Saturday, November 30, 2013

UN: 2014 to be the year of solidarity with Palestine

UN: 2014 to be the year of solidarity with Palestine
Voicing solidarity with Palestinians in their aspirations for independent statehood, and stressing the importance of ongoing peace talks aimed at a two-state coexistence for Palestine and Israel, the UN General Assembly observed the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People with a series speeches and all six proposed resolutions adopted.

Palestinians fight Israeli attempts to claim Bethlehem

Al-Monitor 29 Nov by Daoud Kuttab — As the Christmas season approaches and as tourism to the Holy Land rises, the fight over holy sites has also escalated. The Palestinian Ministry of Information published on its website a report citing an official complaint by the Palestinian ambassador in Rome, Mai al-Kalia, against Israel, which is trying to appropriate Bethlehem. According to the Palestinian ministry, the Israeli tourism office in Rome has published touristic literature stating that “Israel, thanks to a wide range of unique sites such as the old port of Jaffa, and Nazareth, Jerusalem and Tiberias, Bethlehem, Capernaum, Masada, the Dead Sea, Fort Herod and caves near Qumran …” Four of the sites mentioned lie in the Palestinian territories, but Israel is advertising them as part of Israel in an attempt to attract Christian pilgrims from Italy.
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PHOTOS: A state-sanctioned 'price tag' on Palestinian olive trees


 Abed Rabo Jedua inspects damage to his olive trees, which were destroyed by Israeli civilians, in the West Bank village of Tuqu’, November 25, 2013. (photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)


An Israeli soldier stands near olive trees in the West Bank village of Tuqu’ which were destroyed by Israeli civilians escorted by soldiers, November 25, 2013. (photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)
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Israel prevents construction of Palestinian wells near Ya‘bad


JENIN (Ma‘an) 26 Nov — Israeli forces on Tuesday confiscated two pieces of digging equipment from a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank district of Jenin in order to prevent the construction of sewage wells, locals said. Israeli forces raided the village of Barta‘a al-Sharqiya while locals were drilling sewage wells at the entrance to the village and confiscated two backhoes during the process, locals said.
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Occupation forces confiscates 1500 dunums south of Nablus


NABLUS, (PIC)-- Israeli Occupation Authorities have declared its intention to confiscate about 1500 acres of Palestinian agricultural lands in Aqraba village southeast of Nablus on Thursday.
Palestinian farmers have been surprised this morning by Israeli notifications informing them of the Israeli decision to confiscate nearly 1,500 acres of their lands located west of Nablus, a Palestinian activist against settlement confirmed.
The source pointed out that the Israeli occupation authority claimed earlier that only 5 dunums would be confiscated, however it plans to confiscate 1500 dunums.

Thousands across Palestine protest against efforts to uproot Bedouin


“Activism for Naqab [has] managed to unify Palestinians and generate solidarity in the world beyond divisions and separation and beyond political parties and faction,” Abir Kopty wrote in an e-mail.

Assad: Our Battle With Saudi Is Open-Ended


"The [Saudis] gave cover to the Camp David agreement, supported the war on Lebanon in 1982, and today, they are engaged in an open-ended war against Syria. We are now openly saying that we are at war with them."
 Ten days ago, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with a delegation of party leaders and politicians from Arab countries. He said unequivocally: The battle will continue as long as Saudi Arabia continues to “back terrorism,” and the flow of extremist fighters, money, and arms into Syria continues.


Israeli police attack anti-Prawer protests with tear gas, water cannons

Israeli occupation forces attack a Palestinian protester after a demonstration against the so-called Prawer plan at the gate of the Beit El settlement, near Ramallah, on November 30, 2013. (Photo: AFP - Abbas Momani) 
Israeli police on Saturday attacked thousands of protesters in the coastal city of Haifa and the desert village of Houra demonstrating against a draft law aimed at evicting Bedouin residents from the southern Negev.
Protests against the so-called Prawer bill – which would forcibly evict up to 40,000 Bedouins, demolish about 40 villages and confiscate more than 700,000 dunams of Negev land – also took place in the West Bank, Gaza and across at least 14 other countries.
The draft legislation of the bill was adopted by Israel's parliament in a first reading in June but it has to pass two more readings before it becomes law.
 

Activists hold 'day of rage' protests against Prawer Plan

+972′s live blog follows November 30 ‘Day of Rage’ protests against the Prawer-Begin Plan, which if  implemented, will forcefully displace tens of thousands of Bedouin living in the Negev desert.






Protesters against the Prawer Plan at Day of Rage protests outside the Negev town of Hura, November 30, 2013. (Photo: Activestills.org)
Bedouin, Palestinian and Israeli activists staged a ‘Day of Rage’ against the Prawer Plan Saturday afternoon, holding rallies and protests throughout Israel and Palestine, with international solidarity protests taking place in cities across the world.
The central protest took place outside the Bedouin town of Hura in the Negev desert. Over 1,000 Arab and Jewish protesters arrived from all over Israel, calling to stop the Prawer Plan, which if passed, will displace tens of thousands of Bedouin, who are citizens of the state.
Read more about the Prawer-Begin Plan

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Solidarity saved me from the Nazis; that’s why I fight Israeli apartheid

Suzanne Weiss
"We hear disturbing reports this year from southern Israel. The Israeli government proposes to relocate some 70,000 Palestinian Bedouins from their present homes to government-approved townships. This is called the Prawer Plan, and Israel’s parliament approved it by a three-vote majority in June.
The Prawer Plan would destroy 35 Bedouin villages in the Naqab (Negev) region and extinguish Bedouin claims to land seized from them after the foundation of Israel. The government denies basic services to these villages. Right beside them, in many cases, are new, modern, fully serviced communities for Jewish settlers."

