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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Settlements/Land Theft and Destruction
Israel's continued settlement expansion
Israel has been expanding illegal settlements on occupied Palestinian
land for decade, and it is now emerging just how far-reaching this
policy is. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Jerusalem
housing committee is planning to build another 50,000 Jewish homes in
occupied East Jerusalem to join the hundreds of thousands already there
or in progress. That includes 3,000 housing units in Gilo, 1,500
apartments in Har Homa and another 1,500 in the settlement of Pisgat
Ze'ev. Thousands more have been planned at Givat Hamatos, and the
settlement of Ramot, while hundreds more are in the works in Armon
Hanetziv, as well as Neveh Yaakov. Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros reports
(12 mar 2010).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVzWLH4hL5I&feature=youtube_gdata
Settlers
Torch Olive Orchard In Hebron
A
group of fundamentalist Jewish settlers burnt on Thursday at night an
olive orchard in Safa village, north west of Hebron, in the southern
part of the West Bank.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58200
Mayor:
Israeli settlers uprooted 40 olive trees
Nablus
– Ma'an – Israeli settlers uprooted dozens of olive trees in Qaryut,
south of Nablus, at dawn on Friday, officials said. The settlers
uprooted 40 olive trees in the Al-Batashiyah area of Qaryut, the
village's mayor Abdel Nasser Al-Qaryuti told Ma'an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=268097
Homes and livelihoods gone in an instant
Radia Abu Sbaih, 47, lives with her sister and one niece on family land
roughly 700 meters from the "green line" boundary between Israel and
Gaza. Until 18 February 2010, they had nearly 600 olive, fruit, date
and nut trees, an agricultural cistern, a water well, various
vegetables and a house. Theirs was one of three homes demolished by
Israeli military bulldozers that day in al-Mossadar, eastern Gaza. Eva
Bartlett reports for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11125.shtml
A
city that should be shared
One
reason for the apparent futility of Palestinian dissent is the Israeli
security barrier that bites into the West Bank and runs through chunks
of East Jerusalem. It prevents most West Bank Muslims from reaching the
city’s holy places and has cleft its Arab districts in two, leaving
tens of thousands of Arab residents on the wrong side. Further impeding
access, traffic lights flick green only briefly for cars from
Palestinian districts while staying green for cars from Jewish
settlements for minutes. And Israel’s interior ministry is stripping
ever more East Jerusalem Palestinians of residency papers. In 2008
nearly 4,600 lost them, 20 times the previous years’ average.
http://www.economist.com/world/middle-east/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15612463
Haifa:
planned death of a city
In
the city of Haifa, Zionist plans to create an Arab-free land through
the expulsions of 1948 did not entirely succeed; the nature of the city
is still ambiguous despite the deaths and destruction.
http://mondediplo.com/2010/03/13haifa
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott,Sanctions
and
Divestment
Confrontations,
anger in Jerusalem over building (Reuters)
Reuters
- Israeli forces sealed off the West Bank and massed riot squads around
Jerusalem's Old City and Arab neighborhoods during Muslim weekly
prayers on Friday, facing down Palestinian anger over Jewish settlement
expansion.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100312/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel
Two
Injured, Dozens Suffer Effects Of Tear Gas Inhalation At The Bil’in
Weekly
Two
civilians were injured as dozens suffered from the effects of tear gas
inhalation when Israeli troops attacked the weekly anti wall protest at
the village of Bil’in, central West Bank.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58206
Al-Ma’sara
Village, Southern West Bank, Protest The Israeli Built Wall
Villagers
of al-Ma’sara, near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, protested
on Friday the Israeli built wall on villagers’ lands.
The people
were joined by Israeli and international supporters. The protest kicked
off from the village center and headed towards the wall construction
site.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58204
Protesters
Carry Photos of ISM Activist During Weekly Nil'in Protest One Year On
From Injury
Dozens
of protesters were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation, this
Friday, following the weekly demonstration in the central West Bank
village of Nil’in, near Ramallah.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58207
Palestinians
Demand Entry to Jerusalem without permits during the Holy Week of
Easter
Palestinian
Christian organizations, figures and many other Palestinians from the
Jerusalem and the surrounding area have sent a letter on March 4, to
the heads of churches in Jerusalem, demanding them to encourage all
Christians in Palestine to enter Jerusalem for the Easter celebrations
without applying for permits from the Israeli authorities.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58203
West Bank rises up in a new 'white' intifada
As Israel cracks down harshly on unarmed protesters, Donald Macintyre
meets one Palestinian family whose teenage son has paid a heavy price.
