Land theft and destruction/Ethnic cleansing
Israel destroys Palestinian homes
Israeli authorities have demolished at least seven homes in different Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem. The homes are the first to be torn down since October 2009 and have provoked strong criticism from the Palestinians who say it proves Israel is not committed to peace. Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros reports. July 13, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Not concerned enough to mention it to Netanyahu: US 'concerned' by reported east Jerusalem home demolitions (AFP)
AFP - The United States is "concerned" by reports of home demolitions in east Jerusalem, and urges "all parties to avoid actions that could undermine trust," the US State Department said Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Thousands of Palestinians in Lod protest demolition
Thousands of Palestinians in 1948 occupied Palestine hit the streets of Duhmush village, near Lod city, to protest the Israeli demolition of their homes.
Court offers Abu-Tir ultimatum: Jail or expulsion
Senior Hamas official required to deposit NIS 150,000 prior to deportation and to sign document committing that he won't return to Israel. If he fails to do so, he will remain in detention.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Abu Teir to be held in Israeli custody until trial ends
Jerusalem – Ma'an – An Israeli court ruled Wednesday that a Jerusalem lawmaker's detention would continue until his final hearing, a member of the legal team representing the legislator told Ma'an. Mohammad Abu Teir was told that his release would be conditioned on paying a large fine and vowing never to return to Jerusalem, his lawyer Usama As-Sa'di said. "Abu Teir categorically rejected the offer because it means agreeing to expulsion, which he will never accept," As-Sa'di said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Why Palestinians Can’t Buy Land
Despite claims from the Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, and the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that Jerusalem's real estate market is free and open to anyone regardless of race or religion, a new study shows Palestinians do not have equal access to property in Jerusalem. The Israel group Ir Amim released a new study showing that 80 percent of land in Jerusalem cannot be purchased by Palestinians.
http://liveshots.blogs.
Libyan Flotilla, Solidarity/Activism/Boycott, Sanctions & Divestment
Report: Israel holding talks with Gaddafi's son
Al-Sharq al-Awsat reports Israel holding indirect talks with Gaddafi foundation in hopes of bringing Gaza-bound aid ship affair to peaceful end.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Israel: Gaza aid ship diverts to Egypt (AP)
AP - A Libyan aid boat carrying supplies for Gaza was sailing toward Egypt late Tuesday instead of trying to run a naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, Israeli military officials said, apparently defusing a potential confrontation on the high seas.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Egypt allows Libyan aid boat to dock at Al-Arish
Jerusalem - Ma'an - A Libyan aid ship originally headed to the blockaded Gaza Strip has requested and received permission to dock in Egypt instead, an Egyptian official said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. "Egypt has given permission to the Libyan ship to dock in Al-Arish port instead of the port of Gaza," the official said, adding Egypt would allow the ship's medical cargo and passengers to pass into Gaza through the Rafah border, the news wire wrote.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
No Calls on Israel to Respect International Law: US calls on Gaza aid ships to 'act responsibly' (AFP)
AFP - The United States Tuesday called for anybody wanting to deliver goods to Gaza "to act responsibly" and work through official channels, as Israeli warships shadowed a Libyan aid vessel suspected of trying to breach the naval blockade.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Greece protest delays Israel-bound flight
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - An Israel-bound flight was delayed for about two hours at Athens International Airport on Wednesday after protesters blocked check-in counters, airport officials told The Associated Press. Members of a Communist-backed labor union said they blocked five El Al airline counters for two hours to protest the Israeli blockade of Gaza and the Israeli government's "oppressive policies."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Spain: BDS claim victory over Israeli water
Bethlehem - Ma'an - After lobbying efforts by Spanish activists, the City Council of Villanueva de Duero has decided to remove Eden-brand water products from government buildings. The company, founded in the 1980s after Israel illegally annexed Syria's Golan Heights, originally took water from the Salukiya spring and expanded operations to Europe, eventually moving to bottle water at springs on the continent. The European branch of the company provides water coolers and filter systems to offices around the union.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Why doesn't Clinton care about my jailed husband?
