30 aug 2013
Israel has struck a deal to deport tens of thousands of undocumented African migrants to Uganda, Haaretz newspaper reported on Friday.
It said that a court gag order barring identification of the destination country had been lifted at its request, but that the government still refused to give any details of the deal.
Citing unnamed sources, the paper said Israel would finance the migrants' flights to Uganda and their resettlement there and would apparently give each person $1,500.
Haaretz said the head of the Ugandan government's refugees department, David Apollo Kazungu, had denied in an e-mail that such an agreement existed.
But it quoted Israeli interior minister Gideon Saar as telling a parliamentary committee this week that a senior Israeli official had obtained Kampala's assent.
It said he had told the internal affairs committee immigrants would be transferred to a third country in an operation to begin at the end of September, after forthcoming Jewish holidays.
Israeli immigration authorities say there are about 55,000 undocumented African migrants in Occupied Palestine. Many came by foot through Egypt and slipping through the formerly porous border, which is now being sealed by a sophisticated system of walls and electronic fences.
In 2012, Israel launched a crackdown, rounding up and deporting 3,920 African migrants.
Another 2,000 – majoritarily Eritreans and Sudanese – are being held in a detention center. They have applied for refugee status, but their requests have yet to be processed. According to Haaretz, an estimated three cases have received official responses so far, all of them rejections.
"Just one week ago the state's representative stated at the High Court that an agreement has been reached with a third country willing to absorb the asylum seekers who are being detained under the anti-infiltration law," attorney Yonatan Berman, the head of the Clinic for Migrants' Rights at the College of Law and Business, told the newspaper.
"Now, after the state has been asked to provide details, it appears that its statements have been inaccurate, to say the least This isn't an 'agreement' but a multi-year plan, and no one knows when it will be executed, if ever, and to whom it will apply," Berman added.
"This is nothing but a smoke screen meant to allow for the prolonged imprisonment of asylum seekers in Israel."
The Israeli government said that while 2,295 people crossed the border illegally in January 2012, only 36 got across in the first part of December.
Rising tensions over the growing number of undocumented immigrants exploded into violence in May when a protest in south Tel Aviv turned ugly, with demonstrators smashing African shops and property, chanting "Blacks out!"
In June, the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot reported the government was negotiating to deport up to 2,000 Eritrean migrants to an unnamed African country in return for supplying it with military, technological and agricultural aid.
While the country was not named, Yediot said the understandings were drafted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's special envoy, Haggai Hadas, after visits to Uganda, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria.
Reports by Israeli media indicate that many of the deported will not be sent back to their home countries, but to other African states Israel has signed agreements with. Incentives to take on the refugees include financial grants, medical aid and infrastructure assistance, Haaretz reported.
Uganda denies agreement to absorb migrants
The Ugandan Foreign Ministry said that it is "unaware" of any agreement between Israel and Uganda to absorb migrants from Sudan and Eritrea. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said Uganda would never be a part of such an agreement. MK Michal Rozin, chairman of the Knesset Committee on Foreign Workers, told Reuters that Uganda has indeed signed an agreement with Israel.
It said that a court gag order barring identification of the destination country had been lifted at its request, but that the government still refused to give any details of the deal.
Citing unnamed sources, the paper said Israel would finance the migrants' flights to Uganda and their resettlement there and would apparently give each person $1,500.
Haaretz said the head of the Ugandan government's refugees department, David Apollo Kazungu, had denied in an e-mail that such an agreement existed.
But it quoted Israeli interior minister Gideon Saar as telling a parliamentary committee this week that a senior Israeli official had obtained Kampala's assent.
It said he had told the internal affairs committee immigrants would be transferred to a third country in an operation to begin at the end of September, after forthcoming Jewish holidays.
Israeli immigration authorities say there are about 55,000 undocumented African migrants in Occupied Palestine. Many came by foot through Egypt and slipping through the formerly porous border, which is now being sealed by a sophisticated system of walls and electronic fences.
In 2012, Israel launched a crackdown, rounding up and deporting 3,920 African migrants.
Another 2,000 – majoritarily Eritreans and Sudanese – are being held in a detention center. They have applied for refugee status, but their requests have yet to be processed. According to Haaretz, an estimated three cases have received official responses so far, all of them rejections.
"Just one week ago the state's representative stated at the High Court that an agreement has been reached with a third country willing to absorb the asylum seekers who are being detained under the anti-infiltration law," attorney Yonatan Berman, the head of the Clinic for Migrants' Rights at the College of Law and Business, told the newspaper.
"Now, after the state has been asked to provide details, it appears that its statements have been inaccurate, to say the least This isn't an 'agreement' but a multi-year plan, and no one knows when it will be executed, if ever, and to whom it will apply," Berman added.
"This is nothing but a smoke screen meant to allow for the prolonged imprisonment of asylum seekers in Israel."
The Israeli government said that while 2,295 people crossed the border illegally in January 2012, only 36 got across in the first part of December.
Rising tensions over the growing number of undocumented immigrants exploded into violence in May when a protest in south Tel Aviv turned ugly, with demonstrators smashing African shops and property, chanting "Blacks out!"
In June, the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot reported the government was negotiating to deport up to 2,000 Eritrean migrants to an unnamed African country in return for supplying it with military, technological and agricultural aid.
While the country was not named, Yediot said the understandings were drafted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's special envoy, Haggai Hadas, after visits to Uganda, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria.
Reports by Israeli media indicate that many of the deported will not be sent back to their home countries, but to other African states Israel has signed agreements with. Incentives to take on the refugees include financial grants, medical aid and infrastructure assistance, Haaretz reported.
Uganda denies agreement to absorb migrants
The Ugandan Foreign Ministry said that it is "unaware" of any agreement between Israel and Uganda to absorb migrants from Sudan and Eritrea. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said Uganda would never be a part of such an agreement. MK Michal Rozin, chairman of the Knesset Committee on Foreign Workers, told Reuters that Uganda has indeed signed an agreement with Israel.
29 aug 2013
Settlers from the northern West Bank settlement of Yitzhar prevented entry into the settlement to two Druze workers who came for maintenance work on the nearby military post.
The workers were employed by a private contractor who won a tender to conduct work on behalf of the Israeli army. Israeli police and border police forces were sent to Yitzhar when the workers were prevented from entering the settlement, and confrontations ensued. Eventually the contractor replaced the workers with Jewish workers, and the work was completed.
Yitzhar residents told the Israeli media site Walla that "Employing Jews only is a Jewish and Zionist value. The residents' protest against entry of the Arabs...was passive for the duration of the event."
The workers were employed by a private contractor who won a tender to conduct work on behalf of the Israeli army. Israeli police and border police forces were sent to Yitzhar when the workers were prevented from entering the settlement, and confrontations ensued. Eventually the contractor replaced the workers with Jewish workers, and the work was completed.
Yitzhar residents told the Israeli media site Walla that "Employing Jews only is a Jewish and Zionist value. The residents' protest against entry of the Arabs...was passive for the duration of the event."
Edward Snowden in Moscow
Newspaper reveals clauses from top secret 'black budget' meant to finance 'counterintelligence operations focused against priority targets of China, Russia, Iran, Cuba and Israel'
The Washington Post has revealed a collection of clauses from the US government's top secret $52.6 billion "black budget," meant to finance the special operations of the intelligence services, including counterintelligence operations against Israel.
The 178-page budget summary for the National Intelligence Program, which was obtained by the Washington Post from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, states that US intelligence officials take an active interest in foes as well as friends. Pakistan is described in detail as an "intractable target," and counterintelligence operations "are strategically focused against (the) priority targets of China, Russia, Iran, Cuba and Israel."
The Washington Post reported that according to the government’s top secret budget, US spy agencies have built an intelligence-gathering colossus since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but remain unable to provide critical information to the president on a range of national security threats.
Although the government has annually released its overall level of intelligence spending since 2007, it has not divulged how it uses those funds or how it performs against the goals set by the president and Congress, the newspaper said.
In response to inquiries from The Washington Post, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. said the US has made a "considerable investment in the Intelligence Community since the terror attacks of 9/11, a time which includes wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Arab Spring, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction technology, and asymmetric threats in such areas as cyber-warfare. "Our budgets are classified as they could provide insight for foreign intelligence services to discern our top national priorities, capabilities and sources and methods that allow us to obtain information to counter threats," he said.
