolition notices. Since the
suits were in progress, Al-Asoud said, farmers were surprised to see
demolition crews Thursday morning. Al-Asoud noted that while the wells
and irrigation systems were ripped up, fields planted with crops were
destroyed. The mayor of Idhna, Jamal At-Tamzi, said that the
municipality will work in cooperation with the Palestinian Authority to
reconstruct the agricultural projects and the wells in the area.
Palestinians
rally against settlers at Mount of Olives
2/12/2010
- Jerusalem - Ma'an -Jerusalem residents and Fatah official Hatem Abdul
Qader interfered with a group of Israeli settlers as they attempted to
claim lands on the Mount of Olives on Thursday morning. The leaders of
Beit Orot, an illegal Israeli settlement on the hill north of the Old
City of Jerusalem, are aggressively expansionist. According to their
website, "Beit Orot is at once defending the sacred traditions of our
nation, the physical security of Eretz Yisrael and the integrity of
Yerushalayim as the undivided capital of Israel and the Jewish people.
" According to Abdul Qader, the group of Jerusalemites went to the
location where Beit Orot settlers were working. He said the lands were
registered to Palestinian families living in the city, and that he went
to warn the settlers against continued colonization of the lands.
Channel
10 invites Abbas to address corruption allegations
2/11/2010
- Jerusalem - Ma'an - President Mahmoud Abbas has a standing invitation
to appear on Israel's Channel 10 to challenge allegations several of
his senior aides have for years fleeced international aid to the
Palestinian Authority, a top Israeli journalist said on Wednesday. "We
have been trying to interview you onscreen, yet you refuse," said Zvi
Yehezkeli, the head of Channel 10's Arabic desk. "You should have
agreed, because Israeli audiences don't know who Abu Mazen is, whether
he fights corruption or not. "Issuing his appeal via an interview with
Ma'an, Yehezkeli said that "the Palestinian president should listen to
the Israeli media and know what is being said about him and the PA.
This is important for him and for us. " The news network, among
Israel's largest, last week reported that it received approximately 400
documents and videotapes that purportedly reveal rampant corruption
within the PA.
Palestinians
detained near Gaza-Israel border
2/12/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli forces detained at least six Palestinians in
northern Gaza on Thursday, witnesses said and the army confirmed.
Onlookers said 10 Palestinian men scavenging for iron girders northeast
of Beit Lahiya were seized and dragged into Israel by soldiers
patrolling the border. They were rummaging through the rubble of
buildings, and were loaded into military vehicles and taken to an
undisclosed location, the witnesses said. Approached by Ma'an, an
Israeli military spokesman said six Palestinians were detained when
they came close an area considered off-limits to Palestinians. He said
they were released shortly thereafter. Residents of the area said
Israeli soldiers opened fire on workers Wednesday, with no injuries
reported. As Israel and Egypt continue to ban all but 36 types of goods
for import into Gaza, most of which are foodstuffs, the only
construction. . .
500
settlers visit Nablus site under armed guard
2/11/2010
- Nablus - Ma'an - More than 500 Israeli settlers under military guard
entered the Balata neighborhood of southern Nablus on Thursday morning,
as Israeli army raids targeted the city center with troops withdrawing
before sunrise, Palestinian security sources said. The settlers,
visiting the holy site at Joseph's Tomb for prayers, entered under
heavy military guard in the early hours of the morning. Soldiers closed
off nearby streets, effectively shutting down the area for local
civilians, witnesses said. Witnesses reported seeing dozens of Israeli
buses arrive at the tomb, accompanied by several Israeli military
vehicles. Hebrew-language media put the number ofsettlers visiting the
tomb at 500. . . . .
One
Gaza crossing partially open, limited exports resume
2/11/2010
- Gaza - Ma'an - One Gaza crossing was partially opened Thursday, for
the transport of limited aid, fuel and exports as all other goods
terminals remained closed, transfer liaison officer Raed Fattouh said.
The official said between 102-112 truckloads of aid and commercial
goods would be transported into the besieged Strip, while limited
quantities of cooking gas and industrial fuel would be pumped in. After
a day's pause, limited exports will resume, Fattouh said, with a truck
of flowers and a truck of strawberries set to leave Gaza under a Dutch
government program granting aid to farmers. The bulk goods crossing at
Karni remained closed, after reports in the Israeli media that
officials had declared it would stay closed until Hamas rule in the
Strip is over. Palestinian officials said they had not been informed
that the crossing would be sealed.
Egypt
seizes goods bound for Gaza
2/11/2010
- Al-A'rish - Ma'an - Egyptian forces raided the border with Gaza and
commandeered seven smuggling tunnels on Thursday, security sources
said, the same day Cairo allowed medical and food aid into the besieged
coastal enclave. Egyptian security sources told Ma'an that troops
foiled an attempt to smuggle spare motorcycle parts into Gaza at the
Salah Ad-Din area during raids in which troops discovered warehouse for
smuggling fuel intended for markets the Strip. Cairo's intelligence
services have carried out "sweeps of raids on the Salah Ad-Din terminal
on the border with Gaza, where seven smuggling tunnels were taken over,
as well as the land of a smuggler, identified by the initials AH," a
security official said. "Two smuggling tunnels were taken over that
were 120 meters from the border line. No smugglers or goods were seized
in that raid," added the official, who smoke to Ma'an on the condition
of anonymity.
Pro-boycott
protesters: Don’t help ’occupier’s economy’
2/11/2010
- Nablus - Ma'an - Thirty young men and women and number of members of
the Palestine People's Party took to the streets of Nablus on Thursday,
marching through the city center while carrying banners calling for
boycotting Israeli goods. The protesters were urging locals not to help
"the occupier's economy. "Kahled Mansur, a member of the PPP politburo
office and coordinator of the popular campaign to boycott Israeli
goods, said the "PPP is carrying out a campaign to boycott Israeli
goods as a form of popular resistance, a kind of resistance the party
is working to enforce to spread it all parts of Palestine as a tool to
end occupation and achieve legitimate Palestinian goals. " Naser Abu
Jeish, PPP secretary and member of its central committee said that "we
will work in cooperation with organizations and unions to expand the
campaign and to intensify its activities. . . "
Islamists
say leader hurt in Gaza raid
2/12/2010
- Bethlehem - Ma'an - A Salafi operative was seriously injured when
Hamas-led security forces raided his home in Gaza City on Tuesday,
prominent Islamist leader Abu Al-Bara' Al-Masri said on Thursday. In a
statement, Al-Masri said that Mahmoud Taleb, who is known as Abu
Al-Mu'tasem Al-Maqdisi, was hurt when forces loyal to Hamas' de facto
government raided a hideout west of Gaza City. "The statements of the
deposed security forces that they arrested Abu Al-Mu'tasem were the
first of their kind, indicating the security departments' intentions to
kill this leader, who is wanted by the Israeli army," Al-Masri said.
"This is the second time in which Al-Maqdisi was injured by deposed
government fire: he was injured by former [Palestinian Authority]
security forces years ago, and injured by the Israeli army four times
during assassinations and clashes on the battlefield," he added.
Police:
12 arrested after Hebron brawls
2/11/2010
- Hebron - Ma'an -Palestinian police charged 12 Hebronites with
misdemeanors during a series of fights that erupted Tuesday and
Wednesday, the press department of the local police office said. In a
statement, the police said they were called in to control several
scuffles that escalated to street brawls, and arrested a dozen of the
alleged antagonists. The statement added that those arrested will be
transferred to the general prosecution to proceed legal procedures
against them. They were not identified. [end]
Egypt
sends food, medical aid into Gaza
2/11/2010
- Al-A'rish - Ma'an - Egyptian authorities allowed medical and food aid
into the besieged Gaza Strip on Thursday, officials said. Amer Hadhud,
a Palestinian Authority liaison official at the Al-Auja commercial
crossing, told Ma'an that the World Food Programme transferred from
Egypt 49 tons of biscuits on 12 trucks for the besieged coastal
enclave. The crossing, located some 40 kilometers from Rafah, is fully
controlled by Israel. Authorities there would have had to approve the
transfer, but none could immediately be reached for comment. Egypt also
sent medical aid via the Arab Doctors Union; the Egyptian Red Crescent
will supervise its entry through Rafah, which is operated by
Palestinians and Egyptians. The medication is worth some 4,000 US
dollars, and is to be delivered to sick children and others with heart
disease, cancer, and kidney problems.
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Ihad Khatib, stabbed to death by a member of PA security, laid to rest in Druze community of Maghar.
