Gunmen wearing the headbands of the armed wing of Hamas shot and wounded three civilians in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, last Thursday evening, a leading human rights organization reported on Sunday.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights’ (PCHR) investigation found that at around 9:30pm on Thursday, gunmen fired at three young men near the As-Sultan apartment building in the city of Jabaliya.
PCHR identified the three wounded men as:
Isma’il Mohammed Mousa Dardona, 30, who was wounded by six bullets to the feet and sustained shrapnel wounds;
Mus’ab Mohammed Ibrahim Dardona, 29, who was wounded by three bullets to his left leg and 10 shrapnel wounds throughout the body; and
Khaled Mohammed Mohammed Dardona, 30, who was wounded by three bullets to the feet.
In addition, a bystander, Yousif Khamis Jneid, 24, was wounded in the feet by two bullets.
One of the wounded civilians, Khaled Dardona, said that gunmen wearing on their heads signs with “Izz Addin Al-Qassam Brigades” fired at him and at his two companions from a distance of approximately five meters. Khaled told PCHR that he fled to a nearby pharmacy, while his companions fell to the ground and the gunmen continued to fire at them.
He added that immediately after the incident, a white Land Rover arrived at the scene, and gunmen in civilian clothes stepped down from the car. The gunmen took him and Isma’il to the car and transferred them to the Kamal ‘Odwan Hospital. Local civilians brought the third wounded civilian to hospital in a civilians’ car.
Captain Atef al-Louh, Director of Jabalia Police Station, told PCHR that the police have opened an investigation into the incident. Police have checked the scene and taken testimonies from eyewitnesses.
Source: Maan News Agency
4/20/2009
UN human rights chief “shocked” at US boycott of racism summit
The UN’s highest authority on human rights said she was “shocked and deeply disappointed” at a US decision to boycott the Durban Review Conference against racism, which opens on Monday in Geneva.
"I am shocked and deeply disappointed by the United States decision not to attend a conference that aims to combat racism, xenophobia, racial discrimination and other forms of intolerance worldwide," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay in a statement released on the conference’s official website on Sunday.
US president Barack Obama confirmed on Sunday that the US would join Australia, Canada, Israel and Italy in refusing to attend the meeting, which is aimed at reviewing goals set out in Durban, South Africa in 2001.
The US and Israel stormed out of the original Durban summit over remarks that identified Israel as a perpetrator of racism towards Palestinians.
The 64-page Declaration and Program of Action (DDPA) endorsed at the conference affirms “the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the establishment of an independent State.” The document also says that “the Holocaust must never be forgotten.”
Though the 17-page document for this year’s review conference removes all references to the Palestinians, the US says the current draft does not go far enough by not negating the offending sections of the 2001 declaration.
"I would love to be involved in a useful conference that addressed continuing issues of racism and discrimination around the globe," Obama said in Trinidad on Sunday after attending the Summit of the Americas, according to AP.
But he said the draft declaration reaffirms the whole of the document from the 2001 summit at which "folks expressed antagonism toward Israel in ways that were often times completely hypocritical and counterproductive."
"We expressed in the run-up to this conference our concerns that if you adopted all of the language from 2001, that's not something we can sign up for," Obama said, according to AP.
UN High Commissioner Pillay responded to this concern in her statement, saying, "I believe that difficulty could have been overcome. It would have been possible to make it clear in a footnote that the US had not affirmed the original document and therefore is not in a position to reaffirm it, which is a routine practice in multilateral negotiations to enable consensus-building while allowing for individual positions to be expressed. … And then we could have all moved on together, and put the problems of 2001 behind us."
"I fail to see why, given that the Middle East is not mentioned in this document, that politics related to the Middle East continue to intrude into the process," Pillay said.
Source: Maan News Agency
Philippines: ICRC confirms kidnapped staff member is free
Manila / Geneva (ICRC) – Andreas Notter, one of three International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) staff members, who were abducted in the southern Philippines on 15 January, is now free. He spent 93 days in captivity.
Mr Notter is being looked after by colleagues from the ICRC. He is safe, well and happy that he will soon be back with his family. However, his thoughts are with Eugenio Vagni, with whom he shared the kidnapping ordeal and who is not yet free.
The ICRC was informed that Mr Notter was free by the Philippine authorities at around 8:00am Manila time on 18 April.
“We are, of course, very relieved that Andreas will soon be back in the arms of his loved ones,” said Alain Aeschlimann, the ICRC's head of operations for East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific. “But we remain very concerned about Eugenio’s safety and we call on the abductors to let him go safely, immediately and unconditionally.”
Referring to recent official and behind-the-scenes endeavours to resolve the ordeal, Mr Aeschlimann said the ICRC appreciated all genuine efforts that had been made by national and local authorities.
Mr Notter and Mr Vagni were kidnapped in mid-January, along with Mary Jean Lacaba, near the Jolo Provincial jail, where they were working on a water and sanitation project. Mrs Lacaba was released on 2 April.
Sudan: responding to humanitarian needs in rural areas
Over recent weeks, the ICRC has helped to fight a meningitis outbreak in Darfur. Along the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the ICRC has assisted 18,000 people displaced by violence.
A meningitis outbreak in Darfur
In close cooperation with the Sudanese Red Crescent and other components of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the ICRC is responding to life-threatening situations, including those emanating from the gap left by international non-governmental organisations expelled in March, especially in remote areas of Darfur where few other humanitarian organizations are working.
On 27 March, the ICRC started a vaccination campaign against the deadly disease of meningitis in the towns of Kutrum, Kati and Thur and their surrounding areas in the region of Jebel Marra, in central Darfur. The Ministry of Health had declared an outbreak of the disease on 11 March. ICRC health staff are supervising the campaign, while the WHO and UNICEF, along with the Khartoum-based MSF-Switzerland, are supplying the vaccines.
Fifteen ICRC staff have joined forces with dozens of Sudanese-trained vaccinators to contain the disease as quickly as possible by focusing their efforts on specific areas.
"This operation is difficult to coordinate, since it involves such factors as maintaining the cold chain and ensuring that the medical supplies used are in suitable condition," said Vincent Ochilet, head of the ICRC's sub-delegation in Zalingei. "The security situation will also affect the pace at which the vaccinations take place and the extent of the territory covered."
Sudan is part of what is commonly called Sub-Saharan Africa's "meningitis belt," which extends from Ethiopia in the east to Guinea-Bissau and Gambia in the west, and includes Chad and the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Uganda and Kenya. This new wave of meningitis broke out in February 2009 and has already affected dozens of people, resulting in several deaths in the area of Western Jebel Marra.
"A decade has passed since the last big outbreak and we have to be vigilant," said Frances Devlin, ICRC primary health coordinator in Sudan. "Communication within Jebel Marra is very difficult and there may be other pockets of meningitis we are not aware of."
So far, 31,323 people in Kutrum, Thur, Kurfal, Buldong and Kati have been vaccinated and the campaign is moving to Gildo next week. The objective is to vaccinate more than 65 percent of the population between 2 and 30 years of age in this mountainous region exposed to the disease.
Clean drinking water for displaced people in Muhajiriyya, South Darfur
Tens of thousands of people displaced from the Muhajiriyya and Labado areas are said to have sought refuge in and around Khazzan Jadeed after an armed opposition group launched a military offensive against the towns.
ICRC water engineers spent two days and two nights in the Khazzan Jadeed area repairing 17 hand pumps, thus bringing clean drinking water to the local communities and the displaced people there. They also trained eight local water technicians to maintain the pumps and supplied the town’s water committee with the tools needed for regular maintenance of all 28 hand pumps in the area. Meanwhile, in Labado, the ICRC set up a water distribution point by manufacturing and erecting a water tower and extending pipes from a new borehole to the water tank.
An earlier ICRC assessment had reported that access to water in both areas was very poor and could lead to communal tensions. More than half of the hand pumps in the Khazzan Jadeed area needed repairs.
Emergency aid for victims of Malakal fighting
Heavy fighting at the end of February between Sudanese Army units and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in the southern city of Malakal left dozens of people dead and injured.
With the agreement of both parties to the conflict, ICRC staff contacted the Malakal Civil Hospital – the main hospital in the city, where most civilian and some military casualties are taken – for information about its needs.
"Two days after the fighting began, ICRC aircraft delivered urgently needed medical supplies and evacuated some of the wounded soldiers to Khartoum for further treatment," said Olivier Charmes, the ICRC delegate in charge of the Malakal operation.
Kits for treating war-wounded people, dressing materials and other medical supplies were donated to the Malakal Civil Hospital and two military medical units to enable both sides to deal with the large number of casualties.
A military hospital belonging to the United Nations Mission in Sudan received at least 10 military and civilian casualties. With the agreement of all parties involved, the ICRC arranged to transfer some of the wounded military personnel from this hospital to their own areas after they received treatment.
