and other news from Today in Palestine:
Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
Palestinians: Draft condemning West Bank settlements ready for UN
Chief Palestinian negotiator says he expects resolution to be put forth at Security Council in February, and hopes U.S. will not use its veto.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinians-draft-condemning-west-bank-settlements-ready-for-un-1.332298?localLinksEnabled=false
Israel’s UN envoy: Palestinian draft resolution is attempt to bypass negotiations
Palestinians prepare UN draft resolution condemning Israel’s settlement activity which will be presented to the Security Council in February.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-s-un-envoy-palestinian-draft-resolution-is-attempt-to-bypass-negotiations-1.332405?localLinksEnabled=false
Since end of freeze: 13,000 homes approved
Intensive building noted in outlying, smaller settlements since West Bank building freeze came to end. ‘Construction will not affect future borders,’ Prime Minister’s Office claims. Peace Now: This is most active period in years.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4003352,00.html
UN official: 45% rise in home demolitions
Humanitarian official in Palestinian territories says rise in home demolitions in east Jerusalem ‘raises concerns regarding to Israel’s obligations under international law’ while MKs debate Palestinian stone-throwing in capital.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4002933,00.html
UN has ‘serious concerns’ over home demolitions
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — The UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Jerusalem told reporters Wednesday that the displacement of a Jerusalem family whose home was demolished the day before “raises serious concerns with regard to Israel’s obligations under international law.” The UN’s Maxwell Gaylard, issued a statement after visiting the family of 13 whose home in the Ras Al Amud neighborhood of East Jerusalem was torn down on Tuesday by order of the municipality of Jerusalem, under the Israeli government.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=344373
Israel to build 180 settlement units in Jerusalem
Jerusalem,December 22, (Pal Telegraph) – The Israeli municipality of Jerusalem Wednesday revealed a new plan to establish 180 settlement units near Amlesson neighborhood, south Jerusalem. This plan contains the establishment of 5 buildings with 180 apartments to be built on 37460 square meter of the total of the confiscated area while 30 dunums will be specialized for public facilities and some will be left as green land, the engineer Jameel lafi said to Amlesson Assembly. He added that 67 dunums of the Palestinian confiscated lands were exploited to establish settlement units besides its facilities. He said that the Jerusalem municipality issued the plan prior 4 weeks on the electricity pylons and on the walls of houses to be objected by the citizens.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7778:Israel-to-build-180-settlement-units-in-Jerusalem&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=135
IDF general uses 1945 law to bar East J’lem resident from capital
British Mandate law allows authorities to expel a resident from his hometown without the need for a criminal indictment or evidence that would indicate illegal activity.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-general-uses-1945-law-to-bar-east-j-lem-resident-from-capital-1.332328?localLinksEnabled=false
Jerusalem Municipality demolishes Palestinian home in Haii Iswih
Jerusalem Municipality bulldozers demolished a Palestinian home in the Haii Iswih neighborhood of Silwan yesterday. This past month has seen the Municipality re-enact its policy of demolition, starting with animal pens and lesser structures and culminating in home demolitions. The Haii Iswih homeowner had previously been ordered by the Municipality to demolish the house himself. When he refused to do so, bulldozers, flanked by a massive force of Israeli police, arrived yesterday to tear down the 80-square-meter one-story home. The demolition marks the “next phase” of the Jerusalem Municipality’s renewed demolition campaign. As reported by Silwanic in the past, the Municipality has sought a campaign of “gradual” demolition, beginning with the tearing down of animal pens, barnyards and shops and moving on to homes. The Municipality has also carried out a series of home demolitions in districts of East Jerusalem deemed unimportant to the settlement enterprise, as a litmus test to gauge the public’s reaction to the campaign. The campaign is expected to culminate in wide-scale demolition of key areas of Silwan such as el-Bustan, the district earmarked for the “Biblical Gardens” of the City of David settlement project.
http://silwanic.net/?p=9351
Awake and bear witness!! Israel has destroyed this Palestinian school in the Occupied West Bank 3 times in recent years, Philip Weiss
December photo from Khirbet Tana, a Palestinian village in the Occupied West Bank near Mekora, a Jewish settlement. Khirbet Tana’s people have been expelled, their homes demolished by the Israelis. Photographer must remain anonymous.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/awake-and-bear-witness-israel-has-destroyed-this-palestinian-school-in-the-occupied-west-bank-3-times-in-recent-years.html
Israel to fund historical renovations in occupied areas
JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel approved funding on Tuesday for renovations at 16 historical and cultural sites, including three in the occupied West Bank and the Golan Heights, the government said. “A ministerial committee headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today approved 16 projects and sites for renovation at a cost of 91.1 million shekels (25.3 million dollars/19.2 million euros),” a government statement said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=344350
Nabi Salih
“In October 1977, a month before Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s famous visit to Jerusalem to proclaim his desire for peace, the settlement of Halamish (pop. ca. 1,000) was implanted on the hillside opposite al-Nabi Saleh. Since then – in parallel with the never-ending “peace process” – Halamish has expanded from its original foothold in a Jordanian police fort to occupy nearly half the historic lands of al-Nabi Saleh. The remaining village lands are mostly on the north side of Road 465, which runs on the floor of the valley separating al-Nabi Saleh from Halamish. In December 2009 settlers from Halamish expropriated the natural spring of ‘Ayn al-Kus on the south side of Road 465. Several weeks later, Halamish settlers burned down 150 of al-Nabi Saleh’s olive trees near the spring. The Halamish settlers did not receive authorization from any Israeli authority for these acts of aggression. Both the US government and the European Union recently reaffirmed that all settlement activity is illegal according to international law. But this does not impinge on the army’s mission to protect the settlers, whether or not their actions are “legal.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/12/nabi-salih.html
Farwana: Jewish settlements being used to blackmail children
Palestinian rights expert Abdel Nasser Farwana expressed concerns about Israeli authorities using West Bank Jewish settlements as a place to detain, single out, and violently question children.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
Israelis Arrest Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh and Others Again During Peaceful Protest
This afternoon at around 2:30 p.m. Salem-News.com writer Mazin Qumsiyeh learned that the Israeli military was preparing to illegally raze another Palestinian village. He told his wife that they had to go to Al-Walaja immediately. After arriving at the scene , this esteemed Professor who has taught at both Duke and Yale Universities, was arrested again by the Israeli military. His only ‘crime’ was vocally objecting to more inhumane treatment of indigenous Palestinian citizens. This account is by his significant other, J. Qumsiyeh.
