and other news from Today in Palestine:
Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
Settlers begin construction of housing at East Jerusalem yeshiva
New construction starts on 18 apartments around the Beit Orot Yeshiva on the Mount of Olives.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/settlers-begin-construction-of-housing-at-east-jerusalem-yeshiva-1.330821?localLinksEnabled=false
Israel Approves the Construction of New Settlements Near Beit Orot Yeshiva
According to Israel Radio, the Jerusalem Municipality gave approval, on Thursday, the construction of 24 additional Jewish houses, near the Ultra-Orthodox center Beit Orot in the occupied East Jerusalem. Ma’an News reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60189
Israel denies plans to expand East Jerusalem hotel, but documents prove otherwiseForeign Ministry says reported plans for construction on Jordanian-owned compound are from 1988 – but Haaretz has obtained blueprints and letter from 2010 that show recent approval for expansion.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-denies-plans-to-expand-east-jerusalem-hotel-but-documents-prove-otherwise-1.330930?localLinksEnabled=false
Israel moves to legalize segregated Jewish-only communities
In October, the Israeli parliament moved to enshrine in law the right of “cooperative associations” — communities mostly established since Israel’s creation in 1948, comprising nearly 70 percent of all communities in Israel — to accept only Jews.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11676.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Report: Israel to expand hotel owned by Jordan
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Israel is planning a major expansion to a Jordanian-owned hotel atop the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, an Israeli newspaper reported Wednesday. The Seven Arches Hotel belongs to the Jordanian royal family but it was taken over by Israel when Jordan withdrew from the West Bank in the 1967 Six-Day War. The hotel is in East Jerusalem, which is part of the occupied Palestinian territories.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342442
Israeli Military demolishes water wells and cisterns in the South Hebron Hills
The Israeli military demolished three water cisterns and two wells in the Khashem Ad Daraj – Hathaleen region on Tuesday, December 14th . The military gave no reason for the destruction of the wells and cisterns. The demolitions follow a pattern of destruction of Palestinian property by the Israeli military in Area C, as defined by the Oslo Accords. Rather than delivering the demolition orders to the residents of the villages in the area, the Israeli army instead left the orders under a stone two days earlier.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/12/16061/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29
Settlers doggedly intimidate Palestinians
At around 3:30pm, Israeli police arrested a 19-year-old Palestinian man named Imen in Sheikh Jarrah, following a confrontation with settlers. The settlers’ dog, on a 2-meter long chain, attacked Imen as he stood on the street outside of his former home, which the settlers had dispossessed. The settlers responded with laughter and walked up to another house, which they are occupying although it had been the home of another Palestinian.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/12/16051/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29
Israel maps out plan to move Iran’s Jewish population to Palestine
The Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption has announced mapping out a plan to migrate all of Iran’s 20,000 Jews to occupied Palestine.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Q
How settlers and the IDF carve up the West Bank
Between 22 November and 2 December, nine members, supporters and friends of the AWL took part in a solidarity delegation to Israel and Palestine, visiting Palestinian resistance organisations, Israelis supporting them and workers’, youth, women’s, anti-occupation and solidarity organisations in both countries. Sacha Ismail discusses some of the political impressions he had during their visit.
Firstly, I want to first discuss the ways in which Israel is undermining the emergence of a two-state settlement. One thing leftists in Britain often argue is that a two-state solution could be no different from a series of Palestinian bantustans controlled by Israel. When you go to the West Bank you see all the ways in which it would be different. The West Bank is currently divided into three zones; only 20 percent is under full Palestinian control. 60 percent is under the control of the Israel in terms of both “security” and administration. That amounts a constant regime of harassment and intimidation against Palestinians, for instance in terms of arbitrary house demolitions, one of which we witnessed.
http://www.workersliberty.org/story/2010/12/16/how-settlers-and-army-carve-west-bank
Israel’s demographic policy in Jerusalem and the elimination of a Palestinian state solution
Since the annexation of Jerusalem in 1967, Israeli authorities have carried out a concerted “Judaization” program of the city, parallel to the eradiction of Palestinian identity and heritage. Today Israeli civil and military authorities continue to work alongside private settler organizations to consolidate Jewish territorial power over the eastern part of the city, thus eliminating any possibility of the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem its capital. Identity politics The Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967 has jeopardized the legal status of its Palestinian population ever since. Israeli law ruled that Jerusalem’s Palestinians were classified as “residents”, not citizens of a state. Jordan’s renouncement of all claims to the West Bank in 1988 suddenly left thousands of Jerusalemite Palestinians with Jordanian ID cards of their Jordanian citizenship. The Oslo Accords, signed in September 1993 between the government of Israel and the PLO, then ruled that Palestinian residents of Jerusalem were prevented from holding Palestinian nationality.
http://silwanic.net/?p=9166
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
Oppose Today’s House Resolution Denying Palestinian Self Determination
We are outraged to learn that Rep. Howard Berman, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is trying to push through Congress today a resolution “condemning unilateral declarations of a Palestinian state.” As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” the worst stumbling block to freedom’s advance is the person who “paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s [or woman’s] freedom.”
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/oppose-todays-house-resolution-denying.html
CodePink invites you to the Gaza Strip, January 30 to February 6, 2011
As we approach the two year anniversary of the Israeli invasion of Gaza, join CODEPINK on a delegation to examine how the people of Gaza have fared in the past two years and how the restrictions on trade and travel continue to impact their lives. We will meet with UN representatives, NGOs, students, government officials, human rights monitors and businesspeople. We will enter Gaza via the Egyptian crossing at Rafah, departing from Cairo the morning of January 30 and returning to Cairo the evening of February 6. Payment of $1,000 includes transportation from Cairo to Gaza and within Gaza, program, translation, 2 meals/day, Gaza accommodations, donations to local organizations.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/codepink-invites-you-to-gaza-strip.html
#BDS: STL-PSC Boycott Motorola FlashMob- Video
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/12/bds-stl-psc-boycott-motorola-flashmob.html
#BDS: Marrickville Council supports BDS
Last night Bethlehem’s sister city in Australia again made history by voting to support theUnified Palestinian Call for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions. Marrickville is the first municipality in Australia to take this important step to support human rights and international humanitarian law in Palestine. Residents concerned about Israel’s ongoing violations of human rights sat through four and a half hours of debate on local issues before Council finally reached Item 11 – Notice of Motion: Supporting the Global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Campaign. Marrickville Council’s website says “As a community, we stand for what is fair and right. It doesn’t take much for us to come together – whether it is working for a better environment, fighting proposed school closures or simply joining in at a local fundraiser or rally.”
