Headlines for June 24 - June 30

A Stand For Justice


Children in West Bank facing worse conditions than in Gaza
Israel's restrictions on Palestinian access to and development of agricultural land – in an area where almost all families are herders - mean that thousands of children are going hungry and are vulnerable to killer illnesses like diarrhoea and pneumonia.


Sinking Ship - The attack on the Gaza relief flotilla jeopardizes Israel itself. By John J. Mearsheimer
It is easy to see why. Because the United States gives Israel so much support and U.S. politicians routinely laud the “special relationship” in the most lavish terms, people around the globe naturally associate the United States with Israel’s actions. Unfortunately, this makes huge numbers of people in the Arab and Islamic world furious with the United States for supporting Israel’s cruel treatment of the Palestinians. That anger in turn helps fuel terrorism against America. Remember that the 9/11 Commission Report, which describes Khalid Sheik Muhammad as the “principal architect of the 9/11 attacks,” concludes that his “animus toward the United States stemmed not from his experiences there as a student, but rather from his violent disagreement with U.S. foreign policy favoring Israel.” Osama bin Laden’s hostility toward the United States was fuelled in part by this same concern.

An absolutely superb piece by Mearsheimer. If you're American (like me), please read it.


Gaza aid victims shot more than once - report
Forensic reports have found that all but two of the nine Turks killed in an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship last month were shot more than once.



Israel police arrest Hamas man set for expulsion
Policemen arrested Mohammed Abu Teir in east Jerusalem for ignoring a court order to vacate his home, according to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. Abu Teir was taken to a police compound in downtown Jerusalem and will appear in court Thursday, he said, and any further decision on if and when the Palestinian lawmaker will be expelled will be made by the court.



Palestinian family fears Gaza expulsion
The Helou family is so worried about getting expelled to Gaza by Israeli authorities that they’re all but trapped in Jenin.

They couldn’t even leave to get their disabled son the best possible surgery to let him walk.


Some 20,000 Palestinians in the West Bank live under the same fear, because they hold residency papers from the Gaza Strip and Israeli authorities refuse to allow their papers to be updated – though they have lived in the West Bank for years.



US Approves New Iran Sanctions
The pro-Israel lobby American Israel Public Affairs committee (AIPAC) praised the sanctions, saying they “provide the best hope that political and economic measures can peaceably persuade Iran to end its illicit nuclear program before it is too late.”
AIPAC is pulling the strings.


Palestinians seek new partner: American Jews
"I think it's a mistake to ignore these institutions and communities by saying that they are against us, and that we should not talk to them," Abbas told The Associated Press. "No, we should sit with them, and we should try to convince them by talking to them."
And there's nobody better for the job than Mahmoud Abbas. It's too bad that those extremists in the pro-Israeli camp will never accept a word he says.


Rival Hamas, UN summer camps compete over children
The U.N. says it hopes to help shield Gaza's children against the lure of militancy, a task that's getting harder in the impoverished territory. Educators say today's children are more vulnerable than the previous generation, having witnessed war with Israel last year, internal Palestinian fighting and the violent Hamas takeover in 2007, followed by an Israeli–Egyptian blockade that has virtually cut Gaza off from the outside world


Razing of Palestinian homes in E. Jerusalem approved despite 250 shortfalls in plan



Fearing expulsion, Palestinians stay home



Racing Palestinian girls speed into record books
It's another step for Palestinian women who have been claiming more positions of influence in a still very much male–dominated society. This year, the first female Palestinian governor was appointed to oversee the West Bank district of Ramallah. The mayor of the district's main city is a woman, as are four ministers in the Palestinian Cabinet.



G-8 'fully believes' Israel will attack Iran, says Italy PM



Abbas: Israel must not expel Hamas politicians from Jerusalem
Abbas warned that expelling the politicians to the West Bank would set a dangerous precedent and would create new obstacles for peace.


