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Har Homa neighborhood slated for 'absentee' Palestinian land
The Housing Ministry is pushing forward with the construction of more than 1,000 residential units in East Jerusalem's Har Homa neighborhood on land held by "absentee" Palestinians from the Bethlehem area. The move is in violation of both an instruction from the attorney general to stop applying the absentee law in East Jerusalem and explicit promises to the U.S. not to apply that law in the capital's eastern quarters. The new neighborhood is planned for east of the already-constructed Har Homa, in close proximity to Beit Sahur and Bethlehem. If built, it would isolate Bethlehem completely from the Palestinian neighborhoods south of Jerusalem.
Israel's quiet war
Bedouin lands in south confiscated to make room for more Jewish communities – While Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas were wheeling and dealing at Annapolis, several Israeli government ministries and security agencies were deploying their combined resources in a massive operation aimed at Israel's southern Negev Desert . While the eyes of the world are on the West Bank and Gaza , Israel is in the middle of a campaign to complete the displacement of Palestinian Arabs who are also Israeli citizens. The indigenous Bedouin are the target, and their lands are required by the state in order to complete the implementation a master plan for the Negev. The plan relegates the Bedouin to ghetto enclaves while allocating huge swathes of territory for Jewish suburban development and agricultural communities.
Peace Now to protest at West Bank's largest outpost before Bush's visit
A statement issued by the Israeli group stressed that the Migron outpost, the largest unauthorized Jewish outpost in the West Bank, was constructed on privately owned Palestinian land and the government already declared its intention to remove it. The group also said that the removal of outposts was one of the commitments Israel undertook at Annapolis . In reality, claimed the group, the only changes to take place were the expansion of the outpost and millions of shekels from the state budget being invested in its infrastructure.
A hostile president – by Gideon Levy
A man is coming to Israel this week who has left a trail of killing, destruction and global hatred. Never has the U.S. been so despised as during Bush's seven years in office. He led the U.S., and the free world in its wake, into two brutal and completely futile wars of conquest, first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq. He sowed mass killing in these two wretched countries under the false pretext of a battle against global terror. Closer to home, it is worth remembering the damage Bush has caused to the Middle East. Never has there been a president who gave Israel such an automatic carte blanche and even encouraged it to take violent action, to deepen and entrench the occupation. This is not friendship with Israel. This is not concern for its future. A president who did not even try to pressure Israel to end the occupation is a president who is hostile to it, indifferent to its future and fate. A president who endorsed every abomination - from the expansion of settlements to the failure to honor commitments and signed agreements, including those with U.S. such as the passages agreement and the freeze on settlement construction - is not a president who seeks the best for Israel or aspires to peace.
Olmert, Abbas try to jumpstart talks
(Reuters) Israeli and Palestinian leaders plan to meet ahead of this week's visit by U.S. President George W. Bush to try to jumpstart peace talks that a right-wing minister said could break up Israel's coalition government. The chief negotiators -- Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qurie -- will meet on Monday to try to finalize an agreement setting out the structure for final-status talks, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are likely to meet on Tuesday, one day before Bush arrives for a three-day visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank , the officials said.
Rightist MK calls for dissolving PA, promoting Arab emigration
On the eve of Bush's visit to Israel, a hardline member of Israel's parliament is trying to drum up support for a new peace initiative - granting Jordanian passports to all Palestinians, dismantling the Palestinian Authority and abandoning any notions of an independent Palestinian state. The plan, drafted by lawmaker Benny Elon of the National Union Party and touted on billboards, Internet ads and YouTube, directly clashes with Bush's agenda for his coming visit - promoting a peace agreement that would see the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Woman, 14-year-old among six killed in 24 hours in Israeli assault on Gaza Strip
Three people including a woman and a fourteen-year-old boy were killed and eight others were injured when an Israeli artillery shell hit a house in Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Palestinian security sources said that the Israeli forces targeted a house belonging to the Hamdan family in the eastern part of Al-Bureij camp. The dead women was identified as Eyman Hamdan. Our correspondent in Gaza Strip reported that 29-year-old Ahmad Khalaf was killed in a separate shelling. Nails were found in his body. Earlier, Israeli troops killed a Palestinian teenager named Ziad Abu Rukba by shooting him in the chest, witnesses in Al-Bureij said. Israeli tanks entered the central Gaza Strip on Sunday morning. Witnesses said Israeli tanks bulldozed Palestinian farms.
