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Video: Red Cross film exposes inhumanity of Israel's Gaza siege

ICRC - from the field - Civilians are counting the cost of the three-week conflict in January 2009, which claimed more than a thousand lives and dealt a heavy blow to the economy of Gaza, a territory already shattered by decades of conflict and deprivation. The international community pledged billions of dollars in aid, but restrictions on essential raw materials going into Gaza will have to be lifted if Palestinians are to rebuild their lives.

Professor at UCSB cleared of improper conduct as anti-Palestinian attacks backfire

From the LA Times In a case that triggered national debate about academic freedom, a UC Santa Barbara investigation has cleared a sociology professor of improper conduct for e-mailing students images that compared Palestinian casualties of Israel’s Gaza offensive this year to Jewish victims of the Holocaust. However, professor William Robinson said Thursday he was not satisfied with faculty and administrative findings that he should not be disciplined. Robinson wants a campus apology and an investigation of what he said were improper efforts to silence him. In January, Robinson sent his class the images, along with a statement in which he described Israel’s policies in Gaza as a slow-motion genocide. Two Jewish students dropped the class, saying that they felt intimidated by the e-mail. They also said that Robinson had violated campus policies. Some Jewish activists alleged that Robinson’s e-mail was anti-Semitic. Many academics and civil libertarians defended the professor, who is Jew

UN public testimonies re-tell the horror of Israel's war crimes

The UN fact-finding mission sent to the Gaza Strip has held its first public hearings with victims of the Israeli war and listened to testimonies of two of them. The public hearings lasted two days. Moussa Al-Sailawi, 91, presented his testimony about the Israeli bombing of a Mosque in Jabaliya which killed 17 civilians including his son and four other members of his family. The mission intends to listen to testimonies of dozens of other victims in addition to international experts and eyewitnesses in order to be able to report about the Israeli war crimes committed during 22 days in Gaza. The mission headed by South African judge Richard Goldstone is expected to finish its report at the beginning of August and to publish the investigation results the following month. The mission visited 40 different sites in Gaza and talked to dozens of witnesses and relatives of victims including the family of Al-Sammouni who lost 29 of their members. The Guardian also has a report on the unprecede

Palestinian man dies as bomb-damaged house collapses

GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian man was killed and five others were wounded in the preliminary report on the collapse of a building in Gaza city that was bombed by Israeli occupation forces during their 22-day war on Gaza. Col. Yousef Al-Zahhar, the head of the civil defense squad, said in a press release on Monday that the building is owned by Hassan Al-Jaro and was bombed during the war. He added that 8 pillars in the 4-storey building were destroyed but its occupants used to live in the undestroyed section of the building, which caved in today. He said that medical and civil squad teams were digging the rubble in search of more possible victims. Zahhar appealed for the people of the world with a conscience to help expedite an end to the siege of Gaza so that residents can rebuild destroyed homes and to avoid recurrence of such tragedies in which innocent people are killed under the debris because of the housing problem. Thanks to the Palestinian Information Center He said that many old

Red Cross: Gazans trapped in despair and struggling to survive

Download the ICRC report here Gaza: 1.5 million people trapped in despair Six months after Israel launched its three-week military operation in Gaza on 27 December 2008, Gazans still cannot rebuild their lives. Most people struggle to make ends meet. Seriously ill patients face difficulty obtaining the treatment they need. Many children suffer from deep psychological problems. Civilians whose homes and belongings were destroyed during the conflict are unable to recover... No reconstruction allowed, public health at risk ...Gaza neighbourhoods particularly hard hit by the Israeli strikes will continue to look like the epicentre of a massive earthquake unless vast quantities of cement, steel and other building materials are allowed into the territory for reconstruction. Until that happens, thousands of families who lost everything will be forced to live in cramped conditions with relatives. Others will continue to live in tents, as they have nowhere else to go. Emergency repairs carried

Free Gaza ship threatened by Israeli Navy

"ALL WE WANT IS TO REACH GAZA. WE DO NOT SEEK A CONFRONTATION." Activists aboard Gaza justice boat demand they be allowed to visit their friends & family in besieged Gaza, and deliver their cargo of medical supplies, children's toys, and reconstruction kits. They invite the world to join them. (At Sea, 60km off the coast of the Gaza Strip) - Human Rights activists aboard the Free Gaza ship, the SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, today demanded that the Israeli Navy immediately stop threatening them. “This aid is desperately needed by the people of Gaza,” said Mairead Maguire, winner of the Noble Peace Prize and Pacem in Terris Award for her work in Northern Ireland. “President Obama has called upon the Palestinians to abandon violence but Israel is denying them the right to non-violently resist the siege of Gaza.” The unarmed justice ship departed Larnaca Port in Cyprus at 7:30am Monday with its crew of 21 human rights activists, humanitarian workers and journalists from 11 differen

