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Argentina joins Brazil in recognising Palestine as a 'free and independent state'

Brazil, and now Argentina, have decided to recognise a Palestinian state which takes in the occupied territories, much to Israel's dismay. JERUSALEM -- Israel expressed disappointment Tuesday with Argentina's recognition of a Palestinian state in territories Israel occupied in 1967, saying they undercut American-led efforts to create such a state through negotiations with Israel. Argentina said its move, announced Monday just days after Brazil took a similar step, reflected the country's deep frustration with gridlocked peace efforts. more

Palestinian resistance fighters killed on northern border

Two resistance fighters killed by IDF Israeli occupation forces killed two "armed" Palestinians as they approached the northern border barrier of the Gaza Strip, Israeli officials said on Thursday. A statement from the Israeli military said that its forces "indentified a number of armed Palestinians" near the security barrier in the northern Gaza Strip. The statement claimed that the two Palestinians, affiliated with the Islamic Jihad Movement, were planning a "terror attack". Israeli military used tanks and air power to take down the two individuals. On Tuesday, five Palestinians were injured in Israeli army attacks on the Gaza border. more

Bili'in villager Abu Rahmah ends prison sentence for anti-wall protests - but still detained

Abdallah Abu Rahmah, the anti-wall activist from Bil'in village, is being kept in prison despite having completed his sentence for the 'crime' of organising an 'illegal march' – yet another example of the undemocratic nature of the Israeli state. An Israeli military court has prevented the release of a West Bank activist even though he has already served his one year prison sentence. The president of the military court of appeals Monday ordered Abdallah Abu Rahmah -- whose case has drawn international attention -- to stay in prison after a last minute petition by the Israeli Military Prosecution to extend his sentence. Abu Rahmah was convicted of incitement for organizing weekly demonstrations in the West Bank village of Bil'in against what Israel calls its security barrier and Palestinians call the apartheid separation wall. Israel says the barrier is needed for security, Palestinians say it is a land grab which cuts through village farmlands. The protests sta

AIPAC's huge spy operation against US to be exposed as zionists fight each other

Zionist lobby group AIPAC has descended into internecine warfare with an ex-policy chief threatening to expose the fact that AIPAC organises a mass spying operation in the US and regularly trades US intelligence secrets. No statement as yet from the US government. You might have thought it would be interested in prosecuting the individuals involved with treason, but such is the alliance between Israel and the US, sealed by their joint desire to keep the Arabs in their place, that of course nothing much will be done about it. The good news, however, is that AIPAC is beginning to show the strains of trying to sell the indefensible to the American public, as its leaders spend money and time fighting each other. Top AIPAC officials visited prostitutes, regularly watched porn at work: claim Is US's most influential advocate for Israel about to implode? A former foreign policy chief for the largest Israeli lobby in the US is threatening to provide evidence members of the organization reg

Settlers step up West Bank offensive against Palestinian farmers and villages

Settlers are on the rampage on the West Bank, launching attacks on Palestinian villages , evicting Palestinian families from their homes and stealing water from Palestinian farmers, preventing them from accessing their land, and destroying their olive groves . And of course the building programme pushes forward at a frenetic pace - creating facts on the ground. But there is some good news. AIPAC , the main Zionist lobby group in the US, is becoming increasingly split as its leadership descends into internecine warfare.

Viva Palestina 5 convoy cleared for Gaza entry buy Egypt maintains bar on Galloway

The Palestine Telegraph reports this morning that although Egypt will allow the Viva Palestina 5 convoy to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing, George Galloway remains persona non grata and will be barred. Cairo, October 14, (Pal Telegraph) Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced that Cairo is in the process of informing the organizers of the convoy lifeline 5 to allow them access to the port of El Arish, near the Gaza Strip. Official spokesman of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Hossam Zaki said: "Now we're going to inform the organizers of the convoy that we will allow them to sail from the Syrian port of Latakia, to the Egyptian port of El Arish”, stressing that Egypt's stance towards British MP George Galloway has not changed, in reference to the decision to ban him from entering Egypt. more

