‘Battle of the Empty Stomachs’: Thaer Halahleh and Bilal Diab surpass 70 days on hunger strike

Prisoners: Hunger strike reached point of no return
A delegation of the Israeli prison authority has met with two members of the committee representing Palestinian prisoners, who are on hunger strike, in Ramon and Nafha jails. 

‘Undercover Israeli combatants threw stones at IDF soldiers in West Bank’
Testimony by commander of the Israeli Prison Service’s elite ‘Masada’ unit sheds light on IDF methods in countering demonstrations against barrier.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/undercover-israeli-combatants-threw-stones-at-idf-soldiers-in-west-bank-1.428584?localLinksEnabled=false

Barakeh’s Trial Sheds Light On Israeli Military Undercover Methods Of Disrupting Peaceful Protests
During the recent trial of MK Mohammad Barakeh accused of assaulting a border guard, disruptive methods used by the Israeli Military to discredit peaceful demonstrations came to light.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63433 

 

Palestinian Authority Collaborators

PA forces launch security crackdown in Jenin
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Palestinian Authority forces launched a large scale security crackdown in the Jenin district on Saturday. “Security services are sending summons to all suspects who possibly partook in the shooting at the house of the late Jenin governor Qaddura Musa, and suspects involved in murder, blackmailing or other assaults,” the commander of Jenin’s security forces Radi Asida told Ma’an. The governor of Jenin died from a heart attack on Wednesday, which officials say was brought on by an attack on his home by gunmen.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=482689

Islamic student blocs stage sit-ins to protest arrest of students
The Islamic student blocs at the universities of Al-Quds Abu Dis and Birzeit staged sit-ins on campus in protest against the arbitrary arrest of some students by the PA intelligence agency.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s71RY5F9hHP9iaiB56AYNhYMp1LM%2b22uxhdTTjxjGT4VlW2PjQVTVUov6rPAhjZ2PWcOd5vR%2bTF2ybB%2fgD61XxthrKMZImW6iVwx84SZawRDw%3d

Detainees and Prisoner News

Israeli Court Agrees to Release Activist on Bail
QALQILIA, May 8, 2012 (WAFA) – Israeli court agreed to release a local Palestinian activist on a $5,000 bail, after he was arrested for participating in non-violent weekly demonstrations in Kufr Qaddum, a village east of Qalqilia, said local sources on Tuesday. Media Coordinator of the weekly demonstrations in Kufr Qaddum Murad Shtewi said that Palestinian activist Riyad Shtewi was arrested along with another 19 activists in April 5.  The coordinator said that Israeli courts set huge bails for detained Palestinian activists to discourage them from participating in future protests. He added that around $15,000 (57, 000NIS) were paid in order to release over 50 activists who were detained since the demonstrations first started. Kufr Qaddum residents and organizations called on international human rights groups to intervene in order to expose the Israeli policies to blackmail Palestinians, insisting that such policies fall under collective punishment. 
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=19764

IOF soldiers round up 12 Palestinians
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) launched an arrest campaign in various West Bank areas at dawn Tuesday that ended with rounding up 12 citizens.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7JBT%2ff%2f%2bRqb9NkESIsuUiwd4B7lru7bUlFsrxAhQGS6gjj1f30dlZq1eIkdVIHaPhf47e4AK6W021bQf4ztTY04HByXEC20usQhNXKr5frfY%3d

Women ‘detained in Hebron after settlers raid homes’
HEBRON (Ma’an) — A Palestinian woman was detained in the city of Hebron on Sunday after Israeli settlers raided her house, locals told Ma’an. A group of Israelis from a nearby settlement entered several homes along Shuhada street in the center of town, residents said. Jamila Hassan Abdul Fattah Al-Shalaldeh was accused of attacking settlers after they entered her home and was detained by Israeli forces, locals added. An Israeli military spokeswoman did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=483019

 

IOF soldiers arrest son of martyr
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) arrested Musab Saleh Talahme, 19, near Al-Burj village in Dura town, south of Al-Khalil, on Monday morning, locals said.

