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Israel's policies building checkpoints
on the road to peace - by Ahmad Jaradat
When you look around the village, you quickly realize
that Far'un is totally surrounded by the three settlements
of Avnei Hefetz, Enav and Sal'it from the northeastern
side, and the Separation Wall from the western side.
Upon entering the village, you get the sense of being
in an animal enclosure with the electric fence serving
as a barrier. It's hard to believe that all of this has been
built, not to keep animals in, but human beings. On
the street parallel to the fence, Israeli jeeps patrol
the area during all hours to control the villagers'
movements. Moreover, it is clear that these restrictions
of movement imposed on Palestinians are intended to
ensure the free movement of settlers in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories.
Deputy Premier Ramon: Push for 'evacuation-
compensation' for settlers east of fence
According to Ramon, this would prove to the Palestinians and the
international community that Israel is serious about achieving peace.
The initiative is intended to provide a framework by which settlers living
in West Bank communities excluded from the fence can move out of their
homes in return for financial compensation without having to wait for the
implementation of permanent arrangement between Israelis and Palestinians.
The deputy prime minister said that a recent consultation of surveys
indicated that 70,000 settlers would agree to be relocated under the
evacuation-compensation plan. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has
announced that he would consider the initiative.
Three Palestinians killed in IAF strike on northern Gaza
A senior Palestinian medical official said all three of those killed
were civilians employed by a Jordanian bank operating in the Hamas-
controlled territory. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the air strike,
but said it targeted Palestinian militants on their way to fire mortar
shells at Israel. The air strike came a day after an Israeli missile killed
two Palestinian militants and wounded a third in central Gaza,
according to Palestinian medical staff and Hamas security officials.
Three Palestinians killed in IDF strike in Gaza
IDF confirms troops operating in northern Gaza targeted cell en
route to launch rocket attack against Israel. But Palestinians say
all three were civilians, with one report claiming they were bankers
holding a picnic in an open field. The casualties have yet to be
identified, largely due to the fact that the bodies were reportedly charred.
Khudari lays cornerstone for memorial to siege victims in Gaza
GAZA, (PIC)-- MP Jamal Al-Khudari, the head of the popular committee
against the siege, laid Saturday morning the foundation stone for the
memorial to the siege victims in the Katiba square, west of Gaza city,
stating that the memorial would bear witness throughout history for the
injustice and the oppressive siege of the Israeli occupation.
Gaza merchants strike in protest at Israeli blockade
The strike, called by the Popular Committee Against the Siege (PCAS),
a politically independent group headed by Palestinian parliamentarian
Jamal al-Khudari, was to be part of a day of international events and
demonstrations. "Our message is clear, and it is to break the siege imposed
on the Gaza Strip and to motivate the Arab and Islamic and international
community on the official and popular level," Khudari told AFP.
Israeli Defense Minister Barak to hold consultations
Sunday on proposed Egypt border fence
Defense Ministry Director-General Pinchas Buchris will present Barak
with a plan formulated in recent weeks that calls for the construction
of a fence along two sections of the border - a 14-kilometer-long section
in the Eilat area, and a 70-kilometer section south of the Gaza Strip. The
plan calls for both sections to be a smart electronic fence, and would
also include beefing up the Israel Defense Forces deployment in the area.
Israeli mayor of bombarded border town offers to
break ranks and talk with Hamas
"I would say to Hamas, let's have a ceasefire, let's stop the rockets
for the next 10 years and we will see what happens," said Eli Moyal,
the mayor of Sderot, who is a member of the rightwing Likud party.
"For me as a person the most important thing is life and I'm ready to
do everything for that. I'm ready to talk to the devil." Senior UN
officials agree in private that a political deal with Hamas will be
necessary to end the rocket attacks on Sderot.
Click for Sderot
Thousands of European, American surfers on social networking
website Facebook to hold mass demonstrations in support of
Qassam-battered town Sderot – The first of these worldwide
demonstrations will be held on February 25th in Toronto Canada.
