UN demands an immediate halt to Israeli settlements: New York- The United Nations has demanded that Israel immediately halt its controversial settlement policy, it was reported Saturday. "Settlements in the occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights (are) illegal and an obstacle to peace as well as economic and social development," a resolution passed by the UN General Assembly with 162 votes in favour late Friday in New York said.
Poll call a 'risky political move': As president, however, Mr Abbas does not have authority to order the new elections and he has referred the matter to the Palestinian election commission to see whether or not they can be held.
Israel says it supports Abbas on poll: ISRAEL said today it supported moderate Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas after his call to hold early presidential and parliamentary elections.
Jewish groups oppose Palestinian act: More than a dozen local Jewish groups signed a petition urging President Bush not to sign legislation that would isolate the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.
Catholic Church cancels Christmas Crib: The Sacred Heart Catholic church in St Ives has cancelled its annual ‘Live Crib' event in protest against the Israeli wall being built around the holy city of Bethlehem. In place of crib, there will be erected a life-size replica portion of the Israeli concrete blockade that is causing untold suffering to the ordinary citizens of the city. The wall will stand as a symbol of the plight of these ‘abandoned' people.
Mufti of Jerusalem Condemns Israeli Measures: The General Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian lands Sheikh Mohammad Hussein denounced on Saturday the Israeli efforts to interfere in the affairs of the holy Aqsa. Sheikh Hussein called the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and Arab and Muslim leaders to help in facing the interference of non Muslims in the affairs of Al Aqsa Mosque.
Rice to seek additional funds to boost Abbas' security forces: United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday she would ask the U.S. Congress for tens of millions of dollars to strengthen the security forces of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Abbas calls for fresh PA elections as soon as possible: Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert respects Abbas and "hopes that he will have the capability to assert his leadership over the Palestinian people, and to bring about a government that will comply with the international community's principles."
Hamas: Abbas' declaration a call for civil war: Following Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas; declaration that the general elections in the Palestinian Authority will be moved up, thousands of Fatah activists, including hundreds of gunmen from the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Fatah's military wing, took to the streets of Gaza Saturday and began shooting in the air.
Medical officials: 18 wounded in Hamas-Fatah clashes in Gaza: Seven people were wounded by gunfire and eight by stones in the towns of Khan Younis, Gaza City and Rafah, according to reports from Hamas and hospital officials. Three others were treated after being trampled in Gaza City, medical officials said.
One Palestinian man killed by Israeli army fire in Nablus north of the West Bank:
Palestinian sources reported on Saturday morning that an Israeli army force invaded the northern West Bank city of Nablus, and killed on man. Ameen Makhluf, 20, was killed after being shot by the soldiers in his neck, chest and both of his legs, medical sources in the city reported.
Israeli troops attack a Palestinian police station near Hebron: Soldiers stormed the station, searched and ransacked it then detained and questioned the officers there for several hours before withdrawing from the village, Palestinian police sources reported.
Action Alert: Ask Veolia advisors to take a stand for Justice in Palestine!
Connex / Veolia and Alstom are the international investors in the Citypass consortium that will build and run a light rail project in Jerusalem that incorporates a number of Jewish settlements around East Jerusalem, built on stolen Palestinian land. It ensures the contiguity of these colonies with the central areas of the city and plays a key role in sustaining the settlements and ensuring they become a permanent fixture upon Palestinian land.
Hamas rallies in Gaza against Abbas call for early elections: Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters and members took to the streets in Gaza city Saturday evening in protest against President Mahmoud Abbas' call for early elections. Armed confrontations erupted in Gaza City between Hamas militants and Palestinian security forces, and witnesses said that at least two Palestinians were injured, and one policeman was kidnapped.
Damascus-based Palestinian factions reject Abbas' decision to call early elections: "The factions confirm their oppositions to the call to hold early parliamentary elections because there is no justification for it and it is illegal and lacks real Palestinian consensus," said a statement read by Maher Taher, a leader of the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Committee led by Fateh to supervise negotiations with all parties, Arabs, internationals & Israelis: Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that Al Qaddumi does not represent the Fateh movement either “directly or even remotely.” He said that President Abbas, in his capacity as Commander in Chief of Fateh, has decided to form a committee to organize the country under the leadership of Fateh in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, to begin work immediately.
