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Shadi Fadda brings us todays headlines and other news from around the internet. Land theft/Settlers
The Bedouin: Squatters on their own land
In Jerusalem, most souvenir shops sell postcards depicting camels crossing the Negev desert, which constitutes most of southern Israel. These cards rarely feature the people who’ve been roaming the desert for centuries alongside these camels, the Arab Bedouin. Many still live in a precarious situation, some 60 years after they were displaced from their lands during the early days of the State of Israel.
http://www.alertnet.org/
Quarter of Israeli settlements violate building ban: group (AFP)
AFP - A quarter of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank have begun new construction despite a government order banning new housing starts, an anti-settlement group said on Monday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Israel mulls NIS 500M 'heritage' trails that reach into West Bank
Netanyahu at Herzliya Conference: Our continued existence relies on our knowledge of Israel's legacy.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Three Villages In The Hebron Hills
Settler violence. Drought. Tension with the Israeli military. Poverty. Palestinians in the Hebron Hills have seen their fair share of problems. The Palestine Monitor highlights the current situations in three villages located in the Hebron Hills. All photographs were taken by Brady Ng.
http://www.palestinemonitor.
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Planting trees, building bases in Bethlehem
February 16th, 2010-- Last week, Occupation forces act on their intentions to re-establish a military base in Beit Sahour. Despite the protests of residents, soldiers declared the area a closed military zone, bringing in heavy machinery to begin work. Also around Bethlehem last week, activists planted olive trees near the Wall in a symbolic display of steadfastness and a refusal to be uprooted from their land.
http://stopthewall.org/
Divestment campaign gains traction at U of Arizona
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/
Salam Al Marayati: Free 11 Muslim Students Representing America's Conscience
The university needs to acknowledge the history of institutional harassment of Muslim students as they engage in campus activism. Muslim students complain that their requests for Palestinian speakers to be hosted by the university, similar to the hosting of Ambassador Michael Oren, are typically rejected or ignored. In contrast to the treatment of Muslim students at UCI, anti-abortion hecklers against the President of the United States do not receive the same scrutiny as pro-Palestinian Muslim students at Irvine. Two individuals heckled the President at Notre Dame's commencement last year when President Obama resided as principal speaker. "Abortion is murder!" and "Stop Killing Babies!" they yelled, after which they were escorted out. They were opposing Obama's pro-choice stance, and no arrests were made. Over 100 protesters demonstrated at Notre Dame as well.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Settlement goods banned in PA-controlled cities
Ramallah – Ma'an – The cabinet of the Ramallah-based Palestinian government voted on Monday to approve a law prohibiting the entrance of settlement goods into areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority. During the weekly cabinet meeting in Ramallah, ministers said they approved the legislation as settlements amount to "an attack on the Palestinian territories, and violate international law."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
‘It’s apartheid so you shouldn’t put a ring on it’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Check out video and photos from US Campaign member group Adalah-NY protesting outside of Israeli settlement builder Lev Leviev's New York City diamond shop.
http://endtheoccupationblog.
Kuwaiti newspaper fined over pro-Israel advert (AFP)
AFP - A Kuwaiti newspaper was fined 3,000 dinars (10,400 dollars) for printing a pro-Israeli advertisement justifying the Jewish state's war on Gaza, Al-Jarida newspaper reported on Monday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Rejecting Normalization
Egyptian Arab sport gave a new slap to Zionist normalization projects towards Arab states that started 30 years ago, when the Egyptian Football union neglected a second invitation by the Zionist Football Union to the Egyptian Arab national team to play a friendly game in the Zionist entity against the enemy’s national team after Egypt won the African Nations Cup. The matter became clear when the technical manager, Captain Hassan Shehateh rejected the idea of playing with “Israel” as “impossible”, because the Palestinian Arab people’s rights are wronged, condemning just the idea that “Israelis” would think of inviting Egypt to play with them, or even suggesting the idea.
http://palestinethinktank.com/
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign hosted Dr Mustafa Barghouthi
Dr Mustafa Barghouthi's speech at the Annual General Meeting of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) did not fail to be one of the most eloquent and informative that you will hear from any visiting Palestinian representative today: beginning with the words of Nelson Mandela: “Our Freedom will never be complete until the Palestinian people are free.” He continued by discussing the urgent needs of the Palestinians, the overwhelming domination of the Israeli viewpoint in the media, and the subsequent reluctance of the international community to stand up for these oppressed peoples.
http://www.palestinemonitor.
