Fayad Issues Conditions for Palestinian Peace Deal
Donald Macintyre, MIFTAH 8/18/2007
Hamas has to renounce "any and all" claims to govern Gaza before there can be any reconciliation between the Palestinian factions, Salam Fayad, the Prime Minister of the two-month-old emergency Palestinian administration in Ramallah, said yesterday. The tough conditions laid down by Mr Fayad will be taken as a clear rebuff for recent international calls for early dialogue between Fatah and Hamas in the wake of June's bloody infighting when Hamas seized internal control of Gaza by force after 100 lives were lost in a single week. A group of European foreign ministers - including those from France, Italy and Spain - as well as the British Foreign Affairs Committee have urged such talks. Mr Fayad also called for the disbandment of all "armed militias", which he said was incompatible with the process of building a Palestinian state.
Israel destroys Palestinian wells, homes in West Bank
Middle East Online 8/18/2007
JERUSALEM - Palestinians in the Jordan Valley, in the northeastern part of the West Bank, had their worst fears confirmed over the past week when Israeli forces demolished homes and wells in small villages in the area, following through on previously issued orders. Observers and residents are concerned that these actions, combined with previous incidents and expected future ones, are making it nearly impossible for Palestinians to remain in the area. "The Israelis seem to want to push out the Palestinians, to make room for the settlers. I am very worried," said Fathi Khrdeirat, from Save the Jordan Valley, a local organisation. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), around 300 Palestinians structures have been destroyed in the Jordan Valley since 2005.
Two Palestinians killed during Israeli invasion of northern West Bank
Ma'an News Agency 8/18/2007
Jenin – Ma'an – A Palestinian child and an operative of the Abu Ammar Brigades were killed late on Friday evening, during clashes as the Fatah-affiliated Abu Ammar Brigades joined the Islamic Jihad-affiliated Al Quds Brigades fighting occupying Israeli troops who had invaded the village of Kfar Dan, west of Jenin. Mahmoud Darwish, 30, was hit with a bullet to the head; ambulances attempted to take him to Rafidia hospital in Nablus, but were prevented from travelling by an Israeli military checkpoint. The corpse of Nour Ibrahim Mar'y, 16, arrived at hospital, riddled with eight bullets. [end]
110 more Fateh-affiliated Palestinians removed from Israel's 'wanted' list
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 8/19/2007
Late Friday night, Palestinian Authorities received a list of an additional 110 Fateh-affiliated Palestinians who would be removed from the 'wanted' list held by the Israeli military. This is in addition to over two hundred people who were removed from the list two weeks ago. Israeli authorities are attempting to undermine the power of the Hamas party by granting concessions to those Palestinians affiliated with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fateh party. Even so, leaders with Fateh's armed wing, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, are not entirely happy with the deal. Nasser Al Kharraz, spokesman of the Brigades, and named on the most recent list, stated, "We still reject the distinction that Israel is making between the armed groups. We want the lists to contain all the wanted, from all the factions, without any exceptions.
PM Office denies Israel to pardon West Bank militants
Barak Ravid, Ha'aretz 8/19/2007
The Prime Minister's Office denied reports by Palestinian officials Saturday that Israel plans to take 110 Palestinian militants in the West Bank off its wanted list as part of another move to boost Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Israel granted amnesty to 178 militants from Abbas's secular Fatah group last month, on condition they renounce violence. None were responsible for any Israeli deaths. Akram Rajoub, head of the Preventive Security Forces in the West Bank city of Nablus, said Israeli officials had passed to him a list of 110 Palestinian militants set to receive amnesty. He did not elaborate which group they were loyal to." The wanted Palestinians mentioned in the list are to surrender their weapons to Palestinian security departments and sign documents saying they will not launch any attacks on Israel," Rajoub said.
Abbas aide: Israel won't discuss core issues preventing PA state
Barak Ravid, Ha'aretz 8/19/2007
PLO Executive Committee member Yasser Abed Rabbo told the Arabic-language paper Al-Quds Al-Arabi that no negotiations are currently taking place between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on core issues standing in the way of the establishment of a Palestinian state. The statements come just days after sources in Jerusalem said that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud and Abbas have begun been negotiating a new document on the core issues. These issues include the permanent borders of the future Palestinian state, the question of jurisdiction over holy sites in Jerusalem, and the Palestinian refugee problem. Abed Rabbo told the paper, which is published in London, that Israel refuses to discuss the issues before the U.
IDF: Palestinian civilians have no business near border
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 8/18/2007
IDF notes increase in infiltration attempts from Gaza. Saturday's attempts end in 7 arrests, 1 casualty. 'We have no intention of harming Palestinian civilians, but must treat every attempt as a terror threat' - A Palestinian man was killed Saturday afternoon by IDF troops in northern Gaza, just south of the Karni goods crossing. The army said troops identified three Palestinians advancing towards the security fence and behaving in a suspicious manner. After the men ignored calls to stop and turn around, the soldiers fired toward their legs. One of the men was killed and the army contacted the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza to send an ambulance to evacuate him. The two other Palestinians were lightly wounded and taken for questioning by Israeli forces.
