Land theft and destruction/Ethnic cleansing
Officials press Obama on Jerusalem ‘ethnic cleansing’
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Palestinian officials from across the political spectrum lodged a petition at the US Consulate on Thursday urging President Barack Obama to stop "ethnic cleansing" in Jerusalem. The group, which included former Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Khalid Abu Arafah and Jerusalem Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, specifically addressed the expulsion of lawmakers. Abu Arafah is one of four lawmakers at risk of removal from the city.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=296239
Hamas representatives barricade themselves in East Jerusalem
Three Hamas representatives barricaded themselves in a building of the International Committee of the Red Cross in East Jerusalem on Thursday, in a show of protest against Israel’s decision to revoke their permanent residence status. The decision to confiscate ID cards of Mohammed Totah, Ahmed Attoun and Khaled Abu Arafeh to deport them from the city was taken by the Israeli Interior Ministry because of their affiliation with the Islamic resistance movement Hamas. Earlier, the three demanded an immediate release of Hamas representative Mohammed Abu Tir from an Israeli prison. [end]
http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/07/01/11229926.html
Israel delays trial for Jerusalem MP
Jerusalem – Ma’an – An Israeli court has delayed the trial for Palestinian lawmaker Mohammad Abu Teir, his lawyer said Thursday. Attorney Fadi Qawasmi told Ma’an that his client would return to court Sunday, when the judge would hear an extended defense. The lawyer’s remarks were expected to run long, but the judge’s schedule did not permit arguments to continue Thursday, Qawasmi said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=296269
Israeli leftists: Jerusalem mayor is handing the city to settlers
Peace Now and Meretz launch a campaign against Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, who recently backed a plan to demolish 22 Palestinian homes in Silwan to make way for a tourist center.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israeli-leftists-jerusalem-mayor-is-handing-the-city-to-settlers-1.299499?localLinksEnabled=false
Yossi Sarid: Jerusalem needs mayor who will divide it
Peace Now conference slams plan to demolish Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem, says Barkat ‘handing capital to settlers’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3913916,00.html
Israel steps up forced evictions of West Bank Palestinians
Amnesty International has urged the Israeli authorities to halt forced evictions of Palestinians in the West Bank after a recent spate of military eviction orders were served on Palestinians in the northern Jordan Valley.Amnesty International has urged the Israeli authorities to halt forced evictions of Palestinians in the West Bank after a recent spate of military eviction orders were served on Palestinians in the northern Jordan Valley. Seventeen families in the Jordan Valley area are at imminent risk of forced eviction after being issued with eviction orders last week.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/israel-steps-forced-evictions-west-bank-palestinians-2010-07-01
UN chief says Israeli settlements ‘undermine trust’ (AFP)
AFP – Israeli settlement building in the Occupied Territories is undermining trust in the peace process, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said in a letter made public Thursday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100701/wl_mideast_afp/moroccomideastun
Home demolitions, arrest raids as Israel implements Jerusalem "Master Plan" Report, The Electronic Intifada
Barkat’s "Master Plan" for the city includes accelerated Palestinian home demolitions, illustrated by his recently-announced plan to destroy 22 homes in Silwan, a neighborhood already ravaged by frequent house demolitions and takeovers of homes by armed Jewish settlers under protection from Israeli forces. "Earlier this week, after several years of controversy," reported the Palestine Monitor on 26 June, "the city formally approved an incendiary plan to raze 22 homes in the al-Bustan block of Silwan to make way for tourist sites and urban development … Jewish development companies have wedged settlers into the Palestinian neighborhood and funded archaeological digging where Palestinian buildings once stood" ("Israelis, Internationals Take Action Against Silwan Demolitions").
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11369.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Deleting The East
Three months ago Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “spat in Obama’s eye” by timing high-level diplomatic visits with the announcement of sweeping development plans in East Jerusalem. Now history repeats itself as Jerusalem announced its intention to implement an even more ambitious master plan, giving Israelis unprecedented residency rights in the prospective Palestinian capital. And once again, Bibi is off to Washington. Written by Michael Carpenter.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1469
Jerusalem Expulsions, JONATHAN COOK
Israeli human-rights groups and Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, have condemned a decision by Israel to expel four Palestinian politicians from East Jerusalem by the end of this week. The Israeli government revoked their residency rights in Jerusalem a few weeks ago, after claiming they were “in breach of trust” for belonging to a “foreign parliament”, a reference to the Palestinian Legislative Council.
