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OPT: Electricity shortages in the Gaza strip:
situation report 08 Feb 2008
Israel says it's starting to cut
power to Gaza
Israel said it was reducing electrical power to the
Gaza Strip on Friday as part of its plan to sever
economic ties with the territory. The move was
the latest in a series of Israeli steps that increases
pressure on Gaza, ruled by the Islamist Hamas
since last June and the source of repeated rocket
attacks into the Jewish state.
PCHR Weekly Report: 12 Palestinians
killed, 22 injured by Israeli forces
According to the Palestinian Center for Human
Rights (PCHR)'s Weekly Report, during the week
of 31 January - 6 February 2008, 12 Palestinians
were killed and 22 were injured by the Israeli military.
In addition, Israeli forces abducted 94 Palestinian
civilians, including 9 children and a girl.
ANALYSIS: Major IDF operation
in Gaza back on the agenda
The rocket barrages against communities inside
Israel and the Israel Defense Forces operations
in the Gaza Strip that have left at least 16 Palestinians
dead over the past three days all point in one direction:
Following many weeks of being kept on ice, the
likelihood of a major military operation in the
Gaza Strip is once more at the forefront.
Israel intensifies its military
operation on Gaza
During a visit to an Israeli military base in the
south of Israel, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud
Barak said on Thursday that the Israeli army
will intensify its military operations in the Gaza
Strip, while Palestinian home made shells continue
to be launched from the Gaza Strip at Israeli targets.
He said that Israel will eventually put an end to by
continuing its military operation, by imposing
punishments and fortifying the nearby Israeli
communities surrounding Gaza Strip.
Gaza besieged as Israel and
Hamas launch attacks
In Gaza, MPs of the Hamas-dominated parliament
cancelled today's session, fearing an Israeli attack
after the chairman of the Knesset's security and
foreign affairs committee, Tzachi Hanegbi, hinted
that Israel should target Hamas' political leaders.
Seven Gazans killed in day
of Israeli air, shelling attacks
On 7 February 2008, the Israeli Occupation Forces
(IOF) killed seven Palestinians, raising the number
of victims from its military attacks to seventeen
persons since the beginning of this month, and 96
persons since the beginning of 2008 in the Gaza Strip.
The IOF launched seven attacks in different parts of
the Gaza Strip since last night, of which the most
affected areas were Khan Younis, al-Nuseirat, and
other areas in northern Gaza.
Palestinian security forces attack a
Palestinian family in Bethlehem
around 50 Palestinian security officers attacked a family
house located in the Aida refugee camp in the southern
West Bank city of Bethlehem on Thursday afternoon.
Soldiers Allow Settlers to Stone Palestinians,
Threaten to Assault Homeowner
Wednesday February 6th, 2008: At around 7.30 this
evening settlers began stoning the home of the Sidr
family, adjacent to Beit Hadassah settlement in
Hebron's Old City. Stones, some as large as bricks,
were thrown first from the vicinity of an army post
on a roof opposite the house, hitting the window of
the bedroom where the homeowner was sleeping.
Two male settlers aged around 25 were seen on the
roof. More stones were thrown from the yard of the school
inside the settlement, by 8 young men aged around 16-17.
The brother of the homeowner was hit in the arm and leg by stones.
Israeli forces arrest 10 Palestinians
in West Bank
Israeli forces on Wednesday arrested 10 Palestinians
in West Bank cities, saying they were wanted by Israel,
Palestinian security sources said. The detainees were
arrested in West Bank towns of Ramallah, Jenin,
Nablus, Qalqilia and Hebron. According to Israeli
sources, they were taken for interrogation.
Israeli forces demolish a barracks
and a hut near Qalqilia
The Israeli forces on Wednesday demolished a small-
holding in the northern West Bank village of Azzun '
Itma in southern Qalqilia district. Eyewitnesses told
Ma'an's reporter that the property belonged to Faeq
Ali and it was used for breeding sheep. They added that
14 members of his family lived there.
One Palestinian teen injured in
weekly Bil'in protest
Accompanied by international and Israeli supporters,
the villagers of Bil'in, located near the central West
Bank city of Ramallah, have conducted their weekly
protest against the illegal Israeli wall being built on village land.
