Palestinian crawling near Gaza fence killed by IDF
Reuters, YNetNews 8/9/2007
Man suspected of attempting to plant bomb shot near Suffa crossing, meanwhile Hamas Executive Force arrests Fatah doctor from Gaza hospital who spoke against takeover - IDF soldiers killed a Palestinian near the Suffa crossing in southern Gaza on Thursday afternoon. The army said soldiers had spotted the man crawling near the border fence. Suspecting he was planting a bomb, they called on him to stop and shot in the air. When he continued moving, they fired at him. Palestinian medics brought his body to a hospital in Gaza and said they did not find weapons near his body. Meanwhile on Thursday Hamas security men arrested a Fatah-affiliated physician a day after doctors and nurses at Gaza's main hospital held a protest against his dismissal from a managerial post at the facility.
UNRWA warns of economic collapse in the Gaza Strip and calls for urgent international intervention
Ma'an News Agency 8/9/2007
UNRWA warns of economic collapse in the sector and calls for an urgent international intervention - Gaza - Ma'an- UNRWA has warned of imminent economic collapse in the Gaza Strip due to the continued closure of the Al-Mintar trade crossing - known as the Karni crossing in Israel. UNWRA Deputy Commissioner-General, Filippo Grandi, asked the Palestinian and Israeli sides to take immediate steps to open the crossing to enable the import and export of goods. In a press conference in Gaza on Thursday Grandi also warned of further failure, saying that results of economic collapse would be disastrous and would create an atmosphere of hopelessness and despair in which extremism would flourish. The Deputy Commissioner-General said that from meetings with businessmen in the Gaza Strip and witnessing the loss...
Israel keen to tackle issue of refugees early in talks
Compiled by Daily Star staff, Daily Star 8/10/2007
Israel wants the divisive question of Palestinian refugees addressed early in talks with President Mahmoud Abbas and suggested movement on the issue could lead to a pledge to hand over more Israeli-held land. In talks over the last week with visiting US and European officials, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and other Israeli leaders stressed the importance of addressing the refugee issue up-front, participants said Thursday. "This is a killer for Abbas," one diplomat said of the refugee issue, adding that addressing it first could jeopardize talks over a US-sponsored conference expected in November. Israel wants any agreement of principles to reflect its position, backed by US President George W. Bush, that refugees settle in a future state of Palestine, rather than in Israel.
Israeli air force shells the tower of the Gaza International Airport
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 8/10/2007
Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip reported on Thursday at night that the Israeli air force fired missiles at the monitoring tower of the Gaza International Airport in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. The sources stated that damage was reported to the tower after it was hit my three missiles, no injuries, the Maan News agency reported. The agency added that according to eyewitnesses, several tanks and armored vehicles advanced to areas east of Rafah while military helicopters flew over the area. Meanwhile, the Palestinian News Agency, WAFA, reported that the invading forcesused military bulldozers to uproot farmlands and demolish property in Rafah. The invading forces were stationed at a military post near Karem Abu Salem "Kerem Shalom" crossing, southeast of Rafah.
Detainees in an Israeli prison on hunger strike for the tenth day
IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center 8/10/2007
Palestinian detainees in Eshil Israeli detention facility continued their hunger strike for the tenth day after one detainee died of medical neglectat the Nafha central prison in the Negev desert. Detainee Shadi Al Su'edi, 27, from Al Maghazi refugee camp in the Gaza strip died of medical neglect in an Israeli prison on Tuesday July 31, 2007. The media department at the Nafha Society, which is a society defending the rights of detainees and human rights, stated that the detainees in Eshil will continue their strike until the Israeli prison administration stops its violations and stops it illegal practices against the detainees. Meanwhile, the family of detainee Murad Rajoub, who is sentenced to 38 years and imprisoned in Eshil, stated that the administration barred all visitation to the parents of the detainees as a punishment for the detainee's strike.
Fifteen Palestinians arrested in Israeli raids
Ma'an News Agency 8/9/2007
Qalqilia - Ma'an - Israeli forces arrest four Palestinians in a village south of Qalqilia on Wednesday at dawn. The men, from Ras Tira were taken to an unknown destination. Eyewitnesses said that at least 25 Israeli military vehicle stormed the town and carried out a house to house search before arresting the men. Meanwhile Israeli sources said that the Israeli forces arrested 11 Palestinians in Qalqilia, Hebron and Ramallah. The sources confirmed that they were taken to interrogation centres. [end]
Israeli military forces conduct operations around Hebron, arresting Palestinians and checking IDs
Ma'an News Agency 8/9/2007
Hebron – Ma'an – Israeli forces on Thursday arrested several Palestinians in the village of Yatta, south of Hebron. They then went into the Fawwar refugee camp and detonated an explosive device they found. Sources within the Palestinian security services said that at least ten Israeli military vehicles entered Yatta at dawn and besieged that house of Bassam Abu Obeid, aged 45, before storming in and arresting the man. The Israeli soldiers closed off the entrance to the Fawwar camp for at least an hour, claiming that they were looking for an explosive device they suspected was in the camp. After finding the unspecified device, they detonated it. In related news, Israeli forces raided the town of Dahiriyah, south-west of Hebron, stopping vehicles and checking citizens' identity cards.
ISRAEL-OPT: Hamdi Aman, Jerusalem: "Her injuries are forever, for the rest of her life"
Shabtai Gold/IRIN, IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 8/10/2007
JERUSALEM, 9 August 2007 (IRIN) - On a Saturday morning in mid May 2006, Hamdi Aman, aged 30 from Gaza, had his world turned upside down. Four members of his family died in an Israeli air strike aimed at an Islamic Jihad activist in Gaza. He is concerned that his daughter, Maria, set to celebrate her sixth birthday next week, will be forced to leave the Israeli hospital where she is being treated for serious injuries sustained in the attack. The authorities want her to go to Ramallah, in the West Bank, but medical workers and Hamdi are worried this will harm Maria. "It was a Saturday morning. There were eight of us in the vehicle going to visit a relative in hospital. We didn't know about the Israeli plane overhead looking for Ahmed Dahduh [from the Islamic Jihad].
Arab MK slams 'ethnic cleansing' after demolitions in W. Bank
Yoav Stern and Avi Issacharoff, Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
After Israel demolished structures in at least five Palestinian villages in the Jordan Valley in the last week, Hadash Chairman Mohammed Barakeh called on Thursday for an end to what he termed the "ethnic cleansing" in the area. Pools, tents and tin structures built without permits and belonging to Palestinian residents, were destroyed in the villages of Bakia, Jeftlik, Beit Dajan and Bardella, which are scattered along the Jordan Valley. Barakeh said that the demolitions prevent the residents from providing for themselves through working the land and raising livestock. The information was received by the Hadash chairman from the residents - who also turned to Amnesty International - and was verified by Haaretz. Barakeh also said that residents from the villages of Hedidia and Humsa in the southern Jordan...
Palestinian civil rights groups call for end to East Jerusalem roadblocks
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2007
The Israeli system of hundreds of checkpoints throughout the West Bank has also been extended to Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, and groups inside Israel are calling for the removal of these checkpoints. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel submitted a petition to the Israeli High Court on Wednesday calling for the removal of checkpoints in East Jerusalem. The petition claims that Palestinian-Israelis (Palestinians living inside Israel, who have Israeli citizenship) are being stopped at the checkpoints on a regular basis and commanded to pay debts owed to the Israeli government (taxes, fines) immediately and in cash. Those who are stopped are not given an opportunity to dispute the claims, and are told by Israeli police that their car will be impounded if they do not pay the cash immediately.
Stranded Palestinians on Rafah border crossing are pursued either by being trapped or abducted
Ameen Abu Warda, International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2007
The Rafah border crossing, which is the only way in or out of the Gaza strip for Palestinians, was closed two months ago after the Hamas coupe in Gaza strip. The continuous closure of the border is still causing severe harm for Palestinians who are stuck on the border and cannot leave Gaza or return to it, impairing their ability to earn a living, receive medical treatment, or pursue education abroad. The congregation for Palestinian rights organization condemned the abduction of the Palestinian civilian Ahmad al Esawe from Gaza Strip during his return to the Strip, passing by Al Oja and Beit Hanoun border crossing. His relatives say that Ahmad went to Egypt for medical treatment. The congregation organization previously warned against using the Al Oja border crossing, rather than the Rafah border crossing.
