Humanitarian Issues

[ninathedog]

Miracles in Japan: Four-Month Old Baby,
70-Year Old Woman Found Alive

By WILLIAM LEE ADAMS William Lee Adams – Tue Mar 15, 7:20 pm ET
Time.com

Amid the silent corpses a baby cried out - and Japan met its tiniest miracle.

On March 14 soldiers from the Japanese Defense Force were going door-to-door, pulling bodies from homes flattened by the earthquake and tsunami in Ishinomaki City, a coastal town northeast of Senda. More accustomed to the crunching of rubble and the sloshing of mud than to the sound of life, they dismissed the baby's cry as a mistake. Until they heard it again. (See 7 ways to help earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan.)

They made their way to the pile of debris, and carefully removed fragments of wood and slate, shattered glass and rock. And then they saw her: a four-month old baby girl in a pink woolen bear suit.



The tidal wave literally swept the unnamed girl away from her parents' arms when it hit their home on March 11. Since then her parents - both of whom survived the disaster - have taken refuge in their wrecked house, and worried that their little girl was dead. Soldiers managed to reunite the baby with her overjoyed father shortly after the rescue.

"Her discovery has put a new energy into the search," a civil defense official told a local news crew. "We will listen, look and dig with even more diligence after this." Ahead of the baby's rescue, officials reported finding at least 2,000 bodies washed up on the shoreline of Miyagi prefecture. How the child survived drowning - or being crushed by fallen trees and houses - remains a mystery. (See pictures of the calamity of Japan's quake.)

In a nation short on good news, other rescues have buoyed morale, too. In Iwate prefecture, northeastern Japan, the devastating tidal wave swept away an elderly woman along with her entire house - but it couldn't extinguish her will to live.

Rescuers found the 70-year-old alive inside her home on March 15, four days after the black tidal wave wiped out much of the region. Osaka fire department spokesman Yuko Kotani told the Associated Press the woman is now receiving treatment in a local hospital. She is conscious but suffering from hypothermia. (See how to tend to Japan's psychological scars.)

Elsewhere, 60-year old Hiromitsu Shinkawa survived two days at sea by clinging on to his floating rooftop. He was discovered 10 miles off the Japanese coastline. "Several helicopters and ships passed but none of them noticed me," he said after his March 13 rescue. "I thought that was going to be the last day of my life." (via Daily Mail)

news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110315/wl_time/httpnewsfeedtimecom20110315miraclesinjapanfourmontholdbaby70yearoldwomanfoundalivexidrssfullworldyahoo

newsfeed.time.com/2011/03/15/miracles-in-japan-four-month-old-baby-70-year-old-woman-found-alive/?xid=rss-fullworld-yahoo

[ninathedog]

We remember and honor Rachel Corrie

From: Washington Report on Middle East Affairs <[e-mail]>

Washington Report
1902 18th St NW • Washington, DC 20009 | [phone] • Fax: [phone]
ACTION ALERT
March 16, 2011
Contact: [e-mail]

[/blockquote]

March 16th, the 8th Anniversary of
Rachel Corrie's Stand in Gaza

Wednesday, March 16th, we mark the eighth anniversary of Rachel Corrie's stand in Rafah to protect the home of a Gazan family and for the right of all Palestinians to be free of occupation.

Here in Rachel's hometown (Olympia, Washington, USA), we will mark the day with an event emphasizing community-building, education, and action — all key to Rachel's organizing here and beyond. We will continue a tradition of sharing a potluck meal, music, and spoken word and will hear from Cindy and Craig Corrie about the continuing civil trial in Israel in Rachel's case. We will focus on our friends in Gaza who, according to the The UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) continue to suffer death, injury, and severe restriction on imports, exports, and freedom of movement. We will continue our demands for an end to the collective punishment of the 1.7 million residents of Gaza and to the blockade and siege.

Download the OCHA Report Here — www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/retrieveattachments?openagent&shortid=MCOI-8EMD7P&file=Full_Report.pdf.
or view online here — unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/7EA0B394A427A1428525784900543953

We will, also, remember and salute the courageous activists whose lives have been claimed this past year in nonviolent actions against Israeli policies or who have found themselves in prison because of their nonviolent resistance. They are American, Palestinian, Turkish, Israeli, and from elsewhere. In keeping with our memory of Rachel, we will this March 16th continue to listen to the voices of young people as they struggle worldwide to assert their visions for a democratic, free, and peaceful future; and we will call on U.S. officials to listen, too, and to be consistent in their demands that foreign governments and militaries be accountable for their actions and respect the right of people to assemble and protest.

We have heard from many across the U.S. and world who plan commemorative events. We thank all who join us in remembering Rachel and ask that you focus, too, on the others who have stood and been struck down, those imprisoned for their nonviolent resistance, those who carry on the work, and those in Gaza for whom Rachel took her stand. With events this week and beyond that keep compassion, humility, and love at their core, we will all honor Rachel's commitment and spirit.

Cindy & Craig Corrie:
March 16, 2011 Statement to the People of the World —
vimeo.com/20965030


Cindy & Craig Corrie:
March 16, 2011 Statement to the People of Gaza —
vimeo.com/21075813



............


Trial in Corrie Civil Suit in Israel
Resumes in April


Cindy, Craig, and Sarah Corrie outside
Disctrict Court in Haifa, Israel

The Corrie family has recently received word that the civil lawsuit in Haifa District Court in Israel in the case of their daughter Rachel Corrie, will resume in early April with court dates currently scheduled for April 3 and 6. Six state's witnesses remain to testify, including commanders who were in charge when Rachel Corrie was killed in 2003. For trial information and updates as it develops, please click here.

..............


Upcoming Events in Olympia

March 16th —
Continuing Quest for Justice: Rachel Corrie Eight Years Later
Community Gathering & Potluck
First Christian Church (Koinonia Hall)
701 Franklin St. SE, Olympia, WA 98501
6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

March 18th —
FOR Peace Vigils at Sylvester Park
Corner of Capitol and Legion
Noon Vigil - March 16th
Friday, March 18, 4:30 p.m.

March 22 —
The Hour of Sunlight
One Palestinian's Journey from Prisoner to Peace Maker
reading with author Jen Marlowe
Tuesday, March 22, 6pm
Orca Books
Click here for more info —
www.donkeysaddle.org/index.php/the-hour-of-sunlight

April 8 & 9 —
Peace Works 2011: Solidarity in Action
Keynote Presenter Alice Walker
The Poet/Writer as Activist
Friday & Saturday April 8 – 9
Washington Center for the Performing Arts
Click here to Register Now! —
rachelcorriefoundation.givezooks.com/events/peace-works-2011-solidarity-in-action

Support these & other Rachel Corrie Foundation efforts!
Donate Now!
www.RachelCorrieFoundation.org

Mar 16, 2011 19:25:13 GMT 4 @ninathedog said:

Today is March 16, 2011. It is the eighth anniversary of the death of American Rachel Corrie, murdered by an Israeli bulldozer driver in Palestine.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMHeuDjhwFo

>> edited for length


Rest in Peace, Rachel. We are doing the best we can.

[ninathedog]

This is an old video, some might say a "classic", but I'm reposting it because the automaton voice and the conflicting orders of the invisible soldier in the jeep are just SO RIDICULOUS. And the ending statements on the video are true. As always, note that this event occurred in Palestine (not Israel) and so one might ask: by what authority does this idiot soldier command these people?


www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnd2qXfMoTg&

(many thanks to Tali S)

[ninathedog]

Jewish organizations endorse
boycott of Israel

Wednesday March 16, 2011 23:02
by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News
International Middle East Media Center

Around twenty Jewish organizations, and a number of prominent Jewish individuals, including several Holocaust survivors, have signed on to a letter published by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network this week endorsing a boycott of Israeli goods and institutions, and calling for divestment and sanctions of Israel.


Jewish Anti-Zionist Network logo (from www.ijan.info website)

The letter was a response to a statement by liberal Zionist organizations on February 15th condemning the boycott of all Israeli goods, and launching a campaign titled “Buy Israel - Don't Buy Settlements (They're not the Same)”. The campaign came out of the J Street Conference held by liberal Zionists in Washington DC, and was led by Meretz, a liberal Zionist organization closely affiliated with J Street.

That statement said, in part, “We believe that a targeted boycott of the settlements (as opposed to a global boycott of sovereign Israel) is a legitimate tool to be used by Zionist organizations and individuals, both in Israel and in the Diaspora, to help bring the Occupation to an end and achieve a two-state solution. An indiscriminate boycott of Israel and Israelis runs the risk of strengthening those forces within Israel opposed to a genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and of alienating many mainstream Israelis of good will.”

The response letter, entitled “A Jewish response to the February 2011 Statement of Jewish Zionist Organizations on Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)”, gives several reasons for support of academic, cultural and commercial boycotts, divestments and sanctions of Israel, stating that such actions:
are being called for by Palestinian civil society in response to the occupation and colonization of their land,
are a moral tool of non-violent, peaceful response to more than sixty years of Israeli colonialism, and
rightfully place accountability on Israeli institutions (and their allies and partners) that use business, cultural, and academic ties to white-wash Israel’s responsibility for continuing crimes against humanity,

In addition, the letter of the Jewish Anti-Zionist Network addressed the claim made by some Zionist organizations that boycott of Israel is anti-Semitic, saying, “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions [BDS] are not antisemitic. We reject the notion that the 2005 BDS call from Palestine, and the BDS campaigns the world over which it has inspired, are rooted in anti-Jewish sentiment. On the contrary, BDS is an anti-racist movement against the daily, brutal occupation of Palestine and military threat to the region by the State of Israel. False claims of antisemitism distort the true nature of the Palestinian struggle and are an affront to, and betrayal of, the long history of Jewish survival and resistance to persecution.”

The organizations and individuals who signed onto the letter say that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions of Israel are meant to pressure Israel to fulfill its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and to fully comply with the precepts of international law.

List of signatories:

* International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
* Not In Our Name (Argentina)
* Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in Middle East (EJJP, Germany)
* Not in Our Name: Jews Opposing Zionism (Canada)
* Jews for a Just Peace (Fredericton, Canada)
* Independent Jewish Voice (Canada)
* Middle East Children's Alliance (USA)
* Critical Jewish Voice (Austria)
* Women in Black (Austria)
* French Jewish Union for Peace (UJFP)
* Bay Area Women in Black (USA)
* St. Louis Women in Black (USA)
* Philadelphia Jews for a Just Peace (USA)
* American Jews for a Just Peace (USA)
* Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods (UK)
* JUNTS, Asociació catalana de Jueus i Palestins (Asociación Catalana de Judios y Palestinas, Spain)
* Ronnie Kasrils, former South African government minister, writer, founder Not In My Name, South Africa
* Antony Loewenstein, Independent Australian Jewish Voices
* Peter Slezak, Independent Australian Jewish Voices
* Moshé Machover, Professor (emeritus) (UK), founder Matzpen
* Felicia Langer, Israeli lawyer, author, Right Livelihood Award 2006 (Alternative Nobel Prize) 1990, Bruno Kreisky Prize 1991
* Mieciu Langer, Nazi Holocaust survivor
* Hedy Epstein, Nazi Holocaust survivor
* Hajo G. Meyer PhD, Nazi Holocaust survivor
* Kamal Chenoy, IJAN India & The All India Peace and Solidarity Organization
* Paola Canarutto & Giorgio Forti, Rete ECO, Italy
* Liliane Cordova Kaczerginski, IJAN France
* Sonia Fayman, IJAN France & UJFP
* Ernesto Rosenberg, GRAMARPAL (Grupo de Amistad Argentina-Palestina, Neuquén, Argentina)
* Mark Elf, blogger, Jews sans Frontieres

We welcome organizations and individuals to join us in condemning false claims of anti-Semitism for the purposes of attempting to discredit our collective anti-racist activism against Israeli apartheid.

category international | non-violent action | news report author email saed at imemc dot org

www.imemc.org/article/60874

..................

Please add your signature.


Jewish Anti-Zionist Network — www.ijan.info

Statement by Jewish Activists and Organizations
active in BDS against Israel

A Jewish response to the February 2011 Statement of
Jewish Zionist Organizations on Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)

Because academic, cultural and commercial boycotts, divestments and sanctions of Israel:

* are being called for by Palestinian civil society in response to the occupation and colonization of their land,
* are a moral tool of non-violent, peaceful response to more than sixty years of Israeli colonialism, and,
* rightfully place accountability on Israeli institutions (and their allies and partners) that use business, cultural, and academic ties to white-wash Israel’s responsibility for continuing crimes against humanity,

The undersigned organizations and individuals stand firm in our support of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) initiatives against Israel until it meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law.

BDS is not antisemitic. We reject the notion that the 2005 BDS call from Palestine, and the BDS campaigns the world over which it has inspired, are rooted in anti-Jewish sentiment. On the contrary, BDS is an anti-racist movement against the daily, brutal occupation of Palestine and military threat to the region by the State of Israel. False claims of antisemitism distort the true nature of the Palestinian struggle and are an affront to, and betrayal of, the long history of Jewish survival and resistance to persecution.

