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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Land/Property Theft and Destruction/Settlements
UN chief says Israeli settlement activities illegal
UN
Secretary General Ban Ki- moon said Israeli settlement activities are illegal and against the international law, stressing that they should come to an
end.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-03/27/c_13227243.htm
Settlers
occupying a land in Nablus
West Bank, April 1st, (Pal Telegraph) The
chairman of a village council in Deir al-Hatab, Abdul Karim Hussein,
reported today, that dozens of settlers from "Alon Moreh"
settlement put a number of caravans and mobile homes in addition to
tents and water tanks near a water well that is not far more than 500
meters from the village of Deir al-Hatab to the Middle of Nablus in the
northern West Bank. Hussain and other witnesses added that they had
personally informed the officials in the Palestinian Authority this
morning and expressed their fear to be a step forward towards the
establishment of a new settlement near the village, especially since
they are trying by all means to take the only spring water well in the
village which is located in Ain, east of the town. A number of settlers
had beaten the President of the Council a few days before he plowed
through the land of the citizens from a well near the water. Its
approximated that the population of the village of Deir al-Hatab dont
exceed 2400 people.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/5201-settlers-occupying-a-land-in-nablus
Village:
Elon Moreh settlers create new outpost
Nablus – Ma'an - Caravan
homes, water tanks and tents were installed by settlers on lands
belonging to the village of Deir Al-Hatab on Thursday, in what locals
said appeared to be an attempt to create an outpost of Elon Moreh
settlement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=273323
Israeli soldiers ransack Palestinian homes and damage belongings in
Tuba village
On March 31, the Israeli Special Police Forces
entered the Palestinian village of Tuba, immediately east of Ma’on
settlement, and destroyed household belongings in two homes in the
village. The police forced Tuba residents from their homes and told them
that they were searching for two goats which settlers from the outpost
of Havat Ma’on had reported missing. The police also accused the
villagers of possessing weapons, and while questioning nearly a dozen
villagers, the police upended nearly every belonging in both homes. The
police ransacked three bedrooms, a kitchen, and a storage unit.
International activists and Tuba residents reported that the police left
the scene without confiscating any weapons or sheep and without making
any arrests. During the search police personnel refused to let
international activists observe the search of the homes or the
interrogations of the residents.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/04/11943
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott,Sanctions
and Divestment
Arab
MKs join 10,000 protestors to mark Land Day
Ten thousand protesters participated yesterday in an annual procession
to mark the events of Land Day in Sakhnin in 1976, in which six
demonstrators lost their lives in clashes with Israeli security forces.,
The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee noted that the commemoration takes
place "while homes continue to be razed - mostly in Wadi Ara and in the
Negev, and we demand that the planning blueprints and areas of municipal
control for Arab communities be increased."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1160094.html
Sheikh Jarrah garden reclaimed in Land Day
celebration
In honor of Land Day, an upbeat group of local residents and school
children gathered on Wednesday in front of the half-occupied Al Kurd
home in Sheikh Jarrah. Neighbors, friends and supporters cleaned up the
garden and planted olive trees. The conspicuous and unusual absence of
both settlers and police contributed greatly to the positive mood of the
day, although the ongoing threat of further evictions looms over the
whole neighborhood.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/03/11934
Gaza
residents commemorate Land Day at Nahal Oz border crossing
Palestinians
in Gaza came out in large numbers for demonstrations commemorating Land
Day, including one at Nahal Oz border crossing, east of Gaza City. In
attendance were around 300 Palestinians and three ISM members. Unlike
other demonstrations on Tuesday, no injuries were reported. However,
several demonstrators reported nearly being hit with “warning shots” of
live ammunition.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/04/11940
NEW Palm Sunday Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1uBMnPBFCQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f8hlye2y78
Videos
and
Pictures: Holy Fire At "300" Checkpoint
Following the call of Orthodox organisations in Palestine, Palestinian
Christians tried to celebrate the Holy Fire last Saturday in Jerusalem
by crossing the ‘’300’’ checkpoint (separating Bethlehem from
Jerusalem).