Israel threatens Free Gaza aid boats

BRUSSELS, (PIC)-- The European campaign for ending the siege stated Monday that the Free Gaza boats which were supposed to sail for the Gaza Strip at the end of last week left this morning the Cypriot port of Larnaca, adding that this delay was caused by the Israeli threats to intercept them at sea. Spokesman for the European campaign Rami Abdo said that the Free Gaza movement notified the ministry of foreign affairs and the ministry of war in Israel that the boats would sail on a humanitarian mission and asked not to intercept them. more at PIC

Free Ahmad Sa'adat and all Palestinian prisoners

A Letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon Please endorse and distribute widely! http://www.freeahmadsaadat.org Join dozens of organizations, academics and activists to endorse this letter to Ban Ki-Moon, including the National Lawyers Guild, the Palestinian Youth Network, UK MP George Galloway and many more! See full list of initial endorsers below... We are asking for your endorsement and that of your organization for the letter below, inspired by the hunger strike of imprisoned Palestinian national leader Ahmad Sa'adat, calling upon United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to uphold his responsibilities and take action to protect the rights, health and lives of Palestinian prisoners and demand the freedom of all 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners. This letter will be delivered to Ban Ki-Moon's office on July 8, 2009. Please send your endorsement as quickly as possible in order to ensure it is included, preferably before July 5, 2009 . This initiative is being suppo

BBC biased towards Israel in news reporting

Despite the attacks of the pro-Israel lobby on the BBC it is in fact a wholeheartedly pro-Israel organisation and this is shown graphically through its use of Israeli sources in preference to Palestinian ones, a new research report shows. The refusal of the BBC to broadcast the recent Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for Gaza was but one episode among many. Senior Middle East reporter Jeremy Bowen was recently castigated by his bosses for sounding pro-Palestinian. What they mean is he reports the truth and tries to convey something of the suffering of the people in Gaza. More at the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jun/26/bbc-anti-israel-bias

Israel uses electric shock torture on Palestinian children

RAMALLAH, ( PIC )-- The Palestinian prisoner club accused the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) of committing new crimes of corporal torture against children through giving them electric shocks and beating them severely. The club said that Palestinian child Hamza Al-Za’aol, who was kidnapped on the fourth of May on a charge of throwing stones, told club lawyers that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) used electric shocks against him in Etzion prison while another child detained on the same day called Ismail Al-Za’aol said he was severely beaten especially in his broken leg. The club revealed that the number of children kidnapped during the first quarter of 2009 rose to 443 prisoners after kidnapping 14 minors this year. In another related context, the popular committee against torture said in a report issued Wednesday that the IOF troops and the Shin Bet security service deliberately tortured Palestinian detainees through handcuffing them in a painful manner contrary to international law

First cattle shipment for nine months allowed into Gaza

Following nine months of beef being embargoed from entering the Gaza Strip, the coordinator of activities in the territories, Amos Gilad, has allowed the first shipment of 350 head of cattle into the Strip. Sources involved in the matter said that the resumption of beef supply to the Gaza Strip is in part the result of U.S. pressure on Israel to lift all restrictions on the importation of various types of foodstuffs into the Strip. The same sources also pointed to the pending visit of Defense Minister Ehud Barak to Egypt as another impetus for the easing of the embargo. In the Gaza Strip, preparations are being made for the importation of more cattle for slaughter next week, and for the sale of a total of nearly 4,000 head of cattle through the month of Ramadan, which will commence in September. More at Haaretz

More tunnel deaths in Gaza

The desperate nature of life in Gaza sees more people die as they risk their lives to bring urgently needed goods into the strip. At least one person has died in the latest among a rising curve of such fatalities: Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported that one Palestinian was killed and four others on Friday morning when a tunnel collapsed on then near the Gaza-Egypt border in Rafah. Four other residents are believed to be buried under the rubble. Eyewitnesses said that the runnel is located in Al Salaam neighborhood in Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. A source at the European Hospital identified confirmed that the body of resident Ahmad Atef Zo’rob, 18, died after suffocating under the rubble. His body was moved to the hospital. The sources added rescue teams are still trying to locate the four missing Palestinians. It is worth mentioning that nearly 80 Palestinians were killed in similar incidents over the last two years. The tunnels became the only mea

Aid boats aim to break Gaza siege today

The Free Gaza Movement has sent two boats to Gaza which are due to dock today. More at Press TV The boats, which will dock in Gaza on Friday, carry 35 international human rights workers and journalists. According to the movement, 15 of the activists are from Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Tunisia and Bahrain, and 21 are from the United States, the UK, Scotland, Australia, Cyprus, Greece, Denmark and Ireland. Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire and former US congresswoman and presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney are among the notable figures onboard the boats, which will carry three tons of medical supplies and 15 tons of cement.

