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From: "Today in Palestine!" <tipalestine@...>
Date: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:06 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines December 11, 2009 ~

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Land Theft and Destruction And The So Called "Freeze"/Settlements
Israel's evictions in Jerusalem violate international law, says senior UN official
The forced evictions of Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem by Israel are in contravention of international law, the head of the United Nations agency tasked with assisting millions of Palestinian refugees said today.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/VDUX-7YLT33?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Barghouti: EU Should Pressure Israel To Halt Settlements Expansion
MP Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative declared that “the recent statement issued by the FM's of the EU concerning the Middle East, Jerusalem's status and the situation in the occupied territories, represents a positive step forward." Dr. Barghouthi also stressed that “despite the fact that the original draft proposed by Sweden met more appropriately the aspirations of Palestinian people, the EU Resolution focused on international law and international legitimacy, referring to the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem as a whole occupied territory.”
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1198

Settlers occupying al-Kurd house in Sheikh Jarrah continue to harass evicted Palestinian families
Settlers, who have since August 2009 taken over three houses in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah in occupied East Jerusalem, have, after a series of violent attacks, initiated a number of actions this week with the intention of intimidating and harassing local Palestinians forcefully evicted from their homes.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/12/9661?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+(International+Solidarity+Movement)

Israel: Netanyahu backs benefits package for settlers after protests
After 10,000 settlers and their supporters protested in Israel last night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered tax breaks and other benefits to mollify them. But his effort to please everyone may be backfiring.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1210/p06s15-wome.html

Likud minister: Settler population could grow by 10,000 in next year
The population of Israeli settlements in the West Bank could grow by 10,000 in the coming year despite a declared temporary freeze on Israeli building in the territory, Likud Minister Benny Begin has said.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134461.html

Pro-settlement protesters denounce Netanyahu
Jerusalem – Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated support in West Jerusalem on Wednesday for further expansion of settlements on Palestinian land in the West Bank. The demonstration was in opposition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declared ten-month freeze on construction in settlements outside of what Israel considers Jerusalem.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245867

Same old Amreeka
U.S. not opposed to Israel pumping more funds into settlements
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to seek cabinet approval for a new map of "national priority" zones does not contradict Israel's declaration of a 10-month construction freeze in West Bank settlements, the prime minister's bureau assured senior United States administration officials late Thursday. The new map would enable another 110,000 settlers - most of whom live outside the major settlement blocs - the economic benefits conferred on residents of zones already included on Israel's list.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134403.html

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
UK to shun settlement products?
British government advises UK food chains to clearly label all products made in Judea, Samaria and Golan Heights; officials in Jerusalem condemn move, prepare to fight back. British embassy: This isn't a boycott.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3818281,00.html

U.K. government urges businesses: Label products from settlements
The British government has issued an official recommendation urging business owners to mark Israeli products produced in West Bank settlements so that consumers who want to boycott such items will find it easy to identify them.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134235.html

Setting the Record Straight on Ahava: According to CNN, Ahava won't say whether they're being boycotted in the United States
CNN has decided that Ahava has a good business model. Not only that, but they apparently "transcend politics and ecology,"according to this article published at CNNMoney.com.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/according-to-cnn-ahava-wont-say-whether.html

Twenty South Africans to join Gaza Freedom March
The delegation includes former Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils. A delegation of almost 20 South Africans will, later this month, join more than a thousand activists from around the world and about 20,000 people from Gaza in the first international Gaza Freedom March, which will protest at Israel's Erez border crossing. South African delegates, including former Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils, a five-person COSATU delegation, solidarity activists and journalists, will meet up in Egypt with solidarity holocaust survivors, activists, academics, and politicians from 42 countries.
http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71654?oid=154410&sn=Detail

Violence and Aggression
Fire attack on West Bank mosque
Jewish settlers are suspected of being behind an attack on a mosque in the north of the occupied West Bank.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/middle_east/8407832.stm

Clashes after settlers torch mosque
Nablus – Ma’an – Six Palestinians fainted after inhaling tear gas fired by the Israeli military during a protest east of Salfit on Friday.
Yasouf village's mayor, Abed Ar-Rahim Musleh, said the injured were hospitalized in Salfit. He described their injuries as light.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245954

Detainees
Hamas: PA detained 18 supporters
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Hamas said on Friday that Fatah-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) forces detained 18 people affiliated with the Islamic movement in the West Bank over the the last two days.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245945

P.A Security Forces Arrest Son Of Detained Legislator
Palestinian Security Forces arrested Thursday No’man Salhab, 20, the son of legislator Dr. Azzam Slahab, who is currently imprisoned by Israel.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57345

Once Again, High Court Affirms No Visitations For Gaza Detainees
The Israeli High Court of Justice approved a military decision to continue disallowing families of Palestinian detainees from Gaza, from visiting their detained loved ones.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57346

War Criminals
Gaza war crimes investigation: human shields (with Arabic subtitles)
Clancy Chassay investigates claims from three brothers that the Israeli military used them as human shields during the invasion of Gaza.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2009/mar/23/israel-gaza-human-shields-arabic

Arab girl's healing starts in San Jose with a new eye to replace one destroyed in war
Trapped in the Middle East's brutal eye-for-an-eye conflict, Mariam Al Shafei was robbed of hers by a hot piece of flying shrapnel. She was only 14, a mere schoolgirl, and had never hurt anyone. Mariam's long process of healing started Thursday afternoon. San Jose prosthetic expert Raymond Rendon built her a new eye — large and brown, like her own — and gently placed it in the empty socket.
http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_13974373?nclick_check=1

Denied the Right to an Education
Rules of human decency apply to Israelis too
Poor Berlanty. What did she do to deserve this crushing blow to her hopes and life chances? The Israeli High Court has denied her justice – again – and prevented Berlanty Azzam returning to Bethlehem University for the final few weeks to complete her degree.
On 28 October this Christian student at the Vatican-sponsored Bethlehem University was abducted by the IDF, "the world's most moral army", after attending a job interview in Ramalla, then blindfolded and handcuffed and dumped in Gaza. She had lived in the West Bank since 2005 after being granted a permit.
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2009/12/11/rules-of-human-decency-apply-to-israelis-too/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SabbahsBlog+(Sabbah+Report)

Humanitarian/Human Rights/Siege
No mention of Palestinians: Thousands march for human rights in TA
International Human Rights Day marked in Tel Aviv with procession of hundreds of people. Prominent participants include Minister Avishay Braverman and MKs Nitan Horowitz and Dov Khenin.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3818497,00.html

Military Court in Ramallah Sentences Palestinian to Death by Firing Squad
Press Release Palestinian Centre for Human Rights "PCHR Calls Upon President not to Ratify Sentence and Demands the Abolishment of Death Penalty from Palestinian Law."
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=37157

Targeting Civilians in Gaza
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is an “independent legal body dedicated to the protection of human rights, the promotion of the rule of law, and the upholding of democratic principles in the Occupied Territories.” It issues frequent press releases, statistics, fact sheets, documents, and reports like its October 22, 2009 English version of “Targeted Civilians: A PCHR Report on the Israeli Offensive against the Gaza Strip (27 December 2008-18 January 2009).”
http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/12/targeting-civilians-in-gaza/

Young Palestinians celebrate the 20th anniversary of the CRC
JERUSALEM, 10 December 2009 – UNICEF hosted several days of celebratory activities last week to focus public attention on the importance of children’s rights. The occasion was the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which was commemorated throughout the West Bank and Gaza.
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/oPt_52063.html

Palestinians fake cancer to flee blockaded Gaza
Gaza resident obtains bogus medical report saying he has cancer for $260 in order to enter Israel. Fatah loyalist bribes doctor with $100 to escape Hamas harassment. Israeli human rights activist says fakers are minority, but clog up system for real patients enduring longer checks as result.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3818011,00.html

Egypt accused of building Gaza wall - 11 Dec 09
Israeli newspaper claims that Egypt is building an underground steel fence along its border with Gaza have been denied by the governor of Northern Sinai. Haaretz had claimed metal sheets were being installed underground to block tunnels used to bring essential goods and medicines into Gaza. But tunnel workers say Egypt has been enacting a far simpler plan - drilling holes into tunnels in order flood them with water. Sherine Tadros reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzhUcShtkSk&feature=youtube_gdata

US Cutting Gaza Lifeline
No doubt at the instigation of the Israeli government, the Obama administration has authorized the United States Army Corps of Engineers to design a vertical underground wall under the border between Egypt and Gaza. In March, 2009 the United States provided the government of Egypt with $32 million in March, 2009 for electronic surveillance and other security devices to prevent the movement of food, merchandise and weapons into Gaza. Now details are emerging about an underground steel wall that wil be 6-7 miles long and extend 55 feet straight down into the desert sand.
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2009/12/11/us-cutting-gaza-lifeline/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SabbahsBlog+(Sabbah+Report)

Political Developments
Official: Hamas-Fatah talks may resume soon
Cairo – Ma’an/Agencies – Talks between rival factions Hamas and Fatah could resume within a few days, the head of the Palestinian Reconciliation Committee, Iyad As-Serraj, told Egyptian journalists on Thursday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245884

No Moscow Mideast talks for now: Palestinian minister (AFP)
AFP - Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Malki on Thursday rejected holding Middle East peace talks in Moscow in the absence of preliminary negotiations with Israel.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091210/wl_mideast_afp/mideastpeacepalestinianrussia

Irish slam Gaza ban
The Israeli government has been sharply criticised in the Irish parliament for refusing Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin permission to visit Gaza.
http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/24793/irish-slammed-gaza-ban

Syria: All Israeli PMs since '91 have agreed to Golan pullout
Contrary to reports in the Israeli media according to which Syria is willing to begin negotiations with Israel without preconditions, Damascus has insisted it will demand a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights before it begins even indirect talks.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134310.html

Other News
Palestinian Christians to declare occupation 'a sin'
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Palestinian Christians from all denominations were in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on Friday to demand sanctions on Israel and to jointly reject Christian Zionism. Clergy have termed their movement the Palestine Kairos Initiative, modeled after black South Africa's 1985 Kairos Document, a theological statement that called on churches to join the fight against apartheid.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245869

What power does U.S. have to stop ‘third war’ in Middle East?
Washington Stakeout got Russ Feingold to admit that Israel has nukes, though the senator tried to avoid the question. How helpful is this kind of hypocrisy? Andrew Sullivan is worried about Israeli nuclear policy [emphasis mine].
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/what-power-does-u-s-have-to-stop-third-war-in-middle-east-what-about-bds.html

Speak Persian? The Shin Bet wants you
The Shin Bet security service published an unusual want ad in the newspapers this week, seeking "Persian-speaking field coordinators." Training for the position, the ad said, was open to both men and women, and would begin in April.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134308.html

3 items--IOF night raid, summary, letter on depleted uranium
http://groups.google.com/group/newprofile/browse_thread/thread/91806f194db5dede?hl=en&pli=1

Zionist Wahabbis
Rabbis rage against net 'abominations'
Ultra-orthodox rabbis in Israel are trying to crack down on growing use of the internet among their followers, saying that it is filled with "abomination" and is leading believers astray.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/rabbis-rage-against-net-abominations-1838204.html

Jewish lobby wages war on Christmas trees
Lobby for Jewish values passes out fliers against hotels, restaurants putting up Christmas trees, other Christian symbols ahead of civil New Year, say businesses who do so risk losing kosher certification.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/1,7340,L-3815175,00.html

Ulpana high school, where settler girls go to become 'real men'
"A girls school of real men," they sometimes call the small ulpana in the West Bank settlement of Ma'ale Levona, headed by Rabbi Gad Ben-Zimra. The religious Zionist middle school and high school won its nickname from its students' incredible willingness to sacrifice themselves for the Greater Land of Israel - setting up illegal outposts, refusing to move in the face of police assaults, and sitting in jail for weeks in order not to give interrogators their names.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134038.html

Israel should bring Jewish law into its legal system
Is Israel about to introduce a legal system where adulterous women are stoned to death and unruly sons put to the sword? One might have thought that was the case from the near-hysterical reaction to Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman's speech on Monday, in which he spoke of his desire to "step by step" make the laws of the Torah into the law of the land.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134297.html

Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest
The soldier said ‘Boi ne! boi ne!’ (Or, why even you might consider violent resistance)
As the Gaza Freedom March approaches, I wanted to post a video from Gaza last May I haven’t mentioned here before, documenting the humiliations of armed occupation. The speaker is Reem Abu Jaber, the highly-educated director of the Qattan Center for the Child in Gaza City. Abu Jaber could be working in Europe or the Gulf; she chose to return to Gaza because she was needed there, to serve children at the most modern library for young people in the entire Gaza Strip. We’re in the conference room at the Center, and out of the "bloody cycle," as Abu Jaber says–although our meeting began with her showing us an exhibit of the debris of modern armaments that fell on her facilities during the onslaught of last winter.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/the-soldier-said-boi-ne-boi-ne-or-why-even-you-might-consider-violent-resistance.html

"I was beaten savagely without knowing the reason" A Bidya man tells his story to Khalid Amayreh
Despite repeated assurances from the Palestinian Authority (PA) that torture has been outlawed in PA interrogation and incarceration facilities, stories of physical and psychological abuse continue to surface in the West Bank. This raises serious questions about the credibility of undertakings made by the PA to local and international human rights organisations operating in the occupied territories.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/12/10/i-was-beaten-savagely-without-knowing-the-reason-a-bidya-man-tells-his-story-to-khalid-amayreh/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PalestineThinkTank+(Palestine+Think+Tank)

Decrypting the Palestinian Political Crisis: Old Strategies against New Enemies
The explanations given by Israel to justify the onslaught on Gaza in last December were confused. The goals advanced by military and political Israeli apparatus varied, depending either on the person speaking or on the moment in which they were stated: from overthrowing the Hamas-led government and annihilating the movement, to putting an end to the launching of Hamas rockets from the Strip, to destroying Hamas’s military capabilities, to stopping the smuggling into Gaza, and so on.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/12/decrypting-the-palestinian-political-crisis-old-strategies-against-new-enemies/

Gaza, West Bank is 'biggest prison in the world'
As I write this letter, Obama's is accepting the Nobel Peace Prize. But.... nine days ago, he ordered 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, and bought several thousand more from European stooges. Last night the BBC ran a story about a 10 km-long fence that's being erected between Gaza & Egypt. It will go in the ground 18 meters, is made of bomb-proof, cut-proof steel made in the USA. It's purpose is to prevent tunneling, therefore smuggling, into Gaza; thus reinforcing the idea that Gaza & the West Bank is the biggest prison in the world. It will be bought and paid for by the good old USA. At the same time, Obama has as his Chief of Staff, Rohm Emanuel, who once served in the Israeli Army.
http://www.standard.net/topics/opinion/2009/12/10/gaza-west-bank-biggest-prison-world

Answers to The State of Palestine Quiz
THE GREAT ZIONIST MYTH: The Palestinians never existed before modern Israel was established. They came from other Arab lands to try to take what the Israelis had rightful claims to. “Palestinians” pretend to the world and to themselves that they have always been there, but they are delusional and do it all merely because they hate Jews.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/12/answers-to-the-state-of-palestine-quiz/

Oren instructs American Jews to have ‘no differences of opinion’ on survival of the Jewish state, Philip Weiss
The angry response to Walt and Mearsheimer’s writing on the Israel lobby was never about whether they were right or wrong. It was about the fear on the part of an empowered group that their power was being called out and questioned; and the righteousness of the response was a reflection of what a solemn duty the lobby has in Jewish life. The lobby is the guardian in the American power centers of Jewish lives abroad, because you really can’t trust gentiles to watch out for Jewish lives.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/oren-american-jews-must-have-no-differences-of-opinion-with-respect-to-israel.html

Obama seems to throw in the towel on the ‘peace process’
As I look over Obama’s Nobel speech, which includes a lot of stentorian talk about a new commitment to peace-making and to international human rights standards, I notice no reference to Israel-Palestine directly, just this.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/obama-seems-to-throw-in-the-towel-on-the-peace-process.html

Iraq
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,368 (AP)
AP - As of Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009, at least 4,368 members of the U.S. military had died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091211/ap_on_re_us/us_iraq_us_deaths

Iraqi PM condemns sectarianism
Nouri al-Maliki blames recent deadly bombings that killed 127 on political discord.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/12/20091210134447754400.html

Inside Iraq - Iraq's internal dilemma - 11 Dec 09
Who is benefiting from the wave of violence that is hitting Iraq?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7C97oo43bg&feature=youtube_gdata

‘I Have No Living Friends in Iraq Now’, Riyadh Mohammed
In most parts of the world, the end of the year is a time to reminisce about the best of the past and look to the future with a hopeful eye. Iraq is not like the rest of the world. For me, it is a time to update my death list. The latest entry is my ex-girlfriend.
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/i-have-no-living-friends-in-iraq-now/

From the Memoirs of a Ghost, Marwan kindly translated Sinan Antoon's piece from Arabic: " "From the Memoirs of a Ghost"
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/12/from-memoirs-of-ghost_10.html

Lebanon
Lieberman indicates imminent withdrawal from north Ghajar
An Israeli withdrawal from the northern sector of the occupied village of Ghajar could be imminent, according to Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.The minister delivered an ad dress on the fate of the disputed village during talks Wednes day with his Italian counterpart Franco Frattini, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=109670

New Lebanon Cabinet allows Hezbollah to keep arms (AP)
AP - The Lebanese parliament overwhelmingly approved a national unity government Thursday that will allow Hezbollah to keep its weapons, despite strong criticism from pro-Western lawmakers angry at the militant group's refusal to disarm.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091210/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_lebanon_hezbollah

Afghanistan
Kucinich plans to force vote on US withdrawal from Afghanistan
For congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Afghan President Hamid Karzai's announcement Tuesday that his country would need the US's military support for another 10 or 15 years seems to have been the last straw.
http://rawstory.com/2009/12/kucinich-vote-withdrawal-afghanistan/

Afghans protest civilian killings by US forces
Hundreds of Afghans have taken to the streets of the capital Kabul to protest a recent NATO airstrike which killed a number of civilians in the war-ravaged country.
http://presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=113383&sectionid=351020403

Afghan demonstrators call for trial of "war criminals"
The protesters also called on the government to identify and sack all those officials involved in human right violation and war crimes over the past three decades.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/10/content_12625119.htm

Canadian General Now Acknowledges Risk to Afghan Detainees
Canada’s top soldier, said Wednesday that the country’s military had been aware that prisoners it handed over to Afghan authorities risked being abused.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/world/americas/10canada.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

Marines captain from 45 Commando admits Afghan assault
A Royal Marines officer has pleaded guilty to assaulting an Afghan national while serving in the country, according to a court martial spokesman.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2009/12/10/marines-captain-from-45-commando-admits-afghan-assault-86908-21887313/

U.S. and Other World News
How about we just ignore Obama's Nobel Prize speech?
Instead of spending a lot of time parsing Obama's latest speech -- to no one's surprise, it was thoughtful, self-effacing, nuanced, balanced, eloquent, lucid, well-delivered, etc. etc. (yawn) -- I suggest we focus our attention henceforth on what he actually does.
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/12/10/how_about_we_just_ignore_obama_s_nobel_prize_speech

Obama Nobel Peace Prize: What Arabs think
The Obama Nobel Peace Prize is seen as inappropriate by many Arabs, who are angry about the surge of US troops into Afghanistan and a stagnant Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1210/p06s12-wome.html

Ari Shavit / Obama awarded Nobel because he's a Democrat, liberal and black
He will be awarded the prize even though he is personally responsible for scores of targeted killings and much slaughter of civilians in aerial bombardments. He will be awarded the prize even though he has just decided to escalate one of the two ineffectual wars he is conducting.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134048.html

Inside Story - In search for Bin Laden - 10 Dec 09
Are US policies helping or hindering al-Qaeda's popularity?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXHLSqX9cCs&feature=youtube_gdata

Syria: Lift Blackout on Prisoners’ Fate
(New York) - Syrian authorities should make public without further delay the fate of all prisoners whose whereabouts and well-being remain a mystery almost 18 months after security forces put down a riot at the Sednaya prison in July 2008, Human Rights Watch said today.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/12/10/syria-lift-blackout-prisoners-fate

A Victim of Saudi Arabia's Irreligious Police:Why You Should Know About Ali Sibat, By RANNIE AMIRI
At the time of this writing, Ali Hussain Sibat is still alive. It is unknown for how long he will be however, for he is set to be executed in Saudi Arabia at any moment for the undefined crime of practicing “sorcery” and “witchcraft.” As Robert Fisk aptly penned, “Some stories from the Middle East make you want to weep. But this one is truly heart-breaking.”
http://www.counterpunch.org/amiri12102009.html

Egypt demolishing new Brotherhood hospital in row
* Brotherhood leader says demolition politically-driven
* Officials says hospital violated regulations
* Analysts say social projects key to Brotherhood support
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEE5B727Z.htm

Erdogan warns Israel on Iranian spying
Israel would face dire consequences if it violated Turkish airspace to spy on Iran, the Turkish prime minister said in an interview with an Egyptian journalist.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2009/12/10/Erdogan-warns-Israel-on-Iranian-spying/UPI-63201260462600/

www.TheHeadlines.org

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#2630

From: "Today in Palestine!" <tipalestine@...>
Date: Thu Dec 10, 2009 4:11 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines December 10, 2009 ~

f_shadi

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Land Theft and Destruction And The So Called "Freeze"/Settlements
IOF troops bulldoze lands in Gaza
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) advanced east of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, on Wednesday and bulldozed Palestinian cultivated lands, locals reported.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7fLSWaNAhLeAiqTe0SeT%2fH2HTEFWiWM7vrcgrP8xnOTe4Cn%2fxaVCLMQimiRDT7u%2bnDp44Dy5I9mEuoaM%2fS4wKTidIcrX5z%2b5GifKHC4z%2f0kU%3d

Settlers from Yitzhar burn Palestinian family’s house and cars near Nablus
In the village ‘Einabus south of Nablus, three settlers caused severe damage to Palestinian property, setting a Palestinian house and several cars on fire in the early hours of Sunday, 6 December. In total two tractors were completely destroyed by the fire, as well as one car and a mini-bus. The lower part of a Palestinian house was also destroyed, causing severe damage to the upper part of the house as well. As a result of the fire, cracks appeared in the walls and the ceiling and windows were broken. The furniture in the house as well as the bathroom have been left unusable. The house is constructed in a way that connects it to several other houses. If the fire was not stopped in time it would have spread to the other houses, causing a widespread damage.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/12/9656?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+(International+Solidarity+Movement)

Seven Palestinians Ordered Out Of Jerusalem For 45 Days
The Israeli Authorities decided to expel seven Palestinians, from Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in East Jerusalem, out of the city for 45 days. The Israeli Police arrested the seven Palestinians following clashes between Palestinians and fundamentalist Jewish settlers who attempted to occupy a Palestinian home in Sheikh Jarrah.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57338

Israelis protest settlement freeze - 09 Dec 09
As talks continue over the release of Galid Shalit, the Israeli soldier held captive by Hamas, Israeli settlers have been demanding access to land that does not legally belong to them. Many Israelis are angry at a proposed partial-freeze on building new settlements in some parts of the occuptied West Bank, prompting thousands of protesters to gather in occupied Jerusalem, which incidentially is not part of the building freeze. Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnstone reports from the settlement of Ofra.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GPbqlvnRD0&feature=youtube_gdata

Golan residents: Referendum bill encouraging
After Knesset votes in favor of pushing forward with bill calling for referendum on withdrawal from Israeli territories, residents of Golan Heights express satisfaction, say, 'MKs understand importance of Golan'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3817854,00.html

Referendum bill / Tying his own hands, Aluf Benn
The "Referendum Law" that the Knesset voted to advance yesterday would restrict the government's freedom of action in negotiations with the Palestinians, Syria and even Lebanon by making it harder to cede East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights or even Shaba Farms, whether unilaterally or by agreement. The bill creates an onerous ratification procedure for any agreement that involves ceding sovereign Israeli territory: approval by the cabinet, by an absolute majority of 61 MKs and finally by a referendum in which voters would be asked whether they are for or against the agreement. The referendum itself would be decided by a simple majority. Only if the Knesset approved an agreement by a majority of 80 MKs - as it did the treaty with Jordan, for instance - would the referendum requirement be waived. The bill would also eliminate the "constitutional lacuna" that currently enables unilateral withdrawals from sovereign Israeli territory. Currently, a simple majority of the Knesset could reverse the annexation of all or part of the Golan, and a 61-MK majority would be enough to alter Jerusalem's municipal boundaries. But the bill would require a referendum on any cession of territory to which Israeli law has been applied, even a unilateral one.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134026.html

Aluf Benn / Netanyahu tying his own hands with Golan bill
The "Referendum Law" that the Knesset voted to advance Wednesday would restrict the government's freedom of action in negotiations with the Palestinians, Syria and even Lebanon by making it harder to cede East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights or even Shaba Farms, whether unilaterally or by agreement.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134026.html

'Israel can't hold vote on stolen land'
There was no official Syrian response to a Knesset vote that paved the way to continue legislative work on a bill that would mandate national referenda before any territorial compromise was made in the Golan or Jerusalem, but sources in Damascus said that the law reflected the "extreme tendencies of the Israeli parliament." The bill was approved by an overwhelming majority of 68 to 22. The Syrian sources told the BBC-Arabic radio station that "Israel has already annexed the Golan Heights after conquering the area and as far as we are concerned [the referendum law] makes no difference; every action that Israel would take in the Golan Heights is illegitimate.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260181033196&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Netanyahu extends benefits to isolated West Bank settlements
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that certain settlements outside of the large blocs in the West Bank - enclaves that Israel plans to keep as part of any future arrangement with the Palestinians - would be considered "national priority areas."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133918.html

IDF to stop securing Psagot settlement
Next week will see removal of reserves company stationed between Ramallah, West Bank settlement, leaving residents to deal with Palestinian neighbors on their own. Psagot residents furious, say Defense Minister Ehud Barak abandoned them.http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3817750,00.html

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Bil’in leader Abdallah Abu Rahmah arrested during military night raid
As part of a recent escalation of political arrests in Bil’in, Abdallah Abu Rahmah, a school teacher and coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee was arrested by Israeli soldiers. At exactly 2 AM last night, seven Israeli military jeeps pulled over at Abdallah Abu Rahmah’s residence in the city of Ramallah. Soldiers raided the house and arrested Abu Rahmah from his bed in the presence of his wife and children. Abu Rahmah is a high school teacher in the Latin Patriarchate school in Birzeit near Ramallah and is the coordinator of the Bil’in Popular Committee against the Wall and Settlements. A previous raid targeting Abu Rahmah was executed with such exceptional violence on 15 September 2009, that a soldier was subsequently indicted for assault.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/12/9652?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+(International+Solidarity+Movement)

Israeli forces arrest four prominent grassroots activists during Nablus night raid
The Israeli military kidnapped nine Palestinians from the Nablus region in the early hours of Tuesday, 9 December 2009, including four leading civil society activists. The Israeli army in the force of 200 armed soldiers invaded several districts of Nablus city, refugee camps and a nearby village in a coordinated operation last night, raiding houses of targeted grassroots activists and arrested nine. Eight of them are currently held at the Huwara military detention center, another one has been detained at the Hasharon prison.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/12/9628?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+(International+Solidarity+Movement)

Prison Term for Conscientious Objector Idan Barir
Idan Barir, an activist of Combattants for Peace, was sentenced to 14 days in military prison for refusing to perform reserves service in the Occupied Territories. We received news from our friends in Combattants for Peace that one of their activitsts, Idan Barir, has been imprisoned for his refusal to perform reserves service in the 1967 Occupied Territories. Idan, 29, from the Tel Aviv suburb of Givataim, has been sentenced on Monday (7 Dec.) to 14 days of incarceration, which he is now serving in Military Prison no. 6 near Atlit.
http://www.newprofile.org/english/?p=252

B'Tselem: December 2009: Israel administratively detains activist against Separation Barrier
Muhammad Othman, 33, a resident of Jayyus, Qalqiliya District, was arrested at the Allenby Bridge on 22 September 2009 as he was returning to Ramallah from Norway. Othman, an activist in the struggle against construction of the Separation Barrier, had gone to Norway to hold meetings and give lectures regarding the struggle.
http://www.btselem.org/English/Administrative_Detention/20091206_Administrative_detention_of_activist_Muhammad_Othman.asp

Nylon products from Israeli settlement confiscated in Salfit
Salfit – Ma’an – Two tons of plastic nylon bought from Israeli settlements were confiscated by customs officers in coordination with the Palestinian police on Wednesday in Salfit.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245557

Palestinian Christians want BDS
http://antonyloewenstein.com/2009/12/10/palestinian-christians-want-bds/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antonyloewenstein%2Ffeed+(Antony+Loewenstein)

Executive Summary: Academic Boycott of Israel And the Complicity of Israeli Academic Institutions in Occupation of Palestinian Territories
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/2313-executive-summary-academic-boycott-of-israel-and-the-complicity-of-israeli-academic-institutions-in-occupation-of-palestinian-territories.html

More investors abandoning Lev Leviev and Africa-Israel
Last month, the second-largest Dutch pension fund PFZW joined an already impressive group of investors that have divested from Africa-Israel. Africa-Israel is the target of an international boycott campaign by Palestine solidarity activists because of its involvement in the construction of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10935.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

Peace Now and J Street should join the battle against tax breaks for the West Bank colonists
In a sign that the discourse is changing and taboo subjects are coming inside, The Atlantic considers the case for ending the special relationship of US and Israel, and picks up an important piece in the Guardian by Andrew Kadi and Aaron Levitt about the U.S. tax subsidies extended to the Hebron colonists. Kadi and Levitt focus on the Hebron Fund’s fundraiser at the Mets ballpark last month.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/peace-now-and-j-street-should-join-the-battle-against-tax-breaks-for-the-west-bank-colonists.html

Palestinians from Europe among Gaza Freedom March delegates
Brussels – Ma’an – Palestinian members of the Council of Europe will participate in the Gaza Freedom March, which is scheduled to enter the Gaza Strip on 31 December, in an attempt to break the crippling siege imposed on the Strip for three consecutive years. The march will coincide with the first anniversary of the Israeli military offensive against the Gaza Strip.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245377

A Portrait of Nonviolent Resistance in One Palestinian Village
At no time since its 1967 West Bank occupation have Israel’s seizures of Palestinian land and water resources seemed as shocking as the ones attending its construction of “the wall,” begun in 2002. Vast, complex, and shifting in form, the wall appears most dramatically as 25-foot-high concrete slabs punctuated by militarized watch towers, supplemented by electronically monitored electrified fences stretching over vast distances.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-cantarow/a-portrait-of-nonviolent_b_384780.html

Letter to family and friends: Bir Idd, West Bank
I have now been in the village of Bir Idd for three weeks. This has been a great time of connecting with the people here, helping with chores with the sheep, going out in the hills with the sheep, and helping rebuild the village. Israeli settlers attacked a flock of sheep on Saturday, November 28. About 30 Israeli soldiers and police came and did nothing except to remove all the Israeli peace activists from the area.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/12/9626?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+(International+Solidarity+Movement)

Mustafa Barghouthi Talks About Israeli Apartheid Regime At The PES Congress
“As Israel's apartheid regime and policies of aggression continue, the occupation of Palestine has become the longest in modern history,” declared Dr Mustafa Barghouthi on Tuesday in Prague, during the European Socialist Party Conference. The 8th Congress of the PES was held in Prague on 7-8 December and brought together leaders from all member parties, 1500 delegates, organisations, MEP's and activists as well as Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1197

Violence and Aggression
Testimony: Soldiers assault elderly farmer
In his testimony to B'Tselem, Ahmad Ghanem, 75, a resident of Deir al-Ghusun, states that while working his land near the Separation Barrier, two soldiers severely beat him and left without giving him first-aid. B'Tselem informed the Military Police Investigators.
http://www.btselem.org/English/Testimonies/20091202_Soldiers_assault_elderly_faremr_Ahmad_Ghanem_in_Deir_al_Ghusun.asp

Education Denied
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, December 9, 2009: Israel's High Court Decides: Berlanty Azzam Not Allowed to Finish Her BA at Bethlehem University
http://jewssansfrontieres.blogspot.com/2009/12/case-of-berlanty-azzam.html

Israel top court upholds deportation of Palestinian to Gaza (AFP)
AFP - Israel's top court on Wednesday upheld a decision under which a Palestinian student was deported from Bethlehem to Gaza just two months before she was due to complete her bachelor's degree.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091209/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictcourteducation

Humanitarian/Human Rights/Siege
Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory 03 Dec - 09 Dec 2009
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SKEA-7YLJ6H?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Dweik Calls On EU Parliamentarians To Launch International Campaign Against The Siege
Head of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Dr. Aziz Dweik, called on European Parliamentarians to hold an international campaign against the illegal Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip and to support the Palestinian people and their elected leadership.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57339

Ground-breaking report documents forced prostitution in Palestinian society, Amira Hass
Palestinian women are being forced into prostitution in both Ramallah and Jerusalem - including in Jewish neighborhoods of the city, according to a report prepared by the Palestinian organization SAWA, which fights violence against women.
The report, released yesterday, says the victims come from various parts of the West Bank - mostly urban areas - as well as the Gaza Strip and Israel. It also notes that some eastern European women who were originally trafficked to Israel to work as prostitutes are ocassionally sent to the West Bank.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134036.html

Detainees
Israeli Police Kidnaps 214 Palestinian Workers in Israel
The Israeli Police and the so-called Border Guards carried out a comprehensive campaign targeting Palestinian workers who ‘illegally’ entered Israel seeking work to provide food for their families, and kidnapped 214 of them.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57341

Hamas: PA detains 8 supporters
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Hamas said on Thursday that Fatah-allied Palestinian Authority (PA) forces detained eight members of the Islamic movement in the West Bank during the last two days. Hamas said in a statement that the PA arrested eight Hamas members from Nablus, Tulkarem and Qalqilya.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245669

Israeli court bans family visits for Gaza prisoners
Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Israeli Supreme Court rejected on Wednesday evening a petition requesting that Palestinians from Gaza be allowed to visit relatives in Israeli prisons. Israel Radio reported the petition was brought by the Palestinian-Israeli human rights group Adalah. It added that the judges ruled that family visits do not fall under the ‘minimum humanitarian needs’ Israel is committed to allow in and out of Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245704

Israeli prisons as revolutionary universities
As a Palestinian political prisoner who has spent the past 20 years in Israeli jails I would like to highlight some of the general characteristics of the prisoners' movement's struggle to build a system of self and collective education as a central part of developing a patriotic and revolutionary culture that can be a pillar of the liberation movement. Khaled al-Azraq writes from Nafha prison.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10936.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

Prisoner Deal
Jailed Fatah chief emerges as Palestinian presidential contender
Marwan Barghouti, the senior Fatah leader who could be set free in a prisoner swap with Israel, appears to be already testing the waters for a possible bid to succeed the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/jailed-fatah-chief-emerges-as-palestinian-presidential-contender-1837392.html

Fadi Elsalameen: Areikat: Israel and Hamas kept us in the dark on Shalit deal
Areikat said that Israel has kept the Palestinian Authority in the dark on the talks with Hamas to free Shalit. Israel is negotiating with Hamas a prisoner swap deal to free Gilad Shalit using German mediation. Speculations surfaced about the possible release of Marwan Barghouti, the popular Fatah leader, and whether or not he will be the President Abbas' replacement as the President of the Palestinian Authority.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fadi-elsalameen/areikat-israel-and-hamas_b_386283.html

Political Developments
EU move seen as Palestinian gain
Mid-East papers agree that Palestinians stand to benefit from a joint EU statement on Jerusalem.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/middle_east/8403319.stm

Palestinian officials rule out Abbas quitting presidency soon
RAMALLAH, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Senior Palestinian officials ruled out on Thursday that Mahmoud Abbas would quit his post as Palestinian president during the upcoming meeting of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council on Dec. 15.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/10/content_12626881.htm

Other News
Quriea: PA was wrong about Obama
Bethlehem – Ma’an – The US has disappointed the PLO leadership by failing to pressure Israel to stop expanding settlements on land taken from Palestinians, top PLO official Ahmad Qureia said on Wednesday night. He told Palestine TV in an interview that the PA and PLO were mistaken in thinking that US President Barack Obama would change US policy significantly.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245721

Israeli forces disrupt UNRWA chief's farewell
Jerusalem – Ma’an – Israeli police ordered outgoing UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd to leave an East Jerusalem home on Thursday during her last official visit as the head of the relief agency.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245768

Erdogan: Turkey will strongly retaliate if Israel violates its airspace
Turkish premier Recep Erdogan warned that his country would strongly respond if Israel violated its airspace, saying that this retaliation would be like an “earthquake.”
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7NTQdxsbI3sMnOArODL%2b0tbmSR7DPDhPt%2blc6ZMGT%2bo7zhQeuylV94z0DK6XfcXiYXSELnQmEU6K60UQ%2fGRe0qDnLPZYvmaA5xSJUpsdFGPc%3d

Expired food seized in Gaza City
Gaza – Ma’an – Customs officials from the Gaza City Municipality destroyed 856 kilograms of expired meat and other produce on Wednesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245510

Police: 10 drug traffickers arrested in Qalqiliya
Qalqiliya – Ma’an – The anti-narcotics unit in Qalqiliya detained 10 alleged traffickers on Wednesday, according to a statement from the public relations department of the Palestinian police.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245612

Body of a Palestinian man killed in 1976 by Israeli troops to be released
The Israeli authorities agreed to release the body of Mashour Al-Arouri, a Palestinian killed by Israeli troops in 1976, Palestine News Agency reported on Wednesday. The Israeli high court ruled that the body should be released after Israel kept it for 33 years for unknown reasons.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57334

Palestinian racers head to Jordan to race
Ramallah – Ma’an – Palestinian car racers left the occupied Palestinian territories on Monday with their own cars to participate in the Aqaba race on Friday, sponsored by Jordanian Prince Faisal Ben Al-Husein, the head of the Jordanian board of motorsports.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245531

Golda Meir told Poland: Don't send sick or disabled Jews to Israel
In 1958, then-foreign minister Golda Meir raised the possibility of preventing handicapped and sick Polish Jews from immigrating to Israel, a recently discovered Foreign Ministry document has revealed.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133751.html

Culture
Palestinians revive embroidery in refugee camps
When the Palestinians came to Lebanon as refugees, they left behind almost everything. Six decades later, however, many still cling to aspects of their past, be it a local dish, accent or rusty key, to remind those who drove them into exile that although the Palestinians have been deprived of a nation, they still have a rich history and culture.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=109626

Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest
Gideon Levy / Let's face the facts, Israel is a semi-theocracy
The storm over remarks made by Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman is in many respects a tempest in a teapot, which has for a long time taken on holier aspects than it seems. Neeman wants Torah law, or in other words, he wants Israel to be a country governed by Jewish religious law, halakha. In any event, Israel is already a semi-theocracy. The Israelis who were frightened by the minister's remarks and who love viewing their country as liberal, Western and secular are forgetting that our life here is more religious, traditional and halakhic than we are prepared to admit.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134047.html

Man who could be unify Palestinians – and be next leader
WHEN I met him at his modest offices in 1999 – a year before the second intifada uprising exploded – Marwan Barghouthi expressed a grudging admiration for the state-building abilities of Israeli founding father David Ben-Gurion. That is the league this very ambitious Palestinian prisoner, now being hailed as a possible messiah for his people and their peace prospects, believes he is in. Mr Barghouthi, who hopes to be freed in a looming prisoner swap with Israel, is already testing the waters for a possible bid to succeed Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. He is casting himself simultaneously as a resistance advocate and peace proponent.
http://news.scotsman.com/news/Man-who-could-be-unify.5899060.jp

What will Brian Baird do next?
Brian Baird, the crusading Washington congressman, announced his retirement today, after six terms in the House. "Tough loss," says my tipster, Felson. But I don’t think this is the last we’ve seen of Baird, 53, who was changed by Gaza, and understands the key foreign-policy issue of our time. "The time has now come to pursue other options, other ways of serving," he said.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/what-will-brian-baird-do-next.html

‘We sought international pressure to stop expulsions of Palestinians. We failed.’
David Shulman’s report from the Sheikh Jarrah evictions in East Jerusalem ran a few days ago at Ibn Ezra. His story is upsetting and important. It is worth noting that the our press has done a lousy job of covering this continuing outrage, at a time when liberal forces in Israeli and Palestinian society are crying out for help against intolerance and human-rights abuses. (Though I believe the family with which Shulman begins his account was documented by Rina Castelnuovo at the Times.)
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/we-sought-international-pressure-to-stop-expulsions-of-palestinians-we-have-failed.html

Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy on CNI radio, Dec. 10th!
Our “CNI: Jerusalem Calling” radio show is picking up steam. On Thursday, Dec. 10, Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy will join host Alison Weir to discuss the social and political climate in Jerusalem. The show will be aired live online from Noon to 1 pm EST (5 pm to 6pm GMT). To listen and join in, go to www.wsradio.com/cni and click on the “Listen Live” button for Studio A, at the top left. To call in to the show with questions, call toll-free: 877-474-3302. International users can join using Skype by entering WSRADIOSTUDIO into the dial box.
http://www.cnionline.org/

Hajj Amin and Hitler
This has become a recycled Zionist propaganda. The response should be: 1) Hajj Amin was not an Islamist leader who can be connected to the Islamists of today. He was a nationalist leader. 2) there was no alliance between Hitler (who hated and despised Arabs) and the Palestinian national Movement. There was one contact: a contact--as repugnant was it was--is not the same as an alliance. British officials had more contact with Hitler and yet we dont speak of an alliance between the British government and Hitler. 3) Zionist leaders had contacts with the Nazi movement too: read Lenni Brenner and read Eichmann in Jerusalem by Arendt. 4) There was one meeting, ands Hajj Amin and not the Palestinian leader should be blamed for it. 5) Hajj Amin was meeting with the enemy of his enemy who kicked him out of his homeland, and not with friend of the Palestinian people. 6) There are a lot of lies contained in the Zionist literature on the matter: don't believe them when they allege that Hajj Amin or others had anything to do with Nazi murders and genocide. As if the Zioinists would not have presented the evidence, if one existed. Instead, they do what Zionist hooligans always do: they lie and fabricate. 7) Friends of Israel were much closer to Hitler than Hajj Amin: like House of Saud and Vatican. And Answar Sadat was--unlike the lousy Hajj Amin--an unrepentant Nazi, and yet centers are named after him in the usurping entity called Israel. 8) Israel and Zionists are desperate: they are now on the defensive. They have nothing to show to rebut charges of war crimes by the terrorist state called Israel. So they recycle the Zionist propaganda of the 1960s. 9) There is no evidence that Hajj Amin met with Eichmann: but there is evidence that Zionist leaders had contacts with him.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/12/hajj-amin-and-hitler.html

Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem
David Shulman - Last Friday we were here, Eileen and I, in this very courtyard, before the court ruling; we spoke at some length with the eloquent, moderate father of the al-Kurd family, who told us the story in gentle Arabic. He had told it many times that day. "We were refugees from Haifa in 1948. Everyone in this neighborhood is a refugee, some from Lydda and Ramla, some from Jaffa. After the 1948 war, the Jordanian government gave us these plots of land to build on, in exchange for our UNRWA cards. The cards were worth a lot of money, but we wanted to live normal lives in our own houses, so we gave up our status as refugees. We have lived in this home since the 1950`s.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=37121

Bronner publishes Israeli self-justification on prisoners
Ethan Bronner’s piece in the Times today on the likely prisoner-exchange deal for Gilad Shalit underscores the lack of diversity in the Times reporting staff. The article is written completely from an Israeli and Jewish perspective. It repeatedly refers to Palestinian prisoners–there are over 10,000–as "murderers" and "terrorists," when we all know that this number includes a great number of political prisoners, like Mohammad Othman.

http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/bronner-publishes-israeli-self-justification-on-prisoners.html

Another EU policy statement will not stop Israel's colonization
Israel started a preemptive campaign against a EU statement on the Middle East session even before it was formally presented for discussion by EU ministers this week on whether to adopt it. Israeli spokesmen expressed outrage at what they saw as an EU effort to "divide" Jerusalem, and claimed that the European position would "harm the peace process," as if it is only Israel that has been carefully protecting it from the harmful moves of others. Hasan Abu Nimah comments.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10934.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

Palestinians want more than words
The EU's policy statement on a future Palestinian state now needs to be acted on, writes Khaled Amayreh from occupied Jerusalem.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/976/fr1.htm

Marwan Barghouti: The Equalizer
Conflicting inhabitants of the Holy Land, if nothing else, must surely agree that the universe works in strange ways. God by any name operates beyond human understanding. Deep inside an Israeli prison cosmic balance awaits in Marwan Barghouti, Fatah strongman and political game-changer, who sits a step away from freedom.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15607

Palestinian feud
Alan Johnston reports on a family divided politically.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/middle_east/8402326.stm

Let My Kafka Go! Israel’s Ridiculous Ownership Claims
I doubt that anyone has read that devastating incipit from Kafka’s “The Trial” without feeling a bolt of emotion. In its naked simplicity, crude force and powerful arrangement, we see facets of an entire universe in one sentence, where an internal state of mind clashes head-on with a deed taking place. Where a sense of confusion and disparagement meets with the reality of an arbitrary act. The subject attempts to immediately rationalise and understand a situation of a grave personal violation, and we, the reader, without knowing anything at all, sympathise with him, basically under the assumption that whatever follows, we will be on his side.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/12/09/let-my-kafka-go-israel%E2%80%99s-ridiculous-ownership-claims/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PalestineThinkTank+(Palestine+Think+Tank)

Iraq
Wednesday: 9 Iraqis Killed, 28 Wounded
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki asked for patience following yesterday’s massive bombings in Baghdad. The attacks continued today, but they were not as successful. At least nine Iraqis were killed and 28 more were wounded in the new violence.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/12/09/wednesday-9-iraqis-killed-28-wounded/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

In Wake Of Blasts, Assessing Iraq Security
A series of coordinated attacks hit the Iraqi capital Tuesday, killing more than 100 people and wounding hundreds others. Retired Lt. Col. Doug Ollivant, who was in Baghdad last August during the previous coordinated bombing attacks, offers his insight.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121255359&ft=1&f=1010

Baghdad security chief out after deadly car bombings
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki Wednesday removed the chief military official responsible for security in the capital and prepared for a public grilling about security lapses after five car bombs killed 127 people in Baghdad a day earlier.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/80349.html

Iraqi oil greater threat to Iran than Saudi Arabia
The geopolitical power balance in the Middle East faces upheaval if Iraq succeeds in tripling oil output, and fellow Shiite power Iran will feel more threatened than rival Sunni oil giant Saudi Arabia.Iraq's potential leap into the ranks of the top three global oil producers could result in a strengthened Shiite front within OPEC if Baghdad aligns supply policy with Tehran.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=109598

Halabja Reunion Bolsters Search for Lost Kids
Mother and son together again after 21 years thanks to new DNA matching scheme. By Falah Najim in Halabja (ICR No. 315, 9-Dec-09)
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-358119

Arab IDPs seek new lives in Erbil
Ali Awad goes to sleep each night without locking his front door. When the father of three arrived in Erbil two years ago, it was to find sanctuary from the sectarian violence of Baghdad. Now, the Kurdish capital, Erbil, has become not only a safe haven for his family, but also their home. "We are safe here," Awad said. "I know that my family is safe."
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/DKAN-7YKSGN?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Spy Chief: We Knew Iraq Dismantled Weapons
The UK knew Iraq had dismantled its long-range missile before the war, an intelligence chief has told an official inquiry into the invasion.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Politics/Iraq-War-Inquiry-Dodgy-Dossier-Intelligence-Chief-Sir-John-Scarlett-To-Give-Evidence-To-Chilcot/Article/200912215495845?lpos=Politics_First_UK_News_Article_Teaser_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15495845_Iraq_War_Inquir

On Syria border: No sign of Saddam loyalists (AP)
AP - Iraq's border with Syria runs for hundreds of miles through barren land patrolled by a relative scattering of security forces. But despite claims about exiled Saddam Hussein loyalists sneaking across to disrupt Iraq's upcoming elections, the only evidence around one key outpost is faded slogans of Saddam's banned Baath Party painted on the wall of a decaying grain elevator.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091210/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_syrian_border

Iraq to transfer Iranian dissident group (AFP)
AFP - Baghdad is to move exiled Iranian dissidents based at a camp close to the two states' border to south Iraq before deporting them, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in remarks released on Thursday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091210/wl_mideast_afp/iraqiranoppositionjustice

Lebanon
Nasrallah's Speech
I knew it. I knew it. I knew that MEMRI's version of Nasrallah speech will exclude the part when he said that "our problem" with Israel has nothing to do with them being Jewish, and that the conflict is not religious or ethnic. Miraculously, that part of the speech did not appear in MEMRI's version. MEMRI on the Middle East is as reliable as North Korean press is about...North Korea.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/12/nasrallahs-speech.html

Sectarianism, Hizbullah's arms top debate at Parliament
Lebanese MPs held a second day of debate on Wednesday on the cabinet's policy statement, with opposition lawmakers underlining the need to adopt consensual democracy as the basis of Lebanon's political regime.Meanwhile, majority MPs criticized article six of the statement, stressing that clauses relating to security issues inthe Taif Accord were more pressing than the abolishment of political sectarianism.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=109634

Women's group asks Berri to back nationality law
A delegation of the National Gathering for Eliminating Discrimination against Women presented a letter to Speaker Nabih Berri Wednesday asking him to include the issue of nationality laws on the Parliament's agenda. The letter was presented in the name of the campaign "My Nationality: a Right for me and my Children" and in the name of all Lebanese women with foreign husbands.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=109628

Hit on Youtube: Mini-Hariri
This is a huge hit on Youtube in Lebanon now. Mini-Hariri can't read.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA3QIrkp-3c

Afghanistan
Afghan government says NATO raid killed six civilians
NATO officials on Tuesday disputed a report by the Afghan government that a NATO raid in eastern Afghanistan earlier in the day had killed six civilians.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1517753.php/Afghan-government-says-NATO-raid-killed-six-civilians

General: Attack may have killed Afghan civilians
The No. 2 commanding general in Afghanistan acknowledged Wednesday that a NATO-led attack the day before in eastern Afghanistan possibly resulted in civilian deaths.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_AFGHANISTAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-12-08-03-51-18

Mullen: 'US is losing the war in Afghanistan'
US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen painted a disturbing picture on Tuesday, bluntly telling US troops at Ft. Campbell, Ky. - including some bound for Afghanistan - that "we are not winning, which means we are losing and as we are losing, the message traffic out there to insurgency recruits keeps getting better and better and more keep coming."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1260181018583

Gates claims victory near in Afghanistan
Despite record-high violence and an increasing number of casualties, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the war in Afghanistan is moving in the right direction and towards success.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=113295&sectionid=351020403

Afghans' anger at Obama's Nobel peace prize win - 10 December 09
Barack Obama, the US president, is due to receive the Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Oslo - days after he ordered an escalation of US involvement in the war in Afghanistan. In making Obama the third sitting US President to win the award, the Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Obama's co-operative approach to global issues. But many critics say that Obama's resume is too thin to stand scrutiny with other Nobel peace laureates. And for many Afghans, Obama's strategy of even more troops does not fit into their vision of what will bring peace. From Kabul, Steve Chao reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBHrnQTinGY&feature=youtube_gdata

U.S. and Other World News
U.S. sends Kuwaiti detainee home from Guantanamo
WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - A Kuwaiti detainee held in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for almost eight years was sent home after a federal judge ordered him freed in September, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N09179075.htm

Emails Show bin Laden was Bush Talking Point, not Target
“Missing” White House emails retrieved from Bush administration records indicate that top Bush Justice Department officials had little interest in the pursuit of Osama bin Laden or Mullah Mohammed Omar, head of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
http://www.populist.com/09.22.burns.html

Prof. Howard Zinn: America to Blame for 9-11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PgiQpk-16I&feature=player_embedded

Full text of Obama Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134166.html

Afghan war clouds Obama's Nobel Peace prize - 10 Dec 09
Barack Obama, the US president, is set to receive the Nobel Peace prize in Norway, joining the distinguished list of Nobel laureates including Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, Mother Teresa and the Red Cross organisation. But Obama's recent move to escalate the war in Afghanistan has raised questions as to whether he deserves the honour, and so early into his presidency too. Al Jazeera's Sebastian Walker captures the debate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNWLDcdJAaE&feature=youtube_gdata

On Obama's Peace Prize
On December 10, you will award the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama, citing “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people.” We the undersigned are distressed that President Obama, so close upon his receipt of this honor, has opted to escalate the U.S. war in Afghanistan with the deployment of 30,000 additional troops. We regret that he could not be guided by the example of a previous Nobel Peace Laureate, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who identified his peace prize as “profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time -- the need for man [sic] to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression.”
http://www.counterpunch.org/nobel12092009.html

Chomsky says Israel, 'US military base'
Renowned American sociopolitical analyst Noam Chomsky says Israel functions as Washington's main weapons storage base in the Middle East. "Israel is essentially a US military base, the US positions weapons there, that's a very close military and intelligence tie," the Jewish academic told Press TV on Wednesday while explaining the complexity of relations between Washington and Tel Aviv.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=113360&sectionid=3510203

Egypt wants Rosetta stone back - 09 Dec 09
The Egyptian government is demanding the return of an ancient stone tablet which was key to deciphering Heiroglyphics. The Rosetta Stone is currently on display in Britain, but the head of Egypt's supreme council of antiquities wants it back after initially asking for the stone to be loaned back to Cairo, Egypt's capital. Al Jazeera's Jessica Baldwin reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XnMcTa5Vd8&feature=youtube_gdata

The women who guard other women in conservative Egypt
Her hair neatly tucked under a Muslim headscarf, Dawlat al-Amine practices aikido regularly in a Cairo gym where she and her female colleagues learn martial arts to protect other women.The blackclad "ladyguards" provide a niche service to women who have broken through the Arab world's glass ceiling and achieved fame and fortune.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=109615

Sarkozy is half right: all Europeans must understand the Swiss mistake
What really matters is not minarets, but that we all, Muslims included, commit to the essentials of a free society.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/dec/09/switzerland-minarets-ban-culture-war

City of Life - Film Trailer
A Dubai produced International Feature Film by Ali F Mostafa.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3m3I7iMnvw&feature=player_embedded

www.TheHeadlines.org

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From: "Today in Palestine!" <tipalestine@...>
Date: Wed Dec 9, 2009 3:51 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines December 9, 2009 ~

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Land Theft and Destruction And The So Called "Freeze"
FEATURE-Palestinians struggle to build in West Bank
* Bedouin, developers, government face same problem
* Palestinian "natural growth" curbed - former negotiator
* Israel blocks Palestinian projects - minister
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEE5B2182.htm

Peace Now: West Bank building 'more than in Israel' [for Isrealis]
More homes are under construction per inhabitant in the occupied West Bank than inside Israel despite recent curbs on construction, says Peace Now.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8403720.stm

Peace Now opens 'snitches' hotline to battle freeze violations
Leftist organization says informant hotline will help public report construction violations, claims building rate in West Bank higher than in other areas of country.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3817508,00.html

IOF demolish eight homes, number of tents in Negev region
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) on Monday demolished eight Palestinian homes as well as tents and uprooted dozens of olive saplings in different areas of the occupied Negev region.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s70XHz4bxt4%2bDP64Hz9tgY99khgVOPea7FAcVDfuXSbVxifYI7MJ8bTKGwpHbZBlRfvu9jWnWml0tuGm%2fP13ONNZiB6MXuuVmK3SmZptntVWA%3d

Israel's "settlement freeze"
Haddad: Negotiations because of Israel's partial settlement "freeze" would be political suicide for PA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw9PcoO8rzM&feature=player_embedded

2 Ramla residents arrested for stoning cars
Police say Juarish neighborhood residents throwing stones at vehicles travelling along Highway 431 are protesting demolition of illegal structures.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3817055,00.html

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Sign A Petition To Ask For the Implementation Of the Goldstone Report
One year since Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, raining bombs on 1.5 million Palestinians, killing over 1400 and wounding over 5,000, the Israeli government has tightened its blockade on Gaza, creating a dire humanitarian disaster. Appallingly, the British government abstained on the votes at the UN on the Goldstone Report, which called for an end to the blockade, and for war criminals to be brought to justice.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1196

Reservist who refused to serve in West Bank to sit 14 days in jail
An artillery reservist soldier, 26, was sentenced to 14 days in military jail after he refused to perform operational duty in the West Bank. The soldier, a member in the movement "Combatants for Peace," expressed his reservations about the operation even before arriving for reserve duty. When it was made clear to him that he would not be assigned to another mission, he refused to join his fellow reservists.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3817041,00.html

Berkeley Daily Planet’s free speech battle goes national
Since March of this year, The Berkeley Daily Planet (BDP) has been struggling against a campaign by three long-time critics to scare away advertisers and shut the paper down, based on accusations that its publication of letters to the editor and op-eds critical of Israel constitute an anti-semitic bias. On November 27th, the local controversy came to national attention when the New York Times published an article in its Business Section – “In a Home to Free Speech, a Paper is Accused of Anti-Semitism”
http://www.muzzlewatch.com/2009/12/08/berkeley-daily-planets-free-speech-battle-goes-national/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Muzzlewatch+(MuzzleWatch)

Palestinians in Europe conference to partake in massive march from Cairo to Gaza
The conference of Palestinians in Europe said it will actively participate in the massive Gaza freedom march which will set off from Egypt towards the besieged Gaza Strip.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7NE72aD7FgazqcJSyL2HLMDX%2bDdS8xt1kXqDp2JIeRf6OEBdWlJ8Ku5RJG6y1nOH6P3RCMwAr4Q%2fKMIyC8qv83peR%2fvDD7iQo7mFSw%2bhKdzo%3d

Galloway Urges Muslims to Help Lift Gaza Blockade
A British lawmaker has called on Muslims and all freedom-seeking people across the world to make efforts to lift blockades on the Gaza Strip and help the oppressed Palestinians. People in Gaza are in dire need of food, medicine and fuel, the British Member of Parliament George Galloway told state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Sunday.
http://jnoubiyeh.blogspot.com/2009/12/galloway-urges-muslims-to-help-lift.html

Safe Journey, Viva Palestina
The great Viva Palestina convoy is on its way. It left London on Sunday, with the media doing their best not to notice despite photo opportunities and a press event laid on in front of the Houses of Parliament. The hundred or so vehicles, carrying humanitarian aid, are expected to arrive in Gaza on 27 December – the anniversary of the launch of Israel’s murderous blitzkrieg.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15602

In Support of Apartheid
Boston-area church cancelled Chomsky speech at last minute
On Sunday, the last day of his 81st year, Noam Chomsky gave a speech on Gaza in Watertown, Mass., at the behest of Newton Dialogues on Peace and War. They raised alot of money for the Gaza Freedom March. I heard a rumor that the original venue for the speech, Eliot Church in Newton, had dropped the speech under pressure, saying that the speech was "controversial" and had not gone through the appropriate processes for church events. I emailed Newton Dialogues. Dave Ascher responded. If you read between the lines of his response below, it is clear that the Eliot Church came under pressure because of the political nature of the Chomsky speech.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/boston-area-church-cancelled-chomsky-speech-at-last-minute.html

