Hunger Strike & Prisoner News
Two days after doctors warned that hunger strikers Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahleh are at immediate risk of death, and being denied necessary medical treatment, the Israeli high court has once again delayed action on an appeal against their prolonged detention without charge.
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/gravely-ill-palestinian-hunger-striker-faints-court-israeli-judges-sentence-him
Courtroom drama: Tibi treats unconscious Palestinian prisoner
Prisoner on 2-month hunger strike collapses during High Court hearing; MK Tibi treats inmate at justice’s order.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4224424,00.html
Israeli military court delays decision on two hunger strikers
The Israeli military court in Ofer has delayed ruling on the appeal for the release of hunger strikers Thaer Halahle and Bilal Dhiab until further notice.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7rLPDpQHzz1ADMztaDH55tdAStZulINJvYhrviZkTrwc9qgs1fOkyio3JbKm4NHCu0T8BmZ9GjL%2boOZ4MrZO%2f4ZdFfOLU14p4z%2b2Rz0De1wc%3d
120 new prisoners join the hunger strike
Fuad Al-Khafsh, the director of Ahrar center for prisoners’ studies, has said that 120 new prisoners joined on Thursday the massive hunger strike launched by Palestinians in Israeli occupation jails.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7f1mARxl%2f7leSrGbiSh%2fhrjYcGayMXPrQgBxvcFP4lQx91m9G6V%2fZnDCxsKvIZFxXO%2fkdIIS8ANl1FMg3mXNhL2tsSxwov1Xyi3UHOHPvgIg%3d
1,550 Palestinians now on hunger strike
At least 1,550 Palestinians in Israeli jails are now taking part in a mass hunger strike, Israel’s Prison Service said on Wednesday, with two of them marking their 64th day without food. IPS spokeswoman Sivan Weizman told AFP that another 100 prisoners had begun refusing food in the last two days, swelling the number of those on hunger strike to 1,550 — or more than a third of the total Palestinian prison population of 4,700. Two of them, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla, have been on hunger strike for 64 days, with Physicians for Human Rights-Israel warning that both were in danger of dying.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/02/1550-palestinians-now-on-hunger-strike/
Captive Abu Sebaa is faces hearing loss because of medical neglect
The Ahrar Center for Prisoners Studies and Human Rights has confirmed that Hani Abu sebaa, 40, is threatened with losing his hearing because of medical neglect.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s70ReIrEBfYWUflN3YNnlwsBAlnHkZ37gdzNNeeQ%2b6fW2pDpeQObv4RHJM20tfzP9%2fyiydiB4FF9sWVywD38gcmrpgv5RDC9L4aFS%2bN6UwYt4%3d
Palestinian prisoner, Ratib Al-Deek loses sense of hearing, vomits blood
Ratib Al-Deek, a Palestinian prisoner from Salfit, has lost his sense of hearing and was vomiting blood after taking Israeli-prescribed medication, the Palestinian prisoner’s association said.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7tL8RTxqWMGCZOJWOhpIIz%2bs8zIQ1SG8Fvz5cOKuLk6DzimerVNnumKCjNnbpCvv0X76ZzMOvi5fpDlccysflpmge57g51FXXfk47CFDf9Iw%3d
Increase of Inhumane Punishment by IPS for Thousands of Palestinians Classified as “Security Prisoners” in 2011
4,275 security prisoners are Palestinians from the OPT… fourteen security prisoners are Jewish. According to data that the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) provided to Adalah in a letter on 28 February 2012, there were 19,561 prisoners in detention facilities managed by the IPS, 4,631 of them were classified as “security prisoners.” 4,275 of the security prisoners were Palestinians who are living in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza, 340 are Palestinians citizens of Israeli, two were from the Golan Heights, and fourteen were Jewish security prisoners. From the Palestinian prisoners classified as security prisoners who are from the West Bank and Gaza, 533 have life sentences. According to data and reports provided by human rights organizations, Israel holds about 320 Palestinians from the West Bank in administrative detention according to Adameer. In prisons under the responsibility of IPS, 1,355 Palestinian prisoners who were convicted for illegal presence in Israel are classified as security prisoners.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/5327/increase-of-inhumane-punishment-by-ips-for-thousan
JENIN (Ma’an) — Former prisoners Khader Adnan and Hana Shalabi, who were released by Israel after lengthy hunger strikes, on Wednesday expressed pride and support for striking detainees in Israeli jails. Adnan, whose sentence was reduced after he spent 66 days on hunger strike, told Ma’an that hunger strikers’ determination would bring them victory. Bilal Diab, 27, from Jenin, and Thaer Halahla, 33, from Hebron have refused food for 64 days. Like Adnan and Shalabi, they were sentenced to administrative detention without a trial and they have not been charged with any crime.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=481686
Car protest raises awareness for hunger striking prisoners
Photos by Dylan Collins. As the sun set on a Wednesday afternoon, a collection of cars careened through the major West Bank city of Ramallah with horns blaring and flags flying.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/?p=5528
Solidarity hunger-strikes begin in Gaza City
50 Palestinian activists, including many former prisoners of Israel, have begun a hunger-strike in solidarity with hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners currently being held inside Israeli prisons. The Prisoners’ Hunger-Strike began 15 days ago in protest against Israeli violations of prisoners’ rights. A solidarity tent has been set up in the centre of Gaza’s Unknown Soldier Square for the solidarity strikers who have confirmed their intention to remain in the tent and continue their open-ended strike for as long as the prisoners’ hunger-strike continues.
Thousands of citizens took part in a massive march called for by Hamas in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Monday supporting the prisoners in the occupation jails.
