and other news from Today in Palestine:
Land, property, resources theft and destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlers
Haaretz ad recommends ‘return’-ing Palestinians to Jordan
A friend writes: I found this via Gaza mom Laila El-Haddad, her twitter feed: “Retweeted by gazamom and 100+ others: “anyone else see the vile ad on haaretz that calls for the expulsion of Palestinians to Jordan?? about 23 hours ago via web” I went to Haaretz and after browsing a few pages eventually had the ad pop up once. I saved and attached a screen shot for you. If you click on the add it goes to here.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/02/haaretz-ad-recommends-return-ing-palestinians-to-jordan.html
PA: Settlers vandalize Nablus villages
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 25 Feb — Settlers on Friday escalated attacks against Palestinians in villages south of the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian officials said. Palestinian Authority settlement official Ghassan Doughlas said residents of the illegal Yitzhar settlement set fire to a bulldozer belonging to Ibrahim Ishteiyah in Burin. Meanwhile in Jit, settlers sprayed racist graffiti and punctured the tires of villagers’ cars, Doughlas said. The PA official added added that settlers chopped down 25 trees belonging to Hassan and Mohammad Safadi in Urif.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=363226
Twilight Zone: Ghost town / Gideon Levy
25 Feb — …The picture changes in a twinkling. The well-kept (relatively ) and busy (relatively ) streets now give way to ghost streets. The lower down the slope we drive, the more deserted they are. Hundreds of locked, sealed stores, hundreds of abandoned apartments, blinds shut, windows barred, ancient stone homes that could be Palestinian heritage sites but are now desolate. Welcome to Hebron H2, under Israeli control, the way to the caves of the patriarchs and the matriarchs. The feeling of a vast cemetery strikes the visitor, a cemetery of property that was plundered and rights that were trampled. Welcome to the scene of the crime.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/twilight-zone-ghost-town-1.345658
Settler guards arrest Silwan youth on behalf of Israeli police
[with photos; more Silwan news below] Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 25 Feb — Settlers guards at the City of David tourism site arrested Ala Sumreen, 21, from Wadi Hilweh district of Silwan today. Sumreen was then turned over to Israeli police stationed at the entrance to the neighborhood. The arrest took place following an argument between Sumreen and the daughter of a settler as she stood near the home of Sumreen, which is located close to the tourist-settlement compound ”City of David.”
http://silwanic.net/?p=12630
Extrajudicial killings / Other violence
IDF targets Hamas in Gaza after rocket strike on Be’er Sheva
Haaretz 24 Feb — The Israeli Air Force targeted a car belonging to Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, one day after the town of Be’er Sheva was hit by long-range Grad rockets fired from the Strip. Hamas officials said Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a vehicle in the Al Salaam area of Rafah, killing one person and wounding several others … An Israeli airstrike was also carried out on Wednesday in response to the rockets fired on Be’er Sheva. Palestinian sources reported that the airstrike in eastern Gaza City wounded three Islamic Jihad militants
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/idf-targets-hamas-in-gaza-after-rocket-strike-on-be-er-sheva-1.345507
Palestinians injured in Gaza airstrike
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — An Israeli airstrike targeted southern Gaza late Thursday, moderately injuring two Palestinians in an attack on a vehicle in the city of Rafah … At least one of the victims was still in the vehicle, which was on fire after sustaining four direct strikes, witnesses said. Residents of Khan Younis confirmed hearing four distinct explosions around the time of the attack. Witnesses said the vehicle belonged to the government in Gaza. Israel’s army said the attack targeted “terror operatives” in southern Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=363138
Escalation with Gaza will likely be contained within a few days
Haaretz 25 Feb — The extraordinary tension along the border with the Gaza Strip, which included the unusual launching of a Grad-type Katyusha at Be’er Sheva on Wednesday, appears now to have been a minor incident and not some sort of strategic turning point … Intelligence suggests that the IDF was not alone in being caught off guard by the rockets. Hamas and even the leadership of Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip were apparently not aware of the militants’ intentions. Israel, for its part, carried out a relatively large number of attacks on three separate occasions during a single day in an effort to stress the message that any attack on communities, and certainly on a city like Be’er Sheva, constitutes a red line. Since the rocket launch, Hamas took a number of steps to contain the situation.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/escalation-with-gaza-will-likely-be-contained-within-a-few-days-1.345547
Murdered Jerusalem subjected to racism even in death / Jillian Kestler-D‘Amours
EI 25 Feb — All Hussain Hassan Rwidy wanted was to bury his son. “They took me to see the investigator who worked on the case. He called me inside [his office], alone, and asked me, ‘Are you strong?'” I said to him, ‘I want my son,'” Rwidy told The Electronic Intifada. “He said directly to me, ‘Your son died …'” Rwidy paused, then continued. “‘Your son died, and there are two people arrested.’
