(12 Nov) Israeli forces killed four Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip near the town of Al-Qarara on Wednesday, medics confirmed. Witnesses said Israeli warplanes fired two missiles during fighting between the armed men and Israeli tanks who had invaded. One missile was fired at a mosque, and the other exploded near a school, where the fighters were located. Other witnesses reported that three missiles landed near houses belonging to two families named Aal Muhanna and An-Naja, and another landed near the Al-Islah mosque. Witnesses said the invading forces approached houses approximately 300 meters away from the border line.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Mortars hit Negev after IDF kills 4 Gaza gunmen
(12 Nov) Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday fired a number of mortar shells at the western Negev, hours after Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed four Hamas gunmen near the Gaza border. The incident began when soldiers from the IDF Paratroopers Brigade saw the group of Palestinians moving toward the border fence near the central Gaza town of Khan Yunis. The troops subsequently opened fire on the militants. By the early afternoon, it was still unclear whether the militants were attempting to infiltrate Israel or were trying to attack soldiers near the border. The army relayed that following the incident, the Israel Air Force aircraft fired at mortar gunners. Gaza's Hamas rulers stopped short of saying a fragile 5-moth old cease-fire between Israel and Hamas was over but said militants would fight any entry of IDF troops into the coastal territory.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
UNRWA spokesman: Gaza blockade is a siege on the UN itself
(12 Nov, AP) A spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency on Wednesday said that Israel's long-term economic blockade on the Gaza Strip had a directly negative effect on the functioning of the world body's efforts. "This has become a blockade against the United Nations itself," UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness said, citing a long list of supplies, including food, that Israel has yet to allow into the coastal territory.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Israel to reopen Gaza commercial crossings
(12 Nov) Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak, ordered yesterday night reopening of the Gaza commercial crossings , starting from Wednesday, with the resumption of fuel shipments to the coastal region. Yesterday, following calls by some international bodies, Israel allowed pumping of industrial crude fuel to Gaza's power plant, yet Gaza energy authority's officials confirmed the quantities were short falling the actual need to generate electricity regularly.
http://imemc.org/article/57639
After brief window, fuel transfer points closed; fuel will last Gaza 30 hours
(11 Nov) Israel resumed the transfer of industrial fuels into Gaza Tuesday morning, furnishing the area with enough fuel to power the electricity plant for another 30 hours. The brief window where transfers were possible closed before more than a small fraction of fuel waiting to be delivered could be sent through. Head of the Palestinian power authority in the Gaza Strip Kan'an Ubeid said that the 420 thousand liters of diesel that were transferred Tuesday morning would be able to run the power station for approximately 30 hours, after which blackouts would start. Israel tricked the world into believing that they resumed fuel shipments, Ubeid said.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Israel continues to coerce Gaza patients into collaboration
(12 Nov) The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) continue to blackmail Palestinian patients who need to travel for treatment in Israeli hospitals or Palestinian hospitals in the West Bank. They seek to travel outside Gaza due to the deteriorating conditions of the Palestinian health system there, which is unable to deal with their critical medical conditions. Such practices of the IOF continue on a semi-regular basis amidst the ongoing, tight siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and the continued silence of the international community.
http://electronicintifada.net/
The only way out
Eva Bartlett writing from Cyprus, Live from Palestine, 12 November 2008 -- Over the past year, Muhammad Omar al-Helo has twice petitioned the Israeli government to leave Gaza in order to study in Europe for a master's degree. He has also contacted Israeli lawyers and human rights groups about his case. On 2 November aboard the SS Dignity, the third Free Gaza boat, he was finally able to leave Gaza and the 16-month Israeli siege, which has imprisoned the 1.5 million Palestinian residents of the tiny coast territory, and sail to Cyprus.
