And more news from Today in Palestine:
Land and Property Theft and Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
Jordan Valley homes due to be demolished over ‘lack of permits’
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed Monday afternoon the central Jordan Valley town of Zubaydat and handed out demolition notices against houses in the town.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.a
Palestinian refugees in their own land
Negev, September 21, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli bulldozers reinforced with large troops of police and special units stormed today morning the villages of “Awajan” and “Al Mukimen” which arent recognized and located at the South Negev land – south of the Palestinian occupied territories of 1948 – and destroyed the homes of Arbidi and Abu Hodobi families. Local witnesses said that the villagers were surprised to see the Israeli bulldozers and Israeli police storm the villages without prior warning, then demolished a house of cement built in 2001 and a house made of tin.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/palestinian-refugees/7085-Palestinian-refugees-in-their-own-land.html
There Is No Freeze
With eleven days left until the end of the settlement freeze, the construction company Naot Pisgah decided to jump the gun. Despite the current peace talks hinging critically on the issue of continued illegal construction in Palestinian territory, the company started construction 14 September in Modi’in Illit. Naot Pisgah saw themselves with little financial options. The internationally-supported moratorium on construction in the West Bank cost them nearly $48 million, according to their since rejected compensation lawsuit filed against Israel.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1542
U.S. concerned peace talks will soon collapse over settlement building
America’s ambassador to Israel told EU envoys that the Obama administration’s worry stems from fact that both sides are holding steadfast to their positions.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/u-s-concerned-peace-talks-will-soon-collapse-over-settlement-building-1.314876?localLinksEnabled=false
Barak shrugs off freeze issue
Israel, Palestinians have more dramatic decisions to make, Barak tells Gen. Jim Jones in Washington.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3957818,00.html
Israeli minister: Palestinians needs to compromise (AP)
AP – A senior Israeli Cabinet minister says the Palestinians need to compromise over their demand that Israel extend a slowdown of West Bank settlement construction.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100920/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians
Peace Now Flight Highlights West Bank Settlements
A flight over the West Bank sponsored by a leftist group was intended to show that the growth of settlements would make a two-state agreement impossible.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=4f4d6599a7c93e693df7647254f462da
Palestine’s endangered vistas captured in “Masharef”
The Shat-ha walking group leaves Ramallah every Friday morning. The group, founded in 2006 by Dr. Saleh Abdel Jawad, a Birzeit University history and political science professor, and economist Samia Botmeh, has explored the West Bank from its green north to desert south. Now Masharef (Vistas), an exhibition of new photographs by members of the group, brings the threatened beauty of the Palestinian landscape to a wider audience.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11524.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
PRC: Right to return is sacred, no resettling in U.S
flags1res72The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) in London expresses its concerns over the statement of ex-Israeli primer, Ehud Olmert, in which he stated that the previous U.S administration led by George Bush, offered resettling 100 thousand Palestinian refugees, affectively terminating the right of return, a key component to peace enshrined under international law. Olmert’s statements explicitly ignored the right of return for all Palestinian Refugees who were expelled upon the creation of the state of Israel. The right to return is guaranteed by all laws and humanitarian accords including the UN resolutions 194 which was reaffirmed over a 100 times confirming the right of Palestinians refugees to return to their land.