A rally is planned for the 2nd of March in Manhattan, New York,
followed by an additional rally the next day in Queens. A final New
York demonstration will be held on the 5th of March in Brooklyn.
Hamas delegation returns to Egypt to finalise crossing deal
A Hamas delegation left for the Egyptian city of Al-Arish on Saturday
to complete talks with Egyptian officials on reopening the Rafah
crossing. The delegation is headed by prominent Hamas leader
Mahmoud Az-Zahhar. Regarding the case of Palestinians detained
by the Egyptian authorities, Taha said, "We have information that
they have been exposed to severe torture, but the Egyptian
authorities are denying this."
Gaza breakout: Strategic issues exposed – by Nicola Nasser
The Palestinian breakout cast to the fore a number of strategic
issues that most parties remain eager to sweep under the carpet.
Foremost of these is the need to reconsider the
Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement.
Israel ignores peace – by Khalid Amayreh
Despite offers of a ceasefire from Hamas, Israel looks set on a
full-blown attack on Gaza that could seriously backfire – Hamas has
been sending definitive signals of its willingness to sign a dignified
truce with Israel in return for its lifting its harsh blockade on the
Gaza Strip as well as ending bloody and unrelenting Israeli attacks
which wreak death and havoc on the coastal territory's civilian inhabitants.
Israel is lying to the world about Gaza – by Khalid Amayreh
For the past few weeks, I made strenuous efforts to reach a dignified
ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in coordination with some peace-minded
Jews. Our goal was to save lives and prevent further escalation, and
give the starved and thoroughly-tormented people of Gaza a respite
from daily killings and bombings by the Israeli occupation army.
Our efforts bore some fruit, and the Palestinian authorities in Gaza
assured us of their willingness to reciprocate any genuine Israeli
measure toward lifting the harsh blockade and putting an end to daily
Israeli atrocities which have killed and maimed thousands of
Palestinians, the vast bulk of whom are innocent civilians.
Unscrupulous street dealers selling fuel in Gaza at twice designated price
The Israeli fuel embargo on the Gaza Strip has led to petrol being sold
at 20 shekels (5 US dollars) a litre on the streets of Gaza by
unscrupulous dealers. Some dealers are buying large quantities
of gasoline from fuel stations at the price imposed by the Ministry of
Finance, estimated on Saturday to be 5.76 Agorot (around 1.5 US dollars).
They then mix it with Egyptian petrol and sell it on for more than double price.
Beyond despair – by Salah Al-Naami
Israel and Fatah are pushing Gazans over the edge, with no help
from Egypt in sight – Youssef was placed in an extremely difficult
situation, as for the first time he and his staff were unable to reach
the area with ambulances because there was simply not enough
fuel to run them. After an extremely short moment of hesitation,
Youssef and his staff headed out on motorcycles offered by people
to help the first aid team perform their duties, even if in a humble
manner. When they arrived and began to perform first aid, they
found that two of the injured had died and that of the 10 others
three were in critical condition. Youssef ordered that the dead
and those with light injuries be transported on donkey carts
belonging to residents in the area, while those in critical condition
be transported to the nearest hospital in private gas-fuelled
vehicles belonging to area residents.
Sit-in at Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem –
Archbishop Hanna calls for end to Gaza siege
A vast crowd staged a sit-in in the courtyard of the Church of the
Resurrection in Jerusalem on Saturday in solidarity with the people
of Gaza. They prayed for the support of the Palestinian people, led
by Archbishop Atallah Hanna, the Archbishop of the Roman
Orthodox Church, who delivered a speech calling for the lifting
of the siege on the coastal strip.
Hamas sources: Imam dies from torture in
a PA interrogation facility
Hamas media sources reported on Friday that Sheikh Mohammad
Abdul-Aziz Al Barghouthi, 42, the Imam of Kobar mosque near
Ramallah, died in a Palestinian interrogation facility due to extreme
torture. One of the relatives of Barghouthi stated that the Sheikh
was moved to a hospital on Thursday evening and died at the
hospital on Friday evening. The relative added that marks of torture
and burn were clearly apparent on the body of Barghouthi.
