Settlers / Land, property and resources theft and destruction / Ethnic cleansingReport: 3,000 new Jewish homes for Jerusalem in 2011
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel plans to put up for sale 3,000 new Jewish
homes in Jerusalem next year, including in Arab areas, a municipality
official was quoted as saying by the weekly Israeli newspaper Kol Hair.
Shlomo
Eshkol, an engineer appointed by the Jerusalem municipality, also spoke
of a long-term project to build 50,000 homes in Jerusalem during the
next decade, Kol Hair said in its latest edition.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333509
Report: Israel plans 130 units in East Jerusalem
TEL AVIV -- Israel's Jerusalem municipality is in talks over the
construction of a hotel with 130 housing units in the illegal Israeli
settlement Gilo in occupied East Jerusalem, the Hebrew-language daily
Yedioth Ahronoth reported Thursday. The project is the initiative of a
private investor and would consist of three 11-floor buildings, the
report said. The municipality said the owner of the land had submitted
an application
to build housing rather than a hotel on the land, according to the
newspaper.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333294Jerusalem center warns of demolitions raid after Eid
An
East Jerusalem community center active in reporting rights violations
in the neighborhood of Silwan warned on Saturday of an impending wave of
home demolitions to begin following the Eid Al-Adha holiday ... The
families of Khalil Abbasi, Muhammad Ar-Razim, and Ayman Abu Rmeila, in
Silwan and Beit Hanina, have all been served demolition notices, the
center's statement said, adding that they had reason to believe the
demolitions would be imminent. According to the Israeli Committee
Against House Demolitions, 20,000 homes in East Jerusalem have standing
demolition orders against them, while thousands of others have "stop
work" orders, mandating owners to cease construction and apply for a
permit to build.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333430
Occupation bans renovation of school which is considered part of the Aqsa
The
Israeli occupation refused to allow the Islamic Awqaf department in
Jerusalem to renovate Al-Khatouneyya school which is considered part of
the main building of the Aqsa Mosque ... Sheikh Muhammad Husain, imam of
the Aqsa Mosque said that the Israeli occupation authorities stopped
workers last Tuesday from carrying out renovation work on the building
... He added that while the Israeli occupation hampers maintenance work
at the Aqsa Mosque it allows extremist Jewish groups to dig tunnels
under it.
http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=27146J'lem rights group: Israeli planners have begun isolating Issawiya from city
OCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- A rights group in occupied Jerusalem warned Saturday
that Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) have kicked off a new scheme
aimed at isolating the city’s Arab district of Al-Issawiya from the rest
of the city. Similar isolation patterns were already witnessed by the
Zaeem, Ras Shahada, Ras Khamees, Dahiya Al-Salam, and Sha’fat sections
of the holy city, the Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights
added. The rights center went on to say that the IOA already started a
few months ago implementing a plan to close down the district’s
northeastern entrance and attempted to shut down the main western
entrance leading to the Jewish French Hill settlement.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx
A kid throws a stone in East Jerusalem, and a village is locked down / Yuri Pines
One
of the most devastating pieces of information we learned this year was
Yonatan Shapira's revelation, in an Upper West Side church, that while
Israel has fostered the creation of hundreds of new Israeli towns since
1948, no Palestinian towns have been founded, evidence of rampant
discrimination. Below is a report from occupied East Jerusalem-- which
Israel annexed in 1970 and considers part of Israel-- that shows the
racial discrimination. Note that the neighborhood of Isawiya (also
spelled Issawiyya) neighbors Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood that is now
being colonized by Jews.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/
a-kid-throws-a-stone-in-east-jerusalem-and-a-village-is-locked-down.html
Leftists urge Israel to repossess settlers' home in East Jerusalem
Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement cites legal precedent to have houses
appropriated to prevent friction with Palestinians and facilitate a
peace agreement ... "It's the state's duty to confiscate these
properties to prevent a disruption of the social fabric," said former
Attorney General Michael Ben-Yair. He was referring to houses occupied
by Jewish settlers in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/
leftists-urge-israel-to-repossess-settlers-homes-in-east-jerusalem-1.324237
Amnesty launches appeal to save Bedouin village
Amnesty International launched an urgent appeal Friday to prevent
Israeli forces demolishing a Bedouin village in southern Israel. The
rights group said residents of Al-Araqib village face forcible eviction
and the destruction of their property for the seventh time since July.
The residents are Israeli citizens, and one third of them are children, a
statement from the organization said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333379BBC News Video: Palestinians concerned about olive groves in the West Bank
Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports. [
new
tactic: nailing to trees a passage from the Qur'an about the Israelis
coming to this area from Egypt. And sprayed on buildings: "Arabs out" - does no one remember "Juden raus"?]
