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Thread: :icon_sadangel2: Palestine Peace a dream?

  1. #1841
    Haaretz: Congressmen Demand Obama Press Israel Ease Gaza Blockade
    Date : 27/1/2010 Time : 13:14

    TEL AVIV, January 27, 2010 (WAFA)- Israeli Daily Newspaper Haaretz said, today, that a group of Congress men have apposed President Barrack Obama with a letter singed by them to put pressure on Israel to ease the siege of the Gaza Strip. This initiative proposal was lead by Democratic representatives Jim McDermott and Keith Ellison, who is the first Muslim to be become a Congress man.



    Haaretz explained that in the letter, both congress men said that despite the Israeli needs of securing its boarders, it does not have the right to address the residents of Gaza strip with mass punishment.



    They also requested President Obama to press for immediate relief for the citizens and an ease on movement of those who are under the siege as an urgent component of his broader Middle East peace efforts, the paper continued.



    Moreover, they demanded allowing importing construction materials in order to rebuild what had been demolished and damaged through the latest Israeli Offensive against the Gaza Strip, according to Haaretz.



    Ellison has harshly criticized the House of Representatives decision to reject the Goldstone report, arguing that the report had presented pure facts and recommendations for the future, Haaretz added, over time, the rejection had hurt the Obama’s administration roll as an honest mediator in the peace process in the Middle East.



    In addition to members of Congress, several leftist organizations also signed the letter, including Americans for Peace Now and J Street.



    In addition, the Daily added that, “a letter signed by 33 members of Congress was sent to U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to raise the issue with Israel of Gazan students who are having difficulty studying at universities in the West Bank due to the lack of free passage between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.”



    Haaretz concluded that the U.S State Department response to the letter was, that education is an a essential right and crucial for moderation.

  2. #1842
    Knesset Rejects Draft Law Against Offending Prophet Mohammad
    Date : 27/1/2010 Time : 12:54

    TAYBEH, January 27, 2010 (WAFA)- The Israeli Knesset rejects draft law demanding penalties against anybody verbally attacking the Prophet Mohammad or insulting any other religious feelings or rituals.



    Suggested by MK Ibrahim Abdullah of the United Arab List for Renewal, the draft law was opposed by 36 MKs and supported only by three.



    Presenting the draft law, MK Abdullah talked of Islam’s tolerance and respect to all prophets, being the only religion recognizing respect for all prophets.



    In his presentation MK Abdullah suggested that this draft law comes to amend the Israeli Penalty Code, that convicts any tangible offense against the prophets, holy books or religious symbols.



    In response to the government’s rejection of this draft law, he said: “the government’s rejection of the draft law of penalties against offenses of Prophet Mohammad and other prophets, is in itself an offense to our religious feelings.

  3. #1843
    Israeli forces wound 2 Palestinians in WB
    Sun, 24 Jan 2010 06:49:59 GMT

    Israeli forces have opened fire on Palestinians and wounded two youths as they were attacked by the Jewish settlers in the West Bank village of Borin.

    Palestinian witnesses said an Israeli soldier opened fire on the Palestinian residents after they were attacked by Jewish settlers in the village near the city of Nablus, Xinhua reported.

    Two Palestinian youths were wounded in the attack, local medics said.

    The clashes erupted when dozens of Jewish settlers of the Yitzhar illegal settlement stormed the village and its residents.

    Palestinians said this is the third time in three weeks that the settlers, usually backed by Israeli soldiers, attack the village.

    SB/DT

  4. #1844
    IOF Arrests 8 Palestinians in West Bank
    Date : 27/1/2010 Time : 12:17

    WEST BANK, January 27, 2010 (WAFA)- Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) arrested, today, eight Palestinians from the West Bank cities of Nablus and Hebron.



    Eyewitnesses from Burqa Village north of Nablus, north of the West Bank said that IOF attacked the village, surrounded several houses and arrested 6 Palestinian young men.

    Palestinian Authority Settlement File Official in the north of the West Bank affirmed that the number of Palestinians arrested from the village has reached 30 in less than a month.



    Meanwhile, Israeli troops arrested a Palestinian from Doura village south of Hebron, and another from Beit Ummer.

  5. #1845
    Israel sends Goldstone rebuttal to UN
    Sun, 24 Jan 2010 10:19:14 GMT

    Israel has almost completed a rebuttal to the Goldstone report which criticizes Tel Aviv for committing war crimes in its last year war on the Gaza Strip.

