News

Scenes from Gaza

Gaza under attack: death and destruction in Rafah
ISM 10 Apr — …Salama El-Dabari is seated in a tent, mourning the loss of his nephew, the 17 year old Khaled Ismail Hamdan el-Dabari, while he explains to ISM volunteers what has happened. “Khaled was following the ambulances on his motorbike, to assist the medics in evacuating the injured people. As soon as the ambulances arrived, an Apache helicopter shelled the site again. Khaled got stuck under his motorcycle, which caught fire during the shelling. The ambulances of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society were not able to evacuate him immediately. They recovered his body the next morning, covered in burns, with open head wounds, a hole in the abdomen, bullets in the legs and without hands. His father, my brother, was looking for him, but we didn’t want him to see his son in such a conditin, so we sent him home before evacuating Khaled’s body.” … 20 year old Mahdi Joma‘a Abu Athra is worst off: the doctor at Europa hospital in Khan Younes describes him as a dead body kept alive by machinery. His maternal uncles are sitting around the hospital bed and are explaining that Mahdi got married a couple of months ago: his wife is pregnant. It seems unlikely that Mahdi will ever lay eyes on his firstborn.

Israeli airstrike turns Gaza family’s life into torment
GAZA, April 9 (Xinhua) — Ibrahim Qdieh, a 52-year-old resident of the southern Gaza village of Abassan, never knew that a few minutes’ absence from home would rescue him from a possible death but left him gulping the pain of losing wife and daughter for the rest of his life. His wife and daughter were killed in an Israeli air raid on their home, a 90-square-meter house built on a farm in the village in the east of Khan Younis city … When the air raid took place on Friday afternoon, Qdieh and some family members were praying in a mosque, while his wife stayed at home, about to wash the children’s school uniforms for the school day right after the weekend …”…as soon as I reached the house, I saw the horrible and awful crime, smears of blood and remnants all over the place. I wasn’t able to believe my eyes to see my daughter Nidal, who was preparing for her wedding next week and my wife are dead.” An Israeli reconnaissance drone fired one missile, directly hitting the house. The missile took the lives of Nidal and her mother, and injured four others in the family.

49 Palestinians killed in Gaza since beginning of this year
GAZA, (PIC) 10 Apr 3:11pm — The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have killed 49 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the start of 2011 and until the ninth of April including seven children. Dozens of Palestinians also sustained different injuries during Israeli aerial and artillery attacks especially on last Thursday which saw intensive deadly air raids on civilian areas in Gaza, according to Quds Press.

And yet…
Life goes on in Gaza despite airstrikes
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 10 Apr 9:19– Schools remain open and families remain in their homes, with little other choice as strikes continued in Gaza for the third consecutive day on Saturday. On Friday afternoon, the sounds of ambulance sirens mixed with horns of cars taking newly married couples to wedding halls. On Saturday morning, students headed to schools as usual after they spent the night listening to Israeli drones fly overhead.

And more news from Today in Palestine:

Land, property, resources theft & destruction / Judaization / Ethnic cleansing / Settlers

Silwan activist spearheads campaign against Jerusalem Municipality campaign of ‘Judaization’
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC)  10 Apr — Wadi Hilweh activist Mahmoud Qaraeen has started a petition against the Jerusalem Municipality’s legal authority to revoke residency rights of Palestinian citizens of the city. The policy is aimed at decreasing the Palestinian population in Jerusalem to create a Jewish majority. Qaraeen, speaking on behalf of tens of thousands of other Palestinian Jerusalemites, has denounced the law passed by the Israeli Interior Ministry as a violation of Palestinian residents’ basic human rights. Under the new law, Jerusalemites will be required to prove their residence inside the municipal limits of the city … Qaraeen states that a total of 4,577  Palestinian Jerusalemites have already had their residency revoked in the year 2008.
http://silwanic.net/?p=14527

Photos of march
Sunday, 10 April, 2011 | 03:29 Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC)
http://silwanic.net/?p=14560

