And other news from Today in Palestine:
Settlers/ Land, Property, Resource Theft & Destruction/Ethnic Cleansing
Netanyahu forbids demolition of illegal West Bank homes of slain IDF soldiers
Barak says that unless a legal solution is found, the state will have to tear down the houses of Eliraz Peretz and Roi Klein.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-forbids-demolition-of-illegal-west-bank-homes-of-slain-idf-soldiers-1.336884?localLinksEnabled=false
Settlers Grab Palestinian-owned Land
PNN reports that on Friday afternoon Jewish settlers moved on to land owned by Palestinian farmers from the village of Al Maleh in the Jordan Valley.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60415
‘Little Kotel’ in Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter opens to Jewish worshipers, upsetting status quo
The Waqf – the Muslim religious trust – has specifically warned against opening the site to prayer gatherings, threatening a strong response.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/little-kotel-in-jerusalem-s-muslim-quarter-opens-to-jewish-worshipers-upsetting-status-quo-1.336881?localLinksEnabled=false
Jerusalem Municipality Enters Muslim Quarter to Expands Western Wall Prayer Site
Jerusalem – PNN – In a move certain to provoke a strong reaction from the Muslim community, the Jerusalem Municipality has decided to open the “Little Kotel,” a small section of the Western Wall in the Muslim Quarter also known the Rabat al-Kurd alley, for public prayer. The breach of the sensitive area’s status quo has not yet prompted action from the Muslim Waqf (religious endowment office) in charge of the area, which has in the past promised a “strong response” should the area be opened to the public.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9402&Itemid=66
Settlers want more homes on Jerusalem hotel site (AFP)
AFP – Jewish settlers are to expand a housing scheme being built on the site of an historic east Jerusalem hotel which was razed by Israel sparking global anger, a city official said on Thursday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110113/wl_mideast_afp/israelpalestiniansconflictjerusalemsettler
Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
Today in Bil’in, Hamde Abu Rahme
Bil’in village has continued the struggle of resistance against the occupation. At today’s demonstration, three people were wounded, in addition to dozens more people choking on tear gas. The Popular Committee Against the Wall in Bil’in organized today’s demonstration. The march began after Friday prayers from the center of the village, towards the site of the wall. Representatives from Bil’in as well as dozens of Palestinians from around the West Bank participated in today’s march. In addition, dozens of international activists and Israelis participated in the demonstration, chanting slogans calling for national unity, ending the occupation, and destroying the wall. Participants raised Palestinian flags and banners of the various factions, calling for liberation and national unity.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/today-in-bilin-6.html
Palestinian Injured During Protest
A Palestinian protester was beaten by Israeli soldiers at the weekly demonstration in the village of Al- Ma’ssara near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.
http://www.imemc.org/article/60416
Protesters, soldiers injured in anti-wall rallies
RAMALLAH (Ma’an) — A teenager was hospitalized when a tear-gas canister shot by Israeli forces hit him in the head Friday as he participated in an anti-wall rally in the West Bank village of Ni’lin. Seven other protesters suffered tear-gas inhalation, locals said, adding that one soldier was hit in the face with a stone, after which the Israeli force began using live fire.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=351049
Four Civilians Injured by Israeli Soldiers During Bil’in and Ni’lin Wall Protests
Ramallah – PNN – Four civilians were injured on Friday when Israeli soldiers attacked the anti-wall protests in the villages of Bil’in and Nil’in, central West Bank. In the central West Bank village of Bil’in, Israeli and international supporters marched with the villagers after the midday prayers and headed towards the wall built on local farmers lands. As soon as protesters reached the wall, stationed Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at them. A 13-year-old child from Bil’in was injured along with one Israeli and one Dutch activist. Many were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation. In the nearby village of Ni’lin, villagers conducted the midday prayers at their lands near the wall and were joined by Israeli and international supporters. As soon as people reached the wall, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at them. A 20-year-old local youth was hit in the head with a rubber-coated steel bullet. The young man, who preferred not to be named, was moved to a Ramallah hospital for treatment and released later.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9406&Itemid=59
One Civilian Injured at al-Ma’sara Anti-wall Weekly Protest
Bethlehem – PNN – One Palestinian man sustained light injures on Friday as soldiers attacked the weekly anti-wall protest it the village of al-Ma’sara near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. Villagers along with international and Israeli supporters gathered at the local school after midday prayers on Friday and marched towards lands taken from local farmers to build the wall. Israeli troops stopped the villagers and their supporters from leaving the village, using rifle butts and batons to force them back. Soldiers beat up Mohamed Ibrejeyah, a coordinator for the local Committee Against the Wall and Settlements. Ibrejeyah sustained cuts and bruises and was treated at the local clinic, local sources reported. Al-Ma’ssara village has staged a weekly anti-wall protest every Friday for the past three years.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9401&Itemid=59
