Headlines for 03-06-08

Israeli soldier killed as jeep attacked on Gaza border Abu Ahmad, an Islamic Jihad spokesman, said the attack was in revenge for an Israeli strike that killed one of its commanders in southern Gaza yesterday.


Eight dead as gunman hits Jerusalem religious school The attacker is believed to have been a Palestinian from East Jerusalem who disguised himself as a Jewish religious student. Armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle and a pistol, he opened fire for several minutes into 80 students gathered in a library for a special evening of prayer.


Abbas condemns shooting attack in Jerusalem


Wave of condemnation for Jerusalem school attack Before an emergency UN Security Council meeting, Israel's UN deputy ambassador, Daniel Carmon, said his delegation called for a "speedy and strong reaction from the council to this terrible act of terrorism."


Bush tells Olmert US 'firmly with Israel' after attack "I condemn in the strongest possible terms the terrorist attack in Jerusalem that targeted innocent students at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva. This barbaric and vicious attack on innocent civilians deserves the condemnation of every nation," said Bush.


Settlers 'to leave' some outposts Inhabitants will be moved to existing settlement blocs, where Israel allows Jewish settlement in defiance of most interpretations of international law.


Israeli forces devastate Palestinians properties in al-'Aroob refugee camp in Hebron On Wednesday morning, Israeli forces renewed their vandalizing operations for the third consecutive day in al-Aroob refugee camp, eastern of the West Bank city of Hebron, but no abductions have been reported.


Egypt hosts Gaza ceasefire talks


U.S. urges easing Israeli cordon The United States has told Israel it favors opening some of Gaza's border crossings to commercial as well as humanitarian supplies in a move that could ease an Israeli-led blockade of the Hamas-run territory.


UK aid agencies say Gaza humanitarian situation dire


South Africa ruling party condemns Israeli blockade of Gaza


Congressman Ron Paul's Statement on Gaza Bill As one who is consistently against war and violence, I obviously do not support the firing of rockets indiscriminately into civilian populations. I believe it is appalling that Palestinians are firing rockets that harm innocent Israelis, just as I believe it is appalling that Israel fires missiles into Palestinian areas where children and other non-combatants are killed and injured.......Additionally, this bill will continue the march toward war with Iran and Syria , as it contains provocative language targeting these countries.


Soldier, militants killed in Gaza violence The Israeli soldier was killed in a blast claimed by militants, which targeted his patrol near the security fence in the central Gaza Strip, the army said.


ICRC completes primary water supply to ruined refugee camp The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has completed rebuilding the primary water supply network in currently accessible areas of the ruined Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp, north Lebanon.



Who leaked the details of a CIA-Mossad plot against Iran?


Jerusalem Bedouin fear a return to the wilderness rights groups say the purpose of the demolition order is precisely to keep the Qabuas from building a permanent life in the city. Israel annexed mostly Arab east Jerusalem after seizing it in the 1967 war and now officially considers the entire city its "eternal, undivided" capital.


US' Rice condemns Jerusalem attack as 'act of terror'


A double act of revenge: carefully planned atrocity strikes at Israel's spiritual heart It may have been a coincidence that the Mercaz Harav yeshiva or religious college is identified with the spiritual leadership of the Jewish settlement movement in the occupied West Bank, and especially with Gush Emunim, one of its leading elements. But Jerusalem is likely to have been deliberately chosen: there were no Palestinian attacks in the city during 2007 though the security forces claimed to have foiled many attempts.


UN rights council condemns Israel The resolution sponsored by Pakistan and Muslim countries said Israeli incursions into the Palestinian territory inflicted collective punishment on the civilian population.


UNRWA employees held a strike in protest to Israeli attacks in Gaza Workers of different institutions run by the UNRWA in the West Bank and Jerusalem held a strike on Thursday protesting against the Israeli attacks and violations against the Gaza Strip.



Libya blocks condemnation of Jerusalem attack says U.S. The United States accused Libya on Thursday of preventing the Security Council from condemning as a "terrorist attack" a deadly assault on a Jewish school in Jerusalem, but Tripoli called for "balanced action." And coincidentally, the US always blocks the Arab condemnation of Israel's attacks.


More than 100 die in Gaza offensive "It's been a bloody week for Gazans," said Suhaila Tarazi, Director of Al-Ahli Anglican Hospital. "Israeli helicopters are flying over all the time, and we don't know where they are going to bomb next." In Ms Tarazi's opinion, 70 per cent of the casualties had been civilian. "One of my theatre nurses went home to find that her house had been destroyed by a tank shell. Her 19-year-old daughter was killed. This is the sort of thing that is happening."


Israeli Drones Jamming Phones in Gaza? Palestinians say they know when an Israeli drone is in the air: Cell phones stop working, TV reception falters and they can hear a distant buzzing That's precisely what happened to the USS Liberty when Israel was bombing it. IT was due to the sheer heroic efforts of the men on board who managed to send an SOS signal out to the Sixth Fleet (which didn't save them anyhow thanks to LBJ).


The blockade on peace in the Middle East It will be 60 years in May since my father, Glubb Pasha, led Jordan's army, the Arab Legion, to protect the land allotted to the Palestinians by the UN under the mandate of Jordan. This was done with the permission of the British government as the Irgun and the Hagana were already invading Palestinian towns and villages, causing the population to flee. Many good letters on that page.