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11830.shtml
Young Palestinian shot in the spine by Israeli forces during clashes
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 25 Feb — Medical sources state that a young Palestinian man recently arrived at an unnamed Jerusalem hospital seriously wounded by a rubber bullet fired “randomly” by Israeli forces during clashes. The bullet is said to be lodged in the young man’s spine and his condition is described as serious. Violent clashes have swept through Silwan this afternoon, sparked by the firing of tear gas by Israeli forces at Palestinian residents preparing for the weekly public prayer in Al-Bustan protest tent.
http://silwanic.net/?p=12642
Sound grenades cause serious injury during clashes
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 25 Feb — A Palestinian youth has sustained injuries in his chest after being hit with two sound grenades during clashes in Silwan. Medical sources confirm that his injured by sound grenades remains in a critical condition in hospital. Clashes have meanwhile spread to the outskirts of Wadi Hilweh and Al Bustan neighborhoods, having also erupted in Ras Al-Amoud where dozens of Palestinian residents have suffered asphyxiation due to tear gas inhalation caused by heavy Israeli use of gas grenades. Clashes remain underway in Ein Fouqa, Ein Tahta and Samer Sarhan Street areas.
http://silwanic.net/?p=12095
Detention
Detention of child prisoners extended by Magistrates Court
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 24 Feb — The detention of several child prisoners from Jerusalem were extended by the Magistrates Court on 22 February. Mufeed Mohammed Obeid (16), Ahmed Atef Obeid (16) and Mohammed Mileihat (16), in addition to 30 year old Naif Obaid, were all arrested on suspicion of involvement in clashes with Israeli forces in Issawiya village of northern Jerusalem earlier this month. The detention of five youths accused of participating in clashes in Shuafat Camp were extended by the court yesterday….
http://silwanic.net/?p=12564
Conference at UN headquarters to shift world attention to Palestinian POWs
GAZA, (PIC) 24 Feb — Fouad Al-Khafsh, director of the Ahrar human rights center in Gaza, anticipated that the widely participated conference on prisoner rights to be held March 11 at UN headquarters in Geneva is sure to shift the world’s attention to the cause of Palestinian prisoners of war and politics.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc
Hamas: PA detained 7 members
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 25 Feb — Palestinian Authority security forces detained seven Hamas members across the West Bank on Thursday, the Islamist movement said. In a statement, Hamas said its affiliates were arrested in Jenin, Hebron and Nablus.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=363240
Siege / Restriction of movement / Rights violations
Gaza crossings closed until Sunday
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 Feb – Israeli authorities decidedly to close both crossings into the Gaza Strip on Friday and Saturday, Palestinian officials said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=363213
Twilight Zone: Good riddance / Gideon Levy
18 Feb — Bad memories of the Hawara checkpoint, abandoned this week by the IDF [was it? There are conflicting reports] … No longer did speakers blare orders (“get out of here” ) from Israeli soldiers, in Arabic. No longer do you see soldiers hurling rocks at taxis that dare approach the crossing point, nor can you see civilians with their hands tied and eyes blindfolded sitting on the muddy ground, waiting for hours, in wind, rain or blazing sun, as soldiers decide their fate. Nor can you spot wheelchairs stuck in garbage-strewn earth, or residents carrying refrigerators on their backs. There are no soldiers holding X-ray photos up to the sunlight to decide whether people really need to get to the hospital.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/twilight-zone-good-riddance-1.344204
PCHR weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (17-12 Feb 2011
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MMAH-8EE334?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Reprisals
Islamic Jihad fighter buried in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 Feb — Palestinians on Thursday mourned Adel Jundiyah, a member of the Islamic Jihad movement, who died of wounds sustained in Israeli artillery shelling of eastern Gaza on Wednesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=363115
Activism / Solidarity
Hebron protesters clash with Israeli troops
HEBRON, Palestinian Territories (AFP) 25 Feb — At least nine people were wounded on Friday as Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli troops in the southern West Bank town of Hebron, medics and the army said. Some of the estimated 1,000 protesters, who included Israelis and foreign activists, threw stones at troops, who responded with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets … The demonstration, which called for the reopening of one of the city’s main streets, came on the anniversary of the 1994 massacre of 29 Palestinians in Hebron by a Jewish extremist … Also on Friday, Palestinians rallied in Bil‘in, Na‘alin, Nabi Saleh and Al-Ma‘asara against the construction of the West Bank security fence.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110225/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestiniansconflictprotest
Hebron prepares for rallies to open iconic street