Ehab Barghouti would not have been at the demonstration at all if his
father Asdal had had his way. Asdal found his son, 14, on the road
from their village of Beit Rima and ordered him into the car. "I told
him: 'You shouldn't go, you're too young.' He told me: 'I want to
resist.' I said: 'Do you want me to see you on TV?'" But when Asdal
stopped at a local garage and went in to talk to the mechanic, Ehab
made his escape.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/
west-bank-rises-up-in-a-new-white-intifada-1920120.html
Ahmed
Moor: Why I am for academic boycott, Ahmed Moor
The
boycott of Israeli academics and academic institutions has always made
me a little uneasy. We all read books by Israeli academics that at
their humanist best elucidate and inform, and at their racist worst
reveal something about the Zionist zeitgeist. I read Ha’aretz, Ynet and
the Jerusalem Post on a daily basis – and communicate pretty regularly
with Israelis through email (the majority of whom admittedly, are
anti-Zionists). Despite all this, I do support the academic boycott.
The issue is very muddy, however.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/ahmed-moor-why-i-am-for-academic-boycott.html
Harvard Students Rebuke Kramer and the U’s Support
Harvard students put together a coalition of sixteen campus groups
calling on the university to terminate Martin Kramer's fellowship for
his highly problematic suggestion that humanitarian aid to Palestinian
refugees be cut to in effect lessen their numbers. Their statement in
the student newspaper is an opening shot at a clear institutional
double standard.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2010/03/harvard-students-rebuke-kramer-and-the-us-support.html
On Kramer’s Statements
We
write as gravely concerned students and student group leaders
representing over 16 groups throughout Harvard University. Our entire
constituency can be viewed online.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/3/11/center-mr-weatherhead-harvard/
A Thousand Candles For Gaza
The
Popular Committee Against The Siege on Gaza launched a series of event
to mark 1000 days of Israeli siege and blockade on the coastal region.
On Thursday the committee started lighting 1000 candles and held a
peaceful protest near the Erez (Beit Hanoun) Crossing.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58198
Palestinian Leprechaun
http://latuff2.deviantart.com/art/Palestinian-Leprechaun-156719602
Violence/Aggression
and
Provocation
Over 13 Honor Killings in Two Months in Palestine
Seven
women were killed in the Palestinian territories because of "honor
killings” in the first month of the year 2010. These news were released
by Palestinian human rights organizations interested in women's issues,
but according to my sources, this statistic was falsified and the real
number of women who were murdered, only in the cities of Ramallah and
Hebron since the beginning of the year 2010 has exceeded 13. The
sources confirm that these seven women, who were registered in the
statistics of human rights organizations as victims of “honor killing”,
were left in public streets and in fields after being killed and there
was no chance for the perpetrators to hide the crime.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2010/03/11/over-13-honor-killings-in-two-months-in-palestine/
Brutalizing Palestinian Children
As
an isolated incident, it would be appalling and criminal. As a regular
occurrence, it’s state-sponsored terrorism against defenseless
children, subjected to barbarism by Israeli soldiers committing crimes
against humanity to crush their will for wanting to live free on their
own land — what Westerners take for granted; what Palestinians since
1948 haven’t had, and since 1967, under military occupation denying
their very humanity.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/03/brutalizing-palestinian-children/
Resident Wounded In Israeli Air Strike In Khan Younis
Palestinian medical sources reported on Thursday at night that a
resident was wounded when the Israeli Air Force fired missiles at a
factory in Al Qarara, north of Khan Younis, in the southern part of the
Gaza Strip.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58199
Israeli warplanes fire on southern Gaza
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli warplanes opened fire on the southern Gaza
Strip early Friday, striking two targets near the Egyptian border.
There were no immediate reports of injury in the attack, which an
Israeli military spokesman said targeted sites in Rafah and Khan
Younis.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=268063
Palestinians:
Soldiers watched as settlers attacked
Nablus
area Palestinians say assaulted by Gilad Farm residents; settlers
accuse leftists of 'provocation'; three settlers detained.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3861794,00.html
Settler
Threatens Gun Violence in Sheikh Jarrah
Video
"This is precisely the type of chaos, lawlessness and violence one
should expect from an out of control nation which countenances the
theft of homes lived in by their Palestinian residents for decades."
