'I came, I saw, I destroyed' – by Uri Avnery
WHAT HAPPENED this week is so infuriating, so impertinent, that it stands
out even in our familiar landscape of governmental irresponsibility. On the near
horizon, a de facto suspension of hostilities was taking shape. The Egyptians
had made great efforts to turn it into an official cease-fire. The flame was
already burning visibly lower. The launching of Qassams and Grads from
the Gaza Strip into Israel had fallen from dozens a day to two or three. And
then something happened that turned the flame up high again: undercover
soldiers of the Israeli army killed four Palestinians militants in Bethlehem.
A fifth was killed in a village near Tulkarm. The modus operandi left no
doubt about the intention. . . Does the Israeli government generally object
to a cease-fire that would free Sderot and Ashkelon from the threat of the
rockets? If so, why?
Israeli air strike on Gaza leaves three killed, three wounded
Three Palestinians have been reportedly killed on Saturday after an
Israeli drone fired a missile towards the vicinity of a local school in
eastern Gaza city. Witnesses said that the air strike targeted the Aljaro
street near the Ibn Al-Arqam school. The air strike came after buzzing
of an Israeli drone has been non-stop in the area, witnesses added. In
the meantime, three other Palestinians were reported by medics as
wounded after an Israeli tank shelled the al-Shayima' school in the
northern Gaza Strip city of Beit Lahiya.
Gaza medical officials: Their bodies arrived charred and torn to pieces
The dead are from Saraya Al Quds, the armed resistance wing of Islamic
Jihad: a frequent target these days in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
The injured were hit by artillery shelling near a school in the northern Strip's
Beit Lahia, one is described to be in "critical condition." The killings were
considered assassinations, conducted in the eastern Gaza City neighborhood
of Al Shajaiyeh. Palestinian medical sources in Gaza City's Al Shifa Hospital
confirmed to PNN that in addition to killing the three people, Israeli forces
injured several others. The dead are all in their early twenties.
Death toll in Gaza rises to four
A Palestinian activist affiliated to Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades on
Sunday morning died of wounds sustained from an Israeli helicopter
attack. Palestinian medical sources said that 25-year-old Mahmoud
Hammuda was hospitalized in the intensive care unit on Saturday
evening after Israeli helicopters targeted a group of resistance fighters
in the Ash-Shayma area in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip.
Two bystanders injured in Gaza City by Israeli naval fire
Two Palestinian bystanders have been slightly injured as an
Israeli naval squadron targeted a Palestinian car near the Sudaniyya
beach in northern Gaza City, Ma'an's reporter said on Sunday. Palestinian
medical sources said the two were treated on the spot, and none of the
car's occupants were harmed.
Israeli siege claims the lives of two more sick Palestinian civilians
Ahmad Al Nurri, 60, died of cancer, while nine-month-old Sabeel Tubasi
died from a lung infection. Doctors stated that both were prevented from
leaving the Gaza Strip for medical care by the Israeli military. Including those
killed today, 120 Palestinian medical patients have died due to the ongoing
Israeli siege on Gaza.
Palestinian baby falls ill in Israeli prison
The youngest prisoner in the world, 40-day-year old Yousif Az-Ziq
from Gaza City, who was born to a Palestinian female prisoner Fatima
Az-Ziq, was hospitalized in the prison's clinic at the Israeli prison of
Hasharon, after he suffered from a high fever. Another infant prisoner,
according to Nafha, is 19-month old baby girl Ghada Abu Umar, daughter
of Khawla Zeitawi, who is serving a two-year sentence in an Israeli prison.
Zahhar: 'Free calm' with Israel not acceptable
JABALIA, (PIC)-- Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar, a prominent Hamas leader,
stated on Friday that Hamas rejects granting Israeli occupation free calm,
adding that any truce must be reciprocal and comprehensive and include
Gaza, the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem.
Erekat: Egypt is making great efforts to negotiate a
truce between Palestinians and Israel
The head of the Negotiation Affairs Department of the PLO (Palestine
Liberation Organization), Dr. Sa'eb Ereikat, stated on Saturday that Egypt is
making substantial efforts toward achieving a truce between the Palestinians
and Israel. He added that that Egypt's role is welcomed by the Palestinian
Authority. Ereikat said that Palestinian President Abbas asked his Egyptian
counterpart Hussni Mubarak, during their meeting last week in Egypt, to
facilitate a truce with Israel and to work towards opening the borders
between Egypt and Gaza.