http://www.prc.org.uk/newsite/en/centre-activities/press-release/569-prc-right-to-return-is-sacred-no-resettling-in-us
Solidarity/Activism/Boycott, Sanctions & Divestment
Weekly protests continue across Palestine
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/09/14612/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29
Protest in Berlin demands Germany courts to punish Israeli war criminals
Hundreds of German citizens and pro-Palestinian activists rallied in Berlin to demand the prosecution of Israeli war criminals for the crimes they committed in the war on Gaza.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz
Freedom Flotilla Survivors Lead New Convoy
Two survivors from the Israeli assault on the Mavi Marmara are leading the Viva Palestina convoy to break the siege of Gaza. Nicci Enchmarch and Kevin Ovenden were both aboard the Mavi Marmara when it was attacked by Israeli military navy in the early hours of 31st May.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1544
Frank Gehry joins supporters of Israeli settlement boycott
The international campaign to support the Israeli actors’ refusal to play in the illegal settlement of Ariel picked up a pair of huge names when architect Frank Gehry and pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim signed on this week. Settlements are Jewish-only communities built on Palestinian land and are considered by many to be the main obstacle to peace.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/frank-gehry-joins-supporters-of-israeli-settlement-boycott.html
Tomorrow – Siege Busters Ball to benefit the US boat to Gaza, Pamela Olson
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/tomorrow-siege-busters-ball-to-benefit-the-us-boat-to-gaza.html
TIAA-CREF CEO confronted on investments supporting the occupation, Adam Horowitz
UMass Boston faculty, staff and students bring the issue of divestment to TIAA-CREF CEO Roger Ferguson. This is part of an ongoing campaign to get the investment fund to divest from companies that arm, and profit from, the illegal Israeli occupation.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/tiaa-cref-ceo-confronted-on-investments-supporting-the-occupation.html
“I am sure this occupation will end”
Since 2005, residents of the occupied West Bank village of Beit Ommar have launched nonviolent demonstrations in protest against Israeli colonialism and occupation. Jody McIntyre interviews Beit Ommar Popular Committee secretary Ahmed Abu Hashem for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11528.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Harvard unable to decide on Peretz honor, Sam Sternin
The standing committee on Social Studies has still to make a decision on whether to have Martin Peretz speak and whether to accept $500,000 for a scholarship. A meeting on Friday was inconclusive, and yesterday’s meeting also ended without a decision. Apparently, some members of the committee still see an up-side to formally honoring the man who – the Boston Globe excepted – most people seem to agree is a clear-cut bigot see a great post by Ta-Nehisi Coates in the Atlantic yesterday).
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/harvard-unable-to-decide-on-peretz-honor.html
What is in a name? ‘Solidarity’ and the joint struggle in Israel/Palestine, Joseph Dana
From the standpoint of joint Palestinian-Israeli struggle, this Friday’s ‘solidarity Shiekh Jarrah’ gathering in Tel Aviv raises important questions about the direction of the Shiekh Jarrah movement and especially the use of the term ‘solidarity’. The movement is moving to the center of Israeli political protest and away from the joint character of the struggle which has typified it for the past year. In what way is “solidarity” achieved by moving what is labeled as a ‘joint Palestinian-Israeli struggle’ to Tel Aviv, the most ethnically pure Jewish places in the country? Why is the protest not moved to Nablus, Beit Umar, Iraq Burin, Nil’in or even Jaffa? In West Bank villages, Israelis can come and show ‘solidarity’ while in Tel Aviv, travel for Palestinians is something of a problem to say the least. Having a protest in Tel Aviv is not in itself a bad development. The problematic here is the term ‘solidarity’ when the protest is not moved Palestinian villages and only to Israeli cities. In our conflict, solidarity must be expressed in the places of occupation by invitation of those which are occupied.
http://josephdana.com/2010/09/what-is-in-a-name-solidarity-and-the-joint-struggle-in-israelpalestine/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-is-in-a-name-solidarity-and-the-joint-struggle-in-israelpalestine
The Siege (Gaza & West Bank)/Humanitarian/Restriction of Movement/Human Rights/Racism
True talk on the Israeli siege of Gaza, Gisha
In advance of tomorrow’s meeting of the Ad-hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) for assistance to the Palestinians, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) released a report detailing steps taken to improve Gaza’s economy pursuant to a June 20, 2010 Israeli Cabinet decision to “ease” the closure. We analyze what is true and what would be more true about the MFA report.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/09/true-talk-on-the-israeli-siege-of-gaza.html
Facts Behind MFA Report on “Easing” of Gaza Closure
In advance of today’s meeting of the Ad-hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) for assistance to the Palestinians, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) released a report detailing steps taken to improve Gaza’s economy pursuant to a June 20, 2010 Israeli Cabinet decision to “ease” the closure. The following is a summary of the main points of the MFA report and data which places the information in context.
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/09/facts-behind-mfa-report-on-easing-of-gaza-closure/
Experts: Gaza suffering a sharp food shortage
Nutritional and agricultural experts say the Gaza Strip suffers from a food shortage and high unemployment rate, calling for action to revitalize the local market by encouraging domestic agriculture.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx
Witness – Nablus Restricted
The frustrations and despair of two import-export agents battling to get their clients’ goods in and out of Nablus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUvavxynK8M&feature=youtube_gdata
Economic and Social Rights – Adalah August/September newsletter
Following petitions by Adalah and ACRI: Supreme Court rules that Income Tax Law, which provides benefits solely to Jewish communities bordering Gaza, discriminates against Arab towns.
