and other news from Today in Palestine for Sunday
Settlers / Land, property and resources theft and destruction / Ethnic cleansing
Settlers begin expanding settlement near Nablus
Israeli settlers on Sunday started expanding the Rechalim settlement, illegally built on lands confiscated from farmers of the northern villages of Yatma and As-Sawiya south of Nablus, officials said. Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian Authority official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma’an that bulldozers began digging this morning. He explained that settlers from Rechalim occupied hundreds of acres.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=334567
Thousands of settlers converge on Jerusalem to protest US freeze proposal
…The demonstration, which took place opposite the Prime Minister’s Office as the cabinet was meeting inside, was a “warning” strike against accepting the freeze, settler leaders said. Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau left the cabinet meeting to join in the protest.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/thousands-of-settlers-converge-on-jerusalem-to-protest-u-s-freeze-proposal-1.325924
The Bat Ayn settlement – neighbors from hell
Palestine Solidarity Project – Today more than 1,000 settlers from Bet Ayn live on land that was used for centuries by Palestinian families. Residents of Bet Ayn have a long history of violence. In 2002, four people from Bet Ayn were convicted of terrorism related offences following an attempt to blow up a Palestinian girl’s school in East Jerusalem. The men were arrested outside of the school with a trailer containing explosives. Residents of Bet Ayn frequently attack neighboring residents of Palestinian villages and destroy their sources of income. The following are some examples of settler violence, destruction and intimidation since April 2009:
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2010/11/20/the-bat-ayn-settlement-%E2%80%93-neighbors-from-hell/
Some new pictures of the Jordan Valley
Jordan Valley Solidarity. Young settlers from Maskyyot colony, come to provoque Palestinian communities few days after they tried to grab some land, in Ein Il Hilwe … Below, new building in Mehola colony, in the Northern Jordan Valley
http://www.jordanvalleysolidarity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=119:some-new-picture-of-the-jordan-valley&catid=15:2010&Itemid=21
The US consulate [officer] in the Jordan Valley
Jordan Valley Solidarity. For the second time, the political officer of the Consulate of the United States of America visited the Palestinian Jordan Valley and met some inhabitants. On Friday, Mr.McFarland visited different places in the Jordan Valley with Jordan Valley Solidarity in order to understand the all situation. He first visited Ein Il Hilwe, Palestinian village surrounded by Israeli colonies. He met a Palestinian Bedouin that received a 1000 NIS fine from the Israeli police because his cows crossed the street.http://www.jordanvalleysolidarity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=117:the-us-consulate-in-the-jordan-valley-&catid=15:2010&Itemid=21
Violence and humiliation
Report: Soldiers beat and humiliate Salfit farmer
A Palestinian farmer said he was beaten by Israeli soldiers on Friday morning, after he asked them to open the agricultural gate and allow him access to his farm land in the northern West Bank village Az-Zawiya, west of Salfit … A force made up of men and women refused to let him through the gate. Instead, he said, soldiers beat him, strip-searched him and hand-cuffed him before transferring him to a military base. Abu Nab’a further said that female soldiers humiliated him and took photos with him. When he asked an Israeli officer why he was being beaten and humiliated, the young farmer said, he was told “Because you deliberately disturbed us and made us go to the gate early in the morning.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=334346
Activism / Solidarity / Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
Palestinian youth to undergo an operation after being struck by a high velocity tear gas projectile during Nabi Saleh demonstration
20 Nov …Following Abu Rahmah’s death, the use of the high velocity projectiles ceased, but today, only a week after the army resumed using them once more, a protester was seriously hurt as a result of their negligent use. An 18 year-old resident of the village is scheduled to undergo surgery at the Salfeet hospital, where a platinum implant will be inserted to his leg where the bone was crushed from the impact of the projectile. Eleven injuries from rubber-coated bullets and tear-gas projectiles were recorded at the end of the day, with four requiring hospitalization. The windows of a car were shattered by rubber-coated bullets and those of two houses were broken by tear-gas projectiles, that also clouded the houses with a gas
http://972mag.com/palestinian-youth-to-undergo-an-operation-after-being-struck-by-a-high-velocity-tear-gas-projectile-during-nabi-saleh-demonstration/
Fourteen-year-old, three Israeli activists and two internationals arrested in Beit Ummar protest
…Around two dozen Israeli soldiers and Border Police officers blocked the march from advancing into villager’s lands isolated inside the settlement, without any access to farmers. The demonstrators then sat on the ground, chanted slogans and made speeches on the injustice of denying Palestinians access to their own land.
