infopalIsraeli demolition threatens 3,000 Palestinian homes: UN
Thousands of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank risk being displaced as the Israeli authorities threaten to tear down their homes and in some cases entire communities, a UN agency said on Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080527/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictdemolitions
Ashraf abu Rahme Arrested and Activists Assaulted as Settlement Expands onto Bil’in’s land
On Monday 26th May, Israeli settlers from the Matityahu East settlement, protected by the Israeli army, started construction work looking to expand their settlement further onto the village of Bil’in’s land. Bil’in residents, joined by international and Israeli activists, attempted to block this construction. Ashraf Abu Rahme of Bil’in known to many as Dabaa, managed to scale one of the settler cranes, holding a Palestinian flag. He remained there and succeeded in stopping the work for six hours before being forced down and arrested by Israeli police.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2008/05/26/palestinian-arrested-and-activists-assaulted-as-settlement-expands-further-onto-bilins-land/
Eighteen years of work destroyed in less than four hours
‘They came at four in the morning, with two bulldozers, and they left before 8am. I own this chicken farm with my three brothers, and we worked day and night for eighteen years to build up our business. The Israelis destroyed everything in less then four hours.’ chickens lie smashed amidst the rubble and the stench is sickening.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SHIG-7F2J6C?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P
Border Police hurt 16 activists near Na’alin separation fence
Hundreds of Palestinians and Israeli peace activists gathered near the separation fence in the West Bank village of Na’alin to protest the construction of the security barrier.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=987629&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7
Palestinians say 10 wounded in protest against security fence near Modi’in
Ten Palestinians were wounded in a demonstration against the security fence in the village of Na’alin, near Modi’in on Tuesday afternoon.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3548491,00.html
The Israeli army attacks a peaceful protest in a village near Ramallah
The Israeli army attacked on Tuesday a nonviolent protest organized by the village of Na’alien, located near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.
http://www.imemc.org/article/55104
IWPS: Palestinian farmers stop work on settlement expansion near Deir Istiya
On Thursday, May 15th 2008, farmers from Deir Istiya noticed bulldozers and diggers working on their land close to the illegal Israeli settlement Revava. As they investigated closer, it became clear that the Municipality of the settlement had employed a private construction company to raze land for a new housing unit for the settlement. At least 200 dunums belonging two 10 families from Deir Istiya are effected so far. The land is partially planted with olive and tamarind trees.
http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2008/05/26/iwps-palestinian-farmers-stop-work-on-settlement-expansion-near-deir-istiya/
Eviction orders approved for 2 settler-occupied Hebron stores
The Judea and Samaria Appeals Committee of the Civil Administration, the Israel Defense Forces arm that governs civilian affairs in the West Bank, approved on Tuesday eviction orders for two Hebron stores occupied by settlers roughly two years ago.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/987621.html
UN: Israel has denied 94% of requests for West Bank building permits
A UN agency said that Israel has denied 94 percent of Palestinian requests for building permits in West Bank areas under its full control. Tuesday’s report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also said that more than 3,000 Israeli demolition orders are pending against Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1211872828108&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Patient no. 167 dies in Gaza due to the Israeli blockade
One more Palestinian patient died on Tuesday after having been denied access treatment outside of the Gaza Strip, raising the death toll of such patients to 167. The spokesman of the Popular Committee for breaking up the siege, Rami Abdo, declared today that Mohammad Alimawi, 22, of the eastern Gaza city neighborhood of Shiejaiya, died of a chronic disease at a Gaza hospital.
http://www.imemc.org/article/55095
163 patients die due to the 11 months Israeli siege on Gaza
Palestinian sources reported on Monday that a Palestinian patient died in the Gaza Strip on Sunday evening due to Israeli siege imposed on the Palestinian coastal region. Hind Al Ashkar, from Al Nuserat refugee camp located in central Gaza, had kidney failure, doctors said that she applied several times for the Israeli army to grant her permission to leave Gaza for life saving medical care but the army refused. With the death of Al Ashkar, the number of Palestinian patients who died due to the 11 month Israeli siege on Gaza now stands at 163. Since June 2007, Israel has closed the Rafah border crossing to Egypt, only passage for Palestinians in or out of the Gaza Strip. Israeli troops do not operate on the terminal since Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September 2005. Instead, European observors are positioned there as a condition to keep the terminal opened.
