Monday, May 11, 2009

Re: [Peoples War] Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines May 11, 2009 ~


 
palashcbiswas,
 gostokanan, sodepur, kolkata-700110 phone:033-25659551



From: Shadi Fadda <f_shadi@yahoo.com>
To: president@whitehouse.gov
Cc: enquiry@dfid.gov.uk; inquiries@un.org
Sent: Monday, 11 May, 2009 21:31:23
Subject: [Peoples War] Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines May 11, 2009 ~



Land Theft/Destruction
Palestinians protest land confiscation in Hebron
The Youth Against Settlements group, with participation from international and Israeli solidarity activists, organized a protest in Bwaireh north east of Hebron on Friday. The protesters built a small booth in response to the recent construction of a settler outpost. A month ago, local settlers created a structure to de facto annex Palestinian land with a colonial outpost in the area.
http://palsolidarit y.org/2009/ 05/6568


Palestine/Bantustan s, by Helena Cobban
Some time ago I did scan-- from, I believe, one of the volumes of the TRC report-- a map showing the fragmented nature of the apartheid plan's Bantustans.
http://justworldnew s.org/archives/ 003555.html


Israel 'using tourist sites to assert control over East Jerusalem'
Peace groups say government's secret plans with settler groups could prevent two-state solution.  Israel is quietly extending its control over East Jerusalem in alliance with rightwing Jewish settler groups, by developing parks and tourist sites that would bring a "drastic change of the status quo in the city", according to two Israeli groups.
http://www.guardian .co.uk/world/ 2009/may/ 10/israel- expansion- east-jerusalem


Israel plans to 'surround' Old City: rights group
AFP - The Israeli government has secret plans to surround Jerusalem's Old City with sites under its control to strengthen its hold on the divided city, a rights group said on Sunday.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20090510/ wl_mideast_ afp/mideastconfl ictjerusalemsett ler


Israel to rethink rail route that cuts through Palestinian land
The Civil Administration' s planning bureau will hold a hearing on Monday on a Peace Now demand that the planned route of the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv train be altered so as not to cut into privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1084575. html


Hill 26
Across the border line - An Israeli peace activist reports on a joint Israeli-Palestinian action against an illegal Israeli settlement near Hebron. Photos and videos.
http://acrossthebor derline.wordpres s.com/2009/ 05/08/hill- 26/

Attacks/Aggression

The Israeli military attack Palestinian homes in Hebron and kidnaps a number of people
Three Palestinian civilians were kidnapped by Israeli troops during attacks on homes on Monday morning in the city of Hebron southern West Bank.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60337

Israeli settler children screaming Death to Arabs get Israeli military to close Palestinian land
A group of Israeli settler youth standing on a hillside near the Palestinian village of Beit Ummar got Israeli soldiers stationed nearby to prevent a group of Palestinian farmers, accompanied by international and Israeli human rights activists, from accessing their farmland.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60332


Two settler-soldiers who sparked clash by firing weapons released from jail

After an incident ten days ago that sparked clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinian villagers near Ramallah, the two settler-soldiers who sparked the incident have been released to their military base.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60331


Testimony: Settlers throw rocks at ambulance transporting patient while soldiers stand idly by, Hebron, April '09
Our house lies right next to the Tel Rumeida settlement. For years, I've had heart, diabetes, and blood pressure problems. Every day, I take eleven different kinds of medication. Because of my health, I go to medical clinics and hospitals a lot.
http://www.btselem. org/English/ Testimonies/ 20090411_ Settler_kids_ assault_an_ ambulance_ in_Hebron_ witness_Abu_ Haikal.asp

Testimony: Settlers accompanied by soldiers throw stones at cars and houses, causing damage, Hebron, April 2009

I live in Wadi a-Nasara, in the H-2 area of Hebron, which is under Israeli control. My house overlooks the dirt path connecting the road referred to as "Worshippers' Way," which runs from Kiryat Arba to the al-Ibrahimi Mosque (Tomb of the Patriarchs,) to Jabel Juhar. Concrete entry of cars to the dirt road from the direction of Worshippers' Way, and Palestinians park their cars behind the cubes. Some of the cars belong to residents of a-Ras, who are not allowed to get to their houses by car.
http://www.btselem. org/English/ Testimonies/ 20090403_ Settlers_ throw_stones_ at_houses_ and_cars_ in_Hebron. asp


