IOF troops kill Quds Brigades commander, resistance fighters clash with them
Palestinian Information Center 8/3/2007
NABLUS, (PIC)-- An IOF special unit, Friday at dawn, assassinated Raed Abu al-Adas, 27 years, the commander of the Quds Brigades in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Eyewitnesses told PIC correspondent that the special unit raided the Ras al-Ain neighbourhood in Nablus using a civilian car and opened fire at Abu al-Adas killing him on the spot. The IOF troops detained the corpse of the martyr and prevented Palestinian ambulances from taking it. A 40-year old man who is a resident of the neighbourhood was also wounded and a young man was arrested by the invading troops. About 30 military vehicles went into the city as a reinforcement. The invading troops had a huge military bulldozer which was used to close roads and a number of houses were searched and ransacked.
Israeli military forces invade Gaza airport, south-east of Rafah crossing, several Palestinians arrested
Ma'an News Agency 8/3/2007
Rafah – Ma'an – Israeli military forces on Friday at dawn re-invaded the now-defunct Gaza International Airport, to the south-east of the Rafah Crossing. According to eyewitnesses, Israeli troops arrived with over 30 military vehicles, which were deployed into the area under the cover of fighter jets and helicopters. Local sources have said that "many" Palestinian citizens have been arrested. The National Resistance Brigades, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said that they succeeded in targeting an Israeli soldier at the airport. According to the brigades, the attack "comes in the framework of the responses to the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank." [end]
Non-violent demonstrations held in outlying villages of Bethlehem
Ma'an News Agency 8/3/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an - Non-violent demonstrators today marched in villages to the west of the city of Bethlehem, in the southern West Bank. At around 10:30am, some 65 protestors gathered in the village of Artas, south-west of Bethlehem, in the latest of the weekly protests held in the village against the expansion of neighbouring Israeli settlements. In May, Israeli troops destroyed many of the olive groves of the Palestinian village, denying the villagers their agricultural livelihood. On the site of the olive groves, a sewage dump will be built for the nearby Etzion Israeli settlement bloc. For the first time in two and a half months, the demonstrators were able to walk to the land without being confronted by Israeli soldiers. Troops stood on the hillside, but did not engage with the unarmed protestors, as they walked to the construction site of the sewage pipeline.
Settlers attack UN personnel near southern Hebron Hills
Amira Hass, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Two residents of an illegal settlement outpost near Hebron attacked United Nations workers on Thursday. The UN personnel were driving in the South Hebron Hills area when one of the settlers jumped on the car and smashed the windshield, sending shards of glass into the driver's eye. A Haaretz reporter and photographer were in the car at the time, along with three members of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The settlers, residents of Mitzpeh Yair, claim that the OCHA workers were trying to uproot the outpost's olive trees. The OCHA workers had been visiting the nearby Palestinian town of Bir al Eid. As they were leaving, they spotted a man approaching. The driver braked in order not to hit him and the man drew near, as if to speak to the occupants.
PRC: Israel recruiting Palestinian refugees
Ali Waked, YNetNews 8/3/2007
Spokesman for Popular Resistance Committees says Israeli security officials attempted to recruit collaborators while dozens of refugees returned from Rafah to Gaza this week: 'We fear some may have agreed to cooperate and will be working for the Israeli intelligence' "Israel is recruiting Palestinians amongst those it allowed back through Rafah to be collaborators," said Mohamed Abdel Al, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees. According to Abdel Al, also known as Abu Abir, two Palestinians who returned to the Gaza Strip in recent days after being stranded for weeks on the Egyptian side of the Rafah Crossing claimed that Israeli security officials attempted to recruit them. The two Palestinians, aged 24 and 37, said the Israeli security official asked them to collect information on Palestinian organizations...
Gaza: UN agency for Palestinian refugees condemns Israeli incursion into school
United Nations News Service, ReliefWeb 8/3/2007
The United Nations agency entrusted with aiding Palestinian refugees today condemned an Israeli army incursion into one of its schools in southern Gaza, which left property damaged. "This is a violation of our property and we expect the IDF to halt any operation that places in danger our staff and which damages our installations," UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Director in Gaza John Ging said, using the acronym of the Israeli Defence Forces. Local residents said Israeli soldiers and two tanks entered the compound of the Al Shouka Elementary Coeducational School and arrested two of the guards. The main gate of the school was damaged during the operation. Israeli soldiers then rounded up some 50 other people, bringing about 15 of them to the school, where they were held for several hours before being moved elsewhere.
Palestinian security forces continue arresting and "prosecuting" Hamas members, says Hamas
Ma'an News Agency 8/3/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – In a statement received by Ma'an on Friday, Hamas have declared that security forces loyal to the Palestinian Authority are still arresting and "prosecuting" Hamas members in the West Bank. According to the statement, security forces have recently arrested two Hamas members from Salfit. In related news, Hamas said that the Fawar Youth Football Club in the Hebron Governorate has banned seven members of the club, because they refused to participate in a championship to be played in memory of Fatah activist Samih Madhoun, "executed" by the Hamas-affiliated Al Qassam Brigades. [end]
Soldiers harass, beat, several youth near Jenin
IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2007
Palestinian medical sources reported on Friday afternoon that Israeli soldiers stationed at a military roadblock on Nablus-Jenin road, detained dozens of residents for several hours and severely punched and clubbed seven. Resident Moneer Haitham, 25, stated that soldiers closed the checkpoint, randomly picked seven youth and took them behind the checkpoint where they severely lunched and clubbed them. [end]
Troops attack farmers in the plains area
IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2007
Several Palestinian farmers were attacked on Friday by Israeli troops in the Plains area, in the West Bank's Jordan Valley, after the army stopped them as they tried to enter their farmlands. Resident Sadeq Daraghma stated that soldiers detained him and his sons before severely punching and hitting them with batons, and forced them out of the area. Daraghma and his sons were trying to reach their land to farm it. Also, resident Taiseer Sawafta said that soldiers forced him and dozens of other farmers to wait for one hour, exposed to the extreme summer heat, and attacked him along with three other farmers. Sawafta added that the soldiers told him and the rest of the farmers that they would be arrested if they try to enter the area again.
Palestinian detainees suffering harsh living conditions, ill-treatment
IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2007
Akram Abu Siba', secretary of the Detainees Office in Jenin district, stated on Friday that Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons are facing harsh living conditions, abuse and are deprived from their basic rights, while dozens of detainees are placed in solitary confinement for extended periods. He added that dozens of detainees are sick and need medical treatment but the Israeli prison administration is neglecting their rights and depriving them from the needed medical attention. Some of the cases mentioned in the report are; detainee Khader Turkman is suffering from a neurological disease, detainee Adeeb Al Qit, was shot and injured prior to his arrest and need surgeries, detainee Yasser Nazzal suffers from several diseases, detainee Montaser Abu Ghalion need ophthalmic treatment, detainee Anan Abu Khurj...
