Headlines for 01-29-08

The Israeli army attack several villages in northern part of the West Bank and kidnaps two civilians


Hamas chief discusses renewing talks with Fatah


EXTRA: EU calls on Israel to halt "illegal" settlements "The EU considers that settlement building anywhere in the occupied Palestinian Territories is illegal under international law. This includes Israeli settlements in both East Jerusalem and the West Bank,"


UN fails to agree Gaza statement Libya wanted language more critical of Israel than the US would accept.


Egypt tries to seal Gaza border


OPT: Palestinians must not be re-imprisoned within the Gaza Strip "The 1.5 million Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip have been virtually imprisoned there since June, most of them in abject poverty as fuel, food and medicinal supplies run out as a result of the Israeli blockade," said Malcolm Smart, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme. "They must not be left to live in the same conditions after the re-closure of the border."


Ha'aretz Rates the Candidates by Philip Giraldi The Israeli national interest is clearly not identical to that of the United States, except possibly to AIPAC, but it would be difficult to discern the difference based on the comments being made by American presidential candidates. Indeed, many of the candidates sometimes seem as if they are actually running for office in Israel.


Faeces Change the Face of Gaza The rain has not helped. The sludge has spread, and the stench with it. Starved of timely income and essential supplies, municipal services have all but ceased.


The Israeli army target several West Bank cities and kidnap 6 civilians


Egypt turns back 3000 Palestinians EGYPTIAN authorities have turned back around 3000 Palestinians trying to reach Cairo and other cities after crossing into Sinai from Gaza following a border breach, a security source said overnight.


The Israeli Authorities destroy part of a Palestinian owned building in Jerusalem Palestinian sources reported that on Monday evening the Israeli Authorities demolished part of a house owned by a Palestinian family located in the northern part of Jerusalem city.


Israeli troops arrest Jihadist leader


UN Security Council won't condemn Israel Sources in Livni's office said that Israel's insistence, backed by the US, was what caused Libya, the Security Council's chair this month, to go back on its demand that the discussion be held.


Hamas: "P.A security forces arrested eight Hamas members in the West Bank"


Egypt cuts Gaza border crossing points to two


'Soldiers abused Palestinian detainees, took photos on their cell phones' Soldiers in the IDF's Kfir Brigade are suspected of abusing Palestinian detainees in the West Bank and documenting it all on their cell phone cameras, Israel Radio reported Tuesday.


Gaza diary 4: Rana Elhindi In a bleak final entry, Save the Children worker Rana Elhindi concludes her diary on the current crisis in Gaza for the BBC News website.


Passports to progress Israelis and Palestinians alike should join me in taking dual citizenship - for we share one destiny


U.S. hearing addresses anti-Semitism Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Middle East Subcommittee, convened a hearing last week addressing censorship in the Arab world and how it spurs anti-Semitism. On the Republican side, Rep. Ileana Ros Lehtinen (R-Fla.) introduced a resolution last week calling for the United Nations to take steps to prevent the expression of anti-Semitism at U.N. events.


Obama rejects Palestinian right of return Democratic presidential candidate reaffirms support for Israel, but backs Iran dialogue: Senator Barack Obama presented his views on Israel and the Middle East Monday in a phone conversation with Israeli and Jewish journalists.


Obama speaks to Jewish voters on Israel Winning over Israel could help the Democratic presidential candidate gain favor with American Jews, who make up large voting blocs in key states like New York and Florida.


Palestinians suffer as the world fails Gaza After hesitantly voicing their "concern" over Israel's post-Annapolis decision to expand Jewish settlements throughout East Jerusalem, both the United States and the European Union have lapsed into an embarrassed silence. All the frontrunners in this year's US presidential campaign ? Clinton, Obama, McCain, Giuliani ? have expressed their uncritical support for Israel as they compete for Jewish campaign funding


Five Palestinians kidnapped from Hebron


Israeli official: Bolton said Rice caved on truce terms to end 2006 Lebanon war


Knesset members want Joseph's Tomb repaired Israeli lawmakers are demanding that the Palestinians repair Joseph's Tomb.......Joseph's Tomb, the West Bank shrine considered to be the burial place of the biblical patriarch, was reduced to rubble as the Israeli army retreated from the area in October 2000.


Methodists back call for ending 'siege' The leader of U.S. Methodists endorsed a letter urging Israel to end the "siege" of the Gaza Strip.


Smashed border fence costs Gaza's smugglers Tunnel owner Abu Yassin said a customer cancelled a $150,000 job to smuggle 15 tons of medicine into the Gaza Strip on the night Hamas gunmen blasted open the border fence and shoppers streamed into Egypt. Since then, business has been dead


Who is pushing whom into the sea - who is wiping whom off the map? Israel doesn't threaten to 'wipe countries off the map', true. It doesn't threaten - it just does it. It also doesn't threaten to 'annihilate' other nations. It doesn't threaten - it just DOES IT (to Lebanon in 2006's leveling of that nation).


Cisco Announces $10 Million Investment to Support Job Creation and Economic Development in the Palestinian Territories Cisco (NasdaqGS:CSCO - News) today announced an investment of $10 million to seed a sustainable model of job-creation and economic development in the Palestinian Territories. The three-year investment, made in cooperation with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, represents Cisco's continued commitment toward building stronger and healthier global communities through strategic social investments.


Bush says 'time has come' for Israeli-Palestinian peace


No way to avoid Hamas now


Students march for blockade issues Students banded together yesterday in efforts to bring attention to the issues facing the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.


Delegation traveling to Middle East over Feb. break Rising to the challenge set forth by former President Jimmy Carter in his speech at Brandeis last January, the students will travel to the West Bank and Israel in an attempt to have a diverse experience and make connections, Kang said.


Russia wants creation of organization for Persian Gulf "A path to peace in the region will be opened when the parties to the conflict begin real negotiations, in which the positions of all parties will be taken into account. If good will is manifested, then important aspects such as the release of occupied territories, the stopping of settlement activities, refugees, and the creation of a Palestinian state, the Jerusalem issue may well be resolved,"


Palestinian engineer puts Tel Aviv on the right track


Arabs, Russians, protest against Israel?s siege over the Gaza Strip Hundreds of Arabs and Russians protested in Moscow on Tuesday against the unjust Israeli siege over the Gaza Strip and demanded the establishment of an independent Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital.


United Methodists explore divestment proposals Sprecher pointed to a resolution (#312) passed by the 2004 General Conference opposing Israeli settlements in Palestinian land. "This is the current policy of our church," he said. "So how do we make it more than just words?" He stressed that the action against Caterpillar is proposed because the company's bulldozers and other equipment are being used to clear Palestinian land, destroy Palestinian homes and olive groves and help erect the "wall of separation," some of which is on Palestinian land.


US sharply toughens stance toward Syria