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Miles of Smiles 4 aid convoy arrives at Egypt's Cairo airport for transfer to Arish and then Gaza

A Gaza-bound aid convoy arrived in the Egyptian city of Arish, North Sinai on Sunday. North Sinai Governorate official, Gaber al-Araby, who also heads the Egyptian Red Crescent in the governorate, said preparations are underway to allow the convoy, called "Miles of Smiles 4", to transfer its cargo to the strip. He told reporters that the convoy had arrived at Cairo International Airport before moving to Arish by land. The convoy includes 35 activists from Spain, the UK and Bahrain, carrying nearly three tons of medicines and other relief supplies. More

Farmer shot in Beit Lahiya northern Gaza while working in field

Gaza Strip, ( Pal Telegraph )-A  twenty year-old Palestinian farmer was shot Saturday  by Israeli gunfire in the north of Beit Lahya town, northern Gaza Strip. Adham Abu Silmiya, medical emergency spokesman, said that Israeli forces stationed along the northern borders of Gaza Strip opened fire at Palestinian farmers who were working in their fields, leaving one injured. The man was evacuated immediately to Kamal Udwan hospital to receive medication due to a bullet hit his head, he added.  Israeli forces on Gaza borders continue to target Palestinian farmers, hindering them access to their lands, creating tension among civilians, and inflicting damage to Palestinian properties.

Family from al-Wallaja village cut off by separation barrier so Israel to build them a tunnel

From Al Jazeera A separation barrier being built by Israel in the West Bank, the occupied Palestinian territory, will further isolate the village of al-Wallaja from the outside world, Palestinians say. The Hajajleh family, whose backyard is already bound by an electronic fence, is among those who will be cut off from relatives in al-Wallaja. So Israel is building him an $800,000 personal tunnel as the family's only connection to the village. Palestinians say the move is not out of goodwill - but is part of a grander government plan to squeeze them out of another huge area of the West Bank. Jad Isaac, a researcher, says al-Wallaja is standing in the way of Israel's long-term plan to complete a ring of Jewish settlements that would surround the neighbouring city of Bethlehem. The tunnels would eventually become the village's only means of access to the outside world, he says. Tom Ackerman reports from the West Bank.

Masked settlers attack Palestinian shepherds and internationals using stones and iron bars

Three settlers from the illegal West Bank settlement of Havat Maon harassed three Palestinian shepherds and attacked two internationals observers near Mesheha hill. The masked settlers threw stones at the internationals as well as hitting one of them with an iron bar on the head. The Palestinian shepherds were tending to their flocks when the settlers came to harass them and attack the internationals at 9:15AM Wednesday July 27, 2011. The shepherds left the area before being attacked by the settlers but the Internationals were attacked. One of the internationals was a member of the Christian Peacemaker Team. The settler ruined this international’s camera. After being attacked by the settler, the international was sent to the hospital to receive eight stitches. The four unidentified settlers chased both of the internationals back to At-Tuwani. The international organizations, Operation Dove and the Christian Peacemaker Team, have maintained a presence at At-Tawani and the south Hebron h

Protests as Israel continues policy of detaining Palestinian MPs with arrest of Abu Tous

GAZA, ( PIC )-- First deputy speaker of the Palestinian legislative council (PLC) Dr. Ahmed Bahar has condemned the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) for abducting the council member Khaled Abu Tous. He affirmed in a press release on Saturday that the policy of kidnapping Palestinian lawmakers had completely failed in absenting them from the political arena and social work in the West Bank. Bahar said that the detention of Abu Tous reflected the state of confusion prevailing among Israeli decision-makers and their wish to spread tension in the Palestinian arena. The Israeli occupation authority (IOA) failed in curbing the growing role of those MPs in the West Bank despite the plots against them, the deputy speaker said. Bahar questioned the role of international organizations and human rights groups vis-à-vis such practices, which they condemn in various other world areas but remain dead silent when it comes to Israeli practices. He urged all parliamentary blocs in the PLC to stand unite

Occupation force move to shutdown West Bank anti-wall protests - 15 injured at Qalqiliya