Peace activists in Israel campaign against the establishment of a university in a settlement near Nablus
Ma'an News Agency 8/3/2007
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli peace activists have demonstrated in the campus of the college of Ariel settlement, built on West Bank territory, in protest against the transition of the college into a university. Many activists demonstrated against this transition, as "it is a manifestation of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian areas". [end]
Tamir seeks to neutralize West Bank academic institution
Tamara Traubmann, Ha'aretz 8/3/2007
Education Minister Yuli Tamir (Labor) told Haaretz on Thursday that she would work to annul an education institution in the West Bank after it unilaterally decided to turn a college in the settlement of Ariel into a "university center." She said she would do so by incorporating the institution into the Council of Israeli Higher Education (CHE), the body responsible for all academic institutions in Israel. The Council of Higher Education in Judea and Samaria (CHE-JS) is responsible for Jewish academic institutions in the West Bank. It decided last year to upgrade the Academic College of Judea and Samaria from a college to a "university center." The college declared itself upgraded on Wednesday, a declaration Tamir deemed "insignificant," saying that the classification of an academic institution as a "university center" did not exist.
Palestinian minister of detainees' affairs: agreement to pardon "wanted" Palestinians temporarily stopped
Ma'an News Agency 8/3/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Palestinian minister of detainees' affairs in the caretaker government, Ashraf Al-Ajrami on Friday held the Israelis responsible for ceasing to deal with the issue of the "wanted" Palestinians under the pretext that several of them refused to turn over their weapons. According to Al-Ajrami, contacts have not completely stopped, yet, they were partly stopped due to Israeli protests that the "wanted" Palestinians refused to turn over their weapons. The minister told Ma'an that very few of the wanted men refused to turn over their weapons, and that the government will force them to do so. He explained that the only obstacle, which impedes the Palestinian security's access to the places of the wanted men, is the Israeli military checkpoints.
Israeli force invades northern Gaza; kidnaps several civilians
Nisreen Qumsieh, International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2007
An Israeli military force invaded Beit Lahia, located in the southern Gaza strip, in the early hours of Friday morning. Eyewitnesses reported that a huge number of Israeli military vehicles, backed by several armoured bulldozers, invaded the area while shooting heavily. Troops launched a wide-scale ransacking campaign on several houses, confiscating property and searching for so-called "wanted Palestinians". The same sources added that the military force used a loudspeaker to call on civilians to leave their homes and commune in the central square. Several civilians were later kidnapped and transferred them an unknown detention centre. In a previous invasion to Beit Lahia on Thursday, two Palestinian civilians were killed and another three injured in an Israeli military offensive.
Two killed in Gaza factional conflict
John Smith, International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2007
Two Palestinians were killed in Gaza City as Hamas and Islamic Jihad clashed on Thursday night. Islamic Jihad claims that a number of members of the organization were ambushed by Hamas gunmen, one of whom was shot in the head, another in the legs. Shortly after the incident, Fatah official Salah al-Amoudi was shot dead by unknown masked gunmen. The Hamas movement, who have pledged to uphold law and order in the Gaza Strip, have launched an investigation into the murder of al-Amoudi. [end]
Israeli military kills one in Nablus, arrests others in Nablus and Tulkarem
Ma'an News Agency 8/3/2007
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli sources have revealed that army troops have arrested a Palestinian citizen in the city of Tulkarem on Friday at dawn. His name has not yet been disclosed. Also in the north of the West Bank, troops are launching a heavy artillery attack in the city of Nablus, during an ongoing military operation which started in the middle of the night. Although damage has not yet been assessed, Israeli troops killed a member of the Fatah-affiliated Al Quds Brigades, and arrested others. [end]
Israeli military forces launch raid in the area of Salfit in the West Bank, arresting Palestinians
Ma'an News Agency 8/3/2007
Nablus – Salfit –Ma'an – Israeli military forces Friday arrested several Palestinians from the villages of Bidya and Qarawat Bani Hassan, to the west of the West Bank city of Salfit. Eyewitnesses said that a large contingent of the Israeli army raided Bidya, entering homes and arresting citizens. Qarawat Bani Hassan was also besieged. Israeli forces searched Ahmed Khadr's house and arrested him. The Salfit governorate suffers from a continuous campaign of arrests, and repeated raids of towns and villages within the province. [end]
Islamic Jihad's military wing launches RPG towards an Israeli force in Gaza
Ma'an News Agency 8/3/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – The military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, Al-Quds brigades claimed responsibility on Friday for launching a rocket- propelled grenade RPG at an Israeli undercover force which was stationed in a Palestinian home east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. In a related regard, the Al-Mujahidin brigades claimed that their militants clashed with Israeli troops in a military jeep which was combing the borderline east of Ash Shuja'iyya neighborhood in Gaza city. The Israelis have not reported any casualties. [end]
An Nasser brigades launch an RPG at an Israeli military tank in Rafah
Ma'an News Agency 8/3/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – An Nasser Salah Addin brigades, the armed wing affiliated to the Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility on Friday evening for launching a rocket-propelled grenade RPG at an Israeli military tank east of Gaza airport in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah. In a statement received by Ma'an, the brigades said, "The tank was directly hit, and was seen ablaze." [end]
3 Qassams fired toward Negev
Ynet, YNetNews 8/3/2007
2 rockets land in Sderot; number of residents suffer from shock. Third Qassam damages dairy barn in nearby community - Palestinians in north Gaza fired three Qassams toward the western Negev Thursday morning. Two rockets landed in Sderot, with one of them causing damage to homes and vehicles. A second rocket landed in an open field on another city street, while the third landed in a nearby kibbutz and damaged a dairy barn. The al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad's armed wing, claimed responsibility for the attack on Sderot Friday morning. A spokesman on behalf of the organization told Ynet that the rockets were "a response to the assassination of a senior in the organization in Nablus tonight". Several residents who suffered from shock as a result of the attack were treated by Magen David Adom paramedics.
IOF troops occupy the Rafah airport and raid the Nahda neighbourhood
Palestinian Information Center 8/3/2007
RAFAH, (PIC)-- IOF troops on Thursday night, completely occupied Gaza's international airport, to the east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, and raided the Nahda neighbourhood of the city. Eyewitnesses told PIC correspondent that a large number of military vehicles raided the neighbourhood and took complete control of the airport turning it into a military camp. Residents also reported that the invading troops occupied a number of homes and turned them into military posts after detaining their occupants or using them as human shields. Sporadic sound of gunfire has been reported in the area. On Friday morning the IOF troops started an arrest campaign amongst the Palestinians living around the airport. The IOF troops have recently occupied the airport on various occasions and used it as a base to launch incursions into Rafah and to bulldoze tracts of land around it. [end]
UN officials attacked by Israeli settlers, south of the West Bank city of Hebron
Ma'an News Agency 8/3/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Israeli settlers from Mitzpe Yair on Thursday attacked two officials of the United Nation's Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), south of Hebron. The officials were accompanying a Haaretz reporter when the attack took place; one of the UN officials was injured. Israeli military sources said that they are investigating the attack. Haaretz reports that Mitzpe Yair is an "illegal outpost", meaning that the establishment is outside of the boundaries of the official Israeli settlement bloc. Seen by many in the settler movement as expanding the frontiers of Israeli settlement, these makeshift domestic bases are illegal under Israeli law, quite apart from the "official" Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the establishment of which are contrary to international law.