One Palestinian Killed and another wounded as Israeli army opens fire in eastern Gaza
Rami Almeghari, International Middle East Media Center 8/18/2007
A Palestinian resident was shot dead and another was wounded, when the Israeli army opened fire Saturday afternoon on Palestinian residents in southeastern Gaza city. Palestinian medical sources said that three Palestinians, seen collecting antiquities near a garbage collection plant in the Johr Eldik village, were fired by the Israeli army forces, just close to the Gaza-border line. The sources identified the dead as Nezar Raji, 20, of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip. Local sources confirmed the Saturday's causalities, maintaining that the Israeli army arrested a second, as a third fled the scene. The Israeli army is manning the Gaza-Israel border line that separates Gaza from Israel Over the weekend, the Israeli army took prisoners a number of Palestinians who attempted to infiltrate through the border line.
Palestinian woman and Israeli soldier injured during clashes in Nablus refugee camps
Ma'an News Agency 8/18/2007
Nablus – Ma'an – A Palestinian woman and an Israeli soldier have been shot during clashes in Nablus, early on Saturday morning, during an invasion of Israeli troops to Balata and 'Ein Beit el Ma refugee camps, east and west of Nablus. According to Palestinian medical sources, Amnah Naser Mabrook, 30, was hit by shrapnel from the soldiers' bullets, in 'Ein Beit el Ma camp, west of Nablus city centre. The Al Aqsa, Abu Ali Mustafa and Al Qassam Brigades have all claimed responsibility for destroying Israeli vehicles. Israeli radio on Saturday morning said that an Israeli soldier was wounded in Nablus during the clashes. [end]
The construction and expansion of illegal Israeli outposts in the West Bank continues, reports Peace Now
Ma'an News Agency 8/18/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Israeli human rights group, Peace Now, have issued a report on the expansion and construction of illegal Israeli outposts in the West Bank between January and April 2007. The report finds that outposts throughout the territory of the West Bank have continued to be built and expanded during the first four months of 2007. The area that contains the majority of outposts, around Ramallah, was also the site of the majority of construction and expansion activity. The report reads "these findings are not startling, and they are an indication of an ongoing familiar reality, wherein most of the outposts' activities are carried out in regions located deep in the West Bank, areas that are also the most problematic from a political viewpoint.
Megiddo jail continues repressive measures against inmates
Ma'an News Agency 8/18/2007
Nablus – Salfit – Ma'an – The administration of Meggido jail has raised the level of repression over the prisoners and their visitors, according to prisoners held there. The prisoners said that the general situation inside the jail is not good; the cells are overcrowded, there is not sufficient medical treatment for sick prisoners and malnutrition is rife, due to the severance of the medical canteens for the fourth month in succession. In addition, the security service is forbidding family visits, and not allowing prisoners to move between the cells. Inmates called for "real action against these practices to end the suffering of the prisoners". [end]
IOA refuses to allow Palestinian prisoner to visit his dying father
Palestinian Information Center 8/18/2007
NAZARETH, (PIC)-- MP Abbas Zakour, the Arab member in the Israeli parliament, has asked Israeli interior security minister Avi Dichter to allow Palestinian prisoner Ali Amaria to visit his dying father. The MP asked the minister and the director of the Israeli prisons authority to allow Amaria a sole one-hour visit to his father who is currently in Rambam hospital in Haifa suffering from an advanced cancer stage. He said that Amaria was willing to accept any conditions to visit his father, noting that the father was in a critical condition. Amaria, who is held in Jalbo prison west of Bisan city, was sentenced to 41 years behind bars for tossing a bomb that wounded 22 Israelis. He has spent 19 years so far in jail without allowing him to get out on such visits not even for once. He complained to the MP when he visited him last march, saying that he did not kill anyone.
Salah: Israel wants to divide Al-Aqsa between Jews, Muslims
Ha'aretz 8/19/2007
The head of the Islamic Movement's northern branch, Sheikh Ra'ad Salah, said on Saturday that Israel is trying to forcibly divide the Al-Aqsa mosque between Jews and Muslims, Israel Radio reported. The report also quoted Salah as saying that anyone trying to resist this effort by Israel risks being arrested or even killed "in cold blood." He referenced as an example Ahmed Hatib, who stole a gun from a guard last week in Jerusalem's Old City, and was killed in an ensuing gunfight with another guard. Speaking at a convention in East Jerusalem, Salah also said that the Israeli establishment is systematically attempting to Judaize the city, and disconnect it from its Palestinian surroundings in order to easily transfer its Arab population.
Sheik: Israel murders those who oppose its policy
Roee Nahmias, YNetNews 8/18/2007
Controversial Sheik Ra'ad Salah, who stands to be indicted on incitement charges, delivers sermon in E. Jerusalem marking '40-year occupation of al-Aqsa Mosque' and alleging that shooting carried out by Arab Israeli terrorist last week was fabricated - Those who oppose Israel's policy on Jerusalem are "in danger of being murdered in cold blood," asserted Sheikh Ra'ad Salah on Saturday at a conference at the Hind el-Huesseini school in East Jerusalem under the banner of '40-years since the occupation of the al-Aqsa Mosque. ' Salah, who heads the Islamic Movement's northern branch in Israel, is currently facing charges of inciting violence, racism, and rebellion against the State. Salah was alluding to last week's incident, during which Kfar Manda resident Ahmad Khatib stole a gun from a Jewish security guard and was killed when one of the guards gave chase.
