Settlements/Land Theft and Political FalloutIsrael planning 50,000 housing units in East Jerusalem
Some 50,000 new housing units in Jerusalem neighborhoods beyond the Green Line are in various stages of planning and approval, planning officials told Haaretz. They said Jerusalem's construction plans for the next few years, even decades, are expected to focus on East Jerusalem. Most of the housing units will be built in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods beyond the Green Line, while a smaller number of them will be built in Arab neighborhoods. The plans for some 20,000 of the apartments are already in advanced stages of approval and implementation, while plans for the remainder have yet to be submitted to the planning committees.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
'Another 7,000 homes planned'
While international condemnations continued to pour in on Wednesday night regarding the Jerusalem Regional Planning and Building Commission’s approval of 1,600 new housing units in the northeast Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, some 18 plans, calling for more than 7,000 new homes in other parts of east Jerusalem, are at different stages of processing by the same committee, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/
Map of Israel's East Jerusalem housing plan
Israel's approval for building 1,600 new housing units for ultra-Orthodox Jews in East Jerusalem has infuriated the Palestinians. Nabil Abu Rudeina, a Palestinian Authority spokesman, told the AFP news agency: "This is a dangerous decision and will hinder the negotiations." The Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now condemned the new project, saying it would "widen the gap with the Palestinians and the two-state solution, which risks becoming obsolete". According to Israel's Haaretz newspaper, some 50,000 housing units are reported to be in various stages of planning and approval on occupied land in East Jerusalem. Haaretz says plans for around 20,000 apartments are already in an advanced stage. A spokesman for the Israeli interior ministry said: "The Jerusalem District Planning Committee today approved a plan which has been in the works for over three years. "This is a procedural stage in the framework of a long process that will yet continue for some time. The committee meeting was determined in advance and there is no connection to US Vice-President Joe Biden's visit to Israel." There are still various planning hurdles for the East Jerusalem project to clear, and work is not thought likely to start for at least another two years. Under pressure from the US, Israel has agreed a 10-month suspension of new building in the West Bank. However, the moratorium excludes East Jerusalem, where the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state. Israel's continued expansion of settlements is one of the biggest obstacles to the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians, now suspended for more than a year despite months of US-led shuttle diplomacy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Arab League chief says Mideast talks off (Reuters)
Reuters - Arab League chief Amr Moussa said on Wednesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had told him he would not enter indirect talks with Israel, only days after the Palestinian side had agreed to the contacts.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Arab League calls emergency session on J'lem
Ambassadors convene in Cairo to discuss Israel's decision to build 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo neighborhood. Qatari PM condemns decision, demands 'immediate peaceful resolution'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Joe Biden, in Ramallah, stymied by new settlement construction (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor - Vice President Joe Biden embarked on the Palestinian leg of his Middle East trip on Wednesday with tensions still high over Israel's surprise announcement of new settlement construction in East Jerusalem.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Australia says new Israel settlement 'not helpful' (AFP)
AFP - Australia joined international condemnation Thursday of Israel's plan to build 1,600 new homes in Jerusalem, saying the move was "not helpful" to building peace with the Palestinians.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Europe backs Biden's criticism of Jewish settlement plans
Joe Biden, the US Vice-President, yesterday repeated his attack on Israel's plans to build 1,600 new Jewish homes in Arab East Jerusalem as European governments backed his complaint that they undermined trust before imminent new indirect Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
http://www.independent.co.uk/
Why Biden condemned Israel's announcement on new building
Israel announced on Tuesday that it would build 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo, a religious Jewish settlement in an area of the occupied West Bank annexed to Jerusalem by Israel. The announcement drew condemnation from Joe Biden, the US vice-president who is on a visit to the region partly to throw his weight behind US-brokered "proximity" talks between the Israelis and Palestinians that were announced just on Sunday. In an interview with Al Jazeera from the occupied West Bank, Biden explains why he condemned Israel's construction announcement (11 mar 2010).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Villagers briefly gain access to a segregated road that cuts through their land
Beit Ommar, population 17,000, is located halfway between the cities of Betlehem and Hebron, both homes to religious sites significant to all three monotheisitic religions which have been the focus of a new move by the Israeli government to declare the sites "Israeli". More importantly, both sites, the Ibrahimi and Belal Mosques, are located deep within Palestinian territory.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott,
Work day to rebuild bulldozed playground in Beit Jalla, Bethlehem successful
Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals met in Beit Jallah today to rebuild a playground that bulldozers destroyed last week while clearing the path to complete the wall near Bethlehem. 12 people armed only with pick axes and hoes, flattened out the bulldozer tracks and deep holes left from uprooted trees, reset two swing sets, and brought in sand by the bucket for the new playground. Young olive trees were replanted in place of the mature trees that were destroyed during the first days of uprooting last week. The playground is used by many of the neighborhood children, and the family who owns the land welcomes people to enjoy the shade next to their home in the heat of the summer. As people worked in the sun today, army jeeps made rounds on the road above the home, and stood watch from the road on the opposing side of the highway. One jeep came down to the playground, but people continued their work as soldiers took pictures and asked for the Palestinian participants identification cards.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/
Gaza group escalates test of Israeli no-go area
Gaza – Ma'an – Palestinians and international solidarity activists in Gaza joined the challenge to Israel's enforced no-go zone in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday for the second day in a row. The rally, organized by the popular campaign against the separation fence in Gaza, gathered on Baghdad Street in the Ash-Shujaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City, and walked as a group toward the border wall.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Islamic Jihad women march in Gaza for Jerusalem
Ma'an – Gaza's Islamic Jihad movement organized a women's march in Gaza City on Wednesday, in an effort to show solidarity with Palestinians living in Jerusalem., The group gathered in Omar Al-Mukhtar Street in Central Gaza City, where women officers and fighters from Islamic Jihad demonstrated military maneuvers for the gathered demonstrators.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
A Voice for Palestine in Parliament
UK, March 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) -LFPME held an event in Manchester on the 6th March to launch the organisation officially in the North West. Hosted by Lord Nazir Ahmed the event brought together Parliamentarians, PPCs and supporters of Labour and Palestine. Sir Gerald Kaufman MP, leader of the recent delegation that broke the illegal siege on Gaza spoke passionately about the plight of Palestinians and updated guests on his recent visit to Gaza. He reminded everyone that ‘as we all enjoy our meal tonight, there are many families and children in Gaza without enough food, water or shelter. More than a year after Israel's assault on Gaza, the siege continues to block vital aid and reconstruction materials for people that need it most'. He urged guests to become active supporters of LFPME, saying ‘I am extremely proud to be involved with LFPME and we must build a strong and active base for the organisation in the North West'.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/
Bible college to host 'Christ at the Checkpoint' conference
Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will open the first international conference on the theology of peace, justice and reconciliation in a Palestinain context, hosted by the Bethlehem Bible College and Holy Land Trust, organizers said.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.
