Shadi Fadda brings us the latest headlines from around the internet as it relates to Palestine as well as other news.
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Abdallah Abu Rahmah arrested, Bi’lin and al-Ma’sara demand his release
December 14th, 2009-- This Friday, the people of Bil’in and al-Ma’sara held their weekly protest against the Apartheid Wall in solidarity with Abdallah Abu Rahmah. Abu Rahmah, a coordinator with the popular committee of Bil’in, was arrested several days prior to the demonstrations in what is the latest arrest in Occupation forces’ campaign to break the grassroots protests.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2133.shtml
One injured by live ammunition at weekly demonstration in Ni’lin
December 13th, 2009-- Occupation forces sealed the village of Ni'lin this Friday, firing large amounts of live ammunition at those protesting the Wall. The wounded young man is the the latest injury in escalating levels of violence which have been directed against anti-Wall protestors in the past weeks.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2132.shtml
Protesters to rally outside jail holding Palestinian activist
Bethlehem – Ma’an – A demonstration will be held on Monday at noon outside the Jelemeh Prison in Haifa to protest the arrest of Palestinian grassroots activist Wael Al-Faqeeh Abu As-Sabe, according to the International Solidarity Movement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=246629
Elderly refugee to join Gaza march
Bethelehm - Ma'an - Palestinian refugee Yusif Barakat will return to Palestine with 1,000 international delegates of the Gaza Freedom March set for 31 December, the event's organizers said on Monday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=246668
Defying Israeli Genocide at Home (in School) And Abroad (in Court)
by Mohammed Omer, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs Photo: Palestinian youth in the Gaza Strip. Although ignored by much of the Western media, a battle which echoes the biblical story of David and Goliath is taking place in The Hague. In the modern-day version, young David is personified by a soft-spoken 15-year-old girl named Amira Alqerem.
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/4450
Campaign launched against Portuguese water deal with Mekorot
Mekorot, the Israeli national water carrier, signed a "co-operative" venture with EPAL, the Portuguese water company that serves 2.5 million consumers in the country's capital and the south. The agreement claims to safeguard the Portuguese water system against "terrorist threats", building on Mekorot's alleged "expertise" in the area. Mekorot, like many Israeli enterprises, is key in supporting and the apartheid policies, depriving Palestinians of water in favor of Israelis. Bedouin communities in the West Bank and the ’48, for example, are the subject of a campaign of ethnic cleansing wherein Occupation forces evict them from their homes, seize their livestock, and otherwise make life impossible. Water plays a key role in this; communities in the West Bank and the ’48 are cut off and denied access to the central water system, while the tanks that they use to store water can be confiscated or destroyed by Occupation forces.
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/2134.shtml
Ahmadinejad reiterates Iran's support for Palestinians
TEHRAN, Dec.13 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday reiterated his country's overall support for the Palestinian people, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Ahmadinejad made the remarks in a meeting in Tehran with visiting Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement leader Khaled Meshaal.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/14/content_12641898.htm
Palestinian Christians call on world churches to take up BDS
December 12th, 2009-- Prominent Christian Palestinian leaders released a historical Kairos document, calling on Churches around the world “to say a word of truth and to take a position of truth with regard to Israel's occupation of Palestinian land” on December 11. Unambiguously endorsing boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) as one of the key non-violent forms of solidarity that international faith-based organizations are urged to adopt, the document affirms: "We see boycott and disinvestment as tools of justice, peace and security …"
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2131.shtml
Palestinian Christians call on Westerners to reject Zionism
Israeli settlers burn Quran in attack on mosque.Hundreds of Jewish settlers angry at reduced settlement building burned pages of Islam's holy book in an attack on a West Bank mosque as Palestinian Christians called for sanctions on "evil" Israel and rejected Christian Zionism, press reports said Saturday.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7688
Violence and Aggression
Soldiers beat young man in Al-Khalil Market
At 12:30 p.m. on 26 November 2009, Paulette Schroeder and Johann Funk responded to street vendor's report that Israeli soldiers had beaten a young Palestinian man as he made his way through the market towards the Ibrahimi mosque.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57373
Israeli forces storm Nablus village, search home
Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli forces stormed a house in Beita in southern Nablus in the West Bank early on Monday morning and overturned the property, causing damage, eyewitnesses told Ma'an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=246699
Detainees
Israeli forces arrest Palestinian mother of 5 prisoners
RAMALLAH, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Israeli forces arrested a mother of five prisoners in the West Bank city of Nablus early Sunday, a Palestinian prisoners' rights center said. The soldiers broke into the house of Rab'a Belal and detained the 65-year-old woman after searching her house in the northern West Bank town, Ahrar center said in a statement.
Abdallah Abu Rahmah arrested, Bi’lin and al-Ma’sara demand his release
December 14th, 2009-- This Friday, the people of Bil’in and al-Ma’sara held their weekly protest against the Apartheid Wall in solidarity with Abdallah Abu Rahmah. Abu Rahmah, a coordinator with the popular committee of Bil’in, was arrested several days prior to the demonstrations in what is the latest arrest in Occupation forces’ campaign to break the grassroots protests.
http://stopthewall.org/
One injured by live ammunition at weekly demonstration in Ni’lin
December 13th, 2009-- Occupation forces sealed the village of Ni'lin this Friday, firing large amounts of live ammunition at those protesting the Wall. The wounded young man is the the latest injury in escalating levels of violence which have been directed against anti-Wall protestors in the past weeks.
http://stopthewall.org/
Protesters to rally outside jail holding Palestinian activist
Bethlehem – Ma’an – A demonstration will be held on Monday at noon outside the Jelemeh Prison in Haifa to protest the arrest of Palestinian grassroots activist Wael Al-Faqeeh Abu As-Sabe, according to the International Solidarity Movement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Elderly refugee to join Gaza march
Bethelehm - Ma'an - Palestinian refugee Yusif Barakat will return to Palestine with 1,000 international delegates of the Gaza Freedom March set for 31 December, the event's organizers said on Monday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Defying Israeli Genocide at Home (in School) And Abroad (in Court)
by Mohammed Omer, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs Photo: Palestinian youth in the Gaza Strip. Although ignored by much of the Western media, a battle which echoes the biblical story of David and Goliath is taking place in The Hague. In the modern-day version, young David is personified by a soft-spoken 15-year-old girl named Amira Alqerem.
