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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Land Theft and Destruction
PA: Israel planning to expropriate another 2% of West Bank land
The
Palestinian Authority this week accused Israel of planning to declare
another 2 percent of the West Bank state land, thus effectively
expropriating it. But the defense establishment rejected this claim,
saying the land in question had been under the Dead Sea until the
shrinkage of that body of water uncovered it and the goal of the
declaration is to prevent the land from being taken over by private or
commercial entities.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1096955.html
IOF troops block firefighters from extinguishing fire in Palestinian land
IOF on Tuesday night blocked Palestinian firefighters from reaching
cultivated lands of Anin village to extinguish a fire that started at a
late night hour and continued till Wednesday morning.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/
Bethlehem mayor initiates campaign against Israeli land annexation
Bethlehem
– Ma’an – Bethlehem Mayor Abdel Fattah Hamayel called residents and
owners of the 139,000 dunums of land recently slated for annexation to
a meeting to coordinate a consolidated objection to the Israeli plan.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38956
Aggression/Violence
Four Palestinian youths injured near NablusFour
Palestinian youths were injured on Wednesday evening by Israeli
military fire near the Tafoah settlement, south of the northern West
Bank city of Nablus.
http://www.imemc.org/article/61014
Shots from settlement injure four, one critically south of NablusNablus
– Ma’an – Israel forces shot and injured four Palestinians near the
Kfar Tuppuah settlement Wednesday south of Nablus. One youth,
identified as 15-year-old Layth Saleh Muhammad Hamayel is in critical
condition at the Nablus hospital after sustaining two gunshot wounds in
the leg. He was evacuated by Red Crescent medical crews who have not
been able to reach the other three victims. According to Saleh two
other youth were taken by Israeli police, reportedly to a hospital in
Israel, though he did not clarify the reason the group was in the area,
which is surrounded by settlements. Saleh identified another boy, also
allegedly injured, as 15-year-old Maher Fawzi Ahmad Hamayel. [end]
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38959
Israeli settlers attack Palestinian, Israeli youth protesting land confiscation
Tulkarem
- Ma'an - A group of Palestinian and Israeli youth with Combatants for
Peace were attacked by a group of settlers south of Tulkarem
Wednesday. The group was in the West Bank to, among other activities,
set up a protest tent on lands recently occupied by colonizing
settlers. A group of at least 14 settlers from the nearby Avnei Hefetz
settlement approached the group and assaulted several members,
coordinator at the organization Nour Ad-Din Shihadeh said. The
organizer said Israeli troops came to the aid of settlers shortly after
the hostile group approached the youth, and ordered the group to leave
the area.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38960
Israeli army invades West Bank cities and breaks its own pledge
The
Israeli army violated its own pledge that it would not invade four
cities in the West Bank. On Wednesday night and Thursday morning the
army entered two of these cities as well as three others during
incursions of the West Bank.
http://www.imemc.org/article/61020
Israeli forces invade Balata refugee camp
Early
morning the 29th of June, the Israeli Occupation Force invaded four
houses in the Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus. The soldiers arrested 3
boys of between 16 and 17 years old, without letting them or their
family know why. In several of the houses, the soldiers had destroyed
furniture, mirrors, cabinets and kitchen equipment.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/07/7461
MIDEAST: Nobel Laureate 'Abducted' by Israeli Navy, By Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH,
Jul 1 (IPS) - Twenty-one international peace activists were seized by
Israeli naval frigates in international waters Tuesday as their boat
'The Spirit of Humanity' tried to carry humanitarian aid to Gaza.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47486
Detainees
Troops kidnap the head of Workers Union in Salfit
Israeli soldiers kidnapped on Thursday at dawn, Yasser Taha, the head of the Workers Union in the West Bank district of Salfit.
http://www.imemc.org/article/61019
Israeli army arrests 10 Palestinians in West Bank
Ramallah, July 2, 2009 (Ramattan) – The Israeli forces arrested on
Thursday 10 Palestinian citizens in the West Bank cities of Hebron,
Bethlehem, Nablus and Qalqiliya, Palestinian security sources said.
