Demonstrators marched today after the Friday prayer carrying Palestinian flags and banners calling to end the Israeli occupation, stop the wall and settlement building, stop land confiscation and settler attacks, closures and roadblocks, and the release of all detainees. The demonstration was joined by internationals and Israeli activists. Members of the Peoples' Struggle Front also joined the protest today and carried banners.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/
Bil'in: the army attacks the weekly protest injuring at lest 10 people among them journalists
In Bil'in village near Ramallah city, central West Bank, demonstrators marched today after the Friday prayer carrying Palestinian flags and banners calling to end the Israeli occupation, stop the wall and settlement building, stop land confiscation and settler attacks, closures and roadblocks, and the release of all detainees.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
Students join residents in resisting the destruction of Silwan
Students have joined their neighbors in East Jerusalem's Silwan as part of the ongoing nonviolent resistance movement against demolition. Palestinians of the Wadi Helwa area awoke yesterday to the noise of heavy equipment from the Jerusalem Municipality and East Jerusalem Development Company. The Israeli interests are preparing to drill the main street in Wadi Helwa.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.
Santa Claus joins resistance in Bethlehem
Bending slightly forward Um Iyad shakes her blue hijab from a roll of razor wire. Her face meets a machine gun as the Palestinian flag flying from her right hand lists. Um Iyad is trying to walk just meters from her cement block home, from one part of Umm Salamuna to another. "It's forbidden to move outside my door?What is this?!" She shouts at a dozen Israeli soldiers and symbolically spits to the side. "That is on your barbed wire."
http://english.pnn.ps/index.
Press TV crew hit by Israeli forces
Press TV's cameraman and correspondent have been injured in Nilin where Palestinians are protesting the Israeli apartheid wall.
Cameraman Mustafa Khabeesa was shot by Israeli soldiers with a rubber bullet, while correspondent Sari Al-Khalili was knocked unconscious by teargas on Friday. The two were taken to the hospital and are reported to be in stable condition.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.
Water Cut Off by Israel in Berita Municipality
Berita Municipality, a village near the city of Nablus, is completely without water on Friday after Israel cut all water lines into the area, according to a municipal official, Ma'an news agency reports.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
UN: 290 settler-related attacks on Palestinians by November
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday that settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank increased this year. Within the first ten months of 2008, OCHA recorded 290 settler-related incidents targeting Palestinians and their property. This figure, while not comprehensive, "reflects a worrying trend," the UN office said, "since it surpasses the total recorded by OCHA in each of the previous two years." In 2006 OCHA recorded 182 attacks for all 12 months combined, while in 2007 the sum was 243.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Israel Invades Jenin and a Surrounding Village, Detains Young Man
Early Friday morning, Israeli soldiers invaded the northern West Bank city of Jenin and the village of Araba that lies just southwest of Jenin and detained a young man, according to Palestinian Authority security sources, Ma'an news agency reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
One Palestinian arrested as IOF raid Beit Ummar
On Tuesday, December 16, 2008 at 1.00 in the morning, the IOF raided the home of the Al-Salabi family in Beit Ummar. About forty soldiers came to the village located near Road 60, south of Bethlehem.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/
Rights org: Abbas, overturn death penalty
On Tuesday, 16 December 2008, the Palestinian High Military Court in Gaza headed by Military Judge Mohammed Nofal sentenced Mohammed Ali Hassan Saidam, 34, from Rafah, to death by hanging. The court convicted the defendant of treason, spying and conspiracy in violation of the Revolutionary Penal Code of the Palestine Liberation Organization of 1979. The sentence, that had been issued in the presence of the defendant, was unanimously issued by the court. It can be appealed.
http://electronicintifada.net/
Interim Arab parliament calls for release of Palestinian Speaker Dweik
The Interim Arab Parliament (IAP) has called on the international community to work for the release of Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Speaker Aziz Dweik, who is held at an Israeli jail, the Egyptian MENA news agency reported on Thursday. International bodies, including the Arab League and the United Nations, should press Israel to set free the top Palestinian lawmaker, IAP Speaker Mohamed Jassem al-Saqr was quoted as saying.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/
Israel still abusing Palestinian prisoners, say recently released detainees
Fresh accounts of Israeli abuse of Palestinian prisoners has emerged after the Jewish state released over 200 Palestinians from Israeli jails in a "goodwill gesture" on Monday. The move followed the Muslim feast of Eid Al-Adha and was an attempt to boost the waning popularity of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Palestinians suffer cold winter, harsh conditions in Israeli jails
A human rights institution said here on Friday that Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails were suffering from cold winter and lack medical care. The Gaza City-based POWs Center for Studies said that prisoners suffered more psychological abuse through isolation, adding that these people were also treated inhumanely by their jailors. Preventing the families of the detainees from supplying their loved ones with proper winter clothing led many to fall seriously ill and the Israelis were not even helping in treating those people, stated the center. The center called on Arab countries and the international community to put a halt on Israel violations of human rights. About 11,000 Palestinians are prisoners in Israel, with some having spent more than 20 years behind bars. [end]
http://www.kuna.net.kw/
Report: 49 Palestinians, including 7 children killed during truce
Forty nine Palestinians, including seven children and eight resistance fighters were killed in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during the six-month Egyptian brokered truce which ended on Friday.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Israeli forces attack Gaza areas, killing father of three
Israeli forces today, stationed on the borderline east of Jabaliya, launched a ground-to-ground missile that exploded in the house of 47-year-old Salah Abdul-Hadi Oukal. The victim was in his house's garden in Tel al-Za'tar area in Jabalia when the missile struck him. Oukal, who was the breadwinner of a family of eight, including three children, was blown into pieces as the missile hit him directly.