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/
Campaign launched against Portuguese water deal with Mekorot
Mekorot, the Israeli national water carrier, signed a "co-operative" venture with EPAL, the Portuguese water company that serves 2.5 million consumers in the country's capital and the south. The agreement claims to safeguard the Portuguese water system against "terrorist threats", building on Mekorot's alleged "expertise" in the area. Mekorot, like many Israeli enterprises, is key in supporting and the apartheid policies, depriving Palestinians of water in favor of Israelis. Bedouin communities in the West Bank and the ’48, for example, are the subject of a campaign of ethnic cleansing wherein Occupation forces evict them from their homes, seize their livestock, and otherwise make life impossible. Water plays a key role in this; communities in the West Bank and the ’48 are cut off and denied access to the central water system, while the tanks that they use to store water can be confiscated or destroyed by Occupation forces.
http://stopthewall.org/
Ahmadinejad reiterates Iran's support for Palestinians
TEHRAN, Dec.13 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday reiterated his country's overall support for the Palestinian people, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Ahmadinejad made the remarks in a meeting in Tehran with visiting Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement leader Khaled Meshaal.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/
Palestinian Christians call on world churches to take up BDS
December 12th, 2009-- Prominent Christian Palestinian leaders released a historical Kairos document, calling on Churches around the world “to say a word of truth and to take a position of truth with regard to Israel's occupation of Palestinian land” on December 11. Unambiguously endorsing boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) as one of the key non-violent forms of solidarity that international faith-based organizations are urged to adopt, the document affirms: "We see boycott and disinvestment as tools of justice, peace and security …"
http://stopthewall.org/
Palestinian Christians call on Westerners to reject Zionism
Israeli settlers burn Quran in attack on mosque.Hundreds of Jewish settlers angry at reduced settlement building burned pages of Islam's holy book in an attack on a West Bank mosque as Palestinian Christians called for sanctions on "evil" Israel and rejected Christian Zionism, press reports said Saturday.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.
Violence and Aggression
Soldiers beat young man in Al-Khalil Market
At 12:30 p.m. on 26 November 2009, Paulette Schroeder and Johann Funk responded to street vendor's report that Israeli soldiers had beaten a young Palestinian man as he made his way through the market towards the Ibrahimi mosque.
http://www.imemc.org/index.
Israeli forces storm Nablus village, search home
Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli forces stormed a house in Beita in southern Nablus in the West Bank early on Monday morning and overturned the property, causing damage, eyewitnesses told Ma'an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Detainees
Israeli forces arrest Palestinian mother of 5 prisoners
RAMALLAH, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Israeli forces arrested a mother of five prisoners in the West Bank city of Nablus early Sunday, a Palestinian prisoners' rights center said. The soldiers broke into the house of Rab'a Belal and detained the 65-year-old woman after searching her house in the northern West Bank town, Ahrar center said in a statement.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/13/content_12640768.htm
Soldiers Kidnap Two Children In Northern Gaza
Israeli soldiers invaded the Industrial Area located near the Erez Crossing, west of Beit Hanoun in the northern part of the Gaza Strip and kidnapped two children. One of them was released after several hours while the second remained in custody.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=37202
Siege/Humanitarian Crisis
Two Gaza crossings open as four remain closed
Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli authorities opened the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south of Gaza and the Karni crossing in the north, while keeping the Nahal Oz fuel pipeline crossing closed on Monday, a Palestinian border crossing official said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=246677
Arabs in the Service of Israel
Abbas's militias round up 150 Hamas supporters, summon 1,000 others
Militias loyal to Mahmoud Abbas rounded up 150 Hamas supporters in the West Bank districts in an unprecedented campaign of arrests to foil any possible celebration of Hamas's inception anniversary.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7T6mk%2fFf6l%2b5eNvnpmaQjujfaZbYa8b%2bKh56YcD79%2bLEG8swfrBzmrs8JuMgB64x%2ffKTqsI4IZ%2bzc7ChTASNTFvuDYKfdY4E3SXXSC30QQBI%3d
Egypt shuts down second Gaza car-smuggling tunnel
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Egyptian border guards shut down a tunnel on Sunday used for smuggling cars into the besieged Gaza Strip, security sources said. The sources told reporters that the opening of the tunnel was 300 meters from the border with the Gaza Strip. A strict closure was imposed on the area before the tunnel was destroyed, the sources added. It was the second tunnel built to smuggle cars to be shut down in as many days.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=246652
Egyptian Forces Accused Of Shooting Asylum Seekers
Over the past four years, more than 18,000 African asylum seekers have made their way from Egypt into Israel in search of a gateway to Western countries. But Israel has taken an increasingly hard line, asking Egypt to do more to stop the refugees from crossing the desert border. Asylum seekers say Egyptian security forces frequently open fire on them as they try to cross the border.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121402289&ft=1&f=1009
Human Rights Abuses/Racism and Discrimination against Arabs
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef on Muslims: “Their religion is as ugly as they are”
“They’re stupid. Their religion is as ugly as they are,” Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of Shas, said about Muslims last night during his Saturday night talk. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef was referring to the fact that a Jewish woman may remarry her husband after they have divorced only if she has not married another man in the interim.
