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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Settlements/Land Theft and Property Destruction
Israel Approves Over 3000 New Jewish Homes in
Jerusalem
Ramallah, April 5, (RHC).- Israel approved the
construction of a total of 3,226 homes for Jews in the disputed East
Jerusalem in March, a report by the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) said on Monday. The biggest projects involve the building of
1,600 housing units in Ramat Shlomo settlement plus another 600 homes in
a nearby settlement, the report said.
http://www.periodico26.cu/english/news_world/april2010/israel040510.html
Settlers Destroy Al-Kurd Property: Two Palestinians Arrested
Sheikh
Jarrah,
Occupied East Jerusalem, Israel, 12AM – Right-wing settlers began to
dismantle a fence the Al-Kurd family erected around their garden shortly
after midnight Wednesday morning. Palestinians and internationals in
the Al-Kurds protest tent, where the family has have lived in for four
months, placed themselves between the fence and the settlers. Police
arrived soon after and arrested two young Palestinian men of Sheikh
Jarrah. No settlers were taken into custody. Despite pleas
by the Palestinians and internationals who witnessed the event, officers
refused to look at the destroyed section of the fence.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/04/11991
Israeli Tanks Invade
Northern Areas Of The Gaza Strip And Destroy Farm Lands
A
number of Israeli tanks and bulldozers invaded on Wednesday midday farm
lands close to the northern Gaza Strip boarders with Israeli and
destroyed farm lands.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58396
PA condemns new Israeli synagogue in East Jerusalem
Bethlehem - Ma'an - "The Israeli government is preparing to build a new
synagogue 200 meters away from the Al-Aqsa Mosque," Ramallah's Ministry
of the Interior announced on Sunday. In doing so, a PA statement said,
Israel "continues the policy of annexation of Palestinian lands,
especially in Jerusalem... considered the key to peace."
http://maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=274240
Abdul Qader: Sheikh Jarrah evictions based on
forgeries
Jerusalem – Ma'an – The court-ordered eviction warrants handed down by
the settler organization Nahalat Shimon International to two Palestinian
families in Sheikh Jarrah on Tuesday were based on forged documents,
Fatah official in charge of Jerusalem Affairs Hatem Abdul Qader said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=274582
Setters demand eviction of two Palestinian families
from their OJ homes
Lawyers of Jewish settlement societies sent a memo to the Israeli
Magistrates Court demanding the eviction of two Palestinian families
from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
Anti-Apartheid
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott,Sanctions and Divestment
Report
on
March at Tuwani - incursion and another incursion and another
incursion...
During the month Israeli military twice entered the village of Tuba. On
the second occasion police special forces ransacked two homes. The
village of Tuwani also experienced two settler incursions into the
village. During March Palestinians encountered frequent harassment by
Israeli soldiers and settlers in Khalli, an area of Palestinian-owned
land located at the edge of Tuwani village and close to the settlement
of Ma`on.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=39192
An
Urgent Appeal for Donations from the Sheikh Jarrah Activists
Legal costs are mounting. The much appreciated voluntary work of a few
dedicated lawyers is no longer sufficient to counter the upcoming wave
of indictments or to enable the activists to appeal against Police
persecution. And so, while we have been able to launch and maintain this
struggle without funds or institutional support, we must turn to you for
help at this crucial moment. We are in desperate need of a legal fund
in order to defray the costs of supplying more than 100 activists with
the appropriate legal defense, and to continue our string of legal
victories against an overly politicized Police. Donations to the Sheikh
Jarrah movement are processed by the New Mexico based Taos Peace House,
a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and maintained by Grassroots
Jerusalem a registered Israeli nonprofit organization. Please visit the
donate page on our website to make your contribution today.
http://www.en.justjlm.org/?p=91
Martin Luther King III to speak at nonviolence
conference
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Martin Luther King III will speak at an upcoming
conference in Ramallah on Strengthening Nonviolence in Palestine, the
conference's host institutions announced Monday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=274443
Western
activists
march for Gaza
March 30, western activists took part in a
non-violent Palestinian demonstration against the buffer zone,
the “no man’s land” between Gaza and Israel that Palestinians are
forbidden to enter. They marched towards the border fence in the same
area near Khan Younis where two Israeli soldiers had been shot and
killed last Friday. Israeli troops then fired “warning shots,” according
to the Israeli military.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/diaries/featured-articles/5330-the-work-of-western-activists-in-gaza
Christians
leaders
call for 'permits' boycott
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Leaders of
the Christian community in Palestine called on church officials to begin
a boycott of the Israeli permission system, requiring
leaders to request permits for their faithful to access the holy city of
Jerusalem.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=274758
Greek Intifada Association calls musician Demis Roussos not to
perform in Israel
Athens, April 7, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - The
Greek Association for Solidarity with the Palestinian People - Intifada
issued an open letter today, calling internationally known Greek
musician Demis Roussos to boycott Israeli Apartheid and not to perforfm
there.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/latest/5308-
greek-intifada-association-calls-musician-demis-rousos-not-to-perform-in-israel
Gaza students to Margaret Atwood: reject Tel Aviv U.