http://electronicintifada.net/
Mezan Center: Army Continues its Blockade, Kills a Father of Seven Children
The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights reported on Thursday, December 17, that the Israeli army escalated its attacks against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, shelling several houses and workshops, and killing a father of seven children.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
Eight Wounded in Israeli Air Strikes in Gaza
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported Thursday night that eight Palestinians were wounded in two separate Israeli airstrikes that targeted the northern and eastern parts of the Gaza Strip.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
Al Aqsa Brigades Claim Responsibly for Wounding Israeli Soldier Near Hebron
One of the groups of the al-Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of the Fatah movement, said on Thursday that its fighters managed to wound an Israeli soldier after opening fire at a military jeep driving on the main road of al-Shiokh village, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
Hamas answers Israeli air raid with rockets as truce ends early
The six-month truce between Hamas and Israel ended yesterday with the militant Islamists who rule Gaza declaring the agreement dead, 24 hours before it was due to officially expire. The declaration followed another day of escalating violence, beginning with an Israeli air raid on Gaza, which Hamas has controlled for the past 18 months.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Palestinian factions shell invading Israeli troops in Gaza Strip
Gaza – Ma'an – An armed group affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claimed responsibility for targeting invading Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip on Thursday. The PFLP-affiliated Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades said in a statement sent to Ma'an that they and other armed fighters linked with Islamic Jihad targeted the soldiers, driving them into the strip's Eastern Cemetery by firing several homemade projectiles. Ma'an could not immediately confirm the accuracy of the groups' claims.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Jihad affiliates fire three projectiles on southern Israeli cities
Gaza-Ma'an-The armed wing of Islamic Jihad fired three homemade shells on the Eshkol military compound east of Khan Younis on Thursday, according to a statement. The Al-Quds Brigades said in a statement that "the shelling came in response to Israeli attacks in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip."
http://www.maannews.net/en/
QB: Occupation breached truce 185 times, QB retaliated to 170 of them
The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said on Thursday that the Israeli occupation forces violated the six-month-old truce 185 times and that the Brigades retaliated to 170 of them.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Hamas declares end to Israel truce
Palestinian group Hamas has declared that the six-month ceasefire between Israel and the Gaza Strip is over. The ceasefire officially ended at daybreak in Gaza on Friday and came after armed Palestinian groups admitted that they had been using the truce to train and better arm themselves.
http://english.aljazeera.net//
Netanyahu to Sarkozy: Israel can`t accept ongoing Gaza rocket fire
Benjamin Netanyahu, who hopes to become Israel's next prime minister, warned Thursday that a terribly dangerous threshold will be crossed if Iran obtains nuclear weapons, and urged world leaders to make sure it does not happen.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Blair hints support for Israeli assassination policy in Gaza during Haaretz interview
In his interview with Haaretz Thursday Quartet envoy Tony Blair made no move to condemn Israel's reported plot to assassinate Hamas leaders in Gaza, only saying 'things must change.' On Thursday some Israeli papers reported a military plot to assassinate several top Hamas and factional leaders if the end of the ceasefire resulted in violence. Speaking from the American Colony Hotel in East Jerusalem where he spends one week each month, Blair told Haaretz reporter Barak Rabid that "the situation in the Gaza Strip doesn't affect Hamas," but said it rater "harms the civilians and there should be a new strategy."
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Hamas, Jihad against Fruitless Truce
As Israel continues attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip, Palestinian factions are rejecting the renewal of a six-month truce with Israel, set to expire on Friday, December 19. "The truce will end on Friday and Hamas will not renew it," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum told IslamOnline.net. Islamic Jihad echoed a similar position. "Islamic Jihad is not going to renew the truce," said Jihad leader Nafez Azzam.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Hurtling towards a showdown in Gaza
As the economic situation in the Palestinian Gaza Strip becomes untenable, a military showdown, which could have dire regional consequences, is becoming inevitable. The Gaza Strip has been marred with tension, turning it into the focal point of challenge to Israel since the latter withdrew its army and settlers in 2005 and the Islamist Hamas took control of the region after a violent confrontation with secular Fatah.
http://english.aljazeera.net/
News Analysis: A Gaza Truce Undone by Flaws May Be Revived by Necessity
Officials and analysts on both sides say Israel and Hamas need the truce and will probably grope their way back to it — but how soon and after how much suffering?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/
Factions say Israel responsible for ending truce
Gaza – Ma'an – A four-way meeting held between several Palestinian factions managed to agree that the Israeli occupation is "responsible for the end of the truce," according to a Ma'an interview on Thursday. Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) leader Saleh Zeidan said that the four-way meeting agreed to blame Israel for the truce's ultimate demise because "it did not work on lifting the siege, opening crossings and stopping the attacks."
