And other news from Today in Palestine:
Land, property, resources theft and destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlers
PA: Israeli destruction of water resources must stop
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Israel has “intensified its campaign of targeting Palestinian water cisterns for destruction,” Minister of the Palestinian Water Authority Shaddad Attili said Tuesday, condemning the acts … “Cisterns were vital to the very survival of Palestinian communities with little access to water,” the official said, adding that “the Government of Israel uses water to target some of the most vulnerable and marginalized Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank.” Tens of thousands of Palestinians living in “Area C” are not connected to a water network. For most, water cisterns serve as the only available source of water alongside water delivered in tanks, which remains prohibitively expensive.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=355866
Israel announces new land seizure near Bethlehem
Israel’s Civil Administration announced in the newspapers on Tuesday plans to seize some 600 dunums of lands southwest of Bethlehem, in the southern West Bank. Residents of Wadi An-Nis and Beit Ummar, locals said, could produce ownership documents for at least 400 dunums of the land … Beit Ummar resident Mahmoud Awwad said his family owned 400 dunums near the site identified in the newspaper, and said he was told that the land would be used to build a school for Ultra-Orthodox Jewish students.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356154
Settlers start to cultivate Palestinian land east of Al-Khalil
AL-KHALIL, (PIC) 1 Feb — A group of Jewish settlers on Monday planted trees in Palestinian farmland in Baka’a area east of Al-Khalil [Hebron] city in preparation for taking full control of the area, eyewitnesses reported. They told the PIC that dozens of armed settlers, who were escorted by army soldiers, came from Kiryat Arba settlement and planted the trees. Baka’a is a constant target for settlers from Kiryat Arba who want to annex its land to the settlement, which was already established on land usurped from the same area
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2
Arrests and violent repression in Silwan
1 Feb – On Monday, Silwan activists were arrested by Israeli authorities, and a pregnant woman suffered the ill effects of tear gas inhalation. The Jerusalem Magistrates Court sentenced al-Bustan Popular Committee member Sheikh Musa Aouda to a month’s house arrest outside Silwan today … the violence continued in Bir Ayyub yesterday as Israeli troops fired a tear gas canister inside a local shop, gassing a pregnant woman inside. A pregnant female customer was evacuated to a hospital and treated for tear gas inhalation. Tear gas is proven to have particularly harmful effects on unborn children. The small minimarket belongs to Bir Ayyub resident Hammouda Siyam. The attack came unprovoked
http://www.imemc.org/article/60547
Settlement expert: Israel sold 1400 housing units in OJ, WB in 2010
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC) 1 Feb– The Israeli occupation authority sold around 1400 settlement units to Jews in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank in 2010, Qais Yousef Nasser, a settlement expert, said on Monday. He added in a statement that most of those units were sold in Mod’in, Har Homa, Ma’aleh Adumim, Beitar Elit, and Givat Ze’ev settlements. Nasser, a lawyer by profession, warned that the Israeli housing ministry was planning to build and market about 5000 new housing units in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank other than the construction of 3300 other units in occupied Jerusalem settlements.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO
The Nakba continues: Jerusalem’s Museum on the Seam: Artful dodging / Awatef Sheikh
…The Museum on the Seam is yet another example of the erasure of anything Palestinian through pacifist and aesthetic means. Nowhere in the information and rationale for the museum does the word “Palestine” appear—not to mention the word “occupation.” Nothing about the Palestinians who live literally less than 30 yards to the east of the building, let alone the fate of those who lived in it and those who rightly own it … Detached from its immediate reality, for which it shares responsibility, the Museum places itself in a global context from which it observes the world and humanity with concern.
http://wrmea.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10292:the-nakba-continues-jerusalems-museum-on-the-seam-artful-dodging-&catid=363
The West Bank meets Dixie / Mira Sucharov
31 Jan – If and when the West Bank settlers are forced to relocate, there will no doubt be a painful rift in Israeli society. Most observers estimate that at least 70,000 will be forced to move under the terms of any projected Israeli-Palestinian agreement. Writing in The Huffington Post in November, Brent Sasley and I discussed various strategies the Israeli government might employ to get settler buy-in any future peace agreement. But one thing we didn’t mention that may help ease the transition is a good song.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mira-sucharov/the-west-bank-meets-dixie_b_816029.html
Violence / War crimes
Israelis attack Palestinian youth in West Jerusalem
Jerusalem (PNN) 31 Jan – A group of Israelis attacked Nidal Yasri Sabah, 24, as he returned from work on Jaffa Street near the Old City of Jerusalem … Nidal was getting in his car on his way back from work, said Muhaydin, when he heard a Jewish youth ask him for a cigarette. When Nidal revealed that he was a Palestinian, a group of men came out of hiding and attacked him, “beating him violently until a police patrol came.”