http://www.adalah.org/newsletter/eng/sep10/sep10.html?navi=%2Fnewsletter%2Feng%2Fsep10%2Fsep10.html
IDF instructs settlement guards to seize Palestinians’ IDs
In many of the settlements there is a constant presence of Palestinian workers, who are mostly employed in construction, agriculture and various service industries.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-instructs-settlement-guards-to-seize-palestinians-ids-1.314882?localLinksEnabled=false
Violence/Aggression & Provocations
Violent clashes erupt in Silwan after extremist Jews harassed locals
Violent clashes erupted Monday evening between Palestinians on one side and Israeli forces and extremist Jewish groups on the other side in the Batn al-Hawa neighborhood of Silwan, occupied Jerusalem.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U
Rights group: Israeli government sanctions killing
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Following a field investigation, Al Haq says the killing of a Hamas leader in his West Bank home on Friday was a targeted assassination. Iyad As’ad Shelbaya, 38, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in his home in the Nur Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarem. Israeli authorities claimed soldiers opened fire because they “felt threatened” when the Hamas leader ran towards them. An investigation by the legal rights group Al-Haq found “serious factual inaccuracies” in Israel’s version of events. The group said the pool of blood by Shelbaya’s bed indicated that he was shot near his bed, and not while running towards soldiers.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=316455
Israeli Military Invade Bil’in Attempt to Abduct Youth
An Israeli military force invaded the village of Bil’in, near the central West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday midday.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59444
Bil’in reports raid
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Anti-wall protest organizers said an Israeli force entered the Ramallah village of Bil’in on Monday and clashed with young residents, a statement read. Organizers said soldiers searched homes and “tried to arrest local youth,” firing tear gas at young residents who responded by throwing stones at soldiers.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=316389
Repression in the West Bank while settlers attack Palestinian olive groves, Joseph Dana
As the summer comes to an end with waves of religious holidays in Israel and Palestine, fall is beginning with military raids and pockets of violence towards Palestinians throughout the West Bank. The leading Israeli newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, is reporting that a small clash broke out between settlers and Palestinians in village of Iraq Burin this afternoon as settlers attempted to pick olives from Palestinian olive grooves. The Israeli military responded to the settler violence with repression of the Palestinians in the form of tear gas and sound bombs.
Detainees
Political Detainees Injured During Clashes With Soldiers
Jerusalem – PNN – a number of Palestinian political detainees were reported injured as clashes took place at the Israeli military detention facility Ramon on Monday. The clashes erupted late on Sunday night when Israeli secret service and army troops stormed the jail rooms and tried to search them. The Palestinian Prisoners Affairs Committee said the prisoners were dragged out of their rooms at gun point. There are at least 10,000 Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli army jails, last week alone the Israeli army conducted at least 36 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they arrested 20 Palestinian civilians, including 9 children, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights stated in its weekly report.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8793&Itemid=64
Fatah detainee returns to Gaza after 18 years in jail
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities released a Rafah man from prison on Tuesday, the Husam Organization for Detainees announced. Following 18 years of incarceration, Majdy Al-Bardini returned to Gaza and was received by friends and relatives in the southern city. Speaking to those gathered to welcome him home, Al-Bardini spoke out against the continued Hamas-Fatah split and called for unity. Al-Bardini was detained during the First Intifada, charged with killing an Israeli soldier and belonging to armed groups affiliated with Fatah.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=316571
Israel’s Arab Helpers
Hamas: Official arrested in Egypt falsely accused (AP)
AP – Gaza’s Hamas rulers say a senior security official arrested in Egypt has been falsely accused of posing a threat to Egyptian security.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100921/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_palestinians_hamas_arrest
“Peace” Talks/Political Developments
Israel seeks release of spy in exchange for extending settlement freeze
Binyamin Netanyahu hopes release of spy will appease right wing but US intelligence likely to oppose the deal. Israel is seeking the release of an American jailed for life for spying for the Jewish state in return for concessions in the renewed peace process with the Palestinians, including the extension of a partial freeze on the expansion of settlements in the occupied territories. According to Israel’s army radio, the prime minister’s office has approached Washington with a deal to continue the moratorium for another three months in return for the release of Jonathan Pollard, a former navy intelligence analyst convicted of spying in 1987. Binyamin Netanyahu, has long pressed for Pollard to be freed, but winning his release would help him sell concessions to rightwing members of his cabinet and the settlers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/20/israel-spy-release-settlement-freeze
