Headlines for 11-21-07

The Israeli government makes six obstacles ahead of Annapolis conference


Inside the maze: movement restrictions in the West Bank


Palestinian security forces arrest four Hamas members in W Bank


Come to summit, Abbas tells Arab nations


Israel to release Palestinian prisoners on Sunday


Mortars land near Erez crossing in N Gaza


Jon Wilks, British Government Spokesman visits IMEMC


Israel under fire over Palestinian cancer patient's death


Palestinians spell out their vision of the future in peace blueprint


Palestinian parliament convenes with Hamas lawmakers


Israel eases Gaza export block prior to US summit Israel said yesterday it would allow farmers in Gaza to export their high-quality strawberries and flowers into Israel and on to Europe in what is the first easing of the trade embargo imposed on the Palestinians in June.


Hebron Update 29 October - 4 November 2007


Rice sets Mid-East peace target US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said the United States will try to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians over the next year.


Mourners at terror victim's funeral block entrance to Palestinian village Dozens of mourners at the funeral of Ido Zuldan, who was killed Monday night in a shooting attack in the West Bank, on Tuesday blocked the entrance to the Palestinian village Fourik, near the Kedumim settlement.


Hamas: Fatah security forces arrest Nablus municipal council member


Israel Blocks 670 Students from Studies Abroad The Israeli government is arbitrarily blocking some 670 students in Gaza from pursuing higher education abroad, Human Rights Watch said today. Israel is denying exit permits that the young men and women need to leave Gaza for university programs in countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Germany, Britain, and the United States


Hamas shrugs off US peace talks Hamas political supremo Khaled Meshaal, exiled in Damascus, said the Annapolis conference was called by Bush to mask agressive plans in the region......"And today he wants to make peace in Palestine in preparation to a hit against Iran," Meshaal said. "This is an American game. The Palestinians and the Arab peoples are aware of it and know that it is not serious."


Second Committee approves text calling on Israel not to exploit, damage or endanger natural resources in occupied Arab lands


Hamas: Fatah forces arrested five Hamas members from several parts of the West Bank


Nafha Society: Israeli forces kidnap 20 in 24 hours


Demolition Decimating Palestinian Village Since Israel?s full-scale military occupation of the West Bank began, more than twelve thousand Palestinian homes have been demolished, making house demolitions a grim hallmark of Israel?s occupation strategy.


Negotiators 'not pushing PM's line' on cluster bombs ban


Is It Just Business-as-Usual in D.C. When a Lobbyist Brings Classified Info to a Foreign Embassy?


Gaza must be the priority in Annapolis


Middle East diplomats rack up air miles ahead of US summit


Israel seeks US help to fight Iranian pistachios A US official says Israel has asked for US help in cracking down on illegal pistachio nut imports from Iran, after Washington warned the trade was hurting efforts to curb Tehran's nuclear programme.


GOP Jewish group polls on Iran strike ** The questions, recalled by a focus group participant, were: "How would you feel if Hillary [Clinton] bombed Iran? How would you feel if George Bush bombed Iran? And how would you feel if Israel bombed Iran?"


A Conservative View of Iran by Philip Giraldi ** Contrary to the repeated assertions by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, an endless series of threats emanating from Washington is not diplomacy. The United States is refusing to negotiate with Iran, and the only obstacle to a war from the U.S. side is the resistance coming from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and some military and naval officers, most notably the Central Command's Admiral William Fallon, who are heavily outnumbered by those in the administration and outside it who are pro-war.....Powerful lobbying groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) continue to resist talks and urge a military resolution.


As blockade drags on, friends in Gaza crave cigarettes, Coke Who knows what be next: Yogurt. Baby milk. Diapers. My friend needs cement and other construction material to finish the apartment he and his new bride share. Maybe the next time I'll be quietly trying to haul 50-pound bags of cement on my back into Gaza.


High-level Saudi presence seen unlikely at Annapolis


American Peace activist holds hunger strike Allene Rusers, a seventy-one year old American Peace activist, on Monday announced that she intended to go on hunger strike for the next two weeks in protest against infighting amongst the Palestinian people and the continued occupation of the Palestinian territories.


Look Who's Downplaying Iran's Nuclear Threat ** Podhoretz and company could have difficulties presenting a case for going to war against Iran in order to protect Israel?both Israel's foreign minister and a former head of the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, have suggested that if Iran does acquire nuclear weapons, Israel would deal with it by deterring Iran. Not attacking it.


