Palestinians lose land amid West Bank settler attacks
WEST BANK, (PIC) 17 Mar — Dozens of trees were rooted and clashes erupted as settlers have boosted attacks on Palestinians across the West Bank. Dozens of Jewish settlers infiltrated the Litwana area east of Yatta town and uprooted dozens of trees owned by Rib‘i family, anti-settlement activists informed the Palestinian information center (PIC). The settlers seized other lands belonging to Salman Jibril Rib‘i, Salman Salama Rib‘i and Ribhi Ahmed Rib‘i, the sources added.
Meanwhile, Al-Khalil man Wajdi Sultan sustained minor injuries and was taken to the local hospital after he was severely beaten by settlers from Kharasena stationed at the entrance of Al-Buwaira area east of the city.
More Jewish settlers have raided the Balata refugee camp east of Nablus city in the northern West Bank and opened fire during clashes with youth at the camp’s entrance.
Settler vandals continue to do damage
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 17 Mar — At least 100 olive trees were ripped out and four water tankers ruined Thursday afternoon, by what witnesses said was a mob of at least a dozen settlers. On a hilltop between the Nablus-district villages of Beita and Aquraba, some four kilometers south of the Israeli settlement of Itamar, the area known as Al-Arma lay in ruins. Local land owner Yousef Derieh told Ma’an that settlers were behind the damage, which affected families from the village of Aqraba.
Report: Palestinian cars torched in northern Israel
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 17 Mar — Ultra-Orthodox Jewish arsonists are suspected of torching three private cars belonging to Palestinian students who hold Israeli IDs in the northern Israeli city of Safad, seemingly part of the retaliation wave to the Itamar killing last weekend, according to the Israeli daily newspaper Maariv. Ma’ariv reported Wednesday morning that the university’s administration had warned Palestinian students of retaliatory attacks after five Israelis from Itamar settlement near Nablus were stabbed to death Friday night.
And more news from Today in Palestine:
Palestinian Bedouins in al-Araqib: We won’t leave / Charlotte Silver
EI 17 Mar — Reclining under a recently constructed tent in the Bedouin village of al-Araqib, Sheikh Siyakh al-Turi gestured toward the bare terrain surrounding his home. “This is a great example to the world of what Israel is doing to its citizens,” he said. Only a kilometer away from one of Israel’s largest highways, the village is utterly quiet; most villagers have left for their day jobs outside of al-Araqib, leaving only a few to stand watch in the event that the Israel Land Administration returns to demolish the village yet again.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11860.shtml
Al Auja school about to be ready
[with photos] Jordan Valley Solidarity 15 Mar — For two weeks now, JVS is working on establishing new schools in the Palestinian Jordan Valley. Tomorrow, Ein Al Auja school should be ready to welcome kids. After many hours spent sewing sack cloth, fixing them on an existing structure and cleaning the area from stones, the JVS volunteers along with the inhabitants of the area, are doing the final preparations for the opening of the school.
http://www.jordanvalleysolidarity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=192:al-auja-school-about-to-be-ready&catid=15:2010&Itemid=21
Jerusalem residents behind wall exempted from municipal tax
JERUSALEM, Mar 17 (WAFA) – Palestinian residents of Jerusalem living behind the concrete wall Israel had built to separate East Jerusalem from its West Bank environs said they were told by the West Jerusalem municipality that they do not anymore have to pay the municipal tax known as arnona, Thursday said a Palestinian rights center. The Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights said in a report that this new policy aims at getting rid of thousands of Jerusalem residents who live behind the wall from the city. It said that by telling residents of these areas that they do not have to pay the arnona tax anymore after years of paying it, it means they will eventually not be considered Jerusalem residents and therefore lose all their residency rights.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=15540
Violent clashes erupt in Jerusalem’s Sawwana district
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC) 16 Mar — Palestinian youth set fire to tires and hurled stones at Israeli policemen as violent clashes erupted in Jerusalem’s Al-Sawwana district at noon Wednesday. A large force of police arrived at the scene and dispersed protesters using batons.
