Palestinians demand halt to settlements as peace talks begin The first formal Middle East peace negotiations in seven years got off to a tense start today with the Palestinian Authority demanding a halt to Israeli plans to build settlements on disputed territory.
A female Palestinian police officer directs traffic in the West Bank city of Ramallah
Sarkozy: Israel could attack Iran ** Israel is more likely to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iran's nuclear facilities than the United States, Nicolas Sarkozy said.
Israel eyes hitting Iran **
Islamic Jihad claims firing rockets into southern Israel He vowed that his fighters would not stop firing rockets as long as Israel continues its operation into the coastal enclave.
Israeli military attacks close several media centers in Nabulus
Hamas-Fatah unofficial talks continue despite wide differences
Security cabinet says no to Gaza operation some 970 Qassam rockets and 1,200 mortar shells were fired from Gaza towards Israel since the beginning of 2007. Israel suffered five related casualties ? three IDF soldiers and two civilians.
Germany supplies the PA with logistic support Germany has supplied the Palestinian Authority (PA) with wireless telecommunication devices, worth $87.000, as a gesture of support to underway peace-making efforts between the Palestinians and Israelis.
Palestinian firm plans new multi-million-dollar town
Israel's top general says big Gaza push more likely Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi, appointed after last year's costly Lebanon war with a mandate to overhaul the military, said Israel would also prepare to attack distant targets -- a possible allusion to arch-foes Iran and Syria.
Israeli official: U.S. is not doing enough on Iran nukes A senior Israeli official has fiercely criticized U.S. President George Bush's administration for the way it has dealt with the Iranian nuclear issue.
Indian support to Palestine has not wavered: minister 'India's support to the Palestinian cause has not wavered,' he said, reminding the committee that India had recognized Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as a representative of the Palestinian people in 1975 and was one of the first countries to recognize the State of Palestine in 1988.
Four kidnapped in Hebron including one female
Three wise men hit a barrier in Bethlehem "I wanted to give the world an idea of how we live in the Holy Land," the 65-year-old Palestinian carpenter said in his workshop, his sweater speckled with sawdust.
Teenage dreams of wrecking peace process from Jewish outpost Naming their wildcat outpost Shvut Ami -- "the return of my people" -- their aim is to torpedo the peace process as Israelis and Palestinians began formal negotiations on Wednesday for the first time in seven years.......A resident of Kedumim she is closely watching developments. Her neighbour, Shoshana Shilo, who works for the council, has just been stopped by police for helping teenagers to uproot olive seedlings planted by a Palestinian farmer.
Restrictions block Palestinian revival-World Bank Increased foreign aid and Palestinian plans to rein in government spending will not be enough to revive their economy if Israeli-imposed trade and travel limits stay in place, the World Bank said on Thursday.
New Poll Reveals How Unrepresentative Neocon Jewish Groups Are One of the defining traits of war-loving neoconservatives is that their unrelenting and exclusive fixation on the Middle East places them loudly at the center of any foreign policy debates. That tenacity - combined with their reckless exploitation of "anti-Israel" and anti-Semitism accusations as instruments in their political rhetoric and their corresponding, deceitful equation of their own views with being "pro-Israel" - often casts the appearance that they are some sort of spokespeople for the "pro-Israel" agenda or the Jewish viewpoint.
Bringing Iran in from the cold ** One of the reasons the NIE is so politically sensitive is that it is really not about whether a nuclear Iran threatens America but about whether it threatens Israel. The Israel connection makes it extremely difficult for any U.S. politician to advocate anything other than a confrontational stance with Iran......it's the existential threat to Israel that has allowed Bush to play let's-make-war-on-Iraq all over again, with just as little resistance. It's no accident that Bush used the inflammatory expression "nuclear holocaust" when discussing Iran in August. At an October press conference, Bush was even more explicit. "We got a leader in Iran who has announced that he wants to destroy Israel," Bush said. "So I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from hav[ing] the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."
Leaders condemn Lebanon car bomb Politicians in Lebanon have condemned a bomb attack which killed a general slated to become army chief.
Lebanon blames Syria, Iran for deadly blast
Israeli Charity Saving Iraqi Children One Heart at a Time
U.S. reps want audit of refugee aid U.S. Congress members will push Condoleezza Rice for accountability on relief funds for Palestinian refugee camps.
Thanks, but no thanks Olmert demands of Palestinians that they must give up their history. President Bush decides for them what their borders and rights must be. And Tony Blair wags a finger and tells Palestinians that they won't get a state at all unless, it meets his high standards (sic) of governance
Halevy: Israel must be in on US-Iran talks Highlighting new indications that the US government will directly engage with Iran in the near future on all issues including its nuclear program, former Mossad head Efraim Halevy said Tuesday that Israel must ensure that it is a direct participant in such contacts. Otherwise, he warned, the future of the region will be determined in a forum from which Israel is excluded.....Asked why Iran would agree to any such direct contact with Israel, Halevy said that Israel should ensure that the US makes it a precondition.
The Israel Lobby and the War Party Israel is sitting pretty, right now, openly threatening its patron and financier, the United States government, with taking the Iranian nuke matter into its own hands and launching an attack on suspected nuclear facilities ? leaving U.S. troops in Iraq to face the Iranians and their Iraqi allies.
Israeli intel warns of waning support in the West The Cabinet was briefed on the Israeli intelligence assessment during a meeting on Nov. 21. ISA director Yuval Diskin said the proposal of "one state for two people" was sweeping Europe.
Postal workers pass anti-Israel resolution A regional conference of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has passed a resolution supporting the boycott of Israel and pledging an educational campaign about "the apartheid nature of the Israel [sic] state.".....Levinson brought his concerns to Canadian Jewish Congress, which has been meeting with a number of Canadian unions and churches in a bid to moderate their statements on the Middle East.
Clinton to be player on Hillary's team Discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mr. Clinton noted he has many Palestinian friends and "I literally don"t know a single Palestinian in America who is not a college professor or a millionaire."
My Roommate Is My Enemy, Though We Do Like to Sing A musical comedy about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict sounds more like a punch line than like a pleasant night at the theater. (What yuks!) But the creators of ?West Bank, UK,? Oren Safdie (book) and Ronnie Cohen (music and lyrics), do an excellent job of avoiding the most obvious pitfalls ? partisanship, preachiness and political naïveté ? even if they get bogged down in allegory.
Keohane of Princeton on Walt and Mearsheimer
Politics before peace Reports produced by Israelis themselves have made clear the continuing policies of land expropriation, destruction of Palestinian farms, construction of a separate road system that bars Palestinians from traveling in their own territory, nearly 600 checkpoints that make daily life nearly impossible for local inhabitants, and military protection even of illegal Jewish outposts.
Extension of detention law for security suspects approved The legislation grants the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) authority to deny security suspects access to judges and lawyers, far exceeding the powers granted to police in the case of "regular" criminals.
U. of California at Irvine Cleared in Investigation of Anti-Semitism The civil-rights office had conducted an extensive investigation of the university's handling of alleged incidents of anti-Semitism in response to a letter of complaint filed in October 2004 by the Zionist Organization of America......After looking into and attending annual weeklong events protesting Israel's policies toward the Palestinian people, for example, the federal office?s investigators acknowledged that much of the speech at the events was offensive to Jewish students, but such speech was aimed at Israel's policies, and not Jewish students' national origin. The cry of wolf is starting to lose its oomph due to abuse and overuse.
DJ Khaled: Reaching Elite Status Born Khaled Khaled, this Palestinian New Orleans native comes off as a real person with big, yet attainable aspirations in this game.
Migrants were left to die, boat victims confirm Palestinian survivor Mustafa Kamil said: "We gathered in small groups. The groups did not know each other until then. We were sitting very close to each other on the boat. All of a sudden, there were screams and panic. I did not see how and why the boat went down."
Israel called Clinton refugee plan vague "Israel could not accept any reference to the right of return that would ... threaten the Jewish character of the state," Clinton wrote, noting that "the state of Palestine would be the focal point of Palestinians who choose to return to the area."
The Countdown to a Two State Agreement Begins! In a symbolic show of support for ongoing negotiations, today the OneVoice Movement announced the launch of a public awareness campaign through 6 digital screens announcing that the People -- as well as the leaders -- accept 2008 as the year for the two state agreement.
Bush will be 'hands-on' during Mideast trip: Rice US President George W. Bush will use his Middle East trip next month to intervene with the Israelis and Palestinians to spur on peace talks, his top diplomat said in an interview published Wednesday.
Rachel Corrie play set to run in Vancouver Adam Carroll, the western regional director of the Canada-Israel Committee. concedes that Corrie's death is tragic. "But I want people to realize that the play serves a very specific political agenda and tries to pull audiences against Israel without providing context or balance
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Headlines for 12-11-07
Israel tanks enter Gaza on eve of peace talks Israeli troops in tanks and armoured vehicles mounted an incursion into Gaza yesterday, killing at least six Palestinian militants on the eve of a new round of peace talks.......Around 60 Palestinians were detained in what was the largest Israeli operation in Gaza for several months. Palestinian fighters fired back and hit one Israeli tank.
Undercover Israeli forces kidnap Palestinian from Ramallah
PLO: Israeli settlement expansion blocks talks on final-status issues
Deposed Hamas gov't calls for boycotting talks with Israel Deposed Hamas-led government in Gaza Tuesday called on Palestinian negotiators to boycott final status talks with Israel due to kick off Wednesday
Abbas' aide confirms PNA won't boycott post-Annapolis negotiations
Palestinian official hopes Bush visit to push Israel to implement roadmap plan A senior Palestinian official expressed hope on Sunday that an upcoming visit of U.S. President George W. Bush to the Middle East would push Israel to implement the roadmap plan.
U.S. report on Iran forces Israel to alter strategy ** The Israeli dilemma is how to prove Iran is cheating without being accused of trying to push the United States into war. That is why the official strategy is to work quietly behind the scenes......The new Israeli strategy is based on four main elements:
· actively pushing for stiffer international sanctions on Iran, despite the U.S. report; · working quietly behind the scenes to convince others through Israel?s own intelligence material that Iran is intent on producing nuclear weapons; · refraining from arguing with the U.S. assessment in public, lest Israel be seen to be trying to push the United States into military action against Iran; · and Israel keeping open its own military options.......the scenario that would have had the United States "take care" of Iran in return for Israeli concessions to the Palestinians has been blown out of the water.
Israeli and Palestinian businessmen urge trade talks
Olmert says Iran still dangerous Israeli PM Ehud Olmert has insisted Iran's nuclear programme remains dangerous, and called on world powers to prevent it acquiring atomic weapons 'wolf! WOLF!!'
Russia alarmed by Israel's plans to build homes in East Jerusalem
At-Tuwani Update: 1 November - 30 November 2007 An Italian film director came to film the children from Tuba walking to school in At-Tuwani with the army escort. She told CPT that she had contacted the Israeli army asking if she could drive over to Tuba (on the road between the settlement and the outpost) to film the children as they left their village
Troops demolish a Palestinian home in Jerusalem Israeli bulldozes belonging to Jerusalem Municipality demolished on Tuesday a Palestinian home in the Old City of Jerusalem and attacked two brothers while attempting to evacuate their furniture from the house before the bulldozers leveled it.
Hebron Update: 3-9 December 2007 Hicks met with a group of US Presbyterians to tell them about CPT's work. While waiting for the group outside the Ibrahimi Mosque, the border police detained their guide, a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem. He got his ID back when the group came out of the mosque. He said the border police officer commented, "Oh, a Christian from Bethlehem. You think you are so special." He commented to Hicks, "This is normal for you, I guess."
Daimler and UNESCO Honor Young Engineers for Innovative Development Aid Projects Engineering students from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah partnered with a team from the Birzeit University, Deir Quaddis, Palestinian Territories, and invented a simple filtration system to treat hazardous wastewater produced by olive oil mills in the Palestinian Territories.
Blair sleeps in Bethlehem to show Holy Land safe Bethlehem residents say Israel's towering barrier blocking the main road from Jerusalem deters tourists and stifles the economy as well as taking land they seek for a state
Abbas awaiting Israel response on settlement bid The Palestinians want Israel to state a clear intention to halt settlement activity in the West Bank at their first round of peace negotiations on Wednesday, president Mahmud Abbas said.
Bethlehem tourism looking up for Christmas The barrier has devastated Palestinian farmers, the mayor said, confiscating 7,000 dunums (about 700 acres or 280 hectares) of arable land, making the lives of Palestinians "almost impossible" and putting them in "ghettos".
Turkey calls Israeli settlement plan 'shocking' Gul said Israel's plan was "clearly in violation" of decisions made at the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis last month, at which Israel and the Palestinians agreed to try to negotiate a peace deal before the end of 2008.
White House Fought NIE Over an Old Charge ** By November 2006, the Central Intelligence Agency had already circulated an assessment within the intelligence community that rejected the covert weapons program thesis, as Hersh reported in late November. However, Vice President Dick Cheney and his aides were trying to exclude the CIA's assessment from the NIE, a senior intelligence official told Hersh. .......Another tactic used by Cheney was to cite a new claim by Israeli intelligence that its spies inside Iran had learned that Iran had developed and tested a trigger device for a nuclear bomb......The CIA did not regard the report as reliable, especially in the absence of details that would allow verification. But Cheney asked for the original raw Israeli intelligence report, according to Hersh ? the same thing Cheney and top Pentagon officials had done in constructing their case for the invasion of Iraq in 2002.
53 die in Turkey shipwreck Seven of the 85 people on board have been rescued and 25 were reported missing, officials said. Most passengers were of Palestinian, Somalian and Iraqi origin.