Newspaper reveals clauses from top secret 'black budget' meant to finance 'counterintelligence operations focused against priority targets of China, Russia, Iran, Cuba and Israel'
The Washington Post has revealed a collection of clauses from the US government's top secret $52.6 billion "black budget," meant to finance the special operations of the intelligence services, including counterintelligence operations against Israel.
The 178-page budget summary for the National Intelligence Program, which was obtained by the Washington Post from former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, states that US intelligence officials take an active interest in foes as well as friends. Pakistan is described in detail as an "intractable target," and counterintelligence operations "are strategically focused against (the) priority targets of China, Russia, Iran, Cuba and Israel."
The Washington Post reported that according to the government’s top secret budget, US spy agencies have built an intelligence-gathering colossus since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but remain unable to provide critical information to the president on a range of national security threats.
Although the government has annually released its overall level of intelligence spending since 2007, it has not divulged how it uses those funds or how it performs against the goals set by the president and Congress, the newspaper said.
In response to inquiries from The Washington Post, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. said the US has made a "considerable investment in the Intelligence Community since the terror attacks of 9/11, a time which includes wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Arab Spring, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction technology, and asymmetric threats in such areas as cyber-warfare. "Our budgets are classified as they could provide insight for foreign intelligence services to discern our top national priorities, capabilities and sources and methods that allow us to obtain information to counter threats," he said.
27 aug 2013
By Jonathan Cook
The Holy Land may be the cradle of Judaism, Christianity and Islam – the three Abrahamic faiths that share much in common – but Israel has preferred to draw on a tradition that imagines the region in terms of a clash of civilisations.
Theodor Herzl, the father of Israel’s national ideology, Zionism, averred that a Jewish state should act as “a rampart of Europe against Asia, an outpost of civilisation as opposed to barbarism”. On this view, Israel is on the fault line between a Judeo-Christian west and the barbarian hordes of the Islamic east.
The idea of a clash has played out most obviously in Israel’s repeated wars against its Arab neighbours, its threatening posture towards Iran, and its interminable occupation of Palestinian territority – heavily subsidised both directly and indirectly by the United States and Europe.
But Israel also wanted to exploit this model inside its own territory, among its citizens. Decades of institutional and systematic discrimination and internal repression of its 1.5 million Palestinians who have citizenship have been justified to the Jewish majority in these terms.
This is the context for understanding the announcement this month by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of what is being called innocuously a “forum” between the government and Israel’s Christian Palestinians.
Its troubling goal is to end the exemption Christians in Israel have enjoyed from serving in the military.
On a practical level, Mr Netanyahu hopes that Christians can help enforce Israel’s illegal occupation of their kin in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. But this move is not really about swelling the army’s ranks.
Both Christians and Muslims are excluded from Israel’s military service. Individuals can seek a waiver on this exclusion and each year a few do so: around two dozen among Christian Palestinians and small numbers of Muslims, mostly from the Bedouin community.
If Christians are made to serve, they will join Israel’s tiny Druze community, which has been conscripted since the 1950s. That will then leave only the largest section of Palestinian citizens – Muslims – excluded.
The role of the Druze is illustrative. They have few benefits to show for decades of army service, even though Israel has treated them as a national group separate from other Palestinian citizens. They even have their own school system to inculcate beliefs that the Druze and Jews are historic allies.
Keen to prove their loyalty to the state, the Druze are much feared in the occupied territories, where they are seen as even more brutal than their Jewish comrades.
If Mr Netanyahu succeeds, he will achieve an important task, reversing the long-term commitment of Christians and Muslims in Israel to unity. The two communities have set up joint political institutions and secular parties that cut across the sectarian divide.
In recent years their identity as Palestinians has strengthened – not least because Israel has defined the core Israeli identity in terms of belonging to the Jewish people.
Mr Netanyahu would rather turn the clock back to the 1950s when the native population were known simply as “the minorities”, and expected to identify as sectarian groups. The aim was to exploit these differences to keep each sect weak, isolated and, ideally, feuding.
Now Mr Netanyahu sees a chance to use military service as a vehicle for implementing a policy of divide and rule.
The idea has been brewing for decades, but was unrealisable because Israel could not find, as it did with the Druze, a Christian religious leader willing to cooperate. It now has one in the figure of a senior Nazareth cleric, Jibril Nadaf.
Mr Nadaf gave his blessing to a conference last year staged by the defence ministry to promote military service among the Christian scout movements. Community leaders who denounced him have been interrogated by the security services on suspicion of incitement.
Israel is trumpeting its success in tripling the number of Christian teenagers drafted over the past year. But the numbers are still small.
Israel has sought to capitalise on this moment by highlighting to Christians the supposed dangers posed by the Arab Spring. Israeli officials suggest that the growing power of Islamic movements is a warning that the region’s Christians need to ally with the Jewish state.
Mr Nadaf now speaks in similar terms. He recently said: “Our goal is to protect the Holy Land and the State of Israel.” Only Christians helping Israel, he added, were “following the path of Christianity”.
The Holy Land may be the cradle of Judaism, Christianity and Islam – the three Abrahamic faiths that share much in common – but Israel has preferred to draw on a tradition that imagines the region in terms of a clash of civilisations.
Theodor Herzl, the father of Israel’s national ideology, Zionism, averred that a Jewish state should act as “a rampart of Europe against Asia, an outpost of civilisation as opposed to barbarism”. On this view, Israel is on the fault line between a Judeo-Christian west and the barbarian hordes of the Islamic east.
The idea of a clash has played out most obviously in Israel’s repeated wars against its Arab neighbours, its threatening posture towards Iran, and its interminable occupation of Palestinian territority – heavily subsidised both directly and indirectly by the United States and Europe.
But Israel also wanted to exploit this model inside its own territory, among its citizens. Decades of institutional and systematic discrimination and internal repression of its 1.5 million Palestinians who have citizenship have been justified to the Jewish majority in these terms.
This is the context for understanding the announcement this month by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of what is being called innocuously a “forum” between the government and Israel’s Christian Palestinians.
Its troubling goal is to end the exemption Christians in Israel have enjoyed from serving in the military.
On a practical level, Mr Netanyahu hopes that Christians can help enforce Israel’s illegal occupation of their kin in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. But this move is not really about swelling the army’s ranks.
Both Christians and Muslims are excluded from Israel’s military service. Individuals can seek a waiver on this exclusion and each year a few do so: around two dozen among Christian Palestinians and small numbers of Muslims, mostly from the Bedouin community.
If Christians are made to serve, they will join Israel’s tiny Druze community, which has been conscripted since the 1950s. That will then leave only the largest section of Palestinian citizens – Muslims – excluded.
The role of the Druze is illustrative. They have few benefits to show for decades of army service, even though Israel has treated them as a national group separate from other Palestinian citizens. They even have their own school system to inculcate beliefs that the Druze and Jews are historic allies.
Keen to prove their loyalty to the state, the Druze are much feared in the occupied territories, where they are seen as even more brutal than their Jewish comrades.
If Mr Netanyahu succeeds, he will achieve an important task, reversing the long-term commitment of Christians and Muslims in Israel to unity. The two communities have set up joint political institutions and secular parties that cut across the sectarian divide.
In recent years their identity as Palestinians has strengthened – not least because Israel has defined the core Israeli identity in terms of belonging to the Jewish people.
Mr Netanyahu would rather turn the clock back to the 1950s when the native population were known simply as “the minorities”, and expected to identify as sectarian groups. The aim was to exploit these differences to keep each sect weak, isolated and, ideally, feuding.
Now Mr Netanyahu sees a chance to use military service as a vehicle for implementing a policy of divide and rule.
The idea has been brewing for decades, but was unrealisable because Israel could not find, as it did with the Druze, a Christian religious leader willing to cooperate. It now has one in the figure of a senior Nazareth cleric, Jibril Nadaf.
Mr Nadaf gave his blessing to a conference last year staged by the defence ministry to promote military service among the Christian scout movements. Community leaders who denounced him have been interrogated by the security services on suspicion of incitement.
Israel is trumpeting its success in tripling the number of Christian teenagers drafted over the past year. But the numbers are still small.
Israel has sought to capitalise on this moment by highlighting to Christians the supposed dangers posed by the Arab Spring. Israeli officials suggest that the growing power of Islamic movements is a warning that the region’s Christians need to ally with the Jewish state.