Meanwhile in the Bab Al-Amoud district, police arrested photojournalist Ahmed Jalajil while dispersing a sit-in staged by reporters showing solidarity with Al-Jazeera photographer Ali Jaber, who was killed in Libya a week ago.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2
Jerusalem neighborhoods: Mamilla fact sheet
AIC 15 Mar — Mamilla, a neglected West Jerusalem neighbourhood and ‘no man’s land’ from 1948 until Israel’s occupation and annexation of East Jerusalem in 1967, has undergone gentrification and a stripping of its identity. Mamilla is home to the historic Mamilla Cemetery, now being destroyed for construction of a ‘Museum of Tolerance’ … Newly constructed housing in Mamilla caters to wealthy internationals who visit Jerusalem for short periods each year, thus creating a luxurious ghost town
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/jerusalem/3415-jerusalem-neighbourhoods-mamilla-fact-sheet
Knesset to vote on two bills targeting foreigners seeking residency in Israel
Haaretz 17 Mar — One bill is designed to address decisions regarding immigration and the status of non-Jews; Second bill addresses visa conditions for foreigners working as caretakers … The first bill to reach the Interior and Environment Committee proposes that Israel set up a tribunal for foreigners that would decide on matters of “immigration, entering Israel and leaving it, and matters of citizenship.” Native-born residents of Israel, like children of the permanent residents of East Jerusalem, would also be under the tribunal’s purview.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/knesset-to-vote-on-two-bills-targeting-foreigners-seeking-residency-in-israel-1.349670
Violence / Incursions
Young Gazan fisherman shot in abdomen
[photos] ISM 17 Mar — “This is the life we face as fishermen: the Israeli’s shoot at us daily and injuries are frequent,” says one of the visitors. Yasser Nasser Bakr, 19 years old, received a bullet in his abdomen on the morning of March 16th, while he was out fishing. “We went out with a series of small hasakas (traditional fishing boats) at about 5.30 am this morning. At 6:30 AM the Israeli Navy started shooting at us. They shot around us and at the boats for about five minutes. They would stop and open fire again after a while. This was ongoing until Yasser was injured at approximately 10:30 AM,” says his brother who sailed with him. “I was petrified and just wanted one thing: to leave. However, this happens on a daily basis, so we cannot withdraw, we need to continue in these circumstances, otherwise we wouldn’t catch a single fish.” At 1.5 nautical miles the fishermen met with the Israeli gunboat, which got as close as 30 meters to the fishing boats. “And they speak Arabic very well, insulting us and telling us to ‘get the hell out of of here’, while we are righteously there according to their laws,” says Yasser’s brother.
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/03/17020/
Israel launches deadly raid on Hamas
MEMO 16 Mar — EXCLUSIVE PICTURES Earlier today [Wed.], Israel launched a deadly raid against the Palestinian government in Gaza targeting Hamas’ Abu Jarad position in the south of the Strip. According to reports, the area was fired upon twice using Israeli F-16 fighter jets. Hamas has confirmed that the raid claimed the lives of two of its members; Adnan Ishtiwi and Ghassan Abu Amr, and injured several others who were transferred to the al-Shifa’ hospital for treatment. Israeli army sources have confirmed that Israel carried out the attack in response to resistance fighters firing rocket grenades into the western Negev. Hamas did not return fire.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/2151-israel-launches-deadly-raid-on-hamas
Report: Israeli artillery fire hits east of Gaza City
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 17 Mar — The Hamas-affiliated Palestine Information Center reported Wednesday night the shelling of an area east of Gaza City by Israeli forces.
