and other news from Today in Palestine:
Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
Army Eyes At Demolishing Palestinian Village To Expand Settlement
Israeli soldiers invaded on Wednesday “Khirbit At Taweel”, a small village near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and handed the residents military orders to demolish their clay homes by Thursday.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60459
Israeli Authorities Deliver Demolition Notices in Susiya
On January 17th, 2011, Israeli Authorities delivered home demolition notices to five Palestinian tent residences in Susiya, in the South Hebron Hills. The tents belong to the families of Ayssa Housena Al-Jobor, Omar Housen Al-Jobor, Ahmed Housen Al-Jobor, Ayssa Badr Al-Jobor and Omar Badr Al-Jobor. The lawyer representing the families, Yasser Al-Jobor, confirmed that the occupation civilian administration had delivered the notices this week. It is not known when the tents will be destroyed and the families currently live in constant uncertainty. Palestinian Bedouin villagers in Susiya and other communities in the South Hebron Hills face constant harassment from Israeli settlers as well as from the Israeli military. Residences and water wells are periodically demolished and these isolated Palestinian communities are often more vulnerable to settler attacks.
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2011/01/20/israeli-authorities-deliver-demolition-notices-in-susiya/
Jerusalem municipality to destroy 200 graves at Islamic historical cemetery
The Israeli Magistrate court approved a municipality request to excavate 200 graves in Jerusalem’s largest Islamic cemetery, the Aqsa Foundation said.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO
3000 Settlers Storm Palestinian Lands in the West Bank, Protesting Farmers Attacked by Troops
Bethlehem – PNN – On Thursday morning around three thousand Israeli settlers stormed farmlands owned by Palestinian villagers near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. Farmers owning the land from Ertas and Wadi Rahal marched up to the lands seized by settlers. Israeli soldiers protecting settlers fired tear gas and assaulted some of the protestors. Troops detained Khalil Abu Sidah, 17, but released him three hours later. Palestinian journalists said that Israeli soldiers stopped them from covering the incidents. Villagers say that the settlers brought tents with them, indicating that they would try to set up a new settlement outpost.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9436&Itemid=64
No place to sleep for Lydd family
Sixty-seven members of the Abu Eid family were displaced when Israeli forces destroyed their seven homes on 14 December 2010. Alex Kane reports from Lydd.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11738.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Settlers Plant Trees Near Nablus
On Thursday a group of settlers planted dozens of trees in the evacuated settlement of Homesh, west of Nablus, near the Palestinian village of Burqa
http://www.imemc.org/article/60472
UN says demolitions of Palestinian houses in occupation jumped 60 percent, ‘09 to ‘10, keeping pace with settlement boom, Philip Weiss
From my UN source: Note a couple things. The water cisterns. Thirty of them; the Israelis are starving these people out. And note the “self-demolitions” by Palestinians served with demolition orders. Oh the pity. And Jeffrey Goldberg says that self-immolation is the symbol of the Arab condition. What about self-demolition under the heel of a tyrannical fear-producing authority?
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/un-says-demolitions-of-palestinian-houses-in-occupation-jumped-60-percent-09-to-10-keeping-pace-with-settlement-boom.html
Greybeards Urge U.S. not to Veto U.N. Anti-Settlement Resolution, Jim Lobe
WASHINGTON, Jan 19, 2011 (IPS) – Some four dozen former top U.S. diplomats and prominent policy analysts are urging President Barack Obama not to veto a proposed U.N. Security Council resolution that is expected to reaffirm the illegality of Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54179
US warns Palestinians over Security Council resolution (AFP)
AFP – Palestinian envoys on Wednesday stepped up lobbying for a Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement building but the United States spoke out strongly against the initiative.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110119/pl_afp/israelpalestinianpeaceun
U.N. gets draft on Israel settlements; U.S. veto looms (Reuters)
Reuters – Arab nations have submitted a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank, but a vote is not expected any time soon because of a likely U.S. veto, diplomats said on Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110119/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_un
UN council considers Israeli settlement issue (AP)
AP – The Palestinians and their supporters are circulating a Security Council draft resolution that declares that the Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory are illegal — despite a U.S. appeal not to.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110119/ap_on_re_us/un_un_palestinians
Palestinian faults Arabs over Jerusalem support (Reuters)
Reuters – Arab states are failing to help the Palestinians in Jerusalem, a Palestinian official said Wednesday, criticizing them for paying only a fraction of funds pledged to sustain Palestinian life there.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110119/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_arabs
New IDF chief hits back at allegations of land grab
Incoming IDF chief Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant faces questions over his alleged use of public lands adjacent to his home at Moshav Amikam; he is expected to tell state comptorller he did not lie to authorities about issue.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/new-idf-chief-hits-back-at-allegations-of-land-grab-1.338014?localLinksEnabled=false
Israeli-Palestinian dispute lands Seattle agency in court (Reuters)
Reuters – An escalating war of words between supporters of Israel and Palestinians landed the transit agency for Seattle in federal court on Wednesday, accused of censorship.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110119/us_nm/us_seattle_mideast
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
Stop the Wall repression update: Dec 28 – Jan 11
These reports, previously released weekly, will now be released twice a month. Within each report, we will provide a brief analysis of the trends in repression occurring in the villages as well as providing statistics about injuries and arrests. We will also provide testimony from Palestinians affected during these demonstrations.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2450.shtml
Teens protest against racism in Israel
Members of left-wing youth movement gather in downtown Jerusalem to fight ‘public’s indifference’ to acts of racism.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4016257,00.html
Macy Gray criticizes Israeli policy; asks if she should play in Tel Aviv, Samuel J. Nichols
Macy Gray is reconsidering the concerts she has planned for Tel Aviv. On Facebook, Gray had the following for her fans: I’m booked for 2 shows in TelAviv. I’m getting alot of letters from activists urging/begging me to boycott by NOT performing in protest of Apartheid against the Palestinians. What the Israeli government is doing to the Palestinians is disgusting, but I wana go. I gotta lotta fans there I dont want to cancel on and I dont know how my NOT going changes anything. What do you think? Stay or go?