http://popularstruggle.org/content/fourteen-year-old-three-israeli-activists-and-two-internationals-arrested-beit-ummar-protest
Crying out loud
Breaking the Silence organizers started with a pile of photos and pangs of conscience about their combat service. Six years later, the group is still jolting the public with its testimonies from soldiers serving in the territories … This year, the 10th anniversary of the outbreak of the second intifada, the organization is producing a book containing 100 testimonies by soldiers who served in the territories during the uprising. Moreover, in contrast to the earlier reports, the text this time will be accompanied by photographs. Publication is set for December.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/crying-out-loud-1.325558
VIDEO: Mock checkpoint brings Palestinian student experience to Columbia University
For more information visit Columbia SJP and the Right to Education Campaign at Birzeit University.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/mock-checkpoint-brings-palestinian-student-experience-to-columbia-university.html
War crimes / Israeli ‘justice’
A 91-year-old shepherd, killed alongside 29 or 30 sheep, was called a militant by IDF / Philip Weiss
One of the most important stories we’ve picked up in the last few months is B’Tselem’s report that every other day a Palestinian noncombatant is killed in the occupied territories, on average … This lesson is underscored by a superb report by Jared Malsin at Ma’an [see next article] on three killings in Gaza in September. A 91-year-old shepherd is visited in the fields one afternoon by his grandson and another teenage boy, who bring a chicken. They grill the chicken, then the boys help the old man with his sheep in lands close to the Israeli border. And then the shells begin to land, and they hustle back to the barn. All three are killed– and 29 of 30 sheep.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/91-year-old-shepherd-killed-alongside-29-of-30-sheep-was-called-a-militant-by-idf.html
Israel army showed ‘intent to kill’ in Gaza shelling / Jared Malsin
BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip — On 13 September, a day after Israeli tank shells decapitated his 16-year-old son, Walid Abu Oda went back to his family’s northern Gaza farm in a vain search for the head. Asked how he was coping with the loss, he said, “How do you think it feels to lose a son, to see your son without his head?” The killing of Walid’s son, Ismail Abu Oda, along with his friend Hussam Abu Sayed, 17, and his grandfather Ibrahim Abu Sayed, 91, is raising questions about whether Israel has taken sufficient strides to bring its army into compliance with international humanitarian law.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=334144
Culture of impunity / Philip Weiss
It was big news when Israel charged two soldiers with forcing a Palestinian boy to act as a human shield during the Gaza onslaught of two years ago. See, they are accountable. Judge Goldstone’s report is all wrong when he described a culture of “impunity.” Well the two soldiers, now convicted of a truly terrifying crime, remain unnamed and got slaps on the wrist, lest their futures be compromised, the judge said. This Haaretz piece is full of sympathy for the soldiers.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/11/culture-of-impunity-2.html#more-29843
Palestinian boy’s mother: State backs criminal soldiers
Mother of boy who was forced to open suspicious bags disappointed with ‘light sentence’ given to soldiers, says ‘This is a scandal that encourages others to continue this behavior’; MK Ben-Ari: Soldiers deserve medal
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3987670,00.html
Tibi: For Israel, the life of an Arab has less value
By handing light sentences to IDF soldiers who knowingly risked the life of a non-combatant Palestinian child, an Israel Defense Forces court has conveyed a message that the lives of Arabs have less value than the lives of Jews, Deputy Knesset Speaker Ahmed Tibi said Sunday … Following the sentencing, another Givati soldier told Army Radio that all the soldiers involved in the incident were left with “a sense of satisfaction and joy over the sentence.”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/tibi-for-israel-the-life-of-an-arab-has-less-value-1.325892
