and other news from Today in Palestine:
Land, property, resources theft and destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlers
Israel army shuts down Hebron rally
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 11 Feb — Israeli forces on Friday shut down a rally against a marathon held by settlers in the center of the West Bank city of Hebron, protest organizers said. Youth Against Settlements organized the rally to protest the race and demand the reopening of Shuhuda Street to Palestinians. The road was on the route of the Jewish-only race, an event supported by the Israeli Ministry of Sport for settlers across the West Bank.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=359027
Photoessay: Demonstration against settler marathon in Hebron / Joseph Dana
12 Feb – In response to a settler marathon down (the closed to Palestinians) Shuhada street in Hebron a demonstration was organized by Palestinians with Israeli and international supporters. The demonstration was short as the Israeli army was clearly not interested in having any demonstrators get close to the actual marathon. Protesters carried signs saying “no peace with settlements” while organizers chanted in Arabic “Mubarak get out, Netanyahu get out.” Two Israelis were detained for roughly eight hours and no injuries were reported.
http://972mag.com/photo-essay-demonstration-against-settler-marathon-in-hebron/
Clashes erupt in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) — Clashes erupted between Palestinian young men and Israeli forces in Silwan after the Friday prayer. The Israeli forces intensively used tear gas and rubber bullets to suppress the demonstrators in the sit-in tent in Silwan when young men threw stones at them. The forces used special maps of the Ath-Thawry neighborhood in order to chase the Palestinians in its alleys. The forces had a photographer with them in order to take photos of children throwing stones and then detain them. Other clashes erupted in Ras Al-Amud neighborhood east of Silwan and Wadi Ar-Rababa area west of Silwan. The forces sprayed hot and colored water on the demonstrators.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=359085
Violence
Israeli forces shoot Gaza workers
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 12 Feb — Israeli forces shot and injured two Palestinian workers Saturday in the northern Gaza Strip, medics said. Marhan Tanboura, 24, and Ashour Shukheidim, 29, were shot in the leg, Gaza medics said … The men were collecting rubble from evacuated settlements near the Gaza border to sell as cement aggregates, medics said. Cement is in demand to rebuild thousands of homes destroyed in Israel’s last offensive on the coastal enclave. Under Israel’s siege policy, most construction materials are banned from the Gaza Strip.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=359333
Media: Palestinian killed in brawl with Israelis
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma‘an) 12 Feb — A 24-year-old man from East Jerusalem was killed early Friday in a brawl between a group of Israelis and a group of Palestinians in Jerusalem’s city center, Israeli media reported. According to the police, quoted by the Israeli news site Ynet, some of the people involved in the fight were intoxicated. Two of them were arrested, Ynet said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=359019
Siege
The revolution is coming… one truckload at a time
In a press conference this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Quartet Representative Tony Blair announced a new package of measures aimed towards, in Blair’s words, improving “the conditions and living standards of the Palestinian people” and in Bibi’s, “enhancing stability” … The new measures promised are welcome and important for Gaza’s struggling private sector and the population at large. The changes in access policies seen since the June 20th Israeli Security Cabinet decision and the measures promised in this latest press conference are, however, minimal compared to need. Israel is currently allowing Gaza residents to receive 3% of the construction materials needed to re-build the Strip and to export 1% of the quantities promised in earlier agreements … With the proposed measures, we hope to see a rise in these figures. For example, the new package promises 40,000 tons of gravel – in February. The rest of the year is anyone’s guess
http://www.gazagateway.org/2011/02/the-revolution-is-coming%E2%80%A6-one-truckload-at-a-time/
