and other news from Today in Palestine:
Land and Property Theft and Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
Settlement Activities Did Not Stop During Settlement Freeze, Research Center Says
The Land and Research Center reported that Israel was ongoing with its settlement activities during the co-called temporary settlement freeze that officially expired by midnight Sunday.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59485
Israeli settlers sieze lands in WB
Nablus, September 25, (Pal Telegraph) Dozens of acres were seized by Israeli settlers on Saturday morning in the villages of “Deir Estia” and “Hares” located to the west of “Salfit” in the West Bank. The mayor of “Deir Estia” village, Nazmi Salman, said that Israeli settlers have put 20 mobile-houses on the territory that belongs to the Palestinian citizens. Salman said in a statement to the press that the land owners located in the area of Wadi Abu Ali located to the west side of town, were surprised by the existence of more than 20 mobile-houses have been erected on agricultural land owned by Abu Mansour and Abdul Haq families. Salman said that the work of dredging continues until this very moment , to control more lands belonging to farmers of the town.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/7108-Israeli-settlers-sieze-lands-in-WB.html
West Bank settlement construction resumes
NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israelis resumed construction across several illegal West Bank settlements on Monday, following the expiration of Israel’s 10-month partial moratorium at midnight. Israel’s Channel 2 said construction would be resumed in at least eight illegal West Bank settlements, including Kiryat Arba in Hebron. Ghassan Doughlas, the Palestinian Authority chief of the northern settlement file, said settlers installed four caravans over the last 48 hours near the Qusra village in the northern Nablus district, adding that bulldozers have begun wide-scale diggings around the Yitzhar settlement in the district.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=318410
Construction begins in Ariel
After prime minister declares West Bank construction freeze over, bulldozers begin to lay groundwork for neighborhood set to house dozens of Gaza evacuees still living in caravans. ‘Talks are show waiting to explode,’ says resident.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3960536,00.html
Zionist settlers bulldoze lands in Yatta
Zionist settlers started on Sunday to bulldoze Palestinian land near the village of Yatta, south of Al-Khalil, in preparation to re-establish the settlement of Havat Ma’on.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz
The Village Of Burin: Under Attack By Surrounding Settlements
The village of Burin is located less than 10 kilometers south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. With a population of approximately 3,500 that is wholly dependent on the yields of their olive trees, Burin’s lands are hemmed in by two settlements on the North and South ends of the village, named Bracha and Yitzhar respectively. In addition to these government-sanctioned settlements, there are four outposts that have taken root up on these hilltops over the last 10 years. The center of Burin, where most families live, lies at the base of these hills. For decades the surrounding hills of Burin are filled with their olive groves and farmlands.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1548
Settlements are not just a political issue, B’Tselem
In an article on the eve of the settlement-freeze expiration, B’Tselem’s Executive Director shows that settlements are not only a political/diplomatic issue, but also prevent Palestinians from realizing their rights and living in dignity.
http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/09/24/not_settling_on_the_settlement_freeze_expiration
Israel defies building freeze calls
Netanyahu allows partial freeze on settlement construction to expire, but urges Palestinians not to abandon peace talks.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/2010926225933392129.html
Abbas delays decision on talks
Palestinian president holds back from quitting talks with Israel as Netanyahu allows construction freeze to end.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/09/2010927124355488501.html
Abbas says settlements block Mideast peace deal (AP)
AP – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday there will be no peace deal with Israel unless the Jewish state stops settlement construction in areas the Palestinians claim for their future state.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100925/ap_on_re_us/un_un_world_summit_mideast
Netanyahu to Abbas as settlement freeze ends: Let’s continue talks to achieve peace
The United States, Israel and the Palestinian Authority are conducting talks on how to continue peace negotiations, despite the expiration of Israel’s freeze on settlement construction.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-to-abbas-as-settlement-freeze-ends-let-s-continue-talks-to-achieve-peace-1.315832?localLinksEnabled=false
Hamas: Settlement activity shows Israel’s intentions
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The escalation of settlement building in the West Bank indicates Israel’s intention to use negotiations as a cover to Judaize Palestinian land, Hamas said Monday. Spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called on President Mahmoud Abbas to make a swift decision to withdraw from the peace talks, which relaunched less than a month earlier in Washington.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=318586
Fatah wing vows response to settlement activity
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Fatah’s armed wing vowed to respond to renewed settlement expansion in the West Bank on Sunday. The Al-Aqsa Brigades urged the Palestinian Authority to maintain its resolve to walk out of recently relaunched peace talks if full-scale settlement expansion resumed.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=318201
Settlers prepare to mark freeze expiration with construction surge
Thousands expected to attend rally to show the world that construction in the West Bank is resuming.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/settlers-prepare-to-mark-freeze-expiration-with-construction-surge-1.315706?localLinksEnabled=false
Israeli settlers rev bulldozers as settlement freeze nears end (The Christian Science Monitor)
The Christian Science Monitor – With Israel and Palestinian negotiators deadlocked over settlement expansion just hours before the expiration of a 10-month Israeli settlement freeze, Jewish settlers vowed to renew building during symbolic celebrations in the West Bank.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100926/wl_csm/328180
Settlers threaten hunger strike if freeze extended
‘Netanyahu has shown he can withstand pressure, but this will mean nothing in coming days,’ Shomron Settlers’ Committee head says hours before construction moratorium set to expire.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3960262,00.html
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions & Divestment
Gaza
1 wounded during peace march in Gaza
Gaza, September 26, (Pal Telegraph) One of the participants in the weekly peaceful march against the buffer zone in Gaza was shot by the Israeli occupation today morning in the town of “Abasan”, east of Khan Younis southern Gaza. According to one of the organizers of this peaceful march, Emad Asfour, said that the Israeli soldiers fired bursts of thick bullets at the protesters who approached the border fence , wounding one of them and his medical condition was described as “moderate”.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/7129-1-wounded-during-peace-march-in-Gaza.html
Three protests in Gaza: Israeli sniper shoots Palestinian man leaving him in a critical condition
A 20-year-old Palestinian man, Sliman Abu Hanza, is in a critical condition in hospital after being shot in the abdomen with a ‘dum dum’ bullet at a demonstration in Al-Faraheen, Khan Younis, on Sunday. The injury was inflicted during one of three non-violent demonstrations which took place on Sunday; in Beit Hanoun, Maghazi and Faraheen near Khan Younis – four members of the International Solidarity Movement also attended. The explode-on-impact ‘dum-dum’ bullet which hit Abu Hanza is the same type that was shot into the leg of Ahmed Deeb, 20, during a demonstration in Nahal Oz in April this year – severing his femeral artery and killing him.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/09/14710/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29
UK Labor chief’s mom backs Jewish anti-blockade group
Group behind boat supported by Miliband’s mother, other prominent British Jews, uses Rabbi Hillel quote as political slogan.
