Studies show that US coverage is Israeli-centric. The main bureaus for CNN, Associated Press, Time, etc. are located in Israel and often staffed by Israelis. The son of the NY Times bureau chief is in the Israeli army;"pundit" Jeffrey Goldberg served in the IDF; Wolf Blitzer worked for AIPAC. Because the U.S. gives Israel over $8 million/day - more than to any other nation - we feel it is essential that we be fully informed on this region. Below are news reports to augment mainstream coverage.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Israeli forces demolish 23 Palestinian farm structures, bringing total to 126 - 3,000 demoliton orders outstanding

Ma'an – Israel's Civil Administration crews returned to the Jordan Valley on Thursday to demolish 23 structures recently re-built by residents and farmers in Al-Farisiya.

The town, in the Tubas governorate, is located across the highway from the Nahal Rotem settlement, part of the nearby Sdemot Mehola.

The area has a total of five settlements, most engaged in farming, with more than half of the settlement-occupied land in the northern part of the Jordan Valley used for agriculture.

On 19 July, Civil Administration forces entered the area and demolished 20 animal shelters and agricultural buildings, saying they were constructed without authorization in an area designated "Area C" by the 1993 Oslo Agreements. Under the plan, areas outside of major Palestinian cities were to have remained under Israeli civil and military control and gradually be handed over to the Palestinian administration.

The buildings were re-constructed by residents, who called the demolitions illegal.

A UN report said 86 structures in the Jordan Valley were demolished two weeks ago, and 17 others were demolished in other areas of the West Bank the week after.

"The spate of demolitions raises concerns over whether Israeli authorities could further escalate demolitions throughout Area C," a UN Report said, noting more than 3,000 demolition orders handed down by Israeli officials to locals were still outstanding.

"Currently, it is nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain building permits to maintain, repair or construct homes, animal shelters or necessary infrastructure in Area C," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in its latest report on Area C.

Village council official and coordinator of the Save the Jordan Valley campaign Fathi Khdeiri said the demolitions were an "attack by occupation forces and an attempt to displace the residents of the Jordan Valley."

Representatives of the Civil Administration could not immediately be reached by phone.