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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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IOF target Bilin non-violent activist
At today's peaceful demo against the illegal apartheid wall in Bil'in the IOF assaulted and abducted Bil'in peace activist Ahmed Abu Hasssan, 34. Ahmed was attacked by 10 soldiers as he pulled at a razor wire fence that forms part of the illegal wall regime in Bil'in. Female activists who came to his aid were beaten and had their hair pulled by the soldiers. Ahmed was dragged away by soldiers holding him by the scruff of the neck and was then blindfolded.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2006/12/08/bilin-08-12/
Amnesty Secretary General visits Bil'in, observes weekly protest
Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International visited the village and the construction site of the Wall. She also held a press conference and said that she came to the village to witness the Israeli violations against the residents. Also, today's procession marks the first Intifada, known as the Intifada of stones, that inflamed in December 1987.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23116/1/
Standing Up for Jimmy Carter's Use of the Word 'Apartheid'
The word is obviously loaded, as it echoes the South African regime that oppressed blacks, denying them many rights. Apartheid literally means separateness; and it's worth pointing out that the Israelis themselves call their forbidding wall, which goes well east of the Green Line, sometimes encircling Palestinian villages, a "separation fence." More importantly, if you've visited the Occupied Territories, apartheid seems a fair description of the isolation and abuse the Palestinians experience, and the denial of so many rights
http://mondoweiss.observer.com/2006/12/standing-up-for-jimmy-carters-use-of-the-word-apartheid.html
Witnesses: IDF troops shoot and wound two Palestinians in Gaza
Palestinian rescue workers and residents said the two men were unarmed. They were shot in separate incidents in northern Gaza, not far from border areas with Israel, they said. An Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman said she was not aware of any shootings
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/798691.html
Child seriously injured in Aida refugee camp
The agency stated that soldiers topping a military tower near the camp fired at a group of children, and injured Miras Nidal Al Azza, 12, with a live round in his abdomen. The child was transferred to Al Yamama hospital in Bethlehem.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23114/1/
Army attacks two local radio stations in Hebron, abducts one journalist
Eyewitness reports say that troops invaded Siraj and Radio Al Huriya local radio stations and abducted Siraj station director Abd Al Jabar Abu Sneinah. Sa'ed Al Shyukhi, a journalist at Radio Al Huria (Freedom Radio) told IMEMC that soldiers forcefully strip-searched all the employees, then locked them up them in one small room.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23107/1/
Report: Israel yet to okay Tutu's Gaza mission
Israeli officials in Geneva were unable on Friday to comment on reports that a UN fact-finding mission to the Gaza Strip that was to be led by Desmond Tutu is in doubt because Israel has yet to give the Nobel laureate permission to enter the territory. Tutu was to begin leading a six-member team this weekend in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanun to investigate the killings of 19 Palestinian civilians in an IAF artillery barrage.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1164881851655&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
UN rights council criticizes Israel for ignoring recommendations
The UN Human Rights Council passed a seventh resolution criticizing Israel on Friday, this time for its failure to act on earlier recommendations that it end military operations in the Palestinian territories and allow a fact-finding mission to the region.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/798703.html
West Bank and Gaza – ICRC Bulletin No. 14 / 2006
The shutting down of all primary health-care centres has put a halt to all preventative and curative health care. For example, women are not being screened for high-risk pregnancies and there is neither monitoring of chronic illnesses nor dispensing of medicines. Some charitable and private hospitals continue to function for fee-paying patients, which means that the poor are being literally turned away from any access to health care.
http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/palestine-israel-news-081206?OpenDocument
Hamas proposes 'tahadiyeh' in West Bank for 2007
Hamas has proposed a tahadiyeh (Arabic for 'temporary truce'), with Israel, which, according to the group, would hold throughout 2007. According to Israel Radio, Hamas was preconditioning the tahadiyeh on Israeli cessation of all military operations in the West Bank, in addition to Gaza, and on the removal of all road blocks, checkpoints and border passages. In addition, Hamas demanded that Israel unfreeze Palestinian funds being withheld by Israel, as well as for Israel to create a framework for the release of prisoners.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1164881840047&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Abbas aide: Hamas must recognize Israel to join unity gov't
Ahmed Abdel Rahman, an adviser to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah party, said Friday that if Hamas wants to be part of a Palestinian unity government, it will need to abide by agreements the PLO has signed in the past. This would imply recognition of Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/798670.html
Arab League slams US over attempt to halt PA aid
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Sunday he received pledges from Qatar for US$40 million a month to cover the salaries of teachers and some health workers. But US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said on Tuesday said if the money was used to pay the salaries of Hamas members or was funneled through Hamas, "that would cross a line of the existing international understanding."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1164881843725&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Right of Return art
The Palestinian Right of Return Coalition, through the Bethlehem Center for Citizenship Rights, is holdings its annual competition in the arts. The award is granted to “the most creative in releasing their energies in the domain of the national cause, in particular refugee rights,” a Friday statement read.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1156
Words Even an Ex-President Can't Say in America - By Norman Finkelstein
It seems Israel's "supporters" have conscripted me in their lynching of Jimmy Carter. Count me out. True, the historical part of Carter's book, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, contains errors in that it repeats standard Israeli propaganda. However, Carter's analysis of the impasse in the "peace process" as well as his description of Israeli policy in the West Bank is accurate - and, frankly, that's all that matters.
