Dozens hurt, woman dead in Jerusalem bombing
Ynet 23 Mar 17:29 — A 60-year-old woman was killed and dozens of people were wounded Wednesday afternoon after an explosive device was detonated in a phone booth near the Jerusalem Convention Center. Medical officials 39 people were hurt in the blast, including three who were seriously hurt. Five other victims were moderately wounded and the rest sustained light injuries.
Early morning fire on Gaza injures 1
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 23 Mar 14:46 — Israeli forces resumed military strikes on the Gaza Strip Wednesday morning injuring a militant, in a string of attacks that have left eight dead, including four civilians. Another 12 civilians were wounded, including three young children. Israeli forces struck twice Wednesday, the first time with artillery fire, and the second from helicopters, both in the Ash-Shuja‘iyya neighborhood east of Gaza City. Palestinian medical sources told Ma‘an that the injured militant, affiliated to the Islamic Jihad’s military wing, had his leg amputated as a result of the morning artillery strike.
Fresh air strikes kill 4 in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 22 Mar 21:32 — Israeli warplanes killed four Palestinians in an air strike on Az-Zaitoun neighborhood south of Gaza City on Tuesday evening, medics said. The attack came hours after Israeli artillery fire hit a home east of Gaza City killing a child, a teenager and three adults. Emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said the four victims of the latest strike were members of the Al-Quds Brigades. They were all in their 20s, he said …. The army official said the men targeted were from the same group that launched a Grad rocket into Israel on February 23, but could not say how they had been identified.
Hamas calls day of mourning; Abbas demands end to fire
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 23 Mar 15:37– Gaza government officials declared Wednesday a day of mourning, with a collective funeral in central Gaza City at midday, for the four civilians and four militants killed by Israeli fire a day earlier. In Moscow, President Mahmoud Abbas asked the Russian foreign minister to exert pressure on Israel, and demand a halt to what he described as an “escalation” against Gaza.
Not in the US press: Palestinian victims
Photo — This is one of the children who was killed by Israeli tanks yesterday.
Netanyahu: Israel will continue to operate against terrorists in Gaza
Haaretz 23 Mar 10:32 — After barrage of rocket and mortar fire, Vice Premier Shalom says Israel may have to consider wide operation in Gaza; Minister Limor Livnat: Operation Cast Lead 2 may be in order.
Worst Israel-Gaza clashes since 2009 war
CSM 23 Mar — Escalating attacks between Israeli defense forces and Gaza militants mark some of the worst violence since the Gaza war, and resemble the pattern of violence that led to the 2009 conflict. Israeli forces and Palestinian militants have been exchanging rockets and attacks since Saturday. In that time Hamas has fired at least 60 rockets, and Israeli forces have conducted numerous air strikes and artillery attacks in response. At least 10 Palestinians have died so far.
Two Grad rockets his Be’er Sheva; IAF strikes Gaza launching squad
Haaretz 23 Mar 6:00 — Tensions continued along Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning, as Gaza militants fired two Grad-type Katyusha rocket at the southern city of Be’er Sheva and a barrage of mortar shells on the western Negev.
PCHR condemns killing of Gaza teens
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 23 Mar — The death of two Gaza teens on Saturday, killed by Israeli fire 300 meters from the border area was an act of “excessive and lethal force,” a condemnation from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said. The two, both 17, were killed east of Johur Ad-Dik in the central Gaza Strip. Medics were only permitted to retrieve their bodies more than 12 hours after they had been killed. According to an investigation conducted by the PCHR, the organization said, at approximately 9:30 p.m. on 19 March Israeli forces fired several artillery shells at the teens killing them instantly … They were identified as Imad Mohammed Issa Faraj Allah and Qasem Salah Abu Uteiwi, both from the An-Nuseirat refugee camp. According to PCHR, they were both civilians.
Gaza, déjà vu: context matters / Yousef Munayyer
23 Mar — Over the past 24 hours I couldn’t help but feel I have lived these moments before. I suppose that is because recent events are so similar to events which lead to the beginning of Israel’s 23-day campaign in Gaza which left over 1,400 dead, most of whom were civilians … when the war on Gaza inevitably started at the end of December in 2008, it permitted many editors to create this simple, context free story line: “Israel must defend itself. And Hamas must bear responsibility for ending a six-month cease-fire this month with a barrage of rocket attacks into Israeli territory.” In fact, that is precisely how the NY Times began their lead editorial on Dec. 30th, addressing the bombing of Gaza that started the war. The Times had completely dismissed the fact that it was the Israelis which escalated the situation on Nov. 4th when the entire world was busy paying attention to the election.