Israeli army invades Nablus and injures one civilian
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 8/18/2007
A massive Israeli force invaded the northern West Bank city of Nablus and the nearby El Ein refugee camp on Saturday morning attacked and searched homes and injured one Palestinian woman. Witnesses said that soldiers searched homes and forced families out during the search soldiers shot randomly at residents homes and injured one civilian. Medical sources in the city identified the injured woman as Ni'mah Nasser, from El Ein refugee camp. Sources in the city said that the Israeli forces left the city shortly after searching homes, no kidnappings were reported. In related news Israeli soldiers stationed at the Howara military checkpoint on the main entrance to Nablus city on Saturday midday closed the checkpoint and did not allow residents to enter of leave the city for several hours, soldiers said that...
Brigades launch barrage of projectiles from Gaza Strip
Ma'an News Agency 8/18/2007
Gaza - Ma'an - The Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, have claimed responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles at the Israeli cities of Sderot and Ashkelon, located close to the northern Gaza Strip, late on Friday night. The PFLP's Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, and Fatah's Al Aqsa brigades, claimed joint responsibility on Friday night for launching four mortars at Kfar Gaza, and Nahal Oz. The Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, on Saturday morning, claimed responsibility for shooting an Israeli soldier in the central-Gazan Al Bureij refugee camp, and launching some 19 mortars at Israeli military positions. In separate statements received by Ma'an, the brigades declared that "this operation was in response to the Israeli crimes against the Palestinians", and "to demonstrate their continued resistance".
Presidential decree cancels earlier decrees
Ma'an News Agency 8/18/2007
Ramallah – Ma'an – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a presidential decree to withdraw all presidential decrees issued between 7th March 2007 and 15th April 2007. This decree cancels decrees concerning the employment, promotion and transferral of employees in governmental ministries, administrations and forums. This decree also removes privileges of those who benefited during this period. [end]
Hamas Rejects President Abbas's decree
Rami Almeghari, International Middle East Media Center 8/18/2007
Secretary of the deposed Palestinian cabinet of Hamas, Mohammad Awad, rejected the latest Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's cancellation of all the cabinet's decrees issued between March7, 2007 to April15, 2007, calling the decision 'illegal' Awad called on President Abbas to retreat the cancellation, saying the decision would harm the image of Palestinian legitimacy and would impact the Palestinian people's credibility at the international community's level. The deposed cabinet's secretary made clear" canceling any decree or adjusting any appointment 'are governed by the penalty law not by a presidential decree'. Awad wandered as to how a governmental employee can be secured, while a presidential decree rules out his/her appointment?.
Hamas rejects Abbas's new election law
Palestinian Information Center 8/18/2007
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Hamas Movement has declared rejection of the PA chief Mahmoud Abbas's new election law that commits each and every candidate to declare abidance by the PLO program and its signed agreements, which practically excludes Hamas from participating in elections. A close associate of Abbas said that any candidate should accept the PLO as the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and to approve the declaration of independence endorsed back in 1988. Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, the Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip, described such a law as "illegal", adding, "We are not concerned with this step". Abbas has no right to amend the Palestinian basic law because the PLC is the one entitled to amend or issue new laws, he clarified. Abu Zuhri further noted that no elections would succeed without participation of Hamas...
Bahar deplores Abbas's edict punishing members of executive force
Palestinian Information Center 8/18/2007
RAFAH, (PIC)-- Dr. Ahmed Bahar, the acting speaker of the PLC, has deplored the edict issued by PA chief Mahmoud Abbas that stipulates the punishment of the executive force members by temporary arrest. He highlighted during a ceremony Friday evening in Rafah that the force would remain at the Palestinian citizens' service despite all the conspiracies hatched against it. PA chief had issued a decree criminalizing the members of the executive force and the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, and punishing them by three to seven-year imprisonment in addition to the confiscation of their bank accounts. For his part, Jamal Al-Jarrah, the general commander of the executive, denounced Abbas's edict, considering it "a funny edict without any value on the ground." "This is a ridiculous and an unacceptable verdict and reflects the confusion Abbas and his entourage is living in..."
