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Former Gaza Strip settlers move
into new outpost in West Bank
Nine Israeli families have moved to a valley deep in the
West Bank, setting down six trailer homes and promising
Friday to bring more to the disputed area the Palestinians
want for a future state. The action - funded in part by a
private U.S. group - is the latest Israeli settlement
activity to anger Palestinians as peace negotiators try
to reach a final agreement outlining borders. A sign in
English and Hebrew on one of the homes read: This
caravan was built in part through a grant from One
Israel Fund. The organization's Web site says it is a
NewYork-based charitable group
Photostory: A day in Ma'ale Adumim
This neatly planned concrete patchwork seems totally out of
place in the surrounding arid Palestinian landscape. Leaving
the city behind by a rare gap in the fence, another reality
instantly emerges. Just outside the fence, on the edge of the hill,
a Bedouin shepherd and his son are herding their flock of sheep.
The contrast between the two worlds could not be more striking.
Residents of Silwan continue protest
against tunnel under their lands
Dozens of residents of Silwan town, near Jerusalem, Israeli and
international activist, continued their protest in the protest tent
installed on the land of resident Ahmad Siyam as Israeli settlers
continue digging tunnels under their lands and under Wadi Hilwa
Street. The protesters carried posters slamming the digging which
is harming their houses and lands.
Amnesty International: Israeli army destroying Palestinian homes
Every single home in the West Bank villages of Humsa and Hadidiya
is slated for destruction. The Israeli army has declared most of the Jordan
Valley, where the villages are situated, as a "closed military area" from
which the local Palestinian population is barred. The local Palestinian
population – which has been there since long before Israeli forces
occupied the area four decades ago – is being put under increasing
pressure to leave the area. In contrast, Israeli settlements – established
in blatant violation of international law – continue to be expanded in the
area and Israeli settlers are allowed to move freely and
use vast quantities of water.
Eight Palestinians killed, 80 wounded in Israeli air strike
AL-BREIJ, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation has committed a new massacre
in the Gaza Strip on Friday evening when US-supplied F-16's bombed the
house of Ayman al-Fayed, a commander in the Quds Brigades, the armed
wing of the Islamic Jihad in the Breij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
The sound of the huge explosion was heard many miles away and smoke
was seen rising from the scene of the attack. This attack brought back to
memory a similar attack when Israeli occupation airforce bombed a block
of flats to kill Sheikh Salah Shehada, the general commander of the Qassam
Brigades, five years ago killing 15 Palestinians many of them children.
Islamic Jihad leader and family killed in Israeli air
strike on Al-Bureji refugee camp; 80 wounded
Eyewitnesses said that an Israeli F-16 aircraft fired at least one missile
that hit the home of Al-Quds Brigades commander 42-year-old Ayman
Fayed, also known as Abu Abdallah. The three-story building was
completely destroyed. The only witness to the massacre was 11-year old
Muhammad, who was injured in his legs. " I heard my father asking my
mother to hurry to the basement. They were afraid of the planes flying
over the house when suddenly I heard the explosion and found
myself in hospital," he said.
Top Islamic Jihad militant and seven others
killed, 40 wounded in Gaza blast
Witnesses said the three-story home of Ayman Atallah Fayed had
completely collapsed, and that six nearby homes were also badly
damaged. Among the dead were Fayed's wife, three of his sons
and three neighbors. At least 40 people were wounded, 12 of them
critically, including one of Fayed's daughters. Islamic Jihad said
Israel targeted the house in an air strike, but Hamas police said the
cause of the blast was not clear and the Israel Defense Forces
denied an attack had taken place. Witnesses reported seeing
fragments of what looked like Qassam rockets at the scene,
suggesting the house may have been used to store arms.
Hamas slams Abbas for talks with
Israel after Gaza explosion
Gaza City - A day after eight people died in an explosion in Gaza,
the Islamic Hamas movement on Saturday slammed Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas for pursuing peace talks with Israel. 'Abbas should be
ashamed of those martyrs. He must immediately boycott the occupiers
(Israelis). Otherwise, history will register him in its black pages,' Hamas
spokesman Fawzi Barhoom told reporters in Gaza.
