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Patriarchs, property and politics in Jerusalem
Right-wing Jewish settlers are trying to stamp their religion on the divided Old City by buying up land. Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilus III has other ideas – and Condoleezza Rice is on his side. Two years ago Theophilus was elected by a convincing majority of the synod which had earlier deposed his predecessor, Irinaeus, in an atmosphere of political scandal over property deals made on his watch. Theophilus's basic charge is that for two years attempts have been made to blackmail him into completing and approving the "unfulfilled" – and in political terms radioactively sensitive – deals made during the tenure of his predecessor. The whole episode sheds unusual light on the extraordinary determination of right-wing Jewish settler groups to make inroads into Arab quarters of the Old City.
CDCPRJ report: Israeli violations in Jerusalem
highlights of these violations: First: Land confiscation, land bulldozing, settlement expansion, and continuous building of the apartheid wall in occupied Jerusalem. . . .
ISM: Azzoun under 'curfew'
For the sixth time in eleven days, residents have been forced to stay indoors, under threat of extreme punishment. At 4pm Israeli soldiers entered the town, arresting four youths, and firing sound bombs, tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition, calling for residents to withdraw from the streets and for shops to close. Tonight, a father collecting medicine for his daughter was forced to leave the pharmacy empty handed as soldiers fired a sound bomb into the shop, compelling it to close. . . Residents suspect the curfews are implemented to facilitate construction of the second stage of the apartheid wall that separates Palestinians from illegal Israeli settlements, and confiscates many thousands of dunums of Palestinian land. The 11,000 people of Azzoun wait in their homes to find out when they will be again allowed out,
Whose road map? By Jeff Halper
Indeed, while accepting the road map, Olmert has in mind a very different document than that of the UN, the Europeans, the Russians and the Palestinians themselves. Integral to Israel's version of the document are the "14 reservations" it appended, which effectively nullify the road map as a genuine path to peace. Reservation # 5, for example, states that "The provisional state will have provisional borders and certain aspects of sovereignty, be fully demilitarized..., be without the authority to undertake defense alliances or military cooperation, and Israeli control over the entry and exit of all persons and cargo, as well as of its air space and electromagnetic spectrum." There will be a Palestinian state. Israel has an urgent demographic need to get the almost four million Palestinians of the occupied territories off its hands. It might even attempt to "swap" a couple hundred thousand Israeli Arab citizens of the Galilee Triangle under the pretense of giving the Palestinians more land. The crucial question is: will it be a viable state?
PA negotiators forced to call off talks after being blocked at checkpoint
Palestinian officials said chief negotiator Ahmed Qureia and other members of the negotiating team were stopped by Israel Defense Forces soldiers near Jerusalem while on their way to meet their Israeli counterparts to try to draft a joint statement ahead of the Annapolis, Maryland conference scheduled for in late November. Qureia said his team was held at the West Bank checkpoint for 25 minutes and was asked to keep waiting, but the negotiators refused. "The Palestinian delegation is very angry," Qureia said. "We don't go to negotiate with them in order to be humiliated. We represent the Palestinian people and the Palestinian cause this is a humiliation we can't accept. We will propose never to conduct negotiations in Israel again."
Report: Annapolis summit to be followed by meeting in Moscow
A Mideast peace summit will be held in January 2008 in Moscow as a follow-up to the Annapolis conference slated to take place in the U.S. later this month, a Saudi newspaper reported Saturday. The Alwatan Arabic-language daily also quoted Palestinian sources as saying that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has attempted to convince the U.S. to incorporate Syria into the Annapolis talks.
'Jerusalem backtracking ahead of Mideast parley'
Despite Israeli officials' reports of "significant progress" in efforts to draw up a joint statement of principles for the Annapolis peace conference, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Saturday the two sides haven't progressed beyond the preamble, and many disagreements remain. Palestinian officials said that during her latest Middle East trip last week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice secured support for setting up a committee of top Israeli, Palestinian and US officials to monitor implementation of the short-term obligations by both sides. The Palestinian officials said Israel had since backed off the idea of the oversight committee, in which the US would be the final arbiter of disputes.
Leader of right-wing Israeli party says Abbas more dangerous than Arafat
Speaking on Israeli television, Michael Kleiner described Arafat as a 'terrorist' and said that he posed less of a danger than current Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas because Abbas is an academic "who puts on glasses, a suit and a tie, while being a disciple of Yasser Arafat and his partner in 'terrorism' as he was his partner in the Oslo Accords."