Al-Nabi Saleh Anti-wall Protest Results in Three Injured Palestinians, One Israeli Activist
Ramallah – PNN – Three civilians and one Israeli solidarity activist were wounded in an anti-wall protest march in the central West Bank on Friday. Local sources said Israeli troops fired rubber bullets, sound bombs, and tear gas canisters at protestors, resulting in three injuries to Palestinians. One Israeli activist was hit in the back with a tear gas canister, and dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation. Israeli forces closed off the village since the early hours of the morning and threatened protestors who tried to cross into the area. Forces entered the homes of Yasser al-Tamimi and Halmi al-Tamimi, targeting journalists and attempting to block them from covering the protests.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9405&Itemid=59
Activists uncover FBI infiltration of anti-war and solidarity groups, including trip to Israel/Palestine, Adam Horowitz
The Committee to Stop FBI Repression announced yesterday that they have discovered that the government had infiltrated anti-war and solidarity organizations begining with the 2008 protests against the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. The undercover agent, who went by the name Karen Sullivan, joined several organization and even traveled with activists on a trip to Israel/Palestine.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/activists-uncover-fbi-infiltration-of-anti-war-and-solidarity-groups-including-trip-to-israelpalestine.html
Canadian retailer ‘The Bay’ drops AHAVA Cosmetics, Nancy Kricorian and Rae Abileah
Yesterday was quite a lively day! On January 12th, representatives of Canadian retailer The Bay acknowledged that the chain was no longer carrying cosmetics products from the Israeli company Ahava Dead Sea Laboratories, but said the “de-listing” was purely a business decision and not in response to any organized boycott. Whatever the reason for the decision, the Stolen Beauty (www.stolenbeauty.org) Ahava boycott campaign and human rights supporters around the world applaud the fact that The Bay will no longer be supporting Ahava and its occupation profiteering.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/canadian-retailer-the-bay-drops-ahava-cosmetics.html
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu slandered by Israel apologists, Gilad Isaacs
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has been called bigoted and anti-Semitic by David Hersch, vice-chairman of the South African Zionist Federation, in an attempt to remove Tutu from his position as patron of the Cape Town Holocaust Centre and the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre. In recent years Tutu has been on the receiving end of a number of defamatory attacks. The eminent human rights advocate has become a target because of his uncompromising position on Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people. However these attacks ignore his principled commitment to the safety and dignity of all people in Israel and Palestine.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/archbishop-emeritus-desmond-tutu-slandered-by-israel-apologists.html
Canada’s double standards
Canada’s tax system currently subsidizes Israeli settlements that Ottawa deems illegal, however, the Conservative government says there’s nothing that can be done about it. The exact amount is not known but it’s safe to assume that millions of Canadian dollars make their way to Israeli settlements every year. Yves Engler comments for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11731.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Refugees/Human Rights/Humanitarian Issues/Siege
Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (06-12 January 2011)
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/VVOS-8D3S52?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Hamas blames PA for Gaza medical shortages (AFP)
AFP – Gaza is lacking about 40 percent of basic medicines, the Hamas health minister said on Thursday, accusing the Palestinian Authority of withholding key stocks.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110113/wl_mideast_afp/healthpalestiniansgazahamasfatah
Arab Physicians Association sends tons of medical aid to the Gaza Strip
A shipment of medical aid, supplied by the relief committee of the Arab Physicians Association, has arrived at the northern Sinai governorate bound for the Gaza Strip.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U
Non-Palestinian refugees to get insurance at reduced prices
BEIRUT: Almost 9,000 non-Palestinian refugees in Lebanon will benefit from insurance at fair prices, following a major cooperation agreement among the Health Ministry, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the Caritas Foundation.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=123641
OPT: Safety net for refugee families in Gaza
Many refugee families in Gaza suffer from extreme poverty, badly affecting parents and their children. Tight restrictions on movement of people and goods have eroded the economy and left hundreds of thousands of people unemployed. UNRWA’s social safety-net programme responds to the needs of these most vulnerable refugees.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MCOI-8D3JYX?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Closing Karni crossing will ‘only tighten siege’
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — After denying reports that the Karni crossing would close at the end of January, Israeli security officials told The Jerusalem Post that the military intends to close terminal. On Thursday, when Gaza officials learned of the intended closure, spokeswoman for Israel’s Coordination and Liaison Administration for the Gaza Strip Lieutenant Nili Aharon told Ma’an she was not aware of any planned changes in the crossings schedule. She said proper notification would be given if such an change were to occur.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=350387
