And more news from Today in Palestine:
Settlers / Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing
Video: Settlers defy razing orders, build on
Ynet 7 Mar — Despite razing orders issued by the Supreme Court, settlers from Beit El have built 48 housing units without permit on Palestinian private land since the end of the construction freeze. Last December, Yesh Din filed a petition with the High Court of Justice on behalf of landowner Abdul Rahman Kassem from the village of Dura al-Kara, to stop construction and prevent settlement there. In a hearing held one month later, the court issued an order prohibiting all construction work at the site. Supreme Court President Dorit Beinish leveled criticism at the state for failing to implement razing orders … Last Friday, Peace Now activists arrived at the site to check what was going on and discovered that construction work was still taking place. The activists documented the work in a video clip … Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer said: “Not just the Hilltop Youth but veteran settler leadership is breaking the law and ignoring court rulings. No wonder such a savage generation emerges if this is the way the establishment conducts itself.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4038566,00.html
Settler campaign: ‘Build, Bibi, build!’
Ynet 6 Mar — Following fear of ‘bold political move’, lack of construction permits, Yesha Council to launch new campaign against PM Netanyahu. ‘He’s worse than Barak and Olmert,’ they say
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4037963,00.html
Israel to sue Bedouin villagers for cost of demolition
IMEMC 4 Mar — The Alternative Information Center reports that Israel plans to sue the residents of al-Arakib, a Bedouin village in the Negev desert, for the costs of demolishing their homes. Al-Arakib has been demolished 18 times in the past year by the JNF and security forces. It is reported that the State Attorney’s Office is preparing to sue the residents for the costs of these demolitions, which are estimated to exceed NIS 1 million. The village is not recognized by the Israeli state and has been fighting an ongoing battle for recognition since the establishment of Israel in 1948.
http://imemc.org/article/60787
Settlers attacked farmers in ‘Iraq Burin, south of Nablus
ISM 6 Mar — Settlers attacked the villagers of ‘Iraq Burin on Sunday, the 6th of March. The farmers had received permission from the D.C.O. to farm their land for two days, and were accompanied by the Israeli military to protect them from violent settlers. Soldiers left the area and about 20 settlers came down and attacked the farmers, throwing stones and beating them with sticks. People from the village came to protect the farmers and managed to force the settlers back to the settlement. The Israeli Military then returned and fired tear gas at the villagers
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/03/16919/
Settlers provoke Palestinian villagers near Ramallah
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 6 Mar — Hundreds of Israel’s extremist settlers gathered near the central West Bank village of An-Nabi Salih in the Ramallah district Saturday, locals told Ma‘an, sparking unrest … In Hebron, residents reported being intimidated by dozens of settlers, who set off fireworks near the city’s Ibrahimi Mosque and marched through Palestinian neighborhoods in the southern West Bank city … A noticeable rise in settler attacks across the West Bank has led to fears of night raids by armed settlers in Palestinian villages. Analysts have expressed concerns that settlers plan to provoke a reaction from Palestinians which Israeli authorities could use to foil the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to control security in the West Bank.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=365952
Girls’ school evacuated after bomb threat
PM 4 Mar — …Diyaseen was in a meeting with a parent when the phone rang. In what sounded like a Hebrew accent to her, the caller said: “We are settlers. After all these threats, there are still people in the school? Right away, get them out of the school. Get them out of the way because we are on our way to bomb the school.” Recess was cancelled and word spread throughout the small village of ‘Einabouss (which means Eye of The Kiss in Arabic). Teachers clad in white hijabs watched for danger from Yitzhar’s outposts for trouble as parents came to school … Just down the road, Khiriya Hassan was emptying her home of charred tables, rugs and clothes. Three settlers shrouded in black attacked Khiriya’s house around 8:30pm the night of March 1st. “The first thing we heard was glass breaking, then there a molotov bomb was thrown into the house.” Khiriya said. Her family survived without physical injury – but her four-year old son Mohammed did not speak for three days. Her daughter Rimas cried while standing in the shadows of her ashen kitchen.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1701
Repression intensifies as plight of Abu Eid family prompts call for strike in Lydd / Alex Kane
(with video) Three months after Israeli bulldozers demolished the Abu Eid family’s seven homes in Lydd, Israel, and a week after Israeli authorities bulldozed the tents and caravans that gave the family shelter, Palestinian residents in the mixed city have called for a “school strike” to protest the actions.
http://alexbkane.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/repression-intensifies-as-plight-of-abu-eid-family-prompts-call-for-strike-in-lydd/
Israel plans work at contested Jerusalem holy site
JERUSALEM (Reuters) 6 Mar — Israel has given preliminary approval for renovations at a contested holy site in East Jerusalem where rebuilding has triggered violence in the past, a city official said Sunday. Municipal planners last week approved the project to repair an earthen ramp near the Mughrabi Gate connecting the Wailing Wall remnant of an ancient Jewish temple to a complex revered by Muslims and Jews, both of whom claim the area as their own.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110306/wl_nm/us_israel_palestinians_jerusalem
IOA extends control on Jenin land till 2013
JENIN, (PIC) 6 Mar — The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) informed Palestinian citizens in ten villages to the east and west of Jenin city that their land would remain under IOA control till 2013. The affected citizens said that the IOA informed them that 746 dunums of their land in five villages east of Jenin and five others west of the city would remain under IOA control until 2013.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcO
Havat Gilad inquiry determines forces acted proportionally
Ynet 6 Mar — Police inquiry findings presented Sunday to Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen deemed that defense forces acted appropriately during the Havat Gilad clashes last week in which 15 settlers were injured and which led to a series of protests and “price tag” activities by the extreme Right.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4038434,00.html
Settlers need not fear Netanyahu, and they know it / Zvi Bar’el
Haaretz 6 Mar — Our day of rage was a far cry from the huge protests staged by the Egyptian, Tunisian and Yemeni youth. But let’s face it, the people – in this case the settlers – don’t really want to ‘bring down’ our ‘regime.’