Qassam fire at Israel renewed
Eight rockets fired at Israel since Saturday morning, after day of
relative lull in south; no injuries or damage reported in attack. PRC
claims responsibility for attack, says it is response to Gaza strike Friday
UN official 'shocked' by Gaza visit
The UN's top humanitarian affairs official said he was shocked by a
"grim and miserable" situation he encountered during a visit to impoverished
Gaza, and urged that the territory's borders be opened. Holmes said the
amount of goods entering Gaza had dropped to 10% of what it was a year ago.
Unknown assailants blow up YMCA
library in Gaza City Friday morning
At approximately 1.45 am, a large explosion was heard in the centre of Gaza City.
This was later identified as an explosion in the YMCA library which completely
destroyed it. A second unexploded device was discovered at the entrance to
the YMCA auditorium, and later dismantled by the police. The YMCA library
contained 8,000 books, many of which had been donated by children, and
has been a popular and extremely well used cultural facility, providing
many activities for young people in Gaza, as well as a kindergarten
for Muslim children.
Hamas strongly condemns attack on YMCA in Gaza
Hamas stressed the importance of the historic Islamic-Christian brotherly
relationship in Palestine as part of the national unity that Hamas places at
the top of its priorities and stated that such acts are alien to the Palestinian
culture and only serve to mar the Palestinian just struggle for freedom.
De facto Gaza government reveals confessions of those accused
of plotting to assassinate Haniyeh
The confessions were displayed in a press conference held by Interior
Minister Sa'id Siyam in Gaza. He said that 10 people had confessed to
their involvement in the preparation of an attempt on Haniyeh's life, as
well as attempts to assassinate other figures from Hamas and the de facto
government. Siyam accused political and security figures in Ramallah and
outside Palestine, namely At-Tayeb Abdel Rahim, presidential secretary
general. Another of the accused is the former colonel of the Palestinian
security services, Nabil Tamous, who now resides in Egypt.
Hamas tells Egypt it is ready to discuss truce with Israel, Shalit deal
Hamas said Friday it has told Egyptian officials it would consider a cease
-fire with Israel if it lifted its blockade of the Gaza Strip and ceased military
operations in the West Bank and Gaza. Hamas also discussed with Egyptian
officials this week the possibility of a prisoner deal that could lead to the
release of abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
Palestinian official asks Turkey to help with Hamas
ANKARA (AFP) Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Malki
urged Turkey Friday to use its influence over Hamas to help a peaceful
resolution to the rift among Palestinians. "Turkey enjoys a very unique
situation... a good working relationship with Israel but also good relations
with Hamas, the American administration and the Palestinian Authority,"
Malki said after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.
Options for Europe in Gaza
The more Europe stands idly by, watching Israeli war crimes and
collective punishment in Gaza, the more its foreign policy aspirations
fall apart before its eyes, writes Stuart Reigeluth – What are the Europeans
still doing there, if they were meant to monitor the Rafah crossing point?
The civilian EU border assistance mission (EUBAM-Rafah) has three
options now: leave, stay and do nothing, or engage.
Poll says most Israelis support broad military offensive in Gaza
A new poll shows that 67 percent of Israelis support a large-scale ground
operation in Gaza to stop daily Palestinian rocket attacks. Only 25 percent
of those surveyed were opposed. The poll, published in the Hebrew daily
Ma'ariv, points to growing public anger over the rocket attacks that have
terrorized Israeli towns and farming communities on the Gaza border. Pressure
on the government increased last week after an eight-year-old boy lost his leg
when a rocket hit the battered town of Sderot.
