World Health Organization reports Gaza situation 'intolerable'
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 12/10/2007
The head of the World Health Organization for the West Bank and Gaza, Dr Ambrogio Manenti, said Monday at a Jerusalem symposium, "There is a situation of physical and mental isolation that has become intolerable." Manenti was referring to the Israeli closure of all borders of the Gaza Strip since May, and a recent decision two weeks ago to cut off all fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip -- thus preventing emergency generators for hospitals and schools from operating. "We as health professionals have to denounce this situation and the international community cannot tolerate it any longer," said Manenti. The Israeli cutoff of supplies to the 1. 3 million Palestinians living inside the Gaza Strip has been called a form of collective punishment by various human rights groups, leading to the condemnation of the Israeli policy by the groups.
Palestinian Medical Relief Society calls for an immediate end to the murderous siege of Gaza
Grassroots International - GRI, ReliefWeb 12/8/2007
People are dying in Gaza. Patients die in their hospital beds because they are denied permits to access life-saving treatments abroad. Patients with such permits die at the Erez crossing because the Israeli military denies them exit, despite their permits. These are all avoidable deaths. These are patients diagnosed with a critical condition, seeking life–saving treatment. This is tantamount to murder. Premeditated murder. More than 29 Palestinians have already died in this manner so far. A further 900 are still waiting to permits to leave the Strip. But this is only the tip of the iceberg, for the collective punishment unleashed on the Palestinian people in Gaza cuts much deeper: food, goods, medicine, medical supplies, critical equipment, construction materials and now fuel and electricity. The closure of the crossings by the Israeli military and the new delivery cuts ordered by the Israeli government are far reaching.
Saraya aL-Quds brigade clashes with Israeli army in southern Gaza
Rami Almeghari&Agencies, International Middle East Media Center 12/10/2007
The Saraya aL-Quds Brigade, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, clashed with Israeli troops on Monday morning, east of Kheza'a town, in the southern Gaza Strip. In a statement faxed to press, the armed group announced that its fighters had clashed with Israeli army forces manning the border fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, east of Kheza'a town. The statement gave no further details. Witnesses in the area heard a volley of gun shots early this morning just a few hundred meters from the border fence with Israel. Yesterday, the Saraya aL-Quds confirmed in a statement that it targeted an Israeli army jeep, near the Kheza'a town, with a rocket-propelled grenade. Since the outbreak of the Intifada (uprising) in 2000, Palestinian resistance factions have been engaged in attacks against the Israeli occupation forces, in what they call ' a response to continued Israeli attacks on the coastal region'.
EU worried at Israel's decision on settlers
Middle East Online 12/10/2007
BRUSSELS - EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said Monday she was "very much concerned" at Israel's decision to allow further construction of Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem. "I'm very much concerned about that," she told reporters ahead of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels. Later, after a meeting in Brussels with Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad, Ferrero-Waldner said she understood that both the United States and the United Nations "requested explanations from the Israeli government on the building permits". "I look forward to hearing the reactions of the Israeli authorities," she added. Fayaad told a joint press conference with the EU commissioner that the Israeli action in allowing more settlement building ran counter to "the letter and the spirit" of the recent Annapolis Middle East peace conference.
UN: Gazans need hospital access
BBC Online 12/10/2007
The UN has called for Israel to allow more Gaza patients to leave the territory for emergency healthcare. Dr Ambrogio Manenti, head of the World Health Organization office for the West Bank and Gaza, said medical treatment and politics must be kept separate. A number of Palestinians have died in Gaza after not receiving the proper treatment, according to the World Health Organization. Gaza has effectively been sealed off since the Hamas takeover in June. Many Gazans seek hospital treatment in Israel, Jordan and Egypt for specialised health care not available in the occupied territories. But since the Hamas takeover of Gaza in June, Israel has imposed severe travel restrictions on Palestinians from the territory. Fuel Supplies "The physical, physiological and economic isolation of the people of Gaza all leads to a general deterioration in the health of the population," said Dr Manenti.
Report: Israeli forces besiege Azzoun village
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 12/10/2007
The International Solidarity Movement has reported that Israeli forces have again invaded the village of Azzoun, where several members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) are stationed. The international activists have reported that Israeli forces declared a house arrest on the village, preventing all local residents from leaving their homes -- even for food and medicine. A number of Israeli military vehicles invaded the village just as students were leaving school, according to the ISM activists. The forces fired sound bombs, live bullets, rubber-coated bullets and tear gas throughout the town. The activists reported that the soldiers prevented a sick child from traveling to a doctor, and many other villagers were stuck outside of town and unable to return to their homes for three hours, until the soldiers left the village in the late evening.
Red Cross calls on Israel to reinstate family visitation rights for Gazan prisoners
Ma'an News Agency 12/10/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Israel is violating international humanitarian law by not allowing residents of the Gaza Strip to visit their relatives in Israeli prisons, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday. Israel suspended visitation rights for Palestinians living in Gaza on June 6th. On Monday the ICRC called for Israeli authorities to reinstate those rights. "It is impossible to understand that such a decision is taken solely on security grounds. Family visits to Israeli prisons have been organized for decades and they have always been subject to thorough security checks by the competent authorities, as is currently the case for residents of the West Bank. There is no reason for this six-month suspension of family visits for Gaza residents," said Christoph Harnisch, the ICRC's Head of Delegation in Tel Aviv.
Israeli forces seize six Palestinians in the West Bank
Ma'an News Agency 12/10/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Israeli forces seized six Palestinians on Sunday evening and Monday morning in Hebron, Bethlehem, and Ramallah, sources in the Israeli military said.
Israeli forces seize four near Jenin
Ma'an News Agency 12/10/2007
Tulkarem – Ma'an – Israeli forces seized four Palestinians in near the norhtern West Bank city of Jenin on Monday morning. Two were detained at a checkpoint in the town of Arraba, and the other two were abducted from their homes, sources in the Israeli military said.
Hamas: Palestinian security
forces arrest six Hamas members in the West Bank
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 12/10/2007
The Hamas movement issued a press statement on Monday stating that Palestinian security forces affiliated with President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, had arrested six of their members on Monday from several parts of the West Bank. According to the statement, among those arrested were three teachers, one of whom had only recently been released from an Israeli detention center. Hamas also reported that Palestinian police had attacked a school in Jenin and arrested Headmaster Nael Al Imor and his assistant Hassan Al Zaghlol Meanwhile in Nablus city,another teacher Bashar Hajji, was arrested in the village of Burka located east of Nablus. Hajji had been released from an Israeli detention camp three weeks ago after serving time as a poltical detainee. In Qalqilia city, security forces arrested Mohamed Al Ju'adi, a local Shikh -- Muslim clergyman.
Palestinian fighters attack Israeli targets near the Gaza Strip
Ma'an News Agency 12/10/2007
Gaza –Ma'an – The military wing affiliated of the Popular Resistance Committees, the An-Nasser Salah Addin Brigades said they launched a homemade projectile at the Israeli settlement of Tushiya east of Gaza Strip. Separately, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the National Resistance Brigades, claimed responsibility for launching a homemade projectile at the Israeli town of Sdeort, north of the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile the military wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades said their fighters hurled a large explosive device at an Israeli infantry force stationed east of the town of Khuza'a in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday evening. They said in a statement that the explosion from the bomb injured Israeli troops as ambulance sirens were heard in the area.