RAMALLAH ( Ma'an ) -- Israeli forces on Friday fired tear gas and sound grenades to shut down weekly anti-wall protests in villages across the West Bank. Activists said three women were injured and three foreign nationals were detained in Nabi Saleh. A journalist for Al-Hayat Al-Jadida was attacked and briefly detained at the protest. Meanwhile hundreds of Palestinians, Israelis and international activists played a football match during an anti-wall demonstration in Al-Masara near Bethlehem. Activists said soldiers attacked popular committee spokesman Muhammad Ahmad Burjieh, 33. He was taken to hospital in Beit Jala with fractured ribs. more 15 injured at Qalqiliya Fifteen Palestinian protesters were injured on Friday when Israeli forces dispersed a peaceful protest in the village of Kafr Qaddum, east of Qalqiliya. The protesters were demanding that Israeli forces open the village's main entrance, which has been closed for nearly nine years. Murad Shteiwi, spokesman for the wee

Gaza's hospitals in grip of severe fuel shotages as operations cancelled

Serious fuel shortages in Gaza are about to lead to a “humanitarian catastrophe” according to the director of public medical supplies. Already major hospitals have begun shutting down operating rooms as a result of the shortages according to Ma’an News Agency. The Ministry of Health in Gaza claims that it has only received one quarter to one third of the fuel it requires for 2011. The fuel is critical for providing electricity through generators. Operating rooms in Gaza City’s Ash-Shifa and the European Khan Younis hospitals have already been closed because of power shortages. It is feared that there will be further closures in these and other hospitals. Further hospital closures will exacerbate the current humanitiarian crisis of the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza. Earlier this year, the hospitals also faced critical shortages of medical supplies. Israel currently maintains a maritime blockade of Gaza and only keeps open one border crossing. Gaza also has a border crossing wi

PFLP claims responsibility for sniper attack on Israeli soldiers near Gaza City

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- The armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, have claimed responsibility for firing at Israeli soldiers on Thursday in the Ash Shujaiyeh neighborhood near Gaza City. The group targeted an engineering unit of Israeli soldiers with sniper fire. A statement by the group said they would "continue with resistance and respond to the Israeli [occupation] crimes." more

Gaza's children retake world kite-flying record despite attack on summer camp

UN News Centre 28 July 2011 – Defying intimidation, children in Gaza stood their ground to wrestle the world record for kite flying back from China, hours after their United Nations-run summer camp facility was attacked by unknown assailants. According to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), 10 men attacked and vandalized the facility in north-west Gaza early today. The attackers damaged a large billboard, burned a UN flag and torched part of the stage. In the kite-flying event, the official tally of children flying flags was more than 13,000. The verified figure will be released tomorrow. But the result beats the previous record of 10,465, which had been claimed in April by the Kite Association of Weifang Binhai Economic Technological Development Area in Weifang City, Shandong Province, China. “Taking on the might of China is a daunting feat for the children of Gaza,” said UNRWA acting director in Gaza, Christer Nordahl. “But they have risen

Israeli airstrike destroyed decades-old agricultural water well in Gaza says Oxfam

GAZA, July 28, 2011, (WAFA)- A decades-old agricultural water well was destroyed in an Israeli military airstrike,  which also injured seven people, including four children, this week in Beit Hanoun, a town north of the Gaza Strip, said an Oxfam weekly report between July 17 and 23. The airstrike happened on July 17 at around 3:00 am, and also damaged water tanks serving up to 60 people in the neighborhood. The Emergency Water Sanitation and Hygiene group (EWASH), a coalition of 30 humanitarian organizations in the occupied Palestinian territory including Oxfam, has documented the destruction caused by the Israeli airstrike. “This is not the first time this year that Israeli airstrikes hit water and sanitation infrastructure,” said Ghada Snunu, EWASH’s advocacy task force officer in Gaza. “Last March, the Khuza’a municipality warehouse was hit by an airstrike destroying a large quantity of essential water and sanitation materials and spare parts to the value of over US$60,000. In Apri

