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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Israel Plans Turning Separation Wall into De Facto Borders
The Israeli security establishment revealed plans to hand crossings between Palestinian Territories and Israel, as marked by the separation wall, to civil authorities; a strategic move that creates de facto borders along the separation wall. the guarded gates of the separation wall are planned to serve as crossing passages between Israel and the Palestinian territories.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/December/week4/261204/israel%20plans%20defacto%20borders.htm
ISRAEL TARGETS INTERNATIONAL ACTIVISTS
Yesterday was the deadline for the state to respond to Kate Raphael Bender's appeal of deportation, but she has heard nothing. In the coming days she expects to find out if and when there will be a hearing.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/palsolidarity/message/1105
The Changing Face of Bethlehem
Michael runs a car repair garage in the Rachel’s Tomb area. Already, the constructed parts of the Barrier pass by Michael’s home and garage. He had hoped that when the intifada ends, he would resume operations from his garage. He does not know whether he will follow his customers to Bethlehem or stay in his property with his garage behind the Barrier.
http://www.hic-opt.org/public/Bethlehem_Report_Dec04/eng%20beth%20rep%20web.pdf
Where the homeland ends
In discussions that took place last week in the chambers of Minister Tzipi Livni, the acting justice minister, it became apparent that the state views the establishment of each settlement in the territories as an ad-hoc act that got carried out with the permission of the military commander in charge of the area.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/518932.html
WAFA: Palestinians Stuck at Rafah Terminal Crossing Fear Catastrophe
Under harsh humanitarian conditions, especially in such winter cold days, scores of patient, elderly, women and children, have found no room for proper sleeping, food and medication, thus they are going through possible serious health complications, it pointed out.
http://www.ipc.gov.ps/ipc_new/english/details.asp?name=1678
IDF kills two Hamas men crawling near Gaza border
A statement issued by Hamas said the two men were killed while approaching an IDF outpost in order to plant a bomb. Later Sunday morning, Palestinians fired a Qassam rocket at a town next to Sderot in the western Negev. There were no reported casualties.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/519161.html
Child Dies of Wounds, 18 Arrested in OPT
Tasahil al-Hassant 7, died today of wounds she sustained in last October in Gaza City when a tank shell targeted her house in al-Mughraka area, south of Gaza City.
http://english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=tech_news&id=1985
?Three Palestinians wounded in Rafah
?Israeli occupation troops stationed near the border with Egypt opened ?artillery fire at houses in the town of Rafah.? Palestinian medical sources said Bashir Qadhi, 14, was hit in the abdomen when artillery fire targeted Hay Al-Salam area, east of Rafah.?
http://www.kuna.net.kw/English/Story.asp?DSNO=691285
US Female Preacher Victim of Hate Crime: Family
An autopsy showed Iman, who was six months pregnant with a girl, was stabbed 33 times in the upper body, and that some of those wounds were defensive. Iman graduated from the faculty of Islamic studies in the Islamic University in Gaza and was noted for her academic excellence.
http://www.islamonline.org/English/News/2004-12/26/article04.shtml
Israeli woman Tali Fahima charged with assisting enemy
According to the indictment, Fahima, an Israeli Jewish woman, entered the West Bank city of Jenin roughly seven months ago and joined company with Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade activists. The maximum possible sentence that Fahima may receive if she is convicted is life imprisonment.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/519220.html
Abbas' rival strikes confident note
Al-Barghuthi added: "We don't need a leader who will control us, because we are all languishing under the Israeli occupation. We need a leader who will lead us to freedom and liberation." He said he was not running against Fatah per se, saying the movement had in its ranks "many good and patriotic people".
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3458.shtml
7 Palestinian candidates begin race to succeed Arafat
Barghouti, 50, a physician and human rights activist, suggested that he and his Palestinian National Initiative party offered voters an alternative to Abbas and Fatah, calling for "new leadership that is capable of understanding the people's needs." Palestinians have not voted for president of their ruling authority since 1996.
http://www.indystar.com/articles/0/204837-9680-010.html
Hamas makes gains in Palestinian poll
The tally, announced by the Palestinian Authority's supreme council for local elections on Sunday, showed Hamas scored victories in nine councils against 16 for Fatah, with the two factions tied for control of one municipality. The election, the first contested by Hamas, was held in 26 districts with scores more to follow next year.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/65B6F115-E240-48B5-9BC6-0368343534BF.htm
Vote leaves women flushed with success
"I haven't slept for two days. I'm happy but we need to think about our responsibilities to other women," said the 26-year-old mother of two, after clinching electoral victory in the West Bank town of Dahiriyeh.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=qw1104048547406M323
'Peace is key to independence'
Presidential election frontrunner Mahmud Abbas urged Palestinians to abandon the armed intifada on Sunday, saying that independence could only be achieved through peaceful means.