The shells were said to have hit near the Al-Shuhada graveyard, with no injuries reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369627
Palestinian workers attacked in settlement
Ynet 17 Mar — Police fear additional ‘price tag policy’ revenge act as gang of masked men drive into Samaria settlement of Shiloh, beat two Palestinians with metal rod, pepper spray. Binyamin Regional Council condemns act … There were six or seven attackers, according to the victims, who serve as construction workers in Shiloh’s industrial zone. In addition to the construction workers, they also assaulted a settler working as a security guard on the scene, because he attempted to defend them. [from Haaretz: There has been an ongoing dispute between surrounding settlements over the employment of Palestinians in Shiloh. Two months ago, young settlers smashed the windows of cars belonging to Palestinians working in Shiloh, with one local Shiloh resident saying he would personally reimburse the workers. ]
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4043664,00.html
Soldiers abuse a Palestinian guard near Jenin
IMEMC 17 Mar — Israeli soldiers broke on Wednesday morning into a tower that belongs to the National Cellular Phone Company in Jenin, attacked and detained the guard forcing him to remove his shirt before detaining him at the guards’ room for more than two hours … Ghawadra further stated that the soldiers and their commanding officer were apparently insulting him in Hebrew while shouting and kicking him, but he could not understand what they were saying.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60875
Detention
Father: Israeli authorities sentenced my teens
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 17 Mar — Palestinian detainees’ center in Ramallah reported that Ofer court sentenced Amir Al-Bastami, 14, and ordered him to pay 2,000 shekels and Mahdi Al-Bastami, 13, ordered to pay 4,000 shekels. Their father said that his children are innocent and that it is a crime to sentence them considering their young age. The detainees’ center condemned the detention of Palestinian teenagers and rejects the Israeli policy. The center reported that the number of Palestinian kids detained at Israeli prisons reached 221.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369396
5 reported detained in Ramallah area overnight
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) 16 Mar — Palestinian police said five were detained by the Israeli military overnight from the Ramallah area, including a father and three of his sons in the central West Bank village of Shabiti … The detentions were said to have occurred following a home invasion.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369183
Netanyahu: Hamas wants the release of 100 ‘dangerous’ prisoners
NAZARETH, (PIC) 16 Mar — Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu has said that negotiations with Hamas over captured soldier Gilad Shalit faced a stumbling block because Hamas wants the release of 100 “dangerous prisoners”.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87
Facebook activist charged with incitement and ‘humiliating public employee’
IMEMC 17 Mar — The activist, Mohammad Ghanayim, was detained on Wednesday at dawn when a ““Crime Prevention” unit of the Israeli police broke into his home in Sahknin and kidnapped him, according to the Arabs48 news website. Ghanayim was accused of “inciting violence” through his Facebook page, and for publishing “incitement materials” on the Arabs48 website, according to the police. The police claimed that Ghanayim was advocating through his Facebook page for the death of an Arab officer who serves in the Israeli military north of the country.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60877
Siege / Blockade / Restriction of movement
F16s drop leaflets on northern Gaza
(photo of leaflet) GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 17 Mar — Israel’s air force dropped thousands of leaflets on northern Gaza Thursday morning, warning residents to stay away from the border area. An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment on the issue, but officials maintain that the border area off limits, describing it as a zone used by militants to launch attacks on Israel. The no-go zone takes up some 20 percent of Gaza’s agricultural lands, and eats into the coastal enclave as far as one kilometer, according to UN reports.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369557
Israel says seized arms justify Gaza blockade
ASHDOD, Israel (Reuters) 16 Mar — Israel displayed on Wednesday advanced arms that it said had been found aboard a cargo ship seized in the Mediterranean Sea, and pointed to the haul as proof of the need to blockade the Gaza Strip … Also on display at the Ashdod docks were sacks of lentils which, the Israelis said, were used to disguise the arms caches.[oh so that’s why they keep out many kinds of food]
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110316/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_ship
Single Gaza crossing continues to supply Strip
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 17 Mar — The sole goods crossing into Gaza was opened by Israeli officials on Thursday, after giving the go-ahead for delivery of an estimated 300 truckloads of goods. Palestinian liaison official Raed Fattouh said eight of the loads would contain building materials for UNRWA projects and another six for USAID. Civilian-use building material remains prohibited under Israel’s continued siege of the coastal enclave.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369478
Cracks appear in Gaza blockade / Alex Kane
Indypendent 16 Mar — The popular revolution that ousted Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak has focused renewed attention on Egypt’s role in the blockade of the Gaza Strip. For nearly four years Egypt has aided Israel and the United States in strangling Gaza’s economy, but there are small signs that the siege may be easing … On March 6, a delegation organized by Tahrir 4 Gaza successfully crossed the Egyptian border into Gaza and delivered a “symbolic 50-pound bag of cement.” It was the “first bag of cement not approved by Israel” and that hadn’t come through smuggling tunnels, according to a press release from Tahrir 4 Gaza … Organizers are now planning to bring 30 tons of cement into Gaza as part of a series of trips that would “eventually culminate in the permanent opening of the border to people and goods between post-revolutionary Egypt and Palestine,” according to delegation head Ahmed Elassy.
