:icon_sadangel2: Palestine Peace a dream?

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Israel to build 800 more units in illegal settlements
Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:27:16 GMT
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Tel Aviv is going to construct some 800 new housing units across the occupied West Bank despite international calls for a halt to all settlement activities.

"The settlers are working fast to produce as many construction starts as possible so that these new housing units will be counted as existing settlements and not included in any future agreed upon freeze," according to a report released by the Israeli left-wing NGO Peace Now on Monday.

The report went on to say that the new projects are not among the some 2,400 houses which are already in different stages of construction that Israel aims to complete despite agreeing to a temporary freeze in settlement construction.

Tel Aviv is currently under intense pressure from the international community to halt the illegal settlement constructions in the West Bank. Israeli settlements are widely considered as the main hurdle in the way of comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

Under the 2002 Roadmap for Peace plan brokered by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia, Israel has to 'dismantle settlement outposts erected since 2001 and also freeze all settlement activities'.

It is estimated that there are almost 200,000 illegal Jewish settlers in the twelve or so Israeli settlements in al-Quds. There are also about 300,000 more illegal Jewish settlers living in settlements across the occupied Palestinian territory of West Bank.

All Jewish settlements are illegal under international law because they are erected on occupied lands that the Palestinians claim for a future state.

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BBC: Senior Israeli Muslim leader held


Raed Salah has been arrested in the past
A leader of Israel's Islamic Movement, Raed Salah, has been arrested amid escalating tension in Jerusalem.
He was later released and barred from entering Jerusalem for 30 days.
Tensions over the complex containing the al-Aqsa mosque and the Western Wall have boiled over into rioting several times in the past two weeks.
Extra Israeli police have been deployed for a Jewish festival. Some Palestinian officials have accused Israel of trying to "Judaise" Jerusalem.
The religious site known as Temple Mount to Jews and Haram al-Sharif to Palestinians is hotly contested, and was the flashpoint that led to the Palestinian intifada, or uprising, which broke out in 2000.


He was arrested over his inflammatory statements in recent days

Thousands of Israeli police patrolled Jerusalem ahead of a march marking the Jewish festival of Sukkot, which passed off without incident.
Sheikh Salah, who has been detained in the past, had recently called on Muslims to "defend" the mosque.
"He was arrested over his inflammatory statements in recent days and on suspicion of incitement," police spokesman Shmulik Ben-Rubi told AFP news agency on Tuesday.
Sheikh Salah has been jailed for two years in Israel in the past. He has also been arrested several times.

On Monday, minor clashes broke out at al-Aqsa mosque. Police said they had closed the mosque to male worshippers under the age of 50, after finding wheelbarrows full of stones inside the complex.

The unrest comes as the US is struggling to restart peace talks
On Sunday, at least five Palestinians and four Israeli police were injured in clashes, again after police limited access to the mosque.
About 30 people were injured there a week ago, when Palestinians stoned a group of visitors.
On Tuesday the Palestinian Authority denounced Israel's plan to "take over Jerusalem and Judaise it".
Negotiator Saeb Erekat accused the Israelis of "lighting matches in the hope of sparking a fire".
Correspondents say the unrest comes at a time of growing frustrations among Palestinians.
US attempts to restart peace talks appear to have stalled over Israel's refusal to halt settlement building in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem where the Palestinians want the capital of a future state.
Israel's right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has allowed Jewish building and demolitions of Palestinian homes built without permits to continue in East Jerusalem.
He has made clear he is strongly opposed to any division of Jerusalem and does not regard Jewish homes and areas there as settlements, although under international law the area is considered part of the occupied West Bank.




JERUSALEM/AMMAN: Arabs on Tuesday accused Israel of deliberately creating a dangerous situation in East Jerusalem, to trigger violence, justify a crackdown and tighten its grip on the disputed city.
Palestinian leaders have issued dire warnings in the past week after clashes at Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in Jerusalem’s Old City between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters, over attempts by Jewish religious activists to enter the site. ( Underlined Part was totally ignored by BBC, to portray Palestinians as guilty party )

The compound housing the mosque is a holy place for both Muslims and Jews, and has often been a flashpoint of tension. Israeli security forces control access to the area and regularly prohibit young Muslim men from entering.