Metsada forces attack section 12 of Ofer jail
Special forces from Metsada unit stormed on Saturday section 12 of Ofer jail and ransacked three rooms inside it and cut off power.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7qCQMldqxVLFOv9OMxmFUjwCS7i3gkF5bTXxtD4NnA%2bLoQ85SneDyMxyM7uA2GX7LnGseB0nDyFG7y2y13fnNTDARQIQjR5W3b3%2fChlVokyM%3d

Israel admits: Administrative detention unnecessary
Michael Omer-Man – +972 – “Less than three weeks after at least 1,400 Palestinians in Israeli prisons launched a widespread hunger strike, Israeli Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch on Thursday made several astounding admissions regarding Israel’s use of administrative detention. In private meetings with security officials, Aharonovitch called for reducing Israel’s use of the practice, applying it `only if there is a need and not in all cases,` according to a Haaretz report”
http://972mag.com/israel-admits-administrative-detention-unnecessary/44673/

Other Solidarity / Activism / BDS

Campaign to Boycott Adidas
Palestinian Youth launched a campaign to boycott an international company for its participation in a marathon in occupied Jerusalem.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7GE%2bljymnXHcv9NliA5gcnkB92zEBr17bWUpDpzlq6M%2fuOUSH%2fcX7fjtlymkqx0HqAVlrbiK%2fX4dCQpP%2f%2bJJfnFogyLqP4SSTdrBBnXEec4Q%3d

Respecting BDS Guidelines: Self Determination and International Solidarity
In the Palestinian Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), we often face criticism from people who wish to stand in solidarity with Palestinians without respecting the boycott guidelines set by Palestinian civil society. Setting guidelines, the argument goes, is too restrictive and rigid, alienating the liberal mainstream from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The alternative proposed by some is to let everyone decide how he or she wants to implement BDS, thus allowing for maximum flexibility and growth for the movement. We are specifically criticized for insisting that internationals and Israelis who wish to support our struggle against Israel’s apartheid and colonial oppression must take their lead from the oppressed—in this case, the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), of which PACBI is a small but critical part.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/respecting-bds-guidelines-self-determination-and-international-solidarity?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

Normalization

Turkish mayor visits Israel, dreams joint projects
He is 1 of 37 mayors from 28 countries in Israel for a four-day conference organized by American Council for World Jewry.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=268966

Turkey and Israel: business as usual after the Mavi Marmara
Economic relations between Turkey and Israel have not been impacted by the political crisis that resulted between the two nations following a raid by Israeli troops on the Mavi Marmara ship, which resulted in the deaths of eight Turkish citizens and one Turkish American. Turkey’s top officials declared, following the attack, that Israel would suffer the consequences, describing the incident as “state terror.” Yet although Turkey has taken political measures against Israel, including downgrading diplomatic relations to the level of second secretary, boycotting Israel’s national day reception held by its embassy in Ankara and suspending all military agreements, it has so far not taken any concrete economic measures as part of this response.
http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=279529#.T6fyqVNty44.blogger

Israeli Racism

Report: Arson attack targets African migrants in Tel Aviv
TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma’an) — Two firebombs were thrown at the Tel Aviv home of African residents on Saturday night, Israeli daily Haaretz reported. It is the second such attack of its kind in the last two weeks targeting African residents in south Tel Aviv. In late April, firebombs were thrown at a kindergarten and apartments used by the African community.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=482731

The Tribalism & Latent Racism of Jeremy Ben-Ami, Nima Shirazi
J Street executive director Jeremy Ben-Ami disavowed support for Peter Beinart’s recent settlement boycott call in an with American Jewish establishment bouncer Jeffrey Goldberg just days before Beinart’s official book release event at J Street’s annual conference.
http://www.wideasleepinamerica.com/2012/03/tribalism-latent-racism-of-jeremy-ben.html

Developments / Other News
   
MK takes to Knesset podium for speech in Arabic
Knesset Member Talab El-Sana takes advantage of Knesset’s final moments to make speech in Arabic in which he criticized government. MK Eldad: Will propose bill to have Hebrew as only official language.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4226065,00.html

Fatah official: Fayyad will keep PM post after reshuffle
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad said Sunday that current Palestinian Authority premier Salam Fayyad is certain to remain head of the government after the coming ministerial reshuffle. President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to announce the new cabinet by Tuesday, his adviser said earlier. Al-Ahmad confirmed earlier reports that Fayyad will keep the prime ministerial post. He cautioned about any discussion about elections, calling it “premature”.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=483008

Mashaal starts diplomatic moves to revive stalled reconciliation
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum revealed that head of the political bureau Khaled Mashaal initiated contacts with Egyptian leaders in Cairo and other parties to reactivate the reconciliation file.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7XTzHEgQUrFm%2bopzv72RXyVaCKVk9se2m7%2b7AmhVhkaFtRQ1KLxtBS3nPWw%2bKRVHIiCeiOnI5ctBL%2bvFbDyIGI2FcsR8FwvBak%2fKz2LjSRLo%3d

 

No difference between any political parties in apartheid Israel: Netanyahu in surprise coalition with Kadima
Deal effectively cancels moves by Israeli parliament to clear the way for early elections that the PM had wanted.

