A Stand For Justice
Palestinians: Gaza explosion near security fence kills Palestinian man
Palestinians wait for answers on Israeli war in Gaza
A striking example is the case of Majdi Abed Rabbo whose account of being used as a human shield was independently corroborated in one of the Breaking Silence testimonies from an experienced reservist who served in Gaza with a special forces unit and was briefed by his officers on what was broadly the same story as that of Mr Abed Rabbo. He also spoke of the use of other "johnnies" or human shields in a practice that violates international law, the IDF's own regulations and a decision of the Israeli Supreme Court
....Military police are still investigating one of the most lethal single incidents during Operation Cast Lead, the air strike on a house in the Zeitoun district of Gaza City owned by Wael Samouni in which 21 of the 100 members of his extended family sheltering there were killed early on 5 January. In October, Amos Harel, Haaretz's respected military correspondent, reported that air force officers had testified that they had warned former Givati Brigade commander Colonel Ilan Malka that there were civilians in the area
.....Military police investigated the case of Khaled Abed Rabbo, who had described how his family was ordered by the Israeli military out of their home on 7 January. After they left, carrying white flags, a soldier climbed out of the tank and fired a machine gun at them, killing his daughters Suad, 9, and Amal, 3, severely wounding the third, Samar, 5, and injuring the girls' grandmother Suad, 54. The Military Advocate General judged there was "insufficient" evidence for criminal proceedings.
....During the morning the Israeli military broke into radio broadcasts to announce that those in border areas should leave their homes, holding white flags. Ahmed al–Safadi, 23, carrying his two–year–old son, and Majda Hajaj, 35, tied makeshift white flags to sticks and led the group of at least 26 out towards the west. As they walked they were fired on, fatally in the case of Majda Abu Hajaj and her mother Raya, 65
Israeli settlers attack international
Episodes like this are frequent in the South Hebron Hills, where the national-religious settlers from the settlements and the outposts attack both internationals, Palestinian shepherds and farmers to intimidate and force them to leave their lands. These kinds of illegal actions are usually left unpunished and many of them occur with army and police complicity.
Palestinian negotiators accept Jewish state, papers reveal
throughout the 2007-08 negotiations, the papers show, Livni and other Israeli negotiators emphasised that the Jewish character of Israel meant all Palestinians should look to a future Palestinian state to fulfil their national aspirations.
In several areas, Livni pressed for Israeli Arab citizens to be moved into a Palestinian state in a land-swap deal, raising the spectre of "transfer" - in other words, moving Palestinians from one state to another without consent. The issue is controversial in Israel and backed in its wholesale form by rightwing nationalists such as the Yisrael Beiteinu party of the foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman. Israeli supremacism for all to see.
Tony Blair criticised for 'Israeli bias'
Gaza War Report Was Stalled by Palestinian Authority on US Request
The papers also reveal new evidence of contact between Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, the Palestinian president, and Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli defence ministry official and senior negotiator, before the the launch of Israel's assault in late 2008. It remains unclear whether he had advance warning of the impending assault, which he has always denied.
Palestinians condemn US plan to settle refugees in South America
Palestinians have expressed shock and dismay at the US suggestion to settle Palestinian refugees in Argentina and Chile rather than let them return to ancestral land in Israel.
Israel asked Palestinian Authority to kill al-Aqsa commander
Palestine Papers Are Distortion of Truth, Say Palestinian Officials
Further documents in the cache that will be released over coming days will also reveal:
• The scale of confidential concessions offered by Palestinian negotiators, including on the highly sensitive issue of the right of return of Palestinian refugees.
• How Israeli leaders privately asked for some Arab citizens to be transferred to a new Palestinian state.
Hebron: Israeli Military Arrests Two Young Palestinians
Later, CPT heard from the boy himself that he was simply asking the soldiers over and over to let his father get to the hospital for a shot of medicine. The boy said, after the soldiers arrested him, they blindfolded him, made him kneel, tied his hands behind him and hit him with full force on the head.
Israeli settlers lay in front of tractors
An international delegation with four British MPs, was present for part of the incident and spoke with Palestinian farmers, Israeli forces, and an Israeli settler.
Time short for Israel-Palestinian deal: UN chief
Ban highlighted that the United Nations, European Union, United States and the diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East had all criticized Israel's refusal to freeze its building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
"Settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law, contravene the Road Map obligations of Israel, undermine confidence, prejudge the outcome of the permanent status negotiations and hamper efforts at bringing the parties back to the negotiating table," he said.
It's too bad nobody can do anything to uphold that international law - the US blocks it every time with the abuse of its UN Security Council veto.