I used to tell my husband, Ameer Makhoul, "One day, they'll come for you." As chairman of the Public Committee for the Protection of Political Freedoms he'd begun to organize an awareness-raising campaign to push back against the security services' harassment of our community, the Palestinian citizens of Israel. Come for Ameer they did, late one night this May, pounding at our door, ransacking our house and terrifying our two teenage daughters. Janan Abdu comments.
http://electronicintifada.net/
Iraq Burin: protests for the right to protest
Around 20 people trying to travel to Iraq Burin from Nablus for the weekly protest on Saturday 10th July, a group made up of Palestinians and international activists, were stopped by armed forces on the road leading to the small village; the media gathered and a protest against this decision ensued. Despite the attempts from the army to prevent people from attending, the demonstration against illegal Israeli settlements went ahead in the afternoon. The peaceful demonstration was lead by the Palestinian community with the support of 10 internationals whose presence it was hoped might ease the infamously violent and disproportionate tactics of the Israeli forces.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/
Schumer heckled for ’strangulation’ comments at Brooklyn concert
When Schumer took the stage, I had only one option to prevent the gag reflex from choking me to death. And that was to yell at him. And then yell at him some more. The adrenaline prevented anything particularly articulate but I managed to get the most important parts out. Free Gaza. End the blockade. Strangling a people is a war crime. Clearly flustered, Chuck first tried to shush me, a task made more difficulty by his mic cutting in and out. A few people in the crowd - anxious for an uninterrupted Schumer opening act - managed to hurl a few shut-the-fuck-ups my way over their stifling apathy. Realizing I would not relent, Schumer finished with something along the lines of, "This is not about politics. It's about enjoying our freedom." He hurried off stage.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/
J Street calls for settlement funder investigation
http://jstreet.org/campaigns/
Dockworkers, Worldwide, Respond to Israel's Flotilla Massacre and Gaza Siege
Three weeks after the massacre on the Freedom Flotilla, ILWU dockworkers in the San Francisco Bay area delayed an Israeli Zim Lines ship for 24 hours, the Swedish Dockworkers Union began a week-long blockade of Israeli ships and containers, dockers in the Port of Cochin, India, refused to handle Israeli cargo, and the Turkish dockworkers union Liman-Is announced their members would refuse to service any Israeli shipping. In South Africa, Durban dockers had already boycotted a Zim Lines ship in response to the invasion of Gaza last year. On the 5th Anniversary of the United Palestinian Call for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions, Israel faces the prospect of targetted industrial action to implement boycotts. How did it happen, what does it mean, and how can the solidarity movement respond to the new opening?
http://www.counterpunch.com/
A Prisoner's Wife, Janan Abdu
I used to tell my husband, Ameer Makhoul, 'One day, they’ll come for you.' As chairman of the Public Committee for the Protection of Political Freedoms he'd begun to organize an awareness-raising campaign to push back against the security services' harassment of our community, the Palestinian citizens of Israel. Come for Ameer they did, late one night this May, pounding at our door, ransacking our house and terrifying our two teenage daughters. And now I’ve joined the ranks of Palestinian prisoners’ wives, many thousands of us from the occupied territories as well as within Israel. His July 13 hearing – persecution really – could begin the legal nightmare that ruptures our family for many years. This is the likely course of events unless Ameer gets a fair trial and his coerced statements are rejected or suppressed by the court.
http://palestinechronicle.com/
Pride through solidarity
Though I've never felt compelled to take the streets for Pride, I did this past month, on several occasions, walk alongside folks that I resonated with in important ways, in vocalizing my outrage against the illegal and inhumane acts of the Israeli state. Amita Kumari writes from Toronto.
