Studies show that US coverage is Israeli-centric. The main bureaus for CNN, Associated Press, Time, etc. are located in Israel and often staffed by Israelis. The son of the NY Times bureau chief is in the Israeli army;"pundit" Jeffrey Goldberg served in the IDF; Wolf Blitzer worked for AIPAC. Because the U.S. gives Israel $7 million/day - more than to any other nation - we feel it is essential that we be fully informed on this region. Below are news reports to augment mainstream coverage.
Shepherd Abdul Rahim Bsharat, 59, holds his two youngest daughters, Samoud, three (blonde) and Assia, five
- The road to al-Hadidiya village in the northeastern West Bank district of Tubas is dotted with boulders etched with a warning in Hebrew, Arabic and English: “Danger - Open Fire Area”.
The boulders arrived about six months ago, and are positioned at the entrance to Palestinian villages, indicating that chunks of the Jordan Valley have become a closed military zone claimed by the Israeli army. They signal a further squeeze on the Bedouin communities here.
Shepherd Abdul Rahim Bsharat, 59, and his family have lived and farmed in al-Hadidiya since the 1960s. At that time, he said, there were 400-500 families there. Now, there are 17, who stay on despite having no access to water or electricity. Every building in the village has an Israeli demolition order on it.
On 21 June, the Israeli military gave Bsharat notice that his house and animal shelters could be destroyed at any time. When Bsharat’s house was previously demolished in 2002, his water tank was confiscated too. “If they destroy my property again, I’ll come back and rebuild it again. This is my land,” he told IRIN.
Bsharat’s home is a canopy of sewn-together sacks propped up over bare ground. It can easily be rebuilt. His other problems are more difficult to solve.
Bsharat in front of his home, which has an Israeli demolition order against it
Al-Hadidiya is in a part of the West Bank under complete Israeli control, known as Area C. The estimated 40,000 Palestinians living there are unable to build or repair their homes, schools, hospitals or sewage systems under Israel’s strict permit system, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In a region where almost all families are herders, Israel’s restrictions on Palestinian access to and development of agricultural land mean thousands are going hungry, aid agencies say.
A report published recently by Save the Children UK entitled Life on the Edge, warns that many parts of Area C have plummeted into a humanitarian crisis more acute than in Gaza.
Al-Hadidiya is surrounded by three expanding Israeli townships, Ro’i, Beka’ot and Hemdat. Its land is directly adjacent to Ro’i and the community collects any over-flow from the water pumps irrigating the settlers’ crops in rusting tins.
Despite a lengthy petition from Bsharat, Israeli authorities have not permitted al-Hadidiya to be connected to the main water network. There is no health centre and no permit to build one. The nearest hospital is several hours away in Jericho.
Israeli roadblocks and checkpoints mean that reaching a doctor can take hours. In 2002, Bsharat’s then two-and-a-half-year-old son was hospitalized for 16 days when a common cold turned into pneumonia. In the same year, his eight-year-old son was badly injured falling off a tractor. It was six hours before a car could get through to al-Hadidiya to get him to hospital. He died from blood loss.
Israel has suffered deadly suicide bombings launched from the West Bank in the past and says strict rules on Palestinian movement enforced through checkpoints and roadblocks are necessary for its security. [The suicide bombings occurred after Israeli forces had invaded, confiscated more Palestinian land, and killed numerous Palestinians.]
According to the Israeli military, homes in al-Hadidiya and much of the Jordan Valley are being demolished because they have either been built illegally, without an Israeli building permit, or are located in “closed military areas”. [in reality, according to the Hague Geneva Conventions, internationally agreed upon, it is the Israeli occupation is illegal.] Around 18 percent of the West Bank is now a closed military zone.
Bedouin children wander away from their home in al-Hadidiya village, which is now within a closed military zone claimed by the Israeli army
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) found that in Bedouin communities like al-Hadidiya, rates of stunting are more than double those in Gaza. Almost half the children have diarrhoea, one of the biggest killers of children under five in the world, and three quarters of families do not have enough nutritious food.
Save the Children works with local NGO Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) to help families in al-Hadidiya repair damaged buildings and farmland, when possible. But the strict restrictions on building and access mean that the Palestinian Authority and aid agencies are limited in the help they can offer families anywhere in Area C.
“In recent weeks the international community has rightly focused on the suffering of families in Gaza but the plight of children in Area C must not be overlooked. Many families, particularly in Bedouin and herder communities, suffer significantly higher levels of malnutrition and poverty,” Salam Kanaan, Save the Children UK’s country director, said.
“It’s now urgent that steps are taken to ensure children here have safe homes and proper classrooms, enough food to eat and clean water to drink.”
Ma'an – Israeli troops entered a village south of Nablus at 1 a.m. Thursday and detained four young men from their homes, locals said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was unaware of any detentions in Beita village, citing two in the Jenin and Qalqiliya areas.
Officials in Beita, south of Nablus, identified the detainees as Wadah Khaled Dweikat, 20, Jihad Dweikat, 19, and brothers Mujahed and Salah Rushdi.
The reports follow days of unrest following settler riots sparked by Monday's removal of several caravan homes erected near the Yitzar settlement. Riots saw settlers burn fields and vandalize cars, locals reported, with Israeli raids targeting Beit Furik on Tuesday.
Antiwar.com - Philip Giraldi - Anyone who has ever served in the military would confirm that to become a general in the armed forces of the United States requires highly developed political skills. One must be politically astute to guide large military forces while at the same time answering to largely ignorant constituencies in Congress, the White House, and the media. Many generals tire of the exercise after a certain point and retire to well paid sinecures on the boards of defense contractors. Others stage their own forms of rebellion, speaking the truth and walking the plank as a reward.Admiral William Fallon insisted in 2008 that there would be no war with Iran on his watch. He was forced to retire soon after. More recently, General Stanley McChrystal voiced his displeasure with the White House’s management of the Afghan war to a journalist and likewise was forced into early retirement.
Some generals, however, like the give and take of politics and harbor their own ambitions to hold high office. General Douglas MacArthur challenged President Harry Truman and was spoken of as a possible Republican candidate while General Dwight D. Eisenhower rode his own military fame to the presidency in 1952 and 1956. It is widely believed in the media that the current top general David Petraeus harbors similar ambitions. Eisenhower won the election virtually without campaigning, but Petraeus understands that he must satisfy some key constituencies before he throws his hat in the ring.
The tradition that general officers should provide disinterested advice to policymakers based on their best judgments and the most current available intelligence has long since passed. Modern generals first test the wind before they offer an opinion and then carefully tailor their comments to support the prevailing policy. Petraeus, who is regarded as an intellectual and even somewhat of an iconoclast, is no different. His counterinsurgency strategy, far from a new development, is a replay of similar thinking during the Vietnam war and a repudiation of the Powell Doctrine, which asserted that wars should be in the national interest, with attainable objectives, fought using overwhelming force, and incorporating a clear exit strategy. In short, Petraeus is the architect of the counterinsurgency long war combined with nation building strategy that has been embraced by both Presidents Bush and Obama.
Petraeus’ apparent close relationship with the neoconservatives and the Israel Lobby is a matter of concern, particularly if he does aspire to be president. Some have plausibly identified him as the neocon candidate for 2012 though others note appreciatively that he initiated a long overdue national debate with his Senate testimony in March 2010, observing as he did that the failure to achieve peace in Israel-Palestine has endangered United States soldiers in the region. To be sure, Petraeus quickly did damage control for the statement in the Senate, helping in the orchestration of an article that described him as a friend to Israel who did not view the conflict with the Palestinians as a matter of great concern. In May 2010 Petraeus received the Irving Kristol award from the American Enterprise Institute, indicating clearly that the Israel Lobby and the neocon establishment regard him as a favorite son.
Petraeus’ personal link to the neocons is through Max Boot and the two Kagans, Kimberly and Fred. All three have advised the general and have been cheerleaders for his "surge" policies. Kimberly Kagan has written a book featuring Petraeus entitled The Surge: A Military History. A series of emails to Boot that appears to have been inadvertently revealed to Israel Lobby critic James Morris suggests that Petraeus’ ambitions led him to seek expert advice on how to mend fences with the Jewish community after his Senate testimony faux pas. He asked Boot "Does it help if folks know that I hosted Elie Wiesel and his wife at our quarters last Sun night? And that I will be the speaker at the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps in mid-Apr at the Capitol Dome…," exceptional pandering by a four star general and also a comment that suggests a certain naïveté on the subject. Petraeus even weasel worded about his actual testimony before the Senate, telling Boot "As you know I didn’t say that. It’s in a written submission for the record…" He also collaborated with Boot on the preparation of an article entitled "A Lie: David Petraeus, Anti-Israel" that appeared on March 18, 2010, appropriately enough, in Commentary magazine, a publication founded by the American Jewish Committee.