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9471&Itemid=64
American-made tear gas in Cairo and the West Bank / Joseph Dana
People in the street confronting police and army soldiers with revolutionary aspirations. Some youth throw stones in symbolic acts of resistance as the elders try to calm down their rage and focus on chants of unity. Armed forces reply with tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. This is a regular occurrence in the West Bank in villages like Nabi Saleh, Ni’ilin and Beit Umar. Over the past week, it has been unfolding on the streets of Cairo, Suez and Alexandria as well. From Ni’ilin to Cairo, the tear gas that is being employed against demonstrations is made in the United States. The story of American made tear gas in Egypt has recently entered the chaotic international news cycle to the dismay of the American government … Standard aluminum tear canisters, which are being used in Egypt, have injured thousands in the West Bank over the past eight years of demonstrations against the Separation Barrier … According to international coverage of the demonstrations in Egypt, there has been little coverage of police or army using tear gas canisters as large bullets.
http://972mag.com/the-use-of-tear-gas-in-israel-and-egypt/
Foreign ministry: Al Jazeera report false and groundless
31 Jan – The Foreign Ministry refuted the Al Jazeera report claiming that Israel transferred crowd dispersal equipment and tear gas to Egypt. “The reports are completely groundless,” said ministry sources.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4021750,00.html
Austrian Jews press charges over ‘anti-Semitic’ Turkish film on Gaza flotilla
Politicians and Jewish groups in Austria and Germany criticized action film ‘Valley of the Wolves – Palestine’ ahead of its release on Holocaust Memorial Day.
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/austrian-jews-press-charges-over-anti-semitic-turkish-film-on-gaza-flotilla-1.340610
“I didn’t come to Israel – I came to Palestine!”
[includes great poster] Just a few days after the Turkel committee cleared the IDF of any wrongdoings during its raid of the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara, the most expensive Turkish film ever made hit the theaters across Turkey and the rest of Europe. The film, “Valley of the Wolves: Palestine”, is the second in a series of movies depicting the dashing Polat Alemdar taking on bad guys – and winning.
http://972mag.com/%E2%80%9Ci-didn%E2%80%99t-come-to-israel-i-came-to-palestine%E2%80%9D/
Detention
Amnesty, local rights orgs slam activist sentencing
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Local and international rights organizations slammed Monday the decision of an Israeli to sentence Palestinian rights leader in Haifa Ameer Makhoul to nine years in prison, calling the move political. Makhoul is a prominent political activist and the general director of the Union of Arab Community-Based Associations (Ittijah) and other associations uniting Palestinian and Arab citizens of Israel.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=355861
IOF troops detain 12 Palestinians, ask people about Egypt
RAMALLAH, (PIC)– Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up 12 Palestinians in the West Bank after forcing their families out of their homes in the cold winter weather in pre dawn raids on Tuesday … Meanwhile, Palestinian citizens said on Tuesday that IOF officers at roadblocks and during storming of shops in the West Bank were asking them about their opinion of the conditions in Egypt,
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
Hamas MPs: Israel’s arrest of our employee will not hamper operations
SALFIT, (PIC) 1 Feb — Hamas MPs in Salfit say the arrest of their office director was intended to harm the operation of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Israel arrested Tuesday Izzuddin Fattash, who directs the PLC office in the West Bank city of Salfit, after a destructive raid on his home. A statement by the PLC members says Israeli arrests will not discourage them from serving the people who chose them in fair elections.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2
Israeli army detains 22 Palestinians in WB
31 Jan – West Bank, (Pal Telegraph) -Israeli occupation forces detained Monday morning 22 Palestinians after raiding different parts in the West Bank. Security sources told that five Palestinian citizens were captured from the west of Jenin, northern West Bank. The detainees were sent to Israeli security officials for interrogation. Israeli sources confirmed that most of the detainees are under age of 17 that caused a state of fear among villagers. Israel continues targeting children who make gaps in the separation wall. The detainees ‘ parents called human rights institution to immediately intervene to stop Israeli violations against Palestinian children.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/8354-israeli-army-detains-22-palestinians-in-wb.html
PA arrests 11 Hamas men across West Bank
WEST BANK, (PIC) 1 Feb — Palestinian Authority security agencies arrested 11 Hamas supporters across the West Bank on Tuesday. A number of other political prisoners are continually being tortured in PA detention centers, sources reveal. Most of the new detainees had been previously held by the PA or the Israeli occupation … The arrest campaign may be linked with revolutionary protests sweeping Egypt.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO
PA militias kidnap four Palestinians in West Bank for political affiliation