UN appeals for 462 million dollars in Palestinian aid
Saudi says Israel settlement move against Annapolis "The kingdom strongly condemns Israel's decision to expand settlement building in East Jerusalem, which contradicts the bases and principles of the Annapolis peace conference," Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters.
Israel keeps up pressure on Iran ** Israel and the US seem to be working off the same intelligence sources.
The Israeli view, therefore, represents a different assessment of the same data. "Only time will tell who is right," Mr Barak said.
Well we know who was WRONG about Iraq. That's why the NIE took a different view this time (rightly so), geniuses.
Palestinians to urge settlement freeze at talks Palestinian leaders said on Tuesday they decided to attend the meeting but insist Israel freeze settlement activity.
Israeli Arab women demand end to custom that left them homeless Arab custom stipulates the family of the alleged murderer must leave its dwelling until a truce is reached, in order to prevent bloodshed and retaliation
Sarkozy and Netanyahu Met on Monday French President Nicholas Sarkozy assured opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday that he would continue to do everything possible to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The true aim of Annapolis, and why it failed
As rivals gain, Clinton and Giuliani get a lift from Jewish survey Giuliani's popularity among Jews derives partly from his unstinting support for Israel, but also because he is the most moderate Republican, corresponding with the positioning of some Jewish organizational leaders and pro-Israel activists who are hawkish on foreign policy but liberal on domestic issues like church-state separation, gay marriage and abortion.
Lebanese Hezbollah supporters protest electricity outage The protestors were chanting slogans denouncing the western-backed government of Premier Fouad Seniora and some figures from the anti- Syrian majority and called for electricity to their areas to be restored.
Bush uses menorah lighting to meet Jews who knew persecution Edelstein said Bush told him, " 'I'm not imposing a terrorist state on you.' " "The idea of a Palestinian state is for creating a coalition of moderate groups in the Middle East," Edelstein said. "He believes the creation of a Palestinian state puts an end to the right of return for Palestinians" to Israel.
'Green' Israel touted in San Francisco "From the start, our PR goal has been to use issues that people already care about, like women, the LGBT community and the environment, and relate that to Israel,"
Germany frees Iranian 'bargaining chips' Germany released two jailed Iranian agents whom Israel had wanted swapped for missing airman Ron Arad.
Israel's resolution adopted at U.N The resolution calls on developed countries to make their knowledge and know-how in the field of agricultural technology more accessible to the developing world.
Critics of Israel lobby draw fire
Splinter group bids to keep the outpost movement alive "If we want the land to be ours, then we have to come and settle it. This is the first step toward what I hope will one day be a community here," Ayana said, looking out at the sloping, sand-colored hills across from Ma?ale Adumim, one of the largest Jewish settlements in the West Bank located just a few miles outside of Jerusalem.......This one, its supporters say, is meant to ensure neighboring Ma?ale Adumim is expanded into an area called E-1 -- a controversial swath of land many say cuts off the northern and southern parts of the West Bank......"Everything was done with the government's permission, even if it was with a wink, therefore everything is legal,? Avigdor Lieberman, Israel?s minister for strategic affairs, was quoted as saying. Land-grabbing psychos.
Arab group: Israel committed war crimes during Lebanon war Arab Association for Human Rights says Israel violated international humanitarian law during Second Lebanon War by 'positioning temporary and permanent military outposts in close proximity to Arab communities'. IDF: decision on where to position these installations was based solely on operational considerations
Poll shows drop in Jewish support for Palestinian state
Israel PM warns Iran can develop nuclear bomb by 2010 The NIE report last week said US allegations about Iran's atomic goals had been overblown for at least two years, but that Tehran could have the capability to make a nuclear weapon by 2015.
Subterranean kitchen A Palestinian woman bakes traditional bread in her home in a hillside cave in the West Bank village of Ghwien
DFLP, PFLP, Islamic Jihad delegates visit a number of Human Rights Organizations in Gaza
Anglican leader condemns Israeli occupation The leader of Australia's Anglican church has spoken out against Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. Anglican Primate Phillip Aspinall has been touring the West Bank with a delegation of Australian church leaders.
Frank talk about the Israel lobby
US Public Diplomacy Chief Departs Amid Praise, Criticism Hughes quickly embarked on a tour of the Middle East. "I came home from my very first trip and asked to see the president," she said. She says she told Mr. Bush that making progress on the creation of a Palestinian state would be the single most important thing he could do for public diplomacy among Muslims worldwide.
No. 6 Day in pictures Israeli police arrest a Palestinian man after he tried to prevent the demolition of his family house in Jerusalem, which officials say was built without permission.
Second Committee approves text calling on Member States, United Nations system to step up promotion of agricultural technology for development Noting that Israel had recently announced the building of 307 settlement housing units on Palestinian agricultural land in East Jerusalem, he said those units would add to the settlements already established on agricultural lands in the occupied Syrian Golan and Lebanon's Shab'aa Farms, which remained under continuing Israeli occupation. The Arab Group was convinced that Israel was neither interested in agriculture nor the peace process. It pretended to be concerned about agricultural technology and development everywhere but the occupied Arab lands where it continued to adopt policies that undermined all forms of agriculture.
Running a gauntlet in Jerusalem To most of the world, Efrat ? population about 8,000 ? is an illegal Israeli settlement constructed on stolen land, territory that properly belongs to Palestinians.....The truth is, nobody is forcing Israelis to live in Efrat or in any of the other nearby Jewish settlements that hug these ruddy hills like huge slabs of limestone honeycomb. Israelis who live here, on what most people consider to be Palestinian land, do so because they choose to
Bad form on campus Being an advocate for Israel on any American university campus poses a myriad of challenges Getting more difficult to shill for Israel these days, is it? ...
Palestinian refugees demonstrate in northern Lebanon Palestinians went on strike in northern Lebanon Tuesday to protest the delay in efforts to reconstruct the devasated Nahr al-Bared camp,
Popular Tunisian singer Saber el-Rubai makes rare visit to West Bank One of the most popular singers in the Arab world, Tunisian Saber el-Rubai, made a rare visit to the West Bank on Tuesday and urged other Arab artists to follow in his footsteps.
America's silly demand I'm saying all of this because it's difficult to understand the huge outcry. Har Homa was built on land that is part of Greater Jerusalem. It is not located on land that the State of Israel "forgot" to handle the way David Ben Gurion handled the territories captured in 1948 Territory taken by force is inadmissible according to international law. Most of Israel today was never purchased, but taken by force. The same goes for the land taken in the West Bank and E. Jerusalem for more settlements.
Syria sees long way to go before reclaiming Golan
The Murdochs and the Middle East Rupert Murdoch is such a hard-right supporter of Israel -- Ariel Sharon was his great hero (he even visited him on his farm) -- that many regard him as a Zionist. So the staunchly pro-Israel Wall Street Journal has nothing to fear on that front as the Murdoch tentacles get to grips with it.....But that might be about to change for these newspapers are all now under the control of Murdoch's son, James, who has pronounced pro-Palestinian views which he holds strongly......It would be quite a shift if the Murdoch papers became pro-Palestinian -- and a matter for grave concern among the pro-Israeli lobby
Israel-Vatican relations hit rocky ground
'Kite Runner' defies film stereotypes of Muslims
Undercover Israeli forces kidnap Palestinian from Ramallah
PLO: Israeli settlement expansion blocks talks on final-status issues
Deposed Hamas gov't calls for boycotting talks with Israel Deposed Hamas-led government in Gaza Tuesday called on Palestinian negotiators to boycott final status talks with Israel due to kick off Wednesday
Abbas' aide confirms PNA won't boycott post-Annapolis negotiations
Palestinian official hopes Bush visit to push Israel to implement roadmap plan A senior Palestinian official expressed hope on Sunday that an upcoming visit of U.S. President George W. Bush to the Middle East would push Israel to implement the roadmap plan.
U.S. report on Iran forces Israel to alter strategy ** The Israeli dilemma is how to prove Iran is cheating without being accused of trying to push the United States into war. That is why the official strategy is to work quietly behind the scenes......The new Israeli strategy is based on four main elements:
· actively pushing for stiffer international sanctions on Iran, despite the U.S. report; · working quietly behind the scenes to convince others through Israel?s own intelligence material that Iran is intent on producing nuclear weapons; · refraining from arguing with the U.S. assessment in public, lest Israel be seen to be trying to push the United States into military action against Iran; · and Israel keeping open its own military options.......the scenario that would have had the United States "take care" of Iran in return for Israeli concessions to the Palestinians has been blown out of the water.
Israeli and Palestinian businessmen urge trade talks
Olmert says Iran still dangerous Israeli PM Ehud Olmert has insisted Iran's nuclear programme remains dangerous, and called on world powers to prevent it acquiring atomic weapons 'wolf! WOLF!!'
Russia alarmed by Israel's plans to build homes in East Jerusalem
At-Tuwani Update: 1 November - 30 November 2007 An Italian film director came to film the children from Tuba walking to school in At-Tuwani with the army escort. She told CPT that she had contacted the Israeli army asking if she could drive over to Tuba (on the road between the settlement and the outpost) to film the children as they left their village
Troops demolish a Palestinian home in Jerusalem Israeli bulldozes belonging to Jerusalem Municipality demolished on Tuesday a Palestinian home in the Old City of Jerusalem and attacked two brothers while attempting to evacuate their furniture from the house before the bulldozers leveled it.
Hebron Update: 3-9 December 2007 Hicks met with a group of US Presbyterians to tell them about CPT's work. While waiting for the group outside the Ibrahimi Mosque, the border police detained their guide, a Palestinian Christian from Bethlehem. He got his ID back when the group came out of the mosque. He said the border police officer commented, "Oh, a Christian from Bethlehem. You think you are so special." He commented to Hicks, "This is normal for you, I guess."
Daimler and UNESCO Honor Young Engineers for Innovative Development Aid Projects Engineering students from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah partnered with a team from the Birzeit University, Deir Quaddis, Palestinian Territories, and invented a simple filtration system to treat hazardous wastewater produced by olive oil mills in the Palestinian Territories.
Blair sleeps in Bethlehem to show Holy Land safe Bethlehem residents say Israel's towering barrier blocking the main road from Jerusalem deters tourists and stifles the economy as well as taking land they seek for a state
Abbas awaiting Israel response on settlement bid The Palestinians want Israel to state a clear intention to halt settlement activity in the West Bank at their first round of peace negotiations on Wednesday, president Mahmud Abbas said.
Bethlehem tourism looking up for Christmas The barrier has devastated Palestinian farmers, the mayor said, confiscating 7,000 dunums (about 700 acres or 280 hectares) of arable land, making the lives of Palestinians "almost impossible" and putting them in "ghettos".
Turkey calls Israeli settlement plan 'shocking' Gul said Israel's plan was "clearly in violation" of decisions made at the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis last month, at which Israel and the Palestinians agreed to try to negotiate a peace deal before the end of 2008.
White House Fought NIE Over an Old Charge ** By November 2006, the Central Intelligence Agency had already circulated an assessment within the intelligence community that rejected the covert weapons program thesis, as Hersh reported in late November. However, Vice President Dick Cheney and his aides were trying to exclude the CIA's assessment from the NIE, a senior intelligence official told Hersh. .......Another tactic used by Cheney was to cite a new claim by Israeli intelligence that its spies inside Iran had learned that Iran had developed and tested a trigger device for a nuclear bomb......The CIA did not regard the report as reliable, especially in the absence of details that would allow verification. But Cheney asked for the original raw Israeli intelligence report, according to Hersh ? the same thing Cheney and top Pentagon officials had done in constructing their case for the invasion of Iraq in 2002.
53 die in Turkey shipwreck Seven of the 85 people on board have been rescued and 25 were reported missing, officials said. Most passengers were of Palestinian, Somalian and Iraqi origin.
UN appeals for 462 million dollars in Palestinian aid
Saudi says Israel settlement move against Annapolis "The kingdom strongly condemns Israel's decision to expand settlement building in East Jerusalem, which contradicts the bases and principles of the Annapolis peace conference," Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters.
Israel keeps up pressure on Iran ** Israel and the US seem to be working off the same intelligence sources.
The Israeli view, therefore, represents a different assessment of the same data. "Only time will tell who is right," Mr Barak said.
Well we know who was WRONG about Iraq. That's why the NIE took a different view this time (rightly so), geniuses.
Palestinians to urge settlement freeze at talks Palestinian leaders said on Tuesday they decided to attend the meeting but insist Israel freeze settlement activity.
Israeli Arab women demand end to custom that left them homeless Arab custom stipulates the family of the alleged murderer must leave its dwelling until a truce is reached, in order to prevent bloodshed and retaliation
Sarkozy and Netanyahu Met on Monday French President Nicholas Sarkozy assured opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday that he would continue to do everything possible to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The true aim of Annapolis, and why it failed
As rivals gain, Clinton and Giuliani get a lift from Jewish survey Giuliani's popularity among Jews derives partly from his unstinting support for Israel, but also because he is the most moderate Republican, corresponding with the positioning of some Jewish organizational leaders and pro-Israel activists who are hawkish on foreign policy but liberal on domestic issues like church-state separation, gay marriage and abortion.
Lebanese Hezbollah supporters protest electricity outage The protestors were chanting slogans denouncing the western-backed government of Premier Fouad Seniora and some figures from the anti- Syrian majority and called for electricity to their areas to be restored.
Bush uses menorah lighting to meet Jews who knew persecution Edelstein said Bush told him, " 'I'm not imposing a terrorist state on you.' " "The idea of a Palestinian state is for creating a coalition of moderate groups in the Middle East," Edelstein said. "He believes the creation of a Palestinian state puts an end to the right of return for Palestinians" to Israel.
