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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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OPT:
Olmert rules out ceasefire, strikes on Hamas continue
The
Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, on Sunday ruled out ceasefire
negotiations with the Islamist movement Hamas and said his military
was fighting a "true war" against armed groups in Gaza.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/SSHN-7A7H4M?OpenDocument&
rc=3&emid=ACOS-635PFR
An
Israeli air strike on central Gaza leaves two deaths
Israeli
war planes launched early on Monday morning an air strike on central
Gaza Strip, leaving two people dead.
http://www.imemc.org/article/52079
Chairman
of PFLP's armed wing dies of wounds sustained months ago
Mu'in
Al-Masri, 40, died Saturday night in the northern Gaza Strip from
wounds sustained several months ago, Palestinian sources reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/52073
Shalit
to be released in return for Palestinian detainees, says a
well-informed source
A well-informed source, speaking in
a condition of anonymity, told Maan News Agency on Sunday that
Israeli soldier, Gil'ad Shalit, captured by Hamas in Gaza, will
expectedly be released soon, within a Hamas-Israeli deal.
http://www.imemc.org/article/52072
Palestinian
FM: No progress in peace talks until Israel halts settlement
activity
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said
Monday there would be no progress in the recently revived peace talks
with Israel until Jerusalem halts all settlement activity.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=937827
Report:
Palestinian shepherds displaced by Israeli military
According
to a new report by the United Nations information service (IRIN), a
community of Palestinian shepherds numbering 272 people in 37
families were forced off their land in Khirbet Qassa village by the
Israeli military several weeks ago, and are currently wandering the
area with no place to go.
http://www.imemc.org/article/52078
Israeli
military prosecutors uphold use of cluster bombs in Lebanon
Israeli
military prosecutors have concluded that Israel's use of cluster
bombs during last year's war in Lebanon was legal under international
law, military officials said Monday. The officials, speaking on
condition of anonymity under army regulations, said there will be no
indictments issued for the use of the bombs and the matter is now
closed.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-12-24-israel-cluster_N.htm
Israel
unveils more illegal settlement plans on peace talks eve
Israel
unveiled plans on Sunday to build hundreds of new homes illegally on
occupied land near Jerusalem next year, drawing protests from
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the eve of renewed peace
talks.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL2343115220071223
Israel
moves to expand settlements; Rice says 'she understands'
Days after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticized
Israel for approving the expansion of settlements on stolen
Palestinian land in the West Bank, she abruptly changed her position
when Israel refused to back down. Now, as Israeli authorities
announce further expansion of settlements than what was originally
criticized, Rice compliantly responded that 'she understands'
Israel's position now, adding that Israeli officials have shown her
that they are serious about their responsibilities in the so-called
'peace process'.
http://www.imemc.org/article/52076
Legal
effort slows building for Arabs in E. Jerusalem village
A
plan to build 2,000 apartments in the East Jerusalem village of
Isawiyah has hit a potential snag: Lawyers for several Jews have
applied to the municipality's planning and building subcommittee to
delay the plan's submission for public perusal.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/937495.html
Gov't
may declare intention to evacuate outposts ahead of Bush's visit
Ynet learns government officials, settler leaders agree
on peaceful evacuation of several illegal outposts ahead of US
president's visit in country in two weeks' time, in bid to alleviate
American pressure.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3485957,00.html
'Worsening
crisis' in Gaza Strip
Mr Alexander said it is imperative
to find a way forward for the region
The humanitarian crisis in
the Gaza Strip is "getting worse by the day," International
Development Secretary Douglas Alexander has warned. He said
inhabitants of the Palestinian enclave are now struggling to find
medical supplies, fuel and clean water. But Mr Alexander also
said 2008 held "grounds for cautious optimism" in the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7159365.stm
Refusing
to accept apartheid in Beit Jala
The wall runs through
the agricultural lands in Beit Jala. Last night the rains finally
arrived in Beit Jala, a small town in the West Bank, one kilometer
west of Bethlehem and about eight kilometers south of Jerusalem. Its
alluring hills are covered with olive trees, vineyards and apricots.
