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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Merry Christmas
http://uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=90001&s2=24
`Checkpoint violinist' thrilled to attend Galilee music seminar
"I came here because I wanted to study music and to become a professional violinist, not because of politics. But if my violin serves as another bridge to peace, then naturally I don't object," said Wissam Tayam, the Palestinian music student forced to play his violin at the Beit Iba checkpoint near Nablus on November 9.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=518506&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
Lara Croft actress visits Palestinian orphans in Lebanon
Jolie, an ambassador for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has already visited crisis-torn Darfur in Sudan and refugee camps in Thailand. Checked into an exclusive Beirut hotel under a false name in a bid to shun the parapazzi, Jolie refused to talk to the press.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=10&u=/afp/20041224/wl_mideast_afp/lebanonunpeople_041224142141
Three Citizens Murdered by IOF in Tulkarem
Three Palestinian citizens were killed Friday by Israeli Occupation Forces in the West Bank refugee camp of Tulkarem, witnesses and medics said. Medical sources said that Jamal Azem 16, Kamel Sabarini 23 and Iyad Ghannam 21, were instantly killed after being shot with live gunshots from a short distance.
http://english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=tech_news&id=1980
11 mortars hit Gaza
Eleven mortar shells hit Gaza on Friday alone, causing damage but no injuries. To protest the ongoing mortar fire, several dozen Gaza settlers blocked major junctions in the Strip on Friday and set tires alight. (With Green Light from IOF, as requested by Govt. of "Jewish - Democratic" State)
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/518738.html
Israel Targets Humanitarian Workers
With the arrests of Kate Raphael Bender and Kelly Minio-Paleullo, Israel continues it's policy of restricting humanitarian workers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Both women sit in the Hadera detention center awaiting deportation.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/DesktopModules/Articles/ArticlesView.aspx?tabID=0&alias=Rainbow&lang=en-US&ItemID=699&mid=10564
No arms for militants after pullout
"There will be only one gun, the gun of the Palestinian security forces that will be used to bring security and safety to the Palestinians and will be used in imposing discipline and law," he said. ( Secure Whom from Whom, and by What? )
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20041224-095728-5900r.htm
Mahmoud Abbas marks Christmas in Bethlehem
It was the first time a Palestinian leader has spent the holiday in Jesus' traditional birthplace in four years. Beginning in 2001, Israel barred Yasser Arafat from celebrating Christmas in Bethlehem. Some 1,000 people accompanied Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah on Friday afternoon
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/518768.html
PA police to secure Bethlehem over Xmas
In preparation for Christmas celebrations in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Israel handed over the security control to the Palestinians until the end of celebrations in the city on January 19. Palestinian policemen will also be permitted to retain their arms until then.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1103602490572
5,000 people to visit Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas
Although the city was turned over to the Palestinians under the1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, it is actually controlled by Israel since the Israeli army put up checkpoints around it.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/24/content_2378193.htm
PA advised to deliver or face chaos
The new Palestinian president will have to deliver in his first three months in office or risk the prospect of chaos and conflict, a new report has said. The International Crisis Group (ICG), a conflict-resolution organisation, said on Thursday that although the political transition after the death of Yasir Arafat has got off to a healthy start, this may not last long.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/DF32DFC7-52B2-43BD-A45D-F592B71E69DD.htm
Pro-Palestinian activist Fahima to be indicted for terror ties
According to the indictment, to be submitted in Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court, Fahima is to be charged with aiding the enemy during wartime, transmitting information to the enemy, possession of a firearm without a license, contact with a foreign agent, and support of a terror organization.
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/518406.html
"Blair Must Condemn Occupation": British Nationals Under Curfew in West Bank
It is not enough for Tony Blair to support Palestinian elections,” say two British nationals spending the last nights under curfew in the West Bank village of Asira al Shamaliya . “He must back the International Court of Justice in entirely condemning the Israeli occupation of Palestine and demanding its immediate end.”
http://www.palsolidarity.org/DesktopModules/Articles/ArticlesView.aspx?tabID=0&alias=Rainbow&lang=en-US&ItemID=696&mid=10400
Unoffical results: Hamas strong in local W. Bank elections
Long lines formed outside the polling stations, which were open between 7 A.M. and 7 P.M. Initial reports from across the West Bank indicated a very high voting percentage that surpassed the 70-percent mark, according to Palestinian sources.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/518353.html
Pines-Paz wins top Labor spot, dithers over Interior Min.