Mr Nadaf now speaks in similar terms. He recently said: “Our goal is to protect the Holy Land and the State of Israel.” Only Christians helping Israel, he added, were “following the path of Christianity”.
Benjamin Netanyahu meets Jibril Nadaf
Israel’s fingerprints are not hard to spot on these developments. Last month a new political party was formed in Nazareth running on a joint Christian-Jewish ticket and advocating conscription for Christians. Its founder is the brother of the defence ministry’s adviser on Christian affairs, Ehab Shilyan.
This dangerous meddling in the delicate relations between Christians and Muslims inside Israel could easily lead to violence and bloodshed. But Israel is unlikely to care when the benefits are manifold.
Palestinian Christians have been key figures in the fight for equal rights inside Israel, a struggle that has deeply embarrassed Israel by threatening to expose the structural inequality required by a Jewish state.
Israel would prefer to weaken this kind of internal secular Palestinian politics, leaving the field to the Islamic extremists.
Christians in Israel have also been powerful advocates for international campaigns against Israel, using their connections to promote the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement building among overseas church groups – what Israel terms “de-legitimisation”.
Repositioning Palestinian Christians on Israel’s side would take the wind out of that campaign.
But perhaps most importantly, Israel would prefer that Christians reject the Palestinian variant of liberation theology and adopt the Christian Zionism that dominates in the US, Israel’s chief sponsor.
The Christian Zionists believe Jews and Christians are heading towards an apocalyptic showdown with Islam.
All of this is designed to corral Israel’s Muslim population into a corner, creating a much cleaner narrative for Israel in which Jews and Christians are brothers guarding the ramparts. But more likely Israel risks ensuring its clash of civilisations thesis becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Israel’s fingerprints are not hard to spot on these developments. Last month a new political party was formed in Nazareth running on a joint Christian-Jewish ticket and advocating conscription for Christians. Its founder is the brother of the defence ministry’s adviser on Christian affairs, Ehab Shilyan.
This dangerous meddling in the delicate relations between Christians and Muslims inside Israel could easily lead to violence and bloodshed. But Israel is unlikely to care when the benefits are manifold.
Palestinian Christians have been key figures in the fight for equal rights inside Israel, a struggle that has deeply embarrassed Israel by threatening to expose the structural inequality required by a Jewish state.
Israel would prefer to weaken this kind of internal secular Palestinian politics, leaving the field to the Islamic extremists.
Christians in Israel have also been powerful advocates for international campaigns against Israel, using their connections to promote the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement building among overseas church groups – what Israel terms “de-legitimisation”.
Repositioning Palestinian Christians on Israel’s side would take the wind out of that campaign.
But perhaps most importantly, Israel would prefer that Christians reject the Palestinian variant of liberation theology and adopt the Christian Zionism that dominates in the US, Israel’s chief sponsor.
The Christian Zionists believe Jews and Christians are heading towards an apocalyptic showdown with Islam.
All of this is designed to corral Israel’s Muslim population into a corner, creating a much cleaner narrative for Israel in which Jews and Christians are brothers guarding the ramparts. But more likely Israel risks ensuring its clash of civilisations thesis becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.
This Sunday, at the inauguration of the new illegal Leshem settlement, Israeli officials made discriminatory, offensive, and racist remarks regarding Palestine, to the public. Israel’s deputy Minister MK Ofir Akunis, attempted justifying Israel’s acts of aggression and war towards Palestinians with the logic of racism. Akunis is quoted saying, “Here we say that a Palestinian state will not be formed. Who needs another Arab country in this region?”
Akunis’ racism is not the only logistical flaw in the argument. Israel, as the colonizer, saying, who needs another Arab country in the Arab part of the world, is just like Britain colonizing Sudan and saying, who needs another African country in Africa? That’s just the point: Sudan is in Africa. Palestine is an Arab country. Attempting to wipe Arabs off the Arab portion of the world – well, that’s the definition of ethnic cleansing and genocide.
Israel has been busy displacing Palestinians for many decades now, using everything from murder, violence, imprisonment, checkpoints, control of water, settlement activity etc, to expand its occupation. Now Israeli officials are unashamedly boasting about their war crimes.
At the same inauguration of the illegal Leshem, Housing Minister Uri Ariel said "There is no way, during any negotiations, that we will not build in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, the Jordan Valley and all the land of Israel.”
Deputy Transport Minister Tzipi Hotovely added: "It doesn’t matter if this is a settlement or a neighborhood, as long as we build more houses. It is at this time of negotiating that it is most important that more neighborhoods or settlements be built and that the Palestinians are sent a message that Israeli settlements are here to stay."
Settlements serve to displace and replace Palestinians; to strangulate and annex Palestinian cities; and to prevent a Palestinian state that is territorially contiguous and economically viable. Israel hopes that increasing settlements will slowly expand the area under the state’s jurisdiction. On Wednesday, PLO executive member Hanan Ashrawi clearly stated, Israel cannot act as a sovereign state on Palestinian lands regardless of the settlements it has built.”
Under international law, settlements are illegal and constitute a war crime. Israel’s continued acts of war and terror against Palestinians are causing diplomats, governments, and scholars across the world to ask: why is Israel even pretending to engage in peace negotiations with Palestine, if it is simultaneously proudly waging war on the same state?
Israeli officials are not so much as attempting to mask their disregard for the peace process. Gershon Mesika, head of the Shomron Regional Council, openly announced: "I'm telling John Kerry… you can talk and do whatever you want. We will stay here and build on all the hills around."
During a press briefing on Wednesday, PLO executive member Hanan Ashrawi remarked that the move to continue with settlement activity not only undermines the recently renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, but it will also lead Palestinians to take Israel to international justice courts.
Akunis’ racism is not the only logistical flaw in the argument. Israel, as the colonizer, saying, who needs another Arab country in the Arab part of the world, is just like Britain colonizing Sudan and saying, who needs another African country in Africa? That’s just the point: Sudan is in Africa. Palestine is an Arab country. Attempting to wipe Arabs off the Arab portion of the world – well, that’s the definition of ethnic cleansing and genocide.
Israel has been busy displacing Palestinians for many decades now, using everything from murder, violence, imprisonment, checkpoints, control of water, settlement activity etc, to expand its occupation. Now Israeli officials are unashamedly boasting about their war crimes.
At the same inauguration of the illegal Leshem, Housing Minister Uri Ariel said "There is no way, during any negotiations, that we will not build in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, the Jordan Valley and all the land of Israel.”
Deputy Transport Minister Tzipi Hotovely added: "It doesn’t matter if this is a settlement or a neighborhood, as long as we build more houses. It is at this time of negotiating that it is most important that more neighborhoods or settlements be built and that the Palestinians are sent a message that Israeli settlements are here to stay."
Settlements serve to displace and replace Palestinians; to strangulate and annex Palestinian cities; and to prevent a Palestinian state that is territorially contiguous and economically viable. Israel hopes that increasing settlements will slowly expand the area under the state’s jurisdiction. On Wednesday, PLO executive member Hanan Ashrawi clearly stated, Israel cannot act as a sovereign state on Palestinian lands regardless of the settlements it has built.”
Under international law, settlements are illegal and constitute a war crime. Israel’s continued acts of war and terror against Palestinians are causing diplomats, governments, and scholars across the world to ask: why is Israel even pretending to engage in peace negotiations with Palestine, if it is simultaneously proudly waging war on the same state?
Israeli officials are not so much as attempting to mask their disregard for the peace process. Gershon Mesika, head of the Shomron Regional Council, openly announced: "I'm telling John Kerry… you can talk and do whatever you want. We will stay here and build on all the hills around."
During a press briefing on Wednesday, PLO executive member Hanan Ashrawi remarked that the move to continue with settlement activity not only undermines the recently renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, but it will also lead Palestinians to take Israel to international justice courts.
A senior Israeli delegation has visited the White House to discuss recent developments in the Middle East - including the Syrian issue.
US National Security Advisor Susan Rice on Monday met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top national security advisor, retired major general Yaakov Amidror.
The talks come as the US is preparing for a possible attack on Syria, where American authorities say the government crossed a ‘red line’ last week when it used chemical arms in its fight against militants. Damascus rejected the allegation, saying the armed groups launched the alleged chemical attack that killed hundreds of civilians.
On Sunday, Israeli President Shimon Peres called for an international action against the Syrian government. Israel has put its own military on high alert.