King of Jordan condemned Israel’s “provocative measures” in East Jerusalem and called for an “immediate” move on the part of the world community to force the Jewish state to end its violations of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The king made the remarks as he presided over an emergency meeting of the country’s National Council of Policies to discuss the latest Israeli unilateral measures in East Jerusalem, which Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war.

“Israel is lighting matches in the hope of sparking a fire, deliberately escalating tensions in occupied East Jerusalem rather than taking steps to placate the situation,” chief Palestinian peace negotiator Saeb Erekat said in a statement before meetings later this week with US President Barack Obama’s envoy.

“Israel is escalating tensions in order to further entrench its occupation of East Jerusalem,” Erekat said.

Israel’s Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said violence helps no one and that Israel must “isolate and stop the sources of violence” to allow life in the city to continue as normal.

“It’s not in the world’s interest, in Israel’s interest or the Palestinian interests. Quiet is in the interest of all. The provocateurs must be shown that their efforts won’t pay off,” Barkat said on Israel Radio.

About 70,000 people marched in the streets of Jerusalem on Tuesday, marking the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, police said.

Israeli police deployed thousands of officers on city streets for fear that two days of minor clashes with Palestinian protesters would escalate.

A police spokesman said the city remained calm despite the large crowds, with only a couple of isolated incidents in which no one was hurt or arrested.

Palestinian sources say they fear that “small brushfires” may quickly spiral out of control as they have done in the past, if the Israelis maintain a “heavy-handed” response instead of making an effort to de-escalate tensions.

The Palestinian government on Monday said it would “confront Israel” diplomatically over the rise in tension. Obama’s peace envoy George Mitchell is due back in Jerusalem this week to continue efforts to revive stalled peace talks between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Palestinians believe they were the losers last month when Obama brought together Netanyahu and Abbas for a meeting on the fringes of the annual UN General Assembly, and appeared to soften his demand for a total halt to Israeli settlement building on occupied West Bank land and in East Jerusalem.

— With input from agencies ¬

Source: Arab News

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Hamas will bring 'resolution killers' to justice
Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:35:06 GMT


Hamas officials have vowed to bring to justice those Palestinians who supported the delaying of a UN Human Rights Council vote on a report about Israeli war crimes during the Gaza conflict.

Hamas --the democratically-elected government of Gaza-- says the Palestinian Authority, which dropped its support for a scheduled Friday vote on the report following intense lobbying from the US and Israel, has betrayed the victims of the three-week war and must be prosecuted.

"More than 1,400 Palestinians were killed during the Israeli war, based on demands from the families of the victims, we have decided to go ahead and prosecute those who contributed to the delaying of the UN Human Rights Council resolution; and that is because their move has dealt a heavy blow against the Palestinian people and to those in the international community trying to help Palestinians", Hamas Interior Minister Fathi Hammad told Press TV.

Hammad also believes that the controversial decision by Palestinian Authority under Acting Palestinian Chief Mahmoud Abbas proves the allegations that the Western-backed government had cooperated with Tel Aviv during its deadly offensive on Gaza.

After the Palestinian officials withdrew their support for the report, the Geneva-based body decided to delay until March 2010 a vote on the report by a fact-finding mission headed by international prosecutor Richard Goldstone.

The report reaffirmed that Israel deliberately violated international humanitarian law and used disproportionate force during its "Operation Cast Lead" against the people of Gaza at the beginning of the year.

It called for the prosecution of senior Israeli officials in the International Criminal Court if Tel Aviv fails to launch its own investigations into the Gaza war under international scrutiny.

Both Israeli and US officials dismissed the report as biased. Tel Aviv threatened to put aside resumption of the moribund peace talks with Palestinians if the Human Rights Council forwarded the report to the UN General Assembly.

The measure killed the Palestinians hope to pass a resolution against Israel in the UN Human Rights Council.

Abbas faced an unprecedented wave of condemnation and accusations of treason from other Palestinian factions even from PA officials , and ordered the establishment of a commission of inquiry into the issue.

An unnamed PA minister scoffed at Abbas' decision to establish the commission, the Jerusalem Post reported.