Information Center director Jawad Siyam to face new hearing
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 10 Apr  —  Wadi Hilweh Information Center director Jawad Siyam has been ordered by the Jerusalem Court to attend an additional hearing regarding a potential extension of his house arrest sentence, at the request of Israeli police. Police have expanded their investigation of Siyam following the intervention of several diplomats and politicians seeking clarification regarding the ongoing violations of Siyam and his family’s rights at the hands of Israeli investigators.
http://silwanic.net/?p=14525

Israeli soldier targets Al-Bustan Popular Committee member and Jerusalem Media Center director
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 10 Apr 19:35 — A member of the Al-Bustan Popular Committee and the director of the Jerusalem Media Center were detained yesterday afternoon by Israeli police on suspicion of filming a military jeep in Silwan. Fakhri Abu Diab of the Al-Bustan Committee and Muhammad Sadeq of the Jerusalem Media Center had recorded footage of an Israeli jeep as it reversed onto a busy street, blocking oncoming traffic.
http://silwanic.net/?p=14631

Wadi Hilweh teenager detained on false charges
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 10 Apr 19:34 — An 18 year old boy from Silwan was detained by Israeli police yesterday on suspicion of violating the terms of his house arrest sentence. Muhammad Shihadah was arrested and sentenced to house arrest outside his own home in Wadi Hilweh district by the Magistrates Court, but was subsequently acquitted. Shihadah continues to be subjected to harassment by Israeli soldiers, culminating in his detention yesterday as he walked from the Old City to his family home.
http://silwanic.net/?p=14629

IOF troops raze tents, installations in JV village
TOBAS, (PIC) 9 Apr 4:06pm — Israeli occupation forces (IOF) razed tents and other installations in Khirbat Sumra village in the northern Jordan Valley on Saturday, local sources reported. Deputy council chairman of Bedouin villages in the area Mahyub Abu Amer said that the soldiers escorted two huge bulldozers into the village and leveled all its tents and installations. This is the second time the Israeli forces destroy the village.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc

IOA starts building new factories on Palestinian land in Salfit
SALFIT, (PIC) 10 Apr — The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) allowed the construction of new factories in the so-called Burkan industrial area built on Palestinian land west of Salfit city. Palestinian health sources said that the factories were draining the environment, noting that they were polluting underground water, the soil, and air. Cancer spread among the population in nearby villages and new types of mosquitoes were spreading diseases not known before in the area, they added. The sources said that the factories and the Israeli settlement of Ariel were pouring their refuse into the Palestinian land.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd

Armed settlers supported by Israeli army attack Palestinian village
ISM 10 Apr — At 8.30am yesterday morning around fifty settlers, some masked and armed with guns, descended from Yitzhar settlement onto the Palestinian village of Assira Al Qibliya. International observers from the UK and Ireland witnessed the settlers threw rocks at homes and people on the outskirts of the village injuring one local, who is being treated in hospital. Within thirty minutes an army jeep carrying Israeli soldiers arrived. They stood in front of the settlers on the hillside approximately one hundred metres from the Palestinian homes yet did nothing to prevent their attacks … Yitzhar is home to a Jewish orthodox community of over 100 who have in the past decade attacked the residents and properties of Assira Al Qibliya and neighbouring villages on numerous occasions using rocks, knives, guns and arson. These attacks often happen on Saturdays, the religious holy day of Shabbat.
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/04/17501/

Restriction of movement

Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum Alert
8 Apr — The Palestinian Christian initiative Kairos Palestine has issued a statement spelling out the position of the Palestinian Christian community concerning Israeli imposed restrictions on religious rights, especially during Holy Week … the occupying power has denied free access to Holy places of worship to both Christians and Muslims on several important occasions over the last decade. This discriminatory and restrictive policy by Israel allows only 8000 pilgrims and few hundreds of locals to enter the city on Holy Fire Saturday. The Holy Sepulchre Church and other crucial religious sites are rendered “off limits for Christians through a complex network of walls, checkpoints, and security apparatuses.”
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/programmes/public-witness-ad

