And other news from my Today in Palestine list:
Land Theft/Destruction and Ethnic Cleansing
The move, described as "devastating" to the families by head of the Atuf village council Abdallah Bisharat, would see more than 50 Palestinians made homeless and deprived of their livelihoods.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=290089
Settlers set fire to hundreds of acres of agricultural land south of Nablus
June 4th, 2010– At six in the morning of June 2nd, 2010, Israeli settlers from the settlement of Yizhar set fire Palestinian agricultural land. The owners tried to hold back the settlers with stones but the arrival of the Israeli Occupation Forces allowed the settlers to continue and destroy the agricultural land on the Mount of Suleiman.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2279.shtml
IOF soldiers detain 12 Jerusalemites in Silwan
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained 12 Jerusalemites in Silwan town, south of the Aqsa Mosque, after storming their homes on Sunday, local sources reported.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7pIb6SzEjxEzZqH6l3w8CU6diuXodGXoJcYaDlZx7ycbrMDgt0OGDo0D%2fZ1n0aUdU5KR7qtu4sTBlxMjkQ22a5dwbcn0cH84qkDGo3MX1CJ4%3d
Solidarity / Activism / Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
4 June, Haitham Al Khatib. The marchers are united around a 9 meter ship made as a symbol of the Freedom Flotilla … the IOF attack the symbolic ship and chase the protesters among the olive groves to the outskirts of the village, Fadi Jayyousi (30 years) cameraman Palestine TV was injured seriously in all parts of his body and the army broke his cameras in full…
Activists vow to stand by Gazans
Seven pro-Palestinian activists from the Rachel Corrie, an aid ship on its way to the Gaza Strip when it was forced to change course by Israeli forces and taken to the port of Ashdod, have been deported to Jordan. They say despite being peaceful and calm when Israeli soldiers boarded the vessel on Saturday, the troops still pointed guns at their heads. While they failed to deliver the 1,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid they were carrying, they believe their actions have succeeded in raising awareness about the conditions Palestinians endure under the Israeli blockade. And they are still determined to make further attempts to break the siege. Al Jazeera’s Nisreen el-Shamayleh met up with the activists when they came through the King Hussein Bridge crossing from Israel to Jordan. (6 June 2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3-XuUNmhow&feature=youtube_gdata
‘Rachel Corrie’ activists: We failed, world must act
Cuban, six Malaysians who took part in aid sail that was intercepted by IDF on way to Gaza greeted with chants of ‘Allahu Akbar’ in Jordan. ‘International community must end Israeli blockade,’ they say.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3899972,00.html
They came from the villages to aid the orphans
Two Turkish-speaking Israelis who helped translate for the passengers on the ‘Free Gaza’ flotilla reveal their up close and personal encounters.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/they-came-from-the-villages-to-aid-the-orphans-1.294407
FLOTILLA: US War Veteran Overpowers Israeli Commandos [VIDEO]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeUhwELoKWo&feature=player_embedded
Ken O’Keefe: ‘We, the defenders of the Mavi Marmara, are the modern example of Gandhi’s essence’
Ken O’Keefe, former US Marine, Gulf War veteran, and now survivor of the Mavi Marmara massacre, has issued a remarkable and searing statement from Istanbul. “While in Israeli custody I, along with everyone else, was subjected to endless abuse and flagrant acts of disrespect. Women and elderly were physically and mentally assaulted. Access to food and water and toilets was denied. Dogs were used against us, we ourselves were treated like dogs. We were exposed to direct sun in stress positions while hand cuffed to the point of losing circulation of blood in our hands. We were lied to incessantly, in fact I am awed at the routineness and comfort in their ability to lie, it is remarkable really. We were abused in just about every way imaginable and I myself was beaten and choked to the point of blacking out… and I was beaten again while in my cell.
http://pulsemedia.org/2010/06/06/ken-okeefe-we-the-defenders-of-the-mavi-marmara/
Al Jazeera talks to US activist named by Israel as a ‘terrorist’
Israel claims five activists on Mavi Marmara were "active terrorists". Israel’s "terrorist" list includes two Turks, one French, and two US citizens. Ex-US marine, Ken O’Keefe who is on the list, denies all the allegations. (6 May 2010) He talks to Al Jazeera
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx03ZTt7Zuk&feature=youtube_gdata
Farooq Burney
Farooq Burney was aboard the Mavi Marmara and has just arrived back in Doha after being detained by the Israelis. He’s the director of al Fakhoora, an aid group which focuses on education.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5nEqOxut7I&feature=youtube_gdata
Gaza flotilla survivor Hassan Ghani’s eyewitness account (3 videos)
http://pulsemedia.org/2010/06/06/gaza-flotilla-survivor-hassan-ghanis-eyewitness-account/
Canadian says he was ‘brutalized’ in Israeli custody
Victoria, B.C., activist Kevin Neish, who was arrested aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla earlier this week, says he was brutalized while detained in Israel.
