And more news from Today in Palestine:
Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
Civil Administration razes farmland in Beit Fajjar
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Israel’s Civil Administration razed farmland and a barn owned by a resident of the Beit Fajjar village in the southern West Bank district of Bethlehem on Monday. Raed Taqatqa, the land owner, said Israeli forces sought to control the area near the village’s main road and that of Al-Ma’sara, the site of demonstrations against Israel’s separation wall.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=323174
Settlers: No Jewish state without West Bank construction
Leaders of Jewish communities in West Bank slam PM’s offer for new construction freeze in exchange for Palestinian recognition of Israel as Jewish state, say he will be put in ‘political slaughterhouse’ if plan implemented. ‘It is our Zionist right and duty to build here,’ they declare.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3967977,00.html
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions & Divestment
Bil’in’s Abdallah Abu Rahmah sentenced to a year in prison, Joseph Dana
Bil’in protest organizer Abdallah Abu Rahmah was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment today, for his involvement in his village’s unarmed struggle against the wall.
http://josephdana.com/2010/10/bilins-abdallah-abu-rahmah-sentenced-to-a-year-in-prison/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bilins-abdallah-abu-rahmah-sentenced-to-a-year-in-prison
Free Abdallah Abu Rahmah, Joseph Dana
Bil’in Popular Committee Chairman Abdallah Abu Rahmah was sentenced to one year in jail this afternoon for non-violent resistance to Israeli occupation. The time for international support of Abdallah Abu Rahmah and the popular unarmed struggle is now! Please visit the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee for more information on how you can help Abdallah’s case and share the below poster.
http://josephdana.com/2010/10/free-abdallah-abu-rahmah/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=free-abdallah-abu-rahmah
Vanunu`s freedom denied again
Eileen Fleming – Salem News – Having recently spent three months in detention for the “crime” of talking to foreigners, whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu returned to the Supreme Court, seeking to rescind the restrictions imposed on him the government. As on previous occasions, his appeal was denied. On 12 December this year, Vanunu is due to be granted the Carl-von-Ossietzky-Medal for 2010. Evidently, he will be able to arrive at the Berlin ceremony.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=42742
Photo essay of a West Bank demonstration against the occupation in Nabi Saleh, Joseph Dana
Every Friday the village of Nabi Saleh holds an unarmed demonstration against the occupation and continued Israeli settlement expansion. The following is a photo essay of last Friday’s demonstration in which the IDF used live ammunition against unarmed protesters and six Palestinians were injured.
http://josephdana.com/2010/10/photo-essay-of-a-west-bank-demonstration-against-the-occupation-in-nabi-saleh/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=photo-essay-of-a-west-bank-demonstration-against-the-occupation-in-nabi-saleh
Al-Ma’sara commemorates 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Che Guevara
Oct 9, 2010– Tens of people were suffocated by tear gas at the Al-Masara weekly protest on 8 October marking the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Che Guevara and in solidarity with Ahmed Sadat, the general secretary of the PFLP who has been in solitary confinement for more than 500 days.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2372.shtml
Activists disrupt JNF conference, including ‘Not in my name’ Jews who are labeled ‘traitors’, Philip Weiss
The Jewish National Fund, which pays for the purchase of land for Jews in Israel, and of trees to cover up Palestinian villages, is holding a national conference in Atlanta. Activists picketed the conference, and several walked in on the conference yesterday, some identifying themselves as Jews. Among them is Lisa Adler, above, being pulled out of the room by a JNF’r.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/10/activists-disrupt-jnf-conference-including-not-in-my-name-jews-who-are-labeled-traitors.html
PLO calls for boycott of OECD Jerusalem summit
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The PLO has called on member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development to boycott a summit on sustainable tourism which will be held in West Jerusalem in mid-October, a statement issued Tuesday read. The PLO said convening the summit in West Jerusalem “under current conditions is a reward to Israel and grants legitimacy to the Israeli occupation of the city [East Jerusalem] and all its racist and oppressive measures against Palestinians in Jerusalem.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=323362
Groups plan 2nd aid flotilla to Gaza from February (AP)
AP – Pro-Palestinian groups plan to sail a flotilla of boats through Israel’s sea blockade of Gaza as early as February in the second such attempt in less than a year, activists said Monday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101011/ap_on_re_eu/eu_switzerland_gaza_flotilla
Swiss ship to join Gaza-bound flotilla
A ship with Swiss nationals aboard is scheduled to take part in an aid flotilla bound for Gaza next spring, a solidarity group announced on Monday. Nathan Finkelstein, a spokesman with the Geneva-based Collectif Urgence Palestine, said about 45 people could be aboard the ship as part of a flotilla with vessels from 17 countries. It could set sail as early as February.
