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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Land theft/Settlers
Old City stores in Jerusalem threatened with
demolition
Several
Palestinian shops inside Jerusalem's Old City in Damascus Gate
face the threat of demolition after the Israeli Jerusalem Municipality
inspectors handed down notices to owners and tenants on Wednesday ...
All were given three days to evacuate the shops. According to the
owner’s son, Wael, Israeli municipality
store-inspectors do not have the jurisdiction to hand down demolition
notices, which is usually executed by license and building inspectors.
He added that neither he nor his father or tenants received eviction
orders from the Israeli High Court, in accordance with recent Israeli
policy.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261252
Al-Ghawi protest tent removed in Sheikh Jarrah
Israeli police took down the protest tent erected by the Al-Ghawi
family in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem,
following their eviction from their home a year ago on Sunday. The
Al-Ghawi tent was dismantled shortly after the detention of Fatima
Diab, 45, a resident of Sheikh Jarrah, for allegedly pouring water over
far-right Israeli Member of Knesset Micheal Bin Ari, after he visited
the area with pro-settler activists recently.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261350
MK Oron: Gov't backs rightists in East Jerusalem
Meretz chairman says Jews in Sheikh
Jarrah 'thuggishly preventing attempts to divide Jerusalem'
-- "You cannot claim on the one hand that the
Jews have entered Sheikh Jarrah under a court order and on the other
hand try to pass a bypass law in the High Court of Justice to prevent
the sealing and evacuation of Beit Yehonatan," he told Ynet ... "This
is an attempt to create symmetry
between Beit Yehonatan and 200 Arab homes, as if in all other areas the
Palestinians receive treatment equal to that received by the settlers,"
Oron said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3848265,00.html
Israel
to resume building separation barrier south of Jerusalem
The Defense establishment has announced plans to
resume construction of Israel's separation barrier south of Jerusalem --
a move that has drawn criticism from environmental groups who claim the
barrier will cause grave harm to ancient agricultural landscapes in the
area. The plan to build the barrier in the area between Har Gilo and the
Palestinian village of al-Walajah is also likely to be another point of
tension over Jerusalem with the Palestinians. The planned portion of the
barrier will extend over four
kilometers, and will bring Har Gilo and the Cremisan monastery into
Israel, but leave al-Walajah outside of the barrier.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1149645.html
Hagee's gifts to pro-settler groups / Richard
Silverstein
Recently, Max Blumenthal uncovered that Elie Wiesel accepted a $500,000
gift from John Hagee, the anti-Semitic pro-settler televangelist ...
Thanks to Didi Remez, I’ve been doing some digging among Hagee’s other gifts to Israeli organizations.
In fairness, he does give gifts to hospitals and absorption centers,
which are perfectly reasonable. But it is notable how much money and
how extensively he gives to pro-settler and extreme rightist Israeli
groups. Besides Im Tirtzu ($200,000 over two years),
the radical right smearmeisters who put a horn on Naomi Chazan in a
disgusting ad in the Jerusalem Post and Hebrew language press, there
are these others (some of which are listed here on page 12): Gush
Katif, $200,000;Young Israel, $150,000; Shurat Ha-Din, $100,000; Nefesh
B’Nefesh, $1,000,000; Ariel (settlement), $500,000; Gush Etzion,
$150,000....
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2010/02/12/hagees-gifts-to-pro-settler-groups/
The turtle and the hare / Adam Keller
Once upon a time there were two
friends, a hare and turtle, and they both joined the Jerusalem
Police.The swift hare was kept
very busy in the police, all the time running here, there and
everywhere. He was in Sheikh Jarah, helping to expel Palestinian
families and let settlers take over their homes and beating up any
demonstrator who dared protest ... His friend the police turtle was
given an important task: to approach
the settlers in that illegal seven-floor house erected in the middle of
Silwan, of telling them that they must at last obey the Supreme Court's
ruling and get out of there.