Israelis pelt Beit Hanoun with eggs and vegetables
John Smith, International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2007
A group of Israelis from the Tel Aviv region have constructed a number of homemade projectile launchers which they have used to fire fruit, vegetables and eggs at the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, a site that witnessed the massacre of 19 Palestinian civilians after heavy artillery was fired at the town last November. The group, who claim that their actions are designed to raise awareness of attacks on Sderot, uses a homemade projectile to variety a variety of substances at Beit Hanoun, including eggs, tomatoes and other vegetables. "The shooting was amazing, some of the vegetables flew over to the Strip, we actually spotted the eggs flying into Beit Hanoun. […] I'm glad we did this […] we are considering keeping this up. " The northern Gaza Town of Beit Hanoun last November witnessed the deaths of...
Qassam rockets hit western Negev
John Smith, International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2007
Three Qassam rockets were launched at the Western Negev on Thursday morning. No serious injuries were reported. Qassam rocket shell. Two of the rockets landed in Sderot, causing limited damage to a number of homes and vehicles, while the third rocket damaged a barn in a nearby kibbutz. [end]
Police ban Shfaram protest over failure to try Natan-Zada's killers
Jack Khoury, Ha'aretz 8/3/2007
Police rejected Friday a request by far-right activists to hold a protest this weekend in the Israeli Arab town of Shfaram against the state's failure thus far to indict those responsible for killing Jewish terrorist Eden Natan-Zada roughly two years ago. Natan-Zada was beaten to death by an angry mob after he killed four Arab civilians on a bus in the town in the weeks leading up to Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank. After he was subdued and subsequently handcuffed by police, an angry mob stormed the bus and beat him to death. The far-right activists objected to the decision, saying their request is legally legitimate. Police will conduct situation periodic situation assessments in the coming days to determine whether to allow the protest to go ahead and under what conditions.
IDF to conduct inquiry into infiltration by Palestinians across Gaza border with Israel
Amos Harel, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
The Israel Defense Forces Gaza Division will conduct an inquiry in the coming days in order to determine how two Palestinians managed to infiltrate Israel from the Gaza Strip on Friday. The IDF was late in realizing that the Palestinians had successfully crossed the fence near Kibbutz Meflasim along the northern Gaza Strip after a delay, and was therefore unable to capture the two. They boarded a commercial vehicle that awaited them on the Israeli side of the fence, traveling northward before being eventually captured by police in the Israeli Arab town of Tira. The Palestinians infiltrated Israel in order to seek employment, not carry out a terrorist attack. Police continued to search the Tel Aviv area in an effort to find the person who drove the two, bringing one man in for questioning in Bat Yam.
This Week In Palestine – Week 31 2007
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2007
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file - || File 17. 9MB || Time 19m35s| | - This Week In Palestine, a service of the International Middle East Media Center, www. IMEMC. org, for July 27 through August 3, 2007. US Secretary Rice meets Palestinian officials to support Fayyad's government, while Israeli military invasions continue in the West Bank. Meanwhile clashes between Hamas and Islamic Jihad erupted in the Gaza strip, but contained swiftly. These stories and more coming up, stay tuned. Nonviolent Resistance in Palestine - Let's begin our weekly report with nonviolent action in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Bethlehem against the wall and settlements. IMEMC's George Rishmawi has the details: Bethlehem - The residents of Artas and Al Walajah villages located near the West Bank city...
Abbas seeks discussion on 'declaration of principles'
John Smith, International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2007
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Thursday that he was willing to work with the Israeli administration in defining a 'declaration of principles' that would eventually lead to a comprehensive peace agreement. Such a declaration, an idea raised by Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert last week, aims to sketch the boundaries and form of a future Palestinian state without immediately considering issues as such the right of return for Palestinian refuges, the borders of any future state and the status of Jerusalem. "We could end in a declaration of principles […] the important thing here is that we reach results and that we know the ceiling [that] can be agreed upon," Abbas stated. President Abbas made the announcement following a meeting with the visiting U.
Barghouthi: Israel wishes for normalization with Arab countries before acknowledging the Palestinian
Ameen Abu Warda, International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2007
Legislator Mustafa Barghouthi, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, has stated that Israeli seeks normalization with other Arab countries before finding a solution to the Palestinian cause, a desire that conceals a wish to ignore and even liquidate the desire of the Palestinian people. Dr. Barghouthi commented on the US foreign minister Condoleezza Rice's visit to the area, arguing that that Israel seeks to exploit the meeting to normalize relations with other Arab countries and to dissolve the Palestinian cause. Dr. Barghouthi stated that Olmert hopes the U.S. will exert its efforts to guarantee the collusion of Saudi Arabia and other Arab Gulf States in the continued occupation of the Palestinian territories, arguing that Israel will use the opportunity to illegally appropriate more Palestinian-owned land.
Continued blockade of Gaza causing a famine, says Nabil Shaath, aide to President Abbas
Ma'an News Agency 8/3/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – An assistant to Palestinian President Abbas, Nabil Shaath, said on Thursday that the continuing blockade of the Gaza Strip is causing a famine in the area. During a visit to Indonesia, Shaath remarked that Gaza needs help, in an appeal to the international community to end the Israeli siege. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed his concern for the deteriorating situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in Gaza. He added that he fully supports the Palestinian national struggle to end the Israeli occupation. However, he also remarked that "there is a lot of work to be done in order to achieve national unity and reconciliation." [end]
OPT: Weakend Gaza economy accompanied by decline in public services
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - OCHA, ReliefWeb 8/3/2007
Continued closures of crossings into Gaza have further weakened the economy, with total economic losses reaching $23 million since their closure in mid-June, or an average daily loss of about $500,000. The vast majority of import-dependent industries – such as the wood, construction and garment businesses – have closed down, and some 120,000 workers in Gaza will lose their jobs if the closures continue. Around 65,000 people lost their jobs in July. The furniture industry, one of the most important in the Gaza Strip, is facing collapse. Some 400 truckloads of furniture destined for export – worth $8 million – are stranded in Gaza, and restrictions on movement have left business owners and merchants strapped for cash and unable to manage business or collect money for products already shipped and sold.