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/macy-gray-criticizes-israeli-policy-asks-if-she-should-play-in-tel-aviv.html
#BDS: Update on Macy Gray’s Decision Whether to Perform in Israel or Not
Macy Gray has not yet decided whether she is going to perform in Tel Aviv, Israel or not. We still have time to make her do the right thing. Leave her a message on her facebook page or her twitter account asking her to boycott the apartheid state.
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2011/01/bds-update-on-macy-grays-decision.html
Human Rights/Humanitarian Issues/Siege
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (13-19 January 2011)
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SMDL-8DAH35?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
1 Gaza crossing open
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israeli authorities decided to partially open the Karem Shalom crossing while shutting down Karni over unspecified “security concerns.” Palestinian liaison official Raed Fatouh told Ma’an that Karem Shalom will be opened to allow at least 160 truckloads of aid to the commerce and agriculture sectors and to pump limited amounts of cooking gas and industrial fuel into Gaza. Three truckloads of strawberries and flowers will be exported to Europe via the same crossing, he said. Meanwhile, Karni will be closed for “security concerns,” the Palestinian official said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352355
In Gaza, building houses with the sand
With Israel’s blockade on Gaza making construction materials hard to come by, one Palestinian turned one of the few things Gaza has in abundance – sand – into a building resource.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/j0iMr2E0PC8/In-Gaza-building-houses-with-the-sand
Palestinian refugee teens from Gaza and the West bank express themselves through art, Palestine Monitor
The University of East London is now hosting a screening of nine short films and photography produced by Palestinian youth. “The Re-imagining project: Al Aroub refugee camp and Gaza” exhibition features the creations from teenagers from Al Aroub refugee camp in the West Bank, and Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza. The students produced the photos and films during their digital media storytelling workshop this past summer, and exhibitions this fall took place in both the West Bank and Gaza.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1664
Violence/Aggression
Palestinian shot dead at Jenin checkpoint
JENIN (Ma’an) — The Ya’bad Mevo Dotan checkpoint was closed and eyewitnesses said the body of a Palestinian man remained lying in the car passage terminal Thursday after the Israeli military reported an exchange of gunfire saw a man shot. The slain man, identified as Salem Omar As-Samudi, 24, from Yamoun in the Jenin district, was said by eyewitnesses to have opened fire on Israeli forces at the checkpoint, confirming Israeli military reports saying a man approached checkpoint soldiers and opened fire.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352695
IOF troops injure four pregnant women in Shufat
Israeli occupation forces used rubber bullets and teargas to disperse protestors in Shufat refugee camp in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday evening.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO
Troops Attack House Near Jenin, Eight Palestinians Arrested in Southern Hebron
Israeli soldiers tear gassed a house in a village near Jenin, on Wednesday evening. Soldiers also arrested eight young Palestinians including five minors in the south of Hebron, the PNN reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60467
Clashes in Shuafat Camp persist late in to the night
Clashes are still continuing in Shuafat Camp in northern Jerusalem. Reports of a second Israeli soldier wounded are yet to be verified. Reports state that there are multiple injuries among Palestinian residents.
http://silwanic.net/?p=10863
Clashes in Shu’fat spread to neighboring area
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — The Shu’fat checkpoint into Jerusalem was closed Tuesday evening after two rounds of clashes broke out in the vicinity, injuring several Palestinians and one soldier, medics said. As clashes continued Israeli police entered the refugee camp adjacent to the checkpoint, closing all entrances and firing rubber-coated bullets and tear-gas into areas where angry youth had gathered. Some of the gas canisters were landing in doorsteps, residents said, fearing exposure of children to the noxious gas.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352578
Violent Clashes in East Jerusalem
Violent clashes are currently underway in Baten al-Hawa district of Silwan. Confrontations broke out between Palestinian residents and Israeli military and police officers, who fired tear gas around and inside Palestinian homes in the neighborhood. An ambulance was prevented by Israeli forces from entering the scene of the clashes. Amongst the injured were 8 children, 1 hit by a rubber bullet and 7 suffering from from symptoms of asphyxiation caused by tear gas inhalation. Eyewitnesses reported the torching of an Israeli police car in Baten al-Hawa after it was hit was Molotov cocktails. Confrontations have spread to other neighborhoods, including al-Bustan and theEin Silwan area on the outskirts of Wadi Hilweh. Clashes have ripped through other areas of East Jerusalem and are currently underway in Shuafat Camp, triggered by the injury of an Israeli soldier hit with stones at a checkpoint to the camp.
