Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Meanwhile in Palestine

Jerusalem to get miniature Eiffel Tower: The mayor of Paris has pledged (OCCUPIED) Jerusalem will have its own Eiffel Tower as part of anniversary observations of the city's unification in 1967's Six-Day War.

Gaza's Reality: Would you be able to live like this?

Study: 40 percent of settlements were built on Palestinian land: The report singles out the two largest settlements, both of which have city status. It says that 86.4 percent of Ma'ale Adumim is built on Palestinian land, and 35.1 percent of Ariel. The group says that the data presented in the report "demonstrates that the property rights of many Palestinians have been systematically violated in the course of settlement building."

University students targeted for arrest in northern West Bank: He explained on Tuesday that Israeli forces have recently stepped up the campaign against students in the northern West Bank, subjecting them to detention, beatings, and interrogation. Sources in the Palestinian Prisoner Society reported today that Israeli forces arrested 20 university students in November. They were taken to the Israeli military installation in the northern West Bank's Salem without disclosing a reason for the arrests.

Barenboim: Israel should 'acknowledge the sorrow of the Palestinians': Barenboim said Israel needed to show more tolerance toward its neighbors. "We cannot forget the values that were respected in the whole of Jewish history, namely dignity, generosity and intelligence," said. "We must acknowledge the sorrow of the Palestinians. This doesn't make us weaker. We must remember that Israel at its foundation promised all citizens equality, including the non-Jewish ones."

Israel Issues Last Permits to Foreigners, Splitting Families: All foreign passports of spouses and children of Palestinian ID-holders who had applied for visa extensions were marked recently by the Israeli authorities as “last permit”, and require the passport holders to exit from Israeli controlled entry/exit points before the end of the year.

15 residents injured in an Israeli air strike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip: Palestinian sources reported that 15 residents were injured in the northern part of the Gaza Strip after the Israeli air force fired two missiles at residents in Jabal Al Kashef area. Some of the injured residents are in serious conditions. Several children are among the casualties.

IOF Arrests 4 Children in Jerusalem: Israeli troops thrust into Abu Dies village, east of Jerusalem, and arrested Islam Ali 14, Motasim Dandan 14, Mohammed Mohsen 16, and Hani Jifal 16. Witnesses added that Israeli soldiers, policemen and intelligence agents stormed several houses and assaulted residents and arrested the children while others took pictures for themselves while "smiling" during the arrest.

Palestinian badly injured by soldiers violence in Nablus: Palestinian source reported on Tuesday that one Palestinian resident was badly injured in Nablus city, in the northern part of the West Bank, after he was violently attacked and beaten by Israeli troops.

Free AIC Member Ahmad Abu Hannya from Administrative Detention: Ahmad’s attorney, Sahar Francis, of the Palestinian human rights organization Addameer, fears that on 30 November, Israel will issue an administrative detention order against Ahmad for an additional six months. Ahmad, coordinator of the AIC youth group in Bethlehem, was detained at a checkpoint on his way to work on 18 May 2005 and placed in administrative detention, which is imprisonment without trial or charges.

Hamas: Israel must stop attacks or 'empty Sderot of its residents' :A spokesman from the ruling Hamas' military wing told Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday that Palestinians would fire rockets at Sderot so long as Israeli attacks on Gaza continue.

Hamas says ready for immediate halt to Qassam attacks: The announcement came at a meeting yesterday of Palestinian factions, in which Abbas presented Defense Minister Amir Peretz's proposal for a mutual cease-fire.

Four Israelis suffer nervous breakdowns, one wounded, as Palestinian shell hits factory in Sderot: A factory in the Israeli town of Sderot, located less than 5 kilometers from the Gaza Strip, caught fire Tuesday morning after being hit by a homemade shell fired by Palestinian resistance fighters from inside the Gaza Strip. Four workers were treated for shock and nervous breakdowns, while one, who was hit in the head by shrapnel, was taken to Beer Sheba hospital.

Palestinians: Gunmen abduct two Italian aid workers in Gaza: The ICRC confirms that two Italian Red Cross representatives were kidnapped by unknown persons in Khan Yunis this afternoon," Schorno said. "We are doing our utmost to ensure their immediate and unconditional release."

Armed resistance leads to nonviolent resistance against Israeli warplanes: For the third night in a row residents of the northern Gaza Strip refused to move after Israeli forces forewarned families that there homes were about to be destroyed. Israeli military representatives have taken to telephoning Gazans moments before Israeli aircraft fire missiles into their homes.