PA security services arrest five Hamas members
Ma'an News Agency 8/18/2007
Nablus – Ma'an – Hamas have stated that Palestinian Authority security services have arrested five Hamas members across the West Bank on Saturday. One of those arrested is a student at Al Najah University in Nablus, Abed Al Raheem Al Taweel, from Qalqilia. In a statement received by Ma'an, Hamas revealed that PA security services in Yamoun prevented them from holding a ceremony to honour the Tawjihi students. [end]
Palestinian security forces arrests five Hamas member in northern West Bank
Najeep Faraj, International Middle East Media Center 8/18/2007
Sources in Hamas movement reported that Palestinian security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah ha kidnapped five of the movements' members from several areas of the northern part of the West Bank. According to the sources the security forces attacked Hamas member's homes near Jenin and Qalqilia. Palestinian security sources told IMEMC said that there no arrests have been made as Hamas clamed; the sources said that the five we called for questioning only. [end]
Gaza City municipal workers strike for eighth day in protest against non-payment of salaries
Ma'an News Agency 8/18/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – The employees at Gaza City municipal council on Saturday entered their eight day of strike action in protest against the non-payment of their salaries for the past eight months. As a result, rubbish is piled up in the streets. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gave one million shekels (~$236,088 US) to Gaza City municipality, to cover one month's salary for 1,960 workers. The spokesperson of the municipal council, Nasser Swear, said the employees reached a state of desperation and they had no other choice but to strike. Gaza City municipal council needs five million shekels per month to cover employees' salaries, said Swear. Two-thirds of these workers are employed in basic cleaning jobs and their salaries do not exceed 1,500 shekels (~$350 US) per month.
Gaza goes dark
Rami Al Mughari, International Middle East Media Center 8/18/2007
The Gaza strip is expected to go into darkness after Israel refused on Friday to provide the Gaza power plant with fuel. Israeli justified its decision on the basis of security, a pretext that the deposed Hamas government in Gaza has rejected, claiming that the reasons go beyond security. Deposed Palestinian Prime Minister Isma'el Hanyyiah, speaking in a Friday prayers ceremony, affirmed that Palestinian parties are contributing to the ongoing lack of fuel and basic raw materials in a bid to make Gaza succumb. "At this time, Gaza suffers from a lack of basic materials due to the closures, and Palestinian entities are contributing to the siege." Hanyyiah said. According to Gaza power plant officials, the Gaza strip's power supply is dependent on one generator out of four.
Fuel supplies to Gaza Strip to be reinstated from Sunday
Ma'an News Agency 8/18/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The Palestinian government stated on Saturday that the supply of fuel to the Gaza Strip will resume on Sunday morning. The spokesperson of the Palestinian government, Minister of Information Dr Riyad Al-Maliki said that "the resumption of the fuel supply comes as a result of great efforts exerted by the Palestinian government on the Israelis, in order to avoid a real crisis, which may terminate the steadfastness of the Strip". The Israelis announced on Thursday morning that they would stop supplying fuel to the Gaza Strip, specifically to the electricity generating station. The announcement followed the discovery of a tunnel near the Ash Shuja'iyya / Nahal 'Oz warehouse area. Following the discovery, Israeli authorities declared the area "a closed military zone", preventing fuel tankers from delivering their fuel load.
'More wanted Palestinians to be pardoned'
Ali Waked, YNetNews 8/18/2007
Palestinian sources say Israel to pardon 110 wanted Fatah members; report unconfirmed by Israel - Israel will pardon dozens more wanted Palestinians, according to Palestinian sources. Israel has not confirmed the report. Following an amnesty deal including over 170 wanted Palestinians last month, Palestinian sources said Israeli security sources surprised their Palestinian counterparts over the weekend with a list of wanted Fatah members to be pardoned by Israel. The list was sent to Ziad Hab al-Reeh, commander of the Preventive Security forces in the West Bank, and included the names of 110 wanted Palestinians who Israel would no longer pursue if they disarmed and signed an agreement according to which they would no longer engage in terror related activities.
Israelis Sceptical of Peace Talks with Abbas
Mehdi Lebouachera, MIFTAH 8/18/2007
The continued existence of armed militias is an obstacle to the promised Palestinian state, Western-backed prime minister Salam Fayyad said on Thursday. "Building towards statehood and independence on the one hand, and continuing to tolerate armed militias on the other, are two mutually exclusive paths that will never meet," Fayyad said in an interview with the foreign press. "We are learning that from experience. We need to deal with this. That's the key principle that needs to be understood, and understood clearly, and that has to be implemented. "Today that's what we are beginning to do in the West Bank and that is something that should be generalised. "We simply cannot go back to a situation where matters are taken into the hands of the people acting outside of the.
Palestinian PM Warns of Mideast Summit Failure
Joshua Mitnick, MIFTAH 8/18/2007
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad warned yesterday that a regional summit backed by President Bush could backfire if it fails to advance prospects of an Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty, with consequences throughout the region. Mr. Fayyad, a former International Monetary Fund economist who now heads a caretaker Palestinian Cabinet appointed in the wake of Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip two months ago, also said one of his government's top priorities is reuniting the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. He offered little indication of what actions are being taken toward that goal, and left open little room for reconciliation talks with Hamas. But he listed among the successes of the caretaker government the restoration of international aid, Israel's unfreezing of the customs money, resumption...