http://www.counterpunch.org/finkelstein12082006.html
Speaking frankly about Israel and Palestine - By Jimmy Carter
The ultimate purpose of my book is to present facts about the Middle East that are largely unknown in America, to precipitate discussion and to help restart peace talks (now absent for six years) that can lead to permanent peace for Israel and its neighbors. Another hope is that Jews and other Americans who share this same goal might be motivated to express their views, even publicly, and perhaps in concert. I would be glad to help with that effort.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-carter8dec08,0,7999232.story?coll=la-home-commentary
Hamas supporters demand Haniyeh remain PM
Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters demanded on Friday that Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh head any Palestinian unity government despite a deal for him to step aside as a means of restoring Western aid.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3337644,00.html
Hamas will never recognize Israel, says Haniyeh
He told the worshippers his government will never recognize the occupier of the Palestinian lands and will continue the resistance until Jerusalem is liberated and the displaced Palestinians are able to return to their homeland.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/12537.html
Despite urging by Iraq report, Bush won't talk with Iran, Syria
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday that he does not believe the conditions are ripe for negotiations with Syria. He also said Israel is opposed to "any effort to draw a connection or link between the issue of Iraq and the issue of the Middle East," and believes Bush also holds a similar view.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/798650.html
PLO panel to recommend new elections in PA to end crisis
Yasser Abed Rabo, who headed the committee, said "the declaration of early elections is the best solution to get out of the crisis in the talks with Hamas on the unity government." The executive committee is to decide tomorrow whether to accept or reject the committee's proposals. Abed Rabo said Abbas would make his decision public in a speech next week.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/798466.html
Gaza journalist Mohammed Omer: His life and words
Omer, 22, was born and raised in the Rafah refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip near the Egyptian border. The oldest of eight children, Mohammed began working to support his family at age six when his father was in an Israeli prison. In time, he landed a job at a backpack factory and since then has built an impressive résumé as a translator, journalist, and program coordinator.
http://www.vermontguardian.com/local/122006/Omer.shtml
Israeli gambling billionaire makes bid for peace
Avi Shaked is offering the Palestinian prime minister US$1 billion, if he and his Israeli counterpart agree to sit down and reach a peace agreement. "We cannot continue suffering...and it doesn't make sense that people in both sides will get killed...soldiers in Israel, kids in Palestine," Shaked told CTV Newsnet.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061207/mideast_gambling_061207/20061207?hub=TopStories
Prime minister to visit Israel for talks in final push for peace
Tony Blair confirmed in Washington yesterday that he is to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories before Christmas, in a final push for Middle East peace before he leaves office next year. As well as Israel and the Palestinian territories, Mr Blair is likely to visit neighbouring Arab countries. Ideally, he would like to organise an international conference to discuss a comprehensive Middle East peace settlement.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1967298,00.html
Why religious anti-Zionism endures
Inspired by major Jewish thinkers of the past century, they warned that a separate state for the Jews, far from becoming a safe haven, would provoke unprecedented hatred among the Arabs. Several haredi leaders had made their opinion known to the United Nations, and some had asked for protection from Zionist rule. This is why prime minister David Ben-Gurion had to placate at least some of the ultra-Orthodox Jews with concessions [IDF exemption, for instance] that keep irritating secular Israelis.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1164881826112&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter
Not just a report, a friend as well
If President George Bush rejects the report or ignores it, if he yet again spares us the rod of reality in the Middle East - it would not be from love of Israel, but from hatred. Someone who allows a blind man to walk along the edge of a cliff is only setting him up for a fall. Ehud Olmert and his ministers are the blind man
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/798467.html
Matters of artifacts
Miriam Rosen-Ayalon, professor emeritus in Islamic art at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is still an active and energetic academic. She has bestowed upon us a book, originally in French and recently translated into English, on Islamic art and archaeology in the Holy Land. Or should I say Arab art and archaeology? Although "Islamic" is distinct from "Arab," the difference is irrelevant. The author has inserted the term "Palestine" and thus everything she says is "strictly kosher" for our Palestinian friends.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/798428.html
Loophole could keep Peretz at Labor helm until 2009
Anyone who was hoping that Defense Minister Amir Peretz would be voted out of the Labor leadership in upcoming months will be disappointed to hear that due to a loophole in the party constitution, it is possible that there will be no primary until February 2009.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1164881845999&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
War probe delayed by government infighting
The dispute between the offices of the prime minister and the state comptroller emerged when the latter requested to see documents on cabinet meetings relating to the second Lebanon war. The request was turned down, with the Prime Minister's Office maintaining that documents that include top secret information could not be released.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=798578
'No indication' captured Israelis are dead - Amnesty
They acknowledged that under international law there is an obligation for them to give access, but they said they would not do it, because they wanted to put pressure on Israel to release prisoners," Khan said. A senior Hizbullah official, Sheik Hassan Ezzeddine, said he knew nothing about the conditions of the two soldiers.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=77499
Incoming Sec. of Defense tells Senate panel Israel has nukes
Incoming U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told a Senate committee on Thursday that Israel has nuclear weapons, and that this partially explains Iran's motiviation to acquire nuclear weapons.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/798405.html
Golan snubs Baker report
“The Golan Heights are an unchangeable Israeli reality. We must develop and strengthen settlement in the Golan,” Bar-On said. Today roughly 19,000 people live in 33 communities in the areas of the Golan and Katzrin regional councils.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3337482,00.html
One day U.S. Iraq death total rises to 11
A U.S. soldier in a machine gun nest in Ramadi was shot and killed Wednesday, bringing deaths among U.S. forces in Iraq for the day to 11. The single day total was one of the highest since the war began in 2003, CBS News reported.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20061207-023611-1127r |
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