Racism and Discrimination
3 women ‘ordered to remove’ Muslim overgarment
JENIN (Ma’an) — Israeli soldiers deployed at a Jenin checkpoint on Thursday forced women to remove an overgarment worn by conservative Muslim women referred to locally as the jiljab, officials said. Tawfiq Qabaha, member of the Barta’a Ash-Sharqiya village municipal council, told Ma’an that “soldiers ordered the women heading to the town to take off their jilbab for searches, and they were detained for more than three hours.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=350950
Violence/Aggression/War Crimes
Israeli Troops Invade West Bank Communities, Injure One and Arrest 10
Ramallah – PNN – Israeli troops injured one man and arrested 10 others during invasions targeting West Bank communities on Thursday night and Friday morning. At the village of Awarta, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, soldiers stormed the village and searched homes. During the house-to-house searches, witnesses reported that troops fired rubber-coated steel bullets at residents, injuring one. Local sources said that clashes erupted between Awarta youth and Israeli soldiers, ending when troops left the village. Residents said that the Israeli soldiers invaded the village to provide protection for settlers who had come to conduct prayers nearby.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9397&Itemid=64
Detainees (held by IOF & PA)
IOA indicts two Silwan children for throwing stones
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)– The Israeli prosecution presented an indictment list against two Palestinian children from Silwan town, south of the Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem, on Wednesday night. The indictment included the charge of throwing stones at Israeli police. The Magistrate court west of occupied Jerusalem decided to impose house arrest on both children until the case concludes. The Wadi Halawa media center said in a press release on Thursday that both children Mahmoud Al-Banna and Omar Siyam were held under house arrest for more than a year. It added that the minors threw stones in reaction to a Jewish settler’s shooting at Palestinians, noting that the settler was immediately released.
http://palestinianprisoners.blogspot.com/2011/01/ioa-indicts-two-silwan-children-for.html
IOF Arrests Four Fishermen; including Two Children on Gaza Coast
Around midday on Tuesday 11 January 2011, Israeli naval vessels that patrol Gaza sea arrested four Palestinian fishermen and confiscated their boat. The fishermen were working about 2.5 kilometers off Gaza shore; i.e. inside the permitted fishing zone Israel had declared. The IOF arrested the fishermen opposite the Al Sheikh ‘Ijleen area, west of Gaza city. Two of them are children. The IOF took them and their boat north, expectedly towards Ashdod harbor. The reasons behind the arrest have remained unknown. Al Mezan identified the names of fishermen as follows: Usama Nasser Mohammed Abu Amira, 18; Mohammed Khalid Mohammed Abu Amira, 19; Mahmoud Khalid Mohammed Abu Amira, 17; and Saher Khalid Juha, 15. The fishermen are residents of Al Shati’ refugee camp west of Gaza city. In the evening hours on the same day, the IOF released three fishermen and kept Mohammed Khalid Mohammed Abu Amira in detention.
http://www.mezan.org/en/details.php?id=11335&ddname=fishermen&id_dept=3&id2=9&p=center
Renewal of administrative detention of Hamas leaders Nasif and Asfour
The Israeli occupation authority has renewed the administrative administration of two Hamas leaders in Israeli occupation jails; Ra’fat Nasif (42 years)6 months and Adnan Asfour (46) for 3 months.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7
IOF troops raid al-Khalil and kidnap four former captives
IOF troops kidnapped on Friday at dawn 4 Palestinian residents of the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil, all of them former captives in Israeli occupation and PA jails, according to local sources.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7
Hamas: PA detained 7 supporters
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Hamas on Friday accused the Palestinian Authority of detaining seven party members overnight in the West Bank. The Islamist movement said PA security forces detained affiliates from the Ramallah, Hebron and Nablus districts. On January 2, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said PA forces detained 3,000 supporters in 2010. This figure included 49 prominent Hamas leaders, 49 Imams of mosques, 405 university students, 24 professors and 36 journalists, he said. Rival factions Hamas and Fatah repeatedly accuse each other of political detentions in their respective territories, and say the arrests wreck unity efforts.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=351055
Political Developments
Guyana recognizes a Palestinian state (AP)
AP – Guyana has recognized Palestinian statehood, joining a string of other South American nations in a push for Palestinians and Israelis to negotiate a peace deal.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110114/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_guyana_palestinian_state
Norway says it will be first EU nation to recognise Palestine
Ramallah: Norway announced on Wednesday that it will be the first EU country to recognise a Palestinian state once the Palestinian institutions are set in place. Jonas Gahr Stoere, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway said at a joined press conference with the Palestinian Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad in Ramallah that his country will be a leading country in recognising the Palestinian state once the Palestinian institutions are set up as per the schedules and plans announced by the Palestinian National Authority.