http://www.counterpunch.com/cook07022010.html
Ir Amim: Price Tag In Silwan
The latest intention of realizing the three-year-old eviction and sealing order against Beit Yohanatan, located in the Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem, led Knesset member Uri Ariel to express his deep concern for the value of equality in the face of the law: in parallel to the eviction and sealing orders against Beit Yohanatan, Ariel demanded that the city destroy hundreds of Palestinian houses in Silwan that also have had demolition orders served against them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ir-amim/price-tag-in-silwan_b_631949.html
Solidarity/Activism/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
UK: Intruders acquitted for ‘preventing war crimes in Gaza’
Israeli ambassador furious after court clears five residents who caused £180,000 damage to Brighton arms factory, ruling they committed offense to prevent more serious crime.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3914014,00.html
Queers Against Israeli Apartheid refuse to be silenced
On the morning of 25 May, the Board of Pride Toronto held a press conference on the lawn outside its offices to announce that the phrase "Israeli Apartheid" would be censored from the upcoming 2010 Pride Parade. The decision, aimed at banning the Toronto-based activist group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid from the parade, set off a firestorm in the community. Savannah Garmon comments for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11368.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, "Open Letter in Support of the Boycott of Arizona"
Naomi Klein: "In April 2007, special immigration agents with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, working along the Mexican border, went through an intensive eight-day training course put on by the Golan Group. The Golan Group was founded by ex-Israeli Special Forces officers and boasts more than 3,500 employees in seven countries. ‘Essentially we put an Israeli security spin on our procedures,’ Thomas Pearson, the company’s head of operations, explained of the training course, which covered everything from hand-to-hand combat to target practice to ‘getting proactive with their SUV.’ The Golan Group, now based in Florida but still marketing its Israeli advantage, also produces X-ray machines, metal detectors, and rifles. In addition to many governments and celebrities, its clients include ExxonMobil, Shell, Texaco, Levi’s, Sony, Citigroup, and Pizza Hut."
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/usacbi010710.html
Methodists vote for settlements boycott | Karen Burke
The Methodist Church voted on Wednesday to boycott products from Israeli settlements recognised as illegal under international law at its annual Conference in Portsmouth. It took the decision following a call from a group of Palestinian Christians, a number of Jewish organisations, both within Israel and worldwide, and the World Council of Churches.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/jul/02/religion-methodist-israel-boycott
British Band Cancels Israel dates
http://www.archiveofficial.com/tour/
CNN on the growing cultural boycott
Saying that Elton John has "stuck by his guns" certainly sounds different in this context.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/cnn-on-the-growing-cultural-boycott.html
One West Bank Town’s ‘Unarmed Courage’, Ellen Massey
Ayed Morrar is just one man. A quiet man, of small stature, whose kind but intense eyes look out from behind wire-rimmed glasses. But he is a man who has become the face of the Palestinian non-violent resistance movement. Morrar is the central figure in the recently released film Budrus, about the people of the Palestinian village of Budrus in the West Bank who persistently, and peacefully, resisted the encroachment of Israel’s "security" wall on their historical lands.
http://original.antiwar.com/ellen-massey/2010/07/01/one-west-bank-towns-unarmed-courage/
Art helps student who lost eye in Gaza protest
POTOMAC, Md. — The left lens of Emily Henochowicz’s black-framed eyeglasses is covered in tape that bears a black-and-white pattern she drew in marker. The design obscures her eye socket, but a faint scar is visible underneath where a tear gas canister fired by Israeli border police crushed several bones and took her left eye.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gYIdyEG1flAKmpENGdWPjjuoUd7gD9GMQNPO0
Violence and Aggression
Physicians for Human Rights –OPT: The Events in Silwan, June 27, 2010: Escalation in Police Violence and Attacks on Medical Personnel
Following the report published by Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-IL) after the events of March 16, 2010 in Jerusalem, we are issuing this update regarding violence by security forces directed against Palestinian residents of Jerusalem. This work is done based on our belief that violence – particularly violence committed by the security forces who are supposed to protect civilians – has destructive effects on everyday life and on the health and welfare of the civilians who are the victims of that violence.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MINE-86XQB9?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights: In Four Separate Incidents, the IOF Arrest Palestinian Patients at Erez, Attack different areas in the Gaza Strip and Invade North Gaza District
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued its siege on the Gaza Strip and deprived patients of access to hospitals. The IOF continued its aerial attacks throughout the Gaza Strip. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights condemns this and calls on the international community to promptly intervene and to ensure that Israel respects its obligations under the international humanitarian law (IHL).