http://english.ramattan.net/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=40521
Palestinian gets 25 years for arms smuggling (AFP)
AFP
- A Palestinian businessman guilty of conspiring with a Syrian arms
trafficker to export millions of dollars worth of weapons to leftist
rebels in Colombia has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, according
to authorities.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090702/ts_alt_afp/uscolombiajusticerebelsweaponspalestinian
US
remains silent over McKinney arrest by Israel
Israeli Navy detained former US congresswoman and
Nobel Prize laureate Cynthia McKinney and twenty
other human rights activists on board a relief
boat outside Israel's territorial waters on
Tuesday as they were heading to Gaza on a
humanitarian mission.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=99532§ionid=351020202
Gaza
aid activists transferred to immigration
authority ahead of deportation
The
19 foreign peace activists, who were arrested on
Tuesday after trying to sail to the Gaza Strip,
were transferred to the immigration authority's
detainment facility ahead of their deportation
from Israel.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3739828,00.html
Israel releases two Free Gaza crew members, others await deportation
Bethlehem - Ma’an - Two of the 21 Free Gaza ship crew members were
released without charges Wednesday, both Palestinian, following
investigations by Israeli intelligence officers. Nineteen other crew
members including a former US congresswoman and a Nobel Peace Prize
winner remain in prison cells at Israel’s Ashdod facility awaiting
deportation.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38973
PA forces release 6 Hamas members detained in Qalqiliya
Bethlehem
- Ma'an - Six Hamas affiliates were released from Qalqiliya Wednesday
afternoon, sources within the Palestinian Authority said. The release
came as efforts continue to solve the issue of politically-motivated
arrests in the West Bank and Gaza, with both Fatah and Hamas promising
to stem the arrest campaigns in their respective zones. On Tuesday the
Palestinian Center for Human Rights confirmed allegations of arrests
from both Hamas and Fatah, collecting testimony that
political-detainees were mistreated and harassed.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38954
Hamas: PA forces detain four affiliates
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Hamas officials accused PA forces of arresting four
of its party affiliates in Jenin, Qalqiliya and Jericho in a Thursday
morning statement. The party said similar arrest campaigns were
carried out in the West Bank each night this week.
Fatah and Hamas have been attempting to negotiate a deal that would see
what are termed politically motivated arrests halted and unity between
the parties restored. [end]
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38967
Humanitarian Issues/Human Rights Violations
Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory 25 Jun - 01 Jul 2009
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/LSGZ-7TKG68?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Plight
of Palestinians getting worse, UN warns
The
blockade of Gaza is causing severe humanitarian
hardship and the situation is getting worse every
day, the head of the U.N. aid agency for
Palestinian refugees warned on Wednesday.
http://www.adn.com/nation/story/849816.html
2 towns cut off from water during heat wave
National
Water Company shuts off water supply to Carmel towns of Daliyat
al-Karmel, Usafiya over millions in unpaid fees. Former municipal
council member outraged at move says blame is on Interior Ministry of
the Interior. Mekorot, the National Water Company, cut off the water
supply to two Druze towns on Mt. Carmel on Wednesday, one of the
hottest days of the year. According to the company, the towns of
Daliyat al-Karmel and Usafiya owe millions of shekels in unpaid fees.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3740099,00.html
Democracy Now: Israel Seizes Aid Ship, Kidnaps Activists
The
Israeli military has seized a ship trying to deliver humanitarian aid
to Gaza in international waters. On Tuesday, Israeli forces boarded the
Free Gaza movements Spirit of Humanity and towed it to the Israeli port
of Ashdod. The twenty-one activists on board have been reportedly
denied attorneys and are set to be deported. The kidnapped passengers
include former Congress member and presidential candidate Cynthia
McKinney and the Irish peace activist and Nobel laureate Mairead
Maguire. Israeli spokesperson Mark Regev dismissed the boats
humanitarian mission. Mark Regev: Israel every day is allowing
humanitarian support to reach the people of Gaza—food stuffs,
medicines, energy and so forth. This boat was not about that. This boat
was about political activists who have been apologists for the Hamas
regime, who have nothing whatsoever to say about Hamass brutal
treatment of the people of Gaza.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEb6qdqB3Q
Detained peace activist: We slept with cockroaches
An Israeli citizen who was among 21 peace activists apprehended by the
IDF en route to the Gaza Strip says she was held under conditions
resembling a "horror movie." Houida Araf, who was released on
Wednesday, told Ynet that she and a fellow Israeli peace activist were
separated from the group and taken to the Ashdod Port.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3740556,00.html
After Israelis banned all aid except medical, Egyptian authorities rerouted food to sports stadium
Al Arish / PNN - Scores of boys and women rushed to the Al Arish
stadium in great anticipation, not to watch a sporting event but to
take part in the looting of hundreds of tons of aid meant for the
people of Gaza but due to be burned by authorities.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5985
Gaza crossings: One week of supplies equal to daily delivery pre-siege
Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli crossings authorities will allow 111 truckloads
of goods and a limited amount of industrial fuel and cooking gas into
the Gaza Strip Thursday, said Raed Fattouh, a Palestinian crossings
official.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38961
Spoil them rotten, Gideon Levy
Every few weeks there`s a shortage of another item. Water is in
sufficient supply for the time being, but electricity is intermittent.