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1342
Bahraini
players say no to Palestine football match
MANAMA // A
friendly football match between Bahrain and Palestine that is set to
take place in the West Bank next month has drawn criticism from
parliament, civil society groups and some of the players who say the
match amounts to a step towards normalisation of relations with Israel.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100401/FOREIGN/703319870/1041/rss
Swedish fashion chain H&M under pressure
More than a year ago, several concerned Swedish organizations asked
fashion chain H&M about its plans to extend its franchise to Israel.
H&M's management denied the rumors but refused to provide written
confirmation. In March, H&M unexpectedly opened a store in Tel Aviv
and a second store in Jerusalem's Malha shopping mall. Adri Nieuwhof
reports for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11176.shtml
Open Letter to Berkeley Students on their Historic
Israeli Divestment Bill, Naomi Klein
On March 18, continuing a
long tradition of pioneering human rights campaigns, the Senate of the
Associated Students of the University of California, Berkeley (ASUC)
passed "A Bill In Support of UC DIVESTMENT FROM WAR CRIMES." The
historic bill resolves to divest ASUC's assets from two American
companies, General Electric and United Technologies, that are
"materially and militarily supporting the Israeli government's
occupation of the Palestinian territories"-and to advocate that the UC,
with about $135 million invested in companies that profit from Israel's
illegal actions in the Occupied Territories, follow suit.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/03/31-9
Ban settlement goods
Dear Friends, Since the beginning of Israel‘s occupation of Palestine,
the repression of its people is worse than ever. The Israeli government
refuses to recognise the homes of Palestinians as private property,
subjecting them to demolition orders at any time and leaving their
occupants homeless. The movement of the Palestinian population in the
West Bank and East Jerusalem is strictly controlled and severely
limited, while the theft of Palestinian land to build settlements for
Israeli citizens continues unchecked.
http://www.palestinecampaign.org/Index5b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=3&l2_id=107
Violence and Aggression
Palestinian
journalists
repeatedly targeted by IDF gunfire during March
Reporters
Without Borders deplores the frequency of press freedom violations by
the Israel Defence Forces, which routinely fire on Palestinian
journalists. At least eight journalists were injured by shots fired by
Israeli soldiers during March in the West Bank and Jerusalem. “The
incidents continue with complete impunity,” Reporters Without Borders
said. “The IDF soldiers involved are rarely punished and, less still,
disowned by the superiors, who endorse the use of violence against media
personnel. It is time this stopped.”
http://www.rsf.org/spip.php?page=article&id_article=36916
Tens suffer breathing difficulties in confrontations
with IOF troops
IOF fired teargas bombs at a demonstration organized by hundreds of
citizens that headed towards the Beitonia crossing, Ramallah district,
on Wednesday morning, eyewitnesses reported.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
Jewish fanatics plan to storm Aqsa on Thursday
Temple Mount Faithful distributed a statement on Wednesday calling for a
big march on Thursday in the Old City of occupied Jerusalem heading to
the Aqsa Mosque on the occasion of the Jewish Passover.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
Palestinian
villagers
clash with IOF soldiers
Palestinian villagers in Safa town
to the north of Al-Khalil city on Thursday clashed with Israeli
occupation forces (IOF) and Jewish settlers who tried to enter their
village.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
IOF bombard Beit Lahia, round up six West Bankers
IOF
fired tank shells at Beit Lahia to the north of the Gaza Strip at dawn
Thursday as IOF gunboats opened heavy machineguns at Palestinian fishing
boats west of the same area.