Detention / Exile
Silwan’s captive children: when home is jail
Palestine Monitor 11 Feb – Seventeen children currently live under house arrest in the besieged neighborhood of Silwan in Jerusalem. Combined with a fierce campaign from Jewish extremists and armed Israeli forces, these young men are routinely arrested, beaten and interrogated … As part of a comprehensive program of state-sponsored terror, these children are targeted because they live in a neighborhood coveted by Jewish extremists who believe it to be the Biblical City of David – not the home of nearly 45,000 people.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1681
Fatah: Israel detained 3 officials in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) — Israeli forces on Friday detained three Fatah leaders in Jerusalem during raids on their homes, Fatah official Dmitri Delyani said. Nedal Abu Gharbiyeh, Abed As-Salam Al-Hadra and Khaled Al-Gharably … are all Fatah secretaries for neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem, he added … Delyani said the escalation in Israeli attacks against Fatah officials was part of a campaign to destroy the Palestinian national movement. Fatah leaders were subject to constant harassment, repeatedly issued summons and threatened by Israeli forces, he added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=358998
Israel extends administrative detention of Ayed Dudein for twelfth time
NABLUS, (PIC) 12 Feb — Israeli intelligence has extended the period of detention of the longest running Palestinian administrative detainee Ayed Dudein for the twelfth consecutive time since his arrest, the Ahrar center for prisoners studies said. The Israeli Supreme Court denied appeals submitted by Dudein’s lawyer requesting his release, claiming a ”secret file” was prepared against him and his release was a security concern for Israel, Ahrar center director Fouad Al-Khafsh said. He has so far not received a fair trial.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO
Israeli forces detain 2 near Nablus
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 12 Feb — Israeli forces on Saturday stormed the northern West Bank village of Madama near Nablus and detained two Palestinians, locals said. Residents identified the detainees as Mahmoud Amir Nassar, 16, and Abdul-Karim Ghassan Ziada, 22. Locals added that soldiers used police dogs to search Ziada’s home.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=359193
Nativity Church deportees appeal to UN commissioner
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 12 Feb — Palestinians deported from Bethlehem to the Gaza Strip in 2002 after Israeli forces besieged the Nativity Church appealed to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. A spokesman for the group Fahmi Kan’an said the local committee of national and Islamist forces handed Navi Pillay a letter from the deportees during her visit to the Gaza Strip. Kan’an said the letter explained the dire conditions of the Nativity Church deportees both in Gaza and European countries as they entered their 10th year in exile.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=359212
Megiddo prison administration assaults prisoners after protesting decision
NABLUS, (PIC) 12 Feb — The Palestinian prisoner society said the Israeli administration of Megiddo jail maltreated the Palestinian detainees after they protested an unfair decision taken against them … For her part, lawyer of the society Jacqueline Fiume said that the Israeli administration of Etzion prison bowed to the just demands of prisoners and decided to provide each of them with winter clothing and blankets and to improve the quality and quantity of food served to them. She said the administration complied with these demands after the prisoners took a number of protest steps including hunger strike.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc
Egyptian revolution and Palestinians
Gaza celebrates Mubarak exit; Hamas demands change
GAZA (Reuters) 11 Feb – Palestinians in Gaza let off fireworks and shot into the air to celebrate the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Friday, and the Islamist group Hamas called on Egypt’s new rulers to change his policies … Abu Zuhri called on the new Egyptian leadership to permanently open its border with Gaza to allow free movement … Some 300 Palestinians celebrated Mubarak’s resignation in Ramallah where Abbas lives, singing nationalistic Arab songs.