10-truck African aid convoy to Gaza reaches Sudan for transfer by ship to Suez

Port Sudan, Sudan (CNN) -- A humanitarian land convoy heading to Gaza from South Africa reached Port Sudan, Sudan on the Red Sea Wednesday and is destined to become the first relief mission to Gaza from Africa. "I was inspired last year by the convoys that went to Gaza from Europe, so we asked ourselves; why not from Africa?" said Sheikh Walid al-Saadi of the South African Relief Agency (SARA). After eight months of preparation, the land convoy which consists of ten trucks, explained al-Saadi, departed Durban, South Africa on June 26 and has passed through seven countries thus far including Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan. It is to unload its shipment of humanitarian aid in Port Sudan on ships that will head to Suez, Egypt where members of the convoy will receive their trucks after flying to Egypt from Sudan. The convoy has received the support of several South African leaders including Bishop Desmond Tutu who said in a YouTube video message: &

Urgent Action Alert for Scottish Aid to Gaza Convoy stuck at Rafah - email Egypt's prime minister

(pic: a previous Scottish aid convoy to Gaza) Urgent Alert for Scottish Aid to Gaza Convoy stuck @ Rafah Military leaders in Cairo are obstructing entrance into Gaza at the Raffah crossing for three trucks carrying medical supplies along with two ambulances. Please show solidarity with the Gazan people by voicing your protest as soon as possible! send your email to: Dr. Essam Sharaf, Prime Minister, The Arab Republic of Egypt pm@cabinet.gov.eg cc: Embassy, The Arab Republic of Egypt Embassy@egyptembassy.net

European parliamentarians tour Gaza and meet with health minster

(pic: UK parliamentarian Tony Lloyd of the Labour Party is leading the delegation) GAZA, ( PIC )-- A high-profile delegation of parliamentarians from various European countries has met with Gaza Health Minister Bassem Na'im on a tour of the Gaza Strip. Minister Na'im briefed the delegation headed by British Labor party chairman Tony Lloyd on the effects the Israeli political and economic blockade has had on the Strip's health sector. According to the figures he presented, 163 essential medicines and 149 medical consumables have run out in the besieged enclave. Na'im also brought up the ill effects the eight hour a day power outages have had on the hospitals' medical equipment, also blaming the Israeli siege over the situation. During the meeting, British MP Tony Lloyd said he was shocked at what he saw and promised to deliver a message he received from a young Thalassemia patient to be dealt with on the international forums. The letter addressed the boy's suffer

Overnight attack vandalises UNRWA summer camp for children in Gaza

GAZA CITY - Ten men attacked and vandalised overnight a United Nations facility being used to stage summer camps for children in the Gaza Strip, a UN spokesman said on Thursday. Chris Gunness, spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which supports Palestinian refugees, said the facility in northwest Gaza was attacked around midnight on Wednesday. "The attackers damaged a large billboard, burnt a UN flag and torched part of the stage. None of the UN security personnel at the venue were harmed," Gunness said. The attack came the day before children attending UNRWA summer camps will attempt to set a world record for the largest number of children flying kites at the site. Gunness said the record attempt would go ahead despite the attack, and called on local authorities to investigate the vandalism. "We condemn this attack, which is an attack on the children of Gaza as much as on the United Nations," he said. "We call on the authorities in Gaza to inv

Man dies after being refused permission by Israel to leave Gaza for medical treatment

Al Qassam website- Besiged Gaza- Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported that a 33-year-old patient died on Sunday in the Gaza Strip after the Israeli Authorities denied him permit to be moved into the West Bank for urgent medical treatment. The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights reported that Raed Azzam Al Moghari, from Al Boreij refugee camp in central Gaza, had a chronic heart disease and required urgent treatment out of the Gaza Strip as the Israeli siege left hospitals in Gaza out of basic supplies. The Palestinian District Coordination Office had repeatedly contacted its Israeli counterpart, and informed the Israeli side that the case of Al Moghari is urgent, and that he needed immediate medical attention, but the request was denied. The patient’s health condition had severely deteriorated on Sunday, and he was moved to the operations room, but he died under surgery. The Al Mezan Center stated that two patients died in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of this year

Unknown assailants attack Gaza seaside resort after appeals for police guard ignored