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=189317
Jewish Member Of Aid Ship To Gaza Has Made Sacrifices
Jerusalem – PNN – 60-year-old Jerusalemite, Rami Elhana, was born in Jerusalem to a holocaust survivor and is now on the boat that left Cyprus heading to Gaza with humanitarian aid, which includes items like children’s toys, musical instruments, textbooks and fishing nets. Rami’s daughter, Smadar was killed in 1997 by a suicide bomber and instead of turning to revenge he works toward peace. Rami and his family are all active in peace and human rights for the Palestinians. His wife, Dr. Nurit Peled-Elhanan, has been honored in Israel and abroad for her peace works.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8827&Itemid=63
Beit Ummar
One photojournalist and a fifty year old man attacked at Beit Ummar demonstration, Joseph Dana
One Palestinian photojournalist was attacked and detained while a fifty year old man collapsed due to tear gas inhalation during a Beit Ummar demonstration calling for the release of 17 year-old Youssef Abu Maria and the boycott of settlement products.
http://josephdana.com/2010/09/one-photojournalist-and-a-fifty-year-old-man-attacked-at-beit-ummar-demonstration/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=one-photojournalist-and-a-fifty-year-old-man-attacked-at-beit-ummar-demonstration
One injured in Beit Ummar
http://twitpic.com/2rt4t9
Hebron
Israeli army disperses protest in Hebron
HEBRON (Ma’an) — Israeli forces attacked demonstrators at a peaceful rally demanding the reopening of Hebron’s main street on Sunday, organizers said. Youth Against Settlements organized the demonstration to protest the continued closure of Ash-Shuhada Street, largely closed to Palestinians following the growth of Israeli settlements in the city. Organizers said Israeli soldiers prevented demonstrators from marching to the city’s main square, situated next to Beit Romanu, an illegal outpost which took over a Palestinian primary school.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=318288
Bil’in
Bilin Weekly Demo 24-09-2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TI7KaHhOIY&feature=player_embedded
Once again: anti-Wall activist injured by live ammunition
Sep 26, 2010– During this week’s anti-Wall protest in Bil’in, 30 year-old Ashraf Al-Khatib, was shot in the leg by a 0.22’’ calibre bullet, a lethal weapon prohibited for ‘riot control’. Another human rights defender and two journalists were also injured.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2368.shtml
Stand in Solidarity with Palestinian Political Prisoners in Bil’in
For over five years the Palestinian village of Bil’in has sustained a grassroots struggle for land and livelihood. Every Friday, Palestinian villagers brave a volley of sound grenades, tear gas canisters and rubber-coated steel bullets to stage demonstrations against the apartheid wall and the construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian agricultural lands. In many ways, Bil’in’s creative tactics have captured the imaginations of thousands of people both in Quebec and around the world, and have inspired other Palestinian villages across the West Bank. Resistance remains ongoing despite considerable repression on the part of Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/7953
Al-Ma’sara
Al-Ma’sara calls for boycott of Israeli products
Sep 25, 2010– During this week’s anti-wall protest participants set fire to a number of Israeli products next to the Apartheid Wall, to demonstrate the boycott and their rejection of the occupation, which penetrates all aspects of Palestinian lives.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2367.shtml
Nabi Saleh
International Peace Day in Nabi Salih from David Shulman
Professor, activist and writer par excellance David Shulman attended the international peace day event in Nabi Salih on Saturday. The following incisive and personal perspective of the event.
http://josephdana.com/2010/09/international-peace-day-in-nabi-salih-from-david-shulman/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=international-peace-day-in-nabi-salih-from-david-shulman
Nabi Saleh marks International Peace Day; Faces military siege
The army imposed siege on the village of Nabi Saleh, preventing many from entering or passing through the village and detaining dozens in order to prevent the residents and their supporters from marking International Peace Day.
http://josephdana.com/2010/09/nabi-saleh-marks-international-peace-day-faces-military-siege/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nabi-saleh-marks-international-peace-day-faces-military-siege
General
Pushing back against Peretz
At a panel on “social studies and social change,” held as part of the 50th anniversary of Harvard Social Studies’ department, students demand answers on why the department chose to honor renowned racist Marty Peretz.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqiMKEWUAeM
#BDS: PROTEST CALL: oppose the OECD’s Tourism Conference in Jerusalem October 20-22nd
The International Solidarity Movement is calling on activists to protest in Jerusalem in the third week of October against the annual tourism conference of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) which should not be held in the occupied capital of an apartheid state in violation of a plethora of international laws.
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/09/bds-protest-call-oppose-oecds-tourism.html
#BDS: Israel Divestment Campaign (IDC) holds press conference in Los Angeles
The Israel Divestment Campaign, led by US Campaign Steering Committee Member Shakeel Syed, held a press conference to announce its “Divestment of State Retirement Funds From Israel Act” in California, which is the first BDS ballot measure in the US to target Israeli occupation at the state government level.