Viva Palestina aid convoy opens negotiations with Egypt to allow for Rafah entry

Convoy in negotiations with Egypt to allow crossing into Gaza through Rafah. Still waiting at Syrian port of Latakia. by Jim Nichol, on the convoy The fifth Viva Palestina convoy from Britain is nearing Gaza. Human rights lawyer and socialist Jim Nichol reports from the convoy Kayseri, Turkey: School children at the Hisarciklioglu high school line up to wave as we pass by. This was the school of Furkan Dogan. He was only 19-years-old when he was killed by the Israelis on the Mavi Marmara when they attacked the Gaza aid flotilla. He was the youngest to be killed. At the head of his grave is a poster with Furkan’s photo. He looks much younger than his 19 years. So much younger. The grave is planted with blues, yellows, pinks, orange and whites, and a single red rose. There are tears. Furkan was shot five times. Leaving Turkey: I’d like to get your sympathy by telling you that I am living on the baked beans that I bought in Tescos. But it would not be true. In every town we are feasted

Campaign to free Ahmad Sa'adat goes international as support grows

TAKE ACTION AGAINST ISOLATION - FREE AHMAD SA'ADAT! INTERNATIONAL DAYS OF ACTION - OCTOBER 5-15, 2010 Ahmad Sa'adat, the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, has been held in isolation in a series of prisons since March 16, 2009, with his isolation renewed again and again by occupation courts. He has been transferred from prison to prison, and is currently held in the isolation section of Ramon prison in the Naqab desert. Within these isolation units, Sa'adat has been placed further inside a separate isolation unit where he is confined without access even to the other prisoners in isolation, and deprived of basic human rights. His personal books have been confiscated and he is allowed access to newspapers only once or twice weekly. He is denied access to English and Arabic language newspapers and allowed only Hebrew-language media. He has been repeatedly denied family visits - his wife, Abla, has been allowed only two visits during his ent

52 trucks from Jordan and Gulf join Viva Palestina 5 aid convoy

Jordanian Aid Convoy crossed the city of Homs on Monday, and is heading for Latakia port. It includes 52 trucks, 120 activists and humanitarian aid offered from the Arab Gulf States and Jordan to the people of Gaza. Earlier, The Gaza-bound Lifeline 5 aid convoy, which includes 52 trucks, 120 supporters and humanitarian aid, crossed the Nassib border crossing point in Daraa, southern Syria. Coordinator of the Jordanian and Arab Gulf campaign Abdulfattah Kelani said that the convoy is heading to Gaza to express the Arab nation's desire to break the siege imposed on the people of Gaza, voicing appreciation of the limitless Syrian support for delivering aid to Gaza. He noted that Arab participation in Lifeline 5 makes up around two thirds of participants, explaining that the convoy is split into three parts; one from Europe and Turkey, one from North Africa and Maghreb, and one from the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan. more at Jordan's English language Day Press News

Israel soldiers forced Palestinian child to open package suspected of containing explosives

Two IDF staff sergeants have been indicted for forcing a nine-year-old Palestinian boy to open a package suspected of containing an explosive device. The incident only came to light after testimony at the Goldstone hearing which Israel refused to co-operate with. Although indicted, whether the soldiers will receive any punishment is an open question, with the move more likely a bit of window-dressing by the Israeli state in order to keep up the pretense that it is a democracy where the rule of law prevails. The maximum sentence they can receive is three years in prison, although it's more probable that the sentence will be a suspended one.

Viva Palestina land convoy now in Syria as UN council fails to endorse criminal inquiry into flotilla massacre

Video above from Iran's Press TV shows the convoy about to depart from Ankara, Turkey, en route to Syria. The convoy was met at the Syrian border by a couple of hundred Palestinian refugees and an official reception Meanwhile, Palestinian human rights groups are furious with the PA for going along with the postponement by the UN Human Rights Council of an international criminal inquiry into the Mavi Marmara massacre.

