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.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Palestinians close Gaza border in protest

Ma'an -- Palestinian officials closed the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the terminal's director Ayyoub Abu Sha'ar said.

Closed out of frustration, Abu Sha'ar said the Egyptian authority's 'mechanism' at the terminal was unclear, citing Egypt's decision to close the crossing on Saturday without coordinating with Palestinian officials.

Egypt opened the terminal several hours later than scheduled Saturday without informing Palestinian officials. Several buses of Palestinians were left waiting at the Egyptian gate, and dozens of Palestinians tried to storm the border.

Egyptian security sources said the delay was due to maintenance works underway at the crossing. Egyptian authorities opened the crossing on Saturday afternoon, but only for passengers on foot.

The director of border crossings in Gaza, Salameh Barakeh, said the decision was difficult to implement due to the number of patients, elderly people and children who were traveling among others across the sole Egyptian exit from Gaza.

Abu Sha'ar said consultations were ongoing between Gaza's foreign ministry and the Egyptian government to resolve technical and administrative problems at the terminal. He said the crossing would reopen as soon as the issues were fixed.

Egypt reopened the Rafah crossing on May 28 after it had been largely shut since June 2006 when Israel imposed a blockade after militants snatched an Israeli soldier.

The Israeli blockade was tightened in 2007 when the Islamist movement Hamas seized control of the coastal territory, with Egypt cooperating by tightly restricting movement through Rafah.

Egypt's decision to permanently reopen Rafah came more than three months after former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned following 18 days of massive street protests against his rule.