Protest outside Palestinian carol concert
More than 60 protesters demonstrated outside a church which held a carol service with alternative songs condemning Israel.
http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/24682/protest-outside-palestinian-carol-concert

Violence and Aggression
IOF invade East Khan Younis
December 9, 2009 (Pal Telegraph) - Israeli military vehicles invaded East Khan Younis Wednesday for a limited distance south Kisofeem, in Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses confirmed that 4 Israeli tanks and 2 bulldozers invaded 200m across the lands alongside the borders.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/3098-iof-invade-east-khan-younis

Palestinians face West Bank settler rage
* Villagers say settlers aim to drive them off land
* Jewish settlers say violence not one-way
* Police reject accusations of leniency towards settlers
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEE5B61CT.htm

Detainees
IOF troops arrest 18 Palestinians including prominent Jihad activist
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) rounded up 18 Palestinians on Wednesday and Tuesday including a prominent commander of the Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, in Nablus city.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s75QekyFim7XO%2fWWAB090uu90rdV%2bG7FeCRAA1Al2o74oaPZu7W5F4NgH9Ds5bFXtqVUcQKoK49mAQGO3Vv%2bxZ6StqxWBR0M0ZC3Nm7FwHWjg%3d

Hamas: PA detained 15 members
Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Hamas movement said on Wednesday that Fatah-allied Palestinian security forces detained 15 members of the Islamic faction in the West Bank during the past two days.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245401

Refugees
21 Palestinian refugees fled to Finland
December 9, 2009 (Pal Telegraph) - 21 Palestinian refugees fled to Finland on Tuesday morning after the Arab states refused to host them. They stayed in Iraqi-Syrian border since 2006 after they had displaced from Iraq, Palestinian agencies reported.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/palestinian-refugees/3097-21-palestinian-refugees-fled-to-finland

Humanitarian Issues
Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights; Al Mezan Center for Human Rights; Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR): Israel continues to deny Palestinians’ fundamental human rights
On 10 December, the world observes the 61st International Human Rights Day, commemorating the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations General Assembly. This year, International Human Rights Day will focus on non-discrimination, a right enshrined in, inter alia, Article 1 of the UDHR.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/JBRN-7YKHR7?OpenDocument

Who will save Gaza's children?
Never mind Copenhagen, an environmental catastrophe is going on right now – contaminated water is poisoning babies in Gaza
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cif-green/2009/dec/09/gaza-children-palestinian-babies

Gaza battles swine flu with folk remedy
H1N1 virus claims first victim in Strip; doctors call on public to drink tea with cinnamon to fight flu. Some say piligrims returning from hajj brought virus into Gaza.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3817292,00.html

Targeting Civilians in Gaza
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is an "independent legal body dedicated to the protection of human rights, the promotion of the rule of law, and the upholding of democratic principles in the Occupied Territories." It issues frequent press releases, statistics, fact sheets, documents, and reports like its October 22, 2009 English version of "Targeted Civilians: A PCHR Report on the Israeli Offensive against the Gaza Strip (27 December 2008 - 18 January 2009)."
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15603

Arabs in the Service of Israel
Egypt building iron wall on Gaza border to stop tunnel smuggling
Egypt has begun the construction of a massive iron wall along its border with the Gaza Strip, in a bid to shut down smuggling tunnels into the territory. The wall will be nine to 10 kilometers long, and will go 20 to 30 meters into the ground, Egyptian sources said. It will be impossible to cut or melt.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133749.html

Prisoner Deal
Meshal: Shalit deal hindered by Israel's 'obstinacy'
The deal to exchange hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for captured Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit is facing obstacles caused by "Israeli obstinacy," Khaled Meshal, the political leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, said on Tuesday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133733.html

Jailed Fatah leader says prisoners swap in final phase
RAMALLAH, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- A Fatah leader in prison said the prisoners exchange negotiations between Hamas and Israel reached final and critical point, the Jerusalem-based al-Quds newspaper reported Wednesday.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/09/content_12619593.htm

Political Developments
No elections in W.Bank if vote rejected in Gaza: Abbas
BEIRUT — Palestinian elections will not take place in the West Bank if Hamas refuses to allow voters to take part in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said on a visit to Beirut on Tuesday. "If Hamas persists in its refusal to allow the (presidential and parliamentary) elections to take place in Gaza, I will not agree to the vote in the West Bank," Abbas told reporters.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jpDiwEOSpWLxcMoXpBczDcc1cXrQ

Fayyad: EU decision – first step towards statehood
PA, Israel welcome European Union foreign ministers' decision stating any decision regarding Jerusalem's status must follow talks.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3817116,00.html

PA: Kouchner weakened EU declaration on Jerusalem
Ramallah – Ma’an – A top Palestinian Authority (PA) official criticized French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Tuesday evening for weakening a Swedish proposal on the status of Jerusalem during the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245354

Europe softens Middle East statement after condemnation from Israel
European foreign ministers today agreed a watered-down statement on the Middle East so that it now stops short of an explicit call for east Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian state but still contains strong criticism of Israel.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/08/israel-palestinians-draft-statement-jerusalem

Israeli officials to Sweden: Middle East peace is not IKEA furniture
Foreign Ministry officials responded with harsh criticism on Tuesday to a call by European Union ministers for negotiations over the status of Jerusalem, saying that Sweden, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, had failed. Last week, Sweden presented a draft document supporting the division of Jerusalem and the recognition of East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133635.html

Israel bans foreign dignitaries not to visit Gaza
The Jerusalem Post daily said the government of hardline Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, since taking office in March, had imposed a de-facto ban on the entry of foreign diplomats into Gaza.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1517724.php/Israel-tells-foreign-dignitaries-not-to-visit-Gaza

Netanyahu: PA has made strategic choice to delay peace talks
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the Palestinian Authority on Wednesday of having chosen to postpone peace negotiations with Israel indefinitely as a "strategy."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133883.html

Israel gives initial OK to Jerusalem referendum (AP)
AP - Israel's parliament has given preliminary approval to a piece of legislation that would require a national referendum on any peace deal that gives up control of east Jerusalem or the Golan Heights.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091209/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians

Same old Amreeka
MJ Rosenberg: TONIGHT: Senate Will Pass AIPAC's Iran Sanctions Bill To Undercut Obama
It appears that the 800 pound gorilla that is AIPAC has been eating regular. The Senate is prepared to vote tonight -- under super expedited procedure -- on AIPAC's legislation that would impose onerous sanction on Iran, cutting the legs out of the President's diplomatic strategy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/tonight-senate-will-pass_b_384610.html

Status of Jerusalem should be negotiated by parties: US (AFP)
AFP - The United States Tuesday noted an EU statement welcoming the idea of Jerusalem becoming the future capital of two states, saying the US view was that the parties should decide that in final status negotiations.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091208/pl_afp/mideastdiplomacyjerusalemus

Israel bans EU MPs from Gaza
Ma’an - "“Israel had yesterday afternoon granted final permission for all members of our delegation to travel.” “However, some three hours later entry for all members of the delegation was rescinded ’on security grounds,’ without further explanation,”"

http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=37107

Other News
PA officer sentenced to death for collaboration
Ramallah – Ma’an – A Palestinian military court in Ramallah sentenced a security officer to death by firing squad on Wednesday after he was found guilty of collaboration with Israel, Palestinian judicial sources said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245463

US-born Israeli settler on trial for murders (AFP)
US-born Jewish settler Jack Teitel flashes a victory sign before the start of his murder trial at the Jerusalem District Court. Teitel -- who is suspected of having murdered two Palestinians and carrying out a string of hate attacks against missionaries and gays -- has gone on trial in Jerusalem.(AFP/Gali Tibbon)AFP - A US-born Jewish settler suspected of having murdered two Palestinians and carrying out a string of hate attacks against missionaries and gays went on trial Wednesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091209/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictisraelsettlertrial

PFLP: Hamas prevented celebration of 42nd anniversary
Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Hamas movement in Gaza intends to prevent a celebration marking the 42nd anniversary in Gaza of the founding of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), according to a member of the leftist’s faction, Rabah Muhana, during a Ma’an radio interview on Wednesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245511

Israel to Vatican: We won't return room of Last Supper
Israeli delegation leaves for Rome in bid to resolve decade-long conflict over holy sites Catholic Church is asking be transferred to its propriety. Jewish state is prepared to compromise on taxes, expropriations, but says 'Last Supper room' on Mount Zion not up for discussion.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3817417,00.html

Zionist Wahabbis
Haredim asked to report yeshiva students with internet connection
Posters displayed throughout ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Jerusalem are calling on residents to report yeshiva students who own computers and are connected to the internet for fear of "to'eva (abomination)." The posters are signed by the "Committee for Preserving Our Camp's Purity," one of the so-called "modesty squads" operating in Jerusalem. Some yeshiva students who cannot find rooms in the overcrowded haredi dormitories in the capital rent their own flats. Rabbis who have forbidden the use of computers are demanding greater supervision over tenants and landlords.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3815962,00.html

Haredi man delays bus after refusing to sit next to woman
Bus from Kiryat Gat to Kiryat Malachi forced to wait at station for long time when passenger refuses to have a woman sit next to him, shoving her with his elbow. Man refuses to switch seats, despite other available ones.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3812631,00.html

Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest
Through the State Department Looking Glass
Leave it to the State Department to soft-pedal religious extremism in the Middle East. Oh not in, say, Iran or Saudi Arabia. In the most recent edition of the department’s annual Report on International Religious Freedom,both are designated “Countries of Particular Concern,” members of a select group chastised for their extreme intolerance. Which is as it should be.
http://www.counterpunch.com/mink12082009.html

EU: "Jerusalem's status must be negotiated". Dr Mustafa Barghouthi replied: “What is left to negotiate?”
EU Foreign Ministers watered down the original Swedish draft proposal, issuing a statement which calls for finding a solution through peace negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem. The vote came after Sweden, current holder of the EU presidency, has presented last week a draft document giving support for the division of Jerusalem and the recognition of East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. The earlier draft angered Israel by explicitly recognising East Jerusalem as the future capital of a Palestinian State.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1195

Avishai warns that ‘terrible violence’ is coming
I heard a similar view from another friend, that East Jerusalem will be the tinder point for the third intifadah. Bernard Avishai is pushing the European Union resolution that recognizes East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state, and he wants Obama to begin a crusade against the colonies.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/avishai-warns-that-third-intifadah-is-coming.html

One Night in Palestine
Travel Stories: Cory Eldridge only smokes when he's drunk or in the West Bank. During one tense night in Jenin, he goes through a whole pack.
http://www.worldhum.com/features/travel-stories/one-night-in-palestine-20091124/

Judt/Sand on the ‘perverse’ identification of Jewishness with Israel
I’m reading Shlomo Sand’s book, The Invention of the Jewish People, and am thrilled by it, by Sand’s moral engagement with Zionist foundational myths, and his brilliant, incisive effort to unravel the questionable historical sources of a Jewish identity rooted in fables of exile and nationhood rather than in a long "religious civilization." If some of the scholarship is synthesized from others’ groundbreaking academic studies, big deal. It’s news to me. Isn’t that just what Elaine Pagels did with gospels research, got it to a wider audience? (Without getting slammed in the Times by the usually-superb and dispassionate Patricia Cohen).

http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/judtsand-on-the-perverse-identification-of-jewishness-with-israel.html

I’m accused of anti-semitism, Philip Weiss
Israeli freelance writer Lisa Goldman is accusing me, at her Twitter feed here, of fueling antisemitism for pointing out that both NY Times reporters in Israel are Jewish, one of them is Israeli, and both are married to Israelis.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/im-accused-of-anti-semitism.html

A timely wake-up call - Mahdi Abdul Hadi
Mahdi Abdul Hadi heads the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA) in Jerusalem. In an interview with bitterlemons, Abdul Hadi comments on the possibility the European Union will soon recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245061

The Great Wall of Israel
Try to imagine this: An American president visits Israel and in a speech given close to the vast "separation wall" Israel continues to build in part through Palestinian territory, says: "Mr. Netanyahu, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for Israel and the region, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Netanyahu, open this gate! Mr. Netanyahu, tear down this wall!"
http://original.antiwar.com/engelhardt/2009/12/08/the-great-wall-of-israel/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

Exacting a Price
Enabus. I was there two years ago, to help with the olive harvest. A Palestinian village south of Nablus. Industrious, lively and hospitable inhabitants. A very steep mountain terrain. Not the most ideal of agricultural lands, but the people of Enabus do their best. They build terraces on the mountainside, plant olive trees even on the most tiny plot available.
http://adam-keller2.blogspot.com/2009/12/exacting-price.html

Iraq
Tuesday: 133 Iraqis Killed, 460 Wounded
Updated at 3:19 p.m. EST, Dec. 8, 2009 An attack on government buildings in Baghdad left hundreds dead or injured even as the presidential council set March 7 for the next national election. Overall, at least 133 people were killed and another 460 were wounded across Iraq. Increased violence is expected before those elections. Meanwhile, a British intelligence official admitted at an inquiry that before the2003 invasion the UK believed Saddam had dismantled Iraq's biological and chemical weapons. Former Joint Intelligence Committee head, John Scarlett, added there was fear they could be reassembled.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/12/08/tuesday-133-iraqis-killed-457-wounded/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

Indiscriminate Baghdad attacks are a war crime
Amnesty International has condemned the indiscriminate bomb attacks in Baghdad that killed at least 120 people, many of them civilians, and injured 400 other people on Tuesday. It is not known who carried out the bomb explosions in the Iraqi capital. “There can be absolutely no justification whatsoever for indiscriminate attacks or attacks which target civilians, as these seem to have done. Such attacks are war crimes. They must be investigated thoroughly by the authorities and those responsible must be identified and brought to justice.” said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s director for the Middle East and North Africa.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/indiscriminate-baghdad-attacks-are-war-crime-20091208

Arab League strongly condemns Baghdad bombings
CAIRO, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Arab League (AL) condemned on Tuesday the massive car bombings which rocked Baghdad earlier in the day, leaving 127 people dead and 448 others injured. The AL strongly condemns the bombings in Baghdad on Tuesday, it said in a statement, adding that such acts are jeopardizing the unity and stability of Iraq at a time the war-torn country is badly in need of its people's efforts to hold elections and to continue building their country.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/09/content_12614051.htm

Iraq security forces face criticism - 08 Dec 09
A wave of bombings in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad has left at least 112 people dead and many more wounded. The blasts happened within minutes of each other, signalling a co-ordinated attack with high-profile government ministries among the targets. The attacks follow bombings of ministry buildings in August and October, prompting some to suggest that the security forces have been infiltrated by anti-government groups. Al Jazeera's Tarek Bazley reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFgeEgSgRu4&feature=youtube_gdata

Baghdad attacks put Iraq security back in spotlight - 09 Dec 09
With the US ramping up its war in Afghanistan, the Obama administration has pledged to get its combat troops out of Iraq by the deadline in under nine months. But Tuesday's string of attacks has underlined concerns over shortcomings in Iraqi security ahead of the planned withdrawal. The US condemned the attacks in Baghdad but maintained that - despite the violence - Iraqi leaders who passed an election law earlier this week are moving the country in the right direction. Al Jazeera's Sebastian Walker reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT146uh3AKo&feature=youtube_gdata

Al-Maliki urges unity after attacks
Iraqi PM calls for help from international community in wake of deadly bombings.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2009/12/2009129103448879889.html

Iraqis top of EU list for asylum
The EU granted asylum to 16,600 Iraqis last year - by far the largest group, forming 22% of the total, official figures show.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/europe/8402374.stm

Iraq sets March 7 for poll after political wrangling (Reuters)
Reuters - Iraq on Tuesday set a long awaited date for a general election next year, but later pushed it back by one day to March 7, amid political wrangling typical of the squabbles which have already delayed the vote.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091208/wl_nm/us_iraq_election

Iraq to auction 10 oilfields
Oil-dependent Iraq bids to become one of world's biggest crude producers despite fragile security.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=36142

Ex-spy chief admits regret over Saddam 45 minutes claim
The former chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee said today that it would have been better to have made clear that the claim that Saddam Hussein had weapons that could be deployed within 45 minutes did not refer to ballistic missiles.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/dec/08/chilcot-scarlett-45-minutes-saddam

School textbook highlights Iraq's Sunni-Shiite divide (AFP)
AFP - As Suhair Abdul Khaaliq shelters from a rare Baghdad cloudburst, waiting for her seven-year-old daughter Rana to emerge from primary school, it's obvious she's angry about a new textbook.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091209/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestreligioneducationschool

Lebanon
Hezbollah 'more than resistance'
Sheikh Maher Hammoud is an influential Sunni Muslim cleric based in Sidon, Lebanon. He is one of a handful of senior Sunni clerics who has defied the prevailing political current and sided firmly with Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Islamist movement that draws most of its members and supporters from Lebanon's Shi'ite community.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KL09Ak01.html

Hizballah's call for legitimacy
Last week Hassan Nasrallah delivered a speech over video link from an unknown location, as he frequently does. The leader of the Lebanese Shia Islamic resistance and political group Hizballah addressed the audience in Beirut to present the group's new manifesto, their first since 1985 when the group unveiled its initial open letter.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10933.shtml

UNIFIL candid about Ghajar withdrawal hopes
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) held a tripartite meeting with representatives from the Lebanese and Israeli Armies Tuesday amid a flurry of media reports concerning the fate of the occupied northern part of the village of Ghajar.UNIFIL deputy spokesperson Andrea Tenenti confirmed that the meeting had taken place near the Blue Line checkpoint at Naqoura.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=109590

Aoun Pays Sudden Visit to Damascus, Meets President Assad
09/12/2009 Suddenly, and without prior notice, the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun paid on Wednesday a visit to the Syrian capital Damascus where he held talks with Syrian President Bachar Assad. According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Aoun met with Assad at the People's palace and discussed with him the latest developments in Lebanon, mainly the formation of the national-unity government and the development of the Lebanese-Syrian relations.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=114595&language=en

March 14 MPs Assail Resistance; Hezbollah MPs Respond
09/12/2009 For the second consecutive day, the Lebanese Parliament convened on Wednesday to discuss the cabinet's policy statement in order to pave the way for the vote of confidence session scheduled on Thursday. Just like in the first day of the discussions, March 14 MPs dedicated the biggest parts of their speeches to assail the Resistance and reject its clause from the policy statement without offering any "alternative". However, Hezbollah MPs decided to respond to all claims and accusations with MP Nawwaf Moussawi speaking on behalf of all martyrs and MP Ali Ammar calling on Speaker Nabih Berri to delete any mention to Hezbollah from the minutes of the sessions.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=114610&language=en

U.S. and Other World News
White House wants suit against Yoo dismissed
The Obama administration has asked an appeals court to dismiss a lawsuit accusing former Bush administration attorney John Yoo of authorizing the torture of a terrorism suspect, saying federal law does not allow damage claims against lawyers who advise the president on national security issues.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/12/08/MN061AVC89.DTL

Court rebuffs Gitmo prisoner review
The U.S. Supreme Court Monday refused to take charge of the case of a Guantanamo prisoner still held after apparently being cleared for release.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2009/12/07/Court-rebuffs-Gitmo-prisoner-review/UPI-82671260213770/

Afghans protest after civilian killed in US-led raid
Hundreds of Afghans have held anti-US and anti-government demonstrations against a recent US-led attack which reportedly claimed the lives of 15 non-combatants.
http://presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=113185&sectionid=351020403

Jewish teens charged with hate crime
NY1: Five Jewish teenagers are expected to appear in court Friday in connection with the beating of a Muslim man in Brooklyn. The suspects were arrested Sunday after police say they shouted racial slurs before punching Shahid Amber with brass knuckles and breaking his nose outside an area Dunkin' Donuts. According to a court document obtained by NY1, the teens also shouted "...terrorist mother-[expletive,] you [expletive] our country. Why are you here? Go back to your country and never [expletive] with the Jews."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2n6_qPsb-c

Afghan government says occupation force killed six civilians
NATO officials on Tuesday disputed a report by the Afghan government that a NATO raid in eastern Afghanistan earlier in the day had killed six civilians, saying only seven militants died in the operation.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1517753.php/Afghan-government-says-NATO-raid-killed-six-civilians

Orwell Would Be Proud: Obama to mention Afghan war in peace prize speech
U.S. President Barack Obama will not shirk from mentioning Afghanistan and his decision to send more troops to the war zone when he accepts the Nobel Peace Prize this week, the White House said on Monday.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N07178403.htm

US Congress frets over anti-Americanism on TV in Mideast
In decisive 395-3 vote, House of Representatives adopts bill asking US president to report to Congress on incitement to anti-American violence on television networks in Middle East.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3817284,00.html

Erdogan resists US calls for Iran sanctions, urges diplomacy after meeting with Obama
President Barack Obama failed to win immediate new pledges of support from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday for U.S. goals toward Iran and Afghanistan.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-us-turkey,0,2239098.story

Cairo human rights group attacks Arab states
Respected body's second annual report condemns Arab League for remaining silent on grave human rights violations. Human rights in the Arab world have deteriorated over the last year as governments flaunt progress on women's issues while evading and actively blocking broader reforms that guarantee dignity for all, says a report.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/08/cairo-human-rights-report

Saudi Arabian man beheaded and crucified
Amnesty International has condemned an execution in Saudi Arabia that saw a 22-year-old man beheaded and then crucified. Muhammad Basheer bin Sa’oud al-Ramaly al-Shammari was convicted of kidnapping and raping four people in February 2009. He was beheaded in the Saudi Arabian city of Hail on Monday. His severed head was then sewn back on to his body, which was later hung from a pole in a public place, an act known in Saudi Arabia as a crucifixion.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/saudi-arabian-man-beheaded-and-crucified-20091208

Turning trash into treasure in the slums of Cairo
In an attempt to help curb the city's stifling pollution and meet their energy needs too, a few Cairo families have begun to recycle waste - now that the nation's pigs are gone - by generating biogas from rubbish.It is an ambitious project that is still in its infancy but may just catch on in this teeming city of 18 million people, often obscured in a grey veil of haze produced mainly by the fumes from millions of car exhausts.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=109566

Jordan's King appoints new PM
Palace aide Nasser Lozi to form a new cabinet, after resignation of former government.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/12/2009129134314115407.html

Syrian farmers battle drought - 09 Dec 09
Climate Change has left farmers in Syria doing something they have never done before - relying on food hand-outs. Three years of consecutive drought has led to the country producing less than half of its food needs. According to the UN World Food Programme [WFP], about 1.3 million people are severely affected, and 300,000 are in urgent need of help. Hoda Abdel-Hamid reports on the people who are losing hope that things will ever return to how they once were.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJL5PPHZS2A&feature=youtube_gdata

Dubai: The political model, As'ad AbuKhalil
The emirate of Dubai has in the past few decades been more than a shiny example of glitzy capitalism and the insulation from the repercussions (and responsibilities) of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It has represented the type of political model which has been promoted to the Arabs, by their rulers and by the West.
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/12/200912854351906589.html

Covering Hajj 2009
A behind the scenes look at Al Jazeera's coverage of the Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia with AJE correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV3BRae02UY&feature=youtube_gdata

Saudi Arabia Hands Missing Iran Nuclear Scientist to US
An Iranian nuclear scientist who went missing in Saudi Arabia has been "handed over by Riyadh to Washington," Mehr news agency reported on Tuesday, quoting Tehran's foreign ministry spokesman. "Shahram Amiri, Iran's nuclear scientist who had gone to hajj in Saudi Arabia, was handed over by Riyadh to Washington," Ramin Mehmanparast told Mehr, referring to the Umra. The spokesman said Amiri was one of 11 Iranian detainees currently held in US jails. His statement was the first acknowledgement by Tehran that Amiri was a nuclear scientist. Iranian officials have previously said Amiri went missing in Saudi Arabia soon after he landed there as a pilgrim earlier this year.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=114389&language=en

Hajj pilgrims visit sacred Zam zam well - 28 Nov 09
The well of Zam zam is believed to be from the time of Abraham. Its water is considered holy, it has never dried up, and demand for it continues to increase. The well supplies thousands of taps across the Holy Mosque in Mecca. It is bottled and sent across the world. Mohammed Adow visited the well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1zgM0oIfXE&feature=youtube_gdata

Scouts on hand to help worshippers at Hajj - 29 Nov 09
Around 4,000 scouts participate in the Hajj to assist pilgrims with special needs or emergencies - 3,000 of them stay in Mina, where pilgrims spend three nights as part of their hajj rituals. Mohammed Adow looks at their daily duties and how essential they are to the smooth running of the Hajj rituals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZAwqDaBOL8&feature=youtube_gdata

Is Angelina Jolie sponsoring Jordanian orphans?
Famous actress and philanthropist Angelina Jolie has apparently been secretly supporting seven Jordanian children and is currently considering to by them a house, Contact music website reported on Wednesday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133903.html

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Subject: Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines December 8, 2009 ~

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Land Theft and Destruction And The So Called "Freeze"
LRC: “14 Homes Demolished In Jerusalem In November”
The Land Research Center (LRC) of the Arab Studies Society in Jerusalem reported that the Israeli authorities conducted 187 against Jerusalem in November, and demolished 14 Palestinians homes in addition to issuing orders to demolish 170 homes.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57317

Settlers say will fight freeze with all their might
Yesha Council chairman expresses reservations over remark made by deputy settlement head that temporary construction halt needed to combat Iranian threat. 'There is no justification for this,' he says. Samaria Settlers' Committee: We don’t buy PM's excuses for racist decision.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3816670,00.html

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
The Interview Ha’aretz Doesn’t Want You To See
Rehaviya Berman conducted an interview with Ali Abunimah, for Ha’aretz, a few weeks ago. The Interview was never published. Berman decided to publish it on his blog [Hebrew] and I decided to translate it, for your reading pleasure:
http://pulsemedia.org/2009/12/06/the-interview-ha%E2%80%99aretz-doesn%E2%80%99t-want-you-to-see/

Budrus - Trailer
This is the kind of story that offers some inspiring relief to the seemingly relentless bad news about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The new documentary “Budrus” follows an unlikely alliance between feuding Palestinian groups and between Palestinians and Israelis, forged in the interest of saving a village through nonviolent protest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNvbcLccElo&feature=player_embedded

Palestinians boycott Israeli settlement goods
The Palestinians on Tuesday announced a boycott of Israeli products made in the West Bank, stepping up their campaign against Israeli settlements. Economics Minister Hassan Abu Libdeh said the Western-backed Palestinian government already has confiscated $1 million worth of products, including foods, cosmetics and hardware, and the goal is to eliminate all settlement-made goods from Palestinian store shelves next year.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/387/story/948588.html

Israeli business leaders delegation gets a New York welcome
New York City human rights advocates caught the Israel Business Leaders Delegation to the United States by surprise this morning with a noisy protest outside their “breakfast reception amidst the Leviev jewelry collection” at the Leviev store on Madison Avenue. Groups worldwide have conducted a successful campaign for the boycott of Leviev’s companies due to their involvement in Israeli settlement construction in violation of international law, and human rights abuses in the diamond industry in Angola.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/israeli-business-leaders-delegation-gets-a-new-york-welcome.html

Excuse me, Geek Squad? My Motorola phone seems to be supporting apartheid!
Not only is the international campaign for boycott, divestment, and sanctions to end Israeli occupation and apartheid growing, it's also getting more creative! Our spoof of the new commercial for Motorola's 'Droid' phone is making the internet rounds, as is this great video of US Campaign member group New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel (NYCBI) doing some Moto-oriented guerrilla theater at a Best Buy store.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/excuse-me-geek-squad-my-motorola-phone.html

From the Gaza Freedom March Organizers: "International Participation in December 31 Gaza Freedom March Tops 1,000 As Registration Closes"
Over 1,000 delegates from 42 countries have signed up to participate in the December 31 Gaza Freedom March that will mark the one-year anniversary of the Israeli invasion and call for an end to the siege that has brought 1.5 million people to the edge of disaster.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/from-medea-benjamin-and-gaza-freedom.html

Detainees
Woman detainee kept in isolation for insulting prison guard
Gaza – Ma’an – A woman Palestinian prisoner has been kept in solitary confinement following a verbal incident with an Israeli prison guard, the Hussam prisoners association said on Tuesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245176

Hamas: PA detained 11 members
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Hamas said on Tuesday that the Fatah-backed Palestinian Authority forces arrested 11 members of the Islamic movement in the West Bank in the past two days.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245151

Al Maqt, A Detainee Behind Bars Since 24 Years
Former detainee, specialist in Detainees’ Affairs, Abdul-Nasser Farawna, stated that detainee Sidqi Al Maqt, from the Golan heights, is hoping a prisoner-swap deal would free him after 25 years in captivity and oppression in Israeli prisons.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57322

Humanitarian/Human Rights/Siege
Arab MKs: Bill approving admission committees racist
Ministerial committee's decision to allow Galilee and Negev communities to filter future residents evokes angry responses. Arab whose petition on matter was accepted by High Court tells Ynet, 'In the end we will all live inside walls'.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3816615,00.html

Palestinian Police Obstruct Travel of Patients Receive Medical Treatment in Hospitals outside Gaza: Call on Gaza Government to Immediately Cancel Such Measures
Sick Palestinian at the Erez Crossing in Gaza.The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns external travel restrictions imposed on the population of the Gaza Strip. These restrictions also apply to patients seeking medical treatment unavailable in the Gaza Strip. PCHR calls upon the Government in Gaza to remove all travel restrictions imposed, in particular the obligation to obtain permission from the Ministry of Interior in Gaza; these obligations contradict the provisions of the Palestinian Basic Law and international standards related to the freedom of movement.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/2306-palestinian-police-obstruct-travel-of-patients-receive-medical-treatment-in-hospitals-outside-gaza-call-on-gaza-government-to-immediately-cancel-such-measures.html

Surf’s Up
It’s become almost common knowledge that on any given day, anywhere from 40-50 million liters of untreated or partially treated sewage flow from Gaza’s sewage treatment plants into the Mediterranean Sea, and an additional 20 million liters seep into the ground, threatening other water sources. The treatment plants, due to crossings policies blocking supply of fuel and spare parts, intermittent electricity supply, and years of de-development, are struggling to treat 70 million liters of sewage produced by Gaza’s 1.5 million residents each day. In September, the UN and other international agencies warned that the sewage threatens the environmental health of both Gaza and Israel.
http://www.gazagateway.org/2009/12/surfs-up/

Refugees
Peace must begin with the plight of Palestine's refugees | Karen AbuZayd
Sixty years ago today the United Nations general assembly voted into existence a temporary body known as UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. UNRWA's task was to deal with the humanitarian consequences of the dispossession of some three-quarters of a million Palestine refugees forced by the 1948 Middle East war to abandon their homes and flee their ancestral lands. Just two decades later, the six-day war generated another spasm of violence and forced displacement, culminating in the occupation of Palestinian territory. Today, anguished exile remains the lot of Palestinians and Palestine refugees. The occupation of Palestinian land persists, there is no Palestinian state, and the human rights and fundamental freedoms to which Palestinians are entitled under international law do not exist.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/08/peace-begin-plight-palestinian-refugees

Palestinian refugees surviving, not living
Hassan Rhayyel has been trapped in a cramped refugee camp in south Lebanon for 61 years, ever since he fled Palestine with his family after the creation of Israel.He was 12 then and full of hope that within two days the family would return home.But that hope has dimmed for Rhayyel, who raised eight children in a tiny two-room flat in Burj el-Shemali, one of Lebanon's 12 refugee camps.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=109533

Rights group: End abuse of stateless individuals
Lebanon should move to end the "flagrant contradictions" in its application of laws to help a generation of stateless individuals regain their dignity, civil society officials said Monday.Launching the report, "Invisible Citizens: Legal Study on Statelessness in Lebanon," representatives from the non-governmental organization Frontiers Ruwad Association (FRA).
said.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=109532

Political Developments
Hamas to reap prisoner swap reward
Less than a year ago, Hamas was cowering under an Israeli military onslaught that pulverised much of its political and military infrastructure.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/de0f1bc2-e398-11de-9f4f-00144feab49a.html

PNA rejects Netanyahu's statement over resuming settlement after ten months
RAMALLAH, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian National Authority(PNA) rejected Monday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent statement that settlement activities would be resumed after ten months. "His words prove that he is not serious about freezing the settlements and reaching a permanent solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts," said Nabil Abu Rdeineh, spokesman of the Palestinian presidency.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/08/content_12607937.htm

EU mulls Jerusalem divide - 8 Dec 09
Jerusalem is sacred to three religions and central to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. European Union ministers have gathered this week in Brussels to discuss a Swedish proposal that calls for the division of Jerusalem in order to serve as capitals of both Israel and a future Palestinian state. The Israeli government has denounced the proposal, calling it a "dangerous" threat to peace efforts, but Palestinians need all the political support they can get to keep alive the dream of East Jerusalem as their capital. Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reports from the disputed city.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJIbdcy5hhk&feature=youtube_gdata

Key US lawmaker chides EU over Jerusalem
AFP, Published: Monday December 7, 2009, European Union members should join "responsible nations" in opposing any plan to recognize Arab east Jerusalem as capital of a future Palestinian state, a key US lawmaker said Monday., "Any move to divide Jerusalem would undermine our ally Israel, deal a blow to religious freedom, and undercut the cause of peace," said Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Key_US_lawmaker_chides_EU_over_Jeru_12072009.html

Other News
Turkey PM: Israel can't bomb Gaza then hold drill in Turkey
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday during his trip to the United States, that Israel cannot fly Gaza and then have its air force participate in a drill over Turkish land.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133621.html

Report: Netanyahu okays Israel-Egypt border wall
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the construction of a wall along the border between Israel and Egypt, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245186

Israel official: religious law must become binding
JERUSALEM -- Israel's justice minister said religious law must become binding in Israel, causing a stir Tuesday that reflects the divide between the secular and religious communities in the Jewish state. Yaakov Neeman, an observant Jew, told a rabbinical conference on Monday that the Bible contains "a complete solution to all the things we are dealing with."
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/12/08/general-industrials-ml-israel-justice-minister_7190054.html

3 arrested for 2008 stabbing attack
Police say three Jewish teens admitted to stabbing man in Meah Shearim because he was Arab.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3816981,00.html

Palestinian 'terrorist' takes aim at Sasha Baron Cohen
A Palestinian grocer from Bethlehem filed suit against Comedian Sasha Baron Cohen on Monday, for the sum total of $115 million in libel damages over his film Bruno, which is equlal to half the amount the movie's gross box office earnings.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133392.html

First Miss Palestine beauty pageant to be held in West Bank
The first Miss Palestine will be held on December 26 in the West Bank, the beauty pageant organizers said on Monday. There will be 58 young women participating in the region's first pageant, including 26 Arab-Israelis and 32 beauties from the West Bank. There are no contestants from the isolated Gaza Strip. The goal of the contest is to change the misconceptions of Palestinians as a people as opposed to the political understanding of the region.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20091207/157145576.html

Sheikh Beitawi slams PA for hosting beauty contest for Palestinian girls in WB
Sheikh Hamed Al-Beitawi, the head of the association of Palestinian scholars, strongly denounced the Palestinian Authority (PA) for sponsoring a beauty pageant for Palestinian girls in the West Bank.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7YFzZLMGCqJL6aByUMCj3GtO3grmjAFP0VCBspts5urV6x1jVyz0BFJqMUNE%2b0wBESE96abaRy5nIh1g8BIVah81RZGJNrjxKSxC5aHZ0GZw%3d

Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest
Akiva Eldar / Israel may have frozen settlements, but does it want peace?, Akiva Eldar
On the eve of signing the settlement construction freeze order, Avigdor Lieberman told reporters that the settlements had never been an obstacle to peace. The proof, the foreign minister explained, is that the Jewish settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria did not stop Egypt and Jordan from signing peace agreements with Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133490.html

The US cash behind extremist settlers | Andrew Kadi and Aaron Levitt
The Hebron Fund is raising vast sums for Israeli settlements that violate the Geneva convention, with little scrutiny. Last month, a Brooklyn-based non-profit organisation called the Hebron Fund, which supports Jewish settlers in the Israeli-occupied city of Hebron, held a fundraiser at the New York Mets' stadium, Citi Field.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/dec/08/us-settlers-hebron-fund-israeli

The Fourth Estate in the Service of Power: Media Coverage of the Middle East
"Over the same 3-year period since August 1, 2006, however, Rich has never addressed issues related to Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands, let alone how these are directly abetted by US policies. There are occasional references to Hamas, Hezbollah, and the situation in Lebanon, but these are all incidental to whatever matter he discusses. To take but one example, Rich has written a total of 7 articles[12] where "Hamas" comes up, over his entire tenure as a Times op-ed columnist since 1994. In each of these 7 references, he brandishes Hamas as a group deserving to be targeted in the "war on terror" or else views a presumed association with Hamas as evidence of fanaticism and evil intentions, betraying a highly skewed perception of what Hamas is about or realistically capable of doing.[13] Nicholas Kristof is as reticent as Frank Rich when it comes to Israel, the Palestinians, and other Arabs nearby. His sympathies for the victims of political repression are easily aroused if these victims are in China or Darfur, but not if they are in Israel or in any of the nearby autocratic regimes allied with the US (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan). The full scope of Kristof's writing can be grasped by reading his blog, where he expands on his twice-weekly columns, adding thoughts he cannot always squeeze into an 800-word text.[14] There is a "tag list" in the main page of the blog, which tallies the number of times he has written about a particular topic. By my last check (August 31, 2009), "Darfur" tops his list (with a count of 111), followed by "Africa" (with 79), and then "China" (with 68). "Iraq" is about two-third down the list (with a count of 21), and "Israel" is the very last entry (with 14). These numbers reflect Kristof's priorities, or else his ability to write without intimidation and self-censorship. Of the 14 entries about Israel, about half are on the situation in Gaza and several of the remaining half are fending off attacks by irate readers for his presumed anti-Israel bias -- attacks that are far more virulent and numerous, proportionally, than others Kristof receives because of his writing on other topics -- which is also revealing about the audience Kristof attracts and caters to."
http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/23293

The Choice for Israel: Civil War for Peace or the End of Zionism?
I have been writing about what must happen in America if there is to be more than a snowball’s chance in hell of peace on the basis of an acceptable amount of justice for the Palestinians. (The main point I’ve been making is that unless and until enough Americans are made aware of the truth of history, no American president will have the space to break the Zionist lobby’s stranglehold on Congress). In this article, with thanks to an analysis by Israeli historian Zeev Sternhell, I’m looking at what must happen in Israel if the countdown to catastrophe is to be stopped.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/12/the-choice-for-israel-civil-war-for-peace-or-the-end-of-zionism/

Decrypting the Palestinian Political Crisis: Old Strategies against New Enemies
The explanations given by Israel to justify the onslaught on Gaza in last December were confused. The goals advanced by military and political Israeli apparatus varied, depending either on the person speaking or on the moment in which they were stated: from overthrowing the Hamas-led government and annihilating the movement, to putting an end to the launching of Hamas rockets from the Strip, to destroying Hamas’s military capabilities, to stopping the smuggling into Gaza, and so on.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/12/decrypting-the-palestinian-political-crisis-old-strategies-against-new-enemies/

Israel's Settlement Beast
It's a mildly comforting scene for Palestinians to see Jewish settlers clash with the Israeli government. In Palestinian terms this is a battle between bad and really bad and it brings us a smidgen of delight when we see the two sides butt heads. Of course, this is an infantile sentiment, given that in the larger picture of things, their bickering really has nothing to do with us. Nonetheless, it is strangely satisfying.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=21176&CategoryId=3

What the U.S. Elite Really Thinks About Israel, By JEFFREY BLANKFORT
The Council on Foreign Relations is always near the top of the Left's list of bogeymen that stand accused of pulling the strings of US foreign policy. It is right up there with the Bilderberg Group and the Trilateral Commission, right? Wrong. If that was the case, those arguing that US support for Israel is based on it being a "strategic asset" will have a hard time explaining a Pew Research Center survey on America's Place in the World, taken of 642 CFR members between October 2 and November 16. The Pew poll not only reveals that the overwhelming majority, two-thirds of the members of this elite foreign policy institution, believes that the United States has gone overboard in favoring Israel, it doesn't consider Israel to have have much importance to the US in the first place.
http://www.counterpunch.org/blankfort12072009.html

Israeli pressure must be resisted - Ghassan Khatib
The council of European foreign ministers is currently debating a draft resolution drawn up by Sweden, holder of the rotating EU presidency, which is supposed to specify EU positions on different aspects of the Middle East conflict.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=245058

Jews Against Zionism
They're numerous, outspoken, and range from secular to orthodox to one group calling itself "True Torah Jews Against Zionism."They believe that "traditional" Jews don't support Zionism, an ideology they call "contrary to Jewish law and beliefs and the teachings of the Holy Torah."
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15600

Iraq
5 blasts hit Baghdad, more than 105 killed
Five explosions hit Baghdad scattered in Dora, Palestine Street, Al Rasafi Market, Al Mansour District and Al Nahda region. More than 105 are killed and more than 310 wounded in death toll reports by Iraq’s Interior Ministry. Explosions were consequent, it added. At least 15 people were killed.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-41469-5-blasts-hit-Baghdad%2C-more-than-105-killed.html

Monday: 19 Iraqis Killed, 56 Wounded
While Shi’ites observed the Eid al-Ghadeer holiday, one Shi’ite school in Sadr City suffered a tragic attack. At least 19 Iraqis were killed and 56 more were wounded there and across the country. The bombing comes just as Iraqi officials are hoping to pin down a date in late February for national elections. Full details were not revealed, but Parliament approved a new elections law late yesterday after Sunni and Kurdish objections were apparently resolved.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/12/07/monday-19-iraqis-killed-56-wounded/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

Accused SEALs arraigned, vow to defend charges (AP)
AP - Two Navy SEALs accused in the mistreatment of an Iraqi suspect in the 2004 slayings of four U.S. contractors were arraigned in military court Monday, and one SEAL said he was gratified by support from the public and some members of Congress.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091207/ap_on_re_us/us_navy_seals

Lebanon
An Nahar: US to embarrass Lebanon by setting impossible conditions for $100 million in military aid
"An Nahar Sources: The US administration is trying to embarrass Lebanon by setting impossible conditions before granting $100 million in military aid . One of the conditions is disarming Hezbollah"
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2009/12/nahar-us-to-embarrass-lebanon-by.html

Washington's New Lebanon Policy: A Christmas Guide
Beirut: Lebanon’s first Sunday morning in December was cold, cloudy and rainy as this politically exhausted country’s’ new Prime Minister, Saad Eddine Hariri, donned a gray track suit, with matching Nike running shoes and joined hundreds of pro-Hezbollah runners, two dreamy Jordanian princesses and 33,000 others from 73 countries as well as all 18 Lebanese confessions for the annual ‘friendship first, competition second’, 42 km Beirut Marathon. Despite the weather, the atmosphere was warm as Christmas decorations were being hung with care across Lebanon in Christian, Shia, Sunni and Druze neighborhoods. Saad, telling race watchers on the sidewalks, “I know I won’t win but I want to participate anyway. We have to bring Lebanese together, and sport is a very important event that can bring them together actually passed on the 42 km course in favor of the 10 km event—but then, how many politicians anywhere, used to the good life, can even run two km these days.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15601

U.S. and Other World News
Netanyahu: Syria drops key precondition for peace talks with Israel
The Syrian government is no longer demanding an Israeli commitment to withdraw from the Golan Heights as a precondition for resuming peace negotiations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told lawmakers at the Knesset in Jerusalem on Monday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133396.html

On peace with Syria, Israeli politicians only talk the talk
The ritual "track dance" is in full swing: the Syrian track first - no, the Palestinian track first. A future scholar researching the history of the main contacts between Israel, Syria and the Palestinians starting in the 1990s will discover a marvelous cyclical pattern: Whenever the Palestinian track reached a dead end or a breakthrough beckoned, the Israelis began talking about the Syrian track, and vice versa.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133517.html

Gitmo ’suicide’ trio had rags stuffed down throats: report
The US military has long maintained that the deaths of three detainees at Guantanamo Bay in one night in 2006 were suicides, but to the authors of an exhaustive report on the incident, it looks like anything but. One question that the authors of a report (PDF) from the Seton Hall University Law School have is just how -- and why -- three people who hanged themselves would have managed to stuff rags down their throats before they died. Another question is why neither the guards on duty nor the paramedics who showed up were interviewed; or, for that matter, why the paramedics who showed up didn't even ask the guards what had happened.
http://rawstory.com/2009/12/gitmo-suicides-night-suspicious-report/

The Taliban - Al Qaeda Schism
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen argued in Senate Testimony Wednesday that the 30,000-troop increase is necessary to prevent the Taliban from giving new safe havens to al Qaeda terrorists.
http://www.counterpunch.com/porter12072009.html

www.TheHeadlines.org

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From: "Today in Palestine!" <tipalestine@...>
Date: Mon Dec 7, 2009 4:16 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines December 7, 2009 ~

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Land Theft and Destruction And The So Called "Freeze"
Israel ignoring 400 Palestinian house demolition appeals
The State Prosecutor's Office never responded to some 400 High Court petitions filed by Palestinians seeking to save their West Bank homes from demolition orders - which means the homes cannot be demolished - according to an advocacy-group report released today.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133301.html

Primary document: Settlers prep to terrorize West Bank
Since the announcement last week of the “settlement freeze,” Israel has witnessed an escalating settler rebellion. Most of the action has been civil disobedience, which I will not condemn as a matterprinciple, despite the fact that it’s organizers’ salaries are largely paid from my taxes. But past experience and IDF warnings indicate that we can expect a surge in “price tag” attacks against Palestinians. A news item in this morning’s (December 6 2009) Yediot surveys the mood among West bank settlers and ends with the following passage.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=37074

For first time, settlers plan mass protests within Green Line
Settlers are preparing for a heated confrontation with security services over the construction freeze imposed on West Bank settlements. For the first time, settlers are seeking to organize demonstrations and block roads in several Israeli communities within the Green Line. On Sunday morning, the residents of Kedumim demonstrated the force being used in the campaign against the freeze.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133309.html

Rabbi allows stealing Palestinian crops and water
The PA agriculture ministry has strongly condemned Sunday a new religious edict issued by a rabbi allowing Israeli settlers to steal Palestinian olive crops and to poison Palestinian water.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7H8hdqsqlTsmjhHRcyPCvFGvCPvMjeT624KN3KDrEmAdr6wWhfB4MVXwB1Fz8bq7Yi8q8puCM4Pb12jID6YiF6CP00%2fhdOuusSyhPcoMY6nQ%3d

Rabbi Melamed: IDF leadership can't be trusted
"Corruption is rampant among top IDF officers, and therefore security officials cannot be trusted to warn against deals that include the release of terrorists," said Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, the head of the Bracha Yeshiva in the West Bank. According to the rabbi, IDF officers are "falling in line with the politicians, the media and public opinion, and this is why they did not issue warnings prior to the Oslo Accords, the escape from Lebanon (IDF withdrawal in 2000) and the expulsion (Gaza pullout ion 2005). This is why it is our job to issue such warnings."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3816368,00.html

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Bilin teenager: "They arrested my father to discourage the struggle"
The end of November marked the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, a time to see family and friends and for people to eat together. But for many Palestinians, the Eid was not so festive. Rajaa Abu Rahmah, aged 19, only has one wish this holiday -- to see her father Adeeb Abu Rahmah freed from prison. Jody McIntyre spoke to Rajaa to see how the family were coping during Eid al-Adha.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10930.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

Capsicum spray used to quell anti-Israel protesters
CAPSICUM spray was used on pro-Palestinian demonstrators who tried to storm a hotel where Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard spoke last night. About 200 demonstrators holding flags and placards tried to force their way into a side entrance to the Park Hyatt Hotel in East Melbourne.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/capsicum-spray-used-to-quell-antiisrael-protesters-20091206-kd1g.html

People across the globe organize against the Apartheid Wall
On November 9, 1989, the wall was brought down in Berlin. Today, in Palestine and across the world people are fighting to tear down another wall – much longer, much higher and not built along borders but along the lines of apartheid and ethnic cleansing. During the week of November 9 – 16, people around the world united in global action. The 7th Week Against the Apartheid Wall, under the banner of “Unite Against Apartheid”, saw organizers conducting demonstrations, holding vigils, distributing information, screening films, and calling for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/2130.shtml

New “Viva Palestine” convoy leaves London for besieged Gaza
The third “Viva Palestine” convoy to Gaza led by British MP George Galloway set off Sunday from London and is gathering more participants as it passes through European countries.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7B79ERMWJQkA51kxq%2bMMLzDX9%2f%2bJ4L1qzrF0vEC6fABKlRZd%2bO5jdBl4O9oXlBjMlDjFzOiJUGVMw4vXRMzPexNTja5NYFiF7aGTNrw13VZI%3d

Olive harvest concludes with festival, new report
December 6th, 2009-- Several weeks ago, the olive harvest concluded with a festival in the Nablus area village of Burin. Under the banner “our enemies are the settlements and our path is resistance”, the festival celebrated the end of the harvest with traditional dance and music from local groups and a number of speakers. Also with the end of the olive harvest, Stop the Wall has published its yearly report recording the difficulties created by Occupation policy and the attacks carried out on Palestinian farmers in various districts during the month.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2128.shtml

Violence and Aggression/Detainees
Israeli climbing fence into Gaza shot dead
Serious incident at Gaza border. An Israeli trying to cross into the Gaza Strip was shot dead in the early hours of Monday morning, by Defense Ministry security forces stationed at the Erez crossing and an IDF force patrolling the area.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3816108,00.html

Abbas’s militias kidnap four Palestinians in Al-Khalil and Bethlehem
Mahmoud Abbas’s militias kidnapped during the last two weeks three Palestinian teachers in Al-Khalil and one ex-detainee in Bethlehem released recently from Israeli jails.

http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7lkXmWipa6Kr9nqQ%2frP9k8%2beAGYTY48xlckAhdO0MddiGVu6Rwg3ss2J%2bFZM%2fJ1HpX%2f%2bDlBdmfTl5rNfJBNQKFPP0xa6Q5qphxBLn%2faKLscA%3d

Humanitarian/Human Rights/Siege
Israel accused of interrogating medical patients from Gaza
• Palestinians interrogated and held without charge
• Questioning is a security measure, government says
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/06/isarel-gaza-patients-accusation-interrogation

Israel: End Arbitrary Detention of Rights Activist
(Jerusalem) - The Israeli military appeals court should end the administrative detention of Mohammed Othman, a West Bank rights activist, and order his release, Human Rights Watch said today. Israeli authorities have detained Othman without charge for more than two months on what appear to be politically motivated grounds. On the basis of secret evidence that Othman and his lawyers were not allowed to see, a military court confirmed a military order that consigned Othman to three months administrative detention without charging him with any crime. Othman has no criminal record and, to the knowledge of Human Rights Watch, has never advocated or participated in violence. His detention period, which may be renewed, ends on December 22.
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/12/04/israel-end-arbitrary-detention-rights-activist?print

Bedouins in Israel denied elections
NAZARETH, ISRAEL // About 35,000 Bedouin residents of Israel’s southern Negev have been denied the right to hold their first local council election after the Israeli parliament passed a law at the last minute to cancel this month’s ballot.   The new law gives the government the power to postpone elections to the regional council, known as Abu Basma, until the interior ministry deems the local Bedouin ready to run their own affairs. Legal and human rights groups say the move is an unprecedented violation of Israel’s constitutional principles. Taleb a-Sana, a Bedouin member of Israel’s parliament, has written to its speaker warning that “it is not possible to have democracy without elections”.
http://www.jkcook.net/Articles3/0439.htm#Top

Israeli MK Demands Preventing Mosques For Calling For Dawn Prayers
Israeli member of Knesset (MK) Arie Bibi of the Kadima party headed by Tzipi Livni, intends to file a proposal to the Knesset to vote on preventing the mosques in Israel from using speakers while calling for dawn prayers. The proposal intend to prevent the call for prayers in Al Arab areas, including in East Jerusalem.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57311

COLLABORATING WITH ISRAEL: Egyptian forces thwart fuel smuggling into Gaza
Al-Arish – Ma’an – Egyptian security forces thwarted a diesel smuggling operation and shut down a storehouse containing commercial goods, also prepared for smuggling into the Gaza Strip on Monday. Egyptian forces stormed a fuel storehouse in the bordering As-Salam neighborhood of Rafah, containing 30,000 liters of diesel which was hidden with the intention of smuggling into Gaza, security sources said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244992

Gaza's first int'l documentary festival delayed by blockade
The Gaza Strip's first international documentary festival, which will end tomorrow, began nearly a month after the scheduled date because Israel's blockade made it difficult for organizers to get the films that will be screened there. The festival, which began Saturday, focuses on Palestinian suffering under Israeli occupation. The organizers are hoping the festival will generate international support for the Palestinians. Palestinian director Riad Shahin, who is running the festival, told the Al-Arabiya television station that organizers had to use weapons-smuggling tunnels to bring some of the films into Gaza. The movies come from countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Egypt and even Israel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133292.html

Quds international urges scholars to challenge IOA ban
The international Quds institution has urged Muslim scholars and notables to challenge the IOA ban on their entry into the holy Aqsa Mosque so to avoid isolating the Aqsa as the IOA wishes.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7H5PQpjZJqOrcdhGc8fRvS5QSenc0ma1M8Nh1gjPp0eusWNqbKEO73u5Zn%2fIgtosel3zS6QVLdPGjax51mFqGAUkQb%2fxT3wTuhJ9TFR1z3dw%3d

Refugees
Palestinian refugees survive in cramped Lebanese camps
BURJ EL-SHEMALI, Lebanon, Dec 7, 2009 (AFP) - Hassan Rhayyel has been trapped in a cramped refugee camp in south Lebanon for 61 years, ever since he fled Palestine with his family after the creation of Israel. He was 12 then and full of hope that within two days the family would return home. But that hope has dimmed for Rhayyel who raised eight children in a tiny two-room flat in Burj el-Shemali, one of Lebanon's 12 refugee camps.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/KHII-7YH4YS?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Abbas: No Lebanese passports for Palestine refugees
Beirut – Ma’an – Palestinian refugees in Lebanon will not be offered Lebanese passports, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday following his meeting with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman at the Republican Palace. Abbas’ remark quashed recent rumors concerning the issuing of Lebanese passports to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, adding that the refugees’ presence in the country is temporary, particularly as Lebanon’s membership in the UN Security Council next year will help the Palestinian cause.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244982

Political Developments
Inside Story - The battle for Jerusalem - 6 Dec 09
As EU Foreign ministers prepare to meet on Monday to discuss a Swedish proposal to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of both Israel and Palestine, the EU accuses Israel of working deliberately to alter the citys demographic balance and sever East Jerusalem from the West Bank. Can the EU play a role in peace making after being marginalised for so long? Or is the battler for Jerusalem already over?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz1SJnQe1fE&feature=youtube_gdata

Israel gears to fight Swedish initiative
Senior political sources call Stockholm's attempt to have east Jerusalem declared capital of future Palestinian state 'underhanded move,' say majority of EU members are against it.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3816110,00.html

Palestinians concerned over Israeli pressure to change EU's Jerusalem plan
RAMALLAH, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian officials are concerned that Israeli pressures may succeed in making crucial changes on a European proposal to divide Jerusalem for the Jewish state and the future Palestinian statehood. Sweden, which holds the European Union's (EU) rotating presidency, is scheduled to put forward the offer in the EU's foreign ministers meeting in Brussels.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/07/content_12601625.htm

Palestinian FM expects diplomatic victory in EU's Jerusalem vote
RAMALLAH, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs Reyad al-Maliki said Monday he expected "a diplomatic victory" as the European Union (EU) is set to vote on a Swedish proposal to name East Jerusalem as Palestinian capital. The EU foreign ministers are meeting Monday in Brussels to discuss the Swedish plan that East Jerusalem would be the capital of the future Palestinian state.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/07/content_12606955.htm

Jordan urges EU to oppose Israel settlements in Jerusalem (AFP)
AFP - Jordan's King Abdullah II on Sunday urged the European Union to help put a halt to Israeli settlement building in Jerusalem, ahead of an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091206/wl_mideast_afp/mideasteujordandiplomacy

Egyptian paper: Palestinian reconciliation postponed at US request
The Egyptian efforts to patch up inter-Palestinian differences were deferred until end of this month or next January at the request of the American administration, an Egyptian paper reported.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7MiqWAg2qbzmTd3yTC8IZ%2bO2j7cm7ZM8a8oBZ%2bpWzyUzOJPUQic%2fVsO26lrFT0yquXWIcUOYxpmAJ7uI04apQ8GccTRm8ErtQRVZqmdiVW2A%3d

Other News
Lieberman could face fraud charges by next month
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz and State Prosecutor Moshe Lador have begun discussions on whether to indict Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on charges which include accepting bribes and laundering money.   The talks are going forward despite the fact that Avia Alef, the head of the economic department of the State Prosecutor's Office, has not yet submitted an opinion on some of the charges.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133297.html

Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest
Netanyahu is making us miss Olmert, Akiva Eldar
Who would have thought that the son of Benzion Netanyahu would utter the words "two states for two peoples"? Who would have believed that Benjamin Netanyahu would get the settler minister Avigdor Lieberman to agree to a settlement freeze? Ever since Netanyahu replaced Ehud Olmert as prime minister, there has been a significant decrease in the number of roadblocks in the West Bank. Peace Now reports that Housing and Construction Ministry tenders for housing beyond the Green Line are at a low. So why are the Europeans now plotting to divide Jerusalem (even though they never recognized its unification)? Why have the Russians vetoed the Quartet proposal to issue a statement of support for the freeze Israel has imposed? What do they want from Bibi?
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133320.html

The military threat
Merav Michaeli - Haaretz - "The power wielded by the security establishment grows whenever Israel finds itself in a situation where it faces `an existential threat` and `a security danger.` It is then that it pours money, its best people, its energies and its skills into defense. This is what happens when the interests of the defense sector diverge from the interests of the state which subsidizes it and which it purports to defend."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133317.html

'Why does America hate us?'
"American hegemonic political philosophy judges a belief by its effects not its causes. The emphasis is on the connection between the truth of statements and their practical applicability by one measure only: how will they work for America? This is American pragmatism. That is, White, liberal American politicians (including President Obama!) are interested in the function of ideas and statements and their effects rather than the sources and conditions of their production."
http://gaza08.blogspot.com/2009/12/why-does-america-hate-us.html

GAZA:THEY SLEPT, BUT NEVER WOKE UP
December 7, 2009 (Pal Telegraph) – Every time I imagine the scene, I feel a cold shiver, and feel my feet frozen. I wish I could kiss their cheeks and say "good night" to them, before they slept forever. I wish I could play with them, or tell them a tale about the bird that likes to have fun on the trees at the beach.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/diaries/featured-articles/3062-they-slept-but-never-woke-up

Opinion is shifting, even inside the Beltway
Opinion shifts at a glacial pace, but move it does. The other night I heard Patrick Tyler, author of the very good and comprehensive book “A World of Trouble” on American presidents and the Middle East. In his talk he singled out for praise Eisenhower and Carter, my preferences as well. The audience was a kind of foreign affairs discussion group of about sixty which meets regularly in Washington. The participants –save for some exceptions– seem to be current or former members of a somewhat-overtaken Washington establishment. Generally Waspy, many retired ambassadors, officials from previous administrations whose names you would recognize, authors. The group was formed after 9-11, and almost all of its members opposed the Iraq war. But in an establishment sort of way.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/opinion-is-shifting-even-inside-the-beltway.html