Jewish pro-Palestine activists electrocuted on boat mission to break Gaza siege

No one killed onboard the Irene, a 10-metre catamaran involved in the symbolic gesture to bring in small quantities of medicine and other vital supplies, but treatment was brutal by all accounts, including being electrocuted with tasers. The mission follows hard on the heels of the Mavi Marmara which saw nine activists killed in cold blood by the IDF. A fifth Viva Palestina land convoy is currently in Turkey en route to Gaza in addition to more aid boats. Five Israeli activists who attempted to break their country's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip in a boat have been released from police custody, though five others who had been on board the ship are set to be deported. Yonatan Shapira, a former pilot in the Israeli air force, said after being released on Tuesday that Israeli marines who boarded the yacht Irene were "very brutal". "They didn't kill us like they killed other Palestinians and Muslims, but they were very brutal. I got shot with a taser shock gun ..

Jewish Gaza aid boat hijacked by Israel and diverted to Ashdod

Israeli pirates, masquerading as a navy, have taken over the Irene, a Jewish-manned aid boat headed for Gaza. No one killed this time. The Israeli Navy has intercepted a Gaza-bound boat with nine Jewish activists on board and escorted it to Israel's Ashdod port. The activists' set sail from Cyprus on Sunday, hoping to break Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver supplies, including children's toys. But they had said they would not resist if they were thwarted, and the Jerusalem Post reports that the Israeli Navy "peacefully" boarded the activists' boat Tuesday. The encounter was being closely watched, four months after Israeli commandos raided a similar Gaza-bound boat from Turkey, resulting in a violent struggle that left nine pro-Palestinian activists dead, including eight Turkish citizens and one Turkish-American. more

Jewish aid ship sets out from Cyprus to break siege of Gaza

Thanks to Jews for Justice for Palestinians . An Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson has called this latest attempt to bust open the siege ''a provocative joke that isn't funny''. The boat has just left Cyprus so should be in Gazan territorial waters very soon. A boat carrying aid for Gaza’s population and organized by Jewish groups worldwide has set sail from Cyprus today at 13:32 local time The boat, Irene, is sailing under a British flag and is carrying nine passengers and crew, including Jews from the US, the UK, Germany and Israel as well as an Israeli journalist. The boat’s cargo includes symbolic aid in the form of children’s toys and musical instruments, textbooks, fishing nets for Gaza’s fishing communities and prosthetic limbs for orthopaedic medical care in Gaza’s hospitals. The receiving organization in Gaza is The Palestinian International Campaign to end the siege on Gaza, directed by Dr. Eyad Sarraj and Amjad Shawa, Director of PNGO The boat will at

Israel says to hell with international opinion as illegal settlements continue to grow

Now there's a surprise - Israel ignores international opinion and abandons its fairly weak 'moratorium ' on settlement building on the West Bank. Abbas promised that any such resumption would signal the end of a peace process that hasn't actually started. So why does Abbas have to go to the Arab League to work out what to do next? Already the Fatah-aligned al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade has made it clear that any continuation of talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority would be a disaster for the national struggle. Surely Abbas is aware that following his treacherous move to help the US and Israel and kick the Goldstone Report on Israel's Cast Lead massacres, he is in a dangerous credibility-deficit position. As for Obama and the US, they seem only too happy to allow the settlers to continue their colonial. Claims to contrary are hollow - unless they are about to slap some serious sanctions on Israel and to shutdown arms sales. Not going to happen. The settlers

Gaza fisherman killed in attack by Israeli Navy

The Israeli Navy has shot dead a Gaza fisherman as part of its ongoing campaign to wrest control of Palestinian natural gas reserves by making Gaza's territorial waters their own. It's probably no accident that renewed efforts to break the siege by pro-Palestine activists onboard the latest and largest flotilla is heading for the strip. Against the background of Israel's illegal bloackade, seafood is one of the few sources of high-protein food available to Gazans. A Palestinian fisherman was shot dead by the Israeli navy off the blockaded coast of the Gaza Strip on Friday, medics in the enclave said. "Fisherman Mohammed Bakr died by a bullet by the Israeli navy today in the sea north of the Gaza Strip," said Adham Abu Selmiya, who heads the Palestinian territory's medical services. more

