Headlines for March 10 - March 16

A Stand For Justice


Israelis and Palestinians in shock after Fogel family massacre



Palestinians: Three killed in Israeli air strike on Gaza



Israeli jets bomb target in Gaza; 2 dead



Israel hunts for killers of sleeping settlers
Ron Nahman, mayor of the Ariel settlement, called on the government to respond to the "massacre" by resuming construction in earnest. He said anything else would send a message to Arabs that "you can do anything against the settlers."

...The White House condemned the attack and offering condolences to the Israeli people.


UN suspects Israel in kidnapping of Palestinian
The Israeli group HaMoked, which defends the rights of Palestinians, says Abu Sisi has been held in an Israeli prison since Feb 19. He is being kept in the Shikma detention center outside the coastal city of Ashkelon, the group said.


Fatah snubs new Hamas Palestinian unity initiative



Gaza: Investigate Torture of Protest Organizer
Hamas authorities in Gaza should investigate claims that security officials tortured a blogger and activist and prosecute any officials responsible, Human Rights Watch said today.


Olive Trees Destroyed in West Bank village of At-Tuwani
On the morning of March 16^th , residents of the Palestinian village of
At-Tuwani woke to discover that someone had destroyed six of their olive
trees in the night. The villagers said that the perpetrators were almost
certainly Israeli settlers from the nearby illegal outpost of Havat
Ma'on.


Israel accused of abducting Palestinian in Ukraine
The Palestinian engineer vanished from a Ukrainian train in the middle of the night.

Now, authorities are trying to verify his wife's claims that he is being held in prison by the Israeli secret service, whom she accuses of kidnapping the man two weeks ago.


Roger Waters voices support for Israel boycott
In the letter Waters wrote announcing his support of a cultural boycott of Israel, he said that in his "view, the abhorrent and draconian control that Israel wields over the besieged Palestinians in Gaza, and the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, coupled with its denial of the rights of refugees to return to their homes in Israel, demands that fair minded people around the world support the Palestinians in their civil, nonviolent resistance." Bravo, Roger Waters!


Abbas: I won't seek re-election in next Palestinian polls



Hebron: Palestinians demand the opening of Shuhada Street
An estimated one thousand Palestinians, joined by Israeli and international activists, took to the streets on Friday to demand the opening of Shuhada (Martyrs) Street, a former thoroughfare in the West Bank city of Hebron. Israeli occupying forces fired foam-tipped bullets, tear gas, and sound grenades resulting in the serious injury of nine protestors, in addition to the many who suffered the adverse effects of tear gas inhalation.




Abbas offers to visit Gaza after Israeli arms haul
Mahmoud Abbas' gesture to Hamas suggests he has given up on reaching peace with Israel and will instead seek internal reconciliation at the risk of jeopardizing relations with the West. The U.S., Israel and EU consider Hamas a terror group.



A Huge Palestinian Demonstration Marks “Unity Day” for Hebron



Uruguay recognizes Palestinian state



Israel gags talk on jailed Gaza power plant chief
While the reasons for Mr Abu Sisi's detention were unclear, it was widely assumed in Gaza that it was somehow linked to his position at the power plant and the successful efforts of Hamas to reduce the station's dependency on industrial diesel fuel imported from Israel.


EU recognition of Palestinian state a 'possibility': France
Faced with a lack of progress in Israeli–Palestinian peace talks, a number of countries have upgraded the status of Palestinian delegations, most recently Denmark on March 9.


Israel to expand settlements after family killing
The decision to approve 500 housing units was taken on Saturday night, less than 24 hours after the Fogel family were attacked with knives as they slept in their home in the isolated settlement of Itamar, deep in the West Bank. All five had their throats slit.


US criticizes Israeli settlement construction plan
The U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv said Monday it was "deeply concerned" by Israel's plans to build hundreds of new homes in the West Bank following a deadly attack on a settler family, calling Israeli settlements "illegitimate" and an obstacle to peacemaking.
The settlements are illegal, not just 'illegitimate'. Cut off all aid.


Israeli PM: Military must remain in West Bank
Barak also told the newspaper that Israel might seek an additional $20 billion in U.S. military aid to help it deal with potential threats arising from the turmoil in the Arab world. Are your communities seeing draconian budget cuts? Do you know how many trillions of dollars we have given, yes given over to the Middle East? This is why we are having to make budget cuts, including cuts to schools. Strange how we don't have to hand Britain billions each year to be our 'ally'.


