JERUSALEM, 30 November 2008 (IRIN)-Food aid accounts for over two thirds of the 2009 US$462 million requested by UN agencies and NGOs to fund humanitarian aid programmes in the occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt). Food accounts for $209.4 million; next comes cash assistance ($133.3 million), followed by protection, emergency jobs, water and sanitation. The consolidated appeal, launched on 26 November in Jerusalem to fund 96 projects from the NGO community and 63 from UN agencies, is a response to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the oPt.
http://www.irinnews.org/
Video with Jeff Halper: Palestine House Demolition
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Settlers in West Bank Destroy Palestinian Property
Jewish hardliners rampaged through the West Bank city of al-Khalil overnight slashing the tires and smashing the windscreens of some 30 Palestinian vehicles, Palestinian police said. Israeli police said the tires of a security force jeep were also slashed and one young Jewish settler arrested.
http://almanar.com.lb/
MPs warn: Settlers attacks in Al-Khalil could have serious consequences
Two Palestinian lawmakers have warned that the continued Israeli settlers' attacks on Palestinians and their property in Al-Khalil could lead to a popular explosion in the city.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Anti-Wall organizer remains in coma after tractor crash with Wall last week
Emad Bornat, documentary film maker of Bil'in, Palestine, who toured throughout Puerto Rico and the North East US with Tito Kayak, has been in a coma in Tel Aviv Hospital for about a week now. He sustained critical injuries when the brakes and gears of his tractor failed, and he collided into the barbed wire fence of the Israel's occupation wall that cuts his village land in two.
http://www.imemc.org/article/
Report: Israel to release 250 while it kidnapped 330 Palestinians last month
The international Tadhamon (solidarity) for human rights said that despite the Israeli endorsement of releasing 250 Fatah prisoners, the IOF troops kidnapped 330 Palestinians during last November.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Ill woman denied medical treatment as she awaits trial in Israel; family appeals for help
The family of 25-year-old Sana Salah, who stands accused of attempting to stab an Israeli soldier, is appealing to have Sana released from Israeli custody so her medical conditions can be treated. Sana, from the village of Al-Khader south of Bethlehem, suffers from weak eyesight and severe psoriasis in her feet. She has been held in Israeli custody for four months awaiting her trial, and has received no medical treatment.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Reaction in Gaza as the boats stolen by the Israeli navy are returned damaged
Three Palestinian trawling vessels confiscated by Israeli naval forces were returned on Thursday 27th November. Almost immediately following the announcement that three Human Rights Groups had filed an appeal against Ehud Barak and the commander of the Israeli navy the boats were returned to Palestinian waters. The vessels were stolen from Gazan waters on 18th November while fishing in Palestinian territorial water.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/
-are-returned-damaged/
Report: Israel warns Hamas of major Gaza incursion
Israel reportedly warned Hamas and Islamic Jihad on Monday of a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip if they continue firing rockets at Israeli towns. Hamas leaders responded by calling for a halt to shelling. Anonymous Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials told the Kuwait based Al-Jaridah newspaper that the warning was relayed to senior Hamas leader Muhammad Nazzal by Qatari officials.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Settlers forced to evacuate Homesh settlement
Settlers attempting to repopulate Homesh settlement have recently been forced to abandon their efforts, in the face of mounting protests against their presence. On Saturday afternoon, the settlers were seen packing their belongings and leaving the settlement, signalling an apparent victory for the Palestinian villagers in the area who rejected the return of Jewish settlers to Homesh.
http://stopthewall.org/
Gaza power plant shuts down again for lack of fuel
AFP-Gaza's sole power plant was shut down on Sunday for the second time in less than a week after Israel again halted fuel supplies to the Hamas-ruled territory, a Palestinian official said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
Candle-light vigil held in Nablus in solidarity with Gaza
On the evening of November 30th, Palestinians from the West Bank city of Nablus assembled in the city centre to show support for the people of Gaza, who have been denied access to food, water, medicine and electricity as a result of the complete closure of the Gaza Strip by Israeli authorities.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/
Iranians stage demo against Gaza siege
TEHRAN-A group of students from various universities staged a protest in front of the Iranian Foreign Ministry here on Sunday to condemn the atrocities committed by the Zionist regime in the Gaza Strip and called for an end to the blockade.