http://silwanic.net/?p=10816
Clashes sparked by police occupation of family home in Baten al-Hawa
Clashes were sparked in Baten al-Hawa at 7pm, Thursday 20 January, when Border Police started piling dozens of sandbags on to the roof of a neighborhood home. This roof has been occupied by police for several weeks now, the 7 families who reside in the building prohibited from going up to their own roof by officers. An “inspection” window has been added by police to the roof’s door, which now resembles the door of a jail cell. The residents of the building were locked inside their respective apartments by Border Police earlier this evening, while officers loaded sandbags on to the roof. When neighbors took issue with police actions, clashes erupted. Over 20 residents were injured, either by rubber-coated steel bullets or tear gas inhalation, most of them children. 3 tear gas grenades were fired in to the courtyard of the Zuheir Rajbi home. Rajbi’s 12 year old son Yazan, a week-old baby and a 7-month pregnant women have been hospitalized following gas fume asphyxiation. The pregnant woman’s unborn child is being monitored. The mother of Zuheir was also injured as she ran to escape gas plumes.
http://silwanic.net/?p=10860
War Crimes/Whitewashing of Crimes
18 Jan. ’11: Better late than never: even two years since Operation Cast Lead, an independent Israeli investigation is crucial to achieve accountability and prevent future violations
Two years since to completion of Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, B’Tselem renews its call to Israel to open an independent, effective investigation into the grave suspicions of violations of human rights and international law during the operations, based on the testimonies of Palestinian victims and of Israeli soldiers who participated in the operation.
http://www.btselem.org/English/Press_Releases/20110118.asp
Soldier who accidentally shot Palestinian in his bed to be discharged
Southern Command Chief adopts findings of probe into accidental shooting death of 65-year-old Hebron man during operation to detain wanted Hamas terrorists; says soldier responsible acted ‘unprofessionally’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4016357,00.html
Israel finds hospital to blame for tear-gas death
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — “Given the misinformation that the army has circulated to the media in the past two weeks,” the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee called Thursday in a statement for an “independent and professional” investigation into the findings of the military’s most recent report. Preliminary findings apparently leaked to Israeli media on Wednesday said the death of a Bil’in woman who was taken to hospital after inhaling tear gas on 31 December 2010 “was caused by poor medical treatment that she received at a hospital in Ramallah,” the Israeli daily news paper Haaretz reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352611
Army confusion over Jawaher Abu Rahmah’s death, Joseph Dana
Last night, the army released a statement to the Israeli press about the death of Jawaher Abu Rahmah in Bil’in. For the past two weeks, the army has been spreading lies and half truths about her death ranging from suspected cancer to Abu Rahmah not being present at the demonstration on New Years Eve. The most recent army statement actually catchs the army in its own web of lies. The IDF now confirms that Abu Rahmah was at the demonstration (exactly where in the demonstration they are still speculating) she was in fact tear gassed and she was admitted to hospital for the effects of tear gas. This is in stark contrast to the statements that central commander Avi Mizrahi passed to unvetted right wing bloggers and subsequently to the media after Abu Rahmha’s death.
http://josephdana.com/2011/01/army-confusion-over-jawaher-abu-rahmah%e2%80%99s-death/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=army-confusion-over-jawaher-abu-rahmah%25e2%2580%2599s-death
Israel probe on flotilla raid due Sunday
JERUSALEM (AFP) — An Israeli commission investigating last May’s deadly raid on aid ships trying to break a blockade on the Gaza Strip will release its first report on Sunday, an official source said. The Israeli naval raid killed eight Turkish citizens and one dual Turkish-US national, prompting an international outcry and throwing relations between Israel and Ankara into a deep crisis.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352785
Israeli Committee To Find Israel Not Guilty
According to the Jerusalem Post a source who has been working closely with the Turkel Committee said on Thursday that its members were likely to find Israel innocent of war crimes when they release a report of its conclusions.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60466
A week of ‘abandonment, desperation, suffocation, isolation’
Bethlehem – Ma’an – On 12 January 2009, one year ago today, nine Palestinian detainees were blindfolded, handcuffed, and transported to Israel’s Erez border crossing. Several hours later, they were told to run into Gaza, to look straight ahead – and not to look back. During their time at Erez, the nine were subjected to harsh interrogation and made to strip completely, one of them alleged, capping off more than a week of mistreatment described by other detainees as amounting to abandonment, desperation, suffocation and isolation.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=253366
Goldstone in context
“A culture of impunity in the region has existed for too long. The lack of accountability … has reached a crisis point; … Time and again, experience has taught us that overlooking justice only leads to increased conflict …” On the first annual commemoration of Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, Ma’an presents a three-week series recounting the findings of South African jurist Richard Goldstone’s UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, updated daily and in context.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=251234
`Good hit. Alpha.`, Amira Hass
T. asks his audience: “Who knows who Salah Shehadeh is? Salah Shehadeh is the Hamas chief of staff. In 2002 there`s Sheikh Yassin, he`s the spiritual leader, and there`s Salah Shehadeh, the military commander. [The base commander] told me it was Salah Shehadeh, and I said, Great. I have no idea who or what you`re talking about. We made a good hit, `alpha` in air force jargon, and that`s it, we went to bed. The next day, actually the same day, we`re told that the strike killed Salah, his wife, his daughter, his son and others … That`s the subject. And I fired …
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/good-hit-alpha-1.335981
Detainees
Israeli Forces Arrest Four Children South of Beit Ommar
At around 12pm on Wednesday, January 19th 2011, Israeli soldiers stopped four Palestinian children along Route 60, between Beit Ommar and the city of Hebron. The soldiers detained the youth, all of whom appeared under the age of 15, in an isolated area out of sight of the road. By chance, international observers with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) traveling in a car spotted the soldiers leading the children away and followed to advocate for their welfare.