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Report: Khaled Masha'al ordered end to truce
Bethlehem-Ma'an/Agencies-
http://www.maannews.net/en/
A short path, from Gaza to Somalia
As the defined period for the Gaza cease-fire comes to an end today, preceded by a new cycle of violence, Israelis are being treated to a predictable dose of political posturing and chest-thumping. "We must do something, exact a price," we hear. Yes, the rocket fire needs to stop, but there is no military answer to this predicament. To recap: For most of the six months of the cease-fire, relative quiet prevailed, and life returned to near-normal for the residents of Sderot and environs (though not for Gazans, who remained under siege). Then on November 4, an Israeli operation sparked a new round of dangerous, if controlled, violence-characterized by occasional Israeli strikes and incursions, matched by Palestinian rockets and shooting across the border.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Legal opinion regarding the closure of the Gaza Strip
Sari Bashi-Gisha-"The closure of Gaza is neither a siege, nor a blockade, nor an economic sanction – it is an illegal act of collective punishment and stands in violation of both international and Israeli law. In the following paper, we seek to de-mystify the terminology being used and misused to describe the closure of Gaza in order to dispel any uncertainty regarding Israel`s responsibility towards residents of Gaza and accountability for the rights violations occurring as result of the closure. We argue that the restrictions on freedom of movement in and out of Gaza constitute a closure aimed at civilians and undertaken for purposes of collective punishment – and are therefore illegal."
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_
OPT/Gaza strip: Siege continues, "dramatic routine ... soon no trees"
As the 'ceasefire' with Hamas approaches its last minutes, Israel has launched a full scale offensive involving armored vehicles and aircraft in Gaza; 15 people have already been arrested in the West Bank near Nablus. One Palestinian has already been killed and another wounded. Israel has justified the attacks as a response to the resumption of missile launches, while Palestinians blame Israel of having killed a member of Islamic Jihad in the West Bank.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/
Gaza: The Untold Story
It's incomprehensible that a region such as the Gaza Strip, so rich with history, so saturated with defiance, can be reduced to a few blurbs, sound bites and reductionist assumptions, convenient but deceptive, vacant of any relevant meaning, or even true analytical value. The fact is that there is more to the Gaza Strip than 1.5 million hungry Palestinians, who are supposedly paying the price for Hamas's militancy, or Israel's 'collective punishment' whichever way the media decide to brand the problem.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Peace Train: Agony in Gaza; Please urge Congress to cut off funding to Israel
On Dec. 14, Marie Colvin wrote in the Times of London about the massive tragedy that is unfolding in Gaza. She tells the story of one family: "As a convoy of blue-and-white United Nations trucks loaded with food waited last night for Israeli permission to enter Gaza, Jindiya Abu Amra and her 12-year-old daughter went scrounging for the wild grass their family now lives on." Abu Amra, 43, said, "Every day, I wake up and start looking for wood and plastic to burn for fuel and I beg. When I find nothing, we eat this grass." Abu Amra's small house is bare of furniture and cupboards because everything has been burned for heat.
http://www.coloradodaily.com/
All Gaza mills shut down; bakeries one by one running out of flour
The remainder of operating flour mills in Gaza closed down Thursday night after running out of wheat, said Head of the Society of Mill Owners in Gaza Abed An-Naser Al-A'jrami on Friday. Most mills closed down as early as 19 November, and only a handful stayed open to process what grain remained in the area. Less than 4,000 tons of wheat was delivered to Gaza since the start of December, at which time stores were already exhausted.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Gaza diaper supply running dry
Gaza – Ma'an – The price of Pampers is the latest casualty in the ongoing Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip, where parents of newborns are turning to smugglers for Egyptian-made diapers. Gaza's pre-siege diaper supply amounted to something like eight trucks each day, but for the past year and a half, the desperately needed commodity has been absent from the Israeli "Not Permitted" importation list. Now that stockpiles are dwindling, Palestinian mothers face new challenges attaining the hot item this month, while even hospital maternity wards are running dry. Doctors are warning of an increasing spread of skin disorders among newborn babies in the Gaza Strip, which they speculate have been caused by the diaper shortage.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Lift the siege of Gaza
CONTRARY to the absurd claim of the rapporteur of the UN's Human Rights Council, to whom Israel refused entry this week, the Gaza Strip is not facing a Nazi-like "Holocaust" at Israel's hands. But the lot of the 1.5m Palestinians cooped up in this miserable scrap of desert is undeniably awful. Locked in on one side by Israel and on the other by Egypt, the Palestinians of Gaza have been subjected to an ever-tightening economic siege since the Palestinian Islamist movement, Hamas, booted the secular Fatah movement out of the strip in June 2007. The possible end this week of a truce between Hamas and Israel can only make things worse. As the truce has frayed, Israel has responded to the Palestinian rockets flying over the border by closing the crossings for long periods, depriving Gaza's residents of many necessities of life (see article).
http://www.economist.com/
Hizbollah rally has many targets
Gathering in support of Palestinians in Gaza will also put pressure on Arab governments to push Egypt to open Rafah border crossing.
http://www.thenational.ae/
Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon protest Gaza siege
AP-Thousands of Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon are protesting the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/
Lebanon Raises The Voice: Freedom for Gaza!