http://www.tehrantimes.com/
Syria urges France to help end Gaza siege
The Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, has called on France and the European Union to help end the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Al-Assad, during a meeting with two French envoys on Sunday, urged EU, currently headed by France, to "work to lift the blockade imposed on the Palestinian people in Gaza which has worsened the humanitarian situation" in the territory.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.
Dr Barghouthi condemns the Israeli refusal to allow the Libyan ship to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza
Ramallah, 01-12-08: Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP, the Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, today strongly condemned the Israeli refusal to allow the Libyan vessel carrying humanitarian aid to dock in Gaza. Said Dr Barghouthi, "We condemn the Israeli action preventing an Arab ship carrying food and medicine for the children and people of Gaza from arriving in Gaza. This proves that, contrary to their claims, Israel is still completely occupying the Gaza Strip."
http://www.palestinemonitor.
Libyan aid ship blocked from Gaza
The docking attempt was the first by a foreign government to break Israeli blockade.
http://english.aljazeera.net/
Navy stops Gaza-bound Libyan boat
A Libyan boat which aimed at breaking the blockade on the Gaza Strip was prevented from reaching its destination, turning around on Monday after being stopped by the IDF Navy. Independent Palestinian lawmaker Jamal Khoudari said the ship was carrying food, medicine, blankets and powdered milk, and after docking in Egypt, was set to sail from a Libyan Port to Gaza on Monday. "This ship is coming to Gaza to help the Palestinian people who are under siege," Khoudari told The Jerusalem Post by phone from Gaza. "This ship is safe and will help us since it is carrying food and medicine. There is no reason to stop it."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/
Qatari aid group says it will send boat to Gaza
A Qatari aid organization has said it will send a boat with medical supplies to Gaza in defiance of an Israeli "blockade" of the coastal territory. Abdallah Naema of the group 'Qatar Charity' said Monday that the boat will leave Cyprus on Friday, and it it will also carry Qatari citizens. The announcement came after Israel ordered back a Libyan ship heading to Gaza with humanitarian aid. Arab activists are following the example of Western activists, who sailed into Gaza three times since the summer to draw attention to hardship caused by the blockade. [end]
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/
Turkish boat to set sail to Gaza within days
The government committee to break the siege on Gaza announced on Sunday that a Turkish vessel would soon set sail to the Gaza Strip to contribute in breaking the tightened siege imposed on the Strip.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Egyptian police attack Gaza solidarity march
On 26 November, Cairo University students organized a demonstration in protest of the ongoing siege of Gaza. The action was violently suppressed by Egyptian police. In downtown Cairo, Egyptian students held a mass march and demonstration, calling for an end to the siege on Gaza. According to press reports, a 600 strong state police force attacked the demonstration, clashing with 300 students. Police violently beat people with batons in an attempt to break up the protest.
http://stopthewall.org/
Gaza's Grim Reaper
Paul J. Balles considers the "irony of Jews ... denying food to hundreds of thousands of children [in Gaza] in order, allegedly, to insure their own security", with US and European connivance and Arab regime silence.
http://www.redress.cc/
Hamas's Mashaal 'Sent Obama a Letter Offering 30 Year Truce'
Mashaal reportedly asked Obama to recognize Hamas and its "great influence in the Palestinian arena" in order to end the conflict with Israel. Hamas's leader wrote that he would agree to a cease fire with Israel "for 30 years or longer" if it agrees to withdraw from the territory it gained in 1967.
http://www.israelnationalnews.