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2011/01/20/israeli-forces-arrest-four-children-south-of-beit-ommar/
Israeli navy kidnaps four Palestinian fishermen at sea
The ministry of agriculture in Gaza Strip said that the Israeli navy gunboats kidnapped four Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Khan Younis, south of the Strip, at a late hour on Wednesday night.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%
Hamas: PA detained 9 party members in West Bank
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas leaders in the West Bank issued a statement Thursday accusing PA security forces of detaining nine party members from Nablus, Jerusalem, and Ramallah.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352681
Abbas orders release of Hamas woman prisoner (AFP)
AFP – Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Wednesday ordered the release of a Hamas woman jailed over her alleged ties to a political murder plot, security sources said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110119/wl_mideast_afp/palestinianhamasfatahpoliticsprisoners
Political Developments
PA: Municipal elections will be in West Bank only
NABLUS (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority Minister of Local Government Khaled Al-Qawasmi said Thursday that the government will amend elections law and hold the vote for municipal elections in the West Bank only. Speaking in Nablus where he was set to meet with civil society groups on the new elections, the officials said the ministry had started holding “extensive consultations” with Palestinian factions and civil society groups with the aim to set in motion new municipal elections.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352647
Shin Bet Chief Calls for Border Drawing Before Recognition from Spain
Nazareth – PNN – London’s Al-Hayat newspaper reported on Thursday that Israeli Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin anticipates that Spain will soon become the first European country to recognize an independent Palestinian state on its 1967 borders, leading to further steps inside Western Europe. “The numbers are not as low as many believe,” said Diskin, who became the director of Shin Bet in 2005, “and the prospect of recognition is not far.” The halt in negotiations, said Diskin, was “a blessing for the Palestinians.”
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9437&Itemid=66
Israeli foreign ministry dismisses Russian statement on Palestinian statehood
JERUSALEM, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) — Israeli foreign ministry officials and local analysts on Wednesday poured cold water on Russian President Dmitri Medvedev’s reiteration of a 1988 statement that Russia “recognized an independent Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem.” “There’s nothing new in this reiteration of what has been a completely known Russian stance,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told Xinhua.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-01/19/c_13698343.htm
Russia, Jordan vow to achieve an independent Palestinian state
Medvedev in Amman: The target is the establishment of a modern, unified and sovereign Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/russia-jordan-vow-to-achieve-an-independent-palestinian-state-1.337963?localLinksEnabled=false
Labor MK Cabel to Netanyahu: We give you Barak as a gift
Labor MKs slam Ehud Barak during Knesset plenum called to approve new coalition with ministers from Barak’s newly formed Atzmaut faction.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/labor-mk-cabel-to-netanyahu-we-give-you-barak-as-a-gift-1.337965?localLinksEnabled=false
U.S. envoys arrive in Israel in bid to advance peace talks with Palestinians
Obama adviser Dennis Ross and David Hale, deputy to Mideast envoy George Mitchell, will meet with Netanyahu to discuss Israel’s security needs in a proposed peace deal.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-envoys-arrive-in-israel-in-bid-to-advance-peace-talks-with-palestinians-1.338131?localLinksEnabled=false
Other News
Wikileaks Cables on Israel’s Gaza Onslaught, KATHLEEN CHRISTISON
CounterPunch has accessed Wikileaks’ file of cables on Israel’s Gaza assault two years ago (Operation Cast Lead, December 27, 2008 through January 18, 2009). Though the cables often simply rehash Israeli press reporting, providing little new insight into Israel’s attack or the planning behind it, they show with pitiless clarity the U.S. government to be little more than a handmaiden and amanuensis of the Israeli military machine.
http://www.counterpunch.com/christison01192011.html
Leading Chinese officials in Israel to boost ties
Delegation of prominent Chinese academic leaders, officials will set to meet influential figures across political and social spectrum, including Israeli, Palestinian and Israeli Arab leaders. ‘By strengthening Sino-Israel relations, Middle East in general can benefit,’ visiting professor says.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4016216,00.html
S Africa rejects Livni arrest call
Bid to arrest ex-Israeli Foreign Minister for alleged war crimes over her role in 2008-2009 war on Gaza is turned down.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/01/2011119193118198964.html
Blasting feminists, Kadima MK appoints herself champion of men’s rights
Yulia Shamalov Berkovich insinuated that complaints of sexual harassment are often ungrounded while addressing group dedicated to preserving the ‘family unit’.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/blasting-feminists-kadima-mk-appoints-herself-champion-of-men-s-rights-1.338021?localLinksEnabled=false
Massacre suspect: Soldiers murdered then went to coffee shop
Aleksander Cvetkovic had already been interrogated in 2005 by Hague court over involvement in Srebrenica massacre. Transcripts obtained by Ynet reveal parts of interrogation in which he claims he was only a driver.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4016299,00.html
Tens of thousands pray for Pollard’s release
Encouraged by Netanyahu’s official request to free convicted spy, Bnei Akiva organizes special prayer session at more than 80 branches in Israel. ‘It’s our national duty,’ rabbi says.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4016143,00.html
Palestinian court forcibly divorces ‘apostates’ (AP)
AP – For more than a year, a Palestinian couple belonging to an Islamic sect rejected by many mainstream Muslims endured insults from some of their neighbors and even death threats while struggling to maintain a quiet existence in this West Bank town.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110120/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_palestinians_shunned_sect