US Foreign Policy and the Cult of ‘Expertise’
The news that Americans want the U.S. government to mind its own business when it comes to foreign affairs has our Washington elite in a panic. The explanatory notes accompanying a new Pew poll [.pdf] describe the "rise in isolationist sentiment" that started during George W. Bush’s second term and continues in the age of Obama. The agonized hand-wringing is all too apparent in the use of the "isolationist" epithet and even in the way the question was asked: should the U.S. "mind its own business internationally and let other countries get along the best they can on their own"? Forty-nine percent – the highest proportion "in nearly half a century of polling" – answered yes. And that’s not all: a gob-smacking 76 percent agreed the U.S. should "concentrate more on our own national problems and building up our strength and prosperity here at home," as opposed to "think[ing] in international terms."
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2009/12/06/the-cult-of-expertise/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

Israel Slips the Snare of ‘Particular Concern’
Leave it to the State Department to soft-pedal religious extremism in the Middle East. Oh, not in, say, Iran or Saudi Arabia. In the most recent edition of the department’s annual Report on International Religious Freedom, both are designated "Countries of Particular Concern," members of a select group chastised for their extreme intolerance. Which is as it should be.
http://original.antiwar.com/kevin-mink/2009/12/06/israel-slips-the-snare/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

Isabel Kershner: an Israeli. Like we are shocked.
"The [New York] Times correspondent who wrote that article, Isabel Kershner, immigrated to Israel from her native England as a young woman and spent a couple of decades in Israeli journalism and Jewish education before joining the Times a few years ago. By now she’s thoroughly Israeli (and, for full disclosure, a friend)."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/12/isabel-kershner-israeli-like-we-are.html

EU could bring peace to Middle East
The union must stop free-riding on US policy on the Israel-Palestine conflict – offering both sides membership could be key.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/04/eu-american-israel-palestine

Fabulous Picture Show - Pomegranates and Myrrh
Najwa Najjar, the first Palestinian woman to direct a feature film with a wide international release, joins Entertainment Editor Amanda Palmer and the FPS audience for a Q+A about her film, Pomegranates & Myrrh. Palmer speaks to Demi Moore, Parker Posey and director Mitchell Lichtenstein about their new film Happy Tears. And a look at the Peruvian film that won the Golden Bear at Berlin this year, Milk of Sorrow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8NsO1FZfQg&feature=youtube_gdata

Dreams And Nightmares: Sami's Story
Peace activism is growing inside Israel. The stalwarts of BT'Selem and Parents Circle have been joined by a new generation that seeks to engage with Palestinians, on a social level as well as political. Groups like Sulha preach tolerance through integration, encouraging Palestinians to take part in their events inside Israel and securing permits for them. A terrific idea in theory, but in practise those brave enough to cross the divide often pay a heavy price. The following story began last year, but rumbles on to this day.
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1193

An Arab-American’s comment on Gaza stirs the exploration of Jewish mythology
On Thursday night, I went to a Gaza fundraiser at Abdeen Jabara’s place in New York. We raised $4300 for the march. Jabara told the people who are going to Gaza what Gaza looked like a few years ago, before the removal of settlements. There were guard towers overlooking the Palestinians and they were in a big outdoor prison. Jabara’s description reminded me of European concentration camps, or D.P. camps.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/an-arab-americans-comment-on-gaza-stirs-the-exploration-of-jewish-mythology.html

Iraq
Seven children killed by bomb at Baghdad school (Reuters)
Reuters - Seven children were killed and 42 wounded in a Shi'ite district of Baghdad Monday when a bomb exploded outside a school, police said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091207/wl_nm/us_iraq_violence

Sunday: 8 Iraqis Killed, 20 Wounded
Updated at 4:59 p.m. EST, Dec. 6, 2009 At least eight Iraqis were killed and 20 others were wounded in the latest attacks. While attacks in Mosul have seemingly dissipated, reporters appear to have moved to the contested city of Kirkuk. Late in the evening, parliament approved a new elections law.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/12/06/sunday-8-iraqis-killed-16-wounded/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

Iraq poll preparation begins (AFP)
AFP - Iraq's electoral authorities will on Monday begin preparations for parliamentary polls early next year, after MPs finally approved a law governing the vote just minutes before a midnight deadline.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091207/wl_afp/iraqvote

168 new schools for Baghdad and 5,000 more are needed
The Province of Baghdad is to build 168 new schools outside the provincial center to accommodate a projected increase in student population.   The new schools represent a tiny portion of current needs, according to the Ministry of Education which says that Iraq is currently in need of more than 5,000 new school buildings.   The ratio of students per school is extremely high in most parts of the country where buildings are usually occupied by two schools at the same time.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\ 2009-12-06\kurd.htm

Iraqi Scam: Looking For Police Job, Finding A Con
In Iraq's dismal economy, the desperate search for jobs has fueled a new kind of scam. Con artists are telling young men that they can bribe their way into the Iraqi security forces. The would-be recruits pay up, and the scammers keep the money for themselves.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121105168&ft=1&f=1010

Tea and sympathy: Iraqis reach out to fellow refugees in Syria
DAMASCUS, Syrian Arab Republic, December 7 (UNHCR) – The two women in the communal taxi – one elderly and clearly distressed, the other younger, well-educated and outgoing – were strangers, but the younger one spotted immediately that they had something in common: they were both Iraqi refugees, adrift in Syria's capital.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SKEA-7YHH8R?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

In pictures: Escaping war in the Middle East
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/8395828.stm

Lebanon
Beirut must stand up to Riyadh | Elaheh Khayyat
Saudi Arabia has sentenced a Lebanese TV psychic to death for 'witchcraft'. Will his government in help him? Once again, the spotlight is on Saudi Arabia for all the wrong reasons. This time, the kingdom is attracting criticism for condemning a self-styled psychic to death on the vague charge of "witchcraft".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/06/saudiarabia-capital-punishment

Pleas to end domestic violence fall on deaf ears
For years, Umm Radwan's (not her real name) daily routine never changed. Her husband would start beating her and her children early in the morning, only stopping to rape her, eat, and sleep.If the mother of four pleaded with her husband to stop his aggression, he would take a knife to their throats or shove their heads down the toilet.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=109490

Netanyahu: Today, Lebanon's real army is Hezbollah
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed addressed the security situation along Israel's border with Lebanon during a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday, saying that the Lebanese militia Hezbollah was taking the place of the Lebanese army as the country's major military power.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133346.html

Egypt
Egypt detains 10 senior Muslim Brotherhood members
Egyptian authorities have detained 10 senior members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood, the group's secretary general said on Sunday.The officials were arrested in the Nile Delta province of Kafr al-Sheikh on Saturday during a meeting, Mahmoud Ezzat said, adding authorities provided no reason for the arrests.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=109482

Veil's spread fans Egypt's fear of hardline Islam
When Egypt's government banned Islamic veils and all-encompassing robes in the dorms of public universities, it cited reports of men wearing the garb to sneak into the women's quarters.But there was a deeper reason behind the move: an intensifying struggle between the state and a populace that is turning to a stricter version of Islam, whose most visible hallmark is the niqab - the dress that covers the entire female form.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=109480

Egypt: Algeria must say sorry and pay
After Egypt withdraws ambassador to Algeria following last month's soccer riots, Shorouk newspaper quotes Egyptian minister as saying, 'We will not return Egyptian ambassador to Algeria until there is an apology, compensation for damage'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3816413,00.html

Saudia's War on Yemen
Houthi video shows 'Saudi raid' - 06 Dec 09
Yemen's Houthi rebels have released what they say is new footage showing Saudi troops engaged in cross-border raids. Riyadh, however, has denied any incursion into neighbouring Yemen. Saudi Arabia began bombarding suspected Houthi positions earlier this month after they apparently crossed into Saudi territory and seized control of a small area. The Houthis say that the Saudis have been allowing Yemeni troops to use the area to attack their positions. The Shia Muslim Houthi fighters have been battling the government of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni president, since 2004, citing political, economic and religious marginalisation. Saudi officials claim that the fighting in northern Yemen is being supported by Iran and could be helping al-Qaeda fighters to cross to their side of the border. Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hldy8A2Mz3k&feature=youtube_gdata

Is there any Arab country that will stay out of the Yemeni conflict?
"Saudi media sources revealed on Saturday that Jordanian commandos are backing the Saudi army in its operations against Houthis at the Dukhan Mountain."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/12/is-there-any-arab-country-that-will.html

Saudi jets bomb Saudi Arabia--kid you not
"According to the newspaper, the Saudi fighter jets hit over the past three days several buildings in Saudi villages in the southern part of the kingdom, suspected to be used by Houthis in attacking Saudi troops."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/12/saudi-jets-bomb-saudi-arabia-kid-you.html

Other Arab News
Jordan's king to keep democracy on back-burner
Jordan's King Abdullah II, having dissolved an elected, if unlamented, Parliament midway through its term, will probably shy away from genuine political reform, despite promises of a clean vote next time round.The 110-member assembly's abrupt demise last month drew little outcry, perhaps a reflection of widespread public perceptions of malpractice in the 2007 polls that produced it.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=109483

Counting the Cost - Dubai crisis - 4 Dec 09 - Pt 2
Al Jazeera's Kamahl Santa maria in depth analysis from the heart of the Dubai financial crisis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXct2F_N3Pw&feature=youtube_gdata

U.S. and Other World News
The Arab Street - New York - 7 Dec 09 - Pt 1
Muslims serving in the military, America's anti-terrorism laws, job prospects for the young - all issues which excite strong opinions amongst Arab New Yorkers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_q9Dw73EeU&feature=youtube_gdata

The Arab Street - New York - 7 Dec 09 - Pt 2
Muslims serving in the military, America's anti-terrorism laws, job prospects for the young - all issues which excite strong opinions amongst Arab New Yorkers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poaSEmT24X8&feature=youtube_gdata

SuperArab (American): Heroism overlooked, Heinousness publicized
A Media Studies/Current Event litmus test:
1. Heard the story of an Arab who saves a whole coffee shop in Michigan by disarming gunman?
2. Heard the story of an Arab gunman who unloads fire on a military base in Texas?
Which one did you answer affirmative to? Considering the onslaught of op-eds, looped primetime news footage and weekly news magazine covers, I can take a wild stab as to which one.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2009/12/superarab-american-heroism-overlooked-heinousness-publicized.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kabobfest%2FGrillMe+(KABOBfest)

Fabulous Picture Show - The Yes Men Fix the World
Show Description (one paragraph) : Annette K. Olesen and Trine Dyrholm, the director and star of the new Danish film Little Soldier, join Entertainment Editor Amanda Palmer and the FPS audience for a Q+A about the film. Amanda Palmer interviews the director and stars of John Rabe, a new German film about a Nazi who saved 200,000 Chinese civilians during World War 2. Janusz Kaminski, long-time cinematographer for Steven Spielberg, gives a masterclass about his films.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wscWnRRNsk&feature=youtube_gdata

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From: "Today in Palestine!" <tipalestine@...>
Date: Sun Dec 6, 2009 5:58 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines December 6, 2009 ~

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Land Theft and Destruction
Rightists suspected of torching Palestinian property
Police believe extreme right-wing activists set house, two vehicles on fire in West Bank village of Ain Abous. 'We are 12 people in this house. What are we supposed to do now?' asks resident who lost his home.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3815558,00.html

Report: Settlers suspected of torching Palestinian home to avenge freeze
Defense officials believe settlers were behind the torching of a Palestinian home and two vehicles in the West Bank early Sunday, Army Radio reported, in an apparent attempt to avenge a construction freeze in settlements. According to the report, Israeli security forces subsequently searched the area near the home, near Nablus. The incident came shortly before police on Sunday forcibly evacuated about 100 right-wing activists who had blocked roads near the West Bank settlement of Kedumin, in a bid to prevent inspectors from handing out orders to implement a construction freeze.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132923.html

Israel approves plan to construct extra buildings in Buraq plaza
Quds Press reported that the Israeli committee for planning and building in occupied Jerusalem approved last week a plan to build extra buildings in Al-Buraq plaza.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7WRUESuE0HGA4mYkKuiyKmvg3Mv%2fa%2bOdyjWuupHguj9NYN%2f7RvBBTI5Vx7VTkDzo4wxQnORbwA6XvCg%2bjn6jUwBU7SmdZTgiuoTMSile2b3Q%3d

Report on Israeli settlement in the occupied territories Nov - Dec 2009
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has adopted what he describes as "a policy of restraint regarding settlements which will include a suspension of new permits and new construction in Judea and Samaria for a period of ten months," along with "a promise to enable normal life to continue for three hundred thousand Israeli citizens, our brothers and sisters, who live in Judea and Samaria." During this period, construction continues without limitation in East Jerusalem settlements, where 200,000 Israelis now reside (see map, page 3). Construction will continue as well on at least 3,000 West Bank settlement housing units, along with unlimited construction of public facilities, meaning that the rate of settlement expansion will at best be only marginally effected during 2010 by the new policy. "When the suspension ends," continued Netanyahu in his November 25, 2009, announcement, "my government will revert to the policies of previous governments in relation to construction."
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MYAI-7YG72Y?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Settler leader: We will violate building freeze order
The settlers' fight against a 10-month settlement construction freeze declared by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government last month is gaining momentum. Some 200 people, led by Yesha Council chairman Danny Dayan and MKs Tzipi Hotovely and Uri Ariel, convened an emergency meet in the West Bank settlement of Ofra yesterday to raise practical tactics to thwart the freeze.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132926.html

Israeli settlers step up protest against freeze (Reuters)
Reuters - Jewish settlers widened their protests on Sunday against a temporary construction freeze by shooting at a Palestinian home, torching and stoning vehicles, and assaulting Israeli officers in separate West Bank incidents.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091206/wl_nm/us_palestinians_israel_settlements

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Fact sheet: Repression allowed, resistance denied
December 5th, 2009-- This fact sheet is a concise summary of the much longer report, Repression Allowed, Resistance Denied and explains the violent tactics used by Occupation forces against Palestinians who engage in protest against the Wall. This fact sheet covers in brief the main sections of the report, including the history of the popular resistance against the Wall, violent repression of anti-Wall protestors, arrests and detentions, and recommendations for action.
http://stopthewall.org/factsheets/2126.shtml

One beaten and threatened with arrest; al-Ma'sara defies soldiers
December 5th, 2009-- Today, the weekly demonstration against the illegal Apartheid Wall and settlements in al-Ma’sara and the surrounding villages in the south of Bethlehem was met by an unusually high number of soldiers, who had arrived in a military bus and additional jeeps. Minutes after the protestors reached the barbed wire, soldiers grabbed a Palestinian and detained him in a military vehicle, where he was reportedly beaten in the face and chest.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2125.shtml

Youth shot in Ni’lin with live ammunition
December 5th, 2009-- A young man from Ni’lin was shot during yesterday’s demonstration with live ammunition in the groin when soldiers invaded the village. Occupation forces had warned demonstrators that they would use live ammunition if they continued protesting near the Wall, and followed through on their threats again this week.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2124.shtml

Melbourne: Pro-Palestinian demonstrators crash MK Shalom's hotel
Protestors calling for 'liberation of Palestine' and 'end to apartheid Israeli regime burst into Israeli delegation's hotel, contained by local police. Minister tells conference Palestinians delaying peace talks despite Israeli financial assistance.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3815928,00.html

Billboards calling for end to military aid back up in Albequerque
Back in April, after gaining approval for text and design, anti-occupation activists in New Mexico signed a contract with Lamar Advertising to display 10 billboards (pictured at left) for 8 weeks. But after only 3 weeks, and a pressure campaign on Lamar that included personal threats, the billboards all came down. Billboard critics did not like the call for no military aid, and some said that the “Stop Killing Children” message, which referred to the death of some 300 children in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead, was evocative of anti-Semitic blood libel myths. Yet, repeated efforts to alter the text and design to meet the changing standards of Lamar were unsuccessful.
http://www.muzzlewatch.com/2009/12/05/billboards-calling-for-end-to-military-aid-back-up-in-albequerque/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Muzzlewatch+(MuzzleWatch)

If You Support Palestinian Human Rights, Drop Motorola
The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation just released a parody of a Motorola ad that calls attention to the company's profiting from Israel violent repression of the Palestinians. Find out more about their campaign!
http://www.kabobfest.com/2009/12/if-you-support-palestinian-human-rights-drop-motorola.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kabobfest%2FGrillMe+(KABOBfest)

Medea Benjamin: Int’l Participation in Gaza Freedom March Tops 1,000
Over 1,000 delegates from 42 countries have signed up to participate in the December 31 Gaza Freedom March that will mark the one-year anniversary of the Israeli invasion and call for an end to the siege that has brought 1.5 million people to the edge of disaster.
http://bikyamasr.com/?p=6369

Lift the blockade of Gaza
1.5 million Palestinians, the entire population of Gaza, is trapped and being punished for the actions of armed Palestinian groups responsible for rocket fire into southern Israel; this is collective punishment and prohibited under international law. Over 80% depend on food aid. The severity of the situation has increased dramatically since Israel imposed extreme restrictions on the … (read more)
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/petitions/show/299?m=4e0310e5

Will Harper criminalize criticism of Israel?
Ever since the Israeli invasion of the Gaza strip last December the global debate surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has intensified with both sides upping the ante, and the stakes of the framing battle increasing almost daily. One of the most recent — but almost totally unreported — developments in Canada is something called the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism (CPCCA). It is not an official parliamentary body but is a multi-party, voluntary association of 13 MPs. It is currently holding an inquiry into anti-semitism because, it says, “The extent and severity of anti-semitism is widely regarded as at its worst level since the end of the Second World War.”
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/5446

Refugees
Lebanon's Palestinians: refugees for life (AFP)
AFP - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's visit to Beirut on Monday casts the spotlight on the plight of nearly 300,000 Palestinians in Lebanon who fear they are doomed to be refugees for life.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091206/wl_mideast_afp/lebanonpalestinianrefugee

Lebanon's 'non-ID Palestinians': no legal status, no hope
BEIRUT, Dec 6, 2009 (AFP) - Saeed Mohamed Hammo technically does not exist as far as the world is concerned. But as he recounts his life as a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon, his story is very much real. Hammo, 61, is among an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 so-called "non-ID Palestinians" in Lebanon who are considered illegal aliens and who have lived in legal limbo, many of them for decades.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MYAI-7YG3TH?OpenDocument

Abbas in Beirut: Palestinians are guests in Lebanon
Bethlehem – Ma’an – President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated his rejection of resettling Palestinian refugees in Lebanon on Sunday on the first day of a visit to the Arab nation. “The Palestinians are guests in Lebanon until our question is resolved. We will not accept an any homeland other than Palestine,” Abbas said in an interview with the Lebanese daily Al-Liwa that is to be published on Monday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244745

Humanitarian
Egyptian security forces raid tunnel and storehouses in Rafah
Al-Arish – Ma’an – Egyptian security services raided a tunnel and two storehouses holding goods to be smuggled through tunnels into the Gaza Strip, following a security operation on the Egyptian border with Rafah on Saturday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244431

UNRWA Gaza Summer Games 2009
Sporting and cultural activities organized for the traumatized children of the Gaza Strip, by the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) - video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTaMqYLnFKI

A Palestinian Detainee Has No Clothes
West Bank, December 6, 2009 (Pal Telegraph) - A new fact about the Israeli torture in their prisons, the Prisoner's Center for Studies urged the international society to help Somood Karaga, 21, and end her suffering which has been continuing since the last October.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/3059-detainee-karaga-has-no-clothes

Gaza: Sharp Shortage in Cooking Gas
December 6, 2009 (Pal Telegraph) - Sawasiya ,human rights center in Gaza, has warned of Gazans difficult living conditions that would be aggravated if the Israeli occupation continued to block pumping cooking gas. The center said, in a statement on Saturday, that the Israeli occupation prohibits pumping sufficient quantities of cooking gas into Gaza Strip had led many bakeries, factories and greenhouses to close down.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/3049-gaza-sharp-shortage-in-cooking-gas

Prisoner Release
Report: French doctors examined Gilad Shalit
BBC network in Arabic, London-based al-Hayat newspaper say four physicians entered Gaza Strip last week together with German mediator, examined kidnapped Israeli soldier. Hamas has so far refused to allow any foreign elements to visit captive.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3815500,00.html

Political Developments
Netanyahu makes final push to foil Swedish plan to divide Jerusalem
Israel and the Palestinian Authority are each lobbying European Union foreign ministers to adopt its respective position on Sweden's initiative to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of both Israel and Palestine. The proposal is to be discussed Sunday in Brussels at the meeting of foreign ministers of EU member states. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has phoned several European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero, asking them to oppose the plan and to pressure the PA to renew negotiations with Israel.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132936.html

Jordan hails Sweden proposal to divide Jerusalem
Jordan's King Abdullah on Sunday praised the European Union's endeavor to recognize East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133135.html

Former minister asked to convey message to Abbas
Ynet learns Defense Minister Barak sent Saleh Tarif to urge Palestinian president to resume peace talks with Israel. Meanwhile, efforts to convince Palestinian to restart negotiations continue via US and European countries.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3815489,00.html

Jordan: Israeli peace moves insufficient
Jordanian foreign minister says steps taken by Israel are illegal, violate international law
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3815413,00.html

PPP: No constitutional void after Abbas' term ends
Gaza – Ma’an – The PLO will not have to extend President Mahmoud Abbas’ mandate as president when his term ends 24 January 2010, Palestinian People’s Party Secretary-General Bassam As-Salehi said Saturday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244481

Other News
Kedumim: Settlers pelt civil administration cars with eggs
Kedumim residents pelted civil administration inspectors' cars with eggs on Sunday morning, after the officials successfully distributed construction-halt edicts in the West Bank settlement. The inspectors managed to enter the settlement via a neighboring Palestinian village, having been blocked by settlers on previous attempts to enter via Kedumim's main gate last week. The officials left the settlement without further incident, and no arrests were made, Israel Radio reported.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259831469163&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

First five swine flu cases hit Gaza, two people said dead
Five people in the Gaza Strip have been diagnosed with swine flu, the health ministry announced on Sunday, worrying Palestinians who had credited Israel's blockade of the territory with keeping the virus at bay.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1133133.html

Abbas outdoes Obama in number of presidential visits
Bethlehem – Ma’an – President Mahmoud Abbas has outdone US President Barak Obama in the number of international presidential visits in 2009, according to Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper on Saturday. Since he was sworn in on January 20 2009, Obama has made 23 international visits whereas Abbas has made 55 since the beginning of 2009.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244411

Sheikh Salah in court today because of Friday sermon in 2007
Sheikh Ra’ed Salah is expected to stand trial Sunday morning in the Israeli magistrates court on allegations of inciting violence and racism during a Friday Khutba (sermon) he delivered in 2007.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7u%2bpqWAtZT6qci32tyR4YC0tnJNk4PQAmBJwWxjlXHqHMcjX%2fztunJBG7rCiPPaiA%2b5dJGJGIGb01LZxrdoSxMJQ3LyEhy9HmyjKVNbrzGNw%3d

Patriarch of the Syrian Catholic Church heads mass in Bethlehem
Bethlehem – Ma’an – MarMar Ighnatios Youssef III Younan , the Patriarch of the Syrian Catholic Church, headed mass during his visit to the Saint Joseph's Syrian Catholic Church in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, on Saturday. His visit was marked by a parade of Palestinian Scouts and Girl Guides' Organization on the streets of Bethlehem. The Holy Mass was presided by His Beatitude Mar Ighnatios Youssef III Younan at the Syrian Catholic church in Manger Street.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244515

Explaining a vote
"But she raised the ire of some Jewish leaders with just one vote -- her decision to vote "present" on a resolution last January during the Gaza war which backed Israel's right to defend itself and reaffirmed U.S. support for the Jewish state, while also encouraging a "sustainable" cease-fire in Gaza. (Edwards said she voted present because she didn't feel it was appropriate for the U.S. Congress to weigh in on the issue the morning after the United States had voted to abstain on a U.N. resolution calling for a cease-fire, but that she “did not want to send a signal to anyone that it was appropriate to send rockets into Israel.”)"
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/12/explaining-vote.html

Netanyahu embraces settlers as 'brothers'
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embraced West Bank settlers as “brothers” while explaining his decision to slow the expansion of settlements. “The decision was certainly not easy, either for them or for us. It has to do with the heart of the homeland of the Jewish people,” Netanyhu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244683

IDF chief's guard now suspected of 'attempted sodomy'
Court extends Captain A.'s remand by four days at consent of his lawyers, while suspicions against him reduced due to additional findings received over past few days.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3815721,00.html

Jewish boxer 'Star of David' knocked out after 76 seconds
Unbeaten American Jewish boxer Dmitriy Salita was knocked out on Saturday by Muslim boxer Amir Khan, the former WBA light-welterweight champion, after only 76 seconds in the ring.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3815523,00.html

Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest
"If nothing changes-Jerusalem will burn"-Rabbi Arik W. Ascherman
Since December 1, 2009, the explosive settler situation in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of occupied east Jerusalem, has been filled with violent outbreaks and confrontations; between settlers and police and this morning, Israeli police and secret service forces arrested three Palestinians from the neighborhood.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/-If-nothing-changes-Jerusa-by-Eileen-Fleming-091203-762.html

My return to Gaza, and the fears of another intifada
Kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston, who was freed in July 2007 after nearly four months in captivity, reports from Nablus on the brittle peace in the city and the threat of renewed violence if no progress is made towards a Palestinian state
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/06/alan-johnston-return-palestinian-ghosts

Israel should give up Jerusalem as its capital
Forty-two years of Israeli rule over a united city have not been good to it. It has become one of the poorest, dirtiest and most failed cities in Israel, a city abandoned by the secular and the young. Even if the proposed hiatus does not advance peace, it may bring healing to the dying city. And when Jerusalem goes back to being Israel's capital it will also be a city worthy of such standing, a city in which life is good.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132946.html

'The Freeze' is just another scene in Israel's masquerade, Gideon Levy
Like every production, be it a flop or a hit, the future of this show will also be decided by the audience. In the meantime, as the first act shifts into high gear, the viewers are yawning. The government and the settlers are proud to introduce "The Freeze," a show in which both sides play - in quite unconvincing fashion - already scripted parts. During the first act, no real, historic edict has been issued. Rather, these decrees are just props. Thus, nobody will evacuate one balcony in the final scene. The audience is skeptical. It does not believe the prime minister, who speaks of two states and in the same breath vows that the freeze will soon end, as if it were just a temporary shortage of construction materials that caused it.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132944.html

Revealed: The secret war over IDF officers' exorbitant salaries
The Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, has a monthly salary of NIS 68,060; a major general makes NIS 48,265 a month; and a brigadier general makes NIS 39,340 a month. The average monthly salary in Israel is close to NIS 8,000. While questions are occasionally raised as to the disparity between these sums, it appears that there are other potentially highly inflammatory data about military wages that the army is hiding.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132490.html

The State of Yesha heads to battle
The winter festivities are starting. Junctions will be closed, orders will be torn up and scattered to the winds, building inspectors will get beaten up and children's choirs will appear at community centers and belt out "we are here." Thus, the heads of the Yesha settlement government will excoriate the evil rulers. On the other side of the border, in the State of Israel, the defense minister will declare, "we will not allow," and the prime minister will bang on the table and announce that he does not intend to meet with law-breakers.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132947.html

Palestinian Cyber Warfare for a Post Imperial America
Like a moat filled with waters populated by alligators, reptiles and Pro-Israeli lobbyist so are American political leaders separated from following the heart and will of the people. Death of the American soul requires Palestine and the rest of the world to challenge itself, to dig deeply within its own heart and find the courage to formulate new visions in the national paradigms. Ignoring the ever present and looming truths of this day’s realities will not serve us well; rather let us accept the sobering scenario and eventuality, “We Must Save Ourselves!” The mind of the global must evolve from despairing over how bad is the Zionist specter and rather formulate ways to mobilize our collective assets in the advancement of our own agendas.
http://intifada-palestine.com/2009/12/05/palestinian-cyber-warfare-for-a-post-imperial-america/

The IDF can lie and cheat (and most Israelis won’t care)
One of the finest new blogs on the block is Coteret from Israel, news and views rarely heard anywhere else. A recent post highlights comments by Ofer Shelah, Maariv’s defense analyst, on the culture at the IDF. The most moral army in the world? Hardly: Would the IDF chief of staff lie?…It is unlikely that anyone here would feel the need to lie, and it is more unlikely that he would have to pay any price for being caught in a lie. The Israeli public accepted the results of Kafr Kana, the Shehade assassination and Operation Cast Lead with a shrug of the shoulders. The other side is always more vicious, it shoots at civilians deliberately, it hides inside a civilian population. We’ve long since stopped judging ourselves by a moral yardstick, and consider this a demand of a hypocritical and hostile world. Had he lied, nobody would have been outraged. Just as no one was outraged by the speed with which the IDF closed the investigations into wrongful acts in Operation Cast Lead—and today Israel is wracking its brain over the serious ramifications of the Goldstone report. In society’s whining self-perception as victims, a lie by the army is considered justified self defense against the criticism of an anti-Semitic world. [In the IDF] you won’t have to lie, and if you do lie, nobody will demand that you go.
http://antonyloewenstein.com/2009/12/06/the-idf-can-lie-and-cheat-and-most-israelis-wont-care/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antonyloewenstein%2Ffeed+(Antony+Loewenstein)

PALESTINE: Israel and the U.S. Empire
“Becker gives us the most sharply focused and penetrating analysis we have of the real dynamics at work in the continuing persecution of the Palestinian people. The ‘sacred covenant’ of the League of Nations to create a Palestinian state long ago succumbed to the imperial interests of the few who have determined U.S. and Zionist policies toward the domination and exploitation of the larger Middle East and beyond. A consequence has been decades of intolerable violence, cruelty, suffering and falsehood inflicted on Palestine, all failing to crush the indomitable spirit of its people. Becker calls for international unity among all people to end this tragic injustice and the threat of imperialist power it poses to the world at large. Hear his call and join the struggle.”
http://intifada-palestine.com/2009/12/05/palestine-israel-and-the-u-s-empire/

Making art in a world without justice
Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman discusses the politics in and around ‘The Time that Remains’.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=4&article_id=109423

The Choice for Israel – Civil war for peace or the end of Zionism?, Alan Hart
I have been writing about what must happen in America if there is to be more than a snowball's chance in hell of peace on the basis of an acceptable amount of justice for the Palestinians. (The main point I've been making is that unless and until enough Americans are made aware of the truth of history, no American president will have the space to break the Zionist lobby's stranglehold on Congress). In this article, with thanks to an analysis by Israeli historian Zeev Sternhell, I'm looking at what must happen in Israel if the countdown to catastrophe is to be stopped.
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2009/12/05/the-choice-for-israel-%E2%80%93-civil-war-for-peace-or-the-end-of-zionism/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SabbahsBlog+(Sabbah+Report)

The Height of Kitsch, Uri Avnery
QUESTION 1: While the German friendship with us is a moral imperative, does it have to include support for immoral actions?
I have heard more than once the argument: “After the terrible things done by the German people to the Jews, we Germans have no right to criticize the Jewish State. The descendants of the perpetrators cannot criticize the descendants of the victims!” I have said it before: there is something in these sentences that disturbs me very much. Somehow they remind me of the German word Sonderbehandlung (“special treatment”), which has terrible associations. In the concentration camps, it was the code-word for execution. The attitude of the German government towards Israel is a Sonderbehandlung. It, too, says: the Jews are something special. The “Jewish State” must be treated differently than all other states. That is to say, the Jews are different from all other peoples, their state is different from all other states, their morals are different from those of others.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1260035333

Iraq
Saturday: 6 Iraqis Killed, 13 Wounded
Updated at 9:45 p.m. EST, Dec. 5, 2009 At least six Iraqis were killed and 13 more were wounded in attacks across Iraq. Meanwhile, lawmakers have apparently reversed an elections law amendment that had delighted Kurd citizens but enraged their Sunni counterparts; however, a conflicting report notes that a quorum was not reached in parliament, imperiling the passage of the law.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/12/05/saturday-6-iraqis-killed-7-wounded/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+%28Antiwar.com+Original+Articles%29

4 policemen shot dead in west of Baghdad
RAMADI, Iraq, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Gunmen attacked a police checkpoint in west of Baghdad on Sunday, killing four policemen, a provincial police source said. Unidentified gunmen stormed a police checkpoint early in the morning in Abu Ghraib area, some 25 km west of Baghdad and killed four policemen before they fled the scene, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/06/content_12599128.htm

Five people killed in attacks by gunmen in northern Iraq
Five people were killed in three separate attacks carried out by unknown assailants in Iraq's northern Mosul district on Saturday, police said.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1517239.php/Five-people-killed-in-attacks-by-gunmen-in-northern-Iraq

Ex-UN weapons inspector: Iraq war 'illegal
'George W. Bush and Tony Blair's conviction that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was a threat blinded them to the lack of evidence justifying a war to depose him, an ex-UN weapons inspector said Saturday.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=36068

Iraq tribes threaten to boycott vote - 6 Dec 09
As the debate over Iraq's election law continues, tribal leaders in the province of Tikrit, the mainly Sunni hometown of Saddam Hussein, Iraq's former president, say they will boycott the vote if they are not fairly represented. The tribes are powerful, and many say their leaders' engagement in the political process is crucial for stability in Iraq. Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reports from Tikrit, where many Sunnis fear they are being marginalised.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmWC8F1DRpQ&feature=youtube_gdata

Iraq parliament to debate poll law
Discussion takes place amid fears vice-president may use veto to delay legislation.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2009/12/20091264736855678.html

Baghdad's night life falls foul of religious right
Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki accused of colluding with fundamentalists to shut down night clubs. The raids came just before midnight a week ago. At the start of Eid al-Adha, the four holiest days on the Islamic calendar, hundreds of Iraqi police and soldiers stormed each of Baghdad's 300 or so nightclubs. Officers from the most elite units stood outside as soldiers slapped owners' faces, scattered their patrons and dancing girls, ripped down posters advertising upcoming acts, and ordered alcohol removed from the shelves.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/06/iraq-night-life-clampdown-religion

Arrest campaign by U.S. and Iraqi troops in two predominantly Sunni areas
A joint U.S. and Iraqi force made numerous arrests in a fresh campaign of Abu Ghraib, West of Baghdad, and the northern city of Mosul. Both areas are predominantly Sunni Arabs where opposition to U.S. occupation troops and the current government is strong.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\ 2009-12-05\kurd.htm

Ali's odyssey: Escaping death as baby, adopted in Iran and tearful reunion in Iraq
HALABJA, Iraq (AP) — Six families nervously awaited the DNA tests on the young man who returned from Iran. They wondered: Could this be their son who was just an infant in 1988 and somehow lived through a deadly chemical attack by Saddam Hussein's regime? There was absolute silence as the judge announced the lab results. The man, who called himself Ali, was deemed to be the sole surviving child of 58-year-old Fatima Mohammed Salih, who had lost her husband and all her other six children in the poison gas clouds that covered the mostly Kurdish city of Halabja.
http://www.courant.com/news/nation-world/sns-ap-ml-iraq-halabja-reunion,0,4960527.story

Lebanon
US Lawmakers Urge Clinton to Work toward Disarming Hezbollah
05/12/2009 Thirty-one members of the US House of Representatives have urged the Obama administration to work toward disarming Hezbollah and preventing Iran from using the Lebanese group in any confrontation with Israel. In a letter sent to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the lawmakers claimed the US government should ensure greater accountability from the United Nations in enforcing Resolution 1701.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=114117&language=en

Hezbollah Slams US Attempts to Oppose Lebanese Consensus
05/12/2009 Hezbollah condemned on Saturday the American interference in the Lebanese internal affairs and denounced the US attempts to oppose the national consensus in Lebanon. In this context, member of Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Hasan Fadlallah accused some parties of being against understanding among Lebanese although he stressed that there has been consensus on the policy statement among strong parliamentary blocs.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=114119&language=en

Unexploded mines: Lebanon’s hidden horrors
ABATIYEH, LEBANON // Along the imaginary Blue Line that demarcates the border of south Lebanon, military bases squat on the Israeli side, all but touching the rusty wire fence. On the Lebanese side, teams of workers from the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) are clearing a path for a new road through the area Israel withdrew from in 2000. The road is meant to represent progress, allowing UN peacekeepers to work more easily, and farmers to get to coastal towns.
http://www.tayyar.org/Tayyar/News/PoliticalNews/en-US/129045732626081270.htm

A bar in the southern suburbs of Beirut
For the first time in decades, Hizbullah allows for an opening of a pub in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/12/bar-in-southern-suburbs-of-beirut.html

U.S./Other World News
Netanyahu fears encounter with Ahmadinejad In Copenhagen
Prime minister undecided on whether to take part in UN climate conference in Denmark due to Iranian president's participation, high cost of hotel rooms.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3815494,00.html

Queen Rania of Jordan takes on hardliners over honour killings
Queen Rania of Jordan is challenging Islamic hardliners by supporting tougher sentences for men who commit 'honour killings'.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/jordan/6736576/Queen-Rania-of-Jordan-takes-on-hardliners-over-honour-killings.html

Shrinking the War on Terrorism
To understand Barack Obama's Afghanistan decision, it's instructive to go back to one history-shifting sentence, uttered by his predecessor more than eight years ago. It was Sept. 20, 2001. The nation was in agony, and George W. Bush stood before a joint session of Congress, telling Americans where to direct their rage. "Americans are asking, 'Who attacked our country?'" Bush declared early in his remarks. "The evidence we have gathered all points to a collection of loosely affiliated terrorist organizations known as al-Qaeda."
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1945182,00.html

The Arabs, As`ad Abukhalil
I just ordered Eugene Rogan's The Arabs. I love those sweeping history books on the history of the Arabs. But I am critical, as you know by now. I remember when Albert Hourani was spending time at Dartmouth one semester, and he came down to Georgetown and told us about his plans for an upcoming book on the history of the Arabs. I was most excited: especially that he told us about the failings--in his eyes--of Philip Hitti's History of the Arabs. He was right in pointing out that Hitti merely considered the Ottoman Empire to be the "dark ages", unworthy of investigation for Hitti. But when Hourani's book came out, I was most disappointed. It is probably the least impressive book by Hourani. He has nothing new and it is not as well-written as Hitti's, for sure. [continued]
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/12/arabs.html

Afghan rape victim lives in fear - 6 Dec 09
Two-years after she was beaten and raped by eight men, fourteen-year-old Samiya has yet to see justice. Her story stands in contrast to Western claims that the lot of women in Afghanistan has improved since the US-led invasion. Seven of the eight men who attacked Samiya were arrested, but her family believes their daughter's rapists have powerful connections and are looking for revenge. Samiya and he family live in fear and her father, whose story Al Jazeera reported on two years ago, has been imprisoned by a local leader after he sought justice for his daughter. Al Jazeera's Steve Chao has this exclusive report from Afghanistan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at_k5rs-prY&feature=youtube_gdata

Listening Post - Obama and the US media / Iran blogosphere post election
The danger of overheated media debate and rhetoric, the post-election Iran story that is still bubbling over in the blogosphere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=047NyTDwLPo&feature=youtube_gdata

Listening Post - Italian media / Egyptian blogosphere
Silvio Berlusconi, Rupert Murdoch and the media in Italy and an extended interview with renowned blogger Wael Abbas on the Egyptian blogosphere.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpqPxxQBpAM&feature=youtube_gdata

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From: "Today in Palestine!" <tipalestine@...>
Date: Sat Dec 5, 2009 6:12 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines December 5, 2009 ~

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Land Theft and Destruction
B'TselemDocumentary: Settlers and the Olive Harvest 2009
In several events filmed by B'Tselem during October, settlers are seen hampering Palestinians from harvesting olives and stealing their crops. We also hear from the settlers who are involved in these actions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfHCqkbv1gU

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Clashes at Israel's West Bank Barrier
Protesters have clashed with Israeli soldiers during a weekly protest at Israel’s West Bank barrier. Palestinians and international activists threw stones at Israeli troops. They fired back with rounds of tear gas. No injuries were reported but clashes here are becoming more frequent and more violent. Outside a Jewish occupied house, protesters also gathered to pray. In a predominantly Arab neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, protesters said the settler population is growing. The Israeli government says it is enforcing a 10-month settlement freeze and dispatching inspectors.
http://www.euronews.net/2009/12/04/clashes-at-israel-s-west-bank-barrier/

Feature - "Trying To Fill The Hole Our Father Has Left"
As we move into the cold months, many of you in the UK will be looking forward to Christmas. In the Palestinian village of Bi'lin, last weekend marked the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, a time to see family and friends and for people to eat together. But for many Palestinians, the Eid was not so festive. Rajaa Abu Rahmah, aged 19, only has one wish this festive season, to see her father freed from prison.
http://www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk/article/feature-trying-fill-hole-our-father-has-left

Gaza Freedom March less than one month away
The Gaza Freedom March that will take place in Gaza on 31 December is an historic initiative to break the siege that has imprisoned the 1.5 million people who live there. Conceived in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and nonviolent resistance to injustice worldwide, the march will gather people from all over the world to march -- hand in hand -- with the people of Gaza to demand that the Israelis open the borders.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10927.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

Abunimah: There is a tremendous struggle to be waged, to force Israeli introspection, and change
Nearly two weeks ago we reported on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions conference at Hampshire College in Massachusetts, the highlight of which was a speech by Ali Abunimah. We posted video, and kept promising to get a transcript up. What follows is text of the body of Abunimah’s November 21 speech. We have left out the humorous opening, about Prilosec, and the Q-and-A (which is also gripping).

http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/abunimah-there-is-a-tremendous-struggle-to-be-waged-that-will-force-israeli-introspection-and-change.html

Adalah-NY: At Leviev Store, Protesters Tell Business Leaders “No Business as Usual with Apartheid Israel”
New York, NY, December 4, 2009 – 25 New York City human rights advocates caught the Israel Business Leaders Delegation to the United States by surprise this morning with a noisy protest outside their “breakfast reception amidst the Leviev jewelry collection” at the Leviev store on Madison Avenue. Groups worldwide have conducted a successful campaign for the boycott of Leviev’s companies due to their involvement in Israeli settlement construction in violation of international law, and human rights abuses in the diamond industry in Angola.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/12/9592?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+(International+Solidarity+Movement)

I told my congressman, ‘keep the child’s picture in your desk and look at it the next time there’s a vote on Gaza’
Susan Johnson blogs under the name above. She visited Gaza last May-June and was finally able to get a meeting with her congressman, a PA Democrat who was not present for the recent vote condemning the Goldstone Report. Johnson wishes to keep his name out of her account in the hope that she can continue the dialogue.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/i-told-my-congressman-keep-the-childs-picture-in-your-desk-and-look-at-it-the-next-time-theres-a-vote-on-gaza.html

Why Gush Shalom won't end the Barkan boycott - Adam Keller
Gush Shalom, the Israeli Peace Bloc, has rejected the demand of Barkan Wineries to remove the company's name from Gush's list of settlement products, the movement said in a statement. A Gush Shalom representative told the company that as long as it continues to maintain vineyards on the Golan Heights, which is an occupied territory, Gush will continue to regard it as a settlement company, despite its having completely removed its plant from the industrial zone of the Barkan settlement from which the vineries originally derived their name.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244099

Pro-Apartheid
Propaganda disguised as academic inquiry at the University of Illinois
Chancellor Richard Herman of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently resigned due to his cooperation with political influence-peddlers seeking to gain admission for less qualified but privileged applicants. But Herman also participated in a more acceptable form of political corruption -- publicly displayed with the invocation of high principle -- in his cooperation with the Israel lobby in opposition to the British boycott of Israeli academics, and in the funding of the Israel Studies Project at the Urbana campus. David Green writes for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10928.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

Humanitarian
Morgantini: Israel Must End Siege, Appear Before ICJ
RAMALLAH December 2, 2009 (WAFA)- The former Vice-President of the European Union, Louisa Morgantini, said that Israel must end the siege on the Gaza Strip and that it is necessary that it appears before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). She told WAFA after a press conference held on the occasion of launching the launch of the book, 'Palestine’s Guernica', that Israel must cease all forms of settlement activities because they are is completely illegal, and that its decision to halt settlement activities for a period of ten months is not serious. She stated that Israel uses this method to gain more time, where it continues to throw many families in Sheikh Jarrah and other parts of East Jerusalem out of their homes, and continues the demolition of houses.
http://english.wafa.ps/?action=detail&id=13452

Israel closes sole oil and gas terminal on Gaza border
Israel has closed the Nahal Oz crossing into Gaza for security reasons. Host to the sole oil and gas terminal serving Gaza, it's also the site of several recent militant attacks.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1204/p06s04-wome.html

'No change in Gaza policy'
GAZA: A planned prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, will result in no change in Israel's policy over its siege of the Palestinian territory, Haaretz newspaper reported yesterday. It quoted highly-placed Israeli political and security sources as making it certain that Israel would not change its mind over its blockade on Gaza due to a potential prisoner exchange deal. However, the Israeli newspaper failed to reveal any further details in this respect.
http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=MTE1NjU4OTM3NQ==

B'Tselem Documentary: Effects of Ariel's sewage outflow on Palestinian Village
The Palestinian City of Salfit in the West Bank is affected by the sewage which flows from the neighbouring Israeli Settlement of Ariel. This waste includes industrial and chemical residues from the industrial area of the Settlement. This impacts on the quality of the agricultural land in the surrounding area. The Ariel Municipality has refused to build a treatment plant to purify the effluent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPxLBzJjR9Y

Al Mezan condemns killing of woman from Shati’ refugee camp; Calls for perpetrators to be brought to justice
At approximately 2:20pm on Friday 27 November 2009, the body of a woman (R.S.), 29, was admitted to Shifa Hospital. According to medical sources, the woman had been strangled to death. Police are investigating the murder and have arrested relatives of the victim in connection to the incident. According to the same source, claims have been made that the murder was 'honour related.' The victim was murdered three days before her wedding was due to take place.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MUMA-7YF8C4?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Gazans fleeced in investment scam - 5 Dec 09
Underground tunnels in the Gaza Strip are the only way for millions of dollars worth of essential supplies to get past Israel's siege of the coastal territory. But it has now emerged that at least 40,000 Gazans have lost their life savings in scheme that promised up to 50 per cent profits in return for an investment in tunnel trading. Hamas, which has de facto control of Gaza, returned a fraction of the $100m that disappeared through the scheme, and has said that is investigating the fraud. However, with hundreds of middlemen as yet unpunished and many of them rumoured to have had links to Hamas, the duped Gazans say that more should be done. Al Jazeera's Zeina Awad reports from Gaza.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79CK26zlbhY&feature=youtube_gdata

Aggression and Violence
Rafah under attack
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) and Israeli gunboats fired at Rafah homes and Palestinian fishing boats south of the Gaza Strip on Saturday, local sources reported.

http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7Xp9V0kwKObSNUoqhugZEj5C6XPaTcbM%2fwK%2bBhQoQw%2fml3QcvgxwjPq2nfiR2RO1zYJVz0tarXXK3WSf3zkyoSC6LckYbcC4yNmUemYQeIPw%3d

The IOA bans Athan in the Ibrahimi mosque, tears copies of Quran in Al-Khalil
The directorate of Awkaf (endowment) in the West Bank city of Al-Khalil has accused the Israeli occupation authorities of banning the Athan in the Ibrahimi Mosque more than 48 times in November.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7mxGLSn0NsEosWMUFHt6Zje4CFD1BJrDwamPIb2%2buWACdRxNIq5lz2RQiYOwiQkUSIEbm7XlP1g%2bmQHgQC8PmBNgnnr%2fOanlQBtnoaf0P%2fc4%3d

Soldiers Invade Nur Shams Refugee Camp, Kidnap One Youth, Elderly Man Wounded Near Tulkarem
Israeli soldiers invaded on Friday at dawn the Nur Shams Refugee Camp, near the northern West Bank City of Nablus, broke into several homes and kidnapped one youth. A 75-year-old man moderately wounded in a separate attack near Tulkarem.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57305

Five Palestinians Wounded Near Nablus
Palestinian medical sources reported that five Palestinians were wounded, on Friday morning, by settlers and soldiers fire in Aseera Al Qibliyya town, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Local sources reported that at least 30 armed settlers invaded the town and attacked a number of villagers while plowing their lands in Al Thaher area.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57304

Resistance
Palestinian resistance confront IOF incursion
Palestinian resistance fighters confronted on Thursday night an attempt by IOF troops to infiltrate an area east of the Breij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7%2fMP73ZkmfhUpFRIoMUnQ5PUXpnbwSUHsmXvZIHZlLDF7Ho4JyEvBtI9f%2fo16XTjOpl8M43dBXt4yjwxTjEJTNA%2b1%2ff0xzag0s3ibNFS0Was%3d

Other Violence
Renewed clashes reported in Jerusalem refugee camp
Jerusalem – Ma'an – Clashes renewed on Friday in the Ras Khamis neighborhood in Shufat refugee camp on Friday, onlookers said. Anwar Gheith, 42, died of a gunshot wound to the chest during an incident between the Abu Srour and Abu Asab families two days earlier at the northern Jerusalem refugee camp.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244305

Prisoner Release
Hamas must say NO to proposed deportation of prisoners
Hamas, is conducting exhaustive negotiations to conclude a prisoner-exchange accord but Israel is insisting that an undisclosed number of the would-be released prisoners be deported.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7gI1QzS5sKwmE%2btESS4e3Nc6Pk2iQKwtRhB2mB1Gux02fQqD%2bqfJsNUD1d25niIfYk1F92SpwUNGDVH%2f6uAYFDIDuk8wngHUaZYDej%2bNq%2b%2fg%3d

Israeli stalling over prisoners blocking swap deal - Hamas
Israeli objections to releasing certain prisoners are blocking a swap deal in which an Israeli soldier captured three years would be freed, an official of the Palestinian movement Hamas said Friday.The deal is supposed to see the exchange of hundreds of Palestinians, including 450 chosen by Hamas, for soldier Gilad Shalit.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=109460

Erekat: Don't link Shalit swap to Fatah-Hamas schism
A deal for the release of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit should be viewed as entirely unrelated to the bitter divide between Palestinian movements Hamas and Fatah, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Thursday. "Finalizing the deal is a popular and national demand and it should be isolated from any political disputes among the Palestinian factions," the Chinese news agency Xinhua quoted Erekat as saying.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132789.html

Political Developments
ANALYSIS / As Shalit deal nears, Abbas ups demands on Israel
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' refusal to resume negotiations with Israel is not surprising. With Israel drawing closer to Hamas via negotiations for the release of imprisoned soldier Gilad Shalit, Abbas wants to show he is no less a Palestinian patriot than Khaled Meshal or Ismail Haniyeh. As they extort hundreds of jailed terrorists from Israel in exchange for one captive soldier, Abbas is hardening his stance, demanding that Israel stop building in East Jerusalem and publicly attacking U.S. President Barack Obama for "not doing anything for peace."
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132550.html

Abbas to lobby Arab states for UN recognition
Bethlehem – Ma'an – President Mahmoud Abbas will depart this week on a tour of Arab countries seeking support for efforts to establish a state unliterary, sources said on Friday. The president's tour is expected to include Lebanon, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244282

EU delegation to visit Palestine
Bethlehem - Ma'an - A nine-strong delegation of members of the European Parliament's committee for relations with the Palestinian Legislative Council is scheduled to travel to the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip next week. The delegation is expected to assess the main obstacles to the currently-stalled peace process, concentrating on settlements, evictions and house demolitions, Jerusalem's status and intra-Palestinian reconciliation.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244310

Riz Khan - The one or two state debate
After almost two decades of various peacemaking initiatives, there appears to be no end in sight to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. About half a million Israelis have moved to the West Bank since 1967 and Palestinians fear the growing settlements, along with accompanying roads, infrastructure and military installations will make a viable Palestinian state impossible. Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's foreign minister, has said he believes that a comprehensive peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians is already impossible. Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, is a prisoner to the power struggle with rival group Hamas, who took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, leaving him only in control of the West Bank. Some Palestinians and Israelis are now arguing that the only practical solution to the conflict is the so-called one-state solution, where both sides agree to citizenship and equal rights in a state that covers all of historic Palestine, without regard to ethnicity or religion. On Wednesday, Anand Naidoo spoke to two Palestinians with opposing takes on the issue. Ghassan Khatib is a former Palestinian minister who currently heads the Palestinian Government Media Centre. He was a member of the Madrid Peace Delegation from 1991 to 1993. Ali Abunimeh is the co-founder of the website "Electronic Intifada", and author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbeK3_sTsJU&feature=youtube_gdata

Other News
Aqsa Brigades boycott Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiya
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Fatah's armed wing called for the boycott of the Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya satellite networks for their failure to cover the detention of Al-Aqsa Brigades spokesman Khaled Al-Jabari, known as "Abu Al-Walid."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244267

Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest
Human currency
"We do not negotiate with terrorists" -- a long-cherished mantra of Western democracies. In reality all the major powers have at some stage been forced to discuss with militants, from Northern Ireland to Iraq. Now Israel seems on the verge of granting their fiercest enemies Hamas a major coup with the mooted release of up to 1,000 prisoners. What message does this send? Kieron Monks comments for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10929.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

There are settlers in Hebron because Israel wants them there
I’ve been to al-Khalil a number of times. I’m intentionally using the Arabic name for the city because every time I’ve visited it has been to the areas populated by Palestinians. I’ve visited on my own, with Palestinian friends and with the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) who maintain a presence in the old city. Every visit is a new lesson in the occupation.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/there-are-settlers-in-hebron-because-israel-wants-them-there.html

A Day in Palestine
December 3, 2009 passes, just another day among 365 days of the year. But no day here is boring. I videotape at length (mostly for another project) but put a tiny bit on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QImBLtYNXW0 ) to give you a visual to accompany this description since I am still experimenting with video productions but hopefully will get better with time. Anyway, here are some of the events and interactions...
http://intifada-palestine.com/2009/12/04/a-day-in-palestine/

Donna Edwards might face AIPAC-backed challenger
Donna Edwards, the star congresswoman from the Maryland suburbs of D.C. who took a brave stand on the Gaza slaughter, is being primaried by another black politician, this one likely to earn the backing of the traditional Israel lobby. So reports JTA/Washington Post: Glenn F. Ivey, a county prosecutor, could get big money from the AIPAC forces, while Edwards would have to turn to the J Street crowd, that is, that part of the J Street crowd that will get behind her. A "proxy battle" for the two branches of the lobby. Yes, and where is the American interest? You’d think this might be an opportunity for journalists to explore that tender but crucial question: how much of the money in Democratic Party politics comes from Jews? And how controlling is the Israel question for those givers?
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/donna-edwards-might-face-aipac-backed-challenger.html

Gideon Levy remembers Amos Elon, slams Israeli Media @NYU 11/18/09
Israeli journalist Gideon Levy calls Amos Elon's warnings about the Occupation as "nothing but prophecy." He goes on to denounce the Israeli media's "collaboration in the Occupation" and offers a scathing critique of Israeli society. From the NYU Center for Law and Security's memorial event for Elon on 11/18/09.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQuCfl8D5vs

Realist suggests that Israel, ala Crusaders, will be ’strong today, gone tomorrow’
Further evidence of Israel’s crisis of Iegitimacy can be read in a Realist/Israel-chauvinist piece at Foreign Affairs arguing that Israel is in danger of losing its aura of military invincibility; and when that happens no Arab country will have any realistic incentive to accept its existence. So it had better find another modus-vivendi than threat and invasion, and soon. Writes Ariel Ilan Roth.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/realist-suggests-that-israel-ala-crusaders-will-be-strong-today-gone-tomorrow.html

Defamation
In its breezy fashion, “Defamation’’ tries to separate the warp of anti-Semitism (i.e., Jews are bad) from the weft of Zionist criticism (i.e., Israel is capable of doing bad things). The first is a wholly untenable position while the second should at least be open to argument, but Shamir sees an unofficial culture of conspiracy dedicated to silencing dissent. Who’s running this show? Right-wing hawks in the Israeli government and American Jews “who are warmongers from Martha’s Vineyard, from the Hamptons, from Beverly Hills.’’ That last quote comes from Finkelstein, whose controversial writings (his latest book is “Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History’’) have lost him a professorship at DePaul and the ability to enter Israel legally, and it dovetails with sequences of Foxman’s wealthy backers, who seem entitled and self-absorbed rather than fanatical.
http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2009/12/04/defamation_covers_heated_ground/

Obama & Palestine
The peace process in Palestine is a total wreck. Every proposal has been torn to shreds by Israel by simply continuing to build new settlements on lands that would belong to a sovereign Palestine in any two-state solution.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/12-obama+palestine--bi-05

Profile of an extremist
Daniel Pinner, whose monolo gue follows, lives in the settlement of Kfar Tapuah, which was founded in 1978 by a core group of members of Moshav Bareket belonging to the Hapoel Hamizrachi movement and is defined as a "religious communal" settlement. In 1990 Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane (the son of Meir Kahane, founder of the extreme right-wing Kach party, which was banned in 1994) moved there; he was murdered, together with his wife Talia in 2001, in a shooting on a highway south of the settlement of Ofra. Following the younger Kahane, others identified with the Kach movement moved to Tapuah. He headed a yeshiva there, and the entire settlement became known for its extremism.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132531.html

Iraq
Friday: 4 Iraqis Killed, 6 Wounded
Updated at 4:13 p.m. EST, Dec. 4, 2009 At least four Iraqis were killed today and six more were wounded in the latest attacks. With many Iraqi politicians still on holiday, Parliamentary speaker Iyad al-Samarrai fears that a lack of a quorum will prevent discussion of the elections law impasse. Also, Lt. Gen. Sir Anthony Pigott, former deputy chief of the defense staff, testified at a British inquiry, stating that U.S. forces were premature in declaring victory in Iraq.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/12/04/friday-1-iraqi-killed-2-wounded/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

Iraq: Gunman killed, another wounded in Ninewa blas
A gunman was killed and another wounded while planting an improvised explosive device (IED) on a main road south of Mosul city on Friday, a local police source said.
http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=122947

Iraqi counterterror chief falls to his prey (AP)
AP - He compared al-Qaida in Iraq to wolves, urging that the terrorist group be crushed since he believed its members would never reject violence. But the wolves got to the Iraqi counterterrorism officer first.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091204/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_insurgent_fighter

Iraq buys border security system for Iran, Syria frontiers (AFP)
AFP - Iraq has bought a 49-million-dollar border surveillance system to better secure its porous frontiers with neighbouring Iran and Syria, the US military said on Friday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091204/wl_mideast_afp/iraqsyriairansecurityborderus

Iranian group: Health care blocked at Iraq camp (AP)
AP - Members of an Iranian opposition group claimed Friday that Iraqi authorities are limiting their access to outside health care at a camp in northern Iraq where they have been under watch since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091204/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

Over 900 people on death row in Iraq face imminent execution
The Iraqi authorities must immediately stop the executions of more than 900 people on death row who have exhausted their legal appeals and could be put to death at any time, Amnesty International said. The prisoners, who include 17 women, are said to have had their death sentences ratified by the Presidential Council, the final step before executions are carried out. At least 120 people are known to have been executed in Iraq so far this year.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/over-900-people-death-row-iraq-face-imminent-execution-20091204

The Day AIDS Arrived at My Hospital
Following World Aids Day, an Iraqi doctor recalls his unsettling first encounter with the disease in sanctions-stricken Baghdad. By Alaa Yousif in Erbil (ICR No. 314, 4-Dec-09)

http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-358009

An Eid Prayer for Peace in Baghdad
Festival of sacrifice makes Iraqi journalist yearn for better times. By Mohammed Furat in Baghdad (ICR No. 314, 4-Dec-09)

http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-358007

Images of Eid
With the improved security situation, many Iraqis took to the roads to spend festival with family and friends. (ICR No. 314, 4-Dec-09)
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-357998

Lebanon
Lebanon's Hariri to visit Syria
BEIRUT — Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Friday he will be visiting long-time foe Syria after parliament grants his government a vote of confidence, but gave no date for the trip. "I will be going on a tour after the vote of confidence, and Syria will be part of that tour," Hariri told reporters in Beirut ahead of Thursday's vote in parliament.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gnUoSD4ClB_qoYo46OD4YJHbt7Uw

U.S./Other World News
Inside Iraq with As`ad Abukhalil--Afghanistan - the new Iraq? 4 Dec 09
We ask whether Obama's new military strategy is destined to fail
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBwzrCERJTc&feature=youtube_gdata

US occupation forces launch huge Afghan offensive
US Marines and Afghan troops have launched the first offensive since President Barack Obama announced an American troop surge. Maj. William Pelletier, a US military spokesman, said about 1,000 Marines as well as Afghan troops launched Operation Cobra’s Anger early Friday in the northern part of Helmand province.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/11-us-marines-launch-huge-afghan-offensive--il--01

Travelling by road in Afghanistan 'now more dangerous than under Taliban'
Britain's most senior commander in Helmand has admitted.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/6718217/Travelling-by-road-in-Afghanistan-now-more-dangerous-than-under-Taliban.html

The Regional Alternative to Escalation in Afghanistan: Children Afraid of the Night
More US troops are being prepared for Afghanistan. The President charged them with (1) defeating or degrading the Taliban; (2) building the Afghan National Army. We have thrown in our lot with Hamid Karzai's government. Its association with warlords is uncontestable (his own brother is an opium kingpin). Our enemy is the Taliban, which recruits a family each time we accidentally kill one civilian. And we have offered the coldest shoulder to the forces of progress, like the former parliamentarian Malalai Joya (one of the first acts of the Karzai government in 2002 was to ban the communists, and he has himself refused to create the kind of political parties that might undermine warlordism). Obama's enunciated goals seem impossible. Departure in 2011 is a chimera; it is thrown like magic to assuage those with anxiety about a long-term commitment. Withdrawal will be silenced by the monstrous anger of guns.
http://www.counterpunch.com/prashad12042009.html

Man who left water for immigrants faces prison
A judge has threatened to sentence an Arizona man to 25 days in prison for leaving jugs of water in the desert for illegal immigrants.

