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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Settlements further encroaching into Tubas; major loss imminent
It is clear, as reported by the local community, that the Israeli policy is to eliminate any Palestinian presence in the Jordan Valley area, including confiscating the fertile land, building the Wall, and expanding existing settlements while building new ones
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1176
Open Letter from Amnesty International's Secretary General to European Union leaders on human rights crisis in Israel and the Occupied Territories
Amnesty International's recommendations include:
.Deployment of an effective international human rights monitoring mechanism;
.The investigation and and prosecution through the excercise of universal jurisdiction of those responsible for crimes under international law;
.Immediate halting of the sale or transfer of weapons to all parties in the conflict;
.Concrete provisions to ensure the removal of Israeli settlements from the Occupied Territories, the dismantling of the fence/wall inside the West Bank, ending the closures and in the long term a fair solution to the refugee question.
http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGMDE150962006
Elbow to elbow, like cattle
These people want to return home. Israel does not even allow them this. They are human beings with families, plans and commitments, longings and dignity, but who cares. In recent weeks, even the Palestinian Minister of the Environment, Yusuf Abu Safiya, was stuck there. El-Haddad tells of how the minister could be seen one evening collecting twigs on the beach of El Arish to light a bonfire. During the summer, at least seven people died of heat and dehydration while waiting at the border. For many of those who are ill, the wait is a nightmare that threatens their lives.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/798786.html
ONE VILLAGE, TWO BUILDINGS AND A TOP FLOOR: THOUGHTS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
While the vast destruction in Gaza seems to be on hold, the incremental destruction of Palestine continues apace. Just the last few days have seen a large number of demolitions in Israel and East Jerusalem. On 5 December an entire Bedouin village, Abu Twail, was demolished in the Negev, plus one house in A-Tur and a business in Ras Al Amud. Then on 6 December, the top floor of a house in Jerusalem’s Old City was destroyed. Each of these 20 buildings was demolished for lack of a building license.
http://www.icahd.org/eng/news.asp?menu=5&submenu=1&item=400
Hamas minister target of attempted assassination in Gaza
Unidentified gunmen opened fire Sunday afternoon on the motorcade of Palestinian Interior Minister Said Siyam of Hamas, causing no injuries, in an apparent assassination attempt.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/798966.html
Gunmen who fired at convoy of Palestinian Interior Minister arrested
Spokesperson of the Palestinian Ministry of Interior, Khalid Abu Hilal, stated on Sunday that that ministry arrested gunmen who reportedly fired at the convoy of the Palestinian Minister of Interior Sa'id Siyam on Sunday noon in Gaza City. Abu Hilal refused to reveal the identity of the assailant or whether they belong to a certain Palestinian faction.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23133/1/
Former President Carter's Dangerous New Book
Many of you may have seen former President Carter's media interviews of late. While I admire many of Carter's significant contributions, his new book, Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, has many serious factual errors and his opinions in several cases do not reflect the current reality of Israel's security concerns and commitment to peace.
http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.672581/k.CB99/Home.htm
Issa Qaraqa': Israeli prison system funded by imposing fines on political prisoners
Palestinian Legislative Council member Issa Qaraqa' reports that the Israeli Prison Commission intends to increase the sentences between six months to one year for 41 Palestinian political prisoners. Their families are unable to pay the financial penalties imposed upon them by Israeli courts.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23134/1/
Abed-Rabbo appointed as PLO Secretary General
Sources at the Executive Committee reported that Abed-Rabbo will also be in charge of reactivating the role of the PLO and will be in charge of directing its activities.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23137/1/
PM to ministers: Keep mum on Baker report, it is internal U.S. matter
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday instructed his cabinet to avoid discussing the Baker-Hamilton report on the war in Iraq, calling it an internal American issue. "I do not believe that Bush will change his position on the issue of Syria and Iran," he added.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/799058.html
Fatah operative involved in killing of 3 soldiers nabbed
Salhat was involved in the killing of an IDF soldier in a shooting attack on October 2, 2000, near Bethlehem. On November 1, 2000, he carried out a shooting attack near Bethlehem in which an IDF officer and soldier were killed and three others were injured.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3338301,00.html
Two Palestinians wounded in Gaza, Palestinians say
A tense cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza has been holding for two weeks, marred by sporadic Palestinian rocket fire at Israel and the Israeli shooting of several Palestinians along the Gaza-Israel border.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/10/africa/ME_GEN_Israel_Palestinians_Wounded.php
Haniyeh: This generation will liberate Palestine
Haniyeh chose his words carefully, both in the political aspect and the religious one. Haniyeh told Khamenei that he would "continue in the path of Imam Khumaini, you have always supported the Palestinian people and I hope to meet you at al-Aqsa mosque in the near future."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3338163,00.html
Palestinian PM: Early election in Palestine to trigger chaos
The Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said here Sunday that the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO)'s recommendation to the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas for holding early election is considered as the `beginning of chaos in Palestine'.