Palestinian resistance groups launch
projectiles, fight Israeli troops, in Gaza
Ma'an News Agency 12/10/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – The National Resistance Brigades, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), and the Al-Aqsa Brigades, Fatah's armed wing, claimed responsibility for launching two homemade projectiles at Kisufim, an Israeli military installation east of the Gaza Strip, on Monday. Separately, the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, clashed with Israeli forces in Khuza'a, near the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Both groups said that these attacks came as a response to the ongoing Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
EU criticises Israel settler plan
BBC Online 12/10/2007
A senior EU official has criticised an Israeli decision to build more houses in occupied East Jerusalem, joining the US in condemning Israel. External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said she was "very concerned" about a plan for 300 new homes on land captured in the 1967 war. "We want to have a successful peace process," Ms Ferrero-Waldner said. In rare condemnation by the US, the secretary of state said it threatened new Israeli-Palestinian talks. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the former Austrian foreign minister, was speaking after talks with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Brussels. Mr Fayyad said the fresh settlement activity was against "the letter and the spirit" of the recent Arab-Israeli peace conference. "Those actions are clearly inconsistent with the overall direction this process should take if it is to produce an...
Brussels 'concerned' at latest Israeli land grab
The Daily Star Compiled by, Daily Star 12/11/2007
EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said Monday she was "very much concerned" at Israel's decision to allow further construction of Jewish settlements in Occupied East Jerusalem. Separately on Monday, UN officials called on Israel to end its fuel and electricity cuts to Gaza. "I'm very much concerned about that," Ferrero-Waldner told reporters ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers. Later, after a meeting in Brussels with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Ferrero-Waldner said she understood that both the US and the United Nations "requested explanations from the Israeli government on the building permits." "I look forward to hearing the reactions of the Israeli authorities," she added. Fayaad told a joint news conference with the EU commissioner that the Israeli action in allowing more settlement building ran counter to "the letter and the spirit" of the recent Annapolis Middle East peace conference.
U.S. army chief meets Israeli officials to discuss Iran report
Amir Oren, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
The Bush administration's top military commander held high-level talkson Monday with Israeli officials after Israel said it disagreed with U.S. intelligence findings that Iran had shelved a nuclear weapons program. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, met DefenseMinister Ehud Barak and was to hold talks with intelligence experts during a 24-hour visit, military sources said. Mullen has indicated in remarks released by the Pentagon that he understands Israel's security concerns regarding Iran. Mullen arrived in Israel Sunday night for a one-day visit as the guest of Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi. Ahead of Mullen's visit, the Pentagon released the transcript of a lecture he gave at the War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania November 28.
Meshal welcomes Saudi bid to broker Hamas-Fatah talks
Avi Issacharoff, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
Saudi Arabia and Egypt are pushing Hamas and Fatah to meet, in an effort to resolve the deep rift in the Palestinian movements, as Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal visits Riyadh this week. Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha said that Meshal, who arrived in Riyadh on Saturday, would meet with senior Saudi officials to update them on the status of contact between Fatah and Hamas, which of late has reached a dead end. He added that his organization welcomed the Saudi efforts to solve the internal Palestinian crisis, saying that Hamas was ready for early negotiations without conditions in order to bring an end to the schism. A Fatah leader in the West Bank, Hatham Abed al-Kadr, said Sunday that Egypt too has been in contact recently with officials from both movements in an attempt to bring the two sides for a meeting in Cairo after the culmination of the Id al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice) holiday, in about two weeks.
Moscow pushing for regional peace summit in April
Barak Ravid, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
The United States supports the holding of a second peace conference in Moscow that would address Israel's conflicts with Syria and Lebanon as well as the Palestinian issue, according to information obtained by the Foreign Ministry from Russian sources over the last few days. Nevertheless, government sources in Jerusalem said they have some doubts about the Russian claim, as they have received contradictory reports from Washington. They added that they expect the situation to become clearer at next week's meeting of donor nations to the Palestinian Authority, as representatives of the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers - the U.S. , European Union, United Nations and Russia - will meet on the sidelines to discuss whether to hold a Moscow conference and if so, when and in what format. According to the Foreign Ministry's information, obtained from conversations with Russian diplomats...
Egyptian-Saudi efforts to restore dialogue between Fatah and Hamas
Wisam Afifa, International Middle East Media Center 12/10/2007
A delegation of Hamas political leaders are expected to arrive in Egypt early next week. The group was invited by Cairo to discuss the possibility of reopening negotiations between Hamas and Fatah, according to sources. The sources added that the delegation, which had left Gaza without notifying the media as to why, will include Dr. Khalil Al Haya, Aymand Taha and Jamal Abu Hashem.. The Islamic Jihad movements' leader, Khaled Al Batsh had previously indicated the desire to reopen Hamas-Fatah dialogue in an effort to depart from the current crisis. Disclosed sources claim that Egypt and Saudi Arabia are pushing both parties to reopen negations. Media sources indicated that Hamas leaders headed by, Khaled Mesha'l met with Saudi leaders in Riyadh on Sunday. Similar meetings are expected to take place between Hamas and several Egyptian leaders later, in anticipation of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's return to the negotiating table.
Abbas: Israeli plan for new settlement construction
is a blow to Annapolis agreement
Rashed Hilal & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center 12/10/2007
The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with British State Minister for International Development, Douglas Alexander, on Monday, to discuss development in the Palestinian areas and the new efforts to move the peace process since last months Annapolis conference. During the meeting, Abbas thanked the British government for its US$500,000,000 donation which will be used for the national development plan to help save the economy as well as building Palestinian institutions to prepare for the future Palestinian state. The UK encouraged others to donate money for the Palestinian development plan during the economic meetings that will take place later this month. The Palestinian president reiterated his commitment to the agreements of the Annapolis conference, adding that those agreements should be monitored by the International community, especially in light of Israel's announcement...
Palestinian cabinet condemns Har Homa expansion
Ma'an News Agency 12/10/2007
Ramallah – Ma'an – The Palestinian cabinet declared Israel's decision to continue construction of housing in the West Bank settlement of Har Homa, in the area known to Palestinians as Jebel Abu Ghneim, a major obstacle topeace negotiations on Monday. At a meeting headed by the Interior Minister Abdur Razzaq Al-Yahya in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the cabinet noted the timing of the move, following the international meeting in Annapolis. The ministers said this showed Israel's intentions to disrupt the negotiation process initiated at the Annapolis conference two weeks ago. The Palestinian cabinet also refuted the Israeli claiming that Har Homa was built within Jerusalem's municipal borders, noting that the area was illegally annexed by Israel from land it occupied in 1967. The cabinet affirmed that such allegations and decisions threaten to break up the peace...
Fayyad: PA will continue with Annapolis process,
despite Israel's violations
Ma'an News Agency 12/10/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The West Bank-based Palestinian caretaker government remains committed to the peace process begun at the Annapolis conference in November, despite the acceleration of Israel's occupation policies, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad told the European Union (EU) on Monday. Since the Annapolis meeting two weeks ago, Fayyad said, Israel has killed 23 Palestinians, including children, and announced the expansion of a West Bank settlement. "For our part, we remain committed to Annapolis and will do everything possible to ensure success," he said. Addressing EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday, Fayyad's speech focused largely on development projects his government plans to pursue, but said that a political resolution to the conflict is the key to economic development. "It must be stressed that this is not an economic problem requiring an economic solution...
Israel says U.S. questions settlement move
Reuters Foundation, ReliefWeb 12/7/2007
JERUSALEM, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Israel confirmed on Friday that the United States asked it to explain a plan to build new homes on occupied land in the Jerusalem area, a move Palestinians say could wreck peace talks launched just last week in Washington. A senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said asking for explanations was not enough and demanded that U.S. President George W. Bush's administration force Israel to abide by an agreement to halt all Jewish settlement activity. "The issue has come up in bilateral discussions," said Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, after Washington and U. N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon voiced concern at the plan, which came to light days after Bush presided over a deal at Annapolis, Maryland to negotiate a peace treaty.
