Saturday, April 30, 2011

Headlines for April 14 - April 20

A Stand For Justice


Italian Peace Activist Murdered by Islamist Militants in Gaza
Vittorio Arrigoni was murdered by the Tawheed and Jihad group, one of several extremist Islamic groups that operate in the Gaza Strip in opposition to the Hamas government. The group abducted Arrigoni in an attempt to force Hamas to release its leader, who was arrested last month.


U.S. Senate urges UN to rescind Goldstone's Gaza report
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution on Thursday calling on the United Nations Human Rights Council to rescind the Goldstone Commission's report on the Gaza war, in light of its author's expressed regret for some of its claim. Further proof that Israel runs Capitol Hill.


Special Relationship
Rice, meanwhile, assured Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman during an Oct. 21, 2009, meeting in Tel Aviv that the United States had done its utmost to "blunt the effects of the Goldstone report" and that she was confident she could "build a blocking coalition" to prevent any push for a probe by the Security Council, according to an Oct. 27, 2009 cable. The United States is Israel's bitch.


Passover brings further restrictions on Palestinians
The Ibrahimi Mosque lies to the east of the Old City of Hebron. The fourth holiest site in Islam, today the mosque was open only to Jewish worshippers. All of the gates allowing entrance to and exit from the Old City souq on its east side were locked or barred shut to Palestinian residents and non-Jewish international visitors.


Abbas rules out Israeli troops in future state
In an interview, Abbas said he would not allow any Israeli troops to be deployed in a future Palestinian state, despite Israel's insistence that it be able to maintain a military presence along the West Bank's border with Jordan.

Israel says it would need such a security presence for around 40 years to ensure the border between any Palestinian state and Jordan was secure


EU grants Palestinian produce duty-free access
The European Union announced Wednesday it would grant duty-free access to produce from the West Bank and the Gaza strip in a bid to support Palestinian state building.


Goldstone report: Statement issued by members of UN mission on Gaza war
We concur in our view that there is no justification for any demand or expectation for reconsideration of the report as nothing of substance has appeared that would in any way change the context, findings or conclusions of that report with respect to any of the parties to the Gaza conflict. Indeed, there is no UN procedure or precedent to that effect. I guess the holdouts here can now expect the pressure Goldstone received....


UN Gaza Report Co-Authors Round on Goldstone
Though they do not mention Goldstone by name, they shoot down several of the main contentions in his article and imply that he has bowed to intense political pressure.


Israeli teen wounded in April 7 bus attack dies
Two Palestinian teenagers, meanwhile, are in custody, suspected of the stabbing deaths of five members of a West Bank settler family, including small children, Israeli authorities said. .....

The two suspects, teenagers from Awarta, belonged to a small PLO faction, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, although it appeared they acted independently, said Col. Nimrod Aloni, a West Bank military commander. The mother of one of the suspects said her son is innocent.


Aloni said the teenagers said during questioning that they "wanted to test their courage and bravery" by penetrating the settlement and stealing a rifle. He said the pair claimed they did not initially plan to kill anyone, but panicked when the baby started crying, endangering their escape.


"My estimation is that they worked independently with no direction whatsoever," he said.


Israel's Channel 2 TV quoted from what it said was the interrogation of the two, saying that they intended to kill Jews and expressed no remorse.


Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the suspects confessed to a well–planned murder plot from the outset. It was unclear why his version differed from the military commander's account.


U.S. Report Details Rights Abuses
the report spends significant time on the activities of Israel in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. “Palestinians faced violence and discrimination in the occupied territories” from Israel, the report states. Its findings, some of which cite outside sources, include:



• Reports of killings of civilians by Israeli forces in the occupied territories.



• Concerns about the handling of 147 investigations by the Israeli military police of killings or injuries of Palestinians by Israeli security forces in the occupied territories. Few ended in convictions, the report noted. And human rights groups reported that many investigations began long after the incidents took place.



• A report that Israeli security forces had tortured children in detention, according to one NGO. The NGO found 28 children who were beaten and kicked by Israeli forces in the second half of 2010, and three who said that electric shocks had been applied to their bodies.



• Accounts of civilians, including three children, who were allegedly used as human shields by Israeli forces.



• Claims that Israeli forces did not respond sufficiently to settler violence against West Bank Palestinians.



Christians mark Palm Sunday in Jerusalem
Christians also celebrated at the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, and in the Gaza Strip, home to a small Christian population of about 2,000.



Wikileaks: 'US Helped Israel with UN Gaza War Probe'
The online foreign affairs magazine cited exclusive WikiLeaks cables, detailing moves by Washington's UN ambassador Susan Rice to prevent a more thorough UN investigation of alleged abuses in the conflict. The United States is Israel's bitch.


Bachmann: America ‘Cursed’ By God ‘If We Reject Israel’
At a Republican Jewish Coalition event in Los Angeles last week, Rep. Michele Bachmann offered a candid view of her positions on Israel: Support for Israel is handed down by God and if the United States pulls back its support, America will cease to exist.