Israeli soldiers who used Palestinian boy, 9, as human shield avoid jail / Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
Mother says suspended sentences and demotions for forcing her son to check bag for bombs at gunpoint are ‘a scandal’ … “I thought they would kill me,” Majed said. “I became very scared and wet my pants. I could not shout or say anything because I was too afraid … I opened the bag as he pointed his weapon directly at me. I emptied the bag on the floor. It contained money and papers. I looked at him and he was laughing.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/21/israeli-soldiers-human-shield-avoid-jail
Fatah officials: PA security was involved in Namnam hit
RAMALLAH, (PIC)– A group of Fatah officials came out of the dark to report the involvement of Palestinian Authority security members in the assassination of Mohammed Al-Namnam, who was gunned down by Israeli warplanes two weeks back. The sources said officers working as agents for the PA preventative security and intelligence were commissioned by Israel to gather information about Namnam in Gaza. They added that they will soon reveal the names of those involved in the hits against Samman and Al-Yassin, who were slain in the West Bank city of Qalqalia.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7afENXJF6Qu3PqO67eO2J%2bTNLfM4YREczzAb0JdQotttd6aa0e2eaMLrutGDm7boHgf3ds%2bUnilZkCX5qj0ntYC0oK4GAm6di2m2iRcRImIk%3d
Detention
Israel isolating Sheikh Sahah from outside world
Israel has imposed a number of restrictions on Sheikh Ra’ed Salah, the detained leader of the Islamic movement in 1948 occupied Palestine, including banning him from talking to the media. The Sheikh is serving a five-month term in Ramle prison after an Israeli court found him “guilty” of participating in riot incidents, assaulting a policeman and trying to obstruct his duty during a rally against the demolition of the Maghareba gate road … Sheikh Salah is also held in isolation and is barred from mingling with other detainees. He is only allowed weekly visits by his lawyer and family for half an hour. Furthermore, the Israeli prison services refused to supply the Sheikh with books or newspapers.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7542:Israel-isolating-Sheikh-Salah-from-the-outside-world&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=135
Speaker, Hamas MPs slam PA security for kidnapping noted woman
RAMALLAH, (PIC)– Speaker of the Palestinian legislative council Aziz Dweik and Hamas lawmakers strongly denounced the Palestinian Authority’s security apparatuses for kidnapping female preacher Timam Abu Assaud, known as Umm Amer, from her home in Nablus city … They said that Umm Amer is a noted Islamic figure in Palestine and a widow supporting her children after their father died.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s74z09NxZj5aq7IaBYtpbs7jXfZycJN%2fdpCvhik4O7Lrq8Wwz%2fhxqdkxsUs7j8ky9vs%2b5D05owxNPgaX0O3n126hfWw4MK35ZcwxmHEzGpfl8%3d
20 Palestinians kidnapped by PA security militias in West Bank
WEST BANK, (PIC)– The Palestinian Authority’s security militias kidnapped 20 Palestinian citizens thought to be affiliated with Hamas Movement in different West Bank areas, according to local sources on Sunday. Among the detainees was a Palestinian businessman called Basem Thabet who was kidnapped again after his release for two days. His family says PA intelligence officers demand him to pay $50,000 for his freedom.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7HOHlEtzG7qZMAx1WDVEEN8jDF5PWlWe1TMjfas1pf%2b4OQpfnV42oQSAeFufNN60yDo2rXYvrCR2Rj5EJHo%2f%2fObi%2b8bCqU4vLTL0a%2fPpqT6Q%3d
Allegations of West Bank torture increase
Naiema Abu Ayyash’s worst fears were confirmed this month when she finally managed to visit her husband in Jericho prison. Badr Abu Ayyash, 42, a farmer and local politician in the west Bank, was arrested by the Palestinian Authority’s Preventive Security unit on September 14. Aside from two brief and apparently supervised phone calls, his family was denied all contact with him. “He looked very different,” said Ms Abu Ayyash, a mother of four.”He could hardly walk. He had difficulty breathing and was very thin. When he shook my hand, I noticed that he had no strength at all.”