Lebanon, the country of Resistance and patriotism, raised on Friday the voice in response to Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah's call, expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people amid a "suspicious" Arab and international calm. On Monday, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah called upon all Arabs and Muslims to start actions against the siege. His eminence has called on all Lebanese, regardless of the political affiliations, to take part in the action given the importance of the central cause of Palestine. "I call on all the Lebanese, regardless of whether they are loyal to March 8 or 14, to participate in the demonstration that Hezbollah will organize on Friday at 2 PM," Sayyed Nasrallah said.
http://almanar.com.lb/
Today, Gaza is the Main Theme
Today Gaza is the main theme, the main slogan, the main voice and the main witness. Today marks the beginning of action across the Arab and Islamic worlds to stop the killing siege of Gaza. Today, Arabs, Muslims and the free men and women of this world will unite their voice with that of the Gazans to demand Arab leaders act to lift the burning iron hand off the children, women and men of the suffocating Strip. Today, all conventions, conferences, meetings and resolutions that only result in washing hands of the victim's blood will have no value. Action will begin today after noon prayers.
http://almanar.com.lb/
Lebanese Religious Leaders Voice Support to Gaza
As Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah announced Monday night, Friday saw the beginning of a series of actions to end the siege of Gaza. Muslim scholars across Lebanon focused on the siege of Gaza during their Friday sermons and expressed support to the steadfast Palestinian people. No matter what their religion was, Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah, Deputy of Muslim Shiite Higher Council Sheikh Abdul-Amir Kabalan, Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Kabbani and Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Nasser Al-Din Gharib all voiced their support to the Palestinian cause and called for the immediate lift of the Israeli blockade suffocating Gaza since June 2007.
http://almanar.com.lb/
Hezbollah Calls on Egypt to Open Rafah Crossing
Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Kassem delivered Hezbollah's speech during the massive protests to support Gaza in Beirut's southern suburb. Sheikh Kassem called on Egypt and its leaders to take a historic step in solidarity with the Palestinian people adding that there is no justification for any Arab or Islamic side to stay silent. His eminence said: "Peace be upon you Palestine, Jerusalem and resistance fighters in Lebanon and Palestine. We salute you from the land of resistance, from Lebanon and we send our greetings to free Gaza. We stand by our brothers in defiant and steadfast Palestine and we have come here today in response to the call by Arab and Islamic Conferences and the Conference of Arab Parties as well as to the call of Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah to stand up for Palestine. Palestine is the central cause and we are responsible, as all Arabs and Muslims are, to work on liberating it completely while adhering to the word of Allah who promised to defend those who believe in Him.
http://almanar.com.lb/
Egypt Tries to Justify Its Closure of Rafah Crossing
The Egyptian government sensed the growing outrage at the closure of the Rafah crossing which has left Gaza and its people in an inhumane situation. As action in the Arab and Islamic worlds began Friday to break the siege of Gaza, Egypt's foreign ministry sought to justify the closure of the sole lung that 1.5 million Gazans breath from. In a statement, the ministry played on the international law chord to justify the closure and pinned the blame on Israel for the situation in Gaza. "The legal status of the Gaza Strip stipulates that the Palestinian is still under Israeli occupation," the ministry said. "Israel still controls the sea and the airspace of the Gaza Strip, as well as most of its borders and crossings," the statement added.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/
23-year-old Palestinian suffocates in Gaza Strip tunnel
A 23-year-old Gazan was killed in a tunnel-collapse in the As-Salam area of Rafah Friday morning. Medical sources confirmed that Yousef Muhammad Shattah suffocated before medics appeared on the scene, and arrived dead at Abu Yousef An-Najjar Hospital.
On Monday, a young Palestinian man delivering goods from Egypt to Gaza through a tunnel in the same As-Salam neighborhood near Rafah died when a tunnel collapsed.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Witnesses: Police disperse Bahrain protest
Witnesses say Bahraini security troops have fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse thousands of protesters demanding Arab governments take action to end the closure of the Gaza Strip. The witnesses say a number of people, including women and children, were wounded by rubber bullets and others overcome by gas. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity fearing reprisals by authorities and could not give exact numbers. Ibraheem Sharif, an opposition leader, says over 10,000 people were attending the rally Friday. Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Mohamad Bin Dina denies rubber bullets were used, saying tear gas was fired when some demonstrators began destroying public property and throwing stones at police.