http://coteret.com/2009/12/14/rabbi-ovadia-yosef-on-muslims-%E2%80%9Ctheir-religion-is-as-ugly-as-they-are%E2%80%9D/
Jewish town won't let Arab build home on his own land
Aadel Suad first came to the planning and construction committee of the Misgav Local Council in 1997. Suad, an educator, was seeking a construction permit to build a home on a plot of land he owns in the community of Mitzpeh Kamon. The reply he got, from a senior official on the committee, was a memorable one. "Don't waste your time," he reportedly told Suad. "We'll keep you waiting for 30 years."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134898.html
Lightrail through Arab towns pushed aside for Carmiel railway
A plan for a light rail that would connect Arab towns in the Galilee to Acre and Carmiel was scrapped by the transportation minister and the minister for the development of the Negev and Galilee, Haaretz has learned. Instead, the ministers are seeing an ordinary train line operated by Israel Railways, which would not make a single stop in important Arab areas.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134900.html
The price of the 'price tag'
The burning of the mosque is a link in the chain, a long, dangerous and despicable chain, of actions the settlers themselves have deemed the "price tag." Just as it was during the dark periods in the history of the Jewish people, when the crowd took out its wrath at the authorities on the Jews, so now do the settlers take out their wrath at the construction freeze policy on their helpless Palestinian neighbors. Hundreds of olive trees have been uprooted and burned, while fields, cars and even homes have been set on fire - all the rotten fruit of recent weeks.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134920.html
The slope of Masada, Akiva Eldar
For decades the settlers have been stealing the helpless peasants' land and Israeli governments have been paving the settlers' roads. Every year during the olive harvest, Jewish malefactors raid olive groves in the West Bank, and the long arms of the security forces are too short to assist the Palestinians. In the rare cases when they do catch the culprits, a charitable judge "takes the circumstances into consideration." But to set fire to a mosque - and on the Festival of Lights? This time they have really gone too far. Even the president cannot ignore such a "sinful act," as he described it. By the way, this is the same Shimon Peres who as defense minister had the honor of planting the first tree in the West Bank settlement of Ofra, most of whose homes are built on private Palestinian land.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134919.html
Refugees
Lebanon yields no justice to its stateless thousands
BEIRUT: When Lebanon celebrated its anniversary as an independent nation on November 22, a significant number of the country’s inhabitants had good reason to feel left out. While governments the world over are increasing their efforts to tackle the issue of statelessness, the fact that tens of thousands of people living in Lebanon do not have a nationality is still largely ignored.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=31&article_id=109752
Reactions to Mosque Attack
Youths stone IDF in Yasuf
Palestinians say clashes break out over torched mosque during MK Talab El-Sana's visit to area. Residents reportedly hurl stones at IDF soldiers, who respond with rubber bullets, teargas. IDF says force only fired shots in the air.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3819617,00.html
Political Developments
The Arab street - Ramallah - 14 Dec 09 - Pt 1
What's life like behind Israel's wall, and will a freeze on Jewish settlements lead to peace? The people of Ramallah on the West Bank have their say.
Haniyya: “Palestine Is Palestine, From The River To The Sea”
Palestinian Prime Minister of the dissolved Hamas-led government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyya, stated Friday that Palestine is and will always be the same to the Palestinians, from the river to the sea, and that the Palestinians will always defend it.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57362
Hamas predicts collapse of Abbas and his 'co-conspirators'
Anyone who wants to learn about the Palestinian Authority's effectiveness in handling security issues relating to Hamas' military and civil arms in the West Bank should have a look at a document now being publicized on Hamas Web sites.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134931.html
Hamas rally shows it still has strong Gaza support (AP)
AP - Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters thronged downtown Gaza City Monday to mark the 22nd anniversary of the group's founding, a massive display that showed the Islamic militants still enjoy broad support despite years of rule that have led to war, poverty and isolation.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091214/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians
Hamas marks 22 years in Gaza with massive celebrations
Hamas is planning to celebrate its 22nd anniversary today, with a large public rally and smaller parades.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134902.html
Beilin urges U.S. envoy Mitchell to resign after 'year of failure'
Former justice minister and Meretz chairman Yossi Beilin has called on U.S. special Mideast envoy George Mitchell to resign, accusing him of having "failed" in his mission to advance the peace progress.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134734.html
Hamas: Mediator changed swap deal's stages
Senior group member Osama al-Muzaini does not anticipate breakthrough in negotiations in coming days.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3819456,00.html
Other News
U.K. reportedly issues arrest warrant for Livni
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni on Monday canceled her participation in a Jewish function in London, after a warrant for her arrest was issued over part in last winter's Israel's Gaza offensive, Arab-language media have reported.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134978.html
Maariv’s defense analyst: Rabbis own the IDF
Didi Remez/Ofer Shelah - Coteret - The army’s combat units, and particularly the infantry brigades, are full of religious soldiers and officers, in numbers that far outnumber their part in the general population. Some of the hesder yeshivas today are what the kibbutzim and the military boarding schools were in the past.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=37196
Book in India: Israelis crooks, drug addicts
Catholic priest in Goa publishes book on 'dealing with tourists from Israel,' whom he calls 'druggies' that make real nuisance. He claims Israelis behave this way because they 'go crazy from military service'. http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15611
Iraq
Mosul blast wounds 20 army recruits
An explosion targeted the convoy of Fallujah police officer Major Saad Al Shumari wounding seven bodyguards. 11 policemen were killed and four others were wounded in Fallujah when bombs planted by unknown gunmen exploded.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-41749-Mosul-blast-wounds-20-army-recruits.html
Iraq: No time to act after US tip before blasts
BAGHDAD — The U.S. military had warned of an imminent attack hours before last week's deadly bombings in Baghdad, but the tip came too late to act on, Iraqi security officials said Sunday as outraged lawmakers pressed for answers about Iraq's ability to protect the capital. Even news that 13 al-Qaida-linked suspects have been detained in connection with the bombings did little to quell the angry parliament members, who shouted down security officials as they tried to defend their forces.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hwK_CSpBxsNuVUEaDuOwmSSCiqGwD9CIKL202
Iraq will be ‘big player’ at OPEC meet: US diplomat
iraqoil Iraq will be big player at OPEC meet: US diplomatIraq will be a "big player" at OPEC's meeting in Angola later this month over its allocated crude production quota following a string of deals with oil majors, a senior US embassy official said on Sunday.
http://rawstory.com/2009/12/iraq-big-player-opec-meet-diplomat/
Iraqis oppose censorship laws - 13 Dec 09
Following the fall of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship in Iraq, the country's cultural scene witnessed a revolution and previously banned material became widely available. Six years have passed since the Iraqi leader was deposed and the government is placing new restrictions on books and websites. However, some Iraqis fear that implementing such restrictions is the beginning of more limits on their freedom. Al Jazeera's Omar Saleh reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bTyh6WAs90&feature=youtube_gdata
SYRIA: Poverty suspected of fuelling child labour among Iraqi refugees
Source: IRIN Aseel Ali*, aged 16, and her mother - both refugees from Iraq - earn just enough (US$174 per month between them) in a Damascus handicraft workshop to pay their rent and buy food.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/d53909ae7afc9724ee1df418f407bb21.htm
1.2 million Iraqis have fled to Syria, official says
Nearly 1.2 million Iraqis have fled their country for safety in neighboring Syria, a high-ranking Syrian government official said. The Iraqis fled following the 2003-U.S. invasion and the ensuing upsurge in violence and absence of law and order. Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad said Iraqi refugees, though a strain on his country’s economy, had the right to enjoy public amenities like their Syrian counterparts.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news \ 2009-12-12\kurd.htm
Are deaths from violence in Iraq being under-reported?