Violence/Aggression
Israeli vehicle hits a Palestinian in Sheikh Jarrah
Jerusalem, February 16, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - A vehicle that belongs to the municipality of Jerusalem hit a citizen Tuesday in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. The vehicle was there to help demolish the tent of Al- Ghaoui family, who had been evicted from their home by settlers. The family has been forced from their protest tent 16 times so far.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/
Child Wounded By Israeli Fire In Central Gaza
Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported on Sunday evening that a Palestinian child suffered moderate wounds after the Israeli army bombarded a number of homes in the Juhr al-Deek area, in central Gaza.
http://www.imemc.org/index.
IOF raids central Gaza
Gaza Strip, February 16, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Israeli occupation forces carried out an incursion in the afternoon in the central Gaza Strip. According to local sources, 6 Israeli military vehicles, accompanied by three armored bulldozers, penetrated approximately 300 meters east of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. The sources added that the Israeli vehicles and bulldozers began combing the area and razed some citizens' lands amid intensive fire towards houses in the area. The Israeli shelling caused widespread damage to some houses and created a state of panic among the citizens-- especially children-- without reported injuries.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/
IOF invades 2 towns in Hebron
February 16, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli occupation forces raided on Tuesday Seir and Al-Shouokh towns, and a house in the old town of Hebron in the West Bank. Local sources said that a number of Israeli military troops raided the towns in early morning, and they roamed their neighborhoods before withdrawing from the towns. The sources did not report arrests or raids on houses, but roaming in the neighborhoods frightened many citizens who feared attacks by Israeli soldiers. However, security sources said that occupation forces stormed a house in Shalala Street in the old town of Hebron, causing major damage to it.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/
The Israeli Military & Police Raid Palestinian Areas in Jerusalem to Enforce Taxes
The Israeli police forces, along with Israeli soldiers, stormed a number of Palestinian neighborhoods, on Monday, to enforce resident to bay taxes.
http://www.imemc.org/index.
Israeli policemen attack committee of Zakat in Aqsa Mosque
Israeli policemen and intelligence officers on Sunday stormed and ransacked the headquarters of the Zakat committee in the Aqsa Mosque.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Violent Zionists Tour Sheikh Jarrah
At approximately 1 pm today, roughly 20 Zionist tourists entered the yard of the occupied al-Kurd home in Sheikh Jarrah as part of a settlement promotion tour. Verbally harassing both Palestinian residents and Internationals and attempting to block their cameras, tourists listened as a guide expounded upon the religious claims which Zionists use to justify the eviction of Palestinians from their homes. After concluding with song, the tourists passed through the gate as several verbally attacked Palestinians present. 85-year-old Rifqa al-Kurd was roughly pushed while observing the visitors. Upon crossing the street to view the Gawi home, a particularly violent woman verbally attacked an ISM activist, flinging the activist’s camera several meters into the air.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/
Detentions
Jerusalem police arrests minors in the middle of the night
An investigation by B'Tselem has revealed a few cases in which minors aged 12-15, residents of Silwan, East Jerusalem, were unlawfully arrested in the middle of the night and taken, their hands cuffed, for interrogation on suspicion of stone throwing.