The sanctity of the soaring Qassam / Amira Hass
Haaretz 23 Mar — The Hamas authorities once again forgot that the neighbor/occupier to its east is crazy. Fact: Over Shabbat, Hamas’ military wing fired more than 50 mortar shells at Israel. Or perhaps it didn’t forget: Perhaps it merely thought the Palestinian people in Gaza were ready for another high-tech Israeli onslaught, for another Israel Defense Forces video game in which children playing on a roof are identified as lookouts and sentenced to death.
And more news from Today in Palestine:
Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing / Settlers
Israeli settler violence: not even the animals are safe / Yousef Munayyer
Does PETA have an international division? After reading this post in Mondoweiss this morning, I figured I’d add some context and numbers to the poignant images which captured events all too common and far too underdiscussed … when it comes to settler violence, shepherds and farmers are sitting ducks, and so are their sheep, cows, horses and the occasional camel. Our database did not code specifically for attacks on animals, but we did record injury, killing or mutilation (yes, mutilation) of livestock … These data points should give you an idea of the inherent risks of being a Palestinian shepherd under occupation:
http://blog.thejerusalemfund.org/2011/03/israeli-settler-violence-not-even.html
Settlers attack Aqraba farmland
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 22 Mar — Settlers on Tuesday destroyed agricultural land owned by Palestinian villagers near Nablus in the northern West Bank. The Agricultural Work Committees Union recently planted hundreds of seedlings on the land around Aqraba village. Residents of the illegal Itamar settlement uprooted the seedlings and destroyed water wells in the area, the union said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371280
On World Water Day, support the academic boycott call
EI 22 Mar — Israel prevents Palestinians from developing normal water infrastructure and from continuing to use the natural resources that Palestinians have been using for centuries … Israeli settlers in the Jordan Valley export water-intensive crops to Europe, virtually exporting an amount of water equal to about one quarter of the total amount of water that 2.5 million Palestinians have for domestic purposes, agriculture and industry — while many Palestinians survive on just twenty liters of water per person per day! Meanwhile, springs located amid Palestinian farmland between Palestinian villages continue to be stolen by illegal Israeli settlers with the support of the Israeli military, such as those at Nabi Saleh in the northern Ramallah district and Wadrahal in the Bethlehem district, just to name two recent examples where the theft is current or only recently transpired.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11872.shtml
International abductions
Kiev says not involved in Gazan’s arrest
Ynet 23 Mar — Ukrainian law enforcers say they were not involved in last month’s arrest of a Palestinian engineer and his transportation to an Israeli prison. National Security Service spokeswoman Marina Ostapenko said Wednesday the agency is unaware how Dirar Abu Sisi, a top engineer at Gaza’s power plant, disappeared from Ukraine and ended up in custody in Israel.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4046617,00.html
Ukraine seeks answers on Palestinian’s detention
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) 23 Mar — The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday it plans to summon Israel’s ambassador for an explanation of how a Palestinian engineer disappeared from Ukraine and ended up jailed in Israel … The Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights on Monday cited Abu Sisi as saying he was dragged out of his sleeper car, hooded and handcuffed by Israeli agents, forced onto a plane and taken to Israel. The United Nations refugee agency has said Abu Sisi’s trip to Israel resembled a “violent abduction” and not a legal extradition. Abu Sisi’s wife denied speculation that he was tied to Hamas militants.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110323/ap_on_re_eu/eu_ukraine_palestinian_held
Gazans protest abduction of engineer
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 22 Mar — Friends and family members of a Gaza engineer held a sit-in Tuesday in front of UN headquarters in Gaza City protesting Israel’s abduction of Dirar Abu Sisi, director of Gaza’s sole power plant … On Sunday, Israeli media confirmed earlier reports that he was abducted by Israeli officials after the state partially lifted a gag order on reporting the man’s disappearance. The gathered protesters were demanding his release. The engineer’s son, 10-year-old Mousa, held a photo of his father and urged the Ukrainian president to pressure Israel to release him. He said his father was held in Israel’s Ashkelon prison “for no offense.” … A delegation representing the Gaza Strip’s union of engineers joined the sit-in, including union chief Kan’an Ubeid. They raised posters in English and Arabic calling on Ukrainian authorities to intervene and free their colleague.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371215
Israel abducts two Lebanese shepherds near Rmeish
DS 23 Mar — BEIRUT: Israel abducted two Lebanese shepherds Tuesday in an act that prompted calls for international action to be taken against the Jewish state following its latest violation of Lebanese sovereignty.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=126355#axzz1HOSD59vn
Detention
Clashes near Jerusalem: 2 injured, 5 detained