The US and its Western allies may launch a military strike against Syria, and the talks are set to coordinate a joint preparation for such an attack, Israeli newspaper Haaretz said Monday.
According to the newspaper, Amidror, who led the delegation, was joined by Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad, head of the diplomatic security department at the Defense Ministry; Nimrod Shefer, head of the Israel Defense Forces planning department; Itai Baron, head of the research division in Military Intelligence; Jeremy Issacharoff, head of the strategy department in the Foreign Ministry, and senior officials from the Shin Bet.
Israel’s Ambassador to Washington Michael Oren was also set to join the talks, the paper said.
US National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said the officials would also discuss Iran’s nuclear energy program and the Egyptian unrest among “a range of other regional security issues.”(Video on the link)
US National Security Advisor Susan Rice on Monday met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top national security advisor, retired major general Yaakov Amidror.
The talks come as the US is preparing for a possible attack on Syria, where American authorities say the government crossed a ‘red line’ last week when it used chemical arms in its fight against militants. Damascus rejected the allegation, saying the armed groups launched the alleged chemical attack that killed hundreds of civilians.
On Sunday, Israeli President Shimon Peres called for an international action against the Syrian government. Israel has put its own military on high alert.
The US and its Western allies may launch a military strike against Syria, and the talks are set to coordinate a joint preparation for such an attack, Israeli newspaper Haaretz said Monday.
According to the newspaper, Amidror, who led the delegation, was joined by Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad, head of the diplomatic security department at the Defense Ministry; Nimrod Shefer, head of the Israel Defense Forces planning department; Itai Baron, head of the research division in Military Intelligence; Jeremy Issacharoff, head of the strategy department in the Foreign Ministry, and senior officials from the Shin Bet.
Israel’s Ambassador to Washington Michael Oren was also set to join the talks, the paper said.
US National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said the officials would also discuss Iran’s nuclear energy program and the Egyptian unrest among “a range of other regional security issues.”(Video on the link)
26 aug 2013
Analysts say Tel Aviv uses false-flag terrorism to compel foreign governments into supporting Israel’s foreign policy, Press TV reports.
“Of course, the motto of the Mossad is ‘make war by deception’ - they are the foremost masters of false-flag attacks and committing crimes by blaming them on others to gain political advantage,” said James H. Fetzer, a professor of philosophy, in an interview with Press TV.
The terrorist attack in Bulgaria in 2012, which killed seven people including five Israeli tourists, has all the fingerprints of a false-flag attack ordered by Tel Aviv, more and more experts are pointing out.
“Yes, I think that the Israeli’s were probably punishing the Europeans by bombing the bus in Bulgaria, but then doing it in such a way that they could blame their enemy, Hezbollah,” said Kevin Barrett, a professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies.
Just hours after the terrorist attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Lebanon's resistance movement, Hezbollah, in spite of the lack of credible evidence to support his claim.
Canadian diplomats followed suit by convincing the European Union to label Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in July.
Ottawa claimed that a Canadian citizen, Hassan El Hajj Hassan, participated in the terrorist attacks at the behest of Hezbollah, despite the suspect’s father stating that his son was innocent.
Moreover, Bulgaria’s foreign minister recently referred to evidence of Hezbollah involvement in the attacks as merely “circumstantial.”
“The Bulgarian authorities themselves have shown hesitation to draw such damning conclusions when the evidence is virtually non-existent or, I would submit, actually against it given the past history of false-flag attacks perpetrated by Israel itself,” said professor Fetzer.
“It’s time to ask who gained from that bombing in Bulgaria, and I think the answer to that is pretty obvious,” posited professor Barrett, adding, “What’s inexplicable is why Western governments that have absolutely nothing to gain by being dragged into Israel’s wars continue to accept these ludicrous stories from Israel that Arabs and Muslims are supposedly going out and carrying out these attacks that benefit no one but Israel?” (Video on the link)
“Of course, the motto of the Mossad is ‘make war by deception’ - they are the foremost masters of false-flag attacks and committing crimes by blaming them on others to gain political advantage,” said James H. Fetzer, a professor of philosophy, in an interview with Press TV.
The terrorist attack in Bulgaria in 2012, which killed seven people including five Israeli tourists, has all the fingerprints of a false-flag attack ordered by Tel Aviv, more and more experts are pointing out.
“Yes, I think that the Israeli’s were probably punishing the Europeans by bombing the bus in Bulgaria, but then doing it in such a way that they could blame their enemy, Hezbollah,” said Kevin Barrett, a professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies.
Just hours after the terrorist attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Lebanon's resistance movement, Hezbollah, in spite of the lack of credible evidence to support his claim.
Canadian diplomats followed suit by convincing the European Union to label Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in July.
Ottawa claimed that a Canadian citizen, Hassan El Hajj Hassan, participated in the terrorist attacks at the behest of Hezbollah, despite the suspect’s father stating that his son was innocent.
Moreover, Bulgaria’s foreign minister recently referred to evidence of Hezbollah involvement in the attacks as merely “circumstantial.”
“The Bulgarian authorities themselves have shown hesitation to draw such damning conclusions when the evidence is virtually non-existent or, I would submit, actually against it given the past history of false-flag attacks perpetrated by Israel itself,” said professor Fetzer.
“It’s time to ask who gained from that bombing in Bulgaria, and I think the answer to that is pretty obvious,” posited professor Barrett, adding, “What’s inexplicable is why Western governments that have absolutely nothing to gain by being dragged into Israel’s wars continue to accept these ludicrous stories from Israel that Arabs and Muslims are supposedly going out and carrying out these attacks that benefit no one but Israel?” (Video on the link)
The international physicians for the prevention of nuclear war (IPPNW)-Palestine branch said that a recent study conducted by the Finnish association DHF in the Negev region, where the Dimona nuclear facility is located, showed that Negev air is contaminated almost during all days of the year, which poses serious health hazards.
During an environmental symposium held in Ramallah on Sunday, head of IPPNW Mahmoud Sa'adeh said that the Israeli government was able to convince the Jewish population living in the Negev that the toxic emissions reported in their areas and the resultant malignant diseases and infections rampant among them are caused by the livestock raised by the Palestinian Bedouin population living in the Negev.
Sa'adeh said that a research study conducted in 2007 had found out that the range of the area affected by radioactive waste and contamination extended to include other areas to the north of occupied Palestine such as Al-Khalil city.
He added that the study also showed that the levels of radiations exceeded three times the internationally permitted limit, noting that the contamination of soil and plants in Tulkarem and Qalqiliya areas, north of Palestine, was discovered during recent years.
During an environmental symposium held in Ramallah on Sunday, head of IPPNW Mahmoud Sa'adeh said that the Israeli government was able to convince the Jewish population living in the Negev that the toxic emissions reported in their areas and the resultant malignant diseases and infections rampant among them are caused by the livestock raised by the Palestinian Bedouin population living in the Negev.
Sa'adeh said that a research study conducted in 2007 had found out that the range of the area affected by radioactive waste and contamination extended to include other areas to the north of occupied Palestine such as Al-Khalil city.
He added that the study also showed that the levels of radiations exceeded three times the internationally permitted limit, noting that the contamination of soil and plants in Tulkarem and Qalqiliya areas, north of Palestine, was discovered during recent years.
The Daily Beast reports that the municipality of southern Tel Aviv has decided to racially segregate kindergartners. The children of asylum seekers and refugees, primarily from Sudan and Eretria, will have to attend different kindergartens, than all other three-to-six year olds.
Tel Aviv’s blatant racial segregation can not even be made to appear as religious segregation. Non-Jewish children from Europe and Southeast Asia are allowed to continue attending Jewish Kindergarten. Just not the African children.
According to a Ynet report, the city was forced to build the kindergartens for African children because Isreali residents threatened to keep their children at home and out of school, rather than allowing them to play and learn with children from Sudan and Eritrea.
Yoav Goldring, a city council member from the liberal City for All party, told Ynet that he is confused by the municipality's decision. “Instead of resolving the neighborhood's existing problems of overcrowding and lack of infrastructure, the municipality catered to the prevailing atmosphere of racial segregation.”
The Daily Beast reports: “Tension between the veteran Jewish residents and the African asylum seekers has been high for quite some time, thanks partly to incitement from certain right-wing Members of Knesset and some rabbis, with the latter discouraging their followers from renting apartments to non-Jews. Last year the growing tension exploded in race riots. Mobs of angry Jewish residents smashed cars and shops belonging to blacks, beating and terrorizing them.”