prize
Students in the Gaza Strip urge Canadian author Margaret Atwood to
support the Palestinian campaign for the boycott, divestment and
sanctions movement and reject a prize at Tel Aviv University that would
be an "inadvertent nod to Israel's policy of ethnic cleansing and
genocide" and help cover up the university's role in Israel's crimes
against the Palestinian people.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11186.shtml
Activist: The PA started to curb the peaceful
resistance against the wall
Coordinator of the popular campaign against the wall Jamal Jum’ah said
that the PA is trying to customize the peaceful resistance against the
segregation wall according to its own vision.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
Al-Haq Action Alert: Human Rights Defender Arbitrarily
Detained and Tortured
Al-Haq - The policeman told Ala-al-Din
to shut up, took him off the bus and beat his leg with the wooden handle
of a broken shovel. This was the beginning of a harrowing seen days in
detention.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=39198
Violence
and
Aggression
After probe, father says son was executed
After
IDF
rules killing of two Palestinians shot dead near Nablus could have been
avoided, residents of their village want to bring shooters to justice,
'They went looking for scrap iron to make a living and were shot point
blank,' father says adding will take case to international courts if
necessary.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3872419,00.html
Israel
breaks
into Tulkarem
Tulkarem, April 7, (Pal Telegraph) The Israeli
army broke today into the city of Tulkarem in the northern West Bank,
and placed numerous on-foot and mobile forces. Eyewitnesses said that
they saw a huge force consisting of three small groups, entered the
city from the north-west, and stopped near the new northern compound of
garages where they stopped a number of citizens checking and asking them
for their identities. Eyewitnesses also confirmed that they also
combed “Shweikeh” street and “Younis” area, in addition to the premises
of Al Quds Open University. The witnesses added that the force also
toured the streets of the city to in an unjustified provoking way
without any actions or interference from the Palestinian citizens.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/5334-israel-breaks-into-tulkarem
Israeli settlers throw stones at Palestinian cars
Nablus,
April 7, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) – Israeli settlers threw stones today at
Palestinian cars in south of Nablus, no injuries were reported. The
official of West Bank settlements file, Ghassan Douglas, said that
Israeli settlers gathered in a road adjacent to village of Yetma and
stoned the Palestinian cars which were passing there. The Israeli
settlers continue their attacks of the civilian Palestinians specially
the villages in the south of the West Bank, he added.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/5335-israeli-settlers-throw-stones-at-palestinian-cars
Settlers
attack EAs with stones in Jerusalem
Ecumenical Accompaniers -
Hardline Israeli settler youths assaulted three female Ecumenical
Accompaniers (EAs) in Jerusalem on Monday, hurling rocks and bottles in
an unprovoked attack. An EA in her sixties was bruised on the arm when
one of the young men threw a fist-sized rock at her. The group of around
eight young men approached the women, shouting obscenities and making
rude gestures before attacking. The EAs filmed the incident and it can
be viewed on Youtube here.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=39221
Detainees
IOF
detained
3,000 children since Aqsa intifada
The Israeli occupation
forces (IOF) have detained more than 3,000 Palestinian children since
the eruption of the Aqsa intifada in September 2000, the Husam society
catering for prisoners said.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
Israeli Court
Convicts Arab Youth Of “Collaborating With The Enemy”
The
Israeli Central Court in Petah Tikva convicted on Tuesday an Arab
detainee from the Al Teera City, north of the country, of “collaborating
with a foreign enemy” and providing a “foreign enemy with classified
information”, and sentenced him to 68 months imprisonment and 12 months
on parole.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58389
Israeli Troops
Detain Eight Palestinians, Among Them Two Injured, From The West Bank
Israeli
soldiers
detained on Wednesday eight Palestinians during separate military
invasions targeting West Bank communities.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58395
Troops
Detain Three Palestinians During Pre Dawn Invasions Targeting West Bank
Communities
Israeli troops detained on Tuesday at dawn three Palestinian civilians
during invasions targeting a number of West Bank communities.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58384
Detainees
Hunger
Strike Starts Wednesday
Palestinian detainees imprisoned by
Israel confirmed that Wednesday would be the first day of their hunger
strike after the Prison Administration refused to recognize
their legitimate demands.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58388