But maybe the neocons should think twice about their captive general. Many who harbor political ambitions rightly fear the power of the Israel Lobby, but fear is a far remove from affection.Many Congressmen held hostage by the Lobby resent it and long for the time when they would be able to support genuine American interests relating to the Middle East. Petraeus surely understands that no one can get nominated by a major party to run for president of the United States if the Israel Lobby and its media supporters say no.
If he wants to get elected, he has to watch what he says and bend his knee, but he might not like it just as President Barack Obama clearly did not enjoy the battering he took from the Lobby in the fight for the Democratic nomination. Israel and its friends just might wind up selecting a strong leader with some very definite views that ultimately could lead to Washington distancing itself from Israel in a very decisive fashion. As a war hero with no particular political baggage, he would be a formidable opponent for any foreign Lobby, including that of Israel. And as a former general who has led troops in the field, he might become a president who actually believes the needless waste of his soldiers is unacceptable.
Petraeus’ report to the Senate Armed Services Committee was groundbreaking, a fact that was recognized at the time. It came after a team of staff officers conducted a series of off-the-record meetings with Arab allies in the Middle East in December 2009. All America’s friends emphasized that it had become increasingly difficult to generate popular support for US policies in light of the Israeli repression of the Palestinians. The responses were so alarming that Petraeus arranged a briefing for Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a month later. Mullen also was shocked by the depth of the antipathy towards the United States caused by Israeli policies and the report to the Senate was the result.
It is important to go back to the original statement to the Senate that started the furor about Petraeus’ views. Do not for a second think that the assessment of Israel and Palestine was something that made it into the 56 page Central Command posture statement by accident or because Petraeus did not notice it. The report was prepared by Petraeus’ staff and it is absolutely certain that he read every line of it and endorsed it before he appeared before the Senate committee. The report’s full title is "Statement of General David H. Petraeus, US Army Commander, US Central Command before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Posture of US Central Command, 16 Mar 2010." This is what it says:
"The enduring hostilities between Israel and some of its neighbors present distinct challenges to our ability to advance our interests… Israeli-Palestinian tensions often flare into violence and large scale armed confrontations. The conflict foments anti-American sentiments, due to perception of US favoritism for Israel. Arab anger over the Palestinian question limits the strength and depth of US partnerships with governments and peoples in the region and weakens the legitimacy of moderate regimes in the Arab world. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda and other militant groups exploit that anger to mobilize support."
Though carefully expressed, there is no ambiguity to the statement and no doubt that it represents General Petraeus’ thinking. It means what it says, basically that Israel’s behavior weakens Arab regimes friendly to the US, makes it impossible to develop popular support for Washington’s programs, and strengthens terrorism. The result is that American soldiers and diplomats in the Middle East and Central Asia are threatened by irresponsible and unsustainable Israeli policies.
This means that the genie is out of the bottle no matter what Max Boot does to try to coax it back in or spin it into meaninglessness. It is also important to bear in mind that the Petraeus’ statement was not an isolated incident, a sign of what might amount to a new awareness in Washington that Israel represents a strategic liability. In March, Joe Biden reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "This is starting to get dangerous for us. What you’re doing here undermines the security of our troops…" And Admiral Mike Mullen has warned his counterpart General Gabi Ashkenazi that Israeli actions are hurting the US posture throughout the Mideast region.
So who owns General Petraeus? At this point, maybe no one. If he does have political ambitions he is certainly smart enough to know that crossing the neocons and the Lobby would be suicidal as he would be subjected to a devastating media assault. But he is a smart man who understands that the relationship with Israel is a liability. If he were to become president would his better angel come to the fore? We can only hope.
Ma’an – Hamas has reiterated the party's categorical rejection of peace negotiations with Israel and says any calls from Arab states to push them forward amount to a "political sin."
Speaking ahead of a planned meeting between President Mahmoud Abbas and the Arab Peace Initiative follow-up committee, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told reporters Thursday that Hamas no longer recognizes Abbas as president.
Abbas is expected to request backing for his decision to reject American pressure to transition into direct peace talks following weeks of so-called proximity talks mediated by US envoy George Mitchell.
Comments from Egyptian officials earlier Thursday, however, indicated that Abbas had received some guarantees from the Obama administration over the fate of settlements and a framework for negotiations, indicating a possible shift in expectations.
But Hamas is not convinced, Abu Zuhri said, and Arab states should stand by Palestinians and reject negotiations.
The official called on Abbas to condemn Israel's razing of the Bedouin village of Al-Araqib, located inside Israel some 30 kilometers from the northern Gaza Strip and 10 kilometers southwest of Hebron.
"The demolition in the Negev village mirrors the attacks on the Old City of Jerusalem," Abu Zuhri said adding that an "Arab reaction" was necessary in the face of the destruction.
Ma’an – Israeli settlers accompanied by police took over a building in the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem early Thursday morning, evicting families from three of the building's apartments.
Israeli National Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said two Jewish families entered the Old City home "based on documents claiming that they owned the property." He described the eviction as proceeding without incident.
After the families entered the homes, police requested the documents upon which the eviction was carried out, and according to Rosenfeld they were being "examined by police to determine whether they are accurate or not."
If the police deem the documents to be valid, he explained, they would be transferred to Israeli courts.
The home, two stories with 11 small family apartments, is owned by the families of Suleiman Handal and Kamal Karsh and located in the As-Sa'dieh neighborhood near the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Three of the apartments housed families, totaling 50 residents. It was not immediately clear how many were taken out of the home. According to Fatah Revolutionary Council Member Demitri Delani, many of the women and children refused to be evicted and remained in their homes with barricaded doors.
By noon, Rosenfeld said he believed there were no Palestinians in the home.
Delani said the settlers now occupy five homes, and he fears the building could be taken over as a settler Yeshiva explaining that the building was a school before 1967, after which it was converted into apartments.
The arrest by Israel’s internal security service, the Shin Bet, of an Israeli Jew accused of killing at least four Palestinians has thrown a rare light on the secret police, including attempts by one of its agents to enlist the accused to assassinate a Palestinian spiritual leader [later targeted by Israeli commandos when he was on the Gaza aid flotilla].
Chaim Pearlman, who was arrested a fortnight ago, has been charged with murdering four Palestinians in Jerusalem and injuring at least seven others in a series of knife attacks that began more than a decade ago. Police are still investigating whether he was involved in additional attacks.
Although Pearlman was denied access to a lawyer until last Friday, far-right groups have rapidly come to his aid, waging what the Shin Bet officials have described as “psychological warfare” by revealing damaging details about the case.
Pearlman has released tape recordings he secretly made of recent conversations with an undercover Shin Bet agent who tried to get Pearlman to incriminate himself.
The agent, who befriended Pearlman and was known as “Dada”, can be heard exhorting him both to go to an “Arab village” to “turn it into a fireworks display” and to execute Sheikh Raed Salah, a leader of the Islamic Movement and a recent participant in the aid flotilla to Gaza that was attacked by Israel.
EI - Adie Mormech - "She came in through the front door and it wasn't clear she was injured. Suddenly a lot of blood came from her nose and she vomited, all of the family saw this -- her little brothers were very scared. She had just been playing in the front of the house."
That is how Nihed al-Massry describes what happened to her daughter, nine-year-old Samah Eid al-Massry, after the Israeli army reportedly shelled and fired four bombs into and around a residential area in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip, on 21 July. Samah is now being hospitalized in serious condition, suffering from extensive blood loss and very low haemoglobin. She was hit by shrapnel and flechettes from a nail bomb that landed 100 meters away, causing internal bleeding to the chest and severe head trauma. Nails are now embedded throughout her body.
Shells containing flechettes are illegal under international law if fired into densely-populated civilian areas. Three other children were wounded in the attack.