The Sudanese Red Crescent branch in Malakal helped collect dead bodies and take them to the hospital. A total of 31 civilians were reported to have lost their lives and 52 to have been injured.
Essential assistance for displaced people in the south
For several months now, following an upsurge in violence caused by the Lord's Resistance Army, people have been crossing into Southern Sudan from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in search of safety.
The violence spilled over into Southern Sudan, forcing Congolese refugees and Sudanese civilians to leave everything behind and flee to the Sudanese states of Western and Central Equatoria. More than 43,500 Sudanese are estimated to be displaced inside the country, with nearly 18,000 Congolese seeking refuge in Southern Sudan. Among the refugees are unaccompanied children, some of whom are too young to explain who they are or where they came from.
ICRC staff in Juba and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, along with their partners from the Sudanese Red Crescent Society and the Red Cross Society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo,are tracing displaced persons and unaccompanied children in the area. The ICRC is also providing displaced children and their host families with clean drinking water and household essentials.
Thanks to the cross-border Red Cross and Red Crescent network, news has been conveyed between people separated by the latest upsurge of violence, and several children have been able to return to their families. For those still waiting to be reunited with their loved ones, however, the anguish continues.
By March, nearly 18,000 people had received blankets, kitchen sets, plastic sheeting, soap and jerrycans in Maridi, Ezo and Naandi in Western Equatoria.
4/18/2009
In memoriam Edu
Eduardo Rozsa Flores (Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 1960. March 31. - Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 2009. April 16) Hungarian actor, writer, publicist.
Eduardo Rózsa-Flores
FAREWELL
I can see already my
Wonderful but
Passing
Body
Nicely stretched out.
/Loneliness is big here.
Silence, total
All the little spots are filled
with
Bitterness and shadows./
Outside, the unbridled four horsemen
of the Apocalypse
Treading on virginal pure dreams of
little girls
Screams – long and mind-shattering –
Stream in through the window
There's life out there, still
The fight goes on
I am receding now, with
Deserved angelic wings earned,
in loneliness.
The Only One's all encompassing
Embrace awaits me.
FAREWELL
I can see already my
Wonderful but
Passing
Body
Nicely stretched out.
/Loneliness is big here.
Silence, total
All the little spots are filled
with
Bitterness and shadows./
Outside, the unbridled four horsemen
of the Apocalypse
Treading on virginal pure dreams of
little girls
Screams – long and mind-shattering –
Stream in through the window
There's life out there, still
The fight goes on
I am receding now, with
Deserved angelic wings earned,
in loneliness.
The Only One's all encompassing
Embrace awaits me.
Rest in peace my Brother!
Bolivia Police Uncover Plot to Assassinate President
Bolivian police say they broke an armed international group on Thursday that was plotting to assassinate President Evo Morales and the vice president.
Three suspects were killed and two were arrested in a half-hour long shootout with officers in the eastern city of Santa Cruz, police said. The area is the center of political opposition to Morales.
Police confiscated explosives, high-caliber weapons and plans to follow the president's motorcade, Police Commander Victor Hugo Escobar said in a news conference.
They included C-4 explosives "that don't exist in Bolivia," Vice President Alvaro Garcia said.
Morales told journalists in Venezuela's seaside city of Cumana that he and Garcia were the targets.
"I had information several days ago that they were preparing an assassination attempt," Morales said. "Yesterday, I gave the vice president and the commander of the national police instructions to stage an operation and detain those mercenaries."
Escobar said that among those killed were Hungarians, while Garcia said in a statement that the band was composed of Croatians, Irish and Bolivian "far right."
Among the seized weapons were rifles with telescopic sights. Documents were seized "pertaining not only to past events but future attacks against the highest authorities of the national government," Garcia said.
Police are searching for other suspects, adding "there are other cells," he added.
Police said the group also is responsible for a dynamite attack Wednesday on the home of Bolivia's Catholic Cardinal Julio Terrazas, who was not home at the time.
Santa Cruz Gov. Ruben Costas said in a news conference that local police were not involved in the operation and suggested that it was staged to discredit his government.
"The government for three years has repeated allegations of a coup but has never shown any evidence," Costas said.
Costas promotes the autonomy of the region along with other opposition governors.
Garcia called his comments "regrettable."
Witnesses told the radio station Fides that the shooting began at 4 a.m. and lasted half an hour. The windows of the hotel were destroyed.
Source: AP
Three suspects were killed and two were arrested in a half-hour long shootout with officers in the eastern city of Santa Cruz, police said. The area is the center of political opposition to Morales.
Police confiscated explosives, high-caliber weapons and plans to follow the president's motorcade, Police Commander Victor Hugo Escobar said in a news conference.
They included C-4 explosives "that don't exist in Bolivia," Vice President Alvaro Garcia said.
Morales told journalists in Venezuela's seaside city of Cumana that he and Garcia were the targets.
"I had information several days ago that they were preparing an assassination attempt," Morales said. "Yesterday, I gave the vice president and the commander of the national police instructions to stage an operation and detain those mercenaries."
Escobar said that among those killed were Hungarians, while Garcia said in a statement that the band was composed of Croatians, Irish and Bolivian "far right."
Among the seized weapons were rifles with telescopic sights. Documents were seized "pertaining not only to past events but future attacks against the highest authorities of the national government," Garcia said.
Police are searching for other suspects, adding "there are other cells," he added.
Police said the group also is responsible for a dynamite attack Wednesday on the home of Bolivia's Catholic Cardinal Julio Terrazas, who was not home at the time.
Santa Cruz Gov. Ruben Costas said in a news conference that local police were not involved in the operation and suggested that it was staged to discredit his government.
"The government for three years has repeated allegations of a coup but has never shown any evidence," Costas said.
Costas promotes the autonomy of the region along with other opposition governors.
Garcia called his comments "regrettable."
Witnesses told the radio station Fides that the shooting began at 4 a.m. and lasted half an hour. The windows of the hotel were destroyed.
Source: AP
Home Business & Finance News U.S. Politics International Technology Entertainment Sports Lifestyle Oddly Enough Environment Health Science Special Co
Bolivia launched an investigation on Friday into a suspected militant group that police say was plotting to kill President Evo Morales, but the opposition slammed the probe as an "international show."
Three suspected mercenaries were killed in a shootout on Thursday in the anti-Morales stronghold of Santa Cruz after police moved to arrest a gang that officials say traveled from Ireland or Croatia to kill leading public figures in the Andean nation.
"The investigative work is now in the hands of prosecutors. I hope they do their work quickly so we can have clear and concrete information" about who was behind the conspiracy, police chief Victor Hugo Escobar told state television.
Interpol has offered to help Bolivia with the investigation. But opposition Senate chief Oscar Ortiz said investigators "should aim to find the truth, instead of helping the president stage an international show".
Ortiz attacked Morales for "playing the victim" and said the country's first indigenous leader was trying to disparage the eastern city of Santa Cruz because he lacked support there.
Morales has accused right-wing politicians and business leaders in Santa Cruz of organizing violent protests there last year to try to destabilize his government.
On Thursday, he said the rightist opposition wanted to "riddle us with bullets," referring to himself and the vice president.
Government officials said the suspected conspirators had also targeted Santa Cruz Governor Ruben Costas, a fierce Morales' critic. They said the men were likely behind a dynamite attack on the residence of Roman Catholic Cardinal Julio Terrazas earlier this week. The cardinal was not home at the time.
"The terrorist group had a strategy and part of the strategy was to attack the cardinal ... and (take) other actions, not only against the president or vice president, but other authorities as well," Deputy Interior Minister Marcos Farfan told the Erbol radio network.
Farfan said the suspected plotters tried to blow up a navy boat on which Morales met with Cabinet ministers two weeks ago and aimed to trigger "a spiral of violence" in Bolivia.
The head of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, condemned the suspected assassination plot on Friday after meeting with Bolivia's foreign minister in Trinidad and Tobago, where Morales was attending the Summit of the Americas.
Confusion lingered over the nationalities of the three men killed. State news agency ABI reported that one of them was a Bolivian-Hungarian, Eduardo Rozsa Flores, who fought in separatist movements in the former Yugoslavia.
ABI said the other two men who died in the gunfight hailed from Ireland and Romania, although Bolivian authorities initially said two of the men had been Hungarian.
Police arrested two others in the Santa Cruz raid, whom local media identified as a Bolivian and a Hungarian. Authorities said police confiscated sniper rifles, high-caliber guns and other explosives from a nearby building.
Source:Reuters
Three suspected mercenaries were killed in a shootout on Thursday in the anti-Morales stronghold of Santa Cruz after police moved to arrest a gang that officials say traveled from Ireland or Croatia to kill leading public figures in the Andean nation.
"The investigative work is now in the hands of prosecutors. I hope they do their work quickly so we can have clear and concrete information" about who was behind the conspiracy, police chief Victor Hugo Escobar told state television.
