DCI-Palestine- On 18 October 2010, a 10-year-old boy from Silwan, occupied East Jerusalem, is grabbed by three men in civilian clothes and taken to al-Mascobiyya interrogation center for questioning.
Ten-year-old Msallam lives in the al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan, which is located just outside the old city walls of occupied East Jerusalem. There is a protest tent in al-Bustan, erected by local residents as a place to gather to protest plans by Jerusalem Municipality to demolish houses in the neighborhood. Read more
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Israeli soldiers raid home of imprisoned Palestinian activist, arrest his son
In yet another nighttime raid on the village of Bil'in, soldiers stormed Adeeb Abu Rahmah's house and arrested his sixteen year old son.
At 2:30 AM this morning Israeli forces entered the village of Bil'in in armored military jeeps and by foot, and proceeded to surround the home of jailed organizer, Adeeb Abu Rahmah. A group of masked soldiers forcefully entered the house without showing a warrant, and arrested Adeeb's only son, 16 year old Mohammed. Since his father's arrest 17 months ago Mohammed serves as the family's sole provider.
At 2:30 AM this morning Israeli forces entered the village of Bil'in in armored military jeeps and by foot, and proceeded to surround the home of jailed organizer, Adeeb Abu Rahmah. A group of masked soldiers forcefully entered the house without showing a warrant, and arrested Adeeb's only son, 16 year old Mohammed. Since his father's arrest 17 months ago Mohammed serves as the family's sole provider.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Israeli police shoot Palestinian worker
IMEMC- On Monday, Israeli police shot a Palestinian worker who according to Israeli officials, was working in Israel without permission, Ma'an reported. Read more
Robert Fisk: an American bribe that stinks of appeasement
The Independent- In any other country, the current American bribe to Israel, and the latter's reluctance to accept it, in return for even a temporary end to the theft of somebody else's property would be regarded as preposterous. Three billion dollars' worth of fighter bombers in return for a temporary freeze in West Bank colonisation for a mere 90 days? Not including East Jerusalem – so goodbye to the last chance of the east of the holy city for a Palestinian capital – and, if Benjamin Netanyahu so wishes, a rip-roaring continuation of settlement on Arab land. In the ordinary sane world in which we think we live, there is only one word for Barack Obama's offer: appeasement. Usually, our lords and masters use that word with disdain and disgust. Read more
Former Obama aide: Palestinians receptive to gradual peace deal, Israel unwilling
Haaretz- Former National Security Advisor James L. Jones says it is unclear whether Netanyahu would be willing to give up land given his right-leaning cabinet.
The Palestinian Authority would be receptive to a peace deal which would allow for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, U.S. President Barack Obama's former National Security Advisor James L. Jones said on Monday, adding that he felt there was an "enormous" opportunity to get the two sides back to the negotiations table. Read more
The Palestinian Authority would be receptive to a peace deal which would allow for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, U.S. President Barack Obama's former National Security Advisor James L. Jones said on Monday, adding that he felt there was an "enormous" opportunity to get the two sides back to the negotiations table. Read more
Analysis: Palestine at the UN, an alternative strategy
The Hill- Mouin Rabbani - As Israeli-Palestinian negotiations lurch from crisis to crisis, Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders have been suggesting they may go to the United Nations to seek resolutions confirming the illegality of Israel’s settlements in the occupied territories and recognizing a reality of Palestinian statehood.
With Washington now offering Israel unprecedented blandishments to observe a partial and temporary suspension of settlement activity rather than the comprehensive one set forth as early as the 2003 Roadmap, and which senior Palestinians have characterized as more dangerous than continued settlement activity, both propositions are worth serious examination, not least because they would challenge the existing framework of bilateral Israeli-Palestinian negotiations under American supervision. Instead of an interminable process which has effectively transformed the West Bank and Gaza Strip from occupied into disputed territories, and in which Israeli claims are considered as at least as valid as Palestinian rights, the alternatives being discussed could lay the foundation for a genuinely international effort whose point of departure is the implementation of decolonization on the basis of relevant provisions of international law and UN resolutions. Read more
With Washington now offering Israel unprecedented blandishments to observe a partial and temporary suspension of settlement activity rather than the comprehensive one set forth as early as the 2003 Roadmap, and which senior Palestinians have characterized as more dangerous than continued settlement activity, both propositions are worth serious examination, not least because they would challenge the existing framework of bilateral Israeli-Palestinian negotiations under American supervision. Instead of an interminable process which has effectively transformed the West Bank and Gaza Strip from occupied into disputed territories, and in which Israeli claims are considered as at least as valid as Palestinian rights, the alternatives being discussed could lay the foundation for a genuinely international effort whose point of departure is the implementation of decolonization on the basis of relevant provisions of international law and UN resolutions. Read more
Opinion: AIPAC's latest scandal: good news for Obama & Israel
Political Correction- The latest AIPAC scandal has not found its way into the mainstream media, although the Jewish media has done a great job in highlighting this very explosive story-- (The Washington Post) update.
