Wednesday, November 19

Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines November 19, 2008 ~

Israeli Authorities demolish a Palestinian house in East Jerusalem
The Israeli Authorities demolished on Tuesday a Palestinian home in Al Esawiyya town, in east Jerusalem, arrested three residents and attacked seven others including a number of women.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57709

Abdul-Qader: Israel is launching an open war against the Palestinians in Jerusalem

Hatim Abdul-Qader, Jerusalem Affairs advisor to the Palestinian President, stated on Tuesday that Israel is waging an open war against the Palestinians and their homes in Jerusalem, and is encouraging hostile activities against the Palestinians in order to force them out of city.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57710

Settlers block road near Nablus, stone Palestinian cars
Israeli settlers blocked the bypass road linking the West Bank cities of Nablus and Qalqilia, near the village of Madama on Tuesday night, witnesses said. Hassan Zyadeh a municipal council member in Madama said the settlers prevented Palestinian vehicles from passing into the village and pelted their cars with stones.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33334

Israeli army stands by while settlers attack in Burin

In the village of Burin on Tuesday November 18th, armed settlers from the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Yizhar attacked Palestinian villagers, throwing rocks and shooting in the air. At 8:40 pm, the houses of Khalib Kasam and his extended family, near Route 60, were assaulted by approximately twenty settlers. Shortly after, the mayor of Burin called the DCO (District Coordination Office) who sent the Israeli army. The army set up a checkpoint, stopping Israeli and Palestinian cars, then telling the drivers to keep going. Meanwhile, according to eyewitnesses, settlers hid in the bushes and trees 50 meters away and threw rocks at several Palestinian cars, which as a result of the checkpoint, were easy, slow-moving targets. Although the army was present during the violence, no settlers were held accountable.
http://www.palsolidarity..org/main/2008/11/19/israeli-army-stands-by-while-settlers-attack-in-burin/

Israel arrests Fatah leader for possession of hunting rifle

Israeli forces arrested a Fatah leader in a village near the West Bank city of Nablus on Tuesday for possession of a hunting rifle. Palestinian sources told Ma'an that Israeli troops seized 22-year-old Jamal Thabet, a member of the local Fatah committee, from his house in the village of Azmut. Israeli troops in eight military vehicles also attacked a student's house within the same area.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33336

Five seized at East Jerusalem house demolition protest
A Palestinian and four internationals were taken into Israeli police custody at a protest in East Jerusalem on Wednesday, according to a statement. The five were demonstrating against the demolition of a Palestinian family's home in Sheikh Jarrah, an East Jerusalem neighborhood, where the house was demolished by Israeli forces on 9 November. The home, which belonged to the Al-Kurd family, was built on private Palestinian property, the statement claimed.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33351

Israeli forces hold dozens of youths in raid south of Bethlehem
Israeli forces raided the village of Tuqu, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem at dawn on Wednesday and imposed a curfew. Witnesses said that dozens of military vehicles raided the village. Israeli soldiers rounded dozens of young men into a school, where they are being interrogated. Witnesses added that Israeli troops stormed houses and damaged property. In enforcing the curfew they used a public address system to order students not to go to school and residents not to attend the morning prayer.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index..php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33337

Hamas: Fateh forces in the arrested 17 Hamas supporters in the West Bank
Hamas movement stated on Tuesday that Fateh security forces arrested 17 members and supporters of the movement in several West Bank areas.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57708

Israel arrests 14 Palestinians in West Bank

Israeli troops arrested 14 Palestinians in the West Bank in a continued crackdown against what the Jewish state called as wanted Palestinian activists, Palestinian sources said Wednesday. The arrests took place during raids into the cities of Bethlehem, Qalqilya, Ramallah and Hebron, according to the sources.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/19/content_ 10382095.htm

Israeli military detains four residents from Nablus City

Israeli military detained on Wednesday four Palestinian residents from the West Bank city of Nablus, as the soldiers ransacked the detainees' houses.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57714

Israeli forces arrest Gaza fishermen and solidarity activists
At around 9am on Tuesday, 18 November 2008, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) attacked Palestinian fishing boats off the central Gaza Strip's shore. IOF continued to seal off the Gaza Strip for the thirteenth day in a row, allowing only a limited number of trucks loaded with commodities and food to enter the Strip.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9971.shtml