U.S. frustrated with Netanyahu over stalled proximity talks



Indictment: Settlers attacked Arabs in Tel Aviv
Two youths from West Bank settlements charged with attacking Arab brothers with knifes; spitting, cursing their Russian friend for 'hanging out with Arabs'


Planning committee to release blueprint outlining takeover of East Jerusalem
The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee at the Interior Ministry will publish in the coming weeks a new blueprint program for development in Jerusalem that will include plans to expand Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. Most of the land earmarked for this expansion is privately owned by Arabs. If the plan is approved, after objections to it are heard, it will grant official approval to an urban plan for the Israeli takeover of East Jerusalem. Wow.


Methodist Church to boycott goods from illegal Israeli settlements
The Methodist Church has today voted to boycott all products from Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories, and to encourage Methodists across Britain to do the same.



Israel Foreign Minister: 'No Chance' For Palestinian State By 2012
The comments by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman drew swift Palestinian condemnations and could put Israel at odds with the international community, which has set a 2012 target for brokering a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.


UN urges Israel to rethink East Jerusalem construction plans
The United Nations late Wednesday called Israel's plan to demolish Arab homes in East Jerusalem for the purpose of settlement construction "unhelpful" and "contrary to international law."


HEBRON/AL-KHALIL: Settlers destroy Palestinian crops and slash water piles in the
The family lives between the settlement of Kiryat Arba and a set of
prefabricated housing, installed about five years ago, called Havat Gal.
The father of one of the children in the family said that he is often afraid
to go to work because settlers in the area have threatened to kidnap his
children.


Israel: We will not apologize to Turkey over Gaza flotilla deaths
Foreign Ministry officials said Saturday that Israel would not apologize to Turkey for the deaths of nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists who were killed during the Israel Navy's raid on the Turkish-flagged 'Freedom Flotilla' ship earlier this week.


Israel's Likud backs West Bank settlement growth
Israel's right–wing Likud party backed on Thursday the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, with an eye to a building spurt when a building moratorium expires in September.
Double crossers.


Iran cancels aid ship to Gaza: report
"In order to deprive the Zionist regime of any excuse, the aid collected for the oppressed people of Gaza will be delivered to them by other means without mentioning the name of Iran."



US Military Chief: Doesn’t Trust Iran but Israel, US “in Synch”
Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of U.S. Joint Chief of Staffs, returned home from Israel and said that although he has “no reason to trust” Iran, Israel knows that attacking the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites would be "incredibly destabilizing.”.....Mullen’s visit to Israel Sunday was the 15th time he has met with IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi since taking office in 2007. He said that he considers Chief of Staff Ashkenazi a “personal friend” and that he always tries to share Israel’s view of threats against the country.



Is Benjamin Netanyahu Rational? by Philip Giraldi
Israel appears to have little concern about doing whatever is necessary to drag the United States down with it if that is what is required. It is we Americans who should be fearful. Each American should be very concerned about what Bibi is actually thinking, particularly as our Congress and media have already been bought and occupied and we have a president who is so unsure of the support of his own party that he is afraid to face down an Israeli prime minister. I encourage my fellow Americans to heed (former CIA) Philip Giraldi's words.


War crimes suit filed against Barak, Livni in Belgium
After similar circumstances last week prompted the last-minute cancellation of Defense Minister Ehud Barak's trip to Paris, another court case was filed against the Barak and a series of other senior Israeli officials for alleged war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead.




IDF draws up new Gaza war doctrine
Ahead of a potential new conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the IDF has drawn up plans to evacuate entire Palestinian villages and refugee camps from areas of conflict in the event of an Israeli incursion, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
Is this the same type of 'evacuation' (expulsion) that the Israelis employed in the 40s?


Gaza: Allow Access to Gilad Shalit
Hamas authorities in Gaza should immediately end the cruel and inhuman treatment of Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit of Israel and allow him to communicate with his family and receive visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Human Rights Watch said today.