The taboo on boycotting Israel has been broken

"Something extraordinary happened on Saturday evening at the American Studies Association’s annual meeting in Washington, DC.
At a packed open meeting called by the ASA’s National Executive Council to discuss a resolution to “endorse and honor” the Palestinian call for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, speaker after speaker rose to express strong support for the resolution."

The Economist: Iran's nuclear deal: Israel heads for a terrifying split

Such an insistence on total capitulation is characteristic of hard-liners in conflicts like this, and I confess I rarely understand the mentality behind it. In some cases the motivation behind making demands so onerous that the opponent cannot possibly grant them is clear: the hard-liner wants to provoke an armed conflict which he thinks he can win, and a compromise solution might forestall the war. This was the case, for example, with the demands America made of Saddam Hussein in the run-up to the Iraq war. In other cases, the motivation is different: the hard-liner understands that his internal political power within his own country is reinforced by the conflict, even if (perhaps especially if) his side appears to be losing, so he makes demands that ensure conflict will continue. This is the case with Hamas's refusal to recognise Israel's right to exist. A final possibility is that the hard-liner is delusional, and actually believes that insistence on maximalist demands will lead to the surrender or collapse of the other side.

'5 Broken Cameras' clinches International Emmy Award

Emad Burnat, who co-directed the Oscar-nominated film with Israel's Guy Davidi, is the first Palestinian to win an Emmy. 
 Palestinian director Emad Burnat with his best documentary Emmy.
Producer Christine Camdessus and Palestinian director Emad Burnat with their best documentary award during the 41st International Emmy Awards in New York, November 25, 2013. 
 The Oscar-nominated film "5 Broken Cameras," a chronicle of Palestinian nonviolent resistance co-directed by Palestinian Emad Burnat and Israeli Guy Davidi, nabbed the best documentary award at the 41st annual International Emmy Awards. Burnat said he is the first Palestinian to win an Emmy. Palestinians “need your support and help,” he was quoted as saying by Variety.
"5 Broken Cameras" was made from footage shot by Burnat, a resident of the Palestinian village of Bil'in, over several years beginning in 2005. It documents the childhood of his son, Gibreel, against the backdrop of the protests the village residents had staged against the construction of the security fence on land that they owned.

Already in 1984 Israel was claming Iranian bomb imminent!

'Iran in final stage of production of nuclear bomb:'
Maariv headline, April 25, 1984

Monday, November 25, 2013

Demolition and Eviction of Bedouin Citizens of Israel in the Naqab (Negev) - The Prawer Plan



What is the Prawer Plan?

Arab Bedouin citizens of Israel, inhabitants of the Naqab (Negev) desert since the seventh century, are the most vulnerable community in Israel. For over 60 years, the indigenous Arab Bedouin have faced a state policy of displacement, home demolitions and dispossession of their ancestral land. Today, 70,000 Arab Bedouin citizens live in 35 villages that either predate the establishment of the State in 1948, or were created by Israeli military order in the early 1950s. The State of Israel considers the villages “unrecognized” and the inhabitants “trespassers on State land,” so it denies the citizens access to state infrastructure like water, electricity, sewage, education, health care and roads. The state deliberately withholds basic services from these villages to “encourage” the Arab Bedouin citizens to give up their ancestral land. If Israel applied the same criteria for planning and development that exist in the Jewish rural sector, all 35 unrecognized villages would be recognized where they are

Israel’s Siege of Gaza Is Sadistic and Illegal, Yet US Support Continues

800px-Jabalia_41
John Glaser (Antiwar.com)
Israel’s blockade of Gaza has long been known for it’s cruel results in strangling the population. But two recent happenings – namely Egypt’s destruction of Gaza’s smuggling tunnels and Israel’s decision ratchet up the blockade by blocking construction materials – have made Gaza virtually “uninhabitable,” according to the UN.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

IOF destroys Bedouin village al-‘Araqib for 62nd time


NEGEV, (PIC)-- Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) demolished on Wednesday the Bedouin village of al-Araqib, in the Negev in the southern 1948 occupied territories, for the 62nd time in a row since 2010.
Hundreds of Israeli soldiers accompanied by military bulldozers abruptly raided the unrecognized village and started to demolish and remove hundreds of Palestinian homes and facilities.
Local sources said that IOF removed the demolition wastes and cleaned the area as a prelude to plant it with trees and seedlings, claiming that it belongs to Israeli lands.
Read more





Exclusive: Secret Talks to Save Syria Begin

The United States, Iran, Russia, and Saudi Arabia and others held secret and informal discussions on Thursday to devise a strategy for improving the U.N.'s stalled relief effort in Syria, according to diplomatic sources familiar with the effort.
The meeting -- which was held at the French mission to the United Nations in Geneva -- was convened to lay the ground work for a more formal meeting scheduled for November 26 on the future of international relief efforts in Syria.
The participation of American and Iranian officials provides further evidence that the decades-long diplomatic freeze between the two countries is beginning to thaw, offering new areas beyond the ongoing round of nuclear diplomacy where the long-time enemies can cooperate.
 

Deal Reached to Halt Iran's Nuclear Program

GENEVA - The historic nuclear deal Iran signed with the United States and five other world powers early Sunday morning represents the biggest gamble of President Barack Obama's presidency, and the success or failure of that bet will have serious repercussions for the administration's standing on Capitol Hill, Washington's relationships with Israel and other Middle Eastern allies, and the national security of the United States itself.