BBC Video Report: The Iraqi government is being accused of under-reporting the number of people killed after weeks of deadly violence.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8407023.stm
Who is counting the bodies in Iraq?
Mr Maliki's political reputation was built largely on his apparent success in bringing violence levels down following the US troop surge in 2007. Now, this image of a man who could keep Baghdad safe has been tarnished.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8405894.stm
Lebanon
Hezbollah rules out war with Israel
Hezbollah deputy leader sheikh Naim Qassem has ruled out a war with Israel, but says the movement is fully ready to repel any assault by the regime on the country. "We have an interest in adhering to resolution 1701, since it certainly preserves the achievements of the resistance [Hezbollah], and of Lebanon's forces," he told the Lebanese daily Al-Akbar on Sunday.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=113628§ionid=351020202
Fadlallah warns Iran of US conspiracy
Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah on Sunday warned Iran of an "impending American conspiracy about to engulf the Muslim world." Speaking from his home in Beirut's Haret Hreik neighborhood, Fadlallah warned Iranian leaders about what he called the "timetable put forth by the Americans to negotiate Tehran's nuclear-generating capability, saying.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=109741
Hariri visit seals a good year for Syria
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's proposed visit to Syria this month concludes a year in which Damascus has rediscovered itself in world affairs. While the anti -Syrian craze in Beirut been silenced, however, broader issues, particularly regarding Israel, Iraq and Iran, will be much more difficult to negotiate. - Sami Moubayed (Dec 14, '09)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KL15Ak05.html
Afghanistan
US 'militarising' Afghanistan aid
A number of aid organisations have told Al Jazeera they have turned down funding from the US government as the money has strings attached to military operations.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/12/200912126017915711.html
Why Do Airstrikes in Afghanistan Keep Killing Exactly 30 People?
On Monday, the anonymous blogger Security Crank noticed something interesting: all the U.S. and NATO airstrikes in Afghanistan seemingly kill exactly 30 people every time. How can that be?
http://www.alternet.org/world/144509/why_do_airstrikes_in_afghanistan_keep_killing_exactly_30_people/
U.S. and Other World News
US refuses to allow UN inspectors to investigate its WMDs
The United States said Wednesday that it remained opposed to international inspections of biological weapon sites, even though it stressed its commitment to a UN treaty covering such arms and invaded Iraq in part over its alleged stalling of -- UN weapons inspectors.
http://rawstory.com/2009/12/refuses-inspectors-investigate-wmds/
Diplomat, scientist among 11 Iranians 'held by US'
The Mehr news agency said the foreign ministry is "vigorously" pursuing diplomatic means to obtain the release of the Iranians, three of whom have allegedly been detained in countries outside the United States on Washington's request.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091210/pl_afp/iranpoliticsusbritainfrancegermany
Judge finds Pentagon in contempt in Gitmo case
A federal judge has found the Defense Department in contempt of court for failing to videotape the testimony of a prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jiU5cU3FJ8zNc-hV6xmfGWBBfMlwD9CGJON01
David Ignatius is mourning: the fingernail factory is dead
"Kheir at his best was among the greatest Arab intelligence officers of his generation. He ran a series of masterful penetration operations against Palestinian extremist groups and, later, al-Qaeda. "He set the standard for how we do it," said one former CIA officer who worked closely with him." Don't you like it: those who ostensibly complain about the lack of democracy in the Middle East, are themselves the ones who write tribute to our executioners, killers, and torturers. He even portrays his torture technique as a skill: "and I'm sure that it didn't get the nickname "the fingernail factory" for nothing."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/12/david-ignatius-is-mourning-fingernail.html
On Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Lobby: A response to Peter Beinart
At the risk of sounding self-congratulatory, one measure of the impact that our book on the Israel lobby has had is the lengths that some critics go in their attempts to discredit it. The latest entrant into this field is recovering Iraq hawk Peter Beinart, who earlier this week offered a new and truly goofy "refutation" of our argument about the lobby’s role in causing the Iraq war.
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/12/08/on_afghanistan_iraq_and_the_lobby_a_response_to_peter_beinart
Iran to try detained US citizens
Hikers to face trial after entering the country "with suspicious aims", Tehran says.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2009/12/200912141328869437.html
Reshuffling the Cards? (I): Syria's Evolving Strategy
Syria’s foreign policy has long been a contradictory mix of militancy and pragmatism, but new dynamics create opportunities for the U.S. if it does more to deepen its engagement. This Crisis Group report examines changes in Damascus’s outlook and concludes that further shifts will hinge on the regime’s assessment of the costs of its choices, both in terms of domestic stability and regional standing. That, in turn, largely will depend on what other parties do. This is the first part of a Crisis Group report that analyses changes in Syria’s regional approach and prospects for improved relations with Washington. The second part with further details will be published shortly.