In 1967 Israel confiscated 22 percent of Beit Jala's land. Now, the
construction of Israel's separation wall is in full swing and will
cut off another 45 per cent of Beit Jala's land. We went to visit the
area to feel the impact of the wall and listen to the stories of the
farmers who didn't sell their land and choose to resist the its
confiscation.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9175.shtml
Palestinian
Security forces deploy in Bethlehem
Just as the
Palestinian Christians and Christians from around the world gather in
Bethlehem for this year's Christmas celebration, five hundred
newly-hired Palestinian security officers loyal to Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas deployed in the city on Sunday.
http://www.imemc.org/article/52075
Tearful
Eid at Rafah Crossing
Amid sepulchral silence from the
international community, the stranded Palestinians have no option but
to start manning their own affairs all by themselves. ARISH, Egypt
—Mahmoud Abu Ali wished that `Eid Al-Adha would not come this year,
being one of hundreds of Palestinians stranded on the Egyptian side
of Rafah far away from his wife and four kids, which twisted the
knife further in his wound.
"It is breaking my heart that I
can't be with them in these days," Abu Ali told IslamOnline.net,
his voice
breaking.
http://palestinechronicle.com/story-12220742324.htm
Israeli
military kills, wounds 49 Palestinians during Eid Al-Adha
celebrations
Gaza (Palestine) : Israel recent escalation
against the Gaza Strip since the Eve of the Eid Al-Adha (Feast of
Sacrifice) on Tuesday killed 22 Palestinians and wounded 27, a
Palestinian human right centre said on Sunday. The Palestinian human
losses are caused by the Israeli sudden assassinations and missile
attacks carried out by the Israeli troops in Gaza over the past few
days, the Palestinian Center of Al-Mizan for Human Rights said in a
statement.
http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/2007/dec/23/israeli_military_kills_wounds_49_palestinians
_during_eid_al_adha_celebrations.html
Israel
makes Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Church of Nativity off limits
to Christian Clergy
(Bethlehem, Palestine - 24 Dec 2007)
As the world celebrates this holiday season, Israel is blocking
clergy from reaching their churches and Christmas celebrations in
Bethlehem and elsewhere in the Holy Land. These Israeli actions are
in blatant violation of international humanitarian law, block the
right for religions to practice in the Holy Land, and defy every
notion of basic common sense.
http://www.righttoenter.ps/images/RTE_-_PR_Heads_of_Churches_Mtg.pdf
Jerusalem
Patriarch's Christmas Message
"There Has Been No
Peace Because There Has Been No Willingness to Make It"
Here is the text of the Dec. 19 Christmas message from the patriarch
of Jerusalem, Archbishop Michel Sabbah.
http://www.zenit.org/article-21379?l=english
Christians
in Gaza want cheer back in the Holy Land
In the
Palestinian territories, being a Christian is not so easy this
Christmas. Christians in the Gaza Strip have been attacked, and in
Bethlehem - as in the rest of the West Bank - the number of
Christians has been dwindling. But some brave Christians are
attempting to bring a little cheer to the Holy Lands. In the run-up
to Christmas, it is an unseemly sight - a dozen Santas ending up in a
scuffle with Israeli troops.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/24/2126858.htm
Shadow
over Bethlehem
At this time of year, faced with occupation
and threats from extremists, Palestinian Christians have little to
celebrate
Ben White. Writing for The Times recently, Michael Gove
lashed out at the seasonal focus on contemporary Bethlehem's plight
under Israeli occupation. "Demonising" Israel, apparently,
has become as festive as "eggnog lattes". Gove is at
least partly correct. Christmas is an obvious opportunity for
Bethlehem's residents and their supporters to raise awareness. Gove
mentioned the latest work done by graffiti artist Banksy, but the
Palestine Solidarity Campaign also recently held a concert in London,
while the Amos Trust has a downloadable pack for use in churches
around the
country.