http://www.aawsat.com/english/
Free Gaza Movement: We Do Not Ask Permission from Israel
The Free Gaza Movement issued a press release on Thursday in response to statements by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, made in an interview with the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper on December 11, in which he said that the issue of the Siege-breaking boats is a "silly game", and asserted that the Israeli embassy in Cyprus checks the boats and approves the names of passengers before they sail.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
Haniyeh to Arab world: Your support tells the world to keep their "hands off" Gaza
The De Facto Palestinian Prime Minister in Gaza thanked Hizbullah, and several Islamic and Arab national parties for their calls to stand by the people of Gaza as the ceasefire agreement came to an end Friday. During his weekly speech at the Friday prayer session Ismail Haniyeh sent thanks to the Arab and Islamist parties and factions expressing solidarity, and said the Strip needed parties to stand by them and help Gaza break the siege.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Bush, Rice to host Palestinian leader Abbas in goodbye visit
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to dine with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas ahead of his farewell meeting with President George W. Bush on Friday after the UN Security Council's endorsement this week of the U.S.-sponsored Annapolis peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
http://www.haaretz..com/hasen/
Abbas in Washington for farewell visit with Bush
AFP-Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas arrived in Washington Thursday for a farewell visit with US President George W. Bush, who will leave the White House without securing a Middle East peace agreement.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
Report: Recognizing Hamas Could Help Peace
Excerpt: Eighteen months after Hamas evicted Fatah forces from Gaza, the prospects for restoring Palestinian unity are more elusive than ever, with both factions believing that time is on their side, according to a new report by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) released Wednesday.
http://www.antiwar..com/lobe/?
Divide and Shock in Palestine
The Palestine Trade and Investment Forum began in London this past weekend. Organised on the behalf of UK Trade and Industry and the Department for International Development, this British government lead initiative welcomed over 40 Palestinian delegates from the occupied West Bank, and just three from besieged Gaza. Whilst private sector business representatives talked of privatising Palestinian assets, services and natural resources, Israel continues to develop new settlements in the west bank and East Jerusalem, a light railway system on occupied territory and an apartheid wall declared illegal by the International Criminal Court; facts on the ground which fly in the face of any semblance of both sovereignty and territorial contiguity or independent development.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Arab party saves space for women
Women candidates in Balad to be guaranteed one out of every three Knesset spots. Party cannot be called 'progressive' unless women are equal, female candidates say.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Association for Civil Rights in Israel: Palestinians living under apartheid
Israel's discrimination between Jewish settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank is increasingly reminiscent of white South Africa's apartheid system, an Israeli human rights group has said. Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territory "have created a situation of institutionalised discrimination and segregation," the Association for Civil Rights in Israel said.
http://www.thenational.ae/
OCHA special focus: Unprotected-Israeli settler violence against Palestinian civilians and their property
On 16 November, after a protracted legal battle, the Israeli High Court of Justice ruled that Israeli settlers must leave the Al Rajabi House settlement in the Israeli-controlled area of Hebron (H2). The HCJ declared that the State of Israel will be named temporary custodian of the property until a separate ruling on the ownership is issued. On 4 December 2008, Israeli security forces evacuated these settlers by force. During the course of the evacuation, clashes took place between Israeli settlers and Israeli security forces, causing injuries to both sides.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/
Report: UK to advise citizens not to buy land in settlements
The Guardian reports British Foreign Office to post recommendation against purchase of property in West Bank settlements, says Israeli-Palestinian peace deal could 'have consequences for property'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Australian university student association to boycott Israeli institutions
The University of Western Sydney's Student Association (UWSSA) has decided to formally affiliate to the "Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel." The call to boycott which was sent by Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel was adopted in full. In Palestine, millions of people live under an oppressive military regime. Among them, hundreds of thousands of university students have to endure ongoing humiliations at checkpoints and roadblocks on their way to campus.
http://electronicintifada.net/
CANADIAN JEWS SUPPORT SHMINISTIM
Diana Ralph-Independent Jewish Voices,Canada-"We are inspired by the example of these caring students, and their counterparts in Palestine, whose nonviolent resistance to the Occupation points the way to a just peace and security for all people in the region. They are our best hope for the future. We urge you to heed them, and not punish them."
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_
Richard Falk: My expulsion from Israel
Richard Falk: When I arrived in Israel as a UN representative I knew there might be problems at the airport.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Seth Freedman: Aid workers reveal their deep malaise in 'western-style gym' battle
Despite inauspicious beginnings, I am generally well-disposed to the legions of aid workers who flock to the occupied territories to alleviate the suffering of the local populace. Their cause is just, their aim is true – regardless of the brickbats hurled their way by the likes of NGO Monitor and other such detractors. Dropping everything in their home countries and relocating halfway round the world to help those who can't help themselves are qualities that ought to be admired by anyone with an interest in promoting global tolerance and goodwill among men.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
MIDEAST: Sun Sets On An Encircled Town
Qalqilya has been an encircled town since the Israeli West Bank barrier was built around it in 2003. Only one narrow gate guarded by Israeli soldiers allows access.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.
