Today in Palestine!

===================================================

Land Theft

New land seizure orders issued during the Gaza operation
Settlement Watch Team - Peace Now - The Peace Now Settlement Watch Team latest report discloses that a number of new land seizure orders were issued during the Gaza operation, a number of these orders were related to the route of the separation fence.
http://www.peacenow.org.il/data/SIP_STORAGE/files/1/4021.pdf

Israeli E1 scheme for East Jerusalem blocks access, destroys possibility of growth

Dr. Rafiq Husseini, Abbas’s chief of staff, said yesterday that current Israeli policy aims at expelling Palestinians from Jerusalem and removing the city itself from negotiations. But Jerusalem shares the highest priority for Final Status along with refugees and a withdrawal to ’67 borders.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4851&Itemid=1

Ashqar: We will confront Israeli schemes in J’lem by mobilizing the Arab street

Dr. Osama Al-Ashqar said that the popular campaign will confront the Israeli demolition notices against 88 Palestinian homes in Jerusalem by mobilizing the Arab public opinion against it.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2BcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2Bi1s7S9CyrKFv%2FOZBgEFz9Ww%2BTUJ81Y20HqRr%2FvwPn%2BCKIr%2FH%2BKG3%2Fr2DD4yJlGwlNU8HlAjfzJNT0GppQX1PXman7QQHOU%2BipeWHpOa8ficTZqQ%3D

Accounts from the blockade of Jayyous village

On February 18th, Israeli Forces conducted a large-scale invasion in the village of Jayyous. The entire village was declared a closed military zone, with all roads leading into the town blocked with earth mounds. Residents of Jayyous were placed under curfew for 18 hours, and they were prevented from leaving their homes for work or school.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/02/5676

Israeli bulldozers uproot trees near West Bank checkpoint

Tulkarem – Ma’an – Israeli military bulldozers on Wednesday morning began uprooting olive and almond trees on both sides of the Enav checkpoint, east of the West Bank city of Tulkarem. Witnesses said that the Israeli army appeared to be clearing the way to expand the military checkpoint.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36035

It’s Not a House - It’s a Home

Just as Umm Kamel and her lawyers submitted Ottoman-era documents to Israeli Courts proving the claim to her family home, Israeli police once again on Sunday demolished the tent of Umm Kamel’s family in Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem. After days of bad weather where clouds hung like cobweb around the streets of Jerusalem, the residents of the East Jerusalem area Sheikh Jarrah woke up to the ghastly sight and sounds of Israeli police demolishing the tent of the al-Kurd family. This is the fourth time the tent, which Fawzieh al-Kurd, 57, or simply Umm Kamel and her family, has been living in since 14 November 2008.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article836

The Battle For Bil`in

Even with the four years of media blackout on the popular struggle, thousands of Palestinians, Israelis and Internationals have been waging a nonviolent campaign of resistance to the construction of the route of Israel`s Wall in the Occupied Territories. Palestinian farmers, mothers, children and activists have been braving teargas, beatings, bullets, arrest, and even death to rise up against the most well equipped army in the world, with nothing more than their own bodies and determination.
http://www.countercurrents.org/fleming240209.htm

Attacks, Arrests, Eyewitness Accounts, Siege

Gaza toll reaches 1,452 as teenager dies of wounds
Gaza – Ma’an – Dozens of Palestinians marched on Wednesday in a funeral procession for yet another victim of Israel’s three-week assault on the Gaza Strip. The death of 17-year-old Abdullah Sleim raises the overall toll of the war to 1,452, according to the director of Ambulance and Emergency Services in the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza, Muawiya Hassanein. Sleim was transferred to a hospital in Egypt he was critically injured when Israeli forces bombed a house in the center of Gaza City on 14 January. Israel declared a ceasefire three days later.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36041

Israeli helicopters bomb tunnels in southern Gaza

Gaza – Ma’an – Israeli helicopters on Wednesday afternoon bombed smuggling tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip, along the border with Egypt. Witnesses said at least two missiles hit tunnels in the Salam and Brazil neighborhoods of the city of Rafah. There is no word yet on whether there were any casualties.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36044

Israeli troops attack party in al-Khader near Bethlehem

Israeli Army forces attacked a party that was held in the village of al-Khader, near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem late Tuesday night.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59006

