Sarkozy got a thank you from Netanyahu for his hardline stance on Iran when Israel announced that a French company would be allowed into the besieged strip to construct a new hospital. Assuming the Israelis don't go back on their promise, it should herald the first time that any construction materials have been allowed into Gaza since the recent war. Let's hope the Israelis don't destroy it a some point in the future with any more of their war crimes. For the first time since Operation Cast Lead Israel will allow the transfer of construction materials into the Gaza Strip for the purpose of setting up a new hospital, Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Wednesday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to approve the transfer of materials following his meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy last week. During the meeting, which was held amidst the UN General Assembly session, Sarkozy asked Netanyahu to allow the Palestinians to build the medical facility after securing pr...

Israel has said it will release 20 Palestinian women from detention in return for proof that captured soldier Gilad Shalit is still alive. A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it was waiting to receive video taken recently by his militant captors in Gaza. Israel holds about 10,000 Palestinians, including dozens of women. more Israel also holds hundreds of children - GS

So it's not just the 'military echelon' in Israel that needs to worry about where its personnel travel in case are arrested. Unfortunately there's not much chance the UK police will actually carry out their responsibilities under the Hague convention but who knows? And why the hell is the British Labour Party inviting this architect of war criminality to speak at its conference this week in the first place? British lawyers for several Palestinian families are seeking to obtain an international arrest warrant for the Israeli defence minister, Ehud Barak, in a London court over alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Barak, who was in overall charge of Israeli's offensive in Gaza earlier this year, is due to speak at a fringe meeting at the Labour party conference in Brighton today. Barak is due to meet Gordon Brown today and David Miliband, the foreign secretary, tomorrow. more

Israel shelled central Gaza today, injuring two - a teenage brother and sister, according to Ma'an . It follows air attacks on Friday which led to the death of three people. The Al-Aqsa Brigade armed resitance group, affiliated to Fatah, is said to be planning its response, according to the Palestine News Network . Meanwhile Muhammad Dahlan, a member of Fatah's recently elected central committee, is warning that a third intifada could follow Al-Aqsa violence and recent reports say 17 Israeli police have been injured as Palestinians fightback against the latest Al-Aqsa outrage. In a statement, Dahlan said he considered "the violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa playing with fire and crossing red lines." He said Israeli authorities permitted groups to enter the area to "attack worshipers inside." Palestinians would not stand idly by, he warned, holding the Israeli government responsible for repercussions of what he called a dangerous attack that was carried out...

Israeli police allowed Jewish extremists to enter the grounds of the mosque and then shielded them from attack by Palestinians defending the mosque. After the eviction of the settlers by Muslim worshipers, the occupation forces turned on the crowds. Arab League Denounces the Israeli Aggression, Seeks to Form an International Investigation Committee Arab League denounced on Sunday the brutal aggression on Al-Aqsa Mosque by the Israeli settlers, calling on the International Security Council and UN Secretary-General to immediately intervene to stop the dangerous violation committed by the Israeli occupation forces. A statement by Palestine and the Occupied Arab lands Section at the Arab League stressed that the Israeli security forces facilitated the arrival of many of the Zionist extremists to Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards, particularly Bab of al-Maghariba. more The attack on al-Aqsa follows an attack last week on the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron: Ma’an – At least 140 Israeli settlers, protect...

The Turkish president has condemned Western countries' focus on Iran's nuclear program, stressing that the world should deal with Israel's nuclear weapons instead. Turkey's "Radikal" newspaper on Sunday reported that Recep Tayyip Erdogan's strong comments against Israel's nuclear program was similar to his "one minute" stance in Davos in January when he walked out of a televised debate with his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres. Erdogan told reporters in New York that Iran's nuclear program is not aimed at "military ends". The Turkish president noted that Israel has "nuclear weapons" and has used "phosphorous bombs" against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. "Why these are not on the agenda? It is always Iran…" Erdogan told reporters in New York. "If only Iran is put on the world agenda, then we may neglect other issues such as the Gaza [conflict] that should be addressed," he said. more

Israel is playing with fire - perhaps emboldened by the west's 'discovery' of an Iranian nuclear facility - with its storming of the al-Aqsa mosque yesterday. Jordan has condemned the open violation of the sanctity of the mosque, the third holiest in Islam, but when is the western-installed monarchy going to break off diplomatic relations with the Zionist state? AMMAN, Sept. 27 ( Xinhua ) -- The Jordanian government on Sunday strongly denounced the breaking into the Muslims sacred shrine al-Aqsa mosque by Israeli soldiers along with a group of Jewish radicals, which resulted in injury of some Palestinians, the Jordan News Agency Petra reported. "Jordan condemns breaking into the mosque by Israeli troops as this is a provocative act that is likely to increase tensions," Jordan's Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Nabil Sharif said in a statement. He said breaking into the holy mosque is likely to lead to more violence and threatens the...

