Headlines for 09-01-07

Palestinian killed in Gaza border protest One Palestinian was killed and six more were wounded when Hamas paramilitaries opened fire to disperse protesters trying to dash across the border into Egypt, witnesses said.


Bomb blows up car of Hamas member in Gaza


West Bank Boys Dig a Living From Settler Trash This dump has become a lifeline, and informal workplace, for them and for the children helping to support poor families in the southern West Bank. The scene is reminiscent of the third world, of places like Manila?s notorious garbage mountain, but this desperate place is next door to a country with the highest per capita income in the Middle East: Israel.


Israeli army kidnaps 7 Israeli peace activists


Doubts over 'second temple remains' in Jerusalem Israeli officials cast doubt Friday over claims that remains of the second Jewish temple might have been found during work to lay pipes at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem.


Journalists Union slams attacks against reporters, residents in Gaza


Pentagon 'three-day blitz' plan for Iran ** THE Pentagon has drawn up plans for massive airstrikes against 1,200 targets in Iran, designed to annihilate the Iranians? military capability in three days, according to a national security expert.....Israel, which has warned it will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, has made its own preparations for airstrikes and is said to be ready to attack if the Americans back down.




RIGHTS: Call to Halt EU Trade with Israel Trade between the European Union and Israel should be halted in protest at human rights violations in the Palestinian territories, a United Nations conference has heard.


Livni warns Rice over unreasonable expectations of summit Jerusalem officials say Rice seems to be taking the opposite approach, believing that setting the bar high will lead to greater achievements. Livni warned Rice against acting too hastily, saying that expectations must be in keeping with developments on the ground.


aL-Aqsa foundation: Israeli parties block maintenance works at the aL-Aqsa mosque aL-Aqsa foundation revealed on Friday that some Israeli parties have been attempting to block maintaniance works of the holy mosque of aL-Aqsa and that they are embarking on a related widespread campaign against the Islamic Waqf committee.


Palestinian caretaker government pledges economy enhancement for Gaza The caretaker government, ruling from West Bank, will allocate 40 percent of various incomes to support the Gaza Strip where economists estimate the unemployment rates have reached at around 80 percent.


Rice, Hadley subpoenas resisted in AIPAC case Two former American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobbyists facing espionage charges have subpoenaed Miss Rice, National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley, Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams and several others to testify at their trial next year. If their testimony is allowed by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, the trial could offer a behind-the-scenes look at the way U.S. foreign policy is crafted.


Anti-Hamas rallies staged in Gaza Thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have taken part in protests against the territory's Hamas rulers, despite a ban on public gatherings.


UN: Peace is hampered by West Bank growth The United Nations has issued a stark warning on the eve of Tony Blair's first full working trip as international Middle East envoy that the steady growth of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is undermining the prospects for peace.


Israeli settlers threaten land, injure non-violent activist HEBRON: Palestinian non-violent activist Issa Amro was released from Alia
hospital around noon today after Israeli settlers attacked him as he helped
harvest hay in the Al Ja'abari fields across from Kiryat Arba settlement.



For Palestinians, municipal service a do-it-yourself project "This is the first time that anyone has ever repaired anything for us,'' said Imad Abu Rumeillah, the owner of a grocery store along the Jerusalem Ramallah road.


The U.S.-Israeli Draft In a recent press release, PNAC called on the U.S. government to institute the military draft, and induct U.S. servicemen and women directly into the Israeli Defense Force.


Gaza students back to schools after miserable summer


Egyptian man hit by stray bullet from Fatah-Hamas fighting in Gaza An Egyptian man was shot and wounded in the border town of Rafah on Friday, hit by a bullet that strayed across the border from Gaza during a clash between Hamas and Fatah gunmen, Egyptian security sources said.


SMS warns Gazans not to pray with Fatah


OPT-OCHA Special focus: Israeli-Palestinian fatalities since 2000 - Key trends* Amongst the most notable trends are:

- the continuing high rate of fatalities amongst civilians who account for more than half the total of all those killed (p1);

- the declining number of Israelis killed (p2);

- a continuing high death rate for Palestinian adults and children particularly in the Gaza Strip (p2);



Mideast conference should revive all peace tracks: GCC Pro-Western Gulf Arab states on Saturday reiterated their backing for a planned US-sponsored Middle East peace conference, but insisted it should revive the peace process on all tracks.


Four injured in Wall protest south of Bethlehem Four Palestinians were injured after Israeli troops attacked a non- violent protest against the Annexation Wall in Al Ma?sar village, south of Bethlehem on Friday. Dozens of international peace activists also participated in the protest which also marked the six anniversary of the assassination of Abu Ali Mustafa, secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).