Two young men were killed; Muhammad al-Kafarneh, 23, suffered severe shrapnel injuries to the back and chest and Kasim al-Shinbary, 19, was wounded by nails embedded in his skull and shrapnel his back. It was unclear earlier whether they were resistance fighters or if they were civilians.
Haitham Thaer Qasem, a four-year-old boy and an only child, was asleep on a hospital bed, occasionally gasping for breath through the apparatus around his nose. He had suffered deep nasal trauma, and flechette darts from the bomb were still embedded in his tiny body, through his back, right elbow and right leg. He was 200 meters from the impact of the bomb.
Haitham's mother was standing off to the side, quietly crying while one of his aunts at his bedside explained what happened.
"We had asked Haitham to get shopping for [his mother] from the market, then we heard the bombings and somebody came to our home and told our family that he was in the hospital and was injured in the bombing. We came quickly to the hospital."
Meanwhile, Samah's doctor explained that the girl's blood loss was a major concern. Her injuries are exacerbated by the fact that she, like three of her brothers, already suffers from the blood condition thalassemia and the drug to treat the condition, Exjade, is scarce because of the Israeli blockade. She was clearly in pain and confused, trying to remove the nasal tubes. Her mother showed us the bandages on her chest.
Her doctor, Muhammad Abu Hassan, described her situation as "semi-critical."
"She was in very bad condition when she arrived -- it's difficult for children and very traumatic to insert a chest tube for small children -- very painful. Blood was mainly coming from the chest. We will have to perform surgery and we will further explore her abdominal pain," he explained.
The al-Massry family has been affected by Israeli attacks before. Samah's four-year-old brother Ryad was injured during Israel's three weeks of attacks on the Gaza Strip during winter 2008-09 when more than 400 Palestinian children were killed.
"Our house was hit during the war, a neighbor was killed inside and our son suffered severe head injuries. He wasn't cared for and because of this his sight is now permanently damaged."
As we left Samah, she had begun to cry, moaning in serious discomfort and confusion. There were two more injured children in the hospital from the attack, also from the al-Massry family in Beit Hanoun: Azzam Muhammad al-Massry, 11, who suffered a severely fractured left elbow and Ibrahim Wasseem al-Massry, 4, with light injuries to his abdomen.
The previous week in Gaza, Nema Abu Said, a 33-year-old mother of five, was killed by Israeli shelling as she went outside frantically looking for her youngest son after a previous round of shelling. Three more family members were injured by the flechette shells, many of the darts remaining permanently embedded in their bodies.
Adie Mormech is a human rights advocate based in the Gaza Strip who was previously abducted by the Israeli navy from the eighth Free Gaza Movement boat, the Spirit of Humanity. He volunteers with the International Solidarity Movement.
IMEMC- The Israeli government has refused to pay the medical costs of Emily Henochowicz, who lost her eye to an Israeli tear gas canister.
Emily Henochowicz lost her eye at a protest against the wall and the occupation when the Israeli military fired a high-velocity tear gas canister at her.
Ms. Henochowicz is an American- Israeli citizen and had been studying at Bezalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem at the time.
The protest occurred near Qalandia checkpoint south of Ramallah. In addition to causing her to lose her eye, the canister shattered her jaw.
The Israeli military has claimed that the canister was not aimed at her and that it bounced off a wall to hit her.
After receiving medical treatment the hospital handed her father a bill for NIS 14,000.
They are refusing to pay it and suing the state of Israel.
#
Tear gas canisters are commonly used by Israeli forces against demonstrators in the West Bank. In May 2009, the Israeli State Attorney’s Office ordered Israeli Police to review its guidelines for dispersing demonstrators, following the death of a demonstrator, Bassem Abu Rahmah from Bil’in village, caused by a high velocity tear-gas projectile.
Tear-gas canisters are meant to be used as a means of crowd dispersal, to be shot indirectly at demonstrators and from a distance. However, Israeli forces frequently shoot canisters directly at protesters and are not bound by a particular distance from which they can shoot....
Another American shot by such a canister, Tristan Anderson, had a portion of his brain removed. The shooting caused severe traumatic brain injury and blindness in his right eye. Tristan, 39 years old, has not yet regained the use of the left side of his body and faces a long period of cognitive and physical rehabilitation and remains in a wheelchair...
IMEMC - The former military interrogator known as 'Captain George' has been appointed the director of Arab affairs for the Jerusalem District Police.
The post includes responsibilities such as being a liaison between the police commander and the Arab community as well as filing reports on Arab opinion in the city. It is considered a very important post by the Jerusalem police commander, Aharon Franco.
'Captain George' reached notoriety when a unit he was commanding was accused of torturing Mustafa Dirani, a Lebanese citizen kidnapped by Israeli forces in 1994.
Mustafa sued Israel for 6 million shekels in damages and in his testimony recalled how his captors had raped him with a baton. The case has been in limbo since 2005.
'Captain George' was appointed to the position a couple of months ago and the police had this to say of him, "There is no link between the previous role held by Major D. ["George"] and his current position. The officer is carrying out his duties to Franco's satisfaction, and is contributing a great deal to the good relationship between Jerusalem police and the Arabs of East Jerusalem."
Ma'an - Israeli rights group B'Tselem released a report saying Israeli crackdowns on protests in the West Bank were legitimized using a 1967 military order prohibiting demonstrations.
The report, released on Wednesday, details the military legitimization of two orders delivered to the villages of Ni'lin and Bil'in in the early spring, declaring zones used each week for protests against the construction of the separation wall "closed zones," and the rationalization for what rights workers said was a changed attitude of the military "toward the demonstrations and has taken measures with the intent to end them."
Some of the measure detailed in the document included dozens of arrests targeting demonstration organizers as well as international and Israeli activists who travel to the West Bank to support the protest initiatives.
The new measures were put in force on 17 February 2010, the report says, by the Israeli military's OC Central Command, when officials signed two orders of "Declaration Regarding Closing of Area," which classified parts of the two villages closed zones on Fridays, when protests are held weekly.
A second rule for military operations in the West Bank was put through in January, the B'Tselem report reported. Military Order No. 101, of 1967, which, according to the report, prohibits demonstrations in the West Bank.
B'Tselem emphasized that "From the beginning of the Oslo process until this year, the Order had not been enforced, except for its incitement provisions," and said in its position paper on the order, that it violates Israel's "obligation to ensure the right of demonstration under international law," as an occupying power.
Under the Order, B'Tselem reported, "an assembly, procession, or vigil of ten or more persons requires a permit from the commander of military forces in the region if the assembly is for the purpose of 'a political subject, or which might be construed as political, or to discuss such a subject' or, in the case of a procession, 'for a political purpose or for a matter that might be construed as political.' "
The rights group said the use of the order "greatly limits freedom of speech, in all its aspects," particularly given the on the books punishment for violations of the order, at ten years in prison.
Ma'an - EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton briefed EU foreign ministers Tuesday on her recent trip to the Mideast, focusing on Gaza, where she spent a day in June.
After the briefing, the EU Foreign Affairs Council commented in a statement on an "urgent need for a lasting solution to the situation in Gaza and for the revival of its economy."
One of the recommendations was the "immediate, sustained and unconditional opening of crossings for the flow of humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons to and from Gaza, and discussed the possible role the EU could play in contributing to improved access."
Ma'an – Gaza farmers gathered in Beit Hanoun on Wednesday demanding access to arable lands currently under Israeli control as part of a unilaterally imposed no-go zone.
"The issue is not a humanitarian case, it is purely political," said organizer Amjad Al-Shawa of the Palestinian International Campaign To End The Siege On Gaza stressing that the absence of farmland prevented residents from perusing their livelihood.
Conference organizer Sabir Za’anin said the policed zone along the Gaza-Israel border has reached some 22,500 dunums (22.5 square kilometers), equal to 6.25 percent of the Gaza Strip, and taking up what officials estimate to be 20 percent of arable land.
Israeli patrols of the area have become more frequent since 2008 limiting access to agricultural lands near the Gaza border and preventing farmers from planting, maintaining, and harvesting crops, Za'anin explained during the conference.
"For many farmers, trying to make a living or to stop relying on Israeli or smuggled in goods is risking their lives," Za'anin said, accusing Israel's latest easing of the siege to be symbolic. "Without access to land, how can we live?" he asked, reiterating a common complaint from Gaza residents who say they are tired of receiving aid and would prefer to regain jobs back in the shut-down factories.