Abbas's Mukhabarat tortures Palestinian
man to death on Israel's behalf
Occupied Ramallah, (PIC)-- A middle-aged Palestinian man from a village
near Ramallah has died, apparently of severe bodily torture at the hands
of the PA Mukhabarat or General Intelligence. According to family
sources, Majd Abdul Aziz al Barghouthi, 42, died Friday after he was
subjected for seven days to severe physical torture at the Mukhabarat
dungeons in Ramallah. Al-Barghouthi's body was transferred to
the Abu Dis forensic institute for an autopsy to determine the exact
causes of death. Back in the village of Kobar, mosques began reciting
Quranic verses through loudspeakers as locals expressed
their indignation with the PA.
West Bank protest over Hamas death
Violent protests erupted around a West Bank town after an
imam from Hamas died in a Palestinian prison after suffering a
heart attack. Imam Majed al-Barghuti, 42, died on Friday in a
Ramallah prison, Palestinian security forces said. The death
sparked protests around Kobar, with two protesters wounded by
Palestinian police gunfire, medical sources said. Calm was later restored.
PA Intelligence summons Palestinian journalist
Khalid Amayreh for interrogation
probably in connection to his work. Amayreh is a veteran Palestinian
journalist and a vocal critic of the current "peace process" between the
American-backed regime in Ramallah and Israel. He is among a few
Palestinian journalists who write in English to a global audience. His
articles and columns are published on numerous websites, especially
those critical of the Israeli apartheid regime and US policy toward
the Palestinian plight. The 50-year-old journalist obtained a BA
degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a Master
degree in the same field from the University of Southern Illinois at
Carbondale in the United States.
ISM: Israeli soldiers desecrate Qur'an, rob
villagers during Beita invasion
One youth, Hussein Sabri Hamdan, aged 18 years, was shot in the
shoulder with a rubber bullet at 11am on Thursday, as he was heading
into the mosque to pray. As of 4pm on Friday 22nd February, 8
residents of Beita still remain in Israeli custody. Arrestees report of
being bound, blindfolded and beaten; and forced to sit for twelve hours
outdoors in freezing water, whilst they were denied food, water and use
of bathroom facilities. Soldiers inflicted extensive damage to many of
the occupied houses, ranging from bullet holes in windows and walls to
broken sound systems and torn up furniture.
Three civilians injured as Israeli army invades
al-Ein camp in Nablus Saturday morning
The army surrounded the house of Majdi Mabruk, 30, and fired a number of
sound bombs and detonated explosives near the house injuring Mabruk
sister Nabeelah. One man identified as, Sabah Salam and one child were lightly
wounded by shrapnel of the sound bombs. Eyewitnesses reported that soldiers
hand-cuffed and blind-folded Mabruk and took him to an undisclosed location.
Local sources said that Mabruk is a leader of the Abu Ali Mustafa brigade
12 injured in protest against land appropriation near Salfit
The National Resistance Committee reported on Friday that . . .
the Israeli army attacked a peaceful protest against the ongoing Israeli
annexation of Palestinian lands in order to pave a settler-only road.
The twelve residents suffered gas inhalation as the army fired
gas bombs and concussion grenades at them
14 Al-Aqsa fighters escape Nablus jail
The prisoners had been involved in fighting against the IDF in recent
months and were hiding in Nablus' old city, the Kasba. Some six weeks
ago, the group turned itself in to the PA. The IDF agreed to let the
militants, who are wanted by Israel, stay in the Palestinian prison on
condition that the Palestinian security forces keep them incarcerated.
Yesterday afternoon [Thursday] the entire group broke out of prison,
apparently with the help of their Palestinian wardens. One of the
escaped prisoners is Mahdi Abu Ghazale, commander of the
Al-Aqsa Brigades' Night Horsemen. Ghazale announced yesterday
that the group had decided to leave after the prison authorities
reneged on the conditions they had agreed on when they turned themselves in.