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11741320
Derisory Supreme Court ruling on the Wall in al-Walaja
On Monday the 8th of November, after a two hour charade in the Supreme
Court of Israel, the decision over the path of the wall in Al-Walaja
(near Bethlehem), was adjourned for another 45 days. Their
indecisiveness was mainly with respect to the fact that the path on
which the wall is already being built is entirely private property
belonging to Palestinian villagers. The court needs to wait for the
Palestinian’s land to be officially confiscated before they can make a
decision, but for now has ruled that bulldozers can continue excavating
along their preferred path for the wall while construction is
temporarily frozen.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/11/15441/In case you missed it:Video: Understanding Israel's increasing grip on Jerusalem
PalestineCenter
|
March 26, 2010 A video briefing explaining Israel's continued and expanding grip on Jerusalem since the occupation began in 1967.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v-Tpg9xN5k
PRC hosts releasing "Atlas of Palestine" evening in LondonThe
Palestinian
Return Centre (PRC) held a seminar yesterday, Friday 12th November, in
central London to release a comprehensive Atlas of Palestine from
1917-1966. This is a vital piece of work documenting history, landscape
and Geography of Palestine that has been erased by Israel. The eagerly
anticipated event was widely attended bringing together journalists,
academics and activists Friday.
http://www.uruknet.info/?new=71816MK proposes transfer of Palestinians
NAZARETH,
(PIC)-- Likud MK Carmel Shama has proposed the transfer of the biggest
possible number of Palestinians in 1948 occupied Palestine into the
Palestinian state in the event of its establishment. Shama, addressing a
seminar on Saturday, said that fanatic nationalism was growing in the
midst of Arab population, adding that it was only a matter of time when
the situation there explodes ... For his part, Arab MK Talab Al-Sane
called for a "criminal investigation" against Shama for suspicion of
inciting racism.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx
Wilder's side: a look into Hebron's bare, tense settlers quarterHebron
- PNN - David Wilder, self-described extremist and spokesman for the
isolated community of Jewish settlers in Hebron, makes his points
courteously in a mild New Jersey accent ... "Palestinian culture,
Palestinian heritage—it’s all bobbemeintze, it doesn’t exist, ' he
asserts, using a Yiddish word for nonsense. "There never was a
Palestinian people, there still isn’t a Palestinian people, and that’s
why I don’t call them Palestinians. It’s all a fiction that today the
world accepts in order to try to destroy the state of Israel." Wilder’s
theory, which is typically passed around more in online comment sections
than in policy circles, is only surprising because of his situation: he
is surrounded by at least 200,000 of the people he claims do not exist.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9133&Itemid=56
Activism / Solidarity / Boycott, Divestment & SanctionsActivists mark year of protests in Sheikh Jarrah
Israelis,
Palestinians and international activists beat drums and waved signs
reading "Free Sheikh Jarrah" and "Stop Stealing Our Land," in what has
become a weekly ritual sign of opposition to settlement activity in the
area. The demonstrations target a group of Israelis who moved into the
area with help from the international Nahalat Shimon settler group.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333349
Today in Bil`in / Hamde Abu Rahme(photos)
Today's [Friday's] demonstration in Bil'in was joined by a large number
of Palestinians, Israelis and internationals. Members of the Fatah
party were also present. The protesters walked together towards the
Apartheid Wall, carrying posters of Yasser Arafat, in commemoration of
the Fatah leader who passed away six years ago ... Also this Friday the
tear gas canister sat fire to the ground several places, and was put out
by some protesters before it spread.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/today-in-bilin-2.html
Video: Beit Ommar Nov 11 - Soldiers fire tear gas into school
Soldiers
tear gassed a girls elementary school in Beit Ommar this morning
following a student demonstration commemorating the anniversary of
Yasser Arafat's death.