'Green' Israel touted in San Francisco "From the start, our PR goal has been to use issues that people already care about, like women, the LGBT community and the environment, and relate that to Israel,"
Germany frees Iranian 'bargaining chips' Germany released two jailed Iranian agents whom Israel had wanted swapped for missing airman Ron Arad.
Israel's resolution adopted at U.N The resolution calls on developed countries to make their knowledge and know-how in the field of agricultural technology more accessible to the developing world.
Critics of Israel lobby draw fire
Splinter group bids to keep the outpost movement alive "If we want the land to be ours, then we have to come and settle it. This is the first step toward what I hope will one day be a community here," Ayana said, looking out at the sloping, sand-colored hills across from Ma?ale Adumim, one of the largest Jewish settlements in the West Bank located just a few miles outside of Jerusalem.......This one, its supporters say, is meant to ensure neighboring Ma?ale Adumim is expanded into an area called E-1 -- a controversial swath of land many say cuts off the northern and southern parts of the West Bank......"Everything was done with the government's permission, even if it was with a wink, therefore everything is legal,? Avigdor Lieberman, Israel?s minister for strategic affairs, was quoted as saying. Land-grabbing psychos.
Arab group: Israel committed war crimes during Lebanon war Arab Association for Human Rights says Israel violated international humanitarian law during Second Lebanon War by 'positioning temporary and permanent military outposts in close proximity to Arab communities'. IDF: decision on where to position these installations was based solely on operational considerations
Poll shows drop in Jewish support for Palestinian state
Israel PM warns Iran can develop nuclear bomb by 2010 The NIE report last week said US allegations about Iran's atomic goals had been overblown for at least two years, but that Tehran could have the capability to make a nuclear weapon by 2015.
Subterranean kitchen A Palestinian woman bakes traditional bread in her home in a hillside cave in the West Bank village of Ghwien
DFLP, PFLP, Islamic Jihad delegates visit a number of Human Rights Organizations in Gaza
Anglican leader condemns Israeli occupation The leader of Australia's Anglican church has spoken out against Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. Anglican Primate Phillip Aspinall has been touring the West Bank with a delegation of Australian church leaders.
Frank talk about the Israel lobby
US Public Diplomacy Chief Departs Amid Praise, Criticism Hughes quickly embarked on a tour of the Middle East. "I came home from my very first trip and asked to see the president," she said. She says she told Mr. Bush that making progress on the creation of a Palestinian state would be the single most important thing he could do for public diplomacy among Muslims worldwide.
No. 6 Day in pictures Israeli police arrest a Palestinian man after he tried to prevent the demolition of his family house in Jerusalem, which officials say was built without permission.
Second Committee approves text calling on Member States, United Nations system to step up promotion of agricultural technology for development Noting that Israel had recently announced the building of 307 settlement housing units on Palestinian agricultural land in East Jerusalem, he said those units would add to the settlements already established on agricultural lands in the occupied Syrian Golan and Lebanon's Shab'aa Farms, which remained under continuing Israeli occupation. The Arab Group was convinced that Israel was neither interested in agriculture nor the peace process. It pretended to be concerned about agricultural technology and development everywhere but the occupied Arab lands where it continued to adopt policies that undermined all forms of agriculture.
Running a gauntlet in Jerusalem To most of the world, Efrat ? population about 8,000 ? is an illegal Israeli settlement constructed on stolen land, territory that properly belongs to Palestinians.....The truth is, nobody is forcing Israelis to live in Efrat or in any of the other nearby Jewish settlements that hug these ruddy hills like huge slabs of limestone honeycomb. Israelis who live here, on what most people consider to be Palestinian land, do so because they choose to
Bad form on campus Being an advocate for Israel on any American university campus poses a myriad of challenges Getting more difficult to shill for Israel these days, is it? ...
Palestinian refugees demonstrate in northern Lebanon Palestinians went on strike in northern Lebanon Tuesday to protest the delay in efforts to reconstruct the devasated Nahr al-Bared camp,
Popular Tunisian singer Saber el-Rubai makes rare visit to West Bank One of the most popular singers in the Arab world, Tunisian Saber el-Rubai, made a rare visit to the West Bank on Tuesday and urged other Arab artists to follow in his footsteps.
America's silly demand I'm saying all of this because it's difficult to understand the huge outcry. Har Homa was built on land that is part of Greater Jerusalem. It is not located on land that the State of Israel "forgot" to handle the way David Ben Gurion handled the territories captured in 1948 Territory taken by force is inadmissible according to international law. Most of Israel today was never purchased, but taken by force. The same goes for the land taken in the West Bank and E. Jerusalem for more settlements.
Syria sees long way to go before reclaiming Golan
The Murdochs and the Middle East Rupert Murdoch is such a hard-right supporter of Israel -- Ariel Sharon was his great hero (he even visited him on his farm) -- that many regard him as a Zionist. So the staunchly pro-Israel Wall Street Journal has nothing to fear on that front as the Murdoch tentacles get to grips with it.....But that might be about to change for these newspapers are all now under the control of Murdoch's son, James, who has pronounced pro-Palestinian views which he holds strongly......It would be quite a shift if the Murdoch papers became pro-Palestinian -- and a matter for grave concern among the pro-Israeli lobby
Israel-Vatican relations hit rocky ground
'Kite Runner' defies film stereotypes of Muslims
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Headlines for 12-10-07
Israeli strike kills Gaza militant A Palestinian gunman was killed and at least two others were wounded by an Israeli missile strike in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, militant sources and medics said.
UN: Gazans need hospital access A number of Palestinians have died in Gaza after not receiving the proper treatment, according to the World Health Organization......The UN also appealed to Israel to resume full energy supplies to Gaza saying shortages are directly affecting the territory's health system.
ISA prevents Gazan heart patient who refused to collaborate from entering Israel for treatment, Nov. 2007
Turkey is committed to Palestinian industrial project
Hamas denies Egyptian invitation to hold talks with Fatah in Cairo
Egyptian-Saudi efforts to restore dialogue between Fatah and Hamas
Hamas: Palestinian security forces arrest six Hamas members in the West Bank
ICRC calls for immediate resumption of family visits for Gaza residents to Israeli prisons The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) urges the Israeli authorities to authorise the prompt resumption of visits for families from Gaza with their relatives detained in Israeli prisons.
Egypt finds explosives likely destined for Gaza Egyptian police confiscated 500 kg (1,100 lb) of explosives in northern Sinai on Monday which were probably destined for Gaza, a security official said.
Israeli forces kidnap one from Al Thahriya
A booby-trapped police car blows up in Gaza city
Joint Chiefs chairman visits Israel Mullen, who has visited Israel before, voiced understanding for the country's security concerns in a speech last month. "I think how Israel thinks and views the world is a very important consideration for us in the United States, and certainly from my perspective as a military leader," he said.
I fail to see it that way, Admiral. Frankly, I don't think I'm the only one.
EU criticises Israel settler plan A senior EU official has criticised an Israeli decision to build more houses in occupied East Jerusalem, joining the US in condemning Israel.
Hamas to Rice: We want dialogue with US In an open letter to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Yousef, who serves as senior political adviser to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, said that his movement did not have any "ideological arguments" with the West. It was an interesting letter, based on the JP's report here. Quite interestingly, it got little if any mention in the mainstream US press. Wonder why? Because they don't come across as the bloodthirsty monsters that Israel (and their US cohorts) have made them out to be?
EU to assist 40,000 needy Palestinian families
Rice expects final draft of UN sanctions resolution against Iran by Tuesday Meanwhile on Monday Rice said she hoped Israel's plans to build homes in a contested Jerusalem neighborhood would not "cloud" peace talks with the Palestinians and cautioned that time was running out to end the conflict.
Palestinians warn Israel on settlers before talks Palestinians warned on Monday they might boycott peace negotiations starting this week after Israel defied Washington and other international sponsors of the process by planning new homes on occupied land. When the world said they'd like to see Middle East PEACE, Israel thought they meant PIECE as in, another PIECE of Palestine. 'Don't mind if we do.' (Look at the maps, just who is pushing whom 'into the sea'?)
UK pledges aid to Palestinians if peace progress The government on Monday said it will give the Palestinian Authority $500 million in aid if peace moves prove successful.
Bush tells Jewish leaders he will visit Israel in Jan Israeli news media said Bush would reassure the Jewish state that Washington stood firm against Iran's nuclear program despite a new U.S. intelligence report, disputed by Israel, that Tehran had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003.
UN agencies call for Gaza fuel supplies to be restored "The World Health Organisation and UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees) express their deep concern on the combined impact of the lack of electricity supply and fuel shortage on the delivery of health services,"
WHO concerned over 'intolerable' Gaza isolation
Israel Police to establish local 'FBI' unit Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter said during the weekly cabinet meeting that Israel has seen a major increase in the use of weapons by members of the major crime syndicates, including explosive devices and grenades.
CCR Argues Appeal of Case Charging Former Israeli General With War Crimes in Attack On United Nations Compound In December 2006, Judge Paul L. Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the case, stating that Ya'alon could not be sued for the shelling of the UN compound.......Lebanese civilians who were unable to leave the south fled to UN compounds; more than 800 civilians ? mostly women, children, and the elderly ? had sought refuge in the UN compound in Qana. The IDF then targeted the compound, killing more than 100 civilians and injuring even more.
Drummond: End ignorance of Mideast geography
Israel clears settlers from West Bank outpost The youths were taken off the hill near the southern city of Hebron without incident, it said.
Israelis, Palestinians mates in 'football' The team, formed by the Israel-based Peres Center for Peace, will compete in the Third International Cup, which celebrates the 150th anniversary of the distinctive Australian sport that is a cross between Gaelic football, American football and rugby.
Defense Min.: Israel now world's fourth largest weapons exporter Defense Ministry legal adviser Ahaz Ben-Ari said an important issue covered in the new law is Israel's ability to supervise international mediation of defense equipment acquisitions and sales between Israelis and foreign sources abroad.
Damascus Diary: Monday 10 December Arab culture does not flourish easily in the occupied territories. In Damascus, it is in full spate.
israel summons US Chairman of Joint Chiefs to Tel-Aviv to explain himself israel doesn't mind if the US disagrees - as long as we do what they want, which is why Mullen was summoned to israel and why George W. Bush will follow.
Our view: Andover's speakers policy makes sense There is nothing wrong with exposing students to controversial views - as long as opposing viewpoints are also presented. But a pro-Israel counterbalance to Wheels of Justice was not part of the teachers' original plans. That smacks of indoctrination, not education. The Eagle Tribune of MA is a pro-Israeli news outfit. They need 'balance'. Strange that there is never this talk on their part for the opposite POV when it's pro-Israeli speakers that are doing the talking.
"TREASON ON THE HIGH SEAS" The captain had given the order to abandon ship, as it appeared we were about to roll over. There were 3 life rafts left that were floatable. We put them over the side so we could put our most severely wounded in them to try to save their lives. The torpedo gunmen would have none of that and blew 2 of them out of the water. .....In many ways, America today is the USS Liberty after that 2 hour attack taking place 40 years ago. We are badly hit and stand the chance of sinking into the abyss with everyone being lost forever unless something is done immediately.
850 Rabbis Emergency Chanukah Message to President and Mrs. Bush: Don't Visit Israel Now, Jews will Suffer! "While the Olmert Government is authorizing the Palestinians to receive 50 armored vehicles, 1,000 rifles and two million rounds of ammunition; concomitantly the Israel Defense Forces are disarming hundreds of thousands of settlers, thus making them, G-d forbid, sitting ducks or dead ducks. The horror. Hey, I've an idea: why not get these illegal squatters back across the Green Line into Israel proper? Nahh, nahh. Too easy.
Russia wants its Jews back Russia reportedly is trying to lure back Russian Jews who immigrated to Israel.
San Mateo shop owner wins hearts of clientele The Palestinian native's Spanish isn't great, but he gets a lot of mileage out of the words he knows and his warm, friendly demeanor.
Artists add protest work to Bethlehem's wall Led by the enigmatic British artist known as Banksy, painters from around the world are adding works daily to the walls around Bethlehem in an attempt to draw attention to the impact the separation barrier has had on life in the Biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ .
Visit by Japanese industrialists expected to yield enhanced ties Ties between Israel and Japan are likely to be enhanced as an outcome of an intensive three-day visit by the high-powered Kioi-Kai group.
Economic Path to Peace: Loan fund could boost Palestinian prosperity
Bush Team Snubbed 'Grand Bargain' on Iran's Atomic Work in 2003 Parsi's book is the more scholarly and ambitious of the two, tackling the complex question of Israel's role in what has become a triangular relationship. As the only non-Arab nations in the region, Israel and Iran may be doomed to a rivalry that has more to do with power politics than ideology, he argues.
Palestinian Leader Requests Vatican Presence in Peace Talks Shawqi Jabriel Armali, director of the office of representation to the Holy See of the Palestine Liberation Organization, asked Benedict XVI for an "active" Vatican presence in Middle East peace talks.
Stuck in Limbo: Palestinian Refugees of Lebanon
Pray for Holy Land Christians at Christmas, Urges Cardinal Foley Cardinal John Foley is urging believers to live spiritually close to Christians in the Holy Land this Christmas.
Leaders winding up Palestine-Israel interfaith visit The main aim of the visit is to highlight the plight of Palestinian Christians and Churches in the Holy Land.
Rachel Corrie's parents say play 'humanizes' activist daughter My Name is Rachel Corrie, a play about the American activist killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in the Gaza Strip, has just opened in Montreal with Corrie's parents in attendance.
