Cash reserves of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees have plummeted from $60 million in 2006 to just $1 million, enough for less than one day's average expenditure, a senior official said today, warning of "the very real prospect" of having to make cuts in basic education and health services. "Effectively we are now running on empty," UNRWA Deputy Commissioner General Filippo Grandi told the agency's annual pledging conference at UN Headquarters in New York. "As everyone can understand, driving a complex machine such as ours on little or no fuel dramatically raises the odds, sooner or later of a breakdown."
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/
Gazan man burned in tunnel succumbs to wounds
A Palestinian burned in a Gaza tunnel three days ago succumbed to his injuries on Thursday, bringing to 50 the number of men killed in the underground pathways. Medical sources confirmed the death of 22-year-old Ghassan Mahmoud Abu Mur, who suffered high-intensity burns and was being treated in the intensive care unit of Rafah's main hospital. Ghassan was injured along with two other young men, whose conditions are listed as mild to serious.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Report: Israel arresting West Bank Palestinians by the hundreds
The Palestinian Authority (PA) Ministry of Prisoners and Prisoners' Affairs accused the Israeli government of carrying out multiple operations in West Bank towns and cities as Israel announced intentions to release some 250 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture. In a report obtained by Ma'an, the ministry documents more than 300 incursions and invasions carried out by Israeli forces in Palestinian towns and cities in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
http://imeu.net/news/
Israeli Military Invades Jenin, Detains Residents in Nablus
Early Thursday morning, Israeli Military invaded the West Bank city of Jenin. Also, the Israeli Military detained a number of Palestinian residents in Nablus, media sources and witnesses reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
Palestinian Fighters Clash With Israeli Military in Eastern Gaza
A group of Palestinian fighters clashed, late Wednesday night, with Israeli soldiers near the Johr Eldeik village in eastern Gaza Strip, a press release revealed.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
Settlers open fire on houses in Sebastia
Dozens of Israeli settlers opened fire on Palestinian homes near the illegal settlement of Shavei Shomron southwest of Nablus on Wednesday, residents told Ma'an. Sources added that a number of settlers had arrived after the commotion and fired dozens of bullets from automatic weapons before finally withdrawing when the Israeli army arrived in coordination with the Palestinian Liaison Office.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Israeli court indicts settler caught shooting Palestinians in Hebron, yet he is still a free man
The Israeli Magistrates Court in Jerusalem indicted on Wednesday Ze'ev Braude, an extremist Israeli settler who was caught on film firing at Palestinians residents in the southern West Bank city of Hebron last week after the army evacuated a house the settlers illegally occupied in the city.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
ANALYSIS /Israeli legal system going soft on settlers
The decision Wednesday by Jerusalem Magistrate's Court Judge, Malka Aviv, to order the release of Ze'ev Braude, the settler suspected of shooting a Palestinian following the evacuation of the House of Contention in Hebron, did not come as a surprise to either the State Prosecutor's Office or human rights groups.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Hamas: Settlers' attacks, plots to liquidate Palestinian cause bode new intifada
The Hamas Movement said on Wednesday that the brutal Israeli settlers' attacks on the Palestinian people will lead to a new Palestinian intifada.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Umm al-Fahm invites Jews ahead of rightist rally
Before internal security minister announces whether march organized by extreme rightists Baruch Marzel, Itamar Ben-Gvir will be allowed to take place next week, Arab city opens gates to Jewish supporters for Muslim holiday in display of harmonious ties, hopes of preventing rally.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Testimony: Settlers attack olive pickers, from B'Tselem
On 20 November '08, Kafa Shtiwi from Kadum was attacked by settlers as she approached her olive grove with international activists. According to her testimony, the settlers kicked and cursed them, and threatened to vandalize their vehicle.
http://www.btselem.org/
Qadum.asp
Hebron: Willful abandonment by security forces
B`Tselem-In the weeks that preceded the eviction, settlers attacked Palestinians and damaged Palestinian property daily in Hebron. Although these attacks were extensive and prolonged, Israel's security forces failed to prevent them. In one of the incidents that B`Tselem documented, on 30 November, about 50 settlers entered a Palestinian neighborhood at 2:00 A.M., accompanied by an army jeep. The settlers threw stones that shattered windowpanes of houses and of some 25 cars, and punctured the tires of the cars. They then threw stones at houses in the neighborhood and shattered windowpanes.