Last batch of Palestinians stranded in Egypt returns to Gaza Strip
Ha'aretz 8/10/2007
About 400 Palestinians, the last of thousands seeking to return home after being stranded in Egypt, crossed back into Gaza on Thursday, an Egyptian security source said. More than 6,000 Palestinians had been stuck in Egypt after Israel closed the main Rafah crossing point to Gaza in June. Many had been living in concrete shelters or low-budget hotels in northern Sinai as their money dwindled. The last batch of about 400 crossed back into Gaza through the Awja border crossing south of Rafah, more than a week after Egypt began moving them out of Sinai, the source said. Clashes broke out last month between Egyptian police and Palestinians detained at al-Arish airport in northern Sinai. The Palestinians had tried to break free after complaining of dwindling funds and lack of food and medical supplies.
Imprisoned Palestinian in Palestinian's detention transfers to Israeli hospital
Ameen Abu Warda, International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2007
Sources of Hamas movement reported that Palestinian Security forces in the West Bank have transferred one Hamas prisoner to an Israeli hospital inside the Green Line. This transfer was done because the prisoner's health has deteriorated due to torture he received. The same sources stated that Hamas activist Mo'ayad Bani Odeh, 22, now faces dangerous health problems, and that his health was fine before he was jailed. Hamas sources indicated that the youth Bani Odeh was abducted 10 days ago, imprisoned in one of the Jenin city detention centers, and was released 3 days ago. The same Hamas sources said that the Palestinian force called Bani Odeh again in his house located near Tubas village. They wanted him to return to Al Junied detention center in Nablus city to deal with an urgent issue.
One Palestinian civilian killed by Israeli army fire at Gaza borders
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2007
One Palestinian civilian was shot and killed by the Israeli army near the Kitsofem crossing located near the central Gaza strip at the borders with Israel on Thursday midday. Palestinian medical sources identified the man as Mohamed Abu Sha'r, the sources added that he was mentally challenged person. Witnesses said that Abu Sha'r approached the gate of the crossing then the Israeli troops stationed at a nearby military post opened fire at him and killed him. [end]
Palestinian security forces in Gaza arrests a doctor
Wissam Afifah, International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2007
The Hamas affiliated executive force arrested on Thursday Dr. Jom'a Al Saqa, the director of the public relation office at Al Shifa hospital in Gaza city. Islam Shahwan the spokesman of the executive force said that the arrests comes due to criminal charges and has no political reasons. Workers at the Al Shifa hospital has accused the executive force member of assaulting them and forcing them out of their jobs based on decisions taken by the fired Palestinian government headed by Hamas. On Wednesday Dr. Al Saqa received an order removing him from his post at the hospital, he told IMEMC on Wednesday that when he went to is office at the hospital he was denied access by the member of the executive force and was forced to leave the hospital.
Executive Forces arrest spokesman of Ash Shifaa Hospital in Gaza City
Ma'an News Agency 8/9/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – The Hamas-operated Executive Forces (EF) on Thursday arrested the Public Relations liaison officer from the Ash Shifaa Hospital in Gaza City. Dr Jum'ah As Saqqa was taken to the Hamas controlled As Saraya detention centre in Gaza City. As Saqqa's wife told Ma'an that the Executive Forces stormed the house at 1:30am and took her husband: "I asked them to postpone the arrest until the morning but they insisted on taking him." She added that she went to see him at 4am, and that he "seemed to be exhausted." Yesterday, the EF asked As Saqqa to resign from his post. He refused to do so. The hospital's staff announced they will strike for two hours in protest against the arrest. [end]
Israeli court bans Gaza students from registering in Bethlehem University
Ma'an News Agency 8/9/2007
Jerusalem - Ma'an - The Israeli Supreme Court has rejected a petition to allow students from the Gaza Strip to return to their studies at a West Bank university. Gisha, an Israeli organisation for human rights and the Gaza Centre for Mental Health had submitted a petition on behalf of ten students demanding that the students be allowed to pass through military checkpoints to get to Bethlehem University. But the Israeli Court conceded that soldiers stationed at checkpoints should create a new criterion for those students who come from Gaza to the West Bank. But the Israeli Court admitted that the soldiers located on the checkpoints should create a new criterion for those students who come from Gaza to the West Bank. [end]
Weekly Report: On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 8/9/2007
02 - 08 August 2007 - Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) - 5 Palestinians, including a child, were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. 2 of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF. One of the victims was shot dead by IOF near a military checkpoint in the West Bank. 21 Palestinians, including a child, and an international human rights defender were wounded by IOF gunfire in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. IOF conducted 29 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF arrested 49 Palestinian civilians, including a child, in the West Bank. IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.
PCHR weekly report: "Five killed, 21 injured and 49 kidnapped by Israeli forces"
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 8/10/2007
The Palestinian Center For Human Rights (PCHR), based in Gaza, published on Thursday it weekly report on the Israeli violations in the occupied territories in the period between August 2 and August 8, 2007. During the reported period Israeli troops shot and killed five residents, including one child, injured 21 and kidnapped 49. The PCHR reported that Israeli soldiers carried 29 invasions into several Palestinian areas in the occupied West Bank and kidnapped 49 civilians including one child. Three of the killed residents and 18 of the injured are ordinary civilians, one of them is a child and one is a Danish peace activist. Gaza Strip attacks: Israeli troops assassinated two civilians in Rafah city, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, and injured twelve other residents, including one child.
Evacuation orders issued to settlers in four more Hebron stores
Nadav Shragai, Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
The Civil Administration has issued evacuation orders for four more Hebron stores where settlers squatted two years ago. The stores are located in the "triangle market," not far from the wholesale market from where two Jewish families were evacuated by Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday. But the settlers argue that aside from being on Jewish-owned land, the stores are an integral part of the Jewish Avraham Avinu neighborhood: They share common walls with the houses on the edge of the neighborhood, and the neighborhood's access road passes between them. Between 1948 and 1967, when Jordan controlled Hebron, the stores were managed by the kingdom's custodian of enemy property. After Israel captured the territories in 1967, it upheld the leases that Palestinian shopkeepers had signed with the Jordanian body and gave them the status of protected tenants.
Police chief faces angry protestors in Hebron
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 8/9/2007
Shouting rightists drive away police chief during Hebron visit. Police: Trip cut short due to time constraints - Police chief Dudi Cohen was forced to leave the Hebron market Thursday after right-wing protestors who gathered at the place shouted at him and cursed him. Cohen, who arrived at the place by car, did not leave his vehicle, and left shortly after arriving. Meanwhile, police officials explained that the chief had not planned to tour the area by foot, and that the visit was short due to time constraints. Cohen toured the West Bank accompanied by District commander Shlomi Katabi, and visited the Tomb of the Patriarchs before getting to the Hebron marketplace. Some 10 extreme-right activists, led by Baruch Marzel, awaited the chief at the place.
Seven civilians kidnapped during Israeli army morning invasions in the West Bank
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2007
The Israeli army invaded several West Bank cities and towns on Thursday morning searched homes and kidnapped seven Palestinian civilians. Four civilians were kidnapped when Israeli forces invaded the village of Rass Atiah to the south of Qalqilia city in the northern part of the West Bank. Local sources said that soldiers searched and ransacked homes and took Mohamed Hashem, 38, Louai Maraba, 34, Yassen Younis, the mayer of the village, and Samier Ali, 32, all were taken to unknown locations. In the meantime two civilians were kidnapped as army attacked two villages near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. Ass'ad Dakhalallah, 34, was taken from his home in Taqua village, located south of Bethlehem city, after Israeli soldiers searched it, witnesses said.
