GAZA, (PIC)-- The Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Martin Lidegaard, arrived in Gaza on Wednesday becoming the second European Foreign Minister to visit Gaza after the latest Israeli war on the Strip. Minister Lidegaard checked out first-hand the destruction wrought by the summer’s conflict and took note of the long-term financial, humanitarian and political support necessary to help the people of Gaza rebuild. The Danish delegation drove through the devastated Shejayeh neighborhood and visited the UNRWA Collective Center at Zaitoun Prep Girls’ School in Gaza Area. Zaitoun Prep Girls’ School currently hosts 1,642 of the more than 30,000 internally displaced persons still living in UNRWA facilities because their homes have been severely damaged or destroyed. Minister Lidegaard expressed his government’s support for UNRWA and announced a donation of US$ 4.2 million to support Gaza, of which US$ 3.4 million will go to UNRWA. “Today I have witnessed the massive damages on the g...

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The speaker for the Danish parliament Mogens Lykketoft is set to visit the West Bank and Gaza next week, Israeli media reported on Thursday. The website for the Israeli channel 10 reported that Lykketoft will not meet any Israeli officials during the visit, which caused outrage in Israel. Israeli Knesset leader, Yuli Edelstein, criticized the Danish official for visiting Gaza and Ramallah and not meeting Israeli officials, Channel 10 reported. more

Denmark’s largest bank decided to blacklist Bank Hapoalim because of its involvement in the funding of settlement construction. Danske Bank added Bank Hapoalim to its list of companies in which the company cannot invest due to its corporate accountability rules. In an announcement posted on its website, the bank stated that Bank Hapoalim was acting against the rules of international humanitarian law. Israeli website Walla reported on the Danish bank’s decision earlier on Saturday. The Danish bank had already decided to pull its investments from Africa Israel Investments Ltd. and Danya Cebus due to their involvement in settlements construction. more

COPENHAGEN (AFP) -- Denmark and Finland plan to upgrade the status of their respective Palestinian representative offices in Copenhagen and Helsinki to that of an embassy, the Danish foreign ministry said Saturday. "It is with satisfaction that we announce our joint intention to work with the Palestinians to be able to upgrade the status of the Palestinian missions in Copenhagen and Helsinki," the foreign ministers of Finland and Denmark, Villy Soevndal and Erkki Tuomioja, said in a joint statement. The changes are expected to be implemented sometime in 2013, it said. The move would "not entail a formal bilateral recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state by Denmark and Finland," the statement said. "Palestine is in a phase of state-building, and many challenges remain for president (Mahmoud) Abbas to handle before we can recognize Palestine formally as a state," it said. more

RAMALLAH (Reuters) -- More European states joined France on Wednesday in backing a Palestinian bid for limited statehood, but Britain held back, saying it wanted an assurance that Palestine would not pursue Israel through the International Criminal Court. Germany said it was opposing the diplomatic upgrade for the PLO at the United Nations, joining Israel and the United States which say the only genuine route to statehood is via a peace agreement made in direct talks with Israel. President Mahmoud Abbas is leading the campaign and several European governments are eager to give him their support after an eight-day war this month by Israel on the Gaza Strip. With overwhelming support from the developing world, Palestine appears certain to earn approval in the 193-member UN General Assembly for a status upgrade to "observer state" on Thursday. Switzerland, Denmark and Austria said they would vote for the upgrade. France gave its approval on Tuesday. Britain said it wo...

Author and talk-show celebrity Irit Linur explained how pleased she was to see the Israeli officer slam the butt of his rifle into the face of the (unarmed, nonviolent) Danish peace activist. She said his golden hair made him look like a member of the Hitlerjugend, and said about him and other activists: "they were born anti-Semites and will die anti-Semites" - a shameful slander, especially considering what the Danes, whose underground was granted a blanket designation as Righteous Among the Nations for their efforts during World War II to rescue the Danish Jews. The shouts "anti-Semite!", which appear to be a recurring Israeli response to any and all opposition, are becoming comical - but slandering Danes like that is no joke. more

(pic: Flotilla activists in Greece take part in non-violence training) From Ynet news The only French ship participating in the international flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza has left Saturday morning Corsica, with six people on board, according to AFP news agency. "The entire fleet will sail next week from various Mediterranean ports," he told AFP a committee member coordinating the French countryside, Julien Rivoire. Ships, including two freighters carrying medical supplies, "should reach the port of Gaza at the end of next week," he added. From Ice News Danish activists have announced that they will join a new flotilla of boats to the Palestinian Gaza Strip, just over a year after nine civilians were killed on-board a Turkish vessel that tried to break the Israeli blockade. Together with protest groups from Canada, Belgium and Australia, Danish organisation Free Gaza will join a fleet of 20 in its boat named ‘Tahrir’, meaning ‘freedom’ in Arabic. They p...