Stand for Justice: July 2005

News for 08-29-07

News for 08-28-07

News for 08-27-07

News for 08-26-07

News for 08-25-07

News for 08-24-07

News for 08-23-07

News for 08-22-07

News for 08-21-07

News for 08-20-07

Sunday, July 31, 2005

News for 07-31-05

07-31-05 - Crossing reopened, permits cut

07-31-05 - Settlers Ask Israel to Buy Their Houses West Bank settlers whose communities lie outside Israel's separation barrier are asking the government to buy their houses so they can move back to Israel

07-31-05 - Israel threatens massive assault if Gaza pullout under fire

07-31-05 - The Knesset approves law to restrict family reunification between Israelis and Palestinians

07-31-05 - Senior officer linked to killing of Palestinian youth gets promoted Zusmann allowed the troops to open "deterring fire" in the direction of nearby Palestinian homes. Palestinians later reported that a 15-year-old boy was killed in the area.

07-31-05 - Israeli Settlers Injure Ambulance Crew in Khan Younis as Arrests Made in West Bank

07-31-05 - Villagers trapped by Israeli 'apartheid wall' "This is not about security ? this wall could not stop a rocket being fired into Israel. It is about taking our land and our village,"

07-31-05 - IAF: Congested Gaza skies main concern

07-31-05 - Palestinian refugee fighters may be sent to Gaza

07-31-05 - Left-wing refusenik movement shuts down after 3 years The left-wing refusenik movement Courage to Refuse (Ometz Lessarev) shut down its offices Sunday and laid off its only paid employee

07-31-05 - Israel replacing lethal rubber bullets with new sand bullets for riot control Rubber bullets have killed dozens of Palestinians in the past two decades Strange, with all of these newfangled 'non-lethal weapons' developed for the IDF of late, they still manage to fatally shoot the rockthrowing Palestinian children with live rounds.

07-31-05 - Hard school of life in Palestine Bahraini charity worker Layla Kaiksow is trying to change that by raising money for the Dr Hala Attalah Scholarship Fund, which helps put poor women through Bir Zeit University, near Ramallah

07-31-05 - Thousands set to defy Sharon

07-31-05 - Grounds for terror attacks can be removed - Egypt PM Resolving Palestinian demands for an independent state and ensuring that US troops leave Iraq will remove the justification for further terrorist attacks, Egypt's prime minister said today.

07-31-05 - Israeli's concert honours Palestinian Argentinian-born Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim has given a "concert for peace" in honour of the late Palestinian author and intellectual Edward Said in the northern Spanish city of Oviedo.

07-31-05 - British Jews set pro-Israel ad campaign

07-31-05 - Al-Aqsa Brigades call for punishing spies for Israel

posted by Somebody @ 11:00 PM Permanent Link 0 comments

News for 07-30-05

07-30-05 - Security officer killed in Nablus

07-30-05 - Palestinian man got ill from radiation at Israeli border crossing

07-30-05 - Four farmer injured, 80 olive trees uprooted A local source in the village reported that settlers of Maoun settlement attacked dozens of farmers while thy were working at their orchards, four farmers were injured.

07-30-05 - PNA Eyes Settlement Area for Gaza Seaport Service

07-30-05 - Israel Upgrades, Fortifies Crossings From West Bank "The whole idea behind this is to separate Jerusalem from its Arab population," Abu Assab said. "In a few years, they will close the gate to everyone. That's the next step."

07-30-05 - Mideast quartet envoy sees better life for Palestinians Middle East quartet envoy James Wolfensohn promised Palestinians in the impoverished Gaza Strip a "better life" after Israel's planned pullout, following talks with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas

07-30-05 - Palestinians Say They Can Keep Gaza Calm Abu Khoussa's comments followed an independent report last week that found Palestinian forces are poorly armed, overstaffed and corrupt. The Palestinians said the report failed to take into account recent reforms, noting they are still trying to rebuild forces severely weakened by four years of fighting with Israel.

07-30-05 - Israel tightens security measures in West Bank

07-30-05 - New hospital for children of war WORK on a children's wing at a Palestinian hospital, which is being financed by Bahraini money, is on schedule for completion by next summer, it was revealed yesterday.

07-30-05 - Palestinian militants release intelligence officer

07-30-05 - Weisglass to tell Rice 'no arms for PA'

07-30-05 - Non-violent protest in Hebron The Christian Peacemakers Teams (CPT) organized a non-violent protest in Hebron on Saturday.

07-30-05 - Palestinian health workers go on strike

07-30-05 - Palestinians form committee to protect settlement lands

07-30-05 - 3 Residents Wounded, Several Arrested In a Peaceful Protest against the Wall in Bilin

07-30-05 - Gazans prepare flags for day after pullout Tens of thousands of white-black-green-and-red Palestinian national flags are being sewn in workshops in Gaza City to fly over the 21 settlements once the pullout scheduled to start on August 15 is complete.

07-30-05 - Workshop in Bethlehem on rights of the disabled when will the residents with special needs be able to have access to public and governmental facilities including governmental health care centers, when they will be able to be treated as equal members of the society, practice their rights and conduct their duties as any member of the society.

07-30-05 - Building to resist

07-30-05 - Abbas to visit Cairo for talks with Egypt's Mubarak

07-30-05 - Flashback Sept. 2004: Israeli Security to Protect London's Underground An Israeli security firm has been chosen to provide security for London?s Underground train network.

07-30-05 - Anti-pullout bribe scandal investigated The Attorney General, Meni Mazuz, has decided to open a criminal investigation against an organization that offered payments to soldiers who would refuse to obey orders, in an attempt to sabotage the disegnagement program.

07-30-05 - Daniel Barenboim - conductor par excellence

07-30-05 - Defense panel chair says U.S. demands for defense sale oversight may hurt Israel The U.S. should not be able to extend its oversight of Israeli defense exports to third countries, such as India and Turkey, as it may harm Israel's military industries, the chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud), said yesterday.

07-30-05 - A shallow strategic dialogue The crisis began with a report about upgrading the Harpy, an Israeli attack UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) sold to China, but as the crisis wore on, fundamental problems in the relations between the United States and Israel were highlighted.

07-30-05 - Netanyahu to vote against pullout

posted by Somebody @ 10:17 AM Permanent Link 0 comments

Saturday, July 30, 2005

News for 07-29-05

07-29-05 - Palestinian police rescue captives from Gaza kidnappers Palestinian police rescued an Australian woman and Palestinian man on Friday who were abducted by the family of a kidnapped security officer in Gaza to try to secure the release of their son

07-29-05 - Two residents of Hebron attacked, badly bruised

07-29-05 - Taut times for Israel and Vatican

07-29-05 - Protestants Call on Israel to Raze Wall

07-29-05 - Israel denies medical treatment for a Palestinian infant Hassanen added that the closure imposed on abu Holy and al-Matahin checkpoints in the southern part of the Gaza Strip is preventing hundreds of residents from reaching hospitals elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.

07-29-05 - Jewish Leaders Urge Restraint in Spat Jewish leaders urged the Vatican and Israel to tone down the rhetoric in the escalating dispute over papal pronouncements on terrorism, saying Friday they feared the feud could do lasting damage to relations

07-29-05 - Vatican in terror dispute with Israel "the attacks on Israel were sometimes followed by immediate Israeli reactions not always compatible with the norms of international law ... It would thus be impossible to condemn the [terrorist operations] and pass over the [Israeli retaliation] in silence".

07-29-05 - Settlers, soldiers beat up Palestinian farmers

07-29-05 - In pictures: Refugee camp life

07-29-05 - 3 Israelis arrested during separation fence protest near Bil'in Israel Defense Forces troops fired tear gas at demonstrators. The army said that the soldiers used the gas because the demonstrators burned tires. However, not one burning tire was found at the site, and no stones were thrown at the soldiers.

