and other news from Today in Palestine:
Settlers / Land, property and resource theft & destruction / Ethnic cleansing
W. Bank Palestinian cemetery desecrated
The Muslim cemetery at Kafr Qaddum, a West Bank village located some eight miles west of Nablus, was vandalized Friday. Security forces called to the scene found several headstones desecrated with “Kahane was right” slogans, hailing Rabbi Meir Kahane, the late leader of the radical Kach movement, and Stars of David. IDF forces launched an investigation and together with Civil Administration officers, erased the slogans.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3973450,00.html
IDF boosts presence near Kafr Qaddum
Vandalism of West Bank village’s cemetery prompts military to deploy forces in the area to prevent further provocation by settlers [after all, it looks bad in the world press]
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3973505,00.html
Settlers attack Palestinian farmers in Deir Ibzi
Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers while they were picking olives on Friday, onlookers said. Settlers from the Dolab outpost made the farmers leave as they threw stones before stealing their olives, according to Deir Ibzi locals. One of the farmers said the settlers came by car to the area and as soon as they arrived they threw stones. The farmers were not able to take any of their belongings or olives with them, they said. He said that his family believed residents of the nearby illegal settlements of Eli and Ma’ale Levona were responsible for the attack. Settlers have destroyed thousands of olive trees across the West Bank since the olive harvest began in early October.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=326563
Report: Settlers chop down 40 olive trees
Israeli settlers cut down and damaged 40 olive trees on Saturday in the northern West Bank village of Al-Lubban Ash-Sharqiya, southwest of Nablus city, locals said. Akram Jamil Uweis, whose family owns the trees, said his family headed to the field early Saturday morning to harvest olives, and found 40 trees had been chopped down, but their olives had not been harvested.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=326622
Settlers gather on hilltop overlooking village
Locals said Friday that a number settlers amassed on a hilltop overlooking a village north of Qalqiliya. Kafr Qaddum villagers, in a bid to protect property, also amassed in the area. The settlers’ intentions were not immediately clear, and there were no immediate reports of injury or damage.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=326575
Settlers rebuild outpost south of Bethlehem
Israeli settlers rebuilt an outpost Friday near the Beit Ha’een settlement southwest of Bethlehem. It was demolished last week on the grounds that it did not have backing from the state. Israeli officials said the settlers were determined to rebuild any demolished structure.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=326502
World Vision condemns attack on West Bank girls’ school
A girls’ school in northern West Bank was found damaged by fire and vandalized Wednesday with Hebrew graffiti reading “regards from the hills.” … While Israeli police are investigating, World Vision, which has ties to the school, released a statement condemning the attack on the Essawieh Girls Secondary School in Nablus … The Christian humanitarian group is particularly concerned about the inflammatory overtones of the attack, which included intimidating slogans spray-painted in Hebrew over the door, and the fact that the attack targeted a children’s institution.
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20101022/world-vision-condemns-attack-on-west-bank-girls-school/
Carter: Sheikh Jarrah evictions are against international law
Carter spoke at a weekly demonstration held in the East Jerusalem neighborhood by Israeli and Palestinian left-wing activists, protesting a Jewish takeover of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/carter-sheikh-jarrah-evictions-are-against-international-law-1.320676
PA says Israel hogging water resources (AFP)
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad says Palestinian water consumption well below World Health Organization’s recommendations; says Israel allowing PA access to only 10% of water resources
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3973487,00.html
Photoessay: Treasure house under threat / Eva Bartlett
(IPS) Few outside of Gaza would consider its history much beyond the decades of Israeli occupation. But Gaza is a historical treasure house. Many of those treasures are now in Israeli museums, and those that remain are becoming difficult to preserve due to the Israeli siege … “Israel’s goal is a blackout on Palestine’s history and culture,” says Ashoor. “Israel wants outsiders to think only that Gaza is a depressing, dangerous place devoid of culture, history and beauty, and that the main theme here is humanitarian aid.”