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/09/bds-israel-divestment-campaign-idc.html
#BDS: Leviev opens diamond boutique in Singapore
Diamond jewelry chain owned by Israeli business tycoon expanding to Asia, launches first flagship store in continent in lobby of Marina Bay Sands luxury hotel
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/09/bds-leviev-opens-diamond-boutique-in.html
Photos: Artists for World Education Forum
Leading up to the World Education Forum, taking place in occupied Palestine this fall, over three-hundred people gathered in Montreal on Friday September 24th for a benefit concert to support the Quebec delegation to the global education forum and to strengthening grassroots support for the global gathering on popular and public education. For the first time an international gathering initiated by the World Social Forum will take place in occupied Palestine via the World Education Forum which is being strongly supported by grassroots networks in Palestine, including the Grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, intimately involved in both the popular resistance to Israeli military occupation and international campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israeli apartheid.
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/7932
The Siege (Gaza & West Bank)/Humanitarian/Restriction of Movement/Human Rights/Racism
Gaza tops agenda at UN rights body
GENEVA (Ma’an) — The United Nations’ main human rights body will consider two resolutions this week demanding changes to Israeli policy toward the Gaza Strip, officials in Geneva say. The Palestinian Authority plans to put forward a resolution condemning Israel over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 2008-9 assault on the Gaza Strip, a senior PA official said Sunday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=318282
Blackouts to resume in Gaza as fuel runs out
Gaza Strip’s only power station stopped one of its generators on Saturday morning due to fuel shortages as crossing terminals into the Strip remain closed for a third day in a row. According to the Gaza Energy Authority’s spokesman Jamal Dardasawi, the plant is down to one generator, though it has three which are in operating condition. Dardasawi said the shortage was a direct result of the crossings closure, noting the terminals closed on Thursday morning as Jewish people in Israel began observing the Sukkot holiday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=317735
Interview with Richard Falk, U.N. Rapporteur on Human Rights
Palestine, September 25, (Pal Telegraph – The Hindu) -Richard Falk, the United Nations Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Israeli-Occupied Territories of Palestine, is sceptical whether the negotiations between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, guided by the U.S., would produce results, unless the Hamas is taken on board and Israel returns to the pre-1967 position.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/7106-Interview-with-Richard-Falk,-U-N-Rapporteur-on-Human-Rights.html
Witness – Nablus: The Business of Occupation
An old soap factory, a modern olive oil plant and two import-export agents struggle to do business in Nablus under the Israeli occupation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO2YdGdjvjY&feature=youtube_gdata
Trying to visit the Tamimi Family in the West Bank
This morning we went to visit our friends the Tamimi Family and their kids in Nabi Saleh, in the west bank about 40 minutes from Tel Aviv. As it turns out this weekend village residents and Israeli peace activists had planned on marking International Day of Peace (Sept 21 actually, but hey, we do things fashionably late around here…). The event was supposed to include whitewashing walls in the village, planting olive trees, and covering the sign placed by the military that reads “Israelis are not allowed to enter” with a sign that reads “All people welcome”.
http://theonlydemocracy.org/2010/09/trying-to-visit-the-tamimi-family-in-the-west-bank/
War Crimes
Israel calls on UN to end ‘obsessively biased’ Gaza war probe
Israel’s treatment of Palestinians has been a prime target for UN’s Human Rights Council, where Islamic countries and their allies have a built-in majority.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-calls-on-un-to-end-obsessively-biased-gaza-war-probe-1.315976?localLinksEnabled=false
UN — Resolved Gaza flotilla report
A United Nations Human Rights Council investigation concluded that the Israeli military broke international laws during a raid on a Turkish ship that was part of an aid flotilla trying to deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza. Ken O’Keefe says that the Israeli commandos stole footage that shows executions carried out on the flotilla.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWV94mu6rf0&feature=player_embedded
UN: Two men killed on ‘Mavi Marmara’ were holding cameras when they were shot
And glancing at the narrative, the report finds that two of the 9 men killed in the raid, including American Furkan Dogan, were holding cameras and using them to film the Israeli invaders when they were shot. Additionally– despite the sticks and catapults that some passengers used on the commandos– the four people killed on the lower, bridge deck were not posing any physical threat to the raiders, who were then on the top deck, and in fact were trying to get out of the way.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/un-two-men-killed-on-mavi-marmara-were-holding-cameras-when-they-were-shot.html
Review: Norwegian doctors’ “Eyes in Gaza”
Eyes in Gaza is a detailed and harrowing account by the Norwegian doctors Mads Gilbert and Erik Fosse of their experiences in al-Shifa Hospital during Israel’s deadly assault on Gaza in December 2008-January 2009.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11537.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Violence/Aggression & Provocations
Settlers Open Fire At Palestinian Homes In Jerusalem
A number of Jewish settlers, working as security guards, opened fire on Saturday at night at a number of Palestinian homes in Al Sa’diyya neighborhood, in occupied East Jerusalem; no injuries were reported. A local woman was wounded in a separate attack
http://www.imemc.org/article/59481
Hamas source: Israeli incursion near Khan Younis
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Several Israeli military vehicles crossed the Gaza border near Al-Qarara in the southern district of Khan Younis on Monday, a Gaza government security source told Ma’an. The source said three thanks, three bulldozers and a troop carrier entered Gaza through the Kissufim gate and began combing the area. “The invading troops opened fire toward Palestinian land and no injuries have been reported.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=318383
Palestinian Protests, Israeli Police Brutality Continue in East Jerusalem
Clashes and Israeli police brutality in East Jerusalem continue for the fifth day today, 26 September, following the assassination of Samer Sarhan, 32, by Israeli security guards in his home village of Silwan (East Jerusalem) last Wednesday (22 September).
