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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Land and property theft and destruction/Ethnic cleansing/Apartheid
How To Make A Population Disappear
Maleb
Anawi has just received a demolition order for his home. “I asked the
police where should I go?”, he says, “I was told that is my problem”.
Anawi has no easy answers, already he has moved several times, but on
six occasions his property has been destroyed by Israeli soldiers. In
Al-Hadidye, a Bedouin village in the north of the Jordan Valley, his
prospects appear bleak.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1403
Barkat mulls using private guards to raze East
Jerusalem homes, Akiva Eldar
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat is considering the possibility of hiring
private security guards to take part in the demolition of homes in East
Jerusalem and provide security for construction teams, according to an
internal memo written yesterday by the municipality's legal consultant.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/
barkat-mulls-using-private-guards-to-raze-east-jerusalem-homes-1.290740
Video - Ex-Communicated: Enclosure Landscapes in
Palestine
Ex-Communicated tells the story of Israeli
occupation in Palestine through the genre of landscape and the
perspective of a camera lens. In his series of remarkable photographs,
Gary Fields, a professor of communication at the University of
California, San Diego takes us behind the walls, gates, and fences of
this deliberately fragmented geography in revealing Palestinian life
under Israeli military rule. What he shows in these images is how the
forces of occupation use the landscape as an instrument of control over
Palestinians and a mechanism for dispossessing them of land and
property. Much of this story is untold and largely unseen. These photos
convey forcefully how the process of enclosure on the landscape has
"ex-communicated" Palestinians, immobilizing them into ever-diminishing
spaces, while at the same time inspiring them into heroic acts of
peaceful resistance.
http://uruknet.info/?p=m66052&hd=&size=1&l=e
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott,Sanctions
and
Divestment
Israeli Court Allow
Makhoul To See His Legal Team
After 12 days of detaining him,
Ammer Makhoul, a Palestinian community leader from Haifa, is allowed to
see his lawyers before a court hearing.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58695
Bil’in:
2
protestors injured and journalist arrested on the anniversary of the
Nakba
May 15th, 2010-- At this week’s march, people at the front of the march,
were carryied a five meter long key as a banner, representing the
Palestinian right of return, while three people from the village dressed
up as ‘Handala’, a little boy which appears in all drawings of Naji
al-Ali, the famous Palestinian cartoonist who was assassinated in 1987.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2262.shtml
Eight arrested in Beit Jala bulldozer action
The Christian village of Beit Jala, in the Bethlehem governorate, lies
next to the path of the apartheid wall at a point where it cuts deep
into Palestinian territory. The objections of the villagers have been
ignored and, for the past two months, a regular Sunday protest
demonstration has been called at the instigation of the Beit Jala
National Committee. This Sunday, May 16th, demonstrators gathered at the
site where a bulldozer was clearing agricultural land for the walls’
construction a mere 30 metres from the nearest houses. The protesters’
numbers were constrained as Palestine Authority police prevented local
Palestinians from joining the protest.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/05/12423
Beit Jala
salutes the Nakba by stopping Israeli bulldozers for two hours
May
17th,
2010-- For weeks now, the people of Beit Jala, on whose lands the
Apartheid Wall is to be constructed, have staged ongoing protests to
stop the bulldozers from destroying their land and building the Wall.