Member of the International Solidarity Movement Adi Marmash estimated that at least one-third of the arable lands of Gaza were in fact under Israeli control in the no-go zone. With the outskirts of cities taken up by camps of displaced persons, and with farmers reporting an ever-wider area of lands policed by Israeli forces, Mormech said he was sure the percentage had exceeded 20.
Za’anin, the conference organizer, told participants that the committee would make a renewed effort to bring the issue to the international community saying, "We will continue to oppose Israeli plans [to confiscate land]; we will stick to our rights despite it all."
Kamal Sweilem, a farmer from northern Gaza who has access to only a small portion of his lands due to the no-go zone, said he and his friends and neighbors wanted only "to cultivate our lands, to keep them green," and added that it was a tragedy that the weight of the international community must be behind Gaza farmers if they are to successfully water their trees.
The farmer, joined with union and committee organizers, issued a joint appeal to the international community to demand that Israel relinquish its hold on the no-go zone and allow farmers to access and cultivate their lands.
Ma'an – The Jerusalem Detainees Center said Tuesday it was in possession of several reports and documents that provide proof of medical experimentation on Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.
Ma'an could not independently verify the allegations.
Center director Badi' Al-Masri said the documents show that Israeli Prison Service staff in the Ramle prison prescribed unapproved, experimental drugs to sick prisoners to determine the drug's success rate.
"Instead of testing out new medicines on rats and animals, they are using detainees - and many are dying after their release from unknown causes," Al-Masri said.
He said one such case was that Foad Al-Shar’ from north the Gaza Strip who passed away from undetermined causes upon his release after being prescribed medicine in jail.
Ma’an – A group of Palestinian civil societies described on Tuesday a US grocery store's decision to remove all Israeli produce from its shelves as "moral and courageous."
On 15 July, the Olympia Food Co-op board of directors decided to boycott Israeli goods at their two locations in Olympia, Wash., apparently making it the first US grocery store to publicly join the international boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement.
"While Israel continues to ravage Palestinian livelihoods with full impunity the Olympia Food Co-op’s decision to boycott Israeli products presents a moral, effective and timely response that promises, if emulated across the US, to significantly challenge Israel’s criminal impunity, furthering the chances for respect for human rights and a measure of justice for the Palestinians," the statement read.
The move was applauded by the General Union of Palestinian Peasants and Co-op Groups, the Union of Palestinian Farmers, the Grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, the National Committee for Popular Resistance, the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees, the Union of Palestinian Agricultural Engineers, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, and the Popular Committees Against the Wall and Settlements in Nil’in, Bil’in, Al-Ma'asara, An-Nabi Salih, Budros, Beit Jala, and Wadi Rahal.
In May, the Italian Coalition Against Carmel-Agrexco announced that two major Italian supermarket chains, COOP and Nordiconad, would suspend the sale of products from a settlement goods exporter as the Palestinian-led boycott movement gains international ground.
Ma'an – "It was not at all rational, the way it's written in the news; it was chaos," a member of Ma'an's TV crew said after being caught up in the middle of Tuesday's settler violence near Nablus.
"With the settlers, you just don't know what they're going to do, who they'll target," she said.
A Ma'an van was en route to Nablus to film an episode of a quiz show and had just passed a checkpoint when those inside were introduced firsthand to the unpredictable violence in the northern West Bank.
Muhammad Fawzi, one of Ma’an’s senior TV executives, was in the van and immediately called in the story to headquarters in Bethlehem. Even after the news was in and the story published, however, he and his crew were trapped at the closed Huwwara checkpoint watching the story as it continued to unfold.
Amongst the large number of Israeli rioters, Fawzi explained, three stood out. "They made me nervous," he said, describing them as extremist settlers dressed as religious Jews.
"They stood beside their olive-green Chevrolet. It had a yellow license-plate (52-567-28) and stickers with racist anti-Arab slogans like 'death to the Arabs.' The stickers practically covered the windshield," he said.
"They just stood and watched as dozens of others threw flaming rags and bottles at Palestinian fields."
As the van drove on, Fawzi said, "Fires erupted over an entire hill, burning trees which Palestinian farmers spent their entire lives tending. Firefighters seemed unable to put out the blaze due to their humble equipment, but when they put one out there were a dozen others started by the settlers who continued to throw the lit rags."
He continued: "Firefighters were struggling to put out the blaze they set in the olive groves. The crews were trying their best, but you could see their equipment wasn't efficient; they struggled as the fire raged."
Israel's military, which is itself often the target of setter violence in the north, condemned Tuesday's riots and vowed to maintain order. But the army also says much of it is hard to predict.
Another Ma'an crew member, a European national who has covered the West Bank for a number of years for MaanImages, said that what struck her about the incident was the unpredictability.
"The soldiers just stood there watching the settlers destroy things," she explained. "At one point as we tried to drive through the riots, the yellow-plated car came speeding toward us."
Fawzi said the car was driven by a settler who followed the crew. "They were honking the horn and leaning out the window screaming filthy curses at us. Then when we moved to the side of the road they continued and almost collided with several other Palestinian cars."
The most consistent comments from the Ma'an crew, as they returned from what they assumed would be an ordinary day filming another round of their show, were about the attitude of those they observed.
"It was awful seeing the young people - both settler and soldier - how they acted. It was as if these young extremists were trained to bare a grudge against Palestinians," Fawzi said.
Even as employees of the largest news network in Palestine, those in the van said the violence was unnerving. They were taken aback by the depth of violence they witnessed, which they said media reports about the incident were unable to convey.
Conventional reporting indeed prioritizes fact over emotion.
"Residents of an illegal Israeli settlement rioted Monday in the northern West Bank, protesting the demolition of structures built in an adjoining outpost," Ma'an's Nablus correspondent, Mahmoud Barham, reported a day earlier.
Ha'aretz - In second attempt at easing the backlash of his comments earlier this week, Stone says he is categorically opposed to anti-Semitism.
The Anti-Defamation League has accepted Wednesday Oliver Stone's second apology over remarks he had made in an interview to the Sunday Times earlier week, in which he spoke out against what he saw as the negative influence of U.S. Jews on Washington's foreign policy as well against conceived notions of the Holocaust.
On Sunday, the famed director told the Times of London that Jewish control of the media was preventing an open discussion of the Holocaust, adding that the U.S. Jewish lobby has been controlling Washington's foreign policy for years.
"I do agree that it was wrong of me to say that Israel or the pro-Israel lobby is to blame for America’s flawed foreign policy," Stone said in a statement released Wednesday, adding that his comment was "not true and I apologize that my inappropriately glib remark has played into that negative stereotype."
Stone also added that he was "categorically opposed to anti-Semitism – and all other racist ideologies."
The ADL responded with satisfaction to the director's second attempt at an apology, with director Abraham H. Foxman saying he believed Stone "now understands the issues and where he was wrong, and this puts an end to the matter.”
Stone's apology came after a first attempt to appease the maelstrom which rose in the wake of his controversial comments to the Times on Monday was considered "insufficient" by Foxman, who had said that "Oliver Stone's apology stops short and is therefore insufficient."
In the first apology statement, Stone added that he did not believe that Jews control the media, or any other industry, and that the fact that the Holocaust was still an important and current topic is actually a great achievement and a credit to those committed to perpetuating the memory of the atrocities committed during that period.
That first statement by Stone, however, was found unsatisfactory by Foxman, who said that "while [Stone] now admits that Jews do not control Hollywood, the media and other industries, he ignores his assertion that Jews are '...the most powerful lobby in Washington' and that 'Israel has f***** up United States foreign policy.' This is another conspiratorial anti-Semitic canard that Mr. Stone needs to repudiate."
Immigrants applying for marriage licenses are being asked by local rabbinical courts to produce ritual wedding contracts from their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents or other often unattainable documents to prove their Jewishness, Anglo File has learned.
One rabbi close to the affair called the new process "unprecedented humiliation," and said it was the direct consequence of new guidelines to prove Jewishness the Chief Rabbinate recently implemented.
Ha'aretz - South African Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu said on Wednesday that he supports the Olympia Food Co-op's boycott of Israeli products.