07-29-05 - New Jewish homes may go in east J-lem

07-29-05 - Israel's wall crosses U.N. Green Line Close to 90% of barrier's route runs on Palestinian land

07-29-05 - Going to the Wall "We're not talking about two equal states debating over natural boundaries. We're talking about one of the largest military powers in the world against refugee camps on the other side of the wall." ..."The vast majority of people told us they wanted us to go back to America and tell Americans they are not all terrorists," Jeremy said. "They want to live in peace, have jobs and provide for their families."

07-29-05 - Probe: Border Police lied about protests An investigation by Haaretz has found that policemen from that company have made false accusations against demonstrators and even made arrests on the basis of those accusations. Palestinians thus detained can be held for eight days before being brought before a judge.

07-29-05 - Five Palestinians arrested by Israeli troops

07-29-05 - Farmers in Gaza Settlements Near U.S. Deal A U.S. government agency is in talks with Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip to buy 1,000 acres of their greenhouses for $15 million

07-29-05 - Sign posted on Lynn house draws ire of area Jews reading "Land Grabbing Israel is Bleeding America."

07-29-05 - Israel's Attack on the Pope Is a Smokescreen for Abandoning Talks with the Holy See

07-29-05 - 'Israeli terror is worse' Israel is a racist state that commits war crimes and resorts to terrorism worse than that employed by the Palestinians, former Education Minister Shulamit Aloni charged in an unusually scathing interview with Nazareth-based Arab-Israeli newspaper Kul al-Arab

07-29-05 - Security Council extends UNIFIL mandate in Lebanon

07-29-05 - 'Many troops' to block Gaza plan

07-29-05 - Iraqi constitution raises Jewish ire The Anti-Defamation League urged the State Department to push for the removal of anti-Israel passages from Iraq?s draft constitution.

07-29-05 - Pentagon: China spat will be resolved

07-29-05 - Congressman to colleagues: Fight anti-Semitism

07-29-05 - Israel checking Ivory Coast arms sales Israel said it?s cooperating fully with a U.N. investigation into suspected arms sales to the Ivory Coast.

07-29-05 - UN considers Israeli settlements in the Golan as illegal

07-29-05 - First Independent Palestinian News Agency Receives License

07-29-05 - Palestinian Refugees in Shu'fat Defend Their Presence in Jerusalem

07-29-05 - Israel: U.S. Foreign Assistance

posted by Somebody @ 11:52 AM Permanent Link 0 comments

Friday, July 29, 2005

Some headlines and summaries from JTA

Iraqi constitution raises Jewish ire

The Anti-Defamation League urged the State Department to push for the removal of anti-Israel passages from Iraq’s draft constitution.

“We hope the United States will encourage the drafters of the constitution to remove this objectionable, blatant anti-Israel discrimination in the draft text,” ADL National Director Abraham Foxman wrote Wednesday to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. “We are all hopeful that a democratic Iraq will be protected by a constitution that is free from bias and discrimination and will serve as a model for the entire region.”

One article of the constitution states that “Any individual with another nationality (except for Israel) may obtain Iraqi nationality,” while another article states that “Any Iraqi may have more than one nationality as long as the nationality is not Israel.” The constitution is slated for completion by Aug. 15. There are an estimated 250,000 Israeli Jews of Iraqi origin, comprising one of Israel’s largest Jewish ethnic communities.

Pentagon: China spat will be resolved

Israel and the United States will resolve a dispute over the sale of arms to China “sooner rather than later,” a Pentagon spokesman said.

Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli defense minister, cancelled a trip to Washington this week because the issue has yet to be resolved. “I have talked to folks who are involved, who think this is going to be resolved, in the time-honored phrase, sooner rather than later,” Pentagon spokesman Lawrence DiRita said Friday. “They don’t think that this is something that is going to take forever.”

The United States has restricted technology sharing with Israel because of the dispute. The United States, which says such sales pose a threat to U.S. ally Taiwan, wants the right to review all Israeli arms sales whether or not they involve U.S.-developed technology.

Israeli officials fear the United States wants to freeze out Israeli competition in lucrative international arms markets.

Congressman to colleagues: Fight anti-Semitism

A U.S. lawmaker called on colleagues to speak out against anti-Semitism on visits abroad.

In a letter sent to congressional representatives Friday, Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) said that visits abroad provide lawmakers with a unique opportunity to help combat rising international anti-Semitism. “As members of Congress, we have an obligation to speak out against all forms of discrimination, racism, or intolerance,” he wrote. “Please urge parliamentarians to take action and do as our Congress has done — to use their bully pulpit and find opportunities to speak out against anti-Semitism, hold hearings and pass resolutions and develop national plans to combat it.”

Lantos, the sole Holocaust survivor in Congress, co-chairs the Congressional Task Force Against Anti-Semitism.

Hezbollah: No SLA amnesty

Hezbollah opposes an amnesty for Christian allies of Israel.
Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, the top Maronite cleric in Lebanon, proposed an amnesty this week for members of the South Lebanese Army who fled to Israel with their families in 2000 as Israel withdrew from its security zone in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese government is seeking to reconcile a number of groups now that Syria has ended its three-decade occupation.

Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, who heads the Hezbollah terrorist group, said Friday that such an amnesty would be a “big insult” and would pose a security risk. Of the 7,000 SLA men and family members who left, 4,000 already have returned. Among those, 3,000 have been handed prison sentences ranging from a few months to 25 years for their collaboration with Israel, and 80 have been sentenced to death in absentia.

Sfeir said an amnesty was appropriate considering the release this week from prison of Samir Geagea, an anti-Syrian leader involved in some of the country’s worst massacres.

Israel checking Ivory Coast arms sales

Israel said it’s cooperating fully with a U.N. investigation into suspected arms sales to the Ivory Coast.
Officials from Israel’s Foreign and Defense Ministries met recently with a delegation of U.N. experts to investigate claims that Israeli firms have sold arms to the embargoed country, Ha’aretz reported Friday. Sources in the Foreign Ministry noted that Israel’s willingness to cooperate proves it “has nothing to hide” and is complying with last year’s Security Council embargo, the newspaper said.

At the same time, the sources also noted that “Israel cannot control every Israeli businessman who travels the world and sells arms that are not Israeli-produced,” or are not from Israeli army surplus.

http://jta.org/

posted by Somebody @ 10:30 PM Permanent Link 0 comments

News for 07-28-05

posted by Somebody @ 6:19 AM Permanent Link 0 comments

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Some headlines and summaries from JTA

Arms and the allies

The United States reportedly is demanding that Israel’s defense minister apologize in writing for a dispute over arms exports.

Shaul Mofaz was expected to fly to Washington last week to sign an accord with the Pentagon that would clarify terms for Israeli weapons sales to China and India, but called off the trip after American officials made the demand for an apology, Ha’aretz reported Wednesday. According to the report, Israel had been willing to submit to exacting Pentagon restrictions on its exports, but the personal spat has put the whole accord in question. A spokesman at the Israeli Embassy in Washington said, “Consultations on this issue with the administration continue.”

The United States has accused Israel of endangering an Asian ally, Taiwan, by selling advanced combat drones to China. Jerusalem denies wrongdoing but reshuffled top defense officials soon after receiving the U.S. complaints. Israel also fears that U.S. complaints may be motivated in part by a desire to freeze out Israeli competition for lucrative international contracts.

On Wednesday, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack would say only that the sides “have several technical matters that they have to resolve still.”

House passes CAFTA

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which Central American Jews supported but which had divided U.S. Jewish groups.

