A roundup of Day One of the Palestine Papers from Today in Palestine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbsI2DVqTPM&feature=youtube_gdata
English Al Jazeera Video: Discussing the Palestine Papers Pt 2
Shlomo Ben Ami, former Israeli Forign Minister, Daud Abdullah, director of Middle east monitor UK and Ali Abunimah, co-founder of Electronic Intifada make up the panel of analysts who discuss the Palestine Papers. This is Part two.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIoPJRX18T0&feature=youtube_gdata
English Al Jazeera Video: Discussing the Palestine Papers Pt 3
Shlomo Ben Ami, former Israeli Forign Minister, Daud Abdullah, director of Middle east monitor UK and Ali Abunimah, co-founder of Electronic Intifada make up the panel of analysts who discuss the Palestine Papers. This is Part three.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhT80hXf2f8&feature=youtube_gdata
English Al Jazeera Video: Creativity on the Haram
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo3hHB0yxqs&feature=youtube_gdata
English Al Jazeera Video: “The biggest Yerushalayim in Jewish history”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSE4rY1DFPo&feature=youtube_gdata
“Risks for peace”
The overwhelming conclusion one draws from this record is that the process for a two-state solution is essentially over.
http://english.aljazeera.net/palestinepapers/2011/01/2011123135633144648.html
US embassy cables: Israel discusses Gaza and West Bank with US
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/81613
Meeting Minutes: Trilateral – United States, Israel and Palestine: Summary
Minutes of meeting among US, Palestinian and Israeli delegation in Jerusalem for Annapolis negotiations. The sides discuss reaching an agreement before the end of 2008, but identify many issues that must still be resolved.
http://transparency.aljazeera.net/document/2825
Meeting Minutes: 8th Meeting on Territory: Summary
The Palestinians affirmed their position that negotiations are based on UNSCR 242 and 338, while the Israelis continued to assert their claims to land within the 1967 line and stressed they are not “giving” anything back. The Israelis backtracked on swaps and would not discuss swaps unless Ma’ale Adumim, Givat ze’ev and Ariel are discussed.
http://transparency.aljazeera.net/document/2681
Meeting Minutes: Borders with Erekat, Qurei and Livni: Summary
Palestinians presented their position regarding borders: 1967 borders along with all areas occupied by Israel in the 1967 area, West Bank with No Man’s Land and East Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley, Gaza Strip and the Dead Sea. Palestinians also presented maps for land swaps – swaps by the ratio of 1:1 (same size and value).
http://transparency.aljazeera.net/document/2648
Meeting Minutes: Post-Annapolis Plenary Session on Territory: Summary
Minutes of a plenary session on Territory, Post-Annapolis. Both sides discussed news reports regarding Israel’s decision to negotiate with Syria over the return of the Golan Heights. The Israeli side presented their assessment of the Palestinian land swap proposal.
http://transparency.aljazeera.net/document/2618
Summary of Ehud Olmert’s “Package” Offer to Mahmoud Abbas – August 31, 2008: Summary
Summary on Israel’s package offer to the Palestinians, includes detailed maps of land swaps in Israel and Jerusalem. The summary includes offers on territory, Jerusalem, refugees and security. Israel would annex 6.8% of the West Bank, and safe passage between Gaza and West Bank would be under Israeli sovereignty. Sovereignty over the Holy Basin would be delayed to a later stage. On refugees, Israel would acknowledge the suffering of – but not responsibility for – Palestinian refugees. No mention is made of security.
http://transparency.aljazeera.net/document/4736
Palestine papers: Editor’s note
The background to how the Guardian came to publish the documents revealing details of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. The 1,600 or so documents in the Palestine papers were obtained by al-Jazeera and shared in advance of publication with the Guardian in an effort to ensure the wider availability of their content. The Guardian has authenticated the bulk of the papers independently, but we have not sought or been given access to the sources of the documents. Al-Jazeera, who are publishing the papers in full on their website, aljazeera.net, has redacted minimal parts of the papers in order to protect their sources’ identity. As part of the agreement we are publishing up to eight documents a day in full on guardian.co.uk. In the course of working with the documents over several weeks, the Guardian has formed its own judgments about specific stories and retained full editorial control of its coverage. Co-operation between us and al-Jazeera has been restricted to discussions of the stories and agreeing dates on which we would release the information contained in specific documents.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/23/palestine-papers-editors-note
Secret papers reveal slow death of Middle East peace process
• Massive new leak lifts lid on negotiations
• PLO offered up key settlements in East Jerusalem
• Concessions made on refugees and Holy sites
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/23/palestine-papers-expose-peace-concession
Al Jazeera English Video: Swapping land in East Jerusalem
Al Jazeera’s Clayton Swisher explains the Palestinian Authority’s offer to concede most of Israel’s illegal settlements in East Jerusalem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xM8mA25Cwo&feature=youtube_gdata
‘Palestinians agreed to cede nearly all Jewish areas of East Jerusalem’
Newly leaked documents reveal series of concessions made to Israel by PA negotiators; East Jerusalem offer was rejected as it didn’t include settlements deeper in West Bank.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/palestinians-agreed-to-cede-nearly-all-jewish-areas-of-east-jerusalem-1.338785?localLinksEnabled=false
Palestine papers: Ahmed Qureia
Acquaintances describe Qureia as tolerant and good-humoured, and the Palestine papers often reveal him relieving the tension of negotiating sessions with light-hearted banter, though a joke that Palestinians should kidnap an Israeli soldier as a bargaining chip in the negotiations was met with stony silence. He exhibits great personal charm, and at one point told his Israeli counterpart, the foreign minister Tzipi Livni, that he would vote for her. He also greeted the then US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, with the words: “You bring life to the region when you come.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/23/palestine-papers-ahmed-qurei-abu-ala
Palestine papers: live updates
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/jan/24/palestine-papers-live-updates
Aljazeera Leaks, As`ad Abukhalil
