Headlines for 12-22-07

Two Palestinians wounded near Gaza crossing Two Palestinians were wounded in a missile attack near the Karni crossing on the border with Israel on Saturday, according to Palestinian medics.


Better times return to Bethlehem "I feel safer here than I do walking down some streets in the UK," says Mike Quincy, 61, a retired police officer from Britain, visiting the city with a group of friends. "The Palestinians feel hopeless and abandoned and the fact that people are coming here shows them that they are not completely forgotten by the outside world," he adds.



Reality in Bethlehem mars Christmas tradition "You look at the political situation, there's a lot of stress, a lot of depression. There are headaches and unemployment," said Naim Khoury, pastor of Bethlehem's First Baptist Church. "Building of the wall has prevented people from finding work. People see there are better opportunities outside the country." Who's driving the Christians from the Holy Land?


Exodus from the Holy Land The explanation often cited by the Israeli media and officials for the flight of Palestinian Christians has been that they lived in fear of their Muslim cousins. As so often is the case in the Middle East, many Palestinians had a different view.
"Our relations with the Muslims is not really the problem," said George Abdo, a social worker with the Shepherd Society. "It is the occupation and all that it produces -- the economic, social, medical and educational hardships."
Who's driving the Christians from the Holy Land?


Negotiations useless if settlements continue, Palestinians say


Israel fears clash with U.S. over impasse in negotiations "Israel has created a series of far-reaching expectations in the international arena," this official said, referring to the implementation of the first part of the road map, "but this is not going to happen." "There is no political capability either to evacuate settlements or freeze construction in the settlements," the second official added.

Even if Palestinians stopped the rocket fire thereby depriving Israel of its pretext to do so under the guise of 'security', Israel would still continue building the settlements (on Palestinian land). Israel never stops building settlements, judging by its record and the recent announcements of late. They decided against the building of the new apts in E. Jerusalem, but the construction in Har Homa is not going to cease. It's a slap in the face to the US, and to the Palestinians. If our leadership had any balls, they would cut off aid to Israel immediately.


Barak-Mubarak to meet in Cairo: Israel "Security and strategic" issues will be on the agenda, but not the possibility of a ceasefire with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip, he said.


'Ceasefire not an option' Islamic Jihad says Hamas did not ask group to join reported ceasefire efforts. 'Truce is not on the table in light of Israeli aggression' says Jihad spokesman


Sabbah slammed for challenging 'Jewish state' "God made this land for all three of us [Muslims, Jews and Christians]," Sabbah, who was born in Nazareth, was quoted as saying. "If it's Jewish, it's not Muslim or Christian...If there's a state of one religion, other religions are naturally discriminated against. This land cannot be exclusive for anyone," he said.
What's the problem with his statements? He doesn't insist that one religion is held supreme over the others? Get over it.


'Children of Jihad' Author Hits at Misconceptions about Middle-East I remember one of them put his hand on my shoulder and said, "We don't care that you're Jewish, we don't care you're American. We hate the American government and we hate the Israeli government, but Jewish people and American people have done nothing to us." ......What I hope and one of the main reasons I wrote "Children of Jihad" was because on paper as a young American Jew, I'm probably the last person that should be able to get along with people from different backgrounds in the Middle East. And the reality is, I found that youth culture there was more similar to me than it was different. Everyone should read this in its entirety. He speaketh the truth. Most of the folks int the Middle East,particularly the youth, are NOT masked jihadis hell bent on killing us. Fact.


Ayalon: IDF lacks intel' to launch Shalit rescue mission


Surveyed Americans Believe in Biblical Truth How about David killing the massive Palestinian warrior Goliath? Approximately 63 percent of surveyed adults believe that he hurled a stone at the giant with a sling shot - a fatal blow described in the Old Testament.

Present day realities dictate that it's the Palestinian David using his slingshot to throw rocks at the IDF giant (which gets David shot at with live rounds, in most situations, and he's usually a kid).


Studying The Appeal Of The Underdog in one study using the Israeli and Palestinian conflict, the participants were given the same essay about the history of the area, but with different maps to reference - one showing Palestine as smaller than Israel (and thus, the underdog) and the other showing Israel as smaller. No matter what scenario the participants were presented with, they consistently favored the underdog to win With the IDF being the fourth best military in the world, and the borders of Israel growing steadily since its foundation (at the expense of the Palestinians), it is safe to say that Palestine is definitely the underdog here.


Iran Polls Better Than US in Saudi Arabia 57 percent of respondents said they opposed the development by Iran of nuclear weapons. Thirty-eight percent said they would favor the US and other countries taking military action to prevent the Iranians from obtaining such a weapon, compared to 27 percent who said the US should accept a nuclear-armed Iran.



Time To Enage Hamas & Alterman On The Lobby had the Palestinians handled Ehud Barak?s tentative offer at Camp David in the summer of 2000 (imperfect as it was) in a more positive manner?rather than letting the summit collapse?a Palestinian state would perhaps already exist. Sorry, M.J., I diasgree. The Palestinians were being asked by Israel to nullify the right of return - which is guaranteed to them under UN resolution 194 - which was a dealbreaker. Any Palestinian leader that would agree to such a deal, would likely be assassinated (and they know it).


Christmas in Bethlehem (Bethlehem, Carmarthenshire, that is) The pilgrims are coming, but the Christians are leaving. Before Israel's creation in 1948, 92 per cent of the city's population was Christian. The mayor puts the current figure at 35 per cent.


Let us hope for peace next year in David's city Visiting the security barrier next to Shu'fat refugee camp in east Jerusalem, I saw how sometimes it can almost completely exclude Palestinian communities from Jerusalem and from vital services - such as schools and doctor's surgeries. At a school in the Qalandiya refugee camp, a Palestinian mother told me of her fears for her teenage son.


Girl hit in missile strike fights to stay in Israel Last week she was given the good news that she will be allowed to remain where she is for at least another year - providing a flicker of hope for reconciliation in a part of the world that sorely needs it.


Palestinians Not Hopeful on Full-Fledged State Given Israel's recent behavior with respect to the continued construction of settlements, who can blame them?


Egyptian Guard Killed in Clash With Smugglers at Israeli Border An Egyptian border guard was shot dead on Friday night in a clash in the Sinai Desert with Egyptian smugglers escorting African migrants to the Israeli border, according to news agency reports.


Russia seeks role in Israel-Syria talks Turkey has also played this role in recent months. But while the Turks are believed to have better personal contacts with the Syrians, the Russians - because of their arms sales to Syria and their overall status as a world power - are believed to have much more leverage with Damascus.


Religious outpost takes over secular settlement in West Bank "The trouble started in 1992 after Likud lost the elections," said Haim, who did not give his real name out of concern for his livelihood and is a veteran settler at Heinanit. "The head of the regional council pressured and even threatened us to allow caravans to be placed in the upper part of the settlement near industrial structures. The settlement department of the [World] Zionist Organization also pressured us to allow them to settle next to us. Everybody said it was temporary. They started with six or seven caravans and soon there were 40."
Israeli settlements are a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention (Article 49), war crimes.


Surgery paves way for future AN altruistic alliance with the blessing of Yasser Arafat changed the lives of two children in Geelong yesterday. Plastic surgeon Ian Holten removed disfiguring birthmarks from the faces of two Palestinian children.