http://imemc.org/article/55066
Gaza: One Palestinian woman and her two children injured due to unknown explosion
Palestinian medical sources reported that a Palestinian woman and two of her children were injured during an unknown explosion hit their home located in Gaza City on Tuesday morning.
http://www.imemc.org/article/55097
Report: Israel steps up detention campaigns against Palestinians
Israeli forces stepped up random detentions of Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza Strip, Hamas-led ministry of prisoners’ affairs said on Monday. In a new report issued on Monday, the ministry said the Israeli troops arrested more than 2,700 Palestinians since the beginning of this year, about 600 of them were seized during raids in Gaza Strip. Of the arrested, 255 were children aged under 18.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/26/content_8257174.htm
10 wanted Palestinians arrested overnight
IDF troops operating in the West Bank overnight arrested 10 wanted Palestinians in Qalqiliya, Nablus and Bethlehem and Hebron. Those detained were taken for questioning by security forces.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3548320,00.html
Israeli forces impose checkpoint near Jenin
Israeli forces on Monday hindered the movement of the Palestinian residents of the West Bank city of Jenin. Local residents told Ma’an that Israeli forces erected a checkpoint near the village of Jaba’, southwest Jenin, stopping and searching Palestinian vehicles, resulting in a massive traffic tie-up.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=29499
Palestinian civil defence officer arrested at checkpoint near Ramallah
Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian man at the Za’tara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday. Palestinian security sources identified the arrestee as Tariq Zakarna, an officer in the civil defense service from the town of Qabatiya, near Jenin. Local sources told Ma’an’s reporter that Israeli soldiers staffing the checkpoint forced Zakarna to get out of a taxi and arrested him after checking his identity card.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=29510
The Israeli army invades Zita village near Tulkarem and kidnaps three civilians
The Israeli army invaded the village of Zita located near the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem and kidnapped three civilians there, on Monday at dawn. Local sources said that Israeli forces searched a number of homes before kidnapping Hamdan Mubark, 16, Wa’el Hamza, 16, and Taysser Balqees, 19, and took them to unknown locations. During the invasion eyewitnesses said that clashes erupted between local youth and the invading Israeli troops, no injures reported.
http://imemc.org/article/55067
Israeli forces raid two villages near Jenin
Israeli forces raided the West Bank towns of Al-Yamoun and Kafr Dan, near Jenin, early on Monday morning, local sources said. Residents of the two villages said that Israeli troops raided houses, fired their weapons intensively and used sound grenades. Israeli military vehicles roamed the streets. Witnesses said the invading forces withdrew by dawn. No arrests were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=29498
Israeli forces arrest three Palestinians near Tulkarem
Israeli forces seized three Palestinian youths from the northern West Bank village of Zeita, north of Tulkarem overnight on Sunday. Palestinian security sources said that Israeli forces raided the center of the village and arrested three teenagers on charges of throwing stones at Israeli military patrols.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=29504
Israeli naval forces detain 10 Palestinian fishermen on Rafah shores
The Israeli naval forces detained on Tuesday morning 10 Palestinian fishermen , while on board on Rafah shores to the south of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian security sources reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/55094
During an ongoing operation the Israeli army kidnaps five civilians from Qalqilia city
Palestinian sources reported that the Israeli army has kidnapped five civilians so far during an ongoing military operation targeting the northern West Bank city of Qalqilia on Tuesday.
http://www.imemc.org/article/55092
Palestinian arrested near West Bank settlement in possession of 7 knives
A suspicious Palestinian was spotted Monday evening by IDF soldiers at the entrance to the settlement of Maon in Southern Mount Hebron. A security check revealed that the man was carrying seven 10-centimeter knives.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3548218,00.html
The Israeli army steals historical artifact from the northern part of the West Bank
Palestinian sources reported on Tuesday that the Israeli antiquities department under the protection of the Israeli army stole a stone coffin from the village of Sabastya, located near the city of Nablus in the northern part of the West Bank.