http://gulfnews.com/news/region/palestinian-territories/norway-says-it-will-be-first-eu-nation-to-recognise-palestine-1.745921
Will Asia, Africa Follow Latin America on Palestine?
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 13, 2011 (IPS) – With seven Latin American countries formally recognising Palestine as an independent state, there is one question floating in the corridors of the United Nations: will Asia and Africa follow suit?
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54122
Haniyeh briefs security on Gaza calm
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Thursday instructed the Gaza-based Ministry of the Interior to “restore unity” among Palestinian factions in the field to protect the blockaded enclave. In a meeting with security commanders, Haniyeh called on armed Palestinian factions to refrain from actions that could endanger Gaza, instructions interpreted as a call to join Hamas’ two-year ceasefire with Israel. The Gaza-based premier said his decision was an effort to prevent Israel from “taking advantage” of the pretext cited by its army for firing on Gaza following rocket attacks.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=350922
Quartet to meet in Munich to revive peace process
JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — The Quartet will hold a meeting at the highest levels on Feb. 5 in Munich, Germany in an attempt to revive the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. In a statement released by the EU on Thursday, officials said the meeting would be held on the sidelines of the annual security summit and will be attended by UN chief Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her counterpart Serge Lavarov and EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=350957
US meets with Israeli, Palestinian negotiators
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US Middle East envoy George Mitchell met separately on Thursday with Israeli and Palestinian envoys as part of Washington’s bid to revive peace negotiations, the State Department said. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Mitchell met first with Palestinian envoy Saeb Erakat and then with Israel’s Yitzhak Molcho.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=350964
French foreign minister to visit Mideast next week (AFP)
AFP – France’s Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories as part of a tour of the Middle East next week, her office said on Friday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110114/wl_mideast_afp/francemideastegyptjordandiplomacy
Medvedev’s PA visit in jeopardy
After Russian president calls off visit to Israel over Foreign Ministry workers’ strike, workers threaten to stop him from crossing Allenby Bridge into Palestinian territories.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4013664,00.html
Other News
Report: Mabhouh’s successor arrested in UAE
Fatah-affiliated website says man in charge of laundering money transferred to Hamas detained.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4013521,00.html
Hamas ‘confiscates’ Elections Commission vehicles
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Authorities in the Gaza Strip on Thursday confiscated cars belonging to the Central Elections Commission, voting officials said calling on Hamas to return them. The commission said in a statement that it is independent, neutral and has nothing to do with the internal differences that have plagued the Palestinian territories since the 2006 elections. Hamas closed CEC headquarters in November 2009, refusing to hold elections until it and Fatah reconciled in a unity agreement that Egypt has tried and failed to broker for years.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=350807
Rabbi Yosef calls on Obama to free Pollard
Yishai asks US ambassador to pass on message from Shas spiritual leader stating convicted spy’s medical situation ‘life threatening’.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4013503,00.html
Analysis/Op-ed
Another Made in USA “less-lethal” weapon kills in Palestine, Jeff Klein
The recent killing of Jawaher Abu Rahmah in Bil’in – and the death or injury of many others — by Israeli tear gas munitions imported from the US has spotlighted the collaboration of American companies in the lethal suppression of unarmed protests in the West Bank. However, another US-made “less lethal” weapon has also caused many deaths and injuries, but has received less attention. Live fire “crowd control” rounds attributed to .22 caliber sniper rifles, made by Sturm, Ruger Co. in Newport, NH, have been responsible for at least six – and possibly more — deaths and scores of injuries during the past couple of years.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/another-made-in-usa-%e2%80%9cless-lethal%e2%80%9d-weapon-kills-in-palestine.html
Salam Fayyad: Israel’s Man in Palestine, Stephen Lendman
His resume includes a University of Texas economics Ph.D., a teaching position at Jordan’s Yarmouk University, and economic research at the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank. From 1987 – 1995, he also served as a World Bank and IMF official, and until 2001, was IMF’s man in Palestine, serving as Yasser Arafat’s finance minister. In Palestine’s 2006 legislative elections, his Third Way party got 2.4% of the votes, a clear renunciation. Yet after Fatah’s coup d’etat co-opted the PLO, PA and West Bank, President Mahmoud Abbas illegitimately appointed him prime minister.