UN investigators accuse Israel of war crimes in attack on Gaza flotilla

UN Human Rights Council's has issued a damning verdict on the murder of nine pro-Palestine activists, accusing Israel of war crimes citing clear grounds for prosecutions. Unfortunately the US will likely be able to block any serious action against the terror state. A United Nations panel of human rights experts has accused Israel of war crimes through willful killing, unnecessary brutality and torture in its "clearly unlawful" assault on a ship attempting to break the blockade of Gaza in May in which nine Turkish activists died. The report by three experts appointed by the UN's Human Rights Council (UNHRC) described the seizure of MV Mavi Marmara, a Turkish vessel, by Israeli commandos as illegal under international law. more

Viva Palestina 5 off to a flying start on mission to break Gaza siege

Viva Palestina 5 left London yesterday to deliver aid for Gaza. The land convoy is part of a pincer movement in combination with a large flotilla that will be arriving by sea at the same time. Two other land convoys are also departing for Gaza shortly, from Casablanca and Doha. The combined efforts make this the biggest attempt so far by international Gaza solidarity activists to break Israel's illegal and inhumane siege. All together about 150 vehicles are expected to enter Egypt at Al-Arish before crossing over into Gaza. The biggest international aid convoy yet to beleaguered Gaza sets off from London on Saturday. It aims to break the Israeli siege of the territory and deliver crucial relief supplies. Two survivors of the Mavi Marmara massacre, Nicci Enchmarch and Kevin Ovenden, are among the activists taking part. They were on board the ship on May 31 when Israeli commandoes killed nine of their Turkish friends and fellow activists. Following the attack they were held incommuni

British trade unions back boycott and divestment campaign against Israeli firms

The British Trade Union Congress, which brings together the entire trade union movement, has voted to boycott and divest from firms operating in the occupied territories and has condemned the murderous attack on the flotilla and castigated the Israeli trade union movement - the Histadrut - for going along with it. Britain's trade union movement has sent its strongest ever message of support for the Palestinian people by calling for boycott and disinvestment from firms that profit from the occupation and illegal settlements... ...The TUC general council will now stand shoulder to shoulder with the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unionists and Britain's Palestine Solidarity Campaign in pressing for an end to the siege of Gaza, a full inquiry into the flotilla attack and progress towards a "free Palestine." more

Second Israeli attack in a week sees at least one person killed as Gaza tunnels bombed

Close on the heels of Sunday's incursion and killings, Israel launched air strikes on the tunnels in the south. Reports indicate at least one person has been killed. Israel excuses the killing as a response to rocket fire from Gaza. At least one Palestinian has been killed and two others injured after Israeli fighter jets bombed three smuggling tunnels running between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, Palestinian medics say. more

Children the main sufferers from Israel's siege of Gaza and West Bank occupation

The UN reports that Palestinian children are returning to bombed out schools in Gaza while on the West Bank they have to put up with harassment from settlers on their way to and from poorly maintained and equipped schools, despite the best efforts of the Palestinian Authority. 10,000 children will start school in tents and caravans. And all this is against a background of the general psychological stress and damage brought on by war and occupation. The Minister of Education and Higher Education, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) warn that educational standards have plummeted to an unacceptable level, despite the efforts of the Palestinian Authority and the support of the international community. Today, as over a million children return to school in the oPt, an unacceptable number of them are facing long and precarious journeys to schools ill-equipped to receive them. In Gaza, more than a year after 'Cast Lead'

Three Palestinian civilians killed as Israel invades Gaza from north and south

Israel has been killing civilians again. On Sunday they invaded Gaza from the north and south with tanks and drones. It's really hard to call these IDF people soldiers as they go about their murderous business. A grandfather and his son are among the dead. Israel is a terrorist state but of course Obama will continue the policy of arming it to the teeth. Meanwhile, they burn and otherwise desecrate Korans in the US. This hasn't been reported in the US media as far as I can tell but there's a Guardian report here Three Palestinia Publish Post ns including two members of one family were killed on Sunday evening in an Israeli artillery bombardment targeted the area of northeast of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. Read more at the Palestine Telegraph .