Settler breaks Palestinian woman’s leg with a rock

On Monday the 23rd of February, over forty settlers attempted to break into Palestinian property in Sheikh Jarrah. During the assault, they attacked and broke the leg of the home-owner, Wahiba Abu-Jibneha. At 6:30pm, a group of settlers, after prayer at the near-by Synagogue, attempted to trespass on Palestinian land in order to reach certain caves owned by the Abu-Jibneha family. This was the second incident of trespassing by the settlers of the day. When they reached the entrance to the caves, they began to tear down a fence erected by the Palestinian family to protect the property. Wahiba Abu-Jibneha left her house in order to photograph the incident for the police. She was subsequently attacked, and forced to the ground. One settler then proceeded to crush her left leg with a large rock, just below the knee. Her husband, hearing the commotion, confronted the settlers whom then threatened his life with a fire-arm. Wahiba is currently in hospital.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/02/5696

Palestinian child hit with IOF bullets

A Palestinian child was hit with Israeli occupation forces’ gunfire east of Khan Younis district, south of the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, medical sources said
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2BcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2Bi1s7HGP449CTg7iMGLNEpP9jJBxX%2FSHUR667%2F1PdQflJoytKm3F2GrRl6G7zJew%2BJycdIu%2B%2FHTZqeg0%2FB77vlfItLOoObBWmVlN7Kr7XqUDtgco%3D

Israeli forces beat and arrest Palestinian police officer near Nablus

Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli forces on Wednesday morning assaulted and detained a Palestinian officer at the Huwwara military checkpoint south of the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank. Witnesses told Ma’an that several Israeli soldiers attacked 32-year-old officer Ammar Qneibu when he tried to pass through the checkpoint in his car. Qneibu is an officer at Aqraba village police station south of Nablus.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36038

Israeli forces seize 22 Palestinians in West Bank raids

Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Israeli military said on Wednesday it detained 22 Palestinians during raids in the West Bank overnight. Israeli forces seized two people from the villages of Hindaza and Al-Asakira, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&Do=&ID=36033

PPS demands medical attention for Palestinian detainees
The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) stated that several detainees at the Ofer Israeli detention facility are suffering from different health problems due to torture and medical negligence, while the administration refuses to provide them with the needed medical attention. Detainee Mohammad Salah, age 19, from al-Khader town near Bethlehem, is currently facing a deteriorating health condition as he was violently attacked by Israeli soldiers when he was kidnapped on January 16, 2009.
http://imemc.org/article/58984

"They killed me three times"

Amer al-Helo smiled wanly while saying he is broken inside. Twenty days after Israeli soldiers shot dead his 55-year-old father and his one-year-old daughter in front of him, also shooting his oldest daughter in the elbow and his brother in the shoulder, the pain of the 29-year-old had not diminished. The Electronic Intifada contributor Eva Bartlett reports from the occupied Gaza Strip.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10339.shtml

Distraught residents pick up pieces
Nearly a month after Israel’s offensive on the Gaza strip ended, 16-year-old Maysa Al Louh sits stoically on the pile of sand that consumes half of her home in Beit Lahiya.
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Middle_East/10289069.html

"Hizbullah in Palestine" claims projectile attack

Gaza/Bethlehem – Ma’an – Two homemade projectiles landed in open areas east of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning causing no injuries or damage. According to Israel, the projectiles landed in the Sha’ar Hanegev region. This was the first such attack since Monday. A paramilitary group identifying itself as “Hizbullah in Palestine” later claimed responsibility for launching the projectiles.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36036

Humanitarian Issues

Israeli blockade, Palestinian strife hinder Gaza rebuilding efforts
Despite the generous donations expected to be promised at next month’s Sharm el-Sheikh summit, money alone will not be enough to rebuild the Gaza Strip in the wake of Operation Cast Lead, stated the head of the United Nations Development Program in Gaza.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1066820.html

Clinton warns Israel over delays in Gaza aid

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has relayed messages to Israel in the past week expressing anger at obstacles Israel is placing to the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. A leading political source in Jerusalem noted that senior Clinton aides have made it clear that the matter will be central to Clinton’s planned visit to Israel next Tuesday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1066821.html