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/december222010/mazin-detained-jq.php
Eight Arrested in al-Walaja as Israel Ramps up Construction on the Wall
Despite an ongoing trial in the Israeli high court over the legality of the placement of the Separation wall in al-Walaja, a small village just outside of Jerusalem, Israel doubled construction efforts this afternoon. Around 2pm bulldozers accompanied by armed guards started clearing trees, rocks, and shrubs. Three days ago, Israeli authorities marked the wall route with orange plastic straps which including a route which will swallow a natural spring and a Palestinian grave yard. Last August, a group of villagers, members of the Israeli nature preservation society and even settlers brought a case before the Israeli high court demanding that the route of the wall be changed. The court said that it would take time to deliberate the case and deliver a final verdict in January. The court, however, did not issue a stop work order on construction of the wall. Israeli authorities are now taking advantage of this loophole by doubling work on the construction of the wall in order to create facts on the ground.
http://popularstruggle.org/content/eight-arrested-al-walaja-israel-ramps-construction-wall
Israeli soldiers and nonviolent resisters argue about international law and Nazis
The several prisoners were taken to a Bethlehem checkpoint and then on to a jail. They were kept handcuffed and were pressed to sign a paper with Hebrew writing on it. Jesse Chang reports: “Every one of them refused to sign as advised by a Palestinian lawyer who was present there. While detained there, they tried to speak to the soldiers about international law, but the soldiers were saying that they don’t give a f— about international law and you people and they only care about obeying orders. Mazin reasoned to them that German soldiers were also obeying orders during the Nazi regime. The Israeli solders responded by saying that German soldiers would have shot you by now.”
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/israeli-soldiers-and-nonviolent-resisters-argue-about-international-law-and-the-germans.html
French Activist Detained At Ben Gurion Airport, Denied Entry
Sabbine Haddad, a spokeswoman for the Israeli Ministry of Interior, stated Tuesday that French peace activist, Olivia Zamour, was detained at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, and was denied entry to the country.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60240
Ameer Makhoul’s perpetual trial
We arrive at the Haifa court building around 11am, half an hour after proceedings began in the ongoing trial of Ameer Makhoul, a leading Palestinian activist who holds Israeli citizenship and was arrested in his home in the middle of the night last May.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11693.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Standing together against US government witch hunt
The ongoing government campaign against anti-war activists is a stark reminder of the unabated deterioration of civil liberties and political rights in the United States. These developments admonish us to remember that the last protection for our ability to work freely for an end to the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan or Colombia, for an end to US military aid to Israel and for justice and peace in Palestine, is the solidarity we offer each other by exercising those rights before they are taken away.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11690.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
solidarity with activists targeted by the government
As many of you may know, the FBI has lately been targeting Palestine solidarity activists. People call it a witch-hunt, and like the witches, these activists will be innocent of whatever the government charges them with, if it bothers to charge them with anything. They are guilty of something else that they should be proud to be guilty of: struggling against the neo-colonial wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, and beyond.
http://www.maxajl.com/?p=4617&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+http%2Fwwwmaxajlcom%2Ffeedrss2+%28Jewbonics%29
Resistance through voluntary work: Rebuilding the spring in Qarawat Bani Hassan
Over the past year, Stop the Wall has been working with groups of youth to develop creative means of resisting the Wall and settlements, supporting activities in the Bethlehem and most in the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan. The village is in the Salfit district, just north of the “Ariel Finger” settlements of Barqan, Qiryat Netafim and Revava. This settlement bloc cuts deep into the West Bank and Qarawat Bani Hassan, as well as the other villages along the Ariel Finger, have been hard hit by settlement expansion and settler attacks. Mahmoud Baker has been involved in the voluntary work in the village, and described how it began.
http://stopthewall.org/communityvoices/2421.shtml
Major success for the anti-settlements campaign: Multilock to close West Bank factory
Maariv and the financial paper The Marker report that the Israeli company Multilock is leaving the West Bank because of human rights organizations’ pressure. The locks company will move from the Barkan industrial zone, located on the road to Ariel, to a site in the town of Yavne.
http://www.promisedlandblog.com/?p=3645
#BDS: MNA Amir Khadir unapologetic for picketing store that sells Israeli-made shoes
Québec solidaire MNA Amir Khadir attends a protest organized by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights in 2008. Khadir has participated in many pro-Palestinian rallies, including a demonstration outside a shoe store last Saturday organized by Palestinian and Jewish Unity. Québec solidaire leader Amir Khadir is making no apologies for asking clients to boycott a family-owned shoe store in his own riding because it sells shoes made in Israel. “Just because a business is in my riding, I am not going to abandon my principles,” Khadir, member of the National Assembly for Mercier, told The Gazette on Friday. Khadir participated in a demonstration last Saturday in front of Le Marcheur shoe store on St. Denis St. at Duluth Ave., handing out flyers asking customers to boycott the store until it stopped selling Israeli-made shoes. The demonstration was organized by Palestinian and Jewish Unity, a Montreal-based human rights group that advocates for the right of Palestinians to live in safety.