Hamas tells Israeli reporter to leave Gaza
Gaza Strip: An Israeli reporter who traveled by boat to Hamas-ruled Gaza last month, defying her country's blockade of the territory, returned to Israel Monday after Hamas officials told her to leave because of security concerns. Amira Hass, an award-winning writer for the Israeli daily Haaretz, crossed into Israel on Monday afternoon. She said Hamas officials did not provide details about the alleged dangers to her safety.
http://www.iht.com/articles/
Ramattan news agency shuts down in response to raids
Ramattan, one of the largest Palestinian news agencies, accused the Palestinian Authority on Sunday of waging a campaign of harassment and intimidation against its staff in the West Bank. The independent agency, which has several offices in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, was established 10 years ago and has since been providing satellite, production and editing services to many foreign TV stations and media outlets. The agency employs nearly 200 people.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/
Gaza Journalists condemn harassing Ramatan in the W. Bank
Tens of Palestinian journalists have demonstrated Sunday in Gaza city protesting the harassment practices against Ramatan news agency.
http://www.palestine-info.co.
Saudi slams Hamas in hajj visas row
AFP-Saudi Arabia slammed a Hamas official on Sunday for accusing the oil-rich kingdom of refusing to grant visas to Palestinians in the Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip who want to go on the hajj pilgrimage.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/
Hamas supporters appeal to Saudis for visas for haj
Hundreds of supporters of the Hamas Islamist group protested outside the Gaza Strip's border crossing with Egypt on Sunday to demand Saudi Arabia grant them permission to take part in the annual haj pilgrimage to Mecca. The Saudis have granted visas to some 3,000 Gazans who registered for the haj through the Palestinian Authority, which is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the secular Fatah faction.
http://www.alertnet.org/
Urgent Action Needed – No New EU-Israel Action Plan!!
The European Parliament (EP) has recently announced that a vote will be held on December 4 to enter into force the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which will enable far greater Israeli participation in European Community programs. Originally, the EU had stated that the vote on this issue would not take place until 2009, but it seems clear that the EU and Israel are attempting to minimize the voice of international civil society by suddenly announcing that it has been moved up to December 4.
http://stopthewall.org/
Appointed councils will replace elected ones in West Bank
The Palestinian Authority (PA) will appoint new local councils to replace elected ones in 26 West Bank cities, towns and villages, said government spokesman Riad Malki on Monday. Speaking in a press conference after the weekly Palestinian cabinet meeting, Malki said the government has decided to appoint councils in these areas when the terms of the current elected councils end on December 23.
http://www.monstersandcritics.
Einab junction: inside Israel's new terminals
When I first visited the West Bank in 2003, checkpoints were controlled by young Israeli soldiers, nervously clutching their weapons and yelling at Palestinians to stay in line. When I returned in 2005, I found many checkpoints replaced by metal turnstiles into which Palestinians were herded to wait for soldiers to push a button, letting them through one by one or sometimes not at all. Anna Baltzer writes of her experience at one of those terminals.
http://electronicintifada.net/
'Arab nations must get off the fence'
Foreign ministry director-general appeals to Arab representatives at international conference in Morocco they must actively work towards promoting normalization of ties with Israel, speaks in favor of Saudi peace initiative.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
EU document on Mideast peace bid alarms Israel
Israeli officials are deeply concerned over an internal European Union document outlining the EU's plans for advancing an Israeli-Palestinian deal in 2009. Inter alia, it calls for increased pressure on Israel to reopen Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem, including Orient House, which formerly served as the Palestinian Authority's headquarters in the city. The document, a copy of which was obtained by Haaretz, was written by the French Foreign Ministry, as France currently occupies the EU's rotating presidency.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Unilever to sell stake in plant based in West Bank settlement
The food and soap manufacturing multinational Unilever has announced that it will divest from an Israeli factory in a Jewish settlement illegally built on land confiscated from Palestinians. Unilever, which makes household staples such as Sunsilk shampoo, Surf washing powder and Vaseline, said it would sell its 51% stake in the Beigel & Beigel factory in the West Bank settlement of Ariel.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
So what if the High Court ruled?