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100605/bc_neish_returns_100605/20100605?hub=BritishColumbiaHome
Palestinians demonstrate against Isreal’s seizure of International aid ship
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/photo/2010-06/06/c_13335400.htm
Palestinians attend protests on sea against Israel
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/photo/2010-06/03/c_13332339.htm
Pictures of demonstrations in Bir Al-Saba’
http://www.flickr.com/photos/activestills/show/
Massive march in Wad Rahal in solidarity with the Freedom Flotilla
June 5th, 2010– In keeping with the many other protests that erupted throughout the Occupied West Bank since the Israeli affront to the multilateral humanitarian effort for Gaza, the march carried a model ship towards the Wall, but Israeli military prevented the protesters from reaching their land.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2281.shtml
Wad Rahhal Demonstration – Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy8tqDl5mA8
Residents of Southern Lebanon village hold protest against flotilla attack
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=115664#axzz0q8MHuK7U
Protesters rally near US Embassy in Lebanon to denounce Gaza blockade
Galloway: ‘This was Israel’s Soweto’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-orgcWTpwJM&feature=player_embedded
Jody McIntyre Rage Against Israel Demo London, 05-06-10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uraPDkMnjSQ&feature=player_embedded
Pictures from Mass Mobilization in San Francisco
http://chrisjewell.smugmug.com/Events/Demonstration-in-San-Francisco/12445043_J3trw#891012917_DAuRe
San Francisco: Gaza Flotilla Massacre Demonstration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAf3zcBTLQA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD2skkcqxoU
Israeli-Gaza Demonstration, Minneapolis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6l89WA4H9s
Parents of Rachel Corrie pay tribute to ‘courageous’ activists
FAMILY REACTION: THE PARENTS of Rachel Corrie, the US activist killed by an Israeli bulldozer in Gaza in 2003, have paid tribute to those who attempted to break Israel’s naval blockade on a ship named after their daughter. Activists, including several from Ireland, who last month set sail for Gaza onboard the aid-laden MV Rachel Corrie , were today returning to their home countries after Israeli forces intercepted the vessel on Saturday and towed it to the Israeli port of Ashdod.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/0607/1224272004146.html
Roger Waters – "We Shall Overcome"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnMMHepfYVc&feature=player_embedded
Palestinian Authority Minister of National Economy Hasan Abu Libdeh arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon to participate in a seminar on the PA’s boycott of settlement goods. Organized by the German Friedrich Ebert Fund, Tel Aviv University, and the Peres Center For Peace, Abu Libdeh said his attendance was meant to inform Israel that the settlement enterprise and its economy in the West Bank "are obstacles to the peace process and the establishment of a Palestinian state."
Violence and Aggression
At least four people have been killed after an Israeli navy patrol fired on a group of Palestinians in Nuseirat off the Gaza coast. Medical sources told Al Jazeera that those killed on Monday were fishermen, but the Israeli navy claimed they were divers planning a "terror attack". "An Israeli naval patrol spotted a boat with four men in diving suits on their way to carry out a terror attack and fired at them," an Israeli military statement said. Hamas security sources confirmed finding four bodies and said a fifth man was missing, presumed dead.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/06/20106742541705316.html
4 Palestinian divers killed by Israeli navy fire (AP)
AP – The Israeli navy fired on Palestinian divers off Gaza before dawn Monday, and Palestinian medics said they later retrieved four bodies.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100607/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians
Mother of nine dies after being run over by settlers in Hebron
June 4th, 2010– On May 31st, 52-year-old Palestinian Fatima Hamdan Khalil and her 57-year-old husband Abdel-Fattah Shihda Sabarneh were run over by Israeli settlers on Route 60 next to a cemetery at the entrance of their village.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2280.shtml
Right-wing Israelis harass Arab journalists in Isdud
Around 35 miles off the coast of Gaza, at least three Israeli naval ships have blocked the passage of the MV Rachel Corrie, a humanitarian aid ship trying to deliver aid, to the Gaza Strip. The Navy says they will force the ship and its passengers to re-route to the Israeli port of Isdud (Ashdod), where international media have assembled, and right-wing Israelis have arrived to harass members of the Arabic-language press.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58866
Detainees
Gaza – Relatives of Palestinian prisoners from the Gaza Strip in Israeli prisons are appealing to the International Red Cross to resume their visitation rights, which they have been stripped of for the last four years. At an IRC event in Gaza City, families reiterated the need for the visitation program to be resumed. One relative said they felt that Israel "brushes aside all international law and nobody can stop them."
