And other news from Today in Palestine:
Land and Property Theft and Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
Israeli forces demolish Palestinian homes, shops
RAMALLAH: Israeli authorities have demolished eight structures belonging to Palestinians in a residential area northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Al-Gharbi mayor Ghassan Abu Salem said more than a dozen military vehicles carrying armed soldiers arrived mid-morning Wednesday with military equipment to carry out the demolitions. "They immediately began tearing down the structures," Abu Salem said. "They were homes and shops right on the main street, but the army said they were illegally built in ‘Area C’," which falls under Israeli control.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=109274
Settlers expel Palestinian family from Jerusalem home (AFP)
AFP – Israeli settlers backed by police have taken over a house in Jerusalem’s Old City and expelled a large Palestinian family who lived there for more than 70 years, the family said on Thursday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100729/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictjerusalemsettler
Official: Gaza no-go zone eats up 6.25% of land
Gaza – Ma’an – Gaza farmers gathered in Beit Hanoun on Wednesday demanding access to arable lands currently under Israeli control as part of a unilaterally imposed no-go zone. "The issue is not a humanitarian case, it is purely political," said organizer Amjad Al-Shawa of the Palestinian International Campaign To End The Siege On Gaza stressing that the absence of farmland prevented residents from perusing their livelihood. Conference organizer Sabir Za’anin said the policed zone along the Gaza-Israel border has reached some 22,500 dunums (22.5 square kilometers), equal to 6.25 percent of the Gaza Strip, and taking up what officials estimate to be 20 percent of arable land.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=303282
Construction Speed Increased At Al-walajah
The construction of the wall at al-Walajah has picked up pace, when it is finished it will surround the village on three sides.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59204
Israel speeds up West Bank barrier construction following court injunction
The planned route for the West Bank separation fence would surround village of Walajeh on three sides separating it from large tracts of its land.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israel-speeds-up-west-bank-barrier-construction-following-court-injunction-1.304685?localLinksEnabled=false
Palestinian shepherd films settler stealing his sheep
Apartheid Watch – According to the shepherd, a resident of Tuba village, two Israeli settler vehicles stopped on the nearby settler bypass road. A settler exited from one of the vehicles, walked toward the shepherd’s flock, grabbed a sheep by the ear, and dragged the animal a few yards. He then loaded the sheep onto his sholders and walked back to the road, where two other settlers, one of them armed, were waiting. The settlers loaded the animal into a vehicle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZvsGAQdj-I&feature=player_embedded
State to help army officers move to Negev
The government will be providing housing assistance for army officers who move to the Negev desert region, as army bases relocate from central Israel. Assistance will take the form of a two-year rent subsidy or a discount on buying land to build a home. The ministerial committee on development of the Negev and Galilee, headed by deputy prime minister Silvan Shalom, yesterday approved a list of decisions to strengthen the two regions. In total, the moves will cost more than NIS 200 million. They include initiatives to encourage army personnel to relocate to the Negev…
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/state-to-help-army-officers-move-to-negev-1.304286
Video: Ethnic cleansing in the Israeli Negev
Around 300 Bedouins living in Israel’s Negev desert are homeless after police raided their village and razed their homes.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2010/jul/28/palestinian-territories-israel
One day after Israeli authorities razed the Bedouin village of el Araqib, village residents joined with Palestinian, Israeli and international volunteers to rebuild the village.