http://electronicintifada.net/
Israeli police kidnap a Palestinian reporter in Jerusalem
(11 Nov) The Israeli police kidnapped on Monday at night Abdul-Baset Al Razim, a Palestinian reporter from Jerusalem after breaking into his home in Abu Dis and searching it. The Police and members of the so-called border-guard units, broke into the house of Al Razim casing excessive damage, confiscated his laptop, several documents, his mobile phone and took him to an Al Maskobiyya prison in Jerusalem. His wife voiced an appeal to local and international human rights groups and the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate to intervene for his release, especially since he suffers from several chronic diseases and needs regular medical checkups. She added that some of the medications her husband takes regularly may not be skipped but the police kidnapped him without allowing him to carry any of his medications. [End]
http://www.imemc.org/article/
IDF petitions over state's Ottoman land law in West Bank
(12 Nov) The Israel Defense Forces commander in the West Bank and the legal adviser in the region filed a High Court of Justice petition against the military appeals committee and a foundation that purchases West Bank land for settlements. The petition expresses an objection to a decision the military appeals committee made several months ago to accept two appeals by the Keren Leyad Midreshet Eretz Yisrael, which buys land to build and expand settlements, and to have the group be listed as the owner of several parcels of land near the settlement of Alfei Menashe. Palestinians from the West Bank village of Thalat, near Nebi Samuel, say the land belongs to them. The decision of the appeals committee is based on an Ottoman land law from 1858 that states that working and maintaining land for 10 years conveys ownership of that land, even if it was originally stolen from others. This means that settlers can take over Palestinian land whose owners are prevented from reaching it, whether by the settlers themselves or by military order, and eventually register the land under their names.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Police order diplomats to cancel Hebron walking tour
(12 Nov) Israeli Police on Wednesday forced about 20 foreign diplomats to cut short a walking tour of the Israeli-controlled sector of the tense West Bank city of Hebron, the visitors said. The diplomats were from Europe, Latin America and the Far East, said Jose de la Cruz, a representative of Chile. The group was escorted by Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki. Wednesday's incident began when the diplomats, accompanied by the Palestinian governor of Hebron, were walking through downtown Hebron. At one point, several settlers and Israeli security forces arrived. De la Cruz said police then told the visitors they could not proceed.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Israeli forces detain 9 around Hebron
(11 Nov) Israeli forces detained nine Palestinians from the Hebron governorate on Tuesday morning. Israeli sources claimed the men were "wanted" resistance fighters, four of whom were detained from Hebron city and the remaining five from the outlying areas. [End]
http://www.maannews.net/en/
The school run
(11 Nov) By Ron Taylor -- "The children face beatings from settlers," says O. "Sometimes they spend all day in fear. The settlers must leave. If the settlers are here there is no safety, only fear." O is a Palestinian farmer from the tiny hamlet of Maghaer al-Abeed in the South Hebron Hills. He is also the father of young children who attend primary school in the nearby village of At-Tuwani. But the journey to school is a dangerous one. "We usually start from home and then to Tuba, and then on to the chicken barns," says M, one of the 20 or so children who make the journey to At-Tuwani. "And there we wait for the soldiers. There we face the settlers. The settlers try to crash into us with their cars. They sometimes catch us, hit us with rocks and knock us down."
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Q&A - When Europe was occupied, and it resisted
(Cherrie Heywood interviews CHRIS DAVIES from the European Parliament) RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov 12 (IPS) - The assault on Chris Davies, Liberal Democrat party spokesman for the environment for the north west of Britain and a member of the European Union's parliamentary delegation to the Palestinian Legislative Council, has delivered a firm political message to the European parliament. Davies was assaulted when he was taking part, together with several Israelis, Palestinians and people from other countries, in a protest rally against the separation barrier that divides Palestinian farmers from their land in the central West Bank village of Bil'in. Davies slammed the U.S. bias towards Israel, and questioned the EU policy on Hamas.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.
