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Israeli settlers attempt to confiscate a Palestinian
-owned store in E. Jerusalem Friday
The Palestinian family who owned the store were surprised when a group of Israeli settlers accompanied by construction workers entered illegally and would not leave. Wesal Arna'ut, member of the owner's family, said that she filed a complaint with a nearby Israeli police station against the invasion and submitted a court order she obtained from an Israeli court preventing any kind of unauthorized construction work in the store. She stated that later four Israeli police officers arrived at the scene and stopped the workers, forcing them out of the store. A few hours later she received a phone call from the police station telling her that the Israeli settlers submitted documents in which they claimed that they purchased the store from the family.
Palestinian officials accuse Israel of forging
ownership documents of East Jerusalem buildings
Hatem Abed al Qader, the advisor of the Palestinian premier for Jerusalem affairs affirmed on Saturday the Israeli authorities are confiscating Palestinian owned homes in East Jerusalem as part of their attacks on the city. He had accused the Israeli authorities of forging papers to confiscate 600 Palestinian owned buildings in East Jerusalem among them 129 buildings that are already registered in the Israeli department of lands registration.
http://www.imemc.org/article
Efrat settlement near Bethlehem to expand
The administration of Efrat, an illegal Israeli settlement near Bethlehem, decided to launch a construction project to build a new 'neighborhood' which will be added to the settlement by annexing more Palestinian-owned lands. Meanwhile, in Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank, settlers created a new illegal settlement 'outpost' composed of four caravans in order to 'temporarily' host new settler families after receiving approval from the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
Christian Peacemaker Teams: Houseless on a hillside
House demolitions, near Yatta village south of Hebron in the West bank on the 19th March 2008 – The army had arrived unexpectedly telling the family they had just 20 minutes to get all of their possessions and furniture out of the second storey because it had to be demolished, as there had been no permission given for its construction. After 16 minutes the army drove the bulldozers in. The second storey, which had accommodated the 20 family members, was destroyed along with the possessions they had not yet retrieved, including their electricity generator. All the wives' wedding jewellery had been sold to pay for its construction. ."The Israelis want us to leave, but we will never leave, this was my great-great-great-grandfather's land, and I will die here rather than leave" said Ismael Ibrihim Al'Atrah, the head of the family.
Abbas: 'Peace process needs truce, and halting settlement activities'
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated on Friday that a peace conference should be held as soon as possible in Russia and added that peace requires a comprehensive truce and a complete halt of Israeli settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Abbas's came during a press conference with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the presidential headquarters in Ramallah city, north of Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Lavrov called for ending the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip in order to end the ongoing humanitarian crisis Palestinian civilians are facing. He expressed Russia's concern over the ongoing Israeli settlement activities in the occupied West Bank.
Erekat: PA is on the verge of collapse and Fatah is losing popularity
RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Saeb Erekat, the PA's chief negotiator, predicted the imminent collapse of the PA because the Ramallah team tied themselves up to the "peace process" while the Israeli occupation refuses to freeze settlement building or lift the West Bank roadblocks. Erekat warned that the PA might fall if a peace deal is not reached by the end of 2008 as was stipulated in the Annapolis conference in the USA. He also said in a meeting with journalists in Ramallah on Thursday that the consequences of failure will not only affect Israel and the PA but will extend to the whole region.
Yemen FM: Hamas-Fatah talks reach breakthrough
Yemeni Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi said Saturday that there had been a breakthrough in reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah negotiators in Yemen's capital San'aa, Israel Radio reported. According to the report, al-Qirbi said Fatah had already agreed to the final draft of the accord hammered out in the Yemen talks. The Hamas delegation, however, has asked to consult with its leadership.
Hamas discusses Israel truce, border opening with Egypt on Saturday
EL-ARISH, Egypt (AFP) - Hamas and Islamic Jihad negotiators met with Egyptian officials on Saturday for more talks aimed at hammering out a truce with Israel and reopening the Rafah border crossing from the Gaza Strip, an Egyptian official said.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad meet in Rafah to discuss ceasefire with Israel
The meeting comes after a visit by Amos Gilad, the head of the Political-Military bureau at the Israeli Defense Ministry, to Cairo. Gilad met with Egyptian officials to discuss the potential ceasefire.