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/settlers-need-not-fear-netanyahu-and-they-know-it-1.347358
Violence
Palestinian workers injured in Jerusalem bomb blast
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 6 Mar — A Palestinian worker was injured Sunday morning in a pipe bomb blast near the Gilo settlement between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Jerusalem municipality refuse collector Iyad Bashir, 21, was taken by ambulance to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital with severe injuries to his hand. Preliminary investigations indicated that Bashir picked up a rubbish bag containing an explosive device, said Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Simmari … Local sources suggested extremist settlers were responsible for the attack, noting that several other Palestinian laborers working in settlement areas had been targeted in similar incidents in the past. Israeli police imposed a complete blackout on the investigation, Ma‘an’s reporter said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=366075
Israeli warplanes strike Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 6 Mar — Israeli warplanes targeted three areas in the central and northern Gaza Strip on Sunday morning … Witnesses said their homes shook when F16 fighter jets dropped missiles on an open area near a mosque in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City. They said some homes and shops near the mosque sustained material damage, but there were no injuries. South of Gaza City, Israeli warplanes fired two missiles at a [building] under construction belonging to the Islamic University. In the central Gaza Strip, planes fired an open space near the Zawayda Sports Club. The Israeli military said the strikes targeted “a terror tunnel in the northern Gaza Strip and two terror activity sites in the central Gaza Strip,” … The raids were in response to Palestinian projectile fire aimed toward Israel on Saturday, the statement added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=365901
Bombing in southern Gaza: 18-month-old child injured
ISM 3 Mar — On February 26, Jamal Abo Hiatham Sharikhi (33 years) had his home destroyed by bombing from the Israeli military, and his 18-month old daughter was injured on her head by broken glass. He described the experience in this way: “It was 2 o’clock in the afternoon. I was sleeping near the window, and my 18-month old daughter was sleeping next to me. I woke up terrified by an explosion very close: the window was shattered and my daughter was bleeding from the top of her head. When I cleaned her, I realized that there was a piece of glass embedded in the skin. Then I took her to the hospital.” Medics removed the glass and instructed him on how to care for the wound … This is not the first time Israeli violence has hit this family. Hitiam’s first wife was killed in 2007 while coming from Beit Lahya, trying to join her husband because the situation in the north was becoming dangerous. Her two children were traveling with her mother when a car that was hit by an Israeli bomb exploded near them. The mother and the driver were killed. When they brought the corpse of the mother to the hospital, she was still holding fast to her daughter of 15 days, and doctors struggled to separate her from the mother.
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/03/16904/
Scrap collector injured in the North
ISM updated 6 Mar — As his family was hungry but running out of cooking gas, Khaled Mohammed Al-Hsunmi (37) went out to collect wood. Cooking gas in Gaza is scarce and expensive (the siege does not allow much gas to enter), so Khaled regularly goes on a hunt for wood. Burning wood is plenty near the border, so he headed in this direction. The 26 of February he was at approximately 450 meters from the fence when an Israeli sniper hit him with a dum-dum bullet. The bullet, which explodes on impact and is illegal under the Geneva Convention, shattered the bones of his right lower leg … His 18-year old nephew, Bilal Shaban Al-Hsunmi, is one of the two people visiting him in the hospital today. Bilal was himself injured on December 11th, 2010, while working as a scrap collector 350 meters from the border. Bilal still walks around with the metal fixing on his leg. He was hit by a dum-dum bullet too and is also waiting for a transplantation surgery to fix his scattered leg bones.
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/03/16902/
Violence and trauma grips Silwan once again
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 5 Mar — Violent confrontations erupted in Silwan yesterday, with clashes sparked in Samer Sarhan Street and spreading throughout various districts of the village. Witnesses state that in addition to firing heavy amounts of rubber bullets at protesters, Israeli forces have begun using a new type of tear gas. Silwan resident Firas Rwidi was attacked by Israeli armed forces on his way home, when he was taken out of his car by force then shot with rubber bullets, sustaining direct injuries to his back near his kidney. Rwidi also sustained heavy injuries to the head when he was bashed by Israeli troops with sticks and a helmet. A Palestinian house was set alight and partially burnt in Baten al-Hawa after tear gas canisters were fired inside. Confrontations then spread to Ras al-Amoud district, which saw some of the worst violence of the day, with Israeli forces firing gratuitous amounts of rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas grenades. Medical sources state that a total of 17 were injured due to the clashes, including 10 from Ras al-Amoud alone. Amongst the injured were several children below 16 years of age. Dozens more inhaled heavy quantities of tear gas, with one medic stating that they handled 34 such cases on the ground alone.
