|
Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
|
My mother gave birth to me here 80 years ago. I prefer death than to see the Wall eat this
Twenty Israeli military vehicles stormed Umm Salamuna Village south of Bethlehem to protect four military bulldozers. The bulldozers were massive and there to bulldoze Palestinian land for Wall construction. Hundreds of farmers rushed to the area, with people coming from surrounding villages to advocate for the citizens of Umm Salamuna in defending the land. Six Palestinians were injured, including 70 year old farmer Mousa Mohammad. Israeli soldiers beat him in the head with clubs.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23384/1/
Peretz approves Wall route around Maali Adumim
Israeli Defense Minister, Amir Peretz, approved the original route of the Annexation Wall that will surround Maali Adumim settlement by annexing more Palestinian lands and placing them inside the settlement’s enclave. The Israeli Jerusalem post reported that 64,000 Dunams (about 15,800 acres) of Palestinian lands will be inside the Israeli side of the Wall.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23335/147/
High Court orders dismantling of concrete barricade in the southern Hebron hills
The forty-one-kilometer barricade runs from the Tene settlement in the west to the Carmel settlement in the east. The eighty-two centimeter high barricade makes it impossible for vehicles to cross. The army contends that the barricade is needed to defend the access roads to the settlements north of the separation barrier, on the "Palestinian" side of the barrier, and to facilitate security forces' control of the area. The barricade was to have thirteen openings to enable Palestinians to cross.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article6320.shtml
Political instability threatens future of Holy Land Christian community, patriarch says
Political instability, not relations with Muslims, threatens the future of the Christian community in a Holy Land gripped by fear, fratricidal struggles within the Palestinian community and occupation by the Israeli government, said Jerusalem's Catholic Latin-rite patriarch.
http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=22496
The new refugees
Until Enaya Samara, who has been living in forced exile for the past eight months returns to her village near Ramallah, and until Someida Abbas, who was banished from his home 10 months ago accompanies his children to kindergarten again, it will not be possible to believe the defense establishment's promise to change its policy. So long as American, Brazilian and German citizens whose name is not Cohen but Abdullah, are refused entry at the borders, we will know that the policy is still in effect - the policy of causing tens of thousands of Palestinian families to break up, or to leave their homes and emigrate.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806054.html
EU condemns Israeli construction of Maskiot settlement in West Bank; urges cease-fire
The European Union on Wednesday condemned the construction of a new Israeli settlement in the West Bank, saying it was illegal and hampered efforts for a peace solution that would allow the coexistence of an Israeli and Palestinian state.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/27/europe/EU_GEN_EU_Israel_Palestinians.php
U.S. State Department challenges Israel on new West Bank settlement
"The U.S. calls on Israel to meet its road map obligations and avoid taking steps that could be viewed as predetermining the outcome of future negotiations," the spokesman, Gonzalo R. Gallegos, said.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/27/america/NA_GEN_US_Israel.php
IOF illegally detain international volunteers for four hours
Two international volunteers were illegally detained for over four hours this morning. They were performing a routine visit to Qurtuba School to accompany Palestinian schoolchildren, who face physical violence and harrassment from settler-colonists. The two volunteers, from South Africa and Spain, were accused of entering a house that was a Closed Military Zone according to the soldiers, although they failed to produce the necessary documentation.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2006/12/27/tr-illegal-detention/
Army judge criticizes detention of Palestinians without trial
A top military judge disclosed that 2,700 Palestinians have been detained without trial this year, criticizing the military prosecution for not filing charges against some of them. Colonel Shaul Gordon, chief justice of the army's West Bank appeals court, told the soldiers' weekly "Bamahane" that 2,000 of the detainees filed appeals, and their detention was shortened in many cases.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/805971.html
Hamas fighter injured by unknown gunmen near Jenin
Palestinian sources reported on Wednesday that an unknown armed group fired rounds of live ammunition at a member of Hamas near Borqeen village, west of Jenin in the northern part of the West Bank, the member was seriously injured.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23389/1/
Islamic Jihad: We are firing rockets in bid to sabotage Gaza truce
An Islamic Jihad rocket attack Tuesday evening on the nearby Negev town of Sderot seriously wounded two 14-year-old boys and triggered the Israeli decision to resume targeting the rocket squads.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806084.html
Israel's Gaza 'restraint' at an end
Israel has decided to end what it calls 'its restraint' against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip and said it would resume attacks against Palestinian militants who fire rockets.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/1227/mideast.html
Abbas to Mubarak: PA ready for 'backdoor' talks with Israel
Abbas did not spell out why he was proposing that the negotiations with Israel be "backdoor" - meaning conducted out of the media spotlight. But as one of the architects of the Oslo peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians in 1993, he is known to champion quiet, informal diplomacy.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806428.html
Rice to visit the Mideast next month: Abbas
The U.S. secretary of state will visit the Middle East next month, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday, adding he would discuss with her the idea of a "back channel" for negotiations with Israel.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061227/pl_nm/palestinians_israel_rice_dc_1
Livni backs talks with PA, even under fire
The dividing line, according to Livni, is the separation fence (APARTHEID WALL), and the public will support the evacuation of tens of thousands of settlers who live beyond it. "The behavior of the Palestinians in Gaza after the disengagement creates a major problem. But I believe that, in the final analysis, if a reasonable solution is found for the security issues, most of the Israeli public will support this process," she said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806080.html
Egyptian FM: Egypt knows captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is alive