EU: 'Settlements could undermine Mideast peace'
Reuters, YNetNews 12/10/2007
European nations slam construction project in Jewish neighborhood Israel says is part of Jerusalem. Palestinian PM: Settlement activity inconsistent with commitments made in Annapolis - The European Union joined the United States on Monday in expressing concern about new Israeli settlement activity, saying it could undermine US-brokered peace efforts. "The EU notes with concern that the Israeli Government has authorized the construction of 307 dwellings in the Har Homa settlement in east Jerusalem," the 27 EU states said in a statement issued as foreign ministers met in Brussels. "The EU considers that this initiative might undermine ongoing efforts in the search for peace and confidence building between the parties, especially at this point in time." In a rare criticism of Israel, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned on Friday the settlement...
UN agencies call for Gaza fuel supplies to be restored
Agence France-Presse - AFP, ReliefWeb 12/10/2007
JERUSALEM, Dec 10, 2007 (AFP) - UN agencies appealed on Monday for full energy supplies to be restored to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, saying they were deeply concerned over the state of the territory's health system. "The World Health Organisation and UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees) express their deep concern on the combined impact of the lack of electricity supply and fuel shortage on the delivery of health services," the two agencies said in a statement. "WHO and UNRWA are appealing to all parties involved to ensure that in the future all health facilities in Gaza are supplied with the appropriate amount of electricity and fuel to provide fully functional services," they said ahead of a symposium on Gaza health services to be held in Jerusalem. "The fuel shortage has been the consequence of a number of factors, primarily restriction in supply...
Government must delay IDF operation in Gaza, says Ayalon
Roni Sofer, YNetNews 12/10/2007
Minister Ami Ayalon send letter to Prime Minister Olmert, Defense Minister Barak calling them to put off any large-scale operation in Gaza. 'Such action may weaken Abbas, strengthen Iran, Hamas' - Minister Ami Ayalon (Labor-Meimad) called on the government Monday to refrain from launching a full-scale IDF operation in Gaza at this time. Such an operation, said Ayalon in a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak , may weaken Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and strengthen Iran and Hamas. Israel, he said, "must appear to support moderate forces while fighting extremists"¦ the decision on an IDF operation in Gaza must not result of a conditioned reflex for a retaliatory action. "Any decision on an operation must first undergo strategic evaluation and is therefore preconditioned by two things: It must indisputably...
Egypt: Half ton of explosives caught en route to Gaza
News agencies, YNetNews 12/10/2007
Egyptian police confiscate over 1,000 lbs of TNT explosives in northern Sinai desert. Officials say shipment likely intended for Gaza terror groups - Egyptian security forces uncovered 1,102 pounds of TNT explosives in the northern Sinai desert, a security official said Monday. It is thought that Islamic militants had buried the explosives, but no militants were in the vicinity when the police, acting on a tip-off, uncovered the cache, said the official, who spoke on the customary condition of anonymity. The explosives were found stashed in plastic bags and hidden in a warehouse near el-Rodha village, about 62 miles to the west of the Egypt-Gaza Strip border, the official said. An investigation revealed that militants were allegedly stashing the explosives and waiting to smuggling them into the Gaza Strip.
Funds dry up for hospital in Ain al-Hilweh camp
Report, Electronic Lebanon, 10 December 2007, Electronic Intifada 12/10/2007
Ain al-Hilweh is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon (Hugh Macleod/ IRIN AIN AL-HILWEH, 9 December (IRIN) - A desperately needed hospital in Lebanon's largest and most violent Palestinian refugee camp has been unable to open on time because funds to buy beds and other basic medical equipment have dried up. The US$5m al-Quds hospital in Ain al-Hilweh, just outside the southern port city of Sidon, is the single largest investment in the camp's 60-year history and aims to treat a range of chronic diseases, heart problems, cancers and nervous disorders suffered by Ain al-Hilweh residents. It also aims to have a children's wing and an intensive care unit. But hospital director Ibrahim Marshoud told IRIN the hospital was still some $2m from completion after international donations to the Palestinian charity Badr Foundation, which has paid for the hospital, ceased in recent months.
Hospital in Ain al-Hilweh put on hold as funds dry up
IRIN News.org, Daily Star 12/11/2007
AIN AL-HILWEH: A desperately needed hospital in Lebanon's largest and most dangerous Palestinian refugee camp has been unable to open on time because funds to buy beds and other basic medical equipment have dried up. The $5 million Al-Quds hospital in Ain al-Hilweh, just outside the southern city of Sidon, is the single largest investment in the camp's 60-year history and aims to treat a range of chronic diseases, heart problems, cancers and nervous disorders suffered by Ain al-Hilweh residents. It also aims to have a children's wing and an intensive care unit. But hospital director Ibrahim Marshoud told IRIN the hospital was still some $2 million from completion after international donations to the Palestinian charity Badr Foundation, which has paid for the hospital, ceased in recent months. "The Badr Foundation is waiting for money.
Rights group asks Mazuz to halt probe into Druze MK who visited Syria
Or Kashti and Barak Ravids, and Haaretz Service, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
A civil liberties organization asked Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to immediately halt the investigation into Balad MK Said Nafaa, over his September visit to Syria in defiance of a ban on visits by MKs to enemy states. The chairman of the public committee for the protection of civil liberties, which operates within the framework of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, said Nafaa's visit falls within the framework of legitimate and transparent political activity. "This activity stem from the Arab population's basic and natural right to contact and visit Arab countries," he wrote, adding that "the State of Israel seeks to isolate its Arab population from the Palestinians and the Arab world. Police questioned Nafaa for three hours Sunday, focusing also on his ties to Palestinian spokesmen, who complemented Balad during the party's recent conference in Shfaram against the U.
Balad activist arrested for security offences
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 12/10/2007
Police arrest Niad Malhem, Balad activist and member of Pact of Free Druze, under suspicion of serious security-related offenses. Balad chairman MK Jamal Zahalka: 'Arrest is a provocation' - Niad Malhem, a member of the Balad party and the Pact of Free Druze, was arrested on Sunday by police on suspicion that he had committed serious security-related offences. The arrest was cleared for publication after a gag order on the details of the case was lifted Monday evening. Balad party chairman MK Jamal Zahalka responded to the allegations by saying that it was yet another example of political persecution. "This arrest is an act of provocation," Zahalka told Ynet. "Yesterday (Balad MK Said) Naffa was questioned and today Malhem is arrested. Other members of the movement have also been called in for these provocation investigations, which are in essence political investigations.
Prisoners' families protest at the Red Cross in Gaza
Ma'an News Agency 12/10/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – Several recently released Palestinian prisoners attended a sit-in, organized by their families, in front of the Red Cross/Red Crescent office in Gaza City on Monday. Twenty-five-year-old Khalid Baraka, who was freed after serving four years out of a ten-year prison sentence, described conditions in Israeli prisons as extremely poor. He said healthcare in the prisons has deteriorated, pointing out that several detainees suffer from kidney failure and other ailments. Baraka called upon Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to make the release of prisoners a top priority in peace negotiations, urging him to turn down any agreement that does not address the issue. This demonstration follows the release of 429 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails last Monday, a move which Israel called a 'goodwill gesture' towards the Palestinian Authority and which was intended to strengthen President Abbas over the rival Hamas faction.
Testimony: Israel delays treatment of two Gaza toddlers
B''Tselem, International Middle East Media Center 12/10/2007
Ashraf Fathi Hussein al-Shanti, 39, married with four children, is a government clerk and a resident of Gaza City. His testimony was given to Muhammad Sabah at the witness's home on 17 October 2007: I was born in Jordan to a father from the Gaza Strip. In 1994, I came to Gaza on a visitor's permit that my uncle obtained for me. In 1995, my fiancee also entered Gaza on a visitor's permit and we got married. At the time, we thought we would be able to obtain Palestinian identity cards. I worked in the office of the Palestinian Naval Police. In 1996, our first child was born, a daughter, whom we named Ghaida', and in 1998, our daughter Maysa' was born. In 2000, our first son, Muhammad, was born. Ten days after he was born, we noticed that his skin was yellow, so we took him to al-Shifa'a Hospital, in Gaza, for an examination.