http://adam-keller2.blogspot.com/2010/02/turtle-and-hare.html
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Valentine rhymes with Palestine, on a big day for
BDS
While
Valentine’s Day weekend is usually a time to buy jewelry or beauty
products for your spouse, Palestine solidarity activists in New York
used the occasion as an impetus to further the boycott, divestment,
and sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel. Dozens of activists
gathered outside billionaire Lev Leviev’s high-end jewelry store in Manhattan
February 13, calling for a boycott of the store because Leviev’s companies construct illegal Jewish-only
settlements in occupied Palestine. And CODEPINK’s Stolen Beauty
campaign—which targets beauty products made by Ahava because the
company’s products exploit Palestinian natural resources and are built
in an illegal settlement in the West Bank—urged activists to contact
Ricky’s NYC to call on the beauty store to cease carrying products
made
by Ahava.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/valentine-rhymes-with-palestine-on-a-big-day-for-bds.html
Rads
I was a little freaked out by the student uprisings this
week at speeches by Israeli officials at Oxford and at University of
California-Irvine. One protest targeted an Israeli deputy foreign
minister. The other Israeli ambassador Michael Oren. In both cases
there was suppression of free speech, and the rage was palpable. A
student at Oxford shouted an Arabic curse involving Jews and later defended
it. At UC, on the video,
a woman can be heard angrily complaining, as she is led out, about the
harassment she suffers in the West Bank. Is anyone surprised that there
is rage against the occupation and
the Gaza slaughter? At some level the muscularity of the Israel lobby
is about suppressing rage that we all know is coming, and is overdue. A
former AIPAC staffer was the publisher of a newspaper I once worked
for
and he said offhand to me years ago, Well we kicked them out of their
houses. I was shocked to hear the news, 50 years after it happened. But
“We†meant Jews, which equaled Zionists, in my publisher’s view;
so now
we are inheriting the whirlwind.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/rads.html
Checkpoint
Rock: Songs From Palestine
[ March 8th, 2010 7:30 pm to March 9th, 2010 12:00 am. ] Israeli
Apartheid Week 2010 featuring Up Front: 3 Palestinian Women Monday
March 8, 2010 screening begins 19h30 Room H-110, 1455 de Maisonneuve
west Concordia University, Montreal co-presented by Cinema Politica *
Checkpoint Rock A journey through one of the regions which is always in
the glare of the world's media, yet one which few of us really know.
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/5722
Violence/Aggression
Child Wounded By Israeli Fire In Central Gaza
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported on Sunday
evening that a Palestinian child suffered moderate wounds after the
Israeli army bombarded a number of homes in Juhr Al Deek area, in
central Gaza.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57964
CPT: ‘My son, my son’
Yesterday a man died in Al Khalil/Hebron. Israeli soldiers shot him,
and he died of his injuries. He was a Palestinian of about forty, with
a large family. There are different versions of what happened. The
Israeli military have reported that the man attempted to stab one or
more soldiers with a knife and that the soldiers then shot him. Locals
say that this is not true. One report CPTers have heard is that
Palestinian kids were throwing stones and the soldiers started
shooting; the man had not been involved but was shot while he was
trying to escape from danger. We were not there and so do not know.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/02/11422
Bomb Detonated by the Monument of Martyr Abu Ali
Mustafa in Jabalya  Â
Yesterday morning, unknown persons detonated a bomb under a monument of
Abu Ali Mustafa, the late Secretary-General of the Popular Front for
the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in Jabalya in the northern Gaza
Strip. The monument was partially destroyed.
http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en
Detentions
IOF kidnaps a woman from Sheikh Jarrah
February
14,
2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces kidnapped early
Sunday a woman from Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in downtown of
Jerusalem. Sources in the neighborhood said: "The large force of
Israeli police raided the house of Mrs. Fatima Abu Diab, 45, today dawn
and took her to Al-Maskobya investigation center in the city. According
to sources, the police accused Abu Diab of trying to pour boiled oil on
Israeli minister who visited the neighborhood last night in solidarity
with the settlers.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/4154-iof-kidnaps-a-woman-from-sheikh-jarrah
A Palestinian arrest so ridiculous even the Israeli
judges smiled, Amira Hass
Something about 12-year-old Bassam caused two Israelis to smile. Two
Palestinians noticed, but did not remember their smiles as being
disparaging or arrogant. On the contrary. The Palestinians regarded the
smiles as a rare moment in which two Israelis - and not just any
Israelis, but military judges - realized how ridiculous the situation
was.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1149888.html
De facto gov't: 4 fishermen detained by Israeli
navy off Gaza coast
Israeli naval forces detained four Gazan fishermen off the Sudaniyya
coast of northern Gaza, according to Nizar Ayyash, head of the Union of
Fishermen in Gaza ... An Israeli military spokesman said the following:
"Earlier today two
Palestinian fishing boats crossed into an area not permitted for
Palestinian sea vessels...."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261289
Hamas: PA security detains 5 affiliates across West
Bank
Hamas accused the Palestinian Authority Security Services of detaining
five of the movement's affiliates across the West Bank, in a statement
issued on Sunday. Those detained include lawyer Murad Azzam
from Nablus, Ahmad Saleh Al-Arouri of Birzeit University, Ramallah,
An-Najjah University student Anas Raddad from Sayda in Tulkarem and
Polytechnic University students Majed Kweistro and Nidal Shawar from
Hebron, according to the statement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261314
Egyptian security denies arresting Gaza fishermen
Egyptian authorities denied arresting four Gazan fishermen off the
southern coast of Rafah on Friday, senior Egyptian security sources
told Ma'an on Sunday. "The territorial water between Egypt and
Gaza did not witness any Palestinian violations [prompting an arrest]
over that period of time," the sources said. Egyptian coast
guards deal with Palestinian in a humane way; if they cross into
Egyptian territorial water, they are turned away without arrest because
of the inhumane circumstances Palestinian fishermen are living under."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261373
Detained Journalists
Hamas arrests British journalist in Gaza (Reuters)
Reuters - Hamas police have arrested a British journalist in the Gaza
Strip, an official in the ruling Palestinian Islamist movement said
Sunday, accusing him of unspecified security offences.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100214/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_journalist
IOF soldiers detain journalist in WB, others in Gaza
win int'l awards
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) manning the border crossing between
Jordan and the occupied West Bank kidnapped a Palestinian journalist on
his return from Jordan a couple of days ago.
