Occupied Palestine: News and Articles News & Articles

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IOF troops round up West Bankers, storm Nablus
Palestinian Information Center 8/12/2007
NABLUS, (PIC)-- IOF troops kidnapped seven Palestinians in various West Bank areas on Sunday including five allegedly Islamic Jihad activists, Palestinian sources reported. They said that a citizen was kidnapped near Ramallah city at an IOF military roadblock after claiming he was holding a knife while another was kidnapped from his home in Dhaheria village, south of Al-Khalil. In Tamon village, south of Jenin city, five Palestinians were rounded up after claiming they were Islamic Jihad activists including two who were wanted for the past three years. Hebrew press reported that during an IOF incursion in Nablus an explosive device was blasted in the IOF patrol coupled with machinegun shooting. Locals in Nablus said that IOF soldiers wreaked havoc in many civilian homes in the city and in Ein Beit Al-Ma refugee camp but no arrests were reported.

Foreign Minister, Palestinian PM to meet in W. Bank Wednesday
Ha'aretz 8/12/2007
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is scheduled to meet with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad on Wednesday in the West Bank town of Jericho, officials in Fayad's office said Sunday. The foreign ministers of Jordan and Japan will also attend the meeting, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev confirmed that efforts to work out a meeting Wednesday with the Palestinians were under way. Israel and the Palestinians have been trying to work out differences blocking the resumption of peace talks ever since moderate Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas expelled the militant Hamas from government in June, in the wake of the Islamic group's violent takeover of the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian fighters bomb invading Israeli vehicles in Nablus
Ma'an News Agency 8/12/2007
Nablus – Ma'an – Three military wings of the Palestinian factions on Sunday bombed Israeli army vehicles during an incursion into the occupied Palestinian West Bank city of Nablus. The Al Aqsa Brigades – Night Lions Group - of Fatah, the Al Quds Brigades of Islamic Jihad and the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed joint responsibility for the operation in the northern West Bank city. The brigades alleged that they used a 20 kilogram bomb to attack the Israeli forces. During the same invasion, an allied group from the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades and the Qassam Brigades of Hamas, claimed responsibility for bombing another Israeli military vehicle. [end]

Hawatmeh: Abbas does not represent the Palestinian people
Ma'an News Agency 8/12/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Secretary General of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Nayef Hawatmeh, on Sunday cast doubt over the legitimacy of President Mahmoud Abbas as a representative of the Palestinian people. The leader-in-exile, who currently resides in Syria, said that the Palestinian Legislative Council elections of 2005 and 2006 were unrepresentative as they only included the votes of 40% of the Palestinian population." Therefore, neither the presidency, nor the PLC represent the Palestinian people," said Hawatmeh. Hawatmeh appealed for new elections on the basis of "full proportional representation, excluding any kind of political monopoly." The DFLP leader said "the Palestinian situation now stands at a crossroads; either to enter into a full deterioration or to bring the...

Israel returns Area B law and order to PA
Amos Harel, Ha'aretz 8/12/2007
The Palestinian police recently resumed its law-enforcement activities in Area B of the West Bank, where the Israel Defense Forces is responsible for security. The renewed police patrols, whose focus is on countering criminal activity and ensuring law and order, are being carried out in coordination with Israeli security elements. According to the Oslo Accords, Israel has security control of territory in Area B, which includes many villages and towns in the West Bank, but the Palestinians are responsible for civilian law-enforcement activities. In Area A of the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority was granted - also in the Oslo agreements - full security control, both in terms of military and police activities. However, since Operation Defensive Shield in April 2002, Israel has assumed security control over Area A, on a nearly continuous basis.

U.S. military aid agreement to be signed next week
Moti Bassok, Ha'aretz 8/12/2007
Nicholas Burns, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, will arrive in Israel next week to sign the military aid agreement between the two countries for 2009-2018. He will sign the $30-billion accord in a ceremony with Finance Minister Roni Bar-On in Jerusalem. Burns led the American team that negotiated the agreement in Washington six months ago. The present civilian and military aid package will end in 2008 and involves a $2. 4 billion grant. The new package starts at $2. 55 billion in 2009 and will increase every year, in accordance with the U.S. economic situation. Due to a lack of communication, Israel's treasury originally assumed next year's budget would include an additional $500 million in U.S. military aid, which will not be forthcoming.

Governor Ta'mari says Israeli checkpoints in Bethlehem increase steadily
Rami Almeghari, International Middle East Media Center 8/12/2007
Governor of the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem, Salah Ta'mari, revealed on Sunday that the Israeli checkpoints across the holy city have been increasing steadily. Ta'mari's remarks came against alleged Israeli removal of a number of checkpoints throughout the West Bank. The governor also said that the placement of roadblocks in the city has grossly restricted movement of residents, particularly to the nearby city of Hebron. He added that Israeli soldiers, manning the checkpoints, have been harassing passersby on daily basis by holding them for prolonged hours, denying them smooth movement. The Palestinian official denied Israeli claims on reduction of checkpoints and roadblocks, noting that the restriction of locals' movement has been concurrent with continuous Israeli army incursions as well as construction of the Apartheid Wall deep into the city of Bethlehem.

Number of checkpoints in Bethlehem increasing, says governor
Ma'an News Agency 8/12/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Governor of Bethlehem, Salah Al Ta'mari, said on Sunday that the Israeli government has increased the number of military checkpoints in the Bethlehem area of the occupied Palestinian West Bank. Ta'mari said that the Israeli military procedures are destroying the daily lives of residents of the governorate. The soldiers humiliate Palestinians forced to cross the checkpoints and detain them for hours without justification, said Ta'mari. Ta'mari said that reports in the press about a reduction in the number of West Bank checkpoints are false. The allegedly 'temporary' checkpoints in the governorate separate Bethlehem from the surrounding villages and the southern West Bank city of Hebron, says Ta'mari. Ta'mari notes that the checkpoints are erected along with Israeli incursions into...