Palestinians have the right to resist the Israeli occupation, says Hamas spokesman
Ma'an News Agency 8/18/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – The spokesperson of the Hamas movement, Fawzi Barhoum, said on Saturday that the Palestinian people have the right to resist the Israeli occupation in any way they find appropriate. Moreover, he said the Palestinian people have the right to defend their inalienable rights and unchangeable principles as long as the occupation continues. In a statement received by Ma'an, Barhoum described the decisions and declarations of Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and his Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, as an attempt to frustrate the Palestinian right to self-defense. [end]
Barhoum warns of joint plot between Israel and Fatah to assassinate Haneyya
Palestinian Information Center 8/18/2007
GAZA, (PIC)-- Fawzi Barhoum, the Hamas spokesman warned of a joint scheme between Israel and the Fatah-affiliated mutiny trend to assassinate Ismail Haneyya, the premier of the legitimate PA caretaker government. In a press release, Fawzi Barhoum stated that there were many failed attempts by Fatah in the last months to assassinate Haneyya and other Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip, attributing the assassination attempts to "the strong personality and popularity Haneyya enjoys in addition to his success in grabbing the reins of the national unity government." The spokesman explained that there is Zio-American conspiracy weaved in Washington to liquidate the Hamas leaders in order to pave the way for the return of Fatah to the Gaza Strip according to the Dayton plan.
Evangelical pastor told to leave Israel
Jerusalem Post 8/16/2007
An American evangelical pastor and his wife who have been living in Israel for nearly two decades have been ordered to leave the country within two weeks, after their request for permanent residency was turned down, officials said on Thursday. Ron Cantrell, 59, and his wife Carol, 54, have run a small Jerusalem-based ministry, Shalom Shalom Jerusalem, for the past four years. Cantrell previously worked for Bridges for Peace, an evangelical organization, for 14 years. Two of the couple's children have married Israelis and have Israeli ID cards. # US Lutherans consider Israel boycottInterior Ministry officials said the decision was made following suspicions that Cantrell was involved in missionary work. The pastor categorically denied the allegations as baseless. Cantrell, who has been active in raising money for Israel as well as working on behalf of Soviet Jews...
Zahhar: Hamas's relations with euro countries to witness positive development
Palestinian Information Center 8/18/2007
GAZA, (PIC)-- Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar, the prominent Hamas figure, has affirmed that his Movement's relations with European countries would witness positive developments within two months. He revealed that a number of meetings were held with official European parties in this regard. Italian premier Romano Prodi and the foreign relations committee in the British House of Commons had recently called for holding dialogue with Hamas. Shifting to another issue, Zahhar renewed his Movement's rejection of holding early legislative elections. [end]
Holocaust victims living in poverty
Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera 8/18/2007
The Israeli government has been criticised for "severe shortcomings" in its treatment of elderly holocaust survivors. A report from the state comptroller's office blamed red tape for preventing effective assistance being provided and urged action to help the ageing victims. Leopold Rosen measures the world by the pipe that connects him to his oxygen machine. He suffers from several chest complaints dating back to when he hid from the Nazis in a forest in Poland. The German government pays him compensation every month and he gets a small pension from Israel, but he can barely pay for both his drugs and his food. "I was born of the 5th of June, 1922. Do I have time to wait for help from the government? There are a lot of people in the same position.
Bibi's on Top
Baltimore Sun - Editorial, MIFTAH 8/18/2007
The recent election of Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu as the top opposition leader in Israel's government leaves an already weakened Prime Minister Ehud Olmert increasingly vulnerable on the peace front. Mr. Netanyahu, an articulate and outspoken former prime minister, has built his reputation as a hard-liner who supported Israeli settlers in the West Bank and opposed the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. His stated intention to return to the prime minister's office should guarantee his role as provocateur in any attempt to negotiate a peaceful settlement with the Palestinians. Mr. Netanyahu's timing is fortuitous - for him. The Olmert government's poor handling of last summer's Lebanon war and other domestic problems have left Mr. Olmert open to attack from various camps in addition to Mr.
61%: Public figures who seek rabbinical blessings are fawners
Kobi Nahshoni, YNetNews 8/18/2007
Israelis are non too excited about secular politicians and businessmen who consult rabbis, believing they are fawners. A Ynet-Gesher survey further found that while a significant number of people prefer the counsel of a close friend or relation, rabbis are still the most popular sources of advice, beating out even psychotherapists - Fawners, We're Fed Up: We are all familiar with presidential candidates, party leaders and businessmen who rush to pay their respects to the nation's rabbinical elite the day before a crucial deal or election is at hand. We all see the pictures on tomorrow's front page. A survey commissioned by Ynet-Judaism and the Gesher Association shows that the public frowns upon the practice, with 61% saying that secular businessmen who consult rabbis are "kissing up to the religious and strictly Orthodox.
Yiddish rap stirs controversy in Israel
Yoav Friedman, YNetNews 8/18/2007
Album by Bnei Brak rappers featuring Yiddish versions to pop songs by Madonna, 50 Cent prompts boycott by rabbis, despite enormous popularity - Two haredi musicians from Bnei Brak recorded a Yiddish cover album giving international hits a strictly-Orthodox twist by using lyrics that bear a religious meaning. The album, titled Rap in Yiddish, was recorded in the United States and quickly became a smash hit among the community. Rap in Yiddish Covers of Madonna's "La Isla Bonita" and 50 Cent's "In da Club" can be found on the album. The Bnei Brak boys did not leave out Israeli creation and the piece "Tnu lo chance" (give him a chance) by the local trio Ma Kashur can also be found in a more religious version. The success the album has achieved overseas has not yet hit Israel.