Haneyya’s page removed from Facebook
The fan page of Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya has been removed from Facebook.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%
Analysis/Op-ed
Israel can’t stop Palestinian independence
The world is gradually becoming accustomed to the idea that Palestine will join the family of nations this summer. That is what U.S. President Barack Obama promised in his address to the most recent United Nations General Assembly.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-can-t-stop-palestinian-independence-1.337880
Police non-state in Palestine
“The transition from the lofty aspiration of statehood to a scheme intended to usher West Bank Palestinians into a new alleviated containment — a new form of remotely-managed occupation — is not some unfortunate error. The roots of this manipulation of the Palestinian aspiration into its opposite — cynically dressed up and sold as statehood — were present from the outset. Professor Yezid Sayyigh has shown how U.S. and EU rhetoric “promoting democratic development and the rule of law is pious at best, at worst disingenuous”. Both America and Europe bear responsibilities for this betrayal. The seed of this deception which was to grow into a new police state in the region was the US and European acquiescence to Israel’s self-definition of its own security needs — and by extension, Israel’s definition of the requirements for Palestinian security collaboration. This Faustian pact, which prioritized Israel’s security-led criteria as the boundaries for negotiations — above any principles of justice — set the scene for the inevitable inflation of Israeli demands of security collusion by the Palestinian leadership — demands on which America’s ‘war on terrorism’ poured fuel.“
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/police-non-state-in-palestine.html
The occupation: it’s about controlling land and space, Joseph Dana
True, there are no large-scale killings of civilians in the West Bank. But that’s not what Israel’s control of the West Bank is about. It is often mentioned that Israel’s war against the Palestinian people does not fall under the rubric of truly violent crime because of the absence of large scale killing of Palestinian civilians. Indeed, this point does have weight and the absence of rape as a tool of war in Israel’s arensel strengthens the argument. However, the core aim of Israel’s onslaught on the Palestinians is the control of space. Since the beginning of the Zionist colonization project, Israel has deliberately sought to control space. Beginning with the 1948 war, Israel liquidated Palestinian villages in order to take over their space and not necessarily to kill their inhabitants. Since the 1967 conquest of the West Bank and Gaza, the Zionist mantra of “a land without a people for a people without a land” has proven to be a guiding principle of Israeli conquest of the land.
http://josephdana.com/2011/01/the-occupation-it%e2%80%99s-about-controlling-land-and-space/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-occupation-it%25e2%2580%2599s-about-controlling-land-and-space
When and where will Israel’s Tucson be?, Jesse Bacon
By rights it should have been in 1995, when Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. But the man who took over for him as Prime Minister after appearing at a rally where he was depicted as a Nazi is Prime Minister again. And Rabin’s party was just split into its final tiny segments. And the current mania doesn’t just target politicians, it targets human rights activists, as in this U.S. comic comparing Palestinians and their allies to vermin. I got this email from Anarchists Against the Wall…
http://theonlydemocracy.org/2011/01/when-and-where-will-israels-tucson-be/
Citing ‘national security,’ coalition of realists and liberals (Freeman-Zogby-Beinart) call on Obama to condemn settlements, Philip Weiss
This is big. This is the new coalition to push the neocon Project for the New American Century into the dustbin of history. Fifty public figures, including commentators and former officials, have called on Obama to stand with the majority in the U.N. Security Council against the Israeli settlement project in Israel as a matter of U.S. national security. Among the signatories, Amjad Atallah, Chas Freeman, James Zogby, Andrew Sullivan, Peter Beinart. Many realists, Nitze, Wilkerson. Paul Pillar, Bill Quandt, Mike Desch, Carla Hills former trade rep Note the absence of Israel lobbyists. I.e., they can’t even condemn the settlement project. Jeffrey Goldberg was surely asked. Or they don’t like references to American lives on the line in the Middle East. Notice how few Jews are on the list, and what pressure people like Beinart and Rabbi Beerman of L.A. are exposing themselves to within the monolithic American Jewish leadership.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/citing-national-security-coalition-of-realists-and-liberals-freeman-zogby-beinart-call-on-obama-to-condemn-settlements.html
Death and Birth in Gaza: A Story of a Shepherd, Mahmoud El-Yousseph
When you do not distinguish between combatants and unarmed civilians during war, then you deserve to be named a ‘terrorist.’ It makes no difference what your religion is! That is exactly what happened thousands of miles away and two days before last Christmas, when Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian shepherd in the back and injured two others. A 14 year old suffered a serious head injury and another 19 year old was injured in his hand. The shooting took place in the Northern part of Gaza near the town of Beit Lahia. Israel considered the area a war zone, Palestinians called it home.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16566
Lizzy Ratner and Laila El-Haddad discuss The Goldstone Report on GRITtv, Adam Horowitz
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/lizzy-ratner-and-laila-el-haddad-discuss-the-goldstone-report-on-grittv.html
Two Years After Gaza, Lizzy Ratner
In January 2009, during a lull in the bombing of Israel’s “Cast Lead” operation against Gaza, I spoke by telephone with an old family friend, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, from his home on Gaza’s Salah al-Din Street. In a voice etched with panic, he told me about his family’s dwindling water supply, his children’s terror, his dream of escaping. He asked if I could help find a way for him and his family to leave the Gaza Strip. I made some genuine efforts to solicit help from friends with more connections than I, people who might actually be able to do something, but it pains me to this day that I did not do more. The next time we spoke, it was about the death of his three daughters.