Forget about PA’s denials. Those buffoons are not believed even if they tell the truth (as it is said in the Babylonian Talmud). But reading through the documents, my 1st impression: somebody high up has leaked them and I suspect that Dahlan is fighting back against his PA rivals in light of the recent investigations. And I noticed that the documents–if I am not mistaken (I never am, damn it)–cover the period when Dahlan was not involved (marginalized). 2) that the PA buffoons are, well, buffoons. Nothing new there. 3) like every occasion when the occupiers speak to his/her puppets, Livni speak to the PA buffoons like they are animals. But they deserve it of course. Sit down, Sa’ib. Sit down. Good boy. Good boy. Give him a treat, Tal.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/aljazeera-leaks.html
This seemingly endless and ugly game of the peace process is now finally over | Karma Nabulsi
The peace process is a sham. Palestinians must reject their officials and rebuild their movement. It’s over. Given the shocking nature, extent and detail of these ghastly revelations from behind the closed doors of the Middle East peace process, the seemingly endless and ugly game is now, finally, over. Not one of the villains on the Palestinian side can survive it. With any luck the sheer horror of this account of how the US and Britain covertly facilitated and even implemented Israeli military expansion – while creating an oligarchy to manage it – might overcome the entrenched interests and venality that have kept the peace process going. A small group of men who have polluted the Palestinian public sphere with their private activities are now exposed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/23/middle-east-peace-process-over-palestinians
Palestine papers: Now we know. Israel had a peace partner
The classified documents show Palestinians willing to go to extreme lengths and Israel holding a firm line on any peace deal. Who will be most damaged by this extraordinary glimpse into the reality of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process? Perhaps the first casualty will be Palestinian national pride, their collective sense of dignity in adversity badly wounded by the papers revealed today. Many on the Palestinian streets will recoil to read not just the concessions offered by their representatives – starting with the yielding of those parts of East Jerusalem settled by Israeli Jews – but the language in which those concessions were made.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/23/palestine-papers-israel-peace-partner
The Palestinian papers: Pleading for a fig leaf | Editorial
The secret notes suggest one requires Panglossian optimism to believe that these negotiations can one day be resurrected. Gerald Kaufman once described Labour’s 1983 manifesto as the longest suicide note in history. If ever a set of documents merits this epithet, it is surely the one we publish today. Written by Palestinian officials, obtained by al-Jazeera and shared with the Guardian, the papers are the confidential record of 10 years of efforts to seek a peace agreement with Israel.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/23/palestinian-papers-fig-leaf-editorial
Al Jazeera publishes bombshell leak concerning the peace process; ex-CIA official ‘The overwhelming conclusion one draws from this record is that the process for a two-state solution is essentially over’, Henry Norr and Adam Horowitz
Today, al-Jazeera has obtained a cache of nearly 1,700 confidential files – memos, e-mails, maps, minutes from private meetings, accounts of high level exchanges, strategy papers and even power point presentations – dealing with the so-called peace process from 1999 to 2010. Al Jazeera has shared them with the Guardian (UK), and both organizations today began posting and and analyzing them.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/al-jazeera-publishes-bombshell-leak-concerning-the-peace-process-ex-cia-official-the-overwhelming-conclusion-one-draws-from-this-record-is-that-the-process-for-a-two-state-solution-is-essentially-o.html
Olmer’s solution to the “refugee problem”
“Israel would acknowledge the suffering of – but not responsibility for – Palestinian refugees (language is in the preamble). In parallel, there must also be a mention of Israeli (or Jewish) suffering. Israel would take in 1,000 refugees per year for a period of 5 years on “humanitarian” grounds. In addition, programs of “family reunification” would continue.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/olmers-solution-to-refugee-problem.html
Two decades of secret Israeli-Palestinian accords leaked to media worldwide
Al-Jazeera TV begins leaking 1,600 secret documents: PA agreed to concede almost all of East Jerusalem to Israel, accept Israeli demand to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/two-decades-of-secret-israeli-palestinian-accords-leaked-to-media-worldwide-1.338768?localLinksEnabled=false
Abu `Ala’ on Nayif Hawatimah
*It seems that Nayef Hawatmeh, of the DFLP, knows more about the Israeli position than us. He is saying the Israelis are proposing to keep the Jordan Valley and all of Jerusalem… How does he know this?”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/abu-ala-on-nayif-hawatimah.html
Leaked document shows what the Palestinian Authority really thinks of Netanyahu
In meet between Saeb Erekat and U.S. diplomat David Hale, Erekat describes difficulty arranging a phone call with Netanyahu, says Israelis want a two state solution ‘sometimes more than Palestinians.’
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/leaked-document-shows-what-the-palestinian-authority-really-thinks-of-netanyahu-1.338776?localLinksEnabled=false
Al Jazeera interviews Abdel Bari Atwan, Editor Al-Quds Al-Arabi
In the largest leak in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Al Jazeera has obtained 1,676 classified documents in total. The documents are derived from a decade of meetings, internal emails, reports and studies, notes, maps and draft agreements. They detail talks between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority, along with the United States. However, the most controversial revelation so far is the apparent willingness of the Palestinian Authority to give concessions on disputed areas of Jerusalem. Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) executive committee, said in his reaction to the revelations, “They want to compete with WikiLeaks and come up with parallel stories. But WikiLeaks doesn’t bring those presenters or people such as Atwan in order to sensationalise and provoke and serve a preordained position.” Al Jazeera’s Teymoor Nabili interviewed Adbel Bari Atwan, editor of the Al-Quds Al Arabi newspaper, the man in question named in Rabbo’s reaction to the leaked documents.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDBJunr0yF4&feature=youtube_gdata
Rashid Khalidi: Leaked “Palestine Papers” Underscore Weakness of Palestinian Authority, Rejectionism of Israel and U.S.