Armed man kills two animals near Maghayi
The two teenage shepherds, Mohammed Mahmoud Mukahmri, 15, and 'Awli 'Ali Mukhamri, 13, ascended the hill, following the assailant from a distance, in time to see the man enter the grouping of trees which surrounds Ma'on settlement and Havat Ma'on outpost. They reported the man had a dark brown beard and was wearing black pants, a black shirt, and a yarmulke.
Abbas: We will not make unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood
Abbas warned however, that there would be dangerous repercussions if there was no progress made on the matter by September. "The results could be devastating," Abbas said, adding that "it could lead to an Intifada or a popular Palestinian uprising."
The Phony Peace Process by Philip Giraldi
If the Palestinian people believe they have been betrayed by their leadership that is something they will have to deal with themselves. But the American people have also been betrayed by a phony process that has dragged on for years at great cost to the taxpayer while inflicting terrible damage on the international standing of the United States. Israel continues to receive $7 million a day directly from the US Treasury plus much more in earmarks and tax deductible donations used to fund illegal settlements. Throw in the billions that have gone to Egypt and Jordan to keep the peace with Israel and the total costs to the United States have been staggering. Another great article by former CIA, Philip Giraldi.
US calls Israeli probe of flotilla raid ‘impartial'
The United States has described as “credible and impartial and transparent” an Israeli inquiry that cleared the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and government of any wrongdoing in a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound international flotilla. The Turkish president lambasted the report as having “no value or credibility.” Laughable.
A Bipartisan Crowd, Helped by Bibi, Pleas for Pollard, the Convicted Spy
A recent series of public statements and letters has landed the campaign for the release of convicted spy Jonathan Pollard its greatest achievement in 25 years: a powerful bipartisan roster demanding clemency for Pollard, the American convicted of spying for Israel and sentenced to a life term.
...the slate of Jewish organizations represented in a January 3 letter to Obama included leaders of all Jewish denominations, alongside hundreds of rabbis from across the nation.
THis is a testament to the power of the Israeli lobby over our Congress. For, it cannot be underestimated the damage Pollard did to the US by passing secrets to the Russians. Anyone that advocates for his release is putting the interests of Israel first.
Reaction to the Leaked Palestine Papers
Secret papers reveal slow death of Middle East peace process
All settlements built on territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war are illegal under international law, but the Jerusalem homes are routinely described, and perceived, by Israel as municipal "neighbourhoods". Israeli governments have consistently sought to annex the largest settlements as part of a peace deal – and came close to doing so at Camp David.
Secret files 'reveal British plan to weaken Hamas'
British intelligence services helped draw up a secret plan to weaken the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, the Guardian reported on Wednesday.
The documents, shared with the newspaper by Al–Jazeera television, called for the internment of leaders and activists in the Islamist group, the closure of radio stations and the replacement of imams in mosques.
Possible source of Palestine papers leak
On Monday evening, Israel's Channel 10 television news named a former NSU staffer as the source of documents describing Palestinian willingness to make concessions on Jerusalem, the borders of a future Palestinian state, and the rights of Palestinian refugees.
Papers reveal how Palestinian leaders gave up fight over refugees
Palestinian negotiators privately agreed that only 10,000 refugees and their families, out of a total refugee population exceeding 5 million, could return to Israel as part of a peace settlement, leaked confidential documents reveal. PLO leaders also accepted Israel's demand to define itself as an explicitly Jewish state, in sharp contrast to their public position.
Palestinians vent anger at Qatar, Al-Jazeera
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Monday the documents "reveal the close collaboration with (Israel), and reflects its role in trying to kill off the Palestinian cause."
Palestinians defy US with Security Council request
It's not clear when the resolution would be put to a vote. Council members might hold off until after the main Mideast mediators – the U.S., the U.N., Europe and Russia – meet in Germany in early February to talk about the Mideast quagmire.
Leaked documents who was serious about a deal to end the conflict
the documents also show the Palestinians were serious about negotiating, and were willing to make big and painful concessions for peace and to secure their dream of a state.
Leaked documents show Palestinian Jerusalem offer
Israel probe okays flotilla raid, Turkey 'stunned'
"How can a report ordered and prepared in the same country have any value?" the Turkish premier told journalists in Ankara. "This report has no credibility."
Israel inquiry clears government and navy in Gaza ship raid
Big shocker there. Maybe the case should be brought to the International Court of Justice.
Concerns over Israel inquiry into Gaza flotilla raid
Amnesty International has questioned the findings of an Israeli inquiry into last year's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla after it cleared the Israeli armed forces of wrongdoing.