Friday, November 22, 2013

One year after “ceasefire,” Gaza’s suffering deepens


Girls walk to school in sewage-flooded streets of Gaza City.
“Life is worse than a year ago. We just want to make a living but it’s now almost impossible. The electricity is off most of the day, and the fuel is so expensive I can only afford to turn the generator on for 30 minutes at a time,” Ibrahim Zayed, a shopkeeper in northern Gaza, told Oxfam.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Jailed by Israel for his cartoons, Mohammad Saba’aneh speaks out

Man cowering in corner is told to resist by his shadow which assumes a strong standing posture

He spent five months in prison after being arrested by Israeli occupation forces this past February. After two months of internment without charge, Israel charged him with drawing cartoons in a book they alleged had some association with Hamas.
The photographs on display deal solely with issues regarding Palestinian political prisoners. The themes include family visits, longing, loneliness, solitary confinement, prisoner transfers, education in prisons and healthcare in prisons.

Jonathan Cook: Israel's 'exceptionalism' and the UN


 Israel is again at the centre of moves to challenge key agencies at the United Nations, as it lobbies to prevent the Palestinian leadership from gaining more of a foothold in global forums.
Israel ended a 20-month boycott of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva last month, under pressure from Western allies that it should return to a review process designed to monitor the human rights situation in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
However, Israel did so only after securing promises of reforms that human rights groups fear will further weaken international efforts to hold Israel accountable for its illegal occupation.

Peace talks hinder prosecution of Israel for its crimes, says Palestinian official

"Deputy Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) has said that the ongoing peace talks hinder the prosecution of Israel for its crimes, especially through the International Criminal Court for the assassination of Yasser Arafat. Hassan Khreisheh told Al Ghad news that the Palestinian leadership is committed to the negotiations until the end of their preset timeline, but after that the PA will be free to approach the United Nations and join organisations such as the ICC."

November 30. Day of rage . Stop the Prawer plan.

Has Lebanon Entered the Era of Suicide Bombings?


"Reports corroborated by multiple security sources indicate that ISIS seriously intends to move the battle with Hezbollah inside Lebanon. This premise is supported by the confessions of a Hassan M., who was detained by the Internal Security Forces Information Branch in the Bekaa.
Hassan confessed that he sold a car to members of ISIS. After a car rigged to explode was found in the Maamoura district of the southern suburb, M. complained to ISIS leader Abu Abdullah al-Iraqi that the car was still registered in his name."

U.S.-Israel rift over Iran nukes now in the open

Tom Cohen, CNN
Washington (CNN) -- What had been speculated before is now very public -- the United States and Israel differ on how to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions.
While both governments reject any possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran, they are clearly at odds over a possible agreement as soon as this week that would loosen economic sanctions against Tehran in exchange for a suspension of part of its nuclear program.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

One year later, Gaza journalists remember stories of resilience

BBC Journalist Jihad Masharawi
 BBC journalist Jihad Masharawi weeps while he holds the body of his 11 month old son Ahmad at Shifa hospital following an Israeli air strike on their family house in Gaza City [AP Photo]
The memory of his shattered leg will never leave photojournalist Khader Al-Zahar. One year later, Al-Zahar, along with many Palestinian journalists, continues to live the days of Israel's November 2012 offensive.
Al-Zahar was wounded in his leg when an Israeli aircraft missile hit the branch office of Al-Quds satellite channel in central Gaza City, where he works. At the time he was busy sorting some photos he had shot during the offensive.
After having his leg amputated, he overcame his disability and continued along his media journey by joining the video production department.
"It is true that my injury prevents me from standing in the field behind the camera lens, so today I stand in front of this small screen to produce what other journalists have filmed. [The Israeli occupation] will not screen the world from the truth; they will not silence us," Al-Zahar told Safa Press.
Despite his injury, Al-Zahar is resilient and his morale is high: "I enjoy my work thanks to my parents who encourage me to continue with this kind of resistance."
- See more at: http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/8366-one-year-later-gaza-journalists-remember-stories-of-resilience#sthash.fxWHCrGW.dpuf
The memory of his shattered leg will never leave photojournalist Khader Al-Zahar. One year later, Al-Zahar, along with many Palestinian journalists, continues to live the days of Israel's November 2012 offensive.
Al-Zahar was wounded in his leg when an Israeli aircraft missile hit the branch office of Al-Quds satellite channel in central Gaza City, where he works. At the time he was busy sorting some photos he had shot during the offensive.
After having his leg amputated, he overcame his disability and continued along his media journey by joining the video production department.
"It is true that my injury prevents me from standing in the field behind the camera lens, so today I stand in front of this small screen to produce what other journalists have filmed. [The Israeli occupation] will not screen the world from the truth; they will not silence us," Al-Zahar told Safa Press.
Despite his injury, Al-Zahar is resilient and his morale is high: "I enjoy my work thanks to my parents who encourage me to continue with this kind of resistance."

How close are Saudi Arabia and Israel over Iran?

"According to the Sunday Times, Riyadh has already given the go-ahead for Israeli planes to use its airspace in the event of an attack on Iran. The newspaper also quoted a diplomatic source as saying the Saudis were willing to assist an Israeli attack by cooperating on the use of drones, rescue helicopters and tanker planes. "Once the Geneva agreement is signed, the military option will be back on the table," the source told the Times."
According to the Sunday Times, Riyadh has already given the go-ahead for Israeli planes to use its airspace in the event of an attack on Iran. The newspaper also quoted a diplomatic source as saying the Saudis were willing to assist an Israeli attack by cooperating on the use of drones, rescue helicopters and tanker planes. "Once the Geneva agreement is signed, the military option will be back on the table," the source told the Times.