Analysis / Op-ed / Human Interest

The “Jordan is Palestine” Scheme is no Illusion
The “Alternative Homeland” is a topic of incessant debate in Jordan. There is vague general agreement that a US-backed Israeli scheme of this kind exists. But many believe it to be consigned to imperialist and Zionist filing cabinets, and that one can therefore suffice, at present, with rejecting it verbally. However, the supporters of naturalization and quota-allocation believe it is merely a scarecrow, whose aim is to perpetuate the “diminished rights of Jordanian-Palestinians.” Hard-line Jordanians, on the other hand, imagine it to be a coup-like “conspiracy” to change the legal status of the Jordanian state along with its name, flag, and institutions in order to create a Palestinian state in the country.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/jordan-palestine-scheme-no-illusion?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

Unified Palestinian Authority: A House of Cards
The idea of a unified political authority consisting of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) factions and other Palestinian factions has come to an end. It is no longer ever mentioned by any leaders of the Palestinian factions. And if they do, it is to make fun of it. Criticism of the unified authority has increased lately from two of its main components, Fatah and Hamas. Such criticism centers on the thought that the unified political authority is actually just an example of the Palestinian government acquiescing to a British demand to speed up the formation of a Palestinian police force. They see this as part of a Western concept of a final resolution to the Palestinian cause in a way that annuls the efficacy of the right of return. But even if this authority serves as a facade for a Western demand, divisions between Fatah and Hamas prevented its creation even before signs of a “foreign conspiracy” appeared.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/unified-palestinian-authority-house-cards?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

The House That Sabri Built, Raja Shehadeh
BEIT IJZA, West Bank — One of the first statements under oath that I took for Al Haq, a human rights organization I helped establish, was from Sabri Garaib, a farmer from Beit Ijza, a Palestinian village ten miles northwest of Jerusalem. I remember sitting on the porch of his house overlooking the garden and the low, undulating hills planted with wheat and barley that spread out on all sides. All 112 acres, I was told, were in danger of being expropriated by the new Jewish settlement of Givon Hahadasha. It was 1982. In the many years since then Sabri repeatedly fought the settlers in order to hold on to his land. He would go to the Military Objection Committee to counter claims challenging his ownership. He would appeal to the Israeli high court, using every recourse available. He would go to jail for fighting off settlers who tried to stop him from farming or for removing fences they’d put up. But the settlement kept growing all around his house, claiming his land one acre at a time.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/?p=5557

Horowitz smear will only invigorate boycott Israel campaign
David Horowitz’s New York Times attack ad exploits the Holocaust to distract from Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people.
http://electronicintifada.net/content/horowitz-smear-will-only-invigorate-boycott-israel-campaign/11261?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29

After LGBT forum, Oren will headline for notorious homophobic pastor John Hagee, Phan Nguyen
What does the Equality Forum’s LGBT Summit and a conference hosted by a notorious homophobic pastor have in common? The same headlining speaker. Last Saturday, Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren gave the keynote address at the Equality Forum’s “International Equality Dinner” in Philadelphia. The dinner was part of the Equality Forum’s annual Global LGBT Summit, which this year highlighted Israel as a “featured nation.” Queer activists protested the summit for being used in a “pinkwashing” campaign to cover Israel’s oppression of Palestinians by exploiting queer struggles.
https://mondoweiss.net/2012/05/after-lgbt-forum-next-stop-for-ambassador-oren-is-john-hagee-conference.html

 

European Politics on Palestine: Interview with David Cronin, Dan Freeman-Maloy
David Cronin is one of the leading public critics of European policies on Palestine. He has written for a variety of publications across Europe, has served as European correspondent for The Sunday Tribune (Dublin) and as Brussels correspondent for the Inter Press Service news agency, and is the author of Europe’s Alliance with Israel: Aiding the Occupation (2011). His book – described by Ken Loach as ‘essential reading for all who care about justice and the rule of law’ – is available here from Pluto Press. 

