http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3954938,00.html

EU to call on Israel to extend settlement halt
Draft of conclusions from EU summit calls on Israel, Palestinians 'to observe calm and restraint,' avoid moves that could strain negotiation process.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3954952,00.html

Homes For 27,000 Constructed During Israeli Settlements Freeze
The so-called settlement freeze in the Palestinian territories is a myth. No freeze has ever been implemented, in fact the settlements have been expanding dramatically during the moratorium. Additionally, another 13,000 homes have been approved for the West Bank, together with two new colonies near Nablus and the Jordan Valley.
http://story.philippinetimes.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/0267775d6f1c3971/id/685191/cs/1/

Israeli Settlers Take Over Palestinian Farm Lands Near Nablus
Nablus – PNN – a group of Israeli settlers took over on Thursday more Palestinian farm lands near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. The 30 Donoms of land ( 7.5 acres ) belongs to farmers from the village of  Jaloud near Nablus, local sources said that this is the second time the settlers take over villagers lands. Earlier in the month settlers took over 3 acres of villagers lands.  Settler’s attacks increased in the past two week after Palestinian fighters killed four of them and injured two others in two different attacks near West Bank settlements earlier in the month.  Since May of this year Israeli settlers and military attacks on Palestinian communities in Gaza and the West Bank has left 14 civilians killed.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8780&Itemid=64

Israeli authorities demolish four Palestinian homes in Negev
Israeli municipal authorities razed four Palestinian homes on Wednesday in the Negev villages of Fara'a, Tel Arad, Bani Yacaba and Al-Sayyad, local sources reported.  [Hamas website, may not be accessible to all]
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz

Israeli air raid destroys soap factory in southern Gaza
Israeli air raids at dawn Thursday blasted a soap factory in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, and deserted land causing severe material damage to the factory.  [Hamas website, may not be accessible to all]
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx

Settlers make renewed attempt on Jlem home
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) -- Jerusalem's Qeresh family said friends and neighbors helped them resist what witnesses described as an attempted home take over on Wednesday.  The event reportedly began in the early morning in the As-Sa’diyah neighborhood in the old city of Jerusalem, as Israeli settlers entered a wing of the family home and allegedly began removing furniture.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=315362

How Israeli-Palestinian battle for Jerusalem plays out in one neighborhood
The Israeli-Palestinian battle for Jerusalem is playing out in Silwan between Arab residents, religious Jews, and a municipality looking to revitalize its storied global brand.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/iqrOKkGc4ws/
How-Israeli-Palestinian-battle-for-Jerusalem-plays-out-in-one-neighborhood

Top 5 reasons Jerusalem is such a thorny issue
Jerusalem is considered by many to be the trickiest issue to resolve in a two-state solution to Middle East peace. Israelis see the city as their “undivided and eternal capital” but Palestinians also seek to put their future capital in East Jerusalem, which is predominantly Arab.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/62EeM17OyV0/
Top-5-reasons-Jerusalem-is-such-a-thorny-issue

The pharaoh of Jerusalem, Philip Weiss
In the last two days two guides have taken me through the geography of the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, and I’m staggered. I wonder why this monstrous structure is not better known, even to people like me, who study the conflict. I wonder how it is that American reporters are not describing the racist devouring of Jerusalem every day in our newspapers and showing it every night on our television news. I wonder why our politicians, or our liberal Democratic ones anyway, are not holding angry press conferences in front of the repulsive separation wall as it lunges to separate a Palestinian village from virtually all its connections to the outside world, so as to privilege the lifestyle, and short commute, of Jews in the new development on the hilltop above them.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/the-pharaoh-of-jerusalem.html