http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE71A6QT20110211
Video: Gaza celebrates 11 Feb 2011 / Ken O’Keefe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl7H12cYBZ8&feature=player_embedded#at=27
Women celebrate Egypt’s victory on Gaza’s streets
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 12 Feb — Women hit the streets in Gaza City on Saturday to celebrate the toppling of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak … Umm Muhammad Rantisi delivered a speech congratulating the Egyptian people and urging them to close ranks and prioritize national interests in order to realize their dreams. She expressed optimism that the victory in Egypt would have positive consequences for all Arab and Muslim nations. Israa Khalil, a student from the Islamic University, also spoke at the event. “The revolution in Egypt proves once more that youth play a leading role towards change.” Khalil urged the new Egyptian leadership to help break the siege on the coastal enclave, echoing the hopes of many in the Gaza Strip.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=359304
Echoes of the Egyptian miracle in a Galilee village / Hatim Kanaaneh
12 Feb – …There was no flipping through stations; like in every other living room in the Middle East, Al-Jazeera kept us on edge and up-to-date. Minutes after six o’clock Omar Suleiman’s tired long face filled the TV screen and he made his one sentence announcement with one glaring Arabic grammatical faux pas. Mubarak escaped being peacefully trampled in his palace by the Egyptian masses. We all broke out in spontaneous praise of Allah’s and Google’s miraculous feats, in exchanges of congratulations and backslapping and in happy laughter. In two more minutes the sound of fireworks filled the village evening hush. I stepped out for a fuller appreciation of the event and heard the distant sound of fireworks from neighboring Palestinian villages and the beeping of horns in our streets.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/echoes-of-the-egyptian-miracle-in-a-galilee-village.html
Arab Israelis celebrate Mubarak’s downfall
Ynet 11 Feb - Jubilant Arab Israelis hit the streets of the northern town of Taybeh Friday evening to celebrate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation earlier in the day. A parade was being held at the center of the city accompanied by music, fireworks and firecrackers, as overjoyed residents poured into the streets and broke into dance.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4027277,00.html
MK Zoabi: Like Egypt, we will overthrow occupation
Ynet 12 Feb – Hundreds of people attended a rally Saturday organized by the Balad Party in support of the popular protests in Egypt, which succeeded in ousting President Hosni Mubarak … “Israel has been relying on the weakness of the Arab people, but now this has been changed. It gives us a lot of morale and self-assurance because the Egyptian people have succeeded in overthrowing the government after 30 years, so maybe we can free ourselves of occupation as well.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4027471,00.html
Ramallah celebration after Mubarak resigns
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 12 Feb — Dozens of Palestinians in Ramallah celebrated Friday after Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak stepped down. The demonstrators held signs reading “the people want an end to division.” Palestinian officials Khalida Jarrar, Bassam As-Salhi, and Mustafa Barghouthi participated in the demonstrations.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=359153
Fatah: We need strong Egypt by our side
Ynet 12 Feb – Nabil Shaath, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, congratulated the Egyptian people and said that a younger, democratic Egypt would offer more support for the Palestinians. Meanwhile a top aide to President Mahmoud Abbas says the Palestinians will hold presidential and legislative elections by September, an apparent response to the popular protests that drove Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down late Friday.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4027408,00.html
Egyptian revolution and Israel
Mubarak slammed US in phone call with Israeli MK before resignation
(Reuters) 11 Feb – Hosni Mubarak had harsh words for the United States and what he described as its misguided quest for democracy in the Middle East in a telephone call with an Israeli lawmaker a day before he quit as Egypt’s president … “‘They may be talking about democracy but they don’t know what they’re talking about and the result will be extremism and radical Islam,'” he quoted Mubarak as saying.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/mubarak-slammed-u-s-in-phone-call-with-israeli-mk-before-resignation-1.342831
Army: Egypt to remain committed to all treaties
CAIRO (AFP) 12 Feb — Egypt will remain committed to all its regional and international treaties, its ruling military council said on Saturday, implicitly confirming the nation’s peace deal with Israel would remain intact.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=359350
Security officials: Israel faces period of instability
Ynet 12 Feb – On heels of Mubarak’s resignation, security establishment concerned Egypt may eventually become hostile
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4027367,00.html
Israel
Bnei Brak: 2 Sudanese men attacked, beaten by Israeli youths
Ynet 12 Feb – Israeli youths stabbed one Sudanese national in the back, then beat another one with a stick. The two Sudanese men, who suffered moderate and light injuries, were evacuated to Tel Hashomer Hospital. The suspects escaped. [End]
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4027485,00.html
Israel’s discriminatory civil service program challenged