Israeli Drones Drop Warning
Leaflets on Gaza, Vow “Retaliation”
Palestinian sources
reported Thursday that Israeli drones dropped during late night hours
hundreds of warning leaflets on areas along the border between the Gaza
Strip and Israel warning the residents to prepare for an offensive.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58344
Detainees
Chaos at trial for Palm Sunday detainees
Ramallah – Ma'an – Israeli military judges inhaled thick tear gas used
to disperse protesters in front of the Ofer military court on Wednesday,
as men detained during a peaceful Palm Sunday demonstration were set to
be tried.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=273156
Abbas Zaki arrest spurs clashes in West Bank
BEITUNIYA, West Bank: Israeli security forces on Wednesday fired tear
gas at dozens of rock-throwing Palestinians protesting outside a West
Bank prison against the detention of 10 people, including a senior Fatah
official.Around 300 protesters had gathered outside the Beituniya
checkpoint near the Ofer military prison where the detainees.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=113352
Abbas militias kidnap two ex-detainees in Israeli
jails in W. Bank
Mahmoud Abbas’s militias kidnapped during the last two days two
ex-detainees affiliated with Hamas in the districts of Nablus and
Qalqiliya.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
Demonstrators Demand Prisoners’ Release
Hundreds of people gathered at the Bitunya checkpoint near Ofer Military
prison to demand the release of ten demonstrators arrested in Bethlehem
last Sunday, among them Abbas Zaki of the PLO Executive Committee. Two
demonstrators were arrested.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/03/11930
Negev detainees announce end to family visits
Bethlehem
–
Ma'an – Palestinians detained in Israel's Negev prison decided to stop
family visits for one month, in protest of the restrictions placed on
some prisoners' families, and the general maltreatment of Palestinians
in Israeli custody.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=273161
Humanitarian Issues/Human Rights/Restriction of
Movement/Siege
Jerusalem
Christians
say Easter traditions at risk
Christians say Israeli
security measures obstruct access to capital's holy sites. 'In the last
two or three years, it was like a military zone,' human rights lawyer
says. 'Their justification is security, this holy word. It is wrong. I
want to go and pray,' resident says.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3870864,00.html
Kerosene
stove
explodes killing young woman in Jabaliya
Gaza – Ma’an –
The explosion of a kerosene stove killed a woman from the Jabaliya
refugee camp north of Gaza on Wednesday, marking April's first casualty
from power-related accidents.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=273260
Israel's
Arab
Helpers
Four
Palestinians Wounded As Egypt Detonates Tunnel
Palestinian
medical sources reported Wednesday that four Palestinians were wounded
when the Egyptian Security Forces detonated a siege-busting tunnel on
the border between Gaza and Egypt.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58340
Egypt:
Guards Kill 3 Migrants on Border with Israel
(New York) -
Egyptian border guards have shot dead three migrants attempting to cross
from Egypt to Israel over the past four days, bringing the total number
of migrants shot dead at the border so far this year to 12, Human Rights
Watch said today.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/03/31/egypt-guards-kill-3-migrants-border-israel
Gazans celebrate Egypt's Mubarak's recovery
"We came here today to the borderline area to send our congratulations
to President Mubarak for his recovery and also to urge him to release
the Palestinian prisoners in Egyptian jails," said the organizer.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-04/01/c_13232886.htm
Egypt seizes smuggling cars to Gaza
Egypt, April 1, 2010
(Pal Telegraph) - Egyptian police seized 41 brand new cars near its
border with Gaza that were to be smuggled into the Gaza Strip through
tunnels, a security official said yesterday. The discovery was made
during a police patrol on Tuesday. “According to information gathered by
the security services, they were going to be smuggled into Gaza,” a
security official said. Police have launched a search for the tunnel or
tunnels which were to have been used. The tunnels between the Gaza
Strip and Egypt were targeted by Israeli air strikes and Egyptian
efforts to flood them with water and gas. Tunnels are used to smuggle
life necessity to the blockaded Gaza Strip. Israel and Egypt closes
their borders with Gaza and not allow goods to enter Gaza, so Gazans
smuggle even cars to the besieged Strip by using these tunnels.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/5177-egypt-seizes-smuggled-cars-to-gaza
Egypt
announces weapons cache find destined for Gaza
Bethlehem –
Ma'an – Egyptian security sources said officers discovered a large arms
warehouse in the country's north, containing some 100 anti-aircraft
missiles, 45 missile launchers, 40 bombs and an RPG missile.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=273273
PA
officials in US for security consultation
Palestinian
interior minister, head of Preventive Security Service to discuss PA's