Where has the hypocrisy gone?, Amira Hass
Lieberman the non-hypocrite knows what he's talking about when he says no peace agreement will be signed, even in another generation. A peace agreement is not a business contract. It requires a change of values of a kind that does not exist within the vocabulary of the democratic Jewish state, which elevates the system of double standards to a level of virtuosity. The people of this state are incapable of imagining themselves departing from the privileges that this system confers. And who cares if the flip side of those privileges is dispossession, suppression of freedoms and the risk of regional conflagration?
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/where-has-the-hypocrisy-gone-1.313887

Plastic flowers, Gideon Levy
Yes, the settlements are no more than plastic flowers - wedged into foreign soil and never producing anything but their own ugliness.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/plastic-flowers-1.314086

West Bank settlers indignant over Obama’s pressure
GEVA BINYAMIN // Penina Abitbul, a Jewish settler in the West Bank, is fed up with the United States telling her country what to do.  “The policy of Israel is whatever America says,” claimed Mrs Abitbul, who moved to this hilltop settlement 19 years ago. “But America isn’t on the right side.” The “right” side for her, she quickly added, is “Israel’s side”.  What has arroused her ire and that of many other settlers this week is the increasing pressure from Washington on Israel to extend a 10-month moratorium on settlement building due to expire at the end of the month.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100916/FOREIGN/709159787/1135

Solidarity/Activism/Boycott, Sanctions & Divestment
Military Prosecution Demands More Than Two Years Imprisonment for Bil’in’s Abdallah Abu Rahmah
The sentencing phase in the trial of Abdallah Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements, began yesterday at the Ofer Military Court. Abu Rahmah was convicted of organizing illegal marches and of incitement last month, but cleared of the violence charges he was indicted for – stone-throwing and a vindictive arms-possession charge for collecting used tear-gas projectiles and displaying them.  The prosecution demanded Abu Rahmah will be sent to prison for a period exceeding two years, saying that as an organizer, a harsh sentence is required to serve as a deterrence not only for Abu Rahmah himself, but to others who may follow in his footsteps as well. This statement by the prosecution affirms the political motivation behind the indictment, and the concern raised by EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, that “the possible imprisonment of Mr Abu Rahma is intended to prevent him and other Palestinians from exercising their legitimate right to protest against the existence of the separation barriers in a non violent manner.”
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/09/14590/

Jamal Juma: The real obstacle to peace in the Levant is the presence of a criminal, racist state
Illegal settlements on Palestinian land are one of the biggest stumbling blocks for these talks. The Palestinians have warned that they will walk out of talks if a freeze on settlement construction, which is set to expire at the end of the month, is not extended.
http://pulsemedia.org/2010/09/15/
jamal-juma-the-real-obstacle-to-peace-is-the-apartheid-state-of-israel/

Protests in Nablus against return to talks
NABLUS (Ma’an) -- More than 100 Palestinians demonstrated in Nablus Wednesday, protesting the return of Palestinian negotiators to talks with Israel.  Organized by leftist factions including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Palestine People's Party and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the protests were the first in Nablus, and followed a series of calls against a return to talks hosted in Ramallah.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=315351

Seven Million Back Biggest British Boycott
At their annual conference this week the TUC, Britain's all-encompassing trade union coalition, announced their most comprehensive boycott policy yet. It targets settlement goods as well as companies profiting from the illegal occupation of Palestinian land. The motion to boycott and disinvest from these companies passed unanimously on behalf of the TUC's seven million members. The announcement will increase pressure on British retailers to cut ties with suspect suppliers.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1539

Help Mondoweiss continue to grow – give a tax deductible donation today
Mondoweiss is growing - we've had over 700,000 unique visitors and 1.2 million page views in the past three months alone. This traffic is being driven by our coverage of the stories that matter to you: the Eden Abergil Facebook scandal, the recent anti-Semitism conference at Yale University, the rising tide of Islamophobia in the US and daily news from Israel/Palestine. Our work is getting noticed, but we need your support to help this to continue.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/help-mondoweiss-
continue-to-grow-%e2%80%93-give-a-tax-deductible-donation-today.html