WEST BANK, (PIC) 31 Jan — Amid media blackout in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority’s security militias continue their arrest campaign against Hamas-affiliated citizens, the latest of them were four Palestinians from Al-Khalil and Nablus cities. A cancer patient called Ayman Al-Juneidi and a son of MP Mohamed Abu Jehaisha were kidnapped by the militias in Al-Khalil city, while the two others were kidnapped during raids in Nablus. In Salfit city, the PA intelligence apparatus reportedly keep summoning director of Palestine newspaper’s office Walid Harb every once in a while after he was released from Israeli jails a few days ago. The intelligence also summoned for interrogation a number of noted Hamas figures in Salfit, including Sheikh Imad Addeek from Kafr Addeek village
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
Hamas leader said detained by PA
TULKAREM (Ma’an) — Local Hamas leader Ahmad Ar-Rayyan from the northern West Bank was detained by Palestinian Authority security forces overnight, a statement from the Islamist party said on Tuesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=355994
Hamas condemns Israeli repeated detention of MPs
DAMASCUS, (PIC) 31 Jan — Hamas strongly condemned the Israeli occupation forces for re-arresting MP Sheikh Mohammed Jamal Al-Natshe, who was only released four months ago from Israeli jails after nine years imprisonment six of which were in solitary confinement.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?
Siege / Restrictions on movement / Other rights issues / Humanitarian issues
Health Ministry repeats warnings of health disaster in Gaza
GAZA, (PIC) 31 Jan — The Gaza Health Ministry is reiterating warnings that the current shortage of medicines risks a serious health disaster for Palestinian patients. The Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has refused to answer to appeals by interveners to resolve the more than month-long crisis and release essential medicines it was withholding from Gaza. A statement released by the Health Ministry Monday evening says 170 medicines and 140 medical consumables are currently out of stock … 200 packages of medicine scheduled to arrive at Gaza last Thursday have yet to be seen, the Health Ministry said.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
PA accuses Hamas of selling donated medicine
The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry on Monday accused its counterpart in the Gaza Strip of selling donated medical aid to private pharmacies. The Ramallah-based ministry said five convoys had delivered almost 1,600 tons of medical aid to the coastal enclave so far in 2011. However, only a few tons of the donated medicine reached the PA ministry’s warehouse in the Gaza Strip, the ministry said in a statement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=355739
PA sends medical aid to Gaza
The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday dispatched 10 truckloads of medical aid to the Gaza Strip, said PA Health Minister Fathi Abu Moghli. Abu Moghli said the aid was worth around $878,000 and included medicine, laboratory supplies, milk formula and five refrigerators. He added that 55 percent of medicine purchased by the ministry was made in Palestine, and the rest was produced abroad.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356271
Christian Peacemaker Teams Hebron: A normal day in the lives of my Palestine neighbors / Paulette Schroeder
Our neighbor Haniya shrugged her shoulders as she spoke in a disheartened way: ”This is all normal for us now. What can we do anyway?” Yet, when I see armed Israeli soldiers on the rooftops, and when I witness Palestinians going through checkpoints to go to the Mosque, I see this Occupation as an ongoing, huge human tragedy. It’s been a long 40+ years now that the Israeli Occupation has ruled a huge section of the West Bank. Here Martial law governs thousands of people’s lives in almost every aspect of their days: travel: to their families, to schools, to health services, to their farms or to their stores.
http://groups.google.com/group/newprofile/browse_thread/thread/d469cf3f06c18694
In Gaza, poverty cuts short one boy’s dreams
…From birth, Abdul Rahman has suffered from a congenital elephantiasis in his left arm and hand. Doctors in Gaza tried to reduce the tissue swelling with surgical procedures, but Abdul Rahman’s condition returned shortly after the surgery. Abdul Rahman’s mother, Umm Waleed, talked about her struggles with poverty and need.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9477&Itemid=1
2 Gaza crossings operate
Aid, commercial goods and construction material are set to enter Gaza on Tuesday via two open terminals, Israeli crossings officials informed their Palestinian counterparts. In the south, Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh said 140 to 150 truckloads of commercial goods and humanitarian aid would enter via the Kerem Shalom crossing, including 7 truckloads of iron rebar and other construction material for projects sponsored by the UNRWA.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356009
Reprisals
Grad rockets hit near Netivot, Ofakim
Tensions in Egypt appear to be spreading to Gaza: Grad rockets fired from the Hamas-ruled territory Monday night landed near the southern Israeli cities of Ofakim and Netivot. Also Monday, a Qassam rocket exploded in an open area in the Eshkol Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported. During the rocket attack on Netivot- the first attack on Israel since the mass protests against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak began a week ago – four people suffered from shock, and damage was caused to a road and a parked car [why are Palestinians never said to be suffering from shock?]
