Headlines for 03-21-08

US to help Egypt prevent smuggling on Gaza border US helping Egypt build border fence on Gaza frontier: American officials have agreed to a $23 million aid package from which most will go towards purchasing technology to prevent the fence from being perforated and for locating underground smuggling conduits, according to information received in the Israeli political circuit. From details that were made known to Ynet, the US intends to send teams from the US Army Corps of Engineers to the Egyptian side of the Gaza-Egypt border in the near future. Theses teams will assist Egyptian forces deployed along the frontier pinpoint the locations of smuggling tunnels west of the border in the Rafah area. The United States military, rather than defend OUR borders, will instead be defending those of ISRAEL.


Bush erroneously says Iran announced desire for nuclear weapons Asked if Iran could exploit Bush's inaccurate comment for political purposes, Johndroe replied: "I'm not concerned about that. If they want to spin it a certain way, they can do it any way they want. They have still called for Israel to be wiped off the map and are in violation of three U.N. Security Council resolutions." And strangely, Israel has in fact wiped Palestine off the map, and is in violation of dozens of UN resolutions (and has been for years). No action is on the table to deal with Israel.


Bomb targets Christian pastor's home Israeli media speculated that the bomb - apparently delivered in one of the gift baskets Jews exchange on the Purim holiday that began Thursday night - might have been directed at the family's Christian missionary activities.


Pilgrims flock to Jerusalem despite troubles Israel has allowed the usual number of Christian Palestinians from West Bank communities in and around Bethlehem to enter Jerusalem for Easter. Palestinians with permits for religious worship are being allowed through, despite the closure of the border with the West Bank to coincide with the Jewish Purim holiday, which also falls this weekend.


Hamas men 'tortured by Egyptians' A Hamas spokesman said security forces had demanded to know about Hamas leaders' movements and the location of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The Egyptians are doing the bidding of Israel, by way of the US (finally releasing aid to Egypt).


State tells Arab Americans: report entry issues The U.S. State Department urged Americans of Arab origin to report difficulties encountered entering Israel.


The situation in Gaza has been worsening for years Health facilities in the Gaza Strip have become extremely fragile. Once the current crisis passes and is off the media's agenda, the situation will continue to worsen.


World Bank strategy for a prosperous and viable Palestinian State


Russia to convey new Hamas proposal to Israel


Israeli sanctions backfiring? The Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip has hit the business sector, farmers and those who might benefit from development projects, but helped Hamas consolidate its authority in Gaza, says a new report by the International Crisis Group (ICG).


5 Palestinian smugglers injured in tunnel collapse


Saudi king meets U.S. vice president for talks on Mideast issues


Palestinian president says follow-up peace conference 'important' "We stressed the importance of holding the follow-up conference," he told a news conference after meeting visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.


Israeli settlers attempt to confiscate a Palestinian-owned store in East Jerusalem On Friday, a group of Israeli settlers attempted to confiscate a Palestinian-owned store in East Jerusalem. The Palestinian family who owned the store were surprised when a group of Israeli settlers accompanied by construction workers entered illegally and would not leave.


Villagers near Bethlehem stage a nonviolent protest against the illegal annexation wall


Russian FM calls for end to Gaza blockade, settlements Visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday criticized Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank and called for an end to the Jewish state's "unacceptable" blockade of the Gaza Strip.


Israeli military attacks weekly Bil'in protest, authorized by Israeli government to use lethal force


Hamas leader looks to strengthen hold on Gaza


Israel to build new settler homes in West Bank: report


Israeli blockade grounds Gaza fishermen Lying on a mattress on the ground in his small brick house, Brek recalls the fateful events of March 8, when he suffered severe bullet wounds. "I was pulling up my net when an Israeli patrol boat circled twice around my boat before firing at me and leaving. I lost a lot of blood," says Brek.



Russia to supply Abbas with armored vehicles, no guns After months of delay, Russia agreed to Israeli conditions regarding the delivery of armored vehicles to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's security forces, Israeli officials said on Friday.



US hopefuls in Middle East minefield As the former state department Middle East expert Aaron Miller wrote recently in the Los Angeles Times: "No figure in American mainstream politics can be viable without being firmly supportive of Israel."


Factions fight in Lebanese camp Clashes have broken out between Palestinian factions in a refugee camp in southern Lebanon.


Israel to equip passenger aircraft with anti-missile flares to counter terror attacks Israel is to begin fitting some of its passenger aircraft with flares to counter potential missile attacks, defence officials said.


Hebron Update: 22-29 February 2008


Government will appeal Rosen-Weissman The notification of an appeal came as the sides completed the arduous process of selecting what classified information may be introduced at the trial. and the appeal may be based on prosecution objections to the breadth of information ultimately approved for use.


Iranian nuclear plan must be stopped, Barak tells Lavrov


Israel central bank to buy dollars over two years Bin Laden is laughing his balls off somewhere in a cave in Pakistan at the wholesale bankruptcy of the United States, in large part due to the wars the neocons, Israel's primo lobbyists, snookered us into fighting.