A crowded solidarity in Silwan’s solidarity tent
Silwan’s youth alongside the National Unity, the local committees and Silwan’s organizations organized a solidarity tent supporting the prisoner’s hunger strike; the strike has been going on for more than two weeks. Many people attended the tent carrying signs such as: “The prisoner’s issue will not be separated from the settlement’s issue in Jerusalem”. The invitation was sent to the entire active organizations; Emad Al Abasi opened the event with beautiful readings from the Holly Qura’an, then the host Khaled Shweki spoke about the solid legendary Palestinian prisoners, followed by Nasser Qaus the head of the prisoner’s club in Jerusalem who spoke about the Prisoner’s issue, and Waleed Al G’oul spoke about the importance of the resistance against the occupation’s projects. Musa Oudeh, a member of ”Bustan’s Committee” and a former prisoner who was released on the Ahmad Jibreel’s prisoners exchange agreement in 1986 and now is the father of the prisoner Ibrahim Oudeh, Musa dedicated his words to the prisoners and the martyrs that defended this land, after him Adnan G’aith, Fatah’s secretary in Silwan dedicated his speech to the citizens of Silwan, the Prisoner’s families. Muna Barbar talked about her arrest in the first Intifada when she was 15 years old and the solid mothers and wives, specially the mother of the martyr Muhammad Fataftte and his two imprisoned brothers, Kayed and Mousa Fataftte, at the end of the event, the director of Wadi Hilweh information Center-Silwan and the head of the Commttiee Jawad Siyam focused his speech by explaining the urgency of protesting in front of the entire international associations that can effect the prisoner’s situation.
http://silwanic.net/?p=26180
Obama Admin. Catalogues Effort to Protect Israeli Occupation/Apartheid at UN
It will come as no surprise to readers of this blog that the Obama Administration has repeatedly taken decisive measures in the United Nations to protect Israeli occupation and apartheid toward the Palestinians and to prevent the international community from holding Israel accountable for its numerous violations of human rights and international law. We’ve seen this over and over again. From undermining UN fact-finding missions on “Operation Cast Lead” and the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, to vetoing a mild condemnatory resolution in the Security Council about Israel’s illegal settlements, to scotching Palestine’s UN membership bid, the Obama Administration has doggedly worked to prevent the UN from protecting or advancing Palestinian human rights.
http://blog.endtheoccupation.org/2012/05/obama-admin-catalogues-effort-to.html
Jordan warns Israel over E.Jerusalem hotel rooms
Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Wednesday warned Israel that building hotel rooms in annexed east Jerusalem would increase regional “tension and stability.”
http://news.yahoo.com/jordan-warns-israel-over-e-jerusalem-hotel-rooms-160052215.html
The Jerusalem City Council has decided to demolish seven buildings in the Silwan neighborhood, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Old City in Occupied East Jerusalem, as part of its plan to build the “King David Park” in this Palestinian area.
Israeli forces demolish Beit Jala restaurant
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israeli forces demolished a restaurant in Beit Jala on Thursday under the pretext of lacking a building permit, Wafa news agency reported. Local residents said that bulldozers arrived in the al-Makhrour area of Beit Jala at dawn protected by soldiers. Israeli forces then sealed off the area and surrounded the restaurant before demolishing it, local residents said. The property was owned by Ramzi Qaisyeh.
AL-KHALIL (HEBRON): Israeli military demolishes dairy farm
On May Day, 1 May, at 7:45 a.m., the Christian Peacemaker Team in Hebron received a phone call from Noah al-Rajabi in Bani Naim. Al-Rajabi reported that the army and bulldozers were demolishing his cousin’s home and threatening to demolish the family’s farm. He urged CPT to come and to call the media and other internationals to bear witness to what was happening.
Deir Istiya ordered to uproot trees in Wadi Qana
Photos by Dylan Collins. Deir Istiya’s Farmers are Under Siege Deir Istiya, occupied West Bank—On Tuesday April 1 in the West Bank’s fertile Qana Valley, residents of Deir Istiya and members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) organized a solidarity cleanup event for May Day.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/?p=5507
Israeli soldiers orders Palestinian farmers to uproot 1400 olive trees in Wadi Qana area, near Dir Istia, in the West Bank district of Salfit. On Wednesday, the army tried to uproot the trees but was repulsed by Palestinian, Israeli and International peace activists.
Jewish settlers uprooted 200 olive trees near Aqraba village, Nablus, on Wednesday morning, local sources said.
Jewish settlers damage fruit trees
Jewish settlers threw stones at a Palestinian vehicle near Etzion settlement complex on the Jerusalem-Al-Khalil road smashing its windshield and injuring its driver in his eyes.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s72SodWnGR%2b%2bPFQp0uXXSV5%2flg4mbOaEqOOV7cLctxCGw03DgxcmX5oyyc9jwwm0QELghcRAUr%2b5sCgvB2WzvIieBcMLuhU9LrU7060355pGo%3d
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16656978
Land supervisors are trying to erase Palestinian lands so they pass them under the settler’s name
For the third day the Israeli Land supervisors are trying to erase Palestinian lands so they pass them under the settler’s name, the supervisors came in with an excuse explaining that these lands belongs to the settlers, but the people of Silwan stood up and blocked them from stepping in. Apparently there is an Israeli guy who works directly with the settlers and he asked the supervisors to erase pieces of the land that belongs to Palestinians in Wadi Hilweh in Silwan, he claimed it according to maps that the locals never saw or heard about before, the supervisores added peices of the land that originally belongs to the Ein Silwan Mosque , the kindergarten and a land that belongs to the Orthodox church.
http://silwanic.net/?p=26243
Stop interfering in Palestinian refugees’ status: UK told
How is it that we in the west continue to poke our noses into the affairs of the Middle East and never allow those countries to sort out their own issues via the United Nations and other international legal frameworks?
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/239226.html
Qatari fuel aid to Gaza facing Israeli obstacles
The Palestinian energy authority in Gaza said Thursday the power plant was provided with a limited amount of fuel, 100 thousand liters, after three days of continued outages.
Tunisian aid convoy arrives in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — A Tunisian aid convoy arrived in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday night, organizers said. The “Al-Bahsaer,” or good news, convoy was carrying three doctors, three law makers and a number of businessmen from the North African country. It also brought medicine and medical equipment for Gaza hospitals, a statement said. “We came here today to greet the Palestinian people, the widowed, the children, the prisoners, families of martyrs and to express our love and support for the Palestinian people,” organizer Muhammad Bin Ali said. The convoy will stay for five days and participants will visit local NGOs to learn about the situation in the Gaza Strip. The group will also lay the foundation stone for a new hospital to be named after the Tunisian capital.
