(12 Dec, AFP) Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who hopes to become prime minister after February elections, on Friday ruled out the expulsion of Arab-Israelis after a Palestinian state is created. "The national aspirations (of the Arabs) should be realised elsewhere, but there is no question of carrying out a transfer or forcing them to leave," she told public radio.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
This land is ours say Israeli-Arabs
(12 Dec) By Saleh Al-Naemi, Occupied Jerusalem--Israeli-Arabs are reacting with outrage with Foreign Minister and frontrunner for premiership Tzipi Livni's call for Arab citizens to leave Israel and move into the new Palestinian state. "Israeli-Arabs will not leave their land," Arab member of Knesset Abbas Zakour told IslamOnline.net on Friday, December 12. "We are the owners of this land. We have been born here and will be buried in this land."
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Rizka: Livni's remarks regarding 1948 Palestinians reek of extremist racism
(12 Dec) GAZA, (PIC)--Dr. Yusef Rizka, PM Ismael Haneyya's political adviser, described statements made by Israeli FM and Likud leader Tzipi Livni as "statements reeking of racism and extremism against the indigenous Arab population." He raised an important question to those negotiators: if Livni rejects the presence of 1948 Palestinians in their homes and towns, how is she going to accept the return of Palestinian refugees?Rizka rejected the notion that Livni's statements were in the context of the elections race stressing that it is the extremist right wing feature of Zionism.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Arab homes bulldozed in Jerusalem
(13 Dec, Sky News, UK-photos) In recent weeks, several Palestinians have seen their homes demolished and one family has been evicted from a house they lived in for 52 years, to allow radical Jewish settlers to move in. During one demolition in East Jerusalem, a helmeted Israeli paramilitary border policeman was filmed apparently headbutting an unarmed Palestinian woman, inflaming passions further.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/
-Bulldozed-To-Make-Way-For-
East Jerusalem's planning trap
(12 Dec) By Efrat Cohen-Bar--This week a new mayor and city council took office in Jerusalem. Also this week, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel published its annual report. The report shows that the capital's new municipal government has its work cut out for it, if it has any intention of correcting the city's discriminatory policies in East Jerusalem.... Israeli legal precedent recognizes that no resident can be punished for breaking the law if there was in fact no way for him or her to have behaved legally. When it comes to residents of East Jerusalem, unauthorized construction is virtually the only way to meet the necessity and distress of circumstances. For this reason, it makes sense to freeze existing law-enforcement procedures until the needs of the population are met with proper planning solutions.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Jimmy Carter backs partition of Jerusalem
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, during a visit to Beirut Friday, said that East Jerusalem should be the capital of a Palestinian state. After a meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh and other leaders, Carter said that he supports the Arab initiative put forward in 2002, the Kuwait News Agency, KUNA, reported. He called for a new agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority that would allow Palestinians to return to their homeland.
http://www.timesoftheinternet.
Negotiator: Israel wants 6.8 percent of West Bank
(12 Dec) JERUSALEM: The chief Palestinian negotiator says Israel is proposing to annex 6.8 percent of the West Bank under a peace deal. Negotiator Ahmed Qureia also says the idea raised by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in peace talks is not acceptable to the Palestinians. Qureia says Israel has never revealed its position on the most contentious issue of the negotiations — the future of Jerusalem. Both sides claim the city as their capital.
http://www.iht.com/articles/
Support Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition
(13 Dec) Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition needs your support! We call on you to help implement the right of Palestinians to return to their homes and land of origin.