This time, the demonstrators were even able to fix and raise a
Palestinian flag on one of the bulldozers.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2266.shtml
Beit Ijza: Farmers tear down gate in the Wall
May 15th, 2010-- As part of the popular mobilization to commemorate the
Nakba, on Friday nearly 200 Palestinian farmers staged a sit-in at the
gate the Apartheid Wall in Beit Ijza, Jerusalem district. Then they
gathered close to the first gate to protest and finally and tore down
the gate in an attempt to gain access to their land.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2263.shtml
SHEIKH JARRAH POLICE BRUTALITY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYgKrWdjVTk&feature=player_embedded
62
years
of Nakba in the West Bank
May 15th, 2010-- May 15 is ‘Nakba Day’ - the day upon which Palestinians
commemorate the expulsion of Palestinians from their lands and homes
which resulted in the establishment of the State of Israel. The program
of mobilization for the West Bank includes, demonstrations, public
lectures, festivals, events in schools, cultural activities, graffiti
actions and sessions where the young generation can listen to the oral
history of the survivors of the Nakba.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2265.shtml
Al- Ma’sara: Village calls on PNA to stop
negotiations on an-Nakba day
May 15th, 2010-- The weekly march culminated in a cultural festival. The
people set up three tents as a symbol for the thousands of tents the
Palestinian refugees were forced to live in after they had been driven
out of their homes. These tents were a symbolic representation of the
Palestinian’s right of return.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2264.shtml
Witness to a demonstration: A Friday in Nabi Salih
On Friday afternoons in Nabi
Salih, it starts like this. A few Israeli and foreign activists
arrive at the village around noon, gathering at the home of Bassam
Tamimi. His door is open, so there is no need to knock. Inside,
villagers and visitors socialize, use the washroom and help themselves
from the huge spread of homemade food laid out on the kitchen table.
Bassam’s children run between the guests’ legs; and Sameeh, a neighbour
from Jaffa, picks one of them up and tickles him. The atmosphere is
relaxed, jovial and friendly. Most of these people see one another every
Friday, under the same circumstances.
http://coteret.com/2010/05/15/witness-to-a-demonstration-a-friday-in-nabi%C2%A0salih/
Barghouthi: Until Congress listens to
Palestinian-Americans, forget about two state solution, Philip Weiss
I think of
Mustafa Barghouthi as the MLK Jr. of this struggle. He is restrained,
mature, morally completely dedicated. For years he tried to interpret
the news in a moderate manner (power politics), but the facts on the
ground convinced him to call for BDS and the civil society route. Here
he is in The
Hill of all places (someone must explain this to me) telling
Congress that the window on the two-state solution is basically over.
Now this is the part I don't understand. If you believe in Partition,
then why are you not trying to recruit Barghouthi and Mearsheimer to
your side right now? Most days I'm for a binational state, but it is not
as if either path is an easy one. And it seems to me that the only
conclusion one can draw from recent events is this: out of the delusion
that power politics will somehow continue to supply benediction to all
its disastrous and racist choices in the West Bank and Jerusalem, Israel
is committing national suicide before our eyes, and her American
friends, suffering from the same delusion about history, are enabling
it.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/05/
barghouthi-until-congress-listens-to-palestinian-americans-forget-about-two-state-solution.html
Violence
and Aggression
Mother and
her Two Children, Wounded When Settler Rammed Vehicle Into Them
Palestinian medical sources in Bethlehem reported Saturday at night that
a Jewish settler rammed his vehicle into a mother and her two girls in
Al Jab’a village near Bethlehem, and fled the scene.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58688
Slain
Ramallah
Youth Was Left to Die
Palestinian medical sources reported that Aysar al-Zaben, 16, who was
killed on Friday, was shot by Israeli settlers in Wad Al Haramiyya area
near the central West Bank city of Ramallah, apparently bled to death as
a bullet struck him in the heart.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58686
IDF
Nazi-style dog attack on 99-year-old Palestinian
99yo Palestinian man is recovering in hospital after being
attacked by Israeli army dogs. The pensioner's ear and shoulder were
bitten as he lay in bed when soldiers conducted a house search.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5irjxfVCNV4
The Israeli Police
Attack Jerusalem’s Street Market
Israeli police officers
attacked on
Monday Palestinians street market at Jerusalem’s old city.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58694
PA official home raided by Israeli forces
Hebron – Ma'an – The Israeli army reportedly raided the home of
Palestinian Authority Interior Ministry official on Sunday in Hebron, in
the village of Su'eer, witnesses said. General director of PA's