Abu Zuhri: Rice came to support a Palestinian party against another
Palestinian Information Center 8/2/2007
GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, the Hamas Movement's spokesman in the Gaza Strip, has charged that US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice's visit to Ramallah was meant to boost a Palestinian party against another. Abu Zuhri, in a statement to the PIC, further charged that Rice did not come to the region to help establish a Palestinian state but rather to widen the inter-Palestinian rift." We, in Hamas, are not concerned with those meetings (between Rice and members of the Fayyad government)," he said, adding that the illegitimate Salam Fayyad government was deriving its legitimacy from the USA and the "Zionist entity" and not from the Palestinian people. Hamas will foil all conspiracies against the Palestinian people and will foil all attempts to ignore the Movement, the spokesman said...
Hamas, Islamic Jihad criticise US meddling in Palestinian affairs
Palestinian Information Center 8/3/2007
GAZA, (PIC)-- Commenting on the latest visit by the US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice both Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials expressed distrust of the role being played by the US. Hamas viewed this role in one which is "not based on providing political and economic support for the Palestinian people or the people in the region, but rather on creating more chaos and incitement." According to a Hamas press release on Thursday: "Rice's attempts to bolster the PA leadership and building its security forces to confront Hamas is an attempt which is doomed to failure and will not succeed in destroying Hamas. Rice and other interested parties should have learned a lesson from the events in the Gaza Strip." The statement also said that Hamas was a major organisation that cannot be ignored and that any process that does not take Hamas into account will fail.
UN: Release kidnapped IDF soldiers immediately
Yitzhak Benhorin, YNetNews 8/3/2007
Security Council expresses deep concern over fact Hizbullah has yet to deliver sign of life from abducted Israeli troops, says also concerned by arms smuggling from Syria to Lebanese group, Air Force flights over Lebanon and disagreement over legal status of Shabaa Farms - WASHINGTON - The United Nations Security Council on Friday evening issued a presidential statement demanding that Hizbullah release kidnapped Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser immediately and unconditionally. The Council also expressed its deep concern over the fact that no sign of life had been received from the abducted troops. The Security Council also slammed the continued violation of the arms embargo imposed on Hizbullah and declared that it was concerned by the continued smuggling of weapons from Syria to Lebanon...
Hezbollah chief says Washington trying to drown Mideast in wars
The Associated Press, Ha'aretz 8/4/2007
Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah criticized on Friday a United States plan to increase military assistance to Middle Eastern countries, accusing Washington of seeking to drown the Middle East in wars. Nasrallah was referring to a proposed U.S. plan announced earlier this week to sell advanced weaponry worth at least $20 billion to Persian Gulf nations and provide new 10-year military aid packages to Israel and Egypt. "The United States is bringing billions of dollars worth of arms to ignite wars in this region," Nasrallah said in a speech beamed through giant television screens to hundreds of thousands of supporters in eastern Lebanon's city of Baalbek. "The American administration is working on instigating sectarian strife and civil wars in Palestine, Iraq, the Gulf and.
Nasrallah: Israel failed in intelligence gathering
Roee Nahmias, YNetNews 8/4/2007
In fourth televised performance in past two weeks, Hizbullah secretary-general attacks Israel over its moves during Second Lebanon War - Israel failed in the operational and intelligence aspects during the Second Lebanon War Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech he delivered Friday evening to the residents of the town of Baalbek in the Lebanon Valley. In his fourth televised performance over the past two weeks, Nasrallah sought to strengthen the residents of Baalbek, who he said constituted one of the main elements of his organization. "Baalbek is the home front of the resistance and is not in the front, but in the July war it turned into the front through the landings carried out by the Israeli army. "We did not promise to thwart these landings.
'Anti-Israel conference' slammed
Yaakov Lappin, YNetNews 8/3/2007
NGO watchdog: UN summit, hosted by EU Parliament is 'propaganda conference' - A UN conference of non-government organizations (NGOs) called to discuss "civil society in support of Israeli-Palestinian peace" at the end of August has been described by an Israeli NGO watchdog as an "anti-Israel propaganda conference". The meeting, set to take place at the European Parliament (EP) on August 30 - 31, has been organized by the UN's Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, which describes itself as "the main UN forum where all NGOs interested in the Palestine issue can meet." According to the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor organization, the conference and its organizers form "frameworks that promote the conflict," adding that the NGOs involved in the upcoming conference were...
Qatar surprised over Abbas's UN delegate's position, Hamas calls for trying him
Palestinian Information Center 8/3/2007
DOHA, (PIC)-- The chief Qatari delegation to the UN Security Council has expressed absolute surprise over the position of PA chief Mahmoud Abbas's delegate to the UN who rejected a draft resolution calling for lifting the siege on Gaza. The Qatari representative told Ashark Al-Awsat newspaper that he did not expect the Palestinian chief delegate Riad Mansour to object to that resolution in view of the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the Strip. For its part, Hamas, in a press release on Thursday, called for Mansour to be tried for foiling the international statement that was tabled by Qatar and Indonesia. The Movement held Abbas and his illegitimate government responsible for the continued siege imposed on the Palestinian citizens in the Strip. Hamas extended an apology to both Qatar and Indonesia over such an "irresponsible behavior" on the part of Mansour.
Brigade commander censured over Dahariya incident
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 8/3/2007
Central Command chief reprimands Kfir Brigade commander, Lavi Battalion commander following incident in which soldiers hijacked Palestinian taxicab, shot Palestinian The commanders of the Kfir Brigade and the Lavi Battalion were reprimanded and censured Friday following the incident in which soldiers hijacked a Palestinian taxicab in the village of Dahariya and shot a Palestinian in the village. Central Command chief Gadi Shamni said that "this is an event which contradicts the core values and norms according to which the IDF operates." Shamni received the findings of an inquiry into the incident several days ago and decided to censure the officials involved. The Kfir Brigade commander was reprimanded over failures in training, supervision and reinforcement.
Israeli army probe highlights gross troop misconduct in Hebron
John Smith, International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2007
An Israeli army probe has indicated a gross level of misconduct on the part of those soldiers who last week kidnapped one innocent Palestinian and shot another south of the West Bank city of Hebron. One officer and five soldiers embarked on an unsanctioned 'undercover mission', during which they kidnapped and tied-up one Palestinian taxi-driver and opened fired on another who they claimed "looked suspicious". The injured man was left for dead and the soldiers failed to report the brutal attack to their superiors. The soldiers involved initially claimed that one of their company had sprained their ankle and was unable to walk, at which point the officer claimed he commandeered the vehicle of a local Palestinian taxi-driver. The soldiers went on to claim that they had tied up the driver after another Palestinian man approached the vehicle.
Palestinians: Nazi justice system prevails in Israel
Khalid Amayreh in occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinian Information Center 8/3/2007
The Israeli "justice" system continued to pardon or give extremely light sentences to Israeli occupation soldiers convicted of murdering Palestinian civilians or causing them grave bodily injuries. Earlier this week, an Israeli military court in Tel Aviv released four soldiers who a few days earlier seriously injured a Palestinian citizens from the town of Dahiriya, 19 kilometers south west of Hebron. The Palestinian received multiple gunshot wounds in the neck as he was walking in the town's main market. According to Israeli press sources, the soldiers stole a taxi cab at gunpoint, blindfolded the driver before driving to the village center in order to "hunt some Palestinians." At one point, the soldiers shot and critically wounded the local Palestinian, leaving him bleed heavily, according to Palestinian sources.