http://palestinethinktank.com/
Palestinian boy critically hurt in Hebron
(12 Dec) An IDF force wounded a 13-year-old Palestinian boy Friday near Hebron's Tel Rumeida neighborhood. Palestinian sources said the boy, Yakub Qasrawi, sustained critical wounds. The army confirmed that the boy was hurt, apparently by a rubber-coated bullet.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Hebron boy sustains critical head wound from Israeli fire
(12 Dec) An Israeli bullet caught 14-year-old Ya'qub Al-Qasrawi in the head on Friday while the boy was standing outside his family home in Hebron. He was transferred to the Hadasah Israeli hospital in Jerusalem in critical condition. Eyewitnesses said the boy was standing in front of his home when he crumpled to the ground. Locals suspect the bullet was from the barrel of a sniper gun. Ya'qub lives in the Al-Karantina neighborhood in the West Bank city of Hebron. The area is in the Palestinian Authority (PA) controlled H1, and south of the four small settlements staked out in the center of the city. Earlier Friday settlers from the Tel Rumeida settlement, south of the entrance to the old city and north of Ya'qub's home, attacked several Palestinian homes in the area.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
State to court: Rescind release of settler who shot Hebron Palestinians
(13 Dec) The state petitioned the Supreme Court on Friday to rescind the release to house arrest of a West Bank settler caught on film allegedly shooting two Palestinians in Hebron last week. The state prosecution argued that Ze'ev Braude, who allegedly shot the Palestinians during the evacuation of Hebron's so-called House of Contention, should not be freed on the grounds that he posed a threat to the general public.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Settler Movement Funded by NY Fabric Store Outfit Seems to Include Murderer of Arabs
(12 Dec) Here is an album of pictures from inside the "Peace House," the Israeli settlement in Hebron that was evacuated by Israeli soldiers last week. Below on the left is Nadia Matar, the woman who has urged settlement supporters to give money to the Central Fund, which is housed at a fabric store on 6th Avenue.
http://www.philipweiss.org/
-of-arabs-in-1984.html
Hebron Rioters Inspired by Radical Settler Leaders
(11 Dec) By Nathan Jaffay. Jerusalem — To the Jewish West Bank settlers who attacked Palestinian people and property in Hebron this month, it was Operation Price Tag — an attempt to increase the price to the Israeli government of evacuating them from ground they view as sacred. To the prime minister of Israel, it was a "pogrom." For all concerned, the decision of the settlers to riot December 4 after Israeli security forces evicted them from a disputed Hebron property highlighted a new tactic by hot-headed young followers of some of the Israeli-occupied West Bank's most extreme Jewish leaders: violent retaliation, along with a conscious disdain for secular law to stop further government-ordered evacuations on the West Bank.
http://www.forward.com/
A pogrom is declared
(11 Dec) A VAUNTED "fight unto death" by Jewish militants holed up in a disputed building in Hebron, a city on the Palestinian West Bank that is venerated by both Jews and Muslims, ended in their quick and relatively easy eviction by Israeli police on December 4th. But the Israeli police and army failed to prevent a subsequent splurge of violence against Palestinians in the city and elsewhere in the West Bank, which Israel's outgoing prime minister, Ehud Olmert, termed a "pogrom". A Jewish settler was filmed shooting and wounding two local Palestinians. Israeli security officials gave warning that the anticlimactic end of the Hebron siege could prompt the militants to try even more violent and spectacular methods to promote their cause. And Binyamin Netanyahu, said by pollsters to be the likely winner of a general election due in February, was embarrassed by a fellow member of his Likud party who has climbed up the party's election-candidates list by belligerently backing the settlers.
http://www.economist.com/
Israeli forces shut down Hebron Eid festival
(13 Dec) Israeli forces prevented a festival commemorating the fourth day of Eid in the West Bank city of Hebron's Old City on Saturday, according to event organizers. Soldiers shut down a children's rally for a local scout group that was heading to a park in the Old City, where the activities were scheduled to be held. A member of the Eid Festival Committee, Majed Abu Sbubeih, claimed that the Israeli procedures amounted to "a continued policy carried out against Hebron," noting that the yard adjacent to the Ibrahimi Mosque is reserved for Palestinians' use. [End]
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Poll: Most Jews feel connection to Hebron
(13 Dec) Almost three-quarters of Israeli Jews surveyed feel attachment to West Bank city, with almost half of these attributing this to 'certain Jewish feelings'--According to the poll, religious Israelis believe the eviction has strengthened the emotional ties to the West Bank city, while secular Jews believe the opposite to be true. The poll indicated that secular and religious Jews alike believe that the acts of revenge against Palestinians in Hebron that followed the eviction were criminal and contradicted Judaism's values
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Nonviolent resistance marches in western Ramallah: six shot
(12 Dec) During Friday prayers on land taken for the Wall in western Ramallah's Na'lin Village, dozens of Israeli soldiers launched gas. Residents decided to keep praying while the Sheikh called for national unity. "God promised to reconcile the leaders of the Palestinian people." Organizers of the local nonviolent Palestinian resistance decided to change the course of today's march, spreading out in order to distract soldiers.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.
