Headlines for 06-11-08

Three Hamas gunmen killed as Israel mulls Gaza offensive


Israeli fire kills girl in Gaza Palestinian medical officials said six-year-old Hadeel Smari was decapitated by the tank shell explosion while she was in the back yard of her house


Israeli soldiers kill 2 militants in Gaza


War? the campaign to discredit Rice seems to have hit its mark. Not only did she sound defensive in her own speech to AIPAC Tuesday morning, but she assumed a more-hawkish tone on Iran than she had previously


Arab officers to provide training to pro-Abbas forces


2 men accused of murdering their sister placed under house arrest The two were convicted of murdering their 19-year-old sibling, Rihm, by their own admission. She was killed because she wanted to marry a Palestinian man over her family's objections.


Senegalese President to invite Abbas, Mashaal to Dakar


Hamas talks with Palestinian factions in preparation for national dialogue


Fatah lawmaker: Dialogue must be launched through PLO


8 mortar shells fired at western Negev; none injured


Wilful killing of baby by Israeli army in Gaza house raid


Tourists returning for view of West Bank life "I had some idea of the situation (of the Palestinians), but not to the extent of what I saw first hand," says Bernard Basilio on returning to the tour minibus. The middle-aged Californian travelling with his elderly mother and other relatives shakes his head in disbelief. "I was appalled."



EU not ready for major upgrade with Israel Francis Wurtz, floor leader of the United European Left political group, said the EU should be focusing on unblocking the peace process with the Palestinians, not rewarding Israel with a special status. "Given the international context in which this matter is being examined, it seems totally inconceivable that the Israeli request should be given a favourable response," he wrote.




Senate report exposes key role of the Israel lobby in fomenting war with Iran What the second portion of the Senate report shows, however, is that we are also prisoners of the Israel lobby, which is inexorably pushing us into war with Iran


Gaza Hospitals in Need of Care "Israel is not letting certain medication and supplies into Gaza, through any checkpoint. For example, we have been waiting for seven months to have the operation tables to be shipped and enter Gaza through the Erez checkpoint -- the equipment is only one hour away by car, but we've been waiting for seven months.....According to doctors in Gaza, over 180 patients have died as a result of lack of essential supplies since the Israeli-led blockade began in June 2007.


Hebron Update: 15 April ? 14 May 2008


Israel urged to bare findings in journalist's death The Committee to Protect Journalists on Wednesday called on Israel to release findings of an army investigation into the killing of a Reuters cameraman in the Gaza Strip in April.


Taxi drivers run the gauntlet in Jerusalem Taxi driver Ezzedine Nassar will never forget the night last October he was hailed by three young ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem. They knew he was a Palestinian as soon as he opened his mouth. They smashed his face in with a rock. "They were waiting for an Arab to come along,"



The newest Israeli-Palestinian fault line: gentrification Activists, residents, and planners see the wave of expulsion notices as a part of a government plot to clear Ajami of poor Arabs renting on public land so it can be sold to developers to build housing for the middle and upper class, who are overwhelmingly Jewish.




Man lightly injured in mortar attack on Negev kibbutz


Palestinian Students According to Gisha, an Israeli not-for-profit organization that seeks to protect the freedom of movement of Gaza residents and other Palestinians, hundreds of Palestinian students lost their places in universities abroad last year. Hundreds more may do so this year without radical change.


Activists move to help Palestinians regain land A group of Israeli human rights activists has begun a project to help Palestinians in the West Bank, who have in the past had land taken away by settlers, regain what they say are their property rights


Refugee stories - No running water for Dheisheh residents


Israeli FM: no Palestinian state before Israel's security guaranteed


Palestinian salaries paid after Israel sends funds


Israel arrests 28 Palestinians in West Bank raid


Palestinian pay delays linked to letter to EU: Israel


Sarkozy invites Olmert, Assad to Paris conference Invitation relayed to Jerusalem ahead of French president's scheduled visit to Israel on June 22; Israeli PM expresses willingness to attend, Syrian leader yet to respond


Arab officers to provide training to pro-Abbas forces


Hamas: Gaza will become graveyard for IDF soldiers if raided


Palestinians: Israel transfers delayed tax money, but millions missing Fayyad accused Israel of violating international law by continuing to build settlements, ignoring the International Court of Justice's ruling about the separation fence and infringing on the human rights of tens of thousands of Palestinian laborers......Israel is furious with Fayyad, officials said.


'IDF checkpoint blocks Palestinians so Israelis can make more money' The Association for Civil Rights in Israel charged the army on Tuesday with barring West Bank Palestinians from using beaches along the northern shore of the Dead Sea. A petition filed with the High Court of Justice against the IDF criticized the area's checkpoints as a means to keep Palestinians out so as not to discourage Israelis from swimming there and contributing to Jewish concessionaires.