Hamas okays Fatah presence at Rafah
Hamas leaders claimed over the weekend that they were very close to
reaching a deal with Egypt over the reopening of the Rafah border
crossing. They said the apparent breakthrough was achieved after
Hamas changed its position about the presence of security forces loyal
to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at Rafah. Ayman
Taha, a spokesman for Hamas, said his movement would agree to the
deployment of Abbas's men on condition that their names were handed
over to Hamas in advance.
Barak rethinking 'Iron Dome'
defense system in face of Gaza rockets
Spurred by a surge in Palestinian rocket salvoes and charges of
arms industry protectionism, Israel is rethinking its rejection of
deployable foreign defense technologies which can counter the
rocket attacks. One is Nautilus, a joint Israeli-American invention
that uses lasers to blow up rockets and mortar bombs mid-flight.
The other is Phalanx, an automated machinegun produced by U.S.
firm Raytheon whose heavy bullets shred incoming shells.
A minister of war – by Gideon Levy
Defense Minister Ehud Barak is a bitter disappointment. He was the
first statesman who dared suggest brave, though lacking, solutions.
Now, he has turned into the chief saboteur of any chance for a calm
in the fighting, a cease-fire or diplomatic progress. Barak has long
forsaken talk of peace. He certainly does not believe in Olmert's peace
initiative and is trying his best to destroy it.
Rachel Corrie's case for justice
As their plane touches down in Tel Aviv this week, Cindy and Craig
Corrie will mark five years since their daughter's death. On March 16, 2003,
Rachel Corrie, 23, was crushed to death beneath an armored Israeli
bulldozer. This week, the Corries come to Israel to attend the first
Arabic-language performance of the acclaimed one-woman play,
'My Name is Rachel Corrie' . . . Caterpillar – the Question of Liability:
Weighing more than 60 tons with its armored plating, the Caterpillar D9
bulldozer that killed Rachel Corrie is built to destroy a reinforced concrete
house in a matter of minutes. More than 70,000 Palestinians have seen their
homes destroyed by the IDF since the occupation began
Israeli health organization:
Gaza health situation deteriorates due to siege
The Israeli medical delegation affiliated with the international
organization Doctors Without Borders affirmed on Saturday that
the health situation in Gaza is severely deteriorated due to continuation
of the siege imposed by Israel over the past eight months. In a press
conference, Dr Salah al Haj Yahya, head of the delegation of medics,
stated that "there is a great shortage of medical supplies in the hospitals
of the Strip because of the blockade that violates International and
Humanitarian law." He stated that a shipping container carrying medical
supplies will enter Gaza on Sunday and added that what is being transferred
into the coastal region is not enough to reverse the dire health situation there.
[Doctors without Borders reopened their clinic in Gaza City on
March 2 during the worst of the Israeli incursion.]
Life in the 'open prison' of Gaza
This is a tiny strip of land and its life is being drained out of it –
"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".
Opening the door to Hamas – by Ali Gharib
"I can notice a slight change in the attitude of the Bush administration to the
idea of engaging – even if indirectly and implicitly – Hamas in order to have
a ceasefire in Gaza," said former Israeli foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami at a
conference at the New America Foundation. "They understand that Gaza
can undermine Annapolis. And without a ceasefire in Gaza, Annapolis is doomed."
'Greater Jerusalem' means fewer Palestinians – by Joharah Baker
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert recently gave the go-ahead for the
construction of 750 new housing units in the West Bank settlement of
Givat Zeev . . . Since 1948, Israeli authorities have managed to squeeze
out tens of thousands of Palestinians from their home in the holy city
through a multitude of policies – land expropriation, expulsion, ID
confiscation and the separation wall. If these already gigantic settlements,
in this instance Givat Zeev, continue to grow, there might not be much left to
negotiate once Jerusalem is finally on the table.
Dividing Jerusalem? It's when, not whether – by Douglas Bloomfield
Jerusalem will be divided. The question isn't whether, but when and how.
The city's borders have been shifting for 3,000 years. . . Meanwhile, the future
of Jerusalem is becoming a source of growing tension between the Olmert
government and Diaspora leaders, many of who are demanding at least a voice,
if not a vote, in any decision. It will be up to Israeli leaders to educate Jewish and
Christian supporters that redrawing municipal boundaries is not splitting the city
asunder but making it a stronger capital of a stronger Jewish state.
Foreign envoys to press Israel on peace process
German chancellor, US vice president, Republican presidential
candidate, Russia's foreign minister and Britain's foreign secretary
expected to visit Jerusalem this week. Diplomatic tsunami reflects
international community's concern over escalation in region
Palestinian-Israeli negotiators to meet on peace this week
Chief Palestinian negotiator , Ahmad Qurai and his Israeli counterpart,
foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, are scheduled to meet this week over peace
talks, following suspension by Palestinians of negotiations in the wake of a
deadly Israeli attack on Gaza, earlier this month, Israeli media sources reported Sunday.