Lebanon charges over 100 suspects with terrorism
Jerusalem Post 8/18/2007
Lebanon has charged over 100 suspected militants with terrorism, accusing them of belonging to an al-Qaida-inspired group that has been battling the army for almost three months, a court official said Saturday. Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza filed the charges on Friday, targeting 107 suspected Fatah Islam members in police custody and an indeterminate number still at large, including group leader Shaker Youssef al-Absi, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Mirza accused the suspected militants of "establishing a gang with the aim of committing crimes against the people, stealing money, undermining the state's authority and attacking its military and security institutions," according to the official. [end]
Syria denies vice president criticized Saudis
Jerusalem Post 8/18/2007
Syria said Saturday that recent comments by the country's vice president reputedly criticizing Saudi Arabia were misreported, an attempt to quell growing tension over the remarks. Saudi Arabia lashed out at Syria on Thursday after Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa reportedly said the kingdom - the Mideast's key Sunni power player - had become semi-paralyzed and was to blame for Palestinian infighting. But Syria's official SANA news agency quoted an unnamed official Saturday as denying al-Sharaa criticized Saudi Arabia. Instead, he stressed his country's desire to heal the rift with Riyadh. "The brotherhood between the Syrian and Saudi people is a real one that has withstood different crises... and Syria is aimed at reviving Arab solidarity and strengthening it to serve the national and pan-Arab interest," the official was quoted as saying.
Turkish plane hijacked en route to Istanbul
Middle East Online 8/18/2007
ANKARA - Two who hijacked a Turkish plane surrendered at an airport in southern Turkey on Saturday after hours of negotiations, officials said. "The terrorists have been taken in, the hijack is over," Hayrettin Balcioglu, the deputy governor of Antalya where the plane made an emergency landing after its seizure, told the Anatolia news agency. Turkish Interior Minister Osman Gunes identified one of the hijackers as Turkish national Mehmet Resat Ozlu, and the other as a man who had a Syrian passport, but was believed to be of Palestinian origin. "We persuaded them to surrender themselves," Gunes told reporters here." They are currently being questioned by police." The CNN-Turk news channel showed two people leaving the plane and being handcuffed before being taken away in a white vehicle.
Hariri court to be based in Netherlands
Middle East Online 8/18/2007
UNITED NATIONS - An international court to try suspects in the 2005 murder of Lebanese former prime minister Rafiq Hariri will be based in the Netherlands, UN officials said Friday. Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende had written to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon agreeing to host the special court at the United Nations' request, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said. "The secretary-general was pleased to receive on August 15 a letter from Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende informing him that the government of the Netherlands is favorably disposed to hosting the special tribunal for Lebanon," she said. The tribunal aims to try suspects in the assassination of Hariri, a popular five-time prime minister who was killed along with 22 others in a massive explosion on the Beirut seafront on February 14, 2005.
Egypt Brotherhood members arrested
Al Jazeera 8/17/2007
Egyptian police have broken up a meeting of the Muslim Brotherhood and taken away 20 senior members, including Essam el-Erian, the political department chief, a Brotherhood member has said. Abelmoneim Mahmoud, a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood said members were then taken to their homes to help with police searches. The Muslim Brotherhood is labelled an illegal organisation by the Egyptian government and its members are regularly detained without charge. Brotherhood members, however, hold one fifth of the seats in parliament, and the group has an office in Cairo. Mahmoud said the 20 men held on Friday included Mahmoud Hussein, a member of the small Guidance Office, which acts as an executive committee for the organisation. The leaders gathered on Friday evening at the home of Nabil Mukbil, a businessman from the west Cairo suburb of Muhandiseen.
Hussein Al-alak: Iraq Trauma
Hussein Al-alak, Palestine Chronicle 8/18/2007
Spokesman Mohammed Abdul for the Ministry of Education, told IRIN News (15/8/2007) that at least 125 children had been killed and 107 injured since 2005 in attacks on schools. On Friday the 3rd August, The Guardian published a report which said "that 5. 2 percent of British soldiers deployed for over 13 months in Iraq, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder compared to only three percent of those who served less than five months." The study found that nearly a quarter of troops deployed for longer than 13 months in Iraq, had severe alcohol problems. Alcohol problems were less severe among those who served less than five months. According to Combat Stress, the British military charity which is dedicated to helping soldiers suffering psychological problems, "the seemingly indefinite struggle in Iraq has created the greatest crisis of morale among British troops for decades.