 
Zionist History: a Short Quiz
Take this test to find out how much you know about the gradual shift in Israeli political thought over the decades. Not long after Israel celebrated its 64th Independence Day on April 26, a friend prepared a quiz of sorts. She read out loud political quotes to about ten guests who were having dinner at my house, and asked us to identify the politician who had uttered each statement. Truth be told, none of my guests did very well on the quiz, but I thought that readers acquainted with Zionist history might do better and would be able to identify the source of each of the following statements. There is only one rule to this game: all search engines, including Google, are off limits.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/05/07/zionist-history-a-short-quiz/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=zionist-history-a-short-quiz

 

Above is an excerpt of the conversation between the host of 60 Minutes and the Israeli ambassador to the United States, from the 22-Apr installment about the dwindling local Christian community in Palestine/Israel. Governments’ manipulation and influence of the press is nothing new, but why would the Israeli government, an administration considered a friend by many Christians, regarded this program as a “potential strategic terrorist attack”, and went out of its way to interfere with a show which aimed to expose the difficulties faced by the local Christians? Even more bizarre, a Christian organization in the United States joined the effort and mobilized its members in a writing campaign, who then sent more than 16,000 emails to the TV network in just four hours. Why would a “Christian” organization deter a show which sought to raise the awareness of the plight of its fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? 

 

How Arab revolutionary art helped break the spell of political oppression
Graffiti, murals and other dissident art have transformed public spaces and mobilised public opinion in the Middle East. In January 2011 the Tunisian dictator Ben Ali fled Tunisia. Ten months later, his giant smiling face appeared on the side of a building in the busy port city of La Goulette. At first people just gathered beneath it and stared. Then they started to get angry. Urged on by the crowd, a group of men pulled the dictator’s image down. The poster crumpled – and revealed a second poster: “Beware, dictatorship can return. On Oct 23rd, VOTE.“
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/05/arab-revolutionary-art-political-oppression

Ramadan’s Arab Awakening, Robin Yassin-Kassab
A mangled version of this review appeared in the Independent. What is happening in the Middle East? Tariq Ramadan, one of the foremost Muslim intellectuals, calls the contemporary events ‘uprisings’, more concrete and permanent in their effect than ‘revolts’ but still short of thoroughgoing ‘revolutions’.
http://pulsemedia.org/2012/05/06/ramadans-arab-awakening/

Robert Fisk: Arab Spring has washed the region’s appalling racism out of the news
How many tracts, books, documentaries, speeches and doctoral theses have been written and produced about Islamophobia? How many denunciations have been made against the Sarkozys and the Le Pens and the Wilders for their anti-immigration (for which, read largely anti-Muslim) policies or – let us go down far darker paths – against the plague of Breivik-style racism?
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-arab-spring-has-washed-the-regions-appalling-racism-out-of-the-news-7718707.html

That was Jane Harman of Newsweek trying to quash Medea Benjamin’s stellar soliloquy against drones, Philip Weiss
Last week Medea Benjamin wrote about confronting John Brennan on drones at the Wilson Center. I only watched the video today, and was awed by Benjamin’s bravery. Watch her being frogmarched from the hall and with perfect timing proclaiming exit lines that would make Shakespeare proud: ” I love the rule of law. I love my country. You are making us less safe by killing so many innocent people around the world. Shame on you.”
https://mondoweiss.net/2012/05/that-was-jane-harman-of-newsweek-trying-to-quash-medea-benjamins-stellar-soliloquy-against-drones.html

Bahrain

Bahrain: Activist arrested over ‘insulting’ tweets must be freed
A prominent human rights activist detained for posting tweets deemed “insulting” to Bahrain’s Ministy of Interior must be released, Amnesty International said. Nabeel Rajab, the director of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was arrested on Saturday evening and has been charged with “insulting a national institution”. “This is the Bahraini authorities’ latest attempt to clamp down on dissenting voices in the country,” said Philip Luther, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. “Nabeel Rajab is a prisoner of conscience and he must be immediately and unconditionally released.”
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/bahrain-activist-arrested-over-insulting-tweets-must-be-freed-2012-05-08