Islamic Jihad rejects NATO deployment in West Bank
The radical Islamic group voiced the rejection in a statement in
response to Israeli media reports that the U.S. was considering
deploying NATO forces in the West Bank after pushing Israel
to end the occupation of the territory. "The Palestinian people
don't need a new occupation under the U.S. command,"
said the Jihad statement.
Amnesty International Report: Punitive restrictions –
families of Palestinian detainees denied visits
Arab-Israeli rights group brings to light evidence of Israeli Army's
'cowardly blending' into civilian populations – by Jonathan Cook
[reprinted from Counterpunch Jan 4] A new report, written by a respected
Israeli human-rights organization, one representing the country's Arab
minority, not its Jewish majority, has unearthed evidence showing that
during the fighting Israel committed war crimes not only against
Lebanese civilians - as was already known - but also against its own
Arab citizens. The report also sheds a surprising light on the question
of what Hizbullah was aiming at when it fired hundreds of rockets on
northern Israel. The Human Rights Association has taken a brave stand
in unearthing the evidence to show that Israel committed war crimes by
placing much of its military hardware, including artillery positions
firing into Lebanon, inside and next to Arab[-Israeli] towns and villages.
Debate over Israel and Palestine: One state or two?
– by Kathleen Christison
Michael Neumann makes a strong case against a single
Palestinian-Jewish state as the solution for the conflict in
Palestine-Israel in his "The One-State Illusion: More is Less" in
the January 1-15, 2008 issue of the Counterpunch newsletter. But
there are critical flaws in his argument. Apparently this is [his]
bottom line: if Israel opposes the idea of a single state, then a single
state simply must be an impossible dream, not worth mentioning
and certainly not worth struggling for.
Israel's absurd identity – by Joharah Baker
While all may be in consensus that the Annapolis peace
conference held last November went belly up, Israel still
prides itself on one achievement – insisting that the
Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
Unsurprisingly, no groundbreaking solutions came
out of that conference. Recognizing the Jewish nature
of Israel is basically demanding that the Palestinians –
being non-Jewish – accept their second rate status in
any dealings with Israel.
Racism against Palestinians within
Israeli boundaries admitted by Knesset speaker
Knesset Speaker of the House, Dalia Itzik, recognized
discrimination against Palestinians living within Israeli boundaries.
This may seem an obvious fact: that Palestinians face racism in
myriad forms within the boundaries of Israel, but for the Speaker
of the Israeli Parliament to admit to such a thing is newsworthy.
Palestinian members of the Knesset have been driven from their
posts for making similar statements
Overcoming the language barrier
Menashe Regional Council, Abraham Fund Initiatives join forces in
unique language training for council workers, teaching them Arabic,
Arab culture, customs. 'Learning the language leads to changes in
perception,' says AFI. The Abraham Fund has already been approached
by other municipalities, as well as municipal workers outside regional
councils, who whish to join its language program.
From Lebanon with hate – the Dark Maid from Marjayoun
Marjayoun has become notorious recently, in some circles, not just
for decades of Israeli crimes, but also as the base from whence Ms.
Brigitte Gabriel, a local woman, appeared and launched her virulent
strain of Islamophobia. Joining with the US-Israel Lobby, she has
been organizing perhaps the most vicious hate campaign against Islam,
Arabs, and Muslims ever witnessed in America. There is no shortage
of people in Marjayoun with varying views of "what happened to Miss
Brigitte" and how she became so hateful toward her countrymen and
became an Israeli collaborator.
Fabricated: a tale of two 'memoirs' – by Therese Taylor
Forbidden Love and Burned Alive are both best-selling memoirs
about honour killing in the Arab world. Published in 2003, they
attracted rave reviews from major journals, and also the enthusiastic
recommendations of many readers. [Amazing how many Westerners
are eager to accept anything anti-Arab] However, since then, the
British edition of Forbidden Love was withdrawn from sale after it
was proven that the author, Norma Khouri, was in fact an American
of Jordanian descent, and did not grow up in Amman as she claimed.