Rights group asks Mazuz to halt probe into Druze MK who visited Syria
Annapolis Outcome 'Proves Arab Failure' Critics also note that the event was marked by repeated U.S. acknowledgement of Israel's status as a "Jewish state". According to some observers, the application of this term threatens the right of Palestinian refugees to return to what is now Israel, and leaves the door open for the potential expulsion of Israel's Arab inhabitants
Iran, Nukes, and the 'Laptop of Death' ** The pushback against the recent finding [.pdf] by America's 16 intelligence agencies that puts "high confidence" in their evaluation that Iran stopped its covert nuclear weapons project in 2003 has the Lobby going into overdrive ? with (who else?) John Bolton leading the charge, crying "Putsch!" and decrying the NIE as pure "politics." Bolton and his neoconservative co-thinkers are really just echoing the Israelis, however, who have sullenly asserted their own dissent, albeit discreetly enough to maintain the fiction of their own complete lack of influence Now you get to see just how many friends Israel has in the US mainstream media and Congress judging by the amount of airtime they are given and noise they are making in response to the NIE. Per yesterday's news batch, the Israelis rolled out the Holocaust card in response to this NIE. So, it's to be expected that their shills in America are screaming bloody murder. How dare our intelligence community not go along with Cheney and the neocons (and their Israel-centric agenda)? The horror.
Calling on Congress to Stop a War By Scott Ritter ** The ongoing Israeli paranoia about a nexus of nuclear proliferation among North Korea, Iran and Syria, void of any hard intelligence to back it up and yet hyped to the point that an abandoned military warehouse in the middle of the Syrian desert could be pre-emptively bombed, serves as a warning to any who believe that the newly published NIE will, by itself, inject a measure of sanity and objective thinking into a process that has created an ideologically driven self-fulfilling prophesy that no amount of fact and reasoning can make go away......If the newly released NIE on Iran is to have any meaning, then let it be that it triggered a reawakening of the Congress of the United States to assert its authority and responsibility in a time of great need. Another excellent article by Scott Ritter.
Demonstrator on roof interrupts conference As a handful of pro-Palestinian demonstrators with large banners and Palestinian flags chanted slogans outside calling Ya'alon a war criminal, the man climbed to the roof of the five-story Lawyers Guild building and threatened to jump if two Palestinians were not released from a Paris jail.
UN: Gazans need hospital access A number of Palestinians have died in Gaza after not receiving the proper treatment, according to the World Health Organization......The UN also appealed to Israel to resume full energy supplies to Gaza saying shortages are directly affecting the territory's health system.
ISA prevents Gazan heart patient who refused to collaborate from entering Israel for treatment, Nov. 2007
Turkey is committed to Palestinian industrial project
Hamas denies Egyptian invitation to hold talks with Fatah in Cairo
Egyptian-Saudi efforts to restore dialogue between Fatah and Hamas
Hamas: Palestinian security forces arrest six Hamas members in the West Bank
ICRC calls for immediate resumption of family visits for Gaza residents to Israeli prisons The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) urges the Israeli authorities to authorise the prompt resumption of visits for families from Gaza with their relatives detained in Israeli prisons.
Egypt finds explosives likely destined for Gaza Egyptian police confiscated 500 kg (1,100 lb) of explosives in northern Sinai on Monday which were probably destined for Gaza, a security official said.
Israeli forces kidnap one from Al Thahriya
A booby-trapped police car blows up in Gaza city
Joint Chiefs chairman visits Israel Mullen, who has visited Israel before, voiced understanding for the country's security concerns in a speech last month. "I think how Israel thinks and views the world is a very important consideration for us in the United States, and certainly from my perspective as a military leader," he said.
I fail to see it that way, Admiral. Frankly, I don't think I'm the only one.
EU criticises Israel settler plan A senior EU official has criticised an Israeli decision to build more houses in occupied East Jerusalem, joining the US in condemning Israel.
Hamas to Rice: We want dialogue with US In an open letter to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Yousef, who serves as senior political adviser to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, said that his movement did not have any "ideological arguments" with the West. It was an interesting letter, based on the JP's report here. Quite interestingly, it got little if any mention in the mainstream US press. Wonder why? Because they don't come across as the bloodthirsty monsters that Israel (and their US cohorts) have made them out to be?
EU to assist 40,000 needy Palestinian families
Rice expects final draft of UN sanctions resolution against Iran by Tuesday Meanwhile on Monday Rice said she hoped Israel's plans to build homes in a contested Jerusalem neighborhood would not "cloud" peace talks with the Palestinians and cautioned that time was running out to end the conflict.
Palestinians warn Israel on settlers before talks Palestinians warned on Monday they might boycott peace negotiations starting this week after Israel defied Washington and other international sponsors of the process by planning new homes on occupied land. When the world said they'd like to see Middle East PEACE, Israel thought they meant PIECE as in, another PIECE of Palestine. 'Don't mind if we do.' (Look at the maps, just who is pushing whom 'into the sea'?)
UK pledges aid to Palestinians if peace progress The government on Monday said it will give the Palestinian Authority $500 million in aid if peace moves prove successful.
Bush tells Jewish leaders he will visit Israel in Jan Israeli news media said Bush would reassure the Jewish state that Washington stood firm against Iran's nuclear program despite a new U.S. intelligence report, disputed by Israel, that Tehran had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003.
UN agencies call for Gaza fuel supplies to be restored "The World Health Organisation and UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees) express their deep concern on the combined impact of the lack of electricity supply and fuel shortage on the delivery of health services,"
WHO concerned over 'intolerable' Gaza isolation
Israel Police to establish local 'FBI' unit Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter said during the weekly cabinet meeting that Israel has seen a major increase in the use of weapons by members of the major crime syndicates, including explosive devices and grenades.
CCR Argues Appeal of Case Charging Former Israeli General With War Crimes in Attack On United Nations Compound In December 2006, Judge Paul L. Friedman of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the case, stating that Ya'alon could not be sued for the shelling of the UN compound.......Lebanese civilians who were unable to leave the south fled to UN compounds; more than 800 civilians ? mostly women, children, and the elderly ? had sought refuge in the UN compound in Qana. The IDF then targeted the compound, killing more than 100 civilians and injuring even more.
Drummond: End ignorance of Mideast geography
Israel clears settlers from West Bank outpost The youths were taken off the hill near the southern city of Hebron without incident, it said.
Israelis, Palestinians mates in 'football' The team, formed by the Israel-based Peres Center for Peace, will compete in the Third International Cup, which celebrates the 150th anniversary of the distinctive Australian sport that is a cross between Gaelic football, American football and rugby.
Defense Min.: Israel now world's fourth largest weapons exporter Defense Ministry legal adviser Ahaz Ben-Ari said an important issue covered in the new law is Israel's ability to supervise international mediation of defense equipment acquisitions and sales between Israelis and foreign sources abroad.
Damascus Diary: Monday 10 December Arab culture does not flourish easily in the occupied territories. In Damascus, it is in full spate.
israel summons US Chairman of Joint Chiefs to Tel-Aviv to explain himself israel doesn't mind if the US disagrees - as long as we do what they want, which is why Mullen was summoned to israel and why George W. Bush will follow.
Our view: Andover's speakers policy makes sense There is nothing wrong with exposing students to controversial views - as long as opposing viewpoints are also presented. But a pro-Israel counterbalance to Wheels of Justice was not part of the teachers' original plans. That smacks of indoctrination, not education. The Eagle Tribune of MA is a pro-Israeli news outfit. They need 'balance'. Strange that there is never this talk on their part for the opposite POV when it's pro-Israeli speakers that are doing the talking.
"TREASON ON THE HIGH SEAS" The captain had given the order to abandon ship, as it appeared we were about to roll over. There were 3 life rafts left that were floatable. We put them over the side so we could put our most severely wounded in them to try to save their lives. The torpedo gunmen would have none of that and blew 2 of them out of the water. .....In many ways, America today is the USS Liberty after that 2 hour attack taking place 40 years ago. We are badly hit and stand the chance of sinking into the abyss with everyone being lost forever unless something is done immediately.
850 Rabbis Emergency Chanukah Message to President and Mrs. Bush: Don't Visit Israel Now, Jews will Suffer! "While the Olmert Government is authorizing the Palestinians to receive 50 armored vehicles, 1,000 rifles and two million rounds of ammunition; concomitantly the Israel Defense Forces are disarming hundreds of thousands of settlers, thus making them, G-d forbid, sitting ducks or dead ducks. The horror. Hey, I've an idea: why not get these illegal squatters back across the Green Line into Israel proper? Nahh, nahh. Too easy.
Russia wants its Jews back Russia reportedly is trying to lure back Russian Jews who immigrated to Israel.
San Mateo shop owner wins hearts of clientele The Palestinian native's Spanish isn't great, but he gets a lot of mileage out of the words he knows and his warm, friendly demeanor.
Artists add protest work to Bethlehem's wall Led by the enigmatic British artist known as Banksy, painters from around the world are adding works daily to the walls around Bethlehem in an attempt to draw attention to the impact the separation barrier has had on life in the Biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ .
Visit by Japanese industrialists expected to yield enhanced ties Ties between Israel and Japan are likely to be enhanced as an outcome of an intensive three-day visit by the high-powered Kioi-Kai group.
Economic Path to Peace: Loan fund could boost Palestinian prosperity
Bush Team Snubbed 'Grand Bargain' on Iran's Atomic Work in 2003 Parsi's book is the more scholarly and ambitious of the two, tackling the complex question of Israel's role in what has become a triangular relationship. As the only non-Arab nations in the region, Israel and Iran may be doomed to a rivalry that has more to do with power politics than ideology, he argues.
Palestinian Leader Requests Vatican Presence in Peace Talks Shawqi Jabriel Armali, director of the office of representation to the Holy See of the Palestine Liberation Organization, asked Benedict XVI for an "active" Vatican presence in Middle East peace talks.
Stuck in Limbo: Palestinian Refugees of Lebanon
Pray for Holy Land Christians at Christmas, Urges Cardinal Foley Cardinal John Foley is urging believers to live spiritually close to Christians in the Holy Land this Christmas.
Leaders winding up Palestine-Israel interfaith visit The main aim of the visit is to highlight the plight of Palestinian Christians and Churches in the Holy Land.
Rachel Corrie's parents say play 'humanizes' activist daughter My Name is Rachel Corrie, a play about the American activist killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in the Gaza Strip, has just opened in Montreal with Corrie's parents in attendance.
Rights group asks Mazuz to halt probe into Druze MK who visited Syria
Annapolis Outcome 'Proves Arab Failure' Critics also note that the event was marked by repeated U.S. acknowledgement of Israel's status as a "Jewish state". According to some observers, the application of this term threatens the right of Palestinian refugees to return to what is now Israel, and leaves the door open for the potential expulsion of Israel's Arab inhabitants
Iran, Nukes, and the 'Laptop of Death' ** The pushback against the recent finding [.pdf] by America's 16 intelligence agencies that puts "high confidence" in their evaluation that Iran stopped its covert nuclear weapons project in 2003 has the Lobby going into overdrive ? with (who else?) John Bolton leading the charge, crying "Putsch!" and decrying the NIE as pure "politics." Bolton and his neoconservative co-thinkers are really just echoing the Israelis, however, who have sullenly asserted their own dissent, albeit discreetly enough to maintain the fiction of their own complete lack of influence Now you get to see just how many friends Israel has in the US mainstream media and Congress judging by the amount of airtime they are given and noise they are making in response to the NIE. Per yesterday's news batch, the Israelis rolled out the Holocaust card in response to this NIE. So, it's to be expected that their shills in America are screaming bloody murder. How dare our intelligence community not go along with Cheney and the neocons (and their Israel-centric agenda)? The horror.
Calling on Congress to Stop a War By Scott Ritter ** The ongoing Israeli paranoia about a nexus of nuclear proliferation among North Korea, Iran and Syria, void of any hard intelligence to back it up and yet hyped to the point that an abandoned military warehouse in the middle of the Syrian desert could be pre-emptively bombed, serves as a warning to any who believe that the newly published NIE will, by itself, inject a measure of sanity and objective thinking into a process that has created an ideologically driven self-fulfilling prophesy that no amount of fact and reasoning can make go away......If the newly released NIE on Iran is to have any meaning, then let it be that it triggered a reawakening of the Congress of the United States to assert its authority and responsibility in a time of great need. Another excellent article by Scott Ritter.
Demonstrator on roof interrupts conference As a handful of pro-Palestinian demonstrators with large banners and Palestinian flags chanted slogans outside calling Ya'alon a war criminal, the man climbed to the roof of the five-story Lawyers Guild building and threatened to jump if two Palestinians were not released from a Paris jail.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Headlines for 12-09-07
Islamic body urges Israel to stop mosque dig Malaysia, which chairs the Islamic world's largest grouping, urged Israel on Friday to stop excavations near Jerusalem's most important holy Islamic site.
Hamas burns 'confiscated' drugs Correspondents say it was Hamas' latest attempt to show it was imposing order after taking control in Gaza this year They should stop the Qassam rocket fire too. Clean house.
Shas minister: Americans' attitude to report reminiscent of Auschwitz "The manner in which the Americans relate to the intelligence report on Iran is similar to the way in which they viewed those reports they received during the Holocaust on railways transporting hundreds of thousands of Jews to their death at Auschwitz," The shrill whines have just been taken to the highest level. F'ing ridiculous.
Iran could have nukes by 2010: Olmert Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert believes Iran will have the resources to create a nuclear weapon by 2010, despite a US intelligence report that it was not building an atomic bomb.
Israelis set up illegal outposts in evacuation protest The move is a protest against the possible evacuation of Jewish settlements.
Israeli extremists march to set up new outposts in West Bank Israeli right-wing activists have marched up a hill outside the occupied West Bank's largest settlement, aiming to set up a symbolic new wildcat settlement outpost.