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MINE-86XQ3C?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Israeli Injustice System: Charges dropped against three Israeli policemen accused of abusing Palestinian
Internal Investigations Department says the case is proceeding against a fourth officer, who police consider the main suspect in the alleged abuse.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/charges-dropped-against-three-israeli-policemen-accused-of-abusing-palestinian-1.299442?localLinksEnabled=false
Nameless Palestinian Detainees: over 650,000 detained since 1967 and counting…
70 Palestinian captives died under torture in Israeli jails
A human rights report revealed that 70 Palestinian captives died under torture in Israeli occupation jails since 1967.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k
Captured Occupation Soldier
Israel won’t pay ‘unlimited price’ to free soldier: PM (AFP)
AFP – Israel is ready to release 1,000 prisoners to secure the release of soldier Gilad Shalit but it will not pay an unlimited price, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100701/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictgazaprisonershalithamas
Prisoners’ families urge Shalits to squeeze gov’t
Families of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel hold press conference, urge parents of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit to increase pressure for deal.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3913937,00.html
Knesset West, Jeffrey Blankfort
House and Senate pass unanimous resolutions calling for the release of Gilad Shalit. Both passed by unanimous consent. One wonders when the last resolution was passed that even mentioned the name of an American soldier let alone concern for his or her well being.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/knesset-west.html
Jamal Dajani: How Gilad Shalit Will Save Netanyahu
Mark my words, Gilad Shalit is coming home. He will soon be set free but not because of German mediations or the thousands of appeals made by his parents and their supporters. He’s coming home because Bibi needs Gilad more than Gilad needs him.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamal-dajani/how-gilad-shalit-will-sav_b_633615.html
The Siege (Gaza & West Bank)/Humanitarian and Human Rights
Gaza siege damages Palestinians’ health – study
LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) – Palestinian health experts studying the impact of Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip say it threatens to cause long-term damage to Palestinians’ health, with many children at risk of stunted growth or malnutrition. In a series of studies published in the Lancet medical journal on Friday, researchers also said Israel’s attack on the region in early 2009 had a devastating effect, causing injury, displacement and social suffering, particularly among children.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE66027D.htm
1 in 4 Palestinian children goes without breakfast
The eating habits of children and adolescents are studied in one of the Abstracts published Online by The Lancet, with the disturbing findings that one in four children miss breakfast, one in 10 is anaemic, and one in 17 is stunted. Furthermore, 2% are underweight and 15% are either overweight or obese. This abstract is from a paper by Mrs Kholoud Nasser, Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Ramallah, oPt, and colleagues.
http://www.physorg.com/news197218538.html
Longer blackouts for Gaza, as politicians quarrel (AP)
AP – An escalating dispute between the rival Palestinian governments over who should pay Gaza’s electricity bill has caused some of the worst power cuts here in years, leaving Gazans stewing in sweltering heat and cursing politicians of all stripes.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100702/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_gaza_power_struggle
Obstacles on road to Gaza rebuilding
Gaza City – IRIN – Eighteen months after Israel’s 23-day offensive in the Gaza Strip, three-quarters of damaged homes, buildings and infrastructure remain unrepaired, according to a reconstruction needs assessment published by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Jerusalem. Around US$527 million is required to return Gaza to its pre-war state (in December 2008), UNDP said, adding that the figure was just a fraction of what was needed to repair and reverse the degradation of public and private infrastructure during the four-year Israeli blockade.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=295983
Frustration in Gaza at ‘bursting point’: UN official
TOKYO — Frustration among refugees in Gaza has reached "bursting point" with further unrest likely unless Israel lifts its blockade against them immediately, the head of a UN aid body said Friday. Filippo Grandi, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), also told reporters in Tokyo the UN body faces financial crisis, calling for more support from Japan and world donors.http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iSSewxRWWpd6zqJ9QOP12wb7llqA
Israel still ignores human toll of Gaza siege – Mya Guarnieri
The death of 19-year-old Fidaa Talal Hijjy stands as a stark reminder of the needs of the people of Gaza; needs that continue to be unmet amidst Israel’s empty face-saving promises to ease its siege. A resident of the Gaza Strip, Hijjy was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in 2007—the same year Israel’s blockade of Gaza tightened to the level that prompted 600 activists to board six ships bound for the coastal enclave in May.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=296082
U.N. starts distributing flotilla aid in Gaza Strip (Reuters)
Reuters – The United Nations has begun handing out humanitarian aid that was on a Gaza Strip-bound Turkish flotilla hit by a deadly Israeli commando raid last month, the U.N. press office said on Thursday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100701/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_un