Interpol has offered to help Bolivia with the investigation. But opposition Senate chief Oscar Ortiz said investigators "should aim to find the truth, instead of helping the president stage an international show".
Ortiz attacked Morales for "playing the victim" and said the country's first indigenous leader was trying to disparage the eastern city of Santa Cruz because he lacked support there.
Morales has accused right-wing politicians and business leaders in Santa Cruz of organizing violent protests there last year to try to destabilize his government.
On Thursday, he said the rightist opposition wanted to "riddle us with bullets," referring to himself and the vice president.
Government officials said the suspected conspirators had also targeted Santa Cruz Governor Ruben Costas, a fierce Morales' critic. They said the men were likely behind a dynamite attack on the residence of Roman Catholic Cardinal Julio Terrazas earlier this week. The cardinal was not home at the time.
"The terrorist group had a strategy and part of the strategy was to attack the cardinal ... and (take) other actions, not only against the president or vice president, but other authorities as well," Deputy Interior Minister Marcos Farfan told the Erbol radio network.
Farfan said the suspected plotters tried to blow up a navy boat on which Morales met with Cabinet ministers two weeks ago and aimed to trigger "a spiral of violence" in Bolivia.
The head of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, condemned the suspected assassination plot on Friday after meeting with Bolivia's foreign minister in Trinidad and Tobago, where Morales was attending the Summit of the Americas.
Confusion lingered over the nationalities of the three men killed. State news agency ABI reported that one of them was a Bolivian-Hungarian, Eduardo Rozsa Flores, who fought in separatist movements in the former Yugoslavia.
ABI said the other two men who died in the gunfight hailed from Ireland and Romania, although Bolivian authorities initially said two of the men had been Hungarian.
Police arrested two others in the Santa Cruz raid, whom local media identified as a Bolivian and a Hungarian. Authorities said police confiscated sniper rifles, high-caliber guns and other explosives from a nearby building.
Source:Reuters
4/15/2009
4/14/2009
ICRC - Somalia: Somali Red Crescent compound hit by mortar
The compound housing a limb-fitting centre of the Somali Red Crescent Society was hit by a mortar on Monday afternoon, 13 April, killing one civilian and wounding five others, none of whom were staff of the Somali Red Crescent or patients. The centre was clearly marked with the red crescent emblem.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Somali Red Crescent are deeply saddened by the incident and the bloodshed it caused, and wish to extend their heartfelt condolences to the family of the person killed.
"The incident illustrates once more how dangerous it is in Mogadishu and how difficult it can be to provide victims of the armed conflict with medical care and humanitarian aid," said Dr Ahmed M. Hassan, the president of the Somali Red Crescent.
Although nothing suggests that the centre was deliberately targeted, the ICRC and the Somali Red Crescent remind all parties concerned of their obligation to respect and protect at all times medical staff and infrastructure such as hospitals, clinics and limb-fitting and rehabilitation centres.
The ICRC continues to work closely with the Somali Red Crescent and remains a key provider of emergency aid for victims of conflict and natural disasters in Somalia. It has maintained an uninterrupted presence in the country since 1982.
Source: ICRC
Source: ICRC
Erekat: Israeli rejection of Palestinian state is a rejection of negotiations
Israel’s refusal to commit to the creation of a Palestinian state amounts to a rejection of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, said top negotiator Saeb Erekat on Tuesday.
Erekat, the head of the Negotiations Affairs Department in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said that “Israel has to make a choice between continued occupation and abiding by its obligations.”
Erekat was speaking during a meeting with the Belgian Consul General in Jerusalem, Leo Peters, at Erekats office in the West Bank city of Jericho.
Commenting on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ surprise visit to Iraqi Kurdistan which began on Monday, Erekat said that the trip was part of efforts to resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees in Iraq. Abbas also visited Baghdad earlier this month as a part of this effort.
Source: Maan News Agency
Erekat, the head of the Negotiations Affairs Department in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said that “Israel has to make a choice between continued occupation and abiding by its obligations.”
Erekat was speaking during a meeting with the Belgian Consul General in Jerusalem, Leo Peters, at Erekats office in the West Bank city of Jericho.
Commenting on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ surprise visit to Iraqi Kurdistan which began on Monday, Erekat said that the trip was part of efforts to resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees in Iraq. Abbas also visited Baghdad earlier this month as a part of this effort.
Source: Maan News Agency
Israeli soldiers seize four Palestinians from Safa, days after settler clashes
sraeli forces seized four brothers from the West Bank village of Safa, where settler attacks sparked clashes with Israeli forces last week.
According to Ma’an’s correspondent in the nearby city of Hebron, 14 Israeli military vehicles invaded Safa. Soldiers conduced house-to-house searches before seizing Ahmad Ibrahim At-Teet, 35, and his brothers; Muhammad, 32, Moussa, 24, and Ma’moun, 22, and Hassan Ibrahim Qouqas, 32.
Another member of the same family, Samih At-Teet, 37, had been seized by undercover Israeli forces from a neighboring village on Monday evening.
Samih At-Teet and Ashraf Bahjat were released late on Monday evening.
Last Thursday, armed Israeli settlers attacked Safa, provoking clashes between stone-throwing Palestinians, Israeli soldiers and settlers. The invading settlers came from the nearby settlement of Bat Ayin, where earlier this month a Palestinian man killed a teenage settler and wounded a child.
Also on Tuesday Israeli soldiers raided the village of Bani Na’im, east of Hebron, detaining Moussa Hamdan At-Tarayra, 31.
Source: Maan News Agency
According to Ma’an’s correspondent in the nearby city of Hebron, 14 Israeli military vehicles invaded Safa. Soldiers conduced house-to-house searches before seizing Ahmad Ibrahim At-Teet, 35, and his brothers; Muhammad, 32, Moussa, 24, and Ma’moun, 22, and Hassan Ibrahim Qouqas, 32.
Another member of the same family, Samih At-Teet, 37, had been seized by undercover Israeli forces from a neighboring village on Monday evening.
Samih At-Teet and Ashraf Bahjat were released late on Monday evening.
Last Thursday, armed Israeli settlers attacked Safa, provoking clashes between stone-throwing Palestinians, Israeli soldiers and settlers. The invading settlers came from the nearby settlement of Bat Ayin, where earlier this month a Palestinian man killed a teenage settler and wounded a child.
Also on Tuesday Israeli soldiers raided the village of Bani Na’im, east of Hebron, detaining Moussa Hamdan At-Tarayra, 31.
Source: Maan News Agency
4/12/2009
Gaza 2009. - Nusayrat - An Al-Quds Brigade fighter, Abu Mujahed talking about the Jihad and peace
Gaza 2009. - Nusayrat - An Al-Quds Brigade fighter, Abu Mujahed talking about the Jihad and the peace from bogARTphoto on Vimeo.
This video is a part of my new documentary.
English subtitle coming soon.
Gaza 2009. - Nusayrat - Meet with the fighters of Al-Quds Brigades
Gaza 2009. - Nusayrat - Meet with the fighters ofAl-Quds Brigades from bogARTphoto on Vimeo.
This preedited video is part of my new documentary about Gaza.
The english subtitle is coming soon.
Israeli settlers attack Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance in Hebron's Old City
A group of Israeli settlers attacked a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance in the old city of Hebron Saturday afternoon, causing damage to the vehicle.
The ambulance was moving a patient from the Hebron governmental hospital to her home in Ash-Shuhada Street when the attack occurred, Head of Ambulance and Emergency Services for the Red Crescent Abed Al-Haleem Al-Ja’afra said. The Israeli army was aware that the ambulance would be crossing the normally closed area, and had okayed the move.
As the ambulance arrived to the Al- Qarantina area, the soldiers opened the checkpoint allowing the vehicle into the area where it was attacked by settlers who pelted stones on the vehicle.
“The vehicle was ambushed, and the soldiers turned a blind eye to the incident, making no move to stop the settlers from throwing stones,” Al-Ja’afra said.
Being unable to move forward and take the patient safely to her home, the ambulance tried to back out of the street but soldiers would not open the checkpoint for several minutes.
The patient was returned to the emergency ward and awaits approval from Israeli authorities as to when she will safely be able to return home.
Life under attack in the Old City
The Israeli military checkpoints in Hebron like the one at the entrance to Ash-Shuhada street have made life impossible for local residents, many who have moved to other areas to ecape constant harassment from nearby settlers, the annoyance of having to walk through metal detectors on the way home, and having the street blocked off from vehicle traffic.
Residents say the area has the feel of a closed military zone.
“In the old city, we are living inside a cage,” one resident, Atif Al-Uweiwi, said.
School pupils in the old city also suffer from settler attacks as they are en route to and from school. Some pupils prefer to stay home for fear of the attacks.