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6434
Anti-Muslim graffiti found on French mosque
Assailants scrawl Nazi slogans, hang pig feet on Muslim worship site in town of Castres. French interior minister denounces attack calling it 'racist desecration,' says will appoint clerk to address war on racism, anti-Semitism.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3819444,00.html
Soldiers Kidnap Two Children In Northern Gaza
Israeli soldiers invaded the Industrial Area located near the Erez Crossing, west of Beit Hanoun in the northern part of the Gaza Strip and kidnapped two children. One of them was released after several hours while the second remained in custody.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_
Siege/Humanitarian Crisis
Two Gaza crossings open as four remain closed
Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli authorities opened the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south of Gaza and the Karni crossing in the north, while keeping the Nahal Oz fuel pipeline crossing closed on Monday, a Palestinian border crossing official said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Arabs in the Service of Israel
Abbas's militias round up 150 Hamas supporters, summon 1,000 others
Militias loyal to Mahmoud Abbas rounded up 150 Hamas supporters in the West Bank districts in an unprecedented campaign of arrests to foil any possible celebration of Hamas's inception anniversary.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Egypt shuts down second Gaza car-smuggling tunnel
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Egyptian border guards shut down a tunnel on Sunday used for smuggling cars into the besieged Gaza Strip, security sources said. The sources told reporters that the opening of the tunnel was 300 meters from the border with the Gaza Strip. A strict closure was imposed on the area before the tunnel was destroyed, the sources added. It was the second tunnel built to smuggle cars to be shut down in as many days.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Egyptian Forces Accused Of Shooting Asylum Seekers
Over the past four years, more than 18,000 African asylum seekers have made their way from Egypt into Israel in search of a gateway to Western countries. But Israel has taken an increasingly hard line, asking Egypt to do more to stop the refugees from crossing the desert border. Asylum seekers say Egyptian security forces frequently open fire on them as they try to cross the border.
http://www.npr.org/templates/
Human Rights Abuses/Racism and Discrimination against Arabs
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef on Muslims: “Their religion is as ugly as they are”
“They’re stupid. Their religion is as ugly as they are,” Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of Shas, said about Muslims last night during his Saturday night talk. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef was referring to the fact that a Jewish woman may remarry her husband after they have divorced only if she has not married another man in the interim.
http://coteret.com/2009/12/14/
Jewish town won't let Arab build home on his own land
Aadel Suad first came to the planning and construction committee of the Misgav Local Council in 1997. Suad, an educator, was seeking a construction permit to build a home on a plot of land he owns in the community of Mitzpeh Kamon. The reply he got, from a senior official on the committee, was a memorable one. "Don't waste your time," he reportedly told Suad. "We'll keep you waiting for 30 years."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Lightrail through Arab towns pushed aside for Carmiel railway
A plan for a light rail that would connect Arab towns in the Galilee to Acre and Carmiel was scrapped by the transportation minister and the minister for the development of the Negev and Galilee, Haaretz has learned. Instead, the ministers are seeing an ordinary train line operated by Israel Railways, which would not make a single stop in important Arab areas.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
The price of the 'price tag'
The burning of the mosque is a link in the chain, a long, dangerous and despicable chain, of actions the settlers themselves have deemed the "price tag." Just as it was during the dark periods in the history of the Jewish people, when the crowd took out its wrath at the authorities on the Jews, so now do the settlers take out their wrath at the construction freeze policy on their helpless Palestinian neighbors. Hundreds of olive trees have been uprooted and burned, while fields, cars and even homes have been set on fire - all the rotten fruit of recent weeks.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
The slope of Masada, Akiva Eldar
For decades the settlers have been stealing the helpless peasants' land and Israeli governments have been paving the settlers' roads. Every year during the olive harvest, Jewish malefactors raid olive groves in the West Bank, and the long arms of the security forces are too short to assist the Palestinians. In the rare cases when they do catch the culprits, a charitable judge "takes the circumstances into consideration." But to set fire to a mosque - and on the Festival of Lights? This time they have really gone too far. Even the president cannot ignore such a "sinful act," as he described it. By the way, this is the same Shimon Peres who as defense minister had the honor of planting the first tree in the West Bank settlement of Ofra, most of whose homes are built on private Palestinian land.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Refugees
Lebanon yields no justice to its stateless thousands
BEIRUT: When Lebanon celebrated its anniversary as an independent nation on November 22, a significant number of the country’s inhabitants had good reason to feel left out. While governments the world over are increasing their efforts to tackle the issue of statelessness, the fact that tens of thousands of people living in Lebanon do not have a nationality is still largely ignored.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Reactions to Mosque Attack
Youths stone IDF in Yasuf
Palestinians say clashes break out over torched mosque during MK Talab El-Sana's visit to area. Residents reportedly hurl stones at IDF soldiers, who respond with rubber bullets, teargas. IDF says force only fired shots in the air.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Political Developments
The Arab street - Ramallah - 14 Dec 09 - Pt 1
What's life like behind Israel's wall, and will a freeze on Jewish settlements lead to peace? The people of Ramallah on the West Bank have their say.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVfIvhAd8VI&feature=youtube_gdata
The Arab street - Ramallah - 14 Dec 09 - Pt 2
What's life like behind Israel's wall, and will a freeze on Jewish settlements lead to peace? The people of Ramallah on the West Bank have their say.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTxR8R8t1gU&feature=youtube_gdata
The Arab street - Ramallah - 14 Dec 09 - Pt 2
What's life like behind Israel's wall, and will a freeze on Jewish settlements lead to peace? The people of Ramallah on the West Bank have their say.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Haniyya: “Palestine Is Palestine, From The River To The Sea”
Palestinian Prime Minister of the dissolved Hamas-led government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyya, stated Friday that Palestine is and will always be the same to the Palestinians, from the river to the sea, and that the Palestinians will always defend it.
http://www.imemc.org/index.