Hamas`
PLC
bloc: PA forces raid home of member
Gaza – Ma'an - Hamas'
parliamentary bloc accused Palestinian Authority security forces of
breaking into the home of the movement's lawmaker and detaining a
relative in Hebron on Wednesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=274770
Palestinian
prisoner
abuse in West Bank down: rights group (AFP)
AFP - The
Palestinian Authority's treatment of West Bank detainees has improved
but rights violations remain rampant across the Palestinian territories,
a rights group said on Wednesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100407/wl_mideast_afp/mideastpalestinianprisonerrights
Humanitarian
Issues/Human
Rights/Restriction of Movement/Siege
Youth
Missing In Tunnel Collapse
Palestinian medical sources
reported that resident Bilal Abu Taha, 17, who went missing in a tunnel
collapse accident in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, was
not found yet, while four other missing residents made it safely to t
Egyptian side.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58386
Goods – Needs Vs. Supply – Feb 28 – Mar 27
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/04/goods-needs-vs-supply-feb-28-mar-27/
Goods
–
Needs Vs. Supply – Mar 7 – Apr 3
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/04/goods-needs-vs-supply-mar-7-apr-3/
Industrial Fuel – Needs Vs. Supply – Feb 28 – Mar 27
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/04/industrial-fuel-needs-vs-supply-feb-28-mar-27/
Industrial
Fuel
– Needs Vs. Supply – Mar 7 – Apr 3
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/04/industrial-fuel-needs-vs-supply-mar-7-apr-3/
Gaza: Do Not Resume Executions
(Jerusalem)
- Hamas authorities should rescind a recent announcement that they
intend to resume application of the death penalty in Gaza, which has not
been carried out there since 2005, Human Rights Watch said today.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/04/06/gaza-do-not-resume-executions
Cancer patients on the rise in Gaza
Dr. Yousef Ibrahim, the head of the environment quality authority, said
on Tuesday that the number of cancer and kidney failure patients in the
Gaza Strip is on the rise.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
Interesting days in Washington
B`Tselem
facilitated the visit to Israel of Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), a key
member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Representatives of
various groups informed him of the growing difficulties faced by human
rights defenders.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=39201
Media Restrictions
Mya
Guarnieri: Reporter's Notebook: Publish and Be Detained
Somewhere
in
Europe, Sonya Mousa is breathing a
sigh of relief. Or so I'm guessing. I've never met or spoken with Sonya
Mousa. But, last week when I was wrapping up my
coverage of the Anat Kam case - the Israeli journalist under secret
house arrest since December over allegedly leaked military documents -
and thinking about using a pseudonym, this was the first name that came
to mind. Issues around the state-imposed censorship rules, and the fact
that other journalists involved in the case were now living abroad in
secret exile made me at concerned about my safety. I'd been monitoring
Kam's situation for quite some time. I watched blogs and tweets about it
go up, only to be pulled down, for the past month. When the Jewish
Telegraph Agency (JTA) followed in blogger Richard
Silverstein's footsteps and broke the story in English, I contacted
my editor; "It's a risk," I told her, "but let's do it."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mya-guarnieri/reporters-notebook-publis_b_527170.html
The Strange Disappearance Of Anat Kam, Max
Blumenthal
Imagine that an American federal court issued a
gag order threatening journalists and bloggers with criminal charges for
reporting on the now-notorious
video depicting US soldiers mowing down two Reuters journalists and
a crowd of innocent Iraqis. Imagine the journalists and bloggers abided
by the gag order and began removing all references to the atrocity on
their websites. And imagine that the person who leaked the video awaited
trial for treason. What would this episode say about the state of
American democracy?
http://maxblumenthal.com/2010/04/the-strange-disappearance-of-anat-kam/
Zionism
Rabbi: Make foreign workers accept Laws of Noah
A new initiative in ultra-Orthodox neighborhood suggests that foreign
workers seeking to work for haredi families will be forced to stop
practicing idolatry and accept the Seven Laws of Noah. The person behind
the new initiative is Rabbi Asher Idan, who has published "a warning to
the public in haredi neighborhoods.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3870111,00.html
Holy Spit: Why Do Ultra-Orthodox Jews Spit at Christians?
A
very embarrassing and persistent problem has arisen in some of the
sacred sites in Jerusalem where Christians and Jews cross each other’s
paths. Teenagers from a small sector of the city’s many Ultra-Orthodox
(“Haredi”) Ashkenazi Jewish communities have taken to spitting at
clerics wearing prominent crosses and dressed in traditional garb.