    According to a report published by The New York Times, the rebuttal which, according to Israeli, includes "photographic proof" that contradicts war crime charges, aims to dispel the harsh report of grave violation of international and humanitarian law in Gaza.

    The rebuttal which will be given to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the coming weeks was put together by Israel's National Security Council, the Justice Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, and the military prosecutor.

    The UN report led by former South African judge, Richard Goldstone concluded last September that Israel carried out "deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects" in January-December war on Gaza.

    The 575-page UN-ordered report asserts seven incidents in which Palestinian civilians were shot while leaving their homes, trying to run for safety or waving white flags.

    The report also accused Hamas of infringing international conventions.

    In November 2009, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution that accuses Israel of war crimes and criminal acts against humanity during the weeks-long onslaught on the Gaza Strip.

    A hundred fourteen states endorsed the resolution while only 18 states including the US and Israel objected to the report's adoption. Forty-four countries also abstained including France, Britain and Russia.

    Israel however dismissed the UN report as "one-sided."

    "We ourselves set up investigations into 140 complaints," said Maj. Gen. Avichai Mandelblit, the Israeli military advocate general.

    "It is when you read these other reports and complaints that you realize how truly vicious the Goldstone report is," he added.

    Some details revealed to the Times shows the rebuttal includes some photos of Gaza's sole flour mill destructed during the war. According to the Goldstone report, the Bader flour mill "was hit by an airstrike, possibly by an F-16."

    Israel however dismisses the report and says it has "photographic proof" that the mill was accidentally hit by artillery in the course of a firefight with Hamas fighters.

    The second case concerned the destruction of a wastewater plant which the UN report contended that was hit by a "deliberate and premeditated" powerful Israeli missile strike. The Israelis however accuse Hamas of destroying the infrastructure.

    SB/DT

  6. #1846
    UNRWA: Flood Devastated Gaza Sites are Shocking
    Date : 26/1/2010 Time : 15:55

    GAZA, January 26, 2010 (WAFA)- Shocking. That's all that can be said of the sight al Mughraqa, Gaza, an area severely affected by the flooding that devastated areas of Gaza on Monday, Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported.

    Most of the residents of Mughraqa, near Nuseirat camp, are refugees with no land of their own. Many live in temporary shelters or tents with the sheep, camels, chicken and other livestock on whose produce they depend, UNRWA added.

    UNRWA tells the story of Nuzha Al Rash, who survived Monday's floods, along with her husband Fayez and four children.

    'It hit us when the dark started', she explains. 'I heard some loud speakers, telling people to leave their homes, because the wadi – the water - was coming.

    'I woke up my children and hurried out, and saw lots of people running and shouting. The only thing I could think about was to run away with my children and husband.

    Fayez helped Nuzha and the kids outside, telling them tp keep going while he went back to collect the family's sheep and chicken. But on reaching their home, he found the water level approaching two meters and he was forced to move away. All of Fayez's animals were drowned.

    Now Fayez, Nuzha and their young children are taking refuge at one of the local government schools. Beyond this temporary option, they have no other place to go. Fayez is utterly depressed at the loss of his home and livelihood. 'These were my only means of making a living for my family', he says. 'Now I have no idea how I am going to feed my children or provide their basic needs.

    'The only good thing from all this is that my family is safe'.

    The couple's children are unable to fall asleep; when they do manage, they are plagued by nightmares. Five year old Abdel, their youngest, says: 'my mom woke me up after I was feeling warm. There was too much water, I could feel it, and it was too dark and many people were shouting. It was scary.'

    Abdel adds that he feels very sad, because he wasn't able to salvage his new shoes, or indeed any socks. 'It is very cold, and my feet are bare.'

    UNRWA is supplying the family with mattresses, blankets and some clothing, as well as a hygiene kit, and food parcels. Schools in Gaza are currently closed for the winter holiday, so the family can stay put for now, surviving on the help they have received. But when term begins in ten days time, Nuzha and family will be searching for a place where they can live, or at least sleep, while they recover from the devasting effects of the flood.

  7. #1847
    Nilin Protest Photo Wins Silver Camera Award


    27.01.10 - 08:57
    Holland –Cris Toala Olivares, a Dutch citizen of Ecuadorian origin, has won the “Silver Camera Award” in the Foreign News category for a photo taken during a protest in Nilin Village in the West Bank in October 2009. ImageThe image is of a cluster of tear gas grenades exploding over a grove of Olive trees while demonstrators take cover.
    A private Twitter released by a Dutch national in late January states that Olivares was part of a Olive harvesting program provided by the Joint Advocacy Initiative of the YMCA and YWCA of Palestine. Olivare’s website showcases work also produced in Gaza, Hebron, and West Bank settlements, along with albums taken in Europe and Africa.