A federal jury in June convicted Walt Staton of Tucson of littering in the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. In August, a judge ordered Staton to pick up trash for 300 hours and also sentenced him to a year of unsupervised probation and banned him from the refuge for a year.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/12/04/national/a174204S65.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0YmGAquOD

Chomsky: the ‘unipolar moment’ is working out fine for ‘the satisfied nations’
Chomsky took up a major theme of Said’s writings. In the big constellation, Enlightenment/Rationalism/Liberalism/Democratic Values, a missing word and concept that should be understood to accompany the others is Imperialism. He addressed "the unipolar moment," which started in 1989 with the end of Soviet Communism and the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. The self-congratulatory tone of recent commemorations of November 1989 tended to make people forget certain other stopping points on the way to unchallenged U.S. hegemony. A short survey followed of the destructiveness of the "settler colonialism" that cleared North America of its indigeneous peoples. J.Q. Adams spoke out clearly of the policy as "perfidious" and regretted "the heinous sins of this nation" against "that hapless race." The equinamity, by contrast, of the mainstream wisdom now is epitomized by J.L. Gaddis: "expansion is the path to security."
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/chomsky-the-unipolar-moment-is-working-out-fine-for-the-satisfied-nations.html

America's regression, Glenn Greenwald
With these new numbers, it's virtually impossible to find a country with as high a percentage of torture supporters as the U.S. has. In Iran, for instance, only 36% believe that torture can be justified in some cases, while 43% believe all torture must be strictly prohibited. Similarly, 66% of Palestinians, 54% of Egyptians, and over 80% of Western Europeans believe torture is always wrong. The U.S. has a far lower percentage than all of those nations of individuals who believe that torture should always be prohibited. At least on the level of the citizenry (as opposed to government), we're basically the leading torture advocacy state in the world.
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2009/12/03/torture/index.html

O=W
"O=W" is a bumper sticker beginning to show up on liberals’ cars. After the president’s speech Tuesday night at West Point, I suspect it will spread rapidly. For eight years, conservatives endured the agony of watching President George W. Bush attach the label "conservative" to a host of policies that were anti-conservative: Wilsonian wars, American empire, vast budget and trade deficits, increased entitlements, and the subordination of America’s interests to those of foreign powers. Now the shoe is on the other foot, and liberals are bidden to hold their tongues as President Obama makes Bush’s wars his own. The usual Washington sellout is in gear.
http://original.antiwar.com/lind/2009/12/04/o-equals-w/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

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From: "Today in Palestine!" <tipalestine@...>
Date: Fri Dec 4, 2009 3:47 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines December 4, 2009 ~

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Land Theft and Destruction
Knesset bill would unfreeze settlement blocs

Bethlehem – Ma'an – Knesset members from Israel's Likud and Kadima parties will draft a resolution to exclude large settlement blocs from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's partial settlement freeze, the Hebrew-language daily Ma'ariv reported Thursday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244130

EU report says Israel illegally annexing east Jerusalem (AFP)
AFP - In a confidential report obtained by AFP on Thursday, the European Union accused Israel of actively pursuing the annexation of Arab east Jerusalem and undermining hopes for peace with Palestinians.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091203/wl_mideast_afp/mideastdiplomacyisraeleu

Israel defends refusal to evacuate outposts
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israel's government argued on Thursday that it lacks mechanisms for dismantling illegal settlement outposts, blaming the manpower shortage to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's partial settlement freeze.   The response came after Palestinians and Peace Now petitioned Israel's High Court over the government's refusal to evacuate outposts.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244166

Settlers Reject Netanyahu Plea To Reduce Tensions
West Bank settler leaders rejected a personal plea from the prime minister to respect a government-ordered construction freeze in their communities, vowing to keep confronting security forces sent to enforce the edict.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121052545&ft=1&f=1009

IDF fears settlers may attack Palestinians in response to freeze
Israel Defense Forces officers in the West Bank have expressed concerned that settlers may escalate their acts of opposition to the freeze on settlement construction by targeting the Palestinian population.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132752.html

Amid military fears of settler violence, villagers report attack
Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli settlers from the Yitzhar colony near Nablus attacked homes in the village of Asira, targeting two families on Friday, an official said. Gassan Doughlas, in charge of the settlements file for the northern West Bank, told Ma'an that the homes of Jamal Yousif and Ahmad Dauod were surrounded by settlers who carried weapons and threw stones.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244251

New Construction in East Jerusalem: What It Really Means
If realized, these plans would connect Israeli Jerusalem to the Gush Etzion settlements. At the same time, the swath of Israeli neighborhoods on the South East would join the neighborhoods that close on Jerusalem from the North and North East, thus cutting a major territorial bridge between the future Palestinian state and East Jerusalem. Like the Palestinians, the US, UN and the Europeans all understand the real nature of the construction in Gilo and the neighboring areas. They know it violates the outlines for a future Palestinian states as drawn at Camp David, Taba, and the recent negotiations between Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian President Abas. They know it would undermine any future peace agreement. This is why they object and protest.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ir-amim/new-construction-in-east_b_371543.html

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Anti-wall protester shot in Nil'in
Ni'lin - Ma'an - Israeli forces shot a Palestinian teenager with live fire during a weekly anti-wall protest in the village of Ni'lin on Friday. Two medics said the 19-year-old, identified as Hasan Khaled Nafa, was shot in the right groin by a "tutu" bullet. A third medic said the ammunition was a ".22 sniper bullet."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244230

One injured and dozens suffers effects of tear gas at the weekly Nil'in protest
One civilians sustained moderate wounds as others treated for tear gas inhalation when Israeli troops attacked on Friday the weekly anti wall protest in the village of Nil'in, central West Bank.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57300

Bil’in residents demonstrate in support of recent Swedish initiative calling for a Palestinian state
Residents of Bil’in village, central West Bank, alongside international and Israeli solidarity activists, demonstrated on Friday against the Wall after the midday prayer. Many suffered from tear-gas inhalation, as the Israeli armed forces fired upon protestors as they approached the illegal Wall.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57301

Night raids conducted by Israeli forces resume in the village of Bil’in: One Palestinian resident arrested
Night raids, conducted by the Israeli army as a part of the ongoing arrest campaign in an attempt to crush the popular struggle against the Apartheid Wall and settlements in the Palestinian village of Bil’in have resumed in the early hours of Thursday, 3 December. At 2am, approximately 20 soldiers invaded the village on foot from the direction of the Apartheid Wall and broke into the house of Rani Najar, without issuing any prior warning. The soldiers handcuffed all men living in the house and detained them in a separate room. They then proceeded to arrest Rani (23), who had only returned from Jordan the previous day. Female members of the family who came to help Rani were violently pushed away, and, as the soldiers exited the house, they also failed to remove handcuffs from the earlier detained men.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/12/9565?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+(International+Solidarity+Movement)

Columbia Sportswear agrees to ‘immediately and permanently discontinue’ ad campaign marketing to settlers
Columbia Sportswear and our Israeli distributor have agreed to immediately and permanently discontinue the ad, as well as to reinforce our standard pre-approval practices pertaining to all marketing materials in order to avoid such unfortunate errors in the future.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/columbia-sportswear-agrees-to-immediately-and-permanently-discontinue-ad-campaign-marketing-to-settlers.html

Must watch this video: The calm logic of the BDS movement
This website regularly discusses the importance of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. A recent debate took place at Columbia University between George Fletcher, Cardozo Professor of Jurisprudence at Columbia Law School and author of Rethinking Criminal Law, and Omar Barghouti, Palestinian human rights activist and founding member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and of the Palestinian Civil Society Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. It’s a fascinating exchange. Fletcher seems completely out of his depth, citing virtually no facts about human rights abuses in Israel and Palestine. Barghouti is a model of calm and rationality.
http://antonyloewenstein.com/2009/12/04/the-calm-logic-of-the-bds-movement/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antonyloewenstein%2Ffeed+(Antony+Loewenstein)

An open call for volunteer researchers and writers!
In 2005, over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations united behind a call to the world to impose Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) on Israel until it complies with international law. Now, the Palestinian BDS Campaign National Committee (BNC) is calling on YOU to write for the BDS campaign! The BDS National Committee (BNC) is calling on volunteer researchers and writers to assist with researching and writing BDS statements, press releases and letters of support.
http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/2122.shtml

Humanitarian
Despair, frustration dominate Palestinian mood one year after Gaza war
Despair and frustration is mounting in the impoverished Gaza Strip, one year after the Israeli military offensive in Gaza ended with more than 1,400 Palestinians killed and thousands of buildings destroyed., The general mood of the Gaza population has become down as nothing positive has moved to end their suffering as the result of the massive Israeli offensive as well as a 3-year Israeli blockade.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6831486.html

Hamas slams Israel, says blockade on Gaza is political
GAZA, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic Hamas movement on Friday slammed Israeli decision to keep the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip even after captive Israeli soldier in Gaza is getting released, saying the blockade is political. Israel and Hamas movement are holding talks through German mediators to finalize a prisoners' swap deal and release Shalit for around 1,000 Palestinian prisoners that Hamas is demanding their release.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/04/content_12590683.htm

Refugees
Abbas to discuss refugees' plight with Sleiman during visit
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will make a brief visit to Lebanon next week for talks with President Michel Sleiman on relations and the plight of Palestinian refugees, officials said Thursday.A Lebanese official who did not wish to be identified toldAFPthat during Monday's expected one-day visit, Abbas will also discuss the Middle East peace process.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=109411

Palestinian kids with disabilities 'entitled to education'
Palestinian refugee children with disabilities have a right to education and social integration, NGOs, social workers and representatives of international humanitarian organizations stressed on Thursday.A roundtable discussion titled "The Right to Education for Children Palestinian Refugees with Disabilities" was organized in the southern coastal city of Tyre by World Vision.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=109406

War Criminals
Goldstone wins Swedish prize
Judge who led controversial Gaza war inquiry honored with human rights award.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3814959,00.html

Report finds new Israeli war doctrine targets civilians
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) released today [2 December 2009] a new report which exposes the shifts in Israel's combat doctrine as evidenced in the prosecution of operation "Cast Lead" and from numerous public oral and written statements made by high ranking military officers and senior Israeli government officials.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10926.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

This is Mossad propaganda
This so-called new "war doctrine" is a Mossad propaganda that is intended to scare Arabs. Ignore it and don't take it seriously. Israel had more than 60 years to experiment with "war doctrine" and one after the other has failed to dislodge Palestinian and Arab resistance to Israel. Just because Israel is desperate because its years are numbered does not mean that its propaganda campaigns should not be exposed for what they are.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/12/this-is-mossad-propaganda.html

Political Developments
Hamas confirms: We consulted Hezbollah on Shalit deal
A senior Hamas official confirmed on the group's official website on Thursday reports that a Hamas delegation had consulted with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on the issue of a possible prisoner exchange deal with Israel, Israel Radio reported.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132615.html

Report: Mediators seek to lower Hamas demands for Shalit swap
The German mediators overseeing negotiations between Israel and Hamas hope to convince the Islamist group to reduce the number of prisoners it is demanding be released in exchange for abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, the London-based daily Al-Hayyat reported on Friday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132789.html

In Israel, sentiment mixed on negotiations for Gilad Shalit release
Many Israelis have rallied around a Gilad Shalit release deal, but critics say an exchange of the captured soldier for Palestinian prisoners could cause new wave of violence.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1203/p06s16-wome.html

U.S., Arab states press Abbas to stay on as president of PA
The United States and several Arab states are pressing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to remain in office until new PA elections are called, in order to prevent a power vacuum that could result in the West Bank falling to Hamas.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132627.html

PNC chief applauds EU's Jerusalem proposal
Bethlehem – Ma’an – The head of the Palestinian National Council, Salim Az-Za’nun, welcomed in a statement on Thursday the EU's move toward recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state. The suggestion was approved during a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers on this week. Az-Za'nun added that "this move is in the right direction and a victory for international legitimacy and a factor that will encourage stability in the region when Israel abides by other international resolutions concerning not changing the demographic features of Jerusalem ... [and] the return of the refugees, dismantling settlements and the wall."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244113

Deputy PLC speaker: Disunity serves Israel
Ramallah – Ma’an – Deputy PLC speaker Hasen Khreisha told Ma’an on Thursday that “the more the Palestinian dispute continued the cheaper the political price Israel will pay to solve the Palestinian cause and to end the occupation.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244157

Fatah, Hamas trade accusations over mutual arrests
GAZA, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic Hamas and Fatah movements traded on Friday accusations over carrying out mutual arrests against each other's members in Gaza and the West Bank. Fatah movement's armed wing al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said in a statement sent to the press that security forces that belong to Hamas Interior Ministry arrested several members of the armed wingin Gaza. The statement said Hamas forces kidnapped a top militant of al-Aqsa and took him for interrogation, adding that the fate of the arrested militant is still unknown.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/04/content_12590978.htm

Other News
French FM Barred from Entering Gaza
Paris, December 4, 2009, (Pal Telegraph) - Foreign Minister Micheál Martin has been denied access to war-ravaged Gaza by the Israeli Government, it emerged tonight.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/gaza-strip/3019-french-fm-barred-from-entering-gaza

PA seizes locks made in settlement
Ramallah – Ma’an – The Palestinian Authority said on Thursday it seized dozens of high-security locks in Ramallah as a part of a crackdown on products manufactured in illegal Israeli settlements. The Department of Consumer Protection of the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy said it confiscated 70 “Mul-T-Lock” products, which are produced in a factory in the settlement of Barqan, near the Palestinian town of Salfit. Abdul Hamid Mizher, the director of the consumer protection department appealed in a statement to all Palestinian merchants to abide by the ministry’s instructions to boycott settlement products.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244047

Poll: 50% Americans more sympathetic toward Israel than to Palestinians
Just over half (51 percent) of Americans are more sympathetic toward Israel than to the Palestinians, according to a poll released Thursday. Only 12% of respondents said they were sympathetic to the Palestinians, 14% percent supported neither side, and 19 % offered no opinion. The findings of the poll, conducted by the Pew Research Center, come from two surveys. The first poll, of 2,000 adults, was conducted by telephone Oct. 28 to Nov. 8 and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. A subsequent poll of 1,003 people conducted from Nov. 12-15 had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259831456184&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

American Jews eye Obama's 'anti-Israel' appointees
Every appointee to the American government must endure a thorough background check by the American Jewish community.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132797.html

Ferrostaal Opens First Palestinian Solar Thermal Plant
Beit Jala, Palestine [RenewableEnergyWorld.com], This week, the first solar thermal plant for warm water and central heating on Palestinian territory has gone into operation. The solar plant was built by MAN Ferrostaal AG and the Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH (dena) within the framework of the "dena Solar Roofs Programme for Foreign Market Development."
http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=347156

Jordan summons Israel envoy over Jerusalem church (AFP)
AFP - Jordan summoned Israeli ambassador Nevo Dani on Thursday to demand a halt to "unilateral" work carried out by the Jewish state on the outer walls of Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091203/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictreligionjerusalemjordan

Ted Lapidus and the Palestinian Revolution, As`ad Abukhalil
When the French fashion designer, Ted Lapidus, died last year, I was planning on writing something about him given his connection--albeit indirect--to the Palestinian Revolution. You see Lapidus designed the Safari suit for men, and it was the most common uniform for the leaders of the Palestinian Revolution for much of the 1970s and 1980s. It was favored by leaders of the left, center, and right. It gave the image of elegance but not of excessive elegance, and it also conformed to the physical requirements of movement and travel. So when the history of the Palestinian Revolution is written, a word should be said about Ted Lapidus.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/12/ted-lapidus-and-palestinian-revolution.html

Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest
Israel Army Unit Waging Internet Battle After Gaza Criticism
Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Israel’s army is recruiting soldiers for a new unit that is waging a virtual public relations battle on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to improve the military’s image. “Because of the platform you can get a lot of information out relatively easily,” said Sergeant Aliza Landes, who heads the unit. “The Internet, and especially social networks, Web 2.0 and bloggers, are an increasingly important and powerful way to disseminate information.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601104&sid=a.cgBZL1nWhs

Is Hamas too moderate?
Many Israeli commentators have argued recently that Hamas is eager to complete the deal to free Gilad Shalit because of the lack of achievements it has to show its public in the Gaza Strip. However, quite a number of Palestinian commentators there claim that the status of the Islamic movement has stabilized of late, in particular because of its ability to help distressed residents of the Strip by means of its network of charitable organizations. Others propose that the real threat to Hamas today comes from the direction of Islamic extremism, which in another few years is liable to become a significant factor and to present a serious challenge to the Hamas regime.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132553.html

Hamas may not be moderate, but it's cracking down on extremism
Many Israeli commentators have argued recently that Hamas is eager to complete the deal to free Gilad Shalit because of the lack of achievements it has to show its public in the Gaza Strip. However, quite a number of Palestinian commentators there claim that the status of the Islamic movement has stabilized of late, in particular because of its ability to help distressed residents of the Strip by means of its network of charitable organizations. Others propose that the real threat to Hamas today comes from the direction of Islamic extremism, which in another few years is liable to become a significant factor and to present a serious challenge to the Hamas regime.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132553.html

Netanyahu's way out, Aluf Benn
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' refusal to resume negotiations with Israel is not surprising. With Israel drawing closer to Hamas via negotiations for the release of imprisoned soldier Gilad Shalit, Abbas wants to show he is no less a Palestinian patriot than Khaled Meshal or Ismail Haniyeh. As they extort hundreds of jailed terrorists from Israel in exchange for one captive soldier, Abbas is hardening his stance, demanding that Israel stop building in East Jerusalem and publicly attacking U.S. President Barack Obama for "not doing anything for peace."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132550.html

Israeli concession is no concession at all
Settlements contravene U.S. policy on this issue and international law. A plethora of U.N. resolutions and the Fourth Geneva Convention (to which Israel is a signatory) decry the colonization of Palestinian land. In effect, what the Israeli prime minister has said is "I'll stop breaking the law, in only some places, and only for a limited period of time."   This does not meet the Road Map expectations of 2003, so to frame this as a concession in 2009 makes it clear to the Palestinians that Israel will not be held accountable by any American administration. Israeli spokesmen tell Americans that they want peace, but their consistent acts of colonization speak to different intentions.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/03/EDI91AUGM4.DTL#ixzz0YgekohS2

Grayson’s hypocrisy (and Nadler and Weiner’s too)
Yesterday the Jewish Telegraphic Agency picked up on a post by Max Blumenthal here the other day, blasting Alan Grayson, the populist hero congressman from Florida, for being neanderthal on the Israel/Palestine issue– bragging about his Jewishness as he makes himself at home in AIPAC’s pocket. "[N]ow some liberal pundits are criticizing Grayson because they say he’s too supportive of Israeli policies," JTA’s Eric Fingerhut observed– noting that MJ Rosenberg at TPM had echoed Blumenthal on Grayson:

http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/graysons-hypocrisy-and-nadler-and-weiners-too.html

Mohamed Khodr – The EU: Consider East Jerusalem As Capital of Palestine
Friends: Many of us search for an avenue, act, effort or voice to demand that Israel stop being treated as a separate nation on this planet, a nation above all divine and human laws, a nation that can get away with ethnic cleansing, murder, wars, invasions, genocides and war crimes without any accountability to the rest of humanity including you and me.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/12/03/mohamed-khodr-the-eu-consider-east-jerusalem-as-capital-of-palestine/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PalestineThinkTank+(Palestine+Think+Tank)

Twilight Zone /The third blow, Gideon Levy
A few days before the prime minister promised to suspend construction in the territories, the orders had already been issued: Buildings, tin shacks and tents in the tiny Bedouin hamlet of Hirbet Um al-Hir, adjacent to the settlement of Carmel in the south Hebron hills, were to be demolished. This week, representatives from the U.S. consulate in East Jerusalem visited the site. A kitten lay on the rocky, arid ground, slowly dying. No one in the place gave a thought to rescuing it. Helpless, the kitten cast a desperate gaze at its surroundings. Not even the lean Shepherd dogs approached it. In another hour, maybe another day, the kitten will breathe its last anguished breath. The residents of the tiny village are helpless, too. With their last remaining strength they are clinging to the fence of the settlement of Carmel, part of which lies on their private land; clinging to the soil their father and grandfather bought after the family was forced to flee from the Negev in 1948; clinging in their tents and their tin huts and with their animals to the remainder of their land, from which Israel has for some time been threatening to evict them.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132521.html

The Bedouin are not to blame
The young Bedouin man accused of vandalizing the archaeological site at Avdat on the night of October 3 claims that he did it after the Interior Ministry, the Green Patrol (Lands Administration inspectors) and the police carried out a series of house demolitions in the central Negev, including that of his own shack-home, earlier that day. Without justifying his alleged deed, it pays to try to understand this man's frustration, since he is one of thousands of Bedouin citizens in the Negev in the same predicament. Their residences may be "illegal" in the eyes of the state, but there is no alternative housing for them.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132641.html

Sarah Palin Goes Rogue On West Bank
Indeed, Sarah Palin’s protest that the Obama administration has no right to oppose settlement expansion loudly resonates with the same approach taken by Christian Zionists. This summer, at CUFI’s conference in Washington, Pastor Hagee addressed Prime Minister Netanyahu—who was in Israel—by satellite, proclaiming that 50 million Christians support “Israel’s sovereign right to grow and develop the settlements of Israel as you see fit and not to yield to the pressure of the United States government.”
http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/national_news/sarah_palin_goes_rogue_on_west_bank/15914

Thomas Friedman’s gallimaufry of lies
In a recent article in the New York Times, the American Jewish journalist Thomas Friedman blamed the so-called Arab-Islamic “Narrative” for all the troubles surrounding US-Muslim relations-from the 9-11 terrorist events in 2001 to the recent killing of 13 American soldiers in Texas by American-born and American-bred Nidal Malik Hasan.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/12/03/thomas-friedman%E2%80%99s-gallimaufry-of-lies/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PalestineThinkTank+(Palestine+Think+Tank)

I have no brother, By Yossi Sarid
"The settlers are our brothers," Prime Minister Netanyahu said this week, trying to convey their holy wrath. But let me make it clear: T hey are not my brothers. I don't have any brothers like that, or sisters. It's hard to be a Jew. Recently it's been even harder, and not because the whole world is against us, but because we are against the whole world. Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion was right. It's important what Jews do - and what we did was cut ourselves off, like an errant planet that has strayed out of orbit. The settlers have cut us off. The world is looking at us through its telescope and asking "Is this Israel?" I am also asking the same question.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132643.html

The big wink
When serious and extremist politicians like Likud MK Benny Begin voted to freeze construction, we cannot assume that means they've since converted to being Peace Now activists. Bibi convened the senior ministers, one or two at a time, and winked at them in some way to indicate that it's all just talk. To put it nicely - he told them he was "torn," but in any case nothing will come of it.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132645.html

Will Congress Criminalize Anti-Semitism and Israeli Criticism?
During Israel's war on Gaza, only 5 of 535 congressional members dissented on pro-Israeli resolutions. On January 8, 2009, the Senate unanimously passed S 10: "A resolution recognizing the right of Israel to defend itself against attacks from Gaza and reaffirming the United States' strong support for Israel in its battle with Hamas, and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian (no peace) peace process."
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15595

Iraq/Lebanon
Thursday: 16 Iraqis Killed, 27 Wounded
Updated at 5:04 p.m. EST, Dec. 3, 2009 At least 16 Iraqis were killed and 27 more were wounded in new violence today. In one attack, a significant bombing targeted a police official just north of Baghdad. Also, Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi is willing to discuss the elections law impasse ahead of a Sunday deadline, when he will likely extend his current veto of the bill.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/12/03/thursday-15-iraqis-killed-24-wounded/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

Iraq violence kills eight, including senior anti-terror cop (AFP)
AFP - Attacks in Iraq on Thursday killed eight people, including a senior anti-terror officer who led a key fightback against Al-Qaeda in his province, police said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091203/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrest

Iraq Ministry warns of children toy bombs
Iraq’s Interior Ministry warned Iraqi citizens in Baghdad that armed groups are plotting for new kind of attacks by planting high explosives in children toys and distributing them in crowded regions.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-41308-Iraq-Ministry-warns-of-children-toy-bombs.html

Southern Iraqi city removes ban on alcohol
The authorities in the southern city of Basra have removed a ban on the sale of alcohol, which was imposed due to pressure from religious groups. The decision to lift the ban, taken last week, has led to the reopening of liquor shops across the city. The decision came following weeks of deliberations.
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\ 2009-12-03\kurd.htm

Lebanon: an End to Sectarian Politics?
Lebanon’s entire political structure and climate revolves around sectarianism. The country’s 128-member parliament or “Chamber of Deputies,” is based on a confessional distribution of seats, divided equally between Muslims and Christians irrespective of political affiliation (as is the prime minister’s cabinet). In parliament, the Christian side is further subdivided in a fixed allotment among seven dominations, and the Muslim half among four.
http://www.counterpunch.com/amiri12042009.html

U.S./Other World News
Syria attributes bus explosion to tire accident, 3 dead
An explosion hit a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims in Damascus on Thursday, killing at least three people and shattering windows in the nearby buildings, in an incident Syria said was an accident and not an attack.Witnesses said a bomb had hit the bus near the Shiite shrine of Sayyeda Zainab, killing six people, but Syrian officials said it was an exploding tire.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=109398

Riz Khan - Saudi Arabia's political dilemma - 3 Dec 09 - Pt 2
We discuss the multiple political and strategic challenges facing the kingdom today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAqgCOA66ck&feature=youtube_gdata

www.TheHeadlines.org

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Subject: Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines December 3, 2009 ~

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Land Theft and Destruction
Israel approves 84 new buildings in West Bank
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Israel approved the construction of 84 buildings in West Bank settlements. The approvals of buildings whose foundations have not yet been laid came on Wednesday, despite last week's 10-month freeze on new building in the settlements.
http://jta.org/news/article/2009/12/02/1009498/israel-approves-start-of-84-settlement-buildings

Barak: Settlements are part of Israel
In meeting with four West Bank council heads, Defense Minister Ehud Barak stresses that 'settlement blocs are inseparable part of Israel in all future negotiations with Palestinians'. Vows council heads can continue to authorize infrastructure construction, small changes.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3814387,00.html

Palestinian fury over evictions - 02 Dec 09
Jewish families staking claim to houses already lived in by Palestinians is all too familiar in occupied East Jerusalem. There is quite literally a battle underway for the identity of East Jerusalem. House by house, family by family, the settlers are trying to dispossess the Palestinians and replace them with Jews. Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reports from Jerusalem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGxF9eGzsfw&feature=youtube_gdata

Israeli court to Al-Kurd family: Settlers will stay in your home
Jerusalem – Ma’an - The Israeli Central Court heard and rejected Wednesday the petition of the Al-Kurd family seeking the eviction of Israeli settlers from their home.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243890

Israeli police demolish the only shelter of evicted Palestinian family for the fourth time
At approximately 9am this Wednesday, four police vehicles containing eight Jerusalem police and four border police armed with automatic weapons came to Sheikh Jarrah and demolished the Gawi tent for the fourth time. The demolition took place as there were several people sleeping in the tent. The police failed to alert those sleeping to their destructive actions. The Palestinian family’s possessions were confiscated and removed in police pick-up trucks and golf carts. One hour later, a British national was arrested. The Gawi family has lived in the tent for four months now, since 2 August 2009 when they were forcefully evicted from their home, now occupied by settlers.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/12/9556?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+palsolidarity+(International+Solidarity+Movement)

Israeli settler mayor detained amid new inspector spats (AFP)
AFP - A mayor of an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank was briefly detained on Wednesday as new spats broke out with government inspectors charged with enforcing a building moratorium.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091202/wl_mideast_afp/mideastdiplomacysettler

Shattering Israel's image of 'democracy' | Ben White
In the Negev, an area targeted for so-called 'development', lies the Israel that its government does not want to be seen. A struggle over land, home demolitions, and an Israeli government working with Jewish agencies to "develop" the land for the benefit of one group at the expense of another. It could be a picture of the illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, but in fact, it's inside Israel – in the Negev.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/03/israel-negev

Israel Uprooted 7000 Olive Trees This Year
Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies - The Center reported that 5720 trees were uprooted in Salfit district. 400 Olive trees were uprooted and burnt in Qalqilia district, 1600 trees were cut or uprooted by the settlers in Hebron district, and 30 olive trees were uprooted in Bethlehem. These violations were carried out in conjunction of preventing the residents from harvesting their olives in several West Bank areas, as the orchards became isolated behind the Annexation Wall.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=36996

Middle East conflict played out in the olive groves
Akram Imran says the Jewish settlers came at night. "I came to work in the early morning. It was a horrible sight, a massacre of trees," he said. "Some of them are at least 70 years old."
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7667

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
PGFTU statement confirms unambiguous endorsement of BDS
December 3rd, 2009-- On 25 November 2009 the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) issued a statement re-affirming its support for the BDS movement. The statement, which was signed by its Secretary General, Mr. Shaher Sa'ad, and its Executive Committee and endorsed by all the main Palestinian trade union blocs that are represented in the Federation, affirms the PGFTU’s "principled and committed position for the boycott of Israel" and praises international trade unions and other civil society organizations that stand in solidarity with Palestinian rights and adopt the boycott against Israel.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2123.shtml

Boycott of Ahava Dead Sea products makes an impact
The international campaign to boycott Ahava beauty products has recently won the support of a Dutch parliamentarian and an Israeli peace group. During the past few months, activists in Canada, the UK, Ireland, Israel, the United States and the Netherlands have campaigned against the sale of Ahava products because of the company's complicity in the Israeli occupation. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10925.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

USPCN stands with African American activists against Israeli racism
Israel’s appalling denial of entry to Palestine for African American activists Dhoruba Bin Wahad and Naji Mujahid comes as no surprise. The state of Israel, inherently racist and exclusionary, has always found common cause with other racist regimes around the world. It was a major military supporter of the South African apartheid regime when that regime faced boycotts around the world – boycotts that inspire today’s movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.
http://palestineconference.org/wp/2009/11/26/uspcn-stands-with-african-american-activists-against-israeli-racism/

Aggression and Violence
Video shows Palestinian man hit in car attack - 02 Dec 09
Violence erupted in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday when a Palestinian man entered a petrol station at the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba in the occupied West Bank and stabbed two settlers. But that was not the end of the story. According to the Israeli army, the Palestinian was then shot by a soldier, after which a car, apparently driven by a settler, ran over the wounded Palestinian, twice, with Israeli soldiers all around. Jacky Rowland reports. *Viewers may find some of the images disturbing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpQrPsRfmvs&feature=youtube_gdata

Shock follows video of settler running over Palestinian, twice
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - The video of a bystander shocked the world Tuesday, catching the actions of what appear to be a settler running over a wounded Palestinian man in a gas station in Hebron on last week.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243887

IOF bomb agricultural lands in Beit Hanoun in Gaza
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) bombed Wednesday evening agricultural lands of Palestinian farmers located east of Beit Hanoun, but without reported injuries.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s70kZZMjRKBAutCSFapxFfb7z0GjUjT7WIWg7FhyQoBfzRVz0GtzvEMxybE8ArvFxsxzkMCiE2IQZnTqtTnVK%2bMFEehWbuAAUW47qFTJW2%2bTc%3d

Israeli ground forces invade southern Gaza
Gaza – Ma’an – Three Israeli tanks and a bulldozer invaded the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday morning, witnesses said. Palestinians said the vehicles carried out a sweep of the area east of the Sufa crossing point, near the city of Rafah.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243995

Prisoners
Hamas: PA detained 5 affiliates in West Bank
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Hamas officials accused the Palestinian Authority security services of detaining five of the party's affiliates from locations across the West Bank. The five were taken from the Tulkarem, Nablus and Hebron areas, according to a statement from Hamas officials. The allegations come as unity talks continue in stalemate as earlier rumors of a post-Eid resumption turn out to have been false.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243771

Abuse Continues Against Families Visiting Their Detained Loved Ones
Several parents of Palestinian detainees imprisoned by Israel complained of ongoing harassment and abuse against them while trying to visit their detained loved ones.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57285

Humanitarian Issues/Siege/Human Rights
Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory 25 Nov - 02 Dec 2009
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/JBRN-7YDHK3?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Running Out of Gas
The severe shortage of cooking gas in the Gaza Strip has attracted scant media and public attention over the past two months. Generally, since the closure was imposed in 2007, the average monthly amount of cooking gas that Israel allows into the Strip has met only 56% of needs in Gaza. The situation worsened in the past two months, however, with only 1,202 tons of cooking gas being transferred in November up, constituting only 20% of the amount needed. The shortage has many implications: hospitals experience difficulties boiling water for sterilization and providing food and clean laundry to patients; bakeries have closed down; many families cannot cook; and thousands of chickens are at risk of death because their coops cannot be heated. The World Food Program has announced that the emergency cooking gas supply has been exhausted in all of the 40 institutions that it operates in Gaza.
http://www.gazagateway.org/2009/12/running-out-of-gas/

60% of Gazans no daily access to drinking water
Israel’s continuing blockade of Gaza has left thousands of schoolchildren without desks and the population exposed to million of tonnes of raw sewage, MPs heard. International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said refusing to allow desk parts into Gaza was "bizarre" and the Government was pressing Israel to give full access to humanitarian aid. The situation for Gazans was "extremely serious" and would only continue to worsen this winter.
http://www.uruknet.info/index.php?p=m60709&hd=&size=1&l=e

No Second Thoughts : The Changes in the Israeli Defense Forces’ Combat Doctrine in Light of “Operation Cast Lead ”
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) - Special Report: November 2009 - Fundamental Shift in the Israel Defense Force`s (IDF) Combat Doctrine Resulted In Extensive Harm to Civilians and Civilian Infrastructure During the Cast Lead Offensive In The Gaza Strip. This shift is legally and politically dangerous. It is a moral stain and demands substantial public discussion.
http://www.stoptorture.org.il/files/no%20second%20thoughts_ENG_WEB.pdf

With the Little Beggars of Qalandiya Checkpoint
Aya Kaniuk - Mahsanmilim - Any time I see Hussam my heart leaps. He was five years old when I saw him for the first time selling stuff at Qalandiya Checkpoint. Back then he already had a different, wide open heart, unusually wide for such a small child. Since then, for these past eight years, and even before really, every single day of his life, from the moment school is out until the late evening hours, he is out selling his miserable goods, beaten and persecuted by both his own family and the various forces of the Israeli Occupation. The single day in which he did not work all these years was when he lay in a Ramallah hospital, after policemen had beaten him unconscious at the French Hill Junction.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=36991

600 helpless as Gaza war disabled them
gaza-hospital-09Gaza, December 3, 2009 (Pal Telegraph) - The Palestinian Medical Relief Society reported on Thursday that the recent Israeli assault on Gaza Strip caused more than six hundred Palestinian disabilities. It called for all official and private institutions to support disabled rights and enable them to exercise their role in society.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/diaries/featured-articles/3012-600-holpless-as-gaza-war-disabled-them

Increase of fetus deformity and cancer in Gaza
December 3, 2009 (Pal Telegraph) - Experts call to provide equipment to detect radiation and its degree and impact on human and environment as rates of cancer is on rise upon the last Israeli war on Gaza., In a specialized symposium, organized by Maan Center for Development- Afaq Magazine for environment and development- ,entitled " One year after the extermination war and three on the siege: the exacerbated health effects of Gaza war and how to tackle them" experts called to carry out scientific strict researches on the war effects. Also, they call to speed up the trial of the occupation's generals who involved with crimes against humanity and used internationally prohibited weapons.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/hot-topic/3011-experts-warn-of-the-increase-of-fetus-deformity-and-cancer-in-gaza

Israeli Racism and Discrimination
BU student stranded in Gaza as Israeli court deliberates
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Israeli High Court continued to deliberate on the case of Bethlehem University student Berlanty Azzam on Thursday, and declined to order the young woman returned to the West Bank to continue her studies following what her lawyers call an illegal deportation by the Israeli army. Berlanty was in attendence on Monday 30 November when the court heard her case in Jerusalem. Following the hearing Berlanty was transferred back to Gaza where she awaits the court's decision on whether or not she can return to Bethlehem.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243935

Ethiopian students still denied places at Petah Tikva schools
"One principal said the last open slot in the class had just been filled, and afterward it turned out that this was inaccurate," a municipal official said. "Another agreed to accept only 4th-grade boys, but there aren't any in this group. The third simply refused to return phone calls." Only the mayor has the legal power to order the private schools to accept students. But Petah Tikva educators said that Mayor Yitzhak Ohayon has political obligations to certain National Religious Party activists who are also involved in the three schools, and has therefore refused to exercise this power.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132424.html

Extremist Jewish groups call for closing Aqsa until release of Shalit
Al-Aqsa foundation for endowment and heritage reported Thursday that fanatic Jewish groups released a document calling for closing the Aqsa Mosque until Palestinians release Gilad Shalit.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7GT87xXAUkTZqXF%2fDOiDDPkJQPzERZRBNKYogKSw0gJKcVawKKshWA0abC76l0v0ordioHkaY8HLY2zno9N8kne5rt987oNtzV3Bvu1TTZBI%3d

Women outraged MK Ben-Ari 'would prefer to employ man'
National Union member of Knesset says, 'I prefer his month in reserves to her six month maternity leave.' Women's rights lobby claims, 'He is making call for women in their fertile years and mothers.' MK Ben-Ari calls campaign blood libel: I support women's rights.'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3814760,00.html

Israel's Border Guards
Egyptian security services seize weapons cache on border
Al-Arish – Ma’an – Egyptian security services raided a weapons cache near the Rafah border with Gaza on Wednesday that were en route to Gaza via the smuggling tunnels, according to Egyptian security sources.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243818

War Criminals
The Goldstone Report and the Debate in Israel
A United Nations fact-finding mission, headed by Judge Richard Goldstone and whose report was released on September 16, 2009, investigated the Israeli attack on Gaza that was launched on December 27, 2008. It found that Israel, “punished and terrorized” civilians in its three-week assault on Gaza … and cited strong evidence that Israeli forces committed “grave breaches” of the Geneva Conventions. The casualties included more than 1,400 Palestinians, about a third of them women and children, only thirteen Israelis died in the hostilities.
http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/12/the-goldstone-report-and-the-debate-in-israel/

Prisoner Release
Kuwaiti daily: Shalit in Egypt, prisoner swap underway
The Kuwaiti daily newspaper Al-Jarida reported early Thursday that Hamas transferred abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit to Egypt a few days ago as part of a prisoner exchange for his release. The newspaper quoted sources as saying that Shalit has been taken to a secret and secure location in the country, accompanied by Ahmed Jabari, head of Hamas' military wing, and senior Hamas official Mahmud Zahar.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132422.html

Israel awaiting Hamas response on final Shalit proposal
Israel is waiting for Hamas' answer to the German mediator's proposal on the final prisoner exchange deal over kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. The Islamist group is expected to respond within the next few days.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132422.html

Israel FM excludes freeing intifada chief for captive Shalit (AFP)
AFP - Israel's ultra-nationalist Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday ruled out freeing one of the Palestinians' most popular leaders in exchange for captive soldier Gilad Shalit.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091202/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictprisonershalitbarghuti

'Barghouti refuses to be deported'
Jailed Fatah operative Marwan Barghouti has rejected an offer to be deported to an Arab country if he's released in a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas for captive soldier Gilad Schalit, his wife and friends said on Wednesday. "Marwan is going nowhere; he wants to return to his home and family in Palestine," said his wife, Fadwa Barghouti. She said that neither she nor her husband would agree to his deportation.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259243067183&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Husband: All female Palestinian prisoners to be freed
Husband of Qahira Saadi, sentenced to life in prison for her part in Jerusalem suicide attack that left three Israelis dead in 2002, says all female Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange deal. 'They were told they can start packing,' he says.
https://www.google.com/reader/view/?tab=my#stream/user%2F10557706263859290149%2Fstate%2Fcom.google%2Fstarred

Political Developments
Qureia: Return to talks would be pointless
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Israel’s intransigence and rejection of international law means that a return to negotiations at present would be pointless, senior PLO official Ahmed Qureia told EU envoy Christian Berger on Wednesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243843

Ban urges two-state solution for peace in Palestine
The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) held a gathering at the UN head office in downtown Beirut on Wednesday to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People of November 29.In an letter to mark the day, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said the UN would continue to work toward the goal of two States.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=109361

Palestinian president heads to Beirut
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to visit Beirut Monday for talks with top Lebanese officials, media reports said on Wednesday. During his visit, the first since the election of President Michel Sleiman, Abbas will discuss issues including the right of return for Palestinians, rejection of naturalization and the civil and social rights of Palestinian refugees.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=109357

Hamas: No desire for separate entity in Gaza
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Hamas has no desire to establish its own political system in the Gaza Strip, senior leader Moussa Abu Marzouq said on Thursday. Abu Marzouq, the deputy chief of Hamas’ Political Bureau, issued a statement denying a report in the Saudi newspaper Okaz that the group aims to establish its own independent entity in Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=244019

Other News
Sheikh Sabri Barred From Al Aqsa Mosque For Six Months
The Israeli Authorities in Jerusalem handed Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, head of the Higher Islamic Committee in Jerusalem, a restriction order preventing him from entering the Al Aqsa Mosque, in East Jerusalem, for six months.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57278

Haaretz's Amira Hass awarded journalism prize by media watchdog
The Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders on Wednesday awarded veteran Haaretz correspondent Amira Hass a "Press Freedom" prize, for "independent and outspoken reporting."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132274.html

Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest
WORLDFOCUS INTERVIEWS BARGHOUTHI
Worldfocus, a nightly broadcast focused on international news, recently interviewed Mustafa Barghouthi, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative. During the interview, Barghouti talked about the difficulties facing the Middle East peace process labeling it as “clinically dead." Barghouti believes stalling talks over the last decades have allowed Israel to continue its policies of illegal settlement expansions rather than work towards creating a real and lasting solution. He also highlighted the importance of Palestinian non violence struggle against occupation, quoting it among the promising changes for the next future. Watch the full interview clicking on: http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/11/...
http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/11/19/in-hamas-fatah-struggle-barghouti-embraces-third-way/8494/

Israel/Palestine by Mustafa Barghouti 1/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlRJ8VUeW4Q&feature=related

Israel/Palestine by Mustafa Barghouti 2/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFARLwDFg9M&feature=related

Israel/Palestine by Mustafa Barghouti 3/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vll-whWWbK0&feature=related

Israel/Palestine by Mustafa Barghouti 4/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiUmDAdkxy4&feature=related

Israel/Palestine by Mustafa Barghouti 5/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9YHZDg5itQ&feature=player_embedded

Amjad Atallah Interviews Mustafa Barghouti
Amjad Atallah and Mustafa Barghouti discuss the Congressional resolution on the Goldstone Report, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Dr. Barghouti's appearance on the Daily Show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP-qW9gwMTk&feature=player_embedded

A visit to the border
While Americans were celebrating Thanksgiving this year, Muslims were preparing for Eid Al-Adha, or the Holiday of the Sacrifice. In a way, the two are related. Both holidays celebrate the forestalling of potential disaster by the grace of a third party. Americans commemorate the aid provided to early settlers by Native American peoples, while Muslims celebrate God’s command to Abraham that he should sacrifice a goat in lieu of his son. Muslims who can afford it buy a sheep or goat, have it slaughtered or slaughter it themselves, and distribute the meat according to religious tradition; one third for the family, one third for one’s relatives, and one third for the needy. In a country where most produce is fresh, with an abundance of butcher shops, much of the slaughter is conducted in full public view. The experience can be overwhelming for new arrivals from Western countries. One British friend, a vegetarian, was mesmerized. He wished people back in the UK would engage more fully with the process of consuming meat themselves.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/a-visit-to-the-border.html

M. Shahid Alam, "Native Orientalists at the Daily Times"
In the euphoria of Edward Said's success, left intellectuals have nearly forgotten that the West's servant classes in the Periphery produce an indigenous Orientalism. I refer here to the coarser but more pernicious Orientalism of the brown Sahibs, who are free, behind their rhetoric of progress, to denigrate their own history and culture. A few of these native Orientalists are deracinated souls, who put down their own people for failing, as they see it, to keep up with the forward march of history. Most, however, are opportunists, lackeys, or wannabee lackeys, eager to join the native racketeers who manage the Periphery for the benefit of outside powers.
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/alam021209.html

"My Name is Rachel Corrie" and Israel's waning impunity
Insidious pressures and overt threats have created a hostile environment to telling Rachel Corrie's story and of course, the countless tragic stories of Palestinians. They are emblematic of a determination to maintain ignorance about the realities of life in Palestine, and a desire to perpetuate the notions of Israeli innocence, virtuousness and victimhood. In maintaining any hold to this myth, we are preventing the stories of Palestinian lives from reaching the light of day. Charlotte Silver writes for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10922.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

Palestinian Battle Cry in Cyber Warfare
Palestinian Battle Cry: "No credible Goldstone Investigation no International Holocaust Remembrance Day!" Echoing the demand for justice in response to the UN General Assembly's endorsement of the 'Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict' (document A/HRC/12/48), informally referred to as the "Goldstone report", after Richard Goldstone, the South African Justice who headed the mission. Goldstone Report provides for litigation in the International Criminal Court that ultimately would make political alliances nigh on impossible to justify with a nation governed by war criminals. While, likewise making Zionist attempts to maintain and perpetuate the Holocaust as a legal theory subsequently becoming morally problematic for Israel but pre-eminently more so for Israel's American supporters.
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2009/12/02/palestinian-battle-cry-in-cyber-warfare/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SabbahsBlog+(Sabbah+Report)

Playing the ‘Anti-Semitism’ Card Against Venezuela
In the early morning hours of January 31, vandals broke into Tiferet Israel, a Sephardic synagogue in Caracas. They strewed sacred scrolls on the floor and scribbled "Death to the Jews" and other anti-Semitic epithets on the walls, before making off with computer equipment and historical artifacts. Understandably, the incident frightened and upset many in the Venezuelan Jewish community. Right away, U.S. news outlets, including The New York Times and The Miami Herald, linked the incident to Venezuela's increasingly strained relations with Israel, after the two countries suspended diplomatic relations two weeks earlier over Israel's bombing of Gaza, then still under way.
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/4769

The Israel Lobby Celebrates Espionage in New York
The recent sting operation against former NASA scientist Stewart Nozette involved an undercover FBI employee posing as Mossad agent. Meeting in the posh Mayflower hotel in Washington, the agent set up clandestine payments in exchange for highly classified information. Nozette began delivering requested classified national defense information believing it to be destined for Israel while confidentially assuring the FBI agent that he thought he was already spying for Israel. This allegedly occurred under Nozette’s prior "consulting" contract with Israel Aerospace Industries, a major military contractor. Although the US has traditionally ignored, forgiven, or quashed investigations into Israeli espionage, the cost to America’s national security and economy may now have pushed law enforcement agencies toward a tipping point. Ironically, this very week, the Israel lobby is celebrating in New York the biggest clandestine operation ever conducted against US industries and workers.
http://original.antiwar.com/smith-grant/2009/12/02/the-israel-lobby-celebrates-espionage-in-new-york/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

Palestinian Reflections on American Political Ideology, Dr. Haidar Eid
The Palestinians have 'realized,' thanks to Hilary Clinton, that the US is biased towards Israel. According to the American Secretary of State, negotiations between "the two parties" should resume without preconditions. The Americans have even praised Netanyahu's "unprecedented concessions!" Gone is the sweet talk of the American president Barak Obama; gone is the euphoria following his "ground breaking" speech in Cairo university.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15593

Armageddon, Straight Ahead
Arik W. Ascherman - Rabbis for Human Rights - Because this is Jerusalem. As I wrote a week and a half ago, I see a Palestinian anger burning so strong that, unlike what usually happens, neither the threat of arrest or the use of overwhelming force is a deterrent. That means a third intifada. That means that the fact that the world community forcing Israel into a settlement freeze (perhaps) may be too little too late. That means that the Obama administration remains a laughingstock at best, and in many quarters the U.S. is again the subject of scorn and derision.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=36995

The question of Terminology in the Zionist propaganda to colonize Palestine
By terminology I mean roughly the semantic or the concepts which are mental representation or abstract ideas produced to explain things. My point is to unearth some of the Zionist terminology used in the Zionist propaganda which has sadly dominated the western media for decades and brainwashed millions in Europe and the USA. The function of these terminologies is to legitimize the Zionist policy of occupation and to conceal the truth especially for the western opinion.
http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2009/12/02/the-question-of-terminology-in-the-zioni

Iraq
Suicide bomber kills four in attack on Iraq police (Reuters)
Reuters - A suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives killed four police officers in Saddam Hussein's hometown on Thursday, including the head of the city's anti-riot squad, Iraqi police said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091203/ts_nm/us_iraq_violence

Wednesday: 2 Iraqis Killed, 18 Wounded
At least two Iraqis were killed and 18 were wounded in violence across central Iraq. Most of the wounded were from a previously reported incident, but the casualty figures were revised. The rest of the wounded and one of the dead were from a U.S. attack on a Kurdish security force in Diyala.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/12/02/wedneday-2-iraqis-killed-18-wounded/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

UN: Iraqi elections not before the end of February
United Nations has asserted that the legislative elections can not be held before the end of February and if vice-president Tareq Hashemi vetos the second version of the electoral law again, then it will be difficult holding the elections before next March.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2044047&Language=en

Baghdad Struggles to Stop Banned Books Trade
Clandestine Iraqi printing presses accused of spreading insurgent propaganda.
By Uthman al-Mukhtar in Fallujah (ICR No. 314, 3-Dec-09)
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-357908

The Sayyed/Lebanon
Hezbollah’s Latest Mission
The latest model of Hezbollah is nothing if not politically savvy, and its new manifesto was almost designed to avoid making headlines. There was no reference to an Islamic revolution. Nasrallah spoke in conciliatory terms about his Lebanese political opponents, and called for the end of sectarian divisions in the country. He criticized the conflation of “terrorism” with “resistance”; only the latter, he said, had “legitimacy.” Speaking of Israel, he said, “Our problem with them is not because they are Jewish. Our problem is because they have taken over Palestine.” These lines were not in the original text, and Nasrallah looked straight into the camera while speaking them.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2009/12/hezbollah-mission-statement.html

Photography exhibition sheds light on Lebanon's dark world of domestic violence
For many women throughout the world, the place where they are most vulnerable to violence is not the street, but their own home.For Layla (not her real name), home brought a daily ritual of violence and humiliation at the hands of an abusive husband. Last year, he married another woman behind her back and left for another country, kidnapping his and Layla's three children.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=109356

U.S./Other World News
Arab disappointment with Obama
Arab disappointment with Obama is suddenly very, very important. Fouad Ajami is very worried that Arabs are disappointed with Obama's foreign policy -- amazingly enough, for the same reasons he is! Jackson Diehl is very worried that Arabs are disappointed with Obama's foreign policy -- amazingly enough, for the same reasons that he is! It's hard to believe that they came up with the same idea at the same time, but the world is funny like that. Meanwhile, Elliott Abrams is very worried that Obama is not concerned with real Arab people the way George Bush was and lacks his commitment to human rights and democracy.
http://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/11/30/arab_disappointment_with_obama

Nir Rosen: "We Managed to Make the Taliban Look Good"
Nir Rosen, independent journalist and fellow at the NYU Center on Law and Security, responds to President Obama decision to escalate the war in Afghanistan. Rosen has covered both Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003. His latest articles cover the current state of the US occupations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/2/nir_rosen_we_managed_to_make

Pakistan concern over Obama's plan - 02 Dec 09
Pakistani government officials have expressed concern about President Barack Obama's new Afghan strategy, which calls for Pakistan to step up its co-operation against the Taliban in exchange for a pledge of a long-term partnership. In an address to unveil a new strategy for the eight-year conflict in Afghanistan, Obama said on Tuesday a cancer had taken root in Pakistan's border region with Afghanistan and promised US help to end it. The Pakistani Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a cautious response that stressed the "need for clarity" in the new US policy. "Pakistan looks forward to engaging closely with [the] US in understanding the full importance of the new strategy and to ensure that there would be no adverse fallout on Pakistan," the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. "Pakistan and the US need to closely co-ordinate their efforts to achieve shared objectives. There is certainly the need for clarity and co-ordination on all aspects of the implementation of the strategy." Al Jazeera's Imran Khan takes a look at how Obama's new strategy is being received in Islamabad against the backdrop of violence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgPsd_Ey2Js&feature=youtube_gdata

Guantanamo Detainee Seeks Dismissal of Charges, Cites Torture
Lawyers for the first detainee from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to face prosecution in the U.S. asked a federal judge on Tuesday to dismiss the criminal charges against him, saying his lengthy detention overseas and the use of interrogation techniques "amounting to torture" violated his constitutional rights.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091201-716226.html

UK: High court makes "historic" terrorism evidence ruling
London's High Court ruled against the British government on Tuesday over the use of secret evidence to deny terrorism suspects bail in what campaigners called an "historic" judgement.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5B030620091201

L.A. Synagogue Shooting Might Be Tied To Israeli Organized Crime
LAPD detectives are investigating whether the shooting of two men at North Hollywood synagogue in October is the work of Israeli-connected organized crime. The Oct. 29 shooting ignited fear that it was a hate crime, but Los Angeles police officials quickly ruled that out. In the last few weeks, LAPD investigators have concentrated their resources on the idea that the shootings were designed to silence someone.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/02/la-synagogue-shooting-mig_n_377710.html

SYRIA: Tough new law against killer tobacco
Source: IRIN A much tougher anti-smoking law in Syria, signed by President Bashar al-Assad and due to come into force in early 2010, will outlaw smoking in public places, including restaurants and bars, hospitals, sports halls and cinemas.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/0605629c5df229d3694e077848ea3544.htm

www.TheHeadlines.org

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From: "Today in Palestine!" <tipalestine@...>
Date: Wed Dec 2, 2009 3:44 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines December 2, 2009 ~

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Land Theft and Destruction
Israel stripped thousands of Jerusalem Arabs of residency in 2008
Last year set an all-time record for the number of Arab residents of East Jerusalem who were stripped of residency rights by the Interior Ministry. Altogether, the ministry revoked the residency of 4,577 East Jerusalemites in 2008 - 21 times the average of the previous 40 years.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132170.html

More on house demolitions and ‘unrecognized villages’ in the Negev

Rebecca Vilkomerson of Jewish Voice for Peace was moved by the report from the Negev by Monica Tarazi and sent along a portion of a letter she sent to friends after going to the Negev for the first time two years ago. Vilkomerson was then working for Bustan, a Jewish-Bedouin environmental rights organization based in Beersheva.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/more-on-house-demolitions-and-unrecognized-villages-in-the-negev.html

Israeli forces demolish two homes north of West Bank
Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Israeli media sources said two Palestinian homes were demolished in Israel on Wednesday, and seven bystanders were detained as they attempted to prevent crews from destroying the properties. Israel's news site Ynet said the demolition took place near Jabal Al-Faqoua, Gilboa, in Israel just north of Jenin. The buildings were allegedly illegal, and were demolished.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243797

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Celtic fans urged to wave Palestinian flags at match against Tel Aviv club
Scottish trade unions called on supporters of Celtic soccer club to wave Palestinian flags at their Europa League home match on Wednesday against Hapoel Tel Aviv in "solidarity with suffering Palestinians".
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132249.html

Gaza Freedom March likened to Spanish civil war
The doors are closing on the Gaza Freedom March. You had to register by last night, but I know of someone who signed in today. The organizers, Code Pink, are presenting a list of the travelers to various governments as we speak. I believe they are expecting 1500 international marchers (can’t find my notes!). On the Gaza side, Palestinian organizers are hoping for 50,000 to join the march from Beit Hanoun to the Erez crossing into Israel, demanding an end to the blockade.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/gaza-freedom-march-likened-to-spanish-civil-war.html

Poetry reading helps show solidarity with Palestinians
BEIRUT: The Gathering for Dialogue at the northern Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared held a poetry reading evening on Monday to show solidarity with the Palestinian people. The event was held at the new section of the camp and was attended by representatives of Palestinian factions, cultural and social figures as well as Nahr al-Bared residents. The head of the gathering Mohammad Qasqous confirmed that solidarity with Palestine should be put into action by treating refugees in a more humane way. He also called on reconstructing Nahr al-Bared after it was destroyed during the armed conflict between the Lebanese Armed Forces and Al-Qaeda-inspired group Fath al-Islam in 2007. The Popular Organizations for Palestinian Democracy also met in the Beddawi refugee camp to show their solidarity.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=109267