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/12/bds-mna-amir-khadir-unapologetic-for.html
#BDS: Join us December 27: Remember Gaza – Seattle Mideast Awareness Campaign
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2010/12/bds-join-us-december-27-remember-gaza.html
Debating BDS At Princeton, Max Blumenthal
On December 15 I participated in a debate at Princeton University on the “ethics and efficacy” of BDS. The debate was held as a bookend to the battle over a resolution calling for adding an alternative in the campus cafeteria to Sabra Hummus, an Israeli brand produced by a company which has sponsored the IDF’s Givati and Golani brigades (the resolution was defeated). In my opinion, though the students from the Princeton Committee for Palestine who initiated the effort to sideline Sabra were not successful, they won anyway by forcing an open and honest discussion about Israeli war crimes, occupation and discrimination. And the students who voted against the alternative hummus resolution were simply stupid, not necessarily because they obstructed a campaign targeting a military unit that has been implicated in hideous crimes, but because they resigned themselves to a brand of hummus that contains the preservative known as sodium benzoate, which has been directly linked to everything from cancer to Parkinson’s to a variety of degenerative diseases.
http://maxblumenthal.com/2010/12/debating-bds-at-princeton/
Pssstt! Use pro-Israel website to support Seattle bus ads!, Henry Norr
Predictably, the establishment Jewish orgs in Seattle have launched an all-out offensive to try to suppress the “Israeli war crimes – your tax dollars at work” ads on Seattle buses. As part of this campaign, the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle has set up one of those web pages that will automatically send a message to a slew of local officials. But as currently set up, the page lets YOU compose both the message and the subject line. So, quick before they change it, click here and share your thoughts.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/pssstt-use-pro-israel-website-to-support-seattle-bus-ads.html
Anti
The Lede: Support for Israel’s Settlements From Europe’s Right
Israeli settlers have found solid support from what might seem an unlikely source: the far-right of the European political spectrum.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=646270ba74cf3736a9335735f5a62211
Christian Zionists support Judaizing Jerusalem, Philip Weiss
For those of you across the nation and around the world who were NOT watching Pastor John Hagee’s show three years ago today, and therefore missed the good news, my friend shot this photo and passed it along.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/christian-zionists-support-judaizing-jerusalem.html
Siege/Rights Violations/Restriction of Movement
22 Dec. ’10: Soldier violently arrests B’Tselem worker, Nasser a-Nawaj’ah, on his family’s land in southern Hebron Hills On the morning of 18 November 2010,
Alia-Nawaj’ah, 12, and her brother Hamzah, 14, Palestinians from Susiya in the southern Hebron Hills, were grazing sheep on their family’s land, near which the Susiya settlement was built. According to ‘Aliaa’s testimony, around 7:30 A.M., an army jeep pulled up and two soldiers got out. They cuffed the two children with plastic handcuffs and led them to the jeep. Later, the soldiers told the children’s relatives that the two had thrown stones at them. They released ‘Aliaa after about ten minutes, and Hamzah soon after.
http://www.btselem.org/English/Beating_and_Abuse/20101222_Soldier_assaults_B%27Tselem_worker_in_Southern_Hebron_Hills.asp
Israeli rights groups want to force Shin Bet to record interrogations
The groups say visual and voice recordings of interrogations would prevent use of unacceptable interrogation methods and false confessions.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israeli-rights-groups-want-to-force-shin-bet-to-record-interrogations-1.332326?localLinksEnabled=false
Maybe Americans are ready to see– children’s pictures of the devastating assault on Gaza, Susan Johnson
A picture is worth a thousand words, and this video goes beyond that. It contains powerful drawings, created by children in Gaza, expressing the horrors they experienced during Operation Cast Lead, which of course began nearly two years ago. These children share the painful physical and emotional devastation caused by Israel’s actions. Many of these young artists will never escape the hell they lived through.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/maybe-americans-are-ready-to-see-childrens-pictures-of-the-devastating-assault-on-gaza.html
2 Gaza crossing operate
GAZA (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities decided to partially open the Kerem Shalom and Karni crossings for the limited introduction of aid and commercial goods, officials said Wednesday. Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh said approximately 190 truckloads of goods would be sent through the Kerem Shalom crossing, with four truckloads of flowers and strawberries scheduled for export under a Dutch government program to support Gaza farmers.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=344295
15 Lebanese figures taking part in Asia aid convoy
Deeb Hijazi, the rapporteur of the national initiative committee to break Gaza siege in Lebanon, said that the number of Lebanese participants in Asia aid convoy amounted to 15 figures.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=
Syrian 80-ton aid heads to Gaza
The Syrian Arab popular committee for the support of the Palestinian people has sent a new aid batch of foodstuffs and medical material to the besieged Gaza Strip.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Q
Racism and Discrimination
House Arrest for Assaults on Arabs in Jerusalem
Israeli police revealed on Tuesday that they captured nine members of a Jewish extremist cell suspected of carrying out a series of violent, racially motivated attacks on Jerusalem youths. Three of them were released on Wednesday into house arrest until the investigation is concluded. The attacks happened as the group lured Arabs into closed spaces—sometimes with the aid of a 14-year-old girl—demanded their identification and beat them. Many needed emergency treatment in hospitals and several had their identification cards burned.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9301&Itemid=64
Arab hurt by guards: Acquittal ‘racist’
Arab man badly hurt in brawl with guards says their acquittal shows he has no rights in Israel.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4003199,00.html
Guards charged with assaulting Arabs acquitted
Court says two security guards attacked before badly beating up Arabs in Jaffa Port.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4003098,00.html
Migrants fearful after rally
‘It’s no longer safe to walk around Tel Aviv,’ says Congolese resident of Israel after violent rally held Tuesday in protest of city’s migrant community. Meanwhile police chief says concerned about crime levels among migrant populations.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4002848,00.html
Tibi demands diplomas in Arabic
Arab MK’s appeal to education minister turns into Knesset debate on Israel’s official languages.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4003036,00.html
Violence/Aggression
Israeli air strikes kill five Palestinians in Gaza
In an ongoing assault on the occupied Gaza Strip, Israeli fighter jets struck the southern city of Rafah early this morning, injuring four. Today’s air strikes come after Israeli fighter jets attacked the across the occupied Gaza Strip early morning yesterday.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11691.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Israeli warplanes attack Gaza refuge
A heap of ruins and dust is all that remains of a dairy that Israeli warplanes destroyed yesterday in the central Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis. The ruins of the dairy are adjacent to an amusement park in the Asdaa grounds which serves as a refuge to residents of the besieged Gaza Strip.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11692.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Racist attacks on Palestinians
Violent attacks against Palestinian residents by Israeli settlers of Silwan have become a grim reality. Most recently, Silwanic reported on 12 November 2010 on the assault of Annan Yaghmour, 21, and Ahmad Abu Sabih, 40, when the two were severely beaten by Israeli assailants. Abu Sabih described the attack as a serious hate crime: racially-motivated and with the intent to kill. The attack, however, is sadly not an isolated event. Farid Kamel Toubasi, 28, a resident of Jerusalem’s Old City states that he was brutally beaten by a large gang of Israelis in a billiards bar on Jaffa Street in West Jerusalem. Farid told Silwanic that he was verbally abused by the youth Jewish Israelis who frequent the cafe, taunting him with racist and anti-Arab remarks while he was playing billiards. The verbal harassment escalated to physical attack, as Farid was beaten until he lost consciousness. Ghazi Toubasi, Farid’s older brother, stated that “I had tried asking the police for assistance in obtaining surveillance camera recordings from the area in Jaffa Street during the time of the attack, but the police officer refused to help. He told me there was no reason to report the issue, and though I tried many more times after that I was rejected each time.”