http://www.indypendent.org/2011/03/15/cracks-appear-in-the-gaza-blockade/
IOF bar children of Daher Al-Maleh village from going to their schools
JENIN, (PIC) 17 Mar — The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) forced yesterday and today Palestinian children and school students in Daher Al-Maleh village, west of Jenin city, to undergo strict search procedures before allowing them to pass through the iron gate, which is considered the only entrance to their village.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
Refugees / Diaspora
Story of Chile’s Palestinian community, past and present / Douglas Smith
16 Mar — From the outset, Chile is probably one of the last countries one would consider when trying to understand the effects of the Nakba and the depth of the ongoing Palestinian refugee crisis. Geopolitically, it could not be any farther away from the conflict and the displacement imposed on Palestinian refugees. However, recent events, as well as a long history of the world’s largest Palestinian community outside the Middle East, tell a different story.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16724
Racism / Discrimination
Police question TA man for ‘Arab profile’
17 Mar — [Jewish] Tel Aviv City Council member who was stopped on street by policewoman for his ‘Arab profile’ says action was racist, inappropriate
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4043851,00.html
Activism / Solidarity / Boycott, Divestment, & Sanctions
Palestine: 250 Palestinian and Israeli women in West Bank civil disobedience conference
Source:Lo Metsaytot (We Do Not Obey) –On March 12, 2011, women human rights defenders from Palestine and Israel marked the centenary of International Women’s Day with a historic conference at which the following contributions were made: Ilana Hammerman: The “Entry to Israel” law is illegal and should not be obeyed; and Rivka Sum: The attack in Itamar proves that we should continue to work daily together to end the impossible occupation … 250 women, both Israeli citizens and Palestinians from the West Bank (in roughly equal numbers), spent the day discussing ways to practice civil disobedience.
http://www.wluml.org/node/7031
Edinburgh University students vote overwhelmingly for boycott of Israeli goods
AIC 16 Mar — A motion to boycott Israel was overwhelmingly passed at the Edinburgh University Students Association (EUSA) General Meeting on Monday 14th March.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/economy-of-the-occupation/3418-edinburgh-university-students-vote-overwhelmingly-for-boycott-of-israeli-goods-
Students against Israeli apartheid at Toronto universities launch campus divestment campaigns
AIC 15 Mar — On Monday March 7th, the first night of Israeli Apartheid Week 2011, Students Against Israeli Apartheid at the University of Toronto and York University officially launched a campaign demanding that their respective universities divest from four companies involved in violations of Palestinian human rights.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/economy-of-the-occupation/3413-students-against-israeli-apartheid-at-toronto-universities-launch-campus-divestment-campaigns-
Schnabel finally opens up on Israel: ‘You shouldn’t have to be Jewish to be free in Israel . . . It is apartheid, that’s what it’s like over there. It’s shocking’ / Adam Horowitz
In my post yesterday about Miral’s opening I wrote that “[Director Julian] Schnabel’s eyes have been opened to the conflict in Palestine, and the basic inequity of a system that privileges Jews over all others.” Ummm, you can say that again. Schnabel has given a wide ranging, and often rambling, doozy of an interview to Deadline.com on the the film’s politics and his experience in Israel/Palestine.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/03/schnabel-finally-opens-up-on-israel-you-shouldn%E2%80%99t-have-to-be-jewish-to-be-free-in-israel-it-is-apartheid-that%E2%80%99s-what-it%E2%80%99s-like-over-there-it-is-shocking.html
Anti
Cypriot Institute and Tel Aviv University agreement strengthens relations
AIC 16 Mar — A cooperation agreement between the Cypriot Institute and the University of Tel Aviv were signed on Monday (14/3). Cyprus President Demetris Christofias signed 3 other Cyprus-Israel agreements during Monday’s visit, and also visited the tomb of Yasser Arafat.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/news/3416-cypriot-institute-and-tel-aviv-university-agreement-strengthens-relations-
Palestinian protests
Palestine protests live report
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) — 0150: Here ends our live report on events in Ramallah on Wednesday. Below is a recap of the main developments of the day. We’ll be back tomorrow. [but don’t see it yet…]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369428
BBC video – Ramallah: Palestinians protest for Hamas-Fatah unity 15 Mar
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12754501
Ramallah: Hunger strikers declare pause