Dershowitz jewelry purchase booed by Leviev protesters
Press Release, Adalah-NY, 10 December 2007, Electronic Intifada 12/10/2007
Wealthy Madison Avenue holiday shoppers were greeted the afternoon of 8 December 2007 by boisterous music and dancing, as 60 New Yorkers protested in a growing campaign to boycott Israeli diamond magnate Lev Leviev over his settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Participants performed a joyous dabke, a traditional Palestinian dance, and chanted to music from the eight-piece Rude Mechanical Orchestra. During the protest, Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz entered LEVIEV New York and emerged to jeers as he displayed a LEVIEV shopping bag to the crowd. Saturday's event was the third and largest protest outside LEVIEV New York since the store's 13 November gala opening. The protesters highlighted Leviev's abuse of marginalized communities in Palestine, Angola and New York. In the West Bank companies owned by Leviev have built homes in at least five Israeli settlements. These settlements carve the West Bank into disconnected bantustans, seize valuable Palestinian agricultural and water resources, and isolate Palestinian East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank, rendering the creation of a viable Palestinian state impossible. All Israeli settlements violate international law. Yesterday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Israel against its plans to build new homes in Har Homa, one of the settlements where Leviev's company Danya Cebus is building.
Human rights activists protest at New York store owned by settler leader
Saed Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center 12/10/2007
A group of boisterous protesters confronted wealthy holiday shoppers along Madison Avenue in New York City this weekend, holding a rally in front of Lev Leviev's New York jewelry store. Leviev is Israel's richest man, having made much of his fortune in the diamond trade during apartheid-era South Africa. He spends a large amount of money on settlement expansion in the Palestinian territories in contravention of international law. Around sixty protesters filled the street in front of Leviev's new shop, as Harvard professor and pro-Israel fanatic Alan Dershowitz defiantly shopped in Leviev's shop and waved the bag in front of the protesters. The protesters booed at Dershowitz and told him he was contributing to the theft of Palestinian land by shopping at Leviev's store. They shouted, "Alan, Alan, you can't hide, your support for Apartheid."
Israeli Arab women demand end to custom that left them homeless
Fadi Eyadat, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
Women from the Galilee village of Deir al-Asad are demanding an end to an age-old Arab custom that has forced them out of their homes, after a member of their clan allegedly killed a member of a rival clan. Some 70 members of the Musa family were forced to leave their homes in the village after the murder four months ago. The women are now calling to be allowed to return safely, with their children, until a truce is reached. "All I want is to go home," said Reem Musa a few days ago. She complained to her father that she had done "nothing wrong" and did not deserve to be punished. Arab custom stipulates the family of the alleged murderer must leave its dwelling until a truce is reached, in order to prevent bloodshed and retaliation. However, attempts to mend relations between the clans have been hampered by local...
Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP): Humanitarian Appeal 2008
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - OCHA, ReliefWeb 12/10/2007
INTRODUCTION In 2007, aid agencies have achieved enormous successes in the world's most severe humanitarian crises. They have provided safe water and sanitation to 455,538 internally displaced people in Somalia; cared for 240,000 Sudanese refugees in the harsh environment of eastern Chad; provided emergency job creation and cash assistance to 130,000 families made destitute by conflict in the occupied Palestinian territory; delivered food to 2. 2 million Zimbabweans; provided temporary shelter and basic household items to 193,000 people affected by conflict in the Central African Republic; assisted 60,000 people displaced by civil strife in Timor-Leste; contained 131 epidemics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; drilled over 300 boreholes to provide water for war-affected people in Uganda; and other results too numerous to mention.
OPT: 5 PRCS ambulances operate in occupied Jerusalem
Palestine Red Crescent Society - PRCS, ReliefWeb 11/30/2007
The International Conference of the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement which ended its work in Geneva on Friday 30 November 2007 endorsed the resolutions adopted by the International Movement's Council of Delegates regarding the humanitarian conditions in Palestine. The resolutions aimed mainly at ensuring the free movement of PRCS ambulances and its teams, as well as of all PRCS medical teams throughout the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and especially on military checkpoints at the entrance of Palestinian towns and villages, in order to enable those teams to fulfill their humanitarian duties and to ease the suffering of Palestinians. The Conference, attended by representatives from 186 National Societies and delegates from 194 governments, exerted pressure upon Israel which led to an Israeli commitment (with US guarantees) to allow five PRCS ambulances to be stationed and to...
Foreign workers risk losing jobs, then insurance when ill
Ruth Sinai, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
G. G. came to Israel four and a half years ago, and was a devoted caretaker for an elderly Israeli until she herself became sick. Her employer fired her after learning that she had cancer of the uterus and ovaries. She had a hysterectomy in February, followed by two chemotherapy treatments. She was supposed to have at least two more, but her insurance company informed her that it was not required by law to pay for additional treatments. It did, however, offer her a return flight to the Philippines. The loss of the ability to work is one of the worst problems faced by the 102,000 labor migrants currently in Israel legally. Next month the Knesset is to hold a series of deliberations on the demand by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) to end these workers' complete dependence on private insurance companies and transfer their health care to the health maintenance organizations.
News in Brief
Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
A field test of a system that aims to prevent aerial terror attacks by having incoming civilian aircraft send an electronic "all-clear" signal has been postponed until at least March, because Elbit, the manufacturer, is experiencing problems completing the system, Haaretz has learned. The test was supposed to have begun this month, primarily on El Al planes. Under the system, pilots would have to send a personalized all-clear signal before entering Israeli airspace. Should the plane be taken over by terrorists, this signal would not be sent, enabling the air force to take preventive action. (Zohar Blumenkrantz) The workers of the Be'er Sheva branch of the National Insurance Institute have refused to receive members of the public for the past two weeks, as part of their demand that they be moved to new quarters. According to NII staff, the problem goes back six years, when, after the...
News in Brief
Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
Israel Defense Forces officers revealed information during the Second Lebanon War that the military censor had not cleared for publication, the censor told the Winograd Committee, which investigated the war. Colonel Sima Vaknin said that during television interviews, officers sometimes let slip information that she would have censored for reasons of national security. Vaknin testified in November 2006, but her testimony was released only yesterday. She also told the panel that over the years, the number of media outlets has surged while the censor's staff has been halved, making her office's work "impossible." (Yuval Azoulay) Two men convicted of the 1992 assassination of four Iranian opposition figures in a Berlin restaurant have been released early from prison, officials said yesterday. The release of one of the men, Kazem Darabi, an Iranian, had been previously tied to information on missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad.
Israeli forces kidnap one from Al Thahriya
Nisreen Qumsieh, International Middle East Media Center 12/10/2007
Israeli military forces kidnapped an officer of the Palestinian security forces from Al Thahriya town in the Hebron district, in the early hours of Monday morning. According to security sources, Ra'ed Al Tal, 32, was kidnapped when Israeli military forces stormed his home in the town center. The army also invaded several other homes in the area. Elsewhere, Israeli troops invaded Halhoul town in Hebron. Homes were searched but no abductions were reported.
A booby-trapped police car blows up in Gaza city
Rami Almeghari&Agencies, International Middle East Media Center 12/10/2007
The Interior ministry of the Hamas-dominated government in Gaza said a booby-trapped police car has exploded in western Gaza city. The ministry's spokesperson, Ehab al-Ghussain, stated Monday "unknown assailants detonated a police vehicle early on Monday down, to the west of Gaza city". Al-Ghussain vowed to hunt down perpetrators and bringing them to justice, saying that the police forces work all night and all day to preserve security and prevent recurrence of internal unrest. He also accused certain groups which he said were 'capable of making a decision' of destabilizing the Gaza Strip by targeting the police forces. Over the past few weeks, a number of police vehicles have been blown up in Gaza City. In November, the Hamas-run police forces dispersed a rally of the routed Fatah party, marking the third anniversary of the death of late iconic Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.