They are repairing the power station but there aren`t any spare parts.
You try living in the Gaza heat and poverty without electricity. On
Tuesday, for example, the electricity supply to Beit Lahia was cut off
for hours. They have begun to clear away the rubble from Operation Cast
Lead, but they haven`t started to rebuild, not even a room, except for
mud houses, because there is no cement and gravel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1097243.html
Israeli Extremists/War Criminals
Thousands support Israeli doctor accused of complicity in torture
Thousands
of people this week signed a petition in support of the Israeli
president of the World Medical Association, following a campaign to
impeach him from the world ethical body for alleged complicity in
torturing Palestinians.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1097055.html
New charges for Israeli troops
The
Israeli Supreme Court has ruled that the army must file more serious
charges against soldiers filmed abusing a bound and blindfolded
Palestinian prisoner last year.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/new-charges-for-israeli-troops-1728010.html
Impunity for war crimes in Gaza and southern Israel a recipe for further civilian suffering
Israeli
forces killed hundreds of unarmed Palestinian civilians and destroyed
thousands of homes in Gaza in attacks which breached the laws of war,
Amnesty International concluded in a new report published on Thursday.
Operation 'Cast Lead': 22 days of death and destruction, is the first
comprehensive report to be published on the conflict, which took place
earlier this year.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/impunity-war-crimes-gaza-southern-israel-recipe-further-civilian-
suffering-20090702
Fatah Collaboration with Israel
Abbas: Hamas hoarding weapons in plot to assassinate PA officials
Palestinian president discusses tensions with rival faction Hamas, says
Islamic group hoarding weaponry, presidential guard uniforms ahead of
secret plot. Hamas cell planning attacks against PA arrested earlier
this week.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3740121,00.html
Political Developments
MIDEAST: Future of Fatah in Doubt, by Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH,
Jul 2 (IPS) - The future of Palestinian unity talks is far more complex
than the bitter rivalry, bloodshed and division which represent the
yawning chasm separating Palestine's two main political factions, Hamas
and Fatah.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47499
Gazans rally in favor of inter-reconciliation
GAZA,
July 1 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of Palestinians, representing different
Gaza political figures on Wednesday held a peaceful carnival in Gaza in
support for an inter-Palestinian reconciliation between rival Fatah and
Islamic Hamas groups.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/02/content_11636647.htm
Hamas has been ready for reconciliation since the split, and wants a national partnership
Jenin / Ali Samoudi – A leader of Hamas and the political coordinator
of the prisoner movement in Israeli prisons, Al-Abbas, revealed today
that the party has supported negotiating a comprehensive national
reconciliation since the day of the division.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5987
Haniyeh: Fatah hung up on Israeli security commitments
Gaza
– Ma’an – De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh called the sixth round
of unity talks “difficult and stressful,” after the Hamas delegation
returned from Cairo on Tuesday. In his Wednesday commentary on the
talks Haniyeh said the hardships faced at the talks were the result of
Fatah obstinacy and the party’s insistence on listening to interference
from Israel and the United States. Haniyeh accused Fatah of paying
more attention to its “security commitments” with Israel than the issue
of political arrests , which Hamas members have called the central
issue ‘from which all other issues will be resolved.’ The de facto
Prime Minister gave the comments as he participated in a sit-in held in
Gaza City protesting the continued detention of more than 40 PLC
members in Israeli prisons. [end]
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38957
Dweik calls for the release of all legislators imprisoned by Israel
Dr.
Aziz Dweik, head of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) called on
Wednesday for the release of all elected Palestinian legislators and
officials illegally imprisoned by Israel.