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2010/02/09/settler-threatens-gun-violence-in-sheikh-jarrah/
Rightists to march in Silwan
Police set for riots in east Jerusalem due to approval of housing units,
march led by extremists.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3861596,00.html
Detainees
Soldiers Kidnap a 9-year-old Child And His Brother
Local
sources
in Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, reported
Thursday evening that Israeli soldiers kidnapped a 9-year-old child and
his 20-year-old brother.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58195
Humanitarian Issues/Human Rights/Siege/Restriction of Movement
UN humanitarian chief criticizes Gaza blockade (AP)
AP - The U.N. humanitarian chief says Israel's blockade of Gaza is not
helping its security or weakening Hamas' hold on the territory.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100312/ap_on_re_us/un_un_israel_gaza
Gaza
unplugged: the cost of power cuts in the Strip
Oxfam
GB - UK Daily power cuts in Gaza resulting from the Israeli blockade
are causing deep disruptions and putting lives at risk.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/220803/ea9fbc9a0aaeeca3f7f7dba96dd58704.htm
Israel seals off occupied West Bank
Israel
has imposed a full closure of the occupied Palestinian territory of
West Bank for 48 hours. Ehud Barak, the defence minister, made the
move on Friday amid reports about the possibility of fresh protests by
Palestinians around the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem after Friday
prayers.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/03/201031263757560264.html
Teachers Not Allowed Into School Isolated Behind The
Wall
For
the second day, Israeli soldiers prevented on Thursday teachers of the
Al Dab’a School, totally isolated behind the Annexation Wall in
Qalqilia district, from reaching the school, and demanded them to be
searched by special X-Ray equipment.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=58194
War Crimes
Corrie parents to Ma'an: We want accountability
Hanover, NH – Ma’an – Seven years after their daughter, Rachel, was
crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza, Craig and Cindy
Corrie arrived in Israel's Haifa District Court on Wednesday seeking
answers.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=268061
Corrie's
sister to Haaretz: U.S. encouraged family to sue Israel
This
is Sarah Corrie Simpson's first visit to Israel. Her younger sister,
Rachel Corrie, was killed by an Israel Defense Forces bulldozer in Gaza
in 2003, at the age of 23. Now, the family is suing the state in the
Haifa District Court.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155890.html
State:
IDF not to blame for activist Rachel Corrie's death
The
State Prosecutor's Office appealed Thursday to the Haifa District Court
to dismiss outright the civil suit filed by U.S. activist Rachel
Corrie's family against the Defense Ministry for unspecified
compensation for their daughter's death.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155813.html
2 troops charged with endangering Palestinian boy
Indictment charges Givati soldiers who fought in Operation Cast Lead
with overstepping authority, conduct unbecoming on suspicion they asked
nine-year old Palestinian to open bags thought to contain explosives.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3861449,00.html
Zionism
ISRAEL: Nationalist group urges model Bar Refaeli to
marry Jewish, dump Leo DiCaprio
Marzel, a well-known stalwart among Israel's ultra-nationalists,
appealed to Refaeli on behalf of an organization named "Lehava." In
Hebrew, this means "flame:; it is also the Hebrew acronym for
"Preventing Assimilation in the Holy Land." The organization, according
to its Facebook page
(in Hebrew) provides assistance to Jewish girls in relationships with
non-Jews, especially Arabs. There are other organizations in Israel
that specialize in extricating Jewish women from marriages and other
relationships with Arabs.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/03/israel-barring-forseen-dicaprios.html
A
racism outside of language: Israel's apartheid, Saree Makdisi
There
was, of course, no way for me to contemplate South African
apartheid without contemplating its relevance for understanding the
situation in Israel–Palestine today. For anyone who has been to
Palestine, the grass-grown wasteland of Fietas looks familiar for good
reason: it has its counterpart in every grass-covered ruin of every one
of the hundreds of towns and villages in Palestine whose people were
driven from their homes in 1948 because a racial logic dictated that
they should not live in a space supposedly decreed (by God and the
United Nations) to another people; in every wind-swept wasteland of
Gaza where many of those same refugees’ homes were once again bulldozed
by the Israeli army to clear lines of sight and make room for free-fire
zones; and in every corner of occupied East Jerusalem where Israeli
bulldozers have deliberately and methodically demolished Palestinian
family homes in a vain attempt to maintain the ratio of Jews to
non-Jews in the city’s population (72 to 28, if you are interested in
the sordid details) that was determined by city planners in the 1970s –
and has been sustained ever since by denying Palestinian residents of
the city permits to build, bulldozing their homes when they build
anyway, and stripping them of their residency status and expelling them
from the city whenever possible. 2,162 Palestinian Jerusalemites have
suffered this fate since 2003 alone, expelled to the West Bank suburbs
and denied the right to return to the city of their birth, while Jewish
arrivals from Moldova, London, Melbourne and Brooklyn who have never
set eyes on Jerusalem take their place.
http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/62928
Why all American Jews should now work to close the
Zionist chapter of our history, Philip Weiss
When
Shlomo Sand published a landmark book on the intolerant nationalism of
Zionism earlier this year, and the urgency of Israel becoming a society
of its citizens, the New York Times called him a crackpot. But Sand
actually knows Israeli attitudes. As does Ynet, which characterizes a poll of Israeli high
school students as reflecting "racism."