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/12/bds-marrickville-council-supports-bds.html
Why I was willing to risk arrest at the AIPAC annual dinner, Noura Khouri
Though I’ve been a community organizer for several years, Monday night was the first time I was willing to get arrested for an action. Though unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance to finish performing our dance and sharing our message before we got ‘escorted’ out, I felt we accomplished our mission. As I sat in jail, with the 6 additional activists, for 6 hours Monday night, I had a chance to reflect on why I was willing to risk arrest to disrupt AIPAC’s annual dinner in Oakland.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/why-i-was-willing-to-risk-arrest-at-the-aipac-annual-dinner.html
Youth Against Normalization’s pictures of the AIPAC protest in Oakland
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3beee/5262494829/in/set-72157625602585828/
Anti
Outcry in Denmark over firm’s involvement in occupation
The Danish-British security firm G4S has come under scrutiny after it was revealed last month that it supplies equipment and services to Israel for use at checkpoints and settlements in the occupied West Bank and at Israeli prisons.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11678.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Israeli academic hosted in Riyadh to give lecture
News reports said that an Israeli academic from Britain is making a visit to Saudi Arabia nowadays to deliver a lecture at King Faisal center for research and Islamic studies.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO
Been to Israel/Palestine lately? The FBI may come knocking on your door, Cecilie Surasky
By the time she was in high school, Sarah Smith had already been named one of the 100 most influential women in Chicago by Chicago’s business magazine, Crain’s. Now Smith, who happens to be Jewish, has been subpoenaed by the FBI to appear before a grand jury on January 25 to explain her trip to Israel-Palestine with two Palestinian women friends. (As terrifying as this whole episode is for everyone involved, it says something about Palestinian safety that only Smith has come forward publicly.) All three young Chicago residents have been subpoenaed, joining ranks with 14 other peace activists from the Midwest who have been similarly targeted in recent months.
http://www.muzzlewatch.com/2010/12/15/yes-virginia-the-fbi-really-can-subpoena-you-just-for-going-to-palestine/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Muzzlewatch+%28MuzzleWatch%29
Abuse of Palestinian Children
Otherwise Occupied / Labour is concerned
No, not Labor. The British parliament is the one debating the treatment of underage Palestinian detainees by Israeli military tribunals.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/otherwise-occupied-labour-is-concerned-1.330315
Full Text: Letter from Congressman Brian Baird criticizes Israel for targeting Palestinian children in Gaza
http://palestinenote.com/blogs/news/archive/2010/12/15/full-text-letter-from-congressman-brian-baird-criticizes-israel-s-for-targeting-palestinian-children-in-gaza.aspx
Refugees/Siege/Rights Violations/Restriction of Movement
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (09 – 15 December. 2010)
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MDCS-8C7JNW?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Goods – Needs Vs. Supply – Nov 14 – Dec 11
http://www.gazagateway.org/2010/12/goods-%e2%80%93-needs-vs-supply-%e2%80%93-nov-14-%e2%80%93-dec-11/
Nahr al-Bared residents prep for return
BEIRUT: As the first displaced inhabitants of the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp prepare to return to their rebuilt homes early next year, donors have provided enough contributions to cover the evacuees’ living expenses for the first three months of 2011, a number of UN officials said Wednesday.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=122593
Bethlehem mayor complains about Israeli limits (AP)
AP – Bethlehem’s mayor has lit up his town’s main Christmas tree while complaining that Israel’s limitations on access to his West Bank town are weighing heavily on holiday cheer.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101215/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_palestinians_bethlehem
Desolation in Hebron’s Old City
Hebron – Al Khalil in Arabic – is the infamous theater of violent clashes between Israeli settlers and the IDF on the one side, and Palestinian residents on the other. Ever since 1968 when a group of Jewish settlers led by Rabbi Moshe Levinger occupied one of the main hotels in the city and the first settlement, Kiryat Arba was subsequently established, more radical Jews have kept coming to Hebron and settlements have been expanding.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1650
PA says it will challenge draft prisoners law
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority announced Tuesday that it would challenge in court a draft Israeli law to prohibit Palestinian prisoners from family visits. PA prisoners minister Issa Qaraqe said the law was unprecedented in the history of legislation worldwide. “By permitting its intelligence services to ban attorneys from meeting prisoners, especially during lengthy investigations, Israel is actually practicing torture and harassment against isolated prisoners,” he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342447
Gaza’s Al-Quds hospital gets new emergency room (AFP)
AFP – The emergency room at Gaza City’s Al-Quds hospital, which was damaged during Israel’s 2008-2009 invasion, reopened on Wednesday as part of a two-million-euro project funded by France.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/wl_mideast_afp/palestiniansgazahealthaidfrance
Racism and Discrimination
Israeli towns continue to rewrite bylaws to keep Arabs out
Regional council in the Galilee presents guidelines that ‘preserve their Jewish and Zionist character.’