The act passed 217-215 late Wednesday after heavy administration lobbying in favor. It was passed by the Senate and now goes to President Bush, who has said he will sign it. Jews from the six nations involved backed their governments in lobbying for the agreement, which eliminates import dues and quotas, as did the American Jewish Committee, which has a Latin American institute.

The American Jewish World Service, which strongly opposed the bill, said the agreement is a disaster that ignores the needs of workers in the region.

Israeli named to U.N. post

An Israeli was named deputy chairman of the U.N. Disarmament Commission.
The Foreign Ministry’s Meir Itzchaki will hold the post, the Jerusalem Post reported. The commission is a subcommittee of the U.N. General Assembly that serves as an advisory body to the assembly on nuclear and conventional arms.

http://jta.org/

posted by Somebody @ 10:30 PM Permanent Link 0 comments

News for 07-27-05

07-27-05 - Israeli Troops Kill Palestinian Youth When a group of youths began throwing stones at the soldiers from a nearby building, troops opened fire, hitting an 18-year-old stone-thrower in the head

07-27-05 - Israeli fire wounds Palestinian passenger in central Gaza Israeli troops stationed at a main roadblock in the central Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian traffic and seriously wounded a Palestinian passenger

07-27-05 - Israel limits Palestinian right to sue for damages during intifada The amendments, which will be enacted retroactively from September 2000 when the intifada started, effectively block Palestinians from submitting damage claims against the state of Israel.

07-27-05 - Protestant denomination calls on Israel to tear down its wall A major Protestant denomination demanded Israel tear down the security barrier it has built along the West Bank and pay reparations to Palestinians harmed by it, a vote that provoked criticism by Jewish leaders.

07-27-05 - Palestinian leader: Gaza is first step

07-27-05 - U.S. Near Proposing New Aid for Gaza Water

07-27-05 - U.S.-Israel tensions rise over arms sale --report Haaretz said that since the restrictions were applied, Israel had not complied with a U.S. demand to ensure they did not go against U.S. policy.

07-27-05 - ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ADOPTS 16 TEXTS ON COORDINATION, REGIONAL COOPERATION, ECONOMIC QUESTIONS, HUMAN RIGHTS

07-27-05 - Campaign Tries to Stop U.S. Aid to PA

07-27-05 - If Sharon only wants Gaza pullout, he doesn't want peace: Abbas

07-27-05 - Israel minister scraps US trip designed to end China row

07-27-05 - Palestinians plan to refresh economy in Gaza

07-27-05 - Israeli settlers attack Mawasi residents

07-27-05 - Israeli armored vehicles raids Jenin

07-27-05 - Army annexes lands near Homesh settlement

07-27-05 - U.S.-Israel crisis deepens over defense exports to China The U.S. wants to see Knesset legislation enacted within 18 months tightening oversight of military exports, and is demanding a memorandum of understanding be signed. The U.S. also wants a written apology from Israel and Mofaz. Opposition in Israel is mounting against the signing of such a memorandum.

07-27-05 - Israeli overflights have yet to show up on U.S. radar

07-27-05 - France seeks a better image in Israel The French government has budgeted 1 million Euros for a fund to improve France's image in Israel.

07-27-05 - Israel row over Sharon curse film The ceremony was performed by far-right extremists in the months before the former prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, was assassinated in November 1995.

07-27-05 - Police to cage resistant Jewish settlers Israeli police have been practising using large wooden cages to remove Jewish settlers who could position themselves on the roofs of their houses. The security forces plan to use cranes to lower the cages into position before forcibly removing any settler who resists

07-27-05 - FBI seeks to investigate Israeli envoy in Pentagon spy case The Federal Bureau of Investigation is demanding that Naor Gilon, head of the political department at the Israeli embassy in Washington, be interrogated in connection to the Pentagon spy case.

07-27-05 - Israel should leave Philadelphi route: Israeli PM

07-27-05 - Israel Downplays Snub in Iraqi Constitution

07-27-05 - PA confident of securing Gaza

07-27-05 - Khalifa's support for Palestine lauded

07-27-05 - J'lem Summit heads to Seoul A five point draft proposed by organizers of the Asian summit calls on the respective members to urge their governments to move their embassies to Jerusalem, not to vote against Israel at the United Nations, to scrutinize the financial aid their countries are providing to the Palestinian Authority

07-27-05 - Israel Assists U.S. Forces, Shares Lessons-Learned Fighting Terrorists Army and Marine Corps forces that battled terrorist insurgents in the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Mosul employed urban warfare tactics gleaned from the combat experience of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). In the last two years, hundreds of U.S. military personnel have trained in the Negev desert at Israel?s Adam counter insurgency urban warfare training facility And then we wonder why we have a bit of an insurgency problem over there.

07-27-05 - Reform Jewish Movement Urges President Bush to Grant Supplemental Aid to Israel

07-27-05 - Settlers plan to tie down evacuators

07-27-05 - Illinois Candidate-Columnist/Radio Talk Show Host Andy Martin Encourages Worldwide Boycott of Intel Products, Says 'Stop Letting Israel Take Illinois' Jobs' Illinois candidate-columnist/radio talk show host Andy Martin will hold a New York news conference Friday, July 29, 2005 to announce a worldwide boycott of Intel products. The Intel boycott comes in retaliation for Intel's plans to build a $4 billion plant in Israel on disputed Palestinian land.

07-27-05 - Soldier jailed for selling M-16 Soldier steals rifle from base, sells it to Palestinian for NIS 7,000 (USD 1,556); judge gives soldier four years in prison

07-27-05 - Jordanian party wants end to peace agreement with Israel

07-27-05 - PLC passes amended basic law

07-27-05 - Sowing 'Seeds Of Peace'

posted by Somebody @ 6:04 PM Permanent Link 0 comments

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

News for 07-26-05

07-26-05 - Child killed by settlers? car in Hebron

07-26-05 - Economic woes stir unease in Gaza ahead of pullout

07-26-05 - Jerusalem OKs Neighborhood Construction Israeli human rights activist Danny Seidemann said Sharon's goal is to strengthen the hold on Jerusalem while the world's attention is focused on his upcoming Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip

07-26-05 - Hamas to ease off attacks in Gaza after pullout: Shin Beth

07-26-05 - Dealing with the core of Mideast terror It's not our values and way of life causing terrorism; it's our policy of support for Israel. Let there be no doubt: The United States will never abandon Israel. But to effectively support Israel, the United States needs to revert to its policy of the honest broker in the Mideast.

07-26-05 - Bush wants another $50 million for Palestinians

07-26-05 - Resident injured, arrested in Hebron

07-26-05 - Polls: Support up for disengagement A series of polls released Tuesday by The Israel Project show that 89 percent of educated, well-off Americans are in favor of Israel?s upcoming withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank, and 88 percent favor the establishment of a Palestinian state under present conditions.

07-26-05 - Sharon: No summit until after road map "There will be no international summit until after the first stage of the road map is completed and no one knows when that will be ? it could take 15 years,"

07-26-05 - Weak Palestinian forces may hurt Gaza pullout-report The survey by a Washington-based think tank advising U.S. security coordinator Lt.-Gen. William Ward said Palestinian security services were over-staffed, poorly armed and undermined by corruption and rivalry between security ch

07-26-05 - Jewish homes planned for Jerusalem's Arab quarter

07-26-05 - 36,000 Trees Set Ablaze by Occupation Forces in Qaffin and Akkaba

07-26-05 - The E1 lie In practice, a Palestinian state with a continuous territorial area is no longer possible.

07-26-05 - Palestinian forces 'in disarray' It says the Palestinian forces are caught between far better equipped Palestinian militant groups on the one side and the Israeli army on the other.