http://electronicintifada.net/
Violence/Aggression
Palestinian Woman Killed, Five Residents Wounded, As Army Bombards Gaza
Palestinian medical sources reported on Tuesday at night that a Palestinian woman was killed and five other residents were injured when the Israeli army fired artillery shells at a number of homes in Juhr Ad Deek, east of Gaza City.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
Child injured by Israeli fire in northern Gaza
Gaza – Ma'an – A Palestinian child was lightly injured Wednesday by Israeli fire in the Beit Hanoun border area in the northern Gaza Strip. Gaza Health Ministry official Muawiya Hassanein identified the child as 13-year-old Hmeid Ahmad Ubeid, who was evacuated to the Kamal Udwan Hospital for treatment. An Israeli military spokesman said a force stationed at the Erez border identified a group approaching the no-go zone "and acted according to procedure by firing warning shots in the air."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Gaza farmers risk being shot
As a Libyan backed aid ship sails for the Gaza Strip, another group of international activists has been defying the blockade, but this time on the land. Foreigners acting as human shields have been helping farmers in Gaza harvest their crops. About 30 per cent of Gaza's arable land is on the border with Israel and the area has been declared a buffer zone by the Israeli army. Palestinian farmers risk being shot with live fire for working their fields. Nicole Johnston reports from Bani Salah.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcRPSG-UYF0&feature=youtube_gdata
Gag order lifted: Right-wing activist arrested on suspicion of murdering two Palestinians
Police say the suspect, Chaim Pearlman, fatally stabbed two Palestinians in 1998 and was responsible for a string of attacks on other Palestinian victims.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/gag-order-lifted-right-wing-activist-arrested-on-suspicion-of-murdering-two-palestinians-1.301960?localLinksEnabled=false
Detainees
IOF arrests Palestinian claiming his possession of a small knife
Hebron, July 14, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation forces arrested today morning, a citizen after finding a knife in his vehicle at a police checkpoint at the crossroads village of Kharsa near the town of Dura, south of Hebron in the West Bank. Witnesses said that the Israeli occupation forces arrested Hisham Ali Rajoub (35 years) under the pretext of finding a knife in his vehicle. Witnesses added that the Israeli police took the citizen to the police station of Kiryat Arba Eastern of the province, arguing that the citizen is a merchant of sheep and used the snall knife in his work and saying that every one uses a knife either when eating or in some jobs or t cut something that doesn’t make every one a terrorist then why doest have to make him a terrorist. The Israeli occupying forces are using the same pretext just to arrest citizens and torture them and sentence them to prison.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6710:iof-arrests-palestinian-claiming-his-possession-of-a-small-knife&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=135
Gag order lifted: Right-wing activist arrested on suspicion of murdering two Palestinians
Police say the suspect, Chaim Pearlman, fatally stabbed two Palestinians in 1998 and was responsible for a string of attacks on other Palestinian victims.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/
Detainees
IOF arrests Palestinian claiming his possession of a small knife
Hebron, July 14, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation forces arrested today morning, a citizen after finding a knife in his vehicle at a police checkpoint at the crossroads village of Kharsa near the town of Dura, south of Hebron in the West Bank. Witnesses said that the Israeli occupation forces arrested Hisham Ali Rajoub (35 years) under the pretext of finding a knife in his vehicle. Witnesses added that the Israeli police took the citizen to the police station of Kiryat Arba Eastern of the province, arguing that the citizen is a merchant of sheep and used the snall knife in his work and saying that every one uses a knife either when eating or in some jobs or t cut something that doesn’t make every one a terrorist then why doest have to make him a terrorist. The Israeli occupying forces are using the same pretext just to arrest citizens and torture them and sentence them to prison.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/
The International Tadamun (Solidarity) Foundation for Human Rights, quoting prisoners in Hasharon prison, said that prisoner Shirin Issawi was attacked by a gang of female criminal offenders.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Israeli court cuts Islamist leader's jail term
JERUSALEM — An Israeli court on Tuesday reduced the jail sentence of hardline Islamist leader Sheikh Raed Salah after convicting him earlier this year of assaulting a police officer, his deputy said. "The court refused to cancel the sentence but decided to reduce it from nine months to five months," Sheikh Kamal Khatib told AFP, adding that the sentence was set to begin on July 25.
The court later said it had rejected a request from Salah's lawyer to delay the start of the term until October 1, after the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is due to begin this year in early August.
http://www.google.com/
The Siege (Gaza & West Bank)/Humanitarian and Human Rights
Ahmed Moor: West Bank Prosperity Is a Myth
Prominent Zionists have spent recent months crowing loudly about the so-called economic miracle currently underway in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. They proclaim with breathless wonder that Palestinian beer exists, and it's tasty. We're told that the 'good Palestinians' in the West Bank, in contrast to their restive Islamic counterparts in Gaza, are fully embracing the normalization of the Israeli occupation. The idea is that their bubble economy will be permitted to expand modestly through capitulation. Eventually, their state will materialize in that bubble. In any case, a recent Save the Children UK report debunks the prosperity claim. But even if it hadn't, Zionists ought to understand that a Lexus is no substitute for individual freedom and dignity.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
War Crimes
Israel (inadvertently) admits it broke law in raiding flotilla, Alex Kane
