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Source: PACUSA via El Taller International - Tunis
Today in Palestine !
Mardi, 21 avril 2009 - 17h09
Tuesday 21 April 2009
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Land Theft and Destruction
Hundreds to be affected in Hebron demolitions
April 18th, 2009— Hundreds of residents in the Beqa’ neighborhood in Hebron face the demolition of their homes and agricultural infrastructure in what they describe as an ongoing campaign to expand Occupation control in the area around the Kirya Arba settlement. Additionally, bulldozers are still clearing land for an electricity network that will power a number of settlements and military positions between Hebron and Bethlehem, among them Kirya Arba.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/1924.shtml
Threats to East Jerusalem Palestinians, Youtubed
Clayton Swisher has two super short pieces on Al-Jazeera English about the threats to the Palestinian communities in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan.
http://justworldnews.org/archives/003521.html
IOA puts out tenders for most serious settlement project since 1967
The IOA has called for tenders to implement the biggest settlement project since Israel occupied the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem in 1967, a Palestinian official told a Jordanian paper.
Aggression/Attacks/Siege/Discrimination
Israeli Settlers Attack Resident, Ambulance in Hebron
A group of Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance in the old city of Hebron Saturday afternoon, causing damage to the vehicle. The ambulance was moving a patient from the Hebron governmental hospital to her home in Ash-Shuhada Street when the attack occurred, Head of Ambulance and Emergency Services for the Red Crescent Abed Al-Haleem Al-Ja’afra said. The Israeli army was aware that the ambulance would be crossing the normally closed area, and had okayed the move.
http://www.palestine-pmc.com/details.asp?cat=1&id=2215
Settlers and soldiers overtake Salfit town for religious services
Salfit / PNN – Israeli forces stormed the northern West Bank area of Salfit yesterday. A high number of foot and military vehicle patrols were involved in the Sunday assault that included closing all entrances to the town with tents and army stations.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5072
Relatives: Bilin protester was persistent in his struggle
Medical inquiry confirms Bassem Abu Rahma died after being hit by gas grenade fired from tear gas canister. IDF claims demonstrators rioted in West Bank village, but protestor’s relative says ‘there was no violence or provocation on our part’. The family of 30-year-old Bassem Ibrahim Abu Rahma, who was killed Friday by a tear gas grenade in a demonstration against the separation fence near Bilin, was comforted Saturday at its home in the West Bank village by many friends and relatives.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3702943,00.html
Al-Jazeera Video: Arabs in Israel complain of discrimination - 20 Apr 09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL5r-6_7eLU
Gaza merchants The Israeli unfair measures against them
Gaza, April 20, 2009 (RAMATTAN) – The Palestinian Chamber of Commerce said Monday that importers in Gaza have been paying rents for Israel while the Jewish states refuse to let in their goods during the past two years.
http://english.ramattan.net/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=40241
Israeli Justice: Court rejects appeal by Border Guard officer convicted of killing Arab
The Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Haim Castro, a former Border Guard officer, who was convicted of shooting dead an Israeli Arab in Kfar Qassem six years ago, without there being any immediate threat to his life. Castro was sentenced to six months community service by a district court.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3703624,00.html
Detentions/Kidnappings
Settlers seize Palestinian shepherd near Hebron
Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli settlers abducted a Palestinian shepherd south of the West Bank city of Hebron on Sunday evening, Palestinian and Israeli sources reported. The shepherd was identified as 24-year-old, Mohammad Abdallah Suleiman, a resident of the village of Sumu. The settlers seized Suleiman after he allegedly infiltrated the nearby Israeli settlement of Otni’el.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37231
War Crimes/Criminals
After shooting one Palestinian demonstrator, Israeli soldiers call out, ’Do you want more gas?’
This is a fuller video than the short, shocking video we posted last night depicting the killing of Bassem Ibrahim Abu Ramah yesterday at the weekly protest of the confiscatory wall in the West Bank village of Bil’in. The video shows plainly that the demonstrators were not violent. Here is a rough translation of the words on the video, supplied by an anonymous friend...