Israeli army attacks peaceful
protest near Bethlehem, injures six
Six Palestinian civilians were injured at midday on
Friday when Israeli troops attacked a nonviolent
anti-wall demonstration in the village of Al Khader,
located near Bethlehem city in the southern West Bank.
41 detainees in Al Ramla Prison hospital
facing harsh conditions
The Nafha Society for Defending Human Rights and the Rights of the Detainees stated that there are 41 Palestinian detainees who are currently hospitalized in Al Ramla Prison Hospital and facing harsh conditions as the hospital lacks the fundamental equipment and medications.
http://www.imemc.org/article
Palestinians fire at least 22
rockets at Negev
Palestinian militants launched at least 22 Qassam
rockets at the Negev on Friday, a day after Israel
began cutting electricity to the Gaza Strip in an attempt
to halt the barrages.
PRC: Residents of southern Israel
should evacuate
'What was up until now is nothing compared to what
will be,' Popular Resistance Committees threatens
after claiming responsibility for Friday's rocket
barrages towards Israel's south. Israelis should
run for the sake of their children's safety, says
terror group. More than 20 Qassams have been
launched towards Israeli communities since daybreak,
causing no injuries but damaging property.
PA: We foiled 2 attacks on Israel
Three days after Dimona bombing, senior Palestinian
official tells Ynet that PA forces in Ramallah uncovered
car bomb meant to explode in Israel, detained Fatah
member planning to carry out another suicide bombing.
Hamas seizes aid meant for Red Crescent
Trucks filled with food, medicine meant for Red Crescent
halted at Hamas checkpoint. Hamas policemen seized a
convoy of humanitarian aid bound for the Palestinian
Red Crescent on Thursday evening, the second convoy
it has taken from the aid agency, aid employees said.
Hamas adopts Hizbullah tactics
Palestinians implement Lebanon war lessons: IDF troops
operating in northern Gaza Strip Thursday uncover
remote-controlled rocket launching positions concealed
underground; new tactic enables terrorists to evade
IDF counterattacks.
Abbas calls for a parallel ceasefire
Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated on Thursday
that he is willing to act in order to achieve a comprehensive
ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza
Strip which is controlled by the rival Hamas party.
Hamas rejects Abbas truce offer
as Israel kills 7 in Gaza
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas offered to help
negotiate a ceasefire as Israel pounded Gaza on
Thursday, killing seven people days after a suicide
bombing claimed by the Strip's Hamas rulers. Hamas
promptly rejected the offer, with spokesman Fawzi
Barhum branding it a "blackmail attempt against the
Palestinian people whom (Abbas) has left to be massacred."
Interior ministry to publish confessions on
Haneyya's assassination attempt
Ehab Al-Ghussein, the spokesman for the interior
ministry in Gaza, stated Thursday that the ministry
will soon publish the confessions made by the criminals
implicated in the attempted assassination of premier
Ismail Haneyya as well as other Hamas
leaders and officials.
In West Bank, Fatah Loses Favor
The popularity of the U.S.-backed Palestinian
government here is eroding for the first time since
it was established following the Islamist group
Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip, according
to a poll. Perhaps more disconcerting for the
Bush administration and Israel: Hamas's
popularity, while still lower than that of the more
secular Fatah party, is on the rise, reversing a nearly
two-year slide as the Islamist group has begun
to reassert itself.
Palestinian PM sees no 2008 peace deal
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad says
a lasting peace accord with Israel is unlikely this
year despite renewed diplomatic efforts to resolve
the long-running conflict. In an interview with
Reuters, he highlighted the lack of progress on
the issue of Israeli settlements and military
incursions into the West Bank as among the chief
obstacles in the "roadmap" to peace and
Palestinian statehood
10 members of EU Parliament managed
to visit Gaza on February 5
During a press conference conducted by ten members
of the European Parliament from different political
groups, led by Luisa Morgantini, Vice-President of the
EU parliament, the members stated that they broke
the siege and travelled into the Gaza strip on February 5, 2008.
Palestinian premier to US for aid talks
Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad is due in
Washington on Thursday for talks in Congress over
American aid promised to the Palestinian Authority.