PA parliamentary speaker Aziz Dweik released from prison

pic: Bernat Armangue Reporting from Jerusalem - Israel freed the most senior Hamas leader in its prisons Tuesday after prosecutors failed to persuade a military court to prolong his three-year sentence. The release of Aziz Dweik, speaker of the Palestinian Authority parliament, fed speculation that Israel was on the verge of a deal to secure the return of a captured soldier in exchange for hundreds of Hamas prisoners. Such a swap has been the aim of sporadic negotiations mediated by Egypt, but Israeli and Hamas officials said they had no information about a breakthrough. more

ADL tries to stop Viva Palestina US aid mission

The Anti-Defamation League is trying to sabotage the Viva Palestina US aid convoy for Gaza. They have petitioned the US Justice Department to investigate whether the convoy would constitute aiding a terrorist organisation, namely Hamas. WASHINGTON (JTA) --The Anti-Defamation League is urging the Justice Department to investigate whether a U.S.-based group is raising money for Hamas. Viva Palestina U.S. is a campaign modeled after a similar European initiative, led by British Parliament member George Galloway, that delivered money and a convoy of vehicles to Hamas representatives in Gaza in March. Galloway plans to lead a similar Viva Palestina U.S.-sponsored convoy next month, and he has been visiting the United States recently to publicize and raise funds for it. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, ADL said “it is not verifiable that this ‘committee’ will function independently of the Hamas leadership in Gaza, and Galloway -- who plans to lead the American convoy -- has alre

Israel legalises another settlement and authorises expansion

The Israeli government has formulated plans to legalize 60 existing homes at an unauthorized settlement outpost in the West Bank and allow the construction of 240 other residences, an Israeli group said Tuesday. Such a move would flout a U.S. demand for a settlement freeze. It would also bolster the claim by Palestinians that the unauthorized outposts are intended to permanently seize land they want as part of their future state. The plans were approved by Israel's defense minister, Ehud Barak, and filed with authorities in April, according to Bimkom, a private Israeli group that specializes in planning issues. The Defense Ministry had no immediate comment. more

Irish students cycling to Gaza for Medical Aid for Palestinians charity

Waterford students to begin 4,000 mile fund-raising cycle Four Waterford students will begin a 4,000 mile cycle to Gaza tomorrow to raise money and awareness for the war-torn region. The "Pathways to Palestine" team will sail to France before beginning their journey and are raising money for the Medical Aid for Palestine organisation. Their trek is expected to last 40 days and takes them through 14 different countries. All money raised will go towards medical equipment for Gaza and donations can be made through their website. The group will also be "phlogging" along the way which is a type of audio blog submitted over the phone. From Ireland Online

Israeli protesters block one of the few open crossings into Gaza

Israeli protesters are blocking aid getting into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing in a move designed to bring more pressure to bear on Hamas to release Gilad Shalit the Israeli prisoner of war. So one soldier being held prisoner justifies these humanitarian crimes against 1.5 million people in Gaza? The protesters won't need to require very many people to effect their 'blockade' as their government is already doing that. There are at least 11,000 Palestinian prisoners illegally held by Israel. KEREM SHALOM CROSSING, Israel (AFP) — Dozens of Israeli protestors blocked crossings into Gaza on Tuesday to push for the release of a soldier held captive for three years by militants in the Hamas-run enclave. The demonstrators held back lines of aid trucks at the Kerem Shalom crossing into southern Gaza demanding that its Hamas rulers give a sign of life of Gilad Shalit, who was seized by militants on June 25, 2006. "The message is for the Hamas government to give an answ