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israeli-towns-continue-to-rewrite-bylaws-to-keep-arabs-out-1.330844?localLinksEnabled=false
No tax breaks for Arabs
High Court ruled tax breaks based on location discriminate against Arab communities but government ignored ruling.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4000393,00.html
Israeli Chief Rabbi Orders Shop Owners Who Employ Jewish Girls Not to Hire Arabs, Richard Silverstein
I couldn’t have made this up myself if I’d tried: the rabbis of the largely Yemenite city of Rosh Ha-Ayin (English), including the chief rabbi, declared a ban on hiring Arabs at stores which employ Jewish girls. I swear to you, it’s true. If you’d told me this story came out of Pakistan or Kandahar I might’ve believed you, but no, it’s from Israel’s Rosh Ha-Ayin.
http://uruknet.info/?p=m72897&hd=&size=1&l=e
A Racist Decree: Real Estate and Israeli Rabbis, LAWRENCE DAVIDSON
On Tuesday, the 7th of December, some fifty Israeli rabbis issued a “decree” forbidding their Jewish fellow citizens from “renting or selling homes or land to Arabs and other non-Jews.” The “decree” was soon endorsed by an additional 250 Israeli rabbis. That makes about 300 in all, most of orthodox persuasion and many of great influence. Just to make sure that those who have property to rent or sell know what is at stake, the same rabbis announced that those Jews who fail to obey will be “ostracized.” There has been some protest about this. Rabbis who do not agree with this command called it a “distortion of Jewish religious law.” Well maybe. All law is open to interpretation and the present debate, such as it is, is about whose interpretation is going to be dominant. Prime Minister Netanyahu has said he thinks Jewish law commands that one should treat the stranger with kindness, and wouldn’t Jews protest if no one would rent to them? But one gets a strong whiff of hypocrisy coming from the Prime Minister on this note. After all, is it not his government that is chasing all the non-Jewish neighbors out of East Jerusalem?
http://www.counterpunch.org/davidson12142010.html
The rabbis’ racist letter: many words, little action
While public figures in Israel condemned the latest rabbinical Fatwa against renting homes to Arabs, little to no action was taken against its authors. Also, some secular Jewish communities are introducing their own version of the racist letter.
http://www.promisedlandblog.com/?p=3634
Muslim hotel staff allege discrimination on Israeli visit (AFP)
AFP – Muslim employees of a Washington hotel alleged that they were discriminated against when Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak visited at the weekend, a group representing them said Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/pl_afp/usisraeldiplomacyislam
Refugees face deportation in Israel
Israel is set to introduce tough new measures to stop what it calls a flood of ‘infiltrators’ from seeking work or refuge in the country. Every month up to 1,500 people, mostly Africans, pour into the state. The Israeli government, however, says that this influx could destroy the fabric of Jewish society. Those refugees who are unable to find work, meanwhile, are mostly being held in jails or detention centres. Al Jazeera’s Tony Birtley reports from Tel Aviv.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVh4WZZCBs0&feature=youtube_gdata
Violence/Aggression
Israeli police trash Palestinian store in Jerusalem, break worker’s foot
Israeli troops raided Wednesday night a Jerusalem shop, trashing the store’s contents, and attacking the workers. The owner’s son’s foot was broken in the incident. Other employees were apprehended.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO
Issawiya: ‘Border Guards maced innocent bus passengers’
Border Guard officers use pepper spray on e. Jerusalem bus passengers, when 14-year-old boy fails to show ID. “How can we maintain order when police abuse us?’ Issawiya mayor Darwish Musa Darwish asks. ‘Those under 16 must carry birth certificate,’ police say.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3999955,00.html
Two Palestinians, including child, wounded in IOF shooting
Two Palestinian civilians were wounded in northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday when Israeli occupation forces (IOF) opened fire at them while collecting gravel from destroyed buildings.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
Nine Arrested Overnight; Settlers Attack Shepherd, Kill Sheep
Hebron – PNN – In a series of overnight raids mainly focused on the southern West Bank city of Hebron, Israeli troops arrested nine Palestinians before Thursday morning. Meanwhile, a Palestinian shepherd in the northern West Bank reported he was assaulted by Israeli settlers who killed his sheep. Local sources in Hebron said that seven of the detainees were from Dura village near Hebron, where troops raided their homes and searched their belongings. One of them, 27-year-old Yusef Khamees, works for the Bethlehem Magistrate Court.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9276&Itemid=64
IOA serves summons to MP Salhab
Hamas MP Dr. Azzam Salhab said on Wednesday that Israeli occupation soldiers stopped him before entering the mosque along with his wife and children.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc
Detainees (held by Israelis and the PA)
Israeli Forces Storm al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, Arrest Woman
Hebron – PNN – Preliminary reports from the southern West Bank city of Hebron indicate that Israeli soldiers entered the al-Ibrahimi Mosque (Mosque of Abraham) and arrested a 31-year-old woman named Ramya Hasan Abu Samira. Abu Samira is the wife of Amjad Abu Samira of Yatta village, south of Hebron, who is serving a life sentence in Israeli military prison. Eyewitnesses said the troops entered in the middle of prayers, arrested Abu Samira, and took her to an unidentified location. There were no further details as of press time.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9277&Itemid=64
Nine Palestinians Detained in Hebron Area During Night Raids
Israeli forces arrested, on Wednesday night, nine Palestinians from Hebron region and transported them to an unknown location, Ma’an News and PNN echoed.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60190
Hamas: PA forces arrested 12 affiliates
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – Hamas accused PA security forces of arresting 12 of its members from across the West Bank in a statement released on Thursday. According to the statement the men were detained from the Nablus, Qalqiliya, Hebron and Tulkarem areas.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342573
Village leader released from Israeli custody
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Ramallah’s Center for Detainees reported Wednesday that head of the Rantis village council, 48-year-old Salim Shaker, was released from Israeli custody after 22 months in prison. Head of the center Foad Al-Khafsh said that Salim was elected to head the village council more than three years earlier, following his release from more than 7 years in Israeli prison.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342596
War/Occupation Crimes
In A Letter Send To Turkish PM; Likud MK Says Israel Should Have Killed All Marmara Passengers
Israeli sources reported Wednesday that Israeli Member of Knesset of the Likud Party, Dani Dannon, sent a sarcastic letter to Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, telling him that Israeli soldiers should have killed all of the passengers of the Marmara Ship that was heading to Gaza to deliver humanitarian supplies.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60186
Deputy FM: Israel won’t apologize for Gaza flotilla raid
Danny Ayalon’s statement comes in the wake of recent reports of Israel-Turkey talks aimed at ending the diplomatic crisis between the two nations.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/deputy-fm-israel-won-t-apologize-for-gaza-flotilla-raid-1.330813?localLinksEnabled=false
The shame, the shame! ‘I got him to crap himself’ is brag in latest Israeli soldiers’ testimonies, Philip Weiss
Shocking new anonymous soldiers’ testimonies from the occupation collected by Breaking the Silence are now being posted at +972. Go and read them. And if they don’t make you, I don’t know what, well, then check your pulse. Joseph Dana speaks of the moral corruption of Israeli society.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/the-shame-the-shame-i-got-him-to-crap-himself-is-brag-in-latest-israeli-soldiers-testimonies.html
PA Repression
Palestinian Authority cracks down on mosques to promote moderate Islam
EL BIREH, WEST BANK – Each week, Mahmoud Habbash, the Palestinian Authority’s minister of religious affairs, sends an e-mail to mosques across the West Bank. It contains what amounts to a script for the Friday sermon that every imam is required to deliver.