Detentions

Hamas says "PA forces arrest 14 of its members in West Bank"
Gaza, May 11, 2009 (RAMATTAN) – Hamas movement said on Monday the Palestinian security forces arrested 14 Hamas members and supporters in West Bank.
http://english. ramattan. net/newsdetails. aspx?news_ id=40378


The Israeli military kidnaps three civilians from villages in northern west Bank
Three Palestinian civilians were kidnapped during military invasions targeting a number of villages near the northern west Bank city of Jenin on Monday.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60336


'80% of prisoners in Palestinian jails being held without trial'
About 18 months ago, a European Union delegation arrived in the Palestinian Authority to evaluate the condition of prisoners in Palestinian prisons. The delegation, which was attached to the European Union Police Coordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support (Eupol Copps) - a group of European security experts who are involved in the restructuring of the Palestinian police force - was given a clear order: to bring about reforms in the Palestinian judiciary.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1084570. html


Prisoners denounce pope for visiting family of captured soldier
Gaza - Ma'an - The families of several Palestinian prisoners set up camp in front of the Red Cross building in Gaza City on Monday, in protest of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the family of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.  The families urged him to visit them, as well, and to note the situation of their own sons in Israeli prisons. Moreover, the families asked that the pope visit them in Gaza to hear of their sons suffering in Israeli jails, and to pressure the Israeli government to free them.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=37731


Israeli forces seize six Palestinians in West Bank raids

Bethlehem – Ma'an/Agencies – Israeli forces seized six Palestinians from their homes in the West Bank overnight.  The military said the "wanted" people were taken for questioning. Their identities have not been determined and it is not known where they are held.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=37717

PA Propaganda: Hamas activist jailed for 'planning coup against PA'
Nablus – Ma'an – A Palestinian military court in Nablus in the northern West Bank sentenced a Hamas activist to one and a half years in prison on Monday on weapons offenses and allegedly planning a coup against the Palestinian Authority (PA).
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=37729


War Criminals
McHenry gets $37M order
Workers at the General Dynamics facility in McHenry will continue producing armor for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle under a new $37 million order from the U.S. Army Contracting Command.  The order is an extension of a contract awarded in 2006.  The facility will share the workload with General Dynamics' partner RAFAEL Armament Development Authority Ltd., Ordnance Systems Division, of Haifa, Israel.
http://www.sunheral d.com/business/ story/1331287. html?story_ link=email_ msg


Humanitarian/ Siege
Khudari: to continue education and development despite blockade and aggression is part of resilience
Gaza / PNN – By continuing educational progress in the face of the blockade and aggression, we are defying the odds and strengthening the steadfastness of the Palestinian people.  These were the words of Jamal Al Khudari, Chairman of the People's Committee to Break the Siege, on Sunday.
http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content&task=view&id=5301


Al Mezan warns against exploiting Gazans entitled to benefits from Israeli national insurance
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights has learned from a group of its clients that a private Israeli law firm is seeking power of attorney for Gaza residents entitled to Israeli national insurance allowances. The disability and retirement allowances of these Gaza residents have been halted since the start of this year because Israeli banks refuse to transfer them to their accounts in banks based in Gaza. The Israeli law firm is demanding an undetermined percentage of insurance allowances for assisting with the transfer of benefits owed to Palestinians in Gaza in contravention to the law. These people are entitled to receive their allowances without any cuts.
http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /MUMA-7RX4UB? OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P


Palestinian Retaliation
Gaza projectile lands in Israel

Bethlehem – Ma'an/Agencies – A homemade projectile allegedly fired from Gaza landed in an open area in Israel's Negev Desert on Sunday evening, according to news reports.  No injuries or damage resulted. There has been no claim of responsibility yet from any Palestinian armed group.   Since the end of Israel's war on the Gaza Strip in January, the military has responded with airstrikes to each individual projectile and mortar fired from Gaza. After a lull in violence in April, Palestinian fighters and Israeli forces exchanged fire in several incidents last week.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=37713


Arab Collaborators
Masri slams Arab countries for their intention to receive Netanyahu
MP Mushir Al-Masri expressed his dismay at the intention of some Arab leaders to receive Netanyahu despite his denial of the Palestinian people's rights and his outright hostility towards them.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/


Netanyahu prepares for meeting with Mubarak
'Ties between Egypt and Israel are the base for peace in all Middle East,' PM expected to tell Egyptian counterpart as they meet at Sinai resort town. Trip, first for Netanyahu since taking office, intended to assuage Egyptian concerns given recent diplomatic tensions.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3713775,00. html