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c5ceda42-f58b-11df-99d6-00144feab49a.html
Siege / Restriction of Movement / Humanitarian
Egypt opens Rafah crossing after 6-day closure
Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah border crossing on Gaza’s border Sunday allowing pilgrims to return to the Strip after the Eid Al-Adha holiday. The crossing was closed for six days over the holiday, in line with a new policy to align opening times with Egypt’s port Awja in the Sinai Peninsula.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=334713
Gaza: one crossing partly open
Israeli authorities opened the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and the besieged Gaza Strip in the south to allow in goods, humanitarian aid, fuel, and gas for domestic use.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=334480
Medialens: Media bury documents revealing Israel’s deliberate policy of near-starvation for Gaza
17 Nov – [scroll down to Media Response? A Polite Silence] Our searches of the Nexis newspaper database show that, as far as we could determine, not a single UK newspaper has reported the release of these damning Israeli documents. We widened our searches to include all English-language publications covered worldwide by Nexis. We found just two: one from the Palestine News Network on October 21 and one in Palestine Chronicle on November 6. We were so surprised by the uniform silence across the English-language press that we asked US-based media analyst David Peterson to check our findings. He was able to do so, spelling out his search results as follows (email to Media Lens, November 11, 2010): Major World Publications: zero…
http://www.medialens.org/alerts/10/101117_put_the_palestinians.php
Gaza’s blockade silences voices of women / Mary Robinson and Lakhdar Brahimi
…In our conversations with a range of women, we learned that despite the apparent “easing” of restrictions by Israel and Egypt, important socio-economic indicators such as poverty, malnutrition, unemployment and family violence are getting worse. Women in this conservative society find their domestic responsibilities made all the more difficult and time-consuming by the blockade — and they bear the brunt of society’s frustration and anger in such trying times.Equally disturbing are the creeping restrictions on women’s freedom imposed by Hamas activists. These restrictions are not being imposed through the introduction of laws, but rather through party-led initiatives that are enforced without any system of accountability.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-robinson/gazas-blockade-silences-v_b_785145.html
Gaza father appeals to president for daughter’s surgery
The father of a five-year-old girl in Gaza in need of ear reconstruction surgery has appealed to President Mahmoud Abbas and Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz to pay for her operation. Malak Al-Ghoul was born without external ears.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=334507
Political/Diplomatic news
Netanyahu vows: No third freeze
Prime minister meets with Likud MKs in ongoing campaign to enlist his party’s support for additional halt in West Bank construction, demanded by US … The prime minister presented the MKs with three principles from which he would refuse to stray under US pressure. He said he would reject any additional freeze on settlements, demand that the US veto a Palestinian unilateral declaration of statehood at the UN, and stress that no agreement will be pressed upon Israel at the end of the 90-day moratorium on construction.The state will also compensate all settlers harmed by the freeze, Netanyahu said. With regards to the Palestinians he added, “I don’t want them as citizens or subjects.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3987808,00.html
Abbas: No peace talks without East Jerusalem construction freeze
Speaking in Cairo after talks with Mubarak, Palestinian president says there has been no official U.S. request for either side to return to peace talks.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/abbas-no-peace-talks-without-east-jerusalem-construction-freeze-1.325879
NATO planning ‘integral’ role in enforcing Mideast peace deal
LISBON – NATO will play an integral role in enforcing a Middle East peace deal, but will not play a direct role in reaching that agreement, the alliance’s secretary general told Haaretz this weekend.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/nato-planning-integral-role-in-enforcing-mideast-peace-deal-1.325778
Turkey wary of Nato missile shield
Ankara wants to make sure that Nato’s Europe-wide missile defence system is not a ‘proxy’ protection for Israel. Abdullah Gul, the Turkish president, has said that a Europe-wide ballistic missile shield planned by Nato must not be aimed at Iran
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/11/201011191655387515.html
Islamic Jihad says Israel planning new war
Islamic Jihad said Saturday that Israeli media campaigns and drills carried out by Israeli forces suggest Israel is planning a new military offensive on the Gaza Strip. Jihad spokesman Daoud Shehab said Israel was using the media to transmit false information linking militant factions in Gaza with Al-Qaeda, in an effort to recruit regional support for an attack on the coastal enclave.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=334413
PRC armed wing: Israel preparing for war on Gaza
The Popular Resistance Committees’ armed wing said Saturday that the recent intensive shelling of the Gaza Strip showed that Israel was preparing for a comprehensive offensive on the Strip. In a statement, the An-Nasser Brigades spokesman Abu Yousef said the continued escalation in attacks on the coastal enclave was a declaration of war by Israel. Further, he said the attacks targeted civilians.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=334447
Other news
PCBS: Half of Palestinian population aged under 18
As activities around the world mark Universal Children’s Day on Saturday, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics found that half of the Palestinians in the occupied territories are aged under 18. More than 40 percent of the population are aged under 15, and due to the high birth rate children are set to constitute the majority for several coming years, PCBS found.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333669
IDF seeks tens of billions to move key units to Negev
The Defense Ministry wants NIS 20 billion to NIS 30 billion over the next 10 years to move its intelligence, computers and logistical units from the center of the country to the Negev.