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/Swiss_ship_to_join_Gaza-bound_flotilla.html?cid=28522022
Slain US activist’s parents seek justice in Israel (AP)
AP – The parents of a young American activist crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer seven years ago as she tried to save a Palestinian home from demolition never saw the soldier who killed her or his commanders put on trial or punished.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101012/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_rachel_corrie
‘We wouldn’t eat their sandwiches!’ –an interview with Lillian Rosengarten, Philip Weiss
Lillian Rosengarten, the only American on the Jewish boat to Gaza, lives near me in the Hudson Valley, and the other day I visited her to interview her about her experience on the British-flagged catamaran that the Israelis had intercepted on the high seas on September 28. I hoped the activist/therapist/poet could answer a big question. How did she reconcile two important events in her life: her family had fled Nazi Germany when she was a toddler, but now, 73 years later, the state created to rescue the Jews had deported her and said she could never come back?
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/10/we-wouldnt-eat-their-sandwiches-an-interview-with-lillian-rosengarten.html
8th Week against the Apartheid Wall, November 9 – 16 2010
Sep 1, 2010– Eight years into the construction of the Apartheid Wall, over 60% has already been built to ghettoize communities, threatening over 260,000 people with displacement and stealing land and water resources.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2361.shtml
Calendar of collective olive harvest initiatives
Oct 12, 2010– The Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign and its popular committees are coordinating collective efforts to safeguard the annual olive harvest. Click here to see the dates and locations of the olive harvest initiatives.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2374.shtml
More ‘best shots of Israel’
Lara Elborno sent the following email and photos to the Israel Project as part of its “Best Shots of Israel” contest. Elborno is a Palestinian-American and currently a 2nd year law student in Chicago.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/10/more-best-shots-of-israel.html
Breaking the Silence nominated for EU peace prize
Breaking the Silence documents testimony of soldiers who served in the West Bank and Gaza; right-wing group calls on parliament members not to let it win award.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/breaking-the-silence-nominated-for-eu-peace-prize-1.318535
Siege (Gaza & West Bank)/Rights Violations/Restriction of Movement
Gaza power problem ‘partially solved’
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — The Gaza Electricity Company said several improvements in supply have led to a partial solution to the electricity crisis in the coastal enclave, which has been plagued with power cuts since January. A statement issued by the GEC on Monday said the crisis was also partly solved through a government-enforced salary deduction, which was implemented to pay outstanding electricity bills. As a result, the GEC wrote, the company was able to cover the fuel costs for running the sole power plant’s generators.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=323282
Anger at Israel’s controversial oath
Israel’s Arab community has been angered by the government’s proposal requiring any non-Jew taking Israeli citizenship to swear allegiance to the country as a Jewish and democratic state. The controversial phrase added to citizenship law in move is seen by critics as attempt to get support for new settlement freeze. Palestinians say the law would legitimise discrimination and the dispossession of the indigenous people. Al Jazeera’s Sherine Tadros reports from Jerusalem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIP4mVG3bT8&feature=youtube_gdata
Bahar: Loyalty oath another nakba
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Israel’s new loyalty oath requiring non-Jews to to swear allegiance to “a Jewish and democratic state” was described as a new catastrophe or nakba for Palestinians living in Israel by the Palestinian Legislative Council’s deputy speaker on Monday. Speaking to reporters in Gaza City, Ahmad Bahar said the recent amendment to Israel’s citizenship law would lead to a catastrophe leading to the forced immigration of Palestinians with Israeli citizenship.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=323132
Assad says ‘racist’ oath proves Israel doesn’t want peace (AFP)
AFP – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday slammed an Israeli citizenship law that he said was proof the Jewish state does not want to make peace with the Palestinians.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101011/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestinianspoliticscitizenshipsyriaturkey
EU says Israel must guarantee equality for all (AFP)
AFP – The European Union on Tuesday urged Israel to guarantee the equality of all its citizens after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Palestinians to recognise Israel’s Jewish identity.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101012/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestinianpeaceeu
Violence
Israeli soldiers ‘shot at children collecting gravel by Gaza border’
The Israeli military has been urged to investigate the shootings of at least 12 impoverished young Palestinians collecting gravel in an effort to eke out an income within 800 metres of Gaza’s heavily guarded northern border.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israeli-soldiers-shot-at-children-collecting-gravel-by-gaza-border-2103992.html
Israeli troops accused of shooting children in Gaza
• Victims were scavenging for rubble, say rights groups
• Attacks allegedly took place outside 300-metre buffer zone
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/11/israeli-troops-accused-children-gaza
Child injured in Silwan clashes
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — A Palestinian child sustained a rubber bullet wound to the leg and another injury to his face after he was hit by a stun grenade during clashes in the flashpoint East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on Monday afternoon, locals said. Locals identified the child as Suleiman Siyam, 12, who was injured when clashes broke out in Silwan after undercover Israeli forces raided the Beir Yacoub neighborhood.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=323178
Three men sustain bruises, fractures during IOF attack in Al-Khalil
Three Palestinians were injured and one of them arrested after a brutal assault by Israeli soldiers in the Al Tawana region south of Yatta, Al-Khalil.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Q
Detainees
Center: 8 year old child detained in Silwan
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — The Wad Hilweh Information Center said an eight-year-old Palestinian resident of Silwan was detained at dawn on Tuesday by Israeli police. Center director Jawad Siyam said police raided Omran Mansour’s home in the Beir Ayoub neighborhood of the flashpoint area. The center had said they believed the child was the one seen being struck down by an Israeli car days earlier but later said he was not.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=323238
Israeli Army Invades Silwan and Arrests Children
Tuesday night Israeli troops launched large-scale raids of homes in several neighbourhoods and battled with children in the town of Silwan near the Al Aqsa Mosque.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59601
2 youth arrested and their father beaten by the Occupying Forces
Oct 9, 2010– The Israeli Occupying Forces arrested two teenagers this afternoon, Jihad Jamal Currency (17 years), and Iyad Jamil Currency (18 years), while they were harvesting olives in the town of Beit Ula west of Hebron. The arrest took place at the start of the annual olive harvesting season. Their father, Iyad Jamal, was also severely beaten by the Occupying Forces.
http://www.stopthewall.org/
Israeli Soldiers Arrest A Student From Hebon University
On Monday the Israeli military arrested Sajeda Al-‘Awawda, 20, a student at the Hebron University, and moved her to an unknown destination.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59593
Israeli Military Arrests Five Citizens From Hebron
On Monday, the Israeli army arrested five citizens from the Hebron area and invaded several other areas in the same region.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59591
Political Developments
Vice Premier: No chance of peace with Palestinians in near future
Ya’alon tells Army Radio that Palestinian refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state shows they are not serious about two-state solution.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/vice-premier-no-chance-of-peace-with-palestinians-in-near-future-1.318641
Netanyahu asking Palestinians to cede right of return
Netanyahu understands that a Palestinian leadership prepared to recognize Israel as a Jewish state is tantamount to an up-front concession on the Palestinian right of return.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-asking-palestinians-to-cede-right-of-return-1.318527
Palestinian official: PA will never recognize Israel as Jewish state
PA negotiator: Partial construction freeze not enough; PLO official accuses Netanyahu of using freeze-for-recognition proposal to weaken Obama’s influence in Mideast and distract from core issues in peace negotiations.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/palestinian-official-pa-will-never-recognize-israel-as-jewish-state-1.318613?localLinksEnabled=false
Abbas told Arab summit Israel has ‘cancelled Oslo’: aide
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas told Arab leaders over the weekend that Israel has in effect scrapped the landmark 1993 Oslo autonomy accords, an aide said on Monday. “Abbas affirmed to the Arabs that Israel has effectively cancelled the Oslo agreement and the other agreements it has signed with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO),” chief negotiator Saeb Erakat told AFP.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j0FoIFL6DLaq5uSt42RNJn3P2rJA?docId=CNG.ca5885cbc217ad8dfe9576713d2a47c7.151
President’s office rebuffs rumors of Abbas resignation