With a Libyan aid ship perhaps trying to break the naval blockade of Gaza, Israel's Foreign Ministry issued a warning to the IDF not to stop the ship in international waters, Haaretz reports: The Foreign Ministry advised the defense establishment yesterday to wait until the Libyan aid ship reportedly headed for Gaza approaches or enters the coastal strip's territorial waters before making any attempt to stop it. The ministry made the recommendation to avoid the risk of breaking international law. That warning is an implicit admission that when Israel attacked the Gaza Freedom Flotilla on May 31, it broke international law. Before the Israeli Navy raided the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish ship was in international waters, 85 miles west of Haifa, according to this Ali Abunimah blog post.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/
Israel still can’t prove their version of the flotilla attack, Adam Horowitz
The above video was released by the IDF as they continue to make their case on the flotilla attack. Although it's in Hebrew, it's clear the Israeli story hasn't changed. A Mondo reader who goes by gangreentv sent us the video along with this note: The IDF claims that their soldiers were stabbed, axed, and shot at. But despite their multi-million dollar multimedia production and all of the footage that they stole from the journalists that they arrested, they produce no evidence for any of this. They claim to have been shot at, but can produce no photos or videos of injured soldiers, no firearms (except for the captured soldier’s gun that was never fired), no spent shells, no gunpowder on activists' hands, nothing.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/
Lawyers from 60 Countries to Sue Israel
JAKARTA, 12 JULY, 2010: Lawyers from 60 countries, including Indonesia, will gather in Istanbul, Turkey, from July 15-16, to prepare a legal suit against Israel for its attack on the Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla on May 31, Antara news agency reported. "There are a number of lawyers from 60 countries who will take legal steps to sue the attackers of Mavi Marmara," Mahendradatta, patron chief of the Indonesian Muslims' Lawyer Team (TPM) said here, Monday. Mahendradatta said he would represent six Indonesians who became victims of the Israeli soldiers' attack, where two Indonesians namely Surya Fachrizal and Oktavianto were injured. The lawyers, among others from Turkey, Britain and other European countries, will sue Israel in international legal forum as well as bilateral forums. TPM, he said would consistently fight the Israeli arrogance. Meanwhile, Jose Rizal Jurnalis, presidium chairman of MER-C (Medical Emergency Rescue - Committee) Indonesia hoped that the legal suit against Israel could be brought to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
http://112.137.167.193/index.
Turkey: Israeli troops committed crime
Turkish foreign minister says Ankara will keep pushing for international probe of lethal raid on Gaza-bound ship; Ahmet Davutoglu welcomes Israeli report on incident that acknowledged mistakes were made.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Political/Other Developments
Abbas to meet with Mubarak Sunday
Cairo/Jerusalem - Ma'an - President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with his Egyptian counterpart on Sunday to discuss the peace process in light of indirect talks with Israel, the Palestinian ambassador to Cairo said Tuesday. Ambassador Barakat Al-Farra said Abbas was due to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday, but was rescheduled for Sunday in order to consult with Palestinian officials, the Palestinian Authority news agency WAFA reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Hizb ut-Tahrir supporters throw rocks at police in Gaza; dozens arrested
JERUSALEM (AP) - Hospital officials and Hamas said there have been clashes in Gaza City between Palestinian police and supporters of the Hizb ut-Tahrir movement. The sources said supporters of the movement, which advocates a world run according to Islamic law, wanted to demonstrate in Gaza City but were refused permission. Several dozen backers defied the ban Tuesday and threw rocks at police, who fired in the air, wounding a bystander. Hizb ut-Tahrir said dozens of its backers were arrested. It was the first known clash between the security forces of Hamas in Gaza and the Hizb ut-Tahrir movement.
http://www.todayonline.com/
Other News
Knesset revokes Arab MK Zuabi's privileges over Gaza flotilla
In 34-16 vote, Knesset approves stripping Zuabi of three parliamentary privileges over participation in Gaza flotilla; Zuabi: Knesset is punishing me out of vengeance.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/
'Bishara law' passes preliminary reading
Forty-one MKs vote in favor of bill revoking wages, pension of lawmakers suspected of committing offenses bearing jail term of at least five years, who have failed to report to police or trial; nine MKs oppose proposal.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Israel considers restricting citizenship for some who convert to Judaism, Janine Zacharia
JERUSALEM -- An Israeli parliamentary committee on Monday advanced a bill that could lead to lack of recognition for conversions to Judaism performed by rabbis from the Reform and Conservative movements. The bill could give the chief rabbinate, the religious authority in Israel run by ultra-Orthodox Jews, the power to decide which conversions are accepted, overturning an Israeli Supreme Court decision that ensures eligibility for Israeli citizenship for Jews converted by rabbis from all branches of Judaism.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Jerusalem honors convicted spy Pollard on 9,000th day of incarceration
A message urging Obama to free Pollard will be projected onto Jerusalem city walls; Dozens of protesters call for Pollard's immediate release.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/
'Police delaying evacuation of settlers from controversial East Jerusalem building', Akiva Eldar
Jerusalem's legal advisor: Not implementing the order to evacuate given 2 years ago is liable to create feelings of discrimination and does serious damage to the rule of law.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-
Rightist suspected of nationalistically motivated activity, Suspect claims Shin Bet pushed him to commit acts. Case's full details under gag order
A right-wing activist was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion he was involved in nationalistically motivated acts. The suspect claimed Shin Bet elements tried to push him into committing the acts. A gag order was placed on the case's full details.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
A tiny clay fragment - dating from the 14th century B.C.E. - that was found in excavations outside Jerusalem's Old City walls contains the oldest written document ever found in Jerusalem, say researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The find, believed to be part of a tablet from a royal (Canaanite) archives, further testifies to the importance of Jerusalem as a major city in the Late Bronze Age, long before its conquest by King David, they say.
