text:
Vermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel
For those interested in keeping up with events in Palestine/Israel, there is no better digest than VTJP.
20 September 2008
14-year-old boy killed
near Nablus by Israeli gunfire
IMEMC News,
International Middle East Media Center News 9/20/2008
Israeli security guards killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy on
Saturday morning near the Israeli settlement of Yitzhar as he came near
the settlement, Palestine News Network (PNN) reported. The boy later
was identified as Suheib Saleh from the village of Asseera Al-Qibliyeh,
near the West Bank city of Nablus. Eyewitnesses said the boy died
immediately as he received a fatal bullet. Suheib's brother was killed
in the same place in 2002. The sources said that the boy was only 100
meters away from his home, but the settlement was built on land that
belongs to the villagers, so it is adjacent to the villagers houses.
Israeli sources claimed that the boy was in procession of a Molotov
cocktail and a knife and he kept walking ignoring orders by the
soldiers to stop, which had them to open fire on him and kill him. This
claim was strongly rejected by the head of the village council Hosni
Protest against Israeli construction under Moroccan Gate
Maisa Abu Ghazaleh,
Palestine News Network 9/20/2008
Jerusalem -- Heavy equipment arrived in East Jerusalem's Silwan via the
Elad Settlement for construction under Bab al Magarbi, Moroccan Gate.
Residents began protesting yesterday morning and took their case to the
Israeli police station at the top of Salah al-Din Street. They demanded
to view the work permit which the Israeli police denied them saying
they were not entitled access. The heavy machinery began working around
noon under police protection. A group of settlers came from the Elad
Settlement and began threatening protesters. The construction is
sponsored by the Elad Settlement Assembly. Hatem Abdel Khater told PNN,
"Israel is waging war on Jerusalem," while Bishop Atallah Hanna is
demanding national, religious and human rights in the occupied city.
Mayor of Jenin suffers from medical neglect in Shatta prison
Information Center 9/20/2008
RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Mayor of Jenin Hatem Jarrar, who is imprisoned in the
Israeli Shatta jail, said in a letter through the lawyer of Mandela
institute that his health condition deteriorated as a result of the
policy of medical neglect exercised by the prison administration.
Jarrar explained that he suffers from diabetes, hypertension, and
kidney problems, adding that he suffered from severe pains after
undergoing a surgery to repair a hernia because of the inappropriate
incarceration conditions and the lack of medical follow-up. In another
related context, prisoner Mohamed Al-Kaddoumi, who was sentenced to 19
years in jails, told the prisoner club's lawyer that the Israeli
doctors in the prison misdiagnosed his medical case where they told him
that the cause of his ongoing unbearable stomachache was the existence
of stones in his kidney and thus prescribed him kidney medicines.
Diplomats: No evidence Syria site bombed by IAF was nuclear
The Associated
Press, Ha'aretz 9/21/2008
Diplomats say partial results of samples from a Syrian site bombed by
Israel last September show nothing to back up U. S. assertions that the
target was a secret nuclear reactor. The diplomats cautioned that the
results from the probe conducted by the United Nations nuclear
watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, are preliminary
because findings of more detailed environmental tests are still
outstanding. Still, two of the three who spoke to The Associated Press
said that IAEA officials did not expect the results from the samples
still being tested to strongly contradict the first results. All three
diplomats were informed of the status of the IAEA probe but demanded
anonymity because their information was confidential. Washington says
that the Al Kibar site that the Israel Air Force destroyed last year
was a near-finished plutonium-producing. . .
PA chief of staff: We must be ready to use force against Hamas
Avi Issacharoff,
Ha'aretz 9/21/2008
RAMALLAH - The Palestinian Authority must be ready to use force against
Hamas in Gaza "to reunify the homeland," said the head of PA forces in
the West Bank, Gen. Dhiab al-Ali (Abu al-Fatah), considered the
Palestinian chief of staff. "If Gaza remains mutinous, the Palestinian
Authority will have no choice but to use force against it," Ali said in
a recent interview with Haaretz at his Ramallah offices. Ali said the
PA has not ruled out using force if the territory remains in Hamas'
hands. "There haven't yet been consultations with the Israelis on the
issue," Ali said. "We hope we won't need that option - for us it's the
last choice for unifying the homeland - but we must be prepared to
implement it. If you want to transport forces [to Gaza] you need
different weapons and different capabilities [than those currently
Ultra-Orthodox party emerging as Israel kingmaker
Middle East Online
TEL AVIV - An ultra-Orthodox Jewish party run by an octogenarian rabbi
who has said Hurricane Katrina was divine punishment emerged Thursday
as the kingmaker in forming the next Israeli government. Having won a
fight to be leader of the ruling Kadima Party, Tzipi Livni now will
likely need Shas as a partner to become prime minister. But Shas
opposes any compromise on occupied Jerusalem, and including it in a
coalition could tie her hands in peace talks with the Palestinians.
Livni's narrow victory in a party primary Wednesday to replace
corruption-tainted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as Kadima's chairman
means she can become prime minister if she can put together a coalition
government of her own. Livni, now the foreign minister, has said she
would like to keep the current four-party coalition intact. Two of
Kadima's partners, Labor and the Pensioners, aren't expected to balk.
Gaza-Egypt crossing opens for pilgrims
Middle East Online
GAZA CITY - The Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt was
opened on Saturday to allow hundreds of Muslim pilgrims to leave the
besieged territory, Palestinian officials said. The Hamas-run interior
ministry in Gaza said around 650 people would depart on their way to
Saudi Arabia for the omra or minor pilgrimage, along with an
unspecified number of patients, students, and holders of foreign
passports. The crossing was to remain open for two full days. Israel
has tightened its blockade of the impoverished Palestinian in June
2007, when the democratically elected Hamas movement seized power
there, although a 'lighter' siege had already existed before. The
Israeli move was dubbed by international human rights groups as
"collective punishment". A group of Arab international lawyers and
human rights activists had accused Israel on of committing "genocide"
through its crippling blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli army kills 1 of 3 fleeing Israel for Egypt
Ma'an News Agency
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The Israeli army fired at three people while trying
to cross the Egyptian-Israeli border on Saturday night. One of men was
killed, and the two other individuals managed to escape towards Egypt.
IOA confiscates Palestinian lands in Jordan Valley
Information Center 9/20/2008
RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation authority has confiscated
dozens of dunums of Palestinian lands in the village of Bardala, Tobas
district, for settlement purposes. Locals in the village said that
Israeli occupation forces stormed agricultural lands and handed farmers
notifications of the decision to seize their fields. They added that
the decision stipulated the confiscation of 140 dunums of the lands
located in the northern Jordan Valley in the Tobas district. The
targeted area is near to the 1948 occupied lands, the farmers noted,
adding that the decision aims at forcing the migration of the Jordan
Valley inhabitants out of their lands. The IOA has already confiscated
vast areas in the Jordan Valley this year for settlement purposes.
Abbas: Failure to reach peace will 'change parameters of
Natasha Mozgovaya,
Ha'aretz 9/21/2008
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned on Friday that if Israel and
the Palestinians fail to reach a peace accord soon, "the parameters of
the debate are apt to shift dramatically. "In an opinion piece
published in the Wall Street Journal, Abbas said he agrees with Israeli
leaders who insist that Jerusalem cannot be physically divided. He does
believe, however, that "the city itself can be shared as the capital of
two states - east for Palestine and west for Israel. " Abbas is to
visit U. S. President George W. Bush next Thursday, the White House
announced Friday. As Bush enters his last four months in office, his
administration is pushing to bring about the plan that has been mapped
out by the quartet - Russia, the U. S. , the European Union and the
United Nations - for peace in the Middle East.
'We've made no progress with Livni yet'
Yitzhak Benhorin,
YNetNews 9/20/2008
Palestinian foreign affairs minister slams Israel's refusal to set
timetable for peace talks as cause for stagnation - VIRGINIA – Despite
the near daily rhetoric byAmerican, Israeli and Palestinian leaders
affirming the feasibility of seeing a peace accord signed by the end of
US President George W. Bush's term in 2009, one of those involved in
the proceedings is less than optimistic regarding the prospects of a
2008 deal - the Palestinian Authority's foreign affairs minister, Riyad
al-Maliki. Speaking at the Wienberg Founders Conference hosted by the
Washington Institute for Near East Policy, al-Maliki accused Israel of
the stagnation in the ongoing peace negotiations. "We have been meeting
with Tzipi Livni since the Annapolis summit, and nothing has happened
yet," said al-Maliki. "Israel continues to build settlements, refuses
to set a timetable, is unwilling to discuss Jerusalem,
Fury over British embassy link to Jewish settlement-builder
Donald Macintyre in
Jerusalem, The Independent 9/20/2008
The British Government's plan to rent new premises in a Tel Aviv
skyscraper hasrun into trouble after a wave of protests that their
prospective landlord is a major participant in Jewish
settlement-building in the occupied West Bank. The British embassy has
been in negotiations to lease three floors in Kirya Tower from Africa
Israel Investments, a company controlled by Lev Leviev, a London-based
property and diamonds billionaire with substantial business interests
in Israel. Pro-Palestinian organisations are urging the Foreign Office
to cancel the plans, arguing that one of the company's subsidiaries is
prominent in settlement building and that Mr Leviev is a big
contributor to the Land Redemption fund, which acquires Palestinian
land for Jewish settlements. Daniel Machover, of the UK-based Lawyers
for Palestinian Human Rights, says in a letter to The Independent. . .
Al-Aqsa Brigades: Israel must halt West Bank aggression or we
reconsider truce
Ma'an News Agency
Nablus – Ma'an – The Al-Aqsa Brigades, Hamas' armed military wing, will
"reconsider" their adherence to the truce agreement with Israel if the
latter does not halt attacks, detentions and assassination attempts
across the West Bank, a spokesperson said Saturday. "We cannot bear it
anymore," said the statement Ma'an received from Brigades spokesperson
Abu Al-Yasser, who lamented that Israel did not respect the Hamas
commitment to the truce. We showed our commitment to truce, and are
ready to show our commitment to resistance if Israel does not begin
acting in good faith, said Abu Al-Yasser. The statement added that
recent information alleging the use of Hamas weapons against
Palestinian national forces is false, and aimed at poisoning the image
of Hamas. "We only use weapons to oppose our enemies," he concluded.