Newly-released documents show Palestinian negotiators agreed to give up large tracts of West Bank land, and nearly all of East Jerusalem, in peace talks with the Israeli government. The disclosure is among many contained in what is being called the “Palestine Papers”—over 1,700 files from inside Israeli-Palestinian negotiations dating from 1999 to 2010. The news network Al Jazeera began publishing details of the documents on Sunday. We speak with Columbia University professor, Rashid Khalidi.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/1/24/rashid_khalidi_leaked_palestine_papers_underscore
Palestine papers: Will a big scoop change business as usual?
A roundup of opinion so far.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/sE8dqzmfgfs/Palestine-papers-Will-a-big-scoop-change-business-as-usual
Palestine Papers Reveal more than just Scandal, Joharah Baker for MIFTAH
If this were the ’50s, newspapers would be flying off stands like hotcakes. The “Read All About It” would refer to the newly released “Palestine Papers” a series of revealing documents (much like the equally scandalous Wikileaks) covering years of Palestinian-Israeli meetings and negotiations.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=23077&CategoryId=3
MJ Rosenberg: Palestinian Papers: What the Al Jazeera Blockbuster Means
Recently released documents show that the Palestinian Authority understands that with the United States solidly backing every Israeli position, no matter how extreme, the only thing it can do is negotiate for crumbs.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/what-the-al-jazeera-block_b_812951.html
The stark reality of the ‘Palestine Papers’ points the way forward, Ahmed Moor
I sat around last night thinking of ways to punish Erekat, Abbas and Qurei for treason. It was an exercise in pure fantasy but it had an ameliorative psychological effect. George Bush made the noose unsexy, and it’s too barbaric besides. But what if Israeli surgeons were contracted to surgically remove every vertebral bone belonging to the three sludges?
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/the-stark-reality-of-the-palestine-papers-points-the-way-forward.html
American intifadah: We shake off the neocons, Philip Weiss
Everything’s falling apart this morning. What a beautiful day, we’re going to try and pick up the pieces all this week. The Palestine Papers are transforming the landscape, and showing that realists and leftists have had far greater insight into the region than the neocons and liberal hawks– for years now.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/american-intifadah-we-shake-off-the-neocons-at-last.html
Aljazeerah’s Leaks Reveal Sham ‘Peace Process,’ Israeli Stonewalling, Juan Cole
The Qatar satellite channel Aljazeera has gotten hold of some 1600 documents from the Palestine Authority regarding negotiations with Israel, which cast the Israelis, the Americans and the Fatah faction of Palestinians in the worst possible light. The leaked documents were shared exclusively with The Guardian newspaper. The documents could well destroy the Palestine Liberation Organization, a coalition of parties that includes Fatah, which is led by Palestine Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Among the politicians who comes off the worst in these documents is Saeb Erekat. The Palestinian Authority is revealed as feeble as a kitten. Like a a spurned suitor, Erekat kept offering the Israelis more and more, and they kept rejecting his overtures.
http://www.juancole.com/2011/01/aljazeerahs-leaks-reveal-sham-peace-process-israeli-stonewalling.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+juancole%2Fymbn+%28Informed+Comment%29
Jerusalem and the Unraveling of “the Peace Process Industry”, Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh
Al-Jazeera just announced the release of 1600 internal and classified documents that reveal devastating information on the nature and scale of concessions offered by Palestinian negotiators. The Guardian reported that ” The overwhelming impression that emerges from the confidential records of a decade of Middle East peace talks is of the weakness and desperation of Palestinian leaders, the unyielding correctness of Israeli negotiators and the often contemptuous attitude towards the Palestinian side shown by US politicians and officials. ” I think that it spells the end of the peace process industry an 18 year sham that facilitated colonization and enriched a few individuals while destroying our lives.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9448&Itemid=58
Palestinian Zionist’s Laughable Response
Abbas: Concessions in Palestine papers came from Israel, not us
PA president says that the documents leaked by Al-Jazeera purposely reverse the Israeli and Palestinian positions.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/abbas-concessions-in-palestine-papers-came-from-israel-not-us-1.338882?localLinksEnabled=false
Abed Rabbo blasts Emir of Qatar
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — PLO executive committee member Yasser Abed Rabbo on Monday blasted the Emir of Qatar over documents leaked by the Doha-based Al-Jazeera TV network covering a decade of Israel-Palestinian negotiations. According to documents released Sunday, chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erakat offered Israel huge concessions, including “the biggest Yerushalayim [Jerusalem] in history” during 2008 negotiations.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=353750
PA negotiators reject leaked report
The Palestinian chief negotiator labels leaked documents as “pack of lies”.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/2011123234940952149.html
PA: Al-Jazeera has declared war on Palestinians
Erekat: This is part of campaign targeting PA, Abbas refused to make far-reaching concessions on Jerusalem; Abbas: We have nothing to hide.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=204916&R=R3
PLO: Al Jazeera hurting Abbas like Israel hurt Arafat
PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abd Rabbo fiercely slams Qatari network for exposing papers documenting negotiations between PA, Israel. ‘Quotes said in ironic tone were presented as Palestinian answers,’ he says; calls for independent Palestinian body to investigate leak.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4018118,00.html
Palestinian Protesters attack Al Jezeera office in Ramallah