"We successfully rebuilt all the structures and tents destroyed, noted Dr. Awad Abu Freih, spokesperson of the el Araqib village and member of the el Araqib Popular Committee and the Arab Education Forum in the Negev. In a conversation with the AIC, Dr. Abu Freih stated that the residents of el Araqib "plan on building more than what was destroyed, in an attempt to prevent future demolitions." Over 300 Bedouins, mainly children, were forcefully removed from their village Tuesday morning (27 July) as they watched the Israeli police destroy their homes and property. The raid began at about 4:30 in the morning and residents woke up surrounded by a huge force of 1,500 police with guns, stun grenades, helmets and shields, including hundreds of Special Riot Police as well as mounted police, helicopters and bulldozers.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/news/2768-villagers-rebuild-razed-bedouin-village-
Netanyahu: Continuing settlement freeze will topple Israel’s government
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has conditioned upgrading negotiations with Israel to direct talks on a continued halt on West Bank construction.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-continuing-settlement-freeze-will-topple-israel-s-government-1.304671?localLinksEnabled=false
Solidarity/Activism/Boycott, Sanctions & Divestment
Desmond Tutu backs U.S. food co-op boycott of Israeli products
South African Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu issues statement of support for boycott announced by food co-op in Rachel Corrie’s hometown of Olympia, Washington.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/desmond-tutu-backs-u-s-food-co-op-boycott-of-israeli-products-1.304657?localLinksEnabled=false
Israel cracks down on dissent
The Israeli parliament is considering several new laws that could seriously impact the ability of citizens to criticise the government, according to rights groups. Human Rights Watch is reporting a crackdown on political activists who criticise Israeli’s treatment of the Palestinians. In what rights groups consider part of an alarming pattern, Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, recently admitted to spying on a young Australian activist in the West Bank. Al Jazeera’s Sherine Tadros reports from Jerusalem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D1v-9IJsLs&feature=youtube_gdata
B’Tselem: Israel uses old military order to ban protests
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli rights group B’Tselem released a report saying Israeli crackdowns on protests in the West Bank were legitimized using a 1967 military order prohibiting demonstrations. The report, released on Wednesday, details the military legitimization of two orders delivered to the villages of Ni’lin and Bil’in in the early spring, declaring zones used each week for protests against the construction of the separation wall "closed zones," and the rationalization for what rights workers said was a changed attitude of the military "toward the demonstrations and has taken measures with the intent to end them."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=303246
Bil’in popular committee appeal highlights cost of struggle
Bethlehem – Ma’an – An Israeli court judge agreed to release a Bil’in resident and son of a local activist leader from detention, with the condition of 10,000 shekels ($2,600 US) in bail, members of the village popular committee reported. The popular committee in Bil’in issued an appeal on Wednesday, a document that illustrated the difficulties faced by the village and the impact of the long-term struggle against the wall.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=303383
A Cooper Union Student Lost an Eye Protesting in Israel—But None of Her Vision
At the annual parade of incoming freshmen at Cooper Union, the art majors create their own costumes. In 2007, freshman Emily Henochowicz of Potomac, Maryland, dressed up as one big eyeball. This image of her—arms and legs poking out from the giant eye, the iris and her shoes a matching lime-green, the eye ensconced in some sort of gray matter—has been the icon of her blog since she started it in June 2009.
http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-07-27/art/a-cooper-union-student-lost-an-eye-protesting-in-israel-mdash-but-none-of-her-vision/
Bay Area billboards ‘thank’ the US for Israel’s blank check
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/bay-area-billboards-thank-the-us-for-israels-blank-check.html
Violence and Aggression
Palestinian woman seriously injured in explosion of object left by IOF
A Palestinian woman was seriously injured Wednesday morning in the explosion of ordnance left by Israeli forces in the vicinity of the Gaza International Airport, in the southern Gaza Strip.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx
Testimony: Settler beats Palestinian shepherd
According to Khaled Najar, 57, on 1 July ’10 he was grazing his flock on private Palestinian land in the southern Hebron Hills when a settler who left the Mitzpeh Ya’ir outpost assaulted him, beating him severely.
http://www.btselem.org/English/Settler_Violence/20100701_Settler_assaults_near_Qawawis.asp
Settler violence flares in West Bank
RAMALLAH // Settler violence in occupied territory has resurfaced in recent days, even as pressure is growing on Palestinians to start direct negotiations, regardless of any extension to a partial Israeli settlement construction freeze currently in force. On Monday, settlers from the far-right Yitzhar settlement near Nablus ran amok in Burin, a Palestinian village in the area, burning fields and shooting at villagers. Palestinians responded by throwing rocks at the settlers, injuring four. Two villagers were also hurt in the clashes before the Israeli military intervened
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100729/FOREIGN/707289930/1002
Israel’s Shin Bet encouraged accused killer to assassinate Raed Salah
The arrest by Israel’s internal security service, the Shin Bet, of an Israeli Jew accused of killing at least four Palestinians has thrown a rare light on the secret police, including attempts by one of its agents to enlist the accused to assassinate a Palestinian leader. Jonathan Cook reports.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11427.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Detainees
IOF raids Nablus, arrests 4
Nablus, July 29, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation forces arrested today morning four citizens of the town “Bita”, located to the south of Nablus, in the West Bank. Eyewitnesses said that the Israeli occupation forces stormed the town in the middle of the night and raided several houses. Witnesses added that Israeli occupation forces arrested Waddah Dweikat (20 years), Jihad Dweikat (19 years) and the brothers Mujahid and Salah Mohamed Bakr Rushdie. Witnesses confirmed that the Israeli occupation forces had asked the family of a fifth citizen to surrender himself because he wasnt at home during the raid.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6815:iof-raids-nablus-arrests-4&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=135