South African Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu issues statement of support for boycott announced by food co-op in Rachel Corrie's hometown of Olympia, Washington.
South African Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu said on Wednesday that he supports the Olympia Food Co-op's boycott of Israeli products.
The Olympia Food Co-op, located in Olympia, Washington, the hometown of the International Solidarity Movement activist Rachel Corrie who was killed seven years ago in Gaza, announced last week that no Israeli products would be sold at its two grocery stores in the city.
Ron Prosor, the Israeli ambassador to London, has met Sheikh Khalid bin Saqr al-Qasimi. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty ImagesIsrael is aiding an exiled Arab sheikh who is vying to seize control of a strategically important Gulf emirate only 40 miles fromIran.
The Israeli ambassador to London, Ron Prosor, has met Sheikh Khalid bin Saqr al-Qasimi, the exiled crown prince of Ras al-Khaimeh (RAK), who asked him to help with his campaign to oust the leadership of the northernmost state in the United Arab Emirates.
The meeting took place in London in March and has been followed by phone calls and wider assistance and advice, according to records of the relationship seen by the Guardian.
Khalid, who has been based in London and has hired a solicitor from Ickenham as his agent, is bidding to replace his ailing father, Sheikh Saqr, and half brother, Sheikh Saud, to take control of RAK.
Israel's involvement in what would be a bloodless coup in one of the most sensitive regions in the world, would be "extremely uncomfortable", according to Dr Christopher Davidson, an expert on the politics of the UAE at Durham University.
Khalid, who was sent into exile in 2003, claims RAK is now acting as a trafficking hub for nuclear arms parts to Iran and has spent more than £4m on an international public relations and lobbying campaign to persuade American politicians and the pro-Israel lobby in the US that it would be safer if he were in charge.
The alliance with Israel is the latest twist in the already extraordinary saga of Khalid's bid to return to power. In June the Guardian revealed that his fighting fund was being channelled through Peter Cathcart, a 59-year-old miniature steam railway enthusiast and parish council chairman who runs a family firm of solicitors in Ickenham, west London.
He in turn was spending it on top Washington lobbyists, Californian PR consultants and military experts to draw up dossiers damning the regime in RAK.
Prosor has pressed his contacts in the US government on behalf of Khalid whose aides asked for help setting up meetings in Washington with anyone interested in their claims about RAK's alleged sanctions busting, particularly concerning parts for the Iranian nuclear programme, plot records seen by this newspaper show.
An email from Cathcart to the ambassador's office reports that "His Highness … very much enjoyed his meeting with the ambassador".
In April Cathcart arranged for the two men to speak on the phone when the sheikh was in Oman and a note of the conversation recorded by Cathcart shows the ambassador "is working with certain people from his side" and "promised that the matter will be solved in his [the sheikh's] favour".
Sheikh Saqr is understood to be dying in hospital in Abu Dhabi and his son, Sheikh Saud, 54, the sitting crown prince, has been told to begin preparations for his wake, a significant event in emirates politics, which is likely to be attended by Abu Dhabi's rulers, who will have a large influence over which of the sons will succeed him.
"By meeting with the Israeli ambassador, he is sending out signals to Abu Dhabi and Washington DC that he will be hawkish on Iran if it comes to war," said Davidson. "This is a new kind of coup. It doesn't involve slitting throats, but instead spending large sums of money on global communications. It is the first of its kind and I am betting on it being successful. I think by the end of the summer we will have a verdict."
Asked about Israel's involvement, Peter Ragone, a spokesman for Khalid, said: "There is significant interest in the current RAK regime's relationship to Iran, particularly in the context of trying to stop the flow of arms, goods and technology from going through RAK to the Islamic Republic. Sheikh Khalid and representatives from his team meet with elected officials, high-ranking government officials and media representatives of various countries all the time. In fact, this week Sheikh Khalid's representatives are in Washington DC meeting representatives of the US foreign policy/national security establishment who are very concerned about the activity in RAK."
Odelia Englander, a spokeswoman at the Israeli embassy in London, declined to comment.
American Conservative - Philip Giraldi - House of Representatives resolution 1553, introduced by Congressional Republicans, and currently working its way through the system will endorse an Israeli attack on Iran, which would be going to war by proxy as the US would almost immediately be drawn into the conflict when Tehran retaliates. The resolution provides explicit US backing for Israel to bomb Iran, stating that Congress supports Israel’s use of “all means necessary…including the use of military force”.
The resolution is non-binding, but it is dazzling in its disregard for the possible negative consequences that would ensue for the hundreds of thousands of US military and diplomatic personnel currently serving in the Near East region. Even the Pentagon opposes any Israeli action against Iran, knowing that it would mean instant retaliation against US forces in Iraq and also in Afghanistan. The resolution has appeared, not coincidentally, at the same time as major articles by leading neoconservatives Reuel Marc Gerecht and Bill Kristol calling for military action. AIPAC thinks it is wonderful.
Ironically, the push against Iran comes at a time when the National Intelligence Estimate on the country is being finished. It might come out as soon as August, but it will be secret and its conclusions will either be leaked or released in summary. My sources inside the intelligence community insist that it will support the 2007 NIE that concluded that Iran no longer has a weapons program. The White House has delayed the process seeking harder language to justify a range of options against Iran, including a military strike, but the analysts are reported to be resisting. So we spend $100 billion on intelligence annually and then ignore the best judgments on what is taking place. Might as well use a Ouija board.
111th CONGRESS
2d Session H. RES. 1553
Expressing support for the State of Israel’s right to defend Israeli sovereignty, to protect the lives and safety of the Israeli people, and to use all means necessary to confront and eliminate nuclear threats posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran [even though US intelligence consistently indicates that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program and even though Israel does possess hundreds of nuclear weapons], including the use of military force if no other peaceful solution can be found within reasonable time to protect against such an immediate and existential threat to the State of Israel.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 22, 2010
Mr. GOHMERT (for himself, Mr. AKIN, Mrs. BACHMANN, Mr. BARTLETT, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. BONNER, Mr. BROUN of Georgia, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mr. CHAFFETZ, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. CULBERSON, Ms. FALLIN, Mr. FLEMING, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. GINGREY of Georgia, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. GRIFFITH, Mr. HENSARLING, Mr. HERGER, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. LATTA, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. MARCHANT, Mr. NEUGEBAUER, Mr. PENCE, Mr. PITTS, Mr. POSEY, Mr. PRICE of Georgia, Mr. OLSON, Mr. ROONEY, Mrs. SCHMIDT, Mr. SHADEGG, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mr. WESTMORELAND, Mr. ROSKAM, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. JORDAN of Ohio, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. KINGSTON, and Mr. CARTER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
CounterPunch - Jonathan Cook - A decision by Israel’s Supreme Court to double a 15-month jail term for a policeman who shot dead an unarmed Palestinian driver suspected of stealing a car has provoked denunciations from police commanders and government officials.
Yitzhak Aharonovitch, the internal security minister, condemned the judges for “sending a terrible message to police officers”.
On the advice of police lawyers, the accused policeman, Shahar Mizrahi, had appealed his conviction last year in the expectation that the ruling would be overturned by the Supreme Court.
Mr Aharonovitch and Dudi Cohen, the police commissioner, said they would immediately seek a presidential pardon for Mizrahi. “I won’t merely support a pardon bid, I’ll lead it,” Mr Aharonovitch said.
But groups representing Israel’s large Palestinian Arab minority said the outrage at the doubling of the 15-month sentence for Mizrahi reflected the reality that the police force expected impunity when it used violence against Israel’s Palestinian citizens, who comprise a fifth of the population.
At Mizrahi’s original trial last year, the district court judge, Menachem Finkelstein, ruled that the policeman had acted “recklessly” during an operation to stop car thefts in the Jewish town of Pardes Hanna in 2006.
Despite his life never being in danger, Mizrahi had used the butt of his gun to smash the window of a car in which Mahmoud Ghanaim, 24, was seated and shot him in the head from close range. The court also noted that Mizrahi had changed his testimony several times during the investigations.
According to Mossawa, an advocacy group, 40 Palestinian citizens have been killed in suspicious circumstances by the security forces over the past decade. Mizrahi is the first policeman to be convicted in such a case.
As of yesterday, an online petition calling on the Israeli president, Shimon Peres, to pardon Mizrahi had attracted more than 5,000 signatures in a few days, and a Facebook page supporting the policeman had 1,300 fans.
