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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Land theft / Settlers / Ethnic cleansing
Israeli authorities expelled Ahmad Au’da
Abu Shalluf, married to a Palestinian woman from the Israeli city of
Beersheba, and deported him to the Gaza Strip on Sunday, witnesses
said. Abu Shalluf, born to refugee parents in the Gaza Strip, but living
in Israel with is wife for the past several years, was visiting an eye
clinic in Jerusalem when Israeli forces entered the building, handcuffed
the man and walked him out to a police vehicle, eyewitnesses
described.
Settlers reportedly injured in Sheikh Jarrah brawlA
number of settlers were injured following a fight on Saturday afternoon
in the flashpoint neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem,
residents said. Nasser Al-Ghawi, a resident, said the fight was provoked
by settlers around the house of Rifqa Al-Kurd "cursing the [Muslim]
Prophet," igniting high tensions in the area. Israeli police responded
to the incident and separated the brawl.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=279028
Hundreds of police officers deployed in the East Jerusalem
neighborhood of Silwan on Sunday as extreme Israeli rightists set out to
march in an attempt to demonstrate Israeli sovereignty over all of
Jerusalem. In anticipation of violence in East Jerusalem, police
dispatched a helicopter, a zeppelin and an observation balloon as
precautionary measures in the volatile region. Silwan residents flooded
the streets in efforts to prevent the march from going ahead.
Palestinian flags were hung in the windows and dozens of shoes were
scattered in the streets as a symbol of protest. Dozens of masked men
rioted in the streets, lighting tires on fire and hurling stones at
police officers in the area. As the march began, the masked men hurled
two firebombs at right wing activists ... "We've proven to Netanyahu,
Obama and Mitchell that we're the bosses in Jerusalem," said [rightist
Itamar] Ben Gvir during the march.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1165188.html
In July of 2009 the court ordered the State Prosecutor's Office to
present a schedule for the demolition of the 25 structures making up the
outpost. Then, four months ago, the prosecution filed an announcement
with the court saying that a government freeze on construction in
settlements had altered the circumstances of many outposts, and that the
state planned to investigate whether Derech Ha'avot [in Gush Etzion]
had really been built on private land.
http://www.articles/0,7340,L-3880559,00.html
The heads of three Palestinian villages on Wednesday demanded that the
state return 590 dunams (59 hectares) of private farmland expropriated
for the construction of a highway to serve Jewish settlers that was
never built. The demand came in a petition filed in the High Court of
Justice by Khalil Shahin, head of the Ein Arik village council, Arafat
Kahaf, head of the Beitunya village council and Kamal Tawil, head of the
Deir Abziya village council. They are represented by attorneys Michael
Sfard and Shlomi Zachary from Yesh Din – Volunteers for Human Rights.
Nonviolent protests met with violence
Israeli forces detained two demonstrators
including a mentally disabled man in a non-violent rally in Beit Ummar
north of Hebron on Saturday, witnesses said. The demonstration was
organized by the Palestine Solidarity Project, whose spokesman Muhammad
Awad said dozens of local residents in addition to international and
Israeli solidarity activists joined together at a site near the Karmi
Tzur settlement. Awad said a child, identified as Muhammad Ali Awad, 15,
was hit by a stun grenade in his back, when Israeli forces employed
riot dispersal means, including rubber coated bullets, in an attempt to
disperse the protesters. The actions prompting the use of tear gas and
rubber-coated bullets, Awad said, was simply the proximity of the
protesters to the settlement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=279052Four Palestinian protesters were detained on
Saturday afternoon in a non-violent rally against the continued closure
of Ash-Shuhada Street in the center of Hebron, witnesses said ...