http://www.btselem.org/
Sheikh Jarrah woman arrested as far-right MK tours settler-occupied homes
Sheikh Jarrah resident, 45 year old Fatima Diab was arrested by Israeli police on Saturday evening, February 13, following the provocative appearance of far-right Knesset member Micheal Bin Ari at the Al-Gawi home in solidarity with the extremist settlers occupying the house. Diab was released on a bail of 2000 shekels following an appearance in Jerusalem District Court on February 14.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/
At least 15 detained at West Bank checkpoint
Tulkarem – Ma'an – Israeli forces detained more than 15 youths at a checkpoint in the northern West Bank on Monday, onlookers said. Ma'an's correspondent, reporting from the scene, said 15 young Palestinians were being held up at the At-Tunib checkpoint near Deir Sharaf, between Tulkarem and Nablus. According to the correspondent, the searches were humiliating because all the detainees were being forced to hold their hands in the air for no apparent reason as people passed by. He added that dozens of vehicles were also held up at the checkpoint. Forces were searching the cars intensively and making any young males found inside step out for inspection. An Israeli military spokesman did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
IOF troops detain 2 Palestinians, raid Shafat & northern Gaza
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested two Palestinians near Bethlehem city at dawn Tuesday and took them for interrogation, Hebrew media reported.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Palestinian prisoner released after 10 years in prison
Feb. 15, 2010 (Pal Telegraph)- Israel has released Palestinian prisoner Eyad Abu Shiha. He was received after serving 10 years in Israeli jails by the Waed Society for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners and a large mass of Palestinians from the northern Gaza Strip. Abu Shiha, 33, was arrested on July 16, 2000, at the Erez checkpoint. During his imprisonment, Abu Shiha was moved to several prisons: Nafha, Ashkelon and the Negev desert.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/
Locals say Gaza man held without charge in Egypt since 2008
Gaza – Ma'an – Friends and colleagues of a Gaza man said this week that he has been held without charge or trial in an Egyptian jail since early 2008 when he and hundreds of thousands of other Palestinians breached the border wall into Egypt. Ayman Noufal’s supporters say he was arrested on 27 January 2008. Militants in Gaza dynamited the border wall separating Gaza from Egypt, allowing thousands to cross into Egypt to buy goods made scarce by the Israeli-led blockade.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Refugees
Conference debates Palestinian refugee population’s right to work in Lebanon
BEIRUT: Granting Palestinian refugees the right to work remains a political hot potato in Lebanon, as a conference on Monday proved. The Committee for Employment of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon (CEP), with support from Norwegian People’s Aid, gathered representatives from major political parties, labor unions, international organizations.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Siege/Blockade/Humanitarian Issues
Israel bombs Gaza's agricultural sector to the brink
Since the first constraints of the siege on Gaza were imposed nearly four years ago, the destruction of Gaza's agricultural sector and potential to provide produce and economy to a severely undernourished Strip has dramatically worsened. With Palestinians in Gaza now largely dependent on the expensive Israeli produce that is inconsistently allowed into Gaza, the plight of the farmers reverberates throughout the population. Eva Bartlett reports from the occupied Gaza Strip.
http://electronicintifada.net/
Defending Palestinian children: An interview with Rifat Kassis
Defence for Children International-Palestine Section aims to protect the rights of children and minors living in occupied Palestine. The Electronic Intifada contributor Adri Nieuwhof recently interviewed director Rifat Kassis about DCI-PS's work and the special situation of Palestinian children growing up under occupation.
http://electronicintifada.net/
MIDEAST: Gaza's Female Scribes Face Worse Than Discrimination, Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH, Feb 15, 2010 (IPS) - Female journalists worldwide complain about discrimination on the grounds of gender. However, their colleagues in Gaza also face death threats, the dangers of working in a war zone and the struggle for daily necessities as the Israeli siege on Gaza drags on.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?
Education under Attack 2010 - Israel/the Palestinian Autonomous Territories
During the Israeli military operation in Gaza at the turn of 2008-2009, ten schools and eight kindergartens were destroyed and at least 262 other schools and kindergartens were damaged or severely damaged. Six university buildings were destroyed and 16 were damaged. An Israeli air strike also destroyed the American International School in Gaza, killing the guard. According to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), 250 students and 15 teachers were killed, and 656 students and 19 teachers were injured. According to the UN, the main causes of the killings included shootings during Israeli Defence Force raids, missile strikes and tank shellings by Israeli forces, and armed clashes between Palestinian factions. Ninety-six per cent of the killings resulted from Israeli military action, while four per cent were caused by Palestinian factional fighting. The UN Secretary-General reported 27 incidents of raids on government and UNRWA schools by the Israeli Defence Force and Israeli settlers from September 2007 to December 2009. There have been allegations that Hamas used children as shields and used schools, or areas in their proximity, to launch rockets into Israel. The UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict reported one incident of Israeli Defence Forces using an 11-year-old boy as a shield even when fired upon.