Palestinian Activists Hone Advocacy Skills


Blair discusses Mideast conference with Saudi king


U.S. accuses Syria of meddling in Lebanon


Victims on both sides skeptical of Mideast peace push


Media Advisory: Leading World Experts Create Declaration to Protect Civilians in Middle East


Closed Israeli borders squeeze Gaza farmers


Terror trial defendant gets 11 years In a passionate, arm-waving statement before sentencing, Ashqar painted a grim picture of the suffering of Palestinians under the Israeli occupation and said some of his own relatives had been killed or jailed.
He said he would rather go to prison than betray his people as they strive to free themselves from Israeli domination.



France, Israel enjoying 'honeymoon': Sarkozy spokesman


Palestinian statehood talks key to Annapolis success: Rice She said it was important for the Israelis to know that their broader conflict with the Arabs will be finally over following a settlement with the Palestinians


Coalition MKs send 'message to America' National Union Party chairman Benny Elon said Israel should retain all the settlements. He added that it should take steps to place them under the regular Israeli legal system rather then the West Bank military one that governs them now.



Israeli envoy tells anti-U.N. crowd that world body is not all bad Though speakers drew from an extensive repertoire of singular negative treatment of Israel by various U.N. bodies, much attention was directed to the area of human rights, where Israel has typically been a subject of overwhelming scrutiny.....U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) called the treatment of Israel by the United Nations an "abomination" and pledged to use financial pressure to compel changes within the organization A whinefest because the world refuses to turn a blind eye (as the US does) to Israel's atrocious human rights record.


Carnation instant breakfast Forced to dispose of his crop because of the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian flower grower in Rafah feeds red carnations to sheep.


Plan announced to improve E. Jerusalem Amid signs that the city could be divided, a plan to improve neglected Arab areas in east Jerusalem was announced. That's all well and good but it doesn't change the fact that E. Jerusalem is still only Israeli-OCCUPIED territory.


Israeli city sues Hamas leader The city of Sderot, Israel, and the emergency response organization Zaka have filed court papers against the militant Palestinian organization Hamas.


NYC Rights Activists Escalate Protests Against Leviev Over Palestine Land-Grab Protesters focused on Leviev?s companies? construction of five illegal settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, Leviev?s close ties with the repressive government of Angola where he mines diamonds, and Leviev?s massive New York City development projects with his former US partner Shaya Boymelgreen, which have been plagued by construction problems, and have frequently utilized underpaid, non-union workers in hazardous conditions.



Two nuncios on the "delays" in Israeli policies regarding the Church


Israeli peace activist arrives in UK to protest home demolitions Professor Halper predicts that Annapolis will result in the end of the two state solution. He said: "If it's true that Olmert intends that Israel permanently retain the settlement blocs, an Israeli 'greater' Jerusalem and effective control of the entire country to the Jordan River, then we will merely be substituting a sophisticated form of apartheid for occupation."


Alternative Israeli peace plan gaining supporters An alternative Israeli peace initiative that would see the Jewish state extend its sovereignty over all Judea and Samaria (the so-called "West Bank"), instead of allowing the creation of a Palestinian Arab state there, is gaining support, even among left-wing Israeli lawmakers.




Iraq sets free trips home for refugees With violence down in Iraq, the country's embassy in Damascus is starting to organize free trips home for Iraqis who fled the conflict and now want to return, an Iraqi diplomat said Wednesday.



Howard era may be ending, but Australia likely to stay ally Howard supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq, has defended the legitimacy of Israel?s security barrier in the West Bank and Israel?s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon last year, and delivered a scathing eulogy when Yasser Arafat died in 2004. Howard has been showered with awards from Jewish community organizations here and in the United States.


Cheney's ex-adviser: Annapolis not 'priority' "Priorities for the United States right now should be three or four major crises that are reaching the near acute stage," David Wurmser, formerly the U.S. vice president's senior adviser on Middle East issues, said Tuesday at an Israel Project luncheon in Washington, D.C.


U.S. invites 40 to peace talks The United States invited more than 40 countries, including Syria, to participate in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.



Olive Oil Season: A West Bank Kitchen Story "They are like jewels in the mountains," said the Palestinian artist Rana Bishara. "They glow in the landscape of Palestine," inviting villagers to renew the ritual.