Hamas predicts collapse of Abbas and his 'co-conspirators'
Anyone who wants to learn about the Palestinian Authority's effectiveness in handling security issues relating to Hamas' military and civil arms in the West Bank should have a look at a document now being publicized on Hamas Web sites.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Hamas rally shows it still has strong Gaza support (AP)
AP - Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters thronged downtown Gaza City Monday to mark the 22nd anniversary of the group's founding, a massive display that showed the Islamic militants still enjoy broad support despite years of rule that have led to war, poverty and isolation.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Hamas marks 22 years in Gaza with massive celebrations
Hamas is planning to celebrate its 22nd anniversary today, with a large public rally and smaller parades.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Beilin urges U.S. envoy Mitchell to resign after 'year of failure'
Former justice minister and Meretz chairman Yossi Beilin has called on U.S. special Mideast envoy George Mitchell to resign, accusing him of having "failed" in his mission to advance the peace progress.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Hamas: Mediator changed swap deal's stages
Senior group member Osama al-Muzaini does not anticipate breakthrough in negotiations in coming days.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Other News
U.K. reportedly issues arrest warrant for Livni
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni on Monday canceled her participation in a Jewish function in London, after a warrant for her arrest was issued over part in last winter's Israel's Gaza offensive, Arab-language media have reported.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Maariv’s defense analyst: Rabbis own the IDF
Didi Remez/Ofer Shelah - Coteret - The army’s combat units, and particularly the infantry brigades, are full of religious soldiers and officers, in numbers that far outnumber their part in the general population. Some of the hesder yeshivas today are what the kibbutzim and the military boarding schools were in the past.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_
Book in India: Israelis crooks, drug addicts
Catholic priest in Goa publishes book on 'dealing with tourists from Israel,' whom he calls 'druggies' that make real nuisance. He claims Israelis behave this way because they 'go crazy from military service'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3819161,00.html
Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest
Silently Stealing Jerusalem, Joharah Baker for MIFTAH
The number is staggering, to say the least. A total of 4,577 Palestinian residents of Jerusalem were stripped of their residency rights in 2008 alone, 35 percent of all east Jerusalemites who lost their residency rights since 1967 and more than any average year since Israel's occupation of the eastern sector of the city almost 42 years ago. For the less versed in the ways of Israel where Palestinian residency rights in Jerusalem are concerned, here is a quick rundown. Upon Israel's occupation in 1967 of east Jerusalem, those Palestinians who had stayed in their homes were included in Israel's census of the city and granted "permanent residency". This, by no means is citizenship, which Israel also duly offered to the war torn residents of the even more war torn neighborhoods of Jerusalem. But taking on Israeli citizenship was, for most Palestinians, tantamount to high treason, given that they would assume the nationality of the country that had usurped most of their homeland and made hundreds of thousands of their fellow Palestinians refugees either outside the borders of Palestine or within it. Not to mention that one condition for citizenship was to swear allegiance to Israel.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=21241&CategoryId=3
‘Financial Times’ says ‘erosion’ of int’l support for Israel bodes well
A Financial Times editorial Sunday says that Israel has been painted into the corner internationally. FT seems to believe that the new international pressure could result in a "viable" Palestinian state. But not a contiguous one. (I’m agnostic on the solution but I never did understand how that part works, Gaza to the West Bank, and don’t show me the Rand Corp’s arc).
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/financial-times-says-erosion-of-intl-support-for-israel-bodes-well.html
What Israel has created: shock troops in the name of Jewish jihad
The reality of lawless settlers in the West Bank is reaching fever pitch. These aren’t some rogue, Jewish elements. They are individuals and groups backed and funded by the state for years. And now they’re not behaving as planned. What a shock. The latest readings are here, here and here.
http://antonyloewenstein.com/2009/12/14/what-israel-has-created-shock-troops-in-the-name-of-jewish-jihad/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antonyloewenstein%2Ffeed+(Antony+Loewenstein)
No freeze on Palestinian suffering | Seth Freedman
Within minutes of our arrival in Tuwani, in the south Hebron hills of the West Bank, an army Jeep rolled into the village and shattered the mid-morning tranquillity. "We're turning this place into a closed military zone," announced the stern-faced commander to anyone within earshot. Brandishing his rifle in one hand and a military document in the other, he proceeded to explain that "I decide who can be here and who can't, and anyone who isn't a resident has to leave immediately".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/14/settlement-freeze-palestinian-west-bank
Wall on Gaza Violates International Law
December 13, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- The collusion between Egypt and the U.S. to build a wall separating Egypt from Gaza not only threatens Gazans' health and quality of life, already severely deteriorated by the de facto Israeli blockade, it is a serious violation of international law. According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, Egypt is installing an underground metal wall 70-100 feet deep along the border strip where Palestinians have dug a maze-like set of tunnels to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. The construction of the wall, carried out with the collaboration of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, has been denied by the Egyptian government.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24171.htm
It’s the occupation, stupid / some thoughts on the Intifada’s 22nd anniversary
Last week marked 22 years to the first Intifada, the Palestinian popular uprising which broke in Jebalia refugee camp following a deadly car accident near the Erez Crossing on December 8th, 1987. Surprisingly enough, I hardly saw any mention of this on the Israeli media. It is not one of this nice “round’ anniversaries that editors love, like 10 or 25 years, but given the importance of the Intifada – alongside with the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, it’s probably the central event of the decade in the Middle East – you would expect something.
http://israelpalestineblogs.com/2009/12/13/it%E2%80%99s-the-occupation-stupid-some-thoughts-on-the-intifada%E2%80%99s-22ed-anniversary/
The Israeli Stranglehold
"Settlers attack West Bank mosque and burn holy Muslim books” was a London Times headline on December 11, 2009. These attacks, together with the demolition of Palestinian homes, the uprooting of Palestinians’ olive groves, the innumerable checkpoints that prevent Palestinians from accessing schools, work, and medical care, the Israeli Wall that denies Palestinians access to the land stolen from them, and the isolation and blockade of the Gaza Ghetto, are part of the Israeli government’s policy of genocide for the Palestinians.
http://www.counterpunch.com/roberts12142009.html
For Palestinians, Every Day Is Kristallnacht, By Paul Craig Roberts
December 14, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- “Settlers attack West Bank mosque and burn holy Muslim books” was a London Times headline on December 11, 2009., These attacks, together with the demolition of Palestinian homes, the uprooting of Palestinians’ olive groves, the innumerable checkpoints that prevent Palestinians from accessing schools, work, and medical care, the Israeli Wall that denies Palestinians access to the land stolen from them, and the isolation and blockade of the Gaza Ghetto, are part of the Israeli government’s policy of genocide for the Palestinians.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24176.htm
What Americans Need to know about Mordechai Vanunu
I'm not a traitor. I'm a man with a conscience who did what he did out of a deep belief after much thought and many doubts. But I knew that I had to do it, that I had no choice…somebody had to do it…I contributed my share by making public what the public ought to know and they shut my mouth behind the prison walls. -Mordechai Vanunu
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24177.htm
Grace Halsell – What Christians Don't Know About Israel
American Jews sympathetic to Israel dominate key positions in all areas of our government where decisions are made regarding the Middle East. This being the case, is there any hope of ever changing U.S. policy? President Bill Clinton as well as most members of Congress support Israel-and they know why. U.S. Jews sympathetic to Israel donate lavishly to their campaign coffers.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/12/14/grace-halsell-what-christians-dont-know-about-israel/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PalestineThinkTank+(Palestine+Think+Tank)
Another Childhood Nakba Memory
I remember it was one Sunday afternoon, sometime around one or two o'clock, when my father barged running into the house shouting "we have to leave, we have to leave". His face was all red; his eyes shined with piercing outrage, uncertainty and incredulity.
Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest
Silently Stealing Jerusalem, Joharah Baker for MIFTAH
The number is staggering, to say the least. A total of 4,577 Palestinian residents of Jerusalem were stripped of their residency rights in 2008 alone, 35 percent of all east Jerusalemites who lost their residency rights since 1967 and more than any average year since Israel's occupation of the eastern sector of the city almost 42 years ago. For the less versed in the ways of Israel where Palestinian residency rights in Jerusalem are concerned, here is a quick rundown. Upon Israel's occupation in 1967 of east Jerusalem, those Palestinians who had stayed in their homes were included in Israel's census of the city and granted "permanent residency". This, by no means is citizenship, which Israel also duly offered to the war torn residents of the even more war torn neighborhoods of Jerusalem. But taking on Israeli citizenship was, for most Palestinians, tantamount to high treason, given that they would assume the nationality of the country that had usurped most of their homeland and made hundreds of thousands of their fellow Palestinians refugees either outside the borders of Palestine or within it. Not to mention that one condition for citizenship was to swear allegiance to Israel.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.
‘Financial Times’ says ‘erosion’ of int’l support for Israel bodes well
A Financial Times editorial Sunday says that Israel has been painted into the corner internationally. FT seems to believe that the new international pressure could result in a "viable" Palestinian state. But not a contiguous one. (I’m agnostic on the solution but I never did understand how that part works, Gaza to the West Bank, and don’t show me the Rand Corp’s arc).
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/
What Israel has created: shock troops in the name of Jewish jihad
The reality of lawless settlers in the West Bank is reaching fever pitch. These aren’t some rogue, Jewish elements. They are individuals and groups backed and funded by the state for years. And now they’re not behaving as planned. What a shock. The latest readings are here, here and here.
http://antonyloewenstein.com/
No freeze on Palestinian suffering | Seth Freedman
Within minutes of our arrival in Tuwani, in the south Hebron hills of the West Bank, an army Jeep rolled into the village and shattered the mid-morning tranquillity. "We're turning this place into a closed military zone," announced the stern-faced commander to anyone within earshot. Brandishing his rifle in one hand and a military document in the other, he proceeded to explain that "I decide who can be here and who can't, and anyone who isn't a resident has to leave immediately".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Wall on Gaza Violates International Law
December 13, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- The collusion between Egypt and the U.S. to build a wall separating Egypt from Gaza not only threatens Gazans' health and quality of life, already severely deteriorated by the de facto Israeli blockade, it is a serious violation of international law. According to the Israeli daily Haaretz, Egypt is installing an underground metal wall 70-100 feet deep along the border strip where Palestinians have dug a maze-like set of tunnels to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. The construction of the wall, carried out with the collaboration of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, has been denied by the Egyptian government.
http://www.
It’s the occupation, stupid / some thoughts on the Intifada’s 22nd anniversary
Last week marked 22 years to the first Intifada, the Palestinian popular uprising which broke in Jebalia refugee camp following a deadly car accident near the Erez Crossing on December 8th, 1987. Surprisingly enough, I hardly saw any mention of this on the Israeli media. It is not one of this nice “round’ anniversaries that editors love, like 10 or 25 years, but given the importance of the Intifada – alongside with the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, it’s probably the central event of the decade in the Middle East – you would expect something.
http://israelpalestineblogs.
The Israeli Stranglehold
"Settlers attack West Bank mosque and burn holy Muslim books” was a London Times headline on December 11, 2009. These attacks, together with the demolition of Palestinian homes, the uprooting of Palestinians’ olive groves, the innumerable checkpoints that prevent Palestinians from accessing schools, work, and medical care, the Israeli Wall that denies Palestinians access to the land stolen from them, and the isolation and blockade of the Gaza Ghetto, are part of the Israeli government’s policy of genocide for the Palestinians.
http://www.counterpunch.com/
For Palestinians, Every Day Is Kristallnacht, By Paul Craig Roberts
December 14, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- “Settlers attack West Bank mosque and burn holy Muslim books” was a London Times headline on December 11, 2009., These attacks, together with the demolition of Palestinian homes, the uprooting of Palestinians’ olive groves, the innumerable checkpoints that prevent Palestinians from accessing schools, work, and medical care, the Israeli Wall that denies Palestinians access to the land stolen from them, and the isolation and blockade of the Gaza Ghetto, are part of the Israeli government’s policy of genocide for the Palestinians.
http://www.
What Americans Need to know about Mordechai Vanunu
I'm not a traitor. I'm a man with a conscience who did what he did out of a deep belief after much thought and many doubts. But I knew that I had to do it, that I had no choice…somebody had to do it…I contributed my share by making public what the public ought to know and they shut my mouth behind the prison walls. -Mordechai Vanunu
http://www.
Grace Halsell – What Christians Don't Know About Israel
American Jews sympathetic to Israel dominate key positions in all areas of our government where decisions are made regarding the Middle East. This being the case, is there any hope of ever changing U.S. policy? President Bill Clinton as well as most members of Congress support Israel-and they know why. U.S. Jews sympathetic to Israel donate lavishly to their campaign coffers.
http://palestinethinktank.com/
Another Childhood Nakba Memory
I remember it was one Sunday afternoon, sometime around one or two o'clock, when my father barged running into the house shouting "we have to leave, we have to leave". His face was all red; his eyes shined with piercing outrage, uncertainty and incredulity.