“Our lives are like cats and dogs; when the settlers are absent, we go to school and we play outside. But, when they are there, we are stay indoors or use back alleys to get where we need to go,” said Haytham Ar-Rajabi, a school boy in the area.
He adds, “In the old city we live as if we were not human beings. Where are the children rights which humanitarian organizations claim we have?”
World Volunteers Organization for Peace reported last week that Israeli soldiers had installed yet another checkpoint near the Ibrahimi Mosque for security proposes.
According to Iyad Khamasiyya, spokesperson of the group, “settlers assault school pupils in the middle of the day, especially those who study at the Ibrahimi elementary school located in the centre of Hebron.”
Source: Maan News Agency
The ambulance was moving a patient from the Hebron governmental hospital to her home in Ash-Shuhada Street when the attack occurred, Head of Ambulance and Emergency Services for the Red Crescent Abed Al-Haleem Al-Ja’afra said. The Israeli army was aware that the ambulance would be crossing the normally closed area, and had okayed the move.
As the ambulance arrived to the Al- Qarantina area, the soldiers opened the checkpoint allowing the vehicle into the area where it was attacked by settlers who pelted stones on the vehicle.
“The vehicle was ambushed, and the soldiers turned a blind eye to the incident, making no move to stop the settlers from throwing stones,” Al-Ja’afra said.
Being unable to move forward and take the patient safely to her home, the ambulance tried to back out of the street but soldiers would not open the checkpoint for several minutes.
The patient was returned to the emergency ward and awaits approval from Israeli authorities as to when she will safely be able to return home.
Life under attack in the Old City
The Israeli military checkpoints in Hebron like the one at the entrance to Ash-Shuhada street have made life impossible for local residents, many who have moved to other areas to ecape constant harassment from nearby settlers, the annoyance of having to walk through metal detectors on the way home, and having the street blocked off from vehicle traffic.
Residents say the area has the feel of a closed military zone.
“In the old city, we are living inside a cage,” one resident, Atif Al-Uweiwi, said.
School pupils in the old city also suffer from settler attacks as they are en route to and from school. Some pupils prefer to stay home for fear of the attacks.
“Our lives are like cats and dogs; when the settlers are absent, we go to school and we play outside. But, when they are there, we are stay indoors or use back alleys to get where we need to go,” said Haytham Ar-Rajabi, a school boy in the area.
He adds, “In the old city we live as if we were not human beings. Where are the children rights which humanitarian organizations claim we have?”
World Volunteers Organization for Peace reported last week that Israeli soldiers had installed yet another checkpoint near the Ibrahimi Mosque for security proposes.
According to Iyad Khamasiyya, spokesperson of the group, “settlers assault school pupils in the middle of the day, especially those who study at the Ibrahimi elementary school located in the centre of Hebron.”
Source: Maan News Agency
Hamas: Egypt suggested temporary Palestinian committee to take control
gyptian mediators have suggested a temporary Palestinian committee in order to end a two-year-long political crisis, said Hamas leader Salah Bardaweel on Sunday.
He explained in a statement sent to media that after Hamas and Fatah realized during their last meeting in Cairo on 2 April that it would be difficult to reach consensus on the political platform of a transitional government, Egyptian intelligence director Umar Sulaiman suggested formation of a temporary Hamas-Fatah committee instead of a government.
Meanwhile, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will form a new transitional government to create the conditions for the suggested committee to be formed. The committee is supposed to operate in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip only, and will be in charge of implementing what is being agreed on in Cairo, especially regarding the reconstruction of Gaza. The committee is supposed to be separate from the government, which will help the committee carry out its tasks.
“This suggestion needs to be clarified in more detail,” Al-Bardaweel commented on the Egyptian suggestion. He asserted that Hamas did not give a formal response to the proposal, but rather asked questions about the plan.
He also expressed Hamas’ hopes that the Egyptian suggestion, after being clarified, will be an opportunity to break the stalemate and enhance positive dialogue in order to heal the rift between Palestinian rivals and be able to counter Israel’s “extremist agenda.”
Al-Bardaweel also highlighted that the Egyptian suggestion did not resolve the question of the future of the de facto government in the Gaza Strip, nor did it give details about the mechanism president Abbas will follow in forming the new government.
Source: Maan News Agency
He explained in a statement sent to media that after Hamas and Fatah realized during their last meeting in Cairo on 2 April that it would be difficult to reach consensus on the political platform of a transitional government, Egyptian intelligence director Umar Sulaiman suggested formation of a temporary Hamas-Fatah committee instead of a government.
Meanwhile, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will form a new transitional government to create the conditions for the suggested committee to be formed. The committee is supposed to operate in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip only, and will be in charge of implementing what is being agreed on in Cairo, especially regarding the reconstruction of Gaza. The committee is supposed to be separate from the government, which will help the committee carry out its tasks.
“This suggestion needs to be clarified in more detail,” Al-Bardaweel commented on the Egyptian suggestion. He asserted that Hamas did not give a formal response to the proposal, but rather asked questions about the plan.
He also expressed Hamas’ hopes that the Egyptian suggestion, after being clarified, will be an opportunity to break the stalemate and enhance positive dialogue in order to heal the rift between Palestinian rivals and be able to counter Israel’s “extremist agenda.”
Al-Bardaweel also highlighted that the Egyptian suggestion did not resolve the question of the future of the de facto government in the Gaza Strip, nor did it give details about the mechanism president Abbas will follow in forming the new government.
Source: Maan News Agency
4/11/2009
Gaza 2009. - Gaza City - A deaf boy, Bilal talking about the war
Gaza 2009. - A deaf boy, Bilal talking about the war from bogARTphoto on Vimeo.
Bilal Banar is an eleven-year old little deaf boy. He lives with his uncles and cousins in one building in Shegaeia area in the Middle of the Gaza Strip. Bilal's family has been living in extremely difficult economic conditions since his father has been unemployed for many years.
During the war over the Gaza Strip, Bilal's cousin and best friend was killed by the Israeli bombardment. Bilal has been shocked and felt so sad, but he insisted to attend the funeral in order to have the last look at his cousin. Unexpectedly, Apache helicopter targeted the funeral. Bilal's father's first concern was to keep his kid save during the air strike. When this massive wave was finished, Bilal and his father checked the other family members. Shockingly, they discovered that four uncles and two more cousins have just been killed. This terrible disaster has turned the whole family life to a painful tragedy. Bilal's parents were completely heartbroken, therefore; they could not give him the needed support in order to get over this crisis.
When Bilal came back to school after the war had ended, he was very confused. He could not believe that his uncles and cousins where gone. He said "I am waiting for them, they will come back". Atfaluna's counseling knew about Bilal's story, and they tried hard to help him to pass this hard situation through the counseling session for him and his mother. Finally, Bilal start to recover from what he witnessed during the harsh war over Gaza. Recently, he is able to contact with his friends and teachers. Step-by-step, he gets back to his normal routine. Hopefully one day, Bilal and other children in Gaza can overcome the disaster they went through.
This video is part of my documentary about Gaza after the war.
Preedited version. English subtitle coming soon.
4/01/2009
3/13/2009
RSF: Three years in jail for TV journalist who threw shoes at Bush
Reporters Without Borders condemns the three-year jail sentence which a Baghdad court passed today on journalist Muntazer Al-Zaidi of the Iraqi TV station Al-Baghdadia for throwing his shoes at US President George W. Bush during a news conference in Baghdad on 14 December.
He was convicted under articles of 223, 225 and 227 of the Iraqi criminal code of “offending a foreign head of state during an official visit,” which carries maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
“We obviously regret that Zaidi chose this way to protest against the President Bush’s policies but there is no justification for this prison sentence,” Reporters Without Borders said. “The sentence is cynical in a country where so many of the people who kill journalists are never brought to justice. We call for his release.”
Zaidi has been held ever since his arrest at the news conference. The trial began on 19 February but was adjourned because of a legal wrangle about the nature of President Bush’s visit to Iraq. Zaidi’s lawyers argued that it was a “surprise” visit and not an “official” one, as the indictment said.
Zaidi pleaded not guilty. “My reaction was natural, just like any Iraqi would have done towards the person responsible for the crimes committed in Iraq," he told the judge.
Source: Reporters Without Borders
Iraq jails 'Bush shoe-thrower'
An Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George Bush, then US president, has been given a three-year jail sentence after pleading not guilty to assaulting a foreign head of state.
The sentencing of Muntadher al-Zaidi, 30, by the Central Criminal Court in Baghdad on Thursday, was announced by Al-Baghdadiya television, his employer.
The journalist, who became a hero to many Iraqis after the December 14 incident, arrived at the court under a heavy police escort.
Judge Abdulamir Hassan al-Rubaie said he had taken into consideration that al-Zaidi is young and it was his first offence, the defence lawyers said.