Blair: Construction material will go to Gaza soon (AP)
AP – Mideast envoy Tony Blair says he expects sorely needed construction material to arrive in the Gaza Strip within two or three weeks, now that Israel has agreed to ease its blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100701/ap_on_re_eu/gaza_blockade
Israel‘s Arab Helpers
Dubai: Iran smuggles nuclear equipment via UAE ports
UAE ambassador to IAEA confirms reports of forbidden goods transiting Dubai to Iran.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3913926,00.html
Sons of Zayid heart Israel
"The flashpoints are Abu Dhabi’s lack of diplomatic relations with Israel, its intolerance of homosexuality, and its treatment of migrant labor, says Ross, president of NYU’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors. Sexton says Israeli professors will be able to travel to the campus, as well as gay students and teachers, and NYU is monitoring labor practices. Ronald W. Zweig, an NYU Israel studies professor and an Israeli citizen who traveled to Abu Dhabi, says officials there assured him he’d be able to come and go as he pleased and teach whatever he liked. "It’s certainly a potentially risky venture, given that NYU’s prestige is on the line," Zweig says. "It’s very brave that John Sexton is moving forward with it."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/07/sons-of-zayid-heart-israel.html
Flotilla Fallout/Investigation/Analysis
Lieberman demands Netanyahu’s backing in face of global backlash
Foreign minister furious after learning of government’s secret meetings with Turkey, arranged with Netanyahu’s blessing.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/lieberman-demands-netanyahu-s-backing-in-face-of-global-backlash-1.299576?localLinksEnabled=false
Netanyahu, Lieberman reconcile after feud over Turkey talks
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister meet for first time since senior cabinet minister held covert talks with Turkish PM.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/netanyahu-lieberman-reconcile-after-feud-over-turkey-talks-1.299710?localLinksEnabled=false
Turkey lays out conditions for better ties
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu laid out Turkey’s conditions for improved ties with Israel during a secretly held meeting with an Israeli Cabinet minister, his spokesman said Thursday. Davutoglu met with Israel’s Industry Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer in Brussels on Wednesday in an attempt to mend rapidly deteriorating ties over the deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid ships. The meeting, which became public after it was reported by Israeli TV, was the first contact between Turkish and Israeli government officials since relations between the two former allies reached a new low over the deaths of eight Turks and a Turkish-American in the raid.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ju3AAe6-3hF9Nlvh3Df8Ux_CPJzAD9GMECGO2
Turkish FM under fire for secret talks with Israeli minister
Two ministers tried to hammer out version of the apology Turkey is demanding over Israel deadly flotilla raid, Turkish sources report.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/turkish-fm-under-fire-for-secret-talks-with-israeli-minister-1.299577?localLinksEnabled=false
Turkey reiterates demands for amends by Israel
Ankara official confirms Brussels meeting between FM Davutoglu, Minister Ben-Eliezer, says Turkey’s top diplomat demanded Israel apologize, pay compensation, agree to UN inquiry into flotilla raid.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3913816,00.html
Israeli army delays results of Gaza flotilla probe (AFP)
AFP – The Israeli military said on Thursday that the results of an internal investigation into the deadly storming of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla would be delayed by a week.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100701/wl_mideast_afp/israelconflictgazaarmyprobe
Israel signals compensation for Mavi Marmara victims
Israel has signaled it may compensate and apologize to families of some of the victims of its aid-flotilla raid in comments during a covert meeting between Turkish and Israeli officials, the first high-level contact since the deadly attack.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=israel-signals-compensation-for-mavi-marmara-victims-2010-07-01
Rights group probes US agencies on foreknowledge of Israeli flotilla raid
What did we know, and when? That’s the gist of a series of Freedom of Information Act requests filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights, which hopes to learn more about any American involvement in or foreknowledge of the deadly flotilla raid that left nine peace activists dead, including a young, unarmed American citizen who was reportedly shot four times in the head. "One U.S. citizen was killed, others were injured, detained and had their property taken, and a U.S.-registered vessel seized by Israel during its attack in international waters last month," CCR attorney Katherine Gallagher said in a media advisory. "Serious questions remain unanswered about the U.S. response to the attack, its actions and policies, particularly in the context of the blockade of Gaza, internationally condemned as illegal and unjust. Citizens need to know their government will protect their rights under U.S. and international law vis-à-vis a foreign government, including Israel—the biggest recipient of U.S. aid over the last fifty years."
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0701/rights-group-probes-agencies-foreknowledge-israeli-flotilla-raid/
The attack on the Gaza relief flotilla jeopardizes Israel itself, John J. Mearsheimer
The bungled assault on the Mavi Marmara, the lead ship in the flotilla, shows once again that Israel is addicted to using military force yet unable to do so effectively. One would think that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would improve over time from all the practice. Instead, it has become the gang that cannot shoot straight.