The Moral And Intellectual Cowardice Of (photographer) Josef Koudelka

Koudelka copy
 "In one of the greatest acts of dissociation I can recall, Koudelka walks into the bantustans of the West Bank – a region teeming with a few million imprisoned and brutalised human beings, and is moved by the destruction of the landscape! That is, he choses one of the greatest physical structures  of political, cultural, historical and social segregation and negation concocted in modern history and reproduces it in his images as an apolitical statement about the environment. In fact, he gloats about it when he explains:"
---------------

It is difficult to fathom the cowardice that underpins Koudelka’s prioritisation of a mythical holy landscape over a real human one. It takes a tremendous amount of ignorance, or an equally large amount of hypocrisy to make such a claim. I find it unbelievable that this otherwise intelligent man spent at least 3 weeks on multiple trips over 4 years amongst the dispossessed, harassed, humiliated, imprisoned, brutalised, demean, denigrated, violated, trapped and helpless Palestinian population, and came back with an ‘apolitical outrage’ about the landscape. But Koudelka must have seen it all. He just chose not to say anything about it, to turn his eyes away from it, to erase his moral conscience about it. He saw it all, but he chose not to include it in the photos, or in the text. And now not even in his interview. - See more at: http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2013-11-19/a-photographer-who-obscures-the-victims/#sthash.YNCNbCtI.dpuf
It is difficult to fathom the cowardice that underpins Koudelka’s prioritisation of a mythical holy landscape over a real human one. It takes a tremendous amount of ignorance, or an equally large amount of hypocrisy to make such a claim. I find it unbelievable that this otherwise intelligent man spent at least 3 weeks on multiple trips over 4 years amongst the dispossessed, harassed, humiliated, imprisoned, brutalised, demean, denigrated, violated, trapped and helpless Palestinian population, and came back with an ‘apolitical outrage’ about the landscape. But Koudelka must have seen it all. He just chose not to say anything about it, to turn his eyes away from it, to erase his moral conscience about it. He saw it all, but he chose not to include it in the photos, or in the text. And now not even in his interview. - See more at: http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2013-11-19/a-photographer-who-obscures-the-victims/#sthash.YNCNbCtI.dpuf-------------------------
On the same issue, Jonathan Cook writes:
The elderly Koudelka has reached a point in his career and his life where one might have hoped that he would not have to worry too much about contradicting dominant narratives (i.e. myths) or about damaging his reputation. But it seems saying critical things about Israel, rather than just showing them, is career-death even for someone like Koudelka. Instead he starts the interview observing that he had always before avoided visiting the “holy land” and finally came under pressure and with great reluctance: “I don’t want to get mixed up with Israel because it’s very, very complicated”. - See more at: http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2013-11-19/a-photographer-who-obscures-the-victims/#sthash.YNCNbCtI.dpuf
The elderly Koudelka has reached a point in his career and his life where one might have hoped that he would not have to worry too much about contradicting dominant narratives (i.e. myths) or about damaging his reputation. But it seems saying critical things about Israel, rather than just showing them, is career-death even for someone like Koudelka. Instead he starts the interview observing that he had always before avoided visiting the “holy land” and finally came under pressure and with great reluctance: “I don’t want to get mixed up with Israel because it’s very, very complicated”. - See more at: http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2013-11-19/a-photographer-who-obscures-the-victims/#sthash.YNCNbCtI.dpuf
A photographer who obscures the victims
A photographer who obscures the victims

The Mad Kingdom: Saudi Raises the Stakes


Jihadist group Al-Nusra Front taking part in a parade calling for the establishment of an Islamic state in Syria, at the Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood of Aleppo. (Photo: AFP - Karam al-Masri)
 Saudi Arabia asked the United States for additional time in Syria after agreeing with the “principle” of attending Geneva II on the condition that it is not held anytime soon, giving the lunatics running the kingdom an opportunity to tip the scales in the opposition’s favor.
The man running the show for the Saudi royals is their chief spook Bandar bin Sultan. He’s a man without a soul or conscience – his overwhelming desire is to get his way at any cost. When Bandar was given the Syria file a few months ago, he agreed with the Americans, French, and British intelligence services, and with the help of the Emirates and Jordan, to carry out the following steps:

Suicide blasts kill 23 outside Iranian embassy in Beirut


 Ø§Two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut's southern suburbs Tuesday morning, killing at least 23 people and wounding over 100, private television and state news reported.
Al Mayadeen TV said that security cameras showed the first suicide bomber charge the embassy on a motorcycle and blow himself up to clear the way for a second bomber, who detonated a car packed with explosives.
Iran's ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi told the Beirut-based station that no one was killed inside the embassy, located in the densely populated neighborhood of Bir Hassan.
But Roknabadi later announced that Iran's cultural Ambassaddor Sheikh Ibrahim al-Ansari was killed in the attack. All other victims appeared to be passers-by.
Read more

Noam Chomsky: Indigenous People Are In The Lead

Chomsky lectern

MONTREAL – Noam Chomsky, the celebrated 85-year old American linguist, peace activist and social critic who is the author of more than one hundred books and the world’s most frequently quoted intellectual, was in Montréal on October 26 to help celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the magazine Canadian Dimension.
During his visit, Chomsky delivered a lecture at the Université de Montréal in which he analyzed the decline of American power.
In the Western hemisphere, he argued, the US and Canada have become marginal to the major discussions now underway: only in the most vulnerable countries like Haiti and Honduras have US- and Canadian-supported military regimes taken power.
Read more

