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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Land and property theft and destruction/Ethnic cleansing/Apartheid
Report:
Abbas may double territory offered to Israel in peace deal
Wall
Street Journal quotes officials briefed on proximity talks between
Israel, Palestinians and Mitchell as saying that Palestinian president
is prepared to increase territory to be swapped with Jewish state to 4%
of West Bank.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3892320,00.html
Israeli
Tanks Invade Northern Gaza Strip Farm Lands
Israeli tanks and bulldozers invaded farm lands, Wednesday morning, that
belong to farmers from Beit Lahiya town in the northern part of the Gaza
strip.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58716
Qusra
village farmers driven off fields by settlers
Nablus – Ma'an –
Armed Israeli settlers from the illegal community of Migdalim accosted a
group of Palestinian farmers from the Qusra village on Friday morning,
and demanded that they leave the fields or face injury, farmers
reported. Ghassan Doughlas, the official responsible for settlement
activity in the northern West Bank, said the farmers were driven away
from their lands and unable to harvest crops for the day. A spokesman
from Israel's Civil Administration said he would look into the report.
Doughlas called on nations supporting the peace process to demand
protection for Palestinians from violent settlers, saying the continued
aggression could damage hopes for a just solution to the settlement
issue.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=285961
Rafah
municipality
suspends campaign against houses built on government land
Rafah
municipality
announced on Thursday that it was suspending the campaign against
houses built illegally on government land until matters are sorted out
between residents the land authority.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
Mitchell
Ends Tour, Netanyahu Affirms More Settlements
As the United
States Special Middle East Peace Envoy, George Mitchell, concluded a new
series
of talks with Israeli and Palestinian officials as part of the proximity
talks, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated Thursday that
Israel will resume its settlement activities directly after freeze
period ends.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58733
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott,Sanctions
and
Divestment
Two Children Injured,
Three Arrested By Soldiers In Bil'in's Weekly Wall Protest
On
Friday two children were injured, three other civilians injured as
Israeli troops attacked the weekly nonviolent protest in Bil’in village,
central West Bank.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58739
Troops Attack Villagers Of
Nabi Saleh And Injure One
One civilian was injured, and
dozens suffered from the effects oftear gas inhalation as Israeli troops
attacked, on Friday, the villagers of Nabi Saleh's anti wall protest in
central West Bank.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58738
Suspected "spy's" lawyers say police interrogators
tortured him
Attorneys say considering a petition to the High Court of Justice, after
their request to see Makhoul's prison medical records was denied.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/suspected-spy-s-lawyers-say-police-interrogators-tortured-him-1.291348
International orgs call on Israel to immediately
release rights defenders
On 6 May 2010, at 03:10am, 16 members of the Israeli General Security
Services (GSS) and the Israeli police force raided the family home of
Mr. Ameer Makhoul. After meeting him last night, Mr. Makhoul's lawyers
confirmed that he was suffering from exhaustion -- as a result of sleep
deprivation -- and that he had been subjected to various forms of
intensive interrogation, raising fears of possible torture or cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11274.shtml
Renowned Israeli playwright compares Ameer Makhoul
to Soviet “Prisoners of Zion”
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the tale of the arrest of Zion
Grisha Ameerovitch-Makhoulsky, who was taken in the middle of the night
by the KGB. The story made waves through the international media, yet
in Soviet Russia it was prohibited to mention the event in national
media outlets. As in all dark dictatorships, the intellectuals who
wanted to know where they lived, developed a network for sharing
alternative information: Mouth to Ear, a network that functions at the
speed of one’s voice and passes through the thick walls and fences that
surround the basement interrogation centers of the KGB.
http://coteret.com/2010/05/20/renowned-israeli-playwright-compares-ameer-makhoul-to-soviet-prisoners-of-zion/
Boycott volunteers say army searching for them
Bethlehem
-
Ma'an - Volunteers with the Palestinian Authority's House to House
settlement goods boycott campaign said Israeli forces entered the Husan
village, west of Bethlehem, searching for them. Volunteer Ahmad Jaz'ul
told Ma'an that four Israeli military jeeps "raided the village at 1pm
in the afternoon, searching for the campaign's volunteers, stopping
passer-bys and asking where we were."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=285841
Boycott
Targets
Stars From Elvis to Elton
In reaction, a music industry insider confirmed that the winds could be
shifting. The music executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity in
light of his ongoing business ties with artists, said that in recent
months he had approached more than 15 performing artists with proposals
to give concerts in Israel. None had agreed. The contracts offered high
levels of compensation. He called them “extreme, big numbers that could
match any other gig.”
http://www.forward.com/articles/128185/
Berkeley’s Grassroots House helps send boat to Gaza
The Berkeley Barb used to be my hometown’s most
famous “newspaper of record”
and we also had another hometown rag called Grassroots. However
both these papers have been out of print for more than 40 years and now
most of our local Berkeley newspapers have gone digital — except
for Grassroots, which has bucked that trend and simply gone
“residential”. It has changed from being a newspaper into being, er, a
building.