Lanka stand in solidarity with Palestinians
The people in Sri Lanka stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people for their right to freedom and justice, co-chairperson of the Sri Lanka Committee for Solidarity with Palestine Imthiasz Bakeer Markar in a message to mark International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People said.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/11/30/news23.asp

Montreal: Carrying Forward the Momentum Against Israeli Apartheid
Announcing a Quebec and Canada-wide BDS conference Montreal, October 15th-17th 2010 endorsed by the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Campaign National Committee (BNC) of Palestine Since 2005’s historic call from Palestine for a comprehensive, international movement for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israeli apartheid, we have seen many important victories for this movement in both Canada and Québec.
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/4533

Zinedine Zidane to visit Gaza in March
“I'm thrilled to be appointed by the UN children's organization as an envoy to tour Gaza Strip. I will make every effort to give Gaza residents great big smiles on their faces. Gazans have suffered serious losses, damage, and injuries due to Israeli acts of violence,” Zidane stated.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=112644&sectionid=351020202

The following speech was given on November 30, 2009 at the United Nations as part of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/like-jim-crow-and-south-africa-before-it-israel-must-be-pressured-to-abandon-apartheid.html

Top Ten Brands to Boycott
http://www.baceia.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/BACEIA_Top_Ten_Products.pdf

Aggression and Violence
Israeli troops shoot, arrest man on Gaza fence
GAZA, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian young man after shooting him in northern Gaza Strip, an emergency official said Wednesday. Israeli troops manning the security fence between Beit Lahiya town and Israel, shot the youth who was collecting rubbish, said Mu'awia Hassanein, the health ministry's emergencies director.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/02/content_12574981.htm

Israeli settlers attack Palestinians in response to the settlement freeze
During an anti settlement construction freeze rally, scores of Israeli settlers hurled, on Wednesday, stones at Palestinian cars in northern West Bank. The rally lunched from the Elon Moreh illegal settlement near the Nablus city and headed towards a military checkpoint known to Palestinians as Howara. Settlers closed the military checkpoint and then hurled stones at passing by Palestinian cars.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57273

Elderly Palestinian attacked by Israeli soldiers, left bleeding
Tulkarem – Ma’an – Israeli soldiers beat a 75-year-old Palestinian on Wednesday as he was trying to access his land adjacent to Israel’s electric barrier west of Deir Al-Ghusun, in the northern West Bank the victim told Ma’an.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243760

Palestinian shot in Naalin claims soldiers said he 'deserves it'
Ashraf Abu Rahma, who was shot by IDF soldier during anti-fence protest takes stand in military court, says he was arrested for no reason, bound, and beaten by soldiers. 'I heard a shot, I was hit, and I fell,' he testifies.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3813945,00.html

Israeli Helicopters Drop Warning Leaflets On Rafah
Israeli choppers dropped on Monday evening thousands of leaflets warning the residents of Rafah, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, that the army would bombard their areas once again should the smuggling of weapons continue.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57262

Prisoners/Prisoner Release
IOF kidnap son of Hamas official in Jenin
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) kidnapped at dawn Wednesday the son of senior Hamas official in Israeli jails Jamal Abul Haija during an incursion into the town of Beit Qad east of Jenin.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7%2fau%2fkwkDJYlopo9aKCzsxFMX6hYdnEPnMcFz0%2bOYm0b%2bIaUYYUiJp2Lyk9oOzY1WvFzNNTolhrzKVfullzkikrO5ZdpwMqfU%2fsgE2e6c4Kc%3d

Report: Barghouti to be freed only if deported
London-based newspaper quotes sources involved in negotiations on prisoner swap as saying Israel willing to discuss release of senior Fatah member. Lebanese paper says Hamas fears Israel may kidnap Gilad Shalit as he is being transferred to Egypt.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3813844,00.html

Criminal Speaks: Report: Pollard proposes killing Palestinian prisoners until Shalit freed
Convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard made clear that he strongly opposed the prisoner exchange deal to free Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, reported the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132228.html

Humanitarian Issues/Siege/Human Rights
Abu Hasana: UNRWA budget to hit zero by new year
Gaza – Ma’an – The UNRWA budget will reach zero by the New Year and threaten the regular payment of salaries for UNRWA workers as well as the level of services for refugees, the organization’s media consultant Adnan Abu Hasana said Tuesday from Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243640

Joining the tunnel diggers in the Gaza Strip : Video: Tania Krämer joins the tunnel diggers in the Gaza Strip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tfxq3qB05rQ

War Criminals
PRC launches Internet website regarding Goldstone Report
http://www.goldstone-report.org/

U.K. Jews urge Brown to adopt UN report on 'Gaza crimes'
British Zionist activists reacted yesterday with "bemusement" to a letter cosigned by hundreds of pro-Palestinian Jewish compatriots urging Gordon Brown to adopt the Goldstone Report, which accuses Israel of committing war crimes during its operation last winter in the Gaza Strip.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132156.html

Political Developments
Palestinians to ask UN for 1967 borders
Palestinian statehood is a "vital" component necessary for regional peace, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, in a message to mark Monday's annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259243046500&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

EU envoys: Israel trying to sever East Jerusalem from West Bank
A classified report drafted by European consuls in East Jerusalem and Ramallah slams Israeli policy in East Jerusalem and recommends that the European Union take steps to strengthen the Palestinian Authority's status in the city. It also advises taking various measures to protest Israeli policy in the city, as well as sanctions against people and groups involved in "settlement activity" in and around it.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132158.html

EU 'to change stance on Palestinian statehood'
According to an EU draft resolution authored by Sweden, the current holder of the rotating EU presidency, the body would recognize a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood in a monthly meeting of the ministers next week in Brussels, Haaretz reported.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=112602&sectionid=351020202

U.S. Senators in Israel Say No to U.N. Resolution on Palestinian Statehood
Any United Nations resolution calling for unilateral statehood for Palestinians would be "dead on arrival," Democratic Sen. Ted Kaufman of Delaware said Monday while visiting Jerusalem.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/16/israel-palestinians-resolution-lieberman/

Venezuela Pledges Support for Palestinian Statehood during Abbas Visit
“We demand that the international community and the world understand that for sixty years, Palestine has wanted to live as a free, peaceful, independent, and sovereign country like the rest of the countries in the world,” said Abbas in the National Assembly. “We have inherited the [task] of constructing a democratic state in Palestine where Jews, Christians, and Muslims live in equal conditions,” he said.
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/4962

Other News
How does the U.S. help fund pro-settler IDF troops?
The Task Force to Save the Nation and the Land, the organization that offered every soldier refusing to evacuate a settlement, and the Kfir Brigade soldiers who publicly demonstrated their opposition to evacuation, NIS 1,000 for every day they spend in military prison, is a registered non-profit organization and has a license to operate.The group receives donations from a U.S. based group that are tax exempt.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131923.html

Ashkenazi: Few will join IDF in 20 years
Only a small minority will enlist in the IDF 20 years from now, warned IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi during a gathering of hundreds of high school principals in Jerusalem, headed by Education Minister Gidon Sa'ar., What will the IDF be like in..., What will the IDF be like in 20 years? [illustrative], Photo: IDF Spokesperson, SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World, Touching on a growing cause for concern in Israeli society, Ashkenazi stated that despite the growing motivation among new recruits to serve in combat units, demographic shifts were causing the enlistment rate among Israeli youth to decrease.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259243054658&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Israeli Wahhabis
Haredi minister mulls segregating sexes at psychiatric hospitals
The latest storm to emerge from the office of Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman stems from the plan being considered to separate the sexes in Jerusalem's psychiatric institutions. The idea is to transform the Kfar Shaul Psychiatric Hospital to men-only, and Eitanim to an all-women's facility.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131911.html

Soldier sent to detention for cooking on Shabbat after cat ate his meal
Kfir brigade soldier about to eat Shabbat meal finds out a cat has 'tasted' their meal. Soldier offers to cook new meal, gets caught, sentenced to 20 days in detention for violating IDF rules.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3814139,00.html

Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest
‘Israel: A Rogue State’ segment on CNN
As mild as this CNN report is, would it have appeared on CNN in the US rather than its International Edition? CNN’s Paula Newton here in a segment with Israeli scholars Avi Schlaim and Shlomo Sand who rightly characterise Israel as a rogue state. Unfortunately the execrable Mark Regev appears in the second half, presumably for ‘balance’; nevertheless the fact that these two critical scholars appeared on network corporate news is a small signpost.
http://pulsemedia.org/2009/12/02/israel-a-rogue-state-segment/

Aluf Benn / What Netanyahu really thinks about settlements
Why did Benjamin Netanyahu alter his stance and agree to a Palestinian state and the freezing of settlement construction? Was he only giving in to pressure from Barack Obama, or were there domestic reasons? Did his assessment of the situation alter since he returned to power, or is this that "same old Bibi," who simply got hold of a new list of slogans?
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1132181.html

Bill Clinton reads Friedman and thinks Palestinians love being bombed, Antony Loewenstein
Need evidence that Bill Clinton is part of the problem and not the solution, utterly disconnected from facts on the ground in the Middle East? This Foreign Policy interview will only confirm the bankrupt ideas that marinate in the American political elite (and are merely copied around the empire, including Australia).
http://antonyloewenstein.com/2009/12/02/bill-clinton-reads-friedman-and-thinks-palestinians-love-being-bombed/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antonyloewenstein%2Ffeed+(Antony+Loewenstein)

Dershowitz likened Gaza to Warsaw ghetto, Philip Weiss
A friend has directed me to the following report in the Yale Daily News on Alan Dershowitz’s visit to the school in October. I wish I had the transcript of his talk; but it is significant that Dershowitz makes the same analogy I have insisted on making since my visit to Gaza, to the Warsaw Ghetto.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/dershowitz-likened-gaza-to-warsaw-ghetto.html

Hawkish ‘Israel Lobby’ More Bark Than Bite?
The Nov. 25 announcement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a "moratorium" on settlement construction brought very different responses from the Jewish American "pro-Israel" groups J Street and the heavyweight American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), calling attention to the increasing divide within the American Jewish community.
http://original.antiwar.com/eli-clifton/2009/12/01/hawkish-israel-lobby-more-bark-than-bite/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

Time Marches on but not for Obama, By George S. Hishmeh – Washington
It is par for the course for the mainstream American media to adopt the U.S. official line on U.S. foreign policy, especially when it concerns the Arab-Israeli conflict, rather than take an independent stance. This does not mean, much to the delight of some foreign policy observers, that this position is universally true since there are few liberal groups, including American Jewish organizations, who do stick their neck out but regrettably with little impact in the halls of government.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15587

Zionism – More Than Traditional Colonialism and Apartheid
The Jewish colonisation of Palestine under the Zionist slogan “the land without people to the people without a land” started almost a hundred years ago and reached its first climax with the proclamation of The Jewish State of Israel in 1948. A second climax is now in the offing through the ongoing colonisation of the West Bank and Gaza. A Jewish state needs a substantial majority of Jews in the population. This has been insured by means of immigration, terror and expulsion of the native Palestine population. Jewish hegemony in Israel today is secured through a system of apartheid inherent in all aspects of Society, be it law, administration or religion. Israel lacks a constitution and fixed boarders, which is fully consistent with Zionism’s call for continual expansion.
http://intifada-palestine.com/2009/12/01/zionism-more-than-traditional-colonialism-and-apartheid/

Iraq
Iraqi general assassinated in disputed city of Kirkuk
Armed men jumped out of a civilian car in front of his house in the eastern Kirkuk district of al-Nasr and fatally shot the general, police said Monday.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/297054,iraqi-general-assassinated-in-disputed-city-of-kirkuk.html

It's movie night on a Baghdad street
An award-winning film that takes place after the U.S.-led invasion has its debut in the Iraqi capital. Crew members recall their harrowing experiences getting the movie made. The filmmakers set up their screen in front of the abandoned Justice Ministry, propped up a creaky 35-millimeter projector and hoped the crowd would come and watch their film in this place where car bombs recently killed nearly 160 people.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/HJ_XTmkIgCQ/la-fg-iraq-film2-2009dec02,0,5538409.story

The Sayyed/Hezbollah
Hezbollah Manifesto in Media Eyes: Welcome to Lebanese Club!
01/12/2009 "Hezbollah: This is me"… "Hezbollah Joins Lebanese Political Club"… "Hezbollah Manifesto Political Lebanonization"… "Sayyed Nasrallah announces the political birth of a modernized Hezbollah"… In brief, one day after its announcement by the Resistance party's Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, Hezbollah new manifesto made the headlines of all dailies in Lebanon on Tuesday. Indeed, Hezbollah new manifesto enjoyed a large coverage in the Lebanese dailies that dedicated their editorials and main articles to analyze the document, which is believed to be the second of its kind in the history of Hezbollah, a document that has no doubt marked a major shift in the party's political and strategic vision.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=113554&language=en

Hizbullah's new platform way to prove its integral role
Hizbullah's new political platform signals a shift in its position as it seeks to portray itself as an integral part of Lebanon's domestic scene rather than an Iranian proxy, analysts said Tuesday."The manifesto is reassuring as it shows Hizbullah's integration with Lebanese political life," said Paul Salem, who heads the Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East Center.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=109314

Hezbollah's New Manifesto: The 'Rebirth', Franklin Lamb - South Beirut, Lebanon
Like many liberation and resistant movement 'Manifestos', 'Charters' or 'Declarations' issued to the public early in its founding - the African National Congress, Palestine Liberation Organization, Hamas, Algerian FLN, and various “Sons of Liberty” groups during the American Revolution, come to mind - Hezbollah has been criticized by its detractors over the years for some language in its 1985 “Open Letter” manifesto. Some have urged Hezbollah to remove ‘controversial language” such as the call for an Islamic Republic in Lebanon- even though the Party has made clear that establishing an Islamic Republic of Lebanon is no longer a priority and emphasizing that Lebanon’s diversity is respected, valued and permanent. Others have called Hezbollah’s 1985 manifesto ‘too religious” and too dogmatic for a broad international appeal political document.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15588

Hizbullah and Maurice Duverger, As`ad Abukhalil
I was reading the Open Letter of Hizbullah from 1985 to compare to the new Political Document of the Party. It struck me that the distinction by Maurice Duverger in his study of political parties applies here. (Why is Duverger not more widely known in political science circles? Aside from his study of political parties, I find his 1964 introductory study of politics to be the best introductory text of political science there is. I also like how he writes.) So in his study of political parties, Duverger distinguishes between missionary parties and broker parties: to him, missionary parties care about winning hard core, members. While broker parties only care about winning elections and not care about having members at all (thus we don't talk about card carrying members of the two parties here in the US who have voters but not members). So using that distinction, we can say that Hizbullah went from being a missionary party to become a broker party. Hizbullah is no more looking for new members. If anything, it may suffer from having more members than it needs. Oh, good morning to you all. [end]
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/12/hizbullah-and-maurice-duverger.html

Sayyed Nasrallah, Hamas Call for Resumption of Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue
02/12/2009 Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah received on Wednesday a delegation from the Hamas Palestinian Resistance Movement led by Mohamad Nasr accompanied by Oussama Hamdan and Mounir Said. The meeting was also attended by Hezbollah political council member Hasan Hodroj.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=113690&language=en

U.S./Other World News
Obama's hard sell of war policy - 01 Dec 09
Eight years of war in Afghanistan have left many Americans questioning the costs of the war and whether US commitment should continue. With Barack Obama, the US president, expected to announce an increase of 34,000 troops for Afghanistan on Tuesday, he faces a hard sell of his war policy. Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds takes a look back at the war.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5yNbW0ZGME&feature=youtube_gdata

US anti-war activists step up protests - 2 Dec 2009
Even before Washington announced the deployment of more troops to Afghanistan, US public support for the war was at an all time low. Anti-war activists say the decision to send more troops will leave many Americans disappointed. But Al Jazeera's Sebastian Walker reports that so far there have only been limited protests.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xpf0i2pwYO0&feature=youtube_gdata

Afghanistan: 'Graveyard of empires' - 01 Dec 09
Afghanistan has been called the 'graveyard of empires' - a land that has never been conquered by a foreign force. Russia's red army spent a decade there and returned to the Soviet Union broken and defeated. As the US sends more troops to Afghanistan, it could learn from the former Soviet Union's experience there. Al Jazeera's Neave Barker reports from Moscow on the lessons to be learned.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ium4qUowhQU&feature=youtube_gdata

Victims of Peru Amazon violence deserve justice without discrimination
The Peruvian authorities must conduct fair and impartial investigations into the deaths of all those killed during violence at a road blockade led by Amazon Indigenous peoples in June, Amnesty International said in a new report. The organisation urged full investigations into the deaths of 10 Indigenous and local people, alongside those already underway into the killings of 23 police officers during the incident. At least 200 people were also injured on 5 June after police intervened to end a peaceful protest by thousands of people over the use of land and resources on a road near Bagua in northern Peru.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/victims-peru-amazon-violence-deserve-justice-without-discrimination-20091

Switzerland votes against religious freedom
Amnesty International said it deeply regrets the choice of Swiss voters on Sunday to introduce a ban on the construction of minarets into the constitution. The ban, which takes immediate effect, violates both the freedom of religion of Muslims living in the country and the prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of religious belief as set out in several international human rights instruments that Switzerland is a party to.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/switzerland-votes-against-religious-freedom-20091130

Comment: The call from the Swiss minaret
The stunning success of the popular initiative to ban minarets in Switzerland has turned heads around the world. But what does it really mean for Swiss Muslims, and what are the implications and lessons for other European countries? From a strictly legal point of view, the construction of minarets is now prohibited in Switzerland. No further legislation is required to implement this constitutional provision and there is nothing that federal or cantonal authorities can do to challenge it.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/the-call-from-the-swiss-minaret-20091202

Inside Story - Swiss minaret ban - 1 Dec 09
On Sunday, 57 per cent of the Swiss population voted in favour of blocking any new minarets being built attached to mosques. Does the vote reflect a rising trend against Islam across the continent? Or does the referendum simply reflect a rare departure from Swiss neutrality? And is the vote legal in the first place?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWjGYSQdX2I&feature=youtube_gdata

Newsweek Iran correspondent, As`ad Abukhalil
I heard an interview on CNN with the Newsweek correspondent in Iran who was recently released from jail by the insecure government of Ahmadinajad. What struck me is this: politics is more important than qualification when Western media hire local stringers and free lancers. I mean, let me be nice: the man is not--how to say--very bright. But then he said: that the "West" should stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons "by all means necessary." He spoke those words, I kid you not. I thought to myself: can you imagine if a local Middle East correspondent for Newsweek or New York Times said in an interview that the "West" should stop Israel nuclear weapons' program by "all means necessary". I mean, that person will never ever be hired for any job by those media. If Taghreed El-Khodary--who does what she is told with no questions asked--ever uttered those words, the New York Times would arrange for her to report form one of the tunnels of Gaza for a Russian magazine. [end]
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/12/newsweek-iran-correspondent.html

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Land Theft and Destruction
Report: Netanyahu okays 25 new settler homes despite ban
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued an order Monday to allow the construction of 25 new homes in a West Bank settlement despite a recently-declared moratorium.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243409

Settlers occupy Al-Kurd home in Jerusalem
Jerusalem – Ma’an – A group of Israeli settlers accompanied by armed Israeli occupation forces occupied the sealed house of Rifka Al-Kurd in Sheikh Jarrah at 10am on Tuesday. Before surrounding and overrunning the Al-Kurd home, the settlers reportedly produced a court order which gave consent to the settlers’ take-over of the house.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243478

Settlers block settlement freeze inspectors
Bethlehem – Ma’an/Agencies – Settlers block Israel's Ministry of Defense inpsectors from implementing a halt to settlement construction in the West Bank, according to Israeli media on Tuesday. Residents from numerous illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank amassed to prevent the newly appointed settlement-freeze inspectors from carrying out Netanyahu’s cabinet-backed 10 month halt on settlement construction in the West Bank by blocking roads and verbally assaulting the inspectors, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243563

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Israeli authorities deport African American political activists
Al-Awda New York, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition, condemns the racist denial of entry to Palestine of African American political activists Dhoruba Bin Wahad and Naji Mujahid by the Israeli occupation. Dhoruba Bin Wahad, a former US political prisoner and leader of the Black Panther Party, and Naji Mujahid, a student activist from Washington DC were deported en route to the International Conference on Palestinian Political Prisoners in Jericho that was sponsored by the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Prisoners and ex-Prisoners Affairs.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10924.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

Omar Barghouti and Nancy Kricorian talk BDS on WBAI
If you haven't heard this already, consider listening to the following excellent interview about the BDS movement. Omar Barghouti of the Palestinian BDS National Committee and Nancy Kricorian of US Campaign member group CodePink explain the international BDS movement to Mimi Rosenberg of WBAI. The interview, which you can listen to here, runs about 27 minutes.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/omar-barghouti-and-nancy-kricorian-talk.html

Palestinians organize for the Gaza Freedom March
"From the besieged Gaza Strip, we call upon all peace lovers around the globe to come here to participate in our Gaza Freedom March that is aimed at breaking a repressive Israeli blockade on Gaza's 1.5 million residents." So said Mustafa al-Kayali, coordinator of the steering committee for the Gaza Freedom March. Rami Almeghari reports from the occupied Gaza Strip.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10917.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

Saul Williams visting the village of Bilin, Palestine, 28/11/2009. on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
US poetry slammer Saul Williams visited the west bank village of Bilin, on the 28/9/2009. Williams toured near the apartheid wall build on the village lands and hears from the residences of Bilin about their life under the Israeli occupation Photo by: Oren Ziv/ Activestills.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/activestills/4141309069/

Gaza: Resisting through education
Marryam Haleem, Gaza Strip, Electronic Intifada November 2009 Photo: Rusty Stewart Palestinian children crossing road to school by Israeli tank “That was the happiest day of my life,” Ahmad explained, “I was freed that day.” “Come on,” I laughed as we walked down the dusty Gaza street, the Mediterranean sun beating down hard on our faces.
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/4889

Plowing in Sinjil
Baruch - Rabbis for Human Rights - Despite harassment from soldiers who demanded that they leave, Palestinian farmers from Sinjil and the Israeli volunteers with them were able to successfully plow the land near the military base, from which Palestinians are usually excluded.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=36947

Dubai: Plea to boycott firms with Israel link
by Abbas Al Lawati, Gulf News November 2009 Photo: Piax. Dubai skyline from airplane. Dubai: A pressure campaign targeted at Gulf states was launched in Occupied Jerusalem on Monday by a coalition of 170 Palestinian organisations urging Arab states to boycott companies complicit in Israel’s expansion in the holy city.
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/4553

Will the Church Act to Save the Children of Gaza This Christmas?
(Open letter to: The Most Rev. and the Rt. Hon. the Archbishop of Canterbury, Spiritual leader of the Anglican Church)
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15586

Violence and Aggression
Gaza militant killed in car blast - medics
GAZA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - A car exploded in the Gaza Strip under unclear circumstances on Monday, killing a militant from a group linked to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and wounding another, medical workers said. Witnesses said Israeli warplanes were flying overhead when the vehicle blew up in Shati Refugee Camp in the Hamas-ruled enclave after dark, setting off a fire that completely destroyed it.
http://www.reuters.com/article/middleeastCrisis/idUSGEE5AT2LN

Israeli Navy Shells Palestinian Fishing Boats
The Israeli Navy fired several shelled at a number of Palestinian fishing boats near the Al Shudaniyya shore, north west of Gaza City. No injuries were reported in the shelling. Palestinian fishermen, even when allowed to fish in Palestinian territorial waters, cannot sail more than 3 miles into the sea.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57245

Military violence increases in Jayyus: elderly man arrested during a night invasion
Report from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM): "Salim, an elderly man, was just a few short hours away from leaving for Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to make the holy pilgrimage of the Hajj when he was taken by the military."
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/11/9512

Bahar: Assaulting MP Mansour unprecedented insolence
Dr. Ahmed Bahar has described the assault on MP Mona Mansour in the West Bank city of Nablus at the hands of militias loyal to former PA chief Mahmoud Abbas as "unprecedented insolence".

http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7cLmlJKE%2fOXusNC%2fftFzOlb1EGIPOw6DCgSKXK5ctx4GrrOFulxXi%2fW8mCA%2bJxoQq9GfyalMPaw2ZCgx%2f9uKYLCMSHqDn7kFZB11lWsutGWg%3d

Prisoners
Hamas: PA security forces detained 4 supporters
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Palestinian Authority security forces seized four Hamas affiliates in the West Bank on Monday, Hamas said in a statement released on Tuesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243463

One Palestinian prisoner could change the balance
The fate of one prisoner locked in an Israeli jail could release the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process from its own jail - provided the timing is right.The political timing is definitely ripe.This week a major residual source of tension between Israelis and Palestinians may be on the verge of being resolved - if German mediation finally overcomes last-minute.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=109254

Shalit deal: Dispute over female prisoners
Hamas source tells al-Hayat newspaper 400 names agreed upon as part of exchange deal, but dispute remains over some 50 more prisoners, including Amneh Muna, who lured Israeli teen Ofir Rahum to Ramallah where he was murdered eight years ago
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3813313,00.html

Israel cancels amnesty for Nablus man
Nablus – Ma’an Exclusive – Israel cancelled an agreement to grant amnesty to a Palestinian fighter, Palestinian security sources said on Monday. Mahdi Maraqa, 37, was granted a full pardon and removed from Israel’s “wanted” list in 2008 under an deal negotiated by the Palestinian Authority.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243371

Fighters Detained In Nablus Go On Hunger Strike
A number of Palestinian resistance fighter, detained by the Palestinian Authority at the Jneid prison in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, went on hunger strike four days ago and said that they will not break their strike until they are released.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57252

Humanitarian Issues/Siege/Human Rights
On the Anniversary of the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Suffering of Palestinian Women Continues in the West Bank and Doubles in the Gaza Strip
Today, 25 November, 2009, the world celebrates the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women. Adopted by the UN in 1999, this day forms part of the overall effort to eliminate violence against women, and to urge countries to take actions necessary to ensure women’s rights.
http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/PressR/English/2009/120-2009.html

Israel continues to block Gaza woman’s studies on bureaucratic/despotic grounds
Ben White writes: I’ve received an update from Gisha, the legal centre representing Bethlehem University student Berlanty Azzam [pictured] who Israel expelled last month from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip. The court delayed proceedings once again to December 6th (remembering that Berlanty was initially taken by Israeli forces almost 5 weeks ago). Here’s Gisha spokesperson Keren Tamir: "We are disappointed in the ongoing delay – while the semester melts away without Berlanty being permitted to attend her classes. This case raises questions as to why Israel insists on trying to prevent talented Palestinian students like Berlanty from accessing higher education – even when Israel itself makes no allegation of a security threat. "I’m also attaching an affidavit [sorry, editor at Mondo cant upload] submitted today to the court from the Ambassador of the Vatican in Israel in which he makes a commitment by the Vatican that, if ordered by the court to do so, Berlanty would agree to go back to Gaza after the completion of her studies. Even this commitment didn’t help to persuade the State and the Court to let her travel."
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/israel-continues-to-block-gaza-womans-studies-on-bureaucraticdespotic-grounds.html

Eid al-Adha highlights a Gaza family’s struggle to survive
Muslims around the world are about to celebrate Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice), one of the most important dates in the calendar, marking the end of the annual pilgrimage season to Mecca. Traditionally, Muslims slaughter a lamb (or offer money for one to be slaughtered for a poorer family), as an act of faith, as the Prophet Abraham did. In many Muslim countries, it is also a festive time of year, marked by family visits, purchasing new clothing, presenting gifts and offering sweets and candy to guests.
http://ramiofgaza.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/eid-al-adha-highlights-a-gaza-familys-struggle-to-survive/

Discrimination, not culture, keeps families in poverty
Nazareth - Israel’s finance minister was accused last week of trying to deflect attention from discriminatory policies keeping many of the country’s Palestinian families in poverty by blaming their troubles on what he termed Arab society’s opposition to women working. A recent report from Israel’s National Insurance Institute showed that half of all Palestinian families in Israel are classified as poor compared with just 14 percent of Jewish families.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243267

Swedish MP: Gaza biggest prison in the open air
A Swedish green party MP has criticized the ministry of immigration for deciding to deport Palestinian refugees to Gaza Strip, warning that the Strip has turned into the biggest prison in open air.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s79z5dS%2bgoSGFZ%2fjonTTATB7Q4Ljfbi0VBtTBwGN34vmI%2fMSOthrMsCEGoht5%2fYPf4yr46szfiXZL02M4MdWyP91llqQARrPfZAmAEZC8Dr2I%3d

Bethlehem traders still waiting for Christmas cheer
By Erika Solomon BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The lights are going up and carols are ringing from Manger Square, but Christmas cheer hasn't spread to all of Bethlehem's residents. While calm has returned to the Biblical birthplace of Jesus, scene of heavy fighting during the Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, in the early years of this decade, big-spending foreign tourists have mostly not, say the shopkeepers and restaurant owners who depend on them for their livelihood.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEE5AT0WT.htm

Political Developments
Haaretz Exclusive: EU draft document on division of Jerusalemv
Current EU president Sweden has proposed that the body recognize East Jerusalem as Palestinian capital.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131988.html

Israel rejects European Union plan to divide Jerusalem
Israel's foreign ministry said a Sweden-led initiative to divide Jerusalem, with East Jerusalem as the eventual Palestinian capital, would marginalize the European Union's ability to foster peace.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1201/p06s05-wome.html

Palestinian power play heats up
Abbas' inability to call for an early ceasefire in Gaza during the war of 2008, and his reaction to the Goldstone Report in September, slashed his approval ratings to an unprecedented one digit - the lowest-ever for a Palestinian leader since 1948.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KL01Ak01.html

Killing for Israel
Egypt police kill African migrant at Israel border
CAIRO, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Egyptian police shot and killed an African migrant on Tuesday as he tried to slip across the Sinai peninsula desert border to Israel, a security source said. Egyptian police have stepped up efforts in recent months to control the frontier with Israel following an increase in human trafficking through Egypt. At least 17 migrants have been killed at the border since May, the latest one two weeks ago.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEE5B0097.htm

Other News
Israel ranks as the 4th least peaceful country (surprise surprise)
The Global Peace Index Rankings have been released. Vision of Humanity has published them, and nothing there is surprising. The least peaceful nation is Iraq, followed by Afghanistan, Somalia and in the fourth position: Israel. Not surprising, as on many of the parametres used to measure peace. quite specifically respect for human rights, they fall short again and again. 144 countries were ranked in 2009. You can visit the chart, click on a country to see the detail of its peace indicators and drivers. http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi/results/rankings.php
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/12/01/israel-ranks-as-the-4th-least-peaceful-country-surprise-surprise/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PalestineThinkTank+(Palestine+Think+Tank)

Hamas 'on verge of Gaza war probe' - 29 Nov 09
Hamas says that it is on the verge of starting its own investigation into whether it committed war crimes during Israel's war on Gaza. The probe is one of the main requirements of the recent UN-backed Goldstone Report into the conflict, which took place during December and January. Most of the report's criticism was reserved for Israel. In a rare interview, Ismail Haniya, the deposed Palestinian prime minister, also told Al Jazeera's Zeina Awad that he is still hopeful of exchanging Gilad Shalit, a captured Israeli soldier, for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvk6tysfKjc&feature=youtube_gdata

Samir Al-Quntar meets PA delegation in Mecca
Mecca – Ma’an – Samir Al-Quntar, the Lebanese former prisoner of Israel, met with Palestinian officials who made the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Ma’an learned. Al-Quntar met with the Palestinian Authority’s Minister of Waqf and Religious Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash and other officials.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243269

Marcy Newman, "Interview with PA Dissident: 'I Cannot Just Stay Silent'"
Abdel Sattar Qassem is well known for his pungent critiques of Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). As a result he has been imprisoned by both the Israelis and the PA. Most recently his car was blown up as a warning from the PA.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10910.shtml

UN expresses solidarity with Palestinians
Bethlehem Ma’an – Members of the UN Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People discussed the status of Palestinians and the ongoing Israeli occupation on Monday as the UN observed the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243408

Likudniks blast 'enemy of the Jews' Obama over settlement freeze
The Obama administration is an enemy of the Jews and the worst regime there ever was for the State of Israel," said Yossi Naim, the head of the Beit Aryeh regional council, at the Ra'ana meeting. "I announce to Obama: You won't be able to stop us." Directing his comments to Livnat, he said: "I am proud and happy that you said what you said, because you had the public courage to say what most of the public feels ever since Obama came to power." Nahman repeatedly referred to the U.S. leader as "Hussein Obama," omitting his first name.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131258.html

Intelligence officer suspected of molesting children
Twenty-four-year-old lieutenant confesses to his commanders that in his teens he would touch toddlers entrusted to his care while they were sleeping. Police launch investigation, but encounter hurdle – no one has come forth with complaint. Officer claims he confessed only because he wanted to be released from service.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3813498,00.html

Court: Evidence links army chief's ex-bodyguard to attempted rape case
IDF officer suspected of attempted rape remanded for additional six days after judge says police has unequivocal evidence implicating him.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3813594,00.html

Analysis/Op-ed/Human Interest
Switzerland Bans Minarets, Gets Bad Press. Israel Bombs Minarets, Gets More Military Aid. What?
By now, I'm sure you've heard about the Swiss referendum banning mosque minarets--a blow to religious freedom that is getting global attention as a blow to religious freedom.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/switzerland-bans-minarets-gets-bad.html

Israel Killing Peace Hopes with Ethnic Cleansing Settlement Project
Israel's ongoing takeover of East Jerusalem shows it is trying to kill any hope of a negotiated settlement to Palestine’s struggle for self-determination. Israel approved plans to build 844 housing units outside the East Jerusalem Jewish-only Israeli settlement of Gilo on November 17. South of Jerusalem’s centre, Gilo is home to 40,000 residents.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15583

Bromwich on Bronner’s shocking euphemism
We’ve made a lot of Ethan Bronner’s implicit endorsement of the Israeli battle-orders for West Bank nighttime raids: "cutting the grass." David Bromwich’s analysis: Love of order may present itself as a principle without exceptions so long as the order in view is that of our own society. In practice, the principle gets scaled back when disorder is seen to emanate from our own, i.e. the people to whom we owe loyalty and protection. So Bronner, all too easily, picked up the shocking euphemism "cutting the grass" to give the quality of a suburban chore to the IDF suppression of Palestinian disorders on the West Bank. Why the easy adoption of a prejudicial usage? Because it seemed obvious to Bronner that the bad people should be kept down, leveled like grass, etc. Part of the natural order of things. Yet he would never use such a phrase about a violent action against the West Bank settlers–even if the violence were carried out by the IDF and the settlers were a lynch mob.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/12/bromwich-on-bronners-shocking-euphemism.html

And A Little Child Shall Lead Them – Uri Avnery
Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist, has an idea. That happens to him quite often. One might almost say – too often. It goes like this: The US will turn its back on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The entire world will follow. Everybody is fed up with this conflict. Let the Israelis and the Palestinians sort out their problems by themselves.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243131

Riz Khan - Changing perspectives on Israel - 30 Nov 09 - Part 1
The founding of the state of Israel was based on firmly-held views of Jewish history but new research questions some of its most fundamental principles. Do new perspectives on Israel's past require a new vision of its future?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1flUX5VNkNw&feature=youtube_gdata

Riz Khan - Changing perspectives on Israel - 30 Nov 09 - Part 2
The founding of the state of Israel was based on firmly-held views of Jewish history but new research questions some of its most fundamental principles. Do new perspectives on Israel's past require a new vision of its future?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK_3RdYYR80&feature=youtube_gdata

Witness - The Dumpster Diver - Part 1
A look at the life of an Israeli garbage collector in Tel Aviv who collects artefacts he believes tell a personal, historical story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWjPdsqEm-k&feature=youtube_gdata

Witness - The Dumpster Diver - Part 2
The story of the life of an Israeli garbage collector in Tel Aviv who collects artefacts he believes tell a personal, historical story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNLqUTsTdZQ&feature=youtube_gdata

Palestine's Guernica Book Release
HDIP (Health, Development, Information & Policy Institute and Palestine Monitor cordially invite you to attend the Palestine's Guernica Book Release which marks the 1st Year Memorial of the events in Gaza from December 27th, 2008 – January 19th, 2009
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1186

Iraq
Two people killed in Iraq's Diyala violence
A paramilitary member and a civilian were killed, three people injured, and eight others detained in separate incidents overnight and dawn across Iraq's volatile province of Diyala northeast of Baghdad.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/29/content_12560515.htm

Blair adviser: US did not expect to stabilize Iraq
LONDON — American troops did not expect to play a role in stabilizing Iraq after overthrowing Saddam Hussein, a key adviser to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Monday. David Manning, who served as a Blair's top foreign policy aide before being appointed ambassador to Washington in 2003, told a British inquiry into the Iraq war the American military did not believe peacekeeping was their responsibility.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h3md2ReGxE9CkpczxPehN4pM-z7gD9CA6TKO0

New changes to Iraq’s flag under debate
Iraq plans for the second time to introduce changes to Iraq’s flag. The decision spurred reservations among some lawmakers who are calling to keep the flag as it is. Iraq’s flag thus turned into a new pending issue in the country. For more details, click on play movie.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-41081-New-changes-to-Iraq%E2%80%99s-flag-under-debate.html

Iraqi families enjoy last day of Adha
Iraqi families are celebrating the joy of Eid Al Adha in public parks and places due to heavy traffic jam that is preventing them from reaching Iraq’s historical sites. For more details, click on play movie.
http://www.alsumaria.tv/en/Iraq-News/1-41085-Iraqi-families-enjoy-last-day-of-Adha.html

Iraq's Basra lifts ban on booze (AP)
AP - Officials in the southern province of Basra say they are lifting a four-month-old ban on alcohol.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091201/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

Mysterious 'Saddam Channel' drops off Iraqi TV (AP)
AP - A mysterious TV channel praising Saddam Hussein dropped off satellite airwaves on Monday, just three days after it began broadcasting.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091130/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_saddam_channel

Arab journalist throws shoe at Iraqi shoe thrower (AFP)
AFP - An Arabic-speaking man on Tuesday hurled a shoe at the Iraqi journalist who one year earlier had thrown shoes at former US president George W. Bush.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091201/wl_mideast_afp/franceiraqmediashoe

The Sayyed/Hezbollah
Sayyed Nasrallah: We Want Lebanon for All Lebanese Alike
30/11/2009 Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah announced on Monday the Resistance party's new political document that was approved during the party's General Conference that lasted for months. Sayyed Nasrallah held a press conference through a giant screen at al-Jinan hall on the airport road to declare the new political document. The press conference was attended by prominent Lebanese, Arab and international journalists as well as some Hezbollah leaders and various political figures.
http://almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=113379&language=en

Hezbollah New Manifesto: We Want Strong, United Lebanon
30/11/2009 Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah announced on Monday the Resistance party's new political document that was approved during the party's General Conference that lasted for months. Sayyed Nasrallah held a press conference through a giant screen at al-Jinan hall on the airport road to declare the new political document. The press conference was attended by prominent Lebanese, Arab and international journalists as well as some Hezbollah leaders and various political figures.
http://www.almanar.com.lb/newssite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=113379&language=en

Video of Sayyed Nasrallah's Televised Press Conference on November 30 (Arabic)
http://palestinianpundit.blogspot.com/2009/11/video-of-sayyed-nasrallahs-televise.html

Hezbollah: Israel a permanent threat to Lebanon
Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah says the movement provides Lebanon with stability and security against a 'permanent threat called Israel'. Speaking at a press conference in Beirut, Nasrallah said that Israel haOn the Anniversary of the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Suffering of Palestinian Women Continues in the West Bank and Doubles in the Gaza Strip
http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=112516&sectionid=351020203

Hezbollah vows to boost arsenal
Nasrallah calls for Lebanon to have defence strategy built on popular resistance.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/11/20091130161054587528.html

Nasrallah: Sectarianism impeding democracy
Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah said on Monday the major problem facing Lebanon's political regime was political sectarianism, which hindered the establishment of a true democracy. He also stressed the continued need for the resistance's, given the absence of a strong Lebanese state.Speaking at a news conference through video phone.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=109270

Britain open to contacts with Hizbullah
Britain is willing to step-up contact with Hizbullah as they begin to play a bigger role in Lebanon's government, Foreign Secretary David Miliband toldThe Daily Star in an exclusive interview.Miliband told the paper this week he believed "carefully considered contact with Hizbullah's politicians, including its MPs, will best advance our objective of the group rejecting violence to play a constructive role in Lebanese politics."
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=109271

U.S./Other World News
Amy Goodman Detained at Canadian Border, Questioned About Speech...and 2010 Olympics
While traveling to Vancouver, Canada to speak at the Vancouver Public Library at a benefit for community radio stations, Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and her two colleagues were detained by Canadian authorities. Amy was questioned extensively about the speech she intended to give; their car was gone through by armed border guards, and their papers and laptop computers were scoured. The armed interrogators were particularly interested in whether she would be speaking about the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.[includes rush transcript]
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/30/amy_goodman_detained_at_canadian_border

As`ad Abukhalil at Harvard University: Obama’s Middle East Policies: the Persistence of the Bush Doctrine
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaLvBoT5uqg
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6pK1IrIOuE
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj4b3qBcs4s
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki0Ajm0G08E
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mBiDPbg6fM
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgJzujaD-HY
Part 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwts4-dsRDE
Part 8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAVbOVkdGZE
Part 9: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPnIyxkdGK8

The crazy, irrational beliefs of Muslims
Tom Friedman can declare with a straight face that "anyone who shoots up innocent people is ... mentally imbalanced" without seeing how clearly that applies to himself and those who think like he does. It's that self-absorbed disconnect -- seeing Hasan's murder of American soldiers as an act of consummate evil and sickness while refusing to see our own acts in a similar light -- that shapes most of our warped political discourse. And note the morality on display here: Hasan attacks soldiers on a military base of a country that has spent the last decade screaming to the world that "we're at war!!," and that's a deranged and evil act, while Friedman cheers for an unprovoked war that killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians and displaced millions more -- all justified by sick power fantasies, lame Mafia dialogue, and cravings more appropriate for a porno film than a civilized foreign policy -- and he's the arbiter of Western reason and sanity."
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2009/11/29/friedman/index.html

Why they hate us (II): How many Muslims has the U.S. killed in the past 30 years?
Tom Friedman had an especially fatuous column in Sunday's New York Times, which is saying something given his well-established capacity for smug self-assurance. According to Friedman, the big challenge we face in the Arab and Islamic world is "the Narrative" -- his patronizing term for Muslim views about America's supposedly negative role in the region. If Muslims weren't so irrational, he thinks, they would recognize that "U.S. foreign policy has been largely dedicated to rescuing Muslims or trying to help free them from tyranny." He concedes that we made a few mistakes here and there (such as at Abu Ghraib), but the real problem is all those anti-American fairy tales that Muslims tell each other to avoid taking responsibility for their own actions.
http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/11/30/why_they_hate_us_ii_how_many_muslims_has_the_us_killed_in_the_past_30_years

Iran loses clout in Arab world
"Iran's supporters in the region were wagering before and during the elections that the Islamic state would teach the world a lesson in democracy and present a model of Islamist rule," wrote the Saudi-owned Al-Hayat newspaper. "They have lost their wager, and certainly Islamists in Arab countries who aspire to participate in the political game and come to power have lost the most."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1130/p25s03-wome.html

Inside Story - Dubai's future - 29 Nov 09
Dubai asked for a delay on its debt payments - a move that triggered panic amongst investors. Is the once prosperous, gleaming city in the Gulf on the brink of collapse? And what are the implications for the global economy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTK8ASQWWbw&feature=youtube_gdata

Boycotting Switzerland, As`ad Abukhalil
The ban on minarets in Switzerland is one of the most outrageous signs of blatant religious intolerance in the 21st century. And it happened by a popular vote: so it can't be blamed on a fringe right-wing group anymore. This is a sign and it is amazing that civil libertarians and human rights organizations did not react with widespread condemnation, as they should have. Something major has happened, and those who ignore it would be repeating the mistakes and criminal errors that were displayed by many in Europe against the early signs of Nazi anti-Semitism. This should result in an international human rights reaction, and should lead to an international effort to boycott Switzerland, the country. The people of Switzerland should be aware how the rest of the world view their vote for religious bigotry. You can't call what happened in Switzerland by any other name. And this is not something that should only be of concern to Muslims: it should be of concern to humans everywhere. Don't get me wrong: I love Switzerland: I love its food and especially its desserts. One of my favorite stays ever was at this hotel in Geneva. I had most splendid nights and a most splendid buffet in that garden that you see here. (I thank my late father for recommending the hotel to me). But the people of Switzerland have spoken, and those who care about equality and freedoms--real ones and not those empty slogans that appear in speeches of US politicians--should speak too. [end]
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/11/boycotting-switzerland.html

The Arab street - Amman - 30 Nov 09 - pt 1
The future of Palestine and Iraqi refugees, and women's equality all issues which excite strong opinions and arguments in Amman, Jordan's capital.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvWEvCl2iVA&feature=youtube_gdata

Abused Afghan women opt for suicide - 29 Nov 09
For many women trapped in abusive marriages in Afghanistan, death can seem like the only way out. In the northwestern province of Herat, doctors this year have treated at least seventy women who attempted to take their own lives by setting themselves on fire. More than 40 of them died, in what doctors describe as a lingering and painful process. Al Jazeera's David Chater reports from Herat where he speaks to one woman who said she saw self-immolation as a means to escape a lifetime of abuse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4WkEc21MWg&feature=youtube_gdata

Craftsmen carve out their corner in Egypt
With almost no unemployment, Damietta, a center of handmade furniture, is an anomaly in Egypt. But the $1-billion industry, reliant on exports, is feeling the squeeze of the global downturn.
http://feeds.latimes.com/%7Er/latimes/middleeast/%7E3/wAhN8Y4I1N4/la-fg-no-jobless30-2009nov30,0,6937655.story

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From: "Today in Palestine!" <tipalestine@...>
Date: Mon Nov 30, 2009 7:43 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~ Monday, 30 November 2009 ~

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Land theft / Settlements

Settler leaders ban 'Bibi's inspectors' from communities
Heads of West Bank local councils and heads of the Yesha Council held an emergency meeting on Monday, after which they decided to ban the entrance of Civil Administration inspectors enforcing the construction moratorium into the local communities. Earlier Monday, Civil Administration inspectors, accompanied by police officers and soldiers, patrolled West Bank settlements to enforce the construction freeze orders approved by the cabinet.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3813033,00.html

Settlers: We'll prevent inspectors from enforcing construction freeze
Settler leaders announced on Monday that they would prevent Israeli inspectors from enforcing a moratorium on new construction in West Bank settlements, Army Radio reported. The statement by the Yesha council of settlements came after officials said inspectors armed with aerial maps and empowered to confiscate construction had begun enforcing the policy ... Meanwhile, the Legal Forum for the Land of Israel on Monday appealed to the High Court of Justice to put a stop to the government's plan to enforce the construction freeze.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131680.html

PA official: Settlers storm Burin village
Residents of Israel's illegal Yitzhar settlement stormed the nearby Palestinian village of Burin in Nablus on Monday, a Palestinian Authority official told Ma'an. Ghassan Daghlas, who holds the PA's settlement portfolio in the northern West Bank, said dozens of settlers assaulted residents and caused damage to property.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243314

Any given Friday
Jo Ehrlich writing from occupied West Bank - Today we were clearing land in the Palestinian village of Um Salomona and it is a beautiful crisp, clear fall day. Um Salomona is located in the occupied West Bank's Bethlehem District and is one of nine villages, with a combined total of 9,000 residents, that borders the illegal Israeli settlement of Efrat. More accurately, Efrat borders the nine Palestinian villages, seeing as they outdate the illegal settlement by hundreds of years ... Recently, after years of land appropriation and harassing Palestinian villagers, Efrat's residents have decided that they want to acquire more of Um Salomona's farmland separated from the village by the main road for a cemetery.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10920.shtml

West Bank: Palestinian farmers struggle for survival
Oxfam’s Caroline Berger reports from the West Bank about the impact that Israeli settlements are having on farming communities in the heart of Jiflik in the Jordan Valley -- I’m standing near the lowest place on earth, 400 metres below sea level. Large signs shout out a warning as we enter the village of Jiflik. “Danger. Firing area. Entrance forbidden,” they read. Behind these concrete blocks lie Bedouin Palestinian communities who continue to work on the land despite the perilous warnings.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/applications/blogs/pressoffice/?p=8460&v=newsblog

Judea and Samaria police seek indictment of right-wing activist
29 Nov - Police arrested an 18-year-old Jerusalem resident over the weekend on suspicion of puncturing the tire of an IDF jeep outside the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar last Thursday ... During last week's incident, police said a group of masked settlers attacked an IDF patrol outside Yitzhar, throwing stones as the troops passed.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259243034769&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Violence / Aggression

Witnesses: Israeli forces open fire in northern Gaza
Israeli forces opened fire at houses and farmland in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, eyewitnesses told Ma’an. The witnesses said Israeli forces opened fire while withdrawing from an area southeast of the town of Beit Hanoun where they had entered in the morning. The area where fire was reported was approximately 800 meters from the Green Line in the agricultural lands of Abu Sufiyah. No injuries were reported ... Meanwhile, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades, claimed responsibility for firing a homemade projectile toward Israeli forces attempting to enter Gaza via the Nahal Oz crossing.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243337

Report: Israeli stabs Palestinian teen in Jaffa
A Palestinian teenager was stabbed in Jaffa on Monday, the Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported. The victim, an 18-year-old man, was evacuated to a hospital in Holon inside Israel. Medics said he sustained moderate wounds. According to the report, a 20-year-old Israeli from Affula was arrested on suspicions he stabbed the man. There was no immediate indication the alleged attack was nationalistically motivated. Israeli police also opened an investigation into the victim's residency status, the newspaper said. [End]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243224

Troops get off easy for forcing prisoners to eat snacks
Four soldiers convicted of overstepping authority when they forced Palestinian detainees to eat snacks get off easy. Jaffa Military Court demotes them in rank, fines them NIS 1,800 even though the four did 'damage to IDF's image.' Military Advocacy believes sentence too light, considers further steps -- The light punishments [were?] handed down to soldiers from the Kfir Brigade for their involvement in abusing Palestinian detainees and force feeding them snacks.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3812541,00.html

Blockade

Two Gaza crossings opened
Palestinian crossings official, Raed Fattuh, said that between 82 and 92 truckloads of commercial merchandize and humanitarian aid would be allowed into Gaza through Kerem Shalom. Fattouh added that 88 truckloads of wheat and fodder would be allowed through the Karni crossing.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243199

Preparations underway in Britain for a humanitarian aid convoy to Gaza
29 Nov - London, (SANA) - Donations are currently being collected throughout Britain in order to run a 3rd British humanitarian aid to Gaza, led by British MP George Galloway . The report which was broadcast by alJazeera satellite TV channel yesterday said that the Palestinian community in Britain had already organized donations collecting campaign in solidarity with the Palestinian people led by the Green Party Leader, Caroline Lucas , and Member of the European Parliament, Angela Porter in her capacity as representative of Amnesty International. [check out http://www.vivapalestina.org/route.htm for route of the convoy due to leave London Dec 6.]
http://www.sana.sy/eng/22/2009/11/29/258620.htm

Detention

Israeli forces detain five from Hebron
Israeli soldiers seized five Palestinians during raids on houses on Monday in the Old City of Hebron, in the West Bank, according to witnesses. Nidal Al-Owewi said Israeli soldiers entered his house, and ordered his wife and children into the street, before detaining his son Saed Al-Owewi, 20, his nephews Farid Al-Owewi, 20, and Muhammad Al-Owewi, 15.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243363

Israeli intel agency defends interrogation methods
Responding to a petition to Israel's Supreme Court, the Shin Bet intelligence agency on Monday insisted its interrogation practices are humane ... The newspaper reported that detainees are typically tied to a chair for long hours with their hands cuffed behind them during interrogations. However, Maariv added, the Shin Bet has amended its cuffing method by lengthening the chains to 48 centimeters.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243252

Hunger strike continues at Juneid prison
Twelve Palestinian detainees held at Juneid prison in Nablus continued their hunger strike for the fourth consecutive day in protest against their detention on Monday ... The detainee added that of the 12 Palestinians partaking in the hunger strike, 11 are affiliated with Fatah’s paramilitary group, The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, while one is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243206

Border Guard officers indicted for assaulting Arab
According to indictment Maor Malianker, Yossi Dahan approached east Jerusalem resident, requested an ID. After Arab man asked officers not to shout, two proceeded to beat him using baton, rifle
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3812910,00.html

Prisoner swap

Report: German mediator arrives in Gaza
A German mediator arrived in Gaza City on Monday to deliver Israel's final response to Hamas' demands over an impending prisoner swap deal, the Dubai-based satellite network Al-Arabiyya reported. Meanwhile, other Hamas sources ruled out the possibility that the movement would issue a response before sending a delegation of its own to Damascus to consult with leadership there.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243305

Hamas: Gaps remain over prisoner swap with Israel
(AP) Senior Hamas officials said Monday that the Islamic militant group is still sparring with Israel over the names of 50 prisoners it wants released in exchange for a captive Israeli soldier, signaling there were still significant gaps before completing the anticipated deal ... Hamas officials said Israel is still balking at including prominent political leaders and top Hamas militants it holds. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the German-mediated negotiations.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ioi_0jtO9RjMwPNRoXNCndRPRq3gD9C9US2O0

Israel, Hamas pledge to keep mum on Shalit deal
Israel will release 980 prisoners in exchange for captive soldier Gilad Shalit, the State Prosecutor's Office stated Sunday in response to a petition filed by the parents of terror victims. Israel and Hamas have promised the German mediator negotiating the swap that the names of inmates released would not be disclosed, in order to ensure productive negotiations without media interference.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131614.html

Censorship is harming the Shalit deal
By Ze'ev Segal. The state prosecutor's notification to the High Court of Justice saying the names of terrorists to be released as part of the deal to free Gilad Shalit will become public only after an exchange agreement is signed and approved by the cabinet, makes it impossible to conduct a debate over a subject that has so inflamed the public. After an agreement is signed it becomes difficult to imagine circumstances preventing the release of any particular terrorist.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131612.html

Hamas influence in Gaza is growing
By Amos Hareland Avi Issacharoff. ...The Hamas organizational structure requires collective decision making. The Arab media have reported that the Gaza leaders have in effect accepted the deal, leaving the ball in the court of Khaled Meshal, the Hamas leader in Damascus. Hamas is hoping the Shalit deal could help Gaza recover from last winter's Operation Cast Lead and the Israeli economic blockade; it is either hoping to include a clause requiring that the Gaza checkpoints be reopened or is at least assuming that once Shalit is returned, Israel will have to give in to increasing international pressure and ease the blockade.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131613.html

'62% of Israelis back releasing terrorists to free Schalit'
Nearly 90 percent of the Israeli public would like to take an active role in the campaign to release Gilad Schalit, according to a survey conducted by University of Haifa students. However, only 28% have actually taken action to bring about the release of Schalit, who has been held captive by Hamas in Gaza since June 2006. ...The survey also found that 62% of Israelis support the release of convicted 'terrorists' in order to free Schalit, while 16% oppose such a deal and 22% are undecided. Israelis are also skeptical that any deal will be reached in the near future.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259243036998&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Political news

PM calls off Berlin visit due to illness
(AP) Government's trip to Germany cancelled after Netanyahu's doctor diagnoses viral infection and mild fever, orders him to rest. Sources close to prime minister say cancellation has nothing to do with Shalit deal
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3812567,00.html

Blair: 2-state solution or "hell of a fight"
Washington – Quartet envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair portrayed Sunday a harsh picture of the region without a Palestinian state. "The alternative to a two-state solution is a one-state solution and that will, I assure you, be a hell of fight," he said in an interview to the CNN network.According to Blair, the next month "will be completely critical and fundamental" in the efforts to resume direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3812543,00.html

Racism

'Arab women need not apply'
By Jonathan Cook. Israel’s finance minister was accused last week of trying to deflect attention from discriminatory policies keeping many of the country’s Arab families in poverty by blaming their economic troubles on what he described as Arab society’s opposition to women working ... “Most Arab women want to work, including a large number of female graduates, but the government has refused to tackle the many and severe obstacles that have been put in their way,” said Sawsan Shukha of Women Against Violence, a Nazareth-based organisation. That assessment was supported by a survey this month revealing that 83 per cent of Israeli businesses in the main professions – including advertising, law, banking, accountancy and the media – admitted being opposed to hiring Arab graduates, whether men or women.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091130/FOREIGN/711299906/1042/OPINION

Rabbis declare victory in 'demographic race'
Jerusalem – Ma’an/Agencies – Ultra-Orthodox rabbis say they have secured Israel’s victory in the “demographic race with the Arabs,” according to the Israeli newspaper Israel Ha'Yom on Monday, in response to statistics released on army enlistment rates ... Rabbi Yaqov Lisman, deputy Israeli minister of health, stated, “The religious Jews beget many children, while secular Jews serve in the army. Thus, you have to thank us instead of criticizing us because procreation is a battle too which we fight for Jewish demography. Take for example Jerusalem; if it wasn’t for religious Jews, Sari Nusseibeh would have become mayor of Jerusalem,” according to Israel Ha'Yom.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243298

Other news

Hamas approves law to execute drug dealers
(AFP) "The government has approved a decision to cancel the Zionist (Israeli) military law with regard to drugs and enact Egyptian law 19 of 1962," Mohammed Abed, the attorney general, said in a statement. "The latter law is more comprehensive in terms of crime and criminals and the penalties more advanced, including life sentences and execution."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091130/wl_mideast_afp/mideastpalestinianhamascrimedruglaw

Planned city 'Rawabi' draws on Palestinian enterprise and Israeli expertise
Just six miles north of Ramallah, Palestinians have begun planting thousands of evergreen tree saplings as part of a major greening project to grow a forest to hug the edges of what will be the first planned Palestinian city. The city is already named Rawabi, Arabic for “hills”. For Palestinians it presents a new kind of urbanism, which aims to draw middle-class professionals away from smoggy towns and villages towards a better way of life. Besides being the first planned city, it also marks the first planting of a major forest by Palestinians in the territories since Israel took control 42 years ago. It is also the first time serious arrangements are being made to provide Palestinians with American-style mortgages.
http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=27238

Palestinian archaeologist dies in Abu Dhabi
Archaeologist Shawqi Sha’ath died on Sunday evening in Abu Dhabi. Sha’ath was born in Beer Sheva, Palestine in 1937. He attended school in Khan Younis, then got a BA in history from Syria's Damascus University in 1959, along with a higher diploma in ancient history. In 1973, Sha’ath received a PHD in oriental archeology and was appointed chairman of the Syria Museum.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243207

Allenby Bridge open 24/7 for homebound Hajj pilgrims
Jericho – Ma’an – The first group of Palestinian Hajj pilgrims returned to the West Bank on Monday via the Allenby Bridge, the border crossing with Jordan.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243282