Fifteen Palestinian fishermen released

19th November Update: The fifteen Palestinian fishermen who were abducted from Palestinian waters by the Israeli navy on the 18th November have been released. Their boats, however, have yet to be returned.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2008/11/18/fifteen-palestinian-fishermen-released/

Israeli military continues rampage in the Taqou' village
Israeli military continued on Wednesday rampage throughout the West Bank village of Taqou, detaining dozens of youth after ransacking many houses.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57713

Israeli army imposes curfew in West Bank village

AFP-The Israeli army imposed a curfew on a Palestinian village near the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Wednesday, questioning dozens of men, security sources and witnesses said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081119/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictwestbank

Israeli court holds hearing on the file of Maghareba gate events

The Israeli court in Jerusalem held Tuesday a hearing on the file of the Maghareba gate events and the indictment charge leveled against Sheikh Ra'ed Salah and four of his colleagues.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Two Palestinian lawmakers sentenced to prison terms

Two Palestinian members of parliament were sentenced to lengthy prison terms and fined by an Israeli military court on Tuesday. Lawmaker Samir Al-Qadi was sentenced to 42 months in prison and a 7,500 shekel fine. Al-Qadi was originally sentenced to just 28 months. Bassem Az-Za'arir was sentenced to 26 months in prison and 9 months probation. Both men are members of Hamas' Change and Reform Bloc, and are from the West Bank city of Hebron.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33345

Israel spurns UN plea to ease Gaza blockade

AP-Israel stood fast Wednesday by its decision to clamp shut cargo crossings at the Gaza Strip, brushing off pleas to ease the blockade from United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon.
http://news.yahoo..com/s/ap/20081119/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_ palestinians

UNRWA facing "grave and imminent financial crisis"

The United Nations' relief agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, is facing "a grave and imminent crisis," a senior official announced on Wednesday. The Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, Karen AbuZayd said the agency's General Fund, which funds UNRWA's core services will suffer an 87 million US dollar shortfall beginning next year.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33355

UN envoy urges Gaza blockade end
Aid was allowed in to Gaza on Monday but Israel then shut the crossings. The UN's top human rights official has said Israel's blockade of Gaza deprives Palestinians of the "most basic human rights" and should end immediately.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7735945.stm

UN: Israel Violating Law in Gaza
The U.N.'s top human rights official says the Israeli blockade of Gaza is depriving Palestinians of their most basic human rights.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-11-18-voa8.cfm

Israel renews blockade of Gaza crossings

Reuters-Israel resealed border crossings with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, blaming continued rocket fire at its towns, despite warnings from world aid groups of looming shortages of food and fuel in the coastal territory.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081119/wl_nm/us_israel_palestinians

Egypt court says aid must be allowed into Gaza
Presently, Egypt has limited humanitarian trucks from entering Gaza as part of its border crackdown in line with Israeli policies.
http://www.afriquenligne.fr/news/africa-news/egypt-court-says-aid-must-be-allowed-into-gaza-2008111415989.html

Statements of UN High Commissioner regarding the siege anger Israel
Israeli was "angered" by the statements of Navanethem "Navi" Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; as she called on Israel to immediately lift its blockade over the Gaza Strip as this siege violates the international and humanitarian law.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57712

Many sections of Shifa hospital closed because of fuel depletion
Several wards and medical equipment in the compound of Shifa hospital, one of the biggest medical institutions in Gaza, stopped operating as a result of power outages and the depletion of fuel.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Zahhar: Truce isn't given for gratis, and those who need it should abide by it
Dr. Mahmoud Al-Zahhar has asserted Tuesday that the calm with the Israeli occupation couldn't be given for gratis.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Hamas: The truce does not mean the resistance cannot protect its people
The Hamas Movement stated Tuesday that the truce does not mean that the Palestinian resistance is not supposed to protect the Gaza people from the Israeli aggression.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Bashour: RoR of Palestinian refugees couldn't be compromised
Ma'en Bashour has affirmed Tuesday that the RoR was a personal, national, popular, and human right that couldn't be compromised.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