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/jerusalem/2880-palestinian-protests-israeli-police-brutality-continue-in-east-jerusalem-
No One Was Safe
“No one was safe”, once Israeli soldiers began using live ammunition on board the Mavi Marmara, says an authoritative UN investigation team into the Israeli attacks on the Gaza aid flotilla. Their report is now going to be considered by the 57-member UN Human Rights Council next week that has the chance to finally ensure that Israel is held accountable for committing what the UNFFM found to be serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law including war crimes of wilful killing and torture.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1547
Al Mezan Condemns IOF Killing of Fisherman in Gaza and Calls International Community to End the Siege and Protect Civilians
At approximately 9:30am on Friday 24 September 2010, Israeli naval vessels patrolling the Gaza sea opened fired on a Palestinian fishing boat carrying four fishermen; three brothers and a cousin from the Bakir family. The fishing boat was about two kilometers from the coast of Beit Lahyia town in the North Gaza district. As a result, one fisherman was killed. Al Mezan condemns the attack on fishermen in Gaza waters. This attack comes in the context of Israel’s enforcement of its illegal siege of Gaza, which must end without any delay.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MCOI-89PGUT?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Detainees
Israeli army raids Hebron school, detains student
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Relatives of a seventh grade student said Sunday that Israeli forces detained the pupil after raiding his school in Hebron’s Old City. Karam Na’im Da’na was detained from the Al-Mutannabi School and taken to the Ofer detention center in Ramallah, his family said, adding that he has a fractured foot.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=318133
Al Haq Field Worker Detained in Jerusalem by Israeli Military
On 22 September 2010, Omran Risheq, Al-Haq’s Jerusalem field worker pictured above, was detained along with three journalists, by the Israeli Occupation Forces while documenting clashes in the Old City of East Jerusalem. The clashes erupted during the funeral of Samer Mahmoud Ahmad Sarhan, 32, a Palestinian resident of Silwan who was shot and killed earlier that day by an Israeli settlement guard. Al-Haq is currently investigating the killing. Omran was detained by Israeli Border Police and accused of throwing stones. After initially being held in a police station in East Jerusalem, he was transferred to a detention facility in West Jerusalem. During his detention, he was interrogated three separate times, strip-searched and informed that his status as a human rights defender provided him no protection. He was later released on the condition that he not enter the Old City or Silwan for a period of 14 days. The settlement guard responsible for the killing of Samer Sarhan was released on bail.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/jerusalem/2874-al-haq-field-worker-detained-in-jerusalem-by-israeli-military-
Israeli forces detain 5 in Nablus district
NABLUS (Ma’an) — Israeli forces detained five Palestinians early Monday morning in the village of Talfit in the northern West Bank district of Nablus, a source told Ma’an. The source said Israeli forces stormed the village at 4 a.m., firing gun shots in the air before ransacking several homes in the village center.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=318361
21 detained at Allenby Bridge crossing
Palestinian Authority police said Saturday that around 27,000 travelers crossed the Allenby Bridge between the West Bank and Jordan during the week. A police report added that 21 Palestinians “wanted for various criminal acts” were apprehended at the border crossing, and were transferred to prosecution to commence legal proceedings.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=317812
Families of Jordanians jailed in Israel launch hunger strike in Amman
AMMAN, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) – Families of Jordanian prisoners in Israel launched a hunger strike in Amman Saturday, parallel with the hunger strike by Jordanian prisoners in Israel , protesting ” harsh and cruel treatment” the prisoners received in Israeli jails. Dozens of families and relatives of Jordanians jailed in Israel took part in a sit-in Saturday, where they announced the start of the hunger strike. The participants also burnt the Israeli flag during the sit-in. Jordan’s National Committee for Prisoners and Missing Persons in Israel said there are currently 28 Jordanian prisoners in Israeli jails.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-09/25/c_13529364.htm
Reprisals
Israeli woman lightly wounded in West Bank shooting
Palestinian gunmen open fire on two cars near Hebron, in third shooting attack in less than a month; Israeli police officer wounded when struck in head by rock in East Jerusalem.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israeli-woman-lightly-wounded-in-west-bank-shooting-1.315813
Israel‘s Arab Helpers
Hamas: PA detains 7 in West Bank
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas accused Palestinian Authority security forces of detaining seven party supporters across the West Bank, a statement issued Monday read. The Islamist movement said the detentions were carried out in Hebron, Bethlehem, Nablus and Qalqiliya. Hamas also said one of the party supporters detained has cancer.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=318418
PA envoy: Goldstone draft won’t seek action from ICC
GENEVA (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority will not seek immediate action from the International Criminal Court when it endorses a UN-backed inquiry into Israel’s devastating winter assault on Gaza, Ma’an has learned. A resolution to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council on Monday or Tuesday will reiterate allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed throughout the war and denounce Israel’s investigations.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=318262
Rights group says PA tortured young brothers
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A Palestinian human rights group says two Gaza brothers were beaten and tortured while they were detained by Palestinian Authority security forces in the northern Gaza Strip. Abdullah Rebhi Abu Se’da, 23, and his brother Sa’eed, 17, from Nablus, were detained on the grounds of a personal dispute between Abdullah and a security forces member. Sa’eed was transported to the hospital. In a statement, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights condemned the detentions of both brothers and called upon the attorney general to seriously investigate the allegations and bring the perpetrators to justice.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=318277