Hamas-led government in Gaza mulling cabinet reshuffle
The Hamas-led de facto government of the Gaza Strip is considering appointing new ministers and broadening the portfolios of others for the first time since the Palestinian government split between the West Bank and Gaza last June, Palestinian sources said on Saturday. Fatah views the planned enlargement of the government as an illegal plan to consolidate power in Gaza.
The Gaza siege claims its 115th victim
GAZA, (PIC)-- Two more Palestinian patients died in the Gaza Strip as a result of being denied travel out of the Gaza Strip to seek medical treatment which is not available in Gaza, according to Palestinian medical sources. Muhammd Baroud (68 years), resident of the Nusairat Refugee Camp in the central Gaza Strip and Shafiq Muhammad Abu al-Kas (45 years) from Beit Lahya in the northern Gaza Strip, both died of heart problems. The death of the two patients brings to 115 the number of Palestinian patients who died as a result of the tightening of the siege since mid-June last year after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip. There are over a thousand patients in the Gaza Strip who need treatment abroad as they cannot be treated in local hospitals.
Israeli blockade grounds Gaza fishermen
(AFP) - Fisherman Alaa Brek, 24, is the only breadwinner in his family of 10, but hasn't been able to go to sea since he was shot by an Israeli navy crew enforcing a crippling blockade of the Gaza Strip. Gaza's port, an eyesore of rusting iron roofs and shipwrecks, is virtually deserted, save for a few fishermen who patiently repair their nets. Nearby, hundreds of colourful boats are docked behind a dike. "The Israelis have still not opened the border and we still don't have fuel. We can't go to sea."
Gaza: The death of industry – by Saleh al Naeimi
Gaza Strip, Asharq Al-Awsat - A 'cemetery' in the neighborhood of al Rimal in Gaza is attracting the attention of motorists and pedestrians alike. Set up last Tuesday in al Katiba Square, this symbolic cemetery is comprised of 'graves' symbolizing hundreds of factories that have been closed down as a result of the economic embargo. According to the General Union of Palestinian Industries, the embargo has caused the closure of 96 percent of industrial enterprises (3,900 enterprises), which has resulted in the redundancy of 140,000 employees. Presently, the number of factory employees does not exceed 1,500 workers.
Member of al-Qassam Brigades killed and
another wounded in an explosion in Gaza
Witnesses stated that they heard a large explosion near the evacuated Israeli settlement of Navaih Dekalim, where there is an al-Qassam post. A statement by the al-Qassam brigades, faxed to press, announced that Wael Hammouda, 34, one of their members, was killed in a training exercise. Medics reported that Ibrahim Abu Shamallah was injured by the explosion. Yesterday, two members of the same group were killed and three others wounded by a similar blast at another al-Qassam post in southern Gaza city.
Hamas man dies in likely 'work accident'
at Gaza training camp Friday
Two others were wounded. On Thursday, a similar incident occurred when two members of Hamas' armed wing died and another was wounded in a blast at a training base in the central Gaza Strip, after the men had been handling explosives. The militant group, which controls Gaza, had initially claimed that the militants were killed in an Israel Air Force strike. Hamas later said there had been no attack.
One dead after another tunnel collapses
underneath Gaza-Egypt border
Medics identified the dead man as 20-year-old Emad Tawfiq. Tawfiq was found Saturday morning under a pile of rubble. Two other people were injured in the tunnel collapse. [On Thursday, 23-year-old Ashraf Ataya suffocated under the debris when another tunnel collapsed. Another Palestinian was killed in a similar incident in the same neighborhood on March 14th.]
Report: Egypt to become main
Gaza electricity supplier
(AFP) - Egypt will become the main supplier of electricity to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, which now depends mainly on Israel for its power supplies, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram said on Friday. "Egypt has decided to implement a project aiming to increase its provision of electricity to the Gaza Strip from 17 to 150 megawatts, in order to give relief to the Palestinians," the pro-government newspaper said. It did not say when this would start.
Hamas leader looks to strengthen hold on Gaza
GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniyeh will expand his government in an effort to strengthen his hold on the coastal territory, an official close to the Hamas government in Gaza said on Friday. Haniyeh's decision to cement Hamas's grip on Gaza opposes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's demand that the Islamist group hand over control of the enclave as delegations from the rival factions meet in Yemen for reconciliation talks.