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/religionandtheology/2401/
holy_spit:_why_do_ultra-orthodox_jews_spit_at_christians
Political
Developments/Diplomacy
U.S.-Israeli
dispute
still unresolved - Netanyahu
* Netanyahu to travel to
Washington conference next week
* No plans for Obama-Netanyahu
meeting
* Palestinians demand settlement freeze
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE63618P.htm
Israeli FM warns Palestinians not to declare state
JERUSALEM — Israel's hard-line foreign minister warned Palestinians
against plans to unilaterally declare independence next year, saying in
an interview Tuesday that such a move could prompt Israel to annex parts
of the West Bank and annul past peace agreements. Avigdor Lieberman also
made harsh comments about Turkey, Israel's increasingly alienated ally,
saying the Turkish prime minister was coming to resemble Libyan ruler
Moammar Gadhafi.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ioi_0jtO9RjMwPNRoXNCndRPRq3gD9ETJA4G0
No Obama meeting as Netanyahu heads to U.S. nuclear
summit
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to leave for Washington on Monday
to take part in the nuclear security summit hosted by U.S. President
Barack Obama. Netanyahu is not expected to meet privately with Obama
during the summit, the prime minister's office said
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1161353.html
Turkish PM: Israel is the main threat to Mideast peace
Israel
is the main threat to peace in the Middle East, Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday, in what appears to be the another
in a string of verbal attacks aginst Israel in recent weeks.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1161415.html
Other News
Israeli
government holding up to two hundred million dollars of Palestinian
funds
According
to a recently-released report, the Israeli government has withheld
payment of up to two hundred million dollars meant for the Palestinian
Civil Administration over the last sixteen years, instead illegally
channeling the money into Israeli state coffers.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58391
Two Israeli
Arab authors barred from Beirut cultural festival
Organizers
of a Beirut cultural festival say two Israeli Arab authors will not be
able to collect their literary awards in Lebanon later this month
because of laws in the two countries. Lebanon prevents holders of
Israeli citizenship from entering the country and Israel bans it
citizens from visiting enemy states.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1161416.html
Olmert
aide
arrested in serious corruption affair
'One of the most
serious affairs in State's history' said to involve tens of millions of
shekels in bribes in exchange for advancing real estate projects. Five
people arrested, including Attorney Uri Messer, Jerusalem Municipality
engineer and businesspeople. Police raid municipality offices;
investigation focusing on Holyland housing project in capital.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3872747,00.html
US
scientist who tried to spy for Israel: I won’t end up like Pollard
Former
NASA
scientist Stewart Nozette faces a third count of attempted espionage
after Attorney's Office files superseding indictment claiming he tried
to pass classified information about US Navy to a man he thought was
Israeli Intelligence officer.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3872619,00.html
Analysis/Opinion/Op-ed
US
military
aid to Israel violates domestic, international law
Since
the US government gives no military assistance to any of the Palestinian
resistance groups, the question with regard to US military aid and
transfer of weapons applies only to Israel. Should the US government,
based on international and domestic law, cut military aid and cease the
transfer of weapons to Israel? Nahida H Gordon comments for The
Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11188.shtml
The
quarry
is not about peace, but profitability, Amira Hass
... the
Civil Administration is considering to grant new permits to the
Palestinians following a February 2009 petition to the High Court of
Justice by Yesh Din (Volunteers For Human Rights) to stop Israelis
quarrying in the West Bank. Yesh Din argues Israeli quarrying involves
removing natural resources from a conquered area to satisfy the
needs of the occupier and violates international law and could, in
certain cases, "be defined as pillage."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1161118.html
Bringing Palestine to the US Social Forum
While existing conditions have fueled the grassroots movement aimed at
delegitimizing racist policies and shattering Israeli impunity in order
to realize Palestinian freedom and dignity, they have yet to establish
Palestine as an integral component of the social justice movement's
agenda in the US. Doing so requires that the pro-Palestinian movement
build meaningful alliances with other organizations, communities,
movements and individuals that are also struggling to achieve social
justice. Andrew Dalack comments for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11184.shtml
Jerusalem central in the Mideast question
If
international
law matters to any American president, it ought to be President Barack
Obama who has taught constitutional law. Israel's supporters are wrong
to downplay the significance of illegal settlement activity as innocuous
building in "Jewish neighborhoods" of Jerusalem. Contrary to Premier
Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that "building in Jerusalem.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=113492
The US must put bite into its position
The open disagreement and tough words exchanged in public by the United
States and Israel a few weeks ago on Washington's demand that Israel
freeze all new settlements in occupied Arab East Jerusalem has now
entered Phase Two.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=113499
No
More
Fear, Hajr Al-Ali for MIFTAH
They only gave me a one-month
visa. I played my tourist card to the “T” at Jordan's border, so well
in fact that I was in and out within an hour and marked as a “1”
out of a maximum of six for being a potential security threat.