DFLP media office slams attacks carried by the Executive Force in Gaza The Media Office of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) slammed attacks carried by members of Hamas? Executive Force against residents and journalists in the Gaza Strip. The attacks also included confiscating cameras and arrests.


'A Night to Honor Israel': Christian Zionist group, founded by TV evangelist, raises political profile Christian Zionists embrace the Hebrew roots of Christianity and believe Jews have a God-given right to the land of Israel. For many, that means supporting Jewish settlements in Israel's occupied territories, opposing Middle East peace plans that involve Israel ceding any land to Palestinians and urging U.S. lawmakers to adopt pro-Israel foreign policies.



Occupation is the key


Ha'aretz columnist dropped by British Zionists The British Zionist Federation canceled a London appearance by Ha'aretz columnist Danny Rubinstein the day after he called Israel an ?apartheid state? at a United Nations conference on Palestinians.


Lebanon refugees yearn to return home once fighting ends Nahr al-Bared was home to 31,000 Palestinian refugees when the fighting broke out but most residents fled the camp shortly afterwards, mostly to Beddawi camp.


Palestinians can benefit from conference: Jordan king


Bethlehem finds a Sydney sister city The mayor of Marrickville, Morris Hanna, and his Bethlehem counterpart Dr Victor Batarseh signed a sister city agreement at a civic reception at the Petersham council chambers.


Strange Goings-On Here in Lebanon .. Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbollah's leader, boasts of new weapons. The Lebanese suspect that these include anti-aircraft missiles. If this is true ? and many Lebanese who have spent their lives under Israel's cruel air attacks, assaults which have often been war crimes, hope it is ? then the next war will be anticipated with dark but keen anxiety. Since the Israeli army is incapable of fighting the Hizbollah on its own ground ? its collapse when faced by Hizbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon last year proved this ? what happens if their awesome air power is also neutered?


Walt & Mearsheimer's Proof That 'Tail Wagged the Dog' Points American Jews to a Universalist Ethos


Moscow denies involvement in Israel-Syria tensions "The Israeli government knows very well that in our dealings with Syria and Israel we invariably follow the line of reducing tensions in the region, preventing a new conflict and re-launching the peace process,"


Palestinian divisions threaten peace: Prodi


Judge wants speed in citizenship case A federal judge in Colorado says he may personally take action on a Palestinian immigrant's citizenship application.


Interfaith delegation plans Middle East peace mission


Photo of the Day 09-01-07 Maria Amin, who turns six on Thursday, reacts as she struggles to breathe through a respirator after undergoing hydrotherapy in a rehabilitation hospital


Muslim group hacks Likud website Writing in Arabic and poor English, the group "sanctified" the hacking to Palestinian and Lebanese children, and called for an end to the killing of Palestinian children. The page was signed by a hacker by the name of Cold Zero.




Call for a Coalition Against Arming Theocratic States By Lenni Brenner In 1948, Democrat Harry Truman, needing campaign funds from wealthy pro-Zionist Jews, recognized officially Orthodox Jewish Israel. He loaned it money used to buy weapons to drive hundreds of thousands of native Palestinians into exile.


International Human Rights Workers Try to Enforce Israeli Court Order When the Military Will Not


Denial of tenure defended


Israeli fund aids Palestinian director


Crowds flock to Suirki play 'Nation' With no cultural life in the Gaza Strip to speak of, Palestinian crowds are flocking to the Shawa cultural centre to watch dramatist Said Suirki's satirical play, "The Nation", which puts rulers from both Islamist Hamas and their secular rivals Fatah in the dock.


Former Israeli prisoner lands in Montreal


Israeli CEO who built illegally in West Bank arrested in Italy Italian police have arrested the owner of an Israeli construction company, which has collapsed after being found involved in widespread illegal building in the occupied West Bank, Israeli police announced Friday. The affair has caused a storm in Israel, as the company, Heftsiba, has left thousands of Israelis who bought newly-built apartments robbed of both their apartments and their mortgage money.


Editor's Notes: Jeopardizing American interests This clearly pro-Israel writer states that the work of Mearsheimer and Walt works against US interests, a laughable notion, and that Iran is a threat to America (which it is not).


Memorable Osaka experience for Palestine's lone entry Ghrouf It?s a long way from Gaza to Osaka as 16-year-old Gharid Ghrouf can attest. The sole member of the Palestine team arrived in Japan with her coach last Sunday after enduring three days of travel from her homeland.


Musicians get back to basics as record sales plummet The Palestinian-born rapper included one of his signature bandannas in the first 10,000 copies of The Revolution as an incentive for people to buy the album, rather than download it for free from any number of unauthorized file-sharing sites.