Detained Jerusalem deputies in Israel criticize absence of
Palestinian leaders
Ma'an News Agency
Jerusalem – Ma'an – A letter from detained members of the Palestinian
Legislative Council (PLC) sent a letter to Palestinians that was read
during the sermon at Al-Aqsa mosque on Friday, calling for leadership
from the Jerusalemite community. "Where is the Palestinian president
Mahmoud Abbas? Where is Salam Fayyad? Where are the members of the
executive committee? " asked the letter, and wondered, "do they just
come to Jerusalem to meet with Olmert and Livni? " rather than to pray
or lead the Palestinian people? The PLC members, writing from the
Ayalon prison near Ramle in central Israel, said more leadership for
Jerusalem and Jersalemites would be a positive influence in the
strengthening of Arab-Islamic relations with Palestinian leaders. "Our
nation faces many troubles," continued the statement, "while
Palestinians wait at the checkpoints to reach Jerusalem our leaders. .
UN-GA chief calls for
adopting resolution 181 which calls for partitioning Palestine
Saed Bannoura &
Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 9/20/2008
President of the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly,
Father Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, urged on Thursday the United Nations
to act in order to implement UN resolution number 181 in which in the
year 1947 called for partitioning Palestine into two states; a Jewish
and an Arab. The statements of Brockmann came during a speech at the
general Assembly auditorium in honor of his election as the head of the
63rd session of the UN-General Assembly. He said that the UN should act
immediately and fulfill its obligations in creating an independent
Palestinian state. He added that a biggest case of failure of the
United Nations history is failing to create a Palestinian state, and
added that Article number 22 of the covenant of the League of Nations
pledged the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the
Palestinian territories that were part of the Ottoman Empire.
Free Gaza activist injured by Israeli naval water canon while
accompanying fishing boat
Ma'an News Agency
Bethlehem – Ma'an – A Free Gaza activist who remained in Gaza to
monitor the actions of the Israeli Navy was injured on Wednesday after
being shot by the Israeli Navy with a high powered water cannon while
accompanying Gazan fishermen 8 miles off the Gaza coast. The activist,
Italian Vittorio Arrigoni, was taken to hospital where he was treated
for multiple lacerations to the back as the result of the glass
windshield of the boat being shattered by the cannon blast, according
to reports from the International Solidarity Movement. A handful of
Free Gaza activists, who sailed into the area from Cyprus and
symbolically broke the siege on the Gaza Strip, have been working to
monitor the sea border of the area, and ensure Israeli
non-intervention. The group has reported, however, that Israeli naval
ships have prevented fishermen from heading into waters even 3 nautical
miles off the coast.
ISM Rafah: Report from fishing action in Gaza
Solidarity Movement 9/20/2008
Gaza Region - Report by Donna Wallach - ISM and Free Gaza Movement
volunteer reporting on fishing boat actions from Gaza City, Gaza Strip,
Palestine - On the morning of Friday19th September and the 19th day of
Ramadan, about 5 Palestinian fishing boats left Gaza City port for
another day of trawling off the coast of Gaza Strip. It was a very
clear day and I could easily see the coast the entire day. When the
boat I was on reached 7 miles out, an Israeli Naval gunboat speedily
approached and fired at the fishing boat. One of the soldiers called
for the captain of the boat and yelled at him to stop the boat.
Continuing in a derogatory tone of voice, the Israeli soldier told the
captain to only sail up and down the coast and not to go further out
into the sea. The captain told the soldier that he needed to go out 10
miles to trawl for fish. I also spoke to the gunboat and reiterated
that the fishermen needed to go out ten miles.
Israel arrested 200
Palestinian workers during Ramadan
Saed Bannoura,
International Middle East Media Center News 9/20/2008
Haidar Ibrahim, secretary-general of the General Union of Palestinian
workers, reported on Friday that Israeli forces kidnapped more than 200
Palestinian workers in Israel since the beginning of the Holy Muslim
month of Ramadan. Dozens of workers were abused and were let go later
on. Ibrahim stated that while Israel claims implementing measures to
ease the restrictions on movement the army is acting in a totally
opposite way which makes the Israeli claims pure propaganda for media
consumption and a delusion to the International Community. He added
that the Palestinian workers are not granted work permits in Israel and
are being chased and harassed while trying to work and feed their
families. During the ongoing month of Ramadan, the army arrested 200
workers, including several women, and the Israeli courts imposed high
fines on them.
Palestine Workers Union: 20 Palestinian laborers with work
permits beaten inside Israeli boundaries
Ali Samoudi,
Palestine News Network 9/20/2008
Jenin -- Secretary General of the Palestine Workers Union, Haidar
Ibrahim announced on Saturday that arrests and attacks are up inside
the Green Line. Since the beginning of Ramadan, Israeli police and
border guards have arrested 200 Palestinians laborers working within
Israeli boundaries. Ibrahim said that while the Israeli government
claims to take action to facilitate life and movement for Palestinian
workers, the actual procedures are nothing less than racist and
allegations to the contrary are only intended for media consumption to
mislead the public. Palestinians are routinely denied access to their
places of work, are not granted permits, and are subject to a policy of
persecution, lists the Palestine Workers Union. Ibrahim said on
Saturday, "The Israeli occupation government launches campaigns to
deprive workers from successful employment and earning a living for
their families.
Hamas: P.A security
forces arrested 10 Hamas supporters
IMEMC News,
International Middle East Media Center News 9/20/2008
Hamas media sources reported on Friday that Palestinian security forces
loyal to Fateh movement arrested 10 Hamas members and supporters in
several parts of the West Bank. In Hebron, in the southern part of the
West Bank, security forces arrested Jawad Abu Hussein, Awaad Warasna,
his brother Yousef Warasna, Jalal Al Ra'ey, Thaer Shalalda, Abdullah
Shalalda, Izzat Shalalda, and Abdul-Hadi Abu Khalaf. In Nablus, in the
northern part of the West Bank, security forces arrested Mohammad Al
Sousa. In Qalqilia, also in the northern part of the West Bank, the
forces arrested Wael Al Hotary. Also, Hamas said that the security
forces are still detaining Abdullah Adawy who was arrested more than
three weeks ago.
Hamas says PA security arrested 16 loyalists
Ma'an News Agency
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Hamas released a statement on Saturday saying that
Palestinian Authority (PA) police have 16 Hamas affiliates in northern
West Bank districts. The statement identified detainees as follows: In
Tubas district in the northern West Bank, PA security detained Muhammad
Daraghmah, Sheikh Muhammad Bani Matar, Muhammad Bsharat, a university
student, Tawfiq Al-Kharraz, Salah Abu Arrah and Riziq Bani Udah. In
Nablus, PA security detained Rabia Shishtari, Ibrahim Shahadah, Yousif
Shahadah, Shakir Sabah and Ayman Khalil. In Qalqilia in the northern
West Bank, Mahir Matar was arrested. Meanwhile in Tulkarem district,
also in the northern West Bank, PA security services detained
Abdul-Fattah Al-Qaddoumi and Yazid Khadir
Palestinian and French ministers of justice sign cooperation
Ma'an News Agency
Ramallah – Ma'an – A new Judicial training program will see cooperation
between the French and Palestinian legal systems, after Palestinian
Minister of Justice Dr Ali Al-Khashan signed an agreement with his
French counterpart in Ramallah on Saturday. The agreement will see
extensive training and cooperation between French and Palestinian
judges and law makers, including exchanges to observe legal systems in
action, and literature on the process of establishing a constitutional
court. After signing the agreement, Dr Al-Khashan said, "This agreement
is the first of its kind and we hope it will be implemented soon. "For
her part, the French minister of Justice Rachida Dati said, "This
agreement laid the ground for the training of Palestinian personnel and
sending French experts to support a Palestinian judicial system. "
Hamas: training, arming Abbas's security aims at quelling
Information Center 9/20/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- The Hamas Movement on Saturday charged that the training
and arming of PA security apparatuses in the West Bank fell in line
with American and Israeli orders to quell Palestinian resistance and to
protect occupation. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in a
press release that at the same time the siege on Gaza is retained due
to American and Israeli orders. He said that financing those
apparatuses only bolsters one party against the other in the
Palestinian arena, and added that money sent by the Arab countries
should reach all Palestinians especially the needy and not those who
quell the Palestinian people and work on destroying its resistance and
protecting the occupiers. For his part, Abu Obaida, the spokesman of
the Qassam Brigades the armed wing of the Hamas Movement, on Friday
told Qassam website that security coordination between PA chief
Mahmoud. . .
Hamas condemns PA forces non-cooperation with political
prisoners committee
Ma'an News Agency
Gaza – Ma'an – Responding to news that the committee for the release of
all political detainees appointed by Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas is ready to dissolve in the face of near total non-cooperation
from Palestinian Authority security officials, Hamas has condemned the
actions and urged compliance. Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said in
a statement Saturday, " the non-response of the Palestinian security
forces in the West Bank … not serve the state of national agreement
among Palestinians and does not create an atmosphere for the success of
the Egyptian efforts made towards national dialogue. "The foot-dragging
described by the head of the committee and leader of the Ad- Dameer
Human Rights organization on behalf of the PA security forces, and
readiness to cooperate on the part of de facto Hamas police, said
Barhoum, indicates who is ready for cooperation and who is not.
Fatah: Detention of Khan Younis governor shows Hamas ''coup
Ma'an News Agency
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The continued political detention of Khan Younis
governor Usama Al-Farra by Hamas de facto police proves that the party
continues to operate within the "coup philosophy," Fatah spokesperson
Fahmi Za'arir said on Friday. Al-Farra was supposed to be on his way to
Cairo as a member of the Fatah delegation to participate in unity talks
this week, and Za'arir accused Hamas of attempting to thwart the Cairo
talks. Fatah, said Za'arir, "has endeavored to make the Cairo talks and
the Egyptian efforts result in a fruitful conclusion, yet continuation
of political detentions by Hamas, especially detention of members of
Fatah delegation to Cairo is a new strike by Hamas to Cairo talks.
"Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar announced earlier this week that Hamas
would not release Al-Farra in time for the talks.
Palestinian representative to Egypt praises latter's efforts
in bilateral talks
Ma'an News Agency
Hebron – Ma'an – Egypt is making huge efforts with regards to the
series of bilateral talks set up between Egyptian officials and
Palestinian factional leaders, said Nabil Amer, Palestine's ambassador
to Egypt during a meeting with senior Fatah figures in Hebron district.
Amer held a press conference after his meeting with senior Fatah
officials, where he told the public, "there is a Palestinian interest
to find a way out of this crisis. " He explained, saying "the world
held us accountable for the tragic events recently, and we as Fatah are
determined to succeed with this dialogue, and are ready to accept the
Arab and Egyptian judgments. "Concerning Gaza siege Amer affirmed that
"we warned Hamas before the coupe and shortly after the Mecca agreement
that the world will not be merciful to them and they will face a
tightened blockade.