“Victorious!” I had thought at the time, believing that the fact that
this was the easiest and quickest interrogation I’ve ever experienced
meant everything was smooth sailing from that point forward. Yet, the
Jewish Orthodox woman at passport control stamped me with a one-month
visa instead of the standard three, smiled shrewdly, and told me to
enjoy the rest of my trip. I asked her why, and argued politely that I
had a return ticket booked for three months later. She smiled again, and
raised her eyebrows amused, telling me, “That’s fine. You can go to the
[Israeli] Interior Ministry and ask for an extension. However, we are no
longer issuing three-month visas at the border unless it’s your first
time entering. You must go to the ministry.” My heart sank. I knew how
hard that would be, especially given rising tensions in Jerusalem,
especially for someone with a background such as my own and especially
as someone who was lacking one major resource that would drastically
help to convince the graying Israeli bureaucrats in the ministry that I
could stay longer: a Jewish Israeli friend.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=21969&CategoryId=13
No Time for More 'Quiet Diplomacy' with Israel, Joshua Brollier
A
favorite professor of mine once told me that the more you learn about
history, the more you realize how little you really know, and how much
you still have to learn. Last night, I was both moved and angered to
further learn about the ongoing destruction and blockade of the Gaza
strip. The award winning Palestinian journalist, Mohammed Omer, showed
photographs and told us many moving stories about his life and
experiences in Gaza. These stories included the demolition of Mohammed’s
home and loss of his brother and neighbors.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15870
From 1988 but still a great read: AT HOME ABROAD;
Toward the Extreme, ANTHONY LEWIS
PARIS— Whatever chance there might have been for early negotiations
between Israel and its Arab neighbors is now gone. The fragile hopes
raised by Secretary of State Shultz have been destroyed by events of the
last three weeks. The assassination of Abu Jihad, the number two P.L.O.
leader, has strengthened the most radical elements in the P.L.O. No
Palestinian who matters is going to come forward now to talk of peace
with Israel. Neither, in all likelihood, is King Hussein or any other
Arab leader. Ezer Weizman, a member of Israel's inner cabinet who wants
to find a way to peace with the Palestinians, put the fact bluntly on
Israeli army radio. The assassination, he said, ''distances the peace
process and will bring greater hostility.''
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/24/opinion/at-home-abroad-toward-the-extreme.html?pagewanted=1
Iraq
Tuesday: 53 Iraqis Killed, 169 Wounded
Baghdad was again the target of a massive, coordinated bomb attack just a
couple days after a similar attack struck the capital's foreign
embassies. This attack was more personal as it focused on apartment
buildings across the city. Overall, at least 39 Iraqis were killed and
149 more were wounded across the country.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/04/06/tuesday-39-iraqis-killed-149-wounded/
Amnesty
International:
Killings of civilians in Iraq constitute 'war crimes'
Over
100 people were killed in suicide bomb and other attacks mounted by
armed groups in and around Baghdad in the last week. Amnesty
International has condemned the killings of over 100 Iraqi civilians in
suicide bomb and other attacks mounted by armed groups in and around
Baghdad in the last week. Hundreds were injured in the attacks, some of
which appear to have targeted civilians and to have been intended to
cause maximum loss of life. "Most of these attacks targeted civilians
directly and therefore constitute war crimes," said Malcolm Smart,
Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa
Programme.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/killings-civilians-iraq-constitute-war-crimes-2010-04-07
In Pictures: 'Iraq Bomb Blasts'
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/features/article_1546168.php
Baghdad bombings: Did Al Qaeda rent rooms to blow
them up?