http://ingaza.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/treasure-house-under-threat/
Violence
Israeli settlers attack a Palestinian boy and two internationals in South Hebron Hills
At-Tuwani – On Thursday, 21st October, at around 9.20 am, two Operation Dove volunteers, coming back to the village of At-Tuwani after having visited some Palestinian families in the village of Tuba, were attacked by Israeli settlers from the illegal outpost of Havat Ma’on (Hill 833) .Later on, a few minutes after 1 pm in the same area, there was a similar attack on a Palestinian boy walking back home through the path on Meshaha hill.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/10/15161/
Activism / Solidarity
Report from beyond the Green Line: Al Ma`sara celebrates four years of joint struggle and houses set on fire in Nabi Saleh
The unarmed and largely non-violent protests against the occupation returned to the West Bank on Friday. From Al Ma’asara to Sheikh Jarrah to Ni’ilin, Palestinians joined by Israeli and international supporters demonstrated against the occupation and for joint struggle against Israeli repression of non-violence in Palestine. The following is a collection of reports from certain villages complete with photos and video.
http://josephdana.com/2010/10/report-from-beyond-the-green-line-al-ma%E2%80%99asara-celebrates-four-years-of-joint-struggle-and-houses-set-on-fire-from-tear-gas-in-nabi-saleh/
Israeli artist: IDF an army of evil
Israeli artists join MachsomWatch tour of West Bank villages; slam IDF policies in crossings, say soldiers ‘have no idea how bestial their behavior is’ …Among the artists taking part in Friday’s tour were actors Oded Kotler and Amnon Meskin and directors Ati Zitron and Ram Levy … “I knew of these things, buy I had no idea how horrible they really were,” said Meskin. The little things, like the handicapped path at a crossing that remains closed because they can’t find the key to it, or the soldiers’ contradicting orders – one telling a Palestinian to stand, the other telling him to sit.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3973465,00.html
8 countries absent from OECD tourism conference
Norway, Canada, Ireland, the UK, Sweden, Iceland, Turkey and South Africa will not be present at the OECD tourism conference to be held in Jerusalem this month despite objections from the Palestinian Authority, Palestinian civil society groups said Thursday … Some of the eight countries have explained their withdrawals were political in nature … In a blow to the credibility of the conference at which officials were to discuss tourism policy, a majority of invited countries did not send tourism ministers but sent low-ranking officials instead.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=326263
Photo diary: the big day – entry into Gaza! / New Zealand activists
… 7.03pm: Chris — Thousands of people cram the streets of Gaza City. They are ecstatic. “Welcome! Welcome!” they shout. Kids are pushing forward onto the road. I have to drive carefully to avoid hitting anyone in the crush. People on motorbikes are yelling, “Thank you! Thank you for coming to Gaza!” Everyone wants to touch me.
http://kiaoragaza.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/the-big-day-%E2%80%93-entry-into-gaza/
Detention
PSP: Israel detains 2 from Beit Ummar homes
The Palestine Solidarity project said Saturday that Israel detained two Palestinians after breaking into their homes in the southern West Bank district of Hebron. PSP spokesman Mohammad Ayyad Awad said forces entered the village in the morning and detained 16-year-old Allam Yousef Baser Az-Za’qiq and Muhanad Yousef Mohsen Awad, 18, both of whom are members of the popular committee against settlements and the wall.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=326750
Haniyeh: World must act to free prisoners
…At a conference in Gaza City, the Hamas leader noted that every visitor to the Gaza Strip talked about captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit but ignored more than 8,000 Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=326745
Gaza ministry releases 20 prisoners
The Gaza government’s ministry of interior released 20 prisoners at the request of visiting aid convoy Viva Palestinian on Saturday, the minister announced … Those released, the minister said, had completed two-thirds of their terms and had been sentenced on criminal indictments. “They are not political prisoners … there are no political prisoners in Gaza’s jails,” he said, reiterating an earlier statement made by Haniyeh.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=326789
