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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Land and Property Theft and Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
IDF destroys West Bank village after declaring it
military zone, Amira Hass
Since 1967, Israel has prevented the growth of Palestinian communities
in the Jordan Valley by cutting off their water supply or declaring
large areas as live fire zones.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/
idf-destroys-west-bank-village-after-declaring-it-military-zone-1.303098
Peace Now reveals new plan to build 3 more stories
in Kubaniyet Um Haroun
The Peace Now movement revealed that a group of Israeli settlers intend
to build three additional stories in Kubaniyet Um Haroun in Sheikh
Jarrah neighborhood. Israeli settlers attempt to burn historical mosque in
Jaffa
A group of extremist Israeli settlers attempted Tuesday morning to burn
the western entrance of the historical Hassan Bek mosque in the city of
Jaffa.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?x
Indeed, what business is it of Israelis where Palestinians choose
to build their homes? Arab High Court Judge: What's Wrong with Arab Illegal
Houses?
The State admitted in a previous court hearing that the mansions were
illegally built. However, it had not taken action to tear them down. At
the opening of Monday's hearing, the Prosecution announced that it had
begun enforcement procedures for one of the nine structures. A
representative of Regavim showed the judges photographs of the illegal
homes. Judge Joubran took a look at the pictures and said: “These are
beautiful homes indeed. Whom does this bother? Whom does this hurt? They
need to live well!” The two other judges reportedly seemed taken aback
by the statement but chose to ignore it.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/138693
Solidarity/Activism/Boycott,
Sanctions
&
Divestment
BSD: Youth Against Normalization
http://www.youthanormalization.blogspot.com/
Swedish
peace
activist arrested. Witnesses say charge of assault is ‘baseless’
A
Swedish peace activist was arrested in Hebron last night and stood trial
today in Jerusalem. Nursing student Marcus Rednanver was accused of
assaulting a soldier at a peaceful demonstration in Hebron 10 days ago.
Witnesses say the charge is baseless and that he has been targeted
by police arbitrarily. The judge ordered that he be detained and
questioned for a further two days.
At approximately 11PM last night
(20 July 2010) Rednanver and another Swedish man were passing a
checkpoint near Tel Rumeida when soldiers forcefully detained him,
confiscated his passport and called police. Rednanver was not told
where he had been taken but believed it was a police station near
Hebron. Officials at the Court of Peace in the Russian Compound,
Jerusalem, heard his case at 12.30 this afternoon. Following the judge’s
ruling he was led wasy in handcuffs and shackled at the ankles. He told
friends who attended the hearing that he had not been fed since he was
arrested. He will be released on Friday 23rd at 12 noon unless the
police investigation can produce new evidence.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/07/13135/
American Activists Plan Gaza Flotilla Ship Named for
Obama Book
A group of Americans opposed to Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza is
raising money online to pay for a ship from the United States to take
part in a new protest flotilla scheduled to set sail for the Palestinian
territory in September or October. In an appeal for money posted on the
Web site UStoGaza.org,
the activists say they are
“planning to launch a U.S. boat to Gaza, joining a flotilla of ships
from Europe, Canada, India, South Africa and parts of the Middle East.”
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/20/
american-activists-plan-gaza-flotilla-ship-named-for-obama-book/
Jordan Gaza activists stage protest at Egyptian
embassy
Amman - About 150 Jordanian activists demonstrated before the Egyptian
embassy in Amman on Tuesday to protest Cairo's refusal to allow a
humanitarian convoy to reach the besieged Gaza Strip, according to a
prominent unionist. 'We staged a one-hour sit-in before the embassy
with an intensive presence of security forces,' Ahmad Armouti, president
of the Trade Unions Council, told the German Press Agency dpa.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1572103.php
The rising non-violent movement in Palestine:
Mustafa Barghouti
A recent address by Mustafa Barghouti in
Canada, in two parts. Born in Jerusalem in 1954, Dr Barghouti is a
leader of the Palestinian National Initiative founded in 2002 and a
member of Palestinian Legislative Council as well as a former Minister
of Information in the unity government in 2007. The full transcript from
these Real News Network clips appears over the fold. Also check out Dr
Barghouti’s excellent
2008 address to the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) National
Convention.
Video Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJvi8b_IGAM&feature=player_embedded
Video Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb_QylA45OE&feature=player_embedded
http://pulsemedia.org/2010/07/21/mustafa-barghouti-on-the-rising-non-violent-movement-in-palestine/
Liberate all ghettos
The action that we recently undertook on the terrain of the old Warsaw
Ghetto -- to spray the words "Liberate all ghettos" in Hebrew and "Free
Gaza and Palestine" in English -- has been used by some commentators in
Israel and the Jewish community in Poland to accuse us of anti-Semitism.