Israeli troops suppress nonviolent demonstrations in Bil'in and Ni'lin
(12 Dec) The people of Bil'in started a demonstration after Friday's prayers that included international and Israeli activists, as well as a community from the Bethlehem district. When the demonstrators approached, the Israeli soldiers shot tear gas canisters, sound grenades and rubber-coated bullets at the crowd, which caused many to choke, including Mohamad Basem, an eight-year-old child, as well as Baasem Abu Rahma, age 30, and Abed Hamamra, age 37....
http://www.imemc.org/article/
Nonviolent action in Ma'asara commemorating the first Intifada
(12 Dec) The Israeli military suppressed residents from Al Ma'asara village Friday during a popular demonstration against the wall that's been built on Palestinian lands.This is happening on the 21st anniversary of the first Palestinian Intifada. When the people reached the village entrance, troops fiercly opposed and assaulted them with sticks and the butt ends of their rifles, while forcing the demonstrators away from the confiscated Palestinian lands. Dutch scouts were involved in the demonstration and they played the Palestinian National anthem, while marching on the Palestinian streets as a sign of solidarity with the Palestinian People.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
Israeli forces detain, interrogate five Jenin residents
(13 Dec) Israeli forces stormed a village near the West Bank city of Jenin on Saturday, detaining five Palestinians for interrogation before releasing them about an hour later, PA security sources told Ma'an. Three Israeli military patrols raided the village of Az-Zababida, which is south of Jenin, and seized five residents, who were held at the Salem military base. Local residents told Ma'an that the detainees were questioned about throwing rocks near the separation wall. The same residents claimed that soldiers invade the area "every day," firing gunshots and percussion grenades. [End]
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Israeli soldiers invade Nablus park, detain four residents
(12 Dec) Israeli soldiers seized four Palestinians in the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Friday, according to local witnesses. Israeli forces invaded the Ash-Sheikh Imad neighborhood west of Nablus, residents said. They added that a number of Israeli military jeeps drove into the area, known as the Old Parks Area, where locals tend to congregate during the holidays. Forces reportedly seized four residents at the site before dispersing the crowd that remained behind. [End]
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Israeli forces seize three Palestinians in Tulkarem
(13 Dec) The Palestinians were abducted in two villages near Tulkarem, Atteel and Sayda. PA security sources told Ma'an that the arrestees are 23-year-old Faris Duqqa from Attel, as well as 30-year-old Rasim Raddad and 25-year-old Hamad Ma'roof Hamad from Sayda. Israeli authorities did not immediately announce charges against the men, nor provide any pretext for what the men may have been suspected of doing before they were seized by military forces on Saturday.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Israelis supplying tear gas to Greeks
(12 Dec, Reuters) Police sources say they are running out of teargas after using more than 4,600 capsules in the last week and have urgently contacted Israel and Germany for more stocks.
http://www.reuters.com/
Israel holds up 100 buses of Hajj pilgrims at Allenby Bridge
(13 Dec) Hundreds of Hajj pilgrims coming back from Saudi Arabia are waiting for Israeli inspections at the Allenby Bridge crossing en route to the West Bank on Saturday. Ma'an's Saudi Arabia correspondent said that hundreds of pilgrims were stuck between the Jordanian and Israeli side of the Allenby Bridge as a result of "very slow inspections at the Israeli side."
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Our mothers' sons
(12 Dec) By Rod Solaimani and Hammad Hammad--What exactly were two recent American college grads (Hammad, a Palestinian Muslim, and Rod, an Iranian Jew) doing when they chose to spend their summer living and working in a refugee camp?What started as an idea born over Red Bulls at 2 A.M. one night last spring at Georgetown University, evolved into summer camps in the Deheisheh, Jalazun and Al-Azzeh refugee camps last July. As idealistic college students, we aspired to inspire refugee youth to become agents of change in Palestinian society, so they could proactively take steps (using the arts, media and sports) to make peace and stability a day-to-day reality in their lives.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Gaza students leave on activists' ship
(13 Dec, AP) JERUSALEM : International activists say they have helped 11 Gaza university students leave the blockaded territory by boat in defiance of Israel. Ramzi Kysia of the Free Gaza movement said Saturday that the students sailed on the vessel Dignity and reached Cyprus on Friday. He says the students are enrolled at universities in Europe and Canada.
http://www.iht.com/articles/
The Dignity arrives back in Cyprus, Iranian and Lebanese vessels to Gaza soon
(12 Dec) The Free Gaza Ship "Dignity" arrived Friday afternoon at the port Larnaca carrying eleven Palestinian stranded students as well as a number of academics and foreign sympathisers.
http://www.palestine-info..co.