Iraq officials say that the Baghdad bombings Tuesday
came after Al Qaeda agents rented vacant apartments and office space and
planted bombs there.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/AGIcPP-pn0g/
Baghdad-bombings-Did-Al-Qaeda-rent-rooms-to-blow-them-up
Iraqi
police foil teenage would-be suicide bomber
FALLUJA, Iraq,
April 7 (Reuters) - Iraqi police arrested a teenage boy wearing a vest
packed with explosives near the western city of Falluja, foiling an
attempt to attack security forces, a police officer said on Wednesday.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/RAS729200.htm
Iraq in 'open war' with Qaeda after Baghdad bombs (AFP)
AFP
-
Deadly bomb attacks in Baghdad are aimed at pressuring political blocs
battling to form a government, a top politician said Wednesday, as
Iraq declared "war" with Al-Qaeda over the surge in violence.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100407/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrest
Al-Sadr's
movement
backs neither Iraq front-runner (AP)
AP - An influential
Shiite movement did not back either front-runner in a poll on who to
support for Iraq's next prime minister, further muddying on Wednesday
the political situation in the aftermath of the inconclusive March
elections.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100407/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
White House: Graphic Iraq shooting video 'tragic'
(AFP)
AFP - The White House on Tuesday described leaked and graphic video of a
US helicopter strike in Baghdad three years ago which killed two Reuters
employees and others as "tragic."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100406/ts_alt_afp/usiraqitmediamilitaryinternetreuterswikileaks
Military can't find its copy of Iraq killing video
WASHINGTON—The U.S. military said Tuesday it can't find its copy of a
video that shows two employees of the Reuters news agency being killed
by Army helicopters in 2007, after a leaked version circulated the
Internet and renewed questions about the attack. Capt. Jack Henzlik, a
spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said that forces in Iraq have not
been able to locate the video within its files. "We're attempting to
retrieve the video at this time," Henzlik said.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/04/06/
military_cant_find_its_copy_of_iraq_killing_video/?s_campaign=8315
Family Weeps at Video of Son’s Death in U.S. Strike
The
family
of a Reuters photographer killed in 2007 in an American military
airstrike watched the video of the incident on Monday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/world/middleeast/07baghdad.html
Iraqi family demands justice for US attack death
The US military says it has no reason to doubt the authenticity of a
video leaked through the whistleblower website WikiLeaks showing a US
military attack on a group of civilians in Iraq. In the 2007 attack, a
US military helicopter fired on a group of Iraqis, killing 12 civilians,
according to the website, including two employees of the Reuters news
agency. The footage from a helicopter cockpit also shows a man stopping
to help the injured, but he too is shot dead. In an Al Jazeera
exclusive, Omar al-Saleh speaks to the man's children, who were injured
but survived the attack. (Apr 07, 2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw_5tZqzwXg&feature=youtube_gdata
'US attack' investigations raise more questions
The Pentagon has not said if it will launch a new investigation into the
US military shooting of civilians in Baghdad, following the release of
video showing the attack. The video, released by WikiLeaks, a website
that publishes anonymously sourced documents, showed a US military
helicopter firing at unarmed civilians in the 2007incident. Al Jazeera
has obtained a copy of the US military's first two investigations, which
cleared the soldiers of wrongdoing. Patty Culhane reports that they
contain inconsistencies that the military has not addressed (07 April
2010).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDAmfX0x-mo&feature=youtube_gdata
Wikileaks Iraq Killing Video Reaction
A senior military official confirmed to the AP
Monday that the video that appears to show the killing of two Reuters
employees in Iraq released by Wikileaks is authentic. As HuffPost's Dan
Froomkin reported
yesterday, the video shows "a U.S. Army Apache helicopter in Baghdad in
2007 repeatedly opening fire on a group of men that included a Reuters
photographer and his driver -- and then on a van that stopped to rescue
one of the wounded men."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/06/wikileaks-iraq-killing-vi_n_527383.html
Collateral Pentagon, Pepe Escobar
"We've shot an amazing number of people and killed a number and, to my
knowledge, none has proven to have been a real threat to the force."
That was General Stanley McChrystal, supreme commander of United States
forces in Afghanistan, late last month - during one of the virtual "town
hall" meetings held with US troops every two weeks, as reported in the
New York Times. McChrystal added, "To my knowledge, in the nine-plus
months I've been here, not a single case where we have engaged in an
escalation of force incident and hurt someone has it turned out that the
vehicle had a suicide bomb or weapons in it and, in many cases, had
families in it."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LD07Ak01.html
Iraq slaughter not an aberration, Glenn Greenwald
I was just on Democracy Now along with WikiLeaks' Julian Assange
discussing the Iraq
video they released yesterday, and there's one vital point I want to
emphasize. Shining light on what our government and military do is so
critical precisely because it forces people to see what is really being
done and prevents myth and propaganda from distorting those realities.
That's why the administration fights so hard to keep torture
photos suppressed, why the military
fought
so hard here to keep this video concealed (and why they did the
same with
regard to the Afghan massacre), and why whistle-blowers, real
journalists, and sites like WikiLeaks are the declared
enemy of the government. The discussions many people are having
today -- about the brutal reality of what the U.S. does when it engages
in war, invasions and occupation -- is exactly the discussion which they
most want to avoid.