BDS is not anti-democratic. We also reject the assertion that the cultural and academic boycotts of Israel defy the democratic principle of free speech. Research and development in academic institutions play a central role in designing and defending Israel’s military and intelligence machinery. Cultural institutions perpetuate the deception of Israeli democracy. To defend freedom of speech for those who disregard justice while demonizing those who struggle for justice is a great disservice to genuine democracy.

Through boycott, divestment and sanctions, civil society asserts our commitment to not contribute to the Israeli state, which is responsible for atrocious acts of disregard for human life and well being. Attacks against BDS campaigns will not prevent us from taking this stance against Israeli impunity. For the Jewish organizations signed onto this letter, self-determination for Jews includes the right to participate in the movement for justice in Palestine and to live in the world with our fellow citizens in peace, freedom, and equity. It does not include the domination and colonization of other people or living separate from our fellow human beings in a state that privileges Jews.

BDS was a key strategy in ending the white South African system of apartheid by applying international pressure. In pursuit of justice, peace and freedom for all, we speak out as Jews committed to BDS and Palestinian liberation.




www.ijsn.net/657/

[ninathedog]

UN approves
no-fly zone over Libya

Associated Press – 1 min ago

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council on Thursday approved a no-fly zone over Libya and authorized "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from attacks by Moammar Gadhafi's forces.

The action came as the Libyan leader was poised to make a final push against rebels holding out in Bengazhi, Libya's second largest city.

The vote in the 15-member council was 10-0 with five abstentions, including Russia and China.

The United States, France and Britain had pushed for speedy approval.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said if the resolution was approved, France would support military action against Gadhafi within hours. The U.S. said it was preparing for action. Several Arab nations were expected to provide backup.

Gadhafi vowed to launch a final assault on Benghazi and crush the rebellion as his forces advanced toward the city and warplanes bombed its airport Thursday.

Gadhafi said in an interview broadcast Thursday on Portuguese public broadcaster Radiotelevisao Portuguesa that he rejected any U.N. threats of action.

"The U.N. Security Council has no mandate," Gadhafi said. "We don't acknowledge their resolutions."

He warned that any military action would be construed as "colonization without any justification" and would have "grave repercussions."

The text of the resolution calls on nations to "establish a ban on all flights in the airspace of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in order to help protect civilians."

It also authorizes U.N. member states to take "all necessary measures ... to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory."

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/libya_diplomacy

[ninathedog]

Blockade denying Gaza youth
education, employment

Report, The Electronic Intifada, 17 March 2011


Undergraduate students at Islamic University in Gaza City. (Erica Silverman/IRIN)

RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IRIN) - The next generation in the Gaza Strip may be less educated, less professional and perhaps more radical because an Israeli blockade has restricted educational and employment opportunities, say UN and other sources.

The four-year blockade has particularly affected youths aged 18-24, limiting access to higher education, academic exchanges and professional development, says Gaza's education ministry. About 65 percent of Gaza's 1.6 million people are under 25, according to UN estimates.

"Higher education in all its forms is absolutely critical to a functioning society and the creation of a future Palestinian state," Max Gaylard, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, told IRIN, and "to maintain a necessary level of skills in professional sectors, like medicine and engineering."

Gaza's unemployment rate -- nearly 50 percent according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) -- indicates dire prospects for the rapidly growing and youthful population.

The economic blockade, imposed by Israel after the Islamist resistance movement Hamas took control of Gaza in June 2007, has obstructed the import of books, science laboratory and other educational equipment to Gaza, according to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Israel allows in limited humanitarian supplies.

The lack of facilities, new information and experiences has caused a marked deterioration of Gaza's whole educational system. Noor, an English education student at al-Azhar University, ranked second in Gaza, said she lacked essential books for her coursework and even chairs were missing from lecture halls.

"Our universities are not ready for new generations," she explained. "We only have one laboratory and two computer labs, and it is not enough."

Enrollment levels at Gaza's 14 public and private universities and colleges remain high, but conflict and the stringent blockade have seriously undermined access to, and the quality of, higher education, said UNESCO in a report.

According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza, "Under the policy of complete closure imposed since June 2007, Palestinians from Gaza who once constituted some 35 percent of the student body at universities in the West Bank are virtually absent from West Bank education institutions."

The development of two separate systems due to the Israeli-imposed movement restrictions, meant fewer subjects and facilities for Gaza's university students, said UNESCO.

Can't pay fees

About 80 percent of the Gaza population is aid dependent, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and higher education institutions in Gaza are feeling the financial strain.

The inability of students to cover fees has hit Gaza universities hard, since student fees provide about 60 percent of university running costs, according to Palestinian NGO Sharek Youth Forum.

"The level of education is being compromised and we have trouble hiring qualified professors and staff," said Kamalain Shaath, president of the Islamic University, ranked top in Gaza and the West Bank. Half the students at the university, he added, were unable to meet tuition requirements this semester.

Damaged buildings still not rebuilt

Islamic University's first medical school class of about fifty promising young doctors will graduate this spring, and will be desperately needed in this conflict area, although the university science labs that were destroyed during Israel's 2008-09 invasion of Gaza, dubbed "Operation Cast Lead," were never rebuilt.

Seven universities and colleges were damaged during the offensive, which ended in January 2009, with six buildings fully destroyed and 16 partially, according to UNESCO. As of March 2011, rebuilding has not been possible owing to the embargo on building materials.

Overcrowding in schools is another problem. About 81 percent of Gaza's public schools operate on double shifts, according Gaza's education ministry director-general, Sharif Nouman. In 2010, only three new schools were built due to lack of building materials, yet another 100 need to be built, he said.

Meanwhile, the internal conflict between Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas is putting pressure on the education system, due to the lack of communication between the Gaza and West Bank ministries, he added.

Rising unemployment

The unemployment rate among those aged 15-19 is about 72 percent, while unemployment affects 66 percent of those aged 20-24, according to a January socio-economic report by the Office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO). West Bank unemployment rates were 29 percent and 34 percent for these age groups, respectively.

About 70 percent of industrial establishments in Gaza have closed under the blockade, according to OCHA, while 120,000 private sector jobs were lost in the first two years of closure. A recent easing has allowed the limited export of cut flowers and strawberries from Gaza to Europe.

"When young people graduate they have almost no opportunity to find a job in a company or association," said Bassam, a multi-media student at al-Azhar University. Some try to start their own businesses, but "this cannot succeed in Gaza now because of the blockade," he added.

UN officials in the region have expressed concern that isolating youth in Gaza from broader values and opportunities will backfire. "A rapidly growing society, becoming poorer, that is subject to restrictions on education will encourage extremism in its worst forms," warned Gaylard.

Deputy director-general of the Israeli Ministry of Public Diplomacy, Danny Seaman, however, said "Hamas uses access to Israel to perpetrate terror attacks against our civilians and this immediate threat outweighs the concern over increased militancy amongst youth in Gaza."

Some 71 percent of university students surveyed by UNESCO reported they were not hopeful about the future and almost the same number worried there will be another war.

"Most of my peers want to emigrate," said Shadi, a 26-year-old physical therapist in Gaza City. "We are isolated and frustrated."

This item comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian news and information service, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. All IRIN material may be reposted or reprinted free-of-charge; refer to the copyright page for conditions of use. IRIN is a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.



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electronicintifada.net/v2/article11862.shtml

[ninathedog]

Libya 'to halt military action'

18 March 2011 Last updated at 11:18 ET
BBC.com

Libya's government has declared an immediate ceasefire after
a UN Security Council resolution backed "all necessary measures"
short of occupation to protect civilians in the country.

Libyan Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa said the ceasefire was intended to protect civilians.

Western powers had been discussing how to enforce the UN resolution.

It was passed as troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi advanced on the rebel-held second city of Benghazi.

Before the announcement of the ceasefire, heavy fighting between pro-Gaddafi forces and rebels was reported to be continuing.

Rebels said government forces had also been bombarding the western city of Misrata, and there are unconfirmed claims that this has continued despite the ceasefire announcement.

UN Security Council Resolution 1973 gave broad backing to taking military action against all threats to civilians, which could include bombing Col Gaddafi's forces on the ground if necessary.

Ms Kussa said Libya, as a member of the UN, was "obliged to accept the UN Security Council's resolutions".

"Libya has decided an immediate ceasefire and an immediate halt to all military operations," he said.

The ceasefire announcement came only hours after Col Gaddafi had insisted that the Security Council had "no mandate" for such a resolution, "which we absolutely do not recognise".

"This is not a war between two countries that permits the council to intervene," he said in an interview on Portuguese television. The UN Charter "does not permit interference in domestic affairs", he added.

The Libyan military had previously warned that civilian and military activities in the Mediterranean would become "the target of a Libyan counter-attack" following any foreign operation.

'Actions not words'

The announcement of a ceasefire was dismissed by a rebel commander in the eastern city of Benghazi, who accused Col Gaddafi of "bluffing".

Khalifa Heftir told reporters: "Gaddafi does not speak any truth... All the world knows that Muammar Gaddafi is a liar. He and his sons, and his family, and all those with him are liars."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Libyan government would need to demonstrate it was implementing a ceasefire.

"We are going to be not responsive or impressed by words, we would have to see actions on the ground and that is not yet at all clear," she said.

"We will continue to work with our partners in the international community to press Gaddafi to leave and to support the legitimate aspirations of the Libyan people."

British Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain would judge Col Gaddafi "by his actions not his words" after Libya said it was declaring a ceasefire to comply with the resolution.

"What is absolutely clear is the UN Security Council resolution said he must stop what he is doing, brutalising his people. If not, all necessary measures can follow to make him stop," he told the BBC.

"That is what we agreed last night, that is what we are preparing for and we'll judge him by what he does."

Mr Cameron had earlier said Britain was preparing to move Tornado and Typhoon fighter-bomber aircraft to bases near Libya. The British and French, along with some Arab allies, are expected to play a leading role in any initial air strikes.

French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told Reuters TV: "We have to be very cautious. He (Gaddafi) is now starting to be afraid, but on the ground the threat has not changed."

'Strong message'

The 15-member UN Security Council approved the resolution on Libya late on Thursday with 10 votes in favour, none against and five abstentions.

Russia and China - which often oppose the use of force against a sovereign country as they believe it sets a dangerous precedent - abstained rather than using their power of veto as permanent members.

The US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said it sent a "strong message" to Col Gaddafi "that the violence must stop".

If there is opposition to the regime in Tripoli, it has been silenced, either by fear, or by the prevailing atmosphere of patriotism, reports the BBC's Allan Little from the capital.

There is dismay and anger at the UN decision, adds our correspondent, with many seeing the rebellion in the east not as a popular uprising against dictatorship but as a criminal enterprise supported by foreign powers and aimed at plundering Libya's oil.

Col Gaddafi has ruled Libya for more than 40 years. An uprising against him began last month after long-time leaders of neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt were toppled.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12787739

Mar 18, 2011 3:16:29 GMT 4 @ninathedog said:

UN approves
no-fly zone over Libya

Associated Press – 1 min ago

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council on Thursday approved a no-fly zone over Libya and authorized "all necessary measures" to protect civilians from attacks by Moammar Gadhafi's forces.

The action came as the Libyan leader was poised to make a final push against rebels holding out in Bengazhi, Libya's second largest city.

The vote in the 15-member council was 10-0 with five abstentions, including Russia and China.

The United States, France and Britain had pushed for speedy approval.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said if the resolution was approved, France would support military action against Gadhafi within hours. The U.S. said it was preparing for action. Several Arab nations were expected to provide backup.

Gadhafi vowed to launch a final assault on Benghazi and crush the rebellion as his forces advanced toward the city and warplanes bombed its airport Thursday.

Gadhafi said in an interview broadcast Thursday on Portuguese public broadcaster Radiotelevisao Portuguesa that he rejected any U.N. threats of action.

"The U.N. Security Council has no mandate," Gadhafi said. "We don't acknowledge their resolutions."

He warned that any military action would be construed as "colonization without any justification" and would have "grave repercussions."

The text of the resolution calls on nations to "establish a ban on all flights in the airspace of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in order to help protect civilians."

It also authorizes U.N. member states to take "all necessary measures ... to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory."

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/libya_diplomacy

[ninathedog]

People on Facebook are starting groups calling for a "No-Fly Zone" over Palestine.
They feel that Palestinian children have a right to sleep soundly through the night, too.

[ninathedog]

With aid slow to come
Japanese fend for themselves

By Kristen Gelineau And Foster Klug, Associated Press – Fri Mar 18, 11:13 am ET

KARAKUWA, Japan – There may be no water, no power and no cell phone reception in this tsunami-struck town, but in the school that serves as a shelter, there are sizzling pans of fat, pink shrimp.

Relief supplies have only trickled into the long strip of northeast Japan demolished by a powerful earthquake and the wave it unleashed a week ago, leaving affected communities to fend for themselves.

Many have risen to the occasion.

No water for the toilets? No problem. Students in Karakuwa bring buckets of water from the school swimming pool to give survivors the dignity of a proper flush. In the kitchen, a giant rice cooker given to the school by a resident sits on a table, steam rising from the heaping mounds of rice inside.

