Shadi Fadda brings us today's headlines relating to Palestine and other news from around the internet.Land theft / Settlers
Israel to adjust wall's route in Bil`in
Attorney of Bil'in local council, Michael Sfard, said on Saturday that Israeli authorities informed him of the new route of the separation wall, adjusted according to a decision by the Israeli Supreme Court of Justice in 2007 ... Once the adjusted route is implemented, residents of Bil'in are expected to restore almost half of their 2,300 donums confiscated during the construction of the wall's original route. However, as the portion of the wall already built will be removed, farmers will expect significant damage to their olive groves located in the area.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
3 injured in clashes following Hebron protest
Three Palestinians from the village of Safa, north of Beit Ummer in Hebron, were injured when Israeli forces fired rubber-coated bullets as clashes erupted between locals, protesters and soldiers in the village on Saturday. Spokesman for the Palestine Solidarity Project, Mohammad Ayyad Awad said Israeli forces declared Safa a closed military zone, preventing farmers and protesters from accessing land.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Palestinians still waiting to use Highway 443
By Rachel Shabi. JERUSALEM // They start just after the Israeli checkpoint near the city of Modi’in, along this fast, scenic motorway that connects Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. All along the hilly road, vast concrete boulders, rubble heaps and piles of rubbish barricade access from several Palestinian villages. At one such barrier at the village of Beit Sira, cars with Israeli registration plates deposit groups of dusty-looking workers, who squeeze between the concrete boulders to the Palestinian cars and cabs that can take them back home.
http://www.thenational.ae/
PA security forces fire warning shots as settlers try to enter Nablus
Palestinian Authority security forces fired warning shots in the air after noticing a car of Israeli settlers travelling through a Palestinian checkpoint over the speed limit near Joseph's Tomb inside the West Bank city of Nablus, security sources told Ma`an ... The driver was asked to stop the vehicle but did not respond, following which security forces fired warning shots in the air. The car fled the scene, the sources said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Boycott, Sanctions & Divestment
Proposed measure calls for state divestment in Israel
A group calling itself the Israel Divestiture Forum has filed an initiative with the attorney general that would require [California] state pension funds to sever ties with Israeli companies or the Israeli government ... "It is the intent of this act to employ the same divestiture and boycott approach used to help bring down the Apartheid Government in South Africa,” the measure states.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.
Violence / Aggression
Israeli gunboats fire at Palestinian fishing boats
GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli navy gunboats attacked Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of northern Gaza Strip on Saturday but no casualties were reported. A security source and fishermen said that an Israeli gunboat fired at three fishing boats off the Sudaniya area inflicting material damage on them. They added that other fishing boats retreated from the scene. Around 3,500 Palestinians in the Strip work in fishing and are routinely harassed by Israeli gunboats.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Israel may charge cop over death of Palestinian boy
The central district attorney is set to serve an indictment, pending a hearing, against Omri Abo, who was then in the Border Police, on charges of negligent manslaughter in the fatal shooting of 10-year-old Ahmad Musa in the village of Naalin 18 months ago.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Extra-judicial killings / Assassinations
Israeli website publishes list of 13 top Hamas wanted activists
The Israel-based self-described intelligence and security news service debkafile published a list of 13 Hamas leaders allegedly "Israel's next targets for liquidation" on their website Friday. The service said the list was distributed by de facto government security services to members following the alleged assassination of Hamas military wing founder Mohammad Al-Mabhouh in Dubai on 19 January, citing "counter-terror sources." According to the service, the following 13 men and woman were notified of an imminent assassination threat:
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Report: Al-Mabhouh killers used Irish passports
The police sources cited by the Herald say the group of assassins, who are assumed to be Israeli, included at least one woman and entered the United Arab Emirates under the guise of Irish documents. A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman told the Herald, "We are aware of the media reports and we are in contact with authorities locally to try and determine the truth of the reports."