http://english.themarker.com/idf-seeks-tens-of-billions-to-move-key-units-to-negev-1.325795
Israel approves $23 million plan to renovate near Western Wall
Israel approved Sunday a five-year plan to the tune of NIS 85 million ($23 million) to renovate near the Western Wall and the adjacent Jewish quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem … Government spokesman Mark Regev said the budget would be for maintenance work only and does not cover areas that house disputed shrines holy to both Jews and Muslims.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-approves-23-million-plan-to-renovate-near-western-wall-1.325927
Judge: Court to approve kosher buses
The High Court of Justice will not ban gender segregation on haredi bus routes, and is likely to accept the Transport Ministry’s recommendation to make the separation between sexes voluntary rather than compulsory, Justice Elyakim Rubinstein said Sunday.In line with the recommendation, Transportation Ministry officers will monitor buses serving the ultra-Orthodox population to make sure that no violence against female passengers takes place.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3987731,00.html
Haredi MKs get threat letters
‘Stop sucking our blood, pack your shtreimels and go to Brooklyn,’ say letters sent with white powder … “We, the enlightened people of Israel, demand that you, people of darkness, stop living at our expense by studying without working, and get out of our lives,” the letters say.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3987791,00.html
Imad Fares petitions against dismissal from IDF
Highest ranking Druze officer files petition with Tel Aviv District Court against IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, claims he did not have relevant details when he deciding to dismiss him over of failure to uphold orders
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3987730,00.html
West Bank and Gaza solid waste management project
Karachi, Nov. 17 — Drawing on World Bank Group Trust Fund financing and expertise since 2001, the Palestinians were able to improve solid waste management and environmental conditions in 80 communities in Jenin Governorate, with a population of 200,000 people. They achieved this by establishing a new sanitary landfill, closing and rehabilitating 85 dumpsites, and improving waste collection services. Towards the end of the project, the new landfill was expanded to serve all five governorates that comprise the northern West Bank (population 600,000), providing for further cost saving and enhancing public-private partnerships.
http://www.waste-management-world.com/index/from-the-wires/wire-news-display/1304370478.html
Analysis / Opinion / Human interest
Former US envoy to Israel: Washington will regret its settlement freeze bribe
In his op-ed ‘With settlement freeze, Washington will be rewarding Israel’s bad behavior” in the Washington Post, Daniel Kurtzer blames Netanyahu for making Israel’s security needs ‘contingent and negotiable.’ … “Washington will almost certainly come to regret bribing Israel, Israel may regret receiving such a bribe even more,” Kurtzer wrote … “If [the deal] goes forward, it will be the first direct benefit that the United States has provided Israel for settlement activities that we have opposed for more than 40 years.”