Official: Elections should follow ending Hamas Gaza takeover
Israel says must trade Jerusalem areas with Arabs Ramon told Army Radio: "I am convinced that all Jewish neighborhoods, including Har Homa, should be under Israeli sovereignty and the Arab neighborhoods should not be under Israeli sovereignty because they pose a threat to Jerusalem being the capital of Jewish Israel." Supremacism.
Fatah's spokesperson: Hamas needs to retract 'coup' before early elections Spokesperson of the secular Fatah party, Ahmad Abdelrahman, demanded Hamas to retract what he calls a ' coup against legitimacy in Gaza', before going to early elections.
Al-Quds brigades shell an Israeli army jeep, an Israeli minister warns of rockets In a statement, faxed to press, the Al-Quds brigades claimed responsibility for firing a rocket-propelled grenade at an Israeli military jeep to the east of Kheza'a town in southern Gaza Strip.
Hamas, Fatah deny agreeing on dialogue resumption
Human rights group attacks gov't for policy in West Bank, Gaza One of Israel's leading human rights groups on Sunday harshly criticized the government for widespread violations in the West Bank and Gaza which it said harmed Palestinians economically and socially.
Detainees in Al Jalama threaten to hold a hunger strike
Hamas accuses P.A security forces of arresting 26 members
Olmert decries anti-Ethiopian racism
Early primary voters favor two states In an Arab American Institute poll, strong majorities of voters in both parties in Iowa and New Hampshire identified a two-state Israeli-Palestinian outcome as a U.S. interest.
Plan presented to repatriate Israelis Immigrant Absorption Minister Yaakov Edri on Sunday presented a plan of tax breaks and incentives designed to encourage some of the 700,000 Israelis living abroad to return. Some 60 percent live in North America, according to Israel Radio.
Demography is the key Ignoring demographic considerations will ultimately lead to Jewish State?s demise
Speaker policy criticized Earlier this year, the committee implemented a controversial speaker policy, which required teachers to secure the principal's permission before inviting controversial speakers into their classrooms, after a public furor erupted over a Jan. 5 presentation at the high school by Wheels of Justice, a group with pro-Palestinian ties.
What the ruins can say about tomorrow Archaeology has always been central in a search for national narratives, and this is particularly so for Zionism in an ideological perspective. To establish the provenance of Zionist narratives, it is essential to prove not just the presence, but the dominance of an ancient Jewish kingdom in the holy land, thus verifying Jewish claims over the land and the raison d?etre of the state of Israel. Biblical archaeology has expanded rapidly, what with not just Jewish, but Christian Zionists enthusiastically supporting the enterprise in their own interpretation of the Bible
FFJ: Injuries and arrests at demonstrations across the West Bank on Friday
Blair holds talks with Saudi king Peace envoy Tony Blair held talks with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Sunday during a visit to Riyadh ahead of formal Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations this week, state news agency SPA said.
Final Disgrace for Bush & Co. When the White House didn?t get the answers it wanted on Iran, it turned to Israel, whose renowned intelligence agency, Mossad, became a primary source. Mossad still insists Iran will have a nuclear bomb by 2008. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak declared the NIE report a ?blow to the groin.? Israel has been straining every sinew to get the U.S. to destroy Iran?s growing nuclear infrastructure. Whether Israel, which has a large nuclear arsenal, will attack Iran on its own is uncertain.
PM: Israel will work to expose Iran nuclear program
Spreading his wings Spector was the most senior officer who signed the "letter of the pilots," which was made public on September 24, 2003, and stated: "We, for whom the IDF and the air force are an integral part of our being; who were brought up to love Israel and to contribute to the Zionist ideal, cannot take part in the operations in the center of populated civilian areas; and [we] refuse to endanger innocent Palestinian civilians ... The continued occupation is critically harming the country's security."
In the serene land The Butterfly's Burden shows how Mahmoud Darwish has remade a nation's consciousness, says Fiona Sampson
Palestinians make three feature films despite occupation, no audience and no funding In a flip-flop of reality, a surly Palestinian soldier guards a West Bank checkpoint, as a line of haggard Israelis wait to have their ID cards examined.
Friedman: Making peace with pieces
CAIA: Protesting the JNF: Community Groups Oppose Fundraising for Illegal ?Canada Park? Protesters denounced fund raising for the park, which is built on the destroyed Palestinian villages of Beit Nuba, Yallu and Imwas seized and destroyed by the Israeli military in 1967.
Israeli ambassador attacks Swiss foreign policy As guardian of the Geneva Conventions, she said it was Switzerland's duty to remind countries of the need to respect international humanitarian law. "We raise our voice when this law is violated, even when that means criticising our friends."
Syria sees isolation fading after Annapolis Damascus would not make gestures to please its U.S. and Israeli foes, who want Syria to ditch Iran and its other allies before any peace talks have achieved results, Altaqi said.
Knesset rattled by racism report The Association for Civil Rights in Israel's latest report, which stated that racism and hatred towards Israeli-Arabs have doubled over the past year, caused a lively polemic in the Knesset on Sunday.
Video: Bethlehem - National Geographic Magazine
Delegates of Australian Churches meet with Jenin Governor The governor thanked the delegates for the aid they provided for the area, especially the aid to physically challenged residents and development projects, which included digging water wells in villages east of the city.
Foreign workers out Government plan aims to end employment of foreign laborers by 2014
Palestinian cabinet values King Abdullah?s initiative to provide treatment to Palestinians
Funds dry up for hospital in impoverished camp A desperately needed hospital in Lebanon?s largest and most violent Palestinian refugee camp has been unable to open on time because funds to buy beds and other basic medical equipment have dried up.
Adalah-NY: Despite NYC Palestinian rights protest, Dershowitz buys jewelry from settlement mogul Leviev Saturday?s event was the third and largest protest outside LEVIEV New York since the store?s November 13 gala opening
Israeli-Palestinian handshake in Monaco
On the Twentieth Anniversary of the First Intifada
Israeli ministers to 'Condi' - Go fly a kite US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice can think again if she believes that Israel is going to stop building homes in Jerusalem, the Arab-coveted capital of the Jewish people.
Today in History - Dec. 9 In 1987, the first Palestinian intefadeh, or uprising, began as riots broke out in Gaza and spread to the West Bank, triggering a strong Israeli counter-response
Hamas burns 'confiscated' drugs Correspondents say it was Hamas' latest attempt to show it was imposing order after taking control in Gaza this year They should stop the Qassam rocket fire too. Clean house.
Shas minister: Americans' attitude to report reminiscent of Auschwitz "The manner in which the Americans relate to the intelligence report on Iran is similar to the way in which they viewed those reports they received during the Holocaust on railways transporting hundreds of thousands of Jews to their death at Auschwitz," The shrill whines have just been taken to the highest level. F'ing ridiculous.
Iran could have nukes by 2010: Olmert Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert believes Iran will have the resources to create a nuclear weapon by 2010, despite a US intelligence report that it was not building an atomic bomb.
Israelis set up illegal outposts in evacuation protest The move is a protest against the possible evacuation of Jewish settlements.
Israeli extremists march to set up new outposts in West Bank Israeli right-wing activists have marched up a hill outside the occupied West Bank's largest settlement, aiming to set up a symbolic new wildcat settlement outpost.
Official: Elections should follow ending Hamas Gaza takeover
Israel says must trade Jerusalem areas with Arabs Ramon told Army Radio: "I am convinced that all Jewish neighborhoods, including Har Homa, should be under Israeli sovereignty and the Arab neighborhoods should not be under Israeli sovereignty because they pose a threat to Jerusalem being the capital of Jewish Israel." Supremacism.
Fatah's spokesperson: Hamas needs to retract 'coup' before early elections Spokesperson of the secular Fatah party, Ahmad Abdelrahman, demanded Hamas to retract what he calls a ' coup against legitimacy in Gaza', before going to early elections.
Al-Quds brigades shell an Israeli army jeep, an Israeli minister warns of rockets In a statement, faxed to press, the Al-Quds brigades claimed responsibility for firing a rocket-propelled grenade at an Israeli military jeep to the east of Kheza'a town in southern Gaza Strip.
Hamas, Fatah deny agreeing on dialogue resumption
Human rights group attacks gov't for policy in West Bank, Gaza One of Israel's leading human rights groups on Sunday harshly criticized the government for widespread violations in the West Bank and Gaza which it said harmed Palestinians economically and socially.
Detainees in Al Jalama threaten to hold a hunger strike
Hamas accuses P.A security forces of arresting 26 members
Olmert decries anti-Ethiopian racism
Early primary voters favor two states In an Arab American Institute poll, strong majorities of voters in both parties in Iowa and New Hampshire identified a two-state Israeli-Palestinian outcome as a U.S. interest.
Plan presented to repatriate Israelis Immigrant Absorption Minister Yaakov Edri on Sunday presented a plan of tax breaks and incentives designed to encourage some of the 700,000 Israelis living abroad to return. Some 60 percent live in North America, according to Israel Radio.
Demography is the key Ignoring demographic considerations will ultimately lead to Jewish State?s demise
Speaker policy criticized Earlier this year, the committee implemented a controversial speaker policy, which required teachers to secure the principal's permission before inviting controversial speakers into their classrooms, after a public furor erupted over a Jan. 5 presentation at the high school by Wheels of Justice, a group with pro-Palestinian ties.
What the ruins can say about tomorrow Archaeology has always been central in a search for national narratives, and this is particularly so for Zionism in an ideological perspective. To establish the provenance of Zionist narratives, it is essential to prove not just the presence, but the dominance of an ancient Jewish kingdom in the holy land, thus verifying Jewish claims over the land and the raison d?etre of the state of Israel. Biblical archaeology has expanded rapidly, what with not just Jewish, but Christian Zionists enthusiastically supporting the enterprise in their own interpretation of the Bible
FFJ: Injuries and arrests at demonstrations across the West Bank on Friday
Blair holds talks with Saudi king Peace envoy Tony Blair held talks with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Sunday during a visit to Riyadh ahead of formal Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations this week, state news agency SPA said.
Final Disgrace for Bush & Co. When the White House didn?t get the answers it wanted on Iran, it turned to Israel, whose renowned intelligence agency, Mossad, became a primary source. Mossad still insists Iran will have a nuclear bomb by 2008. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak declared the NIE report a ?blow to the groin.? Israel has been straining every sinew to get the U.S. to destroy Iran?s growing nuclear infrastructure. Whether Israel, which has a large nuclear arsenal, will attack Iran on its own is uncertain.
PM: Israel will work to expose Iran nuclear program
Spreading his wings Spector was the most senior officer who signed the "letter of the pilots," which was made public on September 24, 2003, and stated: "We, for whom the IDF and the air force are an integral part of our being; who were brought up to love Israel and to contribute to the Zionist ideal, cannot take part in the operations in the center of populated civilian areas; and [we] refuse to endanger innocent Palestinian civilians ... The continued occupation is critically harming the country's security."
In the serene land The Butterfly's Burden shows how Mahmoud Darwish has remade a nation's consciousness, says Fiona Sampson
Palestinians make three feature films despite occupation, no audience and no funding In a flip-flop of reality, a surly Palestinian soldier guards a West Bank checkpoint, as a line of haggard Israelis wait to have their ID cards examined.
Friedman: Making peace with pieces
CAIA: Protesting the JNF: Community Groups Oppose Fundraising for Illegal ?Canada Park? Protesters denounced fund raising for the park, which is built on the destroyed Palestinian villages of Beit Nuba, Yallu and Imwas seized and destroyed by the Israeli military in 1967.
Israeli ambassador attacks Swiss foreign policy As guardian of the Geneva Conventions, she said it was Switzerland's duty to remind countries of the need to respect international humanitarian law. "We raise our voice when this law is violated, even when that means criticising our friends."
Syria sees isolation fading after Annapolis Damascus would not make gestures to please its U.S. and Israeli foes, who want Syria to ditch Iran and its other allies before any peace talks have achieved results, Altaqi said.
Knesset rattled by racism report The Association for Civil Rights in Israel's latest report, which stated that racism and hatred towards Israeli-Arabs have doubled over the past year, caused a lively polemic in the Knesset on Sunday.
Video: Bethlehem - National Geographic Magazine
Delegates of Australian Churches meet with Jenin Governor The governor thanked the delegates for the aid they provided for the area, especially the aid to physically challenged residents and development projects, which included digging water wells in villages east of the city.
Foreign workers out Government plan aims to end employment of foreign laborers by 2014
Palestinian cabinet values King Abdullah?s initiative to provide treatment to Palestinians
Funds dry up for hospital in impoverished camp A desperately needed hospital in Lebanon?s largest and most violent Palestinian refugee camp has been unable to open on time because funds to buy beds and other basic medical equipment have dried up.
Adalah-NY: Despite NYC Palestinian rights protest, Dershowitz buys jewelry from settlement mogul Leviev Saturday?s event was the third and largest protest outside LEVIEV New York since the store?s November 13 gala opening
Israeli-Palestinian handshake in Monaco
On the Twentieth Anniversary of the First Intifada
Israeli ministers to 'Condi' - Go fly a kite US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice can think again if she believes that Israel is going to stop building homes in Jerusalem, the Arab-coveted capital of the Jewish people.
Today in History - Dec. 9 In 1987, the first Palestinian intefadeh, or uprising, began as riots broke out in Gaza and spread to the West Bank, triggering a strong Israeli counter-response
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Headlines for 12-08-07
In pictures: West Bank Bedouin cling to traditions amid settlement pressure
Gulf Challenges US on Iran, Israel "We can't really compare Iran with Israel. Iran is our neighbor, and we shouldn't really look at it as an enemy," said Sheik Hamad. "I think Israel through 50 years has taken land, kicking out the Palestinians, and interferes under the excuse of security, blaming the other party."
