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Israeli authorities to provide up to $1 billion for President Abbas to fight Hamas
The Israeli authorities have announced that Israel intends to transfer between 400 million and one billion US dollars to the Palestinian Authority in coming weeks to battle Hamas. Israeli Channel Two reported late on Friday evening that Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, "Has the intention to start final status negotiations in the coming months, on the condition that Abbas must fight Hamas." It was also reported that Jordan will be asked "to pay more attention" to the West Bank, "and help in solving its problems".
Hamas blames PA officials for interfering in British hostage case
Hamas's Sami Abu-Zahri alleged on Saturday that officials from the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah coaxed British hostage kidnappers not to release him. "We have monitored calls coming from Ramallah telling the kidnappers not to release the hostage, so Hamas won't get credit for it," Abu Zahri claimed.
Hamas: Kidnappers of BBC reporter afraid to release him
Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar has been overseeing negotiations between the militant group and The Army of Islam, which claims to hold BBC correspondent Alan Johnston. But after Hamas took over the Gaza Strip last week and has vowed to crack down on anarchy, the shadowy hard-line group that is believed to have some links to Hamas now fears it will be targeted if it releases Johnston. Hamas is still trying to convince the clan associated with the group that they would not be killed if they hand over Johnston, even providing written guarantees, Zahar said. But the clan also fears other tribes will attack them, he said.
Hamas legislator says international forces sent to Gaza will be treated as occupiers
Legislator Yahia Mousa, head of the Hamas bloc at the Legislative Council, stated on Friday that the statements of the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and his suggestion to deploy such forces, are totally rejected and that deploying the international forces will make the Palestinians "face the same events that the Iraqis and Afghanis are facing".
Robert Fisk: The bumbling envoy
Stupefaction comes to mind. I simply could not believe my ears in Beirut when a phone call told me that Lord Blair of Kut al-Amara was going to create "Palestine". I checked the date--no, it was not 1 April--but I remain overwhelmed that this vain, deceitful man, this proven liar, a trumped-up lawyer who has the blood of thousands of Arab men, women and children on his hands is really contemplating being "our" Middle East envoy.
Hamas war chief reveals his plans for Gaza peace
In a unique interview, Abu Obieda - not to be confused with the man of the same name who acts as a Hamas spokesman - agreed to meet The Observer to discuss the conflict that has left scores dead in Gaza over the past few weeks. Abu Obieda commands the Izzidine Qassam Brigades, the elite and secretive military branch of Hamas, and spends very little time in one place for fear of Israeli assassination.
Haaretz editorial: The time has come to release Barghouti
One of the leaders of the Palestinian people has been incarcerated for approximately five years now in Israel. The time has come to release him. For years, Marwan Barghouti has tried to persuade Israelis to end the occupation through negotiation. He has gone from one Israeli party headquarters to the next, meeting with politicians across the political spectrum. He tried to persuade them in order to preempt the next confrontation. Barghouti failed, the second intifada broke out, and he himself turned to the path of violent struggle. During his years in prison, Barghouti has acted to restrain the armed struggle and bolster his people's moderate leadership, using envoys to achieve this goal. Modern history - including Israel's - has known national leaders who turned to violence and were jailed for years, until they were released to become political leaders who marched their peoples toward independence peacefully. Nelson Mandela is one such example.
Zahar: Hamas willing to resume talks over Shalit
Top Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar said Saturday that Hamas is willing to renew negotiations over the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for an Israeli release of Palestinian prisoners. "If Israel wants to begin at the point where we stopped, there is a possibility to complete the exchange deal", Zahar said. Noam Shalit, Gilad Shalit's father, said Saturday that he hopes he won't go through another "nightmarish" year.
Zahar threatens to go after 'Israeli spies', Fatah; Haniyeh calls for renewed Hamas-Fatah talks
Zahar said that Hamas loyalists in the West Bank would defend themselves in the same way they had targeted Israel during years of the Palestinian uprising - with bombs and attacks, according to the German magazine Der Spiegel. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Palestinian government dismissed by Abbas last weekend, called for renewed talks on Saturday between the factions, Haniyeh's office said. "The way out of the current situation is launching a Palestinian dialogue without pre-conditions," Haniyeh told the Yemeni president by phone.
With nightly invasions & kidnappings, Israeli military occupation makes its presence known
Hardly a night passes in the West Bank without Israeli army invasions and kidnapping of Palestinians. Talks inside Palestinian security circles are being carried out to demand an end to the Israeli policy of targeted assassinations of Palestinians they suspect of resisting the Israeli occupation. Israeli authorities keep a file of 'wanted' Palestinians based mainly on tips from informers. The file also includes people who have been injured by the Israeli army at any time in their lives, as well as anyone who was swept up in the Israeli mass arrests of Palestinians. It is expected that Abbas and Olmert will discuss the existence of this list during their meeting this weekend at the Sharm al Sheikh resort in Egypt.