Netanyahu wants Israeli troops on Palestinian border
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel wants to keep its troops on the eastern border of a future Palestinian state.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/netanyahu-wants-israeli-troops-on-palestinian-border-2085069.html
Ashkenazi: Army preparing for talks’ failure
IDF chief warns of possible ‘outbreaks of violence,’ including terror attacks, in case Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations collapse, but predicts aggression won’t reach Intifada-like levels.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3958115,00.html
US to Palestinians: Don’t attack Netanyahu
Senior US officials urge Palestinians to refrain from personal attacks on Bibi, PA official says.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3958048,00.html
Abbas: Israel can call itself Jewish-Zionist empire
After Netanyahu calls on Palestinian president to ‘just say it – say yes to a Jewish state’, Abbas answers that ‘if Israel wants negotiations in which Palestinians recognize it, then it must also recognize Palestinian state’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3957902,00.html
Peres and Abbas met in New York: diplomatic source (Reuters)
Reuters – Israeli and Palestinian leaders met in New York on Monday, a week after the latest round of Middle East peace talks ended without visible signs of progress on bridging an impasse over Israeli settlements.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100920/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_meeting
PA hosts US, Israeli officials in Nablus
NABLUS (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority officials met with Israeli and American officials Tuesday in the northern West Bank city of Nablus amid tight security, informed sources told Ma’an. At least one PA minister was among the group of high-ranking officials at the unannounced meeting, the sources said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=316681
No Middle East peace talks scheduled for Obama this week (AFP)
AFP – President Barack Obama has no current plans for peace talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in New York this week, the White House said Monday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100920/pl_afp/unsummitusisraelpalestinianspeace
‘Netanyahu in favor of referendum prior to signing peace deal’
According to Netanyahu insider MK Ofir Akunis, Prime Minister gave his support for law that would allay fears of right-wing coalition partners.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/netanyahu-in-favor-of-referendum-prior-to-signing-peace-deal-1.314855?localLinksEnabled=false
PA factions deny Hamas’ collusion claims
TULKAREM (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority factions in Tulkarem on Monday rejected Hamas’ claim that the PA collaborated with Israel in the assassination of a Hamas leader on Friday. Early Friday morning, Israeli soldiers entered the home of Hamas leader Iyad As’ad Shelbaya, 38, in Nur Shams refugee camp and shot him in the neck and chest.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=316415
Other News
Lieberman: Reassessing Israeli Arabs’ citizenship is my view, not government policy
Foreign Minister visits Prague for talks with top Czech leaders; Czech FM: Support for Israel is a key element of our foreign policy.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/lieberman-reassessing-israeli-arabs-citizenship-is-my-view-not-government-policy-1.314808?localLinksEnabled=false
Turkel committee may summon left-wing activists
Committee probing flotilla raid asks groups such as B’tselem to hand over info on situation in Gaza.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3957829,00.html
Turkey president cancels talks with Peres, but plans to meet Ahmadinejad
Gul says schedule too tight to meet Israel’s president, even after reports last week that the two were to convene for the first high-level talks between the two countries since the deadly raid on a Turkish-flagged Gaza-bound flotilla.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/turkey-president-cancels-talks-with-peres-but-plans-to-meet-ahmadinejad-1.314788?localLinksEnabled=false
Peres resists Gul’s call for an apology on raid (AP)
AP – Israeli President Shimon Peres says plans to meet with his Turkish counterpart have been scrapped because Peres won’t apologize for the deadly commando raid on a Turkish-led flotilla that tried to breach Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100920/ap_on_re_us/un_israel_turkey
Peres: Israel ready to negotiate with Syria
Iranian, Lebanese presidents seen leaving UN General Assembly as Peres takes podium, proceeds to outline Israel’s plans for peace with Palestinians, Syria. ‘There is enough room for friendship in Middle East,’ he says.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3957784,00.html
Restrictions Continue to Undermine Palestinian Economic Viability, Says World Bank
WASHINGTON, September 16, 2010 – Economic growth in the West Bank and Gaza is likely to reach 8% this year but largely thanks to external financial aid while the critical private sector investment needed to drive sustainable growth remains hampered by restrictions on movement of people and goods. The World Bank Board today approved an additional $40 million grant for budget support to the Palestinian Authority (PA). The development institution also delivered a stark warning about the sustainability of growth in West Bank and Gaza in its latest report to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) donor meeting.
