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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Israeli forces expanding Wall in West Bank's Jordan Valley
Residents of the northern Jordan Valley in the West Bank are living in state of fear and anxiety as Israeli forces overtake more land. The Wall is being built on their land and more of the surroundings are being confiscated. Farid Abdul Rahim of the Land Defense Committee said that the peoples' suffering has been exacerbated as they depend on agriculture and are unable to reach it. Hundreds of thousands of the most fertile acres of farm land have been lost.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23401/1/
Tel Aviv's center blocked by the wall
The two rolls of razor wire were stretched across the street parallel to each other, in a formation reminding that of the wall, and red signs reading: “Mortal Danger-Military Zone. Any person who passes or damages the fence endangers his life”, also from the wall itself, were hanged on it. Flyers explaining Israel's policy of restrictions on movement land-grab were passed around.
http://www.awalls.org/tel_avivs_center_blocked_by_the_wall
Mandela Institute: Palestinians taken to Israeli prison hospital are not given medical treatment
Thousands of Palestinians go without the basic necessities of health care in Israeli prisons, but it was largely unknown that those with critical enough cases to be taken to the hospital were not being treated either. A Mandela Institute lawyer, Buthaina Dukmak, visited with several of the political prisoners. She reports that 13 Palestinian political prisoners are in the Ramle Hospital suffering from paralysis or such severe disability that they cannot move without either human or wheelchair assistance.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23403/1/
The Ludicrous Attacks on Jimmy Carter's Book - By Norman Finkelstein
If it's "foolish and unfair," "irresponsibly provocative" and "dangerous and anti-Semitic" to make the apartheid comparison, then the roster of commentators who have gone awry is rather puzzling. For example, a major 2002 study of Israeli settlement practices by the respected Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem concluded: "Israel has created in the Occupied Territories a regime of separation based on discrimination, applying two separate systems of law in the same area and basing the rights of individuals on their nationality.
http://www.counterpunch.org/finkelstein12282006.html
Israeli foreign minister: West Bank barrier can be basis for border of Palestinian state
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has her own peace plan for the Palestinians, calling for a provisional state with a border based on the contentious barrier Israel is building along the West Bank, according to an interview published Thursday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/807007.html
Greens, (ILLEGAL) settlers work together to fight West Bank fence route
Environmental activists and settlers in the Hebron region have set up a joint operation to stop the construction of a section of the separation fence in the Judean Desert. In the letter, Lashem warned that the planned route of the fence would prevent animals from moving freely and would destroy food access for birds of prey.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806820.html
140 residents transferred to Egypt for treatment
The patients are suffering from cancer and were receiving chemotherapy in Egypt. Also, several residents who were injured during Israeli military attacks crossed into the Gaza Strip via ambulances.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23404/1/
State Dept.: Israeli settlement violates road map
"The establishment of a new settlement or the expansion of an existing settlement would violate Israel's obligations under the road map," Gonzo Gallegos, a State Department spokesman, told reporters in Washington.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806559.html
Bethlehem Prisoners' Association report: 1250 Bethlehemites in Israeli jails
The year 2006 has witnessed the largest ever Israeli military campaign of arrests and detention of Palestinians from the Bethlehem governorate, in the south of the West Bank. The number of apprehended citizens reached 650, ranging from young children to elderly men and women.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=18366
With approval of Israeli gov't, Egypt transfers thousands of rifles to Fatah
The shipment included 2,000 AK-47 rifles, 20,000 magazines and two million rounds of ammunition. The arms and ammunition were transfered from Egypt to Israel through the Kerem Shalom crossing, in coordination with the Israel Defense Force and with the government's authorization.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806567.html
28 Dec. 06: 683 people killed in the conflict in 2006
According to B'Tselem's research, from January to December 27, 2006, Israeli security forces killed 660 (4005) Palestinians in the West Bank and in Israel . This includes 141 (811) minors. At least 322 (1920) of those killed did not take part in the hostilities at the time they were killed. Another 22 (210) were targets of assassinations. In the Gaza Strip alone, since the capture of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, Israeli forces killed 405 Palestinians, including 88 minors. Of these, 205 did not participate in the fighting when killed.
http://www.btselem.org/english/Press_Releases/20061228.asp
Haneya leaves Gaza to embark on 2nd regional tour
Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar and Interior Minister Said Siam accompany Haneya in his second regional tour that will take him to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and likely Jordan, said the office.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-12/28/content_5543947.htm
Abbas phones PM Haniyeh in sign of easing tension
It was their first phone conversation since Abbas's December 16 appeal for new elections, which Hamas described as a coup attempt against its elected government and which set off a round of bloody clashes. "The president wished his prime minister a successful journey and the prime minister thanked him for his care," an aide to Haniyeh told Reuters. Abbas's office confirmed the call.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061228/ts_nm/palestinians_leaders_dc_3
Haniyeh: Captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit will be released soon
"We must continue to pressure Israel to close this deal as quickly as possible, so that the Israeli soldier and the Palestinian prisoners will be released soon," he continued.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806964.html
The temples of the occupation
So far, of the dozens of checkpoints promised to be removed from the West Bank in a "gesture" to Mahmoud Abbas, not a single checkpoint has been dismantled.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806575.html
Minister of Planning: “I have no problem in meting with my Israeli counterpart”
Abu Aisha added that the Palestinian Minister of Finance, who is currently imprisoned by Israel, had repeatedly called for such meetings. Moreover, Abu Aisha said that no meetings with Israeli officials and counterparts had taken place yet. He did not elaborate whether such meetings, if they occur, would or would not be considered as recognition of Israel.