http://silwanic.net/?p=12988
The names of the innocent who are killed / Vera Macht
DV 6 Mar — This article is about Omar Maruf. What makes this one so important when every day dozens of innocent people die all over the world? Why an article about this one? Omar Maruf was killed by a soldier who was heavily armed, and well equipped with everything the latest Western military industry has to offer. Omar was wearing old, dirty clothes, and collecting stones with his donkey. Omar was not even a so-called “collateral damage” who was unfortunately hit by a misguided bullet or bomb during a military attack … A young soldier on a sunny winter morning felt the need to kill a man his same age who he probably considered as not so important. He knew that this act would never have any consequences, that he wouldn’t have to justify that deed to anyone. Because it was a Palestinian who has no rights, whose life doesn’t count. This article is about Omar Maruf, because his life does count.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2011/03/the-names-of-the-innocent-who-are-killed/
IDF soldiers, ‘Jenin, Jenin’ director to face off in Supreme Court over libel suit
Haaretz 7 Mar — A group of IDF soldiers who took part in the 2002 battle of Jenin will take on filmmaker Mohammed Bakri, who directed the controversial documentary “Jenin, Jenin,” this morning in the Supreme Court. The justices are set to discuss the defamation suit brought by five soldiers who fought in the Jenin battle, as part of Operation Defensive Shield, and who object to Bakri’s 2003 film, which portrays Israeli soldiers as war criminals. The soldiers are appealing a lower court ruling, which held that their defamation claim lacked merit.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/idf-soldiers-jenin-jenin-director-to-face-off-in-supreme-court-over-libel-suit-1.347537
Gaza Palestinians fear renewal of IDF targeted killings policy
Ynet 6 Mar – Palestinian elements in the Gaza Strip report the Islamic Jihad Movement has raised its alert among members for fear of IDF renewing its targeted killings policy. The Palestinian elements told news agencies in Gaza that this policy might be renewed because of rumored weapon smuggling operations and the global focus on the Libyan uprising.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4038110,00.html
List of Israeli deliberate ‘targeted killings’ of Palestinians since Sept 2000
From the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. It can be difficult sometimes to navigate to just the page one is looking for, but it’s worth the trouble. These targeted killings use methods ranging from a bomb in a telephone booth, car, or house to a sniper’s gunshot to a missile shot from a helicopter. These lists give names, ages, places, and killing methods used.
West Bank assassinations Sept 2000-Aug 2006 (none recorded since) here Total: 82
Gaza assassinations Sept 2000-present (latest 11 Jan 2011): 320
http://www.btselem.org/english/statistics/
Siege
Post-Mubarak, Egypt-Gaza crossing rules tighten
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 6 Mar — ..From the start of the Egyptian revolution in January, Gaza residents expressed hope that a change in the Egyptian regime would lead to the easing of restrictions at the Rafah crossing, which connects the coastal enclave to the Arab world. “You can’t cross to Egypt, for security reasons, is the only explanation you hear,” one traveler told Ma‘an, saying he heard a man in front of him in line with medical papers turned back on the same grounds. “It’s the same suffering and the same pretext we hear when we try to cross via [Israel’s] Erez crossing in the north,” he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=366079
Egyptians marching to Gaza border
PressTV 6 Mar — Hundreds of Egyptians are marching to the country’s border with the Gaza Strip to demand that it be opened. They are currently in Al Arish, about 50 kilometers from Rafah. Press TV correspondent Roshan Muhammed Salih is also in Al Arish, where he spoke to several of the Egyptian activists, who told him they plan to hold a demonstration on the border on Sunday, with the aim of entering the besieged territory … The initiative to open the Gaza border is the brainchild of the Tahrir4Gaza campaign, whose organizers say they want to test the extent to which Egypt has really changed since its revolution.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168407.html
Egypt considering easing Gaza blockade
AP 3 Mar — An Egyptian diplomat said Sunday his country’s military leadership is considering loosening the travel restrictions on Palestinians leaving the neighboring Gaza Strip … Yasser Othman, the Egyptian ambassador to the Palestinians, said Sunday no immediate changes are planned. But he said “there are calls” in Egypt to reopen the crossing, and changes will be considered when the situation stabilizes
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/egypt-considering-easing-gaza-blockade-says-diplomat-1.347502
Egypt to allow Gaza students to enter
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 6 Mar — The Gaza Strip’s border and crossings department said Sunday that Egyptian authorities would allow Gazan students enrolled in Egyptian universities to enter the country Tuesday. The department told Ma‘an that a list of 71 students who have registered with universities online was sent to Egyptian officials,
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=366010
Video: Gaza drivers on strike over crossing closure
Ashraf Shannon, Press TV, Gaza 6 Mar — The union of commercial transportation drivers went on strike in front of the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing in southern Gaza … Before the Hamas movement won parliamentary elections in 2006 in Gaza, there were five crossings into the territory. Israel has since closed the other crossings to put pressure on Hamas. The Karni crossing had the largest capacity and was the major entry point for goods before being closed. Gazans complain that the Kerem Shalom crossing is not large enough to provide enough goods for the whole population. In addition, drivers are angry over working conditions at the Kerem Shalom crossing.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168564.html
Video: Gaza fishing industry hit hard by siege
Yousef al-Helou, Press TV, Gaza 5 Mar — …The ban on entering deep waters has denied fishermen access to areas abundant with fish. This is the scene in Gaza harbor, 10s of fishing boats are anchored in the small port, most of which are left broken since their spare parts are hard to find under the siege. There are about 3,700 fishermen in the Gaza strip, and about 40,000 people depend on the fishing industry. The blockade has restricted access to the sea to 3 nautical miles from the shore and fishermen say this narrow stretch of water is almost fished out.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/168402.html
The Pirates of the Mediterranean / Vera Macht
Salem-News 5 Mar — “We are shot at by Israeli warships almost daily” – Mustafa, a Gaza fisherman — …The Israeli warship began to circle around the small boat, so fast that they generated waves that made the fishing boat almost capsize. Next they were ordered to strip to their underwear and jump into the water … Arriving at the soldiers, they were handcuffed and blindfolded, and ordered to kneel on the metal floor of the warship. They said they were freezing, that the plastic cords at their hands cut off the blood, but they were only told to be quiet. Their own boat was towed away by the Israeli one … A doctor came to have a look at them. Then a soldier came, who asked them if they had planned a suicide mission. A suicide mission? The three looked at each other dumbfounded. They had been arrested in the south of the Gaza Strip, near the border to Egypt, just opposite from the border to Israel which is miles away.