http://www.physorg.com/
Palestinian journalist arrested in Syria
GAZA, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Syrian authorities arrested a Palestinian journalist after he arrived in Damascus, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said Wednesday. The syndicate said in a statement that Bassam Darouish, a journalist based in Gaza, travelled to Syria on July 4 and was arrested by the Syrian intelligence two days after his arrival. Darouish's wife and his four children were travelling with him, but Egyptian authorities prevented his wife from leaving Gaza through Rafah crossing point. The syndicate said it has contacted the Arab Journalists Union and other Syrian press associations and urged them to work on releasing Darouish immediately.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/
Gaza patients throng for Chinese acupuncture
GAZA, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of patients gathered outside a small room at the European Hospital east of the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, waiting for a Palestinian orthopedic physician, who is specialized in Chinese acupuncture therapy, and has just arrived from Germany. With big smiles, Sofyan Abu Obied received his Gaza patients, who gathered outside his small clinic waiting for their turn, while young local Gaza doctors came to Abu Obied's clinic to learn from his long experience in curing his patients with the famous Chinese needles.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/
Jordan's Queen Rania rejects offer to publish Hebrew edition of her children's book
The book, which has reached the New York Times' bestseller list, touches on such issues as getting to know others, openness and multiculturalism.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-
Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest
Group to oppose President Obama's Mideast policy
Leading conservatives will launch a new pro-Israel group this week with a scathing attack on Rep. Joe Sestak, the Democratic Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, the first shot in what they say will be a confrontational campaign against the Obama administration’s Mideast policy and the Democrats who support it.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39613.html
Israel's false friends are multiplying, Stephen M. Walt
To be more specific, Smith reports that hardline neoconservatives such as William Kristol, Michael Goldfarb, Noah Pollak, and Rachel Abrams have joined forces (again) with rightwing Christian evangelical Gary Bauer to establish a new group: the "Emergency Committee for Israel." The group says it is going to target candidates in key Senate and Congressional races, along with the Obama administration. It is directing its initial salvo (in the form of a TV ad) at Congressman Joe Sestak (D-PA), who defeated incumbent Arlen Spector in the Democratic primary and is now running for the Senate. Sestak was targeted because he had the temerity not to sign an AIPAC-sponsored letter awhile back, and though he's a strong defender of Israel, he's been critical of Israel's counterproductive blockade of Gaza.
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/Israel's false friends are multiplying, Stephen M. Walt
To be more specific, Smith reports that hardline neoconservatives such as William Kristol, Michael Goldfarb, Noah Pollak, and Rachel Abrams have joined forces (again) with rightwing Christian evangelical Gary Bauer to establish a new group: the "Emergency Committee for Israel." The group says it is going to target candidates in key Senate and Congressional races, along with the Obama administration. It is directing its initial salvo (in the form of a TV ad) at Congressman Joe Sestak (D-PA), who defeated incumbent Arlen Spector in the Democratic primary and is now running for the Senate. Sestak was targeted because he had the temerity not to sign an AIPAC-sponsored letter awhile back, and though he's a strong defender of Israel, he's been critical of Israel's counterproductive blockade of Gaza.