If the Vilna Gaon was right, the 3rd Temple is on its way
If the 18th-century rabbinic authority the Vilna Gaon was right, on March 16, 2010, construction will begin on the third Temple. His projection states that the auspicious day will coincide with the third completion of the Hurva Synagogue in Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter. The great day is at hand: On March 15, the reconstructed Hurva Synagogue, considered the most important house of prayer in Jerusalem will be rededicated. It was last destroyed in the War of Independence.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131599.html

After 'Free Jerusalem' rally, both sides remain steadfast
A day after more than 1,500 people gathered in downtown Jerusalem to protest recent violent Shabbat demonstrations by members of the capital's haredi community in recent weeks, neither haredi leaders nor organizers of the protest gave any indication they would relent ... [Rabbi Yosef] Rosenfeld explained that some of the signs carried by protesters, including, "Iran is here" or the phrase "religious coercion," were offensive to members of the haredi community, and would mobilize further demonstrations.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259243036164&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Quarter of boys and 40% of girls don't do military service
Some 25 percent of military-age boys and 40% of military-age girls do not go into the army, the cabinet was told Sunday in a session devoted to curbing draft evasion.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259243036952&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Ministers against revoking draft dodgers' driving license
Cabinet discusses alarming IDF data on growing draft dodging trend. Transportation minister proposes bill which would revoke licenses of those seeking exemptions on mental health grounds, but ministerial committee rejects it. PM suggests recruiting more non-Jews
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3812462,00.html

Israel's 'hot return' of Sudan refugees prompts UN rebuke
The Supreme Court is currently discussing a case that concerns Israel's practice of immediately returning asylum seekers who cross from Egypt into Israel back across the border. It appears that in so doing, Israel may be violating international law, according to a position paper submitted to the court by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131611.html

Analysis / Opinion

Defying Israeli genocide at home (in school) and abroad (in court)
By Mohammed Omer. Although ignored by much of the Western media, a battle which echoes the biblical story of David and Goliath is taking place in The Hague. In the modern-day version, young David is personified by a soft-spoken 15-year-old girl named Amira Alqerem. Goliath takes the form of the world’s fourth most powerful, nuclear-armed military state: Israel. At stake is victims’ rights the world over and the international commitment to “never again.”
http://www.amedtrust.org/component/content/article/321-2009-november/6365-defying-israeli-genocide-at-home-in-school-and-abroad-in-court.html

Peace plan: Trading settler Israelis for refugee Palestinians
By Bradley Burston. Last week, in a piece headlined A Palestinian peace plan Israelis can live with, the text of Palestinian-American journalist Ray Hanania's outline for a future Mideast accord was published in this space. The following is an advance look at the radical heart of the proposal, the Settler-Refugee Exchange Program, the full text of which may be found by clicking here.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131717.html

'The Only Democracy' (TM) vs. Mohammad Othman, nonviolent activist
By Assaf. Today [Friday], an Israeli military court approved (with some limitations) the euphemistically named "administrative detention" of nonviolent Palestinian activist Mohammad Othman. In plain words: his imprisonment without trial - without even an indictment - continues. Othman is from Jayyus, a village in the hapless Kalkilia region of the West Bank - a region sliced and butchered by the "Separation Barrier" which indeed separates locals from their lands, in order to maximize the area available to surrounding settlements and their expansion plans. [see map]
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/11/27/808581/-The-Only-Democracy%28TM%29-vs.-Mohammad-Othman,-Nonviolent-Activist

Video - Chomsky: Palestine and the region in the Obama era - the emerging framework
The Imperial College Political Philosophy Society, in association with Palestine societies at UCL, SOAS, Goldsmiths, LSE, Imperial and Kings, proudly present one of the greatest political philosophers of all time: MIT Professor Emeritus Noam Chomsky, for what could be his last trip to London.
http://vimeo.com/7350655

Looking for Shalom: The sacrifice
By Carin Smaller. During Eid, it is customary to sacrifice an animal and then feast on it. I joined a group of kibbutzniks who went to wish "Eid said" (happy festival) to dozens of Palestinian families in the West Bank. We literally went around from family to family, offering sweets and chocolates, sharing in the festivities, and receiving their warm hospitality ... Many of you already know the kibbutzniks I am referring to, they call themselves the Villages Group, and they are some of the most inspiring people I have met on my journey. They are Israelis who spend every weekend visiting Palestinian families to build friendships. They are determined to keep the human contact alive; to resist the demonisation of "the other;" to transcend the Us versus Them tag.
http://looking-for-shalom.blogspot.com/2009/11/sacrifice.html

Looking for a hilltop
By Karni Eldad. I am a settler, the daughter of settlers. My husband (or "partner" or "other half" or whatever you call it) is also of that ilk. A settler. And with the precepts of our forefathers in mind, and our genetic makeup, we are looking for a plot of land, a home. We are searching for a new place, one that is young and where religious and secular people live side by side ("mixed"). A place whose future has not yet been set, and if possible, not in the heart of the Arab population. What can I do - I don't want to dispossess Arabs of their lands. In short, we are looking for a hilltop.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131620.html

Iraq

Monday: 1 Iraqi killed
Excerpt: The Health Ministry reported the lowest casualty figures since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. According to their figures, less than 100 Iraqis were killed in November. Indeed, only one Iraqi was reported killed so far today. The Eid al-Adha winds down today, so reports should normalize in the next day or so. In the United States, the Supreme Court sent a case involving abuse photos back to an appellate court for consideration. A new U.S. law exempts photographs from disclosure. A federal judge had originally ordered the release of 21 pictures that showed U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi detainees.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/11/30/monday-1-iraqi-killed/

Jeremy Greenstock, UK diplomat, says US was 'hell bent' on Iraq invasion
LONDON — The United States was "hell bent" on a 2003 military invasion of Iraq and actively undermined efforts by Britain to win international authorization for the war, a former British diplomat told an inquiry Friday. ... Bush's inner circle cared little about what international allies thought and refused to halt plans to invade in March 2003, Greenstock said. He said even Blair was unable to persuade Bush, winning only a brief hiatus of two weeks.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/27/jeremy-greenstock-uk-dipl_n_372217.html

Other Mideast

'If I stop working, how can we survive?"
DAMASCUS, 30 November 2009 (IRIN) - Karrad, 16, and his family fled the sectarian violence in Iraq following the US-led invasion in 2003 and came to Syria in 2005. Although the Syrian government provides Iraqi children with free education in its public schools, Karrad and his brother Ali, 12, cannot go to school because they are the breadwinners. Karrad told his story to IRIN:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=87239

Hezbollah chief: Armed struggle is best way to end occupation
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah asserted on Monday that the use of violence was the most effective way to end Israel's occupation of Arab lands, amid criticism in Lebanon of his militant organization's refusal to disarm ... Nasrallah added: "The method of negotiations has proven that the Zionist entity becomes more boastful and more belligerent, and that it has no intention of reaching an accord."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131726.html

Bahrain: Role of women in mosques makes national headlines
A fresh row has erupted between the government and parliament in the tiny Gulf state of Bahrain. The Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs is being held to task for the recruitment of four female prayer criers (muezzins). In the conservative nation, Islamic theology and women's labor rights are making for a problematic partnership.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259243028652&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Saudi Arabians use Facebook to vent fury over Jeddah flood deaths
After flooding in Jeddah killed more than 100 people, Saudi Arabians have flocked to Facebook to press the government for better drainage. A Katrina moment for Saudi leaders?
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1130/p06s13-wome.html

YEMEN: Agencies battle with minors seeking new life in Gulf
KHARAZ, 30 November 2009 (IRIN) - The rising number of minors fleeing the Horn of Africa is becoming a challenge for the UN and aid organizations, as the number of new arrivals in Yemen reached record highs this year.
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87237

Iran's 10 new nuclear plants? Not likely, experts say
Experts say Iran's plans to build 10 new nuclear plants is not within its capabilities for years, but Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said they would manufacture 500,000 new centrifuges ... More than powering Iran, or even potentially creating nuclear weapons – as many in the international community fear Iran is trying to do – the program seems to be more bluster in the face of increasing diplomatic pressure than a realistic plan to develop the country's nuclear program.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1130/p99s01-duts.html

Other world news

Europe unites to deplore Swiss ban on minarets
The Swiss and European establishment united today in deploring yesterday's decision by Swiss voters to outlaw the construction of minarets but conservative leaders warned that the referendum showed genuine fear over Islam on the continent. Swiss officials, media and business leaders voiced shame over a vote that they say will stigmatise the country's 400,000 Muslims and stain Switzerland's name in the Muslim world.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6937486.ece

Religious bigotry in the New York Times
By As`ad AbuKhalil. What happened in Switzerland is quite significant. Of course, only an ignorant would associate Switzerland with equality and tolerance: just remember--as I always remind my students--that women were only granted the right to vote in 1971. Enough said. But what is quite outrageous is the extent to which US (and Western) media are not treating this as the international outrage that it is. Just ask yourselves: how would the Western media have reacted if the ban affected synagogues and not mosques.
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/11/religious-bigotry-in-new-york-times.html

The only good Swiss Muslim is an invisible Muslim
By Tariq Ramadan. "One must respect the fear of ordinary citizens, while one also must resist in civic fashion populist parties which are instrumentalising fear in order to win elections. The majority of our fellow Swiss citizens are not racists: they are afraid and they would like to understand. Swiss people of the Muslim faith have a real responsibility to communicate and explain … The problem is that the UDC [the Democratic Union of the Centre, another name for the Swiss People’s Party] initiative is using the symbol of the minaret to target Islam as a religion.
http://friday-lunch-club.blogspot.com/2009/11/only-good-swiss-muslim-is-invisible.html

Israeli war criminal welcomed in Australia
By Sonja Karkar. The news that former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was in Australia and was welcomed by the honourable members of our parliament came as somewhat of a shock. It is one thing to have allowed a man on corruption charges as well as facing war crimes indictments into Australia at all; it is another thing that he was listed as a distinguished guest in Hansard....
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15581

Afghan detainees held in isolation in secret prison
KABUL, Afghanistan - A US military detention camp in Afghanistan is still holding inmates for sometimes weeks at a time and without access to the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to human rights researchers and former detainees held at the site on the Bagram Air Base.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/11/29/afghan_detainees_held_in_isolation_in_secret_prison/
--
www.TheHeadlines.org

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From: "Today in Palestine!" <tipalestine@...>
Date: Sun Nov 29, 2009 7:40 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~ Sunday, 29 November 2009 ~

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Land theft / Evictions / Settlements

Residents of Sheikh Jarrah hold Eid al-Adha prayers and demonstrations against ethnic cleansing and house evictions
On Friday 27 November 2009, the Eid al-Adha celebration in Sheikh Jarrah, a Palestinian neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem, was marked by prayers and demonstrations. In the night unto Eid, the sleep in the neighbourhood was disturbed at 2am by loud music coming from a street party attended by Jewish settler youths, who gathered outside the Shimon HaTzadik Tomb, located just behind the Palestinian houses. This is the same location from which Jewish settlers threw stones at the Palestinian houses in the middle of the night on Friday 6 November. The disturbing music was played for 30 minutes until the police blue-lights drew near.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/11/9532

Settlers tried to occupy the home of Hajja al-Kurd in Jerusalem
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- A number of extremist Jewish settlers tried to occupy the home of Hajja Rifqa al-Kurd in Sheikh Jarrah suburb in occupied Jerusalem a couple of days ago, local sources revealed on Saturday. "At around 2:00 am I heard some noise near my brother's house which has been closed for the past nine years .. I came out to find four settlers breaking into my brother's house, the entry of which is banned, a court will decide on its fate on Sunday 29 November," Maysa' al-Kurd, the daughter of Hajja al-Kurd said in a statement
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7XRINKQThWrVZsW%2febJSfSmLKAwpLiL9BxngiPiabWBuYn95OGELw%2f%2fYuA5ZBF%2fHHOEnMs6WOtoR6hORDTtMD4pD6uVLYWMDS8GbCCeH5WPQ%3d

Palestinians from Bir Idd continue reclaiming their land in spite of army harassment
For the last 3 weeks, ISM activists have stayed with a community of cave-dwellers in Bir Idd, south east of Hebron, on the very border to the Negev desert. The villagers, who live off raising sheep and goats as well as seasonal farming, moved in recently, after a court order gave them permission to do so following 10 years in exile ... Until now, attempts by the villagers to reclaim their land have been quashed by violence perpetrated by settlers from the three nearby settlements of Mezadot Yehuda, Susiya and Mitzpe Yair, all of which are illegal under international law.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/11/9522

Settler harassment and land theft continues in Yanoun
27 Nov - Israeli settlers have annexed a further 40 dunums of what remains of the endangered Palestinian village of Yanoun, east of Nablus. Settlers from the illegal settlement Itamar were witnessed ploughing the land in question yesterday, effectively laying claim to it and furthering their annexation of Yanoun’s land, already entirely encircled by outposts of Itamar. Two settlers were sighted driving their plough on to land that had previously remained accessible to Yanoun farmers yesterday morning.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/11/9517

Gate forced open in Ni‘lin's separation barrier - eight demonstrators wounded and one arrested
28 Nov - This morning, a group of demonstrators in the West Bank village of Ni’lin managed to surprise the Israeli army and, using bolt cutters, cut open one of the gates in the fence built on the village’s lands. Israeli soldiers arrived at the scene and fired rubber-coated steel bullets as well as tear gas canisters at the demonstrators, followed by the use of live ammunition.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/11/9530

Government to ask court for more time to evacuate settlement outposts
The government will ask the Supreme Court this week for more time to evacuate West Bank outposts in light of the administration's freeze on settlement construction and related diplomatic developments. The government is expected this week to inform the court on its position on three outpost-related High Court petitions. One is over the demolition of the Yovel neighborhood in the settlement of Eli and seven homes in Harasha. The court has asked the state to present a timetable for razing the homes.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131319.html

Settlers vow to defy crackdown on West Bank construction
Israeli settlers vowed on Sunday to defy a government crackdown on West Bank construction by laying cornerstones in communities across the territory. The announcement came just hours after Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered his ministry to urgently recruit and train construction supervisors to oversee the 10-month construction freeze in West Bank settlements, decreed by the cabinet last week. Yishai Hollander, a spokesman for the settlers council, told The Associated Press there would be festive cornerstone ceremonies for new neighborhoods in multiple settlements in the next few days.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131438.html

Likud activist: Obama regime anti-Semitic
About 200 Likud activists attended a meeting to express their objection to the temporary settlement freeze announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811991,00.html

State sues outpost evacuees for NIS 22,000
The State Prosecutor's Office on Sunday filed a NIS 22,332 (about $5,900) lawsuit against three settlers over expenses incurred by police and army forces during their evacuation from a West Bank outpost near Kedumim in May.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3812259,00.html

Detention

Addameer prisoners' support and human rights association - statistics
Total number of political prisoners: 7390; Administrative detainees: 335; Female prisoners: 32; Child detainees: 340; Detained Palestinian Legislative Council members: 25; East Jerusalem prisoners: 215; 1948 Territories prisoners: 188; Golan prisoners: 7; Prisoners serving life sentences: 778; Prisoners sentenced to more than 20 years: 122; Gaza prisoners: 745, including 9 detainees held under the unlawful combatants law
http://addameer.info/?p=1430

'Cutting the grass': Israeli soldiers pull 63-year-old Palestinian from home in middle of night
By Philip Weiss. All this weekend I’ve thought about Ethan Bronner’s brutalized use of the term "cutting the grass" to describe Israeli raids and "actions" in the West Bank that have reduced violence, Bronner states. It seems to me an important moment: no one can say that this is not an ugly term, which hides a multitude of atrocities. Here’s one that Bronner surely isn’t covering, from a raid the other night. "Mohammad Salim, a 63 year old resident of Jayyous was taken from his home in the middle of the night by Israeli Occupation Forces this week. Salim, an elderly man, was just a few short hours away from leaving for Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to make the holy pilgrimage of the Hajj when he was taken by the military. Residents – even his own family – are dumbfounded as to why he would be targeted."
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/cutting-the-grass-israeli-soldiers-pull-63-year-old-palestinian-from-home-in-middle-of-night.html

IOF troops arrest a disabled Palestinian boy on his way to hospital
KHAN YOUNIS, (PIC)-- IOF troops arrested a 19-year-old disabled Palestinian boy Ahmad Samir Asfour, from the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on his way to a hospital in Jerusalem, according to local sources. The family of the Palestinian captive said, in a statement it distributed through the Prisoners' Studies Centre, that their son Ahmad was treated in Egypt after being wounded during the Israeli occupation war on Gaza, where he had to have several amputations on parts of his limbs and that his treatment was to be followed up at Jerusalem hospitals.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s71YfzSgzc5kC5PREIjCsb0df1M8SNgXP%2btstEndMem00ir3uGCntOxYN%2b6jKPGpda0soR4VrGT4C8JMTKDW7jd%2f4Annvb1AzSFNxO2SqgFDY%3d

Israel releases Palestinian law professor held without charge
Israel released a Palestinian law professor on Thursday after holding him for 20 months in three different prisons without charge. Dr Ghassan Khaled (known as "Abu Nasser") is a lawyer and lecturer in commercial law at An-Najah University in the West Bank city of Nablus.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243143

Teen detained by Israeli forces overnight
Israeli forces detained a Palestinian teenager from the Barqa village, west of Nablus, on Saturday night. Palestinian sources told Ma'an that Munjed Ragheb Salah, 16, was detained at the entrance of the village and was taken to an unknown location. The sources added that Israeli troops opened fire against the youth before he was detained, as clashes erupted between the troops and local Palestinians. No injuries were reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243115

A solemn Eid for relatives of Gaza detainees
As the Eid Al-Adha festivities are underway across the world and in the Palestinian territories, relatives of Gazan detainees in Israeli jails describe their sorrow at not being able to rejoice, as the sight of empty chairs at the traditional feast tables fills the homes of Palestinians in Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243129

Violence / Aggression

Vehicles stoned near Arab-Israeli city
Day after internal security minister visits Kafr Qassem, youngsters dressed in black stone vehicles travelling along Highway 5. Rear window of family car shattered, infant girl unscathed -- Most of the stone-throwing incidents near Kafr Qassem occur during periods of political tension. Four vehicles were damaged from stones during the IDF's offensive in Gaza last winter.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3812223,00.html

Blockade

Lack of cooking gas threatens Gaza daily life, especially during Eid al-Adha
...The association of gas station owners said the 1.5 million of Gaza population need 4,500 tons of cooking gas each month in summer and 6,000 tons in winter. During September, Gaza Strip only received 2,500 tons of cooking gas, and during October the amount declined to 1,700 tons .Since Nov. 23, no cooking gas has been allowed into the Gaza Strip. Efforts which tried to bring cooking gas from Egypt through smuggling tunnels failed, but smugglers managed to bring blue balloons filled with cooking gas from Egypt into the Gaza Strip. However, people with low incomes still can not afford to buy such gas balloons.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6826935.html

Prisoner swap - Barghouti release?

Israel: 980 prisoners to be freed for Shalit
As part of its response to bereaved parents' High Court petition, State says 450 prisoners may be released as part of deal securing kidnapped soldier's release, adds '530 additional prisoners chosen by Israel will be freed as a gesture to the Palestinian people'
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3812475,00.html

Hamas source: Much work remains on Shalit deal
Much work remains before a swap deal for the release of captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit's can be completed, a Hamas source said Saturday evening ... The source estimated that no breakthrough in the Shalit affair can be expected before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming trip to Germany. Egyptian and Palestinians sources estimated that the contacts will be accelerated at the end of the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice Monday.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3812030,00.html

Palestine calls for release of intifada leader in prisoner swap with Israel
Marwan Barghouti has helped to lead his people through two violent uprisings. But many believe he is the region's best chance for peace
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/29/marwan-barghouti-palestine-gilad-shalit

Haaretz editorial: Release Barghouti
With excessive fastidiousness, some cabinet members, most of them on the right, are trying to set criteria to determine whether it is permissible to release a given prisoner. The amount of blood the terrorists have spilled, or the danger of future terrorist attacks inherent in their release, are among the main criteria. The logic of these considerations is questionable, but it seems that at least regarding one prisoner, Fatah's Marwan Barghouti, the foolishness is particularly apparent ... Anyone who thinks that keeping him behind bars will contain his political power and standing is welcome to learn from South Africa, which imprisoned Nelson Mandela for decades only to see him become president.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131342.html

None of the excuses to reject Shalit deal holds up
By Zvi Bar'el. "Releasing terrorists will bring terror," they warn. "Hamas will grow stronger," "Israel has been vanquished," they say, frothing at the mouth. Each has impressive data on terror attacks carried out by released prisoners: 30, 60, even 70 percent of these terrorists return to killing Jews. Grim figures indeed, enough to make one decide, "Let Shalit die - just don't let civilians be killed." Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit is like the finger in the dike - as long as he's in captivity and the prisoners are locked up, our lives are secure, the prestige of the State of Israel has been upheld and Hamas will continue to wallow in its misery. The thousands of Qassams and mortars fired on Sderot and its environs can be forgotten, as long as Shalit stays where he is and the prisoners are behind bars.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131341.html

Activism / Solidarity

Greek football delegation concludes Palestine tour
A Greek delegation of veteran footballers and musicians left the occupied Palestinian territories on Saturday evening, following a week of events and visits organized by the Greek organization Struggle Until Victory Forever. The delegation included Greek singer Vasilis Lekkas and a number of Greece’s members of parliament.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243150

STUC calls on Celtic fans to fly flag for Palestine at Israeli match
CELTIC fans are being asked to wave Palestinian flags during a football match against Israeli team Hapoel Tel Aviv in protest at the invasion of Gaza last year. The controversial call by the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) came in advance of the Europa League match next Wednesday, which will be seen by millions of football fans. The gesture is aimed to cause maximum embarrassment to the Israeli ambassador to the UK, Ron Prosor, who is travelling from London to attend the game. Union bosses said the flag-waving move was designed to mark the anniversary of the invasion and the deaths of "1,400 men, women and children".
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/latestnews/STUC-calls-on-Celtic-fans.5866448.jp

Two Kansas City men help children of Israeli-Gaza area
Sam Nachum is a Jewish businessman and artist. Achmed El-Sherif is a Muslim scientist. Both men grew up in the Middle East and were traumatized by war. Now they are trying to help children who still live in the middle of a deadly conflict."My heart always goes to the young children in the midst of a conflict," said El-Sherif. "The kids are really suffering in the midst of all of this."El-Sherif and Nachum started a nonprofit organization called “Let the Children Play for Peace.” They’ve collected sporting goods and toys to send to children in the region in hopes of promoting play instead of fighting.
http://www.kmbc.com/news/21739488/detail.html

Political news

Abbas concludes South America tour
President Mahmoud Abbas concluded his tour of Latin America in Venezuela on Friday, where he and President Hugo Chávez signed agreements to promote bilateral relations ... In a gesture of solidarity with the Palestinian people, Chávez offered Abbas an olive branch and a gold-plated reproduction of a sword belonging to Simón Bolívar, the 19th century South American political leader who played a key role in the region’s independence from Spain.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243116

Netanyahu: Israel wants peace, but the Palestinians don't seem ready
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel was fully committed to renewing Middle East peace negotiations, but questioned whether the Palestinian Authority was prepared to enter the political process ... According to Netanyahu, the government is doing everything in its power to advance the peace process, but has found itself stymied by obstacles from the Palestinian side. "I see preconditions being laid that never before existed," he said. "I see legal steps being taken at the international court to advance that absurd thing called the Goldstone report..."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131464.html

Israeli ministers head to Berlin for special session with German counterparts
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Berlin on Monday for a special joint session of the German and Israeli governments, a symbolic visit highlighting the two nations' bond six decades after the Holocaust. It is the first time an Israeli government will convene in Berlin, the former headquarters of the Nazi regime. The visit is more than ceremonial: High on the agenda will be Germany's latest push to win the release of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit held for three years by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131448.html

Israel lobby pressure on US media

NYT protects its readers from a small newspaper's criticisms of Israel
By Philip Weiss. Today there’s a long piece in the Times about the Berkeley Daily Planet newspaper being accused of anti-Semitism because of its criticisms of Israel and Jews. The editor of the paper, Becky O’Malley, 69, a veteran journalist, is plainly in my camp on the Israel lobby. She says, Why of all subjects in the world is Israel off-limits? Why can’t we talk about this vital issue? "Frankly the term that crossed my mind was ‘protection racket,’" O’Malley says... When you are reading the Times article, notice that this is not some casual business. No: businesses are waging a war against the Daily Planet, it has lost 60 percent of ad revenues because of the stance that the brave editor has taken. She has laid off reporters and is doing a fundraising drive.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/nyt-protects-its-readers-from-a-small-newspapers-criticisms-of-israel.html

Another California newspaper targeted by Israel lobby because of heretical statements
By Philip Weiss. I’m informed that before the Daily Planet in Berkeley came under boycott pressure for publishing articles critical of Israel, a story picked up in the NYT, the Coastal Post in Bolinas suffered. A free news monthly in Marin County, the Coastal Post regularly criticizes Israel. Almost as much as we do! But the paper’s been under incredible financial pressure. You’ll see that the pressure got to Whole Foods.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/another-california-newspaper-targeted-by-israel-lobby-because-of-heretical-statements.html

Other news

Thousands of Palestinians may lose jobs in Dubai crash
Over the past few months, thousands of the estimated 100,000 Palestinian laborers working in Dubai have lost their jobs. The Gulf state's economy is grinding to a halt, due to the huge international debts the country took on to drive its breakneck expansion coupled with the global economic crisis ... Arab financial analysts said the crisis in the Gulf states, compounded by debts and falling oil prices, will affect the economy in the Palestinian Territories, where many families depend on money f
rom relatives working in Dubai, primarily in construction. Other Palestinians work as engineers, instructors and in technology-related professions in Dubai.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131322.html

Fish farming proves successful in Nablus
Yasser Hamdan’s fish farming project in the northern West Bank has been hailed as a new Palestinian economic success story, as the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture seeks to emulate his accomplishments with Brazilian funding to assist the industry’s development.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243159

A new Palestinian city takes root - with JNF trees
Hirui Amara excitedly held a bunch of pine seedlings and was quick to dip their soft roots in a bucket of water. Several seconds later he was next to an elderly man, and helped him plant one of the seedlings. This was the end of an exciting day for Amara, who heads a Jewish National Fund greenhouse at Golani Junction. Amara and five other JNF employees took part, 10 days ago, in an extraordinary project that involves the JNF assisting in planting trees in the area where a new Palestinian city, Ruwabi, is scheduled to be built north of Ramallah. The name means "City of Hills."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131323.html

Thousands protest haredi violence in Jerusalem
Seculars, religious march in capital Saturday night to protest ultra-Orthodox coercion. 'We are facing danger that threatens not only Jerusalem, but Israeli society at large,' secular Jerusalem activist says
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811967,00.html

Religious, secular Israelis hold opposing protests
(Reuters) Several hundred Israelis protested in Jerusalem on Saturday against a campaign by ultra-Orthodox Jews to shutter all businesses in the city on the sabbath. The protest reflected tensions between Israel's secular majority and an Orthodox minority that wants the Jewish state to follow ancient laws barring driving or working on the sabbath.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEE5AR0BI.htm

School directors on educational journey to Ethiopia
Group of youth village directors head on nine-day trip in effort to better understand their Ethiopean students' background
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3810317,00.html

Western Wall books containing prayer for Israel ripped
Zionist overtones, appeal for welfare of IDF soldiers apparently not well-received by worshippers, who tear them out of prayer book. Wall rabbi vehemently condemns act
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811000,00.html

Shas to fight bill that would help find women draft dodgers
The ultra-Orthodox Shas party is expected to appeal a bill that would help identify women who falsely claim to be religious in order to avoid mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131255.html

Analysis / Opinion

Let's talk about resistance
By Natalie abu Shakra. The choice of civil resistance in challenging the Israeli occupation is considered by some as a form of “surrender.” In an interview [in Arabic] on Al Aqsa, Palestinian activists Mazen Qumsiyeh and comrade Haidar Eid answer these questions.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/11/9545

Israel is lying to itself about 'united Jerusalem'
By Gideon Levy. ...It's the "rock of our existence," but a divided and dismembered city that has in our deceptive words become "united Jerusalem." It's a city whose political future is more enshrouded in uncertainty than any other in Israel, but it's "ours forever and ever." So this discourse, which is accompanied by plenty of self-deception, is being conducted among ourselves, only ourselves. The Jerusalem syndrome has taken hold of us all.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131340.html

Shulamit Aloni: We are a nefarious people
Former Meretz leader Shulamit Aloni told Ynet on her 81st birthday Sunday that she was dissatisfied with the condition of the State of Israel. She also condemned those opposed to a prisoner swap deal for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. "No one should be speaking this nonsense about 'blood on the hands'. Since 2000, with the launching of the second intifada, we have murdered thousands. We too have blood on our hands," she remarked ... The former prominent politician added, "We are a nefarious people. What we are doing in the West Bank is worse than all the pogroms done to the Jews." But she qualified her statement by saying she was "not referring to the Nazis, but the Cossacks".
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3812366,00.html

"...and a little child shall lead them"
By Uri Avnery. Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist, has an idea. That happens to him quite often. One might almost say - too often. It goes like this: The US will turn its back on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The entire world will follow. Everybody is fed up with this conflict. Let the Israelis and the Palestinians sort out their problems by themselves. Sounds sensible. Why must the world be bothered with these two unruly children? Let them kick each other as much as they like. The adults should not interfere.But in reality this is an outrageous suggestion. Because these two children are not of equal strength. When an adult sees a 14-year old mercilessly mistreating a 6-year old, can he just look on? Israel is materially a hundredfold, indeed a thousandfold, stronger than the Palestinians.
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1259462045/

What festive cheer will the West bring to the Holy Land this Christmas?
By Stuart Littlewood. …There are 26 bishops in the British parliament's House of Lords, enough to make a very big noise if they wanted to. These Lords Spiritual (to give them their proper title) are the top five holy men of the Church of England plus the 21 longest time-servers. According to the CofE they "play a full and active role in the life and work of the Upper House" besides reading prayers at the start of each meeting. Their presence, we’re told, is an extension of their general vocation to preach God's word and provide an independent voice and spiritual insight. They are supposed to be a voice for all people of faith, not just Christians. In a quick search through theyworkforyou.com I could find no record, in the wake of Israel’s killing spree in Gaza, of these ’super-clerics’ raising questions about the appalling conditions in the Holy Land, the plight of the Palestinians, Israel’s criminal onslaught and persecution of the Christian and Muslim communities, and the unending humanitarian crisis…
http://www.ramallahonline.com/component/content/article/93-stuart-littlewood/3556-what-festive-cheer-will-the-west-bring-to-the-holy-land-this-christmas

The mission: Saving Abbas
Israel realizes PA’s survival crucial for preserving regional stability for now -- By Alex Fishman. Mahmoud Abbas must be saved. The construction freeze in the settlements is yet another oxygen tank en route to reviving the “diplomatic horizon,” without which we shall see the Palestinian Authority increasingly disintegrating. This is not about getting sentimental with Abbas or a sudden love story between the Israeli government and the diplomatic process. Even the tough “ideologists” within the cabinet realized Wednesday that there is no other choice, and that every effort must be made in order to preserve regional stability, even for a limited time. The Palestinian Authority must not collapse.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811240,00.html

Iraq

Sunday: 1 US soldier, 4 Iraqis killed, 8 Iraqis wounded
Excerpt: The Eid al-Adha continues without any major incidents; nonetheless, at least four Iraqis were killed and eight more were wounded across the country. Also, a U.S. soldier died of non-combat injuries south of Baghdad. A blast in Ghalbiyah killed one Sahwa member and wounded two others. One civilian was killed and another was injured during a bomb attack in Saif Sa’ad. In Baghdad, gunmen killed a municipal councilman in Ghazaliya. A taxi driver was strangled in Bayaa; two men were arrested after they were stopped driving his cab. Last night in Ghazaliya, a bomb wounded two civilians. http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/11/29/sunday-1-us-soldier-4-iraqis-killed-8-iraqis-wounded/

Saddam was telling truth about missing Gulf War pilot
(AP) WASHINGTON – Saddam Hussein was telling the truth, this time. The United States just didn't believe him. So it took the most powerful military in the world 18 years to find the remains of the only U.S. Navy pilot shot down in an aerial battle in the 1991 Gulf War. Michael "Scott" Speicher's bones lay 18 inches deep in Iraqi sand, more or less right where a group of Iraqis had led an American search team in 1995.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091128/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_missing_pilot_hidden_in_sand

Murder, threats mark judge's life in violent N. Iraq
(Reuters) * Judges are top assassination targets * 70 percent of legal cases lack evidence, many seek revenge
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEE5AR025.htm

Mysterious 'Saddam Channel' hits Iraqi TV
(AP) BAGHDAD – Turning on their TVs during the long holiday weekend, Iraqis were greeted by a familiar if unexpected face from their brutal past: Saddam Hussein. The late Iraqi dictator is lauded on a mysterious satellite channel that began broadcasting on the Islamic calendar's anniversary of his 2006 execution.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091129/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_saddam_channel

Iraqis spent $80m on ADE651 bomb detectors described as useless
The Iraqi parliament is looking into the sale by a British company of “bomb detectors” costing millions of pounds amid claims that they do not work ... The devices, which consist of little more than a telescopic radio aerial on a black plastic handle, were each sold for the price of a new car and are in use at army and police checkpoints across the bomb-ravaged country. On October 25 suicide bombers drove through checkpoints that were equipped with the detectors and blew up three government ministries, killing 155 people.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6935574.ece

Lebanon, other Mideast

Elimination of sectarianism: if not now, when?
The current Lebanese political structure is built on two irrational and undemocratic principles: (1) Rigid Political Sectarianism for allocating posts and (2) equal distribution of parliamentary seats along a Christian- Moslem axis. In a country where political identity does not arise from citizenship but from cosmopolitan, regional, racial or religious identification the above is a recipe for disaster.
http://rationalrepublic.blogspot.com/2009/11/elimination-of-sectarianism-if-not-now.html

Hezbollah leadership split over fears of fresh IDF attack
The commanders of Hezbollah's military wing have leveled blistering criticism at the Shi'ite militant organization's civilian leadership, amid fears of Israel launching a fresh offensive in Lebanon, Lebanese news outlets have reported. [See As‘ad AbuKhalil's rather different take on this story]
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131244.html

Analysis / Jordanians share Palestinian despondency on peace
(Reuters) * Jordan tied to failing U.S. policy for Middle East peace * Obama raised Palestinian hopes, only to disappoint * Lack of progress undermines Washington's Arab allies -- Outside the West Bank and Gaza Strip, despair at the failure of years of U.S.-led Middle East peacemaking is perhaps felt nowhere more keenly than in Jordan.
http://www.reuters.com/article/middleeastCrisis/idUSGEE5AQ1KB

Saudis claim key mountain win over Yemeni rebels
(Reuters) * Saudi forces control peak near Yemen border - minister * Forces 'destroying all infiltrators" Saudi Arabia said on Saturday it had taken control of a strategic mountain on the Saudi side of the border with Yemen, clearing the area of Yemeni Shi'ite rebels.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEE5AR0DJ.htm

Saudi floods claim 103 lives, 1,400 rescued
DUBAI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Saudi emergency services said on Sunday the death toll from floods that tore through the port city of Jeddah this week had risen to 103, with another 1,400 rescued, the state news agency reported on Sunday. Torrents of water inundated the Red Sea port on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia saw some of the heaviest rainfall in years.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEE5AS00I.htm

Other world news

Minaret ban wins Swiss support
Voters in Switzerland have approved a ban on the construction of minarets on mosques, official results show. Of those who cast votes in Sunday's poll, 57.5 per cent approved the ban, while only four cantons out of 26 rejected the proposals ... About 400,000 Muslims live in Switzerland, whose population is just under eight million. Most Muslim citizens are immigrants from the former Yugoslavia and Turkey. Although Islam is the country's second largest religion after Christianity, there are only four mosques with minarets in the whole country.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/11/2009112915164769444.html

Al Jazeera videos: Road to Hajj - India Parts 1 and 2
Al Jazeera follows pilgrims from India - home to 12 per cent of the world's Muslims - as they prepare to undertake the Hajj pilgrimage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCIIsgBIlbc&feature=youtube_gdata
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvIGM3E6l7s&feature=youtube_gdata

High Court to hear Patriot Act challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case challenging a law that critics say treats human rights advocates as criminal terrorists, and threatens them with 15 years in prison for advocating nonviolent means to resolve disputes. The case is known as Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, and is the first case to challenge a portion of the PATRIOT Act before the Supreme Court. Originally brought in 1998, the suit challenges the constitutionality of the law that makes it a crime to provide "material support" to groups the administration has designated as "terrorist."
http://original.antiwar.com/fisher/2009/11/28/high-court-to-hear-patriot-act-challenge/
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From: "Today in Palestine!" <tipalestine@...>
Date: Sat Nov 28, 2009 6:54 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~ Saturday, 28 November 2009 ~

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Land theft / Destruction / Settlements

Tourism Ministry pledges to keep developing West Bank sites, despite freeze
Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov (Yisrael Beitenu) said Saturday that despite the cabinet's decision to temporarily freeze settlement construction, his ministry would continue to develop tourist sites in the West Bank. Speaking at an event in Holon, Misezhnikov said that the Tourism Ministry was focused on three central sites: The Herodium in Gush Etzion, Qasr al Yahud in Ma'ale Adumim and the stalactite cave in Ariel.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131240.html

Defying Netanyahu, settlement leaders rip up freeze orders
Bet El settlement leaders publicly ripped up military orders outlining the terms of the 10-month partial construction freeze on Friday, Israeli media sources reported ... Moshe Rosenboim of the Bet El settlement council tore up the orders in front of the soldier who delivered them, screaming in the officer's face that he did "not respect" the order, the Israeli newspaper Ma'ariv said ... Stories in a number of the Hebrew papers ran the reactions of settler leaders to the orders, many of which saw settlers lecturing soldiers on the advantages of Jewish settlement in Palestinian areas and reasons why a freeze would not help the peace process. Also according to Ma'ariv, Israeli Minister of Information Yuli-Yoel Edelstein - the only minister in the Security Cabinet to vote no during the session that saw 11 out of 14 ministers support the freeze plan - will meet with settler leaders in the coming week to devise strategies to get around the new order.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243045

Al Jazeera video: The Listening Post - 27 Nov - Israeli settlement building
Although this is called 'Part 1', in fact the second part is about British libel laws - see under Media, below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nt4T4oNFxY&feature=youtube_gdata

No easy settlement for West Bank tensions
Alan Johnston makes his first visit to the Palestinian territories since his kidnap two years ago, and finds that the building of Israeli settlements on the West Bank and East Jerusalem is still as contentious as any issue in the Middle East.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8382878.stm

2 Border Guard officers hurt in fence protest
Two Border Guard officers and five civilians sustained light wounds in clashes between security forces and dozens of Palestinians, leftist activists, and foreign activists during an anti-fence protest in Naalin Saturday. The Palestinians said a baby was hurt by tear gas after IDF troops entered the village, and that forces were firing rubber bullets.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811934,00.html

Israeli military attack Bil'in's weekly protest
On the international day for solidarity with the Palestinian People in the Palestinian Eid holiday, dozens suffered teargas inhalation in Bili’n’s weekly protest. Under the slogan, “Towards a Palestine free from settlements, the Wall, Apartheid roads, checkpoints and roadblocks, and for one united Palestine with no islands and cantons”, the residents of Bil'in village, central West Bank, gathered in a protest after the Friday prayer joined by international and Israeli activists.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57236

IOF demolition threatens family of 207 members
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- The family of Ja'abis in Jabal Al-Mukabir, southeast of occupied Jerusalem, expressed concern that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) would demolish their 53 apartments at the pretext of unlicensed construction which, if implemented, would render 207 citizens homeless including 117 children ... They said that the IOA-controlled municipality of Jerusalem had ordered the demolition of homes surrounding their apartments, which made them fear that their turn was coming.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7mldFZ8%2fdctfxmr8y5vHEJUf%2bOOISnI4GojerxmwT%2bkyS4jQc8JDlw3l%2b0Md5ofL83cPZLBPXt9lwVgqoXbIq99G3BFC56VmFJcC3F23lFbY%3d

Notes from Area C: Between forced and 'voluntary' expulsion
By Amira Hass. Last Sunday, the water supply to the village of Arab al-Ramadin, south of Qalqilyah, was suddenly cut off ... The village was established in the early 1950s by Bedouin refugees whom Israel expelled from the Be'er Sheva area. They bought and leased land from the nearby village of Habla, tended sheep, and lived for 20 years expecting they would be able to return home soon, to the Negev ... Israel defines Arab al-Ramadin as illegal. Therefore, the Civil Administration refuses to connect it to the electricity grid or the roads, to include it in any zoning plans, or to issue building permits there.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130944.html

NPR Audio: Jerusalem's Palestinians allege expulsion campaign
26 Nov - Palestinians hope East Jerusalem will be the capital of their future state, but successive Israeli governments have stated that the city is the undivided capital of Israel. Now, Palestinians in East Jerusalem allege that there is a campaign being waged against them to divest them of their property through expulsions and demolitions to make the Israeli goal a reality.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120872878&ft=1&f=1009

Settlers petition to tear down Palestinian stadium
By Amira Hass. A West Bank settlement has filed a petition to the High Court of Justice demanding the demolition of a nearly-complete stadium in the Palestinian city of El Bireh, near Ramallah. The Psagot settlement and the Regavim advocacy group petitioned the court on November 2 to order the defense minister, GOC Central Command, the IDF's Civil Administration and police to tear down the El Bireh stadium and three apartment buildings being constructed near the settlement. The court ordered the respondents to answer within 30 days. The petitioners warned of the possibility that "10,000 inflamed Palestinians would rise up after a soccer game and vent their anger and/or frustration and/or frenzy on nearby Psagot.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131085.html

Violence / Aggression

Settlers storm Palestinian village, attempt to set fire to home
Fifteen Israeli settlers from the Yitzhar colony near Nablus attempted to set fire to a home in the village of Burin, Palestinian sources said Saturday. Wearing white prayer shirts marking the Jewish Sabbath the group stormed the home of Ayman Attalla Safwan carrying flame accelerants but were confronted by several villagers who tried to prevent their entry into the home, eyewitnesses described. Palestinians told Ma'an that Israeli officials from the Civil Liaison Office arrived in the area shortly after the confrontation.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243095

Settlers indicted for assaulting shepherds near Susiya
25 Nov - On 21 October 2009, the Prosecution Unit of the SHAI Police District filed an indictment against two settlers, accusing them of the aggravated assault of two Palestinian shepherds while they were grazing their sheep on their land next to Qawawis Village, in the southern Hebron hills, in June 2008. Next to the village’s land, the Mitzpeh Ya’ir outpost had been built ... As a result of the assault, Na’el Abu ‘Aram, 21, suffered a fractured cheekbone from a stone that struck him in the face. The other shepherd, Khaled Najar, 55, was beaten with a pipe, fracturing his ribs.
http://www.btselem.org/english/settler_violence/20091125_settlers_indicted_for_assaulting_shepherds_near_susiya.asp

B'Tselem launches new campaign against security forces' violence
26 Nov - Last week, B'Tselem launched an internet campaign in Israel aiming to raise awareness of, and generate discussion about, the issue of soldiers' violence against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. The campaign includes an animated video based on the shooting of a young, bound Palestinian in Ni'lin in 2008 ...,The video, made by Alon Simon, illustrates the poisonous effect of the norm of violence in the Occupied Territories, which harms not only Palestinians, the primary victims, but also Israeli society.
http://www.btselem.org/English/Beating_and_Abuse/20091126_New_Campaign_on_Security_Forces_Violence.asp

Detention / Court cases

IOF soldiers arrest fifth son of Um Bakir
NABLUS, (PIC)-- The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) spoilt the Eid joy for the Palestinian old widow Um Bakir in Nablus on Friday and took away her fifth son to join his four brothers in detention. Local sources reported that large numbers of IOF soldiers broke into the home of late Sheikh Said Bilal and savagely searched it before taking away the only remaining son of the family into custody.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s73T77AN66PlIBTVfjQmO8rG%2fWEN8LO8eiDx0Pfj%2buu37sUfU0tT4iCOPFwN%2bx6BtWkUBBZ9T7hESHjl0dH%2foA1eizpwDtu8A%2b%2fM3zCjOIQZs%3d

At Gisha's request, High Court to hold additional hearing - with Berlanty Azzam in attendance
[click on 'show quoted text] a. Additional hearing to be held in the Israeli High Court of Justice on Monday November 30, 2009, at 4 pm. b. Gisha asks the court to order the army to permit Berlanty to return to her studies immediately. c. Berlanty has already missed a month of her studies; she was due to finish her BA in Business Administration in less than two months. d. Israel admits that it has no security concerns about Berlanty and that she was removed only because the address listed on her identity card is in Gaza.
http://groups.google.com/group/newprofile/browse_thread/thread/b444e86b7f0517e8?hl=en

Refugees

Refugees in Lebanon to be offered PA passport, report predicts
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon may be issued passports from the Palestinian Authority, the Beirut-based Elaph reported. Lebanese officials expect President Mahmoud Abbas to visit the country in the coming days where he will address the issue with top-level officials ... Palestinians in Lebanon face incredible difficulties, confined for the most part to refugee camps from which they must pass checkpoints to exit. Unlike Palestinian refugees living in Syria, Jordan and Egypt, those who fled to camps in Lebanon were never granted resident or citizenship papers. The only papers refugees in Lebanon have are from the UN Relief and Works Agency, which has provided services for Palestinian refugees around the Middle East for 60 years.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243066

Workshop preps Palestinians to tell their story
BEIRUT: To say that Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon do not enjoy a particularly good reputation is a glaring understatement. More often than not, they become the focus of media attention only when violence erupts ... On Wednesday, the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat and the British Embassy presented the results of a remarkable joint effort to change this situation. For five days, 22 young Palestinians from all over Lebanon participated in a basic journalism workshop, aimed at equipping them with the necessary skills to tell their side of the story.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=109165

How many more illegal acts will it take?
By Jeremy Corbyn, Labour MP for Islington North. ... In the chaos of the ungoverned post-Saddam Iraq, the Shia crowds turned on the Palestinians and accused them of being Saddam stooges and supporters of the Sunnis. Death threats followed and some were assassinated. Fearing the worst, many families either went into hiding, fled to other parts of Iraq or tried their luck in neighbouring countries. Despite all the pro-Palestinian rhetoric of most countries in the Middle East, only Jordan and Syria have taken in Palestinians. The border camp at alTanaf is home to hundreds of people as they await their fate ... Four hours down the road there are more Palestinian camps, or rather Palestinian towns that happen to be in Syria.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/opinions/views/2970-how-many-more-illegal-acts-will-it-take

Activism / Solidarity

Venezuela to upgrade Palestinian ties, offers aid
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela plans to open an embassy in Palestinian territories and upgrade its ties to ambassadorial level, President Hugo Chavez said on Friday, to support Palestinians in their struggle against Israel ... Among aid agreements signed Friday were scholarships for 20 Palestinians to study medicine in Venezuela. Chavez said he saw Venezuela offering many more educational grants.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/11/27/world/international-us-palestinians-abbas-venezuela.html?_r=1

Chavez says that Israel aims to 'terminate' Palestinians
(Reuters) Venezuelan president tells visiting PA leader Abbas his country 'on the side of the Palestinian people's memorable struggle against genocidal state of Israel'
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811812,00.html

Call for support: The One Democratic State Group
The ODSG, One Democratic State Group, is a Palestinian non-violent popular resistance group based in Gaza. We are Palestinian activists, from various backgrounds, who have come together to further peace with justice in the Middle East. We believe that the One State Solution is the only viable option that guarantees comprehensive peace in the Middle East. We believe that justice and peace can be achieved in the context of a single Democratic State that would include and benefit equally all current residents of historic Palestine--after the return of Palestinian refugees--irrespective of race, ethnicity or religion. Our current projects include the following:Organizing for the Gaza Freedom March (31 December 2009) ... Working on the "Right to Read" Campaign in partnership with solidarity groups.Challenging the siege by getting books for Gaza university students; Producing a documentary, Forbidden Dreams, and copying thousands of a Palestinian-South African CD, Amandla Intifada.
http://www.odsg.org/co/

Hajj, ‘Id al-Adha

Muslim pilgrims complete Hajj
...Stones were thrown at the jamarat pillars in Mina, close to Mecca, Islam's holiest city, during the third stage of the hajj on Saturday. Pilgrims are required to cast 49 pebbles against three broad stone pillars over two or three days, marking Abraham's three rejections of the devil's attempts to persuade him to sacrifice his son, against God's instructions ... Officials said that this year's hajj had been a success, with a spread of the H1N1 flu virus not occurring as feared ... New walkways were credited with preventing crushes and stampedes seen in previous years.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/2009/11/20091128111519766694.html

Al Jazeera videos: 27 Nov - The Road to Hajj - Panama Parts 1 & 2
Video follows Muslims in Panama as they prepare for their journey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFg3KpRJDZk&feature=youtube_gdata
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xge1zE3TnQ&feature=youtube_gdata

IN PICTURES / Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha
Dressed in festive clothes, Muslims thronged mosques around the world to pray on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131239.html

Al Jazeera video: No Eid meat for Egypt's poor
Eid al-Adha, the greatest Muslim festival, is supposed to be the one occasion when even the poorest can look forward to feasting on some lamb or beef after the religious rituals are over. But with rising food prices, that is not the case for many millions of Muslims this year. Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh reports from the Egyptian capital, Cairo, where meat prices are leaving many without anything to celebrate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3Ot2PMu6sY&feature=youtube_gdata

Media

PA shuts down West Bank radio station
(Reuters) Palestinian police closed a radio station in the West Bank after Israel charged the broadcasts interfered with Israeli military and airport communications, a Palestinian security source said on Friday. Majdi al-Arabid, owner of the al-Hariya station, said Palestinian forces had arrested him and kept him in custody for a day when he refused their orders to shut the station, then freed him on bail on Friday. The station's broadcasts are pro-Fatah, the secular Palestinian movement headed by President Mahmoud Abbas.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811785,00.html

Al Jazeera video: The Listening Post 27 Nov: Israeli settlement Part 2
Despite the title, this part is about the chilling effect of British libel laws on press freedom worldwide.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYHkin4j4bs&feature=youtube_gdata

NY Times dignifies violent nightly raids on captive population as 'cutting the grass'
By Philip Weiss. I got up today and read a news analysis by Ethan Bronner about the latest step in the peace process and it has upset me all day. Bronner presents as equivalent the Israelis’ failure to really halt the colonization process–Netanyahu is still committed to finishing 3000 housing units in the West Bank and to continue the colonization of East Jerusalem–and the failure of the Palestinians to halt violence. And what is Bronner’s evidence for the Palestinian failure? Well, it is the fact that West Bank violence has not been curbed by the Palestinians themselves, that has required "nightly Israeli raids" into the West Bank. 15 to 20 "actions" just the other night, an unnamed Israeli commander brags. "We call it cutting the grass."
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/new-york-times-dignifies-violent-nightly-raids-on-captive-population-as-cutting-the-grass.html

US newspaper accused of anti-Semitism
Leader of campaign to drive advertisers away from Berkeley Daily Planet says editor 'addicted to anti-Israel expression just as an alcoholic is to drinking.' Editor in response: I have the old-fashioned basic liberal thing of believing that the remedy for speech you don’t like is more speech
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811868,00.html

Other news

Abbas says settlement freeze insufficient
(AP) Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas dismissed an Israeli plan to temporarily halt new construction of West Bank settlements as insufficient on Friday, saying Palestinians don't accept Israel's tack in trying to restart peace negotiations.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811758,00.html

Voice of Palestine: Egypt-Gaza security upped ahead of Shalit transfer
Security on the Gaza-Egypt border is being beefed up, Egyptian security sources were quoted on Voice of Palestine radio, sparking a new round of speculation over an imminent transfer of an Israeli soldier to Egypt ahead of a prisoner swap. Details of the deal currently being mediated by German officials would have the captured soldier, held since June 2006, transferred from his hiding place in the Gaza Strip to Cairo. Once Egypt confirmed his arrival Israel would begin the release of a proposed 1,000 Palestinian prisoners currently in Israeli facilities.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243072

Barak: Report of imminent Shalit release unfounded
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Sunday criticized reports that a prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel was imminent. "The reports on the release of [captured Israeli soldier Gilad] Shalit are incorrect and even damaging," Barak said at his government's weekly cabinet meeting.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=211537

Catholic Guardian of the Holy Land received in Bethlehem
Catholic Guardian of the Holy Land Father Pierre Battista Pizzaballa arrived in Bethlehem Saturday morning and traveled to the Nativity Church to mark the memorial for Saint Catherine and the Feast of Christ the King on Saturday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243093

IDF: Hundreds of immigrants without Hebrew in combat units
Hundreds of new immigrants are serving in combat units even though they don't know enough Hebrew, commanders and officers in the Israel Defense Forces Education Corps say. Every year, the IDF inducts thousands of new immigrants who have been in Israel for only a few months ... "These are very motivated soldiers," an infantry brigade commander said. "But we've had quite a few cases of safety issues when they did not hear the command to cease fire and had a bullet in the chamber because they thought that was the order."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130233.html

Haredim blocked on way to Intel, call Police 'Nazis'
Some 50 ultra-Orthodox demonstrate near police roadblock against plant's operation on Shabbat, shout at officers, 'Zionists, you caused the Holocaust'
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811883,00.html

Haredi schools falsely register students to get funds
Education Ministry inquiry reveals ultra-Orthodox schools in Jerusalem fictitiously register children as students in order to receive extra funds. Eda Haredit source says 'State of Israel's losses not our problem'
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811577,00.html

Opinion / Analysis

Haaretz editorial: A tiny diplomatic crack
The prime minister's announcement this week to halt construction in the West Bank settlements will not satisfy those who consider the existence of settlements an obstacle for peace. Limiting the hiatus to a 10-month period, after which construction will resume, excluding East Jerusalem from the freeze, permitting the completion of buildings where construction has already begun and making no comment on the evacuation of illegal outposts, all raise serious doubts about the prime minister's true intentions.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131103.html

They won't allow us not to know
By Gideon Levy. If not for B'Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, the State of Israel would look different today. The occupation might have been even crueler, or just as cruel, but we certainly would look different. In its 20 years of existence, this important human-rights organization may not have succeeded in changing reality, but at least it has made it possible for us to know what that reality was. Without B'Tselem, it might have been easier for us to say we did not know that this is what we were like, or that such shameful things were being done in our name.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130951.html

Interview with PA dissident: I cannot just stay silent
Abdel Sattar Qassem, a professor and author of numerous publications on Palestinian history and Islamic thought, is well-known for his pungent critiques of Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). As a result he has been imprisoned by both the Israelis and the PA. Most recently his car was blown up as a warning from the PA. Marcy Newman spoke with Professor Qassem on behalf of The Electronic Intifada at his home in the Palestinian city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10910.shtml

Nation of fools
By Benny Ziffer. ...It is becoming more and more evident that we, who see ourselves as an intelligent nation dwelling in the midst of a jungle of wild fools, need increasingly large doses of narcotics in order to maintain our faith in our superior intelligence vis-a-vis our firebrand neighbors. The drugs are provided regularly by "our Arab affairs correspondents," who are in charge of bringing us shocking curiosities from the Islamic countries designed to depict them as semi-retarded.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130943.html

Smoke and mirrors
Despite its belligerence, Tel Aviv's ability to launch another full-scale war against Gaza is largely curtailed, writes Saleh Al-Naami.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/974/re3.htm

God's promise of land to Jews has deep pull on secular Israelis
By Rachel Elboim-Dror. Although most of the Jewish population of Israel is secular and therefore seemingly unaffected politically by God's promise of the land to Abraham in Genesis, it appears the divine promise that "I will give unto thee and to thy seed after thee the land of thy sojournings" holds ancient power. The pull is unconscious for most but very deep, which has an effect on most Israelis. The influence of this justification for our tie to the land on the secular population rises emotionally above all other rights to ownership of the Land of Israel. This phenomenon reveals one of the fundamental contradictions of Israeli society, which has been with the Zionist movement since its inception.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131099.html

Israel's illegal settlements in America
By Grant Smith. ...Peace in the Middle East depends on reversing a peculiar manifestation of illegal Israeli settlements right here at home. These US settlements were built not on stolen land, but the strategic territory of US governance through violations of the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
http://original.antiwar.com/smith-grant/2009/11/27/israels%C2%A0illegal-settlements-in-america/

History lesson
My little Zionist - By Sayed Kashua. I got this kid's number a long time ago - I saw the way he chuckled when he heard me or his mother speaking Hebrew with an accent. Last week he sat the two of us down and tried to teach us how to pronounce a guttural resh and when to use the different Hebrew vowels. "You talk like Arabs," said the Baruch Marzel of the Kashua household. "What do you want from the kid?" My wife put the blame on me. "You stick him in a white neighborhood, send him to a mixed school, the whole day he's watching the Hop channel because we don't have the Al Jazeera kids' channel. What do you expect?"
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131204.html

Iraq

Friday: One US soldier killed
Excerpts: Due to the Eid al-Adha and Thanksgiving holidays, attack reports are scant. No Iraqi casualties were reported but a U.S. soldier died of non-combat injuries. Meanwhile, hundreds of Iraqis spent the day mourning Saddam Hussein, who was executed on the first day of the Eid in 2006 ... No casualties were reported after a Katyusha rocket attack on a U.S. base near Diwaniya. In Fallujah, a blast at a garage left no casualties. Three suspects were arrested near Amara. Iraqi postmen describe the details of working in an environment were attacks can occur at any moment.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/11/27/friday-1-us-soldier/

Saturday: 11 Iraqis wounded
Excerpts: The continuing Eid al-Adha holiday may be limiting reporting from Iraq, but it has not stopped acrimonious reflection on the political process in the country. A compromise on the elections law debate is awaiting Kurdish approval. At least 11 Iraqis were wounded in attacks across central and northern Iraq. A mortar attack on a central Hilla hotel that houses a U.S. consulate left eight wounded. Two soldiers were wounded in a blast in Saidiya. In Mosul, a hand grenade lobbed at an army patrol wounded a woman instead. In Baghdad, mourners gathered between Eid festivities at a new cemetery in Adhamiya. Three brothers were arrested on terror charges in Suwayra.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/11/28/saturday-11-iraqis-wounded/

Iraqis' stories must be heard
By Norman Kember. Four years ago this week I was kidnapped in Baghdad. My trip to Iraq had been motivated by frustration at the government's deafness to all voices of reasoned opposition to the war in Iraq. I went to meet Iraqis to reassure them that most people in Britain did not regard them as enemies. Today, the lead-up to that war is back in the spotlight with the Chilcot inquiry.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/27/iraqis-stories-must-be-heard

Suicide attacks down, extortion up in Iraq's Mosul
27 Nov (Reuters) * Ideology-based insurgency shifts to organised crime * Reports of extortion, bombs placed in front of businesses -- ...The predicament of Mosul -- considered a microcosm of Iraq for its diverse ethnic makeup of Arabs, Kurds, Christians and Turkmen -- highlights the challenges as Iraq tries to make the transition to a normal civilian society and U.S. troops leave.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MDCS-7Y7JUM?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Not in US media
By As`ad AbuKhalil. "Unions in Iraq (FWCUI) has called for an expansion of the now 41 day-old leather industries strike, into other industries and sectors across Iraq. In their call (which you can read in the original Arabic here, and in English translation here) they cite numerous wage and condition-related grievances, but also emphasize what Iraqi labor unions have for decades been struggling against: a 1987 law, enforced to this day, which prohibits worker organizing in the public sector, in addition to various economic initiatives which they see as threatening the public sector’s very existence. The FWCUI’s analysis also has a broader reach, and considers these moves an expression of the desire on the part of the Iraqi Government, multi-nationals, and the US-led occupation, to privatize nearly all Iraqi industry."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/11/not-in-us-media.html

Other Mideast

Syrian Islamic revival has woman's touch
...The most influential conservative female religious figure in Syria, 70-year-old Munira Qubaisia, is said to have at least 75,000 followers, and they are growing in number. Her preachers, known as Anseh, tend to come from the educated upper classes. They arrive at their meetings in expensive black cars, well dressed and well spoken, with an air of authority that leaves audiences spellbound.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7710822.stm

Sudan teen lashed for 'indecent' skirt - lawyer
KHARTOUM, Nov 27 (Reuters) - A 16-year-old south Sudanese girl was lashed 50 times after a judge ruled her knee-length skirt was indecent, her lawyer and family said in the latest case to push Sudan's Islamic law into the spotlight. The mother of teenager Silva Kashif told Reuters on Friday she was planning to sue the police who made the arrest and the judge who imposed the sentence, as her daughter was underage and a Christian.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEE5AQ16X.htm

U.S.