Shin Bet: We foiled Hamas attempt to abduct and kill Israeli soldier
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Israel arrested two Hamas men in Dec. who allegedly tried to murder soldier, perform terror attacks.
IDF says jihadi terrorist killed in Gaza air strike
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Air force targets terror squad allegedly planning attack near Karni humanitarian aid crossing.
Work starts to reroute West Bank security fence at Bil'in
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Newly routed barrier will hand 700,000 square meters of agricultural land back to Bil'in village.
Palestinian policeman who killed soldier 'had personal problems'
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Israel general suggests suicidal motive for Wednesday's stabbing in West Bank.
IDF twice raids Ramallah office of pro-Palestinian group
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Army confiscates computers, T-shirts and bracelets from International Solidarity Movement.
West Bank attack victim Ihab Khatib 'had a heart of gold'
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Family describes victim's enthusiasm for service in the IDF, his desire to contribute.
Israel strikes Gaza in response to Qassam rockets
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Since the start of 2010, more than 20 rockets and mortars have been fired into Israel from Gaza.
Israel: Gaza crossing to stay shut as long as Hamas in power
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Official: Structure of crossing, lack of coordination with Hamas puts it at high risk for terror attacks.
Four things Netanyahu needs for an Israeli strike on Iran
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Obama's timetable won't permit an attack on Iran this year, so Netanyahu has a lot of groundwork to prepare.
6 hurt in West Bank clashes between Palestinians, settlers
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Palestinians hurl stones at American volunteers in a West Bank field; Israeli guard fires back.
Lieberman: Turkey's 'anti-Israel' line must not kill our ties
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - In Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister urges Turkey to make amendments to policy of 'weekly' condemnation.
Five Israeli cops hurt in arrest raid on Jerusalem refugee camp
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - 25 people arrested in raid, some for involvement in unrest and others for municipal tax evasion.
IDF detains two pro-Palestinian foreigners in West Bank raid
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Arrest operation marks third time Israeli forces have entered West Bank to arrest foreign activists.
2/11/2010 - Political Theatrics - A group of Palestinians descended from 15 of Jerusalem’s oldest Arab families lodged a protest with the UN today in a fresh effort to prevent the construction of a “Museum of Tolerance” on the site of an ancient Muslim cemetery. The project, run by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Los Angeles, has been dogged by controversy since its launch in 2004. Islamic groups and individual Palestinians complained that the site, in west Jerusalem, was the ancient cemetery of Ma’man Allah, also known as Mamilla, which housed thousands of graves dating back hundreds of years and where even today there are still many gravestones and tombs. The Simon Wiesenthal Centre argued the site was adjacent to the cemetery and that construction would be on what is today a municipal car park. After legal battles, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in October 2008 that building could go ahead.
Lebanon warns of 'dangerous' situation with Israel
2/10/2010 - Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - Israeli aircraft are making daily incursions into Lebanese air space, creating a very dangerous situation, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday. Israel has insisted such flights are needed to monitor Hezbollah guerrillas and has criticized the 12,000-strong U. N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL, for not stopping weapons Israeli officials say have been flowing to the group. The overflights and any rearming of Hezbollah are a violation of Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in 2006. " We hear a lot of Israeli threats day in and day out, and not only threats," Hariri told the BBC. " We see what's happening on the ground and in our air space and what's happening all the time during the past two months -- every day we have Israeli war planes entering Lebanese air space," he said.
VIDEO - Israel denies NGOs work permits
2/9/2010 - YouTube - The Israeli interior ministry has stopped issuing work permits to foreigners working for international non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In the last few weeks, NGO staff have been given tourist visas instead, making it virtually impossible for them to carry out their work. The new Israeli policy affects 120 International NGOs, of which many which provide vital developmental and humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Many NGO members have said that Israel's actions are illegal because the country is obligated under Geneva and humanitarian law to issue them visas and let them work freely there. Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros reports from Jerusalem. [end]
Candid camera sex scandal shocks Palestinians
2/11/2010 - Israeli Occupation Archive - AFP, RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinians were shocked on Thursday after Israeli TV aired a graphic video showing a senior official caught on a hidden camera soliciting sex from a job applicant. The video, parts of which aired on Israel’s Channel 10 earlier this week, was shot by former Palestinian intelligence officer Fahmi Shabaneh, who has accused the Western-backed Palestinian Authority of widespread corruption. In the video, Rafiq al-Husseini, president Mahmud Abbas’s chief of staff, is shown flirting with a woman Shabaneh said was seeking a job in the Authority before entering a bedroom, taking off his clothes and crawling into bed. “How does this work? Should I turn off the lights or will you,” he chuckles from inside the room to someone off-screen in the video, now widely available on youtube. Moments later Shabaneh and several other security men walk into the room, surprising. . . .
West Bank Attack Kills Israeli Soldier
2/10/2010 - New York Times - JERUSALEM — An Israeli soldier was killed Wednesday in the northern West Bank by a Palestinian police officer, the Israeli military said. It was a rare instance of violence that occurred at a delicate time, with the Israeli and Palestinian security forces trying to build mutual trust. The soldier, Sgt. First Class Ihab Khatib, 28, a Druse from Galilee, was stabbed while sitting in his parked military jeep with the window open at a junction south of Nablus. He tried to drive away but lost consciousness, and the jeep overturned. He later died of his wounds. The Israeli military identified the police officer as Mahmoud al-Khatib, who is not related to the Israeli soldier. He is from a Palestinian village near Jenin. Maj. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israeli military’s Central Command, said the officer was in an area controlled by Israel and was not in uniform.
VIDEO - 11 arrested for disrupting Israeli ambassador
2/8/2010 - College Life - Eleven people were arrested Monday evening during a raucous lecture at UC Irvine where Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren came to talk about U. S. -Israel relations. (UCI earlier said that 12 were arrested. )Here are the identities of the 8 UCI students and 3 UC Riverside students who were arrested. Oren was interrupted 10 times Monday while trying to give his speech before 500 people at the UCI Student Center, where there was heavy security. Oren took a 20 minute break after the fourth protest, asked for hospitality and resumed his speech, only to be interrupted again by young men yelling at him every few minutes. Many members of the audience also applauded Oren. After the 10th interruption, several dozens students who opposed Oren’s talk got up and walked out and staged a protest outside. It is not clear whether they were members of the UCI Muslim Student Union, which issued an email earlier in the day condemning Oren’s appearance on campus.
Netanyahu’s government tries to save settler house
2/9/2010 - Yahoo! News - JERUSALEM – The Israeli government has stepped in to save a house built illegally by Jewish settlers in a volatile Palestinian neighborhood in east Jerusalem, complicating already troubled U. S. efforts to renew Mideast peacemaking. The move is meant to skirt a court order to evacuate and seal the house, thus easing settler anger over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to slow Jewish settlement construction. But it is likely to fuel new friction with the Palestinians, who hope to establish a future capital in that sector of the holy city. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Israel's latest attempts to entrench its presence in east Jerusalem only further discourages peace efforts. Israeli officials "know for sure that there will never be peace without east Jerusalem being the capital of Palestine," Erekat said Tuesday. "By undermining this, they're undermining the peace process. "
Joint Letter to the President of the UNGA
2/10/2010 - Al-Haq - Signed by 18 human rights groups - Re: Domestic investigations on alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law committed during the Gaza Conflict - Your Excellency, On the occasion of the submission of the initial findings of the Secretary-General on the domestic investigations conducted to date, as recommended in the Report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (the Report) and endorsed by the General Assembly, we would like to draw your attention to our concerns about the effectiveness of the endeavours undertaken by the concerned parties. As local and international human rights organisations committed to promote and ensure respect for human rights and justice, we are concerned that the investigations were not “independent, credible and in conformity with international standards [required for] serious violations. . . . Related: Full Letter (PDF)
Wiesel: If Ahmadinejad were assassinated, I wouldn’t shed a tear
2/9/2010 - Ha'aretz - Nobel Prize laureate Elie Wiesel said on Tuesday that if Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were assassinated, he would not shed a tear. " Ahmadinejad is a danger to the world and pathologically sick," Wiesel said during an interview on Army Radio. "He is dangerous because he openly wants to destroy Israel, meaning, to destroy another six million Jews. " Over the last few weeks, Wiesel has gathered signatures from more than 50 Nobel laureates across the world for a petition denouncing Ahmadinejad. The petition will be published in The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune. The letter condemns Iran's severe human rights violations and warns that Iran's nuclear program is a danger to humanity. The petition is part of Wiesel's worldwide campaign to raise awareness of the threat he says Ahmadinejad poses to world peace.