PLC member says next ship coming from Lebanon
(13 Dec) A ship loaded with medical supplies for the Gaza Strip will depart from the port of Beirut in ten days, according to Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) member Jamal Al-Khudari. The independent member of the PLC told Ma'an on Saturday that Lebanese activists are preparing the ship, which he said represents Arab countries' solidarity with the besieged strip, or what he called the "Ships Uprising."
http://www.maannews.net/en/
European campaign deplores Abbas's smear campaign against relief vessels
(12 Dec) The European campaign for lifting the siege on Gaza has strongly condemned on Thursday the "defamatory" statements of PA chief Mahmoud Abbas against the foreign vessels.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Abbas criticizes Libya for helping Palestinians in Gaza Strip
(12 Dec) PA chief Mahmoud Abbas has lashed out at the Libyan government on Thursday for sending the Marwa vessel to help the besieged Palestinian people in Gaza Strip.
http://www..palestine-info.co.
Hamas: Abbas's assault on solidarity vessels proves his role in the siege
(12 Dec) Hamas Movement has strongly condemned the "unethical" statements of PA chief Mahmoud Abbas against the foreign boats that come to help the besieged Palestinian people in Gaza Strip.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Barak: Shalit is one of the reasons to refrain from launching Gaza offensive
(13 Dec) Defense Minister Ehud Barak criticized remarks made by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni earlier this week, who said that it was not possible to bring home every soldier, saying that it was Israel's responsibility to make every effort to bring home captive Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit. Shalit was abducted by Gaza militants in June 2006 and marked 900 days in captivity earlier this week. Hamas, the rulers of the Gaza Strip and one of the groups who orchestrated the kidnapping, has demanded the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit's release.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Rockets, mortars land in Negev
(13 Dec) Saturday artillery attacks include Qassam that falls near Sderot, activating Color Red alert, as well as two mortar shells that fall in open spaces. No injuries or damage reported
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Hamas prepares for 21st anniversary celebration
(13 Dec) The Hamas movement on Saturday began preparations for a major festival on Sunday commemorating the 21st anniversary of the movement's founding. The celebration has been titled, "The West Bank and Gaza…Unity and Dignity," according to a statement. The festival will be held at Al-Katiba Square in Gaza City. De facto government Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh is scheduled to deliver a major speech and de facto government police will deploy officers from Saturday onwards in every district in order to "maintain security and order." Despite the pomp, Hamas denied media reports claiming that the movement intends to swear in Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)-member Ahmad Bahar as Palestinian President on 10 January. "Hamas does not intend to appoint Bahar president as according to the Palestinian basic law, Abbas's office ends on 9 January and PLC Speaker Aziz Dweik, who is jailed in Israel, fills the post for 90 days during which he calls presidential elections," Al-Bardaweel told Ma'an.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
54 trucks enter Gaza, fulfilling 25% of daily need
(13 Dec) Fifty-four truckloads of goods, including 11 loads of humanitarian supplies, were allowed into Gaza from Israel on Friday while fuel pipelines remained closed. The supplies are 25 percent of pre-siege levels, and even less of predicted need. Gazan officials say between 400-600 truckloads of goods per day are necessary to maintain the region, and during the last year supplies have been egregiously restricted.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Kuwaiti charity distributes 18,000 kgs meat in Gaza
(13 Dec) A Kuwaiti charity distributed more than 18,000 kilograms of meat to poor families in the Gaza Strip during the Islamic holiday of Eid Al-Adha, according to Kuwait News Agency. The Kuwait-based Rahma Charitable Society said it slaughtered more than 100 calves and ten sheep throughout the holiday, distributing the meat to Gaza residents in cooperation with other societies. Israel had prevented the entry of sacrificial animals into Gaza, causing a hike in the price of meat in the Palestinian market, the agency reported on Friday.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Gaza Strip banks to remain open through Saturday
(13 Dec) Banks in the Gaza Strip will remain open on Saturday to continue payments of Palestinian Authority (PA) civil servant salaries that were delayed until Friday due to a cash shortfall. Banks in the Gaza Strip are typically closed on Fridays and Saturdays...On Friday, sources within the Gaza Strip banking sector indicated that salaries delayed by the currency shortage and Israel's refusal to allow shekel transfers into the region were available. Israel prevented the transfer of cash into Gaza for two months as a response to the launch of homemade projectiles and shells toward Israeli targets near Gaza by armed factions.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Palestinian journalists slam Israeli news blackout in Gaza