'Price tag' against leftists in Jerusalem
Wall opposite home of one of Sheikh Jarrah protests' organizers spray-painted with slogan reading 'Israel destroyer,' 'Leftists out'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Pro-Apartheid
BDS is tied to… 9/11!
from Mondoweiss by Philip Weiss and Adam HorowitzPeople are talking excitedly about a big new paper on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, coming out of the "Global Forum on Anti-Semitism,"a conference organized by the Israeli government. The paper is evidently authored by Israel lobbyists Mitchell Bard and Gil Troy, here it is.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/
H&M opens Israel store amid calls to boycott European branches
More than 24 European and Middle Eastern anti-Israel organizations condemned Thursday the opening of H&M's flagship store in Israel and called to boycott the clothing chain's stores in Europe in response.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Violence/Aggression and Provocation
Clashes erupt in Beit Ummar
Hebron – Ma'an – Clashes erupted in Beit Ummar Wednesday afternoon when soldiers invaded the town after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a military checkpoint, witnesses said. Mohammed Ayyad Awad, a spokesman for the local Palestinian solidarity project, said soldiers used tear gas and opened fire at homes.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/Vi
Israel hands out invitations to attend opening of synagogue inside Aqsa Mosque
Palestinian sources in Jerusalem said that the Israeli occupation authorities started to distribute official invitations for the opening of a synagogue at the heart of the Aqsa Mosque on March 16.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Detainees
Witnesses: Undercover Israeli forces raid Silwan
Jerusalem – Ma'an – Undercover Israeli security agents assaulted two Palestinian activists and detained several others in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, onlookers said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Women imprisoned – Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association
Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association marks International Women’s Day 2010 by honoring, commemorating and saluting Palestinian women political prisoners and detainees in their steadfast resistance against Israeli colonial occupation and struggle towards securing the right of Palestinians to self-determination.
http://palestinethinktank.com/
IOA isolates sick female prisoner for not standing for count
The higher national committee has disclosed that the IOA had punished prisoner Abeer Ode from Tulkarem with one week of solitary confinement for not standing for the daily count.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Retaliation
Palestinians fire rocket into Israel, no casualties (AFP)
AFP - Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket into southern Israel on Thursday, damaging an empty kibbutz workshop but causing no casualties, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Humanitarian Issues/Human Rights/Siege
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory 04 - 10 Mar 2010
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/
Interview: "Anything you want, we can bring to the Gaza Strip"
The siege on Gaza is tightening as the Egyptian government continues construction of an underground steel wall at the Rafah border with Gaza to block the tunnel trade. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jody McIntyre spoke with Abu Hanin, a Palestinian laborer from Gaza who works in one of the tunnels at the border with Egypt.
http://electronicintifada.net/
Civil society and human rights in Israel (and elsewhere)
The following is a guest post by Professor James Ron of Carleton University. I should say that I'm not fully persuaded by Ron's suggestion that foreign funders of NGOs in Israel and elsewhere should spend less money in order to encourage a more robust and indigenously-funded civil society, although I agree that helping such organizations develop more robust funding strategies makes eminently good sense. As long as the settlement enterprise continues, and especially as long as tax-exempt monies of various sorts keep flowing into the settlement enterprise-then foreign governments, foundations, and individuals have a legitimate interest in supporting various civil society groups in Israel (and elsewhere) -- including human rights groups and other law-abiding organizations that seek to document or oppose these policies. One could make similar arguments about other countries whose behavior is contrary to accepted human rights principles. That said, Ron's argument does raise some interesting issues and I thought FP readers might find it intriguing and useful.
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/
Teachers refuse searches at Qalqiliya checkpoint
Qalqiliya – Ma'an – For the second day in a row, Israeli forces prevented teachers from accessing the Ad-Dab’a village school, south of Qalqiliya behind the separation wall. On Wednesday, new machinery was installed at the Ras Atiya checkpoint, where teachers enter the walled-off area, and soldiers demanded the men and women submit to a search, as well as pass through body scanners, the school's manager Muhammad Awda said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Israel restricts Gaza imports to 23% of pre-siege levels
Gaza – Ma'an – Israeli authorities will partially open the Kerem Shalom crossing to allow aid into the besieged Gaza Strip, Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh said. Approximately 116 to 126 truckloads of aid for both the commercial and agricultural sectors including two trucks for the electricity company will be allowed via the Kerem Shalom crossing, Fattouh reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Goods – Needs Vs. Supply – Feb 7 – Mar 6
http://www.gazagateway.org/
Industrial Fuel – Needs Vs. Supply – Feb 7 – Mar 6
http://www.gazagateway.org/
War Crimes
'I saw Israeli bulldozer kill Rachel Corrie'
The final moments of Rachel Corrie, the American peace activist crushed to death beneath a pile of earth and rubble in the path of an advancing Israeli army bulldozer, were described to an Israeli court by an eyewitness yesterday.
http://www.independent.co.uk/
Israel's Arab Helpers
Palestinian families hold Cairo responsible for lives of their sons in its jails
The families of Palestinian prisoners in Egyptian jails on Wednesday held the government in Cairo fully responsible for the lives of their sons and called for releasing them immediately.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
PA scraps tribute to woman who hijacked Israeli bus in 1978
RAMALLAH, Occupied West Bank: The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday cancelled a ceremony to honor a woman who led a 1978 hijacking of a civilian bus in Israel in which 35 people were killed.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Zionism
Poll: 46% of high-schoolers don't want equality for Arabs
Some 81% of religious students said they would refuse to evacuate settlements, versus 36% of secular counterparts. Every second student is opposed to granting right to vote to Arabs, and 32% don't want Arab friends.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Israel's unfair 'law of return' | Abe Hayeem
While British Jews are offered property in the West Bank, Palestinian refugees are still denied the right to return. The yearly drive to encourage British Jews to emigrate to Israel culminated last weekend in the Israel Property Exhibition in a north London synagogue. "Make your dream come true with your own home or investment in Israel," it urged. Although most of the property for sale is in Israel itself, some is in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Jewish Agency also placed ads in Jewish News and the Jewish Chronicle, which last month included a glossy pamphlet with programmes to "ease and speed up the process of immigration". Free flights and citizenship within 24 hours were on offer, together with generous financial and social benefits and tax exemptions.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Politics and Diplomacy
Biden fails to kick start talks
The US vice-president has concluded his visit to the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the West Bank with nothing to show for his efforts to reopen Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Joe Biden's efforts have been thwarted by Isareli's latest announcement of construction of 1,600 more housing units in Ramat Shlomo, a religious settlement in an area of the occupied West Bank annexed to Jerusalem by Israel. Biden said the move undermines trust in the peace process. Nour Odeh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Biden to Israelis: Mideast status quo unsustainable
Vice President says that Palestinians, Israelis must decide for themselves if they want peace.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Biden 'appreciates' Israeli response to settlement row (AFP)
AFP - US Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday he "appreciates" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's response to a row caused by the announcement of plans for settlement expansion in east Jerusalem.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Extra-Judicial Assassination
Israeli ad inspired by Hamas killing (AP)
AP - An Israeli supermarket on Wednesday looked to to cash in on the infamous surveillance camera footage showing suspected assassins stalking a Hamas operative in Dubai with a new advertising campaign.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Dubai police: Mossad agents present in Gulf countries
The Dubai police warned that agents of the Israeli foreign intelligence known as the Mossad were present in a number of Gulf countries.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Other News
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, "Kayed al-Ghoul: Israeli Aggression on Gaza and Lebanon Likely in the Event of an Attack on Iran"
Kayed al-Ghoul, a member of the Central Committee of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, says that, in the event of aggression against Iran, the Occupying Power will likely attack the Gaza Strip and Lebanon to prevent any reactions and to disarm the resistance forces. Al-Ghoul remarked in an interview televised by Al Arabiya: "We in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine oppose any US or Israeli aggression on Iran, or any other country in the region. We believe that their goal is to bring all in the region to their knees, in order to subjugate the region according to the US strategy and Israel's role in it."