US steps up efforts to catch Palestinian bomb suspect
The US State Department has authorized a reward of up to five million US dollars for information leading to the arrest of a Palestinian accused of attacks on Americans. According to a statement from the US ministry, Husayn Muhammed Al-Umari, also known as Abu Ibrahim, is wanted for his alleged involvement in the 1982 bombing of Pan-Am Flight 830, which resulted in the death of a teenage passenger ... The FBI has also placed Al-Umari on its "Most Wanted Terrorists" list, the statement added. [Why now?]
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243034

Being Muslim at the wrong time in America
Post 9/11, America has declared war on Islam, as a disturbing recent case in Michigan shows, writes Stephen Lendman in Chicago
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/974/focus.htm

State Department backpedals on landmine treaty
By Jim Lobe. One day after the State Department announced that the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama will not sign the 10-year-old treaty banning anti-personnel landmines, it insisted that Washington’s policy on the issue was still being reviewed. Human rights and disarmament activists had reacted with outrage Wednesday to Tuesday’s announcement by State Department spokesman Ian Kelly that the review had concluded and that Washington "would not be able to meet our national defense needs, nor our security commitments to our friends and allies if we sign the [landmine] convention." http://original.antiwar.com/lobe/2009/11/26/state-department-backpedals-on-landmine-treaty/

For detainees returned to Yemen, roadblocks and frustration
ADEN, YEMEN -- Two years ago, Mohsin al-Askari was released from his prison cell at Guantanamo Bay, but he has found neither freedom nor a new life in his homeland. Potential employers are afraid to hire him. At 28, he depends on his father for financial support, charities for medical care.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/28/AR2009112801067.html?wprss=rss_world/mideast
--
www.TheHeadlines.org

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From: "Today in Palestine!" <tipalestine@...>
Date: Fri Nov 27, 2009 7:51 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~ Friday, 27 November 2009 ~

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Land theft / Apartheid

Israel okays 28 new settlement buildings, despite freeze
Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday ordered the IDF to issue a temporary freeze order, but at the same time allowed the construction of 28 new public buildings in settlements. Meanwhile, Haaretz has learned that the state is expected to ask the Supreme Court for more time to evacuate illegal outposts ... efforts were underway Thursday to maximize the impact of the freeze on the international arena. So far, the Israeli announcement had not had a warm reception in the international community.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131124.html

Civil Administration distributes freeze orders
Officers of the Civil Administration began Friday to hand out orders to Judea and Samaria council heads commanding them to stop issuing construction permits in settlements, just two days after the cabinet decision on a 10-month settlement construction freeze. In addition, Defense Minister Ehud Barak confirmed reports that his ministry sent an aircraft to photograph West Bank settlements, in order to document the construction taking place there.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811686,00.html

Analysis / Settlers have been working for months to undermine construction freeze
By Amos Harel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu owes much gratitude to the Yesha Council and the members of the rightist flank in Likud. Were it not for their public opposition over the past two days, someone might have suspected that the decision to freeze settlement construction permits for 10 months was an even smaller Israeli concession than it originally appeared to be.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131086.html

Anti-wall protests mark UN partition anniversary
Israeli forces opened fire on anti-wall protesters in two West Bank villages on Friday, according to news reports. Commemorating the UN's annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, residents of Bil'in and Nil'in, two villages near Ramallah, rallied against Israel's separation barrier on Friday afternoon. Dozens reportedly suffered tear-gas inhalation in both areas, although there were no reports of more serious injuries. Activists said Israeli forces fired stun grenades in addition to the tear-gas.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243025

Arabs, leftists protest in Beit Jarrah
Activists protest eviction of Arabs from east J'lem homes by Jewish owners bearing court orders -- Police and rescue forces were alerted to the scene, but no violent incidents were reported. The protestors beat on drums and called, "Thieves, thieves, get out of the homes", and "Release Beit Jarrah".
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811728,00.html

Help save the Palestinian village of Lifta from total destruction
Lifta, a most picturesque Palestinian village, lies on the slopes of West Jerusalem below the highway linking it to Tel-Aviv. It has been abandoned since the invading Hagana underground forces backed by the Stern Gang drove the last of its Palestinian inhabitants in 1948 during the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. It was the one single event which changed the nature of the place and the whole region ... Now the Jerusalem Municipality has produced plans to turn Lifta into a luxurious and exclusive Jewish development – reinventing its history in the process.
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2009/11/27/help-save-the-palestinian-village-of-lifta-from-total-destruction/

IRIN: Travel restrictions eased
TEL AVIV, 26 Nov (IRIN) - The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has announced that restrictions on the West Bank's population in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) will be eased during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha between 26 November and 2 December. According to the IDF, the following policies will be implemented for the period: * Palestinians will be allowed to enter Israel to visit immediate family members * Israeli citizens will be able to enter the city of Tulkarem by car via checkpoint 407; ...
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87201

Settlers

Palestinian woman suffers stroke after settlers invade her family's house in Sheikh Jarrah
On Thursday, November 26, 2009 at 1:00am, five settlers and settler security, who are currently occupying the Gawi family house in Sheikh Jarrah, attempted to take over a section of a house belonging to the Palestinian al-Kurd family. The Israeli police were alerted immediately, however, before they managed to arrive, the settlers started attacking the Palestinians living in the house. One settler violently pushed a member of the al-Kurd family, Maysa, against a wall and thereafter grabbed her son, Munjad, by the lapel. After their arrival and a long discussion with the al-Kurd family concerning the legal status of the house, the Israeli police reluctantly escorted the settlers out. As a result of the tumult, Refka Kurd, 85, suffered a stroke. She was taken to a hospital and is in stable condition. This is the third settler incursion into the al-Kurd family house in the last three weeks.
http://palsolidarity.org/2009/11/9481

Settlers take over 10 acres of farm land owned by Palestinian farmer
Israeli settlers took over on Thursday 10 acres of lands owned by Palestinian farmers from Yannon village, northern West Bank. Villagers said that settlers invaded the village then took over the land and started to work one it using machinery they brought with them. The farmers clashed with the Israeli settlers. No injuries were reported in both sides. The villagers said the settlers are from the nearby illegal settlement of Gado'nim.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57229

Israeli forces close Huwwara as settlers demand access to Nablus
Israeli forces closed the Huwwara checkpoint and the main road near the village for two hours Thursday night in an effort to contain several dozen settlers trying to access Joseph's Tomb in Nablus ... Israeli law requires settlers wishing to enter Palestinian cities in the West Bank to arrange military escorts ... Locals speculated that the sudden demand to enter Nablus may have been a move by settlers to test the limits of their government's latest move to partially curb construction in West Bank settlements.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243007

Violence / Aggression

Palestinian killed as IAF strikes Gaza rocket launchers
The Israel Air Force bombed a rocket-launching squad in the Gaza Strip Friday morning, killing one person and seriously wounding three others. A military source said the dead gunman belonged to a radical, previously unknown Palestinian armed faction inspired by al-Qaida, calling itself "Jaljalat."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131186.html

Gaza mortar shells land in Palestinian territory
Two mortar shells fired from Gaza landed inside Palestinian territory on Thursday, according to Israel’s military. A spokesperson said the military was able to confirm the two shells, both of which landed inside Gaza. There were no reports of casualties or damage. Palestinian paramilitary groups did not immediately claim responsibility for any shelling.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242989

Report: Soldiers beat Hebron man on way to mosque Thursday
The reports, according to the observers, corroborated the vendors' story that the "young man was stopped and asked for his identity card. A soldier pushed him against the wall. When the youth asked, 'Why do you push me?' the soldier beat him. He was struck on the head, stomach with a rifle butt and kicked in the groin. His mother intervened as did an older shopkeeper." ... The mother hung on to her son and refused to have him taken through the gate to the army barracks. "The soldiers kept pushing back the crowd of about 100 Palestinians during a loud and animated exchange between the soldiers, the mother and several men.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243019

Palestinian to testify against regiment commander
Ashraf Abu Rahma, a resident of the West Bank village of Naalin, who was shot in the leg by an Israel Defense Forces soldier while handcuffed and blindfolded in July 2008, was summoned Thursday by the Military Court in the Tel Aviv's Kirya base, Ynet has learned. Early next week, the incident's victim will face the two defendants in the affair, Lieutenant-Colonel Omri Burberg, who served as commander of the 71st regiment at the time, and the shooting soldier, Staff Sergeant Leonardo Corea.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811653,00.html

Palestinian shot in Hebron over alleged knife attack
A Palestinian was shot and wounded after reportedly stabbing and injuring two Israelis outside the settlement of Kiryat Arba in Hebron on Thursday. The incident reportedly took place near a gas station at the entrance to the settlement.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242982

AFP: Israel says it foiled suspected bomb attack
JERUSALEM — Israeli troops foiled a suspected attempt to bomb the southern resort city of Eilat by a militant who attempted to infiltrate the desert border with Egypt, an army spokesman said on Friday. On Wednesday evening, a patrol spotted a "silhouette on the Egyptian border and fired warning shots," the spokesman said. On Thursday morning, soldiers "found a bag containing 15 kilos (33 pounds) of explosives abandoned at the site where the suspect fled," he added.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h2sPQEhINLJA3OcGa24ih08-c-cg

Detention

Updated list: Israel pardons 90 former Fatah fighters
Israel has agreed to remove 90 former Palestinian fighters from its list of “wanted” men on the eve of the Muslim Eid Al-Adha holiday, Palestinian sources said on Thursday. Not all the men were fully pardoned.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242990

US asked Israel to release 1,000 Fatah prisoners: Lieberman
Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s Foreign Minister, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu fundamentalist party, stated that the United States asked Israel to release 1000 detainees of the Fateh movement, headed by Mahmoud Abbas.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57227

PA minister: No peace deal without prisoner release
Issa Qaraqe, the minister of detainees and detainees affairs, said on Thursday he would not sign a peace agreement with Israel until all Palestinian prisoners had been released from its jails. Speaking at an international conference in Jericho on the plight of Palestinian prisoners, Qaraqe said children and women in Israel's jails deserved the attention of the international community, which he urged to intervene.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242983

Prisoner release hot topic among Eid visitors this year
The families of 10,000 Palestinian detainees greeted their relatives this Eid Al-Adha with wishes that their sons or daughters be among those released in a swap deal between Israel and Hamas. The detainees issue was the hot topic this year as family members went from home to home greeting each other and wishing blessings on friends and kin. Pondering the authenticity of media reports, many questioned whether or not there would be a deal this time around.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243020

Israel denies entry to Americans attending Jericho prisoners conference
Israeli border guards denied Americans Dhoruba Bin Wahad and Naji Mujahid entry into Palestine on Monday as they attempted to travel to Jericho for a conference on Palestinian prisoners illegally incarcerated in Israeli jails.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=243021

Gaza families upset at jilt from Jericho prisoners conference
The Gaza Committee of Parents of Detainees called the conference on Palestinian prisoners in Jericho a "great national step" in efforts to gain international recognition for the abuse of prisoners by Israeli officials, but expressed disappointment over their exclusion from the proceedings. Members of the Gaza delegation said they had been promised invitations by conference organizers, but said they never received any sort of request for their attendance.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242806

Blockade

One Gaza crossing opened
Israeli authorities opened the Kerem Shalom border crossing in Gaza, as the Karni and Nahal Oz crossings were closed on Thursday. Palestinian crossings official, Raed Fattuh, said that between 110-120 trucks of commercial produce and humanitarian aid would be allowed into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242905

French humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza
Egyptian authorities permitted the entry of humanitarian aid and stationery donated by French charities into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday evening, according to an official for the Arab Doctors’ Union, Mustafa Tayeh ... The French charities' donation included nine tons of medical equipment, which arrived along with the delivery of stationery ... Meanwhile, Israeli authorities have refused to permit the transfer of a consignment of toys donated to Palestinian children in Gaza, which remains at the Al-Oja commercial border between Egypt and Israel, despite Egypt’s consent to the delivery of the toys.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242925

Gaza gov't warns of medicine shortage
The de facto Gaza government’s Ministry of Health warned of a severe shortage of medicine, resulting from the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, it was announced on Wednesday. Munir Al-Barsh, the general director of pharmacology for the Gaza Ministry of Health, stated that “among the medicines that have run out include the ones used for the artificial kidney unit, surgeries and other needed medicines.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242749

In Gaza - `Eid: beautiful, impossible
I wake in the early hours of the morning, as the rush of `Eid begins: prayers call out from mosques around Gaza, Palestine. In the living room of my friends’ home, the prayers surround me, like the carols and church bells did at Christmas as a child. In fact, there are other parallels: the sound of children rising early, excited. Their squeals and the sounds of their play continues through the day, as it did with Christmases past. The same sense of reverence, anticipation, and for the children, glee.
http://ingaza.wordpress.com/

In Gaza - One year later, young fisherman still trying to heal
...Musleh was initially wounded early in the morning of 5 October 2008 when Israeli soldiers shot at him from a distance of 100 metres. “Doctors told me there was an entry wound of two square centimetres and an exit wound of 10-15 square centimetres. They said the shot fractured my shinbone and severed arteries in my leg,” Musleh testified to B’Tselem, the Israeli human rights group. At the time of his shooting, Musleh and Ahmad al-Bardawil were fishing 2 km off the coast of Rafah, 3 km from the Egyptian border, according to their GPS device.
http://ingaza.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/one-year-later-young-fisherman-still-trying-to-heal/

Syrian official: Arabs discuss football while Gaza is besieged
President Assad's senior advisor slams Arab world for being preoccupied with Egypt-Algeria 'soccer war' while so much blood is being spilt in Strip
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811543,00.html

Political news

Report: Shalit deal on verge of completion
Fox News reported Friday that a deal aimed at securing the release of captive Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit was close to completion, and that it will likely be carried out next week ... Sources said Friday that talks aimed at advancing the deal would resume on Monday, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returns from his trip to Germany and the Muslim holiday of `Id al-Adha concludes.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131217.html

Egypt: Israel must freeze construction in East Jerusalem as well
Egyptian newspaper reports Prime Minister Netanyahu telephoned President Mubarak to personally brief him on 10-month settlement freeze, but was criticized by Cairo for missing part in plan
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811637,00.html

PA was informed in advance of settlement construction freeze
Ynet learns Israel, Palestinians conducting talks in secret so as not to draw criticism against Abbas, Fayyad; officials in Jerusalem estimate PA will announce return to negotiation table within a few weeks. Jordan says West Bank construction freeze 'insufficient'
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811518,00.html

BDS

Reflections on the BDS conference at Hampshire
By Philip Weiss. The spirit of the Hampshire College conference on Boycott Divestment and Sanctions that I attended last weekend is captured by Adam Horowitz’s post of Sunday. There was a stirring sense of youthful leadership, and a sense that the left in America can no longer seek to divorce itself from the cause of Palestinian self-determination. No, that divorce, which has existed for 40 years and that allowed the likes of Alan Dershowitz to say that he’s a "liberal," is at an end for the young.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/reflections-on-the-bds-conference-at-hampshire.html

Other news

Institutionalized voyeurism
By Amira Hass. Not surprisingly, the public debate over the law for a biometric database has ignored the fact that the Israeli authorities are goading the Palestinians to surrender biometric data of their own - handprints, fingerprints and facial images indicating the distance between an individual's nose and eyes. Since 2005, such data has been contained in the magnetic cards introduced in 1989 as additional identification cards for Palestinians.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130498.html

Statistics bureau: Muslim growth rate on the decline in Israel
The birthrate of the Muslim community in Israel is declining, according to data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics ahead of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice. According to the bureau's report, the Muslim community's growth rate dropped one percent in 2009 to 2.8 percent, down from 3.8 percent in 2008. However, the Muslim growth rate is still the highest among all groups in Israel, with the Druze population growing at 1.8 percent a year, Christian Arabs at 1.3 percent and Jews at 1.6 percent a year.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130925.html

Mouths filled with hatred
By Larry Derfner. News stories about young Jewish bigots in the Old City spitting on Christian clergy - who make conspicuous targets in their long dark robes and crucifix symbols around their necks - surface in the media every few years or so. It's natural, then, to conclude that such incidents are rare, but in fact they are habitual. Anti-Christian Orthodox Jews, overwhelmingly boys and young men, have been spitting with regularity on priests and nuns in the Old City for about 20 years, and the problem is only getting worse.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259231077244&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Mob chases film crew out of Mea Shearim
Dozens of ultra-Orthodox youths in the Mea Shearim neighborhood drove out a film crew on Thursday, reportedly throwing stones and hurling curses at the student filmmakers.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259243015556&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Opinion / Unsafe on the street
Recent violence against women frightening because it’s so public -- By Elana Sztokman. There is no fear – no fear of the law, no fear of retribution, and clearly no fear of women fighting back. A man can throw acid on a woman or push her down on a bus and know fully in his heart that nothing will happen to him. On the contrary, he will be embraced by his entire community, lauded by his leaders who may wear religious garb but are far from the Divine. No fear of God either, as it were. This is a threat to all of us. If men take ownership of women’s body on the street, that affects all of us.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3810857,00.html

Western Wall countering haredi violence?
Has public discourse on ultra-Orthodox take-over of holy site manifested in active action? Sign instructing separation between men, women in upper square removed, Israeli flags re-placed at site. Western Wall rabbi says sign mistakenly left after holidays, flags temporarily removed due to construction work
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811138,00.html

Poll: 39% blame IDF for troops' insubordination
A poll performed by Ynet together with the Yesodot Center for Torah and Democracy reveals that the Israel Defense Forces are regarded as mainly responsible for disobedience during outpost evacuation, followed by right-wing rabbis and the refuseniks themselves ... Asked which constituted an unlawful order, 49% replied that eating un-kosher food was unlawful, 31% cited Shabbat desecration, 28% noted uprooting settlers from homes, 16% said deporting children of foreign workers and 15% said that evacuating Arab-Israelis from their homes amounted to an unlawful order. Some 16% noted that all of the above orders were unlawful while 20% claimed none were such.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3809088,00.html

PA acquitted in terrorism case on lack of evidence
A resident of Afula who was injured in a terrorist attack in the city eight years ago will not receive compensation from the Palestinian Authority. On Thursday, Nazareth District Court rejected Shula Gaon's claim that the PA, and its leader at the time, Yasser Arafat, is legally responsible for the attack. The case continued despite Arafat's death in November 2004.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811247,00.html

Lest we forget that Israel was founded by violence:
Old Jewish weapons cache found in Sharon region
Moshav Herut resident finds rusty case with rifle, five loaded guns hidden in ground during British Mandate era, takes weapons home. Daughter discovers arms in warehouse, calls police
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811403,00.html

Jerusalem gazelles get guaranteed home after a 10-year battle
Three does are all that remain of the famed herd of 25 native gazelles that once lived in Emek Ha'tzvaim ("Gazelle Valley"), in the heart of Jerusalem. But yesterday, after a public struggle lasting nearly almost a decade, the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Council gave final approval to a plan aimed at ensuring the does' future and enabling the repopulation of the herd.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130761.html

Frayed cloak, rusty dagger
Seems someone on the Mossad’s hit-list just won a reprieve. A botched assassination exercise by Israel’s overseas intelligence service on Monday has thrown a rare spotlight on its secret tactics, as well as raising questions about professionalism.
http://blogs.reuters.com/axismundi/2009/11/25/frayed-cloak-rusty-dagger/

Analysis / Opinion

I (don't) believe
By Yossi Sarid. ... It may be true that official Israel is the cleverest in the world, but the world is not completely dumb. It is still able to recognize the ball made of rags Israel is now trying to roll onto the Palestinian field ... I suddenly remembered that seven years ago the Israeli government committed itself to "freezing all settlement activity, including natural growth," as was stated in the road map. It also committed itself to "immediately dismantling outposts set up since March 2001." Another commitment was to present the Americans at an early date with the markings of the outer borders ("the blue line") of every settlement.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131100.html

Pugnacious Netanyahu pushes US to call for 1967 borders
This is a guest note by Daniel Levy, who served as the lead Israeli drafter of the Geneva Initiative and directs the New America Foundation/Middle East Task Force. ...The new language came in Secretary Clinton's description of what American expects the outcome of negotiations to be - for an "independent and viable [Palestinian] state based on the 1967 lines". Senator Mitchell quoted Clinton in repeating the call for a Palestinian state "based on the 67 lines." Every conflict and every situation has its own lingua franca. In the Israeli-Palestinian context, a state based on the 67 lines is the dog-whistle for what constitutes a real, no-B.S. two-state outcome. It is also language that the US has conspicuously avoided using - avoided that is until today.
http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/2009/11/pugnacious_neta/

Analysis / Is Netanyahu positioning himself to be the next Ariel Sharon?
By Yossi Verter. These days are especially tough for Benjamin Netanyahu - perhaps his roughest since returning to the prime minister's office eight months ago. Ministers and confidants describe him as a man who hardly recognizes himself in the mirror anymore.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131091.html

Bring on the transparency
By Didi Remez. The government of Israel is waging an aggressive campaign to suppress internal dissent. Most of its targets have been organizations operating in the occupied territories, and the campaigners would have us believe that they are acting in the interest of "national security." However, a closer look indicates that they are motivated by a general disrespect for the role of civil society in a democracy. Any NGO in the government's way seems to have become fair game; indeed, officials have even started calling refugee-aid groups a fifth column.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130954.html

Review of that Sand book by someone who has actually read it
Here's Deborah Maccoby's review of the book, The Invention of the Jewish People, by Shlomo Sand: "Shlomo Sand’s controversial book, written to debunk popular mythology about the Jewish people and its relation to its Holy Land, has itself created its own mythology among people who don’t appear to have read it. Thus Sand is said to deny the right of Israel to exist, on the grounds that the Jewish people of modern times has no genetic connection with the ancient Jewish inhabitants of the land. As a corollary to this, Sand’s claim that the Palestinians are (allowing for historical admixtures) the genetic descendants of the ancient Jews of the Holy Land ( who were, Sand writes, mostly converted to Islam at the time of the Arab conquest of the Holy Land in the 7th century CE - is taken to mean that he is saying that the Palestinians, not modern people identifying as Jewish, are the real Jews..."
http://jewssansfrontieres.blogspot.com/2009/11/review-of-that-sand-book-by-someone-who.html

Iraq

Thursday: 9 Iraqis killed, 54 wounded
Excerpt: On the eve of Eid al-Adha, at least nine Iraqis were killed and 54 more wounded. The holiday, which commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, is set to begin Friday for Sunnis and Saturday for Shi’ites ... At a British inquiry, former British Ambassador Christopher Meyer said Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tried to find a connection between the Sept. 11 attacks and Saddam Hussein just hours after attacks took place ...Three people were killed and at leat 39 others were wounded when two homemade bombs exploded at a Mussayab vegetable market. A car bomb in Yusufiya left two dead and nine wounded at a bus station....
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/11/26/thursday-9-iraqis-killed-43-wounded/

UK diplomat questions post of Jews on Iraq panel
A British diplomat has criticized the appointment of two leading Jewish academics to the UK's Iraq Inquiry panel, stating it may upset the balance of the inquiry ... Miles said the two academics were Jewish and that Gilbert was an active Zionist. He also said they were both strong supporters of former prime minister Tony Blair and the Iraq war.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259010973336&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

Syria

The heartbreak of Golan Heights weddings
(with video) For Syrians who choose to marry a resident of the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967, their wedding is a happy occasion as much it is a sad one. Once married, they can never return to their homeland, meaning that their wedding day might be the last time they see their family and friends ... We make ourselves heard on what's known as ‘the screaming hill'. Golanaise families gather on the hill and shout out to their families on the other side through loudspeaker. Between us there is a valley of 200 or 300 metres, scattered with mines. We can hear the echo of each other's voices, shouts and cries of joy."

http://observers.france24.com/en/content/20091126-heartbreak-golan-heights-weddings-syria-israel

The Golan Heights' long wait
The city of Quneitra is preserved in devastation as attempts to improve Syria's relations with its neighbours and the US stall - By Simon Tisdall. The Syrian authorities have made no attempt to rebuild here. Until Israel vacates the two-thirds of the Golan Heights it first seized in 1967 and annexed in 1981, as Syria insists it must, they prefer symbolism to salvage. "This is a human tragedy," said Mohammad Ali, a senior official in Syria's Golan governorate of which Quneitra forms a part. "There are over 400,000 Syrians from the Golan who live as expellees..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/27/golan-heights-syria-us

The Golan is moving closer to Israel, geologists say
The northern city of Kiryat Shmona and the Golan Heights are just a few kilometers apart geographically. But from a geological perspective, they are worlds apart. The Golan is part of the Arabian geological plate, which also includes Jordan, Syria and the Arabian peninsula. Kiryat Shmona, however, is part of the Galilee, which is in turn part of the Sinai plate, connected to Africa. Some 20 million years ago, the two plates began to move opposite one another. This movement, which continues today, created the Syrian-African Rift, along which the Dead Sea and Lake Kinneret are located.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1131089.html

Yemen

Yemen - Nasser Ridhwan: "I had nothing in my life besides my wife, who I've now lost"
Nasser Ridhwan, 78, is a recent arrival in the al-Mazraq Camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Haradh District, Hajjah Governorate, some 130km southwest of his home village of Mashnaq, near Dukhan Mountain, which has become a battleground in fighting between the Saudi army and Houthi-led Shia rebels ... "I don't know where she is now; missing, dead, gone with other people. She was alone when I left her. We had been married for more than 65 years, but had no children - this was our destiny. "I had nothing in life but my wife, who I’ve now lost. I don't know how she will survive because it is the first time in 50 years for me to disappear from her..."
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87070

Saudi troops 'captured' by Houthi rebels in Yemen
27 Nov - Nine Saudi soldiers have been captured by Houthi rebels during fighting in northern Yemen, a rebel spokesman says ... The Saudi defence ministry has confirmed nine soldiers are missing and may have been taken prisoner. The Houthis accuse Riyadh of supporting the Yemeni armed forces by letting them launch attacks from its territory. Later, the rebels said on their website that Saudi planes had carried out bombing raids about 30km (19 miles) inside Yemen.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8382484.stm

Lebanon

Report: Lebanese man charged with spying for Israel
By Jack Khoury. Lebanon has indicted one of its citizens for spying for Israel since 1990, the pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat reported Thursday. Osama Berri, 54, is accused of having had contact with the enemy during wartime. Berri was arrested on November 18 in southern Lebanon, where he resides.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130900.html

Injustices in Lebanon
"Khaled is not a unique case. Hundreds of young women and men live in a similar ordeal. Their main crime is being born to Lebanese women who had the misfortune of having children from non-Lebanese men. By the time you read this story, Khaled might have been deported. He has now reached an impasse. No employer will hire him and declare him. He cannot afford or navigate through the confusing and expensive administrative paperwork and red tape."
http://angryarab.blogspot.com/2009/11/injustices-in-lebanon.html

Lebanon 'accepts' Hezbollah's weapons; Congress prepares reply
By Franklin Lamb, Beirut. "It is the right of the Lebanese people, Army and the (Hezbollah led-) resistance to liberate the Shebaa Farms, the Kfar Shuba Hills and the northern part of the village of Ghajar as well as to defend Lebanon and its territorial waters in the face of any enemy by all available and legal means." So reads the Policy Declaration of the new Government of the Republic of Lebanon, issued on 11/26/09, four days after the celebration of Lebanon’s 66 years of independence from the French colonial power, achieved in 1943.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15574

Report: Israel prepared to leave Ghajar within hours
Lebanon's al-Akhbar newspaper says Jewish state has informed UNIFIL it will evacuate northern part of Lebanese village shortly. UN official estimates move aimed at reducing international criticism against Israel
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811039,00.html

Other

Why Afghans dig empire graveyards
By Nicolas J S Davies. Afghanistan is known as the "graveyard of empires." But just why do empires keep sending thousands of their young people to die in Afghanistan? American blood-letting in Afghanistan is generally explained in terms of the Taliban and al-Qaeda, but it was the earlier U.S. involvement in Afghanistan (in the 1980s) that led to the emergence of these movements in the first place, not the other way around ... Conventional military powers consistently underestimate the Afghans until they are over-committed and faced with humiliation. The first modern empire brought down by the Afghans was the 200-year-old Safavid Empire of Persia...
h ttp://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/11/24-7
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Date: Thu Nov 26, 2009 4:07 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~November 26, 2009 ~

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Land Theft and Destruction
South Africa: Israel's East Jerusalem acts reminiscent of apartheid
The South African government has issued an unusually harsh statement condemning Israel for approving 900 new housing units in Gilo and evicting Palestinians from their East Jerusalem homes, comparing Israel's actions to the "forced removals" of the apartheid era.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130768.html

Rights group: 69 cases of Palestinian olive trees destroyed, but no prosecutions
The human rights organization Yesh Din says not one of the 69 complaints filed during the past four years on damage to Palestinians' trees in the West Bank has resulted in an indictment. The organization released a report on the matter Tuesday and makes specific reference to damage caused to olive groves, central to the livelihood of Palestinian villagers.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130480.html

IOA demolition threatens family of 207 members
The family of Ja'abis in Jabal Al-Mukabir expressed concern that the IOA would demolish their 53 apartments which, if implemented, would render 207 citizens homeless including 117 children.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7mldFZ8%2fdctfxmr8y5vHEJUf%2bOOISnI4GojerxmwT%2bkyS4jQc8JDlw3l%2b0Md5ofL83cPZLBPXt9lwVgqoXbIq99G3BFC56VmFJcC3F23lFbY%3d

Israel chokes Palestinian construction
The Civil Administration has recently issued demolition orders for structures in several Palestinian villages in Area C. The Administration rarely authorizes Palestinian construction in Area C, which comprises 60 percent of the West Bank.

http://www.btselem.org/English/Planning_and_Building/20091125_Civil_administration_strangles_Palestinian_building.asp

2 W. Bank Palestinians sue state over sewage plant 'built on their land'
Two residents of the Palestinian village of Ein-Yabrud, in the West Bank, filed a legal suit for compensation at the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on Wednesday, claiming Israel had built a sewage treatment facility on their land. The two, who are represented by human rights organization Yesh Din, demand that Israel evacuate the land.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259010981828&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Palestinian trade unions unanimously support boycott movement
In reaction to reports alleging that a Palestinian trade union official has stated his reservations about the Palestinian civil society campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), the full spectrum of the Palestinian trade union movement has expressed solid support for the BDS National Committee and for the global BDS campaign against Israel as an effective form of resisting its military occupation, war crimes and apartheid policies.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10915.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

I'm Thankful for Campus BDS Organizers
I spent last weekend at Hampshire Students for Justice in Palestine's national campus boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) conference and it made me realize how grateful I am for all of the amazing work done by Hampshire SJP and other campus groups across the country.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/im-thankful-for-campus-bds-organizers.html

BDS Movement Keeps on Movin'
Here at the US Campaign we're feeling thankful for all the signs that the movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions to end Israeli occupation and apartheid is growing and working. Here are just a few recent stories that illustrate this exciting growth.
http://endtheoccupationblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/bds-movement-keeps-on-movin.html

Tainted Cement: BDS Campaign Against CRH Irish Construction Company’s Business Dealings with Israeli Company That Exploits Resources on Occupied Lands
Israeli billionaire Nochi Dankner, who controls Mashav. On 15 November, hundreds gathered in Dublin, Ireland for a demonstration against the CRH Irish construction company. The demonstration was organized by the Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (IPSC). CRH owns 25% of Mashav (“resource” in Hebrew), an Israeli company controlled by the Israeli billionaire Nochi Dankner.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/2297-tainted-cement-bds-campaign-against-crh-irish-construction-companys-business-dealings-with-israeli-company-which-exploits-resources-on-occupied-lands.html

Montreal: Free Gaza Movement
A lecture by Huwaida Araff and Adam Shapiro. Wednesday, November 25, 2009 19h30 – 22h Concordia University Pavillon Hall Building Room/Local H-767 1455 De Maisonneuve O Montreal, Quebec Join Adam Shapiro and Huwaida Arraf from the Free Gaza Movement for a lecture on International efforts to break the siege on Gaza, the effects of the siege, and the current situation in Gaza The Free [...]
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/5403

Ali Abunimah: Campus BDS Conference keynote speaker
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq6yGxV4Ph0&feature=player_embedded
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxUYMoxG2-Q&feature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zScsfaKx5Sc&feature=related
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTZKGI4JhBM&feature=related
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0i3lQM0wGgI&feature=related
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h02inQX50nc&feature=related

Violence and Aggression
Students suffer breathing difficulty following IOF gas attack
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed a school in Beit Uwa village, southwest of Al-Khalil city, on Wednesday morning using gas canisters while breaking into its yard.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7ZlUHqXJaJB%2bvLHj%2bwnsGLOKKwnYIpLgd1q%2bXi9DL%2buVVrsWvt8GRNqfxkuJiLpufYe%2fnwS3f4JtGHaUJKGufc9yvXu%2fyTdon375%2fU3eE3QI%3d

Humanitarian Issues/Siege/Human Rights
For Gaza's homeless, holiday is time for despair
* Hardship increases as winter sets in
* Little relief on offer to homeless
* Anger at both Israel and rival Palestinian factions
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEE5AO0B8.htm

Oxfam asks Israel to increase fuel imports to Gaza
Bethlehem - Ma'an - "Households, bakeries and hospitals in Gaza will be left short of cooking gas as the major annual festival of Eid Al-Adha begins," unless Israeli authorities to allow in the daily needed quantities of domestic gas, Oxfam International said Monday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242392

Gaza children survive with psychological trauma and hard living conditions
GAZA (Xinhua) -- Amid the hard living conditions that 1.5 million people of the blockaded and impoverished Gaza Strip endure, Nada Joma'a, a girl with one leg, and Yasser al-Za'eem, a boy with a dream and love of computers, are struggling to exist and live to tell the tale.
http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=208829

IDF Insists: Berlanty Azzam can not complete the final 2 months of her degree in Bethlehem
Gisha - News Release - In its statement today, the State continues to claim that Berlanty, a 22-year-old student who was forcibly removed to the Gaza Strip last month, was present in the West Bank "illegally”, despite the fact that Berlanty herself clarified in her military hearing that she traveled from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank legally – using an entry permit to Israel issued to her by the military commander. This permit was issued to her after she passed a rigorous security investigation. Moreover, after she entered the West Bank, Berlanty did everything she could to change her address as listed on her identity card to her new place of residence, Bethlehem.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=36856

Refugees
Refugees remain skeptical of Nahr al-Bared reconstruction
NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (IPS) - More than two years after their refugee camp was destroyed in a war between the Lebanese army and the Islamist militant group Fatah al-Islam, Nahr al-Bared refugees Wednesday witnessed the start of the camp's reconstruction. Their relief is mixed with skepticism, however. Established in 1949, the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in north Lebanon's Akkar region has become home to more than 30,000 residents.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10919.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicLebanon+(Electronic+Lebanon)

OPT: Refugee stories - 'We were like birds in the cage' Al- Tanf graduation ceremony
"You cannot imagine how important this trip is for us," exclaims Intisar Yusef Mahmoud, a Palestine refugee from Iraq, as she and fifty other women made their first trip outside of the camp in over 18 months. Life is tough in al-Tanf, an isolated and desolate refugee camp located 250km east of Damascus, along the Syrian-Iraqi border.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/JBRN-7Y6ELQ?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Prisoners
IOF troops detain two Palestinians
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) detained two Palestinian young men in Qabatia village during an incursion that started at midnight Wednesday and ended on Thursday morning, locals reported.

http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7GHB120PNtANlfUcNKN%2bhcuQyqONk6uZAKjB%2fbmiVuopgVJNRrLN4aQfpTHz%2bFYQ7%2fRn5wCRmuO0zmSx3KuRGD1a45yyNXb3nrdK7eC%2bVLd8%3d

Hamas frees 150 Gaza prisoners for Muslim holiday (AFP)
AFP - The Islamist Hamas movement ruling the Gaza Strip released 150 prisoners on Thursday, including what it calls security detainees, in honour of the Muslim feast Eid al-Adha.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091126/wl_mideast_afp/mideastpalestinianpoliticsprisonereid

Report: Prisoner swap talks postponed to after Eid Al-Adha
Bethlehem - Ma'an – Mediated prisoner swap talks between Israel and Gaza resistance officials have been postponed until after Eid Al-Adha, Israel's Channel 2 reported Wednesday night.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242845

Barghuti says on Israel prisoner swap list (AFP)
AFP - Popular Palestinian leader Marwan Barghuti said in an Italian newspaper report Wednesday that he believed he was among hundreds of prisoners due to be exchanged for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091125/wl_mideast_afp/italymideastconflictprisonershalit

IOA deports Palestinian sick detainee to Jordan
Palestinian local sources reported that the Israeli occupation authority (IOA) transferred Palestinian prisoner Akram Anteer, who suffers from a serious disease, from Negev prison to Jordan.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7F5W5mlMceURxN5BPgkUWAH6nJObNUhgKQbRPvM%2fhixYXUC%2fWqqFKfq8z6GuFvqsTZoGn2%2b%2f%2f6VQpkArZOxCK%2bvO70p8vRfAqxtsPHd70q%2fs%3d

Israel releases Palestinian after seven years
Nablus – Ma’an – Israeli authorities released on Tuesday night Sinan Muhammad Abu Ayesh from Balata Refugee Camp after holding him for seven years. Abu Ayesh was sentenced to six years in prison. At the end of his term he was transferred to Israel’s Negev prison camp held for another year.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242770

Tour depicts Israel’s Kafkaesque punishment for Palestinians
A national tour organized to highlight the use of administrative detention, an inhumane punishment aimed at Palestinian political prisoners, visited a number of U.S. cities from Nov. 3 to Nov. 20. Administrative detention is a cruel form of arrest that offers the accused man, woman or even child no charges to dispute, no trial and no limit to their maximum sentence.
http://www.workers.org/2009/world/palestine_1203/

Political Developments
ANALYSIS / 'Settlement freeze' won't bring about peace
It is hard to decide what would cause greater harm to whatever is left of Abbas' status in the Palestinian public - American pressure to settle with the deal Netanyahu offered him yesterday, or the prisoner-exchange deal that the prime minister is offering his great enemies in Hamas. It is unlikely that Netanyahu really believed Abbas would thank Israel's government for deciding to temporarily freeze the settlements in the West Bank, praise it for building synagogues and new schools, agree to the completion of 2,500 partially-built housing units and the construction of 492 new apartments. It is unlikely Netanyahu thought that on the eve of Id al-Adha the Muslim leader would adopt the Jewish people's position that East Jerusalem is part of the State of Israel. Is Netanyahu really expecting Abbas to recognize Israel's sovereignty on Gilo, not to mention Sheikh Jarrah and the Temple Mount?
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130774.html

Not enough manpower to implement settlement freeze, cabinet told
The implementation of Israel's decision to freeze settlement construction in the West Bank for 10 months is seen as an especially major challenge for Israel. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz told the security cabinet Wednesday ahead of a vote on the decision that there is no real way to enforce the freeze due to a lack of manpower.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130865.html

The Real Meaning Of The 'Freeze'
Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement "falls short" (in George Mitchell's words) on so many dimensions, reasonable people will conclude that it is simply a piece of theater, meant to appease the Obama administration, and public opinion around the world, particularly in the wake of the Goldstone report: The freeze allows for the completion of 2,500 partially-built housing units and the construction of 492 new apartments. It does not apply to buildings like schools and synagogues. It does not take into account that the actual drivers of new settlement are not in the government, but fanatic settlement organizations that have been acting more or less independent of government decisions for years, and which the state does not have the manpower (or the army, the stomach) to confront with military force. The freeze does not apply to East Jerusalem, a greatly expanded zone (70 square kilometers) in the heart of the West Bank--historically, Palestine's biggest city, commercial hub, and the site of the mosques. Oh, and it last only ten months.
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/11/26/the_real_meaning_of_the_freeze/

Official: Freeze a gesture to US, not to Abbas
Former National Security Council head believes settlement construction freeze by Israel will only weaken Palestinian president in his people's eyes, while Hamas may be able to present real achievements in Shalit deal. Former Minister Beilin: How did Americans reach such a ridiculous situation?
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3810939,00.html

PA: Netanyahu deceiving world with building freeze
Secretary-general of PLO's Executive Committee says prime minister's announcement on 10-month settlement construction halt was a show, 'as plan does not include Jerusalem, which is a red line as far as the Palestinians and the Arab world are concerned'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3811307,00.html

PA to launch new diplomatic strategy
According to Palestinian report, PA slated to launch new diplomatic policy downplaying US mediation in special UN address on November 29.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3810750,00.html

Abbas pledges to stay on until next Palestinian election
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday he plans to stay on in his post until the next election is held and that he would be ready to hold.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130665.html

Netanyahu: Abbas has no more excuses to avoid peace talks
The security cabinet voted yesterday to impose a partial 10-month freeze on construction in West Bank settlements, which will not apply to East Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced yesterday. He said the partial freeze was a bid to restart stalled peace talks with the Palestinians.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130776.html

Haniyeh: No return to unity talks after Eid
Gaza – Ma’an – De facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh told a visiting Swiss delegation on Friday there would be no return to Hamas-Fatah unity talks following the Eid Al-Adha holiday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242950

Al-Tahrir party slams Abbas’s speech in Argentina
Al-Tahrir party strongly denounced the speech of Mahmoud Abbas in Argentina in which he stressed his adherence to the policy of negotiation with Israel.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7RyIEzWNETgKYs%2bDNK8xpZDMDHrFOjSG7vGu3667a3wQZhXcxzIwecT7abKEfTVPDUNqY7qhAJPksKqO%2fXq5ENy7lC%2fxDdpRjTGJQZisGuZw%3d

Israeli Support for Ethnic Cleansing
Poll: Transfer Tops Solutions to Arab-Israeli Problem
(IsraelNN.com) Transfer of Arabs from the Palestinian Authority to actual Arab countries was the most popular solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, according to a poll this week by Israel National News. Of the more than 6,400 people surveyed, 53.2 said 'Transfer of Palestinians to another Arab country' when asked, "What's the best solution for the Arab-Israeli conflict?"
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/174891

"We will have to kill them all": Effie Eitam, thug messiah
Eitam, who since then has held several senior posts in the Israeli government, has recently toured the US as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "Special Emissary" to the "Caravan for Democracy" program of the Jewish National Fund (JNF). This is a marriage made in heaven. Since Israel was founded, the JNF has organized the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and the settlement of Jews on their expropriated land; Eitam sees himself as the messianic soldier-prophet directing future expulsions of Palestinians from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Jim Holstun and Irene Morrison comment for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10914.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

Other News
Israel's occupation, linked by rail | Seth Freedman
The Jerusalem light railway is set to link to illegal settlements such as French Hill. Palestinians need help stopping it. The architects of Israel's occupation of the West Bank are highly skilled at the art of needlework, deftly stitching up land inside Israel proper and disputed territory over the Green Line as though it was the most natural thing in the world. According to their logic, it should be possible to seamlessly suture together the two parts without raising eyebrows either at home or abroad, regardless of the contravention of both international law and basic morality that such actions entail.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/26/israel-occupation-jerusalem-light-railway

Obama mourns Washington Wizards owner and AIPAC leader Abe Pollin
U.S. President Barak Obama on Wednesday spoke of his sadness at the death of Abe Pollin, the Washington Wizards owner and leader of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, who died Tuesday at 85.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130663.html

Was a Swede who abandoned his family really a Mossad agent?
The myth of the Mossad is so great, some in Sweden claim that a man who lied about his identity and abandoned his family cannot possibly be a simple con artist - but must be a member of the Mossad. In any case, this is what has surfaced from a story that appeared in the Swedish newspaper Expressen about Johanna Wallin, a 33-year-old woman searching for her father, Peter Reginald Tonge.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130801.html

Hamas visits 35,000 Gaza homes to deliver Eid chocolate
Gaza – Ma’an – Hamas officials spent the day visiting the homes of 35,000 families in the refugee camps of the central Gaza Strip on the occasion of the first day of the Eid celebrations, project organizers said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242966

Analysis/Op-ed
Why can we talk to Hamas about Shalit, but not peace?
Gideon Levy - Haaretz - Yes, we are conducting what we are denying to ourselves: negotiations with Hamas - and the sky hasn`t fallen. Whether direct or indirect, there are talks; whether or not we recognize Hamas, there are negotiations. For us, as usual, the method that should come first waits for last. Only after we try all the rest - killing and destruction, war and starvation - do we turn to the direct route.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130786.html

Delegitimization is moving fast. What next?
As I read the news surrounding developments in Palestine/Israel I’m astonished at how quickly the political landscape has changed and continues to change, and the future of Palestine/Israel is as unclear as ever. Making predictions about the future is risky business, and I don’t presume to know enough to do so. But one feature of this changing landscape will impact that future and it merits discussion. Israel, the primary project of the Zionist movement, is being steadily delegitimized as a political entity. More and more people are beginning to question the right of Zionist Israel to exist. In short, Zionism is becoming a dirty word.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/delegitimization-is-moving-fast-what-next.html

Bibi’s Bathosphere
Reuven Kaminer - The Shalit negotiations are a serious boost for Hamas’s Arab and international standing. Islamic radicals, we learn, are just as amenable to diplomacy and hard bargaining as anyone else. The walls of isolation around Hamas are crumbling, as even Israel by virtue of these negotiations, extends de facto recognition. If Israel enjoys its role losing sleep over a single captured soldier, Hamas enjoys showing the only practical way to deal with Israel is by having something that Israel wants very much.
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=36854

Iraq
Wednesday: 20 Iraqis Killed, 52 Wounded
Just days before the start of the Eid al-Adha observances, at least 20 Iraqis were killed and 52 more were wounded. The most significant attack occurred in the holy city of Karbala.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/11/25/wednesday-20-iraqis-killed-52-wounded/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

Britain 'knew of Iraq WMD doubts'
Intelligence told before war that weapons may not have been assembled, civil servant says.
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/europe/2009/11/20091125164926469666.html

Riz Khan -the fate of Iraqi women - 25 Nov 09 - Pt 1
As the world turns its focus away from Iraq, what can be done to help the country's women?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMRt1S4xGJ4&feature=youtube_gdata

Riz Khan -the fate of Iraqi women - 25 Nov 09 - Pt 2
As the world turns its focus away from Iraq, what can be done to help the country's women?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTUCofsSHyw&feature=youtube_gdata

Iraqi journalists worry about media crackdown (Reuters)
Reuters - Lawsuits, rules that allow the government to shut TV stations that promote violence and other signs of creeping censorship are raising fears of a crackdown on Iraq's often partisan media ahead of an election next year.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091126/wl_nm/us_iraq_media

Night-time theater returns to Iraq as courage grows (Reuters)
Reuters - As the clock strikes 8 p.m. Baghdad time, the curtains sweep apart at the Iraqi National Theater in what actors hope is a return to regular night-time performances 6-1/2 years after the U.S. invasion.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091126/wl_nm/us_iraq_theatre

Lebanon
Lebanon agrees Hezbollah right to use arms against Israel
BEIRUT — Lebanon's new cabinet has agreed on a policy statement that acknowledges Hezbollah's right to use its weapons against Israel, despite disagreement by some members of the ruling majority.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jOPbz2B1js62fZdHr-aXPQ6fPTiw

Hajj
Gaza woman's struggle to go on hajj - 26 Nov 09
Safia al-Shrafi from the Gaza Strip is fulfilling a lifelong dream: to perform the hajj in Mecca. But her pilgrimage to Islam's holiest city has been a long struggle, full of grief. She and her husband had saved money and planned the trip together, but during Israel's war on Gaza last winter, he was killed. Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin reports from Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27VehWPTQ_Y&feature=youtube_gdata

Pilgrim embarks on 'life-long dream' - 25 Nov 09
The annual pilgrimage to Islam's holy city of Mecca is mandatory for healthy Muslims at least once in a lifetime, if they can afford it. For 42-year-old pilgrim Maryam Abdalla of Kenya, a mother of three and nurse at a government hospital, the journey has not been an easy one. But after seven years of planning and praying, Abdalla says she is content with the feeling that she has accomplished one of her life-long dreams. Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow reports.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDEkkuFXX_w&feature=youtube_gdata

Road to Hajj - Japan - 26 Nov 09 - Pt 1
Al Jazeera meets the man making Hajj possible for Japan's small Muslim community.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPa4OPuYQs0&feature=youtube_gdata

Road to Hajj - Japan - 26 Nov 09 - Pt 2
Al Jazeera meets the man making Hajj possible for Japan's small Muslim community.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlI5PHMBNQs&feature=youtube_gdata

In pictures: Muslim pilgrims undertake the Hajj amid heavy rainfall
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/middle_east/8379050.stm

U.S./UK
Book review: Post-September 11 "Homeland Insecurity"
After the 11 September 2001 attacks there have been many books and articles regarding the misuse of justice and harsh treatment of Arab Americans and Muslims in the United States. Louise Cainkar's extensive research and excellent analysis is the most complete published so far. Homeland Insecurity is an ethnography which took three years to complete and benefits from more than a hundred interviews. Barbara Aswad reviews for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10916.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

'Cruel, illegal, immoral': Human Rights Watch condemns UK's role in torture
One of the world's leading human rights organisations said there was clear evidence of the UK government's involvement in the torture of its own citizens.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/nov/24/human-rights-uk-role-torture

Olbermann: Does Palin believe Jews will flock to Israel to set off Apocalypse?
Olbermann appeared to be particularly concerned by whether Palin shares the convert-or-perish attitude towards the Jews expressed in end-times theology. "If Mrs. Palin truly wants to discuss her faith, we invite her to clarify what her faith says about Israel, its role in the Rapture, and the ultimate fate of Israel and the Jews who choose to keep their faith," he concluded.
http://rawstory.com/2009/11/olbermann-palin-rapture/

Best Buy Ad's Mention Of Muslim Holiday Irks Some Customers
A recent Best Buy ad (hat tip to CrunchGear) promoting the store's Black Friday sales includes a nod to the Muslim holiday Eid Al-Adha, which is celebrated that day. Sounds rather innocent, doesn't it?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/25/best-buy-flyers-muslim-ho_n_369583.html

Arab American women: Where do they stand?
A beautiful woman comes through the door, with dark hair and wide eyes, elegantly dressed and with a clear American accent, and asks me for directions. I couldn't but ask her about her origin and reluctantly she says, "I am an Arab." She has the looks and the shape of an Arab woman and the content of an American one. This however does not necessarily mean.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=109103

Tarek Salahi: Coolest Arab of the Moment
One would think an organization based primarily on high-level access to power would be happy to have a board member at President Barack Obama’s first state dinner. The American Task Force for Palestine (ATFP), however, has removed from its website Tareq (Tarek) Salahi, the most famous party crasher in the world. He, along with his wife, snuck into the state dinner Tuesday night. This screen shot of their website shows Salahi listed as a member of the board of directors less than a week ago. Today, his image is gone.
http://www.kabobfest.com/2009/11/tarek-salahi-coolest-arab-of-the-moment.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kabobfest%2FGrillMe+(KABOBfest)

Other World News
Yemen's poor displaced by war
http://english.aljazeera.net/Services/Gallery/Default.aspx?GalleryID=200911239450588693

Egypt-Algeria soccer dispute timely diversion for Cairo woes
Egypt sent in riot police to quash street protests after a soccer loss to Algeria, but the state's own rants against Algiers suggest Cairo may have welcomed the diversion of discontent to a foreign target.Far from quelling public anger over talk of Algerian hooliganism after match-day scuffles, Egypt summoned Algeria's envoy and recalled its own.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=109120

Egypt-Algeria World Cup violence used to rally support for Mubarak regime
A violent war of words after two Egypt-Algeria World Cup qualifiers is being used by the regime of Hosni Mubarak to rally support and distract from Egypt's domestic woes, critics say.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1125/p06s20-wome.html

Trouser woman says she may not return to Sudan
The Sudanese journalist briefly jailed for wearing "indecent trousers" said Wednesday she might not return to her country but instead continue her campaign for women's rights from abroad.Lubna Ahmad Hussein, who said she defied a travel ban and sneaked out of Sudan wearing a full Islamic veil to hide her identity, said however that she was not planning to ask for asylum in Europe.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=109118

Ahmadi-Nejad's welcome in Caracas stirs US concern
A visit to Venezuela by Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran's president, underscored a growing friendship between two of the most savage critics of the US.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d014e50e-d9f4-11de-b2d5-00144feabdc0.html

Venezuela's Chavez calls Israel 'murderous' US arm
Venezuelan president singles out comment by President Shimon Peres according to which his, Ahmadinejad's days in power numbered, says Israel stands for "murderous arm of Yankee empire'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3810910,00.html

Dead Sea needs world help to stay alive (AFP)
AFP - The Dead Sea may soon shrink to a lifeless pond as Middle East political strife blocks vital measures needed to halt the decay of the world's lowest and saltiest body of water, experts say.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091125/wl_mideast_afp/mideastenvironmentwaterjordan

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From: "Today in Palestine!" <tipalestine@...>
Date: Wed Nov 25, 2009 4:02 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~November 25, 2009 ~

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Land Theft and Destruction
The Apartheid Wall (updated 2009)
The Apartheid Wall fact sheet provides basic information about the Wall, including location and costs as well as how the Wall is part of a network, which includes checkpoints, tunnels and settler roads. The fact sheet also explains the ghetto system and the position of the international community. It concludes with the repression of popular resistance to the Wall, which is discussed in much more detail here. Click here to download the Apartheid Wall 2009 fact sheet.
http://stopthewall.org/factsheets/2119.shtml

IOF troops storm Jenin, Tobas, deliver demolition notifications
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed at dawn Wednesday the village of Arrabe, south of Jenin city, and combed the outskirts of the village without arrests being reported.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7TAQZKygBo%2b3k9KaTCPNLEXt4BhmC5FHmY36PVu1EDV7SifrBnlftAOq1PEUeFFPShYWdBQEwBXGk6nlWmefIh17bY6eUAwFrVLp0weNEQoc%3d

UN Slams Israel’s Plan To Expand Gilo Settlement
The United Nations slammed an Israeli plan to expand the Gilo illegal Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem and considered it as another obstacle to the already stalled peace process.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57208

UN official: Gilo expansion threatens Middle East peace
Israel's decision to expand the settlement at Gilo in East Jerusalem is an impasse to the Middle East peace process that must be overcome, a UN official told the Security Council on Tuesday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130392.html

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Mohammad placed in administrative detention
November 25th, 2009-- On 23 November 2009, after 61 days of detention for the purpose of interrogation by Israeli Security Agency officers, human rights defender Mohammad Othman received his first administrative detention order. The administrative detention order is set for a three month period, during which time Mohammad will be held without charge or trial. The judicial review of the order is scheduled to take place on 25 November at the Military Court of Administrative Detainees in Ofer Military Base.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2118.shtml

"We are steadfast": Community Voice, Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, November 23rd, 2009
For the past year, Mohammed Ameera managed to evade Occupation forces. Soldiers raided his home more than a dozen times in failed attempts to arrest him and his brother. The last time they did so, one of the commanders promised his mother that if her sons did not turn themselves in they would be killed at the demonstration. Ahmad’s mother has already lost her husband and did not want to lose her sons as well, and Mohammed decided to turn himself in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9cghVW6J_I&feature=player_embedded
http://stopthewall.org/communityvoices/2114.shtml

New Campaign to Defend Gaza Workers in Israeli Courts: Call for Solidarity and Action
The industrial zone of Erez, constructed more than 30 years ago and located on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, used to serve as the workplace for thousands of Palestinian workers who labored in the 200 some Israeli factories and textile workshops in the area. Today, however, the area is a ghost town, abandoned by its former workers and factories. Since Israel unitarily disengaged from the Gaza Strip in April 2004, and the subsequent imposition of an economic blockade (on Gaza), more than 4,500 Palestinian workers in Erez lost their jobs due to the closure of factories, workers who used to be the breadwinners of more than 50,000 families.
http://www.alternativenews.org/english/2296-new-campaign-to-defend-gaza-workers-in-israeli-courts-call-for-solidarity-and-action.html

Tell the US Consulate in Jerusalem about Mohammad Othman
Jewish Voice for Peace just sent out the following appeal following: Mohammad Othman’s administrative detention order: On November 23, 2009, after 61 days in jail, Mohammad Othman has received his first administrative detention order for a three month period — a period where Mohammad will be held without charge or trial. The judicial review of the order is scheduled to take place tomorrow, November 25th, at the Military Court of Administrative Detainees in Ofer Military Base, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, and we need you to take action right now. Tell the US Consul General in Jerusalem to send a representative to the hearing. His harassment must stop. He should either be tried in a court of law where he can defend himself or he should be released.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/tell-the-us-consulate-in-jerusalem-about-mohammad-othman.html

In His Cave, a Palestinian Farmer Makes a Stand
Abed Abed-Rabbo doesn't want to live in a cave, but its the only way he can stay on his farm. The Palestinian farmer, 48, inherited the property in the village of Wallajeh, on the southern edge of Jerusalem, from his father and his grandfather but had to flee amid the 1967 Six-Day War, when Israel occupied the place. In 1999, he returned to Wallajeh and the farm, risking constant arrest and defying an Israeli decision to annex it to Jerusalem. Most nights of the week, he says, he spends in the cave he slept in as a child. But now, he may even lose the cave.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1942056,00.html?xid=rss-topstories#ixzz0XsxKhP5C

Violence and Aggression
Israeli settlers stone public bus on Ramallah-Tulkarem road
Tulkarem – Ma’an – Israeli settlers from the illegal colony of Yitzhar injured a Palestinian man travelling in a public bus on a main road near the settlement on Tuesday, the victim of the attack reported. The service taxi, carrying seven passengers in total, was assailed by a barrage of stones launched by Israeli settlers in the northern West Bank. The car was travelling from Ramallah to Tulkarem at the time.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242523