Israeli occupation forces detained Mohammad Othman on the 22nd of September, 2009. Mohammad was detained while trying to return to the West Bank over the border from Jordan. Mohammad has spent the summer touring Europe, and was returning from his latest trip to Norway. Mohammad is 33 years old, and has dedicated the past ten years of his life to human rights causes, particularily the non-violent struggle against the Apartheid Wall in the West Bank. Mohammad is from the village of Jayyous in the occupied West Bank, and the village has lost most of its privately owned land due to the Apartheid Wall. The land is now confiscated by Israeli settlements, which are deemed illegal under international law. Mohammad has an extensive network in the international solidarity movement, and plays an important role as the youth co-ordinator for the non-violent Palestinian Stop the Wall campaign. Mohammad has dedicated his life to tell the world about the war crimes and crimes against humanity that is ...

Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the Palestinian paper Al-Hayyat there is “no common ground for negotiations” with the Netanyahu government, in an interview published Thursday. Abbas expressed his skepticism over the outcome of talks, saying “Netanyahu is declaring Jerusalem and refugees topics not up for negotiations, so what is there to talk about?" Abbas reconfirmed his stance on requiring a settlement construction freeze before sitting down for peace talks, a stance which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected, while his foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman bragged to the press Wednesday that the trilateral meetings in New York were proof Israel would not let the US pressure them into halting construction. The closest US Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell got to a deal was the Israeli offer to pause construction in the West Bank - not East Jerusalem - for nine months, not including the almost 1,000 settlement units ...

Obama, Netanyahu and Abbas may have enjoyed their meeting in the US but in the Strip the suffering gets worse. Israel's stranglehold on life in Gaza has been tightening. Traffic of goods into Gaza is now at its lowest point since the Cast Lead war crimes. Meanwhile another 37 settlement units have been approved as the US half-heartedly urges 'restraint'. Gaza – Ma’an – The Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip will be the only crossing open for the second day in a row, marking the steepest decline in goods deliveries into the Strip since Israel launched its war on the area in December 2008. Palestinian crossings official Raed Fattouh said that Israel will allow 55 to 65 trucks loaded with aid through the Kerem Shalom crossing, and that all other border terminals will be shut. Only 60 truckloads of goods were allowed through on Tuesday, and the crossings were totally shut Thursday through to Monday for the Israeli celebration of the Jewish New Year...

Official sources reported that five Palestinian fishermen have been arrested today on Wednesday morning and seized their boats near the coast of Gaza City. The sources added that the fishing boats have been surrounded by Israeli gunboats, questioned the fishermen, and then took them and their boats to an unknown destination. It is noteworthy that the Israeli boat set only a distance of 3 miles access for the fishermen to sail and get their livelihood. This very limited area of fishing has been gravely affecting the fishermen to fish good quality of fishing. One boat which was confiscated, was related to the family of Zaki Abu Oa'dwa. He lives in the north of Gaza, Al Swdania district. Eyewitnesses reported that the boat of Zaki Abu Oa'dwa was in the allowed area of fishing and the Israelis forced him and arrested his boat. more

Apologists for Israel are fond of describing the settler state as the 'only democracy in the Middle East', but the repression meted out against anti-war protesters during Israel's 22-day war on the Gazan population, should help to put that lie to rest. There's no democracy in Israel if you are an Arab 'citizen'. 'The only apartheid state in the Middle East' would be a more accurate description of Israel. A new report from Adalah shows how the courts and police attempted to stamp out opposition to Operation Cast Lead. "This is a time of war, and every incident harms the people's morale." This was not a sentence in a right-wing journal, but rather a statement by an Israel Police representative during Operation Cast Lead seeking to persuade the Tel Aviv District Court to block anti-war protesters from the city... ...Here are some of the pearls in Adalah's new report: "Prohibited protest - how the law enforcement authorities limit t...

On display in all its inglorious colour are some Israeli racists responding to questions about Obama and the 'peace process' by an Al Jazeera correspondent. Barack Obama, the US president, is getting ready to host Israeli and Palestinian leaders for a meeting he hopes might get peace talks started again. But Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has made his position clear, saying he will defend settlement expansion, which is the big sticking point. Al Jazeera's Clayton Swisher has been out on the streets of Jerusalem to find out what Israelis think about Obama and his plans.