Hamas says favors national unity government with Fatah
DPA, Ha'aretz
The Islamic movement Hamas said Saturday it wants the formation of a
national unity government to settle the political crisis which has
divided Palestinians. "Hamas favors a national coalition that can
defend the Palestinian people and their rights," said Hamas spokesman
Fawzi Barhoom in Gaza. Barhoom's remarks indicate Hamas is opposed to
the idea of a government made up of technocrats that do not include
members of the two largest Palestinian groups - Hamas and the Fatah
movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The proposal for a
technocrat government was made during a series of meetings between
Egypt and representatives of the Palestinian factions that oppose the
feud between Hamas and Fatah. Last year, Hamas fought pro-Abbas forces
and took over control of Gaza Strip by force.
Palestinian PM Haniya: no
return to the situation prior to June 2007
Rami Almeghari,
International Middle East Media Center News 9/20/2008
Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniya of Hamas, stressed on
Saturday that Gaza won't return to the situation prior to June14,2007.
" We would like to say to all people that there will be no return to
the situation prior to the June14, 2007. That period is now a part of
history and our Palestinian people can never reverse history", premier
Haniya was quoted as saying during a meeting with police officers in
Gaza city. Haniya had a breakfast, after a fasting day of Ramadan,
jointly with his interior minister, Said Siyam, justice minister, Ahmad
Shwaideh, transportation minister, Yousef Almansi as well as several
police ranks at the police headquarters in Gaza city. A part of his
visit to the police compound, the Islamist prime minister, led a
special Ramadan prayer ' Taraweeh' and delivered a speech before
worshipers and security personnel, a press release, received by IMEMC,
Israeli soldiers kill boy in southern Nablus
Amin Abu Wardeh,
Palestine News Network 9/20/2008
Nablus -- Israeli soldiers guarding Yitzhar Settlement killed a
Palestinian boy in southern Nablus Saturday morning. Settlers from
Yitzhar have escalated attacks against residents and their property for
over a week, including an assault on Asira Village and burning olive
groves. The guards say the youth, later identified as 14 year old
Yasser Saleh from Asira Village , intended to attack the settlement.
The head of the Asira Village Council, Hosni Sharif, told PNN that the
Israeli claim is untrue. "The boy was 100 meters from his home. "The
Israeli settlement was built on southern Nablus land leading all
residents to be "near the settlement. "Sharif continued to tell PNN
Saturday, "The boy was not armed at all. The killing comes in a series
of deliberate attacks on our houses and people. " Eyewitnesses report
that soldiers opened fire causing him immediate death.
IDF, Border Guard thwart attack near Yitzhar
Efrat Weiss,
YNetNews 9/20/2008
Troops open fire at Palestinian spotted advancing towards West Bank
settlement with Molotov cocktail, find knife concealed on his person.
Police investigating possible connection to stabbing of nine-year-old
boy last week - IDF and Border Guard police forces thwarted a terror
attack near the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar on Saturday morning.
Soldiers manning an observation post spotted a Palestinian advancing
towards the settlement, located south of Nablus, at around 6:00 am.
Border Police and Golani Brigade infantry troops stationed in the area
tracked the man down, opening fire at him after he lit the Molotov
cocktail he had been carrying. A subsequent search of his body revealed
a knife and other tools concealed on his person, which defense
officials say were meant to aid him in breaking into the settlement.
Youth with firebomb killed near Yitzhar
Yaakov Katz And
Tovah Lazaroff, Jerusalem Post 9/20/2008
Exactly one week after a terror attack in Yitzhar sparked a settler
rampage through a nearby Palestinian village, border policemen thwarted
an infiltration into the settlement Saturday when they shot and killed
a 14-year-old Palestinian carrying a firebomb. Policemen manning an IDF
observation post spotted the youth approaching the settlement armed
with a Molotov cocktail at around 6 a. m. Troops opened fire after the
Palestinian youth lit the device, the IDF said. A knife was discovered
on his body. Security officials said it appeared that he planned to
enter Yitzhar - which is not surrounded by a fence - to perpetrate an
attack. RELATEDRise in settler violence feared The youth was identified
as Suhayeb Saleh, from the village of Assira al-Kubliyeh near Yitzhar.
IOF troops kill Palestinian near settlement
Information Center 9/20/2008
RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces on Saturday shot down a
Palestinian youth near the Yitzhar settlement at the pretext he was
planning to toss a Molotov cocktail at the settlement. Eyewitnesses
said that soldiers guarding the settlement fired at the young man,
whose identity was not known yet, at an early morning hour when he
approached the settlement. The IOF command, for its part, claimed that
soldiers guarding the settlement detected the youth with a firebomb in
his hand, and added that he was preparing to throw the bomb when the
soldiers fired and killed him. It claimed that a knife was found on his
body, "which he intended to use inside the settlement". Israeli police
said that its forensic experts were investigating whether he was the
same youth who started fire in. . .
IDF releases ''video'' of thwarted Yitzhar attack
Efrat Weiss,
YNetNews 9/20/2008
(Note: Video not functioning on this page at time of posting) Army
video shows Palestinian hurling Molotov cocktail near Yitzhar before
being killed - The IDF released Saturday evening a video of the
thwarted terror attack near the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar earlier
in the day. The video show a Palestinian approaching the community and
at one point lighting up the Molotov cocktail he was holding. Seconds
later, the Palestinian hurled the Molotov cocktail, which apparently
exploded not too far from him. Video: IDF Spokesman's Office The video
was shot using a thermal camera and does not feature the actual killing
of the Palestinian youth who threw it. Saturday morning, soldiers
manning an observation post in the area spotted a Palestinian advancing
towards the settlement, located south of Nablus, at around 6 am. Border
Guard forces and Golani Brigade infantry troops stationed in the area
subsequently killed him.
''VIDEO'' / IDF thwarts terror attack near Yitzhar settlement
Yuval Azoulay, and
The Associated Press, Ha'aretz 9/21/2008
[Note: No video found on this page at time of posting] Israel Defense
Forces and Border Police troops on Saturday killed a Palestinian
teenager trying to infiltrate the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar while
carrying a Molotov cocktail and a knife. He was later identified by his
parents, who said he was 14. The Palestinian approached the area by
car. He then got out of the car and advanced toward Yitzhar by foot,
intending to throw a Molotov cocktail at the West Bank settlement.
Soldiers manning an IDF observation post saw him in action and directed
ground troops to the area. When the Palestinian noticed the Israeli
forces he lit the Molotov cocktail and aimed it at them. In response,
the soldiers shot and killed him. A subsequent search of his body
revealed a knife. The boy, Suhayeb Saleh, was from the village of
Assira al-Kubliyeh, near Yitzhar. His parents identified his body at a
nearby hospital. An IDF spokesman said it did not know how far the boy
was from the soldiers or the settlement.
Israeli troops shoot boy
Associated Press,
The Observer, The Guardian 9/21/2008
Israeli soldiers in Nablus on the West Bank shot and killed a
14-year-old Palestinian boy who was holding a firebomb with a lit fuse
about 30 metres from them. The boy, identified as Suhayeb Saleh, was
close to the Jewish settlement of Yitzhar when he was shot dead, the
military said. The boy was from the village of Assira al-Kubliyeh, near
Yitzhar, said his parents. They said that his older brother was killed
by Israeli troops in 2002, after he opened fire on an army patrol.
Tony Blair's sister-in-law leaves Gaza after being stranded
in Strip for nearly a month
The Associated Press
and Haaretz Service, Ha'aretz 9/21/2008
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's sister-in-law has crossed
into Egypt from the Gaza Strip, after she was stranded there since she
came with another 45 pro-Palestinian activists who sailed into Gaza
waters on Aug. 23 to draw attention to Israel's blockade of the coastal
territory. Booth has been trying to leave Gaza since last month but was
turned away at Israeli and Egyptian crossings. An Associated Press
reporter saw Lauren Booth getting her passport stamped Saturday while
inside the Egyptian side of the Rafah border terminal. Police prevented
reporters from talking with her. Egypt has opened it border on several
occasions for humanitarian cases. It plans to keep the crossing open
through Sunday. Palestinian officials say a terminal on the Gaza-Egypt
border is operating temporarily to allow the passage of. . .
Lauren Booth leaves besieged Gaza
Middle East Online
GAZA CITY - Lauren Booth, the sister-in-law of former British prime
minister Tony Blair, left the Gaza Strip on Saturday nearly a month
after sailing in to protest an Israeli blockade of the territory.
"Lauren Booth was able to leave Gaza today through the Rafah crossing
with Egypt," said Jamal al-Khodari, the head of the Popular Committee
to Break the Siege. Other activists close to Booth confirmed she had
left. Booth had arrived in Gaza on August 23 with 43 other activists in
two small fishing boats in a demonstration intended to highlight
Israel's blockade of the territory. Although Israel controls Gaza's
waters and airspace, it allowed the two boats to enter without incident
in order to avoid a public standoff at sea. Israeli authorities have
rejected Booth's request to leave Gaza, arguing she did not enter the
Strip "legally".
Al-Khudari praises opening of Rafah crossing for pilgrims,
patients, students
Ma'an News Agency
Gaza –Ma'an – Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and
head of the Popular Campaign Against the Siege praised on Saturday the
opening of the Rafah crossing by the Egyptian authorities. Jamal
Al-Khudari affirmed in statement that the second opening of the
crossing, this time for pilgrims, patients and students during a
thirty-day period, and the passing of thousands of residents through
the borders without any obstacles give the Palestinians under siege in
the Gaza Strip hope of a nearing solution. Egypt announced that the
Rafah crossing would be open for two days, to allow students, pilgrims
and the ill to pass through the border. [end]
Crossings director to PNN: Saturday dedicated to pilgrims and
the ill
Fadi Yacoub,
Palestine News Network 9/20/2008
PNN - Mohammed Adwan, the Director of the General Administration of
Crossings in the Gaza Strip told PNN that upwards of 300 Palestinians
in need of outside medical treatment have left the Strip today. The
Saturday and Sunday opening of the Rafah -- Egypt border crossing is
being met with praise. Palestinian Legislative Council member and head
of the People's Committee against the Siege, Jamal Al Khudari. He said
this is an important move in breaking the siege. Adwan said that the
opening is lessening the burden on students and patients, and on people
stuck on either side wishing to move during the month of Ramadan. He
told PNN that the crossing began operations at 8:00 am with pilgrims
heading to Mecca pre-approved in addition to medical patients. The
advance preparation was done in order to facilitate the largest number
of people possible.
OPT: Egypt opens Rafah crossing for two days before stranded
Xinhua News Agency,
ReliefWeb 9/20/2008
GAZA, Sep 20, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- Egypt opens its
border with Gaza Strip on Saturday and Sunday to allow passage of
stranded Palestinians who want to perform minor pilgrimage to Mecca
(Omra) and the patients who want to take medical treatment, Palestinian
security sources said. The Hamas-controlled interior ministry in Gaza
said Rafah border crossing will remain partially open until late
Sunday. During the opening days, Palestinians stranded at the Egyptian
side will be able to cross into Gaza. Egypt maintained the closure of
Rafah crossing since Hamas took over control of Gaza Strip by force
last year after routing the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)
regular forces. But it used to open it occasionally before humanitarian
cases. The last time Egypt coordinated a similar opening of Rafah
crossing with Hamas was in last August.