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Blockade
Gaza power plant shuts down one of its two generators amidst fuel crisis
The Gaza Energy Authority announced on Saturday that the sole power plant shut down one of its two generators as a result of the ongoing fuel shortage in the coastal enclave, a statement said. "The remaining amount of fuel is enough to operate one generator until Sunday morning," the statement added. "The power plant's capacity has dropped to 30 megawatts ... Gaza districts will suffer as a result, leaving the plant unable to provide power for around 50% of the residents. This will rise to 60% if bad weather continues as it causes electrical malfunctioning."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Gaza: 16 hurt in gas canister explosion
Sixteen people were injured when a gas canister exploded inside a Gaza City factory as cold weather, limited fuel and the imminent closure of the Gaza Power Plant force residents to seek alternative energy sources.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Egyptian security raids and detonates tunnel, foils ceramics smuggling
Al-Arish -- Egyptian authorities thwarted an attempt on Saturday to smuggle large amounts of ceramics into the Gaza Strip under Rafah, security sources said ... The smugglers fled the scene before security forces arrived, they said, adding that "the goods were seized and the tunnel was placed under security restrictions before detonating it." ... The sources added that smuggling attempts were significantly reduced as a result of Egypt's construction of a subterranean metal wall, which is being completed along the coast between Egypt and Gaza in Rafah, two kilometers from Gaza's sea shore. Large rocks, they said, are being placed in the sea.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Detention
70 Palestinian illegal aliens found in truck
Veteran police officers stunned after stopping suspicious truck at impromptu roadblock -- Seventy Palestinians who tried to get into Israel illegally were caught in the cooling container of a truck near Modiin on Saturday.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Friends of Humanity: 2009 the worst ever in history of Palestinian detainees
The organization said in a report that the Israeli prisons authority used during the year new ways to increase the psychological and physical pressure on those detainees so that they could not live a normal life if they were released one day. It explained that more than 1,000 prisoners suffering chronic diseases are medically neglected and more than 1,500 others, 775 of them from Gaza, are deprived of seeing their loved ones for long periods of time.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Assault on Gaza / War crimes / Goldstone report
Rights group outraged at Ban for dragging war crimes issue
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said "No determination can be made on the implementation of the resolution by the parties concerned," during the meeting of the General Assembly on Thursday, prompting an outcry from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. Ban made the statement, PCHR said, "despite the fact that Resolution A/Res/61/10 explicitly called for the Secretary-General to 'report on the implementation of the present resolution'."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Hamas 'regrets' civilian deaths, Israel unmoved (Reuters)
GAZA, Feb 5 - Hamas, in an unusual move that seems unlikely to herald a change in tactics by the Islamist group, has expressed regret for the deaths of Israeli civilians in Palestinian rocket attacks during fighting in Gaza a year ago. Israel, where Hamas suicide bombers have killed hundreds of civilians over two decades [not since January 2005], dismissed any apology for the three non-combatants hit by rockets from Gaza in the war as insincere.
http://www.alertnet.org/
Rivals slam Hamas for 'apology' to Israel (Reuters)
GAZA, Feb 6 - * Hamas rivals Fatah condemn expression of regret to Israel * Say Islamists should first apologise for dead Palestinians * Hamas officials insist report did not contain "apology" -- Hamas, which unlike Fatah has rejected peace negotiations with Israel, said in the report obtained by Reuters on Friday that it did not target civilians but that it simply lacked technology to aim more accurately at Israeli military targets.
http://www.alertnet.org/
Continuing assault on leftists, human rights organizations in Israel
Amid row over contentious ad, Jerusalem Post fires Naomi Chazan of New Israel Fund
Chazan had provided the daily with one of its few leftist voices in recent years ... Meanwhile, the storm provoked by the campaign has reached the Knesset. The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee rushed to set up a subcommittee to look into how foreign foundations sponsor Israeli organizations.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Political developments / Diplomacy
Abbas seeks clarification from US on peace talks offer
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that he had asked the United States to clarify its offer to mediate indirect peace talks with Israel before he would announce any decision to resume the negotiations.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Abbas: Reconciliation began in Egypt and will be finalized there
Following a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart on Saturday, President Mahmoud Abbas asserted that reconciliation will not be attained without Egypt playing a major role and that no other mediator will be called on, and discussed proximity talks put forward by US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Sha'ath leaves Gaza via Erez after talks
Member of Fatah's Central Committee Nabil Sha'ath left Gaza via the Erez crossing en route to Ramallah, following a series of meetings in the besieged costal enclave with Palestinian factional leaders and independent figures ... After meeting with Haniyeh, Sha'ath said he felt hopeful that reconciliation would be achieved before the Arab Summit next convenes in Libya in March.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Minister Braverman: Lieberman will increase Israel's isolation
"The foreign minister is busy with internal politics rather than diplomacy," Minorities Minister Avishay Braverman (Labor) told a cultural forum in Ramat Hasharon on Saturday two days after Avigdor Lieberman threatened Syria.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Other news
Qaraqe calls on British Mandate prisoner file to be opened
Minister of Prisoners' Affairs and Ex-Detainees Issa Qaraqe demanded that the files of Palestinian and Arab prisoners arrested during the British Mandate and following the 1948 war be opened to facilitate research and understanding into the era, he said on Saturday. The minister's statement follow a visit to the Hasan Al-Labadi Association, named after one of the longest-serving Palestinian prisoners arrested during the British Mandate.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
US contributes $40 million to UNRWA
At an official signing ceremony in the Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem on Thursday US Consul General Daniel Rubinstein announced that the US will contribute US$ 40 million to UNRWA to support its budget and emergency programs in the West Bank and Gaza ... The US is UNRWA's largest bilateral donor, having provided in 2009 over US$ 267 million...