US Threat to Palestinians: Change Leadership And We Cut Funds
The US government's private determination to use its financial and military leverage to keep the existing regime in place — while publicly continuing to maintain that Palestinians are free to choose their own leaders — echoes the Bush administration's veto on attempts to create a Palestinian national unity administration after Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007.
Tony Blair urges West to take action on Iran
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a passionate plea on Friday for the West to use force if necessary against Iran over its disputed nuclear program.
Speaking at a London inquiry into the Iraq War where he was having to explain his decision to join the U.S.–led invasion in 2003, Blair said the time had now come to "get our heads out of the sand" and take action against Iran.
Wow. These people never stop. Someone needs to pass Tony a tissue to wipe the Israeli feces off of his nose.
Some in Israel weigh idea of provisional Palestine
"That's a public relations stunt – to throw the ball in our (side)," chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said of Lieberman's plan, which, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz, has been given to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Peru recognizes Palestinian state
Peru said on Monday it had recognized a Palestinian state, joining a growing number of Latin American countries in making an endorsement the United States has called premature.
Israel FM confirms interim Palestinian state plan
Israel's foreign minister confirmed Monday that he has drawn up a plan for the creation of an interim Palestinian state with temporary borders in the absence of a full peace agreement.
....A government official said Sunday that the plan would turn over up to 50 percent of the West Bank to the Palestinians. When did Israel become a body of international law, capable of drawing up the borders of other nations? Oh that's right, it happened when we, the United States, allowed them to draw up their own - at the expense of others. In fact, that very thing led us to attack Saddam Hussein when he invaded Kuwait during Persian Gulf War number 1.
'U.K. to consider UN censure of Israel's West Bank settlements'
Arab nations on Wednesday submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank, with diplomats saying that a vote on it is not expected any time soon because of a likely U.S. veto.
Greybeards Urge U.S. Not to Veto U.N. Anti-Settlement Resolution
In a letter released here Wednesday, former U.S. ambassadors to Israel, as well as other former senior Middle East policy-makers, warned that "America's credibility" in the region will be at stake when the resolution is finally presented for a vote, probably some time next month.
Serving Up Palestine One Slice at a Time by Philip Giraldi
In fact, the United States is completely in lock step with Israel on the prospects for a Palestinian state. The White House and State Department have condemned every move to obtain independent recognition of statehood. The US position is summed up by House Resolution 1765, drafted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, "Supporting a negotiated solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and condemning unilateral measures to declare or recognize a Palestinian state, and for other purposes," which had 54 co-sponsors. It declares that "any attempt to establish Palestinian statehood outside the negotiating process will invoke the strongest congressional opposition" and condemns any attempt to "establish or seek recognition of a Palestinian state outside of an agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians." Two recent polls (one by Brookings Institute and one by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs) show that 2/3 of the American people want the US to take NO SIDE in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Yet our Congress is almost totally and staunchly pro-Israel (thanks to the efforts of the Israeli Lobby).
Our representatives do not represent us. And it has cost us dearly - in more ways than one.
US warns Palestinians over Security Council resolution
The United States is alone among the five permanent veto–wielding members of the Security Council in opposing the resolution.
The other four –– Britain, China, France and Russia –– have all indicated they would probably vote for the resolution, diplomats said.
On this issue, the United States, at the behest of Israel, stands in the way of justice. It's the number 1 reason why America is reviled by the Arab world. This stance is also not reflected in American public opinion according to the polls I cited in this news batch. 2/3 of Americans want the US to take NO SIDE in this conflict.
U.N. Resolution on Israeli Settlements Puts Obama in Bind
A bipartisan group of 16 U.S. Senators, led by New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, has urged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to veto the resolution: "Attempts to use a venue such as the United Nations, which you know has a long history of hostility toward Israel, to deal with just one issue in the negotiations, will not move the two sides closer to a two–state solution, but rather damage the fragile trust between them."
I'd like to once again remind you of the polls cited in this news batch. Our representatives do not represent us, on this issue and likely more. The ramifications of this support for Israel cost us Americans dearly - in more ways than one.
The Palestine papers let Israel's battle for hearts and minds begin today
Was this the dark heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict? The zero sum game laid bare: for Israeli children to have the undeniable human right not to huddle terrified under the seats of their school bus, Palestinian children will be blown to bits.
Clinton warns Hezbollah-backed government may alter U.S. ties with Lebanon
U.S. officials said earlier this month that Lebanon's political turmoil would not trigger an immediate cut in U.S. aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces, but suggested that the ties would come under speedy review.
Mubarak Faces Historic Challenge
The government, which controls all communications here, started blocking websites in the afternoon as events on the ground heated up and it became clear that many protesters were using the Internet for information.
