And more news from Today in Palestine:
Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
Clinton: US “Can’t Stop” Israel From Settling
Doha – PNN – At a press conference in Doha, Qatar, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said the power of American foreign policy was inherently limited when it came to pressuring Israel. Asked by an al-Jazeera reporter why Arab countries should take US advice when US pressure on Israel proved ineffectual, Clinton explained, “Israel is a sovereign country and it makes its own decisions. [The US] can’t stop a lot of countries from doing things that we disagree and we speak out against. I wish there was a way we could tell a lot of countries what they should do because there are a lot of countries doing things that are not in the best interests of their own people, their neighbors, or the world.”
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9395&Itemid=66
Jerusalem municipality to build a Jewish museum in Silwan
According to a report by Haaretz newspaper, the Jerusalem municipality and the Israeli ministry of tourism will transfer 2 million NIS for the construction of a Jewish museum in an Elad-controlled structure in the heart of Silwan village. The structure, which belongs to Moussa Abbasi, was confiscated by the Israeli state using the Absentee Property Law. Shortly after, the structure was leased long-term to Elad Association. This move is just one in a series of provocations and part of a policy, endorsed by the Israeli authorities, to expand the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem in general and in Silwan in particular, at the expense of Palestinian residents.
http://silwanic.net/?p=10449
Hundreds displaced in village demolition
HEBRON (Ma’an) — Three-hundred Palestinians were displaced Wednesday afternoon when their homes outside a village were torn down by Israeli military order, and witnesses said parts of a schoolhouse were also destroyed. Odeh An-Najada, a local councilman for the Dakika village, on the Green Line southeast of the Hebron district, said four Israeli bulldozers accompanied by 30 military vehicles entered the area and began taking down the brick and mortar homes.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=350432
Israel razes two more Palestinian homes
Israeli military bulldozers have leveled to the ground two Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank as part of Tel Aviv’s plans which seek the demolition of Palestinian properties.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/159800.html
Thirteen homes and three school buildings destroyed by Israeli forces
More than 13 homes and three school buildings were bulldozed this morning by occupation forces in the small Bedouin village of Dkaika near Yatta south of Hebron. One eye witness – an English teacher at the school – said “the Israeli army arrived at the village at around 7:30am with over fifty military vehicles and at least six bulldozers before forcibly removing the children from the school and destroying three classrooms.” He went on, “the children, some of whom are as young as seven years old, were crying and shouting at the soldiers to stop.” In addition to the destruction wrought upon the school, ISM representatives were led by the crushed earthen tracks and violent gouge marks left by bulldozers to the tell tale piles of rubble and twisted steel which littered the surrounding area. If there had been any doubt that each had once been a home, then the hurriedly assembled mounds of personal possessions, furniture, and children’s toys which accompanied each pile of rubble surely testified to the fact that these were dwellings.
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/01/16427/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+%28International+Solidarity+Movement%29
Nakba .02: In a herder community in the occupied West Bank, Israel destroys 13 structures, including 9 homes and a classroom, Philip Weiss
From a UN source, here’s info on demolitions that took place yesterday in the village of Dkeika, in the south Hebron Hills. On the morning of Jan. 12, Israeli authorities, using 4 bulldozers, demolished 13 Palestinian structures in the community, including: 9 residential structures (brick, concrete, corrugated iron), forcibly displacing 50 people, including 30 children. 1 animal shelter 1 store (affecting the livelihood of 7 people) 1 communal kitchen-and-sitting room, 1 class room (for 15 children). Initial reports say these demolitions have displaced almost 50 people at minimum and otherwise affected at least another 15 students.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/nakba-02-in-a-herder-community-in-the-occupied-west-bank-israel-destroys-13-structures-including-9-homes-and-a-classroom.html
Jerusalem Municipality Demolishes Vending Stand in East Jerusalem
On Tuesday 11 January in the early morning hours, Jerusalem Municipality inspectors, accompanied by a heavy police presence, demolished a vending stand on Sultan Suleiman Street, across from Herod’s Gate in East Jerusalem’s Old City.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/jerusalem/3174-jerusalem-municipality-demolishes-vending-stand-in-east-jerusalem
Villagers block settlers from burning fields
Violent confrontations were reported south of Nablus city on Wednesday evening between Jewish settlers and Palestinian villagers in Assaira Al-Qabalia village.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2b
Settlers Attack Northern West Bank Village, Injure Six Farmers
Nablus – PNN – Fifty armed Israeli settlers attacked the village of Qassra south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus and injured six civilians on Thursday afternoon. Villagers said that the settlers tried to take over lands owned by local farmers, and clashes erupted when villagers rushed to protect their lands. Reportedly several settlers opened fire at the unarmed civilians, injuring six of them. People responded by throwing stones at the settlers. The Israeli military arrived at the scene and is currently aiding the villagers, local sources reported. At the time of reporting, clashes were still being monitored.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9396
Settlers from evacuated outpost enter village
NABLUS (Ma’an) — Fierce clashes erupted between villagers from Qusra, located south Nablus, and armed settlers entering the residential area of the village. Witnesses said tens of settlers entered the area, setting fire to civilian cars, throwing stones and opening fire on homes.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=350748