Middle East envoy Tony Blair
tours West Bank
International Middle East envoy Tony Blair toured the
West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday before meeting
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. After meeting
Abbas in Ramallah, Blair said he and the president
discussed the situation in the Palestinian territories
and how to improve the lives of the Palestinian people.
Pan-Islamic Bloc Urges UN
To Protect Palestinians
The chief of the Organization of the Islamic Conference,
or OIC, called on the U.N. Thursday to protect the Palestinian
people from what he called Israeli aggression and terrorism.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu called on the Security Council to
"intervene urgently to put an end to Israeli aggression
and to adopt measures to protect the Palestinian
people from the tyranny and terrorism of the state of Israel."
Israel should not 'worsen' Gaza
humanitarian crisis: US
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States on
Thursday urged Israel not to aggravate the humanitarian
situation in the Gaza Strip, where the Jewish state has
scaled down its energy supply as it pursues rocket
launchers in the territory.
Gaza fishermen: "We are ready to work"
"I've been a fisherman for thirty six years, ever since
I was 15 years old. My original village, al-Jura, was
famous for its fishermen. When my father migrated
to Gaza in 1948, he came here by boat." Jamal
Mohammed Bassalla is the spokesman of the Rafah
Fisherman's Syndicate in the southern Gaza Strip.
The syndicate represents around 450 local
fishermen and its headquarters are on the beach
just outside Rafah. This morning, however, Jamal
and his crew are sitting under tarpaulin on the beach,
drinking tea around a small driftwood fire. Conditions
at sea are treacherous, and they're waiting for
the weather to improve.
Sign of the times, By Amira Hass
Everything was ready for the arrival of the two
guests: instructions for using the heaters, towels and
linens, the phone number of a neighbor who is also a
good friend, and who was supposed to meet them at
the Qalandiyah checkpoint and escort them to my
apartment in El-Bireh while I was away. Both landscape
architects, the visitors had been invited to speak at
an international academic conference at Bir Zeit
University last November entitled "Conservation and
Management of Landscape in Conflict Regions."
The cross(ing) Cairo has to bear
"The revolutionary extremist has a strategy that
states: 'Always participate in dialogue. And when
you reach an agreement, sign it. After that, rise
from your chair and place several warm kisses on the
cheek of your adversary. Then give him a blow and
demand another dialogue. Always prepare for the
next dialogue." That is how the sharp Egyptian
playwright Ali Salem this week mocked the leaders
of Hamas, who keep asking for a dialogue, once with
the Egyptians and then again with the Palestinian
Authority. And each time it is a dialogue without
prior conditions.
Cut short, By Gideon Levy
Sami al-Adam wants to appeal to his fellow farmers,
the Israelis. Maybe they'll understand: "They know
about and appreciate agriculture. All the Israeli people
appreciate agriculture. Israel is first or second in the
world in agriculture. A tree that you grow is like your son,
it's part of you. They know how much it hurts to see
an uprooted tree," he says.
Who will save the Palestinian people from
Israel's barbaric policies?
An Israeli missile strike on a school in the town of
Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip on
Thursday morning killed a Palestinian school
teacher and wounded three students. Over the
last seven years, thousands of Palestinian civilians,
including hundreds of women and children, have
been killed by the Israeli forces. The United States,
Israel's chief ally, has continued to turn a blind eye
to these barbaric attacks and has vetoed all draft
resolutions tabled by Arab states in the UN Security
Council condemning the Zionist state for committing
war crimes against the Palestinian people.
Turkish relief committee describes siege
imposed on Gaza as "slow execution"
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Turkish committee for relief and
humanitarian aid, known in short as "İHH", issued a
report revealing important facts and numbers about
the slow execution practiced by Israel against the Gaza
people through tightening the siege and committing
massacres against them.
Hamas: Egypt should voice
its anger against Israel
Egyptian foreign minister threatens Palestinian
infiltrators, says 'whoever breaks the border line
will have his foot broken'; Hamas leader in Gaza
calls remarks 'inappropriate'.
Qatar PM sues Kuwaiti paper which
criticized his ties to Israel
Qatar's prime minister has sued a Kuwaiti daily and
one of its columnists for damaging his reputation
because of a series of editorials criticizing his policy
of opening ties with Israel, his lawyer said Thursday.