Viva Palestina; A Global Lifeline To Gaza To Launch September 18
"The convoy will be headed by former UK legislator, George Galloway, and will start its trip in front of the British parliament."
http://www.imemc.org/article/59422

On Gaza, Artists Speak Out
Terry Jones, Annie Lennox, Thandie Newton, Alexei Sayle, Mike Figgis, Katharine Hamnett and Jason Flemyng, voice their support for Amnesty International’s ongoing efforts to secure justice for both Palestinians and Israelis and make an impassioned plea for Israel to cease its illegal siege of Gaza.
http://pulsemedia.org/2010/09/16/on-gaza-artists-speak-out/

Anti
Former Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar launches pro-Israel initiative
As the Obama administration tries to negotiate peace between Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East, back here in Washington a group of international figures convened at the Ritz Carlton Tuesday night under the banner of a new group, the "Friends of Israel Initiative."
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/09/15/former_spanish_prime_minister_jose_maria_aznar_launches_pro_israel_initiative

Another great reason to boycott Walmart:  Real estate company looking to bring Wal-Mart to Israel
Minrav is not looking to hold a franchise. Rather, it wants to build stores that would meet Wal-Mart's needs and then lease or sell them outright to the company.
http://www.haaretz.com/business/
real-estate-company-looking-to-bring-wal-mart-to-israel-1.313881

Israeli intel firm behind Pennsylvania’s ‘terror’ bulletins on peace, environment, LGBT groups, Ali Abunimah
What AP does not say is that ITRR is an Israeli "security" and "anti-terrorism" company -- and like most of such companies has close ties to Israeli military and intelligence. According to ITRR's website, the group describes itself as "the preeminent Israeli/American security firm providing training, intelligence and education to clients across the globe."
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/israeli-
intel-firm-behind-pennsylvanias-terror-bulletins-on-peace-environment-lgbt-groups.html

The Siege (Gaza & West Bank)/Humanitarian/Restriction of Movement/Human Rights/Racism Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (08-15 September 2010)
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MDCS-89CGZ6?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

High Court: Tax benefits inequitable, discriminate against Arabs
High Court decision follows petition alleging that provision of substantial benefits without evident criteria contravenes the right to equality.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/
high-court-tax-benefits-inequitable-discriminate-against-arabs-1.314039

Israeli discrimination drives kids from school
Due to the endemic poverty in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied West Bank, hundreds of Palestinian children are forced on to the streets by parents who are living below the poverty level in a desperate bid to eke out a few extra dollars to help their families survive.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11520

Children of the gravel
On Saturday, May 22, 2010, Hasan, 17, was shot in the leg in the now-defunct Erez industrial area in the northern Gaza Strip: “I was collecting gravel with the other workers, when one of the Israeli soldiers in the watchtower fired a shot which hit me in the right leg. I immediately fell to the ground in great pain. Everyone started running away, except for one youngster who I didn’t know, who came and tried to help me, but he couldn’t lift me”. In the meantime, the soldiers kept firing and the boy who came to help Hasan also had to run away. Finally, Hasan was rushed to hospital. “My leg was in a cast for two months, and now I still can’t walk properly and feel pain whenever I move it. I don’t know when I will be able to walk again, even though my family needs the money, and there are no other alternatives”.
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/09/children-of-the-gravel/

There Is No Care Here For Our Daughter At All
WHO – PNN - Eight and a half year old Ala’ Zahwahri is mentally and physically handicapped. Living in a house trapped between Har Homa settlement and the Barrier, her parents are obliged to take her on an arduous journey to Bethlehem, or Beit Sahur, each time they need to access medical services.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8777&Itemid=56

'Our situation worsens every day'
Palestinians in the West Bank's Dheisheh refugee camp explain why they have little faith in the talks.
Uruknet September 14, 2010 - A second round of direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are taking place under the auspices of Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Washington says it hopes the talks will lead to an agreement within a year.
http://uruknet.info/?p=m69778&hd=&size=1&l=e