ministry office in Hebron Kayed Jaradat's home was searched by Israeli
soldiers, using sniffer dogs, witnesses said. "Most of the home's
contents were destroyed in the process," one onlooker told Ma'an. An
Israeli military spokeswoman is currently looking into the report.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=284747
Fanatic rabbi calls for escalating attacks on
Palestinians
A fanatic Zionist rabbi has urged settlers in the West Bank to escalate
attacks on the Palestinian citizens and their property in return for
each time a random settlement post is dismantled.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
Zionism/Apartheid
Otherwise Occupied / 15 years late, Amira Hass
As
Israel
cracks down on Gazans living in the West Bank, a new group is demanding
freedom of movement for all Palestinians - finally.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/otherwise-occupied-15-years-late-1.290768
High school bans Israeli-Palestinian dialogue group
due to parents' pressure
Students report that the principal has said the school aims to raise the
rate of students who serve in the Israel Defense Forces and that
inviting the Israeli-Palestinian organization could damage this.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/
high-school-bans-israeli-palestinian-dialogue-group-due-to-parents-pressure-1.290741
Israel's apartheid road | Rachel Shabi
The
ban on Palestinians using highway 443
has been lifted but sidestepped by the Israeli army. It's bare-faced
segregation. If you didn't have peripheral vision, it would probably be
fine. If you didn't glance to the sides of Israel's highway 443 between
Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, then it wouldn't smack you in the face that the
road is – how shall we put it? – segregated. As it is, you can't help
but notice that when the 443 passes by the Israeli town of Modi'in and
heads east into the occupied West Bank, some of its side-routes are
blocked. Concrete boulders, metal barriers, rubble and heaps of rubbish
halt roads from Palestinian villages such as Beit Sira and Beit Ur
al-Fuka.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/17/israel-palestine-highway-443-segregation
Settlers to battle Palestinian road plan
West
Bank
Jews vow to battle plan to build Palestinian road over land allocated
for settlement expansion. 'Palestinians traveling on new road will enjoy
same 'phony security' we get,' they warn.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3890860,00.html
Lawyers for alleged Israeli Arab spy: We'll boycott
hearing if we can't meet with him
Ameer Makhoul, who is suspected of spying on behalf of Hezbollah, has
been forbidden from meeting with his lawyers or family since his arrest.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/lawyers-for-alleged-israeli-arab-spy-
we-ll-boycott-hearing-if-we-can-t-meet-with-him-1.290710
Steinitz: Revoke Salah's citizenship
In my
opinion, we have to find a way to limit these people, and maybe even
revoke their citizenship,” the finance minister said. “Whoever opposes
the State of Israel’s existence, whoever cries over its establishment,
is raising a question mark as to if he can be a citizen in this state.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=175683
Arabs
shut
out of Israeli public sector, Jonathan Cook
Nazareth, Israel // Unemployed computer engineer Morad Lashin would like
to work in Israel’s Electricity Company, a large state utility, but
admitted his chances of being recruited are slim. The reasons were set
out in graphic form this month when a parliamentary committee revealed
that only 1.3 per cent of the company’s 12,000 workers are Arab, despite
the Arab minority constituting nearly 20 per cent of the population.
The committee’s report presents a picture of massive
under-representation of Arab citizens across most of the public sector,
including in government companies and ministries, where the percentage
of Arab staff typically falls below two per cent of employees.
http://www.jkcook.net/Articles3/0484.htm#Top
Refugees
Witness - Shooting Hope
Ain el-Hilweh is the largest camp for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
Declining living conditions, political instablity and unemployment in
and outside the camp have deepened the mutual mistrust between the
Palestinian occupants and the wider Lebanese population.Shooting hope is
the story of an extraordinary project bringing together Palestinian and
Lebanese teenagers who live their lives on different sides of the divide
by teaching them the skills of digital photography.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIyFz27fm5s&feature=youtube_gdata
War
Criminals
and Their Arab & American Helpers/Enablers
How
US Weapons Grade Uranium was Diverted to Israel: Declassified GAO Report
Exposes Fatally Flawed Israel Investigations
UN member
countries have long suspected that the United States either turns a
blind eye or actively supports the transfer of know-how, weapons-grade
uranium, and dual-use technology to Israel. The 62-page General
Accounting Office investigation and correspondence confirms the United
States refuses to mount credible investigations that would enable
warranted prosecutions of the perpetrators.
