:icon_sadangel2: Palestine Peace a dream?

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The first Palestinian on the moon
27.01.10 - 22:51

Larissa Sansour is currently exhibiting in group show in Bahrain and has her first solo show in New York. Born in Jerusalem in 1973 to a Russian mother and a Palestinian father, educated in New York and London and living in Copenhagen, Sansour has exhibited internationally. Visitors to her shows in New York and Bahrain will encounter her video "A Space Exodus".

ImageIn A Space Exodus, Larissa Sansour quirkily sets up an adapted stretch of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey in a Middle Eastern context.

The film follows the artist herself on a phantasmagoric journey through the universe echoing Kubrick’s thematic concerns for human evolution, progress and technology. However, in her film, Sansour posits the idea of a first Palestinian in space, and, referencing Armstrong’s moon landing, she interprets this theoretical gesture as “a small step for a Palestinian, a giant leap for mankind”.

This five-minute short is packed with highly produced visual imagery. The arabesque elements ranging from the space suit to the music are merged within a dreamy galactic setting and elaborate special effects. A great deal of attention is paid to every detail of the film to create a never before seen case of thrillingly magical Palestinian displacement.

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No peace talks with Israel before settlement freeze
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:37:02 GMT

Former Palestinian Authority foreign minister Nabil Sha'ath says peace talks with the current Israeli administration is unlikely on account of its construction in West Bank settlements.

"Israel's threats to invade the Gaza Strip and American pressure on the Palestinian leadership not to miss what they believe is an opportunity, won't drive us to resume the peace talks while settlement construction continues in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem [Al-Quds]," Sha'ath stated in Ramallah on Tuesday.

"We believe that any return to the negotiations would be a waste of time and would provide a cover for Israeli settlements," Sha'ath pointed out.

"They want us to return to the negotiating table without a halt of settlement construction and the Judaization of Jerusalem [Al-Quds] and the removal of the blockade on the Gaza Strip," he said. "And they are constantly threatening us that we would be missing a second opportunity."

The member of Fatah's Central Committee also condemned Washington's threats to veto any UN Security Council resolution intended for the declaration of Palestine independence.

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

There are currently 121 Israeli settlements and approximately 102 Israeli outposts built illegally on Palestinian land occupied by Israel in 1967. All of these settlements and outposts are illegal under international law and have been condemned by numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions.

These settlements and outposts are inhabited by a population of 462,000 Israeli settlers. Some 191,000 Israelis are living in settlements around Jerusalem Al-Quds and an additional 271,400 are spread throughout the West Bank.

MP/HGH/MMN

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aNIMATION mOVIE ON PALESTINE

Fatima: A Palestinian animation film
25.01.10 - 23:52
ImageFatenah is a 27-year-old young woman who lives in the Gaza Strip. Her life was like that of many other women in Gaza, until she became ill.

This short, 27-minute animation - the first Palestinian-produced animation - reproduces with incredible accuracy the scenarios of Gaza City. The story, untold till now, is a breathtaking adventure that takes the viewer on a journey that accompanies Fatenah in her daily struggles and uncovers the human drama of her fight to survive. This journey to the heart of the Gaza Strip will touch and move you.

The idea of the film is to illustrate what it is like to be a patient in need of referral for specialised hospital care outside Gaza. It is based on a true story, documented by WHO and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)-Israel, of a patient diagnosed with breast cancer in Gaza.

Approximately 1,000 patients per month apply to the Israeli authorities for permits to get out of Gaza in order to access specialised treatment in East Jerusalem, Israel, Jordan, and the West Bank. Many of them go through the kind of experiences that are revealed in this animation. However, about 30 percent of these patients, 300 patients per month, are unable to get out of Gaza because their permits are denied or delayed.

WHO puts out data regularly on the referral-abroad process in Gaza, and PHR-Israel also monitors and advocates for individual cases. But there is no substitute for the human story; this is the reason that WHO decided to support this project.

Fatenah is at once the first Palestinian-produced animation and the first time that a story on access to health care for patients in Gaza reaches the big screen. It was animated and directed by Ahmad Habash and produced by Saed Andoni. The screenplay was written by Saed Andoni, Ahmad Habash, and Ambrogio Manenti. This animation has been realised and distributed with the support of WHO West Bank and Gaza, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and Sabreen Association for Artistic Development.

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Israeli Supreme Court chief struck with sneaker
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:39:12 GMT

An Israeli man has hurled his sneakers at Israel's Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch breaking her glasses and knocking her off the chair.