http://www.uruknet.info/?new=71798
Israeli army segregates the village of Nabi Saleh to prevent commemorative folk festival
After the Fatah movement called the Palestinian people in Ramallah for a
folk festival to commemorate late president Yasser Arafat, as a new step
in escalating the popular resistance, the Israeli army imposed
intensive blockade upon the village of an-Nabi Saleh, northwest
Ramallah. Israeli army personnel also erected military barriers to
separate the villages of Beit Ramba and Kufr Aein, northwest Ramallah,
and tightened measures and obstructed the passage of the vehicles
through the Israeli checkpoint, Attara.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59899Israeli soldiers suppress 3 separate anti-wall protests in al-Masara, Bil`in, Ni`lin
...In the central West Bank village of Ni’lin, Villagers held the midday
prayers at their lands near the wall, later they were joined by Israeli
and international supporters and marched up to the gate of the wall
separating local farmers from their lands. Israeli soldiers stationed
there fired tear gas and sound bombs at the unarmed protesters; many
were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation. The protest in
Nil'in today, like the one in al-Masara, was in memory of late
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, who died six years ago.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59901Good news: Leading NY Jewish org sponsors 'The Other Israel' film festival / Philip Weiss
I've heard good things about the Other Israel film festival at the
Jewish Community Center on the Upper West Side. I gather there are going
to be some films from a Palestinian perspective in the festival,
including Mohammad Bakri's,
and you can hear in the trailer below the statement, There must be
another way. So the festival reflects the growing awareness of smart
Jews in the U.S. that Israel is in crisis. And
on Tuesday night Amy Goodman will be moderating a talk by Gideon Levy.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/good-news-leading-ny-jewish-org-sponsors-the-other-israel-film-festival.html
A perspective on the Jewish National Assembly from its only Palestinian attendee / Shereen Naser
...As I entered the exhibition hall I was greeted almost immediately by
signs claiming to provide attendees with the truth about Israel, the
land of milk, honey and great beach spots. Beach spots my cousins in the
West Bank would never enjoy because of the less sunny truths about
Israel ignored by these very signs ... It became a little more difficult
to breathe as I walked by banners touting Israel as a beacon of light
in a sea of backward Middle Eastern countries. Smile, Shereen, and move
forward. Despite my morning trepidation, I did come here with a focused
mission.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/a-
perspective-on-the-jewish-federation-general-assembly-from-its-only-palestinian-attendee.html
Prominent film, television artists join boycott of West Bank arts center
A group of leading Israeli film and television artists have signed onto
an online petition supporting the right of theater actors to refuse to
perform in the newly opened arts center in the West Bank settlement of
Ariel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/
prominent-film-television-artists-join-boycott-of-west-bank-arts-center-1.324471
In Haaretz: Young Jews tell Bibi: 'Israel is delegitimizing itself" / Matthew Taylor
My
oped in Haaretz dropped today [Friday] on the
Netanyahu speech disruption. Check it out [And read the comments!]
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/in-haaretz-young-jews-tell-bibi-israel-is-delegitimizing-itself.html
Major Dutch pension fund divests from occupation / Adri Nieuwhof & Guus Hoelen
The major Dutch pension fund Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn
(PFZW), which has investments totaling 97 billion euros, has informed
The Electronic Intifada that it has divested
from almost all the Israeli companies in its portfolio ... In
addition, PFZM has also entered into discussions with Motorola, Veolia
and Alstom to raise its concerns about human rights issues. All three
companies have actively supported and profited from Israel's occupation
of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip.http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11621.shtml
Stop the train! / Ofer N.Following our
report about the Tel Aviv- Jerusalem fast train, which
would pass through the West Bank and take up Palestinian land
,
there is an internet petition going around, calling upon the companies
to withdraw their involvement:
Please sign
the petition and send around to all lists
http://groups.google.com/group/newprofile/browse_thread/thread/4255d273395b86d0#BDS: Letter from California Scholars for Academic Freedom to the chancellor UC-Berkeley
We write as members of the California Scholars for Academic
Freedom (cs4af)**-- an organization with an ever-expanding membership of
over 150-- to express our concerns about efforts to prevent an event,
“What Can American Academia Do to Realize Justice for the Palestinians,”
that was held on the Berkeley campus on October 26.http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1410
#BDS: The joint is jumping! Codepink update on the boycott Ahava campaign
Since last we wrote on the one-year anniversary of the Stolen Beauty
campaign, the proverbial joint has been jumping. The boycott is gaining
steam all around with world, with new partners in South Africa and our
stalwart friends in London, and our successes have Ahava so flustered
that they are circulating a letter to retailers decrying the campaign.
Will you keep the momentum building by taking action this season? http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/11/bds-joint-is-jumping-codepink-update-on.html
#BDS: Campaigners tell BT to 'disconnect now' from Israel's occupation‘A
Just Peace For Palestine’ Launches New Initiative in Partnership with
War on Want, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, and Palestine Solidarity
Campaign. Human rights campaigners are today calling on BT [formerly
British Telecom] to end its complicity in serious breaches of
international law and human rights abuses, through its partnership with
Israeli telecommunications company Bezeq International.http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/11/bds-campaigners-tell-bt-to-disconnect.html
Arab ambassadors look into Palestinian solidarity activism in Brazil
Brasilia – PNN - On Friday, the Council of Arab Ambassadors arrived in
Brazil to look into coordinating Palestinian solidarity activism with
their South American counterparts ... Former Brazilian President Luiz
Inacio da Silva visited Palestine in March of this year and said he
dreamt of “an independent and free Palestine.” Links have historically
been strong between the two.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9136&Itemid=72
Japan connects village to electricity grid
The government of Japan signed a contact with the Palestinian Authority
on Thursday to extend the electricity grid east toward the village of
Kfar Ayin, near Ramallah. The $104,017 project will see 400 residents
given access to electricity, where only illegal and unsafe, unreliable
connections previously existed.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333236AntiMy student group received a letter. We write back. / Max Ajl
Two
freshman at Cornell University did not like the posters for the Joseph
Dana talk that my student group, United for Peace and Justice in
Palestine, recently hosted. They disliked it so much that they wrote us a
letter, and because one of them placed it in the public domain on her
blog (
Shalom from Home) I am quoting it in full:
http://www.uruknet.info/?new=71792
FlotillasDramatic video: Activists taken to sea against their will now held at gunpoint in Greece / Tim Kinge
Nov-12-2010 17:29 (SALEM, Ore.) -
"We may be going to jail according to one of the officials on board the ship. In the meantime we remain confined" -
Ken O'Keefe -- Stories are circulating the world about the Gaza convoy
activists who were taken captive aboard a Greek freighter that had been
chartered to transport the Convoy from Derna Port in Libya. A good deal
of information is being directed to our newsroom and this is my attempt
to add clarity to what is actually taking place. This is important
because propaganda is already circulating the discredit the activists.