U.S. support for Israel is very unpopular in the Middle East, even among closely allied Gulf states, and Washington's unconditional support for Israeli nuclear development has complicated its push against Iran.
Israel no nuclear threat to neighbours, says Gates Was it Iran that annihilated Lebanon last summer? Was it Iran that wiped Palestine off the map and in its place established by force the state of Israel? Was it Iran that committed war crimes during an attack on the USS Liberty that took the lives of 34 Americans? Is it Iran that has ignored tens of UN resolutions for nearly sixty years?
Rogue Israeli settlements in West Bank continue
Boim rebuffs Rice on Har Homa Israel's construction and housing minister rebuffed U.S. criticism of a plan to build new homes in an eastern Jerusalem neighborhood.
Wider West Bank settlements proposed Israeli ministers are mulling a proposal that would allow a "massive" expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and retroactively legalize dozens of settler outposts, said a former Israeli state attorney who oversaw a government study on Jewish building in the disputed territory.
'US report ended attack option on Iran' ** "It looks like this ends the military option against Iran for now. Israel won't attack alone. Iran's facilities are too many and spread too far apart." ......Time reported that Israel's leaders were surprised and disappointed by the American report, understanding that it considerably lessened the likelihood of an American strike on Iran, an action Israel hoped the US would take if sanctions failed to stop the Iranian nuclear program. I wouldn't discount Cheney and the neocons. They might cook something up to get their attack on Iran, as they've done in the past with Iraq (via the Office of Special Plans).
Hamas denies intentions to give up Gaza facilities for dialogue
Testimony: Israel delays treatment of two Gaza toddlers
U.S. report on Iran's nuclear program 'flawed,' says Israel's ex-deputy defense minister Isarel and consequently its lobby (including the neocons) in the States are on the offense - their cries getting more shrill by the minute. It's rather reminiscent of the boy who cried wolf.
Palestinian 'settlement' protests Israeli expansion Activists built a mock Palestinian "settlement" in the West Bank on Saturday to protest a potential Israeli expansion there as Israel's housing minister vowed to proceed with a similar project in occupied east Jerusalem.
"No fuel, no gasoline, no benzene" With the majority of gas stations closed in Gaza due to the escalating fuel crisis, a group of local Gaza taxi drivers shared the fuel in their cars' tanks, for the sake of going back home, rather than earning a living under already dire economic conditions.
A Gaza patient dies because of the Israeli siege The medics identified the dead as Zuhair Hussain, a cancer patient of his sixties, saying that the ministry has asked for his referral to a hospital outside Gaza, yet the Israeli authorities refused to grant him access
Unilateral military strike still an option, senior ministers insist ** Binyamin Netanyahu, the popular rightwing opposition leader, was asked whether Israel should launch its own military operation. "We always prefer international action, led by the United States, but we have to ensure that we can protect our country with all means," he told the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz yesterday.
PA asks U.S. to force Israel stick to Road Map "We loudly ask the US administration to act as the judge and compel Israel to implement its commitments which the Road Map plan specified," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio.
Hamas: Shalit didn't convey a letter to Israel The statement was a reaction to earlier reports saying that Shalit's captors accepted to send a video tape for Shalit to his family in Israel "for reopening Rafah borders crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt."
US Defence Secretary sees Iran as threat to US and Mideast Gates rejected suggestions the US applied a double-standards policy towards Iran and Israel, which has never confirmed it has a nuclear arsenal but is widely believed to be the only state in the Middle East with such weapons, estimated to number 200.
Palestinians to call for 7.1 billion dollars at donor conference
Hamas chief visits Saudi for talks: aide Hamas political supremo Khaled Meshaal is holding talks with officials in Saudi Arabia, amid moves by the oil-rich kingdom to boost its role in securing peace across the Middle East, a source close to Meshaal said on Saturday.
Gulf countries challenge U.S. on Iran and Israel at security conference "Not considering Israel a threat to security in the region is considered a biased policy that is based on a double standard," said Abdul-Rahman al-Attiyah, the secretary general of the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council. It sure is. And it's the same double standard that George Washington warned about in his Farewell Address.
A local PFLP leader calls on Hamas to renounce hegemony over Gaza
Palestinian militant groups resume rockets attacks on Israel Al-Aqsa Brigades, Fatah's military offshoot and Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for launching three makeshift rockets at southern Israel.
Official: Dialogue between Fatah, Hamas to be postponed A senior Hamas official revealed on Saturday that a dialogue between his movement and rival Fatah movement is to be postponed until after the visit of U.S. President George W. Bush to the region in January.
Palestinian UN Envoy: Israeli attacks have destroyed hope for peace
Israeli police interrogate three Israeli journalists who visited Arab states
Hamas says Israeli settlement expansion plan "slap" on Annapolis attendants
ACTION UPDATE! 11 Human Rights activists arrested in E-1 Area! Early this morning Palestinians built a house in the controversial E-1 area. Palestinians are routinely denied permits to build on their own land, and homes that have been built are demolished. The Human Rights activists stayed inside for a few hours before a large police and army presence evicted them through use of force.
Three injured in peaceful protest near Ramallah
Fake edition of Sun sets off lawsuit The owner of The Vancouver Sun has launched a lawsuit against a pro-Palestinian activist and a local printing company over the publication of a fake edition of the daily newspaper.
Go home or go to jail, Lebanon tells Iraqi refugees
Nuclear fallout / Who's right here? Over the last year, a certain hope has developed in Israel that the U.S. would do our dirty work for us; because what is possibly going on, quietly and secretly, between President Bush and his spiritual advisers will lead Bush to the conclusion that his supreme moral obligation is to remove the Iranian nuclear danger threatening Israel before he passes his job on to his successor.
....Is Israel capable of presenting the Americans with any information that can prove to the Americans their new evaluation is wrong? And what new policy will Jerusalem need to formulate on the Iranian issue, based on the reasonable assumption the U.S. will not change its mind?.....The report will most likely also have an indirect effect on the Israeli-Palestinian process. If Israel no longer enjoys the full support of the Americans on nuclear matters, then Israel is likely to feel less committed to make concessions and move forward in talks with the Palestinians. Hmm, so that last sentence suggests, as I and some others have too, that Israel is only putting on a dog and pony show for this peace agreement in order to get the US to attack Iran?...
Largest Dutch trade union will increase pressure on Israel
Middle East huge for Sundance Palestinian hip-hop, tall tales in Jordan, the gritty realities of war in Lebanon and a pair of star-crossed lovers straddling the Arab-Israeli divide. The Sundance Film Festival has lined up a record number of films from the Middle East for its Park City outing in 2008.
The New Republic and National Review fabricate Middle East news ? Say it Ain?t so?
EU: New settlements, Gaza Siege, targeted assassinations acts of war, not peace
An untraditional tradition for the holiday season Another offering from Duke Chapel is the sale of Bethlehem Imports products -- hand-carved olive wood ornaments, nativity sets, figurines and crucifixes. These carvings are used in the chapel's Christmas decorations. All proceeds go to support economically struggling Christian Palestinian artisans and local mission organizations.
Church briefs Hannah Mermelstein, Jewish American human rights volunteer with the International Women's Peace Service, will present a talk entitled "Life in Occupied Palestine" at 10:15 a.m. Dec. 16 at Salina Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 901 Beatrice. The talk is free and open to the public. Mermelstein, who also is co-founder of Birthright Unplugged, will present photos, videos and stories from her work with Palestinian refugees, Israeli activists, and others working nonviolently for peace and justice in Israel/Palestine.
Report: Israel to reopen Rafah crossing in exchange for new Shalit tape According to the report, which quoted Fatah officials as its source, the recent crossing of Palestinian pilgrims en route to Mecca through the Rafah crossing was not made without Israel's consent, but in return for a new tape featuring Shalit.
India should suspend military ties with Israel: Karat "We demand the stopping of at least security and military collaboration with Israel till it comes to the negotiating table and arrive at a reasonable settlement with Palestine,"
Author/Journalist Phil Weiss on The Jewish Community's Turn Toward Peace
Israeli Dep'y Defense Minister to American Jews: Help U.S. Make Peace Now or We Face 100-Years War There was throughout the evening the strong feeling, and what a testament to the IPF this is, that Yes there is an Israel lobby, and it is many of the people in this room, and the time has come to take your foot off the breathing tube of the Palestinians.
Siege that spells slow death for the innocents
Letters | The crimes of the Zionists
Gulf Challenges US on Iran, Israel "We can't really compare Iran with Israel. Iran is our neighbor, and we shouldn't really look at it as an enemy," said Sheik Hamad. "I think Israel through 50 years has taken land, kicking out the Palestinians, and interferes under the excuse of security, blaming the other party."
U.S. support for Israel is very unpopular in the Middle East, even among closely allied Gulf states, and Washington's unconditional support for Israeli nuclear development has complicated its push against Iran.
Israel no nuclear threat to neighbours, says Gates Was it Iran that annihilated Lebanon last summer? Was it Iran that wiped Palestine off the map and in its place established by force the state of Israel? Was it Iran that committed war crimes during an attack on the USS Liberty that took the lives of 34 Americans? Is it Iran that has ignored tens of UN resolutions for nearly sixty years?
Rogue Israeli settlements in West Bank continue
Boim rebuffs Rice on Har Homa Israel's construction and housing minister rebuffed U.S. criticism of a plan to build new homes in an eastern Jerusalem neighborhood.
Wider West Bank settlements proposed Israeli ministers are mulling a proposal that would allow a "massive" expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and retroactively legalize dozens of settler outposts, said a former Israeli state attorney who oversaw a government study on Jewish building in the disputed territory.
'US report ended attack option on Iran' ** "It looks like this ends the military option against Iran for now. Israel won't attack alone. Iran's facilities are too many and spread too far apart." ......Time reported that Israel's leaders were surprised and disappointed by the American report, understanding that it considerably lessened the likelihood of an American strike on Iran, an action Israel hoped the US would take if sanctions failed to stop the Iranian nuclear program. I wouldn't discount Cheney and the neocons. They might cook something up to get their attack on Iran, as they've done in the past with Iraq (via the Office of Special Plans).
Hamas denies intentions to give up Gaza facilities for dialogue
Testimony: Israel delays treatment of two Gaza toddlers
U.S. report on Iran's nuclear program 'flawed,' says Israel's ex-deputy defense minister Isarel and consequently its lobby (including the neocons) in the States are on the offense - their cries getting more shrill by the minute. It's rather reminiscent of the boy who cried wolf.
Palestinian 'settlement' protests Israeli expansion Activists built a mock Palestinian "settlement" in the West Bank on Saturday to protest a potential Israeli expansion there as Israel's housing minister vowed to proceed with a similar project in occupied east Jerusalem.
"No fuel, no gasoline, no benzene" With the majority of gas stations closed in Gaza due to the escalating fuel crisis, a group of local Gaza taxi drivers shared the fuel in their cars' tanks, for the sake of going back home, rather than earning a living under already dire economic conditions.
A Gaza patient dies because of the Israeli siege The medics identified the dead as Zuhair Hussain, a cancer patient of his sixties, saying that the ministry has asked for his referral to a hospital outside Gaza, yet the Israeli authorities refused to grant him access
Unilateral military strike still an option, senior ministers insist ** Binyamin Netanyahu, the popular rightwing opposition leader, was asked whether Israel should launch its own military operation. "We always prefer international action, led by the United States, but we have to ensure that we can protect our country with all means," he told the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz yesterday.
PA asks U.S. to force Israel stick to Road Map "We loudly ask the US administration to act as the judge and compel Israel to implement its commitments which the Road Map plan specified," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told Voice of Palestine radio.
Hamas: Shalit didn't convey a letter to Israel The statement was a reaction to earlier reports saying that Shalit's captors accepted to send a video tape for Shalit to his family in Israel "for reopening Rafah borders crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt."
US Defence Secretary sees Iran as threat to US and Mideast Gates rejected suggestions the US applied a double-standards policy towards Iran and Israel, which has never confirmed it has a nuclear arsenal but is widely believed to be the only state in the Middle East with such weapons, estimated to number 200.
Palestinians to call for 7.1 billion dollars at donor conference
Hamas chief visits Saudi for talks: aide Hamas political supremo Khaled Meshaal is holding talks with officials in Saudi Arabia, amid moves by the oil-rich kingdom to boost its role in securing peace across the Middle East, a source close to Meshaal said on Saturday.
Gulf countries challenge U.S. on Iran and Israel at security conference "Not considering Israel a threat to security in the region is considered a biased policy that is based on a double standard," said Abdul-Rahman al-Attiyah, the secretary general of the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council. It sure is. And it's the same double standard that George Washington warned about in his Farewell Address.
A local PFLP leader calls on Hamas to renounce hegemony over Gaza
Palestinian militant groups resume rockets attacks on Israel Al-Aqsa Brigades, Fatah's military offshoot and Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for launching three makeshift rockets at southern Israel.
Official: Dialogue between Fatah, Hamas to be postponed A senior Hamas official revealed on Saturday that a dialogue between his movement and rival Fatah movement is to be postponed until after the visit of U.S. President George W. Bush to the region in January.
Palestinian UN Envoy: Israeli attacks have destroyed hope for peace
Israeli police interrogate three Israeli journalists who visited Arab states
Hamas says Israeli settlement expansion plan "slap" on Annapolis attendants
ACTION UPDATE! 11 Human Rights activists arrested in E-1 Area! Early this morning Palestinians built a house in the controversial E-1 area. Palestinians are routinely denied permits to build on their own land, and homes that have been built are demolished. The Human Rights activists stayed inside for a few hours before a large police and army presence evicted them through use of force.