The Crisis in Gaza is Far From Over

Everyone knew that the timing of Israel’s Cast Lead Operation in Gaza was hardly coincidental. It ended mere days before US President Barack Obama’s inauguration into the White House and weeks before Israel went to early elections. Political pundits postulated that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak wanted to give his Kadima party one last boost before heading out of political life with his tail between his legs. The fact that the US was changing administrations only expedited the operation, especially since Israel understood well that Obama would surely not be as war-oriented as their good friend George W. Bush.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=18947&CategoryId=3

1,500 People used Gaza’s Rafah crossing in three days

Gaza – Ma’an – Egypt on Wednesday closed its Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip after opening it for three consecutive days. According to statistics of the Palestinian de facto government’s Interior Ministry in Gaza, 1,567 travelers passed through the crossing in and out of the Gaza Strip over the course of three days.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36040

Hamas to buy caravans for homeless Gazans

Palestinian group’s strongman Mahmoud al-Zahar says organization will use funds confiscated by Egypt at border to house Gazans who lost homes in Israeli offensive. ’It’s our right to bring in anything – money and weapons. We will buy whatever Palestinians need,’ he says.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3677426,00.html

Charitable institution robbed as Israeli forces invade Jenin

The Charity Friends Clinic and Hospital in the northern West Bank’s Jenin was hit yesterday by three masked men. It was an armed robbery, the culprits of which claimed to be Israeli special forces. It occurred as Israeli forces carried out a raid in the city.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4852&Itemid=1

War Crimes/Criminals

Deadly, Mysterious Cubes Killed Gaza Kids: Amnesty

"A 13-year-old girl who was asleep in her bed; three primary school-age boys who were carrying sugar canes; two young women on their way to a shelter in search of safety; a 13-year-old boy on his bicycle; eight secondary school students who were waiting for the school bus to take them home." According to a new report from Amnesty International, these are just some of the civilians killed or wounded during the recent Gaza war by a unidentified weapon packed with strange, "cube shaped shrapnel."
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2009/02/gazas-deadly-cu.html

Crime and accountability in Gaza

Now that the smoke has at least temporarily cleared from Gaza’s skies, credible human rights reports have filtered in describing the utter devastation that took place throughout the course of Israel’s 22 day assault "Operation Cast Lead." The figures are truly shocking. According to statistics by the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, at least 1,285 Palestinians were killed, of which 895 were civilians, including 280 children and 111 women. Another 167 of the dead were civil police officers, most of whom were killed on the first day of the bombing when they were graduating from a training course. More than 2,400 houses were completely destroyed, as were 28 public civilian facilities, (including ministries, municipalities, governorates, fishing harbors and the Palestinian Legislative Council building), 29 educational institutions, 30 mosques, 10 charitable societies, 60 police stations and 121 industrial and commercial workshops.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10341.shtml

Gaza, Dresden, Hamburg: Legality of targeting civilians?

Photos and reports on Gaza on TV, in newspapers and Internet websites, remind one of German cities, such as Hamburg and Dresden, following the Allied bombing during World War II. Scenes of destruction in Gaza streets and neighborhoods in 2009 resemble those of Beirut’s southern suburbs in 2006.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=99628

Miliband faces high court battle in UK over Gaza rights

The foreign secretary, David Miliband, has acted "in flagrant and continuing breach of international law" in failing to suspend arms exports to Israel, the high court will be told. In what is thought to be the first legal challenge resulting from Israel’s operation in Gaza, lawyers representing more than 30 Palestinian families have accused Miliband, along with the ministers for defence and business, of acting illegally by failing to suspend arms sales and government assistance after alleged Israeli human rights violations.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/25/miliband-court-gaza-israel

Political Aftermath

Inside Gaza: Attitudes and perceptions of the Gaza Strip residents in the aftermath of the Israeli military operations
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EGUA-7PKR3F?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Israeli war made Hamas more resilient

Observers say Zionists campaign against Palestinians bore more hatred and support for hardliners.
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Middle_East/10289052.html

Can Gaza Be Rebuilt Through Tunnels? The Blockade Continues—No Supplies, No Rebuilding

How do you rebuild 5,000 homes, businesses and government buildings when the only way supplies come into the prison called Gaza is through tunnels. Will the steel I-beams for roofs bend 90 degrees to go through the tunnels from Egypt? Will the tons of cement, lumber, roofing materials, nails, dry wall and paint be hauled by hand, load after load, 70 feet underground, through a tunnel 500 to 900 feet long and then pulled up a 70 foot hole and put into waiting truck in Gaza?
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/24