http://www.btselem.org/
Human rights activists file international suit against Israeli leaders
Human rights activists on Wednesday filed a lawsuit at the ICC in The Hague against Israeli political and military leaders for committing crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
El Khodary supports calls from UN expert to prosecute occupation officials
Palestinian legislator, head of the Popular Committee Against the Siege (PCAS), Jamal El Khodary, voiced support to the calls of UN expert, Professor Richard Falk, who called for immediate intervention to stop the ongoing Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip, and that Israeli political and military leaders, should be prosecuted in international courts for violating the international law and the Gaza siege.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
Official: IDF prepared for Gaza op
Security source tells Ynet military is waiting for political echelon to green light operation in Strip, adds various plans already presented to cabinet.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Army awaiting order for ground offensive in Gaza
As the fragile Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, is ending in eight days, Israeli military leaders stated on Wednesday that the Army is ready to carry out any military offensive the political leaders order, Israeli Ynet News reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
Israeli minister calls for assassinating Hamas leaders
The Israeli minister of trade has called for targeting the Hamas Movement's leaders in Gaza Strip in retaliation to the firing of locally made rockets from Gaza on Israeli targets.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Behind Israeli Bars: Palestinian Child Prisoners
During Israel's first Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session on December 4 in Geneva's UN Palais de Nations, a number of issues were brought to the fore by representatives of the UN member states sitting in the room. The UPR, a new Human Rights Council mechanism whereby a country's own national report on human rights is subjected to scrutiny by its fellow countries, is supposedly aimed at creating a means of addressing human rights violations occurring throughout the world. Among the concerns voiced by state parties towards Israel's national report was concern over its treatment of Palestinian minors in Israeli prisons. While Israel's panel of experts attempted to put to rest this issue by claiming that a total of six Palestinian minors from the occupied Palestinian territories were in Israeli prisons or detention centers and that all of these minors were 17 years of age, there are a number of Palestinian and international organizations that beg to differ.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Int'l official says UN must translate condemnation of Gaza siege into actions
Richard Falk has urged the United Nations to translate its condemnation of the Israeli siege on Gaza into actions on the ground.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Act Now for Gaza
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) calls on the United States and the international community to immediately pressure Israel to lift its blockade. It must act without delay to stop the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel blockaded Gaza over a month ago and has only allowed five shipments of humanitarian supplies to enter Gaza. Only enough supplies are being let into to prevent mass starvation and widespread disease, despite the facts that reports indicate the population in Gaza, the majority of whom rely on food aid to survive, is already suffering from chronic malnutrition and serious vitamin deficiencies.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2008/
GAZA IN CRISIS Dec 2008
This video describes in pictures and words the shocking details of Israels deliberate ravaging of Palestinian life and society in Gaza. Its purpose is to call attention to the plight of a people under siege, which so far has been chillingly ignored by governments and the world media unwilling to call Israel to account for its criminal execution of the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians from their own land. The video was created by Sonja Karkar for Australians for Palestine on 9 December 2008 using images captured by various courageous photographers on the ground in Gaza, and the haunting sounds of Sada (Echo), composed and played on the oud by Ahmad Al-Khatib. See, http://www.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Haniyah slams world's silence about Gaza
The Hamas Prime Minister has criticized the international community for 'idly watching the Israeli crimes' against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Ismail Haniyah called on world leaders to put an end to 'Israel's crimes' committed against people in the coastal region.
Israel carries out regular attacks on the territory and it has imposed a crippling economic blockade against almost 1.5 million people in Gaza. It has sealed off all border crossings with the Gaza Strip since last month.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.
Arabic article: Palestinian Authority figure, Abu Mazen says that those who attempt to break through the siege of Gaza are involved in a "silly game."
http://www.asharqalawsat.com/
Iran to stage rally against Gaza siege
The Iranian nation will stage a rally to condemn the atrocities committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip and call for an end to the blockade.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.