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 25 Feb — Palestinians will soon demand access to a street closed to them since 1994 in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. Marking the 17fh year since the so-called Ibrahimi Mosque massacre at the hands of an Israeli settler, the Palestinians will carry out a series of protests calling for the opening of Shuhada street, which Israel closed in 1994. The protests will be attended by a number of international peace activists, according to Youth Against Settlements, an activist group. They hope the street will be open to Palestinians after a series of demonstrations. In 1994, Baruch Goldstein shot dead 29 Palestinians as they prayed in the Ibrahimi Mosque, known in Israel as the Cave of the Patriarchs. The massacre sparked a series of clashes that left dozens on both sides dead. [and set off the first suicide bombings in Israel a few weeks later]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=363082
Soldiers arrest 11 people as they attack anti-wall protests [roundup]
Hebron — PNN 25 Feb — This Friday Anti wall protests were organized in the village of al-Ma‘ssara and the Old City in Hebron, southern West Bank, as well as Bil‘in, Ni‘lin and Nabi Saleh in central West Bank.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9617&Itemid=56
Madrid protests Israeli visit, urges ban
PressTV 25 Feb – Hundreds of demonstrators in Spain have protested a visit by Israeli President Shimon Peres, calling for the immediate lifing of the siege on Gaza by the Tel Aviv regime.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/166937.html
Father of Furkan Dogan, slain on flotilla, seeks justice
EI 24 Feb — As Dr. Ahmet Doğan drove from his home town of Kayseri to the Istanbul airport on 3 June 2010 — three days after Israel attacked the Mavi Marmara and killed nine unarmed activists taking humanitarian aid to the occupied Gaza Strip — he was still firmly confident his son Furkan was returning home to him.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11826.shtml
A father speaks for his son / Ahmet Dogan
24 Feb — My son, Furkan, was killed in May by the Israeli military while attempting to deliver humanitarian aid by sea to the Gaza Strip. As he was just 19, he asked his mother and me for our permission to participate. Our decision will be with us for the rest of our lives … never did I imagine that the Israeli military would storm his ship, killing Furkan and eight others, and then blame our son and his co-passengers for their own deaths.
http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/A-father-speaks-for-his-son-1027970.php
Politics / International relations
Israel reopens embassy in Cairo
MEMO 25 Feb — … The decision was made by the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The Zionist state’s Ambassador to Cairo set out his country’s assessment of the possible scenarios in a post-Mubarak Egypt, one of which implies that Egypt’s Supreme Military Council will nominate a candidate in the presidential election. It is believed that one candidate may be Chief of Staff Sami Enan, who has good relations with Israel.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/2088-israel-reopens-embassy-in-cairo
Merkel chides Netanyahu for failing to make a single step to advance peace
Haaretz 25 Feb — In a tense telephone call, PM tells German chancellor that he was disappointed by Germany’s vote at UN, but assures her he intends to launch new peace plan soon; Merkel reportedly did not believe Netanyahu, saying he disappointed her.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/merkel-chides-netanyahu-for-failing-to-make-a-single-step-to-advance-peace-1.345539
Quartet tries new Israeli-Palestinian peace bid
AP 25 Feb — Envoys from the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia are hoping to hold separate meetings with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to try to revive peace talks, the UN’s Mideast coordinator said Thursday. Robert Serry said the so-called Quartet of Mideast mediators has proposed meetings with the two sides on all core issues blocking a peace settlement. They include borders of a Palestinian state, security arrangements, the fate of Palestinian refugees and the status of Jerusalem.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4033937,00.html
Turkish TV crew snubbed by PM’s office
Ynet 24 Feb – No entrance to Turks? A Turkish television crew hired by the Polish media in order to cover Poland’s prime minister’s visit to Israel was not allowed to enter the Prime Minister’s Office compound. Ynet learned that two Polish television stations, including the popular TVP news channel, hired the TV crew from a well-known Turkish firm that provides such services worldwide.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4033832,00.html
Lebanon arrests dentist for ‘spying for Israel’
Ynet 25 Feb — Lebanese security forces Thursday night arrested a dentist from the southern Lebanese town of Marjayoun who is accused of spying for Israel. According to reports, 55-year-old Farouk Shukheir was arrested after authorities received intelligence information about his activity.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4034067,00.html
Other news
Israel investing $1.6 million in ‘new media warriors’
EI 24 Feb — The Israeli military establishment is once again on the offensive, but instead of high-tech weaponry and missiles, it is using computer screens, keyboards and rapid wireless connections to fight what Israeli military representatives are dubbing a “new media war.”