People of Salfit appeal for end to checkpoints and reopening of main road
Ma'an News Agency 8/12/2007
Nablus – Ma'an – The residents of Salfit, near the northern occupied Palestinian West Bank city of Nablus, on Sunday appealed to legal institutions to exert pressure on Israel to remove checkpoints and reopen the main road through the town centre. One local resident said "the stationary checkpoints and the mobile ones make this city hell." He added "this closure costs the town huge financial losses and divides it into three parts." The main road through Salfit was closed at the beginning of the second intifada in September 2000. [end]

Israeli jails transformed into schools by prisoners, says Hamdoneh
Ma'an News Agency 8/12/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – President of the prisoners centre for research, Ra'fat Hamdoneh, said on Sunday that the "decision-making and unity notion" between prisoners in Israeli jails is a "wonderful phenomenon, deserving of respect and appreciation". Hamdoneh issued a statement in which he describes how the "dark and hopeless situation in Israeli jails has been transformed into schools and universities by prisoners". Hamdoneh said "the illiterate prisoner soon learns how to read and write, he becomes an educated person who loves to read and eventually studies languages and the Qu'ran. He will read science and research, and specialise in the fields he enjoys." Hamdoneh expressed pride in the ability of prisoners to forge unity between the different factional affiliates inside the prisons.

Palestinians fearing IOF arrest still trapped at Egyptian borders
Palestinian Information Center 8/12/2007
CAIRO, (PIC)-- Tens of Palestinian citizens are still held up at Egyptian side of the Rafah border with Gaza Strip for refusing to cross through the Israeli-controlled Oja crossing fearing possible arrest. Egypt had officially declared the end to the ordeal of those stranded at its borders with Gaza after 6,530 Palestinians were transported through the Oja crossing into Israel then into Gaza through Beit Hanun (Erez) crossing north of the Strip. Meanwhile, 30 Egyptian MPs tabled a memo with the parliament speaker asking about the fate of five Palestinian PLC members who are still in Cairo and could not return through Oja also fearing arrest on the part of the IOF troops. The Palestinian embassy in Cairo says that 30 Palestinian citizens are still held up at the Egyptian borders. [end]

Heart patient dies after soldiers at checkpoint refuse to let her be taken to hospital in Jenin
Sa''ed al-Atrash, Paramedic, B'tselem 8/6/2007
Today [Monday, 6 August], while I was on my shift at the Red Crescent in 'Araba, the traffic-control officer at our station in Jenin, Ibrahim Yaseen, notified me that Kamelah Ibrahim, from Barta'a, was suffering heart problems and needed assistance and to be taken to hospital. The traffic-control officer added that members of the village council had arranged with the Israeli DCO for the ambulance to enter the village. Around 6:50A. M. , Fayez Ashkar and I drove toward the Barta'a crossing. We arrived at the crossing at 7:08 A. M. and drove up to the gate because we knew our entry had been coordinated. A soldier and several security officers standing there ordered us to move back. We backed up, stopping about twenty meters away from the crossing. We thought we would only have to wait until they finished checking the car in front of us...

Hamas: Abbas commits political crime against the Palestinian cause
Palestinian Information Center 8/12/2007
GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, the Hamas spokesman, accused PA chief Mahmoud Abbas of committing a "political crime" against the Palestinian cause, warning that the patience of the movement started to run out due to the crimes committed against citizens in the West Bank by Fatah-affiliated security and intelligence apparatuses. In a press conference on Saturday, Abu Zuhri called on Arab States to immediately stop supporting Abbas, who imprisons his people and tortures them in his jails more heinously than the IOA does, deploring the return of security coordination between the PA and the IOA "because that means the surrender of new fighters and the transfer of information to the Israeli occupation. The spokesman opined that what is happening in the West Bank is "a moral and patriotic defeat, and no one can accept this farce..."

PFLP: Abbas's policy will inflict damage on the Palestinian cause
Palestinian Information Center 8/12/2007
DAMASCUS, (PIC)-- Maher Al-Taher, a member of the political bureau of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), stated that the policy exercised by PA chief Mahmoud Abbas inflicted great damage on the struggle of the Palestinian people. He pointed out that those who rush towards negotiations with the "Zionist entity" did not draw the lessons of the previous stage, which got the Palestinian cause into "a maze of dark tunnels"." If the PA continued to proceed in this method, which has proven a failure, it will inflict more damage on the image of national struggle and on the essence of the Palestinian cause," Taher said in a statement to the PIC. Regarding the PFLP's efforts to heal the internal rift, Taher explained that the Front held meetings with a number of Palestinian factions and forces in the Gaza Strip...

Sderot residents: Restraint policy on Qassams promoting war of attrition
Ha'aretz 8/13/2007
The residents of Sderot accused the government on Sunday of employing a restraint policy in the face of the ongoing Qassam rocket attacks on the western Negev, thus allowing a "war of attrition" to develop. Meanwhile, Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired three Qassam rockets toward Sderot Sunday morning. The rockets landed in open fields and caused no injuries or damage. The residents of Sderot have endured Qassam and mortar attacks for over six years. The residents told Army Radio Sunday morning that the restraint policy employed by the Israel Defense Forces in response to these attacks encourages terrorist organizations to continue the attacks and essentially create wage a war of attrition. Avi Farhan, a resident of the town, called on the government to prompt the IDF into action and bring an end to the Qassam attacks, Army Radio reported.

Fertilizer shortages hamper rocket fire
Ali Waked, YNetNews 8/12/2007
Shortages in raw materials slowing production of makeshift rockets, lead to decline in rocket fire from Gaza - Shortages in fertilizers used by Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip to produce makeshift rockets have led to a decrease in the number of rockets fired towards Israel. Ynet found that Palestinian terror groups prefer to save their rockets for rainy days. But rockets continued to be fired towards Israel on Sunday, with three rockets landing in the western Negev. The shortages have been blamed on Egypt's clampdown on smugglers operating along the border with the Gaza Strip and Israel's closure of border crossings used to transfer goods into the coastal territory. The price of a kilo of fertilizer rose from $20 to $50. [end]

Settlers slam IDF general
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 8/12/2007
Major-General Stern called 'traitor' by Gush Etzion settlers during family event in settlement - Coward, chicken, traitor - those were some of the words hurled at Major-General Elazar Stern during a ceremony in honor of his daughter's wedding in the Elazar settlement in Gush Etzion Saturday. Residents gathered around the settlement's synagogue and blamed Stern for turning Gush Katif's residents homeless. One of the settlers, Menachem, told Ynet, "All day Saturday it seemed as if Major-General Stern was stressed, and acting like he was being persecuted. He felt uncomfortable, and after what he did in the disengagement, I think that is warranted."  According to him, Stern's wife pushed people away from the synagogue and yelled, "Go away, crazies.