Dignity boat to carry 16 Palestinian stranded students from Gaza
The solidarity activists who arrived in Gaza on Wednesday have promised to carry back with them 16 Palestinian students who could not travel abroad to complete their academic studies.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Obama Ought to Stop Gaza
GEORGE S. HISHMEH-Middle East Times-Israeli actions, official and unofficial, in the Palestinian areas are now facing tougher scrutiny. A European Union draft document has reportedly called for increased pressure on Israel to reopen Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem, including Orient House, which formerly served as the Palestinian Authority`s headquarters in the Holy City. "A key part of building the Palestinian state involves resolving the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of the two states," the French-authored document declares.
http://www.metimes.com/
Illusions in Gaza, By Amira Hass
The first thing that captures your eyes, after two years away, is a visual quiet. Gone are the flags of every color (including green) that once flew everywhere; the billboards commemorating shaheeds with their weapons, new ones popping up nearly every day; the large banners emblazoned with slogans. Yes, here and there you still come across a tattered flag or faded sign, old graffiti on the walls, or a smiling Arafat beaming down from a giant poster that no one took the trouble to remove, the colors dulled by time. But the loud, aggressive, competitive profusion that was frequently replenished is all gone. Pictures of government officials in Gaza don't impose upon you, they don't hang on every corner. Instead, one notices bougainvillea, tree-lined avenues, wrought-iron gates, colorful head coverings. The Hamas government doesn't need external symbols to prove its strength and announce its presence. The conclusion is obvious as it is.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Instead of Auschwitz, By Amira Hass
The committee coordinating the struggle to free Gilad Shalit went all the way to Auschwitz where, it is reported, its members distributed 888 yellow flowers. That was in October, and we can only hope that this media gimmick will not be repeated, either because an agreement will be reached in the near future or because the organizers will understand how lacking in taste that move was.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Masri warns of popular explosion in Gaza
MP Mushir Al-Masri has warned that the continued tightening siege on the Gaza Strip would lead to a popular explosion in all directions.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Livni: Israeli Arabs should move to Palestine once state created
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Thursday that the creation of a Palestinian state would serve as a solution to Israeli Arabs' national problem.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Dayton: New PA Forces Trained Not to Fight Israel
Keith Dayton, the US army general who is overseeing the training in Jordan of the Palestinian Authority's National Security Force for the occupied West Bank, has praised the new recruits as "the most capable Palestinian security forces that have ever been fielded here," and firmly played down the notion that they might one day come to turn their weapons on the Zionist entity. In a rare interview, marking the third anniversary of his arrival to head the United States Security Coordinator (USSC) hierarchy, Dayton told Israeli daily The Jerusalem Post that the trainees are taught over and again that "you are not here to learn how to fight against the Israeli occupation." Their focus, rather, he said, is "totally on the lawless elements within Palestinian society."
http://www.almanar.com.lb/
Islamic Jihad warns PA security against handing over commander to occupation
An Islamic Jihad leader in the West Bank warned Abbas's security against handing over a commander of the Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, to the Israeli occupation.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
The EU's blind eye to Israel
In September 2008, the European Union decided that meetings with Russia about a new partnership agreement would be postponed until the latter ended its military occupation of Georgia. In contrast, in June 2008 the 27-member EU decided to "upgrade" its relations with Israel. Was this in recognition of Israeli adherence to previous agreements with the EU, or progress in the peace process with the Palestinians?On the contrary, it appears to have been a reward for Israel's military occupation of the territory of several countries, and gross violations of human rights and international law, as well as specific commitments made to the EU. David Morrison comments for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/
The sheikh's handshake
The problem is that, intended or not, a friendly gesture between the Supreme Islamic Guide for the Muslim world on the one side and the president of a Zionist state on the other is seen by many in the Middle East as a painful propaganda gift to the Israelis, just as hundreds and thousands of Gazan Muslims remain trapped under brutal siege by the Israeli army. The pan-Arab newspaper al-Quds al-Arabi called Tantawi "absurd"; the Egyptian opposition daily, al-Dostour, is now running a high-profile campaign for his dismissal.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
On int'l human rights day, Palestinians traumatized
Today marks the 60th anniversary of International Human Rights Day. It is the day the United Nations declared the issuance of the International Declarations of Human Rights to put new international foundations for enforcing and respecting the sacred life and dignity of all human beings. It is a noteworthy coincidence that the birth of this declaration shares the anniversary of the Palestinian uprooting in 1948, still experienced by Palestinians up until today.