Ewa Jasiewicz and Yonatan Shapira comment for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11405.shtml
Felicity Arbuthnot – An open letter to the
Methodist Church on their decision to Endorse BDS
http://palestinethinktank.com/2010/07/20/
felicity-arbuthnot-an-open-letter-to-the-methodist-church-on-their-decision-to-endorse-bds/
Are Arabs
swimming with or against the BDS tide against Israeli Apartheid?
Charles C. Boycott seems to have become a household word
because of his strong sense of duty to his employer. An Englishman and
former British soldier, Boycott was the estate agent of the Earl of Erne
in County Mayo, Ireland. The earl was one of the absentee landowners
who as a group held most of the land in Ireland. Boycott was chosen in
the fall of 1880 to be the test case for a new policy advocated by
Charles Parnell, an Irish politician who wanted land reform.
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/7535
Ra Ra Ramallah booms to Boney M (AFP)
AFP
-
Arabs and Israelis boogeyed ecstatically together in the occupied West
Bank late into the night as 70s band Boney M belted out their nostalgic
disco tunes at an open-air concert.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100721/wl_mideast_afp/entertainmentmideastpalestinianmusic
Johnny Rotten: "Rise" against racism, boycott Israel
The following letter to British musician John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten,
who is scheduled to perform in Tel Aviv next month, was issued on 18
July 2010 by the Palestinian Students' Campaign for the Academic Boycott
of Israel (PSCABI) and the University Teachers' Association in Palestine
(UTAP).
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11409.shtml
Johnny Rotten is Actually Perfect for Israel: John Lydon's rotten politics | David Cronin
A
few months ago Lydon claimed he's
"well-known for being a pacifist" and named Mahatma Gandhi as his
all-time hero. Surely, then, he would be open to supporting one of the
most impressive examples of Gandhi's principles being put into action in
today's world: the weekly demonstrations in the West
Bank village of Bi'lin, where unarmed activists are regularly fired
at by Israeli forces. Surely, too, he would be sympathetic to the call
made by numerous Palestinian trade unions and other campaign groups for a
cultural and economic boycott of Israel.
Not a chance, I'm afraid. Lydon has vowed to go ahead with a PiL concert
in Tel Aviv, scheduled for late August. "If Elvis-fucking-Costello
wants
to
pull out of a gig in Israel because he's suddenly got this compassion
for Palestinians, then good on him," Lydon told
the Independent. "But I have absolutely one rule, right? Until I see
an Arab country, a Muslim country, with a democracy, I won't understand
how anyone can have a problem with how they're treated."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/21/john-lydon-pil-palestinians
Violence
and
Aggression
Report: Palestinian killed after IDF fires at
figures near Gaza border
This most recent clash on the Gaza border comes a week after sources
claimed an IDF shelling killed a Palestinian woman.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/
report-palestinian-killed-after-idf-fires-at-figures-near-gaza-border-1.303253
One
Killed,
Six Injured, By Israeli Bombardment To Northern Gaza
Gaza – PNN - At least one Palestinian civilian was killed six others
were injured on Wednesday by Israeli bombardment targeting the town of
Beit Hanon in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Local sources
announced that Israeli tanks shelled resident homes close to the borders
with Israel and later an Israeli jet fighter fired a missile at a group
of residents killing one and injuring six others among them children.
Dr. Mo’awyiah Hassanie, from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, said
that Mohamed Kafarnah, 20 years old, was killed by the shelling. He
added that three of the injured sustained critical wounds.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8548
Israeli
policeman
beats a child in Jerusalem
Jerusalem, July 21, (Pal
Telegraph) An Israeli policeman attacked yesterday and severely beat a
child in Jerusalem, Sam Alseyuri 8 years near a market located near one
of the gates of Al Aqsa Mosque. According to local sources the
attack on the child occurred after the performance of Asr prayer with
his mother and two siblings: his brother Hossam 7 years, and his sister
Rodat two years, where they went to a shop named "gifts of children"
belongs to his grandfather, Haji Mohammad Arif Seyuri, who gave him a
"plastic gun" to play with when he and his brother were surprised at the
gate of an Israeli policeman trying to disarm them by taking the plastic
gun from his hand by force then breaking it into pieces, he took
little sam aside and started beating him infront of his brother.