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.
Hamas frees British journalist in Gaza
* Freelance journalist Paul Martin released by Hamas
* Calls accusations of being spy for Israel "ridiculous"
* Says his release is victory for freedom of the press
http://www.alertnet.org/
CPJ alarmed by IDF attacks on journalists in West Bank
The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a recent spate of press freedom violations in the West Bank, including detentions, censorship, harassment, and physical attacks by Israeli soldiers. We ask that you ensure that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) examine the cases outlined below and discipline any individuals who are found to have committed violations.
http://cpj.org/2010/03/cpj-
PA, de facto gov't press violations condemned
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) issued a condemnation of raids by unidentified men on the homes of two journalists, one in the West Bank and a second in Gaza. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) investigated the 9 March incident, where Qalqiliya resident and journalist Mustafa Sabri was prevented from conducting an interview by Palestinian Authority security services.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Women in charge in West Bank's key district (AP)
AP - At 35, Leila Ghanem is the first woman to become a Palestinian governor, the latest in a group of trailblazing women leaders who are slowly winning acceptance in this traditional society.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
New FBI Files Alleging AIPAC Theft of Government Property and Israeli Espionage Released
AIPAC was investigated after it acquired and circulated classified government information provided in strict confidence by US industry and worker groups opposed to AIPAC sponsored economic legislation.
http://www.earthtimes.org/
MKs to Biden: Show kindness and mercy for Jonathan Pollard
A group of Knesset faction chairmen on Wednesday sent a letter to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden requesting clemency for Jonathan Pollard, who is serving a life sentence in the U.S. after being convicted of spying for Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest
Israel's Decision About More Than Housing
The late Israeli foreign minister Abba Eban was credited for the oft-quoted phrase about the Palestinians "never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity." Perhaps it is time for a corollary for the Israelis: they never seem to miss an opportunity to make it more difficult for Palestinian leaders to seize an opportunity.
http://www.cbsnews.com/
How did U.S. groups react to Biden's condemnation of Israel?
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's condemnation of Israel's plan to construct 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem was welcomed on Wednesday by advocacy groups and analysts who called for Israel to be held accountable for actions that undermine peace talks with the Palestinians.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Netanyahu steals more land, so Biden is late for dinner
I felt nauseated when I heard that the big gesture by Joe Biden, in response to Israel announcing more settlements on his arrival in Jerusalem, was being late to dinner.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/
The Obama administration asked for the East Jerusalem fiasco
Don't believe Benjamin Netanyahu for one moment when he says he "never knew." The Jerusalem planning committee is only too aware of what the bosses want, and the government has decided to step up construction in greater Jerusalem. Dispossession and taking possession, kicking out and moving in - that's what it's all about.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Thank you, Eli Yishai, for exposing the peace process masquerade
Gideon Levy - Haaretz - What would we do without Yishai? Biden would have left Israel propelled by the momentum of success. Netanyahu would have boasted of a renewed close friendship. A few weeks later, the indirect talks would have started. Europe would have applauded, and Barack Obama, the president of big promises, would even have taken a moment away from dealing with his country`s health-care issues to meet with Netanyahu. George Mitchell, who has already scored quite a few diplomatic feats here, would shuttle between Ramallah and Jerusalem, and maybe Netanyahu would eventually have met with Mahmoud Abbas. Face to face. Then everything would have been sorted out.
Lord almighty, MSM covers dissing of Biden
Notice how the mainstream press (Time Magazine) dissed the Israeli government and Bibi. This is new.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/
Two Humiliations - Can Obama Live With A Third?, Alan Hart
Amazing! While in Israel, an American vice president explicitly condemns an Israeli decision to build yet more homes, 1,600 apartments, in occupied Arab East Jerusalem. "I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem,” Joe Biden said. “It’s the kind of step that undermines the trust we need". Yes, but...
http://www.
'Mornings in Jenin': a book that explains the Palestinian experience to the West
US, March 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Mornings in Jenin, by Susan Abulhawa, is the story of one Palestinian family over four generations. It can be argued, however, that it is also a story about any and every Palestinian family. The novel begins in the picturesque village of Ein Hod in the north of Palestine. The Abulheja family leads the simple life that most Palestinian farmers led before their tragic dispossession in 1948. Love was plentiful in Ein Hod. Love for life, for family, for God and for the land. This was the essence of a farming society for generation upon generation.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/
Palestine already exists on film
World, March 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) -Over the past 10 years a new wave of Palestinian filmmakers has constructed a specific national identity on screen. It is more directly political than the earlier film portrayals of Palestinian lives and stories. While the second intifada (which started in September 2000) was still raging in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, the Nazareth-born filmmaker Elia Suleiman's film Divine Intervention (2002) was submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as the nominated entry from Palestine for the best foreign language film Oscar category. The Academy rejected the film because, it said, "Palestine is not a country". In 2006, when the Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad's film Paradise Now (2005) was nominated in the same category, the Academy accepted it, and identified its country as "the Palestinian Authority".
http://www.paltelegraph.com/
Gaza Graffiti Movie.wmv
Gazas walls cry out in green, red, black and yellow: Look at us! Read our messages! Swedish photographer Mia Grondahl spent seven years - most of the second intifada - capturing the walls of Gaza. Her book and photo exhibit "Gaza Graffiti - Messages of Love and Politics" tell us about the many roles of graffiti in Gaza. Apart from political slogans, the walls bear witness to the joy and sadness of Gaza, the wedding ribbons being tied between young people, the many victims of the conflict, and the ever present hope of peace and freedom. For us on the outside, the graffiti offers an exciting and unexpected view of life in Gaza.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Iraq
Wednesday: 7 Iraqis Wounded
At least seven Iraqis were wounded in light violence. Attacks are perhaps on hold until election results, which are expected tomorrow at the earliest, are released. In the north, U.N. figures show that at least 800 Christians have left Mosul since the beginning of March.