Protesters demanded the street be reopened to Palestinians, and that
settlers be evacuated from the area. The rally prevented settlers living
in illegal West Bank settlements in the area from performing a weekly
tour of the Old City of Hebron. Human rights activist Issa Amr, 30,
Professor Amiel Farady from the Taayush coexistence movement and
Jonathan Pollack, of Anarchists Against the Wall, were detained during
the rally.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=279049This
photo is of Bianca about an hour after an IDF sniper shot a bullet
through her left thigh from about 80 meters away to try to cripple her
and scare the shit out of her and us so we wouldn't go to subsequent
demonstrations. Doubt that's going to work, Bianca is usually 10 meters
in front of me at every demonstration we go to. Bianca is tough and was
up walking as soon as the doctors in Al-Aqsa Hospital let her leave the
bed, after they'd cleaned the huge wound the bullet left as it tore
through her leg.
http://www.maxajl.com/?p=3489The latest in a growing number of non-violent protesters shot by
well-armed Israeli soldiers, three unarmed demonstrators –two
Palestinians and one international–were injured this afternoon by
Israeli soldiers’ firing with live ammunition at a protest east of El
Meghazi, central Gaza Strip. One week prior, Mahmoud Shawa, 19,
was shot just below his knee by an Israeli soldier while demonstrating
near the Nahal Oz crossing, eastern Gaza. March 30, four Palestinians
were shot by armed Israeli soldiers while participating in non-violent
demonstrations against the Israeli-imposed "buffer zone". Three of the
four were injured by bullets or bullet shrapnel to their legs, while the
fourth was shot in the head.
A 28-year-old
Maltese human rights activist was shot in the leg yesterday with
another two Palestinian protesters while taking part in a non-violent
demonstration at the Israeli border...The news of her shooting hit the
international headlines instantly but Ms Zammit was upset that worldwide
attention was only given to the incident because it involved a
foreigner. "It's too common for Palestinians to get killed or injured...
It's just appalling."
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100425/local/maltese-shot-in-gaza
Prisoners / Detention
"He was shivering and crying hard, he grabbed onto my nightgown and
looked at me terrified, as sniffer dogs and armed soldiers scrabbled
around me," the mother of 13-year-old Ahmad Salim As-Sabah
described. As-Sabah was taken from his family home in Tuqu, south of
Bethlehem, at 2am Thursday morning after [soldiers invaded] the home and
demand[ed] all of the children wake from sleep and present themselves
before armed soldiers, accompanied by dogs ... "Running quickly towards
me Ahmad grabbed my nightgown, I tried to convince the officer to leave
him. I asked him, 'do you have small children? would you like to see
your child in such a situation?' and he answered with a sneer, 'my child
does not throw stones.'"
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=279359An Israeli military court postponed the
trial of a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for the 70th
time, deciding to hold the hearing in May. Jamal Tirawi's hearing at the
Salem detention center was held in secret on Sunday, his brother Raed
said, and only his lawyer was able to attend ... The Israeli military
prosecutor had attempted to prove Tirawi guilty of several charges, but
reportedly failed to supply the necessary evidence, and asked for an
extension.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=279176Raed
Abu Hammad, 27, was allegedly kicked to death by Israeli prison wardens
on Apr. 16. This while Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have been
on hunger strike since Apr. 7 to press for better
treatment. Palestinian minister for prisoner affairs in the United
States-backed government in the West Bank, Issa Qaraqi, said at a press
conference on Thursday that an Israeli autopsy showed that Hammad had
been kicked hard in the lower back. Qaraqi based his statement on a
report he had received from a Palestinian doctor who was present at the
autopsy.
Prisoner swap
who has been captive in Gaza for nearly four years, returning to
Israel in a coffin. The three-minute 3D animation, shown on the website
of Hamas' armed wing, warns that Gilad Shalit would face the same fate
as Israeli airman Ron Arad, whose whereabouts are unknown since he was
captured in South Lebanon in 1986. Hamas said it wanted to reach "the
wide Israeli public" and end the months-long stalemate in German and
Egyptian mediated talks on a prisoner swap. "Our message is clear, and
that is that Shalit's case must end with the release of our prisoners.