A New Truth Dawns on the Arab World by Robert Fisk
The Palestine Papers are as damning as the Balfour Declaration. The Palestinian "Authority" - one has to put this word in quotation marks - was prepared, and is prepared to give up the "right of return" of perhaps seven million refugees to what is now Israel for a "state" that may be only 10 per cent (at most) of British mandate Palestine.
....And so where are we going? Could it be, perhaps, that the Arab world is going to choose its own leaders? Could it be that we are going to see a new Arab world which is not controlled by the West?
....This is the end of the Democrats' world in the Arab Middle East. We do not know what comes next. Perhaps only history can answer this question.
Our Fight on Mount Soledad
The involvement of the Jewish War Veterans as a plaintiff in the Mount Soledad case is part of our ongoing fight for the rights of Jewish service members and veterans and on behalf of the values enshrined in the Constitution.
Back in 1986, JWV filed suit to remove or relocate a brightly lit, 65-foot-high memorial cross at Camp H.L. Smith, a Marine Corps base in Hawaii.
....Take, for example, last year’s Supreme Court ruling regarding a cross in California’s Mojave National Preserve. JWV filed an amicus brief in that case, which involved an 8-foot-tall cross honoring American service members who died in World War I.
It is not Muslims that are trying to remove crosses from veteran's memorials, folks.
Make Worms, Not War?
Despite the public drama of statements and snubs, disagreements and delays, the relationship between America and Israel has been extraordinarily tight and trusting for this operation to have succeeded as the Times describes. While begun in the waning days of the Bush administration, the collaboration accelerated when President Obama took office, a pattern seen in other forms of military and defense cooperation between Jerusalem and Washington.
Somehow Israel's problems become OUR problems, and we have paid dearly for that fact - in more ways than one.
Sunday morning
I just returned from an eleven day trip to Israel, Palestine and Egypt. I hope to write about it at greater length: the situation is tremendously depressing, as Israel is carrying on a kind of slow motion ethnic cleansing, severing the Palestinians from Jerusalem but various bureaucratic measures and home demolitions
Palestinian protesters confront French FM in Gaza
France, a former colonial power in the Mideast and North Africa, traditionally has had strong ties with the Arab world. But French President Nicolas Sarkozy has demonstrated greater sympathy for Israel and its analysis of Mideast geopolitics than his predecessor, Jacques Chirac.
'Remarkable scenes' at Cairo protests
Anti-government protests have broken out in Egypt after an internet campaign inspired by the uprising in Tunisia.
Palestinian charged with insulting leader online
Abbas' security forces have previously mined social networks to catch dissenters. In November, an atheist blogger was arrested after posting incendiary comments about Islam on Facebook.
....In another development, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she "deplores" the continued imprisonment of prominent Palestinian activist Abdullah Abu Rahmeh by Israel. Since 2005, Abu Rahmeh has been a key figure in weekly protests against Israel's separation barrier which cuts into West Bank land.
In Friday's statement, she said the Palestinians have the right to engage in peaceful demonstrations.
Mavi Marmara survivors speak out against Israeli whitewash
Egypt accuses Gaza militants in Coptic church bomb
The Army of Islam dismissed Sunday's accusations on an extremist website, and the Hamas militants who control Gaza and have themselves battled with the smaller group was also skeptical of the Egyptian claim.
Censorship Prevents ‘Deranged Individuals’ from Seeing Ads on Israeli War Crimes
Why so much censorship when trying to present the facts about our complicity in Israeli occupation and apartheid?
A DREAM Deferred
Despite the more conservative Congress, as well as the previous Senate’s failure to pass the DREAM Act, many Jewish organizations involved with domestic policy vowed to continue making immigrant rights a top priority. Groups including the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA), American Jewish Committee (AJC), Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), had formally endorsed the act and encouraged their members to call politicians asking for their votes in favor of it.
The View on the Ground of the Palestine Papers
Boycott vote in Sydney suburb sparks media furor, death threats
On 15 December 2010, the councilors of Marrickville, a suburb of Sydney, Australia voted by a 10-2 majority to support the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). A month later, they have belatedly become the subjects of vilification in the press owned by international media proprietor Rupert Murdoch and death threats from Australia's lunatic fringe.
Witness for Gaza's victims of conflict - audio slideshow
Photographer Kai Wiedenhöfer talks about his compelling photographs documenting the damage left after Israel's assault on Gaza in 2009, published in The Book of Destruction.
Bias Feared in Public School Proposal To Absorb Yiddish Special Ed Program
The proposal for the East Ramapo Central School District in Rockland County, N.Y., to take over the financially troubled Rockland Institute for Special Education (RISE) is drawing complaints from local activists and minority communities in the ethnically diverse district, which is home to a large Orthodox Jewish community. The Yiddish and Hebrew bilingual special education program, currently run under Orthodox auspices, would be the only bilingual program offered by the district.