Sheik Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani, who is also Qatar's
foreign minister, has led his tiny natural gas-rich
nation's policy of developing contacts with Israel and
is believed to be behind the tiny emirate's policy of
carving out a prominent foreign role for itself.
Sources: Blair 'shocked' by
Dichter fears of arrest in U.K.
Tony Blair, the Quartet's envoy to the Middle East,
expressed surprise on Friday when Public Security
Minister Avi Dichter told him he feared he would be
arrested should he travel to the United Kingdom.
Arab MK Tibi okays consideration
of rightist MK's 'racist' bill
On Monday the Knesset, including Arab MK Ahmed
Tibi, agreed to consider the bill put forth by MK Aryeh
Eldad (National Union-National Religious Party)
proposing the evacuation of the Palestinian
residents of Hebron in 2008.
MK Ran Cohen: Abuse of
Palestinians corrupts IDF
Knesset Member Ran Cohen (Meretz) who is a
member of the Knesset's Defense and Foreign
Affairs Committee announced that he will turn to
the IDF chief of staff and demand that soldiers who
are found guilty of abusing Palestinians be punished
more severely. Cohen cited the "repeated cases of abuse,"
and said that they attest to a "system-wide failure
that corrupts the army."
Thieving IDF soldiers
to be dismissed
Four IDF troops charged with stealing goods
confiscated en route to Gaza Strip.
IDF butts to the rescue
B. Michael wants troops to expose their butts
instead of performing more shameful acts.
Young Arab woman from Ramle
feared dead in 'honor killing'
Nothing has been touched in Nadia Abu Amar's room
at a Jerusalem halfway house for girls. The down
comforter folded atop the sheet remains in slight
disarray, and all around are personal effects that
seem ready for use at any moment: snuffed-out
candles, cosmetics arranged on a shelf, textbooks
piled on top of each other, oil paintings and charcoal
drawings hanging everywhere. But nearly four months
have gone by since Nadia, 22, slept in her bed, lit her
favorite scented candles and opened her textbooks.
One on One: 'Control creates responsibility'
'What Israel cannot do is prevent everyone in the
world from trading with Gaza, and then cut the
amount of supplies that enter through its border,"
asserts attorney Sari Bashi, protesting the
government's policy of withholding fuel and electricity
from the Hamas-ruled Strip as a "punitive measure."
A Palestinian Odyssey
It seems that the Palestinian odyssey is never-
ending. In Homer's Iliad, Odysseus managed to
return home to Ithaca. Will the Palestinians have
the same fortune?
Potholes Bigger Than Ever
for Palestinians
Just to get a discussion started, would each of you
please ask yourself, how much do you honestly think
the situation for Palestinians will have improved
over the next five years, say by 2013? Obviously we
may all have different answers, including even on
the meaning of "improve. We may not even agree on
what,s an improvement. But let,s come back to that
question later if anyone wishes. Let,s also not argue
that no big Palestinian changes for the better in this
fairly short period are possible. Major changes in world
history have often caught us by surprise, and we all
knew about them only after the fact. Just as the Soviet
Union collapsed, for instance, something equally big
inside the United States or inside Israel could conceivably
happen and the result might be to bring immediate and
major benefits to the Palestinians. Here, however,
the key word is "conceivably, which really means unlikely.
The point most important to me here and now is that there
are powerful forces in the United States that will work to
make the present injustices to and oppression of
Palestinians worse rather than better in coming years.
Soccer Star Stands for Gaza, Instep Intifada
In a world where mainstream media dumb down news
reportage with inane sports metaphors, sometimes it
takes sports to remind us of the gravity of the actual
news. While the press acts like extras on Gossip Girl
as they assess the latest machinations of Bill, Barack
and Hillary, a soccer player aimed to alert the world
to a humanitarian catastrophe.
US sees shift in Muslim attitudes
toward Al-Qaeda
US intelligence chiefs said Thursday they are
seeing some signs that public opinion in the Muslim
world is turning against Al-Qaeda. They cited
indications that donations to Al-Qaeda are falling off,
unusual criticism of the group by other Muslim
fundamentalists, and efforts by Al-Qaeda's leadership
to reach out to the umma, the body of Muslim believers.
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