http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/
War Criminals/Zionism
'Livni may cause own arrest to shame U.K. into changing law'
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni reportedly indicated on Sunday that she would be willing to travel to the U.K. in order to provoke her own arrest, hoping thus to move London into changing a controversial law enabling the arrest of visiting politicians, the London Times reported on Monday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
The banner in the background reads “We are all Kahana; Kahana was right.”
http://coteret.com/2010/02/11/
Israeli poll: 75 percent favour deporting fellow citizens; Netanyahu favours birth control
A survey conducted by the Israeli Knesset channel shows that 75 percent of Israeli Jews are in favour of deporting Israeli-Arab citizens to a future Palestinian state as part of any deal between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority. Almost seven hundred people representing a sample of the Jewish public in Israel were asked if it could be justified to demand the deportation of Arab citizens of the Zionist state as part of a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Twenty-five percent rejected the idea outright; of the 75 percent who agreed with deportation, 28 percent said all Arabs should be deported, 19 percent preferred deportation only from certain areas, while 28 percent said that deportation should be based on a “loyalty test”.
http://jnoubiyeh.blogspot.com/
Political Developments/Diplomacy
Shabana threatens a bombshell against Abbas, PA officials
Fahmi Shabana Al-Tamimi, the Palestinian intelligence officer, has threatened Tuesday to drop a bomb shell that would block Mahmoud Abbas's participation in the upcoming Arab summit.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
PA officer suspected of plotting to kill Fatah officials
Mujahed Nimer, high-ranking officer in Palestinian security apparatus, arrested on suspicion of heading cell plotting to assassinate Palestinian Authority officials. Four other suspects detained.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Abbas seeks U.S. answers before talking to Israel (Reuters)
Reuters - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday he was still waiting for the United States to explain how it might help restart peace talks before he will consider reopening those negotiations.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
26 Arab parliamentarians arrive in Gaza
The Palestinian legislative council (PLC) said that a 26-member delegation of Arab parliamentarians is due in the Gaza Strip at noon Monday on a two-day visit to the beleaguered Strip.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Brian Baird says US should break Gaza blockade by ‘our version of the Berlin airlift’!
This should be making the news: Baird has called on George Mitchell, the Obama administration’s envoy to the Middle East, to visit the Gaza Strip and witness the destruction caused by the Israeli onslaught last year. And, most importantly, he urged the United States to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/
Let’s cut out the middleman
Mort Zuckerman is thinking of running for Senate from NY, taking on weak incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand: From 2001 to 2003, Zuckerman served as chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. His Upper East Side home frequently plays host to prominent Israeli visitors; Zuckerman visits Israel often and is involved in a number of Jewish and Israeli causes.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/
U.S. denies dropping demand for Israel settlement freeze
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday dismissed Palestinian claims that the Obama administration had rescinded on its demand for Israel to halt activity in West Bank settlements.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Medvedev to PM: We have special relations with Israel
Netanyahu meets with Russian president to discuss Iranian threat. At start of meeting, two discuss special relations between their countries. Medvedev: Victory over Nazis is joint victory. Netanyahu says Holocaust denial must be battled.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Biden to make Mideast tour early March (AFP)
AFP - US Vice President Joe Biden will tour the Middle East in early March with stops in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt and Jordan, the White House said Monday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Lieberman: Palestinian Authority behind campaign to smear Israel
Much of the global effort to de-legitimize Israel is supported and sponsored by the Palestinian Authority, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told a Knesset committee on Monday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Lieberman: Territorial Compromise in Mideast Is an 'Illusion'
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he has no faith in the Palestinians, because of the lawsuits they have filed against Israeli officials around the world. In a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee session on Monday, Lieberman said, "Today, when the entire Middle East is ablaze, in Yemen, the World Jihad, Iraq, Hezbollah, etc, anyone who plants the illusion that we can reach an agreement at a moment's notice through a territorial compromise is delusional." The Israeli foreign minister accused the Palestinian Authority of heading a delegitimizing campaign against Israel, "part of which is funded by money that we transfer to the Palestinians."