"What's the president [Abbas] trying to tell us? that he didn't make the decision to kill the resolution that would have seen the UN endorse the findings of the fact-finding commission into the Gaza war?" the minister asked.

"Well, if he didn't make the decision, then we want to know who's running the Palestinian Authority. If he was responsible for the [deferral] decision, then this is a very serious matter. If he knew, it's bad; if he didn't know, it's even worse," JP quoted him as saying.

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sraeli tanks enter eastern Gaza
Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:29:09 GMT
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Fighting has broken out between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters in eastern Gaza Strip after Israeli tanks and armored bulldozers crossed the border into the coastal region.

Military tanks fired at least seven shells at residential areas in the region, leaving at four Palestinians wounded, a Press TV correspondent reported Tuesday.

Local witnesses said paramedics were unable to reach the victims, one of whom sustained critical wounds.

Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services, confirmed the report, saying the military was not allowing rescue services to reach the scene of the incident to evacuate the victims, Ynet reported.

The Israeli military has yet to comment on the report.

SB/MD

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Israeli jets intercept plane over Dimona
Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:33:30 GMT
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Israel has scrambled fighter jets after a civilian ultra-light aircraft flew over its Dimona nuclear reactor in the southern Negev desert, the military says.

The warplanes intercepted the aircraft and forced it to land at an airstrip near the southern city of Arad, Ynet reported Tuesday.

Based on the report, the two men onboard the plane strayed from the planned route, flying from Rishon Letzion in central Israel to Arad near the Dead Sea, and inadvertently entered the reactor's airspace.

They however handed over to civilian authorities for investigation.

Aircrafts are prohibited to enter the airspace of the nuclear reactor, which is housing Israel's alleged nuclear arsenal.

SB/MD

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Libya urges UN Council meeting on Gaza report
Wed, 07 Oct 2009 06:15:05 GMT

The Goldstone report accused Israel of deliberate targeting of civilians during the three-week Gaza war.
Libya has called for an emergency Security Council meeting to discuss a UN report that found Israel guilty of war crimes during its offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Libya circulated a letter on Tuesday on behalf of the UN Arab group requesting an emergency meeting of the body to consider the report by the UN Human Rights Council's Gaza war commission, Libyan deputy ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi told AFP.

The independent fact-finding mission headed by former international war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone released a report last month mainly accusing Israel of committing war crimes, including deliberate targeting of civilians, during the three-week Gaza war.

Arab diplomats said the Security Council was to hold consultations on Wednesday to decide whether to hold a formal meeting on the Goldstone report.

The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council decided on Friday to delay until March a vote on a resolution that would have condemned Israel's non-cooperation with the investigation and pass on the report to the Security Council.

The decision was made under pressure from the United States, Israel's closest Middle East ally, the European Union and Russia and was welcomed by the Palestinian Authority delegation.

A Libyan UN envoy, Ahmed Gebreel, said his country, which currently has a Security Council seat, had requested a meeting 'because of the seriousness of the report and because we think it's too long to wait until March'.

A statement by the Palestinian observer mission at the United Nations said it fully supported the Libyan request for a Security Council meeting.

This is while the US has been taking advantage of its veto power in the Security Council to block any action or statement against Israel.

MRS/AKM

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US, Israel to begin joint military excercise

2009-10-06 12:13:32


Occupied Jerusalem-PalPress- According to the Hebrew newspaper Ma’ariv on Tuesday, fifteen US Navy warships have arrived in Israeli waters in advance of a major joint military exercise.

The newspaper states that the ships began arriving several weeks ago carrying fighter jets which have landed on Israel’s land military bases.

A high-ranking Israeli military official told Ma’ariv that the joint maneuvers are a “clear message” to Iran.

The newspaper added that Israeli and US officials held talks over the past several weeks to prepare for the joint drill, which will take place under supervision of a US General who has already arrived to Israel.

Ma’ariv also noted that US warplanes from military bases in Turkey for the first time will participate in the joint drill



2009-10-06 12:13:32

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Paper:Hamas bans rockets fire from Gaza

2009-10-06 11:17:19


Ramallah-PalPress-The London based "Asharq Al Awasat" newspaper quoted sources in the Palestinian resistance as saying that Hamas government in Gaza strip banned rockets fire towards Israel in response to the Israeli attacks in Jerusalem and "Al Aqsa" surroundings.