...The ugliest aspect of the case so far is that AIPAC has decided to win by destroying Rosen personally. I have no use for the guy and consider him to have been, in his time, instrumental in helping to destroy Israel's chances at achieving peace with the Palestinians. Rosen was so effective as a peace-wrecker that in 1992 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin himself told AIPAC to fire Rosen. He didn't want Rosen to be in a position to thwart Israel's efforts to make peace with its neighbors. In the years since, he has been a key advocate of war with Iraq and, even now despite his disgrace, is an agitator for war with Iran. He is also an extreme Islamophobe, now teamed with Daniel Pipes at his anti-Muslim hate organization. Read more
...The ugliest aspect of the case so far is that AIPAC has decided to win by destroying Rosen personally. I have no use for the guy and consider him to have been, in his time, instrumental in helping to destroy Israel's chances at achieving peace with the Palestinians. Rosen was so effective as a peace-wrecker that in 1992 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin himself told AIPAC to fire Rosen. He didn't want Rosen to be in a position to thwart Israel's efforts to make peace with its neighbors. In the years since, he has been a key advocate of war with Iraq and, even now despite his disgrace, is an agitator for war with Iran. He is also an extreme Islamophobe, now teamed with Daniel Pipes at his anti-Muslim hate organization. Read more
Report: Israeli army still using children as human shields
DCI-Palestine – One day after an Israeli military court imposed a suspended sentence on two Givati Brigade soldiers for using a nine-year-old boy as a human shield in Gaza, DCI-Palestine has just obtained an affidavit from a 13-year-old boy who reports being used as a human shield on 19 August 2010. This brings to three, the number of human shield cases documented by DCI-Palestine in 2010.
Report: US continues to 'stonewall' Goldstone Report
Dissident Voice- Stephen Lendman - On September 15, 2009, the UN Human Rights Council’s (HRC) Goldstone Commission issued its findings on Cast Lead, Israel’s war of aggression against Gaza, inflicting enormous loss of life, thousands of injuries, massive human suffering, and vast destruction, despite no provocation or threat to Israeli security.
The Commission concluded that “there is evidence indicating serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed by Israel during the Gaza conflict, and that Israel committed actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity.”
Notably the Commission said:
While the Israeli Government has sought to portray its operations as essentially a response to rocket attacks in the exercise of its right of self defence, the Mission considers the plan to have been directed, at least in part, at a different target: the people of Gaza as a whole.
...The US State Department also responded, spokesman Ian Kelly citing “overly sweeping conclusions of fact and law with respect to Israel,” while failing to challenge its findings.
Shortly before the HRC voted to endorse Goldstone’s report, the PA bowed to US and Israeli pressure to defer voting until March 2010. At the time, calls for Abbas’ resignation were heard, to no avail. Read more
The Commission concluded that “there is evidence indicating serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed by Israel during the Gaza conflict, and that Israel committed actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity.”
Notably the Commission said:
While the Israeli Government has sought to portray its operations as essentially a response to rocket attacks in the exercise of its right of self defence, the Mission considers the plan to have been directed, at least in part, at a different target: the people of Gaza as a whole.
...The US State Department also responded, spokesman Ian Kelly citing “overly sweeping conclusions of fact and law with respect to Israel,” while failing to challenge its findings.