Gideon Levy, a columnist with the liberal Haaretz newspaper, warned yesterday that those “siding with Mizrahi are eager to have a police force that kills -- but just Arabs, of course”.
Jafar Farah, the director of Mossawa, said: “The atmosphere of racism in Israel is being used to destroy the legal system from the inside, using the justification that Arabs are being killed.
“The reality today is that the police can kill an Arab citizen in any circumstances and know that there is almost no chance they will pay a price. The safeguards are being stripped away.”
Relations between Israel’s Palestinian minority and the police have been marked by profound distrust since late 2000, when police shot dead 13 protesters and wounded hundreds more during largely non-violent demonstrations in the Galilee at the start of the second intifada.
A subsequent state commission of inquiry found that the police had a long-standing policy of treating the country’s 1.3 million Palestinian citizens “as an enemy” and recommended that several officers be prosecuted for their role in the 13 deaths.
After a long delay, state prosecutors announced in 2008 that no one would be charged.
In several speeches since he took over as security minister last year, Mr Aharonovitch has promised measures to restore the minority’s faith in the police, including recruiting more police officers from the Palestinian population and fighting high rates of crime in Arab communities.
According to a police report submitted to the parliament earlier this year, only 382 of more than 21,000 police officers are Muslim – or less than two per cent.
At the appeal hearing last week, the Supreme Court increased Mizrahi’s jail sentence after ruling that Judge Finkelstein had not given enough weight to the victim’s life and the value of deterring similar police behaviour in the future. Under police regulations, Mizrahi was entitled only to shoot out the car’s tyres or fire at Ghanaim’s legs.
Immediately after the ruling, Mr Aharonovitch reported that he had called Mizrahi to tell him: “Your fight has become all of our fight.”
He was backed by several retired police commanders and a Likud MP, Danny Danon, who said he would submit a bill barring the indictment of police officers who open fire when they believe they are in danger.
In a sign of the mounting pressure from police groups on the Supreme Court, it issued a rare “clarification” statement of its judgment, pointing out that Ghanaim’s car was travelling too slowly to have ever put Mizrahi in any danger.
Mr Farah added that Mossawa’s investigations had revealed that, despite police claims, Ghanaim was the documented owner of the car he was driving.
The police, Mr Farah added, had supported Mizrahi throughout the case and had continued paying his police salary after his conviction.
The court’s decision to increase Mizrahi’s sentence came in the wake of strong suspicions that police officers executed a Palestinian driver in East Jerusalem last month, shooting him twice in the head from close range as he lay on the ground.
Moments earlier, Ziad Jilani, who was married with three children, had fled on foot after driving into a detail of police, injuring several officers, in the Wadi Joz neighbourhood. Witnesses said a stone had smashed his windscreen seconds before he swerved.
In one of the few other recent prosecutions of a policeman for killing a Palestinian citizen, Rubi Gai was acquitted last year of the manslaughter of Nadim Milham, who was shot in the back during a police search of his home for weapons. Witnesses testified that police had beaten Milham and that he was shot as he fled.
A survey published last month by Haifa University found that only one in five Palestinian citizens expressed faith in the police.
Mr Aharonovitch upset the Palestinian minority last year during an inspection of undercover narcotics agents in Tel Aviv. He was caught on camera telling one detective dressed as a drug addict he looked like “a real Araboosh”, a derogatory Hebrew term for Arabs.
The minister, who is a member of Avigdor Lieberman’s far-right party Yisrael Beiteinu, apologised but added that the comment was a “moment of banter”.
Mahash, the justice ministry’s police investigations unit, has been harshly criticised for the small proportion of complaints against the police it agrees to investigate. It rarely prosecutes officers.
The police have also refused to cooperate in imposing official sanctions on wayward officers, with critics saying that officers found to have acted negilgently or violently towards Palestinian citizens are often rewarded with promotion.
The state commission of inquiry into the killing by police of 13 Palestinian protesters in October 2000 recommended that several officers be dismissed from service or denied promotion. The recommendations were disregarded.
In one notorious case, the commission found that Benzi Sau, a northern Border Police commander, had acted with gross negligence in allowing snipers to shoot at stone-throwing demonstrators. Despite suggesting a ban on his promotion for four years, he rapidly rose through the ranks, becoming head of the Border Police in Jerusalem in 2001 and national head of the Border Police in 2004.
Ma'an – The Gaza government delivered the second part of its follow-up report to the UN on Tuesday, responding to allegations brought forward by justice Richard Goldstone into Operation Cast Lead, officials said.
Gaza Minister of Justice Mohammad Farraj Al-Ghul told reporters that a copy of the report was sent to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN Human Rights Council via the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Gaza City, as well as to "a number of involved organizations."
"An independent committee headed by the former assistance to the Egyptian foreign minister, Abdallah Al-Ash'al, and other experts followed up with investigations that were carried out. The credibility of the procedures were in accordance with Goldstone's recommendations," the minister said.
Al-Ghoul said the Hamas-led government was keen to deal with international committees to follow up on Israeli violations of law and agreements, calling on governments to "chase war criminals [because] not getting them gives them more freedom to commit more crimes."
The minister further called on Prosecutor-General of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno-Ocampo to issue arrest warrants for Israel leaders suspected of war crimes, and urged the UN to implement "fair standards."
In January, the Gaza government delivered its 52-page response to the UN's report on the Gaza war after the report called for both Israel and the Palestinians to mount a credible, independent investigation into allegations of crimes within six months of its issuance.
The report found evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Israel's Operation Cast Lead both by the Israeli military and Hamas. Approximately 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis [4 in 'friendly fire'] were killed between 27 December and 18 January.
Ma'an – Israeli authorities will continue moving aid into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, and it is expected to open one crossing.
Twenty-five truckloads of aid will enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza, Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh said.
The cargo was sequestered at the port of Ashdod following Israel's raid on the Freedom Flotilla aid fleet in international waters on 31 May, killing nine Turks and a dual US national who were on board.
Additionally, 140 truckloads of humanitarian aid will be transferred through the southern terminal including two trucks of electricity poles, Fattouh said.
The Karni crossing in northern Gaza will remain closed, Fattouh added.
Ma'an – Planting initiatives in the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem began Tuesday on land threatened with confiscation for Israel's separation wall, officials said.
In the Husan village, west of Bethlehem, volunteers began cultivating 300 dunums of land near the illegal settlement of Betar Illit under a Palestinian Authority Ministry of Agriculture program initiated by the ministry's anti-wall and settlement activity unit.
Spokesman for the campaign against the wall and settlements in Bethlehem Awad Abu Sway said that while large portions of land in the area were planted with fruit trees, more needs to be "reclaimed, planted, and tended to, to avoid confiscation by Israel under the pretext of being wasteland."
Approximately 90 meters of fencing was erected on the land and the area was prepared for further planting, he added.
Meanwhile, in the Bethlehem-area town of Beit Sahour, 65 local and international volunteers participated in a similar initiative on land near the wall, undertaken by the Ajyal camp.
Approximately 180 volunteers will begin preparing land for cultivation in the Battir village to the west and the Al-Ma'sara to the south, both near the wall, and are scheduled to finish work on Thursday.
Ma'an - Egyptian forces took control of 10 smuggling tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border area of Salah Ad-Din in Rafah on Wednesday and thwarted a cement-smuggling operation, a security source said.
Forces seized a tunnel after receiving information on its location, the official told Ma'an. The tunnels were raided and 30 bags of cement were found inside. The smugglers fled the scene before security forces arrived.
The cement, weighing approximately 1.5 tons, was confiscated. The tunnels will be demolished, the source said.
Approximately 450 smuggling tunnels have been seized since the beginning of July as well as 11 tunnels used to transfer cars into Gaza, the source added.
Since Israel imposed its blockade of Gaza in 2006, residents began digging a network of underground smuggling routes to transfer goods barred from import by Israel, among them construction materials.
In response, Egypt began construction of an underground steel wall built to thwart smuggling efforts, which is scheduled for completion by the end of 2010. On Sunday, Egyptian government sources rebuffed rumors that smugglers had cut through the wall in continued efforts to bring goods into the Strip.
Ma'an – Israeli forces detained seven Palestinians overnight Tuesday from the town of Yatta in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, locals told Ma'an.