Rafah terminal temporarily opened
Ali Waked, YNetNews
Crossing between Gaza, Egypt opens for two days to allow passage of
students, patients, some 650 devout Muslim en route to pilgrimage - The
Rafah crossing between the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and Egypt was opened
on Saturday to allow hundreds of Muslim pilgrims to leave the besieged
territory, Palestinian officials said. Hamas' Interior Ministry said
that 3,000 Gazans have applied for passage into Egypt. Those who have
been granted permits are currently confined to a building near Rafah.
Gaza police have set up roadblocks to prevent unauthorized citizens
from storming the crossing. Hamas wants to see the crossing open
regularly, even for those without special permits. However Egypt is
adamant about tying Rafah's status to the negotiations to free Israeli
solider Gilad Shalit. The Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza said
around 650 people would depart on their. . .
European campaign urges EU to pressure Israel to end its siege
Information Center 9/20/2008
BRUSSELS, (PIC)-- The European campaign to break the siege on Friday
called on the EU to urgently move to save one and a half million people
besieged in the Gaza Strip for the third consecutive year and to
pressure Israel to end its siege and open the crossings. This came
during a visit paid by a high-level delegation from the European
campaign and Al-Awda center to the European parliament, where the
delegates briefed the European lawmakers on the deteriorating
humanitarian situation and the latest developments in the besieged
Strip. Dr. Arafat Abu Madi, the head of European campaign, said that
the delegation told the presidency of the European parliament that if
Europe did not assume its role in the region effectively and without
being biased in favor of Israel's policies, there would be a strong
possibility that other international powers could take this role such
as Russia and China.
Hamas: Israel reneging on its promises for Shalit
Avi Issacharoff,
Ha'aretz 9/21/2008
Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas leader in Gaza, on Friday accused Israel of
reneging on offers made in the negotiations for the return of Gilad
Shalit. In an interview with the Palestinian Ramattan News Agency,
Zahar claimed Israel had offered to free 450 Palestinian prisoners once
Shalit was returned to Israel and an additional 550 prisoners two
months later. He said Israel was now offering to release only 450
prisoners and warned that such back-pedaling could lead to the
negotiations being scrapped altogether. Another senior Hamas official
was quoted on Friday as saying the group would not renew negotiations
for Shalit's release unless Israel met its preconditions, the
London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported. According to the
report, Hamas laid out three conditions for the renewal of
negotiations: the release of all Palestinian prisoners on the list
given to Israel via. . .
Hamas warns Israel over Schalit deal
Jerusalem Post
Hamas would reject every existing agreement on a prisoner trade for
kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit if Israel tried to change the terms of
the deal, senior Hamas leader in Gaza Mahmoud Al-Zahar has threatened.
Zahar, who made his comments during an interview with the Ramatan news
agency on Friday evening, insisted that if Israel continued what he
called its policy of withdrawing from arrangements, Hamas would cancel
all of the arrangements made and would demand a new number as well as a
new list of prisoners' names the group wished to release. "In this
case, we will also go back on our word. . . We will open a new page,
begin anew and demand greater numbers," Zahar warned. Zahar's
declaration came in response to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
Abbas's announcement that Israel has already agreed to free 450
Palestinian prisoners before Schalit is transferred. . .
Hamas delegation ends official visit to Bahrain
Information Center 9/20/2008
MANAMA, (PIC)-- A delegation of the Hamas Movement, headed by its
leader Khaled Mishaal, concluded a visit to Bahrain Friday night during
which its members met with a number of officials topped by King of
Bahrain Hamad Bin Issa Al-Khalifa. The Hamas team grouped political
bureau members Mohammed Nazzal, Ezzet Al-Resheq and Mohammed Nasr, a
Hamas statement said, adding that they met with Bahraini foreign
minister Sheikh Khaled Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa and parliament speaker
Khalifa Al-Dhahrani. The meeting with the speaker was attended by the
chairmen of the main parliamentary blocs or their representatives
including the deputy speaker in addition to the chairman of the
committee for the support of the Palestinian people. The statement said
that the discussions during those meetings focused on issues of concern
to the Palestine cause topped by the oppressive siege on the Gaza
Zionist committee threatens Palestinians with exile if they
refuse Zionist state
Information Center 9/20/2008
NAZARETH, (PIC)-- A Zionist committee issued during a conference held
in the 1948 occupied lands racist statements against the Palestinians
where it threatened that the 1948 Palestinians would be exiled to Arab
countries if they refused to accept the existence of a purely Zionist
state. "Only citizens and residents who accept and recognize the nature
of the (Israeli) state and its Zionist message will live in Israel, but
those who wish to live in an Arab environment and atmospheres with all
its privileges have the opportunity to realize this dream in one of the
Arab countries," the "Zionist committee to follow up implementation of
Zionist values in the land of Israel" said in a statement during the
conference. The conference organizers also expressed their belief that
boundaries of the "Zionist entity" stretches from the Mediterranean sea
to the Jordan river and pointed out that those political beliefs
prevail among the "Zionist masses".
PA to deliver 1,000 NIS aid packages to 46,000 families from
EU program
Ma'an News Agency
Ramallah - Ma'an – Forty-six thousand families are registered to
receive 1,000 shekels (284 US dollars) this month as part of the EU
sponsored PEGASE program, which overseas much of the aid promised at
the Paris conference last spring. Minister of Social Affairs in the
caretaker Mahmoud Al-Habash announced the aid package on Saturday. He
indicated that the aid would be distributed to the most needy families
in the West Bank and Gaza, and that the Palestinian Authority and local
agencies worked together to determine which families would receive aid.
The initiative is part of a larger PEGASE project to reduce poverty and
improve quality of life for Palestinians, and will be administered
through the ministry of social affairs. Families registered to receive
payments will have special cards delivered to them, which they must
present at their local bank along with personal identification between
22 September and 30 October 2008.
Jordan to send aid to Palestinians
Xinhua News Agency,
ReliefWeb 9/20/2008
AMMAN, Sep 20, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- Jordan will
send a convoy of aids to Palestinians on Monday, official news agency
Petra reported on Saturday. The convoy includes ten trucks laden with
200 tons of food and humanitarian aid that will be distributed to
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and another ten trucks that will be
sent to the West Bank, Secretary General of the Jordanian Hashemite
Charity Organization (JHCO) Mohammad Majid Aitan said. The aid, donated
by the Jordan River Foundation and Russia, is designed to help the
Palestinians overcome the difficult economic conditions caused by the
severe shortage in consumer items, Aitan added. [end]
Jordan, Russia deliver food supplies to West Bank and Gaza
Ma'an News Agency
Bethlehem – Ma'an – A caravan of loaded trucks with 200 tones of food
and humanitarian supplies will leave Amman Sunday en route to Gaza.
Jordan and Russia have cooperated in the supply and transfer of goods
into Palestinian areas. A second caravan will leave Amman Monday with
goods en route to The West Bank. [end]
World Bank: Israeli siege
is strangling Palestinian economy
Saed Bannoura,
International Middle East Media Center News 9/20/2008
A new report released by the World Bank Thursday revealed that the
Palestinian economy is in a precipitous decline, due completely to the
Israeli closure and occupation of all Palestinian land. The report
stated that in the Palestinian territories, "With a growing population
and a shrinking economy, real per capita GDP is now 30 percent below
its height in 1999", with 70 - 79% unemployment. In addition, the
report calculated an increase in official poverty rates from 51. 8
percent in Gaza and 19. 1 percent in the West Bank soar to 79. 4
percent and 45. 7 percent respectively (if remittances and food aid are
excluded and the rates are based on household income only). " As the
Palestinian economy declines, it is becoming increasingly dependent on
foreign aid," said the World Bank report, pointing the finger directly
at Israeli military rule in the territories as the cause of the
Mahmoud Darwish Ramadan memorial
PNN / Yousef Shayeb,
Palestine News Network 9/20/2008
Ramallah -- Children walked with lamps to beginning the Ramadan evening
in Ramallah. In memorial of the death of poet Mahmoud Darwish the
Ramallah Cultural Palace hosted an evening of art organized by the
Ramallah and Al Bireh Governorate. Darwish's "The Dice Player" was
performed as a theatre piece with dancing and music inspired by the
poem. Tango, traditional Debkah and jazz were part of the Ramadan
evening directed by Fuad Fino along with music composed by Basil Zayed.
Young men and women "impressed" and "fascinated" the audience, as was
described, while mixing music and silence with their dancing. The
Governor of Ramallah and Al Bireh, Dr. Said Abu Ali, told the public
that the Ramadan evening performances are "spiritual, social and
cultural. "He also said of this evening, "We take the opportunity to
thank this remarkable artist, Mahmoud Darwish, for his major efforts
for our country Palestine.
A metaphor for dispossession that works
Daily Star 9/20/2008
Review - BEIRUT: It's not hard to approach a show called "Return of the
Soul" with some skepticism. The world-weary will be rewarded when they
glance over the profile of this exhibition, presently up on the main
stage of Tayyouneh's Dawar al-SHAM's cultural center. The "souls" in
question are Palestinian. The destination to which they are meant to
"return" is Palestine. The exhibition, as the copious program notes
explain, was first mounted in Palestine and its world tour will halt
there, in order to insure and emphasize the Palestinians' natural right
to return. You don't have to be a committed Zionist to be leery of this
sort of thing. Over the years, the commodification of "Palestine" and
"the Palestinians" has made it a great commercial asset for some,
artists and non-artists alike, while doing little to relieve the
predicament of the Palestinians themselves.
Speaking volumes about underclass life in Lebanon and
Rima Abushakra,
Daily Star 9/18/2008
Agence France Presse - BEIRUT: Teenage rappers Yassim Kassem and
Mohammed Turek have no qualms about upsetting politicians or clerics
when they sing of inter-Palestinian violence and the daily hardship of
life in the refugee camps. They call themselves I-Voice (Invincible
Voice) and are among a number of rap groups to have emerged from
impoverished Palestinian camps in Lebanon and from the Israeli-occupied
Palestinian territories. Turek, 18, and Kassem, 19, really shook the
hornets' nest with a song called "Inkilab" ("Revolution") which
addressed inter-Palestinian fighting and divisions and how the various
factions are handling the Palestinian cause. "We got told by many
[political parties] to stop and sort of got threatened about singing
one song in particular," said Kassem about "Inkilab. ""We just said
'yes' and kept on singing it.