Former IDF commander defends Seven Jewish Children against anti-semitism

An important Op-ed in Canada's Now magazine by Misha Shulman an ex-IDF commander, defending Caryl Churchill's play and castigating the misguided opposition that does a disservice to the real fight against anti-semitism. In defense of Seven Jewish Children Controversial play about Israel is a chance to re-examine ourselves Misha Shulman Perhaps having spent three years in Southern Lebanon as an IDF commander has lowered my tolerance for misconstructions of Israeli ideology. But when I heard names like "Sons of Hitler" and "Jew killers" were called out as theatre-goers entered Theatre Passe Muraille last week for the play Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza, I was angry. The recent fiasco surrounding Crow’s Theatre’s staged reading of Caryl Churchill’s controversial play provided yet another example of the way North American Jews do their worst to perpetuate the conflict in the holy land, and keep anti-Semitism stronger than ever. So it has come time for th

Charges against pro-Palestine professsor in doubt as defence campaign gains ground

Supporters of sociology professor William Robinson at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), facing the charge of anti-semitism for circulating an email juxtaposing images of Nazis atrocities against Jewish people and Israel's oppression of Palestinians, are campaigning hard. Latest developments have seen the UCSB Academic Senate vote to investigate the mishandling of the Robinson case following the circulation of a petition in support of him among faculty members. Now the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) has demanded that UCSB cease investigation of Robinson: FIRE – a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit that works to protect student and faculty rights at college campuses nationwide – has demanded that the University of California at Santa Barbara cease its investigation of sociology professor William I. Robinson. Letter from FIRE to Chancellor Yang here More info: Committee to Defend Academic Freedom at UCSB Background: Toward the end of February 2009, Soc

President Obama - how about the Israelis practicing some non-violence

The article below highlights the fact that Palestinian farmers can only but offer nonviolent resistance in the face of a brutal armed occupation that puts little value on the life of a Palestinian. It's a daily struggle. Non-violent resistance in the south Hebron Hills Joy Ellison | Electronic Intifada A couple of months ago I had the great pleasure of watching Palestinians successfully graze their sheep near Avigail settlement, on land where they are regularly attacked and harassed. The joy I felt in watching my friends and partners grazing their sheep on their ancestral lands was overwhelming. Sitting on the hill and eating lunch together felt like having a party. As the day drew to an end, Mahmoud, one of the Palestinian elders, excitedly explained to me the strategy he had used in dealing with the Israeli army and settlers that morning. He told me how, even though the army had declared the area a closed military zone, he firmly stood up for his rights. He explained how he prete

Tony Blair wanted UK Iraq inquiry to be held in secret - to cover up his war crimes

Protest: Parliament debates the Iraq inquiry on Wednesday 24 June. Stop the War has called a protest outside parliament from 2pm to insist that the inquiry be held in public. Tony Blair urged Gordon Brown to hold the independent inquiry into the Iraq war in secret because he feared that he would be subjected to a "show trial" if it were opened to the public, reports the Observer. The revelation that the former prime minister - who led Britain to war in March 2003 - had intervened will fuel the anger of MPs, peers, military leaders and former civil servants, who were appalled by Brown's decision last week to order the investigation to be conducted behind closed doors. Blair is believed to have been alarmed by the prospect of giving evidence in public and under oath about the use of intelligence and about his numerous private discussions with US President George Bush over plans for war. A spokesman for the former Labour leader would only say last night: "This was a dec

US commentators call for talks with Hamas if Israel really wants peace

Joe Klein of Time magazine in an interview with Mashaal shortly after Obama's Cairo speech, calls on the US to start talking to Hamas. See his article in Time magazine here . So what are our options, given Mashaal's refusal to yield on any of the demands made by Obama? Hamas has some inconvenient facts in its favor: it exists, it remains strong in Gaza — as a direct consequence of the real social services it provides and its relative lack of corruption compared with Fatah — and it has a legitimate complaint. The Israeli occupation of the West Bank is inhumane and outrageous. Palestinians are imprisoned behind a barrier wall that does not conform to the 1967 lines; they are forced to endure hundreds of Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks whose purpose seems humiliation as much as security; their lands are slit by highways that only settlers are allowed to use; the settlements, populated by the most extreme Israelis, have doubled in size since the 1993 Oslo accords, gradually tur

Iranian crisis splits ruling elite as 10 killed by police in weekend protests

Police get surrounded by protesters and escape with their lives. The UK cops, increasingly hated by protesters and general public alike, will probably soon be getting the same treatment Press TV reported on Sunday that the authorities in Iran now agree that more votes were counted than there were voters in 50 Iranian towns and cities, creating a discrepancy of 3 million votes but the Guardian council is claiming it is not likely to have been decisive in determining the vote. I can't find the Press TV report on the website but there is more on this at the New York Times . Meanwhile the President of Israel offered his 'support' to the protest movement which is a very foolish thing to do as it will make it easier for the regime to try and split the movement by pointing to further 'foreign involvement'. The US and UK continue to deny being involved in the movement but they would say that wouldn't they. The US was/is so uninvolved that it ordered Twitter not to tak