For many years, the Israeli government has accepted responsibility for upholding court rulings in general and those of the High Court of Justice in particular. This is an inseparable part of recognizing that the rule of law is an indispensable requirement for democracy. Last week, however, it became clear that this tradition has been seriously undermined. In two sternly worded rulings issued that week, High Court justices analyzed two different cases in which government ministries viewed binding High Court decisions as recommendations only.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Tulkarem man denied Jerusalem permit; wife and premature son alone in hospital
Israeli authorities denied a Palestinian man permission to enter Jerusalem to see his wife and new born baby at the Al-Maqasid Hospital. Saed Badran, from Deir Al-Ghusun north of Tulkarem appealed to the head of the Palestinian Civil Affairs department, Hussaain Ash-Sheikh for help getting a permit to enter Jerusalem. "I applied for permission through the District Coordination Office," Bardan explained, "but my application was rejected three times."
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Marzel to march in Umm al-Fahm with 100 activists
Extreme-right activists reach agreement with police on limitations ahead of High Court-sanctioned march through Arab city. Thousands of police officers to deploy in city on December 15th in effort to prevent violence.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Killer of Peace Now activist seeks early parole, again
Yona Abrushmi's lawyer says 'new circumstances', rehabilitation program, justify his release. 'If State paroled Kuntar, it can release my client,' he adds. http://www.ynetnews.com/
No 'indecent women' in Jerusalem auction
In light of global financial crisis, haredi auctioneers initiate high-profile auction in Jerusalem meant to enable millionaires to liquidate artworks. Works won't contain exposed women, they promise.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Police suspect 3rd 'honor killing' in same household
Department fears for life of 16-year-old girl who went missing several weeks ago, say two other women in her family were victims on such slayings.
http://www.ynetnews.com/
Across the chasm
A single conference held in two places underlined the practical difficulties of achieving peace in Israel-Palestine.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Justice for Palestinians and Jews linked
A broad coalition of Jewish lobby groups has made a series of breakthroughs this year in its campaign to link the question of justice for millions of Palestinian refugees with justice for Jews who left Arab states in the wake of Israel's establishment 60 years ago.
Referring to these Jews as the "forgotten refugees" and claiming that their plight is worse than that of exiled Palestinians, the campaign has scored political successes in recent months in Washington, London and Brussels.
http://www.jkcook.net/
My Story: Olive harvest 5769
"Where are we going?" I asked Arik, as we drove out of Jerusalem in his beat up Subaru, with three other volunteers: an older gentleman and a newlywed couple. I was beginning the New Year of 5769 with a practical mitzva: serving as a "human shield" between Palestinian families, trying to harvest their olive trees in the West Bank, and Israeli settlers, trying to prevent them. My old friend, Rabbi Arik Ascherman, director of Rabbis for Human Rights, had invited me to come with him-to help in a small grove of trees in the southern West Bank. I hadn't asked for details; scores of volunteers were being assigned daily to olive groves throughout the West Bank-depending on the readiness of Palestinian owners, the weather and the permission of the Israeli Civil Administration. I was happy to be a foot-soldier, and help out wherever I was needed.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/
Rebuilding a General Union of Palestinian Students
From the very beginning, students have played an active role in the Palestinian national movement. Their enthusiasm, motivation, and hard work help them to overcome even the most daunting tasks. Organizing rallies, academic events, political debates, fundraising, cultural programs, students demonstrate the great influence they are able to assert on societies divided by war, engrossed by political strife, and weakened by economic turmoil. The Electronic Intifada contributor Raja Abdulhaq argues that the General Union of Palestinian Students must be rebuilt.
http://electronicintifada.net/
PA to pay salaries of civil and military servants on Wednesday; no back payments this month
The salaries of civil and military public workers will be paid on Wednesday, said Head of the Public Workers Union Bassam Zakarnah.