Abbas must resign now – by Khalid Amayreh in occupied East Jerusalem
At the national level, Abbas has committed a series of unforgivable blunders which provide a sufficient legal ground for his dismissal. Abbas flew in the face of the Palestinian constitutional law when he created an unconstitutional government in Ramallah outside the circle of Palestinian legislative and judicial legitimacy. That government, as every Palestinian knows deep in his heart, remains answerable to Israel and the American administration which is, too, very much at Israel's beck and call. The problem didn't stop there. That government has committed every conceivable violation of our people's human, civil and national rights, including murder, protracted arrest and detention without charge or trial, physical and psychological torture, dismissal from job for political and ideological reasons, promulgation of laws and bylaws in violation of the Basic Law and closure of charities and non-governmental organizations based on concocted justifications. In short, the status of human rights, civil liberties and the rule of law in the West Bank is now worse than ever since 1967, thanks to this artificial government.
Sabeel volunteer tells of being barred from Israel/Palestine
Sabeel statement on the issue: `In our understanding of U.S. State Department policy, Krista as an American should be privileged to a `reciprocity` policy -- the U.S . grants certain visas dependent on what the other country does. The current U.S. policy towards Israelis seeking religious visas -- yeshiva students, rabbis, synagogue volunteers, is that they get an unquestioned multiple entry five-year visa. Obviously, Krista did not receive this reciprocity.` . . . As I walked up to the passport control counter the woman in the booth sneered at me and asked `what are you doing back here?` after seeing that I had been in Israel recently. She asked why I didn`t have a different visa – why was I trying to sneak past them? She did an additional computer check and exclaimed, `you sneaky girl! You were denied entry in Jordan – you sneaky little girl!`
Palestinians mark the third anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death
with ceremonies in different West Bank cities. The main memorial ceremony was held in Ramallah in the central West Bank. The first class of the day in Palestinian schools all over the Palestinian territories was dedicated to speeches about Arafat and his life as a Palestinian leader. In some schools there were scout rallies and other presentations commemorating the life of Yasser Arafat. Another memorial ceremony will be held in Gaza City on Monday.
Fatah leader: Police in Gaza Strip attack Arafat memorial ceremony
Fatah leader Ibrahim Abu Al-Naja accused the Palestinian police affiliated to the deposed [Hamas] government in the Gaza Strip of arresting several Fatah loyalists and beating them, as well as attacking a memorial ceremony for the late president Yasser Arafat. The de facto government's police denied any attacks against Fatah members or ceremonies in the Gaza Strip. At the same time preparations are ongoing to hold a memorial in Gaza City to commemorate the third anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat. All Palestinian factions are to partake in the memorial, including Hamas, because Arafat is seen as a symbolic and historic leader of the Palestinian struggle towards statehood.
Hamas spokesman: Abbas reneging on previous agreements concerning West Bank borders
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's readiness for amending the West Bank borders contradict with previous declarations he made regarding adherence to Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum told the electronic website of Palestine Direct on Sunday. Barhoum described the territorial swap as "a new lie aimed at pulling the wool over the people's eyes in order to beatify Annapolis conference for the Palestinians."
Israel: No added Egyptian guards along border
Israel has turned down an American proposal to increase the number of Egyptian soldiers deployed along the Philadelphi Route to stem the flow of smuggled weapons from Sinai to the Gaza Strip. Foreign Ministry Director General Aharon Abramovitch and the head of the political-military bureau at the Defense Ministry, Amos Gilad, told senior American officials that until Egypt meets its agreements on countering smuggling along the Gaza border, "there is no room to discuss increasing the number of soldiers." Egypt is demanding to be allowed to deploy more soldiers along the border to be able to better counter smuggling. Israeli officials charged that "Egypt's problem is not the number of soldiers but the lack of motivation."
Barak: Israel to proceed with power cut
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday stated that the Israeli government will proceed with plans to limit the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip, despite the Attorney-General's ruling concerning the illegality of the move. Barak announced the move during a cabinet meeting on Sunday, telling fellow ministers that the process of restricting supplies had already begun. "We are in the process of restricting the fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip and power cuts are not far behind, we want to weaken Hamas' ability to service its people," the Defense Minister stated. Barak's decision is reported to have the backing of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, and Vice Premier Haim Ramon, in addition to a number of other senior officials.
Campaign: End the siege on Gaza
The aim of this humanitarian, non-partisan campaign is to put pressure on the Israeli government to lift the siege imposed on the population of Gaza. By raising the awareness of the international community on the deteriorating living conditions resulting from the siege, we aim at mobilizing the efforts of the various international community organizations and governments to stop the boycott of Gaza.