Sam
was then taken to a hospital where he was treated from sever injuries
and bruises, though he is still traumatized and doesn’t understand why
did the Israeli policeman did so.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6758
Detainees
Israel
raids
Hebron, arrests 2
Hebron, July 21, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli
occupation forces arrested late last night Palestinian citizens after
raiding several houses in the town of “Thahereyeh” and the village
of Abu Alasja south of Hebron in the West Bank. Security sources said
that the Israeli occupation forces also arrested Bassem Eid Tal (37
years) after entering the home his father and his brother's Mohammed
house Mohammed and performed inspections operations. They also arrested
Ahmed Salem Abu Sondos from the village of Abu Alasja near the town of
Dura, south of Hebron and took him to an unknown destination. The IOF
erected a checkpoint at the entrance to the village of Kirza south of
Hebron and the Israeli soldiers searched the vehicles of the citizens
there.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6756
IOF
troops
raid Abasan, detain four west Bankers
Israeli occupation
forces (IOF) went on the rampage east of Khan Younis city, south of the
Gaza Strip, on Tuesday night bulldozing land and firing at Palestinian
homes.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/d
Ofer
prisoners
initiate protest steps against Israeli violations
Palestinian
prisoners
in the Israeli ofer jail started protest steps against the Israeli
prison authority's violations of their rights.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/defaul
PA to compensate family of Hamas detainee
Hebron
–
Ma'an – A Palestinian military court ruled Tuesday that Palestinian
Authority Intelligence Services must compensate the family of suspect
who died in prison. But the Southern and Northern Provinces court
exonerated five intelligence officers suspected of involvement in
Haytham Abdullah Abdul Rahman Amr's death. Amr was detained by PA
intelligence forces on 11 June 2009 for affiliation with Hamas. He later
died in a Hebron prison on 15 June 2009. Hamas accused PA forces of
torturing Amr during questioning, leading to his death in PA custody.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=301137
The
Siege (Gaza & West Bank)/Humanitarian and Human Rights/Restriction
of Movement
6
Palestinians missing in Gaza tunnel
GAZA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Six Palestinian smugglers have gone missing
Wednesday when a tunnel beneath Gaza's southern border with Egypt caved
in, witnesses and rescue workers said. The witnesses said it is still
difficult to predict the fate of the trapped as rescue crews are digging
the sand to look for them. The workers were bringing in goods from
Egypt, the witnesses said, but the sorts of goods were also unknown.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-07/21/c_13408558.htm
Industrial
Fuel
– Needs Vs. Supply – June 20 – July 17
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/07/industrial-fuel-needs-vs-supply-june-20-july-17/
An End to the Occupation Is Compulsory for the
Achievement of Women's Rights in Palestine
The need for a solution to the Palestine-Israeli conflict is a national
issue, but it is equally an issue of women's rights. Nicky Elliott spoke
to a number of women's rights activists about their feelings regarding
the importance of a political solution for women in Palestine.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1490
Palestinian Children Under Occupation, Stephen
Lendman
The Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and
Consultations is a Beirut, Lebanon-based organization engaged in
"strategic and futuristic studies on the Arab and Muslim worlds,
(emphasizing) the Palestinian issue." In July 2010, it published the
latest in its "Am I Not a Human?" series titled, "The Suffering of the Palestinian Child under the Israeli
Occupation," saying: Palestinian children grow up "under the
Israeli occupation, surrounded by cruelty, oppression, killing,
starvation and destruction."
Yet, like all children, they dream of playing and living normally and
safely. Instead, their father may be dead or in prison, their brother
killed, their home destroyed, and their mother forced to give birth at
an Israeli checkpoint, risking her and the newborn.
http://www.baltimorechronicle.com/2010/072110Lendman.shtml
PA
urges Israel to hand over oxygen machines
Ramallah – Ma'an –
The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health appealed Wednesday to
Israel to deliver seven oxygen machines donated by a Norwegian
development agency that were seized by Israeli officials en route to
hospitals in the West Bank and Gaza.
Heath Minister Fathi Abu Moghli
delivered a second letter of appeal to donor countries and
organizations, calling for "urgent intervention" for the medical
supplies to be delivered to hospitals in the occupied Palestinian
territories.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=301280
Human rights groups urge Ashton to end siege
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Gaza-based rights groups reminded EU foreign policy
chief Catherine Ashton that calls to ease the siege on Gaza "fall short
of addressing the root cause of humanitarian suffering" and urged her to
take decisive action. A coalition of 13 rights groups issued a letter
on Monday, the day after Ashton visited Gaza, where she told reporters
she noticed minor improvements in the situation, but said more was
required.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=301004
Indonesian
medical delegation arrives in Gaza
Gaza - Ma'an - An Indonesian delegation of doctors arrived in the Gaza
Strip on Tuesday via the Rafah crossing, border officials announced.
Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities allowed the exit of a group of
Palestinians with disabilities to leave Gaza. Egypt opened the Rafah
crossing on 1 June, following an Israeli raid on a six-boat aid fleet
destined for Gaza, killing nine on board.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=301144
Gaza
official says new Israeli siege policy 'bluff'
Gaza – Ma'an –
The Israeli cabinet decision last month on easing certain terms of its
blockade of Gaza is a "continuation of Israel's attempt to bluff the
world," an official said Wednesday. Jamal Al-Khoudary, the head of the
popular committee against the siege and a member of the Palestinian
Legislative Council, said there was no real change in the Gaza Strip
since Israel's declaration.