The shoe-thrower, Pinchas "Pini" Cohen, entered a hearing on medical marijuana on Wednesday and asked, "Is this the president?" After receiving a positive response, he took off his sneaker, threw it at Beinish and hit her in the face while yelling "you're corrupt, a traitor, because of you I lost everything."

It knocked the Israeli chief justice to the ground as a second shoe attack flew overhead.

Cohen was arrested by the court's security guards. He appears to have a history of violent behavior. He threatened his lawyer Arieh Rozenberg and Judge Philip Marcus in 2006.

According to Rozenberg, he had been assaulted by Cohen who caused him a hand fracture.

The trend was set by Muntazer al-Zaidi, a reporter with Cairo-based al-Baghdadia television network, who threw his shoes at former US president George W. Bush in late 2008 as he was on his last visit to Iraq.

MP/MMN

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Yidiot :Advanced weapons stolen from Israeli military factory

2010-01-27 12:52:33

Occupied Jerusalem-PalPress-Israel revealed today Wednesday that advanced weapons were stolen from a military factory which provides the Israeli army with weapons.

The weapons came in reach of criminal groups in Israel, thus after a factory employee and some of his partners in the robbery made confessions.

According to ‘Yidiot Ahronot” web site, the Israeli police arrested two Israelis from Richon Litzion area central Israel, following security information and investigations over the burglary report.

A gag order was posed over the incident until today morning when investigations confirmed that 170 pieces of weapon including pistols, machine guns and rifle specially designated for an army unit were stolen and sold to Israeli criminal organizations.

The web site added that the police are still investigating into the incident with concerns that some pieces might have come in reach of enemy organizations, or that the stolen pieces might be used in military operations against Israel.

The investigation began after police found weapons in an open area near Taibeh.

The web site said that after the police recognized the factory where the weapons were stolen, they coordinated with the factory’s administration for hiring two agents.

This led them to Sergei Kirzner, 37 years old who worked as a chauffeur in the factory, he stole the weapons pieces and delivered them to 32- year old Sharon Gotin a resident of Richon Litzion , who for his part sold the pieces to criminal groups in Israel in return for thousands of Shekel per piece.


2010-01-27 12:52:33

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Israel rules out independant probe of Gaza war
Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:07:14 GMT

Israel has disdained international calls to conduct an independent probe into the war crimes its forces have been charged with during its 2008 Gaza offensive.

The call for an internal investigation of the alleged - and documented - war crimes is part of a damning report by a UN fact-finding mission led by the South African Judge Richard Goldstone.

The 575-page report mostly highlighted Israeli war crimes such as deliberately targeting centers known to be holding Palestinian civilians and shooting civilians on the run, including some that were waving white flags.

"Israel has no intention of creating a verification commission," Tel Aviv's Information and Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein said in New York on Tuesday, a day after meeting the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. He added that he had informed Ban of the Israeli intentions during their Monday meeting.

The refusal came two days before the Israeli minister submits Tel Aviv's official response to charges of war crimes over the three-week war the regime's forces waged against the densely-populated coastal strip, killing more than 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and leaving tens of thousands more injured.

Meanwhile, the Israeli media have suggested the possibility of a limited inquiry to help Tel Aviv deflect a portion of the widespread international condemnation it is facing over the Gaza offensive.

In his report, Mr. Goldstone suggested that its conclusions be referred to the Hague-based International Criminal Court if Israel and Hamas fail to carry out convincing probes into their actions within six months.

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly endorsed the report in November, in the face of fierce opposition from Israel and the United States, who pledged to take a stance against the report in support of its closest Middle East ally.

The General Assembly consequently called on both sides to carry out investigations "that are independent, credible and in conformity with international standards" by February 5.

Israel has been striving to suppress the Goldstone report since it was released in September, vowing to fight any efforts to bring the Israeli initiators of the 22-day aggression to trial.

On Tuesday, Edelstein made the claim that the report is stirring up “anti-Semitism” and “reinforcing Holocaust deniers,” despite the fact that its South African author is Jewish himself.

MRS/TG/MB

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Israeli tanks target Gaza homes, farmlands
Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:51:58 GMT

Israeli army tanks have opened fire on houses and farmlands in the eastern parts of the Gaza Strip, according to a report by the International Middle East Media Center (IMEMC).