Hamas and Fatah to begin talks on repairing rift

AP - The Islamic militants of Hamas and the moderates of Fatah have never had more compelling reasons to repair the rift between them that is fast destroying their dreams for a Palestinian state.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090224/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_palestinians_elusive_unity

PA official: Peace process dead

Senior official close to Abbas says given expected Israeli government, no serious progress can be made toward agreement on two-state solution.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3677059,00.html

Abbas says world should recognize Hamas in unity government

Bethlehem – Ma’an – The international community should recognize a Palestinian unity government comprising representatives of Hamas, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday. Speaking at a news conference in Norway, Abbas said, “This recognition is necessary for addressing the humanitarian crisis in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.”
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=36030

Abbas frees 42 Hamas prisoners ahead of reconciliation talks
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ security officials released 42 Hamas detainees in the West Bank in a good-will gesture ahead of reconciliation talks with the rival group. More prisoners would be released on Wednesday, said Ayman Daraghmeh, a Hamas legislator. He said some 400 Hamas activists are being held in the West Bank. Abbas said Tuesday a new national unity government that includes rival Hamas must be in place and internationally recognized to manage humanitarian aid for Gaza and the West Bank.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1066624.html

Televised Turkish opinion poll: 68 percent of the Turkish people support Hamas

An opinion poll aired on a Turkish TV show attended by Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, revealed that 68% of the Turkish people support Hamas while 32% voted for the Israeli occupation.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2BcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2Bi1s7P7MCEdaVYTDjLrqNbGe%2FHQuwXMm9LowzXacahYLy1ohYYMifzeqGSwmFiI3P50senkS3p3%2FWpe%2BPb7MRIm0aT905n6hcHDlAg8NKKU87vEw%3D

Thousands rally for Abbas in West Bank as Palestinian rivals begin talks

Thousands of Palestinians congregated in the West Bank town of Nablus on Wednesday in a strong show of support for President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of reconciliation talks between rival Palestinian factions set to begin in Cairo.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1066894.html

The Collaborators

Interior ministry unveils information about spy ring
The interior ministry unveiled Monday that it discovered a spy ring affiliated with the PA security apparatuses in the West Bank which collaborated with Israel during its war on the Strip.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2BcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2Bi1s7MaUa1uU6OyURyBq1fRqICJTSCDWd%2FlPR4OzRJBOwi0b1m5TcNoYithH%2BP05qBoidHtocp01sgeMVqYuSZIybuQWNd6dI2QkebeNLocco%2FxY%3D

Palestinian officials obstruct dialogue - Zahar

"There are people who want this dialogue not to take place because they will lose their positions and their privileges," he told Reuters in an interview in the Egyptian town of Ismailia, where he was visiting his wife’s Egyptian relatives.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/2/24/worldupdates/2009-02-24T163225Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_India-381802-1&sec=worldupdates

Other News

Baird wants US to reassess aid to Israel

A US congressman plans to brief fellow members of Congress and the Obama administration about his recent trip to Gaza, saying the US should pressure Israel regarding border closures and reassess its military support for the Jewish state. Rep. Brian Baird, a Democrat from Washington state, visited Gaza last week with fellow Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota and was struck by "the level of destruction, the scope of it, specifically the civilian targets - schools, hospitals, industry. " Baird also said Israel had "apparently willfully destroyed any capacity of the Palestinians to rebuild their own infrastructure. "The trip to Gaza by Baird and Ellison coincided with a separate visit there by John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations. Their presence marked the first time members of Congress had visited Gaza since US personnel were killed in a roadside bomb in 2003.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1235410695275&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Obama: U.S. seeks secure, lasting Mideast peace

In his first address to Congress, President Barack Obama on Tuesday night said the United States sought a secure and lasting peace in the Middle East.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1066848.html

U.S. Middle East envoy takes second trip to region

Reuters - U.S. special Middle East envoy George Mitchell has embarked on his second trip to the region to further President Barack Obama’s pledge to work for Arab-Israeli peace, the State Department said on Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090224/pl_nm/us_mideast_usa_mitchell