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/
why-all-american-jews-should-now-work-to-close-the-zionist-chapter-of-our-history.html
Israel's Arab Helpers
PLO paper reveals leadership bereft of strategy,
legitimacy
As US-brokered "indirect" peace talks are set to resume, a paper
authored by PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat reveals a Palestinian
leadership ready to re-enter negotiations with Israel having already
conceded fundamental Palestinian rights and demands. EI's Ali Abunimah
analyzes a document he says provides insight into the thought processes
of a leadership bereft of strategy and legitimacy.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11126.shtml
PA fears East Jerusalem building will make it look
weak
The
Palestinian Authority will not begin indirect talks with Israel unless
construction in the settlements, including in East Jerusalem, is
completely frozen, PA President Mahmoud Abbas told the Arab League on
Thursday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155892.html
Egypt stepping up pressure against Hamas
Cairo
has
severely toughened its stance on exit permits for Hamas leaders
from Gaza and is demanding that Hamas unconditionally sign a
reconciliation agreement with Fatah prepared by the Egyptians.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155894.html
Egyptian
guards seriously wound Ethiopian trying to cross into Israel
Egyptian
border
guards on Friday shot and seriously wounded an Ethiopian migrant
trying to cross illegally into Israel, and arrested seven others,
police said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1156055.html
Egypt
expels hundreds of Palestinians to Gaza
Gaza
– Ma'an – Palestinian border officials said Friday that 224
Palestinians were sent back to the Gaza Strip from Egypt on Thursday
night. The Palestinians, most of them former medical patients, were
sent back via Rafah, the de facto crossings authority officials told
Ma'an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=268106
Politics
and Diplomacy
U.S.
gave Israel green light for East Jerusalem construction
The apology offered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Interior
Minister Eli Yishai recalls the joke about the servant who pinched the
king's bottom. En route to the gallows, the servant apologized: He
thought it was the queen's bottom.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155895.html
Haniyeh: Freeze negotiations with Israel
Gaza – Ma’an – De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh urged Arab states
and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to cut off all direct
and indirect negotiations with Israel on Thursday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=267963
Israeli officials: Indirect talks with PA to begin
on schedule
Despite
'embarrassing' announcement on east Jerusalem construction during
Biden's visit, Israeli officials say indirect talks with Palestinians
under US mediation to start next week.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3861630,00.html
US sees no sign Palestinians have pulled out of
peace talks (AFP)
AFP - The United States said Thursday it had "nothing to indicate" the
Palestinians have withdrawn from indirect talks with Israel over its
plans to build 1,600 new homes in disputed east Jerusalem.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100311/pl_afp/mideastusdiplomacypalestinianstalks
US urges 'prompt' Middle East talks
Palestinians
have not pulled out of talks with Israel despite settlement row, US
says.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/03/20103120296530780.html
US and Israel dodge settlement confrontation
During
the
vice-president's visit, Benjamin Netanyahu presented Joe Biden with
a framed certificate but managed to lean on it, shattering the glass.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8562857.stm
What Biden told Netanyahu behind closed doors:
"This is starting to get dangerous for us"
People who heard what Biden said were stunned. “This is starting to get
dangerous for us,” Biden castigated his interlocutors. “What you’re
doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in
Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers
regional peace.”