IDF arrests founder of Hamas armed wing in West Bank
The detainee, Saleh Aruri, was taken from his home before dawn, his wife said. Aruri was described on a Hamas Web site as the founder of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, its West Bank military wing. Aruri had served 15 years in an Israeli prison and was released in March, the Web site said. Hamas alleged in a statement that Fatah is coordinating with Israel in an attempt to crush Hamas in the West Bank. DF officials said Aruri resumed involvement in violent Hamas activity in recent months.
Police uncover weapons lab in home of West Bank settler
In a raid on the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, police found equipment used to manufacture bullet casings, as well as reference books on how to manufacture weapons and explosives. Police also found 15 Uzi semiautomatic rifles, three of which had been restored to function properly. Police have yet to determine what the weapons were intended for, and if they were to be used in a terrorist or criminal plot. The prime suspect, a secular Jew of Russian origin, apparently was not acting out of ideological motives.
Sources: Abbas to appoint Jibril Rajoub as internal security head in West Bank
Palestinian sources close to Abbas stated that Rajoub is considered one of the prominent Fateh leaders who are close to Hamas, and that this decision is considered a message from Abbas to the Hamas movement. Dr. Mahmoud Zahhar, one of the prominent leaders of Hamas, stated recently that Hamas depends on "patriot figures like Rajoub in controlling the situation in the West Bank". Rajoub has accused Mohammad Dahlan, and another Fateh leader identified as Khalid Islam, of handing over Qassam Brigades fighters, the armed wing of Hamas, to the Israeli army after the army broke into a prison in Betunia in the West Bank.
Israeli army kidnaps three civilians from Hebron
In Hebron city center, soldiers attacked and searched a building then kidnapped Fahid Ghaith and Nader AL Jamal, and took them to unknown dentition camps. In the meantime, another force attacked homes in the nearby Al Shukh village, just outside the city. Troops left after searching several homes and kidnapping Idrees Al Halika.
5,000 Palestinians stuck on Egyptian side of Rafah crossing
The Palestinians at the crossing have no place to rest, sleep or take shelter in this hot weather; without electricity, sufficient water or food and having run out of money, many are believed to have been there for at least fifty days. The stranded Palestinians urged President Abbas and the government to intervene in order to allow them access to their homes and families in the Gaza Strip. They also called on Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, to take steps to ease their return.
Resident killed by IDF fire at military roadblock near Hebron
He was identified as Shadi Rajih Al-Matoor, 25. The army claimed that the slain resident attempted to enter a military post north of Keryat Arba' settlement in the city. Army sources claimed that soldiers ordered the resident to stop, and that they fired at him after he failed to comply. Initial investigation conducted by the army revealed that the resident was unarmed. According to the army, Al-Matoor was wearing Israeli army pants, and the soldiers suspected that he was attempting to infiltrate into the military outpost.
Ma'an visits Hamas detainees in Nablus
The venue for the Palestinian security services' compound in Nablus is a multi-storey building, dating back to the Jordanian era. The director of Force 17, or the presidential guards, in the northern West Bank, Major General Abu Ali Turk, denied that Hamas detainees are maltreated. He also denied that the security services have confiscated Hamas' weapons in Nablus. When Ma'an's correspondents entered the prison, they said they were struck by the dire conditions of the prison. They also expressed concern for the psychological health of the detainees. . . When one prisoner was asked what he was accused of, he said "affiliation to Hamas and conducting illegal acts." Ma'an's correspondents reported that he then looked at the prison's guard and became muted. After that he only said that he and others were against what took place in Gaza because "we are all brothers".
Woman injured by Israeli army fire in Jenin Camp
Local sources said that a massive Israeli force attacked the refugee camp and soldiers opened heavy fire at the homes of residents, leading to the injury of Sana Mas'ud, 26. Medical sources said that Sana sustained moderate wounds to her shoulder after being hit by several live rounds. Israeli troops searched and ransacked homes and forced families out during the house to house search and left the camp after several hours.
Chronicle of a chaos foretold – by Ramzy Baroud
The devastating embargo imposed on Palestinians after the Hamas landslide victory in January 2006, didn't produce the results publicly projected. To the contrary, it greatly hampered the American "democratic" experiment in the Middle East. Everywhere I travelled since, I have witnessed a sense of giddiness and much hope being pinned on Hamas's rise in politics. Thus it was resolved that Hamas had to be removed, with Abbas's Preventive Security Forces, riddled with corruption, entrusted with the task. Dahlan, man of the hour, was given the Israeli and American nod. His Palestinian "Contras" wreaked havoc: kidnapping, assassinating and provoking endless feuds.