Gaza under attack: death and destruction in Rafah
ISM 10 Apr — …Salama El-Dabari is seated in a tent, mourning the loss of his nephew, the 17 year old Khaled Ismail Hamdan el-Dabari, while he explains to ISM volunteers what has happened. “Khaled was following the ambulances on his motorbike, to assist the medics in evacuating the injured people. As soon as the ambulances arrived, an Apache helicopter shelled the site again. Khaled got stuck under his motorcycle, which caught fire during the shelling. The ambulances of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society were not able to evacuate him immediately. They recovered his body the next morning, covered in burns, with open head wounds, a hole in the abdomen, bullets in the legs and without hands. His father, my brother, was looking for him, but we didn’t want him to see his son in such a condition, so we sent him home before evacuating Khaled’s body.” … 20 year old Mahdi Joma‘a Abu Athra is worst off: the doctor at Europa hospital in Khan Younes describes him as a dead body kept alive by machinery. His maternal uncles are sitting around the hospital bed and are explaining that Mahdi got married a couple of months ago: his wife is pregnant. It seems unlikely that Mahdi will ever lay eyes on his firstborn.
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/04/17485/

Israeli airstrike turns Gaza family’s life into torment
GAZA, April 9 (Xinhua) — Ibrahim Qdieh, a 52-year-old resident of the southern Gaza village of Abassan, never knew that a few minutes’ absence from home would rescue him from a possible death but left him gulping the pain of losing wife and daughter for the rest of his life. His wife and daughter were killed in an Israeli air raid on their home, a 90-square-meter house built on a farm in the village in the east of Khan Younis city … When the air raid took place on Friday afternoon, Qdieh and some family members were praying in a mosque, while his wife stayed at home, about to wash the children’s school uniforms for the school day right after the weekend …”…as soon as I reached the house, I saw the horrible and awful crime, smears of blood and remnants all over the place. I wasn’t able to believe my eyes to see my daughter Nidal, who was preparing for her wedding next week and my wife are dead.” An Israeli reconnaissance drone fired one missile, directly hitting the house. The missile took the lives of Nidal and her mother, and injured four others in the family.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-04/10/c_13821140.htm

Palestinian man killed in IOF shelling
GAZA, (PIC) 10 Apr 07:13 — A Palestinian man succumbed to serious wounds on Saturday evening sustained in the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) onslaught on the Gaza Strip that peaked over the past three days … Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman for medical services, said that Ra‘ed Al-Bur, 30, died at Shifa hospital after suffering critical injuries in the IOF shelling of Zaitun suburb. Another Palestinian youth was seriously wounded when IOF troops fired an artillery shell at Atatra west of Beit Lahia town to the north of the Gaza Strip, Abu Salmiya said, adding that the young man had his limbs amputated.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc

49 Palestinians killed in Gaza since beginning of this year
GAZA, (PIC) 10 Apr 3:11pm — The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have killed 49 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the start of 2011 and until the ninth of April including seven children. Dozens of Palestinians also sustained different injuries during Israeli aerial and artillery attacks especially on last Thursday which saw intensive deadly air raids on civilian areas in Gaza, according to Quds Press.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bc

And yet…
Life goes on in Gaza despite airstrikes
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 10 Apr 9:19– Schools remain open and families remain in their homes, with little other choice as strikes continued in Gaza for the third consecutive day on Saturday. On Friday afternoon, the sounds of ambulance sirens mixed with horns of cars taking newly married couples to wedding halls. On Saturday morning, students headed to schools as usual after they spent the night listening to Israeli drones fly overhead.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=376988

Violence – recent developments

Israel to continue fighting ‘terror in Gaza’ despite Hamas’ ceasefire plea
Haaretz 10 Apr 16:50 — …The political-security cabinet convened earlier in the day in order to discuss the current situation with Gaza. After being briefed on the latest developments, the cabinet decided to instruct the Israel Defense Forces and security officials to “continue to work against terrorism in Gaza in order to stop the firing on Israel and return quiet to southern Israel,” Hauser said.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-to-continue-fighting-terror-in-gaza-despite-hamas-ceasefire-plea-1.355162

