Friday, November 11, 2011

Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines November 11, 2011

Land, property theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing
 "Jewish Terrorism" pays – illegal outpost evacuation postponed
Haaretz reports today that the state will postpone the dismantling of the West Bank settlement outpost known as Givat Assaf, close to Beit El – never mind that the government has yet to bother cooking up any new excuses for doing so. Haaretz explains that following a 2007 petition to the High Court of Justice by Peace Now against six settlements in the area, the state has been evading dismantling the outposts with various claims ('wait! we're negotiating with them'). After a Court injunction, the outposts were supposed to have been either legalized or evacuated by the end of the year. Failing to do the former, Givat Assaf was to have been dismantled.
http://972mag.com/jewish-terrorism-pays-illegal-outpost-evacuation-postponed/27403/

Israeli Violence / Aggression / Threats

Large numbers participate in the funeral of man killed by settler
Palestinian residents from the district of Salfit and the village of Deir Estia participated in large numbers in the funeral of a Palestinian farmer who was run-over on Tuesday by a Jewish settler.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
 

Settlers Spray 10-year-old with Gas
Israeli forces arrested three Palestinians from the town of Qabatya, south of Jenin, on Wednesday morning, while Israeli settlers in the southern West Bank sprayed a family of Palestinians, including a 10-year-old boy, with gas.  In Jenin refugee camp, local sources reporting to Palestinian government news wire Wafa said that "a huge number" of forces accompanied by a low-flying helicopter conducted a four hour raid in which troops searched all the neighborhoods in the camp. By dawn soldiers had arrested Anas Atta Kamil, 27, Ahmed Hisham Kamil, 26—a student in the American University in Jenin and released prisoner—and 24-year-old Yazan Ateb Obaideh.
link to english.pnn.ps
Likud MK Danon: Destroy Gaza neighborhoods for every rocket fired, Alex Kane
I am currently in Ashkelon to witness the security problem facing the city specifically in neighborhoods with new Olim and have come to two main conclusions. Firstly, we must do everything we can to ensure the safety of all residents with an emphasis on areas with new immigrants who greatly lack protection, and more importantly, to deal with Hamas leaders in Gaza, and for every missile that falls in our southern towns, we retaliate by deleting a neighborhood in Gaza.
link to mondoweiss.net
IDF kills Israeli, wounds two others in accidental West Bank shooting
IDF forces, who believed the incident to be a terrorist attack, opened fire on the vehicle, killing a 60-year-old man, and wounding two other passengers.
link to www.haaretz.com
Political Detainees & Activists
Israel still detaining 21 foreign solidarity activists
Israel is still holding 21 solidarity activists who were taken by Israeli navy vessels along with their two boats into Asdod port for trying to sail into Gaza, Hebrew press said on Thursday.
link to www.palestine-info.co.uk
Israeli Forces Arrest Three near Jenin
Israeli forces arrested three Palestinians from the town of Qabatya, south of Jenin, on Wednesday morning, while Israeli settlers in the southern West Bank sprayed a family of Palestinians, including a 10-year-old boy, with gas.  In Jenin refugee camp, local sources reporting to Palestinian government news wire Wafa said that "a huge number" of forces accompanied by a low-flying helicopter conducted a four hour raid in which troops searched all the neighborhoods in the camp. By dawn soldiers had arrested Anas Atta Kamil, 27, Ahmed Hisham Kamil, 26—a student in the American University in Jenin and released prisoner—and 24-year-old Yazan Ateb Obaideh. 
link to english.pnn.ps
Hamas: Israel to release remaining Palestinian female prisoners after Shalit deal
Report by Palestinian Ma'an news agency claims Egypt mediating talks geared at finalizing demands over first stage of last month's prisoner exchange deal.
link to www.haaretz.com
Veteran Shalit swap prisoner detained for questioning