http://amconmag.com/article/2010/aug/01/00010/
Mavi Marmara Accounts: Violence, Theft, Abuse
As Israel continues to present its own account of what happened when its navy commandos raided an aid convoy destined to the besieged Gaza Strip and killed nine humanitarian activists aboard one ship, witness accounts of Westerners are emerging that discredit Tel Aviv’s version of events. Journalists on board the ships said Israeli soldiers confiscated all cameras, computers and telephones they found, accusing Tel Aviv of editing the images to suit its own take on events.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16098
FLOTILLA Cover-up: The New York Times Accused
For the past month, the alternative media have sought concrete evidence that the mainstream U.S. media, including the New York Times, willfully aided Israel’s cover-up of information about their Gaza flotilla attack. Prima facie evidence of their complicity is abundant. The Times’ role in the cover-up ranged from suppression of facts and failure to follow leads that might (and did) contradict Israel’s version of the massacre, to serving as a shameless conduit for Israeli propaganda. The Times persisted in publishing and republishing the official line of Israel and became a virtual bulletin board for crackpot opinions and commentary. A prime example is Michael Oren’s “An Assault on Israel, Cloaked in Peace,” arguing delusionally that this humanitarian effort was an “act of aggression” that threatened the very nation of Israel.
http://intifada-palestine.com/2010/07/flotilla-cover-up-the-new-york-times-accused/
Political Developments
Hamas: Netanyahu wants to escape responsibility
Gaza – Ma’an – The Israeli prime minister’s statements on a prisoner deal were "an attempt to escape responsibility," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said late Thursday following televised remarks by Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu was simply attempting to justify why he failed to approve a deal offered by the German mediator, Barhoum added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=296282
Abbas to Mitchell: No direct talks before border issue resolved
During Ramallah meeting, Palestinian president tells US envoy Israel must recognize borders of ‘Palestinian lands it occupied in 1967,’ put an end to east Jerusalem home demolitions.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3913858,00.html
Abbas voices frustration over Israel peace talks (AFP)
AFP – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is stalling over the indirect talks with the Palestinians, president Mahmud Abbas charged in remarks published by several Israeli newspapers on Thursday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100701/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictpalestinianabbas
Erekat: “Peace Process Can’t Advance Without Progress On Borders”
Dr. Saeb Erekat, head of the negotiations department at the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) stated that moving to direct talks and achieving peace cannot be conducted without progress in the two-state solution and the issue of borders.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59047
PA vows to increase public outreach in Israel
Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – President Mahmoud Abbas met six journalists from Israel’s top news outlets in his Ramallah office Wednesday, two Israeli journalists said. Reporters Aluf Benn and Akiva Eldar billed the meeting as part of a campaign by Abbas to enlist Israeli public support for a peace settlement based on 1967 borders.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=296029
Italy claims Palestinian, European support for Gaza visit (AFP)
AFP – Italy drew initial support from Palestinian and European leaders as it prepares to lead a European ministerial delegation to the Hamas-run Gaza enclave, the Italian foreign ministry said on Thursday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100701/wl_mideast_afp/israelconflictgazaeuitalydiplomacy
Obama to press Netanyahu on peace process, settlement freeze
U.S. pushing PM to extend West Bank bank building moratorium in hop Palestinian Authority will agree to direct talks with Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/obama-to-press-netanyahu-on-peace-process-settlement-freeze-1.299575?localLinksEnabled=false
Fence-mending on agenda for Obama-Netanyahu talks (Reuters)
Reuters – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is looking forward to a warmer White House welcome from President Barack Obama next week after their relationship hit a lowpoint over Jewish settlement policy.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100702/wl_nm/us_israel_usa_netanyahu
EU-Israel talks skirt around Jerusalem police headquarters
BRUSSELS (IPS) – Talks aimed at reaching an intelligence-sharing agreement between the European Union and Israel have skirted around the location of Israel’s national police headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem. In 2005, the EU decided that Europol, its law enforcement office, should negotiate a formal cooperation agreement with Israel.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11366.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Other News
Palestinian solar car hits Hebron streets
Hebron – Ma’an – As the world searches for alternative energy sources, a team from a Hebron university built a single-passenger car that runs on solar power. Engineering students from the Palestine Polytechnic University made the 3.7-by-1.7-meter vehicle as a graduation project. The car uses hundreds of photovoltaic solar cells to convert sunlight into electricity, which is then stored in batteries.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=296112
Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest
CENTCOM thinks outside the box on Hamas and Hezbollah
While it is anathema to broach the subject of engaging militant groups like Hizballah* and Hamas in official Washington circles (to say nothing of Israel), that is exactly what a team of senior intelligence officers at U.S. Central Command — CENTCOM — has been doing. In a "Red Team" report issued on May 7 and entitled "Managing Hizballah and Hamas," senior CENTCOM intelligence officers question the current U.S. policy of isolating and marginalizing the two movements. Instead, the Red Team recommends a mix of strategies that would integrate the two organizations into their respective political mainstreams. While a Red Team exercise is deliberately designed to provide senior commanders with briefings and assumptions that challenge accepted strategies, the report is at once provocative, controversial — and at odds with current U.S. policy.