http://www.politico.com/blogs/laurarozen/0310/
What_Biden_told_Netanyahu_behind_closed_doors_This_is_starting_to_get_dangerous_for_us.html
Israel
puts US on notice
News
of Israel's plans to construct new housing in East Jerusalem shocked
United States Vice President Joe Biden on his arrival in the country,
not least for the explosive timing of the news. The Israeli government
claims it was an unfortunate error; more likely it was a stern warning
to Washington over Iran - hold Israel back from a strike and there will
be consequences. - Victor Kotsev (Mar 12, '10)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LC13Ak03.html
Jordan king tells Biden Israeli settlements threaten
peace (AFP)
AFP - Jordan's King Abdullah II on Thursday told visiting US Vice
President Joe Biden that Israel's new settlements plans threaten peace
efforts and could lead to more regional violence.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100311/pl_afp/mideastusdiplomacyjordan
Israeli
settlements plan angers archbishop of Canterbury
Dr Rowan
Williams adds voice to growing criticism of scheme to build nearly 2,000
homes on occupied territory. The
archbishop of Canterbury has waded into the row over Israeli plans to
build hundreds of homes on occupied territory, saying the proposals
left him feeling "baffled and angry". Rowan Williams told an
audience in London that although he believed the Israeli state had a
right to exist, he had yet to hear a legal defence of settlement
construction. All settlements on occupied territory are illegal under
international law.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/mar/12/archbishop-canterbury-israel-settlements
Clinton To Be Key Note Speaker at AIPAC
AIPAC
wrote
Congress yesterday asking them to urge the administration to
close loopholes in enforcement of previous sanctions on international
firms working in Iran. While the selection of Senate conferees and
AIPAC annual policy conference the week after next might suggest
Congress will rush to get a bill on the president's desk, other sources
say there may not be such a rush as the administration is moving
aggressively to get multilateral sanctions. Hill sources also say that
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to be the administration
keynote at the AIPAC conference later this month.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/laurarozen/0310/Iran_sanctions_conferees_chosen.html?showall#
In case you missed it: Joe Biden: "I am a Zionist"
US
Senator Joe Biden, speaks with Shalom TV on Israel and Jewish-related
issues in this exclusive interview.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20615.htm
Other
News
US report accuses Israel of neglecting mosques,
churches
Annual
State Department human rights survey blames Israel of protecting Jewish
holy sites only, leaving Christian, Muslim houses of worship under
threat; slams Goldstone Report.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3861608,00.html
Amnesty
International: Palestinian journalists targeted
Amnesty
International calls on the Palestinian and Israeli authorities to
release all journalists who are being detained for carrying out their
legitimate professional activities, amid continuing harassment of media
workers in the region.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/palestinian-journalists-targeted-2010-03-12
Gaza
swimmers hope to make splash at Asia games (AFP)
AFP
- In the ramshackle warrens of Gaza's Jabaliya refugee camp, four young
athletes are plotting to swim their way out of the impoverished
territory.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100312/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictgazaswimming
Analysis/Opinion/Human
Interest
The
Decline of Israel: Interview with Jonathan Cook
In
a wide-ranging interview with the New Left Project, Nazareth-based
journalist Jonathan Cook describes the increasingly repressive nature
of Israeli society and the prospects for a solution to the
Israel-Palestine conflict.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15804
Kershner's propaganda tales
Notice
that official Israeli accounts of such attacks always make it sound
that the Palestinian commandos were the ones who shot at the victims
when invariably Israeli terrorists are the ones who engage in the
rampage: "The woman being honored, Dalal Mughrabi, was the 19-year-old
leader of a Palestinian squad that sailed from Lebanon and landed on a
beach between Haifa and Tel Aviv. They killed an American
photojournalist, hijacked a bus and commandeered another, embarking on
a bloody rampage that left 38 Israeli civilians dead, 13 of them
children, according to official Israeli figures. Ms. Mughrabi and
several other attackers were killed."
If Dalal Mughrabi was Isareli, she would have been honored by a statue
in the US Capitol.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/03/kershners-propaganda-tales.html
The
Al-Mabhouh Murder, By RAMZY BAROUD
The
killing of Palestinian activist Mahmoud al-Mabhouh on January 19, 2010
was clearly a well-planned, violent and sadistic act, committed by
Israeli assassins in the supposed safety of a sovereign country. Yes,
Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was a Palestinian activist. We have no reason to
believe otherwise. He spent years of his life in Israeli prison – and
one year in an Egyptian jail – for his political activism. This,
however, gives no credibility to Israel’s accusation that al-Mabhouh
was a killer of Israelis. This assertion becomes even more problematic
when considering that al-Mabhouh’s assassination was, according to
British media, ordered by accused Israeli war criminals and rightwing
politicians.
http://www.counterpunch.com/baroud03122010.html
Palestinians
Should Now Declare Their Independence, Johann Hari
Could
the Israeli government make it any more obvious they have no intention
of sharing the Over-Promised Land with its other inhabitants? This
week the Obama administration - who give Israel $3bn a year, more than
they dole out to any other nation on earth - made a meek and craven
request for Israelis to simply have a pause in seizing even more land,
and to sit down with the Palestinians. Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu responded with a big concrete slap: the announcement of 1,600
more homes to be built on occupied Palestinian land from which Arabs
will be forcibly kept out. He has made it plain he will not loosen his
grip by an inch, announcing: "Even if [Palestinian President] Abu Mazen
comes along and says he's ready to sign a peace deal on the spot, we
will restore settlement construction to its previous levels." No
compromise. Never.