Comptroller mulls corruption probe of Kadima primary
Gil Hoffman,
Jerusalem Post 9/20/2008
Officials in State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss's office will meet
with Kadima activists loyal to defeated party leadership contender
Shaul Mofaz, to determine whether the comptroller should investigate
alleged illegalities in last Wednesday's primary. The activists spoke
to attorney Meir Gilboa, who heads the anti-corruption department in
Lindenstrauss's office, and asked for time to present their evidence
that crimes were committed that allowed Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to
be declared the winner in the race. MK Ronit Tirosh, who supported
Transportation Minister Mofaz, alleged on Saturday that the primary was
riddled with irregularities that bordered on criminal. She said no
police complaints were filed because Mofaz had announced he was taking
time off from politics shortly after the results were published.
Tirosh challenges legality of primaries
Jerusalem Post
The Kadima Party primary elections in which Foreign Minister Tzipi
Livni defeated Shaul Mofaz were riddled with irregular activities that
bordered on crime, MK Ronit Tirosh, one of Mofaz's key supporters,
alleged on Saturday morning. During an interview with Israel Radio,
Tirosh challenged the legality of the results of the elections, which
gave Livni only a 1. 1 percent lead over her main opponent, Mofaz.
Furthermore, she claimed that certain MKs were present during the vote
counting process on Wednesday night. Tirosh also accused Election
Committee Chairman Dan Arbel of refusing to acknowledge complaints that
were filed with the committee. Tirosh explained that no complaints were
filed with police because Mofaz had announced his planned temporary
departure from politics shortly after the results were published.
We don't have time for political games, Livni says
Gil Hoffman,
Jerusalem Post 9/20/2008
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will announce his resignation in Sunday's
cabinet meeting and will formally submit his resignation letter to
President Shimon Peres as early as Sunday, sources close to Olmert said
Saturday night. Olmert's associates said the timetable for submitting
the letter would be finalized in coordination with Beit Hanassi on
Sunday. They said the two most likely options were submitting the
letter on Sunday or waiting until October 2, after Peres's return from
the United Nations General Assembly in New York and the Rosh Hashana
holiday. Once Peres receives the letter, he will meet with the heads of
the 13 Knesset factions to consult with them about whom he should
appoint to form a new coalition before formally appointing new Kadima
leader Tzipi Livni. She will then have 42 days to form a coalition -
but her goal is to present a new government to the Knesset when it
returns for its winter session on October 27.
Barak, Netanyahu discuss 'recent political turn of events'
Mazal Mualem and
Reuters, Ha'aretz 9/21/2008
Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with Likud chairman and opposition
leader Benjamin Netanyahu at his office in Tel Aviv Saturday evening,
to discuss what Barak's office described as the "recent political turn
of events. " The meeting came three days after Foreign Minister Tzipi
Livni was elected chairwoman of the ruling Kadima Party, to replace
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is expected to formally announce his
resignation to the cabinet at is weekly meeting on Sunday. Barak and
Netanyahu are Livni's rivals in a race for the premiership if early
elections are called. Barak has stressed over recent days that he
supports the establishment of an emergency national unity government,
while Netanyahu, whose Likud party is expected to win if general
elections are held, is interested in early elections which he says will
result in a stable government.
Barak, Bibi meet; Livni's associates upset
Attila Somfalvi,
YNetNews 9/21/2008
Defense minister, opposition chairman meet in wake of Livni win; Barak
to meet newly elected Kadima chairman Sunday. Meanwhile, her associates
slam Bibi-Barak meeting as 'chauvinistic' - Tensions rising:Likud
Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu met Saturday evening with Labor Chairman
Ehud Barak at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. The two were expected
to discuss recent political developments in the wake of Tzipi Livni's
win in the Kadima primaries. Barak said he is interested in the
formation of an emergency national unity government, yet Netanyahu
rejected this option thus far. Later Saturday, the offices of both
figures said Bibi and Barak spoke for more than an hour and half and
discussed the security situation, the diplomatic process, and economic
issues on the agenda. Meanwhile, Barak spoke with Livni and agreed to
meet with her Sunday.
Palestinians Put Little Hope In Livni [September14 –
September 20]
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni won the Kadima primaries on
September 17, thus taking the position over from Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert. Livni, who was expected to win the elections over her
closest rival, Israeli Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, will now
have to either form a coalition for her new government or, if she is
unable, go to early elections. Olmert is officially to announce his
resignation on September 21. Palestinian reactions to Livni's victory
ranged from cautiously optimistic to indifferent. President Mahmoud
Abbas congratulated Livni on her electoral win a day later, adding that
the leadership would "negotiate with whoever Israel chooses. "Livni is
already the head of Israel's negotiating team, which means she is well
versed in the obstacles that face any real progress to a peace
agreement between the two sides.
Olmert to resign Sunday
Ma'an News Agency
Jerusalem – Ma'an – A senior Israeli political source in Jerusalem
affirmed Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will resign
on Sunday. When this occurs the Israeli President Shimon Peres will
have a day and a half to consult Israeli cabinet members and ministers
who will be expected to make up the next coalition government. Mark
Regev, the spokesperson of Olmert told AFP, "the prime minister will
announce his resignation during the cabinet meeting then he will
present a letter of resignation to President Peres in accordance with
the law. "Peres will head to New York on Monday to represent Israel in
the new session of the UN General Assembly and will return to Israel on
next Sunday.
Abbas says 'no' to Olmert
Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz
In diplomatic life, tension is always present between leaders' public
statements and their privately expressed positions. Experience in the
Israeli-Arab peace process teaches that what is said "outside" is more
important. Politicians and diplomats can share a secret and be flexible
when the door is closed, but the position that obligates them is the
one they present to the TV cameras and in response to reporters'
questions. The article by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas
in The Wall Street Journal, published Friday, before what is possibly
his last meeting with President George W. Bush, should be taken with
the utmost seriousness. That is his latest platform, and it can be
understood as a "no" to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's proposals. Abbas
does not mention Olmert in the article, but it is clear whom he means:
"Partial peace, as proposed again by my current interlocutors, is not
the way forward.
Abbas: Time running out for two-states
Herb Keinon,
Jerusalem Post 9/21/2008
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hinted in an op-ed piece
in Friday's Wall Street Journal that time was running out on a
two-state solution, even as he was readying for a meeting Thursday with
US President George W. Bush in which that solution will be at the top
of the agenda. "I continue to believe that we can achieve a lasting
peace, with the Israeli and Palestinian peoples living as neighbors in
two independent states," Abbas wrote. "But if we do not succeed, and
succeed soon, the parameters of the debate are apt to shift
dramatically. Israel's continued settlement expansion and land
confiscation in the West Bank makes physical separation of our two
peoples increasingly impossible. " Abbas's op-ed piece appeared just
prior to his visit to New York this week for the UN General Assembly,
which will also include a trip to Washington where he will meet with
Will she be a real leader?
Zvi Bar''el,
Ha'aretz 9/21/2008
Like customers whose bank has collapsed, a number of Arab leaders are
waiting outside the Prime Minister's Office holding notes and permits.
Mahmoud Abbas, a long-time customer with privileges, wants to know who,
if anyone, will be continuing the talks. Bashar Assad, who has recently
joined the Israeli account, is inquiring if anything remains of the
deposit he left with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Hosni Mubarak and King
Abdullah, foreign clients whose hands rest nervously on the phone and
wonder when to call and congratulate the new prime minister, do not
know if there is a new Israeli policy and where it is going: Will it
adopt Olmert's list of prisoners to be released for abducted soldier
Gilad Shalit? Are two states, Israel and Palestine, the solution
acceptable to Tzipi Livni, or will she choose Israel and Jordan as a
solution for the two peoples? . . .
Haneyya: Israel has no future on our land
Information Center 9/20/2008
RAFAH, (PIC)-- Ismail Haneyya, the premier of the PA caretaker
government stated Friday that the Israeli occupation has no future on
the Palestinian land, pointing out the latest statements of Israeli
premier Ehud Olmert about the demise of greater Israel bear out that
the Zionist project has started to collapse. During an evening
gathering held in Rafah in presence of a number of dignitaries, Haneyya
underlined that Olmert would be "doomed to hell", while the Palestinian
cause, resistance and the Hamas Movement would remain vibrant and
alive. The premier added that the progress would be for the Palestinian
people who would establish their independent state with Jerusalem as
its capital. He finally called on the Palestinian people to unite their
ranks, to be adherent to the Palestinian rights and constants, and to
remain loyal to resistance until the liberation of Palestine from
Israeli occupation.
Haniyeh: Olmert will go to hell; the Palestinian question
will remain alive
Ma'an News Agency
Gaza – Ma'an – "Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will go to hell, and
the government in Gaza, Hamas, the resistance and the Palestinian
question will remain alive," said de facto Palestinian Prime Minister
Ismail Haniyeh on Friday. Haniyeh described "the Zionist project" as
being in a stage of collapse and abatement. "The Zionist entity has no
future on the Palestinian land," he said "and the Palestinian people
will continue on the path of establishing an independent Palestinian
state with complete sovereignty and with Jerusalem as its capital.
Palestinian refugees who were displaced in 1948 will also return to
their homeland. "Haniyeh's comments came during a Ramadan evening meal
in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. He called on all Palestinian
sectors to close ranks in the interest of the struggle against Israel.
Conference on Promised
Land gives new view to church leaders on Israel-Palestine
World Council of
Churches - WCC, International Middle East Media Center News 9/20/2008
A conference on "Promised Land" that aired different theological
approaches to this key issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has
given church leaders and theologians new views to take home to their
churches. Some participants said their outlook had been changed by the
"constructive confrontation" at the World Council of Churches (WCC)
event. A key result of the conference is a better understanding of the
question of land in the Bible, in theology and in the conflict. The
conferees said decades of violence in Israel-Palestine challenge
Christian theologians to work out "life-affirming" responses to the
conflict. The Bible "must not be utilized to justify oppression or
supply simplistic commentary on contemporary events", the final
document said.
Syria state-run paper: If Livni wants peace, she will achieve
Yoav Stern, Ha'aretz
"If Livni desires peace - she will achieve it," an editorial in the
official Syrian state-run newspaper Tishreen proclaimed Saturday, in
what is the first Syrian reaction since Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni
was elected chair of the ruling Kadima party. Issam Dari, the
editor-in-chief of Tishreen, suggested in his editorial that Livni's
family background as daughter of a Jewish pre-State underground member
makes her ill-equipped to denounce Palestinian terror. "Livni should
bear this in mind: If your house is made of glass, don't go hurling
stones on others," the editorial warned. "We hope you won't be quick in
accusing Palestinians and Arabs of terror, because with your record -
you can't blame others for doing what you have done all your life.
"Livni's father Eitan Livni, and her mother Sara Rosenberg were both
well-known members of the pre-state militant organization the Irgun.