France’s Sham Philosopher: Bernard Henri Levy and the Destruction of Libya - by Ramzy Baroud

http://s1.lemde.fr/image/2011/11/08/540x270/1600674_3_bdd4_selon-bernard-henri-levy-les-raisons-qui-ont_bed15fb4db2ac66158049c4e96ec2035.jpg
Ramzy Baroud
While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “the world’s most influential Jew”, Bernard Henri Levy is number 45, according to an article published in the Israeli rightwing newspaper the Jerusalem Post, on May 21, 2010. Levy, per the Post’s standards, came only two spots behind Irving Moskowitz, a “Florida-based tycoon (who) is considered the leading supporter of Jewish construction in east Jerusalem and hands out a prize for Zionism to settler leaders.” To claim that at best Levy is an intellectual fraud is to miss a clear logic that seems to unite much of the man’s activities, work and writings. He seems to be obsessed with ‘liberating’ Muslims from Bosnia to Pakistan, to Libya and elsewhere. However, it is not the kind that one could qualify as a healthy obsession, stemming from for instance, overt love and fascination of their religion, culture and myriad ways of life. It is unhealthy obsession. Throughout his oddly defined career, he has done so much harm, as he at times served the role of lackey for those in power, and at others, seemed to lead his own crusades. He is a big fan of military intervention, and his profile is dotted with references to Muslim countries and military intervention from Afghanistan to Sudan...and finally to Libya.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Antony Loewenstein: Why the US truly fears Ed Snowden and Wikileaks

"Why the US truly fears Ed Snowden and Wikileaks: It has nothing to do with endangering national security (ignore the bleating of far too many corporate journalists who simply repeat talking points from their intelligence sources) but the profound shame of US hegemony being challenged and revealed."

Report: Mossad working with Saudis on contingency plans for potential attack on Iran

"The Mossad is working with Saudi officials on contingency plans for a potential attack on Iran in the event that Tehran's nuclear program is not sufficiently curbed in the deal that may be concluded between Iran and world powers in Geneva this week, The Sunday Times reported. Both Jerusalem and Riyadh have expressed displeasure at the deal being formulated between Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers that they see as doing little to stop Tehran's progress toward a nuclear weapon."

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Jeremy Hammond: The Myth of the U.N. Creation of Israel

The U.N. General Assembly, November 29, 1947There is a widely accepted belief that United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 “created” Israel, based upon an understanding that this resolution partitioned Palestine or otherwise conferred legal authority or legitimacy to the declaration of the existence of the state of Israel. However, despite its popularity, this belief has no basis in fact, as a review of the resolution’s history and examination of legal principles demonstrates incontrovertibly.

Time lapse map of every nuclear explosion ever on Earth


Japanese artist Isao Hashimoto has created a beautiful, undeniably scary time-lapse map of the 2053 nuclear explosions which have taken place between 1945 and 1998, beginning with the Manhattan Project’s “Trinity” test near Los Alamos and concluding with Pakistan’s nuclear tests in May of 1998. This leaves out North Korea’s two alleged nuclear tests in this past decade (the legitimacy of both of which is not 100% clear).
Each nation gets a blip and a flashing dot on the map whenever they detonate a nuclear weapon, with a running tally kept on the top and bottom bars of the screen. Hashimoto, who began the project in 2003, says that he created it with the goal of showing”the fear and folly of nuclear weapons.” It starts really slow — if you want to see real action, skip ahead to 1962 or so — but the buildup becomes overwhelming.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Watch: Omar Barghouti on “ethical decolonization” and moving beyond Zionist racism

"I make a distinction between self-determination for Jewish settlers in Palestine, which I categorically oppose — never in history was a colonizing community ever allowed self-determination not in South Africa, not in Algeria, not in Ireland, not anywhere. Colonizers are not entitled to self-determination, by any definition of self-determination, but post-colonialism, post-oppression, after justice has happened, then we must envision integrating the former colonizers into a common nation that can determine its future. So they are part of the future determination of the state if they are indigenized."

Exclusive: US blocks publication of Chilcot’s report on how Britain went to war with Iraq

"Washington is playing the lead role in delaying the publication of the long-awaited report into how Britain went to war with Iraq, The Independent has learnt. Although the Cabinet Office has been under fire for stalling the progress of the four-year Iraq Inquiry by Sir John Chilcot, senior diplomatic sources in the US and Whitehall indicated that it is officials in the White House and the US Department of State who have refused to sanction any declassification of critical pre- and post-war communications between George W Bush and Tony Blair."

GOP senators publicly avowed that Israeli diplomats lobbied them to oppose U.S. policy toward Iran

"The Senate Banking committee is considering some of the harshest sanctions yet against Iran.  This legislation is opposed by the Obama administration since it’s on the verge of securing a nuclear agreement with Iran.  One aspect that would be necessary to implement the agreement would be softening some parts of the anti-Iran sanctions regime.  That’s why the Israeli government, which has all but called the agreement a ticket to World War III, wants even worse sanctions than currently exist.  This would tie Obama’s hands and prevent him from implementing any agreement with Iran.  That would be honky-dory for the Israelis who want no agreement and an eventual war against the Iranian regime."