"Israel can't say it is implementing its
decision if it keeps two Gaza crossings closed, while partially opening
the other two," Al-Khoudary said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=301390
During the time of the siege, Yousef M. Aljamal
During the time of the siege, Ahmed, a very young child in Gaza, left
his home with his family because it was located very close to a big
mosque that people had heard was going to be bombed. Later, while he was
playing football, he was bombed by an Israeli F-16, separating his body
into very small pieces. Ahmed escaped from his destiny to his
destiny.
During the time of the siege, Zyneb, a youth in her
twenties, was prevented from leaving Gaza to receive medical attention.
Due to that, she passed away and was the first victim of the siege. She
left her family, husband, and many friends, all who loved her. After she
passed away, one of the Israeli soldiers who worked hard to prevent her
from leaving, asked her father, as he was carrying her dead body, “Why
do you cry? All of us will die!"
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/during-the-time-of-the-siege.html
What happens after you allow cocoa into Gaza?
Twenty-one
days
after the June 20, 2010 cabinet decision, Israel allowed Gaza merchants
to import raw materials for industry. This followed three years of
prohibiting the entrance of raw materials to Gaza, as part of a declared
policy of “economic
warfare“. Last week fabrics, empty cans, thread and industrial cocoa
were brought in. Although Israel states
that the number of trucks carrying goods into the Gaza Strip has risen
by 70% since the cabinet decision, when seen in context, that number
still only accounts for 34% of the needs of the residents of Gaza and
its economy (in 2005 the number of trucks entering Gaza was 10,400 per
month).
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/07/what-happens-after-you-allow-cocoa-into-gaza/
Ending the Gaza Blockade Might Help Israel as Much
as Gaza
In the wake of Israel’s botched attack on a Turkish ship bringing relief
to Gazans from Israel’s (and Egypt’s) economic blockade of Gaza, the
Israelis have responded to intensely negative world opinion by relaxing
the blockade. That move may help Israel as much as Gazans. Ending the
counterproductive economic embargo and blockade would help both parties
even more.
http://original.antiwar.com/eland/2010/07/20/ending-the-gaza-blockade/
War Criminals
Israeli
report
on shootings of ‘4 civilians’ fails to state that they were three
sisters, 3, 5, and 9, and their grandmother, Philip Weiss
On
Monday
the
Israeli government posted its latest word on the Gaza conflict of
'08-'09. It's called the "second
update" on its investigation of incidents during the conflict. Below
I have excerpted three accounts of one incident in the war: the
shootings of three sisters and their grandmother on January 7, 2009, in
which two of the girls died. The accounts: 1, the Israeli government's
account, 2, a report on the incident in the Goldstone
Fact-Finding
Mission of the U.N., and 3, the account of the shootings from the
girls' father, as told to the Goldstone Mission. Notice
that the Israeli account, which absolves the Israeli unit engaged of any
criminal responsibility, and describes the shootings as allegations
purely, refers to the case as the shooting of 4 civilians, and
while it gives their names, it does not say that the civilians were
three sisters, aged 3, 5, and 9, and their 60-year-old grandmother.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/israeli-report-on-
shootings-of-4-civilians-fails-to-state-that-they-were-three-sisters-3-5-and-9-and-their-grandmother.html
Must Watch Video Documentary: Operation "Cast Lead,
To Shoot an Elephant"
Members of the International Solidarity Movement were present in Gaza
when the bombing started on December, 27th 2009. Together with two
international correspondents from Al Jazeera International (Ayman
Mohyeldin and Sherine Tadros), they were the only foreigners who managed
to write, film and report for several radio stations what was happening
inside the besieged Palestinian strip.
http://dotsub.com/view/656346df-69a8-487a-98e2-51fb60d2a499
Early release of Tom Hurndall’s killer symptom of
wider Israeli crimes
The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) condemns the early release
from prison of the Israeli soldier that murdered photography student and
ISM volunteer Tom Hurndall in Gaza in 2003. The Israeli press yesterday reported that Taysir Hayb
will be released three years early from an already short eight-year
sentence. His murder was only a symptom of a much wider culture of
impunity in the Israeli army. This early release serves to reinforce the
notion that
the Israeli army can continue to commit war crimes against Palestinians
without fear of serious consequences. Tom’s mother Jocelyn Hurndall
told ISM London
that: “this reduced sentence comes at a time when the world is becoming
more sceptical about
Israel’s investigations into its own actions. It’s a reminder of
Israel’s disregard for international law and opinion.”