Troops invade Jenin refugee camp, exchange fire with resistance fighters
IMEMC Staff, International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2007
Palestinian sources in Jenin, in the northern part of the West Bank, reported on Thursday evening that Israeli soldiers invaded the Jenin refugee camp after closing all of its entrances and exchanged fire with resistance fighters. The invasion was carried out by more than thirty armored vehicles and jeeps, in addition to several military bulldozers. Soldiers also occupied several houses and their rooftops, and ambushed several resistance fighters. Meanwhile, fighters of the Al Quds Brigades, the army wing of the Islamic Jihad, and Mahmoud Abu Khalifa brigades, one of the armed wing of Fateh, exchanged fire with the invading forces at the entrance of the camp while dozens of youth placed rocks in the street and burnt tires. The youth also hurled stones and empty bottles at the invading forces while the...
Hamas establishes naval defense force in Gaza
Ali Waked, YNetNews 8/9/2007
Group officials tell Ynet newly built force will secure Strip's coast, fight off IDF vessels and drug dealers and prevent fishermen's collaboration with Israeli ships. Force does not own ships, but has heavy machine guns, mortars - Hamas has established a new naval defense force, headed by one of the group's senior commanders Jamil al-Dahashan, that will be entrusted with guarding the Gaza Strip coast, Ynet has recently learned. The force, which does not as yet own any marine vessels, is aimed at securing the shores from IDF marine operations as well as criminal activity of drug dealers. The force will also try to prevent collaboration of Palestinians with the IDF. According to Hamas, several local fishermen admitted in recent weeks to relaying information to IDF ships.
IDF says ready to battle Hamas at sea
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 8/9/2007
Israeli navy given new instructions in light of Hamas' establishment of naval forces in Gaza, military officials say - "The new situation in the Gaza Strip obligates us to act differently at sea. There are threats that did not exist in the past. We recognize this, and are ready in accordance," a military source said Thursday night, responding to the report that Hamas had established a naval force in Gaza. Hamas' navy is headed by senior Hamas commander Jamil al-Dahashan, who previously served as a Hamas special forces commander in south Gaza City. The force is aimed at securing the shores from IDF marine operations as well as criminal activity of drug dealers. Although the force does not as yet own any marine vessels, Israel is responding to the matter with the utmost gravity.
Israel Ties Missle Shield to Pullout
Associated Press, MIFTAH 8/10/2007
Defense Minister Ehud Barak says Israel must have a missile defense system in place to protect it from Palestinian rocket fire before it could carry out a large-scale pullback in the West Bank, an official said Wednesday. Military experts said it would take between two and a half and seven years to develop a system that would protect Israel from the type of crude rockets that Palestinian militants use. Militants have launched tens of thousands of Qassam rockets into southern Israel from Gaza in the past seven years of fighting, killing 12 Israelis, the army says. Israelis fear West Bank militants could someday produce the projectiles and launch them into nearby Israeli cities. A large-scale Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank would be a central component of any final peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.
Overstreched US Cuts Aid to Israel
Damien McElroy and Tim Butcher, MIFTAH 8/10/2007
America has been forced to withhold funding from its key ally in the Middle East amid the strain of paying for its expensive military campaign in Iraq. Washington had promised Israel a substantial increase in its financial support to bolster it against Iran. But US officials decided to amend their pledge because of escalating costs, including the need to spend $750 million (£375 million) to fly thousands of armoured troop carriers to Iraq to protect troops against Iranian-made roadside bombs. The Pentagon has come under intense pressure to speed up deployment of the new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle (MRAP), which boasts a V-shaped hull and a raised chassis and is proven to withstand a range of explosive projectiles common in Iraq.
Abbas reiterates to Jordanian PM refusal to talk with Hamas
Ha'aretz 8/10/2007
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday reiterated he would not negotiate with Hamas and denied reports he was involved in any kinds of talks with the militant group, Jordan's official Petra news agency said. Abbas' comments followed talks in Amman with Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit and Foreign Minister Abdul-Ilah al-Khatib, as part of a flurry of regional meetings ahead of a U.S. -sponsored Mideast peace conference expected this fall." We maintain our position which says [that] if Hamas retracts from what it committed in Gaza, then we will see how we handle the situation," Abbas said, referring to Hamas' violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in mid-June. In June, Hamas fighters routed Gaza forces loyal to the Western-backed, secular Fatah faction of Abbas, who responded by dismissing...
No dialogue between Hamas and Fatah until Gaza Strip is returned to Palestinian Authority rule
Ma'an News Agency 8/9/2007
Ramallah - Ma'an - There will be no dialogue between Hamas and Fatah or between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, according to an advisor of President Mahmoud Abbas. In a telephone interview with Ma'an Nabil Amr, Abbas' media advisor said that the conditions for dialogue with Hamas were still the same. "The core of those conditions is for things in the Gaza Strip to return to how they were before the coup as well as bringing those who commit crimes, looting and executions to justice." He also commented on, the head of Hamas' political bureau, Khalid Mash'al's visit to Yemen, saying, "the Yemeni president is part of the Palestinian cause but the conditions for dialogue with Hamas are still the same. We are not demanding something impossible.
Head of Fatah bloc says Gaza Strip must be returned to Abbas
Ma'an News Agency 8/9/2007
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The head of the Fatah bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council, Azzam Al Ahmad, said on Thursday that the only solution to the current political impasse is to return the Gaza Strip to the authority of Mahmoud Abbas." The only solution to the crisis and to create dialogue with Hamas is to return the Gaza Strip to the legitimate president who was elected by the people - Mahmoud Abbas," Al Ahmad said. On Tuesday the deposed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said that he was ready to resign if that would solve the problem and end the crisis. Speaking in the French press, Al Ahmad added that "if Haniyeh and Hamas are honest, they have to end the coup and return the Gaza Strip to the president. ''He also said that he is not sure if Hamas and its leaders are honest when they say that Abbas is the legitimate president.
Nobody is above the law in Gaza Strip says spokesman for deposed Interior Ministry
Ma'an News Agency 8/9/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – A spokesman for the Interior Ministry of the deposed government in the Gaza Strip, Ahab Al Ghusein, said on Thursday that the ministry will deal with all citizens in an equal way and that there is nobody above the law. Al Ghusein added that "the ministry of the interior and the security bodies will be pursuing all lawbreakers, regardless of who they are; none will be above the law." Referring to the younger press and journalists assembled at the press conference in the, he called on them to deal with the dissemination of news on a professional basis, and to publish the facts and not rumours. Al Ghusein then proceeded to criticise the Palestinian security bodies that operate in the West Bank, contending that "they are committing crimes against the Palestinian citizens of the West Bank.
Abbas Insists on no Dialogue with Hamas
Agence France Presse, MIFTAH 8/9/2007
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Wednesday insisted there would be no dialogue with Hamas until the Islamists return Gaza to his legitimate authority after seizing the territory in June. "What Hamas did was a destructive operation which helped those who don't want to see an independent Palestinian state," Abbas told journalists after talks with Eygptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Egyptian port of Alexandria. "There is no dialogue with Hamas until they go back on what they did and return what they took," he said, reiterating that he himself had been elected as the legitimate president of the Palestinian Authority. "They know what they took and they know how to return it," he said of Hamas, whose fighters ejected Abbas' Fatah faction from the Gaza Strip on June 15.
Lawyer: Charges against officer bid to veil superiors' culpability
Ha'aretz 8/10/2007
The defense team representing an Israel Defense Forces platoon commander who was indicted Thursday over the wrongful shooting of a Palestinian civilian, said that the indictment was an attempt to veil his superiors? responsibility in the incident. The officer was indicted by a military tribunal for commandeering a Palestinian taxi, tying up its driver at gunpoint, and shooting a Palestinian man in the West Bank village of Dahariya two weeks ago. The officer, First Lieutenant G. , and five soldiers in the Lavi Battalion allegedly abandoned the man wounded by IDF gunfire, and left Dahariya without reporting the incident to their superiors. G. was charged with false imprisonment, causing injury under aggravated circumstances, improper behavior, and unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Commander in Dahariya taxi incident indicted
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 8/9/2007
Officer accused of leading soldiers to unauthorized raid in Palestinian village, hijacking cab driver and shooting civilian. According to indictment, commander secretly planned operation, instructed his subordinates to lie to investigators - An IDF officer was indicted Thursday for false imprisonment, aggravated assault, soliciting false information and other offenses, following his role in the kidnapping of a Palestinian cab driver and the shooting of a Palestinian civilian two weeks ago. The commander is accused of leading his soldiers on an unauthorized raid in the village, during which they hijacked a taxi, blindfolded the driver, and later shot and wounded a passerby. According to the indictment, filed by the Military Advocate General, the commander, a lieutenant, initiated and planned the raid, without receiving his superiors' authorization.