Settlers seek to build 50 more housing units at E. Jerusalem hotel site
Right-wing activists detail plan to turn the main part of the historic building into a synagogue commemorating the victims of the Holocaust.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/settlers-seek-to-build-50-more-housing-units-at-e-jerusalem-hotel-site-1.336690?localLinksEnabled=false
East Jerusalem housing project will stay Jewish-only
An offer by a Palestinian American entrepreneur to buy a company building Jewish housing in the Arab-dominated portion of Jerusalem is rejected. He intended to sell 300-plus units to Palestinians. Bondholders of a troubled Israeli real estate company that is building Jewish housing in Arab-dominated East Jerusalem have rejected an offer from a Palestinian American entrepreneur to buy the firm, officials said Wednesday.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/vBHuxE0hews/la-fg-israel-deal-20110113,0,1294687.story
E. Jerusalem Palestinian begins 4-month exile (AFP)
AFP – An east Jerusalem Palestinian was on Wednesday temporarily banished from the city for four months for allegedly fomenting protest against Jewish settlements there, fellow activists said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110112/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestiniansconflictjerusalemexpulsion
Attorney General warns Mayor Barkat over East Jerusalem building
AG Weinstein says failure by Jerusalem mayor to implement sealing order on Beit Yonatan could constitute a criminal offense.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/attorney-general-warns-mayor-barkat-over-east-jerusalem-building-1.336818?localLinksEnabled=false
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
Popular Struggle Media Coordinator Has Gone to Jail, Joseph Dana
Jonathan Pollak entered the Hermon prison in the north of Israel yesterday for three months. Free all political prisoners. Poster by Lahav Halevy.
http://josephdana.com/2011/01/popular-struggle-media-coordinator-has-gone-to-jail/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=popular-struggle-media-coordinator-has-gone-to-jail
Israeli police target Information Center director’s family
Israeli police have summoned the nephew of Wadi Hilweh Information Center director Jawad Siyam for investigation, marking an escalation in authorities’ pressure on Siyam for his political activism. Yazan Siyam, 16, was summoned to the Israeli police station after Jawad Siyam was told by officers during his investigation that his family was “bad and nonco-operative”. Yazan was arrested in April 2010 during one of the Israeli police raids on the Information Center and adjoining Madaa Community Center, when he was accused of “attacking a settler”
http://silwanic.net/?p=10455
Portuguese Jewish History and Night Raids in Nabi Saleh, Joseph Dana
For the second time this week, soldiers raided the village of Nabi Saleh. From the hours of 12:00 until 03:00 last night, soldiers raided eighteen houses in the village of Nabi Saleh. Soldiers, in full combat equipment, raided the houses in order to photograph people, mostly young men, and check ID cards. No arrests were made. However, the intentions of the army are clear.
http://josephdana.com/2011/01/portuguese-jewish-history-and-night-raids-in-nabi-saleh/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=portuguese-jewish-history-and-night-raids-in-nabi-saleh
Protesters Tell New York Business to Stop Providing Israel’s Lethal Tear Gas
New York, NY, January 11 – Thirty-five protesters gathered during the lunch hour today outside the midtown Manhattan offices of Point Lookout Capital Partners, a New York firm that facilitates investment in Combined Systems Inc. (CSI). CSI, based in Pennsylvania, sells tear gas to the Israeli army that the Israeli army has then used to kill and seriously injure a number of unarmed protesters in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including on January 1, 36-year-old Jawaher Abu Rahmah from the village of Bil’in.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/protesters-tell-new-york-business-to.html
#BDS: ACTION ALERT: Thank You for Dropping Ahava Products!
“In January, 2011, we learned that The Bay, a major Canadian department store, discontinued sales of Ahava products. Canadian human rights activists, including our allies at Tadamon!, have had a campaign to ask The Bay to stop selling Ahava. Please join us in thanking The Bay for dropping Ahava. Your message of thanks is crucial as right-wing pro-occupation groups berate and pressure The Bay to reinstate sales of Ahava. Click to send your letter below now! “
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2011/01/bds-action-alert-thank-you-for-dropping.html
#BDS: Norway Divests from Leviev Companies Due to Israeli Settlement Construction
“New York, NY – In a major victory for the international movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, the Norwegian government announced today that it has divested from Lev Leviev’s company Africa Israel Investments and its construction subsidiary Danya Cebus due to their construction of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The move followed a campaign of more than a year by affected Palestinian villages of Bil’in and Jayyous and by Norwegian, Palestinian, Israeli, and international activist groups, including Adalah-NY, calling on the Norwegian government to divest from Africa Israel.”
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2011/01/bds-norway-divests-from-leviev.html
#BDS: Norwegian Pension Divests from Israeli Companies
“The Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG) announced divestment from two Israeli companies, Africa Israel Investments and Danya Cebus, due to their involvement in the construction of illegal settlements in the West Bank. This comes only a year after the GPFG divested from Elbit Systems Ltd., the Israeli defense firm involved in the construction of the Separation Wall. Danya Cebus has carried out construction projects, as a hired contractor, in Har Homa, an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem, and in the settlements Ma’aleh Adumim, Modi’in Ilit, and Adam, according to Israeli news daily Haaretz. At the end of 2009 the Norwegian fund owned shares worth 7.2 million Norwegian crowns (€1.16 million) in Africa Israel Investments.”