preparedness for taking full security control of additional West Bank
territories.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3870669,00.html
Palestinian security force has military training
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/photo/2010-03/31/c_13232821.htm
Zionism is Racism
‘Marriage to an Arab is national treason’
Over
half
of the Jewish population in Israel believes the marriage of a Jewish
woman to an Arab man is equal to national treason, according to a
recent survey by the Geocartography Institute.The survey, which was
conducted for the Center Against Racism, also found that over 75 percent
of participants did not approve of apartment buildings being shared
between Arabs and Jews. Sixty percent of participants said they would
not allow an Arab to visit their home.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3381978,00.html
Political Developments/Diplomacy
Russia to
Hamas: Rocket fire against Israel must stop
Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov urged Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal this
week to stop militants in the Gaza Strip from firing rockets against
Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1160445.html
Other News
Al-Qassam
releases footage of Gaza clashes
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Hamas'
military wing released footage Thursday purportedly showing an attack
that left two Israeli soldiers dead in the Gaza Strip last week. Two
Palestinian operatives were also killed in the fighting.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=273197
BoI:
Palestinians
working in Israel hurting own economy
Working in Israel is big business for the Palestinian economy, but
according to the Bank of Israel, it may not pay for the Palestinian
Authority in the longer run. In the year 2008, Palestinians working in
Israel were responsible for 10% of the Palestinian gross domestic
product. It may be good for the individual Palestinian family, whose
income is likely to grow - but it may prove bad for Palestinian economic
growth, writes the Bank of Israel in an abstract of a report it will be
releasing this month. The number of Palestinians working in Israel
increased markedly between 2002 (as the second intifada subsided) and
2008 (when the global economic crisis erupted), the central bank found.
In parallel, the Palestinian economy significantly improved compared
with the previous years.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1160363.html
American Zionists
Jewish donors may be chilled by Israel policy
High-profile Jewish Democrats say President Barack Obama has risked an
important bloc of voters because of recent tension with Israel. Obama’s
most outspoken Democratic critic is former New York City Mayor Ed Koch,
who campaigned for Obama in Florida during the 2008 election. Koch said
if Obama asked him to do it again he would not, because of the
administration’s harsh criticism of Israel in recent days.
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/89941-jewish-donors-may-be-chilled-by-israel-policy
Report: AIPAC mobilizes against Obama
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - America's main pro-Israel lobby group is
mobilizing members of the US Congress to pressure the White House over
its confrontation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, news
reports said Thursday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=273199
Three Days, Three-Quarters of the House to Obama
Administration: Stand With Our Ally Israel
“Our view is that such differences are best resolved quietly, in trust
and confidence,” it says.
http://ja-jp.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=376301769579&comments&ref=mf
The
Lobby
vs. America: Netanyahu's Lies and the Spineless Politicians, Ramzy
Baroud
As I listened to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu address an animated crowed of supporters on March 22, I felt
physically sick. The man has already displayed time and again a complete
lack of moral sense or ethical framework in his words and actions. In
his recent arguments, he once again twisted history, manipulated facts
and fabricated his own selective, self-interested and highly
questionable narrative. Netanyahu, a colonialist from a faraway land,
also had the audacity to convince himself and a few others that he had
legal, moral and historic rights over my land. While I am the son of a
Palestinian family rooted in Palestine since time immemorial, Netanyahu
is the son of an immigrant from Lithuania. While he giddily robs more
Palestinian land in Jerusalem, I live in exile.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15857
Analysis/Opinion/Human
Interest
Hamas hangs on
AFTER four gruelling years
under siege, the Gazans—and the Islamist movement, Hamas, that governs
them—are still managing against the odds to survive. Some even prosper.
The tunnels that snake under Gaza’s border with Egypt have multiplied so
fast that supply sometimes exceeds demand. So stiff is commercial
competition that tunnel-diggers complain that their work is no longer
profitable. As a British parliamentary report recently noted, Israel
officially allows Gaza to import only 73 of more than 4,000 items that
are available in the strip. The rest is home-made—or acquired illicitly.