http://silwanic.net/?p=9402
Detainees
The tragedy of child arrest: a story from Ofer Prison
One of the most serious cases of human rights violations enacted by Israeli forces in is surely that which are carried out against children. Palestinian children throughout Jerusalem and the West Bank live under threat of targeting and arrest by Israeli forces, who rarely distinguish between the minors and adults they apprehend. Here Silwanic seeks to illustrate the tragedy of Palestinian childhood through a story as told by Ghada Aruri, a human rights activist speaking about the trial of a boy from Abu Dis village. Israel began construction of the Apartheid Wall through Abu Dis, a district of Jerusalem, in 2010. When completed it will sever Abu Dis from Jerusalem entirely. “On 25 October this year I attended military court at Ofer Military Camp, which lies 10km north-west of Jerusalem, for the second time as part of my work as an advocacy officer with War Child International, a Dutch NGO. Gaining access to the court as an independent observer is a notoriously difficult task, as my application for a permit had already been twice denied. The third time, however, I was granted permission and thus was able to attend the trial of a 13 year old boy named Khalid*.
http://silwanic.net/?p=9361
Palestinian Kidnapped Near Tulkarem
On Wednesday morning, Israeli forces detained a Palestinian youth from the Nur Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarem, family members reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60242
War Criminals
IDF soldier charged with killing Gaza civilian: I was only following orders
Givati soldier who allegedly shot a woman during Operation Cast Lead says his commander called him ‘a cold-blooded murderer.’
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-soldier-charged-with-killing-gaza-civilian-i-was-only-following-orders-1.332334?localLinksEnabled=false
Breaking the Silence’s landmark new book, now in English
Breaking the Silence has just published a landmark collection of soldier testimonies from the Occupied Territories spanning the period 2000-2010. The 432 page book can now be browsed, downloaded and embedded here.
http://coteret.com/2010/12/22/breaking-the-silences-landmark-new-book-now-in-english/
Israel‘s Arab Helpers/PA Repression
Accompanied By P.A Security, Israeli Soldiers “Tour” Bethlehem
A number of Israeli Military Jeeps were seen driving in Bethlehem while accompanied by members of the Palestinian Security Forces. They “toured” in several areas, including the Manger Square.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60246
Israel and US are working on the production of a new Islam: revised and improved to suit “the peace process”
“The United States has pushed the Palestinian Authority to put an end to the vitriolic sermons that the United States and Israel say undercut peace efforts. But it has been careful not to overtly praise the latest effort. While seen as helpful to U.S. goals, the crackdown also reveals an authoritarian streak in a Palestinian leadership routinely hailed by American officials for its governance.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/12/israel-and-us-are-working-on-production.html
PA security forces release Hebron journalists
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Two journalists detained by Palestinian Authority forces on Tuesday were released less than 24 hours after their arrest, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate announced Wednesday. Akram An-Natshah and Mamduh Al-Hamamreh, both Hebron natives, were detained from the Pal Media office on Tuesday afternoon. According to the syndicate office, the two were released as a result of direct intervention from the group, which cited violations of freedom of the press against the detention of the men and confiscation of their equipment.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=344507
Abu Marzouk: No reconciliation meeting with Fatah without releasing detainees
Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouk affirmed that there will be no reconciliation meeting with Fatah as long as its authority in Ramallah continued to ignore demands of the detained hunger strikers.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2
Post Wiki Distractions and PR
‘Palestinians uncover Hamas weapons cache in Ramallah’
Palestinian security chief says rockets, launchers and mortar shells likely being gathered to target the Palestinian Authority, and not Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinians-uncover-hamas-weapons-cache-in-ramallah-1.332236?localLinksEnabled=false
Egypt: Stop Israeli aggression against Palestinians in Gaza
Foreign Ministry in Cairo condemns recent IDF air strikes as bid to divert attention from peace process, warns attacks will inflame negative feelings toward Israel; UN defends Israeli response to rockets, but urges restraint.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/egypt-stop-israeli-aggression-against-palestinians-in-gaza-1.332256?localLinksEnabled=false
Chief Palestinian negotiator: Israeli attacks on Gaza make region more volatile
Saeb Erekat warns that IDF attack on the Hamas-ruled territory would only elevate anarchy, bloodshed in area; Deputy PM Meridor says Israel won’t tolerate rocket fire from Gaza.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/chief-palestinian-negotiator-israeli-attacks-on-gaza-make-region-more-volatile-1.332171?localLinksEnabled=false
I/P Wikileaks
‘The Palestine Cables’: Gaza is a burning issue from Egypt to Latin America to Pakistan, to John Kerry being ’shocked by what I saw’, Alex Kane
This is the third installment of my new column on WikiLeaks and Israel/Palestine at Mondoweiss. You can read all the installments here. Forsaken by the “peace process,” ignored by mainstream media, denied justice two years after Israel committed what many rights groups called war crimes– still, the plight of Palestinians in the blockaded Gaza Strip remains a burning issue around the world. Cables from the trove of State Department documents WikiLeaks has been releasing show that global civil society’s outrage at the brutal 2008-09 Israeli assault on Gaza has resonated with governments everywhere, and that Gaza remains a symbol of everything that’s wrong with the Israeli occupation.