Ramadan ends in Gaza with Israeli air strikes as two injured

And another present from Israel for Eid - this time for the people of Gaza, as F-16 air strikes hit Gaza. GAZA, Sept. 9 ( Xinhua ) -- Israeli F-16 warplanes carried out several strikes Friday on the Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants fired a mortar shell from the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave into Israel. The first airstrike in the evening targeted a training field inside a security compound run by the deposed Hamas government and slightly injured a bystander.

Israeli soldier who murdered peace activist Tom Hurndall set free

pic: David Bachar Another day and another Israeli 'soldier' murderer goes free - a present for Muslims around the world as Ramadan comes to an end. An Israel Defense Forces soldier found guilty of manslaughter in the 2003 death of a British peace activist was released Wednesday, after serving three quarters of his sentence. Sgt. Taysir Hayb's early release was secured last month, after a military committee overruled the Military Advocate General's opinion and ordered the soldier's release. He has served six years of the eight-year sentence he received in 2005. Thomas Hurndall, then 22, was shot in April 2003 while photographing an International Solidarity Movement protest in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, where Hayb was stationed in a watchtower as part of the Bedouin Reconnaissance Battalion. Hurndall died the following year after a nine-month coma. more

Israel worries as economic boycott movement spreads around the world

Haaretz published an interesting piece on the impact of the economic boycott, bemoaning the fact that the Chilean parliament has just passed support for an economic boycott, in addition to moves by pension and investment funds in Sweden and Norway to divest from Israeli defence industry firm Elbit Systems . Laughably the growing influence of the BDS movement is put down to an alliance between the far left and Islamists - apparently the Islam side provides the money and the lefties the troops. What a load of nonsense. The Haaretz journalist twists the obvious fact that it is Israel's actions itself that is driving the movement forward, with the spurious argument that if only Israel had not been a 'light unto nations' in the first place it may have avoided 'disappointing' those supporters now. There's another boycott, an international one, that's gaining momentum - an economic boycott. Last week the Chilean parliament decided to adopt the boycott of Israeli p

Hamas promises more attacks on West Bank settlers as four shot dead near Hebron

Hamas has claimed responsibility for the killing of four settlers yesterday near Hebron on the West Bank. The attack was a shock for the Israelis who assumed Hamas was not capable of such operations on the West Bank. The attack has already served the purpose of embarrassing Abbas and Palestinian Authority . In truth the PA was doing that itself by agreeing to talks without a commitment from Israel to cease all settlement activity. The 'peace talks' were always an irrelevant joke. This attack makes them even more so. Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Council has begun its investigation into the flotilla massacre. The team were started in Jordan and spoke to Arab MK members yesterday, one of whom declared that the commandos had been given a licence to kill. Israel is refusing to cooperate with the investigation. "Israel's use of large numbers of elite troops with sophisticated weaponry showed it intended to kill the passengers," added the lawmaker, who was aboard the

Racism in Israel as 400 children threatened with deportation for not being Jewish

Angry protests have taken place in Tel Aviv against the planned deportation of four hundred children of immigrant workers. Born in Israel and speaking Hebrew, the youngsters were never given citizenship because their parents are not Israeli or Jewish. Many people are questioning the government's drive to preserve what it calls 'the Jewish character of the state'.

IDF murderer of 13-year-old girl set free after saying he'd do it again - to a 3-year-old

Does the rule of law apply in Israel? Of course it does - the law that says an Arab life is worthless. An Israeli army officer who fired the entire magazine of his automatic rifle into a 13-year-old Palestinian girl and then said he would have done the same even if she had been three years old was acquitted on all charges by a military court yesterday. The soldier, who has only been identified as "Captain R", was charged with relatively minor offences for the killing of Iman al-Hams who was shot 17 times as she ventured near an Israeli army post near Rafah refugee camp in Gaza a year ago. more

Bil'in anti-apartheid wall campaign co-ordinator convicted of organising 'illegal marches' - protest now