State Department: Special U.S.-Israel ties will no doubt stay strong

The State Department on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for Israel, telling Haaretz that the U.S. viewed its relations with Jerusalem as "special" and lasting. When asked whether Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s declaration that "There will be no pigeion-holing, no exclusivity, we’re reaching out to the entire world" could affect the U.S.’ ties with Israel, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said: "U.S. has special relations with Israel, it will continue strong with no doubt."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1066592.html

Dennis Ross as Clinton ’special adviser’: Outrageous

The State Department yesterday announced the appointment of Dennis Ross as "Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for The Gulf and Southwest Asia." The designation of Ross’s geographic purview is fuzzy, but intriguing. In the parlance of many UN and other bodies, "Southwest Asia" is the (non-Eurocentric) term used for what many of the rest of us might call "the Middle East".
http://justworldnews.org/archives/003408.html

<

The Defense Ministry is concerned that US President Barack Obama will cut military aid to Israel in an effort to pressure the new government to take action against illegal outposts and settlement construction, defense officials said. The officials spoke with The Jerusalem Post ahead of both a visit later this week by US Middle East envoy George Mitchell and the Obama administration’s anticipated release of the fiscal 2010 budget, which includes funding for foreign aid.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1235410695150&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Two ex-AIPAC lobbyists charged with divulging defense secrets win court ruling

A federal appeals court in Virginia says two men accused of illegally disclosing national defense secrets can use some classified information at their trial.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1066802.html

Turkish PM: Israel must recognize Palestine

Recep Tayyip Erdogan reveals to the Guardian newspaper that Tehran asked Ankara to help it out of the diplomatic mud with America; compares Netanyahu’s rejection of two-state solution as similar to Hamas’ refusal to recognize Israel.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3677112,00.html

Don’t get down on Durban II

By attending a planning session for the anti-racism summit, the US signals a welcome willingness to engage the world - To forestall any potential conniptions from those for whom "Durban II" conjures up all sorts of fervid demons, the US decision to send a delegation to a planning session of the contentious anti-racism summit last week emphatically does not mean that it has decided to participate in the summit itself in April. What it does mean is that the Obama administration intends to actually interact with the rest of the international community, rather than to rashly erect walls and issue pre-emptive boycotts (not to mention other sorts of pre-emptive action favoured by its predecessor). Durban II is the shorthand used, mostly by its opponents, for the upcoming follow-up to the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, held in Durban, South Africa and frequently denounced as an "Israel-bashing hatefest".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/feb/23/usforeignpolicy-obama-administration

Israeli president urges Europeans to shun Hamas

Israeli President Shimon Peres on Tuesday urged Europeans to shun Hamas, telling the European Parliament’s president the Islamist government in Gaza was a "murderous terrorist" administration. "Europeans must understand that Hamas is a dangerous and murderous terrorist organization and must stop immediately showing any sympathy and support as this attitude prevents the continuation of the peace process," Peres told Hans-Gert Poettering. Poettering on Monday led a delegation of European parliamentarians to the Gaza Strip, which was devastated by a 22-day Israeli military offensive in which more than 1,300 Palestinians, two-thirds of whom were civilians and including over 400 children, were killed. Following his visit, the European official expressed grave concern about the situation in the Palestinian enclave that is reeling under an Israeli blockade imposed after Hamas won legislative elections in 2006.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=99620

2 Palestinian women become judges in Islamic court

AP - The Islamic courts were among the last male-only bastions in Palestinian society, where women have been presidential candidates, police officers and even suicide bombers.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090224/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_palestinians_women_judges

Gaddafi: Israel, not Sudan, to blame for crisis in Darfur
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the current African Union president, on Tuesday accused "foreign forces" including Israel of being behind the Darfur conflict.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1066648.html

’Sinful’ city buses stoned by ultra-Orthodox Jews

It is an all too familiar scene: the Israeli bus, travelling near predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem, is pelted with stones that smash windows and startle passengers. Except this time the stone-throwers are not Arabs but Jews. The violence is part of an unholy war in which strident elements of the ultra-Orthodox community in Mea Shearim are trying to force Israel’s leading bus company – and, by extension, Israeli society – to defer to their strict religious teachings and sensibilities.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/sinful-city-buses-stoned-by-ultraorthodox-jews-1631370.html?service=Rss

Lebanon renews demand for compensation from Israel for damage inflicted during 2006 war