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 17 Mar — A core group of protesters from the March 15 coalition, including 10 hunger strikers decided Thursday morning to put on hold a hunger strike, as Fatah and Hamas leaders prepared to meet in Gaza. The March 15 Movement organizers told Ma’an that their calls for unity would continue, in the form of a sit-in at Ramallah’s Manara Circle … The group said several attempts at hijacking the events had occurred over the previous day, with groups handing out unofficial press releases at the protest site.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369488
Nablus: Protests for unity continue
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 17 Mar — A group of young Palestinians woke up in Martyrs Square for the third day in a row on Thursday, greeting dawn in the northern West Bank city of Nablus with a continued call for their leaders to end political division. Numbers of young people staying overnight in the street have grown, from ten on day one, to 20 the following day. “Our number is increasing, we’re not politically affiliated to anyone, we have received no help and we will not ask for any,” Usama Herzallah, 24, told Ma‘an from the square … The leaders of the Nablus protesters said they were in touch with their peers in the streets of Ramallah and Gaza City through Facebook and mobile phone.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369538
Youths call for mega-march toward O. Jerusalem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC) 17 Mar — Palestinian young men have launched Facebook pages calling for a million-man march heading from Bethlehem and Ramallah towards occupied Jerusalem. The march will coincide with Earth Day at the end of March. They called on Muslim and Christian Palestinians to break Israeli restrictions and pray in the Aqsa Mosque and Church of Resurrection, as well as to march demanding an end to the Israeli occupation. Marchers would head for Jerusalem city from Ramallah to the north and Bethlehem to the south.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7
Images of protests from the Gaza Strip
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) – Ma‘an has received a number of images sent by locals in the Gaza Strip. The images are of demonstrations that took place to end the internal split … It has been difficult to get media out of the Gaza Strip due to Hamas’ crackdown on journalists and photographers throughout the coastal enclave. The Foreign Press Association says it is gravely concerned. “On a day ostensibly devoted to Palestinian unity, police brutally attacked photographers and cameramen, beating them, breaking equipment and confiscating photos and video footage,” an FPA statement said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369417
Al Mezan & Al Dameer: Attacks against peaceful assembly in Al Kateeba Square condemned; violation of the law and must be investigated
16 Mar — Joint Press Release – In the evening hours of Tuesday, 15 March 2011, Gaza’s police and security apparatus members forcibly dispersed protestors who were staging a sit-in at Al Kateeba square in Gaza City. Police members, who were also on motorcycles indiscriminately used batons to disperse the protestors. Women, children, young men, journalists, lawyers, and doctors were all participating in the sit-in. According to information available to Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and Al Dameer Association for Human Rights, dozens of persons were injured. According to hospitals and medical centers, about 50 persons were injured in the attack and were admitted to hospitals and medical centers. At least six persons were detained in the attack.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EGUA-8EZSZ7?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Hamas slams Ma‘an for making lies about Tuesday marches
GAZA, (PIC) 16 Mar — The Hamas Movement deplored the Fatah-affiliated Ma’an news agency for falsely claiming that the Palestinian security forces dispersed a peaceful march calling for national unity in Gaza … Spokesman Abu Zuhri affirmed that Ma’an fabrications about Tuesday marches in Gaza contradicted local and international news reports.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87
Standoff at UNRWA building in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 17 Mar — Security forces dispersed a demonstration organized by Palestinian youth who are calling for ending division, in front of the UNRWA building in Gaza on Thursday. Sixteen young activists were fleeing Hamas when they took shelter inside the building. Nuha Wajeeh, one of the protesters, told Ma’an that “we will be continue our sit-in under the protection of UNRWA guards until we achieve all our demands, the first of which is to end division.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369747
Palestinian unity movement strikes at heart of Israeli occupation strategy of divide and conquer / Alex Kane
17 Mar — The slogans are simple enough: “the people want an end to the division,” tens of thousands of young protesters in Gaza and the West Bank chanted as their protest movement demanding Palestinian political unity kicked off March 14. But beneath the simple slogan is an audacious goal that would strike at the heart of a key Israeli strategy used to maintain their 44-year-old occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The goal, if realized, of a true united political front against the occupation is one giant step toward ending Israeli dominance over the lives of Palestinians.