http://www.imemc.org/article/61011
Hamas source: Price for Shalit will only go up
Hamas
official says significant progress achieved in negotiations for release
of captive Israeli soldier, but warns price will only rise as time
progresses.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3740031,00.html
Israel's Barak links settlement freeze to regional peace drive
Defense
Minister Ehud Barak said on Wednesday Israel would consider a limited
moratorium on new construction in Jewish settlements, linking the step
to US efforts to bring Arab states into a broad peace process. The
offer, which Barak made in a Fox News interview, fell short of
Washington's call for a total.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=103727
Netanyahu: Israel-U.S. bond is unbreakable
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a Fourth of July celebration at
the home of American ambassador to Israel James Cunningham on
Wednesday, and said that the bond between Israel and the U.S. was still
strong.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1097063.html
Israeli source: U.S. can't get Arabs to commit to normalized Israel ties
The
U.S. administration has not been successful in securing commitments
from Arab countries to take steps toward normalizing relations with
Israel, a senior source in Jerusalem said Wednesday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1097224.html
Merkel: Settlements ruin efforts for 2-state solution
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded on Thursday that Israel halt
construction in the West Bank settlements, saying it endangered efforts
to achieve a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1097345.html
Other News
The Palestinian class of 2009, in their own words (Reuters)
Reuters
- Whether a just resolution of the conflict between Israel and the
Palestinians is close at hand or close to impossible is today -- as so
often over the past two decades -- in the eye of the beholder.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090702/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_highschool
Trial of Israeli Arab 'lynch mob' opens to protests (AFP)
AFP - The trial of seven Israeli Arabs charged with lynching a Jewish
soldier after he shot dead four people opened on Wednesday amid
protests by members of the minority Arab community.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090701/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictisraelarabtrialdemo
Druze officer says was treated 'like terrorist' at Eilat airfield
Air
Force officer claims security staff at southern city's airfield
humiliated him despite the fact he presented his military ID. Airport
Authority denies allegations, says security check was routine.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3740117,00.html
Poll: Palestinians not optimistic on Obama's Middle East program
Bethlehem - Ma’an - An American-funded Middle East based research
center found general Palestinian interest in the regional visit of US
President Barack Obama, but little hope for positive change despite
recognition of a progressive tone shift. The Arab World for Research
and Development (AWRAD), funded by the American Middle East Partnership
Initiative (MEPI), carried out an opinion poll of 1,200 Palestinians in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip between 12-14 June.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=38971
Tourism increasing in Jericho
A
report published by the Tourism Police in Jericho district revealed
Wednesday that tourism is increasing in the city and that more tourists
are staying in local hotels while visiting the ancient and touristic
sites.
http://www.imemc.org/article/61012
GAZA: Short film takes on rape, a taboo subject in Palestinian enclave
Basma
Abualila, a journalist and filmmaker living in Gaza, recently caused a
stir in the strip with her short film on rape in Gaza. In her 10-minute
film, “ A Call at Night," based on a real-life incident, a young woman
shares her story of how she was raped by her boyfriend and then forced
to marry her rapist out of fear when she got pregnant.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2009/07/gaza-short-film-breaks-taboo-on-rape-in-palestinian-enclave.html
Noam Shalit to tell UN panel: Gilad's abduction a war crime
Noam
Shalit will ask a United Nations committee on Monday to declare the
abduction of his son, Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, by
Hamas in 2006 a war crime.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1097227.html
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
U.S. Military Aid to Israel: Our Tax Dollars Hard at Work Kidnapping U.S. Citizens on the High Seas
“But
the important thing is, is that we clearly have an issue in this region
right now, piracy, and we need to work cooperatively with a whole host
of countries as best we can to prevent these things from happening, and
then, of course, if they do happen, to be able to prosecute these
pirates.”
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/us-military-aid-to-israel-our-tax.html
Activists vow to keep up Gaza trips despite Israel
NICOSIA,
July 1 (Reuters) - Pro-Palestinian activists vowed on Wednesday to
continue to defy an Israeli navy blockade around Gaza, a day after
Israel seized their boat and detained 21 people taking aid to the
territory.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L1271412.htm
The Yes Men say no to the Jerusalem Film Festival
The Yes Men are a group of "culture jamming activists"
who impersonate heads of corporations to embarrass them in the media.
They are increasingly well known and put out a movie in 2003 about
their work called, The Yes Men Movie.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/07/the-yes-men-say-no-to-the-jerusalem-film-festival.html
We
are NOT the “Story”, It’s Not Just
Our 21 Kidnapped Passengers
Since
its founding in 1948 the State of Israel has
regularly kidnapped and tortured Palestinians,
throwing them into forgotten prisons where they
can languish for years. Today, over 11,000
Palestinian political prisoners without benefit
of due process, some never even charged - men,
women, and children - endure torture and
isolation in Israeli jails, outdoor prison camps,
and secret black sites.
http://www.freegaza.org/en/home/hope-fleet-news/979-we-are-not-the-story-its-not-just-our-21-kidnapped-passengers
Dexia Bank decides to stop financing Israeli settlements
The
Belgian-French financial group, Dexia, has declared that it is stopping
all financial support to Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank,
through its Israel Branch.