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=8eedaa8066a824795486acc5a17d0afd
Political Developments
Norway upgrades PLO mission, supports statehood
OSLO, Norway (Ma’an) — Norway’s foreign ministry announced Wednesday that the status of the Palestinian representative’s office in Oslo would be upgraded to a diplomatic mission as part of an effort of the scandanavian nation to support Palestinian efforts toward building a state. The announcement came while Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was in Oslo, where officials announced the coming international donors conference to take place in the city in April 2011. During the announcement the official said he hoped a Palestinian state could be established within the year.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342571
Palestinians appeal to European countries: Recognize statehood even without peace deal
In wake of EU’s decision to wait until ‘appropriate’, PA negotiators bring request for the first time to individual countries – France, Britain, Sweden and Denmark – as well as to the European Union envoy.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinians-appeal-to-european-countries-recognize-statehood-even-without-peace-deal-1.330945?localLinksEnabled=false
Arabs wants UN resolution against Israel settlements (AFP)
AFP – The Arab League decided on Wednesday to seek a UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlement construction on Palestinian land.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestinianspeacearabun
Israel downplays focus on settlement growth
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) – The settlement construction issue is simple, minor, not so important, and marginal, says spokeswoman of the Israeli foreign ministry Amira Oron during a chat Tuesday with Ma’an radio. Oron said the Netanyahu government was exerting serious efforts to resume negotiations leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state. She said the government of Israel endeavored to reach a two-state solution asserting that both the Palestinians and the Israelis along with the US administration should exert more efforts.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342309
Arab FMs against Mideast talks without U.S. stance on borders
Qatari FM: Arabs skeptical that U.S. can pressure Israel on core issues after failure to get Israel to renew settlement freeze.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/arab-fms-against-mideast-talks-without-u-s-stance-on-borders-1.330817?localLinksEnabled=false
Arabs reject Israel talks without ‘serious offer’ (AFP)
AFP – Arab foreign ministers on Wednesday rejected any resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks unless it was based on a “serious offer” guaranteeing an end to the conflict.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestinianspeacearab
Palestinian street riled at latest talks upset
NABLUS (Ma’an) — Palestinians were upset by the American failure to secure a settlement construction freeze on Palestinian lands, and riled over the attempt to swap cash and weapons for the freeze. “Does America rule Israel or does Israel rule America?” Mused 66-year-old Nablus resident Hajj Abu Muhammad, “If you knew the answer you would know why America failed to convince Israel.” As US officials rallied and announced a new approach to peace talks in the wake of the failure, political science professor at An-Najah National University Raed Na’erat said “the political process is at a dead end, it is at a stage where taking hard decisions is crucial.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=340395
Fatah official: Upcoming unity talks will be last
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The next round of negotiations with Hamas will be the last, a top Fatah official said Wednesday. Azzam Al-Ahmad said the party would not participate in further negotiations after the talks later this month in Damascus. Al-Ahmad, who heads the party’s reconciliation team, said Hamas should sign the Egyptian reconciliation document.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=342379
MJ Rosenberg: AIPAC Palestinian Bashing Bill Rushed to House Floor
The Berman bill to condemn Palestinians for their considering a unilateral declaration of statehood, drafted only yesterday, will be voted on today because when it comes to pleasing AIPAC there are simply no limits.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/aipac-palestinian-bashing_b_797287.html
Mitchell calls ‘parallel’ talks with Israel, Palestinians (AFP)
AFP – US special envoy George Mitchell has proposed six weeks of “parallel” negotiations with Israeli and Palestinians negotiators, a Palestinian official said on Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/pl_afp/israelpalestinianspeaceusmitchell
Mubarak Separately Meets Abbas, Mitchell
On Wednesday, Egypt’s President, Hosni Mubarak, held separate talks in Cairo with Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and U.S Middle East Envoy, George Mitchell, and discussed the means to resolve the current deadlock in peace talks.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60187
US envoy Mitchell to meet top EU, French diplomats (AFP)
AFP – US Middle East envoy George Mitchell will meet with the top EU and French diplomats this week as part of efforts to reset the Israeli-Palestinian peace process after months of setbacks.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/pl_afp/israelpalestinianspeaceuseufrance
Israeli MK proposes alternate peace plan
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Chairman of the Israeli Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Shaul Mofaz proposed on an alternative peace plan last week, presenting the initiative to policymakers and journalists as US mediation efforts continue to flounder. The plan centered on the creation of a demilitarized Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza “when a legitimate Palestinian government can rule as one authority on the ground,” without set borders but wit the aim of following the 1967 line. The final confines of the state would become clear as security arrangements were made for each sector, he explained.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=340024
‘The Palestine Cables’: WikiLeaks dox expose Netanyahu’s vision of Palestinian bantustan, Alex Kane
Last week Alex Kane began a series called The Palestine Cables, based on Wikileaks data. His second entry. The Obama administration’s failure to bribe Israel’s right-wing government into accepting a three-month settlement “freeze” should have ended talk about the “peace process,” but Obama’s Middle East team is still crawling towards a two-state solution with little light at the end of the tunnel. State Department cables released by WikiLeaks will dim the lights further. The cables show that Israeli officials’ stated vision of a Palestinian state is one that is feeble and toothless–a vision that could snuff out any remaining hope of a viable Palestinian state.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/the-palestine-cables-wikileaks-dox-expose-netanyahus-vision-of-palestinian-bantustan.html
Leaked US cable: Dutch lobbied hard on UN Gaza resolution