Sami Younis, 82, who is oldest prisoner to be freed in exchange deal, detained for questioning near Ramallah. He was later released.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Gaza
Campaign: Parliamentarians set to visit Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A delegation of 200 international parliamentarians and political leaders are preparing to visit the Gaza Strip at the end of November, Palestinian activists said Thursday. Rami Abdo of the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza said the delegation's objective was to issue a universal declaration that rejects imposing sieges on a civilian population.  The delegation will include lawmakers from several continents as well as leaders of the recent revolutions in the Arab world, he said. A parliamentary session will be held between the West Bank and Gaza.  The three-day trip will include visits to refugee camps and other sites, he said.
link to www.maannews.net
Israeli Criminal Injustice System
Border Guard officer gets 3 months in jail for abusing Palestinian minor
Jerusalem District Court convicts Shani Sevilya of abuse, intimidation, after she aims gun at Palestinian detainee, squeezes trigger while saying 'death to Arabs'.
link to www.ynetnews.com
Activism / Solidarity / Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
Irish Gaza activists stranded in airport in Tel Aviv after flight is 'delayed'
Foreign Affairs officials are to lodge a protest with the Israeli government after seven Irish activists detained on an aid convoy to Gaza missed a deportation flight home. Seven of the 14 Irish human rights activists were detained by Israeli authorities as they tried to break the naval blockade onGaza. Irish consular officials have met the seven at Ben Gurion Airport and a complaint is being made over the delay. The seven were expected to arrive in Dublin this afternoon, with the final seven expected home tomorrow -- a week after their vessel the MV Saoirse was intercepted by Israeli military in international waters.
link to www.independent.ie
VIDEO: Free Michael Coleman! Free Gaza!
Supporters of Palestinian human rights gathered in Sydney on November 10 to protest the Australian government's silence on the arrest by Israeli authorities of Australian Michael Coleman, who took part in the recent Freedom Waves to Gaza attempt to sail humanitarian aid to Gaza.
link to www.greenleft.org.au
Video: Jewish activists disrupt and "occupy" Birthright Israel event, Ali Abunimah
Members of the youth wing of Jewish Voice for Peace disrupted a Birthright Israel event on 7 November.
link to electronicintifada.net
Young U.S. Jews aim 'occupy' movement at Birthright Israel
Members of youth section of Jewish Voice for Peace disrupt New York event sponsored by Birthright, say program 'free propaganda trips for predominantly middle and upper class American Jews.
link to www.haaretz.com
Solidarity with the Palestinian Freedom Riders
On November 15th, Palestinian activists will attempt to board segregated Israeli settler public transport headed to occupied East Jerusalem in an act of civil disobedience inspired by the Freedom Riders of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Fifty years after the U.S. Freedom Riders staged mixed-race bus rides through the roads of the segregated American South, Palestinian Freedom Riders will be asserting their right for liberty and dignity by disrupting the military regime of the Occupation through peaceful civil disobedience. Organizers say that this ride to demand liberty, equality, and access to Jerusalem is the first of many to come. The Freedom Riders will be riding Egged and Veolia buses. Veolia runs many transportation services in local US communities, and is the target of many BDS campaigns. This provides a great opportunity for local Boycott or Dump Veolia campaigns to have a creative action that ties directly to Palestinian-led direct action.
link to jewishvoiceforpeace.org
'International week against the Apartheid Wall' seeks to rally the 'global 99%', Anna Baltzer