Hamas thinks time is on its side
As indirect talks between Israel and the more moderate Palestinians falter, Hamas sends signals that it wants to join the diplomatic fray—but on its own terms.
http://www.economist.com/node/
An American writer sees the Occupation for the first time, Philip Weiss
I went to the demonstration against Netanyahu in a police pen near the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City last Thursday and talked with Nancy Kricorian of Code Pink about the Palestine Festival of Literature this spring, where she read from a novel she had written about the Armenian genocide. Kricorian said that as she read she got very emotional. She’d spent the previous week seeing the West Bank for the first time. She met a girl who showed her a deep bruise on her thigh from a soldier slamming his rifle butt into her leg when she refused to remove her clothes in order to be searched at a checkpoint. She went through the Qalandiya checkpoint several times, she went through the Bethlehem checkpoint, which she had heard described as the "Lambs to the Slaughter,” and whose steel chutes had made her feel like livestock. The mood of her novel was so charged with the overwhelming violence of the occupation that she kind of lost it.
http://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/
The Hypocrisy of Preaching Nonviolence to Palestinians, Ira Chernus
Nicholas Kristof is in Palestine, though like all mass media journalists he calls it "the West Bank." He has just discovered that many Palestinians are resisting the Israeli occupation nonviolently, though scholars of nonviolence started writing about the Palestinian resistance over 20 years ago. So Kristof is "waiting for Gandhi," as the title of his latest New York Times column puts it, or at least a "Palestinian version of Martin Luther King Jr."
http://www.commondreams.org/
Salam Al Marayati: Freedom of Speech for Some but Not All
White House correspondent Helen Thomas and CNN Middle East expert Octavia Nasr recently lost their jobs because of their controversial statements related to the Middle East. Yet there is no outrage, let alone calls for resignation, when two members of Congress commit similar if not worse offenses. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) advocates for "economically strangling" the people of Gaza, and Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) demands that the non-violent humanitarian activists involved in the Gaza flotilla be prosecuted by the Attorney General.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Jewish suffering is no excuse for Israel's aggression, Ian Buruma
Israel’s decision in May to drop commandoes onto a flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists was brutal. The killing of nine civilians by those commandoes was a terrible consequence. Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip and occupation of Palestinian territories in the West Bank, not to mention the road blocks, destruction of homes, and other daily torments of the Palestinians, are also a form of institutionalized inhumanity. Nevertheless, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s description of the Israeli raid on the activists’ boat as “an attack on the conscience of humanity,” which “deserves every kind of curse,” and as a “turning point in history” after which “nothing will be the same,” seemed hysterical. Whatever one thinks of various Israeli governments (and I don’t think much of the current one), reactions to Israeli government-sponsored violence tend to be much fiercer – not just in Turkey – than to crimes committed by the leaders of other countries, with the exception perhaps of the United States. But then, in the minds of many critics, the two countries are often conflated.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Sensitivities for men only
A comparison shows that Israel recognizes only the sensitivities of the ultra-Orthodox. Others don't have them: Secular people who want to drive on the primarily ultra-Orthodox Bar-Ilan Street in Jerusalem on the Sabbath only want "freedom of movement" - not to feel free in their country. Women who want to pray at the Western Wall want "equality," not a sense of sanctity. And since only Haredim have sensitivities, only they can suffer when their sensitivities are hurt.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-
RAY HANANIA TAKE 2: the ADC Offers a Failed Comedian a Second Chance, and he accuses IKHRAS of not discussing the issues and a lack of tolerance
Hanania’s positions are not simply foolish and naive, but also unconscionable. They are detached from the Palestinian reality and struggle for liberation, and clearly tailored for an American audience within the context of the Zionist narrative that dominates any discussion of Palestine in this country. This is typical of many Arab-American commentators seeking acceptance and approval from the establishment, but Hanania has gone further than most with his efforts to undermine the Palestinians people’s struggle for freedom. His readiness to accept the permanence of a racist, colonial project and calls for abandoning the right of return constitute an abandonment of any legal consideration and represent a moral failure, not to mention a lack of pragmatism. His attacks on Palestinian resistance groups and International solidarity activists are shameless. The reader also detects a strong anti-Muslim streak and a sectarianism in his writings alien to Palestinian society. Hanania is entitled to his barely distinguishable political views and comedy routines, but he needs to be reminded the Palestinian people are not interested in his American inspired, Zionist approved formula for a “solution”, and the dispossessed Palestinian refugees did not authorize this journalist/comedian to make concessions on their behalf from the comfort of his American living-room nor do they need to be lectured about realism and civility. We can go on, but we won’t. We have seen enough.
