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Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines ~ |
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Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals to Replant Bulldozed Olive Trees in Jayyous Friday
Israeli contractors have bulldozed 600 olive trees on Jayyous'farmland which is isolated between the Apartheid Wall and the Green Line. Though Palestinian farmers from Jayyous say they retain ownership of this land, the land is being prepared for the expansion of the illegal Israeli settlement of Zufim.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/DesktopModules/Articles/ArticlesView.aspx?tabID=0&alias=Rainbow&lang=en-US&ItemID=703&mid=10400
Israel accused of obstructing Palestinian election in east Jerusalem
Palestinian election workers say they are being obstructed and harassed in east Jerusalem by the Israeli security forces. East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in 1967. It has said it will allow east Jerusalemites to vote in the January 9 election, but is disturbed by anything that it sees as manifestations of Palestinian sovereignty.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1380177,00.html
PICTURES DON'T LIE
The total area involved in this expansion is about 808,000 square meters, a 60 percent increase from a June survey, and includes new and continuing land development for settlement, new infrastructure, new and continuing construction, internal road works, and the placement of new caravans.
http://www.fmep.org/reports/2004/Nov-Dec/v14n6.html#6
Gush Shalom: “New settlements in the West Bank”
Gush Shalom reported that “settlement activities are ongoing while the Israeli governments in distracting the world with the disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip; construction of settlements resumed in the West Bank, especially in the areas near the 1967 borders”.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/December/week4/122804/Gush%20Shalom.htm
Bring End to Suffering of Palestinian Child Prisoners
"Some 350 Palestinian children currently remain in Israeli jails, detention and interrogation centers. Under international law, their release should be a priority. As it is, not one child has been named on the list of prisoners to be released as part of this initiative
http://english.wafa.ps/body.asp?field=tech_news&id=1989
Two firebombs thrown at Tel Aviv mosque
"If this had happened at a synagogue, half of Jaffa would be under arrest," city councilman Rifaat Tourk said. He warned the residents of Jaffa against taking the law into their own hands.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/519311.html
Detainees in critical health conditions, still deprived of medication
Fawwaz Al-Shalloudy, lawyer of the Palestinian Prisoners Society reported after visiting Be'er Shiva – Ohaly Qidar section that the detainees are suffering of bad health conditions and deprived from medical treatment and medication.
http://www.imemc.org/headlines/2004/December/week4/122804/detainees.htm
Why Marwan Did Not Run
Mahmoud Abbas's home in Ramallah is a palatial villa spread on a hillside. Marwan Barghouti's is a second-floor flat in a six-story apartment block overhanging a gorge. It is not the only contrast between the two men, who until Barghouti's recent withdrawal from the race for the Palestinian presidential elections on January 9 were seen by Palestinians as the only real heirs to Yasir Arafat.
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050110&s=usher
Israeli Police Arrest Palestinian Presidential Candidate
Israeli police detained Palestinian presidential candidate Mustafa Barghouti as he campaigned Monday in east Jerusalem. The arrest came a day after the Israeli cabinet approved measures allowing Palestinian candidates to campaign in east Jerusalem
http://www.voanews.com/english/2004-12-27-voa24.cfm
Israeli missile hits car in south Gaza--witnesses
An Israeli drone aircraft fired a missile into a car in Gaza on Tuesday but several Palestinian militants who were inside escaped without serious injury, witnesses said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L28292612.htm
Israel shells Palestinian refugee camp
Israeli occupation forces have fired tank shells into the heavily populated Khan Yunus refugee camp in southern Gaza, wounding at least 10 Palestinians. A 13-year-old boy and a girl aged about 10 were among those injured by the shelling on Tuesday, which the Israeli military said was aimed at the source of mortar fire on the illegal Gush Khatif settlement.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C797A584-FC28-44B8-A827-C847341BC565.htm
Arafat's Death Spurs Militant Rocket Race
Islamic Jihad has the Al-Quds 3, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine fires off al-Mustafas and the Popular Resistance Committees has its Nasser-3 rocket. The Arafat is designed to be the most powerful of all, with a range of 11 miles and a 33-pound warhead.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=572&ncid=572&e=3&u=/nm/20041227/lf_nm/mideast_rockets_dc_1
Palestinian Minister Calls for US Election Observers
A senior Palestinian minister is calling for American monitors to observe the January 9 presidential election. The appeal comes as one of the candidates ran into trouble with Israeli authorities as he tried to get his message out.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2004-12-28voa4.cfm
Palestinian legislative elections to be held in May
He told a commemorative meeting in Gaza in honour of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat that Palestinians need a powerful lawmaking body to ensure the success of reforms and anti-corruption efforts.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/28/content_2388209.htm
Arab League: No Palestine soon
Arab League chief Amr Musa has played down talk of the creation of a Palestinian state, dismissing the idea that the peace process is on the verge of recovery. Heading the 22-nation body, Musa said on Tuesday there was not a "glimmer of hope" because political positions in Israel and the US had not changed.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C9CA2E3B-C41A-4684-B023-806142B01310.htm
Turkish FM Gul's First Official Visit to Israel
Gul will go to Israel and Palestine just prior to the presidential elections following the death of Yasser Arafat. Gul is expected to visit Arafat's grave and then meet with Israel Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom on January 4th. He will be received by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Moshe Katzav.
