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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Heroism in the Holy Land: Americans Beaten for Walking Children to School
It is unlikely that non-Israeli Americans will ever learn the names of the attackers, since Israel rarely shares this kind of information with its “ally.” We do know, however, the type of people who attacked Chris, Kim and the children. And we do know why.
http://wrmea.com/archives/December_2004/0412013.html
The 'olive branch' that ought to cross the wall
The autumn olive harvest used to be a time of celebration in this West Bank village. Entire families would spend days together in the groves. Even Israelis would make special trips here at this time of year to buy our olive oil. But with new Israeli restrictions on access to the fields, Palestinian farmers now have to leave their families at home, and may never even get to their olive grove. Today, picking olives is no celebration.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1221/p09s02-coop.html
West Bank barrier has made Bethlehem a 'giant prison': Jerusalem patriarch
"The wall makes Bethlehem a giant prison," Michel Sabbah said Tuesday in his annual Christmas message at the patriarchate in Jerusalem's Old City. Sabbah, who is to attend the midnight mass at Saint Catherine's Church in Bethlehem on Friday, slammed the so-called separation barrier, saying it would not protect the Jewish state or provide secure borders.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=18&u=/afp/20041221/wl_mideast_afp/mideastbethlehemchristmas_041221112954
Costs of conflict: The changing face of Bethlehem
The glory of Bethlehem, a city of historical and religious importance for those of the Christian, Muslim and Jewish faiths alike is vanishing. Surrounded by Israel's Barrier on two sides and restricted roads and roadblocks on the other, urban Bethlehem 1 has become isolated from the rest of the West Bank and most importantly, from Jerusalem.
http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/9ca65951ee22658ec125663300408599/630ae405ec59173685256f7000699422?OpenDocument
Medical neglect in Israeli prisons, execution without Guillotine
A report published by the Palestinian Prisoners' society revealed that there are at least 950 political prisoners in Israeli detention camps and prisons, suffering of serious medical diseases while prison authorities are not providing them with the needed medication or treatment.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/December/week3/122104/report.htm
UN school shelters 600 Gaza families displaced by Israeli offensive
Following a two-day offensive by Israeli forces into the Khan Younis refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, the main United Nations agency helping Palestinian refugees has opened one of its schools to provide temporary accommodation to 600 families displaced by the fighting.
http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/480fa8736b88bbc3c12564f6004c8ad5/13da15dfad4d30b085256f7000726283?OpenDocument
Army to Hand Megiddo Detention Center to Prison Service
As a step towards handing over all military detention camps to the Israeli Prison service authority, army is planning to hand over Megiddo prison, with its 1,200 Palestinian prisoners soon. Israeli sources estimate the number of Palestinian detainees under army custody to be around 3,500.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/December/week3/122104/Majeddo.htm
Israel imposes closure on Gaza coastal road
Several Israeli bulldozers rushed in the morning from the settlement of Netsarim in southern Gaza city and bulldozed parts of the coastal road, forming hills of sands, the sources said. The closure was imposed without an advance announcement, which prevented residents from passing through the road from the Gaza city to the southern Gaza Strip and vice versa
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/21/content_2364008.htm
PCHR Calls on the International Community to Generate Pressure in Order that an Appropriate Atmosphere for Free and Impartial Election Can Be Created
The OPT has witnessed increasing tensions as IOF have escalated attacks against Palestinian civilians and property. Since 14 November 2004, when 9 January 2005 was assigned as the date on which Palestinian presidential elections would be held, IOF have killed at least 40 Palestinians, and have launched a series of aerial attacks on Palestinian towns.
http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2004/152-2004.htm
World Bank president: Palestinians must be given hope
"What we did in the paper that we prepared was to simply say, look, if you are trying to withdraw [from Gaza], that's a wonderful thing, but if you don't give hope at the same time ... you're not really achieving very much," he said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=517343&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
Photographer for French TV denied press card for `security considerations'
The Government Press Office (GPO) has refused to issue a press card to a photographer for the French television station FT1 because of "security considerations." The photographer, Jamil Kadamani, is an Israeli citizen and a resident of East Jerusalem who has had a press card for the past three years.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/516499.html
Light a Candle for the National Unity
The Palestinian Centre for Rapprochement Between People invites you to join the Annual Candle Procession entitled "Light a Candle for the Palestinian National Unity" that will be held on Saturday, December 25, 2004.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/palsolidarity/message/1102
`A death sentence for Israeli Arab artistic circles'
Egyptian publicist Ahmed Muataz lambasted the decision not to allow films by Israeli Arabs to participate in the international film festival held earlier this month in the Egyptian capital and called the decision no less than a "death sentence for zIsraeli Arab artistic circles."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/517094.html
Abbas vows to follow in Arafat's footsteps
Marking the end of mourning for Yasser Arafat, his emerging successor said Tuesday that he remains committed to a peace deal with Israel that would produce a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as a capital.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/517447.html
Shalom 'discouraged' by Abbas
"But unfortunately Abu Mazen (Abbas) made a statement a few days ago that he will not do it by force, that 'We will have to talk to our people and our brothers,' and convince them not to carry out their attacks."