Livni pushing for compensation from PA for slain and injured Israelis
Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni has given directives to enable Israeli
victims of Palestinian attacks to sue the Palestinian Authority in Israeli
courts in order to claim financial reimbursement. These new directives will
pave the way for dozens of cases to be filed against the PA by victims, or
families of victims, seeking financial compensation for their casualties. The
pretext given is that the PA failed to prevent military attacks against Israelis
from its territories.
Israeli military tries to kidnap 10-year-old in Burka village near Nablus
Witnesses told the media that at least 5 Israeli military jeeps invaded the
village of Burka on Friday evening. They also stated that the Israeli
soldiers opened fire and searched homes. Among the homes searched
was the house of Abed Syif, who was killed by the Israeli military last
year. After searching the house, soldiers tried to kidnap Syif's son Khalil,
age 10. Syif's family intervened, stopping the soldiers from kidnapping the child.
Arson attack on women's center in Yatta, near Hebron
A women's centre in the southern West Bank town of Yatta, south
of Hebron, was set fire to on Saturday evening. Ma'an's reporter
stated that the two-storey centre was affiliated to the Fatah movement.
The fire destroyed all the contents of the building yet no casualties have
been reported.
Israeli forces seize two Palestinian brothers in Taffuh,
near Hebron, early Sunday morning
Palestinian security sources told Ma'an's reporter that Israeli
forces raided the town from the west and besieged a residential block
belonging to the Zreiqat family. Thirty residents were evacuated from the
building as it was inspected. The two brothers, 21-year-old Tariq and
18-year-old Bara' Zreiqat, were then apprehended.
Four Arab ambassadors to the PA visit Hebron
Four Arab ambassadors to the Palestinian Authority have visited
the southern West Bank city of Hebron and met with the mayor of
the city Khalid Al-'Asili in his office, Ma'an's reporter said. The Arab
ambassadors represented Egypt, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,
Morocco, and Tunisia. The ambassadors promised to convey messages
to their governments in order to exert pressure on the international
community and to urge them to demand that Israel stop collective
punishment against the Hebron residents.
Student strikes in nonviolent protest of killings
Bethlehem / Najib Farrag – Students in the city of Bethlehem held
a massive nonviolent demonstration in the streets before noon on
Saturday. The young Palestinians passed by the homes of the
four men who were assassinated on Wednesday evening, and
through the streets of Beit Jala where Israeli forces have been
invading as of late. As the young protesters chanted for retaliation
and shouted to stop "frivolous negotiations," they stopped traffic.
All moved together towards the mourning tent in Manger Square. In
the meantime, a number of schools are experiencing student strikes.
Israeli court renews administrative detention of
Palestinian mother for seventh time
(PIC)-- The PA ministry of prisoners' affairs in Gaza strongly denounced
the Israeli prison courts for renewing the administrative detention of a
Palestinian woman called Nora Hashlamoun, 37, from Al-Khalil city,
southern West Bank, for the seventh consecutive time. The Palestinian
official pointed that prisoner Hashlamoun has six children, the youngest is
a one-year-and-half-old baby, left behind without a breadwinner, as her
husband Mohamed Al-Hashlamoun is also a prisoner in Israeli jails.
Israeli police deployed to prevent extremists
from demolishing house of Abu Dhaim
Israeli police were deployed on Sunday morning to Jabal Al-Mukabbir -
the Palestinian neighborhood near Jerusalem - in order to prevent right
wing Israeli extremists from reaching the home of Ala' Abu Dhaim who
conducted last week's shooting in an Israeli school. Israeli sources said that
huge police forces were deployed in the area near Abu Dhaim's house after
right wing Israeli extremists called last week for a rally towards the house in
order to demolish it.
Right-wing Israelis storm Arab area in Jerusalem
(Reuters) - Dozens of right-wing Jewish activists broke through an Israeli
police barrier near an Arab neighbourhood in East Jerusalem on Sunday
and hurled stones at houses and cars, police and witnesses said. The
activists entered the neighbourhood of Jabal Mukaber, which was home to
a Palestinian gunmen who earlier this month killed eight students at a Jewish
seminary, the deadliest Palestinian attack on Israelis in two years.
Ilan Pappe: I'm not a traitor
Controversial historian Ilan Pappe left Israel last year after his
endorsement of an academic boycott of Israel exposed him and his
family to death threats. Now a professor in England, Pappe maintains
that a cultural boycott on his homeland is the only way to end the
occupation – Pappe insists that allowing the Palestinian refugees to
return to Israel is the only thing that could secure peace in the region.