British trade union calls for boycott
One of Britain’s largest trade unions passed a motion at its annual conference in Bournemouth last week accusing Israel of lying over the Gaza flotilla incident and has called for a complete boycott of Israel and for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, it was confirmed on Thursday.



Peres to Austrian chancellor: Terror groups overtook Gaza flotillas
President Shimon Peres on Thursday told visiting Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann that the aid flotillas to the Gaza Strip have been taken over by terrorist groups "seeking provocation and conflict." Note to Peres: I don't think anyone (besides the US) is buying it.


Report: Lieberman changes policy, invites European diplomats to Gaza
Earlier Thursday, the Council of Europe parliamentarians called on Israel to completely end its siege of the Gaza Strip, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an ease of the land blockade, which it imposed in 2007.
Something tells me that a whitewash is in the making, in order to ease the international pressure with respect to Gaza.


Jon Voight to Obama: You are Harming Israel and Promoting anti-Semitism
Maybe Jon Voight could better serve ISRAEL'S interests by MOVING THERE. This here is AMERICA.


YouTube - Israelis Enjoy Massacre (Shocking)



Palestinian boycott of Israeli settlement goods starts to bite
Israeli factories based in settlements on the West Bank have been forced to cut back production as a growing Palestinian boycott movement begins to take effect.


Palestinian Children Beaten by Israeli Soldier



Barak: Clear mines from Israel-US ties
The defense minister told reporters that "the Americans expect to see an Israel which takes its security seriously, but also takes risks to stop the lack of progress and isolation. A real advancement of a political move will give Israel the freedom of action to carry out the military actions required for its security.


US says Gaza flotillas 'irresponsible'



Turkey closes airspace to some Israeli flights
Turkey has closed its airspace to some Israeli military flights following a deadly raid on a Gaza–bound aid ship, the Turkish prime minister and officials said Monday. An official said civilian commercial flights were not affected.



Hamas says asked by US to keep silent on talks
The Hamas figure told the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper that the Americans fear discussing the talks publicly would "rouse the Jewish lobby and other pressure groups in the US and cause them to pressure the administration to suspend all talks with Hamas."


New Australian PM supportive of Israel
Julia Gillard was elected unopposed in a Labor Party caucus meeting Thursday after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd agreed to a leadership ballot triggered by a slump in the polls.......Rudd, a staunch supporter of Israel, recently had come under fire from Jewish leaders for expelling an official from the Israeli Embassy in Canberra over the Dubai passports affair. Gillard stayed largely silent on the controversial affair. Australia has its own version of AIPAC, the powerful Israeli lobby.


US: Turkey must show commitment
Turkey's crime? It dared stand up to Israel.


Sidelining Conflict
Welcome to “The Team,” a 30-part television drama that began broadcasting on the Palestinian Ma’an Network on June 11, the first day of the World Cup.


American Jews Who Reject Zionism Say Events Aid Cause
Until Theodore Herzl created the modern Zionist movement early in the 20th century, the biblical injunction to return to Israel was widely understood as a theological construct rather than a pragmatic instruction.
Most Orthodox Jewish leaders before the Holocaust rejected Zionism, saying the exile was a divine punishment and Israel could be restored only in the messianic age. The Reform movement maintained that Judaism is a religion, not a nationality.


Exclusive: Leaked documents show PA undermined Turkey's push for UN flotilla probe
The Palestinian Authority attempted to neutralize a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution condemning Israel's deadly attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, leaked UN and Palestinian Authority documents obtained by The Electronic Intifada show. Israel's 31 May attack killed nine Turkish citizens, including a dual US-Turkish citizen, and injured dozens of others aboard the Mavi Marmara in international waters.



Sen. Kerry in Israel: Praise for Israel, Worried over Iran
. Kerry previously has visited Syria and Gaza in an effort to win backing for a regional peace summit, even though the United States considers Syria a country that supports terrorism.