EI 11 Feb – Jillian Kestler-D’Amours – …The Israeli civic service program is a volunteerism program that young men and women who are exempted from Israel’s compulsory army service can participate in … According to Nadim Nashif, the Director of the Baladna Center for Arab Youth, an empowerment and capacity-building organization in Haifa, a wide variety of issues have caused the Palestinian community within Israel to question the merits of the program. These include the fact that Palestinian citizens of Israel and their leaders weren’t consulted during the state’s creation, how it makes an unfair link between rights and duties, and its clear and widespread connections to the Israeli military establishment.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11796.shtml
Politics / International relations
Palestinians call for elections by September
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories (AFP) 12 Feb – The Palestinians announced in an official statement on Saturday that presidential and parliamentary elections would be held before September in a move rejected by Hamas.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110212/wl_mideast_afp/palestinianspoliticsvote
Erekat quits over Palestine Papers
(AJ) 12 Feb – Chief Palestinian negotiator resigns, saying source of Al Jazeera’s revelations was in his own office … Erekat said his resignation came as a result of an internal investigation into the Palestine Papers, a set of leaked documents that was released by Al Jazeera. Erekat, who has retained his position in the PLO’s executive committee, said the investigation showed that the papers were leaked from the Negotiations Support Unit, which he heads … Speaking to Al Jazeera, Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas leader, welcomed the resignation, saying that negotiations led by Erekat had not been “in the national interest”.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/02/2011212135152355248.html
Arab League chief to quit in coming weeks
CAIRO (Ma‘an) 12 Feb — Arab League chief Amr Mussa announced he would resign in coming weeks, hours after Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak quit his presidency, the Cairo-based Middle East News Agency reported. Mussa told Egyptian State TV he would quit without elaborating on his future plans, the report said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=359228
Top US military officer to visit Israel after Mubarak’s ouster
(Reuters) 12 Feb – Admiral Mike Mullen is due to meet Netanyahu, Peres and outgoing IDF chief Ashkenazi on Sunday. The top United States military officer heads to Jordan and Israel next week for high-level talks meant to reassure key allies at a moment of heightened uncertainty after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/top-u-s-military-officer-to-visit-israel-after-mubarak-s-ouster-1.342861
Other news
France grants PA €10 million to finance water systems in Behlehem
(IMEMC) 10 Feb – …The Ministry said that the project aims at improving the drinking water system and its distribution network, and that this project will improve water services to more than 100,000 consumers by the year 2017 … During summer time, the Palestinians face sharp shortages in water supplies and most of the residents depend of wells as Israel regularly shuts down main pumps heading to the Palestinian territories in order to provide Jewish settlements in the West Bank with an abundances of water supplies for their homes in the settlements, agricultural areas and their swimming pools.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60622
Gaza journalist says attacked by Hamas security
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 11 Feb — A journalist in Gaza said he was severely beaten Friday by security forces from the Hamas-led government. Shawki Al-Farra told Ma‘an he was covering Friday prayers in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip when around 10 security officials attacked him.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=359039
Jewish-Arab school fails to bridge gap
Ynet 12 Feb – Seven years ago the “Hand in Hand – Bridge over the Wadi” school in Kafr Qara in Wadi Ara opened its doors as an innovative Jewish-Arab project that was meant to promote co-existence between the two populations living in the area.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4027169,00.html
Olympic delegation visits West Bank
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) — A delegation from the International Olympic Committee visited the West Bank to assess sports facilities and determine needs, the Palestinian sports union said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=359037
Analysis / Opinion
The Palestinian parallels / Philip Weiss
Some of the many parallels between the Egyptian people’s pursuit of freedom, now so honored in our country, and the pursuit of freedom by their neighbors, the Palestinians, forever dishonored: 1. “Dignity.” In his fine speech today Barack Obama said the core principle of the Egyptian revolution was human dignity. “This is the power of human dignity, and it can never be denied.” But Palestinian dignity has been repeatedly assaulted by the Israelis, as Judge Goldstone wrote in his landmark report on the Gaza conflict, a report Obama has sought to block at every turn ... 3. Nonviolent demonstrations. The beautiful throngs in Egypt were nonviolent. Salute them, yes! They have been honored for this around the world. Well, in Palestine, the protest of the occupation is also nonviolent, the Palestinians have shown incredible restraint, there are Gandhis all over the West Bank protesting the confiscation of land, water, crops, and homes. The Popular Committees regularly hold demonstrations against occupation. And these demonstrations are routed and attacked by the Israelis without any recognition from the American government or media.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/the-palestinian-parallels.html
Tsunami in Egypt / Uri Avnery
12 Feb – UNTIL THE very last moment, the Israeli leadership tried to keep Hosni Mubarak in power. It was hopeless. Even the mighty United States was impotent when faced with this tsunami of popular outrage. In the end it settled for second best: a pro-Western military dictatorship. But will this really be the outcome?