http://almanar.com.lb/
Ayalon: Abu Mazen is no different than Arafat, he talks peace while dealing terror, Ira Glunts
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon made a statement during an interview published in the London Arabic language daily, A-Sharq Al-Awsat that would certainly surprise and anger the American Middle East envoy George Mitchell. According to the Hebrew version of their Ha’aretz article, “Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon: The Settlements Are Not An Obstacle To A Peace Agreement,” David Ravid and Jack Khoury report that Ayalon claimed that the United States and Israel have a united position in regard to the subject of Palestine which assumes: Abu Mazen is no different than Arafat, he called for a return to terror at a Fatah conference. On one hand he speaks of peace and wants gestures from our side and on the other hand he attacks us.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/
Deputy FM Ayalon: Arab MKs 'represent Palestinians'
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon slammed Arab members of Knesset, saying they had "proven more than once that they represent the Palestinians." Ayalon added, "An MK advising Arafat is like a member of Congress advising the Taliban."
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Netanyahu to Hamas: Israel's offer for Shalit is final
MOSCOW - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday asked Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to tell Hamas that Israel will not sweeten its offer for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Extra-Judicial Assassination
Palestinians held in Dubai over Hamas militant murder (AFP)
AFP - Dubai police said Tuesday it is questioning two Palestinians suspected of involvement in the murder of a top Hamas militant, after having named an 11-member hit team travelling on European passports.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Dubai police hunt Hamas killers
Dubai's chief of police says an 11-member hit squad carrying European passports was responsible for last month's murder of a prominent Hamas member. Mahmud al-Mabhuh was found dead in his luxury hotel room. Police have said they will issue arrest warrants soon. Two Palestinians suspected of providing logistical support have also been detained. Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin reports from Gaza. (Feb 16, 2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Hamas probing Dubai murder with help of Iran and Syria
Although the government of Dubai has refused to involve Hamas in its probe into a group leader's assassination there last month, a Paris-based journal has revealed that the Islamist movement is conducting its own investigation with help from Iran and Syria.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
'11 Europeans' wanted in Dubai
Police in Dubai investigating the killing of a Hamas militant say the suspects are 11 people with European passports.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-
Yossi Melman / Dubai assassins used Mossad methods to kill Hamas leader
What makes the security camera shots released last night by the Dubai police interesting is the professionalism exhibited by the suspected assassins of senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Israeli with same name of alleged Dubai assassin swears it's a mistake
A man in Israel with the same name as an alleged member of a hit squad that assassinated a top Hamas militant in Dubai said on Tuesday he was "angry, upset and scared" over what he called a misidentification.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Attacks/Restrictions on Media
Israeli soldiers fire on news photographers during East Jerusalem clashes
Around 10 of the journalists who went to cover a major Israeli military operation in the Shu'fat refugee camp, in East Jerusalem, were targeted by Israeli soldiers firing tear-gas grenades, stun grenades and rubber bullets on 8 and 9 February. "Everything indicates that Israeli soldiers deliberately fired on the journalists," Reporters Without Borders said. "And this is far from being the first time. Will the Israeli authorities ever put a stop to the impunity allowed to their soldiers? We urge the Israeli military to investigate and punish those responsible. Otherwise this sort of disgraceful incident will keep recurring."