Al-Quds Brigades claim to have stopped Israeli assault on Palestinian house
The military wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, claimed on Sunday that their fighters fired at an undercover Israeli force that was attempting to storm a house in Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. The Al-Quds Brigades said in a statement that their activists discovered 15 Israeli troops approaching Abu Khusa family. The activists opened fire at the Israeli troops forcing them to retreat, claiming that they hit a number of soldiers.
Israeli soldier moderately wounded in Gaza, 4 others lightly hurt
Doctors at Soroka said the soldier suffered from shrapnel wounds but was fully conscious. His treatment will be determined following a CT scan. Two other soldiers were lightly wounded in the same incident, and two more were hurt in a separate incident, and sustained light injuries as well. The soldiers were injured after Palestinians fired antitank missiles at forces operating near the refugee camp.
'Arab-Israelis' hold mass protest in Nazareth calling for end to Gaza siege
A mass demonstration was held in Nazareth, in northern Israel, on Saturday, to protest the ongoing Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip. At least 10,000 Arab-Israelis marched through the streets chanting and carrying signs. The protest brought together various Arab-Israeli factions and political parties in a united front to call for an end to Israeli aggression against the Palestinian population in the Occupied Territories . Arab-Israelis are Palestinians who remained in their homes in what is now Israel when the state of Israel was created in 1948. Arab-Israelis make up 20% of the Israeli population – most are connected via family ties to Palestinians who fled to refugee camps in the two Palestinian territories, the West Bank and Gaza .
Palestinian activists survive Israeli attack in northern Gaza Strip Sunday morning
Eyewitnesses told our reporter that the group was preparing to launch homemade projectiles at Israeli targets when the Israeli military fired a missile at them. No casualties have been reported.
Israeli fuel cutbacks force 8-hour power outages in Gaza
(AP) Palestinians in Gaza will be forced to live without electricity eight hours a day, beginning Sunday, because Israel has sharply reduced fuel supplies to the territory's only electric plant, the head of Gaza's energy authority said. Israel said the fuel cutback was meant to send a "stern message" to Gaza militants to stop rocket attacks on southern Israel . On Sunday, Kanan Obeid, chairman of Gaza's Hamas-run energy authority, said Gaza now has only 35 per cent of the power its 1.5 million residents need. Israel supplies all of Gaza's fuel and 60 per cent of the impoverished territory's electricity. "The Israeli policy is not against Hamas, it is against us, the ordinary people," said Hassan Akram, owner of a grocery in Gaza City . "We are the only losers. Now it's cold and there's no electricity."
Khudari urges release of Palestinian goods seized at Israeli ports
Head of the popular committee against the economic siege MP Jamal Al-Khudari said on Saturday that Palestinian goods worth millions of dollars have been held at Israeli ports for nearly eight months now without justified reasons. "These [Palestinian] commodities were held without legal basis in flagrant violation of international laws, conventions, and ethics, thus, inflicting heavy losses on the Palestinian businessmen", explained Khudari in a press statement he made in this regard and a copy of which was obtained by the PIC. He also explained that the Israeli occupation authorities were imposing fines and taxes against the Palestinian merchants for those piled stocks, thus doubling their losses without allowing them to benefit from it.
Egyptian security discovers five tunnels near Gaza Strip border
Egyptian security sources in the Sinai region said on Saturday evening that five cross-border tunnels used for smuggling were found between Gaza Strip and Egypt. The heavy rain eroded the soil and uncovered the tunnels, which appear to have been used several times for smuggling. Egyptian security has cordoned off the area and intends to destroy the tunnels.