AP Pulls Iran Nukes Story After Antiwar.com Exposé
2/9/2010 - Antiwar.com - Associated Press issued a story yesterday (Monday) entitled “Iran moves closer to nuke warhead capacity. ” It was full of inaccurate and misleading information implying that Iran had admitted trying to enrich weapons-grade nuclear material. The story appeared on a wide variety of media. Last night, Antiwar. com news editor Jason Ditz issued a story refuting the AP story. This morning, Associated Press recalled the story without explanation and replaced it with another, much less inflamatory story written by a different author. It is important to question the mainstream media and not let them get away with helping the warmongers with their agenda. Related: AP Article Fuels Iran War Hysteria
Up to $6 bil. in natural gas found off Israeli coast
2/2/2010 - Jerusalem Post - The Canadian Bontan Oil and Gas Company, which has been exploring for natural gas off the coast of Israel, announced Tuesday that it had found prospective resources of up to 6 trillion cubic feet [TCF]of natural gas in Mira and Sarah Prospects off the country's coast. As defined on the company's Web site, prospective resources are “those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations by application of future development projects. “The two finds could be worth upwards of US $6 billion. The Canadian company “will have an indirect 71. 625% interest in these prospects via its 75% equity interest in the Israel Petroleum Company which has acquired a 95. 5% interest in the drilling licenses as well as an adjoining exploration permit from the current operator subject to approval by the Government of Israel,” a press release on its Website announced.
Israeli
website publishes list of 13 top Hamas wanted activists
Uruknet
February 11, 2010 - The Israel-based self-described intelligence and
security news service debkafile published a list of 13 Hamas leaders
allegedly "Israel's next targets for liquidation" on their website
Friday. The service said the list was distributed by de facto
government security services to members following the alleged
assassination of Hamas military wing founder Mohammad Al-Mabhouh in
Dubai on 19...
30
hours in Gaza
Uruknet
February 11, 2010 - One of my first glimpses of the Gaza Strip was a
youth on a motorcycle who threw me his red kuffiyeh. "Remember me!" he
shouted, before disappearing in a sea of flags. With a certain irony,
it was the members of the Viva Palestina aid convoy who ended up
playing the role of war victims as...
Palestinian
Christian priests call for non-violent resistance
Uruknet
February 11, 2010 - The voice of Father Jamal Khader coming over the
waves of Radio Mawwal in Bethlehem was soothing and confident. A caller
asked him to explain the words of Jesus, "to love your enemy", in light
of the occupation and walls built by Israel and the injustice against
Palestinians. Father Khader, who was being interviewed along with...
Increased
Hostility Towards Reporters In West Bank
Uruknet
February 11, 2010 - Palestinian reporters, either working for local or
international agencies, were repeatedly subjected to attacks by the
Israeli army, but recently such attacks witnessed a sharp increase
leading to injuries, damage to equipment, and to preventing them from
performing their duty. Two of the reporters, Ata Oweisat and Mahmoud
Oleyyan, work for the al Quds newspaper. Another...
Palestinians
detained near Gaza-Israel border
Uruknet
February 11, 2010 - Israeli forces detained at least six Palestinians
in northern Gaza on Thursday, witnesses said and the army confirmed.
Onlookers said 10 Palestinian men scavenging for iron girders northeast
of Beit Lahiya were seized and dragged into Israel by soldiers
patrolling the border. They were rummaging through the rubble of
buildings, and were loaded into military vehicles...
Iran:
Live blog - 22 Bahman - Anniversary of 1979 Revolution - Thursday, 11
February 2010
Uruknet
February 11, 2010 - ...Mohammad Taghi Karroubi, son of opposition
leader Mehdi Karroubi, spoke to BBC Persian about the attack on his
father near Second Sadeghiyeh Square: 'A rock was thrown at him and it
hit him on his head and the police directly shot tear gas at him.
Someone offered to drive him away and the security forces savagely...
Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad declares Iran a 'nuclear state'
Uruknet
February 11, 2010 - President Ahmadinejad declared Iran a "nuclear
state" today, saying that scientists had produced the first batch of
highly enriched uranium, a leap towards the production of weapons-grade
fuel. Mr Ahmadinejad told crowds of cheering supporters that Iran was
capable of going all the way to weapons grade but would not do so
because "we do not...
Palestinian
Youth Suffers Broken Leg After Being Attacked By Israeli Soldiers
Uruknet
February 11, 2010 - Undercover forces of the Israeli army violently
attacked a 17-year-old youth in Abu Dis town, in East Jerusalem, and
broke his leg. The youth was transferred to an Israeli hospital before
he was moved to the Etzion detention center. Local sources reported
that Mohammad Halabiyya was walking in Abu Dis when he was attacked by
a...
Row
over plan to build Jewish museum of tolerance on site of Muslim cemetery
Uruknet
February 11, 2010 - A group of Palestinians descended from 15 of
Jerusalem's oldest Arab families lodged a protest with the UN today in
a fresh effort to prevent the construction of a "Museum of Tolerance"
on the site of an ancient Muslim cemetery. The project, run by the
Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Los Angeles, has been dogged by
controversy...
Israeli
airstrike, artillery fire kills one, injures 4 in central Gaza
Uruknet
February 10, 2010 - An Israeli airstrike at midday killed one and
injured a second, hours after Israeli artillery fire injured three
children in Johur Ad-Dik, in central Gaza on Thursday. Dr Muawiya
Hassanein, head of ambulance and emergency services in Gaza, said
shrapnel from Israeli artillery fire in the early morning caused injury
to three children identified as Afaf...
ZIONISM
UNMASKED: A Fairy Tale That's Become a Terrifying Nightmare
Uruknet
February 10, 2010 - ...The Jews who returned in answer to Zionism’s
call had no biological connection to the ancient Hebrews. They were
converts to Judaism long after the end of the Hebrew conquest and
short-lived domination of much of Canaan, the name as in the Bible by
which Palestine was first known to the world. They therefore had no...
No
Checkpoints in Heaven
Uruknet
February 10, 2010 - ...Since the siege on Gaza, my father’s life became
impossible. His ailments were not 'serious’ enough for hospitals
crowded with limbless youth. During the most recent Israeli onslaught,
most hospital spaces were converted to surgery wards, and there was no
place for an old man like my dad. All attempts to transfer him to the
better...
Gaza, February 11, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Obama, We would like to express our deep thanks for your tireless and ongoing efforts to resolve the Palestinian suffering from the Israeli Occupation and for your commitment to spread a breath of fresh air in the Middle...
Power struggle could portend a cold, dark winter in Gaza Strip
Gaza, February 11, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The Gaza Strip's beleaguered residents face worsening power outages, even as winter temperatures drop, because of a financial dispute between the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority and Gaza's electricity distributor. The authority says it pays about $30 million a month to provide electricity to Gaza's 1.5 million people. But officials say the Gaza Electricity Distribution...
Israel arrests 10 Palestinians in north Gaza.
Gaza Strip, February 11, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Israeli occupation forces have arrested on Thursday morning ten young men from the liberated zone "Dugit" in the northern Gaza Strip, claiming that they were approaching the separation barrier. An infantry unit of the Israeli army ambushed these young men and arrested them while they were collecting pebbles from the area, except that...
Israel makes life miserable for Palestinians west of the Apartheid Wall
West Bank, February 11, 2010 (Pal Telegraph; by Amira Hass) - About eight of the 40 families from Dhaher al-Maleh have left their tiny village and have gone to live on the eastern side of the separation wall. They could no longer bear the Israeli ban on building houses. Neither could they bear the other restrictions and prohibitions that the...
Families fight back with peace in the Gazan 'buffer zone'
Gaza, February 11, 2010 (Pal Telegraph; by Pam Bailey) - The Israelis call it the "buffer zone." Gazan NGOs often call it the "hot zone." But to the Palestinians who live near this wide swath of land alongside the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, it is fertile land where their children played and they made a decent l...
The National 11 Feb 2010 - Move comes two and a half years after supreme court ruled barrier must be moved to ease hardship of Palestinians.
Silver clue to Gaza's rich history
The National 10 Feb 2010 - 1,400 ancient Greek coins found sealed in pottery container near the Egyptian border.
Israel bombs southern Gaza
The National 10 Feb 2010 - Israeli warplanes bomb several sites in southern Gaza overnight in response to rocket fire from the Hamas-run enclave, the army says.