Yatta residents said Israeli troops stormed the town, searching and ransacking several homes before seven men were detained.
Ma'an - A summer camp for disabled children launched Tuesday in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.
The camp, One Nation, One People, hosted 130 children. It was organized by the Friends Society in coordination with Medical Aid for Palestinians.
Rafah Mayor Issa Al-Nasharwho, who attended the launch, praised the programs.
Society director Mahmoud Abu Morr said the camp's title was an invitation from the disabled population of Gaza to Palestinian factions, urging them to end internal division.
On that note, representatives from the student blocs of rival political factions Fatah and Hamas, for the first time since the national split, united Monday for a joint scout camp.
Organizers of the the Life Makers club concluded the camp, held in the Gaza strip, with calls for higher levels of the parties to take the "brave decision" to reconcile.
Transcirpt of speech given by Prime Minister David Cameron in Ankara, Turkey, on 27 July 2010.Prime Minister:
Thank you, Mr President, and thank you for that very warm welcome. I can tell from your enthusiasm and the enthusiasm of the entrepreneurs that I met outside this incredible building that there is an enormous spirit of enterprise and entrepreneurialism and industry and business and trade here in Turkey, and that is one of the reasons that I want our two countries to build this incredibly strong relationship that I will be speaking about this morning.
I have come to Ankara to establish a new partnership between Britain and Turkey. I think this is a vital strategic relationship for our country. As Prime Minister, I first visited our two largest European Union partners, then Afghanistan, then North America and now, I come to Turkey. People ask me, ‘Why Turkey?’ and, ‘Why so soon?’ Well, I can tell you why: because Turkey is vital for our economy, vital for our security and vital for our politics and our diplomacy.
Let me explain. First, our economy.
Over 400 years ago England’s first official diplomatic representative arrived in Istanbul. William Harborne came bearing gifts from Queen Elizabeth. As a nation, we sought the opportunity for our merchants to trade. More than 400 years on, I follow him to Turkey at least in part for the same reason.
I ask myself this: which European country grew at 11% at the start of this year? Which European country will be the second fastest growing economy in the world by 2017? Which country in Europe has more young people than any of the 27 countries of the European Union? Which country in Europe is our number one manufacturer of televisions and second only to China in the world in construction and in contracting? Tabii ki Türkiye.
Everyone is talking about the BRICs, the fast-growing emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Turkey is Europe’s BRIC, and yet in Britain we export more to Ireland than we export to Brazil, Russia, India, China and Turkey all combined. With no disrespect to our partners and friends in Ireland, we have to change that. That is the first reason I am here today and it is why I have chosen to come to TOBB, right in the heart of the Turkish business community.
The second reason for coming to Turkey is security.
Turkey is a great NATO ally and Turkey shares our determination to fight terrorism in all its forms, whether from al-Qaeda or from the PKK. Yesterday we had yet another reminder of the human price that Turkey pays in facing up to terrorism. As a friend who has also suffered from terrorism, including right here in this country, we stand with you and we will do all we can to help ensure that democracy and the rule of law always win against terror.
You are not just a great ally; the fact is that Turkey’s unique position at the meeting point of East and West gives you an unrivalled influence in helping us to get to grips with some of the greatest threats to our collective security.
I ask myself this: which country, with its commitment to the international effort in Afghanistan, sends a message to the world that this is a fight not against Muslims but against terrorism? Which Muslim majority country has a long established relationship with Israel while at the same time championing the rights of Palestine? Which European country could have the greatest possible chance of persuading Iran to change its course on nuclear policy? Tabii ki Türkiye.
Whether in Afghanistan or in the Middle East, Turkey has a credibility that others in the West just cannot hope to have. So I have come here today to make the case for Turkey to use this credibility, to go further in enhancing our security and working for peace across our world.
The third reason I am here is political.
I am here to make the case for Turkey’s membership of the European Union and to fight for it. Do you know who said this? ‘Here is a country which is not European, its history, its geography, its economy, its agriculture and the character of its people – admirable people though they are – all point in a different direction. This is a country which cannot, despite what it claims and perhaps even what it believes, be a full member.’
Now, that might sound like some Europeans describing Turkey. Actually it was General de Gaulle describing the United Kingdom, my country, before vetoing our accession to the European Union. So we know what it is like to be shut out of the club, but we also know that these things can change.
When I think about what Turkey has done to defend Europe as a NATO ally and what Turkey is doing today in Afghanistan alongside our European allies, it makes me angry that your progress towards EU membership can be frustrated in the way that it has been. My view is clear: I believe it is just wrong to say that Turkey can guard the camp but not be allowed to sit in the tent.
I will remain your strongest possible advocate for EU membership and for greater influence at the top table of European diplomacy. This is something I feel very strongly and very passionately about. Together I want us to pave the road from Ankara to Brussels.
To make the case for Turkey’s membership of the EU and to seize the huge advances I believe that we can make in our trade and in our security, there are three groups that we have to take on directly.
First, there are the protectionists. They see the rise of a country like Turkey as an economic threat we must defend against, not as an opportunity to further our prosperity.
Second, there are the polarised. They see the history of the world through the prism of a clash of civilisations. They think that Turkey has to choose between East and West and that choosing both is just not an option.
Third, there is the prejudiced, those who wilfully misunderstand Islam. They see no difference between real Islam and the distorted version peddled by the extremists. They think the problem is Islam itself and they think the values of Islam can just never be compatible with the values of other religions, societies or cultures.
All these arguments are just plain wrong, and as a new Government in Britain, I want us to be at the forefront of the international effort to defeat these arguments and I want to take each one in turn.
First, the protectionists.
Every generation has to make the argument for free trade all over again and this generation will be no different. As we build our economic relationship there are some who fear the growth of a country like Turkey, who want to retreat and cut themselves off from the rest of the world. They just don’t get it. They seem to think that trade is a sort of zero-sum game. They talk about it quite literally as if one country’s success is another country’s failure. That if our exports grow, then someone else’s must shrink. That somehow if we import low-cost goods – including from Turkey – that we are failing. As if all the benefits of Turkey’s exports go to Turkey alone when actually we benefit too from choice, from competition, from low prices in our shops. The whole point about trade is that everyone can benefit from it.
So let me tell you what we are going to do to beat the protectionists. We are going to work harder than ever before to break down those barriers to trade that still exist, to cut the global red tape, like by streamlining customs bureaucracy and to work towards completing the trade round that could add $170 billion to the world economy. Prime Minister Erdogan and I were discussing this last night, how we can push forward at the G20 this autumn and we’re going to do everything we can to re-open Britain for business.
Two hundred years on from William Harborne, the first resident Turkish Ambassador arrived in London. One of his team wrote the first Turkish account of life in Britain. He said quite simply, ‘British weather is disagreeable.’ I’m not sure much has changed on that front, and I certainly can’t change the weather, but I can do a lot to change the climate for trade and investment in Britain. That’s why we are cutting corporation tax to 24%, the lowest in the G7. We’re creating the most competitive corporate tax regime in the G20. And we are cutting the time it takes to set up a business.
We are welcoming new business to Britain. And we are delighted that so many Turkish people are visiting, studying, and doing business so successfully in the United Kingdom. And we are encouraging British business to be more ambitious in developing new markets, as Turkish businesses have done. Vodafone, Tesco and HSBC are just three of the big British investments already in Turkey. I want to see many, many more.
Today the value of our trade is over $9 billion a year. I want us to double this over the next five years. We cannot let the protectionists win the argument. The truth is that trade is the biggest wealth creator we have ever known. And when we talk about stimulus it is trade and a trade deal that can give the biggest stimulus to our economies right now.
Second, let me turn to the next group of objectors, the polarised.
They see the history of our world as a clash of civilisations, as a choice between East and West. They just don’t get the fact that Turkey can be a great unifier, because instead of choosing between East and West, Turkey has chosen both. And it’s this opportunity to unite East and West that gives Turkey such an important role with countries in the region in helping us to deliver improved security for all of us.
This matters most of all in Afghanistan. Turkey provides a vital transport hub for equipment heading to Afghanistan for the fight against the Taliban. But it also has a unique influence in promoting the regional, political and economic cooperation that is so crucial to Afghanistan’s stability and security. For international forces to leave we need to know that the Afghans can take control of their own security. That means the development of the Afghan National Security Forces is absolutely vital. And I welcome Turkey’s plans to do even more military and police training.
