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Situation of Palestinians on
Iraq-Syria border continues to
deteriorate
The situation of more than 2,700 Palestinians who
have been stranded and are living in inhumane
conditions in two border camps at the Iraq-Syrian
border continues to deteriorate. Over the past 22
months, UNHCR has been calling for urgent humanitarian
solutions for this group and – even if only temporary –
relocation elsewhere, preferably in the Arab region. In
2006, Canada accepted 64 Palestinians from Iraq, while
Brazil last year received 107. In a more recent
development, Chile – itself once a refugee-producing
country – offered to receive for resettlement an initial
group of 117 Iraq Palestinians. They are expected to
depart in April. Sudan has also offered to accept
2,000 Iraq Palestinians, and UNHCR together with
Palestinian representatives is finalizing an operations
plan that will enable this to take place. UNHCR
appreciates all of these responses and we hope that all
of the Palestinians will be able to leave the harsh
conditions of the camps sooner rather than later. Their
relocation would in no way jeopardize their right to
return at any stage, if and when such a possibility arises.
Israeli army invade Nablus and occupy house
At approximately 8:30am on Sunday morning Israeli army
forces again invaded the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
Israeli soldiers surrounded an apartment building in Al Ein
refugee camp, before occupying an empty apartment on
the top floor. Nearby residents advised that the soldiers
occupied the apartment for approximately three hours,
before withdrawing. Ayam, who lives on the bottom floor,
reports that this happens so regularly now that they have
become accustomed to it. It is common, she informs, for
soldiers enter the building without harrassing the residents,
but recounts an invasion four months ago where Israeli
soldiers forced twenty of the occupants into one apartment
and kept them imprisoned there for three days.
Palestinian resistance group
escapes Israeli ambush near Jenin
A group of Palestinian resistance fighters, on
Tuesday at midday, escaped an Israeli army ambush
in the village of Zababda, located south of Jenin city
in the northern West Bank.
Israeli army kidnaps 23 Palestinians across
the West Bank in pre-dawn invasions
The Israeli army targeted several areas of the West
Bank on Tuesday at dawn, kidnapping at least 23
Palestinians, local sources reported.
Elderly Palestinian man killed
by unknown gunmen near Qalqilia
Palestinian sources reported that unknown
gunmen opened fire at Abed Al Karem Al Abeet,
75, killing him in the village of Bein-Amein, near
the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia on
Tuesday afternoon.
Nafha Society: 100 detainees under interrogation
in Al Jalama prison, abused and isolated
The Nafha Society for Defending the Rights of the
Detainees and Human Rights reported on Monday
that nearly 100 detainees are currently under
interrogation in Al Jalama Israeli interrogation facility
facing physical and psychological pressures.
Tibi urges release of PLC member
Maryam Salih
The Palestinian member of Israeli Knesset Dr Ahmad
Tibi - Chair of the Arab Front for Renewal - on Monday
sent a message to the Israeli Defence Minister Ehud
Barak, demanding the immediate release of Maryam
Salih, the female Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)
member. "Salih was democratically elected and the motive
behind her apprehension was merely political as no bill of
indictment was filed against her, and so she must be
released immediately," Tibi stated in his message.
'Police allowed rioters to hurt us'
Residents of Jabel Mukaber upset at police a
day after rightists riot in village.
Slain Jihad operative's son: 'Our whole
family has turned Hezbollah'
19-year-old says when Israel made mockery of
PA when IDF killed his father in Bethlehem last week.
Palestinian refugees in the West Bank
protest against reduced UN aid
The Palestinian popular committees of refugee camps
in the West Bank organized on Monday protests in the
various refugees populations over there,
to voice objection to UN's aid reduction.
Rabbi stabbed in neck in E.
Jerusalem terror attack
Victim, 49, suffers light wounds in attack near
Damascus Gate; police searching for assailant.