http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1640237,00.html
Israeli and Palestinian officials to cooperate on elections
They say the Israeli army would gradually withdraw from some areas of the occupied territories, with the aim of aiding a smooth election. The two sides have also agreed to set up three liaison offices at checkpoints to solve any problems that emerge.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/26/content_2382125.htm
Israel to allow East Jerusalem Palestinians to vote in election
The Israeli government will soonissue a statement to allow Palestinian residents in East Jerusalemto vote in the Jan. 9 presidential election, chief Palestiniannegotiator Saeb Erekat said on Sunday.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/27/content_2383511.htm
Egyptian observers head for Palestinian territories
Three former ambassadors are expected to join the team on Jan.2. All the Egyptian observers are divided into two groups to observe the elections in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, during which seven candidates are running for the Palestinian presidency.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/27/content_2383509.htm
Sharon vows to help free and fair Palestinian election
"It is very important that it is clear to the whole world that Israel permits free, honest and efficient elections," Sharon said at the start of a cabinet meeting where ministers were expected to approve arrangements for the January 9 ballot in the occupied territories. (Not stating if massacres are to stop)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1512&ncid=1512&e=17&u=/afp/20041226/wl_afp/mideastpalestinianvoteisrael_041226085515
Gaza Settlement Breaks Ranks, Accepts Israel Move
The announcement that residents of small, secular Pe'at Sadeh would go voluntarily came days after the top settler council raised the specter of civil strife by vowing to resist Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate Gaza next year.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&ncid=574&e=3&u=/nm/20041226/wl_nm/mideast_settlers_dc_6
Likud, UTJ to renew coalition talks
Labor, meanwhile, has completed all preparations for joining the government. Members of the Labor negotiating team say the government can be presented in the next few days if Olmert is forced to give up his deputy premiership for a week. Sharon's bureau said this was not an option.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=519106&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
A UN Resolution on Permanent Sovereignty of Palestinians in OPT over their Natural Resources
The resolution, adopted by a recorded vote of 156 in favour to 5 against, with 11 abstentions, called on Israel not to exploit, damage, cause loss, deplete or endanger natural resources in those territories.
http://english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=tech_news&id=1982
Analysis / Lessons from the local elections
The first and foremost conclusion that can be drawn from these elections is the fact that they were orderly, with hardly any untoward incidents reported. The Palestinian leadership was very pleased with the orderly process in which the elections were held and is hoping that this will be repeated in the coming days...
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/518919.html
Arafat ally backs 'negotiations'
Abbas, the interim Palestinian leader, also pledged to fulfil Palestinian dreams of statehood, calling on Israel to withdraw from all territories occupied after the 1967 war and to release political prisoners. He told cheering crowds of supporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah that 'we must end the occupation. We cannot compromise on Jerusalem'.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1379818,00.html
Abbas calls for end to violence
"He will not be judged on what he says now, but on what he does after the election, especially with the war against terrorism and how he handles the armed groups," he said. While Mr Sharon boycotted Mr Arafat completely, he met Mr Abbas on a number of occasions during the Palestinian's brief tenure as prime minister last year.
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11790523%255E1702,00.html
Christians made up 2.1% of Israel's population in 2003
A total of 144,000 Christians live in Israel, of whom 117,000 are Arab and 27,000 are new immigrants...
The birth rate among Christians has been in continuous decline over the years, along with their proportion in the general population. Their proportion in the Arab population has declined precipitously from 20 percent in 1949 to 15 percent in 1972 to 9 percent at present.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/518447.html
Assad's about-turn?
Jumblatt could not have been clearer on this point when he said last week in an interview with the American-Iraqi television channel Al-Hura: "Lebanon's relations with Syria suffer from an illness that should be cured ... and I say to Syrian intellectuals and workers that the time has come to reexamine the relations with Syria."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/518944.html
U.S. forces kill Sunni scholar in Iraq, clerics say
The Muslim Clerics' Association said the killing on Friday of Sheikh Mowaffak al-Douri, preacher of Baghdad's Abi Bakr al-Siddiq Mosque and a member of the group, was the latest in a series of attacks on Iraqi mosques and clerics.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/NUE542718.htm
US may strike at Ba'athists in Syria
The official said that fresh sanctions are likely to be implemented, but added that the US needs to be more "aggressive" after Tuesday's deadly attack on a US base in Mosul. The comment suggested that the US believes the attack on the mess tent, in which 22 people were killed, may have been coordinated from inside Syrian territory.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1103776324314
1,400 Fallujah refugees return home
Much of Fallujah remains uninhabitable. Homes are destroyed, unexploded ordinance lies about in the streets, and there's a lack of water and basic supplies. Repatriating the tens of thousands of people who fled the city before the US-led assault is seen as an important step in the attempt to restore stability in the city ahead of January 30 elections.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/26/content_2382131.htm
Analysis: Iraq's new war
The rebels' new hit-and-run strategy "could pose new problems for U.S.-led forces," a Pentagon official said. "By not standing their ground and fighting, but retreating only to return to attack select targets, the rebels have put us on the defensive." "We now lack the initiative at a time when we need it very badly," he added, saying the aim of U.S. operations was to bring stability to the Sunni triangle.
http://uruknet.info/?s1=2&p=8423&s2=26 |
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