The Presidential Candidates and Israel A former U.S. Senator from South Dakota, Abourezk said today: "There's something seriously missing when we see virtual silence from all the [leading] presidential candidates --McCain, Clinton and Obama -- in the face of outright slaughter of Palestinian civilians by Israel.


NCA holds a candle procession in solidarity with Gaza The Christian National Assembly organized a candle procession in Jabal Al Zeitoon in Jerusalem on Monday at night in protest to the Israeli assaults against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.


Hamas looking like Hezbollah as Israel leaves Gaza The clearest example of echoing Hezbollah came on Monday when thousands attended a so-called victory rally, and Mahmoud Zahar, an influential Hamas leader, briefly came out of hiding to tell the rally-goers that his organization would rebuild any house that had been damaged by the Israeli strikes.


Sderot and Gaza: letter exchange Before I tell you about life in Gaza, I would like to tell you that I am originally from what is now the Israeli city of Ashkelon. My family left with thousands of others after 1948 and my grandfather was one of many killed in fighting the Israelis.




US embassy fears attacks on citizens in Lebanon "There is a general concern that extremist groups may be planning to attack US citizens and interests in Lebanon," the US embassy said in a statement dated March 4, posted on its website and circulated to US citizens. I should point out the story about the two other warships moved off the coast of Lebanon from yesterday's news batch.


Howard speaks as he wins neocon award The former Liberal prime minister received the Irving Kristol Award from the American Enterprise Institute at a large black-tie dinner at the Washington Hilton in the US today.




Gaza: International unions call for cycle of violence to end The ITUC and the ETUC have called for an immediate cession of violent actions by Israel and Hamas and for a return of Israeli and the Palestinian authorities to the negotiating table.


Syria, Iran vow to bolster ties to confront US and Israel Regional allies Syria and Iran voiced their determination on Thursday to bolster their economic and political ties to overcome their common foes, Israel and the United States.


Indian govt allies want military ties with Israel cut Allies of India's coalition government demanded Wednesday an end to military ties with major arms supplier Israel over its blockade of the Gaza Strip and military strikes against the territory.


Egypt building Gaza wall to thwart further breaches Egypt has started building a concrete wall along its border with Gaza, a security official said Thursday, even as it speaks to Hamas about improving the dire situation in the increasingly isolated enclave.


Egyptian police beat pro-Palestinian protesters Egyptian police used force to disperse thousands of protesters who were demonstrating in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, witnesses said.


US raises security precautions for ships arriving from Syria Authorities fearing alleged Syrian links with terrorism are increasing security for ships sailing into US ports after making calls in Syria, an official said, as Washington raised pressure on Damascus.


US puts ships from Syria on watchlist The United States has put ships making port calls in Syria on a watchlist, an official said Thursday, as Washington ratcheted up the pressure on Damascus over its alleged links with terrorism.


Picking Up Pieces, Gazans Debate Israel Incursion "We all support resistance to the Israelis," said Hitam Abed Rabo, 33, a lawyer with the military court set up by Hamas, which she supports. "They talk about responding to rockets, but nothing justifies what the Israelis did here. They have to be confronted with strong resistance, so they don?t come back."


(Some) Jews Against Obama During the past few months a small group of neoconservative Jews, many of whom hold key positions in the world of official Jewish institutions, have been working to undermine the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama with a series of carefully planted character assassinations and deliberately misleading innuendo.


Senators question anti-Semitism decision The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights concluded in November that there was "insufficient evidence" to support allegations by the Zionist Organization of America that Jewish students had been intimidated and harassed for their beliefs.


IDF Photos At Harvard Hillel Drawing Ire A decision by Harvard University Hillel to host a photo exhibit showing Israeli soldiers mistreating Palestinians drew fire from a national Jewish group this week ? and consternation even from some who made the 11th hour decision.


Rice: Arabs not aiding Palestinians enough Hypocrisy.


Ashkelon man builds homemade missile Ashkelon resident Moshe Nissimpor decided that the best way to halt rocket fire from Gaza - in light of what he terms the government's failure to do so - is some vigilante justice. Didn't his army just implement some of Israel's version of 'vigilante justice' to dozens of Palestinians - some of whom were children?


Opposing barrier, they find common ground Fearing for the environment, an unusual mix of Jewish settlers and Israeli and Palestinian activists have joined forces to stop the barrier from pushing through this sensitive area east of Jerusalem, saying the pristine landscape and wildlife in Wadi Qelt could suffer irreversible damage


Paul beats back primary challenge Paul and Kucinich are also known to be sharply critical of assistance to Israel, with Kucinich calling for an evenhanded approach to peacemaking and Paul arguing against U.S. involvement in overseas conflicts. Another score for the good guys.


U.S. nominates new Israel envoy Jones' three-year tour has been mostly uneventful, although he stirred controversy last year when he said Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard was lucky not to have been executed. Jones later apologized Why apologize? He's absolutely right.


McCain Picks Up Endorsement From Baker, To Little Protest McCain supporters in the Jewish community portray Baker?s support as an ordinary political matter and insist that Baker?s endorsement does not affect the Arizona senator?s pro-Israel record.