[See several other articles on this site about this]
http://salem-news.com/articles/november122010/convoy-video.php
Greek commandos board Gaza-bound aid ship12/11/2010
17:53 Athens (dpa) -- Greek commandos boarded a Gaza-bound aid ship on
Friday in the country's main harbour of Pireaus amid an apparent dispute
between the ship's captain and the aid group over money, media reports
in Athens said. The 10 British aid workers from the Road to Hope
organisation in London said they were being treated like terror suspects
by the Greek commandos. The organisation said the Maltese-flagged ship,
Strofades IV, with 16 crew members was originally supposed to sail from
Libya to El Raidin Egypt with the aid then to be transported via land
route to Gaza. But
following an argument between the ship's Greek captain and an Egyptian
broker, the aid group's cargo and nearly 70 other volunteers were left
behind in Libya and the ship sailed to Pireaus instead.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333352
Road to Hope aid convoy to sail again for Gaza before Rafah crossing closed
LONDON,
(PIC)-- The European Road to Hope aid convoy destined for the besieged
Gaza Strip is getting prepared to sail once again for the port of
Al-Arish before the Egyptian authorities close the Rafah border crossing
for six day as of next Monday. A Libyan participant in the convoy said
the activists stranded at the Egyptian-Libyan borders will take a new
cargo ship called Nuweiba during the next few hours in an attempt to
cross into Gaza with the aid after the previous ship they were aboard
was hijacked by its own Greek captain who sailed it to Greece before he
fled in a small boat.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx
Freedom Flotilla II: Anchor to weigh spring 2011
The European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza announced Friday that the
next in a series of ships to Gaza will embark for the besieged enclave
in the spring. The group previously participated in the May Freedom
Flotilla, which saw six boats boarded by Israeli commando forces
... In a statement, coordinator of the European campaign Mazen Kahil
said there was a large number of participants for the journey, with most
of the ships' volunteers from Europe. Other ships have volunteered to
come from Asia and the Americas, he added. "We now have more than ten
European countries that will send vessels," he wrote, naming Belgium,
Italy, France, Germany, Netherlands, Greece, Sweden, Ireland, Austria,
and Switzerland.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333460
Violence / Provocations / IncursionsFire on Gaza borders continues, worker injuredA
Saturday morning shooting incident by Israeli forces patrolling the
Gaza border brought up to 67 the number of men collecting construction
aggregates injured by Israeli fire, medical officials said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333463
Militant group says mortars fired at invading force
The
armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said
fighters launched mortars toward a force of four invading Israeli tanks
along the Gaza border east of Khan Younis. A statement from the Abu Ali
Mustafa Brigades said the tanks were ripping up farmland with their
tread east of the Al-Farahin neighborhood on Saturday, and said fighters
responded by firing a number of mortars.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333522Rights center catalogs violent discrimination in Jerusalem
The Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center published a report on
Saturday, detailing two recent acts of violent discrimination targeting
Palestinians in Jerusalem. Both instances occurred in West Jerusalem,
and were precipitated by Jewish Israeli individuals asking the targets
for a cigarette. When the targets complied with the requests, previously
unseen men came out and attacked the Palestinians.