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2010/05/19/berkeleys-grassroots-house-helps-send-boat-to-gaza/
Israel urged to ensure safety of Irish on aid ship
to Gaza
The plea from ambassador Briefne O’Reilly came during a meeting at the
foreign ministry in Jerusalem on Monday where he was informed by the
ministry’s director of European affairs, Naor Gilon, that Irish peace
activists, together with other European participants in the “freedom
flotilla”, will be turned back by Israeli naval patrols before they
reach the shores of Gaza.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/0519/1224270655541.html
Montreal:
Solidarity
with Bil’in
The popular resistance by Bil’in, a village in
the West Bank, against the Israeli Occupation is ongoing and well known
to Montrealers following the visit by three members of the Popular
Committee of Bil’in in June, 2009 who came to attend the first hearing.
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/6748
Palestinian nonviolence relies on global non-silence | Yousef
Munayyer
The world cannot expect Palestinians to abandon
violence while remaining silent on Israel's repression of nonviolent
activists. When will there be a Palestinian Gandhi? I'm often asked
this question by people who sympathise with Palestinian suffering but
are uncomfortable associating themselves with resistance movements that
they see as violent or terrorist. The reality of course is that
Palestinian nonviolent resisters are not only active today but have a
long and storied history in the Palestinian struggle. The real question
is: why haven't we heard about them?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/21/palestinian-nonviolence-israeli-repression
Truth, Non-Violence and the Palestinian Hills, Samah Sabawi
(Based
on
a presentation given at Melbourne University Australia on April 30,
2010. The event was sponsored by Students for Palestine. ) Where is the
Palestinian Gandhi? I get this question at the end of almost every
presentation I’ve given on Palestine. This fascination with finding a
Palestinian Gandhi has been reflected time and again in newspapers
commentary, and political discourse. Obama has promised in his Cairo
speech [1] that should Palestinians renounce violence peace will find
its way. Singer Bono wished with all his heart for Palestinians to find
their Gandhi or their King [2]. A slew of bleeding hearts said it, wrote
it, preached it and insisted on it.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15969
Palestinian Economic
Boycott Hits Israeli Settlers, Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH, May 20,
2010 (IPS) - Israeli settlers are beginning to feel the bite of an
economic boycott campaign launched by the Palestinian Authority (PA)
against goods produced in the illegal Israeli settlements dotting the
occupied West Bank.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51511
Fogies shut their mouths amid new wave of idealism,
Henry Norr
The picture above was taken last Saturday outside the public library in
Castro Valley, CA, where Rep. Barbara Lee was due to get an award from
some Democratic Party club. Castro Valley, which is around 15 miles
southeast of Oakland, is about as plain-vanilla as you can get in the
East Bay, and in truth most of us demonstrating were from Berkeley and
Oakland. But there were at least a few local people participating, too,
and we handed out leaflets to hundreds of regular library patrons.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/05/fogies-shut-their-mouths-amid-new-wave-of-idealism.html
My letter to Nick Clegg on Palestine
As deputy PM, Nick Clegg, it is your duty to live up to your own words
on the daily atrocities happening in the occupied territories
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/may/20/nick-clegg-palestine-israel-gaza
As non-violence takes root, so may a Palestinian
state
Palestinians, hard-headed realists that they are, have
never much bought the idea of non-violence. The state of Israel was
partly born out of violence and has been sustained mainly through
violence. Turning the other cheek to people whose anatomical focus was
your knees – and keeping you on them – never seemed especially wise, let
alone effective. This might now be changing. The “growing non-violent
movement among Palestinians is simultaneously emerging spontaneously
from the grassroots and being encouraged by the leadership,” Ziad Asali,
the president of the American Task Force for Palestine (ATFP), wrote
recently in the Guardian newspaper in the UK.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100519/OPINION/705189953/1080
Israel
looks to halt Palestinian boycott of settlement products
Labor
Ministry
urges PA to cancel boycott , which it says violates international trade
rules and policies.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/israel-looks-to-halt-palestinian-boycott-of-settlement-products-1.291365
Israelis to launch 'counter' Freedom Fleet boat
Bethlehem
– Ma'an – Two Israeli boats will lift anchor on Saturday from northern
Israel, in response to the upcoming arrival of the Freedom Fleet in
Gaza's port, bringing humanitarian aid and some 600 peace activists,
Israeli media reported. According to the Hebrew online news site
Yedioth Aharonoth, the two vessels will wave banners describing
"barbaric Hamas" and the Armenian genocide, allegedly in response to
Turkish involvement in the nine-boat convoy.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=285888
Violence and Aggression
Israel jets strike Gaza in response to Qassam attack
IDF spokesman's office says IAF struck tunnel dug near Strip's northern