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/07/13106/
Israel says it will
limit white phosphorus, not outlaw it
A report given to the
UN by Israel details how it will attempt to limit civilian casualties in
the future.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59168
Political/Other
Developments
Abbas:
Specific
US assurances on borders needed (AP)
AP - Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas told his Fatah movement he wants a more specific
U.S. commitment on the borders of a future Palestinian state before
agreeing to direct talks with Israel, an adviser said Wednesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100721/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians
Abbas demands Israel halt settlement before talks
(AFP)
AFP - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement insisted on
Tuesday that direct peace talks with Israel hinge on a complete halt to
Jewish settlement building.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100720/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictpalestiniansettlements
MK Tibi: Israel prefers dialogue over peace
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The idea of a bi-national state is a “nightmare” for
Israel, Palestinian-Israeli Knesset member Ahmad Tibi told the
Ma’an-produced No Spin talk show on Palestine TV on Tuesday. “The Arabs
living in Israel are much more interested in the two-state solution
based on 4 June 1967 borders,” Tibi said. A solution based on the 67
borders would be the "minimum" Palestinians could accept, he added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=301152
Israeli lawmaker visits flashpoint religious site
(Reuters)
Reuters - A senior lawmaker of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's
right-wing party on Tuesday visited a flashpoint religious site in
Jerusalem revered by Jews and Muslims, a move that has sparked violence
in the past.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100720/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_jerusalem
Egypt, Turkey leaders discuss Mideast peace process
(AFP)
AFP - The leaders of Egypt and Turkey met in Cairo on
Wednesday to discuss stuttering international efforts to coax Israeli
and Palestinian leaders back to the negotiating table, the MENA news
agency said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100721/wl_mideast_afp/mideastegyptturkeydiplomacy
EU ministers to visit Gaza in September
Delegation
responds
to invitation from Lieberman to see Gaza situation 'with their
own eyes'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3922738,00.html
Netanyahu: I'm willing to take political risks for
peace
The Prime Minister is not saying whether he will end the settlement
building freeze or resume construction as freeze deadline nears.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-i-m-willing-to-take-political-risks-for-peace-1.303106
MESS Report / What did Netanyahu promise Obama?
Was
a
deal formulated under which the U.S. would play ball on Iran (tougher
sanctions and policy) while Israel will make concessions in favor of the
Palestinians?
http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/mess-report/mess-report-what-did-netanyahu-promise-obama-1.303154
Other
News
Report: Germany reconsiders funding Israel's latest
submarine
The American weekly Defense News said the collapse of the deal presents
the Israel Navy with major difficulties in renovating its aging fleet of
ships and submarines.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/
report-germany-reconsiders-funding-israel-s-latest-submarine-1.303095
Jurists
say Arab's rape conviction sets dangerous precedent
Sabbar Kashur sentenced to 18 months for posing as Jewish man to bed
woman
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/jurists-say-arab-s-rape-conviction-sets-dangerous-precedent-1.303109
IDF
guarding Hebron vineyard of former Jewish militant
Reservists in the Israel Defense Forces have been deployed at night to
guard the vineyard of a head of the former Jewish underground in the
Hebron area, a reserve officer says. This would violate the IDF's policy
against guarding private property. The former militant, Menachem Livni,
was convicted in the 1980s for his role in the attack on an Islamic
college in which three Palestinian students were killed. He received a
life sentence, but president Chaim Herzog pardoned him after seven
years.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-guarding-hebron-vineyard-of-former-jewish-militant-1.303096
Awww poor baby... Supreme
Court: Pearlman disconnected from world
Justice Edmond Levy
rebukes State Prosecutor's Office, Shin Bet for failing to bring 'Jewish
terrorist', other suspect to court hearing. Prosecutor: It was a
misunderstanding.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3922965,00.html
PA sues Israeli companies over fuel theft claims
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority has filed suit in an
Israeli court over the alleged theft of fuel by an Israeli transport
company contracted by the nation's largest oil distributor. The
allegations, brought forth in a Ma'an investigation days earlier,
involve a petrol distributor taking advantage of PA customs
inefficiencies to pilfer thousands of liters of fuel.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=301142
PA
municipal chief accused of stealing water
Hebron - Ma'an -
Palestinian Authority forces detained the head of the Tarqumiya
Municipality on Wednesday on allegations that he and other Hebron
officials failed to commit to the Water Authority's standards on
infrastructure and water theft. Mohammad Al-Ja'freh and several others
including employees of nearby municipalities and owners of illegal water
extensions on the Hebron district were detained and taken for
questioning.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=301397
Israel to deploy new anti-missile system in November
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Israel will deploy its new anti-missile
system designed to combat threats from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, the
Israeli Defense Ministry said Monday. "The Iron Dome interceptor, in
conjunction with air force and anti-aircraft systems, successfully
downed a large number of threats in fully operational mode," the
ministry said in statement quoted by Agence France-Presse.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=301196
Report:
Knesset to review flag burning law
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Israeli parliament is scheduled to discuss an
amendment to the Burning Flag Law, the Hebrew-language daily Maariv
reported Tuesday. According to the daily, the amendment is aimed at
deterring anti-Zionist Jews from burning the Israeli flag, and would see