Barak: Mubarak a stabilizing element
Egypt, headed by President Mubarak, is a stabilizing, responsible and serious element within a very stormy Mideast reality, and we have valuable strategic matters which must be discussed and are related to the chance to achieve stability, peace and cooperation across the entire region.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3714094,00. html


Abbas:Ahmadinejad does not have the right to talk on our behalf
Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stated Sunday that the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad does not have the right to speak on behalf of the Palestinian people, and added that the Palestinian Authority wants a state living in peace next to Israel.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60333


Ashraf Marwan
The report on Ashraf Marwan and his assassination that appeared on 60 minutes only confirms what we have known all along: that this utterly corrupt man was an Israeli agent. The accounts by the Israeli intelligence officials did not bring new revelations but confirmed what we have known all along. Now people may wonder why the Egyptian government insists that he was a "patriot."
http://angryarab. blogspot. com/2009/ 05/ashraf- marwan.html


Political Developments
New Palestinian govt within 48 hours: Abbas
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) — President Mahmud Abbas said on Monday that a new Palestinian government will be formed within 48 hours, to replace the current cabinet headed by Salam Fayyad.  "A new government will be formed within the next 48 hours," Abbas told a meeting of his secular Fatah party.
http://www.google. com/hostednews/ afp/article/ ALeqM5gaJIXvB5N0 v30c0KMBVbq_ cnapvA


Abbas sets Fateh Sixth Conference date locally, Fayyad government says goodbye before reappointment
Ramallah / PNN – After much ado in the planning stages, full of negotiations, cancellations and threats, President Mahmoud Abbas has announced the preliminary details of the Fateh Sixth General Conference.
http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content&task=view&id=5317


Hamas: no problem for Abbas visiting Gaza
Islamic Hamas movement on Sunday said it has no problem for President Mahmoud Abbas of rival Fatah party to visit the Gaza Strip.  "The Gaza Strip is an arena for all the Palestinian people including the president whose term ended," said Ismail Radwan, a spokesman for Hamas which controls the territory.
http://news. xinhuanet. .com/english/ 2009-05/10/ content_11347535 .htm

Hamas denies secret talks with Fatah

Gaza – Ma'an – Hamas and Fatah are not holding secret meetings on unresolved issues prior to resumption of unity talks, Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said on Monday.  "Dialogue is a pure Palestinian concern which should be discussed in public whether it was bilateral talks between Hamas and Fatah under Egyptian patronage, or comprehensive Palestinian talks," said Barhoum, commenting on reports that the rival factions were negotiating in secret.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=37726


PFLP to boycott national consensus government
Bethlehem – Ma'an – The leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is the second biggest faction in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), announced on Monday that it will boycott a proposed national consensus Palestinian government.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=37722


Bardawil: Hamas will not accept any agreement legitimizing occupation
MP Dr. Salah Al-Bardawil, the spokesman of Hamas's parliamentary bloc, has said that the Palestinian national dialog talks next Sunday would attempt to end division with the least possible losses.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/

Palestinian activist Habib to hold hearing on Gaza in European parliament
Activist in the European campaign to end the siege Sameh Habib intends to make a visit to the European parliament in Italy and hold a hearing on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/


Gaza's new interior minister issues first orders

Gaza – Ma'an – Hamas' newly appointed Minister of Interior and National Security in Gaza Fathi Hammad began issuing orders to improve the security forces on Sunday.  Hammad was appointed in April to replace Said Siyam, who was assassinated by Israel during the military offensive on Gaza in January. Siyam was the most prominent Hamas leader to be killed during the three-week campaign.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=37712


Fatah members fight over election forum
Differences have once more emerged among Fatah over its forum to elect new leadership.  The latest dispute has been over the number of participants in the Sixth Conference.  The Fifth Conference was held in 1989, at which point the group's leadership was last elected.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1084568. html


Egypt to urge Israel: Relaunch talks with PA

Israel must restart talks with the Palestinians, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is expected to tell Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, according to a senior government official involved in preparations for the meeting.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1084573. html


Jordan King pushes for Mideast peace talks

AFP - Jordan's King Abdullah II warned in comments published Monday that if critical talks on a Middle East peace process were delayed further, the world would be "sucked into another conflict" there.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20090511/ wl_mideast_ afp/mideastconfl ictjordanisraelu sdiplomacy