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/ben_white/2007/12/shadow_over_bethlehem.html
In
the same prison together
As Christmas approaches this
year, the thoughts of Christians all over the world will once again
turn to Bethlehem, the holy town where Jesus was born over two
millennia ago. Voices will be raised in joyful celebration and
children everywhere will recreate the Christmas story to help us
remember the circumstances in which the Christ child was
born.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9176.shtml
Meanwhile,
in the West Bank
Don't let the quiet fool you: It is
imaginary. While all eyes are on Gaza, the impression has been
created, under the aegis of a media turning a blind eye, that the
West Bank is quiet. That's where the "good guys" are in
charge, those with whom we went to Annapolis, those who will be
getting the money from the donor nations, and life there is great, so
it seems.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/937524.html
A
Fierce Independent Against Despotisms of Every Sort, Thinking of
Edward Said
I think of Edward Said often, especially, but
not only, when I read of the sordid deals in which the PLO is engaged
with Israel and its US backers. I miss Edward's impetuosity and
righteous indignation. He would have had no truck with the shrivelled
little Bantustans that the PLO wants to accept and would have morally
destroyed the apologists for such a scheme or those intellectual
fellow-travellers who think that defending the idea of a secular
Palestine means remaining silent on the US-EU embargo on Hamas and
who, exhausted by years of struggle and the receipt of handsome
cheques from some corrupt NGO, are yearning for an accommodation with
the enemy on almost any terms.
http://www.counterpunch.org/tariq12242007.html
The
Strategic Aim of Israel in Gaza is to Break Hamas
Forget
the Qassams. Forget the mortar shells. They are nothing compared with
what Hamas launched at us this week: The chief of the Hamas
government in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, has approached an
Israeli newspaper and proposed a cease-fire. No more Qassams, no more
mortars, no suicide bombings, no Israeli military incursions into the
Strip, no "targeted liquidations" of leaders. A total
cease-fire. And not only in the Gaza Strip, but in the West Bank,
too.
http://www.counterpunch.org/avnery12242007.html
'Bad
for the Jews'
Today's topic is the paradox--or one of
them, anyway--of American Jewish political behavior. No, it's not
that hoary old cliché that they "earn like Episcopalians
but vote like Puerto Ricans." Rather, it's that they think like
enlightened liberals yet allow belligerent right-wingers and neocons
who frequently demonize, distort and denounce their values to speak
for them in the US political arena.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080107/alterman
What
Will Israel Do?
A unilateral military strike against Iran
is much more likely following the latest intel report about Tehran's
nuke program.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/81215
Israel
preparing public for war
Israel's Home Front Command is
preparing the public for possible war scenarios. The Home Front
Command on Sunday launched a public information campaign, during
which every Israeli household will receive a manual titled "Being
Protected and Prepared." The manual, which is available in
several languages, instructs the public on subjects such as the type
of rockets that might be fired at Israel during a future war and
where to seek shelter.
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/106050.html
Israeli
delegation heads to U.S. to argue Iran still seeking nuclear
arms
Israel has dispatched an unscheduled delegation of
intelligence officials to the U.S. to try to convince it that Iran is
still trying to develop nuclear weapons - contrary to the findings of
a recent U.S. intelligence report, security officials
said.
http://www.thecanadianpress.com/english/online/OnlineFullStory.aspx?filename=w121609A&newsitemid=13611012&languageid=1
'Israel
could survive nuclear war'
If a nuclear war between Israel
and Iran were to break out 16-20 million Iranians would lose their
lives - as opposed to 200,000-800,000 Israelis, according to a report
recently published by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS), which is headed by Anthony H.
Cordesman, formerly an analyst for the US Department of Defense. The
document, which is largely theoretical due to the lack of verified
knowledge in some areas - specifically in terms of Israel's nuclear
capability - paints various scenarios and attempts to predict the
strategies of regional powers, as well as the US.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847416688&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Aliya
to Israel drops to 20-year low
Jewish immigration into
Israel dropped 6% in 2007, reaching a 20-year low of just under
19,700 immigrants, the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption announced
Monday.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1196847419023&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
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