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/MENAEXT/0,,contentMDK:22705039~menuPK:247603~pagePK:2865106~piPK:2865128~theSitePK:256299,00.html
Palestinans seek more aid, pledge reforms (AP)
AP – Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad is appealing for more international aid, pledging continued reforms and vowing that his government will be ready for statehood “at any point” if additional assistance is forthcoming.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100920/ap_on_re_us/us_us_palestinians_aid
New TIPH chief appointed in Hebron
HEBRON (Ma’an) — Brigadier General Einar Johnsen on Monday took over as head of mission for the Temporary International Presence in Hebron, a statement said. Replacing Brigadier General Britt T. B. Brestrup, Johnsen will head the group of 65 civilian observers from six countries observing and reporting on the situation in the West Bank city.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=316401
Ad campaign highlighting East Jerusalem canceled for fear of right-wing reprisals
Cnaan Advertising, which places ads on Egged buses in Jerusalem, refused to accept ad campaign by Ir Amim, which promotes ‘an equitable and stable Jerusalem with an agreed political future.’
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/ad-campaign-highlighting-east-jerusalem-canceled-for-fear-of-right-wing-reprisals-1.314874
Hamas: Latest Shalit video was fabricated
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A video which appeared in the Israeli press Monday and attributed to Hamas “was fabricated and false,” officials with the party’s armed wing said Tuesday. The video showed captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit flanked by two armed men, one who unpacks papers from a briefcase. It ends with a caption reading “Will the mission be completed” as gunshots are heard.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=316557
Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest
American Public Opinion and the ‘Special Relationship’,John Mearsheimer
There is no question that the United States has a relationship with Israel that has no parallel in modern history. Washington gives Israel consistent, almost unconditional diplomatic backing and more foreign aid than any other country. In other words, Israel gets this aid even when it does things that the United States opposes, like building settlements. Furthermore, Israel is rarely criticized by American officials and certainly not by anyone who aspires to high office. Recall what happened last year to Charles Freeman, who was forced to withdraw as head of the National Intelligence Council because he had criticized certain Israeli policies and questioned the merits of the special relationship.
http://pulsemedia.org/2010/09/21/american-public-opinion-and-the-special-relationship/
The Disasterous Legacy of Mahmoud Abbas, Sami Mouybayad
Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is sounding a lot like Egypt’s Jamal Abdul Nasser did 43 years ago. Abbas is threatening to step down if the current talks with the Israelis fail, similar to how Nasser resigned when he led the Arab world to military defeat after the war of 1967. The only detail Abbas seems to miss is that when Nasser resigned, millions of Arabs spontaneously took to the streets, begging him to return to power. King Hussain of Jordan famously said that since Nasser had got the Arabs into the mess of 1967, “only Nasser can get us out!”
http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2010/09/the-disasterous-legacy-of-mahmoud-abbas/
“Our Man in Palestine”, Nathan Thrall
On August 31, the night before President Obama’s dinner inaugurating direct talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Hamas gunmen shot and killed four Jewish settlers in Hebron, the West Bank’s largest and most populous governorate. The attack—the deadliest against Israeli citizens in more than two years—was condemned by Palestinian and Israeli officials, who said that it was meant to thwart the upcoming negotiations. According to a Hamas spokesman, however, the shooting had a more specific purpose: to demonstrate the futility of the recent cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian security forces. This cooperation has reached unprecedented levels under the quiet direction of a three-star US Army general, Keith Dayton, who has been commanding a little-publicized American mission to build up Palestinian security forces in the West Bank.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/oct/14/our-man-palestine/?pagination=false
Zionist Dialectics: Past and Future, M. Shahid Alam
‘My God! Is this the end? Is this the goal for which our fathers have striven and for whose sake all generations have suffered? Is this the dream of a return to Zion which our people have dreamt for centuries: that we now come to Zion to stain its soil with innocent blood?’ — Ahad Ha’am, 1921. This study has employed a dialectical framework for analyzing the destabilizing logic of Zionism. We have examined this logic as it has unfolded through time, driven by the vision of an exclusionary colonialism, drawing into its circuit – aligned with it and against it – nations, peoples, forces, and civilizations whose actions and interactions impinge on the trajectory of Zionism, and, in turn, who are changed by this trajectory.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16276
A Shared State in a Shared Homeland, Miko Peled