The Union Head will meet with Director General of Salaries in the Palestinian Authority (PA) Abed Nasser in advance of Eid Al-Adha to discuss the method by which national taxes and electricity bills are automatically deducted from paychecks.
http://www.maannews.net/en/
Palestinian Authority enjoys record incoming tourism
More than 1,000,000 tourists visited Bethlehem and Jericho during the first nine months of 2008. The Palestinian Authority has witnessed an impressive growth in incoming tourism over the past year. According to statistics released by the Civil Administration in the West Bank, about 1,123,000 tourists have visited Bethlehem and Jericho during the first nine months of 2008, record numbers since the period before the intifada. This represents a 96.5% increase in the numbers of tourists visiting Bethlehem and 42.3% increase in the numbers visiting Jericho (compared to the same period in 2007).
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/
Tills ring out for Christmas in Bethlehem
Reuters-"Jingle Bells" rang out over Manger Square on Sunday as Bethlehem opened a Christmas market that the Palestinian city hopes will help cap a boom year for tourism with a profitable festive season.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/
A Tale of Two Palestines
As the siege of Gaza continues with living conditions in the Strip deteriorating daily, life in several of the Palestinian cities of the West Bank seems to have improved. Returning to some favourite haunts after several years' absence, one is struck by the liveliness and, dare I say, normality of many neighbourhoods.
http://www.theglobeandmail.
132834/WBStory/
Discovering Palestine
I grew up in Park Ridge, Illinois. My family were members of South Park Church, whose main claim to historic fame may be that it dismissed Bill Hybels as its youth leader, sending him on his journey to found Willow Creek. Like most evangelical churches shaped after World War II, our church's theology included the kind of interpretations of the "end times" found in Tim LaHaye's Left Behind novels. I recall some of those complex charts on walls of Sunday school rooms with passages from Daniel and Revelation giving clues to current events and fueling expectations that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ was drawing near.
http://www.morungexpress.com/
Gaza Concert
From under the siege and the heart of Gaza, a sound of hope rises. Gaza Concert brings inspiration for many Gazan musicians who are eager to speak out and tell their stories by singing and music. Gaza Concert aims to bring upon musicians and singers from different parts of Palestine to sing for unity, peace and justice.
http://gazaconcert.com/
A Kuffiyeh of a Different Color
On a recent trip to Milan, Italy, I spotted three teenage girls strolling through the famed Duomo area of the city. For the most part, the girls looked like any typical group of teens, decked out in skinny jeans and ponytails, all carrying their cups of iced coffee, coke or whatever drink was popular that day. There was one thing, however, that caught my eye. Around their necks, each had a colorful checkered scarf-one blue, one green and one pink, all of which strikingly resembled an accessory I know all too well – the kuffiyeh.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.
Cluster Bombs… Killers Out of Control
Rasha Zayoun was at home sorting through a bag of thyme gathered by her father last year when her hand snagged on the ribbon of a cluster bomblet. The blast blew off her left leg. "There was a power cut, I didn't see it was a cluster bomb," said the shy Lebanese 18-year-old girl, sitting at a sewing machine in a school for disabled people in Sarafand, near Tyre. Zayoun is among more than 270 cluster bomb victims in Lebanon since the July 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon. About 40 have been killed. Dropped from planes or fired from artillery, cluster bombs explode in mid-air to randomly scatter hundreds of bomblets over vast areas. Many cluster bomblets can fail to explode, often leaving areas trying to recover from war littered with countless de-facto landmines. The unexploded bomblets can then lie dormant for years until they are disturbed, often by children attracted by their small size and bright colors.
http://almanar.com.lb/
Palestinians urge caution in moves to capture fugitive Fatah al-Islam militant
Senior Palestinian figures from across the political spectrum have urged a cautious approach in attempts to capture fugitive Fatah al-Islam militant Abdel-Rahman Awad, who is thought to be hiding at the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp on the edge of Sidon. After meeting with Education Minister Bahia Hariri, Abbas Zaki, the PLO representative in Lebanon.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Iraq civilian death toll up in Nov, US deaths down
The number of civilians killed in Iraq rose last month after a series of Baghdad bombings, but the U.S. military death toll fell to its lowest level since the war began in 2003, data showed. Iraqi government figures showed 296 civilians died violent deaths in November, up from 238 in October, which had been the lowest tally since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Last year's November civilian death toll was 538.