Knesset votes to amend 'Intifada law' Palestinians who sustain damages to person or property as a result of IDF activity in the West Bank may soon find it nigh impossible to file a lawsuit against the State of Israel.


Tutu says only Gaza solution is for both sides to sit down and talk Tutu said he and his delegation co-expert Christine Chinkin, professor of international law at the London School of Economics, were "shocked" at the conditions they found in Gaza and the testimonies they heard from the survivors of the attack they came to investigate. Tutu also urged militants to stop launching rockets at Israel.



Rice: Hamas' power must come with responsibility


Blair to Israel: Allow Gazan resident to study in Britain Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair sent Israeli authorities a letter in which he requested to allow a 31-year-old Gaza citizen to leave the Gaza Strip in order to study in Britain.


U.S. Army training Egyptians to find and destroy smuggling tunnels Over the past year, the U.S. has put much pressure on Egypt to improve how it deals with the arms-smuggling into Gaza, an Israeli diplomatic source said. Members of the House of Representatives proposed freezing $200 million in military financial aid to Egypt until it acted to stop the smuggling. Egypt was angered by the initiative, which was eventually nixed by U.S. President George W. Bush. Our army protecting ISRAEL.


Congress gets behind Israel's aid request A year after U.S. President George W. Bush agreed to increase military aid to Israel by 25 percent, it now seems that all political obstacles that had prevented Democrats in Congress from coming on board and supporting the extra aid have been lifted.


Not a gift and not a farewell Prime Minister Ehud Olmert received a farewell gift from U.S. President George W. Bush: The magnificent F-35 Lightning Strike Fighter.


Deadly Fallout From Obama's Groveling Before Israel Lobby Presidential candidates have been kowtowing to the Israeli Lobby for decades, so what else is new? Well, what is new is that the world has come to realize that all such blind, unquestioning support for Israel?s most criminal objectives is a real threat to world peace. Such rhetoric is no longer confined simply to the Jewish vote in America. It has actual impact on the lives of people in the Middle East.....And while the U.S. has no more troops left with which to invade Iran, as Sen. Joe Lieberman and the Israeli government wants us to do, both Israel and the Bush Administration have plans to bomb Iran?s phantom nuclear program



Nuclear fallout Shaul Mofaz's declaration that Israel will attack Iran has roiled the oil markets and strengthened Mahmoud Ahmadinejad


Palestinian territories - Call for closed news media to be allowed to resume operating amid peace moves between Hamas and Fatah Welcoming recent statements by the
leaders of the two main Palestinian parties that have raised hopes of an end
to the conflict between them, Reporters Without Borders called today for the
news media that have been closed since the start of the clashes to be allowed
to resume operating.



IDF furious after settlers fabricate kidnapping When confronted by the soldiers, the settlers fabricated yet another story ? they reported that there had been a third member of their party and that he had been abducted by the Palestinians.


Shalom to a new pro-Israel lobby Washington's near adherence to the lobby's themes ? often unconditional support for Israel, reluctance to push Israel hard on behalf of the Palestinians, and an overly confrontational stance toward Israel's adversaries ? works against US interests


UNRWA Commissioner-General welcomes signs of Palestinian "rapprochement"


Libya?s Gadhafi Criticizes Obama for Israel Remarks


Obstruct new construction It?s the legal duty of America?s lawmakers to denounce the criminal conduct of the Israeli military, and to take action to remove the Israeli settlers and military from the occupied lands, using United Nations peacekeeping forces if necessary.


Adam Sandler is an Israeli spy The trailer actually is pretty funny.


PA gives West Bank land to Moscow Russia gained control of three plots of land in the West Bank city of Jericho at a ceremony in Moscow.



Israeli visit sparks boycott call Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas said he objected to Israel's "failure to meet its international obligations" towards the Palestinians.


Jordan fears new pressure to merge with West Bank


Olmert calls for Israel-Lebanon talks Have a listen to what Israel did to Lebanon in '06 as told by Patrick J. Buchanan - it's at the end of this you tube video.


Bush says regrets tough guy talk on war Bush told The Times he wanted to "leave behind a series of structures that makes it easier for the next president" to tackle issues such as Iran's nuclear programme and establishing a Palestinian state.




Arab peace plan could resolve Middle East crisis: Mukherjee The peace plan put forward by the Arab leaders could be a 'pragmatic and reasonable' solution for the Middle East tangle, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here Wednesday.


Caterpillar annual meeting draws protesters Pro-Palestinian protesters angry with Caterpillar Inc for selling tractors to Israel picketed the company's annual meeting on Wednesday as shareholders rejected a proposal that would have required Caterpillar to publish a report on its foreign military sales.


Anti-US sentiment hits record high America is viewed unfavourably by 82 per cent of people in Arab countries, while US popularity has fallen 45 per cent in Indonesia and 27 per cent in the UK.


Hamas chief blames Israel for prisoner release delay