Arab rights group: Add NIS 3.8 billion to Arab sector budget
Yoav Stern, Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
The Mossawa Center, an Israeli Arab rights group, is demanding that NIS 3. 8 billion be added to the Arab sector in order to close the widening social gaps between the Arab and Jewish population in Israel. In a position paper sent by Mossawa to all government ministers, in preparation for upcoming discussions on the 2008 budget, a detailed breakdown of the funds needed in each area were listed. According to the document, a large part of the requested budget, some NIS 2. 7 billion, is intended for minimizing the infrastructure gaps that exist in Arab communities. Mossawa's chief economist Amin Fares, who prepared the position paper detailing the budget demands, said that the discrimination against the Arab population not only damages the lives of the Arab citizens but the entire economy.
Shin Bet bars Gazan from overseas study
Amira Hass, Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
Around 150 Palestinian students applied for an academic scholarship from Germany last year. Only six applicants made the cut, among them Luay Kfafi, 24, a student at Birzeit University in the West Bank and native of the al-Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. But Israel's Shin Bet security service has barred him from traveling abroad. Asked by Haaretz about Kfafi's case, the Shin Bet said that "there is information allegedly linking him to terrorists," and therefore "under the circumstances, his going abroad would appear to endanger national security." In the seven years he has lived in Ramallah, Kfafi has not been arrested, detained or summoned for questioning by the Shin Bet. Last June he even traveled to the Allenby Bridge, where the Shin Bet routinely arrests or detains anyone suspected of posing a risk to national security.
Palestinian court releases a Hamas activist and security forces refuse the order
Najeep Faraj, International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2007
The Palestinian court in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem has orders on Thursday the release of Yasser Abed Al Majeed, a Hamas activist, but the local security forces loyal to the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah refused to release them man. Abed Al Majeed and other 12 Palestinians were arrested by the Palestinian security forces in Bethlehem after being accused of attempting to form executive force division in the city of Bethlehem. Executive force, formed by Hamas after taking the office was announced illegal by the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas shortly after Hamas took total control of the Gaza strip two months ago. The court orders the release of Yasser Abed Al Majeed due to the lace of evidence but still the security forces refused to let him go.
Judge Orders Baby Sent to Palestine No Light in August for Texas Refugees
Greg Moses, MIFTAH 8/9/2007
An infant girl who was nearly born into a Texas immigration prison has been ordered deported to the same occupied Palestinian territories where her older sister suffered gas poisoning during an Israeli assault on the family home in 2000. The deportation order will be appealed, says family attorney John Wheat Gibson. The baby girl was born to Hanan Ibrahim since the pregnant woman was released from the T. Don Hutto immigration prison in early February. Hanan, her husband Salah, and four of their children – ages 5 to 15 – received global attention when they were impounded for three months in Texas immigration prisons for the crime of not vacating to countries that would not take them. During the family's imprisonment, a fifth child was placed into foster care with her uncle Ahmad.
Press statement by Filippo Grandi, Deputy Commissioner General, United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in, ReliefWeb 8/9/2007
Gaza City, 9th August 2007 - Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I have had an extremely useful visit to Gaza, during which I have seen first hand the deep and far-reaching impact of the closures on the lives of ordinary people and on industry. In Beit Hanoun I visited families whose homes are in a lamentable condition. Across Gaza, UNRWA has been forced to halt all of its construction projects – some 93 million dollars worth – because we have been unable to import building supplies in sufficient quantities. We urgently need to get these into Gaza if we are to avoid a significant worsening of the living conditions of those who have waited months, and even years to have their own homes. Our meetings with businessmen highlight the urgency of opening up the crossings, not just for humanitarian supplies, but for imports and exports.
OPT: Gaza Humanitarian Situation Report 31 Jul - 07 Aug 2007
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - OCHA, ReliefWeb 8/7/2007
Access and Crossings: Since 19 June, several days after the Hamas takeover of Gaza, a total of 4,339 truckloads (excluding gravel and aggregates) have been allowed through the crossings, including 457 from humanitarian agencies. This represents an average of 118 truckloads/day, as opposed to an average of 238 truckloads/day which were allowed into Gaza prior to mid-June. Food supplies represent 89% of the total commercial supplies transported into Gaza. Karni crossing has been closed since 13 June – representing 59 days as of 6 August. Only one conveyer belt remains open on two days/week for the inflow of grains and animal feed. 474 truckloads of grains and animal feed came through Karni since 19 June. Rafah Crossing has been closed for 58 days.
Cursing professor to be probed
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 8/9/2007
Police decide to launch investigation against Bar Ilan professor Hillel Weiss, who wished IDF officer dead - The Judea and Samaria Police decided Thursday to launch an investigation against Professor Hillel Weiss who is suspected of incitement for cursing IDF Hebron brigade commander Colonel Yehuda Fox during the evacuation of Hebron settlers this week. "May your mother be bereaved, your wife be widowed, your children be orphaned and may you be struck down in the next war and any memory of you be erased," Weiss was heard saying during a protest against the evacuation. The Bar Ilan professor also said that "the policemen are worse than the Nazis." Following the incident, which was caught on video by Ynet's cameraman, the head of the Investigation Unit at the Judea and Samaria police launched...
IAF helicopter strikes defunct airport in Gaza; no casualties
Ha'aretz 8/10/2007
An Israel Air Force helicopter strike destroyed on Thursday the disused control tower at Gaza's defunct airport. There were no casualties in the raid. The Israel Defense Forces said that the air force fired at three armed men seen in the vicinity of the airport, near southern Gaza's border with Israel, but gave no further details. The Islamic Jihad militant group said three of its gunmen were in the area, but left shortly before the strike. The airport was closed down shortly after the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada in 2000. Meanwhile, Palestinian gunmen fired three Qassam rockets into the western Negev Thursday afternoon. Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon reported that one person was treated for shock. No damage or injuries were reported.
Palestine Today 080907
Ghassan Bannoura - IMEMC - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center 8/9/2007
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file - || File 3. 19 MB || Time 3m 27s || - Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Thursday August 9th, 2007. The Israelis kill one civilian in Gaza and kidnap seven others in morning invasions in the West Bank, these stories and more coming up stay tuned. The Gaza strip - One Palestinian civilian was shot and killed by the Israeli army near the Kitz-sofem crossing located near the central Gaza strip at the border with Israel on Thursday midday. Palestinian medical sources identified the man as Mohamed Abu Sha'r. The sources added that he was a mentally challenged person. Witnesses said that Abu Sha'r approached the gate of the crossing.
Push for Mideast Peace Plan Gains Momentum Ahead of Upcoming Summit
Nathan Guttman, MIFTAH 8/10/2007
Israeli officials are giving the first signs that they are preparing for negotiations on a final-status peace agreement with the Palestinians. Both Israelis and Palestinians are readying for an international meeting set to discuss the Middle East conflict in November, but until now the Israelis have been wary of looking at this meeting as an entry point to final-status peace talks. This week, though, government sources in Jerusalem said that Israel would like to arrive at the conference with an agreement in principle that will define the outlines of a final-status solution without going into specific details. "We're not talking about drawing lines on the map yet, but we do want a set of principles which will flesh out the general ideas discussed in previous agreements," the government source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
UN warns over Gaza economic woe
BBC Online 8/9/2007
Gaza could become completely dependant on aid within weeks because of economic damage caused by Israeli restrictions on border crossings, the UN has said. All 600 garment factories in Gaza have closed, because they cannot import raw materials, a UN relief agency said. And more than 90% of factories involved in the construction industry have shut down and laid off workers. A senior official from the UN Relief and Works Agency called for the opening of the main crossing point into Gaza. Unless restrictions are eased, the agency (Unrwa) said, Gaza may become "virtually 100% aid dependent". Gaza a jail for its people - Filippo Grandi, the agency's deputy commissioner general, said in a statement: "I appeal to the Palestinian authorities, to Israel and all other parties to take immediate...