IOF raids Hebron, arrests 1
Hebron, July 29, (Pal Telegraph) Israeli occupation forces raided at dawn today the town of “Dura” south-west of Hebron in the West Bank, and carried out sweeping operations in many southern areas surrounding it. Witnesses confirmed that the southern villages of “Dura” witnessed heavy presence of Israeli occupation forces, near Hebron Road – Beer Sheva and the surrounding villages. The Israeli occupation forces also raided “Ithna” town in Hebron, also patrolled the village’s main streets and kept the lights of their vehicles off. In the town of Beit Sahour in Bethlehem, Israeli occupying forces raided the town and obstructed the work of the Palestinian police. They also arrested a young man from the village of “Shawawra” in Bethlehem, when he was at his work using the pretext of having no work permit in his possession.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6812:iof-raids-hebron-arrests-1&catid=59:west-bank&Itemid=135
Palestinian Prisoners Suffer from Hunger
Gaza, July 26, (Pal Telegraph) A number of prisoners sitting in the prisons of the Israeli occupation said that the food served to them is not fit to eat or for human use or consumption because of its poor processing, dirtiness, very small quantity, and bad kind. Center for studies on prisoners said in a statement issued to the press today: “The prevention of the introduction of any kind of food to the prison through visits, and the prevention of buying some through the canteen, and irregular input of funds to the account numbers of prisoners, particularly prisoners of Gaza Strip has caused a real crisis on the subject of food, its not enough for the prisoners, and the impact on their health in general.
http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2010/07/palestinian-prisoners-suffer-from-hunger/
Revolving Door for Jewish Criminals
House arrest for suspect linked to ‘Jewish terrorist’
David Sitbon, suspected of stealing IDF weapons and handing them over to suspected terrorist Haim Pearlman, released from prison.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3926959,00.html
The Siege (Gaza & West Bank)/Humanitarian and Human Rights/Restriction of Movement
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 22 – 28 July 2010
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/FERB-87TH2S?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Treason, loyalty oaths, Nakba and film bans– counting down the hits in the Knesset, Philip Weiss
Simply astonishing. The continuing crisis. Here is a list of the 14 worst–most undemocratic– bills in the Knesset, compiled and commented upon by ACRI, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/treason-loyalty-oaths-nakba-and-film-bans-counting-down-the-hits-in-the-knesset.html
‘Israeli Arabs have no choice but to build illegally’
Study released by the Dirasat – Arab Center for Law and Policy highlights obstacles faced by Israeli Arabs wishing to build homes; about a quarter of Arab communities have neither a local nor privatized master plan.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israeli-arabs-have-no-choice-but-to-build-illegally-1.304777?localLinksEnabled=false
OPT: West Bank Bedouins worse off than Gazans
AL HADIDIYA, WEST BANK Wednesday, July 28, 2010 (IRIN) – The road to al-Hadidiya village in the northeastern West Bank district of Tubas is dotted with boulders etched with a warning in Hebrew, Arabic and English: “Danger – Open Fire Area”.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=89991
Roadblocks continue to halt life in West Bank
Tubas – IRIN – The road to the Al-Hadidiya village in the northeastern West Bank district of Tubas is dotted with boulders etched with a warning in Hebrew, Arabic, and English: “Danger – Open Fire Area.” The boulders arrived in February, positioned at the entrance to Palestinian villages, indicating that chunks of the Jordan Valley have become a closed military zone claimed by the Israeli army. They signal a further squeeze on the Bedouin communities in the area.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=303355
Israel’s Arab Helpers
More tunnels found at Gaza-Egypt border
Al-Arish – Ma’an – Egyptian authorities discovered three new smuggling tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
Security forces noticed a truck loaded with cement while they were sweeping the Al-Sarsouryeh area at the Gaza Strip border, Egyptian security sources said. They confiscated the truck that was apparently destined for Gaza via the smuggling tunnels, and the goods were seized, the sources added.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=303511
PA detains soldiers who mistakenly entered Nablus
Nablus – Ma’an – Palestinian Authority security forces arrested two Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank on Thursday. They were returned to Israeli-controlled territory after coordination between both sides, Palestinian and Israeli officials told Ma’an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=303506
War Crimes
White Phosphorus Burns
In January, 2009, an 18-year-old man presented to the emergency department after suffering an attack with an incendiary shell. He had many painful patches of full-thickness burns, which were surrounded by sloughed tissue. His wounds covered 30% of his body surface area, and were distributed on both upper and lower limbs, and his right shoulder. There were no signs of inhalation burns. After a clinical diagnosis of white phosphorus burns was made, the airway was secured, resuscitation fluid was initiated, and wounds were irrigated with diluted sodium bicarbonate solution before wet dressing.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1497
Political/Other Developments
Fatah: New government could exclude Fayyad
Bethlehem – Ma’an – The upcoming cabinet shuffle for the Ramallah government may not see the return of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, PLC member with Fatah Azzam Al-Ahmad said on Wednesday. In Jordan with President Mahmoud Abbas, Al-Ahmad issued a statement saying that the move would mean pushing ahead with efforts to end the state of division between Fatah and Hamas, calling it an opportunity to see the aims of the Fatah party realized across the West Bank.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=303369
Gaza, W. Bank must Be Reunified before any Deal with Israel
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said here on Wednesday that reunification of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip must be carried on simultaneously with the Palestinian- Israeli peace process, Egypt’s official MENA news agency reported. In a meeting with editors-in-chief of Egyptian newspapers in Cairo, Abbas reviewed the latest developments in the Palestinian arena, especially those concerning the peace process and efforts aiming to resume direct negotiations and achieve Palestinian reconciliation. Abbas made it clear that he will not sign any agreement with the Israelis unless the Gaza Strip is reunited with the West Bank. "If an agreement is reached about the establishment of a Palestinian state, the issue will be put to a referendum," he said.