Two Palestinian military groups launch projectiles at Israeli targets
Ma'an News Agency 12/10/2007
Gaza – The Al-Aqsa Brigades, the military wing of Fatah, said they launched two homemade projectiles at the Israeli town of Sderot, bordering the Gaza Strip, on Sunday evening. They said in a statement that the shelling was part of a campaign they are calling "Autumn in Gaza," in response to ongoing Israeli atrocities committed against the Palestinian people. Israeli sources said that a homemade projectile landed in a factory in Sderot, causing no injuries. Separately, the An-Nasser Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for launching a homemade projectile at an Israeli military post called "Tal Shihan" also on Sunday evening.
Fatah members detained in Gaza Strip in alleged car torching
Ma'an News Agency 12/10/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – The Palestinian police of the de facto government in the Gaza Strip claim to have arrested a group of people, said to be affiliated with Fatah, who are accused of setting fire to two vehicles one week ago in Khan Younis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip. The group allegedly burned a police car and a car owned by a member of Hamas.
6 years later: Life sentence for Palestinian who murdered Israeli
Efrat Weiss, YNetNews 12/10/2007
Jihad Najar convicted of murdering Yair Har Sinai from Hebron region six years ago. Judges: 'The time elapsed"¦ does not justify a lesser punishment' - The IDF Military Court in Judea handed down on Sunday a life sentence to Jihad Najar, who was convicted of the murder of Yair Har Sinai six years ago. Har Sinai, 51 at the time of the murder, was a shepherd from the Susia settlement in the Hebron Hills. According to the indictment from 2002, Najar, who meticulously planned the murder, approached Har Sinai feigning interest in buying sheep and stabbed him to death. Najar's partner, Muhammad Dur, then shot Har Sinai to confirm his death. Dur was killed by IDF fire in an arrest attempt in 2003. The prosecution claimed in court that the nature of the crime, the nationalist motive, and the barbaric manner in which the accused stabbed the deceased necessitate a life sentence.
Palestine Today 121007
Ghassan Bannoura - Audio Dept, International Middle East Media Center 12/10/2007
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file || 3 m 0s || 2. 75 MB Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Centre, www. imemc. org, for Monday, December 10th, 2007. The Israeli army attacks West Bank areas, and clashes in Gaza with Palestinian resistance factions, these stories, and more, coming up, stay tuned. The News Cast Israeli military invaded the northern West Bank cities of Nablus and Jenin early Monday morning. Invading troops stormed Palestinian homes in both cities and left shortly after. No kidnappings were reported. Palestinian sources also reported that military checkpoints were set up at the eastern entrance of Fahma village and at the northern entrance of Al Zababda village, Located near Jenin. Soldiers forcibly removed civilians from their vehicles in order to check identity cards.
Mother of MIA Goldwasser: State leaders have broken our trust
Jack Khoury, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
Israel's leaders have broken the nation's faith in the obligation of the state to protect the men who serve it, the mother of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Ehud Goldwasser said on Sunday. The leaders have "delivered a blow to the heart of the nation," Miki Goldwasser wrote in a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Knesset Speaker Dahlia Itzik. In her letter, Goldwasser wrote that the Israeli public - rather than its leaders - has become the support system for families whose sons were abducted while serving in the Israel Defense Forces. Goldwasser is planning to read the letter on Monday at a candle-lighting ceremony in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square in honor of Hannukah and in solidarity with the missing soldiers.
U.K. pledges $500M in aid to PA if peace process successful
Reuters, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
Britain on Monday said it will give the Palestinian Authority $500 million in aid, if peace moves prove successful. "We are willing to pledge an amount up to 243 million pounds, around $500 million, over the next three years on the basis of progress we wish to see coming out of the Annapolis conference," British Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander said. Alexander spoke to reporters after meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank and Israeli officials in Jerusalem. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad will ask donor states at a conference in Paris on December 17 to pledge $5. 5 billion over three years in budgetary and development aid as part of the building process of the future Palestinian state under negotiation between Israel and the Palestinians.
PA hopes for $5.6b from donors
The Associated Press, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said yesterday he hopes a donors conference next week will yield $5. 6 billion to stoke the economy and lay the basis for an independent state by 2011. Fayyad briefed European Union foreign ministers on his plan for economic renewal and good governance following last month's Annapolis conference. "We Palestinians are doing what we have to do in order to help ourselves: have strong, competent institutions that put forward the nucleus of a state we are seeking to have," Fayyad said at a joint news conference with EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner. The Palestinian government has drafted a plan to fund development and reform, institution and capacity building for a three-year period - 2008 through 2011. It will present the plan to an international donors conference in Paris next Monday.
EU to assist 40,000 needy Palestinian families
Nisreen Qumsieh, International Middle East Media Center 12/10/2007
The European Union distributed 41 million Shekels (7. 4 million Euro) as part of the sixth installment of aid for Families in extreme financial hardship. At least 40,000 of the neediest families will receive financial assistance of 1,000 NIS each, a raise of 15%. The beneficiaries will include families which suffer extreme financial hardship, those dependent on Women and those which look after elderly people or have family members with special needs. Since June 2006, the EU-led temporary mechanism distributed 2. 3 Billion NIS in financial aid from its social allocations to Palestinian families.
Turkey is committed to Palestinian industrial project.
Brian Kenny Staff, International Middle East Media Center 12/10/2007
The General Turkish council to Jerusalem Orogan Ozur, stated on Monday that preparations are well underway to start the implementation of an agreement signed in mid-November in Ankara between Israel, Palestine and Turkey The agreement which was signed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli president Shimon Paress and Turkish President Rajab Ordugon relates to the construction of an industrial zone in the Tarqumiya area, in the northern part of the West Bank. The Turkish official said attention now turns to the Paris economic conference where it is hoped that funding for the industrial zone will be forthcoming. The zone itself will be located on the green line which separates Israel and the West bank. Ozur, who served as a Turkish ambassador to both Jordan and the UAE, added that Turkish business people have shown a willingness to invest in such a zone.
Spokesperson of President Abbas warns of Israeli settlements expansion
Rami Almeghari&Agencies, International Middle East Media Center 12/10/2007
Spokesperson of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rodaina, warned on Monday of the recent Israeli settlements expansion on the occupied Palestinian lands in the West Bank. Abu Rodaina told reporters that the Palestinian Authority is opposed to settlements expansion and confiscation of lands, the Israeli authorities have been undertaking on occupied Palestinian lands. Abu Rodaina maintained that such actions, particularly in Jerusalem, would pose a genuine threat to renewed peace talks with Israel on final status issues. " The real test for Israel lies in an immediate cessation of settlement activities and that Israel should resort to the land for peace formula, which has been the basis for serious Israeli-Palestinian peace", Abu Rodaina believed. The Palestinian official warned of the Israeli government insistence on the settlement building policy, calling...
MIDEAST: Annapolis Outcome 'Proves Arab Failure'
Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani, Inter Press Service 12/10/2007
CAIRO, Dec 10(IPS) - In the wake of last month's Annapolis conference, some quarters of Arab officialdom express optimism that the talks might yet lead to a settlement of the perennial Israel-Palestine conflict. Many independent analysts, however, saw the event as little more than an exercise in submission. "Annapolis was proof of total Arab failure," Gamal Zahran, political science professor at the Suez Canal University and independent parliamentarian, told IPS. "It confirmed the ability of the Zionist U.S. administration to force its will on Arab capitals." The conference was initially proposed in July by U.S. President George W. Bush with the ostensible aim of restarting "serious negotiations towards the creation of a Palestinian state." Held in the U.S. coastal city of Annapolis, Maryland, on Nov. 27, the event brought together representatives from Israel, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) and 16 Arab nations.