http://www.imemc.org/content/view/23405/1/
Israel: Fatah arms transfer bolsters forces of peace
"The assistance is aimed at reinforcing the forces of peace in the face of the forces of darkness that are threatening the future of the Middle East," Gilad said, commenting on the news of an arms transfer from Egypt to Palestinian security forces, first published in Haaretz Thursday morning.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806603.html
Palestinian group: Egyptian arms will be used against Israel
"We vow to show the Israelis very soon the weapons they lately channeled to the Presidential Guards and to the security services will be directed against the occupation," Muhammad Abdel Al, a spokesperson for the group said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3345742,00.html
Palestinian journalists in Gaza crossfire
The fact-finding visit to Gaza and Israel by the Paris-based media watchdog group, conducted between Dec. 4-7 reveals that Palestinian and foreign journalists working in the Palestinian territories are exposed to threats from the Israeli army -- which has been responsible for many acts of violence against the press since 2000 -- and more recently from Palestinian factions that do not hesitate to target media criticizing them.
http://www.upi.com/InternationalIntelligence/view.php?StoryID=20061228-124840-4464r
Danger zone around Gaza to triple
The Israeli army is preparing for the possibility that Palestinian armed groups would improve the range of makeshift rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, with the Home Front Command drafting plans to expand the protection zone around the tiny coastal territory to 20 km, three time wider than currently.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3345689,00.html
Palestine: Hamas denies meeting Israel
However, Hawatmeh's claim was challenged by Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon. In an interview aired by Al Jazeera on Thursday, he denied that any meeting between Hamas and Israeli officials in London had taken place.
http://somalinet.com/news/world/World/6243
Jewish Agency: Overall immigration to Israel falls in 2006
Some 21,000 immigrants moved to Israel in 2006, the Jewish Agency, which oversees immigration, reported. The figure is down from 22,657 in 2005 and is the smallest number since 1988, when 13,034 people moved to Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/807019.html
Eitam gets slap on the wrist for anti-Arab remarks
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has decided on Thursday, that National Union-NRP Knesset Member Effie Eitam's anti-Arab remarks border on criminal offense. Nonetheless, he has decided that a criminal investigation will not be opened against Eitam at the current time.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3345871,00.html
Statistics report: Less enlisting to army
The data revealed that at the end of 2006, 76 percent of Israel's residents were Jewish (5,393,600 people) 20 percent were Arabs (1,413,500 people) and 4 percent were of other nationalities... A drop in the percentage of teenagers enlisting to the army has also been recorded, out of all the candidates for military service the percentage has dropped to below 78 percent.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3345830,00.html
Non-cooperative housing
"We spoke, here, of design, landscape, light - we spoke of separation between private and public - but we did not relate to the acute problem of Israelis and Palestinians," said Abu Arafeh, who is also a political caricaturist. "We have transfers on a daily basis, rather than coexistence. And our separation is not between an apartment and a stairwell - it is a separation fence." He added, "In any case, I encourage projects like this. Maybe some day, not in our lifetime, they will live together."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806599.html
Olmert: Price of peace doesn't deter us
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said during the Israeli Air Force's pilot training graduation ceremony Thursday that "the Israeli government is open to any sign of peace coming from our neighbors over the border; we are also attentive to any signs of aggression and threats."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3345775,00.html
Specter: Assad asked me to tell PM he wants talks
Syrian President Bashar Assad asked United States Senator Arlen Specter to convey a message from him to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, asking him to tell the prime minister that "Syria is interested in peace negotiations with Israel."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/807020.html
Assad's French nightmare
According to the information at Israel's disposal, Assad fears that Chirac is determined not to leave the Elysee Palace so long as his friend's murderer is sitting pretty in his palace. In order to get past Chirac in one piece, Assad is willing to promise the Americans that if they back off a bit, he will seal out Al-Qaida on the Iraq border, provide information on Jihad activists and even ensure that Siniora does not prematurely join Hariri and Pierre Gemayel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806812.html
Three Iranians seeking conversion to Judaism denied Israel visas
The three left Iran two months ago and immediately approached the Israeli embassy in Baku. According to N., they were given a chilly reception. N. points out that embassy officials did not invite them into the building, but talked to them on the street.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/806545.html
Who's afraid of a Christmas tree?
The Authority banned residents from bringing decorated Christmas trees into public areas under its management. The ban included other familiar trappings symbolizing the end of the Christian year, known here by the "kosher" term the "Civilian Year."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3345393,00.html
'I want to testify'
"Aziz has told me he has very important information that he wishes to explain to the world," lawyer Badih Aref Ezzat said yesterday. "This information will cause as much embarrassment inside the country as outside," he added. Saddam, due to be hanged within 30 days, said in a letter released yesterday that his execution should be seen as a sacrifice for the nation and called on Iraqis to unite and fight US forces in the country.
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=165759&Sn=WORL&IssueID=29283 |
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