http://english.cri.cn/6966/2010/07/29/1881s585528.htm
Abbas resisting direct talks with Israel, despite Obama pressure
The Arab League was to set out its position on direct talks on Thursday at a meeting of foreign ministers from 10 key League members in Cairo.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/abbas-resisting-direct-talks-with-israel-despite-obama-pressure-1.304780?localLinksEnabled=false
Arab League backs Palestinians on restarting talks (AP)
AP – Qatar’s prime minister says the Arab nations have endorsed direct Palestinian talks with the Israelis but left the timing to the Palestinians themselves.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100729/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_arabs_israel_palestinians
Erekat: Jordan backs PA on Israel talks
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Jordan’s stance on peace talks mirrors the Palestinian position, chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said Wednesday. Speaking by phone from Amman, where he was accompanying President Mahmoud Abbas on a state visit to the country, Erekat told Ma’an radio that the issue of peace talks "was not on the agenda" during Tuesday’s meeting of the two leaders in the Jordanian capital.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=303315
Egypt: Obama has ‘committed to exerting efforts toward direct peace talks’
Egypt says it has received U.S. assurances that may help restart direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/egypt-obama-has-committed-to-exerting-efforts-toward-direct-peace-talks-1.304666?localLinksEnabled=false
Is Peres trying to convince Palestinians to refuse direct talks?
Source tells Israel Radio that the president sent former minister Ramon to meet Erekat this month as his emissary, with that message in tow.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/is-peres-trying-to-convince-palestinians-to-refuse-direct-talks-1.304776?localLinksEnabled=false
Other News
Palestinian women dig for new opportunities in Gaza (Reuters)
Reuters – A group of Palestinian women is breaking new ground in the Gaza Strip by working as ditch-diggers to support their families.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100729/wl_nm/us_palestinians_gaza_ditchdiggers
Discrimination claimed in Modiin Illit haredi schools
They live in unkempt neighborhoods, study in run-down trailers, and are discriminated against in town’s admissions committee. Sephardic residents of Modiin Illit speak out against differential treatment by Ashkenazi establishment in city
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3926221,00.html
Israel’s sex slavery trade booming
3,000 and 5,000 women are smuggled to Israel annually and sold into the prostitution industry, where they are constantly subjected to violence and abuse.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/1,7340,L-3062297,00.html
ADL chief: Oliver Stone’s apology about remarks on Jews, Holocaust ‘insufficient’
"While [Stone] now admits that Jews do not control Hollywood, the media and other industries, he ignores his assertion that Jews are “…the most powerful lobby in Washington” and that “Israel has f***** up United States foreign policy.” This is another conspiratorial anti-Semitic canard that Mr. Stone needs to repudiate," Foxman said.