border, intended to facilitate a terror attack against Israeli citizens.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-jets-strike-gaza-in-response-to-qassam-attack-1.291399
2 Gaza fighters dead after clashes inside Israel, army says
Gaza
– Ma'an – An exchange of fire at Gaza's Kissufim border area reportedly
resulted in the death of two Palestinians on Friday, with "fierce
fighting" described by de facto government officials. An Israeli army
spokeswoman said the clash site was in fact on the Israeli side of the
Gaza border fence. She said soldiers identified two armed men, "right
next to Nirim," an Israeli moshav in the western Negev.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=286009
Settlers Throw Stones and the Army Arrests Children-
Video from Hebron 15 May 2010
Below is video from the (now) weekly peace march to Open Shuhada Street
in Hebron. While the video is not subtitled, one can get the feeling of
the atmosphere during these marches and the behaviour of the IDF and the
settlers. What you see here is nothing short of breath taking… the
settlers, in plain view, throw stones onto the peaceful protesters. The
army responds by trying to arrest Palestinian children. The fiction of
Kafka comes again to mind yet even Kafka could not think of something so
bizarre. Hebron is a city without rules. It is the wild west of Israel
and, in a profound way, the face of the Israeli occupation of the West
Bank.
http://josephdana.com/2010/05/settlers-yelling-and-army-arresting-video-from-hebron-15-may-2010/
Palestinian cancer patient dies after repeated
failure to travel abroad
A 45-year-old Palestinian man was proclaimed dead in Gaza Strip on
Wednesday after two years of developing cancer, medical sources said.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
Detainees/Abuse
Organized Trauma: Increased systematic child arrests
in Palestine
Akram Sharawneh, a 15 year old boy from Hebron, was released on Sunday
the 25th of April this year after being randomly arrested by Israeli
soldiers and spending more than two months in an Israeli juvenile prison
(not all the period in juvenal prison). He is one of the many minors
from Hebron who has been arrested and held captive in Israeli detention
since the beginning of this year. Akram was arrested the 23rd of
February near his home in the old city of Hebron when he went out to buy
bread. The day before his arrest, the Israeli Cabinet had declared
several holy places in the West Bank as National Jewish heritage sites,
including the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/05/12459
IOF
troops
arrest a whole family in southern Jenin
More than 10
military vehicles raided, at dawn Friday, the village of Kafr Rai to the
south of the northern West Bank city of Jenin and arrested a whole
family after ransacking their home.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
Israeli
Troops Detain Women And Children In Northern West Bank
Six women and their children from the village of Araba, northern West
Bank, were detained by Israeli troops on Tuesday evening.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58717
Hamas’
Security
Forces Arrest Senior Fateh Leader
The Security Forces of the dissolved government of Hamas in the Gaza
Strip arrested, on Wednesday, Dr. Osama al-Farra, member of the
Revolutionary Council on Fateh movement, headed by Palestinian
President, Mahmoud Abbas.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58720
Abu Tir calls Shin Bet interrogation 'extortion
attempt'
Senior Hamas figure who was questioned just hours after his release from
prison banned from Jerusalem for 30 days; Israeli authorities 'ignoring
law and common sense,' he tells Ynet.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3892150,00.html
Siege/Humanitarian Issues/Human Rights/Restriction of
Movement/Discrimination
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in
the Occupied Palestinian Territory 13 - 19 May 2010
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/ASAZ-85MHS3?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Gaza crisis "far beyond humanitarian"
DUBAI (IRIN) - With a failing economy, rising unemployment and
deteriorating power, sanitation and health facilities, the health of
Gaza's population continues to worsen, according to a recent World
Health Organization (WHO) report. In contrast, modest improvements have
been made in the West Bank.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11272.shtml
Israel
blocks mail between Gaza, West Bank
Gaza – Ma'an – Israel has
halted the flow of government sector mail between Gaza and the West
Bank, causing a delay in the receipt of official documents, officials
said on Thursday. Maher Abu Ouf, Palestinian director for the Erez
crossing between Gaza and Israel, said Israel shut-down all mail
services last Wednesday after forces detained Gaza-based postal service
official Sufian Abu Zubda.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=285679
Uncertain Education
Since September 2009, seventy children of the Bedouin community Jahalin
in al-Khan al-Ahmar have been going to school close to their homes,
between Jericho and Jerusalem. But it is unclear whether these children
will be able to attend their necessary lessons next year. By the end of
the current school year in July, the Israeli Civil Administration will
decide whether the demolition will go ahead. If this threat
materializes, the children will be deprived of their education.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1411
Gaza's virtual connection to the rest of the world
GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) - "I've learned most of what I know
about photo editing and graphic design via the Internet," says Emad,
27-year-old filmmaker and editor. In Gaza, this sort of thing has become
usual in a different way. "This program isn't available here," he says,
smiling triumphantly as he finishes downloading the latest edition of an
advanced video editing program.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11275.shtml
Israel's
Arab
Helpers
Egypt Sources: We Find Qatar's Bid to Rebuild Gaza
"Difficult to Digest"
20/05/2010 Egypt is still closing the Rafah crossing increasing the
Palestinians’ suffering in the Gaza Strip after Israel has imposed a
blockade since 2007 against over 1.5 million people living there, not to
mention the building of the Egyptian wall along the border with the
Strip that would add more isolation for the Gazans since Rafah is the
only gate that connects Gaza with the outer World after Israeli
occupation government closed all the other crossings. Moreover, Israeli
daily Haaretz quoted Egyptian sources as saying that Israel rejected a
Qatari proposal to carry out rehabilitation work in the Gaza Strip in
exchange for renewing diplomatic relations with Israel after Egypt made
it clear that it would find such a deal "difficult to digest".
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=138323&language=en
Hamas
Hamas to raze 180 Gaza houses, leaving dozens
homeless, to erect religious center
Hamas to raze 180 Gaza houses, leaving dozens homeless, to erect
religious center Palestinian Center for Human Rights says Gaza
authorities already destroyed 20 homes, forcing 150 people to live in
tents.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/
hamas-to-raze-180-gaza-houses-leaving-dozens-homeless-to-erect-religious-center-1.291347
20 Families Displaced as Palestinian Land Authority
Demolishes Homes in Rafah
On Sunday morning, 16 May 2010, the Palestinian Land Authority
demolished 20 homes in the west of the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood in the
southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, claiming that they had been built on
public land. The police assisted in the process of house demolitions.
Twenty families, consisting of approximately 150 individuals, became
homeless as a result. The majority of the displaced families were forced
to set up tents on the debris of the demolished houses.[1] On the
morning of Monday, 17 May 2010, the Land Authority also demolished two
houses that were under construction and a fence in the west of al-Amal
neighborhood in Khan Yunis.
http://www.pchrgaza.org/portal/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6679
Gaza bans late-night partying to encourage studying
(AFP)
AFP - Gaza's Hamas government on Wednesday banned late-night partying in
public places so that high-school students can get a bit of peace and
quiet as they prepare for their final exams.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100519/lf_afp/mideastgazaeducationsocial
Political
Developments
PLO says Israel not entering proximity talks in good
faith
As U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell shuttles back and forth between
Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the region this week to kick off the
long-awaited "proximity talks," the Palestine Liberation Organization's
man in Washington remains skeptical the talks will lead to real progress
in solving the overall conflict. "To be honest with you, I don't see
signals or indications on the Israeli side to point they are really
going to enter these talks with the objective of trying to end the
conflict with the Palestinians," PLO representative Maen Rashid Areikat
told The Cable in an exclusive interview.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/05/20/plo_says_israel_not_entering_proximity_talks_in_good_faith
Netanyahu wants direct peace talks
JERUSALEM,
May
20 (UPI) -- Binyamin Netanyahu wants direct peace talks with
Palestinian leaders "as soon as possible," a spokesman for the Israeli
prime minister said Thursday. Netanyahu met with U.S. Middle East envoy
George Mitchell Thursday as indirect talks progressed, The Jerusalem
Post reported. "Netanyahu has expressed his interest in progressing the
proximity talks, so they can reach direct talks as soon as possible,"
said Nir Hefetz, the prime minister's
communications director.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/05/20/Netanyahu-wants-direct-peace-talks/UPI-19621274384952/
Mediterranean summit delayed to allow Mideast
dialogue: Spain (AFP)
AFP - A summit of the Mediterranean Union planned for June 5-7 in
Barcelona has been postponed to give time for progress in indirect talks
between Israel and the Palestinians, Spain said Thursday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100520/wl_mideast_afp/mediterraneandiplomacysummitisraelpalestiniansspain
US lawmakers back Israel missile defense aid (AFP)
AFP - The US House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly
backed President Barack Obama's plans to help Israel deploy an
anti-missile system, in an unmistakable election-year show of support.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100520/pl_afp/mideastisraelusmissilepolitics
The new frontiers of Israeli diplomacy, ctd.: Czech
Foreign Minister “humiliated”
Israel is embarrassed: This week the Czech Republic made an official
protest of what it calls the humiliation of its foreign minister Jan
Kohout at Ben Gurion airport. The incident occurred May 6 when the
minister left Israel after an official visit to Israel and the PA.