http://www.imemc.org/article/55105
Haaretz: Israeli military to deploy a defense system near the Gaza Strip
An anti-rocket defense system will be operating soon near the Gaza Strip, in what Israeli military says a bid to minimize harm caused by Palestinian homemade shells fire by almost 95 percent, the online Israeli daily Haaretz reported.
http://www.imemc.org/article/55091
Israel balking on pledge to open Palestinian police stations in the West Bank, police chief says
Israel impeded the implementation of a plan to open 20 Palestinian police stations in the West Bank, said the general director of Palestinian police, Hazim Atallah, on Monday. Only seven stations out of 20 promised stations were allowed to open. The Israeli military approved the plan to open the police stations last week, a part of measures urged by representatives of the international community, to ease some of the harsher measures of the occupation in the West Bank. Atallah’s comments came during a graduation ceremony for police officers at the Police College in the West Bank town of Nuwai’ma north of Jericho. The commander of the Palestinian National Security forces in the northern areas of the West Bank, Thiyab Al-Ali attended the graduation as well as Collin Smith, the head of a team of European police advisors.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=29508
Israeli source: PA security forces have improved dramatically in West Bank
The Palestinian Authority’s security forces are becoming increasingly successful in their operations in the West Bank, according to a senior Israeli security source. Indeed he said their performance has so improved that, contrary to the fears of many senior Israeli officials, an Israeli pullout from the West Bank would not automatically result in Hamas being able to take over the area shortly thereafter.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/987445.html
Won’t open Gaza crossing: Olmert
JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told lawmakers on Monday that Israel would not agree to open a key Gaza crossing explicitly rejecting a chief condition Hamas has set for any truce with Israel.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/05/27/stories/2008052755301300.htm
Fatah leaders said to be at odds over performance of Fayyad’s government
Ramallah Ma’an Fatah’s Revolutionary Council (RC), one of the main governing bodies of the movement, will continue its 25th meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday amid disagreement about the performance of the caretaker government of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. An evaluation of the current government is on the agenda for the third day of the meeting.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=29506
Fatah security elements acknowledge their big mistake in Gaza Strip
A number of former PA security elements who fled Gaza Strip have acknowledged that they committed a big mistake and that they ask forgiveness from the Palestinian people.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s76BuZro%2bjZ%2fTSnzgkHzTBGjde%2fbZjIVL1%2fK8qe8%2fdXZllUZh9DDfK2XGxLMmFqiKpcMkpJHgjWQGj7qqyeme5quDJWw40m9I6%2f4gKpFfD%2fL8%3d
Hamas says discusses prisoner issues with Abbas in Ramallah
A Hamas lawmaker on Tuesday said he and some Hamas officials discussed with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas the issue of Palestinian prisoners and the problems between Hamas and Abbas’ Fatah movement.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/27/content_8264181.htm
PA interfering in Gaza’s banking system, Hamas official says
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is illegally trying to interfere in the operation of the Gaza Strip’s banks, says Dr Muhammad Al-‘Abid, a legal advisor to the prime minister of the Hamas-run de facto government in Gaza. The charge is the latest in a series of mutual accusations between the de facto government and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. He said in a statement released by the information office of the Fatwa and Legislation Bureau in the Gaza Strip that the PA’s National Fund requested that certain banks move their main headquarters from Gaza to Ramallah, and turn over the details of clients’ accounts to the National Fund in accordance with article 49 of Palestinian banking law. Al-‘Abid said that such a procedure would be violation of article 26 of Palestinian banking law which reads that the bank is not authorized to reveal.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=29497
Masri: Other European officials to reveal contacts with Hamas