Residents of Ertas and al-Walajah hold non-violent demonstrations
John Smith, International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2007
The residents of Ertas and Al Walajah villages located near the West Bank city of Bethlehem protested on Friday against the construction of the illegal Wall Israeli that is being built on land illegally appropriated from the local villages. About 400 villagers, internationals and Israelis held on Friday morning a sit-in protest near the construction site of the illegal wall and on land scheduled confiscation for the purposes of building a sewage system for the nearby Israeli settlement. The protest lasted for several hours and Israeli soldiers did not intervene, witnesses told IMEMC. On Friday midday, protesters moved to the nearby Al Walajah village where Friday prayers were conducted on land scheduled for confiscation. After the prayers, the protesters marched along the planed path of the Wall, but were...
High Court upholds route of illegal Israeli wall near Umm Salamuna
John Smith, International Middle East Media Center 8/3/2007
The Israeli High Court on Thursday rejected numerous appeals against the route of the illegal wall in the area of Umm Salamuna, located between the southern West bank cities of Hebron and Bethlehem, deeming the illegal structure necessary for 'security' purposes. The High Court also lifted a temporary ban on the construction of the Wall in the area. The structure will now proceed along the rout originally planned. Residents of Umm Salamuna had petitioned the court to change the route of the Wall on the basis that the proposed route will annex approximately 280 dunums of Palestinian-owned agricultural land. The International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion on July 9, 2004 declaring that the Wall stood to in direct contravention of international law and called to the Israeli government to halt...
Israeli authorities deliver body of Shadi Sa'ayda to his family
Ma'an News Agency 8/3/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – Israeli authorities on Friday have handed over the corpse of the Palestinian prisoner, Shadi Sa'ayda, who died in the Nafha prison on 31st July. The body was delivered to the prisoner's family at the Erez crossing, before it was transferred to the Al-Aqsa hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Ma'an's correspondent reported that the body will be buried at Al-Maghazi refugee camp, also in the central Gaza Strip. Sa'ayda, 28, was arrested on 30th July 2005, and was sentenced to 8 lifetime imprisonments. He was accused of partaking in the 'Ein 'Areik operation in 2002, in which 6 Israeli soldiers were killed near Ramallah. After his health deteriorated, the prisoner was delivered to Soroka hospital inside Israel, where he later died. [end]
Unidentified gunmen lead failed assault on Palestinian writer and political analyst, Dr Shawar
Ma'an News Agency 8/3/2007
Qalqilia – Ma'an – Unidentified gunmen opened fire on Friday morning at the home of writer and political analyst Dr. 'Isam Shawar. Although he was at home, he was not injured during the attack. Shawar declared that "around 2:00am, shots were fired at my home. Some shots penetrated the house, causing no injuries." According to the writer, the motives behind the attack could be his latest article, which bore the title: "We die at the checkpoints, and still contend stubbornly." In the article, Shawar criticises the standpoint of the Palestinian representative to the United Nations and the Palestinian authorities towards the Qatari-Indonesian initiative which aims at lifting the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, and to open the closed Rafah Crossing to ease the situation of Palestinians stranded on the Egyptian side of the border.
PA security personnel affiliated with Fatah desecrate mosques in Qalqilya
Palestinian Information Center 8/3/2007
QALQILYA, (PIC)-- Elements of the PA security and Fatah activists, Friday morning, broke into the oldest mosque in the northern West Bank city of Qalqilya and desecrated it. Worshipers at the mosque of Omar bin al-Khattab told the PIC correspondent that at 3:00 am a number of PA security elements and Fatah activists raided the mosque and desecrated it for the fourth time. The mosque had been raided before by the same group who tore up religious wall magazine. Residents of the city live in fear as this sort of incident is not new, those elements have raided and desecrated all the mosques in the city since mid-June. Meanwhile, the PA security have kidnapped, on Thursday, three Hamas supporters in the West Bank. In the same context, the Fawwar sports club sacked seven players for refusing to play in a tournament...
International report: The IOF troops kidnap 300 Palestinians in July
Palestinian Information Center 8/2/2007
NABLUS, (PIC)-- The IOF troops kidnapped 300 Palestinians including women and more than 18 children during its incursions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in July, the International Solidarity Association for Human Rights revealed in a report. In that same month the IOA released 255 Palestinian affiliated with Fatah faction as a goodwill gesture to PA chief Mahmoud Abbas. In the context of the Israeli escalations, the "Quds Press" agency mentioned in a recent statistics report that the IOF troops killed in July 30 Palestinians, 24 of them were killed in the Gaza Strip alone during air raids, incursions and assassinations, which raises the number of the Palestinian fatalities at the hands of the IOF troops since the beginning of 2007 to 201 victims. Accordingly, the number of Palestinians killed since the outbreak of the Aqsa intifada...
OPT: Protection of civilians weekly report 25-31 Jul 2007
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - OCHA, ReliefWeb 7/31/2007
Of note this week - Gaza Strip: Seven Palestinians, including Islamic Jihad and Hamas members, were killed and seven others were injured from IDF military operations and IAF air strikes. Three Palestinians were killed, including two females, and nine others were injured in family disputes and other forms of internal violence. One Palestinian died due to illness on the Egyptian side of the closed Rafah crossing and another died in an Israeli prison. 17 mortars were fired at IDF bulldozers during IDF incursions into the Gaza Strip (Gaza and Khan Younis). In addition, 29 Qassam rockets, 31 mortar shells, and one RPG were fired towards Israel. These included two rockets and 12 mortars fired towards IDF Kissufim military base, eight rockets towards Sderot, one rocket and five mortars towards Kerem Shalom crossing, and five mortars towards Erez crossing, among others.
OPT: Child rights fact sheet Jun 2007
Save the Children Alliance, ReliefWeb 6/30/2007
General - There are 4 million Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) - 2. 5 million in the West Bank and 1. 49 million in the Gaza Strip. - Children make up 53% of the population - that's an estimated 2. 1 million under the age of 18. - 42% of Palestinian children in the OPT are refugees with the figure rising to 69% in the Gaza Strip. - The mean age of marriage of females is 19. 3 - indicative of the widespread phenomena of early marriage. - 29% of the active job-seeking population is unemployed. This represents 265,000 wage-earners and their dependants. Protection - 882 Palestinian children have died as a result of Israeli military or settler violence between September 2000 (the beginning of the second Intifada) and June 30, 2007.