Israeli Violence / Raids
Violent clashes erupted on Thursday morning between Israeli occupation forces (IOF) manning the roadblock to the entrance of Arub refugee camp in Al-Khalil and young Palestinians.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7pFCeQ%2f3j71sxP0kb7LAwRQeSE0Ely%2bUU7h7czafgyIoZMYws9orxaXzQo8hZ05XWWf%2fTeNpg10sQU1vuhPycpjX65qBucR0N4gmZ6KuCzlg%3d
Israeli Soldiers Invade Beit Jala
The Palestine News Network (PNN) reported on Wednesday morning that Israeli soldiers invaded Beit Jala city, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, and fired gas bombs at students who protested the invasion.
Jewish settlers wound Palestinian
Jewish settlers threw stones at a Palestinian vehicle near Etzion settlement complex on the Jerusalem-Al-Khalil road smashing its windshield and injuring its driver in his eyes.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s72SodWnGR%2b%2bPFQp0uXXSV5%2flg4mbOaEqOOV7cLctxCGw03DgxcmX5oyyc9jwwm0QELghcRAUr%2b5sCgvB2WzvIieBcMLuhU9LrU7060355pGo%3d
Military prosecution tells B’Tselem it won’t take any legal action against those responsible for airstrike that killed 21 members of Palestinian family during Gaza op. Relative: IDF knew only civilians were in the house.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4223449,00.html
The MAG (Military Advocate’s General) Corps informed B’Tselem today that it has closed the Military Police investigation file in the complaint submitted by B’Tselem into the killing of 21 members of the a-Samuni family in the Gaza Strip. The file was closed without taking any measures against those responsible. In a letter sent to B’Tselem and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza (PCHR) that filed a complaint into the matter as well, major Dorit Tuval, from the MAG Corps for operational matters wrote that the investigation completely disproved any claim about deliberate harm to civilians, as well as haste and recklessness regarding possible harm to civilians, or criminal negligence. The military’s response does not detail the findings of the investigation, nor does it provide the reasons behind the decision to close the file or any new information about the circumstances.
uploaded 9 Mar 2011 — The story of 4 kids of the extended Samouni family in Gaza. By animated drawings they express what happened to them and their family during operation ‘Cast Lead’.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wld2TIbUfWM
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) unreservedly condemns the Israeli Military Attorney General’s decision to close the case of the Samouni family without initiating any prosecutions.
In September 2000, a 12-year-old boy became a symbol of the second Palestinian intifada when he was filmed being shot to death by Israeli troops as his father desperately tried to shield him. Al-Akhbar meets his family in the Gaza Strip.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/still-seeking-justice-muhammad-al-durrah?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29
Suhaib Al A’awar is 14 years old, he is a hard working pupil and consider his classroom as the main thing in his life, he have big plans for the world but he must minimize those plans so they fit in his small room since he is in a house arrest, Suhaib is considered a criminal in the eyes of the Israeli law.Suhaib was arrested with 4 of his cousins and neighbor at the 3rd of May 2012, all of them are less than 15 years old, and soon as they were arrested, the Israeli doors got locked and the torture started, Suhaib tells us: “They attacked me and the rest with serious beatings, their hits reached every spot in my body, I almost fainted a few times, my main concern was my mom, I kept thinking of her tears and her thoughts of how helpless she is to protect me, they didn’t even allow me to hug her or even say goodbye to her.” Suhaib spent two hours at the police jeeb until they brought his cousins and neighbor, they tried to fabricate accusations against him and when he rejected it he got beaten with his hands and feet handcuffed.The first investigation lasted 8 hours, then he was removed to the Israeli court that agreed to extend his arrest, Suhaib tells us: “I was at the Maskubiye jail for 32 days and got out to the court 15 times, and each time I was beaten by the investigator or the jailer, I felt like a lost sheep among wolves, they didn’t care about my age, they saw me as if I was a the cruelest criminal in the world, they used to put a chair on my toes and sit on it with their big heavy bodies, I was screaming and begging them to stop but it made them continue so I decided to silent my screams so I won’t satisfy them”.
http://silwanic.net/?p=26234
Two children were arrested in Silwan
At the early morning the Israeli Police arrested two children from Al Abasiya area, around 5 AM enormous Israeli forces broke into Palestinian houses and arrested Hani Sarhan (12 years old) and Taha Sarhan (10 years old). The Israeli forces started a series of night arrests against minors, breaking the same International agreement that Israel signed, one of the main clauses of this agreement is never arrest children before 7 AM, and in case the police wanted to investigate the child he must be escorted by one of his parents, and his parents have the whole right to choose a lawyer but the Israeli authorities are not committing to these laws alongside the Public Prosecution that is applying accusations against these children. The Lawyer of Damir’s Organization explained to us that when the Israeli authorities apply these official accusations against children it gives Israel the ability to put them in prison in the future, and it is an illegal move according to the International laws and even according to the Israeli laws.