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/06/29/red_team
Petraeus braintrust says ‘pragmatic’ and representative Hamas must be included in Palestinian gov’t, Philip Weiss
Ali Abunimah says this is huge and he’s right, Mark Perry breaks the story that Petraeus’s Central Command got a report in May from a "Red Team" of senior intelligence advisers that runs counter to American policy in Israel Palestine and appears to dis General Dayton’s Fatah-only efforts. Seems like the US military has become the heir to the old State Department legacy of listening to the Arab street.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/petraeus-braintrust-says-pragmatic-and-representative-hamas-must-be-included-in-palestinian-govt.html
Yezid Sayigh’s paper on good governance in Gaza, Helena Cobban
I only just discovered that Yezid Sayigh’s paper on the unexpectedly (for many westerners) good quality of Hamas’s governance of Gaza is now up on the website of Brandeis University’s crown Center. PDF here. Close readers of JWN will recall the post I wrote back in March, about the presentation Sayigh gave at the Palestine Center in Washington DC, in which he compared the quality of the governance in Gaza and by the (actually, unconstitutional) administration led by Salam Fayyad in Ramallah– to the favor of Gaza’s Hamas government, which ws elected in January 2006.
http://justworldnews.org/archives/004061.html
How to win with Hamas, Bradley Burston
Never has Israel had an enemy so perfectly attuned to the Jewish state’s weaknesses, so impervious to its strengths. For more than 20 years – ever since Israel inadvertently midwifed the founding of Hamas at the outset of the first intifada – the organization has leveraged Israel’s every tactic into tangible, stepwise political gain.
http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/a-special-place-in-hell/how-to-win-with-hamas-1.299653
Former Times’ Gaza Correspondent Quit After Bronner Affair
I have succeeded to be considered a very critical journalist on the ground, and I don’t want to lose that. If Ethan’s son joined the Israeli army, OK it’s his issue. If The New York Times decided to keep him there, ok, they took a decision. But I took a decision too. I mean, you’re not going to report this. It’s fine, but it’s not a new story, it’s old now. And I decided, because I don’t want to lose my sources, and I don’t want to lose my life, and I don’t want him to lose his life, so it’s as simple as that. So, I came out with that decision because it’s important to keep my sources. It’s a challenge, and I don’t want to lose it. I don’t want to be tainted like ‘the one who writes for someone that has a son in the army’ – I don’t want, I don’t need that. Already there are many challenges around you and you don’t want to add another one. It’s not worth it.
http://alexbkane.wordpress.com/2010/07/01/former-times-gaza-correspondent-quit-after-bronner-affair/
The Two Sides of a Barbed-Wire Fence, NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
The Israeli occupation of the West Bank is widely acknowledged to be unsustainable and costly to the country’s image. But one more blunt truth must be acknowledged: the occupation is morally repugnant. On one side of a barbed-wire fence here in the southern Hebron hills is the Bedouin village of Umm al-Kheir, where Palestinians live in ramshackle tents and huts. They aren’t allowed to connect to the electrical grid, and Israel won’t permit them to build homes, barns for their animals or even toilets. When the villagers build permanent structures, the Israeli authorities come and demolish them, according to villagers and Israeli human rights organizations.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/opinion/01kristof.html?src=me&ref=general
Diaspora homecomings can backfire | Khaled Diab
The Zionist vision of a "return" to the promised land has been both a dream come true and a nightmare. But Jews are not the only scattered and oppressed group of people who have entertained sentimental dreams of a triumphant return to their ancestral homelands. For instance, a similar situation once existed for Greeks. Like the Jews, Greeks had not possessed an independent homeland since Roman times and counted a sizeable diaspora across the Roman empire and its successors, right up to Ottoman times.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/02/diaspora-homecomings-devastating
War crimes in Gaza and the zionist fifth column in America, New book by James Petras, includes the Executive Summary of the GOLDSTONE REPORT
http://petras.lahaine.org/articulo.php?p=1813&more=1&c=1
Iraq
Thursday: 5 Iraqis Killed, 29 Wounded
Today’s attacks unsurprisingly targeted Awakening Council (Sahwa), security personnel and even a gold merchant as gunmen continue to stalk Iraq’s politically valuable targets. At least five Iraqis were killed and 29 more were wounded across the country. Meanwhile, the Justice Ministry released 198 inmates, mostly in Baghdad and Basra, over a lack of evidence against them.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/07/01/thursday-5-iraqis-killed-29-wounded/
Heat-plagued Iraqis pay up as crime bosses steal electricity supplies
BAGHDAD: Private power providers in Baghdad are selling electricity at almost four times the maximum legal price, exploiting shortages and stifling summer heat while crime bosses pilfer dwindling public supplies. Although suppliers are breaking the law, people feel compelled to pay up in an unregulated market because they fear children or the elderly could die in summer temperatures that have hit 54 degrees Celsius.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=116615#axzz0sVBHMQHC
Paragliding Over Mosul – Because Iraq Just Isn’t Dangerous Enough Already