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2011/01/salam-fayyad-israels-man-in-palestine.html
Karma Nabulsi on the GYBO, Max Ajl
This is an important—but scathing—criticism of the GYBO manifesto and, more importantly, of its reception in the West. There is very little per se to disagree with in Karma’s analysis: it’s historical, grounded, textured, incisive. What’s relevant is not what it says but what it does not. The first is that while she does nod at the frustration felt by the young in Gaza, she skates by it a little too quickly. There’s enough frustration here that even accepting the entirety of Karma’s criticism, the sentiments here need a political outlet, and a manifesto is not political release but verbal release. The demands lack a political program for implementation; there’s not even support for tactical measures, but that does not mean the boil will simply subside because the heat of siege and occupation is still on under the kettle. What she didn’t address is: where should the youth of Gaza go with this manifesto? They have attention, and they got it for the wrong reasons, as they know, but they have it and the question for them is what to do with that attention now that they have it.
http://www.maxajl.com/?p=4778&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+http%2Fwwwmaxajlcom%2Ffeedrss2+%28Jewbonics%29
In testimonies from Occupation, the most moral army comes off like Cossacks, Matthew Phillips
In a memorable exchange on the Gaza War between Norman Finkelstein and Benny Morris some months ago, Finkelstein asked Morris about one of the more bizarre allegations in the Goldstone Report: the evidence of the massive destruction of chicken farms in Zeytoun during the war. “You think those chicken farms were part of Hamas infrastructure?” Finkelstein asked. “It depends if they were Hamas chickens”, Morris replied, laughing. Such flippant cruelty, of course, has become routine with Morris; there is little reason to expect the man who infamously mused in Haaretz about the prospect of Palestinians being put in cages to view the destruction of their livestock with anything but indifference, or perhaps satisfaction. More sensitive critics of the Goldstone Report, however, appreciate the implications of this particular allegation. As Moshe Halbertal, Professor of Philosophy at Hebrew University, writes in his essay “The Goldstone Illusion”, “One of the most disturbing [charges about the destruction of civilian infrastructure] is the report of the flattening with bulldozers of the chicken farm at Zeytoun, in which 31,000 chickens were killed. Such destruction, like other reported destructions of agricultural and industrial facilities, does not seem to serve any purpose.” This was essentially the conclusion that the Goldstone Report reached, calling the destruction of the Sawafeary chicken farms in Zeytoun a “deliberate act of wanton destruction not justified by any military necessity.”
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/in-testimonies-from-occupation-the-most-moral-army-comes-off-like-cossacks.html
Why I believe that Palestinians are holding up the world, annie
Why does Palestine matter to me? Why do I have the sense Palestine is holding up the world? There’s a voice inside of me that will not allow fear to conquer in my lifetime. It’s an imperative that we move forward as a civilized people. I don’t mean civilized in terms of our better homes and gardens, I mean in terms of the world I was born into in 1953. No, I was not a child whose family members survived ethnic cleansing, either the Nakba or the Holocaust, but we still matter. My father served and my uncle died fighting that war. 80 million died (thereabouts). It was so horrible my dad never talked about it til the end of his life. It ripped families, countries, peoples and everything apart. Hiroshima, the Holocaust, Pearl Harbor, massive unimaginable death and pain. Personally for me…there was my mother’s permanent scar. Her rock, her brother Bill, he was gone forever in that war. She never knew her mother. Bill was everything to her.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/why-i-believe-that-palestinians-are-holding-up-the-world.html
You can’t see freedom from any window, Scott McConnell
What measures can the Palestinians take to get Israel’s boot off their necks? Armed struggle is out. All Palestinians we (a delegation from Churches for Middle East Peace) spoke to on a recent fact-finding trip to the region recognized that violence was a dead end: the Palestinians have no military options. A center-right (Kadima) Israeli Knesset member who saw us all but licked his lips at the prospect of a third intifada: Israel is prepared for that, has better intelligence, plus the elaborate separation wall infrastructure. Israel knows who the Palestinian intellectual and civil leaders are and where they live. My interpretation of his comments is that a third intifada would give Israel cover to carry out a Katyn forest of its very own– when Stalin killed the Polish officers to render Poland leaderless.