http://original.antiwar.com/
US soldiers kill Iraqi man and his wife
US soldiers killed on Wednesday a man and his wife in Al Karkh District without knowing the conjuncture of the incident, a source from Iraq’s Interior Ministry said. US Army forces opened fire on Omar Abdullah and his wife who were inside their car, the source said.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/
U.S. troops said to have killed an Iraqi driver and a girl
U.S. occupation troops are reported to have killed a driver and a girl as their armored vehicles rumbled through Baghdad’s neighborhood of Iskan. “A driver and a girl were martyred as a result of fire U.S. troops directed at their car. The troops were driving in the main thoroughfare of Iskan area,” one eyewitness said. Other eyewitnesses interviewed by the newspaper concurred. One of them said: “The driver was shot in the head while the girl in the same car was shot in the back. Both died instantly.” A U.S. military spokesman said an investigation was underway. But the unnamed spokesman denied that U.S. troops were involved. He said he would supply the newspaper with additional information once the investigation is over.
http://www.azzaman.com/
Maliki coalition leads race on eve of initial vote results
BAGHDAD: Initial results from Iraq's national election are likely to be released by Thursday, Iraqi and UN officials said on Wednesday, as further signs emerged of a strong showing for Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Everyday Demands Drown Out Sectarianism
Iraqis say they spurned sectarian rivalries to vote for better services, an IWPR straw poll reveals. By IWPR-trained reporters (ICR No. 327, 11-Mar-10)
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-
Riz Khan - Falluja's birth defects
On this episode of the Riz Khan show we ask if US weapons are behind the sharp rise in birth defects in Falluja. Residents of the Iraqi city blame the surge in chronic deformities on controversial weapons used by US forces against Sunni fighters in 2004. But the US military has dismissed those allegations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
An Iraq Without Terror?
Iraq's reputation as a country beset by extreme violence remains what it was. Historically this is explained by Iraq's position as a frontier zone surrounded by states more powerful than itself. From the time the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258 to the coming of the British in the First World War, the Iraqi tribes outside the cities largely ruled themselves. Modern Iraq has always been a violent country where everybody carries a gun, but everything which went before has been dwarfed by the experiences of the past 30 years. Since the start of the Iran-Iraq conflict in 1980, Iraq has known nothing but war, rebellion, sanctions, invasion and civil war.
http://www.counterpunch.com/
Lebanon
Hariri to pay another visit to Syria by end of month
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri is scheduled to visit Syria by the end of the month after an official state visit to Germany this Saturday, Information Minister Tarek Mitri said following the Cabinet meeting Wednesday at the Grand Serail in Downtown Beirut.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
SIDON/ BEIRUT: New appointments within the leadership of Fatah in Lebanon might lead to internal conflicts inside the Palestinian faction, Palestinian sources revealed Wednesday. The changes consisted of discharges and appointments made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the sources said they could cause "clashes inside Fatah."
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Woman in Jeita raped by man disguised as ISF officer
BEIRUT: A 35-year-old woman was raped Wednesday by a man disguised as a member of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), the state-run National News Agency reported. Two armed men dressed in ISF uniforms broke into the woman's house in the Kesrouan town of Jeita, where she was staying with her 30-year-old sister, and one of them raped her.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
U.S. and Other World News
Rep. Dennis Kucinich Takes on Democratic Leaders With Insistence on Public Option, Call for Afghan Withdrawal
Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich joins us to discuss two House debates in which he’s played a central role this week. The Ohio Democrat is threatening to vote against his party’s healthcare reform package because it does not contain a robust public option. Meanwhile Kucinich’s bill to force the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan was taken up on Wednesday. After a rare three and a half hour debate on the war the majority of House Democrats joined with Republicans to defeat the measure.
http://www.democracynow.org/
Ex-MI5 head: US hid torture tactics from UK
"I said to my staff, 'Why is he talking?' because our experience of Irish prisoners, Irish terrorists, was that they never said anything," she said. "They said, well, the Americans say he is very proud of his achievements when questioned about it. It wasn't actually until after I retired that I read that, in fact, he had been waterboarded 160 times."
http://www.independent.co.uk/
Pakistanis who refused airport screening in D.C. are hailed at home
A tour of the United States arranged by the State Department to improve ties to Pakistani legislators ended in a public relations fiasco when the members of the group refused to submit to extra airport screening in Washington, and they are now being hailed as heroes on their return home.
http://www.mercurynews.com/
Law officers may be less patient, quicker to use force after combat deployment, study finds
Many law enforcement officers called up to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan are finding it difficult to readjust to their jobs once home, bringing back heightened survival instincts that may make them quicker to use force and showing less patience toward the people they serve.
http://www.mcall.com/news/
Iranian missiles pose no threat to U.S. and Europe - Lavrov
"It is evident that Iran currently poses no threat to the U.S. and European countries... At the moment, Iran has no missiles capable of striking Europe, let alone the U.S., and is unlikely to develop [such missiles] in the foreseeable future," Lavrov said.
http://en.rian.ru/world/
Brazilian president warns sanctions against Iran could lead to war
"We don't want to repeat in Iran what happened in Iraq. It's not prudent for the world, it's not prudent for Iran," Silva said, a week after rebuffing U.S. Secretary Hillary Clinton's appeal for Brazilian support for a new round of tough sanctions.
http://www.lubbockonline.com/
AIPAC calls for swift action to block U.S. companies supporting Iran
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is calling on the U.S. Congress to take several immediate steps in response to a New York Times report revealing that the federal government has awarded more than $107 billion in grants, contracts and other benefits to foreign and multinational U.S. companies conducting business in Iran.
http://jta.org/news/article/
Shell No Longer Selling Gasoline to Iran
Shell said on March 10 it had stopped selling petrol to Iran, becoming the latest major oil company to stop trading with the Islamic Republic.