Israeli military attacks weekly Bil'in protest,
now authorized to used deadly force
The Bil'in protesters were joined by many international and Israeli peace activists. Israeli troops manning the wall and its gate that cuts off the villagers from their orchards, showered the protesters with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets immediately after the protesters reached the military blockade Friday. Israeli media sources reported on Wednesday that the Israeli government has given new orders to the military, allowing troops to use live rounds against the unarmed protesters near the illegal wall surrounding the city of Jerusalem.
Threatened by Israeli snipers, villagers in
al-Khadr protest construction of Israeli wall
About seventy residents of the West Bank village of
Al-Khadr, near Bethlehem, staged their weekly
nonviolent demonstration on Friday against the
construction of Israel's separation wall, which
organizers say will result in the de facto confiscation
of more than 90% of the town's land. Several Israeli
snipers were positioned on the adjacent hillside,
training their guns directly on the demonstrators.
Machsom (Checkpoint) Watch: Anata,
Qalandiya during Purim closure
[site has links to good photos of checkpoints] 7.00 Qalandia:
There seemed to be fewer cars than usual in the carpark.
This could well be because of the closure due to Purim.
Once again there were only two carousels [revolving
gates] operating. It is now at least three weeks that
when we come one particular carousel is out of order.
This also coincides with a period when the people waiting
outside are particularly tense and, instead of queuing in
an orderly fashion, all bunch up, with some trying to climb
up over the fence.
Israeli army attempts to assassinate
Al-Quds Brigades fighters near Jenin
A spokesperson of the Al Quds Brigades, the armed wing
of the Islamic Jihad, reported on Friday that a group of
fighters survived an assassination attempt carried by
under-cover forces of the Israeli army in Qataia town.
The spokesperson stated that approximately at 3 PM
on Friday undercover forces infiltrated into the area
and exchanged fire with a group of fighters who
managed to escape unharmed.
Israeli forces seize 17-year-old girl
in Balata refugee camp
on Friday at dawn, after storming her house, as
well as breaking into a number of other houses in
the city.Palestinian security sources told Ma'an's
Nablus correspondent that the Israeli forces arrested
Muntaha Ya'qub Al -Khatib after bursting into her
home amid gunfire sound bombs.
WOFPP: Free Nura elHashlemon!
(Action) Nura Jaber elHashlamon, from Hebron,
mother of six, was arrested by the Israeli occupation
forces on 17 September 2006. Since the time of her
detention the Israeli authorities have constantly
extended her administrative detention. Recently in
addition to the administrative detention the Israeli
authorities tried Nura in a military court and she was
sentenced to a fine of 2000 NIS. Her family paid the fine
but the Israeli authorities refused to release her. Pleas
e write protest letters to the following:
Poll: Rights of Palestinian
women become 'less equal'
A poll of 16 countries indicated that a slim majority of
Palestinians believe women's rights have become less
equal in the West Bank and Gaza, according to a report
published by worldpublicopinion.org. Slightly more than
half (51%) of Palestinians said that women's rights had
become less equal while 41% said they had grown more
equal. The study also showed that there is widespread
consensus among most of those surveyed that it is
important for "women to have full equality of rights."
The poll included Western and Muslim countries and
also showed that men and women varied very little
in their responses to this issue.
Words over weapons
(Interview) A would-be Palestinian suicide bomber
explains why she has changed her mind about violence
against Israelis – In an audiotape released this week,
Osama bin Laden urges Palestinians to shun
negotiations with Israel in favor of armed resistance.
In spite of such calls, however, pleas for talks are
coming from unexpected players on both sides of the
divide. One of them, Shifa al-Qudsi, recently finished
serving a six-year sentence in an Israeli prison for
planning to carry out a suicide bombing. Back in 2002
the Palestinian had been fitted with an explosive belt
by Fatah's Al Aqsa military brigade but was arrested
shortly before carrying out her deadly mission. Since
then al-Qudsi, now 30, has undergone a radical change of
heart and today insists that a solution can be achieved
only through dialogue.
Six Hamas supporters arrested by
PA security in West Bank
Hamas said that teacher Ziad Raddad from Seida in
the Tulkarem governorate was arrested after being
called in for interview by the security services.
Ayman Assi, director of the Polytechnic School was
also arrested after being called for an interview. Four
others were arrested in Jenin, Nablus, and Hebron.