Palestinian sues Israeli firm over 8.7 shekel hourly salary
West Bank resident Nazar Fukra says he was paid less than half the minimum wage and no social benefits from Solor Gas Industries.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/
palestinian-sues-israeli-firm-over-8-7-shekel-hourly-salary-1.314056

Violence/Aggression & Provocations
Israeli police reportedly assault 2 Jerusalem residents
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli police reportedly assaulted two Palestinians from the Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem, a source said.  The source said Khaled Walid Sarhan, 50, was transferred to the Hadasah Hospital in Jerusalem for fracture wounds, while his 24-year-old son, Nidal, sustained bruises to his head and back.  Nidal was taken to the Russian compound for interrogation, according to the source, and later released the same evening.  Islamic and national factions denounced the assault, fearing further "acts against the Palestinian residents of Silwan."  A spokesman for Israel's National Police said he would look into the report.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=315176

Israeli jets hit Gaza tunnels
Fighters launch "phosphorous bombs" at Israel, IDF says, as Israeli missile kills one Palestinian.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/20109151393302881.html

Rights group condemns 3 Gaza killings
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A rights group on Wednesday called on the international community to protect Palestinian civilians after Israeli forces killed three farmers Sunday in northern Gaza.  On Sunday night Israeli forces fired shells at a 91-year-old man and two 16-year-olds as they grazed sheep in their land. Medical teams found the dead body of one of the teenagers and took it to hospital, but his head was not found until the next day.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=315198

IDF to open probe into shooting deaths of two Palestinian farmers in West Bank
State tells court family petition to investigate incident unnecessary, as probe into whether shooting was justified already scheduled to begin next month.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-to-open-
probe-into-shooting-deaths-of-two-palestinian-farmers-in-west-bank-1.314008

Court Says Criminal Probe Into Fatal Shooting Of Two Palestinians “Unnecessary”
The Israeli High Court Of Justice had decided that a petition demanding a full investigation into the fatal shooting of two Palestinians in Awarta village near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, is “unnecessary” as the Israeli army had already ordered an investigation.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59420

Detainees
Israel detains 7 'wanted' Palestinians overnight
HEBRON (Ma’an) -- Palestinian security officials said five Palestinians were detained overnight by Israeli forces in the Nablus and Hebron areas, while an Israeli military spokeswoman said there were at least seven taken for questioning.  Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning three men, identified as Mustafa Kamel Shawer, 48, Sufian Hamhum, 39, and Marwan Sarsour, 34, were detained from Hebron.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=315340

Center: Detainees beaten over cell phones
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Detainees Center said Wednesday that a special unit raided the Ofer prison in the occupied West Bank, beating detainees, a statement read.  The center said the unit opened fire at prisoners and deployed tear-gas, with several younger detainees suffering respiratory problems as a result. According to the center's lawyer, the detainees were beaten after cell phones were found in their possession.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=315243

Prisoner released in exchange for Shalit video remains in solitary confinement
Linan Abu Ghalma, 28, has been kept in solitary confinement and exposed to other inhumane treatment in the Hasharon prison since her arrest two months back, human rights sources said Wednesday. [Hamas website, may not be accessible to all]
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz

Administrative detention of Hamas officials Nasif and Asfour extended
The international Tadamon foundation said that the Israeli military court of Ofer extended the administrative detention of Hamas leaders Ra'fat Nasif and Adnan Asfour for six months.  [Hamas website, may not be accessible to all]
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz

Retaliation?  Hard to say, these are the people that claimed that the sporks found on the Mavi Marmara were lethal...
'We used phosphorus fired in Gaza war'
Member of one of Palestinian groups says bombs fired on Israel contained material collected from shells which hit Strip during Operation Cast Lead.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3955304,00.html

Hamas denies Israel's claims about firing phosphorous shells at Negev region
Hamas categorically denied claims about firing phosphorus shells or any rockets at Negev region, warning that Israel fabricates such lies in order to justify a new military action against Gaza. [Hamas website, may not be accessible to all]
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz

Israel's Arab Helpers
Political Arrests Continue in the West Bank
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the continued arbitrary political arrests carried out by Palestinian security services in the West Bank targeting members of Hamas, who are subjected to detention and maltreatment in violation of the law.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59417

Campaigns of Political Arrests Continue in the West Bank; Detainees Include a Woman and Two Human Rights Defenders
Uruknet September 15, 2010 - The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the continued arbitrary political arrests carried out by Palestinian security services in the West Bank targeting members of Hamas, who are subjected to detention and maltreatment in violation of the law.
http://uruknet.info/?p=m69788&hd=&size=1&l=e

Egyptian police: Bombed tunnel for sugar transport
AL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Egyptian authorities said officers seized three smuggling tunnels on the Gaza-Egypt border on Thursday morning, in addition to several tons of sugar prepared for transport into the coastal enclave.  One of the three tunnels seized, Egyptian sources added, was bombed a day earlier by the Israeli airforce. The tunnel emerged in Egypt's As-Sarsourya area in Rafah.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=315396

Egyptian coastguards fire at Palestinian fishing boat
Egyptian coastguards opened fire at a Palestinian fishing boat that was fishing near the Egyptian marine borders on Wednesday morning, Palestinian fishermen said.  [Hamas website, may not be accessible to all]
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz

"Peace" Talks/Political Developments
Abbas, Bibi meet in Jerusalem
Palestinian leader signs guestbook, says he hopes to bring 'eternal peace' to region.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3954897,00.html

Abbas: No alternative to peace talks, we will continue efforts
Palestinian President speaks at ceremony welcoming U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the West Bank.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/
abbas-no-alternative-to-peace-talks-we-will-continue-efforts-1.314177

Mitchell: Obama seeks Mideast normalization
JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- US envoy to the Mideast peace process George Mitchell said Wednesday that Palestinian and Israeli leaders were tackling the tough issues up front during talks in Jerusalem.  Mitchell spoke with reporters following a trilateral meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Mitchell himself.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=315337

Other News
First Gaza flotilla report sent to UN chief (AFP)
AFP - An inquiry panel on Wednesday handed over a preliminary report to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Israel's assault on a Turkish activist ship taking aid supplies to Gaza, which left nine dead and scores wounded, a UN spokesman said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100915/wl_mideast_afp/israelconflictgazaprobeun

IDF chief: Next wars will not be easier
Ashkenazi tells military academy cadets delegitimization of Israel around the world unjustified because 'our army, more than any other, protects civilians not involved in fighting'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3954934,00.html

'Israelis unconcerned with rise in religious IDF officers'
Jeruslalem Post 15 Sep 2010 - Survey finds public not so bothered about growing number of IDF commanders and officers who stem from the national-religious camp.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=188139&R=R2

Haredi MK: We'll stop paying taxes
Finance Committee Chairman Moshe Gafni lashes out at Supreme Court following another ruling in Emmanuel affair, compared it to Russian czar.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3955181,00.html

Hamas enforces ban on women smoking water pipes
GAZA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Hamas police ordered a Gaza hotel restaurant closed on Wednesday for allowing a woman to smoke a water pipe on its premises, one of its owners said.  It was believed to be the first time that Hamas Islamists who run the Gaza Strip have enforced their ban, announced in July, on women smoking the traditional tobacco-infused pipes in public.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE68E1NN.htm

Students meet Hamas and Hizbollah for education beyond the classroom
The National 15 Sep 2010 - Two-week summer programme in Damascus, run by a Beirut news translation service, offers a rapid immersion in Middle East politics.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100916/FOREIGN/709159861/1011/rss

Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest
Gaza left out in the cold, Laila El-Haddad
Ask any resident of Gaza what their thoughts are on the US-sponsored "direct talks" between Israel and Mahmoud Abbas's Ramallah government, and you're likely to hear one of three responses:  1) Surely, you jest;  2) Something's rotten in Ramallah;  3) Negotiations?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/16/gaza-israel-palestinians-talks-abbas