"They want to return while understanding that they will live alongside th
Jews. They don't want to expel anyone. What turned me into a great lover
of the Palestinians is the will of many among them to share the land with us.
Even people in Hamas."
New program to reconnect Palestinians
in the diaspora to their homeland
Birthright Palestine is meant to gather first-generation,
western-born Palestinians (over the age of 18) in their ancestral homeland,
so that they can reunite and witness firsthand how their brethren are living
under illegal Israeli military occupation, while assimilating them into
Palestinian society. The first annual program is to launch this summer
, marking the 60th anniversary of Al-Nakba. The concept was created by
the Palestine Center for National Strategic Studies (PCNSS) is a new,
non-profit, non-violent, non-factional, non-governmental organizational think
tank based out of the Dheisheh Refugee Camp. This program is being
implemented in cooperation and partnership with the Siraj Center of Holy
Land Studies. Siraj is a non governmental organization based in Beit Sahour,
Palestine. E-mail: info@birthrightpalestine.com
http://www.birthrightpalestine
New initiative for coexistence between Palestinians and Jews
Undersecretary of the Palestinian ministry of prisoner's affairs,
Ziad Abu Ain, has launched an initiative for coexistence between the
Arabs and the Jews in Palestine. Abu Ain proposed to give up the idea
of establishing an independent Palestinian state and instead to stick to
the natural growth and co-existance of the Palestinians and the Jews.
To explain the initiative a website has been created: www.return08.com
Ten commandments for Arab and Jew at war – by Bradley Burston
With radicalism at the clerical level having tainted and to some extent warped
both Islam and Judaism, perhaps now is the time for the rest of us believers
to put in our two cents. Herewith, a first draft [elaboration in the text]:
1. Thou shalt not kill the civilian. 2. Neither shall you use civilians as human
shields. 3. Thou shalt not worship the use of force, nor mistake revenge for
self-defense, nor confuse politically motivated attacks with justice, nor believe
with perfect faith that military might, carried to an extreme, will resolve
the conflict. 4. Thou shalt not practice humiliation, nor collective
punishment. 5. Thou shalt not dismiss ceasefire proposals out of hand.
6. Thou shalt not demolish homes. 7. Thou shalt raze illegal outposts. 8.
Thou shalt act to restrain the renegades in your midst, terrorists, bigots
and bullies, whose actions betray their own people. 9. Thou shalt not aim
to "close an account." 10. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain
Top rabbi: Employing Arabs is forbidden
One of the world's top Torah authorities, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky
spurred controversy on Sunday when he declared that Jews
are forbidden from employing Arabs according to halacha, the
haredi newspaper Yom Hadash reported. Rav Kanievsky's decision
is in fact an instruction to hundreds of institutions across the nation
that employ Arabs. He added that "non-Jews should not be employed
because Jews should be provided with a livelihood, however
when there are significant differences in the expenses of employing
one and not the other, it is permitted. When referring to employing
Arabs - today - g-d forbid, it means placing people in mortal danger."
Policeman allegedly attacks two Arabs
A Kfar Saba policeman who arrested two Arab Israelis in Taiba on
Friday is suspected of trying to hit them with a baton while shouting
"Death to Arabs," police said Sunday. According to the allegations,
the policeman arrived at his night shift under the influence of alcohol.
The duty officer intervened to prevent the attack and Kfar Saba Police
subsequently opened an inquiry into the incident.
Arab leaders say state promoting 'political assassination'
Against the backdrop of rising tensions between Jews and Arabs,
prominent Israeli-Arab figures warn incitement by Jewish politicians
translates into atmosphere that legitimizes killing of their leaders
Police suspect Ramla woman shot over her engagement to a Jew
Local police launched an investigation into the incident and estimate
that the woman, a divorcée in her 40s, was shot over what is referred
to as the "desecration of the family's honor." An initial investigation
revealed that the woman was shot from a passing car as she left her
house on the way to work. The shots were aimed at the victim's upper
body, leading police to believe that the assailants wanted her dead.
One of the bullets struck the woman's neck. The victim sustained light
injuries and has been released from the hospital.
Saudi representative in the Arab League:
Arab peace initiative will not wait indefinitely
The representative of Saudi Arabia in the Arab League, Ahmad Al-Qattan,
stated on Sunday that the Arab peace initiative - proposed in the Beirut
Summit of 2002 - would not wait indefinitely. "Israeli stubbornness has
left no room for patience on the Arab side," he told the Saudi-based
Ukadh daily newspaper. He stated that Israel is dreaming if it believes it
can seek normalization with Arab countries before a comprehensive
and just peace agreement is achieved.