Russia to host UN talks to revive Mideast peace

Security Council chair calls open debate in hopes of adopting draft statement calling for 'lasting peace in the region, based on enduring commitment to mutual recognition, freedom from violence, incitement, terror, and the two-state solution, building upon previous agreements and obligations' .
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3713801,00. html


Netanyahu: Israel to ease restrictions on West Bank
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel will ease the restrictions on the Palestinians in the West Bank cities.  Netanyahu made the remarks during the weekly cabinet meeting inJerusalem, ahead of his scheduled meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and with Jordanian King Abdullah II this week.
http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/ 2009-05/11/ content_11348878 .htm


'Obama to urge Muslim world to recognize Israel'

The United States is promoting a peace plan for the Middle East involving a "57-state solution" in which the entire Muslim world would recognize Israel, Monday's Times of London quoted Jordan's King Abdullah as saying.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1084660. html


Report: Abbas turned down offer to meet Netanyahu
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has turned down an offer to hold a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because the latter has not announced a clear policy on relations with the Palestinians, according to Israeli daily newspaper Ma'ariv on Monday.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=37718


Other News
Palestinian refugees mark Nakba day in hope of return
BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip, May 11 (Xinhua) -- In a humble ceremony, held near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip's northern tip, a group of Palestinian volunteers mimicked daily life of the Palestinians before the state of Israel was established in 1948.
http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/ 2009-05/11/ content_11353894 .htm


Al Nakba week memorials begin in central Gaza Strip camps: sports, politics and children
Gaza / PNN – Along with millions of Palestinian refugees locally and throughout the Diaspora, the central Gaza Strip refugee camps are preparing to mark 61 years of Al Nakba.  It is difficult to know the exact amount number of refugees as United Nations Relief and Works Agency statistics include only 1948 refugees and their direct descendents who request food aid, but Palestinian NGO BADIL estimated that there were 7.2 million in 2005.
http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content&task=view&id=5319


Pope calls for a Palestinian homeland
Pope Benedict XVI put himself at odds with Israel's new government today by calling for an independent Palestinian homeland. "I plead with all those responsible to explore every possible avenue in the search for a just resolution of the outstanding difficulties, " he said.
http://feeds. latimes.com/ %7Er/latimes/ middleeast/ %7E3/k-bTFp4b3TM /la-fg-pope- israel11- 2009may11, 0,6867492. story


Israel limits Gaza Christians hoping to see Pope
JERUSALEM, May 11 (Reuters) - Israel shut a Palestinian media centre in Jerusalem and limited entry to Christians from the Gaza Strip on Monday as Pope Benedict, on a historic visit to the Holy Land, urged open access to the city.
http://www.alertnet .org/thenews/ newsdesk/ LB77229.. htm

For Christian enclave in Jordan, tribal lands are sacred
We don't sell land to Muslims. We don't want mosques amidst us," he says. "Once, in the 1960s, a Christian man from the tribe wanted to sell his land to a Muslim. The priest gathered other men and they went to this man's house. They asked him, 'Why are you doing this?' He told him he needed money, 10,000 dinars. The priest and the men gave him 10,000 dinars and then they beat him and threatened to kill him if he ever sold land to a Muslim.
http://www.latimes. com/news/ nationworld/ world/la- fg-tribal- catholic10- 2009may10, 0,6480090. story


Israeli researcher suggests creating 'Palestinian emirates'

Nablus – Ma'an – An Israeli researcher specializing in Arab-Israeli affairs at Bar-Ilan University, Dr Mottie Kedar, asserted on Monday that he would submit to the Israeli Knesset this week a proposal suggesting the establishment of a "Palestinian emirate state."
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=37733


Western markets buoy Palestinian olive farmers - 9 May 09
A Palestinian olive oil company marketed through the International Fair Trade Association has seen its exports soar after consumers bought their product in solidarity with Palestinians after Israel's war on Gaza.  Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh reports from the West Bank, where Israeli restrictions have barred Palestinian farmers from accessing acres of orchards.
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=gkA-eojCuQw


Only state-run Jewish-Arab school threatened with closure
The only public elementary school in Israel with both Arab and Jewish students may shut down because of lack of support from the Tel Aviv municipality, according to parents and teachers at the school.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1081643. html