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4022042,00.html
Report: Jihad post attacked in Gaza
Several hours after Grad rockets hit southern Israeli towns, Palestinian sources say Navy bombed al-Quds Brigades facility west of Khan Younis. IDF says unfamiliar with incident
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4022248,00.html
Egyptian uprising and Palestine
Police in Gaza break up Egypt solidarity rally
Police in the Gaza Strip shut down a demonstration Monday in support of the uprising in Egypt. Activists said six women and eight men were arrested at a park in Gaza City, where a few dozen demonstrators had gathered. The women were released after a few hours … Asmaa Al-Ghoul, a Gaza-based journalist and writer, was among those detained. “Hamas police arrested me with group of demonstrators in Gaza in solidarity with Egyptian people,” she wrote on Twitter. “Women’s police beat me violently” and detained other young women.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356092
Photos: PA prevents demonstrations in front of Egyptian embassy in Ramallah
31 Jan Palestine Monitor – There were only about 30 people in front of the Egyptian embassy on Sunday afternoon, attending the demonstration that had been called in support of the Egyptian people. The bitter cold, as well as rumors of cancellation due to rain are probably accountable for the small figure. Yet, the Palestinian Authority had prepared for the worst, it seems, calling in not only the police but also the army and protection forces to the scene. The PA force to demonstrator ratio was about 1.5 to 1.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1672
PFLP backs Egypt uprising
1 Feb – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — “At this great and pinnacle moment for the Arab people,” the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine announced Tuesday, “we totally and unwaveringly stand by the choice of the Egyptian nation for democracy and progress.” In the first public statement issued by any Palestinian faction, the PFLP came out in vehement support of the Egyptian protesters
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356196
MP Ramadan to PA: Come to terms with people or prepare for protests
AL-KHALIL, (PIC) 1 Feb — MP Nazar Ramadan said if Palestinian leaders do not want to see another Tunisia or Egypt, they must come to terms with the people. Ramadan represents the Change and Reform bloc in the Palestinian Legislative Council. Dramatic events that developed in Tunisia and Egypt are a lesson for all to take, he told the PIC.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Q
Palestinian media mum on Egypt protests / Nasser Lahham
Silence prevailed, from the Palestinian Authority, the government in Gaza, the factions and the people; all kept a safe distance from the Egyptian hot potato for fear that coming out on the wrong side would impact their future. As with Lebanon and Tunis, the shadow of former President Yasser Arafat’s strong support of Saddam Hussein when he invaded Kuwait still hangs long over Palestinian foreign policy. For Arafat’s support in the 1990s, Palestinians were expelled from the gulf states, had properties seized and accounts frozen. For a people who helped build the gulf, support of the wrong regime saw a second home become unwelcoming.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=355890
Palestinians join Egyptians to defend properties
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) 1 Feb — Palestinians in Egypt say they have been forced to join vigilante groups to protect their property as huge anti-government protests rage for an eighth day … Muhammad Al-Balbul, a student at October 6 University, said he lives with dozens of Palestinian students close to several Egyptian prisons. Thousands of prisoners have escaped in mass jail breaks since protests erupted … There is a sizable community of 28,000 Palestinians in Egypt, including 9,000 students, according to Khalouf … Meanwhile, 60 Palestinian families from Gaza are stranded in Cairo International Airport and in Rafah, following the closure of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356238
Egyptian uprising and Israel
A democratic Egypt may save Palestinian and Lebanese lives / Alex B Kane
When Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in 1979, one of the big dividends for Israel was the removal of a major military threat on their doorstep. Egypt had participated in wars against Israel in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973. But since the Camp David peace treaty, Israel has been able to wage war on the Palestinians and other Arab states like Lebanon without having to worry about Egypt’s military stepping in. That may change once again if a democratic Egypt emerges from the uprising shaking the Mubarak regime.