Ramallah – PNN – On Monday afternoon, dozens of Palestinian protesters attacked the office of Al Jazeera TV in the central West Bank city of Ramallah in protest of recently leaked documents regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. On Sunday, the Qatari-based Al Jazeera TV released documents including maps proposed by both Israeli and Palestinian negotiators with land swaps and settlements in Jerusalem. Al Jazeera TV said that the 1600 documents also included minutes of meetings that took place between Palestinian, Israeli, and American officials during 20 years of talks. Al Jazeera and the Guardian will be publish more documents during this week. According to Al Jazeera, the protesters destroyed security cameras and the front door of the office using batons and stones before the Palestinian police arrived and stopped the attack.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9451&Itemid=61
Reaction to the leaked Palestine papers
Palestinian negotiators have angrily dismissed accounts as lies, fabrications and half truths. As Palestinian negotiators named in the secret accounts of negotiations with Israel angrily dismissed them as lies, fabrications and half truths, there was an equally hostile backlash over their offer to let the Jewish state keep its settlements in occupied East Jerusalem and other concessions. The two leading Palestinian negotiators named in the documents, Saeb Erekat and Ahmed Qureia, reacted furiously to the leaks. Erekat called them a “bunch of lies”. Qureia claimed that “many parts of the documents were fabricated, as part of the incitement against the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian leadership”. But a former colleague of the two men on the negotiations team, Diana Buttu, called their secret proposal in 2008 to let Israel keep all but one of the Jewish settlements within Jerusalem shocking and “out of touch” with the wishes of the Palestinian people.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/24/reaction-leaked-palestine-papers
Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
New Jewish neighborhood to be erected in occupied Golan Heights
A Jewish settler organization announced it will erect a new neighborhood in Golan Heights, Syria occupied by Israel.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46
Israel builds new road connecting settlements in east with west J’lem
The Israeli building and planning committee in Jerusalem approved a plan to establish a new road connecting the settlements of Pisgat Ze’ev and Neve Yaakov with the western part of Jerusalem.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46
Israel Seizes West Bank Land For Airbase
RAMALLAH, Jan 24 (Bernama) — The Israeli army seized the Palestinian land in the West Bank to build an airbase despite a Palestinian complaint filed to Israeli courts, a Palestinian researcher said Monday. The land is located to the south of Hebron city in southern West Bank and its space is about 2,580 square meters, Abdul-Hadi Hantash, researcher of issues related to settlements, told China’s Xinhua news agency.
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsworld.php?id=558952
Elad guards tighten control over Silwan Spring
Elad-hired settlement guards prevented foreign tourists from entering the Ein Silwan area of Wadi Hilweh today, say witnesses. In what is becoming a reoccuring incident, visiting sightseers were refused entry to Ein Silwan (Silwan Spring) through the southern entrance, owned by the Islamic Waqf (public religious foundation), of the adjoining mosque on the grounds that the area was under the guards’ control. Elad monopolizes control of all tourist sites in the Palestinian neighborhood of Wadi Hilweh, including the northern entrance and tunnel leading to Silwan Pool. The vast majority of tourist attractions are exploited for political gain by Elad, using sites such as City of David archaeological excavations to further their own ideological clout within the region. Arab and Islamic heritage is carefully airbrushed away to present a vision of purely biblical Jewish history of Silwan to the public, despite its long Palestinian history and over 50,000 Palestinians who call the village home today.
http://silwanic.net/?p=11063
Settlers Attack Internationals Escorting Palestinians in South Hebron Hills
On Sunday, settlers assaulted internationals while they were escorting Palestinians to their pasture to graze their herds in Um al Hir , in South Hebron Hills.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60492
Farmers say attacked by settlers
HEBRON (Ma’an) — A group of farmers said they were attacked on Saturday by around 25 settlers in the southern West Bank. The farmers said they were working on their land in Tuwani village east of Yatta, near Hebron, when settlers raided the area, protected by Israeli soldiers. The soldiers declared the area a closed military zone and ordered the farmers to leave, they said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=353289
Shepherd says settler killed animals
HEBRON (Ma’an) — A Palestinian shepherd said Sunday that an Israeli settler killed his dog and a goat in the West Bank city of Hebron. Hani Salamh Makhamrehm said his herd was drinking water when a settler fired four bullets into his dog at close range. Makhamrehm said he ran away, afraid the settler would shoot him. The man, from an illegal outpost south of Hebron, also kicked one of his goats to death, the shepherd said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=353625
Video from Mazin Qumsiyeh
This youtube from a recent visit gives you a glimpse. I was both saddened and yet strangely energized by the visit. The relentless effort to transform the city to make it “Jewish” (whatever that means) involved relentless efforts at ethnic cleansing. Just in the past two years, over 10,000 Palestinians from East Jerusalem had their residency rights revoked. This is done under 101 pretexts ranging from marrying someone from outside the city to getting a job in another city or renting or buying a peace of real estate outside the city…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RbhpyDGIac
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
Tear gas inhalation has contributed to four Palestinian deaths (and that’s not counting those maimed/killed by high-velocity canisters), Philip Weiss
In the wake of the death of Jawaher Abu Rahmah in Bil’in on New Year’s Day after she inhaled tear gas, Adalah-NY is mobilizing against two American companies that have provided tear gas to Israeli soldiers and policemen (CSI in Pennsylvania, Defense Technology in Wyoming).