Twilight Zone / Like chickens in a cage – by Gideon Levy
"People are talking about Ehud Barak, that he is now defense minister and is threatening to enter Gaza and liquidate all the Hamasniks. So people are really afraid. He is a disciple of Yitzhak Rabin, he will have no mercy on us, he will liquidate us - that is what people fear. There are people, Gideon, who say: Why did Abu Mazen remember only now, after Hamas took everything? And why is Israel giving him the money only now?
Nowhere to run
After the Wye River Memorandum of 1998, during talks on the "safe passage" that was to be created, the site where we were talking was compared with the Cape of Good Hope. Tarkumiya was the easternmost point of the safe passage, the road that was supposed to connect the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, until a single state emerged from them. But the safe passage was never implemented. This week Route 35, its official name, served as a reminder of what might have been and of the total separation between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank - or Hamastan and Fatahland, as people like to call them these days.
Ta'ayush: Facing an imminent threat of expulsion
While all eyes are on the crisis in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians who live in Susya, in the hills to the south of Hebron, are in imminent danger of being expelled from their homes [again]. To fight this, we are incurring significant legal expenses. In the short term we will need approximately $10,000 simply to defray the lawyers' costs. Ta'ayush is an organization of volunteers and has no resources of its own. We call upon you to help us to save an innocent civilian population that is about to fall victim to the concerted effort of the Israeli authorities to exile them from their lands and homes.
Oren Ben-Dor: Israeli apartheid is the core of the crisis
It is unethical to blame Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem for events in Gaza. T he apartheid label should not be restricted to the post-1967 occupation. There is a more fundamental form of apartheid, of which the occupation is but a manifestation. Apartheid in historic Palestine originated, and has persisted, in the ideology of creating a state in which Jews would be separated from non-Jews in terms of their stake in the political community. The well-planned ethnic cleansing, in 1948, of 750000 indigenous people was apartheid practice par excellence.
Plight of Palestinian refugees worsening in most parts of Middle East
Some 4.4 million Palestinians remain refugees nearly 60 years after the start of the 1948 war. About one third of these refugees still live inside camps. Examples of conditions in various countries: Jordan hosts about 1.8 million Palestinian refugees including some 130,000 people who fled from Gaza in 1967. These refugees, as opposed to most Palestinians in Jordan, are not citizens, and therefore face restrictions on access to higher education and jobs. There are about 50,000 Palestinian refugees in Egypt who are not registered with UNRWA. They cannot attend public schools and are not allowed to work. Palestinians in Lebanon face a particularly difficult situation, as local law places extreme limitations on their employment opportunities, basically preventing most refugees from working in the camps, aid workers said. Palestinians in Iraq are facing an extreme crisis. "Syria is an example for other host countries. Here there is no discrimination, we get the same treatment.
"They see us all as criminals"
Irish activist Caoimhe Butterly, shot by the IDF in December 2002 while trying to protect children in Jenin, has been in Baddawi Refugee Camp for the past month, and has a few words to relay about the Lebanese army apparently acting like the worst parts of the IDF or the US forces: "The beatings were severe, but bearable -- but it was the insults, the humiliation of being called a dog, an animal, having my wife and daughters verbally degraded to me, that was the real assault."
Collective punishment of Palestinian civilians in Lebanon
"I managed to escape the fighting with my wife and kids and my aunt," Mohammad begins. "But as soon as we got out the camp, the soldiers separated us into two groups. They let the women and children go, and handcuffed the men." Then, Mohammad says, they were blindfolded and driven away in a large army truck. The Lebanese soldiers began to curse the Palestinians, Mohammad claims. "You people don't deserve to be alive; you should be slaughtered, all of you." "From being beaten to detention for four or five days without charge," says Nadim Houry of Human Rights Watch, "young Palestinians are being stopped at army checkpoints all over Lebanon and sometimes beaten solely on the basis that they are Palestinian." Responding to these allegations, the Lebanese army press office spokesperson said that the Palestinians were "liars" and that "we never hurt anybody, especially if they are civilians."
NY Times, Washington Post slammed by Jewish organizations for Hamas op-eds
The op-eds were by Hamas's Ahmed Yousef, and were attacked by the usual suspects – CAMERA, the Anti-Defamation League, the Zionist Organization of America.
Katherine Hughes: The War on (Islamic) Charities
Some of the major casualties in the U.S. government's "war on terror" have been Muslim charities and their principals. The government justifies its targeting of Islamic charities [especially those it suspects of funding Palestinian groups] by saying it is going after the money funding terrorism. Just three months after 9/11, in December 2001, the government raided and closed down the country's three largest Islamic charities. However, "Muslim Charities and the War on Terror," a 2005 report by OMB Watch concluded that despite their new investigative powers, government authorities have failed to produce evidence of terror financing by Muslim charities. The Holy Land Foundation (HLF) case will come to trial this July—six and a half years after its assets were seized and its principals arrested. It is imperative that members of the public attend this trial to monitor its proceedings.
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