For instance, cement, which cost 300 Israeli shekels ($80) a sack two
years ago, has dropped almost tenfold in price, precipitating a spate of
building for the first time since Israel’s attack a year ago reduced
4,000 houses to ruins. And eyewitnesses say that flashy 4x4 vehicles can
actually drive through tunnels built from shipping containers.
http://www.economist.com/world/middle-east/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15824034
A rare voice of courage: journalist Gideon Levy
interviewed
Gideon Levy is a rare voice of courage in an Israeli media generally
supine towards the political establishment. Since 1988, he has written
the "Twilight Zone" column for the Israeli daily Haaretz, documenting
unflinchingly the myriad cruelties inflicted on the Palestinian people
under occupation. In his new book Gaza, a collection of articles which
has just been published in French, Levy utters phrases that, by his own
admission, are considered "insane" by most of his compatriots. The
Electronic Intifada contributor David Cronin spoke with Gideon Levy
about his background and journalism.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11173.shtml
Let`s
talk,
Gideon Levy
Haaretz - Speak with a society that wants not
peace but "separation" from you. Come and talk with those who have
jailed 11,000 of your compatriots, some of them without a trial, others
of whom are political prisoners, including members of parliament. Talk
with those who just recently passed the Nakba Law, the law that denies
your tragedy, and the Citizenship Law, which prevents your people, and
only your people, the basic right to wed. Come and talk with those who
do not recognize your refugee problem and are not ready to even discuss
the refugees` return. Speak to them. Much will come of it for you.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1160366.html
Only
an Arab Palestine makes a 'Jewish' Israel meaningful
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is insisting the Palestinians
recognize Israel as, in his words, “the nation-state of the Jewish
people,” a new and problematic demand that raises serious questions
about Israel’s “Jewish character.” The Balfour Declaration of November
2, 1917, began with the phrase: “His Majesty’s government view with
favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish
people …” This declaration introduces the concept of a Jewish national
home into international relations in a most decisive manner.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=113348#axzz0jnur54Vo
Palestinians cynical over US pressure on Israel to
freeze settlements
RAMALLAH // Fair Harb looked like he
couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. “Look,” the 39-year-old
restaurateur said, sipping coffee in a popular cafe near the centre of
Ramallah, “this is the same old trick. Ever since Oslo, it’s been the
same old trick.”
Mr Harb was referring to Israeli media reports that the US was pressing
Israel to agree to a four-month settlement construction freeze in
Jerusalem and enter immediately into direct negotiations with the
Palestinians rather than proximity talks.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100401/FOREIGN/703319862/1002/rss
This is not a phony crisis, Jeffrey Blankfort
This is not a phony crisis, as a number of critics have been saying. I
think the Obama administration has gotten the word from Petraeus and
Mullen that Israel has become a liability and it is not about to let
Israel’s government of right wing crazies continue to harm US interests
in the Middle East. Even former Israeli consul in NY, Alon Pinkas told
Ynets News yesterday that to sum up the criticism coming from the US,
"Israel is turning from an asset to a burden."
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/this-is-not-a-phony-crisis.html
Interview: Palestine a rich landscape for a mystery
Kate Raphael is a Palestine solidarity activist who is currently
publishing a mystery novel entitled Murder Under the Bridge one chapter
at a time on its own blog. The Electronic Intifada contributor Hannah
Mermelstein interviewed Raphael about how the novel came about and where
she hopes it will go.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11174.shtml
Pride in time of occupation
Subhi D. Ali -
Jerusalem Fund - In the gallery at The Jerusalem Fund, photographer
Elena Farsakh showcased over 150 images entitled "Palestinians,
meanwhile", underlining that even while Palestinians are fighting
illegal occupation and military siege, there continues to be optimism
and pride in their rich culture.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=39099
Racing Towards a Dream, Hajr Al-Ali
I’m still out of breath. It seems witnessing car racing has that effect.
This past weekend, on Friday, March 26, the Palestinian Motor Sports
Federation held its first race of the season in the northern West Bank
city of Jenin. I’ve taken to describing the experience as the
Palestinian version of the notorious street racing movie, “The Fast
& the Furious.” Throngs of young men gathered at the makeshift race
track in a back alley of the industrial area of the city to cheer on
their hometown and witness what many would describe as a “guy’s sport.”