http://www.imemc.org/article/61013
Anti-Solidarity
First they came for Trader Joe's. Then they came for Target
I just read an article from the North Jersey Jewish Standard about local NJ Jewish motorcycle clubs trying to stand up in support
of Trader Joe's. I found it both sad and amusing. Well intentioned
people, who appear to refuse to deal with the complexities of the
conflict, offering simplistic knee jerk support of Israel. If this is
how status-quo people are going to defend Israel, then progressive
citizens and politicans have a great chance at chaning the dynamic for
a just resolution to the conflict.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/07/first-they-came-for-trader-joes-then-they-came-for-target.html
California's broke? State official leads panel urging investment in... Israel
Here's an invitation (after the jump) from the vice chair of California's state Board of Equalization (which
collects $53 billion in sales tax and other fees), inviting people to
an "Investing in Israel" discussion with Israeli consulate officials
next week. It's in West Hollywood. And it looks like the official, Judy Chu, is elected to the board.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/07/californias-broke-why-not-invest-in-israel-state-official-says-.html
Analysis/Op-ed
Month in pictures: June 2009, Photostory, The Electronic Intifada, 1 July 2009
The
below photographs are a selection of images from the month of June
2009. "The month in pictures" is an ongoing feature by The Electronic
Intifada. If you have images documenting Palestine, Palestinian life,
politics and culture, or of solidarity with Palestine, please email
images and captions to photos A T electronicintifada D O T net.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10635.shtml
Portraits of survival, by Asim Rafiqui, The Virginia Quarterly Review
I
arrived in Gaza during the last days of Israel’s Operation Cast
Lead—launched on December 27, 2008, the last day of Hanukkah. On
previous trips to Gaza, I had documented my fair share of funerals,
burials, mourning families, people salvaging belongings from the ruins
of their homes. And always the ensuing Hamas marches, the masked
gunmen, the shouts of anger. Though the scale of this Israeli incursion
was larger than any I could remember, when I again found myself
crossing the border, the circumstances felt all too familiar, and I
carried with me the fear that there was nothing new I could document.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/PULITZER/d046d63dca75ef565ef4e9c71c0e5df4.htm
Israel's Settlement Stalemate: Is There No End in Sight?
Obama needs to clarify his position on the issue if there's any hope of disrupting the brutal status quo.
http://www.alternet.org/world/140987
Oppose the state, not the people
Ramallah's
intellectual elite, foreigners and curious spectators gathered last
Saturday at the Friends School in Ramallah to hear writer and political
activist Naomi Klein lecture to a packed auditorium. Following a
musical interlude by a string quintet, one of whose members is blind,
Klein took the stage. She chose to speak - in Ramallah - about her
Jewish roots.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1097262.html
Detained leaving Gaza
Canadian
writer and activist Naomi Klein and her husband Avi Lewis, a
documentary film director and a presenter on Al-Jazeera TV, were
detained Monday while leaving Gaza for Israel. Yael Lerer, founder of
the Andalus publishing house, said the two had been held for three and
a half hours while she waited for them outside the crossing. Lewis said
they were detained because their names sounded Jewish and Israeli to
the soldiers; people with Israeli passports are forbidden from entering
Gaza. They said Shin Bet security agents questioned Lewis while Klein
stood by.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1097261.html
Saja - Where is the self-respecting outrage from Institutional Arab-America?
Dear
everyone who continues to graciously demonstrate patience to listen to
my anti-House-Arab* diatribes, I could denounce the complacency of the
self-absorbed and disconnected leadership of our "Arab" community. But
at some point, words and videos (and threats to do unspeakable things
to one's hair) don't suffice to express frustration. The complacency
somehow manages to confound language and camera lenses.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/07/02/saja-where-is-the-self-respecting-outrage-from-institutional-arab-america/
The lobby now admits it is a 'sliver,' unrepresentative of majority of American Jews
Months
ago I declared that Gaza had cracked the Israel lobby. It did so by
causing non-affiliated Jews to at last speak out about Israel/Palestine
policy. These Jews had traditionally ceded the foreign-policy turf to
their pro-Israel cousins (as I did, deferring politely to Marty Peretz
out of the stupid guilty feeling that he was a better Jew than I was)
till they realized that their cousins were nuts.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/07/daylight-grows-between-american-jewish-majority-and-the-main
stream-sliver-the-lobby-.html
'Times' columnists could be pressuring Obama. Except for Cohen, they're AWOL
Almost all of us at this site who want peace in Israel/Palestine are
pulling
for Obama. As an Egyptian student said to me last month in Cairo, "He's
our only hope." She meant: for fairness and dignity. It goes without
saying that Obama is now under tremendous pressure from the lobby--and so letters like Peace Now's to the Washington Post today
are all the more important, as signals that the lobby is splintering. A
friend asks, Where are the New York Times columnists--who have such
tremendous clout in the Jewish community?