http://www.thenation.com/article/157889/two-years-after-gaza
Lebanon
Sayyed Nasrallah Tackles Lebanon Crisis with Turkey, Qatar FMs
Events accelerate in Lebanon, with no settlement is likely to be announced, at least in this period. On the contrary, March 14, along with its “international” allies appear to be sticking to their position, faced by the opposition’s persistence to challenge the international conspiracy which is targeting the resistance through the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=170771&language=en
Aoun: Hariri Won’t Return, Lebanon Won’t Be Divided
20/01/2011 The head of Change and Reform bloc General Michel Aoun told a news conference in Rabiyeh on Thursday that caretaker Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri cannot return to power, stressing that this position is not about insulting the Sunnis. “Why the international community wants to bring back to power a man who is accused in leading the false witnesses in the UN investigation, and there are tens of millions he embezzled with his political project,” Aoun wondered while meeting with U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams who remained silent and went away hoping to get out of the crisis.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=170880&language=en
Sayyed Nasrallah: “What Was Proposed before Indictment Is No Longer Applicable”
20/01/2011 “What was proposed before issuance of the indictment is no longer applicable,” Hezbollah Secretary Genral Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah told the Turkish and Qatari envoys late Tuesday, more than a day before the officials left Beirut with “reservations” , announcing they were halting their mediation effort “at the moment” until they consult with their leaderships. Al-Manar television learned that Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jaber al-Thani and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had presented Sayyed Nasrallah with ideas on resolving the issues of the tribunal and the new government based on re-formulation and rescheduling of the items.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=170870&language=en
March 14 reacts to halt of Saudi mediation
BEIRUT: Saudi Arabia’s announcement Wednesday that it had abandoned efforts to spare Lebanon strife over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) sparked a wave of reactions, as March 14 figures put their spin on comments by Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=123916
Al-Manar TV Refutes Hariri’s Claim His Father Paid the Costs of Sharaa Treatment
19/01/2011 “My father did not like [Syrian Vice President] Farouq al-Sharaa.. The people do not feel friendly towards him and my father in spite of that bear the costs of his treatment when he came from Damascus to the American University Hospital. My father was very tense and asked his private doctors to treat him and they were the best doctors despite the Sharaa had always had political problems with my father,” Head of the caretaker government Saad Hariri was recorded as saying during a sit-down with a UN investigator.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=170805&language=en
Berri calls on Muslim world to protect Christians
BEIRUT: Speaker Nabih Berri is urging Muslim countries to protect their Christian minorities, which have contributed to building their societies. Berri’s plea was made in Abu Dhabi during the13th round of the Council of the Parliamentary Union of Organization of Islamic Conference.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=123897
Iraq
Bombs kill 50, wound scores at Iraqi security checkpoints
The attacks are aimed at Shiite pilgrims headed to the holy city of Karbala, officials say. Iraqi police and hospital officials say 50 people have been killed in bombings at security checkpoints targeting pilgrims headed to a Shiite holy city for rituals.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/75Wku87AL5U/la-fgw-iraq-pilgrim-bombings-20110121,0,7612543.story
Wednesday: 22 Iraqis Killed, 141 Wounded
Only a day after a deadly attack against police recruits in Tikrit, another suicide bomber struck at a police training center in Baquba. Shi’ite pilgrims were also targeted for the second day in a row. Overall, at least 22 Iraqis were killed and 141 more were wounded ahead of Arbaeen observances, which culminate next week.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/01/19/wednesday-22-iraqis-killed-141-wounded/
At War: Saddam Hussein Sought Soviet Support Before ’91 Gulf War
An extraordinary Iraqi archive, captured in 2003 and kept classified until this week, reveals how Saddam Hussein attempted to win Soviet support before the first United States war with Iraq in 1991.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=b383044920550be0ff9e6d9819bf7fe7
In ’91, Hussein Sought Soviet Help to Head Off U.S.
An extraordinary Iraqi archive kept classified until this week reveals how Saddam Hussein attempted to win Soviet support before the first United States war with Iraq.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=08b5ee1903675e61902df904702c26fe
Iraqi Turkmen tell U.S. ambassador to stop meddling in domestic affairs
Iraqi ethnic Turks, known locally as Turkmen, have asked U.S. ambassador to Iraq, James F. Jeffrey, to stop meddling in Iraqi internal affairs. A statement by the Turkmen Front, a political umbrella for ethnic Turks in Iraq, accused Jeffrey of heightening ethnic and sectarian tensions in the disputed oil-rich province of Kirkuk. Kirkuk is a mixed province where Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen all claim it to themselves. But the Kurds have deployed their militias in the city and currently hold joint patrols with U.S. invasion troops there.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2011-01-19\kurd.htm
Iraq beat North Korea in Asian Cup (AFP)
AFP – Reigning champions Iraq set up a quarter-final clash with Australia after beating North Korea 1-0 on Wednesday, condemning the Koreans to an early exit having failed to score in the entire tournament.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110119/wl_mideast_afp/fblasia2011gpdprkirq
Iraq follows Iran into Asian Cup quarterfinals
DOHA, Qatar — Defending champion Iraq advanced to the Asian Cup quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory over North Korea that set off celebrations back home. Iraq will play Australia on Saturday, when Iran faces South Korea as those nations meet in the quarterfinals for the fifth straight time. In Friday’s quarterfinals, it’s Japan-Qatar and Uzbekistan-Jordan.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/19/AR2011011905691.html
Tunisia & Political Ramifications
Tunisia PM tells Ben Ali not to return
TUNIS, Jan 19 (Reuters) – Tunisia’s ousted leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali told Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi he was considering returning from exile, but Ghannouchi told him that was impossible, a government minister told Reuters. Najib Chebbi, an opposition leader who is now regional development minister in a coalition government, said the exchange happened in a telephone conversation after Ben Ali, toppled by weeks of protests, fled to Saudi Arabia last week.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/tunisia-pm-tells-ben-ali-not-to-return
Tunisia leader vows break with past
Interim president pledges separation of state and political parties as he seeks to shore up new government.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/01/2011119201252887481.html
Tunisia minister: all political prisoners freed
TUNIS, Jan 19 (Reuters) – Tunisia freed all its remaining political prisoners on Wednesday, including members of a banned Islamist movement, government minister Najib Chebbi told Reuters. “All the political prisoners have been released today,” said Chebbi, an opposition party leader who is now regional development minister in a coalition governemnt. Asked if that included members of the banned Islamist Ennahda movement, he said: “There are no more Ennahda prisoners in jail.”