Jewish delegates boycott EU interfaith meeting
Jewish delegates boycotted an interfaith meeting hosted by the European Parliament in Brussels on Monday, to protest against the participation of extremist Muslim Brotherhood representatives.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1084711. html


Study: Quality of Israeli men's sperm down 40% in past decade

The quality of Israeli sperm has declined alarmingly in the last decade, according to recent research conducted at Jerusalem's Hadassah University Hospital, Mount Scopus.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1084574. html


Media Bias/Restriction of Palestinian Media
Israel shuts down Palestinian press center ahead of pope's Jerusalem visit
Jerusalem – Ma'an – Israeli police and intelligence forces raided the Ambassador Hotel in East Jerusalem early on Monday morning, shutting down in advance a Palestinian Media Center planned in advance of the pope's visit to Jerusalem.  The Israelis handed the management of the hotel an order signed by the Israeli internal security minister closing off a conference room that had been planned to be used media center, offering visiting journalists resources to cover the pope's visit.
http://www.. maannews. net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=37720


Israeli forces shut down Palestinian Media Center
Gaza, May 11, 2009 (RAMATTAN) – Israeli police and intelligence forces early on Monday morning raided and shut down The Palestinian Media Center as Pope Benedict arrived in Israel in a five day trip that will include visits Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian territories.
http://english. ramattan. net/newsdetails. aspx?news_ id=40379


Ethan Bronner: does not even try to hide his biases anymore
"In other words, while the Israeli narrative that guides the government plan focuses largely — although not exclusively — on Jewish history and links to the land, the Palestinian narrative heightens tensions, pushing the Israelis into a greater confrontational stance."
http://angryarab. blogspot. com/2009/ 05/ethan- bronner-does- not-even- try-to-hide. html

AP holds American soldiers to higher standard than Israeli ones
The top story on my Yahoo news budget tonight is: "Concerns White Phosphorus Used in Afghan Battle." It's an AP story out of Afghanistan that the country's top human rights group believes the U.S. has used white phosphorous in battling the Taliban.
http://www.philipwe iss.org/mondowei ss/2009/05/ ap-holds- american- soldiers- to-higher- standard- than-israeli- ones.html

Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Boycott of Israeli goods in Hebron to ensure that "occupation does not return a profit" 
Hebron / PNN – The southern West Bank city of Hebron and its entire governorate is being targeted with the ferocity currently directed at East Jerusalem.  A few hundred ultra-extremist settlers are rapidly overtaking more Palestinian land, a process that has been slowly underway for years.
http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content&task=view&id=5304


Intifada-Ska- p
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=aL1kmwb5kGs

Analysis/Op- ed

With 90% of his animals dead, Gaza zookeeper asks, 'What crime did these animals commit?'
I've always loved Haruki Murakami's story about the destruction of the animals in a zoo in Manchukuo, occupied Manchuria, by Japanese soldiers at the end of WW2. Well, below is Jack Shenker's report on the destruction of animals in the Gaza Zoo, from Guernica Magazine. Read Shenker's whole piece, it's great and precise, the way this is.
http://www.philipwe iss.org/mondowei ss/2009/05/ gaza-zookeeper- what-crime- did-these- animals-commit. html

An injury to one ...
My dear Palestinian brothers and sisters, I have come to your land and I have recognized shades of my own. My land was once one where some people imagined that they could build their security on the insecurity of others. They claimed that their lighter skin and European origins gave them the right to dispossess those of a darker skin who lived in the land for thousands of years. Farid Esack writes a letter to the Palestinian people spray-painted on Israel's wall in the West Bank.
http://electronicin tifada.net/ v2/article10519. shtml


Meshaal: the longer NYT text, and a question about Haaretz
So, later in the day on Tuesday, after I had complained about the NYT only running tiny snippets from Taghreed al-Khodary's five-hour interview with Hamas head Khaled Meshaal, the NYt did put some longer excerpts from the interview onto its website.
http://justworldnew s.org/archives/ 003556.html


UN calls on Israel to express 'public regret' over Gaza school attack
UN report on nine attacks on UN property during the Gaza onslaught has been watered down, critics say, from a 188-page critique of Israel to a more legalistic 27-page document.
http://www.philipwe iss.org/mondowei ss/2009/05/ un-calls- on-israel- to-express- public-regret- over-gaza- school-attack. html


Is Obama Taking on the Israel Lobby?
The elaborate pretenses that surround any discussion of Israel are fast making it impossible to say a word about that country without uttering a number of increasingly obvious lies.  We are, for example, supposed to believe that Israel is really a part of the West, when demographics – and the country's radical political shift – point in the opposite direction. It is commonly asserted as incontrovertible fact that Israel is a democracy, just like us, the only one in a region ruled by monarchs, mullahs, and secular nationalist despots – and we aren't supposed to notice its population of Palestinian helots in the occupied territories.
http://original. antiwar.com/ justin/2009/ 05/07/is- obama-taking- on-the-israel- lobby/

Obama vs. Netanyahu: Who Wins?