Memorandum of Understanding UNRWA-PCBS
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in, ReliefWeb 8/7/2007
On Tuesday 7 August 2007, in Ramallah, Dr Luay Shabaneh, President of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), and Filippo Grandi, UNRWA, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This agreement is a milestone in cooperation with a national statistical agency that provides crucial data and information in two important fields of UNRWA operations. The MOU will afford UNRWA access to specially-designed data bases covering economic and social conditions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with special focus on refugees. Such data has already proved valuable in UNRWA's capacity to comprehend, analyze and explain conditions in the oPt. The data provided under the new MOU will allow PCBS to produce better, more accurate national statistics that reflect the economic and social effects of UNRWA operations in the West Bank and Gaza.
Terrorist caught red handed, then released
Aaron Klein, YNetNews 8/9/2007
Brigades member detained for involvement in terror activity, then let go after IDF determined he was on Olmert's amnesty list Israel yesterday captured an Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades member while he was engaging in terror-supporting activity but let him go after it was determined he was on a list of wanted gunmen granted amnesty by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, W orld News Daily has learned. Part of the amnesty deal required the 178 terrorists - all of whom are members of the Brigades, the declared military wing of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah's organization - to sign a document stating they will not engage in terrorist activity and that they would restrict their movements to the city in which they reside for three months.
Israeli agent testifies against Muslim charity in U.S. in terrorism case
Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
Prosecutors and lawyers for a Muslim charity accused of funding terrorists clashed Thursday over whether jurors should see documents that Israel Defense Forces soldiers seized during raids of Palestinian organizations. An Israeli agent testified about the documents during the trial of five leaders of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. The agent was not identified, and before he testified the courtroom was cleared of spectators except the families of the defendants. Spectators were allowed in another room to listen to the proceedings. Prosecutors believe the documents seized by Israeli soldiers will show that the Holy Land leaders knew they were sending millions of dollars to groups controlled by Hamas, which is thus illegal as the U.
UNCTAD and EU pledges 2.5 million Euro for Palestinian customs and border management
Ma'an News Agency 8/9/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the European Union (EU) are to provide 2. 5 million Euros to improve Palestinian customs operations and border management. In a press release issued on Tuesday they said the move comes as part of broader efforts to strengthen the capacities of Palestinian institutions. UNCTAD, the EU and the caretaker government's Prime Minster and Finance Minister, Salam Fayyad, signed the deal on Monday, which will be funded by the EU and implemented by UNCTAD. According to the press release, a new computerised system "will serve as the backbone of the modernised Palestinian Customs and Border Management and spearhead trade facilitation efforts." With it, Palestinian policy-makers can continuously monitor up-to-date-information on import-declarations...
Teva leads march on Capitol Hill
Gitit Pincas, Globes Online 8/9/2007
Teva has spent $5. 5 million on lobbying in the US Congress in seven years. "Globes" reveals which other Israeli companies have been spending money on lobbying and how much. - How can Israeli companies, which have not contributed to the election campaign of one party or another, and which do not have contacts among American politicians, extend their reach to the US, and influence decision making in the world's largest democracy? The answer should come as no surprise: they hire lobbyists to serve as their long arm, and promote their interests in the US Congress, the Senate, the White House, on special committees, and with any regulatory body where influence is required. One company that has spent a considerable sum on promoting its interests is pharmaceutical giant Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
News in Brief II
Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
Yemen offered to mediate between Palestinian factions, urging them to set aside feuding for the sake of their wider national interests. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh told Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas by telephone yesterday that "Hamas has accepted the Yemeni initiative, and hopes that all Palestinian brothers would agree on what serves their national interest..." , Yemen's official news agency Saba reported. Saleh was speaking after holding talks with visiting Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, during which he said Yemen "was keen to see Palestinians close ranks and act as one." (Reuters) Two Qassam rockets were fired yesterday from the Gaza Strip into the western Negev. The strike occured in the afternoon. One rocket landed near Kibbutz Avivivm.
Higher education body refuses to recognize Ariel college as university
Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
The heads of the Council for Higher Education and the council committee responsible for the budgets of academic institutions do not recognize last week's announcement by the College of Judea and Samaria that it is now a "university center." Budget committee director general Steven Stav sent a letter to members of the committee and the higher education council yesterday, instructing them to ignore correspondence from the institution in which it refers to itself as the Ariel University Center of Samaria." In light of the college's announcement that its position has been upgraded to be a university center, I am clarifying that we do not see this change as a proper change in accordance with the regulations and the law," Stav wrote. "As such, I am asking that no request from college representatives be dealt with...
Barak: No expansion of front line in north
Ahiya Raved, YNetNews 8/9/2007
Barak meets with heads of Forum of Frontline Communities in north over security issues. Leaders of communities further from border, who suffered Katyusha attacks during 2nd Lebanon War, angered that defense minister won't extend definition of front line to include their towns - Heads of the Forum of Frontline Communities met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak at his Tel Aviv office Thursday to discuss security issues in the north. During the meeting the defense minister declared that only the communities located directly on the border should be considered on the front line, which angered leaders of communities located further south. Barak opposed extending the "front line" to include Haifa and the entire north, and thus only authorities which suffered Katyusha attacks already before the Second Lebanon War will be considered frontline communities.
Police: Charges against PM in bank affair hinge on testimony
Jonathan Lis and Yair Ettingers and Agencies, Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
Police sources said on Wednesday that the determining factor in whether or not an indictment will be filed against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for his involvement in the Bank Leumi affair will be the testimony given by the prime minister himself. Olmert is suspected of having attempted, in his former role as finance minister, to influence the tender for a Leumi sale in order to help his friend, Australian real estate mogul Frank Lowy, gain a controlling interest in the bank. The sources said that the investigatory material thus far does not determine whether or not there is a basis strong enough to try Olmert in court. The investigation was mostly completed in recent days, and is expected to be sealed by Olmert's testimony. The team from the National Fraud Investigation Unit involved in the case has not...
Half of Livni office staff will leave posts in coming days
Barak Ravid, Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
Half of the members of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's staff will complete their assignments in coming days. The departing staffers are Livni's bureau chief, Ilan Yonas; her personal assistant, Tamar Abramovich, and her media advisor, Ido Aharoni. The three announced in the past few months that they intend to leave their positions, saying they felt they had completed their tasks. Up until now, Livni has not appointed replacements for any of the three. In the last weeks, she enlisted two organizational advisors to examine the structure of her office, which has already been restructured once. The advisors that remain in Livni's office include Uri Keidar, Alon Bar and her political advisor, Tal Becker, who is considered Livni's most loyal advisor, with whom she takes advice regarding the most sensitive of topics.
No new beds for state hospitals until 2010
Ran Reznick, Ha'aretz 8/10/2007
No new hospital beds will be will be added in state-funded hospitals until 2010, following an agreement Monday between Finance Minister Roni Bar-On and Health Minister Yacov Ben Yizri. The decision was described as a "catastrophe" and "outrageous" by senior officials at the Health Ministry, who said that this would cause severe harm to patients and particularly to those requiring treatment in intensive care units. A plan prepared two years ago by a team of senior officials at the Health Ministry calculated that the growth of the elderly population would require 3,000 new hospital beds over the next decade. The proposal's strategy was that by 2015, 3,000 new beds would be added to existing hospitals, and to three new hospitals: in Ashdod, the Sharon region and the area north of Haifa.