The EU-27 responded to new U.S. flexibility at UNGA64 by collaborating pragmatically on our top priorities, and by providing essential voting support. Ably led by Sweden’s EU presidency, EU member states shared the burden on lobbying the G-77 regarding human rights resolutions. They stood firm against G-77 ideology on economic/social resolutions, notably voting No on the Right to Development, and voting No with us on the trade resolution, for only the second time at UNGA.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=341397
Other News
Israel ‘wants more stealth fighters’ (AFP)
AFP – Israel is still looking to acquire another 20 US-built F-35 strike fighters, even though Washington withdrew such an offer after the Jewish state refused a new settlement ban, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/wl_mideast_afp/israelusdefenceweaponscompanylockheed
Rudd failed to consult Israel over call for nuclear inspection, Opposition claims
“If the reports are correct and Israeli officials were taken by surprise, it reveals Kevin Rudd has not learnt any lessons from his past mistakes,” said the opposition’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Julie Bishop.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/rudd-failed-to-consult-israel-over-call-for-nuclear-inspection-opposition-claims/story-fn59niix-1225971427422
Palestinian donors conference to be held in April 2011: Oslo (AFP)
AFP – International donors will meet to discuss the financial needs of the Palestinian Authority in April 2011, Norway’s foreign minister announced Wednesday, adding he hoped a Palestinian state could be established next year.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/wl_mideast_afp/mideastpalestiniansnorwaydiplomacy
Submitting to criticism, Libya charity drops politics to avoid angering Israel
The foundation, led by Gadhafi’s son, sent a Gaza-bound aid ship in November, but now claims its priority is ‘assisting the poor in sub-Saharan Africa.’
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/submitting-to-criticism-libya-charity-drops-politics-to-avoid-angering-israel-1.330947?localLinksEnabled=false
Gaza runner’s Olympic struggle
Nader el Masri talks about his hopes of running for Gaza at the London Olympics.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/sport2/hi/olympic_games/london_2012/8815396.stm
ADL director: Nixon was a bigot, but a practical supporter of Israel
Foxman calls Watergate-era recordings on which Nixon and Kissinger can be heard making disparaging marks against Jews ‘ironic.’
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/adl-director-nixon-was-a-bigot-but-a-practical-supporter-of-israel-1.330956?localLinksEnabled=false
Analysis/Op-ed
The problem with Israel’s Jewish ‘refugee’ initiative | Rachel Shabi
The Israeli government’s demand that Palestinians recognise exiled Arab Jews as ‘refugees’ is political point-scoring. While the US has given up pressing for a freeze on illegal settlement building, one Israeli minister has been cranking up the volume on an issue he apparently considers more pressing. The deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, recently launched a new initiative to demand that Palestinians “recognise Jews who exiled from Arab lands as refugees”.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/16/israel-palestinian-refugee
Middle East peace process: Dead but not buried
The US has given up trying to persuade Netanyahu to stop building on occupied land as a prerequisite to talks
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/16/middle-east-process-editorial
BBC badgers Barak as no American outlet would: What is the US getting for its billions in aid?, Susie Kneedler
Two nights back BBC’s “World News America” anchor, Matt Frei, stood up more for America in the face of Israeli-government intransigence than the American Congress and press. The BBC hid its provocative interview behind a bland precis, “Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak talks to Matt Frei from the United Nations in New York about the prospects for peace,” but it nevertheless violated several taboos that limit press freedom in the U.S. Barak didn’t “talk to” Frei about peace. Instead, Matt Frei actually pressed Barak about the money: “Now, over the years, over the decades, America has given Israel unwavering support, as well as billions of dollars in aid,” as well as “What are you giving them at the moment [in return]?”
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/bbc-badgers-barak-as-no-american-outlet-would-what-is-the-us-getting-for-its-billions-in-aid.html
Sourani, in 1999: ‘We should wait on no one to claim what is rightfully ours’, Philip Weiss
The U.S. Congress, affirmed by voice vote last night a resolution that the U.S. must block international recognition of any self-declared Palestinian state. The legislation was sponsored by New York liberal Democrats Anthony Weiner and Gary Ackerman among others. (It’s after the jump.)
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/sourani-in-1999-we-should-wait-on-no-one-to-claim-what-is-rightfully-ours.html
The railroad not taken, in the Middle East, Jeff Klein
In 1914, a traveler could board a train in Istanbul and – with a few detours around some unfinished tunnels – cross the Anatolian plateau past the Taurus Mountains into Syria. From Damascus, the new Hejaz Railway continued on through modern-day Jordan to Medina in Arabia, with branch railways connecting to Beirut and Haifa on the Mediterranean coast. Another line ran between the main Palestinian port of Jaffa and Jerusalem. A major rail project to link Damascus and Baghdad — and eventually Basra on the Persian Gulf — was under construction, with long segments already completed.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/the-railroad-not-taken-in-the-middle-east.html
‘I want to say one word to you. Just one word.’ Benjamin: ‘Yes, sir.’ ‘Zionism!’
Howard Kohr the head of AIPAC made $450,000 in 2009. Far beyond Jeremy Ben-Ami, the head of J Street, $200,000 in 09. David Harris of American Jewish Committee, $499,000… Mort Klein of the Zionist Organization of America, $361,000, Malcolm Hoenlein, $295,000, Matthew Brooks of Republican Jewish Coalition, $350,000. Martin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, $350,000. And Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, $563,000.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/fyi-graduates-i-want-to-say-one-word-to-you-just-one-word-yes-sir-zionism.html
Obama’s Last Card – Will He Play It?, Alan Hart
Now that he doesn’t have to honour any of the promises Secretary of State Clinton is said to have made to Prime Minister Netanyahu in a desperate (and predictably doomed) effort to persuade him to deliver a 90-day settlement freeze, Obama does have one last card that he could play.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27070.htm
When in Rome, do as the Israelis do, Philip Weiss
Scott McConnell wrote recently that because of the special relationship, we have gotten a lot of really bad ideas in our country from the Israelis, like occupying Arab lands and Islamophobia. Well, this is from the Washington Post, reported by Tara Bahrampour. Notice the euphemistic headline, “Muslims criticize handling of Israelis’ stay at D.C. hotel”. What does that mean?