Abu Marzouk: Hamas will attend the meeting of Arab foreign ministers
Dr. Moussa Abu Marzouk, the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, stated that Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League, understood Hamas's request to participate in the meeting of Arab foreign ministers to be held in Cairo on the 26th of this month.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/

Hamas denies reports on its acceptance to extend Abbas' term
Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement on Wednesday denied reports that it had accepted to extend President Mahmoud Abbas' term in exchange for joining the presidency's institutions.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/19/content_10382741.htm

Islamic Jihad: Hamas will appoint own president if Abbas refuses to step down
Hamas will likely appoint its own president if Mahmoud Abbas does not step down at the end of his term on 9 January, a senior Islamic Jihad leader predicted on Wednesday. In an interview in Cairo, Islamic Jihad leader Muhammad Al-Hindi predicted "more exchange of blame, and president Abbas will find a legal [justification to stay], and he will gain Arab and European support. However, Hamas will appoint its own president, and that might be the PLC speaker.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33353

PA: 'Hamas is staging Gaza blackouts'
Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah accused Hamas on Tuesday of staging the latest blackouts in the Gaza Strip in a bid to win sympathy and incite the Palestinian public against Israel and the PA. The officials said that contrary to Hamas's claim, there is no shortage of basic goods, medicine and fuel in the Gaza Strip, largely thanks to the many underground tunnels along the border with Egypt.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404771503& pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Ramallah Palestinian Authority blocks website reporting on corruption
The Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah has blocked access to a popular news website because of the site's reporting on widespread corruption among the entourage of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. For several days, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have been unable to view the website Donia al-Watan ( http://www.alwatanvoice.com) as access has been blocked through the PA-controlled telecom company. Readers outside Palestine and a few inside the country using proxies are still able to access the site. The Electronic Intifada confirmed that several users attempting to access the website in Ramallah and other parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank could not do so and instead saw a message in English stating "We are sorry, the site was blocked based on attorney General instructions [sic]."
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9972.shtml

University workers protest at prime minister's office in Ramallah
Palestinian university workers and legislators staged a sti-in in front of the Prime Ministers' Office in the West Bank city of Ramallah to bring attention to their fight for increased pay. Unions at universities in the West Bank and Gaza have waged a series of strikes, saying that the Palestinian Authority's Council on Higher Education, has not addressed their concerns. Another two-day strike began on Tuesday.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=33331

Who stole Palestinian prisoners' money?
Palestinian Ministry for Prisoner Affairs allots millions of shekels every year for residents held in Israeli prisons. Ynet learns PA has launched investigation into disappearance of inmates' canteen allowance; senior official arrested.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3625306,00.html

Miliband says 2009 'year of change' in Mideast

AFP-Visiting Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Wednesday he hoped 2009 would see a comprehensive Middle East peace settlement given changes in the US and Israeli administrations and elections in the region.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081119/wl_mideast_afp/lebanonbritaindiplomacy

Peres: Obama 'very impressed' by Arab League peace plan
LONDON-U.S. President-elect Barack Obama proclaimed himself "very impressed" with the Arab League's peace plan when he discussed it with President Shimon Peres during a brief visit to Israel four months ago, Peres said Tuesday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1038636.html

Obama calls Abbas, promises to back peace talks: official

AFP-US president-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday called Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and vowed to continue pushing Middle East peace efforts, a senior official said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081118/pl_afp/mideastusdiplomacyobama

PA negotiator: Obama told Abbas he'd spare no effort to see Mideast peace

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has called the Palestinian president and told him that peace is a vital interest for Israelis and Palestinians.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1038898.html

Israel ex-army chief to stand for opposition in February poll

AFP-Israel's former army chief Reserve General Moshe Yaalon announced on Tuesday that he will be a candidate for the right-wing opposition Likud in February general elections.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081118/wl_mideast_afp/mideastisraelpoliticslikud

Yaalon: Withdrawals must end
Newest addition to Likud holds press conference with Netanyahu, says decision to enter politics followed lengthy deliberation, but he 'couldn't just sit idly by'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3625081,00.html

Palestinian PM nixes Netanyahu plan for Mideast peace
AFP-Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad rejected proposals by Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu for an economic solution to the Middle East conflict, in comments published on Tuesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081118/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictpalestinianfayy ad