Criticism in IDF on citation policy
Yossi Yehoshua, YNetNews 8/9/2007
Senior officers slam overwhelming number of citations for Second Lebanon War. Only female officer to receive citation condemned by bereaved parents of soldier they say she could have saved - Various figures in the IDF's top brass expressed concern over the cheapening of military honors following Tuesday's announcement that 142 citations would be awarded to soldiers who fought in the Second Lebanon War. During the war 119 soldiers were killed. By comparison - during the 1982 Lebanon War - 670 IDF soldiers were killed but only 11 citations were awarded, in the Yom Kippur War - 2,656 soldiers were killed and 478 citations were awarded and during the Six Day War - 776 soldiers were killed and 258 citations were awarded. "Now is not the time to be discussing decorations," said Israel Klausner, who lost his son Ohad in the battle of Bint Jbeil, after the announcement.
Bloc heads
Yossi Verter, Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
The latest big buzz is about a merger between Labor and Kadima as a magic formula to break the electoral bank in the next elections. What no one is saying is that the "left-center bloc" needs this virtual union like a bullet in the head. A merger between the two parties will only lose the bloc votes and hand Benjamin Netanyahu the premiership on a silver platter. That is how things stand as of today. In another year or two, everything could change, but a perusal of the findings of the comprehensive survey quoted here leaves no room for doubt. As of today, Kadima would do well to place Tzipi Livni at the head of the party, and the two parties - Kadima led by Livni and Labor under the helm of Ehud Barak - have to run separately. That is their only chance of forming a centrist government in the next Knesset.
Over 50,000 tons of humanitarian goods transferred into the Gaza Strip since June 19
Government of Israel, ReliefWeb 8/7/2007
Despite the volatile security situation in the Gaza Strip, the IDF is continuing its efforts to provide a response to humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip. Since June 19th, more than 50,000 tons of humanitarian aid was transferred from Israel into the Gaza Strip with the coordination of the Gaza District Coordination and Liaison Office. Approximately 50,000 tons were transferred through the Sufa crossing and more than 4,000 tons passed through the Kerem Shalom crossing. The following aid was transferred through the Sufa and Kerem Shalom crossings: - 5,775 tons of sugar - 3,255 tons of salt - 1,792 tons of cooking-oil - 1,725 tons of flour - 1,652 tons of rice - 2,035 tons of meat products - 2,565 tons of milk products - 6,733 tons of fruit - 288 tons of canned food - 705 tons...
Market Report/World crises drive Tel Aviv down
Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange ended its trading week yesterday the same way it started, with hefty losses in a volatile session. The TA-25 dropped 1. 7 percent to close at 1,072. 7 points, and ended the week down 1. 8 percent despite a rise of almost 4 percent from Monday through Wednesday in which the blue-chip index rose almost 4 percent. The TA-100 fell 1. 8 percent yesterday, and bond markets were also off, with long-term Shahars dropping 0. 9 percent. Their yields have now reached 6 percent. Long-term Galil shekel-linked bonds lost 0. 6 percent. Turnover was NIS 2 billion. Stocks had opened with gains of about half a percent, with investors encouraged by another good day on Wall Street Wednesday, but sharp losses in Europe spread to Israel on news the European Central Bank was intervening in the credit crisis there.
Oracle's Larry Ellison visits battered Sderot
Shay Niv, Globes Online 8/9/2007
During a tour of a community center, Ellison pledged donations to help protect the building from kassam rocket hits. Oracle founder and CEO Larry Ellison arrived in Israel yesterday and is staying at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem. A parade of political leaders visited the hotel, which is also hosting a private event for a an 88-year old American Jewish Congressman. Likud chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu had breakfast at the hotel yesterday, and President Shimon Peres and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni had dinner. Minister of Transport Shaul Mofaz also made an appearance "to meet some friends", as he put it. Ellison had breakfast at the hotel with his wife Melanie Kraft, and afterwards, together with Ellison's son and several relatives, again met Livni who arranged a tour of kassam rocket battered Sderot.
Coca Cola remains highest value brand in Israel
Lilach Sigan, Globes Online 8/9/2007
In "Globes" 2007 ranking of 100 brands, Orange is second and Microsoft third. Coca Cola continues to be the highest value brand in Israel, reveals the "Globes" ranking of the 100 brands, compiled together with P. O. C. Tefen Strategic Management Consulting, and Giza Singer Even. The brand value of Coca Cola was slightly down on 2006, although at NIS 2. 31 billion it is almost unchanged from last year. Cellular brand Orange came second again with a value of NIS 2 billion, up 1. 2% on 2006. Although Orange sales were higher this year, the brand index had already taken into account future brand growth in the capitalization for 2006. In third place was Microsoft, which climbed 3. 4% to NIS 1. 85 billion, following the launch of its new Windows operating system Vista, at the end of last year.
Program looks back to Golden Age for a brighter Arab-Israeli future
Daphna Berman, Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
While Jerusalem's Western Wall is on the itinerary of nearly every Israel group tour for teenagers, the Temple Mount above it is defintely not. So it was a bit strange to see about 90 teens wandering through the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque last week, as part of their two-week tour of Israel. The group wandered casually around one of the world's most-disputed religious sites. A guide spoke about Abraham and Mohammed, and some of the visitors took group photos against the background of the Dome of the Rock. Nearby, extreme right-wing activist Baruch Marzel was leading a group of children. The Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs International Teen Leadership Institute (JITLI), now in its eighth year, brings together Jewish teens from Mexico and the U.S. , and Jewish and Muslim teens from Israel.
Army crushes Fatah al-Islam offensive
Daily Star 8/10/2007
Lebanese troops fighting Fatah al-Islam militants made a breakthrough on Thursday in the last part of the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp held by the militants, a military officer said. According to the National News Agency (NNA), the Lebanese Army on Thursday crushed an attempted offensive by Fatah al-Islam fighters, killing a number of them. The French-made Gazelle helicopter was used by the Lebanese Army in the fighting on Thursday, bombarding militant positions from the air. A Gazelle helicopter, one of many acquired recently, was seen firing several rockets at Fatah al-Islam positions. The army also attacked a group of Fatah al-Islam gunmen in Maghariba Street and took over their shelter and operations room, the NNA report said. During the operation, the army forced the militants to flee, wounding three of...
Siniora, Feltman discuss US aid for army
Daily Star staff, Daily Star 8/10/2007
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Fouad Siniora met on Thursday with US Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman to discuss US assistance for the Lebanese Army. No comments were released after the meeting. Later in the day, Siniora called Arab League chief Amr Moussa for talks on the latest developments in Lebanon and the region. Siniora also held separate meetings with Democratic Gathering MP Alaeddine Tirro and MP Robert Ghanem. Ghanem praised the government for conducting Sunday's by-elections in the Metn and Beirut in a "democratic and civilized way" despite the tensions plaguing the country." This success of the government is also a success for democracy in Lebanon," he said. Siniora then met with Abbas Zaki, the Palestine Liberation Organization representative in Lebanon.
LEBANON: Tripoli's poor swell ranks of militant Islamic groups
Lucy Fielder/IRIN, IRIN - UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 8/10/2007
TRIPOLI , 9 August 2007 (IRIN) - Umm Abdel-Rahman al-Jassem was cooking dinner for her son Mahmoud when he called her. "'Mother, I'm injured', he told me and I could hear the bullets flying," she says in the family's three-room flat in Bab al-Tebbaneh, a poor quarter in the northern Lebanese town of Tripoli. "Then there were no more words, only bullets," she said. Mahmoud al-Jassem, 25, was killed in a gun battle with the Lebanese army on the streets of the city, allegedly one of a number of northern Lebanese members of militant Islamist group Fatah al-Islam. Bab al-Tebbaneh has lost a number of sons to Fatah al-Islam, as it has to the army that has fought them for the past three months in Tripoli and the nearby Palestinian camp of Nahr al-Bared , residents said.