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/when-in-rome-do-as-the-israelis-do.html
US Nakedness: Zero Consequence for Israel, Iqbal Jassat – Pretoria
Noam Chomsky calls it one of the most humiliating moments in US diplomatic history. Sam Bahour refers to it as a dead end. Both are referring to President Obama’s pathetic capitulation to Israel on the issue of settlement freeze. Indeed, watching Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on TV broadcasts explaining why America has backed off from these demands, revealed beyond any doubt that the US is extremely weak with questionable motives and thus cannot be trusted as a fair and impartial mediator.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16485
One Way out for the Palestinians, George S. Hishmeh
When President Barack Obama described the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in the mid-term elections last month as a “shellacking,” he was praised for his outright admission of his shocking defeat. But when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave him (and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton) an unprecedented slap in the face by refusing to freeze his colonial expansion into occupied Palestinian territory, which now houses some 500,000 Israelis, the American head of state remained speechless, seemingly bowing his head down.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16488
Yossi Melman / Iron Dome anti-rocket system was never meant to protect Israeli towns
Israelis misled into believing the development of Iron Dome would help defend them from attacks.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/yossi-melman-iron-dome-anti-rocket-system-was-never-meant-to-protect-israeli-towns-1.330850?localLinksEnabled=false
Al Wehdat and Faisali: The Tip of the Iceberg, Tammy Obeidallah
‘Stop criticizing us—just look at how your own kind treats you.’ This cliché, so often sneered by Israelis and their apologists, attempts to downplay the occupation of Palestine and to make Palestinians look like the pariahs of the Arab World. Unfortunately, this backward viewpoint is fueled by incidents such as the recent violence following a game between rival soccer clubs Al-Wehdat and Faisali in Amman, Jordan.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16486
We pay for every Israeli war at the gas pump, Max Ajl
How about a new slogan for the anti-war and Palestine solidarity movements? We pay for every Israeli war at the gas pump! No aid to Israel!
http://www.maxajl.com/?p=4572&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+http%2Fwwwmaxajlcom%2Ffeedrss2+%28Jewbonics%29
John Pilgers: ‘The War You Don’t See’ Available to view in it’s entirety on the ITVPlayer
(For those living in the UK or with a UK, IP address) John Pilger investigates the media’s role in war. He traces the history of ’embedded’ and independent reporting from the carnage of WWI to the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
http://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.itv.com%2Fitvplayer%2Fvideo%2F%3FFilter%3D198443&session_token=8Lc2uToS4PMyT74A_3KiKy0P5lZ8MTI5MjUyNjQ3Mg%3D%3D
Holbrooke or Milosevic: Who is the Greater Murderer?, DIANA JOHNSTONE
It is usually considered good form to avoid sharp criticism of someone who has just died. But Richard Holbrooke himself set a striking example of the breach of such etiquette. On learning of the death in prison of Slobodan Milosevic, Holbrooke did not hesitate to describe him as a “monster” comparable to Hitler and Stalin.
http://www.counterpunch.com/johnstone12152010.html
Lebanon
Israel can’t defeat Hezbollah: Israeli expert (Reuters)
Reuters – Israel cannot defeat Hezbollah in a direct engagement and the Lebanese guerrilla group would inflict heavy damage on the Israeli home front if war broke out, a former Israeli national security adviser said Thursday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101216/wl_nm/us_israel_lebanon
Sayyed Nasrallah: Israeli Threats Do Not Scare Us Anymore
Well over a million people filled the streets of Dahiye to mark Ashura; the tenth of the Hijri month of Muharram, when Imam Hussein son Imam Ali Bin Abi Taleb, and grandson of Prophet Mohamad peace be upon them, was martyred along with his household by the army of the tyrant Caliph Yazib Bin Moawiyah, 61 A.H. Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah was waiting for the procession at the Raya field in Haret Hreik to renew allegiance to Imam Hussein and his grandson Imam Mahdi (pbuh), the savior who will fill earth with justice after it was filled with tyranny and oppression. The Raya field was full as people were still flocking on foot from a distance of more than two kilometers away. They responded to Sayyed Nasrallah request to participate en masse in the procession to retort to the plots being sewed against the resistance. “The whole world will be looking at your faces, at your eyes, at your fists tomorrow.”
http://www.almanar.com.lb/newssite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=166146&language=en
Nasrallah: Israeli enterprise has come to an end
Hassan Nasrallah said that thanks to the resistance movement that gained a victory in 2000 when Israel left Lebanon “humiliated without gains” the greater Israel enterprise has come to an end.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%
Nasrallah: Forbidden to give up any part of Palestine – from sea to Jordan
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said that “it is forbidden for any man to give up Palestine, from the sea to the Jordan River, and it is forbidden to give up Jerusalem”. In a speech he gave in honor of a Shiite holy day, Nasrallah said: “We will never recognize Israel. We will never give up an inch of our land, we will not forget the holy place.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4000136,00.html
Retired IDF general: Deterrence is our best option against Hezbollah
Giora Eiland says another war between Israel and Hezbollah ‘will be a war between Israel and the State of Lebanon and will wreak destruction on the State of Lebanon.’