Foreign Reporters' Group Fights Israeli Prohibition on Entering Gaza
JERUSALEM — An association representing international news organizations is campaigning for an end to an unusual Israeli policy barring foreign reporters from entering Gaza that has lasted for almost two weeks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/19/world/middleeast/19gaza. html?_r=1&ref=world

Israel MP moves into settler house despite evacuation order
AFP-A right-wing Israeli MP on Tuesday joined a group of Jewish settlers living in a controversial house in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron which the High Court ordered them to evict.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081118/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictwestbanksettler court

Jewish West Bank settlers defy evacuation order

AFP-About 100 Jewish settlers on Wednesday defied a High Court order to evacuate a house in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron, and braced for possible confrontation with police.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081119/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictsettlercourt

MIDEAST: On Top of Humanitarian Disaster, A News Blackout
Israel has imposed a virtual news blackout on the Gaza Strip. For the last ten days no foreign journalists have been able to enter the besieged territory to report on the escalating humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's complete closure of Gaza's borders for the last two weeks.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news. asp?idnews=44745

Foreign Reporters' Group Fights Israeli Prohibition on Entering Gaza

Israel has almost entirely sealed crossing points along its border with Gaza since a five-month cease-fire with Hamas began to unravel on Nov. 4.
http://www..nytimes.com/2008/11/19/world/middleeast/19gaza.html

Khudari warns: Gaza population might march towards crossings
Alarm sirens wailed in northern Gaza on Tuesday as the anti siege committee members and foreign solidarity activists marched near Beit Hanun crossing to protest the IOA closure of all Gaza crossings.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/

NY-Rights groups protest Hebron settlement fundraiser
Adalah-NY, Brooklyn for Peace rally outside Marriott Marquis hotel against fundraiser held there by settlement group, chant 'Hebron's settlers, Klu Klux Klan, racist groups go hand in hand'.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2008/11/18/ynet-ny-rights-groups-protest-hebron-settlement-fundraiser/

UK protestors call Peres 'war criminal'

President's address in front of 1,000 Oxford University students interrupted by small group of demonstrators claiming Israel ethnically cleansed Palestinians, calling for end to Gaza siege. Peres: We don't need your permission to stay alive.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3625214,00.html

A London demonstration protesting at Israel's president visit to the region
Scores of British Palestinians and some solidarity campaigners staged today noon a demonstration in front of the UK parliament premises , in protest against the visit of Israeli President Shimon Peres, to the region.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57718

Comments from the Angry Arab
"I am an avid reader of your blog and I have a story for you from Oxford. Tonight, on 18th November 2008, Balliol College of Oxford University hosted Israeli President Shimon Peres in our university's most prestigious venue, the Old Sheldonian Theatre. They honoured him not only with this platform, to speak on the topic 'The Globalisation of Peace'(!), but also with the announcement that this would constitute the first in a lecture series entitled 'Peace Lectures: Inaugurated by Shimon Peres'. We, the Oxford Arab Cultural Society and the Oxford Students' Palestine Society, alongside the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and concerned members of the public, held a demonstration outside starting over an hour before the talk, and lasting-audibly-throughout Peres' speech. Some of us attended the lecture and, at intervals, nine students got up and made loud statements beginning 'I represent all the Palestinians who...' One such student was bundled out of the lecture hall. Peres was visiblyfazed by these interruptions and the sound of the protestors outside, while the audience were thus made aware of the point of view being stifled by Peres' presence today in Oxford, and every day in Palestine. Several letters of opposition have been presented to the Master of Balliol, Andrew Graham, among which was one from a prominent group of South African anti-apartheid activists (attached below). We hope that there will be publicity for this opposition, and for the events of today, as part of our ongoing protest to show that the head of the Israeli state is not welcome here..." [end]
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2008/11/pro-palestinian-protestors-interrupted.html

2 arrested at Gaza protest outside Ministry of Defense

Approximately 200 people held a vigil outside the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening, protesting the recent flare-up of violence in the Gaza Strip and what they called the "occupation, suffocation, and liquidation" of the Palestinian people. Police arrested two protesters for disturbing the peace, but the vigil, which lasted for over an hour, was otherwise peaceful.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404770059& pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Ontario Coalition Against Poverty: Boymelgreen out of Toronto, Brooklyn and Palestine!
On November 15, as part of the International Week Against the Apartheid Wall, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) erected a reinforced cement wall in front of the Toronto building '50 On the Park' at 50 Portland Street. This building is owned by wealthy real estate developer Leviev-Boymelgreen, which has projects in Toronto and Brooklyn, and which also builds illegal settlements in the West Bank.
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/1780.shtml