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently argued, ‘What is required is creative, novel thinking in order to resolve these complex [peacemaking] issues.’ Netanyahu has never been so right. The current Mideast peace talks will fail, as befell predecessors, because they are based on a flawed premise blocking the conflict’s resolution. The proposed solution is based on an uneven partition of the land. Israeli Jews, who make up roughly 50 percent of the population, would receive at least 78 percent of the land – and probably more – while the Palestinians who comprise the other half of the population would receive what remains.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16279
Children of Catastrophe – Book Review, Jim Miles
(Children of Catastrophe – Journey from a Palestinian Refugee Camp to America. Jamal Krayem Kanj. Garnet Publishing, Reading, UK. 2010.) Children of Catastrophe is a work of courage, love – of family, friends, and country – persistence, grief, sorrow, joy, anger, bravery, fear, and frustration – in short it encompasses all the emotions that not only are part of life, but a large part of life for a child born and raised in a refugee camp. Nahr el Bared refugee camp was established in 1949 after the nakba in Palestine. Set near the northern border of Lebanon with Syria, the camp existed, grew, and to a degree, thrived and prospered until it was destroyed by the Lebanese army in 2007.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16277
Did God Say: Let There Be Plagues and Wars?, Dallas Darling
You would not know it today by looking at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but in the Book of Genesis, never does it say: And God said, ‘Let there be plagues and wars.’ Instead, the Book of Genesis declared: And God said, ‘Let there be lights’. (Gen. 1:14) And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind.” (Gen. 1:24) Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them be stewards and let them care for every living thing that crawls upon the Earth. So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Gen. 1:26-27)
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16278
Lebanon
Israel violates Lebanon airspace
An Israeli reconnaissance plane has violated the Lebanese airspace near the country’s southern border, the Lebanese army says in a statement.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/143257.html
Israeli troops fire shots at Lebanon border: army
BEIRUT – Israeli soldiers on Monday fired over the heads of Lebanese troops working on fortifications on the tense border between the two countries, a military spokesman told AFP. “Lebanese soldiers were working at their positions in the Dhayra area when Israeli soldiers fired in the air above their heads,” the spokesman said on condition of anonymity. “The Lebanese army did not respond, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) intervened to contain the situation,” he said, adding that “the situation has not yet been resolved.” “The Lebanese army was not targeted directly” by the Israelis, he said.
http://www.iloubnan.info/politics/actualite/id/50466/titre/Israeli-troops-fire-shots-at-Lebanon-border:-army
Next Israel-Hezbollah war will be worse, says U.S. analyst
Research published by Washington Institute for Near East Policy says future Israel-Hezbollah war would likely draw in Iran and cover much of Lebanon, Israel and probably Syria.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/next-israel-hezbollah-war-will-be-worse-says-u-s-analyst-1.314880?localLinksEnabled=false
Iraq
50 Dead, 128 wounded in Iraq Attacks
As Iraq continues to muddle along with no new government all these months after the March 7 parliamentary elections, insurgents struck in the capital.
http://www.juancole.com/2010/09/50-dead-128-wounded-in-iraq-attacks.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29
Monday: 2 Iraqis Killed, 21 Wounded
Baghdad again saw a number of attacks today, but they were not as deadly as yesterday’s. At least two Iraqis were killed and 21 more were wounded in the new violence. Meanwhile, hundreds of looted artifacts returned to Iraq before being “lost” again were found in a storeroom belonging to the prime minister’s office. Also, several members of parliament attempted to meet in an unofficial capacity but were thwarted by the usual politics.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/09/20/monday-2-iraqis-killed-21-wounded/
CNN Censored Footage of Iraq ‘War Crime’
A former CNN Iraq correspondent suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder says his employers wouldn’t run footage he filmed of what he describes as a war crime by US troops.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/09/excnn-reporter-network-censored-footage-iraq-war-crime/
The “Right Thing” in Iraq?, Gary Leupp
Fox News recently reported that 58% of U.S. residents believe that the U.S. “did the right thing” in going to war in Iraq. This reflects the fact that most have been persuaded that combat is over, the troops having succeeding in toppling a dictator and establishing a democracy. I don’t know how accurate the statistic is, but my gut feeling is that it’s probably pretty accurate. And profoundly depressing. Have people forgotten that this war was fought, not for such reasons, but to destroy Saddam Hussein’s (alleged) weapons of mass destruction and end his (supposed) cooperation with al-Qaeda?