Lebanon on Tuesday renewed its demand that Israel pay compensation for damage inflicted during the summer 2006 war. Lebanon’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Nawwaf Salam, passed on an official letter to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon outlining repeated Israeli violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=99635

For Gaza news, Israeli Arabs watched Al Jazeera

The top three channels watched by Israeli Arabs for news were foreign channels. A survey conducted by Shiluv Millward Brown for "Globes" on Israeli Arabs’ viewing habits during Operation Cast Lead in January has raised findings that some people might consider worrying. Both Israeli Jews and Arabs watched more television during the war, but Shiluv Millward Brown found that the most watched channel for news among 80% of Israeli Arabs was Qatar-based "Al Jazeera", followed by 34% who watched Saudi-based "Al-Arabiyeh", and 27% who watched Hizbullah’s Al Manar. The top three are foreign, non-Zionist channels. 26% of Israeli Arabs watched Israeli news broadcasts on Channel 2, 25% watched Channel 10, and 12% watched Israel Broadcasting Authority’s Channel 1. 9% watched Lebanon’s MBC, 4% watched Abu Dhabi Television, 2% watched Jordan Television, and 7% did not watch news broadcasts.
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000424693&fid=942

Israeli Propaganda

VIDEO - Shimon Peres Interview - How do you sleep at night?
YouTube, Palestine Think Tank 2/24/2009
Thanks very much to one of our attentive [Palestine Think Tank] readers, Rodney, who sent this video from Australian TV, where Shimon Peres makes one outrageous claim after another, including that the Gaza checkpoints have always been open. If you can stand someone lying through their teeth, this is the man for you. Part 1 of 2. [end] — See also: Shimon Peres - Interview with Dateline Part 2 of 2
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/02/24/shimon-peres-interview-how-do-you-sleep-at-night/

Study: Israel ’retaliates’ to Palestinian ’provocation’ in UK press

A new study by Arab Media Watch demonstrates a strong tendency in the British press to represent Israel as "retaliating" in coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The study, the first to investigate this aspect of British press coverage of the conflict, examined a period from January to June 2008. It found that when the British press represents a party as retaliating or responding in the conflict, that party is Israel 72 percent of the time. The tabloid press showed a particularly marked bias, representing Israel as retaliating in 100 percent of all representations of "retaliation."
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10336.shtml

Solidarity

CUPE passes academic boycott resolution

The CUPE Ontario University Workers Coordinating Committee (OUWCC) has passed an important BDS resolution calling for an end to institutional links between Israeli and Canadian universities that serve to perpetuate apartheid. This comes despite considerable effort on behalf of Zionist organizations to stifle Palestine solidarity in Canada. The recent resolution, which was passed on February 23, moves the academic boycott forward, calling on campus representatives to work with local unions in ensuring that Ontario universities cut research or investment ties with the Israeli military. Additionally, local unions are encouraged to dissuade universities from forming new ties, including collaborations, corporate partnerships and investments, which would directly or indirectly benefit the Israeli military or research.
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/1865.shtml

Academic boycott of Israel takes off in Canada

Over 40 universities in Canada will be participating in activities to mark ’Israeli Apartheid Week’, beginning on Sunday. Students from the participating universities are calling for a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions until Israel ends, what they call, apartheid policies against the Palestinians.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58998

BDS action on the rise in Australia

In keeping with the recent growth of BDS activity around the world, Australia has witnessed a number of boycott initiatives over the past several weeks. Throughout the country, direct actions have taken place, campus mobilizing has begun, and long-term campaigns have been launched.
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/1868.shtml

British PM Demands Support for West Bank’s Farmers

London, Asharq Al-Awsat- In line with the British government’s policy of supporting the Palestinian economy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has declared his support for Palestinian farmers and olive oil and said in statements on the eve of launching a project to back the export of olive oil from the West Bank to Britain: "I am glad that Palestinian olive oil, which carries the Fair Trade logo, will be sold in British shops. Production of olive oil plays a basic role in the West Bank’s economy and British shoppers will be helping the Palestinian farmers earn a living by buying this oil."
http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=15836

Anti-Solidarity

University of Ottawa bans Gaza poster

Laith Marouf - Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights - The poster, by Brazilian cartoonist Carlos Latuff, depicts an Israeli attack helicopter (labeled "Israel") firing a missile at a Palestinian child (labeled "Gaza"). According to the university adminstration, the poster does not "promote a campus culture where all members of the community can play a part in a declaration of human rights", and therefore it was banned from campus billboards.
http://www.sphrottawa.blogspot.com/