"For a long time, in the countryside, even if you didn't have enough for yourself, you shared with others," said Noriko Sasaki, 63, as she sat on the ground outside another relief center in the town. "That is our culture. Even if they're not relatives, we feel as if they're sisters or brothers."

There are hardships — a junior high hardly offers the comforts of home — and while the sense of community runs all along the coast, not all survivors are as well off.

Blustery snow, fuel shortages and widespread damage to airports, roads and rails have hampered delivery of badly needed assistance to more than 450,000 homeless trying to stay fed and warm, often without electricity and running water in shelters cobbled together in schools and other public buildings.

More than 6,900 people are confirmed dead so far and another 10,700 are missing. The disaster also damaged a seaside nuclear power plant, which remains in crisis as workers struggle under dangerous conditions to prevent a meltdown and major radiation leaks.

In the flattened hamlet of Shizugawa, Koji Sato, a carpenter who usually builds homes, is making coffins.

He said he hasn't had time to really think about the hardship he's faced. "All I have been doing is making coffins."

In Hirota, helicopters have delivered some food, but not much. So far, the survivors have instant noodles, fruit and bread. Water comes from wells and mountain rivers. Companies and residents unaffected by the disaster have donated bedding and blankets.

Kouetsu Sasaki, a 60-year-old city hall worker, said they still need gas, vegetables, socks, underwear, wet wipes and anti-bacterial lotion. There is some medicine, but not enough.

"People here aren't angry or frustrated yet. ... But it's a big question mark whether we can keep living like this for weeks or months," said Sasaki, who is not related to Noriko. "I try to concentrate on what I need to do this morning, this day, and not think about how long it might last."

With roads and airport runways being cleared of debris, aid workers hope to ramp up relief soon.

Helicopters operating from two U.S. aircraft carriers off the coast of Japan are already ferrying in supplies.

Two American helicopters touched down on a hilltop above Shizugawa on Friday with boxes of canned beans and powdered milk for a community center that has become a shelter for those who lost their homes.

But snow has limited helicopter flights, and American aircraft are also under orders to skirt the area around the nuclear plant to reduce the risk of radiation exposure.

The region can expect some relief in about 24 hours in the way of warmer weather replacing bitter cold and snow, said Herbert Puempel of the U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization in Geneva. He said temperatures should climb enough to "take a little pressure off the people who are not housed."

"It's frustrating," said U.S. Navy rescue swimmer Jeff Pearson, 25, of Amarillo, Texas. "But we're doing all we can do. I think we are going to be able to get much more involved very soon."

His helicopter crew, based on the southern island of Okinawa, was heading farther north from Japan's Jinmachi Air Base in Yamagata city.

A 24-vehicle U.S. Marines convoy reached the base Friday, where the Marines will run a refueling hub, move supplies by road and provide communications support.

Also Friday, the airport in Sendai, the city closest to the epicenter, was declared ready to receive aid deliveries on jumbo C-130 and C-17 military transport planes. The tsunami had flooded the tarmac, piling up small planes and cars and leaving behind a layer of muck and debris.

At the school in Karakuwa, 43-year-old Emi Yoshida reads a book, still wearing the same clothes she had on the day the tsunami roared into town. She has not showered in a week and longs for a bed. Still, she is grateful for the comfort the community has provided her and her two sons.

Nearby, 62-year-old Yoko Komatsu and her 88-year-old father-in-law Tetsuo Komatsu sit in a patch of sunlight streaming in through the giant classroom windows, warming themselves next to an oil-powered heater.

Yoko feels trapped by the one thing the volunteers cannot give her: a way to communicate with the outside world. She has no idea if her relatives, who live in other hard-hit coastal towns, are alive.

"I want to go there to check on them," she said. "Even if I go, I can't come back, so I can't move. What I want most is gas."

In the kitchen, teachers, mothers of students and the newly homeless whip up three meals and two snacks a day.

The women mix together squid, shrimp and stir-fried vegetables in large pots, turning it into a nourishing stew that they ladle onto bowls of rice. They're delivered with slices of apples throughout the building.

In the middle of one classroom, a group of boys plunk themselves in seats around a table, the bowls of stew sending plumes of steam into the air. In unison, they bow their heads.

"Thank you," they say. "For everything."

Then, their chilled hands armed with chopsticks, they gobble their dinner down.

___

Klug reported from Hirota. Associated Press writers Eric Talmadge in Yamagata and Todd Pitman in Shizugawa and AP photographer David Guttenfelder in Shizugawa contributed to this story.

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110318/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_earthquake_devastation

[ninathedog]

Children Denied Passage Through Wall Gate After
Refusing Electronic Body Scan

Friday March 18, 2011 07:23
by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies Report post
International Middle East Media Center

On Wednesday and Thursday, Israeli soldiers stationed at a gate in the Annexation Wall near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, have been demanding that the students undergo electronic scans before they are allowed to walk to school. The children refused and were ordered back home.

The incidents took place on both days as school students of Daher al-Maleh village, west of Jenin, were told by soldiers, manning a gate of the Annexation Wall, that they must be thoroughly searched with an electronic scanner before they are allowed to pass.

The gate is the only passage the villagers have after the Annexation Wall had completely surrounded their village.

The children refused the soldiers’ demands and were forced back home before while the army closed the gate.

Local sources said that dozens of children were denied their right to education after the army sealed the gate, and that the residents are always electronically scanned by the soldiers every time they want to pass through the gate while leaving the village or entering it.


Dhaher Al Maleh Village Isolated by the Wall

The villagers live under constant siege and blockade since many years now as the Annexation Wall and the surrounding Jewish settlements have fully encircled their village and isolated it from the rest of the occupied territories.

category jenin | the wall | news report author email saed at imemc dot org

www.imemc.org/article/60889


source for following maps:
Applied Research Institute—Jerusalem
Monitoring Israeli Colonization Activities in the Palestinian Territories





www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=2421




www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/view.php?recordID=1054

.........


Brave IDF soldier 'defending himself' against ruthless Palestinian

[ninathedog]

Jewish Official Stopped By Police Because
He Looked Arab

Friday March 18, 2011 02:49
by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies Report
International Middle East Media Center

Israeli Ynet News reported that a Jewish man, member of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa City Council was stopped by a policewomen who racially profiled him as an Arab. The man described the act as racist.

The Ynet said that, two weeks ago, Yoav Goldring was driving on Allenby Street when he was ordered to stop by an Israeli policewoman, and when asking her about the reason for stopping him she said in a cynical way that he has an Arab profile.

The City Council member objected to the statement of the policewoman and told her that what she said was racist, especially coming from a uniformed official.

Goldring sent a complaint to the Tel Aviv District Police commander stating that this actions demanding a disciplinary action against the policewoman for her racist remarks.

According to the Ynet, Police commander, Illan Mor, sent a reply to Goldring apologizing on behalf of the policewoman, and stating that she was reprimanded for her actions.

category israel | miscellaneous | news report author email saed at imemc dot org

www.imemc.org/article/60886

.............

Police question TA man for 'Arab profile'

Tel Aviv City Council member who was stopped on street by policewoman for
his 'Arab profile' says action was racist, inappropriate

Yoav Zitun
Published: 03.17.11, 16:15 / Israel News
Ynetnews.com

A Tel Aviv resident, Yoav Goldring, was stopped for a routine check on Allenby Street two weeks ago by a policewoman. When he asked what the allegations against him were, the policewomen told him cynically that he has a "profile of an Arab." He was released and was on his way shortly.

Goldring, a member of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa City Council, found it troublesome to accept that an Arab appearance would immediately deem someone suspicious in the eyes of the police.


Yoav Goldring

"I told her that I am a member of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa City Council, and that the expression that she used was racist and does not respect the uniform," he wrote in a letter of complaint that he submitted to Tel Aviv District Police Commander Shahar Ayalon. He added that statement was inappropriate, even though another policewoman who was present during the incident explained that the remark was made cynically.

"While it does not warrant a complaint to the Police Investigation Unit, it certainly warrants disciplinary action," he wrote.

The police department's head of operations, Commander Ilan Mor, replied to Goldring's complaint with an apology for the unfortunate statement. He said that the policewoman was reprimanded for her actions.

"The activity of the Israeli police to keep its residents safe is important, but at the same time it is important to protect the dignity of the citizens and the dignity of the police," Goldring told Ynet.

www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4043851,00.html

[ninathedog]

[OccupationNews] Digest Number 1325

Fri Mar 18, 2011 8:47 pm (PDT)


***Occupied Palestine and Israel: News and Articles*

*News*
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
*International Middle East Media Center* <http://imemc. org/>

*PCHR Weekly Report: Two Palestinians, five Israelis killed; 40 attacks
by Israeli settlers this week* <http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60891>
IMEMC - In its Weekly Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory for the week of 10-16 March 2011, the
Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) found that Israeli forces
killed two Palestinians this week, and Israeli settlers escalated
attacks on Palestinian civilians and property following the murder of an
Israeli settler family -- allegedly by a Palestinian perpetrator.

*Netanyahu Denounces Fateh-Hamas Reconciliation Efforts*
<http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60890>
IMEMC - Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, harshly slammed the
reconciliation efforts between the rival Fateh and Hamas movements in
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

*Children Denied Passage Through Wall Gate After Refusing Electronic
Body Scan* <http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60889>
IMEMC - On Wednesday and Thursday, Israeli soldiers stationed at a gate
in the Annexation Wall near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, have
been demanding the students to undergo electronic scan before they are
allowed to walk to school. The children refused and were ordered back home.

*As Israel Celebrate Purim, Palestine Placed Under Siege*
<http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60888>
IMEMC - The Israeli army enforced a full closure on the occupied
territories as Israel and its West Bank settlers celebrate the Purim
holiday.

*Higher Islamic Clerk Not Allowed To Leave Country*
<http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60887>
IMEMC - Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, Elyahu Yishai, decided on
Thursday to prevent Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, head of the Higher Islamic
Committee in Jerusalem, from leaving the country for six months.

*Jewish Official Stopped By Police Because He Looked Arab*
<http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60886>
IMEMC - Israeli Ynet News reported that a Jewish man, member of the Tel
Aviv-Jaffa City Council was stopped by a policewomen who racially
profiled him as an Arab. The man described the act as racist.

*Lebanon Dismantles Israeli Spy System* <http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60885>
IMEMC - A statement released by the Lebanese Army revealed that an
Israeli surveillance system was uncovered and dismantled on Thursday in
Sahmaa town, near Tyr in southern Lebanon.

*Palestinian nearly beaten to death in attack by Israeli settlers*
<http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60883>
IMEMC - On Thursday afternoon, a 31-year old man named Sami, from Ytima
village, was attacked and beaten severely by a group of eight Israeli
settlers. He was taken to a hospital in Ramallah, where he remains in
critical condition with severe injuries to his head, arms, legs and back.

*6 Trees Cut Down in at-Tuwani. Settlers Accused of the Attack*
<http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60882>
IMEMC - Villagers from at-Tuwani, in the southern West Bank region,
discovered, on Wednesday, that olive groves belonging to residents of
the village had been attacked, with six trees destroyed. Residents
believe that the attack was carried out by settlers from the outpost of
Havat Ma'on.

*Israeli Military Withdraws From Awarta. Damage, Theft, Assaults
Reported* <http://www.imemc. org/article/ 60881>
IMEMC - The Israeli military withdrew, on Wednesday, from the village of
Awarta, near Nablus following it's imposition of four days of curfew.

*Ma'an News* <http://maannews. net/en/>

*Palestinian hospitalized after settler attack*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=369846>
3/18/2011 - NABLUS (Ma'an) --A group of settlers attacked a Palestinian
from Huwwara village on Friday, as settler violence escalated in the
northern West Bank. Settlers threw stones at Talal Ad-Dmeidi, 35, and
beat him with sticks at Yitzhar junction south of Nablus. Ad-Dmeidi was
taken by ambulance to Rafidia Hospital, medics from the Palestinian. ...

*Palestinians burn settler home in Jerusalem*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370004>
3/18/2011 - JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- A settler house was set on fire Friday
as Palestinians threw Molotov cocktails at it in the Wad Ar-Rabab area
of the Silwan neighborhood in Jerusalem. Palestinians threw stones and
more Molotov cocktails toward the settlers as they attempted to put out
the fire, witnesses said. An Israeli border guard officer....

*March against the wall in Jenin*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=369868>
3/18/2011 - JENIN (Ma'an) - The Popular Committee Against the Wall and
Fatah organized on Thursday a march in Anin village to plant 200 olive
trees. Fatah secretary general Radi Khadour said at the march that the
separation wall was isolating the village and turning it into a prison....

*Army: Missile fired on tank in southern Gaza*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=369945>
3/18/2011 - TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Gaza fighters on Friday launched
anti-tank missile at Israeli forces operating in the southern Gaza
Strip, a military statement said. The army said its soldiers were
"performing a routine activity" in the coastal enclave, and that it
would "choose the method of response as per arising security
assessments. " No....

*PLO leader urges Hamas to accept Abbas offer*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=369983>
3/19/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Nabil Amr, member of PLO central
council, called on Hamas to respond immediately to Mahmoud Abbas'
proposal to go to Gaza. It "may be the last of the series of initiatives
which have been taken to protect the homeland," he said. The president
said Wednesday that he was ready to....

