Headlines for 03-20-08

Farmer 'killed by Israeli troops' Palestinian officials say Israeli troops have shot dead a Palestinian civilian in the central part of the Gaza Strip. The officials say the 60-year-old farmer was riding a donkey cart in an area east of Khan Younis near the border with Israel.



Palestinian shot dead by Israeli troops in Gaza A Palestinian civilian on a donkey cart was shot dead by Israeli troops in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, medics and witnesses said.


Two killed in explosion at Hamas base Two Palestinians handling explosives at a Hamas training base have died in an accidental blast in Gaza today.


Release: Israeli Settlers attack internationals in the South Hebron Hills On the morning of 19 March, two international observers working with
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) were attacked and chased by two settlers
while they attempted to monitor the escort of the children from Tuba to
At-Tuwani. The settlers, whose faces were covered, used a slingshot to
fire stones at the internationals.


RELEASE: Israeli Settlers Threaten Palestinian School Children in South The military escort has failed in recent week to accompany the children
for approximately one half of the escort route. Settlers recently
installed a gate on the road, and the escort jeep has routinely refused to
pass through the gate.


Release: Settlers Chase Young Shepherds and Steal Bag from This morning three Israeli Settlers arrived just outside the village of
AtTuwani in a pickup truck and chased Palestinian shepherds and their
flocks;. One of the settlers, the security agent for the settlement of
Ma?on, stole a bag of wild herbs. He grabbed the bag and ripped it from
the hands of a Palestinian woman who is eight months pregnant.


Hebron: Israeli soldiers and settlers invade Palestinian home in Old City The Egnabe family told CPT that they have owned the building for 1000 years. They had recently moved from another part of the building into a new home that the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (http://www.hebronrc.org/) had helped them renovate. The building is near the illegal Israeli settlement of Avraham Avinu and both Israeli settlers and soldiers have harassed the family over a number of years.


'5 Palestinians die while awaiting treatment in Israel' Five Palestinian patients died in recent weeks while awaiting entry permits for treatment in Israel. The five patients were terminally ill, with little hope for recovery. The Physicians For Human Rights advocacy group thus maintains that there was no foreseeable need for the Shin Bet to classify these patients as a ?security risk? and deny them entry into Israel for life-saving treatment.


Mother of 4 stuck in London


Israeli offensive boosts Hamas in Gaza "Those intending to undermine Hamas have instead given it an assist,"


The Popular Committees Appeals the release of a detained mother and her infant


Hamas says PLO not legitimate representative before being rebuilt


CARE West Bank and Gaza is Helping Palestinians in the Water Sector


Official: Israeli practices on ground weaken PNA ability Abed Rabbo said the proof that Israel acts to weaken the PNA "is what has happened on the ground of blockade and siege in the West Bank and Gaza, in addition to settlement activities, arrests and raids on towns and villages."


Palestinian rivals' talks 'fail'


Hamas accuses Egypt of militant 'torture' The Islamist movement Hamas accused Egypt on Thursday of torturing dozens of its militants who have been arrested and detained after crossing from the Gaza Strip.


Israel, U.S. commanders test 'extreme' scenarios in joint drill At the completion of the exercise, both the Israeli and the U.S. sides announced that extreme scenarios were tested that challenged the participating armies to assist each other. The scenarios were set in the present and based on events of the past several years or events that are expected to occur in the near future.


Top IDF officers oppose ceasefire deal


Why Did the US Invade Iraq? According to a 1996 paper drafted by prominent hard-line neoconservatives ? including some, like Douglas Feith and David Wurmser, who would later serve in senior posts in Cheney's office and the Pentagon in the run-up to the invasion ? ousting Hussein and installing a pro-Western leader was the key to destabilizing Israel's Arab enemies and/or bending them to its will. This would permit the Jewish state not only to escape the Oslo peace process, but also to secure as much of the occupied Palestinian (and Syrian) territories as it wished. Indeed, getting rid of Hussein and occupying Iraq would not only tighten Israel's hold on Arab territories, in this view; it could also threaten the survival of the Arab and Islamic worlds' most formidable weapon against Israel ? OPEC ? by flooding the world market with Iraqi oil and forcing the commodity's price down to historic lows.



Cheney trip not aimed at preparing Iran strike US Vice President Dick Cheney?s nine-day trip to the Middle East and Turkey does not aim to set the stage for a US military strike on Iran, a senior aide said on Thursday......."The vice president talked about the concerns we have about the full range of their activities," said the official, underlining what the United States sees as "an increase in the Iranian relationship with Hamas." Riiiight. And even if we believe that there is such an "an increase in the Iranian relationship with Hamas", what the hell does that have to do with the AMERICAN national interest?