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/march052011/gaza-fishermen-vm.php
International Civil Defense Day commemorated in Gaza
(photos) MEMO 3 Mar — On International Civil Defence Day, it is clear that civil defence in Gaza has a very different status and meaning than in most other parts of the world. Due to the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip, members of the Civil Defence Corps say that the unit is struggling to meet the needs of the people … One civil defence sector that is in serious disarray is the Fire Brigade, which lacks the specialist vehicles and equipment necessary to rescue citizens from burning and damaged buildings. Despite such a lack of resources, the Civil Defence Corps still provides essential services to citizens and continues to save lives.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/2104-international-civil-defence-day-commemorated-in-gaza
Gaza’s sole crossing to open for limited goods
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 6 Mar — The sole operating commercial border terminal between Israel and the Gaza Strip, the Kerem Shalom crossing, will open Sunday for the limited delivery of goods and humanitarian aid, Palestinian officials said … Israeli authorities recently closed the bulk goods Karni crossing in the northeast permanently … UNRWA spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna told Ma‘an the closure would add 20 percent to the costs of delivering aid to Gaza at a time when the international body faced budget deficits of over $50 million … Aid entering Gaza was at 40 percent of pre-siege levels, he noted
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=365908
Goods – Needs vs. supply Feb 6-Mar 5
http://www.gazagateway.org/2011/03/goods-%E2%80%93-needs-vs-supply-%E2%80%93-feb-6-mar-5/
Industrial fuel – Needs vs. supply Feb 6-Mar 5
http://www.gazagateway.org/2011/03/industrial-fuel-%E2%80%93-needs-vs-supply-%E2%80%93-feb-6-mar-5/
Detention
Israel has detained over 80 children from Jerusalem in the past two months
MEMO 5 Mar — A human rights centre has revealed that the Israeli occupation authorities have detained more than 80 Jerusalemite children in the past two months. The Research and Documentation Unit in the Jerusalem Centre for Social and Economic Studies claims that “most of these children and minors are from Silwan, Ras El Amoud, Eisasaweyya, and Sha’fat Camp in Jerusalem’s suburbs, as well as the Old City”. They were, it is claimed, subjected to arrest and detention. More than 40 of these minors come from Silwan alone.The centre emphasized that the Israelis have been harassing and imposing house arrest on minors in Jerusalem in addition to arresting them, deporting them from their homes and making frequent raids on Palestinian houses and neighbourhoods in the Holy City.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/2108-israel-has-detained-over-80-children-from-jerusalem-in-the-past-two-months
‘How can they criminalize me? I’m ten years old.’ The plight of Muslim Aoudeh
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) — 10 year old Muslim Aoudeh was summoned by Israeli police today, 6 March, to the Jerusalem police station for investigation. Aoudeh was abducted, along with four other Palestinian children, on 28 February this year near his home in Al-Bustan district of Silwan. Muslim suffered the worst of the 5 boys taken that day, subjected to severe beatings by Israeli officers before he even arrived at the police station. The beatings inflicted left clear marks of brutality on his face and hands. Upon arrival at the station, Muslim was so physically unwell that he could not stop himself from throwing up several times, causing him to be transferred to Hadassah Ein Karem hospital in West Jerusalem. Doctors found that the child was suffering from a fractured skull and severe bruising throughout his body.
http://silwanic.net/?p=13100
Palestinian prisoner ‘Deans’ reaches 136 in total
MEMO 3 Mar — The number of Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel for more than 20 years continuously has reached 136, according to the Director of the Department of Statistics at the Ministry of Detainees and Former Detainees in Ramallah. Such prisoners are referred to as the “Deans” of the prisoners. The names of 5 prisoners from the West Bank and Gaza were added to the list this week. Abdel Nasser Farwana, who is himself a former prisoner, said that the Deans include 56 prisoners from the West Bank, 41 from the Gaza Strip, 22 from Occupied Jerusalem and 16 from inside Israel itself, in addition to one Arab prisoner from Syria’s Golan Heights, which are still occupied by the Zionist state.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/2101-palestinian-prisoner-qdeansq-reaches-136-in-total
Israeli Eishel prison refuses to treat immobilizing mystery disease
RAMALLAH, (PIC) 6 Mar — The Eishel prison has refused to treat a prisoner immobilized by an unknown disease, a leading prisoner in Beersheba has told Al Asra Center for Studies. Ahmed Ibrahim al-Ak of Bethlehem, 26, has not been able to move or take on normal activity after being afflicted by a disease left uncovered by the Israeli Prison Service, Tawfiq Abu Naeem has reported.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
PA militias summons female students from Najah University
WEST BANK, (PIC) 6 Mar — The Palestinian authority security militias blatantly overstepped the Palestinian values and norms, and summoned for interrogation a large number of female students at Annajah national university. (continues with roundup of recent PA arrests, releases]
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
Activism / Solidarity / BDS
Nabi Saleh Popular Committee leader arrested in a night raid / Joseph Dana
6 Mar — Nagey Tamimi (47), a leader of the Popular Committee in Nabi Saleh, was arrested last night during a raid on his home. Dozens of soldiers surrounded and entered his home at 1:30 am, roused Nagey from his bed and arrested him. He was blindfolded, handcuffed and taken away. At the same time, soldiers raided the home of Bassem Tamimi, another leader of the Popular Committee. Soldiers broke down his door and found his wife, a B’tselem videographer, standing by herself with a video camera. They attempted to destroy the video camera and search the house. Since Bassem was not at home, they left. Last night’s arrest signals a renewed Israeli effort to end the demonstrations in Nabi Saleh by imprisoning the leadership of the Popular Committee.
http://josephdana.com/2011/03/nabi-saleh-popular-committee-leader-arrested-in-a-night-raid/
Leftist Israelis face masked policemen at East Jerusalem protest
Haaretz 7 Mar — Security service agents have obscured their identities in the past when confronting Palestinians, but this is a new phenomenon for Israeli citizens. Videos of the demonstration show the policemen donning ski masks a short time before they began to deal aggressively with the protesters, members of the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement. The activists claim the men wore masks to prevent identification in the event of complaints about police brutality.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/leftist-israelis-face-masked-policemen-at-east-jerusalem-protest-1.347531
Sheikh Jarrah arrests – March 4 2011
TaayushHebron 5 Mar — Police brutality and arrests at Sheikh Jarrah – note police masks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys31AFf328s
Army, settler violence mars Beit Ommar demonstration
PSP 6 Mar — On Saturday, March 5th, 2011, dozens of Palestinian residents from Beit Ommar, supported by international and Israeli solidarity activists, rallied against the nearby Israeli settlement of Karmei Tsur. A sizable contingent of Palestinian activists from Hebron were also present to support the demonstrations in Beit Ommar. Though the weekly demonstration is almost always repressed, on this week, the army was even more violent than usual. Israeli soldiers pursued activists through the fields on the outskirts of the village, throwing tear gas, sound bombs, and beating at least one journalist.