Cyclers against the Wall tear down the Apartheid Wall

On November 16, Forum Palestina and Palestinian solidarity activists in Rome built a mock wall across the main street, Via dei Fori Imperiali, in the center of Rome to protest the Apartheid Wall being built in Palestine. A critical mass group called Cyclers Against the Wall participated in the event, and with the wave of the "starting" flag – a Palestinian flag – the cyclists drove at the mock wall, and broke it down.
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/1781.shtml

'Palestinian banks are better than Israeli banks'
Jihad al-Wazir, governor of the Palestinian Monetary Authority, was 25 years old when his father, Khalil al-Wazir-better known as Abu Jihad was assassinated. It happened in their Tunis home in April 1988.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1038831.html

PNA to publish advertisement first time on Israeli media

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) will publish its first advertisement on Israeli media this week, calling on Israelis to support a Saudi-proposed peace plan, Israeli news service Ynet reported Tuesday. The public statement will appear on Israeli newspapers as of Thursday, marking the first time that the PNA uses this channel to communicate with the Israeli public, said the report, adding that similar advertisement will be published in American and European newspapers as well.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/19/content_10378084.htm

Israel to boycott Durban II anti-racism conference

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni announced Wednesday that Israel has made a final decision to boycott the United Nations "Durban II" conference on human rights this spring, fearing it would be used once again as a forum for anti-Israeli sentiment..
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1038897.html

Target Practice in Gaza
What came first: the chicken or the egg? And who started the latest round of clashes in Gaza: the Israelis or the Palestinians? Depending on whom one asks, the answer will be different every time-the Israelis, the Palestinians, both are guilty, it depends… On November 5, Israeli forces entered Gaza, killing six Palestinians in the process. Since then, Palestinian fighters have been clashing with Israeli troops and dodging Israeli missiles.. In response to every Israeli action, they play their only card-they fire homemade rockets into Israel. To date, 16 Palestinians have been killed, with zero Israeli fatalities recorded. Palestinians say Israel made the first move by entering Gaza in an unwarranted and aggressive manner. Israel, on the other hand, says it was responding to rumors of possible kidnapping attempts against Israeli soldiers and the threat of more rocket attacks. But debating who started the latest round of violence is an unproductive pastime. Instead, considering the timing and the consequences of these hostilities yields a much more interesting though sad tale.
http://www.miftah.org/Display. cfm?DocId=18207&CategoryId=3

Gilad Atzmon-Caught in Bed with Evil

Crossing points into Gaza have been shut down for almost two weeks, forcing the only power plant there to stop functioning, due to the lack of fuel. Last week, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency ran out of food and stopped rations' deliveries to 750,000 residents of Gaza.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2008/11/18/gilad-atzmon-caught-in-bed-with-evil/

Extrajudicial Assassinations As Official Israeli Policy

Extra-judicial killings are indefensible, morally abhorrent, and illegal under international laws and norms. Article 23b of the 1907 Hague Regulations prohibits "assassination, proscription, or outlawry of an enemy, or putting a price upon an enemy's head, as well as offering a reward for any enemy 'dead or alive.' " Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person." UDHR also recognizes the "inherent dignity (and the) equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family."
http://globalresearch..ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11041

Crossing the Line looks at Obama's "change" for Palestine

This week on Crossing The Line: With a resounding victory, United States President-elect Barrack Hussein Obama made history on the evening of 4 November 2008. Running on the slogan "Change You Can Believe In," many are hoping that after eight years of the Bush administration, change has finally arrived. But what about change for the Palestinians and their untenable situation? What change can Obama bring to the world's longest-standing refugee population? We'll speak to Kathleen and Bill Christison both formerly with the US Central Intelligence Agency about this issue.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9970.shtml