Shortly before the HRC voted to endorse Goldstone’s report, the PA bowed to US and Israeli pressure to defer voting until March 2010. At the time, calls for Abbas’ resignation were heard, to no avail. Read more
Report: International economic projects enforcing status quo, not peace
Middle East Report- Sam Bahour - When a project mixes the feel-good words of jobs, economic development and Israeli-Palestinian cooperation, how can anyone complain? These things are some of what the international community has been promising to deliver through the construction of industrial free trade zones in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The free trade zone model has been promoted locally and globally by powerful third parties like the United States, France, Germany, Turkey and Japan for two decades, but none has much to show for the enormous efforts and amounts of money spent to bring these zones to life. Nonetheless, the project’s proponents expect the zones to constitute the economic foundation for a future Palestinian state. They hope that, by bolstering Palestine’s economy, the zones will make Palestinians less prone to social upheaval, less insistent on their national rights and more amenable to the status quo. The idea is that a peace agreement with Israel will ensue.
...Despite international enthusiasm at what is ostensibly a novel solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the notion that bringing economic development to the Palestinians will promote peace has its roots in Israeli policy from the beginning of the occupation. After Israel took control of the West Bank and Gaza from Jordan and Egypt in 1967, living standards in the Occupied Territories soared. While this growth was largely attributable to remittances from Palestinian workers in the Gulf and across the Green Line, which divides Israel from the West Bank and Gaza, Israel invested in vocational training and agricultural development on a scale that had not been seen under Jordanian and Egyptian suzerainty.[2] Despite these efforts, and because of continued Israeli military rule and the repression of Palestinian national aspirations, a grassroots uprising spread throughout the Occupied Territories in 1987, and continued up until the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993. Thus it was a political solution, and not an economic one, that ultimately brought peace.
The notion that business links will foster peace because the economic returns of cooperation will outweigh the benefits of resistance can only hold if both sides stand to benefit equally from collaboration. Read more
...Despite international enthusiasm at what is ostensibly a novel solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the notion that bringing economic development to the Palestinians will promote peace has its roots in Israeli policy from the beginning of the occupation. After Israel took control of the West Bank and Gaza from Jordan and Egypt in 1967, living standards in the Occupied Territories soared. While this growth was largely attributable to remittances from Palestinian workers in the Gulf and across the Green Line, which divides Israel from the West Bank and Gaza, Israel invested in vocational training and agricultural development on a scale that had not been seen under Jordanian and Egyptian suzerainty.[2] Despite these efforts, and because of continued Israeli military rule and the repression of Palestinian national aspirations, a grassroots uprising spread throughout the Occupied Territories in 1987, and continued up until the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993. Thus it was a political solution, and not an economic one, that ultimately brought peace.
The notion that business links will foster peace because the economic returns of cooperation will outweigh the benefits of resistance can only hold if both sides stand to benefit equally from collaboration. Read more
Israeli theater troupe refuses to perform at cultural center on occupied Palestinian land
IMEMC- After the theater figures who are boycotting the Ariel center sent a letter to Be'er Sheva Theater actors, encouraging their sensitivity to the cause, the Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports, Limor Livnat, defined the boycotters, on Monday, as "ignoramuses".
...In the letter that was sent to Be'er Sheva theater actors, the artists who refused to perform in Ariel a month ago, stressed that the cultural center is not part of a common community, due to the fact that it was erected on occupied land.
"Just several kilometers from the thriving and flourishing Ariel, Palestinians live in refugee camps, in harsh living conditions and without any basic human rights. Not only are they not entitled to see performances in Ariel, some of them have no access to running water," they added. Read more
...In the letter that was sent to Be'er Sheva theater actors, the artists who refused to perform in Ariel a month ago, stressed that the cultural center is not part of a common community, due to the fact that it was erected on occupied land.
"Just several kilometers from the thriving and flourishing Ariel, Palestinians live in refugee camps, in harsh living conditions and without any basic human rights. Not only are they not entitled to see performances in Ariel, some of them have no access to running water," they added. Read more
Israeli army shoots and wounds a Palestinian youth
IMEMC- Palestinian medical sources reported Monday that a Palestinian youth was shot and wounded by Israeli army fire in an area south of Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank. Read more
Palestinian Authority: Israeli settlements must stop completely
Ma’an- The Palestinian government in the West Bank called on Israel Monday to end all expansion of settlements as a necessary step toward renewing peace negotiations.
The cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in a declaration: "Halting settlement activities completely in the Palestinian territories including Jerusalem is the basis for a serious political process which will end occupation and guarantee the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people." Read more
The cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in a declaration: "Halting settlement activities completely in the Palestinian territories including Jerusalem is the basis for a serious political process which will end occupation and guarantee the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people." Read more
Israeli missile strike injures 4 family members -- 1 only 2 years old -- celebrating holiday
Ma'an- The most intense Israeli airstrikes in months disrupted what had been a quiet holiday for one Gaza family.