Surveillance video of J'lem shooting
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 8/12/2007
(Video) Tapes of Friday gunfire in Old City clearly show Arab-Israeli man grabbing guard's gun and firing it repeatedly, "disproving" claims that he had been innocent and was 'murdered for nothing' - VIDEO - Surveillance videos clearly show Ahmad Mahmoud Khatib - perpetrator of the Friday shooting in the Old City of Jerusalem - stealing a gun from a security guard and shooting him, despite claims to the contrary by his family. Jerusalem police authorized the publication of the surveillance tapes on Sunday. Khatib grabbed a weapon from a guard of the Ateret Kohanim yeshiva and then set off through the Old City's street shooting back wildly at another yeshiva guard who pursued him. Ten bystanders and one of the guards were injured in the crossfire before the shooter was killed.

Shooter's father says video fabricated
Ahiya Raved, YNetNews 8/12/2007
Mahmoud Khatib asks for neutral investigation during memorial service; Sheikh Raad Salah calls shooter shahid - Surveillance tapes showing Ahmad Khatib grabbing a weapon from a security guard and firing it repeatedly during a pursuit in Jerusalem's Old City last Friday were doctored by the police, said father Mahmoud Khatib during a Sunday memorial service for his son. Ahmad Khatib, according to videotapes, seized a gun from a guard of the Ateret Kohanim yeshiva and fired it repeatedly before being shot down by the security guard chasing him. But many of the shooter's friends and family have asserted his innocence, some saying that the incident was a complete fabrication. According to Mahmoud Khatib, it is significant that the incident took place next to the Ateret Kohanim yeshiva which he said...

Israeli forces search for international activists after they vandalize an electronic fence
Ma'an News Agency 8/12/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an - Israeli forces on Saturday afternoon invaded Beit Mirsim village, south of Hebron, in search of Palestinian and international peace activists, who earlier tore a hole in an electronic fence. A journalist from the village, Muhammad Duheidel, said "after an hour of cutting the fence, a huge Israeli contingent came to the village in search of those responsible." [end]

Resistance fighters hit Israeli, blast IOF Hummer
Palestinian Information Center 8/12/2007
NABLUS, (PIC)-- Palestinian resistance fighters on Sunday blasted an explosive device in a Hummer jeep in Nablus city while Qassam snipers shot and hit an Israeli army technician while fixing the fence surrounding and isolating the Gaza Strip. A joint communiqué for the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas Movement, and the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the PFLP armed wing, affirmed that the Hummer jeep was directly hit and knocked out of action in the pre-dawn attack. They affirmed that their resistance of occupation would continue as long as it continued to occupy national lands. In the Gaza Strip the Qassam snipers claimed responsibility for firing at the Israeli military technician east of Khan Younis, south of the Strip.

Israel mulls removal of roadblocks in West Bank
Daily Star 8/13/2007
Israel will decide soon whether to remove some of the hundreds of roadblocks that impede Palestinian travel in the occupied West Bank, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said on Sunday as a date was declared for talks between Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and the Israeli foreign minister. Olmert has been under pressure from the United States to take more concrete steps to bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of a US-sponsored conference on the long-stalled peace process that is expected to take place sometime in November. "A decision will be made shortly," David Baker, a spokesman for Olmert's office, said. "Wherever and whenever possible, it is Israel's intention to ease up on the Palestinian population, while taking into account the relevant security situation at that point in time," he added.

Government urged to engage moderate elements in Hamas
Julian Borger, diplomatic editor, The Guardian 8/13/2007
The government should talk to "moderate elements within Hamas" and push for the restoration of a Palestinian national unity government, a parliamentary report will recommend today. The report by the Commons foreign affairs select committee argues that western sanctions against Hamas, for its refusal to renounce violence and recognise Israel, have been "counterproductive". However, the MPs believe that Tony Blair's appointment as the special envoy for the diplomatic Quartet (the US, the UN, the EU and Russia) provides an opportunity to open up contacts with the radical Palestinian movement. "We recommend that he engage with Hamas in order to facilitate reconciliation amongst Palestinians," the report says. A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We have made clear that we will respond to significant movement by Hamas.

UK 'damaged' by Lebanon war delay
BBC Online 8/12/2007
The UK's reputation was damaged when the government hesitated in calling for an immediate end to the Lebanon war last year, MPs have said. At the time, then-PM Tony Blair was criticised for waiting a few weeks before eventually calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. The foreign affairs committee also said it was "counterproductive" not to talk to Palestinian militant group Hamas. The government should "urgently" engage with moderate elements, it added. Despite criticism of Mr Blair's policies, the committee welcomed his appointment as a Middle East envoy. 'Indiscriminate' bombing - He took up the post of envoy for the Quartet, comprising the EU, UN, Russia and US, when he resigned as British prime minister in June.

IDF officials warn of Gaza threat
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 8/12/2007
Two years after disengagement, senior officers say decision-makers ignored their warnings prior to pullout, estimate Hamas building army in order to attack Israel. Expert: Confrontation may spill to West Bank - Two years after the disengagement from Gaza, some senior IDF officials maintain that they had warned a pullout would lead to an escalation in Gaza, while others estimate that the current situation in the Strip is explosive and dangerous for Israel. "The easiest thing is to say that the military intelligence did not issue a warning and failed to predict the developments," former IDF intelligence chief Brig. -Gen. Aharon Ze'evi Farkash said recently. "When we prepared for the disengagement, we mentioned all the scenarios for what might happen in the Strip, including the possibility of a 'Hamastan'.

Lantos: Premature roadblocks removal may spark terror attacks
Ha'aretz 8/13/2007
U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos on Sunday told journalists in Jerusalem that "premature removal of checkpoints is a guarantee of violence and terrorism erupting," on the same day that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office announced it would decide on their removal soon. A spokesman for Olmert's office said, "Wherever and whenever possible, it is Israel's intention to ease up on the Palestinian population, while taking into account the relevant security situation at that point in time." Israel has sometimes failed to meet promises to remove roadblocks in the past due to staunch political opposition. Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit said the decision still hinged on whether Abbas improved security in the West Bank.

Report slams Foreign Ministry's foreign policy deficiencies
Barak Ravid, Ha'aretz 8/13/2007
A special report submitted to the Winograd Committee recommends that the Foreign Ministry should be reorganized to allow it to have more of an impact on the decision-making processes involved in forging Israel's foreign policy. The report was compiled by the Reut Institute, a nonpartisan research organization, after a series of interviews with past and present Foreign Ministry and defense officials. The report concluded, "The Foreign Ministry does not have the skill, authority or minimum requirements to deal with matters of national security." Distributed also to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Defense Minister Ehud Olmert, Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair Tzachi Hanegbi, the Reut document adds that "Israel has no foreign policy," and thus "there is no one to lead it.