http://silwanic.net/?p=26229
Israeli forces arrest 11 across the West Bank
JENIN (Ma’an) — Israeli forces arrested 11 people across the West Bank overnight Wednesday, Israel’s army said. Six people were arrested in the Jenin area and five in Nablus, an Israeli army spokesman said. Locals told Ma’an that Hamas leader Yousef Tawfiq Abu Elrob, 47, was detained from his home in Jalbun, east Jenin. Another man, Ibrahim Hafeth Milhem, 30, was arrested in south Jenin after soldiers raided his house. Palestinians living in the occupied territories are routinely arrested by Israeli forces, usually on the pretext of security. Around 40 percent of Palestinian men living in the occupied territories have been detained by Israel at some point in their lives.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=481932
IOF kidnap noted Hamas figure in Jenin
The Israeli occupation forces kidnapped two Palestinian citizens in Jenin city including a prominent Hamas official and violently raided the house of another activist from the Movement.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7Gl8V7FZNQ7WsyZLMwCJWNNlbKq%2fWoV8DfBua1q1LDRahEXdlXSdrvPwXIi3uK8aulKpjcGsUiNZu%2beRxe%2fL48WW9%2b1q1pKTfSF96%2bq8okfE%3d
Hamas: PA detained 61 members in April
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Hamas on Thursday accused the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority of detaining 61 party members in the West Bank in April. Some 21 of those detained were previously imprisoned by Israel, Hamas said in a statement. The PA also extended the detention of 11 Hamas members despite court decisions to release them, Hamas added. Meanwhile, two teachers were fired from government schools in the West Bank over their affiliation to Hamas, the party said. Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, signed a reconciliation deal with Fatah in Cairo in May 2011. Both parties agreed to end political detentions and to form a government of technocrats to prepare for elections within a year. A year on, the deal has yet to be implemented.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=482053
Palestinian Christians Urge United Methodists to Divest
Palestinian Christians published an open letter to delegates to the United Methodist General Conference urging them to support the church’s resolution to divest from three corporations–Caterpillar, Motorola, and Hewlett-Packard–that are profiting from Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian lands. The letter implores delegates not to be misled down the false path of “positive investment” as an alternative to divestment. As the signatories argue, “Many of you may be tempted to support ‘positive investment’ in Palestine as an alternative to divestment from companies that profit from Israel’s occupation. We sincerely believe that no amount of positive investment under Israel’s harsh occupation can truly alleviate the suffering of Palestinians and correct the injustice against them.”
http://blog.endtheoccupation.org/2012/05/palestinian-christians-urge-united.html
Boycott Israel, at any and every age
Muhammad Hamidah, a player from Al-Mustaqbal Al-Riyadi in Tunisia, refuses to play with an Israeli contestant.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2012/05/boycott-israel-at-every-age.html
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/remember-when-church-england-voted-against-divestment-south-africa-luta-continua
Authorities attribute thefts to increase in number of refugees who have come to the city this year, and lack of employment opportunities.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-police-unemployed-african-refugees-turning-tel-aviv-beaches-into-high-crime-spots-1.427634
Israeli dramaturgist: ‘Habima theatre is an active participant in Palestinian oppression’, Eleanor Kilroy
As I have stated in previous posts here and here, the refusal in the UK by Shakespeare’s Globe to rescind the invitation to the Israeli national theatre, Habima, is because – it claims – it will not punish Israeli artists for what they are compelled to do by law – namely perform in illegal, exclusively-Jewish settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.
“Jenin governor has fatal heart attack after gunmen raid his home: Kadura Musa, known for his close ties to Israelis, was among those responsible for improved security in the Jenin district; attack believed to be retribution for recent killing of man by Palestinian police.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2012/05/servants-of-occupation.html
Fatah official meets Hamas, Islamic Jihad leaders in Cairo
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Fatah leader Azzam al-Ahmad on Wednesday held separate meetings in Cairo with Hamas leader Khalid Mashaal and secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad movement, Ma’an’s correspondent said. Al-Ahmad, who heads Fatah’s dialogue team, met with Mashaal to discuss the reconciliation process. Egyptian officials attended the meeting, which focused on the need to form a unity government.
Libya ‘regrets’ Abbas decision to delay visit
Libyan authorities expressed regret on Wednesday over the decision by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to postpone his visit to the North African nation.
Report: Israel spied on Turkish military training flights
Ankara paper alleges Israel tapped conversations between Turkish pilots on military training flights in order to discover intel on training programs, flight strategies.
The latter conclusion – “Never again” tout court – is the only true repudiation of the Nazi Weltanschauung; not its symmetric reversal, but a radical rejection of all its underlying assumptions. It implies awareness that what happened to the Jews happened in different forms and on different scales to different people throughout history, and will happen again and again as long as ideologies of racial and ethnic superiority and hatred find their way to embodiment in superior armed force.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/articles/guest-writers/3676-never-again
Another major conflict of interest for the NY Times Jerusalem Bureau, Max Blumenthal
After the news broke that New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief Ethan Bronner had a son who enlisted in the Israeli army (Extra!, 1/27/10), Times public editor Clark Hoyt noted (2/6/10) that it was problematic for Bronner to continue reporting on “one of the world’s most intense” conflicts while his son took up arms for one side. Hoyt spoke to a former Times Jerusalem bureau chief, David Shipler, who stressed the importance of disclosing this relationship to readers. Bronner is now close to the end of his tenure in Jerusalem. But two years after that controversy, the New York Times has yet to learn the importance of disclosure. And the concealed relationship again concerns a Timesreporter who writes from Jerusalem: This time, it’s correspondent Isabel Kershner. Kershner has a record of misleading reporting (Extra!, 7/10, 4/11, 1/12) that reflects the New York Times’ bias toward the Israeli government perspective. But even more damning is this: Her husband, Hirsh Goodman, works for the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) as a senior research fellow and director of the Charles and Andrea Bronfman Program on Information Strategy, tasked with shaping a positive image of Israel in the media. An examination of articles that Kershner has written or contributed to since 2009 reveals that she overwhelmingly relies on the INSS for think tank analysis about events in the region.
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4534
The Dark Facade Behind the Green Gardens
Julie Holm – MIFTAH – As we drove out of the parking lot after our hike, a car with four young Israeli settlers pulled in. They stepped out of the car and I noticed that they were armed with machine guns, an almost daily sight I should be used to by now. Yet I thought to myself, just like the settlements, the checkpoints and the wall cutting through the landscape, I will never get used to this sight for the simple reason that this just isn’t the way things should be.
New border wall with Lebanon highlights Israel’s precarious relationship with its neighbours. Kamahl Santamaria discusses with guests: Hisham Jaber, Gideon Levy & Gregg Roman.
Israel’s Plots an Endgame
Israel’s colonization policies are entering an alarming new phase, comparable in historic magnitude to the original plans to colonize Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem following the war of 1967. On April 24, an Israeli ministerial committee approved three settlement outposts – Bruchin and Rechelim in the northern part of the West Bank, and Sansana in the south. Although all settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are considered illegal by international law, Israeli law differentiates between sanctioned settlements and ‘illegal’ ones. This distinction has actually proved to be no more than a disingenuous attempt at conflating international law, which is applicable to occupied lands, and Israeli law, which is in no way relevant.