Petitioners: Cutting Gaza supplies is collective punishment
Israel's highest court on 7 November ordered the state to explain within one week how it planned to ensure that the latest sanctions imposed on Gaza, including fuel and power cuts, would not have a negative humanitarian impact. The court was hearing a petition lodged by 10 Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups, and the deputy-director of the Gaza Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU), demanding an end to the restrictions.
Gaza doesn't need aid – it has a £2bn gas field
But instead of checking into their smart Parisian hotels, donors would do better to come to Gaza to help free a Palestinian economic asset so large that it would do away with the need to bleed the international community of millions in aid every year. Twenty miles from the beaches of Gaza, too far for the eye to see but still very much in Palestinian waters, lies a fortune in untapped, off-shore gas. Prospecting vessels sent down two probes seven years ago and what they found got the juices of executives from multinational fuel companies flowing. In one field alone, experts estimated a reserve of £2 billion worth of natural gas. And there is plenty of potential for other fields. A similar discovery in the Persian Gulf would have been exploited promptly and, within a few years, millions of pounds in taxes would have begun pouring into the local government's coffers.
Good news from Gaza – by Gideon Levy
But the respect the [Israeli] reservists felt for the way Hamas fought is liable to trickle down deeper. "The Palestinians never looked like this," the surprised soldiers told Haaretz. Perhaps we will finally stop calling them "terrorists" and refer to them as "fighters." A bit of respect for the Palestinians and, in particular, an end to our dehumanization of them is liable to mark the beginning of a new chapter. Furthermore, the fact an army has arisen in Gaza, if this assessment is correct, is liable to prevent another large-scale, ground-based military operation with its many casualties and futility. Only the recognition of Hamas' strength is liable to persuade Israel to be cautious about another operation, and only its military buildup will make us understand the full stupidity of the boycott policy that was designed to weaken Hamas.
Qassam strikes cowshed in western Negev, killing 7 cattle; IDF kill two youths, wound three other Palestinians on Saturday
(AP) Seven cows were killed and four were wounded when a Qassam rocket struck their shed in Kibbutz Zikim in the western Negev on Sunday morning. Three people were treated for shock at the scene. A Qassam rocket and a mortar shell were fired at the western Negev on Saturday evening. Both fell in open fields and caused no injuries or damage. 15 mortar shells were fired from the Gaza Strip over the weekend. Some landed on open Israeli territory, and the rest landed inside the Strip. . . Israeli forces on Saturday killed two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and wounded three others in three separate incidents. The first incident, which resulted in two deaths, occurred after troops noticed two Palestinian youths crawling toward the border fence near al-Bureij refugee camp. The second incident was the result of an attack by IDF ground forces on a car carrying Islamic Jihad militants near the Jabalya refugee camp north of Gaza City . One militant was wounded, Palestinian sources said. An air strike minutes later targeted a rocket launcher ready to fire, the military said, wounding two civilians, according to Palestinian health officials. [note that the cows come first in the report]
Apartheid masked: Third in a series of nonviolent protests against Apartheid Road 443
100 Palestinian, Israeli and internationals marched down to the side of Route 443 to convey the message of how Israel is denying Palestinians their rights to free movement within their own territory. They carried green Palestinian license plates with crosses made of Israeli and American flags over them to highlight how the Israeli system of apartheid has full American economic and political support.
Ramzy Baroud: Peace and democracy in Palestine
After years of marked absence, the Bush administration has finally decided to upgrade its involvement in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The announcement of a Middle East peace conference in Annapolis , Maryland has raised red flags for anyone who has learned from past experience how unbalanced and insincere peace efforts actually can lead to further violence. And it requires little cynicism to ponder how genuine these current efforts are.
Israeli forces invade northern West Bank towns
Ma'an's correspondent said several Israeli military vehicles invaded Jenin firing at Palestinian homes. No casualties have been reported. In Qabatia, seven Israeli military vehicles entered the western neighbourhood storming several homes under the pretext of searching for 'wanted' activists. On Saturday evening, Israeli forces stormed Tubas and Ya'bad, also in the northern West Bank. They fired gunshots and sonic bombs at Palestinian homes
West Bank teen arrested for stabbing woman in Modi'in settlement
Police arrested on Sunday a 17-year-old resident of the West Bank who is suspected of having stabbed a woman from Modi'in as she was walking out of her daughter's kindergarten. The assailant stabbed the woman in the neck, lightly wounding her, and then fled the scene. After a short time, the 17-year-old resident of Salfit in the West Bank was located and taken into custody. He admitted to the crime during questioning and said that his action was motivated by disappointment over his failure to find work in the area, and over other personal troubles.