Both were admitted to hospital.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333446Homes raided and checkpoints set up at Hebron entrances
Hebron – PNN- Israeli forces raided several homes in Hebron on Friday
and set up military checkpoints at entrances to the city. A source told
Wafa that troops entered the districts of Ithna, west of Hebron, to
inspect the home of resident Abdul Adheem Fayyad al-Qisi. Inside Hebron,
they raided the house of one Arafat Abdul Hakim al-Rajibi, while raids
without incarcerations took place in the township
of al-Dhahireen.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9135&Itemid=64
Don't think you're immune, O collaborators....Israeli soldiers assault PA security at checkpointIsraeli
soldiers assaulted four Palestinian Authority security officers at a
checkpoint in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Saturday, medical
officials said. Soldiers at the Wadi Nar checkpoint beat the men with
rifle butts and batons, said Abed Al-Halim Ja'afrah, head of the Red
Crescent emergency services.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333574
Siege / Restriction of movementIsrael denies 32 pilgrims passage at Allenby BridgeDetainees’
Minister
Issa Qaraqe said Friday that Israel banned 32 residents related to
detainees from travelling to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj
pilgrimage. The minister said Israel's civil administration had
previously informed the Palestinian side that detainees' relatives would
be permitted to travel. Qaraqe added that his ministry had made several
calls to Israeli officials to determine why the pilgrims were refused
passage, but had not received a response.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333312Gaza tunnel worker injured
A 40-year-old worker was seriously injured Friday when a tunnel
collapsed in Rafah in southern Gaza, medics said. Gaza medical services
spokesman Adham Abu Salmiyya said the man was transferred to the Abu
Yousef An-Najjar hospital for treatment. Since 2006, 154 tunnel workers
have been killed and many more injured, Abu Salmiyya added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333358UN warns of Gaza wheat shortage
A report from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
said recent weeks had seen a "sharp fall" in the amount of wheat grain
allowed into Gaza, with imports decreasing by around one-quarter between
June and October. The wheat imports, the report said, decreased by some
14 tonnes over the previous five months. The wheat, mainly used in the
production of flour and bread, is transported into Gaza using the Karni
crossing conveyor belt. UN officials said limited operation of the belt -
down to twice per week - was split between animal feed, aggregates for
construction and the baking wheat.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333247
DetentionBeit Ummar youth targeted over protests / Brynn Ruba
Collective punishment has found a new focus in Beit Ummar. 13 youths
aged 15-28 have been arrested for participation in peaceful
demonstrations over the past month. Some are arrested during the
demonstrations; others are picked up in aggressive midnight raids.
Israelis soldiers often smash furniture and break windows, forcing
families to wait outside as they abduct their children and vandalise
their property.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1611Palestinian detainees say skin rash rampant in Israeli prison
Palestinian detainees in Israel's Ashkelon prison reported a recent
outbreak of skin conditions, saying what appeared to be a scabby rash
had spread to dozens of inmates ... Detainees
said that no doctor had seen the affected individuals, and worried that
there would be further health risks for those infected, noting that
despite the quarantine efforts more people were developing the rash.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333238
FactionsHaniyeh not heartened by Abbas' wordsGaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Fatah leader and President Mahmoud Abbas'
speech
appeared frustrated, but ultimately failed to open the horizon to
Palestinian unity ... He asked that Palestinians "review the contents of
that speech," and pointed out that in all of Abbas' rhetoric, there was
not a word about Palestinian unity. "He preferred not to go into the
losses the Palestinian national project has suffered" because of unity,
he said, adding that Abbas also failed to comment on the right of
Palestinians to
resistance.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333271Hamas releases 30 Fatah supporters detained during Arafat's commemoration in Gaza
The al-Mezan Center for Human Rights confirmed that security forces had
detained Fatah supporters at an event at the home of Palestinian
Legislative Council (PLC) member Ashraf Juma'a in Rafah. Four Reuters
journalists, summoned for questioning by security forces, were also
released after being questioned for an hour. According to Israel's
Foreign Press Association, the journalists had been ordered to hand over
all footage and photos of the event.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59898Khreisheh considers lawsuit against Abbas
Independent politicians are considering filing a lawsuit against
President Mahmoud Abbas to demand that he reconvenes the Palestinian
Legislative Council, which has been defunct since 2007, and holds
elections for the Presidency Office, official sources told Ma'an.
Deputized
PLC speaker Hasan Khreisheh confirmed the report, and said he was
leading a group of independents who have held consultations with legal
organizations to end the paralysis of the PLC.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333327
Unity leader denounces Fatah detention in Gaza
Hamas-affiliated unity leader Naser Ash-Sha’er denounced the Gaza
government police raid on the office of Fatah PLC member Asharaf
Jom'ah's office in Rafah. Ash-Shaer further condemned the Gaza
government's decision to summon former minister in the 2006 unity
government Ibraim Abrash, called to an investigation center on
Wednesday, the same day Jom'ah was targeted. "Any violation of human
rights anywhere in this homeland is a crime," Ash-Sha'r said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333278Popular Struggle Front: Hamas targeting member
...In a statement, the group said politburo member Mahmud Az-Zaq was
summoned to Hamas security headquarters on Sunday The
front said that by targeting Az-Zaq the government was harming prospects
for national unity, and demanded that Hamas clarified the basis of the
summons.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333386Egypt, Israel, and Sinai
Governor: Israel trying to harm tourismThe
governor of northern Sinai rejected an anti-terror warning Saturday
morning, urging Israelis to visit the popular tourist sites in the
Egyptian peninsula. Abdel Fadil Shusha said
the warning published
by Israel Thursday was an attempt by the state to harm Egypt's economy.