Support for Mideast peace goes beyond Annapolis Conference
United States Department of State, ReliefWeb 12/7/2007
Renewed Israeli-Palestinian talks take center stage in USINFO Webchat By David McKee by USINFO Staff Writer Washington -- Expect continued intensive diplomacy from Washington as Palestinian and Israeli leaders build on the success of the U.S. -sponsored Annapolis Conference, says a top U.S. diplomat. "There are a lot of historical reasons to be skeptical, but we see this as an unprecedented moment of hope and opportunity for Israelis and Palestinians," Thomas Goldberger, director of the State Department's Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs, said in a December 6 USINFO webchat. At the November 27 conference held at the U.S. Naval Academy, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced they would restart talks on December 12, with the goal of a peace treaty by the end of 2008 that would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, living together with Israel in peace and security.
Israeli PM vows to make historic breakthrough with Palestinians
Xinhua News Agency, ReliefWeb 12/10/2007
JERUSALEM, Dec 10, 2007 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged on Monday that he would take advantage of the opportunity the Annapolis summit had created to reach a historic breakthrough with the Palestinians. Addressing a business conference in Tel Aviv, Olmert admitted that the opportunity to make peace with the Palestinians had many uncertain components, risks and dangers. "They (the Palestinian leadership) still do not have the firm infrastructure of a country, with all the accompanying institutions and law enforcement authorities needed for its establishment," said Olmert. "However, there is a leadership which declares its desire to make peace with us," he said, adding that he would like to take advantage of the opportunity to conduct serious and continuous negotiations toward a historic breakthrough of a new political reality.
France: Man threatens suicide unless former IDF chief leaves conference
Roee Nahmias, YNetNews 12/10/2007
Parisian conference on Israeli-Palestinian conflict disrupted by unidentified man who announced he would jump off conference building's roof unless participant and former Israeli army chief Moshe Ya'alon left premises - An unidentified man threatened to jump off the roof of a French law firm hosting an international conference on the Mideast conflict if former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon, a special guest at the conference, did not vacate the premises immediately. Unconfirmed reports said the man was a Palestinian and further demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners in addition to Ya'alon's departure. The conference, organized in Paris by the Israel-France Organization under the banner of 'new patterns of conflict resolution,' drew the participation of several prominent Israeli delegates, including Ya'alon, Maj.
Bargaining chips in Arad case released from prison
Roi Mendel, YNetNews 12/10/2007
Lebanese, Iranian considered possible 'bargaining chips' for information on whereabouts of missing navigator Ron Arad released from German prison. Two had been serving sentences for murder of Iranian dissidents. Chen Arad: 'Bargaining chips come and go, only Ron doesn't return' - Two men who were considered "bargaining chips" in a possible deal to obtain information regarding the fate of kidnapped Israeli Air Force navigator Ron Arad were released on Monday from a German prison where they had been serving out sentences after being convicted of murder, German officials confirmed. The early release of Kazem Darabi, an Iranian , and Abbas Rhayel, a Lebanese , was authorized despite opposition from within Germany and abroad. Rhayel was freed and deported from the country on Friday, said Frank Wallenta, a spokesman for federal prosecutors in Karlsruh.
Germany frees Iranian whose release was tied to info on Ron Arad
The Associated Press, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
Two men convicted of the 1992 assassination of four Iranian opposition figures in a Berlin restaurant have been released early from prison, officials said Monday, including an Iranian man whose release had been previously tied to information on missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad. The release of Kazem Darabi, an Iranian, and Abbas Rhayel, a Lebanese, went ahead despite Israel's protests. Darabi was part of a deal brokered between Israel and Hezbollah in 2004. In the deal, 400 Palestinians were released, as well as other prisoners, including Mustafa Dirani and Sheikh Obeid, in exchange for the bodies of three Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed at Har Dov in 2000 and Elhanan Tannenbaum. The deal included another stage, in which Germany offered to release Darabi if Hezbollah offered information on Arad.
Sarkozy hosts Netanyahu, backs new UN sanctions on Iran
Barak Ravid, Ha'aretz 12/11/2007
French President Nicolas Sarkozy hosted opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu in Paris on Monday, and said he would support further United Nations sanctions against Iran's nuclear program. "We must continue to pressure Iran on the nuclear issue, including a new UN Security Council resolution on sanctions," said Sarkozy. The French president told Netanyahu he intends to pay his first official visit as president to Israel in May 2008, in order to participate in Israel's 60th Independence Day celebrations. Officials said the talks, which were conducted at length and described as very friendly, focused in large part on the Iranian issue. "There is no opposition and coalition in Israel when it comes to the Iranian nuclear issue, and we are united on our national intelligence assessment on the issue as well," Netanyahu told Sarkozy.
Top U.S. military official to visit Israel for first time in 10 years
Haaretz Service, Ha'aretz 12/9/2007
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States Armed Forces, Admiral Michael Mullen is set to arrive in Israel on Sunday as the first U.S. military official of this rank to visit the country in a decade. Mullen will meet with Israel Defense Forces Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. He will visit IDF military headquarters in Tel Aviv and participate in a military panel on intelligence and strategic issues and the challenges facing the IDF. Mullen will also be informed of the development of the IDF's infrastructure based on a recently-implemented multi-year plan. A statement issued by the IDF called Mullen's visit "an indication of the strategic cooperation and excellent working relations between the two countries [the U.
Clyde Prestowitz: Israel should join the EU
Rika Lichtman, Globes Online 12/10/2007
The Economic Strategy Institute president feels that Israel would be ill-advised to rely on the US. Clyde Prestowitz, the former adviser to the Department of Commerce in the Reagan Administration and currently president of the Economic Strategy Institute, told the "Globes" 2007 Israel Business Conference yesterday that Israel would be ill-advised to rely on the US, given the impending recession and the ongoing weakness of the dollar. Speaking at a session entitled "Breaking Boundaries: Chocolate, Coffee, and the Moon", Prestowitz said, "Israel would do well to apply for membership of the EU." Also taking part in the session were Dr. Dennis Hope, President of the Galactic Government, and Dr. Henrique Meirelles, Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil, who also predicted a further weakening in the dollar's global status.
Hamas builds separate courts in Gaza
Amira Hass, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
While all eyes were turned to the meeting at Annapolis late last month, Hamas' government in the Gaza Strip tightened its grip on three important civilian institutions: the court system, the municipality and the Central Palestinian Bureau of Statistics. In taking over these branches of governance, Hamas deepened the institutional rift between its dominion and the Fatah-led West Bank. The fact that these institutions are now under Hamas' auspices add to the Strip's character as a separate entity. The takeover of the civil courthouse occurred on November 26. Two days later, on November 28, Hamas forces took over the statistics bureaus and shut them down. The next day, the municipality received a new director general, who put in place other moves aimed at consolidating Hamas' hold on the city. The takeover on the bureau statistics came after the office refused Hamas' demand to oversee a general census which is currently being conducted.
PFLP: The movement is committed to its goals
Rashed Hilal & Agencies, International Middle East Media Center 12/10/2007
The Popular front for the liberation of Palestine issued a statement stating that its main goal since the deterioration of the political and economic situation in Palestine is to unite the various Palestinian factions and convince Fatah and Hamas to work together. The statement was issued at a ceremony celebrating the 40th anniversary of the movement's foundation. The statement, issued by the political department of the PFLP, encouraged all Palestinian factions to use democratic and peaceful means to solve internal issues and not to give those who want to create internal conflict in Palestinian society the chance. The PFLP also issued a warning about the Israeli conditions for peace, considering them as detrimental to Palestinian national rights. The leftist group regarded the Annapolis peace conference which took place last month in Maryland USA, as an attempt to destroy...