http://palestinesolidarityproject.org/2011/03/06/army-settler-violence-mars-beit-ommar-demonstration/
Several people injured at the International Women’s Day demonstration at Qalandiya checkpoint
ISM 5 Mar –Among the injured were a 23 year old Swedish ISM activist hit by a tear gas grenade. The grenade burned her skin and left a bleeding wound on her arm, burned her hair, and left her temporarily deaf in her right ear. A Palestinian woman suffered from asphyxia from the tear gas and was taken to a hospital in an ambulance. She went home later in the evening.
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/03/16886/
Hebron witnesses increase in settler harassment following al-Shuhada Street demonstration
ISM posted 3 Mar — Sunday a shop in Tel Rumeida was attacked by a middle-aged settler who smashed the shop’s window with a stick. Of the two shopkeepers inside, one was disabled in a wheelchair. The other went out and was then attacked by the settler. Soldiers from the nearby checkpoint did not aid or intervene on behalf of the shopkeeper. When ISM arrived at the site, nearly 20 soldiers were pushing away the Palestinians near the shop, while allowing settlers to pass. A Palestinian teenager was arrested and brought in for questioning. He was released the same night. On Monday about 50 settlers bearing arms held a demonstration. They gathered at the same shop to pray, claiming that it was a settler who had been attacked there the day before by a Palestinian.
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/03/16846/
JVS shows its support to Khirbet Tana community
(photos) Khirbet Tana is located between Nablus and Jiftlik. Leaving from Jiftlik and taking the original path this journey would take approximately 10 minutes by car. Now, however, due to a road gate installed by the occupation forces, a detour through Nablus is necessary and takes approximately 1–2 hours, part of which involves driving on very rough terrain. The inhabitants of this hamlet are farmers and accommodation varies from old stone buildings to caves to tents. This was once a thriving community where they traded in dairy produce as well as livestock. The centre piece was a beautiful mosque which now also houses a homeless family. The people had great pressure applied to move from their homes and sadly some succumbed, while others remain.
http://www.jordanvalleysolidarity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=183:jvs-shows-its-supports-to-khirbet-tana-community&catid=15:2010&Itemid=21
No school for 7,000 Arab students in Lod
Ynet 6 Mar — Parents committees impose strike at Arab schools in central city over demolition of illegal homes, treatment of local family … The chairman of another school’s parents committee … claimed that Lod’s city council is trying to shutdown El-Ola Junior High School, attended by over 300 students. “We still don’t know why they want to close it, though we’re sure they can come up with a thousand different reasons to make their dreams come true – destroying Arab education in Lod.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4038291,00.html
Sixth prison term for conscientious objector Ajuad Zidan
NP — Conscientious objector Ajuad Zidan was sentenced for the sixth time in a row for his refusal to enlist, this time to 30 days in prison … Throughout this period, Ajuad has repeatedly appealed to receive a hearing from the so-called “Conscience Committee” — an internal military panel that is the only body reviewing appeals for exemption by conscientious objectors in Israel. However, his requests to appear before this committee were flatly ignored … Please send Ajuad Zidan letters of support to the prison address above and to messages2prison@newprofile.org.
http://www.newprofile.org/english/?p=343
Facebook protest: ‘Free Palestine’ on NIS
Ynet 7 Mar — Facebook group calls on members to promote peaceful protest by writing ‘Free Palestine’ on all forms of Israeli currency. Founders hope Netanyahu ‘gets the message’
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4038561,00.html
Roger Waters voices support for Israel boycott
Haaretz 5 Mar – Former Pink Floyd frontman urges fellow artists to join ban until Israel to ends the occupation, grants full equality to Israeli Arabs, and allows all Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.
http://www.haaretz.com/culture/roger-waters-voices-support-for-israel-boycott-1.347411
Artists against apartheid
Join us for the fifteenth edition of Artists Against Apartheid during Israeli Apartheid Week 2011 in Montreal, an evening of spoken-word & poetry performances highlighting some of Montreal’s most celebrated poetic voices and a special performance by Palestinian poet Remi Kanazi via New York City.
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/8739
UVM called to divest over Palestine issues
5 Mar — A new divestment proposal, targeting companies that reinforce Israel’s foothold in Palestinian territories, has begun making its way through the University of Vermont’s lengthy review process.
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110305/NEWS02/103050311/UVM-called-to-divest-over-Palestine-issues
Group asking state Investment Board to divest Israeli bonds
3 Mar — At this morning’s meeting of the Minnesota State Board of Investment, a group says it will ask for the divestment of Israeli bonds held in the state’s portfolio. The governor, attorney general, state auditor and president of the Senate make up the investment board, which is responsible for investing nearly $60 billion in retirement funds, trust funds and cash accounts.