13-year-old Israeli boy wounded in attack
near Hebron Thursday night
The boy suffered light to moderate wounds and was
evacuated to Hadassah University Hospital in
Jerusalem for medical care. Hospital officials reported
that the boy sustained wounds in the leg, apparently
from shrapnel, and was being treated in the trauma unit.
The IDF believes that the explosion was caused by an
explosive device at the side of the road. . At first, the
incident was thought to be a shooting attack aimed at
the vehicle in which the boy was traveling. The militant
Fatah offshoot Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed
responsibility for the attack, Army Radio reported.
Five injured in confrontation between
PA and gunmen near Nablus
The governor of Nablus, Jamal Muheisin told
Ma'an that security forces were attempting to
arrest the armed men in response to requests from
Huwwara residents. Colonel Fawaz Dawoud, the
Nablus police chief, told Ma'an that the arrest campaign
began at 4am Saturday morning. During the raid, more
than 200 members of the Palestinian police and security
forces were deployed in the villages of Huwara and
neighboring Einabus. Dawoud said the operation was
intended to crack down on "outlaws."
Palestinian health minister: Investigations
continuing into counterfeit medicines
Fathi Abu Maghli confirmed on Friday that
investigations are continuing into the smuggling
of counterfeit medicines and expired food products
that are being sold in the Palestinian market. called
on citizens not to be affected by scaremongering
concerning expired drugs and food. He added that
the majority of those involved in the smuggling of an
the Ram this week have been arrested. He said
it has been established that there is a link between
all the smuggling gangs in the West Bank. He added
that the quantity seized is estimated to be worth
around 2 million US dollars and includes around
16 different kinds of medicines, including cancer
treatments.
Israel, Russia finalize deal on supply of armored
[but weaponless] vehicles to PA
The agreement, which was consummated in principle this
past November, was given the final go-ahead after Moscow
agreed to a key Israeli demand to refrain from fitting the
vehicles with machine guns, as the Palestinians had hoped.
Palestinian police officers will be permitted to carry small
arms only. Government sources say the deal had hit a snag
over Russia's insistence that the machine guns be included
on the armored vehicles.
'Normal life' escapes Palestinian militant
Ahmed Balboul hoped that renewed peace talks
between Israel and the Palestinians might save his life.
But as a senior figure in Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a violent
militia affiliated with Fatah, Balboul had a number on his
head – he had been wanted by the Israelis since 2000
because they believe he was responsible for the deaths
of Israeli citizens. In one of his last interviews with NBC
News, Balboul disavowed violence and expressed his
support for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
"I want to live a normal life. I am not hiding anymore.
We will give a chance for peace," he said to NBC News
this past December. On March 12, he and three other
Palestinian militants were shot and killed while riding
in a car in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Al Nakba of 1948 – by Khalil Nakhleh
Older than 60 years for sure, but how long will it persist? –
I am not really certain when we started labeling what
happened to our people and our country, following the
establishment of the state of Israel, as "Al- Nakba".
But this is not really the important point. What is
important, from my perspective as a Palestinian, is
that there is a need to understand what happened to
us in and around 1948; and why it happened the way
it did; and what should we do to circumvent Al-Nakba
from persisting into our future.
Israel's historic option (Part 1)
In the first of three instalments, Azmi Bishara outlines
the gradual reduction of an Arab Palestinian cause into
the cause of Palestinians living in the West Bank and
Gaza – Israel has no intention of concluding a just
peace with the Arab and Palestinian peoples. By a
just peace I mean one of two possible solutions. The
first is the one-state solution in which Jews and Arabs
would co-exist within a democratic secular state that
would assimilate naturally into the region. The second is
a two-state solution that guarantees the right of return of
Palestinian refugees. But Israel has opted for a third
course, one the Arabs have had no hand in pushing.
Its model is the crusader state.
The renegade lexicographer – by Deb Reich
People continue to refer to Israel as Israel, no matter
onto whose land it expands or how far, as if Palestine
could be made to disappear by neglecting to mention it,
ever again. In fact, at this writing (March 2008),
Palestine is alive and well, if excruciatingly battered
and beleaguered, just beneath the surface of Israel,
and is rising up all over the place, through the cracks
in the sidewalk, in the most unstoppable manner
imaginable. Palestine will not be suppressed. Whether
we stand for it or against it, Palestine is unsuppressable.