http://original.antiwar.com/smith-grant/2010/05/09/declassified-gao-report/
Report: Egypt cutting Hamas off
Al-Mesryoon
reports Cairo has decided to deny entry visas to movement's officials,
freeze diplomatic channels with Gaza rulers, 'in response to defamation
campaign against Egypt'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3890688,00.html
Sudanese migrant shot and killed crossing from
Egypt to Israel
The United Nations has criticized Egypt's use of lethal force along its
border with Israel. More than 60 people have been killed by security
forces at the border in the last two-and-a-half years.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1556059.php
16 Gaza residents reportedly detained at Cairo
airport
Gaza – Ma'an – Approximately 16 Gaza residents were
detained by Egypt at Cairo airport on Monday en route to Gaza, sources
with the Islamic Jihad movement said. Sources said the movement would
call on Egypt to release the detainees, reportedly all young men, in
order to maintain good relations between Palestinians and Cairo.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=284969
Political
Developments
Erekat: Palestinians' patience wearing thin
In
speech
at Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, chief
Palestinian negotiator hints proximity talks may be last chance at
negotiated settlement.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3890472,00.html
Maariv: Minister Ben Eliezer shaken by hostility to
Israel in EU, OECD membership notwithstanding
A senior EU official told Fuad, in a private conversation, the
following: “You just signed an agreement, and that’s nice, but I don’t
think the European Parliament is going to ratify it. Israel is in the
worst situation it has ever been in vis-à-vis the world. They just hate
you.” In other meanings Fuad had with senior officials identified as
friends of Israel he got the same message. We are sick of Israel, stop
carrying on about the Iranian bomb as long as you don’t put an end to
your conflict with the Palestinians. People have no patience left for
Israel. Your friends are disappearing or going underground, your enemies
are multiplying. Fuad took it to heart. “There are attempts in the world
to delegitimize us,” he said. “They treat us the way they treat Iran.
Our legitimacy is fragile and only a real attempt to reach an agreement
with the Palestinians will repair it.”
http://coteret.com/2010/05/16/maariv-
minister-ben-eliezer-shaken-by-hostility-to-israel-in-eu-oecd-membership-notwithstanding/
Other
NewsPalestinians win Intel Science Fair awardUNRWAWest
Bank,
May 17, (Pal Telegraph - Agencies) Three fourteen year-old girls from
the UNRWA school at Askar refugee camp in Nablus have won an award at
the Intel Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, California. Aseel
Abu Aleil, Noor Alarada and Aseel Alshaar picked up a special award in
'applied electronics' at the event - the world’s premier youth science
competition, according to the press release. The trio invented an
electronic 'sensor cane' for the visually impaired, which for the first
time sends an infrared signal downwards as well as forwards.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/6057-palestinians-win-intel-science-fair-award
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claim responsibility for
West Bank shooting attack
Palestinians blame settlers for killing stone-throwing teen near
Ramallah on Thursday.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/
report-al-aqsa-martyrs-brigades-claim-responsibility-for-west-bank-shooting-attack-1.290336
Hamas destroys dozens of homes in southern Gaza (AP)
AP - Hamas police wielding clubs beat and pushed residents out of dozens
of homes in the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Sunday before knocking
the buildings down with bulldozers, residents said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100516/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_palestinians_home_demolitions
Hamas publishes fake interview with abducted Israeli
soldier Shalit
Last sign of life from Shalit was a video clip released by Hamas in
September, in which the soldier addressed his family and held up a copy
of a newspaper to prove that he had in fact been filmed on that date.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/
hamas-publishes-fake-interview-with-abducted-israeli-soldier-shalit-1.290810
IDF nabs 2 Gazan infiltratorsPalestinians
detained
in southern community after entering Israel apparently in search of
work initially believe to be terrorists. IDF probes incident.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3890532,00.html
Israel's orthodox study burden
Several hundred thousand ultra-orthodox Jews do not have to work as they
get money from the state to study the Torah, the holy book of Judaism.