Good question.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/07/times-columnists-could-be-pressuring-obama-except-for-cohen-they
re-awol.html
“Removal” of Israeli Checkpoints: Just an Illusion
Over
the past month, Israel has decided to ease some travel restrictions in
the West Bank. Israeli authorities have put steps in place around the
cities of Ramallah, Nablus, Qalqilya and Jericho. Today, for example,
the IDF announced it would open foot traffic at the Hawara checkpoint
near Nablus. In some cases, Israeli authorities have claimed to
“remove” checkpoints or roadblocks altogether. However, has that
really been the case?
http://www.kabobfest.com/2009/07/removal-of-israeli-checkpoints-just-an-illusion.html
The Gaza Strip's Diamond in the Rough
The Al Deira, www.aldeira.ps,
is a splendid, breezy hotel on the Mediterranean that can only be
reached if you are an aid worker, a journalist or, if you choose to
enter the Gaza Strip, by a smuggler's tunnel from Egypt. I don't
recommend the tunnel route; these snake holes deep in the sand tend to
cave in and are frequently bombed by Israeli fighter jets.
http://www.time.com/time/travel/article/0,31542,1908074,00.html
Newsroom politics dramatized in "Oh Well Never Mind Bye"
The
play Oh Well Never Mind Bye is set in the busy newsroom of an unnamed
London-based newspaper -- probably a right-wing tabloid -- in the days
before and after London police shot dead a Brazilian immigrant on an
underground train. But in a genuinely brave piece of playwriting,
Steven Lally has drawn on wider themes, including the "churnalism" that
has turned much of the journalistic profession into a regurgitation of
celebrity press releases, the way in which Palestine and related issues
are reported in the mainstream media and the influence of the Zionist
lobby on news coverage. Sarah Irving reviews for The Electronic
Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10637.shtml
Lebanon
Israel lobby in action: the 'LA Times' once stifled Hezbollah story out of piety for Israel's foundational myths
The other day Ashraf Khalil wrote about how hard it was
for him to publish an account of the mistreatment of Palestinian
journalist Mohammed Omer in the LA Times last year. Khalil's story
reminded a reader of the story that Ken Silverstein wrote in Harper's two years ago, describing his ordeal in trying to publish a story explaining Hezbollah's political appeal in Lebanon.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/07/israel-lobby-in-action-the-la-times-once-stifled-hezbollah-story-out-
of-piety-for-israels-foundation.html
WSJ on mini-Hariri
"Despite
the skirmish, the elevation of Mr. Hariri, the 39-year-old billionaire
son of the late former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, marks what many
analysts say could be a fresh, hopeful chapter in Lebanon's recent,
tumultuous politics."
Yes, nothing to send a hopeful signal to Lebanon than the designation
of incompetent, half-illiterate (who only managed to receive admissions
at schools thanks to his father's financial contributions including to
Georgetown Universtiy which like all private schools in the US has a
weakness for the money of billionaires), bumbling, boring person who is
under the tight control of Prince Muqrin bin `Abdul-`Aziz. But then
again: the fact that this man spends all his day (and part of the
night) playing X-Box should really set the Lebanese house in order.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/07/wsj-on-mini-hariri.html
Iraq
Bomb kills Iraqi soldier and wounds 10 in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, July 2 (Reuters) - A roadside bomb blew up as an Iraqi army
patrol passed by in Baghdad on Thursday, killing one soldier and
wounding 10 two days after U.S. troops pulled out of cities and handed
security to their local counterparts, police said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2487927.htm
Wednesday: 2 Iraqis Killed, 3 Wounded
Celebrations
continued in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraqi cities.
Otherwise, the country was very quiet. Only two Iraqis were reported
killed and three more were wounded. No Coalition deaths were announced.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/07/01/wednesday-2-iraqis-killed-3-wounded/
Number of civilians killed in Iraq jumps in June
BAGHDAD,
July 1 (Reuters) - The number of civilians killed in Iraq jumped to 373
in June, the Health Ministry said, up from a record low of 134 in May
because of a spate of deadly bombings in Baghdad and northern Iraq.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/AMMF-7TJPGR?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Land mines have claimed 14,000 lives in Iraq
The United Nations says land mines are obstructing human and economic
development of the country. The U.N. estimates that up to 14,000
Iraqis might have been killed by land mines since 1991, when former
leader Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, and 2007.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2009-07-02\kurd.htm
Jamal Dajani: Selling Confidence in Iraq
As
Iraqi forces took control of towns and cities across the country on
June 30, a car bomb in the northern city of Kirkuk exploded, killing at
least 33 people and injuring more than 100, serving as a grim reminder
of the security challenges that Iraqis face following US troop pullout.