Israeli forces seize Palestinian man during raid east of Bethlehem
(12 Nov) Israeli forces seized a young man at dawn on Wednesday from the West Bank village of Ash-Shawawra, east of the city of Bethlehem. Palestinian security sources reported to Ma'an that about six military patrols entered the village and stormed and searched the house of the Al-Khatib family. The invading troops later withdrew, taking with them 23-year-old Amjad Mahmoud Al-Khatib. [End]
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Israeli special forces seize three PFLP fighters in Nablus
(12 Nov) Israeli special forces seized three resistance fighters affiliated with the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, in the west of Nablus at dawn on Wednesday. Ma'an's correspondent reported names of detainees as follows: 33-year-old Amjad Mabrouk, 28-year-old Samer Mabrouk and 40-year-old Daoud Abu Daoud.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Palestinian police to begin security campaign in Areas B and C near Bethlehem
(11 Nov) Preparations for a safety campaign in Areas B and C in advance of Christmas and Eid Al-Adha that will crack-down on illegal activity like unlicensed cars and drivers, theft, drugs and assault were announced by the Bethlehem area police on Tuesday. In a press conference Governor of Bethlehem Salah Ta'mari and Police Security Commander Sulaiman Umran stressed that the campaign contains no political motivations and is meant to be a two-week systematic crackdown on all lawbreakers in areas B and C. Palestinian police do not normally operate in areas designated B and C, since they are under Israeli security control.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Palestinian collaborator sentenced to death by firing squad
(12 Nov) After two days of deliberation a Palestinian military tribunal in Bethlehem sentenced on Wednesday a security officer to death by a firing squad after he has found guilty of aiding the Israeli occupation. The officer was found to have provided information to the Israeli intelligence services that enabled them to assassinate two activists affiliated to Fatah's armed wing, the Al-Aqsa Brigades, in Bethlehem. The 24-year-old officer, referred to only by his initials "AD", from the town of Al-Arroub, was found guilty of treason according to article 131/a of the Palestinian military code of punishment ratified in 1979. The sentence is appealable, and needs to be approved by President Mahmoud Abbas in order to be carried out.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
European Commission announces 1.5 million Euros for water aid to Palestinians
(11 Nov) Severe and unusual weather in 2008 disrupted the fragile existence of several vulnerable Palestinian communities living mostly in areas of the West Bank categorized as under the sole security and civil control of Israel. The at-risk populations include farmers, herders and those living in isolated areas. The 1.5 million Euro project will see vulnerable populations provided with emergency water, in quantities large enough to cover both domestic and agricultural needs. According to the Head of ECHO Jerusalem Office Hervé Caiveau, the most vulnerable areas in terms of the water crisis are in the southern West Bank (Bethlehem and Hebron governorates).
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Foundation to disburse grants to families of early period of Intifada
(11 Nov) The Palestinian foundation for sponsoring families of 'martyrs' and wounded will offer the so-called presidential '"noble grant' to 500 families whose members were killed during the Al-Aqsa Intifada (uprising), says Intisar Al-Wazir, the chair of the foundation. Payment, according to Al-Jabareen will start next week. The 'noble grant' was approved by the late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat. The grant is worth 6,000 Israeli shekels, or 1,500 US dollars.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
74% of goods imported by Palestinians come from Israel
(10 Nov) PCBS' figure is based on the vouchers of the value added tax (VAT), which is collected by Israel, for 2007. Imports increased by 9% compared with 2006, including a 19% increase in imports of petroleum products and electric power compared with 2006, the increase in chemical products and medicines was 15%. Palestinian imports totaled over three billion US dollars. Exports totaled 392 million US dollars, reflecting a 7% increase over 2006.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
UK initiative supports training of 'medical clowns' for sick Palestinian kids
(11 Nov) Two actors and eight volunteers have been trained in "clown therapy" under a UK project in cooperation with Inad Theatre near Bethlehem launched on Tuesday. The clowns visit chronically diseased children, perform comedy shows and tell stories in an effort to encourage laughter and joy and to speed up the child's quick recovery process. The project is focused in the Bethlehem area at the al-Hussein Government Hospital where children are treated for leukaemia, anaemia, malnutrition, and disabilities caused by childhood accidents.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Two Palestinian women released from Israeli prisons
(12 Nov) Tulkarem – The Israel Prison Service released on Wednesday two Palestinian women prisoners, after both completed two and a half year sentences. Thirty-six-year-old Wadha Fuqaha is from Ramallah in the central West Bank ,and 23-year-old Falastin Nakhlah is from Al-Jalazun Refugee Camp near Ramallah. Both women are affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Nablus area villages take action against violent settlers
(12 Nov) The Popular Committee against settlements and the separation wall in the West Bank city of Nablus is planning a series of actions to counter Israeli settlers' attacks on Palestinian farmers in the area this week. According to Khalid Mansour, the campaign's coordinator, an action will be held on Friday against the Homesh settlement west of Nablus. Settlers returned to the outpost after it was evacuated five years ago. The settlers have "harassed and terrified" the Palestinian population of the surrounding villages.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Israel must crack down on violent settlers now