http://alexbkane.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/%e2%80%98the-palestine-cables%e2%80%99-gaza-is-a-burning-issue-from-egypt-to-latin-america-to-pakistan-to-john-kerry-being-%e2%80%99shocked-by-what-i-saw%e2%80%99/
‘NZ chose trade with Arabs over ties with Israel’
More WikiLeaks wonders: US diplomats say New Zealand’s reactions over 2004 arrest of two suspected Mossad agents exaggerated to increase Arab trade.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4002767,00.html
U.S. criticized New Zealand for reaction to 2004 Israel spy affair, WikiLeaks cables reveal
The Guardian reports that U.S. diplomats accused New Zealand of using the arrest of two suspected Israeli spies in 2004 to bolster its export of lamb to Arab states.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-criticized-new-zealand-for-reaction-to-2004-israel-spy-affair-wikileaks-cables-reveal-1.332064?localLinksEnabled=false
Political Developments
Palestinian FM says Spain to recognize Palestinian state
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyadh Al-Maliki said Spain promised the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) to recognize a Palestinian statehood next year, Ramallah-based Al-Ayyam daily reported Wednesday.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/7239694.html
Israel fears UK moving towards recognising Palestinian state
The UK is preparing to confer diplomatic status on the Palestinian delegation in London for the first time, renewing fears in Israel that Europe is moving closer to recognising an independent Palestinian state.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/israel-fears-uk-moving-towards-recognising-palestinian-state-15036433.html
Bolivia sends formal letter recognizing Palestine (AP)
AP – Bolivia has formally declared its recognition of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101222/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_bolivia_palestinians
TeleSur, “Chile Joins Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia in Recognizing Palestinian State”
The day before, parliamentarians of all the political factions in Chile called upon the Sebastián Piñera government to recognize the existence of the Palestinian state with the pre-1967 borders. More than 400,000 people of Palestinian origin live in Chile, the largest Palestinian community outside the Arab world.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/telesur221210.html
Hamas calls on PA to end cooperation with Israel
BEIRUT, Lebanon (Ma’an) — Hamas representative in Lebanon Ali Baraka called on President Mahmoud Abbas to “stop his futile negotiations and security cooperation with the Israeli occupation state” and release all political detainees from jails in the West Bank, the Palestinian Information Center reported Wednesday. According to the Hamas-affiliated news website, Baraka made his remarks in a ceremony held Beirut the day before, which honored the 23rd anniversary of the Hamas movement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=344517
New Date For Local Elections About To Be Set
After the Supreme Court ruled that the P.A.’s decision to postpone local elections in the West Bank as illegal, the cabinet announced on Tuesday that a new date will be set immediately, “In accordance with the law.”
http://www.imemc.org/article/60241
Fayyad: No state without Gaza
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — During his weekly news conference with reporters on Wednesday, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad put the focus on Gaza, and continued efforts made by the Ramallah government to better the lives of the Palestinians in the coastal enclave, as Fatah officials work toward establishing a unity agreement with the government in the Strip. “It is time that disagreements between the Palestinians come to an end,” he said from Ramallah, adding that the continued state of rivalry between Palestinian factions only fueled what he called the “Israeli project to separate the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem and render the establishment of a Palestinian state impossible.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=344488
Lieberman depicts doctrine to Newsweek
Deemed ‘Israel’s most popular politician’, foreign minister enlightens magazine on Arabs, Iran
Newsweek crowned Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman “Israel’s most popular politician” in an interview published Monday, in which he was asked on his views regarding peace with the Palestinians. Lieberman told Newsweek that according to his plan of exchanging populations and territories for peace, “at least half” of Israel’s Arabs would no longer be a part of the state. He said the right wing and most of the Labor Party support this idea.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4003353,00.html
Poll: Netanyahu trounces Livni as prime minister
Almost twice as many prefer Netanyahu over Livni, according to survey, despite drop in satisfaction with current PM.