Gaza tensions force spectator ban at Israel-Sweden tennis match

A Davis Cup tennis match between Sweden and Israel will go ahead without spectators after an attempt to move the venue to Stockholm fell through, organizers said Tuesday. They cited security concerns for the closed-door policy in the city of Malmo because anti-Israeli demonstrations are expected during the best-of-five series on March 6-8. But the volley of words between the two Swedish cities, which comes after the United Arab Emirates stopped an Israeli player attending a tennis tournament in Dubai, has an unmistakable political dimension.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1066640.html

Op-ed/Analysis

Hamas: Welcoming the Americans

Hamas considered the visit of a US delegation to Gaza a step in the right direction and it asked the delegation to convey a true image of Israel’s crimes in the Gaza Strip to the US administration. There is no problem with that at all; however, the question is why did Hamas and the Iranian alliance in the region kick up a fuss when an Arab delegation visited New York to embark upon a difficult battle in the United Nations for the sake of reaching a resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire, which Hamas, just like Israel, rejected, in spite of the horror of Israeli atrocities carried out against innocent, defenseless people in Gaza?
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=18931&CategoryId=5

Neighbors / Gaza’s rehab problem

This coming Monday, the race for the big money begins. That is when the Sharm el-Sheikh Conference launched by President Mubarak convenes to sketch a plan for the rehabilitation of Gaza after the tremendous destruction caused by the war. It will be a festive event, attended by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,leaders of most Arab countries and representatives from the World Bank, the European Union and Turkey. Who has not been invited yet? Deposed Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh wasn’t, even though it is clear to all that without the consent of Hamas, it won’t be possible to proceed with any rehabilitation program in Gaza.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1066844.html

Waiting, in Gaza

Walking in the street, travelling in a car or sitting in a cafe in the Gaza Strip these days, you can hear people talking about and analysing one central issue - whether new Egyptian-sponsored efforts to reconcile the rival Islamist Hamas and the secular Fatah groups can work. Another thorny thought common in almost every discussion is whether Cairo would be able to turn the current lull in fighting between Israel and Hamas into a durable, sustainable ceasefire that will allow a proper opening of crossings into the coastal territory. Gaza’s 1.5 million popupation was relieved when Israel and Hamas declared separate ceasefires in January following 22-day of Israeli military strikes that killed 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis. But relief is still mixed with doubt and unease a month later.
http://blogs.reuters.com/axismundi/2009/02/24/waiting-in-gaza/

‘I want to be a full Israeli citizen’

NAZARETH, ISRAEL // When Israel’s 18th parliament opens today, there will be only one Arab woman among its intake of legislators. Haneen Zoubi has made history: although she is not the first Arab woman to enter the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, she is the first to be elected for an Arab party. Sitting in her home in Nazareth, the effective capital of Israel’s 1.2 million Palestinian citizens, she is dismissive of her predecessors, two women elected on behalf of Zionist parties. “They were worse than decorations,” she said. “Decorations don’t do any harm, but these women damaged our society. They were no role models at all.”
http://www.jkcook.net/Articles2/0374.htm#Top

Jonathan Cook, "The Only Palestinian Woman in Israel’s Parliament"

Haneen Zuabi has made history: although she is not the first Arab woman to enter the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, she is the first to be elected for an Arab party. . . . "I don’t want to become the Knesset address for Arab women’s issues. I need to raise the interest of the men in my party on women’s issues, not allow their interest to wane because they can dump the issue on me." But she said she does represent a demand among the minority’s women for change and political involvement. "Women congratulate me in the street. Even women I know who are usually supporters of the Islamic movement or who were planning to boycott the election because of [Israel’s recent attack on] Gaza came and told me they voted for me."
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/cook240209.html

Lieberman continues to influence the discussion in the US - Wash Post refers to Israel’s ethnic cleansing

I’ve been very interested lately in how Avigdor Lieberman’s success in the recent Israeli elections is changing how Americans view and understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Richard Cohen’s column in today’s Washington Post is another sign Lieberman is helping people cut to the chase. In his article "Whose Israel Shall It Be?" Cohen compares Lieberman to Israel’s founders in light of his proposal to force Palestinian citizens out of the country.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/02/lieberman-continues-to-change-the-discussion-in-the-us-wash-post-refers-to-israels-ethnic-cleansing.html