Siege/Blockade/Movement
restriction
Congressman says US should break Gaza blockade (AP)
AP - The United States should break Israel's blockade of Gaza and
deliver badly needed supplies by sea, a U.S. congressman told Gaza
students.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100215/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_palestinians_us
Tightened security enforced on checkpoints in key
West Bank cities
Israeli forces imposed heightened security measures on the military
checkpoints on the main road between Nablus and Ramallah in the West
Bank on Sunday, while the container checkpoint in Bethlehem saw similar
restrictions. Locals told Ma'an that hundreds of cars were held up at
the Huwwara and
Za'tara checkpoints south of Nablus as well as at the Atara checkpoint
north of Ramallah.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261273
Medical convoy worth $2.5 million enters Gaza via
Rafah
The Union of Arab Doctors announced that a medical convoy transporting
2.5 million US dollars worth of medical aid entered Gaza via the Rafah
crossing on Saturday. The convoy consists of medicine for
cancer and heart patients, 20,000 of fabric for operating rooms and
equipment and supplies for heart surgeries. Muhammad
Al-Majdalawi, UAD manager, said "the Egyptian authorities allowed the
convoy into Gaza through Rafah. The convoy was sent by the Emergency
Relief Committee in the Federation of Arab doctors in Egypt."
Al-Majdalawi said that the medical convoy is the largest Gaza has seen
since Israel's war on the costal enclave in 2009. [End]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261201
One Gaza crossing partially open for limited export,
fuel transfers
Israeli authorities opened the Kerem Shalom
crossing into southern Gaza
to allow the transfer of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, as well
as the limited export of Gaza flowers on Sunday, border crossings
official Raed Fattouh said. Between 57 and 67 truckloads of humanitarian
aid and commercial goods
will be delivered to the besieged coastal strip via Kerem Shalom,
Fattouh said. The same crossing point will see the export of
two truckloads of cut carnations and the vital transfer of limited
quantities of domestic gas and industrial fuel.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261259
Israeli human rights groups complain of state
crackdown
Israel has long prided itself on being a country where dissent is
tolerated and the highest institutions can be freely criticised. More
recently, however, some Israelis have started to question whether that
picture is still accurate. They point out that several Israeli human
rights groups and non-governmental org-anisations have become the
targets of high-profile - and occasionally vicious - campaigns by
rightwing groups and politicians. The groups are worried about
government attempts to curb foreign donations to NGOs that criticise
the Israeli army and state.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c4b2356a-183b-11df-9256-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1
State to seek housing for Gazan girl paralyzed in
strike
Three-and-a-half
years after injury from IDF strike on her home in Strip, eight-year-old
Maria Amen's family still cannot find apartment that meets her medical
needs. State tells High Court will appoint representative to solve
housing problem for family that currently resides in Jerusalem hospital
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3848898,00.html
The invisible maladies
not for the first time, yesterday i meet a father whose child needs
treatment outside of Gaza. he mentions it to me, not because i appear
to be a medical expert, but because he is desperate. “my son was hit
by
a car 2 years ago and had severe damage to his head. he’s had
operations in gaza and in israel, but is still very bad off now.â€Â he
explains that moayyed has a build-up of fluid in his head putting
pressure on his brain, causing extreme pain and disorientation ... we
part, me promising to contact groups like PCRF and PHR-Israel
to see what is possible for the 8 year old. the father can’t thank
me
enough and i’m embaressed: in what other place is this acceptable,
that
a parent can live in desperation, worrying for his/her child, having no
means of seeking medical care for the child?
http://ingaza.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/the-invisible-maladies/
Abu Hein: 100,000 children in Gaza traumatized by
the Israeli war
Director
of the mental health program in the Gaza Strip Fadel Abu Hein said
Saturday that more than 100,000 Palestinian children were traumatized
as a result of the Israeli war on Gaza.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
Despite fear, Gaza children still have hope
Gaza
Strip,
14 February, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Gaza children have already
been suffering a lot under Israel's cruel siege. Maybe they had some
hope that someday everything would become better, but then the war on
Gaza destroyed this hope, replaced by fear, and now they are trying to
return to normal life, yet still under increasingly tightening siege.Â
The first attack hit Gaza in the morning when schools were in session.