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/former-u-s-envoy-to-israel-washington-will-regret-its-settlement-freeze-bribe-1.325746
How could Obama have agreed to all these ‘understandings’ with Netanyahu? / Yossi Sarid
Let’s use logic to deduce what really went on behind the scenes … Over the past 10 days of confusion, one thing is clear: In formulating the “understandings,” numerous misunderstandings have emerged … Does it seem logical that America would suddenly agree to exclude Jerusalem from the construction freeze? After all, it has never recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, not to mention the eastern part of the city, which it defines as a disputed area that is also up for negotiation … Is it logical that America have agreed not to renew its demands for a new freeze after the 90-day freeze is up? If so, it would be recognizing de facto Israel’s right to rule all of the land of Israel and not only all of Jerusalem.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/how-could-obama-have-agreed-to-all-these-understandings-with-netanyahu-1.325789
Israeli press is censoring the truth away / Gideon Levy
Many of us bow our heads in surrender and self-censorship, which is immeasurably worse than government censorship … Do people not want to know about the occupation? So we won’t tell them. Do people not want to hear the truth about Operation Cast Lead? We won’t let them lose any sleep over it. There is no need for the IDF Spokesman’s Office, it’s within us … The government has closed Gaza to us since November 2006 and scandalously, no one defies it. It’s hard to believe that only one courageous reporter, Amira Hass, has managed to be there to report without being part of an army unit, while the rest of the press has given up the task.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/israeli-press-is-censoring-the-truth-away-1.325832
Settlement freeze: building bridges, at cut-throat prices / Zvi Bar’el
A settlement freeze is a faith-building measure toward the U.S. administration, and at a bargain price … Obama isn’t ordering Israel to return to the 1967 borders, evacuate all the settlements, empty Jewish homes in East Jerusalem or grant passports to millions of Palestinian refugees. But he does expect a country receiving billions of dollars in aid — a country criticism of which in international forums Washington rebuffs, whose U.S. military support keeps it alive — to comport itself politely, or at the very least not humiliate it.
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/settlement-freeze-building-bridges-at-cut-throat-prices-1.325834
Scaling the Golden Heights / Jerrold Kessel & Pierre Klochendler
Against all odds, Naim Aweisat – a Palestinian businessman who has started his own communal movement, helped build a medical clinic and improved transportation in Jabel Mukaber – is trying to move mountains in East Jerusalem
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/scaling-the-golden-heights-1.325591
Iraq
Saturday: 5 Iraqis killed, 4 wounded
At least five Iraqis were killed and four more were wounded in light violence. The Iraqi government credited its formation deal with reduced attacks during Eid al-Adha observances; however, reports are generally lighter during major holidays anyway. An unknown number of casualties were left after clashes in the Karbala area as well.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/11/20/saturday-5-iraqis-killed-4-wounded/
New Iraqi parliament session focuses on procedure (AP)
BAGHDAD – Iraq’s lawmakers headed back to parliament Sunday for what was expected to be a lackluster session that won’t address the key decisions on who will run the new government. Instead, Iraq’s 325 lawmakers were expected only to discuss internal parliamentary bylaws and forming legislative committees during the session that began in the early afternoon. It is only the fourth meeting of parliament since lawmakers were elected in March.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101121/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
Welfare funding runs out in Iraq
BAGHDAD — Iraq has run out of money to pay for widows’ benefits, farm crops and other programs for the poor, the parliament leader on Sunday told lawmakers who have collected nearly $180,000 each so far this year in one of the world’s most oil-rich nations.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/11/21-0
Iranian wrongly deported to Baghdad claims he was tortured
Aland Salimi says Iraqi police beat and starved him after he was deported from Britain following failed asylum application … The alleged mistreatment of Aland Salimi, 21, has emerged as the European court of human rights this week considers whether it is safe to resume deporting failed Iraqi asylum seekers to the Iraqi capital.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/21/iranian-deported-baghdad-torture-allegations
Biden calls for continued US engagement in Iraq (AFP)
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Vice President Joseph Biden on Sunday called for continued US engagement in Iraq, arguing that the country still faced big challenges on the road to security and prosperity.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101121/pl_afp/usiraqdiplomacyaid
Iraqi activists hailed in wake of honour killing case
Women’s rights activists in Kurdistan played a key role in helping to bring about a British court’s conviction last week of two Kurdish men for an “honour” killing, it has emerged. Omar Hussein and Mohammed Ali were sentenced at London’s Old Bailey court to minimum jail terms of 21 and 22 years respectively on November 10 for the murder of their cousin Banaz Mahmod in 2006.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/iraqi-activists-hailed-wake-honour-killing-case