UN demands an immediate halt to Israeli settlements: The United Nations has demanded that Israel immediately halt its controversial settlement policy, it was reported Saturday. "Settlements in the occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights (are) illegal and an obstacle to peace as well as economic and social development," a resolution passed by the UN General Assembly with 162 votes in favour late Friday in New York said.
Twilight Zone / Death sentence: What is now going through the mind of the soldier who fired a loaded weapon at a boy on the Sunday before last - and killed him? What was he thinking when he aimed at the boy's head? Is he still thinking about his victim? Why does live ammunition have to be used against children, even if they are throwing stones at a armored vehicles? Don't the soldiers have other means of punishment? And what about the security cabinet's decision to promote calm in the West Bank, too?
The Independent - Gaza City: ‘Free the women and you free the whole country’: She found that Palestinian women were trapped between the savage Israeli occupation and a suffocatingly patriarchal Palestinian society. She knew there was only one way to free them - by getting them jobs and hard earning power. Her proposal to establish an organisation providing jobs for women was refused by the Israeli occupying authorities, but Ms Ahmad refused to let this stop her.
Two State Solution Best Way Forward To End Israel-Palestine Conflict: "It is not enough merely talking about the two state solution as mentioned in the Road Map For Peace...it must clearly defined that the two state solution must be based on the 1967 border boundaries," he said when giving his views on the second day of the United Nations-Asian Meeting in Support of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People here.
British PM: Coming days critical for Middle East peace process: Blair held lunchtime talks with President Hosni Mubarak, a key player in ending spiraling violence between rival Palestinian factions that has seen kidnappings and gun battles in the West Bank and Gaza. The British prime minister also planned to meet Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, the grand sheikh of al-Azhar Mosque, the Sunni Islamic world's most important institution.
Blair calls on world to rally behind Palestinian president: British Prime Minister Tony Blair has urged the international community to throw all its weight behind Mahmud Abbas after the Palestinian president called for early elections.
US, UK welcome call for early Palestinian elections: The Bush administration supports an effort toward peace between the Israelis and Palestinians under the principles of the Middle East Quartet that includes the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.
PALESTINE. D'ALEMA: U.S. TO SHOW GREATER COMMITMENT: "Europe has been leading, for some time now, the reconstruction of Palestine, even through plenty of material aid. Europe is present, but its efforts alone are not enough. The US and other middle eastern countries should show a greater commitment", said Italian FM Massimo D'Alema, on the sidelines of a convention in Florence.
Gaza: a prison again: Since Hamas and other Gaza militants seized the Israeli corporal, Gilad Shalit, and killed two of his comrades in late June, shells, drones and machine-gun fire from Israeli forces have killed some 400 Palestinians, including civilians -- women and children among them -- in a conflict overshadowed to a large extent by the war in Lebanon.
Israel-Palestine: It's Time to Go With the Saudi Plan & NATO: Today's news indicates that Palestinians are on the brink of a civil war which would surely spill over into Israel (militants will try to undermine President Abbas by launching mortar and/or suicide bombings), This would be disastrous for Palestinians, Israelis and Americans. The United States needs to start pushing hard for diplomatic movement that offers a political horizon for Palestinians to aim for. As the Baker commission tells us, America is badly damaged by continuation of this insanity.
IDF the unready: The absence of a sense of an extreme threat - along with a sharpening of the discourse concerning the occupation in the territories - made the kind of talk heard in the movie about commitment and service the province of only certain ideological and social groups. These changes are significant in terms of understanding what occurred here this past summer.
Corporate complicity in Israel's crimes: This report examines corporate involvement in the military occupation of Palestine, focusing in particular on the three sectors of construction, retail and transport. As well as providing information on the activities of these companies, the report calls on all readers to take action to bring them to account. This is War on Want's mission more widely: to support people in developing countries in their struggle for survival, but also to inspire people in rich countries to challenge the root causes of poverty around the world.
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