Sulaiman Abu Mustafa, an olive and eggplant grower with a small farm near the border with Israel outside of Deir Al-Balah, was celebrating the Eid Al-Adha holiday with his family in his yard when the strike took place. Abu Mustafa's uncle and aunt were visiting -- there were around 20 people outside the house.
At 3 p.m. an Israeli F-16 fired a missile at an empty house across the street, blasting chunks of concrete into the air, then hurtling down on Abu Mustafa's house. He said the family scrambled to take shelter behind their house, but had no time to react.
The concrete chunks injured four people, including Abu Mustafa's mother, who was wounded in the abdomen, and his brother who was struck in the head. His two year old son who was also hurt, he said.
Abu Mustafa's home and yard was strewn with debris from his neighbor's house that came crashing through his roof, leaving perforations in the ceiling. One of the walls was also cracked by the force of the explosion. Read more
Sulaiman Abu Mustafa, an olive and eggplant grower with a small farm near the border with Israel outside of Deir Al-Balah, was celebrating the Eid Al-Adha holiday with his family in his yard when the strike took place. Abu Mustafa's uncle and aunt were visiting -- there were around 20 people outside the house.
At 3 p.m. an Israeli F-16 fired a missile at an empty house across the street, blasting chunks of concrete into the air, then hurtling down on Abu Mustafa's house. He said the family scrambled to take shelter behind their house, but had no time to react.
The concrete chunks injured four people, including Abu Mustafa's mother, who was wounded in the abdomen, and his brother who was struck in the head. His two year old son who was also hurt, he said.
Abu Mustafa's home and yard was strewn with debris from his neighbor's house that came crashing through his roof, leaving perforations in the ceiling. One of the walls was also cracked by the force of the explosion. Read more
EU: Israel failed to ease blockade of Palestinian territory
Ma'an- Israel has failed to live up to its commitments on easing the blockade on the Gaza strip, the European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Monday.
Israel pledged to loosen its grip on the Palestinian enclave in June, reacting to the international outcry caused by its at-sea shooting in late May of nine Turkish activists, who were trying to break the blockade.
...She also urged Israel to allow exports out of Gaza and to let in construction material that the local United Nations agency (UNRWA) wants to use to rebuild schools.
"It is absolutely essential that the economy is allowed to recover and that people are allowed to invest in their futures," Ashton pointed out. Read more
Israel pledged to loosen its grip on the Palestinian enclave in June, reacting to the international outcry caused by its at-sea shooting in late May of nine Turkish activists, who were trying to break the blockade.
...She also urged Israel to allow exports out of Gaza and to let in construction material that the local United Nations agency (UNRWA) wants to use to rebuild schools.
"It is absolutely essential that the economy is allowed to recover and that people are allowed to invest in their futures," Ashton pointed out. Read more
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Palestinians: Israeli plan to develop holy site in occupied East Jerusalem ‘illegal’
Ma’an - Israel's cabinet on Sunday backed plans to invest millions of shekels in a five-year project to develop the Western Wall plaza, in a project branded by the Palestinians as "illegal."
… But the announcement drew an angry response from the office of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, which said Israel had no right to make changes on the ground in occupied East Jerusalem.
Construction work in the Old City, particularly around the Western Wall which backs onto the Al-Aqsa mosque compound housing Islam's third holiest site, is one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has a history of triggering unrest. Read more
… But the announcement drew an angry response from the office of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, which said Israel had no right to make changes on the ground in occupied East Jerusalem.
Construction work in the Old City, particularly around the Western Wall which backs onto the Al-Aqsa mosque compound housing Islam's third holiest site, is one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has a history of triggering unrest. Read more
Israeli soldiers beat Palestinian farmer
Ma’an - A Palestinian farmer said he was beaten by Israeli soldiers on Friday morning, after he asked them to open the agricultural gate and allow him access to his farm land in the northern West Bank village Az-Zawiya, west of Salfit.