'If Livni wants peace, she'll have it'
Jerusalem Post
If Tzipi Livni shows a true desire for peace, she will reap its fruits,
Syria's state-run Tishreen newspaper asserted in an opinion piece
published Saturday. In the article, titled "Tzipi - Israel's new bird"
(a play on the Kadima leader's name, which comes from the Hebrew word
for 'bird'), the paper's editor-in-chief Issam Dari states that while
Livni's history is "rooted in terror," she will be given a chance to
prove her intentions and achieve "complete and just peace" in the
region. "The ambitious Tzipi has worked hard to reach the Israeli
throne and to become the new 'iron lady,' who will be making decisions
on war, peace and the future of the region," Dari writes. Livni comes
from a Polish family rooted in terrorism, Dari writes, with her father
being a member of "the gang that carried out terror attacks in
Palestine, before it was stolen"¦against the Palestinians and the
Syria praises 'Mossad beauty' Livni
Roee Nahmias,
YNetNews 9/20/2008
Damascus newspaper lavishes praise on Kadima chairwoman-elect in
editorial, asserting Livni possesses all the qualities boasted by past
Israeli prime ministers, from Ben-Gurion to Ehud Olmert - Unexpected
praise for Livni: "Mossad beauty Tzipi Livni is the leading political
figure in Israel and the frontrunner to enter the prime ministers'
club," Syrian state newspaper Tishrin said in its Saturday morning
editorial, dedicated to Israel's foreign minister. The editorial,
titled "Tzipi - Israel's new bird," noted that "the ambitious Tzipi is
now embarking on a busy path in order to reach the helm in Israel and
turn into the new 'Iron Lady,' who will be charged with taking
decisions pertaining to war, peace, and the region's future. " The
paper, which reflects the Syrian regime's views, said Livni possesses
all the skills required of a prime minister.
Diplomats: Initial tests show Syrian site hit by Israel not a
nuke reactor
News agencies,
YNetNews 9/20/2008
Diplomats says preliminary International Atomic Energy Agency probe of
Syrian site destroyed by Israel reveals no evidence of nuclear
activity, contrary to previous claims by US; results of more detailed
environmental tests still outstanding -Diplomats say partial results of
samples from a Syrian site bombed by Israel show nothing to back up US
assertions that the target was a secret nuclear reactor. The diplomats
caution that the results from the International Atomic Energy Agency
probe are preliminary. They say results of more detailed environmental
tests are still outstanding. Still, several have told the AP that
agency officials do not expect those tests to strongly contradict the
first results. The three diplomats spoke to The AP on Saturday. They
demanded anonymity because their information was confidential.
Candidly Speaking: Canadian Israel advocacy in turmoil
Jerusalem Post
Canadian Jews can take pride in the remarkable infrastructure of
educational, religious and cultural institutions they have created. The
fact that assimilation and intermarriage in Canada are far less
advanced than in the United States is largely attributable to their
magnificent network of Jewish day schools. Canadian Jews also have a
splendid record of support for Israel and their donors are among the
most generous contributors to projects in the Jewish state.
Regrettably, in recent years the community's public advocacy on behalf
of Israel has dramatically declined. This paralleled a major upsurge in
"anti-Semitism" and "demonization of Israel" as a consequence of Muslim
immigration and intensified hostility from the Canadian left. The
downturn had its genesis in 2004 when the principal communal
fund-raisers, concerned about increased anti-Semitism and hostility to
Israel,. . .
'Tutu must consider Arab fanaticism'
Jerusalem Post
Archbishop Desmond Tutu must recognize and denounce Arab inflexibility
and extremism, which prevent the Middle East from attaining peace, the
Simon Wiesenthal Center insists. The center's founder and dean, Rabbi
Marvin Hier, spoke out over the weekend against Tutu's latest remarks
concerning Israel, in which he said that the West had muted criticism
of Israel because of guilt over the Holocaust. Tutu's comments were
made in Geneva on Thursday, while speaking to the UNHRC over his
findings of an IDF operation in the Gaza Strip. "It is not the
criticism of Israel that's been muted. It is the absence of any
criticism directed at the Arab world that has been muted," said Hier in
a statement released Friday. "If Bishop Tutu is looking for bias, let
him direct his attention at the United Nations, where 57 Muslim
countries have paralyzed the General Assembly, preventing. . .
Palestine a central issue for European solidarity movements
Palestinian National
Initiative, Palestine Monitor 9/20/2008
19/09/2008 - Malmö, Sweden. The 5th European Social Forum is bringing
together activists and social movements from all over Europe in Malmö,
Sweden. Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, MP, Secretary General of the , opened
the Forum with a speech calling for solidarity with Palestine. "The
struggle for the liberation of Palestine will not succeed without a
strong and effective international solidarity movement," he said. "We
especially need the support of international delegations and solidarity
missions visiting Palestine. Their presence is essential to strengthen
the Palestinian popular non-violent resistance". Solidarity with
Palestine is now well established as the central issue for European
solidarity movements. The Social Forum hosts numerous seminars,
exhibitions and films denouncing the Israeli occupation and the
Apartheid system now enforced in the occupied territories,. . .
Palestinian foreign minister lectures at Washington Institute
for Near East Studies
Ma'an News Agency
Ramallah – Ma'an – Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad
Al-Maliki gave a lecture about the 'Palestinian question" and political
developments at the Washington Institute for Near East Studies in
Washington D. C. on Friday. Al-Maliki is currently visiting the United
States in preparation for his participation in the UN General Assembly
meetings in New York from 23 September to 1 October. During his lecture
at the Institute Al-Maliki tackled all issues related to the peace
process, especially hardships impeding that process. He blamed Israel
for the failure to reach a peace agreement. He highlighted that Israel
has been abstaining from commitment to the peace requirements, since
they have not even implemented the first stage of the Road Map, and are
still haggling over a timetable that could lead to a final agreement.
Are mosque loudspeakers too loud?
Roee Nahmias,
YNetNews 9/20/2008
MK's call for turning down volume of mosque loudspeakers sparks debate
among Arabs - Knesset Member Esterina Tartman likely did not intend to
spark an intense debate among Arabs, but her call to turn down the
volume of mosque loudspeakers did just that. Recently, Tartman turned
to Environment Minister Gideon Ezra and demanded that he order the
mosque in the Palestinian village next to her hometown to turn down the
volume of Muezzin loudspeakers. The sensitive request, which was made
in the midst of the holy month of Ramadan, became the talk of the day
on many Arabic-language websites. Soon, Arab talkbackers were engaging
in a fierce debate regarding Tartman's request. As could be expected,
most respondents slammed Tartman and defended their right to maintain
loud calls for prayer. " If it annoys you, go back to the place you
came from, and stay away. . . "
Sectarian unity 'makes a desert bloom'
Special to The Daily
Star, Daily Star 9/20/2008
MCHAYTIEH: A little over a decade ago, the picturesque village of
Mchaytieh, nestled in the mountains overlooking the Bekaa Valley, was
dying a long, slow death. Its inhabitants were leaving, heading for the
relative economic prosperity of the cities or boarding planes to search
for a better life outside Lebanon. The problem was easy to identify but
difficult to solve: Mchaytieh had no water. The dry mountain slopes,
scorched a dull brown by the summer sun, were barren and the villagers
had had enough. But thanks to a European Union initiative aimed at
helping farmers in Lebanon, the tiny village has been given a new lease
of life. The idea was simple. In partnership with the Agriculture
Ministry, the EU agreed to front 40 percent of the cash needed for
business projects suggested by groups of local farmers. The projects
needed to be sustainable and the EU money could only be spent on
equipment - not salaries or insurance.
Hizbullah has a chance to put its money where its mouth is
Editorial, The Daily
Star, Daily Star 9/20/2008
Since its emergence into the public sphere in 1985, Hizbullah has
frequently been subjected to hostile media coverage that has
effectively branded the group as a "terrorist," "Islamo-fascist,"
"anti-Semitic" entity. The party's repeated attempts to dispel these
misperceptions have had limited effect, largely because the debate
boils down to Hizbullah's word against that of the vast majority of the
Western media. But the party is currently facing an opportunity to back
some of its oft-repeated words with action - and thereby help repair
its image both in Lebanon and abroad. Many Hizbullah officials have
tried, especially in recent years, to stress that although the
resistance arm of the party is at war with Israel, the group does not
have any animosity toward Judaism or members of the Jewish faith. But
because the Jewish community in Lebanon has dwindled to such small
numbers, rarely does
Iran to take center stage at UN assembly
Allison Hoffman, New
York, Jerusalem Post 9/21/2008
Israeli officials and American Jewish leaders pressing for tougher
sanctions against Iran at the United Nations' annual General Assembly
opening this week will be competing with the distractions posed by the
US financial meltdown and the diplomatic crisis in Georgia. Publicly,
however, the Iran issue will be squarely in front of hundreds of world
leaders passing in and out of UN headquarters. A large rally calling
for immediate action against Iran's nuclear program is planned for
Monday across the street in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, and activists will
stage other protests, from sidewalk demonstrations and e-mail petitions
to public art exhibitions, throughout the week as Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad makes his way through Manhattan. Inside the
building, Iran will almost certainly feature in formal addresses
delivered by US President George Bush on Tuesday and President Shimon
Peres on Wednesday.
Khamenei: Iranians have no problem with Jews
Middle East Online
TEHRAN - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israelis
have "usurped the houses, land, fields and businesses" of Palestinians.
"It is Israeli people who inhabit the settlements. . . and which the
puppet Zionist government arms against the Palestinians," he said. "The
Islamic republic's position is very clear. . . We have no problem with
Jews, Christians or the faithful of other religions, but we have a
problem with the usurpers of the land of Palestine," he said. A few
hours later Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, a vice president in charge of the
tourist board, issued a statement saying he fully respected the
Khamenei's policies. "I act within the framework of the policies
defined by the supreme leader," said his statement as carried by the
official IRNA news agency. Mashaie had sparked a minor controversy in
Tehran when he said Iran was a friend of the Israeli people, without
Russia opposes new Iran sanctions for now
Associated Press,
YNetNews 9/20/2008
Stressing need for 'constructive dialogue,' Moscow speaks out against
initiative to impose more sanctions on Tehran at meeting of the five
permanent UN Security Council members - Russia made clear Saturday that
it opposes a Western push for new sanctions against Iran over its
nuclear program. Russia spoke out against a fourth round of UN
sanctions against Tehran at a meeting of the five permanent UN Security
Council members and Germany in Washington on Friday, the Foreign
Ministry said. Russia stressed the need to draw Tehran into
''constructive dialogue,'' the ministry statement said. ''In this
context we spoke out against the development at this time of new
measures along UN Security Council lines. ''The US and other nations
suspect Iran is seeking nuclear weapons under the guise of an atomic
energy program.