WHEN CONFRONTED with a new situation, Obama’s first response is generally admirable. Then, it seems, second thoughts set in. And third. And fourth. The end result is a 180 degree turn
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1297507641/
A big leap for the Israeli psyche / Carlo Strenger
11 Feb – One of the most persistent images in the Israeli psyche is that of Arabs as an existential threat, as people who are primitive, filled with hate for Israel and want to destroy it … the “Arab psyche and Islamic culture” arguments are based on very shortsighted thinking. Commentators between the 9th and 17th centuries would have said that Europeans are obviously incapable of creating stable regimes and devoid of culture, sophistication and finesse, whereas the Islamic world is far ahead in all respects
Iraq
Friday: 5 Iraqis killed, 13 wounded; mass grave found
At least five Iraqis were killed and 13 were wounded in new attacks, while a remnant from the height of sectarian violence, a mass grave, was discovered containing 153 decayed bodies. Also, demonstrations against meager food rations and electricity shortages continued across Iraq.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/02/11/friday-5-iraqis-killed-13-wounded-mass-grave-found/
Bomber strikes Shi‘ite pilgrims in Iraq, killing 25
(AP) 12 Feb - A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of Shiite pilgrims Saturday, killing 25 just outside a revered shrine north of Baghdad that has been a flashpoint in Iraqi sectarian strife, officials said. It was the second attack in three days targeting pilgrims who have been traveling to the revered al-Askari mosque in the former insurgent stronghold of Samarra for religious ceremonies marking the death of the 11th imam.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4027449,00.html
Iraq mass grave filled with Qa‘eda victims: police
BAQUBA, Iraq (AFP) 12 Feb — Iraqi authorities uncovered a mass grave north of Baghdad on Saturday with 153 bodies of Al-Qa‘eda victims, many of them women, children and members of the security forces, police told AFP.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110212/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestqaedagraves
Other Mideast / Arab world
Algeria: Thousands turn out for pro-reform protest
(AP) 12 Feb 15:29 – Thousands of people defied a government ban on demonstrations and poured into the Algerian capital for a pro-democracy rally Saturday, a day after weeks of mass protests toppled Egypt’s authoritarian leader. … Protesters chanted slogans including “No to the police state” and “Bouteflika out,” a reference to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has been in power in this sprawling North African nation since 1999.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4027401,00.html
400 arrested in Algeria at rally demanding reforms
(AP) 17:40 - A human rights activist says more than 400 people have been arrested during a pro-democracy protest that brought thousands of people onto the streets of the Algerian capital. Ali Yahia Abdenour says women and foreign journalists were among those arrested during Saturday’s demonstration, which came a day after mass protests toppled Egypt’s autocratic leader. Abdenour, who heads the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights, said some 28,000 security forces were deployed in Algiers to block the march and disperse the crowds.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4027462,00.html
Thousands in Sana‘a call to oust president
(AFP) 12 Feb – Thousands of people gathered in the center of Sana‘a, Yemen called for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. “After Mubarak it is Ali’s turn,” the protestors chanted. [End]
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4027398,00.html
Armed Yemeni government supporters break up protest
SANA‘A, Feb 12 (Reuters) – Government supporters armed with traditional knives and batons broke up a pro-democracy march on Saturday by 2,000 Yemenis inspired by the Egyptian uprising. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, trying to ward off protests spreading across the Arab world, has promised to step down when his term ends in 2013, but the opposition has yet to respond to his call to join a unity government. The opposition wants talks to take place under Western or Gulf Arab auspices.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/armed-yemeni-government-supporters-break-up-protest
Lebanese bank denies US money-laundering charge
BEIRUT (Reuters) 11 Feb – The chairman of a Lebanese bank accused by the U.S. of laundering profits from a drug-smuggling ring linked to Hezbollah militants denied any involvement on Friday and said it would co-operate fully with authorities.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110211/ts_nm/us_lebanon_bank
WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks: Suleiman vowed to prevent Hamas rule in Gaza
Ynet 11 Feb – Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman promised Israel in 2005 that he would prevent Hamas’ rise to power in the Gaza Strip, according to a document leaked to the WikiLeaks website and published by Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4027149,00.html