… [The 22-year-old farmer] told the soldier he had a permit issued by Israeli authorities giving him permission to access his land. Read more
… [The 22-year-old farmer] told the soldier he had a permit issued by Israeli authorities giving him permission to access his land. Read more
Munitions left behind by Israeli forces suspected in Gaza explosion
Ma’an - A Palestinian farmer was injured in an explosion in southern Gaza on Sunday suspected to have been caused by munitions left behind by Israeli forces, medics said. Read more
Israeli settlers expand illegal settlement in Occupied Territories
Ma’an - Israeli settlers on Sunday started expanding the Rechalim settlement, illegally built on lands confiscated from farmers of the northern villages of Yatma and As-Sawiya south of Nablus, officials said. Read more
Palestinian boy's mother: Israeli state backs criminal soldiers
Ynet - Mother of boy who was forced to open suspicious bags disappointed with 'light sentence' given to soldiers, says 'This is a scandal that encourages others to continue this behavior'
The ruling in the case against the Givati soldiers sends "a negative message to both the victims and the soldiers," claimes Afaf Rabah, the mother of the nine-year-old boy who was forced to check bags suspected of containing explosives during Operation Cast Lead.
… "The message this sends is that the life of an Arab is inferior, including the lives of Arab children" added Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al). "It is no wonder that hundreds of Palestinian children were killed by the IDF without any consequences or condemnation. Any trial, is a deception from the very beginning. These soldiers deserved to be sent to prison along with their commanders." Read more
The ruling in the case against the Givati soldiers sends "a negative message to both the victims and the soldiers," claimes Afaf Rabah, the mother of the nine-year-old boy who was forced to check bags suspected of containing explosives during Operation Cast Lead.
… "The message this sends is that the life of an Arab is inferior, including the lives of Arab children" added Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al). "It is no wonder that hundreds of Palestinian children were killed by the IDF without any consequences or condemnation. Any trial, is a deception from the very beginning. These soldiers deserved to be sent to prison along with their commanders." Read more
Israel frees soldiers who used Palestinian boy as human shield
Ma’an - An Israeli military court defied prosecutors Sunday and handed down only suspended sentences to two soldiers convicted of using a Palestinian boy as a "human shield" during Israel's Gaza offensive at the turn of 2008-2009.
The two, from an infantry brigade, were given three months probation, and demoted one rank, from staff-sergeant to sergeant. Read more
The two, from an infantry brigade, were given three months probation, and demoted one rank, from staff-sergeant to sergeant. Read more
Israel army showed 'intent to kill' in Gaza shelling of two teens and grandfather
Ma’an - On 13 September, a day after Israeli tank shells decapitated his 16-year-old son, Walid Abu Oda went back to his family's northern Gaza farm in a vain search for the head.
… The killing of Walid's son, Ismail Abu Oda, along with his friend Hussam Abu Sayed, 17, and his grandfather Ibrahim Abu Sayed, 91, is raising questions about whether Israel has taken sufficient strides to bring it's army into compliance with international humanitarian law.
The incident was similar to previous incidents, such as those described in judge Richard Goldstone's UN-mandated report on Israel's winter war on Gaza. Human rights groups say the September killings and others only underscore the importance of implementing the report's call for investigations and accountability.
… Brig. Gen. Eyal Eisenberg would later clarify in a statement sent to journalists that "we understand from a re-creation that we undertook that the three casualties were not involved in act of terror."
… “The selection of the weapon and the way it was used gives us some info about the intent,” he added. “There is evidence that the intent was to kill the three persons with three shells.” Read more
… The killing of Walid's son, Ismail Abu Oda, along with his friend Hussam Abu Sayed, 17, and his grandfather Ibrahim Abu Sayed, 91, is raising questions about whether Israel has taken sufficient strides to bring it's army into compliance with international humanitarian law.
The incident was similar to previous incidents, such as those described in judge Richard Goldstone's UN-mandated report on Israel's winter war on Gaza. Human rights groups say the September killings and others only underscore the importance of implementing the report's call for investigations and accountability.
… Brig. Gen. Eyal Eisenberg would later clarify in a statement sent to journalists that "we understand from a re-creation that we undertook that the three casualties were not involved in act of terror."
… “The selection of the weapon and the way it was used gives us some info about the intent,” he added. “There is evidence that the intent was to kill the three persons with three shells.” Read more
Israel to begin work on Egypt barrier
AFP - Israel is to begin work on building a huge barrier along its southern border with Egypt on Monday in a bid to curb the entry of illegal immigrants, the defence ministry said.
… Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the influx of thousands of migrants across the border a major threat to "the Jewish and democratic character of the State of Israel." Read more
… Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the influx of thousands of migrants across the border a major threat to "the Jewish and democratic character of the State of Israel." Read more
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Israeli forces take 6 prisoners at demonstration: 5 foreigners, 1 Palestinian child
Ma’an - Six demonstrators were detained at an anti-settlement protest in Beit Ummar near the West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday.
… Palestine Solidarity Project spokesman Mohammad Awwad said five of those detained were foreign nationals, and the sixth was a 14-year-old villager Mohammad Fakhri Ikhlayel. He added that Israeli soldiers beat them.
… Weekly rallies are held in Beit Ummar to demand an end to the confiscation of village land. The illegal Israeli settlement Karmi Zur is built of 50 dunums of privately owned Palestinian lands, according to Israeli organization Peace Now. Read more
… Palestine Solidarity Project spokesman Mohammad Awwad said five of those detained were foreign nationals, and the sixth was a 14-year-old villager Mohammad Fakhri Ikhlayel. He added that Israeli soldiers beat them.
… Weekly rallies are held in Beit Ummar to demand an end to the confiscation of village land. The illegal Israeli settlement Karmi Zur is built of 50 dunums of privately owned Palestinian lands, according to Israeli organization Peace Now. Read more
Israeli military attacks non-violent demonstrations in Palestinian Territories
IMEMC - Dozens of civilians were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation as Israeli troops attacked anti wall protests organized at a number of villages in various parts of the West Bank.
… These protests occur every Friday in a number of towns, wherever Wall construction is going on – the Israeli military's response to the non-violent protests is always violent and repressive. 18 non-violent demonstrators have been killed during these demonstrations since they began in earnest in 2005. Read more
… These protests occur every Friday in a number of towns, wherever Wall construction is going on – the Israeli military's response to the non-violent protests is always violent and repressive. 18 non-violent demonstrators have been killed during these demonstrations since they began in earnest in 2005. Read more
Israel harbors fugitive wanted for war crimes in Colombia
IMEMC - International fugitive, arms trader and death squad leader Yair Klein has arrived in Israel a free man, despite warrants for his arrest in Colombia for training the death squads of the notorious Medellin drug cartel.
… The Israeli government has a history of harboring fugitives – one example is the case of US citizen Samuel Sheinbein, who brutally murdered and dismembered a man in the suburbs of Washington DC, then escaped to Israel in the late 1990s.
… Klein has also worked as an international arms dealer, and served a sentence in Sierra Leone in 1999 for illegally smuggling weapons to right-wing guerrilla armies. This took place in the height of a brutal war over resources in which guerrillas recruited child soldiers and engaged in systematic chopping off of limbs of victims throughout Sierra Leone. Read more
… The Israeli government has a history of harboring fugitives – one example is the case of US citizen Samuel Sheinbein, who brutally murdered and dismembered a man in the suburbs of Washington DC, then escaped to Israel in the late 1990s.
… Klein has also worked as an international arms dealer, and served a sentence in Sierra Leone in 1999 for illegally smuggling weapons to right-wing guerrilla armies. This took place in the height of a brutal war over resources in which guerrillas recruited child soldiers and engaged in systematic chopping off of limbs of victims throughout Sierra Leone. Read more
Palestinian group: Israel planning new war
Ma’an - Islamic Jihad said Saturday that Israeli media campaigns and drills carried out by Israeli forces suggest Israel is planning a new military offensive on the Gaza Strip.
Jihad spokesman Daoud Shehab said Israel was using the media to transmit false information linking militant factions in Gaza with Al-Qaeda, in an effort to recruit regional support for an attack on the coastal enclave. Read more
Jihad spokesman Daoud Shehab said Israel was using the media to transmit false information linking militant factions in Gaza with Al-Qaeda, in an effort to recruit regional support for an attack on the coastal enclave. Read more
Israeli forces take four Palestinians prisoner in West Bank
Ma’an - Israeli forces detained four Palestinian men from the northern West Bank village of Madama during the early hours of Saturday morning, in an operation which included home searches and allegations of vandalism. Read more
Israeli air attacks on Palestinian Territories continue
Ma’an - A second Israeli attack targeted the southern Gaza Strip overnight, with military officials confirming airstrikes on a smuggling tunnel and local sources saying air and artillery strikes also targeted the Gaza airport early Saturday morning.