Those many are gradually being proven wrong. Despite being able to count
the number of women in the crowd on my hands, they were there – not only
watching and rooting, but competing. I was befuddled when a friend
called me up and asked me if I wanted to help her film women race car
drivers in Palestine. Women race car drivers? In Palestine? I didn’t
even know Palestine had a racing league.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=21941&CategoryId=13
The creed of objectivity and ‘The New York Times’
Many have recently questioned just how objective the New York Times’
correspondent in Israel and Palestine, Ethan Bronner, can be when he has
a son serving in the Israel Defense Forces, the Israeli army. In
an article published March 28, Bronner showed readers there was
cause for concern. Bronner refers to illegal settlement expansion in
East Jerusalem simply as “Jerusalem housing.” He quotes Americans and
Israelis, many speaking about Palestinians, but not one Palestinian. He
includes a quote from Moshe Yaalon, a senior Israeli politician, stating
that “the belief of land for peace has failed. We got land in return for
terror.” Bronner could have asked a senior Palestinian government
minister what he thinks the Palestinians got after over forty years of
occupation, in return for recognizing Israel’s right to exist, and after
nearly twenty years of negotiations. Bur he did not.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/the-creed-of-objectivity-and-the-new-york-times.html#more-17031
Iraq
Wednesday: 2 Iraqis Killed, 3 Wounded
At least two Iraqis were killed and three were wounded in unusually
light violence. Meanwhile, the governor of Ninewa province called for
the release of Iraqi detainees who have not been convicted of any
crimes.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/03/31/wednesday-2-iraqis-killed-3-wounded-2/
Iraq health official killed at his Baghdad home
BAGHDAD —
Iraqi officials say gunmen fatally shot a health ministry official at
his home in Baghdad in the latest slaying apparently targeting
government employees. Police officials say Mohammed Chillab was sitting
in his garden late Wednesday evening when three gunmen attacked him
using silenced pistols. Chillab was the deputy head of the technical
affairs department at the health ministry. Morgue officials confirmed
his death. All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because
they were not authorized to talk to the media about the matter. Police
also said on Thursday that a mobile phone shop owner was gunned down and
killed as he was closing his store for the night late Wednesday.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hwK_CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD9EQ9SP80
Supreme Court's opinion of Article 76 of Iraqi
Constitution
Editor’s note: Responding to a request for
clarification made by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s office on March
21, 2010, the Federal Supreme Court issued opinion 25 of 2010 on the
meaning of Article 76 of the constitution on March 25, 2010.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=30&article_id=113342#axzz0jntLu681
Sadrists: We want a Prime Minister with a Paternal
Spirit
Shia religious leader Muqtada al Sadr confirmed that
the
Sadrist trend has reservations about the nomination of
specific people to fill the post of prime minister and
that it supports the idea of putting forward a number of
candidates from each list that wants to nominate a
representative for the premiership rather than committing
to one candidate.
http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=20421
Iraqi PM fights to hold power, risks sectarian war
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's postelection strategy suggests he is
prepared for a long and bitter fight to hold on to power, even if it
alienates the country's Sunni community and risks new sectarian warfare.