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?ID=200635&R=R1
Other News
EU to grant Palestinians duty free imports of farm and fish produce
EU imports from Gaza and West Bank were worth $8.02 million in 2009 and were mostly early potatoes, oils and seeds such as soya and sunflower seeds, according to EU data.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/eu-to-grant-palestinians-duty-free-imports-of-farm-and-fish-produce-1.332233?localLinksEnabled=false
Israel to deploy new tanks to Gaza
Tanks are equipped with new missile defence system in response to use of Kornet, tank-piercing missiles by Palestinians.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/12/20101222103714825735.html
New Gaza war ‘a question of when’
A senior Israeli army officer tells the BBC that as long as Hamas remains in control of the Gaza Strip, another war is “a question of when, not if”.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-12064775
Public Security Ministry fires woman who accused senior cop of harassment
Dr. Orly Innes, who lodged complaint against Maj. Gen. Uri Bar-Lev, said she was terminated despite having been offered an extension of her contract; Ministry: She refused our request to resign.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/public-security-ministry-fires-woman-who-accused-senior-cop-of-harassment-1.332267?localLinksEnabled=false
Public Security Ministry backtracks after firing Bar-Lev’s accuser
Dr. Orly Innes, who lodged a sexual harassment complaint against a senior police officer, claims she was terminated despite having been offered an extension of her contract; the ministry said she refused to resign, but decides to keep her on while it evaluates the matter.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/public-security-ministry-backtracks-after-firing-bar-lev-s-accuser-1.332289?localLinksEnabled=false
Study: 850,000 children live in poverty in Israel
Non-profit organization Latet publishes annual ‘alternative poverty report’: 1.77 million people in Israel are poor, 75% of them forgo meals due to economic status.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/study-850-000-children-live-in-poverty-in-israel-1.332047?localLinksEnabled=false
Rabbi Aviner: Don’t read talkbacks
One of Religious Zionism’s leaders says responding to articles on websites may lead to religious and moral transgressions. ‘Talkbacks can bring many blessings, but for the most part we see that they have many negative sides which means it isn’t worth it in the long run’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3986921,00.html
Palestine Analysis/Op-ed
Another Christmas under siege – Fr. Faisal Hijazin
The heart of Bethlehem is not the Church of the Nativity, the Franciscan Saint Catherine’s Catholic Church or Manger Square, nor the many other places of worship found in this holy city. It is not Rachel’s tomb, now surrounded by a curtain of iron and cement built to sever it from Bethlehem. Rather, in truth, the heart of Bethlehem is the community of believers that, by its presence, has kept the birthplace of Jesus tended, remembered and venerated since the time that Our Savior appeared on earth, born of a virgin, to save us from our sins. During all these centuries, Bethlehem has remained a Christian community.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=344304
The U.S. needs to get tough with Israel
Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the Palestine Center in Washington, DC, has written an important op-ed in the Los Angeles Times challenging the Obama administration to get tougher with Israel or be regarded as irrelevant to the conflict’s resolution by much of the rest of the world. The piece also highlights the unhelpful role of Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-California).
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/us-needs-to-get-tough-with-israel.html
The thinktank of the Obama left is helping… Netanyahu!!, Alex Kane
I don’t know if you saw this: Larry Korb, a former assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration and (get this) a fellow at the liberal, Obama-connected Center for American Progress, has been in Israel lobbying for Jonathan Pollard’s release.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/the-thinktank-of-the-obama-left-is-helping-netanyahu.html
Palestinian Statehood: Quality as Well as Quantity, John V. Whitbeck
On December 17, Bolivia extended diplomatic recognition to the State of Palestine within its full pre-1967 borders (all of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem). Coming soon after the similar recognitions by Brazil and Argentina, Bolivia’s recognition brought to 106 the number of UN member states recognizing the State of Palestine, whose independence was proclaimed on November 15, 1988. While still under foreign belligerent occupation, the State of Palestine possesses all the customary international law criteria for sovereign statehood. No portion of its territory is recognized by any other country (other than Israel) as any other country’s sovereign territory, and, indeed, Israel has only asserted sovereignty over a small portion of its territory, expanded East Jerusalem, leaving sovereignty over the rest both literally and legally uncontested.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16505
Cast Lead two year anniversary [update], Max Ajl
Before I read this article, I was pretty sure that the Israeli leadership was shying away, for the moment, from anything like a reprise of the Cast Lead massacre, even though on the night of the 21 there were eight coordinated F-16 attacks on sites in Gaza. I’m a bit less sure now. Ashkenazi’s job is to terrify Gaza’s civilian population and instill in them constant and grinding terror. But it’s also to prepare the ground for the next assault in the eyes of Israeli and especially world public opinion. He told a parliamentary panel that “The situation in the south is tense and fragile, and it could deteriorate if a rocket attack causes a large number of casualties.” As if on cue, a typically psychotic op-ed appeared: “The IDF does not intend to show restraint in the face of the latest Hamas activism, and this fact would likely be made clear to Hamas’ Gaza leadership in a convincing and blatant matter, and soon.” And in the view of this writer, what is it that the “Hamas activism” (Which isn’t Hamas activism) meant to accomplish? “Hamas is now trying to impose new rules of play and prevent activity beyond the fence”–in other words, on the hundreds-of-meters-wide swathes of its own land that the IDF has by fiat declared off-limits. What that translates to is that Palestinians shouldn’t do anything to resist the shrinking of their cage. But that will never happen.
http://www.maxajl.com/?p=4605&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+http%2Fwwwmaxajlcom%2Ffeedrss2+%28Jewbonics%29
Zionist fanatics in defense of Anti-Semitism, As`ad Abukhalil
Those Zionist US leaders explain why the anti-Semitism of Kissinger should be ignored: ”Clyde Haberman referred to the shock and dismay of some in the Jewish community in response to certain comments by Henry A. Kissinger in a 1973 conversation with President Richard M. Nixon. However, the fuller Kissinger record should be remembered. Just several weeks before this conversation, Mr. Kissinger and Nixon agreed to provide Israel with 100 advanced aircraft and to remove Israeli issues from the State Department to the White House, something strongly sought by Golda Meir, who was then prime minister.” So according to them, had the Nazis supplied the Zionist movement with missiles and weapons, their anti-Semitism would have been forgiven too.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/12/zionist-fanatics-in-defense-of-anti.html
When will the time come to end Palestinian suffering?