… The strikes targeted sites in the southern and central Gaza Strip. Four were injured in a strike on Deir Al-Balah, where shelling targeted a two-storey home. The injured, who included two women, were transferred to hospital, Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiyya said. Read more
… The strikes targeted sites in the southern and central Gaza Strip. Four were injured in a strike on Deir Al-Balah, where shelling targeted a two-storey home. The injured, who included two women, were transferred to hospital, Gaza medical services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiyya said. Read more
Friday, November 19, 2010
Opinion: Jon Stewart and Middle East resistance -- two sides of the same coin
The Huffington Post- What do US comedian Jon Stewart and Hamas Chief Khaled Meshaal have in common? What does Stewart have in common with Syrian President Bashar al Assad or outgoing Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva or Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for that matter?
For starters, they're all sick of waiting for the American government to do something useful. And just as critically, they are pretty tired of the "you're either with us or against us" theme too.
...Not that we would know this back home. The divisive media that Stewart and Colbert rail against for partisan politicking in Washington is on hyper-drive when it comes to the Middle East -- creating more fear, more hate than is good for us. It paralyzes our ability to act and ensures that we will have zero policy breakthroughs. Read more
For starters, they're all sick of waiting for the American government to do something useful. And just as critically, they are pretty tired of the "you're either with us or against us" theme too.
...Not that we would know this back home. The divisive media that Stewart and Colbert rail against for partisan politicking in Washington is on hyper-drive when it comes to the Middle East -- creating more fear, more hate than is good for us. It paralyzes our ability to act and ensures that we will have zero policy breakthroughs. Read more
88 Palestinian homes to be demolished in Palestinian town
IMEMC- Israel has ordered demolition of around 88 Palestinian homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, Palestinian officials warned.
Israeli Attorney, Yehuda Weinstein, handed demolition orders in al-Bustan area claiming that the Arab houses were illegally built. Ahmed al-Rowaidhi, chief of Jerusalem Unit at the Palestinian presidency, said Israel's move will result in 1,500 Palestinians being evicted from al-Bustan for the construction of a tourist center.
The Palestinian official added that Weinstein's decision may affect 20,000 homes in East Jerusalem, and some 100,000 Palestinians could be displaced from the area if demolition orders are implemented. Read more
Israeli Attorney, Yehuda Weinstein, handed demolition orders in al-Bustan area claiming that the Arab houses were illegally built. Ahmed al-Rowaidhi, chief of Jerusalem Unit at the Palestinian presidency, said Israel's move will result in 1,500 Palestinians being evicted from al-Bustan for the construction of a tourist center.
The Palestinian official added that Weinstein's decision may affect 20,000 homes in East Jerusalem, and some 100,000 Palestinians could be displaced from the area if demolition orders are implemented. Read more
Dutch Film Director accuses Ariel Sharon of killing 2 Palestinian children in 1982
IMEMC- George Sluizer declared that in 1982 he saw then Israeli defense minister Ariel Sharon shooting Palestinian children from near the Sabra-Shatilla refugee camp, Beirut, while he was filming a documentary. Israel officials called report a 'modern blood libel'.
The accusation was first made in Volkskrant, a Dutch newspaper, during an interview to George Sluizer, who was promoting the screening of his most recent film about Israel in the International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam.
...“Sharon shot two children like you shoot rabbits, in front of my eyes,” he added. Read more
The accusation was first made in Volkskrant, a Dutch newspaper, during an interview to George Sluizer, who was promoting the screening of his most recent film about Israel in the International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam.
...“Sharon shot two children like you shoot rabbits, in front of my eyes,” he added. Read more
US obstructs Palestinian statehood moves in UN agencies
Haaretz- Palestinians claim that even small symbolic steps have been rebuffed.
Away from the headlines, Palestinians have been trying to advance their statehood agenda in small but symbolic ways in United Nations agencies that fall off the radar for most people.
But even on the outer reaches of the sprawling UN system, their efforts have been blocked by a United States resolved not to display the slightest tilt toward Palestinians as it tries to act as honest broker in their halting peace talks with Israel.
Many Israelis suspect President Barack Obama is bent on establishing a Palestinian state at any cost. But in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinians' limited self-rule in the West Bank, they think he's not as serious about it as he sounds. Read more
Away from the headlines, Palestinians have been trying to advance their statehood agenda in small but symbolic ways in United Nations agencies that fall off the radar for most people.
But even on the outer reaches of the sprawling UN system, their efforts have been blocked by a United States resolved not to display the slightest tilt toward Palestinians as it tries to act as honest broker in their halting peace talks with Israel.