Settler rabbi: State of Israel is an enemy of the people

"The state of Israel has become the enemy of the people and the land of Israel," settler rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe said Tuesday during an emergency meeting on the state's plan to evacuate a house in Hebron whose ownership has been at the center of a bitter dispute for over a year.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1038565.html

Alperon's sister: Whoever killed Ya'akov, the same will be done to his children

At around 1 P.M. Tuesday afternoon the funeral procession of underworld kingpin Ya'akov Alperon, who was killed in a car bombing in Tel Aviv Monday morning, set out from his home in Ra'anana. Hundreds of people accompanied his coffin to the cemetery at Kfar Nahman.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1038513.html

Israeli mob swears vengeance as it buries boss

For a moment, as the first few of the hundreds of mourners came up the cypress-lined avenue to the main cemetery on the edge of this prosperous satellite town outside Tel Aviv, the menfolk donning kippas, you could have mistaken it for any Israeli funeral.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israeli-mob-swears-vengeance-as-it-buries-boss-
1024601.html


Meir Porush's son beaten as haredi confrontations continue
In another incident demonstrating the escalating tensions between rival camps within the haredi community, the son of United Torah Judaism MK Meir Porush was beaten and knocked to the ground Monday. Yisrael Porush confirmed that he had been attacked but added that he did not want to provide details of the incident for fear it would lead to the desecration of God's name.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404770681& pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

A secular mayor for Jerusalem

THE hollowness of Israel's rhetoric about "united Jerusalem" is never starker than on local election day, when the city's 537,000 adults, together with the rest of Israel, can go to the polls to pick their new mayor. Among Jerusalem's Palestinians, who make up some 30% of the citizenry, hardly anyone bothers to vote. In East Jerusalem, the mainly Arab part of the city captured and annexed by Israel in 1967, polling stations in schools and public buildings stay yawningly empty, apart from a trickle of municipal employees and their families.
http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12609920

Britain resumes high-level intelligence links with Syria: report

AFP-Britain re-established high-level intelligence links with the Syrian authorities as Foreign Secretary David Miliband visited Damascus, the Times newspaper said Wednesday citing senior Syrian officials.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081119/wl_afp/mideastsyriabritaindiplomacyintelligence

Peres: Withdrawal from the Golan will only be under Israeli conditions

Israeli President, Shimon Peres, said that if Syria wants the Golan Heights back it must proof that it is ready for peace, and must change its policies, such as its relation with Iran and Hezbollah.
http://www.imemc.org/article/57707

Israel may cede control of Lebanon village to UN
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is expected to call several senior defense officials Wednesday to discuss the possibility of pulling out of the northern part of the border village of Ghajar and relinquishing control to UN forces.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1038579.html

Who Will Evict Israel from Lebanon?

Northwest of Ghajar Village, South Lebanon : "We, as Lebanese, are here to confirm that we cling to freeing every grain of our soil. We will not abandon the great national cause, which is the continuation of the liberation of our land. The resistance looks forward to hoisting the flags of victory again over the Kfarshuba hills, Shebaa Farms, Ghajar and Abbasieh where 80 percent of the land is still occupied" -- Sheik Nabil Qwork, Hezbollah leader addressing villagers at Abbasieh Village, 10/2008
http://www.counterpunch.org/lamb11182008.html

Tuesday: 23 Iraqis Killed, 35 Wounded

At least 23 Iraqis were killed and 35 more were wounded in the latest reports of violence. In political news, elections have been set for Jan. 31 in most of Iraq's 18 provinces. The top Iraqi cleric gave tacit support to a U..S.-Iraqi security agreement now being debated in parliament. Meanwhile, Corruption watchdog group, Transparency International, has called Iraq the third most corrupt country in the world, and demonstrators are moving their vigil for an Iranian dissident group living in Iraq from New York to Washington.
http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=13784

IRAQ: At long last, an election date
Amid the drama over the Iraqi Cabinet's decision to approve a security pact giving American forces another three years on the ground here, it was easy to miss another milestone. The Cabinet has formally announced the date for provincial elections: Jan. 31, 2009. The decision, announced Tuesday, is the first time a date has been declared. The provincial election law passed by Parliament in September only said that the vote should be held by Jan. 31 but left in the air exactly when it would happen. This gives the country's political groups time to get ready for the official two-month campaigning period, which will begin Dec. 1. With luck and organization, it will give election officials time to arrange what is sure to be a massive undertaking.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2008/11/iraq-at-long-la.html