PFLP official: Boycotting PLO is tactical move
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine member Jamil Mezher said Sunday the faction’s decision to boycott PLO Executive Committee meetings was a tactical rejection of peace talks. The leftist faction announced it would no longer attend the meetings over the decision to resume negotiations “under Israeli and US preconditions.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=318291
Abbas meets with Jewish community in Paris (AFP)
AFP – Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas held talks Sunday with influential members of the French-Jewish community in Paris about the Israeli-Palestine peace negotiations, during his visit to France.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100926/wl_mideast_afp/francejewspalestineisraelpolitics
Abbas makes sideline trip to Statue of Liberty
“Liberty can’t be perfected without liberating Palestine and securing its independence,” Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said on his way to visit the Statue of Liberty in New York on Friday. Accompanied by Fatah central committee members Nabil Sha’ath and Muhammad Shtayya, alongside a delegation of Palestinian journalists, Abbas embarked on the trip amid ongoing peace talks and ahead of what US officials described as “pretty intense” meetings over the Israeli settlement freeze set to expire on Sunday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=317721
Egypt Air and Palestinians
A keen foreign correspondent in the Middle East sent me this (he/she does not want to be identified): ”EgyptAir has been given instructions now to hassle Palestinians with Egyptian-issued travel document for Palestinians flying to Egypt. They didn’t want to let one on a flight from Dubai last week, one whose mother is Egyptian. She got on in the end, but imagine EgyptAir trying to do that to Palestinians or Egyptian-Palestinians with documents issued from Egypt itself. How low. I also called up M., who appeared on an al-Jazeera discussion a few months ago about governments refusing children nationality of the mother. On the show she claimed things were about to change. Inspired by what happened last week, I wanted to speak to her to see if some action was imminent to force the Interior Minister to honour the law — feted on al-Arabiyya a few years ago — that Egyptian-Palestinians can also obtain nationality. What I found was her selling the idea that it’s perfectly normal for each and every child of an Egyptian mother and Palestinian father to have to hire their own lawyer to raise a case with the Supreme Court (maglis al-dawla) to force the Interior Ministry to give them a passport. Apart from issues of cost and effort, what is astounding is that she knows very well the government will still ignore the courts. In fact, she is a lawyer, running a ‘rights group’ or NGO with a lofty title about defending mothers’ rights, w hen in fact she is just living off the misery of others – though her group helps ‘those who are unable’ to bear costs, she says. “
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/09/egypt-air-and-palestinians.html
“Peace” Talks/Political Developments
Hamas: Gaza will resist
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The spokesman for Hamas’ military wing the Al-Qassam Brigades said Friday that any attack on Gaza will be met with strong resistance. Abu Obeida’s comments followed remarks made by Israel army commander Eyal Eisenberg, who warned that the next war on Gaza would be a “more painful, complex, and powerful round” in an interview with the Israeli news site Ynet.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=317695
Other News
Education Ministry bans use of text book that offers Palestinian narrative
Education Ministry summons principal of Sderot area high school after school was found to be using book that offers both the Israeli and Palestinian narratives of the Middle East conflict.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/education-ministry-bans-use-of-text-book-that-offers-palestinian-narrative-1.315838?localLinksEnabled=false
23% of Israelis ready to leave Israel at any hint of problems?, Helena Cobban
Last year, a poll by David Menashri of the Iran center at Tel Aviv University reported … that 70 percent of Israeli Jews said they would not consider emigrating if Iran got the bomb. That’s an odd way to report a finding — how many would not consider emigrating. So there is deep fear.
http://justworldnews.org/archives/004090.html
PR experts to market Israel
After creating US President Barack Obama’s successful online campaign and introducing Lance Armstrong’s yellow wristbands to the world, American marketing agency SS+K faces a new challenge – branding the State of Israel among American youths. The company has been hired in order to come up with various marketing schemes for diverse target audiences, and also to provide general guidelines for an Israeli public relations campaign in the United States.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3960639,00.html
Hamas: Israel seeks to destroy tourism in Palestine
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Gaza government’s minister of tourism said Israel “seeks to destroy the tourism sector in Palestine, especially in the Gaza Strip,” in a statement issued Monday to mark World Tourism Day. Muhammad Ramadan Al-Agha said Israel’s devastating war between December 2008 and January 2009 destroyed Gaza’s tourism sector and that the siege stops tourists from visiting, describing Palestine as “a treasure of tourism … decorated with religious and historic sites.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=318600
Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest
Between ‘09 and ‘10, Obama dropped demand for an ‘end to occupation’
President Obama’s Sept. 23, 2009 speech to the UN General Assembly: The time has come — the time has come to re-launch negotiations without preconditions that address the permanent status issues: security for Israelis and Palestinians, borders, refugees, and Jerusalem.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/between-09-and-10-obama-dropped-demand-for-an-end-to-occupation.html
On Israeli ‘moratorium,’ U.S. has taken sides, Josh Ruebner
As a former professor of constitutional law, President Obama is undoubtedly familiar with the “fruit of the poisonous tree” doctrine, which posits that prosecutors cannot benefit from evidence obtained through an illegal search. Thus it is somewhat surprising that his administration appears to be advocating a “fruit of the poisonous tree” strategy to resolve the emerging impasse over Israel‘s continued settlement of Palestinian land, an issue threatening to stymie tenuous Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations launched amid much fanfare earlier this month.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-09-23-ruebner24_ST_N.htm
HORROR! Fake settlement freeze to expire. Maybe.