At Mosul’s innumerable checkpoints, the Falcon Club endures the suspicions of Iraqi soldiers who have never heard of a paraglider, have never seen a hot air balloon outside of an American movie, and who believe – reasonably – that Iraq is dangerous enough without courting death.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=06bf887ae9aad88622f8ede9a3701536
Lebanon
Lebanon’s Grand Ayatollah Fadlallah hospitalised
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, 75, was hospitalised in Beirut for internal bleeding on Friday, hospital officials said. "Doctors are monitoring him closely in the intensive care unit and they said he is stable, but they still cannot make a prognosis," one official told AFP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to the press.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i2ybHNOSCDoX1OqRKLhbYb8g9EKQ
Hezbollah urges UN to stick to Lebanon mandate
BEIRUT — Hezbollah urged UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon, a stronghold of the Shiite militant movement, to stick to their mandate, following a wave of protests by villagers. "UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) should always carry out its role… in a way so as not to arouse mistrust and worry of citizens as was the case during the latest exercises," Hezbollah’s number two, Naim Kassem, said in an interview with As-Safir newspaper published on Friday.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iDldsm-NcqdDv6Ws2zVN2ZT2QFIw
Alfa spy breech ‘dangerous aggression’
BEIRUT: Bint Jbeil MP Hassan Fadlallah described Thursday the act of spying for Israel by a mobile phone firm Alfa technician as "a dangerous Israeli aggression," urging the Cabinet to "take large-scale action" to thwart Israeli threats.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=116633
Barak: Israel invaded Lebanon to kibosh Palestinian state in West Bank, Philip Weiss
Now they tell us. Ehud Barak in Haaretz on the goal of the first Lebanon war, in 1982, when Israel smashed Beirut to bits and destabilized an entire society, and thousands of people were killed, including many Americans
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/barak-israel-invaded-lebanon-to-kibosh-palestinian-state-in-west-bank.html
Israel Eyes Lebanon’s Offshore Gas Reserves
In all regional disputes, big or small, Israel will invariably threaten or implement violence. It is the preferred method of conflict resolution. The recent discovery of natural gas reserves in Lebanese territorial waters, and Israel’s claim to them, is no exception. It didn’t take long for Israeli infrastructure minister Uzi Landau to raise the prospect of war. That is, if Lebanon attempts to prevent his country from exercising full control over the field despite portions apparently falling within Lebanon’s exclusive economic zone.
http://www.counterpunch.com/amiri07022010.html
Iran
Obama signs ‘tough’ Iran sanctions
The US president has signed a bill imposing the toughest sanctions on Iran to date, in a move designed to strike at the Islamic republic’s financial and scientific establishment over its alleged nuclear weapons programme. The legislation, signed by Barack Obama on Thursday, aims to choke off Iran’s access to refined petroleum imports including gasoline and jet fuel and bans US banks from doing business with foreign banks that provide services to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/americas/2010/07/20107234119788744.html
US voices concern over Syria-Iran ties (AFP)
AFP – The United States voiced concern Thursday over cooperation between Syria and Iran after reports Tehran had sent a radar system that would boost defenses against Israel.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100701/pl_afp/usiransyriaisraelmilitary
Iranian Defector: I’ve Escaped from CIA
The Iranian nuclear scientist in the middle of the high stakes battle between Washington and Tehran has released two new videos, claiming to have "escaped" U.S. intelligence and says he’s on his way back to Iran.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/iranian-defector-escaped-cia/story?id=11053597
U.S. and other World News
Spy suspects appear in US courts
Nine people accused of being Russian agents request bail as Cyprus hunts missing suspect.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/americas/2010/07/20107116404567112.html
Lawmakers ask for Afghanistan exit strategy
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, joined other House members in calling for President Obama to provide Congress with "a clear commitment and plan to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan" before a vote expected later this week that would provide $58 billion for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-06-30/news/21931468_1_withdrawal-date-troop-drawdown-afghanistan
Interview on US No-Fly list
Al Jazeera speaks to Coutnerterrorism consultant Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and international human rights attorney Arsalan Iftikhar about the US’s controversial no-fly list.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK0I2SKh4KE&feature=youtube_gdata
238 presidential scholars: Bush worst president of modern era, fifth worst in US history
It’s one thing for a coterie of liberals at a late-night Washington soirée to say that George W. Bush was the worst president in their lifetimes. It’s another thing when the same is said by the nation’s 238 leading presidential scholars, who have been polled annually for the last 28 years. President Bush ranked worst among modern presidents — and the fifth worth in history, according to the poll by the Siena Research Institute. Ranking first? President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who led the country from 1933 until his death in 1945.