AP Interview: Palestinians want Quartet deal
Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. observer, expressed regret that the United States blocked a meeting of the Quartet – the U.S., U.N., European Union and Russia – that had been tentatively scheduled to take place Friday in Berlin to discuss, and hopefully endorse, the outlines of a peace settlement proposed by Britain, France and Germany.



Goldstone Recants, Gaza Dies by Philip Giraldi
The United States has long been on the receiving end of Israeli misbehavior. Israel invades Lebanon or Gaza, the US vetoes UN Security Council resolutions condemning civilian deaths and destruction of infrastructure, and Washington winds up taking the blame for condoning Tel Aviv’s recklessness. Repeat that twenty times and it is no surprise that most of the world regards the United States as the enabler of Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians. Osama bin Laden has repeatedly cited American support of Israeli repression as one of his reasons for attacking the United States. The United States is Israel's bitch.


Goldstone's shameful U-turn
Just weeks ago, Israeli military intelligence announced it had created a special unit to monitor, confront, and possibly hunt down, individuals and bodies suspected of "delegitimizing" Israel abroad. In light of this, perhaps quite a few of the faint-hearted felt standing up to Israel was not worth it. Really now. Watch who you confront, boys. Some of us aren't your usual 'fish in a barrel', hmm?


Attorney general: Indict Israeli foreign minister
Lieberman is suspected of illicitly receiving money and laundering it through shell companies.


Egypt orders review of gas contracts with Israel
Egypt's contracts to supply gas to Israel have been widely criticized in the country as offering gas at rates far below market prices.


Ex-NY comptroller Hevesi gets 1-4 years in prison
Hevesi admitted that in awarding pension fund investments, he "improperly favored" a venture capitalist who paid for at least $75,000 worth of travel expenses to Israel and Italy for the comptroller, his family and other officials.


A Civility Deficit? Or an Indignation Deficit?
there is an informal ban on J Street, a ban so thorough that the possibility that a representative of J Street might be invited to make a presentation is not even raised. The curious thing about such a ban is that it is not imposed by mindless people, by people who believe that American Jews must act in lockstep with Israel’s government. There is some of that, to be sure, but more often, it’s simply all the noise that J Street’s opponents have kicked up that makes people nervous. Where there’s so much smoke, they conclude, there must be fire. The aspect of the controversy that most aggravates me is the assertion, loudly made in the Knesset at a recent hearing convened on J Street, that those who criticize the policies of Israel’s government do so to curry the favorable opinion of non-Jews, an outrageous and utterly baseless charge.


Why Christian Women Are Sporting Jewish Jewelry
On her trip last month to Israel, during which she met with Prime Minister Netanyahu and visited sites like the Kotel, Palin was seen sporting a sizeable silver Magen David. According to David Brog, the Jewish director for Christians United For Israel — see the Forward’s story on the organization here — Palin’s choice in jewelry is an increasingly common one for American evangelical Christians.




Poll: Americans strongly oppose some deficit proposals
Despite growing concerns about the country's long–term fiscal problems and an intensifying debate in Washington about how to deal with them, Americans strongly oppose some of the major remedies under consideration, according to a new Washington Post–ABC News poll. Too bad foreign aid isn't on the chopping block. Instead, schools are being closed and other major cuts to education are being implemented. Yet, Israel is still rewarded with billions of dollars a year to steal another people's land and occupy their territory. The wars fought on their behalf are also a major drain on the American budget.


House leader to ask Netanyahu to speak to Congress
Israel = Congress' real leader.


Brand Ahmadinejad rights abuser: US senators
At Israel's urging, no doubt.


FBI Counter-Terror Official: Al Qaeda 'Thrives' After Dictators Fall
Giuliano made the comments at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy WINEP is an arm of AIPAC, the Israeli lobby.


Iranian general accuses Siemens of helping U.S., Israel build Stuxnet
An Iranian military commander Saturday accused the German electronics giant Siemens with helping U.S. and Israeli teams craft the Stuxnet worm that attacked his country's nuclear facilities.


US helped Israel contain UN Gaza war probe: report
The United States worked behind the scenes to help Israel contain UN probes into possible war crimes committed during the 2008–2009 Gaza war, Foreign Policy reported Tuesday. The US is Israel's bitch.


JVP, Harsh Critic Of Israel, Seeks a Seat at the Communal Table



Bibi-Bieber Summit is Off, Bieber Hates Israeli Paparazzi and More
According to Netanyahu’s office, Bieber had requested a meeting with the Israeli leader this week, as part of the Christian singer’s first trip to Israel. Netanyahu obliged, but then — perhaps to justify meeting with a teen singer — invited children from near Israel’s volatile border with Gaza. The move appears to have displeased the singer, as have overly zealous local paparazzi.

Thus does the Hasbara campaign continue.





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