(pic: A view of damage after unknown assailants set fire to a water resort in Gaza City - MaanImages) GAZA CITY ( Ma’an ) -- Assailants burned a Gaza resort at dawn Wednesday, the manager said. Imad Al-Wazeer told Ma'an a group of 30 armed and masked men arrived at the Rais resort in Gaza and threatened employees. The resort was damaged in Israel's Operation Cast Lead but Al-Wazeer says he reopened the facility in order to show Israel that the people of Gaza would live their lives in spite of the attack. "This time, unfortunately, my resort was damaged by Palestinian hands," he said. The resort cost some $120,000 to establish and has swimming pools, restaurants and other facilities. After the attack, however, 13 employees have lost their jobs, Al-Wazeer says. He held the police in Gaza responsible for the attack, saying they should provide security. "I asked the police several times to provide protection and security but no one paid any attention," he said.

Palestinian Center for Human Rights condemns use of death sentence against collaborators

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the implementation of death sentences against two Palestinians this morning. These death sentences were implemented without the ratification of the Palestinian President. PCHR reiterates that the ratification of death sentences is an exclusive power of the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) under the Code of Criminal Procedures (3) of 2001; the implementation of any death sentences without the President's ratification constitutes a violation of the law and constitution. PCHR stresses that the ratification of such sentences is necessary especially following signing the Palestinian reconciliation agreement in May 2011. According to information available to PCHR, on Tuesday morning, 26 July 2011, the Ministry of Interior in Gaza executed by hanging (M.A.Q), 60, and (R.A.Q), 29, who were sentenced to death by a civilian court on 29 November 2004 after they had been convicted of collaboration with fo

Election committee says Hamas obstructing local election preparation efforts in Gaza

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — Palestinian local elections in October will only be held in the West Bank as Hamas is hampering preparations in Gaza, a senior electoral official said on Wednesday. Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, the official said the government had informed the Central Elections Commission (CEC) of a decision taken earlier on Wednesday. "The elections committee was informed today by the government that it had decided to hold municipal elections only in the West Bank on October 22," he said. An official government statement was expected during the evening. The issue was the subject of a special cabinet session earlier on Wednesday after the CEC sent a letter to say it was proving impossible to prepare for elections in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, the official said. "We sent a letter to the government to say we cannot work in Gaza to prepare for the elections. "Until now, Hamas has prevented the elections committee from doing its work in G

Tanks and bulldozers enter Gaza destroying farmland east of Khan Younis

KHAN YOUNIS, ( PIC )-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in army tanks and bulldozers advanced into southern Gaza Strip areas to the east of Khan Younis on Tuesday, eyewitnesses said. They said that six bulldozers and three tanks advanced east of Qarara amidst random firing and bulldozed cultivated fields. Other units advanced into Farahin area and leveled cultivated land lots, sources said, adding that the IOF soldiers routinely raid those areas. PIC

Miles of Smiles 4 aid convoy focused on alleviating suffering of youngsters, arrives in Gaza Wednesday

Gaza,( Alresalah.ps )--Ali Alnazli , the spokesman for the Popular Committee to lift the siege on Gaza, said that fifty solidarity activist from Britain will arrive in Gaza Wednesday via Rafah Crossing. The activists will come in the convoy of '' Miles of Smiles 4" to show support and solidarity with the Palestinian people under the Israeli suffocating siege continuing for more than five years. In an executive interview to Alresalah net , Alnazli pointed out that the British delegation has come to the besieged enclave to shed light on the suffering that the Palestinian people, particularly Palestinian youths, face under the Israeli siege. He revealed to Alresalah net that the fifth convoy of ''miles of smiles'' will get to the besieged Gaza strip late in Ramadan supported by British institutions supportive of the Palestinian cause and seeking to break the siege. more

Video: BDS strategy roundtable with poet Remi Kanazi, professor Sunaina Maira, and Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah

At the most recent Al-Awda conference in Garden Grove, California, poet Remi Kanazi, professor Sunaina Maira (UC Davis), and The Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah laid out the current strategies of the current global boycott, divestment and sanctions movement led by Palestinian civil society, and analyzed the movement’s gains as well as the mounting backlash against BDS actions and activists. The video, produced by Alternate Focus and Al-Awda: The Palestinian Right to Return Coalition , is 29 minutes long and is both a fantastic primer for Palestine solidarity activists wanting to learn more about what BDS is and how it works, as well as a riveting discussion for seasoned BDS activists seeking to expand the movement. BDS Movement

Egypt allows aid into Gaza but still refusing to allow vehicles of Scottish medical convoy to enter

EL-ARISH, Egypt ( Ma'an ) -- Egyptian authorities allowed 30 tons of medical aid into the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, Egyptian Red Crescent director Jaber Al-Arabi said. The aid was donated by the Egyptian doctors' syndicate. Al-Arabi told Ma'an that 60 tons of meat donated by New Zealand's Islamic Relief Committee arrived in El-Arish on Tuesday and would be transported to Gaza on Wednesday. He added that five tons of baby formula and food supplements for pregnant women would be transferred to the coastal enclave through the Rafah crossing on Thursday. Meanwhile, four tons of British medical aid remains stuck at the crossing for the fourth day. Al-Arabi said Egyptian officials had authorized the delivery of the aid, but not the four vehicles transporting the goods. Maan

Settlers attack three Palestinian women as they drive to their home in Beit Rima

RAMALLAH ( Ma'an ) -- Armed Israeli settlers attacked three Palestinian women driving near Ramallah on Monday evening, the Palestinian Authority news agency Wafa reported Tuesday. The women were driving to their home in Beit Rima, south of Ramallah, when residents of the illegal Hallamish settlement attacked the vehicle, eyewitness Awad Mashal told Wafa. The settlers smashed a window of the car and aimed a gun at the women, the witness said. Renad Mashal, 19, has been unable to speak since the incident and two other passengers, aged 22 and 24, were injured by broken glass, the report said. Maan

Press TV News: activists onboard US aid boat Audacity of Hope return from Gaza

Months of preparation, weeks in limbo and as charged as ever, the passengers of the US boat to Gaza have returned from the flotilla in high spirits. Passengers aboard the Audacity of Hope, a name shared with President Barack Obama's memoir, recounted their experience aboard the ship as they were held in Greek ports for days on end without the support of the U.S. embassy. The U.S. boat carried prominent figures like author and poet Alice Walker, peace activist Kathy Kelly and 86-year-old holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein. The Audacity of Hope did not carry any humanitarian aid or basic necessities which the United States government could have considered material aid to terrorism, and possibly jailed the passengers for delivering them. Rather, they had letters of hope and solidarity to share with the people of Gaza. Retired CIA officer and boat passenger Ray McGovern discussed information he received from a White House source regarding the U.S. government's stance on its citizens p

Seventh settler tunnel discovered in Jerusalem - leads to southern wall of al-Aqsa mosque

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, ( PIC )-- The Palestinian committee for the defense of Silwan revealed a new tunnel, the seventh of its kind in the area, extending from Ein Silwan compound to the southern wall of the Aqsa Mosque. The committee noted that some Jewish sources declared they found a golden bell in the area which underlines the Israeli occupation's attempts to forge the history of the Arab holy city of Jerusalem through burying some antiquities underground and then alleging they made a historical biblical discovery. It also pointed out that extremist Jewish settlers started recently to bury their dead inside and around Silwan neighborhood. The Jewish settlers divide Silwan into two parts, the city of the living to the west of Al-Bustan neighborhood and the city of the dead to its east, which made the Palestinian natives besieged by settlement outposts and Talmudic gardens on one side and the graves of Jews on the other side, the committee stated. PIC

Report on killing of Turkish flotilla activists delayed again by UN - no reason given

( Reuters ) - The United Nations on Monday confirmed that the release of a U.N. report on a deadly Israeli raid that killed nine Turks aboard a pro-Palestinian activist ship last year would be postponed until late August. U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky gave no specific date for the much-delayed report, which Israeli officials said on Sunday was now expected on August 20, a Saturday. U.N. officials had originally suggested the report by a four-man inquiry panel could be finalized in February, then April and most recently, in late July. Asked about the latest statements by Israeli officials, Nesirky told reporters: "The members of the flotilla panel agreed to delay finalizing the report until later in the month of August." He gave no reason for the delay. The U.N. report on the May 2010 Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara as it tried to breach the blockade on the Gaza Strip at the head of an aid flotilla has become a headache for Israel, which has been resisting Turkish demands for