(11 Nov) By Steve Breyman -- The director of Israel's domestic security agency—the Shin Bet—expressed his deep concern in a cabinet meeting on November 2 that Israeli leaders who seek peace with the Palestinians may be assassination targets for Jewish extremists. Given the very strong support in the Israeli and other publics for a peace agreement with the Palestinians, the concern seems unbelievable. Yet as crazy as the warning sounds, the Israeli government must take it seriously. In 1995 Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was gunned down by an Israeli settler angered by the Prime Minister's meager concessions at the Oslo peace talks.In a recent interview, Rabin's killer—Yigal Amir—expressed no remorse for the assassination.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Two Palestinian workers injured as lightning strikes Ariel settlement
(12 Nov) Two Palestinian workers were injured when lightning struck a construction site in the Ariel settlement outside of the West Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday. Lightning reportedly struck iron rods used in construction. Israeli medical sources said that the workers were treated at the scene before being transferred by Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Palestinian student elected to position in International Federation of Medical Students
(12 Nov) Palestinian student Mahmoud Ahmad Makhlouf was elected to head a commission on Human Rights and Refugees for the International Federation of Medical Students (IFMSA) on Wednesday. Makhlouf is the second Palestinian student to hold the post, after Nada Qawasmi of Al-Quds University who was elected for the years 2007 and 2008.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Palestinians scold dividing Hamas, Fatah
(11 Nov) By Motasem Dalloul – Gaza -- Marking the fourth anniversary of iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's death, many Palestinians blame rivals Fatah and Hamas for an ever-increasing divide and hijacking unity hopes."For the failure of the dialogue, I blame both Hamas and Fatah," Mahmoud Joneed, an unemployed worker from Gaza, told IslamOnline.net.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
On 4th anniversary of Arafat's death, Abbas: We will remain steadfast"
(12 Nov) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated during his participation in a massive rally commemorating the late president Yasser Arafat that the Palestinian leadership would remain steadfast on all principles that Arafat defended and died defending. Abbas also held Hamas responsible for the failure of internal dialog.
http://imemc.org/article/57638
Hamas says Abbas' speech was hostile
(12 Nov) Hamas media spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum strongly denounced the speech Abbas gave in Ramallah while thousands of Palestinians were commemorating the late President, Yasser Arafat. Barhoum claimed that Abbas was speaking as the leader of Fateh movement, and not as the leader of the Palestinian people.He also said that instead of attacking Hamas, Abbas should have called for ending the siege on Gaza, and should have officially demanded Egypt to open the Rafah border terminal.
http://imemc.org/article/57637
Arafat commemorations disrupted and dispersed by Israeli soldiers; two injured
(11 Nov) Two Palestinian students were injured on Tuesday when Israeli forces dispersed a commemorative ceremony in the villages south of Bethlehem city commemorating the fourth anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat. Another commemoration ceremony in Tuqu south of Bethlehem also saw confrontations with Israeli forces, though no injuries were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Suha Arafat seeks to return to homeland
(12 Nov) Suha Arafat, the widow of the late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat, says she wants to return to Palestine because life in the Diaspora has become unbearable. "I will be back to Palestine, to Ramallah. My life and my daughter's life in Diaspora has become intolerable. We lost security and safety as Abu Ammar left us. Every day since he passed I feel boredom and deadly sadness," Suha told the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat. Suha is currently living in Malta after moving there from Tunisia.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Shoes left unfilled on the fourth anniversary of the death of an icon: Arafat remembered
(11 Nov) On Tuesday 11 November Palestinians commemorated the death of their first leader: Abu Ammar, Al-Ra'is (the president) and in the end Al-Khityar (the old man), former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. At his best Arafat was a Palestinian hero and leader of the cause; he was a symbol of unity, pride and the power of the ideal. Arafat was a comfort for whoever had known him as much as he was a symbol of comfort for all his people.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Hamas represses gatherings commemorating Arafat
GAZA, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Hamas forces that were deployed across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday quickly crushed any attempt of gathering by supporters of rival Fatah movement who try to commemorate the fourth anniversary of late leader Yasser Arafat. Abed, a 16-year-old student who did not want his family name to be mentioned, said that members of Hamas forces beat him with a stick and took off the Kufiya, a veined black and white scarf that Palestinians wore after Arafat. "They (Hamas forces) stopped every student who has the Kufiya on his shoulder and beat him, describing us and Abu Amar (Arafat) as infidel seculars," Abed added.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/
Gazan journalist accuses de facto government of abuse
(12 Nov) A prominent Palestinian journalist on Wednesday accused Hamas-allied security forces in Gaza of beating and arresting him without cause on Tuesday night. Awad Abu Duqqa, who is also the secretary general of the Palestinian Media Coalition, said "Internal security forces affiliated to the de facto government came to my family home in Khan Younis because my younger brother lit a candle commemorating fourth anniversary for the death of Yasser Arafat. When I promised to put out the candle, they left. Five minutes later, they came back and started beating me brutally."