The Media Line 10 Feb 2010 - Archaeologists digging under a busy Jerusalem crossroads have unearthed a section of a stone street from Byzantine times, thus confirming the city's depiction in a 6th century mosaic map. Digging up a busy city crossroad isn't...
Lebanon Marks Fifth Anniversary of Hariri Assassination
The Media Line 10 Feb 2010 - Tensions in Lebanon are running high as the country prepares to remember its former Prime Minister. The 14th of February will mark five years since the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In 2005...
Palestinian Policeman Kills Israeli Soldier
The Media Line 10 Feb 2010 - A Palestinian security officer stabbed an Israeli soldier to death at the Tapuach Junction, north of Nablus, on Wednesday. Israeli soldier Ihab Khatib was sitting in his vehicle with the window open when the Palestinian pulled...
Palestinians Petition U.N. Over Museum Construction
The Media Line 10 Feb 2010 - Palestinian and human-rights organizations are petitioning the United Nations to halt the construction of a Jerusalem museum being built on the site of a Muslim cemetery. Israel's supreme court rejected a 2008 appeal to stop the...
Iranians Clash During Rally Marking 31 Years to Revolution
The Media Line 10 Feb 2010 - Iranian opposition activists say security forces fired bullets at supporters of Iran's "green" opposition movement during a mass gathering in Iran on Thursday. Hundreds of thousands, some claim millions, gathered at Tehran's central square on Thursday...
Murder, Execution and Camel Compensation
The Media Line 10 Feb 2010 - Saudi judicial authorities begin a revaluation of camel-based 'blood money'. Saudi Arabian officials are reevaluating the standard amount of 'blood money' awarded to the families of murder victims in the kingdom. The judiciary council is an...
Fatah Corruption Exposé Shuns Palestinian Media
The Media Line 9 Feb 2010 - The use of Israeli media by former P.A. 'corruption buster' to expose corruption has led to suggestions the Palestinian media cannot handle 'hot potato' A Palestinian 'corruption buster' exposed a massive case of embezzlement and corruption...
UAE Launches Workers' Rights Booklet
The Media Line 9 Feb 2010 - The UAE is due to distribute a new booklet outlining the rights and duties of foreign workers in the emirates following reports of workers' rights abuses. Rights organizations are applauding plans by the United Arab Emirates (...
AlJazeera 11 Feb 2010 - Both technical problem and explosion ruled out on basis of flight data recorders' analysis.
Rallies mark Iran Revolution Day
AlJazeera 11 Feb 2010 - Ahmadinejad's supporters celebrate anniversary while opposition protests are quashed.
US dismisses Iran uranium claims
AlJazeera 11 Feb 2010 - White House expresses doubt over claim that Iran has achieved higher-level enrichment.
Alternative Information Center
2.5 Years after Israeli Supreme Court Order: Path of the Wall in Bil'in to Be MovedAlternative Information Center 11 Feb 2010 - Thursday, 11 February 2010, Five years into anti-Wall struggle in Bil'in, Infrastructure work began yesterday to reroute the path of the barrier on the village's lands in accordance to an Israeli Supreme Court decision. Two and...
Italian NGO Opposition to Statements Made by Italian PM Berlusconi in Israel
Alternative Information Center 11 Feb 2010 - Thursday, 11 February 2010, Following the three-day visit last week (1-3 February) of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories, many voices of protest were raised against his declarations and unconditional support...
Yes, We Objected to the War on Gaza
Alternative Information Center 11 Feb 2010 - Wednesday, 10 February 2010, Despite the irresponsibility with which (Israeli reporter) Ben Caspit published the report of the radical right wing group Im Tirtzu, we wish to thank him for the exposure he provide to the...
PNN 11 Feb 2010 - Danny Ayalon, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister and member of the far-right Yisrael Beitenu party, came to the Oxford Union on 8 February, on a desperate PR mission to resuscitate Israel's image after global public condemnation for its war crimes in Gaza last year. The Oxford Students' Palestine Society, together with other student groups and members of the public, organized a protest, both...
Silver clue to Gaza's rich history
PNN 11 Feb 2010 - GAZA CITY // It was perhaps fitting that when workmen came across a haul of 1,400 ancient Greek silver coins, some 2,500 years old, they should do so in Rafah, Gaza’s southern border town. Rafah, after all, is the only place in the territory where international trade still takes place, albeit illicitly through hundreds of smuggling tunnels, the result of Israel’s crippling siege...
Protestors hit Beirut Starbucks
PNN 11 Feb 2010 - Customers flee as demonstrators express displeasure with coffee chain's pro-Israel CEO. Protesters from a leftist group shouted anti-Israel slogans outside of a Starbucks coffee shop Wednesday during a protest in Lebanon's capital, Beirut. Demonstrators tried to block the entrance to the shop, thereby causing customers inside to flee. The protesters said they targeted the store because they claim that Howard Schultz, the...
Palestinians aim to push tourism beyond Bethlehem
PNN 11 Feb 2010 - BETHLEHEM, West Bank — For your next getaway, you might consider this: four nights and five days in sunny Palestine: land of miracles . It's a tough sell for a place that has become synonymous with Middle East violence, for a country not yet a country which does not even control all of its territory, let alone its major tourist attractions.And yet the...
Israeli settler security guard shoots Palestinian teen in northern West Bank
PNN 10 Feb 2010 - Local sources have reported that an 18-year old teenager from the Palestinian village of Iraq Burin, near Nablus, was shot by an Israeli security guard from the settlement of Har Bracha, wounding him in the knee. The incident took place after Israeli settlers and supporters who were gathered on stolen Palestinian land in the settlement of Har Bracha called the settlement's security...
Identity Found: On West Side via West Bank
PNN 10 Feb 2010 - Najla Said’s “Palestine,” a one-woman Off Broadway show that began previews on Saturday, is a coming-of-age story about Ms. Said’s journey to become an Arab-American on her own terms.The daughter of [[Edward W. Said]], the [[Columbia University]] professor who until his death in 2003 was the most prominent advocate in this country for the cause of [[Palestinian]] independence, Ms. Said guides the...
Jeruslalem Post 11 Feb 2010 - Exclusive: J’lem hopes recent report to Ban will deter future UN action; legal expert warns: Individual states could pose endless problems based on Goldstone charges.
Bill Clinton undergoes heart procedure
Jeruslalem Post 11 Feb 2010 - Former US president "in good spirits" after 2 stents inserted in artery.
Why are people going to Iran?
Jeruslalem Post 11 Feb 2010 - Iranian olim spokesman to 'Post': Ashdod man's conviction for trip justified.
'We didn’t train PA officer who killed soldier'
Jeruslalem Post 11 Feb 2010 - EU police advisers say attacker was trained by Palestinian instructors in Jericho academy, served in PA Police headquarters in Ramallah.
Re-branding Israel? If only I could...
Jeruslalem Post 11 Feb 2010 - "In today’s media environment, we don’t have the time to make a good argument," laments the diplomat who is battling to change the int’l perception of militaristic Israel.
Man gets community service for Iran trip
Jeruslalem Post 11 Feb 2010 - Beersheba resident guilty of traveling to enemy state without special permission.
IDF foils plan to kidnap soldier
Jeruslalem Post 11 Feb 2010 - Five Hamas operatives arrested on way to commit attacks in Israel.
IAF strike in Gaza kills terrorist
Jeruslalem Post 11 Feb 2010 - Global jihad operative dies, another hurt in joint IDF-Shin Bet operation.
Israel rerouting barrier near West Bank village
Jeruslalem Post 11 Feb 2010 - Weekly protests being held in opposition to barrier construction.
IPS WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (IPS) - A campaign of attacks against the New Israel Fund (NIF), a U.S.-based progressive organisation that supports human rights groups in Israel, has gained attention in both the Israeli and U.S. media, raising questions about the role played by foreign non-profits and non-governmental organisations in influencing...
MIDEAST: Gaza Energy Crisis Averted - For Now
IPS RAMALLAH, Feb 9 (IPS) - Pressure exerted on the Palestinian Authority (PA) by international and regional officials has given Gazans a last minute reprieve, albeit temporary, from plunging into darkness and plummeting temperatures.
MIDEAST: Gazans Denied Justice as Rights Take a Beating
IPS RAMALLAH, Feb 5 (IPS) - Gazans hoping for a modicum of justice following Israel’s indiscriminate military assault on the coastal territory during December 2008 and January 2009 - which left 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, dead - could be waiting in vain.
EGYPT: Minimum Wage Not Enough
IPS CAIRO, Feb 4 (IPS) - A stalemate between labour unions and business associations is preventing Egyptian authorities from setting a minimum wage that could improve the lot of millions of citizens living in poverty.