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-236/0612102714145648.htm
Showdown looms over new Palestinian elections
"This is a clear violation of the Basic Law because the law explicitly states that parliament's term is four years," Hamas lawmaker Mohammad Faraj al-Ghoul told a news conference in Gaza City. Abbas's entourage, meanwhile, says an election can be held since there is no passage specifically prohibiting it.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061210/wl_mideast_afp/mideastpalestinianpoliticsvote_061210145702
Hawking says Mideast situation has deteriorated since last visit
Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking on Sunday told Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that he has noticed a marked deterioration in the situation in the Middle East since he last visited the region in 1990.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/799112.html
Merkel meets Mubarak, vows new Mideast diplomatic effort
She praised the Israeli government for its recent peace overtures, saying "We want to use these hopeful signals which are being sent by the Israeli government to make progress." "We need results in order to halt the violence in the Palestinian territories," she added.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/798799.html
PCBS: 23.2% of Tree Horticulture Holdings Subjected to Damage by Israeli Measures
According to the main findings of the tree horticulture survey, 2006, PCBS said in a press release that 23.2% of the tree horticulture holdings were subjected to damage due to Israeli measures in the Palestinian Territory, in the West Bank(WB) the percentage was 22.5% and in Gaza Strip(GS), 33.7%.
http://wafa.ps/english/body.asp?id=8760
Israel, Jordan, Palestinians, launch study on topping up Dead Sea
The official said the tripartite meeting, attended by World Bank officials, agreed to tender out soon the World Bank-sponsored feasibility study of the project to reverse a 25 meter fall in the level of the Dead Sea in the past century.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/799111.html
Peretz: War lessons internalized
Peretz also said during the conference that "we must relate to the Saudi initiative as a basis for negotiation." According to the Saudi peace plan, Israel will withdraw to the '67 borders in exchange for peace accords with the Palestinians and the Arab states.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3338268,00.html
Carter: Race relations in Palestine are worse than apartheid
In this he compares the building of the barrier in the West Bank to the policy of apartheid (apartness) in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. There, the policy legalized the separation of races and ensured the domination of whites over all others. Carter gave as examples of the ways in which the peoples of the territory are divided. He cited the concrete walls, fences and electronic devices erected by Isael to contain the Arab peoples.
http://www.ecanadanow.com/us/2006/12/09/carter-race-relations-in-palestine-are-worse-than-apartheid/
Film director: What about civil rights for Arab minority?
October's Cry, a documentary that explores the killing of 13 young Israeli Arabs by Israeli security forces during the 2000 riots and their aftermath, is scheduled to be aired on Channel One this Sunday night.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3337853,00.html
Ottoman Headquarters in Palestine Becomes Turkish Cultural Center
An Ottoman headquarters in Al-Halil, Palestine has recently been transformed in to a cultural center and opened for public use. With the efforts of Dahriye Mayor Sami Isneevir, who completed his college education in Turkey, the palace was restored according to its original architecture.
http://www.zaman.com/?bl=international&alt=&trh=20061210&hn=39097
Gates testimony / Preserving nuclear ambiguity
In particular, they want to know two things: First, whether this statement was a private initiative by Gates, or whether he coordinated it with the top levels of the American administration. And second, whether he was implying that since Israel has nuclear weapons, it can deal with any nuclear threat from Iran on its own.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/798771.html
Record Israeli arms sales irk US
"The ability of the Israeli Military Industry annoys certain US administration officials," said a source from within the security industry on Saturday. He claims that these officials are making allegations that Israel has sold technological information to 'problematic' countries like China.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3338042,00.html
Kaplinsky: Iran will have nuclear arms capability 'in near future'
But Kaplinsky, who said that he based this assessment on information obtained by the defense establishment, declined to give a more specific time frame, noting that analysts worldwide disagree on precisely when this will happen.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/798958.html
Gulf states commission study for possible shared nukes program
"The [leaders] commissioned a study by members of the Gulf Cooperation Council to set up a common program in the area of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, according to international standards and systems," said the final statement of the two-day GCC summit held in Riyadh.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/799103.html
Intelligence official warns: Syria gearing up for confrontation
"On the one hand, he (Assad) doesn't rule out the possibility of a diplomatic settlement with Israel, but on the other hand he is preparing his forces for a military confrontation, by enhancing the production of long-range missiles and moving antitank missiles close to the Golan Heights border. From his point of view, the two do not contradict each other," Baidatz explained.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3338154,00.html
Israel should hold talks with Syria: Israeli official
"The current situation with Syria is not good. It is important to do something different and there are conditions to do so. We've exhausted sitting on the fence. Something needs to be done." "At the moment, the Syrians are deliberating over which direction to turn. With our current mode of activity we are pushing them into Iran's arms. On our side the Syrians meet a wall, and that is why they get repelled to the other side."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061210/ts_afp/mideastisraelsyriatalks_061210085405
Iraqi leader criticises US report
Mr Talabani rejected the Iraq Study Group's proposal to withdraw US troops if Iraq failed to strengthen security. He also objected to including former regime members in reconciliation talks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6165943.stm
Police: Saddam’s nephew escaped from prison
A nephew of Saddam Hussein serving a life sentence for financing insurgents and possessing bombs escaped from prison Saturday in northern Iraq with the help of a police officer, authorities said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16125145/ |
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