Just as Turkey is playing a pivotal role in Afghanistan, it can also do so in the Middle East. Turkey’s relationships in the region, both with Israel and the Arab world, are of incalculable value. No other country has the same potential to build understanding between Israel and the Arab world. I know that Gaza has led to real strains in Turkey’s relationship with Israel, but Turkey is a friend of Israel, and I urge Turkey, and Israel, not to give up on that friendship.
Let me be clear: the Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla was completely unacceptable. And I have told Prime Minister Netanyahu we will expect the Israeli inquiry to be swift, transparent and rigorous. Let me also be clear that the situation in Gaza has to change. Humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions. Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp.
But as, hopefully, we move in the coming weeks to direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians so it is Turkey that can make the case for peace and Turkey that can help press the parties to come together and point the way to a just and viable solution.
And, just as we look to Turkey to play this role in the Middle East, so it is Turkey that can help us to stop Iran from getting the bomb.
A Palestinian girl stands in a tent used as a temporary shelter in Jabaliya in northern Gaza on 28 June 2009, following the destruction of several residential areas during Israel`s winter offensive. [MaanImages/Wissam Nassar]
Ma'an - Salah Jalal Abu Leila lives in a crowded tent with his family of 12 beside a dusty main street in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya; they have been living here for more than a year.
"Our home was completely destroyed in the war. I worked for 16 years in Israel to build my home and in one attack the Israelis destroyed everything I worked to build," Abu Leila says.
Unemployed since 2002, when he was denied access to his job in Israel, Salah is unable to rent an apartment and move from his government-allocated tent like the rest of the families who, too, were forced to take up temporary residence on this patch of sand after their homes were destroyed during the latest Israeli military offensive in December 2008 and January 2009.
Almost none of these families, however — and Salah's as well — have been able to begin to rebuild their homes and resume their lives due to the ban on construction materials as part of the total closure imposed by Israel since June 2007. For Salah and his family, life has been put on hold and he has little choice but to wait for the opportunity to begin again.
Over 16,000 homes were damaged during the latest Israeli offensive, 2,114 of which — like Salah's — were completely destroyed. As a result, more than 51,000 Palestinians were made homeless. Most sought refuge with family members in Gaza's urban centers, adding to the already highly congested living conditions in the Gaza Strip.
Without cement, steel, lumber, or glass — all denied entry by Israel and Egypt — most of those displaced during the war remain so more than one year after the vicious attack. Their homes and other civilians buildings which were reduced to rubble by Israeli rockets continue to serve as a striking reminder of the extensive damage wrought by the war, and the inability to repair them and return home has greatly exacerbated the psychosocial distress of the 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza who are forced to live amidst the ruins.
Since June 2007, when Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip, Israel has tightened its grip on the coastal territory, shifting to a policy of complete closure which allows only the bare minimum level of humanitarian assistance — enough to sustain life and little more — from a policy of selective closure employed since the early 1990s. While Salah's home remains in ruins due in large part to the ban of construction goods under the complete closure, the misery caused to him by the Israeli-imposed closure did not begin in 2007.
Salah worked as a plumber in Israel for 16 years, one of the 26,000 Palestinians from Gaza who used to commute daily to Israel for work. Beginning in 2002, however, the Israeli-controlled Erez border crossing was closed for Palestinian civilians and Salah lost his coveted job. Sitting on his dirt floor, chickens and children scurrying around him, he speaks of his 16 years in Israel with nostalgia:
"The money was very good then. I could support my family with no problem and I had very good relationships with my Israeli colleagues. Sometimes our families would get together for dinner and celebrations," he says.
Now only approximately 100 people cross through the Erez crossing per day and these are either international aid workers or Palestinians seeking urgent medical treatment. For Salah, the restriction of movement has meant unemployment and poverty: after losing his job in Israel, he returned to a job market in Gaza where unemployment now runs close to 55 percent.
"Since 2002 I have not been able to go to Israel to work and now I have been unemployed for many years. I have no money to rent an apartment in Gaza City like the other families who were living in this area. I have 12 children. How can I take care of them? How long can we all live in one tent? I asked the government to help me, but they said there is nothing they can do because they cannot get the material to build new houses. I am a Palestinian civilian. I am not political. What did I do to deserve this?"
Salah is far from alone in his difficult situation. Just across the street in Beit Lahiya, in an empty office above a semi-operational gas station, lives Sabah Al-Attar and her family. "Our home was completely destroyed on the first day of the war [27 December 2008]," Sabah explains, waving her arms in an emphatic gesture to illustrate the totality of the destruction.
"Since then we have been living in an empty office above a petrol station nearby," she says, "but the government discovered us and is forcing us to leave because it is very dangerous to live here due to the large gas tank directly below us. They say if we don't leave by the end of the month, we will have to pay a 10,000 [shekel] fine."
For over a year Sabah and her family have been living in an empty office on the second floor of this gas station. Their home was destroyed and the tent provided to them was confiscated. Because of the dangerous living conditions, Sabah's family is being forced to leave, although they have nowhere to go.
After the war, Sabah and her family were simply glad that they survived the attack: as their home was being bombed, they were fired upon by Israeli troops as they attempted to evacuated the burning building. They are grateful to have each other, but more than a year later, still homeless, jobless and with no support, this remains all that they have as they try to gather the pieces of their broken lives.
"We don't have anywhere to go. We have no home, no work, nothing," she says.
Under the new arrangement announced in early July by the Israeli authorities following international condemnation of the raid on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla in international waters, Israel will permit increased flows of construction materials for PA-approved projects overseen by international organizations. The reconstruction of family homes, like Salah's and Sabah's, falls outside the scope of most of these projects, however. Essential construction goods like cement and lumber beams will continue to be denied entry to the civilian population of the Gaza Strip by Israel as "dual-use goods" — meaning that they ostensibly possess military use — despite the fact that these goods do not appear on any internationally-recognized dual use list.
In this respect, it is easy to understand Salah's pessimism with regard to the recent announcements. "I have no hope that the materials will be let in under the new policy. I hoped for three years now that the closure would end, but nothing has changed." For now, there is little he can do but wait.
Ma'an – The Gaza government will begin taking recruits for an internal, voluntary military service in the coming months, the Strip's interior minister announced Tuesday.
Fathi Hammad, speaking at a ceremony inaugurating the new office of the director general for police training, said the recruitment process would be governed by an appointed committee that was in the final stages of preparation.
After a study on voluntary recruitment, Interior Ministry spokesman Ihab Al-Ghussein said the committee would submit a series of recommendations to the minister. In turn, the minister will make amendments to the recommendations and pass off the file to the government for ratification.
In the Tuesday edition of the Gaza-based newspaper Ar-Risala, an unnamed source was quoted as saying the voluntary recruitment would quickly become a mandatory service requirement seen as a "religious duty" for men of the Strip.
Responding to the report, Al-Ghussein said a possible switch to mandatory service had not yet been discussed.
Restrictions eased for Israeli imports
Meanwhile, the Hamas-led Transport Ministry in Gaza says that it will begin allowing merchants to purchase cargo trucks from Israel.
Director of the ministry's Vehicle Engineering Department Hassan Ukasha said the decision came after several trucks were damaged during Operation Cast Lead between December 2008 and January 2009 had yet to be replaced.
Ukasha said the move would "test how serious" Israel was in implementing its ease of the blockade following an increase in trucks entering Gaza from 150 to 250.
The ministry issued new minimum-standard guidelines for the cargo trucks, which must hold a minimum of 27 tons and be made from 1998 onward.
Israel announced in mid-June that it would be easing certain terms of its four-year blockade of Gaza and allow in previously-barred goods. Additionally, a list of banned items for import was published, which includes what Israel describes as "dual use" materials largely for the construction industry.
This site is a project of If Americans Knew, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization directed by Americans without ethnic ties to the Middle East dedicated to providing information to the American public. Journalism has been called the "first draft of history." In this blog we are alerting readers to aspects of this draft that are being omitted by most American media.
Due to staffing limitations, we will not always be able to post the latest news. However, we feel that by scanning previous entries, readers will obtain an understanding of ongoing activities largely going unreported by American media.
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