The Siege
An Egyptian security official declared the blockade on Gaza a failure and announced its borders indefinitely open, the Associated Press reported on Monday, as Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad said he would "stand by every decision" Turkey made to lift the siege.
An Irish activist whose ship was blocked from delivering aid supplies to Gaza has accused the Israeli government of committing "slow genocide" against the Palestinian people. Nobel peace prize-winner Mairead Maguire was deported with fellow campaigners from the MV Rachel Corrie after the vessel failed to break through Israel’s illegal blockade.
800,000 kids bearing brunt of Gaza blockade
Gazan children, who comprise 55% of the population of Gaza are bearing the brunt of the 3-year-long blockade. While the world bickers over the rights and wrongs of the Israeli blockade on Gaza, hundreds of thousands of children continue to bear the brunt of it. Save the Children says 800,000 children are included among the population of 1.5 million in Gaza, a number supported by UNICEF. The CIA in fact records the median age of the entire population at just 17.5 years. 44% of the population it says is under 14.
http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=643652
Children of Gaza Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut2v62wx2YA&feature=player_embedded
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVNeR53f4Js&feature=related
Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FycAAUabiy4&feature=related
Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUtBBPs8_8s&feature=related
Part 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjgYtaD0c64&feature=related
Focus on Gaza hardship after raid
The frustrated attempts by activists to sail boats like the Rachel Corrie to Gaza has thrown the spotlight on life inside the territory under Israel’s blockade, as the BBC’s Jon Donnison reports from Gaza City.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/10248969.stm
Europeans ‘could play Gaza role’
The EU could monitor aid to Gaza, France says, after Israel rules out an international probe into its deadly flotilla raid.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/world/middle_east/10251805.stm
Egyptian authorities refuse entry of construction material via Rafah terminal
The Egyptian authorities have turned down a request by the Arab doctors union (ADU) to send construction and other relief materials to the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border terminal.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7x0LuYCBS6VEND%2fO4Qa9oFyRFYSFNCEE061yu0HYh%2bLkJ1GZ40ZgWAsEb1RBi0Z8yTygMNF90z%2fLus6zAqo%2fL9C4Vv9u7Q8MNHwvbk7ZbEfM%3d
The Arab Parliament announced its intention to form a committee dedicated to work on breaking Israel’s siege on Gaza by supporting land and sea convoys to challenge the Israeli blockade, the body’s president said Sunday.
Limited aid and commercial supplies will enter Gaza via a single crossing on Monday, military Palestinian officials in Gaza said, with the UN noted a slight increase in goods, mostly for reconstruction projects under INGO supervision.
A Jordanian aid convoy arrived in a Gaza hospital on Monday, after being permitted entry through the northern Erez crossing with Israel, a day after it arrived in the West Bank … six truckloads arrived loaded with medical equipment, fuel, and other items needed for the hospital. Infant formula and wheelchairs were also donated, which Ghudeibat said will be distributed. The convoy was donated by the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization as the kingdom vows to continue delivering aid to Gaza. On Sunday, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh that the kingdom was seeking to end Israel’s blockade of Gaza, adding that it considered having broken it several times through its frequent aid convoys and its donations to the hospital.
Gaza’s tunnel economy means fortunes built on Creme Eggs
Faced with a choice of going under or surviving, many choose the latter. The customers may be fewer but it’s much better than before, Mr Hasuna, the shopkeeper, said. "Before [the tunnels], this shop was empty. We had nothing to sell."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/gazas-tunnel-economy-means-fortunes-built-on-creme-eggs-1993248.html
Hamas prepares for Arab League chief visit
Amr Moussa’s expected to visit Strip as part of efforts to lift blockade. UNRWA says cement shortage hindering rehabilitation efforts.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3900005,00.html
Lieberman heads to US to explain Israel’s position on flotilla
FM’s aides dismiss claims speaking to Jewish communities a waste of public funds because he will be ‘convincing those who are already convinced’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3899947,00.html
U.S. demands IDF probe how American lost eye at West Bank protest
Emily Henochowicz, 21, an art student in New York, came to Israel six weeks ago as an exchange student at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem … Henochowicz’s father, a doctor, is originally from Israel and she also has Israeli citizenship.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/u-s-demands-idf-probe-how-american-lost-eye-at-west-bank-protest-1.294566
Israel excluded from air exercises in Turkey
Israel was absent from the participants of international aerial exercises that the Turkish army said Sunday would be conducted at an air force base in central Turkey. The exclusion came as confirmation of Ankara’s decision to scrap three planned military exercises with Israel after last Monday’s raid on aid ships bound for Gaza that killed nine Turks.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/06/06/110635.html
Normalization of ties with Israel is out of the question if the country rejects an international inquiry into the deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid ships, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday.