http://electronicintifada.net/
Attempt to stop Israeli ambassador from addressing UN fails
Gabriella Shalev to speak before General Assembly in special session marking human rights day as representative of 30 nations, despite Assembly president's attempt to prevent speech.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Ostracize, boycott, do not join, By Gideon Levy
This list must be ostracized, this parliamentary group must be boycotted. After Kadima and Labor railed against the newly elected Likud list, which includes an outright racist and murderer of prisoners, they must practice what they preach, and immediately. Only if the heads of these two "shocked" parties announce that under no circumstances will they join a Likud government will we know that there is an alternative to the extreme right. Only if they do this will we know that their words have not been meaningless.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Report: Israeli envoy to UK accuses church service of being anti-Semitic
Ron Prosor, Israel's Ambassador in Britain lashed out against the Church of England Wednesday, for having approved an anti-Israel carol that was sung as part of a service, according to the Times of London.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Anti-Israel Christmas carols at UK church
Group of activists, including Jews, holds alternative Christian holiday service, replacing traditional songs with 'apartheid wall', '12 assassinations'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Report: State should recognize Bedouin villages
Committee for Regulation of Bedouin Settlements in the Negev presents housing and construction minister with its findings, says Israel must change legal status of at least 46 villages so to 'prevent perpetuation of community's unbearable state'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Poll: If elections were held today, Fatah would win over Hamas
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' secular Fatah movement would beat the radical Islamic Hamas movement if elections were held today, according to a Palestinian public opinion poll published Thursday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Bleak future
Plight of refugees from ruined Palestinian camp.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-
Preview: Chronicles of a Refugee Preview
Preview of the forthcoming documentary film series, "Chronicles of a Refugee"-a 6-part series about Palestinian refugees all over the world. Starting with the Nakba of 1948 and continuing through the various experiences over 60 years, the film series seeks to probe and generate debate concerning strategies for achieving Palestinian rights. For information, contact chroniclesofarefugee@gmail.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
We Don't Have to Lose, By Cynthia McKinney
Today (November 23rd) I was slated to give remarks in Damascus, Syria at a Conference being held to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, sadly, the 60th year that the Palestinian people have been denied their Right of Return enshrined in that Universal Declaration. But a funny thing happened to me while at the Atlanta airport on my way to the Conference: I was not allowed to exit the country. I do believe that it was just a misunderstanding. But the insecurity experienced on a daily basis by innocent Palestinians is not.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Giving peace in Palestine no chance
Rarely a day goes by without someone offering new advice to the incoming Obama administration on how to deal with the Middle East. This advice is usually based on a simple principle: If George W. Bush pursued a specific policy, Barack Obama must do the opposite. Much of the counseling has focused on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
The Pragmatism of Ethnic Cleansing
Barack Obama's election victory has inspired a windfall of comment, most of it euphoric, with some grumbling from the political Right and the small quarters of the Left that remain unimpressed, so I am hesitant to contribute to the chatter. There is one element of Obama's victory, however, that has received less attention than it deserves, and that is his profound commitment to an extreme form of Zionism. I do not wish to spend this essay condemning Obama for that commitment; I have done so elsewhere, and others have offered eloquent condemnation already, though such a perspective hasn't yet managed to penetrate the liberal-Left.