U.K. paper: Hezbollah buying land to attack Israel
Yoav Stern, Ha'aretz 8/12/2007
Hezbollah is purchasing large plots of land from Christians and Druze in southern Lebanon to improve its military capabilities in preparation for another war with Israel, the British newspaper The Sunday Telegraph reported yesterday. The paper said that Hezbollah was buying land north of the Litani River, where its operatives are undisturbed by the Lebanese Army or United Nations forces." Christians and Druze are selling land and moving out, while the Shia are moving in," Edmund Rizk, a Christian lawmaker for the area until 1992, told the Telegraph. "There is an extraordinary demographic shift taking place." Israeli military sources said that Hezbollah has replenished its weapons arsenal in the year since the Second Lebanon War and has even improved it in several ways.

Japan FM to declare renewed aid to PA during Mideast visit
Ha'aretz 8/12/2007
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso will later today begin his visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, during which he will announce his country's intention to renew its financial assistance to Mahmoud Abbas' government and to participate in joint Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian projects. Prior to arriving in Israel, Aso is visiting Jordan, where he will unveil an aid program for Palestinian and Iraqi refugees who now live in the Hashemite Kingdom. Japan has shown increased involvement in the Middle East over the past two years, which is reflected in closer relations with Israel. The most significant of several senior Japanese official visits took place a little over a year ago, but led to no real results due to the fact that former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi's arrived in the country the day the Second Lebanon War broke out.

Shalit's family blocking Shalit Release, PRC's spokesman says
Rami Almeghari, International Middle East Media Center 8/12/2007
Spokesman of the Palestinian resistance committees, Abu Mojahed, blamed on Sunday the family of the captured Israeli soldier, Gil'ad Shalit, for blocking the release of their son, Gil'ad Shalit. Abu Mojahed, whose group has been held Shalit along with other two Palestinian factions in June2006 during a cross-border operation, claimed that the PRC has dealt a strong blow to the Israeli security apparatuses by holding Shalit so far. The spokesman was quoted by Maan News Agency as saying " the Shalit's family has blocked the release by yielding pressure on the Israeli government". He addressed the family by saying " you are yielding your duty towards your son, however, we estimate your human feelings. Your government never gives attention to human values by leaving your son in the middle of battle without exerting any efforts to free him".

PRC spokesperson derides Israeli inability to release Corporal Shalit
Ma'an News Agency 8/12/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – The spokesperson of the Popular Resistance Committees, which were involved in the capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Abu Mujahid, said the group has struck a devastating blow to the Israeli intelligence and security bodies by managing to detain the soldier for over a year. Abu Mujahid scorned the Israeli inability to obtain any information on Shalit from any one of the Palestinian factions. At the same time, Abu Mujahid accused Shalit's family of failing to exert enough pressure on Israel to enable his release. In an exclusive interview with Ma'an, Abu Mujahid expressed his sentiments to Shalit's family. He said, "You are failing your son, you are failing your duties to him, you value human feelings, but your government ignores them and deserts your children in the middle of a battle without making any attempt to free them.

Barak and the 19 dwarfs
Akiva Eldar, Ha'aretz 8/12/2007
The new-old observation that Defense Minister Ehud Barak is making - that Fatah and Hamas are two sides of the same coin - is reminiscent of something Yitzhak Shamir used to say: "The sea is the same sea, and the Arabs are the same Arabs." That diagnosis determined the fate, two decades ago, of the Jordanian option in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Shamir, who was then prime minister under a rotation arrangement with Shimon Peres, shook off the agreement of principles that Peres drew up with King Hussein in London for solving the problem of the territories. Labor bowed its head in acquiescence and stayed in the coalition government, violence in the territories mounted, and Jordan cut itself off from the West Bank. Lo and behold, the tables have turned.

Cabinet approves 2008 budget
Moti Bassok, Ha'aretz 8/12/2007
The cabinet approved the 2008 budget yesterday by an overwhelmingly majority, with the Labor Party voting for it, but Shas and Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) voting against. Mofaz and Industry Ministry Eli Yishai, the Shas Party chairman, both left the meeting in protest. The 2008 budget is NIS 304. 3 billion, the first time the state budget has passed the NIS 300 billion mark. Of this, NIS 217. 8 billion consists of regular spending, while the rest is for development and investments. Tax revenues are also expected to hit a record next year, NIS 194 billion. The largest single expenditure is the defense budget: NIS 50. 5 billion, including NIS 1. 2 billion added during yesterday's meeting. Defense Minister Ehud Barak praised all those who helped to increase the ministry's budget, but said that even more was needed.

Absorption Ministry's budget cut cancelled
Jerusalem Post 8/12/2007
The government on Sunday evening approved Israel's budget for 2008 without any budget cuts to the Immigrant Absorption Ministry. The budget cut was revoked remained mainly due to Immigrant Absorption Minister Ya'acov Edri's threat to vote against the budget if the cut was not cancelled. Edri and his Ministry's CEO held fierce negotiation with the Finance Ministry's representatives in order to prevent the cut. [end]

Ajrami: 2-month's salary to be paid to prisoners
Ma'an News Agency 8/12/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The minister of prisoners' affairs, Ashraf Ajrami, said on Sunday that two-month's allowance for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails will be paid on Monday. Ajrami issued a press statement announcing that the money will be paid by the ministry of finance. He added that cigarettes for Palestinian prisoners will be distributed to Israeli jails and a batch has already arrived at the Negev desert prison. The Palestinian Authority pays a stipend to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails to cover the costs of food and basic necessities. [end]

Recent surge in arrests in Gaza not political, says Hamas leader
Ma'an News Agency 8/12/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Vice-chairman of Hamas' political bureau, Musa Abu Marzouq, said on Sunday that none of the recent arrests in Gaza were politically motivated." None of the arrests have a political background," said Abu Marzouq, adding "the prisons are open for anyone who wants access to see the conditions of the prisoners." Hamas supportThe Hamas leader said, "Fatah will not see people rebelling against the Palestinian movement of Hamas in the Gaza Strip." Abu Marzouq reacted to media reports since Hamas established control in the Gaza Strip. He said "what is published and broadcast in the media is negative propaganda about Hamas and they are accusations with all kinds of political distortion." He added "there is a huge campaign against Hamas.