Kohout, a confirmed friend of Israel, entered the Masada lounge at
Ben-Gurion Airport where he was detained for half an hour with his
entourage. According to the report by
the Israeli ambassador in Prague Yaacov Levy, the border police officer
examined the 44 passports of the delegation, and contrary to diplomatic
etiquette addressed the minister by his first name.
http://coteret.com/2010/05/20/the-new-frontiers-of-israel-diplomacy-ctd-czech-foreign-minister-humiliated/
Maariv: Foreign Ministry targeting Egyptian Consul
for denying visas to Israeli academics
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has launched a diplomatic campaign against
the Egyptian foreign ministry because of the rejection of requests by
Israeli researchers for visas to participate in international
conferences in Egypt. The campaign focuses on the Egyptian consul,
Sameh Nabil. The Foreign
Ministry believes that in the last months he has been working to reject
requests by renowned Israeli researchers for visas to Egypt, acts
arrogantly and is unduly strict with Israelis. The Foreign Ministry
claims that the Egyptian consulate officials in Tel Aviv who receive the
public treat applicants disrespectfully, refrain from asking them the
questions necessary to receive visas, and sometimes reject their
applications for ridiculous reasons like diacritical marks. The results
of the researchers’ absence from those conferences is a diminishment of
Israeli presence in the international arena.
http://coteret.com/2010/05/20/
maariv-foreign-ministry-targeting-egyptian-consul-for-denying-visas-to-israeli-academics/
Other News
Exclusive
interview
with Gaza's Army of Islam
Gaza – Ma'an Exclusive- "Salafism is not only in Gaza, it is all over
Palestine and needs no license to practice in the heart of Tel Aviv or
in Washington," Jaish Al-Islam (Army of Islam) leader Omer Al-Ansari
told Ma'an during an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=48074
Media conservatives enraged that Brennan used the
Arabic word for Jerusalem
Right-wing media figures have freaked out over a video of White House
adviser John Brennan mentioning his love for "Al Quds -- Jerusalem,"
with some asserting that Brennan had used the "Islamist name" to refer
to Jerusalem. In fact, "Al Quds" is simply the Arabic word for
Jerusalem, which other prominent political leaders have also used.
http://mediamatters.org/research/201005200054
Jewish donors outraged by ‘sociopath’ Obama
JERUSALEM
(Arutz-7)
– If senior journalist David Goldman is right, the correct word for
describing the way a growing number of US Jews feel about President
Barack Obama is not ‘anger,’ but ‘rage’ – white-hot rage, at that, and a
conviction that they have been swindled. Goldman, senior editor of
First Things magazine and columnist for Asia Times Online, spoke
recently at a convention on intellectuals and terror at Ariel University
in Samaria.
http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/index.php/201005173046/
Jewish-donors-outraged-by-sociopath-Obama-writer.html
Chomsky
The
real
Noam Chomsky?