(13 Dec) A letter from five major players in Palestinian and international media called on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to lift a ban on journalists in the Gaza Strip. The secretary general and president of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Aidan White and Jim Boumelha, respectively, signed the letter. IFJ is the largest journalists' union in the world, maintaining some 600,000 members...A separate letter from broadcasters calling on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to lift the ban last month has been met with silence. It included signatures from Associated Press Chief Executive and President Tom Curley, Reuters Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger, New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller, ABC News President David Westin and BBC News Director Helen Boaden.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Gaza . . . oh beloved Gaza
(13 Dec) This video describes in pictures and words the shocking details of Israel's 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://palestinethinktank.com/
Joy is in short supply for Eid
(13 Dec) By Donald Macintyre--Gaza's blockade means that this is the hardest holiday its people can remember. Ironic text messages of goodwill for the great festival of Eid Al Adha – easily as central to the Muslim calendar as Christmas is in the West – became the vogue in Gaza this week. "Despite there being no salaries, the money we don't have to give to our children, the high price of Egyptian lamb, and the switching off of power, we will celebrate by the light of an Egyptian candle," read one.
http://www.independent.co.uk/
Palestinian poll: 40% of Gaza residents wish to emigrate
(12 Dec) A Palestinian poll released on Thursday showed that most residents of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip wish to emigrate, compared to 25 percent in the West Bank. The coastal territory is currently under an Israeli blockade, imposed by Israel in response to cross-border attacks by Gaza militants. According to the poll, 74 percent of Gazans support continuing the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in the Strip that is set to end next week.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Situation in Gaza desperate, contact your elected officials
(12 Dec) Washington — The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) calls on the United States and the international community to take immediate action to pressure Israel to lift its blockade and to 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. It seems, only enough supplies are being let into to prevent mass starvation and widespread disease.... he following link will take you to a page where you can contact your elected officials: http://capwiz.com/adc/dbq/
http://www.arabamericannews.
Iran, Egypt agree on meeting to help ease Gaza crisis
(Tehran, Dec 13, IRNA) Iran and Egypt on Friday agreed that parliament speakers from Iran, Indonesia, Syria, and Egypt hold a meeting to take practical steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza Strip. The agreement was made in a telephone conversation between Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani and his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Fathi Sorour.
http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/
MP Barghouti castigates Abbas for calling for elections in West Bank only
(13 Dec) RAMALLAH, (PIC)--MP Dr. Mustafa Al-Barghouthi has described PA chief Mahmoud Abbas's call for early general elections in the West Bank without the Gaza Strip as "insane and a crime". Barghouthi in a statement on Friday warned of not holding the elections in all Palestinian areas or else he said it would be serving the "Zionist scheme aimed at endorsing the complete separation of the West Bank from the Strip".
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Former intelligence chief calls for unity, disparages Hamas
(13 Dec) The former head of Palestinian Authority (PA) Intelligence Services holds Hamas responsible for the current internal division and sees the split between Palestine's major parties as a force 'tearing the country apart.' Giving an interview on Saturday Tawfiq At-Tirawi, who was suddenly shuffled out of the top job of Head of Intelligence to a position in the officer training wing of the forces, said that although he held Hamas responsible for the initial break, he also held Fatah responsible for failing to reunite the country.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Hamas-Fatah rhetoric hits all-time high during Eid
(12 Dec) By Nasser Lahham--The Palestinians who began the revolution would not believe the lows to which our leaders have sunk in the past months. They never would have launched personal, degrading attacks against their counterparts. Over the past week during Eid new records have been set in both quality and quantity of accusations. Many statements were so base that journalists and editors refused to publish them, knowing they would harm the dignity of Palestinian leaders. Harm, not news, was the order of the statements. One such example was when Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted as saying "Hamas is like disbelievers of the Quraysh" [The pagan Quraysh tribe of Mecca persecuted the Prophet Muhammad and the early Muslims]. Responding to Abbas' snipe Hamas Spokesperson Musheer Al-Masri said "President Abbas is like Musailamah the liar who tells each side what they want to hear and has intentions of his own" (Musailmah is a character in Arabic folk talks that incited people against the believers in their tribes).