Up in smoke
Even Fayyad admits there are no peace prospects, reports Khaled
Amayreh from the West Bank – As sounds of the drums of war
coming from Israel are getting louder and louder, Palestinian Authority
(PA) leaders are showing growing signs of impatience with the slow-moving
talks with Israel. Visibly frustrated Palestinian officials have been speaking
of Israel's "lack of will" to reach a genuine final-status settlement that would
end the 40-year-old Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip.
Israel extends closure of PNA's Jerusalem
foundations for another year
The extension contradicts with previous promises by Israeli Premier
Ehud Olmert who told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that the
institutions will gradually reopen, al-Ayyam daily said. Jawwad Polis,
a lawyer, said the Israeli government's decision targets the Orient
House, which was the former Palestinian Liberation Organization
(PLO) headquarters in the city, and also housed the office of the PNA's
chamber of commerce, a prisoners' association and an Arabic studies center.
West Bank economy shows first signs of growth
Things feel different these days in Ramallah, the de facto and economic
capital of the Palestinian Authority (PA), and its seat of government.
The markets are crowded with shoppers. Stores are well-stocked with
goods, dozens of brand new cars have appeared on the streets. And all
over downtown Ramallah are banners and posters heralding the launching
of new businesses – like flowers after rain. The economy has been growing
ever since the Western countries resumed financial support to
the Palestinians [the PA, that is].
ISM: Once again Azzoun is under curfew;
Palestinians, internationals assaulted
At around 4pm, another curfew was announced in Azzoun. Border police
drove through the town ordering people into their homes, shooting live
fire and throwing sound bombs. Three Human Rights Workers (HRWs)
followed orders and returned to their apartment and started to film from
their window. After a few minutes they saw, and captured on video,
one border police officer pulling a Palestinian man out of his car
and assaulting him. . . The officers were screaming as they
ransacked the apartment and dragged one HRW around by
his t-shirt, repeatedly banging his head against a wall.
Israeli closure of Tulkarem continues
The Governor of Tulkarem appealed to the international community and
humanitarian organizations to intervene to lift the siege imposed by Israel
on the Tulkarem governorate for the second week in a row. He said in a
statement that the situation in the province has become intolerable.
Israeli troops shoot Palestinian photographer in the head in Bil'in
BILIN, West Bank - Israeli troops wounded a Palestinian photographer on Friday,
shooting him in the head with a rubber[-coated?] bullet while he was
covering a demonstration against Israel's separation barrier, medics
and witnesses said. Freelancer Imad Bernat, who was hit when s
oldiers opened fire with rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse
around 100 demonstrators, was taken to hospital in nearby Ramallah.
B'Tselem slams Israeli killing of mentally disabled man
Rights group slams practice of Israeli soldiers who fire at Palestinian
civilians thought to be trying to flee – JENIN, West Bank - A
human rights group called for an investigation into the death Thursday
of a mentally disabled Palestinian man who had been wounded by the
Israelis during a West Bank arrest operation.
Israeli wounded in Molotov cocktail attack in West Bank
Palestinians on Saturday threw four Molotov cocktails at Israeli
cars traveling near the West Bank city of Qalqiyah. One Israeli
was lightly wounded in the attacks, and three cars were damaged.
The IDF have launched searches in the area to find possible assailants.
The attack comes a week after an Israeli man sustained light burns when
Palestinian terrorists threw a Molotov cocktail at the car in which he
was traveling in the northern West Bank.
Human rights activist tortured in Israeli jail
NABLUS, (PIC)-- A Palestinian human rights advocate was subjected
to torture in the Israeli detention center of Petah Tikwa that included
sleep deprivation and forcing her to sit in an awkward position for
rthree consecutive days, legal sources said. Ahlam Jawher, 30, told the lawyer
of the Nafha society defending human and prisoners' rights that she was
under constant pressure by Israeli interrogators to "confess". Jawher was
arrested at the IOF Hawara roadblock south of Nablus city on 23/1/2008
after two hours detention. She was not allowed to see a lawyer until
recently in a clear violation of the law.