Otherwise, he may end up like the missing Ron Arad," a Hamas source
said. "pathetic he who cries over ONE man and ignores 10,000 in Israeli
cells"
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1165199.html
Solidarity / Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions
Blockade / Restrictions on movement / Humanitarian issues
“The
infrastructure of water and sanitation is in a state of collapse,” said
John Ging, Director of Operations in Gaza for the UN Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). “There is no legitimate economy
anymore. The physical and psychological suffering continues on a daily
basis,” he said at a press conference at the UN Headquarters in New
York.
Give
Gaza in partnership with the ANERA foundation teamed up to implement a
major campaign for the distribution of clothing to children on Sunday, a
statement read. With funding provided by USAID, the campaign will
target children ranging for 6-8 living in one of the poorest and most
disadvantaged areas of east Gaza City.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=279117(includes video 'Destruction
in Farraheen') What are you seeing here? After an hour's time to
correctly set up this horrible act, Israeli military bulldozers and
tanks entered Palestinian land and churned up winter wheat, rye, and
lentils ... You are seeing them turn the soil over so that the most
fertile surface humus is placed underground, not only destroying crops
but reducing fertility for subsequent years. We had just escorted
farmers reaping about 6 dunums of lentils in the area that was
subsequently bulldozed.
http://www.maxajl.com/?p=3482...Like many residents of Anata, a middle-class Arab
neighbourhood on the northern edge of Jerusalem, Obeidi holds a
Jerusalem residency card but ended up on the West Bank side of the
barrier, largely cut off from the city. "I hold a Jerusalem ID, but I
cannot go near the wall because the army will arrest me and interrogate
me for approaching it, if they don't shoot at me," he said ... in
Jerusalem the eight-metre high concrete wall rises between crowded
apartment blocks, splitting some neighbourhoods in two. In Anata, it
runs through the football stadium
http://www.france24.com/en/20100425-jerusalem-footballs-go-where-people-cannot
Israel
has allowed the [3-year-old] daughter of Hamas' top security official
in the Gaza Strip to exit the blockaded territory for urgent medical
treatment in Jordan. Israeli military spokesman Guy Inbar said Sunday
the daughter of Hamas' interior minister, Fathi Hamad, was taken to an
Israeli hospital Friday before being airlifted to Jordan, where she
later arrived. Jordanian officials say King Abdullah II personally
appealed to Israel to allow the woman, who is in her 20s, to leave
Gaza.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1165204.htmlPalestinian
liaison official Raed Fattouh told Ma’an that between 99 to 109
truckloads of humanitarian aid and food stuffs would be transferred into
the coastal enclave, including six trucks carrying equipment for the
water services in the Gaza Strip.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=279060
Refugees
The 43 Palestinian refugees, including 18 children, were scheduled
to fly on Tuesday from Baghdad to Paris, via Amman, the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said yesterday. They have been living
under harsh conditions in Al Waleed camp on Iraq's border with Syria
after fleeing persecution and abuse in Iraq.
Political developments / Diplomacy
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
briefing the cabinet on his meetings with U.S. Mideast envoy George
Mitchell, said Sunday that it would soon become clear whether Middle
East peace talks, suspended since December 2008, would resume.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1165194.htmlBy
Akiva Eldar. On Thursday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received
an official invitation to the talks from U.S. President Barack Obama. In
the message to Abbas, Obama acknowledged that he was unable to extract a
commitment from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to freeze
construction in East Jerusalem. But the American president expressed
confidence that Israel would refrain from "significant" actions in the
eastern part of the city during negotiations ... Obama wrote that
proximity talks with Israel would encompass all the conflict's core
issues including Jerusalem, as was agreed in the Annapolis Joint
Declaration in November 2007.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1165187.html
Chief
Palestinian negotiator Erekat says Palestinian president accepted
invitation delivered by Obama's special envoy The
Western-backed government of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad
gave the go-ahead on Sunday for local elections in the West Bank in
July, despite opposition from rival Hamas Islamists who run the Gaza
Strip ... The Palestinians last held local elections in 2005, shortly
before a legislative election in which Hamas defeated Fatah.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1165218.htmlMalta filed an official protest with
Israel on Sunday after a Maltese woman was shot and injured by Israel
Defense Forces soldiers during a protest in Gaza on Saturday ... Malta
said the Israeli soldiers' attack was "totally unwarranted" and called
for a thorough investigation into the incident which took place near a
refugee camp
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1165202.htmlDelegation
of Israeli Arab officials travels to north African country, slated to
meet President Gaddafi. 'As members of the Arab people we feel an
affinity to Arab world and culture – it is only natural for us to want
to visit here,' says MK El-Sana ... According to the delegation members,
Libya is not among the countries Israel declared as enemy states, but
noted that there are other countries they cannot visit. "It angers us
and violates our basic rights," Barakeh added.