But now, experts warn it is costing too much and Israeli taxpayers will
not be able to carry the burden much longer. Al Jazeera's Nisreen
el-Shamayleh reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cg_j21gKbeM&feature=youtube_gdata
Chomsky
Chomsky: "We were denied entry"
Noam Chomsky, a renowned Jewish-American scholar and political activist,
has been barred from entering Israel to deliver a speech at Bir Zeit
University in the West Bank. He spoke to Al Jazeera about his hours-long
wait at the Israeli border, and the explanation he was given for being
denied entry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0vvaNM9J0U&feature=youtube_gdata
Noam Chomsky denied entry into Israel and West
Bank, Amira Hass
His Palestinian host, lawmaker Mustafa al-Barghouti called the decision
"a fascist action, amounting to suppression of freedom of expression."
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel slammed the Interior Ministry
for "using detention and deportation to prevent a man from expressing
his opinion", calling it "characteristic of a totalitarian regime."
"A democratic country where freedom of expression is a guiding principle
does not close in the face of criticism or ideas that are not
comfortable and does not deny entry to guests only because it does not
accept their opinions. Instead, it deals with these opinions through
public discussion," said ACRI in a statement. Kadima MK Otniel
Schneller, on the other hand, praised the move. "It's good that
Israel did not allow one of its accusers to enter its territory," said
Schneller. "I recommend [Chomsky] try one of the tunnels connecting Gaza
and Egypt."
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/noam-chomsky-denied-entry-into-israel-and-west-bank-1.290701
Noam Chomsky denied entry to West Bank for lecture,
Amira Hass
In a telephone conversation last night from Amman, Chomsky told Haaretz
that he concluded from the questions of the Israeli official that the
fact that he came to lecture at a Palestinian and not an Israeli
university led to the decision to deny him entry. "I find it hard to
think of a similar case, in which entry to a person is denied because he
is not lecturing in Tel Aviv. Perhaps only in Stalinist regimes,"
Chomsky told Haaretz.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/noam-chomsky-denied-entry-to-west-bank-for-lecture-1.290736
Chomsky Barred From West Bank by IsraelIn
an
interview with Deborah Solomon of The New York Times Magazine in
2003, Mr. Chomsky said, “I objected to the founding of Israel as a
Jewish state. I don’t think a Jewish or Christian or Islamic state is a
proper concept. I would object to the United States as a Christian
state.” When Ms. Solomon pressed Mr. Chomsky on his opposition to
Israel, saying, “Your father was a respected Hebraic scholar, and
sometimes you sound like a self-hating Jew,” he replied: "It is a shame
that critics of Israeli policies are seen as either anti-Semites or
self-hating Jews. It’s grotesque. If an Italian criticized Italian
policies, would he be seen as a self-hating Italian?
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/chomsky-barred-from-west-bank-by-israel/?partner=rss&emc=rss
Sheizaf: Chomsky affair demonstrates that the West
Bank, not just Gaza, is under siege
Much has been written on Israel’s decision not
to allow entry to left-wing linguist Noam Chomsky today, and I guess
even more will be written. From the official Israeli response, it is
not clear who made the decision in this case — a top government official
or a low level bureaucrat — and it seems that Chomsky might still be
permitted to enter the West Bank, once people realize the PR damage
caused to what’s left of the reputation of the only democracy in the
Middle East. But that’s not the important issue here.