European boycott activists set to deliver coup de grace to Israel's Agrexco as it faces bankruptcy

From Mondoweiss The BDS movement in Europe appears to be going for a knockout. A coalition of 23 organizations from across Europe issued a "Political declaration after the Forum against Agrexco" outlining their campaign against the Israeli agricultural giant which is half owned by the Israeli Government and responsible for 60-70% of the agricultural produce grown in Israel’s illegal settlements. Here is a press release: Facing a bankruptcy hearing in a Tel Aviv court Tuesday, Israeli export company Agrexco has been beset by bad headlines in recent months. Now its problems look set to worsen, after Palestinian solidarity groups from across Europe joined forces to escalate a boycott campaign. A new coalition on Thursday promised to “put an end to Agrexco’s presence in Europe”. Twenty-three groups signed a declaration saying they had established a mechanism to coordinate boycott campaigns and court actions against the exporter. “We are putting potential buyers on notice: any c

Scottish aid convoy with equipment for mobile hospital prevented from entering Gaza at Rafah

In an interview with Press TV, Dr. Hasan Nowarah, a peace activist for Justice for Palestine, and a member of the Scottish aid convoy stuck at the Rafah crossing, gives a detailed account of his travel to the Rafah border, and subsequent rejection to enter Gaza. Press TV: We'd like you to tell us more about your situation. Why have you been denied entry through Rafah? Nowarah: We have [received] no excuse or any information for them denying our entry to Rafah. Before our departure, in the United Kingdom and Scotland we have [prepared] for one year, solid. While we have been waiting for the convoy, we have been in full contact with the Egyptian embassy in London. And we obtained all the necessary information and visas for our vehicles, for our aid convoys, for our cars - everything to enter into Gaza. They gave us the green light to travel. They told us your destination has to be Alexandria or al-Arish port, and you're not allowed to travel by land but you must travel with your

European parliamentarians visit Gaza to see effects of blockade and raise awareness

A high-ranking delegation of parliamentarians from Europe has arrived in the Gaza Strip for a short visit. The aim is to assess the effects of the blockade imposed by Israel on the people of Gaza for five years. The Council for European-Palestinian Relations (CEPR), which organised the solidarity visit, said that the delegation of seventeen people entered Gaza through the Egypt-Gaza Rafah border crossing. The delegation includes members of different political factions, including liberals, socialists and Green Party MPs, and is headed by Britain's Labour Party Chairman, Tony Lloyd MP. According to the CEPR, the purpose of the visit is to raise awareness in Europe of the humanitarian crisis that Gaza's people are enduring as a result of the continued Israeli siege, the 2008/9 Israeli war against Palestinians in Gaza; and the restrictions imposed by Israel on Gaza's fishermen. The delegation members also hoped to see at first-hand Egypt's role at the Rafah border; Rafah is

Turkey to further downgrade relations with Israel if demands not met on flotilla massacre

From Hurriyet The Turkish government has for the first time voiced the existence of its “Plan B” against Israel if no apology comes before a July 27 deadline, a plan that will include measures to further freeze relations. The statement comes amid an ongoing debate in the Israeli Cabinet over whether or not to formally apologize to Turkey over last year’s Mavi Marmara incident. “We are going to wait for their [Israel’s] decision for a period of time. Then [if no apology comes], we will surely implement our Plan B,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan told reporters Saturday at a joint press conference with Jordanian Prime Minister Maroof al-Bakhit. ErdoÄŸan’s statement came just a day before the Israeli Cabinet was to hold a key meeting on the matter. Relations have been strained between Turkey and Israel since Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish people May 31, 2010, aboard a vessel carrying humanitarian goods to Gaza. Ankara has demanded that Israel issue a formal apology, pay compens

Israel considering dumping Oslo accords in response to Palestinian statehood bid at UN