http://ikhras.com/?p=352
Iraq
3 women, 1 child killed in attack on family in Iraq's Anbar
RAMADI, Iraq, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Three women and a child from one family were killed and six others wounded when gunmen attacked a house near the city of Fallujah in Anbar province early on Wednesday, a provincial police source said. Unidentified gunmen at dawn stormed the house of Rahhal Hussien, a follower of a Sunni Muslim religious group named al-Kasnazaniyah, and opened fire from their assault rifles and hand grenades on the family members, killing three women and a girl, along with wounding Hussien himself and five more of his family member, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/
Tuesday: 11 Iraqis Killed, 25 Wounded
At least 11 Iraqis were killed and 25 more were wounded as coverage of attacks resumed in the media. The parliamentary stalemate dominated the headlines, along with oil and Kurdish concerns, but the most significant story of the day came from the United Kingdom where an inquiry into the causes of the Iraq War continues to embarrass the war hawks.
http://original.antiwar.com/
Iraqis angry at more delays in forming government (Reuters)
Reuters - Iraqis sweltering in blistering summer heat with little state-supplied power on Tuesday criticized yet another delay in forming a new government after the election in March.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
US wants greater effort from Iraq to form government (AFP)
AFP - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday urged Iraqis on all sides to make greater efforts to overcome differences and end a four-month stalemate in forming a government.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Top Female Legislator Draws Controversy
As Maha al-Douri waits for her second term in parliament, she is caught between conflicting public perceptions - a hero to the poor and oppressed to some, and anti-American Shia hardliner to others. Based on this year's election results, Douri may be the most popular and powerful woman in Iraqi politics today. She is also a staunch supporter of firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Douri openly admits some of her views are considered "radical", but sees no conflict with her progressive, humanitarian ideals. Others disagree.
http://www.iwpr.net/report-
Iraq: U.S. Hands Over Tariq Aziz, Other Detainees
Iraq's deputy justice minister says U.S. authorities have handed over 55 members of Saddam Hussein's former regime, including the longtime international face of the regime, Tariq Aziz.
http://www.npr.org/templates/
Iraqi Muslim cleric arrested for keeping Saddam’s name on mosque
A Muslim cleric in charge of the grand mosque in Tikrit has been arrested, Iraqi police said. In a statement to the newspaper, the police said Sheikh Jumaa Duhaimi was seized because he refused to erase the name of Saddam Hussein from the mosque. The grand mosque, in the heart of Tikrit, was built by Saddam as part of a plan to have one grand mosque in each Iraqi city bearing his name.
http://www.azzaman.com/
Margaret Hassan murder accused goes missing
The sister of murdered British aid worker Margaret Hassan claimed that the man accused of her murder went missing just before his retrial.
http://www.independent.co.uk/
IRAQ: Seeping sewage hits Fallujah residents' health
BAGHDAD, 14 July 2010 (IRIN) - The city of Fallujah, about 60km west of Baghdad, still has no functioning sewage system: Waste pours onto the streets and seeps into drinking water supplies, local officials said on 13 July. The city's infrastructure was in ruins after two fierce battles between US forces and Sunni militants in 2004. In a bid to garner local support for the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, US officials pledged to build a sewage treatment plant at a cost of US$35 million.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/
Iraq's artists reflect pain, trauma of the war (AP)
AP - Iraq's artists are using their work to try to process the turmoil since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and what they are producing shows a profound anger over their country's traumas and uncertainty over its future.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Saudi to restart Iraq flights after 20-year freeze (AFP)
AFP - Saudi airline Alwafeer will begin regular flights to Iraq this week, some 20 years after the kingdom stopped flights following Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, an airline official said Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Lebanon
Hezbollah says it has 'precise' Israeli target list (AFP)
AFP - Hezbollah has an extensive list of Israeli facilities to target in the event of a new conflict, the Lebanese militant group's number two Naim Qassem said in an interview published on Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/
Keeping faith with Fadlallah
He tried to calm things down, The death of a Shia ayatollah who had increasingly called for tolerance. --AMONG the hundreds of thousands who thronged the narrow streets of Beirut’s Shia quarter for Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Fadlallah’s funeral on July 6th, a few chanted “Death to America!” Once upon a time the pugnacious cleric might have joined in. After all, many Lebanese accused American agents of sponsoring the massive car bomb that targeted him in 1985, killing 80 people on these same streets in what was widely assumed to be revenge for the Shia suicide-bombing that had earlier killed 241 American marines in their barracks in southern Beirut.