It continued, “Last year, some parents in the prosperous and fashionable Sheinkin area of central Tel Aviv opposed a visit from 35 black children for a joint Hanukkah at a local kindergarten. According to a Ynet report, a group of parents started a chain of racist emails, with one claiming they needed to know if the African children had been immunized in order to ‘protect’ their own children.”
Tel Aviv, the so-called democratic ‘safe heaven’ for liberals, gay people, and foreigners, carries a long history of state-endorsed racism. Despite being home to a significant portion of Israel’s 65,000 African Asylum seekers and refugees, the city’s residents and municipality systemically discriminate against foreigners, most notably those from Africa.
The Israeli residents of Tel Aviv reject accusations that they are racists despite pushing for ‘separate-but-equal’ kindergartens. But, God forbid their children had to color, count, or build sandcastles with children from Africa.
Tel Aviv’s blatant racial segregation can not even be made to appear as religious segregation. Non-Jewish children from Europe and Southeast Asia are allowed to continue attending Jewish Kindergarten. Just not the African children.
According to a Ynet report, the city was forced to build the kindergartens for African children because Isreali residents threatened to keep their children at home and out of school, rather than allowing them to play and learn with children from Sudan and Eritrea.
Yoav Goldring, a city council member from the liberal City for All party, told Ynet that he is confused by the municipality's decision. “Instead of resolving the neighborhood's existing problems of overcrowding and lack of infrastructure, the municipality catered to the prevailing atmosphere of racial segregation.”
The Daily Beast reports: “Tension between the veteran Jewish residents and the African asylum seekers has been high for quite some time, thanks partly to incitement from certain right-wing Members of Knesset and some rabbis, with the latter discouraging their followers from renting apartments to non-Jews. Last year the growing tension exploded in race riots. Mobs of angry Jewish residents smashed cars and shops belonging to blacks, beating and terrorizing them.”
It continued, “Last year, some parents in the prosperous and fashionable Sheinkin area of central Tel Aviv opposed a visit from 35 black children for a joint Hanukkah at a local kindergarten. According to a Ynet report, a group of parents started a chain of racist emails, with one claiming they needed to know if the African children had been immunized in order to ‘protect’ their own children.”
Tel Aviv, the so-called democratic ‘safe heaven’ for liberals, gay people, and foreigners, carries a long history of state-endorsed racism. Despite being home to a significant portion of Israel’s 65,000 African Asylum seekers and refugees, the city’s residents and municipality systemically discriminate against foreigners, most notably those from Africa.
The Israeli residents of Tel Aviv reject accusations that they are racists despite pushing for ‘separate-but-equal’ kindergartens. But, God forbid their children had to color, count, or build sandcastles with children from Africa.
25 aug 2013
“The diplomatic agreement Israel reached with the Palestinians in Oslo 20 years ago and the concept of creating a Palestinian state are dead”, Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett wrote on his Facebook page. Bennett said that he does not believe anything will come out of the current Israeli-Palestinian talks, therefore he will remain in government.
He also said, “It is my duty to present the nation of Israel with the truth. I will do everything in my power to prevent this disaster.”
“The truth is that the idea of a Palestinian state within the State of Israel is dead. The idea that most Israeli citizens took a chance on during the 1990s has been proven as a killing machine. Contrary to what people say, there are quite a few alternatives to a Palestinian state,” Bennett said.
He also said, “It is my duty to present the nation of Israel with the truth. I will do everything in my power to prevent this disaster.”
“The truth is that the idea of a Palestinian state within the State of Israel is dead. The idea that most Israeli citizens took a chance on during the 1990s has been proven as a killing machine. Contrary to what people say, there are quite a few alternatives to a Palestinian state,” Bennett said.
24 aug 2013
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized the United States for condemning his remarks over the involvement of the Israeli regime in the ouster of former Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi.
On Tuesday, Erdogan said in a nationally televised speech that Israel was behind the military-backed toppling of Morsi last month.
His remarks angered Israel, the United States, and the new government in Cairo. The White House condemned the comments as offensive, unsubstantiated and wrong.
"Why is the White House making a statement on this? The White House should not have spoken about this. If there's somebody to speak on this, it should have been Israel," the Turkish premier said in televised remarks on Saturday.
Erdogan also noted that Washington’s condemnation “upset” him, adding, "This is very important to show the world's double standards.”
Speaking to a meeting of his Justice and Development Party on Tuesday, Erdogan blamed the Tel Aviv regime for Morsi’s ouster, saying, "What do they say about Egypt: democracy is not the ballot box. Who is behind this? It's Israel."
“We have the evidence in our hands,” he also said citing remarks made by an Israeli justice minister to a 2011 forum in France in which he allegedly said Morsi would not be to stay in power even if he won the presidential election.
Egypt has been experiencing unrelenting violence since the army toppled Morsi on July 3, suspended the constitution and dissolved the parliament.
On Tuesday, Erdogan said in a nationally televised speech that Israel was behind the military-backed toppling of Morsi last month.
His remarks angered Israel, the United States, and the new government in Cairo. The White House condemned the comments as offensive, unsubstantiated and wrong.
"Why is the White House making a statement on this? The White House should not have spoken about this. If there's somebody to speak on this, it should have been Israel," the Turkish premier said in televised remarks on Saturday.
Erdogan also noted that Washington’s condemnation “upset” him, adding, "This is very important to show the world's double standards.”
Speaking to a meeting of his Justice and Development Party on Tuesday, Erdogan blamed the Tel Aviv regime for Morsi’s ouster, saying, "What do they say about Egypt: democracy is not the ballot box. Who is behind this? It's Israel."
“We have the evidence in our hands,” he also said citing remarks made by an Israeli justice minister to a 2011 forum in France in which he allegedly said Morsi would not be to stay in power even if he won the presidential election.
Egypt has been experiencing unrelenting violence since the army toppled Morsi on July 3, suspended the constitution and dissolved the parliament.
23 aug 2013
Man tries to steal teenager's phone as she was walking on Tel Aviv promenade, stabs her when she refused to hand it over; suspect at large
A 16-year-old girl was brought to the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv Thursday night with a knife lodged inside her stomach. It is suspected she was stabbed by a migrant who tried to steal her mobile phone. She sustained light to moderate wounds. Tel Aviv police have yet to arrest the suspect after spending all night searching for him. An initial investigation suggests the girl was walking in the promenade area with a friend when a dark-skinned man attempted to steal her cell phone.
The girl resisted, prompting the man to pull out a knife and push it into her stomach, hoping she would let go of the phone. He then escaped the scene with the device while the girl fell to the ground with the knife lodged inside her stomach.
Fortunately, there was no significant internal organ damage. Magen David Adom paramedics called to the scene decided not to pull the knife out and rushed the girl to the hospital where doctors removed the weapon and handed it over to the police. Officers are hoping to use DNA from the knife to track down the suspect.
A 16-year-old girl was brought to the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv Thursday night with a knife lodged inside her stomach. It is suspected she was stabbed by a migrant who tried to steal her mobile phone. She sustained light to moderate wounds. Tel Aviv police have yet to arrest the suspect after spending all night searching for him. An initial investigation suggests the girl was walking in the promenade area with a friend when a dark-skinned man attempted to steal her cell phone.
The girl resisted, prompting the man to pull out a knife and push it into her stomach, hoping she would let go of the phone. He then escaped the scene with the device while the girl fell to the ground with the knife lodged inside her stomach.
Fortunately, there was no significant internal organ damage. Magen David Adom paramedics called to the scene decided not to pull the knife out and rushed the girl to the hospital where doctors removed the weapon and handed it over to the police. Officers are hoping to use DNA from the knife to track down the suspect.
Shots fired at home in Shlomi, no injuries
Unknown persons fired at a house in Shlomi. A 47-year-old man who lives at home was not injured. Police said two suspects fled the scene on a motorcycle trip. Police are investigating circumstances of the shooting.
Unknown persons fired at a house in Shlomi. A 47-year-old man who lives at home was not injured. Police said two suspects fled the scene on a motorcycle trip. Police are investigating circumstances of the shooting.
22 aug 2013
Hashemite Kingdom, thirsty for water due to huge influx of Syrian refugees, to get Kinneret water in return for desalinated water from Aqaba plant
Israel and Jordan are holding advanced negotiations over water exchanges between the two sides, Ynet has learned.