Major General (Res.) Uzi Dayan stated, whilst speaking with the army radio station that, “If he [Prime Minister Erdogan] comes here with Turkish warships there can be no doubt that it would amount to a declaration of war. We need to draw a clear line and say that whoever crosses it will not be boarded but sunk."
Turkey seeks to condemn Israel in security summit (AP)
AP – A summit for a 20-member security group for the Asian region kicks off in Istanbul with Turkey, seeking to condemn Israel for its raid that killed 9 Turks on a pro-Palestinian aid flotilla that had attempted to break the blockade on Gaza.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100607/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_security_summit
Turkish PM vows to pursue Israel over ‘state terror’ (AFP)
AFP – Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Sunday to hold Israel to account over its "state terror" in the Middle East as thousands protested against the deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid ships.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100607/wl_mideast_afp/israelconflictgazaturkey
Turkey’s foreign policy moves raise concern in West and at home
ISTANBUL — The women wore veils. The men donned green Hamas headbands with swirling Arabic script. They gathered by the thousands in a sunny, working-class plaza in Istanbul, bellowing: "Damn Israel!"
http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=e13fddc8fc6a4111d8a279a3a2a1de3c
Israel worried by new Turkey intelligence chief’s defense of Iran
Israeli sources believe Hakan Fidan aided in orchestrating an intentional change in relations between Israel and Turkey.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-worried-by-new-turkey-intelligence-chief-s-defense-of-iran-1.294568?localLinksEnabled=false
Queen of Jordan criticises Israel over flotilla raid (AFP)
AFP – Queen Rania of Jordan criticised Israel Monday over its deadly raid on an aid flotilla last week and warned that its hardline policies towards the Palestinians were squeezing out moderates in the region.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100607/wl_mideast_afp/israelconflictgazajordanroyals
Other Flotilla News and Developments
Iranian aid ships are due to set sail to Gaza by the end of the week, according to a report in the Sunday Times. The Iranian Red Crescent decided to send the vessels, which will carry food, medications, and medical equipment, following a meeting with the foreign ministry,
Israel Rejects Call for International Probe into Attack on Gaza Flotilla
While international condemnation of Israel continues, inside Israel the mood is quite different. An Israeli parliamentary panel recommended today that the Knesset revoke the privileges of Israeli Arab lawmaker Hanin Zoabi for participating in last week’s Gaza-bound aid flotilla. Right-wing demonstrators targeted a peace protest in Tel Aviv Saturday and reportedly attacked veteran Israeli activist, the eighty-six-year-old Uri Avnery. For more on the fallout of the flotilla attack and the reactions inside Israel, I’m joined now from Jaffa by Max Blumenthal.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/6/7/israel_rejects_call_for_international_probe
William Hague, the British foreign secretary, and Franco Frattini, his Italian counterpart, have softened their demand for a full and independent investigation of Israel’s attack on aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip.
Government source: Committee to comprise top justices and two international observers; Barak: Panel to make sure Gaza siege is lawful.
ECESG: Israel committed passport theft in the Freedom Fleet massacre
Both activists from Jordan and members of ECESG revealed that the Israeli military stole dozens of passports from both Jordanians and European supporters on board the Freedom Flotilla.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s77oJmahtg8Uh3Nmfo0QJ4%2byHSzIxzKCL09UFhhI%2bGjPGFNYoXrrTT1MDke5zec%2fizgjGqbrHz1IO3xaIG%2bRlyEZNu%2bmi%2bBUbchlBPh4KYI%2fU%3d
AMMAN (AFP) – Jordan said on Monday it has asked Israel to return passports seized from Jordanians who were among passengers of the Gaza aid flotilla intercepted in a raid which cost nine lives last week. Government spokesman Nabil Sharif said Israel has provided Jordan with a list of confiscated passports of seven Jordanians as well as nationals from Oman, Pakistan, Indonesia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Morocco and Algeria.