A team headed by National Security Adviser Ya'akov Amidror is looking into calling off the Oslo Accords in response to the Palestinian Authority's unilateral plan to gain United Nations recognition for an independent state. The Prime Minister's Bureau confirmed yesterday only that the NSC was discussing many alternatives ahead of September, and would be presenting them to the political echelon for a decision when it was done. Israeli officials did confirm that recent discussions held by Amidror had mentioned the option of voiding the Oslo Accords. However, this is not considered a leading alternative, they said. "It is one of the options that will be presented to the political echelon," a source said. more

Rafah crossing reopens after two-day closure by Egypt

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The Rafah border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip will reopen Sunday after a two-day closure, crossings director Ayyoub Abu Shaar said. Abu Shaar told Ma'an that patients and people who reside in Egypt would be given priority to leave the Gaza Strip and those who had been listed to depart on July 19 would be allowed to travel Sunday. The terminal is closed every Friday. It was also closed Saturday because of a public holiday marking the 59th anniversary of the July 23 revolution of 1952. more

Prisoner Ahmed Nabahan Saqr's detention extended for ninth time with no charge or trial

NABLUS, ( PIC )-- The Israeli Ofer military tribunal has extended the period of administrative detention of one of the longest held Palestinian administrative detainees in Israeli prisons, the International Tadamun (Solidarity) Foundation for Human Rights has reported. Tadamun researcher and legal expert Ahmed Tubasi said that an additional three months in administrative detention has been pinned on prisoner Ahmed Nabahan Saqr, from the Askar refugee camp near Nablus. Saqr was first arrested on 28 November 2008 after a night raid on his home. He was then immediately transferred to administrative detention, without charge or trial. The instance was the ninth time his period of detention had been extended. PIC

Israeli navy gunboat uses live ammunition against fishermen trying to get food for Ramadan

(video: 14 July attack by the Israeli navy) By Alexandra Robinson from her Against Empire blog. Alexandra is an activist with the International Solidarity Movement On Saturday [23 July] the ISM crew for CPS Gaza rode out on the trawler that rescued us during the second attack on the Oliva on Thursday, July 14th. As I mentioned before, the Oliva project is currently on an indefinite hiatus. Nils, Joe and I went to the port at 7:10 am and we rode out to sea around 7:30. There were 3 adult Palestinian men on the boat and two young boys. Joe, Nils and I sat on the deck of the ship’s bow and the captain and other passengers stayed in the middle and back of the vessel. Around the 2 to 2.5 mile point we spotted the Israelis coming towards us from the north. When they were still about a mile’s distance from us I called them over the radio and said that we were “Unarmed international observers on board, 2 United States citizens and one Swedish citizen.” I repeated this a number of times

Israel's war against the Gaza fishermen is illegal collective punishment - Guardian reports

The mainstream western press is starting to report on the dirty little war that Israel has been waging against the Gaza fishing community. Why does the western media not report these human rights violations until international activists get involved? From the Guardian Hani al-Asi, a fisherman since the age of 11 and a father with 12 mouths to feed, had just begun throwing his lines into the Mediterranean when an Israeli gunboat sped towards his traditional hasaka. With a machine gun mounted at the rear and half a dozen armed soldiers on the bridge, the navy vessel repeatedly circled the small fishing boat. The rolling waves caused by the backwash threatened to swamp it. Asi had stopped his boat over an artificial reef created by dumped cars to attract the dwindling fish population. He was just beyond the limit of three nautical miles from the Gaza shoreline set by the Israeli military for Palestinian fishermen, beyond which they are forbidden to fish for "security reasons". &

Turkey's Hurriyet says UN report on Mavi Marmara attack will rule that IDF intended to kill

UN commission to publish findings on IDF raid on Turkish flotilla vessel, prompting Israel to debate whether to apologize to Turkey, newspaper says. The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet said Sunday that the Palmer report on last year's Gaza-bound flotilla is expected to be released this week.   According to the newspaper, the UN-appointed panel to investigate the raid on the Mavi Marmara vessel has ruled that IDF soldiers boarded the ship with an intention to kill.   The Turkish daily claimed that this assertion is what prompted the debate within Israel's government on whether the Jewish State should issue an apology to Turkey. The Forum of Eight Ministers was expected to discuss the issue on Sunday.   According to the article, Israel is considering compensating the families of the nine people killed aboard the ship, and intends to issue a statement regretting the loss of life - regardless of Turkey's demand for an official apology. more