http://www.articles/0,7340,L-3880180,00.html
Other news
The B Boy Gaza group had just started a lively dance set late on
Saturday in a crowded auditorium when police from the Islamist Hamas
group that rules the Gaza Strip ended the performance with shouts of
"the show is over", witnesses said. "I told one of the policemen that
rap meant respect for all people, but he didn't seem to be listening. He
said it was an immoral dance," one of the dancers said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1165205.htmlMarah Land, Gaza's only zoo, is in danger of closing down. During
Israel's three-week war with Gaza in 2009, almost 90 per cent of the
animals in the impoverished zoo were killed. Since then, securing food,
medicine and care for the few that survived has been a daily struggle
for the zookeepers. So, along with its fatigued and war-stricken
animals, the zoo is now up for sale. Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin
reports from Gaza.
What was the burning object that fell from the sky on Saturday? The
question remains unanswered, but the options are narrowing down
... Gavrieli was not surprised that the object continued burning for a
long while, and repeatedly rekindled, even though it was put in water.
The explanation, he said, was simple, "The object had high
concentrations of phosphorus, which is naturally ignited when it comes
in contact with air and with inflammatory material."
Not
only was St George not of white English, or even European, extraction,
he is also claimed by more than one religion. There is a multifaith
shrine in Beit Jala, Palestine, that is home to one saint, holy to Jews,
Christians and Muslims. In this tomb allegedly lie St George, the
martyred Christian warrior, the Jewish prophet Elijah, and al-Khader, a
mystical bountiful character ubiquitous in Islamic mythology. Through
the mists of time and due to the proximity of locations where accounts
of the three played out, these figures, real or fictional, merged into
one patron saint who heals the insane and makes the barren fertile.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/apr/23/st-george-middle-east- Click image to enlarge and see more photos - Palestinian security
forces prepare Qalqiliya for the Green festival, on 24 April 2010. The
festival is set for Friday 2 May, and will last a week. The festival,
which will see streets in the city center blocked off from vehicle
traffic, celebrates the start of summer and Qalqiliya as one of the two
'bread baskets' of Palestine, second after the rich agricultural area of
Jericho.
Six community members who graduated from firefighters' course to be
stationed in Ariel, Beitar Illit, Gush Etzion and Modiin Illit stations
... Deputy Minister for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee
Ayoob Kara, who helped promote the program at the Knesset, said it was
an important day not only for the Druze community, but for the State of
Israel.
The ‘Post’ gets an inside look at the secret unit tasked with gathering
intel about the enemy’s soil and terrain ... This team of soldiers is
one of a kind in the IDF and consists of a handful of geologists. While
Military Intelligence is mostly known for its elite special forces, like
the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, and superior
intelligence-gathering capabilities, this secretive MI unit has the job
of testing soil and terrain and ensuring that military vehicles can plow
their way into enemy territory without a hitch.
Sunday marks the beginning of the seventh annual John Paul
II games, a sporting event that takes place every year in Bethlehem and
Jerusalem in honor of the former pope. Some 1,000 Catholic pilgrims will
arrive in Israel at the end of this week to take part in
various sporting activities, including a 10-kilometer run from Bethlehem
to Jerusalem, a swimming competition in the Kinneret and a
cycling event to inaugurate the Gospel Trail ... This year is the first
time that Israeli runners have been allowed to participate in the
section of the run that takes place in Bethlehem. Since the start of the
second intifada, Israeli citizens have been forbidden to enter
territory under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
Haredi bath attendants are imposing their stringent beliefs on all women
at the ritual bath.