New York Times reporter calls Zionist terrorism ‘romantic’
"What’s amazing here is not only does Solomon neglect to challenge Livni’s characterization of her parents’ membership in a terrorist group as 'freedom fight[ing],' Solomon herself volunteers further assistance in the whitewash," he opines.

Duss points out that, at the time of Irgun's attacks, the Times itself referred to the group's activities as "terrorism."



Jewish Groups Turn a Cold Shoulder To Turkey, as Turks Refuse To Budge
Jewish groups, who until recent months defended the Israeli-Turkish alliance, are now taking on the task of portraying the Erdogan government as supporting terrorist and extremist regimes. As the Jewish groups turn, so too does the US Congress.


Obama meets Saudi King Abdullah at White House



Report: US warships stationed off Iranian coast
The chart, published by Stratfor and obtained by the Zero Hedge financial blog, shows that over the last few weeks a naval carrier -- the USS Harry S Truman -- has been positioned in the north Indian Ocean, not far from the Strait of Hormuz, which leads into the Persian Gulf. The carrier joins the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which was already located in the area. The chart is dated June 23, 2010.


'The U.S. will have to confront Iran or give up the Middle East'
Amitai Etzioni, professor of International Relations at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., believes the only option available to contain Iran's atomic ambitions is a series of assaults on its non-nuclear facilities. Amitai Etzioni naturally has ties to Israel (he served in the Haganah, the Jewish terror organization).


Punishing Turkey by Philip Giraldi
The Gaza flotilla has been handled by the mainstream media in precisely that fashion – blaming the victim with a unanimity that overwhelms both justice and fairness. No humanity, no mention of the deliberate attempt to starve Gaza most recently endorsed by alleged United States Senator from New York Charles Schumer who said "strangle them economically." Or, if one prefers the wisdom of Representative Eliot Engel, also from New York, the flotilla was "filled with hate-filled provocateurs bent on violence." Punishing Turkey - all because of Israel.


Hezbollah not interested in dialogue with US
Hezbollah's deputy chief said Monday his group is not interested in a dialogue with Washington until the U.S. changes its Mideast policy, which he said is totally biased in favor of Israel.



Congress faces grim numbers in new Gallup poll

Here's something that might help President Obama feel better about his dismal poll numbers: The public is even more unhappy with Congress. A new Gallup poll finds just 20 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, among the lowest ratings ever recorded for the House and Senate ahead of a midterm election. Maybe they ought to try representing OUR interests for a change.


CIA's Panetta: Iran has enough uranium for 2 bombs
Asked about a potential Israeli military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, Panetta said he thinks Israel is giving the U.S. room on the diplomatic and political fronts.



Chavez: Israel and US 'empire' are enemies
"Someday the genocidal state of Israel will be put in its place, in the proper place and hopefully a real democratic state will be born," Chavez said Saturday. "But it has become the murderous arm of the Yankee empire – who can doubt it? – which threatens all of us."



Palin: Obama administration selling out Israel
Who chooses to take the side of a foreign nation over their own? It's treason.


Erekat Voices Frustration With Israel’s Unwillingness To Play ‘End Game’
while Netanyahu has endorsed the two-state solution, his expectations that Jerusalem remains united under Israeli control, that the Palestinian entity is demilitarized and without control of its electromagnetic field or airspace, that settlements remain and that Palestinians recognize the Jewish character of Israel, indicate that he is not serious. “And after that,” Erekat said, “after he finishes all these conditions, he addresses me and tells me: ‘Come here, boy, we know what’s best for you. Come without conditions.’ So he gives himself the right to dictate.”


Iran says Egypt barring Gaza aid ship from Suez Canal
The Iranian Red Crescent said on Sunday that in addition to restrictions imposed by Israel, Egypt had barred a Gaza-bound aid ship from entering the Suez Canal, leading to the trip being postponed.


Kagan explains Barak remarks
"I am troubled by the fact that you hold up Barak as a judicial role model," Grassley said. "He's been described as creating a degree of judicial power undreamed of by most U.S. justices."