'Britian faces embarrassing withdrawal from Iraq'
Jerusalem Post 8/18/2007
A military adviser to the US has warned that British troops face an "ugly and embarrassing" withdrawal from the southern Iraqi city of Basra in the coming months, according to a British newspaper. Stephen Biddle, of the Council of Foreign Relations and a member of a group that advised US Gen. David Petraeus in 2006, told Britain's Sunday Times newspaper that coalition forces were no longer in control of the city. "I regret to say that the Basra experience is set to become a major blunder in terms of military history," Biddle was quoted as saying by the newspaper. "The insurgents are calling the shots... and in a worst case scenario will chase us out of town." Britain is due to hand over formal control of Basra to local forces in the next few months, but is yet to set a formal date. [end]
Rumsfeld's Mysterious Resignation
Robert Parry, Middle East Online 8/18/2007
The touchy secret about Rumsfeld's departure seems to have been that Bush didn't want the American people to know that one of the chief Iraq War architects had turned against the idea of an open-ended military commitment. The disclosure that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigned on Nov. 6, 2006 – the day before the election, not the day after as previously thought – means that he was pushed out of his job the same day he suggested a de-escalation of the Iraq War. When Rumsfeld's resignation was announced on Nov. 8, with both his resignation letter and his de-escalation memo still secret, it was widely assumed in Washington political circles that President George W. Bush was reacting to the stinging Republican electoral defeat on Nov.
Articles
Suffering in Numbers
Saleh Al-Naami, MIFTAH 8/18/2007
Prayer time and afternoon naps excepted, Mohamed Saleh and Hassan Barak spend most of their day together conversing at the crossroads separating their homes in the southern quarter of Al-Maghazi Refugee Camp in central Gaza. Saleh and Barak, who both work in construction, have been unemployed since Hamas took exclusive control of the Gaza Strip. Since then, Israel has tightened its stifling siege of the Strip and prohibited the entrance of materials used in construction, putting the entire sector out of work. The housing project begun with European and Arab funding in the suburbs of the Tel Sultan neighbourhood south of Rafah has ground to a halt, as have the infrastructure projects of local councils across the Strip.
Industrial activity in Gaza has practically halted as well. According to statistics of the Palestinian Businessmen's Association, 3,190 factories in the Strip have closed because of the inability to import raw materials. This has rendered 56,000 workers unemployed. Further aggravating the situation, Israel has barred Palestinian farmers from exporting their agricultural crops through commercial crossings along the border separating the Strip from Israel, crashing prices and the internal market for producers.
Lights Go out in Gaza
MIFTAH, MIFTAH 8/18/2007
"We have not received fuel since Thursday morning". This was the message conveyed by the agitated Chairman of the Gaza Generating Company, Rafik Malikha, following the closure of three out of four of the company's generators on Friday.
Although it is unsure as to how many people in Gaza will be affected by this fuel shortage, with estimations varying between sources over whether the Gaza Generating Company is responsible for a quarter, a third or three quarters of Gaza's electricity, it is clear that Israel supplies the plant with all of its fuel.According to Palestinian and Israeli officials, Gaza utilizes roughly 200 megawatts of power per day. Sixty percent is from the Israeli Electric Corporation, 32% from the Gaza Generating Company and 8% from Egypt.
Israeli sources claim they have ceased the transportation of fuel to Gaza for "security reasons", namely the consistent attacks on Israeli border crossings by Palestinian activist groups.
Since Hamas took control of Gaza on June 14, Israel has closed all crossings, transforming Gaza into an enclosed prison of poverty and humanitarian crisis. Erez, Karni and Nahal Oz are now partially open but not nearly transporting the sufficient amount of aid required. In addition, when these crossings are attacked, they are closed thus further exacerbating the situation in the Strip.
Most of the war crimes were Israel's
Jonathan Cook, Middle East Online 8/18/2007
Relying on military sources, Haaretz reported last month: 'Most of the rockets fired against Israel during the war last year were launched from the nature reserves.' In short, even Israel is no longer claiming that Hizbullah was firing its rockets from among civilians, says
This week marks a year since the end of hostilities now officially called the Second Lebanon war by Israelis. A month of fighting -- mostly Israeli aerial bombardment of Lebanon, and rocket attacks from the Shia militia Hizbullah on northern Israel in response -- ended with more than 1,000 Lebanese civilians and a small but unknown number of Hizbullah fighters dead, as well as 119 Israeli soldiers and 43 civilians.
When Israel and the United States realised that Hizbullah could not be bombed into submission, they pushed a resolution, 1701, through the United Nations. It placed an expanded international peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, in south Lebanon to keep Hizbullah in check and try to disarm its few thousand fighters.
But many significant developments since the war have gone unnoticed, including several that seriously put in question Israel's account of what happened last summer. This is old ground worth revisiting for that reason alone.
Rannie Amiri: Tancredo's Screedo: Ignorance and Insanity
Rannie Amiri, Palestine Chronicle 8/18/2007
Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other radical Wahabi/Salafi groups would like nothing more than for the United States to just say an attack on Mecca or Medina is an option.
Republican congressman and presidential candidate Tom Tancredo of Colorado once again floated the centerpiece of his foreign policy platform, this time before a gathering of Iowa voters:
"If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland'would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina."
(He was a bit more specific during a 2005 radio interview when he indicated he would drop a nuclear bomb on Mecca in retaliation).
Assuming any attack on the United States will either be attributed to or claimed by al-Qaeda, what deterrent would knowing that Mecca or Medina would subsequently be hit provide?