http://alexbkane.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/palestinian-unity-movements-goal-strikes-at-heart-of-israeli-occupation-strategy-of-divide-and-conquer/
Politics / Diplomacy / International
Independents pave way for Abbas in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 17 Mar — A group of independent Palestinian political figures announced Thursday that preparations were going forward to receive President Mahmoud ‘Abbas in Gaza for what could be the turning point in Palestinian unity efforts. Coalition leader Yasser Al-Wadieh said urgent consultations had been made to prepare the ground for Abbas’ arrival, though officials in Ramallah have yet to confirm a date for the trip.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=369548
Quartet giving up hope of renewing Israeli-Palestinian talks
Haaretz 17 Mar — Quartet representatives say differences between Israel and Palestinians are far too wide to get negotiations back on track; since Itamar attack, Netanyahu refraining from speaking of need to advance peace process — Growing pessimism about the prospects of a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations is prompting new international calls for the unilateral establishment of a Palestinian state.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/quartet-giving-up-hope-of-renewing-israeli-palestinian-talks-1.349672
Ukraine PM: I don’t want to imagine Israeli kidnapping on our soil
Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov is in Israel this week on his first official visit … Can you respond to reports that the Palestinian engineer, Dirar Abu Sisi, was kidnapped on Ukrainian soil by Israeli intelligence agents? We don’t have clear information right now. The matter is being investigated by officials responsible for state security. Until we know something for certain, we can’t respond. Theoretically, if the information turns out to be correct, what would that mean?I don’t want to imagine that such things are carried out on the soil of a friendly state.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/ukraine-pm-i-don-t-want-to-imagine-israeli-kidnapping-on-our-soil-1.349702
Turkey: No weapons on Iranian plane
Ynet & AP 16 Mar — Turkey: Nothing unusual found in cargo of Iranian plane en route to Syria; according to earlier reports, Turks stopped plane for fear it was carrying arms, nuclear components
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4043164,00.html
Jordan: Israel can’t have peace and settlements at same time
dpa 16 Mar — “Israel should realize that the continuation of the two processes is impossible,” [PM Marouf] Bakhit said during a meeting with the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, according to a statement from the premier’s office.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/jordan-israel-can-t-have-peace-and-settlements-at-same-time-1.349614
Lebanon army says Israel spy device discovered near border
(Reuters) 17 Mar — An army statement said the device, built to resemble a rock, was capable of monitoring a 15 km stretch of the southern coast and was discovered by ‘resistance sources.’
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/lebanon-army-says-israel-spy-device-discovered-near-border-1.349840
Egypt report: Israeli spy ring uncovered by Egyptian authorities
dpa 16 Mar — Authorities still searching for Egyptian and two Israelis suspected of helping gather information on the country’s armed forces during the uprising that saw Mubarak’s ouster, according to Al-Masry al-Youm.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/egypt-report-israeli-spy-ring-uncovered-by-egyptian-authorities-1.349651
Other news
we have to have some pleasant news….