Israeli troops and police attack a Palestinian village and remove electricity pylons
Around 50 soldiers and police officers surrounded the village decelerated it a close military zone then started to remove pylons providing the Towani with electricity. Members from the human right group Christian Peace Makers Teems, CPT, told IMEMC that the military attacked villagers and human right workers when they tried to stop the military from dismantling the electricity pylons.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57215

Humanitarian Issues/Siege/Human Rights
Weekly report on Israeli human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territory 19 - 24 Nov 2009
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SKEA-7Y5FC9?OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Documentary: Erased: Gaza Wiped Off the Map
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aU1H-knuSw&feature=player_embedded
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpkS_orYM9E&feature=player_embedded
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArXv-qrbthc&feature=player_embedded
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvFXz8wkkFQ&feature=player_embedded
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjXFopL4uLM&feature=player_embedded
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA4ShI-QMYc&feature=player_embedded

Israel court seeks deal for Palestinian to finish studies (AFP)
AFP - Israel's top court on Tuesday urged the state and a Palestinian deported to Gaza to cut a deal so she can return to her studies in the West Bank city of Bethlehem in exchange for "high bail."
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091124/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictcourteducation

Eid al-Adha highlights a Gaza family's struggle to survive
Daoud Suleiman Ahmad, 48, an unemployed construction worker, has been unable to find work for almost three years due to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Life for Ahmad and his family in the al-Maghazi refugee camp has been desperately difficult, something that is particularly on his mind during the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday. Rami Almeghari reports from the occupied Gaza Strip.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10913.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

Palestinians say IDF preventing supply of water to village
Residents of the Palestinian village of Khirbet Bir al-'Idd in South Mount Hebron say IDF forces are preventing the entry of three water tanks to the community, despite the fact that they have had no water supply for hours.   Last week it was reported that the army has allowed the residents to return to the village, after nine years in which they stayed away due to harassment by settlers. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3810624,00.html

Palestinian journalist bloc appeal for freeing 11 journalists from W. Bank jails
The Palestinian journalist bloc appealed to the national reconciliation committee to urgently intervene and get 11 journalists released from West Bank jails.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s77c%2f1vaUfy4DKyBZNM4AVLW%2blVXm5rjVRWu%2bAmK51Pjguxf8oJu0bWbfrzvb8dHILPaKCM8rkV2Zb6Pj8fhQYZSp6GUpAc8VTn8UuDUdDZQA%3d

Prisoners
Hamas to release some Fatah-affiliated detainees ahead of Eid
Gaza – Ma’an – The de facto government in Gaza is preparing to release some Fatah prisoners on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha which begins Friday, representative of the independent committee in Gaza Yasser Al-Wadiyeh said Tuesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242511

Hamas leaders head to Syria for Shalit talks
Getting closer to finalizing Shalit deal? Top Hamas figures leave Cairo Tuesday for consultations in Damascus; senior Hamas member warns that Israeli stubbornness could torpedo prisoner swap.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3810204,00.html

Israel awaiting Hamas chief response on Shalit deal
Hamas political chief Khaled Meshal is expected to give his answer Wednesday on the compromise formula which is meant to cement the prisoner exchange deal for the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130520.html

Barghouthi: Negotiations failed to release prisoners
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Jailed Fatah Central Committee member Marwan Barghouthi said he regrets the failure of talks with Hamas and Israel to guarantee the release of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, a letter from the leader said Tuesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242526

MJ Rosenberg: Gilad Shalit's Counterparts: 10,000 Palestinian Prisoners In Israeli Jails
It is horrific to contemplate what Gilad Shalit and his family have been subjected to for over three years. Not only has he been imprisoned but the ups and downs of the prisoner exchange negotiations must be torture for his family (and for Gilad himself if he knows what has been going on). But most maddening is, in my opinion, the racial implications of the Shalit saga. It does not matter that Israelis and Palestinians are racially indistinguishable. The fact is that the Israelis are "white" in terms of their status in Israel-Palestine and the Palestinians are not.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/gilad-shalits-counterpart_b_369370.html

Inside Israeli jails, the real victims of a cry for justice
Amid the growing media fever over a possible prisoner swap involving the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held by Hamas, another young captive has a less visible public profile – but personifies Israel’s chokehold on Palestinian self-expression.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091125/OPINION/711249901/1080

Detainee To Be Allowed To Receive Medical Treatment Abroad, Won’t Be Allowed Back
Palestinian sources reported Wednesday that the Israeli Authorities decided to release detainee Akram Oneiter, 25, who will be receiving urgent medical treatment abroad under the condition that he does not return to the country.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57212

Political Developments
Hamas leader accuses Israel of undermining talks
Source familiar with prisoner exchange talks says Israel's refusal to release top Hamas prisoners Ibrahim Hamed, Abdallah Barghouti delaying agreement. Senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya: Zionist entity fully responsible for failure of efforts to finalize deal for Shalit's release.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3810692,00.html

PA reaching for diplomatic plan B
Ramallah – Ma’an – The Fatah-dominated Palestinian leadership based in Ramallah is developing a new diplomatic strategy that would free itself from the failing framework of US-brokered bilateral negotiations with Israel, officials say. The new strategy, sources in the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) explain, is more “pluralistic” and more internationally-oriented.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242693

PLO urges U.S. not to veto Palestinian statehood at UN
RAMALLAH, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Palestine Liberation Organization(PLO) on Wednesday called on the United States not to veto requests to recognize a Palestinian statehood at the United Nations. "We call on the international community, the Quartet, the UN and the United States to support the creation of the independent Palestinian state when it is presented to the UN," said the PLO in a statement sent to the media.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/25/content_12539515.htm

Obama 'doing nothing' on Mideast peace: Abbas (AFP)
AFP - US President Barack Obama is "doing nothing right now" to restart the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said in an interview published Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091124/wl_mideast_afp/mideastuspalestinianabbas

Spanish PM says Mideast peace efforts must continue (AFP)
AFP - Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said on Tuesday that efforts to bring about peace in the Middle East must go on, despite the lack so far of tangible progress.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091124/wl_mideast_afp/mideastegyptspaindiplomacy

Arming War Criminals
Exclusive: U.S. pitches unique F-35 fighter jet to Israel
The single-engine aircraft, designed to avoid detection by radar, could play a role in any Israeli effort to knock out what it regards as the threat to its existence posed by Iran's nuclear program.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5AN31E20091124

Israel seeks discount on two German warships
* German Meko preferred over U.S. rival vessel
* Israel looks for discounted deal by end of year
* Netanyahu, Barak due in Berlin next week
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEE5AN12E.htm

Other News
Fatah: Banning PA official from Al-Aqsa affirms racist occupation
Ramallah - Ma'an - The Secretariat of the Fatah Revolutionary Council condemned on Wednesday the Israeli authorities ban on senior Palestinian Authority (PA) official Hatem Abdul Qader from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242717

U.S. offers $5 million reward for elusive Palestinian bomb-maker
The U.S. State Department announced Tuesday that it is offering a reward of up to $5 million for a Palestinian bomb-maker suspected of once targeting commercial airliners and of aiding the Iraq insurgency.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130396.html

American Diplomats Touring Israeli Settlements
American diplomats are touring Israeli settlements in the occupied territories to gather information and meet settlement mayors and settlers.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57213

Hamas to issue permits for Palestinians leaving Gaza (AFP)
AFP - The Hamas-run government in Gaza said on Wednesday it would begin requiring all Palestinians wishing to enter Israel from the besieged territory to obtain permits three days in advance.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091125/wl_mideast_afp/mideastconflictgazahamascrossings

Italians consulted as traffic violations block Palestinian courts
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Palestinian judges and police met with Italian specialists this week to discuss possible solutions to the backlog of cases over traffic violations plaguing the Palestinian court system, police announced Tuesday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242510

At Gaza Zoo, The Wild Things Return
Almost a year after Israel's offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, the coastal enclave is still struggling to recover. Most animals at the Gaza Zoo died during the fighting. Now, with the help of animal smugglers, the zoo is trying to rebuild.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120498709&ft=1&f=1009

Analysis/Op-ed
Can Obama stand up to Israel?, Helena Cobban
It won't be easy, but President Obama must hold Israel to account, both for the two-state solution and the safety of US troops around the world.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1124/p09s03-coop.html

At the edge of the abyss
The chapter on Israel in the U.S. State Department's 2009 Report on International Religious Freedom, issued in October, presents Israel in an embarrassing light - as one of the 30 countries "where violations of religious freedom have been noteworthy." According to the Americans, Israel is more similar to Russia or Turkey than it is to Saudi Arabia or Iran, but that's small comfort.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130260.html

The US Congressman who sold his soul to the Israel lobby: How Tom Perriello became a slave of Israel
Adam Shapiro tells the story of a hitherto principled friend and campaigner for justice and human rights, Tom Perriello, who ran for Congress and, once elected, betrayed all of his principles and became a mere tool of the pro-apartheid American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24048.htm

Good Riddance, Abbas
The announcement that Mahmoud Abbas has decided not to stand for re-election as head of the Palestinian Authority should come as a relief to all Palestinians. In fact, Abbas’s departure will open a much-needed opportunity to take stock of where things stand and assess the future course of the Palestinian struggle.
http://sareemakdisi.net/2009/11/24/good-riddance-abbas/

Will a Israel-Hamas prisoner swap mark the end of the PA?
Both the Arab and Israeli press report that Hamas and Israel are on the verge of concluding a prisoner swap deal – which means that not only have Hamas and Likud been negotiating, but they’ve been negotiating successfully. Ironically, the negotiations to free Palestinians political prisoners have caused the illegitimate President of the American-Israeli Palestinian Authority (AIPA) Mahmoud Abbas to accuse Hamas of, well, negotiating with Israel.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/will-a-israel-hamas-prisoner-swap-mark-the-end-of-the-pa.html

A desperate throw of the dice, Ben White
Thirty years ago, Israel minister Ariel Sharon told Knesset members that while they "shouted" about the settlements, "we lay another foot of pipe, another mile of road and build another house." Successive Israeli governments have agreed with the country's founding prime minister David Ben-Gurion's own view that the "precondition for discussion with the Arabs" is to "establish a great Jewish fact in this country." Now, however, the talk is of Palestinian "unilateralism." This began with the appointed Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announcing his two-year plan for statehood in August, but has reached a crescendo in the last few weeks. Fayyad's plan is still on the table, and although he has stressed that the emphasis is on institution-building, some reports have linked the initiative to a unilateral declaration of independence.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10911.shtml

How we became a night unto the nations
Yoel Marcus - Haaretz - Before sticking our noses into the problem of Iran`s nuclear program, which is a source of international concern, it would be preferable for our government to discuss how we got to where we are - no longer a light unto the nations - and what needs to be done to stop the freefall in our international image before it`s too late.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130262.html

Shalit deal gives Palestinian prisoners unprecedented media exposure
It's doubtful the organizers of the International Conference on Palestinian Prisoners ever believed it would get this kind of media exposure. But the flurry of news items on an imminent prisoner exchange deal has brought reporters from around the world to the conference, held Tuesday at the plush InterContinental Hotel in the tranquil West Bank city of Jericho.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130485.html

Two alternatives: backward or forward, Ghassan Khatib
Palestinian officials have always and consistently reiterated their commitment to the peace process. Bilateral negotiations are seen as the main strategy to achieve the legitimate Palestinian objectives of ending the Israeli occupation, achieving statehood and freedom as well as solving the issue of Palestinian refugees in accordance with UNGA Resolution 194. However, the peace process has so far lasted 18 years and there are diminishing reasons to believe that it will accomplish its objectives and bring an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Although the process has been through severe crises before, the one we are experiencing now appears to be the most difficult.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7660

The Light Rail to Nowhere
Living in Ramallah is like living in a bubble in many ways. The Israeli occupation is not always overtly visible here, but comes clearly into focus once you begin to travel away from the city. I recently made the journey from Ramallah to Jerusalem, which I tend to avoid due of the hassle of crossing Qalandiya checkpoint - I often get stuck at Qalandiya for at least an hour when trying to get to Jerusalem. But once through the checkpoint, I am always glad I made the journey, if not only to expose myself to the reality of life for Palestinians in east Jerusalem, but also to burst the bubble of living in Ramallah.
http://www.miftah.org/Display.cfm?DocId=21105&CategoryId=13

The Value of Fear
"We do not negotiate with terrorists". The mantra has long been a cherished value of western democracies. In reality all the major powers have at some stage been lowered to discussions with militants, from Northern Ireland to Iraq. Now Israel seems on the verge of granting their fiercest enemies of Hamas a major coup with the mooted released of up to 1,000 prisoners. What message does this send?
http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/spip.php?article1183

The Impending Release of Gilad Shalit, By RANNIE AMIRI
The release of the captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, appears imminent. The recent flurry of activity in Cairo of high-profile Israeli and Hamas officials along with their Egyptian and German intermediaries point to a deal taking place in upcoming days, nicely timed to Eid Al-Adha celebrations marking the end of Hajj. Although details remain murky, in exchange for Shalit, approximately 500 Palestinian prisoners would be immediately released and possibly another 500 at a later date.
http://www.counterpunch.com/amiri11252009.html

Political Science 101: The Palestinian Dilemma, Mitri I. Musleh
Egypt has presented a plan to reconcile and unify the two main fractions of the Palestinian people Fatah and Hamas. The Syrian-based leadership of the militant Hamas has rejected the Egyptian-mediated proposal to reconcile with the rival Fatah group. While Fatah signed on this declaration, Hamas and other Damascus based groups rejected the plan as it failed to make reference to the Palestinian right to resist the Israeli occupation.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7656

Unnh… ‘Foreign Policy’ should probably just let American Muslims speak for themselves
Yesterday Scott McConnell wrote a smart squib on Steven Simon’s piece for the Council on Foreign Relations about the horrifying extent to which the U.S. must placate Israel to keep it from attacking Iran. Well here is smart Simon again, at Foreign Policy, in a sensitive piece on the disaffection of American Muslims from our foreign policy and the importance of making Muslims feel at home here. But the most glaring thing about this piece is a giant discrepancy. Simon begins by saying that Muslims are disaffected because of our unbending support for Israel– but in the laundry list of suggestions he makes for solving Muslim disaffection, he says zip about amending our policy in Israel/Palestine. Where does it hurt? It’s my hand. OK, let’s bandage your foot!
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/unnh-foreign-policy-should-probably-just-let-american-muslims-speak-for-themselves.html

Israeli professor's book advocates for more open, outward-looking Israel
"At a time when Israel has built a Wall that is a ghetto wall for Israel as well as the Palestinians, and is adopting policies that are more and more undemocratic, in order desperately to try to maintain its ethnic Jewish majority, this Israeli Jewish historian pleads for a return to long-forgotten Jewish openness to the outside world." Thus Deborah Maccoby, ICAHD UK board member, summarises the purpose of Shlomo Sand's much debated new book The Invention of the Jewish People in her review of it. The full review appears below.
http://www.icahd.org/icahdukdev/eng/articles.asp?menu=6&submenu=2&site=UK&article=419

Palestine: The New International of Insurgent Feeling
Fred Moten | PACBI | 7 November 2009 Photo: Palestinian stands in Gaza Strip grave after Israeli military bombing. 1. The justification of the boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions is quite simple and quite clear: the victims of a sovereign brutality instantiated in racial-military domination have come to an overwhelming consensus, in the very shadow [...]
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/5391

‘Times’ leaves relevant facts out of prisoner story
Today the New York Times has a story about the possible prisoner exchange between Israel and the Palestinians that involves Gilad Shalit, of course, in exchange for "hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, including many convicted of organizing suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism."
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/times-leaves-relevant-facts-out-of-prisoner-story.html

President Clinton and now Obama – Who the bleep (actually it was f***) does Netanyahu think he is?
It's not often that stories about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict make me laugh but one by Jeremy Bowen, the BBC's Middle East editor, did. Because he is the corporation's correspondent supporters of Israel right or wrong most love to hate – from time to time they pressure the BBC to fire him – I imagine he enjoyed writing it.
http://sabbah.biz/mt/archives/2009/11/24/president-clinton-and-now-obama-who-the-bleep-actually-it-was-f-does-netanyahu-think-he-is/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SabbahsBlog+(Sabbah+Report)

Iraq
Gunmen in uniform slaughter Iraqi family of six
* Motive for murders in former al Qaeda stronghold unknown
* Military uniforms easy to obtain in Iraq
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEE5AO1UM.htm

26 wounded in twin bombs in Iraq shrine city (AFP)
AFP - Two bombs within minutes of each other exploded at a restaurant early Wednesday in Iraq's shrine city of Karbala, wounding at least 26 people, police and medical officials said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091125/wl_afp/iraqunrestkarbala

Tuesday: 6 Iraqis Killed, 4 Wounded
The Independent High Electoral Commission warned that it would not set a new election date until the debate over the elections law is over. Meanwhile, Iraq threatened to sever economic ties if Syria does not extradite men suspected of recent bombings in Baghdad. Also, the British defense ministry promised to open a public inquiry into abuse allegations on the part of British servicemembers against Iraqi citizens. At least six Iraqis were killed and four more were wounded in light violence.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/11/24/tuesday-6-iraqis-killed-4-wounded-2/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

Sunni imams killed in Iraq 'sticky bomb' attacks (AFP)
AFP - Two Sunni religious leaders were killed in and around the Iraqi capital on Tuesday by magnetic bombs attached to their cars, security officials said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091124/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestreligionsunni

Saboteurs hit Iraq oil pipeline: ministry (AFP)
AFP - Exports of Iraqi oil to the Turkish port of Ceyhan were interrupted because of sabotage against a pipeline in northern Iraq, the oil ministry said on Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091124/wl_mideast_afp/iraqenergyoilsabotage

Return to Fallujah
http://www.rainews24.rai.it/it/canale-tv.php?id=17335

Erbil Eyes Archaeological Tourism
Government plans to renovate ancient citadel in Kurdistan’s capital. By Hogar Hasan in Erbil (ICR No. 313, 24-Nov-09)
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-357717

The sorry state of Iraqi politics | Ranj Alaaldin
As political squabbling looks set to delay January's poll again, Iraqis will start to ask if more sinister plots lie behind this fiasco. Iraq's long-debated new election law that was for months deliberated upon, delayed and then finally passed two weeks ago was hailed at the time as a monumental moment. Its approval by parliament was seen as critical for stability and the withdrawal of US troops.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/24/sorry-state-iraqi-politics

Iraq was not UK's main worry prior to invasion (AP)
AP - Saddam Hussein's regime was not Britain's main security concern in the years before the invasion of Iraq, Foreign Office officials testified Wednesday at an inquiry probing Britain's role in the war.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091125/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_iraq_inquiry

Kuwait, Iraq discuss border oilfields (AFP)
AFP - Iraq and Kuwait are engaged in "technical negotiations" to strike a deal over production from border oilfields that have been at the heart of previous conflicts, a Kuwaiti oil official has said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091125/wl_mideast_afp/kuwaitiraqoil

Lebanon
Barak warns Lebanese government
Lebanon will be held accountable for Hezbollah actions, defense minister says.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3810160,00.html

Judge hands spy trio hard labor sentence
A retired General Security brigadier and his wife, along with a third suspect, were indicted Tuesday for collaborating with Israel. Adib al-Alam and his wife Hayat al-Saloumi were suspected of providing Israel with information and entering Israeli territories since 1994. Judge Rashid Mezher demanded a sentence of temporary hard labor for the three suspects.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=109075

'Right to resistance' clause holds up policy statement
The debate between March 14 Christian parties and the opposition over mention in the ministerial statement of Lebanon's right to resist in order to liberate occupied territories delayed the conclusion of Cabinet's policy statement, with the committee tasked with formulating the document expected to resume its deliberations on Wednesday.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=109082

U.S. and other world news
Obama administration will not sign land mine ban
The senator described the decision to stand fast on the current policy as "a lost opportunity .... The United States took some of the earliest and most effective steps to restrict the use of land mines. We should be leading this effort, not sitting on the sidelines." Human rights groups had expressed hopes that the Obama administration would sign the treaty.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/11/24/national/w135403S69.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0Xqbbd3Pr

Obama to Announce Afghan Escalation Plan Dec. 1st
Administration officials say President Obama will unveil his decision on sending tens of thousands of additional troops to Afghanistan next week. Obama is expected to announce the plan in a prime-time address next Tuesday night. At the White House yesterday, Obama said he intends to “finish the job” in Afghanistan.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/25/obama_to_announce_afghan_escalation_plan

'Hezbollah suppliers' charged in US
Prosecutors say four men tried to supply weapons and money to Lebanese group.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/11/2009112532836604251.html

Blacks Suffer From 'Depression-Level' Joblessness
Joblessness for 16-to-24-year-old black men has reached Great Depression proportions -- 34.5 percent in October, more than three times the rate for the general U.S. population. And last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that unemployment in the District, home to many young black men, rose to 11.9 percent from 11.4 percent, even as it stayed relatively stable in Virginia and Maryland.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/24/blacks-suffer-from-depres_n_369252.html

Al Jazeera interviews analysts on Blackwater - 25 Nov 09
A US magazine has reported that the private US military contractor formerly known as Blackwater is running covert operations in Pakistan. Mosharraf Zaidi, a New York-based Pakistani journalist and columnist, and Jeffrey Addicott, a professor of law at St Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, speak to Al Jazeera on the subject.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuEMJ6WDSRU&feature=youtube_gdata

Two Former Bagram Detainees Held Without Charge Describe Torture and Wrongful Imprisonment
The Obama administration has promised to begin moving the 700 odd men held in the Bagram prison in Afghanistan into a new 60 million dollar facility by next month. But in a video released by Brave New Films, two men who were held in the notorious detention center ask how much of a difference this will make when its unclear why people were arrested in the first place. The two brothers Abdel and Noor Raqeeb, say they were held without formal charges, tortured, only to be released with an apology for being mistaken for Taliban spokesperson.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/24/two_former_bagram_detainees_held_without

Blackwater's Secret War in Pakistan: Jeremy Scahill Reveals Private Military Firm Operating in Pakistan Under Covert Assassination and Kidnapping Program
In an explosive new article in The Nation magazine, investigative journalist and Democracy Now! correspondent Jeremy Scahill reveals the private military firm Blackwater is part of a covert program in Pakistan that includes planning the assassination and kidnapping of Taliban and Al-Qaeda suspects. Blackwater is also said to be involved in a previously undisclosed U.S. military drone campaign that has killed scores of people inside Pakistan. The article says the program has become so secretive that top Obama administration and military officials have likely been unaware of its existence. In a Democracy Now! exclusive, Scahill joins us for his first interview since the story broke.
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/11/24/blackwaters_secret_war_in_pakistan_jeremy

Venezuela: Peres threatened Chavez
Israeli president's remarks 'direct threat to life, safety of Chavez', foreign minister says.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3810196,00.html

Al Jazeera secures World Cup rights
The US$1 billion deal represents the second major tie-up between Middle East pay-TV rivals this year.
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091124/BUSINESS/711249988/1042/rss

Ousted Honduran president urges int'l community not to recognize elections
TEGUCIGALPA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Monday again appealed to the international community not to recognize the Nov. 29 elections to be held by the post-coup government in Honduras.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/24/content_12530487.htm

Jordanian centre offers females refuge from abuse - 25 Nov 09
The head of the UN has called on men and boys around the world to help end violence against women. On the 10th International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Ban Ki -moon has unveiled a newly created 'Network of Men'. He wants prominent male leaders to act as role models, to get more men to condemn violence against women, which takes place in many forms, and in many countries around the world. In Jordan, the UN says 43 percent of women are victims of abuse. Al Jazeera's Nisreen el-Shamayleh met some of them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgEgcX7Oh7Y&feature=youtube_gdata

“Most Influential Muslims”
The Middle Eastern studies departments at Georgetown and NYU have come up with a list of what they call the ”top 500 most influential Muslims in the world.”
http://guerrepaix.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/most-influential-muslims/

Dahlia Wasfi – We Are All War Criminals
Our nation is still recovering from the November 5, 2009, shootings at Ft. Hood in Killeen, Texas. We are waiting for some sense of normalcy to return after such a shocking event. How unbelievable it is for this tragedy to occur; after all, our occupations had been going so well until this point. Just ask the Iraqi people. Wait, scratch that. Ok, ask the Afghan people. Nevermind. Just ask U.S. veterans. Oh boy. If we ask the people who are living the horrors, then maybe what happened at Ft. Hood isn’t so shocking at all. What is surprising is that we haven’t seen more of the same.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/11/25/dahlia-wasfi-we-are-all-war-criminals/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PalestineThinkTank+(Palestine+Think+Tank)

Hajj
The road to Hajj - Azerbaijan - 25 Nov 09 - Pt 1
Al Jazeera follows pilgrims from this former Soviet state as they prepare for Hajj.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q17xSV7gszg&feature=youtube_gdata

The road to Hajj - Azerbaijan - 25 Nov 09 - Pt 2
Al Jazeera follows pilgrims from this former Soviet state as they prepare for Hajj.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaDM6sRP7WM&feature=youtube_gdata

Mecca undergoes expansion project - 24 Nov 09
Every year, millions of Muslims gather to perform the Hajj in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca, where the city's Grand Mosque overflows with pilgrims as many more clamor for space outside the mosque's walls. It's a reality that Saudi authorities are hoping to change with an ambitious expansion and renovation project that is underway across the city. But expanding and renovating the Grand Mosque and the citys infrastructure will be a challenge to do without disrupting what Muslims believe to be the holiest of spiritual journeys. Ayman Mohyeldin takes a look at some of the plans.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsVV0QFhF0E&feature=youtube_gdata

www.TheHeadlines.org

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From: "Today in Palestine!" <tipalestine@...>
Date: Tue Nov 24, 2009 3:30 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~November 24, 2009 ~

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Land Theft and Destruction
IOA orders Palestinians to evacuate 25 apartments in north of Jerusalem
Palestinian sources reported that the IOA handed last night court orders to evacuate 25 Palestinian apartments in Samiramis area behind the segregation wall in Jerusalem.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7uOBrAdbh7GfMLVu9%2bUXsRdj5lrPq06aLns665hWWbHDjHWuB5EofpTrI74hH0746WGScNGUAPox525uj3lzulZvspOBrirvNc7swxPGRvdo%3d

Testimony: Israel impedes olive harvest in Bethlehem
For six years, Elias Mariyyeh, an 80-year-old resident of Bethlehem, has been unable to pick his olives. Cut off from his grove by the Separation Barrier, Israel makes it hard for him to receive crossing permits.
http://www.btselem.org/English/Testimonies/20091007_Access_to_olive_grove_beyond_barrier_barred_witness_Elias_Maria.asp

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Bringing down the Wall
November 24th, 2009-- This photo story looks at the events that led up to the events on November 10th, exactly 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when Palestinians destroyed part of the Wall near Qalandiya. This was not the first time the Wall has recently been brought down, and the people of Ni'lin have succeeded in toppling concrete slabs several months prior. Furthermore, the fencing and sensors are consistently destroyed in Ni'lin, Jayyus, and dozens of other communities, often away from the eyes of the media.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stopthewall/sets/72157622866989906/show/

The day the Birzeit students were shocked: ‘They never used live ammunition on us before’
Mohammad Abu-Orf lives in New Jersey, where he works as an environmental engineer. This weekend he observed an important anniversary from his youth in the West Bank. The demonstration he recounts involved factional disputes within the Palestinian community over the Palestine National Council. Abu-Orf was on the more moderate side. The demonstration was covered in Time Magazine here.
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/the-day-the-birzeit-students-were-shocked-they-had-never-used-live-ammunition-on-us-before.html

Scenes from an occupation: Seized at an internet cafe at midnight
Andrea Whitmore of Citizens for Justice in the Middle East passes along a note she received today from a friend in the occupied village of Jayyous, Palestine. "The man is in his 20s, a college student, responsible and hard working. This sort of thing is, of course, routine. You’d get most of the spelling but just in case I put in parentheses the ones you might find peculiar."
http://mondoweiss.net/2009/11/scenes-from-an-occupation-seized-at-an-internet-cafe-at-midnight.html

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO OMAR BARGHOUTI
As part of his whirlwind tour of U.S. campuses this fall, Omar Barghouti spoke at Loyola Law School on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009 with a lecture entitled “Thirsting for Justice.” Its thesis, as the student who opened the event explained, is that “Israel uses water as a tool for apartheid and ethnic cleansing.” The solution, as the flyer for the event explained, was BDS—Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel.
http://www.standwithus.com/app/iNews/view_n.asp?ID=1210

Prof. Criticizes Obama Foreign Policy
As’ad AbuKhalil—a politics and public administration professor at California State University Stanislaus—offered a blistering critique of the Obama administration’s record thus far, focusing on combating beliefs that Obama’s foreign policy has marked a departure from the expansionist philosophy he said was espoused by the Bush administration.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2009/11/24/policy-foreign-law-abukhalil/

Supporting Apartheid
Veolia and Alstom continue to abet Israel's rights violations
Despite mounting pressure to withdraw from the light rail project in Jerusalem designed to serve the needs of Israel's illegal settlements, the French transportation giant Veolia is set to be highly involved in the project for the next five years. The company needs to support its new Israeli partner, the Dan Bus Company, which lacks the experience to operate the light rail. Adri Nieuwhof reports for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10909.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

German government to give Israel warships for free: PROTEST DEMO
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/11/24/german-government-to-give-israel-warships-for-free-protest-demo/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PalestineThinkTank+(Palestine+Think+Tank)

Violence and Aggression
Two Qassam Fighters Killed In Gaza
The Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, reported that two of its fighters were killed on Tuesday at dawn in an explosion that took place in a home near Al Shijaeyya neighborhood in Gaza.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57201

Palestinian Children Face Daily Settler Attacks Getting to School, Mel Frykberg
AT TUWANI – Being able to travel to school in relative safety is something children all over the world take for granted. But for Palestinian children living in the shadow of the ubiquitous and illegal Israeli settlements dotting the West Bank, simply walking to school can be a terrifying experience. "It is really scary walking to school. We never know when the settlers will attack us and beat us," said Rima Ali, 10, from the village of Tuba in the southern West Bank, about two hours’ drive south of Jerusalem.
http://original.antiwar.com/frykberg/2009/11/23/palestinian-children-face-daily-settler-attacks/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

Israeli troops and officers raid homes of Hamas members in Jenin
Israeli troops and intelligence officers on Monday stormed and ransacked Palestinian homes belonging to Hamas-affiliated citizens in the town of Yabad, west of Jenin.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s71zsm2eR7R6O4CoEA43ayWglwuruiViSR21kgR%2bBoZ%2frztZRaDofmtgQ7ryjAv6heW7myzuh59LnT%2bBqrvBizlAiE2KCjiBWq0gS9ogF7284%3d

Potential Israeli settler violence threatens 250,000 Palestinians - UN report
Nearly 250,000 Palestinians in 83 communities on the West Bank are at risk of heightened violence in so-called "price tag" revenge attacks that Israeli settlers may launch against a large-scale attempt by Israel to evacuate outposts it considers illegal, a United Nations report warned today. "While most 'price tag’ incidents recorded to date" resulted in Palestinian injuries and in significant property damage, the level of settler mobilization observed so far, appears to be relatively limited," it noted, referring to the settler strategy of exacting a "price" from Palestinians in response to Israeli attempts to dismantle outposts the authorities themselves have not authorized.
http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4b0b9da1c.html

Justice
Ali Hattar – A Right of Return primer (Arabic and English)
A referential drafting extracted from the Human Rights Covenants and human principles and the laws related to it based on the basis that Palestinian Arabs should have the same human rights as the rest of the peoples of the world. Also included in English are excerpts from relevant Covenants.
http://palestinethinktank.com/2009/11/24/ali-hattar-a-right-of-return-primer-arabic-and-english/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PalestineThinkTank+(Palestine+Think+Tank)

Humanitarian Issues/Siege/Human Rights
NGO's Jewish-Arab index: socioeconomic gaps growing
The social, economic, health and educational gaps between Israel's Jewish and Arab citizens are continuing to grow, mostly as a result of unfair government policies and prejudice from the Jewish population, a study published Wednesday has found. Now in its third year, the Equality Index of Jewish and Arab Citizens in Israel, published by Sikkuy, the Association for the Advancement of Civic Equality, cites growing housing shortages and a looming welfare crisis as the main concerns facing the country's 1.5 million Arabic-speakers. "The index shows an alarming picture: that the gap between Jews and Arabs has increased by almost five percent in just two years," commented Ron Gerlitz, co- executive director of Sikkuy.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1258566463186&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter

University mentor program rejects Arab student
Arab student rejected by Perach because 'Jewish families won't accept Arab mentor for their kids'.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3809682,00.html

Study: 79% of single Israeli women harassed at workplace
Some 79 percent of single women and 15 percent of married women suffer sexual harassment in the workplace, but only 3 percent of those women ever complain, according to a new study by Dr. Abigail Mor of Tel-Hai Academic College.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130363.html

Wall between Hebrew University and Palestinian Village?
Hebrew University Student Union: Build Wall between the university and Issawiya Photo: Masser Israeli apartheid wall in occupied Palestine. According to the Jerusalem online newspaper Mynet, Hebrew University’s Student Union Chairperson, Ofer Raviv, recently recommended that a Separation Wall between the university’s Mount Scopus campus and the nearby Palestinian village of Issawiya be constructed. Hebrew University officials suggested [...]
http://www.tadamon.ca/post/5374

Int'l campaign holds IOA responsible for catastrophic water conditions
The international campaign to break the siege on Gaza Strip has held the IOA responsible for consequences of the worsening humanitarian and living conditions of the Palestinian people in the Strip.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7H98hkzAB%2fZN7fwg2l16%2bi84U5pjD4zKwp31a1NjL%2f99sLMXYAqEKAxXMFabeXHFrdgCxba%2bLp1XtlawDLaIXi4zcfWm4JAeUaGyxFVmCEA0%3d

How the children of Palestinian find inspiration in resistance
British photographer Rich Wiles, who had an exhibition about Palestine in Sydney earlier this year, writes for the BADIL Resource Centre for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights on the use of art to resist occupation.
http://antonyloewenstein.com/2009/11/24/how-the-children-of-palestinian-find-inspiration-in-resistance/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antonyloewenstein%2Ffeed+(Antony+Loewenstein)

Commemorating the 1st Anniversary of Gaza War
gaza-destruction-large_1Palestine, November 24, 2009, (Pal Telegraph) - The Palestinian Return Center (PRC) is preparing to mark the first anniversary of the Israeli genocidal war against Gaza perpetrated in late 2008. It will be holding a memorial week for the victims and the besieged population of Gaza and including all Palestinian refugees that have been living in exile for over the Six decades.
http://www.paltelegraph.com/hot-topic/2942-commemorating-the-1st-anniversary-of-gaza-war

Prisoners
Hamas: PA detained 13 of our members
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Hamas reported on Tuesday that the Fatah-allied Palestinian Authority security forces detained thirteen people affiliated with the Islamic movement in the last two days. Hamas said in a statement that the detentions took place near the West Bank cities of Nablus and Tulkarem.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242281

State Prosecution: Saadat a threat to society
State refuses to remove terror group leader from confinement, claiming he will give orders from cell.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3810037,00.html

Minister Shalom: Barghouti, Saadat will not go free
Deputy prime minister tells BBC in London that the two terrorists will not be included in a possible list of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for captive soldier Gilad Shalit, despite earlier reports.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3809648,00.html

Palestinians: Shalit negotiations hang on exile for Barghouti
Cairo/Damascus/Gaza City - - Negotiations between Israeli officials and Hamas over a possible deal to release captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit now hinge on whether two imprisoned Palestinian leaders would be freed but allowed to remain in the occupied territories, Palestinian politicians said Tuesday.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1515172.php/Palestinians-Shalit-negotiations-hang-on-exile-for-Barghouti#ixzz0XmyucnYQ

Egyptian Collaboration
Egypt seizes weapons said bound for Gaza
Al-Arish – Ma’an – Egyptian security forces seized a car loaded with weapons in the city of Rafah which borders the Gaza Strip.
An Egyptian security source said that the weapons, including 20 large plastic bags of explosives, guns and ammunition, in the car were to be smuggled into Gaza via an underground tunnel.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242303

Political Developments
Fayyad: Israeli stubbornness impeding peace process
Ramallah – Ma’an – Caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said the Israeli refusal to bring settlement construction and activity to a complete standstill as the central reason for the stall in peace talks, during a news conference on Tuesday alongside German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242393

Abdelqader: The PA became a burden on the Palestinian cause
Hatem Abdelqader, the resigned minister of Jerusalem affairs, launched a scathing attack on the PA, saying it failed to achieve the national goals and became a burden on the Palestinian cause.

http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s784%2fozQt6jK954ha15qw6ARSq2ZxOsL%2fs3%2f7bmGzDMsO8GPp0oIkogZByEQdWUzSRYi18CkahU%2f4bVM9euQNY4dzP5IwB1WYHJZFIoSVssHU%3d

Abbas: Palestinians won't launch new intifada, despite frustration
Palestinians will not launch a new uprising against Israel despite their frustration at the deadlock in U.S.-sponsored peace efforts, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130133.html

Netanyahu may ask cabinet to okay 10-month settlement freeze
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering seeking either cabinet or governmental approval for a ten-month freeze in West Bank settlement construction, in a bid to relaunch stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130136.html

Other News
Senior Fatah figure banned from al-Aqsa for 6 months

Hatem Abdel-Qader, who was arrested during recent east Jerusalem riots, says won't respect ban if it is aimed at 'making it easier for settlers' to take over Temple Mount.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3809627,00.html

US could 'do more' on Middle East: Argentina (AFP)
AFP - Argentine President Cristina Kirchner on Monday urged the United States to "do more" to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations as she held talks with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091123/wl_mideast_afp/palestiniansisraelargentinadiplomacy

Israeli trade minister in Turkey to mend ties (AFP)
AFP - Israel's trade minister Monday began a visit to Turkey to mend strained relations, saying Ankara could help resolve the conflict between Israel and Syria.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091123/wl_mideast_afp/mideastturkeyisraelsyriadiplomacy

Top Israeli diplomat holds secret talks in Oman
Foreign Ministry director-general Yossi Gal has held secret state-level meetings in Oman's capital Muscat, a senior official in Jerusalem told Haaretz. Diplomatic relations between Israel and Oman were cut off in 2000 at the start of the second intifada.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1130242.html

Culture
Meoni: Geneva government to finance Palestinian heritage museum
Patrice Meoni, the minister of culture in the Geneva government, said that his government was ready to finance the establishment of a Palestinian heritage museum in the Gaza Strip.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7ArD3giFzhexh7WDlHcL0kSk8RCj1tVUUU70m%2focre%2brKRDa8R8SwUg%2bALL%2bIYwddUvA6ACJ1DiiYgkPUV6OiZ6Ye%2bL0lIrNAKEIVokYPaEQ%3d

Analysis/Op-ed
Hebron's architecture of occupation
The word "revenge" is scrawled in Hebrew on a Palestinian school in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. The windows are covered with screens and the play yard obstructed with more screens tipped with barbed wire, to obstruct the stones regularly pelted down by Jewish settlers. Sarah Lazare and Clare Bayard write from Hebron, occupied West Bank.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10907.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

Where next for Palestinians?, Ghada Karmi
The divergence of opinion and the ferment of ideas are indications that at this critical stage in Palestinian history, what is needed is not a peace process on better terms, but a pan-national debate about the future. The deepening gulf between the "outside" and the "inside" that I see here is the most dangerous threat to that future. The challenge facing the Palestinians involves all of them, not just the third living under Israeli occupation. Any political decision now must include Fateh and Hamas, the refugees and the exiles. That is why some of us are calling urgently for an international meeting of Palestinian leaders to work out the best way forward before it is too late. Israel, which has worked hard to fragment the Palestinians and diminish their cause to one of bickering over percentages of land on the West Bank, must not be allowed to succeed.
http://www.bitterlemons.org/previous/bl231109ed43.html#pal2

A superfluous show of sovereignty
Anat Matar - Haaretz - Currently around 130 Palestinian citizens of Israel are incarcerated as security prisoners. Hamas does not insist that they all be released, but is concentrating on the 22 who have been in jail for more than 15 years, much longer than the average for offenders sentenced to life. Most of them were imprisoned before the Oslo Accords. None are Hamas members. Some are serving life sentences, although they were not convicted of murder or manslaughter.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1129997.html

moving on, until the next massacre
Three years after the murder of seventeen from the Athemna family –among them fourteen women and children, including an infant –and one from the Kaferna family, the pain has little receded for the Athamnah family survivors.
http://ingaza.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/moving-on-until-the-next-massacre/

Ctrl Alt Shift Film Competition Winner No Way Through
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcYcw-uWqzk&feature=player_embedded

Iraq
Monday: 1 Iraqi Killed, 12 Wounded
A possible resolution for the elections law impasse was agreed to by lawmakers, but not before Sunni politicians walked out on the debate. At least one Iraqi was killed and 12 more were wounded in light violence. Kidnappings and arrests were made across the country. In provinces such as Basra and Diyala such arrests have, in the past, been used to harass political rivals.
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2009/11/23/monday-1-iraqi-killed-12-wounded/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+antiwar-original+(Antiwar.com+Original+Articles)

Iraqi TV presenter wounded in shooting (AFP)
AFP - An Iraqi television presenter was wounded on Monday when unknown attackers shot him while he was driving to work in central Baghdad, police and the channel he worked for said.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091123/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestmedia

Iraqis Critical of Anti-Corruption Efforts
Few believe assurances that fraud and incompetence are being tackled. By Hazim al-Shara and Abeer Mohamed in Baghdad (ICR No. 313, 24-Nov-09)
http://www.iwpr.net/EN-icr-f-357696

US discussed Iraq regime change a month after Bush took office, senior British officials say
blair US discussed Iraq regime change a month after Bush took office, senior British officials sayThe chairman of the British Joint Intelligence Committee in 2001 told investigators Monday that elements of the Bush Administration were pushing for regime change in Iraq in early 2001, months before the 9/11 attacks and two years before President George W. Bush formally announced the Iraq war.
http://rawstory.com/2009/11/discussed-iraq-regime-change-month-bush-office-british/

Britain to announce details of Iraq deaths probe (AFP)
AFP - Britain's defence minister will this week announce details of an inquiry into the alleged torture and murder of Iraqi detainees by British troops, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091124/wl_mideast_afp/britainiraqmilitaryprobe

Leaked British documents detail early build-up for Iraq war
Leaked British government documents call into question former Prime Minister Tony Blair's public statements on the buildup to the Iraq war and show plans for the US-led 2003 invasion were being made more than a year earlier, a newspaper says.Britain's Sunday Telegraph published details of private statements made by senior British military figures claiming plans were in place.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=109011

Inquiry inspires no faith in Iraq | Sami Ramadani
Asked about the Chilcot inquiry as they struggle to survive, Iraqis say Tony Blair and George Bush have already escaped justice. The daily lives of ordinary Iraqis are such that an inquiry set up by the British government to look into the war on Iraq is almost totally brushed over in the country. Iraqis are avid followers of the news and most are very aware of the inquiry, but their situation today has become desperate; the lives of millions have been transformed into a bitter struggle for survival.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/24/inquiry-iraq-chilcot-tony-blair

Iraqi immigrants re-settled in US drift toward Michigan
The US government resettled Mazen Alsaqa in Massachusetts in February. Within a month, the Iraqi refugee moved to Michigan.It wasn't that Alsaqa disliked Massachusetts. But he never thought twice about staying. Even though the US government tried to keep him away from the Detroit area and its soaring unemployment, that was the only place Alsaqa wanted to live.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=108992

Google to digitise Iraq Museum archives: CEO
BAGHDAD — US Internet giant Google will soon begin digitising artefacts and documents at Iraq's National Museum, its chief executive said in Baghdad on Tuesday. Eric Schmidt, on the last day of a three-day tour of the country, told reporters that some 14,000 digital images taken at the museum would be freely available online from the beginning of next year.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5goaQIv8Asj6QTGEg48b56AiUJ46w

Lebanon
Fadlallah hails Hizbullah's 'exploits' against Israel
Senior Shiite cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah hailed on Monday Hizbullah's "military exploits" against Israel during the summer 2006 war. He added that the party's performance achieved great victories not only at the Lebanese level but across the Muslim world. Speaking to a delegation of clerics, Fadlallah urged Sunni-Shiite unity.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=109026

HRW urges Lebanon to probe Abboud disappearance
The Lebanese authorities should investigate the circumstances surrounding the detention and disappearance of Syrian opposition figure Nawar Abboud, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) said Monday.Abboud, a Syrian who lived in Lebanon, is a member of and accountant for the United National Alliance, a political group affiliated with Rifaat Assad.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=109024

U.S. and other world news
Targeting Muslim Charities in America, Stephen Lendman
In a December 2008 article, this writer explained that the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) was the largest American Muslim charity until the Bush administration bogusly declared it an enemy of the state and shut it down. On December 4, 2001, the Treasury Department declared HLF a terrorist group, froze its assets, and falsely claimed they were being used to funnel millions of dollars to Hamas. HLF's appeal was denied. It provided vital relief to Palestinian refugees in Occupied Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan as well as aid for the needy in Bosnia, Albania, Chechnya, Turkey, America, and elsewhere.
http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=15563

Lula backs Iran's nuclear programme
Brazil president declares support for Tehran's quest for "peaceful nuclear energy".
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/americas/2009/11/20091123202823289828.html

Saudi Arabia's Attack on Yemen
If there was any question about which country was interfering in Yemen’s civil war, Saudi Arabia provided the answer when its F-15 and Tornado fighter jets struck Zaidi rebel positions two weeks ago in the mountainous border region between the two countries, and beyond.
http://www.counterpunch.org/amiri11232009.html

HRW: Precarious Justice
Human Rights Watch conducted research missions to Saudi Arabia in November and December 2006, and again in May 2007. We found pervasive injustices in the Saudi criminal justice system and systematic and multiple violations of defendants' rights. Individuals in Saudi Arabia may find themselves detained and arrested for behavior that is not inherently criminal, or for apparently (and unwittingly) offending vague legal prohibitions. They may then find themselves in solitary confinement and subject to forms of ill-treatment. The authorities often do not inform individuals of the crime of which they are accused, or the evidence supporting the accusation. An accused person typically does not have access to a lawyer, faces abuse when refusing to incriminate him or herself, and waits excessive periods of time before trial, where he or she is often unable to examine witnesses or evidence and present a legal defense, not least because of a presumption of guilt and shifting charges.
http://www.hrw.org/en/node/62304/section/3

Kuwait: Free Jailed Activist
(Kuwait City) - The prosecutor-general should immediately order the release of Muhammad Abd al-Qadir al-Jasim, a lawyer and journalist who is a prominent critic of the government, Human Rights Watch said today. Al-Jasim was arrested November 22, 2009, on charges of libel and slander. The arrest was apparently the result of criticisms he allegedly made about Prime Minister Shaikh Nasir al-Muhammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah's policies at a private gathering more than a month ago, Al-Jasim's lawyer said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HRW/b8d9b79a53c2021dfae8e6bd2dc72434.htm

We can't buy peace in Afghanistan | Seumas Milne
So now we know the secret weapon of the the new western plan to pacify Afghanistan: cash. As President Obama prepares to announce the expected dispatch of tens of thousands more troops to America's eight-year-old war and occupation, US and British commanders on the ground have already begun to fund and equip Afghan militias to help fight the Taliban.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/23/cash-afghanistan

ANALYSIS-Egypt-Algeria soccer row a diversion for Cairo woes
* Egypt summons Algerian ambassador, recalls own in protest
* Economic, political discontent a backdrop to soccer woes
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEE5AL0EV.htm

Inside Story - Turkey's rocky relation with Israel - 23 Nov 09
What will it take to heal the the worsening relations between these one-time close allies?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdOT3CbbaSE&feature=youtube_gdata

www.TheHeadlines.org

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From: "Today in Palestine!" <tipalestine@...>
Date: Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:50 pm
Subject: Today in Palestine! ~November 23, 2009 ~

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Land Theft and Destruction
The Israeli military hands out 25 evection orders to Palestinian families near Jerusalem
25 Palestinians families living near Jerusalem city received on Monday at dawn evection orders from the Israeli military. Local sources said that the eviction orders targeted homes located at Siramis, Palestinian neighborhood east of Jerusalem old city. The area was disconnected from Jerusalem by the Israeli wall.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57191

The Israeli Exception: Gilo and East JerusalemIn
1987, the conservative author Midge Decter described her association
with Israel and those willing to place it above conventional judgment.
‘We know ourselves to be bound by ties so deep, so essential, so
unconditional, that they are beyond daylight examination. To be a Jew
is not an act, it is a fate. The existence of Israel is absolutely
central to that fate. The rest is mere details – knowable, unknowable,
makes no difference.’

http://www.counterpunch.com/kampmark11202009.html

Activism/Solidarity/Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment
Mohammad Othman - Update
Today at Ofer prison, Mohammad lawyer appealed Mohammad`s continued detention without charge, requesting he be released. While in principal the military judge accepted the appeal, rejecting the request for an extention of interrogation for another 72 hours, he gave the prosecution until 6 pm on Monday to provide new evidence or proceed with administrative detetnion. In practice this means that the military has until tomorrow to decide if they want to push through with placing Mohammad in administrative detention, somehting his advocates and supporters have long feared. The military prosecution has not provided new evidence through out the case, according to his lawyer. During the hearing Mohammad appeared in good spirits, bolstered by the larger presence in the gallery which included reps from the German and British consulates. He raised his fist on two occasions to send a
message of strength and resistance to those in the gallery. [end]
http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=36807

Al Ma’asara demonstrates against the Wall built on the village’s land

Some fifty Palestinian, Israeli and international demonstrators marched on Friday noon from the center of Al Ma’asara village towards the route of the Apartheid Wall that is to be built on village lands. Like every other Friday, demonstrators were stopped by Israeli soldiers and boarder police who laid barbed wire on the main road leading to the
fence, forcefully preventing the march from proceeding. When asked iftheir actions had any legal basis, soldiers refused to answer.

http://palsolidarity.org/2009/11/9451?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+palsolidarity+(International+Solidarity+Movement)

Jayyus still held hostage by invasions
November 23rd, 2009-- Military incursions into Jayyus continued this past week, as many as three times daily. Clashes and curfews have characterized village life, and undercover units have attempted to trap local youth. Although there has of yet been no serious injuries among the villagers, a group of young men were arrested several days ago.
http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2115.shtml

TWO PROTESTORS SHOT AND INJURED WITH LIVE AMMUNITION IN NI'LIN
November 21st, 2009-- Last week, the popular committee of Ni’lin received information that the Israeli army would ‘step up’ their operations against Ni’lin’s resistance against the illegal Apartheid Wall. This information was confirmed when the demonstration reached the Apartheid Wall yesterday. The fence was expanded with additional concrete blocks and upon arrival, demonstrators were ‘warned’ by the Israeli army that if they would not leave, they would be fired upon with live ammunition again.

http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/2112.shtml

The global civil campaign against Israeli apartheid gathers momentum
The situation in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is worsening every day. In blatant disregard of international law, illegal settlements continue to spring up on confiscated Palestinian land. Palestinian houses are demolished, sometimes bizarrely at the hands of their Palestinian owners under the threat that if they don't tear down their own homes they will simply be charged for the Israeli demolition of them instead, and the illegal "Separation" or "Apartheid Wall", as many now refer to it, is growing all the time.
http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/resources/commentary-and-analysis/276-the-global-civil-campaign-against-israeli-apartheid-gathers-momentum

Fear of a BDS planet
It's getting hard to keep track of Israeli press mentions of the boycott, divestment & sanctions [BDS] movement against Israel. The frequency & tenor bespeaks a growing alarm at the BDS threat, particularly among establishment journos.
http://jewssansfrontieres.blogspot.com/2009/11/fear-of-bds-planet.html

Palestinian students cross barriers to discuss boycott, from Electronic Intifada
The right of Palestinian students to an education was the main theme of a video conference between students from the occupied Gaza Strip and the West Bank on 12 November 2009, sponsored by the al-Quds Bank for Culture and Information Society and Bethlehem University. Bianca Zammit reports for The Electronic Intifada.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10906.shtml?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+electronicIntifadaPalestine+(Electronic+Intifada+%3A+Palestine+News)

Violence and Aggression
Palestinian bus driver attacked by settlers
Bethlehem – Ma’an – A Palestinian Jerusalemite was attacked by Israeli extremists in the illegal settlement of Bitar Eliet, south west of Bethlehem, according to Israeli media on Sunday. Maher Medwani, 47, from Ras Al-Amoud in East Jerusalem, was severely beaten by three Israeli settlers on the bus he was driving, who then proceeded to throw stones at him, according to the Israeli daily Yedihoth Ahronoth.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=241932

Detainees
The Israeli military kidnaps two civilians during a number of invasions in the West Bank
Two Palestinian civilians were kidnapped on Monday at dawn by Israeli troops during military invasions targeting a number of West Bank communities.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57193

Abbas's militias kidnap 5 Hamas supporters
Militias loyal to former PA chief Mahmoud Abbas kidnapped five Hamas supporters in Anabta village, Tulkarem district, over the past couple of days, locals reported.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s78%2fSD3zlNL8bMVNdHFpDP6lvKqdQmURWnA4WMAG0CGiv%2blRxVZ40eD2bg4ansMqfeP%2b8PmNxxpaGO%2bEa7THQmK97nb%2fyHccrWOO%2fDp%2f%2bGGfM%3d

Israel Renews Administrative Detention Against Member Of Nablus City Council
The Tadamun (Solidarity) human rights institution reported that the Israeli Prison Authorities renewed the administrative detention against member of Nablus City Council, Dr. Majida Fidda, for additional three months without charges or trial.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57187

Blind prisoner exposed to harsh interrogation by Israeli officers
The information committee of Hamas in Israeli jails revealed that prisoner Obadah Bilal, who is a blind 30-year-old young man, has been exposed to harsh interrogation by Israeli officers.
http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?xyz=U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MDI46m9rUxJEpMO%2bi1s7ZL%2bXKhsU2kEsQG40QRi97CPUh1eVk7Bn%2b6jNfKQwnsjyP4POOO97GGNsEyxa5k1WklGKASDlrcHfDR8OQSED9mij85rmx%2fKCw4kZ0ZZ%2fA5A%3d

More Than 370 Children Currently Imprisoned By Israel
Riyadh Al Ashqar, head of the media department at the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees in Gaza, stated that Israel is currently holding captive more than 370 child detainees under the age of 18.
http://www.imemc.org/index.php?obj_id=53&story_id=57189

Humanitarian Issues/Siege/Human Rights

Israeli Ambulances not allowed in Arab East Jerusalem w/out permission; ‘coordination’
Physicians for Human Rights – Israel and Al Mezan Center for Human Rights sent an urgent letter to the Israeli Deputy Minister of Health and the Jerusalem Police Chief demanding the immediate cancellation of this policy Adalah, Physicians for Human Rights – Israel and Al Mezan Center for Human Rights sent an urgent letter to the Israeli Deputy Minister of Health and the Jerusalem Police Chief on 10 November 2009 demanding the immediate cancellation of instructions preventing Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulances from entering the Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem without prior permission and police escort even in emergency cases. According to the instructions, the MDA ambulance must wait in a Jewish neighborhood adjacent to the Palestinian neighborhood and may not enter it to transfer the injured or the sick person to the hospital until a police escort arrives, even in life threatening situations. In many cases, the patient’s family members must transfer him/her in their own cars to the ambulance, which could increase the severity of the illness or injury and result in medical complications.

http://antonyloewenstein.com/2009/11/23/israeli-ambulances-not-allowed-in-arab-east-jerusalem-wout-permission-coordination/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+antonyloewenstein/feed+(Antony+Loewenstein)

Jordan sends aid convoy to Gaza Strip, West Bank

AMMAN, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Sunday dispatched humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip and West Bank, according to the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO). The 30-truck convoy is laden with 390 tonnes of stationary, foodstuff, apparel, medical supplies, blankets, mattresses, heaters and other commodities, JHCO spokesperson Mohammad Kilani told Xinhua.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/23/content_12522185.htm

Donated books to enter Gaza in the coming days
Gaza – Ma'an – A consignment of books and stationary will arrive in the Gaza Strip in the coming days, The Qatar Foundation announced on Monday. The Qatar Foundation, in conjunction with the Jordan Hashemite Charity, will deliver 18 trucks containing 250 tons of books and stationary to the Gaza Strip worth an estimated 10 million Qatari
riyals, according to a news release issued by the organization.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242145

Gaza family greets chilly winter in tent

GAZA, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Ten months after their house was completely destroyed by Israeli bulldozers in last winter's offensive, Mohammed Khader, his wife and their five daughters are still living in a tent as another cold winter is approaching. The 22-day Israeli military offensive, which ended on Jan. 18, left about 500 families in tents as
well as 11,152 houses destroyed or damaged, according to Gaza-based al-Mezan center for human rights.

http://arabist.net/archives/2009/11/22/soccer-nationalism/

Flashes; from the daily life in Gaza Strip!!

Palestine, November 22, 2009, (Pal Telegraph) - Few days ago, we could finally manage to get school books to all the kids at the SOS Children's Village in Rafah; it was really hard at first; because books were not allowed to get into Gaza Strip.

http://www.paltelegraph.com/diaries/featured-articles/2914-flashes-from-the-daily-life-in-gaza-strip

Egyptian Collaboration with Israel
Egyptian security raids 4 Gaza smuggling tunnels
Al-Arish – Ma’an – Egyptian authorities stormed four smuggling tunnels and a warehouse between Egypt and Gaza, Egyptian security sources revealed on Monday. The sources told Ma’an that Egyptian security forces raided the area near Salah Ad-Din on the border between Gaza and Egypt and found four smuggling tunnels. The forces were unable to arrest the smugglers, who had fled scene, according to the sources. However, large quantities of electrical appliances were found on their way to the Gaza Strip.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=242068

Political Developments
Germany attacks Israel settlement plan before visit
BERLIN, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Germany on Monday criticised Israeli plans to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank, in unusually explicit terms a week before the two countries' leaders meet in Berlin. The comments, made by Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, coincide with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle's first trip to Israel and are in response to Israel's approval last week of plans to build 900 new homes near Jerusalem.
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSGEE5AM13N

Abbas begins official visit to Argentina (AFP)
AFP - Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas began an official visit to Argentina Sunday that includes a meeting with President Cristina Kirchner to discuss the Middle East, just days after a visit by Israeli President Shimon Peres.

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091122/wl_mideast_afp/mideastargentinapalestinianisraeldiplomacy

Barghouti Urges PA to Use 'Resistance' Against Settlement Construction

Jailed Tanzim leader and Fatah Central Committee member Marwan Barghouti urged Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian factions to lead a 'popular resistance' to stop Israeli's settlement construction and 'Judaizing' activities. "I have always called for creatively combining negotiations with resistance and political, diplomatic and popular activism," Barghouti was quoted by Israel Radio Saturday as telling Palestinian Al Hayat Al Jadida newspaper. "I warned against relying exclusively on
negotiations, but some were late to discover this," he reportedly added.

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