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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Physicians
for Human Rights-Israel Gaza Update 19 Dec
2007
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/MUMA-7A44NP?OpenDocument&rc=3&
emid=ACOS-635PFR
Soldiers
indicted on charges of abusing Palestinian prisoners
At
the conclusion of an investigation lasting more than a year, the
Military Advocate General has charged five soldiers from the Nahshon
Battalion with three counts of aggravated assault. Three of the
soldiers have already been discharged from the army and one was
transferred to another unit. Only one soldier remains in active duty
in the battalion.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3485064,00.html
UN:
Gaza electricity supply in danger
The 15 percent fuel
import cut that Israel imposed on the Gaza Strip in October could
lead to a severe power supply shortage within three weeks, an
official in the Gaza branch of the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday. According
to Hamada Al-Bayari, the four gas turbines currently operating in
Gaza consume 275 to 295 cubic meters of industrial diesel fuel per
day. Since the cuts went into effect, the power plant has been
receiving 241.5 cubic meters per day.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847395050&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle
%2FShowFull
Gaza
residents discuss the closure
Three Palestinians describe
life in Gaza under the closure of the borders and how much they think
the extra funding pledged by donors in Paris can help them.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/7153865.stm
Video:
Bethlehem checkpoint, 4am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1FaWE1SIZk
Gazans
say this Eid is the worst ever
A 500-meter-long street in
the heart of Gaza City is empty of cars and vehicles, but full of
men, women and children. Omar al-Mokhtar Street is considered the
largest commercial area in Gaza where people from all over the
coastal region have always come to shop, especially during the
holiday season. In recent days, Gaza, like other Islamic communities
around the world, prepared to celebrate Eid al-Adha, a major holiday
marking the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hajj. Normally
a time of joy, this year's Eid is different from past years because
Gaza suffers from the tight Israeli closures on all travel and
commercial crossings. EI correspondent Rami Almeghari reports from
Gaza.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9172.shtml
Two
IDF troops lightly hurt as Israel mulls truce offer
Two
Israel Defense Forces reservists were lightly wounded Friday when
Palestinian militants detonated an explosive device near the security
fence at the Kissufim Crossing on the border with the Gaza Strip.
Also Friday, three Qassam rockets were fired from Gaza. One struck
south of the Negev city of Ashkelon, another an open field near
Sderot and the third appeared to have landed inside Gaza, Israel
Radio reported. No injuries or damages were reported in the incident.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/937060.html
IDF
to increase Gaza strikes despite Hamas truce calls
The Israel
Defense Forces will continue its attacks against militants in the
Gaza Strip despite calls by the Hamas leadership for a possible
temporary calm. Defense officials say the heavy pressure on the
militants is making progress, and there will be room to consider a
change to the offensive only if Hamas imposes on other militant
factions a moratorium on Qassam rocket attacks. In an IDF operation
yesterday in the central Gaza Strip, one soldier was seriously
injured and seven Palestinian gunmen were killed. A number of Qassam
rockets and mortar shells were fired on the western Negev, with one
rocket landing near a school in Sderot. There were no injuries.
Security sources said analyses by the IDF and Shin Bet security
service concluded that Israel's military pressure on the Gaza
militants led to the recent announcement by former Palestinian prime
minister Ismail Haniyeh on the need for a cease-fire.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=936882
Two
Israeli ministers say they favour Hamas truce
Two senior
cabinet ministers on Friday urged Israel to examine any serious
ceasefire proposal from Hamas, the radical group that does not
recognise the Jewish state but which rules the Gaza Strip. "If a
serious offer for a truce from Hamas reached us, I think we should
examine it seriously," Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz told
reporters.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/PANA-7A4F8Y?OpenDocument&rc=3&
emid=ACOS-635PFR
Ramon:
70 MKs support paying settlers to evacuate voluntarily
Seventy
MKs support legislation that would offer compensation to settlers
willing to evacuate homes situated east of the separation fence
before a final-status agreement with the Palestinians, Vice Premier
Haim Ramon told Haaretz Thursday. Ramon has been quietly
probing the likelihood of MKs supporting such legislation, and is
also assessing the cost of this offer to between 30,000 to 40,000
settlers. His discreet efforts are being carried out with the full
knowledge and support of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/937059.html
Egyptian
government, not people, recognize Israel
Thirty years
after late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat's historic trip to Israel,
Egyptian diplomatic relations with the Hebrew state remain cordial.
On a popular level, however, the relationship -- buttressed by the
1979 Camp David peace agreement -- still represents a major source of
contention. "The so-called peace between Egypt and Israel
continues to lack popular approval," Ahmed Thabet, professor of
political science at Cairo University told IPS. "Meanwhile,
Israel has exploited the situation to maintain racist, expansionist
policies."