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Arabs uneasy about joining Israeli army
(12 Nov) by Daan Bauwens -- TEL AVIV - The Israeli government has begun to actively promote voluntary army service for Israeli Arabs. The Knesset, the Israeli parliament, is meanwhile considering plans to make civil service compulsory for all Israeli citizens, including Israeli Arabs. The Arab community in Israel is opposing the plans, and leaders say these are only a way of getting rid of Palestinian identity. They also have misgivings about compulsory national civil service, which means community service in towns, hospitals, or schools as an alternative to military service.
http://www.antiwar.com/ips/
Secular candidate Barkat, after win: I'll be mayor of all Jerusalemites
(12 Nov) Secular candidate Nir Barkat declared victory over his Haredi rival Meir Porush in the Jerusalem mayoral election early Wednesday, in a race that again exposed the deep divide between religious and secular Israelis. In his victory speech, Barkat declared himself the mayor of all Jerusalemites, pledging to work for those who had voted for him as well as those who had voted for other candidates. He added that he would be working for both religious and secular, as well as Jewish and Arab residents of the city.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
IDF soldier jailed for yawning during Rabin memorial service
(12 Nov) The Israel Defense Forces has sentenced a soldier to 21 days in jail for yawning during a recent memorial service for assassinated prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. The soldier yawned while the commander of the Ramat David Israel Air Force base was delivering a speech on last week's memorial day for Rabin. The senior officer paused for a few minutes after the yawn, which was allegedly long and loud. The soldier was consequently by the army tried on account of his "disrespectful act" and was sentenced to 21 days in military prison.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Israel re-brands oppression
(11 Nov) By John Chuckman -- There has been an ad on television recently, one featuring a young couple walking or drifting into a place of enchantment, a warm and colourful fantasy world, a kind of biblical Disneyland. Every step of their brief journey is met by people smiling warmly, moving slowly, even bowing, greeting them at each turn with Shalom! It is interesting that all the faces in the ad are the same kind of faces we might see in New York or London, except that here they are all bathed in glowing antique light. We see no harsh fundamentalist types cutting down someone else's olive groves and cursing anyone, even other Jews, as interlopers. We certainly see no arrogant settlers, strutting around with machine guns, sneering at the camera. We see no check-points bristling with guns, no razor-wire, no concrete wall dwarfing Berlin's fabled one. We see no Palestinians, indeed, no one resembling an Arab.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Peres lauds Arab peace plan
(12 Nov) NEW YORK - President Shimon Peres praised the Saudi-led Arab peace initiative in his speech at the United Nations Wednesday, delivered in the framework of the interfaith dialogue summit in New York. Both Peres and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni are attending the conference, which was opened with an address by Saudi King Abdullah.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Olmert: Discriminatino against Arabs deliberate
(12 Nov) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says longtime discrimination against Israeli Arabs seeking public service posts deliberate; PM says that complete absence of Arab employees at Bank of Israel 'terrible' -- Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al) told Ynet after the session, "The prime minister's sincere remarks are significant. The prime minister's appearance before such a committee is unprecedented. "I'm not certain the Israeli public is familiar with the bleak facts, but the prime minister is well aware of them and shows proper insight into the situation."