64 Years of Racism, Jamal Kanj
Much has been written on Israeli policies seizing Palestinian land and building illegal ‘Jewish only’ colonies in the West Bank. However the discrimination against the original natives, the non-Jewish Israeli citizens, has gone unnoticed for 64 years. The creation of Israel in May 1948 on the land of Palestine resulted in the expulsion of roughly 85 per cent of the indigenous and the annexation of 92 per cent of their land. Nearly 150,000 Palestinians remained in what later became Israel. The vast majority of them were displaced in their own country and relocated to the handful of Palestinian towns spared destruction like Nazareth, Um al-Faham, Shifa-Amr and on the periphery of what were once large cities such as Acre, Haifa and Jaffa. This is in addition to several thousand semi nomadic Bedouin tribes in a sundry of “unrecognized” villages in the arid Negev region.
The Israeli ‘defense’ industry is embedded in Israeli universities and in universities around the world including Australia. It plunders overseas intellectual property for Israel’s military research-and-development (R&D) programs while strategic bi-lateral research and exchange missions deliberately whitewash or ‘normalize’ the Zionist military occupation of Palestine and her people.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=19268
http://electronicintifada.net/content/month-pictures-april-2012/11231?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Other Analysis / Op-ed
Growing chill between Obama and Muslims could prove a headache in November, Alex Kane
In April, as it does every year, the Arab American Institute (AAI) hosted the “Kahlil Gibran Spirit of Humanity” awards in Washington, D.C. The institute, an organization that promotes Arab-American participation in political life, honored several groups, including the Southern Poverty Law Center “for its tireless efforts to foster a society that respects all its members.”
https://mondoweiss.net/2012/05/growing-chill-between-obama-and-muslims-could-prove-a-headache-in-november.html
Politics at the Tip of the Clitoris: Why, in Fact, Do They Hate Us?
What baffles me most about Mona Eltahawy’s Foreign Policy article is that it does not accomplish the task it sets out for itself; it does not, in fact, answer its foundational question: Why do they hate us? Instead of focusing on the why, identifying the structural reasons behind sexism and misogyny in the Arab world, Eltahaway provides illustrative evidence of the oppressions Arab women face; the list is by now all too familiar both in the West and in the Arab world. The images of a naked woman’s flawless body covered in a niqab of black paint, spread throughout the article (and on the Foreign Policy special sex issue cover) is only a bitter reminder of the resilience of a clichéd fetishization of the oppressed Muslim/Arab female body in the media, as pointed out by Seikaly and Mikdashi.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/5355/politics-at-the-tip-of-the-clitoris_why-in-fact-do
Bahrain
King Hamad accuses foreign media of overstating unrest and inciting violence in Gulf Arab state.
Bahrain: Free Protest Leaders Immediately
Bahraini authorities should free Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and 13 other jailed leaders of last year’s anti-government protests immediately. More than a year after they were arrested, the Bahraini authorities have produced no evidence that the jailed leaders were doing anything but exercising their basic human rights.
http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/04/30/bahrain-free-protest-leaders-immediately
Protests break out on World Labour Day as opposition calls for release of prisoners awaiting new trials.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/05/20125118359316194.html
‘US arms sales draining Bahrain wealth’
An analyst says the United States is benefitting from the undemocratic regimes of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia by draining away their wealth through the sale of military equipment.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/239157.html
Fired Bahrain protesters demand jobs back on May Day
Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Shiite villages in Bahrain on Tuesday to demand being reinstated in jobs from which they were fired during last year’s uprising, witnesses said.
http://news.yahoo.com/fired-bahrain-protesters-demand-jobs-back-may-day-162728876.html
Egypt: Army must end attacks on protesters amid renewed violence
Deadly clashes in Cairo between unknown assailants and protesters have prompted Amnesty International to renew its call on the Egyptian army to protect protesters amid increasing violence ahead of presidential elections. On Wednesday morning, groups of armed individuals clashed with protesters who had been staging a sit-in since Friday evening near the Defence Ministry in Cairo.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/egypt-army-must-end-attacks-protesters-amid-renewed-violence-2012-05-02
20 dead in Cairo after attackers storm protest
Thugs attacked an anti-military protest near the defence ministry in Cairo on Wednesday and 20 people were killed, officials said, in the politically tense run-up to the first post-uprising presidential election.
http://news.yahoo.com/20-dead-attackers-storm-cairo-protest-135559250.html
Revolutionary forces call for anti-SCAF marches on Friday
Revolutionary forces and political movements have called for marches on Friday to the Defense Ministry to demand that the military council step down and a transitional civil council be formed to rule until the transition period ends. A statement issued Tuesday by the Alliance of Revolutionary Forces and the Second Revolution of Anger said the marches would start from Nour Mosque in Abbasseya, Fath Mosque in Rameses and Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque in Nasr City.
http://www.egyptindependent.com/node/810326
Candidates suspend campaigns after Cairo killings
Updated 3:49pm: Two leading Islamist candidates in Egypt’s presidential race suspended campaign events on Wednesday in protest at the way the authorities handled an anti-army protest in Cairo, a spokesman said. “Anything related to campaigning today including voluntary activities on the ground is being suspended,” Ali al-Bahnasawy, media adviser to Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh who suspended campaigning indefinitely, told Reuters.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/five-killed-cairo-clashes?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29
Egypt’s military renews pledge to step down
Senior official says military remains committed to handing over power to a civilian administration on July 1.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/05/20125311103405678.html
Presidential candidate Morsy is God’s choice, says leading Salafi figure
Prominent Salafi sheikh Ahmed Nashaat on Tuesday said that presidential candidate Mohamed Morsy, who is fielded by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, has been selected by God. Nashaat, a leader at the Jurisprudence Commission for Rights and Reform, called on all voters to elect Morsy because he is the only one capable of applying the Islamic Sharia and achieving the Islamic project. “God chose Morsy and He will make the people vote for him,” Nashaat said during a rally organized by the commission — which is widely considered a Salafi group but defines itself as moderate — and the Muslim Brotherhood.