Everything was quiet; they were attending their lessons, when all of a
sudden, a terrible explosion shocked the children .... One of the aims
of that Israeli war was to destroy them physically and emotionally,
however, the rest of Gaza's children still have their hopes of
fulfilling their dreams.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/4163-despite-fear-gaza-children-still-have-hope
Photoessay:
reclaiming Gaza's land
Local Initiative has been leading demonstrations in the
Israeli-imposed “buffer zone†-- (a 300 m stretch of land flanking
Gaza's
border with Israel from north to south, but in reality extending up to
2 km in some area. Israeli authorities say anyone within 300 m of the
border fence risk being shot.) In the tradition of Bil’in
and Ni’lin,
in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian and international protesters
march non-violently on Palestinian land, in protest of Israel’s
unilateral annexation of this land ... Laetaemat, east of Khan Younis:
across treeless fields, beyond the
Israeli military jeeps and border fence, life flourishes on 1948 land,
where irrigation equipment, water, crop dusters and tractors are all
available and functioning. In Israel there is no ban on irrigation
piping, on cement, on fertilizers, on seeds…
http://ingaza.wordpress.com/
War Crimes
Rights orgs call Goldstone implementation 'challenge
to UN system'
A group of 18 rights groups sent a letter to the UN General Assembly
expressing "concerns about the effectiveness of the endeavors
undertaken" in order to ensure the allegations brought up in the
Goldstone report are justly considered.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=260806
Refugees
Civil Rights for Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon
Friends of Palestine and supporters of basic civil rights, wherever they
live, can help this happen without violence or martyrs by signing and
distributing the Online Petition and by twinning with a Palestinian
Refugee in Lebanon.â€
http://www.petitiononline.com/ssfpcrc/petition.html
Collaborators
Egyptian authorities raid 6 tunnels
Egyptian authorities raided six tunnels on the Gaza-Egypt border and
confiscated goods intended for smuggling, security sources told Ma'an
on Sunday. Security services stormed the tunnels 120 meters
from the Rafah border crossing after receving a tip-off that increased
attempts to transfer goods into the Strip were reported near the Salah
Ad-Din terminal, particularly in residential areas near the
subterranean metal wall, the sources said. Spare parts for computers
were confiscated during the operation, the sources added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261405
Israeli Druze minister: Syria should give water to
Golan towns
An Israeli Druze minister vowed Sunday to work toward
reaching an agreement with Syria over the supply of water to towns in
the Golan Heights, Israel Radio has reported.
Currently, 10 percent of the water in the Israeli Druze town of
Majdal Shams is supplied by Syria, sourced at the Ein-al-Toufah spring.
Syria has allowed the town to use water from this spring for the past
25 years.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1149672.html
Mossad propaganda in the Times of London
I
suspected that this is a propaganda leak by the Mossad in order to send
a message of effectiveness and skill that this lousy terrorist
organization does not deserve. Just last week, they kidnapped a little
boy in South Lebanon because they thought he was a senior Hizbullah
commander. But when I read this line, I became convinced it is a leak
by the Mossad: I mean, since when Dahlanists are credible sources on
Hizbullah and Hamas? "a senior Palestinian official in
Ramallah told The Times."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/02/mossad-propaganda-in-times-of-london.html
Israel rewarded for its assassination in Dubai
"Shahar
Peer of Israel will play in the Dubai Tennis Championships, a year
after she was denied an entry visa for the tournament. She will join a
field Sunday that includes Venus Williams, the defending champion.
“There is no question that what happened last year was unfortunate on
many fronts,†said Salah Tahlak, the tournament director."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/02/israel-rewarded-for-its-assassination.html
Political Developments/Diplomacy
Erdogan: There will be no peace while Gaza under
siege
Turkish premier Recep Erdogan slammed the western countries and the UN
for using the policy of double standards, warning that there would be
no peace in the region while the Gaza Strip is under siege.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
Prime Minister ErdoÄŸan warns Egypt over Gaza, urges
UN to act
Nearly a year has passed since an aid conference was held on the Gaza
Strip, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan has said, calling on the
international community to honor promises made at the conference in
Sharm el-Sheikh last March. Erdoğan was speaking at a
joint press
conference following his talks with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad
Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani, when he was asked to comment on Egypt's
stance vis-Ã -vis transportation of humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
“At
the moment, there are four entrances to Gaza. One of them is the
entrance from Egypt. But there is unfortunately no permission to enter
through any of these entrances with materials necessary for
construction. Permission is given from time to time for other
assistance, such as medicine and food.