Reporters are always asking me if I think President Barack Obama would prevail in the oft-predicted "knock down, drag out" fight with the Israeli government (and lobby) over the peace process.  That question is especially relevant following this week's AIPAC conference. Vice President Joe Biden made it abundantly clear that the administration intends to push hard for a Palestinian state. (While Prime Minister Netanyahu is talking about everything except a Palestinian state.) The Israeli media is picking up the signals too. Writing in Yedioth Achronoth, Eitan Haber says that all the signs point in one direction and he's worried. "When Obama roars, who will not tremble?" he asks.
http://tpmcafe. talkingpointsmem o.com/2009/ 05/08/obama_ vs_netanyahu_ who_wins/ ?ref=c1


Hadar: US is too weakened for Obama to bring peace to the Holy Land
I keep teasing Aaron David Miller's pessimistic talk at AIPAC last week on how far off a solution to the I/P problem is, notwithstanding the enthusiasm for Obama. I have to relisten to it. Meantime, here is a piece by realist Leon Hadar that explains a key part of Miller's pessimism.
http://www.philipwe iss.org/mondowei ss/2009/05/ leon-hadar- in-the-daily- star-in-lebanon- saying-the- us-is-no- longer-a- global-hegemon- ---the-conventio nal-wisdom- is-that-a- m.html


What are we, Arabs?, By Akiva Eldar
It is not hard to imagine what a tumult it would stir in Jerusalem if the United States decided to temporarily ease the pressure on Iran regarding its nuclear program. Or if President Barack Obama ordered a freeze, for the time being, on the sanctions against Syria. God help the U.S. administration if it even considers lifting the boycott on the Hamas rulers in the Gaza Strip before the Palestinian group agrees to a two-state solution within the 1967 borders. And how nice that Congress is delaying the emergency assistance package to the Palestinian Authority until a new government is formed in Ramallah, in order to ensure that it's one we like.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1084657. html


Amira Hass / Israel knows that peace just doesn't pay
Successive Israeli governments since 1993 certainly must have known what they were doing, being in no hurry to make peace with the Palestinians. As representatives of Israeli society, these governments understood that peace would involve serious damage to national interests.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1084656. html


Durban Review Conference, Racism, And the Clash of Civilizations

If Durban I was a watershed moment for the Palestinian justice movement, bringing together for the first time thousands of activists from around the world (yes, including a handful of anti-Semites) , all united in shining a light on Israel's growing litany of human rights violations, it's no wonder the right-wing Israel Lobby reacted with total panic regarding the Durban Review Conference. (One person in Geneva was overhead saying, "We reacted with a fire hose when all we needed was a lawn sprinkler.")
http://www.muzzlewa tch.com/2009/ 05/08/durban- review-conferenc e-racism- and-the-clash- of-civilizations /


Photographer Ryuichi Hirokawa's best shot
I took this in 2002, at Al-Ram checkpoint on the West Bank. All the checkpoints had been closed by Israeli troops and these women were demonstrating to have them opened, so that food and medical supplies could come through. An hour before, a group of men had been demonstrating, but the soldiers pulled out their batons so the women - who were both Palestinian and Israeli - moved to the front.
http://www.guardian .co.uk/artanddes ign/2009/ apr/30/photograp hy-ryuichi- hirokawa- best-shot


How much Politics can the Pope Take?
Much hoopla is surrounding the five-day visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Palestine and Israel this week. One only has to walk through the streets of Jerusalem's Old City to sense the anticipation. Along the Via Delarosa and up to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and around near Jaffa Gate and the church there, yellow and white Vatican banners are strung all along the streets. Posters of the pontiff are plastered on windows throughout the Christian quarter and loyal servants of the faith can be seen making last minute touches to the floors and entranceways of churches and alleys where the Pope will walk.
http://www.miftah. org/Display. cfm?DocId= 19560&CategoryId=13