Caught between PA and Israel, Palestinian resistance groups face challenges
Ma'an News Agency 12/10/2007
Gaza – Ma'an – Armed Palestinian resistance groups are facing serious challenges from both Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) after the Annapolis peace conference last month, political analysts say. Resistance groups are currently caught between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is intent on implementing the US-backed Road Map peace plan, which requires the dismantling of armed resistance groups, and the Israeli military, which appears poised to launch a major military operation in the Gaza Strip. A panel discussion entitled "Resistance after Annapolis" organized by a Palestinian newspaper addressed these issues this week. Politicians said in a panel organized by Palestine newspaper entitled "Resistance after Annapolis" that a major Israeli incursion in Gaza Strip has become imminent because the Israeli leaders endeavor to break the will of the Palestinian resistance.
Palestinian High Judicial Council stops work in Gaza Strip
Ma'an News Agency 12/10/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The Palestinian Authority's highest judicial entity suspended work in the Gaza Strip's courts on Monday, "until Hamas' illegal control over courts in Gaza Strip is over." The West Bank-based Palestinian High Judicial Council said the decision was made after Hamas-affiliated forces attacked the judicial compound in Gaza City on November 26th. High Judicial Council Office Director Salih Jaffal said the council has asked banks and insurance companies not to implement any decisions made by the Gaza Strip's courts after November 26th. He said the High Judicial Council must be consulted before implementing any decision. Gaza's courts were paralyzed after Hamas took over the small coastal territory in June. In July the Hamas government began to set up its own courts.
PLO political chief calls for national unity through reactivation of PLO
Ma'an News Agency 12/10/2007
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The Tunis-based head of the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) Political Department, Farouk Al-Qaddoumi, called for the restoration of Palestinian unity through reactivation of the PLO on Monday. Speaking to the Emerati newspaper Al-Khalij (The Gulf), Al-Qaddoumi said resolving the division in Palestinian society that has existed since Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip in June would require putting pressure on both Hamas and Fatah. Al-Qaddoumi said that he has met in recent days with the leaders of several Palestinian factions, and that he expects the leaders of these groups to announce a new initiative for Palestinian unity based on restoration of the PLO in the coming days. He did not specify which factions were involved in the meetings. Al-Qaddoumi called for both factions to return to the "Cairo Agreement" that established the Palestinian...
Israeli Press Council protests new journalism legislation
Merav Crystal, YNetNews 12/10/2007
Press Council to file revisions to interior minister's journalism bill, rebut section allowing shutdown of newspapers by courts. 'Bill may hand fatal blow to freedom of the press in Israel,' says council - The Israeli Press Council, headed by former Justice Dalia Dorner, announced Sunday it would be filing a formal rebuttal to Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit's new journalism bill. The council's objections are mainly directed at section 7 of the bill, which would allow district courts to either halt or completely stall a newspaper's publication, should it prove to have compromised Israel's security or national welfare. The duration and restrictions put on newspapers cited under the bill would be at the court's discretion alone, as the publishers would have no right to appeal the court's decision. In the absence of a constitutionally defined freedom of speech...
'We didn't understand we were at war'
Ynet, YNetNews 12/10/2007
In testimony before the Winograd Commission, chief military censor addresses the problems of the last war and the challenges of the new information age - Chief Military Censor Brigadier General Sima Vaknin appeared before the Winograd Commission, investigating the Second Lebanon War, Monday, to respond to their question regarding the Censor's performance during the war. "We crossed a red line," she said. "Throughout the years the Censor's manpower has been cut by 50%. When we had 70 people working, there were three or four written newspapers, and that was it. Today we have the internet, television, radio and local papers and only 28 people, without any reserve soldiers"¦ It's impossible to expect the censor to do more." "Can I say that the censor knows how to work with foreign correspondents? " she asked, and immediately answering her own question said "no.
Censor: IDF revealed classified data during Second Lebanon War
Yuval Azoulay, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
Israel Defense Forces officers provided the press with classified information during the Second Lebanon War, Chief Military Censor Colonel Sima Vaknin-Gil told the Winograd Committee investigating war. According to testimony released Monday, Vaknin-Gil told the committee that the information in question was not leaked to the media, but released in orderly briefings. One of the biggest problems, according to Vaknin-Gil, was that guidelines for talking to the media were unclear to some officers. "It was as if we were in another Gaza-type routine activity; military sources disclosed to the media the whereabouts of every single unit," she told the panel. "In a war, information equals power and vagueness is an advantage, which was, to a certain extent, lost here.
Hundreds of teachers protest Olmert's speech at TA Business Conference
Tani Goldstein, YNetNews 12/10/2007
Striking teachers try sealing off roads leading to venue, clash with police forces securing the event. Several interrupt PM's speech, calling him to 'declare a new light for Israeli education' - Hundreds of teachers took part Monday morning in a protest in front of Tel Aviv's David Intercontinental Hotel, where Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was expected to speak at the annual Israeli Business Conference. The teachers attempted to seal off the streets leading to the venue, subsequently clashing with police forces which were securing the event. Several protesting teachers later interrupted Olmert's address before the conference's participants. The teachers, who claim that Olmert is trampling their rights and humiliating education in Israel, were protesting in the plaza across from the hotel.
Olmert: Education situation is difficult
Ran Rimon, Globes Online 12/10/2007
The prime minister discusses economy, education, and diplomacy at the "Globes" Israel Business Conference. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the "Globes" 2007 Israel Business Conference today that the government had set an economic target of 6% growth. Outside the conference venue at the David Intercontinental Hotel, hundreds of striking teachers staged an angry protest, some of them blocking streets prior to Olmert's arrival. The prime minister was interviewed by "Globes" editor Haggai Golan, who asked him, "The Israel Business Conference has been discussing key issues, all of which are central to the economy, but the future of the educational system is one issue that is difficult to ignore. Why has it taken you 50 days? Olmert replied, "The current "Globes" conference is taking place against a backdrop of achievements.
On the street: Teachers protest injunctions In the hotel: Olmert, Bar-On refuse to budge
Or Kashti, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
Two long discussions on education were held yesterday at the Israel Business Conference organized by the Globes newspaper in Tel Aviv: one took place in the conference room of the David Intercontinental Hotel, among the politicians and business people gathered there; the other was on the streets around the hotel, among a thousand or so striking secondary-school teachers who came to demonstrate against the government and the back-to-work orders it had the National Labor Court issue. The injunctions go into effect this Thursday. The connection between the two discussions was slight, which only underscored the great distance between the two worlds. The first demonstrators arrived at 9 A. M. at the plaza outside the hotel, dressed in the red and white colors that have accompanied their campaign since it began, exactly two months ago.
What does Labor need this for? And who cares?
Yossi Verter, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
Israeli politics is a minefield in which one must tread carefully so as to avoid an explosion, a veteran observer said yesterday. Ehud Barak may once have known how to handle real explosive charges, but the same caution is not evident in his political life. And the media's recent pounding of him is targeting his weakest points - "conduct" and "character." He could have avoided this attack had he proceeded differently. Until this incident things were going well. The party was calm, its convention had exempted him from another showdown on election eve and his only critic was Amir Peretz, who had lost to him, so nobody took the criticism seriously. Yesterday, after the dust from dismissing his strategic adviser Eldad Yaniv seemed to be settling, Eitan Cabel, Labor's secretary-general and Barak's loyal supporter, joined the attack.
Cabel: Barak's actions cowardly
Attila Somfalvi, YNetNews 12/10/2007
Labor's Secretary-General slams Ehud Barak's decision to dismiss head of Labor's headquarters, calls chair's behavior paranoid. 'I used to defended Barak's actions but enough is enough,' he says - Labor Party Secretary-General Eitan Cabel on Monday slammed Labor Chairman Ehud Barak's decision to dismiss Eldad Yaniv, head of Labor's Headquarters. "Barak's action was cowardly"¦ I'm ashamed of it," said Cabel. Barak's decision to fire the senior staffer, who was considered his confidant, sparked controversy within the party, prompting several prominent figures to against their chairman. Sources close to Cabel told Ynet he feels Barak is clandestinely trying to push him out of the party as well, cutting back on his responsibilities as Labor Secretary-General through changes in the party's constitution.