He added that the Israeli government had been publishing such warnings
during Egyptian holidays ever since the attacks in Taba and Nuweiba in
2004. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3983795,00.htmlSecurity official: Egypt arrests 20 Islamists in Sinai
Security forces in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula have arrested at least 20
Islamists suspected of extremist ideology, as Israel warned citizens of a
possible kidnap plot, a security official said on Friday ... The
official, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the detainees
were being questioned, while witnesses said the authorities seized
computers and books during the arrests ... The statement said the
Israeli army's killing in Gaza on November 3 of Mohammed Jamil
al-Nemnem, 27, a senior Army of Islam commander, was linked to the
intended Sinai attack.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333354Egyptian intel says 7 militants entered Gaza
Egyptian state security raised its alert level in the Sinai Peninsula
Friday, with a focus along the country's border with Gaza during a
failed arrest campaign for seven militants believed to have infiltrated
the Strip overnight. All the suspects are former political and religious
activists from the northern Egyptian city of Marsa Matrouh, 240
kilometers west of Alexandria. One is suspected of involvement in shell
launches from the northern Sinai in August which landed in the Red
Sea ports of Aqaba and Eilat, killing one Jordanian taxi driver and
causing some damage in Israel.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333412Racism / Discrimination
Twilight Zone: Safed, a war story / Gideon Levy
A campaign of racism and anti-Arab incitement is turning one of Israel's holy cities into a ticking bomb
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/twilight-zone-safed-a-war-story-1.324313
Political and Diplomatic newsInside the seven-hour Clinton-Netanyahu marathon meeting, Josh Rogin
"This amounts to
undermining the efforts of the U.S. to achieve peace," he said. "People like
Eric Cantor who blindly oppose the Palestinians, they think they are helping
Israeli interests but he is hurting Israeli interests. By making these
statements they are hardening Israeli positions."
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/11/12/
inside_the_seven_hour_clinton_netanyahu_marathon_meeting
'NYT' says Netanyahu is trespassing in our politics / Philip Weiss
To its credit, the Times faults Netanyahu in
its editorial on the peace process
today. I was shocked by the news in this editorial that Hillary Clinton
spent 7 hours with Netanyahu on Thursday. What's that about? Isn't it
time to freeze Netanyahu? This is reminiscent of the fact revealed in
Clayton Swisher's Camp David book that Ehud Barak had an open line to
Bill Clinton throughout 2000. And why was that, do you think? An
election year, in which Hillary was running for New York Senate.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/nyt-puts-the-blame-on-netanyahu.htmlNetanyahu associate: Don't bet on a full freeze
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to convene the forum of top
seven ministers Saturday night in order to present US proposals and
agreements secured during his meeting with Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton. The US is pressing Israel to resume direct talks with the
Palestinians and extend the settlement freeze, yet a Netanyahu associate
said "I won't bet on a full freeze."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3983908,00.html
PA: Freeze settlements or we'll go to UN (AFP)
Chief Palestinian negotiator says if US fails to force Israel to halt
West Bank construction by end of November, Palestinians will ask
Security Council to recognize independent state within 1967 borders
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3983679,00.html
Israel appears defiant, sensing Obama weaknessA
shift in the nations' alliance is apparent after the Democrats' midterm
losses, with Netanyahu reaching out to congressional Republicans as he
resists Obama's peace initiative and pushes for stronger action against
Iran.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mideast-talks-20101113,0,324342.story
Other newsConditions critical in refugee camps as strike continuesOutside
the Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, trash that has accumulated over
the past month lies unattended, while schools and health clinics remain
shut. The UNRWA workers have been on strike for nearly one month, demanding what they believe has become their right to strike.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1612
Radio Nisaa: Middle Eastern women have their sayA
European NGO is funding a women-only station in the Palestinian
territories to help give women a stronger voice. Our Middle East
correspondent Anne Barker visited Radio Nisaa - and filed this report.
http://www.abc.net.au/correspondents/content/2010/s3065547.htmGalilee couple marries at Arafat shrine
A couple from the Galilee in northern Israel were married at the shrine
of late President Yasser Arafat in Ramallah on Friday. Ali Darawsheh,
28, and his bride Nawras Atallah An-Najjar, 27, laid a wreath on
Arafat's shrine with the message "Always in our weddings."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333342Sharon returns home in coma five years after stroke
....The 82-year-old, who is in a vegetative state, would spend the
weekend at his Sycamore Ranch in the southern Negev desert, as a trial
to see if
he caring for him outside hospital is possible.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333303
High tech company aims to be first Israeli firm to hire Palestinian engineers
7 Nov - Forget the Far East, says CEO. Palestinian workers are good, cheap, close - and take shekels.
http://www.haaretz.com/themarker/
high-tech-company-aims-to-be-first-israeli-firm-to-hire-palestinian-engineers-1.323311
19 rightists arrested on way to JerichoThe
security forces on Friday afternoon prevented 19 Hilltop Youth members
from reaching two synagogues in the West Bank city of Jericho. The
Israel Defense Forces and Judea and Samaria Police set up barriers on
the roads leading to the Palestinian city and detained the right-wing
activists for questioning on suspicion of trying to enter Area A. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3983691,00.html
Interpol hunts two Israelis for Kosovo organ trafficking (AP)
Moshe Harel among seven indicted for membership of a criminal group
trafficking people into Kosovo to remove human organs for transplant;
another Israeli citizen, Zaki Shapira, identified as co-conspirator.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/interpol-hunts-two-israelis-for-kosovo-organ-trafficking-1.324383
Carter: Hamas agrees to deliver new Gilad Shalit letterIn
interview
with Al-Jazeera, former U.S. President says he received consent of
Hamas political chief Meshal to deliver first letter from the
abducted IDF soldier since 2008.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/
carter-hamas-agrees-to-deliver-new-gilad-shalit-letter-1.324425
Western Sahara: Gaza child used in propaganda war by elite media in SpainIn
an
unprecedented wave of xenophobic, anti-Morocco reporting by the press
in Spain on the Western Sahara conflict, a new milestone has occurred.