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Livni distances self from Olmert border comments
(12 Nov) Kadima Chairwoman and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni distanced herself yesterday from outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's assertion that Israel needs to return to its pre-1967 borders. "You can't just throw the key to the other side and hope for the best, especially not in Judea and Samaria." However, Livni did affirm the importance of continuing peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, and of reaching a final-status agreement based on territorial compromise.
"We want to maintain a safe state in Israel, and this cannot be done on all of it. We need to finish the conflict with the Palestinians and look out for the security of our citizens," she said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Netanyahu seeks alternatives to Annapolis process
(11 Nov) Jerusalem: Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Tuesday he will halt peace talks with the Palestinians in their current form if he wins a national election next February, but will instead step up efforts to develop the Palestinian economy. Spokeswoman Dina Libster said the Israeli politician, a strong contender to be the next prime minister, believes the talks launched by President Bush in Annapolis, Maryland, last year have failed.
http://www.iht.com/articles/
Netanyahu: For sake of peace, Isrel must aid Palestinian economy
(12 Nov) Speaking before a Knesset committee meeting Wednesday, Netanyahu said "rapid [economic] development is key, and not only for the sake of negotiations with the Palestinians, but also so that Israel will be able to get out of the economic crisis." Netanyahu added that Israel intends "to advance peace talks with the Palestinians, in order to gain a stable, safe, and prosperous peace."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
On a collision course with Obama
(12 Oct) By Amir Oren -- The election of Barack Obama as president is a political event in more than one country. Obama will be forced to wait until the end of the internal struggle and the establishment of a new [Israeli] government before he knows the identity of his new partner; but it is critical for Israeli voters to know now, as part of the information with which they calculate how to vote, whether the candidates for prime minister are on a course for collision or discussion with Obama. The traffic reports say Livni is driving alongside Obama, and Netanyahu is approaching him head-on. Israelis do not like leaders who look weak or submissive, especially toward the Arabs. But they like even less leaders who invite a blowup with the U.S. and a steamroller of pressures, economic, diplomatic and military.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Hamas denies reported pre-election meeting with Obama aides
(11 Nov) The Palestinian de facto government in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday denied reports that Hamas officials held meetings with advisors of the US president elect Barack Obama before last Tuesday's election. In a statement, the de facto government says they would not oppose such meetings in theory, but no meetings were in fact held. The London-based Al-Hayat newspaper quoted Hamas political advisor Ahmad Yousif on Tuesday as claiming that Obama's advisors secretly visited Gaza to meet Hamas officials. This claim was repeated by a variety of Israeli and international media.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Obama's revolution and the Middle East
(11 Nov) By Ali Alarabi -- By all accounts, Obama's victory is poised to start a revolution, not only because of its historic precedent as the first president of African decent which could be the single most important historical event in American history, when it comes to the issue of race, after Abraham Lincoln's emancipation proclamation that freed the slaves in 1862. But it is important because Obama sees himself as his records shows that he is a man who through out his professional life had stood for changing the system to make it take into account the wretched of the Earth whom the "Ancien Régime" according to this view of the world, had deliberately ignored if not destroyed. Obama is philosophically inclined to understand the third world that exists inside American borders and outside it, more and better.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Don't be afraid of the Jews
(12 Nov) At the end of last February, when Barack Obama's race against Hillary Clinton was at its height and the White House still seemed quite distant, the Illinois senator appeared before members of Cleveland's Jewish community and told them: "I think there is a strain within the pro-Israel community that says unless you adopt an unwavering pro-Likud approach to Israel that you're anti-Israel...." Obama added that if we do not replace this faulty attitude with honest dialogue, we will not be able to move ahead.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Obama the Bedouin
(11 Nov) By Hatim Kanaaneh - Arrabeh, Galilee -- This morning I received a call from Ibrahim, my Bedouin colleague, seeking an expert opinion on a minor public health issue he faced. He opened with a reproachful tone of voice: "Why haven't you come to congratulate me?" "What is up? Another promotion or a new child?" "Noooo! Haven't you heard? The Americans have elected a Bedouin to the White House!"He then proceeded to explain that the Hujirat tribe in the village of Beir el-Maksour has thrown a big party, feasting on rice and mutton, celebrating all night with songs and Dabkeh dance, and distributing sweets to well-wishers for the past two days. Obama's great grandmother on his father's side, they claim, was a daughter of the tribe. I am not sure how much trust to put in this far-fetched story, and who in the tribe invented it.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Obama: the trans-Atlantic ghost buster
(11 Nov) By Sarah Gillespie -- As glorious as it is to see a mixed race man in the White House, as cathartic as it is to see hot tears fall down the cheeks of Jessie Jackson and cries of euphoria from the descendants of kidnapped slaves, the idea that the ills of America have been cured overnight is a delicious fantasy. We are talking here about a monster economy, built upon the genocide of Indians, the enslavement of Africans, the contemporary abuse of an illegal Hispanic labor force. We are talking about a global hegemony that has prevailed at the expense of the people of Palestine, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq and quite possibly next Pakistan and Iran..