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/tunisia-minister-all-political-prisoners-freed
Tunisia will not be another Iraq, say Tunisian academics
Turmoil remains in place in Tunisia following the fleeing of its ousted leader Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and the country is nearing an economic catastrophe as demonstrators continue to take to the streets, but the country’s academics firmly state that comments that Tunisia will end up like Iraq will be proven wrong. Kamal Ben Younes, one of Tunisia’s foremost political scientists, has stated that he did not believe that a period of chaos similar to the one experienced in Iraq after the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime will be seen in Tunisia. Noting that the people of Tunisia were able to overthrow a dictator, in what was perhaps the first of its kind in the region’s history, Younes said that now it was time for the people to accomplish the more difficult task of restoring order and establishing stability.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-232991-tunisia-will-not-be-another-iraq-say-tunisian-academics.html
Ben Ali relatives held as Tunisian cabinet meets
TUNIS (AFP) – Tunisian authorities arrested 33 members of toppled dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s family and paraded a treasure trove of jewellery seized in raids on their homes on state television.
http://www.aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=23844
Tunisians recall living next door to “the Family”
TUNIS, Jan 19 (Reuters) – The sudden exit of ousted Tunisian leader Ben Ali and his family in a popular revolt has left a big hole in the life of the affluent suburbs of the capital that were once their playground. The ruling clan of the North African country of 10 million were regular fixtures in the social scene of Gammarth, Marsa and Carthage districts where they maintained houses and had extensive business interests.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/tunisians-recall-living-next-door-to-the-family
Leila Trabelsi, Former Tunisian First Lady, Family Despised By Nation
TUNIS, Tunisia — Tunisians couldn’t stand her even more than they couldn’t stand him. The end of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s iron-fisted, 23-year rule brought joy to many ordinary people in this North African nation – and they were especially elated at the prospect of life without his wife and her rapacious family.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/19/leila-trabelsi-tunisia-first-lady_n_811194.html
In town at center of Tunisia uprising, 23 years of repressed emotions burst forth
The Monitor’s correspondent describes getting mobbed as she pulled out her notebook and witnessing a scuffle at the home of Mohamed Bouazizi, whose self-immolation sparked Tunisia’s uprising.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/uK5ouWHsCaY/In-town-at-center-of-Tunisia-uprising-23-years-of-repressed-emotions-burst-forth
Palestinians protest in solidarity with Tunisia
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Palestinians on Wednesday prepared to protest in solidarity with Tunisia, as the authorities there faced hundreds of demonstrators voicing dissent against Tunis’ newly declared unity government. Palestinians planned demonstrations in Ramallah, Jerusalem and Jaffa, activists said. “Tunis’s revolution has proven, once again, that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor. It must be demanded by the oppressed,” the UK-based Tunisian Solidarity Campaign announced.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=352558
Arab leaders warned of ‘revolution’
Head of Arab League warns regional leaders that recent political upheaval is linked to deteriorating economic situation.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/01/2011119165427303423.html
Tunisia Casts Shadow Over Arab Summit Meeting
Arab leaders, meeting for the first time since the revolt in Tunisia, heard one of their own warn that “the Arab soul is broken by poverty, unemployment and general recession.”