....“It’s mystifying how an apparent deal has been made before the board has even discussed or voted on it,” said Oscar Cohen, an area resident and member of a local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, who had seen the memo.
....Activists say the board allowed no time for public comment on the proposal. The plan was announced after registration for the public comment segment of the board meeting on January 5 was closed, and the vote at the school board’s January 19 meeting is expected to occur before the public comment period for that meeting takes place.
Some raised concerns about RISE’s current building being used exclusively for Yiddish- and Hebrew-speaking students. “If the district has a school for only white, Jewish special education kids, they’re still segregated from the rest of the system,” said Cohen. “Will this be a form of segregation, and in essence apartheid? That’s our fear.”
There's that philosemitism again.
The Right To Return to a Home
In adapting this story for the Israeli stage, journalist and writer Boaz Gaon added a Solomonic conundrum: One mother, Safiyya, left behind her infant son in the chaos of the Jewish takeover of Haifa in 1948, while the survivors, Miriam and her husband, Ephraim, who lost their own child in the Holocaust, are given the abandoned house on the condition that they raise the forgotten infant
Key Obama aide on Iran sanctions steps down
The departure of Stuart Levey from his role as the Treasury Department's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence comes as the United States and its allies appear likely to make a push for stiffer sanctions on Iran.
....Obama nominated Levey's deputy, David Cohen, to replace him. Cohen will need to be confirmed by the Senate.
US: Recognize State of Palestine In 2011
The United States should either lay a plan on the table and demand its implementation, or the Palestinians should declare full independence, with negotiations with Israel to follow. And the United States should support them.
Forty-four years of occupation is enough, for both Palestinians and Israelis. And it's time for America to keep its promises.
State of the Union: Why the Middle East Won't Be the Focus
The Western-backed regimes surrounding Israel are falling, and in their place perhaps may be more pro-Iran governments. Not looking good for Israel.
Israel's new top spy: Iran bomb possible in 2 years
The remarks by Major–General Aviv Kochavi, chief of military intelligence, also appeared aimed at asserting authority over the rival Israeli espionage agency Mossad, whose departing chief said this month Iran might not have nuclear arms before 2015.
Chicken Little Israel can't seem to make up its mind.
Palestine Papers Confirm Israeli Rejectionism
For more than a decade, since the collapse of the Camp David talks in 2000, the mantra of Israeli politics has been the same: "There is no Palestinian partner for peace."
This week, the first of hundreds of leaked confidential Palestinian documents confirmed the suspicions of a growing number of observers that the rejectionists in the peace process are to be found on the Israeli, not Palestinian, side. What more do these people have to give up?
Arab Leaders Warn of More Revolts Amid Growing Anger
Iran has boosted atomic bomb ability: US scientists
it follows claims by US and Israeli officials that international efforts have slowed Iran's nuclear drive.
A piece of propaganda if I've ever seen one.
Iran not working on bomb: Israel intelligence head
Recently, several senior Israeli officials, including the former head of the Mossad overseas intelligence agency, Meir Dagan, have said that Iran is unlikely to acquire nuclear weapons before 2015.
Hezbollah wins enough support to name new Lebanon PM
Rice: US Army Presence In Iraq Protects Israel
Former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice reassured Israel that the US military presence in Iraq should calm any Israeli security concerns "from the east," minutes from a 2008 trilateral meeting between Rice and the Israeli and Palestinian negotiation teams reveal.
U.S. says U.N. expert should be fired for Sept 11 remarks
A U.N. expert on Palestinian human rights who suggested there was a cover–up over the September 11 attacks should be fired, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said on Tuesday.
Britain's foreign minister in Syria for talks
Hague is also expected to discuss the threat posed by Iran's nuclear program and risks of broader proliferation in the Middle East. He's also scheduled to meet with business leaders and prominent Syrian women.
Lebanon faction urges sit-ins against Hezbollah
Israelis target Macy Gray with racist diatribes AFTER she agrees to play Tel Aviv (and who are the “assholes”)
Several internet forums, including one called “Don’t Betray,” have sprouted up to incite public anger at artists such as Gray who have criticized Israel — even if they agree to perform in the country. Meanwhile, the talkback sections of articles in the Hebrew media about Gray’s Tel Aviv shows have provided a forum for the most extreme screeds about the singer.
Israpundit » Blog Archive » Righteous Muslims Protect Christians in Egypt
Lebanon Hariri says he will seek premiership again
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