Hamas urges Israel in rare direct appeal to halt attacks on Gaza
Haaretz/AP/Reuters 10 Apr 13:33 — Palestinian official says militant groups agree to Arab/UN proposal for cease-fire; Barak: Hamas military wing has no interest in truce — A senior Hamas official on Sunday made a rare direct appeal to the Israeli public to halt the current round of cross-border fighting, after a weekend of deadly violence left 19 Palestinians dead. “We are interested in calm but want the Israeli military to stop its operations,” Hamas Deputy Foreign Minister Ghazi Hamad said in an interview on Israel Radio, adding that the group would cease its rocket attacks if Israel halted its military operations against Gaza militants.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/hamas-urges-israel-in-rare-direct-appeal-to-halt-attacks-on-gaza-1.355138

Sources: Ceasefire deal reached in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 10 Apr 12:52 — Palestinian sources say UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Robert Serry managed to reach a ceasefire agreement late Saturday between Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza … The sources highlighted that the Israelis posed a controversial point when they insisted their forces would continue to hit what they called ‘time bombs’ which pose a threat to Israel. The Palestinian attitude to that Israeli stipulation was not clear.
Ma‘an’s correspondent in Gaza said all the military groups committed to the agreement except Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades who claimed responsibility for firing three mortar shells at the Kerem Shalom area Sunday morning.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=377260

New Palestinian military groups surface in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 10 Apr 12:53 — New Palestinian military groups in the Gaza Strip have claimed responsibility, for the first time, for firing missiles at Israeli targets bordering the strip. The “Abdullah Azzam Brigades – Marwan Haddad division – in the Levant” claimed responsibility Sunday for firing a Grad missile at the Israeli city of Ashkelon and two homemade projectiles at the Zekeim military base … Another group, identified as the “At-Tawhid and Al-Jihad – Beit Al-Maqdis,” claimed responsibility for launching a homemade projectile at the Nahal Oz military base. [not clear when these events happened]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=377217

Israel vows to respond ‘most harshly’ if Gaza rockets continue
Haaretz 10 Apr 11:53 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Sunday to respond “most harshly” if Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip continued to fire rockets and mortar shells at Israel … Interior Minister Eli Yishai called on the cabinet to agree to taking “less routine and stronger” action against the Gaza Strip, to curb the onslaught of rockets. Yishai said he was not envisioning “another Cast Lead” operation, referring to the war launched two years ago, but rather “an expanded air operation.” “A ground operation is completely useless,” Yishai said. [after all, a ground operation puts Israeli soldiers at risk … can’t have that.]
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-vows-to-respond-most-harshly-if-gaza-rockets-continue-1.355127

Iron Dome makes world history intercepting nine Gaza rockets
Haaretz 10 Apr 03:12 — The anti-missile system’s success has surprised even the air defense troops who have been training to operate the device. See video of Iron Dome in action here
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/iron-dome-makes-world-history-intercepting-nine-gaza-rockets-1.355033

IDF: Shalit abductor killed
Ynet 9 Apr 22:53 — Senior Hamas member Taysir Saliman Abu-Saname, killed by the IDF in a southern Gaza Strip strike early Saturday, was involved among other things in Gilad Shalit’s abduction, IDF officials said … However, Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing, said the Saname killing “will not affect our work” and dismissed Israel’s claims. He said Israel “does not have the information about Shalit’s capture to be able to say who among our leaders had a role in its execution.”  Ubaida also accused Israel of “looking for an achievement as a cover for their crimes.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4054445,00.html

Health minister: Internationally banned weapons used in Israel aggression
GAZA, (PIC) 9 Apr 5:10pm — Gaza Minister of Health Bassem Naeem has confirmed that Israel has used internationally banned weapons during its ongoing attack on the Gaza Strip … Most of the injuries took place on all parts of the bodies while fragments have not yet been found, he explained, adding that that indicates that white phosphorus and other chemical weapons had been used in the attacks … Naeem also confirmed that the Israeli strikes directly targeted medical teams injuring two paramedics.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%

Children from South to get Justin Bieber tickets
JPost 10 Apr — Seven hundred children from Southern communities in proximity of Gaza missile fire are being given a respite this week in the guise of tickets to the Justin Bieber concert on Thursday night at Hayarkon Park in Tel Aviv.
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=215987