Palestinian Center for Human Rights
PCHR Release Genuinely Unwilling: Israel’s Investigations into Violations of International Law including Crimes Committed during the Offensive on the Gaza Strip, 27 December 2008 – 18 January 2009PCHR 10 Feb 2010 - Ref : 15 / 2010 Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip, 27 December 2008 – 18 January 2009, resulted in the killing of over 1,400 Palestinians, the overwhelming majority of whom (82%) were civilians. At least 5,300 Palestinians were also injured, and public and private property throughout the Gaza Strip was extensively targeted and destroyed. Investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), and numerous other organisations, including the UN Board of Inquiry, the Independent Fact Finding Mission mandated by the League of Arab States, and the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (the Goldstone Mission), concluded that Israel committed numerous violations of international law, many of which give rise to individual criminal responsibility.
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
PCHR 10 Feb 2010 - Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian civilians during clashes in Shu'fat refugee camp near Jerusalem 04 – 10 February 2010 Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)
International Solidarity Movement
Israel raids ISM media office for the second time2/11/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - 10 February - Nine Israeli soldiers kicked in the door of the ISM media office and demanded the passports of the internationals present. The soldiers confiscated a desktop computer used by ISM volunteers. Two internationals, Ryan Olander of the U. S. and Nick Bryer of the U. . K. , were awoken from their night's rest as nine Israeli soldiers barged through the door at 4am brandishing M16 fully-automatic assault rifles. Luckily, the door had not yet been repaired from a previous raid on Sunday morning. This facilitated their entry and reduced the damaged they inflicted upon the apartment. The internationals were taken to a common room and made to present their passports. Upon entering the common room the two men noticed that the computer had been removed from the desk and placed by the door. After verifying that the two men had valid visas, the soldiers attempted to interrogate the. . . .
IDF twice raids Ramallah office of pro-Palestinian group
2/11/2010 - International Solidarity Movement - Ha'aretz - Israel Defense Forces soldiers raided the International Solidarity Movement's Ramallah office Wednesday for the second time this week, confiscating computers, T-shirts and bracelets engraved with the word "Palestine. " On Sunday, soldiers arrested Ariadna Jove Marti of Spain and Bridgette Chappell of Australia at the Ramallah office. The High Court of Justice ordered the two women freed on Monday. Yesterday's raid took place at 3 A. M. Hours later, the ISM held a press conference, in conjunction with other pro-Palestinian organizations, at which they lashed out at the IDF's behavior. According to the ISM, the army launched an organized campaign in mid-December, the goal of which was to break up the popular protests against the separation fence in the West Bank villages of Bili'in and Na'alin. This campaign has included arrests and other forms of harassment, the activists charged.
Analysis / Iran revolution failed, sanctions are West's only hope
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Israel worried over possible gap between its aims to end Iran's nuclear program and Washington's bid for dialogue.
Ex-U.S. President Clinton undergoes heart procedure
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Former U.S. president has two stents inserted into clogged artery following chest pains.
Nazi swastika adorns Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - The photo, posted on the magazine's website, appears alongside Israeli models Bar Refaeli and Esti Ginzburg.
Think tank: Israel faces global delegitimization campaign
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Tel Aviv-based security and socioeconomic think tank urges ministers to treat the matter as a strategic threat.
Mumps outbreak hits New York's Haredi community
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - N.Y. Health Dept. urges young Jews to get vaccinated, unless they were fully vaccinated in the past.
Syrian official: Golan tax breaks prove Israel doesn't want peace
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Knesset votes on bill that would grant tax benefits to Israeli residents of territory Syria wants returned.
U.S.: Iran's nuclear efforts are anything but peaceful
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - White House: Ahmadinejad has said many things, and many of them turn out to be untrue.
Iran atomic chief: Tehran to initiate 2 new nuclear sites this year
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Ali Akbar Salehi: We have the enrichment abilities, but we won't produce weapons grade uranium.
Israel needs Goldstone
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Dreading the truth, besieged by Gaza, in a thousand ways, Israel has brought the war home.
Lawyer of co-accused Mumbai attacker shot dead
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Nine Israelis were killed in Chabad House in Mumbai attack that left over 195 people dead .
Poland refuses to build shelter for Auschwitz cat
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Museum that runs the camp rejects animal rights group's call to build shelter for cat living on premises.
Iran clamps down on opposition rally as thousands mark Islamic revolution in Tehran
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Reform supporters report sharp drop in internet, mobile service and Google disruptions ahead of central rally.
'10 agents including 3 women, took part in Dubai Hamas assassination'
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Female agent posing as reception clerk coaxed target into opening hotel room door, according to report.
Soldier's murder was latest in trend of terror by PA security
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Majority of fatal attacks against Israelis in W. Bank in recent years carried out by PA security forces members.
Ex-Congressman and 'friend of Israel' Charlie Wilson dies at 76
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Former Congress liaison at the Israeli embassy: He supported Israel because he believed we are a brave people.
The Guardian 10 Feb 2010 - Killing on the West Bank as soldier is killed in his jeep A Palestinian assailant killed a soldier in an Israeli military jeep near a West Bank checkpoint today , the military said. The soldier, who was...
Row over plan to build Jewish museum of tolerance on site of Muslim cemetery
The Guardian 10 Feb 2010 - • Islamic groups say site contains thousands of graves • Petition challenges court's decision to back project A group of Palestinians descended from 15 of Jerusalem's oldest Arab families lodged a protest with the UN today...
Palestinians may not trust Netanyahu yet. But they would do well to test him | Jonathan Freedland
The Guardian 10 Feb 2010 - Allies of the Israeli prime minister insist that he is ready to talk peace. If his bluff is called, he'll be forced to do just that Tired of the jokes about his wife, perhaps, Northern Ireland's...
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - Ultra-Orthodox protesters erupted in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood on Thursday after a court ruled earlier to remand a Haredi man detained for rioting charges. ...
Supreme Court overrules Knesset on terror-linked arrest process
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - The Supreme Court canceled on Thursday a clause in the criminal procedure law permitting remand hearings related to security offences to be held without the suspect being physically present. ...
'170 percent rise in student sexual assault complaints in last 9 years'
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - The last nine years have seen a 170 percent rise in students appealing to the Education Ministry's sexual assault prevention center, a report published by the ministry officials said on Thursday. ...
The New Israel Fund for Deepening the Jewish-Arab Rift
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - The Im Tirtzu organization accuses the New Israel Fund of financing Israeli organizations which Judge Richard Goldstone used for information to accuse the Israel Defense Forces of "war crimes." ...
Survey: Modern Israelis clinging to traditional family structures
Ha'aretz 11 Feb 2010 - The average Israeli is generally pleased with his life, his standard of living is up, his family relationships are happy and he has a mobile phone and internet services, according to Central Bureau of Statistics data released ahead of family day next week. ...