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2011/01/bds-norwegian-pension-divests-from.html
#BDS: Norway examines the ethics of its Israel investments
Norway is reexamining its investments in several Israeli companies, in particular Elbit Systems. Two representatives of the Council on Ethics of the Norwegian finance ministry visited Israel at the beginning of June, in the wake of growing criticism of Israel in Norway in the months following last winter’s Israeli offensive in Gaza. The representatives met with, among others, groups of Palestinians and Israelis who claim that Norway invests in businesses directly involved in the Israeli occupation, which, they say, contradicts its commitment to abide by international law and to a just solution for the area.
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2011/01/bds-norway-examines-ethics-of-its.html
#BDS: Boycott Ahava Action in San Francisco
http://youthanormalization.blogspot.com/2011/01/bds-boycott-ahava-action-in-san.html
French trial of Israeli boycott campaigners condemned as a “political measure”
The trial of activists in France who are campaigning for a boycott of Israeli goods has been condemned as a “political measure”. Khalid Mansour, the Coordinator of the Popular Campaign for Boycotting Israeli Goods, said that the trial is intended to deter the people of France from joining the growing Palestinian solidarity campaign in the country. According to Mr. Mansour, the campaign is gaining credibility as it exposes illegal Israeli policies which violate international laws and conventions, and publicises the brutal crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army and illegal settlers.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/europe/1936-french-trial-of-israeli-boycott-campaigners-condemned-as-a-qpolitical-measureq
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu Slandered, Concerned South Africans Circulating Petition in His Defense, Joseph Dana
Just got this from renowned South African activist Zackie Achmat: A new petition initiated by concerned South Africans is quickly gathering widespread support nationally and internationally. The petition is a pledge of support for Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who has recently been the target of slanderous attacks by those who reject his principled and fair-minded stance on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
http://josephdana.com/2011/01/archbishop-emeritus-desmond-tutu-slandered-concerned-south-africans-circulating-petition-in-his-defense/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=archbishop-emeritus-desmond-tutu-slandered-concerned-south-africans-circulating-petition-in-his-defense
Refugees/Human Rights/Humanitarian Issues/Siege
Majority of Palestinian youth living in poverty
BEIRUT: Around 70 percent of Palestinian refugee children and adolescents in Lebanon live in poverty, according to a report released Wednesday. A further 9 percent of young people aged between 6 and 19 live in “extreme poverty” on less than $2 a day, unable to meet basic daily food requirements, the Socio-Economic Survey of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon said. Conducted by researchers from the American University of Beirut in coordination with United Nations Relief and Work Agency, the report is thought to be the first comprehensive evaluation of the living conditions of the country’s registered Palestinian refugees.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=123595#axzz1AsCDR964
Frustration for Gazans at Rafah crossing into Egypt
RAFAH (IRIN) — It is 1pm and the terminal building on the Palestinian side of Gaza’s only crossing into Egypt – Rafah – is empty. The desks at passport control are not even manned. Outside the terminal, a small group of Palestinians sit on benches shaded by trees waiting for the border to open. They have been waiting for three and a half hours … Hamada Al-Bayari, OCHA’s humanitarian affairs analyst in Gaza, said: “Not all medical cases are allowed to cross the border, only those with a thick wad of documents proving they need treatment outside Gaza. And even if they do have referrals from the ministry of health, they can still be turned away. At least 30-50 people are sent back every day.”
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportID=91591
Blocking Amnesty: Israel’s Assault on Human Rights, Neve Gordon – Israel
Imagine a college student returning to her university after spending Christmas break at home. At the airport she logs on to the Internet to double check some of the sources she used in her final take-home exam for the course “Introduction to Human Rights.” She gets online and begins to surf the web; however, she soon realizes that the websites of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are blocked. She calls the service provider’s 800 number, only to find out that all human rights organizations’ websites have indeed been restricted and that they can no longer be accessed from the airport.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16549
Gaza’s children cope through art
GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IPS) – Despite the lingering trauma of living under siege, regular Israeli military attacks and the consequences of a bloody war several years ago, Gaza’s children still dream of happiness and of normal lives.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11730.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Racism and Discrimination
Pregnant TV reporter objects to ‘humiliating’ Israeli security checks
A pregnant newswoman from the Arab Al Jazeera television network walked out of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s annual foreign press conference after security officials asked her to remove her bra.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/pregnant-tv-reporter-objects-to-humiliating-israeli-security-checks-2183206.html
Al-Jazeera files complaint over security checks at Jerusalem event