Israel hasbara fails again: Photos show Mavi Marmara passengers protecting, aiding Israeli soldiers
Captured, disarmed hijackers did not face "lynching" as Israel claimed. The website of Turkish newspaper Hürriyet published a gallery of photos showing Israeli soldiers captured after their attack on the Mavi Marmara in international waters in the early hours of 31 May.
http://aliabunimah.posterous.com/blog-post-israel-hasbara-fails-again-pics-sho
Robert Fisk: The truth behind the Israeli propaganda
I have, of course, been outraged at armed men boarding ships in international waters, killing passengers on board who attempt to resist and then forcing their ship to the hijackers’ home port. I am, of course, talking about the Somali pirates who are preying on Western ships in the Indian Ocean. How dare those terrorists dare to touch our unarmed vessels on the high seas? And how right we are to have our warships there to prevent such terrorist acts.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-the-truth-behind-the-israeli-propaganda-1991803.html
Greek witness: Israeli forces killed Turkish activist to stop media broadcast
An activist from Greece who was on board the Freedom Flotilla accused Israel’s naval forces of killing a Turkish citizen for broadcasting images of the attacks on the Internet.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s73SLf0L3Dn2C5TY%2bmau0ywGPFGs75lGeK1EJbH4bv78gWgN8TwBMVpJJQqqWXb8oHhsA5qUffAzvVEC7R%2b66dfNwE0YC30XhBv0v54t1L66Q%3d
Flotilla Organizers: Israel Fakes Radio Conversation To Depict Flotilla Passengers As Anti-semites
The Israeli army published a Youtube video on Saturday that includes a radio conversation Israel says it happened between the Marmara passengers and the Israeli navy prior to the attack on the boat.
http://www.imemc.org/article/58870
Ya Mama
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2010/06/ya-mama.html
Grit TV on the Flotilla
http://illuminarcy.blogspot.com/2010/06/grittv-flotilla.html
Other News
"The best answer to (the raid)… is for Palestinian groups to reconcile and resist Israel hand-in-hand," Abbas told Turkey’s NTV news channel in Istanbul where he was to attend a meeting of an Asian security grouping.
The Union of Arab Employees of UNRWA will suspend strike action for three days beginning Monday in the West Bank, a statement issued one day prior read.
Suicide attempts in Israel up 19% over last decade, but resulting deaths much lower
Health Ministry numbers from 2008 show immigrants and Arabs attempt to kill themselves at higher rates than Israeli-born Jews.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/suicide-attempts-in-israel-19-over-last-decade-but-resulting-deaths-much-lower-1.294574
Arab lawmaker receives fax reading, ‘You are dead,’ is later verbally attacked by passerby in Knesset building. ‘I accuse the fascist Right for inflaming spirits, while exploiting the crisis for political gains,’ he says
United Arab List-Ta’al Knesset member receives threatening fax, voicemail; blames Right for inciting public opinion, encouraging hostility [End]
Turkish flags sell well in Gaza
GAZA, June 6 (Xinhua) — Tarik Abu Dayya, a 30-year-old Palestinian, was very content after Turkish flags and pictures of Turkish prime minister were sold out in his souvenir shop, while still feel sorry that pictures of pro-Palestinian activists were not allowed to sell after Israel attacked a Gaza-bound flotilla and killed at least nine last week.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/07/c_13336219.htm
Goldstone removed from Hebrew U. board
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Richard Goldstone was removed from the board of governors of an Israeli university. Hebrew University confirmed to the Jerusalem Post on June 3 that Goldstone, the ex-South African judge who authored the United Nations-commissioned Goldstone report, was removed recently from the honorary position.
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/06/06/2739471/goldstone-removed-from-hebrew-u-board
Censorship / Media Bias
Forward Note: On June 3, 2010, Dissident Voice published an article I wrote alleging that Yahoo and AP regularly manipulate user content. I also raised the question of whether Yahoo and AP were coordinating their activities and whether the AP journalists who wrote the articles were aware of distortion and manipulation of user feedback. I have been challenged to provide proof by a few DV readers and by other posters on sites that republished the Dissident Voice article. It’s ironic and even extraordinary that the exposure of mass media manipulation is being challenged on progressive sites and we can only speculate about the motivation of the posters who are not only taking issue with my allegations but are challenging my mental health. So in the interest of proving that I have been cured and no longer reside in an insane asylum, I’m providing documentation to back up my allegations. Before publishing the incriminating material onDissident voice, I emailed it to AP and contacted Yahoo to get feedback to allow them a fair opportunity to explain their misconduct. I have yet to get a response. The following is part of the documentation I sent to AP.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/06/documentation-supporting-allegations-that-yahoo-and-ap-manipulate-user-content/
Analysis/Opinion
Benjamin Netanyahu is lying when he says the Gaza blockade exists in order to prevent the transfer of weapons to Gaza, Uri Avnery tells Haaretz.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/veteran-peace-activist-israel-trying-to-get-gaza-people-to-overthrow-hamas-1.294593?localLinksEnabled=false
Instead of another ignored report, Akiva Eldar
It would be best to make the flotilla saga a turning point in Israel’s policy governing the Gaza blockade and the continued occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/instead-of-another-ignored-report-1.294596
UN recognition of Israel is fatally flawed, Christopher King
Christopher King argues that beneath Israel’s litany of crimes against the Palestinians, and most recently its murder of humanitarian workers aboard the Gaza-bound international aid flotilla, lies the fact of its own illegality.