Packed courtroom
There was standing room only at the courtroom on the edge of Baghdad's Green Zone as some 200 family members, reporters and lawyers crowded in.
Al-Rubaie later cleared the court before returning his verdict.
Asked if he was innocent, al-Zaidi responded: "Yes, my reaction was natural, just like any Iraqi (would have done)."
Bush was speaking on December 14 at a joint news conference in Baghdad with Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, when al-Zaidi hurled his shoes at him.
The shoes narrowly missed Bush, who later brushed the incident aside.
As well as throwing the shoe, al-Zaidi shouted "It is the farewell kiss, you dog", before security forces wrestled him to the ground.
He later said he had been beaten and tortured in custody.
Shoe-hurling is considered an especially grave insult in the Arab and Muslim world and al-Zaidi had risked up to 15 years in jail on the charge of aggression against a foreign head of state.
'Prisoner of war'
After the verdict on Thursday, al-Zaidi's 25-strong defence team emerged from the courtroom to scenes of chaos. Several family members screamed: "It's an American court ... sons of dogs."
One of his brothers, Uday, said the decision was political.
"This is a political court. Muntadhar is being treated like a prisoner of war. He is not a normal prisoner ... This decision has been taken by the prime minister's office."
Al-Zaidi shouted "Iraq, long live Iraq" after the verdict was read out, Yahia Attabi, a defence lawyer, said.
"We expected the decision because under the Iraqi criminal code he was charged with assaulting a foreign leader on an official visit."
Appeal planned
Attabi said al-Zaidi will appeal the decision.
The family said they would not only appeal but also press ahead with plans to bring torture charges against Bush, al-Maliki and his bodyguards at a human rights court abroad.
Ehiya al-Sadi, the chief defence lawyer, had argued that his client's motives were "honourable".
"He was only expressing his feelings. What he could see was the blood of Iraqis at his feet when he watched the US president speaking about his achievements in Iraq."
Al-Sadi also argued that although Iraqi law considered it an attack on a visiting head of state, "[al-Zaidi's] throwing of the shoe did not cause any injury or damage ... His goal was to insult Bush for the pain Iraqis have suffered".
Al-Zaidi's account
The trial opened on February 19 but was adjourned to determine the nature of Bush's December visit.
Al-Zaidi told the court last month that he had been outraged and was unable to control his emotions when Bush started speaking to the media.
"I had the feeling that the blood of innocent people was dropping on my feet during the time that he was smiling and coming to say bye-bye to Iraq with a dinner.
"So I took the first shoe and threw it but it did not hit him. Then spontaneously I took the second shoe but it did not hit him either. I was not trying to kill the commander of the occupation forces of Iraq."
Source: Al Jazeera
ECO summit urges aid to reconstruction in Gaza
Members of the regional Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) meeting at a summit in Tehran
"The ECO urges its members to increase the speed of reconstruction in
It said the ECO "sympathizes" with the people of
"(ECO) strongly urges the international community to prevent such a human tragedy from happening again, to bring the situation there to normal and to get access to
The one-day summit of ECO -- a regional organization founded in 1985 by
EU urges Israel to prevent the demolition of Palestinian houses in Jerusalem
The European Union on Wednesday night expressed concern about the Israeli threat of demolition 90 houses in the occupied East Jerusalem, urging Israel
"The EU urges the Israeli authorities to prevent the demolition of Palestinian houses in
"The EU is deeply concerned about the threat of demolition to approximately 90 houses in the Al-Bustan / Silwan area adjacent to the
The EU asserted that if implemented, the demolition would deprive more than 1000 Palestinians of their homes and would be the largest destruction of Palestinian houses in
It reminded
Fifth World Water Forum: War victims need better access to water and sanitation
Istanbul/Geneva (ICRC) – The international community must do more to ensure that the victims of armed conflict have access to safe water and sanitation, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The ICRC is calling on governments taking part in the Fifth World Water Forum in Turkey this week to make a serious commitment to protect water and sanitation systems in times of war and to maintain services in conflict-prone areas to prevent them from collapsing.
"Water, sewage and electrical power systems, along with medical facilities, are usually the first things to be disrupted when a war breaks out," said Robert Mardini, who heads the ICRC's water and habitat unit. "They can be damaged or shut down completely by shelling and explosions, or overwhelmed by influxes of displaced people. Such incidents are often followed by massive shortages and by rapidly spreading disease that can result in loss of life." Mr Mardini cited Iraq, Gaza, Sri Lanka and Somalia as examples of places where the delivery of water supplies and sanitation services has been severely hampered by recent armed conflicts.
Roughly a quarter of the estimated 1.2 billion people unable to obtain clean drinking water, and 15 per cent of the 2.6 billion without access to proper sanitation, are in war-torn countries.
"Access to safe water and adequate sanitation are fundamental for conflict-affected people," said Mr Mardini. "The ICRC aims to use the World Water Forum to put this issue higher up the international agenda and to remind governments of their responsibilities in this respect."
Mr Mardini drew attention to the double adversity faced by war victims struggling to survive a natural disaster. "When a natural disaster, such as a prolonged drought, exacerbates the devastation wrought by conflict, as in Somalia, people become far more vulnerable to poverty and disease."
The ICRC's efforts to improve water and sanitation involve working with communities and Red Cross and Red Crescent partners to provide emergency assistance where needed and to develop sustainable practices. The organization's neutral and impartial role enables it to talk to all sides in a conflict, and thereby to help restore access to water even as fighting rages on.
Source:ICRC
3/11/2009
Gaza family that lost 29 relatives drops lawsuit against Israel
A Gaza family that lost 29 relatives to Operation Cast Lead, which also left 45 family members injured and their home destroyed, on Tuesday asked that a lawsuit that had been filed in their name for NIS 851 million be withdrawn. The lawsuit names Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi as respondents.
The suit was filed in the Nazareth District Court by attorney Mohammed Fukra on behalf of the Samouni family.
However, family members told Haaretz on Tuesday that they had not signed power of attorney over to Fukra, and that they are being represented by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza.
In response to a question from Haaretz, the human rights group said it had no connection with Fukra, and that at the family's request it would on Wednesday be initiating action to stop the suit. A relative, Salah Samouni, confirmed that he had been in telephone contact with Fukra and had sent him a fax with details of the deaths of 29 family members and their names. Fukra could not be reached by press time for comment.
The Samouni family live in a number of metal shacks and concrete buildings in Gaza City's Zeitun neighborhood. Most of those injured or killed were hit when two shells fired by Israel Defense Forces on Monday, January 5, hit one of the houses where soldiers had ordered the family to gather.
Masia Samouni, 19, told Haaretz Tuesday night that on Sunday morning, January 4, after the first shell hit her house, the whole family gathered in the stairwell of a concrete house. When the soldiers arrived, they demanded that everyone move to a neighboring house.
Later, the family was once more to yet another house. Masia said that between 90-100 people were crowded in one room from Sunday morning to Monday morning with no food, water or other supplies. At 6 A.M., on Monday, January 5, a few male relatives went to bring an uncle who lived in a shack next to the concrete house. Masia said the men were all shot, and one was killed. A shell then hit the house, and another fell nearby, killing seven more Samouni family members. Masia Samouni's husband, mother-in-law, father-in-law and brother-in-law were all killed, and her baby daughter was injured. Masia and some of her relatives managed to flee, but the more seriously injured remained in the ruins of the house. The Red Cross received the IDF's permission to evacuate them four days later.
Source: Haaretz - Amira Hass
The suit was filed in the Nazareth District Court by attorney Mohammed Fukra on behalf of the Samouni family.
However, family members told Haaretz on Tuesday that they had not signed power of attorney over to Fukra, and that they are being represented by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza.
In response to a question from Haaretz, the human rights group said it had no connection with Fukra, and that at the family's request it would on Wednesday be initiating action to stop the suit. A relative, Salah Samouni, confirmed that he had been in telephone contact with Fukra and had sent him a fax with details of the deaths of 29 family members and their names. Fukra could not be reached by press time for comment.
The Samouni family live in a number of metal shacks and concrete buildings in Gaza City's Zeitun neighborhood. Most of those injured or killed were hit when two shells fired by Israel Defense Forces on Monday, January 5, hit one of the houses where soldiers had ordered the family to gather.
Masia Samouni, 19, told Haaretz Tuesday night that on Sunday morning, January 4, after the first shell hit her house, the whole family gathered in the stairwell of a concrete house. When the soldiers arrived, they demanded that everyone move to a neighboring house.
Later, the family was once more to yet another house. Masia said that between 90-100 people were crowded in one room from Sunday morning to Monday morning with no food, water or other supplies. At 6 A.M., on Monday, January 5, a few male relatives went to bring an uncle who lived in a shack next to the concrete house. Masia said the men were all shot, and one was killed. A shell then hit the house, and another fell nearby, killing seven more Samouni family members. Masia Samouni's husband, mother-in-law, father-in-law and brother-in-law were all killed, and her baby daughter was injured. Masia and some of her relatives managed to flee, but the more seriously injured remained in the ruins of the house. The Red Cross received the IDF's permission to evacuate them four days later.