Anti-religious discrimination organization files complaint with
police against Gabi Gazit, who called haredim, settlers 'leeches,
parasites' during radio show last week
Analysis / Opinion
By
Tobias Buck in Jerusalem. One Friday last October, a
group of 24 young Israelis marched through the streets of Jerusalem to
protest at the eviction of several Palestinian families in the city's
occupied east. Maya Wind, 20, one of the demonstrators, recalls: "We
felt a bit silly. But we said, 'Let's each bring along two friends next
week and it will be better'." Week after week, their numbers grew. Soon,
both the police and the media took an interest. Six months, dozens of
arrests and hundreds of newspaper headlines later, the small band of
Israeli peace activists has surprised itself by taking on the appearance
of a full-blown political movement.
...Israel
is challenging the United States' strategic status. This provocation
goes beyond the question of Israeli sovereignty versus American might.
Idiotically, Israel is competing against itself because U.S. status is a
fundamental part of Israel's strength. And when Israel is ready to
demolish this foundation for the benefit of the bullies in East
Jerusalem and the West Bank outposts, Israel puts its own citizens at
risk. Faced with Israeli foolishness, Washington can no longer afford to
merely shrug. Too many American interests are at stake. So how will
Obama deal with the Israeli naysayer?
Benjamin
Netanyahu and his defense minister, Ehud Barak, both wear luxury
watches. But their watches lack hands. For them, nothing is burning
until everything goes up in flames. Sunday will see the conclusion of
another pointless visit by the U.S. special envoy. There will be a
second meeting with the prime minister, and that will be enough. We
still won't grasp the purpose of George Mitchell's frequent trips here,
nor will we understand why the emissary would make a mockery of himself
and the people who dispatch him.
A campaign to suppress all criticism now extends to smearing Israeli
human rights activists as hostile to Jewish statehood -- The word
"delegitimisation" has become the most significant weapon in the
rhetorical arsenal of those defending Israel against external and
internal enemies ... The term is doubly useful. It's negative when
exposed as the motive of Israel's critics. But it's positive when used
as a means of undermining Israel's human rights organisations.
JERUSALEM:
Contrasting with the general pessimism regarding the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, the 77-year-old former Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michel
Sabbah continues to believe in harmonious Christian-Muslim coexistence
in Palestine and shared his thoughts with reporter Laurent Grzybowski. What
is the situation for Christians in Palestine? Michel Sabbah: It is
the same as for all Arabs in Palestine. Christians or Muslims, we are
the same people, with the same culture and the same history; a nation
that is in conflict with another nation.
By Stephanie Westbrook. On April 22, as part
of the global Earth Day celebrations, homes, offices and public
buildings in 14 Israeli cities turned out the lights for one hour in an
effort to "increase awareness of the vital need to reduce energy
consumption." The Earth Day celebrations included scenes of green
fields, wind generators and rainbows projected on the walls of the Old
City in Jerusalem, the Green Globes Award ceremony recognizing
"outstanding contributions to promote the environment" and a concert in
Rabin Square in Tel Aviv powered by generators running on vegetable oil
as well as volunteers on 48 bikes pedaling away to produce
electricity. The irony was not lost on the 1.5 million residents of Gaza
who have been living with daily power outages lasting hours on end for
nearly three years due to the Israeli siege on the coastal territory.
http://uruknet.info/index.php?p=m65370&hd=&size=1&l=e
Economic
growth in PA result of foreign aid, not prime minister’s actions
By Marjorie Miller. Language is a weapon of war and of the after-war. It
is ammunition for making history and for writing it. This is why
governments and their challengers fight over the name of things. This is
why it matters whether a stretch of concrete and barbed wire running
through Jerusalem and the West Bank is called a fence or a wall, a
security barrier or a border.