https://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/you-cant-see-freedom-from-any-window.html
Book review: Arafat’s ghost and the Palestinian national movement
Although As’ad Ghanem’s new book Palestinian Politics after Arafat: A Failed National Movement focuses on the post-Arafat era, the dead leader permeates the pages and his legacy hangs like a specter over the Palestinian body politic.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11732.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+%28Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News%29
Lebanon
Three charged with spying for Israel
BEIRUT: Three Lebanese were charged Thursday with collaborating with Israel, almost 10 days after they were arrested in the Bekaa Valley. Magistrate Saqr Saqr, the government’s representative with the Military Tribunal, asked for prison terms of between 3 and 15 years of hard labor for a woman and two men accused of spying for Israel on the Lebanese Army.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=123644
Hariri returns to Beirut for first time since fall of Lebanon government
Earlier Friday, opposition officials voiced their objection to the premier’s return, presenting a list of pro-Syrian officials they would like see take power.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/hariri-returns-to-beirut-for-first-time-since-fall-of-lebanon-government-1.337031?localLinksEnabled=false
Lebanon opposition: Hariri will not be allowed to return as PM
Speaking to Al-Akhbar, March 8 Alliance officials voice their objection to premier’s return, presenting a list of pro-Syrian officials they would like see take power.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/lebanon-opposition-hariri-will-not-be-allowed-to-return-as-pm-1.336976?localLinksEnabled=false
Hezbollah chief Nasrallah: There won’t be a civil war in Lebanon
Hezbollah leader blames Lebanese PM Saad Hariri for current political crisis, Channel 10 reports citing Al-Jazeera.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/hezbollah-chief-nasrallah-there-won-t-be-a-civil-war-in-lebanon-1.336860?localLinksEnabled=false
South Lebanon calm, quiet after Cabinet collapse
SOUTH LEBANON: South Lebanon saw a noticeable drop in daytime activity Thursday as the public began a game of wait-and-see amid the latest chapter in the country’s political crisis. In the Sidon, Zahrani and Jezzine regions, people’s overriding concern was with the security situation on the ground after the fall of the Cabinet Wednesday.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=123638
Lebanon: Grenades hurled at Christian party’s office
Lebanese PM Hariri meets France’s Sarkozy to discuss his government’s collapse following resignation of Hezbollah ministers. Meanwhile, two grenades thrown at office of Christian party considered ally of Shiite group; no injuries.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4013536,00.html
Canada backs Lebanon leader, criticizes Hezbollah (AFP)
AFP – Canada on Thursday denounced the political moves leading to the collapse of Lebanon’s government and gave its continued backing to Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110114/wl_canada_afp/lebanontribunalpoliticscanada
US monitoring ‘closely’ Lebanon crisis: Pentagon (AFP)
AFP – The United States is keeping a close eye on the situation in Lebanon after the Beirut government collapsed following the resignation of Hezbollah, US officials said Thursday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110113/pl_afp/lebanontribunalpoliticsus
The STL and the myth of judicial virginity, Helena Cobban
The myth propagated by supporters of the various “international” criminal tribunals established since 1992 has been that somehow a judicial proceeding could rise completely above the sordid field of politics and follow its own complete integrity. I used to subscribe to that myth. But in 2000-01, as I started to investigate more closely the work of the two ad-hoc tribunals created by the UN during the mid-1990s, it became clear that “international” criminal tribunals can never, ever, be separated either from the politics of the countries whose developments they probe (and whose politics are inevitably affected by the work of the tribunals themselves)– or, from the politics of the “international” constellation of governments that establish, fund, and provide continued support for these tribunals’ work.
http://justworldnews.org/archives/004125.html
Lebanon
Don’t have high hopes that things in Lebanon would reach logical conclusions: they never do. Hizbullah feels the need to go all the way against its enemies–knowing that many of them have been aligned with Israel (directly or through the US and Saudi Arabia) but is burdened by its sectarian ideology and composition and is aware it is restrained in what it can accomplish. For that reason, expect another lousy compromise to emerge and don’t be surprised–after months or more of tensions and being on-the-verge-of-civil-war–if Ilyas Murr returns even as Minister of Defense. The absence of a secular alternative ensures that the outcome will always be lousy. We had a chance back in 1976, but the Syrian regime intervened and prevented the secular leftist outcome of conflict. But make no mistake: the opposition has many advantages: the biggest one being the sheer incompetence and ineptitude of Mini-Hariri.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/lebanon.html
Robert Fisk: Lebanon in limbo: a nation haunted by the murder of Rafiq Hariri
Soldiers, soldiers everywhere. In the valleys, on the mountains, in the streets of Beirut. I have never seen so many soldiers. Are they going to “liberate” Jerusalem? Or are they going to destroy all the Arab dictatorships?