PLC freedoms committee accuses some MPs of working against human rights
Palestinian Information Center 8/12/2007
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Committee of Public Freedoms and Human Rights in the PLC warned of the seriousness of the continuing violations against freedoms in the West Bank towns and cities, accusing some MPs of "participating in the violation of human rights." "Some members of the PLC in the West Bank engage in the violation of human rights, because they prevent the expression of views, fight the press and violate the legitimate human rights," MP. Marwan Abu Ras, the Commission's rapporteur stated, pointing out that the last violation committed by them was defaming the Palestinian citizen Mu'ayyad Bani Odeh, MP Abu Ras also said that the difference between the West Bank and Gaza Strip is that any violations of human rights are unaccepted in Gaza by the Qassam Brigades or the executive force...

Budget cut will delay completion of security fence, Barak says
Ronny Sofer, YNetNews 8/12/2007
Defense minister tells cabinet proposed budget cut would force ministry to make 'tough choices' - Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during Sunday's cabinet meeting on the 2008 State Budget that the proposed NIS 500 million ($116 million) cut in funds allocated toward the construction of the security fence would "further delay its completion". He said the Defense Ministry was missing between NIS 400 - 500 million ($93-116 million) to fully implement the IDF Reserves Law. "The budget cut would force the security establishment to make tough choices as far as the purchase of equipment is concerned," Barak said, but added that "as defense minister I accept the painful cuts in the framework of the government's overall responsibility.

Estimate: Knesset to discontinue Peres' work at Ben-Gurion Center
Amnon Meranda, YNetNews 8/12/2007
Ynet survey indicates House Committee will deny president's request to continue taking active role in various associations dedicated to commemorating Israel's first prime minister - The Knesset House Committee is scheduled to convene Monday to vote on President Shimon Peres' request that he be allowed to continue taking an active role in associations dedicated to commemorating Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. A Ynet survey of the committee's 25 members indicates that the request will apparently be denied. Only one member, Kadima's Yoel Hasson, said he would definitely vote in favor of granting the president's request, while Yakov Margi of Shas said he was inclined to support Peres as well. MKs Reuven Rivlin (Likud), who ran against Peres in the presidential race, and Ronit Tirosh...

Teachers threaten to strike after wage talks reach dead end
Moran Zelikovich, YNetNews 8/12/2007
Teachers' Association head says Finance Ministry's proposals 'degrading, unworthy' - The High School Teachers' Association threatened not to open the school year on September 2 after negotiations with the Finance Ministry regarding wage increases derailed on Sunday. "Unfortunately, the Finance Ministry and the prime minister (Ehud Olmert) are not willing to allocate the necessary funds despite admitting that the teachers deserve a wage increase and an improvement in their working conditions," Teachers' Association head Ran Erez said. "The proposals submitted to us were degrading and unworthy. The only thing that could still solve the current difficulties in the negotiations is the intervention of Olmert or Education Minister Yuli Tamir.

Netanyahu struggles to bring Likud voters to polls
Mazal Mualem, Ha'aretz 8/12/2007
Two days before what has so far been a soporific Likud leadership primary, party chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu was fighting to get voters to the polls. At a closing rally for his local campaign chiefs in Ramle yesterday, Netanyahu asked each one to give him an exact estimate of how many voters they could muster. He is seeking to combat the complacence of Likud members who are sure of his victory, along with the fact that some 15,000 Likud members are said to be out of the country or on vacation somewhere in Israel. Netanyahu's people said yesterday that if they manage to get a 30-percent voter turnout under these circumstances, they would consider it an achievement. Netanyahu's main opponent, Moshe Feiglin, also continued to rally his supporters yesterday.

Mofaz storms out of cabinet meeting
Ronny Sofer, YNetNews 8/12/2007
Transportation minister leaves discussion on 2008 state budget due to Finance Ministry's plan for cutback in his ministry's budget. Shas chairman states his party will oppose budget proposal, claiming it hurts the weaker sectors of society - Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz stormed out of Sunday's cabinet meeting that focused on the 2008 national budget, in protest of the Finance Ministry insistence on a planned budget cut of NIS 150 million from his ministry's budget. Mofaz left a note addressed to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert behind him, saying, "This is national irresponsibility, and I shall not take part in this." Meanwhile, Shas Chairman Eli Yishai proclaimed that his party too would vote against the budget proposal. "We will not support a budget that increases the social gaps in Israel.

Israeli marine police begin search for Palestinian corpse
Ma'an News Agency 8/12/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The president of the office of the Israeli internal security minister and ex-police officer, Dani Haddad, assured the Knesset member from the United Arab List party, Abbas Zakour, that the marine police will search for the body of Ismail Khatib. Khatib drowned in Lake Tiberius, in northern Israel, on Friday. The police will restart the search for Khatib, which Haddad said was halted due to the Jewish holiday of Shabbat on Saturday. The stoppage in the search angered the Palestinian family of Khatib, which issued statements on Saturday denouncing the Israeli authorities for neglecting Khatib because he is not Jewish. [end]

IDF celebrates Druze soldiers' day
Hagai Einav, YNetNews 8/12/2007
Senior IDF officers, government officials gather in Carmiel to honor IDF's Druze soldiers. Druze brigade to be presented with Commander in Chief's Citation for actions in Second Lebanon War - The IDF celebrated its Druze soldiers' day Sunday, honoring the 110,000 Druze soldiers in its ranks. The official military ceremony was held in Carmiel, where senior members of the government and the military spoke of the community's valuable contribution to the IDF. The IDF's Druze brigade is also to receive the Commander in Chief's Citation, for their actions in the Second Lebanon War. "It is our duty to serve our country and we take pride in it - that's the way I was brought up and that's the way I raised my children," Riad Assad, a Druze from Beit-Jan who served in the IDF in the 1970s and now has five sons serving in the army, told Ynet Sunday.

The one who exposes and the one who covers up
Na''ama Sheffi, Ha'aretz 8/12/2007
The revolving door between the offices of the director of Army Radio and the Israel Defense Forces spokesman is threatening to make a 360-degree turn: Avi Benayahu went from the radio station's director's seat to that of the spokesman, and Miri Regev now wants to go in the opposite direction. This makes it seem as if there is no difference between journalistic work and serving as a spokesman, as if the IDF does not distinguish between a radio station that combines journalism and popular entertainment and a spokesman who is meant to represent the army. But even in the era of modern, open journalism, there is a difference between those who are supposed to expose and those who are supposed to cover up. We are already familiar with the 180-degree turn.