http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/09/the-%e2%80%9cright-thing%e2%80%9d-in-iraq/
Children of al-Qaeda in Iraq pay for sins of their fathers
IN BAQUBAH, IRAQ Zahraa is a rambunctious toddler. She still sucks on a pacifier, and her mother dresses her in pink. But according to the government, she does not exist. The daughter of an al-Qaeda in Iraq militant who forced her mother into marriage and motherhood, then disappeared, Zahraa is one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children whose births amid the anarchy and insurgent violence of Iraq were never legally recorded.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/20/AR2010092005696.html?hpid=topnews
America’s “Justice” in Occupied Iraq: Why Tariq Aziz Should Be Released, Muriel Mirak-Weissbach
The appearance on August 5 of an interview with former Iraqi diplomat, Dr. Tariq Aziz in the Guardian was a minor bombshell, whose repercussions were to be felt worldwide. Like an underground explosion, the interview sent waves throughout international waters, rocking many boats and reaching far distant shores. It was not only what the former top Iraqi diplomat said — although his brief statements were of utmost relevance — but the mere fact that he was allowed to speak out in public which sent eerie signals across international diplomatic circuits.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/09/america%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%9cjustice%e2%80%9d-in-occupied-iraq-why-tariq-aziz-should-be-released/
Iran
Iran, Lebanon Walk Out on Peres Friendship Speech
President Shimon Peres addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, saying “the Middle East has room for every person, every nation, every religion… there is enough room for friendship in the Middle East.” Representatives from Iran and Lebanon walked out as he took the podium. Mentioning the Israel-Palestinian Authority negotiations, Peres said, “We are now negotiating… in order to realize the two-state solution: A Jewish state – Israel, and an Arab state – Palestine. There is no other peaceful alternative, and I believe that we shall succeed.”
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/139722
Obama says military action against Iran not ideal
U.S. President claims military action is an option but army commanders warn of region destabilization.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/obama-says-military-action-against-iran-not-ideal-1.314848?localLinksEnabled=false
President Ahmadinejad’s Interview With ABC’s Christiane Amanpour
In an exclusive interview on “This Week with Christiane Amanpour,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he is open to diplomatic discussions with the United States on the subject of Afghanistan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrOXWFccyPE&feature=player_embedded
Iran hits back: US also executes women
Iranian officials slam US ‘double standards,’ media criticism of Iranian woman’s stoning sentence.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3958102,00.html
U.S. and Other World News
Sami Samir Hassoun, Terror Suspect, Was Given Fake Bomb By FBI
CHICAGO — A man arrested for allegedly placing a backpack he thought contained a bomb near Chicago’s Wrigley Field got the fake explosive from an FBI undercover agent, authorities say – a tactic that has been used in other U.S. terrorism cases in recent years. Sami Samir Hassoun, 22, a Lebanese citizen living in Chicago for about three years, was charged Monday with one count each of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted use of an explosive device.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/21/sami-samir-hassoun-terror_n_732975.html
Did U.S. Soldiers Create Afghan Killing Club?
U.S. soldiers charged with targeting Afghan civilians; Army ignored pleas by soldier’s father.
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=5617&updaterx=2010-09-20+09%3A37%3A21
War criminal: Powell unsure whether U.S. is winning in Afghanistan
Mr. Powell also said that neither the United States nor Israel is likely to launch a military strike on Iran any time soon.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/sep/19/powell-unsure-whether-us-winning-afghanistan/
Tony Benn on Tony Blair: “He Will Have to Live ‘Til the Day He Dies with the Knowledge that He Is Guilty of a War Crime”
We speak with former British cabinet minister and MP Tony Benn. He was the longest-serving MP in the history of the British Labour Party, having served for more than half a century. He is now president of the Stop the War Coalition.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/21/british_mp_tony_benn_on_tony
Violence, fraud and cronyism keep millions away from Afghan poll
Almost as quickly as the international community rushed to praise Saturday’s parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, complaints of widespread irregularities began pouring in, echoing the protracted wrangle over vote-rigging that returned President Hamid Karzai to power last year.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/violence-fraud-and-cronyism-keep-millions-away-from-afghan-poll-2083871.html
Voter fraud claims abound after Afghan elections
It will take weeks to determine a final tally in parliamentary races. Some monitoring groups consider the mere fact that balloting took place as a positive sign. Complaints of fraud mounted in Afghanistan on Monday, two days after parliamentary elections meant to shore up the country’s fragile democracy. But all sides said it was too soon to tell whether voting irregularities had significantly tainted the outcome of the balloting.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/PACz9XPPwMc/la-fg-afghanistan-election-20100921,0,6536403.story