Israeli police postpone peace march to 'save lives'
Jewish peace groups accuse the Israeli police of fuelling racism by cancelling a "Jewish Pride" march by a far-right group that was to have taken place through one of the largest Arab towns in Israel.
http://www.thenational.ae/
Livni''s warning to expel Israeli Palestinians is "not desirable"-Ban
After hesitation and mumbling, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday said that Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's statement last week that Israel would expel Israeli citizens of Palestinian origin once a Palestinian state is created is "not desirable." Ban avoided to answer a question at the year-end press conference about Livni's statement and how the UN and the western world did not say a word in reaction to it.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/
Shady land deal unfolds from West Bank to California strip mall
The transformation of a piece of West Bank land from a Palestinian field into a Jewish settlement has roots in an unlikely place-Orange County, California-and in a document that a man supposedly signed more than four decades after the date of his death.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Daoud Kuttab: Is the Peace Process Irreversible?
Lame-duck Palestinian, Israeli and US leaders are making serious effort these days to ensure that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process enters an irreversible track before they leave office. This irreversible train left the station in September shortly after Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, resigned from his office due to police investigation. Olmert, who has continued as caretaker prime minister, surprised the Israeli public by stating publicly that the ultimate solution of this conflict will require a return to the 1967 borders and will have to include Israel giving up parts of Jerusalem.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Jewish Leaders: Condemn Settler Pogroms
by Isaac Luria-J Street-"American Jews have a real obligation to speak out on settler extremism. Because, while mainstream Israelis recognize the necessity of reining in the settler movement, a large part of the money supporting the settlers` presence in Hebron is coming from right here in America. The Brooklyn-based Hebron Fund, for instance, has raised at least $6.6 million since 2002 to support the extremist Jewish community in Hebron [4]-and is actively undermining the possibility of a two-state solution with the Palestinians. "
http://www.jstreet.org/
Kawther Salam-Human Rights: Nails in the Coffin of Israel
The Jewish State of Israel considers itself above the laws and has imposed a blockade on any criticism against its violations of the International laws, of its barbaric Apartheid regime and of its many crimes against humanity, by the UN human rights organizations and members of the International community.
http://palestinethinktank.com/
Jamal Dajani: Palestine-Israel: Waiting for Obama
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is in Washington. Why?According to his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina, "The president is working to obtain the end of the Israeli blockade imposed on Gaza." But according to an official in Gaza, the visit is yet another photo-op, "nothing less, nothing more." The visit comes at a time when Hamas has declared that the six-month ceasefire between Israel and the Gaza Strip is over. The ceasefire officially ended at daybreak in Gaza on Friday. The Izz-al-din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, blamed Israel for the failure of the truce. Israel blames Hamas. It seems that the cycle of violence will continue.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Cartoon symbols of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
With a Star of David symbol emblazoned on his back, an Israeli soldier with bloodied hands bayonets a Christ-like figure in his mother's lap in a classic "pieta" setting; Auschwitz concentration camp is recast as the besieged Gaza Strip; repulsive, hook-nosed Jews are portrayed as snakes or vampires; Ariel Sharon wears a swastika symbol or embraces Adolf Hitler-these are just some of the images to have appeared in Arab cartoons in recent years.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark supports microfinance in the Palestinian Territories
Silver Spring, Maryland-December 18, 2008 — Internet entrepreneur Craig Newmark, founder of the classified advertising website craigslist where you can acquire anything from a nanny to a used guitar, has another passion, supporting peace in the Middle East by backing microfinance in the Palestinian Territories.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/
U.S. report: Hezbollah fought Israel better than any Arab army
A new report from the U.S. Army War College warns that the American military must learn the lessons of the Second Lebanon War, in which Hezbollah operated more like a conventional army than a guerrilla organization. The report, "The 2006 Lebanon Campaign and the Future of Warfare: Implications for Army and Defense Policy," warns against placing too heavy an emphasis on classic guerrilla warfare, and raises the possibility of further non-state actors following the Lebanese militant group's example.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Thursday: 11 Iraqis Killed, 31 Wounded
Excerpt: At least 11 Iraqi were killed and 31 more were wounded, but the most significant news item coming out of Iraq today was the arrest of dozens of high ranking officials in what may be a Maliki power grab. No Coalition deaths were reported. Meanwhile, the shoe-lobber remains in the headlines.
http://www.antiwar.com/
Iraq ministry says employees killed in US raid
The Iraqi government has accused U.S. forces of killing at least three Trade Ministry employees in a pre-dawn raid on ministry property in Baghdad, officials said on Thursday.
http://www.alertnet.org/
Iraqi police discover seven severed heads
Seven decomposing, severed heads and two decomposing bodies were discovered on Friday in an half-built house in eastern Baghdad, Iraqi police said.
http://archive.gulfnews.com/
Iraqi government plays down arrests of 23 police officers
McClatchy Newspapers-Twenty-three mostly low-ranking police and security officials were detained this week as part of an investigation into attempts to revive Saddam Hussein's banned Baath Party, government officials said Thursday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/
More Arrests Of Officials Expected In Iraq As Part Of Internal Crackdown
BAGHDAD--Iraqi officials on Thursday confirmed a wave of arrests in what appeared to be a major internal crackdown inside the nation's security apparatus. But in an atmosphere of secrecy and political rivalry, the officials could agree on few other facts, from the number detained to the seriousness of the allegations.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Iraq: Coup Plot Foiled?