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0701/nations-leading-presidential-scholars-bush-worst-president-modern-era-5th-worst-history/
Britain to Probe Collaboration with CIA Renditions, William Fisher
Breaking from President Barack Obama’s insistence on "moving forward, not backward" in investigating U.S. detainee torture, the British government appears poised to investigate its own complicity with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in "rendering" British citizens and residents and subjecting them to "enhanced interrogation" techniques.
http://original.antiwar.com/fisher/2010/07/01/britain-to-probe-collaboration-with-cia-renditions/
Counterinsurgency Down for the Count in Afghanistan, Ann Jones and Tom Engelhard
Doesn’t it seem, sometimes, that American history, the "people’s history," is actually made by about 17 giant government and corporate entities, all hopelessly intertwined — and worse yet, that they never go away? On Tuesday, TomDispatch posted Stephen Kinzer’s piece, "BP in the Gulf — The Persian Gulf." It was a reminder that, more than half a century ago (when it was called the Anglo-Persian Oil Company), the giant oil corporation now despoiling the Gulf of Mexico had, in quite a different way, despoiled Iranian democracy to maintain its hold on that country’s oil. It did so in conjunction with the Central Intelligence Agency, which, in 1953, overthrew a democratic Iranian government eager to nationalize that oil.
http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2010/07/01/counterinsurgency-down-for-the-count-in-afghanistan/
Jordan nuclear deal held up by U.S. curbs–sources
An accord on nuclear cooperation with the United States would help Jordan launch a civilian nuclear programme and meet a target of generating 30 percent of its energy needs through nuclear power by 2030. But the Jordanian sources said in the last year of talks Washington refused to allow Jordan to produce its own nuclear fuel, a right which the close U.S. ally insists it is entitled to as a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE6610OQ.htm
Clashes with al-Qaeda continue in Yemen
Yemen has become the focus of international attention following an attempt to bomb a plane bound for the United States, which a branch of al-Qaeda based in the country claimed responsibility for. Al-Qaeda and the Yemeni government have clashed for many years, but bloody confrontation is on the rise again and the government is battling a Shia separatist movemnent in the north. Now there are concerns over increasing violence in the south – connected to a peace agreement made 20 years ago. Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford reports now on the lasting effects of that peace deal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq5W_l-8KbE&feature=youtube_gdata
Egypt arrests eight Muslim Brotherhood members
CAIRO, July 2 (Reuters) – Egyptian security forces arrested eight members of the Muslim Brotherhood on Thursday after searching their homes and confiscating their computers, data discs and books, a spokesman for the group said on Friday. The arrested members had launched an online campaign called "Amal Al Omah" (The Nations’ Hopes) (http://www.amlalommah.net/) calling for the prosecution of the head of security in Alexandria for police violations, Hamdy Hassan, spokesman for the group’s parliamentary bloc, told Reuters.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE6610RK.htm
Egypt covers up Red Sea oil spill
Environmental groups in Egypt are accusing the government of covering up an oil spill in the Red Sea. 20 kilometres of the coastline have been affected, with traces of crude oil showing up near several tourist hot spots. Al Jazeera’s Amr El-Kahky has this report.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n49AjUlI8Lo&feature=youtube_gdata
Bombers target Sufi Muslim shrine
More than 40 people have been killed and 180 injured in a double suicide bombing in Pakistan. The attack occurred at a Muslim shrine in eastern Pakistani city of Lahore – but so far there’s been no claim of responsibility. Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan reports. (2July 2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V__fHo4d9_w&feature=youtube_gdata
Secret list shows fate of Argentine disappeared
The documents – copies of which were obtained by the AP – include handwritten notes made during torture sessions, reports about spying efforts, the names of intelligence agents and the identities of bodies. Many bear the stamps and signatures of police and military agencies and officials.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_ARGENTINA_DIRTY_WAR_LIST?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-07-01-04-51-23
Why $2 cupcakes conquer Arab appetites
Cupcakes are a big seller at Sugar Daddy’s Bakery in Amman, Jordan. The owner has opened cupcake outlets in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and in Beirut, Lebanon, to serve Arab customers who want to savor American baked goods.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/bhbAL40hAo4/Why-2-cupcakes-conquer-Arab-appetites
www.TheHeadlines.org