*Palestinians detained in Israel support unity efforts*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=369904>
3/18/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Palestinian prisoners detained in
Israel's Negev prison held a meeting Thursday to discuss developments in
Palestinian national reconciliation. Detainees affiliated with Hamas and
Fatah announced their support for efforts to end the division between
the parties and their separate governments in Gaza and the West Bank, a
prisoners'.. ..

*Netanyahu slams Palestinian unity efforts*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=369844>
3/18/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu has slammed Palestinian unity efforts, saying national
Palestinian reconciliation would be the end of the peace process with
Israel. In a CNN interview broadcast Thursday, Netanyahu compared Hamas
to Al-Qaeda, and said the Palestinian Authority could not be "for peace
with Israel and peace with Hamas....

*Practical arrangements underway for Abbas visit to Gaza*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=369897>
3/18/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday
instructed Civil Affairs chairman Hussein Al-Sheikh to make logistical
arrangements for his visit to Gaza as quickly as possible. Abbas also
asked Gaza premier Ismail Haniyeh to make arrangements to receive him at
Erez border crossing in the coming days. The president said Wednesday
that he....

*Palestinian Authority gears up for Gaza visit*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370029>
3/18/2011 - RAMALLAH (AFP) -- President Mahmoud Abbas has appointed a
delegation on Gaza to prepare a visit he plans to make to the
Hamas-controlled territory, an adviser said Friday." An invitation to
meet was sent to the Hamas leadership in the West Bank to prepare his
visit to Gaza," said Nimr Hammad, a political adviser to Abbas....

*Disabled Palestinian detained at Jordan border*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=369650>
3/19/2011 - NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Israeli authorities on Wednesday detained
a young man who left to Jordan for treatment, at the Al-Karamah border
crossing, activist Ahmad Al-Bitawi said. Muhamad Saker, 24, from Askar
refugee camp in Nablus, was detained while traveling from Jordan after
two weeks of treatment as he was suffering hemiplegia. He has been....

*Local singer joins Ramallah protesters*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370022>
3/19/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Reem Talhami, a Palestinian singer,
joined Palestinians Friday in Ramallah protesting for national unity.
She sang a new song for Gaza and dedicated it to all the Palestinians in
Gaza. She told Ma'an that the youth proved that their revolution stemmed
from the young generation that has enthusiasm and....

*Report: Palestinian baby delivered at Itamar settlement*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=369815>
3/18/2011 - TEL AVIV, Israel (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces and paramedics
saved the life of a Palestinian woman and her newly born infant
Wednesday, at the settlement where five members of a family were
murdered, news reports said. The illegal settlement of Itamar was the
site of a brutal murder Friday during which five members of....

*2 farmers detained near Ramallah*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=369973>
3/18/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces detained on Friday two
farmers who were working on their lands near the Beit El settlement. The
Palestinians in Dura Al-Qare village, east of Ramallah, were identified
as Yasser Suleiman Al-Abed and Bassam Sami Farhoud. Witnesses told Ma'an
that forces detained the men amid tensions with settlers....

*Taha dismisses Haaretz 'lies'*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=369998>
3/19/2011 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Hamas leader Ayman Taha denied reports
in Israeli media Friday that he was under investigation for corruption.
The Haaretz daily, quoting Palestinian sources in Gaza, reported that
Taha was suspended over allegations of corruption this week." This is
the first time in the history of the organization in which one....

*Rafah man freed after 40 days in jail*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=369856>
3/19/2011 - GAZA CITY (Ma'an) - Israeli authorities released on Thursday
detainee Muhammad Musa Zu'rob, 35, from Rafah after 40 days in jail.
Muhammad was detained when he was travelling with his cousin to Israel
for treatment via the Erez border crossing. The detainees' center
reported that detainee Ghassan Abu Salah from Beit....

*Young man takes imam's place at Ramallah mosque*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370030>
3/18/2011 - RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- As the imam of a mosque in central
Ramallah prepared to give his sermon, hundreds of worshipers were
surprised when a young man took the microphone and said the voice of the
youth should be heard. Worshipers at the Abdul Nasser mosque told Ma'an
that the imam went up....

*Scotland protests in solidarity with Palestinians*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=369473>
3/19/2011 - BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Dozens of Scots and Arabs chanted
slogans about ending division Thursday in Glasgow in solidarity with
Palestinians in Manara and Katiba squares. The protests were in George
Square in Glasgow to announce their solidarity with the demand of
Palestinians to end of division and restore the national unity of
Palestine. They....

*Joy in Benghazi as UN clears way for air raids*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=369861>
3/18/2011 - BENGHAZI, Libya (AFP) - Rebel bastion Benghazi erupted with
celebratory gunfire after the UN Security Council cleared the way for
air strikes to halt Moammar Gadhafi's offensive on Libyan insurgents.
The 15-member Security Council in a resolution approved "all necessary
measures" to impose a no-fly zone, protect civilian areas and pressure
the veteran....

*Libya announces immediate halt to all military ops*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=369942>
3/18/2011 - TRIPOLI (AFP) - Libya will halt all military operations
immediately, Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa said in Tripoli on Friday."
Libya has decided an immediate ceasefire and an immediate halt to all
military operations," Kussa told a press conference. He said that,
because Libya is a member of the United Nations, it is "obliged to
accept the....

*Obama warns of military action against Gadhafi*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370014>
3/18/2011 - WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Barack Obama on Friday
warned of military action if Moammar Gadhafi refused to honor a tough UN
resolution, saying the Libyan leader would commit atrocities if left
unchecked... .

*Obama says world gave Gadhafi 'ample warning'*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370015>
3/18/2011 - WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Barack Obama said Friday
that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was given "ample warning" before the
international community chose to use force against him....

*Obama: Clinton to attend Paris summit on Libya*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370016>
3/18/2011 - WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
will attend a key summit in Paris Saturday as Western and Arab nations
decide action against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, President Barack
Obama said....

*Obama: No US ground troops in Libya*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370017>
3/18/2011 - WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Barack Obama said Friday no
American troops would be deployed on the ground in Libya as Western and
Arab nations prepared military action aimed at toppling strongman
Moammar Gadhafi....

*Libya handed ultimatum to stop attacks 'immediately' *
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370027>
3/18/2011 - PARIS (AFP) -- France, Britain, the United States and Arab
countries have issued an ultimatum to Libya's Moammar Gadhafi to
"immediately" end attacks against his people or face military
intervention based on a UN resolution, according to a copy received from
the French presidency Friday....

*Loud blast, anti-aircraft fire in Libya rebel city*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370034>
3/18/2011 - BENGHAZI, Libya (AFP) -- A loud explosion followed by
anti-aircraft fire was heard late on Friday in the Libyan rebel bastion
of Benghazi, AFP correspondents said....

*Libya rebels urged to defend western Benghazi*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370038>
3/18/2011 - BENGHAZI, Libya (AFP) -- The rebel military command urged
fighters to mobilise swiftly to defend western access routes to their
stronghold of Benghazi, in a statement read on their radio station late
Friday....

*Tripoli: Army has no plan to attack Benghazi*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370039>
3/18/2011 - TRIPOLI (AFP) -- The Libyan military does not plan to attack
the rebel stronghold of Benghazi and remains committed to a ceasefire,
Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaaim told reporters late on Friday....

*US strongly condemns Syria violence*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370045>
3/18/2011 - WASHINGTON (AFP) -- The United States on Friday strongly
condemned violence by security forces in Syria after four people died
and hundreds were wounded in the latest crackdown to rock the Middle
East....

*US: Gadhafi in violation of UN cease-fire resolution*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370046>
3/18/2011 - UNITED NATIONS (AFP) -- US Ambassador Susan Rice said Friday
that Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi was in violation of the UN
Security Council resolution ordering an immediate cease-fire in Libya....

*Tripoli accuses rebels of breaching truce*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370047>
3/18/2011 - TRIPOLI (AFP) -- Libyan deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim
on Saturday accused rebels of breaching a truce by attacking government
forces in Al-Magrun, about 80 kilometers south of the rebel stronghold
of Benghazi....

*French UN envoy sees Libya intervention after summit*
<http://www.maannews .net/eng/ ViewDetails. aspx?ID=370048>
3/18/2011 - LONDON (AFP) -- France's Ambassador to the UN, Gerard Araud,
told BBC television that he expected military intervention in Libya
within hours of a summit in Paris later Saturday....

*Palestine Note* <http://palestinenot e.com/cs/>

*America's foreign policy hypocrisies weaken fight against tyrants like
Qadhafi*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ blogs/archive/ 2011/03/18/ america-foreign- policy-hypocrisi es-weaken- fight-against- tyrants-like- qadhafi.aspx>
Palestine Note 18 Mar 2011 - President Barack Obama is putting the
credibility of the United States on the line against the Arab and Muslim
Worlds, this time vowing to stand up for the rebels in Libya who are
victims of Qadhafi's maniacal policies. But does...

*UN Backs Military Action in Libya*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ topnews/archive/ 2011/03/18/ un-backs- military- action-in- libya.aspx>
Palestine Note 18 Mar 2011 - Gadhafi declares 'ceasefire' BBC News - The
UN Security Council has backed a no-fly zone over Libya and "all
necessary measures" to protect civilians short of an occupation. It was
not immediately clear what form intervention would take and when...

*Settler vandals continue to do damage*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ news/archive/ 2011/03/17/ settler-vandals- continue- to-do-damage. aspx>
Palestine Note 17 Mar 2011 - Ma'an - At least 100 olive trees were
ripped out and four water tankers ruined Thursday afternoon, by what
witnesses said was a mob of at least a dozen settlers. On a hilltop
between the Nablus-district villages of Beita and...

*Standoff at UNRWA building in Gaza*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ news/archive/ 2011/03/17/ standoff- at-unrwa- building- in-gaza.aspx>
Palestine Note 17 Mar 2011 - Ma'an - Security forces dispersed a
demonstration organized by Palestinian youth who are calling for ending
division, in front of the UNRWA building in Gaza on Thursday. Sixteen
protesters took refuge in the compound after fleeing baton-wielding
Hamas police have...

*In Cairo, Hillary Clinton pledges millions in U.S. aid to Egypt*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ news/archive/ 2011/03/17/ in-cairo- hillary-clinton- pledges-millions -in-u-s-aid- to-egypt. aspx>
Palestine Note 17 Mar 2011 - Washington Post - Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to the wellspring of Egypt's
pro-democracy revolution on Tuesday to pledge tens of millions of
dollars in U.S. financial aid and business incentives while also
appealing for Arab help in...

*Gaddafi, Israel and the US!*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ blogs/archive/ 2011/03/17/ gaddafi-israel- and-the-us. aspx>
Palestine Note 17 Mar 2011 - Muammar Gaddafi went on radio threatening
no mercy for the pro-democracy residence of Ben Ghazi. In the last few
days, Muammar and his son Seif el-Islam feel energized again after
making some gains on the grounds during the last 10...

*White House appears reluctant to take hard line with Arab monarchies*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ news/archive/ 2011/03/17/ white-house- appears-reluctan t-to-take- hard-line- with-arab- monarchies. aspx>
Palestine Note 17 Mar 2011 - Washington Post - As Persian Gulf monarchs
forcibly suppress street protests in the kingdom of Bahrain , the Obama
administration has responded mostly with mild or muted objections --- a
sharp contrast from its demands for new governments in the republics...

*Palestinian man says masked men attacked him in Israeli settlement in
West Bank*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ news/archive/ 2011/03/17/ palestinian- man-says- masked-men- attacked- him-in-israeli- settlement- in-west-bank. aspx>
Palestine Note 17 Mar 2011 - Washington Post - A Palestinian man says he
was attacked by masked men inside a Jewish West Bank settlement.
Palestinian laborer Sami Snobar says at least eight Hebrew-speaking men
approached him at a construction site where he was working Thursday...

*Arab and Jewish women in Israel should join forces*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ blogs/archive/ 2011/03/17/ arab-and- jewish-women- in-israel- should-join- forces.aspx>
Palestine Note 17 Mar 2011 - Maram Masrawi - There are those who argue
that the representation of Arab Israeli women in recent years in various
television "reality" programmes testifies to a profound change within
Arab Israeli society in general, and among Arab Israeli women in...

*Blockade frustrates Gaza students*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ news/archive/ 2011/03/17/ blockade- frustrates- gaza-students. aspx>
Palestine Note 17 Mar 2011 - IRIN - The next generation in the Gaza
Strip may be less educated, less professional and perhaps more radical
because an Israeli blockade has restricted educational and employment
opportunities, say UN and other sources. The four-year blockade has
particularly affected...

*Benghazi radio rap boosts morale of Libyan rebels*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ music/archive/ 2011/03/17/ benghazi- radio-rap- boosts-morale- of-libyan- rebels.aspx>
Palestine Note 17 Mar 2011 - Arabiya - Two young Libyans whose rap music
is broadcast to the front line by rebel Benghazi radio hope they are
helping to maintain the morale of fighters outgunned by Moamer Gaddafi's
forces. "Rap does not physically change things, but...