Iran vows to back Iraq PM's security drive
Stuart Williams – TEHRAN, Middle East Online 8/9/2007
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Thursday won pledges from Iranian leaders to support his drive to restore security to Iraq, amid US accusations that Iran is behind deadly attacks in the country. The embattled Maliki met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, national security chief Ali Larijani and other top officials on the first day of a two-day trip aimed at expanding already burgeoning ties. "Iran and Iraq both have heavy responsibilities to bring about peace and security in the region," Ahmadinejad told Maliki after their meeting late on Wednesday, state media reported. "The situation in the region today, including Iraq, is very sensitive. Tehran considers the future of the region to be dependent on the victory in Iraq," he added.
Iran backs Maliki, says US troops must leave Iraq
Compiled by Daily Star staff, Daily Star 8/10/2007
Iran on Thursday gave full backing to visiting Iraqi Premier Nuri al-Maliki and said US troops must leave his country immediately, in talks that sparked unease in Washington. The embattled Shiite premier stressed the growing strength of bilateral ties during his two-day visit to Iran, despite a renewed warning from President George W. Bush over Tehran's alleged meddling in Iraq. Leaving behind a political crisis at home, Maliki received a warm welcome from Iran's top leaders, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He was later due to meet supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Maliki was also quoted by Iranian state media as praising Iran's "constructive" role in "fighting terrorism" in Iraq - a statement that Bush moved swiftly to publicly contradict.
Bush warns Iraq's Maliki over Iran
Middle East Online 8/9/2007
Bush: 'there will be a price to pay' - WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush on Thursday warned Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki against being too conciliatory with Iran after he appeared in Tehran for talks with senior leaders. "If the signal is that Iran is constructive, I will have to have a heart to heart with my friend the prime minister because I do not believe they are," Bush said at a White House news conference. Earlier Iran, which the United States blames for fomenting much of the bloodshed in Iraq, gave visiting Maliki its full support for restoring security but told him a pullout of US forces was the only way to end the violence. "My message to him is, when we catch him playing a non-constructive role, there will be a price to pay," Bush said in remarks which appeared to be directed towards Maliki.
Iraq's Air 'Straits Question'
Richard Bulliet, Middle East Online 8/9/2007
The United States will control Iraqi air space even after a withdrawal on the ground - to box in Iran's air power, much as Russia's sea power was boxed in by the Ottoman Empire for three centuries. But US control of Iraqi air space is fraught with catastrophic scenarios- For three centuries, down to the end of World War II, Europe's diplomats were troubled by the Straits Question: the waterway linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The Ottoman Empire controlled the straits -- the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosphorus -- and barred passage to foreign warships. And this effectively prevented Russia from becoming a Mediterranean power by plugging the only outlet for their Black Sea fleet. Today, Iraq's skies pose a new Straits Question.
Marine's Iraq murder case dropped
BBC Online 8/9/2007
Murder charges against a US marine accused of killing three Iraqi civilians in Haditha two years ago have been dropped, the US military has said. L/Cpl Justin Sharratt was among several accused of going on a rampage in which 24 Iraqis were killed after a roadside bombing killed one US marine. Investigators said the allegations were not supported by independent evidence. Two more marines still face murder charges. Three others have been charged with failing to investigate the deaths. A fourth, Capt Randy W Stone, had his charges of failing to investigate the killings adequately dropped on Thursday. Charges against another murder suspect, Sgt Sanick Dela Cruz, were dropped in April in exchange for his testimony. To believe the government version of facts is to disregard clear and convincing...
DISARMAMENT: Chemical Weapons - One-Third Down, Two-Thirds To Go
Gustavo Capdevila, Inter Press Service 8/2/2007
GENEVA, Aug 7 (IPS) - The director general of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Rogelio Pfirter, urged the United Nations Conference on Disarmament Tuesday to recover the dynamism that led to the adoption of the convention against these weapons. "While the pace of destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles has not matched the high initial expectations and, as a consequence, understandable concerns have arisen, we remain steadfast in our goal of ridding the planet completely of chemical weapons," Pfirter told the conference in Geneva. The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) has proven to be, on the 10th anniversary of its entry into force, one of the most successful international disarmament treaties, say experts, in terms of the number of signatory nations as well as the quantity of toxic agents destroyed to date.
Articles
The Catch in Israel's 'Generous Offers' at Jericho
Jeff Halper, Palestine Chronicle 8/9/2007
It would be extremely helpful if the Palestinian Authority would raise publicly its concerns over the issues of sovereignty and viability instead of giving Olmert an uncontested field in which he can make initiatives and produce PR spin.
On paper, the headlines sound promising, even stirring. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at their meeting in Jericho that he would push for the establishment of a Palestinian state as "fast as possible" on "the equivalent to 100 percent of the territories conquered in 1967." The Palestinians, according to the report, would cede just 5% of the West Bank in return for territorial swaps. In other words, Israel would withdraw from 95.6 % of the combined West Bank and Gaza -- although whether Olmert includes East Jerusalem in this calculation is unknown.
It looks like another "generous offer," one the Palestinians could not possibly refuse. "The aim is to achieve US President George Bush's vision of two countries for two peoples, living in security and peace side by side" based on the road map, Olmert said, adding "We want to achieve this as soon as possible."
Something that burns the heart
Aviva Lori, Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
The home of Samaher and Salman Abu Jlidan is easy enough to find. Deep in the Negev desert, a little past the Midreshet Sde Boker school, on one of the turns in the road leading to Mitzpeh Ramon, stands a large green garbage bin. Hidden behind it is a dirt road that leads to the Bedouin homes. Five children on one bicycle in the middle of the desert, one riding piggyback and two in front and two in back. They seem to float in the air between the tents and the corrugated tin huts, the goats and the chickens, above the parched yellow earth. The "house" is a large tent with four openings for air. On the floor is a faded carpet and colorful cushions, and at the center is the traditional finjan for cooking coffee. "This is our living room," Salman says, "it is for the guests." The living room, and the attached family room, are part of an "estate" that also includes a permanent structure, in an "unrecognized" Bedouin village called both "Ramat Tziporim" ("bird heights") and also "Har Boker" ("morning hill"). A few weeks ago, the Tel Aviv Cinematheque screened a documentary film about the Bedouin living in the unrecognized villages in the Negev. Entitled "Recognized," the film was made by Ori Kleiner, an M.A. student at Hunter College in New York. Kleiner, 35, who has lived in New York since 1993, has studied the relations between Israel and its Bedouin citizens. The film's protagonists were invited to the screening, which was followed by a discussion in the hall.
Samaher Abu Jlidan listened quietly to the discussion, until a young woman in the audience questioned the Bedouins' demand to receive from the state what its Jewish citizens get, electricity in their homes, for example, which would make it possible to run a computer. Abu Jlidan asked for the floor, and delivered a remarkable extemporaneous speech in fluent Hebrew ("No one taught me Hebrew; I learned from life"). The hall fell silent when Abu Jlidan, a very comely woman, her face covered with a veil ("Not because of religion, but because there are men here - that is our custom") and holding a 6-month-old baby on her knees, invited her fellow audience members to visit her home and see for themselves the conditions in which she and her family live.
'You have no future in this country'
Daniel Ben Simon, Ha'aretz 8/10/2007
At the height of the fury and the humiliation, the children of Hebron wandered around among the men in uniform, trying to figure out who was Jewish and who was not - who is from "our" seed, and who is from the seed of Amalek. At a time when most Israeli children were spending their summer vacation at day camps and on trips, splashing in the sea and in swimming pools, the children of the Hebron day camp looked as though they lived on another planet. Glowering with hatred, with huge skullcaps and long curly earlocks, children age 10 and younger walked among the men in uniform and examined their dog tags.
Anyone whose non-Jewishness was discovered received the appropriate treatment: The wild, bleary-eyed little ones mercilessly hurled curses and insults at them. They are mere children and already experts in racial theory. Every possible epithet was hurled at the soldiers, but they, perhaps on orders from above, were silent as though catatonic. Their faces showed no emotion.
"If someone comes to kill you, kill him first!" shouted one of the children at a Border Policeman with a non-Jewish name [both Russian and Ethiopian immigrants and Druze were among the security units present], moments after the evacuation of the families from the market began on Tuesday. The youngster brought his face close to that of the soldier until they were almost touching. "It says in the Torah that I have to kill you. You are from the seed of Amalek ... You are a goy [gentile] and you are not allowed to tread on this holy ground. Get out of here, you and your friends!"