Siege / Restriction of movement / Rights violations
Ramallah court gives Gazans the right to stay
The Palestinian Supreme Court in Ramallah decided Friday that Palestinians from Gaza who are living in the West Bank can transfer their residency status, allowing thousand of previously restricted Palestinians to move freely within the West Bank. Palestinians whose ID card shows an address in Gaza risk being deported to Gaza if they pass an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank, even if they have been living in the West Bank for many years, and have family and a job here. [and will the Israelis agree to this?]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=326599
Gaza crossings closed for 48 hours
Israeli authorities decided to close all crossings into and out of the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official said Friday. Raed Fattouh said the southern Kerem Shalom and the northern Karni crossings would be closed Friday and Saturday and reopen Sunday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=326421
306 Palestinians denied travel at Rafah crossing
Gaza government officials said 306 Gaza residents were denied entry to Egypt through the Rafah crossing last week. Border officials said 1822 Palestinians returned to Gaza through the terminal, while 1611 traveled to Egypt … Crossings officials said the Erez pedestrian crossing between northern Gaza and Israel was partially open during the week, recording the exit of 552 Gaza residents, 219 foreign nationals, and 35 Palestinians with Israeli citizenship.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=326679
War crimes
It was the Gaza assault’s worst atrocity. Now the truth may finally be told / Donald Macintyre
Israeli military police are investigating whether an air strike which killed 21 members of the same family sheltering in a building during the Army’s Gaza offensive in 2008-9 was authorised by a senior brigade commander who had been warned of the danger to civilians … The missile attack, which also injured 19 people, came early in the ground offensive. According to many Palestinian witnesses, it came after troops in the Givati brigade ordered dozens of family members, including women and children, to move to the building the previous day.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/it-was-the-gaza-assaults-worst-atrocity-now-the-truth-may-finally-be-told-2114250.html
IDF commander questioned over Gaza killing
Colonel Ilan Malka, who headed Givati Brigade during Operation Cast Lead, tells Military Police investigators he was unaware of civilians’ presence in building while approving Air Force bombing, which left 21 family members dead. ‘Don’t turn him into a scapegoat,’ senior officer says in his defense
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3973310,00.html
Justice, Israeli style / Sherine Tadros
“Does anyone know the Hebrew word for ‘occupation’?” A question from the state assigned Hebrew translator to the packed out courtroom. And that kicked off the trial into the killing of US activist Rachel Corrie, which took her family seven years to secure. Today, several months later, we were back at Haifa District Court to hear from the Israeli soldier who was driving the bulldozer that killed Rachel whilst she was peacefully protesting against Palestinian home demolitions in Gaza in 2003 … I can’t tell you the driver’s name (there is a gag order) but I can say that he is a Russian immigrant to Israel that, ironically, shares the same birthday as Rachel.
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2010/10/21/justice-israeli-style
Hamas scatters ashes of Gaza-bound flotilla dead on graves
Gaza – Members of the Islamic Hamas movement Saturday scattered ashes from the nine Turkish activists killed by Israeli naval forces during the interception of their Gaza-bound flotilla on the graves of Hamas militants killed in Gaza. The dust of the Turkish activists was brought to Gaza by campaigners from the aid convoy Lifeline 5 – which arrived in the coastal enclave on Thursday, Hamas officials said.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1593605.php/Hamas-scatters-ashes-of-Gaza-bound-flotilla-dead-on-graves
Racism / Attacks on democracy
Association for civil rights in Israel on democracy’s heart attack / Jesse Bacon
Ed’s note: This is long, but close enough to our mission to warrant reprinting in full. Here you have the definite guide to anti-democracy bills in the Israeli Knesset, some that will be familiar to readers of this blog, some that even close followers of Israeli democracy will be unaware of.