The news from Iraq on Wednesday shows that the Iraqi government's hold on power is fragile, and that it faces shadowy coup plotters from within and a continued guerrilla insurgency from without.
http://www.
Foiled coup plot points to dark future for Iraq
The chance that such a coup could have first succeeded and then maintained itself in the long term is negligible. As long as U.S. forces remain in the country, it would have had zero chance of succeeding.
http://www.upi.com/news/
UPI-95521229618989/
Arrests in Iraq Seen as Politically Motivated
Government Offers Contradictory Explanations for Interior Ministry Detentions.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Iraqi leaders deny coup attempts after arrests of 24 officers
Officials announced the arrest of 24 police and Defense Ministry officers who were allegedly helping terrorists. Most are said to be in the traffic police department. The arrests of up to 24 police and Defense Ministry officials accused of aiding terrorists and belonging to the banned Baath Party of Saddam Hussein prompted vigorous denials Thursday by Shiite government leaders of a coup attempt against them.
http://www.latimes.com/news/
An Inquiry in Baghdad Is Clouded by Politics
Iraqi officials confirmed a wave of arrests in what appeared to be a major internal crackdown inside the nation's security apparatus. But the officials could agree on few other facts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/
U.S. military's Iraq withdrawal plan differs from Obama's promise
The plan will make the withdrawal at a slower pace than Obama promised during the campaign, when he called for all combat troops to be out within 16 months--by the summer of 2010.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/
US military 'to defy' Iraqi pact
Evidence has emerged that United States military leaders and Pentagon officials are scheming to circumvent the security agreement between the United States and Iraq. Beyond the aim of getting president-elect Barack Obama to abandon his 16-month withdrawal plan, the group hopes to pressure Obama into a long-term US military presence in Iraq.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/
Mosul Turned into Ghost Town
When we arrived on Mosul's outskirts at an Iraqi army checkpoint, my impression was of a place without government. The checkpoint was chaotic, with soldiers firing into the air to clear the road. The city itself was very dusty and the people on the streets looked haggard. All the hotels were closed. Most of Mosul's wealthy citizens had left in 2004. The curfew began at 10 pm but most people had gone home by dusk. Gunfire could be heard sporadically throughout the day, something the locals regard as normal. While the Nineveh governorate has been willing to implement construction projects, contractors are afraid to work here. Insurgents blow up new schools and buildings. I first went to Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, in the summer of 1996, when I was 15 years old.
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-
Iraqis celebrate reopening of book market
AP-Iraqis danced and played traditional music in celebration as Baghdad's renowned Mutanabi book market formally reopened Thursday more than 18 months after a huge truck bombing devastated the center of Iraqi intellectual life.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/
As Usual, NYT Ignores Iraqi Opinion
The New York Times failed spectacularly in its coverage of Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, helping lead the country into war and only much later (5/26/04) publishing a half-hearted mea culpa. As the near-apology acknowledged, the paper's failure resulted in large part from its lack of skepticism regarding its sources, most notably exiled Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi.
http://www.fair.org/index.php?
George Bush shoe protester has been beaten, Iraqi judge says
The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George Bush was beaten afterwards and had bruises on his face, the investigating judge in the case said today, as a senior cleric in Iran urged others to wage a "shoe intifada" against the US. The reporter, Muntazer al-Zaidi, had bruises on his face and around his eyes, said the judge, Dhia al-Kinani said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Bush shoe thrower 'appears beaten'
The investigating judge in the case of the Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at President George Bush said today that the man showed signs of being beaten.
http://www.independent.co.uk/
Zaidi apologizes to Maliki over shoe-throwing
The Iraqi journalist arrested for hurling shoes at US President George W. Bush has written to Premier Nuri al-Maliki apologizing for the incident, Maliki's office said Thursday. "In his letter, he asks the prime minister's pardon," said press aide Yassin Majid, speaking of a note Muntazer al-Zaidi had "written by hand."
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Shoe-thrower sorry for 'ugly act'
Brother raises doubts over Iraqi journalist's reported plea for pardon for insulting Bush.
http://english.aljazeera.net/
Undaunted "Zaidi" Brought Before Iraqi Judge
The brave Iraqi journalist who became a star in the Arab world when he hurled his shoes at visiting US President George W. Bush and called him a dog, appeared before a judge on Wednesday, his brother said. Durgham al-Zaidi said he and another brother were told by the investigating judge that 29-year-old Muntazar al-Zaidi "had cooperated well," but gave no details. Under Iraqi law, Zaidi faces up to seven years in jail for "offending the head of a foreign state." Durgham al-Zaidi said his brother had been taken to Ibn Sina hospital in the heavily fortified Green Zone after being badly beaten by security guards and suffering a broken arm and ribs, as well as injuries to an eye and a leg. He was unable to say whether Muntazer had sustained the injuries while being overpowered during Sunday's protest or after his arrest. There was no immediate information about the journalist's condition on Wednesday.