Source: Haaretz - Amira Hass
Gaza: situation at border crossings ‘intolerable,’ Ban says
A lasting ceasefire was urgently needed to keep Gaza crossings open, which will allow the Palestinian economy to recover, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
In a message to a UN seminar on assistance to the Palestinian people in Cairo, Mr. Ban called for a “proper and durable” end of hostilities to “allow for a return of calm” to Gaza and southern Israel.
“The situation at the crossings is intolerable,” he said, stressing the need for Israel to ease the closure.
The overall humanitarian situation in Gaza remains unchanged, according to an update from the office of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory.
Last week, more than 700 trucks loaded with food, cleaning supplies, medicine and other supplies entered the area, up from fewer than 600 truckloads the previous week.
The update pointed to problems, including livestock, vehicles and construction materials not being allowed to enter Gaza, as well as two shipments of UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) t-shirts bound for 50 schools in disadvantaged areas being denied entry.
In another instance over 700 packets of washing powder, part of a non-governmental organization’s hygiene kits, were not allowed into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing for missing an ‘environmental certificate,’ even though an identical load was granted entry the week earlier.
Only one-quarter of Gazans’ cooking gas needs are being met, and just over two-thirds of the industrial gas needed to operate the power plant are being allowed in.
The Humanitarian Coordinator also pointed to the need for a dependable influx of cash to resuscitate Gaza’s private sector and prevent aid dependence.
On top of the almost $10 million in cash aid that the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has recently made available, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will begin meting out cash next to refugee families whose homes were either destroyed or damaged by the recent hostilities.
The funds are intended to support them until construction materials are allowed in and repairs can proceed. In the meantime, UNICEF has been repairing school windows using nylon sheets.
In his address today to the Cairo seminar, the Secretary-General also stressed the need for Palestinian reconciliation to further reconstruction and development in Gaza.
“I strongly urge Palestinians to find unity and common ground,” according to the message delivered by Karen AbuZayd, Commissioner-General for UNRWA.
The support of the region’s leaders will be essential for any future agreements, Mr. Ban said, also voicing hope that the new Israeli Government will respect earlier commitments, take part in political negotiations and reach a peace accord with the Palestinians.
“Only a permanent negotiated political settlement, which ends the occupation, can provide a sustainable solution to the economic and humanitarian problems of the Palestinian people and lasting security for Israel.”
Source: United Nations
Gaza family sues Israel over deaths
A Palestinian family is suing Ehud Olmert, Israel's outgoing prime minister, and other government officials over the deaths of their relatives during the recent assault on Gaza.
The al-Samouni family, which saw 29 of its members killed in the conflict, filed the case in Jerusalem on Tuesday, seeking $200m in damages for "criminal negligence".
More than 1,300 Palestinians died during Israel's three-week war last December and January, one-third of them children.
The al-Samounis say Israeli soldiers raided their homes in the middle of the conflict, and moved the extended family together into one house.
According to the survivors' accounts, partly corroborated by the International Red Cross and the United Nations, shells and missiles fired by the Israeli military hit the house the following day, leaving 29 people dead.
"This was a barbaric action. They said that there was resistance here, and I don't know what. But there was no resistance," Naela al-Samouni, one of the survivors, said.
Homeless family
Two months after the attack, the remaining al-Samounis live in a makeshift tent amid the rubble of their former home.
Tuesday's lawsuit names Olmert and Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, as defendants, and accuses the Israeli military of "criminal negligence" for killing innocent civilians. Mohammad Fukra, a Palestinian Israeli attorney, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the al-Samouni family, saying the family had the right to sue Israel and its officials. Israeli courts in the past have, however, rejected claims from Palestinians harmed in conflicts. Mark Regev, an Israeli government spokesman, has claimed the Palestinian group Hamas was responsible for the deaths, saying the group used civilians as human shields. Israel undertook the Gaza offensive with the purported aim of stopping rocket fire from the territory into southern Israel. Source: Al Jazeera
Netanyahu's pre-election vow to Syria: Israel won't provoke war
Even before last month's elections, Benjamin Netanyahu sent a message to Syria promising that a government under him would "not provoke war" and would be interested in "seriously and genuinely exploring" a peace process.
Likud officials met with senior Syrian figures in January in Washington to prepare the ground for further exchanges after Israel's next government takes office, Likud sources said.
The officials, however, did not express any willingness to make concessions or withdraw from the Golan Heights, as Syrian President Bashar Assad says is necessary.
The two sides agreed that the meetings may result in the resumption of negotiations with American mediation to be held after the Israeli government forms.
In his message, Netanyahu expressed a willingness to solve the Shaba Farms question and the issue of the village of Ghajar on the Israel-Lebanese border.
The meeting with the Syrians was held following an American initiative. Americans, including some affiliated with the Obama administration, are closely following the process.
The Syrians were represented by "a Syrian citizen of the highest stature in his country," according to the Israeli sources.
The Likud officials updated Netanyahu immediately following their return to Israel, several days before the elections.
Assad, meanwhile, has said in recent months his government would be willing to negotiate with any government in Israel.
On Monday, Assad told Al Khalij, a daily published in the United Arab Emirates, that all Israeli governments are similar and Syria will negotiate with whomever represents Israel. But Assad was skeptical about Israeli governments, whether right or left. He said "one is bad and the other is worse - the right is right and the left is right, the right kills Arabs and the left kills Arabs."
Similar exchanges are also being held by Likud officials with Palestinians, Likud sources say. They hope to massively boost the Palestinian economy and set the stage for calm and peace.
Source: Haaretz
Likud officials met with senior Syrian figures in January in Washington to prepare the ground for further exchanges after Israel's next government takes office, Likud sources said.
The officials, however, did not express any willingness to make concessions or withdraw from the Golan Heights, as Syrian President Bashar Assad says is necessary.
The two sides agreed that the meetings may result in the resumption of negotiations with American mediation to be held after the Israeli government forms.
In his message, Netanyahu expressed a willingness to solve the Shaba Farms question and the issue of the village of Ghajar on the Israel-Lebanese border.
The meeting with the Syrians was held following an American initiative. Americans, including some affiliated with the Obama administration, are closely following the process.
The Syrians were represented by "a Syrian citizen of the highest stature in his country," according to the Israeli sources.
The Likud officials updated Netanyahu immediately following their return to Israel, several days before the elections.
Assad, meanwhile, has said in recent months his government would be willing to negotiate with any government in Israel.
On Monday, Assad told Al Khalij, a daily published in the United Arab Emirates, that all Israeli governments are similar and Syria will negotiate with whomever represents Israel. But Assad was skeptical about Israeli governments, whether right or left. He said "one is bad and the other is worse - the right is right and the left is right, the right kills Arabs and the left kills Arabs."
Similar exchanges are also being held by Likud officials with Palestinians, Likud sources say. They hope to massively boost the Palestinian economy and set the stage for calm and peace.
Source: Haaretz
3/10/2009
Palestinian patients should not be used as political tools by either the PA or the Israeli government
Following the decision of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah to stop all financial coverage for the medical treatments of Palestinian patients in Israeli hospitals, and given the policy of the Government of Israel (GOI) to insist on conditioning access to healthcare for Palestinians in Israel in financial coverage from the Palestinian Authority (PA), PHR-Israel, PCHR, Gisha and B'Tselem protest the use of Palestinian patients as political tools by both the PA and the GOI.
In January 2009, after the end of the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, the PA cancelled financial coverage for all medical care for Palestinians in Israeli hospitals, including coverage for chronically ill Palestinian patients, and those in need of complex care that is not available in other tertiary medical centers in the region.
The result has been that an estimation of hundreds of Palestinian patients who were in the middle of long-term treatment regimes in Israel, including cancer patients in need of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and bone marrow transplantation, found their treatments interrupted with no alternatives.
We, human rights organizations in Israel and Palestine, regard Israel as an Occupying Power who bears overall responsibility for the protection of the right to health of the Palestinian, including free access to health services in the territories it occupies.
In agreeing to act as provider of healthcare services to the Palestinian population, the PA (Ramallah) took upon itself responsibility for that population. However, the ability of the PA in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) to supply appropriate health care services is fundamentally restricted by Israel as an Occupying Power.
The exploitation of the healthcare system in general and of seriously ill patients in particular, for political and financial aims, is a grave violation of the principles of medical ethics and of human rights.
PHR-Israel, PCHR, Gisha and B'Tselem call:
The Government of Israel:
To recognize its ultimate responsibility as an Occupying Power for the healthcare of the population under its control, and to ensure that all residents of the OPT have access to appropriate healthcare regardless of financial coverage.