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-201551-102-
prime-minister-erdogan-warns-egypt-over-gaza-urges-un-to-act.html
Pakistan assures Palestinians of unequivocal support
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan
on Friday assured the people of Palestine of its unequivocal
support for their struggle for an independent and sovereign Palestinian
state with Al Quds as its capital. “Pakistan believes that peace
will
remain elusive in the Middle East unless the Palestinian issue is
resolved,†President Asif Ali Zardari told Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas at the Presidency, who is on a one-day visit to Islamabad.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\02\13\story_13-2-2010_pg7_6
Clinton: US can't force Israel, PA into talks
Washington – Ma’an – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on
Sunday
made an unusual acknowledgement of frustrations with the long-frozen
Palestinian-Israeli negotiation process. Speaking at the US-Islamic
World Forum in Doha, Qatar, on the first day of a trip to the Middle
East, Clinton said, know people are disappointed that we have not yet
achieved a breakthrough.â€
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261499
On Mash'al's heels, Netanyahu arrives in Moscow
Washington – Ma’an – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
arrived
in Moscow early on Monday morning for a three-day visit that follows by
less than a week a trip by Hamas leader Khalid Mash’al. Russia is an
ally of Israel, but is also the only member of the diplomatic Quartet
that has open relations with Hamas. The other members of the peace
negotiations-sponsoring Quartet – the US, EU, and UN – boycott the
Islamic group.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261420
5 factions call on Hamas to sign Egyptian proposal
Five Palestinian factions called on Hamas to sign the Egyptian
reconciliation document during a meeting at the Popular Struggle
Front's Gaza headquarters on Saturday. The factions in attendance
included the Palestinian Liberation Front, Fida, the Arab Liberation
Front, the Palestinian-Arab Front and the Popular Struggle Front.
Members of the various factions demanded that Hamas sign the proposal
as it represents "a lifeline" for the Palestinian people.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261217
13 Palestinian factions to meet in Gaza
...sources told Ma'an that, following the visits of Fatah Central
Committee member Nabil Sha'ath and secretary-general of the Palestinian
Peoples' Party, Bassam As-Salihi to Gaza, a general meeting will be
held in the Strip on Sunday including all 13 Palestinian factions which
participated in the Cairo talks on ending inter-Palestinian rivalry.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261240
Palestinian group rejects peace talks until
references are clarified
A group of prominent Palestinian academics and personalities have
organized a campaign calling for the rejection of resuming peace talks
until appropriate terms of reference are put forward, and national
reconciliation is achieved, a statement issued on Saturday read. "We
see the resumption of talks under the current situation as a danger
to the Palestinian cause ... Resuming these negotiations, directly or
indirectly, on any level, will provide a cover for the policies of the
Israeli occupation in Jerusalem, settlement expansion and the
construction of the wall ... The signatories of the memorandum were as
follows: 1. Iyad As-Sarraj 2. Hani Al-Masri ....
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261181
Abbas to Boycott Arab Summit if Meshaal Attends?!
Palestinian
Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas plans to boycott the Arab League
summit planned for March 27 if Hamas political bureau chief Khaled
Meshal attends, a report on Al-Jazeera said on Saturday. According to
the report, senior PA officials said they have received information
that Libya, which is hosting the summit, is planning a bid to have the
two leaders sign a reconciliation agreement.  The report said that
Abbas is wary of Egypt's response to such a reconciliation effort.
Egypt has been mediating reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas
that have thus far been unsuccessful. Abbas has notified Libya, Egypt,
Saudi Arabia and Jordan that he objects to meeting the Hamas chief
unless he signs the reconciliation deal mediated by Egypt. Libyan
leader Muammar Gadhafi invited Abbas for an official visit to discuss
reconciliation prior to the summit's start. However, PA officials have
said that the meeting would take place only if Egypt gives a green
light. The Al-Jazeera report added that the PA wants Russia to
pressure Hamas to sign an accord and that Abbas even discussed the
matter with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who met this week
with Meshal in Moscow.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=124382&language=en
Yasser Arafat's successor will likely be a Fatah
security figure
Although it appeared that the leadership transition inside the
Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), the Palestinian Authority,
and the Fatah movement was resolved smoothly with the January 2005
election of Mahmoud Abbas following the death of Yasser Arafat, many
Palestinians continue to view Abbas' election as only an interim
solution to Palestinian problems.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=111758
Other news
Muslim firebrands challenge Hamas rule in Gaza (AP)
AP
-
They preach global jihad, or holy war, adhere to an ultraconservative
form of Islam and are becoming a headache even for Hamas, the Islamic
militant group that rules Gaza.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100215/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_hamas__radical_rivals
Abbas dismisses Rafiq Husseini, appoints
investigation committee
President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Rafiq Husseini, his chief of staff,
on Sunday following the leak of a videotape that apparently shows
Husseini propositioning a job applicant for sex in Ramallah. Abbas
said he has formed an investigation committee headed by the Fatah
Central Committee's secretary-general, Abu Maher Ghneim, and including
committee member Azzam Al-Ahmad and the head of the Palestinian high
court, Rafiq An-Natsheh.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261369
Report: Kahana’s JDL reorganizing to provide Amb.