Veolia now dropped from Tehran transport project because of Israel links

In another major victory for the boycott, divestment and sanctions, the mayor of Tehran announced that Veolia would no longer have a key role in city's urban transport system. This victory in Iran, along with others France, UK, Sweden, and Holland, has cost Veolia an estimated $7 billion in lost contracts and were key in pushing the company to leave the Jerusalem light rail project. Veolia and Alstom are both active in Iran. The Tehran Municipality and Veolia had agreed to collaborate on the implementation of some projects concerning the environment and the development of the urban transport system. Alstom has a headquarters in Tehran and received a number of large contracts, including a 192 million euro contract with Iran's state railways in 1999 and a larger 375 million euro contract to supply 50 turbo compressors to Iran in 2002. More at the Stop the Wall campaign

Demolition order issued to Palestinian villagers

On 31 May, demolition and eviction orders were given to the communities in al-Hadidiya and Khirbet ar-Ras al-Ahmar. Those living in ar-Ras al-Ahmar have been told to leave immediately, while families in al-Hadidiya have received various extensions. Several families were told to evacuate within 24 hours, four others were given 48 hours, and the remaining families have been given court summons to appear at the Occupation military court in Beit Il at the end of June. In total, 201 persons were given 48 hours or less to evacuate. The entire community of al-Hadidya, with the exception of a single family, is in danger of being expelled. In ar-Ras al-Ahmar, a third of the community, 17 of the 45 families, will be displaced. On 17 June, three residential structures and 12 other structures, among them animal structures, were leveled in Jiftlik. The owners were not present, as they reside in Jiftlik only in the winter season. Bulldozers accompanied by soldiers also raided and leveled residential

84-year-old holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein likely attacked by Zionist thugs

An “inspirational” speaker for 15 years at the Missouri Scholars Academy was attacked this week after visiting the Columbia camp. Hedy Epstein, an 84-year-old Holocaust survivor, was walking to her home from a Metrolink station in St. Louis on Wednesday when someone pushed her hard from behind. She fell to the ground and lay in a state of shock, bleeding profusely from her chin. The attack occurred so quickly, Epstein said, that she thought she saw a man running but can’t remember what he looked like. She forced herself to get home and called a friend when the bleeding would not stop. At the hospital, doctors determined an artery had been nicked. The attack might not have been random. Epstein is part of a movement opposed to Israel’s treatment of Gaza and has received threatening messages. After she gave a television interview earlier this year, someone left a phone message telling Epstein she should be ashamed of herself. In the message, the caller threatened to visit St. Louis and “g

Free Gaza Movement sending two boats to break siege on 25 June

NICOSIA ( Reuters ) - Activists campaigning for an end to Gaza's blockade by Israel will sail to the enclave from Cyprus in defiance of the Israeli navy, they said Thursday. Two boats, including one carrying cement and building supplies -- materials not permitted by Israel -- will sail from Cyprus on June 25, the multi-national Free Gaza Movement said. "We are taking 15 tons of cement, which is just a token of how much the Palestinians need, because the Israelis won't allow building supplies into Gaza," said Greta Berlin, a representative of the group. The group started regular shuttles to Gaza from Cyprus in August 2008, but was turned back by the Israeli navy on its last journey in mid-January of this year. Israel tightened a blockade on Gaza in 2007 after the Islamist Hamas took control of the enclave, a sliver of territory that is home to 1.5 million people. Israeli forces bombed and then invaded Gaza in late December 2008 in a bid to rout out militants lobbing ro

Red Cross actions show Arab lives are worth less than other human beings

The International Committee for the Red Cross is calling on Hamas to allow Israeli prisoner of war Shalit to receive letters from his family. This is the same ICRC that has studiously failed to do the same for the hundreds of Palestinian families that have children languishing in Israel's prisons. Why do these western organisation always see Arab lives as cheap? GAZA, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, expressed astonishment on Friday following the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) calls on Hamas to let captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit to hold regular contacts with his family. The Jerusalem Post daily has earlier quoted Yael Segev-Eytan, spokeswoman of the ICRC in Israel as saying that since Shalit has been captured, the ICRC has tried to deliver messages to Shalit from his family, but these efforts have not succeeded. The Hamas-run ministry of prisoners' affairs in Gaza said in a written statement that "While the Red C