None.
Ramzy Baroud: Managing Consent
Palestine Chronicle 8/17/2007
The carefully managed relationships have undermined democracy and unleashed sadistic wars and uncontrollable violence, of which Freud had warned, but which his nephew shamelessly exploited.
It is Edward Bernays who fine-tuned the art of public relations in the 20th century. Using many of the psychoanalytic theories put forward by his uncle Sigmund Freud, he developed a mastery of public manipulation, suggesting that such manipulation was essential to democracy itself. Bernays strongly believed that people are simply "stupid" and in need of being told how to behave, what to believe, what to eat, what to wear, and how to vote. The outcomes of such an experiment reverberate to this day.
Some historians credit Bernays's efforts in the 1920s and 1930s for turning the modern citizen into a modern consumer. Not only did he convince Americans that a "hearty breakfast" must include eggs and bacon, as opposed to the traditional toast and coffee, he also managed to convince women at the time that cigarettes were a symbol of man's power and domination; to challenge the male sense of superiority, women needed to smoke. A few public stunts later, sales of cigarettes (which Bernays termed "torches of freedom") soared, eventually doubling the market for tobacco manufacturers, who, among many other businesses, were Bernays's clients.
Who killed Yasser Arafat?
Khalid Amayreh in Occupied East Jerusalem, Palestinian Information Center 8/12/2007
Who killed Yasser Arafat? This is the question that has been boggling many people's minds ever since the late Palestinian leader's mysterious death in November, 2004.
Then, many people, politicians and ordinary citizens alike, even Arafat's own physician, Dr. Ashraf al-Kurdi, seemed convinced that Arafat didn't die a natural death and that he was actually killed as a result of a certain poisonous substance injected into his body probably by agents of the Israeli Mossad.
This writer spoke to Sakhr Habash, a close former aide to Yasser Arafat shortly after Arafat's death. Habash, now ill as a result of a stroke, said that Arafat was killed by " Israel 's agents."
I remember him telling me "they killed him, they killed him." And when I asked him who he was alluding to, Habash said "he was referring to Arafat's opponents within the Fatah organization."
Habash gave no names, but anyone could conjure up some of the people he had in mind.
The PLO and the Palestinian Authority formed a commission of inquiry to look into the matter of Arafat's death. However, the commission went into dormancy as soon as it was formed as all cues led to a dead-end or to inaccessible figures or sovereign foreign governments, e.g. France, that wouldn't cooperate.
Hasan Afif El-Hasan: If Not Insanity, It Must Be Treason
Dr. Hasan Afif El-Hasan, Palestine Chronicle 8/18/2007
Abbas and his aids have no conscience or shame joining the government of the settlers in the fight against the Palestinian resistance and starving and killing the people he claims to be their president.
By releasing $120 million of frozen Palestinian tax revenues to Abbas and Fayyad government, Israel had the best deal money can buy. It was Palestinian money used to buy a Palestinian partner in the fight against the Palestinian resistance to occupation and settlements. Better yet, the partner is the Palestinian President and the money is a reward for his collaboration with the Israelis on condition that he and his Prime Minister Fayyad must not renew contacts with Hamas.
Abbas kept his side of the bargain. He rejected reconciliation with Hamas and refused to pay the salaries of 19,000 civil servants hired by the previous government of Hamas. Whether it crossed Abbas mind or not, discriminating against large segment of the Palestinians makes him even a weaker leader than he really is. He cannot deliver the ceasefire that Israel demands before engaging in negotiations if there will be one, without the acquiescence of Hamas.
Paul de Rooij: 'Humanitarian Wars' and Associated Delusions
Paul de Rooij, Palestine Chronicle 8/18/2007
A review of Jean Bricmont's Humanitarian Imperialism: Using Human Rights to Sell War, translated by Diana Johnstone, Monthly Review Press, 2007.
Most inhabitants of Western countries are afflicted by nefarious delusions about the nature of their societies and government policy; the public at large is led to believe that their societies are superior, and their governments' policies are noble and generous. The illusions have to do with the dissonance between the fabricated image and the reality of state power, especially when it entails wars waged against third world countries. Awful wars are waged for crass motives, yet they are sold on the basis that they are driven by benevolent intent. Promotion of democracy, freedoms, human rights, women's rights, and even religious tolerance are some of the purported motives for current interventions, subversion or wars. Since the 1990s, in the lead-up to the wars against former Yugoslavia, the primary justification offered to wage war was that it was necessary to safeguard human rights or to improve the humanitarian conditions of the target population. If the blatant hypocrisy wasn't bad enough, the Left's delusions regarding the stated humanitarian rationale for wars has had a distinctly deleterious effect on the Left as a movement and the organized opposition to the depredations of their states. Jean Bricmont's Humanitarian Imperialism is an extensive analysis of the "humanitarian war" rationale, and how its twisted arguments should be countered and its rationale for war rejected. One of the defining aspects of the Left of yesteryear was an opposition to imperialism and its consequent wars; Bricmont's important contribution aims to resurrect the principled opposition to the new imperial wars waged primarily by the United States and Britain.
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