Adelson family donates $30 million to Taglit-birthright Israel
YNetNews 8/12/2007
'Donation to celebrate Jewish state's 60th anniversary will significantly contribute to fulfilling our mission to provide every young Jew with the opportunity to visit Israel for the first time,' Taglit says - American billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Dr Miriam Adelson, donated on Sunday $30 million to the Taglit-Birthright Israel project, during an event sponsored by President Shimon Peres and held at his Jerusalem Residence. "The gift by The Adelson Family Charitable Foundation (ADCF) will significantly contribute to fulfilling Taglit-birthright israel's mission to provide every young Jew with the opportunity to visit Israel for the first time," Taglit said in a statement. Sunday's gift came on the heels of a $25 million gift by the Foundation, established by Dr Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson in February, which enabled the organization to double the size of the Summer 2007 trips.

Lax punishment for officer who left soldier in Gaza
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 8/12/2007
Company commander of battalion whose soldier was left in hostile territory behind after an operation to receive negative citation on record; no other officers or soldiers to be punished - The company commander of the 51st battalion of the Golani Brigade will receive a negative citation on his permanent record, as punishment for accidentally leaving a soldier under his command behind in Gaza after an operation, the IDF decided Sunday. Following the military investigation of the incident, it was further decided not to take action against other commanders or soldiers in the battalion. Additionally, the IDF leadership found no need to develop new operational orders for the battalion, ruling that a clarification of existing orders would be sufficient.

Adelson in Israel on a mission for charity, influence
Ha'aretz 8/12/2007
American billionaire Sheldon Adelson yesterday pledged $60 million for the Taglit-birthright israel project, which sponsors trips to Israel for Jewish youths who have never visited the country. Adelson and his wife, Miriam, announced the donation at an event sponsored by President Shimon Peres at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. Adelson - who last month founded the Hebrew-language newspaper Yisrael Hayom - said that he will transfer half of the sum this year and the remainder in 2008. In his speech, Adelson also promised to pour more money into the program, saying he intended to ensure that applicants could go to Israel the same year they applied, instead of being put on a waiting list. The billionaire's contribution has already enabled Taglit to double the number of participants for this year, to 25,000.

Money laundering cleanup weighs on Discount Bank NY
Eran Peer, Globes Online 8/12/2007
The bank's profit margin was low in the second quarter, with a net profit of $4. 9 million. - Israel Discount Bank US subsidiary Israel Discount Bank of New York is continuing to be affected by the money laundering scandal it was embroiled in last year. The bank posted a net profit of just $4. 9 million in the second quarter of 2007, half of its net profit in the preceding quarter. The low profit margin stems from the many expenses the bank has incurred while conducting audits and introducing the necessary changes in order to conform to regulatory requirements. The bank is committed to carrying out this process as part of the settlement it reached with the authorities, in the wake of the revelations of the money laundering at the bank during 2005.

Israelis' foreign bank deposits since 2000 exceed $30 billion
Zeev Klein, Globes Online 8/12/2007
$4. 24 billion was deposited in foreign bank accounts in January-July 2007. Since January 2000, Israelis have deposited $31 billion in foreign bank accounts, more than the Bank of Israel's foreign currency reserves. $26 billion of this amount has been deposited since the end of the second intifada in mid-2003: $5. 4 billion in 2004, $4 billion in 2005, $7. 9 billion in 2006, and $4. 24 billion in January-July 2007. Israelis use foreign bank deposits for financial and non-financial investments and to finance current business and other activities. [end]

Leader: Hapoalim, First Int'l face most sub-prime crisis risk
Eran Peer and Michal Yoshai, Globes Online 8/12/2007
D&B Israel: Israel faces no mortgage crisis like the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US. - Leader Capital Markets Ltd. analyst Alon Glazer says Bank Hapoalim has invested $2. 5 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and First International Bank of Israel invested $250 million. "When it rains everyone gets wet, and these mortgages have also become more risky in recent weeks," he says. First International Bank said in response that its MBS portfolio is rated AAA, and is not exposed to sub-prime mortgages. Bank Hapoalim said that it does not expect any harm to its profit because "the entire portfolio is rated AAA and there is no exposure to sub-prime mortgages. Despite the seesaws in the capital market, the rating agencies have not downgraded any of the securities in the portfolio.

Substandard hospitalization
Ha'aretz 8/12/2007
There was a time when patients found themselves bedding down in hospital corridors only at the height of the winter flu season, due to overcrowding in the internal medicine wards. Now the usual year-round picture is of patients lying in beds in the halls of surgical wards, and of intensive care units without room for hundreds of patients on respirators. The state has not managed to adjust its medical services to population growth. Three years ago, the Health Ministry determined that by 2015, hospitals would need 3,000 more beds and three new hospitals would have to be built. That did not and will not happen. Health Minister Yacov Ben Yizri has agreed to add very few new beds by 2010. In fact, it is clear that the overcrowding will continue and worsen by 2015, because when it comes to the construction of new hospitals,...

Going Green / Bin there, doing that
Zafrir Rinat, Ha'aretz 8/12/2007
After years of somnolence, Israel's market for waste-recycling is finally beginning to wake up. In addition to collecting plastic containers for recycling, a practice which has become more widespread over the last few years, the move toward increased recycling is felt mainly in the rate of collection of paper for reuse. Recently the Kurtor company has expanded its system for collecting paper for recycling in Tel Aviv. Now Amnir Recycling Industries, Ltd. , which operates the country's largest recycling plant in Hadera and is the biggest player in the local field, is also augmenting its recycling efforts. Last week Amnir launched a project to encourage the collection of paper for recycling in the city of Hadera. In cooperation with the municipality, Amnir has placed a number of bins in residential neighborhoods...

New initiative enables Jews abroad to observe shmita
YNetNews 8/12/2007
Israeli organization offers Jews to buy small tracts of land in Israel ahead of shmita year commencing in Rosh Hashana, thus enabling them to fulfill mitzvah of shmita - A new initiative that was launched last week aims to enable observant Jews living outside of Israel to fulfill the mitzvah of shmita during the sabbatical year that commences in Rosh Hashana. According to the Torah, during the shmita year, which takes place once every seven years, farmland in the Land of Israel has to remain uncultivated. The Shomrei Shvi'it organization offers Jews to buy small tracts of agricultural land in Eretz Israel that will lay completely fallow for the entire shmita year. Until today, shmita observance has only been available for farmers and land owners in the country, but the unique initiative would allow any Jew in Israel or abroad to fulfill the mitzvah as well.