convicted offenders fined up to 67,300 shekels.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=301199
Russia says delivers 50 armoured vehicles for
Palestinians (AFP)
AFP - Russia has delivered 50 armoured personnel carriers to Jordan
where they are now waiting to be transferred to the Palestinian security
forces, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100720/wl_mideast_afp/russiapalestinianmideastdiplomacy
Israel rescinds travel warning on Turkey
Counter-Terrorism
Bureau
announces it is now safe to travel to Turkey, despite government's
anti-Israel comments; however Israelis warned to stay away from mass
rallies, avoid political arguments.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3922680,00.html
Third man arrested in case of espionage against
Israel
Resident of Arab village of Baka al-Garbiyeh arrested week after police
arrest Druze man suspected of crimes against Israel's security.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/third-man-arrested-in-case-of-espionage-against-israel-1.303043
Likud lawmaker: Jews should be allowed freer access
to Temple Mount
Deputy parliament speaker says it is 'distorted' Israeli police makes it
easier for Muslims to visit the holy compound than for Jews.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/
likud-lawmaker-jews-should-be-allowed-freer-access-to-temple-mount-1.303064
Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest
Gaza's
only
fisherwoman
In Gaza, traditional industries like fishing are
dominated by men but one 16-year-old girl is changing that. She has
taken charge of her father's fishing boat and the family's livelihood
after he suffered an injury to his leg. Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston
reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctcF3ewB6A4&feature=youtube_gdata
Harvard Study Documents Media Bias and Misreporting, Stephen Lendman
This writer’s
November 2009 article titled “Paid Lying: What Passes for Major
Media Journalism” also discussed this topic in detail. It called major
media journalism biased, irresponsible, and sensationalist —
misreporting, distorting, exaggerating, misstating, or suppressing vital
truths — serving state and corporate interests over the common good,
including bankers controlling the nation’s money, unpunished corruption
at the highest levels, democracy for the select few, sham elections, a de
facto one party state, imperial wars,
occupation, and torture.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/07/harvard-study-documents-media-bias-and-misreporting/
Time to crack down on settlement funding, Yousef
Munayyer
The
time has come for a comprehensive effort to crack down on this obvious
loophole
in U.S.
foreign policy. Stating opposition to settlements, while allowing
pro-settlement
groups in this country to funnel tax dollars to Israel's
hilltop colonies, undergirds the perception of hypocrisy Middle
Easterners are
all too accustomed to associating with the United States. Thus
far, actions to counter the efforts of pro-settlement funders using a
tax-deductible status have been limited to filing complaints with the
Internal
Revenue Service (IRS). Through this method, activists have been able to
register a complaint with the IRS, usually claiming a settlement-funding
charity either engages in misleading fundraising or funds discriminatory
practices.
http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/07/20/time_to_crack_down_on_settlement_funding
Holy Land 5 case reveals double standard in
enforcement of US law
On 21 June 2010, the Supreme Court ruled to continue to authorize
prosecutions of charities under the Material Support provision,
disappointing families and supporters of the Holy Land Five and
troubling US-based organizations that directly support grassroots
humanitarian programs in the Middle East.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11410.shtml
One-state Debate Explodes Myth about the Zionist
Left, Jonathan Cook
A fascinating debate is entering Israel’s political mainstream on a
once-taboo subject: the establishment of a single state as a resolution
of the conflict, one in which Jews and Palestinians might potentially
live as equal citizens. Surprisingly, those advocating such a solution
are to be found chiefly on Israel’s political right. The debate, which
challenges the current orthodoxy of a two-state future, is rapidly
exploding traditional conceptions about the Zionist right and left.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/07/one-state-debate-explodes-myth-about-the-zionist-left/
Israel on Tish’a B’Av, 2010, Adam Horowitz
Today is Tish'a B'Av, the day on the Hebrew calendar that Jews all over
the world commemorate the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem because
of baseless hatred. So it's especially ironic that his past week
we witnessed no less than FOUR new laws proposed and passed in the
Israeli Knesset that are outrageously anti-democratic in nature: 1)
Stripping
an Arab parliamentarian of her privileges for her non-violent activism
2) Narrowly
defining who is considered a Jew, and therefore able to access state
privileges 3) Requiring a loyalty oath to a supremacist ideology in
order to receive state privileges 4) Criminalizing free speech that
advocates divestment from the occupation
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/israel-on-tisha-bav-2010.html
Israeli Operatives in the U.S., Jeff Gates
A long misinformed public lacks the tools to grasp how they are being
deceived. Without those tools, Americans will continue to be frustrated
at being played for the fool.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/07/19/sayanim-israeli-operatives-in-the-u-s/
Israel's Ultra-Orthodox Rabbis Want To Reject The
Diaspora, Threatening To Split World Jewry
A Jew is a Jew is a Jew. Except when he or she is not. Just ask Joel
Chasnoff, a man who immigrated to Israel, joined the army, fought in
Lebanon, then discovered the state didn't consider him Jewish.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/20/israels-ultra-orthodox-ra_n_652578.html
Palestinian Chef Finds Occupation Hard to Digest,
Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
RAMALLAH – Nasser Abdulhadi is a mild-mannered man who runs a
restaurant. He was always known as the jovial sort. One day, his friends
say, he stopped being jovial. He chose instead to fight for a world
title for one of his country’s national dishes, and through that to gain
worldwide recognition for Palestine. Nasser’s campaign began when he
heard from a friend who had flown in from the U.S. that the Israeli
national airline, El Al, had served mosakhen, a dish made of bread,
chicken, and onion spiced with purple sumac, as an “Israeli national
dish.”