Demonstration at Beit Furik
checkpoint calling for its removal
At 10am on Saturday 15th March 2008
approximately 50 Palestinians and internationals
gathered at the Beit Furik checkpoint near Nablus to
protest against the checkpoint. Internationals and
residents of Nablus joined villagers from Beit Furik
and Beit Dajan to march to the checkpoint - one of
seven that surrounds the city of Nablus, cutting the
nearby villages off from the city. Organised by the
Beit Furik municipality, protesters demanded the
removal of the checkpoint, which is open only from
6am until 9pm each day, only allowing ambulances
to pass through after 9pm. The checkpoint also only
allows residents of Beit Furik and Beit Dajan to pass
through, denying any visits by friends or family to
the village. Even this is uncertain though, the mayor
of Beit Furik, Abu Hakeem, explained - often the
soldiers prevent the passage of any persons through
the checkpoint, including those seeking medical treatment.
Israel seals Palestinian territories
before Purim holiday
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak on Tuesday
ordered the Palestinian territories sealed off for fear
of attacks during the impending Jewish Purim holiday,
his office said.
Palestinians in Gaza lose their livelihoods
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continues its tight
siege and prevents movement of people and goods in
and out of the Gaza Strip. This includes patients who
are close to dying due to denied access to hospitals
abroad. Sources from the Palestinian Ministry of
Health have indicated that more than 100 patients
have died since mid-June 2007.
WEST BANK: IFJ condemns Israeli
arrests of Palestinian journalists
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
today has condemned a series of detentions and
threats to journalists in the Palestinian West Bank,
which it says are creating a new level of intimidation
of journalists and the press in the region.
Palestinian PSS storms Ramattan
Press Agency in Ramallah
PCHR is deeply concerned over storming the
headquarters of Ramattan Press Agency in Ramallah
by members of the Palestinian Preventive Security
Service (PSS) and the arrest of a Palestinian journalist
on Wednesday, 12 March 2008. PCHR believes that
this attack constitutes an assault on press freedoms
and the right to freedom of expression, and stresses
that the rights to freedom of expression and to receive
and impart information are ensured by the Palestinian
Basic Law and international human rights instruments.
Palestinian Poll: Haneya would defeat
Abbas if presidential elections held
A Palestinian poll published on Monday showed that
the deposed prime minister Ismail Haneya of Hamas
would defeat incumbent President Mahmoud Abbas if
presidential elections were now held in the Palestinian
territories. The poll, conducted by the Palestinian
Center for Policy and Survey Research which is based in
the West Bank, indicated that Haneya will receive 47
percent of the votes while Abbas will win46 percent.
Jailed Barghouti mulls running for
Palestinian presidency
Jailed Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti said Monday
that he is considering running for the Palestinian
Authority presidency in the next elections that are
expected to take place in 2009 or 2010.
Both Haniya of Hamas and Fatah's
Abbas enjoy popular support
Both Palestinian Prime Minister of Hamas,
Ismail Haniya and President Mahmoud Abbas of
Fatah, enjoy equal popular support among the
Palestinian masses in the Gaza Strip and West Bank,
a recent public opinion poll showed.
Arab MK to chief rabbis: Slam rabbinical
calls to harm Arabs
Ra'am-Ta'al Chairman MK Sheikh Ibrahim Sarsur
on Monday urged Israel's chief rabbis to condemn
recent rulings made by National Religious rabbis that
give way to avenge the attack at Mercaz Harav
yeshiva earlier this month.
Israeli settlers start new settlement
post near Bethlehem
Villagers of Al Khader, located south-west of
Bethlehem city in the southern West Bank
revealed on Tuesday that Israeli settlers have
started to build a new settlement post on their lands.
Qurei rejects Olmert's statements
on settlements expansion
Chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei said in
a meeting held on Monday with Israeli Foreign
Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem that the expansion
of Jewish settlements is rejected. Qurei said in a
statement published by Palestinian news agency Wafa
that a semi-official meeting was held on Monday evening
with Livni in Jerusalem, instead of an official preparatory
meeting to renew peace talks.
Erekat: We can't discuss negotiations
while settlement activity is ongoing
The head of the Negotiations Department in the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO),
Dr. Sa'ed Erekat, stated on Tuesday that
negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel
can not continue with ongoing Israeli settlement
construction activity in the West Bank.