ISRAEL 'PLOTS TEHRAN RAID'
Preparations are underway to launch the military attack from Azerbaijan and Georgia, reports our sister paper Akhbar Al Khaleej, quoting military sources.


Chances of Israeli Bombing Increase



Congresswoman Raises Red Flag on Hezbollah-Cartel Nexus on U.S. Border
AIPAC is no doubt behind this effort..


Infrastructure Minister warns Hezbollah: Israel will fight for its gas fields
Lebanon parliament speaker Nabih Berri earlier this month urged his government to start exploring its offshore natural gas reserves, claiming that otherwise Israel would claim the resources.


Will mainline American Protestants give Palestinian Christians a voice?
B'nai B'rith has issued a statement criticizing the recommendations of the Middle East Study Committee of the Presbyterian Church USA. These recommendations include possibly withholding US military aid to Israel in order to encourage it to abide by international law as well as an endorsement of the important Kairos Document, recently put forth jointly by the leaders of the Palestinian Christian community.


Barred from Jerusalem for Crime of Being Palestinian
At the age of 33, he has suddenly become, to use his own word, "stateless". His only "crime" has been to spend several years in the US doing an electrical engineering PhD, completing post-doctoral research funded by a division of the US Army, acquiring high-tech work experience with the sole purpose of bettering his future career prospects in the Holy Land, and being a little homesick.


Ministers reject bill to prevent discrimination in state schools
The bill had been submitted before the Ashkenazi parents in the ultra-Orthodox community of Immanuel were given a two-week jail term for refusing a court order to send their daughters to school with girls of Sephardi, or Middle Eastern, origin. On Sunday, the court ordered the parents released from jail immediately, after a deal was reached to see the girls integrated in classes for the remaining three days of the school year.



On Gaza, an About-Face That Was Overdue
Israel’s policy failed to achieve its stated goals. It didn’t bring down the Hamas government, and it didn’t help free captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Instead, the siege seems to have strengthened Hamas and has damaged Israel’s image.


THE REAL SEAN HANNITY
a man called into Hannity’s radio talk show on Friday June 25th, and politely informed him he was disappointed that Hannity showed a bit too much biased obsequiousness, often referring to Israel as “Americas greatest ally” and refusing to admit any inequities. The caller pointed out that it was Israeli fighter jets which bombed the U.S.S Liberty and killed American sailors, and that nearly all, if not all, those aboard the vessel claimed it was an obviously intentional act.

However, Hannity would not even consider the man’s statements as objectively inquisitive and instead began insinuating that the caller was a “conspiracy theorist.” The sober disappointment could be heard in the caller’s voice as he respectfully requested that Hannity just research the incident.



In Brooklyn, Passengers Aboard the Flotilla Ship Give Eyewitness Accounts
Al-Awda spokesman David Letwin denounced the State Department’s decision to deny a visa to ex-Turkish parliamentarian Ahmet Faruk Unsal, who was also scheduled to speak. It was, he said, “an effort to shut down discussion, intimidate people and make it harder for them to be heard.” He noted that Unsal had visited the United States frequently in the past.


Will The NY Times Ever Retract Michael Oren’s Falsehoods?
Nearly a month after publishing Israeli Ambassador the US Michael Oren’s apologia for the flotilla massacre, the NY Times has yet to correct two of the most glaring lies Oren made


Venezuela's Chavez meets with Syrian President Bashar Assad, vows to fight US 'imperialism'



This Is What Jewish Democracy Looks Like
The 1982 congress actually voted to end the WZO’s role in building settlements in the territories, but the WZO’s then-chairman, Likudnik Arye Dulzin, declared the session out of order and adjourned. A revote was held the next morning, after Hadassah had been pressured into switching sides to oppose the resolution, thus sinking it......With the Israeli left reduced to a rump, the numbers must mean that most of the Diaspora delegates were voting against most of the Israelis. Who says Peter Beinart was wrong?

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