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/04/after-shooting-one-palestinian-demonstrator-israeli-soldiers-call-out-do-you-want-more-gas-.html
Humanitarian Issues
10 patients die and health conditions of hundreds deteriorate as Gaza’s external medical treatment crisis continues; PCHR hold Minister of Health in Ramallah accountable and calls on Palestinian president to intervene
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/RMOI-7R9KSL?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Int’l organizations: Tens of thousands of Gazans are still homeless
A coalition of international humanitarian organizations warned that tens of thousands of Gaza citizens are still homeless and do not have access to many basic services such as clean drinking water.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7SI4one6UEfqPARhFw%2b6cdPr9AK0s4J5MAdkZoOpprP%2fxcFq2yzikLMt0uSRxmErtE%2ft4cYluszqkzDVyhltWh0hceIiTZk0Enhtjk1m5u4U%3d
Palestinians get less water than Israel-World Bank
JERUSALEM, April 20 (Reuters) - Israelis have access to more than four times more water than do Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the World Bank said in a report on Monday. It said that a 1995 interim peace accord that governs the allocation of water has proven inadequate, as the Palestinian Authority has been fragmented by the last eight years of fighting while Israel has improved its own water facilities.
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLJ465947
What the Gazan Children saw…
http://www.whynotnews.org/2009/04/18/what-the-gazan-children-saw/
PHOTOS: Scenes from Gaza
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/photoalbum/1240228727.htm
Hamas denies accusations of killings in Gaza
Gaza, April 20, 2009 (RAMATTAN) – A Hamas spokesman on Monday denied accusations by an international rights group that its fighters have killed tens of political rivals and collaborators with Israel in the Gaza Strip.
http://english.ramattan.net/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=40240
HRW says Hamas must end Gaza political killings (AFP)
AFP - The Islamist Hamas rulers of Gaza must stop killings and torture of political rivals that have left several dozen people dead since the start of the year, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090420/wl_mideast_afp/mideastunrestgazahamasrights
Collaborators Watch: Serving Israeli collaborators and spies
This just in. Human Rights Watch is setting up a special branch to monitor the health and plight of Israeli collaborators and spies in the Arab world. This special organization will enjoy the support and funding from what the director of Human Rights Watch had called in a private email "Pro-Israel" donors. Human Rights Watch considers Israeli collaborators and spies to be important because—unlike regular cheap Arabs—they render important services to the Israeli state. Human Rights Watch will assign a special specialist to monitor the welfare and health of every Israeli collaborator and spy in the Middle East. [end]
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/04/collaborators-watch-serving-israeli.html
Israeli Violations of Religious Freedom
Thousands of Palestinian Christians prevented from entering Church of Holy Sepulcher in E Jerusalem
For the second consecutive day Israeli forces continue to impose restrictions on the entry of Palestinian Christians to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher for observance of Orthodox Easter. Services are ongoing since Good Friday but thousands of Palestinians are being pushed away.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5062
Political Developments
Hamas to present new government proposal in talks with Fatah
Gaza – Ma’an – Hamas said it plans to present a new solution to the current political impasse at a new round of talks with its main rival, Fatah in Cairo next week. Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya said Hamas would lay out its plan for what he called a “mission government,” an interim body that would have a limited portfolio of responsibilities.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37247
Netanyahu: Recognizing ’Jewish state’ not condition for talks
Bethlehem - Ma’an - Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu is no longer demanding that Palestinians recognize Israel as a "Jewish state" as a precondition for talks, according to a statement sent to Ma’an.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=37241
Other News
Jane Harman Recorded On Wiretap Promising to Intervene for AIPAC, Say Sources
Rep. Jane Harman , the California Democrat with a longtime involvement in intelligence issues, was overheard on an NSA wiretap telling a suspected Israeli agent that she would lobby the Justice Department reduce espionage-related charges against two officials of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, the most powerful pro-Israel organization in Washington. Harman was recorded saying she would "waddle into" the AIPAC case "if you think it’ll make a difference," according to two former senior national security officials familiar with the NSA transcript.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/20/jane-harman-recorded-on-w_n_188795.html
More on Jane Harman, high-ranking pro-Israel mole
Just how deeply have the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC and its longtime backers and contacts in the Israeli securocracy wormed their way into the heart of US national decisionmaking?