http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/
UK journalist to be detained for ‘harming’ Gaza security: Hamas
GAZA City, Gaza Strip: Hamas officials said Monday that a British freelance journalist detained in Gaza will be held for 15 days, an unprecedented step against a foreigner since the Islamic militants seized Gaza in 2007. Documentary filmmaker Paul Martin was detained on Sunday at a Gaza military tribunal where he was to testify on behalf of a Gaza man accused of collaborating with Israel.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Press forum condemns arrest of journalists by PA
Gaza – Ma'an – The Palestinian Press Forum condemned the detention of a journalist by Palestinian Authority forces on Monday after being summoned to the Palestinian intelligence forces. Ma'ath Mash'al, 24, was called on to present himself for questioning on Saturday and his family was informed that evening of Mash'al's arrest, sources said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
PA Marshal Court sentence a Palestinian Journalist to 18 months in jail
On Tuesday, Palestinian Marshal Court in Nablus city, southern West Bank, sentenced a Palestinian Journalist to 18 months in jail.
http://www.imemc.org/index.
PCHR condemns shooting incident at Qalqiliya journalist's home
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) called for investigations into a shooting incident at the home of journalist Mostafa Sabri in Qalqiliya on Thursday, in which no injures were reported. According to investigations conducted by the PCHR, including the testimony of Sabri's wife, unknown gunmen fired at the house of Mostafa Ali Abdullah Sabri, 43, in the Ghyada neighborhood of Qalqiliya city in the northern West Bank at approximately midnight on Thursday, according to a statement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Other news
Most Hamas police applicants only want jobs
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Take this for a measure of Gaza's economic woes: When the territory's Hamas rulers announced plans to hire about 1,000 new policemen, 15,000 applied. Only a few of those reporting for fitness tests one recent afternoon expressed an interest in police work or said they belonged to the Islamic militant group. Most just wanted a job.
http://www.google.com/
Pesticides to blame for wave of Parkinson's in Israeli Arab town
Israeli researchers say the unusual frequency of Parkinson's disease in Baqa al-Gharbiyeh is linked to pesticides sprayed in nearby fields. The researchers from Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva, Ben-Gurion University, the Clalit HMO and the Hillel Yaffeh Medical Center examined the prevalence of Parkinson's disease in the communities in Wadi Ara in the north. Compared to the relatively low incidence of the disease in Umm al-Fahm, with 34.84 cases per 100,000 residents, and even fewer in Kafr Qara, 25.45 per 100,000, as well as Ara and Arara, 18.45 per 100,000, Baqa al-Gharbiyeh stands out. That city has 73.39 cases per 100,000 residents.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Islamic Movement launches anti-violence campaign
Ambitious program led by Sheikh Raed Salah aims to eradicate growing violence within Arab community.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Marriage rates in Gaza peak in 2009, divorce rates fall
Gaza – Ma'an – The marriage rate in Gaza peaked in 2009, with 18,571 couples signing marriage contracts, according to a report issued by the de facto Higher Judicial Council on personal status on Sunday. The report additionally revealed that divorce rates were the lowest recorded since the consensus began, with 2,593 divorces registered.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Students to shut down Al-Quds University
Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Student Senate at Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem declared a shutdown of the university effective Tuesday amid mounting strife over financial aid. A communiqué from the Student Senate on Monday night said classes at the Abu Dis campus would be “suspended until further notice.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Selling a piece of Palestinian Main Street
A new private equity fund hopes to raise cash to invest in small and medium-sized businesses in the territories. Is the West Bank ready for Wall Street?
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/
Hollywood Lands In Jenin
Jenin's grand old cinema has been shut down and neglected for more than twenty years, since the start of the first Intifada. This idea to renovate came from Marcus Vetter, the famous German film-maker, who was awarded the ‘Cinema for Peace' award last year for his documentary "The heart of Jenin". One problem arose at the time: How would it be shown to the people of Jenin?
http://www.palestinemonitor.