the central committee voted in the party's young guard Thursday night, alloting the two top spots to Pines-Paz, 43 - who won 1,236 votes - and MK Isaac Herzog, 44, who garnered 1,047 votes. Neither has ever served as a minister before.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/518428.html
Revolution in Labor, Young Leaders Won over Veterans
"The era of the generals had ended," said labor central committee member following the announcement of the results of the vote to choose labor ministers in the coming Likud-Labor cabinet. The method used allows candidates with most votes to have the first choice of available portfolios; the second is then left with six choices, and so on.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/December/week4/241204/revolution%20in%20labor.htm
Israel may seek extra security funds
Israel, which receives about $3 billion (1.5 billion pounds) a year in U.S. aid, may seek extra funding next year to bolster border security and overhaul checkpoints as part of a plan to pull out of Gaza and parts of the West Bank, sources familiar with the talks have said.
http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=5426577
IDF to oust troops who obey rabbis rather than officers
Ya'alon said that only soldiers whose families live in the settlements slated for evacuation would be exempted from participating in their removal. According to Ya'alon, soldiers should heed only one authority - that of their commanders, and not their rabbis.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=518502&contrassID=1&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
UK cardinal laments wasted billions of M.East wars
"How is it that there is war in Iraq, violence in the Holy Land and the horror of pain and death amongst the poor and deprived who suffer from injustice and thus do not find peace?" asked Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2413093.htm
Israel should pay more for peace: US congressman
Republican Congressman James Kolbeon Thursday called on Israel to pay more efforts to push forward the peace process. Kolbe said at a press conference here that the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip is a positive step but it should lead to more steps and give life to the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/24/content_2374304.htm
How About Mustafa Barghouti as an Alternative?
Israel is resorting to its usual tactics of coercing other candidates who dare to challenge the man who seems more interested in Israel’s security than the security and rights of his own people. Dr. Mustafa Barghouti is one. One of the most eloquent and dedicated Palestinians alive, Dr. Barghouti was beaten by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint during a campaign trip.
http://www.amin.org/eng/uncat/2004/dec/dec231.html
First glimpse of democracy in Palestine comes from municipal elections
In the first municipal election since Arafat came to power in 1976, Palestinians yesterday voted to elect members of the local councils in 26 towns and settlements. "We need democracy and this is just the beginning," said Amjad Jaber, official scrutineer at a polling station in Jericho.
http://www.financegates.com/news/world_news/2004-12-24/palestina_24122004.html
NYCLU Defends Academic Freedom At Columbia University
“Faculty members must retain broad latitude to think as they will and to write as they think,” said Arthur N. Eisenberg, Legal Director of the NYCLU. “They should suffer no recriminations from outside the academy for the content of their scholarship.”
http://www.nyclu.org/bollinger_pr_122004.html
Twighlight zone / Pictures at an exhibition
A second photograph shows them kneeling around the two bodies. A soldier in a black woolen hat leans forward to make sure he is in the picture. Their commanding officer leans back, also to make sure he's in the frame. The dead men lie on stretchers next to each other, head to foot.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/518399.html
Israel Museum: Touted Artifact a Forgery
A team of experts found the thumb-sized pomegranate dates to the Bronze period, or about 3,400 years ago, meaning it is considerably older than the first Jewish Temple, and the inscription was added recently, the museum said in a statement.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=540&e=8&u=/ap/20041224/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_antiquities_fraud
Mosul will be Fallujah-ized
It appears the residents of Mosul will be made to pay for the suicide bombing at Camp Ghazlaani. “U.S. forces have sealed off entire districts of the Iraqi city of Mosul and raided homes in a hunt for suspects following a guerrilla attack that killed 18 Americans and four Iraqis,” writes Maher al-Thanoon for Reuters.
http://uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=8381&s2=24
Blair bowed to Israel, say Palestinians
They claimed the prime minister had proposed a peace conference but had scaled it back when Israel objected. Ahmed Qureia, the Palestinian prime minister, said: "We ... have the means and expertise for peace and negotiations. We are in need of a peace conference and not a meeting."
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,11538,1379491,00.html
Rumsfeld aims to lift Iraq morale
The first three stops of Mr Rumsfeld's visit took him to the frontline in the struggle - Mosul, Tikrit and Falluja, once Saddam Hussein's top strongholds. Recent clashes in Falluja have proved the bloodiest since the invasion, while an attack in Mosul this week killed 22.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4122847.stm
Falluja Returnees Angry, 'City Unfit for Animals'
"Even animals who have no human sense and feelings can not live here," he said, crying. "What do they want from Falluja? This is the crime of the century. They want to destroy Islam and Muslims. But our anger and resistance will increase."
http://uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=8388&s2=24
Analysts: Bin Laden Seeks Transformation
Osama bin Laden appears to be trying to transform himself from terrorist to political leader, the conclusion reached by some Middle Eastern experts from watching recent messages attributed to the al-Qaida leader.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=540&e=13&u=/ap/20041224/ap_on_re_mi_ea/bin_laden_s_strategy |
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