New York rabbi hands out cash in Sderot
Rabbi Mordechai Aderet hands out NIS 200 bills to market-goers in
Qassam-battered town – One of the rabbi's assistants told Ynet the
rabbi received word of the city's despair and offered to help the
residents out and assist the small business owners who have
suffered greatly from the incessant rocket fire. Young girls in revealing
attire who approached the rabbi were given the money but were asked to
"dress more modestly and preserve the Jewish tradition."
A little lightheartedness: Capture the Flag
Once-banned PLO flag now present at official dinners; will same
happen with Hamas? – According to media reports, the police
conditioned the handing over the Jerusalem terrorist's body to his
family on the removal of Hamas flags from the mourning tent. For the
Israeli government, chasing down flags is a very useful act. As we saw,
it almost managed to destroy the PLO 20 years ago that way. Moreover,
the number of casualties in the game of "capture the flag" is much lower
than in the game known as "explosions."
Contract soon for Palestinian airport in Jordan
Palestinian Public Works, Housing & Economy Minister Kamal
Hassouneh,said the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is to
begin work within weeks on a series of industrial projects to serve
the West Bank, including an airport in Jordan and two industrial
zones. The three schemes are part of a three-year plan for the West
Bank and Gaza Strip, to use the money pledged by international donors
in Paris last year. The December 2007 conference raised $7.7bn to
revitalize the Palestinian economy. Tenders should be issued on the
airport in the coming weeks, Hassouneh said. [Guess we won't be
seeing the resurrection of the Gaza airport anytime soon]
Welch: Palestinian refugees should live inside Palestinian state
U.S. Ass't Sec. of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch has
said that both the Palestinian and Lebanese people believe that
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon should live "inside a Palestinian state."
"I Hope that can be realized, because that would, I believe, also help
Lebanon." "I think sometimes when I hear from Lebanese their concern
about these folks might be pushed upon them, that presents a lot of issues
of insensitivities for Lebanon, particularly at this time," Welch added.
US Green Party condemns last week's attack on Gaza Strip
Washington DC / The Green Party via Mazin Qumsiyeh - Calling the
Siege of Gaza an international emergency, the Green Party is urging
Congress to reject President Bush's FY2009 budget request for $2.55
billion in Foreign Military Financing for Israel, and reiterated the call
for a cut-off of all US military aid to Israel.
Al Jazeera video: Iraq war veterans accuse US military of coverups
Winter Soldier: hundreds of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan gather to
testify in echo of 1971 Vietnam hearings
Suddenly, a dangerous turn
Two seemingly disconnected events have created a suddenly
dangerous turn regarding the future of U.S. wars in the Middle
East. One was the abrupt resignation of the person who has been
the biggest obstacle to a U.S. military strike against Iran, Admiral
William Fallon, the chief of Central Command which oversees U.S.
military operations in the volatile region. The second is the ugly
direction that the Democratic presidential competition has taken, with
Hillary Clinton's campaign intensifying its harsh rhetoric against
Barack Obama, reducing the likelihood that he can win the presidency
– and thus raising the odds that the next president will be either John
McCain or Sen. Clinton, both hawks on Iran
Obama asked to explain after his minister 'damns' America
YouTube clip shows Rev. Jeremiah Wright saying 'God damn
America,' accusing Israel of 'state terrorism.
' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
There is no reason to assume that Barack Obama agrees with his
minister, The Rev. Jeremiah Wright; in fact, there is every reason to
believe he does not. Nevertheless, this is the man who baptized the
democratic presidential candidate's daughters, who married him to
his wife, to whose church he has gone for many years, where he has
heard the minister's sermon week in, week out.
Where's the change, Barack? – by Uzma Aslam Khan
Your 2008 presidential election slogan is CHANGE. How can there
be change, when your views on foreign policy are no different from that
of President Bush? I know some of your supporters. I've asked them
why your position on North Korea and the "Islamic World" isn't seen
as xenophobic and imperialistic within the United States when outside
the United States, it is. I've asked them why your racist wartalk isn't
called racist wartalk within the United States when outside the United
States, it is. Like the supporter above, they cite your international and
interracial background as proof of difference. This is almost as insulting as
Geraldine Ferraro saying you are where you are because you're black.
IRAQ: Baghdad residents' health at risk for
lack of water, sewage systems
Lack of security, corruption, neglect and insurgent attacks have left
Iraq's public services in tatters. Limited electricity, a shortage of safe
drinking water and rundown sanitation and sewage systems are
causing diseases and frustration. Sixty-five percent of Iraqis have no
access to piped drinking water and nearly 75 percent have no access to
a good sewage system.
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