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — President Mahmoud Abbas will continue on as leader of the Palestinian Authority, the secretary-general of the president’s office said Monday. Abdul Rahim said reports of Abbas’ resignation and the dismantling of the PA were “all rumors to lower the spirits of the Palestinians,” as he received the Tunisian representative to the PA Shakib Ath-Thawadi at the presentational compound in Ramallah, central West Bank.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=323149
Hamas calls on Fatah to return to role as national liberation movement
Ramallah, 11 October – Tensions between the Fatah leadership heading the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah and the Hamas resistance movement rose to an all-time high after PA spokesman Adnan al-Dhameri commented the assassination of two Hamas exponents in Hebron on Friday saying that neither the Israeli occupation forces nor his own security forces held any responsibility for the deaths. Rather, he suggested, the Hamas movement itself was responsible because it apparently had permitted his ranks to be infiltrated by the Israeli internal security services, the Shin Bet, who, he said, liquidated the two Hamas men. The statement prompted protest from the Palestinian parliamentarian Hosam Khader, himself a member of Fatah. Khader said he proved dismay witnessing exponents of Fatah joining security forces, who embark on arrest and liquidation campaigns against resistance fighters in the West Bank.
http://www.arabmonitor.info/news/dettaglio.php?idnews=31835&lang=en
Palestinians say they have other options if U.S. fails to convince Israel to halt settlement
RAMALLAH, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) — Palestinian officials said on Monday they hoped that the United States would convince Israel to halt settlement construction within the one-month time the Arab League committee had given before the direct peace talks can be resumed. But they threat to take other options if it fails.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-10/12/c_13552201.htm
Fatah: Netanyahu demand ‘new obstacle’ to talks
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Fatah described Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand that the Palestinian Authority recognize Israel as Jewish state for the extension of a moratorium on West Bank settlement construction as a “new obstacle in reviving negotiations,” on Monday. Party spokesman Ahmad Assaf said the condition “proves false claims by the Israeli government on the natural expansion of settlements, which it has used to resume settlement activity.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=323159
Palestinians: US not taking Bibi seriously
Senior Palestinian Authority official tells Ynet direct peace talks unlikely to resume prior to US midterm elections; says Washington views Netanyahu’s demands as ‘ridiculous’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3968179,00.html
Europe FMs dismiss Lieberman comments
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Spain’s foreign minister dismissed comments Monday by his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman that the EU should resolve internal conflicts before attempting to find solutions for the Middle East, Israeli media reported. Miguel Moratinos said Lieberman’s remarks were prompted by Europe’s vital role in the Middle East peace process, Israeli news site Ynet reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=323133
Syria accuses Israel of hindering peace process
Assad says that while the Arab side is interested in peace, ‘the Israeli side is working in the opposite direction’.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/syria-accuses-israel-of-hindering-peace-process-1.318468?localLinksEnabled=false
Other News
New U.S. military chief takes office in the West Bank
U.S. military chief in the West Bank Keith Dayton has handed over the task of training Palestinian Authority security forces to his successor Gen. Michael Moeller, several sources confirmed on Monday.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7
Report: PA submits request for new airport
TEL AVIV (Ma’an) — The Palestinian Authority has submitted a request to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office for the construction of a new Palestinian airport in the central West Bank district of Jericho, Hebrew-language media reported Tuesday The four square kilometer airport 10km southeast of Jerusalem includes plans for a single terminal, six gates for boarding, a large parking lot and international airport facilities and was submitted by the PA transport minister, Israeli daily Maariv reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=323321
Fayyad signs €30 million deal with Spanish FM
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — Spain pledged to offer €30 million to support the Palestinian Authority after signing an agreement between the country’s foreign minister Miguel Moratinos and premier Salam Fayyad. Fayyad met with Moratinos and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner to discuss political developments and dangers to the peace process, where he said direct talks required Israel to commit to international law, a settlement halt, opening all crossings into Gaza and an end to Israeli military incursions into Area A under the PA’s jurisdiction.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=323144
