Month: March 2010
Israeli Settlement Expansions Continue
By Stephen Lendman Currently, around 500,000 Jews reside illegally in over 120 West Bank and East Jerusalem settlements as well as dozens of outposts. Their numbers grow daily despite occasional pledges to curtail or slow […]
No Prisoner Swap unless Demands Are Met, Hamas Says
A leading member of the Hamas Political Bureau, Mahmoud al-Zahar, says that negotiations between the Palestinian resistance movement and Israel over a prisoner swap involving Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and hundreds of long-serving Palestinian prisoners […]
Israel orders Demolition of Nablus Mosque
Israeli authorities ordered the demolition of an under-construction mosque in the northern West Bank village of Burin on Sunday, head of the Palestinian Authority’s settlement portfolio said. Ghassan Daghlas explained that the Israeli Civil Administration […]
Netanyahu Acts Contrite over Diplomatic Faux Pas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed regret over the announcement he made about a Jewish settlement plan that strained ties with the US and undermined efforts to jumpstart the stalled Middle East peace talks. […]
Israel Detains Hamas Leader in WB
Israel has arrested a leader of Hamas in the occupied West Bank as it imposes a lockdown on the territory for what it cited as security measures to avoid tensions over its new settlement plan. […]
Israel to Probe ‘Biden Fiasco’
Israel’s prime minister has ordered an investigation into how government officials announced plans for a new Jewish housing project in East Jerusalem during a visit by Joe Biden, the US vice-president. Binyamin Netanyahu’s office said […]
Spain Predicts Israeli Annexation of Entire West Bank
Madrid has warned that, if continued at the current rate, the Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian lands would bring about the annexation of the entire occupied territories. Spain’s Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos […]
Israeli Forces Assault Palestinian Women, Youth
Israeli troops have attacked protesting Palestinian women and youth in the occupied West Bank, injuring six of the demonstrators, say reports. The attack wounded four women and two youths among the crowd of roughly-200-strong Palestinians […]
A Matter of Timing
By Uri Avnery – Israel Some weeks the news is dominated by a single word. This week’s word was ‘timing’. It’s all a matter of timing. The Government of Israel has insulted the Vice President […]
On Hamas’s Achievements, Trials and Tribulations
By Dr. Ahmed Yousef – Gaza January 2010 marks the 4th anniversary of Hamas in the government following its democratic victory in the 2006 Parliamentary election and the formation of its government in March of […]
Israel Chokes 1.5mln Gazans For Soldier: UN
The top UN humanitarian official is venting anger on Israel for maintaining a crippling siege on the 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in return for the release of a captured soldier. “Obviously we’ve […]
ME Quartet Slams Israeli Settlement Plans
The Middle East diplomatic Quartet has condemned Israel’s plans to build new housing units in annexed East Jerusalem al-Quds. The group, compriding of the European Union, the United States, Russia and the United Nations, "condemns […]
Hezbollah Slams Israeli Judaization Bid in WB
Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement has condemned the new Israeli plan to build 1,600 new Jewish homes in the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds. The movement warned that the project seeks demographic changes in the occupied territories. […]
The Decline of Israel: Interview with Jonathan Cook
By New Left Project In a wide-ranging interview with the New Left Project, Nazareth-based journalist Jonathan Cook describes the increasingly repressive nature of Israeli society and the prospects for a solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict […]
America To The Rescue, (Not) Again
By Sam Bahour We are told that President Obama has taken a leap of political faith in trying to bridge a final peace settlement between Palestinians and Israelis. The United States’ new weapon is "proximity talks": […]
Three Kings
By Jim Miles Three Kings – The Rise of an American Empire in the Middle East After World War II. Lloyd C. Gardner. New Press, N.Y., 2009. This concisely written and well documented work covers the […]
AL: Abbas Won’t Talk with Israel
Arab League Chief Amr Moussa has declared that the Palestinians would not enter direct or indirect peace negotiations with Israel unless the regime halts plans to build 1,600 new homes in east Jerusalem al-Quds. Following […]
EP Endorses Gaza War Crime Report
The European Parliament backs the findings of a UN investigation that highlights Israel’s war crimes in Gaza during the December 2008-January 2009 incursion into the costal region. On Wednesday, European Parliament passed a resolution calling […]
Abbas, Biden Discuss Illegal Israeli Settlements
US Vice President Joe Biden says a plan by Israel to build 1,600 homes on the occupied Palestinian land in an East Jerusalem (al-Quds) settlement undermines the efforts to kick-start the Middle East peace process. […]
Arabs to Respond to New Israeli Settlement Plan
Qatar’s premier says Arab states will give an appropriate response to Israel’s decision to expand its settlements in the occupied West Bank. "There will be a meeting today (Wednesday) between the representatives of Arab states […]
Alternative Reading of the Al-Mabhouh Murder
By Ramzy Baroud The killing of Palestinian activist Mahmoud al-Mabhouh on January 19, 2010 was clearly a well-planned, violent and sadistic act, committed by Israeli assassins in the supposed safety of a sovereign country. Yes, […]
Rachel Corrie Family Finally Puts Israel in Dock
By Jonathan Cook – Nazareth Seven years after Rachel Corrie, a US peace activist, was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza, her family was to put the Israeli government in the dock today. A judge in […]
Biden Condemns Israel’s New Settlement Plan
Israel’s plan to construct another 1,600 homes on occupied Palestinian territory "undermines the trust we need," US Vice President Joe Biden said in a statement issued on Tuesday. He condemned Israel’s refusal to freeze settlements […]
Israel Pardons Fatah Men as Reward for PA
Israel took dozens of Palestinian fighters in the West Bank off its wanted list, in an apparent effort to reward the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) for its crackdown on its rival Hamas. The Tel Aviv regime […]
Is PA Guilty of Undermining BDS Campaign?
By Samah Sabawi In 2008 Netanyahu announced during his election campaign that he plans to ‘weave an economic peace alongside the political process which will give a stake in peace for the moderate elements in […]
Which One is the Real Joe Biden
By Ali Younes During his current visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Vice President Joe Biden spoke to the Israelis of how the US and Israel are “inseparable” and that “there is no space […]
Iraqi Elections: Where is Iraq Heading?
By George S. Hishmeh – Washington There is no doubt that the people of Iraq were remarkable in participating by the millions in the second national election since the U.S. occupied the oil-rich country in 2003 […]
Refusal to Surrender: ‘My Father was a Freedom Fighter’ Reviewed
By Robin Yassin-Kassab (An edited version of this review appeared at the Electronic Intifada.) ‘From afar,’ writes Ramzy Baroud (founder of the indispensable Palestine Chronicle), ‘Gaza’s reality, like that of all of Palestine, is often […]
US Backs Israel’s New Settlement Project
The United States backs Israel’s authorization of new construction projects in the West Bank, saying Washington’s Middle East ally has not violated its settlement moratorium. Speaking about 112 new housing units in the West Bank […]