http://theonlydemocracy.org/2010/10/association-of-civil-rights-in-israel-on-democracys-heart-attack-long/
Police patrol Safed in response to Jewish-Arab clashes
Police forces have been patrolling the neighborhoods of the north Israeli city of Safed on Saturday in order to prevent clashes between its Jewish and Arab residents. On Friday night a group of orthodox Jews threw stones at Arab students who rent apartments in Safed. The event took place after the city’s chief rabbi, Shmuel Eliyahu, called earlier this week for owners to avoid renting apartments to Arabs.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3973619,00.html
Public outcry ensues after rabbis tell Jews not to rent to Arabs
Several [‘Israeli Arab’] MKs and [two] nonprofit organizations demand a criminal investigation of Safed Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu and 17 other rabbis … Eliyahu had been indicted for incitement to racism five years ago, but the prosecution withdrew the charges after he promised to apologize. This decision was clearly a mistake, the MKs wrote, as it encouraged Eliyahu to continue inciting against Arabs.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/public-outcry-ensues-after-rabbis-tell-jews-not-to-rent-to-arabs-1.320336
‘Politics overshadowing racism’
Jewish leaders in US speak against Israeli politicians’ silence over increasing racism in Israel; ADL chief warns it may have detrimental impact on relations with American Jewry … Said leaders were especially irked by a recent statement made by Shas’ spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who said that “the Goyim’s (non-Jews) sole reason for existing is to serve Jews.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3973478,00.html
Political developments
Israeli settlements block Palestinian state: UN envoy (AFP)
UNITED NATIONS — Israel’s settlement construction in the occupied territories has become an almost insurmountable obstacle to creating an independent Palestinian state, a UN envoy said Friday. A Palestinian state “seems increasingly problematic as a solution because it would require a substantial reversal of the settlement process,” said Richard Falk, a UN representative on human rights in the Palestinian territories.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gUBRBSkSMdYxQzf8Ef1dC8brsEpw?docId=CNG.22b03666006bbdecaffca0e62e5b15f1.641
Mideast sides eye US midterms and impact on talks (AP)
JERUSALEM – Israelis and Palestinians are closely watching next month’s U.S. midterm race amid a sense — rarely discussed openly but very much on people’s minds — that the result could affect the U.S.-led peace effort, and President Obama’s ability to coax concessions from Israel … The Palestinians are now hoping that Obama has reacted mildly to Israel’s rejection because of political considerations ahead of the Nov. 2 vote — and might be freer to apply pressure after the elections.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101022/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_mideast_us
PLO: We will reconsider agreements if Israeli violations continue (dpa)
PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo accuses Israeli PM of ‘making an alliance with the right wing in the US to weaken the Obama administration.’
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/plo-we-will-reconsider-agreements-if-israeli-violations-continue-1.320751
Abbas discusses UN-approved Palestinian statehood with Saudi king (dpa)
In wake of settlement stalemate, Palestinian Authority president considers requesting UN recognition of statehood status — President Mahmoud Abbas and Saudi King Abdullah discussed plans to persuade the United States to accept a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, a regional daily said Saturday.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/abbas-discusses-un-approved-palestinian-statehood-with-saudi-king-1.320723
PLO official slams Clinton remarks
A member of the PLO negotiating team on Friday slammed remarks by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a day earlier, when she said the Americans had no “magic formula” to restart peace talks. Fatah leader Nabil Sha’ath said in response, “Do we need ‘magical formulas’ or a simple decision? We know there’s no ‘magic formula’ to stop settlements.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=326491
Vatican body asks UN to ‘end Israeli occupation’ (Reuters)
In final statement of two-week conference, bishops’ synod urges international community to take ‘necessary legal steps to put an end to the occupation of the different Arab territories’
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3973590,00.html
UNRWA official: Hamas in contact with most foreign nations
Andrew Whitley says Norway, Switzerland and Germany, among others, “quietly” having contacts with Gaza leadership; calls on Palestinians to prepare refugees for near certainty that they will never return to Israel.
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=192485
Other news
Poll: Palestinians say they need results from talks
…If the peace talks fail, the option endorsed by most Palestinians is to ask the UN Security Council to recognize a Palestinian state. The second most popular option is to declare unilaterally the establishment of a Palestinian state. The options to resort to resistance are less popular. However, Israelis misperceive these preferences and fear that Palestinians will resume an intifada, or uprising.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=326238
Israeli Arabs, Jews trade places in new school civics initiative
At a typical burger joint in Tel Aviv, the two main protagonists sit down after a hard day’s work and ask themselves whether a different reality is at all possible. Suddenly the two teenagers, maybe 18 years old, are put into each other’s bodies. Maor, the Jewish shift manager, becomes Jamal, the Arab kitchen worker, and vice versa. This is the initial premise of a new TV drama, “Exchanges,” aimed at civics students and teachers.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israeli-arabs-jews-trade-places-in-new-school-civics-initiative-1.320516
Gaza 100 kicks off
Around 2,000 runners are expected to join Gaza 100 on Saturday, a 12-hour relay in Gaza City, organizers said. The event kicked off from Al-Yarmouk playground at 8 a.m. and coincided with a similar event in London, said Mahmoud Labad, the Gaza representative for UK charity IF … Labad said the event was timed to highlight the arrival of the Lifeline aid convoy in Gaza on Thursday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=326689
Analysis / Opinion / Human interest
Ending violent resistance / Kim Petersen
[answering Ramzy Baroud] Target the Oppressor, Not the Resistance — First a given: there can be no resistance unless there is something to resist against. There can be no anti-occupation resistance if there is no occupation, and there can be no resistance against oppression if there is no oppression. It is a simple logic that eludes many people. That it eludes many people (and almost all of the corporate media) is demonstrable by noting the outcry whenever a resistance uses violence: Those evil, soulless terrorists harming other people — and they do it without reason.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/10/ending-violent-resistance/
Lieberman is Kahane. And even the right senses it / Bradley Burston
Is anyone on the mainstream Jewish right – anyone at all – willing to speak in defense of Avigdor Lieberman, the bully in the china shop of Israel’s relationship with its Arab minority? In particular, is anyone on the mainstream right prepared to step up and support his fascism bandwagon’s snorting, noxious draft horse – the loyalty oath initiative? Not the Zionist Organization of America … Not the Israel Project.