http://www.industryweek.com/
www.TheHeadlines.org
Some 50,000 new housing units in Jerusalem neighborhoods beyond the Green Line are in various stages of planning and approval, planning officials told Haaretz. They said Jerusalem's construction plans for the next few years, even decades, are expected to focus on East Jerusalem. Most of the housing units will be built in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods beyond the Green Line, while a smaller number of them will be built in Arab neighborhoods. The plans for some 20,000 of the apartments are already in advanced stages of approval and implementation, while plans for the remainder have yet to be submitted to the planning committees.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
'Another 7,000 homes planned'
While international condemnations continued to pour in on Wednesday night regarding the Jerusalem Regional Planning and Building Commission’s approval of 1,600 new housing units in the northeast Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, some 18 plans, calling for more than 7,000 new homes in other parts of east Jerusalem, are at different stages of processing by the same committee, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/
Map of Israel's East Jerusalem housing plan
Israel's approval for building 1,600 new housing units for ultra-Orthodox Jews in East Jerusalem has infuriated the Palestinians. Nabil Abu Rudeina, a Palestinian Authority spokesman, told the AFP news agency: "This is a dangerous decision and will hinder the negotiations." The Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now condemned the new project, saying it would "widen the gap with the Palestinians and the two-state solution, which risks becoming obsolete". According to Israel's Haaretz newspaper, some 50,000 housing units are reported to be in various stages of planning and approval on occupied land in East Jerusalem. Haaretz says plans for around 20,000 apartments are already in an advanced stage. A spokesman for the Israeli interior ministry said: "The Jerusalem District Planning Committee today approved a plan which has been in the works for over three years. "This is a procedural stage in the framework of a long process that will yet continue for some time. The committee meeting was determined in advance and there is no connection to US Vice-President Joe Biden's visit to Israel." There are still various planning hurdles for the East Jerusalem project to clear, and work is not thought likely to start for at least another two years. Under pressure from the US, Israel has agreed a 10-month suspension of new building in the West Bank. However, the moratorium excludes East Jerusalem, where the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state. Israel's continued expansion of settlements is one of the biggest obstacles to the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians, now suspended for more than a year despite months of US-led shuttle diplomacy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Arab League chief says Mideast talks off (Reuters)
Reuters - Arab League chief Amr Moussa said on Wednesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had told him he would not enter indirect talks with Israel, only days after the Palestinian side had agreed to the contacts.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Arab League calls emergency session on J'lem
Ambassadors convene in Cairo to discuss Israel's decision to build 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo neighborhood. Qatari PM condemns decision, demands 'immediate peaceful resolution'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Joe Biden, in Ramallah, stymied by new settlement construction (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor - Vice President Joe Biden embarked on the Palestinian leg of his Middle East trip on Wednesday with tensions still high over Israel's surprise announcement of new settlement construction in East Jerusalem.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Australia says new Israel settlement 'not helpful' (AFP)
AFP - Australia joined international condemnation Thursday of Israel's plan to build 1,600 new homes in Jerusalem, saying the move was "not helpful" to building peace with the Palestinians.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Europe backs Biden's criticism of Jewish settlement plans
Joe Biden, the US Vice-President, yesterday repeated his attack on Israel's plans to build 1,600 new Jewish homes in Arab East Jerusalem as European governments backed his complaint that they undermined trust before imminent new indirect Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
http://www.independent.co.uk/
Why Biden condemned Israel's announcement on new building
Israel announced on Tuesday that it would build 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo, a religious Jewish settlement in an area of the occupied West Bank annexed to Jerusalem by Israel. The announcement drew condemnation from Joe Biden, the US vice-president who is on a visit to the region partly to throw his weight behind US-brokered "proximity" talks between the Israelis and Palestinians that were announced just on Sunday. In an interview with Al Jazeera from the occupied West Bank, Biden explains why he condemned Israel's construction announcement (11 mar 2010).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Villagers briefly gain access to a segregated road that cuts through their land
Beit Ommar, population 17,000, is located halfway between the cities of Betlehem and Hebron, both homes to religious sites significant to all three monotheisitic religions which have been the focus of a new move by the Israeli government to declare the sites "Israeli". More importantly, both sites, the Ibrahimi and Belal Mosques, are located deep within Palestinian territory.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott,
Work day to rebuild bulldozed playground in Beit Jalla, Bethlehem successful
Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals met in Beit Jallah today to rebuild a playground that bulldozers destroyed last week while clearing the path to complete the wall near Bethlehem. 12 people armed only with pick axes and hoes, flattened out the bulldozer tracks and deep holes left from uprooted trees, reset two swing sets, and brought in sand by the bucket for the new playground. Young olive trees were replanted in place of the mature trees that were destroyed during the first days of uprooting last week. The playground is used by many of the neighborhood children, and the family who owns the land welcomes people to enjoy the shade next to their home in the heat of the summer. As people worked in the sun today, army jeeps made rounds on the road above the home, and stood watch from the road on the opposing side of the highway. One jeep came down to the playground, but people continued their work as soldiers took pictures and asked for the Palestinian participants identification cards.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/
Gaza group escalates test of Israeli no-go area
Gaza – Ma'an – Palestinians and international solidarity activists in Gaza joined the challenge to Israel's enforced no-go zone in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday for the second day in a row. The rally, organized by the popular campaign against the separation fence in Gaza, gathered on Baghdad Street in the Ash-Shujaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City, and walked as a group toward the border wall.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Islamic Jihad women march in Gaza for Jerusalem
Ma'an – Gaza's Islamic Jihad movement organized a women's march in Gaza City on Wednesday, in an effort to show solidarity with Palestinians living in Jerusalem., The group gathered in Omar Al-Mukhtar Street in Central Gaza City, where women officers and fighters from Islamic Jihad demonstrated military maneuvers for the gathered demonstrators.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
A Voice for Palestine in Parliament
UK, March 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) -LFPME held an event in Manchester on the 6th March to launch the organisation officially in the North West. Hosted by Lord Nazir Ahmed the event brought together Parliamentarians, PPCs and supporters of Labour and Palestine. Sir Gerald Kaufman MP, leader of the recent delegation that broke the illegal siege on Gaza spoke passionately about the plight of Palestinians and updated guests on his recent visit to Gaza. He reminded everyone that ‘as we all enjoy our meal tonight, there are many families and children in Gaza without enough food, water or shelter. More than a year after Israel's assault on Gaza, the siege continues to block vital aid and reconstruction materials for people that need it most'. He urged guests to become active supporters of LFPME, saying ‘I am extremely proud to be involved with LFPME and we must build a strong and active base for the organisation in the North West'.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/
Bible college to host 'Christ at the Checkpoint' conference
Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad will open the first international conference on the theology of peace, justice and reconciliation in a Palestinain context, hosted by the Bethlehem Bible College and Holy Land Trust, organizers said.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.