A
photo of a child victim from Gaza was presented as a [Western Sahara]
"sahrawi" child, a " victim of Moroccan Violence" during the latest
clashes between Moroccan Security forces and protesters.
http://www.uruknet.info/?new=71812
Analysis / Opinion / Human interestWhy Palestinians may one day thank Netanyahu / Jonathan Cook
...A
leading analyst of Palestinian politics says the picture is not as bleak
for the Palestinians as it might appear. Asad Ghanem, a professor of
political science at Haifa University, predicts Netanyahu and his
cabinet will eventually come to rue their obduracy.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11622.shtmlThe
vaunted
Jewish intellectual tradition, not -- Federations General Assembly
features no criticism of Israeli policy / Philip WeissJosh Nathan-Kazis reports
in the Forward from New Orleans that the Jewish leadership is not really interested in hearing from Israel's critics, or even from young Jews:
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/lockdown-in-the-
big-easy-jewish-federations-featured-no-public-criticism-of-israeli-policy.html
Congressional Republicans: the best friend BDS ever had / Didi Remez
"Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen, who stands to head House Foreign
Affairs Committee, opposes transfer of $150 in aid [to the Palestinian
Authority (PA)] because Palestinian leadership ‘failing to live up to
commitments’" With friends likes these, I don’t envy Bibi.
The Republican understanding of what it means to be “pro-Israel” is
simple-minded in the extreme. Their inability to grasp that how
essential the PA is to sustaining Netanyahu’s policies is astounding: No
PA — no “negotiations.” No “negotiations” — nothing but “Occupation” and
“Apartheid.” Many, including most of those advocating for Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) would welcome such an outcome.
http://972mag.com/congressional-republicans-the-best-friend-bds-ever-had/
Bibi, Tom Friedman, and US Jews divesting from Israel / Bradley Burston
Where it comes to any issue of the Mideast conflict, and where it comes
to questions relating to the complex relations between the U.S. Jewish
community and Israel, you can either answer in three hours, or in one
sentence. This was hers: "You know what it is - American Jews are
divesting from Israel." This is what I was to see in Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Marin County, Portland and Seattle. It's not that they're
getting involved in significant numbers in the divestment movement. It's
that American Jews are divesting emotionally. They are quietly – but in
terms of impact, dramatically – withdrawing altogether.
http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/a-special-place-in-hell/
bibi-tom-friedman-and-u-s-jews-divesting-from-israel-1.323586
Bittersweet remembrance for Palestinian veterans / Jocelyne ZablitAIN
AL-HELWEH,
Lebanon (AFP) - Mussa Al-Hussein may have a hard time recalling dates
and places, but the 86-year-old Palestinian does not miss a beat when
asked for his ID number when he was in the British army
in Palestine in World War II.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333450
History: Discerning conqueror / Dalia Karpel
"I would have given my soul to be there," Ronald Storrs, who was then in
Cairo, wrote in his diary when he learned that Jerusalem had been
captured and General Edmund Allenby would officially enter the gates of
the city on December 9, 1917. Six days later, Storrs was asked to come
to Jerusalem and help with the administration of the city, on the basis
of his diplomatic skills and his experience as a senior British official
in the Middle East.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/discerning-conqueror-1.324306Iraq
Friday: 1 Iraqi killed, 23 wounded
At least one Iraqi was killed and 23 more wounded
in new attacks.
A number of the attacks occurred yesterday but went unreported until
today or late last night. Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama
welcomed
a new Iraqi government that is already seeing its first conflict.
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, whose Iraqiya party won the
largest number of seats in March elections, called the new Iraqi
government a "dictatorship."