A female reporter for the Qatar-based news channel was reportedly asked to remove articles of clothing, including her bra, while entering a Foreign Press Association event.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/al-jazeera-files-complaint-over-security-checks-at-jerusalem-event-1.336695?localLinksEnabled=false
Coalition clash expected as rabbinical panel favors nixing IDF conversions
Conversions affect thousands of soldiers who underwent the process as part of their service in the army, most of who are immigrants from the former Soviet Union.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/coalition-clash-expected-as-rabbinical-panel-favors-nixing-idf-conversions-1.336684?localLinksEnabled=false
Social Affairs Minister: Israel today feels like Alabama in the 1940s
Isaac Herzog calls on President Shimon Peres to speak out and become a leader in the fight against increased incidents of racism and oppression.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/social-affairs-minister-israel-today-feels-like-alabama-in-the-1940s-1.336802?localLinksEnabled=false
Violence/Aggression/War Crimes
Israel Bombards Central Gaza; Soldiers Clashes with Fighters Near Border
Gaza – PNN – Clashes broke out on Thursday morning between Palestinian fighters and Israeli soldiers near the central border east of Gaza City. Palestinian sources announced that Israeli tanks fired tank shells at nearby homes causing damage but no reported injuries. The clashes continued after the Israel shelling of Gaza City. Witnesses said smoke could be seen from the location of the clashes. Last week one soldier was killed by friendly fire and four others injured during clashes with Palestinian fighters at the borders; Israeli attacks on Gaza have left 13 Palestinians dead since December.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9391&Itemid=64
Detainees (held by IOF & PA)
Israel Continues Targeting Palestinian Legislative Members
Omar Abdul Raziq (formally Omar Mahmoud Matar Matar) was arrest by Israeli forces early Tuesday morning from his home in Salfit, as Israel continues targeting memebers of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/news/3171-israel-continues-targeting-palestinian-legislative-members-
Army Kidnaps Eight Palestinians In the West Bank
The Israeli army conducted on Thursday at dawn an arrest campaign in the occupied West Bank, and kidnapped eight Palestinians Israel claims to be wanted by its security forces.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60405
Hamas: PA detained 5 party members
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas forces in the West Bank accused the Palestinian Authority of detaining five members of the party from the Ramallah, Qalqiliya, Hebron and Nablus areas, a statement released on Wednesday evening said. Hamas also accused the PA of sentencing one of its members in Hebron.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=350673
Political Developments
Hamas: PA colluding with US Blackwater
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Following an agreement that would give private US security group Blackwater access to the West Bank, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the move meant Palestinians were “under double attack.” Chief of the PA security forces in the West Bank Adnan Dmeiri, who confirmed the arrival of the security personnel, said the agents would only be fulfilling their mandate to protect US officials when they are in the West Bank and institutions in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=350456
Gaza militants say to halt rocket fire at Israel (Reuters)
Reuters – Palestinian militant leaders in the Gaza Strip promised Wednesday to stop firing rockets against Israel after Egypt warned that any further shootings may prompt another war, officials said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110112/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_gaza
Gaza situation ‘very dangerous,’ Arabs tell Hamas (AFP)
AFP – Hamas held “urgent” talks with militant groups on Wednesday to pass on a warning from Arab leaders about firing rockets at Israel, faction leaders told AFP.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110112/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestiniansgazahamasrockets
Palestinians blame Netanyahu for talks deadlock (AFP)
AFP – The Palestinians blamed Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday for the deadlock in the peace process because of Jewish settlement in the occupied territories.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110112/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestinianspeacesettler
Jordan FM: Refusal of two-state vision exposes Israel as ‘apartheid’ state
Jordan FM Nasser Judeh says failure to solve Mideast conflict on basis of the Arab peace initiative would lead to increased tension and instability in the region.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/jordan-fm-refusal-of-two-state-vision-exposes-israel-as-apartheid-state-1.336650?localLinksEnabled=false
Abbas: U.S. not working hard enough for Palestinian state
In Doha, Clinton defends U.S. efforts to that regard and also deflects criticism of U.S. levy in Mideast peace; Israel has right to be cautious, she says.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/abbas-u-s-not-working-hard-enough-for-palestinian-state-1.336797?localLinksEnabled=false
Erdogan: Hamas is Not a Terrorist Movement, They’re Defending Their Land
Istanbul – PNN – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyep Recep Erdogan demanded on Wednesday that Israel apologize for its attack on a Turkish aid ship to Gaza last May in order to normalize relations. When asked about the Hamas movement controlling the Gaza Strip, Erdogan said that he refutes the Western definition of the Islamic group as terrorists. “Hamas won the elections,” he said, “but were not given the chance to rule. They are not terrorists, they are defending their land.”