http://www.economist.com/node/
Court issues death sentence to Lebanese spying for Israel
BEIRUT: A Lebanese military court on Tuesday sentenced a man to death for spying for Israel's Mossad intelligence agency and aiding Israel in a deadly 2006 war against Lebanon, a judicial source said. "The head of the military court General Nizar Khalil sentenced Ali Hassan Mentesh to death for arms dealing, entering and collaborating with Israel, providing it with information about certain targets,” the source said.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=117012#ixzz0tbH4VRyG
Lebanon PM may stall talks on Palestinian rights
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Prime Minister Saad Hariri may ask Lebanon's parliament speaker to remove a proposal from the plenum agenda on conferring Palestinian refugees civil rights, Lebanese media reported Wednesday. The An-Nahar daily reported Wednesday that Hariri would make the request so MPs can discuss the proposals further with their blocs. The newspaper also reported that Democratic Gathering bloc leader MP Walid Jumblatt, who put forward the proposal last month, is aware of the possibility of postponing debate on the proposals, and he “does not mind.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=299381
Unwelcome guests: Palestinian refugees in Lebanon
For over 60 years, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have been denied their basic rights. Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Dalal Yassine examines the legal status of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and the "Right to Work" Campaign. She argues that greater coordination between Palestinian and Lebanese civil society organizations and solidarity groups in the Palestinian Diaspora is required in order to change the country's laws.
http://electronicintifada.net/Lebanon PM may stall talks on Palestinian rights
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Prime Minister Saad Hariri may ask Lebanon's parliament speaker to remove a proposal from the plenum agenda on conferring Palestinian refugees civil rights, Lebanese media reported Wednesday. The An-Nahar daily reported Wednesday that Hariri would make the request so MPs can discuss the proposals further with their blocs. The newspaper also reported that Democratic Gathering bloc leader MP Walid Jumblatt, who put forward the proposal last month, is aware of the possibility of postponing debate on the proposals, and he “does not mind.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/
Unwelcome guests: Palestinian refugees in Lebanon
For over 60 years, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have been denied their basic rights. Al-Shabaka Policy Advisor Dalal Yassine examines the legal status of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and the "Right to Work" Campaign. She argues that greater coordination between Palestinian and Lebanese civil society organizations and solidarity groups in the Palestinian Diaspora is required in order to change the country's laws.
U.S. and other World News
Riz Khan - The UK's Iraq war inquiry
As the world tries to move on from the conflict in Iraq, various investigative bodies have looked into the intelligence and decisions that led to that war. Riz speaks to former UK diplomat turned whistleblower Carne Ross. He just completed his testimony before the UK inquiry and will tell us why he thinks its conclusions will not result in meaningful change and what can be done about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
US And Britain 'Did Not Believe Iraq's Weapons Programme Was A Real Threat'
Former UK diplomat Carne Ross claimed that the Government ''intentionally and substantially'' exaggerated its assessment of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in public documents.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Report: Mubarak to travel to Germany for further medical treatment
Haaretz recently learned that Mubarak’s health has deteriorated, and he may be suffering from cancer; Egyptian leader also postpones meetings with Netanyahu and Abbas due to trip.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/
Mubarak's ailing health and postponed meetings have Israeli officials worried
Last week, Haaretz reported that Mubarak has cancer. In March, the Egyptian president went to Germany for an operation that his office and the hospital described as 'complicated,' though neither offered further details.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-
‘Kidnapped’ Iranian scientist turns up in Washington
The curious tale of a “missing” nuclear scientist whom Tehran claims was taken by the United States a year ago takes a new twist.
http://www.thenational.ae/
Major Embarrassment for US as Long-Missing Iranian Scientist Turns Up a DC Embassy; US Insists He Was 'Just Visiting'
Long missing Iranian scientist Shahram Amiri has finally emerged publicly after over a year of speculation as to his whereabouts. Incredibly enough, and giving a big boost to those who claimed he was kidnapped by Western spy agencies, Amiri showed up at the door of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington DC (which houses the Iranian interest section) asking for help in returning to Iran.
http://news.antiwar.com/2010/
Amiri En Route to Iran; Says Kidnapped by Saudi, US Forces
14/07/2010 As Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri was on his way home, the Iranian foreign ministry vowed on Wednesday to pursue his case “legally and diplomatically”. Before leaving Washington where he took refuge on Tuesday in Iran's Interests Section office, Amiri told Iranian Press TV channel he will reveal the details of his "ordeal" to local media on reaching Tehran. "A few moments ago, Shahram Amiri left US soil ... for Iran following efforts taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran and the effective cooperation of the Pakistani embassy in Washington," foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by ISNA news agency.
http://almanar.com.lb/
French ban on face veils approved
The lower house of parliament passed the law against burqa-like clothing with just one dissenting vote.
http://www.thenational.ae/
www.TheHeadlines.org
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