According to the developing outline, a water desalination plant will be built in Aqaba, and Jordan will supply Israel with the product to be used in the Negev.
In return, Israel will supply Jordan with water from the Kinneret to be used in the north of the Hashemite Kingdom.
This outline is meant to save Jordanians the transport costs involved in moving water from southern to northern Jordan.
The sides are attempting to create an alternative for the outline agreed upon in the 1994 peace accords, according to which Israel supplies Jordan with 50 million cubic meters of water annually.
Jordan's Prime Minister Abdullah a-Nasour confirmed this week that the kingdom will indeed trade water with Israel. In a press conference in Amman, the prime minister said "we need water in the north, and Israel wants water in the south."
A few weeks ago the Jordanian Water and Agriculture Minister Hazem Nasser revealed that Jordan has adopted a new plan to desalinate water from the Red Sea.
According to the minister, Jordan will issue a tender by the end of 2013 for the construction of the plant, and the laying of a pipe between it and the Dead Sea, spilling there whatever water is left.
Water shortage
The main obstacle facing the project is financial. The World Bank is ready to grant Jordan five billion dollars, but conditions it on cutting subsidies, which the kingdom has yet to comply with.
In addition, Jordan will have to come up with $2.6 billion on its own, which does not seem likely at the moment.
The project has also come under fire from environmental organizations, concerned with the possible damage to the Dead Sea should left-over water be funneled to it from the Aqaba plant.
In recent months Israel raised the amount of water it pipes to Jordan in order to help its neighbor handle the severe water shortage it is facing, also caused by the new demand posed by the gargantuan influx of Syrian refugees into the country.
The number of Syrians fleeing into Jordan from the civil war in their country has crossed the half million mark in the sparsely populated country of 6.3 million.
Improving ties
In addition to the extra three million additional cubic meters of water, Israel has also sold Jordan with 13 million cubic meters of water at cost.
"Creative ideas for the cooperation between Israel and Jordan in the field of water should be welcomed," said Gideon Bromberg, CEO of the Friends of Earth organization, which work to tighten the ties between the two countries in environmental and water issues.
"One of the immediate benefits of the project for Israel is a future solution for water supply to Eilat and the Arava area.
"In light of the city's expected growth and shortage of drinking water, the project exempts Israel from the need to build its own desalination plant in Eilat or connect to the National Water Carrier, steps which would carry much higher costs.
"Another immediate benefit is the improving of ties between Israel and Jordan, which creates a mutual dependency on regional stability for both sides."
Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom's office told Ynet: "The minister is actively pushing this project forward. The matter is yet to be finalized, but it's in its advanced stages."
The minister's office confirmed that a larger amount of water than agreed upon in the peace accords was transferred to Jordan, and said that "we have a chance to help to everyone's benefit."
Israel and Jordan are holding advanced negotiations over water exchanges between the two sides, Ynet has learned.
According to the developing outline, a water desalination plant will be built in Aqaba, and Jordan will supply Israel with the product to be used in the Negev.
In return, Israel will supply Jordan with water from the Kinneret to be used in the north of the Hashemite Kingdom.
This outline is meant to save Jordanians the transport costs involved in moving water from southern to northern Jordan.
The sides are attempting to create an alternative for the outline agreed upon in the 1994 peace accords, according to which Israel supplies Jordan with 50 million cubic meters of water annually.
Jordan's Prime Minister Abdullah a-Nasour confirmed this week that the kingdom will indeed trade water with Israel. In a press conference in Amman, the prime minister said "we need water in the north, and Israel wants water in the south."
A few weeks ago the Jordanian Water and Agriculture Minister Hazem Nasser revealed that Jordan has adopted a new plan to desalinate water from the Red Sea.
According to the minister, Jordan will issue a tender by the end of 2013 for the construction of the plant, and the laying of a pipe between it and the Dead Sea, spilling there whatever water is left.
Water shortage
The main obstacle facing the project is financial. The World Bank is ready to grant Jordan five billion dollars, but conditions it on cutting subsidies, which the kingdom has yet to comply with.
In addition, Jordan will have to come up with $2.6 billion on its own, which does not seem likely at the moment.
The project has also come under fire from environmental organizations, concerned with the possible damage to the Dead Sea should left-over water be funneled to it from the Aqaba plant.
In recent months Israel raised the amount of water it pipes to Jordan in order to help its neighbor handle the severe water shortage it is facing, also caused by the new demand posed by the gargantuan influx of Syrian refugees into the country.
The number of Syrians fleeing into Jordan from the civil war in their country has crossed the half million mark in the sparsely populated country of 6.3 million.
Improving ties
In addition to the extra three million additional cubic meters of water, Israel has also sold Jordan with 13 million cubic meters of water at cost.
"Creative ideas for the cooperation between Israel and Jordan in the field of water should be welcomed," said Gideon Bromberg, CEO of the Friends of Earth organization, which work to tighten the ties between the two countries in environmental and water issues.
"One of the immediate benefits of the project for Israel is a future solution for water supply to Eilat and the Arava area.
"In light of the city's expected growth and shortage of drinking water, the project exempts Israel from the need to build its own desalination plant in Eilat or connect to the National Water Carrier, steps which would carry much higher costs.
"Another immediate benefit is the improving of ties between Israel and Jordan, which creates a mutual dependency on regional stability for both sides."
Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom's office told Ynet: "The minister is actively pushing this project forward. The matter is yet to be finalized, but it's in its advanced stages."
The minister's office confirmed that a larger amount of water than agreed upon in the peace accords was transferred to Jordan, and said that "we have a chance to help to everyone's benefit."
A 16-year-old girl was stabbed by a foreign national along Tel Aviv's beach.
The events circumstances are unclear. An MDA paramedic team evacuated her to the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in moderate condition while knife was still lodged in her stomach.
The events circumstances are unclear. An MDA paramedic team evacuated her to the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in moderate condition while knife was still lodged in her stomach.
Tomato prices in the West Bank have dropped due to imports from Israel, prompting farmers and merchants to urge for intervention by the ministry of agriculture to protect local products.
At the same time, consumers are welcoming the low prices which fell to a half a shekel per kilo as a result of the surplus after local and imported products flooded Palestinian markets.
Muhammad Hamdan, a Palestinian shopper, told Ma’an Wednesday he hoped the ministry of agriculture would “allow importing other vegetables in order to lower prices and help Palestinian citizens face the dire economic conditions.”
He noted that a kilo of tomatos reached 10 shekels at some points in 2013.
Local merchant Abdul-Raof Ideis says the current prices are the result of a huge surplus in local markets because large quantities are being imported from Israel while the local harvest is already flooding the market.
An official in the ministry of agriculture told Ma'an that it had already warned merchants in the central farmers market in Hebron to avoid importing tomatoes from Israel except with a special permit.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, added that the ministry would start Thursday dumping tomatoes imported from Israel in an attempt to protect national products.
At the same time, consumers are welcoming the low prices which fell to a half a shekel per kilo as a result of the surplus after local and imported products flooded Palestinian markets.
Muhammad Hamdan, a Palestinian shopper, told Ma’an Wednesday he hoped the ministry of agriculture would “allow importing other vegetables in order to lower prices and help Palestinian citizens face the dire economic conditions.”
He noted that a kilo of tomatos reached 10 shekels at some points in 2013.
Local merchant Abdul-Raof Ideis says the current prices are the result of a huge surplus in local markets because large quantities are being imported from Israel while the local harvest is already flooding the market.
An official in the ministry of agriculture told Ma'an that it had already warned merchants in the central farmers market in Hebron to avoid importing tomatoes from Israel except with a special permit.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, added that the ministry would start Thursday dumping tomatoes imported from Israel in an attempt to protect national products.
21 aug 2013
The former foreign minister slammed the Turkish PM for his claims Tuesday that Israel was behind the military coup that ousted Egypt's President Morsi.
A day after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed that Israel was behind the coup that ousted Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi, former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman responded, saying that he is the successor to Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels.
Erdogan told members of his party on Tuesday that "Israel is behind the coup in Egypt, we have evidence." Erdogan mentioned the words of a French Jewish intellectual as evidence, who said in 2011 that the Muslim Brotherhood will not take power even if they were to be elected since "democracy is not the ballot box." Erdogan's comments were broadcast on state television.