Settlers try to incinerate Palestinian villagers

Three Palestinians from a small hamlet near Yatta, south of Hebron, on Sunday narrowly escaped death after Israeli settlers set fire to a tent while they were inside. Local residents told Ma’an that Israeli settlers from the nearby Susia settlement, which sits on Palestinian land, set fire to a large tent used as a meeting hall for the small village. The tent belonged to Muhammad Nasr Nawaj’ah, and was about 50 square meters in size. Local residents who were awakened by pleas for help hurried to extinguish the fire and administered first aid to the injured, who were identified as 22-year-old Abd Ar-Rahman Nawaj’ah, 21-year-old Yahya Nawaj’ah, and 22-year-old Ibrahim Nawaj’ah. Thanks to Ma'an news agency

Israel's hegemony in the air threatened by resistance air defence missiles

The Israeli Air Force has brought a virtual trainer into service in order to train its pilots in the evasion of anti-aircraft missiles. The Israeli military is increasingly concerned that it is in danger of seeing the deterrent force of having the most powerful air force in the region undermined. An article in the Jerusalem Post this morning admits that Hezbollah and Hamas probably have shoulder held anti-aircraft missiles in their arsenal and that Iran is well on the way to installing the advanced Russian built - S-300 air defence system that can track up to 100 different aircraft simultaneously. See our report on Iran and the Russian air defence system here

Prisoner swap talks make progress according to Arab media reports

Palestinian sources say there is reason to believe that significant progress has been made in talks on a prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel, the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat. Sources told the paper that both sides have presented serious proposals and that Hamas has shown newfound flexibility on the issue of relocating West Bank Hamas members to Gaza. As part of a prisoner exchange for captive soldier Gilad Shalit, Israel is demanding that Hamas agree to absorb prisoners into Gaza rather than allowing them to return to their homes in the West Bank. The negotiations, which are being mediated by Egypt, have been stalled since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took over the reins of power from his predecessor, Ehud Olmert.

Reports say Abbas to release Hamas detainees on West Bank

From the International Middle East Media Center Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah ordered Monday release of all Hamas detainees by reconsidering each single case, the Palestinian Maan News Agency reported Maan said that head of the Fatah parliamentary bloc, Azzam Alahmad, confirmed that Abbas's orders include release of all Hamas detainees , except those who ' pose a threat to public security'. "This move is intended to pave the atmosphere for the upcoming national unity talks in Cairo", aL-Ahmad was quoted as saying. In addition to a recent release of 20 Hamas detainees, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank will set free today 20 to 30 others. Yet, the PA will not release all those involved in law breaking, including those affiliated with Fatah. The ruling Hamas party in Gaza has demanded that all of its detainees in West Bank prisons of the PA should be released as a perquisite for success of Cairo talks. Cairo is expected to push both partie

Support Ahmad Saadat's hunger strike for freedom

For more information on the struggle to free Ahmad Saadat go to: http://www.freeahmadsaadat.org/ Ahmad Sa'adat, General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, is one of over 11,000 Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli jails. These political prisoners, men, women and children, are activists, organizers and political leaders of the Palestinian people. Sa'adat was sentenced to 30 years in the occupation prisons on December 25, 2008. On March 18, 2009, Sa'adat was moved into isolation at Asqelan prison, facing serious medical consequences. In June 2009, Sa'adat engaged in a nine-day hunger strike against his isolation. Sa'adat was being held in Hadarim prison. Sa'adat, with five other Palestinian prisoners, was kidnapped by the Israeli military on March 14, 2006 after a siege upon the prison in Jericho, where he was being held under a U.S. and British guard at a Palestinian Authori

Protest to foreign secretary Miliband over Israels's abuse of Palestinian prisoners

Use the model letter below to send your protests to the British Foreign Office over the treatment of the 11,000 Palestinian prisoners being illegally held in Israel's prisons: Rt. Hon. David Miliband Foreign Secretary, London SW1 Dear Mr. Miliband Justice for Palestinian prisoners I am writing about the plight of the 11,000 Palestinian prisoners held by the illegal occupying power. There have been protests all over the Middle East to coincide with a hunger strike held by Ahmad Sa’adat, a prominent prisoner held in illegal detention by the State of Israel. The British government have an historic responsibility towards the whole Palestinian people, from the Mandate period to the present day. They have a special responsibility towards Mr. Sa’adat , whom they were jointly guarding on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, and who they then allowed to be seized by the occupiers of his birth place. Mr. Sa’adat is suffering from back pain, but true to form his captors have denied him medici