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9390&Itemid=61
Turkey PM: Netanyahu has worst government in history of Israel
Erdogan tells Al-Jazeera that Lieberman is Israel’s ‘greatest problem’ and urges the Israeli public to ‘get rid’ of him; he also denies Western definition of Hamas as a terrorist movement and declares peace impossible until they are brought into negotiations.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/turkey-pm-netanyahu-has-worst-government-in-history-of-israel-1.336777?localLinksEnabled=false
Turkish PM seeks Israel FM removal
Erdogan asks Israel to fire Avigdor Lieberman, its foreign minister, who ia known for controversial public remarks.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2011/01/2011113133557798883.html
Other News
Palestinian aid dependence to dip in 2011: Fayyad (Reuters)
Reuters – The Palestinian Authority’s dependence on foreign aid will drop to less than $1 billion in 2011, from $1.2 billion in 2010, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said on Wednesday. Fayyad, a former World Bank economist, has reduced the territory’s annual dependence on international aid from around $2 billion since he took office in 2007. He wants to do away with foreign aid completely by 2013.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110112/wl_nm/us_palestinians_deficit
Divided you will fail, Loach warns Palestinians
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — British film director Ken Loach brought a message of warning to the Palestinians on his first visit to the occupied territories: if you are divided you will fail. The 74-year-old filmmaker and veteran social activist arrived in the West Bank on Tuesday to attend a screening of his award-winning drama “The Wind That Shakes The Barley” which depicts the Irish struggle for independence from Britain in the 1920s and the ensuing civil war.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gdXpRxX4ue7j14-RbkWO4bRgRnzg?docId=CNG.478db1a8bb2eaee6da55d7204a937c
Paralyzed Palestinian girl given temporary Israeli residency
Marya Amen was wounded in a 2006 air strike targeting Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza City, has been in an Israeli hospital recovering ever since.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/paralyzed-palestinian-girl-given-temporary-israeli-residency-1.336649?localLinksEnabled=false
Minister to PNN: Government Needs a Strategy to Combat Violence Against Women
Fadi Yacoub – PNN/Exclusive – The Palestinian Authority (PA) Ministry of Women’s Affairs endorsed a strategic plan to combat violence against women from 2011 to 2019, in concert with the UN Development Fund. Dr. Rabiha Dhiyab told the Palestinian News Network (PNN) the details of the new plan, which is to be implemented in three phases over the next eight years, “a package of mechanisms to achieve tangible success on the ground” that demanded “plans and programs of action.”
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9393&Itemid=1
Leftist letter: Bibi encourages anti-Semitism
Academicians, cultural figures urge Labor to quit coalition, say far Right endangers world Jews.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4012995,00.html
Analysis/Op-ed
Hamas and Women: Clearing Misconceptions, Dr. Ahmed Yousef – Gaza
Women in every society have a different perception of their respective roles, which are generally molded by social and cultural norms. Evidently in many parts of the world, these social and cultural norms have restricted women of their due rights. Islam has liberated women of such restrictions by emphasizing social equality and granting women the right to work as part of their freedom of choice. Although wearing the Hijab is a religious obligation, it is inarguably an issue between a woman and God. No one is allowed to force a woman to wear Hijab if she chooses not to, nor does the religion allow anyone to interfere with her if she chooses to take it off. Furthermore, an individual or a group of people’s choice to practice their religion and follow its teachings and principles must be respected and not judged according to certain standards set by others.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16546
Obama Hesitates as Israeli Bulldozers Demolish, George S. Hishmeh – Washington, D.C.
Hillary Rodham Clinton was quick to rebuke Israel for its demolition of part of the historic Shepherd hotel in occupied Arab East Jerusalem where Jewish settlers are hoping to build 20 housing units. “We are very concerned about the initiation of demolition of the Shepherd’s Hotel,” the secretary of state declared in Abu Dhabi, during her second tour in a month of Arab states in that region. She did not mince any words in her outright condemnation: “This disturbing development undermines peace efforts to achieve the two state-solution. In particular, this move contradicts the logic of a reasonable and necessary agreement between the parties on the status of Jerusalem.”
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16547
The day all hell broke loose, Zeinab S. Fayyad
The author sent us this is a short story he wrote about his brother’s death in 2001 during the second Intifada. He was shot by an Israeli soldier. I was only nine years old. In the street, there was I playing with our neighbors’ kids when about nine black-dressed – women came approaching our home. Some of them looked soaked with tears, and others had a big sympathetic look drown upon their faces. Yet, little petty me was too confused and ceased to comprehend. In less than a minute, they stood, a circle around me, and one of them tried uselessly to ask “is your mom home kid?”…. Instead, she stormed into tears and my heart beat started racing and my knees felt they were letting loose …. I could sense something was wrong ..the game had to end … I led the women whom I later named as “the black owls” and who could barely walk up the stairs to our house. There was my older sister, a high-school junior crammed between her chemistry and physics books…. Wordless, I ran up to her, and once she saw the worn faces and the killer glances of defeat upon the black-dressed, breathlessly she asked them….in……
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/the-day-all-hell-broke-loose.html
Daoud Kuttab: US Should Stop Mideast Peace Process in Order to Achieve Peace