Al-Jazeera Video: Inside Story-Iraq security pact-Nov 17
http://palestinianpundit.blogspot.com/2008/11/al-jazeera-video-inside-story-iraq.html

2011 US Iraq withdrawal depends on conditions on the ground, says Admiral Mullen

US military leaders are comfortable with a 2011 deadline for the withdrawal of all US forces from Iraq but it should depend on conditions on the ground, the US military chief has said.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/3474933/2011-US-Iraq-withdrawal-depends-on-conditions
-on-the-ground-says-Admiral-Mullen.html


Under Iraq troop pact, U.S. can't leave any forces behind

BAGHDAD — The status of forces of agreement between the United States and Iraq is now called the withdrawal agreement, and that's exactly what it is: an ultimate end to the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.
http://www.mcclatchydc..com/iraq/story/56110.html

Unofficial Translation of U.S.-Iraq Troop Agreement from the Arabic Text

Translated from the Arabic by Sahar Issa, Jenan Hussein and Hussein Kadhim of the McClatchy Baghdad Bureau.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/56116.html

Maliki defends troop pact; Sadr demands its rejection
McClatchy Newspapers-BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki on Tuesday urged the Iraqi public to support the new pact that calls for withdrawing American forces as his most determined opponent, radical cleric Muqtada al Sadr, once again urged the parliament to vote down the agreement.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20081118/wl_mcclatchy/3103860

Small Iraqi party says it will not support US pact
A small Shiite party said Wednesday that a U..S.-Iraqi security pact allowing American troops to stay in Iraq for three more years infringes on Iraqi sovereignty, and vowed to vote against the deal in parliament. Even without the support of the Fadhila party's 15 lawmakers, the agreement is likely to be approved when the 275-seat parliament votes Nov. 24. The political parties that comprise Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's ruling coalition dominate the legislature, and his Cabinet approved the deal with Washington on Sunday.
http://www.topix.net/content/ap/2008/11/small-iraqi-party-says-it-will-not-support-us-pact

Iraq bids farewell to US arms
The security pact between the United States and Iraq closes the door to a further US military presence beyond 2011 even more tightly than the previous draft and locks in a swift end to Iraqi dependence on the US military that appears to be irreversible. What was supposed to be a client regime was instead waiting for the right moment to assert real control.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JK20Ak02.html

Iraq arrests senior Iranian commando at airport
Iraqi security forces have arrested an alleged "senior" Iranian commando from the elite Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force at Baghdad International Airport, the U.S. military said Wednesday. The military said they suspected the man of "involvement in facilitating Iranian weapons.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/11/19/60406.html

US arrests suspected Iranian agent in Iraq

AP-The U.S. military says it has arrested an alleged senior member of the Iranian security forces suspected of funneling weapons into Iraq.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081119/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_ iranian_arrested

Iraq discovers remains of 150 Kurds in south Iraq

Reuters-Iraqi officials flew the remains of 150 Kurds found in a mass grave home to Kurdistan on Wednesday, after a moving ceremony that paid tribute to victims of repression under ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081119/wl_nm/us_iraq_graves

Iraqis accused of killing soldiers at risk of torture, court told

Two Iraqis accused of killing British soldiers risk being tortured and executed, in violation of their human rights, if they are tried in Iraq for war crimes, the high court was told yesterday. Faisal Al-Saadoon, 56, and Khalaf Mufdhi, 58, who are being held by British forces in Basra, are accused of murdering Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth and Sapper Luke Allsopp in 2003.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/19/iraq-human-rights

Straw defends his role in Iraq war after ex-law lord brands conflict 'illegal'
Lord Goldsmith and Lord Chancellor Jack Straw defended their actions after Lord Bingham, the former senior law lord and one of Britain's most respected judicial experts, described the military action by Britain and the US as a " serious violation of international law".
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1086902/Straw-defends-role-Iraq-war-ex-law-lord-brands-conflict-
illegal.html?ITO=1490


Will The US Government And Media Finally Report The Slaughter Of Iraqis By The US Military?