IDF, settlers save Palestinian baby
Ynet 17 Mar — Saving life after massacre: IDF troops, paramedics save life of Palestinian woman giving birth in settlement where Fogel relatives sitting Shiva. Soldier: It felt amazing to hold girl in my arms, know we did something good … Palestinians from the nearby village of Nabi Salah gathered around the paramedics along with the new grandmother and could not hide their joy. “They thanked us and told us they named the girl Jude,” Corporal Levin said.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4043536,00.html
Nuclear scientist warns on Dimona plant
Globes 17 Mar — Prof. Uzi Even: The technology in the Dimona reactor and the reactors in Japan is similar, and over 40 years old … “While we don’t have tsunamis or such strong earthquakes, the chances of a breakdown in the cooling system, either by chance or deliberately, are very great. Our reactor is 50 years old, far older than what is permitted to operate in other countries.”
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000631094&fid=1725
Gas flow from Egypt to Israel resumes
Globes 16 Mar — The flow of natural gas from Egypt to Israel resumed last night, after being cut off for six weeks. Earlier yesterday, at around 15:00, Egypt renewed the flow of gas to Jordan. The supply of gas to both countries was halted on February 5 after an explosion on the Egyptian side of the pipeline to Jordan.
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000630621&fid=1725
Egyptian official denies gas resumed pumping to Israel
CAIRO, (PIC) 17 Mar — An Egyptian government official, who refused to disclose his name, denied Israeli media reports that Egypt resumed pumping natural gas to Israel. Repairs at the pumping station exploded by saboteurs early February have yet to be completed, the official told the Egyptian Al-Shurooq newspaper.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
Egypt loses LE 100 billion from gas exports to Israel since 2005
MEMO 17 Mar — Egyptian petroleum experts have estimated that the country’s losses over the past six years from supplying natural gas to Israeli to be more than one hundred billion Egyptian pounds … He pointed out that the most important reason behind these losses was the use of diesel in power plants as an alternative to natural gas, which is being exported.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/2153-egypt-loses-le-100-billion-from-gas-exports-to-israel-since-2005
Itamar residents relocate wedding to Joseph’s Tomb in wake of terror attack
Haaretz 17 Mar — IDF okays occasion as gesture to West Bank settlement after 5 Itamar resident were killed in a stabbing attack last week; it is the first event held in the Nablus holy site since Israel evacuated it in October 2000.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/itamar-residents-relocate-wedding-to-joseph-s-tomb-in-wake-of-terror-attack-1.349754
Analysis / Opinion
Civil society and Palestine – the growing power of the ordinary / Ramzy Baroud
16 Mar — The global boycott movement (BDS) and other related campaigns were aimed at exposing Israeli transgressions against the Palestinian people and galvanizing international solidarity. What is so uplifting to see now is how their achievements have far surpassed these initial aims. The campaigns have animated, accentuated and actually legitimized Palestinian civil society – a notion that long stood outside the official paradigm acceptable to Israel, and which had very little space within the restrictive realm of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
http://dissidentvoice.org/2011/03/civil-society-and-palestine-the-growing-power-of-the-ordinary/
Israel’s latest PR bid has failed / Amos Harel
Haaretz 17 Mar — Netanyahu wants to sell the missiles’ capture as proof of the Palestinians’ murderous intentions, but the U.S. and Europe clearly distinguish between the PA and Islamic organizations — Israel’s chance of achieving political or PR gain out of the takeover of the Iranian missile shipment to Gaza was limited from the start. The authorities’ strange conduct at the display at the Ashdod port yesterday reduced it to zero.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-s-latest-pr-bid-has-failed-1.349676
West Bank settlers: ‘We’re here to stay’ / Harriet Sherwood
Guardian 17 Mar — Nationalist religious Jews say Israeli government policy will not divert then from their divine mission to possess the land
http://www..co.uk/world/view-from-jerusalem-with-harriet-sherwood/2011/mar/17/israel-paleguardianstinian-territories
West Bank settlements are Israel’s nuclear meltdown / Ari Shavit
Haaretz 17 Mar — The settlers are like the nuclear power station in Fukushima – a grandly built project of huge proportions, which was set up in the wrong place on the basis of false assumptions … The truth must be told: It was not the settlements that caused the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and stopping them will not end the conflict. But the settlements are escalating the conflict, and continuing construction in the settlements will cause Israel to lose it … The settlers have won the campaign on the hills but lost the campaign in the world. For that reason, the settlements today are beyond the legitimate international fence. And they are putting Israel beyond the legitimate international fence.