Incursions / Detention

9 more detained in latest Awarta sweep
NABLUS (Ma‘an) 10 Apr — Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced Sunday that he would visit the village of Awarta, after Israeli forces entered the village to carry out the fifth arrest campaign, detaining nine, including a mother, father and daughter. The Sunday morning raids followed close on the heels of a mass round up on Friday, which saw more than 100 women forcibly taken from their homes, along with tens of men, and subjected to DNA testing and fingerprinting.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=377200

Army fires on ‘Iraq Burin during olive tree planting
ISM 10 Apr — Bullets and tear gas were fired upon Palestinians and internationals whilst they planted olive trees on the land legally owned by the village of ‘Iraq Burin yesterday. The popular committee asked for a group of internationals to assist them in planting olive trees on the village land which is close to an army outpost and the illegal Israeli settlement of Bracha … Despite the dangerous aggression of the Israeli army all 50 olive trees were planted on the hillside and three in the local cemetery — one for each of the boys that were killed in the village in the last year. On 19th March 2010, 16-year-old Muhammed Qadus, together with his cousin Asaud Qadus were shot and killed by the Israeli Army during a peaceful demonstration. On the 27th January this year, 19-year-old Oday Maher Hamza Qadous was shot dead by a settler on the hilltop just outside the village.
http://palsolidarity.org/2011/04/17504/

Activism / Solidarity

Police ordered to compensate leftists arrested at East Jerusalem protest
Haaretz 10 Apr — Judge severely reprimands police for arresting protesters without warrant in Sheikh Jarrah, writing, ‘The right to demonstrate is deeply rooted in the foundations of a democracy.’ Jerusalem Police will pay four leftist activists the sum of NIS 25,000 [US$ 7,263] … Police appealed the judge’s decision to release the activists unconditionally, claiming that they had no permit for their protest and that it represented a threat to public security. The appeals court rejected these claims after watching documentary video footage that was filmed at the protest.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/police-ordered-to-compensate-leftists-arrested-at-east-jerusalem-protest-1.355166

IHH: Gaza convoys to continue by sea, land, and air
ANTALYA, (PIC) 9 Apr 07:16 — President of the Turkish IHH relief society Bulent Yildirim has confirmed that Gaza aid convoys will continue by land, air and sea as the Turkish Mavi Marmara gears for its next journey from Europe … “Israel must know that the Mediterranean doesn’t belong to it,” Yildirim said. “This sea and land convoys will continue.” He emphasized that upcoming aid missions would not only be by sea, but that preparations were being made to dispatch a land convoy to Gaza, as well as there being a project for an aerial convoy as a plane is being purchased to deliver goods to Gaza directly.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2

Czech reporters sue Israel over flotilla raid
Ynet 10 Apr — Two journalists say Jewish state has yet to return money and equipment confiscated during Commando operation on Gaza-bound ship, demand apology … The journalists’ complaint includes 29 criminal acts allegedly committed by the Israeli soldiers, including theft and abduction. The two are demanding a “serious investigation”, as well as legal and consular aid from the Czech authorities.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4054988,00.html

Racism

Watch: Racism protest in Tel Aviv targets refugees and migrants / Joseph Dana
10 Apr — David Sheen, an Israeli journalist with Haaretz, has been quietly documenting the rise of racism in Tel Aviv. His latest video (below) is a look into the ugly work of nationalism which is the foundation of the current spike in racist attacks. In the video, Sheen attends a rally of Jewish nationalists who seek to expel foreign infiltrators ‘that are taking over the southern part of Tel Aviv.’ The interviews that he conducts on the street show a disturbed society in crisis.
http://972mag.com/israeli-racism-turns-its-ugly-head-in-south-tel-aviv/

Politics / Diplomacy / International

Arab League wants Gaza no-fly zone
AFP 10 Apr 16:24 — Amr Mussa to ask UN that same sanction imposed on Libya be implemented against Israel. Meanwhile, Turkey strongly condemns ‘excessive and disproportionate reprisals of Israel that have injured and killed civilians’
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4054848,00.html

Report: Barak cancels US visit
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 10 Apr — Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has canceled a visit to the United States due to the violence in Gaza, reports said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=377090

