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URGENT ACTION: ATTENTION US CITIZENS
WHO HAVE BEEN DENIED ENTRY
The US State Department in Washington
DC and the US Consulate in East Jerusalem
have been following up on the current situation
of US citizens denied entry in recent years. This is
an excellent opportunity for us to alert US government
representatives of the ongoing harm caused by Israel's
continued practice of entry denial on an arbitrary
and unlawful basis.
UN officials warn of malnutrition
threat as Gaza border crossings continue
Every border crossing into the Gaza Strip
from Israel remains closed, except for the
import of fuel supplies, United Nations officials
said today, warning that Palestinians face the
rising threat of malnutrition if the current
lockdown continues.
Snow further complicates
relief supplies to Gaza
Vulnerable refugees in the Gaza Strip could soon be
without an important source of protein, as canned
meat has not been imported into the enclave in
recent days and supplies from the UN agency for
Palestine refugees, UNRWA, are about to run out,
a UN official who requested anonymity said on 30
January. "Canned meat is a major part of our food
parcels, and is the only source of protein in the
UNRWA food package," Christopher Gunness,
an UNWRA spokesman told IRIN.
Israel threatens further
supply cuts to Gaza
Israeli leaders, incensed that Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak had not resurrected the felled
border wall and stopped the Gazans from entering,
began suggesting that they would relinquish control
of the strip altogether, leaving Egypt responsibile for
the 1.5 million inhabitants of Gaza. "We need to
understand that when Gaza is open to the other side,
we lose responsibility for it," said Israel's deputy defense
minister Matan Vilnai. "So we want to disconnect from it."
Al Mezan Center: Israel continues its
violations, Security Council fails to condemn
The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights issued a
press release on Wednesday commenting on the
failure of the Security Council in issuing a
statement condemning the Israeli violations
and siege over the Gaza Strip.
Security Council loses
credibility over Iran, Israel
The 15-member UN Security Council (UNSC)
is set to lose its credibility once again as it
prepares to impose a third set of sanctions on
Iran while failing to pass any strictures on Israel
for its continued heavy-handed repression of
Palestinians in Gaza. "Many ask whether the
UNSC still has any credibility left," says
Mouin Rabbani, contributing editor to the
Washington-based Middle East Report.
Israeli occupation killed 108
Palestinians, three Israelis, UN says
The military conflict between Israel and the
Hamas-led Gaza Strip resistance has killed
108 Palestinians and three Israelis in the
past month, the United Nations said
Wednesday in summing up the explosive
situation that has exacerbated a humanitarian
crisis in Gaza.
One Injured and four kidnapped during
Israeli army attack on Jenin
The Israeli army invaded the northern West
Bank city of Jenin on Wednesday at dawn,
during the attack troops injured one civilian
and kidnapped another four.
Palestinian woman dies in Gaza due to
the Israeli siege imposed on the region
Palestinian medical sources reported on
Wednesday that a Palestinian older woman
died late Tuesday night because the Israeli
army would not allow her to leave the Gaza
Strip for medical care.
Two Palestinian patients die due to
the Israeli siege on Gaza
Palestinian medical sources reported that two
Palestinian patients from Gaza died on Thursday
due to the Israeli siege imposed on the
Palestinian coastal region.
Two members of Palestinian resistance
force killed in occupied Gaza
Two Palestinian resistance fighters were killed
and two others wounded on Wednesday in a gun battle
with an Israeli occupation forces in the town of Beit
Hanoun in northern Gaza Strip, said medics and
residents of the town.
The Israeli army attacks a Palestinian
village near Nablus and kidnaps four civilians
Palestinian sources reported that the Israeli army
attacked the village of Beit Dajan, located near the
northern West Bank city of Nablus, on Thursday
at dawn and kidnapped four civilians.
The army attack Jenin city and nearby
village, troops kidnaps 6 family members
of resistance men
The Israeli army invaded the northern
West Bank city of Jenin and nearby Al Yamon
village, during the attacks on Thursday morning,
troops kidnapped six family members of
Palestinian resistance fighters.
Resistance fighter killed during clashes
with the army in the southern part of the Gaza Strip
One Palestinian resistance fighter was killed
on Thursday morning during clashes that took
place between a group of resistance fighters
and Israeli troops near the borders between the
southern Gaza strip town of Rafah and Israel.
Israel bars a Gaza cancer patient from
entering Israel for Chemical treatment
The Israeli Security Services refused to grant
a permit to a Palestinian patient, suffering from
Intestines Cancer, to leave the Gaza Strip in order
to receive medical treatment in an Israeli medical center.
Settlers Rain Stones and Urine on
Palestinian Home and Street
This morning at around 10:30am, settlers from
Beit Hadassah Settlement in Hebron city rained
stones, bottles, urine and dirty water on their
Palestinian neighbours. The attack continued
sporadically for the next hour and a half.