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/adl-chief-oliver-stone-s-apology-about-remarks-on-jews-holocaust-insufficient-1.304640
Haim Saban to CBS: Cancel Oliver Stone’s Showtime Series
The billionaire and outspoken media mogul told TheWrap he had contacted CBS chief Leslie Moonves to urge him to pull the series.
http://www.thewrap.com/media/column-post/exclusive-haim-saban-stone-should-join-mel-gibson-retirement-19614
Israeli Mossad story to deal with the embarrassing arrests of Israeli spies in Lebanon
You read the whole article but only to justify the last bogus theory as to why Lebanon arrested all those spies. I mean, Syrian and Egyptian intelligence agencies are much adept at torture than the Lebanese intelligence agencies and thus there should have been arrests of scores of Israeli spies in Syria or Egypt or Iran, if you are to believe the stupid theory of this German dumb spy: ""Most of the Arab intelligence services are completely different from what we in the West are familiar with when we think about intelligence services," he says now. "Most of the work of the BND, for example, is to collect information of strategic, political or military value, and to understand, evaluate and analyze trends; not killing people and not torturing them. The Arab agencies see their primary task as preserving the regime or the leader and therefore, they are cruel and without limits. They are above the law; they are the law itself. They see themselves as a divine entity. They torture suspects relentlessly, so it is not surprising that many suspects are willing to confess to every crime. This is therefore one of the reasons why I believe they were also able to expose the Israeli spy ring in Lebanon."His evaluation stands in contrast to the suggestions made in the international media that they were exposed because of modern monitoring equipment provided by the U.S. to the Lebanese army."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2010/07/israeli-mossad-story-to-deal-with.html
Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest
Universalism and lsrael`s Universities
Menachem Klein – The Jerusalem Report – In internal academic debates and in public discourse, there is a growing chorus of voices who judge academics by the level of their patriotism. This potentially repressive approach is encouraged by a rightwing governing coalition and a public that feels threatened by "leftwing intellectual terror" they believe threatens Israel`s very existence.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=41372
This is not a Muslim cause, please!, Ramzy Baroud
THOUSANDS of faithful assiduously listened as I outlined the challenges facing Palestine and its people. Cries of ‘Allahu Akbar’ – God is Great – occasionally resounded from a corner of the giant South African mosque. Many whimpered as I described the tragedy that had befallen Gaza as a result of the Israeli siege. They cheered, smiled and nodded as I emphasised how the will of the Palestinian people would not be defeated. A few older people at the front simply wept throughout my talk, which preceded a Friday sermon in Durban a few months ago.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/opinion/2010/July/opinion_July172.xml§ion=opinion
Penn State Prez punts on Palestine petition, Adam Horowitz
Penn State President Graham Spanier has refused to sign a Students for Justice in Palestine petition condemning the Israeli flotilla attack citing a policy against signing petitions. Somehow this wasn’t an issue for an anti-boycott American Jewish Committee petition he signed in 2007. SJP thinks there might be something else behind it.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/penn-state-prez-punts-on-palestine-petition.html
Dutch Christian Zionists enjoy political clout
Even though they are supporting settlement activities that the Dutch government officially considers to be illegal, Christians for Israel and the Christian Friends of Israeli Communities enjoy a cordial relationship with some of the most powerful politicians in the Netherlands.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11428.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
It is only Palestine, Mohammed Rabah Suliman
Let’s keep ourselves away from illusive political talk and unceasing historical arguments and pose the ultimate question: who is in power? Who is murdering the other? Who is besieging the other? Who is occupying the other? Who is waiting at checkpoints for long hours in mid-day under the burning sun of September? Who has lost 1500 in less 22 days? Who is spending the nights in the dark? There is an unending series of ‘who is’? Only Israel’ was the name of the song. Only Israel doesn’t have the right to self-defense. Only Israel doesn’t have the right to respond. Only Israelis are not cared for. Only Israel is discriminated against while the Palestinians, who are never mentioned in the song, are surrounded by cousins flowing with oil demanding the Israelis to give up their land! It would have given me a stoic smile to have watched myself listen to these words. Can’t she take herself as far back as to 1948? Who has taken the other’s land? Can’t she open up her eyes and see things better than that? How accurate it would have been had "Israel" been replaced with "Palestine!" It is only Israel, young lady, who has the right to talk, attack, kill, bomb, besiege others, seize their land, expel them, build settlements, own weapons and the list continues.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/07/it-is-only-palestine.html
Time for the Palestinians to call Israel’s bluff?, Alan Hart – Intifada Palestine
Defenders of Israel right or wrong continue to assert that the absence of peace is all the fault of the Palestinians. In one sense they are right. When the Palestine file was closed by Israel’s victory (ethnic cleansing and all) on the battlefield in 1948, the Palestinians were supposed to accept their lot as the sacrificial lamb on the altar of political expediency. That was according to the script written by Zionism and effectively endorsed by all the major powers and, behind closed doors, the regimes of a divided and impotent Arab order. Nobody in power anywhere wanted the Palestine file to be re-opened because, if it was, a confrontation with Zionism in all of its awesome manifestations would one day be inevitable. So it could be said if the Palestinians had been prepared to be the sacrificial lamb, the first Arab-Israeli war would also have been the last.