http://coteret.com/2010/05/16/
sheizaf-chomsky-affair-demonstrates-that-the-west-bank-not-just-gaza-is-under%C2%A0siege/
Analysis/Opinion/Human
InterestDiplomacy 'failing Palestinians', As'ad AbuKhalil
Every year, Arabs around the world commemorate al-Nakba or "the
catastrophe" on May 15 - the day following Israel's declaration of
statehood in 1948. But poems and speeches are now too embarrassing to
recite and Arab governments barely seem interested in remembering - so
busy are they trying to win Israel's approval for direct or indirect
negotiations. While in the past, Arab governments spent money combating
Zionist propaganda, last year, the Arab League - with Saudi funding -
purchased advertisements in Western newspapers with the aim of
convincing Israel that Arab governments are, in fact, eager to make
peace and normalise relations. The Palestinian scene is not that
different.
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/05/201051664435120219.html
Witness - Paradise Lost
One of the few Arab communities remaining after the 1948 war, Fureidis
is surrounded by Jewish settlements and has become culturally and
politically isolated. Arab Israeli filmmaker Ebtisam Mara'ana gives an
insight into the contradictions and complexities of of being a young
modern Arab woman living in Israel, and national identity in the Middle
East.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUPIf4jOVsI&feature=youtube_gdata
Jerusalem Logic
For example, they seem completely unaware of the closure and siege and
fences and walls and checkpoints which prevent Muslim and Christian
residents of the Occupied Territories from reaching their holy places in
Jerusalem, except if they have received a special permit from the State
of Israel (which rarely happens). Nor have they heard about the times
when police shut the gates of the mosques in Jerusalem and allows entry
only to those over fifty who are holders of a blue identity card. Also
not about the police charging those who dared to pray in the street in
front of the closed mosques and sprinkle them with tear gas. It seems
that the Prayers Censorship Office was set up by some unknown officers
at their own initiative.
http://adam-keller2.blogspot.com/2010/05/jerusalem-logic.html
The Jews of Conscience
Before the state of Israel was founded in 1948, and since its 60-year
history, the Jews of Conscience have existed. They were opposed to what
was to come and are opposed to what is happening now. Over time, their
number across the globe, especially within the very state they hold
citizenship to, has grown significantly.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=114913
Englander short story in ‘New Yorker’ says
Holocaust legacy gives Israel a pass to do anything, Jeffrey Blankfort
In the May
17th New Yorker there is a
beautifully written, touching short story by a 40-year
old Jewish American author, Nathan Englander, entitled "Free Fruit
for Young Widows." It is yet another Holocaust story, this time not by
someone who
experienced it but by someone who was born during the Vietnam War.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/05/englander-short-story-in-new-yorker-says-
holocaust-legacy-gives-israel-a-pass-to-do-anything.html
Israeli Apartheid and The Nakba
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25004.htm
Iraq
Twenty-five killed in attacks at Iraq football
match: ministry
The attacks struck at around 3 p.m. during the second half of a match
between two local teams in an unprotected ground in the predominantly
Shi'ite Turkmen town of Tal Afar, 380 km north of Baghdad, a local
police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=328051&catid=37
Cleric who criticised Qaeda beheaded in north Iraq
BAGHDAD,
May
17 (Reuters) - Gunmen wearing Iraqi military uniforms beheaded an imam
who had recently criticised al-Qaeda and hung his head on an electrical
pole in his village in Iraq's northern Diyala province on Monday, police
said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ALS735617.htm
'Dark days soaked with blood' lie ahead for Iraq,
says insurgent leader
"Wait for the long gloomy nights and dark days soaked with blood," said
Abu Suleiman, addressing Iraq's "polytheistic rejecters," an insulting
term for Shias common among extremist Sunnis. "What is happening to you
nowadays is just a drizzle."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/7724990/
Dark-days-soaked-with-blood-lie-ahead-for-Iraq-says-insurgent-leader.html
Iraq vows to quickly eliminate new Qaeda leaders
(AFP)
AFP - Iraq's security forces on Monday vowed to quickly
eliminate Al-Qaeda's new leadership, a day after the terror network
named replacements for two senior commanders who were killed last month.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100517/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestqaeda
Iraq’s Sadrists say Maliki can remain as PM