Shopkeepers
on Old Shalalah St in the Bab Iz-Zawiyye neighbourhood
reported that a number of youths began throwing things,
and when the shopkeepers approached soldiers to report
this, they were told that the settlers were allowed to be in
the settlement and could do as they liked. A family whose
home overlooks the settlers schoolyard showed Human
Rights Workers (HRWs) their bathroom, which was filled
with stones and rocks. The family report that over the last
four days stones have been thrown constantly from the
schoolyard by boys as young as 5 or 6. Settlers frequently
use children to do their dirty work because of Israeli laws
preventing prosecution of minors. HRWs were able to
photograph and video the stone throwing.
The Palestinian prisoners strike
unmatched examples of human
patience and endurance
Friends of Humanity International released today
Wednesday a detailed report* about the condition
of the Palestinian prisoners inside the Israeli jails
in 2007. The report confirms that the imprisonment
of thousands of Palestinians is one in a series of
the dark episodes in the history of the Palestinian
people considering the consequent anguish
endured by the victims.
Photos of Israeli
War Crimes in Gaza
Jewish group begins new
construction in East Jerusalem
The Yemin Yehuda non-profit association has
begun building 200 housing units in the
Shimon Hatzaddik compound, in the heart
of East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarra neighborhood.
In the process, the organization intends to
demolish the homes of dozens of Palestinian
families who live there.
Hamas sets Rafah
border conditions
They set down these conditions on
Thursday on the second day of talks in
Cairo geared towards resolving the week-old
crisis on the Gaza-Egypt border as Egypt
continued its mediating role between Hamas and Fatah.
Islamic Jihad hails Abbas-Hamas
dialogue on Rafah terminal crossing
The Islamic Jihad group in Gaza hailed on
Wednesday the Fatah-Hamas dialogue in
Cairo on running the Rafah crossing terminal,
hoping it will lead to reconciliation between
the two rival parties.
Gaza deal elusive as Palestinian
rivals toughen stand
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and
Hamas hardened their positions on Wednesday
over ways to control the Egypt-Gaza border
as Cairo scrambled for a deal between the
rivals. After meeting President Hosni Mubarak,
Abbas reiterated his rejection of talks with
Hamas and said the Islamist group's breach of
the border last week amounted to an invasion.
Israel approves radio
for West Bank settlers
Text of report in English by Israeli newspaper
The Jerusalem Post website on 29 January.
A new, state-authorized radio station catering
to West Bank settlers could be established
somewhere in Judea or Samaria as early as
April unless a pending High Court petition
torpedoes the move.
SAVING THE COWS, WHILE KILLING THE HUMANS:
Israel to send thousands of vaccines
to Gaza after border breach
Israel will deliver thousands of vaccines
for cattle and avian-borne diseases to the
Gaza Strip because of fears the recent breach
of Gaza's border with Egypt will bring a wave
of sickness to the coastal area...
Another world is necessary
Under siege since 9 June 2007, the Palestinian
people of Gaza moved the world by breaking out
and materially reclaiming their stolen freedom of
movement, rights to travel to and from their country,
and right to resist the illegal status imposed on them
through occupation since 1967 and economic and
near-total physical blockade since the democratic
election of Hamas in the legislative election of
January 2006.
No light bulbs in Gaza - or
in the heads of politicians
Listen to the rhetoric surrounding U.S. policy in
the Middle East, and you'll hear a high-minded
message of respect for human freedom.
A look at reality, however, reveals that our
actions do not meet the standard set by
our ideals. For over a week now, Israel has
cut off Gaza's "infrastructural oxygen,"
referring to its tactic as economic pressure
rather than collective punishment that's
blocking water, electricity, food and
humanitarian aid from 1.5 million Gazans.
When Palestinans destroyed a portion of
the border wall with Egypt last Wednesday,
it was a reflection both of ongoing economic
hardship and their desire to lead normal lives -
many of them went straight to the market to
buy groceries, and then crossed back.
IHT: Light through the wall
Life in Rafah, Gaza's southern-most city, has
always been difficult. But the period since March
2006 has been the worst in my 25-year life. Israel
placed Gaza under a siege after Hamas won the
Palestinian elections and tightened the siege
after Palestinians captured an Israeli soldier near
Rafah in late June 2006. We have had little
electricity, fuel, money, food or medicine since.
The Gaza Wall Comes
Tumbling Down
The breaching of the Israeli-built wall dividing
the Gaza Strip from Egypt brought some critical
relief for the population of 1.5 million Palestinians
whom Israel had kept locked into a kind of prison
since January 2006. That lock-down was tightened
in June 2007, and by early last week it had created
a rising humanitarian crisis as Israel completely cut
off access into and out of a walled-off Gaza, and
halted crucial supplies of fuel, food, and already
scarce medicines and medical equipment.
By targeting the wall, rather than Egyptian border
guards, Hamas also kept the focus on the
infrastructure of occupation, rather than the
personnel. The opening of the wall, and the
crossing of the border by hundreds of thousands,
served not only to provide food and medicine; they
represented collective feats of popular defiance
and the reclaiming of human and social rights.
Public figures slam
Israel's siege of Gaza
Twelve public figures call on British government
to put pressure on Tel Aviv to end its 'collective
punishment' of Gazan population.