Gangsterly state – by Khalid Amayreh
Is there a difference between classical gangsters and armed robbers who
hold-up people and steal their money at gunpoint, and a state, which claims
to be the only democracy in the Middle East and a light upon the nations
of the world, that commits very much the same crime? According to one of
the victims in the city of Hebron, the soldiers behaved "very much like
gangsters, thugs and common criminals." "They stormed my shop, trained their
guns at me, and ordered me to give them the money, or else."
Tragi-comic drug unit wages phoney war
THE officers of the Nablus narcotics squad were pleasantly surprised to
hear recently that the White House was allocating $US25 million
($A27.6 million) this year to fighting drugs in the Palestinian
territories. Like most Palestinian police branches, the Nablus drug
squad is forced to operate on scant resources. Despite these handicaps,
the Nablus drug squad has one major thing going for it: in this city
of 300,000 people, as in most of the impoverished, isolated and
overwhelmingly Islamic West Bank, very few people take drugs.
"Cocaine and heroin are very limited in this area," admits Captain Heihe. "
The number of addicts are not more than the fingers of two hands.
Hashish is the main problem
Israeli generals oppose checkpoints
Checkpoints and roadblocks in the occupied West Bank are harming the
Middle East peace process according to a group of retired Israeli
generals. The 12 senior former commanders have written a letter to
Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, urging the army to remove
roadblocks saying that they fuel Palestinian hatred of Israel.
The Hamas-Fatah war on media: Gagging the written word – by Joharah Baker
(from MIFTAH) On February 3, a court under the deposed Hamas government in
the Gaza Strip ordered a ban on the distribution of the Palestinian daily,
Al Ayyam. . . While the banning of Al Ayyam newspaper in Gaza should not
be condoned given the credibility of the newspaper, its wide circulation and its
respected writers and staff, many have tended to overlook another hard fact
that could shed a different light on the situation. Two newspapers affiliated with
Islamic movements – Al Risala and Al Istiqlal – have been repeatedly closed
by the Palestinian Authority both in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Palestinians say Israel not meeting commitments
ANKARA (Reuters) - Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki
accused Israel on Friday of failing to meet commitments made at peace talks
relaunched at a U.S.-hosted conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in
November. Malki, who also called for international pressure on Israel,
said "nothing has happened" since the peace talks. "Israel maintained its
policies and actions on the ground as if nothing really happened.
Gloom over Jerusalem
Israelis and Palestinians see little prospect of a peace deal this year,
though talk of a one-state solution is growing – Never have I heard
so much talk of the one-state solution (ie a bi-national state comprising
Israeli and Palestinians) by both Palestinians and Israelis. The view is that
the degree of cooperation across so many fields required by the two sides to
make a two-state solution work is so great that in time there will be a
merging of the two Israeli and Palestinian polities.
Sixth earthquake in two months strikes region
An earthquake struck parts of the Palestinian territories on Friday just
after midday and lasted a few seconds. Dr. Jalal Al-Dbeik said that the
earthquake's epicentre was near Zahleh in southern Lebanon, where it
registered at between 5.2 and 5.3 on the Richter scale. He told Ma'an that
in the Middle East at least 10 earthquakes measuring between 2 and 4
have taken place over the past few days. On Thursday an earthquake
measuring 6.5 on the Richter scale struck southern Greece.
Islamic movement blames Israel for quake
-induced hole on Temple Mount
(includes photo) The 5.3-magnitute earthquake that jolted Israel on
Friday shook open a large hole on the Temple Mount plaza, near the
Dome of the Rock. The officials, who also said the quake caused
cracks in several local residential buildings, said the hole was a meter
deep, two meters long and meter and a half wide. The Islamic Movement
blamed Israel for the hole, saying Israel is digging tunnels in the area
that undermine the stability in the area of the Al-Aqsa mosque. .
. In the West Bank, An old house fell onto the main road in Kofin village
west of Nablus, blocking it but not hurting anyone.