http://www.maannews.net/en/
PFLP: No more truce; resistance and unity only options
(12 Dec) An overwhelming majority of factions do not support the idea of returning to the truce with Israel, confirmed the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in a Friday statement. Member of the politburo with the PFLP Jamil Al-Majdawi said most factions see the truce as benefitting Israel. The only way to extract Gaza from its current state of siege, he said, was to unify the factions for armed resistance against Israel. Al-Majadwi called for an immediate halt to bilateral talks between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
A life in writing: Mourid Barghouti
'You have to strike a balance. I hate the terms 'resistance poetry' or 'exile poetry'. We're not one-theme poets. There's no one face. I see both' Interview by Maya Jaggi.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Daniel Barenboim: Equals before Beethoven
(13 Dec) In the realistic utopia of this orchestra, Israelis and Arabs learn the music of human rights--The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra is a musical organisation, not a political one, but for the approximately six-week duration of its annual existence it is able to provide its members with one basic need-and that is equality. It is a realistic utopia. The same two young people who might encounter each other at a checkpoint in the roles of border guard and citizen under occupation sit next to one another in this orchestra, playing the same music, equally striving for perfection of musical expression, and equally responsible for the result.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Regaining our moral compass
(12 Dec) By Lily Galili--It is hard to remember when exactly moral discourse vanished from our public arena. It happened sometime during the second intifada, as even Israel's left replaced morality with a value system of pragmatic justifications. It is no longer about what is permitted and what is forbidden, even in the context of a bloody conflict. It is about which actions are worthwhile and feasible. Morality became something for nerds, a label the left is afraid of.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
A talker, not a doer
(12 Dec) By Akiva Eldar--"Not only is the law-enforcement situation in the territories not satisfactory, it is at a very low level." This sharp statement is not the conclusion of an investigation by the Yesh Din human rights organization, which revealed that a mere eight percent of the files concerned with offenses by Israelis against Palestinians ended in indictments. Rather these are the words of the attorney general, Menachem Mazuz, speaking two years ago at a legal conference in Caesarea. No Israeli attorney general has succeeded in gaining control of the legal jungle that exists in the settlers' state. But the shortcomings of his predecessors do not free Mazuz of responsibility... It is therefore not surprising that the settlers of Hebron were amazed last week by the determination of the law-enforcement arm to evacuate the so-called House of Contention.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
EU rewards Israel for starving Gazans, expanding colonies
(12 Dec) By Khalid Amayreh in Occupied East Jerusalem--On Monday, 8 December, European Union (EU) foreign ministers decided to boost relations with the apartheid state of Israel. The decision opens the way towards a first-ever EU-Israel summit in the coming months, perhaps during the Czech Republic's presidency of the bloc, in the first half of 2009. The plainly immoral decision came as a surprise, not because the EU is a paragon of virtue and morality, but rather because Israel has been behaving and acting very much as a Nazi state would. Hence, the decision can only be viewed as a cheap appeasement and expression of political promiscuity.
http://www.palestine-info..co.
ICC urged to indict Israel over policies against Palestinians
(11 Dec) Geneva: A leading UN official has said Israel's policies against the Palestinians amounted to a "crime against humanity". Richard Falk also urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict and prosecute Israeli leaders. In a statement, Falk called on the United Nations to make an "urgent effort" to "implement the agreed norm of a responsibility to protect' a civilian population being collectively punished by policies that amount to a crime against humanity."