    The Silver Camera award is a long-running competition for Dutch photojournalists working both in the Netherlands and abroad. The online edition of The Hague reported that there were 9500 entries for 2009.

    Nilin is a West Bank village in the Ramallah District with a population of about 9,000. Much of its agricultural land has been seized by the Israeli occupational forces during the construction of the Separation Wall. Protests regarding the affects of the ongoing occupation are frequent, and often attract both international human rights activists and journalists.

    Tear gas is regularly used by both the Israeli Defense Forces and various police units to disperse non-violent demonstrations in the West Bank and Israel, making difficult for those who inhale it to breathe. While the gas itself is not lethal, the canisters themselves can be lethal when shot as a projectile, as shown in Olivare’s photo, as opposed to being lobbed by hand.


    PNN Staff: An exhibition of Toala’s work can be seen online at Cris Toala Olivares Photography . Please respect the work of Toala Olivare by asking permission before using this and other images by contacting him at the above website.

  8. #1848
    Israel bars Belgian minister way into Gaza
    Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:45:23 GMT

    A Belgian minister, barred by Israel from visiting the Gaza Strip, has declared that he will take the matter to the European Union.

    Israel on Sunday prevented Belgian Cooperation and Development Minister Charles Michel from going to the Gaza Strip on the grounds that his visit would give legitimacy to the Islamic Hamas movement running the territory.

    Michel protested that Israel's action was "unacceptable."

    "These kinds of visits can only strengthen Hamas and give it legitimacy," AFP quoted Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon as saying.

    Israel, supported by Egypt, has sealed Gaza off since Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2007.

    Belgium has pledged funds for building schools in Gaza but construction has not yet begun due to the Israeli siege.

    Last week, Amnesty International slammed both Israel and Egypt for the siege, saying that they are "collectively punishing" the population of Gaza.

    Israel launched a disproportionate offensive against the Gaza Strip last year, killing at least 1,400 people, many of them women and children.

    MGH/TG/DT

  9. #1849
    Mubarak defends Gaza wall despite criticism
    Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:21:13 GMT

    Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has strongly defended his decision to construct an underground "Iron Wall" on the border with the Gaza Strip.

    Mubarak, who has come under international fire for aiding Israel in imposing a blockade on Gaza, said the new barrier would help Egypt protect its national security and sovereignty.

    "The works and reinforcements on our eastern border are a matter of Egyptian sovereignty. We do not accept a debate on the issue with anyone," the president said in a speech to mark Police Day.

    He also added that the "Iron Wall" construction would continue with force, stressing that his government would not allow chaos, terrorism and sabotage within its borders.

    The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli siege since the Hamas resistance movement won the parliamentary elections in 2007.

    The underground steel barrier tightens the Israeli siege on the impoverished sliver.

    Gazans say they have been using the network of underground tunnels to bring in their basic necessities including food and medicine after Tel Aviv cut them off from the rest of the world.

    Egyptian authorities have remained tight-lipped about the details of the work amid rising anti-Egypt sentiments across the globe.

    On Sunday, Human Rights Watch once again criticized Egypt for its role in “collectively punishing” Gazans by keeping its Rafah border crossing closed.

    While primarily pointing its finger at Israel for refusing Gazans their basic needs, the leading humanitarian organization also argued that Egypt's role in the deadly siege "cannot be denied."

    "If Cairo wanted to it could end the siege of Gaza tomorrow," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Director of the group's Middle East and North Africa division.

    FF/TG/DT

  10. #1850
    Netanyahu: Israel will never quit settlements
    Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:01:27 GMT

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that the Jewish settlement blocs in the West Bank would always remain part of Israel.

    Netanyahu made the remark during a ceremony to mark Israeli Arbor Day in the settlement of Maale Adumim in the West Bank on Sunday, BBC reported.

    Israel has long insisted on maintaining a permanent hold over certain groups of settlements, including those Netanyahu referred to on Sunday.

    Netanyahu's remarks came on a day when the American envoy, George J. Mitchell, shuttled between Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a bid to revive the long-stalled Middle East peace process.

    Netanyahu's comments have angered Palestinians, who want an independent state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem Al-Quds.

    "This is an unacceptable act that destroys all the efforts being exerted by Senator Mitchell in order to bring back the parties to the negotiating table," Palestinian Authority Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told the Associated Press.

    The UN has repeatedly urged Israel to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank and East Jerusalem Al-Quds.

    MGH/JG/DT

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