07-26-05 - Palestinian Children: Surviving the Present, Facing the Future

07-26-05 - IDF likely to leave Philadelphi during or after pullout Israel is expected to sign an agreement with Egypt next week regarding an IDF withdrawal from the Philadelphi route in the southern Gaza Strip during or after disengagement

07-26-05 - Jewish extremists put ancient death curse on Sharon

07-26-05 - Britain, Israel in anti-terror talks after London bombings Shalom said the time had come for the European Union, of which Britain currently holds the rotating presidency, to add Palestinian militant group Hamas to its blacklist of terrorist organisations

07-26-05 - Vatican clash with Israel poses diplomatic challenge for new pope "It is surprising that someone has wanted to willingly deform the intentions of the Holy Father," said Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls in an unusually prompt retort. He said Benedict XVI and Church hierarchy had made "numerous" condemnations of "all forms of terrorism, wherever it comes from and whoever it is against."

07-26-05 - War on Terror Should Focus at Source "U.S. Policy in the Middle East has been the greatest recruiting tool that the terrorists could possibly have. Its lopsided support of Israel is the main reason we have so many problems we have today."

07-26-05 - Sharon's Paris trip marks end to Franco-Israeli tension Several hundred demonstrators rallied in central Paris late Tuesday to protest at Israel's policies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

07-26-05 - Israeli FM lashes out at London mayor's sympathy for suicide bombers

07-26-05 - Church group 'apreciates' Gaza exit The letter also appealed to Sharon ?to stop expanding settlements and building the separation barrier on land in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem.?

07-26-05 - Israel's security service may put far-right leaders in administrative detention

07-26-05 - After Seven Years, Arab Bedouin Family Allowed to Build Home on their Own Land in the Galilee

07-26-05 - Israel advocacy goes hi-tech When day's old propaganda won't do, and you must do the Hasbara, try out the new handy dandy toolbar for Zionists on the go.

07-26-05 - French FM to visit Middle East region

07-26-05 - House demolished in Jerusalem, allegedly illegal built

07-26-05 - 'Dahlan obstructs fight against terror'

07-26-05 - U.N. official urged to condemn colleague Jean Ziegler, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, reportedly referred to the Gaza Strip as an ?immense concentration camp?

07-26-05 - Moussa: 'Comprehensive' approach needed "There is a huge, strong, solid opposition to the policies of the United States, especially when it comes to the Middle East and the bias in its policy between -- towards Israel, at the expense of the other side. But this is a policy that could change and that should change."

07-26-05 - Soccer for peace in Germany Bayern Munich's under-17 team faced an Israeli-Palestinian group Monday in Munich in an event described as a joyful celebration of peaceful relations between Israelis and Palestinians. Even the outcome didn't dampen the participants' enthusiasm

posted by Somebody @ 6:20 AM Permanent Link 0 comments

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Some headlines and summaries from JTA

Polls: Support up for disengagement

A vast majority of American opinion elites and Europeans support Israel’s upcoming Gaza withdrawal, according to new polls.

A series of polls released Tuesday by The Israel Project show that 89 percent of educated, well-off Americans are in favor of Israel’s upcoming withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank, and 88 percent favor the establishment of a Palestinian state under present conditions. When asked about their views regarding Israel’s plans to “close settlements and withdraw from Gaza and parts of the West Bank,” 56 percent of the 500 U.S. respondents said they strongly support the move and 33 percent said they somewhat support it, as opposed to 5 percent who oppose the plan.

In France and the United Kingdom, the planned disengagement was cited as the factor that most inspired favorable views of Israel. The disengagement will cause “a profound paradigm shift in how Europeans look at Israel,” Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president of The Israel Project, told JTA on Tuesday. “This is tremendously positive news for Israel and for the Jews who live in Europe, because there’s a close link between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.” The polls, conducted by Stanley Greenberg, also showed a marked drop since 2002 in the number of Europeans saying their governments should favor the Palestinians.

U.N. official urged to condemn colleague

The Anti-Defamation League asked the U.N. human rights commissioner to condemn a colleague’s statements against Israel.

Speaking to a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Geneva on July 5, Jean Ziegler, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, reportedly referred to the Gaza Strip as an “immense concentration camp” and to Israeli soldiers as its guards, adding that only an unconditional withdrawal of “colonists” from the West Bank would bring peace and justice. The ADL’s national director, Abraham Foxman, said Monday that he is disappointed by the response to the incident from Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, suggesting that Arbour’s letter last Friday distancing herself from Ziegler’s remarks was not enough.

“Given her esteemed reputation and the respect she deservedly enjoys within the human-rights community, we strongly believe that a public statement from Ms. Arbour making clear that Mr. Ziegler’s vicious statements about the State of Israel severely compromise his post, would encourage him to choose the honorable option, and resign,” Foxman said..

Church group ‘appreciates’ Gaza exit

A liberal U.S. church coalition that in the past has criticized Israel expressed appreciation for its planned Gaza withdrawal and compassion for settlers.

Churches for Middle East Peace, comprising 21 Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches, wrote Monday to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that it “appreciates your decision to withdraw Israeli settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank. We feel compassion for the people who must move from their homes and for the whole of Israeli society during this difficult time that has generated many strong feelings.”

The letter also appealed to Sharon “to stop expanding settlements and building the separation barrier on land in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem.”

Bush wants another $50 million for Palestinians

The Bush administration is seeking another $50 million in assistance to the Palestinians.

David Welch, the top State Department envoy to the region, told the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday that the money is needed for water infrastructure in the wake of Israel’s planned departure next month from the Gaza Strip and a portion of the West Bank. Welch said the Bush administration wants Congress’ approval to draw the $50 million from funds approved in 1999 but yet to be disbursed because of the Palestinian Authority’s past corruption and ties to terrorism.

The Bush administration has separately sought a total of $350 million for the Palestinians, but Congress approved only $300 million, diverting $50 million of that money to Israel to build transit stations. In other testimony Tuesday, Gen. William Ward, the top U.S. security envoy to the region, said there is increased Palestinian-Israeli security cooperation, and praised Israel for its restraint following recent terrorist attacks.

James Wolfensohn, the envoy of the “Quartet” — the group comprised of the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia that is guiding the peace process — said the Palestinians need greater freedom of movement.

http://jta.org/

posted by Somebody @ 10:09 PM Permanent Link 0 comments

Dealing with the core of Mideast terror

Posted on Sat, Jul. 23, 2005

Dealing with the core of Mideast terror

By ERNEST F. HOLLINGS

Guest columnist

The children's program "Big John and Sparky" constantly admonished, "All the way through life, make this your goal: Keep your eye on the doughnut and not the hole." When it comes to terrorism, our leaders insist on keeping their eyes on the hole.

After the July 7 London bombing, both President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed "our determination to defend our values and our way of life." Yet when a Senate delegation last year called on King Abdullah of Jordan, he counseled, "to stop terrorism the U.S. has to settle the conflict of Israel and Palestine." Again to the same delegation, the prime minister of Kuwait ended the conference warning that "the U.S. must settle the conflict of Israel and Palestine." And President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan ended an hour-long conference by stating to the delegation: "Settle the Israel/Palestine conflict and 85 percent of terrorism in the world will disappear."

It's not our values and way of life causing terrorism; it's our policy of support for Israel. Let there be no doubt: The United States will never abandon Israel. But to effectively support Israel, the United States needs to revert to its policy of the honest broker in the Mideast.