Relief Web 11 Feb 2010 - Source: Defence for Children International/Palestine Section
Protection of Civilians Weekly Report, 3 - 9 Feb 2010
Relief Web 11 Feb 2010 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Al Mezan Condemns IOF Attacks on Gaza; Calls Calls for International Intervention to Ensure Protection of Civilians
Relief Web 11 Feb 2010 - Source: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory 04 - 10 Feb 2010
Relief Web 11 Feb 2010 - Source: Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
Joint Letter to the President of the UNGA: Re: Domestic investigations on alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law committed during the Gaza Conflict
Relief Web 11 Feb 2010 - Source: Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Defence for Children International/Palestine Section, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
UN closes Palestinian camp on Syria-Iraq border
Relief Web 10 Feb 2010 - Source: Reuters - AlertNet
YNet News 11 Feb 2010 - Ynet report on deadline set by Mofaz for primary elections sparks political row. Likud waiting for developments, Kadima sources call on chairwoman to prevent split in party
IDF source: Soldiers are distracted by Jews too
YNet News 11 Feb 2010 - Military officials note settler disorder can disturb soldiers' concentration, making it hard to prevent attacks like Wednesday's fatal Tapuach Junction stabbing
Bill Clinton hospitalized in New York
YNet News 11 Feb 2010 - Former US president undergoes successful heart procedure to open blocked arteries in his heart with two stents after experiencing chest discomfort
Legal expert: Nullification of law protects weak sectors of society
YNet News 11 Feb 2010 - Controversial High Court ruling that disqualifies law enabling remand extension of security detainees without their presence 'puts Israel on level playing field with other democracies,' says law professor
PA may form commission of inquiry into sex scandal video
YNet News 11 Feb 2010 - Palestinian sources tell Ynet Abbas plans to investigate video in which PA's head of bureau tried to solicit sexual relations. Meanwhile, sources say they are still convinced whole incident is Israeli fabrication meant to pressure PA back into negotiations
Palestinian witnesses won't be driven like detainees
YNet News 11 Feb 2010 - Rights groups turn to IDF, request that Palestinians testifying in Israeli courts not be transported in vehicles intended for prisoners. Military police chief: Respect rights, dignity of witnesses
US questions Iranian uranium enrichment claims
YNet News 11 Feb 2010 - White House spokesman says Islamic Republic's leadership has made a series of statement based on politics, not physics. State Department says Tehran attempts to choke information flow, adding that Iranian government fears its own people
Barak, Askenazi display 'business as usual'
YNet News 11 Feb 2010 - Defense minister, IDF chief of staff meet privately for first time since tensions arouse surrounding Ashkenazi's tenure. 'These are two senior figures who are aware of the burden on their shoulders; even if there is slight tension between them – they know how to separate it from their work,' says security source
Mofaz threatens to split Kadima
YNet News 11 Feb 2010 - Opposition Chairwoman Livni faces clear deadline from her party's No. 2. 'The only way for me to stay in Kadima is with an unequivocal decision on primary elections by the end of this month,' Mofaz clarifies in closed forums
Extreme rightists questioned over IDF insubordination
YNet News 11 Feb 2010 - Activist Baruch Marzel, Rabbi Dov Wolpe suspected of encouraging disobedience in army by holding ceremonies in honor of soldiers refusing orders, giving them money as reward for their actions. 'This is a political investigation. Our mouth will not be shut,' Marzel tells police
10 Feb 2010 - Following the intervention of Yesh Din and B'Tselem, the Chief Military Police Officer announced that the Military Police will improve the treatment of Palestinians arriving in military courts in Israel to testify in trials of security forces charged wit
Stop The Wall11 Feb 2010 - February 8th, 2010, Late last night Occupation forces raided the Stop the Wall offices in Ramallah. Part of the mounting repression of the anti-Wall movement, this attack on the Campaign offices comes after arrests of Stop the Wall staff and an dramatically increasing number of grassroots activists struggling against the Wall.
Join the second Global BDS Day of Action!
Stop The Wall11 Feb 2010 - February 7th, 2010, The BDS National Committee (BNC) is calling on you to unite in your different capacities and struggles for a Global BDS Day of Action on 30 March 2010 in solidarity with the Palestinian people and for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
Daily Star 11 Feb 2010 Iranian opposition leaders Mohammad Khatami and Mehdi Karroubi came under attack and their supporters clashed with police as vast crowds massed in Tehran on Thursday to mark the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The Revolutionary Guards and police had warned they would crack down heavily on any protests which, since they first erupted last June
Israel hopes for peace talks, opens fire on Gaza
Daily Star 11 Feb 2010 Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday said he hoped indirect Middle East peace talks would begin by the end of this month and direct talks would follow by the end of March. "I hope that by the end of this month - indirect talks with the Palestinians will begin, and direct talks within the month after that," Lieberman told journalists during a visit to Azerbaijan, the Trend news agency reported
Why do they hate us?
Daily Star 11 Feb 2010 The report of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon caused a shock to all those concerned about justice and human rights. In his report to the UN General Assembly on February 5, 2010, on the Israeli war on Gaza, he says: "No determination can be made on the implementation of resolution 64/10 by the parties concerned," pointing out that he has "called upon all of the parties
Syria: Golan tax break proves Israel 'rejects' Mideast peace
Daily Star 11 Feb 2010 Syria fired a new round in its war of words with Israel on Thursday, saying the country did not want Middle East peace and offering as evidence proposed tax breaks for Israelis living in the Golan Heights, captured from Syria. The parliamentary vote on a bill providing tax breaks to settlers living in the Golan "is a new sign of the true intentions of Israel, which rejects peace," a Foreign Ministry statement said
Iraq orders hundreds of security guards linked to Blackwater to leave country
Daily Star 11 Feb 2010 Iraq has ordered hundreds of private security guards linked to Blackwater Worldwide to leave the country within seven days or face possible arrest on visa violations. The order, announced late Wednesday by the interior minister, comes in the wake of a US judge's dismissal of criminal charges against five Blackwater guards who were accused in the September 2007 shooting deaths of 17 Iraqis in Baghdad
Jordan activists risk jail after calling for end to CIA ties
Daily Star 11 Feb 2010 A prominent writer and a political activist have been charged with insulting the state after criticizing Jordan's cooperation with the United States in the war against terror, a judicial official said on Thursday. Columnist Muwafaq Mahadin, who writes for the independent daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm, and Sufian Tel were detained on Wednesday after a military prosecutor
At least 15 die in violence in Somali capital
Daily Star 11 Feb 2010 At least 11 civilians and four security officers were killed in the Somali capital Wednesday in two separate incidents of violence, an officer and residents said. Islamic insurgents fired several mortars from Mogadishu's main Bakara market in the direction of African Union peacekeeping bases in the capital's south, said Dahi Mohammad, a witness
Israel rerouting barrier near occupied West Bank village
Daily Star 11 Feb 2010 Israel began work on Thursday to reroute a section of its West Bank separation barrier to restore land to a village that has become a flashpoint of Palestinian opposition to the enclosure. The move comes two-and-a-half years after Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the barrier must be moved to ease the hardship of Palestinians in the village of Bilin
Palestinian Information Center
Abu Marzouk: Presence of Shalit in Gaza doesn’t avert another Israeli war on itPIC 11 Feb 2010 - Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouk, the deputy-head of Hamas's political bureau, asserted Wednesday that the presence of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in Gaza Strip won't avert another war..
Fatah Gate shakes the PA; Abbas threatens to resign if more scandals exposed
PIC 11 Feb 2010 - A high-ranking official in the office of Mahmoud Abbas revealed Thursday that Abbas sent a message to Israeli premier that he will resign if more scandals of his associates are revealed ..
Khudari: IOA might turn siege on Gaza as fact on the ground
PIC 11 Feb 2010 - Palestinian MP Jamal Al-Khudari has warned Thursday of an Israeli plan to turn the siege on Gaza Strip as a fact on the ground the international community should deal with as it is.
Barhoum: IOA preparing for its racist, fanatic state
PIC 11 Feb 2010 - Fawzi Barhoum has charged that the recent IOA escalation against Shafat refugee camp in occupied Jerusalem was in preparation for the establishment of a Jewish, racist and fanatic state.
IOF disguised soldiers break foot of Palestinian teen
PIC 11 Feb 2010 - Israeli occupation forces (IOF) wearing plain clothes beat up a 17-year-old Palestinian teen a few days ago and broke his foot, the Palestinian prisoners' society said on Thursday.
Resistance fighter killed in IOF shooting
PIC 11 Feb 2010 - A Palestinian resistance fighter was killed and a number of others were wounded when the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) targeted a group of them in Shujaia suburb east of Gaza city on Thursday.
Hundreds of settlers storm Nabi Yusuf tomb with IOF escort
PIC 11 Feb 2010 - Hundreds of Jewish settlers stormed the Nabi Yusuf tomb in Nablus city on Wednesday night under the protection of Israeli occupation forces (IOF), local sources said.
AFEH: Israeli companies marketing settlement outpost overlooking Aqsa
PIC 11 Feb 2010 - AFEH warned on Wednesday of the dangers of marketing a settlement project in occupied Jerusalem for the purpose of Judaizing the holy city called "Ma'aleh Hazeetim".
Two children wounded in IOF incursion
PIC 11 Feb 2010 - Two children were wounded when the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened artillery afire at the eastern areas of the Gaza Strip at an early hour on Thursday, medical sources said.
ADU launches biggest medicine convoy to Gaza
PIC 11 Feb 2010 - The relief and emergency committee in the Arab doctors union launched the biggest ever convoy of medicine from Cairo to the Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening to the tune of 2.5 million dollars.
LA Times 12 Feb 2010 - In the village of Bilin, Palestinians will regain 170 acres. Residents celebrate, but foes of the barrier say they'll continue to protest until it's completely gone. The Israeli military has begun rerouting a hotly disputed section of the West Bank security barrier, marking a victory for Palestinians who fought for five years to win back access to their land, officials said Thursday.