I was just browsing the JSF blogroll, which I
don't do nearly enough, and I noticed a gripe by Anthony Lowenstein
titled, Why
is
Chomsky now warm to Ramallah’s embrace?. I had a quick read (it's
only short) and followed his link to Ali
Abunimah's
blog, where the co-founder of Electronic Intifada expresses what he
politely calls his bafflement at Chomsky's twists and turns over
Palestine over the years and the, er, weeks
http://jewssansfrontieres.blogspot.com/2010/05/real-noam-chomsky.html
Analysis/Opinion/Human
Interest
A
tip for the Shin Bet
Bullets are fired, trees are chopped
down, fields are set ablaze, window panes are shattered and houses are
subject to pogroms while the representatives of law and order keep
themselves safe and at a distance.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/a-tip-for-the-shin-bet-1.291377
Don't confuse us with facts, Akiva Eldar
Baseless beliefs and deeply rooted misconceptions are the main obstacles
that prevent Israelis from supporting negotiations as a solution to the
conflict with the Palestinians, according to recent research
http://www.haaretz.com/magazine/week-s-end/don-t-confuse-us-with-facts-1.291302
Democracy according to Reichman, Gideon Levy
As Israel closes its gates to anyone who doesn't fall in line with our
official positions, we are becoming more and more like North Korea.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/democracy-according-to-reichman-1.291143
Chomsky denied entry as Goldstone remains under
attack
RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - When internationally renowned
linguist, philosopher and political analyst Noam Chomsky was barred from
entering the occupied West Bank, he joined a chorus of Jewish
intellectuals savaged by the Israeli government for outspoken criticism.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11271.shtml
Who’s Who of Banned Israeli Visitors
At
this point, you could have quite the dinner party with the folks Israel
leaves out! How do I get on that guest list? UPDATE: Eitan Bronner has
an article on the
dustup inside Israel over whether it was such a great idea to ban
Noam Chomsky, after doing likewise to Jewish American journalist Jared
Maslin, Falk, and Goldstone as well as my personal favorite,
Spain’s most famous clown Ivan Prado. Maybe if Israel didn’t need to hide what
it was doing to Palestinians, Elvis Costello wouldn’t need to stay
away as well!
http://theonlydemocracy.org/2010/05/whos-who-of-banned-israeli-visitors/
Persecution of Palestinian citizens recalls S.
Africa apartheid repression
Two weeks after Israel imposed a travel ban on him, Ameer Makhoul, a
well-respected Palestinian leader holding Israeli citizenship, was
kidnapped from his home on 6 May in the middle of the night. The
persecution of Makhoul brings back memories of the South Africa
apartheid regime; during the South Africa anti-apartheid movement,
similar tactics were used against those advocating for freedom and equal
rights, who were accused of terrorism and having links with the Soviet
Union. Adri Nieuwhof and Bangani Ngeleza comment for The Electronic
Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11270.shtml
The Only Democracy in the Middle East?, Jerrold
Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
JERUSALEM — Noam Chomsky, a fierce espouser of left-wing causes, is
widely admired in countries which parade themselves as "democracies."
Apparently, the admiration does not extend to Israel. The 81-year-old
world famous linguist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was
denied access to the occupied West Bank when he tried to cross in from
Jordan to deliver a lecture at the Palestinian Birzeit University.
http://original.antiwar.com/kessel-klohendler/2010/05/19/the-only-democracy-in-the-middle-east/
Can Palestinians peacefully build a state?
Their
prime
minister, Salam Fayyad (pictured), is giving it a go. But he is caught
between his own people’s demands and those of Israel.
http://www.economist.com/world/middle-east/displaystory.cfm?story_id=16167856&fsrc=rss
Sestak, Israel and Iran, JEFFREY BLANKFORT
Readers who are already celebrating the long overdue departure of Arlen
Specter from the the US Senate should be advised, to borrow a phrase
from noted plagiarizer, Joe Biden, that there was “no space between” the
foreign policy positions of long-time Pennsylvania Senator and the
ex-Navy admiral, Rep. Joe Sestak who defeated him in Tuesday night’s
primary balloting.
http://www.counterpunch.com/blankfort05192010.html
OECD Rewards Israel's Occupation, Brian Napoletano –
Paris
The governments of the 31 member states of the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) all agreed on May 10 that Israel's
illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, its institutionalized
discrimination against non-Jewish citizens, and its multiple alleged war
crimes will not disqualify the state from joining the ranks of the
world's strongest economic powers.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15968
Iraq
Thursday: 10 Iraqis Killed, 46 Wounded
Updated at 8:12 p.m. EDT, May 20, 2010 At least 10 Iraqis were killed
and 46 were wounded in a series of small attacks across the country.