Israeli who killed British tourist to be freed early from 20-year sentence
Daniel Okev was convicted of murdering British tourist Jeffrey Hunter and of seriously injuring his friend Charlotte Gibb 13 years ago.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/israeli-who-killed-british-tourist-to-be-freed-early-from-20-year-sentence-1.318528?localLinksEnabled=false
Israel Police officers suspected of organizing pay-for-sex scheme at station
Shfela District commander Shimon Ben Harosh ordered the probe after tipped off to the allegations of misconduct.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israel-police-officers-suspected-of-organizing-pay-for-sex-scheme-at-station-1.318626?localLinksEnabled=false
Analysis/Opinion/Human Interest
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi Declares An Alternative To Failing Negotiations
Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI), MP and runner-up in the 2005 presidential election declared in a press conference in Ramallah yesterday that failed negotiations are threatening the last opportunity of peace based on a two-state solution. He argued that negotiations are meaningless and damaging while Israeli settlement building continues, and proposed an initiative to surpass the intractable impasse in the so called peace process.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1564
Israel’s Human Shields and Live Bait, Sharmine Narwani
“Sharmoota!” hisses the Jewish settler as she presses up against the bars of a Hebron home where she has forced a Palestinian woman to take cover. “Whore” in Arabic, the shameful word hangs in the air like verbal dynamite – and shocks again and again as rapid-fire “Sharmootas” are spat out at their victim.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sharmine-narwani/israels-human-shields-and_b_755439.html
Can the OECD stand up to Israel? | Sam Bahour and Charles Shamas
The upcoming OECD tourism summit in Jerusalem will test its member countries’ commitment to international law. What can be said for the state of international law when international organisations such as the OECD find themselves unable to prevent a member country from bringing its unlawful practice into the life of the organisation itself? In such situations, how can law-abiding member countries avoid being drawn into acquiescence? Later this month, these questions may find answers when Israel hosts an OECD gathering in Jerusalem to discuss global tourism.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/oct/12/israel-oecd-tourism-summit
Lieberman Wins, Democracy Loses, Palestine Monitor
Amending the Citizenship Act to include a loyalty oath has moved the Israeli government a step away from democracy toward a system of apartheid.Written by Dorien Vanden Boer and Liza Noteris.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1565
A precondition for Palestinian statehood / Menachem KleinA question: Which government functions better, that of Salam Fayyad in the West Bank or that of Hamas in the Gaza Strip? Answer: The Hamas government. Another question: Which of the two governments would stop functioning without foreign aid? Answer: The West Bank one.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/a-precondition-for-palestinian-statehood-1.318559
Donna Edwards flap fosters debate over one-state vs two-state, Philip Weiss
Last week we picked up the news that Congresswoman Donna Edwards is holding a fundraiser with a non-Zionist organization, New Policy.org, this weekend, Saturday afternoon, at the Sheraton Washington North in Beltsville, MD.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/10/donna-edwards-flap-fosters-debate-over-one-state-vs-two-state.html
Israel’s ethnic cleansing drill a result of nationalists adopting the two-state solution, Dimi Reider
Noam Sheizaf reports on his blog the police and army recently concluded an extensive drill, practicing response to riots that would follow the signing of a peace agreement covering “population exchange”. Here is a verbatim translation of the very careful phrasing used by Carmela Menashe, the IBA’s veteran military correspondent, from whose report Noam fished the info.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/10/plans-to-detain-thousands-of-palestinian-citizens-of-israel-is-a-natural-outcome-of-the-desire-to-maintain-a-jewish-state.html
America should fund Israeli settlers to leave, Diana Butto
The latest round of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations is already on shaky ground. At issue, once again, is Israel’s insistence that it can build and expand settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/07cc485c-d49a-11df-b230-00144feabdc0.html
Budrus: West Bank Story, M.J. Rosenberg
It is hard to imagine that anyone feels anything but hopelessness about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict these days. Are there a dozen people in the world who honestly believe that President Obama’s main guy, Dennis Ross, is capable of achieving an equitable agreement, even if he sincerely wanted to. And even if Congress was not there to prevent peace from somehow erupting.