March to freedom – Ni’lin village takes down the Wall Latest News, Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign , September 19th, 2009 After the people had concluded their Friday prayer in the fields near the village, more than 100 farmers, youth, international and Israeli peace activists marched towards the Apartheid Wall and their confiscated lands. Participants brought car tires and a big home made ladder to climb the high wall. Right at the beginning of the protest, the youth had prepared a surprise for the Occupation forces: by using home made equipment one of the youth climbed the concrete wall and tied a chain at the holes in the upper part of the Wall’s cement components. Pulling this rope, the people managed to take down three concrete blocks of the Wall. This is the first time something like this has happened, and the people were happy to have such a success. This was the first message: one day the wall will fall and Ni’lin will be the start. more

Hot on the heels of the Goldstone report, which recommends the ICC take a look at Israel's crimes in Gaza, the court's chief prosecutor has taken up the challenge by considering the case of one IDF officer, Lt Col Benjamin. Israel has not signed up to the ICC but South Africa, of which Benjamin is also a citizen, has. Unfortunately, the US is likely to pressure the court not to go ahead with a prosecution given the implications for all the officers and soldiers of the Israeli armed forces. As it is IDF personnel likely won't be taking many foreign holidays as they may be seen as wanted criminals in many jurisdictions. As chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo has so far steered clear of controversial cases. In doing so, he hoped to allay U.S. fears that the ICC would become a politicized tool for settling scores. Which is why it's so surprising that Moreno-Ocampo is now considering an investigation into whether Reserve Lt. Col. David Be...

Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former US national security adviser, has suggested that the US might shoot down Israeli fighters crossing 'our' airspace to attack Iranian nuclear sites - he was referring to Iraq's airspace of course. It is difficult to envisage such a scenario given that Israel is the US's watchdog in the Middle East, kept armed to the teeth precisely in order to do this sort of dirty work for the Americans. This news comes after the announcement of joint Israel/US military exercises in the Mediterranean aimed at countering imagined missile strikes on Israel. Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former national security adviser to U.S. President Jimmy Carter, said on Sunday that U.S. forces should forcibly prevent the Israel Air Force from reaching Iran to strike its nuclear facilities. In an interview with news Web site the Daily Beast, Brzezinski said that the U.S. forces were "not exactly impotent little babies," saying that Israel forces have "to fly o...

Israel is whingeing again about UN 'bias' but no one is listening anymore. The Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, said on Monday that a damning United Nations report on Israel's winter offense against Hamas in Gaza was "biased," and that the IDF was a moral army. "I read the report, it is biased and unbalanced," Ashkenazi told Army Radio, in his first public response to the report. Referring to Richard Goldston, the South African prosecutor who wrote the report, the IDF chief said: "From his mandate, he was already unbalanced. He ignored Hamas [rocket] fire. As the one who planned the operation, I say that we have a moral army; we did everything we could to lessen the harm to noncombatants." Though the 547-page document, which was released on Thursday, accuses both Israel and Hamas of carrying out war crimes during the three-week campaign in Gaza, it focuses primarily on Israel's actions during the hostilities. m...

The general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has passed a resolution condemning Israel over its secretive nuclear weapons programme for the first time since 1991. The IAEA called on Tel Aviv to accede to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and to put its entire nuclear programme under IAEA inspections. Israel is the only country in the Middle East that is not a signatory to the NPT and therefore accepts only limited IAEA inspections. more

An old story but worthy of comment is Khaled Mashaal's recent statement in Sudan that the resistance forces are still able to get weapons into Gaza, despite the blockade. Israel earlier this year launched an air strike in Sudan against what it claimed was a weapons convoy en route to Gaza through Egypt. By DAVID BEDEIN Jerusalem – Hamas political chief Khalid Mash'al said on Wednesday that Palestinians in Gaza are able to buy, smuggle and manufacture weapons in spite of Israel's severe restrictions on the imports of any potential lethal substance into Gaza, ever since the Hamas' takeover of the Gaza regime in June 2007. This was confirmed by the Palestinian news agency, Ma'an . "You did miracles in Sudan and thank God, your brothers in Palestine, despite the siege, closure, harassment, the large conspiracy and fleets of the East and West, which prevent us from bringing weapons, we were able to buy, manufacture and smuggle weapons, thank God," said Mash...

Former ITN reporter Sam Hall's painting marking the Israeli bombardment and invasion of Gaza in 2008/9 is to be the subject of projection near the Tate Modern art gallery, the most popular modern art gallery in the world. Speaking about the forthcoming projection Sam commented: "When statesmen and dignitaries visit Israel, they are often taken to the Holocaust Museum, which is right because we should not forget that. "But by the same token, nor should we forget what happened in the Gaza Strip," said Mr Hall." More at Sam's website: www.samhallart.com