http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/a-special-place-in-hell/lieberman-is-kahane-and-even-the-right-senses-it-1.320219
Mr. Netanyahu, you are not Rabin’s partner in peace / Carlo Strenger
Dear Mr. Netanyahu, In your speech commemorating the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, you said that that you are Rabin’s partner in his vision for peace. Will all due respect, Mr. Prime Minister, this is a falsehood … You, Mr. Netanyahu, say one thing and do another. Nobody really knows what you want, and there are many commentators who think that even you don’t know. Of course we all know your excuse: even though Israel has the best opportunity ever to arrive at a final status agreement with the Palestinians, you say you can’t move ahead, because your coalition will fall apart. In doing so, you imply that this coalition is a fact of nature; you conveniently forget that you chose to create this coalition.
http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/strenger-than-fiction/mr-netanyahu-you-are-not-rabin-s-partner-in-peace-1.320426
Twilight Zone: Baron of manipulation / Gideon Levy
Gideon Levy’s recent interview to The Independent drew a scathing attack from right-wing columnist Ben Dror Yemini. Here is Levy’s rebuttal
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/twilight-zone-baron-of-manipulation-1.320636
The Democratic-Likud Party / Alex Kane
…What’s important about the list of donors that Netanyahu identified is what it says about the Israel lobby and the Democratic Party in the United States. It goes a long way in explaining why hard-right Zionist views can be found among Democratic politicians. There is little to no difference between how Democrats and Republicans in the United States act towards Israel; criticizing Israel is a “third rail” in American politics, and some of the donors included on this list show why.
http://alexbkane.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/the-democratic-likud-party/
Weimar in Jerusalem / Uri Avnery
IN BERLIN, an exhibition entitled “Hitler and the Germans” has just opened. It examines the factors that caused the German people to bring Adolf Hitler to power and follow him to the very end. I am too busy with the problems of Israeli democracy to fly to Berlin. Pity. Because since childhood, precisely this question has been troubling me. How did it happen that a civilized nation, which saw itself as the “people of poets and thinkers”, followed this man, much as the children of Hamelin followed the pied piper to their doom. This troubles me not only as a historical phenomenon, but as a warning for the future. If this happened to the Germans, can it happen to any people? Can it happen here?
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1287833121/
The death of a child / Lillian Rosengarten
“Nasma Abu Lasheen died on Saturday, October 16, 2010 in Gaza. Israel failed to issue her an urgent entry permit for life-saving medical treatment at Ha-Emek Medical Center in Afula, Israel. She was two years old.” …So it has come to this as generations of hate and paranoia leech the humanity of Israel, to create a heartless society composed of “them and “us.” … I am not a proud Jew when I must disassociate myself from such acts, for they defy what it is to be a Jew.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/10/the-death-of-a-child.html
Interview with Jamal Krayem Kanj, author of Children of Catastrophe
This book tells the remarkable story of one such refugee, following his journey from childhood in the Nahr El Bared Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, becoming a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), through to eventual emigration, a new life as an engineer in the United States, and a ‘return’ trip to historic Palestine.
http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2010/10/interview-with-jamal-krayem-kanj-author-children-of-castastrophe/
Iraq
Friday: 5 Iraqis killed, 15 wounded
…Violence continued today with at least five Iraqis dying in new violence. Another 15 were wounded. A sticky bomb in Garma killed a Sahwa fighter and injured a female companion. A man was killed as he was planting a separate bomb. In Mosul, a bomb killed one civilian and wounded six others….