Pro-government demonstrators overshadow opposition in Iran
LA Times 12 Feb 2010 - Despite weeks of calls to action, protesters fail to derail a rally marking the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Ahmadinejad gives a defiant keynote speech. A huge crowd of government supporters filled Tehran's Azadi Square on Thursday to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, overshadowing the smaller groups of nearby anti-government protesters confronted by plainclothes and uniformed security forces.
Russia, U.S. harshly condemn Iran's nuclear move
LA Times 10 Feb 2010 - Tehran says it will enrich some of its uranium to a higher purity for medical purposes, but other nations fear the process could eventually be used for weapons. China's response is more muted. Iran's move on Tuesday to produce higher-grade uranium for a medical reactor prompted widespread international condemnation and an uncharacteristically harsh response from Russia, whose support is key to U.S.-led efforts to impose tough new sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Power struggle could portend a cold, dark winter in Gaza Strip
LA Times 10 Feb 2010 - Outages may grow as West Bank officials pressure the electric company over debts. The Gaza Strip's beleaguered residents face worsening power outages, even as winter temperatures drop, because of a financial dispute between the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority and Gaza's electricity distributor.
Candidates target Iranian holdings
LA Times 10 Feb 2010 - California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner plans to ask insurers to sell stock in firms doing business in Iran. Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown urges the state's two public pension funds to do likewise. Two California gubernatorial candidates are pushing insurers and the state's two major pension funds to sell more than $6 billion worth of holdings in companies doing business in Iran.
New York Times 11 Feb 2010 - On the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Iran’s president sent forces onto the streets to break up protests and taunted the West by claiming progress on uranium enrichment.
World Briefing | Middle East: Airstrike Kills Palestinian Militant
New York Times 11 Feb 2010 - A Palestinian militant was killed on Thursday in an Israeli airstrike, according to Israeli officials.
Atomic Agency Views Iran’s Stepped-Up Enrichment of Uranium as a Violation
New York Times 11 Feb 2010 - An International Atomic Energy Agency report is likely to give the United States more evidence that Iran is not meeting commitments on its nuclear program.
Latest Updates on Demonstrations in Iran
New York Times 11 Feb 2010 - On Thursday, The Lede is tracking news of fresh protests in Iran posted online, as the country celebrates the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
Right to Free Speech Collides With Fight Against Terror
New York Times 11 Feb 2010 - The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to a ban on providing “material support” to terrorist groups in a test of the constitutionality of a provision of the USA Patriot Act.
News Analysis: Obama Takes Several Gambles in Bid to Defuse Nuclear Standoff With Iran
New York Times 11 Feb 2010 - The president is pursuing a global agreement on sanctions against Iran, while trying to win China’s backing for such a move and dissuading Israel from attacking.
Mondoweiss - 11 Feb 2010 - In recent years, right-wing Israeli political leaders and their supporters have warned of the rise of a “new anti-Semitism”, rife across Europe and in left-wing political circles. The new anti-Semites are critics of Israel. They don’t target Jews; they target the Jewish state. (I say “they”...
Derfner in JPost says only the ‘liberal West’ can save Israel from itself
Mondoweiss - 11 Feb 2010 - Larry Derfner in the Jerusalem Post moves from an analysis of the expat vote issue to the broader theme that only the democratic West, Jewish and not, can save Israel from being a danger to itself and others. Left to itself, it’s a lost cause. Not...
Let me not to Wieseltier’s fulsome toast of a power marriage admit impediments
Mondoweiss - 11 Feb 2010 - The flip side of Leon Wieseltier’s vicious-turgid attack on Andrew Sullivan is a toast he made to Samantha Power and Cass Sunstein– then-Harvard powerhouses, today Obama aides– when they got married in Ireland a year and a half ago. Wieseltier was so proud of the toast...
Student disruptions of Israeli officials continue to make waves
Mondoweiss - 11 Feb 2010 - The student protests at Oxford University and the University of California, Irvine that interrupted Israeli officials’ speeches are continuing to make waves in a variety of ways. An apparent anti-Semitic remark in Arabic was hurled at Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon during the interruptions to...
‘New School’ convenes legalistic panel to bash Goldstone with no advocate for the other side
Mondoweiss - 11 Feb 2010 - The other night the New School held a panel to bash the Goldstone Report on legalistic grounds. It is a mystery to me why a school known for its leftwing heritage would, when a landmark moral document is under attack by government officials, convene such a...
Stop the Wall’s Jamal Juma’: Israel Should Learn History—Targeting Palestinian Grassroots Activists Will Strengthen and Not End Resistance
Alternative Information Center - 11 Feb 2010 - Wednesday, 10 February 2010, “The Israeli people must choose: either the fulfillment of Palestinian national and human rights or a continuation of international condemnation, marginalization and boycott against Israel.” So said Palestinian grassroots activist Jamal Juma’, Coordinator of the Stop the Wall Campaign...
Yes, We Objected to the War on Gaza
Alternative Information Center - 11 Feb 2010 - Wednesday, 10 February 2010, Despite the irresponsibility with which (Israeli reporter) Ben Caspit published the report of the radical right wing group Im Tirtzu, we wish to thank him for the exposure he provide to the opposition of citizens in Israel to “Operation Cast Lead.” Caspit...
2.5 Years after Israeli Supreme Court Order: Path of the Wall in Bil'in to Be Moved
Alternative Information Center - 11 Feb 2010 - Thursday, 11 February 2010, Five years into anti-Wall struggle in Bil'in, Infrastructure work began yesterday to reroute the path of the barrier on the village's lands in accordance to an Israeli Supreme Court decision. Two and a half years after an Israeli Supreme Court decision deeming...
Palestinian Descendants Petition UN against Israeli Construction of “Museum of Tolerance” on 12th Century Muslim Cemetery in Jerusalem
Alternative Information Center - 11 Feb 2010 - Wednesday, 10 February 2010, Descendants of people buried in Jerusalem’s Ma’man Allah (Mamilla) Muslim Cemetery in Jerusalem, in addition to local and international human rights organizations, filed a “Petition for Urgent Action on Human Rights Violations by Israel: Desecration of Ma’man Allah (Mamilla) Muslim Cemetery in...
Italian NGO Opposition to Statements Made by Italian PM Berlusconi in Israel
Alternative Information Center - 11 Feb 2010 - Thursday, 11 February 2010, Following the three-day visit last week (1-3 February) of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories, many voices of protest were raised against his declarations and unconditional support for Israeli government policy. On 9 February, Berlusconi's...
Articles
Expulsion without trucks
Amira Hass, Haaretz, Israeli Occupation Archive 2/10/2010
About eight of the 40 families from Dhaher al-Maleh have left their tiny village and have gone to live on the eastern side of the separation fence. They could no longer bear the Israeli ban on building houses.
Neither could they bear the other restrictions and prohibitions that the fence and its planners have imposed on them: They were forbidden to have relatives and friends visit; forbidden to get ill or have babies at night, when the gate is closed; forbidden to bring large quantities of food home, as big families require; forbidden to link their homes up with the electricity grid; and they were forbidden to build a clinic – restrictions and prohibitions to the point of suffocation.
Dhaher al-Maleh does not appear on Israeli maps. The maps are crowded with the settlements that have been positioned and expanded on and between the northwestern West Bank villages of Barta’a and Umm Reihan. The “Barta’a enclave” is one of the largest pockets created by the fence as it winds its way east of Umm al-Fahm. It contains 18,000 dunams that by any standards of justice, ethics and logic should have provided space for developing Palestinian society. But instead these lands were plundered under cover of security pretexts.
The fence was built some five kilometers from the Green Line, which now anyway exists only for the 5,000 or so Palestinians living in seven communities who are trapped between the line and the fence. As far as the maps and the authorities are concerned, this is all already Israel. The occupation authorities have taken land that was not theirs for the 1,500 settlers already there and the many more they hope will come to live there. An industrial zone is for Israelis only, as is the beautiful scenery. As for the indigenous Palestinians, if they want to stay there, let them suffer. more.. e-mail
The apartheid will end when Israelis have to face its cost
Tony Karon, The National 2/7/2010
The former US president Jimmy Carter set off a firestorm in 2006 when he said that Israel would have to choose between maintaining an apartheid occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and a two-state peace agreement with the Palestinians. That Mr Carter brokered Israel’s most important peace treaty with an Arab country was immaterial; he was branded an enemy of Israel, an anti-Semite and even a Holocaust-denier.