A number of Israeli tanks invaded lands located near al-Shojayia district and fired at Palestinian farmers near the northern Gaza-Israeli borders on Thursday afternoon, reported IMEMC.

The farmers said that a number of homes and lands were damage but reported no injuries.

Meanwhile, Palestinian armed factions reported that they had fired two home-made shells at Israeli areas near Gaza. Israeli sources said that the shells landed in open areas, causing damage but no injuries.

The Israeli army launched a massive military offensive, known as 'Operation Cast Lead' against the coastal Gaza Strip in December 2008 . More than 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed during the three-week offensive, which imposed $1.6 billion in damages to the Gaza economy.

MP/SAR/MB

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'Attack on Hezbollah is attack on Lebanon'
Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:13:36 GMT

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (R) meets with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the Presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, January 28.
Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Thursday that Israel's threats against Hezbollah are perceived as threats against Lebanon.

"We consider the Israeli threats on Lebanon to be a threat to the Lebanese government as a whole, rather than to one particular person," said Hariri during a joint news conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo, Reuters reported.

He added that in his country, "everywhere is under the authority of the Lebanese government."

His remarks came after Yossi Peled, an Israeli cabinet minister and a former army general who has experienced the conflict on the northern border, said on Saturday, January 23, that another confrontation with Hezbollah was almost inevitable but he could not say when it would happen.

The minister without portfolio said that according to his "estimation, understanding and knowledge," it was "almost clear" to him that another conflict on the border with Lebanon was imminent.

"It does not necessary have to be between us and Hezbollah, other elements may be involved in this," Peled said.

Hariri, meanwhile, called for Arab solidarity with Beirut to counter the Israeli threats.

Israel launched a war against Lebanon in 2006, during which more than 1,200 — mostly Lebanese civilians — were killed.

Israel was forced to withdraw from the Lebanese territories after 33 days, failing to achieve any of its objectives.

FTP/MMN

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Obama: I will never waver from supporting Israel
Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:02:49 GMT

Although US President Barack Obama vaguely acknowledged Israel as the cause of Palestinian "plight," he affirmed that he will never waver from support for Tel Aviv.

Obama made the remarks in a speech to a crowd in a gymnasium in Tampa, Florida, on Thursday when he was asked about his policy on Israel.

"Here's my view: Israel is one of our strongest allies. It is a vibrant democracy. It shares links with us in all sorts of ways. It is critical for us, and I will never waver from Israel's security," Obama said.

Obama referred to Israel as a "vibrant democracy," while Israel does not even have a constitution, "since the Constituent Assembly and the first Knesset were unable to put a constitution together," reads a statement on the Israeli Parliament (Knesset)'s website.

Furthermore, Israel does not have a bill of rights and has a history of legislating unequal civil rights, privileges and access to public funds. And its pursuit of a so-called "Jewish State" is an apparent discrimination against the non-Jewish.

Obama, however, went on to say that "the plight of the Palestinians is something that we have to pay attention to."

He said it was not good for the security of the US and Israel if millions of Palestinians feel hopeless.

His comments were a vague reference to numerous violations of human rights and international law by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

About 1.5 million Palestinians are suffering from a grave humanitarian crisis as a result of an Israeli-imposed blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has been in place since 2007.

This is while in West Bank, Palestinians are constantly being kidnapped during overnight raids conducted by Israeli troops.

MGH/MMN

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'Israel assassinates top Hamas commander in Dubai'
Fri, 29 Jan 2010 05:52:08 GMT

Israel has assassinated a senior Hamas military commander in Dubai, an official in the Palestinian resistance group says.

Damascus-based Hamas media official, Izzat al-Rishq has told Press TV that Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was killed by Israeli agents on January 20th.

According to one of his brothers, Mabhuh was killed by electric shock after an electrical appliance was held to his head.

"The first results of a joint investigation by Hamas and the (United Arab) Emirates show he was killed by an electrical appliance that was held to his head," Fayed al-Mabhuh told AFP.

"Material was sent to a Paris laboratory which confirmed he was killed by electric shock," he added.

Al-Mabhouh was a founder of the Al-Qassam Brigades.

Al-Rishq warned that Israel will pay dearly for the murder at a due time.

He further pointed out that Mabhouh, who had been living in Syria since 1989, was assassinated a day after he arrived in Dubai.

Hamas can not offer more information at present about how he was assassinated, Rishq concluded.

Hamas says the burial ceremony will be held in Damascus on Friday.

HRF/DT