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/tear-gas-inhalation-has-contributed-to-four-palestinian-deaths-and-thats-not-counting-those-maimedkilled-by-high-velocity-canisters.html
The army never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity, Joseph Dana
Right wing pundits have often said that Palestinians, when in talks with Israel, never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. The more time that I spend in the West Bank and watch the behavior of the Israeli army towards Palestinians, the more I feel that the statement should be said about the army. The weekly demonstration in Bil’in last Friday is a perfect example.
http://josephdana.com/2011/01/the-army-never-misses-an-opportunity-to-miss-an-opportunity/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-army-never-misses-an-opportunity-to-miss-an-opportunity
Bil’in Marches for Jailed Jonathan Pollak
[Popular Struggle] Roughly one hundred demonstrators marched to the barrier in Bil’in in honor of Jonathan Pollak. Demonstrators carried images of Pollak and formed a peace sign of people in front of the soldiers. The demonstration was attacked with tear gas, sound bombs and the petrochemical known as the “skunk.”
http://www.bilin-village.org/english/articles/testimonies/Bilin-Marches-for-Jailed-Jonathan-Pollak
AMARC: World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters Joins BDS Movement
As the world remembers the Israeli bombardment of Gaza at the turn of 2009, the Palestine solidarity movement continues to build the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israeli apartheid. Social justice networks globally are moving in unprecedented ways to back the growing BDS campaign, launched in occupied Palestine by civil society organizations in 2005.
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/8528
Vigil in Dublin for Palestinian Prisoners
The vigil, organized by the Irish socialist republican party éirígí, was held to highlight an ongoing hunger strike in Israel’s Nafha prison, organized by Palestinian prisoners Ahmad Sa’adat, the general secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Jamal Abu Al-Haija, a leader of Hamas in the West Bank.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/news/3212-vigil-in-dublin-for-palestinian-prisoners
Mohammed Khatib: Palestinian Nonviolent Movement Continues Despite Crackdown
The January 1st death of Palestinian protester Jawaher Abu Rahmah from Israeli tear gas, and efforts to imprison people like us illustrate the Israeli government’s intensifying crackdown on the unarmed Palestinian protest movement.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mohammed-khatib/post_1615_b_812459.html
Two more Gaza-bound flotillas to set sail in spring
Groups responsible for sending last aid flotilla, on which nine activists were killed, have organized more maritime convoys; Turkish pro-Palestinian group linked to Hamas is one of the organizers.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/two-more-gaza-bound-flotillas-to-set-sail-in-spring-1.338780?localLinksEnabled=false
Israelis target Macy Gray with racist diatribes after she agrees to play Tel Aviv (and who are the “assholes?”), Max Blumenthal
The Israeli media is filled with reports about Macy Gray confirming her plans to perform in Tel Aviv in March. This should have been an occasion for Israelis to celebrate their continuing ability to behave as a normal society despite occupying millions of people, holding Gaza under siege, maintaining an apparatus of racism against its non-Jewish citizens. But in a poorly calculated stunt designed to wash her hands of human rights concerns, Gray had first asked her “fans” if she should perform despite what she called Israel’s “disgusting” treatment of the Palestinians. Within hours, thousands of people who had no prior interest in Gray or her music flocked to her Facebook page (they only had to “like” her page in order to post) to register their opinions. Gray, who appeared to have every intention of performing anyway, remarked after announcing her plan to go to Tel Aviv, that some of those urging her to boycott were “assholes.”
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/israelis-target-macy-gray-with-racist-diatribes-after-she-agrees-to-play-tel-aviv-and-who-are-the-%e2%80%9cassholes%e2%80%9d.html
Racists insult Macy Gray, Macy Gray insults anti-racists
This is rather sad. I posted Macy Gray’s apparently earnest attempt to sound out her fans as to whether she should boycott Israel or not. She had already agreed to two dates there in February so I assume there was money on the table. By the time I looked at her facebook page there were well over 7,000 comments, most of which seemed to be imploring her to support the boycott. Well, according to YNET, Macy Gray made up her mind a few days ago to commit to performing for racist war criminals and to insult those people trying to persuade her to support the boycott.
http://jewssansfrontieres.blogspot.com/2011/01/racists-insult-macy-gray-macy-gray.html
#BDS: Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employee: Statement of Position
“The Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees (PFUUPE) wishes to reiterate its firm opposition to any bilateral or multilateral relationships between Palestinian and Israeli academic institutions. In reference to the decision by the University of Johannesburg Senate in September 2010 to review the University’s Memorandum of Understanding with Ben-Gurion University, and particularly regarding the condition of partnering with a Palestinian university, PFUUPE, representing Palestinian academics at virtually all Palestinian universities in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip stands firmly behind the position of the Palestinian Council for Higher Education (CHE) rejecting cooperation with Israeli universities. The CHE, representing all higher education institutions and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE), has rejected, since the early 1990s, any form of cooperation by Palestinian institutions of higher education with Israeli academic institutions until the Israeli occupation ends.[1] This position was reiterated again with particular reference to the Memorandum of Understanding between Ben-Gurion and Johannesburg Universities during one of its meetings in October 2010. Members of the CHE reaffirmed their rejection to any form of cooperation with Israeli universities, be it direct cooperation, or through third parties.