Bahrain rights leader arrested for ‘offensive’ tweets: BCHR
Human rights leader Nabeel Rajab is being held in a Bahraini jail because of comments he made on Twitter, his daughter said on Monday. Rajab, head of the Bahrain Center of Human Rights (BCHR), was arrested on Saturday evening after flying into the country, and was charged with a string of offenses on Sunday afternoon. Maryam al-Khawaja, who has taken over as acting head of the BCHR while Rajab remains incarcerated, said the charges against him were based on comments he had made on the social networking site.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/bahrain-rights-leader-arrested-offensive-tweets-bchr?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

Bahraini rights leader Rajab detained after BBC interview
A Bahraini human rights leader was arrested on Saturday night two weeks after an interview with the BBC that angered the country’s autocratic government, an official statement and opposition activists said. Nabeel Rajab, co-founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), has become a leading figure in the opposition since pro-democracy protests broke out last year and had been on an international tour in which he spoke with media organizations including the BBC.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/bahraini-rights-leader-rajab-detained-after-media-interview?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

Bahrain adjourns Khawaja trial for fortnight
A Bahraini court on Tuesday adjourned for two weeks an appeals hearing for 13 dissidents, including Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, a prominent activist on a hunger strike, a judicial source said. Eleven of the defendants appeared in court except for Khawaja, who is at a military hospital as he has been on a hunger strike since February 8, and Mirza al-Mahroos, who was also admitted to hospital, the source told AFP. The court demanded both Khawaja – co-founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) – and Mahroos show up in court when the retrial is to resume on May 22.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/bahrain-adjourns-khawaja-trial-fortnight?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

Bahrain king opposes reforms
Bahraini security forces have arrested a human rights activist in the country Nabeel Rajab with the interior ministry giving no particular reason for the act.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/240077.html

Egypt

Media watchdogs decry Egypt attacks on reporters
Two media rights groups on Tuesday condemned the Egyptian military for assaulting and arresting journalists who were covering a recent violent crackdown on anti-military protesters in Cairo.
http://news.yahoo.com/media-watchdogs-decry-egypt-attacks-reporters-130607155.html

Egypt judges send 293 to trial for violent protest
Investigating judges sent 293 Egyptians to trial Monday on charges of resisting authorities, damaging public property and carrying knives and fire bombs during an anti-government protest last year.
http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-judges-send-293-trial-violent-protest-200349280.html

Egypt military extends nightly curfew
Egypt’s military rulers decided on Monday to slap a curfew around the defense ministry in central Cairo for a fourth straight night in the wake of deadly clashes ahead of a landmark presidential poll. State-run MENA news agency, quoting a military source, said the overnight curfew would be imposed from 11:00pm until 6:00am local time, like previous nights.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/egypt-military-extends-nightly-curfew?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

Egypt Presidential Candidate Pledge to Protect Military
The generals’ willingness to submit to civilian authority will determine whether last year’s uprising lives up to its billing as a democratic revolution or amounts instead to a coup.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/world/middleeast/egypt-presidential-candidates-pledge-to-protect-military.html

Amr Moussa: the Camp David Treaty is a Dead Letter
The Eygptian Presidential nominee, Amr Moussa, reiterated that the Camp David treaty, signed by Israel and Eygpt in 1979, is a dead letter, the Maan News Agency reported Sunday morning.
http://www.imemc.org/article/63428

Sabbahi says he would tear up Israel peace treaty
Presidential hopeful Hamdeen Sabbahi has said that if it were up to him, he would tear into pieces the peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979. The Nasserist candidate said he would not recognize a Zionist entity that usurps Arab land. In an interview with the Iranian Fars News Agency, Sabbahi said he is committed to any international treaty signed by Egypt so long as the Egyptian Parliament has not amended it or its cancellation is put to a public referendum.
http://www.egyptindependent.com/node/820796

Moussa leads Egyptian presidential race
Former Arab League chief Amr Moussa remains the most likely winner in the upcoming Egyptian presidential election, a poll released on Monday found. Moussa received the backing of 39 percent of the electorate, 15 percent clear of his nearest rival just two weeks ahead of the official polling day, the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies poll found. Former Muslim Brotherhood member Abul Fotouh came second with 24.5 percent, followed by former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq with 17.2 percent.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/moussa-leads-egyptian-presidential-race?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