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/04/06/iraq
Sinan
Antoon:
"I think of myself as a global citizen"
Sinan Antoon
is an Iraqi-born poet, novelist, filmmaker and assistant professor at
New York University. His novel I'jaam: An Iraqi Rhapsody and his
collection of poems The Baghdad Blues are written with great
sophistication and a haunting sense of irony. Similarly, his 2003
documentary About Baghdad captured the terror and exhilaration of Iraqis
after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime and the early months of the US
occupation. The Electronic Intifada contributor Dina Omar interviewed
Sinan Antoon about his work and experiences.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11177.shtml
Lebanon
Israel
should
expect lawsuits over bomblets left in Lebanon
While some Israelis are trying out their legal power against
Hezbollah, it appears that Israel left a legacy behind in Lebanon that
may encourage legal suits against it as well. According to UN estimates,
during the Second Lebanon War Israel dropped cluster bombs
containing four million bomblets, about 40 percent of which failed to
explode and which remain scattered over large areas.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1161385.html
AUB lecture sheds light on plight of migrant
workers
BEIRUT: In Sri Lanka, it is customary for women to purchase a house and
furniture for their husband before marriage, as it is their duty to
provide food for the household once the children are born.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=113504
Sleiman:
Lebanon
Won't Allow Anyone to Harm Hezbollah
07/04/2010 The security agreement signed between the Lebanese government
(at the time of the unconstitutional government of Fouad Saniora) and
the US embassy remained at the top headlines on Monday as President
Michel Sleiman was warning against seeking to harm Hezbollah through the
agreement at the time the Information and Telecoms committee was
concluding its discussions and referring the whole issue to Speaker
Nabih Berri. Indeed, and despite the seriousness of the dangers and
violations present in the agreement, lawmakers couldn't reach a
"unified" resolution amid a "political division" and decided to refer
the whole issue to Speaker Nabih Berri who would take the "appropriate"
step.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=132537&language=en
A Lesson in history - video clip
"A lesson in history"
reveals how the absence of a common history book highlights the lack of
consensus between Lebanon's religious communities over interpreting
their past or their future.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t05gvHTywDY&feature=youtube_gdata
Fabulous Picture Show - The Infidel
Comedian and star of
the film "The Infidel", Omid Djalili, plus fellow comedian and
screenwriter David Baddiel join FPS to talk about what provoked this
ethnic comedy, which is infused with as many Jewish jokes as it is
Muslim; the director of the film, Josh Appignanesi, also joins the FPS
audience to talk about the challenges of shooting a comedy. Also, "The
Taqwacores" - the unlikely collision of "Islam" and "punk" forged by
young American-born Muslims attempting to reconcile the different sides
of their identity, and Gutsy theatre director Zeina Daccache about her
new film, 12 Angry Lebanese which she hopes will change attitudes
towards prison therapy in the Middle East.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbBXPXbwWPA&feature=youtube_gdata
Afghanistan
25
Afghan civilians allegedly killed in air raids
Locals said Tuesday that air strikes claimed the lives of 25 civilians
on Monday in Gereshek district of Helmand province in south Afghanistan.
http://en.trend.az/regions/world/afghanistan/1664039.html
Afghan Investigators Say U.S. Troops Tried to Cover
Up Evidence in Botched Raid
"At first, the American-led military command in Kabul said that the two
men who died were “insurgents” who had “engaged” — in other words, shot
at — the forces at the scene. The initial account also said that the
troops then stumbled onto the bodies of three women “tied up, gagged and
killed” and hidden in a room. Military officials later suggested that
the women — who among them had 16 children — had all been stabbed to
death or had died by other means before the raid, implying that their
own relatives may have killed them. But the military later said the men
were innocent civilians shot after they went outside, armed, to
investigate the presence of the forces conducting the raid. Then on
Sunday night they admitted that the women were also killed during the
raid. Family members said several dozen relatives and friends had
gathered at the compound that night for the Afghan equivalent of a baby
shower. In an interview, Mr. Yarmand said the raiding party had killed
all five Afghans — and then meddled with the scene."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/world/asia/06afghan.html?hp
Man killed in secret CIA prison allegedly saved
Afghan president’s life
Man killed in secret CIA prison allegedly saved Afghan presidents
lifeThe only prisoner known to have died in the CIA's network of secret
prisons once rescued Hamid Karzai, wading through rocket and small-arms
fire to take the wounded future president to safety in Pakistan,
according to his brother and former associates. The prisoner, Gul
Rahman, died in the early hours of Nov. 20, 2002, after being shackled
to a cold cement wall in a secret CIA prison in northern Kabul known as
the Salt Pit, current and former U.S. officials familiar with the case
confirmed. His family is appealing to the International Red Cross to
return his body.