Scared of the old man?
Minutes before Egyptian police officers opened the gates and let Hamas pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia back into the Gaza Strip, Amos Gilad's phone rang. On the other end was an acquaintance from Cairo. Major General (Res.) Gilad from the Defense Ministry has some good connections in the Egyptian capital. We are opening the gates, the Egyptian caller informed the stunned Gilad. One of the people who was there when the news arrived later said he felt like Cairo was showing contempt to Israel; that it was disregarding basic rules of conduct between states. The "Mubarak effect", that is, the inexplicable paralysis vis-à-vis the Middle East's elder statesman, worked its magic again. Haunted by fears of the man who recently dispatched his foreign minister to blast our own foreign minister, our leaders chose to say nothing.
White Bird – by Uri Avnery
Tzipi Livni, as her name indicates, is the white bird of Israeli politics. The last few days showed just how successful a Foreign Minister and how wise a diplomat Tzipi Livni really is. Livni's problem is common to all of Israel: the inability and unwillingness to see the point of view of the other side, especially if the other side is Arab. [see article above as an example] In the eyes of the Egyptians - and, indeed, of all Arabs - the Palestinian people are defending themselves against a brutal oppressor. The Palestinian martyrs restore the honor of the entire Arab nation. And nothing could be more foolish than the Israeli action against those returning from the Hajj last week. For the Egyptians, that was an altogether intolerable demand. If they had acceded to it, they would have looked to the whole Muslim world like collaborators who had turned over to the Jews pious Muslims returning from the holy Hajj. The end was foreseeable: the Egyptians allowed all the pilgrims to return through Rafah. The Israeli government had scored an own goal. [= shot themselves in the foot]
Olmert to further strike resistance in Gaza
"Israel will strike terror in every corner in the Gaza Strip," Olmert told a weekly cabinet meeting. The Israeli premier also instructed his defense minister, Ehud Barak, to step up attacks on what he termed 'those responsible for terror' in the coastal region. Such a declaration would likely double hardships of the Gaza's population, who have been under attack since Israel has declared the region 'a hostile entity' in September 2007.
We won't win in Gaza – by Prof. Gabi Sheffer
IDF hasn't won a war in 30 years; notion that Gaza reoccupation will lead to victory false – IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi declared recently that should the IDF enter the Gaza Strip in full force, in the framework of an Israeli military operation, he has no doubt that this time around the army and the entire State of Israel will be triumphant. Even if Israel is able to reoccupy the Strip without too many victims, which is disputed within and outside the army, and even if the IDF kills or detains Hamas and Jihad leaders, commanders and activists – we won't be able to eliminate the resistance to such occupation. And following such occupation we will again see the continuation of low-intensity warfare vis-à-vis the Palestinians not only in the Strip, but rather, also in the West Bank. Such move would also heighten tensions vis-à-vis Arab states and possibly their willingness to attack Israel.
Israeli forces occupy municipal council building in Azzun, east of Qalqilia
on Sunday morning. The Israeli soldiers abducted 20-year-old Tariq Swaidan. Swaidan remains in detention. The reasons for his detention are unknown. Eyewitnesses also said that the Israeli soldiers attacked a twenty-year-old Palestinian man named Izzat Arar from the village of Masha bruising him on several parts of his body. He was taken by ambulance to the At-Tawari hospital in Qalqilia. Palestinian medical sources said he suffered a nervous breakdown.