We maintained this policy with successes from Menachem Begin to Yitzhak Rabin - and almost Ehud Barak. Israeli leaders realized that Israel is an island of freedom in a sea of Islamic hostility. Survival depends upon the peoples learning to live together rather than to kill together. But Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Bush changed signals. Sharon, the architect of settlement policy, ignored the agreement to negotiate borders based on the 1967 cease-fire. Sharon is always confident of the military solution.

In the Six-Day War, Maj. Sharon reported to Prime Minister Levi Eshkol: "The army is ready . . . to wipe out the Egyptian army. A generation will pass before Egypt threatens us again." Eshkol replied: "Nothing will be settled by a military victory. The Arabs will still be here."

Sharon thought overwhelming retaliation would stop terrorism. And Bush let Sharon run free. Now the United States is no longer looked upon as an honest broker.

We've been in Iraq now for two years. If the United States stays too long, we will be looked upon as an occupier. Occupation causes resentment. Israel's occupation of Palestine for 38 years not only causes resentment, it creates terrorism. Being dependent on your adversary for light, water and jobs for 38 years breeds resentment, then terrorism. Everybody with any get-up-and-go has got up and gone. Those left are embittered.

When one has no uniform, no army and no weapons, attacks upon one with tanks and helicopter gunships cause terrorism. One only has to watch Palestinian youngsters throwing rocks at the helicopters. Bulldozing homes causes terrorism. Bulldoze my Daddy's home and you can count on having created me a terrorist. I'll get you back wherever and whenever the opportunity presents itself.

And yes, blowing myself up to do it is not out of the question. Building walls causes terrorism. Preventing me from working for a living causes terrorism. Invading Iraq without cause causes terrorism.

We'll never win the war on terror without a better understanding of Islamic culture. In the Arab world, there's one thing stronger than democracy - that's religion. We liberated Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia years ago, and they have yet to opt for democracy. We liberated Kuwait 14 years ago, and it has yet to opt for democracy. Ayatollahs are the best politicians. The only reason we had an election in Iraq is that Ayatollah al-Sistani told them to vote. The Kurds in the north voted for autonomy - keeping their own army, paying no taxes to Baghdad. The best we can hope for is an Islamic democracy like Iran.

Send a team of negotiators like former President Clinton and Dennis Ross to Tel Aviv to negotiate. An international peacekeeping force would be better than a wall. Support Sharon in the withdrawal from Gaza. Negotiate the West Bank boundary. Then oversee the G-8's giving $3 billion to build a Palestinian state.

Finally, spread democracy through example rather than invasion. No more "with us or against us" and "bring 'em on" childishness. The terrorism war will be won by mature diplomacy supported by economic and military measures. But mostly diplomacy.

Mr. Hollings retired from the U.S. Senate in January.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/state/news/opinion/12217382.htm

posted by Somebody @ 9:08 PM Permanent Link 0 comments

News for 07-25-05

07-25-05 - Knesset panel approves amendments limiting Palestinian right to sue state for damages The government-proposed amendment, which would be retroactively enacted for incidents dating from July 2000, effectively blocks Palestinians from submitting damage claims against the State of Israel.

07-25-05 - Israeli Officials Want to Hasten Pullout

07-25-05 - Israeli High Court denies Palestinian detainee access to lawyer

07-25-05 - JNF to commemorate former West Bank Palestinian villages

07-25-05 - Safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank is vital

07-25-05 - Israeli forces take pictures of naked Palestinian minors

07-25-05 - Hundreds of Palestinians stranded at Gaza checkpoints

07-25-05 - Ricky Martin Seeks End to Arab Stereotypes

07-25-05 - Israel Angry at Pope Over Terror Comments

07-25-05 - Visiting Academic Discusses "Palestinian Girls Facing the Wall"

07-25-05 - Experts: U.S. needs deeper role in Gaza

07-25-05 - Dynamic Art Exhibit Reflects Palestinians? Struggle, Love for Their Homeland

07-25-05 - Abbas relocates to Gaza until completion of Israeli pullout

07-25-05 - Arab League head backs disputed UN terror pact plan "Resisting occupation is a different issue altogether."

07-25-05 - London bombings lead to explosion of anti-Muslim bigotry

07-25-05 - Sharon reiterates need for harsh response to terror during and after disengagement

07-25-05 - From London to Jerusalem Another scathing assault on the Brits

07-25-05 - Exhibiting Pride: Arab American National Museum Opens in Dearborn

07-25-05 - Vatican criticises Israel over pope's anti-terror message The Vatican rejected Israeli attempts to "willingly deform" a condemnation of terrorism by Pope Benedict XVI that failed to include Israel in a list of countries targeted by extremists, spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said

07-25-05 - Fourth Palestine Human Development Report released

07-25-05 - Hamas launches campaign for release of Palestinian prisoners

07-25-05 - Tension high at Lebanese refugee camp after security increase

07-25-05 - Israel accused of prison neglect

07-25-05 - AIPAC/Likudnik Larry Franklin Arrested for Espionage on Behalf of Israel

07-25-05 - Church Head: Divestment is not Anti-Semitic

07-25-05 - We want to live like everybody

07-25-05 - Nablus resists

07-25-05 - Mofaz: Cancel cabinet votes scheduled before each pullout phase

07-25-05 - Knesset to decide on Wednesday whether to block Palestinian compensation suits

07-25-05 - Syria FM calls for Palestinian national unity

07-25-05 - "My Name is Rachel Corrie"

07-25-05 - Whether Israel Likes It or Not, Palestinians May Now Have a True Multi-Party System Palestinians soon may have a viable multi-party system?and the ?only democracy in the Middle East? doesn?t like it at all. In fact, Israel probably will do all it can to prevent democratic elections from succeeding in the Palestinian territories it occupies.

07-25-05 - Sharon accused of halting E-1 plans

07-25-05 - Israelis' $7.4bn buy creates world's biggest generic drug firm

posted by Somebody @ 12:03 AM Permanent Link 0 comments

Monday, July 25, 2005

News for 07-24-05

07-24-05 - Kidnapped US citizen released in Rafah

07-24-05 - UAE offers to build new town on site of Gaza settlements UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan has offered 100 million dollars to build a new town for more than 30,000 Palestinians on the site of the Gaza Strip settlements which Israel is to demolish

07-24-05 - Gaza Pullout Uncoordinated; Deadline Looms Less than a month before Israel begins pulling out of Gaza, almost every major issue about the territory's future remains undecided

07-24-05 - Is the writing on the wall?

07-24-05 - Militants resume rocket attacks on Gaza settlements

07-24-05 - Sharon vows harsh response to Gaza attacks condemned by Abbas

07-24-05 - Rice promises to help Palestinians in getting Israeli information on Gaza pullout

07-24-05 - Israeli group marches to support Gaza pullout "It is high time Israelis realize that leaving Gaza has to be just the first step toward an accord with the Palestinians and realizing our dream of being a democratic Jewish homeland," organizer Ami Ayalon, a former security chief, told Reuters

07-24-05 - PALESTINIAN SEEKS A LAND OF FREEDOM

07-24-05 - Israeli plane fires missiles at Palestinian militants in Gaza

07-24-05 - Rice Warns Against Walled Gaza Enclave Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Israel that Palestinians must be able to move freely between the separate territories they will eventually hold

07-24-05 - Israel is still blocking the road to peace

07-24-05 - Egyptian TV 'experts' blame Israel

07-24-05 - Settlers to fight Israeli army tooth-and-nail in W.Bank Many are part of what has become known as the "hilltop youth", a young and more militant generation of Jewish settlers from the West Bank who are not averse to beating up Palestinian farmers, uprooting their olive trees and poisoning their flocks

07-24-05 - Suicide Bombings Bring Urgency to Police in U.S. Israelis training our police officers is ironic given that the reason we were attacked in the first place is because of our unwavering support of that nation.