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/11/12/friday-1-iraqi-killed-23-wounded/
Saturday: 1 Iraqi killed, 10 woundedAt least
one Iraqi was killed and nine more were wounded
in light violence in northern Iraq. Meanwhile,
Iraqiya ended
its boycott of parliament and promised to work on a fragile
power-sharing
agreement that rivals in the
Kurd and
Shi’ite alliances now
threaten
they will abandon. Many fear the
instability
of the new government could unleash a significant wave of sectarian violence.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/11/13/saturday-1-iraqi-killed-10-wounded/
US-Iraqi raid kills Sunni politician's brother (AFP)November
12
- FALLUJAH, Iraq – A US-Iraqi force killed a brother of a local
politician and arrested another in a dawn raid in the Sunni Arab former
rebel bastion of Fallujah on Friday, officials from both forces said.
http://www.uruknet.info/?new=71800Sunni-backed bloc returns to Iraqi parliament (WaPo)
BAGHDAD - The Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc returned to parliament Saturday two days after
walking out on a critical session in which
Iraq's
top three leaders were named. The bloc's departure had alarmed U.S.
observers and officials, who worried about its implications for a
political deal brokered this week more than eight months after
inconclusive elections.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/13/AR2010111301426.html
Power-sharing agreement leave some Iraqis bitter, saying nothing will change (WaPo)
IN BAGHDAD The mood in Baghdad's Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiyah was one of quiet but bitter resignation Friday, a day after
Iraq's Shiite incumbent prime minister kept his post during
a chaotic parliamentary session marred by a walkout by a largely Sunni- and secularist-backed bloc
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/12/AR2010111204212.html
Other Mideast
US lifts hold on over $100 million aid for Lebanon army (Reuters)A
senior United States lawmaker lifted a hold on Friday on U.S. funding
for Lebanon's military, saying he was persuaded it had taken steps that
would avoid a repeat of August's deadly border clash between Lebanese
and Israeli forces.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/
u-s-lifts-hold-on-over-100-million-aid-for-lebanon-army-1.324411
Lebanon cleric sentenced to life (AJ)Military
court
convicts Omar Bakri Mohammed of terrorism charges and sentences
him in absentia to life in prison ... Bakri, who lives in the northern
Lebanese town of Tripoli, a hotbed of Sunni fundamentalists, said he was
"shocked'' to learn of the verdict
through his lawyer on Friday. "I never received any summons for a trial,
or any arrest warrant," he
said, adding that the charges were "lies and fabrications".
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/11/201011121677171667.html
Al-Hayat: Israeli spy suspect not guiltyThe
London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat quoted sources Friday saying
charges of espionage brought against a Lebanese man for alleged spying
for Israel were in fact false.
The newspaper said the case against
Ogero telecom employee and former Telecommunications Ministry official
Milad Eid was not sufficient to prove guilt. He was released on Thursday
following his August arrest.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333265
Saudi Arabia blocks Facebook(AP) Social networking site doesn't conform to kingdom's conservative values, official says
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3983845,00.html
Egypt frees arrested opposition election candidatesCairo
(AFP)
Three Muslim Brotherhood candidates in Egypt's 28 November legislative
election who were arrested earlier this week have been released, a
judiciary official said on Saturday. Another 44 members of the group
will appear in court charged with the illegal use of religious slogans
while campaigning.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333603Mubarak son says 'not eyeing Egypt presidency'
The younger son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said he has "no
personal ambition" to succeed his father at the helm of the country,
newspapers reported on Saturday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333499U.S., other world news
Third Circuit Court panel re-hears issue of Abu Jamal's death penalty on orders of Supreme Court
The three-decades-long murder case of Philadelphia journalist Mumia
Abu-Jamal, who has sat in solitary in a cramped cell on Pennsylvania’s
death row for 28 years fighting his conviction and a concerted campaign
by the national police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, to execute
him, was back in court Tuesday, with a three-judge federal Appeals Court
panel reconsidering its 2008 decision backing the vacating of his death
sentence, on orders of the US Supreme Court.
http://www.truth-out.org/third-circuit-court-panel-
re-hears-issue-abu-jamals-death-penalty-orders-supreme-court65094
UN Human Rights Council calls on US to enforce Leahy amendmentCall
for
Greater Transparency and Accountability in U.S. Foreign Military aid
and Programs - Rachel Corrie Foundation Joins First-Ever U.S. Universal
Periodic Review --
The report called for greater transparency and
accountability in U.S. foreign military aid and programs ... Last
Friday, a high level delegation of the U.S. government
presented the U.S. UPR report and answered questions from more than 50
nations about the U.S. human rights record.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/11/12/
un-human-rights-council-calls-on-u-s-to-enforce-leahy-amendment/
US pushes back Afghanistan timetable as fighting escalatesWSWS,
November
13, 2010 - In the run-up to next week’s NATO summit in Lisbon,
Portugal, there has been a steady drumbeat from Washington dismissing
the July 2011 date set by President Barack Obama for beginning US troop
withdrawals. Instead, top officials and others close to the
administration have put forward the end of 2014 as a target for a
"transition" of military operations from US-led occupation troops to
Afghan puppet security forces.
http://www.uruknet.info/?new=71803Canada to extend participation in Afghan war through 2014
Canadian
Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed Thursday that his Conservative
government has decided to extend the Canadian Armed Forces’ (CAF)
participation in the Afghan War for a further three years through 2014.
Harper did not provide details beyond saying that Canadian troops will
train Afghan soldiers in counter-insurgency warfare.
http://www.uruknet.info/?new=71804