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/03/12-7
An
apology worse than the offense, Akiva Eldar
The apology offered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Interior
Minister Eli Yishai recalls the joke about the servant who pinched the
king's bottom. En route to the gallows, the servant apologized: He
thought it was the queen's bottom.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155895.html
‘Times’ marches forward– and publicizes the
‘Judaization’ of East Jerusalem, Philip Weiss
Yesterday I gave Andrew Sullivan a lot of credit for picking up the
latest horrifying news from Sheikh Jarrah’s evictions– settlers singing
songs for Baruch Goldstein, the mass murderer from Brooklyn. Well
Sullivan was in turn picking up a New York Times post,
by Robert Mackey, that duly chronicles the horrors of the
segregation/eviction project in East Jerusalem, covers the huge
demonstration in Sheikh Jarrah the other day, and even passes along the
word "Judaization" of East Jerusalem. Israel is out of control. Throw
in Joe Biden’s slap; and I tell you,
the mainstream’s going to crack. Then we can fold this website up!
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/times-marches-forward-and-publicizes-the-judaization-of-east-jerusalem.html
Israeli press calls Netanyahu ‘insane’; why can’t
American press do the honors?, Philip Weiss
The essence of the Israel lobby is that the U.S. has so much power over
Israel’s fate that the special interest here must act at all times to
preserve the U.S.’s good opinion–or else Israel goes down the tube.
That’s the genuine view of foreign relations held inside the lobby. And
it is why the American press/establishment, which generally reflects
the lobby’s concerns, can’t speak half so directly about the Biden
insult as Israelis can.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/
israeli-press-calls-netanyahu-insane-why-cant-american-press-do-the-honors.html
Steven Gerber: Joe Biden, East Jerusalem and A
Divided Israel, Steven Gerber
As
has been widely reported in the news this week, during Vice President
Biden's trip to Israel, the Israeli Interior Ministry announced plans
to build 1600 new homes in East Jerusalem. This has been described
by some as a slap in the face by the Israeli Government of the Obama
Administration's attempt to restart peace negotiations between the
Israelis and the Palestinians. However, what many commentators have
missed is that the row over settlements during Vice President Biden's
trip to Israel is not between Israel and the U.S. Rather, it is between
different segments in Israeli society and indicative of a deeper
problem.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-gerber/joe-biden-east-jerusalem_b_495097.html
Analysis: Netanyahu outwits Obama again
There is almost certainly worse to come. The Israeli government has
laid a series depth charges in the path of the peace process since
blunting the idealism of Mr Obama's opening frenzy of diplomacy.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/7414760/
Analysis-Netanyahu-outwits-Obama-again.html\
Does Israeli really want Peace in Palestine?
Fourteen
years
ago Clinton visited to Gaza in 1996, when the PLO and Fatah
accepted Israel's existence and amended parts of their charter that had
aimed at destroying Israel.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/columnists/sameh-a-habeeb/4735-does-israeli-really-want-peace-in-palestine
Palestinians Should Declare Statehood
March 11, 2010 "Information Clearing House" -- The unceasing building
of settlements on Palestinian land underscores the need for
Palestinians to take a more definite action regarding their future and
their rightful desire to have their own state. They should declare
statehood. While condemning Israel’s decision to build more
settlements in east Jerusalem as a move that could “inflame” tensions,
U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden has told Palestinians that they deserve a
“viable” independent state with contiguous territory. At the same time,
both French and Spanish officials are reportedly working the conditions
that would lead to a European recognition of an independent Palestine.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24964.htm
US / Israel: The Special Relationship
To
restore national security requires a reappraisal of the U.S.-Israeli
“special relationship.” Jeff Gates is A widely acclaimed author,
attorney, investment banker, educator and consultant to government,
corporate and union leaders worldwide.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24961.htm
Biden in Israel
The virulent anti-Americanism of the Israeli government,
underscored by its recent very
loud slap in the face of the Vice President of the United States,
is nothing new. Yet many are shocked – shocked! – at Israel’s
behavior. The official spin out of Tel Aviv is that the announcement of more settlement-building — at the very moment when
Biden was pleading with his good friend “Bibi” to cease and desist – is
all due to a single minister in a very fractious cabinet: yet Netanyahu
and indeed the entire Israeli government supports this move to throw more Palestinians off
their land and build exclusively Jewish settlements.