Brotherhood leader backs Abouel Fotouh
A leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party announced his support for the presidential hopeful and former Brotherhood member Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh Saturday. On his Facebook account, Freedom and Justice Party leader Hassan al-Beshbashy wrote that Abouel Fotouh was  “key proponent of the Islamic awakening in the 1970’s and the second founder of the Muslim Brotherhood.”
http://www.egyptindependent.com/node/820021

April 6 movement to stage anti-Shafiq protest
The April 6 Youth Movement said on Monday that it will stage a silent protest in the city of Khanka coinciding with a rally for presidential hopeful Ahmed Shafiq there. Mahmoud Afify, head of the movement’s media office and political bureau, said the move is in line with the general opposition to presidential candidates associated with the former regime. “We ensure, through our actions, that the victory of those people is a reproduction of the former regime and the defeat of the revolution,” Afify added, referring to organizing protests and distributing flyers to showcase their past association with the regime and to warn of the consequences of electing them.
http://www.egyptindependent.com/node/823646

Presidential Sidelining: a Blow for Egyptian Democracy
Egypt’s first-ever democratic presidential election seems to be heading toward a showdown between two main candidates. Crucially, the machinations of the presidential elections commission have ensured that the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) is not fielding a serious contender. Far from celebrating this weakening of the MB’s chances of winning the presidency, secularists should be worried about what it means for the development of democracy in Egypt.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/presidential-sidelining-blow-egyptian-democracy?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

Egyptians take Tahrir Square to the junta’s doorstep
Violent clashes at Abbassia Square, a stone’s throw from the defence ministry, suggest Egypt has a new battleground. Egypt’s military junta (known as Scaf, short for the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces), has learned to live with the vitriol and revolutionary bravado reaching it from Tahrir Square in the distant city centre.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/03/egyptians-tahrir-square-junta-abbassia

Cairo subway
A reader in Cairo sent me this:  ”Two days ago, the New York Times published an article () praising the “dependability” and “efficiency” of Cairo’s subway amid the “chaos” above ground. But the article failed to even mention that, many times over the past year, subway trains in Cairo have systematically skipped station stops close to ongoing protests or sit-ins in order to curtail the inflow of protestors and not allow those already there to flee from thugs and arbitrary detention. The very next day, near the Abassiya area, a brave man threw his body in front of one such subway train that was refusing to stop, so that hundreds crammed in the station have a chance to escape violence and the prospect of arrest. Here is the unbelievable video.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2012/05/cairo-subway.html

Egyptian Delegation in Saudi Arabia,  AbuKhalil
The visit by an Egyptian delegation to Saudi Arabia was illustrative. It shows that not only Lebanese politicians excel at the art of prostration before the kings of oil and gas. The origin of the idea of the visit is contested: the Egyptian Parliament’s speaker claimed that the idea was his alone, while ambitious Egyptian liberal politician, Ayman Nour — a man desperate for a role at any cost — claimed that it was his idea.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/blogs/angry-corner/egyptian-delegation-saudi-arabia?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

Iran

Iran slams West’s nuclear double standards
Western powers are mounting pressure on Iran to abandon its nuclear program, while supplying Israel with nuclear capable submarines, a double standard noted by Iran’s foreign ministry on Tuesday. The broadside by the ministry’s spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast appeared to be a response to a US call the previous day for Iran to take “urgent practical steps” to build confidence ahead of nuclear talks with six major powers in Baghdad on May 23.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/iran-slams-wests-nuclear-double-standards?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

India tells US that Iran an important oil source
India said Tuesday it shared the United States’ goal of preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon, but insisted the Islamic republic remained an “important source of oil”.
http://news.yahoo.com/india-tells-us-iran-important-oil-source-134735014.html

Hillary Clinton to drill India on Iranian oil
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on a three-day visit to India. At the top of the agenda is the country’s imports of Iranian oil despite US sanctions.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/HmCOUyteE6o/Hillary-Clinton-to-drill-India-on-Iranian-oil

Iran and the US Anti-War Movement
This article is based on a talk given at the United National Anti-War Coalition (UNAC) Conference on 24 March 2012 in Stamford, Connecticut. It was part of a workshop called, “Solidarity Not Intervention,” organized by Raha Iranian Feminist Collective. Just before this workshop, the conference overwhelmingly voted down a resolution put forward by Raha and Havaar: Iranian Initiative Against War, Sanctions, and State Repression that read: “We oppose war and sanctions against the Iranian people and stand in solidarity with their struggle against state repression and all forms of outside intervention”
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/5441/iran-and-the-us-anti-war-movement