New harassment claims against Rabbi Elon
Since original case exposed, other young people turn to Takana forum, saying they were also victims of sexual harassment. Forum to hold emergency meeting.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Analysis/Opinion
Johann Hari: The loathsome smearing of Israel's critics
In the US and Britain, there is a campaign to smear anybody who tries to describe the plight of the Palestinian people. It is an attempt to intimidate and silence – and to a large degree, it works. There is nobody these self-appointed spokesmen for Israel will not attack as anti-Jewish: liberal Jews, rabbis, even Holocaust survivors.
http://www.independent.co.uk/
Talk to Hamas
As Israeli soldiers we hang our heads in shame over last year's attack on Gaza's civilian population. Dialogue, not war, is needed. The Israeli media marked the one-year anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, the war on Gaza, almost as a celebration. The operation is recognised almost unanimously in Israel as a military triumph, a combat victory over one of Israel's deadliest enemies: Hamas. As combat soldiers of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), we have serious doubts about this conclusion, primarily because hardly any combat against Hamas took place during the operation. As soon as the operation started, Hamas went underground.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Occupation 101, Philip Weiss
The other day I did a post called Role Model, after Ahmed Moor pointed out that American troops are learning to "cut the grass" in Afghanistan just the way the Israelis cut the grass in the occupied territories. Well, a smart reader pointed out that this has been going on for a long time. Remember the piece by Dexter Filkins early in the Iraq war about the American army learning its rules of engagement from the IDF– 2003, "Tough New Tactics…"
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/02/
Israel Gets More Comfortable with Status Quo, Tony Karon
It was certainly a courageous decision by De Klerk [20 years ago], but it’s important to remember that it was not some epiphany about the immorality of apartheid that changed his mind. By 1989, with the Cold War essentially over, Pretoria had gotten the message that it could no longer count on U.S. support to head off sanctions and other international pressure in the name of anticommunist solidarity. Financial sanctions were beginning to bite and the price of maintaining the status quo was beginning to appear prohibitive. De Klerk, to his credit, realized that his people had more to gain from negotiating from a position of relative strength. And the political unrest in the black townships, combined with the expanding sanctions and growing isolation, helped him make the case to his own electorate.
http://www.time.com/time/
Jaffa struggles to be left in peace, Jonathan Cook
JAFFA, ISRAEL // Over the past few days graffiti scrawled on walls around the mixed Jewish and Arab town of Jaffa in central Israel exclaims: “Settlers, keep out” and “Jaffa is not Hebron”. Although Jaffa is only a stone’s throw from the bustling coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, Arab residents say their neighbourhood has become the unlikely battleground for an attempted takeover by extremist Jews more familiar from West Bank settlements. Small numbers of nationalist religious Jews, distinctive for wearing knitted skullcaps, have begun moving into Jaffa’s deprived main Arab district, Ajami, over recent months.
http://www.jkcook.net/
Questioning the "Special Relationship" with Israel
A "regional economic power." That's how ANIMA, the Euro-Mediterranean Network of Investment Promotion Agencies encompassing 70 governmental agencies and international networks, described Israel in its January 2010 Mediterranean Investment Map. The report analyzed the economies of the 27 European Union countries as well as 9 "partner countries." And who can argue. Touting an annual GDP growth rate around 5% for the years 2004 to 2008, Israel was also ranked 27 out of 132 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report last fall. It ranked 9th for innovative capacity.
http://www.counterpunch.com/
Samer Mustafa – Once upon a time at a check point
Dearest May, this is Samer; how are you and your family? I hope that you all are just fine. I am writing this note to tell you about a strange thing that I witnessed at the infamous Qalandia check point northern of Jerusalem, which is one of Israel’s new version of border crossing facilities designated to prevent West Bank Palestinians – holding Palestinian green colored IDs – from entering the city of Jerusalem without holding a special military permit; its also built to torment Jerusalem Palestinians – holding some kind of an Israeli blue colored ID – who are living outside the official Jerusalem Israeli municipality borders. It is enforced by a rather silly cement barrier which is literally slicing the Palestinian urban fabric, separating people and families.
http://palestinethinktank.com/
Iraq
Bomb in northern Iraq kills two
Iraqi authorities say a car bomb has exploded outside a police crime lab in northern Iraq, killing at least two people.
http://www.independent.co.uk/
Monday: 10 Iraqis Killed, 8 Wounded
At least 10 Iraqis were killed and eight more were wounded in light violence, some of which struck out at election candidates. Meanwhile, the controversy of an elections ban that threatens to destabilize the country continues to dominate the headlines. Also, there was new testimony at a British inquiry into the death of an Iraqi hotel worker at the hands of British troops.