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 23 Mar — Two Palestinians were injured and five others detained during clashes that erupted between Israeli forces and residents of the Jerusalem-district village of Qatanna Wednesday afternoon. Residents said the clash started when an Israeli patrol entered the village, adjacent to the separation wall northwest of the Old City of Jerusalem. … Jerusalem municipality spokesman Abu Silman identified those injured as Mujahed Samer Al-Faqih, 16, and Yehya Abdel Salam Shamasneh, who were both hit with rubber-coated bullets. One witness said live fire was also used. Abu Silman said five others were detained, all between 15-16 years old.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371515
Israeli forces injure 1, detain 3 near Beit Ummar
HEBRON (Ma‘an) — Israeli forces injured one Palestinian and detained three others, during a funeral north of Beit Ummar on Wednesday, local sources said. The southern West Bank town’s popular committee spokesman, Muhammad Ayyad Awad, said forces fired sound grenades and tear gas at mourners, after stones were thrown at a settler’s car in the area.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371703
Hamas says PA political arrests continue
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) — Hamas leaders in the West Bank said Wednesday that Palestinian Authority security officers detained three Hamas members during the week. A Hamas statement said the detentions were carried out in the Tulkarem and Nablus districts.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371503
Siege / Restriction of movement
Gaza delegation to Ramallah amid crossings crisis
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 23 Mar — Gaza crossings officials and the local Transport Union agreed Wednesday that Israel’s decision to close all but one commercial import terminal had precipitated a crisis … When no action was taken to re-open the Karni crossing, last week Transport Union officials said a new strike would be introduced Sunday. Transport Union officials met with delegates from Gaza’s Chamber of Commerce for an urgent meeting to discuss the announced strike measures.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371525
Israel opens sole operating crossing for limited deliveries
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) 22 Mar – Israeli authorities allowed 250 trucks of goods to enter the besieged Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Palestinian officials said. Liaison officer Raed Fattouh said nine trucks would bring cement for UN building projects in Gaza through the sole operating crossing Kerem Shalom. Fattouh added that Israel would allow two trucks of flowers grown in Gaza to leave the enclave for export to Europe. Prior to Israel’s blockade, hundreds of truckloads of Gazan produce were exported every day.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371022
Goods: needs vs. supply Feb 20 – Mar 19
http://www.gazagateway.org/2011/03/goods-%E2%80%93-needs-vs-supply-%E2%80%93-feb-20-%E2%80%93-mar-19/
Industrial fuel: needs vs. supply Feb 20 – Mar 19
http://www.gazagateway.org/2011/03/industrial-fuel-%E2%80%93-needs-vs-supply-%E2%80%93-feb-20-%E2%80%93-mar-19/
Settler suicide prompts checkpoint closures
NABLUS (Ma‘an) — The suicide of a settler in the northern West Bank saw Israeli forces close down several checkpoints, implement intensive checks and road closures, during the initial stages of investigation into the death. Israeli media reported a dead body found in a settlement, which Palestinian sources said was the Revava settlement, south of Palestinian villages Deir Istiya and Kifl Haris in the Salfit district.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371633
Racism / Discrimination
Knesset passes ‘Nakba bill’
Ynet 23 Mar — The Knesset passed two controversial bills late Tuesday night, infuriating many MKs from Arab and left-wing parties, who claim the bills are racist and run counter to democratic values.The “Nakba bill”, proposed by Yisrael Beiteinu, requires the state to fine local authorities and other state-funded bodies for holding events marking the Palestinian Nakba Day by supporting armed resistance or racism against Israel, or desecrating the state flag or national symbols. On Nakba Day Palestinians mark the “catastrophe” of Israel’s inception in 1948 …
The second bill, which passed by a majority of 35 to 20, formalizes the establishment of admission committees to review potential residents of Negev and Galilee communities that have fewer than 400 families. It was passed after 2 am. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel immediately filed a petition against the bill, claiming that it sanctions discrimination against Arabs, haredim, Mizrahi Jews, and even single mothers …
But the Knesset truly erupted in violence when MK Tibi took the stand. “You must read Jewish history well and learn which laws you suffered from. Do you remember anything about the prohibition of interracial marriage? Do you need an Arab on the stand to remind you of your history?” he asked.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4046440,00.html
Knesset passes segregation law / Roi Maor
22 Mar — The Knesset passed a segregation bill today. Palestinian Israelis are not allowed to live in Jewish localities built on land confiscated from them. Government policy also makes sure they cannot build on the little private land that was left in their ownership. How long can Jewish Israelis continue pretending that Palestinians do not exist? … It would be upsetting enough if the only element of discrimination was the principle of segregation which it enshrines. But as bad as that is, there is much worse discrimination at work here. In the first decades of Israel’s existence, through a variety of legal and pseudo-legal means, vast amounts of land were confiscated by the state, almost all of it Arab-owned private land. Much of this land was transferred to the Jewish National Fund, which has a charter forbidding it to allocate land for the use of non-Jews….