Palestinians learn emergency medicine in Israel: The emergency medicine course is sponsored by the Israeli Physicians for Human Rights, a private group dedicated to professional cooperation with Palestinian doctors. Funding comes mainly from international donors. "It is excellent that people from the Palestinian territories come to participate in an Israeli course."

Olmert aides to meet with Abbas' men to break impasse with PA: A source in the Prime Minister's Office said Monday that it is still not clear when an Olmert-Abbas meeting will be scheduled, adding that the prime minister is not working on a diplomatic plan, and that no such plan was presented in Washington during his visit there last week. Nonetheless, the meeting between Israeli and Palestinian officials comes after growing pressure from senior ministers.

Mazuz to turn down PM request to take on Justice portfolio: Attorney General Menachem Mazuz will not allow Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to hold the justice minister portfolio in addition to his other duties, legal experts said. The main reason for the likely opposition to such a development is the series of ongoing investigations of alleged corruption involving the prime minister.

Arab ambassadors meet with Brazilian foreign minister to discuss Palestine: The ambassadors for Arab countries based in Brasília, the capital city of Brazil, met yesterday (20) with Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim. According to a statement issued by the Itamaraty (the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations), the theme of the meeting was the current situation in Palestine.

Peretz's office admits 'irregularities' in use of cluster bombs during war: The Israel Defense Forces discovered that there had been "irregularities" in the use of cluster munitions, even before the end of the recent Lebanon war, sources in the defense minister's office said yesterday. As a result of this information, Defense Minister Amir Peretz ordered an "extensive inquiry."

West Bank and Gaza: ICRC report shows increased levels of poverty: "Not only is the number of “poor” families increasing," said Christophe Driesse, ICRC relief coordinator in Israel and the occupied territories, "but the average incomes of “poor” and “middle” households have also dropped dramatically since 2003. This implies a reduction in what people can purchase to meet their basic needs."

Knesset panel backs establishment of Arabic language academy: The author of the initiative, Dr. Yitzhak Reiter, said that alongside the Hebrew Academy, there are also academies in Israel for the preservation of Yiddish and Ladino, and it is Israel's duty to create a similar body to advance the Arabic language. He explained that it is inconceivable that though Arabic is recognized as one of Israel's official languages, it is not afforded the same goodwill.

Return to settlements: The residents of Sderot shouldn't have been sent to Eilat, but rather, closer to home – to rebuild the debris of Nisanit, Elei Sinai, Dugit and Netzarim from where the Qassam rockets are being fired and where the army should be stationed. The settlements were originally set up there for this very purpose.

Writers Forum to Hear Voices of Palestine, Africa Opens: A writers' group in South Korea began an international forum on Tuesday to hear the voices of minorities around the world, this year focusing on women in Palestine and post-colonial writers in Africa.

Arms deals frozen because of Chavez: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's recent anti-Israel remarks have put a hold on big arms deals between Venezuela and Israel.

Address fundamental injustice of Israel-Palestine conflict, Vatican envoy urges: He insisted that the UN should direct its attention to "fundamental injustice" at the heart of the problem. Otherwise, he said, "To make a litany of symptoms without addressing the root cause is hardly helpful to either party."

Annan says UN rights council should broaden focus beyond Israel: "They [the council members] have tended to focus on the Palestinian issue, and of course if you focus on the Palestinian-Israeli issue without even discussing Darfur and other issues, some wonder 'what is this council doing?"' he said.

Check Point makes long-awaited acquisition: Israeli data security giant Check Point Software Technologies announced yesterday a step many have been waiting for - the purchase of Swedish data security company Protect Data for about $586 million in cash.

Two dead as Israeli Occupation forces attacked Gaza: A Hamasresistance fighter and a 70-year-old Palestinian woman were killed during the attack in the Zeitoun area of occupied Gaza City.

Israel stole private land for settlements: : Almost 40 percent of land held by illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank is privately owned by Palestinians.

Al Qassam Brigades: We will stop firing projectiles if the Sderot "settlers" all evacuate: The Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, has presented an initiative to stop the projectile-launching at the Israeli town of Sderot.

Dems Rebut Carter on Israeli 'Apartheid': Democrats are shoring up their pro-Israel bona fides. They are strikingly anxious because of a courageous new book by President Jimmy Carter that hit American bookstores in mid-November, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. It is an extraordinarily bold--and apt--title.

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