Russia rejects new measures against Iran
Middle East Online
MOSCOW - Russia is against new UN Security Council measures targeting
Iran, the foreign ministry said in a statement Saturday after the White
House warned of a new round of sanctions. At a meeting with senior
diplomats from the United States, China, Britain, France and Germany on
Friday, Russia "said it was against the development at this stage of
additional measures in the UN Security Council," the statement said.
"The Russian side underlined the necessity of continuing efforts to
restore constructive dialogue with Tehran with the aim of moving
forward the negotiation process," the statement said. The White House
on Monday warned Iran that it faced possible new sanctions over its
suspect nuclear program, but said poor relations with Russia -- a
veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council -- could complicate
Researcher: Despite gov't claims, female civil servants paid
less than men
Tzipi Sa''ar,
Ha'aretz 9/21/2008
The Finance Ministry has told a researcher investigating wage gaps that
men and women in the public sector receive the same pay - in contrast
to the treasury's own records. "There is no discrimination in the
salaries paid to men and women in the public sector," Yossi Cohen,
deputy director of wages in the Finance Ministry, told former Knesset
member Dr. Anat Maor when she queried him on the subject. "Men and
women in the same position are paid the same. "But according to a 2006
report by Cohen's office, women's pay in the public sector is 20
percent lower than men's. With retired workers, the pension gap is even
higher, at 26 percent. Though at higher levels there is greater
equality, most women on the payroll are employed at low levels with low
salaries. "The differences in wages are determined by the level of the
position and the actual work done," Cohen said.
Police list reveals Abergil family assets
Jonathan Lis,
Ha'aretz 9/21/2008
Dozens of vehicles, 37 companies and 48 apartments are some of the
assets in the possession of the Abergil family, which police believe to
be a crime cartel. The list, which Haaretz recently obtained, was
compiled by police in 2004. At the time, one head of the Abergil clan,
Yitzhak, was in the U. S. , where authorities believe he partook in
murder, money laundering and drug smuggling. He was arrested in Israel
last month with his brother, Meir. U. S, authorities have requested
that both men be extradited to face charges for their alleged crimes. .
. . . The companies listed as owned by the Abergils and people believed
to be their associates include human resources agencies, investment
firms, tobacco import offices, a car repair shop and a car rental
agency. Apartments owned by the Abragils include real estate in Arad,
Rehovot, Kfar Truman, Rishon Letzion and Lod.
The Lehmans? They've moved on. Sad? A little
Marissa Brostoff,
Ha'aretz 9/21/2008
If there's anyone unaffected by the collapse of the Lehman Brothers
investment bank, it may be the Lehman family. The descendants of Mayer
and Emanuel Lehman, two of the German Jewish brothers who lent the firm
its name in the 1850s, remain a tightly-knit clan ensconced in New
York's upper crust. But they have not been actively involved in the
company since 1969, and family members say that they and their
relatives are not even shareholders. . . . . " We had everybody at this
reunion, from Wendy Vanderbilt to Matthew and Adam Bronfman, both of
whom have become very religious," Loeb said, suggesting the religious
spectrum that the Lehman clan now spans. Once strictly Reform Jewish,
family members are now related by marriage to WASP-ish families such as
the Vanderbilts and strongly affiliated Jewish families like the
An island of relative stability
Rotem Starkman,
Ha'aretz 9/21/2008
Last week was one of the most dramatic weeks in world economic history.
What started as a local issue of problematic American borrowers paying
back mortgages blew up in the heart of the capital of world finance.
Banks and huge investment firms founded 150 years ago closed their
doors, were sold or nationalized at a breathtaking pace - and trillions
of dollars disappeared along with hundreds of thousands of jobs. The
crisis that struck Wall Street will drag Main Street down with it. Many
more companies will go bust, millions more will be fired - and the
entire world will suffer a serious recession. We will also suffer here
in Israel. Our exports will suffer, companies will close, the job
market will weaken, the state's tax revenues will fall, and our pension
savings will take a tough hit.
Iscar buying Japanese competitor for $1b
Ora Coren, Ha'aretz
Taking advantage of the crisis in world markets, Iscar recently bought
a Japanese competitor in the cutting-tools market, Tungaloy, for almost
$1 billion. It purchased about 95% of the company's shares from
Japanese investment bank Nomura in the first takeover of a large
Japanese company by an Israeli outfit. Tungaloy is considered the
leading firm in the Japanese market, both in sales as well as
technology and innovation. The deal will enable Iscar to establish
itself in the Far East, where it has factories in South Korea and
China. Tungaloy has 2,700 employees and annual revenues of $450
million, $300 million from Japan. Its annual operating profits are
estimated at $60 million. The sale of a Japanese company to any
overseas investor is uncommon. The deal may be viewed as part of the
Japanese government's plan to increase cooperation. . .
Peace in Iraq IS an option - sign the Le Feyt Declaration!
Palestine Think Tank
The undersigned, friends of Iraq from France, Belgium, the United
Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the United States of America, Egypt,
Sweden and Iraq, organized in the International Anti-Occupation Network
(IAON) and gathered in Le Feyt, France, from 25 to 27 August 2008, have
adopted the following position and declaration reflecting our
commitment to a true end to the occupation and to a lasting,
sustainable peace in Iraq. The US occupation of Iraq is illegal and
cannot be made legal. All that has derived from the occupation is
illegal and illegitimate and cannot gain legitimacy. These facts are
incontrovertible. What are their consequences? Peace, stability and
democracy in Iraq are impossible under occupation. Foreign occupation
is opposed by nature to the interests of the occupied people, as proven
by the six million Iraqis displaced both inside and outside Iraq, the
planned. . .
Iraq media union boss survives bomb attack
Middle East Online
BAGHDAD - The head of the main journalists' union in Iraq survived an
assassination attempt on Saturday when a bomb exploded outside his
office in the capital Baghdad, his colleague said. Muayad al-Lami, the
chief of the Iraqi Journalists' Union, was rushed to hospital after he
was wounded in the blast at the gates of the union building in the
Waziriyah neighbourhood. "He was seeing off three guests when an IED
(improvised explosive device) exploded in front of the gate," colleague
Hassan al-Abudi said. "He was wounded and taken to hospital along with
his guests who were also wounded. "
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Lami's predecessor,
Shihab al-Timimi, died four days after being shot in a drive-by
shooting in Baghdad in February. In 2007, US troops had raided the
offices of the Iraqi Journalists Union in central Baghdad and arrested
armed 10 guards, prompting criticism from Timimi.
London exhibition shows Iraqi artists persevering
Middle East Online
LONDON - Iraq's artists give proof of their resilience despite the
ongoing conflict in an exhibition that opened in London this week.
"Riding on Fire: Iraqi Art Under Occupation" at the Artiquea Gallery in
south-west London is showing 42 works produced by 21 Iraqi artists
since the 2003 invasion of the country, including paintings, bronzes,
sculptures and ceramics. The exhibition saluted the courage of the
artists, who were forced to establish "a secret web to overcome threats
posed by occupation forces, vicious militia groups, corrupt police and
criminals". "The idea of this exhibition started six months ago," said
Haifa Zangana, the exhibition's coordinator. "I know some of the
artists and I have been in touch with them since I arrived in London in
the mid-1970s. " In a marked contrast to the often grim realities of
Iraq, the majority of the works on display are colourful,. . .
Narcotics seized in Qalqiliya, 2 arrested
Ma'an News Agency
Qalqiliya – Ma'an - The media office of the Qalqiliya police department
said Saturday that police confiscated an amount of narcotics from two
Palestinians, later arrested, as they attempted to smuggle them into
the city, said Omar Al- Hindi head of the drug squad in the Qalqilia
police department. Omar Al- Bzur, head of the district police
department said that "police forces will chase those who seek to import
narcotics into the area with the full force of the law. "[end]
The Killing of Count
Folke Bernadotte
Stanley Heller,
International Middle East Media Center News 9/20/2008
September is
a month of memorials. Back in 1982 from September 15th to 18th Lebanese
fascists militia supported by Israel massacred at least 1,300 people in
the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Chatilla. The 28th of
September in 2000 saw the start of the al-Aksa intifdada, a mass
uprising of Palestinians in the occupied territories that was sparked
by the "visit" of Ariel Sharon guarded by 1,000 soldiers to the Muslim
holy site, the Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem. It was Sharon as Defense
Minister in 1982 who directed the fascists Lebanese militia to enter
the camps. Later he claimed he was "shocked, shocked" that they would
massacre the Palestinians there.
This year September 17th is
the 60th anniversary of the anniversary of the assassination of Swedish
Count Folk Bernadotte. He was the Vice-President of the Swedish Red
Cross during World War II. He saved some 15,000 people from German
concentration camps including approximately 8000 Danes and Norwegians
and 7000 women of French, Polish, Czech, British, American, Argentinian
and Chinese nationalities. He brought them out in buses painted white
all over except for the Red Cross. It was dangerous work. The drove on
the roads while Allied bombers pummeled Nazi targets with the
un-surgical precision of those days.
In 1944 when Sweden was
making serious attempts to rescue Hungarian Jews, the Swedish
representative of the U.S. War Refugee Board got a group of Swedish
Jews together and asked them to recommend someone to go to Hungary to
lead the effort. Their choice was Bernadotte. However, the Hungarian
government wouldn't allow him in and the legendary Raul Wallenberg was
sent in his place.
'ultras' defend morals with menace
Toni O''Loughlin,
The Observer, The Guardian 9/21/2008
Four months
ago in the middle of the night, six men dressed in wide-brimmed black
hats, black coats, white shirts and black trousers burst into the
Jerusalem apartment of a young Jewish woman and taught her a lesson.
Mikhail, who is reluctant to give her full name, had scandalised
members of her ultra-orthodox Jewish community by leaving her husband
and embracing a secular lifestyle. The men, all members of the
theologically conservative Haredi branch of Judaism, tackled her to the
ground, slammed her head against the floor and tied a rag around her
mouth. One assailant sat on her head as the others kicked her while
demanding to know the names of the men she was seeing.
also threatened to kill her if she did not leave the neighbourhood,
which contains many secular as well as religious residents. 'A woman is
only OK if she has a family, kids and a husband,' said Mikhail with a
Welcome to the new, increasingly orthodox, Jerusalem.
The attack on Mikhail, although exceptionally brutal, was only the
latest in a string of assaults over the past two years against Jewish
women accused of immoral behaviour in the city.
Jewish State of Irony
Tirzah Firestone,
Middle East Online 9/20/2008
What a bitter
irony it is for a people who have lived as the homeless 'other' for
centuries to find itself in the position of forgetfulness now. Choking
with grief, all I can manage to utter is: I am so sorry. Please believe
me, this is not Judaism! Says Rabbi.