Israel still getting diplomatic heat over Mossad using fake passports of western countries

From MEMO Media sources in Israel have claimed that "secret and sharp" diplomatic messages have been received by the government in Tel Aviv voicing protests about the Zionist state's use of fake passports for espionage purposes. According to Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, such messages have been sent by several countries from Asia, Africa and Europe complaining about the use of their passports for "operational activities overseas" by Israel's secret intelligence agency, Mossad. Some of the countries, said the newspaper, are "friends of Israel"; none are the countries whose passports were abused during the assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh in Dubai last year. That Mossad operation sparked a diplomatic crisis between Israel and Britain, Australia and Ireland, but France and Germany merely asked the Israelis for "clarification". Yedioth Ahronoth said that Mossad's use of fake passports for espionage purposes "caus

Who's to blame? - UNRWA responds to Gaza protests over cut backs in aid to refugees

UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness responds to Gaza protests about cuts in assistance to refugees: (from Maan ) The protesters who closed down UNRWA’s Gaza office say they were doing this to fight for the rights of the refugees whose assistance is being slashed. What's your response to this? Gunness: This protest action was entirely counter-productive. By keeping hundreds of UNRWA staff out of their offices, the organizers were harming the very refugees on whose behalf they claim to be protesting. The Gaza office is the "command and control" center from which we run our programs across the entire Gaza Strip. We need access to our computers to service projects, to manage our education, health, relief and social service programs. It's where the personnel department is based for, for example, paying staff salaries, it's where our IT department is, it's where the radio room is for security and without these things our full programs become unsustainable very quickly. Th

Israeli ministers meet to decide on whether to apologise to Turkey for flotilla killings

The forum of eight ministers will meet today in Jerusalem to decide whether to accept the draft of an agreement for ending the diplomatic crisis with Turkey. As part of the proposed deal, Israel will apologize for operational failures that led to the deaths of nine Turkish citizens during the stopping of a Gaza-bound flotilla in May 2010. Ministers Avigdor Lieberman and Moshe Ya'alon are opposed to the apology, while their colleagues Ehud Barak and Dan Meridor support it. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will risk a coalition crisis with Yisrael Beiteinu if he favors the apology. more

UN officials visit communities facing rising forced removals by Israeli occupiers

From the UN News Centre Two senior United Nations officials today visited a Bedouin community in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) amid increasing home demolitions by the Israeli authorities, who have control over security, planning and zoning in the area. Maxwell Gaylard, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for oPt and David Hutton, the acting Director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), visited the village of Khan Al Ahmar where more homes have been razed this year than in the previous two years. The village is situated just outside Jerusalem and between two Israeli settlements in the so-called Area C of the West Bank. Residents of Khan Al Ahmar village, most of them refugees, have lived in the area since 1948. Last week, the village received four new “stop-building” orders and the community has not been able to obtain building permits due to restrictive and inadequate planning policies in Area C. Under the planning and zoning regime

How western media and 'experts' jumped to blame Muslims for Norway terror outrage

From The Electronic Intifada Immediately after news of the bombing of government buildings in Norway’s capital Oslo, the Internet buzzed with speculation about who might have done it and why. Most speculation focused on so-called Islamist militancy and Muslims. The urge to speculate after grave events is understandable, but the focus of speculation, its amplification through social media, its legitimization in mainstream media, and the privilege granted to so-called experts is a common pattern. The danger of such speculation is that it adds little knowledge but causes real harm by spreading fear and loathing of Muslims, immigrants and other vulnerable and routinely demonized populations, and whether intentional or not, assigns collective guilt to them. “Experts” who supposedly study this topic — almost always white men and very often with military or government backgrounds — direct suspicion toward Muslims by pointing to claims of responsibility on “jihadi” web sites that only they hav

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