*We in Turkey and the Middle East have replaced humiliation with
dignity*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ news/archive/ 2011/03/17/ we-in-turkey- and-the-middle- east-have- replaced- humiliation- with-dignity. aspx>
Palestine Note 17 Mar 2011 - Ahmet Davutoglu, The Guardian - The wave of
revolutions in the Arab world was spontaneous. But it also had to
happen. They were necessary in order to restore the natural flow of
history. In our region -- west Asia and...

*Israeli forces withdraw from Awarta*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ news/archive/ 2011/03/17/ israeli-forces- withdraw- from-awarta. aspx>
Palestine Note 17 Mar 2011 - Ma'an - Israeli forces withdrew Wednesday
morning from the West Bank village of Awarata, following four and a half
days of military curfew and home-to-home searches. Israeli officials
said troops were searching for suspects in the murder five members of...

*PLO: Israel has exploited Itamar murders*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ news/archive/ 2011/03/17/ plo-israel- has-exploited- itamar-murders. aspx>
Palestine Note 17 Mar 2011 - Ma'an - The Executive Committee of the
Palestine Liberation Organization accused Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu of "waging a vicious campaign" against Palestinians
in the wake of the Itamar murders. The attitude of Netanyahu and his
government in the wake...

*Israel says seized arms justify Gaza blockade*
<http://palestinenot e.com/blogs/ news/archive/ 2011/03/17/ israel-says- seized-arms- justify-gaza- blockade. aspx>
Palestine Note 17 Mar 2011 - Reuters - Israel displayed on Wednesday
advanced arms that it said had been found aboard a cargo ship seized in
the Mediterranean Sea, and pointed to the haul as proof of the need to
blockade the Gaza Strip. "To all...

*Aljazeera* <http://english. aljazeera. net/news/ middleeast/>

*UN chief slams Syria's crackdown on protests*
<http://english. aljazeera. net/news/ middleeast/ 2011/03/20113182 31622114396. html>
AlJazeera 18 Mar 2011 - Ban Ki-moon says Syria's use of deadly force
against demonstrators is "unacceptable" .

*Bahrain tears down protest symbol*
<http://english. aljazeera. net/news/ middleeast/ 2011/03/20113182 3554586194. html>
AlJazeera 18 Mar 2011 - Government demolishes statute in the centre of
Manama where anti-government movement has gathered.

*Obama gives Gaddafi tough warning*
<http://english. aljazeera. net/news/ americas/ 2011/03/20113181 9555419413. html>
AlJazeera 18 Mar 2011 - US president says "military action" will be used
if Libyan leader fails to implement terms of UN resolution.

*Libya declares ceasefire but fighting goes on*
<http://english. aljazeera. net/news/ africa/2011/ 03/2011318124421 218583.html>
AlJazeera 18 Mar 2011 - Gaddafi's government says it will end military
operations in line with UN resolution but reports of attacks continue.

*Yemen declares 'state of emergency'*
<http://english. aljazeera. net/news/ middleeast/ 2011/03/20113181 15434957754. html>
AlJazeera 18 Mar 2011 - President announces state of emergency after
dozens are killed in a crackdown on anti-government protests.

*Saudi monarch announces billions in handouts*
<http://english. aljazeera. net/news/ middleeast/ 2011/03/20113181 74117916648. html>
AlJazeera 18 Mar 2011 - Salaries of public employees raised while
$66.7bn to be spent on housing in apparent bid to stave off protests.

*Haitians celebrate ex-president' s homecoming*
<http://english. aljazeera. net/news/ americas/ 2011/03/20113181 3208462809. html>
AlJazeera 18 Mar 2011 - Aristide arrives in Port-au-Prince on charter
plane with family, ending seven years in exile in South Africa.

*Palestine News Network* <http://english. pnn.ps/>

*PCHR: Two Palestinians Killed; Three Injured by Israeli Attacks this
Week*
<http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content& task=view& id=9730&Itemid= 63>
PNN - Gaza - PNN/PCHR --Two Palestinians were killed and three other
injured as the Israeli continued to target Palestinian communities in
both the West Bank and Gaza, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights...

*Six Injured, Two Arrested as Troops Attack West Bank Anti-wall
Protests*
<http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content& task=view& id=9729&Itemid= 59>
PNN - Ramallah - PNN -- Six civilians were injured and two arrested when
the Israeli army attacked the weekly anti-wall protests organized on
Friday in the villages of Bil'in, Nil'in and an-Nabi Saleh,...

*Youth Continue to Demand National Unity in Bethlehem*
<http://english. pnn.ps/index. php?option= com_content& task=view& id=9728&Itemid= 56>
PNN - Ghassan Bannoura -- PNN Exclusive -- Three days after thousands of
Palestinian youths rallied in the West Bank and Gaza Strip demanding
national unity, a group of youth continued their sit-in in...

*Palestinian Center for Human Rights* <http://pchrgaza. org/>

*Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (10-16 March 2011)*
<http://www.pchrgaza .org/portal/ en/index. php?option= com_content& view=article& id=7291:weekly- report-on- israeli-human- rights-violation s-in-the- occupied- palestinian- territory- 10-16-march- 2011&catid= 84:weekly- 2009&Itemid= 183>
Palestinian Center for Human Rights

*International Solidarity Movement* <http://palsolidarit y.org/>

*Five locals injured in Bil'in's weekly demonstration*
<http://palsolidarit y.org/2011/ 03/17032/>
3/18/2011 - International Solidarity Movement - Friends of Freedom and
Justice, Bil'in - The slogan of this week's peaceful demonstration in
Bil'in was to 'End the Division and Occupation. ' Many international and
Israeli activists participated alongside local residents of Bil'in and
neighboring villages. Joining them were also the hunger strikers of
the.... Related:Friends of Freedom and Justice, Bil'in
<http://www.bilin- village.org/ english/>

*Ha'aretz* <http://haaretz. com/>

*Gadhafi: UN resolution endorsing no-fly zone is 'blatant colonialism' *
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ international/ gadhafi-un- resolution- endorsing- no-fly-zone- is-blatant- colonialism- 1.350134>
Ha'aretz - Embattled Libya leader tells Al Jazeera the UN has no
justification to interfere in his country; France ambassador to the UN
says he expects foreign military intervention in Libya on Saturday.

*Experts: Radiation may spread uncontrollably from damaged Japan nuclear
plant*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ international/ experts-radiatio n-may-spread- uncontrollably- from-damaged- japan-nuclear- plant-1.350113>
Ha'aretz - Robert Alvarez, a former senior U.S. Department of Energy
official, warned of possible dangerous combustion and cancer causing
elements, also stressing that the U.S. nuclear facilities are not
entirely safe in their current state.

*MK Ze'ev Boim dies at 67*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ national/ mk-ze-ev- boim-dies- at-67-1.350109>
Ha'aretz - Ze'ev Boim, formerly an educator, became a member of Knesset
in 1996, starting as a member of the Likud party and later joining
Kadima; he is survived by his wife and three daughters.

*Helen Thomas to Playboy: White House in pockets of the Israeli lobbies*
<http://www.haaretz. com/jewish- world/helen- thomas-to- playboy-white- house-in- pockets-of- the-israeli- lobbies-1. 350119>
Ha'aretz - Thomas left her post at the White House after she publicly
made anti-Israel comments last May, telling the Jews they should 'get
the hell out of Palestine.'

*U.S. denies report that it's mulling strategic dialogue with Hezbollah*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ international/ u-s-denies- report-that- it-s-mulling- strategic- dialogue- with-hezbollah- 1.350117>
Ha'aretz - White House spokesman Tommy Vietor stressed the U.S.'s
unwavering no-contact policy with Hezbollah, denying allegations
otherwise reported in a Washington Post article published Friday.

*Yossi Verter / As Mideast pressure mounts, Netanyahu is left all alone*
<http://www.haaretz. com/weekend/ week-s-end/ as-mideast- pressure- mounts-netanyahu -is-left- all-alone- 1.349967>
Ha'aretz - They may have different rationales, but members of both the
Likud's right and left are warning about the Prime Minister losing both
ground and power.

*Yemen declares national emergency after dozens killed in protest
crackdown*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ international/ yemen-declares- national- emergency- after-dozens- killed-in- protest-crackdow n-1.350087>
Ha'aretz - Yemeni President Saleh bars weapons possession by civilians
after as many as 50 demonstrators demanding his ouster were killed by
plainclothes security.

*Strenger than Fiction / Tel Aviv University is up there with Harvard,
MIT and Princeton - for now*
<http://www.haaretz. com/blogs/ strenger- than-fiction/ tel-aviv- is-up-there- with-harvard- mit-and-princeto n-for-now- 1.350114>
Ha'aretz - Although Tel Aviv University is off the charts in the caliber
of its research, its professor to student ratio is abysmal, with not
enough faculty members on staff due to serious lack of funds.

*Report: Hamas official suspended over allegations of corruption*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ diplomacy- defense/report- hamas-official- suspended- over-allegations -of-corruption- 1.350057>
Ha'aretz - Ayman Taha accused of embezzling money; Taha and Hamas
spokesperson Fauzi Barhum say claims are completely inaccurate.

*Report: U.S. considering strategic outreach to Hezbollah*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ diplomacy- defense/report- u-s-considering- strategic- outreach- to-hezbollah- 1.350032>
Ha'aretz - Washington Post says Obama administration weighing dialogue
with Lebanese militant group's political wing, in an effort similar to
that attempted by U.K. in its dealings with Sinn Fein in the 1990s.

*Netanyahu: Only fear of possible strike could stop Iran's nuclear
progress*
<http://www.haaretz. com/news/ diplomacy- defense/netanyah u-only-fear- of-possible- strike-could- stop-iran- s-nuclear- progress- 1.349942>
Ha'aretz - In wide-ranging CNN interview, Prime Minister says
Palestinian unity government with Hamas would kill off Mideast peace
chances.

*Jerusalem Post* <http://jpost. com/>

*6 mortar shells fired from Gaza hit western Negev*
<http://www.jpost. com/NationalNews /Article. aspx?id=212767& R=R2>
Jeruslalem Post 18 Mar 2011 - No injuries, damage reported as
projectiles hit Eshkol regional council; earlier 4 shells fired, IDF
patrol comes under fire near border fence.

*4 mortar shells fired from Gaza hit western Negev*
<http://www.jpost. com/NationalNews /Article. aspx?id=212756& R=R2>
Jeruslalem Post 18 Mar 2011 - Projectiles land in open areas with no
injuries, damaged reported; shots fired at IDF soldiers near southern
Gaza border.

*Ahmadinejad: The US is pleased with Mideast unrest*
<http://www.jpost. com/MiddleEast/ Article.aspx? id=212708& R=R3>
Jeruslalem Post 18 Mar 2011 - Iranian president warns Middle Easter
states against schemes by "enemies of humanity"; meets with Syrian
foreign minister in Tehran.

*Palestinians accuse settlers of further 'price tag' attack*
<http://www.jpost. com/NationalNews /Article. aspx?id=212628& R=R2>
Jeruslalem Post 17 Mar 2011 - Eyewitnesses say 2 vehicles set alight
near settlement of Kedumim; report comes after masked Jewish men attack
2 Palestinian workers.

*New immigrants increasingly choose to live in Jerusalem*
<http://www.jpost. com/NationalNews /Article. aspx?id=212521& R=R2>
Jeruslalem Post 17 Mar 2011 - Aliya to Jerusalem has increased
significantly in past 10 years, meaning the city has absorbed about
2,300 immigrants each year.

*Palestine Telegraph* <http://paltelegraph .com/>

*Israelis humiliate students in Jenin*
<http://www.palteleg raph.com/ palestine/ west-bank/ 8724-israelis- humiliate- students- of-jenin. html>
17 Mar 2011 - West Bank, (Pal Telegraph)-Resident s of Dahri El-Maleh
town in the west of Jenin city condemned Israeli tightening procedures
taken against students during their way to schools or universities.

*Uruknet* <http://uruknet. info/>

*Weekly Report On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory (10-16 March 2011)*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m75946& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 17, 2011 - Summary : Israeli violations of international
law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting
period (10 -- 16 March 2011): Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF
killed two Palestinians and wounded 3 others in the Gaza Strip. On 16
March 2011, IOF warplanes fired 3 missiles at a site of the Palestinian
National...

*Masked settlers attack Palestinians*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m75944& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 17, 2011 - Masked settlers attacked two Palestinian
construction workers and an Israeli security guard at a West Bank
settlement on Thursday, lightly wounding them, settler officials and
police said. The settlers attacked workers with knives, pipes and pepper
spray, leaving one man hospitalized with moderate injuries. Sami Snobar,
33, was injured when a group of Shilo settlers...

*Gaza protesters leave UN compound*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m75943& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 17, 2011 -- Sixteen protesters who took refuge in a UN
compound in Gaza on Thursday to flee from Hamas police left the premises
and called off a planned hunger strike, a UN official said. "They all
left. The authorities in Gaza gave assurances that they will be safe,"
said Chris Gunness, spokesman for the United Nations relief...