http://justworldnews.org/archives/003524.html
Netanyahu cancels a visit to the US
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, decided to cancel a planned visit to the United States after he was informed that the US President, Barack Obama, will not be meeting him.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60024
Majority in US want Israel to be penalised
Despite claiming continued support for Israel, a majority of US residents want a change in policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A decisive plurality said US aid to Israel is “too much”, and a majority want to see Israel penalised for building new settlements on Palestinian land.
http://www.thenational.ae/article/20090419/FOREIGN/643719584/1002/NEWS
Fayyad seeking U.S. help in collecting Gaza funds
The Palestinian Authority has asked U.S. special Middle East envoy George Mitchell to use America’s leverage with the Arab states to convince them to make good on their financial commitments to the PA, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked for rebuilding the Gaza Strip.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1079406.html
Zubeidi to serve in PA ministry
Zacharia Zubeidi, a former commander with the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades turned policeman, recently traded in his police uniform in favor of a position with the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Prisoner Affairs.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3703384,00.html
Right-Wing Israeli Lawmaker Sends Letter To Rahm Emanuel To "Remind Him He’s Jewish"
National Union chairman Ya’acov "Ketzele" Katz sent a letter to White House chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel last week admonishing him not to forget his Jewish and Israeli origins. Katz’s missive came in response to a reported verbal exchange between Emanuel and an unidentified American Jewish leader.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/20/rightwing-israeli-lawmake_n_188878.html
Fayyad aide: Kill men selling land to Israel
Ynet report that PA released suspected land dealers following Israeli pressure stirs row. Palestinian prime minister’s advisor on Jerusalem affairs confirms some suspects freed ’due to difficulties, but stresses investigation continues.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3703799,00.html
Israel recalls its ambassador due to Swiss president’s meeting with Ahmadinejad
Jerusalem, April 20, 2009 (RAMATTAN) – Israel on Monday called back its ambassador to Switzerland for consultations following Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz’s meeting and dinner with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, local news service Ynet reported.
http://english.ramattan.net/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=40243
Israel criticism sparks UN walkout
Delegates walk out of UN racism summit after Iran’s president says Israel is a "racist government".
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/europe/2009/04/2009420132824573734.html
’It is strange that Hollywood Jews would make a film about Muslims’
The president of the European Jewish Congress on Monday waged a verbal attack against members of Hollywood, specifically the makers of Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1079617.html
Zionist puppet
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has named Bedouin diplomat Ismail Khaldi his Middle East advisor, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday." [As`ad: He is the same guy that I debated two years ago at UC, Berkeley. He pathetically complained to the audience that I did not shake his hands. But the good news is this: the puppets of Zionism—if this guy is any indication—are just incompetent, unqualified, and just not very bright. Is it me or the calibre of US and Israel’s puppets in the region is going down—way down.]
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/04/zionist-puppet.html
Egyptian Aggression Towards Hezbollah
Hoss to Al-Manar: Egyptian Accusations Are Badge of Honor
19/04/2009 Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Salim al-Hoss criticized on Sunday the Egyptian claims against Hezbollah over backing its Palestinian brothers, recalling of the national role the Resistance party has played, since its creation, in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Speaking to Al-Manar, Hoss noted that the Egyptian accusations should be considered as a "badge of honor" not only by Hezbollah but also by all Arab citizens who consider the Zionist entity their enemy. "Providing our brothers in Palestine with assistance and support is not a charge but rather a badge of honor and glory for Hezbollah," Hoss said. "Instead of assaulting the Resistance, Arabs should praise Hezbollah and Sami Chehab for their achievement," he emphasized.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/newssite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=82331&language=en
Egyptian sources: arrested Hezbollah cell to be referred to court soon
CAIRO, April 20 (Xinhua) — Egyptian security sources said Monday that the pro-Hezbollah cell arrested recently will be referred to court soon after investigations have been completed. The sources, meanwhile, noted that Naser Abu Omaira, the second defendant, confessed that he was planning to train Palestinian military groups to carry out attacks against Israeli targets.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/20/content_11223531.htm
Media Bias
2 days and counting: ’NY Times’ fails to correct Israeli gov’t misrepresentations about the killing of a demonstrator
Two days ago, the New York Times published the following statement by the Israeli army, defending the killing on Friday of Bassam Ibrahim Abu Rahmah during a demonstration in the West Bank: An Israeli military spokeswoman said security forces had been trying to disperse a violent demonstration during which people threw stones and other objects. She said the army was checking the report about the Palestinian death and had asked if they could join Palestinian officials in investigating the cause of death.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/04/2-days-and-counting-ny-times-fails-to-correct-israeli-govt-misrepresentations-about-the-killing-of-a.html
Killing of protester in Bil’in was part of a trend— when will the US media cover it?