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/
Ed Asner: Shminisitim
I've been around this world for awhile, and it's pretty hard to leave me speechless. But when I learned about Omer Goldman-well, her story got me. If you haven't heard the name Omer Goldman yet, have a seat and grab your kleenex. Her courage, and the courage of the other "Shministim" in Israel is utterly humbling. And amazing. I don't use those words lightly.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
An Israeli in Gaza: An Interview with Jeff Halper
Frank Barat: You recently took part in the Free Gaza movement (1) and successfully reached Gaza by boat with others activists, journalists and human rights workers from around the globe. How did you get involved in such an initiative and why was it important for you to take part?
Jeff Halper: As an Israeli and the head of an Israeli peace organization (ICAHD – The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions), I was asked by the Free Gaza Movement organizers to take part in their action to Break the Siege of Gaza by sailing two boats from Cyprus to Gaza City port. I agreed because this was a non-violent political action; breaking the siege and by implication highlighting Israel's responsibility for it (which it tries to shrug) fit into ICAHD's mission, to end the Israeli Occupation completely. Had this been defined as a humanitarian mission I would not have participated, since the so-called "humanitarian crisis" in Gaza is not the result of some natural calamity, but of a deliberate policy of Israel – plus the US, Europe and Japan, it must be said, and aided by Egypt – to break the will of the Palestinians to resist and to replace the democratically elected government of Hamas by a collaborationist regime more amenable to Israeli control.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Poets for Palestine
It's that time of year, when we give, if we can, something nice to people we love. The past few years on Peacepalestine, and not only at Christmas, I've suggested books, and this time, it's not going to be any different. The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan was one of the best books possible to read for an understanding of Palestine/Israel history. Joe Sacco's Palestine, a graphic novel, does for the Nakba what Art Spiegelman did for the Holocaust, and it is a book with images that stay imprinted on the mind for days. This year's suggested book takes some of those things and combines them with a few new elements in a completely different format. Poets For Palestine, (Edited by Remi Kanazi, who you can see on Palestine Think Tank performing two of his poems), is a collection of poetry and artwork that is an emotional tour de force.
http://palestinethinktank.com/
NY Fabric Store Family's Charity: We Train People to Fight in Towns in Occupied Territories With Other Civilians Around Us
Arthur and Hadassah Marcus live on the Upper West side. They're married. Must be pushing 60. I'm sure they're nice people. Their son Jay lives in the Occupied Territories. Arthur says he and his son work for Marcus Fabrics on 6th Avenue in New York but Jay spends 35 hours a week working for the Central Fund for Israel, which shares Marcus Fabric's address and gives money to the settlers. Arthur spends half his time on the Central Fund. And Hadassah spends half her time on the Central Fund. They do it for love, too, baby. They don't get any money. They do it for devotion, while they're selling fabric. That's what Zionism is: it's like Communism, something people believe in with all their hearts that is gonna change the world.
http://www.philipweiss.org/
-towns-in-occupied-
Settlers Charity Operating out of NY Fabric Store Funneled $106,000, Tax Deductible, to Israeli Group with 'No Arab' Policy
The Central Fund for Israel--which lists its office at the same address as Marcus Fabrics on 6th Avenue in New York--is a 501(c)3. That means contributions are tax deductible. The Central Fund gives a lot of its money to educational institutions in the Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories. The spirit of federal law is very clear: charitable organizations won't discriminate on a racial basis. Two questions the government asks about educational organizations: "Does the organization have a racially nondiscriminatory policy toward students by statement in its charter....? "Does the organization discriminate by race in any way...?"