http://archive.gulfnews.com/
UN chief: Israel, Palestinians setting stage for peace
(12 Dec) UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says Israeli, Palestinian negotiators 'are setting the stage for peace'. Progress toward Middle East peace is being made "somewhat below the radar" by Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, he said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
UN Security Council to discuss peace process at special session
(13 Dec) The UN Security Council announced plans to hold a special session on Tuesday to discuss the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. The meeting is expected to involve top-level government officials, who will ratify a non-binding declaration on the issue. Organizers did not specify what exactly they plan to ratify. US officials hope the special session will encourage both sides to continue their efforts toward achieving a two-state solution, according to statements made by US Permanent Representative to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad at a news conference in New York on Saturday.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Seismic diplomacy
(12 Dec) By Michael Carmichael--Like a seismic tremor before a volcanic explosion, the pressure for peace in the Middle East is ratcheting upwards on the diplomatic Richter Scale... The settlers on the West Bank are the most intransigent opponents of peace negotiations in Israel--because a peace settlement will compel them to leave their homes in the settlements. The settlers are the nuclear core of political support for Likud, the party founded by the late Menachim Begin and other former members of Irgun, a militant group that separated from the Haganah, a senior paramilitary organization. Binyamin Netanyahu is the current leader of Likud, and they are enjoying a modest lead in the polls for the next elections that will take place in February. Due to the deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Territories, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, international pressure is mounting for a peace settlement.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Help EI keep the light shining on Palestine in 2009
(12 Dec) For almost eight years, The Electronic Intifada (EI) has worked to break the silence, expose the complicity, and give voice to those working for a different world. Every day, educators, activists, journalists, diplomats, students and thousands of others turn to us knowing they will find independent and original news, comment and analysis from leading reporters and writers.
http://electronicintifada.net/
UN Security Council extends Golan Heights mandate
(13 Dec) The UN Security Council on Friday extended the UN force observing the ceasefire between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights for another six months, until 30 June 2009. The 15-member body voted unanimously to renew the mandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which was established in May 1974. The latest move was recommended by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in his latest report on the mission.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Carter tells Assad: No 'genuine peace' unless Israel cedes Golan
(13 Dec, AP) In his meeting with Assad, Carter discussed prospects for peace in the Middle East. He said Israel is sincere in wanting peace with Syria but stressed that no "genuine peace" could be achieved unless Israel withdrew from Arab territories it occupies in Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories. "You can't expect genuine peace between Israel and any of its neighbors until it has peace with all of its neighbors," he said.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/
Carter regrets not meeting Hizbullah leaders
(12 Dec) Former US president expresses disappointment at Hizbullah's refusal to meet him.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Mash'al to meet former US President Carter in Damascus
(13 Dec) Hamas leader in exile Khalid Mash'al is scheduled to meet with former US president Jimmy Carter on Sunday in Damascus, a Palestinian political source in Syria said on Sunday. According to the source, the two will discuss a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as well as the issue of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shallit.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Testimonies from the mine in which Leviev is a partner
(4 Dec) Shooting at residents, murderous beatings with digging spades, whipping, and being thrown into the mud. Tough testimonies from Angola describe the treatment of the area`s poor by security personnel at the mine in which Leviev is a partner.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_
Anti-Leviev demonstration Saturday 13 2pm London
Event Details Day: 13/12/2008 to 13/12/2008
Lev Leviev and his diamonds are well known to be directly financing the illegal settlement expansion into the Palestinian territories. The result is the land theft and impoverisation and continued subjugation of Palestinian people.
http://jewssansfrontieres.
Human rights inquiry set for warehoused Asians in Iraq
(12 Dec) McClatchy Newspapers-BAGHDAD — The U.S. military and defense contractor KBR are investigating possible human-rights abuses at a compound near the Baghdad airport where a Kuwaiti company housed about 1,000 Asian men it recruited for jobs in Iraq that didn't materialize.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/
Friday: 1 British soldier killed
Excerpt: The only new casualty reported in Iraq was that of a British soldier who was killed in Basra yesterday. It is unlikely that all violence took a holiday for the Eid and today's prayer day. Meanwhile, Iraqi President Talabani arrived in Kirkuk for meetings on reconciliation efforts, and the Iraqi oil minister urged government departments to shave their budgets in response to falling oil prices. Also, Iraqi children are now being encouraged to hand over toy weapons so they are not mistaken for young insurgents.