Illegal Israeli colonialists are traumatized. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon says his government’s freeze on its colonization-a severe violation of human rights-is an unprecedented sacrifice for peace. The settlers themselves have spent the past ten months attacking Palestinian homes, burning mosques and crops, and killing one or two natives, a a temper tantrum they termed the ‘price tag’ policy. The price tag policy entails the settlers abusing Palestinians every time the Israeli government doesn’t allow the settlers to openly colonize Palestinian land without hindrance-in this case, the 10-month moratorium.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2010/09/horror-fake-settlement-freeze-to-expire-maybe.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kabobfest%2FGrillMe+%28KABOBfest%29
Let the Arabs sleep
Ah the Arabs; the inventors of hummus, the culinary architects of falafil, the loud and seemingly obnoxious lovers of football. When they aren’t watching Star Academy, listening to a concord of deluded music by vapid artists or brushing up on their français they are sound asleep – dreaming of shopping in Beirut Mall, dancing in taste-less clubs or uploading a mountain of photos onto Facebook. Très chic, no?
http://ikhras.com/2010/09/let-the-arabs-sleep/
Palestinians in the US Shun Mahmoud Abbas, Arab-Americans Must Disassociate From All Arab Regimes
While the Anti-Palestine Task Force of Ziad Asali, the Washington public relations arm of the Israeli-sponsored, Western-Funded, and American-Supervised Palestine National Authority (PNA) prepares for its upcoming Gala, Palestinian Americans refused to meet with Mahmoud Abbas or associate with the PNA. After reports surfaced in the US media this week about an alleged meeting between Mahmoud Abbas, the quisling head of the collaborationist regime in occupied-Palestine, and the Palestinian American community, the US Palestinian Community Network issued this statement which includes the following.
http://ikhras.com/2010/09/palestinians-in-the-us-shun-mahmoud-abbas-arab-americans-must-disassociate-from-all-arab-regimes/
Yossi Verter / Netanyahu can’t ignore international pressure forever
Netanyahu cannot allow the peace talks to fall apart; a renewed diplomatic stalemate would spark violence, international isolation, European sanctions and UN condemnations.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/yossi-verter-netanyahu-can-t-ignore-international-pressure-forever-1.315837?localLinksEnabled=false
Akiva Eldar / Settlement freeze furor is a mask for Netanyahu’s true intentions
Netanyahu is looking for a magical solution to both let the tractors get back to work in the West Bank and to keep Abbas at the negotiating table.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/akiva-eldar-settlement-freeze-furor-is-a-mask-for-netanyahu-s-true-intentions-1.315871?localLinksEnabled=false
Jewish tribalism in the interests of Empire, Max Ajl
The latest bit to emerge about the F-35 fighter jets reveals a great deal about the dynamics of the relationships between those empty nouns, “Israel” and the “United States.” There are times when nation-states are the correct analytical units—when they are bombing each other to smithereens, for example. They were more appropriate analytical units when capital was tightly tied to specific nation-states. Far more frequently, they are not the correct units. When we want to understand Israeli policy or American policy, we have to talk classes within states, and differences between various classes within states. That’s methodological advice for understanding the Lobby, and why Israel scarcely has a “National Interest” any more than America does. Indeed, what hope would BDS have of overturning Zionism if we didn’t think that certain classes within Israel would be more vulnerable to the much-needed external coercion?
http://www.maxajl.com/?p=4185&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+http%2Fwwwmaxajlcom%2Ffeedrss2+%28Jewbonics%29
‘A higher racism’: The new justifications for Islamophobia and pre-emptive violence, David Green
Our political culture has become more civilized, but also more sophisticated in its use of demonization. While overt hatred is no longer generally acceptable, it can be rationalized if it is clearly couched in allegations that assert the racism of our political enemies: their collective hatred puts us in danger. Similarly, conspiracy theories are anathema, except for those who claim that others conspire against us on the basis of conspiracy theories about us—that is, about Americans, Jews, Jewish Israelis, and western civilization.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/a-higher-racism-the-new-justifications-for-islamophobia-and-pre-emptive-violence.html
Shir Hever, “Why Does Israel Still Occupy the Palestinians?”
Within Israel, the arguments used to support the occupation on the basis of its purported economic benefits to Israel have gone silent. Even Marxist economists who effectively demonstrated the profits derived by Israel from the occupation in its first two decades largely abandoned the notion that Israel occupies the Palestinian territories for economic profit after the First Intifada of 1987, since when Palestinian resistance to the occupation has exacted a heavy economic toll on Israel — although clearly Palestinians paid a much heavier price for daring to challenge Israel’s occupation (Swirski, 2005). The costs of the occupation to Israeli society can be divided into three.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/hever240910.html
An American sees the occupation for the first time and…, Philip Weiss
Last night my wife (pictured in occupied Bethlehem a week ago) and I went out to dinner with another couple here in New York. They asked her what she thought of the situation in Israel and Palestine, and I heard what I’d been waiting to hear– the story my wife always produces of an important experience days after the fact.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/an-american-sees-the-occupation-for-the-first-time-and.html
Lebanon
‘Lebanon Preserves Right to Reclaim Territories through All Means’
25/09/2010 Lebanese President Michel Sleiman reiterated on Friday that Lebanon preserves its right to reclaim the occupied territories through all means possible, urging the international community to differentiate between international terrorism and legitimate resistance to occupation. Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, President Sleiman stressed that “Lebanon will not accept the naturalization of the Palestinians on its territory because that will generate repercussions and dangers against its national security.”