Kirkuk was also the scene of two suicide bombings last month in which
14 people were killed. It is the center of northern Iraq's oil industry
and home to a volatile mix of Kurds, Arabs, Christians and members of
the Turkmen community.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamal-dajani/selling-confidence-in-ira_b_223866.html
The New York Times now speaks for Iraqis
"He
made no mention of American troops in a nationally televised speech,
even though nearly 130,000 remain in the country; most had already
pulled back from Iraq’s cities before Tuesday’s deadline. The
excitement, however, has rung hollow for many Iraqis, who fear that
their country’s security forces are not ready to stand alone and who
see the government’s claims of independence as overblown."
So according to the New York Times, the Iraqis want the US occupiers to
stay forever although all public opinion survey conducted in Iraq (and
sometimes on behalf of the US government) indicate that overwhelmingly
the Iraqi people want US troops to leave Iraq NOW.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/07/new-york-times-now-speaks-for-iraqis.html
Saudi propaganda about Iraq
It
is interesting how Saudi propaganda reports the fake US withdrawal from
Iraqi cities. They always feel that they have to prove more American
than the American occupiers themselves. US and international media are
reporting on the public celebration in Iraq over the fake US withdrawal
from Iraqi cities but the mouthpiece of Prince Salman (Ash-Sharq
Al-Awsat) felt it necessary to write this headline: "Celebrations are
more official than public over US withdrawal."
And Al-Arabiyya TV (the crude propaganda station owned by King Fahd's
brother-in-law) kept writing a headinine over all its Iraqi reports
yesterday which said: "Iraqi dissatisfaction over Iranian interferences
in Iraq." But if you want to see the quality of the porpaganda of
Al-Arabiyya, read this interview with the new US ambassador in Iraq,
where the first question centers on "How did you find the region"?--this about a man who has no knowledge or experience in Middle East affairs.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/07/saudi-propaganda-about-iraq.html
Xe-Blackwater Personnel Shot Iraqi Children, Others in Multiple Incidents
A
spate of unprovoked civilian shootings by Xe-Blackwater personnel in
Iraq between 2005 and 2008 are detailed in an amended lawsuit filed
late Tuesday in Virginia federal court, according to the Washington,
D.C. law firm that represents the families of those killed and wounded
in the incidents.
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-01-2009/0005053634&
EDATE=
Iraqis are too shrewd to fall for an ‘invisible’ occupation
US operations will be suspended for a few days to promote the
perception that Iraqi forces are actually in control; Ali al-Adeeb, a
senior leader of Mr al-Maliki’s Dawa party, says the Americans will
become “invisible”.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f94c8d1a-6667-11de-a034-00144feabdc0,dwp_uuid=17aab8bc-6e47-11da-9544-0000779
e2340.html?nclick_check=1
Unicef praises Syrian support for Iraqi refugees
Dubai: The United Nations Children's Fund, Unicef, on Wednesday praised Syrian government efforts in support of Iraqi refugees.
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Iraq/10327780.html
From the FBI vault: The complete Saddam interviews
The National Security Archive has made public the complete set of formal and informal interviews carried out by the
FBI with Saddam Hussein following his capture in Iraq in late 2003. RAW STORY reported
last week on the emergence of documents that showed the Bush
administration's "enhanced interrogation techniques" were not needed to
get Saddam to talk -- instead, the FBI chose to build a rapport with
the ex-dictator, a strategy that resulted in Saddam eventually opening
up to his interrogators.
http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/07/from-the-fbi-vault-the-complete-saddam-interviews/
Hussein Pointed to Iranian Threat: Specter of Arms Allowed Him to Appear Strong, He Told U.S.
Saddam
Hussein told an FBI interviewer before he was hanged that he allowed
the world to believe he had weapons of mass destruction because he was
worried about appearing weak to Iran, according to declassified
accounts of the interviews released yesterday. The former Iraqi
president also denounced Osama bin Laden as "a zealot" and said he had
no dealings with al-Qaeda.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/01/AR2009070104217.html?wprss=rss_world/mideast
U.S. and other world news
U.S.