One of the regular Bil'in protests - violently attacked by the IDF in typical fashion. Earlier today [Thursday 26 Auugust], Abdallah Abu Rahmah, the coordinator of the Bil'in Popular Committee, was convicted of incitement and organizing illegal marches by an Israeli military court. The conviction concluded an eight months long political show trial, during which he was kept behind bars. Persecuted for his key role in organizing the successful grassroots campaign against the wall and Jewish-only settlement on Bil'in's land, Abdallah was convicted based only on the forced testimonies of minors who were arrested from their beds at the middle of the night. not a single material evidence was presented during the entire trial. We are now waiting for Abdallah's sentence, but he is facing years in jail. Now is the last moment act up on his case, and it is still not too late. Last year, on the night of International Human Right Day, Thursday December 10th, at 2am, Abdallah Ab

Lebanese aid ship for Gaza delayed in port due to Greek and Cypriot pressure

Unfortunately, as we suspected the departure of the Lebanese aid ship Mariam has still not taken place. The Jerusalem Post says Greece and Cyprus have been 'forthcoming' in applying pressure to delay the sailing. Protests are needed in both countries to stop this obstruction of the Lebanese ships' blockade-busting voyage. One of two Lebanese ships due to sail to Gaza in order to break Israel’s naval blockade postponed its departure again on Sunday, amid assessments in Jerusalem that there was now only a “low probability” that it would indeed depart. more

Gaza power plant back in operation after deal with PA on fuel payments

The Gaza Strip's sole power plant resumed generating on Wednesday after the territory's Hamas rulers reached agreement on fuel payments to the rival Palestinian Authority, both sides said. "Fuel was introduced into the electricity plant today, allowing a second turbine to go into operation" and permitting electricity generation to resume, said Suheil Skeik, head of the Gaza power distribution company. more

Lebanon aid ship Mariam setting off for Gaza but Cyprus says it will turn it back

Hopefully this is not a false start , but organisers in Lebanon have announced that the aid ship Mariam, named after the Virgin Mary (formerly Julia ?), will be leaving for Gaza on Sunday. The ship has to sail via a third country due to the state of war that still exists between Lebanon and Israel, but the Greek Cypriot government, keen to protect its trade with Israel, is refusing permission for the vessel to dock at a Cypriot port. Protests need to be organised quickly in Cyprus to stop the government's collaboration with the Israeli attempts to stop maritime efforts to break the siege. At the press conference in Lebanon the authorities prevented the organisers from speaking to the media from the ship docked at Tripoli harbour. The ship is carrying 75 women activists, cancer medication, books and toys. ...on Thursday, the Cypriot ambassador to Lebanon told The Associated Press that the boat, the Mariam, will be turned back when it reaches Cyprus. "We decided that such a ship

Algerian aid ship sets course for Gaza

Algerian aid ship left port today destined for Gaza. Aboard are political and religious leaders. The vessel is carrying educational and medical supplies in addition to food. The ship will unload at the Egyptian port of El-Arish where the supplies will travel by road through the Rafah crossing. Egypt is reported to have agreed to the transshipment.

IDF officer sells laptops belonging to Mavi Marmara activists

Many of the personal possessions, such as laptops, supposedly 'confiscated' by Israel after the Mavi Marmara flotilla massacre are now turning out to have been stolen and sold on by IDF commandos. Now there's a surprise. And the first suspect is not just any old soldier but an officer holding the rank of first lieutenant. He sold the laptops on to other IDF officers. Between four and six laptops are believed to have been stolen. An Italian journalist has complained that his credit was used after being confiscated by the IDF onboard the Mavi Marmara. Military Police arrested an Israel Defense Forces officer suspected of stealing laptop computers from activists aboard the Gaza-bound aid ship raided by Israeli commandos in May and selling them to other officers. more

IDF soldiers' trophy photos routine part of ongoing dehumanisation of Palestinians

On top of revolting t-shirts celebrating their war crimes, IDF soldiers routinely took photographs of their captives bound and blindfolded as in the pictres posted by one 'soldier' on facebook. A former Israel Defense Forces soldier has raised a storm on the internet after posting photographs of herself posing next to blindfold Palestinian prisoners on Facebook. Photographs uploaded by Eden Abergil from Ashdod and labeled "IDF – the best time of my life" show her smiling next to Palestinian prisoners with their hands bound and their eyes covered. "That looks really sexy for you," says a comment posted by one of Abergil's friends on the social networking site, alongside a picture or the soldier smiling in front of two blindfold men. From Haaretz