http://www.alertnet.org/
Blasts target Iraqi police recruits
At least 31 people are killed in Baghdad and Mosul attacks.
http://english.aljazeera.net/
NPR journalists' car bombed in Baghdad
AP-An American journalist for National Public Radio and three Iraqi colleagues escaped injury Sunday when a bomb attached to their car exploded as it was parked along a street in west Baghdad.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/
Mass graves occurrence rising in Iraq
The occurrence of mass graves in Iraq is mounting as the Iraqi army uncovered 30 decomposed bodies in a mass grave in a village in Diyala Province. An Army officer speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters that this village includes several mass graves due to the 2006/2007 sectarian conflict. Police had found 23 bodies in a mass grave near the northern city of Samarra on Wednesday.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/
Kurds slam UN envoy over disputed areas
Iraq's Kurds lashed out at the country's UN envoy on Sunday, accusing him of delaying a report on disputed areas and favouring the "Arabisation" policies of former president Saddam Hussein. The Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq accused UN envoy Staffan de Mistura of dragging his feet on issuing a report on the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which the Kurds would like to add to their autonomous region.
http://www.jordantimes.com/?
13 countries set to withdraw from Iraq
"We are going to say farewell to 13 different nations in the space of two and a half weeks," Matern, whose group supervises all coalition partners of the U.S. military, said.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/
SOFA not sitting well in Iraq
Iraq's security pact with the United States may have been approved by the Iraqi parliament, but not without highlighting the major divisions in the country. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and Shi'ite leader Muqtada al-Sadr remain on a collision course, and militants have responded with further violence in Baghdad, trying to demonstrate that the government cannot survive without the US presence.-Sami Moubayed (Dec 1,'08)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/
Criticism against Iraq Cabinet over US pact
Four days after Iraq's Parliament approved US-Iraqi security agreement, criticism is pouring in which has had the government to defend itself. Criticism has probably led the Presidency Council to slow in meeting and approving the agreement while there are still only six days before the pact turns effective without the approval of the presidency council. This turn of events might leave a moral gap rather than a legal or practical rift as to the appropriate process thereto. However, head of presidency endowment Nasir Al Ani affirmed that the council has received the agreement's text and said it will likely be approved due to consensus of presidency council members.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/
U.S.-Iraqi pact has many uncertainties
The terms of the agreements create uncertainties that could disrupt the smooth withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
http://www.iht.com/articles/
Iraqi Kurds part ways over controversial deal with America
COLUMBIA, Missouri: Kurds are divided over a security pact between Iraq and the US, approved by a large majority in the Iraqi Parliament on Thursday, in what appears to be a potential heavy blow to their major gains since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003. Despite the international media's portrayal of unequivocal unified Kurdish support for the deal, there is an increasing realization within formal and informal Kurdish circles that the Kurds are dooming themselves by approving the deal.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Baghdad defends security pact after Sistani criticism
Iraq's government tried to quell criticism on Sunday of a security pact that sets deadlines for US military withdrawals, saying opponents could wait to judge how Washington honors commitments to pull back its troops. The comments came after Iraq's influential top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
UK to sign pullout pact with Iraq soon, newspaper
A British spokesman said that his country will soon sign a comprehensive pact similar to the pullout and framework agreements earlier signed between Iraq and the United States, an official Iraqi newspaper reported Monday. "The British government is negotiating with its Iraqi counterpart to conclude an agreement similar to the U.S. and Iraqi one," John Wilkes, foreign office spokesman, told the state-run al-Sabah newspaper, adding "Baghdad and London will finalize the talks over the pact in the next few days."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/
Iraqi court orders US to free Reuters photographer
An Iraqi court on Sunday ordered the release of a freelance photographer working for Reuters news agency who has been held by U.S. forces since early September. The Iraqi Central Criminal Court ruled there was no evidence against Ibrahim Jassam Mohammed, and ordered that the U.S. military release him from Camp Cropper prison near Baghdad airport. Iraqi prosecutors acknowledged in remarks included in the court ruling that there was a lack of evidence, and said they were closing the case against Jassam. A copy of the court order was supplied to a lawyer working for Reuters.