Oren security at US public events
On Thursday (February 11, 2010,) we reported on
the involvement of Kahanists in anti-NIF advocacy in the US. The story
below, from this morning’s Israel Hayom (a tabloid owned by Sheldon Adelson,) reports that (apparently
following the UC Irvine incident) they are now organizing to
provide security for Ambassador Michael Oren and other Israeli dignitaries at US
public events. Hopefully, the results of this initiative will not
resemble scenes from The Altamont Free Concert.
http://coteret.com/2010/02/14/report-kahanas-jdl-reorganizing-
to-provide-amb-oren-security-at-us-public-events/
Barak, Steinitz refuse to pay for fence
A
month after the approval of the plan to set up a fence on the Egyptian
border, the start of the construction works is being delayed due to a
budgetary disagreement: Defense Minister Ehud Barak's
objection is preventing progress in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
prestigious project – setting up a fence on the Israel-
Egypt
border.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3848681,00.html
Group suspected of forging entry permits for
Palestinians
Israeli
farmers,
Interior Ministry, Civil Administration workers and Palestinians
arrested on suspicion of fraudulently issuing hundreds of entry permits
to Israel, selling them to Palestinian workers for millions of shekels
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3848742,00.html
Netanyahu seeking compromise on expat bill
Sunday's
Knesset
committee discussion on a bill that would allow Israelis abroad
the right to vote will likely not end in a decision, as Prime Minister
Netanyahu aims to secure a compromise on the controversial law,
officials at the PM's Office said late Saturday. Netanyahu wishes to
reach a compromise that would only allow Israelis who lived abroad for
no longer than five years to cast a ballot, thereby eliciting the
backing of more Knesset factions.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3848551,00.html
Our government in Miami / Assaf Gefen
Granting voting rights to expats would
enable them to save us -- The benefits of
granting voting rights to Israelis living abroad
are still seemingly unclear. The idea of granting such rights to people
who will not be paying the inflated prices that come with these rights
- missiles, taxes, or watching election ads on television
-
is certainly not a celebration for democracy (although watching our
greatest patriots trying to somehow explain their endorsement of the
bill, which is less Zionist than even our most leftist Knesset members,
constitutes small compensation.)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3848390,00.html
Gush Shalom weekly ad: Voters abroad
In the Biberman state, / Voters abroad / Who will not spill / Their own
blood / Nor sacrifice / Their own sons / Will vote on war. / In the
Biberman state, Voters abroad / Who do not pay / Taxes in Israel / Will
vote on occupation / And settlements.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/weekly_ad/1265936207
New: Palestinian Authority-controlled "Palestine
Network" hand picked "grassroots" participants
My
back and forth exchange with the Palestinian Authority-controlled
"Palestine Network" continues. Ms. Fatima AbdelKarim, on behalf of the
Palestine Network Secretariat in Israeli-occupied Ramallah, has
answered a blog post I wrote yesterday entitled "Abbas-backed "Palestine Network" responds to my
comments; here's my reaction and their unpublished 'concept paper.'"
http://aliabunimah.posterous.com/new-palestinian-authority-controlled-palestin
Nuzha Nusseibeh named Knight of Jerusalem
Nuzha Nusseibeh was named Knight of Jerusalem during a ceremony
celebrating her lifetime achievements in education, women and
prisoners' rights, at the Dar At-Tifl school and orphanage in Jerusalem
on Saturday evening, organized by the Jawwal Theatre Group.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=261241
Bronner Watch
'Times' troika of Keller, Hoyt & Bronner were
involved in earlier conflict of interest / Philip Weiss
In September 2007 The New York Times Magazine ran a
lengthy profile of diamond merchant Lev Leviev, written by former
Israeli government spokesman Zev Chafets.
The piece, titled "Missionary Mogul," somehow completely failed to
mention Leviev’s investments in building several settlements on the
West Bank that are illegal under international law. Disturbed by the
puff-piece, Adalah NY,
which has conducted a boycott against Leviev precisely because of this
illegal-settlement activity, sent a courteous and informative letter to
Times management urging the paper to cover Leviev’s activities "which
the public deserves to know." It got no response.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/times-troika-of-
keller-hoyt-bronner-were-involved-in-earlier-conflict-of-interest.html
The New
York Times and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: the Bronner affair /
Jerome Slater
the central issue in this dispute is
less that of Ethan Bronner than it is of the New York Times itself. Close observers of the Times
news coverage and commentary about Israel have long known that it is
typically slanted in a "pro-Israel" direction and therefore is quite
unreliable as a guide to understanding the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. I have written about this at some length in a professional journal; what follows is a brief
summary of my argument:
The
bias and downright disingenuousness--it can't be merely ignorance--of
the Times has
played a major role in perpetuating the mythology about the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict that is still dominant in Israel and the
United States--even though it has been decisively discredited by
serious Israeli, U.S., and European historians, academicians and
journalists.