Jewish press warns new NY senator she will lose campaign money for mild criticism of Netanyahu

Is there an Israel lobby or not? The New York Jewish Week ought to be ashamed of itself for this piece attempting to discipline new Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for her mild comments re Israel that it regards as verboten.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/02/jewish-press-tries-to-undermine-ny-sen-gillibrand-for-critical-comment-on-netanyahu.html

Interview with former Knesset Leader: ’We Are Such an Angry People"

As an Israeli I feel lost because so many of my fellow countrymen are in love with war — as the solution for everything. But the most existential loss is spiritual: For me, being a Jew is being a universalist, a humanist. I can’t understand any Jew who votes right-wing. I can’t understand how a Jew can speak a language of xenophobia. And yet so many of them just did.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,609428,00.html

In their own words

"Minorities are the biggest problem in the world." - Avigdor Lieberman in a 2006 interview with The Sunday Telegraph.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/02/in-their-own-words-1.html

The End of the “Peace Process,” and Dissolution of the Historical Political Regimes in Israel ...

Because Islamic organizations, such as Hamas percieve themselves more as resistance organizations rather than part of the state building process, they have been able to weather the Israeli offensives. Though there is continued talk about an ongoing, though perhaps stalled, Israeli-Palestinian “Peace Process,” for all intents and purposes, it ended more than eight years ago, on 29 September 2000, with the beginning of the Israeli offensive against the Palestinian people in the wake of the collapse of the Camp David negotiations.
http://www.alternativenews.org/content/view/1597/104/

A Choice Between Peace and Peril, By Chris Hedges

Bibi Netanyahu’s assumption of power in Israel sets the stage for a huge campaign by the Israeli government, and its well-oiled lobby groups in Washington, to push us into a war with Iran. Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program, according to U.S. and European intelligence agencies. But reality rarely impedes on politics. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama, along with Netanyahu, all talk as if Iran is on the brink of dropping the big one on the Jewish state.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/print/20090223_a_choice_between_peace_and_peril/

Israeli ultra-hawk emerges as a dove

NAZARETH, ISRAEL // It is not entirely surprising that Amos Gilad, an Israeli general who once sued his own government for “irreversible mental damage” caused by his role in the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, has publicly courted controversy again. On Monday, Ehud Olmert, Israel’s outgoing prime minister, suspended Mr Gilad as his envoy to Egypt, responsible for negotiating a ceasefire with Hamas, after Mr Gilad called the prime minister’s truce conditions “insane”. The move threatened to unleash a political storm in Israel. Ehud Barak, the defence minister and a longtime ally of Mr Gilad, rushed to denounce Mr Olmert’s decision. He insisted that Mr Gilad, a defence ministry official in charge of diplomatic and security issues, would continue with his other duties.
http://www.jkcook.net/Articles2/0376.htm#Top

Coalition Theory, By URI AVNERY

"ACTA ALEA EST” – the die is cast – said Julius Caesar and crossed the River Rubicon on his way to conquer Rome. That was the end of Roman democracy. We don’t have a Julius Caesar. But we do have an Avigdor Liberman. When he announced his support the other day for the setting up of a government headed by Binyamin Netanyahu, that was the crossing of his Rubicon. I hope that this is not the beginning of the end of Israeli democracy.
http://www.counterpunch.com/avnery02242009.html

Targeting Peace

Despite the claims made by Israel, their real objective in Gaza was neither defensive nor destructive - it to protect their identity from the gravest threat of all: peace.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article837

Erased: a film about Gaza by Alberto Arce
Alberto Arce traveled from Cyprus to Gaza with the Free Gaza Movement on 18 December 2008 as a member of the International Solidarity Movement. Alberto worked in solidarity with the Gazan people, accompanied fishermen and farmers to deter violence from Israeli forces, and documented the daily impacts of the siege on Gazans. Arce was in Gaza during ‘Operation Cast Lead,’ where he volunteered with medical ambulances. He witnessed the devastating attacks on the Gazan people and recorded Israeli forces shooting a medic. Alberto Arce and Miguel Llorens have directed a movie about life in Gaza. Promotional trailer: Erased: wipe off the map