http://www.redress.cc/palestine/cking20100606
Finkelstein: Did Netanyahu OK nighttime commando raid to restore Israel’s Entebbe glory?, Philip Weiss
A day or so back the Jerusalem Post ran a propaganda piece called "Duped," saying that the Turkish passengers of the Mavi Marmara included a bunch of jihadists who were bent on a violent confrontation with Israel, and lo, they won. Norman Finkelstein sent along the article with one statement in it boldfaced.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/06/did-netanyahu-ok-nighttime-commando-raid-to-restore-israels-entebbe-glory.html
Ilan Pappé: The deadly closing of the Israeli mind
The decline in Israel’s reputation since the brutal attack on the Gaza flotilla is unlikely to influence the country’s leaders.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/ilan-papp-the-deadly-closing-of-the-israeli-mind-1992471.html
What the Gaza Flotilla Tells Us About the Future of the Mideast, Tony Karon
‘We’re the only ones who believe them,” a US official was quoted as complaining last week in response to Israel’s account of its attack on the Gaza aid flotilla. The bloodshed on the high seas and the resulting diplomatic fallout is a reminder of just how far US influence has fallen in the region, and the grim prospects for the US president Barack Obama reversing that trend as long as the US continues to accord Israel special status.
http://tonykaron.com/2010/06/06/what-the-gaza-flotilla-tells-us-about-the-future-of-the-mideast/
Israel and the aid convoy: How to make enemies | Editorial
Israel’s defiant reaction to the raid on the Gaza aid convoy is almost as appalling as the attack itself. When sovereign states make mistakes, they promise impartial inquiries, they express remorse to the families of the bereaved, they apologise. Not Binyamin Netanyahu‘s government. Almost as appalling as the commando raid itself, in which nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed on an aid convoy bound for Gaza, has been Israel’s official reaction to it. The policy was to shoot first and discredit the victims later. On a video posted online by the Jerusalem Post, Mr Netanyahu said: "This wasn’t a love boat. This was a hate boat. These weren’t pacifists, they weren’t peace activists, these were violent supporters of terrorism." The government press office emailed foreign journalists a satirical clip entitled "Flotilla Choir presents: We Con the World", before withdrawing it and saying the film’s content did not reflect the official stance of Israel. To cap it all, the Israeli prime minister yesterday rejected calls for an international inquiry.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jun/07/israel-gaza
Israel’s Challenge to Turkey, By Jeremy Salt – Ankara
In the wake of the storming of the Mavi Marmara (Blue Marmara), the truth cannot be obscured by the propaganda pouring out of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, particularly out of the mouth of the repulsive Mark Regev. The ship was sailing in international waters when it was attacked. The blockade of Gaza has been described by the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, as illegal. The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, has been calling for months for it to be lifted. Israel has no rights in Gaza or in the waters off Gaza, and no rights in international rights beyond those belonging to all shipping. What it described as a ‘police action’ was in fact not just an act of piracy but an act of war. The attack was ordered by the government of Israel. The Israeli assault force could see that the ship was draped with a large Turkish flag but proceeded with the attack anyway. There is a direct parallel with the land and sea attack on the USS Liberty in 1967, not far from where the Mavi Marmara was assaulted. The Liberty was flying an American flag as big as a bed sheet, but the Israelis still attacked it with missiles and torpedoes over many hours, failing to sink the boat as apparently intended but killing 34 sailors and seriously wounding many others.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16034
South Africa Must Cut All Ties with Israel, Iqbal Jassat – Pretoria
South Africa’s response to the dastardly act of piracy and blatant savagery by the Israeli regime is reflective of a global mood that is increasingly becoming less tolerant of contemptuous disregard for international obligations flowing from a variety of conventions.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16031
‘No Citizenship without Loyalty!’, Neve Gordon
In Israel, almost all of the protests against the navy’s assault on the relief flotilla took place in Palestinian space. Palestinian citizens in almost every major town and city, from Nazareth to Sachnin and from Arabe to Shfaram, demonstrated against the assault that left nine people dead and many more wounded. The one-day general strike called for by the Palestinian leadership within Israel was, for the most part, adhered to only by Arab citizens.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16032
How to cure a leper state
Shlomo Ben-Ami has long since abandoned the Labor Party, but though he says he isn’t as naive as he once was, he believes Israel can regain its good standing in the international community, provided it atones for past sins.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/how-to-cure-a-leper-state-1.294594
When Did Resistance Become a Dirty Word?, Robin Yassin-Kassab
What the Western political class and its media demand of the Arabs and Muslims is acceptance of the unacceptable status quo in Israel-Palestine. To resist the status quo is to be troublesome, destabilising and irrationally violent. Resistance arises from the inadequacies of a culture and religion given to antisemitism and hysteria. In order to develop, these backward folk must give resistance up.