http://www.jeromeslater.com/
Analysis/Opinion
Arieli is a man with a plan. The trouble is, it's a
map of Israel / Robert Fisk
Shaul Arieli runs his fingers over a keyboard and his desktop screen
produces a mass of green and orange and red that turns out to be a map
of the West Bank. How do you make sense of it, this liver-sized mess
with its weird Areas A, B and C, the first being
Palestinian-"controlled", the second shared between Palestinian police
and Israeli troops, and the third – by far the largest part –
occupied by the Israeli army? How do you persuade, cajole, force the
300,000 Jewish colonists and the 200,000 Jewish settlers in east
Jerusalem to up sticks and leave so that the Palestinians can live
independently in the 22 per cent of mandate Palestine that is left to
them? Since Barack Obama demanded a permanent freeze to these vast
concrete cities and towns – and was crushed by Bibi Netanyahu's
refusal – a Palestinian state is a non-starter. I should add that
Arieli was one of those Israeli officials responsible for portioning out
Areas A and B back in 1994.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fiskrsquos-
world-arieli-is-a-man-with-a-plan-the-trouble-is-its-a-map-of-israel-1898173.html
Touring 'Operation Attila the Hun', Finkelstein
tells the schmuck joke
I asked him to elaborate, and he said: In the index of Benny Morris’s Righteous
Victims, he lists all
Israel’s military operations, and each has a name. I’ve studied this
to
the point of, I won’t say lunacy because people will nail me on it,
but
tedium, and even I can’t keep the names straight. But
each operation is just an exercise in massive death and destruction. Two
years
ago it was Operation Summer Rains. Succeeded a few months later
by Operation Autumn Clouds. It’s just nonstop destruction and death,
and these names they dream up, if they had any honesty they would call
it Operation Attila the Hun, followed by Operation Genghis Kahn,
followed by Operation Murder, Incorporated. "It’s a
vandal state. You know how hysterical any one of us becomes when we
lose everything on our computer. Well every few months everything these
people have managed to accumulate is systematically destroyed again and
again. It’s not just your C-drive."
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/touring-operation-attila-the-hun-finkelstein-tells-the-schmuck-joke.html
Questioning Our Special Relationship with Israel
A
"regional economic power." That's how ANIMA, the Euro-Mediterranean
Network of Investment Promotion Agencies encompassing 70 governmental
agencies and international networks, described Israel in its January
2010 Mediterranean Investment Map. The report analyzed the economies of
the 27 European Union countries as well as 9 "partner countries."
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15743
My Father Was A Freedom Fighter – Book Review
In the foreword to Ramzy Baroud’s book, Palestinian scholar Salman Abu
Sitta refers to a bold assertion by David Ben Gurion, Israel’s first
prime minister, in June 1948 – soon after the declaration of the state
of Israel and in the midst of large-scale cleansing of Palestinians
from their homeland. “Not one refugee will return,†proclaimed Ben
Gurion, “The old will die. The young will forget.â€
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15744
Iraq
Sunday: 10 Iraqis Killed, 11 Wounded
Light violence vexed Iraq, while the election blacklist continued to
dominate the headlines. At least 10 Iraqis were killed and 11 more were
wounded in the latest attacks. Meanwhile, a war of words is breaking
out between the current and former vice presidents of the United States.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/02/14/sunday-10-iraqis-killed-11-wounded/
Three killed in attacks in Baghdad, north Iraq (AFP)
AFP - Three people including Christians were killed and nine others
wounded on Sunday in attacks that took place in Baghdad and northern
Iraq, officials said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100214/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrest
Only 1 in 5 blacklisted Iraqi candidates to run (AP)
AP
-
Only one in five candidates accused of being loyalists to Saddam
Hussein's regime successfully fought an order banning them from running
in Iraq's national elections next month, officials said Sunday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100214/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
Chalabi accuses US of interfering in Iraq election
BAGHDAD
—
A former Iraqi deputy prime minister who encouraged the United States
to topple dictator Saddam Hussein said Sunday that Washington had
interfered in the war-torn country's March 7 general election. Ahmed
Chalabi said US Vice President Joe Biden and Washington's ambassador to
Baghdad Christopher Hill applied pressure to a committee responsible
for vetting candidates and on judges who ruled on who could stand for
office.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jGls0AUzdMIp00_fohvReEuJPy-Q
Lebanon
Murr tells Ban Israel biggest violator of Resolution
1701
Lebanon's Defense Minister Elias Murr rejected in a meeting with United
Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon attempts to compare some
incidents in southern Lebanon with thousands of Israeli violations of
Lebanese airspace and sovereignty.An-Nahar newspaper reported on
Saturday that Ban expressed satisfaction with the Lebanese government's
commitment to Security Council Resolution 1701.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=111774
U.S. and other world news
Obama, The War President, Helen Thomas
President
Barack Obama does have a foreign policy. It's called war.