http://www.minnpost.com/politicalagenda/2011/03/03/26289/group_asking_state_investment_board_to_divest_israeli_bonds
Anti-BDS
Visiting South African artist rejects Israel boycott, opting to protest in Jerusalem instead
Haaretz 7 Mar — In Israel to present a retrospective of his work, William Kentridge criticizes Israeli policy and visits the contested East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/visiting-south-african-artist-rejects-israel-boycott-opting-to-protest-in-jerusalem-instead-1.347544
This is what complicity looks like
5 Mar — The campaign to silence Palestine solidarity reaches its annual crescendo during Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW). As IAW 2011 approaches, we need to prepare for another round of silencing … The silencing campaign on Ontario campuses has included: the attempt to ban the words “Israeli apartheid” on McMaster campus in 2008; the banning of Israeli Apartheid Week posters on four campuses in 2009; ongoing attempts to ban IAW altogether including a motion in the Ontario Legislature condemning the event … and most recently, the assessment of extraordinary security fees to shut down a talk by American scholar Norman Finkelstein at Mohawk College in Hamilton.
http://www.uruknet.info/?new=75573
Israeli ministers mull bill to keep public services in West Bank settlements
Haaretz 6 Mar — A bill that would prohibit companies in Israel from discriminating against customers based on where they live is scheduled for debate today by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation. While the draft law, sponsored by MK Uri Orbach (Habayit Hayehudi ), would also apply to Arab communities in remote areas of Israel, it is aimed primarily at firms that refuse to deliver goods to or provide services to Jewish settlements in the West Bank, or which charge more for doing so. Individuals who helped draft the bill said it could also help fight discrimination against cultural institutions, for example the call for performers to boycott the new theater in Ariel.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israeli-ministers-mull-bill-to-keep-public-services-in-west-bank-settlements-1.347332
Racism / Sexism / Discrimination / Separation
Palestinian with Jewish wife denied permanent visa
Haaretz 7 Mar — A Palestinian man who is married to a Jewish woman and whose son served in the Israel Defense Forces was recently informed that he is ineligible for a permanent visa to live in Israel. “I can’t buy a home here like a human being, I can’t open a business for fear that they’ll soon kick me out,” said Adel Hussein, who has lived most of his life in the West Bank city of Tul Karm, but now wants to live near his son in Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/palestinian-with-jewish-wife-denied-permanent-visa-1.347540
Haaretz editorial: The right to live in Jaffa
6 Mar — The ‘Jewish Jaffa’ protests are an example of the rising trend in illegitimate, dangerous behavior that undermines the very fabric of life in mixed cities.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/the-right-to-live-in-jaffa-1.347356
‘God is about connecting, not separating’
Ynet 6 Mar — Parents in Jerusalem neighborhood protest barrier built between secular and religious kindergartens, say ‘we must learn to get along’. Haredi contractor: Religious kid can’t see teacher in a tank top
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4038212,00.html
Ministers reject all bills submitted in honor of International Women’s Day
Haaretz 6 Mar — Rejected bills include allowing flexible working hours for mothers, equal employment opportunities, and eradication of abortion committees; ministers pass bill preventing the increase of women’s legal retirement age.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/ministers-reject-all-bills-submitted-in-honor-of-international-women-s-day-1.347496
Political / Diplomatic news
France to recognize Palestine in September, Palestinian official says
5 Mar — A senior Palestinian official said Saturday that France has reiterated that it will recognize the Palestinian state in September, Xinhua news agency reported. “France postpones its recognition of a Palestinian state because it is exerting efforts to convince the entire European countries to recognize the state,” Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath, who wrapped up a visit to Paris on Saturday, told the agency.
http://en.europeonline-magazine.eu/france-to-recognize-palestine-in-september-palestinian-official-says_114123.html
Video: Young Palestinians in NY call for dissolution of the Palestinian Authority / Philip Weiss
6 Mar — Young Palestinians seeking the dissolution of the Palestinian Authority confront Palestinian mission officials in New York. They say that the P.A. is collaborationist with the Palestinian occupier. Note that a young leader of the group advocates for the Goldstone Report. And the video says, We saw what happened in Egypt…
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/03/young-palestinians-in-ny-call-for-dissolution-of-palestinian-authority.html
Mash‘al: Egypt gave us back our lives
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) 6 Mar — Hamas chief in exile Khalid Mash‘al hailed the sweeping political changes in Egypt, which he said had given the Palestinian people their lives back, in a speech in Khartoum on Sunday. “Today we are witnessing Cairo returning to its natural state, after it disappeared from that state for a long time,” the Palestinian leader said in a speech broadcast live on Sudanese state television.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=366191
Fatah scattered over Fayad unity plan
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 6 Mar — Fatah leaders are divided over re-appointed Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s plan to create a unity government as he re-assembles the resigned ministerial cabinet.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=366209
Hamas detains ‘unity’ rally protesters
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) 6 Mar — Hamas police on Sunday detained several protesters calling for unity between the Islamist group and its bitter West Bank rival Fatah, witnesses in Gaza City told AFP. The protest that had been planned outside the legislative building did not take place … It was the second time in a week that Hamas officials have detained members of a movement calling for a shake-up in the Palestinian political scene.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110306/wl_mideast_afp/palestinianspoliticsgazademoarrest
Ron Prosor named Israel’s new ambassador to the UN
AP 6 Mar — Ron Prosor is a former director of Israel’s Foreign Ministry and he also has held diplomatic positions in London, Bonn and Washington.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/ron-prosor-named-israel-s-new-ambassador-to-the-un-1.347464
Israel’s diplomats are spineless propagandists / Gideon Levy
Haaretz 6 Mar — Our diplomatic corps today is comprised primarily of spineless propagandists void of values or a conscience. Though some identify with the current government’s policies, a large portion of them oppose the state’s conduct. They are nothing more than puppets in an ugly show window.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-s-diplomats-are-spineless-propagandists-1.347354
Other news
Video: West Bank farm does job for settlement Palestinians