When settlers attack, Adam Horowitz
Yesterday, the Palestine Center hosted an event When Settlers Attack: Understanding Settler Violence against Palestine's Civilians. The description was as follows: The Palestine Center presents an analysis of settler violence in the West Bank. We ask what type of violence occurs, who is most vulnerable and most targeted, where the violence is concentrated and what motivates it. We will present the results of an analysis spanning over 1000 events of settler violence, as well as trends in the violence over time, to better understand how these attacks affect Palestinians.  Luckily it was recorded, you can watch Yousef Munayyer's entire presentation:
And here's a copy of the powerpoint presentation if you want a closer look...
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/when-settlers-attack.html

Jeff Goldberg [and Andrew Sullivan] defend Marty Peretz, MJ Rosenberg
But here's the thing. Peretz didn't slip up once or twice and spout bigotry against Muslims and Arabs. He does it several times a week. Hating Arabs and Muslims is primarily what he is about. How can that be forgivable?  Now, I don't know if Sullivan defended Helen Thomas who once, once, made an offensive statement about Israel and Zionism and that one statement cost her a job, a career and a reputation. This despite the fact that no one has ever accused Helen Thomas of having personal animus to Jews. She just doesn't like Israel, a foreign country,and she gave voice to that feeling. She did not attack American Jews as Peretz attacked American Muslims.  Here is Goldberg on Thomas. Suffice it to say, he did not defend her in any way, shape or form.
http://palestinenote.com/cs/blogs/blogs/archive/2010/09/15/
jeff-goldberg-defends-marty-peretz-but-not-that-bigot-helen-thomas.aspx

Duss 1, Oren 0, Adam Horowitz
Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren has an op-ed in today's Los Angeles Times responding to the Time magazine article last week on whether Israelis care about peace with the Palestinians or not. He uses the occasion to pretty much just repeat every Israeli cliche on the peace process we've heard for the past several years.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/duss-1-oren-0.html

Washington peace talks: democracy need not apply
The image of the five men attending peace talks at the White House can easily be dissected as the following: a dictator, a monarch, a puppet and two heads of state responsible for the region's only military occupations -- not the best ingredients for making world peace. Matthew Cassel comments.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11521.shtml

Israel: Where Choosing Your Identity is an Act of Resistance, Nijim Dabbour for MIFTAH 
One of the most contentious issues for Palestinians in this conflict is identity, how a person sees him or herself in relation to society and the world. This is especially true for Palestinian Arabs living within Israel, holding Israeli citizenship. They must decide whether to be Israeli Arabs, Arabs living in Israel, Palestinians living in Israel, Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, 1948 Arabs, 1948 Palestinians… Each has a slightly different connotation and all are politically charged. The main division, no matter the label, is whether to take part in the Israeli system or to boycott it; to be an Israeli or a Palestinian.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=22578&CategoryId=13

Palestinians Must Start again, Stuart Littlewood – London
So criminal within itself, it flinches from upholding the rule of international law. So corrupt, it happily outsources its foreign policy to terrorists in Tel Aviv. The idea that America acts as an honest broker for peace between its fellow cut-throat Israel and their victim, Palestine, on whose neck the Zionist jackboot is firmly planted, is a joke that is only funny in the hysterical sense.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16268

The Tides of September,  George S. Hishmeh – Washington, D.C.
For many Christians and Muslims, whether American or Arab, particularly Palestinian, the month of September brings back depressing memories that have affected their lives and regrettably shaped their attitudes toward each other, drastically and often negatively.  Even Israelis or Jews were equally marred by the actions of their extremists, if not their government.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16270