"This is a very sensitive issue and we have to treat it with very serious sensitivity," he said at a news conference in Jerusalem. "I hope and believe that he will be released ... but I emphasize that we are working hard for his release and we are sure that he is still alive."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806074.html
Israel plans new housing for settlers in West Bank; Palestinians, peace group say it violates pledge to freeze building
Palestinian leaders said that the announcement, coming just three days after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas launched an effort to revive peace talks, undermined the cooperative spirit of the weekend meeting.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/12/27/MNG8GN6APC1.DTL&type=politics
European Investment Banks ends Israel 'freeze'
The EIB halted its lending operations in Israel in 1995, officially because per capita income in the Jewish state exceeded the bank's criteria. Unofficially, it was believed to be because of EU displeasure at the policies of former premier Benjamin Netanyahu.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061227/wl_mideast_afp/mideastisraeleu_061227154702
Heavy snow falls in Jerusalem; dozens injured due to bad weather
Some 30 other town residents were treated for frostbite, and 200 tent inhabitants, members of the al-Amrani extended family, were evacuated to a Rahat school for the night. Rescue operations encountered difficulties, as the town is isolated. The Abu-Basma municipality and the unrecognized village's council assisted with rescue operations.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806258.html
Water supply restored to W. Bank residents after 48 hour shortage
Escorted by security, the Mekorot workers repaired the Kiryat Sefer-Herevta-Dolev water pipeline and restored the water supply to the homes of some ten thousand (ILLEGAL) settlers and tens of thousands of Palestinians.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806477.html
Egyptian foreign minister here today for talks
Aboul Gheit is also expected to prepare with officials here the timetable and subjects that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will discuss in an upcoming meeting, whose date is yet to be announced.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806037.html
How the IDF won over Peretz
This dynamic may explain the checkpoint report that the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) presented to the defense minister. The comprehensive document maintains that, since the disengagement from the Gaza Strip in August, 2005, the number of physical blockades in the West Bank has increased by 39 percent.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806070.html
Anonymous testimony pushes limits
Defense attorneys in all three cases have argued, with mixed results, that allowing U.S. prosecutors to keep the witnesses' identities secret -- as demanded by Israel to protect its agents -- violates their clients' constitutional right to confront their accusers. "It absolutely gives me pause," said Jeffrey L. Fisher, a Stanford University law professor and 6th Amendment expert.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-na-witnesses26dec26,1,3694525.story
Israeli roadblock pledge derided
Hanan Ashrawi, a moderate Palestinian MP, said that Israeli promises often did not translate into action. If the restrictions were relaxed, she said, they were so insignificant as to make a joke of Mr Abbas. "We are justifiably sceptical. Nothing has happened yet and we do not know if these roadblocks are important or peripheral ... If it is true then it will be too little too late. The only thing that will help Mahmoud Abbas is serious substantive measures accompanied by a serious and substantive peace process," she said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1978783,00.html
Palestine and Democracy
The Palestinian territories may have descended into full-scale civil war by next week. If not, it will be mainly because Fatah realises it is too weak to win against Hamas, especially in the Gaza Strip. Democracy does not seem to be serving the Palestinian people very well.
http://www.brooksbulletin.com/news/world_news.asp?itemid=59421
Poll: 50% of young Zionists give Israeli leaders a failing grade
Sixty-seven percent of participants at the summit believe that Israel is in a state of deterioration. Forty-five percent of participants said they have faith in a small number of the state's leaders, while 49 percent said they could trust nobody in government. Only 6 percent of participants said they could trust most of the country's leaders.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806470.html
No answers, and no questions either
When the first Lebanon War started and quickly became complex and interminable, I had an opportunity to exchange some words with the deputy prime minister at the time, Simcha Erlich. "What did you see in this tragic foolishness," I asked him privately. "Yossi, believe me, nobody told us there were so many Shi'ites in Lebanon. They talked to us all the time about Christians and more Christians." And nobody asked?
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806051.html
FM: Take serious look into Syrian signals
Israel should carefully examine the Syrian proposal for renewed peace negotiations, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee yesterday. Such an evaluation already appears to be taking place at the Foreign Ministry by the Political Research Center headed by Nimrod Barkan, who also presented the MKs with a report on the issue.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806038.html
Tension after US soldier shoots Sadr supporter
Tension was mounting in the Iraqi city of Najaf after an American soldier killed a senior ally of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr during a raid on his house. US commanders have described Sadr's Mahdi Army militia as the most dangerous faction involved in Iraq's sectarian war, accusing his Shiite fighters of involvement in the massacre of Sunni civilians.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061227/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestsadrus_061227135510
Military considers recruiting foreigners
The armed forces, already struggling to meet recruiting goals, are considering expanding the number of noncitizens in the ranks -- including disputed proposals to open recruiting stations overseas and putting more immigrants on a faster track to US citizenship if they volunteer -- according to Pentagon officials.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/12/26/military_considers_recruiting_foreigners/
Reservist Due for Iraq Is Killed in Standoff With Police
Army Reservist James E. Dean had already served 18 months in Afghanistan when he was notified three weeks ago that he would be deployed to Iraq later this month. Despondent about his orders, Dean barricaded himself inside his father's home with several weapons on Christmas, threatening to kill himself. After a 14-hour standoff with authorities, Dean was killed yesterday by a police officer after he aimed a gun at another officer, police said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/26/AR2006122601033.html |
| For further information contact Shadi Fadda |
|
|