'Price tag' against leftists in Jerusalem
Wall opposite home of one of Sheikh Jarrah protests' organizers spray-painted with slogan reading 'Israel destroyer,' 'Leftists out'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Pro-Apartheid
BDS is tied to… 9/11!
from Mondoweiss by Philip Weiss and Adam HorowitzPeople are talking excitedly about a big new paper on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, coming out of the "Global Forum on Anti-Semitism,"a conference organized by the Israeli government. The paper is evidently authored by Israel lobbyists Mitchell Bard and Gil Troy, here it is.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/
H&M opens Israel store amid calls to boycott European branches
More than 24 European and Middle Eastern anti-Israel organizations condemned Thursday the opening of H&M's flagship store in Israel and called to boycott the clothing chain's stores in Europe in response.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Violence/Aggression and Provocation
Two Palestinians Wounded in East Jerusalem, Youths Kidnapped
Israeli soldiers, undercover forces and policemen attacked and wounded on Monday evening, two Palestinians in Al Bustan neighborhood, in East Jerusalem, and kidnapped several youths.
http://www.imemc.org/index.Israeli soldiers, undercover forces and policemen attacked and wounded on Monday evening, two Palestinians in Al Bustan neighborhood, in East Jerusalem, and kidnapped several youths.
Clashes erupt in Beit Ummar
Hebron – Ma'an – Clashes erupted in Beit Ummar Wednesday afternoon when soldiers invaded the town after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a military checkpoint, witnesses said. Mohammed Ayyad Awad, a spokesman for the local Palestinian solidarity project, said soldiers used tear gas and opened fire at homes.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/Vi
Israel hands out invitations to attend opening of synagogue inside Aqsa Mosque
Palestinian sources in Jerusalem said that the Israeli occupation authorities started to distribute official invitations for the opening of a synagogue at the heart of the Aqsa Mosque on March 16.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Detainees
Witnesses: Undercover Israeli forces raid Silwan
Jerusalem – Ma'an – Undercover Israeli security agents assaulted two Palestinian activists and detained several others in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, onlookers said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Women imprisoned – Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association
Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association marks International Women’s Day 2010 by honoring, commemorating and saluting Palestinian women political prisoners and detainees in their steadfast resistance against Israeli colonial occupation and struggle towards securing the right of Palestinians to self-determination.
http://palestinethinktank.com/
IOA isolates sick female prisoner for not standing for count
The higher national committee has disclosed that the IOA had punished prisoner Abeer Ode from Tulkarem with one week of solitary confinement for not standing for the daily count.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Retaliation
Palestinians fire rocket into Israel, no casualties (AFP)
AFP - Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket into southern Israel on Thursday, damaging an empty kibbutz workshop but causing no casualties, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Humanitarian Issues/Human Rights/Siege
Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory 04 - 10 Mar 2010
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/
Interview: "Anything you want, we can bring to the Gaza Strip"
The siege on Gaza is tightening as the Egyptian government continues construction of an underground steel wall at the Rafah border with Gaza to block the tunnel trade. The Electronic Intifada contributor Jody McIntyre spoke with Abu Hanin, a Palestinian laborer from Gaza who works in one of the tunnels at the border with Egypt.
http://electronicintifada.net/
Civil society and human rights in Israel (and elsewhere)
The following is a guest post by Professor James Ron of Carleton University. I should say that I'm not fully persuaded by Ron's suggestion that foreign funders of NGOs in Israel and elsewhere should spend less money in order to encourage a more robust and indigenously-funded civil society, although I agree that helping such organizations develop more robust funding strategies makes eminently good sense. As long as the settlement enterprise continues, and especially as long as tax-exempt monies of various sorts keep flowing into the settlement enterprise-then foreign governments, foundations, and individuals have a legitimate interest in supporting various civil society groups in Israel (and elsewhere) -- including human rights groups and other law-abiding organizations that seek to document or oppose these policies. One could make similar arguments about other countries whose behavior is contrary to accepted human rights principles. That said, Ron's argument does raise some interesting issues and I thought FP readers might find it intriguing and useful.
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/
Teachers refuse searches at Qalqiliya checkpoint
Qalqiliya – Ma'an – For the second day in a row, Israeli forces prevented teachers from accessing the Ad-Dab’a village school, south of Qalqiliya behind the separation wall. On Wednesday, new machinery was installed at the Ras Atiya checkpoint, where teachers enter the walled-off area, and soldiers demanded the men and women submit to a search, as well as pass through body scanners, the school's manager Muhammad Awda said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Israel restricts Gaza imports to 23% of pre-siege levels
Gaza – Ma'an – Israeli authorities will partially open the Kerem Shalom crossing to allow aid into the besieged Gaza Strip, Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh said. Approximately 116 to 126 truckloads of aid for both the commercial and agricultural sectors including two trucks for the electricity company will be allowed via the Kerem Shalom crossing, Fattouh reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Goods – Needs Vs. Supply – Feb 7 – Mar 6
http://www.gazagateway.org/
Industrial Fuel – Needs Vs. Supply – Feb 7 – Mar 6
http://www.gazagateway.org/
War Crimes
'I saw Israeli bulldozer kill Rachel Corrie'
The final moments of Rachel Corrie, the American peace activist crushed to death beneath a pile of earth and rubble in the path of an advancing Israeli army bulldozer, were described to an Israeli court by an eyewitness yesterday.
http://www.independent.co.uk/
Israel's Arab Helpers
Palestinian families hold Cairo responsible for lives of their sons in its jails
The families of Palestinian prisoners in Egyptian jails on Wednesday held the government in Cairo fully responsible for the lives of their sons and called for releasing them immediately.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
PA scraps tribute to woman who hijacked Israeli bus in 1978
RAMALLAH, Occupied West Bank: The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday cancelled a ceremony to honor a woman who led a 1978 hijacking of a civilian bus in Israel in which 35 people were killed.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Hammad: “Fateh Is Leading Smear Campaign Against Hamas"
Fathi Hammad, Interior Minister of the Hamas-led government in Gaza, accused the rival Fateh movement, headed by Mahmoud Abbas, of carrying a smear campaign, supported by Israel and the United States, against the Hamas movement.
http://www.imemc.org/index.
Fathi Hammad, Interior Minister of the Hamas-led government in Gaza, accused the rival Fateh movement, headed by Mahmoud Abbas, of carrying a smear campaign, supported by Israel and the United States, against the Hamas movement.
http://www.imemc.org/index.