*Hillary Clinton in Tahrir Square*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m75938& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 17, 2011 - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's Middle
East tour, capped by a stroll through Cairo's Tahrir Square, presents an
unparalleled profile in hypocrisy. It also underscores Washington's
determination to re-stabilize the US-backed dictatorships in Egypt and
Tunisia and squelch the spread of revolutionary struggles elsewhere in
the region. Surrounded by a phalanx of US and...

*Clinton Promises to Bomb Libya, Calls Qaddafi 'Creature'*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m75937& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 17, 2011 - I guess when you go to war against someone, you
have to demonize them, and it was so today with Secretary of State
Clinton, who called Muammar Qaddafi a "creature," while admitting that
an NFZ over Libya would mean bombing the country. Said Clinton: "A
no-fly zone requires certain actions taken to protect the planes...

*Blockade frustrates Gaza students*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m75936& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 17, 2011 - The next generation in the Gaza Strip may be
less educated, less professional and perhaps more radical because an
Israeli blockade has restricted educational and employment
opportunities, say UN and other sources. The four-year blockade has
particularly affected youths aged 18-24, limiting access to higher
education, academic exchanges and professional development, says Gaza's
education ministry....

*Ill youth from Gaza, who for 16 days was denied entry to Israel to
receive treatment, dies in East Jerusalem hospital, January 2011*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m75928& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 16, 2011 - On 4 December 2010, Mahmoud a-Najar, 15, from
Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, was diagnosed as having
leukemia. Physicians at a-Shifaa Hospital, in Gaza City, referred him to
Augusta Victoria Hospital, in East Jerusalem, where he was given an
appointment for 28 December. On 15 December, the family submitted a
request through the...

*Women on the Frontline in Palestine*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m75921& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 16, 2011 - In yesterday's protests, Palestinian women
showed that they have the spirit of a fighter, yet the heart of a
protective mother. Young Palestinian women took the initiative to be in
the front line of the March 15 protests in Palestine to protect the
protesters. With their bodies they created a human shield in an attempt...

*Saif al-Qaddafi: We funded Sarkozy's campaign and we want our money
back* <http://uruknet. info/?p=m75920& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 16, 2011 - In contrast to its inept response to the
upheavals in Tunisia and Egypt, Nicolas Sarkozy's government was out in
front in its response to Libya -- condemning the Qaddafi regime,
recognizing the rebel government, and pushing for a no-fly zone. The
Qaddafis' response? We want our money back:

*Mahmoud Abbas: 'I'm ready to go to Gaza tomorrow'*
<http://uruknet. info/?p=m75915& hd=&size= 1&l=e>
Uruknet March 16, 2011 - A day after Palestinians rallied for an end to
their leaders' bitter feud, the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud
Abbas, declared yesterday that he was "ready to go to Gaza tomorrow". It
would be Mr Abbas's first trip to the Hamas-ruled enclave since 2007,
when the Islamist group drove out his Fatah faction and turned his...

*Daily Star* <http://dailystar. com.lb/>

*U.N. clips Gadhafi's wings*
<http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ /article. asp?edition_ id=10&categ_ id=2&article_ id=126173>
Daily Star 18 Mar 2011 ISTANBUL: Turkish police detained 20 people
Thursday, including a former security force commander, suspected of
belonging to a militant nationalist network opposed to Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rule, media said.

*Turkey detains 20 people in new coup-plot raid*
<http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ /article. asp?edition_ id=10&categ_ id=2&article_ id=126178>
Daily Star 18 Mar 2011 ISTANBUL: Turkish police detained 20 people
Thursday, including a former security force commander, suspected of
belonging to a militant nationalist network opposed to Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rule, media said.

*Iran sends rocket, capsule into space: IRNA*
<http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ /article. asp?edition_ id=10&categ_ id=2&article_ id=126177>
Daily Star 18 Mar 2011 TEHRAN: Iran Thursday signaled a broadening of
its space ambitions by announcing the launch of a new rocket and a test
capsule designed to house a monkey, amid Western concerns over its
scientific advances. The Iranian...

*Fayyad calls on Hamas to accept Abbas' initiative*
<http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ /article. asp?edition_ id=10&categ_ id=2&article_ id=126176>
Daily Star 18 Mar 2011 Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad Thursday
urged Hamas to accept President Mahmoud Abbas' initiative for
reconciliation, Palestinian media reported. Abbas said Wednesday he was
"ready to go to Gaza tomorrow" to end the division between Fatah...

*Bahrain opposition urges Saudi withdrawal*
<http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ /article. asp?edition_ id=10&categ_ id=2&article_ id=126174>
Daily Star 18 Mar 2011 The leader of Bahrain's largest opposition group
has urged Saudi Arabia to withdraw its forces and called for a U.N.
inquiry into a crackdown on mainly Shiite protesters that raised
tensions in the region and prompted...

*Syria frees five protestors detained at demonstration*
<http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ /article. asp?edition_ id=10&categ_ id=2&article_ id=126146>
Daily Star 18 Mar 2011 Syria Thursday freed five protesters who had been
detained at a rally to demand the release of political prisoners, a
rights group said amid international calls for more to be let go. "The
writer Tayeb Tizini,...

*Clinton vows to help Tunisians create jobs, implement reforms*
<http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ /article. asp?edition_ id=10&categ_ id=2&article_ id=126145>
Daily Star 18 Mar 2011 TUNIS: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
pledged Thursday to help Tunisia create jobs and undertake reforms to
keep the momentum behind the popular uprising that overthrew its
autocratic president two months ago. The chief U.S....

*Egypt braces for mass exodus of refugees*
<http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ /article. asp?edition_ id=10&categ_ id=2&article_ id=126142>
Daily Star 18 Mar 2011 SALLOUM, Egypt: Aid agencies on Egypt's border
with Libya are preparing to face a refugee exodus if Moammar Gadhafi's
forces make good on their threat to fight their way into rebel-held
eastern Libyan cities. The numbers...

*Protesters in Middle East denounce Saudi presence in Bahrain*
<http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ /article. asp?edition_ id=10&categ_ id=2&article_ id=126141>
Daily Star 18 Mar 2011 Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in
Iraq, Turkey, Kuwait and Iran Thursday to rally against the arrival of
troops from Sunni power Saudi Arabia in Bahrain. In Iraq, about 3,000
people in Karbala, 90...

*U.N. says Manama 'violating international law'*
<http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ /article. asp?edition_ id=10&categ_ id=2&article_ id=126140>
Daily Star 18 Mar 2011 U.N. rights chief Navi Pillay Thursday slammed
security forces' takeover of Bahrain hospitals and medical facilities as
"a blatant violation of international law." Pillay said in a statement
she was "deeply alarmed by the escalation of...

*Relief Web*
<http://reliefweb. int/rw/rwb. nsf/doc106? OpenForm& emid=ACOS- 635PFR&rc= 3>

*Israel and the occupied territories: ICRC maintains humanitarian
effort*
<http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /EDIS-8F3QTY? OpenDocument& RSS20=02- P>
Relief Web 18 Mar 2011 - Source: ICRC

*OPT: The Monthly Humanitarian Monitor, February 2011*
<http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /VDUX-8F3N3D? OpenDocument& RSS20=02- P>
Relief Web 18 Mar 2011 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs

*Portfolio of Mine Action Projects 2011 - Fourteenth Edition*
<http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /ASAZ-8F3J58? OpenDocument& RSS20=02- P>
Relief Web 18 Mar 2011 - Source: UN Children's Fund, UN Development
Programme, UN Mine Action Service

*OPT: Protection of Civilians Weekly Report - 2 - 15 March 2011*
<http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /ASAZ-8F3F8F? OpenDocument& RSS20=02- P>
Relief Web 18 Mar 2011 - Source: UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs

*Inter Press Service* <http://ipsnews. net/middle. asp>

*LIBYA: Obama Threatens Military Action if Attacks Resume*
<http://ipsnews. net/news. asp?idnews= 54912>
IPS U.S. President Barack Obama issued an ultimatum to Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi on Friday, less than 24 hours after the United Nations
Security Council passed a resolution to "take all necessary measures"
short of deploying an "occupation force".

*Israel Deploys a Miniature Missile Defence System*
<http://ipsnews. net/news. asp?idnews= 54908>
IPS Amidst recrudescence of tension on this critical front, the Israeli
army is hoping to gain the technological upper hand in missile combat
with 'Palestinian militants' by equipping one of its most sophisticated
tanks with a miniature missile defence system.

*Stop The Wall* <http://stopthewall. org/>

*Commemorate Land Day 2011 by Joining the Global BDS Day of Action 30
March* <http://stopthewall. org/latestnews/ 2473.shtml>
Stop The Wall - The BDS National Committee (BNC) is calling on you to
unite in your different capacities and struggles to join the Global BDS
Day of Action on Land Day, 30 March 2011, in solidarity with the
Palestinian people's right to self determination on their ancestral land. [

*End to the division and inclusive PNC elections*
<http://stopthewall. org/latestnews/ 2513.shtml>
Stop The Wall - Our primary goal is to end all forms of Zionist
injustice and oppression, including the end of the occupation and the
apartheid regime, in order to achieve true justice, and the return of
all Palestinians. In order to achieve this goal, we call for the
following: [

*YNet News* <http://ynetnews. com/>

*Palestinian 'price tag' victim recounts attack*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4044004,00. html>
YNet News - Construction worker beaten by masked settlers in Shiloh
suffers from bruises,....

*Iran launches rocket with monkey doll into space*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4043976,00. html>
YNet News - IRNA reports Kavoshgar-4 rocket was launched 120 kilometers
into the atmosphere.. ..

*Lebanon army says dismantles Israeli spy device*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4043948,00. html>
YNet News - Army claims surveillance camera built to resemble rock found
near Tyre based on....

*Palestinian who stormed Turkish embassy in TA jailed*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4043907,00. html>
YNet News - Nadim Injaz of Ramallah convicted in framework of plea
bargain of breaking into....

*Activists call on Syrians to attend Friday protests*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4044046,00. html>
YNet News - Several dozen people were arrested in Syria during
anti-government protests this week, but it appears that the civil unrest
sweeping through the Arab world has yet to .......

*Netanyahu: We'll reconsider nuclear power plans*
<http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 4043982,00. html>
YNet News - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN that Israel is
reconsidering its plans to build a nuclear energy facility in light of
the situation in quake-stricken Japan. .......

*Palestinian Information Center* <http://palestine- info.co.uk/ en/>

*Egyptian minister of communication phones his counterpart in Gaza*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/en/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7QgVFrMtcmZ tWbFvfXmiGfLefPa L5JjDgp3O5fBKAwC 42NQ3X4uTWrMYMBj TnYWQ2mFZ9UPyOPv ouMmXIzqrlcilDk% 2bTkIBjN% 2biL7h9u8JmE% 3d>
PIC 18 Mar 2011 - Minister of communications Yousef Al-Mansi was phoned
by his newly appointed counterpart in Egypt Majed Othman in response to
a letter from the former congratulating him on the new position.

*IOA decides to change curriculums in Arab schools*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/en/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7HAv% 2b0kVEZYLUGhxNhd etw9aRUQLY7GsYEk QcEHV6nbAbzU82NG lb5vpYm98DUm% 2fxG%2fdAUbrDMpI jRH4%2b8jVZQoI6z 3%2b%2fhndG% 2fC%2bu5mph5Go% 3d>
PIC 18 Mar 2011 - Al-Maqdese for Society Development organization warned
that the IOA took significant steps "to take control over Arab schools
and supervise the educational curriculum" in Jerusalem schools.

*IOF storm west of Jenin, threaten to raze Palestinian structures*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/en/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7jcGAsnU% 2fvV6urM% 2bLqPHYrOTfBoNpC 17gmWsctiMSUaGEC tbQjQ8AKtNn75ILd cuN5pdlK4Eycoas% 2bgHLk059Bys8LfK IKEzpaV%2fs2UbRU Jw%3d>
PIC 18 Mar 2011 - The Israeli occupation forces on Thursday evening
stormed Ya'bad town, west of Jenin city, and handed Palestinian citizens
a military order to demolish their coal plants.

*Cars set ablaze as Nablus attacks continue*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/en/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7lsqKVIMgdT zN%2fGjyBAYWectr oJvzwrV1hVzK0SWg XZ6xwhGk8Ps0pU% 2fHxNSkITkrAtQaO tVfKyhBbGfAPRSAq w4aCQb0jLTS1ooou JdVnGc%3d>
PIC 18 Mar 2011 - Jewish settlers on Thursday set fire to cars and
sabotaged water tanks during attacks running rampant around the nothern
West Bank city of Nablus.

*Israeli cordon on W. Bank and Gaza due to Jewish holiday*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/en/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7GF4lsgqowB xdspsu%2f0j3ZcTt pYJQKNzbG% 2fbrMM80ufzOzN7P ecxMb4DDkn942Xqc UxJ1feuXjT% 2ftfWepnzlxlhSLM shm7IvqlaVVFkKFU 4g%3d>
PIC 18 Mar 2011 - The IOF declared it would impose after midnight Friday
a cordon on the West Bank and Gaza border areas lasting for three full
days on the occasion of an alleged Jewish holiday called Purim.