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/10/22/friday-5-iraqis-killed-15-wounded/
Saturday: 4 Iraqis killed, 32 wounded
At least four Iraqis were killed and 32 more were wounded in new violence. The worst attack occurred outside of Baghdad in the suburb of Abu Ghraib. Meanwhile, the Wikileaks Iraq logs could undermine the prime minister’s attempt to retain his seat.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/10/23/saturday-4-iraqis-killed-32-wounded/
Iraq war logs: Pictures from one hellish day of the conflict
Images from 17 October 2006, a typical 24 hours in one of the bloodiest years since the invasion
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2010/oct/23/iraq-war-logs-pictures
UN calls on Obama to investigate human rights abuses
The UN has called on Barack Obama to order a full investigation of US forces’ involvement in human rights abuses in Iraq after a massive leak of military documents that detail torture, summary executions and war crimes. The call, by the UN’s chief investigator on torture, Manfred Nowak, came as Phil Shiner, human rights specialist at Public Interest Lawyers in the UK, warned that some of the deaths documented in the Iraq war logs could have involved British forces and would be pursued through the UK courts.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/23/united-nations-call-obama-investigation-abuses-iraq
Five bombshells from WikiLeaks Iraq war documents
As with the second-largest leak in US history – the 92,000 Afghan war documents released in July – much of the substance of the leaks has been reported already, but details are new. WikiLeaks will hold a press conference Saturday morning in Europe. Click through the following slides to learn what the documents reveal. [click on ‘Next’ to the right of the title on the page to go to the next slide]
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2010/1022/Five-bombshells-from-WikiLeaks-Iraq-war-documents/Details-of-torture-and-abuse
WikiLeaks Iraq: data journalism maps every death
Data journalism allows us to really interrogate the Wikileaks Iraq war logs release. Here is the statistical breakdown – and data for you to download • Get the data • Get the fullscreen map
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/oct/23/wikileaks-iraq-data-journalism
Huge dossier of secret files shows the US ignored torture of Iraqis
Killings at checkpoints were ‘covered up’ / Estimate of civilian deaths rises to 122,000 / Leak of 400,000 documents is biggest ever — Whistle-blowing website Wikileaks unveiled its cache of secret Iraq war documents last night in what is the largest leak in US military history.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/huge-dossier-of-secret-files-shows-the-us-ignored-torture-of-iraqis-2114409.html
WikiLeaks Iraq war logs: Why Iraq has the right to know the full death toll
The Iraq war logs show the US withheld details of thousands of civilian deaths. This was wrong, and counterproductive
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/oct/23/iraq-war-logs-right-to-know
British troops accused of abusing prisoners in first days of invasion
The Ministry of Defence is investigating allegations that British soldiers brutally ill-treated prisoners of war captured in the first days of the invasion of Iraq. One of the prisoners alleges that during his interrogation he was tortured because British officers thought he could lead them to Saddam Hussein. Claims of abuse committed so early on in the conflict will add to concerns that there was a deep-rooted culture of ill-treatment of Iraqis held by units of the British Army.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/british-troops-accused-of-abusing-prisoners-in-first-days-of-invasion-2114224.html
Iraqi officials vow to probe any abuse cases (Reuters)
Iraq vowed on Saturday to probe allegations that police or soldiers committed crimes in the country’s sectarian war, after WikiLeaks released classified U.S. files that revealed prisoner abuse by Iraqi forces. The flood of files mainly containing in-the-field action reports from lower level U.S. military officers detailed gruesome cases of prisoner abuse that were known to U.S. authorities but not investigated by them.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101023/wl_nm/us_wikileaks_iraq_probe
Secret US docs: Iran, Hezbollah trained Iraqi militants
Documents made public by WikiLeaks recount Tehran’s role in providing Iraqi militia fighters with rockets, magnetic bombs, rifles, surface-to-air missiles used against American helicopters; according to documents, militants
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3973570,00.html
Other Mideast
EU, Russia prod Iran to hold nuclear talks in November (Reuters)
Deputy FM Ryabkov urges ‘Iranian friends and colleagues’ to officially respond in positive manner to Ashton’s invitation to hold talks on nuclear program next month
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3973556,00.html
Justice, even for princes / Ali al-Ahmed
Britain’s conviction of a Saudi prince for the murder of his servant has inspired Saudi Arabians longing for impartial justice
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/20/saudi-prince-murder-justice
Bahraini women fight traditions in parliament polls (AFP)