AFP 5 Mar — Almost 30,000 Palestinians work in Israeli settlements. The Palestinian Authority wants to put a stop to this, but trade unions say there simply isn’t enough work in the West Bank. In the village of Tammoun, a farm is trying to find a solution to the deadlock — by hiring only labourers who have worked in the settlements
http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/24420885
Last group of Palestinian students leaves Libya
TRIPOLI, Libya (Ma‘an) 6 Mar — …Palestinian Ambassador in Tripoli Atif Mustafa ….Auda told Ma’an radio that the final group of 13 students left via Tripoli International Airport on Sunday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=366127
Report: Salafists say Hamas detained leader in Gaza
TEL AVIV (Ma‘an) 6 Mar — The Israeli daily news site Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday the anger of Gaza-based Salafi group At-Tawheed and Holy Jihad, after they reported the arrest of a senior leader by Hamas officials in Gaza last week. Abu Al-Walid Al-Mqdesi was detained at the end of February. [Hisham Saidani of At-Tawheed was detained on Tuesday]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=366164
PA censors TV show poking fun at Gaddafi
Ynet 5 Mar — Fatah officials in West Bank censor episode of popular sitcom depicting satirical image of Libyan leader, claiming it might endanger Palestinian refugees living in Libya. Show’s creator: Refugees used as excuse to limit freedom of expression
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4037948,00.html
Netanyahu looks to buy Palestinian gas
Globes 6 Mar — Sources inform ”Globes” that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has officially asked Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu-Mazen) to resume negotiations for Israel to buy Palestinian natural gas. The approach was made a few days after an explosion on a pipeline in Sinai halted deliveries of Egyptian natural gas to Israel on February 5. Israel proposes that negotiations discuss development of the Gaza Marine offshore natural gas field, and the Noa gas field offshore from Ashkelon, part of which is located in Palestinian waters … No agreement was reached in two previous rounds of talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000628253
Egypt stalls reopening of natural gas pipeline to Israel once again
Haaretz 4 Mar — EMG hints closure is political, asks U.S. government for help.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/egypt-stalls-reopening-of-natural-gas-pipeline-to-israel-once-again-1.347051
Former Egyptian oil minister probed over gas sales
Haaretz 6 Mar – Former Egyptian petroleum minister Sameh Fahmi was called in for questioning by the country’s state security prosecution over Egypt’s gas exports to Israel, the Egyptian daily Al Masry Al Youm reported last week. Fahmi allegedly enabled Israel and six countries in Europe to buy gas at artificially low prices, reported the paper. This caused the country losses of 3 billion Egyptian pounds over five years, which is more than half a billion dollars, it stated. ..
http://english.themarker.com/former-egyptian-oil-minister-probed-over-gas-sales-1.347348
Opinion / Analysis
The Israeli occupation echoes from Cairo / Amira Hass
Haaretz 7 Mar — The author is reminded that the Palestinians are under occupation when almost all Egyptians refuse to meet with her because she writes for an Israeli newspaper.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/the-israeli-occupation-echoes-from-cairo-1.347563
The ballot box revolution / Sefi Rachlevsky
Haaretz 6 Mar — If Israelis take action now they will be able to defeat the ruling settlement order at the ballot box and bring about a revolution in Israel — Israel will soon celebrate 44 years of the occupation. For a lengthy portion of that time, we are talking about the last colonial occupation on earth. After the regional revolution of tahrir (liberation ), there is zero chance Israel will be permitted to be the last Gadhafi standing in the Middle East. The dictatorship of the settlements, which is wobbling under the pressure, must also fall.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/the-ballot-box-revolution-1.347355
Other Mideast, Afghanistan
Mideast tourism sector hit by uprisings
BEIRUT (AFP) 6 Mar — Tourism professionals in the Middle East are bracing for fallout from the revolts shaking the region, with cancellations affecting even countries so far spared from the upheavals, notably Jordan and Syria.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110306/lf_afp/mideastunresttourism
Saturday: 6 Iraqis killed, 21 wounded
At least six Iraqis were killed and 16 more were wounded in new violence. A report of beaten journalists yesterday became clearer when Basra police admitted five were assaulted in their custody. Meanwhile, the Sadrists promised not to stage protests for six months, giving the government time to improve.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/03/05/saturday-6-iraqis-killed-21-wounded/
Sunday: 20 Iraqis killed, 42 wounded
At least 20 Iraqis were killed and 42 more were wounded in the latest attacks. The worst attack, which took place in Basra province, may have been targeting U.S. soldiers. Harassment of demonstrators also continued in Iraqi Kurdistan. Also, tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of national elections, but much work remains to be done in the new government.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/03/06/sunday-14-iraqis-killed-40-wounded/
US apology for Afghan deaths is not enough, says Karzai
KABUL (AFP) 7 Mar — Afghan President Hamid Karzai Sunday told General David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, that his apology for a foreign air strike last week that killed nine children was ”not enough.” Karzai said civilian casualties by foreign troops were “no longer acceptable” to the Afghan government or people.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=125663#axzz1FsLeMgAN
Bahraini protesters besiege PM’s office
DS 7 Mar — Thousands of Bahraini demonstrators blocked the entrance to the prime minister’s office but failed to disrupt a government meeting Sunday as the campaign for reform in the strategic Gulf nation enters its third week. The protest comes a day after Bahrain announced plans to create 20,000 jobs in its security apparatus, in what could be a move to open up government jobs to the country’s disgruntled Shi‘ites.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=125679#axzz1FsLeMgAN
Political ‘art’ blossoms in Bahrain / Omar al-Shehabi
Guardian 6 Mar — It is 5am, the sun is yet to rise, and it is a perfect time to visit “Lulu”, Pearl roundabout, which is the centre of Bahrain’s opposition movement. The hard core of people are just arising from their slumber, but our aim is to check out the street art on display.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/06/bahrain-protests-art-political-pearl-roundabout
Yemen opposition movement vows to step up demonstrations
SANA‘A (AFP) 7 Mar — Yemen’s opposition movement vowed Sunday to intensify protests against the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, after the embattled leader refused to resign by the end of the year. Violence also flared in outlying provinces, where six security men were killed in attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=125682#axzz1FsLeMgAN
Analysis: Yemen, a revolution interrupted?