US Campaign National Organizer Anna Baltzer with #Occupy protesters. On October 25th at Oakland City Hall, barricades and riot police had replaced the hundreds of committed activists who had inhabited Oscar Grant Plaza since Occupy Oakland began. Helicopters swarmed above. The atmosphere was tense and thick with teargas. Earlier that day, Scott Olsen, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, had been shot in the head with a tear gas canister and hospitalized.
link to mondoweiss.net
Leeds Student TV- Interview with Dr. Norman Finkelstein
Renowned Jewish-American political scientist and author, Professor Norman Finkelstein, interviewed by Leeds Student TV during his tour of UK campuses entitled 'How to solve the Israel -- Palestine conflict'. The tour is sponsored by The Palestinian Return Centre (prc.org.uk) and Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods.
link to www.youtube.com
Placebo Effect: Lawsuit Might Boost BDS Campaign in Lebanon
A lawsuit against BDS activists in Beirut has ignited a debate about freedom of expression and is shaping up to be a landmark case in Lebanese courts. The editor of Al Adab magazine, Samah Idriss, the Campaign to Boycott Israel Supporters in Lebanon, the Center for the Rights of Refuges-Aidoun, and the International Campaign for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Against Israel (BDS) are being sued by the head of the event management company 2U2C, Jihad Murr. Perhaps unintentionally, Murr has breathed new life into the BDS campaign in Lebanon. The court case is no longer just a local concern; international campaigners are pledging to appear before the Lebanese court in support of their comrades.
link to english.al-akhbar.com
Political Developments / Diplomacy
Al-Maliki : American Intervention Kept Us From Getting Nine Votes in Security Council
Palestinian Foreign Minister Dr. Riyad al-Maliki said on Thurdsday that American intervention had stopped the Palestinian application for statehood from getting nine votes in the UN Security Council and that he would not pursue a vote on Friday. 
link to english.pnn.ps
Obama Middle East envoy Ross to step down: White House (Reuters)
Reuters - Dennis Ross, a senior aide to President Barack Obama on the Middle East, has decided to step down from his post, the White House said on Thursday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111110/pl_nm/us_mideast_usa_envoy
UNESCO files complaint against Israeli delegation over Haaretz cartoon
A cartoon published in Haaretz causes a riff between Israel's ambassador to UNESCO and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
link to www.haaretz.com
UNESCO suspends new programs after U.S. funding cut (Reuters)
Reuters - The United Nations' cultural agency has temporarily suspended new programs in response to the United States' decision to cut off funding after UNESCO granted the Palestinians membership, the agency said on Thursday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111110/wl_nm/us_unesco_palestine_funding
Family: Platelet disorder killed Arafat
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A nephew of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat says the family will soon release a French medical report revealing Arafat's cause of death. Naser al-Qudwa says the document is being translated from French before it is released. Al-Qudwa says the report will answer "many questions," as it is the Palestinian people's right to get a clear answer about how Arafat died. The document has not previously been seen in Arabic. 
link to www.maannews.net
Family says to release Arafat medical docs
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A nephew of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat says the family will soon release a French medical report revealing Arafat's cause of death.  Naser al-Qudwa says the document is being translated from French before it is released.  Arafat died on Nov. 11, 2004 in Paris. Medical records have been closely guarded amid speculation on the cause of a sudden illness that struck the Palestinian leader shortly before his death.
link to www.maannews.net
'Katsav should have gotten harsher sentence'
Woman who blew lid off of rape case against former president says he would have gotten longer prison term if more victims were included in suit. State Prosecutor's Office: Ruling sends unequivocal message to those in positions of power.
link to www.ynetnews.com 