http://original.antiwar.com/kessel-klohendler/2010/07/20/palestinian-chef-finds-occupation-hard-to-digest/
Iraq
Tuesday: 11 Iraqis, 5 Iranians Killed; 32 Iraqis, 5
Iranians Wounded
As the British inquiry into the Iraq war revealed new insights into the
internal machinations behind the invasion, violence soldiered on back in
Iraq. At least 11 Iraqis were killed and 32 more wounded in various
attacks. Five Iranians also died and five more were wounded in an attack
on pilgrims. More casualties also resulted from the guerilla war between
Turkey and PKK rebels.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/07/20/
tuesday-11-iraqis-5-iranians-killed-32-iraqis-5-iranians-wounded/
Three killed by Iraq car bomb (AFP)
AFP -
Three people, including a child, were killed and 18 wounded by a car
bomb in Qara Teba in Iraq's Diyala province on Tuesday, security
officials said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100720/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrest
Inside an Iraqi Kurdi refugee village
In
northern Iraq, a 26 year conflict has been causing thousands of
villagers to flee their homes. Gabriel Gatehouse has been to see the
effects of the attacks.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-10697112
Iraq's last Sabeans take sad New Year dip in Tigris
(AFP)
AFP - Sheikh Alaa Aziz was saddened by the sight of
only a handful of fellow Iraqi Sabeans in simple white cloths dipping in
the muddy waters of the Tigris in an ancient purification rite for their
New Year.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100720/wl_mideast_afp/iraqreligionsect
Inside
Story
- Iraq's political wrangling
Iyad Allawi, the former Iraqi
prime minister whose Iraqiya coalition won 91 seats in the country's
March parliamentary election, has sought support to form a government
from Moqtada al-Sadr, the Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia leader. What would
it take for Allawi and al-Sadr to form a political alliance? And to what
extent are outside forces hindering or aiding the process?
Lebanon
Israel threatens to attack populated Lebanese areas
BEIRUT: Israel threatened on Tuesday to attack highly populated areas of
Lebanon as its military chief claimed Hizbullah was using urban
infrastructure to conceal weapons. Chief of General Staff for the
Israeli Army, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, said his force would
not hesitate to strike Lebanese towns and villages if forced into any
fresh conflict. “Hizbullah is consolidating its presence in inhabited
areas where the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) can’t
discover weapons,” Ashkenazi told Israeli radio while on a trip to
Italy. “We will move in these areas if need be.”
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=117263#axzz0uI1g6gY7
MP Fadlallah: UN Needs to Condemn Israeli Espionage
In an interview with Agence France Presse, loyalty to the resistance
bloc MP Hassan Fadlallah urged the United Nation's Security Council to
call for the arrest of three Lebanese communications workers suspected
of spying for Israel., MP Fadlallah urged the Lebanese government to
send the Israeli espionage case to the Security Council “immediately”.
According to Fadallah, "Israel will continue its espionage activities if
the world does not condemn it. The world needs to know about Israel's
aggression and its consequences in Lebanon."
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=147031&language=en
PM Saad Hariri Denies Links to Spy Suspect Tareq
al-Rabaa
20/07/2010 Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri's press office described
as "fabricated, incorrect and baseless" on Tuesday a report published by
Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar stating that spy Tareq Al-Rabaa had close ties
to his Future movement. The report also said that the alleged spy was
the prime minister's right arm in the telecommunications sector, in
addition to his relation with the ISF Information Bureau which gave him
special facilities and licenses due to his position within the team.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=147134&language=en
Report: Lebanese party denies recruiting Fatah
fighters
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - A Lebanese party denied
reports on Tuesday that officials asked the Fatah leadership in Lebanon
to recruit fighters into the movement, Lebanese media reported. The
Future Movement, the Lebanese premier Saad Hariri's party, said the
allegation was "totally baseless," NOW Lebanon quoted a statement issued
by party official Ahmad Hariri as saying.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=301205
Allow Them to Own a Home? La, Abadan! (No,
Never!)/Palestinian Rights in Lebanon, FRANKLIN LAMB
The explosive issue of Palestinian civil rights for Lebanon’s refugees
will move to center stage under the Lebanese Parliamentary spotlight
this week, with meetings of parliamentary committees and a legislative
session now scheduled to consider late breaking proposals by the March
14 alliance, led by Prime Minister Saad Hariri. The main holdouts, as
predicted, will be the right wing Christian Phalange party and its
allies and former Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has been tasked this week
with getting them on board. The Washington DC-Beirut based Palestine
Civil Rights Campaign, not heeding the admonition of the late Mahatma
Gandhi, who when following various pre-Independence reports of
‘progress’ with representatives of Her Majesty the Queen, Bapu told
the assembled media: “Promises are made and fools rejoice!.”