I recently received a set of questions from Le Monde Diplomatique reporter Kim Bredesen about the 2007 Project Censored story about 1,000,000 Iraqi deaths due to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. The questions and answers are, I think, useful in framing both the untold story of the slaughter in Iraq and the failure of the U.S. media to report on its extent or on U.S. culpability for the deaths of 4% of the Iraqi population.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-schwartz/will-the-slaughter-of-ira_b_143503.html

Steve Fainaru on "Big Boy Rules: America's Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq"
Top Justice Department prosecutors are reportedly reviewing a draft indictment against six Blackwater security guards who opened fire in a crowded Baghdad square more than a year ago killing seventeen Iraqi civilians. The indictments would mark the first time armed private contractors from the United States face justice. We speak to Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post correspondent Steve Fainaru about his new book Big Boy Rules: America's Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/11/19/steve_fainaru_on_ big_boy_rules

Urgent International Push for Pollard
With Prime Minister Ehud Olmert scheduled to leave in a few days for a parting visit with U.S. President George W. Bush – who will leave office in two months' time, just a few weeks before Olmert is to be replaced –massive pressure is being exerted on Olmert to ask Bush for a pardon.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/128444

On Rahm Emanuel
There's been a lot of speculation about the foreign-policy implications of Rep.. Rahm Emanuel serving as Barack Obama's White House chief of staff, much of which, of course, is …speculation. Below are two of the less fevered and somewhat more reassuring analyses of Emanuel and his views on the Middle East — one by Jim Zogby, the president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), the other by Lara Friedman, the policy and government relations director of Americans for Peace Now (APN). Both groups, of course, worked with the Clinton administration on the Oslo process and are strongly committed to a two-state solution, etc.
http://www.ips.org/blog/jimlobe/?p=203#more-203

NO FREE PASS FOR RAHM EMANUEL

James Zogby isn't just an Arab American with an opinion. He is the president of the Arab American Institute, a well-known writer, and an esteemed leader within the Arab American community. Many non-Arab Americans highly regard his analysis and look to his articles as a resource to understand the Middle East. This is precisely why his latest article, "Rahm Emanuel and Arab Perceptions,"
published by The Huffington Post, is so disturbing. Remi Kanazi comments.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article9974.shtml

Obama advisers: Harsh interrogators will walk
Even as President-elect Obama vowed "to regain America's moral stature in the world" during Sunday's 60 Minutes appearance, two of his senior advisers confessed there is no intent to pursue those in the Bush administration who engaged in torture.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Obama_admin_wont_prosecure_ Bush_war_1117.html

Essential Reading for Obama

In the weeks until his inauguration on January 20, 2009, Barack Obama will be focusing on the most immediate tasks of assembling a new administration and familiarizing himself with the depth of domestic and foreign crises confronting the Unites States. Once in the White House, President Obama will have to grapple with the economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and their manifestations in the area of human rights and law. But the catalogue of failures of the outgoing administration of George W Bush is long. If President Obama is to succeed in delivering on the promises raised by his victory, he may find it useful to read some of the pages from the catalogue of failures of his predecessor. They shed light on the blunders that made America's crises.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14401

Al Qaida No. 2: Obama guilty of betraying Muslim roots in backing Israel
Al Qaeda's second-in-command urged Muslims to continue attacks on "criminal" America and slammed U.S. president-elect Barack Obama for vowing to back Israel during his campaign.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1038917.html

Cornel West on the Election of Barack Obama: "I Hope He Is a Progressive Lincoln, I Aspire to Be the Frederick Douglass to Put Pressure on Him"
Princeton University professor of religion and African American studies, Cornel West, speaks about the election of Barack Obama, his selection of Eric Holder to be Attorney General, the possible selection of Lawrence Summers to be Treasury Secretary and the role of the progressive left to push Obama. West is the author of the new book Hope on a Tightrope: Words and Wisdom.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/11/19/cornel_west_on_the_ election_of

The Koran, punk rock and lots of questions

This much Hiba Siddiqui knows: She is a Muslim teenager living in America. But what does that mean for her? The front door shuts with a thud, and Hiba Siddiqui heeds her father's footsteps, heavy from a day at work, plodding across the foyer downstairs.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/457493688/la-na-muslimteen19-2008nov19,0,975087.story

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