http://alexbkane.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/a-democratic-egypt-may-save-palestinian-and-lebanese-lives/
Can Israel survive only in a dictatorial Middle East? / Yuval Ben-Ami
The revelation of Israel’s attempt to strengthen Mubarak’s regime evokes a powerful parable — One work of art that strongly affected my world view as a teenager was a science fiction story: “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by American author Ursuala K. Le Guin. Omelas, its setting, was described as a city of enormous splendor, a place of ultimate prosperity and joy. There was a price for all this. In order for Omelas to remain so splendid, a child must be kept perpetually in a filthy basement. He is mentally handicapped and deeply terrified of two brooms that are leaning against the basement’s wall. Only as long as he is there and no one exchanges a word with him, will Omelas remain the perfect city that it is.
http://972mag.com/the-omelas-complex-must-israel-keep-egypt-in-the-basement/
Police to boost security around Egyptian embassy in TA
Egyptian ambassador to Israel, Tel Aviv district police chief decide to step up security measures around embassy compound following recent unrest. Leftist plan to hold solidarity rally with Egyptian protesters in front of building on Tuesday
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4022209,00.html
Peres on Egypt: Learn from Gaza
President reminds German chancellor that Hamas rose to power following democratic elections in Gaza, says ‘we must ensure that human rights are guaranteed in a real democracy’
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4022378,00.html
Politics / Diplomacy
Suriname recognizes Palestinian state
The Republic of Suriname on Tuesday became the latest South American country to recognize a Palestinian state on 1967 borders, Palestinian Authority Foreign Affairs Minister Riad Al-Malki said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356264
South African Embassy meets with Hamas MPs in Ramallah
RAMALLAH, (PIC) 1 Feb — Officials from the South African Embassy in Palestine met West Bank Hamas MPs Monday in Ramallah to discuss diplomatic solutions to problems faced by Palestinian elected officials. Palestinian MPs in Jerusalem have been sitting in at the Red Cross for months to protest decisions to have them exiled from the holy city. Embassy consultant Michael Van Nikirk responded: “We are gathering data and putting it before the Foreign Ministry and discussing ways to help through diplomatic means.” The delegation said they have been discussing the matter with the South African Parliament.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U
Likud activists in West Bank get cash bonus to recruit members
One of the group’s purposes, its website says, is to rid the Knesset of ministers Michael Eitan and Dan Meridor, who it says have ‘shifted to the Zionist left.’ … The recruiters are transported from Jerusalem and Ariel to the various settlements, where they are supposed to go from door to door. The “national camp” intends to register thousands of ideological members in the settlements.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/likud-activists-in-west-bank-get-cash-bonus-to-recruit-members-1.340462
Netanyahu: World must demand Egypt respects Israeli peace
JERUSALEM (AFP) — The international community must demand that any future Egyptian government respects the 30-year peace treaty with Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday. (End)
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356268
Merkel: Israel missing historic opportunity
German chancellor says stalemate in peace talks dangerous, settlement construction must stop. ‘Europe won’t turn its back on Israel and neither will US,’ she adds. On Egypt Merkel says US has not ‘stabbed Mubarak in back’
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4022469,00.html
Livni warns Merkel regional instability may be exploited by Irant
In their meeting, Livni and Merkel also discussed Israel’s stalled peace process with the Palestinians. Livni was quoted saying that negotiations were in Israel’s national interest, and not a favor to the Palestinians or Europeans.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/livni-warns-merkel-regional-instability-may-be-exploited-by-iran-1.340578
Other news
Gov’t building ties with Christian community in Gaza
GAZA, (PIC)– The Gaza religious affairs ministry said it is working to strengthen ties with the Christian community in the Strip. Minister Talib Abu Sha’ar met with George Hernandez, pastor of the Church of the Holy Family, while making rounds to the Latin Monastery Church in Gaza city amid attempts to strengthen cooperation between the government and the Christian Palestinians … As Palestinian citizens, they have rights and duties, Abu Sha’ar said. He expressed hope that Gaza would become a world model for providing safety and protection to Islamic and Christian holy sites alike.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%
Gaza gov’t gives okay to re-open cinemas
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Amid rumors that a new movie theater could open soon in the Gaza Strip, officials at the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Culture announced Tuesday that the move would be welcomed. “We believe that art is a basic element of every society, and we encourage art festivals, special film festivals, and have no objection to the re-opening of Gaza’s cinemas,” Gaza’s Culture Minister Osama Al-Issawi said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356149
OPGAI brings together Palestinian political forces, Kairos initiative