*Security official: Fatah used anti-split movement to restore chaos to
Gaza*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/en/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s70fYmtbV% 2bs%2bipKFhgnTiJ SgkRc%2fjdW5E% 2bYAt%2b6Zxk55zt LChi1Dn5ER0TGU0D lvD05ZKVzhyNCj7f gya4LPLyGYR5W% 2b%2bSJsoO% 2fqhWrtfAZAc% 3d>
PIC 18 Mar 2011 - Part of the anti-split marches organized in Palestine
was exploited by Fatah within a broader scheme to revive chaos in the
Gaza Strip, a Gazan security official told Quds Press.

*Israel court decides to turn Rahma graveyard into Jewish garden*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/en/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s733Q4TvgzdB YXDAaitjWk5KMu1d xU9elOIBgip6BrH% 2bGiFh5CAid9vacG MBNXKpec% 2fuTA%2bYcjb4jUG ZRM%2bzZBtrDBdXh iO%2bHVBbSxF7uv9 YA%3d>
PIC 18 Mar 2011 - An Israeli court decided to convert part of the
Palestinian graveyard, Bab Al-Rahma, in occupied Jerusalem into a
biblical garden and prevent the Muslim Palestinians from burying their
dead there.

*Israel to displace families from Wadi Abu Hindi, raze their homes*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/en/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7T2rbQrmh3g Yf6Z2bEp3lzKQmke Y%2bHIjf20StNjeY pv2rBM3SnkkyQuJw 7vKox2xRWWH% 2f%2b6jtsijefz2j nmb8cVPCKR3NQ% 2fzh1OCaZ1dSGro% 3d>
PIC 18 Mar 2011 - The Israeli occupation forces handed more six
Palestinian Bedouin families living in Wadi Abu Hindi district,
northeast of occupied Jerusalem, military demolition orders against
their homes.

*PA militias interrogate citizens about their participation in national
events*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/en/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7N1rhqE5JcB p3HE%2bV2Gry1VTi hbjW%2bAYHmQxJ4u UlCCkGZ%2fo2yEbW STaUqXX3% 2bfSohyOIyaR8V4% 2b325mYf% 2b8%2fOtMtUJEH8n A0RLF%2fbfzdoZQ% 3d>
PIC 18 Mar 2011 - A number of citizens, who were summoned by security
militias lately, said they were questioned about their participation in
national events calling for ending the internal rift.

*Youths call for mega march towards O. Jerusalem*
<http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/en/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7%2fLZ% 2fX2hRHSXWnlSqd2 0eU%2fQrwZCz8WnQ %2fivv8kbuKsT32S TPp0msOWQiVIVvtV VkIaKU9o6uyzRUJk ioqKztfBiCt% 2fxQVhKY45cCddc7 %2fWM%3d>
PIC 18 Mar 2011 - Palestinian young men have launched Facebook pages
calling for a million-man march heading from Bethlehem and Ramallah
towards occupied Jerusalem.

*EMPIRE'S NEW "DEMOCRATIC" PLAN FOR THE MIDDLE EAST*
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/intifada- palestine/ QuVY/%7E3/ 3DCnzGvJa1c/>
Intifada-Palestine: 18 Mar 2011 - By: Behzad Majdian If you have an
uneasy feeling that there is something suspicious about the overthrow of
Mubarak in Egypt, you are not alone. The dictator has been ousted; yet
the dictatorship structure remains intact. And presumably, it is
in...more
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/intifada- palestine/ QuVY/%7E3/ 3DCnzGvJa1c/>

*Murdering Babies is "Permissible" When They're Palestinian*
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/intifada- palestine/ QuVY/%7E3/ CbsIHykwkjM/>
Intifada-Palestine: 18 Mar 2011 - By: ALISON WEIR -- Counterpunch
Palestinian children killed by Israeli Military. A Jewish rabbi has
issued a book giving Jews permission to murder non-Jews, including
babies and children, who may pose an actual or potential threat to Jews
or Israel. US...more
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/intifada- palestine/ QuVY/%7E3/ CbsIHykwkjM/>

*ZIONIST TALES OF 'PASSIONATE LONGING' FOR PALESTINIAN LANDS*
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/intifada- palestine/ QuVY/%7E3/ QduRkbRVZPE/>
Intifada-Palestine: 17 Mar 2011 - Zionism: A Jewish Communal Response
from the UK was published in December by The Board of Deputies of
British Jews Stuart Littlewood The Board of Deputies of British Jews is
targeting unsympathetic Christians with a new booklet called Zionism: A
Jewish...more
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/intifada- palestine/ QuVY/%7E3/ QduRkbRVZPE/>

*The National* <http://thenational. ae/section/ FOREIGN?profile= 1011>

*Hillary Clinton visits Tunisia to press for reform*
<http://www.thenatio nal.ae/news/ worldwide/ middle-east/ hillary-clinton- visits-tunisia- to-press- for-reform>
The National 18 Mar 2011 - US secretary of state meets interim president
Fouad Embazza as hundreds of people demonstrate against the visit, which
they describe as interference in the country¿s home-grown revolution

*Referendum on constitution sees Egypt apprehensive*
<http://www.thenatio nal.ae/news/ worldwide/ middle-east/ referendum- on-constitution- sees-egypt- apprehensive>
The National 18 Mar 2011 - For the first time in living memory, Egypt's
referendum tomorrow on proposed amendments to the constitution will be a
vote without a clear outcome in prospect.

*Los Angeles Times* <http://latimes. com/news/ nationworld/ world/middleeast />

*Protests return to Syrian cities*
<http://feeds. latimes.com/ %7Er/latimes/ middleeast/ %7E3/5-epUbc9X9Q /la-fg-syria- protests- 20110319, 0,3147052. story>
LA Times 18 Mar 2011 - In Damascus, anti-government demonstrators hit
the streets after noon prayers. Several are beaten and arrested.
Anti-government protesters took to the streets in Syria on Friday for
the third time in a week despite the threat of beatings and arrest.

*New York Times* <http://nytimes. com/pages/ world/middleeast />

*Allies Press Libya, Saying Declaration of Cease-Fire Is Not Enough*
<http://feeds. nytimes.com/ click.phdo? i=fc206c3d958848 bf4a3f2e93452c27 e2>
New York Times 18 Mar 2011 - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
on Friday said that the United States, Britain and France would push
forward against Libya until they saw "actions on the ground."

*Misc* <http://vtjp. org/aboutus/ aboutus.htm>

(continues in following post)

[ninathedog]

(continued from above post)

[OccupationNews] Digest Number 1325
Fri Mar 18, 2011 8:47 pm (PDT)


*AT-TUWANI: Six olive trees destroyed in the night*
<http://www.cpt. org/cptnet/ 2011/03/18/ tuwani-six- olive-trees- destroyed- night>
Christian Peacemaker Teams - Palestine -

*No yellow no green on March 15*
<http://mondoweiss. net/2011/ 03/no-yellow- no-green- on-march- 15.html>
Mondoweiss - Yes, we have some issues with colors. Although I hate
neither Yellow nor Green, the last thing I'd be needing these days is to
be dressed in either color; or else, I'd be accused of being either
pro-Fatah or pro-Hamas, for we, sometimes, seem to be...

*For Palestinians, Jewish holiday of Purim means... closure*
<http://mondoweiss. net/2011/ 03/for-palestini ans-jewish- holiday-of- purim-means- closure.html>
Mondoweiss - and other news from Today in Palestine: Closure for Purim
why Palestinians dread Jewish holidays... As Israel celebrates Purim,
Palestine placed under siege IMEMC 18 Mar -- The Israeli army enforced a
full closure on the occupied territories as Israel and its West Bank
settlers celebrate...

*Israeli flag is dropped off at Colo. legislator's office in the nick of
time*
<http://mondoweiss. net/2011/ 03/israeli- flag-is-dropped- off-at-colo- legislators- office-in- the-nick- of-time.html>
Mondoweiss - Kyle Glazier reports in the Denver Post on a speech by
Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren to the Colorado legislature
before it convened. Notice how Oren plays on the ethnic cleansing of the
U.S., the unstated message is, Hey you committed genocide, who are...

*At crowded, guilt-soaked NY memorial, Hoenlein declares Itamar settlers
were in Israel*
<http://mondoweiss. net/2011/ 03/at-crowded- guilt-soaked- ny-memorial- hoenlein- declares- itamar-settlers- were-in-israel. html>
Mondoweiss - Here's more on the battle inside American Jewry over
support for the colonization of the West Bank. The Forward has good
coverage of a memorial service in New York yesterday, attended by more
than 1000, for the family of five Jewish settlers killed in the occupied...

*Come to DC this May to tell AIPAC it's time for a new Middle East
policy*
<http://mondoweiss. net/2011/ 03/come-to- dc-this-may- to-tell-aipac- its-time- for-a-new- middle-east- policy.html>
Mondoweiss - From the Move Over AIPAC website : CODEPINK: Women for
Peace , Global Exchange , and the US Campaign to End the Israeli
Occupation , together with over 50 peace and justice groups , are
organizing a gathering in Washington DC from May 21-24, 2011, called
"Move Over AIPAC: Building a...

*Tikkun Magazine Celebrates 25th Anniversary, Honors Judge Goldstone*
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/richardsilv erstein/ZOfh/ %7E3/D_AYCPy2nvI />
Tikun Olam - Tikkun Magazine 25th anniversary awardees Rabbi Michael
Lerner's Tikkun Magazine held a gala celebration of its 25th anniversary
and honored Judge Richard Goldstone, author of the UN's Gaza human
rights report, on March 14th at UC Berkeley. Tikkun bestowed the the
award on Goldstone and other...

*Ukraine-Israel Quid Pro Quo: Abusisi Extraordinary Rendition in Return
for Free Trade Agreement*
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/richardsilv erstein/ZOfh/ %7E3/Ni7uwbywpHw />
Tikun Olam - Avigdor Lieberman and Azarov meet to finalize quid pro quo
free trade agreement after Abusisi's kidnapping The Ukrainian government
has tipped its hand regarding what may've bought its cooperation in the
extraordinary rendition of Dirar Abusisi from its territory last month
to a Shabak dungeon inside...

*Protests continue in al-Manara*
<http://www.palestin emonitor. org/spip/ spip.php? article1722>
Palestine Monitor - As President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas officials
prepare to meet for the first time since 2007 in Gaza, hunger strikers
who have been camped out in al-Manara since Sunday night declared half
of them will take a three-day pause. According to organizers, they will
remain in...

*Settler violence is nothing new*
<http://www.palestin emonitor. org/spip/ spip.php? article1721>
Palestine Monitor - Nablus and the surrounding villages is one the worst
effected areas for settler violence. Both government sponsored
settlements and so-called 'illegal outposts' dot the hills and serve as
a constant reminder to the local Palestinian population that they are
surrounded by hostility. The recent murder in...

*Ukrainian Prime Minister's Lies, Ukraine Has 'No Idea' What Happened to
Kidnapped Palestinian, Abu Seesi*
<http://feedproxy. google.com/ %7Er/richardsilv erstein/ZOfh/ %7E3/t94SlPtvYeE />
Tikun Olam - Face of a dissembler: Ukrainian Prime Minister, Nikolai
Azarov (Emil Salman) Haaretz published today an interview with Ukrainain
Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov, regarding his upcoming visit to Israel.
Among the subjects the interviewer questioned him about was the
kidnapping of Gaza power plant engineer, Dirar Abu...

*Misc 2* <http://vtjp. org/news/ news.php>

*How to lift the closure of Gaza in three easy steps*
<http://theonlydemoc racy.org/ 2011/03/how- to-lift-the- closure-of- gaza-in-three- easy-steps/>
The Only Democracy? JVP2 17 Mar 2011 - From Gisha's Gaza Gateway , what
it would actually take to end just the closure of Gaza, although not the
entire Occupation. Image from Gisha's photo report one year ago Israel's
Deputy Foreign Minister said last week that the continued smuggling of
weapons into the Gaza Strip...

*Three killed at protest in Syria*
<http://www.bbc. co.uk/go/ rss/int/news/ -/news/world- middle-east- 12791738>
BBC 18 Mar 2011 - At least three protesters are shot dead in the south
Syrian city of Deraa as security forces clamp down on a protest rally.