A house destroyed A Palestinian woman watches Israeli soldiers and border police demolish her home


Russian FM warns military action on Iran 'disastrous' Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday warned that any military means to solve Iran's controversial nuclear programme would have a "disastrous" effect.


Bin Laden says free Gaza with "iron and fire" "My speech is about the Gaza siege and the way to retrieve it and the rest of Palestine from the hands of the Zionist enemy," the Saudi-born militant said. "Our enemies did not take it by negotiations and dialogue but with fire and iron. And this is the way to get it back."




PA Security: Hamas responsible for smuggling medicine in to the West Bank The horror.


Fatah seeks new blood in Palestinian state bid The once-dominant Fatah faction is looking for younger members as it struggles to draw popular support from its Islamist rival Hamas, and overcome deadlock in Palestinian peace efforts with Israel.


Five PLO factions welcome the Yamani initiative


Boy hurt in West Bank attack A 14-year-old boy sustained light to moderate wounds Thursday night after the vehicle he was traveling in came under attack in the south Mount Hebron area. The army initiated a search for suspects shortly after the attack was reported.


US State Department tells Israel to stop discriminating against Arab-Americans The United States has told Israel repeatedly that Arab-American Palestinians must be treated as American citizens at border crossings or anywhere else, the State Department said Thursday. Who wears the pants here?


'Time frames' for Mideast talks in Moscow under review: US Prospective "time frames" are under discussion for Moscow's plans to host a follow-up to the Annapolis conference that relaunched Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, a US official said Thursday.


Israeli soldiers get new firing rules to prevent hostage-taking Israeli troops stationed near the Gaza Strip have been told they must fire on any Palestinian seeking to capture a soldier, even if it puts the potential hostage at risk, public radio reported on Thursday.


Memorial to US activist in West Bank A U.S. appeals court ruled in September that the Corrie lawsuit presents foreign policy questions best left to the White House and Congress.


Rival Palestinian delegations to stay in Yemen Delegations from Hamas and Fatah will remain in Yemen an extra day for reconciliation talks despite disagreements between the rival factions, Palestinian officials said on Thursday.


US launches legal review of Swiss-Iran gas deal Here's why. And again.


Russian FM meets Syria's Assad


'Bin Laden' in Palestinian call "It can be said with a high degree of confidence that it is in fact the voice of Osama Bin Laden," a CIA official told Reuters news agency.


Race on To Fill Top U.N. Human Rights Post In a race that is being closely watched by Israel and its allies, a stealth campaign has been launched to influence the selection of the top United Nations human rights official.


FASHION POLICE Palestinian scarves Also known as a Palestinian scarf or, according to the British chain store Topshop, a tablecloth scarf, this spiderweb-style headdress has become the accessory of the day for the fashion-forward.


Obama blasts Hamas op-ed Obama must kowtow ever lower to the Israeli lobby. How's the ground smell these days, mm?


In Gaza, Presiding Bishop sees humanitarian crisis causing hardship among Palestinians "This is a place of love and reconciliation," Tarazi said, acknowledging the unity between Muslims and Christians in Gaza. "We are all children of Abraham working in mission to help one another.".....Jefferts Schori told Artemios "it is shocking to see the reality" in Gaza and that most Americans have very little awareness of the situation. She introduced Shea's work with government relations in Washington, D.C.


Israel practices Gaza takeover Israel's armed forces held a war game to simulate a takeover of the Gaza Strip.


McCain in Holy Land; Evangelicals satisfied Although many American Jews do not view McCain's ties with Hagee favorably, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) decided to allow him to speak at its recent annual convention.


Wheels of Justice provides first-hand account of foreign conflict The first speaker, Mark Turner, spoke to a crowd of about 40 people on his experience in Palestine and the devastation that the Israeli occupation has caused.



NY appeals court rejects claim by Arabic school principal The trouble started when she discussed the term «intifada» (in tuh FAH duh), which is commonly used to refer to the Palestinian uprising against Israel.


CanWest's latest battle: a 'fake newspaper The publication's content focused on the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and was critical of Israel and media coverage of the issue. CanWest alleges that the four-page parody paper and the website version "constitute a misrepresentation ... leading the public to believe there was an association between the plaintiff and the fake newspaper." Sounds more like CanWest is the 'fake' newspaper.


President Abbas' sons sue Israeli TV station over report Two sons of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have sued Israel's state-run television channel, saying they were defamed by a news report, the station confirmed Thursday.


The year of living dangerously Avi Steindel is glad to be back in Pittsburgh after spending a year as an Israeli army sharpshooter Is there something wrong with serving in THIS nation's military?


Poll: Most Germans reject notion of 'special responsibility' toward Israel According to a Bertelsmann Foundation survey in 2007, 47% of Germans rejected a special responsibility toward Israel. In contrast, according to the survey, 78% of Israelis believed in a special responsibility.