http://original.antiwar.com/
Education under Attack 2010 - Iraq
Between March 2003 and October 2008, 31,598 violent attacks against educational institutions were reported in Iraq, according to the Ministry of Education (MoE).508 Although overall security in Iraq had improved, the situation faced by schools, students, teachers and academics remained dangerous. The MoE reported 259 academics assassinated, another 72 abducted and 174 in detention between 2003 and 2008. The Ministry of Human Rights, however, reported 340 university professors and 446 students killed by insurgents and militias between 2005 and 2007. UNAMI Human Rights Reports indicate that between July 2005 and late March 2007 more than a hundred students were killed, mostly by suicide bombs, car bombs and mortar rounds targeted at universities and schools, with more than half the deaths occurring in two incidents in January 2007.
http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/
Lebanon
Lebanon: Senior officer suspected of collaborating with Israel
lebanon spyLebanon's military prosecution has disclosed the suspected involvement of a senior army officer, in collaborating with Israel, and providing confidential information that helped the Jewish state to strike targets in Lebanon during its 2006 war against Lebanon. A Sharq al Awsat newspaper reported on Tuesday that judge Saqr Saqr, the government representative at the military court, had charged Army Lt. Col. Ghazwan Shaheen with "dealing with the Israeli Intelligence" (the Mossad), and providing information on ilitary and civilian sites during the latest war. Shaheen could face the death penalty if convicted.
http://www.albawaba.com/en/
Hezbollah urges France to 'rein in' Israel (AFP)
AFP - Hezbollah on Tuesday urged France to "rein in Israeli aggressiveness" amid heightened concern in Beirut over recent Israeli warnings to the Shiite militant movement and its backer Syria.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
U.S. and other world news
U.S. Forces Kill Children, Other Civilians in Marjah, Afghanistan, with "Precision" Weapons
An errant American rocket strike on Sunday hit a compound crowded with Afghan civilians in the last Taliban stronghold in Helmand Province, killing at least 10 people, including 5 children, military officials said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
US, Turkish officials get physical in Qatar
A fight broke out between high-ranking US and Turkish officials at a meeting held between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Qatar. The fight was reported between the US ambassador to Qatar and an advisor to the Turkish prime minister at the end of a 20-minute meeting between Clinton and Erdogan on Monday. The altercation took place after the US envoy entered the room to remind those present to close the meeting as the time was over. In response, Erdogan's adviser said, "It is not for you to judge the importance of our meeting, you offend our country," the Turkish daily Today's Zaman reported. The quarrel led to physical confrontation and the two diplomats were separated with difficulty.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.
Hillary Clinton in Doha
Hillary (apparently that's how the media in Qatar refer to her!) is visiting the lovely shores of Qatar. Ms. Clinton, the US Secretary of State addressed the US-Islamic Forum this evening and is doing a town hall meeting tomorrow. Al Jazeera had this report on her speech. At the US-Islamic Forum the situation in Gaza seemed to be a focal point at the conference, with the Turkish Prime Minister and Qatari Prime Minister both speaking passionately about resolving the humanitarian crisis.
http://www.qatarliving.com/
A Royal Feast for Clinton in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah played host to Hillary Rodham Clinton at his desert camp, where the two watched television and chatted over a buffet lunch.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/
Saudi Arabia: Efforts to rid Mideast of nukes must apply to Israel
Amid growing Western efforts to impose harsher measures against Iran over its contentious nuclear, Saudi Arabia expressed doubts on Monday about the usefulness of imposing more sanctions.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Cheney 'a complete supporter' of Obama Afghan effort
"I'm a complete supporter of what they are doing in Afghanistan. I think the president made the right decision to send troops in. I'm not a critic, in teems of how they're dealing with that situation," Cheney told ABC's This Week program.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/
Jordanian group to sue Israel over Dimona reactor
Amman legal center for human rights plans to file lawsuit against Israel for 'ongoing, deliberate crimes' in many cases of death, cancer caused by radiation from nuclear facility.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
www.TheHeadlines.org
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