http://pulsemedia.org/2010/06/06/when-did-resistance-become-a-dirty-word/
The Audacity of Israel, Cindy Sheehan
June 05, 2010 "Information Clearing House" — Since my son was killed in Iraq and I have come to prominence in the peace movement, the name I am called with the second highest frequency (behind “anti-American”) is “anti-Semitic.’ First of all, isn’t it interesting if one is anti-violence and pro-peace, that automatically makes one anti-American and anti-Semitic? That just tells us that violence and oppression are so inherently institutionalized in our cultures, that if one is against these things, that makes one against the entire culture, race or way of life.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25635.htm
Drink a beer to Palestine’s health, Roger Cohen
Few people vacation on the West Bank, but if they did they might head for Taybeh, a hilltop village clustered around a church whose charm trumps the Israeli checkpoints that have to be negotiated to get there. The air is good, the stones smooth, the light brilliant – and the beer excellent.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=115640
Our Enemies, the Israelis, Justin Raimondo, June 07, 2010
“Again I ask the question: What do the Israelis have on our politicians that makes them such whores? Dirty pictures? Threats of withholding campaign contributions? It’s really embarrassing as well as infuriating to see congress with its collective pants down around their legislative ankles just waiting for Israel to do it again.”
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2010/06/06/our-enemies-the-israelis/
Hasbara Derangement Syndrome
Watching yesterday’s (June 6 2010) Israeli Channel Ten TV evening news, I had the dubious pleasure of watching a Caroline Glick and her merry band of Hasbaristas celebrate. They were sitting around Glick’s kitchen table, clinking champagne glasses. At one point, the hostess banged on the table and announced “finally, some Hasbara!” The occasion was one million YouTube views of the band’s clip, "We Con the World." … As the newscast ended, my copy of Globes, a conservative evening business daily, was delivered. Columnist Yoav Karni, continued his series on the strategic threat Turkey is posing to Israeli national security. This installment was a desperate call for some effective public diplomacy to counter Erdogan’s ambition … He cited Glick’s clip as an example of what not to do … "There is a human limit to expressions of of lack of empathy to the suffering of the other, even when the other is a Palestinian child in Gaza (in the satire, the Gazan child needs ‘a little cheese and rockets for breakfast’."
http://coteret.com/2010/06/07/hasbara-derangement-syndrome/
Ali Khamenei, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Mohammad Khatami, and Mehdi Karroubi, "Iran: Ruling Faction and Opposition Leaders Both Opposed to Israel"
Ali Khamenei, Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution: The Zionists made a miscalculation. They made a mistake. They made a big mistake. This mistake has been repeated in recent years, again and again. They made a mistake of attacking Lebanon. They made a mistake of attacking Gaza. And they made a mistake of attacking the aid ships. These mistakes, made one after another, indicate that the Zionist regime is nearing its definite end. It is taking steps toward its own overthrow. . . . Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Former Prime Minister of Iran (1981-1989) and Former Presidential Candidate: In its latest attack, once again the regime occupying Jerusalem [the state of Israel] has displayed its violent character by targeting the civilian caravan of vessels bearing humanitarian aid for the Muslim people of Gaza. . . . Mohammad Khatami, Former President of Iran (1997-2005): . . . I am shocked that the Security Council, which sanctions and threatens sovereign states that merely wish to exercise their own rights, quietly sits on its hands when it comes to such major crimes, any move to take a formal action being obstructed by great powers’ opposition and vetoes.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/iran060610.html
Iraq
Updated at 9:09 p.m. EDT, June 6, 2010 A spate of attacks focused on Baghdad and surrounding communities. Overall, at least 12 Iraqis were killed and 46 more were wounded in those and other attacks across the country. Meanwhile, a lack of water could fuel Iraq’s next insurgency. Also, cross-border attacks between Turkish forces and the PKK continue in the north.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/06/06/sunday-12-iraqis-killed-42-wounded/
6 killed in Baghdad police station attack
A car bomb exploded outside a Baghdad police station Sunday in the deadliest of a pair of attacks that killed six people in the Iraqi capital, security and hospital officials said, a day after gunmen killed two candidates from the Sunni-backed coalition that won the most seats in Iraq’s March parliamentary election.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=115621
Top US officer: al-Qaida in Iraq "devastated"
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. — A string of setbacks for al-Qaida’s affiliate in Iraq has left the insurgent group "devastated" and struggling to cope with a double whammy of a leadership vacuum and a money squeeze, the top U.S. military officer said Sunday.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gdE_56XyHbB6NPQQ_Mt-KKGgg5EgD9G5VOT80