Iran
U.S.: Strike of Iran's nuclear facilities may have unintended consequences
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says attack on Iran enrichment centers ought to be 'last resort', and may only delay nuclear program by a few years.
link to www.haaretz.com 

Romney says 'prepare for war' against Iran
WASHINGTON — Accusing President Barack Obama of naivete on Iran, Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney promised Thursday that if elected president he would "prepare for war" with the Islamic republic. In a commentary published in the Wall Street Journal, Romney said he would back up US diplomacy "with a very real and very credible military option," deploying carrier battle groups to the Gulf and boosting military aid to Israel.
link to www.rawstory.com
Wexler on the warpath: Opening volleys of major push for Iran war by liberal Zionists and hawks?, Scott McConnell
Robert Wexler, former Florida congressman and a key Obama ally on Israel/Palestine issues, was one of the speakers at a Churches for Middle East Peace dinner last night. Wexler is a liberal Zionist, who (correctly) sees Israel's long term interest in a two state solution, and has taken a lot of flack for defending Obama from attack by the Zionist right. But last night he was terrifying.
link to mondoweiss.net
IAEA report is a dud, and 'Moon of Alabama' busted it wide open with "Nanodiamonds"
Anybody else notice the big sucking sound in reaction to the endlessly uber hyped IAEA report? I knew it, I just knew it. Humping their fear mongering and cramming it down our collective throats the week before the report was due was because they had nothing. Because the only time they'd get away with it was before the report came out, so they ran with it hook line and sinker.  Russia and China immediately said 'No' to more sanctions, and virtually nothing 'diplomats' and western 'officials' (Elliott and Ross?) said panned out in the report, which was basically old nothing news.  The IAEA report was a Dud With Little Consequences For Iran and everybody knows it too. Here's CSM being somewhat polite about it.
link to mondoweiss.net
Nuclear Israel revisited, Joseph Massad
To have or not to have nuclear weapons is a question of human security and not European privilege.
link to www.aljazeera.com
Other Mideast News
Memo From Baghdad: Iraqi Shiite Anger at U.S. Remains Strong
The United States ambassador has apologized to Shiite leaders in Iraq for the United States' inaction during the 1991 popular uprising.
link to feeds.nytimes.com 

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Washington — The ringleader of a rogue US army unit responsible for "thrill kills" of Afghan civilians was sentenced to life behind bars. But a five-person military panel said Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs — who was found guilty at the end of a week-long court martial — would be eligible for parole after serving at least 10 years. Gibbs was found guilty of 15 counts in all, including three charges of premeditated murder for his role in three so-called "thrill kills" in southern Afghanistan between January and May last year.
link to www.rawstory.com
UK backs bid to overturn ban on cluster bombs
Britain is backing a US-led plan to torpedo the global ban on cluster bombs, in what MPs and arms campaigners fear is an attempt to legitimise the use of weapons that are widely deemed to be inherently indiscriminate.
link to www.independent.co.uk
For Bahrain's soccer team, shades of Saddam Hussein's Iraq
A short ESPN documentary focuses on the torture of soccer-team athletes in Bahrain, home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet, for their faith and political beliefs.
link to rss.csmonitor.com
Bahrain's Courageous Doctors, Adil E. Shamoo The United States continues to ignore the thwarted Arab Spring in Bahrain. Recently, a quasi-military court in the small Gulf state sentenced 20 doctors and nurses to up to 15 years in jail. The charge against them? Treating injured demonstrators opposing the regime. Doctors and nurses in the Middle East have a long and proud tradition of treating the ill, regardless of the situation. In ninth-century Baghdad, for example, Hunayn ibn Ishaq was the Caliph's physician. The Caliph asked this physician to prepare a poison to kill his enemies. The physician refused, risking his life, and was eventually jailed for one year. After serving his sentence, the Caliph inquired as to why he refused. The physician replied, "My profession is instituted for the benefit of humanity and limited to their relief and cure."
link to original.antiwar.com
Tunisia: Ennahda Islamist Party Promises Open Society
TUNIS, Tunisia — The new Tunisia will welcome people of all faiths and carry on the tradition of moderation for which it has always been known, the leader of the Islamist party that won the country's first free elections promised Thursday. Secretary-General Hammadi Jebali's pledge was aimed at countering concerns voiced both in Tunisia and abroad that the Ennahdha party might put the country on a path of extremism.
link to www.huffingtonpost.com
Fate of 'flower of Syria' offers cautionary tale
Relatives are convinced they buried Zaynab Hosni — who has become a rallying symbol for the Syrian opposition — in September. But she turned up last month on Syrian TV, sparking conspiracy theories. Fatat Malouk said she has no doubt: The burned, mutilated and seemingly unrecognizable body parts that she viewed in a Syrian military hospital in September were the remains of her child — the victim, she said, of government thugs who snatched the teenager off the street.
link to feeds.latimes.com
Ancient Sana may be casualty of Yemen's violent unrest
Much is at stake in the old city, its buildings covered in geometric designs of white gypsum and glimmers of stained glass, a place so striking that it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
link to feeds.latimes.com
Hariri's Twitter Comeback
This suggests that Hariri decided to go public on Twitter after he partly of fully resolved his financial crisis.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/hariri%E2%80%99s-twitter-comeback