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11828.shtml
Demand soars for Birthright trips
Ynet 25 Feb — Record 40,000 eligible North American Jewish youths sign up for free 10-day educational journey to Israel this summer
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4033008,00.html
New tourism magazine launches in Palestine
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) …”The Travel Magazine” will be published every three months, said Rami Khalifeh, head of travel agencies in Palestine. The first issue provides 70 pages of information about events, tours, holy sites, restaurants and hotels, Khalifeh said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=363286
Palestinian fashion designer’s uncompromising debut
24 Feb — With style gurus and editors reveling in another pageant of new creations flaunted at London Fashion Week, a talented young Palestinian is bucking the trend with his own captivatingly unconventional designs.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11827.shtml
Analysis / Opinion
The PA’s meaningless deadlines / Ramzy Baroud
25 Feb — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his supporters in the Fatah party want us to believe that dramatic changes are underway in the occupied Palestinian territories. This is part of a strategy intended to offset any public dissatisfaction with the self-designated Palestinian leadership in the West Bank. The PA hopes the ‘news’ will create enough distraction to help it survive the current climate of major public-regime showdowns engulfing the Middle East.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=363243
8 most commonly held misconceptions about the Israel-Palestine conflict / Ira Chernus
21 Feb — Too many Americans hold dangerous misconceptions about the defining conflict in the Middle East. The Israeli occupation of the West Bank and blockade of Gaza goes on, seemingly without end. Israeli troops continue to kill innocent Palestinians. The United States arms Israel to the tune of $3 billion a year or more. And most progressives talk as if there’s not a thing anyone can do about it.
http://www.alternet.org/world/149992?page=entire
Don’t confuse us with facts
Haaretz 25 Feb — The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit may have changed over the years, but its motto remains the same: ambiguity and determination. A new book offers a collection of its historical press releases … The book also illustrates that the spokesman sometimes lies. In two cases, the accompanying, explanatory texts admit this. One example concerned the circumstances of the release of Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin from Israeli prison in 1997, in exchange for the release of Mossad agents who failed to assassinate Khaled Meshal in Jordan. The deal was presented mendaciously in the spokesman’s announcement as being struck as a result of Yassin’s fragile health, and as a humanitarian gesture to King Hussein.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/don-t-confuse-us-with-facts-1.345657
The economic mirage in the West Bank
MEMO 24 Feb — Ramallah in the West Bank is seen as a beacon of economic success and the symbol of economic development as the Palestinian Authority has pursued peace with Israel … Ramallah is, in fact, a bubble within the Palestinian economy of the West Bank just waiting to burst.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/resources/commentary-and-analysis/2085-the-economic-mirage-in-the-west-bank-ramallah
Gaza’s Islamist rulers hounding secular community / Diaa Hadid
GAZA CITY (AP) 25 Feb — After nearly four years of Hamas rule, the Gaza Strip’s small secular community is in tatters, decimated by the militant group’s campaign to impose its strict version of Islam in the coastal territory … Hamas officials say claims that they are trying to Islamize Gaza are meant to help deter the international community from recognizing their rule. “This isn’t true,” said Yousef Rizka, senior Hamas government official. “We respect freedom.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110225/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_palestinians_vanishing_seculars
The hole / Tal Niv
Haaretz 25 Feb — Thousands of photographs of stone-throwing have been taken in the occupied territories, but precisely this photograph, taken from behind, captures the unquantifiable thing, the essence of “the situation” here in its deepest sense … Yet the viewer gasps. Because there is a hole in this picture. A stone flies toward the clouds, and below lies something unseen. And looking at that hole, one sees the suffering, the essence of a primal complaint to the sky, to what’s there and is not listening, to empty space. It is absolute protest.