http://972mag.com/knesset-passes-segregation-law/
Anti-solidarity, anti-BDS
Ayalon: Don’t let nationals take part in Gaza flotilla
JPost 22 Mar — Amid reports that IHH planning 2nd flotilla, deputy FM calls on foreign diplomats to keep their nationals from joining “dangerous provocation.” … Ayalon’s comments are part of a Foreign Ministry policy to take the likelihood of future flotillas very seriously, and to embark on stopping them long before they set sail.
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=213324
Kiss bassist Gene Simmons says boycotters of Israel are fools
AP 22 Mar — Kiss’s Israeli-born singer-musician Gene Simmons is shouting out loud at the string of musicians who refuse to perform in his homeland. They’re fools,” the legendary bassist told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday, on his first return to Israel since leaving the country as a child more than 50 years ago
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/kiss-bassist-gene-simmons-says-boycotters-of-israel-are-fools/article1952037/
Politics / Diplomacy
West Bank: Fayyad’s five-week period to form government expires
22 Mar — Five weeks after Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad dissolved his Cabinet, saying he needed to better prepare for upcoming elections and eventual statehood, he has yet to form a new government. Fayyad tendered his government resignation to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Feb. 14. According to Palestinian law, Fayyad had three weeks to form a government. The three weeks passed and Fayyad had not formed one. So he asked for two more weeks and he got them. So far everything is legal. Monday was the last day for the two-week extension, and Fayyad had not yet presented his government.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/03/west-bank-fayyads-five-week-period-to-form-government-expires.html
Erekat reasserts that Hamas is a legitimate Palestinian national movement
MEMO 23 Mar — The ex-Chief Negotiator of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation has rejected the Israeli Prime Minister’s demand for the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah to choose between Israel or Hamas. Dr. Saeb Erekat said that such a choice is rejected and it is “completely unacceptable” for Benjamin Netanyahu to call for it. “There is no scope for comparison between Israel and the Palestinian movement of Hamas,” he asserted. “Israel is an occupying power and we hope to establish peace with it by ending the occupation; the state terrorism it practices; the policies of assassination and detention, and settlement construction on our occupied land.”
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/middle-east/2165-erekat-reasserts-that-hamas-is-a-legitimate-palestinian-national-movement
Abbas: Ramallah-Gaza road shortest path to unity
MOSCOW (Ma‘an) 23 Mar — President Mahmoud Abbas renewed his pledge to go to Gaza in a push for reconciliation with Hamas, saying Tuesday that the Gaza-Ramallah road remained the shortest route to unity between Fatah and Hamas. Speaking from Moscow where he remains for an official visit, Abbas said that a successful visit to Gaza remains a possibility, and is “feasible for immediate implementation.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371470
UN’s Serry condemns killing of civilians in Gaza
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 22 Mar — The UN’s envoy to the Middle East Robert Serry on Tuesday condemned Israel’s killing of civilians in Gaza. On Tuesday afternoon, an Israeli tank fired at a family playing football outside their home in the eastern part of the Ash-Shaja’iya neighborhood in Gaza City. The Israeli military said it regretted harm to innocent civilians, but blamed Hamas, who it said operated in civilian areas.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=371419
US Gates condemns ‘horrific’ Jerusalem attack
CAIRO, March 23 (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said a bomb attack in Jerusalem on Wednesday was a “horrific terrorist attack”. Gates, speaking during a visit to Cairo, said he did not see the situation in Israel deteriorating, despite the attack.[Let’s see, did we hear anything from him about the killings of civilians in Gaza this week? Thought not.]