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=155525&language=en
Hizbullah reasserts right to defend itself against ‘politicized’ STL
BEIRUT: Hizbullah officials said Sunday the party has the right to resort to all means it deems appropriate to defend itself against the “politicized” UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) investigating former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s murder.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=119718
Hezbollah looks to Hariri for payback
Hezbollah is piling pressure on Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to abolish the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, established to find the killers of ex-premier Rafik al-Hariri, over its reported plans to indict some Hezbollah members. Dismissing the trial as an Israeli project and threatening a veto over funding that could bring down the cabinet, Hezbollah expects a reward for supporting Hariri’s rise.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LI28Ak01.html
Why Lebanese Palestinians insist on the right to bear arms | Matthew Cassel
This month, Palestinians in Lebanon commemorated the 28th anniversary of a crime whose perpetrators remain unpunished and whose victims still wait for justice. In September 1982, the Israeli army surrounded the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila in Beirut. For nearly three days, Israeli forces allowed their allies in the rightwing Lebanese Christian Phalange militia to enter the camps and massacre more than 1,000 Palestinian refugees and Lebanese citizens. All of the victims – men, women and children – were unarmed civilians.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/27/sabra-shatila-anniversary
Iraq
Baghdad bomb injures Iraqi state TV news anchor (AP)
AP – Iraq’s state-run television says one of its news anchors has been injured by a bomb attached to his car.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100927/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
Fortified border: Iraq on guard against Iran (AP)
AP – On any map, this castle-like fort is located in Iran. But war, time and drifting desert sands have blurred the border, and for now, Iraqi guards stoutly defend Qutaiba as theirs.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100927/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_iran_border
Allawi’s Iraqiya rules out working with Maliki
The winner of Iraq’s March election has ruled out participating in any new government led by current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, his bloc said.The decision by ex-Premier Iyad Allawi’s Iraqiya faction – which narrowly defeated Maliki’s grouping in the polls – further dampens hopes of any upcoming formation of a new Iraqi administration.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=119693
Iraq, Syria to restore full diplomatic links (AFP)
AFP – Iraq and Syria have agreed to restore full diplomatic relations, ending a year-long row in the aftermath of massive truck bombs in Baghdad, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told AFP on Friday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100924/wl_mideast_afp/iraqsyriadiplomacy
Iraq’s Awakening stripped of their police ranks
BAGHDAD – Hundreds of police officers, formerly members of an American-backed Sunni paramilitary force, will be stripped of their ranks in the Sunni Arab province of Anbar, tribal leaders and Anbar police said Sunday.
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=f2976d132f1fb700df9e5682b7879e87
Fate of thousands of Iraqis unknown
Thousands of Iraqis have gone missing since the US-led invasion seven years ago. It is thought that many disappeared during the sectarian bloodshed and a number were rounded up in military operations. But as the United States winds down its presence in the country, many families fear they will never find out what really happened to those who disappeared. Al Jazeera’s Rawya Rageh reports from Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDKSSqfXHRo&feature=youtube_gdata
$10 billion to rebuild the run-down Iraqi township of Sadr City
The Sadr City in the outskirts of Baghdad is perhaps Iraq’s most impoverished town – but its tragedy may finally come to an end. If what Baghdad’s Mayor Saber al-Aysawi says is true, the Sadr City should become Iraq’s most modern in a few years. A statement faxed to the newspaper and signed by Aysawi says the government has agreed to allocate $10 billion for the city’s reconstruction and that talks with international firms have reached an advanced stage to start the rebuilding. A major British firm will be the main contractor with 10 more subcontractors that will be hired to do the massive reconstruction. “The companies have 45 days to submit their designs and offers on how to implement the project,” says Aysawi in the statement.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2010-09-26\kurd.htm
Inside Iraq – The Iraq war: Success or blunder?
Was toppling Saddam Hussein’s regime worth the enormous cost paid by millions of Iraqis? And where do Iraqis go to seek justice and compensation for this illegal war waged by Bush and Blair?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dq2fV1pg9yg&feature=youtube_gdata
Iraq hunts down looted antiquities
While Iraq is often described by historians as the “cradle of civilisation”, many of its ancient treasures were looted in the chaos following the U-S led invasion in 2003. For the past few years, Iraq has been working on recovering its stolen treasures. This month alone, the Iraqi Museum took back more than a thousand artifacts. However, the authorities may face challenges in preserving the recovered pieces. Al Jazeera’s Rawya Rageh reports from Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFamX1uDIrs&feature=youtube_gdata
Iran
Iran crosses into Iraq to hit bombing suspects (AP)
AP – Iranian forces crossed into neighboring Iraq and killed 30 fighters from a group it says was involved in last week’s bombing of a military parade, state TV reported Sunday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100926/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iran_explosion
Despite canceling missile deal, Russia still opposes Iran sanctions
‘The unilateral sanctions are a violation, even without mentioning the legal aspect of the issue,’ Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/despite-canceling-missile-deal-russia-still-opposes-iran-sanctions-1.315612
Ahmadinejad calls Obama reaction to 9/11 comments ‘insulting’
Iranian president tells reporters he is justified in questioning the motives behind the 2001 terror attack.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/ahmadinejad-calls-obama-reaction-to-9-11-comments-insulting-1.315621?localLinksEnabled=false
Oman Is Said to Be Talking to Iran on U.S. Prisoners
An Iranian newspaper reported that a delegation from nearby Oman will visit Iran Sunday to pursue the release of two American men imprisoned for more than a year.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/09/26/world/middleeast/AP-Iran-US-Hikers.html
U.S. and Other World News
Attorney: Feds trying to quiet anti-war activists (AP)
AP – FBI agents in Chicago took a laptop and documents from the home of a Palestinian-American anti-war activist in an attempt to silence his advocacy, an attorney said Sunday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100927/ap_on_re_us/us_fbi_raid_terrorism_chicago
FBI Raids Homes of Anti-War and Pro-Palestinian Activists in Chicago and Minneapolis
Anti-war activists are gearing up for protests outside FBI offices in cities across the country today and Tuesday after the FBI raided eight homes and offices of anti-war activists in Chicago and Minneapolis Friday. The FBI’s search warrants indicate agents were looking for connections between local anti-war activists and groups in Colombia and the Middle East. We speak to the targets of two of the raids and former FBI officer Coleen Rowley.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/27/fbi_raids_homes_of_anti_war
80 percent of New Yorkers agree that ‘Ground Zero mosque’ is legally allowed: poll
More than two thirds of New Yorkers do not want Muslims to build an Islamic center near the site of the 9/11 attacks on Manhattan, although nearly all agree that they have the legal right, a poll said Friday.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/09/80-percent-agree-ground-mosque-legally-allowed-poll/
“The Dead Were Completely Unrecognisable”, Interview With Family Devastated by US Drone Attack
I am shocked that the US can come to attack Pakistan in this way and Pakistan does not even have the authority to question them on the deaths they are causing. The civilians in all these regions are extremely frightened and fearful.
