Headlines for 03-11-08

6 Signs the U.S. May Be Headed for War in Iran Cheney is also going to Saudi Arabia, whose support would be sought before any military action given its ability to increase oil supplies if Iran's oil is cut off. Back in March 2002, Cheney made a high-profile Mideast trip to Saudi Arabia and other nations that officials said at the time was about diplomacy toward Iraq and not war, which began a year later.....Israeli airstrike on Syria....Israeli comments.....Was Peres speaking for himself, or has President Bush given the Israelis an assurance that they won't have to act alone?



Palestinian Homes Demolished Without Warning Amnesty International's researcher on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories witnessed the demolitions.


Islamic Jihad: Talks with Egyptians not aim at protecting leaders from assassination


Israeli TV claims revenge attack planned for school killings Ultra-nationalist religious Jews have planned a revenge attack after a Palestinian gunman killed eight students at their school in Jerusalem last week, Israeli public television reported Tuesday.


Egypt tries to broker Gaza ceasefire


Rocket attack as Blair prepares to urge Israel to ease stance on Gaza Mr Blair is expected to renew calls today on Mr Olmert and Mr Barak to agree to some opening of Gaza crossings as well as to ease restrictions in the West Bank. He also broadly endorsed the concerns of Palestinian negotiators and the international community over Israeli settlement expansion plans.


Egypt's efforts to bring calm to Gaza take effects Egypt's efforts to reinforce a ceasefire in Gaza started to develop with a relative calm in the few past days, a local Palestinian news agency reported on Tuesday.


Gaza: Elderly woman dies of wounds sustained in Israeli air attacks last week Palestinian medical sources in Gaza reported that the an elderly Palestinian woman died on Tuesday after succumbing to wounds she sustained last week during an Israeli air raid targeting her family home.


U.S. "road map" assessment seen critical of Israel U.S. and Western officials said Washington was particularly critical of Israel's decision to push ahead with Jewish settlement expansion on occupied land, a move they see as damaging to U.S.-backed peace talks with the Palestinians. We could grind all settlement activity to a halt in the blink of an eye, should anyone in our government have the balls to take a stand. That is precisely what George Bush the 1st did (but was later forced to back down thanks to the Israeli lobby's massive counterattack on Capitol Hill). No one since has dared to be so bold. It is in the best interests of THIS nation to see to it taht Israel comply with international law. Instead, they use our taxpayer aid to break it, and our govt looks the other way.


Hamas warns Israel against digging beneath al-Aqsa mosque


Israel detains 17 Palestinian in West Bank


Russian FM to visit Mideast to promote peace conference in Moscow Russia is discussing the convening of a Middle East meeting with the Palestinians, the Israelis, countries involved in mediating the conflict and members of the Arab League, Mikhail Kamynin said in a statement.


Palestinians without papers could soon get IDs Some 400,000 registered Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon, about half of them in 12 ramshackle camps scattered across the country. They live as second class citizens, denied the right to work in professional vocations or to own property.


Aussie congrats on Israel's 60th opposed The letter, a copy of which was obtained by JTA, says the ?unprecedented? motion ?honors a foreign country's independence while it is violating the rights of the indigenous people, occupying their land and breaching international law.


What can you do about Iran? Use the phone, Meridor says It was a question that plagued Israel?s ambassador to the United States whenever he spoke to U.S. audiences about the need to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.


A Terror Tour of Israel We had signed up for the Ultimate Counter-Terrorism Mission, a weeklong journey around the country during which we would learn about Israel's battle with terrorism. The trip was aimed at U.S. police officers and homeland-security professionals.


Glykeria attacked for 'collaborating with Zionists' The performance was held while the IDF was operating in the Gaza Strip. The club was packed, not only with Greek and Israeli fans, but also with a group of Arabs, some of them Palestinians. As Glykeria started singing the song in Hebrew, the Arab viewers started shouting, whistling out loud and booing in an attempt to stop the show.


ISRAELI DEATHS MATTER MORE The contrast to reactions to the killing of over 120 Palestinians, including many women and children, in occupied Gaza the previous week could hardly be more striking. On one day alone, 60 people died in a hail of Israeli firepower using F-16 planes, Apache helicopter gunships, tanks, armoured bulldozers and ground troops.


Labor split over Israel support A BIPARTISAN motion congratulating Israel on 60 years of statehood has provoked division in federal Labor, with one government MP threatening to boycott the vote and union heavyweights accusing the Jewish state of racism and ethnic cleansing.....Partyroom sources told The Australian that Ms Irwin unsuccessfully attempted to table a number of Amnesty International reports during yesterday's caucus meeting, which she said detailed Israel's alleged mistreatment of the Palestinians.


Squalid conditions at Jerash camp for Palestinian refugees Suffering and deprivation is apparent from the vacant looks of the residents, most of whom live well below Jordan's poverty line. The foul smell, coupled with their dull and dusty surroundings, reflect what refugees feel about their lives, say residents.



Difficult Dialogues: There are two sides to the Palestinian conflict "A competition of suffering will get us nowhere," Baskin responded. "Does a Palestinian woman who buries her child have more right to justice than an Israeli woman who buries her child?"


Gaza: Four Deaths, Whose Security? Physicians for Human Rights-Israel has therefore chosen to tell the stories of the deaths of three women and one baby girl, as told by their families. The stories give a small glimpse of the Kafkaesque process, in which the suffering of sickness and the cruelty of a hostile bureaucracy combine to embitter the last days of these people's lives.


Israel impressed by Egypt's Gaza efforts The IDF has been highly critical of Cairo over the past year, saying it was not doing enough to stop the smuggling under the Philadelphi Corridor, along which Egypt had deployed 750 policemen following Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2005. Paid for by the US taxpayer (via recent release of US aid to Egypt) - another added perk for Israel.


Israel protester ejected from parliament "What about the UN resolution?" the woman called out as she held up what looked like a T-shirt before being escorted from the gallery by security guards.


No-Man's Land: Palestinian Refugees in Syria The severity of the humanitarian status of the refugees in these camps led the UN to deploy their high-profile Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie in August 2007. After visiting Al-Waleed, Miss Jolie told the press that, "it is absolutely essential that the ongoing debate about Iraq's future includes plans for addressing the enormous humanitarian consequences these people face." Yet almost half a year on and little has changed, the situation remains as desperate as ever for these Palestinians stuck in one of the world's most barren no-mans-land.




Health agency pulls notice for anti-Israel essay contest A government-funded health agency that serves gay and lesbian youth has removed an Internet posting that publicized an essay contest on the "ethnic cleansing of Palestine."
The Sherbourne Health Centre announc ed last week that it had removed notice of the contest following complaints from activist Joanne Cohen....."This call to shutdown academic research and free speech is typical of B'nai Brith's contempt for the basic principles of academic institutions. These tactics of intimidation are becoming an all too common refrain of pro-Israel organizations and are simply designed to stem the growing public awareness of Israel's apartheid policies."


Obama plans hands-on Mideast role Barack Obama will take a hands-on approach to Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking if elected U.S. president but without pressuring Israel any more than his rivals for the White House, advisers say. How does NOT pressuring Israel to make peace serve the interests of the AMERICAN people?


Graffiti found on El Al plane in Italy-police "It was something like 'Long Live Palestine'," written with a marker pen, Raffaele Veri of the Malpensa airport police told Reuters on Tuesday. "It has happened once before."




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