Can the pope help Christian Palestinians? | Ben White

The pope's visit has inspired some Christian Palestinians. Others are resigned to the continued suffering of their community.  The pope's visit to Israel/Palestine has thrown the spotlight on the troubled Christian Palestinian community, a group normally only considered in the western media at Christmas when the world's media descends on Bethlehem.
http://www.guardian .co.uk/commentis free/belief/ 2009/may/ 11/pope-palestin ian-christians


Queen Youtube
"Thank u 4 followin! Looking 4ward to hearin ur thoughts and ideas on using social media 4 social change." Oh, you want ideas for social change? I want to use social media (whatever you mean by that) in order to overthrow the Jordanian government and send you and the Hashemite royal family to exile in some remote European city. You may then chat with exiled survivers of the Egyptian or Iraqi royal families. And please use twitter in exile to amuse me. And somebody on your staff who writes your twitter and youtube texts for you need to tell you how uninteresting and uninspiring you are. Somebody needs to tell you that they only like you in the West because Israel approves of your PlayStation husband.
http://angryarab. blogspot. com/2009/ 05/queen- youtube.html

The Occupied Majdal Shams

On the map of Syria, but within its occupied territory (The Golan Heights), there exists a stunning, sunny village named Majdal Shams, situated at the southern foothills of Mount Hermon (in Arabic, Jabal Al-Sheikh). Majdal Shams, translated from Arabic as "the tower of the sun," is a village inhabited by approximately 9,000 people who are as rooted to their land as anyone is to his/her country, but most poignantly, they are people who exist with an "undefined" nationality.
http://www.meaningw ithinwords. blogspot. com/


Lebanon
Al Jazeera English Video:  Lebanon confiscates 'Israeli' spy gear - 10 May 09
Lebanese police have confiscated equipment which they say was used by citizens accused of spying for Israel.  A transmitter hidden inside an ice bucket and a table with a hidden compartment - high-tech gadgets which bear the fingerprints of a first-world spy service.  The Lebanse say they have no doubt it is the work of Israeli Mossad.
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=saJdgGZz5iY


U.S. helps Lebanon crack alleged Israeli spy rings
Lebanon arrested five people over the weekend suspected of belonging to an intelligence cell transmitting information about Hezbollah to Israel, the most recent arrests in a two-month crackdown apparently aided by American training and equipment.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1084571. html


Al-Jazeera presents 'evidence' of spies in Lebanon
Broacast shows satellite equipment belonging to three recently-arrested suspects and allegedly used for communicating with Israeli intelligence.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3713415,00. html


Israel 'sleepers' unmasked in Lebanon

AFP - They were allegedly sleeper cells of spies set up by Israel to build up a "database" on the secretive Hezbollah until Lebanon unmasked them with the arrest of a retired security officer.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20090510/ wl_mideast_ afp/lebanonisrae lspy


Israel's 'sleeper cells' were building Hizbullah database
They were allegedly sleeper cells of spies set up by Israel to build up a "database" on the secretive Hizbullah until Lebanon unmasked them with the arrest of a retired security officer. The moles had for years fed Israel with data on the Shiite resistance and other groups, including the army, using sophisticated transmission equipment, according to security officials and experts.
http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ article.asp? edition_id= 1&categ_id=2&article_id=101806


Israeli Spy Cells Collapsing; Confiscated Equipment Displayed
Day after another, more Israeli Mossad-linked cells are collapsing in Lebanon…  Indeed, in just one month, six networks formed of tens of Israeli spies and agents were uncovered in various southern towns, and more is to come!
http://almanar. com.lb/NewsSite/ NewsDetails. aspx?id=85086&language=en


Raad: Spy Cells Evidence that Israel Considering Waging War
Loyalty to the Resistance bloc head Mohammad Raad said voters participating in the June 7 parliamentary elections will choose between two contradictory projects.   During an electoral meeting on Sunday, Raad emphasized that "one of these projects wants Lebanon's people and resistance to be strong and capable of confronting Israeli aggressions, whereas the other projects want the Lebanese to bury their heads in the sand and preach about coming peace in the region and that Israel does not want war."
http://almanar. com.lb/NewsSite/ NewsDetails. aspx?id=85005&language=en