Nablus invasion: Worshipers shot by Israeli army on way to mosque
Israeli soldiers opened fire on Palestinians on their way to Friday prayer, seriously injuring Nablus resident Ahmad Mohammad Abu Hantash in the head. The incident happened at noon as worshipers were heading to Al Shuhada Mosque in the western part of Nablus. As worshipers were entering the mosque an Israeli armored vehicle opened fire hitting Mr. Abu Hantash in the back of his head with three rubber-coated metal bullets causing extensive damage to his brain and neck. Several witnesses say that the shooting was unprovoked and expressed their anger and frustration for the Israeli Army complete disregard to human life and the sanctity of holy places. One of the worshipers who was walking with Mr. Abu Hantash said "I was walking with Ahmad to the mosque and suddenly I heard a gunshot and saw Ahmad fall beside me, I was horrified to see his blood splashing all over the ground, and did not know why the army shot at us.
Hamas: PA security detains 35 Hamas members in West Bank
Among those arrested were two of the movement's leaders in Ramallah in the central West Bank, Sheikh Hussein Abu Kwaik and Sheikh Faraj Rummana. In Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, Hamas said the Palestinian security arrested a reporter for Al-Aqsa satellite TV, Muhammad Shteiwi, and a reporter for Al-Aqsa radio Tariq Shihab, as well as the director of public relations at Az-Zakat hospital in Tulkarem Farid as-Sayyid. . . .
Bethlehem intelligence chief: Hamas stepping up weapons trafficking in Bethlehem
The intelligence service has also confiscated large amounts of weapons from Hamas and detained numerous Hamas members in the city, said Muhammad Ghanayim. He said Hamas' relative strength in Bethlehem is equal to other West Bank cities. Ghanayim however said that while the quantity of weapons moving through the area has increased, the equipment seized by Palestinian authorities is traditional, suggesting that Hamas fighters have not gained access to advance weaponry. Ghanayim alleged that Hamas is attempting to rebuild its military strength in the West Bank in hopes of staging a coup.
Palestinians celebrate Orthodox Christmas
The city of Bethlehem marked the beginning of the celebration for the Orthodox Christmas on Sunday. In the early morning the Patriarch of the Assyrian Orthodox Church was the first religious figure to arrive in Bethlehem, he was then followed by the Patriarch of the Coptic Church. At midday, the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church, Theofilos III, arrived at Manger Square in Bethlehem city centre. The Greek Orthodox Church is the largest and oldest church in Palestine. Palestinian security officials informed IMEMC that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will attend the Greek Orthodox midnight mass service in the Church of the Nativity on Sunday night. Christmas is celebrated by Orthodox Christians throughout the world on the 7th of January in the Gregorian Calendar - 13 days after other Christians.
PA detains, hands over two Israelis who entered Bethlehem to fix car
PA police detained Sunday an IDF soldier who had entered the West Bank city of Bethlehem armed with his army-issue rifle and accompanied by a 17-year-old Israeli youth. They were later handed over to Israel.When questioned by Military Police, the soldier said he had entered the Palestinian-controlled city in order to get his car fixed. The incident comes roughly a week and a half after PA police detained three Israeli tourists near the Church of the Nativity. The IDF view such incidents with severity. It is illegal for Israelis to enter Palestinian Authority territory [peacefully, anyway]
Israeli human rights group: Israeli military courts automatically convict Palestinians
A report by the Yesh Din organization found that in 2006, more than 99.7% of those accused are found guilty, some 95% of the cases end with a plea bargain and the average hearing is just two minutes long. Yesh Din, which said that its inquiry was the first of its kind, found major failings in the court's due process: Hearings were held in Hebrew and the Arabic-speaking suspects often did not understand the charges brought against them, they were unable to present a full defense or have an effective counsel. "Most are detained in Israel and their attorneys are not able to meet them," said Michael Sfard, Yesh Din's legal counsel. In addition, minors were often tried as adults and detained at length before being charged. Sfard said the 0.29% acquittal rating in 2006 (23 out of 9,123) was most jarring.
Police fail to identify corpse of Hebron man after nine days
A corpse found in a landfill in the town of Nuba near the West Bank city of Hebron has still not been identified after nine days of investigation, police sources said. Hebron Police Chief Majid Hawari said no one has reported a missing person in the area. The police plan to take a DNA sample before burying the body.