Burned Alive came under critique when I published an article in The
Diplomat, an Australian magazine, which showed that the entire story
was filled errors of fact. There is a striking similarity between these
two memoirs. Both are based on a story about a Christian/Muslim
friendship – in each memoir a Muslim girl is threatened with death,
and a Christian friend tries to save her.
PLO office in Tunis closing 'forever'
Farouk Qaddoumi is retiring from the position of head of the Political
Department of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Tunis. That
office will close, as of April, "forever." After years as a top man in the
Fateh Central Committee, Qaddumi is calling it quits with the PLO.
His new house is nearly ready in the Jordanian capital city of Amman.
President Abbas is supporting Qaddoumi's decision to step down
from the PLO in April, but to remain the oldest member of the Fateh
Central Committee.
Lebanon moves to regularize Iraqi asylum seekers
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) welcomed Lebanon's steps this
week to issue work and residency papers to the estimated 50,000 Iraqi
would-be refugees in the country, hitherto considered illegal and
subject to imprisonment and deportation. . . Lebanon has tense
relations with its large Palestinian refugee population and a fragile
sectarian balance that makes any step that could be interpreted as
naturalizing refugees' status politically sensitive. A civil war tore
the country apart from 1975-1990.
The killing of Imad Moughniya – by Raid Khoury
The Arab-Israeli conflict will continue for the foreseeable future.
According to reports, Imad Moughniya has already been replaced,
and in short time, the media will find another shadowy, intriguing
figure to focus its attention on while continuing to ignore the
prevailing conditions that inevitably gives rise to both
legitimate acts of resistance, and terrorism. I
For Leviev, all that glitters isn't gold
But the persistent weekly protests outside his sumptuous
Leviev diamond store on Madison Avenue have been the
most visible sign of his run of bad luck. They began last
November at the lavish reception marking the store's opening.
"A-list" actresses Susan Sarandon and Isabella Rosellini graced
the event, as did heiress Denise Rich. But the opening became
something of a PR nightmare when a pro-Palestinian group called
Adalah set up pickets outside the store. The demonstrations have
continued regularly, and they have garnered widespread mention
not only in the tabloid press but also in diamond industry trade
publications. They are focused on the work of two Leviev-owned
construction companies in the building of new Jewish settlements
of Matityahu East and Zufim on agricultural land that, according to
Adalah, belonged for generations to the residents of two
Palestinian villages, Bil'in and Jayyous.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst –
by Daniel Levy
Here's something else to add to an Israeli's menu of worries: The
United States presidential elections may produce change in 2009.
Or so fear people like Malcolm Hoenlein, the professional head of
the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations,
who said on a recent visit to Israel that all the talk of "change" is an
"opening for mischief," and not good for Israel. Apparently the status
quo is so idyllic for Israel that one should wish for nothing more than
that it be perpetuated eternally.
The limit of Obama's imagination – by Hamid Dabashi
But will Barack Obama be able to deliver half the hope he has ignited
in his fellow-Americans? He has voted yes to reauthorise the
undemocratic USA Patriot Act that endangers Americans' civil
liberties; and has voted in favor of a Republican bill to authorise the
construction of a 700-mile fence on the border with Mexico. . .
Things are supposed to be different about Barack Obama, the man
who has stirred unsurpassed hope for change in young and idealist
Americans. But instead, what we witness is his move to one up
Senator Clinton and ingratiate himself to AIPAC. If he could only
burn that picture that Ali Abunimah has taken and published of
him sitting with his wife, Michele Obama, at the same table with
Edward and Mariam Said.
New evidence challenges official picture of Robert Kennedy shooting
New forensic analysis of the only audio recording of the fatal shots has
given new weight to a controversial theory that there were in fact two
shooters, and that the [Palestinian] man convicted of Kennedy's killing
— Sirhan Sirhan - did not fire the fatal shots.
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