http://www.antiwar.com/
Inspired by Obama, black Iraqis run for office
(13 Dec, Reuters) Basra: Barack Obama's election in the United States has already had an impact in Iraq, inspiring some black Iraqis to run in a forthcoming election in the hope of ending what they call centuries of discrimination. "Obama's win gave us moral strength," said Jalal Chijeel, secretary of the Free Iraqi Movement.He said the group would be the first to field black candidates in any Iraqi poll when it joins provincial elections scheduled for January 31.
http://archive.gulfnews.com/
Children of Iraq make an 'Appeal' to government leaders
(12 Dec) The Iraq Children's Appeal, crafted by and for young people, was launched in Baghdad recently, as part of a special project between UNICEF and the non-governmental organization Al-Amal to help promote a culture of children's rights in Iraq. The appeal for the rights of childen was presented to government representatives and other leaders during the opening session of the Mid Term Review of UNICEF and the Government of Iraq's Programme of Cooperation.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/
Confiscating toy guns part of US mission in Iraq
(12 Dec, AP) Two boys approached a U.S. soldier, pulled out a pistol and handed it over. They got a smile and some candy in return.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/
Iran 'stops exporting death to Iraq'
(13 Dec, AP) Iran is no longer actively supplying Iraqi fighters with a particularly lethal kind of roadside bomb, a decision that suggests a strategic shift by the Iranian leadership, US and Iraqi authorities said.
http://archive.gulfnews.com/
CNN's prisoner of war
(11 Dec) He had been hunted, kidnapped, and told he was filming his own execution. But CNN correspondent Michael Ware had no plans to leave Iraq. Now, it won't leave him. By Greg Veis. --"I am not the same fucking person," he tells me. "I am not the same person. I don't know how to come home." It's October, six months after our first meeting, and Michael Ware, 39, is at his girlfriend's apartment in New York, trying to tell me why after six years he absolutely must start spending less time in Iraq. He's crying on the other end of the telephone. "Will I get any better?" he continues. "I honestly don't know. I can't see the — right now, I know no other way to live."
http://www.mensjournal.com/
Bush's lethal legacy to the Palestinians
(13 Dec) Notwithstanding widespread hopes that US President-Barack Obama will save the Middle East from itself, it is increasingly evident that it might will be beyond anyone's powers to soon repair the damage wrought by eight years of George W. Bush. Regardless of how committed Obama may (or may not) prove to be.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Telling it as it is, By Mustafa Barghouti
(12 Dec) As many speculate about Obama's future policies in the Middle East, the general Arab reaction is wait-and-see. The new president will likely face a barrage of problems, the economy and Iraq for starters, enough to keep him busy for a whole term. But there is no indication that the "change" Obama likes so much to talk about applies to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The appointments he made so far are not that encouraging either.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Iranian cleric raps Obama for stance on Hizbullah
(13 Dec) A top Iranian cleric on Friday slammed US President-elect Barack Obama's stance regarding Tehran's nuclear program and the Islamic Republic's support of groups resisting Israeli occupation. "He [Obama] recently opined that the development of nuclear arms in Iran would be unacceptable, and also that Iran's support for 'terrorist organizations.'
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Can Obama avert an Arab-Israeli disaster?
(11 Dec) By Bernd Debusmann--The president-elect has shown no sign that he might be willing to break with the decades-old policies that have earned the U.S. a reputation in the Arab world of backing Israel no matter what. Would Obama, for example, use the threat of withholding U..S. financial aid to get Israel to stop building new settlements in the West Bank-where there already are 240,000 Israeli settlers-or dismantle existing ones?Not likely. Would he throw his weight behind calls for an end to Israel's economic blockade of Gaza?Would he, as the Brookings/Council on Foreign Relations report suggests, "recognize that Hamas's power stems from genuine support among a significant segment of the Palestinian public..?" There's nothing in his public statements that indicates he would and there are no pointers that he intends to depart from long-standing U.S. policies on the conflict.
http://blogs.reuters.com/
Obama may make Powell Mideast envoy
(13 Dec) WASHINGTON – A new appointment for the Middle East?US President-elect Barack Obama is considering appointing former Secretary of State Colin Powell as the special peace envoy to the Middle East. Sources in Washington told Ynet on Saturday that Powell's appointment as special envoy is "a serious option".
http://www.ynetnews.com/
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www..TheHeadines.org
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