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/storyprint.asp?StoryID=898236
Iraq: Raid On "Arms Smugglers" in Iraq Kills 10
Civilians
Maytham Lafta, a Maysan provincial council lawmaker, said at least 10
people were killed — including two women — and five others were
wounded. Lafta identified the dead as "all innocent people."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,585621,00.html
Karzai says 10 civilians killed in Afghan assault
Ten civilians have been killed during a major US-led military offensive
to clear a southern Afghan region of Taliban militants, the Afghan
president said Sunday.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/20
10/February/international_February745.xml§ion=international&col=
Johann Hari: Obama's secret prisons in Afghanistan
endanger us all
Osama
bin Laden's favourite son, Omar, recently abandoned his father's cave
in favour of spending his time dancing and drooling in the nightclubs
of Damascus. The tang of freedom almost always trumps Islamist
fanaticism in the end: three million people abandoned the Puritan hell
of Taliban Afghanistan for freer countries, while only a few thousand
faith-addled fanatics ever travelled the other way. Osama's vision
can't even inspire his own kids. But Omar bin Laden says his father is
banking on one thing to shore up his flailing, failing cause - and we
are giving it to him.
http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=NzA4NzI4Mg%3D%3D
Moazzam Begg: 'British intelligence were there at
every stage of my detention'
British Muslim held at
Guantánamo Bay says Binyam Mohamed revelations are no
surprise considering his own experience.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/12/moazzem-begg-speaks-binyam-mohamed
Israel is accused of waging covert war across the
Middle East
Israel
is waging a covert assassination campaign across the Middle East in an
effort to stop its key enemies co-ordinating their activities.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article7025821.ece
Despite Netanyahu pressure, Russia defends Iran
missile deal
On the eve of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Moscow,
senior Russian security officials were speaking out on defense-related
issues that have provoked tensions between the two countries.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1149825.html
Hillary Clinton's Middle East tour: It's all about
Iran
Adm.
Mike Mullen and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton kicked off an
eight-nation swing Sunday through the Middle East. The focus of the
trip? Iran's nuclear ambitions.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2010/0214/Hillary-Clinton-s-Middle-East-tour-It-s-all-about-Iran
Interview: Iran pursuing the bomb
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has indicated there is
"accumulating evidence" that Iran is pursuing a nuclear bomb. Just a
week ago, a White House spokesman dismissed Iran's claims it could
enrich weapons grade uranium. Al Jazeera's Sami Zeidan spoke to state
department spokesperson PJ Crowley about Clinton's latest comments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0vgq5PedfI&feature=youtube_gdata
Sami Moubayed, "Israel's War Drums 2010"
When the ceasefire went into effect on the Lebanese-Israeli border in
2006, nobody believed -- not for a moment -- that this was the end of
conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. After all, none of Israel's
objectives were met in 2006: Israel Defense Forces' soldiers were still
held captive in Lebanon; and far from being annihilated or weakened,
Hezbollah emerged from the war stronger than before, even by testimony
of the Israel army. Anybody familiar with the guiding ideology behind
the Zionist State understands why 2006 was such a problem for Tel Aviv.
The Israelis, simply said, cannot afford to "not win" a war with the
Arabs. . . . Since then we have been hearing of a Phase II scenario
between the two countries, speculated for the summers of 2006-2009. Why
summer? One reason is that all of Israel's wars have been in the
summer, when the skies are clear and the soil is strong for Israeli
army tanks, in 1967, 1982, and 2006. Only in March 1968 did the
Israelis go into a winter battle with the Arabs -- the Palestinians at
Karameh in Jordan -- and back then, bad weather prevented their air
force from intervening, and led to a retreat of their ground forces,
after a 10-hour battle. Once again, the drums of war are vibrating
throughout the region, as tension escalates between Hezbollah and
Israel, signaling that a new war will break out in the summer of 2010.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/moubayed140210.html
Not guilty plea in Egypt Copt trial
Three
Egyptian Muslims accused of shooting six Coptic Christians and a
security guard have pleaded not guilty at the start of their trial in
southern Egypt. The suspects are accused of carrying out an attack
on worshippers emerging from a church on the eve of the Coptic
Orthodox
Christmas on January 6 in the southern village of Nagaa Hammadi.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/02/2010213112634932740.html |
| For further information contact Shadi Fadda |
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