http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2010/07/time-for-the-palestinians-to-call-israel%E2%80%99s-bluff/
Surroundings / The forced ecology of occupation
Palestinian architect Omar Yousef finds politics in even the most technical of matters.
http://www.haaretz.com/culture/arts-leisure/surroundings-the-forced-ecology-of-occupation-1.304696
Iraq
Car bomb kills 3 Iraqi soldiers
Three Iraqi soldiers were killed and six others were wounded in a suicide car bombing targeting the army headquarters at 8:00 am in Al Shirqat District, in Salahuddin, a security source said. In Fallujah, a soldier was killed and five were wounded including three soldiers when a motorcycle parked next to an army checkpoint exploded at the northern entrance of Fallujah. A bombing at the eastern entrance of Fallujah wounded five people including three policemen.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-52393-Car-bomb-kills-3-Iraqi-soldiers.html
Wednesday: 35 Iraqis Killed, 60 Wounded
Updated at 8:21 p.m. EDT, July 28, 2010 At least 35 Iraqis were killed and 60 more were wounded, mostly in two attacks against Shi’ites in Baghdad and Karbala. At a British inquiry, General Richard Dannatt said that the simultaneous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan nearly broke the British military in 2006, when he took over as commander. Also, P.M. Maliki blamed foreign influence for a political impasse that many Iraqis view as his party’s own creation.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/07/28/wednesday-29-iraqis-killed-56-wounded/
Iraqi commandos attack Palestinian refugees, arrest 1
altBaghdad, July 28, (Pal Telegraph) Commandos of the Iraqi Interior Ministry raided on Tuesday evening the compound of Palestinians’ Association in the Iraqi occupied capital of Baghdad. According to the Association of Palestinians in Iraq in a press statement they issued, Iraqi forces intruded and arrested one of the Palestinians and called for a group of refugees to surrender to it. The Iraqi commandos used live bullets while raiding his apartment, sparking panic and fear among Palestinian refugees, especially children and women, according to the statement.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6804:iraqi-commandos-attack-palestinian-refugees-arrest-1&catid=77:middle-east&Itemid=126
Troubled Iraq league gets August 3 restart (AFP)
AFP – Iraq’s national league will restart on August 3, the Iraqi Football Association (IFA) said on Wednesday, after two weeks of political turmoil.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100728/wl_mideast_afp/fblirqiraqpoliticsasia
Inside Story – Iraq’s missing billions
The US defence department is unable to account for billions meant for Iraq’s reconstruction. The Pentagon has blamed poor record-keeping and lax oversight. They have pledged to undergo what they call a process of archival accounting to track missing funds. Iraqi officials say they know nothing about the missing billions. So, where has the money gone? And with no agreement on forming a new government in Iraq who is going to take action?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noT9auswz0A&feature=youtube_gdata
Patrick Cockburn on Missing Billions in Iraq and Soaring Cancer & Infant Mortality Rates in Fallujah
In Iraq, an official audit by the US Special Investigator for Iraq Reconstruction found that the Pentagon cannot account for almost nine billion dollars taken from Iraqi oil revenues between 2004 and 2007 for use in reconstruction. Meanwhile a new medical study has found dramatic increases in infant mortality, cancer and leukemia in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, which was bombarded by US Marines in 2004. We speak with Patrick Cockburn, Middle East correspondent for the London Independent.
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/29/patrick_cockburn_on_missing_billions_in
US accused of leaving legacy of waste in Iraq
The US military has been accused of leaving behind a legacy of toxic waste, as troops prepare to withdraw from Iraq. Officials deny the claim but doctors say they have treated people who have had contact with hazardous materials from US bases and there are concerns about dangerous waste being processed by private contractors. Al Jazeera’s Rawya Rageh reports. July 29, 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7Yysd1DrA4&feature=youtube_gdata
Kuwait gets $650 mln in Iraqi reparation: UN (AFP)
AFP – The United Nations released 650 million dollars in Iraqi compensation to Kuwait on Thursday, the latest payment of a war reparation scheme that began in 1994.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100729/wl_mideast_afp/uniraqwarkuwaitcompensation
Iraq film directors look to build ‘Baghdadwood’
Iraq film production remains nascent, but two directors are opening the country’s first film production center in a bid to lure investors and bring native filmmakers back home.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/iOB1l1f4vFo/Iraq-film-directors-look-to-build-Baghdadwood
Lebanon
Hezbollah warns against ‘false charges’
Lebanon’s Hezbollah Resistance Movement warns against falsely accusing its members of involvement in the assassination of Lebanon’s former premier Rafiq Hariri. A top Hezbollah official, Sheikh Nabil Qaouq, on Wednesday warned about the dire consequences of trying to link the resistance movement to the assassination and called such accusations "dangerous." Qaouq said the indictment of Hezbollah members was part of a US and Israeli conspiracy and called for the trial of the individuals, who testified in the case of Hariri’s assassination and whom Hezbollah regards as false witnesses, a Press TV correspondent reported.