http://www.egyptindependent.com/node/810241
Egypt’s Amr Mussa battles Mubarak-era stigma in poll
Amr Mussa is a frontrunner in Egypt’s presidential election but the celebrated statesman who served as Hosni Mubarak’s foreign minister has to convince sceptics he will not revive the dictator’s era.
http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-amr-mussa-battles-mubarak-era-stigma-poll-111247848.html
Sources: Ayman Nour supports Moussa after agreeing to form presidential team
The Ghad al-Thawra Party agreed to support Amr Moussa in the upcoming presidential race following his agreement with Ayman Nour to form a presidential team, said Ghad al-Thawra Party sources. Nour is scheduled to announce which presidential candidate the party is endorsing on Tuesday evening following a meeting of the party’s leadership. During his weekly seminar at the party headquarters on Monday, Nour said his party “is not leaning towards any Muslim Brotherhood or semi-Muslim Brotherhood candidates, and that the Muslim Brotherhood’s monopoly over the People’s Assembly, Shura Council and the new government is more than enough.”
http://www.egyptindependent.com/node/809281
Egypt needs to do more to secure a US$3.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, including gathering broad political support and identifying other sources to finance its funding gap of up to US$12 billion, an IMF official said on Wednesday.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/egypt-must-work-hard-win-loan-imf?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29
Saudi ambassador to “return to Egypt by weekend”
The Saudi ambassador to Egypt is expected to return to Cairo this weekend, seemingly ending a week-long diplomatic crisis over the detention of a human rights lawyer in the kingdom, an Egyptian newspaper said on Wednesday. The Egypt Independent quoted Saudi diplomatic staff as saying Ahmed al-Qattan would return on Saturday. The ambassador was withdrawn from Egypt on Saturday for “consultation,” with Saudi saying it was to its embassy and consulates in the Arab nation.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/saudi-ambassador-return-egypt-weekend?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29
Egyptian disgust with Saudi Arabia: Insulting Saudi King
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2012/05/insulting-saudi-king.html
Egyptian columnists against Saudi Arabia
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2012/05/egyptian-columnists-against-saudi.html
Egypt’s Popular Anger Shifts to Israel and Saudi Arabia
Egyptians are angry, say Arab commentators, and it’s not just because of unemployment, deteriorating security or the continued de-facto rule of the military. Their ire is also very much connected to foreign policy, and specifically to the ties with two countries that have loomed so large in Egypt’s modern history: Israel and Saudi Arabia. Both states took a beating in the Egyptian media this past week: Israel, over a controversial gas deal with Egypt that has been suspended, and Saudi Arabia over its arrest of a prominent Egyptian human-rights campaigner who was performing a religious pilgrimage.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-30/egypt-s-popular-anger-shifts-to-israel-and-saudi-arabia.html
Rise of Muslim Brotherhood frays Egypt-Saudi ties
Saudi Arabia frets that Egypt, its strongest Arab ally and a major recipient of Saudi funding, is falling under what it sees as the baleful influence of the Muslim Brotherhood. Riyadh recalled its ambassador from Cairo at the weekend in a spat that underlines the misgivings of the robed princes who rule the world’s top oil exporter and who have watched Egypt’s revolution and its often chaotic aftermath with alarm.
http://www.egyptindependent.com/node/809766
Salafi body apologizes to Saudi Arabia for protests outside its embassy
The Islamic Legitimate Body of Rights and Reformation (ILBRR) and the Salafi scholars Shura Council in Egypt voiced their sorrow over the demonstrations outside the Saudi Embassy in Cairo, confirming that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a sister-country joined to Egypt by unbreakable relations that will not be affected by such events and demanding the return of relations after the Saudi ambassador was recalled from Egypt.
http://www.egyptindependent.com/node/810261
Will Sadat’s Camp David and the Zionist Embassy be Next?
The Egyptian people are demanding the return of their sovereignty. According to recent opinion surveys they believe it was partially ceded to Israel by the two post-Nasser dictators, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak, at the behest of American administrations, from Nixon to Obama. The removal of three humiliating shackles for Egyptians, the gas give-away scheme, the 1979 Camp David Accords and the US forced recognition of Israel, constitute a strategic national security objective for most of Egypt’s 82 millioncitizens. According to the results of an opinion poll, conducted for Press TV and published on October 3, 2011, 73 percent of the Egyptian respondents opposed the terms of the agreement. Today the figure is estimated at 90%.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/05/02/will-sadats-camp-david-and-the-zionist-embassy-be-next/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=will-sadats-camp-david-and-the-zionist-embassy-be-next
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/5342/im-getting-arrested-therefore-i-exist
Iran has made no secret of its hopes for the next round of nuclear negotiations with world powers: Pledges by the West to ease sanctions as a step toward deal making by Tehran.
http://news.yahoo.com/iran-seeks-sanctions-rollback-nuke-talk-goal-165818602.html
Iran denies sharp cut in oil exports to China, Japan
Iran’s state-run oil company is denying that China and Japan had sharply cut imports of Iranian crude, maintaining Tehran’s assertions that economic sanctions imposed by the West were having little effect.
http://news.yahoo.com/iran-denies-sharp-cut-oil-exports-china-japan-135301856.html
Israeli Dissent May Create More Space for Iran Nuclear Deal, Jim Lobe
The threat of a military attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities this year appears to have substantially subsided over the past several weeks as a result of several developments, including the biting criticisms voiced recently by former top national security figures of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, Ehud Barak.