Hypocrisy in Hebron
Benny Ziffer, Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
The infamous enthusiasm of the citizens of ancient Rome for watching human beings being devoured by wild animals did not disappear with the fall of the Roman Empire, but only takes on different guises in various places, depending on the taste of the audience. The masses are always in need of loathsome entertainment of this kind, where two unequal forces conduct a duel in which the weaker side has no chance of winning, but whose desperate struggle itself arouses emotions.
The evacuation on Tuesday of the Jewish families who had squatted in the wholesale market in Hebron was a popular television entertainment of this type: One could almost say that it was designed exclusively for television, and had the squatters not squatted where they did, such an invasion would almost have to be invented, to allow for some violent spectacle, as part of the festivities of the ascent of the new emperor, Ehud Barak, to the throne of the Defense Ministry.
I am far from justifying the Jewish settlement in Hebron and the daily injustice that is caused there to the Arab residents of the city by the Jewish extremists. But it's a far cry from that to the presentation of these bearded men with the flashing eyes and their headscarf-wearing wives as a serious or dangerous force. After all, anyone who has visited there knows that the settlement in Hebron is mainly a curiosity, a kind of nature preserve of extremism, which is entirely dependent on the good will of the security forces that protect it and terrify the Palestinians. Without the Israel Defense Forces the settlers would not last there for even a day.
....And nobody had the courage to tell the truth, that the IDF, on the instructions of the politicians, is playing a double and hypocritical game here: One hand holds the dagger and waves it for the purpose of propaganda against the monster called the Jewish settlement in Hebron, and another hand caresses the behind of that very same monster, for internal purposes.
Twighlight Zone / 'The terrorist was neutralized'
Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
The taxi to Bethlehem was delayed, and Jihad stood at the dusty taxi stand and waited. He was on his way to the Open University in Bethlehem, to register for the upcoming school year. His father says that he hadn't decided what he wanted to study. Maybe that's what he was thinking about while he stood at the stand, exposed to the burning sun.
And what was going through the heads of the soldiers who beat him mercilessly, with a club, with the butt of a rifle and with kicks to his head, so that he died? Is it possible that he tried to attack them with a knife, even though two eyewitnesses didn't see it? Even if he did, why did the soldiers continue to beat him, even after he lay on the ground, unconscious and perhaps bound as well, as an eyewitness told us? And what kind of monstrous behavior is it to handcuff the bereaved father, and then leave him on the ground, in front of the body of his beaten and dying son? Above all, why did the Israel Defense Forces rush to dismiss this grave incident, "after an initial investigation," during which nobody interrogated the eyewitnesses, with the conclusion, "the soldiers acted properly"?
European hypocrisy
Saifedean Ammous, Electronic Intifada 8/9/2007
While in Paris a few weeks ago, whenever I would discuss Middle East politics with anyone, I would be overwhelmed with the traditional refrains of classical anti-Americanism: "they have no culture and deal with the world as if it had no culture," "they have no morality in their foreign policy," "they go to war for oil and money" and so on with inane over-simplified stereotypes. Soon after would come the cackle of self-righteous pride: "we Europeans are different," "we want our foreign policy based on a concept of morality," "we attempt to promote justice in the world and fix up the mess left behind by the Americans." I would then usually be told something about all the aid that Europeans give to Palestinians as proof of the decency of Europeans as opposed to the rabidly Zionist Americans who give billions to fund Israel's murderous army.
Would that this were true.
Europe's policy with regard to Palestine/Israel is so racist, short-sighted, counter-productive and hypocritical that it could almost pass for American policy.
Who governs?
Zeev Sternhell, Ha'aretz 8/9/2007
Ever since Niccolo Machiavelli first waved the banner of politics' autonomy in the early 16th century, many people have perceived politics as an arena "liberated" from morality's accepted norms. However, with political life's gradual democratization in Western countries and politics' transformation into a matter for society at large, demands have grown that the use of political force be judged in accordance with moral values. An additional demand has thus emerged for a sharp distinction between truth and falsehood, and this distinction has become a hallmark of the health of a democratic system.
A regime where the concepts of truth and falsehood have become blurred is generally considered a form of government whose democratic character is steadily eroding. The fundamental issue in democracy is, naturally: Who governs?
In Israel today, immense power is concentrated in the hands of a few corporations, controversial billionaires and well-connected lawyers, rather than with the Knesset. And most Knesset members, supposedly "the people's representatives," are not elected in any kind of primary, but are appointed by party chiefs and are dependent on them.
Both are Wrong
Jihad el-Khazen, MIFTAH 8/9/2007
The present situation in the Palestinian territories has placed me in a position of objection par excellence as I oppose everything that is taking place in Palestinian politics today.
I object to the Hamas-staged coup in the Gaza Strip, as I object more to the attempts at isolating this faction. I object the two governments of Ismail Hanyia and Salam Fayad until they reach an agreement. I object to the corruption of Fatah and then I object to the intimacy prevailing in the meeting of Abou Mazen and Ehud Olmert.
Since I am not a party and I can be more objective than the supporters of this or that party, I find that both parties are wrong. Hamas will not be able to monopolize power and the authorities, in order to preserve their national feature, must not attempt at isolating Hamas and will not succeed in doing so. Then, I do not want Ismail Hanyia to become the first Prime Minister coming from Hamas ranks and the last prime minister. Nor do I want Salam Fayad to fail after he had been the best minister and the most successful minister in consecutive Palestinian governments.
Change on Iraq? Ask the Israelis
Shmuel Rosner, Ha'aretz 8/10/2007
Hoyer added that he attaches great importance to the Israeli point of view. To this end, he will ask Defense Minister Ehud Barak and several Israeli generals about their opinions on the possible implications of a change in Iraq. There are quite a few Democratic congressmen - including possible candidates for the presidency, such as Hillary Clinton - who are not enthusiastic about a speedy withdrawal. Yet they express this opinion, which is less popular among the voters, with a great deal of caution, so as not to jeopardize their chances in the upcoming primary.
WASHINGTON - This week the temperatures in Washington soared to 38 degrees Centigrade and the humidity reached 70 percent. Just the right time to flee the capital, first back home - every congressman to his or her state and constituency - and then abroad. For example, to Israel's shores, which are so well known for their cool temperatures in mid-summer. More than 20 Republican congressmen finished this kind of trip this week, and some 20 Democrats will leave for Israel the day after tomorrow.
Steny Hoyer is the leader of the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, No. 2 in the hierarchy of the house and one of the leading congressmen in the United States. He is one of the senior members of this Democratic delegation. Hoyer is from Maryland, and this is his third trip to Israel as a senior legislator and his "eighth or ninth" altogether, he says. He first visited Israel in 1976.
A visit of 40 congressmen in Israel within the space of two weeks is no small feat, but Hoyer, speaking on Wednesday morning, insists that a tour of this kind is of "crucial importance" for them. Israel, he reminds all those who have forgotten, is "our most important ally and friend," and its friends have to understand the challenges it faces from up close.
Between the Lines - Book Review
Jim Miles, Palestine Chronicle 8/9/2007
Along with other authors who have developed similar themes (Ilan Pappe, Ramzy Baroud, Tanya Reinhart, Jonathan Cook, Mishal and Sela) this story expands the library of information and consciousness concerning the occupation and ethnic cleansing that is the story of Palestine.
Between the Lines -- Readings on Israel, The Palestinians, and the U.S. "War on Terror". Edited by Tikva Honig-Parnass and Toufi Haddad.Haymarket Books, Chicago, Ill., 2007.
This work is a powerful compilation of articles relating the story of the al-Aqsa Intifada, tying it into a broader world vision of the Middle East and American Empire. That serves as the main theme for the book, "the continuation of the Zionist colonial project, which has aspired to'control all of historic Palestine with the full backing of U.S. imperialism."Expressed similarly from another angle, "Israel plays a key role in enforcing U.S. im
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