*Articles*

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
*US promoting arms trade mission organized by settlement firm*
<http://electronicin tifada.net/ v2/article11866. shtml>
Jimmy Johnson, The Electronic Intifada, Electronic Intifada 3/18/2011
The United States Department of Commerce and the US embassy in
Tel Aviv are co-promoting the Israel Unmanned Systems 2011 trade mission
from 27 March to 1 April. Their partner -- and the primary organizer --
is Airlift, inc., an aerospace and consulting firm based in the
settlement of Talpiot Mizrach (East Talpiot) in occupied East Jerusalem.
This raises troubling questions about why Washington is promoting the
Israeli arms trade and why it is doing so with a firm based in an
illegal colony which explicitly contradicts official US policy as well
as international law.
Airlift was founded in 2007 by Marc-Philippe Rudel, a
French-Israeli electrical engineer and businessman, to "promote economic
cooperation and the establishment of global partnerships. " The company
brings foreign arms industry and military officials to Israel for
arranged business-to- business meetings, specially tailored seminars,
industry workshops and visits to major Israeli armament firms and
research institutes. Airlift's website states that its "offices are
located in the heart of Jerusalem" but the address given puts them in
occupied East Jerusalem. Airlift's Spanish subsidiary, Airlift Iberia,
was established in September 2010.
Though considered a mainstream Jerusalem neighborhood by most
Israelis -- including Rudel, judging by his activism in the secular
liberal/centrist "Awakening in Jerusalem" movement -- East Talpiot is
unanimously considered an illegal settlement by the international
community including the United Nations, the International Court of
Justice and the US government whose pronouncements consistently oppose
Israeli settlements. However, Washington regularly takes actions -- such
as the recent veto of a UN Security Council resolution condemning
settlements -- to shield Israel from international condemnation and
formerly contributed economic aid that was used directly for settlement
infrastructure and construction. Promoting a trade mission with a firm
based in a settlement points to the latter as being more representative
of US policy, in spite of official pronouncements to the contrary.
American sponsorship comes at a time when governments like Norway, the
Netherlands and the United Kingdom are actively distancing themselves
from settlement-related businesses. Requests for comment from the US
State Department and Department of Commerce were not answered.more. .
<http://electronicin tifada.net/ v2/article11866. shtml>e-mail
<mailto:?subject= US%20promoting% 20arms%20trade% 20mission% 20organized% 20by%20settlemen t%20firm% 20&body=US% 20promoting% 20arms%20trade% 20mission% 20organized% 20by%20settlemen t%20firm% 20--%20http://electronicin tifada.net/ v2/article11866. shtml%20- -%20link% 20courtesy% 20www.vtjp. org>

*Palestine and the power of civil society*
<http://weekly. ahram.org. eg/2011/1039/ op152.htm>
Ramzy Baroud, Al-Ahram Weekly 3/17/2011
/The growing momentum behind civil society initiatives, like the boycott
movement against Israel, shows that ordinary people are more powerful
than brute force./
The global boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement
against Israel and other related campaigns were aimed at exposing
Israeli transgressions against the Palestinian people and galvanising
international solidarity. What is so uplifting is to see how their
achievements have far surpassed these initial aims. The campaigns have
animated, accentuated and actually legitimised Palestinian civil society
-- a notion that long stood outside the official paradigm acceptable to
Israel, and which had very little space within the restrictive realm of
the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Now civil society has been incorporated into the overall political
equation as a leading factor in the Palestinian struggle for rights and
freedom. It is also increasingly filling the vacuum created by the PA's
localisation of the Palestinian struggle, and Israel's constant attempt
at downgrading any genuine alternative to the PA's leadership.
The articulation of the rise of Palestinian civil society came
loud and clear on 9 July 2005, when 171 Palestinian civil society
organisations representing Palestinians living in the occupied
territories, Israel and the Diaspora called "upon international civil
society organisations and people of conscience all over the world to
impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against
Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apartheid era."
They further stated: "We appeal to you to pressure your respective
states to impose embargoes and sanctions against Israel. We also invite
conscientious Israelis to support this call, for the sake of justice and
genuine peace."more. .
<http://weekly. ahram.org. eg/2011/1039/ op152.htm>e-mail
<mailto:?subject= Palestine% 20and%20the% 20power%20of% 20civil%20societ y%20&body= Palestine% 20and%20the% 20power%20of% 20civil%20societ y%20--%20http://weekly. ahram.org. eg/2011/1039/ op152.htm% 20--%20link% 20courtesy% 20www.vtjp. org>

*Israel: The eroding consensus*
<http://english. aljazeera. net/indepth/ opinion/2011/ 03/2011317840457 45152.html>
MJ Rosenberg, Al Jazeera 3/18/2011
/Most influential Jewish American journalist says it is time for US to
stop telling Israelis what they want to hear./
David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, is arguably the most
influential Jewish American journalist.
Now 50, Remnick became editor at 37 after an impressive career
covering the collapse of the Soviet Union for the Washington Post. His
book about that incredible period, Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the
Soviet Empire, won a Pulitzer in 1994.
Remnick believes that fear is misplaced and that Obama should
think big despite the pressure from the donors and White House aides
mired in the status quo.
Over the years he has written about Israel and the Palestinians
with some regularity. Although he claims no special expertise in the
area (other than being a strongly identifying Jew), his editor's
"comments" indicate that he knows the issue well.
In fact, his pieces are usually far more sophisticated than the
news and opinion pieces that the supposed experts regularly produce for
the prestige newspapers and journals.
Over Remnick's past 13 years as editor of The New Yorker, his
attitudes toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have evolved. In the
early years, Remnick's views were decidedly mainstream.
Though no Likudnik, he did give Israel the benefit of the doubt in
most situations. Back then, he clearly believed that although Israel
often blundered, even badly, it still was sincerely seeking peace. Of
course, holding those views was significantly easier a decade or two ago
than it is today.more..
<http://english. aljazeera. net/indepth/ opinion/2011/ 03/2011317840457 45152.html>e-mail
<mailto:?subject= Israel:%20The% 20eroding% 20consensus% 20&body=Israel: %20The%20eroding %20consensus% 20--%20http://english. aljazeera. net/indepth/ opinion/2011/ 03/2011317840457 45152.html% 20--%20link% 20courtesy% 20www.vtjp. org>

*Protests continue in al-Manara*
<http://www.palestin emonitor. org/spip/ spip.php? article1722>
Palestine Monitor: 17 Mar 2011 - As President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas
officials prepare to meet for the first time since 2007 in Gaza, hunger
strikers who have been camped out in al-Manara since Sunday night
declared half of them will take a three-day pause. According to
organizers, they will remain in al-Manara for the duration Abbas' trip.
One organizer, who will remain fasting, told Palestine Monitor that if
Abbas' trip to Gaza does not end in real progress towards a united
government, they will continue the strike. The hunger strike has been
organized by a non-partisan youth group that has emphasized the
necessity to remain peaceful but steadfast in their demands to revive
the Palestinian Liberation Organization through elections in order to
achieve real democracy for Palestinians all over the world. While cries
for unity brought estimates of 3,000 to downtown Ramallah and 300,000 to
Gaza City on 15 March, they have been met with...more
<http://www.palestin emonitor. org/spip/ spip.php? article1722>

*Settler violence is nothing new*
<http://www.palestin emonitor. org/spip/ spip.php? article1721>
Palestine Monitor: 17 Mar 2011 - Nablus and the surrounding villages is
one the worst effected areas for settler violence. Both government
sponsored settlements and so-called 'illegal outposts' dot the hills and
serve as a constant reminder to the local Palestinian population that
they are surrounded by hostility. The recent murder in the Itamar
settlement has temporarily brought media attention to the area but the
local Palestinian population has long had to deal with the devastating
effects of living in close proximity to many in the settlements who want
to forcefully exert their perceived right to the land. Written and
photographed by Sophie O'Brien Ziyad Othman, official spokesperson for
the governorate of Nablus explains that there is a variety of factors
which make Nablus and the surrounding areas a hub for settler violence.
'There are a high percentage of religious, violent settlers in the area'
he claims. Significantly, 'Five members of the Knesset live in
the...more <http://www.palestin emonitor. org/spip/ spip.php? article1721>

More material available from Vermonters for a Just Peace inPalestine/Israel -www.vtjp.org <http://www.vtjp. org/>
To subscribe, please write toOccupationNews- subscribe@ yahoogroups. com
<mailto:OccupationNews- subscribe@ yahoogroups. com>or
visithttp:// groups.yahoo. com/group/ OccupationNews/ join

[ninathedog]

Kuwait sends
medical aid to Bahrain

By Barbara Surk, Associated Press – 2 hrs 36 mins ago

MANAMA, Bahrain – A convoy of Kuwaiti doctors and medical equipment was en route Saturday to Bahrain as Gulf neighbors pour more troops and aid into the violence-torn island kingdom that has become an arena for regional tensions.

Kuwait's ambassador, Sheik Azzam Mubarak Al Sabah, said the team is expected to arrive Sunday and includes 53 doctors, 21 ambulances and other vehicles, according to Kuwait's state-run KUNA news agency.

Kuwait is not contributing troops to the Saudi-led force that entered Bahrain earlier this week to support the nation's Sunni monarchy, which was reeling after more than a month of protests by majority Shiites seeking to break the dynasty's grip on power.

Qatar, however, was the latest Gulf nation to announce its soldiers joined the military action in Bahrain.

The Gulf force underscores the deep worries about Bahrain's stability among the region's Sunni kings and sheiks. They fear any stumble by Bahrain's leaders could embolden more challenges to their own regimes and possibly open room for Shiite heavyweight Iran to make political inroads.

But Iranian authorities and their Shiite allies around the Middle East have expressed outrage at the Gulf military support — raising the risks that any serious clash could spark regional unrest along the Sunni-Shiite fault lines.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner urged Friday for "maximum restraint" by Bahrain's security forces and more than 1,500 troops from the Gulf Cooperation Council, a six-nation bloc that include Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

The U.S. — which counts Bahrain as a centerpiece of its Gulf military framework — has sent top envoys to meet with the embattled monarchy and has been criticized by Shiite opposition groups for not coming to their support. Bahrain hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which is the Pentagon's main regional counterweight to Iran's growing military powers.

No serious clashes were reported Saturday in Bahrain, which is under martial law-style rules and nighttime curfews in some areas. Bahraini authorities expanded the no-go zones offshore, banned all professional and sport fishermen from leaving port at night in an possible attempt to clear waters for anti-smuggling patrols.

On Friday, officials wiped away a main symbol of the uprising. Cranes pulled down the 300-foot (90-meter) monument at the heart of a landmark square that has been occupied by protesters and the scene of deadly confrontations.

The monument — six white curved beams topped with a huge cement pearl — was built in Pearl Square as a tribute to the kingdom's history as a pearl-diving center. It became the backdrop to uprising after protesters set up camp at Pearl Square in the capital, Manama.

Security forces overran the camp on Wednesday, setting off clashes that killed at least five people, including two policemen. At least 12 people have been killed in the monthlong revolt.

Bahrain's foreign minister, Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, told reporters in Manama that the army brought down the monument Friday because "it was a bad memory."

"We are not waging war, we are restoring law and order," Khalid said at a press conference in Manama.

Shiites account for 70 percent of the tiny island's half-million people but they are widely excluded from high-level posts and positions in the police and military.

"Brothers and sisters" in Bahrain should "resist against the enemy until you die or win," Iranian Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati told worshippers at Friday prayers at Tehran University, a nationally televised forum seen as expressing the views of Iran's ruling Shiite clergy.

Worshippers chanted angry slogans against Saudi Arabia's royal family, which has sent troops to back Bahrain's king.

"There is no God but Allah, Al Saud is God's enemy," some chanted in Arabic. One Persian banner read, "Death to Al Saud."

Across Iraq, thousands rallied in mostly Shiite cities in the country's largest demonstrations since a wave of dissent spread across the Middle East in the wake of Tunisia's overthrow of its autocratic president.

There are no apparent links between Iran and Bahrain's Shiite opposition but the U.S. and Sunni leaders in the Persian Gulf leaders have expressed concern that Iran could use the unrest in Bahrain to expand its influence in the region. Iran has recalled its ambassador from Bahrain to protest the crackdown.

___

Associated Press writers Reem Khalifa in Manama and Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ml_bahrain_protests

[ninathedog]

Edinburgh University Votes To
Boycott Israel

Saturday March 19, 2011 03:25
by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News Report post
International Middle East Media Center

The student association of Edinburgh University in Scotland voted overwhelmingly Thursday night to support a boycott of Israeli goods and services. This comes after the student association, which represents all students at the Univeristy, voted last year to divest from Israeli companies.

In the lead-up to the vote, students from Edinburgh University Students for Justice in Palestine, which introduced the resolution, held a large-scale education campaign on campus about Israel’s colonial origins and practices toward the indigenous population of Palestine. Many students related the experience of the Palestinian people to their own experience, having been colonized by England for several hundred years.

The measure received 270 votes in favor, with 20 opposed, in one of the largest student association meetings to date. Now the measure will go through the student senate, where it is expected to pass easily, given the overwhelming support of the student body.

Student Daniel Beesley, who put the motion forward for a vote, said “I am overwhelmed with the outcome of the General Meeting. It is great to see students of Edinburgh University once again standing up against injustice, just as they did during Apartheid South Africa. Edinburgh University Student Association represents that views of students and we are sure they they will take on board what was clearly the opinion of the vast majority who attended the GM, and endorse the boycott.”

The measure will require all vendors on campus, and with whom the university does business, to check their suppliers and discontinue any business relationships with Israeli firms. This includes fruits and vegetables, electronics, specialty foods and wines, and other products identified to have been manufactured in Israel. Israel’s largest export is weapons, which is not something that Edinburgh University purchases. But there are a number of other products identified by students for the boycott.

Students at Edinburgh University say that they support the Palestinian call for a global boycott of Israeli goods, in order to pressure Israel to adhere to its obligations under international law and past signed agreements, and to end its occupation of Palestinian land.

category international | non-violent action | news report author email saed at imemc dot org

www.imemc.org/article/60900


Edinburgh University students protesting the Israeli siege of Gaza