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Housing Ministry publishes massive settlement plan, Netanyahu orders review

 
(Via +972 mag)
Israel’s Ministry of Housing and Construction (run by Jewish Home MK Uri Ariel, who lives in a West Bank settlement) published tenders last week for 20,000 new settlements units, including a tender to build 1,200 units in the southern part of the highly controversial E-1 area, Haaretz (Hebrew) reported Tuesday. According to Haaretz’s Chaim Levinson, the tenders call for construction in 23 settlements, the largest scope in the last decade, at a cost of NIS 50 million.
Just minutes after the report came out, Haaretz followed up with the news that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the housing minister to immediately halt any constructions plans for E-1, a move that proves just how sensitive and controversial this area is.
Read more

New Israeli film, “On the Side of the Road,” profiles the soldiers who carried out the Nakba

Activist Frank Barat recently interviewed Israeli filmmaker Lia Tarachansky about her new film on Le Mur a des Oreilles (LMaDO), a Brussels-based radio show about Palestine.   Tarachansky’s movie, “On the Side of the Road,” tells the story of the fighters who sought to erase Palestine by perpetrating the Nakba. Here’s a transcript of Barat’s and Tarachansky’s conversation.

Jonathan Cook: Why Israel wanted Arafat dead

Yasser Arafat (Photo: Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
( via Mondoweiss)
It seems there are still plenty of parties who would prefer that Arafat’s death continues to be treated as a mystery rather than as an assassination.
It is hard, however, to avoid drawing the logical conclusion from the finding last week by Swiss scientists that the Palestinian leader’s body contained high levels of a radioactive isotope, polonium-210. An inconclusive and much more limited study by a Russian team published immediately after the Swiss announcement also suggests Arafat died from poisoning.

US loses UNESCO Voting Rights: How Kow-Towing to Israeli Policy Weakens America

Juan Cole 
Juan Cole
President Obama called America “the greatest country in the world” on Friday, but the same day the US lost basic voting rights on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The US stopped paying its dues in fall of 2011 because UNESCO accepted Palestine (now a non-member observer state of the UN like the Vatican) as a member. Among UNESCO’s recent activities has been helping with cultural recovery in earthquake-stricken Haiti.

Although the US says it favors a state of Palestine, in fact it has been rather gleefully helping screw over the Palestinians since 1948 and has de facto gone along with virtually any new outrage the Israelis could think up to inflict on them, from putting the children of Gaza ‘on a diet’ to gradually usurping the best land and water resources on the West Bank. Whenever the international community tried to pressure Israel to stop, and to allow stateless Palestinians to have the basic rights of citizenship and property, the US used its veto at the UNSC to ensure the Palestinians were kept down. Now, for the sake of making sure no one recognizes Palestine as a state, the US has cut off its $22 million a year dues to Unesco and has lost its voting rights on the committee.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Palestinian villages subject to Israeli mock raids not told they are exercises

Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian in the West Bank town of Nablus
Israeli soldiers arrest a Palestinian in Nablus. Ex-soldiers admit mock arrests were often at night 'to make it as real as possible'. Photo: Nasser Ishtayeh/Getty
" The Palestinians caught up in training drills are not informed in advance that an arrest or raid is an exercise. According to the testimonies of former Israeli soldiers, civilians with no connection with militant activity are usually selected for such exercises. "We used houses, streets, people like cardboard practice targets," said one."

Monday, November 11, 2013

Maddow: George W. Bush really was trying to bring about the end of the world


‘End Times’-seekers book Bush as keynote
The Raw Story
Friday night on her MSNBC show, Rachel Maddow cast a critical eye toward former President George W. Bush’s decision to speak at the Messianic Bible Institute, the headquarters of the apocalyptic cult Jews for Jesus.
She compared what we know about Jews for Jesus with evidence of meetings held during the Bush presidency and said that one can only conclude that Bush was trying to bring about the Rapture and the apocalypse in order to hasten the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Mother Jones reported this week that George W. Bush is scheduled to address Jews for Jesus on Nov. 14. The sect is a conservative Christian splinter group that seeks to convert Jews to Christianity in hopes of bringing about the end of the world and the second coming.
The group was one of two apocalyptic Christian groups that met with George W. Bush’s principal Near East and North Africa advisor during the Bush presidency as reported by Rick Perlstein in 2004.
Apparently, Rapture-baiting, pro-apocalypse religious fanatics were holding sway over U.S. foreign policy before and during the War in Iraq, the War in Afghanistan and the rest of the Bush presidency. So it should come as no surprise that the former commander in chief is consorting with these groups in the wake of his presidency.
Read more

Netanyahu’s greatest fear: Linkage

Netanyahu and Kerry in Jerusalem this morning
Annie Robbins (Mondoweiss)
 Netanyahu wants to put off dealing with the Palestinian issue till the world deals with Iran, maybe even by starting another war. But U.S. officials have another kind of “linkage” in mind: Israel has to stop expansion in the West Bank because it’s causing all sorts of problems. John Kerry and Chuck Hagel have both made statements to that effect. This strategic disagreement underlies the tensions between the countries over talking with Iran; with a Netanyahu aide saying he feels an American knife “imbedding his back

The Stones Cry Out: New documentary challenges evangelical bonds with Israel
















"The Stones Cry Out" premieres in US cities in late October and early
November (Maanimages/Yasmine Perni)

BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 30 Oct — A new documentary about Palestinian Christians is challenging mainstream evangelical assumptions about the Holy Land in the United States. As evangelical organizations hold events across the US presenting an unbreakable bond between Christians and Israel, first-time director Yasmine Perni tours American churches with a film that instead documents the plight of Palestinian Christians at the hands of Israel.
Read more

Occupation army forces Palestinian to raze his own home


OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (PIC) 10 Nov — The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) forced a Jerusalemite citizen to raze his own home in the Old City of Jerusalem at the pretext of lack of construction permit. Samer Zatara, 43, said that he was forced to destroy a big part of his 24-square-meter house on Saturday, adding that otherwise the IOA would bulldoze his house and demand him to pay more than 21,000 dollars in demolition cost. He said that he received an order two weeks earlier to evacuate and raze two rooms and other additions to his home at the pretext of building without permit, adding that he had paid a 3,400 dollars fine for building the two rooms.
Read more