Hezbollah: Lebanese army has no strategic weapons to confront Israel

Head of Hezbollah parliamentary block Mohammad Raad said Sunday that the Lebanese army does not posses strategic weapons to confront the arsenal of the Israeli army, Al-Manar TV reported.   "In military science, two regular armies should own balanced weapons to be able to confront each other," Raad said at a gathering in southern Lebanon, adding "Despite the brave officers and soldiers of the Lebanese army, there is no military balance in arms with the Zionist army."
http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/ 2009-05/11/ content_11348888 .htm


Hezbollah Condemns Moon's Stance on Israeli Massacres

Hezbollah issued a statement condemning the latest UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon stance in which he cleared Israel from its series of massacres and attacks it committed during its latest December aggression on the Gaza strip.  Hezbollah described Ban's stance as a flagrant collusion with the Zionist aggressor in which the murderer extremely overcame the victim.
http://almanar. com.lb/NewsSite/ NewsDetails. aspx?id=84998&language=en


Berri unveils Hizbullah-Amal lists, calls for eliminating sectarianism

Speaker Nabih Berri said on Sunday that resistance, liberation and development were the three main policies that would allow Lebanon a "safe transition" to becoming a "true state." "Resistance, liberation and development will be the choice of the Lebanese to transition toward a better country and a better life," Berri said.
http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ article.asp? edition_id= 1&categ_id=2&article_id=101814


Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah televised speech on Al Manar TV delivered on May 1, 2009
http://vineyardsake r.blogspot. com/2009/ 05/hezbollah- secretary- general-sayyed. html


Lebanese homosexuals take fight for their rights public
In the Arab world, where several nations have seen killings of gay men in recent months, it can be startling to see a rainbow flag unfurled in public. But the region's only overt gay rights organization, based in Lebanon, says it is slowly making progress in preventing discrimination and violence.
http://www.. dailystar. com.lb/article. asp?edition_ id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=101803


Iraq
Five soldiers shot at US base in Baghdad-US
Source: Reuters BAGHDAD, May 11 (Reuters) - Five soldiers from the U.S.-led foreign military force in Iraq were shot and killed at one of the main U.S. bases in Baghdad on Monday, the U.S. military said.
http://www.alertnet .org/thenews/ newsdesk/ LB368964. htm


Anti-Qaeda leader killed in Iraq
AFP - An anti-Qaeda militia leader allied with American forces has been killed by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad, police said on Sunday.
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20090510/ wl_mideast_ afp/iraqunrestsa hwa


300 Iraqi doctors buttress Swedish health care

There are 300 Iraqi doctors in Sweden working as practitioners and consultants in hospitals across Sweden, Swedish Minister of Health and Social Affairs Göran Hägglund said.   "We are lucky to have so many Iraqis working in the Swedish health sector," Hägglund said during a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Saleh al-Hasnawi.
http://www.azzaman. com/english/ index.asp? fname=news\
2009-05-10\kurd. htm

Get Ready for Abu Ghraib, Act II (Time.com)

Time.com - Should the Obama Administration fight to keep the remaining Iraqi prisoner-abuse photographs secret?
http://news. yahoo.com/ s/time/20090511/ us_time/08599189 720300


U.S. and other world news
US warns of 'military' response to hackers
A top US commander has warned that Washington will consider using any option even a military one against threats to the army's computer networks.   Air Force General Kevin Chilton said cyber espionage and attacks from well-funded nations or terror groups are the biggest threats to the military's networks.
http://www.presstv. ir/detail. aspx?id=94143&sectionid=3510203


Poll: Arab world favors Obama, but still wary of U.S.
President Barack Obama's popularity in leading Arab countries far outstrips that of the United States, suggesting he could be able to boost goodwill in the region toward his country, a survey showed on Sunday.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1084658. html


Democrats were routinely briefed on Bush 'torture' techniques, document shows
The CIA has released a devastating document detailing the dates and explicit details of secret Congressional briefings in which members of Congress were told of the Bush administration's torture techniques and when they had been used.
http://rawstory. com/08/news/ 2009/05/08/ democrats- were-routinely- briefed-on- bush-torture- techniques- document- shows/

After US Strikes, Afghans Describe "Tractor Trailers Full of Pieces of Human Bodies"

As rage spreads in Afghanistan after US bombing that killed up to 130 people, unnamed Pentagon officials are spinning another cover-up. Defiant Obama moves ahead with troop increase.
http://www.huffingt onpost.com/ jeremy-scahill/ after-us- strikes-afghans_ b_198879. html



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