http://original.antiwar.com/lobe/2012/05/01/israeli-dissent-may-create-more-space-for-iran-nuclear-deal/
Israel under Intelligence Fire over Iran, Ismail Salami
Producing from his pocket a sheet of paper which contained a biblical quote from the Prophet Zachariah, former Shin Bet chief said, ‘I will tell you things that might be harsh. I cannot trust Netanyahu and Barak at the wheel in confronting Iran. They are infected with messianic feelings over Iran,’ thereby dealing a heavy blow to the Israeli regime. A rift the size of a potential coup is taking shape between the Israeli government and the military-intelligence men over Iran, a fact which threatens the ruling Israeli political apparatus on the one hand and exonerates Iran of all years-long groundless allegations on the other.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=19267
Israel and the Power Struggle over Iran, Ludwig Watzal
Should Israel attack Iran’s nuclear installations? Over this question, a fierce dispute flared up among Israel’s security establishment. In the beginning of the year, the former chief of the Israeli Mossad, Meir Dagan, was a lone voice in the wilderness. He called an Israeli attack “the stupidest thing I have ever heard”. Slowly but surely, opposition by reasonable people amongst Israel’s political and military establishment started growing, the more alarmist Benyamin Netanyahu’s and Ehud Barak’s rhetoric towards Iran became. Particularly inclined were Netanyahu’s historical comparisons between Nazi-Germany and the current Iranian leadership.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=19266
Iraq
The number of Iraqis killed in April increased from the previous month, but stayed near its lowest level since the 2003 US-led invasion, according to official figures released on Tuesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-death-toll-rises-april-140911251.html
Iraq vice-president’s death squad trial postponed
Iraq’s Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi speaks at a news conference in ArbilBAGHDAD (Reuters) – The trial of Iraq’s fugitive vice-president, Tareq al-Hashemi, accused of running death squads, was postponed on Thursday after defense lawyers argued it should be held in a special court. The leading Sunni Muslim politician fled Baghdad in December when the Shi’ite-led government issued a warrant for his arrest. He denies all charges and says they are politically motivated. Now in Istanbul, he has refused to stand trial in Baghdad, saying Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki controls the courts.
http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-vice-presidents-death-squad-trial-postponed-114743301.html
Iraqi forces arrested the nephew of ex-speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani and four bodyguards, who are also his cousins. Meanwhile, at least seven Iraqis were killed and 10 more were wounded. Six visitors from Lebanon were also wounded.
Surrounded primarily by well-wired states, Iraq is a bit of an anomaly. While neighboring Jordan, Turkey, Iran, and Saudi Arabia all boast Internet penetration rates over 30 percent (with the latter three all higher than 40 percent), by most accounts, Iraq’s population of Internet users has stagnated, with Internet penetration rates remaining under 5 percent since 2003, when the general population first gained access to the Internet.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/strict-iraqi-internet-law-curtails-free-speech?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29
On the Ground in Basra: An Interview with Hashmeya Muhsin al-Saadawi
Iraqi unions demonstrated yesterday on May Day 2012 at a difficult historical moment. Still operating without a labor law that sanctions their organizing, and under the consolidation of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s growing police/military powers, their movement faces an array of antagonistic forces. In this wide-ranging discussion with Ali Issa, Basra-based Hashmeya Muhsin al–Saadawi, president of the Electrical Utility Workers Union in Iraq, and the first woman vice-president of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers in Basra, discusses Iraqi security after the US withdrawal, the legacy of the US occupation, the state of union organizing and electricity, and finally the Iraqi protest movement – one of the least covered of the Arab uprisings. The sectarian quota system to which Ms. al-Saadawi repeatedly refers is a constitutionally mandated “power-sharing” agreement that divides power in almost all of Iraq’s political institutions among “representatives” of various ethnicities, sects, and religions, and was initiated by the Coalition Provisional Authority under Paul Bremer in 2003. This system has also been strongly supported regionally by the governments of Iran and Turkey, just to name a few.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/5333/on-the-ground-in-basra_an-interview-with-hashmeya-
Sinan Antoon: The Barbarian Has to Keep It Real
Sinan Antoon is an Iraqi-born novelist, poet, translator, filmmaker, and professor. His 2003 widely translated novel I’jaam is a fictional prison memoir. The book is ironic and haunting as it reflects the absurdities of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime, futile attempts to escape censorship, and prisoners going mad as a final act of revolt.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/sinan-antoon-barbarian-has-keep-it-real?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29
Saudi Arabia
Anti-government protesters have rallied in the Qatif region of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, condemning the regime’s crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/239153.html
Saudi intelligence intimidates and threatens in Saudi media, As’ad AbuKhalil
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2012/05/saudi-intelligence-intimidates-and.html
Syria
Syrian government forces carried out war crimes during a two-week offensive in the northern province of Idlib shortly before an April 12 cease-fire came into effect, an international human rights watchdog said Wednesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/rights-group-accuses-syrian-troops-war-crimes-092857684.html
UN says Syrian army still using heavy weapons
Peacekeeping chief says artillery and armoured vehicles still in cities, adding that both sides have violated ceasefire.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/05/2012511341841711.html
‘Deadly raid hits Syria students’
At least four people are killed as Syrian security forces and militiamen raid student accommodation in the second city, Aleppo, activists say.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17937448#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
Aleppo university suspends classes after killingsSyria’s Aleppo University on Thursday announced it was suspending classes after pro-government forces reportedly killed four students and arrested more than 200 in a campus raid during anti-regime protests, according to activists. In a message posted on its website, the northern city’s university told students that classes were suspended until final exams on May 13. “Dear students, due to the current situation, classes of theory-based majors will be suspended until the beginning of exams.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/aleppo-university-suspends-classes-after-killings?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29
Syrian soldiers ‘killed in Aleppo ambush’
Fifteen troops, including two colonels, killed by opposition forces in northern province, activist group says.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/05/20125292646304502.html
Son of SSNP leader slain in Syria
The son of a prominent political leader in Syria was assassinated overnight along with a fellow party member in another blow to UN peace efforts attempting to stabilize the country after one year of violence. Ismail Haidar, son of Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) President Ali Haidar, and Fadi Atawneh was killed on the al-Mahnaya junction on the road between Homs and Masyaf, according to Syria’s official news agency, SANA.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/son-ssnp-leader-slain-syria?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29
UN condemns Syria ceasefire violations as rebels strike
Both government forces and armed rebels in Syria are committing serious human rights abuses, a top UN official has said, as opposition activists claimed 15 Syrian troops had been killed in a rebel ambush. UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous said late on Tuesday that Syrian troops have kept heavy weapons in cities, and that the rebels have also violated the putative truce that went into effect April 12.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/un-condemns-syria-ceasefire-violations-rebels-strike?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29
Syria economy faces ‘significant’ contraction: IMF
Syria’s economy is expected to contract significantly in 2012 due to 14 months of violence and sanctions, a top official at the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/syria-economy-faces-significant-contraction-imf-134708508.html
Syria’s cultural treasures latest uprising victim
On its towering hilltop perch, the Krak des Chevaliers, one of the world’s best preserved Crusader castles, held off a siege by the Muslim warrior Saladin nearly 900 years ago. It was lauded by Lawrence of Arabia for its beauty and has been one of the crown jewels of Syria’s tourism.