The Hamas Movement has asserted that other European ministers would declare within the few coming days that they had "advanced consultations" with Hamas.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7cL42MB%2fbEooChu88Nj91PKHD2tNiE2Yu1jTtstOTewMpxtGydL0%2fC0Duqo1zgKtFVhE3dlwF67LZmnqrYbtgPybXXzREnccgbU9vejyTF80%3d
Al-Quds Brigades: We will use new means against Israel, if siege is not lifted
Abu Ahmed, the spokesman for Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, warned that the Palestinian resistance would use new means against Israel if it did not lift its siege.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7qki3jAw%2fuU5bCCamuHzcOCHvtN%2fxbzJlW5zyv9HHc45t6bj4ZKjrWeMK1ikP93qTR8I5drWG52oErEb7yI6SD1r%2bXiRto9%2f9B5Whhm49uoo%3d
Hamas: Liberation of south Lebanon proved success of resistance
The Hamas Movement on Monday said that the liberation of south Lebanon from Israeli occupation in May 2000 at the hands of Lebanese resistance proved success of the resistance option. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, said in a press release that the successful Lebanese resistance had preserved higher interests and expelled Israeli occupiers from almost all occupied lands. He said that the Israeli occupation government’s repeated aggressions on Lebanon were meant to uproot resistance and weaken the Lebanese people’s determination but the Lebanese resistance proved its strength in protecting the country’s national interests and in defeating occupation. The anniversary of the Lebanese success affirms to the Palestinian people and resistance that all settlement projects and negotiations with occupation would not bring about any positive result, Barhoum underlined.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s78tm4NGh%2fbLr0mRYvDzeXglMVHw383ngC%2bflKa0ZA7uLNpyodChI8Scse%2flpld0oQ60hIAkvax%2fRXFSqgnmtYAtQn1yY%2bfya%2fFuBAXp48db8%3d
Keep up resistance, Iran tells Hamas
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday told the visiting political supremo of Hamas to keep up the resistance against Israel, warning that abandoning the struggle would lead to disgrace.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080527/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictiranhamas
Israeli ministers call for wiping out Hamas
Israeli ministers on Sunday called for adopting a strategic decision to eliminate the Hamas Movement and rejected any talks with it, pointing out that the growing strength of Hamas could lead to an increase in the number of casualties in the ranks of IOF troops in case a large-scale military operation was carried out against Gaza. "We refuse negotiations with Hamas and a decision must be taken to eliminate this Movement," the Hebrew radio quoted Haim Ramon, the first deputy of the Israeli premier, as saying. For his part, Yuval Diskin, the director of the general security apparatus Shin Bet, warned Sunday in a report tabled during a cabinet meeting of the growing rocket power of Hamas, saying that it can reach Israeli towns 40 kilometers away from the Gaza borderline. Diskin’s statements contradicted a previous report of Israeli military director Amos. . .
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7GhDrWl6IMyn1mkgDhkZ2jy%2bPKNyHYuWjI7Azm%2ffHavaU5F0GLyOtMzX8mobXfwj1A%2fq2gfRwoH8Dz%2bLUyRHfoZyOiJ0FUM0c%2faadFAgOgB8%3d
Egyptian MP calls for expulsion of PA’s ambassador
Baha Atiyya, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Egyptian Parliament, criticized comments by the Palestinian Ambassador to Egypt, Nabil Amr against Hamas. Atiyya called on the Egyptian government to expel Amr, saying that he could not legitimately represent the Palestinian people. Atiyya called Amr’s remarks "sectarian," saying that his words do not represent the voice of Palestinian resistance, rather the narrow interests of the Fatah movement. Amr represents the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, which holds power in the West Bank. Atiyya defended Hamas, saying that the movement came to power through elections, not force. Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections. In 2007, Hamas prevailed in armed fighting in the Gaza Strip, defeating Fatah’s security forces, since then, Hamas Has ruled Gaza, Fatah the West Bank.
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=29503
Gaza Strip : journalists suspected of Fatah links continue to be arrested
A TV crew working for the German television station ARD was detained on 15 May in Jabaliya, in the north of the Gaza Strip, by Hamas security forces after covering a demonstration organised by members of Fatah, the party of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Cameraman Mohammed Al-Arabid and soundman Mwatasam Rashid were questioned for an hour and their equipment was confiscated.