07-24-05 - Israel not in al Qaeda's sights, for now -official

07-24-05 - 43% of Israelis fear terrorism will rise after disengagement 57% of the public believe that Israel should never have built the settlements in the Gaza Strip, compared with 37% who believe that they should have been built,

07-24-05 - Palestinian authority prepares to meet traffic demand after Gaza withdrawal

07-24-05 - US may sell up to $600 million to Israeli Air Force, after Israel-US agreement on China

07-24-05 - Jihad: Sunday attack in revenge for Israeli aggressions A senior official of the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) announced on Sunday that an earlier attack at the Kissofim crossroad in central Gaza Strip which killed four Israelis was to avenge Israeli aggressions against the Palestinians

07-24-05 - Karzai mulls future diplomatic ties with Israel

posted by Somebody @ 1:34 AM Permanent Link 0 comments

Sunday, July 24, 2005

News for 07-23-05

07-23-05 - Palestinian gunmen kill two in Gaza-military source

07-23-05 - Rice concerned a weakened Abbas could lose grip on Gaza

07-23-05 - Rice says Israel must allow freedom for Gaza Strip "When the Israelis withdraw from Gaza, it cannot be sealed or isolated ... with the Palestinian people closed in after the withdrawal," "We are committed to connectivity between Gaza and the West Bank and we are committed to openness and freedom of movement for the Palestinian people,"

07-23-05 - Rice reports progress on Gaza pullout but Palestinians wary 24 days before the landmark pullout of Israeli troops and settlers is due to begin, Palestinians complained they still had no answers on basic issues such as border controls and freedom of movement in Gaza

07-23-05 - Israeli court sentences two children to harsh terms

07-23-05 - Palestinian Militant Clamp Down Praised

07-23-05 - Sharon: Deal on Egyptian troop deployment along border to be made this week

07-23-05 - $100,000 food aid leaves for Palestine

07-23-05 - P.A police arrest armed Israelis in Beit Jala When the police stopped the car, they found six young Israeli men and women armed with light weapons and wearing civilian clothes.

07-23-05 - Iraqi citizenship: Anyone but Israelis

07-23-05 - Egypt blasts draw condemnation from bomb-weary Mideast

07-23-05 - Israeli troops ready to open fire on settlers

07-23-05 - Syria asks UN Security Council to force Israel to abide by UN resolutions

07-23-05 - British report on Israeli violations of human rights

07-23-05 - 97 million to expand settlements in the Jordan Valley

07-23-05 - Visit by refugee camp children

07-23-05 - Zionist Organization of America: We Helped Initiate, Promote and Pass New Restrictions on US Aid to Palestinians

07-23-05 - Palestinian factions condemn Egypt bombing attacks

07-23-05 - Profit from the U.S. shift on Palestine increasing public statements from high-ranking former U.S. government officials and members of Congress that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is critical to U.S. national interests - something unheard of in the past

07-23-05 - Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq Turn It Incendiary

07-23-05 - Truck inferno fuels talk of sabotage against Spielberg film In recent weeks, Malta has been bedecked in Israeli flags, Italian signposts and Spanish street names to suit Spielberg's requirements.

posted by Somebody @ 12:23 AM Permanent Link 0 comments

Saturday, July 23, 2005

News for 07-22-05

07-22-05 - Palestinian killed in West Bank shootout-medics

07-22-05 - Youth killed in Hebron

07-22-05 - Masked fury at West Bank barrier protest Protestors at a rally against Israel's West Bank barrier donned masks of US President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, complete with orange blindfolds in a parody of the campaign against the pullout from the Gaza Strip.

07-22-05 - UN CEDAW Committee Concludes 2005 Session "We wish that occupation to end, and for Israel to return to the 1967 borders, as the UN Resolution demands. The Israeli government has to ensure the rights of women in those territories,"

07-22-05 - Security Council rejects fence debate U.S., Britain, Russia, France knock back Palestinian request to debate West Bank security fence, say disengagement more important; council calls on Palestinians to fight terror

07-22-05 - Where Homeland Means Humiliation

07-22-05 - Rice and Sharon discuss Israel's Gaza pullout In the latest clash, Israeli troops killed an 18-year-old Palestinian bystander in a shootout with a gunman in the West Bank city of Hebron

07-22-05 - Rice to Sharon: Back to ?road map? after pullout

07-22-05 - Abbas says left in dark on Israel's plans for disengagement "I will tell her, 'Dr. Rice, we need answers from the Israelis. Is Gaza going to be turned into a large prison? The Israelis are not cooperating',"

07-22-05 - Implementation not Impunity: International Humanitarian Law still not being applied to the Occupied Palestinian Territory

07-22-05 - US appeals court maintains life term for Israeli spy A US appeals court refused to reduce a life jail term ordered against Jonathan Pollard, a former Defense Department employee, who admitted spying for Israel

07-22-05 - Sharon: Ariel to ?expand?

07-22-05 - Transit workers hire Israeli expert

07-22-05 - Spy loses appeal in US His case, which has contributed to tensions between the US and Israel, has been taken up by Jewish groups in the US, and the Israeli government has lobbied the White House to release him.

07-22-05 - Egypt to supply Palestinians with gas Egypt and the Palestinian Authority have signed an agreement to study building a pipeline to supply Palestinians with natural gas

07-22-05 - Army beefs up security at Ain al-Hilweh

07-22-05 - US Organization Calls for Solidarity with Palestinian People

07-22-05 - Hamas rebukes Dahlan for coup comment in Haaretz interview

07-22-05 - Israel re-operates the X-Ray search machine at the Rafah Crossing

07-22-05 - Another day of protest against the Wall

07-22-05 - Councillor detained for six hours
A CHESTER councillor was held by Israeli Secret Service officials on a visit to Palestine to sign a friendship pact.

07-22-05 - The dispossessed await day of joy

posted by Somebody @ 11:34 AM Permanent Link 0 comments

Friday, July 22, 2005

Some headlines and summaries from JTA

Rice to Sharon: Back to ‘road map’ after pullout

Condoleezza Rice told Ariel Sharon that the upcoming Gaza withdrawal must be followed by the next phase in the “road map” peace plan.
The U.S. secretary of state and the Israeli prime minister met Friday at Sharon’s Negev desert ranch. Israel wants to assess Palestinian efforts to dismantle terrorist groups in the wake of Israel’s withdrawal next month from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank before it recommits to the U.S.-led peace plan.

Rice agreed that dismantling terrorist groups — part of the first stage of the road map — should be a priority, but told Sharon that P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas needs support, Ha’aretz reported. The road map also requires Israel to freeze settlement activity. Rice also urged Israel to coordinate with the Palestinians ahead of the Israeli withdrawal. Rice said that after the pullout, the United States and Russia plan to convene a regional conference, partly to establish ties between Israel and Arab states, the paper said.

Sharon: Ariel to ‘expand’

Ariel Sharon said he wants to expand a West Bank settlement.
During a tour of the settlement of Ariel on Thursday, the Israeli prime minister said he wants to ensure that the small city “will be part of the State of Israel forever.”

U.S. officials and Palestinian leaders have expressed opposition to expansion of settlements in the West Bank, but Israel has argued that it can build in certain settlements, such as Ariel, that it plans to keep in any peace deal. Sharon may gain support from settler groups for expressing support for Ariel ahead of Israel’s planned withdrawal next month from settlements in the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank.

Transit workers hire Israeli expert

New York’s transit workers union hired an Israeli security expert because, it said, the Metropolitan Transit Authority wasn’t doing enough to prevent terrorist attacks.
Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union hired Rafi Ron, CEO of New Age Security Solutions and a former security chief at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, to run eight-hour seminars starting this Sunday. Roger Toussaint, the local president, said the decision came because of the MTA’s alleged inaction in the wake of recent terrorist attacks on the London transit system.