Anisa Abd el Fattah: Rafah
Crossing Equals Economic Boon
Allowing the Gazan and Egyptian economies
to get on their feet and to thrive is good, not
only for Egypt and Gaza, but also for the
entire region.
Neve Gordon: Experimenting
with Famine
The experiment in Gaza is not really
about the bombardment of Israeli citizens
or even about Israel's ongoing efforts to
undermine Hamas.
Dire scenarios demand
Gaza solution
The sense of elation Palestinians felt while
watching Gazans break down the wall and
flood into Egypt is being replaced by the
creeping realisation that Israel is now in a
better position to cut loose the already
isolated enclave.
Fallout from the
Gaza Earthquake
The Palestinians' dramatic breakout from
a sealed-off Gaza into Egypt, in order to
survive Israel's inhumane actions, has
profoundly changed the character of the
Middle East crisis, says Patrick Seale.
Palestinian Factionalism is
Speeding up its Trip to Nowhere
The anarchic situation in the Gaza Strip
marks a new low in terms of the performance of
Palestinian resistance organizations. From its
beginnings in the 1960s, the movement has been
depressingly vulnerable to petty internecine
disputes exacerbated by conflicting loyalties
to regional powers with little or no interest in
liberating Palestinian land - but plenty of
appetite for falsely aggrandizing their own
images at home and abroad. Reduced to
implements in the maladroit hands of cynical
regimes, many of the Palestinian factions have
been so badly diverted from their raison d'etre
that one is tempted to ask whether their
respective leaders even know where
Palestine is - or was.
IMC-Chicago: Hundreds Gather to Stand
with Gaza and Protest Israeli War Machine
Hundreds of protesters rallied tonight in front
of the Lakeshore Theatre on north Broadway
to picket a benefit for the Friends of the Israeli
Defense Force. The Chicago protest was
initiated by ISM-Chicago and endorsed by
the Palestine Solidarity Group, the West
Suburban Faith-based Peace Coalition,
Chicagoans Against Apartheid in Palestine,
the Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism,
the Siraj Center for Holy Land Studies, the Gay
Liberation Network, the International Socialist
Organization, Students for Justice in Palestine-
UIC, Students for a Democratic Society-UIC,
and ANSWER Chicago.
Egypt's Popular Committee for Supporting
the Intifada to hold a protest on Friday
The Popular Committee For Supporting the
Intifada, in Egypt, voiced a call to the Egyptians
to participate in a solidarity protest in Nasr
Egyptian city in support to the besieged residents
of the Gaza Strip.
Direct action from Birmingham to Gaza
Last week, the US celebrated Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. Day and the official end to segregation
and racial discrimination in this country. As we
celebrate certain historic advances, we mustn't
forget that these policies are far from over in this
country, and that as we struggle against one
injustice we are perpetuating another system
of discrimination and segregation on the other
side of the world in occupied Palestine. Anna
Baltzer reflects on Dr. King's legacy and the
Palestinian struggle.
Passports to progress
Israelis and Palestinians alike should join me in
taking dual citizenship - for we share one destiny.
Is Abbas Israel's lawyer?
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas
has vehemently rejected Hamas demands that
only Palestinian and Egyptian authorities be
allowed to run the Rafah border crossing.
"We will not accept any new conditions; they
(Hamas) have to go back to the old border-crossing
agreement. We are more interested in the
Palestinian people's interests than Hamas is.
If Hamas is really for them as well, let them
comply with this agreement."
Israeli army, politicians blamed for
failed invasion of Lebanon
JERUSALEM — An independent commission
looking into Israel's failed invasion of Lebanon
in 2006 castigated both the army and political
leaders, but it gave Prime Minster Ehud Olmert's
governing coalition breathing room as it continues
peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
Committee: Use of cluster bombs
does not conform to int'l law
Israel must consider whether it wants to
consider using cluster bombs in the future,
because its current manner of employing them
does not conform to international law.
The Winograd Committee made this recommendation
in the chapter of its report dealing with Israel's
conduct in the Second Lebanon War as it
relates to international law.
War Report Blames Israel Military
Winograd, a former judge, called the month-long
conflict a "great and grave fumble" that ended
without clear victory and that the army was unable
to prevent Hezbollah firing rockets into Israel.
Israelis fearful after military
failed to defeat Hizbullah
A study published by Israel's Haaretz daily on
Tuesday highlighted that Israelis felt less secure
following the summer 2006 war with Lebanon.
"What if we have no nuclear weapons and the
reactor in Dimona is nothing more than a
textile factory?" asked one participant in
a focus group in the Sharon.
W Bank Palestinian authorities
announces emergency after
bad weather
The health ministry under the interim
Palestinian government which rules only the
West bank announced on Wednesday emergency
measures in the West Bank and the Hamas-run
Gaza Strip after bad weather hit the territories
since Tuesday.
Iraq conflict has killed
a million, says survey
More than one million Iraqis have died as a
result of the conflict in their country since the
U.S.-led invasion in 2003, according to research
conducted by one of Britain's leading polling groups.
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