Israeli restrictions against
Palestinian Christians at Easter
Easter time has come around again and the routine
Israeli restrictions against Palestinian Christians
attempting to enter East Jerusalem's Church of the
Holy Sepulcher remain. Some of the obstacles are new,
others are familiar. A resident of the eastern Bethlehem
town of Beit Sahour said that he and his family have
been refused permission to attend Easter services
for four years in a row. Others are reporting being
turned down for permission without even being cited as
'security risks'. Easter celebrations will continue for a
month as the different sects of Christianity represented
among Palestinians follow the western and eastern calendars.
Christian pilgrims flock to Jerusalem's
Old City for Good Friday
Thousands of Christians from all over the world
crowded the stone alleyways of Jerusalem's Old
City to mark Good Friday, retracing the route
Jesus took to his crucifixion. Many pilgrims prayed
in the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulcher,
traditionally the site of Jesus' death, burial and
resurrection. Police said thousands of security personnel
were deployed around Jerusalem because of Good
Friday and the Jewish festival of Purim, which also
falls this weekend.
Bomb targets Christian home in
Ariel settlement, West Bank
(AP) A bomb hidden in a package was delivered to
the home of a Christian pastor in the West Bank
and exploded when a teenage son opened it,
wounding the youth. Israeli media speculated that
the bomb – apparently delivered in one of the gift
baskets Jews typically exchange on the Purim
holiday that began Thursday night – might have
been directed at the family's Christian missiona
activities. Israeli authorities and Orthodox Jews
frown on missionary activity aimed at Jews, and
some Muslims are angered by efforts to convert
Muslims to Christianity.
Messianic Jews: We're subjected to harassment
Members of controversial Jewish sect speak out against
ill treatment at hands of religious Jews in wake of blast
that severely injured 15-year-old youth belonging to
their community – The youth is still hospitalized in
serious condition and underwent major surgery well
into the early hours of Friday morning. Doctors were
forced to sever one of his limbs and warn his eyesight
is still in danger. "There is always a danger from the
religious perspective but the question is: Where does
it come from? We would really like to believe that it
doesn't come from Judaism. Every Messianic Jew is
a target for radical Jews and in the past Messianic
Jewish synagogues have even been burned down in
Israel." The Messianic community "sees itself as a
legitimate branch of Judaism. The central belief is that
the messianic branch is influenced by the Old Testament
as well as the New. It's a bridge between the Jewish and
Christian worlds."
Haaretz editorial: Rabbinic fatwas
In recent days a number of halakhic instructions
have been issued seeking to widen the division
between Jews and Arabs. The two rabbis justify
their rulings on the need to safeguard lives in view of
the [yeshiva] massacre, and not on hatred of Arabs.
But there is a difference between the two: Kanievsky
limits his ruling to employing Arabs in yeshivas, and he
may genuinely hope this will narrow the threat to lives.
But Lior broadens it to the general employment of Arabs
and even to renting them apartments, which raises
concerns that this is a way of taking advantage of the
massacre and fear of Arabs to spread a view aiming to
expel the Arabs from the country by creating conditions
that encourage such a flight. Lior's rulings also appear to
incite racism. Both rulings should be rejected completely
because both call for disproportionate collective punishment.
Being right, all the way to the abyss
– by Doron Rosenblum
For all its efforts to pursue a rational foreign policy, Israel
finds itself repeatedly in that corner where the more
right and victimized it seems to itself, the more cruel and
aggressive it appears to the world. It has gotten here
mainly as a result of atrophied principles and military
action, performed as though out of inertia. And here
the problem is not public relations. On the contrary:
Perhaps it is because of that magical belief words'
ability to explain and justify every last contradiction
that Israel can no longer see what it communicates
beyond the words, and where it has wound up after
all these years.
A lull instead of revenge – by Ran Edelist
Balance of terror that would lead to ceasefire is the
real solution to Qassams – There is a solution to the
"Qassam problem," which is merely a codename for
the problem of Palestinian terrorism. The solution is
right under our noses and it is being implemented
these days. The defense establishment, government,
and Hamas are all passive, although conscious,
parties to it. We are talking about a balance of terror
between us and Hamas in the same way it is being
managed vis-Ã -vis Hizbullah. This balance of terror
is formed on the basis of the understanding by the
leaderships of both sides that ongoing escalation
means personal, factional, strategic, and national
failure.