Arab Christians, minorities, reshaping US enclaves (AP)

AP - Jordanian immigrants take Communion at an Arabic-language Mass in Albuquerque. Lebanese-Americans help raise nearly $2 million for major improvements to a West Virginia church. Iraqi refugees who practice an ancient religion that views John the Baptist as their teacher hold baptisms in a Massachusetts pond popular for rowing regattas.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111111/ap_on_re_us/us_fea_arab_christians
Analysis / Op-ed
Ex-Mossad chief's testimony reveals bloody past
An Israeli court has given the go-ahead for the publication of ex-Mossad Chief Meir Dagan's testimony in a murder trial. The accused has claimed that he killed a British tourist in cold blood in part due to the psychological effects of his service in an elite Special Forces unit once commanded by Dagan. Sayeret Rimon unit operated on the southern front, including Gaza, and is held responsible for killing 290 Palestinians on a wanted list of 300. Dagan told the court that he didn't count the Palestinians who were killed and that for every one who was killed there were hundreds who were arrested. Reports in Israel claim that the Israeli Army's Southern Command is reviving the Sayeret Rimon unit to work undercover in the Gaza Strip. Recruits, it is said, must be fearless and experienced soldiers. Several dozen have been recruited for the unit, whose targets include the leaders of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
link to www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk
The Russell Tribunal on Palestine, Cape Town session
The Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RToP) is an international people's tribunal set up with the intention of seeking justice for the Palestinian people where governments and international institutions have failed to do so. By raising global levels of awareness it is hoped to put pressure on decision-makers to look at the facts surrounding Israel's oppression of Palestinians. Following two successful sessions in Barcelona and London, the third session was held in Cape Town. The tribunal considered the question, "Are Israel's practices against the Palestinian people in breach of the prohibition on Apartheid under International Law?"
link to www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk
Are We about to Betray the Palestinians, Again?, Stuart Littlewood
Media reports suggest that Britain will again betray the Palestinian people in the UN vote tomorrow on whether to recognise the Palestinian territories as an independent state. The Guardian, for example, says that Britain will join forces with two other EU allies on the Security Council, France and Portugal, to abstain. Germany, the third EU member of the Council, is also likely to abstain. "The UK had considered voting in favour of statehood but is planning to abstain because it wants to forge a common front with its EU partners. Government sources say the EU – the single biggest donor to the Palestinian authority – is playing an increasingly influential role in the Middle East. It is feared this could be put at risk if the EU fails to act collectively."
link to palestinechronicle.com
Israel vs. Free Press: Uri Blau Faces Seven Years in Prison for Practicing Investigative Journalism, Richard Silverstein
Haaretz' Uri Blau, one of Israel's finest investigative journalists, faces seven years in prison for doing nothing more than practicing his craft in a country that upholds the values of a national security state above those of press freedom. Blau has published some of the most hard-hitting exposes involving the IDF and human rights violations over the past few years.  Among them was the two reports he wrote based on top-secret documents leaked to him by Anat Kamm.  These were memos from the headquarters of IDF general Yair Naveh, revealing that he approved assassinations of unarmed Palestinian suspects in contravention of Israeli Supreme Court rulings.  Of course, when given a chance to support these ruling in practice, the Court refused to do so as is often the case with security matters in which it is loath to second guess the military-intelligence apparatus.
link to www.richardsilverstein.com
Rabin's murderers are still free and happy
Instead of lighting candles and singing we should protest against the fact that those responsible for Rabin's murder are walking around free.
link to www.haaretz.com
Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Cal Berkeley Protest Draws Thousands, As Two Years Of Occupation Come Home
Facing some of the steepest budget cuts and tuition hikes in the country, thousands college students across California staged a mass walkout on Wednesday and set up camp to form the latest Occupy site. But unlike many others around the country, who have only started to get involved in the protests, California students are continuing a movement they've been pursuing for two years.
link to www.huffingtonpost.com

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