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2011/01/bds-palestinian-federation-of-unions-of.html
Human Rights/Humanitarian Issues/Siege/Repression
Israel Denies Food to Gaza
Israeli apartheid policies against the innocent population of Gaza continues. Not different from the Nazi regime against the Jews in the 2nd world war, Israel adopts similar policies against civilians in Gaza estimated of 1.7 million.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/8280-israel-denies-food-to-gaza.html
Egypt to close Rafah crossing Tuesday
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Egypt will close the Rafah crossing on its border with Gaza on Tuesday, officials said. Gaza police director Ayoub Abu Sha’ar said the one-day closure was due to a national police holiday in Egypt
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=353771
Violence/Aggression
Gazan dies in Israeli shelling
One killed and two injured in Israeli tank shelling in the Gaza strip.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/01/2011122112647456348.html
Detainees
14 year old child arrested in night raid in Nabi Saleh, Joseph Dana
The repression of Nabi Saleh continued last night as the army raided the village for the third time in two weeks. Last week, the army raided over twenty Nabi Saleh homes, photographed youth and collected their ID information. Last night, between the hours of two and three in the morning, soldiers raided homes and arrested one 14 year old child, Islam Tamimi. Soldiers attacked the child in his bed and attempted to arrest his older brother. One Palestinian working with Btselem tried to photograph the soldiers but were threatened with violence. However, family members and other villagers were able to prevent the older brother from being arrested.
http://josephdana.com/2011/01/14-year-old-child-arrested-in-night-raid-in-nabi-saleh/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=14-year-old-child-arrested-in-night-raid-in-nabi-saleh
7 children seized by Israeli military in Silwan
7 Palestinian children were arrested by Israeli troops in Silwan today. The children, aging from 11 to 18 years, were accused of throwing stones at settlers or military vehicles.
http://silwanic.net/?p=11089
Political Developments
US embassy cables: US reviews progress with Palestinian leaders
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/160682
US backs Mideast talks despite Al-Jazeera report (AFP)
AFP – The US State Department said it would continue pressing for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict despite the release of purportedly secret documents by Al-Jazeera.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110124/ts_alt_afp/israelpalestinianspeacejazeeraus
Netanyahu mulls interim agreement with Palestinians
Part of deal would include establishment of Palestinian state in provisional borders; Netanyahu hesitating to alter declared policy of permanent settlement agreement within a year.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-mulls-interim-agreement-with-palestinians-1.338783?localLinksEnabled=false
The latest on the Palestinian U.N. resolution on settlements
The Palestine Liberation Organization, no longer willing to follow the Obama administration’s diplomatic lead, is gambling that its latest drive for a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements will put more pressure on both the Israeli government and the Obama administration. The U.S. administration, caught between its desire to bring the Palestinians back to the negotiating table and its reluctance to abandon Israel at the United Nations, has not officially decided what it will do if and when the Palestinian resolution ever comes up for a Security Council vote.
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/21/the_latest_on_the_palestinian_un_resolution_on_settlements
Israeli tribute to Palestinian Authority security support “confirms threat to West Bank Palestinians”
Islamic Resistance MovementThe Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has called the tribute paid by the Israeli Defence Minister and the Director of Israel’s intelligence service to the Palestinian Authority for its security cooperation with the occupying power “a threat to the people of the occupied West Bank”. In a press statement, Hamas said, “The blessings given by Ehud Barak and Yuval Diskin confirm the growing and widespread belief that the main concern of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah is the security of the Zionist state and not the defence of citizen’s rights as they struggle under Israel’s military occupation.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/1979-israeli-tribute-to-palestinian-authority-security-support-qconfirms-threat-to-west-bank-palestiniansq
Other News
Youth activists respond to authoritarian PA crackdown on Tunisia solidarity rally, Adam Horowitz
The following is a statement released by organizers of a rally that was to be held in Ramallah last week in solidarity with the ongoing protests in Tunisia. The rally was shut down by the Palestinian Authority.Omar Barghouti, who attended the rally, was quoted by a French newspaper saying, “It’s unbelievable. … The police are in the process of confirming the charge that the Palestinian Authority is on the side of Ben Ali and that it also fears the people and the street.”
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/youth-activists-respond-to-authoritarian-pa-crackdown-on-tunisia-solidarity-rally.html
Poll: Religious sector thinks Knesset not Jewish enough
Survey reveals that most religious Israelis believe Knesset too democratic, but not Jewish enough, while seculars think opposite. All sectors consider human rights a Jewish value.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4016672,00.html
Analysis/Op-ed
OPT: Gaza’s blogging boom
GAZA CITY, 24 January 2011 (IRIN) – Sharif Al Sharif, 27, launched his blog in 2006 when there were only a handful of bloggers in the Gaza Strip. Now, he says, there are more than 50. The past year has seen a boom in social media in Gaza as young women, and men like Sharif, take to the web to join a global community they are otherwise unable to access. A growing international audience is logging on to read them. Sharif has always been interested in politics but never enjoyed talking about his political opinions publicly. When he started his blog, it was not with a political agenda: “I just wanted to be heard. When I started to blog I felt like I had a presence in this life, even if it was just a digital presence. I wrote to be recognized.”