1 Feb – The Occupied Palestine and Syrian Golan Advocacy Initiative (OPGAI) called upon all national and Islamic political parties and movements in Palestine to join in support of the Kairos Palestine Document … The participants confirmed the importance of the Kairos Palestine Document as a direct plea to the churches of the world to reconsider their fundamental theological positions in support of Israeli occupation policies, demanding unequivocally, the withdrawal of all theological cover and support to the injustices that mark Palestinian life.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/news/3241-opgai-brings-together-palestinian-political-forces-kairos-initiative
Heavy rains cause floods in Gaza City
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Civil Defense responded Tuesday to massive flooding in the Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, after heavy overnight rainfall clogged drain systems and water levels rose into first floor homes.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356124
Khan Younis residents flooded out of homes
KHAN YOUNIS (Ma’an) — In the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, 15 homes in the Al-Amal neighborhood were evacuated by Civil Defense Forces on Tuesday, after heavy rains fell overnight.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356148
Israel – Repression of dissent, Racism
Facebook caves in to demands of Israeli radical right
1 Feb – The Facebook corporation shut down the pages of tens of Israeli left-wing organizations in recent days following an organized campaign by radical right-wing activists. The right wing activists exploited a bureaucratic procedure which allows Facebook users to report organizations using personal pages instead of “company pages” and they inundated the network with complaints of improper use of the site. Although there are hundreds of Israeli groups from the entire political spectrum which are currently registered as personal profiles, Facebook decided to remove from the site, and without providing any advance notice or explanation, only those groups targeted by the right.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/news/3242-facebook-caves-in-to-demands-of-israeli-radical-right-
MKs hold stormy debate over leftist probe
Knesset’s House Committee discusses Yisrael Beiteinu proposal to form parliamentary commission of inquiry to investigate leftist organizations’ funding resources. ‘Why don’t we also bring Kahane back from the dead?’ says MK Tibi
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4022354,00.html
Ultra-Orthodox Jews push for non-employment of Arabs
NAZARETH, (PIC) 1 Feb — Ultra-orthodox Jews have launched an onslaught of racial campaigns targeting Arabs in the workplace. Thousands of leaflets and posters are circulating in ultra-orthodox neighborhoods dissuading Jewish employment of Arabs and calling for boycotts on Israeli commercial centers that oppose the movement, Israeli Army Radio said. “We must refrain from bringing the enemies of Israel to our neighborhoods,” one pamphlet reads … The Jewish Lihava organization which opposes Jewish mixing with other religions has issued what it is calling the “Kosher certificate” for all businesses that do not employ Arabs.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%
Beinish criticizes town’s reception committee
High Court discusses petition filed by Arab couple rejected by Jewish community. ‘This isn’t a haredi community, but a communal settlement. What is the personal flaw in these people?’ asks Supreme Court president … Justice Elyakim Rubinstein added, “We really don’t want this case to turn into another war on whether Arabs and Jews can live together.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4022358,00.html
Analysis / Opinion
A Palestinian state within the 1967 borders: settlements vs. sovereignty / Philip C. Wilcox, Jr.
Today, few disagree that without massive withdrawals from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where over 500,000 settlers now live, there is no hope for a two-state peace. A majority of Israelis also agree that an end to the conflict, preservation of a democratic, Jewish Israel, and freedom and statehood for Palestinians, are impossible without a radical reversal of Israel’s misbegotten settlement adventure. Israel’s 43-year national project of settling the territory occupied in 1967 was designed to create “facts on the ground” that would maintain Israeli control and thwart Palestinian self-determination.
http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/82581
‘Economic peace’ betrays the hand of a grasping Israeli right / Jonathan Cook
1 Feb — …as the US-sponsored peace talks have gradually faded from view over recent months, Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s prime minister, has been happily reverting to his default position on solving the conflict: ‘economic peace’. Mr Netanyahu’s policy applies in practice only to some Palestinians – Gaza’s population of 1.5 million continues to struggle under a still-oppressive, although marginally eased, blockade. But in the West Bank, Israeli officials say, life is looking up: the sparser checkpoints mean freedom of movement and trade is being restored, and economic growth is climbing steadily as a result. Spin aside, however, the goal of economic peace is more concerned with Israel’s diplomatic advantage than the welfare of Palestinians. It is a stalling tactic to evade a peace deal that would require the drawing of borders between two states
http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/comment/economic-peace-betrays-the-hand-of-a-grasping-israeli-right
Palestinian Authority’s back to wall after Al Jazeera revelations / Jonathan Cook
NAZARETH 31 Jan // Is the Palestinian Authority finished and, with it, 18 years of the Middle East peace process? That is the question increasingly being asked by Palestinians in the wake of a week of damaging revelations that Palestinian negotiators secretly made major concessions to Israel in talks on Jerusalem, refugees and borders. The PA – the Palestinians’ government-in-the-making, led by Mahmoud Abbas – was already in crisis before the disclosure of official Palestinian documents by Al Jazeera television last week.