On a tour of Arad on Wednesday, Lieberman, who is currrently chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said that "anyone who heard Erdogan's words, which were filled with hate and incitement, understands without any doubt that this is a continuation of the way of Goebbels."
"His plottings are along the lines of the Dreyfus Affair and the Elders of Zion," he added, referring to two well-known instances of anti-Semitism.
Lieberman added that he "recommends that everyone that attacked me and Yisrael Beitenu on their absolute opposition to apologize to the Turks about the Marmara (the Gaza Flotilla) incident, to draw conclusions and hold themselves to account."
Erdogan's comments on Tuesday sparked global condemnation. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters the U.S. strongly condemned the claims. "Suggesting that Israel is somehow responsible for recent events in Egypt is offensive, unsubstantiated, and wrong," he said.
In March, reconciliation efforts between Israel and Turkey began after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Erdogan to apologize for the botched raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in 2010 that killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American.
Erdogan suggested that normalization of ties with Israel would take time, hinting that Turkey wanted to ensure the victims of the flotilla raid were compensated and Israel remained committed to the easing of restrictions of goods to Gaza before restoring relations. The two countries have yet to decide on the exact sum of compensation that would be given to the flotilla victims' families.
US slams Erdogan Israel claim on Morsi ouster
The White House on Tuesday condemned Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's claim that Israel had a role in toppling ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the comments were "offensive and unsubstantiated and wrong."
A day after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed that Israel was behind the coup that ousted Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi, former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman responded, saying that he is the successor to Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels.
Erdogan told members of his party on Tuesday that "Israel is behind the coup in Egypt, we have evidence." Erdogan mentioned the words of a French Jewish intellectual as evidence, who said in 2011 that the Muslim Brotherhood will not take power even if they were to be elected since "democracy is not the ballot box." Erdogan's comments were broadcast on state television.
On a tour of Arad on Wednesday, Lieberman, who is currrently chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said that "anyone who heard Erdogan's words, which were filled with hate and incitement, understands without any doubt that this is a continuation of the way of Goebbels."
"His plottings are along the lines of the Dreyfus Affair and the Elders of Zion," he added, referring to two well-known instances of anti-Semitism.
Lieberman added that he "recommends that everyone that attacked me and Yisrael Beitenu on their absolute opposition to apologize to the Turks about the Marmara (the Gaza Flotilla) incident, to draw conclusions and hold themselves to account."
Erdogan's comments on Tuesday sparked global condemnation. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters the U.S. strongly condemned the claims. "Suggesting that Israel is somehow responsible for recent events in Egypt is offensive, unsubstantiated, and wrong," he said.
In March, reconciliation efforts between Israel and Turkey began after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Erdogan to apologize for the botched raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in 2010 that killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American.
Erdogan suggested that normalization of ties with Israel would take time, hinting that Turkey wanted to ensure the victims of the flotilla raid were compensated and Israel remained committed to the easing of restrictions of goods to Gaza before restoring relations. The two countries have yet to decide on the exact sum of compensation that would be given to the flotilla victims' families.
US slams Erdogan Israel claim on Morsi ouster
The White House on Tuesday condemned Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's claim that Israel had a role in toppling ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the comments were "offensive and unsubstantiated and wrong."
As her spouse, a citizen of Jerusalem, died
Israeli ministry of interior intends to expel a Palestinian woman with her six children from Jerusalem, because she did not acquire a residence permit in the city after her husband, originally from Jerusalem, died, Haaretz newspaper reported Wednesday.
A patrol of Israeli border guards inspected documents of Palestinians wanting to travel from the city and found that Nuhail Rigby, a former resident of the West Bank, does not have permission to stay in Jerusalem.
The newspaper added the officer contacted the ministry which then ordered the expulsion of the Palestinian mother Nuhail, although her six children hold Jerusalem citizenship.
Nuhail has not received a formal response as she filed a request to the ministry in order to obtain a residence certificate to stay with her children.
Israeli ministry of interior intends to expel a Palestinian woman with her six children from Jerusalem, because she did not acquire a residence permit in the city after her husband, originally from Jerusalem, died, Haaretz newspaper reported Wednesday.
A patrol of Israeli border guards inspected documents of Palestinians wanting to travel from the city and found that Nuhail Rigby, a former resident of the West Bank, does not have permission to stay in Jerusalem.
The newspaper added the officer contacted the ministry which then ordered the expulsion of the Palestinian mother Nuhail, although her six children hold Jerusalem citizenship.
Nuhail has not received a formal response as she filed a request to the ministry in order to obtain a residence certificate to stay with her children.
The city of Brussels refused to register the name of a locally born Israeli baby because Jerusalem does not appear on a list of approved names for children born in the country. Hagar and Alinadav Hyman, Israelis who have lived and worked in Brussels for the last three years, decided to name their first-born Alma Jerusalem.
“We are both Jerusalemites, we grew up in Jerusalem, we met in Jerusalem and we very much miss the city, so we decided to call our first child Jerusalem,” Alinadav Hyman told JSSNews.
The Brussels City Hall clerk offered to compromise, telling the couple that if it obtained an official letter from the Israeli embassy confirming that Jerusalem is a valid name, then it would issue a Belgian birth certificate for the baby.
Hagar told JSSNews that the clerk told him the name Bethlehem appeared on the list of approved names. He also said a Finnish man in line next to him gave his child a name in his local tongue that was 25 letters long.
“We are both Jerusalemites, we grew up in Jerusalem, we met in Jerusalem and we very much miss the city, so we decided to call our first child Jerusalem,” Alinadav Hyman told JSSNews.
The Brussels City Hall clerk offered to compromise, telling the couple that if it obtained an official letter from the Israeli embassy confirming that Jerusalem is a valid name, then it would issue a Belgian birth certificate for the baby.
Hagar told JSSNews that the clerk told him the name Bethlehem appeared on the list of approved names. He also said a Finnish man in line next to him gave his child a name in his local tongue that was 25 letters long.
20 aug 2013
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While we’re used to the realities of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land being airbrushed from BBC output, a new, alarming and very real trend has emerged — that of pro-Palestinian sentiment actively being censored by the broadcaster.
BBC viewers will witness the latest act in this trend on Friday, when BBC Four will broadcast a concert featuring the world-famous violinist Nigel Kennedy and young Palestinian musicians from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, based in the occupied West Bank. The concert, originally performed on 8 August, was part of the annual BBC Proms staged in London’s Royal Albert Hall. As it neared its end, Kennedy told a cheering audience: “It’s a bit facile to say it, but we all know from the |
experience of this night of music that giving equality and getting rid of apartheid gives a beautiful chance for things to happen.”
His comments were heard in a live broadcast of the concert on BBC Radio 3, and were included in an audio recording which could be accessed via the BBC’s website for the following seven days.
However, they will be edited from the television broadcast on Friday.
Responding to an email query from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), a BBC spokesperson said: “Nigel’s comment to the audience at his Late Night Prom on 8 August will not be included in the deferred BBC Four broadcast on 23 August because it does not fall within the editorial remit of the Proms as a classical music festival.”
Political interference
This reasoning apparently didn’t apply to the BBC 3 recording available for seven days on the BBC’s website, which did not redact Kennedy’s remarks. However, when that recording was made available there had not yet been any political interference in the matter.
This came later in the form of Baroness Deech, a member of the House of Lords, who lobbied the BBC, calling the comments “offensive and untrue.”
Her demand to the BBC that the words be removed from the television broadcast was made despite the fact that the BBC, under the terms of its Royal Charter, is meant to be independent of Parliament.
Nevertheless, the supposedly impartial BBC appears to have complied and Kennedy’s remarks, intended to let the world know that the young musicians on stage with him suffer from inequality and apartheid under Israeli occupation, will be duly censored.
This is not the first time a renowned artist has been censored by the BBC at the Proms for attempting to highlight the struggle of the Palestinian people against Israeli occupation.
Last year, the film director Ken Loach attended a Proms performance by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which consists of Israeli, Palestinian and other Arab musicians.
He was interviewed by the BBC during the interval.
Ken Loach censored
Loach later informed The Electronic Intifada that he told the interviewer: “Seeing Israelis and Arabs, including Palestinians, sitting side by side on the stage makes us confront the issue of the continuing oppression of the Palestinian people, and I shall be thinking of them when I hear the music tonight.”