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/08/budrus_west_bank_story/
Turn right at the end: The future of a country that gave up on democracy, Sivan Hurvitz
Sivan Hurvitz is a a graphic designer and illustrator, living and working in Tel Aviv. Learn more about her work by visiting her portfolio and her website. Click on each image to enlarge.
https://mondoweiss.net/2010/10/turn-right-at-the-end-the-future-of-a-country-that-gave-up-on-democracy.html
Manitoba Government Ignores Palestinian Oppression, Paul Graham
A few days ago, Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger announced his government’s intention to deepen economic and cultural relations with Israel. “Manitoba and Israel have common interests in clean energy, water quality and conservation. These interests provide the opportunities to share knowledge and strengthen our education and economic relationships and partnership,” Selinger said in a news release.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16321
One Wall, Two People, No States: the Peace Pretense, William A. Cook
‘Our goal is two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security,’ (President Obama) such is the illusion that resurfaces to restart the peace negotiations that will stabilize the mid-east. For 63 years that “goal” has been the carrot held before the people of the United States and Britain as the ultimate resolution for the Israeli/Palestinian crisis. In reality there is nothing in the statement that is true.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16320
Israel, Palestine: A History of Economic Oppression, Jamil Salman
Many of last month’s headlines would have you believe that a vibrant, independent Palestinian state had become an inevitable reality. On the back of ‘peace talks’ which offered renewed hope and financial institutions which declared that the “Palestinian economy is growing”, one could be forgiven for presuming that Palestinians had finally turned the corner towards prosperity. Both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have published impressive first half GDP growth rates that should, theoretically, place both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank amongst the top 10 countries in the world for this category. It is estimated that combined, both Territories will even out at an overall 8% GDP growth rate by the year’s end. This may come as a pleasant surprise to most people who would not have expected such rapid growth in light of the debilitating effects of a combination of factors involving, the Second Intifada, Israeli barriers and the Gaza blockade and occupation. However, these figures should not be taken as a prediction of any future trends in the Palestinian economy, but rather, as an indicator of how much Israel has stifled Palestinian growth.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16323
Palestinians Must Fight Fire with Fire, James Gundun
For a moment the Palestinians appeared to be playing with fire by continuing Israel’s momentum. September 26th felt like a distant memory when the Arab League finally convened a special summit to debate the future of direct talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who resists any thought of a free extension on settlement restrictions. The intervening weeks have further eroded the Palestinians’ weak negotiating position as Washington rolls over to prevent another collapse of US-sponsored talks and shield its own floundering image in the Middle East.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16325
Ahmadinejad and the Limits of American and Israeli Power, Juan Cole
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Middle East’s populist answer to the American tea party, has stirred controversy with his trip to Lebanon, which will begin Wednesday. He is planning to visit villages in southern Lebanon on the border with Israel that have been rebuilt with Iranian aid after Israeli incursions and wars, the last in 2006. Ahmadinejad’s theatrical politics often make him a laughingstock, but his trip is intended to make the serious point that Tehran can stand up to Western sanctions and thwart attempts to box the Islamic Republic in.