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2010/03/11/biden-in-israel/
Biden
visit exposed Israeli settler truths | Daniel Levy
This week
the US saw Netanyahu's government in all its glorious stubborness
– providing a clarity the peace process badly needs.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/mar/12/biden-israel-netanyahu
Global
insight: Israel's dysfunctional coalition
If
there were a prize for abysmal political timing, a little-known Israeli
government body called the Jerusalem district planning and construction
committee would surely be a hot favourite to win the trophy.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5153568e-2d77-11df-a262-00144feabdc0.html
How
Bibi lost a best friend | Aluf Benn
Israel's prime minister,
Binyamin Netanyahu, has a bad habit: when
things appear to be moving in the right direction for him, he stumbles
upon some stupid political landmine, raising doubts about his
leadership and credibility.A series of blunders had ruined his first
term in the 1990s, and on his way back to power Netanyahu promised that
he had changed. For a year, he stayed away from trouble, avoiding
unscripted public remarks, giving no interviews, and being attentive to
other politicians' needs and interests. But this week, he did it again,
ruining the visit of American vice president Joe Biden with an official announcement of a plan to build 1,600 new housing
units
in Ramat Shlomo, a Jewish neighbourhood of East Jerusalem – despite a
well-known American opposition to Israeli settlement expansion.
Netanyahu apparently didn't know in advance about the interior
ministry's decision, taken by mid-level planning and zoning
bureaucrats. But it was according to his government's policy, and he
should have and could have taken steps to avoid such unpleasant
surprises. His failure to do so portrays him as a hopeless schlemiel,
just like "old Bibi" from the previous term.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/12/bibi-lost-best-friend-netanyahu
In case you missed it: Criminal State A Closer Look
at Israel's Role in Terrorism
With ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan poised to expand to Iran and
Pakistan, it is time to take a closer look at how conflicts are
catalyzed—by way of deception.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24428.htm
Second annual Ann Arbor Palestine film fest opens
with "Pomegranates and Myrrh"
The second annual Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festival opened on 10 March
2010 at the Michigan Theater with hundreds of attendees for Najwa
Najjar's Pomegranates and Myrrh. The film festival showcases films
about Palestine and by Palestinian directors. Educating through the
screen arts, the film festival amplifies the voice of the Palestinian
people as a nation and diaspora by bringing films to the fore that
would not otherwise be seen.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11128.shtml
Iraq
Thursday: 4 Iraqis Killed, 18 Wounded
Updated
at
7:12 p.m. EST, Mar. 11, 2010 Some election results were released
today amid allegations of fraud by one of the major parties. At least
four Iraqis were killed and 18 more were wounded in various attacks.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department blamed the Iraqi government for
human rights abuses, including the murder of Iraqi civilians. Also,
Prime Minister Maliki underwent minor surgery.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/03/11/thursday-4-iraqis-killed-18-wounded/
3 policemen killed in attack in western Iraq
Three policemen were killed in a bomb explosion followed by gunfire in
a village in Iraq's western province of Anbar on Tuesday, a provincial
police source said.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6914557.html
Inside Iraq - Iraqi hopes pinned on election
Millions of Iraqis are pinning their hopes on the country's elections,
but will their hopes be dashed as in the past?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9McpwsSsgAI&feature=youtube_gdata
Maliki, Allawi ahead in Iraq count
State
of Law coalition leads in Najaf and Babil and Iraqiya in Diyala and
Salah al-Din.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/03/2010311161339154309.html
Arab neighbors cast a wary eye on Iraq election
results
With the first Iraq election results coming in, Middle East countries
are watching close and gauging what the vote means for their influence
on the oil-rich state.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/0311/
Arab-neighbors-cast-a-wary-eye-on-Iraq-election-results
UN
envoy: No indication of widespread fraud in Iraq election
In
his first interview since the Iraq election, Ad Melkert said that while
the UN is looking into individual complaints including missing voter
names and tampering with election data, there doesn't appear to be
widespread fraud.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2010/0312/
UN-envoy-No-indication-of-widespread-fraud-in-Iraq-election
The
Listening Post - The Iraqi elections
Plus, the proposal for a
new Journalists Protection Law and the controversial google case.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv7kYRUAt-0&feature=youtube_gdata
Images of Iraq’s Election
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-361094
UN
sanctions on Iraq still in force
Iraq
is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of natural
resources, and yet it suffers from a dismal economy with an
unemployment rate of up to 18 per cent. The country's economy slipped
under Saddam Hussein's long rule and nose-dived further in the anarchic
years that followed the US-led invasion in 2003. But even now, despite
much optimism over a stable democratic future in Iraq, several UN trade
sanctions applied in the early 1990's during Hussein's reign - are
still in effect. And they are costing the country tens of billions of
dollars in lost trade every year. AL Jazeera's Kristen Saloomey reports
from Baghdad. [March 12, 2010]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giUjIqbzw8E&feature=youtube_gdata
Inside
Iraq - Can Iraq move forward?