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=136570§ionid=351020203
Lebanon charges 2nd telco worker with Israel spying (Reuters)
Reuters – A Lebanese prosecutor on Wednesday charged a employee at state-owned mobile phone firm Alfa with spying for Israel and referred him to military court, judicial sources said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100728/wl_nm/us_lebanon_israel_spy
Assad ‘to attend’ summit in Lebanon
Syrian president to accompany Saudi king on trip to Beirut aimed at easing tensions.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/201072962514334582.html
Fatah denies Ain al-Hilweh infiltrated by Al-Qaeda
BEIRUT: Members of the Al-Qaeda Islamist group have not snuck into the notorious Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, a Fatah movement official told the Central News Agency (CNA) on Wednesday. Fatah’s general military official in the Lebanon section Brigadier Sobhi Abu Arab dismissed reports claiming that Afghan and Pakistani members of Al-Qaeda had managed to enter the camp. He said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had ordered Fatah command to take a neutral stance regarding political divisions in the Lebanese political arena.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=117591#axzz0v2246hE6
Exhibit shows plight of Palestinians in Lebanese refugee camps
Today one of the regions most often brought up as a topic of discussion is the Middle East. Palestine, above all regional conflicts, comes in first. The latest incident in this dispute was an Israeli raid about two months ago on an aid flotilla that attempted to break a blockade of Gaza. Many artists, musicians and even filmmakers from around the world have in recent weeks protested what happened during Israel’s attack on the Mavi Marmara. With this latest incident the Palestinian issue and the tragedy that has been continuing for decades has once more come to the attention of the art world.
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-217463-110-exhibit-shows-plight-of-palestinians-in-lebanese-refugee-camps.html
Postwar Photographs of Lebanon by Amelia Opalinska, Round III
Four years ago today the United States government issued a Humanitarian Situation report detailing the progress of the July War. According to the section entitled “Numbers at a glance – Lebanon”, the country had accumulated 421 dead and 3,225 injured since the start of the war on July 12, and currently boasted a “Total Affected Population” of 866,780. The report advertises the total amount of U.S. humanitarian assistance pledged to Lebanon as 30 million dollars but stresses that “[t]he most effective way people can assist relief efforts is by making cash contributions to humanitarian organizations that are conducting relief operations.”
http://pulsemedia.org/2010/07/28/postwar-photographs-of-lebanon-by-amelia-opalinska-round-iii/
Amid crackdown on rifles, southern hunter uses the lure of sex to trap his birds
SIDON: Ever since Resolution 1701 was adopted by the UN Security Council, the guns have fallen silent in south Lebanon. But while the resolution was aimed at maintaining security along the tense border with Israel by keeping weapons out of the hands of Hizbullah, few doubt that the resistance has replenished its stockpile of arms.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=117563
Iran
‘US Gave 1 Billion To Fund Sedition Leaders To Topple Iran’?
"I have acquired documents showing that the Americans paid one billion dollars to leaders of sedition through Saudi individuals who are currently the US agents in regional countries,” ILNA quoted Head of the Guardian Council Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati as saying on Tuesday.
http://presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=136511§ionid=351020101
Israel linked to exiled sheikh’s bid for ‘coup’ in Gulf emirate of RAK
Israel is aiding an exiled Arab sheikh who is vying to seize control of a strategically important Gulf emirate only 40 miles from Iran.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jul/28/israel-link-sheikh-uae-coup
Iran offers terms to halt 20 percent uranium enrichment
Turkish FM says Iran has given an assurance that it would stop enriching uranium to 20 percent purity if world powers agreed to a proposed nuclear fuel swap.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/iran-offers-terms-to-halt-20-percent-uranium-enrichment-1.304616?localLinksEnabled=false
U.S. and other World News
Spain court seeks U.S. troops arrest for Iraq killing (Reuters)
Reuters – A Spanish High Court judge ordered on Thursday the arrest and extradition of three U.S. soldiers for killing a Spanish television cameraman during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100729/wl_nm/us_spain_cameraman
British army almost "seized up" in Iraq, Afghan wars (Reuters)
Reuters – Britain’s army was on the verge of "seizing up" in 2006 when it faced a "perfect storm" of simultaneous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a former military chief said on Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100728/wl_nm/us_britain_iraq
Wikileaks confirmed? A plan to kill American geologist with poison beer
The Wikileaks documents contain a claim that Pakistan and Afghanistan insurgents were working to poison alcoholic drinks in Afghanistan. While that’s unproven, one US adviser in Afghanistan tells the Monitor he was almost poisoned that way in 2007.