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9173.shtml
As
Torture Debate Heats Up, Jewish Groups Stay Mum
The
American Jewish Committee last week became the first, and to date
only, mainstream Jewish group to give strong public backing to
proposed legislation that would ban the use of torture by American
military, intelligence and law-enforcement personnel. On December 10,
the AJCommittee's board of governors passed a resolution expressly
condemning the use of so-called enhanced interrogation techniques.
Two days later the group also sent a letter to all members of
Congress, urging them to support legislation that would force CIA
interrogators to follow the guidelines set forth by the Army's field
manual, which bans waterboarding, mock executions and other harsh
methods.
http://www.forward.com/articles/12303/
President
Peres apologizes for Kafr Qasem massacre of 1956
President
Shimon Peres apologized on Friday for the Kafr Qasem massacre of
1956, in which Border Police officers killed over 50 residents of the
Arab
village.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=937116
Start
with the unmanned roadblocks!
This week's request from
French President Nicholas Sarkozy, made at the conference of nations
donating money to the Palestinian Authority, that Israel remove the
roadblocks in the West Bank is hardly new. World Bank reports have
been saying for years that the roadblocks are a major impediment to
Palestinian economic development. Tony Blair, the Quartet's special
envoy, one of whose briefs is to help develop the Palestinian
economy, has also made the same point several times.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/936897.html
Boim
backtracks on Atarot plan
Housing and Construction
Minister Ze'ev Boim retracts statement on new Israeli construction in
east Jerusalem,will lobby Israel Land Administration to give away
land in future residential neighborhoods in Gaza Vicinity communities
for free.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3485130,00.html
Wishful
thinking
The Paris Donor Conference may make the
Palestinian Authority richer but it cannot improve the economy of a
no-state under Israeli occupation, writes Khaled Amayreh from East
Jerusalem.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/876/fr1.htm
Bethlehem
residents vandalise Banksy graffiti
Bethlehem
residents have painted over a satirical mural by the graffiti artist
Banksy that was meant to highlight their plight. The elusive British
artist had painted six images around the town to help drum up tourism
before Christmas and to illustrate the hardships faced by
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. But the irony behind the
depiction of an Israeli soldier checking a donkey's identity papers
was lost on some residents, who found it offensive. "We're
humans here, not donkeys," said Nasri Canavati, a restaurater.
"This is insulting. I'm glad it was painted over." To be
called a donkey in Palestinian society is similar to being called an
idiot. Not all Bethlehem residents found the mural offensive. Fyras
Twemeh, an architect, thought it was funny and made a neat political
point. "It's offensive for the Israelis, not for us," he
said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,2230867,00.html
No
room at the inn: Christmas bonanza in Bethlehem
Hotels
booked, parties planned and lights glittering, Bethlehem is preparing
for tens of thousands of pilgrims to overcome Israeli occupation and
give the town the best Christmas in years. "We are hopeful this
city will remain peaceful. I'm sure we'll have a wonderful
Christmas," says Mayor Victor Batarseh, determined to look on
the bright side sitting next to a plastic fir tree near Manger
Square.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071221/ts_afp/mideastchristmasbethlehem_071221013629
ADL
slams Jerusalem Latin Patriarch's pre-Christmas speech
Jewish
advocacy group voices concern over top Roman Catholic official's
rejection of Israel as a Jewish nation, call his words 'ironic'
considering he represents a theocratic Catholic state - The
Anti-Defamation League said on Thursday that it was "deeply
disturbed" by statements made by the top Roman Catholic
clergyman in Israel in which he rejected the country's Jewish
identity. In his annual pre-Christmas address on Wednesday Latin
Patriarch Michel Sabbah said that if "there's a state of one
religion, other religions are naturally discriminated against. ''
Speaking before an audience in Jerusalem in Arabic and English,
Sabbah said Israel should abandon its Jewish character in favor of a
''political, normal state." The ADL said it was concerned that
"Father Sabbah would politicize the holy season of Christmas by
denying the Jewish people's right to a Jewish state.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3485133,00.html
Christian-Jewish
coalition donates $45 million to Jewish Agency for Israel
A group of
Christian and Jewish synagogues, churches and organizations have
pledged to donate $15 million per year for the next three years to
the Jewish Agency's budget. The Jewish Agency for Israel says that
its mission is "to keep the promise to every Jew who, for any
reason, at any time, chooses to come home to Israel; and to put
Israel into the lives of the Jewish world's next generation."