Zionism
Poll: 46% of high-schoolers don't want equality for Arabs
Some 81% of religious students said they would refuse to evacuate settlements, versus 36% of secular counterparts. Every second student is opposed to granting right to vote to Arabs, and 32% don't want Arab friends.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Israel's unfair 'law of return' | Abe Hayeem
While British Jews are offered property in the West Bank, Palestinian refugees are still denied the right to return. The yearly drive to encourage British Jews to emigrate to Israel culminated last weekend in the Israel Property Exhibition in a north London synagogue. "Make your dream come true with your own home or investment in Israel," it urged. Although most of the property for sale is in Israel itself, some is in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Jewish Agency also placed ads in Jewish News and the Jewish Chronicle, which last month included a glossy pamphlet with programmes to "ease and speed up the process of immigration". Free flights and citizenship within 24 hours were on offer, together with generous financial and social benefits and tax exemptions.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Politics and Diplomacy
Biden fails to kick start talks
The US vice-president has concluded his visit to the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the West Bank with nothing to show for his efforts to reopen Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Joe Biden's efforts have been thwarted by Isareli's latest announcement of construction of 1,600 more housing units in Ramat Shlomo, a religious settlement in an area of the occupied West Bank annexed to Jerusalem by Israel. Biden said the move undermines trust in the peace process. Nour Odeh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Biden to Israelis: Mideast status quo unsustainable
Vice President says that Palestinians, Israelis must decide for themselves if they want peace.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Biden 'appreciates' Israeli response to settlement row (AFP)
AFP - US Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday he "appreciates" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's response to a row caused by the announcement of plans for settlement expansion in east Jerusalem.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Extra-Judicial Assassination
Israeli ad inspired by Hamas killing (AP)
AP - An Israeli supermarket on Wednesday looked to to cash in on the infamous surveillance camera footage showing suspected assassins stalking a Hamas operative in Dubai with a new advertising campaign.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Dubai police: Mossad agents present in Gulf countries
The Dubai police warned that agents of the Israeli foreign intelligence known as the Mossad were present in a number of Gulf countries.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Other News
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, "Kayed al-Ghoul: Israeli Aggression on Gaza and Lebanon Likely in the Event of an Attack on Iran"
Kayed al-Ghoul, a member of the Central Committee of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, says that, in the event of aggression against Iran, the Occupying Power will likely attack the Gaza Strip and Lebanon to prevent any reactions and to disarm the resistance forces. Al-Ghoul remarked in an interview televised by Al Arabiya: "We in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine oppose any US or Israeli aggression on Iran, or any other country in the region. We believe that their goal is to bring all in the region to their knees, in order to subjugate the region according to the US strategy and Israel's role in it."
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.
Hamas frees British journalist in Gaza
* Freelance journalist Paul Martin released by Hamas
* Calls accusations of being spy for Israel "ridiculous"
* Says his release is victory for freedom of the press
http://www.alertnet.org/
CPJ alarmed by IDF attacks on journalists in West Bank
The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a recent spate of press freedom violations in the West Bank, including detentions, censorship, harassment, and physical attacks by Israeli soldiers. We ask that you ensure that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) examine the cases outlined below and discipline any individuals who are found to have committed violations.
http://cpj.org/2010/03/cpj-
PA, de facto gov't press violations condemned
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) issued a condemnation of raids by unidentified men on the homes of two journalists, one in the West Bank and a second in Gaza. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) investigated the 9 March incident, where Qalqiliya resident and journalist Mustafa Sabri was prevented from conducting an interview by Palestinian Authority security services.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Women in charge in West Bank's key district (AP)
AP - At 35, Leila Ghanem is the first woman to become a Palestinian governor, the latest in a group of trailblazing women leaders who are slowly winning acceptance in this traditional society.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
New FBI Files Alleging AIPAC Theft of Government Property and Israeli Espionage Released
AIPAC was investigated after it acquired and circulated classified government information provided in strict confidence by US industry and worker groups opposed to AIPAC sponsored economic legislation.
http://www.earthtimes.org/
MKs to Biden: Show kindness and mercy for Jonathan Pollard
A group of Knesset faction chairmen on Wednesday sent a letter to U.S. Vice President Joe Biden requesting clemency for Jonathan Pollard, who is serving a life sentence in the U.S. after being convicted of spying for Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest
Israel's Decision About More Than Housing
The late Israeli foreign minister Abba Eban was credited for the oft-quoted phrase about the Palestinians "never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity." Perhaps it is time for a corollary for the Israelis: they never seem to miss an opportunity to make it more difficult for Palestinian leaders to seize an opportunity.
http://www.cbsnews.com/
How did U.S. groups react to Biden's condemnation of Israel?
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's condemnation of Israel's plan to construct 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem was welcomed on Wednesday by advocacy groups and analysts who called for Israel to be held accountable for actions that undermine peace talks with the Palestinians.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Netanyahu steals more land, so Biden is late for dinner
I felt nauseated when I heard that the big gesture by Joe Biden, in response to Israel announcing more settlements on his arrival in Jerusalem, was being late to dinner.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/
The Obama administration asked for the East Jerusalem fiasco
Don't believe Benjamin Netanyahu for one moment when he says he "never knew." The Jerusalem planning committee is only too aware of what the bosses want, and the government has decided to step up construction in greater Jerusalem. Dispossession and taking possession, kicking out and moving in - that's what it's all about.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Thank you, Eli Yishai, for exposing the peace process masquerade
Gideon Levy - Haaretz - What would we do without Yishai? Biden would have left Israel propelled by the momentum of success. Netanyahu would have boasted of a renewed close friendship. A few weeks later, the indirect talks would have started. Europe would have applauded, and Barack Obama, the president of big promises, would even have taken a moment away from dealing with his country`s health-care issues to meet with Netanyahu. George Mitchell, who has already scored quite a few diplomatic feats here, would shuttle between Ramallah and Jerusalem, and maybe Netanyahu would eventually have met with Mahmoud Abbas. Face to face. Then everything would have been sorted out.
Lord almighty, MSM covers dissing of Biden
Notice how the mainstream press (Time Magazine) dissed the Israeli government and Bibi. This is new.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/03/
Two Humiliations - Can Obama Live With A Third?, Alan Hart
Amazing! While in Israel, an American vice president explicitly condemns an Israeli decision to build yet more homes, 1,600 apartments, in occupied Arab East Jerusalem. "I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem,” Joe Biden said. “It’s the kind of step that undermines the trust we need". Yes, but...
http://www.
'Mornings in Jenin': a book that explains the Palestinian experience to the West
US, March 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) - Mornings in Jenin, by Susan Abulhawa, is the story of one Palestinian family over four generations. It can be argued, however, that it is also a story about any and every Palestinian family. The novel begins in the picturesque village of Ein Hod in the north of Palestine. The Abulheja family leads the simple life that most Palestinian farmers led before their tragic dispossession in 1948. Love was plentiful in Ein Hod. Love for life, for family, for God and for the land. This was the essence of a farming society for generation upon generation.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/
Palestine already exists on film
World, March 10, 2010 (Pal Telegraph) -Over the past 10 years a new wave of Palestinian filmmakers has constructed a specific national identity on screen. It is more directly political than the earlier film portrayals of Palestinian lives and stories. While the second intifada (which started in September 2000) was still raging in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, the Nazareth-born filmmaker Elia Suleiman's film Divine Intervention (2002) was submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as the nominated entry from Palestine for the best foreign language film Oscar category. The Academy rejected the film because, it said, "Palestine is not a country". In 2006, when the Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad's film Paradise Now (2005) was nominated in the same category, the Academy accepted it, and identified its country as "the Palestinian Authority".