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/retired-idf-general-deterrence-is-our-best-option-against-hezbollah-1.330953?localLinksEnabled=false
Blast reported off Lebanese coast; ‘Israeli overflights in area’
Local media say sea mine went off near city of Sidon; explosion accompanied by ‘unprecedented’ IAF overflights, according to reports.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3999914,00.html
Nasrallah: Hezbollah ready to repulse any Israeli attack, despite internal tension in Lebanon
Lebanese army claims to uncover two Israeli spy cameras overlooking Beirut; explosion reported off the coast of Sidon on Wednesday evening.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/nasrallah-hezbollah-ready-to-repulse-any-israeli-attack-despite-internal-tension-in-lebanon-1.330830?localLinksEnabled=false
Lebanon: We uncovered Israeli spy equipment
Army official claims two Israeli long range spy cameras spotted in hills overlooking Beirut; says information received by Hezbollah.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3999840,00.html
Army Succeeds in Dismantling Israeli Spy System in Barouk
The Lebanese Army announced on Thursday that a technical unit from the military succeeded at dawn in dismantling an Israeli espionage system that was installed in the Barouk region. The army command stated that the system was placed at a height of 1715 meters and contains a receiver and a transmission device covering the towns of the western and central Bekaa, a number of towns in the South, and regions in Syria.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=166219&language=en
Nasrallah: Status quo concerns Israel
After surveillance cameras found in mountains overlooking Beirut, Hezbollah chief says Israel ‘continuing to spy.’ Adds: Status quo enables Israel’s enemies to prepare for next conflict in comfortable conditions.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3999920,00.html
Hezbollah tells Lebanon govt to leave UN Hariri court to it (AFP)
AFP – Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday called on Lebanon’s government to step aside and allow his armed movement to singlehandedly deal with a UN court on the murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/wl_mideast_afp/lebanonunhariritribunalhezbollah
Hariri denies use of Israeli-made security device
BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s press office dismissed Wednesday as “fabricated” an Israeli media report claiming that security agencies responsible for Hariri’s security use an advanced Israeli-made device when taking protection measures.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=122609
Shiites in Lebanon mark Ashoura with anti-Israeli slogans (Roundup)
Beirut – Up to 300,000 black-clad Shiite Muslims, some beating their chests and others slashing their heads with blades, on Thursday commemorated the death 14 centuries ago of their martyr, Hussein ibn Ali, by vowing not to recognize Israel. The leader of the radical Shiite movement Hezbollah, Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, used the occasion to threaten the Jewish state.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1606108.php/Shiites-in-Lebanon-mark-Ashoura-with-anti-Israeli-slogans-Roundup
Iraq
Wednesday: 6 Iraqis Wounded
Because of Ashuraa observances, reports of violence have been scant the last few days except for significant attacks. Only six casualties were reported today and all of them survived. However, there were a number of important news stories in the headlines today.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/12/15/wednesday-6-wounded/
Bombs kill 2 Iraqis on way to religious ceremony (AP)
AP – Bombs hidden in trash cans exploded near a group of pilgrims in a town north of Baghdad, killing two people Thursday as millions of Shiites headed to ceremonies to mark a day of mourning.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101216/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
Iraq holds 73 as two million throng shrine city (AFP)
AFP – Iraq has arrested 73 Al-Qaeda-linked suspects officials said were implicated in plotting “chaos” during Ashura in Karbala, as two million pilgrims thronged the Shiite shrine city on Thursday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101216/wl_mideast_afp/iraqreligionshiitesashura
Iraq has executed 257 since 2005: minister (AFP)
AFP – Iraq has executed 257 people, including six women, since 2005, deputy justice minister Busho Ibrahim told AFP on Thursday, amid calls from the United Nations for Iraq to abolish capital punishment.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101216/wl_mideast_afp/iraqexecutionrights
Iraq gets U.N. green light for civil nuclear program (Reuters)
Reuters – The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday gave Iraq a green light to develop a civilian nuclear program, ending 19-year-old restrictions aimed at preventing the country from developing atomic weapons.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101215/pl_nm/us_iraq_un
Security Council ends Saddam-era Iraq sanctions (AFP)
AFP – The UN Security Council on Wednesday ended key international sanctions imposed on Iraq in a major move to bring closure on the Saddam Hussein era.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestsanctionsuncouncil
Wikileaks Iraq: how to visualise the text
In October, WikiLeaks released 391,832 reports from the Iraq War, the most comprehensive set of documents about the conflict to date. Each is a report of a specific incident in the Iraq war. At the rate of one document per minute, it would take 272 days non-stop to read every report — and you still might miss the big picture. This is exactly the sort of problem where visualization can help, by turning patterns in the documents into patterns in a picture.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/dec/16/wikileaks-iraq-visualisation
Wikileaks/U.S. and other world news
WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange bail granted by British court
WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange was granted bail today in Britain. Confusion about who had appealed his bail led to ‘Anonymous’ hacker attacks on the wrong website.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/vfQRjosryks/WikiLeaks-Julian-Assange-bail-granted-by-British-court
As WikiLeaks’ Assange Freed on Bail, Alleged Military Leaker Bradley Manning Imprisoned Under Inhumane Conditions
A High court in London has upheld a decision to grant bail to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. But what about US Army Private Bradley Manning? The army intelligence analyst has been held for the last seven months on suspicion of leaking the massive trove of government documents to WikiLeaks. Manning. Salon.com blogger Glenn Greenwald says Manning is being held under conditions that constitute cruel and inhumane treatment—and even torture.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/16/alleged_wikileaks_whistleblower_bradley_manning_imprisoned
US: Don’t Prosecute WikiLeaks Founder: Human Rights Watch
“Prosecuting WikiLeaks for publishing leaked documents would set a terrible precedent that will be eagerly grasped by other governments, particularly those with a record of trying to muzzle legitimate political reporting.”