US efforts led by Special Envoy George Mitchell clearly show that the current ruling coalition in Israel is incapable of doing the minimum required for peace.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daoud-kuttab/to-accomplish-mideast-pea_b_806157.html
Should the Palestinians unilaterally declare a state?, Issa Khalaf
In August 2009, the Palestinian National Authority announced a plan, “Palestine: Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State,” by Salam Fayyad, for Palestinian statehood by summer 2011. Intimately aware that Israel is using negotiations to delay while it expands, the idea is to lay the groundwork for statehood, regardless, and to rationalize Palestinian political and economic life. Fayyad, who proclaimed his plan without the requisite support of the PNA legislature or PLO bodies, is betting that getting the Israelis out of the occupied territories will only be through peaceful “state-building” measures. The PNA puts to rest residual notions on the part of Fatah, or certain, youthful parts of it, the “young guard,” that civil disobedience against the occupation, much less “armed struggle,” is au courant, but the two-state solution, despite its impossibility, is still in, and, somehow, the Road Plan markers must still be implemented.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/should-the-palestinians-unilaterally-declare-a-state.html
The Future of Israel, C. Hazakyah Hardy-Dia
What a country Israel is! The fact that any reputable person anywhere could come to sincerely believe that they have enough evidence to publicly compare Israel, the so called ‘Middle East’s only democracy’, with anything related to Apartheid South Africa, should be enough of an indictment to spark some serious introspection here in Israel, given the fact that we call where we live: ‘The Holy Land’. South Africa like or not, one thing is certain: Israel is one of the most problematic national entities in the entire history of nations. Any conversation about the future of Israel should begin with a clear picture of what the present looks like.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16545
The day after Zionism, Hannah Mermelstein
As we trudge through the terraced land, ducking under branches of olive trees and trying to avoid prickly bushes, I think about landscape, consciousness, and memory. We are walking through the land because Israeli soldiers are blocking the road ahead. They are blocking the road ahead so as not to allow people to arrive in the Palestinian village of Bil’in. We are going to Bil’in in order to protest the confiscation of the village’s land for settlement and wall construction. At Bil’in’s demonstration a week earlier, 36-year-old Jawaher Abu Rahme inhaled a lethal dose of tear gas. Her brother Bassem was shot and killed by an Israeli soldier at a protest in the village just under two years ago.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/the-day-after-zionism.html
For too many Israelis, Arab money is dirty money, Elinor Amit
An old joke tells the story of a court clown that was asked by the king to do something for which the apology would be worse than the deed itself. The clown sneaked behind the king and pinched his butt. When the king demanded an explanation, the clown said: “sorry, I thought it was the queen”. The claim by Im Tirzu (a new Israeli extremist right-wing movement), regarding the Israeli Knesset’s decision to establish a new committee that will investigate the funding sources of human rights organizations in Israel, that “Arab money funds these (human rights) organizations” falls exactly in to the same pattern of discourse. The essence of this argument is racist and implies that money that comes from Arabs is dirty, and that it is illegitimate to accept it because of its origin.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/for-too-many-israelis-arab-money-is-dirty-money.html
The Last Step in the Liberation of Palestine and the Rest of Humanity: Developing a Winning Attitude, Dr.Mazin Qumsiyeh
After I finished my last book on popular resistance in Palestine over the past 130 years, I became 100% sure that political Zionism will fail and that Palestinian refugees will return to their homes and lands. My certainty is based on the lessons of history in Palestine and lessons from similar struggles like South Africa, Vietnam, and Algeria.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9394&Itemid=58
The ethnocentric blindness of left Zionism, Henry Norr
Haaretz doesn’t often run columns by Uri Avnery, but last week they printed a piece of his entitled “Freedom of expression in Israel is a hollow pretension.” It starts with a well-deserved tribute to Jonathan Pollak, the courageous Israeli activist who has just begun serving three months in jail, officially for taking part in a protest bicycle ride in Tel Aviv during Operation Cast Lead, but actually for his longtime work as a leader of the Anarchists Against the Wall and an ally and advocate for the Palestinian grassroots resistance movement.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/the-ethnocentric-blindness-of-left-zionism.html
StandWithUs comic book portrays activist Palestinians (and allies) as vermin, reminiscent of Nazi propaganda, Cecilie Surasky
Well, the pictures really speak for themselves. StandWithUs has a new supremacist celebration of militant Jewish nationalism and masculinity children’s comic book featuring Captain Israel, who I think we can all agree looks mighty fine in a sparkly silver body suit with matching rhinestone belt and shamelessly appropriated Jewish religious symbols. StandWithUs is on the openly racist end of the mainstream Jewish institutional world. And they’ve given us a new version of an old story-the New Zionist Man (To understand this propaganda in its proper historical context, see below for explanatory text about early Zionism, Jewish masculinity and Orientalism.)
http://www.muzzlewatch.com/2011/01/12/standwithus-comic-book-portrays-activist-palestinians-and-allies-as-vermin-reminiscent-of-nazi-propaganda/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Muzzlewatch+%28MuzzleWatch%29
Helen Thomas: Freedom of Speech and the Zionist Albatross, DIANE SHAMMAS
On January 8 the Society of Professional Journalists’ Executive Committee voted to retire the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award. The SPJ’s full board is expected to give their final approval within 10 days. In the meantime, amidst the unrelenting backlash, Helen Thomas has rebounded as a columnist for a North Virginian community paper, Falls Church News Press.