http://www.counterpunch.org/lamb07202010.html
A
Southern Symphony: Woe Unto The Wretched
“They’re bombing Lebanon,” I remember my mother's words as they stung
me like hot coals; On July 12th, 2006 my family was huddled around the
television, listening to the news. The voices would shatter my eardrums
as the death toll would climb higher and higher. Soon it was just
noise. CNN,MSNBC,FOX,ABC – Media personnel would recite numbers and
memorized, commercialized statistics. I shouldn’t have expected them to
profess any natural sentiment for the Lebanese being slaughtered en
masse but I grew bitter nonetheless. Lebanon’s graceful sky’s were
raining blood.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=147198&language=en
Iran
Iran's Parliament adopts bill against inspections
Iran’s Parliament authorized the government on Tuesday to retaliate
against countries that inspect cargo on Iranian ships and aircraft as
part of new United Nations sanctions over its nuclear program. MPs,
hoping to discourage compliance with a fourth round of Security Council
penalties, passed a bill allowing the government to respond in kind,
with cargo inspections of its own.
Last month’s Security Council resolution calls on, but does not require,
all countries to cooperate in cargo inspections if there are “reasonable
grounds” to believe the items could contribute to the Iranian nuclear
program, and any inspection must receive the consent of the ship’s flag
state.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=117286#axzz0uGCLoG2V
Obama: Iran's path of defiance will only bring it more
isolation
At press conference with British PM Cameron, Obama says U.S. remains
committed to diplomatic solution to conflict over Iran's nuclear
program.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/
obama-iran-s-path-of-defiance-will-only-bring-it-more-isolation-1.303078
U.S.
and other World
News
Ex-MI5 chief slams war on Iraq
The former
head of British intelligence has criticised the US-led war in Iraq in a
testimony before an inquiry panel in London. Baroness Eliza
Manningham-Buller said that the war, which was launched in 2003, was not
justified because Iraq had not posed a threat to the UK at the time. She
also said that Britain's involvement in the 2003 conflict played into
Osama Bin Laden's hands and radicalised British muslims. Al Jazeera's
Laurence Lee reports from London. [July 20, 2010]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6RPi5ud2FI&feature=youtube_gdata
'Iraq war led to surge in terrorist plots against
Britain'
Britain's involvement in the invasion of Iraq led to an almost
unmanageable increase in the number of terrorist plots against it, a
former head of British intelligence revealed Tuesday.
http://www.mynews.in/News/%27Iraq_war_led_to_surge_in_terrorist_plots_against_Britain%27_N72896.html
Plane
carrying U.N. secretary-general diverted by rocket attack in Kabul
A
plane carrying U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and Swedish Foreign
Minister Carl Bildt was forced to divert less than a mile from Kabul
when the airport came under rocket fire.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-afghanistan-moon-plane,0,6415051.story
US military build-up in Kandahar will bolster
Taliban, warns security monitor
Nato's counterinsurgency
tactic shows no signs of success, says Afghanistan NGO Security Office.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/18/kandahar-us-military-taliban-afghanistan
Private contractors' deepening reach in US
intelligence
The man nominated to be the next US director of national intelligence
has defended the role of private contractors in the intelligence
community. Retired Air Force General James Clapper was speaking in the
wake of a series of articles in The Washington Post which have revealed
the extent of involvement of the private sector in the US government's
top secret programmes. There are also concerns over former spy chiefs
working for the private contractors after leaving public office. Roger
Wilkison reports. (July 21, 2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqcC8ndBfOo&feature=youtube_gdata
Egypt denies Mubarak's health is failing
* Information minister says president in good health
* Media reports
"rumour and speculation"
* Statement issued two days after stomach cancer report
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE66J1EJ.htm
Saudi to codify Sharia 'for clarity'
Resistance from conservatives expected to slow formalisation of largely
unwritten laws to bring uniformity to judicial rulings.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100721/FOREIGN/707209830/1041/rss
Bad Translation Makes Fundamentalists Of Us All
Religious
phrases are scattered liberally throughout Arabic languages. The secret
to translating is not to take them literally.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/jul/20/
translation-arabic-language-fundamentalist-muslim |
| For further information contact Shadi Fadda |
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