“Their view of deterrence stops at bomb-sniffing dogs and well-armed cops,” Toussaint said of the MTA. “Transit has fallen down on the job.” MTA spokesmen called it a publicity stunt, saying the authority had been running a two-hour course on recognizing suspicious behavior and suspicious objects since January 2002.

JTA.org

Central American Jews lead way
as countries consider trade pact
By Brian Harris
July 21, 2005

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, July 21 (JTA) — Members of Central America’s small Jewish communities have played an uncommonly pivotal role in pushing for the approval of the United States-Central America Free Trade Agreement.
With the U.S. Congress on the verge of giving final approval to CAFTA, American Jewish groups that have weighed in on the issue are divided. But in Central America, the final push to make the pact a reality highlights the prominence of individual Jews in lobbying for the deal.

The agreement would eliminate import duties and quotas on the vast majority of goods that Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica trade in. The deal also includes the Dominican Republic,...

http://jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=15650&intcategoryid=2

posted by Somebody @ 9:37 PM Permanent Link 0 comments

News for 07-21-05

07-21-05 - Rocket misfire kills Gaza boy

07-21-05 - Urgent Action: Israeli Knesset set to vote on law to deny Palestinians compensation

07-21-05 - Israeli soldier wounded in Palestinian mortar attack

07-21-05 - Soldiers abuse taxi drvier, urinate on him

07-21-05 - Police probe Palestinians in stabbing of boy Palestinian security forces said yesterday they were investigating the possibility that Palestinians stabbed a 12-year-old boy to death in the West Bank, after earlier saying witnesses had blamed Jewish settlers.

07-21-05 - Trouble brews over homes at ancient Jerusalem site Palestinians say they are worried that there will be a surge of demolitions in Jerusalem next month while local and international attention is focused on Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip and a small corner of the West Bank

07-21-05 - Arab countries seek new UN push on Israeli barrier

07-21-05 - FEATURE-Disorder tempers dreams of new Gaza after Israelis go

07-21-05 - UN Security Council debates Middle East, Israeli barrier Speaking on behalf of the European Union, British UN ambassador Sir Emyr Jones Parry demanded that "Israel stops and reverses the construction of the barrier inside the occupied Palestinian territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, which is in contradiction to the relevant provisions of international law."

07-21-05 - Israel wants U.S. to help with Arab ties Israel expects the United States to broker new diplomatic relations with Arab countries in the wake of its pullout from the Gaza Strip. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom greeted Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. secretary of state, on Thursday on her third visit to Jerusalem this year.

07-21-05 - Bush opposes pro-Israel House initiatives A "statement of administration policy" issued Wednesday came too late to stop the U.S. House of Representatives' passage of a State Department authorization bill. Among the provisions the administration opposed were further restrictions on direct aid to the Palestinian Authority; allowing applicants born in Jerusalem to list "Jerusalem, Israel" as their birthplace on their passports; and the transfer of $240 million in assistance to Egypt from military to economic aid

07-21-05 - Senate vote could hurt aid The Senate passed a provision in the foreign-aid bill that could cut aid to Israel and other countries that do not extradite people charged with crimes in the United States.

07-21-05 - Biden: Fund P.A. police A senior Senate Democrat called on the Bush administration to immediately fund the re-equipping of the Palestinian Authority police.

07-21-05 - Congress restricts P.A. aid The amendment that Rep. Shelley Berkeley (D-Nev.) proposed Wednesday to the State Department authorization bill would break up funding to the Palestinian Authority on a quarterly rather than annual basis, allowing Congress to withhold money if the Palestinian Authority fails to account for how the money is spent.

07-21-05 - U.S. to help Israel secure water The agreement was signed by Israel?s water commissioner, Shimon Tal, and Judith Ayers, the assistant administrator for international affairs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

07-21-05 - Rice to press Sharon on Gaza pullout coordination Israeli media reported that Rice had proposed a summit to bring together Israel and Arab countries after the pullout. But neither U.S. nor Israeli officials could confirm the reports

07-21-05 - Israel to grab more land in Hebron Israeli authorities on Wednesday issued two military orders grabbing hundreds of dunams of farmlands near the settlements of Kiryat Arba? and Kharseena, east of Hebron, in order to construct the Separation Wall in the area

07-21-05 - Israel plans to renew contacts with PNA over pullout

07-21-05 - PLC to ratify basic law amendments on Tuesday

07-21-05 - Hamas urges PNA to end violent means in preventing rocket attacks

07-21-05 - US plans int'l summit after Gaza pullout The main aim of the conference would be to accelerate the renewal of contacts between Israel, North African states and the Gulf region, Rice told Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom at ameeting in Jerusalem.

07-21-05 - 120 Supporters in the Caravan for Justice in Palestine have been Forcefully Deported from the Allenby Bridge and sent back to Jordan

07-21-05 - Khoury says Kassir received death threats

07-21-05 - Gaza withdrawal 'may start early'

07-21-05 - Sharon woos rightists In interview with French newspaper, prime minister speaks of plans to boost West Bank settlements, says he does not intend to discuss partition of Jerusalem; Sharon also calls on international community to impose sanctions on Iran

07-21-05 - Laying Bare The Plight Of 'Invisible' Israeli Arabs

07-21-05 - Gingrich Calls for Leadership by Congress and America's Democratic Allies to Reform United Nations He pointed to the recent UNESCO Meeting in Paris organized by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People as an example of this mistreatment. "A genuine commitment to reform would require abolishing this sort of U.N. machinery whose only purpose is to demonize Israel. The U.S. taxpayer should not be subsidizing a one sided anti-Semitic assault on the survival of the only true democracy in the region other than Turkey."

07-21-05 - Gandhi's grandson speaks on nonviolence, peace

07-21-05 - Church takes time on Palestine policy

07-21-05 - Students from Israel, Palestine areas to visit Hiroshima, Nagasaki

07-21-05 - Poll: Most say it was mistake to set up Gaza settlements the majority of Israelis believe the settlements in the Gaza strip should never have been created, and that they have a negative effect on the state of Israel's security.

07-21-05 - Summer program offers students a different view of Palestinian life Most days, Lee Gargagliano of Brooklyn hitchhikes and then takes the bus from his hosts' home in a small village outside Beit Sahour to Bethlehem, where he volunteers at an orphanage

07-21-05 - 250 arrested as three-day Gaza settler protest ends

07-21-05 - Theater thrives in Gaza, despite restrictions An inspirational success in the field of children's theater is the Al Rowwad Children's Theatre Troupe, which operates from the wartorn and poverty-stricken Aida refugee camp in the West Bank. One of the very few troupes to have the opportunity to perform outside the occupied territories, Al Rowwad is currently touring the US with its production, "We are the Children of the Camp."

07-21-05 - MK Barakeh receives summons over alleged protest violence "Every week we bear witness to yet another violent attack by the security forces at the village of Bil'in," said Barakeh. "The victims are not just Palestinians but also the peace activists who are non-violently demonstrating against the racist separation fence. We've all seen this week just how differently security forces treated the violent protests of the right (at Kfar Maimon)."

07-21-05 - UNRWA to Help Expelled Jews This means that UNRWA must aid and assist the residents of Gush Katif and the other towns in Gaza, Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) slated for ethnic cleansing Rightwing Israeli mag goes off deep end. Those 'expelled Jews' are getting 250K each, paid for by Uncle Sam.

posted by Somebody @ 6:16 AM Permanent Link 0 comments

Thursday, July 21, 2005

STRATCOM Preparing for Attack on Iran

Source: page 27 August 01, 2005 issue of The American Conservative.