Al-Quds day protest London 4 September - break the siege of Gaza

The Annual Al-Quds Day Demonstration and Rally is confirmed to take place in London on Saturday 4th September 2010. This is a major national event with thousands of people coming from up and down the country in support of Palestine and the Palestinian people. Stand with us, united for the Palestinian cause! End the Siege. End the Oppression. End the Israeli Apartheid. Date: Saturday, 04 September 2010 Time: 2.00pm Place: Assembling at Marble Arch (nearest tube station Marble Arch) and marching to the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square for a rally). Supporting organisations include: AhlulBayt Islamic Mission, Friends of Lebanon, Innovative Minds, Islamic Centre of England, Islamic Human Rights Commission, Islamic Student Association UK, Lebanese Community UK, Muslim Association of Britain, and Palestine Return Centre. Join us to protest for the rights of the oppressed in Palestine! IHRC is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Pl

Israel makes second incursion into Gaza as mortars hit IDF troops

IDF is making its second incursion into Gaza, following a similar move yesterday. Today Israeli tanks fired shells near Khan Younis destroying a house - apparently the same house targeted yesterday. No casualties have been reported as yet. Mortar fire by Palestinians yesterday in response to the incursion led to the injury of two Israeli soldiers .

Viva Palestina announces September 18th departure date for land convoy to Gaza

Viva Palestina has announced that its land convoy will be leaving on 18 September. If you wish to join the convoy register here . The terrible massacre aboard the Mavi Marmara on 31 May has brought a sea change in international opinion against the inhumane siege on the people of Gaza. Far from deterring people from seeking to bring that siege to an end, the Israeli assault on the Freedom Flotilla is spurring on even more people to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and to end the blockade. Viva Palestina has organised three massive land convoys to Gaza in the last 18 months - all of which have delivered their aid - and participated in the latest flotilla. Over the last few weeks we have been discussing with partner organisations how to coordinate relief efforts by land and sea so as to have the maximum impact. As a result Viva Palestina is launching "Viva Palestina 5 - a global lifeline to Gaza", a gigantic land convoy leaving London on Saturda

Fascist EDL comes to the assistance of pro-Israel Ahava protesters

At the most recent protest against Ahava in Covent Garden, London, the zionist counter demonstrators were joined by the fascist, anti-Muslim, street fighting hooligans of the so-called English Defence League. Incredible but true. Thanks to Alex Seymour at palestinevideo for the video. In a victory for the BDS movement four protesters who were charged with trespass for entering an Ahava store have been found not guilty. See the story at the International Solidarity Movement

Irish ready to send another ship for second Gaza flotilla

A committee has been set up to help buy an Irish ship to sail in a second Freedom Flotilla to Gaza, it emerged last night. The Irish Ship to Gaza Committee, which comprises a number of Irish anti-war and pro-Palestinian organisations, intends to send a convoy to the region in October... ...The Irish Ship to Gaza Committee includes the Free Gaza Movement (one of the main organisers of the original flotilla), the Irish Anti-War Movement, the Palestinian Rights Institute, the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the Derry Friends of Palestine, Ireland to Gaza, the Belfast Friends of Palestine and the Trade Union Friends of Palestine. Read more at the Belfast Telegraph

Church in Wales's Canon Morrison calls for lifting of Israel's Gaza siege

Canon Robin Morrison is a member of the Church in Wales International Strategic Affairs Group. Writing in today's Western Mail, a UK regional newspaper, he attacks Israel's moral hypocrisy, calling for the immediate lifting of the siege. People from Swansea (see video above) took part in the last Viva Palestina aid convoy. A mobile dental clinic donated by funds raised from local people was destroyed in Israel's recent war against the people of Gaza. Israel, with its democratic claims, faces charge of moral hypocrisy Aug 4 2010 by Our Correspondent, Western Mail After David Cameron sparked a diplomatic row by describing Gaza as a “prison camp”, Church in Wales Canon Robin Morrison urges Israel to take heed of the criticism THE Prime Minister, speaking during his recent foreign tour, boldly stated what many people have felt for some time. He accused Israel of turning Gaza into a prison camp and demanded that more provisions be allowed in. The realities of life in Gaza were