Notice how the report places Abu Rahmah’s death in the context of an increasingly violent Israeli response to non-violent Palestinian protest. The US media has yet to cover this.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/04/killing-of-protestor-in-bilin-was-part-of-a-trend-when-will-the-us-media-cover-it.html
Solidarity, Boycott/Sanctions and Divestment
Non violent resistance
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=1&id=14
(2001) A Letter from Nelson Mandela to Thomas Friedman
"There is discrimination against Palestinians.. If you further consider the 1967 occupied territories you will find there are already two judicial systems in operation that represent two different approaches to human life: one for Palestinian life and the other for Jewish life. Additionally there are two different approaches to property and to land. Palestinian property is not recognised as private property because it can be confiscated.”
http://www.bintjbeil.com/E/occupation/mandella.html
Italy rallies for BDS
The first annual Global BDS Day of Action, which coincided with Land Day on 30 March, was a major success in Italy, where several campaigns and initiatives were launched and awareness-raising activities took place throughout the country. This has been the largest mobilization in Italy to date, marking a milestone for BDS in the country.
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/1922.shtml
Analysis/Op-ed
The Mummified President: Or the Follower of the Follower, by As’ad Abukhalil
The crisis between Hezbollah and the regime in Egypt has been branching out leading the Al-Arabiya channel to give the matter its own segment during its daily news slash propaganda a few days ago. The channel hosted the editor-in-chief of Rose-Ul-Yusuf along with the retired Lebanese colonel Hesham Jaber. To add a bit of “objectivity”, Saleh Al-Qellab was also invited, or perhaps to conciliate the opposing points of view. Rose-Ul-Yusuf magazine, like all government aligned and (beloved) official Egyptian magazines and newspapers lost the attractiveness which it hasn’t known for decades now. For instance, it’s enough to compare Al-Ahram before the revolution and during the era of Nasser and the same Al-Ahram during the eras of Sadat and Mubarak.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/04/mummified-president_19.html
Connect Gaza and the West Bank Now
So finally there are no more reasons to wait. The US president has been sworn in. A special envoy has been chosen and is already setting up office and finally the new Israeli government has been formed. President Obama and his aides have repeated over and over his support for the two state solution while the new Israeli government has refused to publicly support the Annapolis process and can’t bring themselves to use the three letter word: two state solution.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daoud-kuttab/connect-gaza-and-the-west_b_188591.html
The IDF’s ’Dahiyah Doctrine’, applied in Gaza, Posted by Helena Cobban
Kudos to Inter-Press Service’s Daan Bouwens for this piece of reporting in which he reminded readers that Israel’s strategic decisionmakers had integrated a policy of major, intentional destruction of civilian targets into their war-planning for certain contingencies considerably before they launched the assault on Gaza, December 27.
http://justworldnews.org/archives/003520.html
News Analysis: How far will U.S. go in Mideast peace mission?