Peres to Lavrov: We don't believe Syria President Peres tells Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov that Israel distrusts Syrian peace overtures; Earlier, Lavrov meets with Assad, says Moscow peace conference aims to restart Israel-Syria talks


MIT chooses winners to forge a 'Just Jerusalem' The winners, men and women from the United States, Austria, Malaysia and the Palestinian territories, will spend three months this fall on a $50,000 fellowship at MIT trying to turn their ideas into a workable blueprint, said project director Diane Davis, an author and sociologist at MIT.




Any new war with Israel 'will be much more violent' Soon after the American destroyer USS Cole was deployed off Lebanon's shore in late February 28 to "preserve political stability," a group of young men gathered in the Southern agricultural town of Qana to voice their fears. "Everyone feels there is a war coming," said university student Salman Ismael, 22, "especially after the killing of [senior Hizbullah commander] Imad Mughniyeh and what is happening in Gaza. And now US ships come to the waters of Lebanon. Israel wants to improve her army in the Middle East after its defeat in 2006. She wants the Arabs to be scared of her."


An Open Letter to All Feminists: Support Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim Women.


Germany, Israel plan int'l summit on Iran A senior source said that Olmert had suggested holding an international conference on Iran. The two leaders decided to advance the initiative and will try to enlist other states to back it, including the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China, as well as other European states and Arab countries that are threatened by Iran's nuclear program. Israel hopes that states from the moderate Sunni bloc in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and others would take part in the conference.



'NORMAL LIFE' ESCAPES PALESTINIAN MILITANT


Germany: The Key to Iran Threat?


Easter 2008 - The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land Last week I was shocked to go with our Environmental Center to villages where the majority of their land has been swallowed up in settlements. We planted trees and visited a man who was able to keep his home because of a decision of the Supreme Court, but it has been fenced in with only 5 feet of space between him and the settlement. Why can't we live on our own land, they wonder?


Shasta High grad to talk on Palestinians When 31-year-old Janessa Gans visits her hometown this week, she'll be carrying more than a suitcase. With photographs and words, she'll bring a picture of life for ordinary Palestinians in the West Bank -- a picture she hopes fosters understanding of their struggle.


Palestine Through Our Eyes: 60 Years Since the Nakba This photo exhibit chronicles the experience of Palestinian children from a West Bank refugee camp as they visit Jerusalem, the sea, and the villages their families fled in 1948. The exhibit also includes photos and captions by Palestinian refugee children living in camps in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon


UPDATE: Blake Murphy is deported to the US Blake Murphy, an American activist from Bedford, MA, working in the West Bank, was beaten and arrested by Israeli army and police forces on Friday 14th March 2008. He has had to face a series of evidently false charges from the Israeli authorities due to his work supporting non-violent resistance to the occupation of Palestine. He was deported to the United States on Friday 21st March after a week in detention.


IPF-Bring Hamas in The Israel Policy Forum urged the Bush administration to find a way to bring Hamas into talks to end violence.


Iran puts European security 'at stake:' Sarkozy


Pollution looms at key water sources Israel's natural water sources will drop so dangerously low by the end of this year that there is a major risk of some of them becoming irretrievably polluted and thus unusable, according to the shocking new forecast from the Water Authority.


Israel, Pentagon talk arms sales Buhris also asked about the latest model F-22 stealth jet, the Jerusalem Post reported, concerned that it might face a confrontation with Iran before the JSF is ready. Congress has banned selling the F-22 abroad.


Israel wants removal from trade watch list Israel asked the United States to remove it from an intellectual property watch list.



Motorola replies to divestment group Motorola responded to a U.S. group that demanded that it end its sale of products to Israel's army and settlements.



Ackerman explains Israel remarks U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) explained remarks that were critical of Israel Oh dear.


Krauthammer, Tucker Carlson, Rev Wright & Other Racial Paranoids It's no secret to any of my readers that I despise Charles Krauthammer. I never liked his writing. He is a neocon. He's vicious (he ridiculed Christopher Reeve for giving seriously disabled people "false hope). And his views of the Israeli-Palestinian question are repulsive. He hates the Palestinians and would fight to the last Israeli to defeat them. I disagree with Rosenberg. Wright was right on most of what he said.


Lavrov presses peace plan The Israelis, who prefer the preeminent role the United States has taken in recent peace-brokering, were non-committal.


SCHANSBERG: The strategic logic of suicide terrorism Since many suicide attacks have been done by Muslims, it's easy to assume that ST is a "Muslim fundamentalist" thing. But Pape finds that this characteristic is involved in only about half of the cases. The leading instigators of ST - nearly one-fourth of the cases - are the Tamil Tigers, a secular group in Sri Lanka. Even among Muslims who engage in ST, about one-third of them are secular.....acts of ST have always been connected to a perception that the stronger power is occupying the weaker party's territory. (This is the weaker party's perception - regardless of the stronger party?s motive.) ST then is primarily a nationalistic response to a foreign power's control over its land.