Meanwhile, the prime minister issued an incendiary statement basically
telling the winning party in parliamentary elections to give up on
heading the new government. Also, Turkish warplanes launched a two-hour
air strike on about 50 suspected PKK rebel locations.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/05/20/thursday-10-iraqis-killed-46-wounded/
Wednesday: 14 Iraqis Killed, 32 Wounded
At least 14 Iraqis were killed and 32 more were wounded in the latest
attacks. Meanwhile, officials have denied news reports of a security
wall being erected around Baghdad, and protests continue in Kurdistan,
where a journalist was killed recently.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/05/19/wednesday-14-iraqis-killed-32-wounded/
6 killed by car bomb south of Baghdad (AP)
AP
-
A car bomb exploded in front of a restaurant killing six people south
of Baghdad on Wednesday, Iraqi officials said, highlighting the fragile
nature of Iraq's security.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100519/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
Car bomb explodes near Zahraa’ Husseiniya
A car bomb
exploded on Thursday night in a parking lot near Al Zahraa’ Husseiniya
in Al Iskandariya District, Babel police told Alsumaria News. The
explosion caused damages to nearby cars, police added.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-49445-Car-bomb-explodes-near-Zahraa%E2%80%99-Husseiniya.html
Maliki attends Iraq leaders' lunch, Allawi abroad
*
Most Iraqi leaders present at lunch, Allawi in Jordan
* Trouble seen
if Sunni-backed Allawi excluded from power
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ALS053592.htm
Families of Iraqi prisoners who suffocated in truck
allege torture
The corpses of at least three of the six Sunni
Muslim detainees who died while in Iraqi government custody earlier this
month showed signs of torture, their families said Thursday as they
vowed revenge at emotionally charged funerals.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/20/94570/families-of-iraqi-prisoners-who.html
Is Iraq's Middle Class Giving Up?
In the LA Times today, Borzou Daragahi provides one of the most
pessimistic assessments I've seen yet of Iraq's future. The continuing
stalemate over the election, he says, along with the violence it's
provoked,is
causing the Iraqi middle class to give up once and for all:
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/05/iraqs-middle-class-giving
Lebanon
Lebanon Uncovers 22 Spy
Networks Working For Israel
A senior Lebanese security source
reported that the Lebanese security forces managed to uncover and
dismantle 22 spy networks working for Israel.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58737
Hezbollah
on
Alert ahead of Israel Drill; Warns 'Israelis Have No Place to Hide'
21/05/2010
Thousands
of Hezbollah resistance fighters have been ordered to maintain a
heightened state of alert ahead of a large-scale Israeli occupation army
exercise which begins Sunday, the group's representatives in southern
Lebanon, Sheikh Nabil Qaouk, told the AFP news agency on Friday. Sheikh
Qaouk said, "The Hezbollah fighters have (been instructed) to be
completely ready to confront Israeli maneuvers on Sunday. A few
thousands of our fighters will not go to the polls (to participate in
municipal elections in southern Lebanon) and are ready (for anything)
today." Israeli officials have stressed that the week-long drill was
planned in advance, however Sheikh Qaouk clarified that "in the event of
a new aggression against Lebanon, the Israelis will not find a place to
hide in Palestine."
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=138486&language=en
Israeli Army Preparing for Mass Evacuations in Case
of Hezbollah Missile Strike
20/05/2010 Israeli media reported Monday that the Israeli occupation
army Home Front Command is putting together a plan for the mass
evacuation of settlers in the event of missile and rocket attacks,
adding that Hezbollah's rockets can currently hit practically everywhere
in the occupied country. The plan will be studied as part of next week's
nationwide Home Front Command exercise. Israeli defense officials
are preparing for war scenarios including massive missile strikes on the
home front. The occupation authorities are assuming that many rockets
would be fired at the northern border, rockets with heavier warheads
would be aimed at the greater Tel Aviv area, and some Israeli army bases
might be the first targets.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=138349&language=en
Ten years on, Israel wrestles with Lebanon pullout
(AFP)
AFP - Ten years after withdrawing all its troops from south Lebanon,
Israel is still wrestling with the results of the unilateral move which
cost the Jewish state dearly in terms of deterrence.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100521/lf_afp/israellebanonanniversarywithdrawal
U.S.
and Other World News
Most Americans Endorse Terrorist Expatriation Act
A
large proportion of people in the United States would support a proposed
law that would strip all Americans with links to terrorist
organizations of their U.S. citizenship, according to a poll by Angus
Reid Public Opinion. 77 per cent of respondents approve of the bill
currently being discussed in Congress.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25504.htm
US opens Afghan civilian deaths probe
Illegal drug use, assault and conspiracy are also included in the
allegations.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/05/201052014153509957.html
Iran's drafted sanctions are strongest in whole
world - US
The US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice affirmed
Wednesday that if the new set of sanctions are adopted against Iran it
will be "the strongest sanctions regime against any country in the world
today."