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=91712
If Obama saw what white phosphorus did to the kids’ rehab room at Al Quds Hospital in Gaza, maybe he would become a decider?, Philip Weiss
We’re promoting our new Goldstone book. It’s the abridged report with a number of fabulous essays accompanying it. Today I want to highlight the fine piece about the Goldstone Report and Congress by the former Washington state congressman Brian Baird.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/if-obama-saw-what-white-phosphorus-did-to-the-kids-rehab-room-at-al-quds-hospital-in-gaza-maybe-he-would-become-a-decider.html
Unbounded joy, Yasmeen El Khoudary
Despite the unprecedented media coverage and growing audience that the Palestinian cause, most specifically Gaza during the siege (2007 and ongoing) and the war (2008) have been given, there is still a lot that people do not know about Gaza. The media portrays Gaza the way it wants the world to see it- a tiny spot on the map, plagued with poverty and hunger, governed by yet another ‘Islamic’ group, and besieged by Israel. The image created by media agencies, regardless of how different their views are, is always the same: a bleak image of a city you would not want to spend more than a few days in, and also a city whose residents you should definitely feel sorry for.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/the-beautiful-life-in-gaza.html
Is Israel an Apartheid State? South African Study Says Yes
International law defines the crime of apartheid as acts against humanity “committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group or groups and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime.” The Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa commissioned a study in 2009 to test the hypothesis that Israel`s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem constitutes apartheid.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/1/21/937891/-Is-Israel-an-Apartheid-State-South-African-Study-Says-Yes
Cyberspace Bedouin’s Hope for End of Repression, Iqbal Jassat – Pretoria
Mazin Qumsiyeh calls himself a ‘Bedouin in Cyberspace’ while a villager at home in Occupied Palestine. And it is from having his feet firmly planted on earth that this human rights activist regularly alerts the world via cyberspace about the relentless assault on him and his neighbourhood. In his most recent posting, Qumsiyeh reminds his audience about how the Israeli assault extends to their land, truth, decency, nature, dignity and daringly suggests on God too.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16570
Hamas Charter: Vision, Fact and Fiction, Dr. Ahmed Yousef – Gaza
The Israeli occupation has never missed an opportunity to brand Hamas a fundamentalist, terrorist, racist, anti-Semitic organization. True to the Mossad motto which states ‘By way of deception, though shall do war,’ it has excelled at taking select articles from the Islamic party’s charter and using them, out of context, to justify its claims.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16576
Israel has taken over from Northern Ireland as a factory of grievances, Ed Moloney
It is without doubt one of the most beautiful places in Ireland. Situated on the border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, County Fermanagh is famous for two things. Its two picturesque lakes, Upper and Lower Lough Erne, abundant with fish and a mecca for anglers from throughout Europe are one. The other is its tough politics. The place is evenly divided between Protestants and Catholics, or Unionists and Nationalists as the Irish prefer to call them. Elections, which are always about whether Northern Ireland should stay in the union with Britain or join the rest of Nationalist Ireland in an independent republic, are bitterly contested affairs and turnouts can sometimes hit the 90 per cent mark.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/israel-has-taken-over-from-northern-ireland-as-a-factory-of-grievances.html
Nir Rosen: his book Aftermath, As`ad Abukhalil
I had trashed Nir’s first book on Iraq. I said it sucked big time. I did not know what to expect: I was teasing him on Facebook that I am relishing the opportunity to trash another book of his. Unfortunately for me, I really really liked this book. I highly recommend it and it is probably if not certainly the first book on Iraq and Afghanistan in which the natives come out as full human being with blood in their veins. It is the best attempt by a Western reporter to carry the vies, pains, wishes, aspirations, and suffering of the occupied. His treatment of the US military occupiers was refreshingly non-worshipful. He also is not lazy: in covering Lebanon, Iraq, or Afghanistan, he travels around. He rightly observes that Western reporting on Lebanon is deficient–highly deficient–because they don’t travel beyond the narrow “green zone” (whether in Beirut or Kabul or Baghdad). In each of those countries, the Westerners develop and reside in a “green zone.” Nir does not shy away from writing about the destructive and (war) criminal role of the occupiers: and how they treat the natives. You don’t read about that in the Western press. I would only suggest that in the paperback edition, Nir ads another chapter to his 600 page volume: a conclusion.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/nir-rosen-his-book-aftermath.html
Lebanon
Hezbollah picks Mikati for PM post
Lebanon Shia party selects billionaire Sunni businessman as its candidate.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/01/2011124135831876987.html
Hezbollah pledges unity government
Hassan Nasrallah seeks to calm tensions in Lebanon day before Lebanon begins talks to decide on next prime minister.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/2011123201247177360.html
Nasrallah: Mixed cabinet if March 8 candidate named
BEIRUT: The March 8 coalition would call for the formation of a national partnership government if its candidate for the prime minister’s post is nominated, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in his address to the Lebanese via video link on the eve of binding parliamentary consultations to nominate a new prime minister.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=124059
Cooperation with Hariri leadership not possible, Aoun says
BEIRUT: The leader of the Free Patriotic Movement reiterated Sunday the “impossibility” of cooperating with any government headed by caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri. March 8 will name their final candidate for prime minister by Monday morning at the latest, the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc leader told BBC Arabic.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=124064
Jumblatt Decides, Meets Sayyed Nasrallah
22/01/2011 After he announced on Friday his stance aside of Syria and the resistance, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt, met later at night Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. “The meeting discussed the stance that Jumblatt took earlier in the day and the horizons for the upcoming stage,” Hezbollah’s media relations said in a statement. The meeting was also attended by Minister of Public Works Ghazi Aridi and Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa,” the statement added. At a press conference, Jumblatt declared that the Progressive Socialist Party will stand at the side of Syria and the Resistance. The Democratic Gathering is Jumblatt’s parliamentary bloc while the PSP is his political party. However Jumblatt did not say how many of his MPs would vote for the opposition’s candidate for the prime minister’s post in the parliamentary consultations.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=171044&language=en
Competition Toughens: Jumblatt Says He Will Stand at Side of Syria, Resistance