http://www.cageprisoners.com/our-work/interviews/item/535-interview-with-family-devastated-by-drone-attack
Controversies Over Mosques and Islamic Centers
This map shows the locations of 35 proposed mosques and Islamic centers that have encountered community resistance in the last two years. Click on a location for a brief overview of the project based on news reports. In many cases, the opposition has centered on neighbors’ concerns about traffic, noise, parking and property values – the same objections that often greet churches and other houses of worship as well as commercial construction projects. In some communities, however, opponents of mosques also have cited fears about Islam, sharia law and terrorism. While the map shows only projects that have met resistance, many mosques and Islamic centers have been built in recent years with little or no opposition. See, for example, articles in the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Associated Press about newly opened mosques in Kentucky and Pennsylvania. http://features.pewforum.org/muslim/controversies-over-mosque-and-islamic-centers-across-the-us.html
Obama argues his assassination program is a “state secret”, Glenn Greenwald
At this point, I didn’t believe it was possible, but the Obama administration has just reached an all-new low in its abysmal civil liberties record. In response to the lawsuit filed by Anwar Awlaki’s father asking a court to enjoin the President from assassinating his son, a U.S. citizen, without any due process, the administration late last night, according to The Washington Post, filed a brief asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit without hearing the merits of the claims. That’s not surprising: both the Bush and Obama administrations have repeatedly insisted that their secret conduct is legal but nonetheless urge courts not to even rule on its legality. But what’s most notable here is that one of the arguments the Obama DOJ raises to demand dismissal of this lawsuit is “state secrets”: in other words, not only does the President have the right to sentence Americans to death with no due process or charges of any kind, but his decisions as to who will be killed and why he wants them dead are “state secrets,” and thus no court may adjudicate their legality.
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/09/25/secrecy/index.html
Inside Story – A nuclear-free Middle East?
Is the NPT able to adequately address the security challenges of the Middle East region, where the treaty has been mostly abused?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlFaR-484XQ&feature=youtube_gdata
Shia Muslims in the Gulf: Worrying times A rise in sectarian tensions and official jitters across the region
FOR minorities, success is best in small doses. Too much may stir bigotry and charges of dual loyalty, or even make some within the minority dangerously impatient for change. Shias on the Arab side of the Persian Gulf have long lived with such ironies. Largely ignored through centuries under Sunni rulers, they now feel increasingly exposed.
http://www.economist.com/node/17103835?story_id=17103835&fsrc=scn/tw/te/rss/pe
Conference warns against Christian isolation in Middle East
BEIRUT: The fate and role of Arab Christians lies in their own hands, prominent Lebanese historian Kamal Salibi said on Saturday. “If an Arab Christian decides to emigrate that’s their own business and we can only wish them luck,” Salibi said during the opening session of a conference to discuss the weakening presence and role of Christians in the Arab Levant.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=119721
Egypt’s Al-Azhar slams Coptic bishop over comments on Koran
CAIRO: Sunni Islam’s top religious body Saturday slammed comments by an Egyptian Coptic bishop who cast doubt on the authenticity of some verses of the Koran, saying his remarks threatened national unity.Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Ahmad al-Tayyeb chaired an extraordinary meeting of the institution’s Islamic Research Center to discuss statements last week by Bishop Bishoy.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=119699
Anti-Islamic resolution undermines secular society, USSAMA MAKDISI
For what is occurring in Texas is not limited to Texas. The manufactured controversy about textbooks is part of a sad movement evident across this country: from numerous acts of anti-Muslim vandalism in California, Tennessee and Arizona to the sudden demonstrations against the so-called Ground Zero “mosque” in New York City, to the threats of a hitherto unknown Floridian to burn Qurans, to the polling data that reveals that one in five Americans believe that President Barack Obama is Muslim and that an outright majority could not identify him as a Christian (regardless of how many times he has publicly affirmed his Christian belief). Ironically, President Obama and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates may have inadvertently reinforced this astonishing data. They appealed to the publicity-seeking Floridian not to burn the Quran because, they insisted, such an act may jeopardize our troops overseas. They flattered his vanity. They should have just said that it is morally reprehensible and unacceptable to burn books, just as Obama should have stuck to his initially strong position on the validity and legality of the construction of the Islamic center in New York. Instead, he backtracked and said that he did not necessarily agree with the construction of the Islamic community center. Obama missed an opportunity to take a firm stand against the forces in America that want to retreat into spiritual isolation and false patriotism — and who would take us all with them.”
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7215435.html
Comic company launching ‘Silver Scorpion’, a disabled, Muslim superhero
Comic book fans will soon be getting their first glimpse at an unlikely new superhero — a Muslim boy in a wheelchair with superpowers. The new superhero is the brainchild of a group of disabled young Americans and Syrians who were brought together last month in Damascus by the Open Hands Intiative, a non-profit organization founded by U.S. philanthropist and businessman Jay T. Snyder. The superhero’s appearance hasn’t been finalized, but an early sketch shows a Muslim boy who lost his legs in a landmine accident and later becomes the Silver Scorpion after discovering he has the power to control metal with his mind.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/09/comic-company-launching-silver-scorpion-disabled-muslim-superhero/
President Obama’s Ahistorical World, Professor Lawrence Davidson
From the beginning of his administration he has ignored history. His most notable early example was when he refused to investigate the prima facie war crimes of his predecessors, crimes which the Nuremberg prosecutors would have easily recognized.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26456.htm
Hani Almadhoun: 7 Americans the World Hates
Americans love traveling and enjoy spreading those weak dollars around in pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately, most Americans with that kind of cash tend to be obese. And they only speak English.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hani-almadhoun/7-americans-the-world-hat_b_738628.html
AlAhram newspaper publishes a picture of the first man on the moon
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/09/alahram-newspaper-publishes-picture-of.html
www.TheHeadlines.org