spy says just followed orders in Italy kidnap
A former U.S. spy at the center of a kidnapping
trial in Italy appeared to acknowledge a role in
the abduction of a Muslim cleric but said he was
only following orders, according to a rare
interview published on Tuesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE55T3H420090630
Andy Worthington: Release Of The "Holy Grail" Of Torture Reports Delayed Again
Today
was supposed to be the day that the Justice Department -- after two
delays -- released an unclassified version of the CIA Inspector
General's 2004 Report into the interrogations of "high-value detainees"
in the "War on Terror," which Democrat Congressional staffers described
as the "holy grail," according to Greg Sargent of the Plum Line,
writing in May, "because it is expected to detail torture in
unprecedented detail and to cast doubt on the claim that torture
works."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-worthington/release-of-the-holy-grail_b_224447.html
Last remaining U.S. Jewish Republican Senator loses seat
The
defeat of incumbent Norm Coleman in the drawn-out Minnesota Senate race
leaves U.S. Republicans without a Jewish senator for the first time in
half a century.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1097266.html
US soldier believed captured by Afghan insurgents
WASHINGTON,
July 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. soldier is believed to have been captured by
insurgents in eastern Afghanistan's border region, a U.S. military
official said on Thursday.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N02543807.htm
SAUDI BOMBSHELLS, Part 2 : Why US officials blamed Iran
A
story leaked by top United States and Saudi officials bolstered the
general belief in Washington that Iran masterminded the 1996 bombing of
the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia which killed 19 US airmen and wounded
372. The Saudis had already been working to thwart the US
investigation, and the new disinformation obscured the trail to Osama
bin Laden. - Gareth Porter (Jul 2,'09) This is the second article in a
three-part report.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KG03Ak02.html
“Arrest of 306 Shi’is on charges of undermining Egypt security”
On
June 30, the independent Al-Mesryoon daily carried the following report
by Fathi Magdi: “Al-Mesryoon learned from prominent sources that Shi’i
cleric Hassan Shehata, the former speaker of the Kobri el-Gam’a mosque,
was arrested earlier this month along with dozens of young men among
his followers to be interrogated in the utmost secrecy. The sources who
requested anonymity told Al-Mesryoon that Shehata who had been laying
low for the last 14 years, was arrested in his house in the Center of
Cairo on June 22, and was accused along with his group which includes
306 elements of undermining Egyptian national security and of showing
contempt to one of the heavenly religions.
http://arabist.net/archives/2009/07/01/egypt-306-shias-arrested/
Ahmadinejad unwelcome in Egypt: lawyer
An Egyptian Islamist lawyer has filed a complaint with the prosecutor
general calling for banning Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from
entering the country or his arrest, in advance of a meeting he is
expected to attend in Egypt later this month.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/07/02/77608.html
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood unlikely to challenge Mubarak succession
Egypt's
Muslim Brotherhood will avoid confrontation over attempts to install
President Hosni Mubarak's son as president because it fears a crackdown
by the authorities could destroy the Islamic group.But the group,
Egypt's most powerful opposition force, will stay within ever-narrowing
margins of freedom the state allows it.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=103707
Reports emerge of Syrian-Saudi summit
Days
after officials in Washington announced that a US ambassador would soon
be sent to Syria, reports have emerged of an upcoming Syrian-Saudi
Arabian summit to be held in Damascus that could include Lebanon.
Conventional wisdom holds that any improvement in Syrian-Saudi ties
generally contributes to increased stability in Lebanon.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=103729
Arab dissent finds voice in cyberspace
When
Wael Abbas, an Egyptian blogger and political activist, was detained by
prosecutors in April after an altercation with his neighbour, a police
officer, he used Twitter, the social networking website, to keep the
world updated on his interrogation.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/34816870-665d-11de-a034-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1
Syria amends honour killing lawSyria's president scraps a law limiting sentences for men who kill their female relatives in the name of family honour.
2
dead, 60 injured in Honduras anti-coup protests
The death toll from protests against the interim
Honduran government installed after a military
coup increased to two on Monday after a protestor
died in hospital.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-06/30/content_11623326.htm
Honduras
new government is censoring journalists
Reporters for The Associated Press were taken
away in military vehicles and Venezuela's Telesur
network -- and any other station supportive of
toppled president Manuel Zelaya -- are still off
the air.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/breaking-news/story/1122536.html
Photos
of Protests On The Streets Of Honduras
Confrontations between demonstrators opposing the
government of RobertoMicheletti Bain and elements
of the Honduran armed forces and the national
police left around 60 wounded and 5 disappeared
protestors, whose whereabouts are still unknown,
but that the authorities of the de facto
government are trying to ignore the serious human
rights implications.
http://aliveinhonduras.org/category/hablahonduras/
Evo Morales: Obama 'Lied' About Cooperation
LA
PAZ, Bolivia — President Evo Morales on Wednesday accused Barack Obama
of lying by pledging to end U.S. interventionism and then halting trade
benefits that saved Bolivia about $25 million a year. The U.S. Trade
Representative announced Tuesday that it was ending the import duty
waivers because world's No. 3 cocaine-producing country is not doing
enough in the war on drugs, leaving "unconstrained" coca cultivation.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/01/evo-morales-obama-lied-ab_n_224236.html |
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