Egypt makes contacts to halt Israel’s attacks on Gaza
CAIRO, (PIC) 10 Apr 09:46 — Egyptian diplomatic sources said the Egyptian leadership made on Friday extensive contacts to bring an immediate end to Israel’s military attacks on the densely-populated Gaza Strip. The sources added that Egypt made high-level contacts with all parties including the European union and the US administration and Palestinian factions to put an end to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd

Israel deputy FM urges PA to resume talks
JERUSALEM (Ma‘an) 03:04 — Deputy foreign minister of Israel Danny Ayalon on Saturday demanded that the Palestinian Authority return to talks without preconditions and stop glorifying terrorism.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=377104

Sudan: Israel paralyzed our radars to carry out deadly attack
Haaretz 10 Apr — Sudan’s Foreign Ministry says it has ‘solid proof’ that Israel launched missiles at port city, maintains stance that neither targets were involved in flow of arms from Iran to Gaza.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/sudan-israel-paralyzed-our-radars-to-carry-out-deadly-attack-1.355132

Other news

IOF hampers fire rescue mission in Jenin
JENIN, (PIC) 10 Apr 09:41 — The Israel occupation forces (IOF) hampered efforts to put out a fire at a commercial center in East Barta‘a west of Jenin as losses mounted to more than $1.5m. A fierce fire broke out at an East Barta‘a shopping center that includes 12 stores, but rescue teams were hassled as they tried to cross a military checkpoint situated on the nearby Israeli separation wall, locals reported.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2

BBC In Pictures: Young Palestinian artists’ exhibition
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13013314

Haaretz WikiLeaks Exclusives

Fatah strongman’s mental health failing, Israel official reported
Palestinian Authority strongman Mohammed Dahlan’s mental health is rapidly deteriorating, the head of the Defense Ministry’s political-security branch Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad told an American diplomat in 2005, according to the latest documents released by WikiLeaks.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/haaretz-wikileaks-exclusive-fatah-strongman-s-mental-health-failing-israel-official-reported-1.355031

Israel ruled out military option on Iran years ago
Senior defense officials ruled out an Israeli military attack on Iran’s nuclear sites as early as five and a half years ago, telegrams sent from the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv in 2005 and 2006 indicate.
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/haaretz-wikileaks-exclusive-israel-ruled-out-military-option-on-iran-years-ago-1.355024

Assad didn’t deny Syria arms transfer to Hezbollah
Americans said in cable that Syrian President made ‘tacit admission that he is aware of, and facilitates, arms shipments to Hezbollah.’
http://www.haaretz.com/news/haaretz-wikileaks-exclusive/haaretz-wikileaks-exclusive-assad-didn-t-deny-syria-arms-transfer-to-hezbollah-1.354961

Iraq

Friday: 31 Iranians, 8 Iraqis killed; 300 Iranians, 21 Iraqis wounded
Once again, an Iranian refugee camp in eastern Iraq was the scene of a deadly raid. According to one source approximately 31 Iranians were killed and over 300 more were wounded during the operation. About 13 Iraqi personnel were also injured in the raid. Elsewhere in Iraq, attacks continued as well, leaving eight dead and eight wounded. Clashes in Camp Ashraf killed at least three people and wounded 27 others; however, a camp official reported 31 killed and 300 wounded. At least 13 Iraqi soldiers were wounded. Due to the nature of the situation, independent reports and accurate figures are impossible to obtain…
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/04/08/friday-31-iranians-8-iraqis-killed-300-iranians-21-iraqis-wounded/

Saturday: 17 Iraqis, 2 Iranians killed, 7 Iraqis wounded
At least 17 Iraqis were killed across the country, while seven others were wounded. Also, two more Iranians were reported dead at Camp Ashraf. Tens of thousands of Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr’s followers protested U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates’ suggestion yesterday that U.S. troops could remain past the year-end withdrawal date. Sadr himself threatened to reactivate his Mahdi Army if the timetable is not honored….
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2011/04/09/saturday-17-iraqis-2-iranians-killed-7-iraqis-wounded/

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