Israeli officials: Egypt brokering
package deal for occupied Gaza
The package deal will also include an Egyptian
commitment to redouble anti-smuggling efforts on
the border, give Hamas a presence at the Rafah
crossing and reinstate Palestinian Authority(PA)
control over other crossings from Gaza into Israel,
the officials said.
Palestinian negotiators hold
unofficial meeting with Israeli FM
Head of the Palestinian negotiations teams,
Ahmad Qorea', stated on Monday at night that
an unofficial meeting took place during evening
hours between Palestinian negotiators and the
Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni.
Life in the 'open prison' of Gaza
"It's like being on death row," I am frequently told
and almost every Gazan you speak to talks of his
land being an "open prison".
Lebanese Army: Israeli warship enters
Lebanon's territorial waters
BEIRUT, Lebanon: The Lebanese army says that an
Israeli warship has entered Lebanese territorial waters.
The army says Monday's incident was discovered when
an Italian ship working with the United Nations
peacekeepers in Lebanon spotted the Israeli vessel.
Women bring green revolution to Arab sector
Aziza Muadi, of the Lower Galilee town of Maghar, has
a dream - to establish a large educational institute that
will teach environmental conservation, recycling and
ecology. But considering the low awareness of
environmental issues in the Arab sector, Muadi
decided to start small: She recently began coordinating
a group of 17 women who are now promoting
environmental education in Maghar.
Facebook face-off: Settlers win right to
list country as Israel, not Palestine
Complaints by Israeli settlers angry at Facebook for
listing them as residents of "Palestine" prompted the
popular social networking Web site to allow users to
switch their location back to Israel. Facebook users
living in Maaleh Adumim, Ariel and other large
settlements in the West Bank protested when the
site automatically listed their hometowns as being in "Palestine".
Rachel Corrie - Interview
Desecrating Hala Maksoud's Memory
"Ibish proceeded to do the complete opposite when
he referred to and commented on the sexual
orientation of a well-known professor who does
extensive research and writing on the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict. What does someone's
sexual orientation have to do with his or her ability
to constructively add to Palestinian-Israeli discourse?
He also mentioned many other prominent members,
institutions and organizations in the Arab-American
community by name and proceeded to bad-mouth
them and what they do."
Israel, a Militaristic Society
Can the Zionist militaristic society, with a century
old blue print plan of action to settle Jews in all of
Palestine, make concessions and compromise for
the sake of peace? No, especially if it is the region's
only super-power supported and defended by the
world's only super-power. The Zionists have been
either fighting a war or preparing to fight a war in
Palestine and across its borders long before the
establishment of Israel. Israel has been a military
camp where every Israeli adult, male or female, is a
soldier trained to kill. War science and technology
and the Israeli warriors have become big commercial
commodities ready for export as consultants and advisors.
Israel's military experience is sought by many countries
after every one of its unending wars. Israeli leaders never
set fixed borders for their state since its establishment.
They always considered the pre-1967 borders as
temporary armistice demarcation lines and that the land
of Israel is "wherever the boots of its soldiers tread".
Pictures of Israel's attack against
Palestinians in March-graphic
Vilifying Arabs
The most exhilarating idea emerging from the ongoing
and fiercely competitive US primary election has been the
likelihood of the Democratic party's frontrunners - Hillary
Clinton and Barack Obama - running jointly as members of
a "dream ticket" in the upcoming national elections, regardless
of who will be president or vice president. The point to
emphasise here is that the pair, each very popular but with
a different segment of the population, will mark the first
opportunity for a white woman and a black man to run for
the country's two top positions, something unheard of
previously because of the ubiquitous racism and sexism
in the United States.
McCain rep to Jews:
Christian right is 'serious problem'
The Republican candidate's big name backer,
Lawrence Eagleburger, could get McCain into trouble.
McCain backs Jerusalem as 'Israeli capital'
AMMAN (AFP) - US Republican presidential candidate
John McCain said on Tuesday that he supported Israel's
claim to Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state.
Bomb kills 39 in Iraqi city of Karbala
A female suicide bomber attacked a group of Shiite
worshippers near a mosque in Karbala on Monday,
killing at least 39 people and wounding 54, officials said.