http://www.philipweiss.org/
-israeli-group-with-no-arab-
Wisdom and laughter in a child's view of Palestine
Randa Abdel-Fattah's new novel for young people, Where the Streets Had a Name, is an engaging family story deftly that weaves together every iconic element of Palestinian disenfranchisement--land titles, checkpoints, curfews, the general frustrations of daily life--along with jokes, arguments and repeated stories which keep people going. Lost olive trees and the profound and irrevocable sense of time and haunted belonging, are in place by page 20. And they all ring very very true. Naomi Shihab Nye reviews for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/
Music and peace
The sovereign independent republic of the West-Eastern Divan, as I like to call the orchestra I founded with Edward Said to promote dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, began as an unpredictable experiment in 1999. Over the years, it has grown into an example of how Middle Eastern society could function under the best of circumstances. Our musicians have gone through the painful process of learning to express themselves while simultaneously listening to the narrative of their counterparts. I cannot imagine a better way of implementing the first and most fundamental article of the United Nations' declaration of human rights: that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, that they are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
http://www.iht.com/articles/
In boycotting Carter, Hizbullah finds itself in shameful company
Jimmy Carter is no stranger to the craven prejudices that have long obstructed a peaceful resolution of the Middle East conflict. It probably therefore comes as no surprise to him that just like many American Zionist students, pro-Israel groups and the government of premier Ehud Olmert, Hizbullah thinks the best thing to do.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
European Commission pledges nearly $2 million for Nahr al-Bared refugees
Faltering fundraising efforts for displaced residents of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp got a boost on Wednesday with a 1.5-million-euro ($1.95 million) pledge from the European Commission, said UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) country director for Lebanon Salvatore Lombardo.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Wednesday: 1 Killed
Excerpt: Only one death was reported today in Iraq. The man was killed during Coalition operations. Today is the third and last day of Eid observances and reports should return to normal tomorrow. Meanwhile, various other developments occurred across the country.
http://www.antiwar.com/
Iraq Restaurant Bomb Kills 45: Police
At least 45 people were killed and 93 wounded in a suicide bomb attack on a restaurant near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Thursday, the city's deputy police chief Torhane Yussef said. Women and children were among the victims of the attack on the "Abdullah" restaurant, an interior ministry official in Baghdad said. The blast happened in the early afternoon on the final day of the Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice) holiday at a roadside restaurant 15 kilometers (nine miles) north of Kirkuk and 255 kilometers (160 miles) from Baghdad, police officer Salam Zengana said.
http://almanar.com.lb/
Kirkuk suicide bomber kills 47
A suicide bomber blew himself up in a restaurant in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, killing at least 47 people.
http://www.thenational.ae/
Blackwater guards should die: dead Iraqi's family
AFP-The family of an Iraqi man shot dead with 13 other civilians by guards from the private US security firm Blackwater in 2007 called on Wednesday for the death penalty against five who have been charged.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
Pentagon approves Iraq sales worth up to $6 billion
The U.S. Defense Department on Wednesday said it had approved the sale to Iraq of weapons valued at up to $6 billion, including 400 Stryker wheeled vehicles, military radios, training aircraft, 20 coastal patrol boats and 140 M1A1 Abrams tanks.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/
MoD investigates brutality claims against British soldiers in Basra
Army reviews banned interrogation techniques used to soften up Iraqi detainees.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/
VIDEO REPORT: Iraqis suspicious of U.S. troop accord
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/
No Iraqi Consensus on US Security Pact
Iraqi Crisis ReportMany unsure what to make of historic deal signed off last week.
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-
Maliki's tenure on ice as rift with Kurds widens
The Iraqi premier is increasingly at risk as cracks in his Shiite-Kurdish coalition grow in the waning days of the Bush administration, his other main ally.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/
Iraq PM: Iraq interest shall come first
Iraq Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki said that the good citizenship is to set the country's interest in front of self interest and criticized people who put the party and confession interest in front of their country's. To that, Al Maliki stressed on the importance of national reconciliation that helped to anchor security and to wash grudge from the hearts.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/
Iraq's coalition of the dwindling
A ceremony to mark the departure of the Ukranians from Iraq demonstrates how small the "coalition of the willing" has become.