21/01/2011 It still unknown whether the parliamentary consultations will be held next Monday or not, but the political camps are looking now to Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt as the decisive factor in the nomination “game” of the coming prime minister. Jumblatt held a press conference Friday following his Democratic Gathering meeting. He declared that the Progressive Socialist Party will stand, as always, at the side of Syria and the Resistance.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=170979&language=en
Berri to Al-Manar: Jumblatt Made All Efforts to Reach Settlement
21/01/2011 Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that the head of the Democratic Gathering MP Walid Jumblatt sought to make use of all opportunities to reach solution until the last moment before the submission of the final indictment over the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri by Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare. In an exclusive interview with Al-Manar Television, Berri said that Lebanese were nowadays witnessing a constitutional process that should be completed. In his interview with Al-Manar, Berri didn’t seem surprised by Jumblatt’s press conference, in which the Progressive Socialist Party leader declared his party would stand at the side of Syria and the Resistance. “He didn’t change and this is his conviction since the crisis has started,” Berri emphasized.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=171029&language=en
Lebanon’s Hariri refuses to join Hezbollah-led govt (AFP)
AFP – Lebanon’s acting Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday ruled out joining a government led by a Hezbollah-appointed candidate, his office said, as consultations on nominating a new premier were under way.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110124/wl_mideast_afp/lebanonpoliticstribunalhariri
Truth and Hariri, As`ad Abukhalil
As-Safir published the terms of the Syrian-Saudi agreement that Mini-Hariri agreed to. It turns out he was willing to sell the truth and to scrap the Hariri tribunal (and perhaps to re-haul his father’s tomb outside of Lebanon) in return for the ability to continue in Hariri style corruption, to continue to control the Internal Security Forces without questions, to halt the parliamentary investigation into the plight of the missing $11 billion from the Lebanese budget, to prevent the other side from criticizing his cronies, and to put an end to any attempt by the 4 generals from seeking justice from the tribunal. I won’t be surprised if mini-Hariri starts selling the teeth of his dead daddy as souvenirs.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/truth-and-hariri.html
As’ad Abukhalil on Washington Post’s editorial on Hariri tribunal
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/washington-posts-editorial-on-hariri.html
Uruguayan lawmakers visit town of Koura
KOURA: A delegation of Uruguayan lawmakers headed by Ivonne Passada visited the Koura town of Qalhat over the weekend. The visit aimed to explore the town, from where Uruguayan lawmaker Pablo Abdallah’s family hails. Abdallah accompanied the delegation to Qalhat where residents had readied banners that welcomed him to his parents’ birthplace.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=124057
Iraq
Blasts strike pilgrims in Karbala
Two separate bomb attacks targeting Shia pilgrims in the Iraqi city of Karbala have killed 25 people and injured almost 70, officials say.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-12264386
Iraqi government to purchase armored limousines worth $75 million for members of parliament
The Iraqi government has decided to spend nearly $75 million from the country’s oil revenues to purchase armored limousines, one for each of the 325 members of parliament. The government says the vehicles are needed because the parliamentarians are targets of attack by insurgents and ‘terrorists.’ The high salaries and perks senior Iraqi officials get are fueling anger in Iraq and there has been a storm of protest from local media.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2011-01-21\kurd.htm
Making home in the garbage and squalor
At least a million Iraqis have sought refuge outside the country and another million and a half remain displaced within its borders.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-12266372
Quiet desperation
Hundreds of thousands still live in Iraqi squatter camps.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/world-middle-east-12266900
What Arbain in Iraq is like
A story on the ‘Iraqi block party on steroids’ from our archives.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/HutsCMb7bXg/What-Arbain-in-Iraq-is-like
Tunisia
Inside Story – Tunisia and power
The Western reaction to the Tunisian uprising has been described as hesitant and unwilling, making people in the Middle East wonder whether democracy in Tunisia will be allowed to run its full course. Would Western powers try to influence the outcome of the Tunisian uprising if it does not serve their interests or indeed threatens them?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nmw-zSxE_g&feature=youtube_gdata
Anti-govt clashes erupt in Tunis
Police fire tear gas at protesters who rallied at state buildings, demanding the ouster of interim ‘unity government’.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/01/20111247514476815.html
Tunisia police joint anti-government protests
Tunisian police are out in the streets, but this time it’s not to break up the crowd but to join in the anti-government protest. Accused of using excessive force to clampdown on civilians, some Tunisian police officers now say they are also victims of the former government. Hashem Ahelbarra reports from Tunis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XT83Ct9-jo&feature=youtube_gdata
Tunisia’s ex-president’s homes looted
After Tunisia’s former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family members fled the country, looters ransacked many of the villas they owned in Tunis, the capital. Al Jazeera’s Nazanine Moshiri reports on the anger of the Tunisian people towards their former rulers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAg-vhb0iIY&feature=youtube_gdata
Iraqi poets praise, warn Tunisians (AFP)
AFP – The society of Iraqi poets hosted a raucous gathering on Friday in central Baghdad to express solidarity with Tunisians, and bitterness at the turn of events in their own country.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110121/wl_mideast_afp/tunisiapoliticsunrestiraqculture
Wither Twitter in Tunisia?
One of the questions many are now asking is what role social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter played in helping Tunisian activists during the uprising in that country. Activists have said that while the fuel for the revolution came from popular sentiment, new technologies made it easier to organise and to create a sense of solidarity. Al Jazeera’s Nazanine Moshiri reports from the Tunisian capital, Tunis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFIQxIdlgaU&feature=youtube_gdata
Tunis Blowback
Saudi man sets himself on fire, copying Tunisian scenario
A Saudi man died after setting himself on fire in the southwestern town of Samta, local media said Saturday, in what could be the latest example of a rash of self-immolations sweeping the region following events in Tunisia.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jkIkipK_5HFs7LK0d03Xm-H-3NJA?docId=11b0bcda91f1443b8e48eab1183c03c1
Algeria democracy rally broken up
Several injured as police disperse 300 people who defied a ban and attempted to demonstrate in the capital, Algiers.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/01/2011122151327639308.html
Yemeni president promises to step down in 2013 amid protests: state TV
SANAA, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) — Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced Sunday on the state TV that he will step down after his second presidential term expires in 2013, following eight days of popular protests demanded his ouster from power.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-01/24/c_13703817.htm
www.TheHeadlines.org