http://almanar.com.lb/
Iraqi shoe-thrower's family asks for his release
AFP-The family of the Iraqi journalist arrested for throwing his shoes at US President George W. Bush gathered on Friday in central Baghdad to ask for his immediate release, an AFP correspondent said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
Iraq preachers demand release of Bush shoe attacker
Reuters-Muslim preachers from both sides of Iraq's once-bloody Sunni-Shi'ite divide appealed to the government Friday to release the journalist who threw his shoes at President George W Bush.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/
Head of Palestinian clan offers Iraqi shoe-throwing journalist a bride
The head of a large West Bank family wants to reward the Iraqi journalist who lobbed his shoes at President George W. Bush by sending him a bride.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Arab dads offer brides to shoe throwing hero
Iraq's shoe-throwing journalist has become a hero in the Arab world and men have started offering their daughters in marriage to the courageous man who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush in Baghdad on Sunday. An Egyptian man said he was offering his 20-year-old daughter in marriage.
http://www.alarabiya.net/
Palestinians ask for release of Iraqi shoe tosser
BETHLEHEM, West Bank: Several dozen Palestinian journalists have taken off their shoes in a protest in Bethlehem's Manger Square. Thursday's demonstration was a show of support for an Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush this week. The journalist remains in Iraqi custody and could face two years in prison for insulting a foreign leader. A spokesman for Iraq's prime minister says Muntadhar al-Zeidi has apologized for throwing the shoes.
http://www.iht.com/articles/
Scores of Reporters Protest in Bethlehem in Support of Iraqi Journalist
Scores of Palestinian reporters protested on Thursday at the Manger Square in Bethlehem expressing their solidarity with the Iraqi reporter who hurled his shoes at the US President, George W. Bush, during a press conference earlier this week in Iraq.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
VIDEO: Palestinian journalists protest for release of Iraqi colleague who threw shoes at Bush
Several dozen Palestinian journalists took off their shoes Thursday in a protest in Bethlehem's Manger Square, to show support for the Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush earlier this week.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Protesters shake shoes at US Embassy in London
LONDON (AP)-Protesters are shaking their shoes at the U.S. Embassy in London in a show of support for a jailed Iraqi journalist who threw his own footwear at President George W. Bush during a news conference.
http://www.aawsat.com/english/
Associated Press picture of protest in support of Iraqi journalist in Ankara, Turkey
A Turkish leftist holds a model of shoe as he marches to the U. S. embassy to protest against the invasion in Iraq and to express the solidarity with Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zeidi, in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008.
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/
a//s:/time/20081219/wl_time/
Punishment for the Shoe Thrower Puts al-Maliki in a Spot
Time.com-How punishing the journalist who hurled his shoes at Bush could affect the political standing of Iraq's Prime Minister.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/
Magda Abu-Fadil: Shoo haida?The shoe saga snowball rolls on
The affair continues to reverberate in the Arab world with comedians, the media and average citizens capitalizing on Iraqi journalist Muntadhar Al Zaidi's shoe-tossing episode at President George W. Bush in Baghdad with little end in sight. Just before flying from Beirut to Dubai this week, I was flooded with SMSs from a friend in Cairo who wanted to share the latest jokes on the affair. Egyptians are noted for their sense of humor and have had a field day with the story.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Remembering Iraq (Dec 12-18)
Iraq was back in the headlines this week, ironically the least violent since I began writing these posts. This time the newsmaker was not a terrorist nor a politician, but a journalist by the name of Muntadhar al-Zaidi. Sama put it best when he said, "it was a great bookend to the president's Iraq legacy." That pretty much sums it up, but we'll be hearing about it for a while longer. Apparently, the incident inspired new online video games (if I was a Tim Johnson, I'd check 'em out).
http://www.kabobfest.com/2008/
Iraqi Shoe Thrower Prompts Racist Rant From Bill O'Reilly
First he says that the shoe thrower is evidence of the ingratitude, "violence" and "irrational thinking" in the "Arab world", before going to on discuss the "danger from the Muslim world" and whether torture is the right way to go about dealing with it. Note also the graphic shown at the beginning and end of the segment of the American flag and a menacing, red-coloured star and crescent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Guantanamo closure plan ordered
US defence secretary orders staff to prepare stategy to shut prison camp.
http://english.aljazeera.net/
Military probe: Gitmo guard admitted to abuse
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The allegations were explosive: Two guards at Guantanamo had bragged about abusing detainees and described the mistreatment as routine. The Pentagon quickly ordered an investigation, which cleared the men after they denied making the statements. Last year's investigation seemed to end the controversy, but a copy of the investigator's report obtained by The Associated Press reveals that one of the guards had previously told military officials he abused detainees, while the other had attacked a man posing as a detainee in a training exercise before being deployed to Cuba.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/
Cheney faces 'torture' criticism
A senior US Democrat has condemned Dick Cheney, the US vice-president, for his defence of waterboarding "terror" suspects, saying the abuse amounted to torture and warning there could be prosecutions over the issue under a new administration.
http://english.aljazeera.net/
Report raps ex-White House pair on Iraq claims
AP-Former White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales misled Congress when he claimed the CIA in 2002 approved information that ended up in the 2003 State of the Union speech about Iraq's alleged effort to buy uranium for its nuclear weapons program, a House Democrat said Thursday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/
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www.TheHeadlines.org
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