SANA‘A, 4 Mar (IRIN) – …Saleh is seen as a shrewd manipulator of a centralized patronage-based system that infuses both formal politics and institutions, and helps determine the equally important balance of tribal-based support, analysts say. In a country with a staggering number of guns in private hands and pre-existing rivalries, the concern is that Yemen could end up looking like Libya rather than Egypt.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=92108
Oman Air staff go on strike, demand better salaries
MUSCAT (AFP) 7 Mar — Around 200 staff of Oman Air, the national flag carrier, went on strike Sunday demanding higher salaries, dragging one of the sultanate’s most prominent companies into the unrest that has shaken the strategically important Gulf state. The sultanate has seen some of the largest protests in the Gulf region demanding political reforms, jobs, and improvement of salaries.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=125680#axzz1FsLeMgAN
Algiers seeking ways to boost dialogue
ALGIERS (AFP) 7 Mar — Algeria’s government is studying ways to improve dialogue with the public including the use of social media, a minister said Sunday, a day after police cracked down on anti-regime rallies. Communication Minister Nacer Mehal said Algiers was close to setting up measures to amend what he said were virtually non-existent channels of information dissemination between the government and the wider population.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=125681#axzz1FsLeMgAN
Egypt: Mubarak regime ‘provoked’ attacks on Christians
CAIRO, Mar 3, 2011 (IPS) – Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak portrayed himself as a paradigm of stability in a country he once described as a “powder keg” of sectarian unrest. Yet far from promoting stability, his regime may have actually been the source of much of the religious strife it claimed to suppress. Analysts say there is growing evidence that Egyptian security forces planned attacks on Christian churches and clergy, or allowed them to happen. The apparent purpose of the attacks was to reinforce the idea to sympathetic Western governments that without Mubarak, radical Islamist groups would gain a foothold in Egypt and wage a holy war on its Christian community.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54699
U.S.
Why is Israel aid exempt? / MJ Rosenberg
AJ 5 Mar — As US fiscal conservatives cut food programmes for poor children, military aid for Israel is left untouched … In fact, the $3bn Israel aid package is the new third rail of American politics: touch it and die. It is also the one program that liberals, conservatives, Democrats, Republicans and tea partiers all agree should not sustain even a dollar in cuts. Actually, that is something of a mis-statement. These various parties and factions do not agree that the $3bn Israel aid package is sacred. They just say that they do because a powerful lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), makes clear to them that touching the aid package will mean big trouble for them in the next election.
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/201135115850632729.html#–Why
Blowback: Weapons of Mideast oppression made in USA
LA Times 3 Mar — Patrick Connors, a member of Adalah-NY: The New York campaign for the Boycott of Israel, a New York City-based group advocating for Palestinian rights, takes on a Feb. 22 Los Angeles Times article …Rather than seeing the U.S. as spreading freedom, Arabs who have taken to the streets have experienced “Made in U.S.A.” tear gas used by repressive governments to kill and maim unarmed protesters and crush popular movements for justice. For unarmed Arab protesters in Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Tunisia and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Pennsylvania may seem to be the tear-gas capital of the world judging by the labels on the canisters fired at them.
http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2011/03/blowback-weapons-of-mideast-oppression-made-in-usa.html
The serial deceit of Geoff Morrell / Glenn Greenwald
Salon 4 Mar — New York Times, June 8, 2004: In the weeks since photographs of naked detainees set off the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib, military officials have portrayed the sexual humiliation captured in the images as the isolated acts of a rogue night shift. But forced nudity of prisoners was pervasive in the military intelligence unit of Abu Ghraib, so much so that soldiers later said they had not seen “the whole nudity thing,” as one captain called it, as abusive or out of the ordinary …The New York Times, yesterday: A lawyer for Pfc. Bradley Manning, the Army intelligence analyst accused of leaking secret government files to WikiLeaks, has complained that his client was stripped and left naked in his cell for seven hours on Wednesday. . . . The soldier’s clothing was returned to him Thursday morning, after he was required to stand naked outside his cell during an inspection
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/03/04/morrell/index.html
Mom: Anti-Muslim mob ‘terrified’ my kids / Justin Elliott
Salon 4 Mar — A California woman opens up to Salon about the protesters from a hate video now making the rounds — By now, there’s a good chance you’ve seen a video rocketing around the Web of anti-Muslim protesters screaming at families entering an Islamic charity event in Orange County last month. One of the most striking parts of the scene is protesters continuing to shout “go home” and “Muhammed was a pervert!” even as young children walk by with their parents … Syed says the local Muslim community was stunned by the episode. “People were terribly, terribly scared,” he says. “No one has experienced this level of protest before in any event, period.”
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/03/04/orange_county_protest_reaction/index.html
White House praises Muslims ahead of House hearing
STERLING, Va. (AP) 6 Mar — Muslim Americans are not part of the terrorism problem facing the U.S. — they are part of the solution, a top White House official said Sunday at a Washington-area mosque. Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough set the Obama administration’s tone for discussions as tensions escalate before the first in a series of congressional hearings on Islamic radicalization. The hearings, chaired by New York Republican Peter King, will focus on the level of cooperation from the Muslim community to help law enforcement combat radicalization.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110306/ap_on_re_us/us_muslim_hearings
Special maximum security prison units fill up with Muslims
AFP 7 Mar — WASHINGTON: U.S. federal prisons for the past three years have housed special units filled disproportionately with Muslim inmates whose every communication with the outside world is strictly monitored. Known as “Guantanamo North,” the so-called Communication Management Units were secretly opened in 2007 in maximum security prisons in Terre Haute, Indiana and Marion, Illinois and currently have 71 prisoners, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) said. The U.S. public radio network, NPR … found that a number were convicted of terrorism offenses but mixed in with them were white supremacists and common criminals.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=125662#axzz1FsLeMgAN