http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/middle-east/palestinian-authoritys-back-to-wall-after-al-jazeera-revelations
Iraq / Afghanistan
Monday: 3 Iraqis killed, 20 wounded
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki promised Iraqis that certain agencies would not lose their independence even though they will be placed under his cabinet’s authority. Meanwhile, several personnel from various ministries were killed or injured during attacks in the capital. At least three Iraqis were killed and 20 more were wounded there. Mysteriously, no attacks occurred elsewhere.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/01/31/monday-3-iraqis-killed-20-wounded/
Afghanistan: Few health services for IDPs as winter bites
KABUL, 1 February 2011 (IRIN) – Tens of thousands of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan are vulnerable to cold-related diseases but have little or no access to health services, according to aid agencies. Over 350,000 IDPs, including about 155,000 people displaced by conflict since November 2009, are living in camps and informal settlements in different parts of the country, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=91794
US soldier accused of killing 3 Afghans for sport will face military trial
SEATTLE (AP) — The Army will try in military court one of five soldiers accused of killing civilians in Afghanistan for sport, it said Monday, despite an investigator’s recommendations to drop the murder and conspiracy charges.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fgw-afghanistan-soldier-trial-20110202,0,2084478.story
Afghan civilian deaths hit record levels in 2010 / Amanda Terkel
WASHINGTON 1 Feb — At least 2,421 civilians were killed in Afghanistan last year, a record high since the U.S. invasion in 2001, according to a new report. The report, released Tuesday by the Kabul-based Afghan Rights Monitor, said more than 3,270 civilians were also injured in conflict-related security incidents … The report blamed armed opposition groups (AOGs) for 63 percent of the civilian deaths and U.S.-NATO coalition forces for 21 percent of them.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/01-7
Other Arab world / Mideast
Jordan’s king sacks cabinet
Monarch asks ex-army general to form new government in the wake of streets protests over prices and reforms.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/02/20112113957115258.html
Jordan’s Islamists slam king’s choice of new PM
AMMAN, Jordan (AFP) — Jordan’s powerful opposition Islamic Action Front on Tuesday sharply criticized King Abdullah II’s choice of Maaruf Bakhit as new prime minister, saying he is not a reformist.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356234
EU freezes assets of Ben Ali and wife
BRUSSELS (AFP) — Europe’s foreign ministers on Monday froze the assets of ousted Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his wife in response to a request from the Tunisian authorities … Tunisia’s former leading couple and their inner circle are suspected of having pocketed much of the country’s wealth over years and of taking personal stakes in much of the economy.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356131
New suicide protest in Tunisia
TUNIS (AFP) — An unemployed Tunisian was in critical condition on Tuesday after setting himself on fire in protest at economic conditions in the country, a union official said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356121
Morocco watches nervously as Egypt erupts
RABAT (AFP) — Morocco is watching nervously as other North African countries erupt in revolt, with warnings even from within the royal family that it will probably not be spared.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=356162
WikiLeaks
Libya WikiLeaks: Libyan response to ongoing events in Gaza
Date: 1/14/2009 14:56 Origin: Embassy Tripoli … Comment: The high-profile efforts to send humanitarian supplies and carefully managed (so far) demonstrations in Tripoli reflect the regime’s effort to strike a balance between public demonstrations of solidarity with Palestinians and private concern that its efforts on Gaza not come at too high a diplomatic cost…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wikileaks-files/libya-wikileaks/8294908/LIBYAN-RESPONSE-TO-ONGOING-EVENTS-IN-GAZA.html
U.S.