The children gathered around what was, moments ago, their safe haven, the reservoir of their memories, the focus of their happiness, the link between them and their fathers and grandfathers, to see with their innocent eyes every brick of their house turn into rubble.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=122817
Netanyahu can blame himself for decline in Israel’s world standing
Leaders around the world are losing their patience with Netanyahu and wondering if the Israeli PM is a partner for peace. The way to restore their faith and protect Israel’s interests around the world remains freezing settlements.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/netanyahu-can-blame-himself-for-decline-in-israel-s-world-standing-1.331933
Other Op-ed/Analysis
Lebanon
US lawmaker urges France not sell Lebanon arms (AFP)
AFP – France should scrap its planned sale to Lebanon of 100 anti-tank missiles because they could end up being used by the powerful militant group Hezbollah against Israel, a US lawmaker said Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101222/pl_afp/lebanonfrancemilitaryweaponspolitics
Ex-General Karam to be tried for collaboration next month
BEIRUT: The trial of a senior member in the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) charged with collaborating with Israel is scheduled to begin January 18. The date for the trial of former General Fayez Karam was set by Brigadier Nizar Khalil, head of the Permanent Military Tribunal.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=122834
French weapons political, not military, gesture
PRAGUE/BEIRUT: France’s shipment of 100 HOT missiles to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) signals Paris’ political support for Prime Minister Saad Hariri, but the arms have almost no military value despite Israel’s standard, vociferous protests, a number of analysts said Wednesday.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=122832
Harb urges limits on land sales to other sects
BEIRUT: Restrictions should be placed on sales of land from one sect to another, Labor Minister Butros Harb said Wednesday. The minister said he intends to prepare draft legislation that would limit the sale of lands from one Lebanese sect to another, and eventually submit the draft to the Cabinet.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=122842
Street children in Lebanon dream through a camera lens
Alert Net – Young people from Lebanon’s only shelter for street children expressed their dreams of education, recreation and the warmth of a family through a photo exhibition that crowned a ten-day photography workshop as part of the ‘See it our way’ photoproject supported by World Vision and conducted by UK charity PhotoVoice.
http://palestinenote.com/blogs/theater/archive/2010/12/22/street-children-in-lebanon-dream-through-a-camera-lens.aspx
War wounded channel energy into crafts
BEIT SHABAB: Bechara was only 19 when, fighting for one of Lebanon’s many militias during the 1975-1990 Civil War, he was wounded in battle as a bullet lodged itself in his spine. Some 34 years later, from his wheelchair, he is crafting Christmas gifts for children across his native Lebanon, a still-divided country that risks sliding back into chaos at any moment.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=122838
Iraq
Wednesday: 3 Iraqis, 1 Syrian Killed; 4 Iraqis Wounded
The new Iraqi cabinet met for the first time today to begin working on the challenges facing Iraq. Iraqis, however, are wary of this new government and some believe that incompetent people were given cabinet posts as political favors. In light violence, at least three Iraqis and a Syrian man were killed, while four others were wounded.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/12/22/wednesday-3-iraqis-1-syrian-killed-4-iraqis-wounded/
Iraqi churches cancel Christmas festivities (AP)
AP – No decorations, no midnight Mass. Even an appearance by Santa Claus has been nixed after Iraq’s Christian leaders called off Christmas celebrations amid new al-Qaida threats on the tiny community still terrified from a bloody siege on a Baghdad church.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101223/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
Maliki hopes to appoint more women
In light of an incomplete Iraqi government, Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki said he needed more time to evaluate candidates’ names in order to choose competent ones and was hoping to appoint more women.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-57930-Maliki-hopes-to-appoint-more-women.html
Wikileaks
Cables Reveal Delicate Diplomacy After U.S. Soldier Killed Italian in Iraq
The Italian report cited “inexperience and stress” among American troops as the cause of the shooting.
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/12/22/wikiwatch-cables-reveal-delicate-diplomacy-after-u-s-soldier-k/
WikiLeaks Joins Forces With Lebedev’s Moscow-Based Newspaper Novaya Gazeta
Novaya Gazeta, the Moscow newspaper controlled by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and billionaire Alexander Lebedev, said it agreed to join forces with WikiLeaks to expose corruption in Russia.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-22/wikileaks-joins-forces-with-billionaire-lebedev-gorbachev.html
WikiLeaks army ‘Anonymous’ eyes Bank of America with ‘Operation BOA Constrictor’
Anonymous, the loosely knit association of WikiLeaks supporters, is seeking to rally the online faithful to attack Bank of America with ‘Operation BOA Constrictor.’
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/HyzZv8PVIB8/WikiLeaks-army-Anonymous-eyes-Bank-of-America-with-Operation-BOA-Constrictor
WikiLeaks cables, day 24: summary of today’s key points
There are no fewer than 251,287 cables from more than 250 US embassies around the world, obtained by WikiLeaks. We present a day-by-day guide to the revelations from the US embassy cables both from the Guardian and its international media partners in the story.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/22/wikileaks-summary-key-points-day-24
Leaks, leaked: Norway publication claims to have complete ‘cablegate’ archive
Over the past few weeks, secrets outlet WikiLeaks has released only a small number of the secret US State Department diplomatic cables it was given, choosing instead to work with partners in the mainstream press to fritter out the stories worth telling.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/leaks-leaked-norway-publication-claims-complete-cablegate-archive/
Frost over the World – Julian Assange
The WikiLeaks founder talks about secrets, leaks and why he will not go back to Sweden.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6mcSXge4Qo&feature=player_embedded
Assange receives Alliance media card: unions offer support for Wikileaks
WikiLeaks’ editor-in-chief Julian Assange will today (Thursday) be given his Media Alliance union card, confirming that he is a member in good standing with the Australian journalists’ union, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance. Assange’s Melbourne lawyer Rob Stary QC will accept Assange’s new media card from ACTU President Ged Kearney at a ceremony in Melbourne outside the office of Fairfax Media newspaper The Age. Media Alliance Victorian branch secretary Louise Connor said that Assange had contacted the Alliance in November, just as the ‘cablegate’ story began to break, wryly noting that his credit card had been cancelled and that he may not be able to pay his union dues.