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/12/15/us-don-t-prosecute-wikileaks-founder
Naomi Wolf: Sweden’s Serial Negligence in Prosecuting Rape Further Highlights the Politics Behind Julian Assange’s Arrest
According to numerous reliable reports, the same Swedish authorities going after Julian Assange do a worse job prosecuting reported rapes than do police and the judiciary in any other comparable country.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/naomi-wolf/post_1435_b_797188.html
The inhumane conditions of Bradley Manning’s detention, Glenn Greenwald
Bradley Manning, the 22-year-old U.S. Army Private accused of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, has never been convicted of that crime, nor of any other crime. Despite that, he has been detained at the U.S. Marine brig in Quantico, Virginia for five months — and for two months before that in a military jail in Kuwait — under conditions that constitute cruel and inhumane treatment and, by the standards of many nations, even torture. Interviews with several people directly familiar with the conditions of Manning’s detention, ultimately including a Quantico brig official (Lt. Brian Villiard) who confirmed much of what they conveyed, establishes that the accused leaker is subjected to detention conditions likely to create long-term psychological injuries.
http://www.salon.com/news/wikileaks/index.html?story=/opinion/greenwald/2010/12/14/manning
Wikileaks Mirrors: Wikileaks is currently mirrored on 2194 sites, Click to view list
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27007.htm
WikiLeaks cables: Chevron discussed oil project with Tehran, claims Iraqi PM
Embassy cable reveals Nouri al-Maliki believed US energy firm negotiated with Iran about cross-border oilfield despite sanctions. The US energy firm Chevron negotiated with Tehran about developing an Iraq-Iran cross-border oilfield in spite of tight US sanctions, according to the Iraqi prime minister in leaked diplomatic cables. Nouri al-Maliki’s claim, reported in the cables, that Chevron was in discussions with the Iranian government will raise eyebrows in Europe and other parts of the world where international companies have come under significant pressure from Washington to end investments and other financial dealings with Tehran.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/15/wikileaks-chevron-iran-iraq-oilfield-claim
WikiLeaks: US Cables: Swedish government ‘hid’ anti-terror operations with America from Parliament
The Swedish government asked American officials to keep intelligence-gathering “informal” to help avoid Parliamentary scrutiny, American diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks show.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8202745/WikiLeaks-Swedish-government-hid-anti-terror-operations-with-America-from-Parliament.html
Oil or Terrorism: Which Motivates U.S. Policy More?
One cable by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in December 2009 notes that “donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide.” Despite this, “Riyadh has taken only limited action to disrupt fundraising for the UN 1267-listed Taliban and LeT [Lashkar e-Tayyiba] groups that are also aligned with al-Qaeda.”
http://www.fpif.org/articles/oil_or_terrorism_which_motivates_us_policy_more
WikiLeaks Conspiracy Charges? U.S. Tries To Build Case
Federal prosecutors, seeking to build a case against the WikiLeaks leader Julian Assange for his role in a huge dissemination of classified government documents, are looking for evidence of any collusion in his early contacts with an Army intelligence analyst suspected of leaking the information. Justice Department officials are trying to find out whether Mr. Assange encouraged or even helped the analyst, Pfc. Bradley Manning, to extract classified military and State Department files from a government computer system. If he did so, they believe they could charge him as a conspirator in the leak, not just as a passive recipient of the documents who then published them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/15/wikileaks-conspiracy-charges_n_797454.html
Inside Story – Fighting Extradition
Inside Story asks if Julian Assange’s case is merely a legal one or connected to WikiLeaks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyASqsnw-EY&feature=youtube_gdata
Ellsberg, Other Anti-War Protesters To Chain Themselves To White House Fence
Even as President Obama on Thursday attempts to put a good face on the war in Afghanistan, Vietnam-era whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg and several dozen other anti-war protesters will be chaining themselves to the White House fence, inviting arrest in the name of peace.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/15/ellsberg-antiwar-protesters-white-house-fence_n_797410.html
Pro-WikiLeaks Hackers Send Open Letter To Glenn Beck
The group professing to be Anonymous, the organization allegedly behind Operation Payback, has issued an open letter to Glenn Beck. Essentially, ‘Anonymous’ would like Beck to know that a) they are not affiliated with WikiLeaks and b) revolution is a good thing and Beck is more than welcome to join theirs.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/16/prowikileaks-hackers-send_n_797570.html
Air Force Academy Sex Assaults Up 150%, Most Among Service Academies Since 2008
DENVER — Reported sexual assaults at the three U.S. military academies rose 64 percent in the 2009-10 academic year compared with the previous year, the Defense Department said Wednesday. Officials said the increase could reflect that more students are reporting assaults, rather than a jump in the number of assaults themselves.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/15/air-force-academy-sex-ass_n_797304.html
Italian court ups sentences for 23 CIA agents
An Italian court on Wednesday upped the sentences for 23 CIA agents convicted in absentia of abducting an Egyptian imam in one of the biggest cases against the US “extraordinary rendition” programme.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iqonKaaaugdqFna7gL2Ja7qHbvog?docId=CNG.392d1ff158beced710b2f76ae920bf97.b61
NATO Kills Afghan Civilian, children hurt in NATO strike
NATO aircraft accidentally killed an Afghan civilian and wounded two children, the coalition said on Wednesday.
http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-53583120101215?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=southAsiaNews&rpc=401
Red Cross says Afghan conditions worst in 30 years
Spreading violence in Afghanistan is preventing aid organisations from providing help, with access to those in need at its worst level in three decades, the Red Cross said on Wednesday.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6BE2K020101215
US intelligence pessimistic on Afghan war: reports
Two intelligence reports, one on Afghanistan and one on Pakistan, offer a more pessimistic view of the war than top US officials and military leaders, who have touted progress in the fight against Taliban insurgents.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215/pl_afp/afghanistanunrestpakistanusmilitaryintelligence
Revealed: How the CIA protected Nazi murderers
US shielded war-time collaborators to try to destabilise Soviet Union.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/revealed-how-the-cia-protected-nazi-murderers-2158071.html
Mubarak needs to convince army
Leaked US documents suggest Hosni Mubarak could fail to convince the army that his son should be next president.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/12/201012158103985404.html
Kuwait court cuts writer’s jail term to three months
KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait’s appeals court reduced Wednesday to three months a one-year jail term given to a prominent writer and journalist for allegedly slandering the prime minister, his lawyer said. The ruling means that Mohammad Abdulqader al-Jassem, who was arrested on November 22, will remain in jail at least for the time being, Abdullah al-Ahmad told AFP.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=122579
Shiites in Muslim world solemnly mark day of grief (AP)
AP – Shiites across the Muslim world commemorated their most somber day of the year Thursday with solemn processions where some beat their chests or cut themselves with swords and chains to mourn the death some 1,300 years ago of one of their most beloved saints.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101216/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_mideast_ashoura
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