The Palestinian Authority:
To renew its financial coverage for all Palestinian patients who need to complete their medical treatment in Israel, at least until an appropriate and accessible new health care provider can be found. The PA has the right to decide where it will refer its patients; however, the rights of all these patients to continuity of heath care must not be violated.
Source:B'Tselem
Syria: peace deal possible with Israel
"There will perhaps be an embassy and formalities, but if you want peace then it has to be comprehensive. We give them the choice between comprehensive peace and a peace agreement which does not have any real value on the ground," al-Assad said.
"There is a difference between a peace agreement and peace itself. A peace agreement is a piece of paper you sign. This does not mean trade and normal relations, or borders, or otherwise," he said.
"Our people will not accept that, especially since there are half a million Palestinians in our country whose position remains unresolved. It is impossible under these terms to have peace in the natural sense."
Source: Ramattan
British MP Galloway donates cars and cash to de facto government in Gaza
Leftist British MP George Galloway personally donated 25,000 pounds and a fleet of vehicles to the de facto government in the Gaza Strip after arriving in an aid convoy.
"We are giving you now 100 vehicles and all of their contents, and we make no apology for what I am about to say. We are giving them to the elected government of Palestine," Galloway said at a press conference in Gaza City, according to AFP.
Galloway dared western states to prosecute him for supporting the Hamas-run government, which is boycotted by the US, EU, and much of the international community.
"I say now to the British and European governments, if you want to take me to court, I promise you there is no jury in all of Britain who will convict me. They will convict you."
Galloway made the announcement at an outdoor presence conference in the presence of several senior Hamas officials, and his words were greeted by shouts of "Allahu Akbar!" (God is Great).
Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections, and later formed a unity government with its rival, Fatah. The government was shunned by donor states, crippling the aid-dependent Palestinian Authority.
In June 2007 Hamas took full control of the Gaza Strip, defeating security forces loyal to Fatah in bloody street fighting. The Palestinian unity government collapsed and Israel and Egypt imposed a strict closure of the Strip’s border crossings.
Galloway arrived in Gaza on Monday after driving to Gaza from the UK in a convoy called “Viva Palestina,” delivering more than one million pounds of aid and raising awareness about the blockade of Gaza.
Source: Maan News Agency
"We are giving you now 100 vehicles and all of their contents, and we make no apology for what I am about to say. We are giving them to the elected government of Palestine," Galloway said at a press conference in Gaza City, according to AFP.
Galloway dared western states to prosecute him for supporting the Hamas-run government, which is boycotted by the US, EU, and much of the international community.
"I say now to the British and European governments, if you want to take me to court, I promise you there is no jury in all of Britain who will convict me. They will convict you."
Galloway made the announcement at an outdoor presence conference in the presence of several senior Hamas officials, and his words were greeted by shouts of "Allahu Akbar!" (God is Great).
Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections, and later formed a unity government with its rival, Fatah. The government was shunned by donor states, crippling the aid-dependent Palestinian Authority.
In June 2007 Hamas took full control of the Gaza Strip, defeating security forces loyal to Fatah in bloody street fighting. The Palestinian unity government collapsed and Israel and Egypt imposed a strict closure of the Strip’s border crossings.
Galloway arrived in Gaza on Monday after driving to Gaza from the UK in a convoy called “Viva Palestina,” delivering more than one million pounds of aid and raising awareness about the blockade of Gaza.
Source: Maan News Agency
Wife of Ron Arad: Free all Hamas prisoners for Gilad Shalit
Tami Arad, the wife of missing Israel Air Force navigator , called on the government Tuesday to release all prisoners as demanded by Hamas in exchange for captive soldier Gilad Shalit.
In an interview with Army Radio, Arad said that Israel should free all 450 jailed Palestinians, those who are believed to be the most serious terrorists, in exchange for Shalit.
"If there was an alternative, Gilad would already have been here today," she said. "There has been enough time to wrangle over the price. Let's assume that three years go by and the price tag drops down to 380 murderers. Will we feel better? Who can guarantee that there will be someone [alive] to bring back?" Arad lashed out at recent comments made by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who remarked that public demonstrations for Shalit's release were harming the negotiations.
"It is the easiest thing to say, 'We're taking care of the matter day and night, so sit quietly. All the fuss just raises the price tag.' The price has remained the same. If the parents felt that there was progress they would not have taken the trouble to go to Jerusalem."
"Nothing moves if people sit quietly at home," Arad said. "Time is critical and we must not dawdle."
Meanwhile, Noam Shalit said on Tuesday that President Shimon Peres understood the urgency of freeing his son from his Hamas captors in Gaza.
"The president understands the need and moral significance of releasing an IDF soldier who has been in captivity for three years, and supports releasing Gilad as soon as possible," Shalit said.
He spoke shortly after meeting Peres at his official residence in Jerusalem.
For his part, Peres told Shalit that, "You express the deepest feeling of the nation, which is for the IDF and the responsibility for the fate of every soldier... My heart is with you, as is the heart of the whole nation."
Earlier Tuesday, Shalit's mother Aviva repeated her vow to continue campaigning for her son's release until he returns home.
"After so many days during which we haven't managed to bring back Gilad, we're sitting here and reminding everyone that he is still in captivity," she told Israel Radio.
Aviva Shalit made the comments from a protest tent she had pitched with her husband across from the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem.
"It is our job to urge and fight until Gilad comes back, to remind in case someone has forgotten," she added. The Shalits erected the tent to apply pressure on Olmert to secure Gilad's release before a change in government.
Well-wishers continued to stream into the protest tent on Tuesday, some of whom were dressed up in costumes for the Jewish holiday of Purim. Among the visitors was the family of IDF soldier Nachshon Wachsman, who was kidnapped by Hamas gunmen and killed during a commando rescue mission.
"We suffered this pain for a week and I can't imagine how for almost three years they have undergone this indescribable suffering," said Esther Wachsman from the tent.
"I want to tell Prime Minister Ehud Olmert from this stage that he has about a week until the end of his tenure - [and] he should leave with at least a 'big bang,' and all that is necessary now is to free a missing Israeli soldier."
The Shalits' visitors on Monday included the daughter and the brother of missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad; Karnit Goldwasser, widow of abducted soldier Ehud Goldwasser; Defense Minister Ehud Barak and hundreds of ordinary citizens who stood in line to offer their hands or an embrace.
Aliza Olmert, the prime minister's wife, invited the Shalits to meet with her Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Residence. The couple was also scheduled to meet with President Shimon Peres Tuesday.
Source: Haaretz
In an interview with Army Radio, Arad said that Israel should free all 450 jailed Palestinians, those who are believed to be the most serious terrorists, in exchange for Shalit.
"If there was an alternative, Gilad would already have been here today," she said. "There has been enough time to wrangle over the price. Let's assume that three years go by and the price tag drops down to 380 murderers. Will we feel better? Who can guarantee that there will be someone [alive] to bring back?" Arad lashed out at recent comments made by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who remarked that public demonstrations for Shalit's release were harming the negotiations.
"It is the easiest thing to say, 'We're taking care of the matter day and night, so sit quietly. All the fuss just raises the price tag.' The price has remained the same. If the parents felt that there was progress they would not have taken the trouble to go to Jerusalem."
"Nothing moves if people sit quietly at home," Arad said. "Time is critical and we must not dawdle."
Meanwhile, Noam Shalit said on Tuesday that President Shimon Peres understood the urgency of freeing his son from his Hamas captors in Gaza.
"The president understands the need and moral significance of releasing an IDF soldier who has been in captivity for three years, and supports releasing Gilad as soon as possible," Shalit said.
He spoke shortly after meeting Peres at his official residence in Jerusalem.
For his part, Peres told Shalit that, "You express the deepest feeling of the nation, which is for the IDF and the responsibility for the fate of every soldier... My heart is with you, as is the heart of the whole nation."
Earlier Tuesday, Shalit's mother Aviva repeated her vow to continue campaigning for her son's release until he returns home.
"After so many days during which we haven't managed to bring back Gilad, we're sitting here and reminding everyone that he is still in captivity," she told Israel Radio.
Aviva Shalit made the comments from a protest tent she had pitched with her husband across from the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem.
"It is our job to urge and fight until Gilad comes back, to remind in case someone has forgotten," she added. The Shalits erected the tent to apply pressure on Olmert to secure Gilad's release before a change in government.
Well-wishers continued to stream into the protest tent on Tuesday, some of whom were dressed up in costumes for the Jewish holiday of Purim. Among the visitors was the family of IDF soldier Nachshon Wachsman, who was kidnapped by Hamas gunmen and killed during a commando rescue mission.
"We suffered this pain for a week and I can't imagine how for almost three years they have undergone this indescribable suffering," said Esther Wachsman from the tent.