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Palestinian volleyball team excluded from Arab championship
Palestinian volleyball teams will demand answers for a series of mistakes leading to the denial of registration for West Bank and Gaza teams in the 28th Arab Volleyball Championship. The games, set to start on 23 February, will go ahead with neither the Senjil Club from the West Bank nor the As-Sadaqa Club team from Gaza...
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Pilot who refused to bomb Palestinian targets gets 'golden wings'
Brig. Gen (res.) Iftach Spector, the highest-ranking officer to sign the "pilots' letter," declaring the refusal to participate in operations in the territories in 2003, was last week awarded the golden wings given to Israel Air Force pilots to mark the 50th anniversary of their graduation from flight school. The insignia was bestowed on Spector less than two weeks after the Israel Defense Forces decided to dismiss from service a Kfir Brigade soldier for waving a sign in support of refusing to evacuate unauthorized settler outposts in the West Bank.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Katz in favor of 'voluntary' bus segregation
Transportation Ministry submits recommendation to High Court in support of 'mehadrin' bus lines separating between men, women. Ultra-Orthodox sources praise decision, while objectors ask how safety of women who refuse to sit in back of buses will be ensured
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Israeli firm to supply US Army with cameras
The Jerusalem-based BAE Systems Rokar company has signed a $25 million contract with the US Army. The company will supply the American military with thermal night vision cameras.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Analysis / Opinion
Ethan Bronner's conflict with impartiality / Alison Weir
NYT's Israel editor's sticky situation -- Ethan Bronner is the New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief. As such, he is the editor responsible for all the news coming out of Israel-Palestine. It is his job to decide what gets reported and what doesn’t; what goes in a story and what gets cut. To a considerable degree, he determines what readers of arguably the nation’s most influential newspaper learn about Israel and its adversaries, and, especially, what they don’t. His son just joined the Israeli army. According to New York Times ethics guidelines, such a situation would be expected to cause significant concern. In these guidelines the Times repeatedly emphasizes the importance of impartiality.
http://www.counterpunch.org/
Blair: Gaza'a great betrayer
It's more than a year since Israel launched its immoral attack on Gaza and Palestinians are still living on the verge of a humanitarian disaster. So what has Tony Blair done to further peace in the region? Virtually nothing, argues the historian Avi Shlaim
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
The presence of the Palestinian in the Israeli painter's eye / Robert Fisk
Many of the Tel Aviv paintings show an emergent Israel with fewer Arabs -- ...And as the years pass, Arab villages are no longer inhabited by Arabs. There's a magnificent landscape of Jerusalem in 1960 – Blum again – in which, I suddenly realised, the Al-Aqsa mosque does not exist. It should lie, from the painter's location in the west of the city, on the horizon to the left of the King David Hotel, above and to the right of the Jaffa Gate. But it is not there. It has disappeared.