Iraq
Excerpt: Attacks tapered off today, but at least eight Iraqis were
killed and 21 more wounded in new violence. Also, a U.S. Dept. of
Defense employee of unknown nationality died of unreported causes.
Meanwhile, an offer to restart the Mahdi Army was turned down by Iraqi
officials, but rogue elements could be operating within the official
security forces.
Excerpt: At least four Iraqis were killed and 34
people were wounded in today’s incidents. Two Indian nationals were
killed in a blast in Arbil as well. Also, the Islamic State of
Iraq confirmed two militants killed last week were Abu Ayyub
al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, but reports that Saddam’s vice
president, Izzat al-Douri, was killed or captured were premature.
Iraq bombings raise specter of Shiite militia (AP)
BAGHDAD
– In offering to help Iraqi security forces to fight insurgents after a
wave of deadly bombings in the capital, an anti-American Shiite cleric
is sending a clear signal to the government: If you don't protect us,
we'll protect ourselves. Muqtada al-Sadr's statement raised the fearful
specter that he might be considering reactivating his once-powerful
militia known as the Mahdi Army, a move that would play into al-Qaida in
Iraq's efforts to spark sectarian war.
Lebanon
Civil
society activists in Lebanon are hoping that thousands will turn up for
an unprecedented rally in Beirut. The march for secularism will call on
all Lebanese to unite and work towards the abolition of the country's
deeply divisive sectarian system.
Protesters march against 'mentality that led to civil war' 35 years ago
in small country of 18 religious sects -- ...Since Lebanon gained
independence in 1943, the president has always been a Maronite
Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and parliament speaker a
Shiite Muslim. Parliament and Cabinet seats are equally divided between
Christians and Muslims.
Western sources tell Kuwait newspaper Americans leaked suspicions that
Shiite group acquired Scud missiles from Syria so that UN will deploy
forces along Lebanon-Syria border. Source close to Hezbollah: It will
fight plan with all means at its disposal
BEIRUT (AFP) – On three occasions Doha had to jump out of her cab when
the driver assaulted her in broad daylight. But now she has joined a
growing number of women in Lebanon who speak out against sexual
harassment.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hPxEvc_yfffM-EpDRdNxDWIgzhTA
Other Mideast
President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday pledged a fair election in Egypt
next year in his first speech since he had an operation last month, but
also warned the opposition against "gambling" with stability. However
the octogenarian president, who has ruled since 1981 and underwent
surgery in Germany to remove his gall bladder, avoided any mention of
whether he will stand again in the 2011 presidential election.
By Najlaa Abou
Mehri and Linda Sills. ...Whether in Asia or the Arab world, an unknown
number of women face an agonising problem having broken a deep taboo.
They've had sex outside marriage and if found out, risk being ostracised
by their communities, or even murdered. Now more and more of them are
undergoing surgery to re-connect their hymens and hide the any sign of
past sexual activity ... Muslim clerics are quick to point out that the
virginity issue is not about religion. "We should remember that when
people wait for the virgin's blood to be spilled on the sheet, these are
all cultural traditions," says Syrian cleric, Sheikh Mohamad Habash.
"This is not related to Shariah law."
The sorcerer still has his head. But for how long? For more than two
years, Ali Hussain Sibat of Lebanon has been held in a prison in Saudi
Arabia, convicted of sorcery and sentenced to death. His head is to be
chopped off by an executioner wielding a long, curved sword. His crime:
manipulating spirits, predicting the future, concocting potions and
conjuring spells on a call-in television show called “The Hidden” on a
Lebanese channel, Scheherazade. It was, in effect, a Middle Eastern
psychic hot line.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/world/middleeast/25saudi.html
Other world news
Poll reveals majority of public in France support a limited ban on
wearing Islamic veils, as opposed to only few who seek strict
prohibition. Government slated to discuss draft bill next month |
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