The only woman in Bahrain’s outgoing parliament has already secured her seat, unopposed ahead of Saturday’s elections, but the other seven women vying for seats look set to fall victim to sexist traditions
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/10/22/123230.html
Egypt court bars police from campus
Verdict ending police presence in universities is hailed, but government may use emergency powers to circumvent it.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/10/20101023133934791518.html
Egyptian government fears a Facebook revolution / Osama Diab
Talk of banning Facebook is only the surface of a greater crackdown on independent media by an insecure government
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/21/egypt-facebook-revolution
U.S. and other world news
Not all terrorists are stupid, Juan / Roja Heydarpour
The worst part about Juan Williams’ statement wasn’t his appalling bigotry. It was his complete ignorance of how terrorists operate. No matter what Juan Williams says, even the dumbest terrorist in the world wouldn’t wear a robe and turban on a plane. Williams’ crime wasn’t just his comic bigotry but his ignorance.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailybeast/20101023/ts_dailybeast/10575_juanwilliamsrealcrimeignorance
Stop the media purge! / Justin Raimondo
…We’ve been in a state of constant war since September 11, 2001 – and this is the world in which we are now living. A world where no one can say what they really believe, or feel, for fear of losing their job, or even of facing government prosecution – as the recent raids on antiwar activists in Minneapolis, and elsewhere, have shown. The atmosphere of intellectual and physical intimidation is thick to the point of suffocation – and it has to stop, or else we’re in some real trouble.
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2010/10/21/stop-the-media-purge/
US lawmakers concerned by professor’s anti-Israel remarks
Video of a September 3 rally in Washington, D.C., shows tenured literature professor Kaukab Siddique saying Israel must be destroyed, if possible by peaceful means.
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/u-s-lawmakers-concerned-by-professor-s-anti-israel-remarks-1.320700
Dutch court urges new Wilders trial
A Dutch court has approved a request from right-wing politician Geert Wilders to have new judges for his trial on charges of inciting hatred against Muslims, forcing the court to start the case over again. The ruling, made on Friday, is seen as another victory for Wilders
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/10/20101022155839812808.html
Hamburg moves toward official recognition of Islam
Hamburg may soon become the first German state to officially recognize Islam as a religious community and give Muslims the same legal rights as Christians and Jews in dealing with the local administration.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/hamburg-moves-toward-official-recognition-of-islam-1.320069
Security ban ‘hits Afghan projects’
A government ban on private security forces set to begin by the end of the year, has begun to drive foreign aid projects out of Afghanistan, according to reports in US newspapers. Contractors are used widely throughout the country, not only to protect military bases and embassies but also hundreds of reconstruction projects.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/10/2010102214737208565.html
How permanent are America’s Afghan bases?
If you want a measure of how far the U.S. has “fallen” in Iraq, it now has only 21 “burn pits” there — places at U.S. bases where waste of all sorts is incinerated, regularly spewing smoke filled with toxic emissions into the air to the detriment of American soldiers (and undoubtedly local Iraqis as well). On the other hand, according to a Government Accountability Office report, there are now 221 such pits in Afghanistan and “more coming.” Put another way, even as America’s baseworld in Iraq dwindles, there seems to be no learning curve in Washington.
http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2010/10/21/how-permanent-are-americas-afghan-bases/
UN office in Herat ‘under attack’
Suicide bomber and armed men launch attack on building in Afghanistan’s second-biggest city, officials say … “The incident is ongoing. We are working closely with local authorities,” Dan McNorton, a media officer for the UN in the Afghan capital Kabul, told the AFP news agency on Saturday.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/asia/2010/10/201010238441852503.html
Police repress convergence on UK weapons factory / Bridget Chappell
As Israeli warplanes flew over Gaza on 13 October, activists converged on Brighton, United Kingdom for the annual mass action against the local EDO/ITT factory that produces components used in weapons by the Israeli Air Force, amongst others, to devastating effect.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11587.shtml
US to give $2b to Pakistan army
The US lays out $2bn military aid package for Pakistan as it pressures Islamabad to crack down on Taliban and al-Qaeda.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/10/201010221371977279.html
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