The political bloc of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said on Saturday it
had dropped its veto of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki keeping his job,
eliminating a major hurdle to him staying in office.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/May/
middleeast_May248.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
Iraqi Recount Preserves Lead of a Rival to Maliki,
ANTHONY SHADID
The narrow victory of the leading rival to Prime Minister Nuri Kamal
al-Maliki removes a stumbling block in the long-delayed process of
forming a new government.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/world/middleeast/17iraq.html
Iraq official: Banned candidates can take seats (AP)
AP - The head of a committee tasked with vetting candidates for ties to
Saddam Hussein's regime says an appeals court has overturned a ban on
nine winning candidates from the parliamentary election.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100517/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
The Iraq Exit Plan, RAED JARRAR
Last week, rumors that the U.S. might delay the withdrawal of combat
forces from Iraq led to much confusion and concern. These rumors are
thankfully not true, and both the U.S. and Iraqi leaderships are going
ahead with the agreed upon plan. There are two approaching deadlines
guiding the US withdrawal from Iraq. The first is August 31st of this
year, which is a self imposed deadline not included in the bi-lateral
security agreement. The august 31st 2010 deadline requires all combat
forces to be out of Iraq, bringing down the number of all troops to less
than 50K, and the number of contractors to less than 75K. In addition,
all combat operations must end and that will be officially the last day
of 'operation iraqi freedom'. The second deadline is December 31 2011,
which is the end game of the binding bilateral Security Agreement that
was signed between the two countries in late 2008. According to this
deadline, all remaining troops and contractors must leave the country
bringing their number down to ZERO, and all bases and military
installations must be shut down and/or handed over to the Iraqi
governmnent.
http://www.counterpunch.com/jarrar05172010.html
Lebanon
France: No info on Scuds in southern Lebanon
We have no information about the existence of Scud missiles in South
Lebanon," French Defense Minister Hervé Morin said Sunday during a visit
to Lebanon. The minister, who met with his Lebanese counterpart, added
that if Israel had any information it is invited to transfer it to
France.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3890399,00.html
Getting Ready for Hezbollah; Getting Ready for
Israel
16/05/2010 Yedioth Aharonoth’s Alex Fishman wrote that the Israeli Army
was to “head into the next Lebanon war with more firepower and upgraded
capabilities.” Fishman expressed concern about the alleged Scud
missile transfer from Syria to Hezbollah which constitutes “a threat on
Israel's nuclear reactor in Dimona.” According to his analysis,
Hezbollah “does not have plans to take over areas in the Galilee. It may
have the ability to raid a community, in order to produce drama, yet its
war will focus on firing rockets and missiles deep into Israel, over
time. For that reason, most of its fortifications aim to protect and
feed its strategic arm.”
http://www.almanar.com.lb/newssite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=137786&language=en
U.S.
and Other World News
Afghans angry at 'civilian deaths'
One person has been shot dead by police as hundreds of protesters took
to the streets in eastern Afghanistan, accusing Nato-led forces of
killing civilians during an overnight raid near the city of Jalalabad.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/05/201051473815983930.html
[TIP does not endorse beauty pageants, but it's news...] Why I am celebrating the first Arab American Miss
USA
I would be lying if I said I didn't tear up at the news. I did. In fact,
when I watched the last 15 minutes of the West Coast broadcast a couple
of hours ago, already well aware of the I cried. The image of a woman
stereotypical in her phenotypical representation of Levantine beauty,
sandwiched in by corn-fed Heidis from the hilltops of Oklahoma and other
breadbasket states, and her win over these shoe-ins for belles of the
nationally televised American ball, still registered as
incomprehensible. For as strong as the backlash has been to what some
have already responded to as "misplaced celebrations" by our community,
for lauding an achievement tied to the exploitation of the female body,
tonight was, unequivocally historic.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2010/05/why-i-am-celebrating-the-first-arab-american-miss-usa.html |
| For further information contact Shadi Fadda |
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