Palestinian infiltrators captured in Arab town
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 8/3/2007
Two Palestinians who infiltrated Israel on Friday afternoon seized by police near Arab town of Tira, believed to be illegal residents looking for work. Another two Palestinians who drove them into Israel captured in Bat Yam. Following arrest, high alert across country lifted - Police forces on Friday evening captured two Palestinian infiltrators who crossed the border fence in the northern Gaza Strip and entered Israel. The two were seized in the Arab town of Tira and are believed to be illegal residents looking for work. Another two Palestinians, who apparently drove the infiltrators into Israel, were captured in the city of Bat Yam, just south of Tel Aviv. Following the arrest, the police lifted the high alert declared across the country, which caused heavy traffic jams.
Israeli court mulls petition to delay Winograd report
Compiled by Daily Star staff, Daily Star 8/4/2007
Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported on Friday that the release of the Winograd report on the performance of Israeli officers in the Second Lebanon War might be delayed to after October. Quoting legal sources, Haaretz said that a decision by the High Court of Justice on Thursday to appoint a three-judge panel to review a petition submitted by the military defense attorney's office might delay the report's release. "The petition calls for the court to order the committee to hold hearings for soldiers and officers who are liable to be harmed by the committee's findings," the daily reported. It said that the court will start reviewing the petition in mid-September. "If the court accepts the army's arguments, it would mean a delay of several months to a whole year past the report's current October deadline," it added.
Fatah denies any contacts with Hamas recently
Ma'an News Agency 8/3/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – High-ranking Hamas sources revealed to Ma'an on Friday that contact and dialogue have been established between Hamas dignitaries and Fatah representatives, in addition to the president's office alongside the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine PFLP and the Palestinian People's Party PPP, in order to set the basis of bringing to an end the state of division in the Palestinian arena. The same source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that intense consultations were being conducted between figures from Hamas, Fatah, the PPP, the PFLP and the Palestinian National Initiative. Among those who met were Ghazi Hamad from Hamas, Jibreel Rajoub from Fatah, Bassam Salihi from the PPP, Abed ar Raheem Mallouh from the PFLP and Mustafa Barghouthi, representing the Palestinian National...
Citizens fight "draft-dodging disease"
Meital Zur, YNetNews 8/3/2007
Stretchers march through Tel Aviv streets en route to government compound in protest of draft-dodging - Passersby in central Tel Aviv were surprised to see a train of stretchers being carried towards the Kirya government compound Friday morning. About 50 citizens participated in the event, which was held in protest of the growing phenomenon of draft-dodging. Initiators of the protest included reserve soldiers, members of the Forum of Parents for Equally Sharing the Military Burden, and members of "Aharai", a movement that aims at educating and motivating young adults to be involved in society. The protestors explained that the demonstration was the beginning of a moral struggle. "We don't want two divided societies. We want people to share the burden, either militarily, or through civil service.
'Defense Ministry to fortify Safed hospital'
Hagai Einav, YNetNews 8/3/2007
Heads of local councils in northern Israel say Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i promised them ministry would find suitable financing in order to fortify Ziv Medical Center - The Defense Ministry will help findis financing for the construction of bomb shelters at the Ziv Medical Center in Safed, local council heads said following a meeting with ministry representatives, including Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i. A previous government decision ruled that the Safed hospital, which was hit by Katyusha rockets during the Second Lebanon War, will not be fortified. Several months ago, the government declared that following the war, a decision was made to fortify seven medical centers in the north. The Ziv Medical Center was absent from the list, causing a lot of anger among the hospital's management and local residents.
New olim: We'll accept Israel as it is
Yael Branovsky, YNetNews 8/3/2007
A week after they arrived in Holy Land, Ynet continues to follow new immigrants from France. Now they must leave excitement behind and start building a new life: 'We were taught not to complain about the State, and Israel is great' - Last week they landed in Israel on two large El-Al planes which carried them to the Holy Land. The Airport was filled with flowers, Israeli flags and some 600 new immigrants from France excited to arrive at the Promised Land. Now, a week later, the olim must put their excitement behind and start building a new life. Ynet met the Atlan family members at their new apartment in Netanya. The luggage they sent from France has yet to arrive, and the family members sleep on rubber mattresses in the furniture-free apartment.
Turkish Ambassador visits Ma'an News headquarters in Bethlehem, underlines importance of media "in finding solutions"
Ma'an News Agency 8/3/2007
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Turkish Ambassador to the Palestinian territories, Dr Ercan Ozer, has visited Ma'an's head office in Bethlehem. During his tour, where he met staff journalists and administrators, he discussed with the head of the network about the needs of people, related to independent media. The ambassador stated that "talking about solutions is much better than searching for the problems". He was welcomed at the agency by Director-General Mr Raed Othman, chief editor Nasser Laham, director of international relations, Valentina Lama and the Director of Finance, Wisam Kutom. The management of the agency assured the independence and neutrality of their views to the Turkish Ambassador, adding that journalists believe in the community and a dignified life, away from political and military blackmail.
Militants in Nahr al-Bared revert to firing rockets as army advances
Compiled by Daily Star staff, Daily Star 8/4/2007
Lebanese troops killed at least four Al-Qaeda-inspired Islamic militants in battles Friday in Nahr al-Bared, the state-run National News Agency said. The NNA's report said the four Fatah al-Islam fighters died after they attacked an army position inside camp, located near the northern port city of Tripoli. Also, a senior military official said Friday that two Lebanese soldiers were killed in Thursday's fighting in the camp, where Fatah al-Islam militants have been entrenched for over two months. Their deaths raised to 130 the number of troops killed since fighting erupted on May 20, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. NNA's report said that the military Friday occasionally pounded the militants' remaining hideouts in the "old camp" section...
Nasrallah slams Bush for 'meddling' in Lebanon's affairs
Daily Star staff, Daily Star 8/4/2007
BEIRUT: Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah slammed on Friday US President George W. Bush for interfering with Lebanon's sovereignty by freezing assets of persons underminding the government of Premier Fouad Siniora, and reiterated the opposition's stance that the "only way" out of the current political crisis is through a government of national unity." Bush keeps on meddling in Lebanon's internal affairs... and no good will ever come out of the US administration," Nasrallah told tens of thousands of his followers in Baalbak on Friday, during a ceremony commemorating the summer 2006 war and the Bekaa's role in that conflict. Bush declared on Thursday "a national emergency" initiative to deal with "certain" persons that "undermine Lebanon's legitimate and democratically elected government" by freezing their assets.
Security Council adopts statement on Lebanon
Daily Star staff, Daily Star 8/4/2007
BEIRUT: The Security Council on Friday adopted a Security Council presidential statement in support of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's report over the implementation of Resolution 1701. "The Security Council held a formal meeting to adopt a presidential statement on Lebanon in which it urged all concerned parties to cooperate fully with the Security Council and the secretary general to achieve a permanent cease-fire and a permanent solution as envisaged in Resolution 1701," said Ban's spokesperson Farhan Haq after the Security Council meeting. "The Council also expressed grave concern at reports of the breaching of the arms embargo along the Lebanese-Syrian border, as well as the increase in Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace," he said.