Take action: Sa'adat receives further punishment from the occupation as solidarity continues around the world

Sa'adat receives further punishment from the occupation as solidarity continues around the world http://www.freeahmadsaadat.org/     Ahmad Sa'adat's steadfastness has inspired solidarity and action from thousands across Palestine, throughout the Arab world, and internationally. His nine-day hunger strike has drawn attention to the brutal, illegitimate practices of the Israeli prison authorities, and the urgent situation of the over 11,000 Palestinian prisoners. Sa'adat, the imprisoned General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was forcibly kidnapped in 2006 by the Israeli military from a Palestinian Authority prison where he had been held since 2002 under PA, British and U.S. guard, and has become a symbol of resistance. Throughout his seven years of imprisonment, he has refused entirely to recognize the legitimacy of Israeli military courts used against Palestinian prisoners. A new set of punishments have been issued against Sa'

Seven Jewish Children gets Tel Aviv showing

The campaign against Caryl Churchill's play for Gaza, Seven Jewish Children sadly had success at the Liverpool City sponsored Writing on the Wall cultural festival. The sponsors refused to show the play unless a 'right to reply' - Richard Stirling's play Seven Other Children - was shown. The city authorities cut funding after the organisers of the cultural festival refused to comply. On a happier note, Caryl Churchill's play is to be shown in Tel Aviv. A controversial play, "Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza," written after Israel's Operation Cast Lead by British writer Caryl Churchill, will be staged for the first time in Israel in Tel Aviv's Kikar Rabin this evening, as part of Hebrew Book Week events. It is directed online via Skype and video by Samieh Jabbarin, who has been under house arrest for four months. Jabbarin, a Jaffa resident and director at the city's Arab-Hebrew Theater, was placed under arrest in his parents' Umm al-Fa

Audio: more reports on the sewage lakes of Gaza

Listen: Free Speech Radio News In the Gaza strip, scientists and community members are saying that lagoons filled with sewage are creating serious health and environmental problems. But as FSRN´s Rami Almeghari reports, efforts to build a water treatment plant have been stymied by Israel´s tough restrictions on the materials that can be sent into the coastal strip. See our earlier post: sewage lakes can be seen from space

US tells Israel not to link prisoner of war Gilad to lifting of Gaza siege

The United States has stepped up pressure on Israel regarding the Gaza Strip: Three weeks ago it sent Jerusalem a diplomatic note officially protesting Gaza policy and demanding a more liberal opening of the border crossings to facilitate reconstruction. U.S. and Israeli sources say the note was followed by a verbal communication clarifying that the Obama administration thinks Israel's linkage of the case of abducted soldier Gilad Shalit and the opening of the crossings was not constructive. The note was delivered to Israel after a decision by senior U.S. officials including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and special Mideast envoy George Mitchell. The latter discussed the contents of the note during his visit to Israel last week. U.S. demands on Israel's Gaza policy were also raised Wednesday during talks between Clinton and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who is on an official visit to Washington. more

More aid ships to challenge Gaza blockade

The United States-based Free Gaza Movement is to dispatch two aid boats to the Gaza Strip from Cyprus. The ships will sail from Larnaca port on the Mediterranean on June 25 and the voyage will take about 30 hours before docking at a Gaza fishing port, said Amjad al-Shawa, coordinator of Palestinian NGO network in Gaza city. The ships, with Western journalists, human rights and peace activists on board, will also carry symbolic amounts of concrete, iron and medical supplies that are in urgent need in Gaza due to a two-year-old Israeli blockade, al-Shawa added. The delegation will stay in Gaza for two days and will inspect areas damaged by Israel during a military offensive in January and will look into the effects of the blockade. Through August to December 2008, Israel allowed several boats, ferried by the Free Gaza Movement, to enter Gaza's territorial waters. But after the Gaza war, Israel turned away the boats. Israel imposed the blockade on Gaza in June 2007 whe

Support the Iranian uprising - no to western interference

Iranian theocracy has been shaken to its foundations by the biggest uprising since the revolution of 1979. Again the regime has attacked students in their dormitories in echos of previous clampdowns, and there are varying reports on the death toll. Whatever the true result of the election, upon witch a recount has been ordered after the authorities had already claimed Ahmadinejad the winner, this people's movement is a blow against the dictatorship of the mullahs. The west should not take any of this as a sign that Iran intends to give up support for Palestine and Hamas or will give up its right to nuclear technology. Both issues have overwhelming support among Iranians, although the official state-orchestrated Palestinian solidarity events are often poorly attended. But the west, and Obama in particular, may look on at the unfolding events as the first fruits of his new 'openness' to the Muslim world, in the same way they have been doing following the victory of 'pro-