http://rss.csmonitor.com/%7Er/feeds/world/%7E3/sFbc-LIuYKQ/Wikileaks-confirmed-A-plan-to-kill-American-geologist-with-poison-beer
WikiLeaks Iraq Cache More Than Three Times As Big
The cache of classified U.S. military reports on the Iraq War as yet unreleased by WikiLeaks may be more than three times as large as the set of roughly 76,000 similar reports on the war in Afghanistan made public by the whistle-blower Web site earlier this week, Declassified has learned.
http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/declassified/2010/07/27/wikileaks-iraq-cache-three-times-bigger.html
Muslim Americans, ACLU Seek Data On FBI Profiling
WASHINGTON (RNS) Muslim American groups and the American Civil Liberties Union are demanding the FBI turn over records relating to agency guidelines they say permit the FBI to collect and use racial and ethnic data. The groups allege that the Domestic Intelligence and Operations Guide, an FBI policy manual published in 2008, gives FBI agents the authority to map and investigate communities based on ethnic behaviors and lifestyles, cultural traditions, and "ethnic-oriented" businesses, even when there is no evidence of criminal activity.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/28/muslim-americans-aclu-see_n_662896.html
CAIR: Tea partiers to ‘harass’ Muslims with dogs at anti-mosque protest
CAIR slams ‘KKK tactics,’ says Tea Party changing focus to ‘promotion of Islamophobia’. ‘Islam is not a religion,’ declares anonymous protest organizer. The Council on American-Islamic relations has condemned plans for a Tea Party protest outside a southern California mosque, whose organizers are urging protesters to bring dogs with them because Muslims "hate dogs."
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0728/tea-partiers-threaten-muslims-dogs-antimosque-protest/
Secret US spy agency used serial killer and Nazis as sources
It was a night in early November during the infancy of the Cold War when the anti-communist dissidents were hustled through a garden and across a gully to a vehicle on a dark, deserted road in Budapest. They hid in four large crates for their perilous journey. Four roadblocks stood between them and freedom. What Zoltan Pfeiffer, a top political figure opposed to Soviet occupation, his wife and 5-year-old daughter did not know as they were whisked out of Hungary in 1947 was that their driver, James McCargar, was a covert agent for one of America’s most secretive espionage agencies, known simply as the Pond.
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0729/secret-spy-agency-serial-killer-nazis-sources/
Abdullah starts Arab tour in Egypt
Saudi king arrives in Sharm al-Shaikh on the first leg of a four-country trip.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2010/07/2010728153045320691.html
Syrians and Saudis on the Same Page?
Beirut will host a rare summit of regional leaders this weekend–all the more remarkable for having been organized on very short notice. There are reports that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will be joined by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. Erdogan and Ahmadinejad are apparently planning visits as well in the next several weeks. The aim of the visit is to “defuse tension” on the local Lebanese scene, a euphemism for figuring out what the heck to do about an alleged impending indictment against Hizbullah members by the U.N. Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
http://qifanabki.com/2010/07/28/syria-saudi-lebanon/
Feeble, choked River Jordan struggles for salvation (Reuters)
Reuters – Christian pilgrims alarmed by claims that baptism in the River Jordan could make them sick are being urgently reassured by Israeli officials that the water poses no health risk.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100729/wl_nm/us_israel_palestinians_jordan
WWF sorry for Saudi Arabia insult
Environmental group WWF apologises to Saudi Arabia after one of its workers vandalised the country’s nameplate at a climate conference.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10798108
Vegetarianism is not contrary to Arab culture | Joseph Mayton
Meat is important in Middle East religious and social culture but giving it up could solve economic and environmental concerns. When the Jordanian activist Amina Tariq took to the streets of Amman clad in lettuce leaves, she captured the attention of the Middle East’s media. With a sign in Arabic that read "Let vegetarianism grow on you", she was trying to spark interest in a diet without animal products. Jordan was the final stop on a tour of the region by the global animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), and the lettuce leaf demonstration was arguably its most successful attempt yet to get Arabs thinking about a vegetarian diet.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/29/vegetarianism-arab-culture-environment
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