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=27186
Tira residents against Peres
President’s visit to northern Arab city interrupted by demonstrators protesting demolitions of local homes. Mayor shrugs off rally, say protestor prompted by personal motives, not greater good – President Shimon Peres toured the northern Israeli Arab city of Tira and met a rather chilly greeting in the form of a protest rally against him. Dozens of Tira’s residents adhered the call of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, blocked several of the city’s roads and announced a one-day strike in local businesses and schools, protesting what they called the president’s indifference to house demolition. "The president of Israel is supposed to be everybody’s president. He can’t sanction the demolition of homes and then come here for some humus," said committee member Fuad Sultani. Many of Tira’s residents have reportedly sent Peres letters asking for his intervention in the matter.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3547966,00.html
Arab children nearly 3 times more likely to die in accident
Arab children are 2.7 times more likely to die in an accident of some kind than Jewish children, according to data presented by the children’s advocacy group Beterem to the Knesset Committee on Child Rights on Monday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=987243&contrassID=1&subContrassID=7
Olmert: Only delusional fantasists believe in ‘Greater Israel’
Fear of possible military conflict with Syria prompted renewal of negotiations, prime minister reveals at Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee session. ‘We must choose between Greater Israel or a Jewish state,’ he says. MK Livnat: Olmert’s words ‘delusional for someone at the end of his political rope’ -"Only fantasists can believe that in this day and age, and in the current situation, it is still possible to cling to the vision of ‘Greater Israel’ Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday. The prime minister participated in the committee’s session to brief them on the resumption of negotiations with Syria and to address criticism of his apparent willingness to cede the Golan Heights as part of a final peace agreement.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3547986,00.html
Olmert’s Peace Spin
Yesterday Olmert assured Haaretz that the negotiation with Syria is nothing less than an ‘historic breakthrough’. He is absolutely correct. It’s the first time in Israel’s history that a PM initiates a peace negotiation just to escape a police probe into his own unlawful doings. Apparently, Olmert is seeking a quick escape route that would bring the investigation of his corruption to an immediate halt.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2008/05/25/olmert%e2%80%99s-peace-spin/
Action Alert – Seattle movement to divest from War on Palestine, War on Iraq, War on Iran
http://windowintopalestine.blogspot.com/2008/05/action-alert-seattle-movement-to-divest.html
Activists seek divestment linked to Occupation Activities
http://windowintopalestine.blogspot.com/2008/05/activists-seek-divestment-linked-to.html
Desmond Tutu to investigate killing of Palestinians in Gaza
Archbishop Desmond Tutu is planning to enter Gaza to conduct a United Nations investigation into the killing of 19 Palestinian by Israeli shells.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/2032994/Desmond-Tutu-to-investigate-killing-of-Palestinians-in-Gaza.html
Tutu circumvents Israeli ban
Denied visa by Israel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu to enter Gaza through Egypt as head of UN delegation investigating death of Palestinian family in 2006 despite fact IDF has already accepted responsibility for erroneous shell.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3548381,00.html
Militant group warns of Mosul retaliation
AP – An al-Qaida in Iraq front group warned Tuesday that insurgents were waiting for the right moment to retaliate against a U.S.-Iraqi security crackdown in the northern city.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080527/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq
Feeling safer, Iraqis come home but only a few
BAGHDAD – The surge has been good for the Murads. Just over a year after they were driven out of their Baghdad neighborhood by militants who kidnapped their son, the parents and children are back in their home. The Shiite family is living among longtime Sunni neighbors, protected by U.S. forces and armed with safety guarantees from the Sunni tribal sheiks who had joined forces to drive al-Qaida in Iraq from the area.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080526/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_uprooted
IRAQ: Through Occupation, The Very Dreams Change
After more than five years of U.S. occupation, the very dreams of the people of Baquba have changed. For a start, they are no longer about the future.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42529
Violence still taking toll on Baghdad education
BAGHDAD Murtadha Abdul Zahara is in his final year of high school and must take examinations to begin college next year. The problem is he hasn’t been to school since March 23, because it’s been closed due to violence between Shiite Muslim militants and U.S. and Iraqi security forces in the Sadr City neighborhood where he lives. So now he waits.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/38564.html
Doing their dirty work
Britain says it wants to ban cluster bombs, but in reality is more concerned with appeasing the US.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/may/27/military.armstrade