Israel orders destruction of village olive grove in retaliation for alleged stone throwing

The Israeli military has issued demolition orders for hundreds of Palestinian olive trees in the village of Yabad, in the northern West Bank, following threats that if kids kept throwing stones at soldiers, the army would destroy the village's olive trees.
Notice posted on Yabad olive trees (image by Ma'an)
Notice posted on Yabad olive trees (image by Ma'an)

Ali Abunimah: Yes, John Kerry, there can be a single, democratic state in Palestine

Electronic Intifada
US Secretary of State John Kerry is in despair over the all-too-predictable fact that negotiations between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel have made no progress.
He should get used to that. The only thing his renewed “peace process” was ever likely to achieve was to provide a convenient cover for ongoing Israeli theft and colonization of Palestinian land.
Kerry seems to know this. In an interview he gave jointly to Israel’s Channel 2 and the PA-controlled Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation on 7 November, he addressed this rhetorical question at Israel:
How – if you say you’re working for peace and you want peace and a Palestine that is a whole Palestinian [sic] that belongs to the people who live there, how can you say we’re planning to build in the place that will eventually be Palestine? So it sends a message that somehow perhaps you’re not really serious.

Cabinet OK’s razing Bedouin towns to build Jewish settlement in their place

After being expelled and relocated in the 1950s, the residents of Umm al-Hiran are about to lose their homes once again – this time to make way for a Jewish national-religious settlement.
The Israeli government on Sunday made one of its most outrageous decisions in recent years (and there is no shortage of those, as you know). The cabinet held a special session in Sde Boker – the Kibbutz in which David Ben-Gurion is buried – to approve plans to build a new Jewish town (along with several others – all for Jews) in the northeast region of the Negev desert.
Read more

Sunday, November 10, 2013

'Death to Arabs' sprayed on Palestinian kindergarten in Hebron

Israeli settlers vandalized a Palestinian kindergarten in Hebron, spray-painting “Death to Arabs” on its wall, it was discovered this week. This is the only kindergarten in the Israeli-controlled section of Hebron to which Palestinian parents can send their three- to five- year-old children without them having to pass through an Israeli checkpoint. This is what the children saw when they arrived:
Palestinian kindergarten in Hebron vandalized with “Death to Arabs” graffiti (Photo: Avner Gvaryahu, Breaking the Silence)

Nightmare reality of US Special Forces in Afghanistan

"Nightmare reality of US Special Forces in Afghanistan: America and its allies never intended to bring "democracy" or "freedom" to Afghanistan. The reality has been covert missions tasked to root out "terrorism". When the vast bulk of foreign forces leave the country post 2014, this CIA-led killing machine will continue. Welcome to US nation building."

Charles Darwin to receive apology from the Church of England for rejecting evolution

The Church of England is to apologise to Charles Darwin for its initial rejection of his theories, nearly 150 years after he published his most famous work.
Charles Darwin to receive apology from the Church of England for rejecting evolution
The Church of England will concede in a statement that it was over-defensive and over-emotional in dismissing Darwin's ideas. It will call "anti-evolutionary fervour" an "indictment" on the Church".
The bold move is certain to dismay sections of the Church that believe in creationism and regard Darwin's views as directly opposed to traditional Christian teaching.

Once they were free


 When Saudi Arabia was created, it absorbed many states under its wing, such as the territory of Ha'el. That vast area of land was never a country, just like the Levant was never supposed to be divided into 4 countries.
This woman, Princess Fatima, ruled the region of Ha'el from 1911 to 1914 and successfully defeated the Saudi invasion of her country.
100 years ago, this woman was able to rule a country and lead an army, while now, women in Saudi Arabia can't even drive a car or travel without a male guardian permission!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

As'ad AbuKhalil: The Failed Gamble of Khaled Meshaal

 

As'ad AbuKhalil (Al Akhbar)
 It would be fair to say that Khaled Meshaal is one of the biggest casualties of the Arab uprisings. Early on, Meshaal appeared more arrogant and more self-confident than usual. He had his reasons: the sponsoring Qatari regime was on the offensive and it seemed to be leading the entire Arab League and the Arab counter-revolution. Saudi Arabia was absent from the scene for much of 2011 and 2012, or so it appeared. Secondly, the Muslim Brotherhood reached power in Egypt and Tunisia and he received a hero’s welcome in both countries. Thirdly, the statement that was attributed to him in al-Quds al-Arabi in 2012 to the effect that he was willing to switch sides against Iran, contingent on finding an alternative financial sponsor, seemed to have sent the right signals that he and his organization were for sale to the highest bidder. Fourthly, the Syrian regime which had provided shelter to Hamas appeared to be in its last days; statements about the ultimate demise of Bashar were being made on a weekly basis. Fifthly, the Turkish regime was in ascendancy and some argued that Turkey was destined to lead the Arab world again, for the first time since the end of the Ottoman Empire. Sixthly, Saudi Arabia expressed willingness to forgive Hamas for its anti-Israeli sins provided it forswears its relationship with the Iranian regime.