Israeli anti-Arab racism 'rises'
BBC Online 12/10/2007
An Israeli civil rights group has said racism against Arab citizens of Israel has risen sharply in the past year. In a report, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said expression of anti-Arab views had doubled, and racist incidents had increased by 26%. Christian or Muslim Arab citizens of Israel make up 20% of the population. But the civil rights quoted polls suggesting half of Jewish Israelis do not believe Arab citizens of Israel should have equal rights. About the same amount said they wanted the government to encourage Arab emigration from Israel. In another poll, almost 75% of Jewish youths said Arabs were less intelligent and less clean than Jews. 'Anti-Arab policies' A prominent Israeli Arab politician, Mohammed Barakeh, said the poll results were the natural outcome of what he called the anti-Arab policies of successive Israeli governments.
State argues against fortifying Sderot residences
Aviram Zino, YNetNews 12/10/2007
State rejects petition filed by Sderot residents to High Court demanding it fund fortification of over 800 homes in bombarded town - The government responded on Monday to a High Court petition filed by Sderot residents demanding the State provide them with protection against the daily rocket and mortar barrages from Gaza saying that the decision has broad implications. The residents claimed that it is up to the State to protect their homes from the daily Qassam rocket attacks launched by Palestinian terror groups. But the State claims that current laws do not obligate the fortification of Sderot houses. Town residents claimed that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had, in the past, personally promised to defend their homes. But the government never came through on its word and residents were forced to pay for the expensive construction out of their own pockets.
Ex-media mogul jailed for fraud
Al Jazeera 12/10/2007
Conrad Black maintains his innocence and has asked for a new trial [AFP] Former media mogul Conrad Black has been sentenced to about six and a half in prison for fraud and obstruction of justice. Amy St Eve, the judge, told the 63-year-old former newspaper owner on Monday that he had abused the trust of shareholders and engaged in sopisticated schemes. She also said that Black had not "accepted" his guilt. The Canadian-born former owner of London-based Daily Telegraph, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Jerusalem Post, was convicted by a jury in July. As well as the jail sentence, Black was fined $125,000. Prosecutors had wanted him sent to a federal prison for as long as 24 years. Along with two other Canadian executives and a Chicago lawyer, Black was found guilty of misappropriating $6m after a sell-off of newspapers owned by his company Hollinger International Inc and related deals.
Two Palestinians survive sinking ship near Turkey
Ma'an News Agency 12/10/2007
Jerusalem – Ma'an – Two Palestinians survived after a ship carrying more than 60 undocumented migrants sank in the Aegean off the coast of Turkey, near the city of Izmir on Monday. Media reports said that 31 people were confirmed dead in the accident so far. Six survived.
Eli Hurvitz: Our poor education is more dangerous than Hizbullah and Hamas
Ran Rimon, Globes Online 12/10/2007
Teva chairman: The Jewish state suffers from ignorance and thuggery. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA ; TASE: TEVA ) chairman Eli Hurvitz voiced scathing criticism of Israel's educational system during his address to the "Globes" 2007 Israel Business Conference yesterday. "In recent years, every time there was a budgetary shortfall, there was a mutual agreement, we won't pay and you can cut the number of tuition hours. It wasn't long before standards started falling as well. Today, the Jewish state suffers from a combination of ignorance and thuggery. We have bad education, which is becoming more dangerous than Hamas and Hizbullah," he said. "The poorest groups in Israel get the worst education and they do not participate in the building of the Israeli economy," Hurvitz continued.
Industrialists Try to Launch Israeli-Palestinian Business Forum
Akiva Eldar, MIFTAH 12/10/2007
A group of Israeli and Palestinian industrialists have established the Palestine International Business Forum, in order to promote projects in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The group's board of directors is set to hold its first meeting on Wednesday, in Bethlehem. Israeli members include businessmen Benny Gaon, Dov Lautman, Jacob Perry and Yaakov Gelbard, as well as Shraga Brosh and Amiram Shor of the Manufacturers Association of Israel. At the meeting, a new study on Palestinian-Israeli economic relations is to be released. Gaon Agro Industries will present planned joint agroindustrial projects, including purifying and recycling well-water, a 300-dunam (75-acre) pomegranate plantation and a fish-breeding project. The group is also planning to establish a research and study center in Deir Hijleh, in the Jordan Valley.
IMF supports Palestinian economic reform plan for 2008-2010
Associated Press, YNetNews 12/10/2007
International Monetary Fund says PA proposal 'ambitious but achievable' but first Palestinians must raise $5. 6 billion in foreign donations - The International Monetary Fund has come out in support of a Palestinian plan for economic reform and recovery that would require about $5. 6 billion in foreign aid over three years. The Palestinian proposal is ''ambitious, but also achievable,'' the IMF wrote in a report obtained ahead of next week's meeting of donor countries in Paris where the Palestinians will formally request the money. The IMF's support, including praise for the Palestinian government's ''prudent fiscal policy,'' could go a long way toward persuading donors to pledge more money. The aid request-unprecedented at nearly twice the annual level - also comes at a time of renewed hopes for Mideast peace, after seven years of fighting.
IMF urges Israel to further reduce debt
Globes'' correspondent and Zeev Klein, Globes Online 12/10/2007
The IMF Article IV Consultation predicts continued economic growth, but at a slower rate. The IMF submitted its preliminary 2007 Article IV Consultation report to the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Israel today. The IMF notes that with the return of good times, pressure is growing to divide up and consume the fruits of the hard-won prosperity, but cautions that more debt reduction is necessary to safeguard the government's ability to help people in difficult times because Israel is still vulnerable to economic shocks. The IMF says, "The economy is performing exceptionally well, which calls for the continuation of the strong economic policies. Sound policies have played a major role but so has unprecedented global growth. With the return of good times, the pressures to divide up and consume the fruits of the hard-won prosperity are growing.
National debt still monkey on Israel's back, warns IMF
TheMarker correspondent and staff, By Moti Bassok, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
The IMF recommends that Israel lower its debt to 60 percent of GDP by the year 2015, from its present level of 82 percent, which is high relative to developed nations. Assessing Bank of Israel policy, the IMF wrote, "Judging by the stability of inflation expectations, the conduct of monetary policy has been exemplary." Israel's central bank has its work cut out for it too, though, in part because of the high pass-through of the shekel-dollar exchange rate to domestic prices. That in turn is because Israelis still refuse to eschew "dollarization" - doing business in dollars. Israel's central bank is headed by Stanley Fischer, who used to be the IMF's first deputy managing director, from September 1994 to August 2001. The report was written by a team of IMF economists who visited Israel over the last two weeks and met with leaders from the Finance Ministry, the Bank of Israel and business.
Defense Min.: Israel now world's fourth largest weapons exporter
Yossi Melman, Ha'aretz 12/10/2007
Israel has passed Britain to become the world's fourth largest exporter of weapons, Defense Ministry Director-General Pinchas Bucharis said on Sunday. Israel exported a total $4 billion in defense exports in 2007, Bucharis said. The United States, Russia and France lead the world's list of exporters. The Defense Ministry held a special session on Sunday to present to arms dealers and security export companies details of a new law set to go into effect at the end of the month regarding the supervision of defense exports. The new supervision law takes into account considerations of national security, foreign policies and international agreements, Bucharis emphasized during the session. Defense exports supervisor Eli Pinko called the law revolutionary, adding that it would turn Israel's defense establishment from a recipient of services to world provider and regulator.
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