The organization claims to have helped 3 million Jews immigrate to
Israel. The Jewish Agency has allied itself with right-wing Christian
groups based mainly in the U.S. , who believe that Jews should be
encouraged to move to Israel as that will bring the "second
coming" -- at which time Jews who refuse to convert will be
killed. Many pro-Israel Jewish groups have made coalitions with such
Christian groups, despite the belief of these Christians that Jews
will be killed by God (or God's messengers) once they all move to
Israel.
http://www.imemc.org/article/52048.html
Jewish
Agency to get Christian rep
The
Jewish Agency is to appoint a Christian representative to its board
of directors for the first time, following an agreement this week
with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) to
increase cooperation between the organizations. The IFCJ raises funds
for Israeli and Jewish causes among American Evangelical
congregations. IFCJ president Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein has been accused
of cooperating with fundamentalist Christians and missionaries, and
some ultra-Orthodox rabbis have banned using the money he raises.
However, Eckstein has gained a position of influence and an open door
to Israeli leaders due to the tens of millions of shekels he has
funneled to Israel annually. A decade ago he was made an agency
director, due to the large sums of money he raised for the
organization. According to the agreement between the agency and the
IFCJ, Eckstein will raise...
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=936871
Israel,
Syria message exchange ends in failure
An
attempt to exchange messages between Israel and Syria in recent
months has failed. European diplomatic sources said that the reason
for the impasse was the inability to reach an agreed-upon agenda for
talks between the two countries. But in off-the-record conversations,
several sources close to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert say that "the
Syrian track still has higher chances of success when compared to the
Palestinian track." In the past few months, Israel approached
Syrian President Bashar Assad via a number of friendly states, in an
effort to evaluate the possibility of renewing direct contact. The
main interlocutor in these exchanges has been Turkey, but Israel also
made use of the good services of Germany, which still holds an open
line of communications with Damascus. Following a series of
exchanges, the view in Israel is that the seriousness of Syrian
intentions is still questionable.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=936881
Report:
Nuclear bunker built for Olmert's residence
A bunker is
being built at Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's residence in
order to withstand a nuclear or chemical attack, local media reported
Thursday. Olmert's official residence in Jerusalem is under the
construction of thickening walls, digging, and installing air
purification equipment capable of countering chemical agents,
according to local daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/20/content_7285982.htm
Twilight
Zone / Killed in the line of duty
This
is a story about the pathetic attempt of the Palestinians to govern
in what remains of their territories. A story about Israeli arrogance
and a terrifyingly quick trigger finger. A story about our disdain
for Palestinian lives. And a tragic story about Mohammed Salah, who
because of his back pains stopped laying floors in construction
projects in Ma'aleh Adumim and went to work for the Palestinian
police force. This is a story that should not have happened. No
excuse in the world can justify the brutal behavior of a dozen
masked, undercover Israel Defense Forces soldiers, speeding in their
commercial van through the streets of Bethlehem as though it were
their city, disobeying instructions to stop. When they finally did
stop, they shot an innocent policeman to death who had dared to open
the door of their vehicle, not endangering anyone, only looking for
stolen or other illegal
merchandise.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=936740
Seeing
and unseeing
"Chic
Point:Fashion for Israeli Checkpoints," book and video clip in
Arabic, English and Hebrew, designed by Sharif Waked, Andalus, 200
pages - Raise your sweater. I have seen this on television, but it
never occurred to me that it would happen here, right in front of my
own home. I lifted my arms. He raised his gun. I am telling you,
raise your sweater. I had to concede ... what other choice did I
have? I raised my sweater, but there were a couple of problems.
First, my jacket was still covering part of my stomach and back. And
second, I had a shirt on under the sweater. Take off your jacket.
Pull up your undershirt. Now this was really complicating things.
Where would I put my jacket? There was no way I would put it on the
wet, dirty ground. I love this Bally jacket ... I turned to the
soldier: Could you please hold my jacket while I pull up my sweater?
Don't move, kneel down and pull up your clothes... His voice was
getting louder and angrier. I tried to explain: But I am Jacques
Persekian. I live right here. You see me every morning. My wife is
called Hania, my sons are Rami,
Amir...
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=936843
Palestinian
Initiative Offers Alternative to Fatah and Hamas
As one
who for decades has supported a two-state solution and the nonviolent
struggle for Palestinian rights, I view the recent Middle East peace
conference in Annapolis, Md., with a great deal of skepticism -- and
a glimmer of hope. Seven years with no negotiations -- and increasing
numbers of Israeli settlers, an economic blockade in Gaza and an
intricate network of roadblocks and checkpoints stifling movement in
the West Bank -- have led us to despair and distrust. Any commitment
must be made not only to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008
but also to end Israel's occupation.
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=129687
Ahmadinejad
to Hizbullah: Palestinian determination key to victory
According
to the Iranian President's Bureau, Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad met Wednesday night during a religious ceremony in Saudi
Arabia with Hizbullah senior official Sheikh Muhammad Yazbak.
Ahmadinejad told Yazbak that the situation in the PA was "terrible"
and that "the Palestinian nation's determined (Islamic)
opposition is the key to a crushing victory over the Zionist regime."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3484903,00.html
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