http://www.counterpunch.com/shammas01122011.html
‘I am here to save the Jews from Israel’, Alice Rothchild
Saed Abu Hijeh, a poet, geographer, and radio host, greets us in his garden in Nablus, explaining that this is where is mother, well known peace activist Shaden Abdel Qader Al Saleh Abu-Hijleh, was assassinated by Israeli soldiers in 2002 while sitting on her veranda embroidering. His father Dr. Jamal Abdel Al Kareem Abu-Hijleh was also injured and Saed was hit with broken glass. He still keeps the fractured glass door taped, as if this tragedy happened yesterday, and a larger than life portrait of his mother is one of the few paintings in his living room. The case of his mother’s murder is now working its way through the Israeli court system. Saed says he was not granted a permit to go to court and now is in the ludicrous and maddening situation where he has to get a permit to go to court to testify. She bled to death in his arms.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/i-am-here-to-save-the-jews-from-israel.html
Lebanon
Israeli troops capture Lebanese man: army (AFP)
AFP – An Israeli patrol crossed into Lebanese territory on Wednesday and captured a Lebanese shepherd near the border, the Lebanese army said in a statement.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110112/wl_mideast_afp/lebanonisraelborderarrest
Israel frees Lebanese shepherd: army (AFP)
AFP – Israel on Thursday handed over to UN peacekeepers a Lebanese shepherd who was arrested near the border in southern Lebanon a day earlier, the Lebanese army said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110113/wl_mideast_afp/lebanonisraelborderarrest
Arab League chief: Only national accord can prevent Lebanon civil war
Israeli officials ‘carefully following events’ as Lebanese ministers, 10 of them from Hezbollah and its allies, resign amid growing tension over a UN probe of the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/arab-league-chief-only-national-accord-can-prevent-lebanon-civil-war-1.336755?localLinksEnabled=false
U.S., France and Israel Readying To Counter Potential Clashes With Hezbollah
Following news stating that the Lebanon-based Hezbollah party, and its Christian ally Michel Aun, decided on Wednesday January 12, to quit the coalition of the Lebanese unity government, the United States, Israel and France started diplomatic moves said to be aiming at thwarting possible clashes between Hezbollah and Israel.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60403
Hizbullah gives aid to displaced Iraqi Christians
BEIRUT: A Hizbullah delegation offered 700 aid packages to displaced Iraqi Christians in Mount Lebanon during a visit Wednesday to the Archbishopric of Chaldean Assyrians. According to the National News Agency, Chaldean Monsignor Michel Kassarji said during the meeting that “the initiative that Hizbullah offered through its generosity toward our people in Lebanon deserves considerable appreciation … it marks the good works and openness of Hizbullah.” Hizbullah representative Bilal Dagher, who was joined by officials from the Free Patriotic Movement and the Marada Movement, said the aid symbolized the brotherhood between Muslims and Christians in Lebanon, Iraq and the Arab World.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=123598#axzz1AsCDR964
WikiLeaks [36]: Shi’as in Lebanon are “frightening”…
1. (S) Ambassador delivered reftel demarche December 21 to the MFA Director General for Arab Affairs on the eve of Syrian President Bashar al-Asad’s expected visit. On foreign fighters, DG Abdelhamid Bouzaher said that the flow into Iraq had declined in recent years from a 2003-05 peak. He added that many young returning Algerian fighters had been “disillusioned” by their experience, not wanting to be used merely as suicide bombers. Ambassador noted Syria was still the main route into Iraq and Damascus needed to do more. On Iran, Bouzaher saw Syria’s relationship with Iran as less one of “strategy and substance” than convenience and temporary interest. Ambassador noted that, over the years, Syria had facilitated Iranian access to Lebanon but the Syrian government was likely to listen carefully to any concerns Algeria might voice. Ambassador asked that Algeria lend its weight to pressing Syria to adopt a more positive approach to Lebanon, including the normalization of relations, which was important for the security and stability of the entire region. He also raised the need for Arab countries to normalize relations with Iraq, rather than leave the diplomatic field in Baghdad to Iran…..
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2011/01/wikileaks-36-shias-in-lebanon-are.html
Why Hezbollah Walked, FRANKLIN LAMB
“In case no one has noticed, the Obama administration just gifted Lebanon to Iran. Washington earlier presented Iraq, Afghanistan, the Gulf, and Pakistan. Could it be more clear that Iran’s strategic trump card is America’s subservience to Israel? For Iran, Israel’s strangle hold on the US government is the gift that keeps on giving. ” With his comment, my neighbor, Lebanese Human Rights Ambassador Ali Khalil, declared American hegemony in the region was on a slippery and descending slope and that yesterday’s political maneuvering in Lebanon likely accelerated American withdrawal.
http://www.counterpunch.com/lamb01132011.html
Iraq
Wednesday: 3 Iraqis Killed, 4 Wounded
Marking the first time since the Gulf War that a Kuwaiti premier has visited Iraq, HHHHkkelkrjw;elkrjHophSheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah arrived in Baghdad today to discuss several unresolved issues with the new Iraqi government. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden also dropped in to speak with the new government, but in this case, over the future of U.S. troops in Iraq. Meanwhile, at least three Iraqis were killed and four more were wounded in light violence.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/01/12/wednesday-3-iraqis-killed-4-wounded/
Biden in Baghdad to meet Maliki: WHouse (AFP)
AFP – US Vice President Joe Biden flew in to Baghdad on Wednesday ahead of his first meeting with Nuri al-Maliki since the Iraqi prime minister began a second term, the White House said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110112/pl_afp/iraqusdiplomacybiden
The Meltdown in Iraq with Nir Rosen
Investigative journalist Nir Rosen discusses his recently released Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America’s Wars in the Muslim World on RT’s The Big Picture.
http://pulsemedia.org/2011/01/12/the-meltdown-in-iraq-with-nir-rosen/
U.S. and other world news
Icelandic Parliamentarian Calls U.S. Subpoena of Her Twitter Account Over WikiLeaks Involvement “Disturbing”
The U.S. Department of Justice has subpoenaed the Internet company Twitter for personal information from several people linked to the online whisteblower website WikiLeaks. The subpoena asks Twitter for all records and correspondence relating to their accounts. Icelandic parliament member Birgitta Jónsdóttir, who has collaborated with WikiLeaks, is one of the five people targeted by the subpoenas. “I think it opens up a whole can of worms when it comes to parliamentary immunity worldwide,” Jónsdóttir says. “Icelandic authorities are taking this very seriously.”