Ziad Doueiri’s “The Attack”: Whitewashing the Enemy

The director has the gall to claim that his film is unbiased and sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. (Photo: Al-Akhbar)
 It’s been a year since the release of Lebanese-American director Ziad Doueiri’s film “The Attack,” which was filmed in occupied Palestine using Israeli actors. The controversy around the film continues to this day.
Doueiri’s choice to film his 2012 feature on occupied Palestinian soil, prompted a number of Arab countries, including Lebanon, to ban the film. Although the director may be liable under Lebanese law, the film should be seen by local audiences in order to expose the extent to which the film attempts to whitewash the image of Israel, as a criminal and racist state.

Video: A funny and devastating response to the lies of Israel’s Danny Ayalon

In 2011, then Israeli deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon released an outrageous propaganda video called “The Truth About the West Bank.”
The video was anything but the truth: it denied the land was Palestinian and that it was occupied.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Israel levels Catholic Church property in E. Jerusalem amid ‘massive demolition’ plan

Children look on as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal (C) stands amongst the ruins of a Palestinian home, on November 5, 2013. (AFP Photo / Ahmad Gharabli)
Children look on as Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal (C) stands amongst the ruins of a Palestinian home, on November 5, 2013. (AFP Photo / Ahmad Gharabli)
 The Catholic Church has lashed out at the Israeli government, after its property in East Jerusalem was bulldozed to the ground. Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinian flats were marked for demolition just before US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit.
Last week Israeli security forces arrived with bulldozers at a piece of property owned by the Catholic Church in east Jerusalem, close to the West Bank city of Bethlehem. They said it had been built without a permit and proceeded to destroy it.

Arafat was killed – just as Sharon promised


Scientists have finally produced the evidence that Yasser Arafat was poisoned, using radioactive polonium. Traces were found in Arafat’s body and the surrounding earth (i.e. after dispersion from decomposition) 18 times higher than normal.
The documentation can be seen here.
- See more at: http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2013-11-06/arafat-was-killed-just-as-sharon-promised/#sthash.Fs7EYpSP.dpuf
http://i.alalam.ir/news/Image/original/2013/10/12/alalam_635171939612987826_25f_4x3.jpg
Scientists find at least 18 times the normal levels of radioactive element in late Palestinian
leader's remains
Full documentation here
And here

Arafat was killed – just as Sharon promised

6 November 2013
Scientists have finally produced the evidence that Yasser Arafat was poisoned, using radioactive polonium. Traces were found in Arafat’s body and the surrounding earth (i.e. after dispersion from decomposition) 18 times higher than normal.
The documentation can be seen here.
- See more at: http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2013-11-06/arafat-was-killed-just-as-sharon-promised/#sthash.Fs7EYpSP.dpuf

Arafat was killed – just as Sharon promised

6 November 2013
Scientists have finally produced the evidence that Yasser Arafat was poisoned, using radioactive polonium. Traces were found in Arafat’s body and the surrounding earth (i.e. after dispersion from decomposition) 18 times higher than normal.
The documentation can be seen here.
- See more at: http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2013-11-06/arafat-was-killed-just-as-sharon-promised/#sthash.Fs7EYpSP.dpuf
Scientists have finally produced the evidence that Yasser Arafat was poisoned, using radioactive polonium. Traces were found in Arafat’s body and the surrounding earth (i.e. after dispersion from decomposition) 18 times higher than normal. - See more at: http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2013-11-06/arafat-was-killed-just-as-sharon-promised/#sthash.Fs7EYpSP.dpuf
Scientists have finally produced the evidence that Yasser Arafat was poisoned, using radioactive polonium. Traces were found in Arafat’s body and the surrounding earth (i.e. after dispersion from decomposition) 18 times higher than normal.
The documentation can be seen here.
- See more at: http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2013-11-06/arafat-was-killed-just-as-sharon-promised/#sthash.Fs7EYpSP.dpuf
Scientists have finally produced the evidence that Yasser Arafat was poisoned, using radioactive polonium. Traces were found in Arafat’s body and the surrounding earth (i.e. after dispersion from decomposition) 18 times higher than normal.
The documentation can be seen here.
- See more at: http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2013-11-06/arafat-was-killed-just-as-sharon-promised/#sthash.Fs7EYpSP.dpuf

The film Exile - A Myth Unearthed

Exile - A Myth Unearthed
Ilan Ziv's controversial film which rebuts Zionist notion of Jewish exile from land of Israel. It also reminds viewers that Israel in fact did exile inhabitants of Israel, its Palestinian residents in the Nakba.
This feature documentary looks at new evidence that suggests the majority of the Jewish people may not have been exiled following the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Travelling from Galilee to Jerusalem and the catacombs of Rome, the film asks us to rethink our ideas about an event that has played a critical role in the Christian and Jewish traditions.

Surprise! Surprise! Israeli negotiators: West Bank separation Wall will be border of future Palestinian state

Jerusalem — Israeli negotiators have told their Palestinian counterparts the separation barrier that cuts through the West Bank should serve as the border of a future Palestinian state, media reports said Tuesday.
Just hours before US Secretary of State John Kerry's arrival for top-level talks on ongoing direct peace negotiations, two press reports said the Israeli team had made the proposal.
"Israel's opening position was that the border be the route of the separation barrier, and not the 1967 lines as the Palestinians have demanded," public radio said.

Another Israeli Drone Hacked, This Time by Hamas

hacked israeli drone
Hacked Israeli drone after it was brought down by Hamas
 "The Gaza militants didn’t shoot down the drone nor did it suffer a technical mishap.  Instead, forces in Gaza took control of it by hacking the navigation system.  This is the same method my source has claimed in the past has led to a rash of failures of Israeli drone vehicles in the northern sector.  You’ll note that despite the fact that after past crashes flights were cancelled until the security breaches were fixed, that hasn’t stopped the hacks."