Lebanon: the Commission allocates €4 million in humanitarian aid for victims of the fighting in Nahr el Bared refugee camp
European Commission - Humanitarian Aid Office - ECHO, ReliefWeb 8/3/2007
Brussels, 3 August 2007 - The European Commission has allocated a further €4 million to help victims of the fighting in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el Bared. The aid is primarily aimed at the Palestinian refugees who fled the camp seeking refuge in other camps and locations in Lebanon as well as other vulnerable people directly affected by the conflict including Lebanese. At the end of May, the Commission committed an initial €500,000 to help displaced refugees. The funds are being channelled through the Commission's Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) under the responsibility of Commissioner Louis Michel. Commissioner Michel expressed hope that the fighting in and around Nahr el Bared would end very soon.
UN evacuates critically ill Palestinian children from Iraq to Syria
United Nations News Service, ReliefWeb 8/3/2007
After weeks of appeals for the urgent medical evacuation from Iraq of seriously ill Palestinians, most of them children, the United Nations refugee agency was able this week to transport the first four patients into Syria to receive much-needed medical aid. "We are pleased to report that Syrian authorities on Wednesday allowed the first four into Syria," UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Ron Redmond told a news briefing in Geneva today. "The four are now in very critical condition and we greatly appreciate this decision by Syrian authorities." The four patients, aged between 2 and 21, are suffering from severe diabetes, paralysis, Hodgkins disease and heart problems. They have been stranded in Al Waleed refugee camp on the Iraqi side of the border for months without proper medical attention.
US, Iraq and Iran to hold expert-level talks on security
Daily Star 8/4/2007
Iran, the United States and Iraq will hold expert level talks next week to define the work of a security committee they agreed to set up in July to help restore security in Iraq, an Iranian news agency reported Friday. The two arch foes Tehran and Washington, which cut diplomatic ties shortly after Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, held two rounds of rare talks in Baghdad in May and July to find ways to improve security in Iraq. In the second round of talks, held on July 24 in Baghdad, representatives from the US, Iran and Iraq agreed to establish a trilateral committee to investigate issues such as support for militias and Al-Qaeda in Iraq." To define what issues the [security] committee would discuss and in what framework it will start its work, an agreement was reached to hold expertise meetings," Iran's envoy to Baghdad Hassan Kazemi-Qomi told the ISNA news agency.
Iraq bleeds US Treasury, enriches contractors
Eli Clifton, Asia Times 8/4/2007
WASHINGTON - In a report to US lawmakers this week, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office found that the war in Iraq could cost US taxpayers more than a trillion dollars when the long-term costs of caring for soldiers wounded in action, military and economic aid for the Iraqi government, and ongoing costs associated with the 190,000 troops stationed in Iraq are totaled up. White House Office of Management and Budget director Mitch Daniels' 2003 estimate that the war in Iraq could cost US$50 billion to $60 billion stands in stark contrast to the $500 billion already allocated to the conflict in Iraq and reconstruction projects." We are now spending on these activities more than 10% of all the government's annually appropriated funds," said Robert A Sunshine, the assistant director for budget analysis.
Articles
Abbas staring at oblivion
Mark Perry, Asia Times 8/4/2007
In the summer of 1997, I found myself seated in the office of Yasser Arafat in Gaza. I had known Arafat for many years, and was a welcome visitor. Being an American and a friend gave me privileges. Others weighed their words, but I was constrained by no such requirement. So as he thumbed through a stack of papers, I pleaded clemency for a friend who had been under house arrest in Gaza for the better part of a year.
The man, a prominent security official, had ordered Palestinian security forces to fire on a Hamas demonstration the summer before and Arafat, enraged, had ordered him home. "He made a mistake," I said. "It's time to bring him back." Arafat ignored me.
There was a long moment of silence as Arafat's aides eyed one another in discomfort. Arafat motioned to one of them and handed him a paper. This was typical of him. You could spend hours with the man in silence. He continued to pretend he hadn't heard, so I plunged on. "The man is dedicated," I said. Arafat stopped, his eyes widening, but he still refused to look at me. I waited many moments and pleaded my case again. "He's a good man."
Finally, he spoke, but he bit off each word, making his point. "This is not your concern." And he was silent again. "I think that it is," I said. "He is a friend of mine." Arafat was suddenly exasperated and locked me in his gaze, to emphasize his point: "He crossed a line."
Guillotining Gaza
Noam Chomsky, ZNet 8/4/2007
07/30/07 -- The death of a nation is a rare and somber event. But the vision of a unified, independent Palestine threatens to be another casualty of a Hamas-Fatah civil war, stoked by Israel and its enabling ally the United States.
Last month's chaos may mark the beginning of the end of the Palestinian Authority. That might not be an altogether unfortunate development for Palestinians, given US-Israeli programmes of rendering it nothing more than a quisling regime to oversee these allies' utter rejection of an independent state.
The events in Gaza took place in a developing context. In January 2006, Palestinians voted in a carefully monitored election, pronounced to be free and fair by international observers, despite US- Israeli efforts to swing the election towards their favourite, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party. But Hamas won a surprising victory.
The punishment of Palestinians for the crime of voting the wrong way was severe. With US backing,
Israel stepped up its violence in Gaza, withheld funds it was legally obligated to transmit to the Palestinian Authority, tightened its siege and even cut off the flow of water to the arid Gaza Strip.
Iran feels the chill in US cold war tactics
Kaveh L Afrasiabi, Asia Times 8/3/2007
Washington has dispatched its frontroom team, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, to the Middle East, ostensibly to give the peace process a big push. In reality, they are acting as shrewd arms merchants, while at the same time talking of the struggle for people for freedom against oppression. Someone please order Joseph Heller's Catch 22 as mandatory flight reading for them.
Indeed, echoes of Heller's nerdy bombardier, Captain John Yossarian, who alerted the world to the insanity of modern capitalistic warfare more than anyone else, can be heard aplenty, eclipsing the trailblazers of Washington's new manifest destiny who are "spreading Jeffersonian democracy" to the dark Middle East.
But don't expect Rice to push for women's suffrage in Saudi Arabia and other US client states when her plane lands in the oil region. Her obligatory "we will push for reform" is for domestic consumption. Not so with the rest of her rationale for the huge arms sales to the Saudis and a generous aid package to the other Arab "moderate", Egypt, which recently shied away from normalizing ties with Iran precisely out of fear of losing Washington's assistance. It all boils down to one word: Iran.
Syracuse University Enlists in the Global War on Terror
Linda Ford and Ira Glunts, Palestine Chronicle 8/3/2007
My alma mater now informs me that to be a citizen of the Maxwell School is to team up with Israeli military institutions in order to learn the methods that they have found successful against the Palestinians, a people they have occupied and suppressed for over 40 years.
Imagine my surprise as I leafed through what is usually a fairly bland magazine that, as an alumna (PhD. History '84) , I periodically receive from the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship, to find that therein is a new ideal of citizenship. My alma mater now informs me that to be a citizen of the Maxwell School is to support continual and all-out war against a vaguely defined "terrorist" enemy, to condone lethal collateral damage to civilians, and to team up with Israeli military institutions in order to learn the methods that they have found "successful" against the Palestinians, a people they have occupied and suppressed for over 40 years.