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/1/13/icelandic_parliamentarian_calls_us_subpoena_of
I’ve got secret files on Murdoch as ‘insurance’, claims Assange
A year that has begun badly for Rupert Murdoch grew a little worse yesterday after the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, claimed to be in possession of secret documents damaging to the media mogul and his News Corp empire.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/ive-got-secret-files-on-murdoch-as-insurance-claims-assange-2183195.html
Bradley Manning has been in Solitary Confinement Since July
Kevin Zeese, a member of the Bradley Manning Support Network Steering Committee and Executive Director of Voters for Peace appeared today on RT’s The Alyona Show to discuss Bradley Manning’s case. Zeese appears at the 20:30 mark. More commentary about other topics discussed on this segment are found after the jump.
http://pulsemedia.org/2011/01/13/bradley-manning-has-been-in-solitary-confinement-since-july/
Former Prisoner Omar Deghayes on 9th Anniversary of Guantánamo
First posted by Andy Worthington I’m delighted to reproduce below a statement by my friend, the former Guantánamo prisoner Omar Deghayes, which was read out at a rally (at which I spoke) outside the White House on January 11, 2011, the 9th anniversary of the opening of the prison.
http://pulsemedia.org/2011/01/12/former-prisoner-omar-deghayes-on-9th-anniversary-of-guantanamo/
Deaths in Tunisia despite curfew
Clashes follow dusk-to-dawn curfew in capital, leaving at least six people dead, Al Jazeera has learnt.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/01/2011113104024658794.html
Tunisia imposes curfew in capital
Dusk-to-dawn curfew announced in Tunis as government seeks to tackle public anger by sacking the interior minister.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/01/2011112204743209908.html
Obama administration and Tunisia
“MR. CROWLEY: Again, I – let’s talk about the situation in Tunisia. I do not see the two as being directly linked, but we continue our dialogue with the Government of Tunisia.
QUESTION: Are you aware that the government recently closed all schools and universities until further notice?
MR. CROWLEY: We are concerned about – we understand and —
QUESTION: It’s a pretty drastic step.
MR. CROWLEY: Well, we – to the extent that we understand the government has a very legitimate right to ensure the safety of its citizens…”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/obama-administration-and-tunisia.html
Obama administration is indeed concerned over repression in Tunisia
“We’re also concerned, as part of this, over hacking activity that has occurred associated with various social media sites and websites. Now, this can be – come from many different directions. There have been a number of cyber intrusions, including attacks on the Government of Tunisia’s websites.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/obama-administration-is-indeed.html
Hillary Clinton is not taking sides between the Tunisian tyrants and the unarmed protestors
“”We are not taking sides” regarding the deadly clashes between protesters and government forces in Tunisia, US State Secretary Hillary Clinton said according to an English-language transcript of an interview with Al-Arabiya television, received by AFP on Wednesday.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/hillary-clinton-is-not-taking-sides.html
Antoun Issa, “Lebanese Bloggers Support Tunisian Protests against ‘Arab Pinochet'”
The Tunisian protests, in addition to unrest in other Arab states, are a clear indication of the widespread discontent felt by Arabs toward their despotic rulers. In such a struggle, Tunisians will find friends and sympathisers across the region, including Lebanon.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/issa130111.html
Incitement against Islam…in Arabic
Karim sent me this (I cite with his permission): ”I live in a christian area in lebanon..As i was flicking tv channels today (on illegal cable tv), i stumbled on this channel displaying it had this egyptian woman with the biggest cross i’ve ever seen in my life on her chest. she had an egyptian accent. she was talking about the bombing in alexandria but suddenly, she started saying that it is the channel’s mission to prove that islam is bad and that it orders its followers to persecute muslims. I kid you not. now i’m an atheist, and i don’t care (maybe that’s true), but the whole channel sounded so suspicious, as it was inciting outright against Muslims, and saying lies. they were emphasizing the fatwas of ibn taymia to prove their point, although that’s the single most extreme imam in the history of islam. so I visited their website and found that they are calling Palestine ’Israel.’. Looks like it’s called Al-Hayat channel. i have no idea why they’re calling it muslim women tv since it’s a christian channel.”
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/incitement-against-islamin-arabic.html
Kuwait to investigate allegations of police torture
KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait M.P.s decided unanimously Wednesday to form a parliamentary panel to investigate allegations a man died as a result of police torture, after pressure on the interior minister to open a probe. The five-member panel was given two weeks to submit its report on the death at a police station Tuesday of Mohammad Ghazzai al-Mutairi.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=123577
www.TheHeadlines.org