Three injured in peaceful protest near Ramallah
Fake edition of Sun sets off lawsuit The owner of The Vancouver Sun has launched a lawsuit against a pro-Palestinian activist and a local printing company over the publication of a fake edition of the daily newspaper.
Go home or go to jail, Lebanon tells Iraqi refugees
Nuclear fallout / Who's right here? Over the last year, a certain hope has developed in Israel that the U.S. would do our dirty work for us; because what is possibly going on, quietly and secretly, between President Bush and his spiritual advisers will lead Bush to the conclusion that his supreme moral obligation is to remove the Iranian nuclear danger threatening Israel before he passes his job on to his successor.
....Is Israel capable of presenting the Americans with any information that can prove to the Americans their new evaluation is wrong? And what new policy will Jerusalem need to formulate on the Iranian issue, based on the reasonable assumption the U.S. will not change its mind?.....The report will most likely also have an indirect effect on the Israeli-Palestinian process. If Israel no longer enjoys the full support of the Americans on nuclear matters, then Israel is likely to feel less committed to make concessions and move forward in talks with the Palestinians. Hmm, so that last sentence suggests, as I and some others have too, that Israel is only putting on a dog and pony show for this peace agreement in order to get the US to attack Iran?...
Largest Dutch trade union will increase pressure on Israel
Middle East huge for Sundance Palestinian hip-hop, tall tales in Jordan, the gritty realities of war in Lebanon and a pair of star-crossed lovers straddling the Arab-Israeli divide. The Sundance Film Festival has lined up a record number of films from the Middle East for its Park City outing in 2008.
The New Republic and National Review fabricate Middle East news ? Say it Ain?t so?
EU: New settlements, Gaza Siege, targeted assassinations acts of war, not peace
An untraditional tradition for the holiday season Another offering from Duke Chapel is the sale of Bethlehem Imports products -- hand-carved olive wood ornaments, nativity sets, figurines and crucifixes. These carvings are used in the chapel's Christmas decorations. All proceeds go to support economically struggling Christian Palestinian artisans and local mission organizations.
Church briefs Hannah Mermelstein, Jewish American human rights volunteer with the International Women's Peace Service, will present a talk entitled "Life in Occupied Palestine" at 10:15 a.m. Dec. 16 at Salina Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 901 Beatrice. The talk is free and open to the public. Mermelstein, who also is co-founder of Birthright Unplugged, will present photos, videos and stories from her work with Palestinian refugees, Israeli activists, and others working nonviolently for peace and justice in Israel/Palestine.
Report: Israel to reopen Rafah crossing in exchange for new Shalit tape According to the report, which quoted Fatah officials as its source, the recent crossing of Palestinian pilgrims en route to Mecca through the Rafah crossing was not made without Israel's consent, but in return for a new tape featuring Shalit.
India should suspend military ties with Israel: Karat "We demand the stopping of at least security and military collaboration with Israel till it comes to the negotiating table and arrive at a reasonable settlement with Palestine,"
Author/Journalist Phil Weiss on The Jewish Community's Turn Toward Peace
Israeli Dep'y Defense Minister to American Jews: Help U.S. Make Peace Now or We Face 100-Years War There was throughout the evening the strong feeling, and what a testament to the IPF this is, that Yes there is an Israel lobby, and it is many of the people in this room, and the time has come to take your foot off the breathing tube of the Palestinians.
Siege that spells slow death for the innocents
Letters | The crimes of the Zionists
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Headlines for 12-07-07
Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian farmer in Gaza Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian farmer and wounded another in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics said Friday.
As Israel prepares to abandon territories, some Jews plan State of Judea A Settleristan, if you will.
IDF to show US nuclear data on Iran Disappointed after failing to make their case on Iran and influence the outcome of the United States's National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) released this week, Military Intelligence will present its hard core evidence on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program on Sunday to the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff during a rare visit he will be making to Israel.
Israeli army detains two cameramen in West Bank
Indonesia to attend donor conference for Palestine in Paris
Four injured and two arrested in Bil'in anti-Wall protest
Arab League chief urges world community to exceed Palestinians' target for $5.8B in aid The head of the Arab League on Friday urged the world community to exceed a US$5.8 billion (¤4 billion) aid target sought by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for his people.
Female settlers' assault elderly Palestinians in Deir al Hatab
Bomb goes off outside major Gaza security installation A roadside bomb went off outside a major security headquarters in Gaza City on Friday, in an escalation of attacks on symbols of the Islamic Hamas group's rule.
Building of Jerusalem settlement to continue: Israel minister "Construction will continue at full flow, and our friends must be told this," Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, a deputy premier, told public television.
Gaza's donkeys in demand as fuel crisis mounts
Bethlehem inaugurates Christmas Market
Justice for Palestine; Justice for All
The more they want Giuliani, the less they want American mediation in Mideast
Only 1 suicide bombing hit Israel so far this year Hamas , the main Palestinian group behind the suicide bombing campaign, has largely held to its vow to maintain a temporary truce as it has tried to exert its influence through the democratic political process.
Thousands come to J'lem to protest plans to divide capital It was with a sense of religious fervor that the thousands of people who came Thursday to the Jerusalem International Convention Center sang Shuli Natan's "Jerusalem of Gold." They came to protest against plans to divide Israel's capital.
Syria 'not pessimistic' on Middle East peace talks Moustapha stressed however that comprehensive peace could only be attained if Israel "changed the reality on the ground" and ended its "policies of occupation."
Poll: Few Israeli settlers will leave homes for cash A minority of Israeli settlers would leave their West Bank homes voluntarily if the government paid them compensation, a poll revealed Friday.
Families live rough as Lebanon rebuilds from war
Jordan king to address European parliament on Mideast
Palestinian student trades rifle for amnesty and quest for peace
Iran: Why Won't We Take Yes For An Answer? Israel's amen corner tries to spin the NIE report
What if the NIE is a Bush gambit? pressure on Israel could be one reason for the NIE. Pressure on the Arabs is another, as mentioned above
As Israel prepares to abandon territories, some Jews plan State of Judea A Settleristan, if you will.
IDF to show US nuclear data on Iran Disappointed after failing to make their case on Iran and influence the outcome of the United States's National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) released this week, Military Intelligence will present its hard core evidence on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program on Sunday to the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff during a rare visit he will be making to Israel.
Israeli army detains two cameramen in West Bank
Indonesia to attend donor conference for Palestine in Paris
Four injured and two arrested in Bil'in anti-Wall protest
Arab League chief urges world community to exceed Palestinians' target for $5.8B in aid The head of the Arab League on Friday urged the world community to exceed a US$5.8 billion (¤4 billion) aid target sought by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for his people.
Female settlers' assault elderly Palestinians in Deir al Hatab
Bomb goes off outside major Gaza security installation A roadside bomb went off outside a major security headquarters in Gaza City on Friday, in an escalation of attacks on symbols of the Islamic Hamas group's rule.
Building of Jerusalem settlement to continue: Israel minister "Construction will continue at full flow, and our friends must be told this," Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, a deputy premier, told public television.
Gaza's donkeys in demand as fuel crisis mounts
Bethlehem inaugurates Christmas Market
Justice for Palestine; Justice for All
The more they want Giuliani, the less they want American mediation in Mideast
Only 1 suicide bombing hit Israel so far this year Hamas , the main Palestinian group behind the suicide bombing campaign, has largely held to its vow to maintain a temporary truce as it has tried to exert its influence through the democratic political process.
Thousands come to J'lem to protest plans to divide capital It was with a sense of religious fervor that the thousands of people who came Thursday to the Jerusalem International Convention Center sang Shuli Natan's "Jerusalem of Gold." They came to protest against plans to divide Israel's capital.
Syria 'not pessimistic' on Middle East peace talks Moustapha stressed however that comprehensive peace could only be attained if Israel "changed the reality on the ground" and ended its "policies of occupation."
Poll: Few Israeli settlers will leave homes for cash A minority of Israeli settlers would leave their West Bank homes voluntarily if the government paid them compensation, a poll revealed Friday.
Families live rough as Lebanon rebuilds from war
Jordan king to address European parliament on Mideast
Palestinian student trades rifle for amnesty and quest for peace
Iran: Why Won't We Take Yes For An Answer? Israel's amen corner tries to spin the NIE report
What if the NIE is a Bush gambit? pressure on Israel could be one reason for the NIE. Pressure on the Arabs is another, as mentioned above
Headlines for 12-06-07
Israeli fire kills Palestinian in Gaza A Palestinian civilian was killed on Thursday by Israeli fire in the north of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, medics said
Palestinian killed near Gaza fence-medics
Cop's killing shows strain of W.Bank security plan "He was doing his job, confronting outlaws," Bethlehem's chief of security, General Ahmed al-Hadar, said on Thursday. But the car's occupants were Israeli commandos disguised as Arabs. They fired back, killing Salman and wounding his partner.
Really now. Who are the rogues here?
Abbas calls on Israel to stop expanding Har Homa settlement
Palestinian resistance blames Israel for impasse on captured Israeli soldier
Palestinian statehood deal possible in 2008-Blair
Palestinian officials value King?s directives to treat Gazan patients in Jordanian hospitals
U.S. Joint Chiefs head to visit Israel Mullen will be briefed about Israel's intelligence estimates regarding the Iranian nuclear program, a response to a U.S. report that this week said Iran shelved its quest for an atomic bomb in 2003. The Israelis insist on foisting upon us their faulty intel on Iran in order to get us to attack that nation. They insist on making their problems OUR problems.
Rice criticises Israel's settlement expansion plan Grow some cojones, Condi. Tell them no more aid unless they stop building/expanding the settlements. Bush's old man did it. The lobby won in the end, but at least he tried..
Israeli minister cancels UK trip in fear of arrest Dichter's concerns relate to an Israeli military attack in July 2002 on a house in Gaza that killed Hamas military commander Salah Shehadeh, his bodyguard and 13 civilians, including children. The strike drew strong international criticism, including from then UN secretary general Kofi Annan, who warned Israel to comply with international law. Dichter was head of Shin Bet at the time. Interestingly, the Israelis committed war crimes against Americans and yet never have any fears of being arrested when they visit America. That would be because America is (another) Israel-occupied territory.
Israel warns Iran to co-operate or pay price ISRAEL has warned Iran to either co-operate with the West over its uranium enrichment program or face military action.
Concerns raised over freedom of expression in the West Bank Palestinian academics and scholars as well as some senior members of the Hamas movement have become increasingly concerned about the restriction on freedom of expression in the West Bank. This comes following the incidents which took place during anti-Annapolis rallies in cities across the region last November.
Official: disputes on Gaza takeover mount within Hamas
Palestinian interim gov't says reopening Rafah crossing needs Israeli approval
Iran Assessment Creates an Israeli Headache That's because not only do some of the key conclusions of the latest National Intelligence Estimate undercut some of Israel's own assessments, they also seem to dim the likelihood that the U.S. will take military action against Iran's nuclear facilities ? a step the Israelis had been quietly urging the White House to take should sanctions fail to stop Iran's uranium enrichment program. .....Israeli intelligence officials plan to ask Washington for clarifications about the NIE report.
Egypt exerts more efforts on regional peace, pushes forward domestic reforms
Palestinian police disperse demonstrations in the West Bank , killing one person and injuring others
Hamas leader calls for increased dialogue with Fatah.
Israel risks peace process by planning new illegal homes
Gaza militants fire missiles into Israeli targets
Israeli army attacks several areas in the Hebron district, one civilian kidnapped
Gaza petrol station owners strike ends
Fewer resources for a worsening situation - UNRWA He asked that Israelis be mindful of the rights of the people and of the welfare of those who have no intention of committing any violence against the Israelis, because if these people are blocked from moving, from accessing employment, from earning a livelihood then their intentions may become really more aggressive than they would otherwise be, he said. "So we think that sometimes these measures are counter-productive rather than conducive to increased security."
Only 41 percent of Gaza's food import needs being met A spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said there "cannot be business as usual" with the Gaza Strip as long as rocket attacks against southern Israel continue.
Abbas open to Hamas talks if it cedes Gaza control
Jordan sees Israeli settlement plans as threat to talks
Gaza groups slam Hamas over law court takeover
WHO warns against humanitarian crisis in Gaza
Palestinian President Abbas rejects concept of state with provisional borders
Israel's settlement expansion plan 'not helpful' : UN chief
Herbs replace drugs in Gaza amid suffocating siege
U.S. seeks clarification over Israeli housing plan But what action will be taken? None.
CNN: Seymour Hersh 'vindicated' by new Iran intel estimate** As early as July 2006, Hersh had reported that the US military was resisting administration pressure for a bombing campaign in Iran, because "American and European intelligence agencies have not found specific evidence of clandestine activities or hidden facilities." ... ... As Hersh explained to Wolf Blitzer at the time, the White House was attempting to counter the CIA assessment with an Israeli claim, based on a "reliable agent," that Iran was working on a trigger for a nuclear device.
Ban Ki-moon to discuss planned Israeli settlements with Quartet partners
Egyptian FM slams Israel for tender to expand Jewish settlement
Realist Revenge** The neo-cons have predictably launched a campaign against the NIE, arguing that the rejection of the 2005 predecessor begs the question why the 2007 conclusions should be taken seriously and (a la Podhoretz and Ledeen) that the the intelligence community is deliberately trying to undermine the president?s policies with which they disagree (Podhoretz? ?darker suspicion? ? a phrase that should elicit some kind of comment by Guiliani, hopefully)......the fact that the main conclusions of the report were known in top policy circles since at least last summer, if not well before then, helps explain why the administration?s hawks (and their neo-con allies) ? culminating in Cheney?s late October speech to the Washington Institute on Near East Policy (WINEP) ? started hyping Iran?s alleged direction of attacks on U.S. soldiers and marines in Iraq in August
Palestinians urge Egypt to supply Gaza with fuel
Palestinian entrepreneurs plan two built-from-scratch cities in the West Bank A network of Israeli barriers and roadblocks continues to hamper travel and trade, and Palestinian business people hope at best for a calmer atmosphere and new opportunities, including joint ventures with Israeli partners. Such projects are to be announced at a post-Annapolis business conference in the spring
Two-Thirds of Israelis Oppose Attack on Iran: Poll When asked ?should Israel alone attack the Iranian nuclear installations,? 67.2 percent said no, while 20.9 percent said yes and 11.9 percent had no opinion, said the survey aired on public radio.