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=1095
Abstention by Arab MK helps stall disengagement bill
Right-wing Knesset members and an Arab MK on Tuesday thwarted the approval of the Evacuation Compensation Bill, which details the financial recompense to be offered to settlers who evacuate their homes in the Gaza Strip and part of the northern West Bank under the disengagement plan.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/520246.html
Gaza police chief bars gunmen from wearing police uniforms
"This is one of many steps the Palestinian police is taking to enforce the rule of law and bring security and organization to the streets," police chief Saeb al-Ajez said in a statement. With Palestinian police increasingly weakened by the fighting, gunmen often fill the void, settling personal scores by force or dispensing vigilante justice. (NOT by IOF Destroying it)
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/520293.html
Abbas vows peace push at post-Arafat election rally
Emergent Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas drew cheers at his first election rally on Tuesday by vowing to follow in Yasser Arafat's footsteps while stressing he would seek a state via peace talks with Israel.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L28623125.htm
PCHR Condemns Intervention by Israeli Occupation Forces into the Election Process
On Monday, 27 December 2004, IOF arrested Dr. Mustafa al-Barghouthi, a candidate for the Palestinian election, while he was campaigning in occupied Jerusalem. These measures by IOF constitute a flagrant intervention into the Palestinian elections.
http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2004/160-2004.htm
Knesset committee considers alternatives to 'Peres bill'
The Knesset Constitution Law and Justice Committee decided Tuesday to weigh several alternatives to a proposed bill that would enable the appointment of Labor leader Shimon Peres to the post of deputy prime minister, without amending the Basic Law on Government.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/520358.html
Students protest plan to appoint IDF officers to high schools
"We are declaring our opposition to the placing of military figures inside schools, a factor which would contribute to the dissolution of civil society and its total militarization," the students said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=520281&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
U.S. immigration hits 20-year high, but overall aliyah down 13%
The number of immigrants from the U.S. to Israel is due to rise to a 20-year hight of 2,850 by the end of the year, even as the latest immigration figures for 2004 show that aliyah has dropped by 13 percent since last year.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=520236&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
Israeli cabinet to vote on pullout
However, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz advised him to speed up ratification on the reason that the government should give settlers at least six months' notice before evacuating them.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/28/content_2387439.htm
US hands over 20 million dollars in vote of confidence to Palestinians
The decision to make the transfer was announced back in December by US Assistant Secretary of State William Burns who said it reflected "our confidence in the direction of the PA's reform program, and our expectation that reform will continue to be implemented energetically."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=6&u=/afp/20041228/wl_mideast_afp/mideastisraelusaid_041228171506
Palestinian Women Win Big In Elections
Palestinian women won 51 seats in Thursday's elections, 32 of them winning their place outright without having to claim a seat reserved for women by Palestinian law. Maisoun Badarneh, a 44-year-old teacher elected as an independent candidate to the council in the town of Yabed, said she faced intense opposition from relatives and neighbors...
http://cbsnewyork.com/mideast/mideast_story_363064247.html
Violence is unavoidable for as long as the occupation continues
On the one hand, Palestinians were thirsty for some peace and calm and for getting the occupation off their backs. On the other hand, people witnessed that even during times of negotiations, settlement building continued, indeed skyrocketed; Palestinian land continued to be confiscated; checkpoints, meant to hamper Palestinian lives and livelihoods, were erected;
http://www.bitterlemons.org/issue/pal2.php
Syrian FM blames Israel for peace impasse
"At a time when Syria is clinging fast to the requirements of a just peace and does not put forth any conditions to achieve peace, the Israeli side is putting conditions on Syria that have nothing to do with peace," al-Sharaa said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/520305.html
Israeli intelligence: Hamas won't halt attacks
Intelligence officials believe Hamas is making its utmost to increase the range of its homemade Qassam rockets, which can currently strike at targets some 10 kilometers away, and their accuracy.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-12/28/content_2389193.htm
IMI wins tender for 5 chemical plants in India
The plants, which will go up in the north Indian state of Bihar, will develop explosive materials and are due to be fully equipped within two years. The factories will resemble the ones that exist in Ramat Hasharon, near Tel Aviv.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/520287.html
43 killed as Iraq insurgents deal pre-election blow to security forces
At least 43 people were killed as insurgents launched a string of attacks on the Iraqi security forces raising questions about their readiness to secure landmark elections next month.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1515&ncid=1515&e=1&u=/afp/20041228/wl_mideast_afp/iraq_041228200244
Disappearing Act - Fallujah and the Media
If anything, the siege has only emboldened the resistance and broadened its sphere of influence. Violence has now spread throughout the Sunni triangle; ending last week with a devastating mortar attack that killed 22 in a mess tent outside Mosul. Now, the occupation forces are in a defensive mode; having to spend much of their energy simply trying to protect supply lines and oil facilities.
http://uruknet.info/?s1=2&p=8464&s2=28 |
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