The sources added that Hamas security forces nabbed two militants over the past 48 hours as they were preparing to fire rockets towards Israel and released them a few hours later.

The same sources said that the nabbed belonged to newly formed militant groups , pointing out that they were nabbed in two separate events .

Hamas confiscated the rockets which were set to be fired and warned of repeating the attempt again even on part of big factions like the Islamic Jihad, said the paper.

The paper added that all the Palestinian factions in Gaza Strip accuse Hamas of wanting to direct the resistance according to it's will. and interests.

Sources in the Palestinian resistance said that Hamas wants to stabilize the calm in the strip pointing out that it is concerned about it's collapse.

Hamas agreed with the Palestinian factions in Gaza after the Israeli war on Gaza and the big destruction to cease rockets fire towards Israel in order to give people a break and not to be dragged towards anew war.



2009-10-06 11:17:19

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Gaza children’s artwork exhibition at Liverpool Cathedral in UK tackles 22-day attacks


06.10.09 - 11:35
Liverpool / Anne Candlin - Loss Of Innocence: Gaza children's artwork, is an exhibition of paintings and drawings done by children in Gaza following the Israeli 22 day assault earlier this year.

The exhibition, supported by UNESCO Gaza office, was collated by Rod Cox who went to Gaza early this year with the British overland humanitarian convoy. He stayed through March and April to work with schoolchildren on this project. Younger children, taking part in a psycho-social therapy project, and older children at a Girls High School were asked to illustrate what they had actually experienced and what they hope for the future.

The paintings show the destruction of apartment blocks, mosques, ambulances and civilians, through the use of helicopters, planes, drones, phosphorous weapons, bulldozers and direct fire from soldiers. The sun, trees, birds and Gaza cry. Gaza sends an SOS and the world simply stands still and looks on. A Dove of Peace, in one painting, sails in a boat over a Desert of Indifference.

As a result of Operation Cast Lead over 300 children were killed, many more injured, 1,400 children orphaned of at least one parent, 30 percent of children suffer serious mental health problems and all the children are traumatised. Not surprisingly, the children say that what they dream of for the future is freedom and peace.

The launch of the exhibition took place in the cathedral on Saturday, 26 September. The Cathedral Dean welcomed everybody and Professor Victor Merriman from Liverpool
Hope University, gave a remarkable and inspiring keynote speech. Rod Cox guided people around the exhibition adding interesting personal anecdotal material to each painting. A team of volunteer stewards have watched over the paintings from 8am -6pm every day for the duration of the ten-day exhibition.

Hundreds of visitors have now viewed the exhibition. Their comments attest to being profoundly moved and shocked by the children's paintings. Photographs of the paintings in the setting of this magnificent cathedral, the largest cathedral in the UK, will be sent to the children in Gaza so that they can follow the progress of their artwork and know that people are seeing their truth: the truth of the assault. The exhibition has been booked by schools, colleges, conferences and hospitals in the UK where it will continue to do its invaluable work of reaching the hearts and minds of ordinary people.

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Four injuries overnight in West Bank, arrests in Jerusalem, Palestinian police report


06.10.09 - 11:57
Ramallah / PNN – Four people were injured yesterday evening by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank.

In a report on Israeli attacks issued by the Palestinian police it was stated that 19 year old Mohammad Khalid Shehda was admitted to Ramallah Hospital after being shot by a rubber-coated steel bullet in the left leg.

Mustafa Imad Hijazi, a 20 year old resident of Abu Dis was hit in his left hand, also with a rubber-coated steel bullet.

Admitted to the Ramallah government hospital was an 18 year old with a broken jaw. Ahmed Mousa Mileihat had been attacked earlier in Jaba Village by invading Israeli troops.

Further south in the West Bank, 55 year old Mohammed Mohammed Salhab Ahmidan was admitted to the Hebron Government Hospital after sustaining bruises during a beating by Israeli forces.
Israeli forces arrested three people, claiming all were “wanted,” while in East Jerusalem’s Shua’afat Refugee Camp, undercover forces nabbed seven young men after a day of clashes
During further overnight raids of Hebron and Nablus in the West Bank, .