US Attack Kills 8 In Pakistan
At least eight people were killed and two others injured in a U.S. drone strike launched Monday afternoon. One of the missiles reportedly hit a vehicle carrying five local welfare workers and all of them were said to be killed.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7146487.html
Fired U.S. Attorneys: Bush Administration ‘Turned The Justice Department Into The Laughingstock Of The Country’
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Five of the federal prosecutors whose firings in 2006 sparked an investigation into President George W. Bush’s Justice Department blamed their ouster Monday on politics in the department, which one of them said became a “laughingstock.” The five former U.S. attorneys, among nine who were let go, appeared together during a forum in Little Rock.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/20/fired-us-attorneys-bush-doj-laughingstock_n_732579.html
IG: FBI gave inaccurate statements claiming terror link to anti-war rally
The FBI gave inaccurate information to Congress and the public when it claimed a possible terrorism link to justify surveilling an anti-war rally in Pittsburgh, the Justice Department’s inspector general said Monday in a report on the bureau’s scrutiny of domestic activist groups. Inspector General Glenn Fine said the FBI had no reason to expect that anyone of interest in a terrorism investigation would be present at the 2002 event sponsored by the Thomas Merton Center, a nonviolent anti-war and anti-discrimination group.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/09/fbi-gave-inaccurate-statements-claiming-terror-link-antiwar-rally/
Tackling sexual harassment in Egypt
Activists are launching a project to highlight incidents of sexual abuse and help transform attitudes to women in the process.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/21/egypt-sexual-harassment
‘Arabs cannot afford to waste a single drop of water,’ LAU conference warns
BEIRUT: “If water resources become even more limited, it could destabilize the Arab region and destabilize peace,” according to one of the speakers at this year’s German-Arab environmental conference, held at the Lebanese American University (LAU) Byblos campus on Monday. Fathi Zereini, from the German-Arab Society for Environmental Studies.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=119516
Catholic Church backs Muslim struggle to build Milan’s first mosque
While New York frets over the construction of an Islamic cultural center and mosque near ground zero, Milan is pushing back against construction of its first mosque. Local Muslims have found an unlikely ally in the Catholic Church.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/Gbe5Easm9u8/Catholic-Church-backs-Muslim-struggle-to-build-Milan-s-first-mosque
“Understand anti-Semitism, and anti-Muslim bigotry”, Yaman Salahi
In a recent On Faith posting, Rabbi Shmully Hecht of Eliezer, a Jewish student society at Yale University, criticized a column I wrote for the Yale Daily News. Sadly, Hecht employed a tactic that has become increasingly familiar in American discussions about Arabs, Muslims, and Islam. In my column, I argued that a conference sponsored by the Yale Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of Anti-Semitism undermined the lessons to be learned from anti-Semitism because it hosted a variety of speakers with a reputation for promoting racist ideas about Arabs and Muslims. My message was simple: you cannot fight anti-Semitism without also fighting racism against Arabs and Muslims. Racism is wrong because of what it does, not because of whom it targets.
http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2010/09/understand_anti-semitism_and_anti-muslim_bigotry.html
Imperialism and Imperial Barbarism, James Petras
Imperialism, its character, means and ends has changed over time and place. Historically, western imperialism, has taken the form of tributary, mercantile, industrial, financial and in the contemporary period, a unique ‘militarist-barbaric’ form of empire building. Within each ‘period’, elements of past and future forms of imperial domination and exploitation ‘co-exist’ with the dominant mode. For example, in the ancient Greek and Roman empires, commercial and trade privileges complemented the extraction of tributary payments. Mercantile imperialism, was preceded and accompanied initially by the plunder of wealth and the extraction of tribute, sometimes referred to as “primitive accumulation”, where political and military power decimated the local population and forcibly removed and transferred wealth to the imperial capitals. As imperial commercial ascendancy was consolidated, manufacturing capital increasingly emerged as a co-participant; backed by imperial state policies manufacturing products destroyed local national manufacturers gaining control over local markets. Modern industrial driven imperialism, combined production and commerce, both complemented and supported by financial capital and its auxiliaries, insurance, transport and other sources of “invisible earnings”.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/09/imperialism-and-imperial-barbarism/
Glenn Greenwald on Iran, Tea Party Candidates, Jon Stewart and Obama’s Assassination Policy
We speak with Glenn Greenwald, a constitutional law attorney and the political and legal blogger for Salon.com. Greenwald discusses White House rhetoric toward Iran; Jon Stewart’s and Stephen Colbert’s planned rallies in Washington, DC; the Obama administration’s assassination policy that includes targeting US citizens; tea party candidates in the November midterm elections; and much more.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/9/21/glenn_greenwald_on_iran_tea_party