The 'Ethiopian Herzl' finally receives recognition
Ha'aretz 8/12/2007
"My brother is the Herzl of all Africa. He gave his life for the sake of Ethiopian Jewry," said Colonel Metuku Bogale, formerly the police commissioner of Ethiopia's Shewa Province, of Yona Bogale, the legendary leader of Ethiopian Jewry. A week ago, the 20th anniversary of Yona Bogale's death was marked, and at about the same time, the Rehovot City Council decided to name a local school after him. Bogale was born in 1908 in the village of Wolleka and came to Israel for the first time when he was 13 years old. He studied in Jerusalem and continued his studies in Frankfurt, Lausanne and Paris. In 1931, he returned to Ethiopia and taught at the Jewish School in Addis Ababa until it was shut down by the Italians, who occupied the country in 1936.

Escaped militants 'threaten' attacks in Lebanon
Daily Star 8/13/2007
The leader of a Syrian Islamist group claimed in an audio tape aired on Sunday that a group of Fatah al-Islam militants had escaped from the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in North Lebanon, and he hinted they would be launching attacks inside Lebanon soon. Abu Jandal al-Dimashqi, the self-declared leader of Tawhid and Jihad in Syria, also mourned the death of Abu Hureira, the deputy leader of Fatah al-Islam, which has been battling the Lebanese Army in the camp and in Tripoli since May 20. The government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora announced last week that police in Tripoli, about 12 kilometers from the Nahr al-Bared camp, had killed Abu Hureira, a Lebanese whose real name was Shehab al-Qaddour. "The martyrdom of our brother Abu Hureira has fanned the flames," said Dimashqi in an audio tape posted on an Islamic Web site.

Sfeir calls for unity as Berri warns time is running out
Hani M. Bathish and Maher Zeineddine, Daily Star 8/13/2007
BEIRUT: Lebanese Army commander General Michel Suleiman's highly publicized visit to the Maronite patriarch on Saturday, coupled with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri breaking his long silence, have highlighted rising tensions as Lebanon approaches the September presidential election with no consensus in sight. Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir urged the Lebanese to join hands to save their country, adding that while politicians were competing for positions, the Lebanese Army and security forces were struggling to carry out their duties. "This is the second year we have lost the summer tourist season, and people are uncertain as to how they will make ends meet and provide for their families," Sfeir said during his Sunday sermon in Dimane, echoing concerns of many in the country, adding: "Let us awaken...

Maliki urges Iraqi leaders to hold crisis talks
Daily Star 8/13/2007
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Sunday a much-anticipated summit to try to end political deadlock among the country's leaders could begin in the next two days after another violent weekend across the country. "I have invited major political leaders to a meeting to discuss substantial matters," said Maliki in a televised speech. "Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow could be the first meeting for these leaders to discuss the political program and important strategic problems." Seventeen ministerial posts in Maliki's government are empty or filled by members boycotting Cabinet meetings amid protests by many parties at Maliki's faltering program of national reconciliation. Hopes that his so-called unity coalition can be saved now depend on the senior leadership of the rival parties cutting a new power-sharing...

Cyber protest targets UN website
Al Jazeera 8/12/2007
The message appeared on the secretary-general's main page and several internal ones The United Nation's official website appears to have been hacked in a form of "cyber-protest" against Israeli and US policies in the Middle East. A message appearing on the site early on Sunday said: "Hacked By kerem125 M0sted and Gsy That is CyberProtest Hey Ysrail and Usa dont kill children and other people Peace for ever No war." Several web pages of the subsite for comments and news about Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, were affected and that section of the UN website was taken offline temporarily. However, a placemarker graphic said the site was "unavailable due to scheduled maintenance". The group of hackers, who have previously referred to themselves as "Turkish defacers", have been involved in thousands of website attacks, including a number of high-profile cases.

UN's website breached by hackers
BBC Online 8/12/2007
Hackers have attacked the United Nations official website, forcing some sections to be taken offline. Slogans accusing the US and Israel of killing children appeared on the pages reserved for statements from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. Other pages on the site were also breached by the group, who described their actions as a "cyberprotest". In other attacks by hackers using the same names, they have claimed to be from Turkey. The message on the UN site said: "Hey Ysrail and Usa dont kill children and other people Peace for ever No war." The hackers named themselves as "kerem125", "Gsy" and "M0sted". Groups using the same names have attacked many websites. In one message left on a travel agency site, they described themselves as "Turkish defacers".

U.S. and the Kurds / Washington has forgotten them
Zvi Bar''el, Ha'aretz 8/12/2007
SULAIMANIYA, Northern Iraq - It began as a natural alliance, a political love affair. But after four years of American presence in Iraq, the amicable dialogue between the U.S. and the Iraqi Kurds is growing increasingly discordant. Beyond the culture gap, Iraqi Kurdistan is beginning to feel betrayed by its American allies." Between you and me, no one beats the Americans when it comes to rudeness and sheer gall," my driver comments, upon seeing a convoy of four cars without license plates ahead of us on the road from Sulaimaniya to Erbil - the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. "Look at their driving," he says. The last car, acting as a rear guard, keeps other cars from bypassing. The convoy leader, meanwhile, pushes the cars ahead of the convoy off the road, to the shoulder.


Articles

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Israel boycott campaign momentum grows
Emma Clancy, Green Left Weekly, ZNet 8/11/2007
      The campaign to isolate Israel through boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) has taken meaningful steps forward in the past few months, with major trade unions in Britain, Ireland, South Africa and Canada declaring their support for an international boycott.
     The BDS campaign has been gathering momentum since the 2004 "Call for Boycott" was issued by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), a coalition of more than 50 Palestinian civil society organisations. A May 27 PACBI statement explained that the boycott campaign "is based on the same moral principle embodied in the international civil society campaign against the apartheid regime in South Africa: that people of conscience must take a stand against oppression and use all the means of civil resistance available to bring an end to oppression".
     At its inaugural conference in May, the University and Colleges Union (UCU), which represents 120,000 academic and teaching staff, passed a resolution with a clear majority calling for a discussion within union branches about an academic boycott based on the PACBI call. The motion also encouraged UCU members to "consider the moral implications" of links with Israeli academic institutions.
     In June, Unison, Britain's largest trade union representing 1.3 million public sector workers, passed a comprehensive resolution at its national conference in support of an "economic, cultural, academic and sporting boycott", and the right of return for the Palestinian refugees from the 1948 establishment of the State of Israel. In early July, the Transport and General Workers' Union conference, representing 80,000 members, voted to organise its members in an economic and cultural boycott of Israeli products and sports contacts.