At least 15 killed in Iraq
A roadside bomb killed two U.S. occupation force soldiers
when it struck their vehicle in a district north of Baghdad,
the U.S. military said.
Explosions rock Iraq's capital as
McCain, Cheney visit
Sen. John McCain stressed the importance of a U.S.
commitment to Iraq during talks with Iraq's prime minister
Monday, and explosions struck Baghdad during twin visits
by the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and
Vice President Dick Cheney.
Red Cross: Iraq humanitarian situation
one of the most desperate
The humanitarian situation in Iraq five years after
the US-led invasion is 'one of the most critical in the world,
' the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
said in a report issued Monday.
France says Iraqi crisis
one of worst in worldwide
"The crisis affecting Iraq is one of the most grave in
the world," she said. "In a situation which remains
extremely fragile with regard to security, there is a
humanitarian dimension of a particular gravity," she added.
Patrick Cockburn: Iraq is a country no more
"'It reminds me of Iraq under Saddam," a militant
opponent of Saddam Hussein said angrily to me last
week as he watched red-capped Iraqi soldiers close
down part of central Baghdad so the convoy of
Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, might
briefly venture into the city.
Tens of thousands of protesters across the world
have taken part in a day of protests demanding
the withdrawal of US and British troops from Iraq
and Afghanistan.
Brown promises public inquiry into Iraqi war
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has promised a full
-scale inquiry into the mistakes made in Iraq, prior to the
fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led war, The Independent
newspaper said Monday.
rise in asylum seekers
Iraqis are still fleeing their country five years after
the US-led invasion and top the list of asylum seekers
in the industrialised world, the UN refugee agency said
Tuesday. In 2007, the number of new applications for
refugees in 43 industrialised countries rose 10 percent
to 338,000 from 306,300 the previous year, the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees said in a report.
One in five Iraqis displaced or refugees - agency
Nearly one in five of Iraq's population before the U.S.-led
invasion five years ago are living as internally displaced
people or refugees in other countries, a global relief
agency said on Tuesday.
Video: Baghdad City of Walls
For the fifth anniversary of the US/British-led
invasion of Iraq, the Guardian's award-winning foreign
correspondent Ghaith Abdul-Ahad has teamed up
with ITV News to bring us a series of extraordinary
films for the ITV News and guardian.co.uk. In these
unprecedented films he, as an Iraqi, goes where
foreign journalists can no long go - to the heart of
Baghdad's most dangerous sectarian zones. He
uncovers Iraq's own killing field where only the
"killers and the killed" can visit; and he reveals the
desperate truth of the trafficked children of Iraq."
Iraq wants to execute Saddam aides together
BAGHDAD (AFP) - The Iraqi government said on
Tuesday it wanted to execute together three former
aides of Saddam Hussein, including "Chemical Ali,"
who face the gallows for a genocidal campaign against Kurds.
New Report: Abu Ghraib Prisoners Packed
In Ice Water- Filled Garbage Cans
Muslim prisoners held in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison were
submerged in water-filled garbage cans with ice or put
naked under cold showers in near-freezing rooms until
they went into shock, Sgt. Javal Davis, who served
with the 372nd Military Police Company there, has
told a national magazine.
New Yorker: Abu Ghraib abuse 'de facto US policy'
ERROL MORRIS: How did you feel about the kids?
SABRINA HARMAN: They were fun. They made the time
go by faster, but it was kind of sad that they even had to
be there. There was…I had just come in and I didn't know
any better, but there was a—He was really young, he must
have been about 14, and his dad and him had just came in,
and he went to see his dad and they were on the same tier,
they were just—One was on the bottom floor and one was
on the top. So I took him out to be my cleaner, and I just
stuck him in his father's cell. Well, I didn't realize that MI,
or whoever the handler was of the father did not want them
talking. So he was in there for hours, I mean, that's probably
—Could have gotten in really big trouble. But like, I didn't
know, I just felt…you feel bad for them holding a child for
no reason just because of who your father was. And they
did the same thing with the women. It was just who you're
married to, who you know. But the kids were—They weren't
any trouble at all, they were kind of fun.
http://www.newyorker.com
2008/03/24
TO WATCH/READ THE INTERVIEW CLICK HERE
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