http://www.haaretz.ocm/print-edition/opinion/radioactive-settlements-1.349708
In Palestine everything is relative / Yousef
When I heard the horrific news last night that 5 Israeli settlers were murdered in their home in the settlement of Itamar, I knew it would only be a matter of hours before a shoddy piece of journalism describes the murders as the end of a “lull in the violence” or the end of “relative calm” since 4 Israeli settlers were killed in an attack near Hebron last summer. At that time, the Washington Post ran an editorial saying that the attacks then ended “three years of peace” in the region which we posted about … The problem is that for Zacharia and much of the MSM “relative calm” means no Israelis were attacked, injured or killed and ignores the ongoing occupation and violence against Palestinians.In this period of “relative calm”, the Israeli Human Rights group B’Tselem recorded at least 41 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in occupied Palestinian territory. This includes Omar Qawasmeh, the 66 year old Palestinian civilian who was massacred in his bed while he slept by raiding Israeli soldiers and two 20-something Palestinian unarmed civilians shot and killed at the same checkpoint less than a week apart….
http://blog.thejerusalemfund.org/2011/03/in-palestine-everything-is-relative.html
Iraq – Afghanistan
Wednesday: 3 Iraqis killed, 46 wounded
At least three Iraqis were killed and 46 more were wounded in new violence. Meanwhile the Council of Ministers honored the victims of a chemical massacre in Halabja 23 years ago during a minute-long observance today. Former Saddam confidante and foreign minister Tariq Aziz was given a life sentence in a new case against him; however, the sickly 74-year-old is already awaiting execution on previous charges. Meanwhile, six al-Qaeda defendants were given death sentences in a separate court case. Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi described Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s delay in naming candidates for top posts in the defense, interior and national security ministries as illogical, frustrating and added that the country is facing a dilemma over it. Additionally, the United States has had to make adjustments to its military drawdown plans because of the delay.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/03/16/wednesday-3-iraqis-killed-46-wounded/
UN reported only a fraction of civilian deaths from US raids / Gareth Porter and Shah Noori
WASHINGTON/KABUL, Mar 17, 2011 (IPS) – The number of civilians killed in U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) raids last year was probably several times higher than the figure of 80 people cited in the U.N. report on civilian casualties in Afghanistan published last week, an IPS investigation has revealed. The report also failed to apply the same humanitarian law standard for defining a civilian to its reporting on SOF raids that it applied to its accounting for Taliban assassinations.
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54883
U.S.
Dept of Education opens investigation into anti-Semitism at UC Santa Cruz following events protesting the occupation / Adam Horowitz
Mondoweiss 17 Mar — The Chronicle of Higher Education is reporting that the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights will investigate charges of anti-Semitism at the University of California at Santa Cruz based on a complaint that the university ignored concerns that criticism of Israel was “creating a hostile climate for Jewish people on the campus.” You can read a letter from the Dept. of Ed announcing the investigation here. The move is the first such investigation since the Department announced last October that they were expanding federal anti-bullying guidelines to include religious groups with “shared ethnic characteristics.” Previously, the relevant civil rights statute, Title VI, did not explicitly cover religion. This was a move applauded by Israel supporters, such as the Zionist Organization of America, who saw it as a way to criminalize activism critical of Israel on campus.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/03/dept-of-education-opens-investigation-into-anti-semitism-at-uc-santa-cruz-following-events-protesting-the-occupation.html
Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media
Guardian 17 Mar — Military’s ‘sock puppet’ software creates fake online identities to spread pro-American propaganda
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/mar/17/us-spy-operation-social-networks