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/ahmadinejad_and_the_limits_of_american_and_israeli_power_20101011/
Lebanon
Army arrests nine suspected spies for Israel
BEIRUT: The army announced on Monday it has arrested nine individuals in recent months on suspicion of spying for Israel, as part of the military’s ongoing crackdown on foreign agents.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=120271
Saqr: Hariri ‘will not accuse Hizbullah’ in father’s killing
BEIRUT: Lebanon First bloc MP Oqab Saqr said that Prime Minister Saad Hariri “did not and will not” accuse Hizbullah in killing his father late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. “We say that we did not and will not accuse Hizbullah of this crime, Prime Minister Hariri has announced so,” Saqr said, addressing a news conference he called for at the March 14 General Secretariat headquarters in Beirut on Monday.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=120268
Iraq
Monday: 14 Iraqis Killed, 31 Wounded
At least 14 Iraqis were killed and 31 more were wounded in new violence, mostly across central Iraq. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Iraqiya said the party was willing to give up the premiership so long as they received equal power in the new government. Iraqiya narrowly defeated second-place State of Law party in March elections, but neither party has been able to find enough support to form a new government. Such a concession could allow the seven-month long political deadlock to end.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2010/10/11/monday-14-iraqis-killed-31-wounded/
Al-Qaida threatens to nab Iraq ministers’ families (AP)
AP – Al-Qaida’s umbrella group in Iraq has threatened to kidnap family members of Iraqi politicians and ministers unless the wife and children of its slain leader are released from prison.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101012/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
In Iraq, 30,000 prisoners are without trial and under torture
41961.jpegThe non-governmental organization Amnesty International is denouncing to the world the existence of 30,000 persons in Iraqi prisons without having been judged, whose confessions were extracted under torture, and suggests the U.S. military as the persons in charge being responsible for this situation. According to Amnesty International, rape, threats of rape, beatings, electric shocks, fingernails torn out and maiming are some forms of torture used in Iraqi prisons. “The Iraqi security forces are responsible for systematic violations of prisoners’ rights (…) and for all impunity,” said Malcolm Smart, in a statement. He is the Middle East director for the organization of human rights, based in London.
http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/12-10-2010/115323-in_iraq_prisoners_under_torture-0/
Cancer outbreak in Iraq school due to pollution
With cancer outbreak in Adan school and surroundings in Al Shaab region, northern Baghdad, Iraq’s Environment Ministry revealed after investigations that the mounting number of cancer diseases in the school is due to Dijla water pollution caused by wastes.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-55052-Cancer-outbreak-in-Iraq-school-due-to-pollution.html
Anguish for families of Iraq’s disappeared
Many of the thousands of Iraqi families who saw a loved one arbitrarily detained or kidnapped by armed militia in the worst days of sectarian warfare are still unable to find any information on their missing relatives. – Ibrahim Saleh (Oct 12, ’10)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LJ13Ak03.html
U.S. and other world news
Obama’s enthusiasm for drone strikes takes heavy toll on Pakistan’s tribesmen
So far Barack Obama has signed off on over 125 strikes – twice the number authorised by George Bush during the last five years of his presidency. Manufacturers are scrambling to keep up with demand from the CIA.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/07/pakistan-drone-missile-obama-increased
Probe launched into 500 missing Nato vehicles
A senior customs official told Dawn on Sunday that 500 oil tankers and containers which had left Port Qasim in Karachi for Kandahar did not reach the Pak-Afghan border near Chaman. in the Asian country.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/probe-launched-into-500-missing-nato-vehicles-100
Pak’s secret nuclear weapons programme infuriating US
The US is also believed to be worried about China’s plans to build two new nuclear reactors in Pakistan.
http://www.newkerala.com/news/world/fullnews-60247.html
The Family: Secretive Christian Group of Conservative Lawmakers Building a ‘God-Led’ Government
The Family, also known as the Fellowship, is a cohort of powerful lawmakers seeking to create a “God-led government” at home and abroad.
http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/148413/the_family:_secretive_christian_group_of_conservative_lawmakers_building_a_%27god-led%27_government
A New Study Shows that Americans are Idiots
Remember how Democrats always refuse to fight back against smears because “The American people are too smart to fall for that”? No, they aren’t.
http://brilliantatbreakfast.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-study-shows-that-americans-are.html
Rights group protest jailing of eight Syrian Islamists
DAMASCUS: A Syrian security court has sentenced eight Islamists to jail terms ranging from three to six years for membership of a “secret” organization, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said late on Sunday.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=120237
Inside Story – Egypt’s independent media
Reporters without Borders has recently ranked Egypt 143 out of 175 countries when it comes to media and press freedom. Is there a plan to silence the most critical voices in Egypt ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections? Is the government scared of the independent media?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7zdR8hB190&feature=youtube_gdata
www.TheHeadlines.org