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0406/man-killed-secret-cia-prison-allegedly-saved-afghan-presidents-life/
U.S.
and Other World News
U.S. Approves Targeted Killing of Cleric Tied to
Terror Suspects
The Obama administration has taken the extraordinary step of authorizing
the killing of an American citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki, who is believed to
be directly participating in terrorist attacks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/world/middleeast/07yemen.html
U.S.
Defends Legality of Extrajudicial Killings With Drones
The United Nations Special Rapporteur for Extrajudicial Executions and
some legal scholars have questioned whether it is legal for the U.S. to
target and execute individuals in countries the U.S. isn't at war with.
Professor Mary Ellen O'Connell of the University of Notre Dame law
school has called the drone program "unlawful killing," and says it
violates international law.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303450704575159864237752180.html
Obama to limit U.S. use of nuclear arms, but not on
Iran
President Barack Obama is making clear that "nuclear-defiant" states
like Iran and North Korea will remain potential targets.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1161120.html
US updates Israel on nuclear policy
US under secretary of state informs deputy foreign minister of Obama's
new nuclear proliferation plans stressing Washington will adopt
'calculated ambiguity' policy towards non-threatening nations.
Meanwhile, PM scheduled to visit US next week to attend NPT conference.http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1161390.html
Turkish PM: New Iran sanctions won't work
Turkey's prime minister plans Tuesday to challenge the French
president's support for new sanctions against Iran, and to press Paris
again on Turkey's stalled membership bid to the European Union.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1161170.html
Jordan rejects military force against Iran
AMMAN,
Jordan,
April 6 (UPI) -- If Iran is "playing mischief" in the Middle East
region, then its regime is being allowed to make mischief, Jordan's
King Abdullah said. "If there are those that are saying that Iran is
playing mischief, then I say it is being allowed to play mischief,"
Abdullah told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published Tuesday.
"The platform they use is the injustice of the Palestinians and
Jerusalem."
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/International/2010/04/06/
Jordan-rejects-military-force-against-Iran/UPI-25611270574131/
Iran's
girls
team banned from Youth Olympics for wearing the hijab
Iranian
officials
say the decision is politically motivated and a violation of the
athletes’ religious rights.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100407/FOREIGN/704069858/1040/rss
Saudi Shiite leaders arrested over worship in homes
RIYADH:
Authorities in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia have arrested several Shiite
community leaders in the Eastern Province for hosting Shiite worship
services in their homes, an activist said Tuesday. A 30-year old
school teacher was detained on Monday in Al-Khobar, where three other
Shiites were arrested a week earlier for private services.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=113497
National Minimum Wage Demo in Egypt
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elhamalawy/sets/72157623636002785/
The struggle for equality in Egypt | Baher Ibrahim
Debates
about women's rights are not new to Egypt. They have
been around since the early 20th century. Now, even in 2010, there is no
consensus on what role women should play in society. The issue was
brought into the spotlight again when Egypt's state council – the court
authorised to settle disputes concerning the exercise of public power –
voted by an overwhelming majority to bar a
female judge from serving on its benches. A week later, the supreme
constitutional court decided the ruling was unconstitutional and overruled it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/07/equality-struggle-egypt-women
Let an Arab female carry the flag of gender equality
In the halls of the United Nation's New York bureau, officials have been
considering a proposal to unify the UN's many organizations promoting
women's equality and rights into a single "gender entity."
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=113501
Whither, American journalism: CNN vs. Al-Jazeera
Yesterday, WikiLeaks leaked a video exposing a US government cover-up of
the killing of 2 Reuters cameramen in Iraq in 2007. Juan Cole writes
that an attack, also captured in the video, on people trying to help the
wounded may constitute a war crime.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2010/04/whither-american-journalism-cnn-vs-al-jazeera.html
Map of Arabia Simplified
Since I was a kid we had to look at this map and memorize the geography
of those nice and wonderful places in the Arabs world. After awhile, you
get sick of it and wanting to make fun of the whole thing, the borders,
the countries and the politics of it all. Here is a take on the map of
the Arab World if I dare to be so honest. I send this map to the Arab
leaders who just finished their summit in Libya.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2010/04/the-map-of-arab-world-simplified.html |
| For further information contact Shadi Fadda |
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