As Arabs rise up, US activists must also persevere / Maureen Clare Murphy
Government oppression of peoples’ democratic rights is not something endured only in the Middle East, however. Here in the United States, there has been a long history of repression of peoples’ struggles. Today that repression is keenly felt by members of the US Muslim and Arab communities, and increasingly by those who stand in solidarity with and who organize in support of the Palestinian people.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11765.shtml
Important Action Alert for US Citizens / Committee to Stop FBI Repression
Feb 1: National Call-In Day to Fitzpatrick, Holder and Obama — Over 50 cities, hundreds of groups, and thousands of people protested against FBI and U.S. Grand Jury repression on Tuesday January 25. The protests are a response to ongoing and expanding repression originating from U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s office in Chicago. On September 24th, the FBI raided anti-war and solidarity activists’ homes and subpoenaed fourteen in Chicago, Minneapolis, and Michigan … Now we are asking you to call those in charge of the repression aimed against anti-war leaders and the growing Palestine solidarity movement.
http://groups.google.com/group/newprofile/browse_thread/thread/60aa3730a4e8ae9f
The Egyptian revolution is coming — to the USA / Philip Weiss
The Egyptian revolution is sure to have a great victory within days: the ouster of Mubarak. But a greater victory even than that will be the liberation of American thinking from the crude paradigms about the Middle East that have held our political imagination in such thrall for 50 years. I speak as someone who for all my liberalism was also captured by those paradigms, who so doubted the Arab world I would never have dared to imagine what is happening in Cairo. But today the darers and dreamers of Tahrir Square hold up signs in English because they know they are leading me too.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/the-egyptian-revolution-is-coming-to-the-u-s.html
Brooklyn College reinstates teacher fired for scholarship on Palestine / Zoe Zenowich
Brooklyn College’s decision today to reinstate Kristofer Petersen-Overton’s teaching position is being hailed as a victory for academic freedom. Petersen-Overton, a PhD student at CUNY’s Graduate Center, was let go just 24-hours after state assemblyman Dov Hikind allegedly contacted CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein to complain of Petersen-Overton’s supposed sympathy for suicide bombers. Hikind, a former Brooklyn College alumnus, previously made his mark in the smear campaign that led to the removal of educator Debbie Almontaser.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/brooklyn-college-reinstates-teacher-fired-for-scholarship-on-palestine.html
Huckabee says no Palestinian state in West Bank
JERUSALEM — Potential 2012 U.S. presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said Tuesday that if Palestinians want an independent state, they should seek it from Arabs – not Israel. The evangelical minister and Fox News host said Jews should be allowed to settle anywhere throughout the biblical Land of Israel – an area that includes the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20110201/ml-israel-huckabee/
Where are the black voices on Egypt and Tunisia? / Joel Dreyfuss
African Americans have traditionally been the conscience of the country on foreign policy issues. But as Tunisia and Egypt erupt, we have been strangely mute … Rep. Cleaver concedes that the CBC [Congressional Black Caucus] has said little so far about Tunisia and Egypt, arguing that events have moved too fast and admitting that the overwhelmingly Democratic group wants to avoid making statements that might appear anti-Obama.
http://www.theroot.com/views/hed-where-are-black-voices-egypt-and-tunisia?wpsrc=OB00000001&wpisrc=obnetwork
US Senate Democrats reject Tea Party leader’s call to cut Israel aid
(AP) Six Senate Democrats rejected on Tuesday a deficit-driven proposal by a new Republican senator to cut United States aid to Israel. In a letter Tuesday to the top House Republicans on the Appropriations and Budget committees, the Democrats said aid to Israel, the only democratic nation in the Middle East, is imperative. They backed the $3 billion in foreign military assistance that the U.S. provides annually to Israel. http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/u-s-senate-democrats-reject-tea-party-leader-s-call-to-cut-israel-aid-1.340601
J Street remains an outcast in the pro-Israel lobby / Natasha Mozgovaya
J Street announced several days ago its intention to lead the organization’s first 10 day Taglit-Birthright trip to Israel this summer, leading right-wingers to petition Birthright to bar the trip.
http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/focus-u-s-a/j-street-remains-an-outcast-in-the-pro-israel-lobby-1.340564
Why Washington clings to a failed Middle East strategy / Gareth Porter
The death throes of the Mubarak regime in Egypt signal a new level of crisis for a U.S. Middle East strategy that has shown itself over and over again in recent years to be based on nothing more than the illusion of power. The incipient loss of the U.S. client regime in Egypt is an obvious moment for a fundamental adjustment in that strategy. But those moments have been coming with increasing regularity in recent years, and the U.S. national security bureaucracy has shown itself to be remarkably resistant to giving it up.
http://original.antiwar.com/porter/2011/01/31/why-washington-clings-to-a-failed-middle-east-strategy/