Pro-Israel groups: NIE rattles our anti-Iran efforts Many pro-Israel groups are acknowledging privately, and in some cases publicly, that the new US intelligence assessment on Iran is a significant blow to their efforts to isolate Iran and ease its threat to Israel.
Publicizing "No Way to the Inn" Displays An important aspect of the "No Way to the Inn: Bethlehem behind the Wall" campaign is spreading the word, by mouth and through the media, about the separation barrier being constructed throughout Palestine (for campaign details, visit: http://www.cpt.org/campaigns/no_way_to_the_inn/description.php ).
Jews central to Labor scandal, but no anti-Semitic fallout in U.K. the accused's links with an Israeli advocacy organization has fueled the cadre of anti-Israeli conspiracy theorists...."Mendelsohn is a passionate Zionist and infamous lobbyist, described by the Jewish Chronicle as 'one of the best-connected power brokers,' " she wrote. "So we can assume LFI plays a part in shaping our foreign policies in the Middle East."
AIPAC judge sets April 29 date An April 29 trial date was set in the classified information case against two former AIPAC staffers.
An End To ?Apocalyptic Unity? Rabin told AIPAC leaders, "OK, Iran is our biggest threat. We have to keep it from getting the bomb," this Jewish leader related. "They picked up the Iran issue and were far more energetic with it than he intended or imagined."..... said Shoshana Bryen of JINSA, "Those who have been wedded to the idea that in the next year the United States and/or Israel had to decide whether to drop a bomb on Iran have a big problem. They will now find themselves without legitimacy in the U.S. government." Whose war?
Girls in West Bank village advocate for their rights
When the roadmap is a one way street The answer for the past 40 years of occupation is the status quo, delay, while quietly expanding the settlements and strengthening its grip on Judea and Samaria (again, we do not use the terms "occupation" or "occupied territories" in Israel, not to mention "Palestinian").
Israel 60 years later: partition or apartheid
Jerusalem: The Jewish Mainstream Starts To Accept Reality
Is Iran NIE a Blessing in Disguise for Israel?
Syrian MP: If we're attacked ? we'll hit Dimona "The possibility that Israel were to infringe upon Syria's sovereignty is a possibility that exists and that we're not ruling out, although at the same time, we are not looking to reach this stage and we do not want to escalate the situation,"
Fair trade at YMCA fair There are hand-beaded bikinis made by a Venezuelan cooperative, olive oil and olive oil soap made by Palestinian farmers, and greeting cards by a local photographer
Livni to push for international force in Gaza Livni, in talks she is expected to hold with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and a number of key EU foreign ministers in Brussels, is expected to discuss the Iranian situation, and press Israel's case that the pressure on Iran needed to continue despite the US intelligence estimate that Teheran has ceased its nuclear weapons program.
Pro-palestinian group at Case hosts 1st event
CEPAL marks UN Day of Solidarity with Palestine A people's right to pursue the most basic of human rights and the simplicity with which applying international law could award them these rights was the main focus of this year's commemoration of the UN Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people at an event held at the University of Toronto on Thursday, November 29.
Ethiopian community hit hard by discrimination "racism is a word that I have feared using until now, because I did not believe that it could exist in Israel in 2007, but the time has come to call a spade a spade. Israeli society is profoundly infected by racism and unfortunately there is no suitable punishment for racism in Israel." There's been racism against Arabs therein for decades. So why should it be a surprise to see this racism now directed at other groups too?
Olson and Othman: Summit's goal: Perpetuate repression of Palestinians The United States is not an honest broker here. Congress just gave Israel another $30 billion for military aid over the next 10 years. That's on top of the $3 billion to $5 billion annually it already gets.
Palestinian killed near Gaza fence-medics
Cop's killing shows strain of W.Bank security plan "He was doing his job, confronting outlaws," Bethlehem's chief of security, General Ahmed al-Hadar, said on Thursday. But the car's occupants were Israeli commandos disguised as Arabs. They fired back, killing Salman and wounding his partner.
Really now. Who are the rogues here?
Abbas calls on Israel to stop expanding Har Homa settlement
Palestinian resistance blames Israel for impasse on captured Israeli soldier
Palestinian statehood deal possible in 2008-Blair
Palestinian officials value King?s directives to treat Gazan patients in Jordanian hospitals
U.S. Joint Chiefs head to visit Israel Mullen will be briefed about Israel's intelligence estimates regarding the Iranian nuclear program, a response to a U.S. report that this week said Iran shelved its quest for an atomic bomb in 2003. The Israelis insist on foisting upon us their faulty intel on Iran in order to get us to attack that nation. They insist on making their problems OUR problems.
Rice criticises Israel's settlement expansion plan Grow some cojones, Condi. Tell them no more aid unless they stop building/expanding the settlements. Bush's old man did it. The lobby won in the end, but at least he tried..
Israeli minister cancels UK trip in fear of arrest Dichter's concerns relate to an Israeli military attack in July 2002 on a house in Gaza that killed Hamas military commander Salah Shehadeh, his bodyguard and 13 civilians, including children. The strike drew strong international criticism, including from then UN secretary general Kofi Annan, who warned Israel to comply with international law. Dichter was head of Shin Bet at the time. Interestingly, the Israelis committed war crimes against Americans and yet never have any fears of being arrested when they visit America. That would be because America is (another) Israel-occupied territory.
Israel warns Iran to co-operate or pay price ISRAEL has warned Iran to either co-operate with the West over its uranium enrichment program or face military action.
Concerns raised over freedom of expression in the West Bank Palestinian academics and scholars as well as some senior members of the Hamas movement have become increasingly concerned about the restriction on freedom of expression in the West Bank. This comes following the incidents which took place during anti-Annapolis rallies in cities across the region last November.
Official: disputes on Gaza takeover mount within Hamas
Palestinian interim gov't says reopening Rafah crossing needs Israeli approval
Iran Assessment Creates an Israeli Headache That's because not only do some of the key conclusions of the latest National Intelligence Estimate undercut some of Israel's own assessments, they also seem to dim the likelihood that the U.S. will take military action against Iran's nuclear facilities ? a step the Israelis had been quietly urging the White House to take should sanctions fail to stop Iran's uranium enrichment program. .....Israeli intelligence officials plan to ask Washington for clarifications about the NIE report.
Egypt exerts more efforts on regional peace, pushes forward domestic reforms
Palestinian police disperse demonstrations in the West Bank , killing one person and injuring others
Hamas leader calls for increased dialogue with Fatah.
Israel risks peace process by planning new illegal homes
Gaza militants fire missiles into Israeli targets
Israeli army attacks several areas in the Hebron district, one civilian kidnapped
Gaza petrol station owners strike ends
Fewer resources for a worsening situation - UNRWA He asked that Israelis be mindful of the rights of the people and of the welfare of those who have no intention of committing any violence against the Israelis, because if these people are blocked from moving, from accessing employment, from earning a livelihood then their intentions may become really more aggressive than they would otherwise be, he said. "So we think that sometimes these measures are counter-productive rather than conducive to increased security."
Only 41 percent of Gaza's food import needs being met A spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said there "cannot be business as usual" with the Gaza Strip as long as rocket attacks against southern Israel continue.
Abbas open to Hamas talks if it cedes Gaza control
Jordan sees Israeli settlement plans as threat to talks
Gaza groups slam Hamas over law court takeover
WHO warns against humanitarian crisis in Gaza
Palestinian President Abbas rejects concept of state with provisional borders
Israel's settlement expansion plan 'not helpful' : UN chief
Herbs replace drugs in Gaza amid suffocating siege
U.S. seeks clarification over Israeli housing plan But what action will be taken? None.
CNN: Seymour Hersh 'vindicated' by new Iran intel estimate** As early as July 2006, Hersh had reported that the US military was resisting administration pressure for a bombing campaign in Iran, because "American and European intelligence agencies have not found specific evidence of clandestine activities or hidden facilities." ... ... As Hersh explained to Wolf Blitzer at the time, the White House was attempting to counter the CIA assessment with an Israeli claim, based on a "reliable agent," that Iran was working on a trigger for a nuclear device.
Ban Ki-moon to discuss planned Israeli settlements with Quartet partners
Egyptian FM slams Israel for tender to expand Jewish settlement
Realist Revenge** The neo-cons have predictably launched a campaign against the NIE, arguing that the rejection of the 2005 predecessor begs the question why the 2007 conclusions should be taken seriously and (a la Podhoretz and Ledeen) that the the intelligence community is deliberately trying to undermine the president?s policies with which they disagree (Podhoretz? ?darker suspicion? ? a phrase that should elicit some kind of comment by Guiliani, hopefully)......the fact that the main conclusions of the report were known in top policy circles since at least last summer, if not well before then, helps explain why the administration?s hawks (and their neo-con allies) ? culminating in Cheney?s late October speech to the Washington Institute on Near East Policy (WINEP) ? started hyping Iran?s alleged direction of attacks on U.S. soldiers and marines in Iraq in August
Palestinians urge Egypt to supply Gaza with fuel
Palestinian entrepreneurs plan two built-from-scratch cities in the West Bank A network of Israeli barriers and roadblocks continues to hamper travel and trade, and Palestinian business people hope at best for a calmer atmosphere and new opportunities, including joint ventures with Israeli partners. Such projects are to be announced at a post-Annapolis business conference in the spring
Two-Thirds of Israelis Oppose Attack on Iran: Poll When asked ?should Israel alone attack the Iranian nuclear installations,? 67.2 percent said no, while 20.9 percent said yes and 11.9 percent had no opinion, said the survey aired on public radio.
Pro-Israel groups: NIE rattles our anti-Iran efforts Many pro-Israel groups are acknowledging privately, and in some cases publicly, that the new US intelligence assessment on Iran is a significant blow to their efforts to isolate Iran and ease its threat to Israel.
Publicizing "No Way to the Inn" Displays An important aspect of the "No Way to the Inn: Bethlehem behind the Wall" campaign is spreading the word, by mouth and through the media, about the separation barrier being constructed throughout Palestine (for campaign details, visit: http://www.cpt.org/campaigns/no_way_to_the_inn/description.php ).
Jews central to Labor scandal, but no anti-Semitic fallout in U.K. the accused's links with an Israeli advocacy organization has fueled the cadre of anti-Israeli conspiracy theorists...."Mendelsohn is a passionate Zionist and infamous lobbyist, described by the Jewish Chronicle as 'one of the best-connected power brokers,' " she wrote. "So we can assume LFI plays a part in shaping our foreign policies in the Middle East."
AIPAC judge sets April 29 date An April 29 trial date was set in the classified information case against two former AIPAC staffers.
An End To ?Apocalyptic Unity? Rabin told AIPAC leaders, "OK, Iran is our biggest threat. We have to keep it from getting the bomb," this Jewish leader related. "They picked up the Iran issue and were far more energetic with it than he intended or imagined."..... said Shoshana Bryen of JINSA, "Those who have been wedded to the idea that in the next year the United States and/or Israel had to decide whether to drop a bomb on Iran have a big problem. They will now find themselves without legitimacy in the U.S. government." Whose war?
Girls in West Bank village advocate for their rights
When the roadmap is a one way street The answer for the past 40 years of occupation is the status quo, delay, while quietly expanding the settlements and strengthening its grip on Judea and Samaria (again, we do not use the terms "occupation" or "occupied territories" in Israel, not to mention "Palestinian").
Israel 60 years later: partition or apartheid
Jerusalem: The Jewish Mainstream Starts To Accept Reality
Is Iran NIE a Blessing in Disguise for Israel?
Syrian MP: If we're attacked ? we'll hit Dimona "The possibility that Israel were to infringe upon Syria's sovereignty is a possibility that exists and that we're not ruling out, although at the same time, we are not looking to reach this stage and we do not want to escalate the situation,"
Fair trade at YMCA fair There are hand-beaded bikinis made by a Venezuelan cooperative, olive oil and olive oil soap made by Palestinian farmers, and greeting cards by a local photographer
Livni to push for international force in Gaza Livni, in talks she is expected to hold with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and a number of key EU foreign ministers in Brussels, is expected to discuss the Iranian situation, and press Israel's case that the pressure on Iran needed to continue despite the US intelligence estimate that Teheran has ceased its nuclear weapons program.
Pro-palestinian group at Case hosts 1st event
CEPAL marks UN Day of Solidarity with Palestine A people's right to pursue the most basic of human rights and the simplicity with which applying international law could award them these rights was the main focus of this year's commemoration of the UN Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people at an event held at the University of Toronto on Thursday, November 29.
Ethiopian community hit hard by discrimination "racism is a word that I have feared using until now, because I did not believe that it could exist in Israel in 2007, but the time has come to call a spade a spade. Israeli society is profoundly infected by racism and unfortunately there is no suitable punishment for racism in Israel." There's been racism against Arabs therein for decades. So why should it be a surprise to see this racism now directed at other groups too?
Olson and Othman: Summit's goal: Perpetuate repression of Palestinians The United States is not an honest broker here. Congress just gave Israel another $30 billion for military aid over the next 10 years. That's on top of the $3 billion to $5 billion annually it already gets.
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