http://antonyloewenstein.com/2010/12/23/assange-receives-alliance-media-card-unions-offer-support-for-wikileaks/
Assange calls for criminal charges against ‘shock jock’ Fox hosts
WikiLeaks founder calls Bradley Manning ‘political prisoner’; says Fox hosts, politicians committing ‘terrorism’ Julian Assange has accused Fox personalities Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin, among others, of committing terrorism through their calls to hunt down and kill the WikiLeaks founder. In an interview with MSNBC’s Cenk Uygur, Assange referred to the politicians-turned-Fox-personalities as “shock jocks” […]
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/assange-charges-shock-jock-fox-hosts/
Julian Assange: Bradley Manning Is A ‘Political Prisoner’ (VIDEO)
Despite claiming he had never met Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange jumped to the jailed U.S. Army intelligence analyst’s defense in an interview with MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan. While discussing Manning — who is said to have provided WikiLeaks with access to the confidential documents which continue to emerge online — Assange responded, “If we are to believe the allegations, then this man [is] a political prisoner in the United States.” On reports that Manning is being kept in solitary confinement with limited access to exercise and even sleep, Assange went on to note, “He’s been a political prisoner without trial…this is serious business.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/22/julian-assange-bradley-manning-political-prisoner_n_800499.html
PFC Bradley Manning, Patriot, SHERWOOD ROSS
As the U.S. is now an international aggressor, do Americans still owe it allegiance? If a citizen releases information about crimes the U.S. commits, can he or she be legally punished? These questions arise in connection with the arrests of Australian Julian Assange and PFC Bradley Manning, a U.S. Army intelligence analyst believed to be the source of the secret government cables published by Assange’s WikiLeaks Web site.
http://www.counterpunch.com/ross12222010.html
Smearing Private Manning, Philip Weiss
My eyes are on the riveting Assange, but I noticed that the smearing of his presumed source, Private Bradley Manning, has begun. Just read this report by Mike Taibbi out of his hometown of Crescent, Oklahoma, for NBC the other night. My house filled with hoarse profane cries of outrage as I watched the targeted character assassination… You will see that Manning did it because he was closeted and gay, or he had suffered abuse, or was ignored, he was undersized and used big words no one understood in Crescent, he has some kind of personality disorder.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/12/smearing-private-manning.html
The Listening Post – WikiLeaks cyber warriors
This week, we stay with the WikiLeaks story – the battle taking place online, the cyber warriors and the tug of war over freedom of information. Then a retrospective look at 2009 through a series of photographs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VGj20gKLH4&feature=youtube_gdata
Australia Rejects Israeli-Ordered Media Censorship, FRANKLIN LAMB
Beirut–Australia’s Parliament and mainstream media may not differ all that much from other western countries when it comes to chronic groveling to the Zionist lobby. But like citizens in many countries, Australians sometimes exhibit admirable independence and respect for their society’s own values. On December 10, 2010, whether by design or coincidence, International Human Rights Day, Australia’s Communication and Media Authority ( ACMA ) released its decision on whether to ban Lebanon’s Al Manar TV channel from being broadcast down under via the Indonesian PT Indosat satellite ( Palapa D) that was launched on 12/27/09.
http://www.counterpunch.com/lamb12222010.html
U.S. and other world news
Sexual violence in the US military
Recent statistics and stories from soldiers in the US military reveal sexual assault is much more common in the defence forces that in the wider civilian population. And, as documented in a special Al Jazeera web report detailing a culture of cover-up fear and shame, assault is a crime perpetrated against both men and women. However, Susan Avila-Smith, the founder of the veteran’s advocacy group VET-WOW in Seattle, Washington, told Al Jazeera that not enough is being done to hold the military accountable for assault.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIzXMJnVuDI&feature=youtube_gdata
FBI Investigating Alleged Hate Crime Outside Mosque
The FBI has opened a preliminary civil rights investigation in the case of a 20-year-old Somali immigrant who says she was the victim of a hate crime.
http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2010/dec/21/1/fbi-investigating-alleged-hate-crime-out-31148-vi-23212/
Muslim Divorce: Father Denied Custody Because Of Religion
A New Jersey father says he’s being denied custody of his young son solely because he’s a Muslim.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/22/muslim-divorce-father-den_n_800362.html
Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation awarded damages
A federal judge ordered the government Tuesday to pay $40,800 in damages and $2.5 million in legal fees for wiretapping an Islamic organization without a warrant as part of President George W. Bush’s secret surveillance…
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/22/BA2U1GU2TQ.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
Ahmadinejad arrives in Turkey ahead of nuclear talks
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Istanbul Wednesday looking for at least moral support from his increasingly influential neighbor a month before nuclear talks with six major powers in Istanbul. Iran’s agreement to hold another round of negotiations over its nuclear program with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=122816
Saudi Arabia: Stop Deporting Somalis to Mogadishu
(New York) – The government of Saudi Arabia should immediately stop deporting Somalis to war-torn Mogadishu, Human Rights Watch said today.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/12/22/saudi-arabia-stop-deporting-somalis-mogadishu
Indonesia to reduce number of maids in UAE
After gruesome crimes against two Indonesian maids in Saudi Arabia, the south East Asian country is showing concerns over its female citizens in the UAE and its planning a cut in their number, a UAE-based newspaper reported on Wednesday.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/12/22/130543.html
Racism undermines Sudanese unity
Southern Muslims campaigning for independence from north say religion is not the main dividing factor.
http://english.aljazeera.net//video/africa/2010/12/2010122218520433724.html
Syrian Christians struggle to survive
As millions around the world prepare to celebrate Christmas, a small Syrian Orthodox community in East Jerusalem is trying to survive against the odds. The community is shrinking amid Israel’s occupation, which it says makes even the most basic tasks difficult. Al Jazeera’s Sherine Tadros reports from Jerusalem’s old city.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxWyNRhia40&feature=youtube_gdata
Christian flight would spell the end for the Arab world
Should we be concerned about the fate of Christian communities in the Arab world? This burning issue hits the headlines time and again whenever a church is attacked in Iraq or when Egyptian Copts are bullied. Most recently an appeal by a group of Arab intellectuals to rise above sectarian divisions was published in the French media following a bloody attack against Iraqi Christians.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=122827
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