Shouldn't an institution of higher learning stand for peace, diplomacy and understanding among all nations? Why does my alma mater's magazine feature photos of men masked, armed, and in full combat gear? Paul McCartney said his song "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" involved a story of how bad things get much worse, and how senseless killing leads to more senseless killing. Definitely not the ideal of the humanities.
John V. Whitbeck: The Five Percent Solution
John Whitbeck, Palestine Chronicle 8/2/2007
Under pressure even from their only unconditional supporters, Israelis might well recognize that their own security will never be ensured so long as they illegally occupy any Arab lands.
In an eloquent speech before the US Congress in early March, Jordan's King Abdallah emphasized the urgent necessity of achieving an Arab-Israeli peace this year. Sadly, there was little sense of urgency evident on July 25, almost five months later, when the Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers visited Jerusalem. The impression conveyed during this rather awkward visit was, rather, one of resignation to further years of drift.
A sense of urgency remains justified, and acquiescence in further years of drift is not. The Arab world is not impotent. It has it within its power to achieve Middle East peace with some measure of justice -- not in some distant future but soon and not through enhanced violence but through the intelligent and responsible application of restrained but sustained economic pressure. A concerted, concrete and effective plan of action could take the form of a simple, easily understood and ethically unimpeachable "carrot-and-stick" approach.
Joharah Baker: What Nationality Did You Say You Were?
Joharah Baker, Palestine Chronicle 8/2/2007
The Israeli Interior Ministry recorded a 500 percent increase in Palestinians who lost their residency rights compared to previous years, estimated at 1.363 people last year alone.
My older brother recently informed me that his three children were eligible for US passports, given that he, like myself and my other siblings, were all born in the United States. But my nephew and niece were hardly without citizenship even before this most recent discovery. Married to a Palestinian/German woman with both German [or EU] and Israeli citizenship, my brother's children also have European Union passports while the baby, born in Palestine is also the bearer of an Israeli passport.
Not bad, for one family. It is safe to say that my brother, his wife and their three beautiful children are secure for life, never having to worry about finding themselves nation-less or without citizenship.
This is hardly the case for most Palestinians living in the eastern sector of Jerusalem. Following Israel's capture of East Jerusalem in the 1967 War, those residents who happened to be present in the city at the time of the national census were granted "permanent residency status" in the city. Less than citizenship, this status placed these residents in a somewhat stable but constantly precarious situation.
POLITICS: U.S. Arms Sales Preserve Israel's Edge
Thalif Deen, Inter Press Service 8/2/2007
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 3(IPS) - When the United States sells state-of-the-art weapons systems to Arab nations, it invariably provides even more lethal and sophisticated arms to its steadfast ally, Israel, in order to help counter the firepower of its neighbours.
So, when Egypt gets the M60A3 and M1A1 Abrams battle tanks, Israel gets the TOW-2A and Hellfire anti-tank missiles to blow up the Egyptian vehicles -- in the event of a military confrontation between the two countries currently wedded to the 1979 Camp David peace treaty.
Likewise, when the United States grudgingly provides McDonnell Douglas F-15 fighter planes to Saudi Arabia, Israel is armed either with Sidewinder and Sparrow air-to-air missiles or Hawk and Stinger surface-to-air missiles to bring down the U.S.-supplied Saudi aircraft.
Every U.S. government has ensured that no weapons sales to Arab nations would undermine Israel's traditional "qualitative (military) advantage" over its perceived rivals.
Last week, the administration of President George W. Bush ran true to form when it announced its decision to simultaneously sell arms both to Israel and seven Arab nations: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Amira Hass: Back to a Corrupt Occupation
Amira Hass, Palestine Chronicle 8/3/2007
Fatah has not distanced itself from protectionism and the system by which those close to the right people have convenient opportunities to get richer - in a sea of impoverishment.
In one of the alarming news items of the past week, it was reported that Israel has green-lighted the transfer of 1,000 rifles from Jordan to the security forces loyal to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
This is not the first time Israel has permitted the transfer of weapons and security equipment to Abbas' forces. The alarming thing about this report is that Abbas and his circles continue to cling to the illusion that the failure in the Gaza Strip was purely military. Equally alarming is Fatah's determination to do what Israel and the United States expect (and which it failed to do in Gaza): Fight Hamas.
And there have been several other disturbing news items in recent days: Once again Israeli representatives are permitted to talk with official Palestinian representatives abroad; Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas will meet again in the near future, this time in Jericho; civil coordination between Israel and the PA has been renewed; and at the Muqata in Ramallah a new American-Palestinian business project has been launched after President George W. Bush approved a loan of $228 million for small and medium-sized Palestinian businesses to improve the Palestinians' living standard. "The United States is committed to strengthening the Palestinian economy ... as an important step toward a peaceful and independent Palestinian state," declared the official July 27 State Department announcement. Why are these news items worrying? Because they show that things have gone back to the way they were - that is, to the style of "managing the occupation" that reigned between 1994 and 2001, into which the Fatah movement integrated well. Now, as then, there is a Palestinian government (the legality of which is temporary and shaky) acceptable to Israel and the West; talks are supposedly taking place; the occupation continues; and the Palestinians are quarreling. Didn't this all lead to the second uprising?
Dry twigs
Smadar Lavie, Electronic Intifada 8/3/2007
The following is a speech delivered at a rally against the demolition of 30 families' homes in Kfar Shalem, Israel, 7 July 2007:
If we want to try comprehending the recent events in Kfar Shalem, we need to delve into the wounds of our past. [1] Exploring these wounds can help us strengthen ourselves in the present, so we can plan for our future, and for our communities' healing. Such healing might give us the stamina we will need to struggle together.
In 1882, "'E'eleh ba-Tamar" [the Hebrew phrase is borrowed from Song of Songs 7:9], the first organized Yemenite labor migration wave, or "'aliya," the value-laden Hebrew term meaning "ascendance," arrived in Palestine. Considered "natural laborers," they were expected to live frugally and thus lighten the burden of the Yiddish-speaking "ideological laborers" who were colonizing Palestine. The Ashkenazim in the colonies (moshavot) refused to allow the "natural laborers" to dwell among them. These workers were forced to live in the fields, the cowsheds or the stables. When they rebelled, they were permitted to live in segregated ghettos in wooden huts and tin shacks.
I want to tell you about the dry twigs.
At the end of the workday, Yemeni women agricultural laborers used to gather dry twigs from the vineyards and orchards for cooking or heating water. The colonies' farmers thought of these twigs as still their private property, but the Yemeni women laborers thought collecting this firewood was one of the very few benefits their agricultural labor entitled them to. When farmers caught the women gathering branches, they punished them with fines taken from their paltry weekly pay.
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