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-lebanon-in-limbo-a-nation-haunted-by-the-murder-of-rafiq-hariri-2184281.html
US Goes on the Offense in Lebanon, Ali Younes
When Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri met with president Obama on Wednesday, the meeting was read by the opposition in Beirut as part of an American plan to press for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) to issue its finding and indict individuals connected to Hezbollah. This meeting was preceded by another one with US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton who also pressed for the STL to go ahead and voiced its support for the Hariri’s government. Such high profile statements and meetings with top US leaders indicate that the US government has put a veto on the Saudi efforts to resolve the internal Lebanese crises. This also explains why Saad Hariri was granted such high profile meetings with Obama and Clinton which in normal circumstances would not have taken place.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=16550
Iraq
Thursday: 3 Iraqis Killed, 16 Wounded
At least three Iraqis were killed and 16 more were wounded, but only attacks in Baghdad were reported. Meanwhile, Muslim and Christians leaders met today to show a united front and call for increased protection of religious minorities. Also, at a U.S. State Department press conference, U.S. Adm. Michael Mullen agreed the incursions by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) into northern Turkey must end.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/01/13/2012033738/
Detainees don police uniforms in Iraq jailbreak (AP)
AP – A dozen terror suspects disguised in police uniforms broke out of an Iraqi jail Friday, prompting a manhunt across the nation’s south for what officials called a dangerous group of top-ranking insurgents linked to al-Qaida.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110114/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq
Sadr return complicates US troop presence in Iraq (AP)
AP – Iraqi politicians face the contentious question this year of whether to ask U.S. troops to stay beyond an end-of-2011 deadline for their departure. That decision has become far more complicated with the return to Iraq of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110113/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_us_troop_dilemma
Sadr’s followers demand Biden stay away from Iraq (Reuters)
Reuters – Followers of Iraqi Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr took to the streets on Friday after prayers to condemn a visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and demand U.S. forces leave the country.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110114/wl_nm/us_iraq_politics_sadr
Contours of a large and lasting American presence in Iraq starting to take shape
The return to Iraq last week of fiery Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who opposes any U.S. military presence in the country, could jeopardize American plans.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/12/AR2011011204225.html
Iraqi religious heads call for Christians’ protection (Reuters)
Reuters – Iraq’s Muslim and Christian religious leaders on Thursday called for a united front in protecting Christians following a spate of attacks against them.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110113/wl_nm/us_iraq_christians
Iraq arrests perpetrators of assassinations against Christians
Iraqi security forces arrested a gang involved in assassinating Christians, Shabak and Turkman in a security operation, eastern Mosul, a military source in Nineveh Province said.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-58977-Iraq-arrests-perpetrators-of-assassinations-against-Christians.html
Trial nears end for man charged with ties to Iraq (AP)
AP – Calling it a case of betrayal, a prosecutor urged jurors Thursday to convict a former Army translator who is charged with concealing his role as an agent of the Iraqi government in the U.S. in the 1990s.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110113/ap_on_re_us/us_iraq_agent
Iraq’s Shaky Government
Months in the making, what lies in store for the new Baghdad administration? A power-sharing agreement has finally been reached in Iraq, after eight months of political stalemate. With a government now due to be formed within 30 days, IWPR Iraq chief of mission Ammar al-Shahbander identifies the main problems facing the new authority.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/iraq%E2%80%99s-shaky-government
Iraq urged to stop deportation of Iranian Ahwazi refugees
Amnesty International has urged the Iraqi authorities to prevent the forcible return to Iran of several members of the Ahwazi Arab minority amid fears that they would be at serious risk of torture. Amnesty International has urged the Iraqi authorities to prevent the forcible return to Iran of several members of the Ahwazi Arab minority amid fears that they would be at serious risk of torture and other human rights violations in Iran. Two recognized refugees, Shahhed Abdulhussain Abbas Allami and Saleh Jasim Mohammed al-Hamid, are currently being detained in Basra prison, while a third man has already been transferred to the custody of Iranian officials in Iraq.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/iraq-urged-stop-deportation-iranian-ahwazi-refugees-2011-01-14
Tunisia
This is big: very big
The historical significance of what happened in Tunisia is huge. This is the first time an Arab dictator is overthrown by a popular uprising. It is too early to speculate whether this will or can spread, but I think one lesson is too obvious: the Arab people has realized that overthrowing a regime is much much easer than they had thought. If the Iranian Revolution had an impact on Arab politics, this will certainly has an impact.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/this-is-big-very-big.html
PM replaces Tunisia president
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali leaves country following violent clashes in the capital, Tunis.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/01/2011114172228117723.html
Tunisia: protests continue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPyvrWblA0I&feature=youtube_gdata
Tunisia president not to run again
In bid to placate protesters, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali vows to broaden political freedoms and allow freedom of speech.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/01/2011113192110570350.html
The Lede: Fresh Video of Tunisian Protests
On Thursday, as protests continued across Tunisia, bloggers and eyewitnesses posted more video of the demonstrations online, including graphic images of protesters who have been gunned down on the streets.