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/23/israel-explosion-usa-idUSWEA043220110323
Abbas condemns blast, IDF
Ynet 23 Mar – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas published a statement Wednesday condemning the Jerusalem terror attack. In the statement, the Palestinian leader also condemned the IDF attacks in the Gaza Strip that killed eight Palestinians, including three civilians.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4046838,00.html
Other news
State comptroller: Israel must stop ignoring earthquake warnings
Haaretz 23 Mar — The Israeli government has done nothing to improve its status quo of unpreparedness for an earthquake, despite more than a decade of warning, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss said Wednesday.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/state-comptroller-israel-must-stop-ignoring-earthquake-warnings-1.351357
Egypt Air removes Israel from map
Ynet 23 Mar — Jordan stretches to sea in online map by Egypt’s largest airline, though it continues to fly to Israel
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4046460,00.html
Jerusalem tram winds its way around city’s political, religious, and archaeological barriers
JERUSALEM 22 Mar — After years of delays, Jerusalem’s historic light rail is set to begin running next month, completing a journey that has circumvented ancient bones, archaeological treasures, budget overruns and political controversies that have repeatedly threatened to derail the project … In a place where everything is shaped by political overtones, Palestinians accuse Israel of using the project to solidify its hold on the disputed eastern sector of the city.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/jerusalem_tram_winds_its_way_around_citys_political_religious_and_archaeological_barriers/2011/03/22/ABDPSsBB_story.html
Analysis / Opinion
Aid industry doing no harm in Palestine? / Samer Abdelnour
EI 22 Mar — Palestinians are among the most aid-subsidized people on earth … Discourses of ‘aid’, ‘development’ and ‘reconstruction’ shield Israel’s ongoing occupation and colonial project. A full third of the Palestinian Authority budget is aid-subsidized. In addition to funding a distorted Palestinian political system, the aid industry directly removes from Israel the burden of responsibility for the destruction of Palestinian lives, livelihoods and infrastructure. In doing so, it allows Israel to focus its resources and efforts on the acceleration of Palestinian poverty, the expansion of settlements, the expropriation of Jerusalem and the destruction of Gaza.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11870.shtml
I wish you Egypt / Omar Barghouti
22 Mar — An open letter to people of conscience in the West. I wish you Egypt! I wish you empowerment to resist; to fight for social and economic justice; to win your real freedom and equal rights. I wish you the will and skill to break out of your carefully concealed prison walls … I wish you Egypt so you can decolonize your minds, for only then can you envision real liberty, real justice, real equality, and real dignity.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/omar-barghouti/i-wish-you-egypt_b_839160.html
Israel is blind to the Arab revolution / Aluf Benn
Guardian 23 Mar — Israel’s view of the Arab uprising reflects ideas of itself as a liberal bastion in a sea of backwardness — Even in its third month, the Arab revolution fails to resonate positively in Israel. The Israeli news media devote a lot of space to dramatic events in the region, but our self-centered political discourse remains the same. It cannot see beyond the recent escalation across the Gaza border, or the approaching possibility of a Palestinian declaration of statehood in September. Israel’s leaders are missing the old order in the Arab world, sensing only trouble in the unfolding and perhaps inevitable change.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/23/israel-blind-to-arab-revolution
Fukushima is here / Sefi Rachlevsky
Haaretz 23 Mar — If there is one country in the world that should not have built nuclear reactors, it is Japan, and that is not 20-20 hindsight. The traumas of World War II, of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, along with the fact that Japan sits on the seam of tectonic plates, should have kept it away from that path. But Japan became a leader in the construction of reactors after all. If there is one country in the world that should not have fallen into the chasm of anti-democratic racism, it is Israel. The traumas of World War II and the horrors that racism and hatred wreaked on democracy, along with the fact that Israel sits on the seam of the Islamic world, should have kept it away from that path. But the government threatens to turn Israel into a rising anti-democratic power after all.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/fukushima-is-here-1.351247
The return of colonial theology / Yitzhak Laor
Haaretz 22 Mar — Two other Arab uprisings are going on aside from the civil war in Libya. But no one in Washington has called on Bahrain’s government to step down, and Saudi Arabia, which cuts off the hands of thieves, has been allowed to invade the emirate to take part in the suppression there. Protesters are being slaughtered daily in Yemen, and the West is helping. As always, Arab blood, high octane, is on sale. To claim that this is a double standard is like complaining that a missile has a warhead and a tail.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/the-return-of-colonial-theology-1.351029
Iraq, Afghanistan
Tuesday: 5 Iraqis killed, 33 wounded
At least five Iraqis were killed and 33 others were wounded in today’s violence. Most of the attacks took place in Baghdad. An unapproved demonstration in a city in eastern Iraq turned into clashes when police arrived to shut it down.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/03/22/tuesday-5-iraqis-killed-33-wounded/
Afghan security transition to start in 7 areas
KABUL, March 22 (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s leader announced on Tuesday seven areas would be included in the first phase of a gradual transition of security from NATO troops to Afghan forces in July, including volatile cities in the south and north. The announcement was the first tentative step in a long process that will end with the withdrawal of all foreign combat troops from Afghanistan by 2014, a process agreed by U.S. and NATO leaders last year.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/afghan-security-transition-to-start-in-7-areas