In Washington it is hardly a secret that the same people in and around the administration who brought you Iraq are preparing to do the same for Iran. The Pentagon, acting under instructions from Vice President Dick Cheney's office, has tasked the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with drawing up a contingency plan to be employed in response to another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States. The plan includes a large-scale assault on Iran employing both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons. Within Iran there are more than 450 major strategic targets, including numerous suspected nuclear-weapons-program development sites. Many of the targets are hardened or are deep underground and could not be taken out by conventional weapons, hence the nuclear option. As in the case of Iraq, the response is not conditional on Iran actually being involved in the act of terrorism directed against the United States. Several senior Air Force officers involved in the planning are reportedly appalled at the implications of what they are doing - that Iran is being set up for an unprovoked nuclear attack- but no one is prepared to damage his career by posing any objections.

Transcribed from hard copy by yours truly.
http://www.amconmag.com

posted by Somebody @ 10:25 PM Permanent Link 0 comments

Some headlines and summaries from JTA

Biden: Fund P.A. police

A senior Senate Democrat called on the Bush administration to immediately fund the re-equipping of the Palestinian Authority police.
Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) said he proposed to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Gen. William Ward, the top U.S. security envoy to the region, receive $10-12 million for non-lethal equipment for P.A. police, citing the need for walkie-talkies as an example.

“This is not the time for the U.S. to be detached,” Biden, the ranking member of the Senate’s Foreign Relations committee, said to applause Wednesday at Hadassah’s annual convention. “We don’t have a sufficient sense of urgency about what needs to be done today to increase the chances of disengagement, which needs to be seen as the reasonable, sensible approach. We should be doing a lot more than we are.”

Congress restricts P.A. aid

The U.S. House of Representatives attached a further restriction to assistance to the Palestinian Authority.
The amendment that Rep. Shelley Berkeley (D-Nev.) proposed Wednesday to the State Department authorization bill would break up funding to the Palestinian Authority on a quarterly rather than annual basis, allowing Congress to withhold money if the Palestinian Authority fails to account for how the money is spent.

The amendment was mostly symbolic: Congress currently bans any money from reaching the Palestinian Authority directly. The $50 million that President Bush recently authorized for the Palestinian Authority is not subject to congressional oversight, and will be administered through the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Berkeley’s amendment passed, though 100 members of Congress — including eight Jewish Democrats — voted against it.

U.S. to help Israel secure water

The U.S. and Israel agreed to work together to improve the security of Israel’s water resources.
The agreement was signed by Israel’s water commissioner, Shimon Tal, and Judith Ayers, the assistant administrator for international affairs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Areas of cooperation will include the development of risk-assessment models in water-related matters, response mechanisms for water-related incidents and large-scale purification methods.

“Safeguarding our water supply is vital for both the well-being of our citizens and the preservation of our environment,” Ayers said. “The statement of intent we have signed will foster greater collaboration between our nations to help protect this precious resource from unintentional or intentional contamination.”

http://www.jta.org/

posted by Somebody @ 9:46 PM Permanent Link 0 comments

News for 07-20-05

07-20-05 - Youth ambushed by settlers According to the Palestinian account, Juhar and his cousin Hamza went to a stream near the village of Krayot in order to fly kites, at which point four settlers attacked them, and one stabbed the 12-year-old

07-20-05 - Israeli settlers accused of stabbing Palestinian boy the 12-year-old was ambushed by several settlers near his home at Qaryot village outside the Palestinian-ruled city of Nablus. He was stabbed 11 times, medics said.

07-20-05 - Seven arrested in Bil?in, six injured Khateeb added that soldiers attacked the seven protestors, clubbed and punched four of them, and arrested Tamer Amer al-Khateeb, from Bil?in, Huwaida Arraf, an Arab-American, three international activists and two Israelis.

07-20-05 - Hamas gunmen 'breach ceasefire' Hamas militants have fired on the home of a Palestinian police chief in Gaza despite a newly announced ceasefire, Palestinian security sources say.

07-20-05 - Resident injured east of Nablus Ahmad As?ad Issa. 22, from Salem village, east of Nablus, was shot and wounded on Monday evening by an Israeli soldier, as he was driving back home from the hospital with his wife and their new born baby.

07-20-05 - Palestinian security member dies of wounds in West Bank The sources said that 25-year-old Mohammed Ghannam died Wednesday morning of wounds he sustained when the Israeli force reoccupied the West bank city of Tulkarm.

07-20-05 - Dahlan: Hamas is trying to overthrow Palestinian Authority "If you brought General Montgomery to maintain security, he wouldn't do any better. What [Sharon] didn't succeed in doing in four years, he is demanding of Abu Mazen in six months. If you ask whether the PA can stop all the terror, the obvious answer is no. Anyone who says otherwise is lying."

07-20-05 - The Museum of Palestine: Keys to the past

07-20-05 - Hamas urges end to inter-Palestinian clashes after attacks At least 22 people were wounded on Tuesday during clashes in the northern Gaza Strip between Hamas and members of either the security services or Fatah.

07-20-05 - Israel parliament rejects Gaza pullout delay

07-20-05 - USAID offers to buy Gaza hothouses The American government is willing to pay some $8 million to $10m. to buy the Gaza settlers' hothouses and give them to the Palestinians to save the jobs of some 4,000 Palestinians who work there, a spokeswoman for the United States Agency for International Development told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.

07-20-05 - BG, PA in gas deal without Israel Despite the good news for the Palestinians, some industry experts are skeptical of Israel's silence toward the news. Although it is a partner to the Palestinian Authority in a small gas field to the north of the Gaza Strip, Israel has in the past blocked Palestinian gas export and production agreements.

07-20-05 - Pals.: Israel will take antiquities Palestinian archaeologists say they fear that when Israel withdraws from Gaza it will also take priceless archeological artifacts. Israeli officials have acknowledged this is a possibility...According to international law, it is illegal for an occupying power to remove ancient artifacts, movable and immovable, from the land.

07-20-05 - PA plans for day after pullout

07-20-05 - Gaza clashes renew

07-20-05 - PNA leadership to discuss Israeli assassinating policy with Rice: Erekat

07-20-05 - Lawyers challenge EU and UK over inaction on Palestine One year after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that Israel's Separation Wall is illegal, the EU and UK have failed to take the action required of them under the Geneva Conventions to ensure Israeli compliance with international humanitarian law

07-20-05 - Qurei vows to enforce rule of law

07-20-05 - Al-Quds University: Palestinian forces raided crime lab

07-20-05 - LIFE inaugurates two state-of-the-art medical facilities in Palestinian Territories

07-20-05 - Double blow for settlers in Gaza protest

07-20-05 - Israel arrests peace activists in West Bank The protestors tied themselves to iron boxes and blocked the way before bulldozers

07-20-05 - An American Purgatory

07-20-05 - US urges Israelis, Palestinians to guarantee disengagement plan successful

07-20-05 - Will media coverage victimize Israeli settlers? The Israeli media will do its best to exploit the disengagement plan to glorify the Israeli stand before the international community, and, at the same time, show the Palestinians as negatively reacting to it.

07-20-05 - Pro-Palestinian Group To Push Divestment for AFL-CIO

07-20-05 - Israeli-Arab rap: an outlet for youth protest

07-20-05 - Seminar focuses on Arab perspective Jerry Levin, who was kidnapped by Hezbollah in 1984 while serving as CNN's Middle East bureau chief in Beirut, Lebanon, spoke about his work for the Christian Peacemaker Teams, monitoring Israeli treatment of Palestinians in Hebron.

posted by Somebody @ 6:16 AM Permanent Link 0 comments

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