BOULDER, Colorado – Last
week I was stopped in my tracks by a letter from Mira. The four-story
apartment building next door to her home in East Jerusalem, home to
seven families in the Beit Hanina neighbourhood, was demolished before
her eyes. Mira described watching border police, ambulances, fire
trucks and police cars close off her street and surround Abu Eisheh's
house. They pulled out neighbours by force, beating those who refused
to move and taking them to the hospital.
Home demolitions
occur by the hundreds in East Jerusalem, and I have witnessed them with
my own eyes. As a rabbi, appalled by Israel's policy of managing
Jerusalem's demographics by destroying the homes of its unwanted
residents, I have felt it was my duty to visit victims in the aftermath
of their loss, paying condolence calls, as it were, to the bereaved.
People like Abu Eisheh and scores like him are, of course, neither
terrorists nor schemers, but simple people who have "built illegally"
in a city looking to limit its Arab population.
under siege in Gaza
Eiman Mohammed in
Gaza, Ma'an News Agency 9/20/2008
sunsets this Ramadan are not greeted by the glittering of lantern light
that traditionally illuminate the darkness during this month of
difficult fasting. This year, as the night sets in and the Muslim's
call to prayer grows louder, the ambient noise of the Gaza streets
disappears and sidewalks empty. The difference, however, between day
and night is not like it used to be.
These days there is not
much action in Gaza's shops during the day, when people usually set out
to buy vegetables and sweets for the fast-breaking meal, or new clothes
in preparation for the end of Ramadan feast. This year the lack of food
supplies means we don't get our basic daily foods, let alone special
fruits or pastries for Ramadan.As a result of the ongoing Israeli siege
on Gaza strip, shoppers can't get what they really need for Ramadan
And that is just a nutshell description of Gaza
this Ramadan, where the odd light-up crescent moon hung from a window
does little to cheer up the frustrated population.
crises are blocking a resolution in Jerusalem
Mahdi Abdul Hadi,
Daily Star 9/19/2008
There are
varying conceptions in reading, understanding and presenting the
question of Jerusalem by the concerned parties in the Middle East.
These have led to a number of crises in negotiating Jerusalem. The
first crisis is the differing views over what Jerusalem we are talking
about. The logical and reasonable approach is to talk about Jerusalem
according to the partition plan of United Nations Security Council
Resolution 181 of 1947. Resolution 181 provides for the city to be a
corpus separatum under international trusteeship and a center for two
states, an open city or joint capital embracing a variety of identities
and citizenships, Israeli, Palestinian as well as international.
With the Oslo Accords of 1993, however, the terms of reference
changed to the two-state-solution based on UN Security Council
Resolution 242 of 1967, which foresaw a division of the city along the
pre-June 1967 armistice line. As the leading Palestinian negotiator,
now and in Oslo, Ahmed Qorei, has put it: "Palestinians agreed to give
up West Jerusalem in Oslo and they cannot afford to share East
of the Jerusalem Mantra
Daniel Seidemann,
Middle East Online 9/20/2008
was born American. Thirty-five years ago, I chose to become Israeli. My
choice in no way reflects a lack of affection for the United States.
But patriotism is monogamous: I am an Israeli patriot, and a platonic
friend of the land of my birth. I have never voted in a US election and
I belong to no US political party. I see myself as an observer of,
rather than a participant in, American presidential election politics.
But as a Jerusalemite, I do have a stake in the 2008 Presidential
race, like it or not.
Because like in past elections, the candidates and their
surrogates are trying to use me – my life, my city—to score points with
voters, bolster their pro-Israel credentials, and attack their
Because both parties are mindlessly clinging to what I call "the
Jerusalem mantra": swearing fealty to the view of Jerusalem as
Just take a look at the 2008 Democratic and Republican national
platforms: "Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel. The
parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status
negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people
of all faiths." (Democrats); and "...Jerusalem as the undivided capital
of Israel and moving the American embassy to that undivided capital of
Israel." (Republicans).
with Israel's Zohan
Gilad Atzmon –
LONDON, Middle East Online 9/19/2008
"You Don't
Mess with the Zohan" is a new American comedy film. It tells the story
of Zohan Dvir (Adam Sandler), the IDF's Number 1 counter-terrorism
killing machine who has simply grown tired of his military murderous
engagement. At a certain stage, he fakes his own death while in action
in order to pursue his real dream: that of becoming a hairstylist in
The film was anything but praised by the critics. The
Sun gave the film one star and wrote: "the ongoing conflict between
Israel and Palestine isn't exactly the obvious choice of topic for a
comedy – which is perhaps why this film is about as funny as a suicide
"By the end," wrote Christopher Tookey of the Daily Mail, "I felt
as though I had been carpet-bombed by comedy's answer to Vladimir
Putin. But, on second thought, Putin is funnier."
These are pretty harsh words for critics to write about a film.
However, unlike the devastated critic, who didn't hold back from
putting the film down, I regard the film as an important document and
another step towards a comprehensive understanding of the Jewish
Khalid Amayreh,
Palestinian Information Center 9/16/2008
"The ethnic
cleansing of Palestine by Israel was not an unintended consequence, or
fortuitous occurrence, or even a 'miracle', as Israel's first president
Chaim Weizmann later proclaimed; it was the result of long and
meticulous planning," Ilan Pappe, Professor of Political Science at
Haifa University, in his book 'The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine'.
This week, the outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sought
to rewrite history by equating the violent uprooting and dispersal
across the four winds of the native Palestinian community at the hands
of Zionist Jews with the ideologically-motivated immigration of Jews
from the Middle East to Palestine.
Speaking during a meeting
of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on 13 September,
Olmert was quoted as saying that he felt sorry for the plight of both
Palestinian and Jewish refugees.
"I join in expressing sorrow
for what happened to the Palestinians and also for what happened to the
Jews who were expelled from Arab states."
Olmert's largely
facetious remarks coincided with highly controversial statements made
by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on the sensitive
subject of the right of return for Palestinian refugees uprooted from
their country more than sixty years ago.
Livni Needs Three Things
Nadia Hijab, Middle
East Online 9/19/2008
Here's one
major difference between Tzipi Livni, the new leader of Israel's Kadima
party, and her rivals for leadership: There are no war crime charges
against her.
In what must be a relief for some in Israel,
Livni doesn't have to look over her shoulder in case she gets arrested
when she gets off a plane overseas. Kadima leadership contenders Shaul
Mofaz and Avi Dichter are among several Israeli generals that face this
possibility due to civil suits brought against them for war crimes.
Dichter canceled a trip to Britain in 2007 to avoid arrest.
So Livni can travel. But can she deliver peace with the
Palestinians? She has on occasion expressed more sympathy towards the
Palestinians than others and has led Israel's negotiating team since
Annapolis. Her Palestinian counterparts have welcomed her victory.
If Livni can cobble together an Israeli cabinet, she is likely to
continue the peace process. But Israeli-Palestinian peace is more
elusive today than at any time since the first Oslo agreement was
signed in 1993.
years of peace talks: some lessons
Rami G. Khouri,
Daily Star 9/20/2008
This week is
noteworthy in Arab-Israeli history, because it commemorates two
historic events: the Camp David Accords of September 1978 and the Oslo
Accords of September 1993. Exactly 30 and 15 years ago, these two
agreements were painstakingly negotiated between Arab parties and
Israelis, with external assistance. Both held out the promise of
breakthroughs for permanent Arab-Israeli peace and coexistence.
History has turned out to be more complex than the promises of
what happened those two Septembers past. Arab-Israeli peace turned out
to be much more erratic and cold than many had hoped. Terrible
conflicts, characterized by mutual brutality have persisted, with new
actors joining the fray every few years. Not surprisingly,
Palestinians, Syrians, Israelis and others continue to probe for
possible routes to permanent peace agreements, without much success.
The peacemaking legacy of Camp David and Oslo remains thin, but
real. It is certain that Arabs and Israelis, with assorted and eternal
mediators, will try again to negotiate permanent peace agreements,
perhaps starting as early as next spring. If so, it seems worthwhile
trying to identify the lessons of the Camp David and Oslo experiences.
Here is my list of key lessons learned.


text:
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Be the first SILive.com user to add photos or videos of Vasari Classic Artists' Oil Colors
Vasari Classic Artists' Oil Colors can be found at W 39th St 323. The following is offered: Art & Craft Supplies. The entry is present with us since Sep 9, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In New York there are 65 other Art & Craft Supplies. An overview can be found here.
Vasari Classic Artists' Oil Colors is located at 323 W 39th St, New York, NY. This location is in the Garment District neighborhood. This business specializes in Arts & Craft Supplies.

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09-16-2013 #1
Any LXDE process manager? memory, cpu usage
Is there any manager or one very lightweight you can recommend?
Also any way to discover my Virtual private server tech details like cpu, memory in LXDE graphical environment?
thank you
09-16-2013 #2
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
- Location
- I can be found either 40 miles west of Chicago, in Chicago, or in a galaxy far, far away.
- Posts
- 14,038
There is the text-based tool "top". For a GUI tool I use the KDE system monitor. You don't need to run KDE, just install the dependencies (libraries) needed.Sometimes, real fast is almost as good as real time.
Just remember, Semper Gumbi - always be flexible!
10-31-2013 #3
From Synaptic package manager can be installed App called "gnome-system-monitor", allows graphs of cpu, ram usage + process manager


text:
We do not make a commercial profit from foster care
The only co-operative operating in foster care in the UK
We always put children first
Call us from England
01684 892 380
Call us from Wales
02920 464 348
We have had some fantastic academic outcomes this year!
We had 8 children who took GCSE examinations this year and 100% have achieved qualifications, enabling them to pursue their plans of going to college.
Seven of them have embarked on further education college courses, including L1 BTEC Animal Care, Foundation to Hospitality and Catering, L2 Light Vehicle Maintenance and Public Services.
One has gone on to study 'A' levels at a sixth form college.
75% of our Year 11s who took GCSEs this year have statements of Special Educational Needs or Education, Health and Care Plans.
100% of Young People who took GCSEs gained at least 2 GCSEs grades A*-G alongside other qualifications.
63% of them gained at least 5 GCSEs A*-G with 25% of them surpassing expectations.
13% of our Year 11s who took GCSEs gained at least 5 GCSEs grade A*-C, including English and Maths.
There was one Young Person who was not entered for GCSEs because he has severe special needs, but he is continuing further education at his special school. Another Young Person who came into our care in May who had been in alternative education before this has secured a place at college to do hairdressing.
In September 2016 all 10 of our Year 11s (100%) are continuing with their education either at further education colleges, school or sixth form college.
We are extremely proud of these children, and what they have achieved!
Understanding your child's digital world – May 2018
Feature in Huffington Post!
FCC shortlisted for Co-operative of the Year!