http://www.yorkdispatch.com/nationworld/ci_14785808
The elusive proportionality in Iraq
The preliminary results announced by the Iraqi Independent High
Elections commission (IHEC) show that the major seats were divvied up
among four major blocs. Of the total 325 seats in Parliament, Iraqiya,
led by Iyad Allawi, won 91 seats; State of Law (SoL), led by Nuri
al-Maliki 89 seats; Iraqi National Alliance (INA), led by Ibrahim
Jaafari.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=30&article_id=113344
Fallujans
Put
Faith in Former Tormentor
They branded Allawi a traitor for presiding over the siege of their
city, but now see him as their best bet. By Uthman al-Mukhtar and Fadhil
al-Badrani in Fallujah (ICR No. 330, 31-Mar-10)
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-361576
Iraqis
Welcome
Move Away From Sectarianism
Winning lists promoted secular
and nationalist agendas, as Iraqis appear to turn their backs on
the politics of conflict. By IWPR-trained journalists (ICR No. 330,
31-Mar-10)
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-361574Iraqi elections and the Israel factorSo I
have been checking on some names and how they fared in the recent Iraqi
puppet elections. (No election should be held under occupation). Several
striking things. America's favorite man in Iraq, by far, Muwaffaq
Rubay`i, did not win one a seat. Not one seat. And the one Iraqi who
calls for peace between Iraq and Israel (and who survives assassination
attempts at the rate of twice a day), Mithal Allusi, did not win one
seat. Not one seat. And Saudi Arabia's favorite Shi`ite clerics, and he
is a favorite Shi`ite for Al-Arabiyya TV (the station of
King Fahd's brother-in-law), Iyad Jamal Ad-Din who bragged on his site
of the amount of money he spent on the election, did not win one seat.
Not one seat.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/03/iraqi-elections-and-israel-factor.html
The Professor of War
Soldiers were drilled to present a kinder face to the Iraqi public—the
old lady on her way to buy food, the taxi driver with a bad attitude,
the disgruntled patriarch, the people who may have been hiding
insurgents, even those who had been insurgents themselves. The Iraqi
people were the prize.
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2010/05/petraeus-201005?currentPage=5
WHO To Probe Rise In Iraq's Deformed Babies
The World Health Organisation has pledged to carry out an independent
study into the rise in birth deformities in the Iraqi city of Fallujah.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Birth-Deformities-In-Fallujah-Iraq-World-Health-
Organisation-Vows-To-Study-Rise-In-Deformed-Babies/Article/201003415590225?f=rss
Iraq rivers in peril due to low flows, pollution
Corpses
have stopped turning up in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, but Iraq’s
waterways now face another form of contamination from pesticides,
pollution and excess salinity, a deputy environment minister said. Dams
and irrigation have cut flows so much that marshes in southern Iraq
might not revive without a moveable barrier system to divert water, said
Kamal Hussein Latif, deputy minister for technical affairs. And even as
it recovers from war and sectarian bloodshed, Iraq is being battered by
dust storms that have increased some 20-fold in frequency since the
1970s amid a lingering drought and increasing desertification, he said
in an interview.
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2
&item_no=352479&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17
Time Ripe
for Iraqi Reconciliation?
The campaign season for Iraq’s
parliamentary elections was heavy with anti-Baathist sentiment,
highlighting the collective failure of the country’s politicians to work
towards national reconciliation. But the post-election period might
offer a new opportunity to soothe the anger and divisions that have
re-emerged.
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-361604
Fallujah: Scant Signs of
Recovery
Photographs by Jamal Penjweny (ICR No. 330,
01-Apr-10)
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-361602
illegal
A colleague in Jordan sent me this (she does not want to be identified):
"did you know that it is illegal for iraqis to donate blood in jordan?
one of my students today told me that she wanted to/tried to give blood
and was told that it is forbidden. is there something i don't know
about? is iraqi blood different than jordanian blood?"
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/03/illegal.html
Lebanon
Hezbollah 'will not be silent' if accused in Hariri
murder (AFP)
AFP - Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday warned that his
Shiite militant group would not "remain silent" if a UN probe into the
murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri pointed its finger at his party.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100331/wl_mideast_afp/lebanonuntribunalhezbollah
Jumblatt holds reconciliation talks with Assad in
Damascus
DAMASCUS:
Lebanon’s Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt on Wednesday
held a reconciliation meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad, on a
fence-mending mission to Damascus. Jumblatt in their talks “paid
tribute to President Assad’s positions on Lebanon and his commitment to
the security and stability of the country,” according to Syria’s state
news agency SANA.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=113353#ixzz0jnvOgQEU
Lebanese awaits beheading in Saudi Arabia over
'witchcraft'
BEIRUT: A Lebanese man sentenced to death in
Saudi Arabia on charges of witchcraft is due to be beheaded this week,
his lawyer said on Wednesday, urging officials and rights groups to
intervene on his behalf.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=113336
Plans to air controversial film 'The Kite' sparks
protests by Druze community
BEIRUT: A love story between an Israeli soldier and a young Lebanese
Druze woman sparked controversy when the Lebanese television station
Al-Jadeed decided to air it on Tuesday. The disagreement did not have
political motives but rather religious and sectarian reasons.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=113339#axzz0jnwvpbqn
U.S.