http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=b1a5e0069229982f898764f4558b36be
From inside a Tunisian Security office
This is the Tunisian regime .
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/from-inside-tunisian-security-office.html
Furious and Outraged (an already Angry) Arab
I am just thinking: 1) how the US media–all of them including Nation magazine–dogmatically and submissively follow the contours and orientations of official US foreign policies; 2) how the Tunisian revolt is barely getting any coverage and how the activism of the youth and their use of new media technologies to spread their message is getting no attention WHATSOEVER in the Western press. If this regime is opposed to the US, this revolt would have been on the front page of US newspapers; 3) Tunisian activists are noticing this. A leader in the Tiqriz movement talked to As-Safir agreed that the US and French stances toward the events are an insult to the opposition movement (especially the French offer to extend security help to the regime).
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2011/01/furious-and-outraged-already-angry-arab.html
Tunisia Protests: Is This The First WikiLeaks Revolution?
Tunisians didn’t need any more reasons to protest when they took to the streets these past weeks — food prices were rising, corruption was rampant, and unemployment was staggering. But we might also count Tunisia as the first time that WikiLeaks pushed people over the brink. These protests are also about the country’s utter lack of freedom of expression — including when it comes to WikiLeaks.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/13/tunisia-protests-is-this-_n_808884.html
U.S. and other world news
WikiLeaks: Bradley Manning To Receive $15,000 For Defense
HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Supporters of the Army private suspected in one of the biggest security breaches in U.S. history say WikiLeaks has fulfilled its pledge to aid in his defense by contributing $15,100.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/13/wikileaks-bradley-manning_n_808659.html
Lawyer for Assange Accusers Has Ties to CIA and Torture
A lawyer for the accusers in the case of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has ties to the CIA and torture in the post-9/11 period, according to a 2009 report in Europe.
http://my.firedoglake.com/rogershuler/2011/01/12/lawyer-for-assange-accusers-has-ties-to-cia-and-torture/
WikiLeaks delivers contribution to Bradley Manning defence fund
Website honours pledge made last July to help pay legal fees of soldier accused of leaking US embassy cables.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/13/wikileaks-bradley-manning-defence-fund
Wikileaks volunteer detained and searched (again) by US agents
Jacob Appelbaum, a volunteer with Wikileaks, was detained, searched, and questioned by the US Customs and Border Patrol agents at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on January 10, upon re-entering the US after a vacation in Iceland.
http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/12/wikileaks-volunteer-1.html
Detained American Says F.B.I. Pressed Him
An American teenager detained in Kuwait said he underwent a heated interrogation by F.B.I. agents for several hours on Wednesday, in a case that has renewed debate over the Obama administration’s expansion of the no-fly list.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/13/world/middleeast/13detain.html?_r=1
Iran airs ‘Mossad assassin’s’ full confession
In video interview Majid Jamal Fash admits to murder of nuclear scientist last year, describes training at Israeli hands. He also uses opportunity to issue a complaint: Israel still owes me $25,000.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4013446,00.html
Bahrain court names new defense for Shiite activists
MANAMA: A Bahraini court named Thursday a new group of lawyers to defend 25 Shiite activists accused of “terrorism,” the third defense lineup since their trial began last October. The new team was named as the latest hearing began involving the 25, including two being tried in absentia.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=123623
www.TheHeadlines.org