Hamas shows off gunmen in glossy magazine
Of all the strategies thought up by Hamas, this was perhaps the least
expected. In an apparent publicity drive in Gaza yesterday, the Palestinian
Islamist movement handed out copies of a glossy magazine
showing off gunmen from its armed wing.
1.6 million people live below poverty line in Israel
According to the National Insurance Institute's semi-annual poverty
report released yesterday, 1,674,800 people were living under the
poverty line in 2007 - 24.7% of the Israeli population - an increase of
about 20,000 people over 2006. In mid-2006 the percentage was
24.4% and rose to 24.5% at the end of 2006. The number of
children living in poverty reached 804,000; or 35.9% of all Israeli children.
Arab-Israeli woman may be 120 years old
Mariam Amash, who recently applied for a new Israeli identity card,
said she was born 120 years ago - a claim, if confirmed, that would
make her the oldest person in the world. A spokeswoman for
Israel's Interior Ministry confirmed that Amash, from the Israeli
Arab village of Jisr a-Zarka, is listed in the population registry a
s having been born in 1888. "We're just not sure it's correct,"
Haddad said. The listing was based on a birth certificate issued by
Turkish authorities who ruled the region at the time, she said. A devout
Muslim, Amash has made four pilgrimages to Mecca,
'UNIFIL complained of Israeli violations of Lebanese territories'
Lebanese newspaper Daily Star reports Saturday UNIFIL commander
issued report to UN outlining Israeli violations of Lebanese territories
and airspace, as well as 'strong-worded' letter to Israel denouncing
those violations. A spokeswoman for UNIFIL, Yasmina Bouzianne,
declared Friday that the organization has not taken any special
measures following the assassination of Hizbullah leader Imad
Mugniyah on Wednesday.
Report: 50,000 Hezbollah men deploy along border with Israel
The Lebanese newspaper A-Safir reported Saturday that the Lebanon-
based guerilla group Hezbollah has deployed 50,000 "activists" along
the southern border with Israel and declared a state of high alert in
southern Lebanon. According to the report, the organization has also
evacuated all buildings in the area designated for social or political
purposes in recent days, in preparation for a confrontation with Israel
in the wake of the assassination of Hezbollah terror chief Imad Mughniyah.
Syria: Assassination ruined all hopes of peace
The assassination, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said,
has destroyed "all hopes to revive the peace process" between Israel
and Syria, hinting for the first time that he believed Israel might be
involved. "Whoever seeks peace does not act in terror. Whoever
seeks peace does not place a siege on the Gaza Strip while almost
a million and a half Palestinians are struggling for their lives."
Book fair in Italy thrown into emotional
turmoil over Israel's role in event
ROME: The decision to select Israel as guest of honor at this spring's
International Book Fair in Turin has set off a furious debate among
Italian, Israeli and Arab authors and intellectuals, including calls to
boycott the event. Critics of the choice say that offering such an honor
at the opening of the fair in May, when Israel will celebrate its 60th
anniversary as a nation, ignores its policies toward the Palestinians.
London School of Economics students vote to divest from Israel
Joining a growing list of high-profile institutions, unions and citizen's
groups that have chosen to divest from Israel, the Student Union at the
prestigious London School of Economics voted overwhelmingly on
Thursday to demand that the University divest.
Open letter: 'Award for tolerance' hides story of discrimination
The following letter was sent by Montreal filmmaker Malcolm Guy
to the Rendez-Vous du Cinéma Québecois on 12 February – Firstly,
I quit the jury because the Prize of the Alex and Ruth Dworkin
Foundation is an initiative of the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC)
, Quebec Region, an organization which I consider to be a vehicle
for the Israeli propaganda machine and fundamentally intolerant
of dissent and difference, particularly when it comes to
Israeli government policies.
Jewish functionaries stirring Clinton-Obama race – by Akiva Eldar
Tensions in the race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the
Democratic presidential nomination are mirrored in the American Jewish
community. As the gap between the front-runners narrowed in the
primaries, the clash between the two Jewish camps has become more
heated. Official Israel is making an effort to maintain a respectable neutrality.
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