http://www.thenational.ae/
Seumas Milne: Britain leaves Iraq in shame. The US won't go so quietly
If British troops are indeed withdrawn from Iraq by next June, it will signal the end of the most shameful and disastrous episode in modern British history. Branded only last month by Lord Bingham, until recently Britain's most senior law lord, as a "serious violation of international law", the aggression against Iraq has not only devastated an entire country and left hundreds of thousands dead-it has also been a political and military humiliation for the invading powers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Roy Greenslade: US military condemned for not freeing Iraqi journalist
There is mounting anger at the US military's refusal to free a Reuters photojournalist-despite a release order by an Iraqi court. A military spokesman told Reuters that Ibrahim Jassam Mohammed would be freed after the end of the year, depending on his "threat level." The U.S. has said in the past that it has the right to keep holding security detainees even if an Iraqi court orders them freed. A spokesperson repeated this explanation in a statement about why Jassam is still being held.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
EGYPT: Lack of income main problem for Iraqi refugees
A first official survey of Iraqi refugees in Egypt tentatively puts their number at 20,000. The product of a year's field work and analysis by Egypt's Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC) and the American University in Cairo's Centre for Migration and Refugee Studies, the survey (not available on the internet) looked at how and why Iraqis came to Egypt, their population profile, socio-economic conditions, and the main challenges they face.
http://www.irinnews.org/
A young life changed forever by Iraq's war
AP-She was a beautiful, round-faced little girl with large, coal-black eyes and an instant smile. Two years later, the 3-year-old is blind and scarred, her mother is dead and her father's new wife can't cope with caring for her.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/
Canadian tortured in Syria victim of US 'conspiracy'-lawyer
A Canadian man wrongly accused of terrorism and sent to be tortured in Syria was the victim of a high level US conspiracy, his lawyer told a court in New York on Tuesday. The full 12-judge panel of the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals heard Maher Arar's lawyer outline accusations that top officials were behind the 2002 deportation of the Syrian-born Canadian software engineer.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Will Obama Buy Torture-Lite?
You've got to hand it to them. Torture aficionados at the White House and CIA have conned key congressional leaders into insisting not only that torture-lite would be a swell idea, but advocating that the overseers of torture be kept on.
http://www.consortiumnews.com/
Musicians Protest Their Involvement In US Interrogation Methods
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba — Blaring from a speaker behind a metal grate in his tiny cell in Iraq, the blistering rock from Nine Inch Nails hit Prisoner No. 200343 like a sonic bludgeon. "Stains like the blood on your teeth," Trent Reznor snarled over distorted guitars. "Bite. Chew." The auditory assault went on for days, then weeks, then months at the U.S. military detention center in Iraq. Twenty hours a day. AC/DC. Queen. Pantera. The prisoner, military contractor Donald Vance of Chicago, told The Associated Press he was soon suicidal.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
US routinely spies on Israel nukes: book
The United States routinely spies on Israel to try to gather information on its assumed atomic arsenal and secret government deliberations, a new official history of Israel's intelligence services says. While espionage by allies on their friends is not uncommon, it is rare that state-sponsored publications acknowledge it. Israeli-U.S. ties have been especially touchy in this regard since a U.S. Navy analyst, Jonathan Pollard, was jailed for life for treason in 1987 for passing classified documents to Israel.
http://www.alarabiya.net/
Obama to offer Israel 'nuclear umbrella' against Iranian nuke attack
U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's administration will offer Israel a "nuclear umbrella" against the threat of a nuclear attack by Iran, a well-placed American source said earlier this week. The source, who is close to the new administration, said the U.S. will declare that an attack on Israel by Tehran would result in a devastating U.S. nuclear response against Iran.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Reuters plans Middle East expansion
Other news organisations have cut jobs by the thousands in the West but Reuters is hiring in the Middle East.
http://www.thenational.ae/
Muhammad Sahimi: Obama and the Middle East: Fundamental Changes or Deja vu?
It is probably the greatest understatement of 2008 to say that many progressives in the Obama coalition, who played a crucial role in his victory, have been greatly disappointed with his national security team (NST). I do not wish to rehash all the discussions about Obama's NST by the progressives, but one statement that he made when introducing his NST left me dumbfounded. Mr. Obama said that he believes in having "strong personalities and strong opinions," and that he will welcome "vigorous debate" inside the White House.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
The Face of America
I usually define myself as, first, a human being and a global citizen, committed to human rights for all. Second, a Palestinian Arab with American attributes. And third, a woman, conscious of that additional layer of discrimination with which women struggle, whatever their race, creed, or economic status.
http://www.counterpunch.org/
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