Iraq

Interpol issues warrant for Iraqi VP
Organisation issues ‘Red Notice’ alert for Tariq al-Hashemi on suspicion of guiding and financing terrorist attacks.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/05/2012588321522579.html

Iraq VP: Judge Supervised Torture of Guards
Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi again claimed that his guards have been tortured while in detention on trumped-up terrorism charges. Meanwhile, at least eight Iraqis were killed and 27 more were wounded.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2012/05/07/iraq-vp-judge-supervised-torture-of-guards/

Iraqi Leaders Threaten No Confidence Vote For Maliki
A letter on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was released to the public through a state newspaper yesterday. Four senior politicians, who had met last month in Kurdistan, sent the letter summarizing coalition demands to Maliki’s political bloc. Meanwhile, light violence over the weekend left eight killed and nine wounded.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2012/05/06/iraqi-leaders-threaten-no-confidence-vote-for-maliki/

Iraq court rules to release Hezbollah prisoner
An Iraqi court on Monday declared a Hezbollah commander accused of killing U.S. solders in Iraq in 2007 not guilty for lack of evidence and ruled that he be set free.
http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-court-rules-release-hezbollah-prisoner-091525895.html

Lebanon

Lebanon seizes ammunition on ship in Tripoli
Lebanese authorities have seized 60,000 rounds of ammunition hidden in two cars on an Italian container ship docked at Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli, a security source said on Tuesday. The source did not say where the shipment was heading. But Syria has repeatedly said weapons are being smuggled over its border from Lebanon and other countries to arm rebels fighting President Bashar Assad.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/lebanon-seizes-ammunition-ship-tripoli?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

Lebanese protest against confessionalism
More than 1,000 people marched in the Lebanese capital on Sunday calling for the establishment of a secular state in the country which is ruled by a system of power-sharing along religious lines.
http://news.yahoo.com/lebanese-protest-against-confessionalism-181848275.html

Will secularists be given recognition and rights in Lebanon?
Activists are marching again today for citizenship and law changes on domestic violence, rape and censorship. You don’t become a Lebanese citizen by being born in Lebanon. Nor is having a Lebanese mother enough – or even living in the country for your whole life. In fact, you’re only recognised as a Lebanese citizen if you belong to one of the country’s 18 legally recognised religious groups. Without belonging to one, you can’t get married or divorced, or resolve child custody or inheritance issues.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/may/06/lebanon-secularists-march-change-religious

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Liberals Take to The Web
A group of Saudi liberals are planning to commemorate May 7 as “Saudi Liberalism Day” in a challenge to the dominant hard-line religious current that has already provoked a frenzy of verbal and electronic attacks against the organizers.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-liberals-take-web?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

Syria

Red Cross: 1.5 million in Syria lack basics
Fighting in parts of Syria has morphed into local guerrilla wars, the Red Cross said Tuesday, where the number of prisoners remains unknown and 1.5 million people need help getting food, water, shelter, power and sanitation.
http://news.yahoo.com/red-cross-1-5-million-syria-lack-basics-115313271.html

Red Cross seeks more Syria funds
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appeals for an extra $27m (£17m) for its operations in Syria, saying humanitarian needs remain huge.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17988724#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Exclusive: Sanctions block Syria’s vital grain trade
LONDON (Reuters) – Syria is finding it increasingly hard to buy grain on international markets because sanctions have blocked its access to trade finance, while growing numbers of its citizens are struggling to obtain food after more than a year of conflict. The European Union, the United States and other Western countries have imposed sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad’s government in response to his bloody crackdown on a revolt that has cost more than 10,000 lives.
http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-sanctions-block-syrias-vital-grain-trade-133348728.html

Sanctions cost Syria $3bn: minister
Western sanctions on Syrian oil exports have cost the country nearly US$3 billion dollars in losses, Petroleum Minister Sufian Allaw said on Tuesday. “The petroleum sector has suffered significant losses due to sanctions, and Syria has reduced its production,” the minister said in a statement. Output has been cut by 35 million barrels per day (bpd), since the European Union and the United States imposed their sanctions in April last year, he said.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/sanctions-cost-syria-3bn-minister?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

Islamist group claims revenge suicide bombing in Syrian city of Hama
An Islamist group calling itself Al-Nusra Front has claimed responsibility on the Internet for a deadly suicide bombing near the Syrian city of Hama last month, the SITE Monitoring Service said Saturday.
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/05/06/212400.html