"I want to tell Prime Minister Ehud Olmert from this stage that he has about a week until the end of his tenure - [and] he should leave with at least a 'big bang,' and all that is necessary now is to free a missing Israeli soldier."
The Shalits' visitors on Monday included the daughter and the brother of missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad; Karnit Goldwasser, widow of abducted soldier Ehud Goldwasser; Defense Minister Ehud Barak and hundreds of ordinary citizens who stood in line to offer their hands or an embrace.
Aliza Olmert, the prime minister's wife, invited the Shalits to meet with her Tuesday at the Prime Minister's Residence. The couple was also scheduled to meet with President Shimon Peres Tuesday.
Source: Haaretz
3/09/2009
Hamas releases Shalit audio tape
Hamas has released an audio message believed to be from Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured exactly a year ago.
Shalit was heard saying his health was deteriorating and that he needed hospital treatment.
The audio clip was posted on the website of Hamas's armed wing on Monday.
"I am Gilad Shalit. I've been arrested by Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades... I've been in prison one year. My situation is deteriorating," the recording said.
"I need an extended period in hospital," said the clip posted on the brigades' website, one year after Shalit was taken.
"Mother, father, sisters, brothers, my friends in the Israeli army, I send you from my jail my regards and I miss you," said a text in Arabic posted on the site.
"I am sorry that the Israeli government has not shown more interest. It should meet the demands of my kidnappers so I can be released," said the voice in Hebrew on the tape.
Those demands are the release of hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails in return for Shalit.
Shalit's father, Noam, speaking to Israeli television, confirmed the voice was that of his son, a conscript now aged 20. He was promoted to sergeant from corporal while in captivity.
A video tape broadcast on Hamas's Al-Aqsa television station showed footage of Shalit apparently being captured on June 25, being dragged by two fighters dressed in Israeli army uniforms pulling his T-shirt and running next to him.
David Chater, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Jerusalem, said he had spoken to Noam Shalit and that he said the recording was coerced in the same way a letter sent to him in September was.
This was the first sign of life from Shalit since that letter and Chater says the recording is both good news in the sense that his family can at least here his voice but also distressing given that his medical condition appears to be worsening.
Shalit, a tank gunner, was taken into the Gaza Strip by armed men who tunnelled across the border into Israel.
Hamas is one of three groups that claimed responsibility for the joint operation in which Shalit was seized and earlier said it would release the tape to mark the first anniversary of his capture.
Negotiations brokered by Egypt have been suspended in recent months amid Palestinian internal fighting in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas now rules alone.
Chater says after the events of the past two weeks which have seen Hamas take control of the Gaza Strip from Fatah, the movement led by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, speculation into any new talks via Egyptian mediators is unnecessary.
"The sticking point has been the people that Hamas have been demanding be released and the sheer number of prisoners they want released in terms of an exchange for Shalit," he said.
The release also coincides with the opening of a summit between Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, and Abbas in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Nour Odeh, Al Jazeera's Gaza correspondent in Gaza, says the release of the Shalit tape was timed to "steal some of the thunder" from that meeting.
"It [the tape release] is way of stating the obvious, that it [Hamas] is in control of Gaza and it is in control of the abducted Israeli soldier and that Hamas alone will have a say on whether he is released and on what terms," Odeh said.
Osama al-Muzaini, a senior Hamas official, said: "We have been flexible in every possible way when it came to a swap deal, but the Israeli side was too weak to make a decision.
"The ball is now in the Israeli court."
Abu Mujahed, spokesman of the Popular Resistance Committees that took part in last year's cross-border raid, said: "The soldier Shalit will never be freed before we see our prisoners freed and among us".
Abu Mujahed made the comment at a rally attended by dozens of families of Palestinians held by Israel.
Source: Al Jazeera
Shalit was heard saying his health was deteriorating and that he needed hospital treatment.
The audio clip was posted on the website of Hamas's armed wing on Monday.
"I am Gilad Shalit. I've been arrested by Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades... I've been in prison one year. My situation is deteriorating," the recording said.
"I need an extended period in hospital," said the clip posted on the brigades' website, one year after Shalit was taken.
"Mother, father, sisters, brothers, my friends in the Israeli army, I send you from my jail my regards and I miss you," said a text in Arabic posted on the site.
"I am sorry that the Israeli government has not shown more interest. It should meet the demands of my kidnappers so I can be released," said the voice in Hebrew on the tape.
Those demands are the release of hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails in return for Shalit.
Shalit's father, Noam, speaking to Israeli television, confirmed the voice was that of his son, a conscript now aged 20. He was promoted to sergeant from corporal while in captivity.
A video tape broadcast on Hamas's Al-Aqsa television station showed footage of Shalit apparently being captured on June 25, being dragged by two fighters dressed in Israeli army uniforms pulling his T-shirt and running next to him.
David Chater, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Jerusalem, said he had spoken to Noam Shalit and that he said the recording was coerced in the same way a letter sent to him in September was.
This was the first sign of life from Shalit since that letter and Chater says the recording is both good news in the sense that his family can at least here his voice but also distressing given that his medical condition appears to be worsening.
Shalit, a tank gunner, was taken into the Gaza Strip by armed men who tunnelled across the border into Israel.
Hamas is one of three groups that claimed responsibility for the joint operation in which Shalit was seized and earlier said it would release the tape to mark the first anniversary of his capture.
Negotiations brokered by Egypt have been suspended in recent months amid Palestinian internal fighting in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas now rules alone.
Chater says after the events of the past two weeks which have seen Hamas take control of the Gaza Strip from Fatah, the movement led by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, speculation into any new talks via Egyptian mediators is unnecessary.
"The sticking point has been the people that Hamas have been demanding be released and the sheer number of prisoners they want released in terms of an exchange for Shalit," he said.
The release also coincides with the opening of a summit between Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, and Abbas in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Nour Odeh, Al Jazeera's Gaza correspondent in Gaza, says the release of the Shalit tape was timed to "steal some of the thunder" from that meeting.
"It [the tape release] is way of stating the obvious, that it [Hamas] is in control of Gaza and it is in control of the abducted Israeli soldier and that Hamas alone will have a say on whether he is released and on what terms," Odeh said.
Osama al-Muzaini, a senior Hamas official, said: "We have been flexible in every possible way when it came to a swap deal, but the Israeli side was too weak to make a decision.
"The ball is now in the Israeli court."
Abu Mujahed, spokesman of the Popular Resistance Committees that took part in last year's cross-border raid, said: "The soldier Shalit will never be freed before we see our prisoners freed and among us".
Abu Mujahed made the comment at a rally attended by dozens of families of Palestinians held by Israel.
Source: Al Jazeera
Hamas videotape shows Gilad Shalit to be healthy
Hamas deputy political bureau chief, Moussa Abu Marzouk is in possession of a videotape showing abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, who appears in good health, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jarida reported on Monday.
Hamas associates say the videotape was handed to Abu Marzouk by the head of the Hamas military wing, Ahmed Jabari, during the former's secret visit to the Gaza Strip late last month.
In addition, Abu Marzouk received a letter handwritten by Shalit, which he then handed to the Syrian foreign ministry. Abu Marzouk has decided to hold onto the videotape for the time being.
Hamas associates say the videotape was handed to Abu Marzouk by the head of the Hamas military wing, Ahmed Jabari, during the former's secret visit to the Gaza Strip late last month.
In addition, Abu Marzouk received a letter handwritten by Shalit, which he then handed to the Syrian foreign ministry. Abu Marzouk has decided to hold onto the videotape for the time being.
Israel imposes three-day blanket closure on West Bank
Israel closed its borders with the West Bank on Sunday night due to the Jewish holiday of Purim.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the army to close the borders from Sunday night through Wednesday evening, due to the holiday.
Source:Maan News Agency
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the army to close the borders from Sunday night through Wednesday evening, due to the holiday.
Source:Maan News Agency
Fatah delegation heads to Egypt
Five leaders of Fatah movement headed on Sunday to Cairo
The delegation includes Ibrahim Abu Najja, Ashraf Joma'a, Faisal Abu Shahla, Adbul Rahman Abu Nasser and Abdallah Abu Samhadana from
At the same time, Azzam el-Ahmad and Ahmed Abdel Rahman from the West Bank also head to
Abu Najja told reporters that his movement named its representatives in the five dialogue committees that will convene in
All the Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas handed over the Egyptian dialogue mediators the names of the representatives in the committees.
Hamas movement has not announced the names of its representatives in the five dialogue committees, but said the names were handed over to the Egyptian side.
Source:Ramattan
3/08/2009
Baghdad excerpts - Reports and photos from Baghdad
Reports and pictures from Baghdad. 140 pages, paperback. The book published in hungarian, but within a few weeks the english version will be aviable to order.
The price included the postal fee.
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Gaza in pictures