Israel to build settler homes after Palestinian attack
Israel said on Sunday it would build several hundred homes for settlers in the occupied West Bank, a day after a Palestinian attack killed an Israeli couple and three of their children in a settlement.


Video: Pat Buchanan interviewed about American Intervention in Libya
Great interview with Mr. Patrick J. Buchanan, one of the most experienced and knowledgeable political commentators in America. Love him.


The J Street Scam by Philip Giraldi
J Street really only differs from AIPAC in tone, not in substance. It advocates continued and unlimited United States support for Israel, militarily, economically, and politically. J Street wants Israel to have an overwhelming military advantage over its Arab neighbors and it wants that margin to be provided by Washington. It wants Republicans and Democrats together to provide political cover for Israel when it attacks Lebanon or bombs the Gazans. It does not object when Israel exercises a military option against its neighbors. In spite of the fact that the United States is in deep trouble economically while Israel is one of the richest countries in the world and is enjoying an economic boom, J Street was one of the first organizations to complain when Senator Rand Paul called for an end to all foreign aid.


Hebron: Settlers from Harsina Attack Palestinian Home
At 2:30 pm fifteen settlers from Harsina Settlement began throwing stones at the Jabber home but were stopped by the Israeli Military. They returned at 6:30pm and stoned the house for one hour with no interference from the Army.


PM says IDF to build fence along Jordan border
"The illegal infiltrators from Africa enter the Negev's cities, as well as cities all across Israel; they change the make-up of the population and take away jobs from Israelis," the PM continued to say, adding that "the infiltration threatens to alter the Jewish and democratic character of the state. We must stop the flood of infiltrators to protect our future." The Master Race must be preserved at all costs.


US group fights ban on Israel 'war crime' bus ads
A US lobby group is taking legal action to challenge a local authority's refusal to let it put posters on Seattle buses criticizing Israel's "war crimes" in Gaza.



David Horowitz's Displays His Hatred Of Palestinians And Muslims In General.
He would appear to be an utterly delusional and prejudiced individual. And angry to boot. He writes for the neocon/pro-Israel FrontPageMag.


Netanyahu's exploitation of the murders at Itamar



In Opposing Federal Budget Cuts, Unity Is Elusive
For Jewish groups, in particular the federation system, any change in funding for Medicaid or Medicare could have significant consequences. The federations’ affiliated agencies receive 75% of their public funding — some $7.5 billion per year — through these two programs.

What?


2 US warships cross Egypt's Suez Canal
US military officials have ordered warships into the Mediterranean in case they are needed for Libya-related operations ranging from humanitarian assistance to possible military action.


Thousands in Beirut demand Hezbollah disarm
a slew of billboards has popped up in Beirut lately, saying "Israel also wants Hezbollah disarmed" – a clear message that Hezbollah sees its weapons as a necessary safeguard against its enemies.



Republicans in Congress aim to cut foreign aid
But yet not one dime will be cut from our aid to Israel, the most flagrant violator of international law on earth.


Palestine release: Palestinian women call for justice on Internation
All across the occupied Palestinian territories, women took to the streets on Tuesday in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day.


Hebron: A Call to Let Go of All Fear for the Sake of Justice
Now into my third year as a member of the Christian Peacemaker team in Hebron, West Bank, I think about the truth of Williamson’s words. I’ve been living in the reality of the Israeli Occupation. I daily encounter these Palestinian people whose freedom has been taken from them. The separation wall has turned their towns and villages into prisons separating them from one another. Israeli settlements control their water and natural resources and their ability to raise their crops.


Egypt swears in new post-Mubarak Cabinet
Egypt's military rulers on Monday swore in a new Cabinet that includes new faces in key ministries, responding to protesters' demands that the new government be free of stalwarts of ousted President Hosni Mubarak.


The history of the Camp David Accords reveals that even a sympathetic president could not stand up for the Palestinians
To recall this history is to recognize that so long as the Israel lobby is more powerful than the justice lobby, the United States is constitutionally incapable of being an honest broker in the Middle East. This unpalatable fact has asserted itself repeatedly, with Carter, Brzezinski and Vance, with George H.W. Bush and James Baker, and with Presidents Clinton and Obama. If a trend can be observed, it is that the United States has become even less able to stand up to Israel with each passing decade.


What Obama Should Say to Israelis



The 'Beacon That Is Israel'
Koch's claim that the Arab protests point only to repressive Arab regimes denies the 63 years of repressive policies carried out by Israel against the Palestinian people

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