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=d733d341ec2ba9435de162b753ce2a14
Iranian media also want to bring in religion in Tunisia analysis
Nir sent me this (I cite with his permission): “so Press TV from iran always wants me on. they just called me here in baghdad and asked me to go on to talk about tunisia. i said i wasnt an expert about it and she said they wanted me to talk about the role of religion in the uprising. i said ‘what role of religion?’ she explained that they were rebelling because women were not allowed to wear headscarves and religious expression was repressed. i said that religion had almost no role and it was a secular uprising, but what a strange interpretation.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/iranian-media-also-want-to-bring-in.html
The Night in Tunisia is Fading, Slowly, George S. Hishmeh
The Jasmine Revolution, as the popular and unarmed Tunisian uprising that ousted the corrupt and autocratic president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, is known, will go down in history as the first successful attempt by Arab masses to topple a onetime senior military officer and director of national security and who may now serve as a pacesetter for confronting others, similarly inclined.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16565
Hani Hazaimeh: Shaken by Tunisian Unrest, Arab World Looks to Placate Street
Arab citizens continue to take to the streets, emboldened by Tunisia and the knowledge that for the first time in decades, Arab regimes are taking notice. Will this will be enough to placate the masses?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hani-hazaimeh/unrest-overwhelming-sever_b_810794.html
On the first Arab popular overthrow of a dictator: the fall of Gen. Shishakli
Comrade Khaled B. (not to be confused with comrade Khalid Saghiyyah, editor-in-chief of Al-Akhbar) wrote this in response to Kamal’s response to his comment about Shishakly and his demise: ”Apropos the contribution of Comrade Kamal: I really do not want to make the matter of the collapse of Adeeb Al-Shishakli’s regime one of Syrian regional squabble. I certainly appreciate and do not wish to disturb the sensitivities, particularly the attachment of some in Hama, his birthplace, to him. I am aware that it remains somewhat alive to this very day.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/on-first-arab-popular-overthrow-of.html
Rally in Solidarity with the Tunisian People, Friday January 21, New York
Join the Rally in Solidarity with the Tunisian People in front of the Tunisian Mission to the United Nations. We will send a loud message of support to the Tunisian people and the continuation of their struggle to fully abolish authoritarianism in their country. They have rid themselves of a dictator, but the dictatorship persists. Tunisian students, workers, and all sectors of society continue to take to the streets demanding more than just a new face to the old authoritarian system. Now is the time to show support for Tunisians as they enter the most difficult phase of their uprising. Let’s help make this a revolution. FOR THE COMPLETE STATEMENT AND MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=191655070847507&ref=ts
http://ikhras.com/2011/01/rally-in-solidarity-with-the-tunisian-people-friday-january-21-new-york/
U.S. and Other World News
‘I Wake Up Screaming’: A Gitmo Nightmare
Saad Iqbal Madni looks decades older than his 33 years when he shuffles into the room, head down and eyes averted. “There are a lot of times I start to cry. I still feel like I am in Guantanamo,” he says, his voice cracking and hands trembling. “I have memorized the torture. I wake up in the middle of the night screaming.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41128834/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/
The Lonely Battle Against Solitary Confinement
The punitive incarceration of alleged WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning is cruel, certainly, but far from unusual in the US.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jan/19/bradley-manning-wikileaks
The Lede: U.S. Officials Reportedly Said WikiLeaks Revelations Were ‘Not Damaging’
According to a congressional aide who spoke to Reuters, State Department officials concluded late last year that the publication of leaked U.S. diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks “was embarrassing but not damaging.”
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=2c25663d1b655d84f64278d3d179d2a2
Obama Officials Caught Deceiving About WikiLeaks, Glenn Greenwald
These lies were told not only to distort public opinion and justify prosecuting WikiLeaks for doing nothing more than engaging in journalism, but also to coerce private corporations (MasterCard, Amazon, Visa, Paypal) to cut all services to the group.
http://www.salon.com/news/wikileaks/?story=/opinion/greenwald/2011/01/19/wikileaks
US Decimates Entire Afghan Village
Stories like this should be unbelievable. Writes Spencer Ackerman: In October, a U.S.-led military unit pulverized an Afghan village in Kandahar’s Arghandab River Valley after it became overrun with Taliban insurgents.
http://pulsemedia.org/2011/01/19/us-decimates-entire-afghan-village/
7.3 million Afghans are ‘food insecure’
About 31 percent of the Afghan population was identified as “food-insecure” by a 2007 report on national risks.
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Resource-Wars/2011/01/19/73-million-Afghans-are-food-insecure/UPI-83811295441965/
Egypt’s Brotherhood: Dissolve Parliament
CAIRO/ALGIERS: Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood demanded Wednesday that President Hosni Mubarak dissolve the newly elected Parliament and hold new elections. The statement came as an Egyptian tried to set himself on fire in Cairo, the latest in a series of self-immolations or attempted burnings in the Arab world apparently inspired by an act in Tunisia that prompted protests there.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=123876
Husni Mubarak, As`ad Abukhalil
Arab people are not only afflicted with their leaders, but they are afflicted with leaders with excellent health. I saw Husni Mubarak give his speech in Sharam Ash-Shaykh yesterday, and I was astonished how vigorous he looked. Just a week ago, he looked like he was dying. I don’t know how Arab leaders do it, really. Husni Mubarak wakes up and have a hearty Egyptian breakfast (pidgeons, fitir mishaltit (no way on earth I will translate that one)) and then he is subjected to a vigorous massage (Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak had massages but Mubarak made it part of his daily routine). Mubarak used to play squash daily, and I heard he has beaten Colin Powell and Donald Rumsfeld in the game. Someone told me that the Saudi King can’t wake up or stand without a series of injections, but who knows. The thing is those horrible dictators live long lives, damn it.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/husni-mubarak.html
The Lede: Chomsky’s Plea to Iran, Carol Grisanti and Fakhar ur Rehman
Noam Chomsky, an American academic best-known to viewers of Iranian television for his criticism of American foreign policy, made a personal appeal to Iran’s government to release two detained Americans.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=ca9fb77a5609b86f1dde8d9889e1ece1
Islamophobia ‘acceptable’ in UK
British politician says prejudice against Muslims is now socially acceptable and that UK is becoming less tolerant.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/europe/2011/01/201112012212165903.html
www.TheHeadlines.org