http://www.independent.co.uk/
In case you missed it:
Video: Israeli professor Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi speaking about the basic defects of Israeli democracy
...A word which most annoys defenders of Zionism, like Stanley Hoffmann, is "colonialism." You can say anything about Zionism, as long as you don't use the forbidden word, which, as it happens, describes the situation pretty well ... In settler colonialism, the native population is removed, to make room for settlers and their new society. The basic principle used to justify it in both Israel and South Africa is the definition of some natives as foreigners and some foreigners as the real natives. That is how we came to have displaced Palestinian Arabs. This system has nothing to do with the occupied territories. It exists in Israel in its pre-1967 borders, in Tel Aviv, and in the Galilee.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
A Palestinian woman enters politics / Asma Asfour
In May 2005 I was elected to be the first woman to join the Sinjel Municipality in the Ramallah district. At that time a new law had been passed which set a minimum quota for women's representation in local councils. The assumption underpinning the law was that women should take part in decision-making processes. So, despite the fact that the idea hadn't yet been widely accepted in many rural communities, women from different economic and cultural backgrounds suddenly found themselves taking part in political life.
http://twocircles.net/
No relief for the Palestinians while Israel enjoys impunity/ Andrew Phillips
To visit Gaza for a third time in five years still induces a gut reaction of pity, depression and anger – pity at the hopeless, helpless plight of the Palestinians; depression about their future and, ironically, that of Israel too; and anger at the latter's cynical policies – and impunity ... Following the Gaza blitz the UN raised a $4.5bn restoration fund. Not one dollar has been spent, so vindictive is Israel's siege by land, sea and air. Bare survival is thanks to the tunnels under the Egyptian border, but they are now being blocked off.
http://www.independent.co.uk/
Chilcot will change the way Muslims see the west / Karen Armstrong
If there is any hint of whitewash in the Iraq inquiry, it will only exacerbate an already inflamed situation
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Iraq
Friday: 46 Iraqis, 1 Syrian killed, 169 Iraqis wounded
Excerpt: The culmination of the Arbaeen pilgrimage today saw dozens more casualties among the ten million pilgrims who traveled to Karbala for the religious holiday. At least 46 Iraqis were killed and 169 more were wounded there and elsewhere. A Syrian man was also killed. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki reminded U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill not to exceed his authority in regards to a controversial elections blacklist.
http://original.antiwar.com/
Saturday: 7 Iraqis kliled, 3 wounded
Excerpt: At least seven Iraqis were killed and three more were wounded in light violence. Millions of Arbaeen pilgrims are on their way home, but no attacks on the worshippers were reported today. Meanwhile, the League of the Righteous released a video containing footage of a new hostage. Parliament will debate the Accountability & Justice (De-Ba’athification) Committee’s tomorrow, but also on the agenda is whether to include Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashimi in the blacklist.
http://original.antiwar.com/
Other Mideast
MIDDLE EAST: Experts urge governments to revise water policies (IRIN)
AMMAN, 4 February 2010 (IRIN) - Governments in the Middle East must put aside political differences, rethink water management and revise strategy and policy in using water otherwise the region will face a dire future, scientists have warned at an international conference in Jordan.
http://www.irinnews.org/
Analysis: Yemen's rebellions fuelled by economic meltdown (IRIN)
SANAA, 4 February - From the Shiite rebellion in Saada in the north to the surge of secessionist movement in the south and the dangerous alliance forged between tribes and Al-Qaeda in the east, one factor unites analyses of the forces pulling Yemen apart: the failure of its economy.
http://www.irinnews.org/
Mizrahi: 'Our army can reach Damascus, Syria cannot stop us'
Head of the Central Command at the Israeli Army, Avi Mizrahi, stated that Syria cannot defeat the Israeli Army, and that the army can reach the Syrian capital, Damascus, “while Syria will not be able to stop us”. Israeli online daily, Maariv, reported Friday that the statement of Mizrahi came during a visit to the Efrat settlement, and his meeting with Efrat students last Wednesday.
http://imemc.org/index.php?
Peace with Syria still in Israel's sights / Ian Black
...Lieberman's most damaging remark was not the suggestion of forced regime change but the idea that Syria had better forget about ever getting back the Golan – contradicting the official Israeli government position that it will trade territory for peace.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
US dismisses Iranian claims of nuclear agreement
Deal to reduce Iran's uranium stockpile in doubt as Tehran accused of stalling for time
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Turkish girl, 16, buried alive for talking to boys
Death reopens debate over 'honour' killings -- Official figures have indicated that more than 200 such killings take place each year, accounting for around half of all murders in Turkey.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
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www.TheHeadlines.org
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