http://news.yahoo.com/syrias-cultural-treasures-latest-uprising-victim-185106688.html
Looks like someone is nervous about his own fiefdom: Jordan king urges ‘political solution’ in Syria
King Abdullah II of Jordan urged on Wednesday “a political solution” in Syria, saying he is “worried” about the violence there. Meeting with a US congressional delegation, the king said he is “worried about the developments in Syria,” a palace statement said. “He stressed the need to end violence in Syria and to find a political solution,” it added. The UN refugee agency UNHCR has said that the number of registered Syrians in Jordan had reached around 12,500 in April, adding that the number is expected to rise.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/jordan-king-urges-political-solution-syria?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlAkhbarEnglish+%28Al+Akhbar+English%29
After Assad, Tunisia’s Marzouki predicts ‘end’ of Hassan Nasrallah
In February Tunisia hosted the inaugural “Friends of Syria” event, with countries opposed to the regime of Bashar Assad meeting to discuss an action plan for unseating the dictator.During the same event the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Prince Saud al-Faisal said it was an “excellent idea” to provide weapons to the military opposition in Syria, sparking criticism that the event was pushing for foreign intervention. Speaking to Assange, Marzouki distanced himself from backing the insurgents and called for a negotiated settlement. “We are not supporting any kind of foreign intervention in Syria. I do believe that giving weapons to Syrians would lead to civil war. I think it’s not a good choice. I still believe that the only solution must be political, and that we have to find common… common ground between opposition and the regime. I still believe that the only solution is the Yemeni scenario,” he said. Asked about the leader of the Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah, which has backed President Assad’s claims that he is fighting a foreign-backed uprising, Marzouki said he had lost friends in the Arab world with his stance.
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2012/05/after-assad-tunisias-marzouki-predicts.html
Baba Amr, Syria’s ghost town of rubble
A terrorist haven in the eyes of the Syrian regime but “heart of the revolution” for its foes, Baba Amr is now a ghost town where residents move silently among the rubble of their homes.
http://news.yahoo.com/baba-amr-syrias-ghost-town-rubble-101528591.html
The Current Impasse in Syria: Jadaliyya Interview with Haytham Manna` (Part 1)
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.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/5322/the-current-impasse-in-syria_jadaliyya-interview-w
Intervention, Resistance, Transformation, and Exit in Syria: Interview with Haytham Manna` (Part 2)
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.
http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/5350/intervention-resistance-transformation-and-exit-in
Other Mideast & world news
Jordan king swears in new conservative-dominated cabinet
A Jordanian government dominated by conservatives under new Prime Minister Fayez al-Tarawneh, a pillar of the political establishment, was sworn in on Wednesday and tasked with preparing parliamentary elections expected later this year.
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/05/02/211758.html
Libya drops ban on religion-based parties
Libya’s ruling National Transitional Council on Wednesday dropped a controversial ban against parties organised along religious, regional, tribal or ethnic lines.
http://news.yahoo.com/libya-drops-ban-religion-based-parties-162818188.html
Assange interviews Tunisia’s first post-revolution leader
Following two weeks of intriguing interviews, this week’s episode of The World Tomorrow features Moncef Marzouki. The role of democracy in post-dictatorships is raised and how to transform a nation after years living under repression. The fact that such a man is rarely seen or heard in the Western media shames us all, considering Tunisia was the birthplace of the Arab Spring.
http://antonyloewenstein.com/2012/05/03/assange-interviews-tunisias-first-post-revolution-leader/
Tunisia sentences police over death of Arab Spring protestor
Two Tunisian policemen have been sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing a youth during protests last year, the first verdict on a civilian death during the demonstrations that sparked the Arab Spring, sources said on Tuesday.
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/05/02/211593.html
Osama Bin Laden papers released
Newly released papers from Osama Bin Laden’s hideout reveal a frustrated al-Qaeda leader struggling to revive a fraying network, the US military says.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-17941778#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
Muslims in Middle East, Asia think poorly of Al Qaeda, poll finds
A new poll covering thousands of Muslims in Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Turkey and Lebanon found that most thought poorly of Al Qaeda nearly a year after Osama bin Laden’s death. The results came just after U.S. intelligence officials announced that the terrorist group has been greatly diminished since the death of Bin Laden, suggesting that Al Qaeda has been losing Muslim hearts and minds along with organizational muscle. The Pew Research Center poll, carried out nearly one year after Bin Laden was killed by American forces on May 2, showed that in the countries surveyed, Al Qaeda was most popular in Egypt, where more than 1 out of 5 Muslims said they had a favorable opinion. Yet even in Egypt, 71% of those surveyed said they disliked the group. In Jordan, only 15% of Muslims surveyed said they had a favorable opinion of the group; in Pakistan, 13%; in Turkey, 6%; and in Lebanon, 2%. Pew based its findings on face-to-face interviews with more than 900 Muslim adults in each country, except Lebanon, where 566 people were interviewed. The results were part of a larger survey of more than 1,000 people in each of the selected countries between March 19 and April 13.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/04/pew-poll-muslims-al-qaeda.html
Chomsky: U.S. and Europe ‘committing suicide in different ways’
In an interview with GritTV’s Laura Flanders, author and MIT professor Noam Chomsky discussed the potentially bleak future facing both the United States and the European Union. Both, he said, are facing historic crises and are going about trying to resolve them in exactly the wrong ways. According to Chomsky, we are currently living in a period of “pretty close to global stagnation” but that the world’s great powers are reacting to the lack of growth in exactly the wrong manner. “The United States and Europe are committing suicide in different ways, but both doing it.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/02/chomsky-u-s-and-europe-committing-suicide-in-different-ways/