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2084796&Language=en
Iran dismisses U.N. sanctions draft
The text, agreed by all five permanent Security Council members after
months of negotiation, targets Iranian banks and calls for inspection of
vessels suspected of carrying cargo related to Iran's nuclear or missile
programmes.
http://in.news.yahoo.com/137/20100519/756/twl-iran-dismisses-u-n-sanctions-draft_1.html
MESS Report / Israel is learning to live with a
nuclear Iran
If a recent academic simulation proved anything, it was that Israel was
coming to terms with 'the day after' an Iran nuke.
http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/mess-report/mess-report-israel-is-learning-to-live-with-a-nuclear-iran-1.291103
Newspaper ad calls for Israel to bomb Iran
An
advertisement
on Israel’s Haaretz website is calling on Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu to make good on his (alleged?) promise to bomb Iran in two
weeks’ time. If he doesn’t, says Israel Uncensored News, “the entire
Middle East will be up in arms. In nuclear arms.”
http://world.caledonianmercury.com/2010/05/19/newspaper-ad-calls-for-israel-to-bomb-iran/00866
Mubarak: Only God knows my successor
During Rome visit, Egyptian president sidesteps question on future
ruler.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3891558,00.html
Mothers visit US prisoners held in Iran
The
mothers of three young Americans detained by Iran since July will meet
with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran. The trio are suspected
of spying - but their families deny the accusation, saying they were
only hiking in Iraq's scenic north, and accidentally crossed the border
into Iran. Al Jazeera's Alireza Ronaghi reports. May 20, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ8Fu_F3A_Q&feature=youtube_gdata
Bahrain blocks Al Jazeera team
The government of Bahrain has issued a decree to shut down Al Jazeera's
bureau in the capital, Manama, citing what it called the TV channel's
"breach of media norms". In a statement on Tuesday, Bahrain's culture
and information ministry accused the network of "flouting the laws
regulating the press and publishing" in the country. The statement came
as Bahraini authorities prevented an Al Jazeera team from entering the
country on Tuesday to interview Yvo De Boer, who recently resigned as
the UN climate chief.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/05/2010519123656935254.html
Historically
Apolitical,
Sufis Now Side With the State
CAIRO, May 21, 2010 (IPS) -
Although Egypt's many Sufi orders have traditionally been known for
keeping a safe distance from politics, recent events suggest they are
now closer than ever to the ruling regime.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51527
West doesn't want a democratic Middle East
CAMBRIDGE, England — The lack of democracy in the Arab world results
from an unholy alliance between Western interests and local autocrats,
justified by what both sides claim to be the region's "cultural
specificity." In a nutshell, it has been much easier for the West to do
business in the postcolonial Middle East with undemocratic regimes,
which have found Western support and recognition useful in marginalizing
local liberal and democratic forces, even as it paved the way for the
rise of Islamist radicalization.
Sticks as well as carrots have been used — by both sides — to maintain
this alliance. For example, the Western emphasis on reform and democracy
in recent years has been used more often than not as a threat, a typical
message being: "Help us in Iraq or we will press for democracy and
human rights in your own country." And the Arab reply is equally
threatening: "Stop pressing us on the reform issue or we won't cooperate
in the 'war on terror'!"
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20100520a3.html
Meet
the Pole-Dancing Miss USA, aka "Miss Hezbollah", Something About Rima
Is
the
new Miss USA packing a bomb in her bikini? Rima Fakih, an Arab-American
beauty who really knows her way around a stripper pole, has managed to
upset prudes, neo-cons and anti-immigrationists alike. "It’s a sad day
in America,” writes conservative blogger Debbie Schlussel who has dubbed
Miss USA 2010 “Miss Hezbollah,” as well as a “Muslim activist and
propagandist extraordinaire."
http://www.counterpunch.com/block05212010.html
CNN's
Ridiculous
Headline Fail (PICTURE): Accusing Rima Fakih of Being Spy
Okay,
before
we jump on CNN.com for their apparent lack of objectivity, let's
hear them out. There's clearly a reasonable explanation for this
headline. Perhaps her secret talent really is being a double agent. We
won't know until we read the article.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/21/cnns-ridiculous-headline_n_584761.html |
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