Headlines for 10-16-07

Civilian dies in West Bank clash One of the men was in his 70s - hit by a stray bullet while he was in his home, officials say


GOP candidates tell Jewish group Israel's security must be ensured


Palestinian Census to begin this week


Israel seeks to boost Jewish population Under a new campaign for 2008, the immigration and absorption ministry said it was looking to repatriate 15,000 Israelis living abroad and bring in 20,000 new Jewish immigrants next year.


Hamas politician says it doesn't oppose negotiations with Israel


FACTBOX-Facts and figures on world's worst food crises PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES -- some 2 million Palestinians receive food aid either from WFP or from the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency, which works with Palestinian refugees. Food aid has been allowed through Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip since the takeover by Islamist group Hamas. With Gaza unable to export, food stalls are unusually well-stocked but with the economy collapsing many are too poor to buy.


Top Palestinian negotiator may resign The chief Palestinian negotiator may quit because he does not believe Israel is serious about peace.


Fatah denounces continuing Israeli attacks on Nablus In a press release issued by its media office in the West Bank city of Nablus, Fatah movement denounced the Israeli Tuesday dawn military invasion into the city which. Two Palestinians were killed, as the army fired rounds of live ammunition and bombs at buildings in the area.


Hamas rejects any negotiations with Israel Islamic Resistance movement (Hamas) in the Gaza Strip rejected on Tuesday all kinds of direct and indirect negotiations, talks or dialogues with the state of Israel.


Jerusalem is ours, warns Likud


Hebron Update: 1-7 October 2007


Egypt upbeat on Mideast peace meet after Rice visit Egypt said on Tuesday it was encouraged about the prospects for a US-sponsored Middle East peace meeting following a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.


Gates Says All Options On Table For Iran ** Among a string of U.S. objectives in the Middle East, Gates listed an Iran that does not build nuclear weapons or ?hold Israel hostage with the threat of attack.?


Senior Fatah official attacked in southern Gaza


Abed Al Rahman: an end to the occupation, restoration of rights Ahmad Abed al Rahman, the spokesperson of the Fatah movement and President Abbas' advisor said in a statement on Tuesday that the Palestinian side focuses in its meetings and negotiations on two basic issues.



Reflection: Which toys for which boys? I am glad the Israeli military are concerned about shooting Palestinian
children. Goodness knows, enough have been killed - since 2000 Israeli security
forces have killed 858 Palestinian minors
(http://www.btselem.org/English/Statistics/Casualties.asp). However, I believe
ending the Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territories is the
answer, not heavily armed Israeli soldiers snatching toy guns from the hands of
Palestinian children.



U.S. too often follows Israel's lead in diplomatic situations By Paul Findley The pro-Israel lobby is not one organization orchestrating U.S. Middle East policy from a backroom in Washington. Nor is it entirely Jewish. It consists of scores of groups -- large and small -- that work at various levels. The largest, most professional, and most effective is the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.


Rice in Egypt talks on conference


Sneh: Iran could destroy Zionist dream A nuclear Iran could destroy the Zionist dream by deterring immigration to Israel, Labor MK Ephraim Sneh said Sunday.


Critics of Israel lobby gather on Mearsheimer's home turf Mearsheimer professed to not always seeing eye to eye with Finkelstein on Israel, but nevertheless supported his application for tenure and delivered an impassioned defense of his scholarly credentials. Denial of tenure, Mearsheimer claimed in his speech last week, only has one possible explanation: outside pressure from the pro-Israel community.


GOP candidates make their case at Republican Jewish conference


Al-Quds President visits When Al-Quds University President Sari Nusseibeh first visited Brandeis in 1997, a groundbreaking partnership between the two institutions was inspired. During Nusseibeh's return here last Thursday, he reflected on the struggles within his homeland and inner consciousness.


Academic freedom at risk on campus This attack, intended to shield Israel from criticism, not only threatens academic privileges on college campuses, it jeopardizes our capacity to evaluate our foreign policy. .....Over the past few years, Israel's U.S. defenders have stepped up their campaign by establishing a network of institutions (such as Campus Watch, Stand With Us, the David Project, the Israel on Campus Coalition, and the disingenuously named Scholars for Peace in the Middle East) dedicated to the task of monitoring our campuses and bringing pressure to bear on those critical of Israeli policies.


U.S., Israel to study layered missile defences The United States and Israel agreed to work on a layered missile defence system to intercept ballistic missiles from Iran and Syria and smaller arms like those lobbed from Gaza and Lebanon, officials said on Tuesday.


Two Palestinians hurt in grenade blast at Lebanon school


Uncertainty fuels jump in West Bank gun prices Dealers at the gun market in Hebron, the West Bank's most populous city, say weapons sales have jumped by up to 70 percent since Hamas took control of Gaza, while buoyant demand and supply bottlenecks due to tighter security have inflated prices.


Progress in talks on captured Israeli soldiers: Hezbollah


Lebanon Must End Discrimination Against Its Palestinian Refugees, Charges Amnesty International in New Report The Lebanese government must take concrete steps to end all forms of discrimination against Palestinian refugees, Amnesty International said in a new report launched at a press conference in Beirut today.



Candidates need to step up