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1638661,00.html
Chinese state councilor to visit Palestine, Israel
Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan will pay official visits to Palestine and Israel from Dec.25 to 31, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao here Tuesday.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/21/content_2363382.htm
Settlers slammed for orange stars to protest pullout
Settlers protesting the disengagement plan were condemned on Tuesday for their new tactic - orange Star of David badges, reminiscent to the yellow stars Jews were forced to wear during World War II.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/517455.html
Police chief: Disengagement will be 'tougher than Yamit'
Mazuz ordered an examination of the leaflet Wallerstein distributed to determine if it is incitement, and if the state believes the leaflet's rhetoric poses a clear and present danger to cause public disorder, they could decide to prosecute Wallerstein.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=517035&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
Egyptian intelligence chief visits Israel, Palestinians
Suleiman will discuss with Amos Gilad, the security official of Israeli Defence Ministry on the deployment of guards at the Egyptian side of borders with the Gaza Strip and the implementation of Israeli plan of withdrawing from Gaza.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/21/content_2363993.htm
Italian police to train Palestinian security forces
The training is part of an accelerating European Union effort to support the Palestinian leadership ahead of presidential elections on Jan. 9. Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini told a news conference that Italian carabinieri - paramilitary police - will begin training Palestinian security forces in January.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=517442&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
UN's Annan sees 'brighter' hopes for Middle East peace
"In an interesting sort of way, perhaps it's going to be one of the best prepared elections because we have been working with them and on it for about a year," he said. "I'm hopeful that they will have very successful elections, and it will cap very smooth transition arrangements that the Palestinians have embarked on since the death of president Arafat," Annan said.
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?ID=35189
Jihad accuses Pentagon of shutting down its websites
The movement's media office condemned the American action, saying "several similar actions were pursued against the movement's websites as to keep the Palestinian voice silent."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/21/content_2364163.htm
The Children of Palestine: A Generation of Hope and Despair
Not only are they in a crucial stage of physical and mental development, but they are a direct target of Israeli military violence. As the fourth generation of Palestinian trauma, moreover, they are the bearers of the accumulated heavy inheritance of national loss. No wonder, then, that the current four-year-old crisis is raising grave concerns about the present and future of the children of Palestine.
http://wrmea.com/archives/December_2004/0412018.html
A rare, hopeful calm
It is now nearly 60 years since Britain shed the thankless burden of ruling the Holy Land - and rarely since then have hopes been so high that the former mandatory power can do something useful to help to bring Arabs and Jews closer to peace.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,1378132,00.html
Don't give him a blank check
In the new coalition to be formed this week, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will not only be the tenor, he will be the conductor of the orchestra. All the rest will be rank and file players, with the exception of Shimon Peres, who will be first violin at best. He won't get to be conductor.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/517074.html
'Political arrests' in Iraq condemned
The Forum issued a statement received by Aljazeera.net in which it condemned the arrest of notable Iraqi politician Abd Al-Jabbar al-Kubaisi. Al-Kubaisi, who is a leader of the Iraqi National Alliance, was arrested in a Saturday pre-dawn raid by US troops backed by armoured vehicles and helicopters.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/3D099420-1DF9-4A85-91C9-FB77DE99999C.htm
Two French hostages in Iraq are freed
Thierry Chesnot, Chesnot's brother, told Reuters he had been informed by the government that the two men were in Amman, the capital of Jordan, and would return to France on Wednesday.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/c83fd46c-536f-11d9-b6e4-00000e2511c8.html
More than 20 killed in attack on US base in Iraq, Blair visits Iraq
More than 60 people were also wounded in the lunchtime strike on the base in the northern city of Mosul, said US Brigadier General Carter Ham, the US-led coalition commander for the Mosul area. "The killed include US military personnel, US contractors, foreign national contractors and Iraqi army," he told CNN.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=1&u=/afp/20041221/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_041221193544
FBI Email Refers to Presidential Order Authorizing Torture
“These documents raise grave questions about where the blame for widespread detainee abuse ultimately rests,” said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. “Top government officials can no longer hide from public scrutiny by pointing the finger at a few low-ranking soldiers.”
http://uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=8286&s2=21
Bush admits Iraq bombers are having effect
President George W. Bush on Monday acknowledged with unusual candour the obstacles to progress in Iraq, noting the toll that car bombs are taking on morale and the desertions from Iraqi security forces under fire. But Mr Bush insisted that “the terrorists will fail, the elections will go forward and Iraq will be a democracy”.
http://uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=8281&s2=21 |
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