Those words were cut from the interview when the concert was broadcast on television, with the BBC claiming time constraints as the reason for not including them.
A year earlier, in 2011, it had to forage for a different excuse when it edited the words “free Palestine” from a freestyle rap performed by the artist Mic Righteous on a BBC Radio 1Xtra show.
Performing on the Charlie Sloth Hip Hop M1X in February, Mic Righteous freestyled a composition about the price he’s paid for fame. But despite being famous, he said: “I can still scream ‘free Palestine’ for my pride/Still pray for peace.”
When the performance was broadcast, and again when it was repeated in April, the words “free Palestine” had been removed and replaced with the sound of breaking glass.
In response to complaints from the PSC, the BBC originally said the words had been cut because they might prove offensive to some.
When pressed on who might be offended by a call for an end to occupation, the BBC’s then head of editorial standards for audio and music, Paul Smith, said that the show’s producer “did not edit out the word ‘Palestine’ because it was offensive — referencing Palestine is fine, but implying that it is not free is the contentious issue.”
Democracy or dictatorship?
The BBC’s latest excuse for censorship — that Kennedy’s comments do not fit an editorial remit — is depressingly familiar. In April this year, BBC Four pulled from its schedule a documentary which provided archeological evidence suggesting that the Jewish exile of 70AD was a myth. It is on this story of exile that Zionism bases the “right” of the Jewish people to “return” and colonize Palestinian land.
When asked why the documentary, billed as part of a season on archeology, had been removed at the last minute, the BBC said “the film did not fit the season editorially and was not shown.”
Censoring artists and suppressing free speech and political dissent is the norm for state broadcasters in dictatorships across the world. What is worrying is when we start to see this kind of censorship being practiced by our own state broadcaster, the BBC. In a democracy, should the public not be allowed to know that Israel is engaging in apartheid and that the Palestinians are suffering as a result?
The BBC says it will not broadcast Kennedy’s Prom remarks because they do not suit a program on classical music. And yet, for centuries, art and music has been used to make political statements. Why is it so frightening for the BBC when the political statements in question turn the spotlight on Israel’s occupation and attempted subjugation of the Palestinian people?
It is understandable that Israel, the occupier, would try and stop that spotlight from being shone. What is the BBC’s excuse?
This article was originally posted on The Electronic Intifada.
His comments were heard in a live broadcast of the concert on BBC Radio 3, and were included in an audio recording which could be accessed via the BBC’s website for the following seven days.
However, they will be edited from the television broadcast on Friday.
Responding to an email query from the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), a BBC spokesperson said: “Nigel’s comment to the audience at his Late Night Prom on 8 August will not be included in the deferred BBC Four broadcast on 23 August because it does not fall within the editorial remit of the Proms as a classical music festival.”
Political interference
This reasoning apparently didn’t apply to the BBC 3 recording available for seven days on the BBC’s website, which did not redact Kennedy’s remarks. However, when that recording was made available there had not yet been any political interference in the matter.
This came later in the form of Baroness Deech, a member of the House of Lords, who lobbied the BBC, calling the comments “offensive and untrue.”
Her demand to the BBC that the words be removed from the television broadcast was made despite the fact that the BBC, under the terms of its Royal Charter, is meant to be independent of Parliament.
Nevertheless, the supposedly impartial BBC appears to have complied and Kennedy’s remarks, intended to let the world know that the young musicians on stage with him suffer from inequality and apartheid under Israeli occupation, will be duly censored.
This is not the first time a renowned artist has been censored by the BBC at the Proms for attempting to highlight the struggle of the Palestinian people against Israeli occupation.
Last year, the film director Ken Loach attended a Proms performance by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which consists of Israeli, Palestinian and other Arab musicians.
He was interviewed by the BBC during the interval.
Ken Loach censored
Loach later informed The Electronic Intifada that he told the interviewer: “Seeing Israelis and Arabs, including Palestinians, sitting side by side on the stage makes us confront the issue of the continuing oppression of the Palestinian people, and I shall be thinking of them when I hear the music tonight.”
Those words were cut from the interview when the concert was broadcast on television, with the BBC claiming time constraints as the reason for not including them.
A year earlier, in 2011, it had to forage for a different excuse when it edited the words “free Palestine” from a freestyle rap performed by the artist Mic Righteous on a BBC Radio 1Xtra show.
Performing on the Charlie Sloth Hip Hop M1X in February, Mic Righteous freestyled a composition about the price he’s paid for fame. But despite being famous, he said: “I can still scream ‘free Palestine’ for my pride/Still pray for peace.”
When the performance was broadcast, and again when it was repeated in April, the words “free Palestine” had been removed and replaced with the sound of breaking glass.
In response to complaints from the PSC, the BBC originally said the words had been cut because they might prove offensive to some.
When pressed on who might be offended by a call for an end to occupation, the BBC’s then head of editorial standards for audio and music, Paul Smith, said that the show’s producer “did not edit out the word ‘Palestine’ because it was offensive — referencing Palestine is fine, but implying that it is not free is the contentious issue.”
Democracy or dictatorship?
The BBC’s latest excuse for censorship — that Kennedy’s comments do not fit an editorial remit — is depressingly familiar. In April this year, BBC Four pulled from its schedule a documentary which provided archeological evidence suggesting that the Jewish exile of 70AD was a myth. It is on this story of exile that Zionism bases the “right” of the Jewish people to “return” and colonize Palestinian land.
When asked why the documentary, billed as part of a season on archeology, had been removed at the last minute, the BBC said “the film did not fit the season editorially and was not shown.”
Censoring artists and suppressing free speech and political dissent is the norm for state broadcasters in dictatorships across the world. What is worrying is when we start to see this kind of censorship being practiced by our own state broadcaster, the BBC. In a democracy, should the public not be allowed to know that Israel is engaging in apartheid and that the Palestinians are suffering as a result?
The BBC says it will not broadcast Kennedy’s Prom remarks because they do not suit a program on classical music. And yet, for centuries, art and music has been used to make political statements. Why is it so frightening for the BBC when the political statements in question turn the spotlight on Israel’s occupation and attempted subjugation of the Palestinian people?
It is understandable that Israel, the occupier, would try and stop that spotlight from being shone. What is the BBC’s excuse?
This article was originally posted on The Electronic Intifada.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Israel was behind last month’s military coup in Egypt. Erdogan told a meeting of the provincial chairs of his ruling Justice and Development, or AKP, party that he has evidence that Israel was involved in the July 3 overthrow of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, the Turkish Hurriyet news service reported.
“Who is behind this? Israel. We have evidence,” the prime minister said, according to Hurriyet.
He cited as proof a statement by a French intellectual he identified as Jewish, who told the Israeli justice minister during a visit to France before Egypt’s 2011 elections, “The Muslim Brotherhood will not be in power even if they win the elections. Because democracy is not the ballot box,” Hurriyet reported.
The White House condemned Erdogan’s remarks.
“Suggesting that Israel is somehow responsible for recent events in Egypt is offensive, unsubstantiated and wrong,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters later Tuesday.
Turkey downgraded diplomatic ties with Israel and later expelled Israel’s ambassador following the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident in May 2010 that resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish nationals in a confrontation with Israeli Navy commandos. The ship was trying to evade Israel’s maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Erdogan in March for the incident, and representatives of the countries have met for reconciliation talks. The talks reportedly are held up over the amount of compensation that Israel is to pay to the families of the Turkish casualties and how the payments are to be characterized.
“Who is behind this? Israel. We have evidence,” the prime minister said, according to Hurriyet.
He cited as proof a statement by a French intellectual he identified as Jewish, who told the Israeli justice minister during a visit to France before Egypt’s 2011 elections, “The Muslim Brotherhood will not be in power even if they win the elections. Because democracy is not the ballot box,” Hurriyet reported.
The White House condemned Erdogan’s remarks.
“Suggesting that Israel is somehow responsible for recent events in Egypt is offensive, unsubstantiated and wrong,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters later Tuesday.
Turkey downgraded diplomatic ties with Israel and later expelled Israel’s ambassador following the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident in May 2010 that resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish nationals in a confrontation with Israeli Navy commandos. The ship was trying to evade Israel’s maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Erdogan in March for the incident, and representatives of the countries have met for reconciliation talks. The talks reportedly are held up over the amount of compensation that Israel is to pay to the families of the Turkish casualties and how the payments are to be characterized.