http://www.alertnet.org/
Iraqi Christians in Lebanon face uncertain future
Thousands of Iraqi Christians who have sought refuge in Lebanon live in squalor conditions and with no papers regularizing their stay.
The Lebanese authorities refuse to give them even temporary residence permits. They are denied access to public amenities and their children cannot join public schools. There are no exact numbers on Iraqi Christians in Lebanon, but church sources put them at tens of thousands. There are more than one million Iraqi refugees in neighboring Syria. But the Syrian authorities issue them temporary residence permits, which gives them the right to benefit from public amenities including health and education.
http://www.azzaman.com/
The Dilemma of Non-Iraqi Arabs in Sousa Prison
London, Asharq Al-Awsat-As Colonel Mumin Abu Bakr, the warden of Sousa Prison in Iraq, and his assistant Hussein Mohamed affirmed that the situation in the prison was "normal" and that the Iraqi Ministry.
http://www.aawsat.com/english/
Hitmen charge $100 a victim as Basra honour killings rise
Fathers and husbands who openly hire assassins on the streets of the city are going unpunished.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Thomas Friedman and MEMRI: ALL THAT I KNOW ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST I LEARNED FROM AN ISRAELI PROPAGANDA OUTLET.
"The Iraqi newspaper Al-Umma al-Iraqiyya carried an open letter signed by 400 Iraqi intellectuals, both Kurdish and Arab, defending Alusi. That takes a lot of courage and a lot of press freedom. I can't imagine any other Arab country today where independent judges would tell the government it could not prosecute a parliamentarian for visiting Israel — and intellectuals would openly defend him in the press."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/
Report: Mossad behind plot to topple the Turkish government
A secret investigation of detained Ergenekon group members and other studies outside Turkey indicate that Mossad orchestrated coups against the Turkish government, the Turkish daily Milliyet reported Sunday.
http://www.turkishpress.com/
Kafka has a rival. Today, the Foreign Office lectures us on human rights
Such an open day beggars belief. At this PR gala you will find no stall for the victims of rapacious British power.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Criminal Injustice Against the Holy Land Foundation Charity
The Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) was the largest American Muslim charity until the Bush administration falsely declared it an enemy of the state and shut it down. On December 4, 2001, the Treasury Department declared HLF a terrorist group, froze its assets, and falsely claimed they were being used to funnel millions of dollars to Hamas. HLF appealed at the time but in court was denied.
http://globalresearch.ca/
Eli Lake: Will James Jones and Hillary Clinton Butt Heads over Palestinian – Israeli Conflict?
What will be Barack Obama's policy towards the Middle East?During the campaign, this was a question that flummoxed partisans of both the Israeli and Palestinian causes. There was enough conflicting evidence of his intentions to lead everyone to believe that they would have a friend in the White House. But now, we have actual foreign policy appointments to look at. And, guess what?They haven't clarified the direction of his administration. In fact, there's a chance that we will be in store for at least four more years of muddle. His administration could be split by the same internal debates that divided the Bush administration.
http://www.palestine-pmc.com/
Foreseeing a Clinton State Dept., Israelis and Arabs retool their expectations
Israel is applauding her all-but-certain nomination as a check on Obama, while the news has damped Arabs' hopes of a swing away from Bush policies. Nearly a month after Barack Obama's election, his reported decision to nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton for secretary of State is causing Arabs and Israelis to readjust expectations of his administration's policies toward the Middle East.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/
--
www.TheHeadlines.org
0 Have Your Say!:
Post a Comment