Other Mideast
Hezbollah writes off Israeli plan to quit village as ‘trick’
BEIRUT (AFP) – Hezbollah on Sunday dismissed an Israeli decision to pull troops out of a disputed village on the border with Lebanon as nothing more than a “trick” and accused the UN of complicity with Israel. “The Israeli enemy wants to show that it has fully pulled out from Lebanese territory,” Hezbollah MP Mohammed Raad said in a speech in south Lebanon, excerpts of which were distributed to the media in Beirut.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=334734
Clash in Palestinian camp in Lebanon wounds 6
BEIRUT — At least six people, including a child, were wounded late Saturday when armed clashes erupted between rival Palestinian groups in a refugee camp in southern Lebanon, Palestinian and Lebanese sources said. The clash erupted in the Rashidiyeh Palestinian refugee camp east of the southern port city Tyre when a man identified as Ahmad Raja clashed with the guards of a Fatah Movement office, a Palestinian source inside the camp said. Raja used to be a follower of the hardline group the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, headed by Ahmed Jebril, the source said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=334443
Yemen raises soccer cup security in volatile south (Reuters)
* 30,000 troops and dozens of checkpoints line Aden, Abyan * Hundreds protest Gulf Cup in south, five wounded * North rebel clashes in 3rd day, several dead and wounded
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LDE6AJ08G.htm
U.S., other world news
Still waiting for justice – 25 years since Alex Odeh’s murder
October 11, 2010, marked the 25th anniversary of the murder of Alex Odeh. Alex was killed on October 11, 1985, when a powerful pipe bomb exploded as he unlocked and opened the door of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee office in Santa Ana, California. In addition to killing Alex Odeh, the bomb injured several other victims. Alex was ADC’s Southern California Regional Director, a published poet, a lecturer of Arabic Language and Middle East history at Coastline College in Santa Ana, and a tireless peace activist … The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) case into Alex Odeh’s murder remains open, with an up to a $1 million reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. However, no arrest has yet been made in spite of the fact that press reports have stated over the years that the FBI identified members of the Jewish Defense League (JDL) as suspects. None of the identified JDL individuals has ever been charged or prosecuted in connection with the murder, and some have fled to Israel.
http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2010/11/still-waiting-for-justice-25-years-since-alex-odehs-murder/
Congressional letter urges Obama to release Pollard
Letter signed by 39 Democrats says Pollard “has served a sufficient time from standpoint of either punishment or deterrence … In comments at a press conference late Thursday, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said he initiated the letter, written in coordination with a broad array of Jewish groups, mostly out of humanitarian concerns for the convicted Israeli spy, imprisoned 25 years, but also as a spur in the peace process.
http://www.jpost.com/home/article.aspx?id=195988
US Army court stays murder prosecution of soldier (Reuters)
* Sensitive pictures of Afghan war dead under lock and key * Defense lawyers seek to open photos to public scrutiny SEATTLE, Nov 20 – A U.S. military appeals court has ordered Army prosecutors to halt proceedings against one of five U.S. soldiers charged with murdering unarmed Afghan civilians and staging them to appear as combat casualties.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N20236343.htm
Liar, liar / Philip Giraldi
President Barack Obama’s speech in Indonesia in which he conceded that the United States must do more to establish a good working relationship with many Muslim nations would have ranked as one of the more pathetic performances by an American president in recent years but for the fact that there have been so many awful performances to choose from. The president’s grammar and syntax were perfect and the speech was cleverly crafted, exactly what we have come to expect. It was replete with carefully designed pauses, Indonesian words and phrases, and some self deprecating humor, but it was characteristically bloodless and completely tone deaf.
http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2010/11/philip-giraldi-liar-liar/
Clinton backs civilian trials for terror suspects (AFP)
Washington — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Sunday renewed her backing to try “war on terror” suspects in civilian courts, but refused to be drawn on the fate of the alleged September 11 mastermind. The Obama administration was dealt a severe blow last week when a New York jury cleared Tanzanian Ahmed Ghailani of all but one of 286 charges brought against him for the 1998 embassy bombings in Africa.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101121/ts_alt_afp/usattacksguantanamojustice
Report: Would-be plane bombers post attack details (AP)
Al-Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula is promising more small-scale attacks like its attempts to bomb two US-bound cargo planes, which it likens to bleeding its enemy to death by a thousand cuts, in a special edition of the Yemeni-based group’s English on-line magazine, Inspire.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3987383,00.html