Israel’s friends in the US reacted out of instinct, knowing that an association with apartheid – South Africa’s erstwhile system of racial oppression – would bring international condemnation and isolation. But there was no word of protest from that quarter last week when Israel’s defence minister said what Mr Carter had. “If, and as long as between the Jordan (River) and the (Mediterranean) Sea there is only one political entity, named Israel, it will end up being either non-Jewish or non-democratic,” warned Ehud Barak, speaking at Israel’s annual Herzliya security conference. “If the Palestinians vote in elections it is a binational state and if they don’t vote it is an apartheid state.”
Which, of course, is exactly what Mr Carter was arguing. The former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert warned in November 2007 that without a two-state solution, Israel would “face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights”, which it would be unable to win because American Jews would not support a state that denies voting rights to all of its subjects.
Mr Olmert and Mr Barak, of course, raised the spectre of “apartheid” to remind Israelis that they could face international isolation if they remain indifferent to the fate of the Palestinians. Sometimes, such warnings from Israelis come as if attached to a demographic time-bomb – the idea that once Palestinians become a majority of the population between the Jordan River and the sea, Israel will be left in an apartheid situation. But apartheid is a qualitative, not a quantitative notion: it’s the denial of basic democratic rights to a whole category of people, regardless of their numerical strength, that defines apartheid. more.. e-mail
Palestinian Christian priests call for non-violent resistance
Daoud Kuttab, Palestine Note 2/11/2010
The voice of Father Jamal Khader coming over the waves of Radio Mawwal in Bethlehem was soothing and confident. A caller asked him to explain the words of Jesus, "to love your enemy", in light of the occupation and walls built by Israel and the injustice against Palestinians.
Father Khader, who was being interviewed along with Rifaat Kassis, the coordinator of a new initiative by 16 Jerusalem-based Christian leaders, said that Christians are committed to these words without reservation.
"All the people of the world are God’s children and we are obliged to follow the words of our Lord," he said with confidence, knowing full well that most of his listeners will have a hard-time digesting that reply. The Catholic priest, who also teaches theology at Bethlehem University, said that Christ was also a champion of the oppressed. He said that Palestinians are oppressed today and Jesus clearly stands by Palestinians, and that was what led him and other Christian leaders to sign the Kairos Palestine document.
Kairos is an ancient Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment. On the kairospalestine.ps website, the 16 Christian leaders whose names are listed insist that this the moment of truth. They state boldly: "We Palestinian Christians declare that the military occupation of our land is a sin against God and humanity."
Another caller asked the Christian leaders if they supported the concept of resistance. The radio guests answered said that the group does indeed support resistance, albeit in its non-violent forms. Still another caller wanted the Christian leaders to detail the forms of non-violent resistance they will support. more.. e-mail
Rights group targeted over Goldstone report
Electronic Intifada: 11 Feb 2010 - WASHINGTON (IPS) - A campaign of attacks against the New Israel Fund (NIF), a US-based progressive organization that supports human rights groups in Israel, has gained attention in both the Israeli and US media, raising questions about the role played by foreign non-profits and nongovernmental organizations in influencing Israeli government policy.
The end of sectarianism?
Electronic Intifada: 11 Feb 2010 - Fifteen years of civil war followed by 20 years of civil strife have cemented the role of Lebanon's leaders as bulwarks of their communities. If any serious sectarian reform begins to occur, hereditary inheritance and the defense of the tribe will cease to be sufficient reasons for these figures to retain their statuses. That is a prospect Lebanon's politicians can hardly be expected to accept. Sami Halabi comments for Electronic Lebanon.
30 hours in Gaza
Electronic Intifada: 11 Feb 2010 - One of my first glimpses of the Gaza Strip was a youth on a motorcycle who threw me his red kuffiyeh . "Remember me!" he shouted, before disappearing in a sea of flags. With a certain irony, it was the members of the Viva Palestina aid convoy who ended up playing the role of war victims as we finally rolled into Gaza on 6 January. We were still reeling from a clash with Egyptian police that left 60 injured the night before. Mohamed Madi writes from the Gaza Strip.
The Netanyahu-Fayyad "economic peace" one year on
Electronic Intifada: 10 Feb 2010 - The results of the first year of Netanyahu's economic peace are visible. While there has been no progress on the political front, security and economic cooperation with the PA has never been better. The American-trained security forces have kept a tight grip over West Bank towns squashing dissent and keeping "order." Ziyaad Lunat comments for The Electronic Intifada.
Palestine Monitor: 11 Feb 2010 - Work began today on re-routing the separation wall in Bilin. More than two years after a supreme court ruling that the barrier be moved, new tracks were being laid down this morning. The new route will return around 1,000 dunums (250 acres) of farmland to the village. The move is long overdue, as the Popular Struggle's case was ratified by an Israeli court in September 2007. The army have until this point failed to comply with the order, instead policing protestors with increased severity. 36 activists have been arrested in Bilin over the past seven months. The separation wall cuts off the largely agricultural community from the farmland which supports it. Its existence has impacted harshly on work and living conditions for the dispossessed. Mohammed Khatib Mohamed Khatib, coordinator of the popular struggle committee and head of Bilin village council, believes today's success is just a small step toward the...
SHUAFAT: Three Days Of Repression
Palestine Monitor: 11 Feb 2010 - Since Monday, ongoing harassment and repression have been carried out by the Israeli Police and Border Police in the Shuafat Camp, the only Palestinian refugee camp in Jerusalem. According to local sources and to the Italian association Vento di Terra , which has a permanent presence in the camp, dozens of Israeli police and police border forces in jeeps entered Shuafat on Monday and Wednesday, damaging Palestinian residents' properties and conducting door-to-door searches. A heavy military presence was deployed at all entrances to the camp. Israeli authorities claimed the raids were aimed to arrest people who had not paid taxes. As police started to use rubber bullets and sound grenades to disperse people, violent clashes between young residents and Israeli soldiers erupted. Around 80 Palestinians were arrested. On Tuesday, two teenagers, Ahmad Al Hawas (14 years old) and Nasser Abu Asab (15 years old) were injured, as well as three journalists...
Palestine Chronicle: 11 Feb 2010 - By George S. Hishmeh – Washington Inch by inch, the Palestinian president has apparently once again succumbed to American pressure. He is about to allow his junior officials to start so-called “proximity talks” with their Israeli counterparts to pave the ground for the resumption of peace negotiations, which broke down after Israel’s invasion of Gaza in December 2008. On the other hand, Israel, which has stubbornly refused an earlier Israeli commitment to freeze all illegal settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories during peace talks, has meanwhile managed to escape scot free, thanks to its new protector, Barack Obama, who keeps “heap(ing) sticky-sweet praise on Israel.” Israeli columnist Gideon Levy of Haaretz did not hold back his feelings about U.S. policy in the Middle East, a position that is undoubtedly shared by many, particularly in the Arab world, when he wrote that the American president and his key aides should “stop sucking up to Israel.” He underlined: “Now is the time to say to the United States: Enough flattery. If you don’t change the tone, nothing will change. As long as Israel feels the United States is in its pocket, and that America’s automatic veto will save it from condemnation and sanctions, that it will receive massive aid unconditionally, and that it can continue waging punitive, lethal campaign without a word from Washington, killing, destroying and imprisoning without the world’s policeman making a sound, it will continue in its way.” Interestingly, Levy’s column was written last December, weeks before Israeli...
Israel Gets Away with Murder .. Again
Palestine Chronicle: 11 Feb 2010 - By Tammy Obeidallah Amid the glamour of the world's tallest building, gold bars, man-made islands, casinos and fashion, a man lay dead in his hotel room. Preliminary reports would say he had been suffocated with a pillow; further investigation would determine that he was injected with poison. Post-mortem photos of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, age 50, told a story the media would not tell: the tip of his nose blackened, red blotches covering his cheeks and jaw and a horrific indentation on one side of his nose testified of torture and a cruel execution. Most news sources subliminally justified Al-Mabhouh’s murder in Dubai on January 20. He was described only as a “senior Hamas militant,” “founding member of Hamas’ military wing” or even “arch-terrorist.” As someone who was allegedly involved in the deaths of two Israeli soldiers in the 1980s and committed numerous other acts of armed resistance against Israel, he was undoubtedly a menace by western standards. Al-Mabhouh grew up in the squalor of Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp, but had lived in exile in Syria since 1989. He had been the target of two previous assassination attempts: a car bombing and a poisoning. The latter took place in Beirut only six months ago and rendered him unconscious for 30 hours. The Israeli government issued a statement claiming Al-Mabhouh had traveled to Dubai en route to Iran in order to smuggle weapons back to his native Gaza. Israeli defense officials told the Associated Press that these rockets would be capable of reaching...