http://www.paltelegraph.com/
Gaza Graffiti Movie.wmv
Gazas walls cry out in green, red, black and yellow: Look at us! Read our messages! Swedish photographer Mia Grondahl spent seven years - most of the second intifada - capturing the walls of Gaza. Her book and photo exhibit "Gaza Graffiti - Messages of Love and Politics" tell us about the many roles of graffiti in Gaza. Apart from political slogans, the walls bear witness to the joy and sadness of Gaza, the wedding ribbons being tied between young people, the many victims of the conflict, and the ever present hope of peace and freedom. For us on the outside, the graffiti offers an exciting and unexpected view of life in Gaza.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Iraq
Wednesday: 7 Iraqis Wounded
At least seven Iraqis were wounded in light violence. Attacks are perhaps on hold until election results, which are expected tomorrow at the earliest, are released. In the north, U.N. figures show that at least 800 Christians have left Mosul since the beginning of March.
http://original.antiwar.com/
US soldiers kill Iraqi man and his wife
US soldiers killed on Wednesday a man and his wife in Al Karkh District without knowing the conjuncture of the incident, a source from Iraq’s Interior Ministry said. US Army forces opened fire on Omar Abdullah and his wife who were inside their car, the source said.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/
U.S. troops said to have killed an Iraqi driver and a girl
U.S. occupation troops are reported to have killed a driver and a girl as their armored vehicles rumbled through Baghdad’s neighborhood of Iskan. “A driver and a girl were martyred as a result of fire U.S. troops directed at their car. The troops were driving in the main thoroughfare of Iskan area,” one eyewitness said. Other eyewitnesses interviewed by the newspaper concurred. One of them said: “The driver was shot in the head while the girl in the same car was shot in the back. Both died instantly.” A U.S. military spokesman said an investigation was underway. But the unnamed spokesman denied that U.S. troops were involved. He said he would supply the newspaper with additional information once the investigation is over.
http://www.azzaman.com/
Maliki coalition leads race on eve of initial vote results
BAGHDAD: Initial results from Iraq's national election are likely to be released by Thursday, Iraqi and UN officials said on Wednesday, as further signs emerged of a strong showing for Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Everyday Demands Drown Out Sectarianism
Iraqis say they spurned sectarian rivalries to vote for better services, an IWPR straw poll reveals. By IWPR-trained reporters (ICR No. 327, 11-Mar-10)
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-
Riz Khan - Falluja's birth defects
On this episode of the Riz Khan show we ask if US weapons are behind the sharp rise in birth defects in Falluja. Residents of the Iraqi city blame the surge in chronic deformities on controversial weapons used by US forces against Sunni fighters in 2004. But the US military has dismissed those allegations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
An Iraq Without Terror?
Iraq's reputation as a country beset by extreme violence remains what it was. Historically this is explained by Iraq's position as a frontier zone surrounded by states more powerful than itself. From the time the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258 to the coming of the British in the First World War, the Iraqi tribes outside the cities largely ruled themselves. Modern Iraq has always been a violent country where everybody carries a gun, but everything which went before has been dwarfed by the experiences of the past 30 years. Since the start of the Iran-Iraq conflict in 1980, Iraq has known nothing but war, rebellion, sanctions, invasion and civil war.
http://www.counterpunch.com/
Lebanon
Hariri to pay another visit to Syria by end of month
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri is scheduled to visit Syria by the end of the month after an official state visit to Germany this Saturday, Information Minister Tarek Mitri said following the Cabinet meeting Wednesday at the Grand Serail in Downtown Beirut.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Fatah reshuffle in Lebanon could spark intra-factional clashes
SIDON/ BEIRUT: New appointments within the leadership of Fatah in Lebanon might lead to internal conflicts inside the Palestinian faction, Palestinian sources revealed Wednesday. The changes consisted of discharges and appointments made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the sources said they could cause "clashes inside Fatah."
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Woman in Jeita raped by man disguised as ISF officer
BEIRUT: A 35-year-old woman was raped Wednesday by a man disguised as a member of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), the state-run National News Agency reported. Two armed men dressed in ISF uniforms broke into the woman's house in the Kesrouan town of Jeita, where she was staying with her 30-year-old sister, and one of them raped her.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
U.S. and Other World News
Rep. Dennis Kucinich Takes on Democratic Leaders With Insistence on Public Option, Call for Afghan Withdrawal
Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich joins us to discuss two House debates in which he’s played a central role this week. The Ohio Democrat is threatening to vote against his party’s healthcare reform package because it does not contain a robust public option. Meanwhile Kucinich’s bill to force the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan was taken up on Wednesday. After a rare three and a half hour debate on the war the majority of House Democrats joined with Republicans to defeat the measure.
http://www.democracynow.org/
Ex-MI5 head: US hid torture tactics from UK
"I said to my staff, 'Why is he talking?' because our experience of Irish prisoners, Irish terrorists, was that they never said anything," she said. "They said, well, the Americans say he is very proud of his achievements when questioned about it. It wasn't actually until after I retired that I read that, in fact, he had been waterboarded 160 times."
http://www.independent.co.uk/
Pakistanis who refused airport screening in D.C. are hailed at home
A tour of the United States arranged by the State Department to improve ties to Pakistani legislators ended in a public relations fiasco when the members of the group refused to submit to extra airport screening in Washington, and they are now being hailed as heroes on their return home.
http://www.mercurynews.com/
Law officers may be less patient, quicker to use force after combat deployment, study finds
Many law enforcement officers called up to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan are finding it difficult to readjust to their jobs once home, bringing back heightened survival instincts that may make them quicker to use force and showing less patience toward the people they serve.
http://www.mcall.com/news/
Iranian missiles pose no threat to U.S. and Europe - Lavrov
"It is evident that Iran currently poses no threat to the U.S. and European countries... At the moment, Iran has no missiles capable of striking Europe, let alone the U.S., and is unlikely to develop [such missiles] in the foreseeable future," Lavrov said.
http://en.rian.ru/world/
Brazilian president warns sanctions against Iran could lead to war
"We don't want to repeat in Iran what happened in Iraq. It's not prudent for the world, it's not prudent for Iran," Silva said, a week after rebuffing U.S. Secretary Hillary Clinton's appeal for Brazilian support for a new round of tough sanctions.
http://www.lubbockonline.com/
AIPAC calls for swift action to block U.S. companies supporting Iran
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is calling on the U.S. Congress to take several immediate steps in response to a New York Times report revealing that the federal government has awarded more than $107 billion in grants, contracts and other benefits to foreign and multinational U.S. companies conducting business in Iran.
http://jta.org/news/article/
Shell No Longer Selling Gasoline to Iran
Shell said on March 10 it had stopped selling petrol to Iran, becoming the latest major oil company to stop trading with the Islamic Republic.
http://www.industryweek.com/
www.TheHeadlines.org
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