Many Israelis suspect President Barack Obama is bent on establishing a Palestinian state at any cost. But in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinians' limited self-rule in the West Bank, they think he's not as serious about it as he sounds. Read more
Over 100 British MPs against change to Universal Jurisdiction Law
IMEMC- More than a hundred British MPs have opposed the coalition government's plans to alter the law prosecuting Israeli leaders for alleged war crimes, Press TV claimed on Friday.
A parliamentary Early Day Motion has so far been signed by 102 MPs. The MPs oppose any legislation that restrict the power by British courts to apply the universal jurisdiction law. Based on this law, arrest warrants are issued to those accused of committing war crimes. Read more
A parliamentary Early Day Motion has so far been signed by 102 MPs. The MPs oppose any legislation that restrict the power by British courts to apply the universal jurisdiction law. Based on this law, arrest warrants are issued to those accused of committing war crimes. Read more
Opinion: Education at gunpoint II
Ma'an- Ramzy Baroud - ...My Arabic teacher was Abu Kamal Al-Hanafi, a wonderful man with a terrible temper, who was also the Imam of the local mosque. My classroom had exactly 62 students. My desk was as old as the Israeli occupation of Gaza, if not older. The roof was filled with holes, creating an exciting spectacle as birds flew in and out, often nesting in available spaces. Watching these scenes made the brutish Arabic grammar lessons bearable, and eased the fear caused by Abu Kamal’s bouts of anger and the occasional Israeli gunfire in and around the refugee camp. Read more
Abbas: US aid to Israel must not be linked to talks
Ma'an- President Mahmoud Abbas said he refuses to link the troubled Middle East peace process with a US offer of additional military aid to its Israeli ally, in a newspaper interview published on Friday.
"We refuse to allow the offer of planes be linked in any way to a freeze on settlements," he told the London-based Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. Read more
"We refuse to allow the offer of planes be linked in any way to a freeze on settlements," he told the London-based Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. Read more
Palestinians protest against land confiscation, met with Israeli riot squad
Ma'an- Protests against land confiscation and the separation wall continued on Friday, as villagers from affected areas along the Green Line and next to settlements took to the streets demanding an end to the illegal measures. Read more
3 Israeli air strikes hit Gaza
IMEMC- Ma'an News Agency's Jared Malsin, has reported, via his Twitter feed that further Israeli air strikes have hit Gaza.
Malsin states that he has been informed that the attacks took place in Khan Younis, in Southern Gaza, which sustained two attacks, and Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.
In Khan Younis four persons were injured, with two injured in Deir al-Balah. No information on the condition of those injured is known at this time. Read more
Malsin states that he has been informed that the attacks took place in Khan Younis, in Southern Gaza, which sustained two attacks, and Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.
In Khan Younis four persons were injured, with two injured in Deir al-Balah. No information on the condition of those injured is known at this time. Read more
US offers Israel written guarantees, reaffirms incentives
Haaretz- Netanyahu hopeful his cabinet will approve renewing settlement freeze in exchange for diplomatic and defense enticements from Washington.
...Talks between Israeli and U.S. officials aimed at reviving Middle East peace talks have hit snags over the incentives promised by Washington to persuade Israel to resume a freeze of settlement building.
...But an Israeli official said on Friday the United States had not yet provided the guarantees that Israel wanted, with Washington reluctant to commit to paper all the promises Netanyahu says he was offered verbally last week.
The latest snag concerned a pledge that Israel says U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made to provide the country free of charge 20 F-35 stealth warplanes worth $3 billion.
Politicians said Washington was backtracking and now wanted some sort of payment for the coveted fighter aircraft. Read more
...Talks between Israeli and U.S. officials aimed at reviving Middle East peace talks have hit snags over the incentives promised by Washington to persuade Israel to resume a freeze of settlement building.
...But an Israeli official said on Friday the United States had not yet provided the guarantees that Israel wanted, with Washington reluctant to commit to paper all the promises Netanyahu says he was offered verbally last week.
The latest snag concerned a pledge that Israel says U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made to provide the country free of charge 20 F-35 stealth warplanes worth $3 billion.
Politicians said Washington was backtracking and now wanted some sort of payment for the coveted fighter aircraft. Read more
Australian Zionist group withdraws offensive ad
JTA- A major Zionist organization has withdrawn an advertisement because it featured images mocking the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Read more
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