and Other World News
UN Special
Rapporteur Phillip Alston Responds to U.S. Defense of Drone Attacks'
Legality
The Obama administration has publicly defended the
legality of drone attacks for the first time. State Department legal
advisor Harold Koh said last week the use of drones in the fight against
Al Qaeda was both legal and necessary. Koh’s comments come six months
after Philip Alston, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on
Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions, said that the strikes
“might violate international humanitarian law and international human
rights law.” Alston joins us with his reaction to Koh’s response.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/4/1/drones
NYT
reporter:
Bush’s entire wiretapping program may have been illegal
bushflag
NYT
reporter: Bushs entire wiretapping program may have been illegalUpon a
federal judge's ruling that the Bush administration illegally wiretapped
an Saudi-based Islamic charity and two American lawyers, a Pulitzer
Prize-winning journalist for The New York Times alleged the Bush
adminstration's entire terrorist surveillance program may have been
illegal.
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0401/risen-ruling-entire-terror-surveillance-program-illegal/
A
strange alliance at the Supreme Court: The pro-Israel lobby’s curious
defense of an alleged Somali war criminal
Mohammed Ali Samantar is the only living vestige of the Barre regime,
the last government in two decades to exercise central control over
Somalia and, not coincidentally, the last that was impudent enough to
try. When Siad Barre was finally overthrown in 1991, Samantar, who had
served as defense minister and prime minister, fled, in a storm of
bullets, to Italy. He eventually made his way to Fairfax, Virginia,
where he lived in suburban obscurity until a group of Somali nationals
discovered him, hired a lawyer, and sued for damages. According to his
accusers, the Barre regime committed unforgivable acts of violence
against them and their families, offenses spanning a range of brutality
from arbitrary detention, to torture, rape and extrajudicial killing.
Samantar was allegedly aware of the crimes being perpetrated against
civilians and yet failed to stop them. The suit was dismissed by a
federal district court and then reinstated by the US Court of Appeals
for the Fourth Circuit. It is now pending before the Supreme Court,
where a peculiar coalition of defenders is urging reversal.
http://justworldnews.org/archives/003944.html
Mohamed ElBaradei hits out at west's support for
repressive regimes
Exclusive: Ex-nuclear chief says west must rethink Middle East policy as
speculation grows he may run for office in Egypt. Western governments
risk creating a new generation of Islamist extremists if they continue
to support repressive regimes in the Middle East, the former head of the
UN nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, has told the Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/31/mohamed-elbaradei-tyrants-support-militants
Corruption
Deepens Poverty In Afghanistan - U.N. Report
Corruption is entrenched in Afghanistan, leaving the poor at the mercy
of the powerful while security-obsessed international forces often turn a
blind eye to abuses, a United Nations report charged on Tuesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/03/30/world/international-uk-afghan-un-rights.html?_r=1
Obama Wants Iran Sanctions In Weeks, Not Months
President Barack Obama, riding the crest of his historic domestic-policy
success on health care, appeared to be reaching for a major
foreign-policy achievement, saying Tuesday that he wants new sanctions
on Iran in weeks, not months.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/03/obama_i_want_iran_sanctions_in.html
World powers agree to draw up new Iran sanctions
Six powers, including China, to start preparing a UN Security Council
resolution in next days; Obama insists a nuclear Iran is unacceptable.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1160130.html
Iran
Air goes on EU ‘black list’
In the European Union (EU)
Commission’s latest list of airlines banned from European airspace
published yesterday Iran Air’s operations to Europe are to be
“restricted”.
http://www.key.aero/view_news.asp?id=1845 |
| For further information contact Shadi Fadda |
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