The
election campaign is over but the horse-trading will continue for
months to come; will candidates remember their promises? Can Iraq move
forward?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXqBtKZGl6U&feature=youtube_gdata
Lebanon
Not
in the New York Times
Two
Israeli occupation tanks just penetrated in Lebanese territory. If two
Hizbullah fighters penetrated into Israeli territory, the
secretary-general of the UN would have convened the UN Security Council.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/03/not-in-new-york-times.html
Al-Jazeera airs unseen 1983 footage of abducted IDF
soldiers
The Al-Jazeera news network on Thursday released footage of two Israel
Defense Forces soldiers abducted by Palestinian militants during the
first war in Lebanon. This is the first time the footage has ever been
aired.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155871.html
Biden calls for Hizbullah disarmament during Tel
Aviv University talk
US Vice President Joe Biden stressed Thursday during a speech in Israel
that his country would pursue its efforts to fully implement UN
Security Council Resolution 1701 to stop arms flow to Hizbullah and
strip the party of its weapons, while also calling for
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to start without delay. "Weapons
constituting danger equally against Israeli and Lebanese civilians.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=112641
Lebanese border security body 'intimidated top lawyer'
BEIRUT
//
A high-profile group of international human rights organisations are
accusing the Lebanese government of harassing a prominent civil society
lawyer after officials seized his passport last week, forcing the
intervention of the interior ministry to get the documents returned.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100311/FOREIGN/703109832/1002/rss
U.S.
and Other World News
US: Europe biased against Muslims
The annual report of US State Department on human rights has warned of
increasing concern that discrimination against Muslims was on the rise
in Europe. The human rights report for 2009 cited Switzerland's ban on
the construction of minarets on mosques enacted in November, as well as
continued bans or restrictions on head scarves and burqa worn by
Muslims in France, Germany and the Netherlands. The report said:
"Discrimination against Muslims in Europe has been an increasing
concern."
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/03/2010311185514211830.html
The amazing true story of Zeitoun
Abdulrahman Zeitoun is the real-life hero of Dave Eggers's new book. In
the aftermath of hurricane Katrina he paddled from house to house in a
canoe, offering help to his neighbours. For his trouble, he was
arrested as a suspected terrorist.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/11/dave-eggers-zeitoun-hurricane-katrina
US occupation forces kills 4 civilians
An
American helicopter attacked two houses after shots were reportedly
fired at US soldiers searching for Taliban militants. Four civilians,
including two children aged 11 and 15. were killed in the shootout.
http://www.thenews.pl/international/?id=127266
More Afghan Civilians Killed By US, NATO Forces Than
Insurgents During Operation Moshtarak
According to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, U.S. and
Allied forces have killed and injured more civilians than have the
insurgents during Operation Moshtarak. Incredibly, the Pentagon
continues to insist that this operation “protects the people.”
http://rethinkafghanistan.com/hp/us-allies-responsible-for-most-marjah-civilian-casualties/
U.S. sees Gulf support in Western push for Iran
sanctions
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday that leading Gulf
states appeared ready to use their clout to lobby China to support
sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear program.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155849.html
The
Nuclear Double Standard
Israel have nuclear power, but not Iran? asks Charles Pena
http://original.antiwar.com/pena/2010/03/11/the-nuclear-double-standard/
Egypt must halt execution of man accused of murder
Amnesty
International
has made an urgent personal appeal to Egyptian president
Hosni Mubarak to prevent the execution of a man who is believed to have
been wrongly convicted of murder. The organisation fears that Atef
Rohyum Abd El Al Rohyum is at imminent risk of being hanged as he has
now been moved from al-Qeta prison, Giza, to Isti’naf prison in Cairo,
where executions take place. Jihan Mohammed Ali, a woman convicted of
murder in the same case, was executed in al-Kanater prison, northeast
of Cairo, on 10 March. Her family were given no prior notification of
her execution.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/egypt-must-halt-execution-man-accused-murder-2010-03-12 |
| For further information contact Shadi Fadda |
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