Palestinian Health Ministry bans import of chickens from Israel over bird flu concerns
Health Minister Fathi Abu Mughli announced on Sunday that the PA will stop importing chickens from Israel after bird flu was discovered in Israel. He also said the ministry will buy stockpiles of medicines needed to prepare for a bird flu outbreak for 2008 without relying on external aid. He also said that the Health Ministry has offered support to Gaza Strip including medical services and repairs for medical facilities. Mughli accused Hamas of confiscating 23 truckloads of medical equipment from Gaza Strip storehouses.
Public Security Minister Dichter: Barghouti has blood on his hands, must stay in prison
Dichter denied reports that Ofer Dekel, a negotiator working on behalf of the prime minister on matters of missing and abducted Israelis, had met recently with Barghouti in jail. Barghouti, viewed as a potential successor to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, is serving five consecutive life terms for masterminding the killing of four Israelis and a Greek monk in West Bank attacks. But he is the most popular leader among Palestinians and is widely regarded as the only figure able to unify rival Palestinian factions.
Prisoners' dilemma – by Akiva Eldar
The phrase 'blood on their hands' makes Hisham Abdel-Razeq's blood boil. The former minister of prisoner affairs in the Palestinian Authority has spent more than a third of his life - he is 54 - in Israeli prisons. He was arrested for the first time at age 17 and three years later, in 1974, was jailed again after being wounded by an explosive device he was preparing, and which he wanted to detonate in Rishon Letzion. "When you use the expression 'blood on their hands', you only consider the victims on your side and not those on the other side," he said this week (in fluent Hebrew) in a phone conversation from his home in besieged Gaza. "You differentiate between blood and blood, between suffering and suffering, between pain and pain. It's a racist way of seeing things."
Palestine Chronicle: A son's spleen, a mother's lungs
Mohammed, a youth of 16 from Azzoun village near the West Bank city of Qalqilya, was just 8 days ago shot by the Israeli army during one of its regular invasions into Azzoun. His spleen was surgically removed. Mohammed's injury isn't the only tragedy in the family. For the last 7 months, his mother, Umm Shadi, has been attached 24 hours a day to life-supporting oxygen tanks, without which she would die. Her lung disease means that most of the family's paltry income goes towards acquiring oxygen tanks and medication. Again, the amount of oxygen, and its availability, is dependent on the actions of the Israeli Army.
Paint it Black
"We are the conscience of the Israeli people," states Dafna Kaminer, a petite grey-haired immigrant from Detroit, Michigan, in a plain and serious tone. "We remind people every week that there is an occupation and it still has not ended." I believe that our voice also speaks out to the Palestinian people; it shows them that there is hope and that there is a true partner on the Israeli side," joins in Gila Svirski, also originally from the US, who joined Women in Black a few weeks after the initiative first started. "[The vigils] also send a message out to the international community that not everyone in Israel shares the same views as our prime minister."
Percent of world Jewry living in Israel climbed to 41% in 2007
The world Jewish population in 2007 is estimated at 13.2 million people, a rise of some 200,000 over 2006, according to a Jewish People Policy Planning Institute report published Sunday. In the past year, the number of Diaspora Jews shrank by 100,000, while Israel's Jewish population rose by 300,000. Israel is now the home of 41 percent of worldwide Jewry, the report said.
Report: FBI translator says Israel planted nuclear 'moles' in U.S.
The Times says that Sibel Edmonds had claimed there were 'senior officials in the Pentagon' who had provided assistance to Israeli and Turkish agents. She also claims that the 'moles', mainly PhD students, received assistance from a 'high-ranking State Department official' who gave them security clearance to work in 'sensitive nuclear research facilities'. The paper says that among these institutions was the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory in New Mexico, which is 'responsible for the security of the U.S. nuclear deterrent'.
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