Iraq
Mosul blast wounds 20 army recruits
An explosion targeted the convoy of Fallujah police officer Major Saad Al Shumari wounding seven bodyguards. 11 policemen were killed and four others were wounded in Fallujah when bombs planted by unknown gunmen exploded.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/
Iraq: No time to act after US tip before blasts
BAGHDAD — The U.S. military had warned of an imminent attack hours before last week's deadly bombings in Baghdad, but the tip came too late to act on, Iraqi security officials said Sunday as outraged lawmakers pressed for answers about Iraq's ability to protect the capital. Even news that 13 al-Qaida-linked suspects have been detained in connection with the bombings did little to quell the angry parliament members, who shouted down security officials as they tried to defend their forces.
http://www.google.com/
Iraq will be ‘big player’ at OPEC meet: US diplomat
iraqoil Iraq will be big player at OPEC meet: US diplomatIraq will be a "big player" at OPEC's meeting in Angola later this month over its allocated crude production quota following a string of deals with oil majors, a senior US embassy official said on Sunday.
http://rawstory.com/2009/12/
Iraqis oppose censorship laws - 13 Dec 09
Following the fall of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship in Iraq, the country's cultural scene witnessed a revolution and previously banned material became widely available. Six years have passed since the Iraqi leader was deposed and the government is placing new restrictions on books and websites. However, some Iraqis fear that implementing such restrictions is the beginning of more limits on their freedom. Al Jazeera's Omar Saleh reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
SYRIA: Poverty suspected of fuelling child labour among Iraqi refugees
Source: IRIN Aseel Ali*, aged 16, and her mother - both refugees from Iraq - earn just enough (US$174 per month between them) in a Damascus handicraft workshop to pay their rent and buy food.
http://www.alertnet.org/
1.2 million Iraqis have fled to Syria, official says
Nearly 1.2 million Iraqis have fled their country for safety in neighboring Syria, a high-ranking Syrian government official said. The Iraqis fled following the 2003-U.S. invasion and the ensuing upsurge in violence and absence of law and order. Syria’s Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad said Iraqi refugees, though a strain on his country’s economy, had the right to enjoy public amenities like their Syrian counterparts.
http://www.azzaman.com/
Are deaths from violence in Iraq being under-reported?
BBC Video Report: The Iraqi government is being accused of under-reporting the number of people killed after weeks of deadly violence.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
Who is counting the bodies in Iraq?
Mr Maliki's political reputation was built largely on his apparent success in bringing violence levels down following the US troop surge in 2007. Now, this image of a man who could keep Baghdad safe has been tarnished.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/
Lebanon
Hezbollah rules out war with Israel
Hezbollah deputy leader sheikh Naim Qassem has ruled out a war with Israel, but says the movement is fully ready to repel any assault by the regime on the country. "We have an interest in adhering to resolution 1701, since it certainly preserves the achievements of the resistance [Hezbollah], and of Lebanon's forces," he told the Lebanese daily Al-Akbar on Sunday.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.
Fadlallah warns Iran of US conspiracy
Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah on Sunday warned Iran of an "impending American conspiracy about to engulf the Muslim world." Speaking from his home in Beirut's Haret Hreik neighborhood, Fadlallah warned Iranian leaders about what he called the "timetable put forth by the Americans to negotiate Tehran's nuclear-generating capability, saying.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Hariri visit seals a good year for Syria
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's proposed visit to Syria this month concludes a year in which Damascus has rediscovered itself in world affairs. While the anti -Syrian craze in Beirut been silenced, however, broader issues, particularly regarding Israel, Iraq and Iran, will be much more difficult to negotiate. - Sami Moubayed (Dec 14, '09)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/
Afghanistan
US 'militarising' Afghanistan aid
A number of aid organisations have told Al Jazeera they have turned down funding from the US government as the money has strings attached to military operations.
http://english.aljazeera.net/
Why Do Airstrikes in Afghanistan Keep Killing Exactly 30 People?
On Monday, the anonymous blogger Security Crank noticed something interesting: all the U.S. and NATO airstrikes in Afghanistan seemingly kill exactly 30 people every time. How can that be?
http://www.alternet.org/world/
U.S. and Other World News
US refuses to allow UN inspectors to investigate its WMDs
The United States said Wednesday that it remained opposed to international inspections of biological weapon sites, even though it stressed its commitment to a UN treaty covering such arms and invaded Iraq in part over its alleged stalling of -- UN weapons inspectors.
http://rawstory.com/2009/12/
Diplomat, scientist among 11 Iranians 'held by US'
The Mehr news agency said the foreign ministry is "vigorously" pursuing diplomatic means to obtain the release of the Iranians, three of whom have allegedly been detained in countries outside the United States on Washington's request.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
Judge finds Pentagon in contempt in Gitmo case
A federal judge has found the Defense Department in contempt of court for failing to videotape the testimony of a prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay.
http://www.google.com/
David Ignatius is mourning: the fingernail factory is dead
"Kheir at his best was among the greatest Arab intelligence officers of his generation. He ran a series of masterful penetration operations against Palestinian extremist groups and, later, al-Qaeda. "He set the standard for how we do it," said one former CIA officer who worked closely with him." Don't you like it: those who ostensibly complain about the lack of democracy in the Middle East, are themselves the ones who write tribute to our executioners, killers, and torturers. He even portrays his torture technique as a skill: "and I'm sure that it didn't get the nickname "the fingernail factory" for nothing."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
On Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Lobby: A response to Peter Beinart
At the risk of sounding self-congratulatory, one measure of the impact that our book on the Israel lobby has had is the lengths that some critics go in their attempts to discredit it. The latest entrant into this field is recovering Iraq hawk Peter Beinart, who earlier this week offered a new and truly goofy "refutation" of our argument about the lobby’s role in causing the Iraq war.
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/
Iran to try detained US citizens
Hikers to face trial after entering the country "with suspicious aims", Tehran says.
http://english.aljazeera.net//
Reshuffling the Cards? (I): Syria's Evolving Strategy
Syria’s foreign policy has long been a contradictory mix of militancy and pragmatism, but new dynamics create opportunities for the U.S. if it does more to deepen its engagement. This Crisis Group report examines changes in Damascus’s outlook and concludes that further shifts will hinge on the regime’s assessment of the costs of its choices, both in terms of domestic stability and regional standing. That, in turn, largely will depend on what other parties do. This is the first part of a Crisis Group report that analyses changes in Syria’s regional approach and prospects for improved relations with Washington. The second part with further details will be published shortly.
http://www.crisisgroup.org/
Anti-Muslim graffiti found on French mosque
Assailants scrawl Nazi slogans, hang pig feet on Muslim worship site in town of Castres. French interior minister denounces attack calling it 'racist desecration,' says will appoint clerk to address war on racism, anti-Semitism.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
www.TheHeadlines.org
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