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/the-hole-1.345656
History
Video: Who were the first terrorists in the Middle East?
PressTV — Old British newsreel footage of bombings by Jewish groups like the Stern Gang and the Irgun, interviews with Palestinians who lived through the Nakba
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vsDJ3YivBSA
Iraq, Afghanistan
Thursday: 21 Iraqis killed, 42 wounded
At least 24 Iraqis were killed and 40 more were wounded today. The worst attack occurred during festivities in Ramadi. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki attempted to dissuade protesters from attending mass rallies tomorrow, and a shoe-throwing journalist is back in Iraq and back in the news. In a televised speech, P.M. Maliki claimed Saddam loyalists are behind tomorrow’s scheduled protests and al-Qaeda is planning attacks against demonstrators.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/02/24/thursday-21-iraqis-killed-42-wounded/
Friday: 21 Iraqis, 1 US soldier killed, 57 Iraqis wounded
Despite repeated attempts to prevent Iraqis from venting their frustration with government corruption and poor services, thousands gathered across the country for a “day of rage.” In several cities, the protests became destructive and deadly, but in others protesters’ demands were met. At least 21 Iraqis were killed and 57 more were wounded in demonstrations and other violence … Members of Human Rights Watch reported seeing Baghdad police attack protesters earlier this week, while Reporters Without Borders condemned a ban on live coverage of events in Tahrir Square. Police in Karbala went as far as detaining journalists, among 200 others today, in order to confiscate their recording equipment.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/02/25/friday-21-iraqis-1-us-soldier-killed-57-iraqis-wounded/
Video: 4.5 million orphans in Iraq; Protest over food and shelter
Reuters 19 Feb — Orphans join protests in Iraq to call for a better standard of living. Deborah Lutterbeck reports
http://www.uruknet.info/?new=75324
NATO helicopter kills five Afghan civilians, including two children
24 Feb — Five Afghan civilians in the desperately poor Kapisa Province were killed today by NATO troops while they were out hunting. NATO saw them, three men with bird-hunting rifles and two boys (aged 12 and 13), assumed they were insurgents, killing them.
http://news.antiwar.com/2011/02/24/nato-helicopter-kills-five-afghan-civilians-including-two-children/
Key soldier reaches plead deal in Afghan murder case
SEATTLE (Reuters) 24 Feb — A key suspect in the U.S. Army prosecution of soldiers accused of terrorizing unarmed Afghan civilians has agreed to plead guilty to murder charges next week and testify against his co-defendants, his lawyer said on Thursday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110225/us_nm/us_soldiers_crimes
Afghan security worst for 10 years, says UN
(AP) 24 Feb — …Robert Watkins, a Canadian diplomat and the UN’s deputy special representative in Afghanistan, alleged that security was “at its lowest point since the departure of the Taliban” following the 2001 invasion. He said the UN could rarely enter 40 per cent of the country, including Kandahar, and that access to areas it wanted to develop had progressively deteriorated over the past 10 years
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/afghan-security-worst-for-10-years-says-un-2223699.html
Yemen
Yemen protests: Tens of thousands hold pro- and anti-government rallies
SANA‘A (Reuters) 25 Feb — Tens of thousands of supporters and opponents of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh held rival demonstrations in the capital on Friday, in a test of support for the veteran leader’s 32-year rule. Protesters outside Sana‘a University, repeating slogans which have echoed round the Arab world since the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, chanted: “The people demand the downfall of the regime.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/25/yemen-protests-tens-of-th_n_828220.html
US
Arizona: Why an Iraqi woman fell victim to honor killing
TIME 25 Feb …On Feb. 22, Faleh al-Maleki was convicted of killing his daughter, committing aggravated assault against Khalaf and leaving the scene of a crime … Most honor crimes take place in villages in the developing world, however, not in the parking lot of a nondescript American welfare office. The U.S. is supposed to be the melting pot, where immigrants assimilate into the larger culture, discarding much of their native selves.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110225/us_time/08599205544500