CAIRO, April 19 (Xinhua) — U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell did not find welcoming ears this time in nudging new Israeli leaders to accept that a Palestinian state alongside Israel is the only way to end the Mideast conflict. During his third trip to the region since nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama late January, Mitchell spared no efforts in advocating the two-state solution in solving the decades-old conflict.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/20/content_11217600.htm
Non-Violence in Palestine: Timing and Intentions/It can be said Palestinians gave non-violent resistance more than a fair shot
When one speaks of or advocates non-violence, does he promote such an idea because he believes that historically it has been a more effective means of liberation, or is it purely because he thinks that it is a more self-respecting means of struggle? In recent history, many advocates of non-violence have been celebrated as modern day icons. From Ghandi to King, songs are written in their honor, their life stories fill the pages of our children’s history volumes as noble examples of which everyone must aspire to emulate. Holidays are instituted in their honor and around the world; streets and boulevards carry their namesake.
http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_class=3&no=385099&rel_no=1
Face to Face with Palestinian Resilience: A Donkey Day in Azzun
Azzun is a charming Palestinian town in the northern West Bank, 6 kilometres away from Qalqilya. It is one of the Palestinian cities that – because of its proximity to the green line – is literally surrounded and encircled by the Israeli matrix of walls, bypass roads and settlements. But in Azzun, behind the daily hardship, there’s also entertainment. This week a donkey day was organised by the Palestinian association, PARC. It was a day filled with smiles, races and funny falls.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article914
Animal Farm finds a Palestinian stage
RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - "Intifada," scream the animals as they chase Jones from the farm. Strobe lights flash and loud music blares as the packed audience sits captivated, eyes trained on the stage below. "We are exhausted not because we are hungry. We are exhausted because of human oppression, and we can’t work out how to resolve our problems," shouts Old Major, one of the senior pig revolutionaries.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10468.shtml
Leverage U.S. military aid to halt Israeli settlements
Yousef Munayyer is a policy analyst with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Washington. The settlement of Ariel, which sits deep inside the Palestinian Territory of the West Bank, voted overwhelmingly for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party in the recent elections. The reasons are straightforward: Likud has vowed to protect and expand settlements, and its platform denies the existence of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20090419_Leverage_U_S__military_aid_to_halt_Israeli_settlements.html
’American Jewish Committee’ and ’Southern Poverty Law Center’ endorsed anti-Arab image
SCAN06 Morris Dees is the head of the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Center made a name for itself in the 70s and 80s fighting for civil rights and human rights for blacks. They’re very concerned with racism. They moved on to fighting the Ku Klux Klan, the white supremacist movement and the militia movement. Good liberals.
http://www.philipweiss.org/mondoweiss/2009/04/american-jewish-committee-and-southern-poverty-law-center-endorse-antiarab-image.html
Seth Freedman: Israel’s memorial built on desecration
The best way to honour the Holocaust victims is to stop a Museum of Tolerance being built on a Muslim cemetery. Tonight, Israel will mark Yom Hashoah, the annual day of remembrance for the six million Jews slaughtered at the hands of the Nazis – whose collective shadow looms large over both the state of Israel and the entire diaspora community. However, as I wrote this time two years ago, "while ’never forget’ is a worthy and worthwhile refrain, it rings a bit hollow if all we do is remember without taking the next step and actively confronting abuses, wherever in the world they flourish unchecked".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/20/museum-tolerance-israel
Richard Silverstein: American Jewish groups must speak up over Gaza
It is a sensitive subject, but the movement for Gaza accountability needs full Jewish participation. When Israeli forces left Gaza in January, they left behind 1,400 Palestinian dead, 4,000 homes destroyed, universities and government buildings flattened, and tens of thousands homeless. The Israeli and world press documented IDF atrocities including the indiscriminate use of white phosphorus in densely populated urban areas, the assault on United Nations humanitarian facilities, the shelling of civilian homes, and the shooting in cold blood of unarmed civilians.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/apr/20/gaza-israel-war-crimes
Thanks, Palestinians, for St George!
There are no doubts in Palestine: George was a Palestinian born at Lydda and brought up in the Christian faith. St George and the Dragon are to be seen everywhere in Bethlehem, notes Stuart Littlewood.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=31599