Free Syrian Army ‘regrouping’
Opposition fighters tell Al Jazeera they are using the lull in fighting to amass arms.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/05/20125825450678313.html

Syria holds parliament vote; opposition boycotts
Syrians cast ballots Monday in parliamentary elections billed by the regime as key to President Bashar Assad’s political reforms, but the opposition dismissed the vote as a sham meant to preserve his autocratic rule.
http://news.yahoo.com/syria-holds-parliament-vote-opposition-boycotts-073812291.html

Syrian regime can’t last ‘very long’: Turkish leader
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said here on Monday that Syria’s regime cannot not continue in power for long and urged the international community to stop a humanitarian crisis.
http://news.yahoo.com/syrian-regime-cant-last-very-long-turkish-leader-193211766.html

Syrian Parliamentary Elections: Cynicism Wins The Day
Syria’s parliamentary elections are being met with cynicism on the streets of Damascus despite being billed as the first multi-party elections the country has seen in decades.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syrian-parliamentary-elections-cynicism-wins-day?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

Sarkozy forced out, Assad still in power: Syrian press
A Syrian daily on Monday hailed the defeat in France’s presidential elections of Nicolas Sarkozy, whose foreign minister Alain Juppe had raised the prospect of military intervention to end the crisis. “The Sarkozy-Juppe duo in the dustbin of history,” announced the front page headline of pro-government daily, Al-Watan. “These two worked for 15 months to find a way, through the UN Security Council, to destroy Syria using false pretexts,” said the newspaper.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/sarkozy-forced-out-assad-still-power-syrian-press?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29

How the Syrian Uprising Started, the “Rise” of the Syrian National Council, and The Role of The Arab Gulf Countries: Interview with Haytham Manna` (Part 3)
On April 27th, around the Jadaliyya Co-Sponsored Conference at Lund University (“Contesting Narratives, Location Power“), I sat down for an extensive interview with Haytham Manna`, one of the icons of the independent Syrian opposition and a leading founder of the National Coordinating Body for Democratic Change (in Syria). The interview was long and candid, and addressed several topics, including the current impasse in Syria, the stages and transformation of the uprising, the questions of international intervention and of resistance, the Syrian National Council and its relations with other opposition groups and the Arab Gulf States and beyond, and the relationship between Syria and Hizballah. Below you will find the third part of the 4-part interview.This segment addresses the beginnings of the Syrian uprising, the “rise” of the Syrian National Council, and, briefly but potently, the role of the Arab Gulf countries. The first part can be found here and the second part can be found here.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/5413/how-the-syrian-uprising-started-the-rise-of-the-sy

Other Arab & World News

Jordan, Forever on the Brink, Marc Lynch
The sudden, unprecedented resignation by Jordan’s Prime Minister Awn Khasawnah last week threw a sudden spotlight on the ongoing shortcomings of political reform in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The deficient new election law rolled out last month, like every step the King has taken over the last year and a half, did too little, too late to respond to the concerns of Jordanian citizens. Limited reforms have done little to stem a rising tide of protest across the towns of the south, a deeply struggling economy, loud complaints of corruption, and an intensifying edge of political anger. Add in the potential impact of the ongoing crisis in Syria or of a new escalation in the West Bank, and concerns for Jordan’s political future seem merited.
http://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/05/07/jordan_forever_at_the_brink

Former Libyan rebels attack interim government HQ
Former Libyan rebels angry over unpaid stipends opened fire on the headquarters of the interim government on Tuesday after surrounding the building.
http://news.yahoo.com/former-libyan-rebels-attack-interim-government-hq-134122637.html

US should return stolen land to Indian tribes, says United Nations
UN’s correspondent on indigenous peoples urges government to act to combat ‘racial discrimination’ felt by Native Americans. A United Nations investigator probing discrimination against Native Americans has called on the US government to return some of the land stolen from Indian tribes as a step toward combatting continuing and systemic racial discrimination.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/04/us-stolen-land-indian-tribes-un

NATO kills as many as 20 civilians in two Afghan provinces

Reports: There were conflicting accounts on the number of deaths in Bala Murghab district of northwestern Badghis province, where unconfirmed reports put the civilian deaths at 14. An airstrike Friday killed six members of a family in the Sangin area of southern Helmand province.