Palestinian soldier killed and two injured after IDF shelling near Khan Younis

A Palestinian fighter has been killed and two wounded after the IDF shelled southern Gaza, east of Khan Younis. It's now been confirmed that an IDF officer was shot dead by a Lebanese army sniper . Someone should remind the IDF high command that the days of attacking Lebanon with impunity are over. A Palestinian was killed and two others wounded shortly after midnight in an Israeli artillery shelling on an area east of the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis, medics and witnesses said Wednesday morning. The witnesses said that the Israeli artillery targeted, with three shells, a group of militants east of the village of Abassan, killing one of them and wounding two. more

Israel attacks Lebanon killing three soldiers and one journalist

Israel today killed three Lebanese soldiers and journalist Assaf Abou Rahhal from the Al-Akhbar newspaper, in the first major military clashes since the second Lebanon war four years ago. An Israeli helicopter fired missiles at a Lebanese army armoured personnel carrier in addition to shelling. Lebanon's President Suleiman has said Lebanon will 'stand up to Israel' , while Syria has offered its full backing to the country in the face of the latest Israeli aggression. Hezbollah has warned that the resistance is ready and has its own 'target bank' . [update 15:51 GMT+1] IDF is reporting two commanders seriously injured in ambush by Lebanese army. NYTimes reporting an IDF battalion commander has been killed . Al-Jazzera is running a live blog here

Canadian boat to Gaza raising $300,000 for aid mission

Canadian Boat to GAZA It's time to send a Canadian Boat to Gaza Canadian civil society has a responsibility to fight the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza and to expose the Canadian government's unjustified support for Israel. The time has come to send a Canadian boat to challenge the blockade of Gaza, in coordination with similar international efforts. We need to raise $300,000 (cost of boat and crew, not including aid to carry to Gaza) over the course of the coming couple of months. We need to approach Canadian public figures to be on the boat. The blockade of Gaza goes two ways, it restricts bringing materials into Gaza and it does not allow anything to leave Gaza either. This, in addition to starving the population, denies the Palestinians of Gaza the ability to trade with the world, further suffocating them. The Canadian boat, working with the Palestinians in Gaza, will aim to carry exports out of Gaza. Thus asserting their right to export, trade and provide for themselves

American Furkan Dogan killed on flotillla ignored because of Turkish heritage

Roger Cohen writes in the New York Times about the forgotten American, Furkan Dogan, killed on the flotilla - contrasting his lack of visibility in death to what might have been, if he wasn't a Turkish-American but had a surname of say Bradley or indeed Cohen. Glad someone in the mainstream US press has at last had the decency to highlight this blatant anti-Muslim/Turkish bias. TROY, New York — The Dogans were a quiet family little noticed by their neighbors here in upstate New York. Ahmet Dogan had come to the area from Turkey to study accounting at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was a serious student; the Dogans did little entertaining. But when their younger son, Furkan, was born in 1991, the family threw a party and a neighbor recalled a toast “to the first U.S. citizen in the family.” Furkan Dogan would live just two years in Troy, returning to Turkey with his family in 1993. But he was proud of his American passport and dreamt of coming back after completing medical

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Boycott of New York diamond dealer launched to protest settlement construction

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Support striking Palestinian quarry workers demanding their rights from Israeli employer

On 16 June, 35 Palestinian workers at Salit Quarries in Mishor Adumim (in area C, east of Jerusalem, in the Occupied West Bank) began a strike. The workers, organized with the independent union WAC-Ma'an, are demanding an end to exploitation and humiliation, and insist on signing a first collective agreement. Salit Quarries’ main customer is Readymix Industries (Israel). The total reliance of Salit Quarry on Readymix as their biggest and by far the most important customer puts responsibility on Readymix to make sure that their clients abides by labour laws and safeguards elementary rights for the workers of Salit. We call upon Readymix to urge the Salit management to terminate this unnecessary strike by signing the collective agreement with the workers and WAC-Ma’an. Click this protest link to send your message. The text of the message is as follows: I write to you to express my grave concern about the failure of Salit management to sign a collective agreement with the workers of