Time to talk to Hamas
Mike Gapes, The Guardian 8/13/2007
      A year after the end of the Lebanon war, prospects for peace in the Middle East remain distant. Diplomacy in the region has never been easy, but the challenges now in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, set against the backdrop of rising Iranian influence, are particularly daunting. These are the critical issues confronted in a report published today by the Commons foreign affairs committee.
     The most pressing, and demanding, matter for Gordon Brown's cabinet is the Palestinian territories. The appointment of Tony Blair as envoy for the Quartet (US, Russia, EU and UN) presents an opportunity to take a new approach.
     Hamas was democratically elected as the majority party in the Palestinian legislative council in January 2006. As a consequence of its failure to explicitly endorse the three Quartet principles - non-violence, recognition of Israel and commitment to previous agreements - it has faced a boycott ever since. Though a Hamas-Fatah national unity government was established at Mecca in March, the EU and US deemed that Hamas had not gone far enough. In June Hamas carried out a "coup" against the secular Fatah to take control of the Gaza Strip. The decision not to engage with Hamas after the Mecca agreement has proved to be counterproductive. Hamas is not a homogenous organisation. It is an Islamist movement that includes more pragmatic and more extreme elements. The current policy helped isolate the pragmatists. This must be reversed. Ways must be found to engage politically with more moderate elements to help move Hamas towards the three Quartet principles and become a true partner for peace in the Middle East. Such an approach will also help to peel Hamas away from Iran, its main international sponsor.

Reply to the Arab peace plan now, to advance in the Fall
Editorial, Daily Star 8/13/2007
      Months remain before the scheduled convening of the gathering to promote Arab-Israeli peace negotiations that US President George W. Bush proposed recently, but it is not too early to start exploring whether this could be a real opportunity for change, and not simply another hoax. Expectations are not high for this meeting, whose participants and agenda are not yet clear. Nevertheless, this could be seen as another marker on a long road otherwise full of disappointment and failed peace initiatives. Bush is on the ropes politically due to Iraq and other problems, and will want to earn a victory somewhere so he does not leave office a discredited and broken man. Arab-Israeli peace-making is a notoriously difficult terrain in which to make one's mark, especially for American presidents who find themselves seriously constrained by pro-Israeli sentiments and forces in Washington.
     Yet the Middle East cries out for progress on this issue, and the American people clearly would support a president who pushes for even-handed peace-making. Now is the time to lay the groundwork for progress in the Fall. The Arab world has done its part by relaunching the Arab peace plan and making it clear that it seeks a negotiated permanent peace based on UN resolutions and reasonable compromises. Israel and the US need to make a reciprocal gesture now, so that the Fall meeting can bear fruit.

The epic story of Arab ordinariness
Rami G. Khouri, Daily Star 8/13/2007
      I had a very unusual experience last Friday morning as I was going through my pleasant early morning routine while sitting in my easy chair on our balcony overlooking the Mediterranean, reading the newspapers, drinking coffee, listening to BBC radio news, and watching my water turtle Jerry show me his back flips and other maneuvers that he perfected while the rest of us slept. The unusual thing was that there was not a single news item about the Middle East on the BBC radio news.
     I do not exaggerate when I say that this may be the first time in around 36 years of regular listening that the morning bulletin did not carry Middle East news. Jerry the water turtle seems to have picked up on the fact as well, for he was particularly athletic that morning, even slightly exuberant, perhaps because of the refreshing change of not having to listen day in and day out to items that dominate Middle East coverage: violent wars, terrorism, assassinations, kidnappings, refugees, civil strife, stalemated governments, foreign invasions, hostage-taking, beheadings, militias, sanctions, regime changes, military occupations, armed resistance, illegal immigrants, religious fanaticism, corruption, police states, rigged elections, human rights abuses, stressed economies, presidents for life, and many other such depressing phenomena.
     I wondered whether consumers of radio, television and newspaper news around the world who primarily receive a diet of depressing and violent news about our region are receiving an accurate picture of the realities of my Arab society and other Middle Eastern lands.

Radio Tadamon! reflects on Lebanon war
Podcast, Radio Tadamon, Electronic Intifada 8/12/2007
      This special edition of Radio Tadamon!, a monthly hour-long radio program broadcasted in Montreal and uploaded to the Internet, focuses on commemorating the July 2006 Israeli military assault on Lebanon. The 34-day war left over 1,300 Lebanese civilians dead, large parts of the national infrastructure destroyed and southern Lebanon littered with over a million unexploded cluster bombs.
     The program features multiple testimonies and reflections on the 2006 war on Lebanon recorded at a Montreal community commemoration event that attracted hundreds of participants from the Montreal region.
     Also included in the program is an interview with May Hayder, a Lebanese community organizer in Montreal with Al-Hidaya Association who touches on a number of key issues regarding the current political turmoil in the Middle East, from the history of conflict between Israel and the Arab world, to the impact of the 2006 war on Lebanon on the Lebanese Diaspora in Canada and finally to the designation of Hizballah as a terrorist organization in Canada.

Was Arafat HIV-positive?
Danny Rubinstein, Ha'aretz 8/12/2007
      A magnificent mausoleum was built over the grave of Yasser Arafat in the courtyard of the Muqata in Ramallah, but the ghost of the late Palestinian Authority chairman continues to haunt the Palestinian leadership. Last week Arafat's admirers commemorated the 78th anniversary of his birth, and former aide Bassam Abu Sharif convened a press conference to mark the event. Abu Sharif demanded that former French President Jacques Chirac disclose the cause of Arafat's death, or, to be more precise, the type of poison that killed him.
     Many Palestinians believe that the Mossad poisoned Arafat. A senior Palestinian official once said he did not understand why Israel did not admit to it. When Israel's plan to assassinate Saddam Hussein ended in the Tze'elim 2 training accident, nothing was concealed, he said. And when the Mossad agents who attempted to assassinate Khaled Meshal in Amman failed, then, too, Israel accepted responsibility for its actions. In other words, Israel admits its failures, so why is it denying its success in this case?
     Every once in a while, a witness emerges. A few months ago, Ramallah residents reported that Arafat's dentist died when his immune system collapsed, possibly after coming into contact with poison while treating Arafat.

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