Banksy bombs
(two photos) When street artist Banksy's pictures
mysteriously appeared on the West Bank "partition
wall" in 2005, they drew the world's attention to the
barrier in ways that dozens of protests and op-ed
pieces could not.
Hundreds flee as Ain al-Hilweh factions clash
SIDON, LEBANON: Fighting flared for the second night
in a row in and around the tense Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian
refugee camp in Sidon on Friday. Few details on
Friday's clashes were immediately available, but the
began Thursday when armed members from Islamist
factions Osbat al-Ansar and Jund al-Sham reportedly
opened fire on some Fatah members following the
arrest of senior Jund al-Sham commander Houssam
Salim Maarouf by Fatah, which directly handed him
over to the Lebanese authorities.
Heavy clashes in Palestinian
camp in south Lebanon
Beirut (DPA) - Heavy clashes erupted late Friday between
a Sunni fundamentalist group and fighters of the mainstream
Fatah faction in a Palestinian refugee camp in southern
Lebanon, prompting civilians to flee the area. The rival
fighters exchanged rocket fire in the main street of the
densely populated Ain al-Hilweh camp outside the
southern city of Sidon, a security official said. Khaled
Aref, Fatah commander in the camp told Deutsche
Presse-Agentur by phone that 'we will not allow
Ain al-Hilweh camp to become another Nahr al-Bared'.
In second message by bin Laden in two days,
al-Qaeda leader calls for holy war for Palestine
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Osama bin Laden slammed
Palestinian negotiations with Israel and urged holy
war for the liberation of Palestine in a new audio tape.
He said that "Palestine cannot be retaken by
negotiations and dialogue, but with fire and iron."
Bin Laden appeared to be seeking to merge the
Palestinian cause into the wider al-Qaeda struggle.
Between Gaza and Mars – by Amir Oren
Since the mid-1980s the [American and Israeli]
defense establishments have been working on
cooperation between them, to the point where few
people still bother to keep track of the lengthening
series of exercises, which have included Juniper
Stallion (the deployment of American F-16 squadrons
to the Nevatim air base and their training in Israel Ai
Force firing ranges), Noble Shirley (the Marines' live-fire
training exercises in Tze'elim and Shivta, in the South)
and Juniper Cobra (training with batteries of Patriot
missiles). . . The American calculation is simple: to help
Israel defend itself, so that it won't feel that it is isolated,
besieged and obliged to attack, but also to prevent it from
having cadres that are liable to tempt it to embark on a
deliberate attack, as if there were no tomorrow.
Macho US Jews, pantywaist Israel –
by Bradley Burston
What a disappointment Israel is for machismo-oozing
leaders of the American Jewish right. What a shameful
wuss is this state. If only these leaders lived here. They'd
show them Arabs - and this Israeli government - what for.
In recent months, the right wing of U.S. Jewry has lined up
to tell Israelis that, where it comes to a possible division of
Jerusalem into Israeli and Palestinian capitals, right-wing
American Jews know best. . . [But] American Jewish critics
of Israel do not face the direct and potentially lethal
consequences of the policies they propound.
US government to appeal ruling on
classified material in AIPAC trial
For those who might have forgotten by now, the case is
about two former AIPAC lobbyists, charged by the
government with violating the Espionage Act by revealing
information to journalists and Israeli diplomats. This
classified information, acquired by Steven Rosen and
Keith Weissman in the course of conversing with
American officials, dealt mainly with the sensitive topics
of Iran and Iraq. The important issue at hand is the reason
for the decision to appeal. The government wanted as little
revealed as possible in the trial, but the judge, again, was
giving the defense what he felt was necessary in order for
them to present their case.
Latest on Al-Arian witchhunt:
Former Florida professor who pleaded guilty
to aiding terrorists again refuses to testify
Sami al-Arian's refusal to testify Thursday at U.S. District
Court in Alexandria sets the stage for prosecutors to
bring contempt of court charges against him for a
third time. Prosecutors have alleged that al-Arian
was a leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which
the U.S. calls a terrorist organization. But his 2005
trial ended in an acquittal on some counts and a hung
jury on others. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to a lesser
count of conspiring to providing services to members
of a terrorist group, specifically by helping a family
member with links to the group obtain immigration
benefits and by lying to a reporter about another
individual's ties to the group. He was sentenced to
four years and nine months in prison and will be
deported after serving the sentence.
Al-Arian is in the 19th day of a hunger strike.