America's 'Freeze' Still Favors Israel, James Gundun - Washington, D.C.
At first glance Washington's sudden support for extending Israel's settlement 'freeze' in the West Bank appears to be typical 11th hour positioning at Sharm el-Sheikh. Having delayed until the final moments in hope of reaching a compromise with the Palestinian Authority (PA), US officials must now rush to strike a deal before September 26th, when the “freeze” expires and direct negotiations between Israel and the PA potentially collapse.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16271

Cartoon:  Abbas's Negotiations, Fahd Bahady
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/bahady150910.html

Lebanon
Hezbollah prints playing cards of top Israeli officials targeted for revenge
The militant group has vowed to avenge the 2008 assassination of one of its senior members, Imad Mughniyah.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/
hezbollah-prints-playing-cards-of-top-israeli-officials-targeted-for-revenge-1.314017

Army launches mine, cluster-bomb awareness efforts
BEIRUT: The Lebanese Army launched a campaign Wednesday to raise awareness about the dangers of land mines and cluster bombs in south Lebanon.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=119336

Plastic surgery taking off in Beirut
Plastic surgery is booming in Lebanon, where some tourism companies are arranging 'cosmetic surgery tours' to accommodate demand from inside and from outside the country.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/rKzeeF7fCak/
Plastic-surgery-taking-off-in-Beirut

Iraq
Kurdish reporter killed by Islamic militants: investigators (AFP)
AFP - A journalist killed in May after writing a scathing article about the alleged corruption of Kurdish leaders was murdered by militants, authorities in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region said Wednesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100915/wl_mideast_afp/iraqkurdsmediarights

Family slam ruling on Iraq Kurd reporter's murder (AFP)
AFP - Relatives of a journalist killed in May after he alleged corruption among Iraqi Kurdish leaders reacted angrily on Thursday to an official probe that ruled he was shot by Islamic militants.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100916/wl_mideast_afp/iraqkurdsmediarights

U.S. and Other World News
Turkey's PM tells businessmen to boost Iran trade
ISTANBUL, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Turkey wants to triple its trade volume with Iran within five years, Turkey's prime minister told businessmen on Thursday, at a time when sanctions are scaring off Western investors from the Islamic Republic.  Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi oversaw the meeting which brought together over a hundred businessmen, including Turkish investors eager to buy into Iran's mostly government-owned textile, machinery and automotive industries.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE68F18F20100916

Turks cool to EU membership
Turkish enthusiasm for joining the European Union is waning as the country is increasingly looking east, a report shows.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/europe/2010/09/201091694436906760.html

Ahmadinejad: Iran can survive without the aid of U.S. and its allies
In interview with NBC, Ahmadinejad 'flatly rejects' IAEA demand to let nuclear inspectors into Iran.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/
ahmadinejad-iran-can-survive-without-the-aid-of-u-s-and-its-allies-1.314107

One killed as thousands Of Afghans Stage Anti - U.S. Protest In Kabul
Police fired into the air to disperse thousands of anti-American protesters in Afghanistan's capital on Wednesday, witnesses and police said, with one person killed and at least five wounded.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/09/15/world/
international-uk-afghanistan-protests.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

New light shed on US's night raids
Official figures on night raids carried out by Special Operations Forces units in Afghanistan indicate they have been successful in killing or capturing thousands of Taliban. A sharp fall-off in the proportion of improvised explosive devices being turned in by the local population suggests the raids have backfired badly. - Gareth Porter
http://192.168.10.250/atimes/South_Asia/LI17Df03.html

'Death to America, death to Obama'
As Wikileaks prepares to unveil a second batch of "Afghan War Diary" documents, a deeper dig into the first cache unveils the real secret story of the war - the hardships of ordinary Afghans living under foreign occupation. From insights into the vibrant local protest movement to locals' reactions to American military methods and cultural faux pas, much remains to be learned.
http://192.168.10.250/atimes/South_Asia/LI17Df01.html