At memorial for Arafat, Palestinians hope to rebuild unity
RAMALLAH, West Bank — They came by the dozens in dark suits and ties to pay their respects to Yasser Arafat, the legendary leader who epitomized unfulfilled Palestinian dreams of creating an independent nation. . . "The unity has been lost and it has to be rebuilt," said Mustafa Barghouti, an independent Palestinian lawmaker who tried unsuccessfully to succeed Arafat as president. "For Arafat, division was totally out of the question." Although many Fatah leaders admit that they lost the respect of the Palestinian people, little has been done by Arafat's political party to reform its image.
Nazzal: Palestinian people will not allow Abbas to undermine their sacrifices
Nazzal was apparently reacting to the pledge given by Abbas and Salam Fayyad, the head of the "illegitimate" PA government in Ramallah, to the Israelis that they will dismantle and crackdown on the Palestinian resistance factions in the West Bank. "It is clear that the PA presidency and the Fayyadh-Dayton government in Ramallah city have thrown themselves into the Israeli and American laps", the Hamas official said.
Editorial: Israel still fails to understand that strongarm tactics won't win it security
Israel provided yet another example on Thursday of the double standards by which it feels entitled to operate on the world stage. Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz demanded that the international community replace Mohamed ElBaradei as the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, saying that he has not done enough to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions. Mofaz, whose own country has openly threatened to launch a military attack on the Islamic Republic, leveled the utterly absurd allegation that "the policies followed by ElBaradei endanger world peace."
'Apocalyptic scenario' if Egypt, Saudi go nuclear – Israel minister Lieberman
"Their intentions should be taken seriously and the declarations being made now are to prepare the world for when they decide to actually do it," said the minister, responsible for coordinating Israeli efforts against a nuclear Iran. On October 29, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced a programme to build several nuclear power stations -- the country having abandoned an atomic energy programme in 1986 after the Chernobyl disaster. Jordan, one of only two Arab countries with Egypt to have signed peace deals with Israel, as well as Algeria, Libya, Yemen and all six pro-Western Gulf states including Saudi Arabia have also announced peaceful nuclear ambitions.
U.S. to purchase $700 million worth of arms from Israel
Weapons and technological systems to be acquired from Jewish state's defense industries include navigation and attack sensor system for combat aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and advanced pilot helmets – The purchase of weapons from Israel is not part of Israel's annual defense aid from the United States, which amounts to $2.4 billion and is expected to grow in 2009 to an annual average of $3 billion for the following 10 years.
The last refuge – by Uri Avnery
Washington's huge propaganda machine is working full-time to prepare the ground. Israel is supposed to play a central role in this piece. Here, too, a huge brain-washing machine is already at work. One of the possible scenarios: Israel will bomb first. The Iranians will respond by launching missiles at Israel. The US will enter the action "to save Israel". Which American politician will dare to object? Bush is dreaming again about a war without American casualties. This will not be a quick and easy war. Iran is different from Iraq. Unlike Iraq, with its various peoples and sects, Iran is comparatively homogenous. This war will be an Iraq war multiplied by 10, perhaps by 100. Israel will not be able to avoid contributing to the fighting, if the Americans request it. First our Air Force will be deployed, later land forces may be required. But Israel itself will also become a battlefield. The pathetic missiles of Saddam Hussein caused, in their time, panic in Tel-Aviv. What will the Iranian missiles do?
Yadlin: US promised Syria that the return of Golan will be on the Annapolis agenda
According to OC Military Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin, the US has promised Syria that the issue of the country's sovereignty over the Golan Heights will be discussed at the international Middle East peace conference scheduled to be held in Annapolis later this year, Army Radio reported. Yadlin told the cabinet on Sunday that the move was part of a US effort to persuade Damascus to participate in the meeting.
Nasrallah: IDF border drills show Israel gearing up for new war on Lebanon
He said Hezbollah's military maneuvers in southern Lebanon last week were carried out in response to the IDF drills and were designed to send out a clear message to Israel that his fighters were ready to defend Lebanon if it was attacked again by Israel.
BBC Arabic to launch interactive media workshops in Palestine
The workshops are announced as the BBC prepares to launch its integrated Arabic-language multi-media offer, a first for the region, incorporating radio, TV and online. Aimed at developing talented future broadcasters in the Arab world, 'The World as You See It' workshops will be held at universities in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Egypt and Morocco . Experienced BBC journalists will share their knowledge and experience with media students, encouraging them to complete short video packages of stories they believe will be of wide interest. The best work will be featured on the BBC.
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