Anti-Al-Qaeda militias in Iraq stripped of gun permits
BAQUBA, Iraq: Anti-Qaeda militiamen in the central Iraqi province of Diyala have been stripped of the right to carry weapons, an official said on Sunday, sparking a wave of anger and warnings of unrest. The latest move comes amid efforts to integrate the Sahwa (Awakening) fighters, who joined with US and Iraqi forces in 2006 and 2007 to turn the tide of Iraq’s bloody insurgency, with Iraq’s security forces and ministries as part of a deal reached in 2008.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=115620#axzz0q8N3nDqR
Iraq official calls for more prisons for juveniles
There is a shortage in number of prisons in the country, particularly for juveniles, a senior Iraqi prison official said. Kadhem Raaof, director-general of juvenile prisons in Iraq, said his department cannot accommodate the increasing numbers of people below the age of 18 who are sentenced to prison terms. He said in one juvenile prison in Baghdad there were 414 youngsters in a 200-bed prison.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2010-06-05\kurd.htm
Jordanian prisoner freed by Iraq arrives in Amman
AMMAN, June 6 (Xinhua) — One of the Jordanian prisoners in Iraq was been released by the Iraqi authorities on Sunday, the Jordanian government announced. Jordan’s Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Nabil Sharif said in a press statement Sunday that the Iraqi authorities handed the Jordanian prisoner named Amjad Adnan Hasan Al Shalabi to the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad, and the prisoner arrived in Marka airport in Amman Sunday.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-06/07/c_13336257.htm
Lebanon
http://vineyardsaker.blogspot.com/2010/06/speech-delivered-by-hezbollah-secretary_06.html
US lawmakers meet with top officials in Beirut
BEIRUT: A US delegation met with President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Environment Minister Mohammad Rahhal over the weekend to discuss local and regional issues. The delegation included congressmen Brian Baird and Lincoln Davis and it tackled bilateral relations during its meeting with Sleiman.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=115654
Abboud urges Arab tourists to visit south
BEIRUT: Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud urged all Arab tourists to visit South Lebanon, as he kicked off his tour in the region on Sunday by visiting the Zahrani tourist center. Abboud was greeted by Zahrani MP Ali Osseiran and by retired Brigadier Mohammad Srour, the head of Speaker Nabih Berri’s office in the southern town of Msaylih and an array of local figures. Abboud hoped the tourist season would be be prosperous in all Lebanese regions this year. He called on all Arabs to visit south Lebanon and discover its beauty. “This season will be special,” he said.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=115657#axzz0q8ME5fur
U.S. and Other World News
Washington (CNN) – Longtime White House reporter Helen Thomas has retired effective immediately, Hearst Corporation said Monday. The media conglomerate had employed Thomas, age 89, as a syndicated columnist for its newspaper chain. Thomas, who was considered the dean of the White House press corps, had come under fire since late last week when a YouTube video surfaced showing her saying that Israel should “get the hell out of Palestine,” and that the Jewish people should go home to “Poland, Germany … and America and everywhere else.”
US cruise missile parts found in Yemeni village where 52 died
A US cruise missile armed with cluster ammunition was used in an attack in Yemen in December which resulted in the deaths of 52 people, more than half of them women and children, according to a human rights watchdog.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/us-cruise-missile-parts-found-in-yemeni-village-where-52-died-1993253.html
French minister: Paris, Riyadh have ‘same concerns’ on Iran
French Defense Minister Herve Morin said Sunday France and Saudi Arabia share the same "concerns" about Iran’s nuclear program, adding that he discussed the issue in Riyadh. "Saudi Arabia shares the same concerns as us," Morin told AFP at the end of a two-day visit to the kingdom. "We share the same analysis for the risks posed by such a program to stability in the region."
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=115627
Amnesty urges Kuwait to release top writer
DUBAI: Amnesty International appealed to Kuwait on Saturday to immediately release a prominent writer whose family and lawyer insist he is being illegally detained. In a letter addressed to the Gulf state’s ruler, the London-based rights watchdog called for all charges against Mohammad Abdulqader al-Jassem, who has been in custody since May 11 pending a trial, to be dropped.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=115622#axzz0q8NI0CHo
In Syria, the fight for women’s rights means helping both genders
Bassam al-Kadi heads the Syrian Women’s Observatory, which aims to change the way both the government and the culture regard women in Syria.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/w5Rl353qEkA/In-Syria-the-fight-for-women-s-rights-means-helping-both-genders