US: time may come for special nuke probe of Syria (AP)
AP - A U.S. envoy on Thursday suggested time was running out for Syria to cooperate with a U.N. atomic agency probe of alleged secret nuclear activities before the agency invokes its seldom-used authority to call for a special inspection — a possible prelude to U.N. Security Council involvement.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100916/ap_on_re_eu/eu_nuclear_agency_mideast

Under IAEA pressure, Syria and Iran point to Israel (Reuters)
Reuters - Western powers pressed Syria to give U.N. inspectors access to the remains of a suspected nuclear site in the desert, but Damascus and its ally Iran said the focus should be on Israel, which bombed it to rubble.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100916/wl_nm/us_nuclear_syria_iaea

Israel set to build wings for some 800 F-35s
Israel is in talks to build the wings for about a quarter of the United States's new F-35 stealth fighter aircraft, an Israeli official said on Monday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67T2JX20100830

U.S. holding 324 metric tons of bomb-grade uranium, report says
The Obama administration, which is urging other nations to reduce their stores of the material, should declare part of the U.S. inventory surplus, a watchdog group says.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-uranium-20100914,0,7187215.story

New Statesman Interview with Noam Chomsky:  Noam Chomsky: “President Obama is Involved in War Crimes Right Now”
It's imperial doctrine. Stability is when the UK and US invade a country and impose the regime of their choice. But if Iran tries to interfere, that's destabilising.
http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2010/09/war-crimes-interview-obama

Blair Should Take a Journey to Jail, Jodie Evans
I leapt up with handcuffs held high above my head. "You Liar. I was in Iraq and met with weapons inspectors before we invaded and they said they had found no WMDs. You are a War CRIMINAL! LIAR!"
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26368.htm

War Crimes: Codepink Attempts Citizen Arrest of Karl Rove in DC : Video
With handcuffs raised, they called for a citizen's arrest and read the charges against him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS7HiZlbBxM&feature=player_embedded#%21

War crimes: Group offers $100,000 for ‘information leading to the arrest and conviction of Karl Rove’
American Crossroads" groups known to many as the "shadow RNC," an activist organization declared that it would give $100,000 to any person who comes forward with "information leading to the arrest and conviction of Karl Rove."
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/09/group-offers-100000-information-leading-arrest-conviction-karl-rove/

We Are Living Through an Exceptional Moment in Human History,  Fidel Castro
We feel astonished by the images we see from the Middle East, where Palestinians are deprived from their lands, their homes are demolished by gigantic equipment, and men, women and children are bombed with white phosphorus and other extermination means
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26369.htm

The regime can fix the elections – but it can't fix the Egyptian people | Ahdaf Soueif
Against a background of fraud and thuggery, opposition is mounting. And our anger can defeat our divided rulers.  As Egypt moves towards its parliamentary elections in November, each day brings fresh evidence of the profound problems now endemic in our political life. Adorning Egyptian newsstands morning was the photograph of the MP Mohamed Abdel Alim Daoud holding his right shoe up to the cameras with the caption: "My shoe is more honourable than any accusation (sic) the National Democratic party or any government official can aim at me". Daoud is accused (with 15 others) of the misuse of 1.5bn Egyptian pounds and illegal trading in state-funded medical treatment. He claims he's being scapegoated for tabling a question in parliament last year that implicated the health minister, Hatem al-Gabali (owner of some of the biggest hospitals and health centres in Egypt), in the scandal.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/15/egypt-elections-regime-boycott-mobilise

Islam in the West
Burned Quran Found Outside Muslim Community Center In Chicago
A burned copy of Islam's holy book was found in front of a Muslim center in Chicago last weekend.  The charred Quran was discovered outside of the Muslim Community Center on the city's northwest side, just one day after the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Chicago Tribune reports. That anniversary was also proclaimed "Burn a Quran Day" by a preacher in Florida.  Rev. Terry Jones ultimately didn't go through with his plans to hold a mass burning of Qurans at his church in Gainesville, but it appears that someone in Chicago followed his lead.