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Syria: IAF to blame for uranium traces at suspected nukes site
(12 Nov) Syria's foreign minister suggested on Wednesday that Israel Air Force bombs may have been the source of uranium traces diplomats from the United Nations nuclear agency said were found a suspected nuclear site in Syria. Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem said the leaks by the UN diplomats about the traces found at the site were politically motivated and aimed at pressuring Syria.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Iran says it test fired new surface-to-surface missile capable of hitting Israel
(12 Nov) Iran has successfully test-fired a new generation of long range surface-to-surface missile using solid fuel, making them more accurate than its predecessors, the defense minister announced Wednesday. The new missiles also have a range of about 1,200 miles, giving them the ability to strike Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
11 reported dead in third day of Baghdad bombings
(12 Nov, AP) A parked car bomb exploded in a bustling section of downtown Baghdad early Wednesday, killing four people and wounding 15 others, police said, in the third consecutive day of morning rush hour blasts. Another car bomb struck the Shi'ite-dominated neighborhood of Shaab in north Baghdad, but there were conflicting casualty reports from that attack.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/
Reopening of Iraq bridge symbolizes renewed unity
(12 Nov - includes video) The Two Imams bridge in Baghdad was the site of a stampede that killed 1,000 Iraqis in 2005, and a link between formerly warring Sunni and Shiite districts, now rejoined.
http://www.latimes.com/news/
Wednesday: 2 US soldiers, 28 Iraqis killed; 103 Iraqis wounded
(12 Nov) Excerpt: Ten Iraqi militant groups have vowed to protest a proposed U.S.-Iraq security agreement by escalating violence against security forces. They have seemingly kept their promise in Baghdad where several significant bombings occurred today. Overall, at least 28 Iraqis were killed and another 103 were wounded in attacks across the country .In Zanjili, two U.S. soldiers were killed and a half dozen were wounded during an incident involving an Iraqi soldier. Also, the United Nations reported that one million Iraqi still lack adequate food.
http://antiwar.com/updates/
Iraq will never be base to attack neighbors
(11 Nov) DAMASCUS (AFP) – Iraq will never be used as a base for attacks against its neighbours, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said at a meeting in Damascus on Tuesday with counterpart Walid Muallem , the official Sana news agency reported.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
Report: US secretly attacked dozens of Mideast targets since 2004
(10 Nov, AP) The U.S. military has conducted nearly a dozen secret operations against al-Qaida and other terrorist groups in Syria, Pakistan and other countries since 2004, The New York Times reported Sunday night. Citing anonymous U.S. officials, the Times story said the operations were authorized by a broad classified order that then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld signed and President George W. Bush approved in spring 2004. The order gave the military authority to attack al-Qaida anywhere in the world and to conduct operations in countries that were not at war with the U.S.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Prosecutor: US Muslim charity glorified jihad and killing Jews
(12 Nov, AP) Defense attorneys and prosecutors battled over allegations that a U.S. Muslim charity broke the law by funneling money to Hamas institutions, speaking in closing arguments at the Holy Land Foundation's second trial for allegedly financing terrorism.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
www.TheHeadlines.org
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