SOAS students occupy to protest immigration raids

Following unprecedented immigration raids at SOAS, students have now occupied the college. More when we get it or go to SolomonsMindfield By Sadie Robinson Students and workers at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) have organised an emergency protest for 8.30am on Monday 15 June to defend cleaners at the site who are facing imminent threat of deportation. Cleaners at SOAS were rounded up by immigration officials at an early morning meeting last Friday. The raid follows campaigns by the cleaners to win union recognition and the London Living Wage. Nine of the cleaners were subsequently held, including one woman who is six months pregnant. Their Unison union rep, Sandy Nicoll, said he was prevented from having any contact with them. By Sunday three had already been deported. Others may be deported on Monday morning. There is widespread anger and shock at the raid and at the speed with which the workers are being removed from Britain, with no opportunity to challenge the ru

Peaceful protest at Netanyahu speech attacked by Israel's police

Netanyahu's vacuous speech was not an acceptance of a Palestinian state on his part but rather a demand that the international community endorses nothing more than an Apartheid-style Bantustan. For the real take on the mindset of Israel consider the treatment of CodePink protesters in Tel Aviv for Netanyahu's speech - Ann Wright writing for the Huffington Post While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was making a major foreign policy speech at Tel Aviv University Sunday, Israeli police outside the university attacked international protesters of Israel's invasion of Gaza, illegal settlements and the apartheid wall. Heavy-handed police treatment of the unarmed, peaceful members of the CODEPINK delegation there began immediately after they unfurled several pink banners that read "Free Gaza" and "End the Occupation." CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin and New York activist Zool Zulkowitz were physically dragged across the street from their original pr

Carter attacks Israel for treating Gazans like 'savages'

Carter calls for Israel to stop treating Gazans like ' savages '. Israel bombed tunnels yesterday and seriously injured four people according to Palestinian medics. Israel has also imprisoned two Palestinian Journlaists for the crime of reporting from the Israeli side of the border - 'passing secret information to the enemy' - just before the invasion started. Other media outlets reported the same information as that supplied by the imprisoned journalists for Iran's Al-Alam Arabic-language satellite TV channel. Hadir Shaheen 34, and producer Mohammed Sarhan, 26, work for the Ramallah-based PMCC production company, which provides media services for Al-Alam. Two Arab journalists charged with passing secret information to the enemy by breaking IDF censorship during Operation Cast Lead were sentenced to two months in jail on Sunday at the Jerusalem District Court. The incident occurred during a broadcast on Iran's Al-Alam Arabic-language satellite TV channel on Jan

John Pilger on Obama - the charming face of the US tiger

Smile on the face of the tiger 11 June 2009 In his latest column for the New Statesman, John Pilger de-codes the "historic" speech President Obama made in Cairo "reaching out to the Muslim world", according to the BBC: in reality showing the seductive face of American power as it proceeds towards its unchanged goal. At 7.30 in the morning on 3 June, a seven-month-old baby died in the intensive care unit of the European Gaza Hospital in the Gaza Strip. His name was Zein Ad-Din Mohammed Zu’rob, and he was suffering from a lung infection which was treatable. Denied basic equipment, the doctors in Gaza could do nothing. For weeks, the child’s parents had sought a permit from the Israelis to allow them to take him to a hospital in Jerusalem, where he would have been saved. Like many desperately sick people who apply for these permits, the parents were told they had never applied. Even if they had arrived at the Erez Crossing with an Israeli document in their hands, the o

Ahmad Sa'adat enters second week of hunger strike

  The Campaign to Free Ahmad Sa'adat http://www.freeahmadsaadat.org/ June 11, 2009 Ahmad Sa'adat, the imprisoned General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, has entered the second week of his hunger strike to protest the policy of isolation and solitary confinement practiced by the Israeli prison administration against Palestinian prisoners. This is an urgent situation and requires broad solidarity and public support for the Palestinian prisoners within the jails of the occupier and in solidarity with Ahmad Sa'adat. Palestinian prisoners are suffering, subject to isolation and constant movement from prison to prison in an attempt to undermine the prisoners' strength, solidarity and steadfastness. They are denied family visits and prisoner leaders are particularly subject to the policy of isolation. The escalation of Israeli attacks on prisoners' rights - secured through many years of struggle - took place immediately following the w

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